Design of homogeneous water oxidation electrocatalysts

To design the ideal water oxidation catalyst, understanding of the catalytic mechanism and decomposition pathways is essential. The aim of the research described in this thesis is to provide mechanistic insight on the water oxidation reaction catalyzed by homogeneous electrocatalysts and topostulate design criteria for the ideal water oxidation catalyst.Catalysis and Surface Chemistr

Parallel single cell analysis on an integrated microfluidic platform for cell trapping, lysis and analysis

We report here a novel and easily scalable microfluidic platform for the parallel analysis of hundreds of individual cells, with controlled single cell trapping, followed by their lysis and subsequent retrieval of the cellular content for on-chip analysis. The device consists of a main channel and an array of shallow side channels connected to the main channel via trapping structures. Cells are individually captured in dam structures by application of a negative pressure from an outlet reservoir, lyzed on site and the cellular content controllably extracted and transported in the individual side channels for on-chip analysis.\u

Driving sandpiles to criticality and beyond

A popular theory of self-organized criticality relates driven dissipative systems to systems with conservation. This theory predicts that the stationary density of the abelian sandpile model equals the threshold density of the fixed-energy sandpile. We refute this prediction for a wide variety of underlying graphs, including the square grid. Driven dissipative sandpiles continue to evolve even after reaching criticality. This result casts doubt on the validity of using fixed-energy sandpiles to explore the critical behavior of the abelian sandpile model at stationarity.Comment: v4 adds referenc

Design principles for homogeneous water oxidation catalysts based on first–row transition metals

The development of homogeneous first-row transition metal (FRTM) catalysts for the water oxidation reaction is considerably more challenging than for second and third-row catalysts. Given that FRTM catalysts are, in general, more labile, additional design principles must be considered to develop robust and stable catalysts for the water oxidation reaction. In this review, we highlight important design criteria and summarize important lessons learned for FRTM water oxidation catalysts.Catalysis and Surface Chemistr

Bounding W-W' mixing with spin asymmetries at RHIC

The W boson can obtain a small right-handed coupling to quarks and leptons through mixing with a hypothetical

Leishmaniasis worldwide and global estimates of its incidence.

As part of a World Health Organization-led effort to update the empirical evidence base for the leishmaniases, national experts provided leishmaniasis case data for the last 5 years and information regarding treatment and control in their respective countries and a comprehensive literature review was conducted covering publications on leishmaniasis in 98 countries and three territories (see 'Leishmaniasis Country Profiles Text S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, S11, S12, S13, S14, S15, S16, S17, S18, S19, S20, S21, S22, S23, S24, S25, S26, S27, S28, S29, S30, S31, S32, S33, S34, S35, S36, S37, S38, S39, S40, S41, S42, S43, S44, S45, S46, S47, S48, S49, S50, S51, S52, S53, S54, S55, S56, S57, S58, S59, S60, S61, S62, S63, S64, S65, S66, S67, S68, S69, S70, S71, S72, S73, S74, S75, S76, S77, S78, S79, S80, S81, S82, S83, S84, S85, S86, S87, S88, S89, S90, S91, S92, S93, S94, S95, S96, S97, S98, S99, S100, S101'). Additional information was collated during meetings conducted at WHO regional level between 2007 and 2011. Two questionnaires regarding epidemiology and drug access were completed by experts and national program managers. Visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis incidence ranges were estimated by country and epidemiological region based on reported incidence, underreporting rates if available, and the judgment of national and international experts. Based on these estimates, approximately 0.2 to 0.4 cases and 0.7 to 1.2 million VL and CL cases, respectively, occur each year. More than 90% of global VL cases occur in six countries: India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Brazil. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is more widely distributed, with about one-third of cases occurring in each of three epidemiological regions, the Americas, the Mediterranean basin, and western Asia from the Middle East to Central Asia. The ten countries with the highest estimated case counts, Afghanistan, Algeria, Colombia, Brazil, Iran, Syria, Ethiopia, North Sudan, Costa Rica and Peru, together account for 70 to 75% of global estimated CL incidence. Mortality data were extremely sparse and generally represent hospital-based deaths only. Using an overall case-fatality rate of 10%, we reach a tentative estimate of 20,000 to 40,000 leishmaniasis deaths per year. Although the information is very poor in a number of countries, this is the first in-depth exercise to better estimate the real impact of leishmaniasis. These data should help to define control strategies and reinforce leishmaniasis advocacy