Cambio de escala en la producción industrial del recubrimiento de zinc níquel con partículas y aditivos. Condiciones óptimas para un material de mayor calidad

Fil:Mahmud, Z. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI). Procesos SuperficialesFil:Amelotti, F. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI). Procesos SuperficialesFil:Serpi, C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI). MecánicaFil:Maskaric, O. Dropur S.A.Fil:Míngolo, N. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA)Fil:Gassa, L. Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y AplicadasFil:Gordillo, G. Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Físic

Estudio de la protección del Material de Aleación de Zinc-Níquel + Micropartículas de CSi, cuando se aplica el recubrimiento de conversión de cromatizado a base de Cr3+ producido a escala industrial

Los recubrimientos de aleación de ZnNi, se utilizan en Alemania desde hace 50 años, por su alta resistencia contra la corrosión. Se encontró que adicionado al ZnNi micropartículas de CSi y aditivos, el material tiene mejores propiedades de protección, contenido de níquel y dureza. Producido a escala industrial, el material de aleación de ZnNi más CSi (2 a 6 micrones), ha mostrado por EIS en medio de sulfatos que el RTC tiene un valor 30 veces mayor que en el ZnNi. Pasa de tener RTC 900 Ω (ZnNi) a RTC 25000 Ω (ZnNi más partículas de CSi) en sulfato de sodio 0,1M. En medio de cloruros 3,5%, el ZnNi más CSi en el Bode IZI alcanza un valor estacionario de IZI de 200 Ω a frecuencias bajas. En el Diagrama de Bode φ, en medio de cloruros se observa que el proceso de disolución del material se adelanta respecto del inicio del proceso en medio de sulfatos 0,1M o de bórico borato pH 9,2. En el Bode φ, en medio de cloruros, se obtienen dos procesos, aparecen dos picos: uno a continuación del otro, relacionados con la Disolución a altas frecuencias y la Difusión a través de una película, a bajas frecuencias. El hecho de que aparecen uno o dos picos, significa que en cada medio (bórico borato, sulfatos o cloruros) se modifica el mecanismo de corrosión del material. En ZnNi más CSi, en medio de bórico borato a pH 9,2, el Diagrama de Bode ángulo vs frecuencias muestra un material que presenta una figura en la que en un rango muy alto de frecuencias se mantiene φ . Se sabe que el cromatizado mejora las cualidades de protección, por eso se estudió el recubrimiento más cromatizado en Cr3+ porque no daña el ambiente (como lo hace el Cr6+ ). El ZnNi más CSi más Cromatizado de Cr3+ presenta un ángulo mayor que se mantiene constante en un rango mayor de frecuencias respecto del sistema en ZnNi más CSi sin cromatizado en el que el angulo es menor y en un rango de frecuencias menor. En el ZnNi más partículas y cromatizado, la Capacidad del material C de 90 μFcm-2 obtenida por las mediciones de EIS es alta, debido a que se genera un área muy alta durante la disolución, mientras que C es de 30 μFcm-2 en el ZnNi sin cromatizado. The ZnNi alloy coatings are used in Germany for 50 years because its high resistance to corrosion. It was found that added CSi microparticles and additives to ZnNi bath, the material obtained has better protective properties, hardness and nickel content. Produced on an industrial scale, the ZnNi alloy - CSi (microparticles 2 to 6 microns), has a RTC (charge transference resistance) by EIS 30 times higher than in the ZnNi in sodium sulfates 0.1 M media. RTC goes from 900 ohm to 25000 in ZnNi in the presence of microparticles of CSi. In sodium chloride media by EIS in the material without particles there are two peaks: one after the other, related to dissolution at high frequencies and diffusion through a film at low frequencies. The fact that one or two peaks appear, in each medium (boric borate, sulfates or chlorides) means that the corrosion mechanism material is modified. In ZnNi plus CSi, studied by EIS in boric borate at pH 9.2, the Bode diagram (angle vs frequency) shows the angle remains constant in a high range of frequencies. Chromate as a top coating improves the protective qualities, so the Cr 3+ chromate coating was studied because Cr6+ is bad to the environment. In ZnNi more particles and chromated, the capacity obtained by EIS measured in the material is C 90 μFcm-2 , the value is high because a very high area is generated during the dissolution, while C is 30 μFcm-2 the ZnNi without chromate.Fil:Mahmud, Z. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI). Procesos SuperficialesFil:Amelotti, F. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI). Procesos SuperficialesFil:Serpi, C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI). MecánicaFil:Maskaric, O. Dropur S.A.Fil:Míngolo, N. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA)Fil:Gassa, L. Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y AplicadasFil:Gordillo, G. Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Físic

Reproducibility of Ablated Volume Measurement Is Higher with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound than with B-Mode Ultrasound after Benign Thyroid Nodule Radiofrequency Ablation—A Preliminary Study

The reproducibility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and standard B-mode ultrasound in the assessment of radiofrequency-ablated volume of benign thyroid nodules was compared. A preliminary study was conducted on consecutive patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of benign thyroid nodules between 2014 and 2016, with available CEUS and B-mode post-ablation checks. CEUS and B-mode images were retrospectively evaluated by two radiologists to assess inter- and intra-observer agreement in the assessment of ablated volume (Bland-Altman test). For CEUS, the mean inter-observer difference (95% limits of agreement) was 0.219 mL (-0.372-0.809 mL); for B-mode, the mean difference was 0.880 mL (-1.655-3.414 mL). Reproducibility was significantly higher for CEUS (85%) than for B-mode (27%). Mean intra-observer differences (95% limits of agreement) were 0.013 mL (0.803-4.097 mL) for Reader 1 and 0.031 mL (0.763-3.931 mL) for Reader 2 using CEUS, while they were 0.567 mL (-2.180-4.317 mL, Reader 1) and 0.759 mL (-2.584-4.290 mL, Reader 2) for B-mode. Intra-observer reproducibility was significantly higher for CEUS (96% and 95%, for the two readers) than for B-mode (21% and 23%). In conclusion, CEUS had higher reproducibility and inter- and intra-observer agreement compared to conventional B-mode in the assessment of radiofrequency-ablated volume of benign thyroid nodules

Phosphoramidates and phosphonamidates (ProTides) with antiviral activity

Following the first report on the nucleoside phosphoramidate (ProTide) prodrug approach in 1990 by Chris McGuigan, the extensive investigation of ProTide technology has begun in many laboratories. Designed with aim to overcome limitations and the key resistance mechanisms associated with nucleoside analogues used in the clinic (poor cellular uptake, poor conversion to the 5′-monophosphate form), the ProTide approach has been successfully applied to a vast number of nucleoside analogues with antiviral and anticancer activity. ProTides consist of a 5′-nucleoside monophosphate in which the two hydroxyl groups are masked with an amino acid ester and an aryloxy component which once in the cell is enzymatically metabolized to deliver free 5′-monophosphate, which is further transformed to the active 5′-triphosphate form of the nucleoside analogue. In this review, the seminal contribution of Chris McGuigan’s research to this field is presented. His technology proved to be extremely successful in drug discovery and has led to two Food and Drug Administration-approved antiviral agents

Discovery of Small Molecules Targeting the Synergy of Cardiac Transcription Factors GATA4 and NKX2-5

Transcription factors are pivotal regulators of gene transcription, and many diseases are associated with the deregulation of transcriptional networks. In the heart, the transcription factors GATA4 and NKX2-5 are required for cardiogenesis. GATA4 and NKX2-5 interact physically, and the activation of GATA4, in cooperation with NKX2-5, is essential for stretch-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Here, we report the identification of four small molecule families that either inhibit or enhance the GATA4-NKX2-5 transcriptional synergy. A fragment-based screening, reporter gene assay, and pharmacophore search were utilized for the small molecule screening, identification, and optimization. The compounds modulated the hypertrophic agonist-induced cardiac gene expression. The most potent hit compound, N-[4-(diethylamino)phenyl]-5-methyl-3-phenylisoxazole-4-carboxamide (3, IC50 = 3 mu M), exhibited no activity on the protein kinases involved in the regulation of GATA4 phosphorylation. The identified and chemically and biologically characterized active compound, and its derivatives may provide a novel class of small molecules for modulating heart regeneration.Peer reviewe

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

ALICE: Physics Performance Report, Volume I

ALICE is a general-purpose heavy-ion experiment designed to study the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC. It currently includes more than 900 physicists and senior engineers, from both nuclear and high-energy physics, from about 80 institutions in 28 countries. The experiment was approved in February 1997. The detailed design of the different detector systems has been laid down in a number of Technical Design Reports issued between mid-1998 and the end of 2001 and construction has started for most detectors. Since the last comprehensive information on detector and physics performance was published in the ALICE Technical Proposal in 1996, the detector as well as simulation, reconstruction and analysis software have undergone significant development. The Physics Performance Report (PPR) will give an updated and comprehensive summary of the current status and performance of the various ALICE subsystems, including updates to the Technical Design Reports, where appropriate, as well as a description of systems which have not been published in a Technical Design Report. The PPR will be published in two volumes. The current Volume I contains: 1. a short theoretical overview and an extensive reference list concerning the physics topics of interest to ALICE, 2. relevant experimental conditions at the LHC, 3. a short summary and update of the subsystem designs, and 4. a description of the offline framework and Monte Carlo generators. Volume II, which will be published separately, will contain detailed simulations of combined detector performance, event reconstruction, and analysis of a representative sample of relevant physics observables from global event characteristics to hard processes

Chemoselective N-

Protection and deprotection strategies involving the N-acetyl group are widely utilized in nucleoside and nucleotide chemistry. Herein, we present a mild and selective N-deacetylation methodology, applicable to purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, by means of Schwartz's reagent, compatible with most of the common protecting groups used in nucleoside chemistry

Vacuum ultraviolet absorption of silica samples

Optical absorption analysis in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet region from 4.0 to 9.0 eV has been performed on different silica materials. We analysed natural and synthetic silica samples, both as grown and irradiated with different irradiations, neutrons, γ, and ultraviolet photons. Regardless of irradiation we always observed in the spectrum of irradiated samples the growth of the band at 5.8 eV, a band attributed to the E′ paramagnetic center. Comparing this absorption under different irradiation, we suggest the B2 and E absorption bands are not correlated and therefore cannot be assigned to the same defect