Oxygen vacancy engineering of Bi2O3/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunctions: Implications of the interfacial charge transfer, NO adsorption and removal

Efficient enrichment of targeted gaseous pollutants and fast diffusion rates of charge carriers are essential for the photocatalytic removal of nitric oxides at ambient concentration levels. Here we demonstrate that the construction of nano-structured Bi2O3/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunctions with oxygen vacancies, increasing the photocatalytic NO removal activity, durability and selectivity for final products nitrate formation. Combining the experimental and density-functional theory calculations, it was elucidated that the presence of surface oxygen vacancies not only work as adsorption sites of low concentration NO, but also offer an intimate and integrated structure between surface defects and the light-harvesting heterojunctions, which can facilitate solar energy conversion and charge carrier transfer (more than 2 times). Control experiments with pristine Bi2O3/Bi2O2CO3 also confirmed the crucial role of surface oxygen vacancies on the improvement of NO adsorption and removal ability during the photocatalytic degradation process. We explain the enhanced removal of NO through the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancy and heterojunction, which not only guaranteed the generation of more center dot OH radicals, but also provided another route to produce hydrogen peroxide. Our findings may provide an opportunity to develop a promising catalyst for air pollution control

Synthesis of a Bi2O2CO3/ZnFe2O4 heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity for visible light irradiation-induced NO removal

Although bismuth subcarbonate (Bi2O2CO3), a member of the Aurivillius-phase oxide family, is a promising photocatalyst for the removal of gaseous NO at parts-per-billion level, the large band gap of this material restricts its applications to the UV light region. The above problem can be mitigated by heterojunction fabrication, which not only broadens the light absorbance range, but also inhibits the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. Herein, we implement this strategy to fabricate a novel Bi2O2CO3/ZnFe2O4 photocatalyst for NO removal under visible light irradiation and authenticate the formation of the above p-n heterojunction using an array of analytical techniques. Notably, the above composite showed activity superior to those of its individual constituents, and the underlying mechanisms of this activity enhancement were probed by density functional theory calculations and photocurrent measurements. Elevated electron/hole separation efficiency caused by the presence of an internal electric field at the Bi2O2CO3/ZnFe2O4 interface was identified as the main reason of the increased photocatalytic activity, with the main active species were determined as center dot O-2(-) and center dot OH by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Finally, cytotoxicity testing proved the good biocompatibility of Bi2O2CO3/ZnFe2O4. Thus, this work presents deep insights into the preparation and use of a green p-n heterojunction catalyst in various applications

Light absorption properties of brown carbon over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

We present a study of the light-absorbing properties of water-soluble brown carbon (WS-BrC) and methanolsoluble brown carbon (MeS-BrC) at a remote site (Lulang, 3326 m above sea level) in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau during the period 2015-2016. The light absorption coefficients at 365 nm (b(abs365)) of WS-BrC and MeS-BrC were the highest during winter and the lowest during monsoon season. MeS-BrC absorbs about 1.5 times higher at 365 nm compared to WS-BrC. The absorption at 550 nm appears lower compared to that of 365 nm for WS-BrC and MeS-BrC, respectively. Higher average value of the absorption Angstrom exponent (AAE, 365-550 nm) was obtained for MeS-BrC (8.2) than that for WS-BrC (6.9). The values of the mass absorption cross section at 365 nm (MAC(365)) indicated that BrC in winter absorbs UV-visible light more efficiently than in monsoon. The results confirm the importance of BrC in contributing to light-absorbing aerosols in this region. The understanding of the light absorption properties of BrC is of great importance, especially in modeling studies for the climate effects and transport of BrC in the Tibetan Plateau. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Suppression of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α (HIF-1α) by Tirapazamine Is Dependent on eIF2α Phosphorylation Rather Than the mTORC1/4E-BP1 Pathway

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), a heterodimeric transcription factor that mediates the adaptation of tumor cells and tissues to the hypoxic microenvironment, has attracted considerable interest as a potential therapeutic target. Tirapazamine (TPZ), a well-characterized bioreductive anticancer agent, is currently in Phase II and III clinical trials. A major aspect of the anticancer activity of TPZ is its identity as a tumor-specific topoisomerase IIα inhibitor. In the study, for the first time, we found that TPZ acts in a novel manner to inhibit HIF-1α accumulation driven by hypoxia or growth factors in human cancer cells and in HepG2 cell-derived tumors in athymic nude mice. We investigated the mechanism of TPZ on HIF-1α in HeLa human cervical cancer cells by western blot analysis, reverse transcription-PCR assay, luciferase reporter assay and small interfering RNA (siRNA) assay. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that neither HIF-1α mRNA levels nor HIF-1α protein degradation are affected by TPZ. However, TPZ was found to be involved in HIF-1α translational regulation. Further studies revealed that the inhibitory effect of TPZ on HIF-1α protein synthesis is dependent on the phosphorylation of translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) rather than the mTOR complex 1/eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein-1 (mTORC1/4E-BP1) pathway. Immunofluorescence analysis of tumor sections provide the in vivo evidences to support our hypothesis. Additionally, siRNA specifically targeting topoisomerase IIα did not reverse the ability of TPZ to inhibit HIF-1α expression, suggesting that the HIF-1α inhibitory activity of TPZ is independent of its topoisomerase IIα inhibition. In conclusion, our findings suggest that TPZ is a potent regulator of HIF-1α and provide new insight into the potential molecular mechanism whereby TPZ serves to reduce HIF-1α expression

Experimental Study on Solar Cooling Tube Using Thermal/Vacuum Emptying Method

A solar cooling tube using thermal/vacuum emptying method was experimentally studied in this paper. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the solar cooling tube was mostly affected by the vacuum degree of the system. In past research, the thermal vacuum method, using an electric oven and iodine-tungsten lamp to heat up the adsorbent bed and H2O vapor to expel the air from the solar cooling tube, was used to manufacture solar cooling tubes. This paper presents a novel thermal vacuum combined with vacuum pump method allowing an increased vacuum state for producing solar cooling tubes. The following conclusions are reached: the adsorbent bed temperature of solar cooling tube could reaches up to 233°C, and this temperature is sufficient to meet desorption demand; the refrigerator power of a single solar cooling tube varies from 1 W to 12 W; the total supply refrigerating capacity is about 287 kJ; and the COP of this solar cooling tube is about 0.215

Isolation and complete genomic characterization of H1N1 subtype swine influenza viruses in southern China through the 2009 pandemic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The swine influenza (SI) is an infectious disease of swine and human. The novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) that emerged from April 2009 in Mexico spread rapidly and caused a human pandemic globally. To determine whether the tremendous virus had existed in or transmitted to pigs in southern China, eight H1N1 influenza strains were identified from pigs of Guangdong province during 2008-2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on the homology and phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide sequences of each gene segments, the isolates were confirmed to belong to the classical SI group, with HA, NP and NS most similar to 2009 human-like H1N1 influenza virus lineages. All of the eight strains were low pathogenic influenza viruses, had the same host range, and not sensitive to class of antiviral drugs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study provides the evidence that there is no 2009 H1N1-like virus emerged in southern China, but the importance of swine influenza virus surveillance in China should be given a high priority.</p

Characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in PM2.5 emitted from different cooking activities in China

Nineteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM2.5 emitted from five different cooking activities were characterized, and their influencing factors were determined. The total quantified particle-bounded PAH concentrations (Sigma PAHs) in the airs from the cooking activities were 4.2-36.5-fold higher than those in corresponding backgrounds. The highest I PAHs pound were seen in cafeteria frying (783 +/- 499 ng/m(3)), followed by meat roasting (420 +/- 191 ng/m(3)), fish roasting (210 +/- 105 ng/m(3)), snack-street boiling (202 +/- 230 ng/m(3)), and cafeteria boiling (150 +/- 65 ng/m(3)). The main influencing factors on the PAH emissions were cooking methods, fat contents in raw materials, and oil consumptions. Four- to six-ringed PAHs had the highest contributions to the Sigma PAHs (avg. 87.5%). Diagnostic ratios of individual PAH were similar between the two charbroiling and other three conventional Chinese cooking methods, respectively, demonstrating the dominance of cooking methods in the PAH emissions. Remarkably high benzo(b)fluoranthene/benzo(k)fluoranthene (BbF/BkF) ratio (8.31) was seen in the snack-street boiling, attributed to the coal combustion as cooking fuel. Both fluoranthene/(fluoranthene + pyrene) [FLT/(FLT + PYR)] and benzo(a)anthracene/(benzo(a)anthracene + chrysene) [BaA/(BaA + CHR)] ratios were higher for the oil-based cooking than those from the water-based ones. In addition, two ratios of indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene/(indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene + benzo(g,h,i)perylene) [IPY/(IPY + BPE)] and benzo(a)pyrene/(benzo(a)pyrene + benzo(g,h,i)perylene) [BaP/(BaP + BPE)] were higher for two charbroiling than the three conventional Chinese cooking methods. The characterization work in this study is particularly important since cooking is a potential contributor of atmospheric PAHs in urban China. Carcinogenic potencies of PAHs were assessed by comparison with the air quality guideline and health risk estimation. The BaP and BaP equivalent were higher for the oil-based than the water-based cooking activities

Pluripotency-associated genes in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2 cells are reactivated by a unique epigenetic sub-microenvironment.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that cancers contain their own stem-like cells, and particular attention has been paid to one subset of cancer-stem cells termed side population (SP). Stem cells under normal physical conditions are tightly controlled by their microenvironment, however, the regulatory role of the microenvironment surrounding cancer stem cells is not well characterized yet. In this study we found that the phenotype of SP can be "generated" by macrophage-like cells under conditioned culture. Furthermore the gene regulation pathway involved in cellular reprogramming process was investigated. METHODS: The selection and identification of SP in 50 CNE-2 single cell clones were performed by flow cytometry. The transwell assay and immunofluorescence staining were used to measure migration and cancer stem cell characters of non-SP single clone cells cultured with conditioned medium respectively. The subtraction suppression hybridization (SSH) technique and northern blotting analysis was applied to explore the pluripotency-associated genes under a unique epigenetic sub-microenvironment. RESULTS: Among 50 clones, only one did not possess SP subpopulation while others did. The non-SP cells induced by macrophage-like cells showed more aggressive characters, which increased cell migration compared with the control cells and showed some fraction of SP phenotype. These cells expressed distinguished level of pluripotency-associated genes such as ADP-ribosylation factor-like 6 interacting protein (ARMER), poly (rC) binding protein 1 (PCBP1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase E1-beta subunit (PDHB) when subjected to the environment. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that non-SP single-clone cells can be induced to generate a SP phenotype when they are cultured with conditioned medium of macrophage-like cells, which is associated with the reactivation of pluripotency-associated genes.Peer Reviewe