Electroreduction of oxygen on cobalt phthalocyanine-modified carbide-derived carbon/carbon nanotube composite catalysts

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this work, composite materials based on carbide-derived carbon (CDC) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) modified with Co phthalocyanine (CoPc) were employed as...     

Effect of lead poisoning on the thiamine status and function in liver and blood of rats

Three groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a thiamine deficient diet, which was supplemented by daily subcutaneous injections of a minimum requirement of thiamine, and treated with lead(II) acetate in different molar ratios to thiamine (1:1, 2:1, 10:1) for 5 and 9 months, respectively. The prolonged administration of lead(II) acetate decreases the thiamine level in lead-treated rats and diminishes the enzymatic activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase as well as that of transketolase. The thiamine level in the liver decreased by 30 to 40% compared with a reference group and the activity of the erythrocyte transketolase diminished by 5 to 40%. The level of the blood pyruvate increased by about 20% and the rate of the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate by liver mitochondria decreased.