Cyclic polymers have long been reported in the literature, but their development has often been stunted by synthetic difficulties such as the presence of linear contaminants. Research into the synthesis of these polymers has made great progress in the past decade, and this review covers the synthesis, properties, and applications of cyclic polymers, with an emphasis on bio-based aliphatic polyeste

OBJECTIVES: Vesicular drug delivery has become a useful approach for therapeutic administration of pharmaceutical compounds. Lipid vesicles have found application in membrane biology, immunology, genetic engineering and theragnostics. This review summarizes topical delivery, specifically dermal/transdermal, ocular and transungual, via these vesicles, including future formulation perspectives. KEY

Understanding and manipulating micelle morphology are key to exploiting surfactants in various applications. Recent studies have shown surfactant self-assembly in a variety of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) where both the nature of surfactants and the interaction of the surfactant molecule with the solvent components influence the size, shape, and morphology of the micelles formed. So far, micelle

This study aimed to quantify the influence of clays and partially oxidised cellulose nanofibrils (OCNF) on gelation as well as characterise their physical and chemical interactions. Mixtures of Laponite and montmorillonite clays with OCNF form shear-thinning gels that are more viscous across the entire shear range than OCNF on its own. Viscosity and other rheological properties can be fine-tuned u

Oil-in-water emulsions have been stabilized by functionalized cellulose nanofibrils bearing either a negative (oxidized cellulose nanofibrils, OCNF) or a positive (cationic cellulose nanofibrils, CCNF) surface charge. The size of the droplets was measured by laser diffraction, while the structure of the shell of the Pickering emulsion droplets was probed using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)

Hypothesis: Bottom-up synthesis of cubosomes is more energetically favourable than top-down approaches. However, bottom-up methods often rely on organic solvents such as ethanol as diluents, and lead to concurrent formation of liposomes. We propose using non-toxic diluents such as honey, glycerol and lactic acid for bottom-up cubosome synthesis. Experiments: Cubosomes were prepared using solutions

Ionogels offer huge potential for a number of applications including wearable electronics and soft sensors. However, their synthesis has been limited and often relies on non-renewable or non-biocompatible components. Here we present a novel two-component ionogel made using just deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and cellulose. DESs offer a non-volatile alternative to hydrogels with highly tuneable prop

Water quality parameters such as salt content and various pH environments can alter the stability of gels as well as their rheological properties. Here, we investigated the effect of various concentrations of NaCl and different pH environments on the rheological properties of TEMPOoxidised cellulose nanofibril (OCNF) and starch-based hydrogels. Addition of NaCl caused an increased stiffness of the

Urban flood-risk mapping is an important tool for the mitigation of flooding in view of continuing urbanization and climate change. However, many developing countries lack sufficiently detailed data to produce reliable risk maps with existing methods. Thus, improved methods are needed that can help managers and decision makers to combine existing data with more soft semi-subjective data, such as c

Being physically active as part of everyday life reduces breast cancer risk. Less is known whether the benefits of an active lifestyle differ depending on the timing of physical activity in life or anthropometric characteristics. The aim of this study was to bring further insights to the association of physical activity in relation to menopausal status and body composition with breast cancer risk

In Parkinson's disease (PD), there is accumulation of α-synuclein (SYN) aggregates in neurons, which is promoted by neuroinflammation. The cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 induce accumulation of degradation products of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) combined with heparan sulfate (HS) chains released from glypican-1 (Gpc-1) by NO-dependent cleavage. We have investigated the effects of the cytok

Many nanoadsorbents are reported in the literature, exhibiting remarkable properties in the removal of low concentrations of toxic metals. However, their environmental performance has not yet been well studied. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out for a previously reported nanomaterial-based adsorbent, silicate-titanate nanotubes chitosan beads (STNTs-Ch beads), used to remove cadmium fro

For accurate laser-induced incandescence (LII) measurements of soot properties it is of great importance to understand the nature of the physical processes involved during rapid laser heating. In this work, we investigate how well-characterized differently matured fresh soot from a soot generator responds to rapid laser heating. For this purpose, a double-pulse LII setup is used with 10 μs time se

Within the next 30 years, two thirds of the human population will live in a city. This growing urban population requires a major shift in the way we produce and distribute food, since conventional agriculture practices are responsible for climate change, biodiversity losses, pollution of waterways, soil degradation, etc. Urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry represent one of the strategies

Purpose: To analyse risk of vision impairment (VI) and blindness in adult foreign-born individuals and Swedish-born individuals. Methods: A nationwide study of individuals 18 years of age and older (N = 6,042,891; 2,902,918 men and 3,139,973 women) in Sweden. VI (in general) and blindness was defined as at least one registered diagnosis in the National Patient Register between January 1, 1998 and

Purpose: To demonstrate a novel method for tracking of head movements during MRI using electroencephalography (EEG) hardware for recording signals induced by native imaging gradients. Theory and Methods: Gradient switching during simultaneous EEG–fMRI induces distortions in EEG signals, which depend on subject head position and orientation. When EEG electrodes are interconnected with high-impedanc

Addition of nanoparticles into a fluid can improve the heat transfer performance of the base fluid in heat exchangers. In this work, the preparation method and process of nanofluids are introduced, and thermal properties of nanofluids, such as thermal conductivity and viscosity, are discussed deeply. This paper summarizes various theoretical models of thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanoflui

Background: Children with achondroplasia have extreme short stature due to short limbs, as well as several other clinical features that may affect their gait. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to provide a detailed description of gait in children with achondroplasia compared to age-matched controls. Methods: Between the years 2007 and 2010, 16 children with achondroplasia [mean age 9.6

We study the physics of high-temperature cuprate superconductors starting from the highly degenerate four-site plaquette of the t− t′− U Hubbard model as a reference system. The degeneracy causes strong fluctuations when a lattice of plaquettes is constructed. We show that there is a large binding energy between holes when a set of four plaquettes is considered. The next-nearest-neighbour hopping