Raising the COx Methanation Activity of a Ru/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst by Activated Modification of Metal–Support Interactions

Ru/Al2O3 is a highly stable, but less active catalyst for methanation reactions. Herein we report an effective approach to significantly improve its performance in the methanation of CO2/H2 mixtures. Highly active and stable Ru/γ-Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by high-temperature treatment in the reductive reaction gas. Operando/in situ spectroscopy and STEM imaging reveals that the strongly improved activity, by factors of 5 and 14 for CO and CO2 methanation, is accompanied by a flattening of the Ru nanoparticles and the formation of highly basic hydroxylated alumina sites. We propose a modification of the metal–support interactions (MSIs) as the origin of the increased activity, caused by modification of the Al2O3 surface in the reductive atmosphere and an increased thermal mobility of the Ru nanoparticles, allowing their transfer to modified surface sites

Does codetermination affect the composition of variable versus fixed parts of executive compensation?

Contrary to previous literature we hypothesize that interests of labor may well – like that of shareholders – aim at securing the long-run survival of the firm. Consequently, employee representatives on the supervisory board could well have an interest in increasing incentive-based compensation to avoid excessive risk taking and short-run orientated decisions. We compile unique panel data on executive compensation over the periods 2006 to 2011 for 405 listed companies and use a Hausman-Taylor approach to estimate the effect of codetermination on the compensation design. Finally, codetermination has a significantly positive effect on performance-based components of compensation, which supports our hypothesis

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Raising the CO x

$Ru/Al_2O_3$ is a highly stable, but less active catalyst for methanation reactions. Here we report an effective approach to significantly improve its performance in the methanation of $CO_2/H_2$ mixtures. Highly active and stable $Ru/γ‐Al_{2}O_{3}$ catalysts were prepared by high-temperature treatment in the reductive reaction gas. Operando / in situ spectroscopy and STEM imaging reveals that the strongly improved activity, by factors of 5 and 14 for $CO$ and $CO_2$ methanation, goes along with a flattening of the Ru nanoparticles and the formation of highly basic hydroxylated alumina sites. We propose an activated modification of the metal-support interactions (MSIs) as origin of the increased activity, caused by reactive modification of the $Al_2O_3$ surface in the reductive atmosphere and increased thermal mobility of the Ru nanoparticles, allowing their transfer to modified surface sites. We suggest this as a general approach for the modification of alumina-supported noble metal catalysts in reactions involving reducing atmospheres