Nucleation Phenomenon in Silica Xerogels and Pd/SiO2, Ag/SiO2, Cu/SiO2 Cogelled Catalysts

Pd/SiO₂, Ag/SiO₂ and Cu/SiO₂ xerogel catalysts have been synthesized by cogelation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and chelates of Pd, Ag and Cu with 3-(2-aminoethylamino)propyltrimethoxysilane (EDAS). It appears that, in cogelled samples, the metal complex acts as a nucleation agent in the formation of silica particles. The resulting catalysts are then composed of completely accessible metallic crystallites with a diameter of about 3 nm located inside silica porous particles with a monodisperse microporous distribution. Xerogels without metal synthesized with EDAS and TEOS (C. Alié, R. Pirard, A.J. Lecloux, and J.-P. Pirard, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 289, 88 (2001)) verify this hypothesis of nucleation by EDAS.     

Synthesis of gold nanoparticles using herbal Acorus calamus rhizome extract and coating on cotton fabric for antibacterial and UV blocking applications

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been synthesized by greener method using chloroauric acid as precursor and extract of Acorus calamus rhizome as reducing agent. Formation of AuNP was confirmed by the presence of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) peak in UV–Visible spectral analysis. XRD and FT-IR spectral analyses were performed for characterization. SEM images show spherical morphology and HR-TEM images reveal nanosize of AuNPs. The AuNPs were then coated on cotton fabric by pad-dry-cure method and characterized by SEM with EDAX technique. The results reveal the deposition of AuNPs on the surface of cotton fabric. Uncoated cotton, neat extract coated cotton and extract containing AuNPs coated cotton fabrics were then tested for antibacterial activity against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial strains by AATCC 100 test method. It showed that the extract containing AuNPs coated cotton fabric had higher antibacterial activity than other test samples against E. coli. UV-DRS analysis performed on extract containing AuNPs coated cotton fabric showed improved UV-blocking property than uncoated cotton fabric and neat extract coated cotton fabric.     

Discovery of an Iron-Regulated Citrate Synthase in Staphylococcus aureus

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Highlights? Staphylococcus aureus SbnG is discovered to be an iron-regulated citrate synthase ? SbnG provides citrate for synthesis of the citrate siderophore staphyloferrin B ? Staphyloferrin B can be synthesized in vitro using purified enzymes ? SbnG inhibitors identified     

Some results about the pseudospectral approximation of one-dimensional fourth-order problems

Summary We analyze the pseudospectral approximation of fourth order problems. We give convergence results in the one dimensional case. Numerical experiments are shown in two dimensions for the approximation of the rhombic plate bending problem. Eigenvalues and preconditioning are also investigated.Work performed in the research program of the Istituto di Analisi Numerica del C.N.R., Pavia (Italy)The second author has been sponsored by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, contract He 1624/1-1     

Electronegativity in the local density functional formalism

A theoretical basis for Miedema and coworker's empirical relation between electronegativity and electron density at the boundary of a Wigner-Seitz cell is provided in the framework of local density functional theory. An essential feature of our model is the introduction of an effective mass parameter determined from the zero pressure stability condition for an individual cell. Our results suggest that non local effects play an important role in alloy formation.     

Long-term impacts of battery electric vehicles on the German electricity system

The emerging market for electric vehicles gives rise to an additional electricity demand. This new electricity demand will affect the electricity system. For quantifying those impacts a model-based approach, which covers long-term time horizons is necessary in order to consider the long lasting investment paths in electricity systems and the market development of electric mobility. Therefore, we apply a bottom-up electricity system model showing a detailed spatial resolution for different development paths of electric mobility in Germany until 2030. This model is based on a linear optimization which minimizes the discounted costs of the electricity system. We observe an increase of electricity exchange between countries and electricity generated by renewable energy sources. One major result turns out to be that electric vehicles can be integrated in the electricity system without increasing the system costs when a controlled (postponing) charging strategy for electric vehicles is applied. The impact on the power plant portfolio is insignificant. Another important side effect of electric vehicles is their substantial contribution to decreasing CO₂ emissions of the German transport sector. Hence, electric mobility might be an integral part of a sustainable energy system of tomorrow.     

An adaptive refinement method for convection‐diffusion problems

An adaptive finite difference method for singularly perturbed convection‐diffusion problems is presented. The method is introduced using a first‐order upwind scheme and a suitable error estimator based on the first derivatives. To obtain the grid structure needed for the cross stencil a special refinement strategy is considered. To avoid the slave points we change the stencil at the interface points from a cross to a skew one. After the convergence of the refinement algorithm we use a combination of a first order upwind and a second order central schemes to achieve higher order of convergence. Several numerical examples show the efficiency of our treatment. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Midgestational exposure of pregnant BALB/c mice to magnetic resonance imaging conditions

The potential for producing reproductive toxicity or teratogenesis in mice by exposure to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) conditions was evaluated by means of reproduction studies and the homeotic shift test. Embryos from pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed in vivo for 16 hours beginning on gestation day 8.75 to MRI conditions of modest field strength (static field, 0.35 tesla (T); pulsed gradients, 2.3 X 10(-4) T/cm for 2.5 to 10 msec; and radio frequency, 15 MHz at an average of 61.2 mW). Unexposed, sham-exposed (both MRI and X-ray) and X-irradiated (0.5 Gy) animals were the control groups. Neither placental resorptions nor stillbirths were increased by MRI. Fetal weight at birth and crown-rump length were proportional; however, crown-rump length was significantly less (p less than 0.001) in the MRI-exposed fetuses (respective mean values for MRI-exposed fetuses were 21.8 +/- 0.2 mm compared to 22.4 +/- 0.1 for sham-exposed fetuses). Both crown-rump length and fetal weight were significantly reduced after X-irradiation. The percentage of homeotic skeletal shifts was scored for each of eight anatomic sites. Only X-radiation produced significant increases in skeletal shifts. Prolonged midgestational exposure of mice to MRI conditions currently used for human clinical imaging, therefore, failed to reveal overt embryotoxicity (resorptions, stillbirths) or teratogenicity (homeotic shifts), consistent with the non-ionizing properties of MR. However, the slight but significant reduction in fetal crown-rump length after prolonged exposure justifies further study of higher MRI energy levels and consideration of other endpoints for establishing with greater confidence the safety of MRI during pregnancy.