Formulation and Stability Test of Lip Cream Preparation of Kenop Flower Ethanol Extract (Gomphrena globosa L.)

Kenop Flower (Gomphrena globosa L.) is used in the manufacture of lip cream because contains betacyanin pigments that function as color pigments. This study aims to determine the physical quality and stability of the lip cream preparation of the ethanol extract of kenop flower (Gomphrena globosa L.). This research was conducted experimentally, including the manufacture of lip cream formulations with ethanol extract of kenop flower (Gomphrena globosa L.) with a concentration of 10%. The results of the physical examination test for lip cream preparations for all preparations have a distinctive vanilla aroma with a semi-solid texture, F0 has ivory white color and F1-F3 has a brown color. The preparations had a homogeneous composition, average pH 6-7, had good greasing power, 5.0-5.8 average dispersion and 60.33-66.67 seconds average adhesion. The stability test carried out on day 28 found that all preparations were stable, had a distinctive vanilla aroma with a semi-solid texture, F0 had ivory white color and F1-F3 had a brown color. The preparation has a homogeneous composition; the average pH is 6-7. Where the lip cream formulas F1 and F3 decreased the pH value on the 28th day from 7 to 6 but tended to be stable and in the pH range that matched the lip pH. And there is no phase separation in all formulas.

Multiepitope Dendrimeric Antigen-Silica Particle Composites as Nano-Based Platforms for Specific Recognition of IgEs

β-lactam antibiotics (BLs) are the drugs most frequently involved in drug hypersensitivity reactions. However, current in vitro diagnostic tests have limited sensitivity, partly due to a poor understanding of in vivo drug–protein conjugates that both induce the reactions and are immunologically recognized. Dendrimeric Antigen-Silica particle composites (DeAn@SiO2), consisting on nanoparticles decorated with BL-DeAns are promising candidates for improving the in vitro clinical diagnostic practice. In this nano-inspired system biology, the synthetic dendrimer plays the role of the natural carrier protein, emulating its haptenation by drugs and amplifying the multivalence. Herein, we present the design and synthesis of new multivalent mono- and bi-epitope DeAn@SiO2, using amoxicillin and/or benzylpenicillin allergenic determinants as ligands. The homogeneous composition of nanoparticles provides high reproducibility and quality, which is critical for in vitro applications. The suitable functionalization of nanoparticles allows the anchoring of DeAn, minimizing the nonspecific interactions and facilitating the effective exposure to specific IgE; while the larger interaction area increments the likelihood of capturing specific IgE. This achievement is particularly important for improving sensitivity of current immunoassays since IgE levels in BL allergic patients are very low. Our data suggest that these new nano-based platforms provide a suitable tool for testing IgE recognition to more than one BL simultaneously. Immunochemical studies evidence that mono and bi-epitope DeAn@SiO2 composites could potentially allow the diagnosis of patients allergic to any of these drugs with a single test. These organic–inorganic hybrid materials represent the basis for the development of a single screening for BL-allergies.

Insights on The Morphological and Phylogenetic Delimitation of Dacrymyces Nees

Dacrymycetes has four families and 13 genera, few of them with molecular data available and then usually polyphyletic in phylogenetic analyses. Dacrymyces Nees is one of the polyphyletic genera in Dacrymycetes and it was introduced to accommodate one species, D. stillatus Nees. The morphological features of the genus are a homogeneous composition of the intra-structure and an amphigenous or superior hymenium. In this study, we included Neotropical specimens in the phylogeny of the Dacrymycetes and Dacrymyces s.s. is emended to include species with resupinate basidiomata, unilateral hymenium and heterogeneous context. In this new delimitation, the new species Dacrymyces flavobrunneus is described using morphological and molecular data and three new combinations (D. ceraceus comb. nov., D. maxidorii comb. nov. and D. spathularia comb. nov.) are proposed based on DNA analyses.

Incorporation of Fibrin, Platelets, and Red Blood Cells into a Coronary Thrombus in Time and Space

We describe the internal structure, spatial organization and dynamic formation of coronary artery thrombi from ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed significant differences among four groups of patients (<2 hours; 2–6 hours; 6–12 hours, and >12 hours) related to the time of ischemia. Coronary artery thrombi from patients presenting less than 2 hours after the infarction were almost entirely composed of platelets, with small amounts of fibrin and red blood cells. In contrast, thrombi from late presenters (>12 hours) consisted of mainly platelets at the distal end, where clotting was initiated, with almost no platelets at the proximal end, while the red blood cell content went from low at the initiating end to more than 90% at the proximal end. Furthermore, fibrin was present mainly on the outside of the thrombi and older thrombi contained thicker fibers. The red blood cells in late thrombi were compressed to a close-packed, tessellated array of polyhedral structures, called polyhedrocytes. Moreover, there was redistribution from the originally homogeneous composition to fibrin and platelets to the outside, with polyhedrocytes on the interior. The presence of polyhedrocytes and the redistribution of components are signs of in vivo clot contraction (or retraction). These results suggest why later thrombi are resistant to fibrinolytic agents and other treatment modalities, since the close-packed polyhedrocytes form a nearly impermeable seal. Furthermore, it is of particular clinical significance that these findings suggest specific disparate therapies that will be most effective at different stages of thrombus development.

Mineralogical Appraisal of Bauxite Overburdens from Brazil

Mineralogical appraisal is an important tool for both mining and industrial processes. X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRPD) can deliver fast and reliable mineralogical quantification results to aid industrial processes and improve ore recoveries. Furthermore, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) chemical data, thermal analysis (TA), and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) can be used to validate and refine XRPD results. Mineralogical assessment of non-traditional ores, such as mining wastes, is also an important step to consider them for near-future industries. In the Brazilian Amazon, alumina-rich clays cover the largest and most important bauxitic deposits of the region and have been considered as a possible raw material for the local cement and ceramic industry. In this work, a mineralogical evaluation of these clays (Belterra Clays) is performed using XRPD, XRF, TA, and FTIR. XRPD-Rietveld quantification confirmed that kaolinite is the main phase of the clay overburden, followed by variable contents of gibbsite and goethite and minor quantities of hematite, anatase, and quartz. The chemistry derived from Rietveld, based on stoichiometric phase compositions, presents a good correlation with the XRF data and is also supported by the TA and FTIR data. The initially assumed homogeneous composition of Belterra Clay is revealed to be variable by the present mineralogical study.

Spontaneous shape transition of Mn x Ge1− x islands to long nanowires

We report experimental evidence for a spontaneous shape transition, from regular islands to elongated nanowires, upon high-temperature annealing of a thin Mn wetting layer evaporated on Ge(111). We demonstrate that 4.5 monolayers is the critical thickness of the Mn layer, governing the shape transition to wires. A small change around this value modulates the geometry of the nanostructures. The Mn–Ge alloy nanowires are single-crystalline structures with homogeneous composition and uniform width along their length. The shape evolution towards nanowires occurs for islands with a mean size of ≃170 nm. The wires, up to ≃1.1 μm long, asymptotically tend to ≃80 nm of width. We found that tuning the annealing process allows one to extend the wire length up to ≃1.5 μm with a minor rise of the lateral size to ≃100 nm. The elongation process of the nanostructures is in agreement with a strain-driven shape transition mechanism proposed in the literature for other heteroepitaxial systems. Our study gives experimental evidence for the spontaneous formation of spatially uniform and compositionally homogeneous Mn-rich GeMn nanowires on Ge(111). The reliable and simple synthesis approach allows one to exploit the room-temperature ferromagnetic properties of the Mn–Ge alloy to design and fabricate novel nanodevices.

Scanning probe microscopic study of P(VDF-TrFE) based ferroelectric nanocomposites

Ceramic and polymer based nanocomponents combine the properties of their constituents, e.g. flexibility, elasticity, polymer reprocessability, hardness typical of glass, wear resistance and high light refraction index. This helps improving many properties of the materials in comparison with the source components. Since recently researchers have been manifesting interest to the properties of complex composite compounds. This is primarily caused by the unique properties of their structures as compared with conventional materials having homogeneous composition. Secondly, this interest is caused by the fact that these compounds may prove to be much cheaper than homogeneous structures provided the physical properties of the composite in a preset range of parameters (temperature, applied field frequency etc.) are identical to those of the respective homogeneous materials. For example, polyvinyl idenfluoride (PVDF) type ferroelectric polymers and copolymers on its basis have found wide application for functional elements of various electromechanic devices in advanced electronics due to their relatively good piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The strong random polarization and the formation of polar non-centrosymmetric crystals provide for the high piezoelectric and pyroelectric activity in these crystals. Scanning probe microscopy has been used for study of ferroelectric nanocomposites having different compositions. The matrix specimen for study of local polarization switching at a nanoscale level was vinyl idenfluoride and trifluoroethylene P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer possessing sufficiently high crystallinity. The composite fillers were barium titanate BaTiO3 and deuterized triglycinsulfate DTGS ferroelectric powders and zirconate-titanate lead barium BPZT ceramic powder. We show these materials to show good promise for use in memory cells.

The promise and limitations of improved-accuracy gravity field measurements for Uranus and Neptune

&lt;p&gt;Uranus and Neptune present unique challenges to planetary modelers. The&lt;br&gt;composition of the so-called ice giants is very uncertain, even more so than the&lt;br&gt;composition of the gas giants. For instance, it is far from clear that either&lt;br&gt;planet's composition is dominated by water. Instead, the composition of Uranus and&lt;br&gt;Neptune likely includes water and other refractory elements in large quantities as&lt;br&gt;well as a substantial H/He envelope. Furthermore, formation models also predict&lt;br&gt;that composition gradients are likely in the interiors of these planets, rather&lt;br&gt;than a neat differentiation into layers of homogeneous composition. (See Helled&lt;br&gt;and Fortney 2020 and references within.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A key question that impacts the science case for a potential orbiting mission to&lt;br&gt;Uranus or Neptune is how will more precise measurements of the gravitational field&lt;br&gt;better constrain either planet's interior density profile and composition.&lt;br&gt;Surprisingly, there is yet no published answer to this question. &amp;#160;Here, we present&lt;br&gt;new work that explores this issue, using a Bayesian framework that allows&lt;br&gt;exploration of a wide range of interior density profiles.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our approach, which builds off our previous work for Saturn (Movshovitz et al.,&lt;br&gt;2020) and that of others &amp;#160;(e.g. Marley et al., 1995, Helled et al., 2011) takes a&lt;br&gt;relatively unbiased view of the interior structure by employing so-called&lt;br&gt;empirical density profiles. A parameterization is applied to the density profiles&lt;br&gt;directly (via mathematical base functions) instead of to an assumed layered&lt;br&gt;composition (H/He, water, rocks). While some of these empirical density profiles&lt;br&gt;may imply unrealistic compositions, they can also probe solutions that would be&lt;br&gt;missed by the standard layered-composition approach.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here we will present models of Uranus and Neptune constructed with this approach,&lt;br&gt;and ask two questions: 1) How large is the space of possible solutions today? 2)&lt;br&gt;How much will it be reduced should a future mission to Uranus and Neptune improve&lt;br&gt;the precision on their gravity field measurements by several orders of magnitude,&lt;br&gt;to the level now available for Jupiter and Saturn?&lt;/p&gt;

Empires and the Politics of Difference

Empires governed different people differently. At one pole of empires’ repertoires of rule were the Mongols, who treated cultural difference as an ordinary fact, and possibly a useful one. At the other pole were Roman-style empires that insisted on the superiority of their civilization. Empires combined strategies and shifted among them. A polity could move through an imperial phase to more homogeneous composition, but empire-building was also a temptation for relatively uniform polities. Differential incorporation into the social fabric of empire or radical exclusion of certain categories from acceptance and political participation were variants on the politics of difference. This chapter explores issues of race, religion, differential rights, gender, ethnicity, and class as they played out across the vast spaces shaped by empires. Opponents of imperial rulers, coming from different social categories, also acted within and across imperial spaces.

Experimental Study on Shear Strength of Saturated Remolded Loess

Loess has the characteristic of macropore, loose structure, homogeneous composition and collapsibility. It is easy to saturate when it encounters heavy rainfall and irrigation, resulting in landslides, roadbed subsidence and dam instability in the loess area. To study the influence of dry density and shear rate on shear strength of saturated remolded loess, an SLB-6A stress-strain controlled triaxial shear penetration tester was used to conduct Consolidated Undrained(CU) test in the Yan'an area. During the test, three variables of shear rate, confining pressure and dry density were controlled. The dry densities of the samples were 1.5g/cm3, 1.6g/cm3 and 1.7g/cm3 respectively. The CU test of the saturated remolded loess at a confining pressure of 100kPa, 150kPa, and 200kPa was performed at a shear rate of 0.04mm/min, 0.08mm/min, 0.16 mm/min, and 0.4mm/min respectively. It is found that the stress-strain curve of saturated remolded loess gradually moves up with the increase of dry density. When the dry density is equal to ρd=1.5g/cm3, the deviatoric stress under different confining pressures there is a tendency to increase first and then decrease with increases of shear rate. When the dry density is equal to ρd=1.6g/cm3 and ρd=1.7g/cm3, the deviational stress under different confining pressures shows the trend of increasing first, decreasing and then increasing with the increase of shear rate, which is different from that at the dry density ρd =1.5g/cm3 at a shear rate v=0.4mm/min. When the dry density ρd=1.5g/cm3, the cohesive force decreases first and then increases with the increase of shear rate. When the dry density ρd=1.6g/cm3 and ρd=1.7g/cm3, the cohesive force first increases at 0.08 mm/min, and then decreases with the increase of shear rate. The cohesion and internal friction angles tend to increase as the dry density increases.