n-Hexadecane hydrocracking Single-Event MicroKinetics on Pt/H-beta

[EN] The Single-Event MicroKinetic (SEMK) model constructed for gas-phase hydroconversion of light n-alkanes on large-pore USY zeolites was applied, for the first time, to the hydrocracking of n-hexadecane on a Pt/H-Beta catalyst. Despite the 12-ringed pore channels, shape selectivity was observed in the formation of ethyl side chains. Additionally, heavy feed molecules such as n-hexadecane lead to physisorption saturation of the catalyst pores by strong Van der Waals interactions of the long alkyl chains with the zeolite framework. Intermolecular interactions and packing efficiencies in the pores induce deviations from typical Henry-regime physisorption characteristics as the physisorption selectivity, which is expected to increase with increasing carbon number, appeared to be independent of the latter. Micropore saturation effects were described by the 'size entropy' which quantifies the difference in standard entropy loss between physisorption in the Henry regime and hindered physisorption on a saturated surface. The size entropy is proportional to the catalyst loading with physisorbed species and the adsorbate carbon number. The addition of a size entropy term in the SEMK model, amounting to 102J mol(-1) K-1 for a hexadecane molecule at full saturation, allowed accurately reproducing the contribution of secondary isomerization and cracking reactions, as quantified by means of a contribution analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work was funded by the European Research Institute of Catalysis and the European Community’s Sixth Framework Programme. This work was also supported by the Research Board of Ghent University (BOF), the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme–Belgian State–Belgian Science Policy and the Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government. Financial support by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) of Spain through the Project CTQ2010-17988/PPQ is also gratefully acknowledged.Vandegehuchte, BD.; Thybaut, JW.; Martinez Feliu, A.; Arribas Viana, MDLD.; Marin, GB. (2012). n-Hexadecane hydrocracking Single-Event MicroKinetics on Pt/H-beta. Applied Catalysis A General. 441:10-20. doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2012.06.054S102044

Prediction of flow induced vibration of a flat plate located after a bluff wall mounted obstacle

[EN] Accurate prediction of Flow Induced Vibration phenomena is currently a field of major interest due to the use of lightweight materials in the automotive and aerospace industry. This article studies the turbulent flow around a wall-mounted obstacle, and the induced deformations produced by the pressure fluctuations on a plate located downstream the obstacle. The methodology used is a combination of experimental tests and numerical simulations. On one side, experiments were carried out in a wind tunnel test facility equipped with Particle Image Velocimetry to characterize the fluid velocity field, and laser vibro-meter to measure the vibrations of the plate. On the other side, Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI-one-way) has been calculated by considering different turbulence modeling approximations (RANS and LES). Finally, numerical results have been analyzed and validated against the experiments in terms of main flow structures and the vibroacoustic response of the plate.This work has been partially supported by Universitat Politecnica de Valencia through the grant Programa de apoyo a la Carrera Academica del Profesorado 2018/03/14 and by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad through Grant No. DPI2015-70464-R. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the Research Foundation Flanders and the Flemish Government department EWI. The Research Fund KU Leuven and the Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship Agency, within the SILENCEVENT project, are gratefully acknowledged for their support.Torregrosa, AJ.; Gil, A.; Quintero-Igeño, P.; Ammirati, A.; Denayer, H.; Desmet, W. (2019). Prediction of flow induced vibration of a flat plate located after a bluff wall mounted obstacle. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. 190:23-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2019.04.008S233919

Diverse roles of androgen receptor (AR) domains in AR-mediated signaling

Androgens control male sexual development and maintenance of the adult male phenotype. They have very divergent effects on their target organs like the reproductive organs, muscle, bone, brain and skin. This is explained in part by the fact that different cell types respond differently to androgen stimulus, even when all these responses are mediated by the same intracellular androgen receptor. To understand these tissue- and cell-specific readouts of androgens, we have to learn the many different steps in the transcription activation mechanisms of the androgen receptor (NR3C4). Like all nuclear receptors, the steroid receptors have a central DNA-binding domain connected to a ligand-binding domain by a hinge region. In addition, all steroid receptors have a relatively large amino-terminal domain. Despite the overall structural homology with other nuclear receptors, the androgen receptor has several specific characteristics which will be discussed here. This receptor can bind two types of androgen response elements (AREs): one type being similar to the classical GRE/PRE-type elements, the other type being the more divergent and more selective AREs. The hormone-binding domain has low intrinsic transactivation properties, a feature that correlates with the low affinity of this domain for the canonical LxxLL-bearing coactivators. For the androgen receptor, transcriptional activation involves the alternative recruitment of coactivators to different regions in the amino-terminal domain, as well as the hinge region. Finally, a very strong ligand-induced interaction between the amino-terminal domain and the ligand-binding domain of the androgen receptor seems to be involved in many aspects of its function as a transcription factor. This review describes the current knowledge on the structure-function relationships within the domains of the androgen receptor and tries to integrate the involvement of different domains, subdomains and motifs in the functioning of this receptor as a transcription factor with tissue- and cell-specific readouts

Building a Small Cinema: Resisting Neoliberal Colonization in Liverpool

In its stated aim of “creating cinemas not supermarkets,” the Small Cinema project voiced its alterity to the recent redevelopment of Liverpool’s city center and those of other former industrial cities throughout the Midlands and the north of the UK. These regeneration projects addressed the problem of a shrinking manufacturing base by replacing them with service industries, a move which has entailed the privatization of vast tracts of public space. Conversely, the building, functioning, and general praxis of the Small Cinema project suggests a mode of practice that more accurately fits within the paradigm of a collaborative commons than a capitalist marketplace. The project’s exemption from market criteria grants it the freedom to pursue public over private goods, thereby constituting a point of resistance to the ongoing neoliberalization of the city and changes to government policy that make it increasingly difficult for non-profit projects to exist. Historically speaking, cinemas have been accessible to the working class in a way that other artistic media have not. However, while the history of film as a tool for political subversion is well documented, less attention has been paid to the physical construction of independent cinematic space, its programming/running, and its potential as a node of resistance to neoliberal colonization. This paper uses the case study of the Small Cinema project in Liverpool as a means by which to understand how cinematic spaces can counteract the effects of policies that continue to have such a detrimental impact on the arts and education, as well as social health and well-being

An awkward fishing expedition

We report the case of a patient, among a group of five, in a small outbreak of histamine fish poisoning (HFP). The epidemic character of the ailment led us to the correct diagnosis. In this case, the diagnosis was also associated with a Kounis syndrome (KS). Literature concerning this subject is reviewed, reporting recent physiopathological data

Case report: an unexpected link between partial deletion of the SHANK3 gene and Heller’s dementia infantilis, a rare subtype of autism spectrum disorder

International audienceAbstractBackgroundDeletions and mutations involving the SHANK3 gene lead to a nonspecific clinical presentation with moderate to profound intellectual disability, severely delayed or absent speech, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).Better knowledge of the clinical spectrum of SHANK3 haploinsufficiency is useful to facilitate clinical care monitoring and to guide molecular diagnosis, essential for genetic counselling.Case presentationHere, we report a detailed clinical description of a 10-year-old girl carrying a pathogenic interstitial 22q13.3 deletion encompassing only the first 17 exons of SHANK3.The clinical features displayed by the girl strongly suggested the diagnosis of dementia infantilis, described by Heller in 1908, also known as childhood disintegrative disorder.ConclusionOur present case confirms several observations according to which regression may be part of the clinical phenotype of SHANK3 haploinsufficiency. Therefore, we think it is crucial to look for mutations in the gene SHANK3 in patients diagnosed for childhood disintegrative disorder or any developmental disorder with a regressive pattern involving social and communicative skills as well as cognitive and instinctual functions, with onset around 3 years