A combustion-free methodology for synthesizing zeolites and zeolite-like materials

Zeolites are mainly used for the adsorption and separation of ions and small molecules, and as heterogeneous catalysts. More recently, these materials are receiving attention in other applications, such as medical diagnosis and as components in electronic devices. Modern synthetic methodologies for preparing zeolites and zeolite-like materials typically involve the use of organic molecules that direct the assembly pathway and ultimately fill the pore space. Removal of these enclathrated species normally requires high temperature combustion that destroys this high cost component, and the associated energy release in combination with the formed water can be extremely detrimental to the inorganic structure. Here we report a synthetic methodology that avoids these difficulties by creating organic structure-directing agents (SDAs) that can be disassembled within the zeolite pore space to allow removal of their fragments for possible use again by reassembly. The methodology is shown for the synthesis of zeolite ZSM-5 using a SDA that contains a cyclic ketal group that is removed from the SDA while it is inside the zeolite without destruction of the inorganic framework. This approach should be applicable to the synthesis of a wide variety of inorganic and organometallic structures.     

Interaction of hydrogen with metal nitrides and imides

The pursuit of a clean and healthy environment has stimulated much effort in the development of technologies for the utilization of hydrogen-based energy. A critical issue is the need for practical systems for hydrogen storage, a problem that remains unresolved after several decades of exploration. In this context, the possibility of storing hydrogen in advanced carbon materials has generated considerable interest. But confirmation and a mechanistic understanding of the hydrogen-storage capabilities of these materials still require much work. Our previously published work on hydrogen uptake by alkali-doped carbon nanotubes cannot be reproduced by others. It was realized by us and also demonstrated by Pinkerton et al. that most of the weight gain was due to moisture, which the alkali oxide picked up from the atmosphere. Here we describe a different material system, lithium nitride, which shows potential as a hydrogen storage medium. Lithium nitride is usually employed as an electrode, or as a starting material for the synthesis of binary or ternary nitrides. Using a variety of techniques, we demonstrate that this compound can also reversibly take up large amounts of hydrogen. Although the temperature required to release the hydrogen at usable pressures is too high for practical application of the present material, we suggest that more investigations are needed, as the metal-N-H system could prove to be a promising route to reversible hydrogen storage.     

Pluripotency of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult marrow

We report here that cells co-purifying with mesenchymal stem cells--termed here multipotent adult progenitor cells or MAPCs--differentiate, at the single cell level, not only into mesenchymal cells, but also cells with visceral mesoderm, neuroectoderm and endoderm characteristics in vitro. When injected into an early blastocyst, single MAPCs contribute to most, if not all, somatic cell types. On transplantation into a non-irradiated host, MAPCs engraft and differentiate to the haematopoietic lineage, in addition to the epithelium of liver, lung and gut. Engraftment in the haematopoietic system as well as the gastrointestinal tract is increased when MAPCs are transplanted in a minimally irradiated host. As MAPCs proliferate extensively without obvious senescence or loss of differentiation potential, they may be an ideal cell source for therapy of inherited or degenerative diseases.     

Role of experience and oscillations in transforming a rate code into a temporal code

In the vast majority of brain areas, the firing rates of neurons, averaged over several hundred milliseconds to several seconds, can be strongly modulated by, and provide accurate information about, properties of their inputs. This is referred to as the rate code. However, the biophysical laws of synaptic plasticity require precise timing of spikes over short timescales (<10 ms). Hence it is critical to understand the physiological mechanisms that can generate precise spike timing in vivo, and the relationship between such a temporal code and a rate code. Here we propose a mechanism by which a temporal code can be generated through an interaction between an asymmetric rate code and oscillatory inhibition. Consistent with the predictions of our model, the rate and temporal codes of hippocampal pyramidal neurons are highly correlated. Furthermore, the temporal code becomes more robust with experience. The resulting spike timing satisfies the temporal order constraints of hebbian learning. Thus, oscillations and receptive field asymmetry may have a critical role in temporal sequence learning.     

CEACAM1 regulates insulin clearance in liver

We hypothesized that insulin stimulates phosphorylation of CEACAM1 which in turn leads to upregulation of receptor-mediated insulin endocytosis and degradation in the hepatocyte. We have generated transgenic mice over-expressing in liver a dominant-negative, phosphorylation-defective S503A-CEACAM1 mutant. Supporting our hypothesis, we found that S503A-CEACAM1 transgenic mice developed hyperinsulinemia resulting from impaired insulin clearance. The hyperinsulinemia caused secondary insulin resistance with impaired glucose tolerance and random, but not fasting, hyperglycemia. Transgenic mice developed visceral adiposity with increased amounts of plasma free fatty acids and plasma and hepatic triglycerides. These findings suggest a mechanism through which insulin signaling regulates insulin sensitivity by modulating hepatic insulin clearance.     

Homozygous Tsix mutant mice reveal a sex-ratio distortion and revert to random X-inactivation

Tsix controls X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) by blocking the accumulation of Xist RNA on the future active X chromosome. Deleting Tsix on one X chromosome (X(Delta)X) skews XCI toward the mutated X chromosome in the female soma. Here I have generated homozygous Tsix-null mice (X(Delta)X(Delta)) to test how deleting the second allele affects the choice of XCI. Homozygosity leads to extremely low fertility and reveals two previously unknown non-mendelian patterns of inheritance. First, the sex ratio is skewed against female births so that one daughter is born for every two to three sons. Second, the pattern of XCI unexpectedly returns to random in surviving X(Delta)X(Delta) mice. Thus, with respect to choice, mutation of Tsix yields a phenotypic abnormality in heterozygotes but not homozygotes. To reconcile the paradox of female loss with apparent reversion to random choice, I propose that deleting both Tsix alleles results in chaotic choice and that randomness in X(Delta)X(Delta) survivors reflects a fortuitous selection of distinct X chromosomes as active and inactive.     

Epistatic interaction between KIR3DS1 and HLA-B delays the progression to AIDS

Natural killer (NK) cells provide defense in the early stages of the innate immune response against viral infections by producing cytokines and causing cytotoxicity. The killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) on NK cells regulate the inhibition and activation of NK-cell responses through recognition of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules on target cells KIR and HLA loci are both highly polymorphic, and some HLA class I products bind and trigger cell-surface receptors specified by KIR genes. Here we report that the activating KIR allele KIR3DS1, in combination with HLA-B alleles that encode molecules with isoleucine at position 80 (HLA-B Bw4-80Ile), is associated with delayed progression to AIDS in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). In the absence of KIR3DS1, the HLA-B Bw4-80Ile allele was not associated with any of the AIDS outcomes measured. By contrast, in the absence of HLA-B Bw4-80Ile alleles, KIR3DS1 was significantly associated with more rapid progression to AIDS. These observations are strongly suggestive of a model involving an epistatic interaction between the two loci. The strongest synergistic effect of these loci was on progression to depletion of CD4(+) T cells, which suggests that a protective response of NK cells involving KIR3DS1 and its HLA class I ligands begins soon after HIV-1 infection.     

Automated DNA sequencing and analysis of 106 kilobases from human chromosome 19q13.3.

A total of 116,118 basepairs (bp) derived from three cosmids spanning the ERCC1 locus of human chromosome 19q13.3 have been sequenced with automated fluorescence-based sequencers and analysed by polymerase chain reaction amplification and computer methods. The assembled sequence forms two contigs totalling 105,831 bp, which contain a human fosB proto-oncogene, a gene encoding a protein phosphatase, two genes of unknown function and the previously-characterized ERCC1 DNA repair gene. This light band region has a high average density of 1.4 Alu repeats per kilobase. Human chromosome light bands could therefore contain up to 75,000 genes and 1.5 million Alu repeats.