Improvement in sulfur desorption of NOX storage and reduction catalysts using a Ba–Ti composite oxide

A Ba-Ti composite oxide was formed on a NOx storage and reduction catalyst via impregnation of a Ba-Ti precursor solution composed of H(2)O(2) added to a complex prepared using the citric acid method. The structure of the Ba-Ti composite in solution was analyzed by chemical composition analysis and FT-Raman and UV-vis spectroscopy. MM2 calculations were performed to propose its chemical structure. Both Ba and Ti together were found to form a composite molecule in the solution. Furthermore, TEM-EDX and XRD analyses of the Ba-Ti composite oxide on the catalyst prepared by impregnation with the Ba-Ti composite aqueous solution revealed that Ba and Ti in the catalyst were highly dispersed at the nm scale. The formation of the Ba-Ti composite oxide on the NSR catalyst enhanced sulfur desorption efficiency and led to high-performance NO(X) conversion as a NO(X) storage and reduction activity catalyst after desulfation treatment. It was assumed that the existence of nano-scaled Ba compounds combined with Ti was efficient for the inhibition of the sintering of barium sulfate and its facile decomposition. It was found that dispersion of Ba compounds for NO(X) storage materials using a Ba-Ti complex solution is an efficient way to improve the durability of NSR catalysts

Promoting Stair Climbing as an Exercise Routine among Healthy Older Adults Attending a Community-Based Physical Activity Program

Stair climbing provides a feasible opportunity for increasing physical activity (PA) in daily living. The purpose of this study was to examine the daily walking and stair-climbing steps among healthy older adults (age: 74.0 ± 4.9 years; Body Mass Index (BMI): 22.3 ± 2.5 kg/m2). Participants (34 females and 15 males) attended a weekly 6-month community-based PA program. During the entire program period, daily walking and stair-climbing steps were recorded using a pedometer (Omron, HJA-403C, Kyoto, Japan). Before and after the 6-month program, height, body weight and leg muscle strength were assessed. After the 6-month program, the mean walking and stair-climbing steps in both women and men increased significantly (p ≤ 0.01). Daily stair-climbing steps increased about 36 steps in women and 47 steps in men. At the end of 6 months, only male participants had significant correlation between the number of stair steps and leg muscle strength (r = 0.428, p = 0.037). This study reported that healthy older adults attending the community-based PA program had regular stair-climbing steps during daily living. Promoting stair climbing as an exercise routine was feasible to increase their walking and stair-climbing steps

Alkylated Trihydroxyacetophenone as a MALDI Matrix for Hydrophobic Peptides

Hydrophobic peptides are difficult to detect in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), because of the hydrophilic properties of conventional matrices and the low affinity for hydrophobic peptides. Recently, we reported on alkylated dihydroxybenzoic acid (ADHB) as a matrix additive for hydrophobic peptides; however, the peptides were detected in the rim of the matrix-analyte dried spot. Here, we report on a novel matrix, alkylated trihydroxyacetophenone (ATHAP), which is a 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone derivative incorporating a hydrophobic alkyl chain on the acetyl group and thus is expected to have an affinity for hydrophobic peptides. ATHAP increased the sensitivity of hydrophobic peptides 10-fold compared with α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA), in which the detection of hydrophilic peptides was suppressed. The peptides were detected throughout the entire matrix-analyte dried spot using ATHAP, overcoming the difficulty of finding a “sweet spot” when using ADHB. In addition, ATHAP functioned alone as a matrix, unlike ADHB as an additive. In phosphorylase b digests analysis, hydrophobic peptides, which were not detected with CHCA for 1 pmol, were detected with this matrix, confirming that ATHAP led to increased sequence coverage and may extend the range of target analytes in MALDI-MS