New catalyst systems for the polymerization of acetylene

The catalytic activities of WCI₆Ph₄Sn, MoCl₅Ph₄Sn and tetrabenzyltitanium were examined in the polymerization of acetylene. The structure, morphology and electrical conductivity of the doped and non doped polyacetylene were also studied.     

Polymerization of 2-phenyl-aziridine

Summary The ring-opening polymerization of 2-phenyl aziridine was studied with several catalyst systems: boron trifluoride etherate, chlorhydric acid, perchloric acid, dimethyl sulfate and methyl triflate. The corresponding polyamine was obtained as a pale yellow solid with a number average molecular weight around 2,000–3,000.A kinetic study is discussed in the case of perchloric acid and methyl triflate.     

Reliability of deteriorating structures

A method is presented to assess the reliability of structures considering the deterioration of the resistance due to environmental effects (random loading and fatigue corrosion). For modeling the deterioration effects probabilistic fracture mechanical methods are applied. This concept allows the determination of the influence of various parameters (e.g. initial crack length, material toughness etc.) which is not feasible with the more traditional fatigue analysis (S-N curves). The results of the present study show that the initial surface quality (crack length) influences the reliability significantly when less ductile steels are used. As a result, quantitative information for an acceptable initial crack size distribution with regard to application of a high quality (but less ductile) steel can be obtained.     

Direct silver bonding – an alternative for substrates in power semiconductor packaging

Bonding between silver and ceramics like Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, MgO, AlN, sapphire or quartz glass is obtained by a liquid phase bonding process based on the pseudo-binary eutectic between Ag and CuO (at 1 mol %). It melts 15 K below the melting point of pure Ag in air. Excellent wetting between the eutectic liquid and the ceramic surfaces gives mechanically strong, reliable bonds. The bonding mechanism is similar to the well known direct copper bonding (DCB)-process. Our new process is simple and works at 1219±2 K in plain air. It therefore has the potential of massive cost reductions compared to the more complicated DCB-process.     

Viral Interactions with Adaptor-Protein Complexes: A Ubiquitous Trait among Viral Species

Numerous viruses hijack cellular protein trafficking pathways to mediate cell entry or to rearrange membrane structures thereby promoting viral replication and antagonizing the immune response. Adaptor protein complexes (AP), which mediate protein sorting in endocytic and secretory transport pathways, are one of the conserved viral targets with many viruses possessing AP-interacting motifs. We present here different mechanisms of viral interference with AP complexes and the functional consequences that allow for efficient viral propagation and evasion of host immune defense. The ubiquity of this phenomenon is evidenced by the fact that there are representatives for AP interference in all major viral families, covered in this review. The best described examples are interactions of human immunodeficiency virus and human herpesviruses with AP complexes. Several other viruses, like Ebola, Nipah, and SARS-CoV-2, are pointed out as high priority disease-causative agents supporting the need for deeper understanding of virus-AP interplay which can be exploited in the design of novel antiviral therapies.     

A yeast protein related to a mammalian Ras-binding protein, Vps9p, is required for localization of vacuolar proteins

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutations in vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) genes result in secretion of proteins normally localized to the vacuole. Characterization of the VPS pathway has provided considerable insight into mechanisms of protein sorting and vesicle-mediated intracellular transport. We have cloned VPS9 by complementation of the vacuolar protein sorting defect of vps9 cells, characterized its gene product, and investigated its role in vacuolar protein sorting. Cells with a vps9 disruption exhibit severe vacuolar protein sorting defects and a temperature-sensitive growth defect at 38 degrees C. Electron microscopic examination of delta vps9 cells revealed the appearance of novel reticular membrane structures as well as an accumulation of 40- to 50-nm-diameter vesicles, suggesting that Vps9p may be required for the consumption of transport vesicles containing vacuolar protein precursors. A temperature-conditional allele of vps9 was constructed and used to investigate the function of Vps9p. Immediately upon shifting of temperature-conditional vps9 cells to the nonpermissive temperature, newly synthesized carboxypeptidase Y was secreted, indicating that Vps9p function is directly required in the VPS pathway. Antibodies raised against Vps9p immunoprecipitate a rare 52-kDa protein that fractionates with cytosolic proteins following cell lysis and centrifugation. Analysis of the VPS9 DNA sequence predicts that Vps9p is related to human proteins that bind Ras and negatively regulate Ras-mediated signaling. We term the related regions of Vps9p and these Ras-binding proteins a GTPase binding homology domain and suggest that it defines a family of proteins that bind monomeric GTPases. Vps9p may bind and serve as an effector of a rab GTPase, like Vps2lp, required for vacuolar protein sorting.     

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Confinement of Dyes inside Boron Nitride Nanotubes: Photostable and Shifted Fluorescence down to the Near Infrared

Fluorescence is ubiquitous in life science and used in many fields of research ranging from ecology to medicine. Among the most common fluorogenic compounds, dyes are being exploited in bioimaging for their outstanding optical properties from UV down to the near IR (NIR). However, dye molecules are often toxic to living organisms and photodegradable, which limits the time window for in vivo experiments. Here, it is demonstrated that organic dye molecules are passivated and photostable when they are encapsulated inside a boron nitride nanotube (dyes@BNNT). The results show that the BNNTs drive an aggregation of the encapsulated dyes, which induces a redshifted fluorescence from visible to NIR-II. The fluorescence remains strong and stable, exempt of bleaching and blinking, over a time scale longer than that of free dyes by more than 10⁴. This passivation also reduces the toxicity of the dyes and induces exceptional chemical robustness, even in harsh conditions. These properties are highlighted in bioimaging where the dyes@BNNT nanohybrids are used as fluorescent nanoprobes for in vivo monitoring of Daphnia Pulex microorganisms and for diffusion tracking on human hepatoblastoma cells with two-photon imaging.     

Characterisation of gamma‐irradiated polyetherimide films with infrared spectroscopy and thermally stimulated current measurements

The performance of insulators is usually affected by the presence of space charges. The evolution of these charges under applied constraints in many cases leads to the degradation of these materials. To evaluate the performance of an insulator it is necessary to study the evolution of the physical and chemical properties in the presence of space charges. In this paper, the effect of gamma irradiation on the space charge behaviour in polyetherimide (PEI; Ultem 1000) has been investigated at different radiation doses. Space charge measurements were made using thermally stimulated currents. Infrared spectroscopy characterisation was performed to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on the physicochemical properties of PEI. The results obtained show minor differences in the infrared spectra, mainly in the 410 cm^?1 region. It is found that irradiation leads to a few structural changes in the material. The thermostimulated depolarisation current (TSDC) results show that β relaxations in PEI are affected by gamma irradiation. The activation energies of dipoles were calculated from the TSDC curves. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry