Catalytic Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds over Porous Manganese Oxides Prepared via Sol-Gel Method

In this work, a set of binary and ternary manganese-copper-iron oxides was prepared via the citrate sol-gel synthesis. This facile technique allowed the preparation of mesoporous materials with promising performances for VOC oxidation in relatively short times and at mild temperatures. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction analysis, N2 physisorption at −196 °C, feld emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and H2 temperature-programmed reduction. The catalytic activity of the prepared samples was evaluated in the oxidation reaction of two VOC probe molecules (i.e., ethylene and propylene). Additionally, the reproducibility of the catalytic performance over the samples was studied through the realization of consecutive VOC catalytic oxidation runs

Effects of pulsed electric fields on DNA of human lymphocytes

The effects of pulsed electric fields of low frequency (50 Hz) on DNA of human lymphocytes were investigated. The influence of additional external factors, such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and gamma-irradiation, as well as the repair efficiency in these lymphocytes, was also evaluated. The comet assay, a very sensitive and rapid method for detecting DNA damage at the single cells level was the method used. A significant amount of damage was observed after exposure to the electric fields, compared to the controls. After 2 h incubation at 37 degrees C, a proportion of damage was repaired. H2O2 and gamma-irradiation increased the damage to lymphocytes exposed to pulsed electric fields according to the dose used, while the amount of the repair was proportional to the damage