High temperature behavior of functional TiAlBSiN nanocomposite coatings

This article reports on the thorough characterization of structural-phase transformation in amorphous TiAlBSiN coating after high temperature annealing at 900 °C in ambient air. The influence of annealing on the tribomechanical behavior of the coating at nano and micro scale was also examined. The research included multiple experimental techniques, i.e. AFM, SEM, TEM, HR-TEM, EDS, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Experiments showed that the amorphous phase of the TiAlBSiN coating undergoes a structural transformation, evidenced in the changes of parameters such as topological and chemical short-range order after the post-deposition annealing at 900 °C in air. The observed structural transformation, leads to a phase separation with the formation of a three dimensional nc-TiAl3/a-SiBN(O) nanocomposite structure. The relative increase of hardness, reduced elastic modulus, H/Er ratio and H2 /E3 r ratio after high temperature treatment of TiAlBSiN coatings is also reported. The complex interdependency between chemistry, morphology and relative composition of the amorphous TiAlBSiN coating phase, during the high temperature treatment, with the respective change of the tribo-mechanical characteristics, are evidence of the improvement of the coating properties in response to the environmental conditions and high temperature. This work contributes particularly to the development and understanding of flexible nanocomposite protective coatings and their changes at high temperature of operatio

High temperature behavior of functional TiAlBSiN nanocomposite coatings

This article reports on the thorough characterization of structural-phase transformation in amorphous TiAlBSiN coating after high temperature annealing at 900 °C in ambient air. The influence of annealing on the tribomechanical behavior of the coating at nano and micro scale was also examined. The research included multiple experimental techniques, i.e. AFM, SEM, TEM, HR-TEM, EDS, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Experiments showed that the amorphous phase of the TiAlBSiN coating undergoes a structural transformation, evidenced in the changes of parameters such as topological and chemical short-range order after the post-deposition annealing at 900 °C in air. The observed structural transformation, leads to a phase separation with the formation of a three dimensional nc-TiAl3/a-SiBN(O) nanocomposite structure. The relative increase of hardness, reduced elastic modulus, H/Er ratio and H2 /E3 r ratio after high temperature treatment of TiAlBSiN coatings is also reported. The complex interdependency between chemistry, morphology and relative composition of the amorphous TiAlBSiN coating phase, during the high temperature treatment, with the respective change of the tribo-mechanical characteristics, are evidence of the improvement of the coating properties in response to the environmental conditions and high temperature. This work contributes particularly to the development and understanding of flexible nanocomposite protective coatings and their changes at high temperature of operatio

Functional basis of electron transport within photosynthetic complex I

Photosynthesis and respiration rely upon a proton gradient to produce ATP. In photosynthesis, the Respiratory Complex I homologue, Photosynthetic Complex I (PS-CI) is proposed to couple ferredoxin oxidation and plastoquinone reduction to proton pumping across thylakoid membranes. However, little is known about the PS-CI molecular mechanism and attempts to understand its function have previously been frustrated by its large size and high lability. Here, we overcome these challenges by pushing the limits in sample size and spectroscopic sensitivity, to determine arguably the most important property of any electron transport enzyme – the reduction potentials of its cofactors, in this case the iron-sulphur clusters of PS-CI (N0, N1 and N2), and unambiguously assign them to the structure using double electron-electron resonance. We have thus determined the bioenergetics of the electron transfer relay and provide insight into the mechanism of PS-CI, laying the foundations for understanding of how this important bioenergetic complex functions

QSAR studies on a number of pyrrolidin-2-one antiarrhythmic arylpiperazinyls

The activity of a number of 1-[3-(4-arylpiperazin-1-yl)propyl]pyrrolidin-2-one antiarrhythmic (AA) agents was described using the quantitative structure–activity relationship model by applying it to 33 compounds. The molecular descriptors of the AA activity were obtained by quantum chemical calculations combined with molecular modeling calculations. The resulting model explains up to 91% of the variance and it was successfully validated by four tests (LOO, LMO, external test, and Y-scrambling test). Statistical analysis shows that the AA activity of the studied compounds depends mainly on the PCR and JGI4 descriptors

Antiarrhythmic and antioxidant activity of novel pyrrolidin-2-one derivatives with adrenolytic properties

A series of novel pyrrolidin-2-one derivatives (17 compounds) with adrenolytic properties was evaluated for antiarrhythmic, electrocardiographic and antioxidant activity. Some of them displayed antiarrhythmic activity in barium chloride-induced arrhythmia and in the rat coronary artery ligation-reperfusion model, and slightly decreased the heart rate, prolonged P–Q, Q–T intervals and QRS complex. Among them, compound EP-40 (1-[2-hydroxy-3-[4-[(2-hydroxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl]pyrrolidin-2-one showed excellent antiarrhythmic activity. This compound had significantly antioxidant effect, too. The present results suggest that the antiarrhythmic effect of compound EP-40 is related to their adrenolytic and antioxidant properties. A biological activity prediction using the PASS software shows that compound EP-35 and EP-40 can be characterized by antiischemic activity; whereas, compound EP-68, EP-70, EP-71 could be good tachycardia agents

Impact processes, permafrost dynamics, and climate and environmental variability in the terrestrial Arctic as inferred from the unique 3.6 Myr record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russia – A review

© 2016 Elsevier LtdLake El'gygytgyn in Far East Russia is a 3.6 Myr old impact crater lake. Located in an area that has never been affected by Cenozoic glaciations nor desiccation, the unique sediment record of the lake represents the longest continuous sediment archive of the terrestrial Arctic. The surrounding crater is the only impact structure on Earth developed in mostly acid volcanic rocks. Recent studies on the impactite, permafrost, and sediment sequences recovered within the framework of the ICDP “El'gygytgyn Drilling Project” and multiple pre-site surveys yielded new insight into the bedrock origin and cratering processes as well as permafrost dynamics and the climate and environmental history of the terrestrial Arctic back to the mid-Pliocene. Results from the impact rock section recovered during the deep drilling clearly confirm the impact genesis of the El'gygytgyn crater, but indicate an only very reduced fallback impactite sequence without larger coherent melt bodies. Isotope and element data of impact melt samples indicate a F-type asteroid of mixed composition or an ordinary chondrite as the likely impactor. The impact event caused a long-lasting hydrothermal activity in the crater that is assumed to have persisted for c. 300 kyr. Geochemical and microbial analyses of the permafrost core indicate a subaquatic formation of the lower part during lake-level highstand, but a subaerial genesis of the upper part after a lake-level drop after the Allerød. The isotope signal and ion compositions of ground ice is overprinted by several thaw-freeze cycles due to variations in the talik underneath the lake. Modeling results suggest a modern permafrost thickness in the crater of c. 340 m, and further confirm a pervasive character of the talik below Lake El'gygytgyn. The lake sediment sequences shed new leight into the Pliocene and Pleistocene climate and environmental evolution of the Arctic. During the mid-Pliocene, significantly warmer and wetter climatic conditions in western Beringia than today enabled dense boreal forests to grow around Lake El'gygytgyn and, in combination with a higher nutrient flux into the lake, promoted primary production. The exceptional warmth during the mid-Pliocene is in accordance with other marine and terrestrial records from the Arctic and indicates a period of enhanced “Arctic amplification”. The favourable conditions during the mid-Pliocene were repeatedly interrupted by climate deteriorations, e.g., during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) M2, when pollen data and sediment proxies indicate a major cooling and the onset of local permafrost around the lake. A gradual vegetation change after c. 3.0 Ma points to the onset of a long-term cooling trend during the Late Pliocene that culminated in major temperature drops, first during MIS G6, and later during MIS 104. These cold events coincide with the onset of an intensified Northern Hemisphere (NH) glaciation and the largest extent of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, respectively. After the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition, local vegetation and primary production in Lake El'gygtygyn experienced a major change from relatively uniform conditions to a high-amplitude glacial-to-interglacial cyclicity that fluctuated on a dominant 41 kyr obliquity band, but changed to a 100 kyr eccentricity dominance during the Middle Pleistocene transition (MPT) at c. 1.2–0.6 Ma. Periods of exceptional warming in the Pleistocene record of Lake El'gygytgyn with dense boreal forests around and peaks of primary production in the lake are assigned to so-called “super-interglacial” periods. The occurrence of these super-interglacials well corresponds to collapses of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) recorded in ice-free periods in the ANDRILL core, which suggests strong intrahemispheric teleconnections presumably driven by changes in the thermocline ocean circulation