Pyrazolium Phase Change Materials for Solar-Thermal and Wind Energy Storage

Renewable energy has the ultimate capacity to resolve the environmental and scarcity challenges of the world’s energy supplies. However, both the utility of these sources and the economics of their implementation are strongly limited by their intermittent nature; inexpensive means of energy storage therefore needs to be part of the design. Distributed thermal energy storage is surprisingly underdeveloped in this context, in part due to the lack of advanced storage materials. Here, we describe a novel family of thermal energy storage materials based on pyrazolium cation, that operate in the 100-220°C temperature range, offering safe, inexpensive capacity, opening new pathways for high efficiency collection and storage of both solar-thermal energy, as well as excess wind power. We probe the molecular origins of the high thermal energy storage capacity of these ionic materials and demonstrate extended cycling that provides a basis for further scale up and development

Influence of waxes on the flow properties of Bombay high crude

Waxes present in crude oil are considered to be responsible for its poor flow properties. Bombay high crude is very waxy and has a pour point of + 30 °C. The influence of nature and concentration of waxes on some of the flow properties, namely pour point, plastic viscosity and yield stress, of dewaxed Bombay high crude have been determined. The hard wax components present in the crude do not appear to significantly influence the low temperature rheology of the crude oil, but do contribute to sludge formation

Role of choline formate ionic liquid in the polymerization of vinyl and methacrylic monomers

Polymerizations of vinyl and methacrylate monomers (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, styrene, and methyl methacrylate) were carried out in a choline formate ionic liquid at room temperature without the addition of peroxide-based initiators. Choline formate acted as both an initiator and a solvent and produced high-molecular-weight polymers. Gel permeation chromatography and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements indicated that the polymerizations predominantly occurred by a free-radical mechanism. This method of polymerization provides an alternate route to eliminate the use of toxic initiators and solvents

Choline-Based Ionic Liquids-Enhanced Biodegradation of Azo Dyes

Industrial wastewaters such as tannery and textile processing effluents are often characterized by a high content of dissolved organic dyes, resulting in large values of chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD) in the aquatic systems into which they are discharged. Such wastewater streams are of rapidly growing concern as a major environmental issue in developing countries. Hence there is a need to mitigate this challenge by effective approaches to degrade dye-contaminated wastewater. In this study, several choline-based salts originally developed for use as biocompatible hydrated ionic liquids (i.e., choline sacchrinate (CS), choline dihydrogen phosphate (CDP), choline lactate (CL), and choline tartarate (CT)) have been successfully employed as the cosubstrate with <i>S. lentus</i> in the biodegradation of an azo dye in aqueous solution. We also demonstrate that the azo dye has been degraded to less toxic components coupled with low biomass formation

Identification of IRF8 as a potent tumor suppressor in murine acute promyelocytic leukemia

Although the role of promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor α (PML/RARA) fusion protein is well recognized in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), its contribution to initiation and maintenance of leukemogenesis is not completely understood. Transcriptome analysis in the murine MRP8-PML/RARA APL model has demonstrated modest alterations in gene expression accompanied by expansion of the promyelocyte compartment. Of particular interest, mice expressing PML/RARA showed downregulation of the transcription factor Irf8 mRNA. Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) is a known regulator of hematopoiesis. Previous research had implicated IRF8 as a tumor suppressor for myeloid neoplasia, and mice lacking IRF8 develop a well-differentiated myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by expansion of neutrophilic lineage cells. We hypothesized that PML/RARA-mediated downregulation of Irf8 transcript levels contributes to the initiation of APL. We observed significant downregulation of IRF8 protein levels in highly purified promyelocyte populations of PML/RARA transgenic mice. We also found that loss of IRF8 results in expansion of promyelocytes in vivo, partially phenocopying the impact of PML/RARA expression. Moreover, survival experiments showed that complete loss of IRF8 leads to acceleration of APL onset in our PML/RARA mice. Collectively, these data identify IRF8 downregulation as an important factor in APL initiation and highlight a tumor-suppressor role for IRF8 in this acute leukemia

Identification of IRF8 as a potent tumor suppressor in murine acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Although the role of promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor α (PML/RARA) fusion protein is well recognized in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), its contribution to initiation and maintenance of leukemogenesis is not completely understood. Transcriptome analysis in the murine MRP8-PML/RARA APL model has demonstrated modest alterations in gene expression accompanied by expansion of the promyelocyte compartment. Of particular interest, mice expressing PML/RARA showed downregulation of the transcription factor Irf8 mRNA. Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) is a known regulator of hematopoiesis. Previous research had implicated IRF8 as a tumor suppressor for myeloid neoplasia, and mice lacking IRF8 develop a well-differentiated myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by expansion of neutrophilic lineage cells. We hypothesized that PML/RARA-mediated downregulation of Irf8 transcript levels contributes to the initiation of APL. We observed significant downregulation of IRF8 protein levels in highly purified promyelocyte populations of PML/RARA transgenic mice. We also found that loss of IRF8 results in expansion of promyelocytes in vivo, partially phenocopying the impact of PML/RARA expression. Moreover, survival experiments showed that complete loss of IRF8 leads to acceleration of APL onset in our PML/RARA mice. Collectively, these data identify IRF8 downregulation as an important factor in APL initiation and highlight a tumor-suppressor role for IRF8 in this acute leukemia