Neutral hydrolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) catalysed by highly active terephthalate-based ionic liquids at low loadings.

Novel ionic liquid catalysts comprising terephthalate anions are capable of promoting the neutral hydrolysis of relatively large flake sizes of poly(ethylene terephthalate) at 0.5 mol% loading (200 °C, 4 h, 94% yield) without either attendant product inhibition or product contamination by protonated catalyst. Catalysts with large, lipophilic phosphonium cations outperform more polar variants.

Investigation of Er-Doped BaF Single Crystals for Infrared Emission and Photovoltaic Efficiency Enhancement.

Er-doped BaF single crystals were investigated with two primary aims: first, to probe the infrared emissions from the I level (around 1.0 μm) under 1500-nm excitation and, second, to use the crystal to enhance the efficiency of silicon-based solar cells through upconversion mechanism. Upon excitation at 1500 nm, the upconversion emission spectrum of the Er-doped BaF single crystals, recorded in the range of 480-1080 nm, exhibited two well-structured visible bands at 538 and 650 nm, along with a strong near infrared emission at 971 nm.

Microenvironmental Regulation of Dormancy in Breast Cancer Metastasis: "An Ally that Changes Allegiances".

Breast cancer remission after treatment is sometimes long-lasting, but in about 30% of cases, there is a relapse after a so-called dormant state. Cellular cancer dormancy, the propensity of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) to remain in a nonproliferative state for an extended period, presents an opportunity for therapeutic intervention that may prevent reawakening and the lethal consequences of metastatic outgrowth. Therefore, identification of dormant DTCs and detailed characterization of cancer cell-intrinsic and niche-specific [i.

Agile acousto-optic delay line for fast impulsive stimulated Raman imaging.

We introduce and characterize a fast (50 kHz), long range (50 ps) and random-access optical delay line based on an acousto-optic deflector inserted in the Fourier plane of a zero-dispersion line. The advantages of this agile delay line are demonstrated in the context of impulsive stimulated Raman imaging in the low-frequency range (<200 cm). Besides fast imaging with a spectral resolution of 1.