Phosphate uptake from water on a Surfactant-Modified Zeolite and Ca-zeolites

The phosphate adsorption kinetics are determined in batch-wise (noted B) and fixed-bed column (noted C) experiments on a Surfactant-Modified Zeolite (SMZ) and various Ca-zeolites. The influence of phosphate concentration (0.08 or 0.8?mmol/L), presence of NO₃ ^?, HCO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2? and Cl^? competing anions (individual concentration?=?0.8?meq/L) and flow rate Q (1?C30?mL/min) is studied. Preliminary experiments lead to the selection of the most efficient Ca-LTA and SMZ samples for the subsequent studies. In B experiments, the nature of the used system does not influence the equilibrium removal rate R (??80%) but affects the adsorption kinetics. The equilibrium times are shorter on SMZ than on Ca-LTA, increasing with the phosphate concentration and the presence of competing anions, respectively in the ~0.5?C6 or ~3?C24?h ranges. In C experiments, the phosphate uptake performances on SMZ are higher than in the corresponding B experiments, with in particular higher final q/q_m values. The deterioration of the performances on SMZ in presence of competing anions or with increase of Q is due to the effect of the slow phosphate ion-exchange kinetics and the short used contact time. For similar reasons, sorption on Ca-LTA is lower than on SMZ. For instance, with a 0.8?mmol/L phosphate concentration and a 10?mL/min flow rate, the time-decreasing R values become close to 50 and 10% after filtration of 10 bed-volumes respectively in presence of SMZ and Ca-LTA. Globally, SMZ is clearly more efficient than Ca-LTA, being furthermore a versatile and easily regenerable material.     

Experimental investigation of two-phase electrolysis processes: comparison with or without gravity

During two-phase electrolysis, bubble production occurs at one or two electrodes. This yields a large change for the electrolyser electrical and hydrodynamic properties. Under normal Earth gravity, the bubble production at the electrodes induces a macro-convection in the electrolyser. This leads to a modified local current density distribution at the electrodes. When gravity is avoided, bubbles are no longer subject to buoyancy forces and to the induced natural flow friction forces. Electrolysis was performed using a potentiostat, and gas bubble evolution was observed with cameras. Quantitative evolution laws for the electrochemical cell voltage, bubble diameter and population during two-phase electrolysis are established in function of the current density and gravity variation.     

Cancer-Associated Glycosphingolipids as Tumor Markers and Targets for Cancer Immunotherapy

Aberrant expression of glycosphingolipids is a hallmark of cancer cells and is associated with their malignant properties. Disialylated gangliosides GD2 and GD3 are considered as markers of neuroectoderm origin in tumors, whereas fucosyl-GM1 is expressed in very few normal tissues but overexpressed in a variety of cancers, especially in small cell lung carcinoma. These gangliosides are absent in most normal adult tissues, making them targets of interest in immuno-oncology. Passive and active immunotherapy strategies have been developed, and have shown promising results in clinical trials. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on GD2, GD3, and fucosyl-GM1 expression in health and cancer, their biosynthesis pathways in the Golgi apparatus, and their biological roles. We described how their overexpression can affect intracellular signaling pathways, increasing the malignant phenotypes of cancer cells, including their metastatic potential and invasiveness. Finally, the different strategies used to target these tumor-associated gangliosides for immunotherapy were discussed, including the use and development of monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, immune system modulators, and immune effector-cell therapy, with a special focus on adoptive cellular therapy with T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors.     

Luminescence nanothermometry with alkyl-capped silicon nanoparticles dispersed in nonpolar liquids

Silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) with a diameter size ranging from 4 to 8 nm were successfully fabricated. They exhibit a visible photoluminescence (PL) due to the quantum confinement effect. Chemical functionalization of these Si NPs with alkyl groups allowed to homogeneously disperse them in nonpolar liquids (NPLs). In comparison to most of literature results for Si NPs, an important PL peak position variation with temperature (almost 1 meV/K) was obtained from 303 to 390 K. The influence of the liquid viscosity on the peak positions is also presented. These variations are discussed considering energy transfer between nanoparticles. The high PL thermal sensitivity of the alkyl-capped Si NPs paves the way for their future application as nanothermometers.     

Life cycle assessment and cost analysis of very large‐scale PV systems and suitable locations in the world

Although the Sahara region has a high potential for solar power plants, the amount of installed photovoltaic (PV) system remains relatively low. This paper aims to evaluate these potentials of PV system installation in terms of environmental and economic viewpoints with indices of cost, energy, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Two 1‐GW very large‐scale PV systems are simulated at Ouarzazate in Morocco and at Carpentras in France. The evaluation was performed using life cycle assessment. The lowest energy consumption and GHG emission are obtained while assuming cadmium telluride module. The result of our simulation shows that energy payback time is 0.9 years and CO₂ emission rate is 27.4 g‐CO_2‐eq/kWh in the Ouarzazate case. In cost estimation, generation costs are 0.06 USD/kWh in Ouarzazate and 0.09 USD/kWh in Carpentras in the case of 3% interest rate and 0.5 USD/W for multicrystalline silicon PV module price. In addition, by adapting 15% internal rate of return for 20% of budget, the generation costs become 0.09 USD/kWh in Ouarzazate and 0.13 USD/kWh in Carpentras under the same condition. Furthermore, the selection for suitable locations to install solar power plants in term of GHG emission is identified using geographical information system. Very high‐potential locations (lower than 38 g‐CO_2‐eq/kWh) could be obtained in North Chili, east and west Sahara, and Mexico. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

One-Pot Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Graphene/Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) Nanohybrids

Nano-Micro Letters - A facile and rapid method to synthesize graphene/layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanohybrids by a microwave technique is demonstrated. The synthesis procedure involves...     

Toughening of poly(lactide) using polyethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate: Reactive versus physical blending

To design high‐performance poly(lactide)‐based materials (PLA‐based) with improved toughness, two approaches based on the reactive extrusion (REx) process are investigated and compared in the present study. The first approach relies upon a two‐step procedure using a REx‐polymerized poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate, i.e., poly(AcrylPEG), as a highly‐branched and compatible impact modifier for PLA. The free‐radical polymerization proves to be very efficient with a peroxide initiator concentration of 1 wt%. The as‐produced poly(AcrylPEG) is then melt‐blended with PLA by extrusion. The resulting materials exhibit largely increase impact resistance (ca. 35 kJ/m²) in presence of 20 wt% poly(AcrylPEG) in comparison with neat PLA (2.7 kJ/m²), while moderate ductility (tensile elongation at break <40%) and limited plasticization effect are observed. The second “one‐step” approach consists in in situ grafting of AcrylPEG onto PLA backbone via a one‐stage REx. The resulting materials exhibit substantially improved impact resistance (ca. 102 kJ/m²) for AcrylPEG loading of 20 wt%, high ductility (tensile elongation at break of ca. 150%) and efficient plasticization. A detailed characterization of the morphology of the materials has been performed using PF‐QNM‐AFM to better elucidate the structure‐property relationships. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1408–1419, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers