A Combined Immunofluorescence and Fluorescent Viability Cocktail Staining Procedure for Rapid Microscopic Detection and Enumeration of Live Legionella pneumophila

Journal of Fluorescence - This report describes a combined immunofluorescence and fluorescence viability stain applied as one staining solution for rapid detection of live Legionella...     

Advances in rapid and effective break-in/conditioning/recovery of automotive PEMFC stacks

Automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks need to meet manufacturer specified rated beginning-of-life (BOL) performance before being assembled into vehicles and shipped off to customers. The process of “breaking-in” of a freshly assembled stack is often referred to as “conditioning.” It has become an intensely researched area especially in automotive companies, where imminent commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) demands a short, energy- and cost-efficient, and practical conditioning protocol. Significant advances in reducing the conditioning time from 1 to 2 days to as low as 4h or less, in some cases without the use of additional inert gases such as nitrogen, and with minimal use of hydrogen, and specialized test stations will be discussed.     

Thermal,morphostructural and spectrometric characterization of an antibacterial kaolinite-based filter modified with silver for water treatment

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The aim of this work is to synthesize and characterize a new structured silver–clay dried, calcined or sintered at different temperatures...     

Can a Procedure for the Growth of Single-layer Graphene on Copper be used in Different Chemical Vapor Deposition Reactors?

In the last decade, catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been intensively explored for the growth of single-layer graphene (SLG). Despite the scattering of guidelines and procedures, variables such as the surface texture/chemistry of catalyst metal foils, carbon feedstock, and growth process parameters have been well-scrutinized. Still, questions remain on how best to standardize the growth procedure. The possible correlation of procedures between different CVD setups is an example. Here, two thermal CVD reactors were explored to grow graphene on Cu foil. The design of these setups was entirely distinct, one being a “showerhead” cold-wall type, whereas the other represented the popular “tubular” hot-wall type. Upon standardizing the Cu foil surface, it was possible to develop a procedure for cm²-scale SLG growth that differed only by the carrier gas flow rate used in the two reactors.     

A DNA Switch for Detecting Single Nucleotide Polymorphism within a Long DNA Sequence Under Denaturing Conditions

DNA detection is usually conducted under nondenaturing conditions to favor the formation of Watson–Crick base-paring interactions. However, although such a setting is excellent for distinguishing a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within short DNA sequences (15–25 nucleotides), it does not offer a good solution to SNP detection within much longer sequences. Here we report on a new detection method capable of detecting SNP in a DNA sequence containing 35–90 nucleotides. This is achieved through incorporating into the recognition DNA sequence a previously discovered DNA molecule that forms a stable G-quadruplex in the presence of 7 molar urea, a known condition for denaturing DNA structures. The systems are configured to produce both colorimetric and fluorescent signals upon target binding.     

Fluoroalkyl Radical Generation by Homolytic Bond Dissociation in Pentacarbonylmanganese Derivatives

Thermal decarbonylation of the acyl compounds [Mn(CO)₅(COR_F)] (R_F=CF₃, CHF₂, CH₂CF₃, CF₂CH₃) yielded the corresponding alkyl derivatives [Mn(CO)₅(R_F)], some of which have not been previously reported. The compounds were fully characterized by analytical and spectroscopic methods and by several single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The solution-phase IR characterization in the CO stretching region, with the assistance of DFT calculations, has allowed the assignment of several weak bands to vibrations of the [Mn(¹²CO)₄(eq-¹³CO)(R_F)] and [Mn(¹²CO)₄(ax-¹³CO)(R_F)] isotopomers and a ranking of the R_F donor power in the order CF₃<CHF₂<CH₂CF₃≈CF₂CH₃. The homolytic Mn−R_F bond cleavage in [Mn(CO)₅(R_F)] at various temperatures under saturation conditions with trapping of the generated R_F radicals by excess tris(trimethylsilyl)silane yielded activation parameters ΔH^≠ and ΔS^≠ that are believed to represent close estimates of the homolytic bond dissociation thermodynamic parameters. These values are in close agreement with those calculated in a recent DFT study (J. Organomet. Chem. 2018 , 864, 12–18). The ability of these complexes to undergo homolytic Mn−R_F bond cleavage was further demonstrated by the observation that [Mn(CO)₅(CF₃)] (the compound with the strongest Mn−R_F bond) initiated the radical polymerization of vinylidene fluoride (CH₂=CF₂) to produce poly(vinylidene fluoride) in good yields by either thermal (100 °C) or photochemical (UV or visible light) activation.     

Isolation of Bisphenol A-Tolerating/degrading Shewanella haliotis Strain MH137742 from an Estuarine Environment

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) occurs frequently. Once, this compound was one of the highest volume chemicals produced worldwide and used as a...     

Applications of synchrotron radiation in materials analysis

The synchrotron radiation (SR) emitted by circulating high-energy electrons has extraordinary properties: The light is intensive and bright, it is tunable and highly collimated, and finally, it is linearly polarized. These exceptional properties have initiated a unique revival of many spectroscopies using electromagnetic radiation. The techniques of special concern for materials analysis which are treated in this article are: X-ray absorption, reflection, fluorescence, diffraction and topography. A number of examples will be given in order to illustrate the possibilities of these techniques when SR is used.On leave of absence from Institut für Festkörperforschung, KFA Jülich, D-5170 Jülich, Federal Republic of Germany