Fate of the glucose degradation products 3-deoxyglucosone and glyoxal during peritoneal dialysis

Conventional fluids for peritoneal dialysis (PD) contain reactive glucose degradation products (GDPs) as a result of glucose breakdown during heat-sterilization. GDPs in PD fluids (PDFs) have been associated with the progressive alteration of the peritoneal membrane during long-term PD by cytotoxic effects and formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). In this study, we investigated the possible fate of two characteristic GDPs, 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) and glyoxal, during PD. In vivo, 3-DG and glyoxal concentrations, which were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), decreased in PDFs by 78% and 88% during 4 h of dwell time. The PDFs were then incubated in vitro in the presence of the most important reaction partners of GDPs in the peritoneal cavity. Neither human peritoneal mesothelial cells, human peritoneal fibroblasts, soluble protein, an insoluble collagen surface, nor components of spent dialysate led to a significant reduction of 3-DG or glyoxal after 6 h. Only after long-term incubation, a noticeable decrease of 3-DG was observed (-37% after three weeks), more likely due to spontaneous degradation reaction than formation of advanced glycation endproducts. These results suggest that in the course of PD, 3-DG, and glyoxal are absorbed into the organism and thus might contribute to the systemic pool of reactive carbonyl compounds.     

Additional modules for versatile and economical PCR-based gene deletion and modification in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

An important recent advance in the functional analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes is the development of the one-step PCR-mediated technique for deletion and modification of chromosomal genes. This method allows very rapid gene manipulations without requiring plasmid clones of the gene of interest. We describe here a new set of plasmids that serve as templates for the PCR synthesis of fragments that allow a variety of gene modifications. Using as selectable marker the S. cerevisiae TRP1 gene or modules containing the heterologous Schizosaccharomyces pombe his5⁺ or Escherichia coli kan^r gene, these plasmids allow gene deletion, gene overexpression (using the regulatable GAL1 promoter), C- or N-terminal protein tagging [with GFP(S65T), GST, or the 3HA or 13Myc epitope], and partial N- or C-terminal deletions (with or without concomitant protein tagging). Because of the modular nature of the plasmids, they allow efficient and economical use of a small number of PCR primers for a wide variety of gene manipulations. Thus, these plasmids should further facilitate the rapid analysis of gene function in S. cerevisiae. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combinatorial corrosion study of the passivation of aluminium copper alloys

An Al_96.1–Cu_3.9 to Al_51.4–Cu_48.6 material library was obtained by thermal co-deposition and characterized by EDX and XRD. The crystallographic data reveals the presence of Al₂Cu and pure aluminium depending on the film composition and following the stoichiometry. Utilizing a scanning droplet cell setup, the zero current potential for anodization, the oxide formation factor and the dielectric constant of the oxide formed are presented with high resolution along the composition gradient.While the dielectric constant of the oxide formed remains nearly unaffected by the increasing copper content of the base material along the composition gradient, the zero current potential shows well defined steps between 6.9 and 8.5 at.% as well as between 20.9 and 26.7 at.% copper indicating an increased thickness of the native oxide present on the film. Additionally, starting around 25 at.% copper, oxygen evolution gradually superimposes the oxide growth and in turn significantly reduces the current efficiency for anodization. The formation of the intermetallic phase Al₂Cu was linked to both phenomena as it promotes the growth of native oxides and current leakage by oxygen evolution.     

Heat-integrated reactor concepts for catalytic reforming and automotive exhaust purification

Optimal solutions in environmental catalysis require a well-coordinated development of catalysts and of process design. This contribution is devoted to energy integrated design concepts for fuel reforming and for automotive exhaust purification. The examples presented demonstrate the importance of an innovative process design for optimal utilization of existing catalysts and show the potential of future developments.

New concepts for steam reforming through the efficient coupling of the endothermic reforming reaction with an exothermic combustion reaction are discussed in the first part. These concepts have been implemented for methanol steam reforming in a counter-current reactor with distributed side feed of burner gas and for methane steam reforming in a modular reactor with a co-current reaction section for the endothermic and the combustion reaction and attached counter-current heat exchangers. Both applications employ the so-called folded sheet reactor design, which ensures an excellent heat transfer between the reforming and combustion channels and efficient heat recovery.

A similar design solution is introduced for the apparently different case of automotive exhaust purification. The proposed concept aims at decoupling exhaust after-treatment from engine control. Its main component is a counter-current heat exchanger with integrated purification stages for HC-oxidation, NO_X storage and reduction and soot filtering. A small catalytic burner at the hot end of the heat exchanger provides both heat and oxidizing or reducing agents on demand. A new soot filter design allows for safe soot filter regeneration.     

Gold nanostructures by directional solid-state decomposition

This study addresses a novel approach of obtaining gold nanostructures, via directional eutectoid decomposition and selective etching of Fe-Au alloys. The eutectoid transformation occurs at 2.3%Au, which agrees perfectly with existing DTA and calculated data. The results are thus experimentally supporting the calculated part of the binary Fe-Au phase diagram. Gold nanofibres were rectangular in shape, constrained with two perpendicular crystallographic directions, showing the faceted nature of the Au phase. In addition, it was shown that a range of gold nanostructures, including gold nanoparticles, short nanorods, and nanofibres might be achieved depending on the processing route. The uniformity and regularity of the obtained nanostructures are limited, due to a non-cooperative mechanism of the eutectoid transformation. These homomorph gold nanostructures have the same high potential as other gold nanostructures but also the advantage of being inherently organized in a single crystalline matrix.