Anodic behavior of semiconducting InSb single crystals in acidic solutions

Undoped, semiconducting single, n-type, InSb crystals were used to study the different etching behavior of the inverse {111} planes, to determine the apparent electron number of InSb under anodic dissolution (which corresponds to the sum of the absolute values of the oxidation numbers) and to investigate whether or not the inverse {111} planes show potential differences. The In {111}, Sb {111[repeating]}, {110} and {100} faces were highly polished, etched and immersed in various acidic solutions. Several new etch patterns of the inverse {111} faces were observed in giving other possibilities to distinguish both of the planes. The significant differences in potentials between the inverse {111} faces are exhibited in some acidic solutions. The potential of Sb {111[repeating]} is always less noble that of In {111}. The addition of oxidizing or reducing agents does not shift the sequence in potentials of the inverse {111} faces within at least a certain range of current density. The apparent electron number of InSb dissolving anodically in acidic solutions is close to 6 at low current densities. The deviation from the value of 6, for InSb dissolving anodically in 2 N HCl at current densities higher than ~40 ma/cm², is found to be due to surface disintegration after a dark protective film (mainly Sb₄O₅Cl₂) is formed on the surface of the specimen. Sb particles, colloidal in origin and embedded in this corrosion product, are responsible for the dark color. It is also found that the dissolution potentials of the inverse {111} faces of InSb are much closer to that of metallic Sb than to metallic In, indicating that the latter undergoes a larger chemical change during the InSb formation than Sb. From the observed Tafel behavior and the calculated activation energies of InSb undergoing anodic dissolution in 2 N HCl, within the current density range of ~3 x 10⁻² to ~30 ma/cm², it is concluded that the rate determining step is a one electron discharge and is the same on all four low-indexed crystallographic planes --Abstract, Pages ii-iii

Dissolution Potentials And Activation Energies Of InSb Single Crystals

The rest (or corrosion) and dissolution potentials of InSb single crystals in HC1 were determined. There is no potential difference (within error limits) between the inverse {111} faces in pure HC1. A difference of up to 44 mV and more develops as soon as the InSb electrode is anodically dissolved. The potential becomes less noble in the sequence In{111}, {100}, {110}, Sb{111}. The Tafel relationship is observed over three decades of current density. With additions of FeCl3, FeCl2, K3Fe(CN)6, K4Fe(CN)6, H2C4H4O6 to 2N HC1, the anodic potentials of both inverse {111} faces are shifted to more active values; the e\u27H of In{111} is always nobler than that of Sb{111}. There are indications that the various potentials observed are a function of current density within the pores of a protective layer, Sb^OsCU. The apparent activation energy, ca. 20 kcal/mole, of the anodic dissolution reaction is nearly the same on all crystallography planes of InSb. The rate of anodic dissolution of Sb{111} in pure 2N HC1 is 3-7 times larger than that of the inverse face at the same potential. © 1972, by The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved

The Anodic Dissolution Reaction Of InSb: Etch Patterns, Electron Number, Anodic Disintegration, And Film Formation

The etching behavior of the inverse {111} planes of undoped, semiconducting, n-type, InSb single crystals was explored. Depending upon the etchant, including anodic dissolution, various etch patterns were obtained on the inverse planes. In general, the etch pits on the In{111} plane were round, and the face was shiny, whereas the face of the inverse plane was dark and rough. The rates of dissolution in the electrolytes used were very low, especially in absence of oxidizers. The components dissolve as In3+ and Sb3 +. At current densities above 40 or 60 mA cm-2 (on Sb{111} or In{111}), growth of a black, colloidal film of Sb4O5Cl2 containing very fine metallic Sb particles occurs on both planes. The Sb particles result from the partial disintegration of InSb. Upon heating the film in vacuum, recrystallization occurs and the Sb aggregates to form larger particles. An explanation is offered for the different behaviors of the inverse {111} planes. © 1971, by The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

Integrated Proteogenomic Characterization of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

To elucidate the deregulated functional modules that drive clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), we performed comprehensive genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic characterization of treatment-naive ccRCC and paired normal adjacent tissue samples. Genomic analyses identified a distinct molecular subgroup associated with genomic instability. Integration of proteogenomic measurements uniquely identified protein dysregulation of cellular mechanisms impacted by genomic alterations, including oxidative phosphorylation-related metabolism, protein translation processes, and phospho-signaling modules. To assess the degree of immune infiltration in individual tumors, we identified microenvironment cell signatures that delineated four immune-based ccRCC subtypes characterized by distinct cellular pathways. This study reports a large-scale proteogenomic analysis of ccRCC to discern the functional impact of genomic alterations and provides evidence for rational treatment selection stemming from ccRCC pathobiology

Proteogenomic characterization of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer with poor patient survival. Toward understanding the underlying molecular alterations that drive PDAC oncogenesis, we conducted comprehensive proteogenomic analysis of 140 pancreatic cancers, 67 normal adjacent tissues, and 9 normal pancreatic ductal tissues. Proteomic, phosphoproteomic, and glycoproteomic analyses were used to characterize proteins and their modifications. In addition, whole-genome sequencing, whole-exome sequencing, methylation, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), and microRNA sequencing (miRNA-seq) were performed on the same tissues to facilitate an integrated proteogenomic analysis and determine the impact of genomic alterations on protein expression, signaling pathways, and post-translational modifications. To ensure robust downstream analyses, tumor neoplastic cellularity was assessed via multiple orthogonal strategies using molecular features and verified via pathological estimation of tumor cellularity based on histological review. This integrated proteogenomic characterization of PDAC will serve as a valuable resource for the community, paving the way for early detection and identification of novel therapeutic targets. [Display omitted] •Proteogenomic characterization reveals the functional impact of genomic alterations•Phosphoproteomics uncovers putative therapeutic targets downstream of KRAS•Multiomics links endothelial cell remodeling and glycolysis to immune exclusion•Proteomics and glycoproteomics reveal candidates for early detection or intervention Comparative multiomic analyses of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors with normal adjacent and pancreatic ductal tissues provide insight into genomic, proteomic, and immune dysregulation in driving disease