Two-step synthesis of polymer fibre material comprising indium-, bismuth-, or antimony-doped nanosized tin oxides

In this paper, we present a method of formation of polymer fibre materials comprising dispersed oxides of rare and trace elements. The results of X-ray diffraction and spectral analyses show that the optimum synthesis conditions of the antimony-doped tin oxide, indium-doped tin oxide, and bismuth-doped tin oxide particles are provided using the "reverse" hydrolytic co-precipitation of hydroxides from chloride solutions combined with the subsequent thermal treatment at 1000°C. Durable fixation of nanoparticles on the fibre surface is confirmed by the atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that spraying of a free stream of the thermoplastic polymer melt with a gas stream containing nanoparticles allows obtaining fibre materials, which possess catalytic, photosensitive, as well as heat and sound insulating properties

Super-Alfv\'enic propagation of reconnection signatures and Poynting flux during substorms

The propagation of reconnection signatures and their associated energy are examined using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations and Cluster satellite observations. It is found that the quadrupolar out-of-plane magnetic field near the separatrices is associated with a kinetic Alfv\'en wave. For magnetotail parameters, the parallel propagation of this wave is super-Alfv\'enic (V_parallel ~ 1500 - 5500 km/s) and generates substantial Poynting flux (S ~ 10^-5 - 10^-4 W/m^2) consistent with Cluster observations of magnetic reconnection. This Poynting flux substantially exceeds that due to frozen-in ion bulk outflows and is sufficient to generate white light aurora in the Earth's ionosphere.Comment: Submitted to PRL on 11/1/2010. Resubmitted on 4/5/201

Investigation of supramolecular structure of the rare and rare-earth elements nanoparticles carrier when modified using microwave irradiation

In this paper, we present an IR and XRD study of the polypropylene fibrous nanoparticles carrier when its surface modified with rare and rare-earth elements nanoparticles using microwave irradiation, by the example of SnO2/TiO2 hetero-nanoparticles. The paper shows that the smectic mesomorph structure of the non-modified polypropylene fibrous carrier transforms into the monoclinic α-crystalline due to microwave irradiation. At the same time, the carrier material remains stereoregular and keeps its helical structure

Superficial acid-base properties of polymer fibres

Protolytic properties of fine fibre plastics based on polypropylene, polyethyleneterephthalate and polycarbonate were investigated. Acidic (carboxylic, hydroxyl) and basic Lewis sites (esters, carbonates, epoxies) were discovered on fibres surface using IR spectroscopy. The number of active groups of various nature and their pKa values were evaluated by potentiometric titration in aqueous and non-aqueous media. The tested fibres possess a low capacity for both acidic and basic sites on it. The results indicate that all the polymer fibre materials (PFM) due to the presence of carboxyl groups on the surfaces, enable modification of their surfaces with metal nanoparticles, thereby giving them unique properties, e.g., photocatalytic and bactericidal

Improving the Clinical Application of Natural Killer Cells by Modulating Signals Signal from Target Cells

Relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a significant post-transplant complication lacking standard treatment and associated with a poor prognosis. Cellular therapy, which is already widely used as a treatment for several hematological malignancies, could be a potential treatment alternative. Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in relapse control but can be inhibited by the leukemia cells highly positive for HLA class I. In order to restore NK cell activity after their ex vivo activation, NK cells can be combined with conditioning target cells. In this study, we tested NK cell activity against KG1a (AML cell line) with and without two types of pretreatment-Ara-C treatment that induced NKG2D ligands (increased activating signal) and/or blocking of HLA-KIR (killer-immunoglobulin-like receptors) interaction (decreased inhibitory signal). Both treatments improved NK cell killing activity. Compared with target cell killing of NK cells alone (38%), co-culture with Ara-C treated KG1a target cells increased the killing to 80%. Anti-HLA blocking antibody treatment increased the proportion of dead KG1a cells to 53%. Interestingly, the use of the combination treatment improved the killing potential to led to the death of 85% of KG1a cells. The combination of Ara-C and ex vivo activation of NK cells has the potential to be a feasible approach to treat relapsed AML after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Analysis of the giant genomes of Fritillaria (Liliaceae) indicates that a lack of DNA removal characterizes extreme expansions in genome size.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Plants exhibit an extraordinary range of genome sizes, varying by > 2000-fold between the smallest and largest recorded values. In the absence of polyploidy, changes in the amount of repetitive DNA (transposable elements and tandem repeats) are primarily responsible for genome size differences between species. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the relative importance of amplification of repetitive DNA versus its deletion in governing genome size. Using data from 454 sequencing, we analysed the most repetitive fraction of some of the largest known genomes for diploid plant species, from members of Fritillaria. We revealed that genomic expansion has not resulted from the recent massive amplification of just a handful of repeat families, as shown in species with smaller genomes. Instead, the bulk of these immense genomes is composed of highly heterogeneous, relatively low-abundance repeat-derived DNA, supporting a scenario where amplified repeats continually accumulate due to infrequent DNA removal. Our results indicate that a lack of deletion and low turnover of repetitive DNA are major contributors to the evolution of extremely large genomes and show that their size cannot simply be accounted for by the activity of a small number of high-abundance repeat families.Thiswork was supported by the Natural Environment ResearchCouncil (grant no. NE/G017 24/1), the Czech Science Fou nda-tion (grant no. P501/12/G090), the AVCR (grant no.RVO:60077344) and a Beatriu de Pinos postdoctoral fellowshipto J.P. (grant no. 2011-A-00292; Catalan Government-E.U. 7thF.P.)

Chromosomal Evolution and Apomixis in the Cruciferous Tribe Boechereae

The mustard family (Brassicaceae) comprises several dozen monophyletic clades usually ranked as tribes. The tribe Boechereae plays a prominent role in plant research due to the incidence of apomixis and its close relationship to Arabidopsis. This tribe, largely confined to western North America, harbors nine genera and c. 130 species, with \u3e90% of species belonging to the genus Boechera. Hundreds of apomictic diploid and triploid Boechera hybrids have spurred interest in this genus, but the remaining Boechereae genomes remain virtually unstudied. Here we report on comparative genome structure of six genera (Borodinia, Cusickiella, Phoenicaulis, Polyctenium, Nevada, and Sandbergia) and three Boechera species as revealed by comparative chromosome painting (CCP). All analyzed taxa shared the same seven-chromosome genome structure. Comparisons with the sister Halimolobeae tribe (n = 8) showed that the ancestral Boechereae genome (n = 7) was derived from an older n = 8 genome by descending dysploidy followed by the divergence of extant Boechereae taxa. As tribal divergence post-dated the origin of four tribe-specific chromosomes, it is proposed that these chromosomal rearrangements were a key evolutionary innovation underlaying the origin and diversification of the Boechereae in North America. Although most Boechereae genera exhibit genomic conservatism, intra-tribal cladogenesis has occasionally been accompanied by chromosomal rearrangements (particularly inversions). Recently, apomixis was reported in the Boechereae genera Borodinia and Phoenicaulis. Here, we report sexual reproduction in diploid Nevada, diploid Sandbergia, and tetraploid Cusickiella and aposporous apomixis in tetraploids of Polyctenium and Sandbergia. In sum, apomixis is now known to occur in five of the nine Boechereae genera

Properties of polydisperse tin-doped dysprosium and indium oxides

The results of investigations of the complex permittivity, diffuse-reflectance, and characteristics of crystal lattices of tin-doped indium and dysprosium oxides are presented. Using the methods of spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, it is shown that doping of indium oxide with tin results in a significant increase of the components of the indium oxide complex permittivity and an appearance of the plasma resonance in its diffuse-reflectance spectra. This indicates the appearance of charge carriers with the concentration of more than 1021 cm−3 in the materials. On the other hand, doping of the dysprosium oxide with the same amount of tin has no effect on its optical and electromagnetic properties