A role for cryptochromes in sleep regulation

Background  

The cryptochrome 1 and 2 genes (cry1 and cry2) are necessary for the generation of circadian rhythms, as mice lacking both of these genes (cry1,2 ^-/-) lack circadian rhythms. We studied sleep in cry1,2 ^-/- mice under baseline conditions as well as under conditions of constant darkness and enforced wakefulness to determine whether cryptochromes influence sleep regulatory processes.     

Heterometallic architectures based on the combination of heteroleptic copper and cobalt complexes with silver salts

A strategy for the formation of heterometallic coordination polymers based on novel copper(II) and cobalt(III) heteroleptic complexes (acacCN)Cu(dpm) and (acacCN)Co(dpm)(2) (acacCN = 3-cyanoacetylacetonate; dpm = dipyrrin) is presented. Using dipyrrins appended with a p- or m-pyridyl group, dpm-4py and dpm-3py, four novel copper and cobalt complexes were prepared and characterized both in solution and in the solid state. These two classes of complexes show different electrochemical properties upon investigation by cyclic voltammetry in CH(2)Cl(2). While the copper complexes show only irreversible reduction processes, the voltammogram of the cobalt species reveals the presence of two quasi-reversible reductions. In the solid state, the copper(II) compounds self-assemble to form one-dimensional architectures upon coordination of the peripheral pyridyl group to the copper center, as characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Owing to the filled coordination sphere of the octahedral cobalt centers, the (acacCN)Co(dpm-py)(2) compounds crystallize as isolated molecules. Upon reaction with silver salts, these complexes form crystalline heterometallic architectures with different organization and dimensionality, depending on the nature of the metal center and the position of the nitrogen atom in the pyridyl group. The two copper complexes lead to the formation of trinuclear species, {[(acacCN)Cu(dpm-py)](2)Ag}(+), resulting from coordination of the pyridyl groups to the silver cations. However, while meta-functionalized complexes self-assemble into an extended architecture via weak interaction of the peripheral nitrile of the acacCN ligand to the Ag(+) cation, this interaction is not present in the para-functionalized analogue. In both networks based on the Ag(BF(4)) salt, coordination of the tetrafluoroborate anion to the silver center in the rather rare chelate mode is observed. Upon assembly of the cobalt metallatectons with silver salts, two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymers are obtained in crystalline form, resulting, however, from different sets of interactions. Indeed, no coordination of the peripheral nitrile of the acacCN ligand is observed in the network incorporating the m-pyridyl-appended dpm; coordination of the pyridyl groups to the silver center and d(10)-d(10) interactions lead to a 2D architecture. In the case of the para analogue, a 2D honeycomb network is observed owing to coordination of the Ag(I) ion to two pyridyl nitrogen atoms and to one peripheral nitrile group of a acacCN ligand. This latter polymer represents a geometrical hybrid of the networks reported in the literature based on homoleptic Co(dpm-4py)(3) and Cr(acacCN)(3) complexes.     

Effect of colloids on salt transport in crossflow nanofiltration

The role of colloid deposition on the performance of a salt-rejecting NF membrane was evaluated by modeling salt transport using a two-layer transport model, which quantified the relative contributions of advection and diffusion in the cake and the membrane layers, and the effects of flux on the membrane sieving coefficient. The model was able to accurately describe how the measured permeate concentration, rejection, osmotic pressure, and flux decline varied with time. The two-layer model confirmed that the Peclet number in the cake layer was about an order of magnitude higher than that in the membrane layer, leading to significant concentration polarization at the membrane surface, as shown by others. However, the cake layer also increased overall resistance, which resulted in flux decline during constant pressure operation. Flux decline caused an increase in the actual sieving coefficient, leading to higher solute flux, lower observed rejection, and thus lower the bulk concentration. These coupled phenomena tended to mitigate the increase in concentration polarization caused by the cake. Therefore, as predicted by the model and verified by experiment, the osmotic pressure does not increase monotonically as the cake grows, and in fact can decrease when the cake layer is thick and the flux decline is significant. In our experimental system, the pressure drop across the cake layer, which was proportional to the cake thickness, was significant under the conditions studied. The effects of cake-enhanced osmotic pressure analyzed here are lower than those observed in previous studies, possibly because the transport model employed explicitly accounts for the effect of flux decline due to cake growth on the membrane sieving coefficient, and possibly because we used a somewhat different methodology to estimate cake porosity.     

Preparation,structures, and reactivities of compounds with double bonding between the heavier group 5A elements

Abstract

The synthesis of diphosphenes (RP[dbnd]PR′), phosphaarsenes (RPxydAsR′), phosphastibenes (RP[dbnd]SbR′), and diarsenes (RAs[dbnd]AsR′) is discussed. X-ray crystallographic studies have been performed on representative double-bonded compounds. The reactivities and coordination chemistry of selected compounds have been explored.     

Kinetics of Membrane Flux Decline: The Role of Natural Colloids and Mitigation via Membrane Surface Modification

Applications of membrane technologies for potable water production have been expanding significantly, leading to increased efforts to control membrane fouling, which can significantly reduce membrane performance, increase operating costs, and shorten membrane life. Natural organic matter is ubiquitous in all water supplies and has been implicated as a major contributor to fouling during filtration of natural water. In this review, we discuss factors that influence NOM fouling, including hydrodynamics; properties of the feed constituents such as size, hydrophobicity, charge density and isoelectric point; properties of the membrane including hydrophobicity, charge density, surface roughness, and porosity; and properties of the solution phase such as pH, ionic strength and concentration of metals. We review approaches to identify and mathematically describe fouling kinetics, including effects of pore blockage, cake formation, and osmotic pressure. Finally, we discuss strategies to mitigate fouling, with a focus on strategies that involve a modification of the nanostructure of membrane surfaces, via UV-assisted graft polymerization of hydrophilic monomers to increase surface wettability and reduce interactions between NOM and the membrane surface.