Hybrid magnetic graphitic nanocomposites for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation applications

Fe3O4, with a lattice parameter a = 8.357 A and average particle size of 12.5 +/- 3.6 nm, was successfully encapsulated within a graphitic structure by a hierarchical co-assembly approach, followed by thermal annealing. The resulting material was denoted as MGNC-magnetic graphitic nanocomposite. MGNC possesses average core size of 109 +/- 35 nm (mainly composed by agglomerates of magnetic nanoparticles), stability up to 400 degrees C under oxidizing atmosphere, a micro-mesoporous structure with a fairly developed specific surface area (S-BET = 330 m(2) g(-1)) and neutral character (pH(PZC) = 7.1). Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) experiments performed with a 4-nitrophenol (4-NP)/Fe3O4 mass ratio fixed at 36.6, allowed to achieve high efficiency of catalyst usage throughout the wide range of 4-NP concentration considered (200 mg L-1-5 g L-1). The inclusion of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a graphitic structure during the synthesis of MGNC was found to (i) enhance the catalytic activity in CWPO when compared to Fe3O4, due to increased adsorptive interactions between the surface of the catalyst and the pollutant molecules, while (ii) strongly limiting the leaching of Fe species from Fe3O4 to the treated water, due to the confinement effect caused by the carbon shell. As a result of these effects, unprecedented pollutant mass removals were obtained ranging from 5000 mg(-1) h(-1), when the CWPO process is performed with [4-NP](o) = 200 mg L-1 at pH = 3, to 1250 mgg(-1) h(-1), when [4-NP](o) = 5 g L-1. High efficiency of H2O2 consumption is obtained when MGNC is applied in the CWPO of 4 -NP solutions at pH = 3, with TOC removals per unit of H2O2 decomposed (n(H2O2)) in the range 64-100%. In addition, the MGNC catalyst is also active at pH = 6; in this case a pollutant mass removal of 2090 mg g(-1) h(-1) was obtained. Although MGNC partially deactivates through successive reusability cycles, the pollutant mass removal obtained at the end of the fourth cycle is still very high when 200 mg L-1 4-NP solutions are considered (4808 mg g(-1) h(-1), representing only a ca. 4% decrease when compared to the first cycle). A higher deactivation of the MGNC catalyst is observed when 5 gL(-1) 4-NP solutions are employed. Nevertheless, the pollutant mass removal obtained at the end of the third cycle is still high (551 mgg(-1) h(-1))

Pulsed Radiofrequency Rhizotomy of the Genicular Nerves of the Knee Guided by Radioscopy and Ultrasonography: Step-By-Step Technique

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is highly prevalent and causes pain, stiffness, and harms the quality of life of millions of patients. Scientific evidence about radiofrequency ablation or rhizotomy of genicular nerves has been presented with increasing frequency in the literature for the treatment of chronic pain related to knee OA as an alternative to total knee arthroplasty. The main indication for this procedure is symptomatic OA unresponsive to conservative treatment, regardless of the disease evolution, although more common indications are in Kellgren-Lawrence grade III or IV, in post-total knee arthroplasty residual pain without an identified cause, in patients with comorbidities and high surgical risk, and those who do not want to undergo surgery. The aim of this study is to describe the step-by-step rhizotomy technique with pulsed radiofrequency of the 3 genicular nerves, guided by radioscopy and ultrasonography.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The role of evolutive elastic properties in the performance of a sheet formed spring applied in multimedia car industry

The manufacturing process and the behavior of a sheet formed spring manufactured from an aluminum sheet is described and investigated in this work considering the specifications for the in-service conditions. The sheet formed spring is intended to be applied in car multimedia industry to replace bolted connections. Among others, are investigated the roles of the constitutive parameters and the hypothesis of evolutive elastic properties with the plastic work in the multi-step forming process and in working conditions.This research was sponsored by:a) Portugal Incentive System for Research and Technological Development. Project in co-promotion no 36265/2013 (Project HMIExcel - 2013-2015), andb) FCT with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI) with the reference project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A comparative study of synthetic winged peptides for absolute protein quantification

A proper internal standard choice is critical for accurate, precise, and reproducible mass spectrometry-based proteomics assays. Synthetic isotopically labeled (SIL) proteins are currently considered the gold standard. However, they are costly and challenging to obtain. An alternative approach uses SIL peptides or SIL "winged" peptides extended at C- or/and N-terminus with an amino acid sequence or a tag cleaved during enzymatic proteolysis. However, a consensus on the design of a winged peptide for absolute quantification is missing. In this study, we used human serum albumin as a model system to compare the quantitative performance of reference SIL protein with four different designs of SIL winged peptides: (i) commercially available SIL peptides with a proprietary trypsin cleavable tag at C-terminus, (ii) SIL peptides extended with five amino acid residues at C-terminus, (iii) SIL peptides extended with three and (iv) with five amino acid residues at both C- and N-termini. Our results demonstrate properties of various SIL extended peptides designs, e.g., water solubility and efficiency of trypsin enzymatic cleavage with primary influence on quantitative performance. SIL winged peptides extended with three amino acids at both C- and N-termini demonstrated optimal quantitative performance, equivalent to the SIL protein

Acquisition of pneumococci specific effector and regulatory Cd4+ T cells localising within human upper respiratory-tract mucosal lymphoid tissue

The upper respiratory tract mucosa is the location for commensal Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae colonization and therefore represents a major site of contact between host and bacteria. The CD4(+) T cell response to pneumococcus is increasingly recognised as an important mediator of immunity that protects against invasive disease, with data suggesting a critical role for Th17 cells in mucosal clearance. By assessing CD4 T cell proliferative responses we demonstrate age-related sequestration of Th1 and Th17 CD4(+) T cells reactive to pneumococcal protein antigens within mucosal lymphoid tissue. CD25(hi) T cell depletion and utilisation of pneumococcal specific MHCII tetramers revealed the presence of antigen specific Tregs that utilised CTLA-4 and PDL-1 surface molecules to suppress these responses. The balance between mucosal effector and regulatory CD4(+) T cell immunity is likely to be critical to pneumococcal commensalism and the prevention of unwanted pathology associated with carriage. However, if dysregulated, such responses may render the host more susceptible to invasive pneumococcal infection and adversely affect the successful implementation of both polysaccharide-conjugate and novel protein-based pneumococcal vaccines