Low-temperature CeCoMnOx spinel-type catalysts prepared by oxalate co-precipitation for selective catalytic reduction of NO using NH3: A structure-activity relationship study.

CeCoMnOx spinel-type catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO using NH3 (NH3-SCR) are usually prepared by alkaline co-precipitation. In this paper, a series of CeCoMnOx spinel-type catalysts with different calcination temperatures were prepared by acidic oxalate co-precipitation. The physicochemical structures and NH3-SCR activities of the CeCoMnOx spinel-type catalysts prepared by oxalate co-precipitation and conventional ammonia co-precipitation were systematically compared. The results show that the CeCoMnOx spinel-type catalysts prepared by the oxalate precipitation method (CeCoMnOx-C) have larger specific surface area, more mesopores and surface active sites, stronger redox properties and adsorption activation properties than those prepared by the traditional ammonia co-precipitation method at 400 °C (CeCoMnOx-N-400), and thus CeCoMnOx-C have better low-temperature NH3-SCR performance. At the same calcination temperature of 400 °C, the NO conversion of CeCoMnOx-C-400 exceeds 89 % and approaches 100 % within the reaction temperature of 100-125 °C, which is 14.8 %-2.5 % higher than that of CeCoMnOx-N-400 at 100-125 °C. In addition, the enhanced redox and acid cycle matching mechanisms on the CeCoMnOx-C surface, as well as the enhanced monoadsorption Eley-Rideal (E-R) and double adsorption Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) reaction mechanisms, are also derived from XPS and in situ DRIFTS characterization.

Disruption and restoration of nucleolar FC and DFC during S phase in HeLa cells.

In the higher eukaryotic nucleolus, fibrillar centers (FCs), the dense fibrillar components (DFCs), and the granular components (GCs) are functional domains structurally relatively well-defined by electron microscopy (EM). However, ultrastructural alterations in FC, DFC, and GC during the cell cycle and their associated cellular functions are still largely unclear. Based on synchronized HeLa cells, we followed the structural dynamics of nucleolus during cell cycle by EM. We found that nucleolus structure shifted from tripartite to bipartite organization and FC/DFCs were reorganized in S phase with three distinct stages: (1) In early-S phase, FC/DFC structures were disassembled. (2) In mid-S phase, a transition from FC/DFC disruption to restoration occurred. As FC/DFC structures were completely disassembled, nucleoli became structurally homogenous. (3) In late-S phase, the number of small FC/DFCs increased and subsequently large FC/DFCs were constructed. Our data demonstrated that nucleolar FC/DFCs in interphase are presented in two different forms or states due to disassembly and reassembly. FC/DFCs in G1 are nucleolar structures constructed concomitantly with the establishment of nucleoli derived from the nucleolar organizer region (NOR). FC/DFCs in G2 are nucleolar components reconstituted after the global reassembly in mid-S phase. Dynamic nucleolus structures revealed in this study may serve as ultrastructural characteristics to reflect distinct stages of the cell cycle. By providing evidence for the temporal and spatial regulation of nucleolus, our findings contribute to the coupling of nucleolus structures to cell cycle dependent functions.

The new evidence of nucleolar ultrastructural dynamic change: fibrillar centre (FC) fusion in G1 phase and regeneration in S phase.

In higher eukaryotes ribosome production starts at the end of mitosis, increases during G1, is maximal in G2 (Sirri et al., 2000) and stops during prophase (Gébrane-Younès et al., 1997). But the mechanism of the change is still uncovered. Especially in the actively growing mammalian somatic cells usually contain one or several giant fibrillar centres (GFCs) with many tiny fibrillar centre (FCs) (Koberna et al., 2002; Raska et al., 2004; Casafont et al., 2007). The process how the giant fibrillar centre (GFC) and the many tiny fibrillar centres (FCs) were formed is unknown. The present results showed there were processes of FCs fusion in G1 phase and FCs regeneration in S phase respectively in the nucleoli of A 375 cells. A few FCs fused each other in late G1 phase when the process of nucleoli fusion was completed. In S phase, a lot of tiny FCs were regenerated from the periphery of GFC, separated and scattered into nucleolar matrix in late S phase and early G2 phase. The GFC was found to be coexisted with numerous tiny FCs in the nucleolus in G2 phase. The present study provided a new evidence of nucleolar dynamic change during interphase: fibrillar centre (FC) was not to be a stable state subunit of nucleolar compartment but a highly dynamic process that may be the bases of nucleolar morphological architecture organization and its function taking place.

Effect of 3D physiological loading and motion on elastohydrodynamic lubrication of metal-on-metal total hip replacements.

An elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) simulation of a metal-on-metal (MOM) total hip implant was presented, considering both steady state and transient physiological loading and motion gait cycle in all three directions. The governing equations were solved numerically by the multi-grid method and fast Fourier transform in spherical coordinates, and full numerical solutions were presented included the pressure and film thickness distribution. Despite small variations in the magnitude of 3D resultant load, the horizontal anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) load components were found to translate the contact area substantially in the corresponding direction and consequently to result in significant squeeze-film actions. For a cup positioned anatomically at 45 degrees , the variation of the resultant load was shown unlikely to cause the edge contact. The contact area was found within the cup dimensions of 70-130 degrees and 90-150 degrees in the AP and ML direction respectively even under the largest translations. Under walking conditions, the horizontal load components had a significant impact on the lubrication film due to the squeeze-film effect. The time-dependent film thickness was increased by the horizontal translation and decreased during the reverse of this translation caused by the multi-direction of the AP load during walking. The minimum film thickness of 12-20 nm was found at 0.4s and around the location at (95, 125) degrees. During the whole walking cycle both the average and centre film thickness were found obviously increased to a range of 40-65 nm, compared with the range of 25-55 nm under one load (vertical) and one motion (flexion-extension) condition, which suggested the lubrication in the current MOM hip implant was improved under 3D physiological loading and motion. This study suggested the lubrication performance especially the film thickness distribution should vary greatly under different operating conditions and the time and location that potential wear may occur was very sensitive to specific loading and motion conditions. This may provide some explanation to the large variations in wear from hip simulators and clinical studies, and also stress the importance of using more realistic loading and motion conditions in the tribological study of MOM hip prostheses.

Dynamic changes of nucleolar DNA configuration and distribution during the cell cycle in Allium sativum cells.

To investigate the correlation between subnucleolar structure and function, the precise distribution and configuration of nucleolar DNA during the cell cycle of Allium sativum were determined using the NAMA-Ur DNA-specific staining technique. We showed that nucleolar DNA is present in two forms: compacted chromatin clumps and a decondensed DNA cloud. The form of the DNA within the nucleolus varied greatly as the cell cycle progressed. During telophase, chromosomes extended into the prenucleolar body. In early G1 phase, DNA was only located in the fibrillar centers in the form of the condensed chromatin clump, while in mid-G1, S and G2 phases, the two forms of DNA were distributed in the fibrillar centers (FC) and dense fibrillar component (DFC). In prophase of mitosis, nucleolar DNA, along with FC and DFC, was linked into a network structure and condensed into a large chromatin clump. The area of the DNA cloud in the dense fibrillar component changed during different phases of the cell cycle. Our results demonstrated that the configuration of nucleolar DNA undergoes a series of decondensations and condensations during the cell cycle to fulfill the function of the nucleoli during the different phases.

[Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus application rate on population growth and grain yield of hybrid wheat C6-38/ Py85-1].

This paper studied the effects of different nitrogen and phosphorous application rates (112.5-337.5 kg N x hm(-2) and 90-270 kg P2O5 x hm(-2)) on the population growth and grain yield of hybrid wheat C6-38/Py85-1 under field condition. The results showed that the total number of population stems (PS), population dry weight (PDW), leaf area index (LAI) , photosynthetic potential (PP) and crop growth rate (CGR) were the lowest under low fertilization rate (112.5 kg N x hm(-2) and 90 kg P2O5 x hm(-2)), PS and PDW were higher under high fertilization rate (337.5 kg N x hm(-2) and 270 kg P2O5, hm(-2)) than under medium fertilization rate (225 kg N hm(-2) and 180 kg P2O5 x hm(-2)), and LAI, PP and CGR were higher under high than under medium fertilization rate before flagging, jointing, and anthesis stage, respectively, but in adverse after these stages. Under low and medium fertilization rates, PS had no mid-parent heterosis (Hm), while under high fertilization rate, it had the positive values of 6.3%, 49.7%, 4.2% and 10.8% at before winter, jointing, anthesis, and maturing stages, respectively. The Hm of LAI and PDW increased significantly with increasing fertilization rate, except that the Hm of LAI was 3.8% higher under medium than under high fertilization rate at filling stage while that of PDW had no significant difference between these two fertilization rates at maturing stage. The Hm values of PP and CGR were the lowest in the whole growth period under low fertilization rate, and lower before jointing-flagging and flagginganthesis stage but higher after these stages respectively under medium than under high fertilization rate. The grain yield and its Hm of the hybrid wheat were the highest under medium fertilization rate, lower under high fertilization rate, and the lowest under low fertilization rate. The grain yield under medium fertilization rate was 216.2 kg x hm(-2) higher than that under high fertilization rate, but its Hm had no significant difference between these two fertilization rates.

Dynamic change and derivation process of FC and DFC through G1, S and G2 phases in HeLa cells.

In order to get a deeper understanding of the relationship between nucleolus structure and its function, the dynamic change and derivation of FC (fibrillar center) and DFC (dense fibrillar component) through interphase were investigated in HeLa cells synchronized at the ultrastructural level. The results showed that there was a process of FC and DFC derivation in the nucleolus of HeLa cells during interphase. In G1 phase there were a few big FCs in the nucleolus of the HeLa cell. In S phase DFC around the FC got thickened and the configuration of the DFC changed. A lot of tiny FCs were derived from parts of the thickened DFC. We called the FC and DFC formed in G1 phase as primary FC (pri-FC) and primary DFC (pri-DFC) and the FC and DFC derived from the thickened pri-DFC as secondary FC (sec-FC) and secondary DFC (sec-DFC). In G2 phase sec-FC and sec-DFC were gradually separated from pri-DFC and scattered evenly in the nucleolus. Few large pri-FCs coexisted with numerous tiny sec-FCs in the nucleolus of HeLa cells in G2 phase. Based on the results of our observation, we suggest here a model of the dynamic change and the process of derivation of FC and DFC through interphase.

Knockdown of CD146 reduces the migration and proliferation of human endothelial cells.

Our previous study has demonstrated that CD146 molecule is a biomarker on vascular endothelium, which is involved in angiogenesis and tumor growth. However the mechanism behind is not clear. Here we have for the first time developed a novel CD146 blockade system using CD146 siRNA to study its function on endothelial cells. Our data showed that CD146 siRNA specifically blocked the expression of CD146 on both mRNA and protein levels, leading to the significant suppression of HUVEC proliferation, adhesion and migration. These results demonstrate that CD146 plays a key role in vascular endothelial cell activity and angiogenesis, and CD146 siRNA can be used as a new inhibitor for anti-angiogenesis therapy.

An efficient venturi scrubber system to remove submicron particles in exhaust gas.

An efficient venturi scrubber system making use of heterogeneous nucleation and condensational growth of particles was designed and tested to remove fine particles from the exhaust of a local scrubber where residual SiH4 gas was abated and lots of fine SiO2 particles were generated. In front of the venturi scrubber, normal-temperature fine-water mist mixes with high-temperature exhaust gas to cool it to the saturation temperature, allowing submicron particles to grow into micron sizes. The grown particles are then scrubbed efficiently in the venturi scrubber. Test results show that the present venturi scrubber system is effective for removing submicron particles. For SiO2 particles greater than 0.1microm, the removal efficiency is greater than 80-90%, depending on particle concentration. The corresponding pressure drop is relatively low. For example, the pressure drop of the venturi scrubber is approximately 15.4 +/- 2.4 cm H2O when the liquid-to-gas ratio is 1.50 L/m3. A theoretical calculation has been conducted to simulate particle growth process and the removal efficiency of the venturi scrubber. The theoretical results agree with the experimental data reasonably well when SiO2 particle diameter is greater than 0.1 microm.