Reaction specificity in catalysts reported to exhibit strong metal-support interactions

The specific activities of a 10% Ni/TiO₂ and a 10% Ni/SiO₂ catalyst for the hydrogenolysis of n-hexane and for the methanation reaction have been investigated. Both catalysts have very similar activities and selectivities for hydrogenolysis. However, the titania-supported catalyst exhibits a considerably greater specific activity for methanation. It is concluded that this enhancement of activity is reaction specific, and we propose a mechanism involving the adsorption of CO onto the surface of titania.

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10% Ni/TiO₂ 10% Ni/SiO₂ - . . , TiO₂ . , . , CO .

     

The mechanism of N2O formation via the (NO)2 dimer: a density functional theory study

Catalytic formation of N(2)O via a (NO)(2) intermediate was studied employing density functional theory with generalized gradient approximations. Dimer formation was not favored on Pt(111), in agreement with previous reports. On Pt(211) a variety of dimer structures were studied, including trans-(NO)(2) and cis-(NO)(2) configurations. A possible pathway involving (NO)(2) formation at the terrace near to a Pt step is identified as the possible mechanism for low-temperature N(2)O formation. The dimer is stabilized by bond formation between one O atom of the dimer and two Pt step atoms. The overall mechanism has a low barrier of approximately 0.32 eV. The mechanism is also put into the context of the overall NO + H(2) reaction. A consideration of the step-wise hydrogenation of O(ads) from the step is also presented. Removal of O(ads) from the step is significantly different from O(ads) hydrogenation on Pt(111). The energetically favored structure at the transition state for OH(ads) formation has an activation energy of 0.63 eV. Further hydrogenation of OH(ads) has an activation energy of 0.80 eV.     

Directional Self‐Assembly of Fluorinated Star Block Polymer Thin Films Using Mixed Solvent Vapor Annealing

We demonstrate the directional alignment of perpendicular‐lamellae domains in fluorinated three‐armed star block polymer (BP) thin films using solvent vapor annealing with shear stress. The control of orientation and alignment was accomplished without any substrate surface modification. Additionally, three‐armed star poly(methyl methacrylate‐block‐styrene) [PMMA‐PS] and poly(octafluoropentyl methacrylate‐block‐styrene) were compared to their linear analogues to examine the impact of fluorine content and star architecture on self‐assembled BP feature sizes and interdomain density profiles. X‐ray reflectometry results indicated that the star BP molecular architecture increased the effective polymer segregation strength and could possibly facilitate reduced polymer domain spacings, which are useful in next‐generation nanolithographic applications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1663–1672     

Chemical Proteomics and Phenotypic Profiling Identifies the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor as a Molecular Target of the Utrophin Modulator Ezutromid

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal muscle‐wasting disease arising from mutations in the dystrophin gene. Upregulation of utrophin to compensate for the missing dystrophin offers a potential therapy independent of patient genotype. The first‐in‐class utrophin modulator ezutromid/SMT C1100 was developed from a phenotypic screen through to a Phase 2 clinical trial. Promising efficacy and evidence of target engagement was observed in DMD patients after 24 weeks of treatment, however trial endpoints were not met after 48 weeks. The objective of this study was to understand the mechanism of action of ezutromid which could explain the lack of sustained efficacy and help development of new generations of utrophin modulators. Using chemical proteomics and phenotypic profiling we show that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a target of ezutromid. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that ezutromid binds AhR with an apparent K_D of 50 nm  and behaves as an AhR antagonist. Furthermore, other reported AhR antagonists also upregulate utrophin, showing that this pathway, which is currently being explored in other clinical applications including oncology and rheumatoid arthritis, could also be exploited in future DMD therapies.     

Cryopreservation of protonemata of Ditrichum cornubicum (paton) comparing the effectiveness of four cryoprotectant pretreatments

If an ex situ programme for the conservation of rare and threatened bryophytes is to succeed, a method of long-term, basal storage is required. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of sucrose, ABA and sucrose/ABA combined, as cryoprotectant pretreatments, for the long-term storage of protonemata of the endangered Cornish path moss, Ditrichum cornubicum. This work is a prelude to the in vitro conservation of rare and endangered UK bryophytes. The addition of sucrose and/or ABA in the pre-culture medium, reduced protonemal growth rate. However, pretreatment afforded a high level of protection against tissue damage during dehydration and freezing, with 100 % regeneration of pretreated plants after thawing, compared to 53 % regeneration of controls. Sucrose combined with ABA in the pre-culture medium gave the most effective cryoprotection, with protonemata having fewer necrotic tissues and rapid recovery of growth.     

Acoustic measurements of the sound-speed profile in the bubbly wake formed by a small motor boat

In situ measurements of the bubble field within wakes generated by a small motorboat show that the bubble field, shortly after the initial turbulent generation period, consists mainly of bubbles with radii between 20 and 200 microm. The subsequent dispersion of the wake field can be described using a model that includes bubble buoyancy and dissolution only, and the air volume fraction within the wakes decay exponentially with an e-folding time of between 40 and 60 s. Simultaneous measurements of sound propagating through the bubbly wake exhibit spectral banding due to waveguide propagation. Inversions using the inverse-square theory developed by Buckingham [Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 335, 513-555 (1991)] show that this acoustic inversion technique provide a viable means of estimating the low-frequency sound-speed profile in an upward refractive bubble layer when dispersion can be neglected.     

An experimental study of the behavior of transient isolated convection in a rigidly rotating fluid

The temperature field of starting thermal plumes were measured in a rotating annulus with various rotation rates and buoyancies. The experiments revealed many details of the internal structure of these convective phenomena and also significant horizontal displacements from their source. Measurements show an increase in the maximum temperature observed in the thermal caps with increasing rotation and a more rapid cooling of the buoyancy source.List of symbols D angle relating inward centripetal acceleration to buoyant acceleration, defined by tan D = R/g - g gravitational acceleration - P total pressure of ambient fluid - R radial coordinate measured from rotation axis - R ₀ distance from rotation axis to buoyancy source - u velocity of fluid parcel along the radial direction - velocity of fluid parcel along the azimuthal direction - w velocity of fluid parcel along the axial direction - z axial coordinate, measured upward from the plane containing the buoyancy source - density of a buoyant parcel of fluid - ₀ density of the ambient fluid - azimuthal angle measured from the radial line passing through the buoyancy source - rotation rate of the R––z coordinate system in radians/second     

Superdeformation in142Eu

A rotational band with 15 transitions has been observed in¹⁴²Eu in an experiment with the GASP Ge detector array by the¹¹⁰Pd(³⁷Cl,5_n) reaction. The average energy spacing between the neighbouring transitions is 60 keV, which is similar to the energy spacings in the superdeformed bands in the mass 140 region. The band has a constant dynamic moment of inertia as suggested by Cranked Shell Model calculations.     

Spin squeezing and quantum correlations

We discuss the notion of spin squeezing considering two mutually exclusive classes of spin-s states, namely, oriented and non-oriented states. Our analysis shows that the oriented states are not squeezed while non-oriented states exhibit squeezing. We also present a new scheme for construction of spin-s states using 2s spinors oriented along different axes. Taking the case of s=1, we show that the ‘non-oriented’ nature and hence squeezing arise from the intrinsic quantum correlations that exist among the spinors in the coupled state.