Pyrolysis is carried out using beech wood for packed beds, consisting of pellets and particles of various sizes, and a block in the same shape and size as the beds. The different physical properties of the samples affect the heat-and mass-transfer rates and, consequently, the conversion time. However, the effects on the yields and composition of the lumped product classes are generally negligible. An exception is observed for the packed beds made of pulverized material, where re-evaporation and pyrolysis of the vapors, previously migrated and condensed in cold zones, result in reduced yields of some organic products (hydroxyacetaldehyde, levoglucosan, syringols) and an increased carbon content of the char. These effects are enhanced by successively smaller particle sizes and more severe heating conditions.

The Ca 2þ -binding protein sorcin regulates intracellular calcium homeostasis and plays a role in the induction of drug resistance in human cancers. Recently, an 18 kDa mitochondrial isoform of sorcin was reported to participate in antiapoptosis in human colorectal cancer (CRC), but information remains lacking about the functional role of the more abundant 22 kDa isoform of sorcin expressed in CRC. We found the 22 kDa isoform to be widely expressed in human CRC cells, whether or not they were drug resistant. Its upregulation in drugsensitive cells induced resistance to 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan, whereas its downregulation sensitized CRC cells to these chemotherapeutic agents. Sorcin enhances the accumulation of Ca 2þ in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), preventing ER stress, and, in support of this function, we found that the 22 kDa isoform of sorcin was upregulated under conditions of ER stress. In contrast, RNAi-mediated silencing of sorcin activated caspase-3, caspase-12, and GRP78/BiP, triggering apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. Our findings establish that CRC cells overexpress sorcin as an adaptive mechanism to prevent ER stress and escape apoptosis triggered by chemotherapeutic agents, prompting its further investigation as a novel molecular target to overcome MDR. Cancer Res; 71(24); 7659-69. Ó2011 AACR.