Solvent-Aided Crystallization for Biodiesel Purification

The application of solvent-aided crystallization (SAC) is based on the addition of a solvent, here 1-butanol, to crude biodiesel to catalyze the purification process by separating biodiesel from contaminants via crystallization process. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the process parameters of SAC, represented by biodiesel purity. The purified biodiesel was analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the composition of the present fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Under the predicted optimum process conditions within the experimental ranges for the highest biodiesel purity, the predicted biodiesel purity was 99.375 %.     

Adaptive Immune Responses in a Multiple Sclerosis Patient with Acute Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation during Treatment with Fingolimod

Fingolimod, an oral sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, is approved for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The interference with S1P signaling leads to retention particularly of chemokine receptor-7 (CCR7) expressing T cells in lymph nodes. The immunological basis of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections during fingolimod treatment is unclear. Here, we studied the dynamics of systemic and intrathecal immune responses associated with symptomatic VZV reactivation including cessation of fingolimod and initiation of antiviral therapy. Key features in peripheral blood were an about two-fold increase of VZV-specific IgG at diagnosis of VZV reactivation as compared to the previous months, a relative enrichment of effector CD4+ T cells (36% versus mean 12% in controls), and an accelerated reconstitution of absolute lymphocytes counts including a normalized CD4+/CD8+ ratio and reappearance of CCR7+ T cells. In cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the lymphocytic pleocytosis and CD4+/CD8+ ratios at diagnosis of reactivation and after nine days of fingolimod discontinuation remained unchanged. During this time CCR7+ T cells were not observed in CSF. Further research into fingolimod-associated VZV reactivation and immune reconstitution is mandatory to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with this potentially life-threatening condition.     

Syntheses of 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-c]pteridines. Potential substrates for xanthine oxidase

A synthetic route for the preparation of 9-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-c]pteridines 8 is described. Their reactivities towards xanthine oxidase from Arthrobacter M-4 are determined and compared with the pteridine derivatives 6-phenylpteridin-4[3H]-thione 5, 6-phenyl-4-thiomethylpteridine 6, 4-hydrazino-6-phenylpteridine 7, 3-N-methyl-6-phenylpteridin-4[3H]-thione 19, 4-amino-6-phenylpteridine 22 and 1-N-methyl-6-phenylpteridin-4[1H]-one 24, in order to inspect a possible influence of pyrimidine ring substitution pattern on their interaction with the bacterial enzyme. It has been suggested that a planar structure of the pteridine moiety and the substituents could be an important factor that so far has been overlooked when considering the enzyme activity. Some literature data are also discussed in view of revision of structure assignment of the compounds 12, 14, and 17. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Discovery of a Potent,CNS‐Penetrant Orexin Receptor Antagonist Based on an N,N‐Disubstituted‐1,4‐diazepane Scaffold that Promotes Sleep in Rats

Silent Night : Antagonism of the orexin (or hypocretin) system has recently been identified as a novel mechanism for the treatment of insomnia. Herein, we describe discovery of a dual (OX₁R/OX₂R) orexin receptor antagonist featuring a 1,4‐diazepane central constraint that blocks orexin signaling in vivo. In telemetry‐implanted rats, oral administration of this antagonist produced a decrease in wakefulness, while increasing REM and non‐REM sleep.

     

Coating the inner walls of metal tubes with carbon films by physical vapor deposition at low temperature

Tubes are often required to exhibit better performance in corrosion and wear behavior than the material the tube is made of can offer. The situation can be improved when the tube is coated with a protective film. This can be achieved by sputter coating with an ion beam. A sputter target is located inside the tube. Energetic ions are accelerated into the tube and impinge onto the target. Thus, material is sputtered from the target onto the inner walls of the tube. Two apparatus for coating tubes of different lengths and diameters are described. Aluminum and stainless steel tubes were coated with amorphous carbon films. Results on adhesion, corrosion performance in aqueous media and thickness uniformity are shown.     

High-throughput approach to the catalytic combustion of diesel soot

A methodology for the evaluation of diesel soot oxidation catalysts by high-throughput (HT) screening was developed. The optimal experimental conditions (soot amount, catalyst/soot ratio, type of contact, composition and flow rate of gas reactants) ensuring a reliable and reproducible detection of light-off temperatures in a 16 parallel channels reactor were set up. The temperature profile measured in the catalyst/soot bed under TPO conditions when the exothermic combustion of soot takes place was shown to provide an accurate measurement of the ignition. Its reproducibility and relevance were checked. The results obtained with a reference noble metal free catalyst (La_0.8Cr_0.8Li_0.2O₃ perovskite) agree very well with literature data. Qualitative mechanistic features could be derived from these experiments, stressing the likely limiting step of oxygen transfer from catalyst surface to soot particulates to ignite the soot combustion. Ceria material was shown to be more appropriate than perovskite one. From an HT screening of a large diverse library (over 100 mixed oxides catalysts) under optimized conditions, about 10 new formulations were found to perform better than selected noble metal free reference materials.     

Fluorous Iminoalditols: A New Family of Glycosidase Inhibitors and Pharmacological Chaperones

A collection of new reversible glycosidase inhibitors of the iminoalditol type featuring N‐substituents containing perfluorinated regions has been prepared for evaluation of physicochemical, biochemical and diagnostic properties. The vast variety of feasible oligofluoro moieties allows for modular approaches to customised structures according to the intended applications, which are influenced by the fluorine content as well as the distance of the fluorous moiety from the ring nitrogen. The first examples, in particular in the D ‐galacto series, exhibited excellent inhibitory activities. A preliminary screen with two human cell lines showed that, at subinhibitory concentrations, they are powerful pharmacological chaperones enhancing the activities of the catalytically handicapped lysosomal D ‐galactosidase mutants associated with GM1 gangliosidosis and Morquio B disease.     

Elimination of pharmaceuticals from wastewater by submerged nanofiltration plate modules

Most conventional wastewater treatment plants hardly remove micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals. Here the ability of a submerged nanofiltration flat sheet module to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater is analyzed. The nanofiltration membrane was used at the relatively low pressure of only 0.7 bar; at such low pressure, the membrane does not retain salts to a great extent. This is advantageous in wastewater treatment because no salt concentrate is produced. Carbamazepine was retained only slightly by the nanofiltration membranes, whereas diclofenac was retained by approximately 65%.     

Multifunctional PMMA-Ceramic composites as structural dielectrics

We describe the influence of calcium copper titanate (CCTO), and montmorillonite (MMT) on the thermo-mechanical and dielectric properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA-based composites prepared by an in-situ, thermally activated, radical polymerization for multifunctional structural capacitor applications. MMT was used for its ability to disperse and suspend the CCTO particles through the generation of viscous monomer slurries. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements together with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed that the MMT platelets were present in both intercalated and exfoliated morphologies within the polymer matrix. The filler addition was found to improve the thermal stability and the glass transition temperature of PMMA in the composites. Furthermore, the elastic stiffness and dielectric constant of the resultant composites were observed to increase monotonically with filler loading. By contrast, the dielectric breakdown strength of the composite samples was found to diminish with increasing filler loading.