Adsorption characteristics of carbonized bark for phenol and pentachlorophenol

The potential of using carbonized slash pine bark as a substitute for activated carbon was examined in this study. The bark was carbonized by slow heating in nitrogen for 6.5 h to 672 degrees C. The BET-N-2 surface area, average micropore and mesopore diameter, and micropore volume were 332 m(2) g(-1) 21.7 Angstrom, and 0.125 cm(3) g(-1), respectively. The adsorption capacities for phenol and pentachlorophenol (PCP) at pH 2 and pH 8 were evaluated. The Langmuir equation provided a slightly better fit than the Freundlich equation to two sets of phenol data. The calculated Freundlich constants, K = 0.41 - 0.58 mmol/g/(mmol dm(-3))(1/n) and 1/n = 0.30 - 0.41, were lower and higher, respectively, than literature values for activated carbons. The adsorption capacity of the carbonized bark was much lower for PCP than for phenol. The protonated and anionic PCP isotherms were Type II or III, respectively, in the Brunauer classification. The BET equation provided the best fit to protonated PCP isotherm data. The anionic PCP data were fitted to both the BET model and an equation used in the literature to represent phosphate adsorption on activated carbons. Nonlinear regression of the data for both phenol and PCP adsorption with the Freundlich, Langmuir and BET equations generally gave more accurate parameters, compared with the use of linearized equations to obtain the parameters. (C) 1998 SCI.

Co-crystallization of honey with sucrose

Honey was co-crystallized with a sucrose syrup at 128 degrees C using a sucrose:honey proportion of 90:10, 85:15 and 80:20. The first two proportions produced granular co-crystals, whereas the ratio of 80:20 produced a semi-solid product. The granules were relatively free flowing with an angle of repose 38.5-39.5 degrees. Gas chromatography was used to compare die differences in four flavour compounds: 2.3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one, HMF, 6-methyheptyl prop-2-enoate and 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one. Gas chromatographic results indicated some minor differences in the quantity of flavour volatiles in honey relative to the co-crystallized product. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.

Differential tumor surveillance by natural killer (NK) and NKT cells

Natural tumor surveillance capabilities of the host were investigated in six different mouse tumor models where endogenous interleukin (IL)-12. does or does not dictate the efficiency of the innate immune response. Gene-targeted and lymphocyte subset-depleted mice were used to establish the relative importance of natural killer (NK) and NK1.1(+) T (NKT) cells in protection from tumor initiation and metastasis. In the models examined, CD3(-) NK cells were responsible for tumor rejection and protection from metastasis in models where control of major histocompatibility complex class I-deficient tumors was independent of IL-12, A protective role for NKT cells was only observed when tumor rejection required endogenous IL-12 activity. In particular, T cell receptor J alpha 281 gene-targeted mice confirmed a critical function for NKT cells in protection from spontaneous tumors initiated by the chemical carcinogen, methylcholanthrene. This is the first description of an antitumor function for NKT cells in the absence of exogenously administered potent stimulators such as IL-12 or alpha-galactosylceramide.

Analysis of proximal femur DXA scans in growing children: Comparisons of different protocols for cross-sectional 8-month and 7-year longitudinal data

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a widely used method for measuring bone mineral in the growing skeleton. Because scan analysis in children offers a number of challenges, we compared DXA results using six analysis methods at the total proximal femur (PF) and five methods at the femoral neck (FN), In total we assessed 50 scans (25 boys, 25 girls) from two separate studies for cross-sectional differences in bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and for percentage change over the short term (8 months) and long term (7 years). At the proximal femur for the short-term longitudinal analysis, there was an approximate 3.5% greater change in bone area and BMC when the global region of interest (ROI) was allowed to increase in size between years as compared with when the global ROI was held constant. Trend analysis showed a significant (p < 0.05) difference between scan analysis methods for bone area and BMC across 7 years. At the femoral neck, cross-sectional analysis using a narrower (from default) ROI, without change in location, resulted in a 12.9 and 12.6% smaller bone area and BMC, respectively (both p < 0.001), Changes in FN area and BMC over 8 months were significantly greater (2.3 %, p < 0.05) using a narrower FN rather than the default ROI, Similarly, the 7-year longitudinal data revealed that differences between scan analysis methods were greatest when the narrower FN ROI was maintained across all years (p < 0.001), For aBMD there were no significant differences in group means between analysis methods at either the PF or FN, Our findings show the need to standardize the analysis of proximal femur DXA scans in growing children.

Phorbasin A: A novel diterpene from a southern Australian marine sponge, phorbas species

A southern Australian Phorbas species has yielded a novel diterpene, phorbasin A (1), possessing an unprecedented carbon skeleton. The structure for phorbasin A was determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis.

Phorbasin B and C: Novel diterpenes from a southern Australian marine sponge, Phorbas species

A southern Australian Phorbas sp. has yielded the novel diterpenes phorbasin B (2) and phorbasin C (3). Phorbasins B and C possess a hitherto unknown carbon skeleton, and their structures were assigned on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analyses.

The isolation and synthesis of novel nematocidal dithiocyanates from an Australian marine sponge, Oceanapia sp.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of the EtOH extract of an Oceanapia sp. collected off the northern Rottnest Shelf, Australia, has yielded three novel dithiocyanates, thiocyanatins A (1), B (2a), and C (2b). The structures were determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis and confirmed by total synthesis. In addition to featuring an unprecedented dithiocyanate functionality, thiocyanatins possess an unusual 1,16-difunctionalized n-hexadecane carbon skeleton and are revealed as a hitherto unknown class of nematocidal agents

Characterization of pore wall heterogeneity in nanoporous carbons using adsorption: the slit pore model revisited

In this paper, we propose a new nonlocal density functional theory characterization procedure, the finite wall thickness model, for nanoporous carbons, whereby heterogeneity of pore size and pore walls in the carbon is probed simultaneously. We determine the pore size distributions and pore wall thickness distributions of several commercial activated carbons and coal chars, with good correspondence with X-ray diffraction. It is shown that the conventional infinite wall thickness approach overestimates the pore size slightly. Pore-pore correlation has been shown to have a negligible effect on prediction of pore size and pore wall thickness distributions for small molecules such as argon used in characterization. By utilizing the structural parameters (pore size and pore wall thickness distribution) in the generalized adsorption isotherm (GAI) we are able to predict adsorption uptake of supercritical gases in BPL and Norit RI Extra carbons, in excellent agreement with experimental adsorption uptake data up to 60 MPa. The method offers a useful technique for probing features of the solid skeleton, hitherto studied by crystallographic methods.