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This study aimed to investigate the airborne exposure to aerosols according to the particle size distribution of three different spray types (nano-nozzled spray gun, low-temperature steam spray, and fogger) and compare the concentrations of inhaled aerosols between children and adults. Airborne aerosols released from three products were observed using size-segregated particle measurements, and particle concentrations deposited in the respiratory tracts of adults and children were estimated using multi-path particle dosimetry lung deposition models. All types of sprayers generated the most nanoparticles (~100 nm). Due to their higher respiratory rate than adults, a larger number of particles <1.0 µm deposited in the children's respiratory tracts was higher. The sequences of the total number of particles in the respiratory regions after spraying nano-nozzled spray gun and fogger were alveolar (AL)>tracheobronchial (TB)>head airway (HA) in adults and AL>HA>TB in children. Meanwhile, the trend of low-temperature steam spray was AL>TB>HA in adults and AL>TB>HA in children.
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Aerossóis , Desinfetantes , Exposição por Inalação , Nanopartículas , Tamanho da Partícula , Humanos , Exposição por Inalação/análise , Aerossóis/análise , Nanopartículas/análise , Criança , Adulto , Desinfetantes/análise , Poluentes Atmosféricos/análise , Pré-EscolarRESUMO
Spilled oil slicks are likely to break into droplets in the subtidal and intertidal zones of seashores due to wave energy. The nonliving suspended fine particles in coastal ecosystems can interact with the dispersed oil droplets, resulting in the formation of Oil Particle Aggregates (OPAs). Many investigations assumed that these aggregates will settle due to the particles' high density. Recent studies, however, reported that some particles penetrate the oil droplets, which results in further breakup while forming smaller OPAs that remain suspended in the water column. Here, we investigated the interaction of crude oil droplets with intertidal and subtidal sediments, as well as artificial pure kaolinite, in natural seawater. Results showed that the interaction between oil droplets and intertidal sediments was not particularly stable, with an Oil Trapping Efficiency (OTE) < 25%. When using subtidal sediments, OTE reached 56%. With artificial kaolinite, OPA formation and breakup were more significant (OTE reaching up to 67%) and occurred faster (within 12 h). Oil chemistry analysis showed that the biodegradation of oil in seawater (half-life of 485 h) was significantly enhanced with the addition of sediments, with half-lives of 305, 265, and 150 h when adding intertidal sediments, subtidal sediments, and pure kaolinite, respectively. Such results reveal how the sediments' shape and size affect the various oil-sediment interaction mechanisms, and the subsequent impact on the microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. Future studies should consider investigating the application of fine (several microns) and sharp (elongated-sheeted) sediments as a nondestructive and nontoxic technique for dispersing marine oil spills.
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Poluição por Petróleo , Petróleo , Poluentes Químicos da Água , Sedimentos Geológicos , Ecossistema , Caulim , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análise , Água do Mar , Biodegradação AmbientalRESUMO
Accurate application of agrochemicals is an important way to achieve efficient use of chemicals and to combine limited pollution with effective control of weeds, pests, and diseases. In this context, we investigate the potential application of a new delivery system based on ink-jet technology. First, we describe the structure and functionality of ink-jet technology for agrochemical delivery. We then evaluate the compatibility of ink-jet technology with a range of pesticides (four herbicides, eight fungicides, and eight insecticides) and beneficial microbes, including fungi and bacteria. Finally, we investigated the feasibility of using ink-jet technology in a microgreens production system. The ink-jet technology was compatible with herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and beneficial microbes that remained functional after passing through the system. In addition, ink-jet technology demonstrated higher area performance compared to standard nozzles under laboratory conditions. Finally, the application of ink-jet technology to microgreens, which are characterized by small plants, was successful and opened the possibility of full automation of the pesticide application system. The ink-jet system proved to be compatible with the main classes of agrochemicals and showed significant potential for application in protected cropping systems.
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Fungicidas Industriais , Herbicidas , Inseticidas , Praguicidas , Praguicidas/química , Fungicidas Industriais/química , Tinta , Agroquímicos , TecnologiaRESUMO
Nowadays, due to a higher resistance to drugs, antibiotics, and antiviral medicaments, new ways of fighting pathogens are intensively studied. The alternatives for synthesized compositions are natural products, most of which have been known in natural medicine for a long time. One of the best-known and intensively investigated groups are essential oils (EOs) and their compositions. However, it is worth noting that the method of application can play a second crucial part in the effectiveness of the antimicrobial activity. EOs possess various natural compounds which exhibit antimicrobial activity. One of the compositions which is based on the five main ingredients of eucalyptus, cinnamon, clove, rosemary, and lemon is named "five thieves' oil" (Polish name: olejek pieciu zlodziei) (5TO) and is used in natural medicine. In this study, we focused on the droplet size distribution of 5TO during the nebulization process, evaluated by the microscopic droplet size analysis (MDSA) method. Furthermore, viscosity studies, as well as UV-Vis of the 5TO suspensions in medical solvents such as physiological salt and hyaluronic acid, were presented, along with measurements of refractive index, turbidity, pH, contact angle, and surface tension. Additional studies on the biological activity of 5TO solutions were made on the P. aeruginosa strain NFT3. This study opens a way for the possible use of 5TO solutions or emulsion systems for active antimicrobial applications, i.e., for surface spraying.
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Anti-Infecciosos , Eucalyptus , Óleos Voláteis , Óleos Voláteis/farmacologia , Óleos Voláteis/química , Anti-Infecciosos/farmacologia , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Antibacterianos/química , Antivirais , Pseudomonas aeruginosaRESUMO
This study centers around examining the impact of introducing varying (small) quantities of crude oil into mineral oil (Exxsol D60) on the resultant properties of dispersions and emulsions in oil-salty-water mixture properties such as rheology, droplet size distribution, separation duration, and interfacial tension. The experimentation encompassed bottle tests and a compact flow loop configuration featuring a 2 m horizontal pipe segment. The findings indicate that blends of oil infused with crude oil, combined with salty water at water ratios of 25% and 50%, necessitate an extended duration for separation and for the establishment and stabilization of interfaces, in contrast to mixtures of unaltered oil and saline water. To illustrate, in samples with spiking concentrations ranging from 200 to 800 ppm within a 25% water fraction, the separation period escalates from 51 s to 2 min and 21 s. Interestingly, when the water fraction increased to 75 percent, the impact of crude oil spiking on separation time was minimal. The analysis revealed that the Pal and Rhodes emulsion viscosity model yielded the most accurate predictions for the viscosity of resulting emulsions. The introduction of crude oil spiking elevated emulsion viscosity while diminishing interfacial tension from 30.8 to 27.6 mN/m (800 ppm spiking). Lastly, a comparative assessment was performed between droplet size distributions in the devised dispersed pipe flow and observed in an actual emulsion system comprising crude and salty water.
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Too many ammonia emissions are released into the environment from cattle farming. These damage the environment and have an impact on animal and human health. Ammonia Emissions could be reduce by urease inhibitors. Before using the urease inhibitor suspension Atmowell® in cattle farming a risk assessment is required. This includes exposure data on the animal and human in the barn. As there is no method for exposure measurements yet the approach of fluorometry was taken. The fluorescent dye pyranine shall replace Atmowell® in later studies as a tracer. Before Atmowell® can be replaced, the interaction between Atmowell® and pyranine-according to the fluorescence and storage stability under the influence of ultraviolet light, has to be observed and excluded. Also, the spray and drift behavior must be examined in the wind tunnel with three different nozzles. The results show that Atmowell® has no effect on neither the fluorescence nor the degradation rate of a pyranine-solution. Furthermore, it is shown that a pyranine + Atmowell® mixture does not differ in drift behavior from a pure pyranine-solution. Because of these findings, an Atmowell®-solution can be substituted by a pyranine-solution without any effects on the results of an exposure measurement being expected.
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Praguicidas , Humanos , Animais , Bovinos , Praguicidas/análise , Corantes Fluorescentes , Urease , Amônia , Tamanho da Partícula , Agricultura/métodosRESUMO
To understand the exact transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 and to explore effects of time, space and indoor environment on the dynamics of droplets and aerosols, rigorous testing and observation must be conducted. In the current work, the spatial and temporal dispersions of aerosol droplets from a simulated cough were comprehensively examined over a long duration (70 min). An artificial cough generator was constructed to generate reliably repeatable respiratory ejecta. The measurements were performed at different locations in front (along the axial direction and off-axis) and behind the source in a sealed experimental enclosure. Aerosols of 0.3-10 µm (around 20% of the maximum nuclei count) were shown to persist for a very long time in a still environment, and this has a substantial implication for airborne disease transmission. The experiments demonstrated that a ventilation system could reduce the total aerosol volume and the droplet lifetime significantly. To explain the experimental observations in more detail and to understand the droplet in-air behaviour at various ambient temperatures and relative humidity, numerical simulations were performed using the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The simulations show that many of the small droplets remain suspended in the air over time instead of falling to the ground.
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Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining safety in dental operations has challenged health care providers and policy makers. Studies on dental aerosols often focus on bacterial viability or particle size measurements inside dental offices during and after dental procedures, which limits their conclusions to specific cases. Fundamental understanding on atomization mechanism and dynamics of dental aerosols are needed while assessing the risks. Most dental instruments feature a build-in atomizer. Dental aerosols that are produced by ultrasonic or rotary atomization are considered to pose the highest risks. In this work, we aimed to characterize dental aerosols produced by both methods, namely by Mectron PIEZOSURGERY® and KaVo EXPERTtorque™. Droplet size distributions and velocities were measured with a high-speed camera and a rail system. By fitting the data to probability density distributions and using empirical equations to predict droplet sizes, we were able to postulate the main factors that determine droplet sizes. Both dental instruments had wide size distributions including small droplets. Droplet size distribution changed based on operational parameters such as liquid flow rate or air pressure. With a larger fraction of small droplets, rotary atomization poses a higher risk. With the measured velocities reaching up to 5 m s-1, droplets can easily reach the dentist in a few seconds. Small droplets can evaporate completely before reaching the ground and can be suspended in the air for a long time. We suggest that relative humidity in dental offices are adjusted to 50% to prevent fast evaporation while maintaining comfort in the office. This can reduce the risk of disease transmission among patients. We recommend that dentists wear a face shield and N95/FFP2/KN95 masks instead of surgical masks. We believe that this work gives health-care professionals, policy makers and engineers who design dental instruments insights into a safer dental practice.
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The association between aerosol and lightning has been investigated with long-term decadal data (2005-2014) for lightning, aerosol optical depth (AOD), relative humidity, and effective cloud droplet size. To understand the complex relationship between aerosol and lightning, two different regions with different climatic and weather conditions, a humid region R1 (22°-29° N, 89°-92° E) and an arid region R2 (23°-28° N, 70°-76° E) of northern India, were chosen for the study domain. The results show that lightning activity was observed to occur more over the humid region R1, i.e., 1141 days (1/3 of total days), than over the arid region R2, i.e., 740 days (1/5 of total days). Also, over the humid region R1, the highest lightning flash density was recorded as nearly 4.6 × 10-4 flashes/km2/day observed for 18 days (1.5%); on the contrary, over the arid region R2, the maximum lightning flash density was observed to be 2.5 × 10-4 flashes/km2/day and occurred for about 22 days (2.9%). The analysis shows that a nonlinear relationship exists between aerosol and lightning with a highly associated influence of relative humidity. A very significant positive and negative co-relation that varies with relative humidity has been observed between AOD and lightning for both humid and arid regions. This shows relative humidity is the key factor in determining the increase or decrease of lightning activity. This study also shows that the larger the cloud droplet size, the higher the relative humidity and vice versa. This study emphasizes that aerosol concentration in the atmosphere influences cloud microphysics by modulating the size of cloud droplets and thereby regulating the lightning frequency. The atmospheric humidity is the driving factor in deciding the positive or negative co-relationship between aerosol and lightning. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00024-022-02981-6.
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Selecting effective antioxidants is challenging since their efficiency in inhibiting lipid oxidation depends on the rate constants of the chemical reactions involved and their concentration at the reaction site, i.e., at the interfacial region. Accumulation of antioxidants at the interface of emulsions is key to modulate their efficiency in inhibiting lipid oxidation but its control was not well understood, especially in emulsions. It can be optimized by modifying the physicochemical properties of antioxidants or the environmental conditions. In this work, we analyze the effects of surfactant concentration, droplet size, and oil to water ratio on the effective interfacial concentration of a set of chlorogenic acid (CGA) esters in fish oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions and nanoemulsions and on their antioxidant efficiency. A well-established pseudophase kinetic model is used to determine in the intact emulsified systems the effective concentrations of the antioxidants (AOs). The relative oxidative stability of the emulsions is assessed by monitoring the formation of primary oxidation products with time. Results show that the concentration of all AOs at the interfacial region is much higher (20-90 fold) than the stoichiometric one but is much lower than those of other phenolipid series such as caffeic or hydroxytyrosol derivatives. The main parameter controlling the interfacial concentration of antioxidants is the surfactant volume fraction, ΦI, followed by the O/W ratio. Changes in the droplet sizes (emulsions and nanoemulsions) have no influence on the interfacial concentrations. Despite the high radical scavenging capacity of CGA derivatives and their being concentrated at the interfacial region, the investigated AOs do not show a significant effect in inhibiting lipid oxidation in contrast with what is observed using other series of homologous antioxidants with similar reactivity. Results are tentatively interpreted in terms of the relatively low interfacial concentrations of the antioxidants, which may not be high enough to make the rate of the inhibition reaction faster than the rate of radical propagation.
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Antioxidantes/química , Ácido Clorogênico/química , Óleos de Peixe/química , Tensoativos/química , Emulsões , Interações Hidrofóbicas e HidrofílicasRESUMO
Transmission of droplets has been recognized as an important form of infection for the respiratory diseases. This study investigated the distribution of human respiratory droplets and assessed the effects of air change rate and generated velocity on droplet transmission using an active agent in an enclosed chamber (46 m3). Results revealed that the higher the air change rate was, the fewer viable droplets were detected in the range of <3.3 µm with ventilation; an increased air change rate can increase the attenuation of droplet aerosol. Without ventilation, the viable droplet size was observed to mainly distribute greater than 3.3 µm, which occupied up 87.5% of the total number. When the generated velocity was increased to 20 m/s, 29.38% of the viable droplets were detected at the position of 2.0 m. The findings are excepted to be useful for developing the technology of reducing droplet propagation and providing data verification for simulation research.
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Aerossóis e Gotículas Respiratórios , Ventilação , Aerossóis , Simulação por Computador , HumanosRESUMO
Skin, largest organ of human, is directly exposed to environment and hence is prone to high rates of injuries and microbial infections. Over the passage of time these microbes have developed resistance to antibiotics making them ineffective especially in lower doses and hence, higher dosages or new drugs are required. The current study deals with designing of nano-emulsion (NE) formulations composed of garlic and ginger oils (0.1 %) with neomycin sulphate used in different ratios (0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 %) and combinations. The resulting NEs were characterized for droplet size (145-304 nm), zetapotential (-3.0-0.9 mV), refractive index (1.331-1.344), viscosity (1.10-1.23cP), transmittance (96-99 %), FT-IR and HPLC and found stable over a period of three months. All NEs were also found effective against both gram positive and negative bacterial strains i.e., B. spizizenii, S. aureus, E. coli and S. enterica as compared to pure neomycin sulphate (NS) used as control with highest activity recorded for NE-2 and NE-4 against all strains showing zone of inhibition in range of 22-30 mm and 21-19 mm, respectively. NEs were also tested using rabbit skin excision wound model which potentiates that all the NEs resulted in early recovery with 86-100 % wound healing achieved in 9 days as compared to NS ointment (71 %). The studies confirmed that essential oils when used in combination with traditional drug can lead to much higher efficacies as compared to pure drugs.
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In this study, we evaluated the caprylic acid-based oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion-assisted extraction of lycopene from tomatoes. Emulsion-assisted extraction was performed using two types of micron-sized O/W emulsions: (a) O/W emulsion with absence or (b) presence of 0.1% (w/w) of Tween 20 emulsifier. This green extraction technique was compared with the conventional method using soybean oil, tributyrin, and caprylic acid. The results show that caprylic acid, a green solvent, is significantly more effective for lycopene recovery than soybean oil and tributyrin. In the absence of an emulsifier, caprylic acid-based O/W emulsion significantly improved the lycopene content by 14.69 mg/g, corresponding to a 98.59% extraction efficiency at 50 ËC. The capability of the proposed approach to lycopene recovery was explained in terms of lycopene affinity, the ability to swell the tomato cell, and some other standard parameters. In addition, caprylic acid has the significant advantage that once developed with the extracted lycopene can be used directly as a food additive.
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Nanoemulsion systems receive a significant amount of interest nowadays due to their promising potential in biomedicine and food technology. Using a two-step process, we produced a series of nanoemulsion systems with different concentrations of hemp seed oil (HSO) stabilized with Aesculus hippocastanum L. extract (AHE). Water and commercially-available low-concentrated hyaluronic acid (HA) were used as the liquid phase. Stability tests, including an emulsifying index (EI), and droplet size distribution tests performed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) proved the beneficial impact of AHE on the emulsion's stability. After 7 days of storage, the EI for the water-based system was found to be around 100%, unlike the HA systems. The highest stability was achieved by an emulsion containing 5% HSO and 2 g/L AHE in water, as well as the HA solution. In order to obtain the detailed characteristics of the emulsions, UV-Vis and FTIR spectra were recorded, and the viscosity of the samples was determined. Finally, a visible microscopic analysis was used for the homogeneity evaluation of the samples, and was compared with the DLS results of the water system emulsion, which showed a desirable stability. The presented results demonstrate the possible use of oil emulsions based on a plant extract rich in saponins, such as AHE. Furthermore, it was found that the anti-inflammatory properties of AHE provide opportunities for the development of new emulsion formulations with health benefits.
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Aesculus/metabolismo , Cannabis/metabolismo , Emulsificantes/química , Difusão Dinâmica da Luz , Emulsões/química , Nanopartículas/química , Tamanho da Partícula , Óleos de Plantas/química , Sementes/metabolismo , Tensoativos , Temperatura , Viscosidade , ÁguaRESUMO
Luteolin (LUT) is a natural pharmaceutical compound that is weakly water soluble and has low bioavailability when taken orally. As a result, the goal of this research was to create self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) for LUT in an attempt to improve its in vitro dissolution and hepatoprotective effects, resulting in increased oral bioavailability. Using the aqueous phase titration approach and the creation of pseudo-ternary phase diagrams with Capryol-PGMC (oil phase), Tween-80 (surfactant), and Transcutol-HP (co-emulsifier), various SNEDDS of LUT were generated. SNEDDS were assessed for droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), refractive index (RI), and percent of transmittance (percent T) after undergoing several thermodynamic stability and self-nanoemulsification experiments. When compared to LUT suspension, the developed SNEDDS revealed considerable LUT release from all SNEDDS. Droplet size was 40 nm, PDI was <0.3, ZP was -30.58 mV, RI was 1.40, percent T was >98 percent, and drug release profile was >96 percent in optimized SNEDDS of LUT. For in vivo hepatoprotective testing in rats, optimized SNEDDS was chosen. When compared to LUT suspension, hepatoprotective tests showed that optimized LUT SNEDDS had a substantial hepatoprotective impact. The findings of this investigation suggested that SNEDDS could improve bioflavonoid LUT dissolution rate and therapeutic efficacy.
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Sistemas de Liberação de Medicamentos , Fígado/efeitos dos fármacos , Luteolina/farmacologia , Nanopartículas/química , Substâncias Protetoras/farmacologia , Administração Oral , Animais , Tetracloreto de Carbono/farmacologia , Emulsões/administração & dosagem , Emulsões/metabolismo , Emulsões/farmacologia , Fígado/metabolismo , Luteolina/administração & dosagem , Luteolina/metabolismo , Masculino , Nanopartículas/administração & dosagem , Nanopartículas/metabolismo , Tamanho da Partícula , Substâncias Protetoras/administração & dosagem , Substâncias Protetoras/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Solubilidade , TermodinâmicaRESUMO
The extract of Cardiospermum halicacabum L. (C. halicacabum) obtained from flower, leaf and vine was loaded into modified phospholipid vesicles aiming at obtaining sprayable, biocompatible and effective nasal spray formulations for the treatment of nasopharyngeal diseases. Penetration enhancer-containing vesicles (PEVs) and hyalurosomes were formulated, and stabilized by adding a commercial gelatin from fish (20 mg/mL) or chondroitin sulfate from catshark cartilages (Scyliorhinus canicula, 20 mg/mL). Cryo-TEM images confirmed the formation of spherical vesicles, while photon correlation spectroscopy analysis disclosed the formation of small and negatively-charged vesicles. PEVs were the smaller vesicles (~100 nm) along with gelatin-hyalurosomes (~120 nm), while chondroitin-PEVs and chondroitin-hyalurosomes were larger (~160 nm). Dispersions prepared with chondroitin sulfate were more homogeneous, as the polydispersity index was ~0.15. The in vitro analysis of the droplet size distribution, average velocity module and spray cone angle suggested a good spray-ability and deposition of formulations in the nasal cavity, as the mean diameter of the droplets was in the range recommended by the Food and Drug Administration for nasal targets. The spray plume analysis confirmed the ability of PEVs, gelatin-PEVs, hyalurosomes and gelatin-hyalurosomes to be atomized in fine droplets homogenously distributed in a full cone plume, with an angle ranging from 25 to 30°. Moreover, vesicles were highly biocompatible and capable of protecting the epithelial cells against oxidative damage, thus preventing the inflammatory state.
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Sulfatos de Condroitina , Gelatina , Lipossomos , Sprays Nasais , Fosfolipídeos , Extratos Vegetais/administração & dosagem , Sapindaceae/química , Aerossóis , Antioxidantes/administração & dosagem , Antioxidantes/química , Materiais Biocompatíveis/química , Fenômenos Químicos , Composição de Medicamentos , Humanos , Queratinócitos/efeitos dos fármacos , Estresse Oxidativo/efeitos dos fármacos , Tamanho da Partícula , Extratos Vegetais/químicaRESUMO
The use of natural surfactants including plant extracts, plant hydrocolloids and proteins in nanoemulsion systems has received commercial interest due to demonstrated safety of use and potential health benefits of plant products. In this study, a whey protein isolate (WPI) from a byproduct of cheese production was used to stabilize a nanoemulsion formulation that contained hempseed oil and the Aesculus hippocastanum L. extract (AHE). A Box-Behnken experimental design was used to set the formulation criteria and the optimal nanoemulsion conditions, used subsequently in follow-up experiments that measured specifically emulsion droplet size distribution, stability tests and visual quality. Regression analysis showed that the concentration of HSO and the interaction between HSO and the WPI were the most significant factors affecting the emulsion polydispersity index and droplet size (nm) (p < 0.05). Rheological tests, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and L*a*b* color parameters were also taken to characterize the physicochemical properties of the emulsions. Emulsion systems with a higher concentration of the AHE had a potential metabolic activity up to 84% in a microbiological assay. It can be concluded from our results that the nanoemulsion system described herein is a safe and stable formulation with potential biological activity and health benefits that complement its use in the food industry.
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Aesculus/química , Cannabis/química , Emulsões , Nanoestruturas/química , Extratos Vegetais/química , Tensoativos/química , Proteínas do Soro do Leite/química , Reologia , Água/químicaRESUMO
A simplified model has been devised to estimate the falling dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona-virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-laden droplets in an indoor environment. Our estimations were compared to existing literature data. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 is closely coupled to its falling dynamics as a function of respiratory droplet diameter (1 to 2000 µm) of an infected person and droplet evaporation. The falling time of SARS-CoV-2 with a respiratory droplet diameter of about 300 µm from a height of 1.7 m remained almost the same among the Newtonian lift equation, Stokes's law, and our simplified model derived from them so as to account for its evaporation. The evaporative demand peaked at midday which was ten times that at midnight. The evaporating droplets [Formula: see text] 6 µm lost their water content rapidly, making their lifetimes in the air shorter than their falling times. The droplets [Formula: see text] 6 µm were able to evaporate completely and remained in the air for about 5 min as droplet nuclei with SARS-CoV-2.
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Aerossóis , Microbiologia do Ar , Monitoramento Ambiental , SARS-CoV-2 , Humanos , SARS-CoV-2/isolamento & purificaçãoRESUMO
A novel microfluidic droplet generator is proposed, which can control the droplet size through turning an integrated micrometer head with ease, and the size of the produced micro-droplet can be automatically and real-time monitored by an open-sourced software and off-the-shelf hardware.
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Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas/instrumentação , Técnicas Analíticas Microfluídicas/métodos , Desenho de Equipamento , Tamanho da Partícula , SoftwareRESUMO
Hydrophobically modified hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HM-HPMC), a polymer in which a small amount of HPMC is stearoxyl substituted, was used as an emulsifier of emulsion-type lotion. A high-pressure homogenizer (microfluidizer) was used. The viscosity of the 1% HM-HPMC aqueous gel decreased after passing through the microfluidizer from 5.5 to 2.7 Pa·s. When liquid paraffin (LP) was used as the oil phase, a stable emulsion was obtained with an LP ratio of 1-40%. The apparent viscosity decreased with LP ratios up to 20%, and then increased with increasing LP concentration. The emulsions with an LP ratio <20% presented a pseudo-viscous flow, similar to that of the diluted polymer solution. HM-HPMC likely adsorbed onto the oil with a stearoxyl group; thus, the interaction between the stearoxyl group, which explained the high viscosity of HM-HPMC, decreased, reducing the viscosity of the emulsion. The LP ratio was 40%, and the emulsion presented a plastic flow, which is typical of concentrated emulsions. The size of the droplet in the emulsion was approximately 1 µm regardless of the LP ratio. When low-viscosity LPs or monoester-type oils such as isopropyl myristate were used, some of the emulsions presented creaming. An emulsion using HM-HPMC as an emulsifier and an appropriate oil homogenized with a microfluidizer is stable, has low viscosity, and can be easily spread on skin.