Effect of dietary n−3 and n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids on lipid-metabolizing enzymes in obese rat liver

This study was designed to examine whether n−3 and n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids at a very low dietary level (about 0.2%) would alter liver activities in respect to fatty acid oxidation. Obese Zucker rats were used because of their low level of fatty acid oxidation, which would make increases easier to detect. Zucker rats were fed diets containing different oil mixtures (5%, w/w) with the same ratio of n−6/n−3 fatty acids supplied either as fish oil or arachidonic acid concentrate. Decreased hepatic triacylglycerol levels were observed only with the diet containing fish oil. In mitochondrial outer membranes, which support carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity, cholesterol content was similar for all diets, while the percentage of 22∶6n−3 and 20∶4n−6 in phospholipids was enhanced about by 6 and 3% with the diets containing fish oil and arachidonic acid, respectively. With the fish oil diet, the only difference found in activities related to fatty acid oxidation was the lower sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I to malonyl-CoA inhibition. With the diet containing arachidonic acid, peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity were markedly depressed. Compared with the control diet, the diets enriched in fish oil and in arachidonic acid gave rise to a higher specific activity of aryl-ester hydrolase in microsomal fractions. We suggest that slight changes in composition of n−3 or n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in mitochondrial outer membranes may alter carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity.     

An accelerated algorithm for full band electron–phonon scattering rate computation

Computing scattering rates of electrons and phonons stands at the core of studies of electron transport properties. In the high field regime, the interactions between all electron bands with all phonon bands need to be considered. This full band interaction implies a huge computational burden in calculating scattering rates. In this study, a new accelerated algorithm is presented for this task, which speeds up the computation by two orders of magnitude (100 times) and dramatically simplifies the coding. At the same time, it visually demonstrates the physical process of scattering more clearly.     

RF MEMS continuous reversible variable inductor based on a microfluidic network

In this work, RF MEMS continuous reversible variable inductor has been fabricated by using microelectronic technology and lamination process. We review, evaluate and compare this variable inductor with other work. The proposed inductor is a dual circular coil and has an inductance of few nH. The fundamental idea is to place a liquid droplet between the metal turns of a coil in order to modify the capacitive/resistive coupling between metal tracks and hence to change the stored magnetic energy. The SU-8 resin was used to realize the microfluidic channels and Au as metallic tracks. To prove the reversibility of the inductor, two cases were studied: filling and emptying of channels. The tuning range of the inductance is approximately 107 % at 1.6 GHz, making these devices very suitable as building blocks in many RF applications.     

阳极氧化铝的表面参数对硅酮结构的装锒密封胶长期黏结性的影响(连载一)

硅酮密封胶对阳极氧化铝的黏结质量千差万别.影响黏结性的关键因素是铝材表面的封孔程度、氧化层的着色情况、清洁剂的特性以及基材表面清洁与打胶之间允许的时间间隔.由于清洁剂将有机污染物从阳极氧化铝表面去除的效果不同,所以此效果并不和黏结质量有必然联系.据猜测,吸附在阳极氧化铝表面的清洁溶剂会改善基材表面从而提高硅酮胶的黏结性,但这种改善效果会随着清洁溶剂随时间的的挥发而降低.对于给定的溶剂,最佳的黏结效果取决于材料表面的封孔程度.依照ISO 2143酸刻蚀方法测量材料表面的封孔程度,可以预测未着色的阳极氧化铝基材的黏结性.对于着色的阳极氧化铝表面,依照ISO 2931的测试标准,用电相位漂移方法可以用来预测黏结质量.一种控制阳极氧化铝表面的方法被提了出来,此方法是测量不同频率下基材的电阻抗并将它成功地和硅酮密封胶与该材料表面的长期黏接性联系起来.     

Stability of ruthenium catalysts supported on TiO2 or ZrO2 in catalytic wet air oxidation

The stability of ruthenium catalysts supported on TiO₂ and ZrO₂ were studied in the wet air oxidation of aqueous solution of succinic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids taken as model effluent and on real effluents from the paper-pulp industry. Catalyst recycling experiments were conducted in batch reactor and long-term stability tests were conducted in trickle-bed reactor. In all experiments, ruthenium and support materials were perfectly stable to leaching, sintering and fouling. Ruthenium catalysts experienced a weak deactivation as they were exposed to air, e.g., in recycling experiments however the loss of activity occurred only after the first exposure and was completely reversible upon catalyst reduction. The deactivation was attributed to an over-oxidation of the catalyst surface particularly noticeable in the case of very small Ru-clusters (1 nm).     

A generalist herbivore in a specialist mode Metabolic,sequestrative, and defensive consequences

Adults of a generalist herbivore, the lubber grasshopper,Romalea guttata, can be converted to functional specialists by feeding them exclusively on catnip,Nepeta cataria. No obvious adverse effects on adult development resulted from this enforced monophagy. Notwithstanding the fact thatR. guttata has had no coevolutionary relationship with this Eurasian mint, it readily sequesters compounds that are identical to or derived from the terpenoid lactones that are characteristic ofN. cataria. R. guttata appears to both biomagnify minor allelochemicals and to sequester metabolites of theNepeta terpenes in its paired defensive glands. The levels of autogenously produced phenolics are not affected by feeding onN. cataria and the defensive secretions of catnip-fed grasshoppers are more repellent to ants than those of wild-fed acridids. Metabolites of theN. cataria monoterpenes are sequestered in the defensive glands when catnip is added to the natural diet ofR. guttata. The ability of a generalist,R. guttata, to facilely bioaccumulate a potpourri of foreign allelochemicals when feeding in a specialist mode is analyzed in terms of its biochemical, physiological, and functional significance. Sequestration is examined as a response to the enteric effronteries represented by the phytochemicals that can be characteristic of the overload in a monophagous diet.     

Esterification and Transesterification of Renewable Chemicals

An overview is given of newly developed Lewis or Brønsted acid and base catalysts for esterification, transesterification and ester interchange reactions. The most relevant applications of these catalysts and reactions in the domain of renewable resources, in particular, oils and fats, are discussed.     

Decomposition de l'acetylene,de l'ethylene et du benzene sur le carbone aux tres hautes temperatures et sous de basses pressions

At high temperatures (1000–2000°C) and low pressures (10^?5?10^?2 Torr) ethylene, acetylene and benzene decompose helerogeneously on pyrolytic carbon giving mainly hydrogen and deposited carbon, with collision yields of the order of 10^?4. The kinetics of these carbon deposition reactions show some striking similarities with carbon removal reactions by oxygen or oxygenated compounds.The true reaction order of these decomposition reactions is one above 1400°C, but becomes smaller at lower temperatures. This behaviour, common in gas-solid reactions, is generally interpreted as an inhibition due to chemisorption of some intermediate or reaction product. Evidence is also obtained that decomposition of the hydrocarbon molecules only occurs on peculiar sites of the carbon surface, i.e. the decomposition is not a purely thermal process, but involves a specific chemical interaction with the surface.Moreover, the behaviour of the pyrocarbon surface in carbon deposition reactions is similar to that observed in gasification reactions, i.e. the reactivity of the surface accommodates itself to the temperature and pressure conditions, as revealed by the observation of “transitory” and “stationary rates”. Transitory rates show that the surface deactivates with increasing temperatures (Figs. 4 and 5) [from which a maximum in the stationary rate results (Figs. 1–3)] and decreasing pressures (Figs. 7 and 8). The interpretation assumes that reaction sites are continuously created as an effect of carbon atoms deposition, but also deactivated by a thermal healing process.A main difference between carbon deposition reactions from hydrocarbons and carbon gasification reactions concerns the temperature range where reactivity is temperature dependent: in carbon deposition reactions, deactivation of the pyrocarbon surface is still effective up to much higher temperatures (Fig. 12).     

Aerobic selective oxidation of (hetero)aromatic primary alcohols to aldehydes or carboxylic acids over carbon supported platinum

The synthesis of substituted benzaldehydes, benzoic acids, heterocyclic aromatic aldehydes and acids has been studied via the oxidation of the aromatic alcohols with air under mild pressure (<20 bar) at 100 °C, in the presence of a 1.95 wt.% Pt/C catalyst. The solvent was found to play the most important role in determining the selectivity of the oxidation products. Changing the solvent enabled tuning the reaction either to the aldehyde (pure dioxane), or the carboxylic acid (dioxane/aqueous solution without or with addition of sodium hydroxide). This oxidation method allowed to effectively oxidize many substituted benzylalcohols with various electron-releasing or -attracting groups (NO₂, Me, OMe, Cl, Br, OH, phenyl, …) and heterocyclic alcohols including nitrogen and sulphur atoms (2-thiophenemethanol, 2- and 4-pyridine methanol compounds).     

Sodium Coordination Environments in Silica Films

The local structure centered on sodium after diffusion in silica (Na-SiO₂ samples) has been determined by means of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies. The Na-SiO₂ samples are of particular interest because (i) their sodium content can be varied over a wide range of concentration and (ii) their local structure is representative of that of soda–silica glass. EXAFS analyses reveal the existence of a well-defined local structure involving oxygen, sodium, and silicon neighbors. The Na-O, Na-Na, and Na-Si bonds lengths, which amount to 0.23, 0.30, and 0.38 nm, respectively, do not depend on sodium concentration. This environment closely resembles that found in soda–silica glass. Moreover, it is compatible with the "target site" and "the site memory effect" suggested by recent theories of the ionic conductivity in oxide glasses.