Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapor Deposition on Hard Carbon Powders to Produce Composite Energy Materials.

Herein, we report a general route for the uniform coating of hard carbon (HC) powders via fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition. Carbon-based fine powders are excellent substrate materials for many catalytic and electrochemical applications but intrinsically difficult to fluidize and prone to elutriation. The reactor was designed to achieve as much retention of powders as possible, supported by a computational fluid dynamics study to assess the hydrodynamic behavior for varying gaseous flow rates. Solutions of the tin seleno- and thio-ether complexes [SnCl4{nBuSe(CH2)3SenBu}] and [SnCl4{nBuS(CH2)3SnBu}] were used as single source precursors and injected at high temperature into a fluidized bed of HC powders under nitrogen flow. The method allowed for the synthesis of HC-SnSx-SnSe2 composites at the gram scale with potential applications in electrocatalysis and sodium-ion battery anodes.

Disclosing Sexual Victimization Online and In-Person: An Examination of Bisexual+ and Heterosexual Survivors.

Bisexual+ (bisexual, pansexual, queer, attraction to more than one gender) people are at elevated risk for sexual victimization relative to their heterosexual counterparts. Disclosure of sexual victimization and social reactions received upon disclosure can play a major role in recovery following an assault. Using an online survey, the current study examined whether bisexual+ and heterosexual survivors of sexual victimization (N = 657) varied in disclosure of victimization, the type of disclosure (in-person vs. online via #MeToo), and receipt of various social reactions to disclosure in person and online. A chi-square test examined differences in disclosure and differences in types of disclosure (in-person only vs. MeToo across sexual identity). MANOVAS were used to examine whether in-person and online reactions varied across sexual identity. Bisexual+ survivors were more likely to disclose sexual victimization relative to heterosexual survivors. Among those who disclosed, bisexual+ survivors were more likely to disclose in person only whereas heterosexual survivors were more likely to disclose online via #MeToo. Whereas we did not find any significant differences for in-person reactions, we did find significant differences for online social reactions using #MeToo. Heterosexual survivors received higher turning against reactions (e.g., avoided talking to you or spending time with you) and more unsupportive acknowledgment relative to bisexual+ participants. Whereas bisexual+ participants received less turning against reactions and unsupportive acknowledgment during #MeToo/online disclosure, they were also less likely to disclose using #MeToo. Findings suggest that bisexual+ and heterosexual people vary in the way they disclose sexual victimization, and in how they are responded to when disclosing in person and online.

Understanding catalytic CO2 and CO conversion into methanol using computational fluid dynamics.

The kinetics of methanol synthesis from a mixture of CO2/CO/H2 have been widely studied in the literature. Yet the role of direct CO hydrogenation is still unclear, in terms of predicting and developing an accurate kinetic model. To investigate, a computational fluid dynamics model has been developed, incorporating two distinct kinetic models, one which includes CO hydrogenation and one which does not. Including CO hydrogenation in the kinetic model provides a more complex interaction between the three involved reactions and can better predict potential inhibitions caused by the presence of H2O. This, however, increases the complexity of the kinetic model. The benefit of applying a fluid dynamics model to study fixed bed reactors is demonstrated, as it offers unique insights into the spatial species concentration, temperature variations, and reaction rate magnitudes. The validated model is shown to be a powerful interrogative tool, capable of supporting system optimization across the catalyst and reactor engineering sectors.

Designing Multi-Dopant Species in Microporous Architectures to Probe Reaction Pathways in Solid-Acid Catalysis.

The introduction of two distinct dopants in a microporous zeotype framework can lead to the formation of isolated, or complementary catalytically active sites. Careful selection of dopants and framework topology can facilitate enhancements in catalysts efficiency in a range of reaction pathways, leading to the use of sustainable precursors (bioethanol) for plastic production. In this work we describe our unique synthetic design procedure for creating a multi-dopant solid-acid catalyst (MgSiAPO-34), designed to improve and contrast with the performance of SiAPO-34 (mono-dopant analog), for the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene. We employ a range of characterization techniques to explore the influence of magnesium substitution, with specific attention to the acidity of the framework. Through a combined catalysis, kinetic analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study we explore the reaction pathway of the system, with emphasis on the improvements facilitated by the multi-dopant MgSiAPO-34 species. The experimental data supports the validation of the CFD results across a range of operating conditions; both of which supports our hypothesis that the presence of the multi-dopant solid acid centers enhances the catalytic performance. Furthermore, the development of a robust computational model, capable of exploring chemical catalytic flows within a reactor system, affords further avenues for enhancing reactor engineering and process optimisation, toward improved ethylene yields, under mild conditions.

Management of Pain After Pediatric Trauma.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the management of pain after traumatic injury in the pediatric emergency department (ED) as measured by time to analgesic administration and pain resolution, stratified by triage acuity level. METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive study evaluating the management of children who presented with pain after injury to an urban level 1 trauma center. Consecutive enrollment of 1000 patients identified by ICD-9 codes that included all injuries or external causes for injury (700-999 and all E codes) and who had pain identified by triage pain assessment was performed. For analysis, patients were grouped according to triage level. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent (511/1000) of patients achieved pain resolution, and an additional 20% (200/1000) of patients had documented improvement in pain score during their ED visit. Triage acuity level 1 group received medications the fastest with a median time of 12 minutes (interquartile range, 10-53 minutes); 65.3% of patients (653/1000) received a pain medication during their ED visit; 54.3% of these patients received oral medications only. Average time to intravenous line placement was 2 hours 35 minutes (SD, 2 hours 55 minutes). Only 1.9% of patients received any medications prior to arrival. CONCLUSIONS: Higher-acuity patients received initial pain medications and had initial pain score decrease before lower-acuity patients. Given the retrospective nature of the study, we were unable to clearly identify barriers that contributed to delay in or lack of pain treatment in our patient population.

Alternative Polyadenylation of ABC Transporters of the C-Family (ABCC1, ABCC2, ABCC3) and Implications on Posttranscriptional Micro-RNA Regulation.

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters represent a large group of efflux pumps that are strongly involved in the pharmacokinetics of various drugs and nutrient distribution. It was recently shown that micro-RNAs (miRNAs) may significantly alter their expression as proven, e.g., for miR-379 and ABCC2 However, alternative mRNA polyadenylation may result in expression of 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTRs) with varying lengths. Thus, length variants may result in presence or absence of miRNA binding sites for regulatory miRNAs with consequences on posttranscriptional control. In the present study, we report on 3'-UTR variants of ABCC1, ABCC2, and ABCC3 mRNA. Applying in vitro luciferase reporter gene assays, we show that expression of short ABCC2 3'-UTR variants leads to a significant loss of miR-379/ABCC2 interaction and subsequent upregulation of ABCC2 expression. Furthermore, we show that expression of ABCC2 3'-UTR lengths varies significantly between human healthy tissues but is not directly correlated to the respective protein level in vivo. In conclusion, the presence of altered 3'-UTR lengths in ABC transporters could lead to functional consequences regarding posttranscriptional gene expression, potentially regulated by alternative polyadenylation. Hence, 3'-UTR length variability may be considered as a further mechanism contributing to variability of ABCC transporter expression and subsequent drug variation in drug response. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: micro-RNA (miRNA) binding to 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) plays an important role in the control of ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-transporter mRNA degradation and translation into proteins. We disclosed various 3'-UTR length variants of ABCC1, C2, and C3 mRNA, with loss of mRNA seed regions partly leading to varying and tissue-dependent interaction with miRNAs, as proven by reporter gene assays. Alternative 3'-UTR lengths may contribute to variable ABCC transporter expression and potentially explains inconsistent findings in miRNA studies.