HEM Technologies (United States)

The BRG/Brahma-associated factors (BAF or mSWI/SNF) family of chromatin remodeling complexes are critical regulators of gene expression and are major determinants of cancer and other diseases. Two paralog ATPases, SMARCA4 and SMARCA2 (BRG1 and BRM, respectively), provide the enzymatic activity required for chromatin remodeling. Here, we discover and characterize a novel series of compounds that potently and selectively inhibit SMARCA4/SMARCA2. Mutational and biochemical studies demonstrate that these inhibitors act through a unique mode of inhibition, distinct from reported SMARCA4/SMARCA2 inhibitors. Across a range of cancer cell lines, SMARCA4/SMARCA2 inhibition resulted in lineage-specific changes in chromatin accessibility at binding sites for key transcription factors (TFs). In uveal melanoma (UM), BAF inhibition resulted in loss of enhancer occupancy of SOX10 and MITF, two essential TFs, leading to down-regulation of the melanocytic gene expression program. In a mouse xenograft model of UM, SMARCA4/SMARCA2 inhibition was well tolerated and resulted in dose-dependent tumor regression correlating with pharmacodynamic modulation of BAF-target gene expression. These data provide the foundation for first-in-human studies of BAF ATPase inhibition as a novel therapeutic to treat TF-dependent cancers.

The structural evolution of silicon oxide/graphite (SiOx/Gr) composite anodes under SiOx expansion is systematically investigated to address the lack of in‐depth studies on the mechanical disparities between Si‐based materials and graphite during operation. In this work, the electrode structure evolution is evaluated with a series of composite anodes with different SiOx/Gr ratios through electrochemical performance tests and structural characterization, focusing on pore growth and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) renewal induced by active material volume changes. The results reveal that the continuous volume change of SiOx leads to uneven stress distribution within the electrode, which further causes mechanical fatigue and structural fractures of active materials. Notably, the replacement of modified SiOx material with artificial coating improves structural integrity and cycling performance, enabling the composite anode to maintain a capacity of 373 mA h g−1 even at 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles. These findings demonstrate that optimizing stress distribution and structural evolution is critical for enhancing the mechanical stability and electrochemical performance of SiOx/Gr composite anodes. This study provides fundamental insights into the failure mechanisms of SiOx/Gr composite anodes and highlights the necessity of rational electrode design strategies to develop high‐capacity, long‐cycle‐life anode materials for next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries.

This project was funded by the Bioenergy Engineering for Product Synthesis (BEEPS) program under the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001916 Topic Area 5 “Rewiring Carbon Utilization”. This FOA sought projects that would electrocatalytically reduce CO2 to a carbon intermediate and then upconvert to a multi-carbon product or fuel via non-photosynthetic biological system engineering. The project sought to combine the expertise of OCO Chem, whose chief scientist had previously developed an efficient electrocatalytic reactor for conversion of CO2 to formate with potential to scale, Montana State University investigators who had recently patented a method for laterally grading membranes with the potential of improving reactant distribution and more uniform efficiency across membrane-based reactors, and University of South Florida which had recently discovered a novel C-C bond forming reaction not known to naturally occur in biological systems and which uses C1 substrates and circumvents the central microbial metabolism.

Trenchless technologies are an innovative, cost-effective method to restore our aging infrastructure. Each trenchless method has a different technical envelope and tolerates differing site constraints to be installed properly. These site constraints include pipe bends, topography, valves, and other connections to the pipeline. Given these features, each trenchless technology will require varying levels of civil support to complete the project. Despite the innovation that trenchless solutions bring to pipeline projects, there is still a level of risk from what can be discovered in the field based on the accuracy of as-built information, current GIS data, and other historical records. Many times, these “differing site conditions” can be mitigated using the chosen trenchless technology’s adaptability for field changes, but sometimes, there is a more drastic change needed. In these cases, pivoting to a different, yet innovative and cost-effective trenchless solution, is a better fit for the project goals.

Local high concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) have been proved to be one of the most promising systems to stabilize both high voltage cathodes and Li metal anode for next-generation batteries. However, the solvation structures and interactions among different species in LHCEs are still convoluted, which bottlenecks the further breakthrough on electrolyte development. Here, it is demonstrated that the hydrogen bonding interaction between diluent and solvent is crucial for the construction of LHCEs and corresponding interphase chemistries. The 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl trifluoromethane sulfonate (TFSF) is selected as diluent with the solvent dimethoxy-ethane (DME) to prepare a non-flammable LHCE for high voltage LMBs. This is first find that the hydrogen bonding interaction between TFSF and DME solvent tailors the electrolyte solvation structures by weakening the coordination of DME molecules to Li+ cations and allows more participation of anions in the first solvation shell, leading to the formation of aggregates (AGGs) clusters which are conducive to generating inorganic solid/cathodic electrolyte interphases (SEI/CEIs). The proposed TFSF based LHCE enables the Li||NCM811 (LiNi0.8Mn0.1O2) batteries to realize >80% capacity retention with a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.8% for 230 cycles under aggressive conditions (NCM811 cathode: 3.4mAhcm-2, cut-off voltage: 4.4V, and 20µm Li foil).

The aim of this study is to clarify the number of steps of children whose physical strength has increased in 3 years from the physical fitness tests conducted in multiple facilities. Since 2015, the survey has conducted a physical fitness test and a step count survey to grasp the "activity amount".

This paper presents an overview of a CIPP pressure pipe lining project undertaken in Calgary, AB. The project was required to upgrade existing water system feeder mains in response to construction of additional railway tracks and City of Calgary (City) LRT facilities within a CP (Canadian Pacific Railway) right of way (ROW). The paper discusses the City’s review of rehabilitation options. CIPP pressure pipe design requirements for this 760 kPa system are presented. The project was part of a wider-reaching infrastructure upgrading undertaking to accommodate the rail expansion, as well as other City initiatives. Impacts of local conditions and discovery of unknown features are described. Preparation for installation and overall process is described with detail on standard and unique requirements for this project. The successful installation of this 600 mm diameter liner is the largest diameter CIPP pressure pipe project in Western Canada. While this paper refers to the steel watermain as 600 mm which is the convention in Canada, it was installed long before the metric system was initiated and is a hard 24 in. measurement.

Abstract Lead sulfation severely shortens the cycling life of lead‐acid battery under high‐rate partial‐state‐of‐charge (HRPSoC) operation. Adding carbon materials into negative active mass has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to suppress the sulfation. In this paper, rice‐husk‐based activated carbon (RHAC) with high specific surface area and high pore volume exhibits excellent performances on enhancing the discharge capacity, the dynamic charge acceptance and especially the cycling life of negative electrode of lead acid battery. Results show that the HRPSoC cycling life of negative electrode with RHAC exceeds 5000 cycles which is 4.65 and 1.42 times that of blank negative electrode and negative electrode with commercial activated carbon, respectively. These outstanding performances are ascribed to the unique architectural properties of RHAC comparing with commercial activated carbon, such as three‐dimensional porous structure for acid storage, high mesopore volume for efficient ions transport and large external specific surface area for energetic Pb deposition.

Lead-based ballistic modifiers are additives in double base propellants (DBPs) which render the burn rate insensitive to changes in pressure within a defined pressure range, thus imparting greater control of combustion conditions. In-coming European legislation will soon ban the use of lead in propellant formulations, however, and few suitable candidate replacement materials are currently available. In an effort to understand better the unique properties offered by lead-based modifiers, we present a first-principles computational study on Pb, PbO, PbO2, SnO2 and Bi2O3, all of which have been investigated experimentally as ballistic modifier materials. Our study demonstrates that various quantifiable properties exist for the lead-based materials. Overall, they have narrower electronic band gaps, lower surface energies and lower surface work functions than the lead-free systems, indicating a greater propensity to form stable chemical surfaces with higher catalytic activity. We also show that of the set, only Pb and α-PbO can support the formation of a weakly bound layer of amorphous carbon, a key experimental observable in the burning of DBPs.

Two unique hybrid tin iodides, with generic compositions A0.5A'0.5SnI3 and A1.5A'0.5SnI4 have been prepared. Each shows ordering of the two organic moieties (A and A') on distinct crystallographic sites, leading to novel 3D and 2D structure types, respectively.