Pore structure of carbons coated on ceramic particles

Pore structure of carbon coated on ceramic particles by carbonization of precursor in a powder mixture at 900 °C was studied by focusing on the effects of substrate ceramics (MgO, TiO₂ and various phases of Al₂O₃) and of carbon precursor (poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and hydroxyl propyl cellulose (HPC)). By dissolving substrate MgO particles, carbon coated was found to have a high BET surface area, more than 1000 m²/g, which was almost the same as the value estimated from apparent surface area measured on carbon-coated MgO particles under the assumption of zero surface area of the substrate. The carbon separated was found to be rich in micropores from the analyses by DFT method and α_s plot. The dependence of the BET surface area on the amount of carbon coated on TiO₂ with a high surface area was the same for three carbon precursors, although the carbon yields from the precursors were slightly different. Porous Al₂O₃ substrates, γ-Al₂O₃as-received and that formed from Al(OH)₃ during carbonization, gave a high BET surface area, but dense Al₂O₃, α-Al₂O₃, gave a low surface area.     

Synthesis and surface properties of new dicephalic saccharide-derived surfactants

A new group of nonionic dicephalic saccharide amides, N-dodecyl-N,N-bis[(3-d-gluconylamido)propyl]-amine, N-dodecyl-N,N-bis[(3-d-glucoheptonylamido)propyl]-amine, and N-alkyl-N,N-bis[(3-lactobionylamido)propyl]amines (alkyl: n-C₁₂H_25′ n-C₁₆H_33′, n-C₁₈H₃₇) were synthesized and characterized. Their structure and purity were confirmed by means of ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance analysis and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Carbon spectra were verified using a DEPT experiment. The surface and interfacial properties such as critical micelle concentration (CMC), standard free energy of micellization, ΔG _CMC, surface excess concentration, Γ_CMC, and surface area demand per molecule, A _CMC, were determined. The tertiary nitrogen atom seems to have a surprising effect on surfactnat packing at the interface.     

Reasoning with first order nondeterministic specifications

The paper presents a variant of first order logic for specifying nondeterministic software. Models of the logics are multialgebras, i.e. multi-sorted algebras with set-valued operations, together with multi-sorted valuations of variables. We allow empty carrier sets but the valuations are kept total. Terms are interpreted as sets and the usual set of algebraic terms is extended by an additional construct used for limiting nondeterminism. Atomic formulae are of the form where is a rewrite operator, corresponding semantically to inclusion. For the above logic, we develop two complete deduction systems in the natural deduction style: a Rasiowa-Sikorski system for sequences of formulae, and a cut-free Gentzen-style sequent calculus. We also consider the issues of determinism and partiality, proposing alternate solutions to defining the respective predicates in our logic. Received: 4 March 1997 / 25 May 1999     

Functional analysis of three adjacent open reading frames from the right arm of yeast chromosome XVI

A 7·24 kb genomic DNA fragment from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome XVI was isolated by complementation of a new temperature-sensitive mutation tsa1. We determined the nucleotide sequence of this fragment located on the right arm of chromosome XVI. Among the three, complete open reading frames: YPR041w, YPR042c and YPR043w contained within this fragment, the gene YPR041w was shown to complement the tsa1 mutation and to correspond to the TIF5 gene encoding an essential protein synthesis initiation translation factor. The YPR042c gene encodes a hypothetical protein of 1075 amino acids containing four putative transmembrane segments and is non-essential for growth. The gene YPR043c encoding the 10 kDa product, highly similar to the human protein L37a from the 60S ribosomal subunit, was found to be essential and a dominant lethal. We conclude that three tightly linked yeast genes are involved in the translation process. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Osthole on Inflammatory Gene Expression and Cytokine Secretion in Histamine-Induced Inflammation in the Caco-2 Cell Line

Hyperactivity of the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract leads to the development of chronic, inflammation-associated disorders. Such diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, are not completely curable, but the specific line of treatment may reduce its symptoms. However, the response to treatment varies among patients, creating a necessity to uncover the pathophysiological basis of immune-mediated diseases and apply novel therapeutic strategies. The present study describes the anti-inflammatory properties of osthole during histamine-induced inflammation in the intestinal Caco-2 cell line. Osthole reduced the secretion of cytokines (CKs) and the expression level of inflammation-associated genes, which were increased after a histamine treatment. We have shown that the secretion of pro-inflammatory CKs (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) during inflammation may be mediated by NFκB, and, after osthole treatment, this signaling pathway was disrupted. Our results suggest a possible role for osthole in the protection against inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract; thus, osthole may be considered as an anti-inflammatory modulator.     

Transcriptome Analysis of Cells Exposed to Actinomycin D and Nutlin-3a Reveals New Candidate p53-Target Genes and Indicates That CHIR-98014 Is an Important Inhibitor of p53 Activity

Co-treatment with actinomycin D and nutlin-3a (A + N) strongly activates p53. Previously we reported that CHIR-98014 (GSK-3 kinase inhibitor), acting in cells exposed to A + N, prevents activation of TREM2-an innate immunity and p53-regulated gene associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In order to find novel candidate p53-target genes and genes regulated by CHIR-98014, we performed RNA-Seq of control A549 cells and the cells exposed to A + N, A + N with CHIR-98014 or to CHIR-98014. We validated the data for selected genes using RT-PCR and/or Western blotting. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology we generated p53-deficient cells. These tools enabled us to identify dozens of candidate p53-regulated genes. We confirmed that p53 participates in upregulation of BLNK, APOE and IRF1. BLNK assists in activation of immune cells, APOE codes for apolipoprotein associated with Alzheimer’s disease and IRF1 is activated by interferon gamma and regulates expression of antiviral genes. CHIR-98014 prevented or inhibited the upregulation of a fraction of genes stimulated by A + N. Downregulation of GSK-3 did not mimic the activity of CHIR-98014. Our data generate the hypothesis, that an unidentified kinase inhibited by CHIR-98014, participates in modification of p53 and enables it to activate a subset of its target genes, e.g., the ones associated with innate immunity.     

Synthesis of glycidyl esters

A novel method of synthesis of glycidyl carboxylates (2,3‐epoxypropyl carboxylates, RCOOCH₂CH‐CH₂O) has been developed by carrying out the reaction of epichlorhydrin with a carboxylic acid in the presence of chromium acetate catalyst and subsequent dehydrochlorination of the resulting mixture of chlorohydrin esters followed by their separation. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and photocatalytic performance of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanospheres–graphene nanocomposite under visible and UV light irradiation

In this article, we present a fast and simple method to produce TiO₂ nanospheres–graphene nanocomposite with high photocatalytic activity under visible and UV light irradiation. TiO₂ nanospheres were adsorbed on graphene in sol–gel process. First, titanium (IV) butoxide underwent hydrolysis in graphene oxide (GO) ethanol solution resulting in TiO₂ nanospheres deposition on GO. Next, the material was calcinated to generate the phase transition of TiO₂ into anatase and reduce GO to graphene. The detailed characterization of the material was performed via transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-rays spectrometer, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Interestingly, the band-gap energy of the prepared photocatalyst was drastically decreased in comparison with the commercial photocatalyst P25 from 3.05 to 2.36 eV. This influenced in the activation of the material under visible light and resulted in high photocatalytic activity in the process of phenol decomposition in visible and UV irradiation.