Sargentwoodard1765

This paper presents the results of tests on high performance concrete (HPC) prepared and cured at various ambient temperatures, ranging from 12 ∘C to 30 ∘C (the compressive strength and concrete mix density were also tested at 40 ∘C). Special attention was paid to maintaining the assumed temperature of the mixture components during its preparation and maintaining the assumed curing temperature. The properties of a fresh concrete mixture (consistency, air content, density) and properties of hardened concrete (density, water absorption, depth of water penetration under pressure, compressive strength, and freeze-thaw durability of hardened concrete) were studied. It has been shown that increased temperature (30 ∘C) has a significant effect on loss of workability. The studies used the concrete slump test, the flow table test, and the Vebe test. A decrease in the slump and flow diameter and an increase in the Vebe time were observed. It has been shown that an increase in concrete curing temperature causes an increase in early compressive strength. After 3 days of curing, compared with concrete curing at 20 ∘C, an 18% increase in compressive strength was observed at 40 ∘C, while concrete curing at 12 ∘C had a compressive strength which was 11% lower. An increase in temperature lowers the compressive strength after a period longer than 28 days. After two years of curing, concrete curing at 12 ∘C achieved a compressive strength 13% higher than that of concrete curing at 40 ∘C. Freeze-thaw performance tests of HPC in the presence of NaCl demonstrated that this concrete showed high freeze-thaw resistance and de-icing materials (surface scaling of this concrete is minimal) regardless of the temperature of the curing process, from 12 ∘C to 30 ∘C.The influence of partial replacement of animal fat by healthy oils on composition, physicochemical, volatile, and sensory properties of dry-fermented deer sausage was evaluated. Four different batches were manufactured the control was formulated with animal fat (18.2%), while in the reformulated batches the 50% of animal fat was substituted by olive, canola, and soy oil emulsions immobilized in Prosella gel. DN02 chemical structure The reformulation resulted in a decrease of moisture and fat contents and an increase of protein and ash amount. Moreover, reformulated sausages were harder, darker, and had higher pH values. This fact is related to the lower moisture content in these samples. As expected, the fatty acid composition was changed by the reformulation. The use of soy and canola oils increased polyunsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 content and decreased n-6/n-3 ratio and saturated fatty acids. Thus, the use of these two oils presented the best nutritional benefits. The changes observed in the fatty acids reflected the fatty acid composition of the oils employed in the emulsions. Regarding volatile compounds (VOC), the replacement of animal fat by healthy emulsion gels increased the content of both total VOC and most of individual VOC. However, the lipid-derived VOC did not show this trend. Generally speaking, the control samples presented similar or higher VOC derived from lipid oxidation processes, which could be related to the natural antioxidant compounds present in the vegetable oils. Finally, all reformulated sausages presented higher consumer acceptability than control samples. In fact, the sausage reformulated with soy oil emulsion gel was the most preferred. Thus, as a general conclusion, the reformulation of deer sausages with soy emulsion gel improves both composition and sensory quality of the final product, which could be an excellent strategy to the elaboration of healthy fermented sausages.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a widely used anti-cancer drug for treating various types of solid malignant tumors including breast, ovarian and lung cancers. However, PTX has a low therapeutic response and is linked with acquired resistance, as well as a high incidence of adverse events, such as allergic reactions, neurotoxicity and myelosuppression. The situation is compounded when its complex chemical structure contributes towards hydrophobicity, shortening its circulation time in blood, causing off-target effects and limiting its therapeutic activity against cancer cells. Formulating a smart nano-carrier may overcome the solubility and toxicity issues of the drug and enable its more selective delivery to the cancerous cells. Among the nano-carriers, natural polymers are of great importance due to their excellent biodegradability, non-toxicity and good accessibility. The aim of the present research is to develop self-assembled sodium caseinate nanomicelles (NaCNs) with PTX loaded into the hydrophobic core of NaCNs rrier of PTX to enhance tumor accumulation of the drug while addressing its toxicity issues as well.

We conclude that the newly developed NaCNs is a promising carrier of PTX to enhance tumor accumulation of the drug while addressing its toxicity issues as well.This study investigated the effects of evolocumab on vulnerable coronary plaques and factors associated with the change in stability and size of plaques in patients taking statins. Vulnerable coronary plaques were defined using coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography as having a density of less then 50 HU within the region of interest and a remodeling index ≥1.1. The changes in minimum CT density, remodeling index, and percent stenosis of vulnerable coronary plaques after six months of evolocumab administration were retrospectively analyzed in 136 vulnerable coronary plaques from 98 patients (68 men and 30 women; mean age 72.9 ± 8.7 years) treated with a statin. The administration of evolocumab significantly increased the minimum CT density (39.1 ± 8.1 HU to 84.9 ± 31.4 HU, p less then 0.001), reduced the remodeling index (1.29 ± 0.11 to 1.19 ± 0.10, p less then 0.001), and decreased the percent stenosis (27.0 ± 10.4% to 21.2 ± 9.8%, p less then 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that baseline percent stenosis (standard coefficient (β) = -0.391, p = 0.002) independently correlated with the change in minimum CT density, whereas the baseline remodeling index (β = -0.368, p less then 0.001) independently correlated with a change in the remodeling index. Evolocumab stabilized vulnerable coronary plaques and reduced their size. These results suggest that evolocumab protects against coronary artery disease progression in patients taking statins.