[Co(bpy)₃]^3+/2+ and [Co(phen)₃]^3+/2+ Electron Mediators for Overall Water Splitting under Sunlight Irradiation Using Z‑Scheme Photocatalyst System

[Co­(bpy)₃]^3+/2+ and [Co­(phen)₃]^3+/2+ redox couples were revealed to play as electron mediators for Z-scheme photocatalyst systems composed of Ru/SrTiO₃:Rh and BiVO₄ powders for overall water splitting under visible light irradiation. These electron mediators were effective for only the combination of SrTiO₃:Rh with BiVO₄. They did not work when nondoped SrTiO₃ and TiO₂ of H₂-evolving photocatalysts and WO₃ of O₂-evolving photocatalysts were employed. These results indicated that the affinity between photocatalysts and the Co-complex electron mediators was important. The photocatalytic activity depended on pH. Neutral pH conditions gave the highest activity for overall water splitting. Overall water splitting by the present system steadily proceeded for a long time. The Z-scheme photocatalyst system was also confirmed to split water under sunlight irradiation at the rates depending on weather. Moreover, overall water splitting by the Z-scheme photocatalyst system with the Co-complex electron mediator using a reaction cell in which the Ru/SrTiO₃:Rh suspension was divided from BiVO₄ suspension by a membrane filter resulted in H₂ evolution separated from that of O₂

Effect of hydroxy and carboxy groups on anisotropic growth of rutile-type titania under hydrothermal conditions

<p>Control of crystal growth leads to highly functional materials with desired morphologies. In this study, the relationship between select additives and the crystal growth of rutile-type titania under hydrothermal conditions using α-hydroxy acids, carboxylic acids, or alcohols as additives was systematically investigated. Without additives, rod-like rutile crystals with average dimensions of 295 nm × 67 nm were formed. Acceleration of the crystal growth was observed and the aspect ratios of the resulting rod-like crystals were found to increase in the presence of the additives. Alcohols promoted crystal growth along the <i>c</i>-axis, but not in the direction to perpendicular to [001]. Carboxylic acids accelerated the overall crystal growth and this increase was more enhanced along the <i>c</i>-axis than that along others. Both effects were observed using α-hydroxy acids. In addition, the present results implied that the size of the hydrocarbon groups in alcohols and α-hydroxy acids appeared to be related to the acceleration of crystal growth along the <i>c</i>-axis. Hydroxy groups may reduce the surface energy of the crystal facets perpendicular to the <i>c</i>-axis by their adsorption on those facets, resulting in the formation of rod-like crystals with high aspect ratio.</p

Additional file 3: Table S3. of Questionnaire survey on nutritional supplement therapy and exercise training at hemodialysis facilities in Japan

Logistic regression analysis with conducted using per-100-patient staffing level. (PDF 111 kb

Additional file 2: Table S2. of Questionnaire survey on nutritional supplement therapy and exercise training at hemodialysis facilities in Japan

Proportion of facilities providing interventions based on lower and higher response probabilities. (PDF 88 kb

Additional file 1: Item S1. of Questionnaire survey on nutritional supplement therapy and exercise training at hemodialysis facilities in Japan

Questionnaire. (PDF 194 kb

Anomalous Orange Light-Emitting (Sr,Ba)₂SiO₄:Eu²⁺ Phosphors for Warm White LEDs

Phosphors with sufficient red emission component are necessary for warm white light-emitting diodes. In this work on (Sr,Ba)_{2(1–<i>x</i>)}Eu_2<i>x</i>SiO₄ phosphors, (Sr,Ba)_1.5Eu_0.5SiO₄ achieved 75% of an internal quantum efficiency under excitation by blue light. Surprisingly, the (Sr,Ba)_1.5Eu_0.5SiO₄ exhibited orange emission, against the well-known traditional green-yellow emission of (Sr,Ba)₂SiO₄:Eu²⁺. Moreover, the concentration quenching of Eu²⁺ in (Sr,Ba)₂SiO₄ was abnormally unobvious. With the help of calculations based on the density functional theory, it was discovered that the distinct local environment of luminescence centers rather than usual explanation such as self-absorption or intensified crystal field splitting, is responsible to the interesting red shifts in excitation and emission spectra. The refinement analysis based on X-ray diffraction revealed that the unequal distribution of Eu²⁺ to two crystallographic sites caused low concentration of Eu²⁺ at the 9-coordination site, inhibiting the concentration quenching. The (Sr,Ba)_1.5Eu_0.5SiO₄ phosphor has warmer emission than the commercial Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺. This study also promotes research on the effect of site occupancy and the local environment of luminescence centers

Cobalt Oxide Nanoclusters on Rutile Titania as Bifunctional Units for Water Oxidation Catalysis and Visible Light Absorption: Understanding the Structure–Activity Relationship

The structure of cobalt oxide (CoO_<i>x</i>) nanoparticles dispersed on rutile TiO₂ (R-TiO₂) was characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis–NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The CoO_<i>x</i> nanoparticles were loaded onto R-TiO₂ by an impregnation method from an aqueous solution containing Co­(NO₃)₂·6H₂O followed by heating in air. Modification of the R-TiO₂ with 2.0 wt % Co followed by heating at 423 K for 1 h resulted in the highest photocatalytic activity with good reproducibility. Structural analyses revealed that the activity of this photocatalyst depended strongly on the generation of Co₃O₄ nanoclusters with an optimal distribution. These nanoclusters are thought to interact with the R-TiO₂ surface, resulting in visible light absorption and active sites for water oxidation

Hematopoietic characteristics of knockout mice lacking Ang II production.

<p>(A) Hematocrit was measured for WT (n = 10), Ren(+/-) (n = 6), Agt(+/-) (n = 15), Ren(-/-) (n = 9), and Agt(-/-) (n = 13) mice; the animals were 3 months old. Individual measurements are indicated by a (◆). The group mean is represented by a thick horizontal bar (*<i>p</i> < 0.0001 vs. WT, ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD post hoc comparisons). (B) Panels show smears of peripheral blood. Peripheral blood smears of Agt(-/-) appear normal. Arrows indicate methylene blue–stained reticulocytes. (C) Mean reticulocyte counts of WT (n = 10) and Agt(-/-) (n = 13) are represented. Values shown are means ± SD. N.S., not significant.</p

The systolic blood pressure and hematocrit values of AT1a(-/-) mice after oral administration of losartan.

<p>(A) Systolic blood pressures of AT1a(-/-) mice were measured before and after the oral administration of losartan (30 mg/kg/day). n = 7 for each group. (B) Hematocrit values of AT1a(-/-) mice were measured before and after oral administration of losartan. n = 10 for losartan and n = 11 for saline (*<i>p</i> < 0.05 vs. saline group). The hematocrit values of WT and Agt(-/-) are shown for comparison.</p

Schematic view of the correlation between AT1 receptor inhibition (horizontal) and blood pressure (BP) or erythropoiesis (RBC) (vertical).

<p>Schematic view of the correlation between AT1 receptor inhibition (horizontal) and blood pressure (BP) or erythropoiesis (RBC) (vertical).</p