Interrogating the Tailoring Steps of Pactamycin Biosynthesis and Accessing New Pactamycin Analogues

Pactamycin is a bacteria‐derived aminocyclitol antibiotic with a wide‐range of biological activity. Its chemical structure and potent biological activities have made it an interesting lead compound for drug discovery and development. Despite its unusual chemical structure, many aspects of its formation in nature remain elusive. Using a combination of genetic inactivation and metabolic analysis, we investigated the tailoring processes of pactamycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces pactum. The results provide insights into the sequence of events during the tailoring steps of pactamycin biosynthesis and explain the unusual production of various pactamycin analogues by S. pactum mutants. We also identified two new pactamycin analogues that have better selectivity indexes than pactamycin against malarial parasites.     

Methodology for quantifying the volatile mixing state of an aerosol

Mixing state refers to the relative proportions of chemical species in an aerosol, and the way these species are combined; either as a population where each particle consists of a single species (‘externally mixed’) or where all particles individually consist of two or more species (‘internally mixed’) or the case where some particles are pure and some particles consist of multiple species. The mixing state affects optical and hygroscopic properties, and quantifying it is therefore important for studying an aerosol's climate impact. In this article, we describe a method to quantify the volatile mixing state of an aerosol using a differential mobility analyzer, centrifugal particle mass analyzer, catalytic denuder, and condensation particle counter by measuring the mass distributions of the volatile and non-volatile components of an aerosol and determining how the material is mixed within and between particles as a function of mobility diameter. The method is demonstrated using two aerosol samples from a miniCAST soot generator, one with a high elemental carbon (EC) content, and one with a high organic carbon (OC) content. The measurements are presented in terms of the mass distribution of the volatile and non-volatile material, as well as measures of diversity and mixing state parameter. It was found that the high-EC soot nearly consisted of only pure particles where 86% of the total mass was non-volatile. The high-OC soot consisted of either pure volatile particles or particles that contained a mixture of volatile and non-volatile material where 8% of the total mass was pure volatile particles and 70% was non-volatile material (with the remaining 22% being volatile material condensed on non-volatile particles).

© 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Corrosion of Alloy Haynes 230 in High Temperature Supercritical Carbon Dioxide with Oxygen Impurity Additions

The corrosion of Ni-based alloy Haynes 230 in supercritical carbon dioxide at temperatures of 650 and 750 °C at a pressure of 20 MPa was investigated. In high-purity research grade CO₂, the corrosion performance of the alloy was excellent with a thin, uniform, protective chromium-rich oxide layer forming on the surface. Introduction of 10 and 100 ppm O₂ impurity in the CO₂ environment noticeably enhanced oxidation with evidence of oxide spallation and nodule formation. In these oxygen impurity added tests, increased oxidation led to subsurface voids due to the more rapid outward diffusion of chromium as well as intergranular alumina and chromia. The oxygen concentration at the inlet and the outlet of the autoclave was measured and used to support the results of characterization of the surface oxide to develop a more holistic understanding of the role of oxygen impurity on the corrosion process. In all cases, there some carbon was observed, which manifested as slightly higher concentration of chromium–carbide phase at the grain boundaries compared to the unexposed alloy.     

增强现实技术于洪水风险沟通中的应用

气候变迁,特别是洪水问题给地处三角洲的城市带来了与日俱增的风险。作为应对手段,提出一种整合性的洪水风险管理方法,该方法确保了洪水风险沟通在洪水风险管理战略中的重要地位。洪水的可视化作为洪水风险沟通的一种工具,在改变人们对洪水风险的观念方面有着强大的作用。它可以通过互动的方式,使当地的利益相关者了解洪水的剩余风险和未来风险。其中增强现实技术作为一种可视化手段,它的快速发展与应用为风景园林设计、规划与教育等领域提供了崭新的交互方式。首先,探讨增强现实技术(AR)在洪水风险沟通中的应用现状,并重点关注增强现实技术的2个关键应用领域:对现场决策的支持和针对高层次设计的可视化与对景观干预的评估。随后,展示一种基于增强现实技术所开发的应用,该款创新性的应用为洪水风险沟通提供了一种轻量化的可视化手段。     

Glass with hydration-induced compressive stress profiles

A novel potassium phospho-aluminosilicate composition is described that can be strengthened by water vapor to achieve deep compressive stress (CS) profiles. Water vapor treatment at (A) 85°C and 85% relative humidity for 40 days results in a CS of 389 ± 20 MPa and a compressive depth of layer (DOL) of 18 ± 2 μm. When treated at (B) 160°C and 0.1 MPa for 7 days, a CS of 245 ± 20 MPa and a DOL of 40 ± 2 μm is achieved. Glasses with hydration-induced stress profiles can provide high retained strength following flaw introduction compared with ion-exchanged soda-lime silicate glass. Sample treatment B also has an exemplary Vickers indentation cracking threshold value greater than 20 kgf. The hydration profile determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is shown to closely match the stress profile for these samples. SIMS analysis also shows that the depth of water enrichment correlates well with the depletion depth of phosphorus. The high tendency towards water-induced strengthening for this new type of glass even enables self-strengthening by the generation of a near-surface CS profile following exposure to ambient conditions.     

Transition between two solid-solutions: Effective and easy way for fine Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2 powders preparation

Ceria, pure or doped, is an important electrolyte material in solid oxide fuel cells, catalysts, and plutonium surrogates. Even though ceria is a widely studied material, its coprecipitation with the most common doping element, gadolinium, remains mostly overlooked. Here, we present a comprehensive study of gadolinium–cerium oxalates prepared by coprecipitation of gadolinium (III) and cerium (III) salts by oxalic acid under different reaction conditions and element ratios. For this purpose, we assessed the effects of basic precipitation conditions on the final oxalate size, shape, and conversion into the corresponding oxides. The results showed that coprecipitation with oxalic acid yields and ideal solid solution, which translates into the oxides. This low-cost and straightforward synthetic route provides then high-quality solid solutions of Ge–Gd in the oxide lattice. Thus, this approach has a high industrialization potential, with significant advantages over hydrolysis or hydrothermal techniques.     

Serum lipid analysis and isotopic enrichment is suggestive of greater lipogenesis in young long-term cannabis users: A secondary analysis of a case–control study

Cannabis is now legal in many countries and while numerous studies have reported on its impact on cognition and appetite regulation, none have examined fatty acid metabolism in young cannabis users. We conducted an exploratory analysis to evaluate cannabis impact on fatty acid metabolism in cannabis users (n = 21) and non-cannabis users (n = 16). Serum levels of some saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, including palmitic, palmitoleic, and oleic acids were higher in cannabis users compared to nonusers. As palmitic acid can be derived from diet or lipogenesis from sugars, we evaluated lipogenesis using a de novo lipogenesis index (palmitate/linoleic acid) and carbon-specific isotope analysis, which allows for the determination of fatty acid ¹³C signature. The significantly higher de novo lipogenesis index in the cannabis users group along with a more enriched ¹³C signature of palmitic acid suggested an increase in lipogenesis. In addition, while serum glucose concentration did not differ between groups, pyruvate and lactate were lower in the cannabis user group, with pyruvate negatively correlating with palmitic acid. Furthermore, the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol was elevated in cannabis users and could contribute to lipogenesis by activating the cannabinoid receptor 1. Because palmitic acid has been suggested to increase inflammation, we measured peripheral cytokines and observed no changes in inflammatory cytokines. Finally, an anti-inflammatory metabolite of palmitic acid, palmitoylethanolamide was elevated in cannabis users. Our results suggest that lipogenic activity is increased in cannabis users; however, future studies, including prospective studies that control dietary intake are required.     

Improved additive manufacturing of silicon carbide parts via pressureless electric field-assisted sintering

High solids loading silicon carbide (SiC)-based aqueous slurries containing only .5 wt. % organic additives were utilized to create specimens of various geometries via an extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM) technique. Pressureless electric field-assisted sintering was performed to densify each specimen without deformation. The combination of these techniques produced parts with >98% relative density despite containing only 5 wt.% oxide sintering additives. After sintering, specimens contained only the α-SiC and yttrium aluminum perovskite phases. This suggests the evolution of a nonequilibrium yttrium aluminate phase, as well as transformation from β-SiC to α-SiC. The fabrication method presented in this work has advantages over other AM techniques commonly used with SiC, because it does not require significant organic additives nor additional postprocessing steps such as chemical vapor infiltration or polymer impregnation and pyrolysis.