Electrochemical behaviors of uranium and plutonium at simultaneous recoveries into liquid cadmium cathodes

Experiments were conducted on simultaneous recovery of uranium and plutonium electrochemically into laboratory scale liquid cadmium cathodes (LCCs) at different U/Pu ratios in the salt phase, and the influence of the salt composition on the recovered amounts of uranium and plutonium, the morphologies of uranium and plutonium in the LCC, and the behavior of americium, which is present as a decay product of plutonium-241, were examined. As a result, it was shown that there is a threshold in the U/Pu ratio in the salt phase between 1/4.3 and 1/1.73 for the successful simultaneous recovery of uranium and plutonium up to 10 wt% in the LCC at high current efficiencies. In the LCC, uranium and plutonium existed in the forms of intermetallic compounds, (U, Pu)Cd₆ and (U, Pu)Cd₁₁, and also pure uranium metal. It was also revealed that americium associates with plutonium according to the separation factor during the LCC operation.     

Observation of very thin gold island films vacuum-deposited onto MoS2 surface by STM

A gold film of about half a monolayer in thickness was vacuum-deposited onto air-cleaved MoS₂ surface at room temperature at a pressure of 10^?5 Pa. Quasi-two-dimensionally grown gold islands made of several atomic layers were observed by scanning an area of 40×30 nm². The shape of them was oblate and about 20 nm in diameter. Atomic corrugations which reflect the Au(111) surface were observed. The islands were found to move and changed their shape during the microscopy.     

Enhanced production of hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose with solid acid catalysts by simple water removal methods

This paper demonstrates two simple ways to increase 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) yield (selectivity) in fructose dehydration with various solid acid catalysts. One is a water removal from the reaction mixture by a mild evacuation at 0.97 × 10⁵ Pa; it increases HMF yield for various catalysts (heteropoly acid, zeolite, and acidic resin). The removal of water suppresses two undesired reactions: the hydrolysis of HMF to levulinic acid and the reaction of partially dehydrated intermediates to condensation products. The other method is a decrease in the particle (bead) size of the resin (Amberlyst-15). The crushed and sieved Amberlyst-15 powder in a size of 0.15–0.053 mm shows 100% HMF yield at high fructose concentration (50 wt.% in DMSO), which is to our knowledge the highest yield to date. Near-infrared spectroscopic characterization of adsorbed water suggests that the enhanced yield can be caused by an improved removal of adsorbed water in a small-size resin particle.     

First-principles investigation on the segregation of Pd at LaFe1-xPdxO3-y surfaces

First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the effect of Pd concentration and oxygen vacancies on the stability of Pd at LaFeO₃ surfaces. We found a much stronger tendency of Pd to segregate by taking the aggregation of Pd at LaFe_1-xPd_xO_3-y surfaces into consideration, resulting in a pair of Pd-Pd around a vacancy. Moreover, we predicted that one oxygen-vacancy-containing FeO₂-terminated surfaces would be stable at high temperatures by comparing the stability of LaFe_1-xPd_xO_3-y surfaces, which further supports our previous conclusion that a Pd-containing perovskite catalyst should be calcined at 1,073 K or higher temperatures in air to enhance the segregation of Pd in the vicinity of surfaces to rapidly transform the Pd catalyst from oxidized to reduced states on the perovskite support.     

Suppression of inward-rectifying K+ channels KAT1 and AKT2 by dominant negative point mutations in the KAT1 alpha-subunit

Na(+)-glucose transport and transepithelial permeability were investigated during symptomatic acute cryptosporidiosis in newborn rats. The infection resulted in a significant (P < 0.01) decrease in the ileal short-circuit current and a nonsignificant fall in the transepithelial potential difference and conductance. In glucose-stimulated conditions, the rise in ileal short-circuit current and transepithelial permeability were significantly lower in Cryptosporidium parvum-infected rats than in controls (delta Isc = 3.24 +/- 1.21 microA.cm-2 vs delta Isc = 5.09 +/- 2.23 microA.cm-2 in infected and control animals, respectively; P < 0.001; delta PD = -0.35 +/- 0.13 mV vs delta PD = -0.44 +/- 0.14 mV for infected and control animals, respectively; P < 0.01). Electrical parameters were not affected by addition of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin in either Cryptosporidium-infected newborn rats or controls. Horseradish peroxidase and mannitol flux studies demonstrated a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in transepithelial molecular permeability in infected enterocyte rats, HRP flux = 380, range 68-5570 ng.cm-2, and mannitol flux = 1.06, range, 0.34-1.44%.cm-2.min-1, compared with controls rats, HRP flux = 4446 range, 1121-124,363 ng.cm-2, and mannitol flux = 1.99, range, 0.57-5.09%.cm-2.min-1; P < 0.05. These effects could originate from C. parvum-induced alteration of intracellular trafficking of pinocytosis vesicles and therefore account for the decrease in permeability to solute and macromolecules, together with impaired transcellular nutrient transport, in suckling rats.     

Identification of interleukin-6 producing fibroblastoid cells in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with leukemic meningitis

Differences in the responses of an elderly biracial group of cognitively normal subjects to a 15-item short version of the Boston Naming Test developed for the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) were examined. The subjects consisted of 103 Whites and 136 African Americans who were 70 years of age and older and living in a five-county urban and rural area of North Carolina. They were drawn from the Duke University site of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE). All were cognitively normal. With gender, years of education, and age controlled, White subjects performed significantly better than did African American subjects. The items in this test were selected to represent words with a high, medium, and low frequency of occurrence in English. They did not, however, show the expected gradation for either racial group. Medium and low frequency items were of comparable difficulty for the two races. Hierarchical ordering of difficulty would be improved with minor rearrangement of items.     

Detection of potato virus Y P1 protein in infected cells and analysis of its cleavage site

We report a patient with congenital homozygous factor V deficiency in whom a large pseudotumour in the right upper leg was successfully surgically excised under continuous substitution with fresh-frozen plasma.     

Arsenic trioxide inhibits growth of human T-cell leukaemia virus type I infected T-cell lines more effectively than retinoic acids

Adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL) is difficult to cure using conventional therapies. Recently the therapeutic possibility of retinoic acids (RA) has been reported. In this study, suppression of in vitro growth of human T-cell leukaemia virus type I (HTLV-I) infected T-cell lines and fresh ATL cells by arsenic trioxide (As2O3) were evaluated by comparison with a series of RA derivatives. Proliferation of four HTLV-I-infected T-cell lines was significantly reduced within 72 h by 1.0 micromol/l As2O3. Growth of two out of four HTLV-I-infected T-cell lines was also inhibited by 1.0 micromol/l RA, but to a lesser extent than by As2O3. The mechanism of this growth inhibition was due to the induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis was also induced in fresh ATL cells from patients by AS2O3, but far less by RA. As described in patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia, 1.0 micromol/l of As2O3 can be safely achieved in the serum of patients; however, it is difficult to maintain this concentration of RA. In conclusion, As2O3 has therapeutic potential for the treatment of ATL and may be far more clinically beneficial than RA.