Suitability of Sodium Pyruvate as Decomposer of Carried-over Liquid Hydrogen Peroxide

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the concentration of sodium pyruvate in growth media by using the most-probable number method to decompose carried-over liquid hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) without negative influences on correct enumeration of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores. An equivalent molar ratio of sodium pyruvate and H₂O₂ was verified to be sufficient for a complete decomposition. The results showed that by exposition of G. stearothermophilus spores in different liquid hydrogen peroxide and by carry-over of concentrations ranging from 3.56 · 10⁻⁶ up to 1.69 · 10⁻⁴ mol, a sodium pyruvate concentration of 0.05 mol L⁻¹ in growth media was most efficient for the recovery of spores.     

洗衣剂的发展趋势（英）

新用途和多功能产品使洗衣剂除了清洗衣物外,有了更大作用,分析了液体洗涤剂和粉状洗涤剂的市场,正确评估了片状洗涤剂的市场前景,指出,省时和多功能将是洗衣剂未来发展的趋势。     

Bulk Sediment and Diatom Silica Carbon Isotope Composition from Coastal Marine Sediments off East Antarctica

Organic carbon occluded in diatom silica is assumed to be protected from degradation in the sediment. δ¹³C from diatom carbon (δ¹³C_(diatom)) therefore potentially provides a signal of conditions during diatom growth. However, there have been few studies based on δ¹³C_(diatom). Numerous variables can influence δ¹³C of organic matter in the marine environment (e.g., salinity, light, nutrient and CO₂ availability). Here we compare δ¹³C_(diatom) and δ¹³C_(TOC) from three sediment records from individual marine inlets (Rauer Group, East Antarctica) to (i) investigate deviations between δ¹³C_(diatom) and δ¹³C_(TOC), to (ii) identify biological and environmental controls on δ¹³C_(diatom) and δ¹³C_(TOC), and to (iii) discuss δ¹³C_(diatom) as a proxy for environmental and climate reconstructions. The records show individual δ¹³C_(diatom) and δ¹³C_(TOC) characteristics, which indicates that δ¹³C is not primarily controlled by regional climate or atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Since the inlets vary in water depths offsets in δ¹³C are probably related to differences in water column stratification and mixing, which influences redistribution of nutrients and carbon within each inlet. In our dataset changes in δ¹³C_(diatom) and δ¹³C_(TOC) could not unequivocally be ascribed to changes in diatom species composition, either because the variation in δ¹³C_(diatom) between the observed species is too small or because other environmental controls are more dominant. Records from the Southern Ocean show depleted δ¹³C_(diatom) values (1–4 ‰) during glacial times compared to the Holocene. Although climate variability throughout the Holocene is low compared to glacial/interglacial variability, we find variability in δ¹³C_(diatom), which is in the same order of magnitude. δ¹³C of organic matter produced in the costal marine environment seems to be much more sensitive to environmental changes than open ocean sites and δ¹³C is of strongly local nature.     

A Micro-manipulation Technique for the Purification of Diatoms for Isotope and Geochemical Analysis

A method is described for the purification and extraction of diatom samples for isotope and geochemical analysis. The technique involves a micro-manipulator attached to an inverted microscope with a cellular micro-injector system used to remove contaminants or separate assemblages into single-species samples. Whilst time consuming, the advances associated with this technique, eliminating issues related to contamination and the impact of species-dependent fractionation factor/isotopic effect, allows ultra-clean as well as species and/or size specific diatom samples to be analysed in palaeoenvironmental research down to seasonal timescale resolution. By further altering the inner dimensions of the commercially available capillary tubes, (3.5–150  $\upmu $ m) this technique can be extended for use with other microfossils including radiolaria (30  $\upmu $ m to 1 mm), pollen (6–100  $\upmu $ m) and phytolith samples (1–200  $\upmu $ m).     

Circular RNAs in Pregnancy and the Placenta

The emerging field of circular RNAs (circRNAs) has identified their novel roles in the development and function of many cancers and inspired the interest of many researchers. circRNAs are also found throughout the healthy body, as well as in other pathological states, but while research into the function and abundance of circRNAs has progressed, our overall understanding of these molecules remains primitive. Importantly, recent studies are elucidating new roles for circRNAs in pregnancy, particularly in the placenta. Given that many of the genes responsible for circRNA production in cancer are also highly expressed in the placenta, it is likely that the same genes act in the production of circRNAs in the placenta. Furthermore, placental development can be referred to as ‘controlled cancer’, as it shares many key signalling pathways and hallmarks with tumour growth and metastasis. Hence, the roles of circRNAs in this field are important to study with respect to pregnancy success but also may provide novel insights for cancer progression. This review illuminates the known roles of circRNAs in pregnancy and the placenta, as well as demonstrating differential placental expressions of circRNAs between complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies.     

Sorbent injection into a slipstream baghouse for mercury control: Project summary

A project led by the Energy and Environmental Research Center to test and demonstrate sorbent injection as a cost-effective mercury control technology for utilities burning lignites has shown effective mercury capture under a range of operating conditions. Screening, parametric, and long-term tests were carried out at a slipstream facility representing an electrostatic precipitator–activated carbon injection–fabric filter configuration (called a TOXECON™ in the United States). Screening tests of sorbent injection evaluated nine different sorbents, including both treated and standard activated carbon, to compare mercury capture as a function of sorbent injection rate. Parametric tests evaluated several variables including air-to-cloth (A/C) ratio, flue gas temperature, cleaning frequency, and dust loading to determine the effect on mercury control and systems operation. Long-term tests (approximately 2 months in duration) evaluated the sustainability of systems operation.     

Cytotoxic Rhodium(III) and Iridium(III) Polypyridyl Complexes: Structure–Activity Relationships,Antileukemic Activity,and Apoptosis Induction

Whereas the cytostatic agents mer‐[RhX₃(DMSO)(pp)] (X=Cl, Br; pp=phen, dpq) are considerably more potent than their facial isomers, this order is reversed for the analogous kinetically more inert Ir^III polypyridyl complexes. The complexes induce specific apoptotic cell death in leukemia and lymphoma cells via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway and cause negligible necrotic damage.

     

Non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors based on a biphenyl scaffold: synthesis, in vitro SAR, and molecular modelling

The synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation (JEG-3 cells) of a series of novel and potent aromatase inhibitors, prepared by microwave-enhanced Suzuki cross-coupling methodology, are reported. These compounds possess a biphenyl template incorporated with the haem-ligating triazolylmethyl moiety, either on its own or in combination with other substituent(s) at various positions on the phenyl rings. The most potent aromatase inhibitor reported herein has an IC(50) value of 0.12 nM, although seven of its congeners are also highly potent (IC(50)相似文献   

Combined experimental and numerical study on the effective grain growth dynamics in highly anisotropic systems: Application to barium titanate

Abnormal grain growth is a commonly observed phenomenon in barium titanate. It is usually associated with grain boundaries of different mobility and energy present in the microstructure. The influence of interfaces with variable mobility and energy on grain growth is investigated by a combined experimental and numerical approach in a transition region where growth behaviour strongly deviates from Arrhenius behaviour. Abnormal growth occurs between 1275 and 1325 °C, with normal grain growth occurring above and below this temperature range. The overall grain growth rate of the small matrix grains in the transition region is found to increase nonlinearly with inverse temperature between the high- and low-temperature states. A similar behaviour is found in simulations using a 3-D mesoscale grain growth model under the assumption of fractions of grain boundaries being in the high- or low-temperature state. The transition at the grain boundary is in agreement with the complexion model. Additionally, the simulation is used to map the nucleation probability for abnormal grains in the transition region as a function of combined energy and mobility advantages. The energy advantage of the grain boundaries is found to be of greater importance for the nucleation of abnormal grains compared to results from mean field models.     

Immune Aging and Immunotherapy in Cancer

Immune functions decline as we age, while the incidence of cancer rises. The advent of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has not only revolutionized cancer therapy, but also spawned great interest in identifying predictive biomarkers, since only one third of patients show treatment response. The aging process extensively affects the adaptive immune system and thus T cells, which are the main target of ICB. In this review, we address age-related changes regarding the adaptive immune system with a focus on T cells and their implication on carcinogenesis and ICB. Differences between senescence, exhaustion, and anergy are defined and current knowledge, treatment strategies, and studies exploring T cell aging as a biomarker for ICB are discussed. Finally, novel approaches to improve immunotherapies and to identify biomarkers of response to ICB are presented and their potential is assessed in a comparative analysis.