Selbstansaugende rotierende Sonde zur Entnahme von partikelfreien Gasproben aus Prozessgasen

A filtration system for keeping the analytics free of particles is usually required for inline characterization of particle‐laden process gasses. Additionally gas pumps may be needed for overcoming the pressure drop of filter element and filter cake. Consecutive reactions of process gas and filter cake may be disadvantageous for the quality of the gas analysis. A new probing apparatus is presented for extraction of particle‐free gas samples from particle‐laden process gasses. The probe combines the functionalities of a gas pump and a particle separator. While the gas is transported from process to analysis, particles are separated according to the principle of air classification.     

Efficient Stacking on Protein Amide Fragments

The less polar π‐surface of protein amide groups is exposed in many receptor binding sites, either as part of the backbone or in Gln/Asn side chains. Using quantum chemical calculations and Protein Data Bank (PDB) searches on model systems, we investigate the energetics and geometric preferences for the stacking on amide groups of a large number of heteroarenes that are relevant to medicinal chemistry. From this study, we discern that the stacking energy of an aromatic ligand substituent can be improved by: 1) orienting the fragment dipole vector such that it is aligned in an antiparallel fashion with the dipole of the interacting protein amide group, 2) increasing its dipole moment, and 3) decreasing its π‐electron density. These guidelines should be helpful to more rationally exploit this interaction type in future structure‐based drug design.     

Field Comparison of P-Trak and Condensation Particle Counters

The P-trak ultrafine particle counter is a portable version of a condensation particle counter (CPC). Both instruments detect particle number concentrations in real time but have different detection limits. The P-trak has been widely used for indoor air quality evaluation and aerosol research. However, there is very limited information about the reliability and precision of this instrument and its comparability with other similar instruments. The purpose of this study was to compare a P-trak ultrafine particle counter with a standard CPC and evaluate its applicability to ambient air monitoring.

This study was carried out near the Interstate 405 freeway (I-405) in Los Angeles. Measurements were made at increasing distances from the freeway on both sides at night as well as inside and outside of two 2-bedroom apartments located near the freeway. A CPC and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) were collocated with two P-traks and measurement results compared.

In general, higher correlations were observed between P-trak and CPC data for indoor measurements than outdoor. The highest P-trak and CPC correlation ( r ² = 0.9385) was detected inside Apartment 2, which is located farther away from the freeway than Apartment 1. The poorest correlation occurred at 30 m downwind from the freeway. In that case, the P-trak reported about 25% of ultrafine particle concentration that CPC did. A sigmoid (S-shape) function was fitted to observed P-trak to CPC ratios and geometric mean diameters of the corresponding ultrafine particle size distributions. Overall, we concluded the P-trak worked reasonably well when sampled indoor air. However, it has significant limitations in detecting freshly emitted ultrafine particles from vehicles. The P-trak underestimated ultrafine particles especially for particles smaller than its activation size which was found to be approximately 25–30 nm. Caution must be given in interpreting data collected by P-trak monitors near combustion sources.     

Genome-Wide Investigation of Multifocal and Unifocal Prostate Cancer—Are They Genetically Different?

Prostate cancer is widely observed to be biologically heterogeneous. Its heterogeneity is manifested histologically as multifocal prostate cancer, which is observed more frequently than unifocal prostate cancer. The clinical and prognostic significance of either focal cancer type is not fully established. To investigate prostate cancer heterogeneity, the genetic profiles of multifocal and unifocal prostate cancers were compared. Here, we report observations deduced from tumor-tumor comparison of copy number alteration data of both focal categories. Forty-one fresh frozen prostate cancer foci from 14 multifocal prostate cancers and eight unifocal prostate cancers were subjected to copy number variation analysis with the Affymetrix SNP 6.0 microarray tool. With the investigated cases, tumors obtained from a single prostate exhibited different genetic profiles of variable degrees. Further comparison identified no distinct genetic pattern or signatures specific to multifocal or unifocal prostate cancer. Our findings suggest that samples obtained from multiple sites of a single unifocal prostate cancer show as much genetic heterogeneity and variability as separate tumors obtained from a single multifocal prostate cancer.     

Multicriteria optimization as enabler for Sustainable Ceramic Matrix Composites

Over the past 40 years, development of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) has focused mainly on the improvement of material performance and optimization of cost-efficient production routes. Recently, more fields of application have opened up for CMCs, in which environmental impacts are relevant. These impacts have barely been investigated so far but receive growing interest due to increasing awareness of the environmental consequences. Our innovative approach frames material properties in relation to environmental impacts (e.g., global warming potential in CO₂ emission) by varying process parameters to balance optimum performance against environmental considerations. First, the process of wet filament winding has been investigated up to the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) state by changing both the curing and tempering temperatures. During the production of CFRP plates, mass and energy flows were tracked in each step. Three point-bending and interlaminar shear tests have been performed on the resulting samples to identify basic mechanical properties. The environmental impacts are determined by a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), using the software SimaPro. The resulting tradeoffs between mechanical properties and environmental impacts show nonlinear behavior, thus revealing optimum points above which improved mechanical properties are associated with significantly higher CO₂ emissions.     

An Iterative O‐Methyltransferase Catalyzes 1,11‐Dimethylation of Aspergillus fumigatus Fumaric Acid Amides

S‐adenosyl‐l ‐methionine (SAM)‐dependent methyltransfer is a common biosynthetic strategy to modify natural products. We investigated the previously uncharacterized Aspergillus fumigatus methyltransferase FtpM, which is encoded next to the bimodular fumaric acid amide synthetase FtpA. Structure elucidation of two new A. fumigatus natural products, the 1,11‐dimethyl esters of fumaryl‐l ‐tyrosine and fumaryl‐l ‐phenylalanine, together with ftpM gene disruption suggested that FtpM catalyzes iterative methylation. Final evidence that a single enzyme repeatedly acts on fumaric acid amides came from an in vitro biochemical investigation with recombinantly produced FtpM. Size‐exclusion chromatography indicated that this methyltransferase is active as a dimer. As ftpA and ftpM homologues are found clustered in other fungi, we expect our work will help to identify and annotate natural product biosynthesis genes in various species.     

Gradient high-performance liquid chromatography of statistical and block copolymers of styrene and t-butyl methacrylate

Copolymers of styrene (S) and tert-butyl methacrylate (TBMA) containing 24–92 mass % of the latter monomer were investigated using a silica column with isooctane/tetrahydrofuran (THF) gradients and on a phenyl bonded-phase column by methanol (MeOH)/THF gradients using UV detection. In both cases, retention decreased with increasing TBMA content of the sample. This is in contrast to the behavior of copolymers of S and methyl methacrylate (MMA) whose retention in gradient elution on silica columns increases with MMA content due to the polarity of this unit. The inversion of elution order is a result of the bulky TBMA residues shielding the polar groups of the ester units. For copolymers of varying composition, the gradation in retention on retention on silica is quite sufficient for separating S/MMA but not for S/TBMA mixtures. The latter could be separated by composition on phenyl packings through MeOH/THF gradient elution. Block copolymers containing 80 or 92% TBMA could be baseline-separated. It was also possible to separate these samples from admixed PTBMA or PS homopolymers. Under the conditions used, the retention of a given block copolymer was somewhat higher than that of a statistical copolymer having the same composition. A block copolymer containing 80% TBMA was converted by transesterification into a S/MMA block copolymer. The elution of the latter fitted well in the sequence of S/MMA copolymers on silica column.     

Adsorption mode of ethyl pyruvate on platinum: an in situ XANES study

The adsorption of ethyl pyruvate on Pt(111) has been studied by in situ XANES measurements in the presence and absence of hydrogen. Depending on the hydrogen and ethyl pyruvate pressure, the C and O K‐edge spectra exhibit distinctly different angular dependence. Without hydrogen ethyl pyruvate is oriented preferentially perpendicular to the surface, indicating bonding via the O lone pairs. In the presence of hydrogen the mean orientation is more tilted towards the surface. Likely, ethyl pyruvate also interacts with Pt via its π system under these conditions. The observed angle‐dependent shift of the energy of the π* and σ* resonances indicates the coexistence of differently adsorbed ethyl pyruvate species. The experimental findings demonstrate the importance of the in situ approach for unraveling the adsorption mode of ethyl pyruvate in the enantioselective hydrogenation over cinchona‐alkaloid‐modified Pt. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.