Highly Selective Photoelectrochemical Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid

Harvesting solar energy and converting excess carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere into energetic products hold promise in addressing both problems of detrimental energy use and serious greenhouse gas effects. Catalytic activity and selectivity were the most important aspects of this investigation. Herein, an N-Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ catalyst was reported as well as the development of a customized method for regulating the catalytic properties and mechanism for CO₂ reduction. This method enabled elevated electron transfer and regulated formation of target products (formic acid and ethanol) and control of the specific product proportions. Under optimal photoelectrochemical selective conditions, the maximal rate of formic acid production reached 74896.13 nmol h^–1 cm^–2 with a selectivity of 99.89%. Such a catalyst and controlled artificial methods can ensure catalyst selectivity and activity and offer potential applications in the production of useful chemicals from CO₂ carbon feedstock

Identification of the Causative Gene for Simmental Arachnomelia Syndrome Using a Network-Based Disease Gene Prioritization Approach

<div><p>Arachnomelia syndrome (AS), mainly found in Brown Swiss and Simmental cattle, is a congenital lethal genetic malformation of the skeletal system. In this study, a network-based disease gene prioritization approach was implemented to rank genes in the previously reported ∼7 Mb region on chromosome 23 associated with AS in Simmental cattle. The top 6 ranked candidate genes were sequenced in four German Simmental bulls, one known AS-carrier ROMEL and a pooled sample of three known non-carriers (BOSSAG, RIFURT and HIRMER). Two suspicious mutations located in coding regions, a mis-sense mutation c.1303G>A in the bystin-like (<i>BYSL</i>) gene and a 2-bp deletion mutation c.1224_1225delCA in the molybdenum cofactor synthesis step 1 (<i>MOCS1</i>) gene were detected. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the mutation in <i>MOCS1</i> was more likely to be the causative mutation. Screening the c.1224_1225delCA site in 383 individuals from 12 cattle breeds/lines, we found that only the bull ROMEL and his 12 confirmed progeny carried the mutation. Thus, our results confirm the conclusion of Buitkamp et al. that the 2-bp deletion mutation c.1224_1225delCA in exon 11 of the <i>MOCS1</i> gene is causative for AS in Simmental cattle. Furthermore, a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was developed to detect the causative mutation.</p></div