Gas phase oxidation of benzene to phenol using Pd-Cu composite catalysts. Effect of temperature,feeding gas and catalyst composition

Catalytic oxidation of benzene in the gas phase has been studied as a function of the catalyst composition, reaction temperature and the feed conditions of reactant gases, hydrogen, oxygen, benzene as well as diluting inert gas. The catalyst tested is composed of Pd and Cu(I) ions, both of which are supported on silica gel. If one of the two metal species is lacked from the catalyst, no catalytic activity appears. The product is almost exclusively phenol and some accompanying benzoquinone, in particular at lower temperatures, as minor byproduct.On leave from Hua-Dong Institute of Technology, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.     

Evaluation of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system using a nonporous membrane oxygenator and a new method for heparin coating

A new heparin binding method was applied to a miniature extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system with a nonporous membrane oxygenator (the priming volume, 45 mL; the membrane surface area, 0.4 m2; maximal flow rate, 2 L/min) that is resistant to plasma leakage. The authors evaluated the stability of the immobilized heparin in vitro and the feasibility of this system in animals. Samples of hollow fibers and tubing were rinsed at 40 degrees C for 4 days in normal saline, Ringer's lactate, and 1 mol/L NaCl solution. Heparin activities on hollow fibers after rinsing were 99 +/- 2.3% (mean +/- SD), 96 +/- 3.9%, and 93 +/- 2.0% of the control in each solution, while those of the tubing were 87 +/- 4.1%, 86 +/- 3.1%, and 76 +/- 8.6%, respectively. Veno-arterial ECMO using this heparin-coated system was performed on five beagles (8 to 12 kg) for 10 hours. Neither major thrombus formation nor plasma leakage was detected during the procedure in spite of a low flow rate (300 mL/min) and a reduced activated clotting time (mean, 128 seconds). Platelets decreased to 52% of the control (P < .01) at 1 hour, but no progressive decrease was seen thereafter. Antithrombin-III decreased (P < .01) and thrombin/antithrombin III complex increased (P < .05 at 4 hours and P < .01 at 6, 8, and 10 hours) during bypass, but the changes of fibrinogen and fibrinopeptide A were not significant. Fibrinogen/fibrin degeneration products, fibrinopeptide B beta 15-42, and plasma-free hemoglobin levels did not rise significantly. O2 transfer of the oxygenators at a flow rate of 300 mL/min were 12.3 +/- 0.4 mL/min at 30 minutes, 14.3 +/- 1.2 mL/min at 5 hours, and 14.7 +/- 1.7 mL/min at 10 hours (no statistical difference). Histological examination of the brains and the kidneys showed no evidence of thromboembolic sequela in any of the animals. These results suggest that this new system is a promising device for long-term ECMO in which the amount of systemic heparinization can be reduced with the minimal possibility of plasma leakage.     

Ten-year longitudinal clinical evaluation of a visible light cured posterior composite resin

Using modified USPHS criteria, we evaluated annually for ten years 91 cases restored with visible light cured posterior composite resin LFP (Base resin: UDMA; filler: micro crushed type, alumino-silicate, barium glass and silica, 85 wt%, 74 vol%). The 91 cases restored with LFP decreased to 68 in ten years. Of the 23 cases that were lost, one resulted from a pulpal reaction immediately following restoration, four were extracted owing to periodontal disease or extrusion of third molars, two became abutments owing to loss of an adjacent tooth, eight had recurrent caries, and eight were lost owing to caries on a surface having no relationship to the composite resin restoration. Because we observed comparatively little wear, good marginal adaptability, and no discoloration, we concluded that the ten-year clinical success of LFP was on the whole very good, and that this resin has adequate clinical merit as a restorative material for posterior teeth when restricted to restorations covering comparatively small areas.     

Electron microscopic study of erythroblastic islands obtained by 'tissue-stamp culture' method

A new 'tissue-stamp culture' method was developed for stamping proliferating erythroblasts of mouse spleens on collagen-coated coverslips after inducing haemolytic anaemia by administration of 1-acetyl-2-phenylhydrazine, and then adherent splenic cells were cultured for a few days. We could obtain many erythroblastic islands, where cultured erythroblasts were located over macrophages and were proliferated synchronously for 10-30 h, and then the erythroblasts were differentiated and enucleated after 30-50 h in the presence of erythropoietin. To observe three-dimensional structures of the erythroblastic islands, a scanning electron microscope was used for the cultured cells treated with critical point-drying method. Immature wrinkled erythroblasts with many micropinocytic pits were attached to the central area of the flattened macrophages with many cytoplasmic projections, though matured erythroblasts were localized on their peripheral areas. Moreover, cytoplasmic projections of underlying macrophages, which were attached to the matured erythroblasts, were decreased in number. At a late stage, deep cytoplasmic invaginations of erythroblasts observed at a middle stage became shallow after their enucleation and flattened to form their concave shapes. This 'tissue-stamp culture' system would be useful for studying specific interaction between stromal macrophages and haematopoietic cells.     

Fabrication of nanograined silicon by high-pressure torsion

This paper describes fabrication of Si nanograins through allotropic phase transformation by concurrent application of high pressure and intense straining using high-pressure torsion (HPT). Single-crystalline Si(100) wafers were processed by HPT under a pressure of 24 GPa at room temperature. X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis revealed that the HPT-processed samples were composed of metastable Si-III and Si-XII phases and amorphous phases in addition to the original diamond-cubic Si-I phase. It was found that nanograins formed because the Si-I diamond phase had transformed to high-pressure phases (Si-II, Si-XI, and Si-V) having metallic nature, and it then became easier to generate a high density of dislocations to form grain boundaries. The high-pressure phases were further transformed to the Si-XII and Si-III phases via the Si-II phase upon unloading and they existed as metastable phases at ambient pressure. Subsequent annealing at 873 K gave rise to reverse transformation to Si-I but with nanograin sizes. Although no appreciable photoluminescence (PL) peak was observed from the HPT-processed sample, a broad PL peak centered around 600 nm was detected from the annealed sample due to quantum confinement in the Si-I nanograins.     

Effect of gas flow rate on surface morphology and crystal quality of ZnTe epilayers grown on GaAs substrates

The effect of gas flow rate on surface morphology and crystal quality of ZnTe layers grown on the (1 0 0) GaAs substrates by atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy with dimethylzinc and diethyltelluride as the source materials was investigated. The surface morphology of the ZnTe epilayers is significantly improved with increasing the total gas flow rate. X-ray rocking curve and photoluminescence measurements indicate that the total gas flow rate plays a vital role in the growth characteristics of the ZnTe epilayers, and the ZnTe epilayer with best crystal quality is obtained at the total gas flow rate around 300 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) in this work.     

Potent Activation of Human but Not Mouse TRPA1 by JT010

Transient receptor potential (TRP) ankyrin repeat 1 (TRPA1), which is involved in inflammatory pain sensation, is activated by endogenous factors, such as intracellular Zn²⁺ and hydrogen peroxide, and by irritant chemical compounds. The synthetic compound JT010 potently and selectively activates human TRPA1 (hTRPA1) among the TRPs. Therefore, JT010 is a useful tool for analyzing TRPA1 functions in biological systems. Here, we show that JT010 is a potent activator of hTRPA1, but not mouse TRPA1 (mTRPA1) in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells expressing hTRPA1 and mTRPA1. Application of 0.3–100 nM of JT010 to HEK cells with hTRPA1 induced large Ca²⁺ responses. However, in HEK cells with mTRPA1, the response was small. In contrast, both TRPA1s were effectively activated by allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) at 10–100 μM. Similar selective activation of hTRPA1 by JT010 was observed in electrophysiological experiments. Additionally, JT010 activated TRPA1 in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes with inflammation, but not TRPA1 in mouse dorsal root ganglion cells. As cysteine at 621 (C621) of hTRPA1, a critical cysteine for interaction with JT010, is conserved in mTRPA1, we applied JT010 to HEK cells with mutations in mTRPA1, where the different residue of mTRPA1 with tyrosine at 60 (Y60), with histidine at 1023 (H1023), and with asparagine at 1027 (N1027) were substituted with cysteine in hTRPA1. However, these mutants showed low sensitivity to JT010. In contrast, the mutation of hTRPA1 at position 669 from phenylalanine to methionine (F669M), comprising methionine at 670 in mTRPA1 (M670), significantly reduced the response to JT010. Moreover, the double mutant at S669 and M670 of mTRPA1 to S669E and M670F, respectively, induced slight but substantial sensitivity to 30 and 100 nM JT010. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that JT010 potently and selectively activates hTRPA1 but not mTRPA1.     

锆钛酸铅压电陶瓷PZT7的形状记忆效应研究

提出了一种新的方法可以使锆钛酸铅压电陶瓷PZT7具有形状记忆效应.用自制的sawyer-Tower电路测试得到PZT7方形样品发生极化反转对应的电场强度大约为130kV/cm.当施加对称的饱和极化电压370V时,PZT7/Si(109/146μm)悬臂梁端部的变形一电场曲线呈现典型的"蝴蝶"形状.在外电场为0时,悬臂梁端部的变形为0.如果施加不对称的极化电压,悬臂梁端部的变形--电场曲线发生明显的变化.不同的反向极化电压使悬臂梁端部产生不同的变形,而且,电压和变形是一一对应的.因此,在外电场为零时,PZT7/Si悬臂梁可以具有多个不同的稳定位置,表现出明显的形状记忆效应.实验表明,对于长度为15.5mm的PZT7/Si悬臂梁而言,当施加的反向极化电压从120V回到0时,悬臂梁端部产生的变形最大,为68.5μm.