Preliminary analysis of Diffusion Coefficient Measurements in ternary mIXtures 4 (DCMIX4) experiment on board the International Space Station.

In the frame of the Diffusion Coefficient Measurements in ternary mIXtures 4 (DCMIX4) project the thermodiffusion experiments were conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) in the Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument (SODI) which is on orbit since 2009. We describe the results of the preliminary analysis of images downloaded during the execution of DCMIX4 in order to check the quality of the running experiments and, if needed, adjust the experiment parameters for the following runs. The quick analysis of raw data showed that they are meaningful and will allow to obtain the transport coefficients of examined ternary and binary mixtures.

[Influence of the concentrate of red wine polyphenols on glutamate neurotoxicity].

The purpose of the work was to assess the influence of the concentrate of red table wine Saperavi on the cultivated nerve cells exposed to glutamate. The selection of Saperavi as the source of phenolic compounds was not accidental: this type of grapes in the Krasnodar region has the highest content of them - up to 4-5 g/dm3 and more. Polyphenol concentrate was prepared by pre-distillation of ethanol using vacuum, evaporation of red table wine with a rotary vaporizer, with the subsequent lyophilic drying. By the methods of voltammetry and chemiluminescence an antioxidant activity, and a quantity of antioxidants in the concentrate have been determined. By HPLC it was established that a large group of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity was present in the concentrate of polyphenols: procyanidins (total concentration up to 425 mg/dm3), quercetin (21.8-32.6 mg/dm3), gallic acid (124.2-164.7 mg/dm3), resveratrol (6.26-13.22 mg/dm3), catechins (1026 - 1480 mg/dm3). Effect of red wine Saperavi concentrate on glutamate cytotoxicity was studied in the neuron culture of the cerebellum of 7-9-day-old rats. It was shown that the presence of. antioxidants reduced the intensity of chemiluminescence in model systems that generate free radicals. It was established that quenching of chemiluminescence in the system <> composed 68.43%, and in the system of the yolk lipoproteins - 86.36%. The application of concentrate Saperavi significantly increased the survivability of neurons: at the doses 5, 10 and 30 mcg/ml the number of intact neurons was respectively 38.6; 41.5 and 37.1%. The dose 20 mcg/ml was the most effective - the proportion of live neurons comprised 47.4%. The obtained results can be explained by the high antioxidant activity of concentrate flavonoids, including high content of biologically active compounds - catechins, quercetin, rutin, resveratrol. Thus, the consumption of red wine in quantities that exclude harmful effects, can have a positive impact on human health and the brain in particular.

Soret separation in a binary liquid mixture near its critical temperature.

The values of transport coefficients near a critical point are typically enhanced compared to the values in the classical region far away from a critical point. We report on the impact of the asymptotic behavior of the mass diffusion near the critical region on the Soret separation of the components in a model binary mixture. Concentration patterns are numerically investigated in the case of a spatially varying temperature. The Soret separation in ordinary mixture leads to the establishing of a linear concentration distribution in a steady state. The presence of the critical point redistributes the concentration field, it creates a thin layer with sharp concentration change at the critical region which can be seen as a horizontal plateau on vertical profiles. Large concentration gradients are established across this layer. The analysis showed that the kinetic of the separation significantly depends on whether the critical temperature is inside or outside of the applied temperature region, which is T(cold) ≤ T ≤ T(hot). Critical separation road is suggested for the case when T(cr) is located inside this region, T(cold) ≤ T(cr) ≤ T(hot).