A bio-based alginate aerogel as an ionic liquid support for the efficient synthesis of cyclic carbonates from co2 and epoxides

Funding Information: This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Universidades (project RTI2018-097456-B-I00) and Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e Tecnologia FCT/MCTES (project PTDC/EQU-EPQ/31926/2017), UIDB/50006/2020 of the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry?LAQV and UIDB/00100/2020 of Centro de Qu?mica Estrutural. This work was also supported by a Short Term Scientific Mission of the CMST COST Action CM1206. A.B. Paninho is thankful to FCT for the doctoral fellowship PD/BD/52497/2014 and pos-doctoral fellowship PTDC/EQU-EPQ/31926/2017. The authors also thanks to the project ?SunStorage-Harvesting and storage of solar energy?, with reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016387, funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through COMPETE 2020-Operational Program. The NMR spectrometers at FCT NOVA are part of Rede Nacional de RMN (PTNMR), supported by FCT/MCTES through ROTEIRO/0031/2013? PINFRA/22161/2016 and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE 2020, POCI, and PORL and FCT/MCTES through PIDDAC.In this work, the ionic liquid [Aliquat][Cl] was supported into alginate and silica aerogel matrices and applied as a catalyst in the cycloaddition reaction between CO2 and a bio-based epoxide (limonene oxide). The efficiency of the alginate aerogel system is much higher than that of the silica one. The method of wet impregnation was used for the impregnation of the aerogel with [Aliquat][Cl] and a zinc complex. The procedure originated a well-defined thin solvent film on the surface of support materials. Final materials were characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, N2 Adsorption–Desorption Analysis, X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption and Field Emission Scanning Microscopy. Several catalytic tests were performed in a high-pressure apparatus at 353.2 K and 4 MPa of CO2.publishersversionpublishe

Detecting intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR activity by liposome-based in vivo transfection of a fluorescent biosensor

Despite decades of research in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signalling field, and many targeted anti-cancer drugs that have been tested clinically, the success rate for these agents in the clinic is low, particularly in terms of the improvement of overall survival. Intratumoral heterogeneity is proposed as a major mechanism underlying treatment failure of these molecule-targeted agents. Here we highlight the application of fluorescence lifetime microscopy (FLIM)-based biosensing to demonstrate intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR activity. For sensing EGFR activity in cells, we used a genetically encoded CrkII-based biosensor which undergoes conformational changes upon tyrosine-221 phosphorylation by EGFR. We transfected this biosensor into EGFR-positive tumour cells using targeted lipopolyplexes bearing EGFR-binding peptides at their surfaces. In a murine model of basal-like breast cancer, we demonstrated a significant degree of intratumoral heterogeneity in EGFR activity, as well as the pharmacodynamic effect of a radionuclide-labeled EGFR inhibitor in situ. Furthermore, a significant correlation between high EGFR activity in tumour cells and macrophage-tumour cell proximity was found to in part account for the intratumoral heterogeneity in EGFR activity observed. The same effect of macrophage infiltrate on EGFR activation was also seen in a colorectal cancer xenograft. In contrast, a non-small cell lung cancer xenograft expressing a constitutively active EGFR conformational mutant exhibited macrophage proximity-independent EGFR activity. Our study validates the use of this methodology to monitor therapeutic response in terms of EGFR activity. In addition, we found iNOS gene induction in macrophages that are cultured in tumour cell-conditioned media as well as an iNOS activity-dependent increase in EGFR activity in tumour cells. These findings point towards an immune microenvironment-mediated regulation that gives rise to the observed intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR signalling activity in tumour cells in vivo

Single-layer performance of sugarcane bagasse-and rubber tire dust microwave absorber in narrow band frequency of 3.85 GHz to 8.2 GHz

In this paper, the single and flat layer of microwave absorber has been fabricated with different weight percentage of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and rubber tire dust (RTD). The dielectric properties and wave propagation have been investigated in this work. There are two different designs in developing this layer of microwave absorber. In this work, the targeted frequency is within 3.85 GHz to 8.2 GHz. The preference was based on the fact that our goal was to achieve minimum backward reflections, and the sugarcane bagasse material, with its low dielectric constant, high loss factor, large attenuation per unit length, and ease of fabrication, provided a better opportunity to achieve that goal which is better than -10dB (90 % of absorption)

Increment of Steel Tonnage for Reinforced Concrete School Building Considering Seismic Design

A series of Indonesian earthquakes, especially from Sumatra caused vibration on buildings in Peninsular Malaysia like Kuala Lumpur and Penang Island. In East Malaysia, Sabah state has been classified as a region with active local seismic fault. A moderate earthquake with Mw6.1 was occurred in Ranau on 5th June 2015 and caused damage on buildings either the structural or non-structural members. Hence, the implementation of seismic design on new buildings is important to ensure public safety. However, such action has its own pro and contra especially when dealing with cost. Therefore, current research work presents the influence of seismic design consideration on the increment of cost for steel reinforcement. For that purpose, a four storey reinforced concrete school building was generated and used as basic model for analysis, design, and taking off. Two level of seismicity representing by the reference peak ground acceleration, αgR equal to 0.07g and 0.10g has been taken into account in the structural analysis and seismic design process. Besides, three soil type namely as soil type A, soil type C, and soil type E also has been considered as variable parameter. Based on result, total steel tonnage in beams for models considering seismic design increases around 14% to 119% higher than the model without seismic design. For columns, the increment is around 13% to 155%. Generally, total cost of steel used as for concrete reinforcement of the whole structure increases around 13% to 131% depending on the level of seismicity and soil type

Students' readiness for and perception towards inter-profesional learning: a cross sectional study

Current healthcare related issues and problems are becoming more complex. Comprehensive patient care is impossible to be achieved by clinicians alone as this requires inter-rofessional approach in the management. Therefore, it has been suggested that students in healthcare profession should be exposed to inter-professional learning (IPL) during their undergraduate years. The objectives of this study were to investigate the readiness for and the perception of IPL among healthcare professional students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).Data was collected using an established questionnaire namely, Readiness for Inter-professional Learning Scale (RIPLS) which was distributed to final year students of 3 main programmes; Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing. Out of the 122 students, a majority denied being exposed to IPL. Teamwork and collaboration showed the highest mean (40.2 + 4.18) that the students highly agreed on. Female students have significantly lower negative professional ID compared to the male students (p = 0.011). This subdomain also exhibited significant difference in scores between cGPA results of the students. Students with high cGPA (3.50-4.00) tended to have lower negative attitude towards IPL crossing programmes (p = 0.009). Those who have exposure to IPL show significant positive attitudes towards IPL regardless of the programme (p = 0.032). The study shows that students from the medical programme have the least exposure to IPL. Gender and cGPA status of students may also play an important role in determining their attitude towards IPL. There are still rooms for improvement to nurture readiness among the students

Quantitative Evaluation of Biologic Therapy Options for Psoriasis:A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis-Correction

No abstract available