Sol–gel La2O3–ZrO2 mixed oxide catalysts for biodiesel production

Different La2O3 contents（0, 1, 2, 3, and 5 wt%） were used to prepared La2O3-ZrO2 mixed oxides calcined at 600 ℃ by the sol-gel method. The catalytic activity was measured as biodiesel production from canola oil through a transesterification reaction. The characterization results indicate that the La2O3 monolayer formation and extent of basicity of m-ZrO2 have a large influence on biodiesel production.Greater biodiesel conversion（56% at 4 h） was obtained with the 3% La2O3-ZrO2 catalyst in the presence of basic sites and the formation of a monolayer of La2O3. The decrease in the catalytic activity for 5% La2O3-ZrO2 resulted from the loss of active sites on the catalyst because of agglomeration, which was suggested by XPS and the isoelectric point. The kinetic data fit to a pseudo-first order constant, and the largest kinetic constant corresponds to 3% La2O3-ZrO2, currently the largest heterogeneous non-alkaline metal catalyst reported for a transesterification reaction.

Bile acids:Chemistry,physiology,and pathophysiology

The family of bile acids includes a group of molecular species of acidic steroids with very peculiar physical-chemical and biological characteristics.They are synthesized by the liver from cholesterol through several complementary pathways that are controlled by mechanisms involving finetuning by the levels of certain bile acid species.Although their best-known role is their participation in the digestion and absorption of fat,they also play an important role in several other physiological processes.Thus,genetic abnormalities accounting for alterations in their synthesis,biotransformation and/or transport may result in severe alterations,even leading to lethal situations for which the sole therapeutic option may be liver transplantation.Moreover,the increased levels of bile acids reached during cholestatic liver diseases are known to induce oxidative stress and apoptosis,resulting in damage to the liver parenchyma and,eventually,extrahepatic tissues.When this occurs during pregnancy,the outcome of gestation may be challenged.In contrast,the physical-chemical and biological properties of these compounds have been used as the bases for the development of drugs and as pharmaceutical tools for the delivery of active agents.

P-functionalized carbon nanotubes promote highly stable electrocatalysts based on Fe-phthalocyanines for oxygen reduction: Experimental and computational studies

Iron(Ⅱ) phthalocyanines(FePc) supported on functionalized nanostructured carbon materials have been studied as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in an alkaline medium. Herein, two types of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) have been explored as support, Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Herringbone Carbon Nanotubes(SWCNTs and h CNTs, respectively), both electrochemically modified with ortho-aminophenylphosphonic acid(2APPA), which provides phosphate axial coordinating ligands for the immobilization of FePc molecules. All the catalysts were prepared via a facile incipient wetness impregnation method. Comprehensive experimental analysis together with density functional theory(DFT) calculations has demonstrated both the importance of the five-coordinated Fe macrocycles that favor the interaction between the FePc and the carbon support, as well as the effect of the CNT structure in the ORR. FePc axial coordination provides a better dispersion, leading to higher stability and a favorable electron redistribution that also tunes the ORR performance by lowering the stability of the reaction intermediates. Interestingly, such improvement occurs with a very low content of metal(~1 wt% Fe),which is especially remarkable when h CNT support is employed. This work provides a novel strategy for the development of Fe-containing complexes as precious metal-free catalysts towards the ORR.

A Comparative Study of Non-Volatile Compounds Present in 3R4F Cigarettes and iQOS Heatsticks Utilizing GC-MS

It is now widely suggested that people who are dependent on nicotine should switch from ordinary tobacco smoking to alternative products, which at least reduce the overall harm from smoking. A number of alternatives are now popular, including electronic cigarettes and heatsticks. In this work comparative analysis of the smoke/aerosol emission from 3R4F standard cigarettes and iQOS heatsticks was undertaken. For this, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was applied, to measure the non-volatile compounds of smoke/aerosol emission from individual samples, with the specific aim to determine their content of nicotine and selected other main components. All measurement data were collected under the Health Canada Intense (HCI) puffing regime. The most relevant findings of the present investigation can be summarized as follows. First, the number of measured aerosol components in the iQOS samples, with respect to those of 3R4F samples, was significantly lower (notably 37 versus 12 components). Second, the analysis of the iQOS and 3R4F GC-MS chromatographic fingerprints indicated a non-nicotine global component reduction (number and areas excluding nicotine) of larger than 80% for the iQOS samples in comparison to 3R4F samples. Third, the nicotine content of the iQOS aerosol was less than half that contained in the 3R4F smoke. The results from the present investigation indicate that—except for nicotine—smokers are exposed to a largely reduced number and amount of non-volatile, non-nicotine components in the iQOS heatstick aerosol, in comparison to those in the 3R4F cigarette smoke.

Use of micellar liquid chromatography for rapid monitoring of fungicides post harvest applied to citrus wastewater

A method based on micellar liquid chromatography has been developed to simultaneously monitor four pesticides largely post-harvest applied to citrus：thiabendazole,pyrimethanil,o-phenylphenol and imazalil.Water samples were filtered and directly injected without other treatment,thus avoiding extraction steps.The composition of the mobile phase was optimized using a chemometrical approach to achieve and excellent resolution to 0.07 mol/L SDS/5%,V/V 1-pentanol buffered at p H 3.Mobile phase run through a C18 column at 1 m L/min at room temperature.The detection was performing by UV–Visible absorbance using a wavelength program：0–10 min,305 nm（for thiabendazole）;10–12;265 nm（for pyrimethanil）and 12–18,220 nm（o-phenylphenol and imazalil）.The developed method was validated following the guidelines of the US Environmental Protection Agency in terms of：quantitation range,（0.5–4 to 15μg/m L）,linearity（r2〉0.9995）,sensitivity（LOD,0.18–1.4μg/m L）,precision（〈9.2%）,trueness（93.9%–103.7%）,and ruggedness（〈9.9%）.It was found that the fungicides remain up to eight days in surface water at outdoor conditions.The method was used to screen the presence of the analytes in several waste water samples,and was proved to be useful in routine analysis.

Infrared fluorescence imaging of infarcted hearts with A@S nanodots

Ag2S nano dots have already bee n dem onstrated as promisi ng n ear-i nfrared (NIR-II, 1.0-1.45 pm) emitting nan oprobes with low toxicity, high penetration and high resolution for in vivo imaging of, for example, tumors and vasculature. In this work, we have systematically investigated the pote ntial applicati on of function alized Ag2S nano dots for accurate imaging of damaged myocardium tissues after a myocardial in farction in duced by either partial or global ischemia. Ag2S nano dots surface-function alized with the an giote nsin II peptide (ATI I) have show n over 10-fold enhanced binding efficiency to damaged tissues than non-specifically (PEG) functionalized Ag2S nanodots due to their interaction with the upregulated angiotensin II receptor type I (AT1R). It is demonstrated how the NIR-II images generated by ATII-functionalized Ag2S nanodots contain valuable information about the location and extension of damaged tissue in the myocardium allowing for a proper identification of the occluded artery as well as an in direct evaluati on of the damage level. The pote ntial applicati on of Ag2S nano dots in the n ear future for in vivo imaging of myocardial infarction was also corroborated by performing proof of concept whole body imaging experiments.