Cyclic carbonate synthesis from CO2and epoxides using zinc(II) complexes of arylhydrazones of β-diketones

Zinc(II) complexes of arylhydrazones of β-diketones (AHBD) were used for the first time as catalysts combined with tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBABr), in the coupling reaction between CO2 and epoxides. The influence of pressure and temperature on cyclic carbonate formation was investigated, as well as the catalytic activity toward different substrates (e.g. styrene oxide, propylene oxide and cyclohexene oxide). The molar ratio between metal complex and TBABr was determined for maximum catalytic activity

Phylogenomic analysis of a 55.1 kb 19-gene dataset resolves a monophyletic Fusarium that includes the Fusarium solani Species Complex

Scientific communication is facilitated by a data-driven, scientifically sound taxonomy that considers the end-user¿s needs and established successful practice. In 2013, the Fusarium community voiced near unanimous support for a concept of Fusarium that represented a clade comprising all agriculturally and clinically important Fusarium species, including the F. solani species complex (FSSC). Subsequently, this concept was challenged in 2015 by one research group who proposed dividing the genus Fusarium into seven genera, including the FSSC described as members of the genus Neocosmospora, with subsequent justification in 2018 based on claims that the 2013 concept of Fusarium is polyphyletic. Here, we test this claim and provide a phylogeny based on exonic nucleotide sequences of 19 orthologous protein-coding genes that strongly support the monophyly of Fusarium including the FSSC. We reassert the practical and scientific argument in support of a genus Fusarium that includes the FSSC and several other basal lineages, consistent with the longstanding use of this name among plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, students, and researchers with a stake in its taxonomy. In recognition of this monophyly, 40 species described as genus Neocosmospora were recombined in genus Fusarium, and nine others were renamed Fusarium. Here the global Fusarium community voices strong support for the inclusion of the FSSC in Fusarium, as it remains the best scientific, nomenclatural, and practical taxonomic option availabl

Bovine serum albumin potentiates caffeine- or ATP-induced tension in human skinned skeletal muscle fibers

Human skinned muscle fibers were used to investigate the effects of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the tension/pCa relationship and on the functional properties of the Ca2+-release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In both fast- and slow-type fibers, identified by their tension response to pSr 5.0, BSA (0.7-15 µM) had no effect on the Ca2+ affinity of the contractile proteins and elicited no tension per se in Ca2+-loaded fibers. In contrast, BSA (>1.0 µM) potentiated the caffeine-induced tension in Ca2+-loaded fibers, this effect being more intense in slow-type fibers. Thus, BSA reduced the threshold caffeine concentration required for eliciting detectable tension, and increased the amplitude, the rate of rise and the area under the curve of caffeine-induced tension. BSA also potentiated the tension elicited in Ca2+-loaded fibers by low-Mgv solutions containing 1.0 mM free ATP. These results suggest that BSA modulates the response of the human skeletal muscle SR Ca2+-release channel to activators such as caffeine and ATP

Comparison of self-consistent and crystal plasticity FE approaches for modelling the high-temperature deformation of 316H austenitic stainless steel

The present article examines the predictive capabilities of a crystal plasticity model for inelastic deformation which captures the evolution of dislocation structure, precipitates and solute atom distributions at the microscale, recently developed by Hu and Cocks (2015) and Hu et al. (2013). The model is implemented within a self-consistent framework and a crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) scheme. Through direct comparison between the two CP schemes and with an extensive material database for Type 316H stainless steel, the different types of information and the degree to which the models are consistent with experimental observations are assessed. The study demonstrates an agreement between the SCM and the CPFE schemes, providing confidence in the micromechanical deformation model employed. The multi-scale approach also allows the effects of micro-scale deformation processes, related to dislocation-obstacle interactions, on the global deformation response to be captured. Modelling results from this study and their comparison to experimental observations show that deformation of polycrystalline materials, such as 316H stainless steel, is controlled by the evolution of microstructural state of the material and the redistribution of stress between individual grains. The study suggests that the SCM is a feasible tool to simulate and explain the deformation behaviour of complex alloys under industrially-relevant thermo-mechanical operating histories. The CPFE framework captures the effects of the variation in grain geometry and provides more detailed information about the variation of stress and strain within the individual grains, particularly their distribution near grain boundaries and triple points – which are important to understand in the context of damage development and failure. The SCM predicts a “stiffer”, more creep-resistant response than a CPFE model for a given set of material parameters due to the more highly-constrained deformation modes allowed in the model. As a result, material parameters calibrated using one modelling approach are not necessarily suitable for use in another approach – although parameters obtained when fitting the different models should not vary significantly