Getters Reactants. I. Thermo-Sedimentational Activation

A new method for chemical pumping of gases has been developed using reactive alloys of Li with IIA metals in the liquid state. It is an answer to the need for ultra-high and extremely high vacuum without loose solid particles. Another application of this development is the production of high- and ultra-pure noble gases in a one-step process. Both of these solutions are unprecedented;they are based on a new gas/melt sorption interface that raises the overall bar of technical advances in the field to a higher level, simplifying sorption equipment and leading to cost savings.

Retinol-binding protein, acute phase reactants and Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma

AIM： To determine the serum levels of c-reactive protein （CRP）, transferrin （TRF）, a2-macroglobulin （A2M）, ceruloplasmin （CER）, al-acid glycoprotein （AAG）, prealbumin （P-ALB） and retinol-binding protein （RBP） in gastric carcinoma patients and to explore their possible correlation with underlying Helicobacter pylori （H pylon） infection. METHODS： We measured the serum levels of CRP, TRF, A2M, CER, AAG, P-ALB, and RBP in 153 preoperative patients （93 males; mean age： 63.1±11.3 years） with non-cardia gastric adenocarcinoma and 19 healthy subjects. RESULTS： The levels of CRP, CER, RBP, and AAG in cancer patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls （P〈0.0001）, while no difference was found regarding the TRF, P-ALB, and A2M levels. Cancer patients with H py/ori infection had significantly lower RBP values compared to non-infected ones （P〈0.0001） and also higher values of CRP and AAG （P = 0.09 andP = 0.08, respectively）. CONCLUSION： High serum levels of CRP, CER and AAG in cancer patients do not seem to be related to H pylori infection. Retinol-binding protein seems to discriminate between infected and non-infected patients with gastric carcinoma. Further studies are needed to explore if it is directly involved in the pathogenesis of the disease or is merely an epiphenomenon.

Electro-oxidation of mixed reactants of ethanol and formate on Pd/C in alkaline fuel cells

Direct ethanol fuel cells have attracted attention as an alternative energy technology due to several advantages such as high theoretical energy density and abundant supply of ethanol.In spite of the advantages,commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells is hampered by the relatively low performance caused by its slow oxidation kinetics and difficulty of complete oxidation.In this study,formate,which has relatively faster oxidation kinetics,was mixed with ethanol to compensate the latter’s sluggish kinetics.Effects of p H,concentration,scan rate,and temperature on the mixed reactants oxidation on Pd were investigated by electrochemical experiments such as potential sweep and potentiostatic methods.Furthermore,the potential of the mixed reactants as fuel was evaluated by single cell experiments.As a result,we demonstrate that mixing formate with ethanol results in enhanced power performance in a single cell system.

Differences in Acute Phase Reactants between Gout and Pseudogout

Objectives: To define clinical differences in the acute phase response and serum acute phase reactants between gout, pseudogout and crystal-induced arthritis in the presence of non-articular infections (CAI). Patients and Methods: Eleven patients with definite gout, 12 patients with pseudogout and 5 patients with CIA were included in the study. Results: The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was significantly different between gout (68.2 ± 49.9 mm/Hr) and CIA (113.8 ± 37.2 mm/Hr) but not between gout and pseudogout (83.9 ± 45.6 mm/Hr) or between pseudogout and CIA. The C-reactive protein (CRP) was significantly increased between gout (10.1 ± 7.9 mg/dL) and pseudogout (18.9 ± 9.8 mg/dL), gout and CIA (36.5 ± 12.4 mg/dL) as well as between pseudogout and CIA. The peripheral white cell count was significantly different between gout (9.27 ± 3.7 k/μL) and CIA (16.5 ± 6.8 k/μL), and between pseudogout (8.9 ± 3.2 k/μL) and CIA. Conclusions: Measurement of ESR and CRP are helpful in crystal-induced arthritis. The CRP has more discriminating utility than the ESR in distinguishing between gout, pseudogout and CIA. Peripheral wbc is most useful for differentiating crystal-induced arthritis from CIA.

Distinct microstructure and property evolution of 0.76(Bi_(0.5)Na_(0.5))TiO_(3)-0.24SrTiO_(3) ferroelectric ceramics synthesized with different TiO_(2) reactants

Single phase 0.76(Bi_(0.5)Na_(0.5))TiO_(3)–0.24SrTiO_(3) ferroelectric ceramics have been synthesized with homogenous anatase and hierarchical rutile TiO_(2) raw reactants(BNST-A and BNST-R).Either calcined powder persists the microstructure characteristics of raw reactants.As the result,when the sintering temperature increases from 1000 to 1200℃,the average grain size and density of BNST-A increase from 0.49 to 1.48μm and 5.02 to 5.61 g/cm^(3),while those of BNST-R from 0.86 to 1.44μm and 5.37 to 5.61 g/cm^(3).BNST-A illustrates a predominant ergodic relaxor state,and BNST-R prefers a non-ergodic relaxor state,as evidenced by the distinct polarization-electric field loops and current-electric field curves.Especially,such a distinct ferroelectric state is independent of sintering temperature.It is believed that the special hierarchical microstructure of rutile TiO_(2) reactant is beneficial to form denser ceramics with larger grains,and thus suppresses the contributions of polar nanoregions and defect-induced built-in field to ferroelectric property,leading to non-ergodic relaxor state.This work clearly demonstrates the nonnegligible effects of TiO_(2) reactants on the microstructure and properties of BNST ferroelectric ceramics.

Application of the Chemical-Looping Concept for Azoetrope Separation

The need for the separation of azeotropic mixtures for the production of high-end chemicals and resource recovery has spurred significant research into the development of new separation methods in the chemical industry.In this paper,a green and sustainable method for azeotrope separation is proposed based on a chemical-looping concept with the help of reversible-reaction-assisted distillation.The central concept in the chemical-looping separation(CLS)method is the selection of a reactant that can react with the azeotrope components and can also be recycled by the reverse reaction to close the loop and achieve cyclic azeotrope separation.This paper aims to provide an informative perspective on the fundamental theory and applications of the CLS method based on the separation principle,reactant selection,and case analysis,for example,the separation of alkenes,alkane,aromatics,and polyol products.In summary,we provide guidance and references for chemical separation process intensification in product refining and separation from azeotropic systems for the development of a more sustainable chemical industry.

Gas Purification and Quality Control of the End Gas Product

One of the main problems in the flow-through gas purification technologies is related with continuous control of the outlet gas purity. The information concerning purity of the produced gas is on high demand, e.g., for processing systems integrated with gas purifiers. The positive solution of this problem has become possible only now due to the appearance of reactive getters (reactants) that serve as highly efficient sinks for gas impurities and our sorption model of the processes, which take place in gas purifiers with these reactants. According to the given model the appearance of a single valued functional connection between the purity of the gas product and the duration of the treatment of the gas flow by the sorbing powder is typical for any system Me -Y, where Me is a powder reactant and Y is an impurity gas. This strict correlation provides the mathematical justification to a simple method of determining the concentration of the impurity in the gas flow at the exit from the gas purifier. This method comes down to measuring of the quantity of the purified gas by a gas flow meter, the readings of which are graduated in the units of gas concentration.

Mechanochemical Methods in the Production of High Purity Gases

The development of advanced and cost-effective methods is of prime importance for manufacturers of high purity gases. In this paper a new strategy in the development of gas flow purification technologies is described, where instead of adsorbents reactants are used, in which not only the surface is used in gas capturing but the entire volume of the material. Moreover, the reactants are activated in the gas flow by a controlled mechanical tool, which keeps the sorption kinetics at the required highest level and reduces the unproductive losses of the consumed reactant almost to zero. The advantages of the method are demonstrated with the examples of two novel gas purification units that are distinguished with uncomplicated design, serviceability and ultimately high purification efficiency.

Diagnostic usefulness of selected proteases and acute phase factors in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Uncontrolled growth and loss of control over basic metabolic functions,leading to invasive proliferation and metastases,are the salient traits of malignant tumors in general and colorectal cancer in particular.Invasion and metastases hinder effective tumor treatment.While surgical techniques and radiotherapy can be used to remove tumor focus,only chemotherapy can eliminate dispersed neoplastic cells.However,the efficacy of the latter method is limited in the advanced stages of the disease.Therefore,recognition of the mechanisms involved in neoplastic cell spreading is indispensable for developing effective therapies.AIM To use a number of biomarkers involved in cancer progression and identify a panel that could be used for effective early diagnosis.METHODS We recruited 185 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma(98 men,87 women with median age 63).Thirty-five healthy controls were sex and age-matched.Dukes’staging was as follows:A=22,B=52,C=72,D=39.We analyzed patients'blood serum before surgery.We determined:(1)Cathepsin B(CB)with Barrett's method(fluorogenic substrate);(2)Leukocytic elastase(LE)in a complex with alpha 1 trypsin inhibitor(AAT)using the immunoenzymatic MERCK test;(3)Total sialic acid(TSA)with the colorimetric periodate-resorcinol method;(4)Lipid-bound sialic acid(LASA)with the colorimetric Taut's method;and(5)The antitrypsin activity(ATA)employing the colorimetric test.RESULTS In patients,the values of the five biochemical parameters were as follows:CB=16.1±8.8 mU/L,LE=875±598μg/L,TSA=99±31 mg%,LASA=0.68±0.33 mg%,and ATA=3211±1504 U/mL.Except for LASA,they were significantly greater than those of controls:CB=11.4±6.5 mU/L,LE=379±187μg/L,TSA=71.4±15.1 mg%,LASA=0.69±0.28 mg%,and ATA=2016±690 U/mL.For CB and LASA,the differences between the four Dukes’stages and controls were not statistically significant.The inter-stage differences for CB and LASA were also absent.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis revealed the potential diagnostic value of CB,TSA,and ATA.The area under ROC,sensitivity,and specificity for these three parameters were:0.85,72%,90%;0.75,66%,77%;and 0.77,63%,84%,respectively.The sensitivity and specificity for the threeparameter panel CB-TSA-ATA were equal to 88.2%and 100%,respectively.CONCLUSION The increased value of CB,TSA,and ATA parameters are associated with tumor biology,invasion,and metastasis of colorectal cancer.The presented evidence suggests the potential value of the CB-TSA-ATA biochemical marker panel in early diagnostics.

Pivotal roles of artificial oxygen vacancies in enhancing photocatalytic activity and selectivity on Bi_2O_2CO_3 nanosheets

There is an increasing interest in bismuth carbonate(Bi2O2CO3,BOC)as a semiconductor photocatalyst.However,pure BOC strongly absorbs ultraviolet light,which drives a high recombination rate of charge carriers and thereby limits the overall photocatalysis efficiency.In this work,artificial oxygen vacancies(OV)were introduced into BOC(OV-BOC)to broaden the optical absorption range,increase the charge separation efficiency,and activate the reactants.The photocatalytic removal ratio of NO was increased significantly from 10.0%for pure BOC to 50.2%for OV-BOC because of the multiple roles played by the oxygen vacancies.These results imply that oxygen vacancies can facilitate the electron exchange between intermediates and the surface oxygen vacancies in OV-BOC,making them more easily destroyed by active radicals.In situ DRIFTS spectra in combination with electron spin resonance spectra and density functional theory calculations enabled unraveling of the conversion pathway for the photocatalytic NO oxidation on OV-BOC.It was found that oxygen vacancies could increase the production of active radicals and promote the transformation of NO into target products instead of toxic byproducts(NO2),thus the selectivity is significantly enhanced.This work provides a new strategy for enhancing photocatalytic activity and selectivity.

Enhanced mass transfer in three-dimensional single-atom nickel catalyst with open-pore structure for highly efficient CO_(2) electrolysis

Design of efficient catalysts for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO_(2)) with high selectivity and activity is of great challenge, but significant for managing the global carbon balance. Herein, a series of three-dimensional (3D) single-atom metals anchored on graphene networks (3D SAM-G) with open-pore structure were successfully mass-produced via a facile in-situ calcination technique assisted by NaCl template. As-obtained 3D SANi-G electrode delivers excellent CO Faradaic efficiency (FE) of >96% in the potential range of −0.6 to −0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a high current density of 66.27 mA cm^(−2) at −1.0 V versus RHE, outperforming most of the previously reported catalysts tested in H-type cells. Simulations indicate that enhanced mass transport within the 3D open-pore structure effectively increases the catalytically active sites, which in turn leads to simultaneous enhancement on selectivity and activity of 3D SANi-G toward CO_(2) electroreduction. The cost-effective synthesis approach together with the microstructure design concept inspires new insights for the development of efficient electrocatalysts.

Effect of the reagent vibration on stereodynamics of the reaction O（^1D）＋HF→F＋OH

This paper studies the influence of the reagent vibration on the reaction O（1D）＋HF→HO＋F by using a quasiclassical trajectory method on the new ab initio 1A＇ ground singlet potential energy surface （Gomez-Carrasco et al 2007 Chem. Phys. Lett. 435 188 193）. The product angular distributions which reflect the vector correlation are calculated. Four polarization-dependent differential cross sections （PDDCSs） which are sensitive to many photoinitiated bimolecular reaction experiments are presented in the center of the mass frame, respectively. The differential cross section indicates that the OH product mainly tends to the forward scattering, and other PDDCSs are also influenced by the vibration levels of HF.

Micro-mixing in chemical reactors:A perspective

Micro-mixing is an important mechanism, which works simultaneously with macro-mixing in chemical reactors in process industries, for achieving the best selectivity with respect to desired products. In about a half century, a huge amount of data and knowledge has been accumulated from theoretical and experimental studies on micromixing. Nevertheless, those results are mostly composites of simplified theoretical and empirical models, and the true nature of interactions of flow inhomogeneity and micro-mixing with chemical reaction has not been fully unveiled. This article reviews the progress in micro-mixing study in chemical reactors to date. A few important topics related to the nature, experimental evaluation, and numerical simulation of micro-mixing are addressed.Some suggestions are given hopefully to motivate more chemical engineers to devote their efforts to better understanding of micro-mixing in chemical reactors.

RESIDENCE TIME DISTRIBUTION IN AN OPEN REACTOR:EFFECT OF BACKGROUND REACTANT ON TRACER DISPERSION

A new approach is presented for deriving the residence time distribution(RTD)in open-type reactors with exclusion of residence in the fore section.Inasmuch as failure to predict the con-version of chemical reactions has been evidenced in many occasions,numerical solution of tracerdispersion in the presence of background concentration gradient of reactant is given to demonstratethe strong effect of background reactant on the true RTD a reactant molecule experiences.Withinthe error of computation,the conversion of a first-order chemical reaction under steady state is shownto be equal in both closed and open reactors,despite difference in relevant

EFFECT OF BACKGROUND REACTANT GRADIENT ON TRACER DISPERSION:A CASE STUDY OF IMPULSE INJECTION OF REACTANT INTO AN OPEN REACTOR

The paradox is well known that the residence time distribution(RTD)is not valid forthe estimation of the conversion of a first order reaction in an open tubular reactor.A casc ofδ injection of reactive species into an open flow system is investigated theoretically in this paper.The analytical solution with the Laplace transform demonstrated that the conversion of a first orderreaction is identical to that in a closed reactor under steady state.The effect of the backgroundreactant concentration gradient addressed by the authors in a previous paper was employed to thiscase.and the numerical solution of the tracer dispersion based on this novel argument gave rise to asimilar value of conversion.suggesting the validity of the concept and the significance of the subtledifference between RTDs determined with or without the presence of a background reactant in anopen flow system.

MONTE CARLO MODEL OF BACKMIXING AND REACTION OF PARTICLES IN CONTINUOUS FLOW SYSTEM

A stochastic approach,namely,Monte Carlo method with"tree structure pattern"has been adopted tosimulate the random backrnixing,residence time,reaction and dynamics of solid particles with size distribu-tion and with complex reaction in a complex flow system.Turbulence of particles in reactor system is simu-lated by stochastic tree pattern which is shown by pseudo-random number series picked from a uniformlydistributed set of numbers between zero and one.A Monte Carlo procedure is employed to model the par-ticles’ stochastic residence time,random flow and reaction with fluid.A large number of discrete bundlesof particles have been simulated and followed.Statistic results of all particles in the last information representthe solution to the problem under steady state of flow.The approach has a simple physical concept and simulation procedure.All calculation has been carriedout easily with a computer.For simple reaction system,results are in good agreement with those obtainedfrom the known approach and experiments.The method could provide a new kind of technique for simu-lating the behavior of particles in a continuous flow reactor.

ACTIVITY DISTRIBUTION IN PELLET FOR MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS FACTOR——GENERAL NONISOTHERMAL BIMOLECULAR REACTION

Previous work on the optimal activity distribution in catalyst pellets for the nonisothermal A→B reactions is extended to the nonisothermal two-component reactions with the kinetics r=kcAm1cBm2/（1+KAcA+KBcB）a and some concepts are generalized. It is shown that the optimal activity distribution is also a Dirac delta function. The optimal location depends on nonisothermal effect parameter βγ, concentration sensitivity parameter π and Thiele modulus φ. A criterion is derived to evaluate the optimal location whether within the pellet or at the external surface. The influences of both the increase of the active layer thickness and the deviation of the active layer location from the optimal location are analysed. The effectiveness factors of pellets are more sensitive to the location than to the thickness.

KINETIC EQUATIONS WITH VARIATION OF LIQUID REACTANT CONCENTRATION

For two common types of liquid-solid heterogeneous reactions,the kinetic equations have been established which involved both the variation of liquid reactant concentration and the va- riation of solid reactant geornetry with the reaction time.The experimental results show that the kinetic equations are more accurate and reasonable than those appeared in previous litera- tures.Moreover,they are also suitable for gas-solid heterogeneous reactions in principle.

How does supergravity affect combustion?

It is well known that gravity may have a profound impact on the combustion process under certain conditions[1].The densities of the gaseous combustion products are typically 5-12 times lower than those of reactants.Under normal gravity conditions,the density difference generates buoyant forces that drive the flow,which affects the combustion process through flow-transport-chemistry interaction.For example,the buoyant convection in normal gravity causes the candle flame to be shaped like a teardrop while spherical candle flame is observed in microgravity.Recently,microgravity combustion has drawn great attention.A series of combustion experiments have been and will be conducted in the International Space Station and Chinese Space Station.In fact,significant progress has been made in microgravity combustion.For example,the discovery of steadily burning cool flames[2]in microgravity experiments was regarded as one of the"20 Breakthroughs from 20 Years of Science aboard the International Space Station".

A multi-stream network for retrosynthesis prediction

1 Introduction Retrosynthesis aims to predict a set of reactants for producing given molecules[1],which plays a significant part in the biochemistry field,such as molecular pathway design and drug discovery.Although existing methods perform better in solving this problem,most of these methods[2,3]only describe the molecules from one kind of perspective,such as they use Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System(SMILES)strings[4]to represent the atomic components and the relationship between atoms of molecules or leverage Extended Connectivity Fingerprints(ECFPs)represent the information of the molecular sub-structure composition via binary vectors[5].