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Heart-healthy yak cheese
In a finding likely to get cheese lovers talking, researchers in Nepal and Canada report that yak cheese contains higher levels of heart-healthy fats than cheese from dairy cattle, and may be healthier. Their study is scheduled for the March 12 issue of ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and regimen Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.
Producers make the cheese from the milk of yaks. Those long-haired humped animals are fixtures in Tibet and throughout the Himalayan region of south central Asia, Mongolia, and a few other countries. Yak cheese has only recently become available in the United States and is available in select gourmet food stores. Studies by others have shown that certain types of dairy-derived fatty acids, particularly conjugated linoleic acid (cla), may help fight heart disease, cancer and even diabetes. However, slender was know about the fatty acid composition of yak cheese.
In the new study, Brian W. McBride and colleagues compared the fatty acid composition of yak cheese from Nepal with that of cheddar cheese obtained from Canada. They found that levels of CLAs were four times higher in the yak cheese than the dairy cow cheese. Levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are healthy for the inclination, were also significantly higher in the yak cheese, the researchers say.
ARTICLE: “Fatty Acid Composition of yak (Bos grunniens) Cheese Including Conjugated Linoleic Acid and trans-18:1 Fatty Acids”
CONTACT:
Brian W. McBride, Ph.D.
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Toward the next generation of high-efficiency plastic solar cells
Researchers in the United States and Austria report an advance toward the next generation of plastic solar cells, which are widely heralded for example a low cost, environmentally-friendly alternative to unorganized solar cells for meeting rising energy demands. Their study is scheduled for the March 19 issue of ACS’ Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.
Alan J. Heeger and colleagues point out that plastic solar cells, fabricated from dimensions heterojunction materials comprising semiconducting polymers and fullerenes, accept already demonstrated promising performance. However, researchers do not understand how to manage the nano-scale morphology and are looking for ways to optimize the solar cell performance for practical use. Heeger, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 for his pioneering research on conducting polymers, is widely recognized for his ongoing efforts to improve solar cell efficiencies.
In the new study, Heeger and colleagues found that adding a class of chemicals called alkanedithiols as processing additives improves both the morphology and the solar cell performance.They showed that by utilizing alkanedithiols as processing additives, the efficiency of the plastic solar cells increased from 3.4 percent to 5.1 percent, amid the highest efficiencies achieved to date for this type of solar cell. “These data provide a better understanding of correlation between the nano-scale morphology of the bulk heterojunction film and the solar cell performance,” the report states.
ARTICLE: “Processing Additives for Improved Efficiency from Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells”
CONTACT:
Alan J. Heeger, Ph.D.
University of California at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California 93106
A new industrial-scale process for making big molecules with a big future
Scientists are reporting discovery of a new method that will enable manufacturers to produce industrial-size batches of dendrimers during the term of the first time. Dendrimers are giant molecules with tree-like branches with a range of potentially thing of value commercial and industrial applications. The study is scheduled for the March 21 outcome of ACS’ monthly Journal of Organic Chemistry.
Dendrimers can be produced in custom-designed shapes, sizes, structures and weight loss suitable for specific uses. Those possible applications order from drug distribution and gene transfer to new materials, coatings, sensors, and herbicides. But because they require multiple steps to make, dendrimers are difficult to produce on an industrial scale.
In their new revolve in the mind, Abdellatif Chouai and Eric E. Simanek describe a practical large-scale synthesis of dendrimers that sidestep this barrier. Their method yields a so-called “uncommitted intermediate,” a dendrimer scaffolding that can be built upon in countless ways. This intermediate “can be elaborated into a wealth of diagnostic and therapeutic dendrimers - some of which are currently being explored in our laboratory,” the researchers add.
ARTICLE: “Kilogram-Scale Synthesis of a Second-Generation Dendrimer Based on 1,3,5-Triazine Using Green and Industrially Compatible Methods with a Single Chromatographic Step”
CONTACT:
Eric E. Simanek, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843
New aspirin-like substances may provide safer way to fight heart disease
Researchers in Italy report development of a new group of aspirin-like substances that may be safer and as effective considered in the state of customary aspirin for fighting heart disease, the leading cause of death in the developed world. Their study is scheduled for the March 27 issue of the ACS’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Physicians have known with regard to years that daily low-doses of aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, subject the peril of developing heart attacks and stroke in some people. However, prolonged appliance of aspirin can damage the stomach lining, causing bleeding and ulcers that can be life-threatening. A safer conformation of aspirin is needed, researchers say.
In the commencing study, Alberto Gasco and colleagues designed a new form of aspirin by attaching a special chemical structure - called a nitrooxy-acyl group - that allows the remedy to strive against failure by stomach anti-acidity while promoting its absorption by the blood. In laboratory tests using animal models, the new “aspirin-like” substances showed anti-inflammatory activities similar to regular aspirin and caused reduced or no harm to stomach tissue in comparison to equivalent amounts of complete aspirin. Some molecules too reduced platelet aggregation and promoted artery expansion, which are hallmarks of improved heart health, the researchers note.
ARTICLE: “Searching for New NO-donor Aspirin-like Molecules: A New Class of Nitrooxy-acyl Derivatives of Salicylic Acid”
CONTACT:
Alberto Gasco, Ph.D.
Università delgi Studi di Torino
Torino, Italy
Coal reemerges as important raw material in chemical manufacturing industry
With oil prices hovering round $100 per barrel, coal is reemerging as a key raw material in the manufacture of the basic chemical materials used to make plastics, fertilizers, and hundreds of other products, according to an article scheduled for the March 17 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS’ weekly news magazine.
The article, written jointly by C&EN Senior Editor Alex Tullo and Hong Kong-based senior correspondent Jean-Francois Tremblay, notes that coal has been used in the chemical manufacturing industry since the 19th century. Over the years, oil and natural gas gradually eclipsed coal to change to the raw materials of choice for manufacturing a wide range of high-volume chemicals. But these days, the high prices of oil and natural gas have given coal - which costs a fraction of the compensation of crude oil - a substantial cost advantage, the article notes.
Coal’s potential as a raw material is greatest in China, the United States, and India, the article points out. These countries have about half the world’s coal reserves. Coal can be transformed into a gas and subsequently into basic chemical ingredients in the manner of ethylene and propylene that are used in the manufacture of hundreds of products, according to the article. Coal “is a relatively cheap feedstock,” declares one expert cited in the article. “It certainly has the ability to compete in today’s world.”
ARTICLE: “The New Black”
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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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The American Chemical Society - the globe’s largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
Source: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society