Gene expression, polarising activity and skeletal patterning in reaggregated hind limb mesenchyme

The developing chick limb has two major signalling centres; the apical ectodermal ridge maintains expression of several important genes and outgrowth of the limb, and the polarising region specifies the pattern of skeletal elements along the anteroposterior axis. We have used reaggregated leg grafts (mesenchyme dissociated into single cells, placed in an ectodermal jacket and grafted to a host) to study patterning in a system where the developmental axes are severely disrupted. Reaggregates from different regions of leg mesenchyme developed correspondingly different digits, giving a system in which skeletal phenotype could be compared with the expression of genes thought to be important in patterning. We found that posterior third and whole leg reaggregates gave rise to different digits, yet expressed the same combination of HoxD, Bmp-2 and shh genes throughout their development. Anterior thirds initially only express the 3' end of the HoxD cluster but activate the more 5' members of the cluster sequentially over a period of 48 hours, a period during which Bmp-2 is activated but no shh or Fgf-4 expression could be detected. Our results suggest that there are two independent mechanisms for activating the HoxD complex, one polarising region-dependent and one independent, and that shh expression may not be necessary to maintain outgrowth and patterning once a ridge has been established.     

GC-MS Identification of Organic By-Products of the NO SCR by Propene; Relation to N2O Formation

Reduction of NO by propene in the presence of oxygen and water was studied on a Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst in the following conditions (ppm (v)): NO/C₃H₆/O₂/H₂O = 800/500/50000/50000. The organic products accompanying N₂, N₂O and NO₂ formation were trapped and analyzed by GC-MS. These analyses revealed the presence in small quantities of products of propene partial oxidation such as ketones or acids, nitrogen derivatives such as nitriles or/and nitro and nitroso compounds. The transformation of some nitrogen-containing derivatives were studied under reaction conditions to explain the formation of the by-products and of N₂O.     

Noggin acts downstream of Wnt and Sonic Hedgehog to antagonize BMP4 in avian somite patterning

In the vertebrate embryo, the lateral compartment of the somite gives rise to muscles of the limb and body wall and is patterned in response to lateral-plate-derived BMP4. Activation of the myogenic program distinctive to the medial somite, i.e. relatively immediate development of the epaxial muscle lineage, requires neutralization of this lateral signal. We have analyzed the properties of molecules likely to play a role in opposing lateral somite specification by BMP4. We propose that the BMP4 antagonist Noggin plays an important role in promoting medial somite patterning in vivo. We demonstrate that Noggin expression in the somite is under the control of a neural-tube-derived factor, whose effect can be mimicked experimentally by Wnt1. Wnt1 is appropriately expressed in the neural tube. Furthermore, we show that Sonic Hedgehog is able to activate ectopic expression of Noggin resulting in the blocking of BMP4 specification of the lateral somite. Our results are consistent with a model in which Noggin activation lies downstream of the SHH and Wnt signaling pathways.     

Investigation of the oxygen storage process on ceria- and ceria–zirconia-supported catalysts

A total of 10 noble metal (Rh, Pt, Pd, Ru and Ir) catalysts, either supported on CeO₂ or Ce_0.63Zr_0.37O₂, were prepared. Catalysts were fully characterized using XRD, N₂ adsorption at −196 °C, TEM and H₂ chemisorption. Oxygen storage processes were carefully investigated. The influence of temperature was checked and a key role of oxygen diffusion was further demonstrated. A review of the reactions involved in the CO transient oxidation reaction is finally proposed.     

Flow stress and ductility of duplex stainless steel during high-temperature torsion deformation

Hot torsion tests were performed on a duplex stainless steel (DSS)-type EN1.4462 steel. The temperature was varied in the range from 950 °C to 1200 °C, while the strain rate was varied from 0.01/s to 2/s. The mean flow stress (MFS) was fitted to the hyperbolic sine function proposed by Sellars and Tegart. An activation energy for plastic deformation of Q _HW = 425 kJ/mol was obtained. The high value was explained by the fact that, in addition to the softening of ferrite (α) and austenite (γ), there was a decrease in the volume fraction of the high-strength austenite with increasing temperature. For higher values of the Zener-Holomon parameter (Z), the MFS showed a linear dependence on ln (Z), which was related to the gradual disappearance of a yield-point-elongation-like effect. This yield-point-elongation-like effect was characterized by a nonstrengthening plateau during the initial stages of plastic deformation. The strain to rupture and the dynamic softening were both found to decrease for higher values of ln (Z). Therefore, the ductility was directly related to the amount of dynamic softening, i.e., dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of the austenitic phase. At higher strain rates, significant dynamic softening was only observed for temperatures above 1100 °C. The strain-rate sensitivity (m) was found to vary from 0.13 at 950 °C to 0.22 at 1200 °C.     

Properties of Laser Welded SAF 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Sheet

High rate welding methods for sheet material can offer significant cost reduction for mass production application in comparison with more conventional arc processes. Therefore, in this research, laser welds in SAF 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) sheets welded using different welding speeds were investigated. Metallography, texture measurements and mechanical testing were carried out on the weld joints. The corrosion properties were not evaluated. The base material was characterised by a bamboo‐like morphology and a ferrite volume fraction of 53 %. For all welding speeds, the ferrite level in the weld zone was higher than 85 % and the austenite showed an acicular morphology. Whereas in the base material a clear element partitioning existed between ferrite and austenite, no partitioning was observed in the welded zone. This is due to the very high cooling rates, which limit the amount of diffusion that can take place. Electron backscattering diffraction revealed that the texture of the cold rolled material was destroyed by the welding process. While the hardness of the base material was about 265 HV, the maximal hardness in the fusion zone exceeded 310 HV and increased with an increase of the welding speed. Yield and tensile stength were however not dramatically influenced. On the other hand, the formability properties were deteriorated by an increase of the welding speed. This behaviour can also be observed on the fracture surfaces of tensile specimens. The tensile tests on the welded sheet resulted in ductile fracture surfaces, but an easier void formation was observed in the laser welds. However, it has to be pointed out that formability of the laser welded DSS sheets is acceptable when a lower welding speed is used. This is also confirmed by the crack propagation observed during the Erichsen test. Therefore, the laser welding can be used as a joining operation for DSS sheet materials providing the corrosion requirements are fulfilled.     

Hydrogen Production for Fuel Cells from the Catalytic Ethanol Steam Reforming

Alumina-supported rhodium catalysts were shown to be active, selective and stable catalysts in the catalytic ethanol steam reforming when the reaction is carried out under pressure (1.1 MPa). Both the nature of the metal precursor salt, the metal loading and the reaction conditions were shown to influence the activity, the selectivity and the stability of the catalysts. Some trends observed when the reaction is carried out under moderate pressure were shown to be different from the conclusions drawn from earlier results obtained at atmospheric pressure. In fact, rhodium catalysts derived from a chlorinated metal precursor were shown to be the most active, selective and stable.     

Thermal desorption spectroscopy study of the interaction of hydrogen with TiC precipitates

Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) was used to study hydrogen-trap interactions for an experimental steel (0.025 wt%C-0.09%Ti). After lab processing, the microstructure consisted of small (～20 μm) ferrite grains containing nanometer TiC precipitates. After hot and cold rolling, the material contained some hydrogen (originated from the hot rolling) in irreversible traps, the TiC precipitates. After annealing in hydrogen, the TDS spectra consisted of a high temperature peak, attributed to irreversible trapping by TiC precipitates. Annealing slightly increased the TiC precipitate size. Both the peak temperature and peak area increased with increasing annealing temperature. The increase in peak area occurred together with the increase in TiC precipitate size. The TDS spectra for samples annealed at 800 °C, and electrochemically charged, contained (i) a low temperature peak which decreased in height with increasing desorption time, and (ii) a high temperature peak that did not change significantly with desorption time, and was similar to those after gaseous charging. The low temperature peak was attributed to reversible traps such as grain boundaries, whereas the high temperature peak was attributed to irreversible trapping by TiC precipitates. The high temperature TDS peak was composed of constituent peaks with essentially the same activation energy of 145 kJ/mol.     

Preferential Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide in the Presence of Hydrogen (PROX) over Noble Metals and Transition Metal Oxides: Advantages and Drawbacks

The steam reforming reaction of hydrocarbons and organic fuels, in general, is followed by a two-stage reaction of water gas shift, which allows increasing the hydrogen yield and a final purification step for CO removal to use hydrogen in an ammonia plant or a PEM fuel cell. This paper is focused on the CO Preferential Oxidation, CO PROX (or CO selective oxidation in excess hydrogen) reaction, considered as the simplest and cost effective process to achieve the less than 10 ppm CO. The objective of this paper is to review the performances of noble metals (Pt, Ru, Rh, Pd), gold and transition metal oxides catalysts in this reaction. Although the results reported are largely influenced by the experimental conditions (reactant flow composition, mass of catalyst, duration of experiment …) a comparison of advantages and drawbacks for each type of catalysts is proposed in terms of activity and selectivity as well as of CO₂ and H₂O influences. A special attention will be paid to copper-doped ceria catalysts which appear to be very active and selective in a range of temperatures appropriate for fuel cell application. The performances, the stability and the low cost of these formulations compared to noble metal-based catalysts make them very attractive for an industrial application.