Miles Rollins (tightssmash1)

The structure of the molecular trimer 1a has been established in the solid state by using single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Interestingly, treatment of an another flexible ligand, [MePO(NH(3-Py))2] (L2), with the same Pd(II) acceptor resulted in exclusive formation of the trimeric cage [Pd3(L2)6·(BF4)6] (2).This study investigates a fast dissolution and regeneration pretreatment to produce regenerated cellulose nanofibers (RCNFs) via mechanical disintegration. Two cellulose pulps, namely, birch and dissolving pulps, with degree of polymerizations of 1800 and 3600, respectively, were rapidly dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by using tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH) as aqueous electrolyte at room temperature. When TEAOH (35 wt % in water) was added to the pulp-DMSO dispersion (pulpDMSO and TEAOHDMSO weight ratios of 190 and 19, respectively), 95% of the dissolving pulp and 85% of the birch pulp fibers dissolved almost immediately. Addition of water caused the regeneration of cellulose without any chemical modification and only a minor decrease of DP, whereas the crystallinity structure of cellulose transformed from cellulose I to cellulose II. The regenerated cellulose could then be mechanically disintegrated into nanosized fibers with only a few passes through a microfluidizer, and RCNF showed fibrous structure. The specific tensile strength of the film produced from both RCNFs exceeded 100 kN·m/kg, and overall mechanical properties of RCNF produced from birch pulp were in line with reference CNF produced by using extensive mechanical disintegration. Although the thermal stability of RCNFs was slightly lower compared to their corresponding original cellulose pulp, the onset temperature of degradation of RCNFs was over 270 °C.Oxidation of manganous manganese (MnII) is an important process driving manganese cycles in natural aquatic systems and leading to the formation of solid-phase MnIII,IV (hydr)oxide products. Previous research has shown that some simple ligands (e.g., phosphate, sulfate, chloride, fluoride) can bind with MnII to make it unreactive to oxidation by dissolved oxygen. However, there is little to no understanding of the role played by stronger, complex-forming ligands in MnII oxidation reactions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rates of abiotic MnII oxidation by O2 in the presence of low concentrations of several complex-forming model ligands (pyrophosphate, tripolyphosphate, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, oxalate) in bicarbonate-carbonate buffered laboratory solutions of pH 9.42, 9.65, and 10.19. The influence of increasing ligand concentrations on observed autocatalytic profiles of MnII oxidation was investigated, and initial oxidation rates were linked quantitatively to the initial MnII speciation in experimental solutions. Observed rates of MnII oxidation decreased with increasing ligand concentration for all four ligands tested. However, the profiles observed with time and the magnitudes of decrease in initial oxidation rates were different for the different ligands. Likely explanations for these observations include the denticity of the tested ligands, the relative strength of the ligands to complex MnII versus MnIII, and the ability of some ligands to enhance the reduction of MnIII back to MnII on a time scale comparable to the forward homogeneous MnII oxidation reaction.Bacteriophage endolysins (lysins, or murein hydrolases) are enzymes that bacteriophages utilize to degrade the cell wall peptidoglycans (PG) and subsequently disintegrate bacterial cells from within. Due to their muralytic activity, lysins are considered as potential candidates to battle against antibiotic resistance. However, most lysins in their native form lack the capability of trespassing the outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative (G-ve) bacteria. To turn the bacteriophage enzymes into antibacterial weapons against G-ve bacteria, endowing these enzymes the capability of accessing the PG substrate u