Selective NOx Reduction During the H2 + NO + O2 Reaction Under Oxygen-Rich Conditions Over Pd/V2O5/Al2O3: Evidence for In Situ Ammonia Generation

Under oxygen-rich conditions in H₂ + NO + O₂ mixtures, Pd/V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalysts are active and highly selective (～80%) for NO_x reduction to N₂. In situ DRIFT spectroscopy and reactor data show that the system operates via formation of NH_x species on the highly dispersed V₂O₅ component. Both NH₃ and NH₄ ⁺ are formed, with the latter dominant. The role of the palladium component is also discussed.     

Characterization of the Polishing‐Induced Contamination of Fused Silica Optics

In this work, the polishing‐induced contamination layer at the fused silica optics surface was studied with various interface analysis techniques: Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA), X‐Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Inductively Coupled Plasma—Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP‐OES). Samples were prepared using an MRF polishing machine and cerium‐based slurry. The cerium and iron penetration and concentration were measured in the surface out of defects. Cerium is embedded at the surface in a 60 nm layer and concentrated at 1200 ppmw in this layer while iron concentration falls down at 30 nm. Spatial distribution and homogeneity of the pollution were also studied in the scratches and bevel using SIMS and EPMA techniques. We saw evidence that surface defects, such as scratches, are specific places that hold the pollutants. This overconcentration is also observed in the chamfer. These new insights into the polishing‐induced contamination of fused silica optics and it repartition have been obtained using various characterization methods. Advantages and disadvantages of each one are discussed.     

Ultra‐selective epoxidation of styrene on pure Cu{111} and the effects of Cs promotion

Styrene undergoes efficient epoxidation to styrene epoxide on the Cu{111} surface. At the optimum condition (Θ_o = 0.03 ML) ∼20% of the styrene is converted to the epoxide with almost 100% selectivity. Comparison with Ag{111} shows that the epoxidation activity and selectivity of Cu greatly exceed those of Ag. Incipient oxidation of the Cu{111} surface does not suppress the adsorption of styrene, but the oxidised metal is catalytically inert. Submonolayer amounts of Cs enhance styrene uptake and increase conversion to the epoxide without adversely affecting epoxidation selectivity. This effect is due to inhibition of Cu oxidation by Cs. Our findings are discussed in the light of current understanding of Ag‐catalysed alkene epoxidation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Activity and selectivity of a {\text{Pd/}}\gamma {\text{ - Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}} catalytic membrane in the partial hydrogenation reactions of acetylene and 1,3-butadiene

A ${\text{Pd/}}\gamma {\text{ - Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}}$ membrane supported on a macroporous $\alpha {\text{ - Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}}$ tube was prepared by sol–gel processing and used in the partial hydrogenation of acetylene and 1,3-butadiene. The average pore diameter of the ${\text{Pd/}}\gamma {\text{ - Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}}$ membrane was 3.6 nm. The gases were separated by Knudsen diffusion. The activity and selectivity of the ${\text{Pd/}}\gamma {\text{ - Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}}$ membrane was compared to that of ${\text{Pd/}}\gamma {\text{ - Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}}$ catalysts used in a conventional packed bed reactor. The highest selectivity to the partially hydrogenated products occurred when the reactant was premixed with H₂ and was passed through the membrane wall.     

Fate and effects of Camembert cheese micro-organisms in the human colonic microbiota of healthy volunteers after regular Camembert consumption

The objective of this study was to determine i) if Camembert cheese micro-organisms could be detected in fecal samples after regular consumption by human subjects and ii) the consequence of this consumption on global metabolic activities of the host colonic microbiota. An open human protocol was designed where 12 healthy volunteers were included: a 2-week period of fermented products exclusion followed by a 4-weeks Camembert ingestion period where 2x40 g/day of Camembert cheese was consumed. Stools were collected from the volunteers before consumption, twice during the ingestion period (2nd and 4th week) and once after a wash out period of 2 weeks. During the consumption of Camembert cheese, high levels of Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were measured in fecal samples using real-time quantitative PCR, reaching median values of 8.2 and 7.5 Log(10) genome equivalents/g of stool. For Ln. mesenteroides, persistence was observed 15 days after the end of Camembert consumption. The survival of Geotrichum candidum was also assessed and the fecal concentration reached a median level of 7.1 Log(10) CFU/g in stools. Except a decreasing trend of the nitrate reductase activity, no significant modification was shown in the metabolic activities during this study.     

Proxies and measurement techniques for mineral dust in Antarctic ice cores

To improve quantitative interpretation of ice core aeolian dust records, a systematic methodological comparison was made. This involved methods for water-insoluble particle counting (Coulter counter and laser-sensing particle detector), soluble ion analysis (ion chromatography and continuous flow analysis), elemental analysis (inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy at pH 1 and after full acid digestion), and water-insoluble elemental analysis (proton induced X-ray emission). Antarctic ice core samples covering the last deglaciation from the EPICA Dome C (EDC) and the EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) cores were used. All methods correlate very well among each other, but the ratios of glacial age to Holocene concentrations, which are typically a factor approximately 100, differ between the methods by up to a factor of 2 with insoluble particles showing the largest variability. The recovery of ICP-MS measurements depends on the digestion method and is differentfor different elements and during different climatic periods. EDC and EDML samples have similar dust composition, which suggests a common dust source or a common mixture of sources for the two sites. The analyzed samples further reveal a change of dust composition during the last deglaciation.     

An explanation for the effect of inoculum size on MIC and the growth/no growth interface

The inoculum effect (IE) is the phenomenon observed where changes in the inoculum size used in an experiment alters the outcome with respect to, for example, the minimum inhibitory concentration of an antimicrobial or the growth/no growth boundary for a given set of environmental conditions. Various hypotheses exist as to the cause of the IE such as population heterogeneity and quorum sensing, as well as the null hypothesis - that it is artefactual. Time to detection experiments (TTD) were carried out on different initial inoculum sizes of several bacterial species (Aeromonas hydrophila, Enterobacter sakazakii, Salmonella Poona, Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua) when challenged with different pH and with combined pH and sodium acetate. Data were modelled using a modification to a Gamma model (Lambert and Bidlas 2007, Int. J. Food Microbiology 115, 204-213), taking into account the inoculum size dependency on the TTD obtained under ideal conditions. The model suggests that changes in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) or in the growth-no growth boundary with respect to inoculum size are due to using a smaller or larger inoculum (i.e. is directly related to microbial number) and is not due to other, suggested, phenomena. The model used further suggests that the effect of a changing inoculum size can be modelled independently of any other factor, which implies that a simple 1 to 2-day experiment measuring the TTD of various initial inocula can be used as an adjunct to currently available models.     

Association between cigarette smoking and C-reactive protein in a representative, population-based sample of adolescents.

Although related to inflammatory markers in adults, little is known about the association between cigarette smoking and C-reactive protein (CRP) in adolescent smokers. We examined the association between high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) concentrations and smoking in youth. We used data from a cross-sectional, province-wide survey of a representative sample of youth conducted in Quebec, Canada, in 1999. Data were collected in self-report questionnaires completed by participants and their parents. Participants provided a fasting blood sample, and anthropometric measures were undertaken by trained technicians. The present analysis pertains to 1,501 adolescents aged 13 and 16 years who completed questionnaires and for whom blood samples were available. The independent association between a six-category indicator of smoking status and elevated hs-CRP, defined as a value at least in the 90th percentile of the age- and sex-specific CRP distribution, was assessed in multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for potential confounders. Relative to never-smokers, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for puffers (i.e., never smoked a whole cigarette), those who smoked but not in the past month, light past-month smokers, moderate past-month smokers, and heavy past-month smokers were 1.04 (0.55-1.98), 1.76 (1.06-2.94), 1.39 (0.70-2.76), 2.07 (0.96-4.42), and 2.40 (1.18-4.88), respectively. Our data suggest a positive association between smoking status and elevated CRP in adolescents, and in particular among heavier past-month smokers. Damage related to cigarette smoking may begin soon after tobacco use initiation, reinforcing the preventive message that no level of smoking is safe in youth.     

Effect of solid surface composition on the migration of tributyltin in groundwater

Tributyltin (TBT) is the most important organotin compound that has been introduced into aquatic ecosystems. A better understanding of its interactions with solid surfaces is essential to estimate the possibilities of TBT migration through subsurface environments. For this purpose, TBT sorption onto a porous matrix of natural origin, a quartz sand as an aquifer material, was studied at low concentration levels with a monodirectional model of column type allowing sequential investigation of sorption and desorption processes. Different treatments of the solid phase were performed by injecting alkaline solutions, NaOH at pH 10.8 or NaClO-NaCl at pH 11.5, by decreasing the ionic strength or by adding kaolinite to change the surface composition and properties. The removal of iron and aluminum (hydr)oxides from the sand surface did not affect so much the sorption (decrease in 14% as compared to sorption on the raw sand). The original use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to control treatment efficiency and to characterize sand surface modifications permitted to relate TBT sorption onto the aquifer material to quartz, the main component of the sand, and clay minerals (mainly kaolinite) present at trace levels at the sand surface. A first attempt of transport modeling with these two surface sites showed the consistency of our assumption. Moreover, estimation of Langmuir-type constants showed that TBT sorption affinity for the quartz surface (KL = 26.7 L micromol(-1)) was much greater than for kaolinite (KL = 6.3 L micromol(-1)).