Characterization of Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 powders synthesized by spray drying

Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 powders were synthesized by spray drying and successive calcinations. The phase purity, BET surface area, and particle morphology of as-sprayed and calcined powders were characterized. After calcination above 300 °C, the powders were single phase and showed a BET surface area of 68 m²/g when calcined at 300 °C. The conductivity, in air, of sintered pellets was measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and it was found to be comparable with literature values. The activation energy for the total conductivity was around 0.83 eV. The powder calcined at lower temperature showed better sinterability and higher total conductivity due to an increased bulk conductivity.     

瑞典多功能绿道的实际建设 挑战与机遇

探讨了瑞典南部的斯堪尼亚在建设多功能绿道时,在改善高强度管理农业区域可达性、休闲活动可能性和生物多样性等方面所面临的挑战和机遇。通过网络检索、与政府部门进行联系,与相关人员进行讨论及召开研讨会,并对绿道的生物多样性进行实地调查,指出了瑞典绿道的实际问题与改善的可能性。     

Suppression of Water as a Nucleophile in Candida antarctica Lipase B Catalysis

A water tunnel in Candida antarctica lipase B that provides the active site with substrate water is hypothesized. A small, focused library created in order to prevent water from entering the active site through the tunnel was screened for increased transacylation over hydrolysis activity. A single mutant, S47L, in which the inner part of the tunnel was blocked, catalysed the transacylation of vinyl butyrate to 20 mM butanol 14 times faster than hydrolysis. The single mutant Q46A, which has a more open outer end of the tunnel, showed an increased hydrolysis rate and a decreased hydrolysis to transacylation ratio compared to the wild‐type lipase. Mutants with a blocked tunnel could be very useful in applications in which hydrolysis is unwanted, such as the acylation of highly hydrophilic compounds in the presence of water.     

The Potential for Economic Application of Maskless Lithography in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Maskless lithography has never played more than a niche role in semiconductor manufacturing, but with costs of masks for hard layers rising and the numbers of masks purchased over product lifetimes increasing, there is renewed interest today in maskless lithography. We assess the economics of production application of maskless lithography at the 45-nm technology node assuming the availability of a maskless lithography tool with various throughput capabilities. The analysis finds that selective and shrewd application of maskless lithography to layers with the most expensive masks and shortest mask lives would be economically attractive to many fabrication operations even for 300-mm maskless tool throughputs less than five wafers per hour. While a vendor of the desired maskless tools does not now exist, the business case for such a vendor is shown to be promising.      

Non-positive autoimmune responses against CYP2E1 in refrigeration mechanics exposed to halogenated hydrocarbons

The aim of the study was to determine if occupational exposure to hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) generates autoimmune responses against CYP2E1. HFCs and HCFCs have replaced the chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in e.g. refrigeration installations and air-conditioning systems. During the substitution period, refrigeration mechanics reported symptoms like asthma, influenza-like reactions, and joint troubles. These symptoms resemble those of chronic inflammatory diseases with an autoimmune component. Since exposure to structurally similar chemicals, e.g. halothane, has previously been associated with autoimmune responses and diseases, autoimmunity among the refrigeration mechanics might hypothetically explain the reported inflammatory symptoms. Serum from 44 Swedish men, occupationally exposed to halogenated hydrocarbons, was screened for antibodies against CYP2E1 with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Thirty of the workers had asthma, joint problems or influenza-like symptoms whereas 14 of them had no such symptoms. They were all selected from a cohort of 280 refrigeration mechanics. Unexposed, healthy, Swedish men (n=35) constituted control group. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at Karolinska Institutet. No increase in autoantibodies against CYP2E1 was detected among the occupationally exposed workers as compared to the unexposed controls. Further, there was no difference in antibody titer between the exposed workers with symptoms and the exposed, asymtomatic workers or the unexposed controls. The present study does not completely exclude a connection between exposure and effect but makes the relation less likely at these exposure levels.     

In situ tensile deformation of zein films with plasticizers and filler materials

Material deformation is a dynamic process. Visualisation of this deformation can help to understand the local deformation and fracture behaviour. Zein (the prolamin protein from maize) films with different amount of plasticizers (0–25%) and different filler materials (maize oil, Dimodan^®, Vestosint^®, at 25% (w/w) to protein) were deformed under tension and observed at micron scale in real time by a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The addition of plasticizers increased strain and decreased stress of zein films. At low level of plasticizers (6.25% and 12%), zein films deformed and fracture through micro-crack formation and propagation normal the tensile axis. At high Plasticization, only micro-pores were observed during tensile deformation. The filler material oil and Dimodan^® increased, but Vestosint^® decreased tensile strain in comparison to the control. This shows that the fracture dynamic is affected by the filler materials and is indeed observed by the CLSM. Analysis of local strain by Fluospheres^® as particle tracking showed a good linear correlation with the tensile strain of the plasticized zein films. The local strains of filler materials and zein matrix in the films were different from the overall tensile strain. The combination of CLSM with a fluospheres^® as particle tracking is a good method to study local deformation in biomaterials to understand the deformation and fracture behaviour of biomaterials.     

Time trends of selected persistent organic pollutants in lake sediments from Greenland

Sediments from seven lakes in West Greenland were used as natural archives to study past and present levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls, tri- to decachlorinated), tetra-BDE #47 (2,2',4,4'-bromodiphenyl ether), chlordane (cis- and trans-octachlordane) and HxCBz (hexachlorobenzene). The concentrations found are lower than or comparable to concentrations found in sediments from other Arctic regions and one to 2 orders of magnitude lower than concentrations typically found in sediments at lower latitudes. The observed temporal trends (direct and indirect dating) show a decreasing total PCB concentration. Even though local contamination sources exist, the POP deposition in the studied area is most likely a result from long-range transport. The hypothesis about "cold condensation" suggests a latitudinal fractionation to occur between different volatile compounds during the transport toward the pole. In this study a time delay in the deposition for the low-chlorinated PCBs (tri- and tetrachlorinated), compared to their emission histories and compared to higher chlorinated PCBs, was indicated. Although very low tetra-BDE #47 concentrations are observed in this study, there are indications for an increasing concentration in recent sediment layers that may reflect increasing environmental concentrations at lower latitudes. The investigated pesticides are still in use at lower latitudes, however neither chlordane nor HxCBz show any distinct temporal trend of increasing or decreasing concentration toward the sediment surface.     

Isolation of adipophilin and butyrophilin from bovine milk and characterization of a cDNA encoding adipophilin

The milk fat globule membrane-associated proteins adipophilin (alias adipocyte differentiation-related protein) and butyrophilin were purified from bovine milk by reverse-phase chromatography. The nucleotide sequence of bovine adipophilin was obtained via peptide mapping and sequencing of a mammary gland cDNA clone, which comprises 1841 nucleotides and has an open reading frame of 450 amino acids. By peptide mapping, 19% of the amino acid sequence was confirmed. The obtained amino acid sequence has 87 and 80% identical residues with human and mouse adipophilin, respectively. Alignment with the proteins perilipin and TIP47 revealed two highly conserved segments, which may assemble into amphipathic alpha-helices.     

Arabinosylated phenolics obtained from SO2‐steam‐pretreated sugarcane bagasse

A pentose‐rich hydrolysate fraction obtained by extraction of steam‐pretreated sugarcane bagasse was analysed with regard to dissolved phenolics. The liquid obtained after steam pretreatment (2% SO₂ (w/w) at 190 °C for 5 min) was divided into two parts: one containing dissolved compounds originating from hemicellulose (with xylose as the dominating compound), and the other containing predominantly dissolved compounds originating from lignin. Using nuclear magnetic resonance, the main dissolved compounds originating from lignin were identified as the glycosylated aromatics, 5‐O‐(trans‐feruloyl)‐L‐Arabinofuranose and 5‐O‐(trans‐coumaroyl)‐L‐Arabinofuranose, together with p‐coumaric acid and small amounts of more common free phenolics such as p‐hydroxybenzaldehyde, p‐hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillin. The phenolic compounds were analysed and quantified using reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. The findings show that SO₂ steam explosion opened up new degradation pathways during lignin degradation. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry