Highly Dispersed Few-Nanometer Chlorine-Doped SnO2 Catalyst Embedded in a Polyaniline Matrix for Stable HCOO– Production in a Flow Cell

With the spread of alternative energy plants, electrolysis processes are becoming the protagonists of the future industrial generation. The technology readiness level for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is still low and is largely based on precious metal resources. In the present work, tin ions are anchored on a polyaniline matrix, via a sonochemical synthesis, forming a few atomic layers of chlorine-doped SnO2 with a total loading of tin atom load of only 7 wt %. This catalyst is able to produce formate (HCOO-) with great selectivity, exceeding 72% of Faradaic efficiency in the first hour of testing in 1 M KHCO3 electrolyte, with a current density of more than 50 mA cm-2 in a 2 M KHCO3 electrolyte flow cell setup. Catalyst stability tests show a stable production of HCOO- during 6 h of measurement, accumulating an overall TONHCOO- of more than 10,000 after 16 h of continuous formate production. This strategy is competitive in drastically reducing the amount of metal required for the overall catalysis

Actuators based on intrinsic conductive polymers/carbon nanoparticles nanocompositesElectroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2013

New polyaniline (PANi) synthesis was performed starting from non-toxic N-phenil-p-phenylenediamine (aniline dimer) using reverse addition of monomer to oxidizing agent, the synthesis allows to produce highly soluble PANi. Several types of doped PANi were prepared to be used on electromechanical active actuators. Different techniques were used to include carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes and graphene. Bimorph solid state ionic actuators were prepared with these novel nanocomposites using a variety of supporting polymer

Aqueous phase reforming of the residual waters derived from lignin-rich hydrothermal liquefaction: investigation of representative organic compounds and actual biorefinery streams

Secondary streams in biorefineries need to be valorized to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the plants. Representative model compounds of the water fraction from the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of biomass were subjected to aqueous phase reforming (APR) to produce hydrogen. Carboxylic and bicarboxylic acids, hydroxyacids, alcohols, cycloketones and aromatics were identified as model compounds and tested for APR. The tests were performed with a Pt/C catalyst and the influence of the carbon concentration (0.3–1.8 wt. C%) was investigated. Typically, the increase of the concentration negatively affected the conversion of the feed toward gaseous products, without influencing the selectivity toward hydrogen production. A synthetic ternary mixture (glycolic acid, acetic acid, lactic acid) was subjected to APR to evaluate any differences in performance compared to the tests with single compounds. Indeed, glycolic acid reacted faster in the mixture than in the corresponding single compound test, while acetic acid remained almost unconverted. The influence of the reaction time, temperature and carbon concentration was also evaluated. Finally, residual water resulting from the HTL of a lignin-rich stream originating from an industrial-scale lignocellulosic ethanol process was tested for the first time, after a thorough characterization. In this framework, the stability of the catalyst was studied and found to be correlated to the presence of aromatics in the aqueous feedstock. For this reason, the influence of an extraction procedure for the selective removal of these compounds was explored, leading to an improvement in the APR performance

In situ generation of silver nanoparticles in PVDF for the development of resistive switching devices

It is widely accepted that resistive switching devices (RSDs) are extremely appealing as active components in computer memories and logic gates in electronics, directly enabling neuromorphic functionalities. The aim of this study is to investigate the chemical and electrical properties of a nanocomposite polymer, the active component of the device, in order to characterise its composition and behaviour under electric field. This paper presents the morphological and chemical characterization of an in-situ generated silver – Polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene PVDF-HFP nanocomposite (NC) material. A silver salt is added as precursor to the polymer solution and then, after a film casting step, the nanoparticles generation and growth processes are carried out by way of UV irradiation; the growth and the distribution of in-situ generated silver nanoparticles (NPs) in the polymer matrix are described. The devices, built on a planar electrode structure, undergo an I/V test to explore their resistance states at different switching voltages. Furthermore, after electrical analysis a remarkable R off /R on ratio and a relatively low switching voltage (3 V) are achieved, demonstrating the suitability of the developed material for the next generation of soft, wearable, RSDs

Regulation of caspase-3 processing by cIAP2 controls the switch between pro-inflammatory activation and cell death in microglia.

Cell Death and Disease is an open-access journal published by Nature Publishing Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons licence, users will need to obtain permission from the licence holder to reproduce the material.The activation of microglia, resident immune cells of the central nervous system, and inflammation-mediated neurotoxicity are typical features of neurodegenerative diseases, for example, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. An unexpected role of caspase-3, commonly known to have executioner role for apoptosis, was uncovered in the microglia activation process. A central question emerging from this finding is what prevents caspase-3 during the microglia activation from killing those cells? Caspase-3 activation occurs as a two-step process, where the zymogen is first cleaved by upstream caspases, such as caspase-8, to form intermediate, yet still active, p19/p12 complex; thereafter, autocatalytic processing generates the fully mature p17/p12 form of the enzyme. Here, we show that the induction of cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 2 (cIAP2) expression upon microglia activation prevents the conversion of caspase-3 p19 subunit to p17 subunit and is responsible for restraining caspase-3 in terms of activity and subcellular localization. We demonstrate that counteracting the repressive effect of cIAP2 on caspase-3 activation, using small interfering RNA targeting cIAP2 or a SMAC mimetic such as the BV6 compound, reduced the pro-inflammatory activation of microglia cells and promoted their death. We propose that the different caspase-3 functions in microglia, and potentially other cell types, reside in the active caspase-3 complexes formed. These results also could indicate cIAP2 as a possible therapeutic target to modulate microglia pro-inflammatory activation and associated neurotoxicity observed in neurodegenerative disorders

How underground systems can contribute to meet the challenges of energy transition

The paper provides an overview of the several scientific and technical issues and challenges to be addressed for underground storage of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas. The experience gained on underground energy systems and materials is complemented by new competences to adequately respond to the new needs raised by transition from fossil fuels to renewables. The experimental characterization and modeling of geological formations (including geochemical and microbiological issues), fluids and fluid-flow behavior and mutual interactions of all the systems components at the thermodynamic conditions typical of underground systems as well as the assessment and monitoring of safety conditions of surface facilities and infrastructures require a deeply integrated teamwork and fit-for-purpose laboratories to support theoretical research. The group dealing with large-scale underground energy storage systems of Politecnico di Torino has joined forces with the researchers of the Center for Sustainable Future Technologies of the Italian Institute of Technology, also based in Torino, to meet these new challenges of the energy transition era, and evidence of the ongoing investigations is provided in this paper

Soil selenium (Se) biofortification changes the physiological, biochemical and epigenetic responses to water stress in Zea mays L. by inducing a higher drought tolerance

Requiring water and minerals to grow and to develop its organs, Maize (Zea mays L.) production and distribution is highly rainfall-dependent. Current global climatic changes reveal irregular rainfall patterns and this could represent for maize a stressing condition resulting in yield and productivity loss around the world. It is well known that low water availability leads the plant to adopt a number of metabolic alterations to overcome stress or reduce its effects. In this regard, selenium (Se), a trace element, can help reduce water damage caused by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here we report the effects of exogenous Se supply on physiological and biochemical processes that may influence yield and quality of maize under drought stress conditions. Plants were grown in soil fertilized by adding 150 mg of Se (sodium selenite). We verified the effects of drought stress and Se treatment. Selenium biofortification proved more beneficial for maize plants when supplied at higher Se concentrations. The increase in proline, K concentrations and nitrogen metabolism in aerial parts of plants grown in Se-rich substrates, seems to prove that Se-biofortification increased plant resistance to water shortage conditions. Moreover, the increase of SeMeSeCys and SeCys2 forms in roots and aerial parts of Se-treated plants suggest resistance strategies to Se similar to those existing in Se-hyperaccumulator species. In addition, epigenetic changes in DNA methylation due to water stress and Se treatment were also investigated using methylation sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP). Results suggest that Se may be an activator of particular classes of genes that are involved in tolerance to abiotic stresses. In particular, PSY (phytoene synthase) gene, essential for maintaining leaf carotenoid contents, SDH (sorbitol dehydrogenase), whose activity regulates the level of important osmolytes during drought stress and ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase), whose activity plays a central role in biochemical adaptation to environmental stress. In conclusion, Se-biofortification could help maize plants to cope with drought stress conditions, by inducing a higher drought tolerance

A water-filled garment to protect astronauts during interplanetary missions tested on board the ISS

Abstract As manned spaceflights beyond low Earth orbit are in the agenda of Space Agencies, the concerns related to space radiation exposure of the crew are still without conclusive solutions. The risk of long-term detrimental health effects needs to be kept below acceptable limits, and emergency countermeasures must be planned to avoid the short-term consequences of exposure to high particle fluxes during hardly predictable solar events. Space habitat shielding cannot be the ultimate solution: the increasing complexity of future missions will require astronauts to protect themselves in low-shielded areas, e.g. during emergency operations. Personal radiation shielding is promising, particularly if using available resources for multi-functional shielding devices. In this work we report on all steps from the conception, design, manufacturing, to the final test on board the International Space Station (ISS) of the first prototype of a water-filled garment for emergency radiation shielding against solar particle events. The garment has a good shielding potential and comfort level. On-board water is used for filling and then recycled without waste. The successful outcome of this experiment represents an important breakthrough in space radiation shielding, opening to the development of similarly conceived devices and their use in interplanetary missions as the one to Mars