Decolorization of Methyl Orange Dye at IrO2‐SnO2‐Sb2O5 Coated Titanium Anodes

A film of iridium and tin dioxides doped with antimony oxide (IrO₂‐SnO₂‐Sb₂O₅) was deposited onto Ti mesh and plate substrates by the Pechini method. The electrode surface morphology and composition were characterized by SEM‐EDS. The ternary oxide coating was used for the anodic oxidation of methyl orange (MO) azo dye. Linear sweep voltammetry was used to identify the electrode potentials that favour MO degradation. Batch electrolyses were then carried out at a constant electrode potential of 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 V vs. SHE using either a three‐electrode batch cell or a flow reactor. The dye solutions were totally decolorized via reactive oxygen species, such as ^?OH, H₂O₂ and O₃ formed in situ from water oxidation at the Ti/IrO₂‐SnO₂‐Sb₂O₅ surface.     

The Role of F-Box Proteins during Viral Infection

The F-box domain is a protein structural motif of about 50 amino acids that mediates protein–protein interactions. The F-box protein is one of the four components of the SCF (SKp1, Cullin, F-box protein) complex, which mediates ubiquitination of proteins targeted for degradation by the proteasome, playing an essential role in many cellular processes. Several discoveries have been made on the use of the ubiquitin–proteasome system by viruses of several families to complete their infection cycle. On the other hand, F-box proteins can be used in the defense response by the host. This review describes the role of F-box proteins and the use of the ubiquitin–proteasome system in virus–host interactions.     

Fixation of Chromium in Wood from Dichromate and Chromate Salt Solutions

It has been reported that treatment of wood surfaces with aqueous solutions of chromium trioxide imparts some beneficial properties like weather resistance and some degree of water repellency. The work presented here aims at finding alternative ways of fixing chromium in wood with the avoidance of the very acidic and strong oxidant conditions of chromic acid solutions. This is because these solutions may affect the strength of wood, and are known to have a very high human toxicity. In this study, chromium has been fixed into wood from hexavalent chromium solutions at pH's of ～1.5 (CrO₃ aq.), ～3.8–3.9 (K₂Cr₂O₇ aq.) and ～9.5–10.3 (K₂CrO₄ aq.). For the CrO₃-solutions the effects of temperature and reaction time on the fixation of chromium were investigated. For the dichromate and chromate solutions, fixation experiments were carried out with Cr-concentration and reaction times as variables. It is shown that a 3%-fixation level of chromium in small wood specimens can be attained from dichromate and chromate solutions without significant mechanical damage to wood. On the other hand, even diluted CrO₃-solutions (0.01 M) impart serious strength reductions in wood at temperatures of 90° C and higher when reacted for 8 hours, and the chromium content of wood resulting from such treatment is of the order of only 1%.     

A complex biological system: the fly's visual module

Is the characterization of biological systems as complex systems in the mathematical sense a fruitful assertion? In this paper we argue in the affirmative, although obviously we do not attempt to confront all the issues raised by this question. We use the fly's visual system as an example and analyse our experimental results of one particular neuron in the fly's visual system from this point of view. We find that the motion-sensitive 'H1' neuron, which converts incoming signals into a sequence of identical pulses or 'spikes', encodes the information contained in the stimulus into an alphabet composed of a few letters. This encoding occurs on multilayered sets, one of the features attributed to complex systems. The conversion of intervals between consecutive occurrences of spikes into an alphabet requires us to construct a generating partition. This entails a one-to-one correspondence between sequences of spike intervals and words written in the alphabet. The alphabet dynamics is multifractal both with and without stimulus, though the multifractality increases with the stimulus entropy. This is in sharp contrast to models generating independent spike intervals, such as models using Poisson statistics, whose dynamics is monofractal. We embed the support of the probability measure, which describes the distribution of words written in this alphabet, in a two-dimensional space, whose topology can be reproduced by an M-shaped map. This map has positive Lyapunov exponents, indicating a chaotic-like encoding.     

Nitriding of 6061T6 aluminium by plasma immersion ion implantation at low energy

It is not easy, in general, to improve the mechanical properties of aluminium alloys by traditional nitriding methods. By contrast, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) has been successfully used for hardening and in wear resistance improvement. The present work sets out to investigate the formation of AlN on 6061T6 aluminium samples by the PIII process at low energy (2–6 keV) with ion doses in the order of 10¹⁸ ions/cm² and from nitrogen–argon mixtures at different concentrations (N70–Ar30, N50–Ar50 and N30–Ar70) maintained at ∼400 °C sample temperatures. The outcome was evaluated by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, Vickers microhardness tests and profilometry.     

Calculation of thermal conductivity of gypsum plasterboards at ambient and elevated temperature

Plasterboard often protects steel structures of buildings because it conducts heat slowly and absorbs the heat of the fire by its volumetric enthalpy. The most important property governing the heat transfer is the thermal diffusion. This property depends on the density, specific heat and thermal conductivity. The first two can be calculated based on the mass composition of the board. The thermal conductivity is more difficult to derive since it is a directional property. This paper will focus on the calculation of the thermal conductivity at ambient and elevated temperatures. It is shown that the thermal conductivity of gypsum plasterboard (i.e. a porous medium) can be assumed to be a three‐phase system. Plasterboard consists of a solid phase and a water/air mix in the voids. The differences between different theoretical equations for both dry and moistured plasterboards are presented. The equation proposed by Zehner and Schlunder (Chem. Ing.‐Tech. 1972; 44 (23):1303–1308) with shape‐factor C of 5 gave good agreement with experimental data of the different boards. Furthermore, the influence of the composition of the boards on the thermal conductivity is investigated. This has an influence, especially since the composition is also related to its moisture content. Regression analysis points out that the moisture content depends only on the gypsum content. A value of 2.8% absorbed water on the mass of gypsum is found, and this water plays an important role in the thermal conductivity of plasterboard at ambient temperature. Finally, the thermal conductivity of board at elevated temperature is computed. A close fit between computed and experimental values derived from literature is found. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biosynthesis of Phenolic Glycosides from Phenylpropanoid and Benzenoid Precursors in <Emphasis Type=Italic>Populus</Emphasis>

Salicylate-containing phenolic glycosides (PGs) are abundant and often play a dominant role in plant-herbivore interactions of Populus and Salix species (family Salicaceae), but the biosynthetic pathway to PGs remains unclear. Cinnamic acid (CA) is thought to be a precursor of the salicyl moiety of PGs. However, the origin of the 6-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-on-oyl (HCH) moiety found in certain PGs, such as salicortin, is not known. HCH is of interest because it confers toxicity and antifeedant properties against herbivores. We incubated Populus nigra leaf tissue with stable isotope-labeled CA, benzoates, and salicylates, and measured isotopic incorporation levels into both salicin, the simplest PG, and salicortin. Labeling of salicortin from [¹³C₆]-CA provided the first evidence that HCH, like the salicyl moiety, is a phenylpropanoid derivative. Benzoic acid and benzaldehyde also labeled both salicyl and HCH, while benzyl alcohol labeled only the salicyl moiety in salicortin. Co-administration of unlabeled benzoates with [¹³C₆]-CA confirmed their contribution to the biosynthesis of the salicyl but not the HCH moiety of salicortin. These data suggest that benzoate interconversions may modulate partitioning of phenylpropanoids to salicyl and HCH moieties, and hence toxicity of PGs. Surprisingly, labeled salicyl alcohol and salicylaldehyde were readily converted to salicin, but did not result in labeled salicortin. Co-administration of unlabeled salicylates with labeled CA suggested that salicyl alcohol and salicylaldehyde may have inhibited salicortin biosynthesis. A revised metabolic grid model of PG biosynthesis in Populus is proposed, providing a guide for functional genomic analysis of the PG biosynthetic pathway.