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Experimental Simulation of Volatile Organic Contributions to Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces
We present the results of a new simulation of the atmospheric entry heating experienced by extraterrestrial dust particles, quantifying their volatile loss into the early Earth atmosphere and characterising their organic volatile components
Carbon Brainprint Case Study: optimising defouling schedules for oil- refinerypreheat trains
In an oil refinery, crude oil is heated to 360-370°C before entering a
distillation columnoperating at atmospheric pressure where the gas fraction and
several liquid fractions withdifferent boiling points (e.g. gasoline, kerosene,
diesel, gas oil, heavy gas oil) are separated off.The crude oil is heated in two
stages. The preheat train - a series of heat exchangers - heats itfrom ambient
temperature to about 270°C when it enters the furnace, known as the coil
inlettemperature. The furnace then heats the oil to the temperature required for
distillation.The purpose of the preheat train is to recover heat from the liquid
products extracted in thedistillation column. Without this, 2-3% of the crude
oil throughput would be used for heating thefurnace; with the preheat train up
to 70% of the required heat is recovered. It also serves tocool the refined
products: further cooling normally uses air or water.
Over time, fouling reduces the performance of the heat exchangers, increasing
the amount ofenergy that has to be supplied. It is possible to bypass units to
allow them to be cleaned, withan associated cost and temporary loss of
performance. The cleaning schedule thus has animpact on the overall efficiency,
cost of operation and emissions.
The group at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at
Cambridgedeveloped a scheduling algorithm for this non-linear optimisation
problem. It yields a good,though not-necessarily optimal, schedule and can
handle additional constraints, such as thepresence of desalters with specific
temperature requirements within the preheat train. This isnow being developed
into a commercial software product.
Data from two refineries - one operated by Repsol YPF in Argentina and the Esso
FawleyRefinery in the UK - were used to model the systems and test the
algorithm.
For the Repsol YPF refinery, when compared with current practice and including a
constrainton the desalter inlet temperature, the most conservative estimate of
the emissions reductionwas 773 t CO2/year. This assumed a furnace efficiency of
90%. The emissions reductionincreased to 927 t CO2/year at 75% efficiency and
1730 t CO2/year at 40%. These were basedon a stoichiometric estimate of the
emissions from the furnace. Using a standard emissionfactor increased them by
7.4%.
For Esso Fawley, the estimated emission reduction compared to no maintenance
was1435 t CO2/year at 90% furnace efficiency. This increased to 1725 t CO2/year
at 75% and3225 t CO2/year at 40% efficien
Heart enhancers with deeply conserved regulatory activity are established early in zebrafish development.
During the phylotypic period, embryos from different genera show similar gene expression patterns, implying common regulatory mechanisms. Here we set out to identify enhancers involved in the initial events of cardiogenesis, which occurs during the phylotypic period. We isolate early cardiac progenitor cells from zebrafish embryos and characterize 3838 open chromatin regions specific to this cell population. Of these regions, 162 overlap with conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) that also map to open chromatin regions in human. Most of the zebrafish conserved open chromatin elements tested drive gene expression in the developing heart. Despite modest sequence identity, human orthologous open chromatin regions recapitulate the spatial temporal expression patterns of the zebrafish sequence, potentially providing a basis for phylotypic gene expression patterns. Genome-wide, we discover 5598 zebrafish-human conserved open chromatin regions, suggesting that a diverse repertoire of ancient enhancers is established prior to organogenesis and the phylotypic period
Identification of a non-mammalian leptin-like gene:characterization and expression in the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Leptin is well established as a multifunctional cytokine in mammals. However, little is known about the evolution of the leptin gene in other vertebrates. A recently published set of ESTs from the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) contains a sequence sharing 56% nucleotide sequence identity with the human leptin cDNA. To confirm that the EST is naturally expressed in the salamander, a 409 bp cDNA was amplified by RT-PCR of salamander testis and stomach mRNAs. The coding sequence of the cDNA is predicted to encode 169 amino acids, and the mature peptide to consist of 146 residues, as in mammals. Although the overall amino acid identity with mammalian leptins is only 29%, the salamander and mammalian peptides share common structural features. An intron was identified between coding exons providing evidence that the sequence is present in the salamander genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed a rate of molecular divergence consistent with the accepted view of vertebrate evolution. The pattern of tissue expression of the leptin-like cDNA differed between metamorphosed adult individuals of different sizes suggesting possible developmental regulation. Expression was most prominent in the skin and testis, but was also detected in tissues in which leptin mRNA is present in mammals, including the fat body, stomach, and muscle. The characterization of a salamander leptin-like gene provides a basis for understanding how the structure and functions of leptin have altered during the evolution of tetrapod vertebrates
Interfacial band-edge energetics for solar fuels production
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has received growing attention as a potential pathway to replace fossil fuels and produce a clean, renewable, and sustainable source of fuel. To achieve overall water splitting and the associated production of solar fuels, complex devices are needed to efficiently capture light from the sun, separate photogenerated charges, and catalyze reduction and oxidation reactions. To date, the highest performing solar fuels devices rely on multi-component systems, which introduce interfaces that can be associated with further performance loss due to thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. In this review, we identify several of the most important interfaces used in PEC water splitting, summarize methods to characterize them, and highlight approaches to mitigating associated loss mechanisms.The authors thank Dr Eric Miller for the inspiration to compile this
review, and the members of the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Photoelectrochemical Working Group and Task 35 (Renewable
Hydrogen) of the International E
nergy Agency’s Hydrogen Imple-
menting Agreement for helpful comments, suggestions, and dis-
cussions, specifically Prof. Shane Ardo, Dr John Turner, Prof.
Dunwei Wang, and Prof. Shannon Boettcher. WAS greatly acknowl-
edges funding support from the FOM/NWO/Shell Program on CO
2
-
neutral Fuels (Project – APPEL). IDS was supported by the Joint
Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub,
supported through the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of
Energy under Award Number DE-SC0004993. NCS acknowledges
start-up funds from Lehigh University. JB thanks financial support
from GeneralitatValenciana (ISIC/ 2012/008). A summary version of
this review paper (DOI: 10.2172/1209498), and associated summary
tables that will be updated as the field progresses, will be available
on the working group website (http://energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/
photoelectrochemical-working-group)
Divergent evolution of protein conformational dynamics in dihydrofolate reductase.
Molecular evolution is driven by mutations, which may affect the fitness of an organism and are then subject to natural selection or genetic drift. Analysis of primary protein sequences and tertiary structures has yielded valuable insights into the evolution of protein function, but little is known about the evolution of functional mechanisms, protein dynamics and conformational plasticity essential for activity. We characterized the atomic-level motions across divergent members of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) family. Despite structural similarity, Escherichia coli and human DHFRs use different dynamic mechanisms to perform the same function, and human DHFR cannot complement DHFR-deficient E. coli cells. Identification of the primary-sequence determinants of flexibility in DHFRs from several species allowed us to propose a likely scenario for the evolution of functionally important DHFR dynamics following a pattern of divergent evolution that is tuned by cellular environment
Identification of novel candidate genes for follicle selection in the broiler breeder ovary
BACKGROUND: Broiler breeders fed ad libitum are characterised by multiple ovulation, which leads to poor shell quality and egg production. Multiple ovulation is controlled by food restriction in commercial flocks. However, the level of food restriction raises welfare concerns, including that of severe hunger. Reducing the rate of multiple ovulation by genetic selection would facilitate progress towards developing a growth profile for optimum animal welfare. RESULTS: The study utilised 3 models of ovarian follicle development; laying hens fed ad libitum (experiment 2) and broiler breeders fed ad libitum or a restricted diet (experiments 1 & 3). This allowed us to investigate gene candidates for follicular development by comparing normal, abnormal and “controlled” follicle hierarchies at different stages of development. Several candidate genes for multiple ovulation were identified by combining microarray analysis of restricted vs. ad libitum feeding, literature searches and QPCR expression profiling throughout follicle development. Three candidate genes were confirmed by QPCR as showing significant differential expression between restricted and ad libitum feeding: FSHR, GDF9 and PDGFRL. PDGFRL, a candidate for steroidogenesis, showed significantly up-regulated expression in 6–8 mm follicles of ad libitum fed broiler breeders (P = 0.016), the period at which follicle recruitment occurs. CONCLUSIONS: Gene candidates have been identified and evidence provided to support a possible role in regulation of ovarian function and follicle number. Further characterisation of these genes will be required to assess their potential for inclusion into breeding programmes to improve the regulation of follicle selection and reduce the need for feed restriction
Oral Microbiome Diversity in Chimpanzees from Gombe National Park
Historic calcified dental plaque (dental calculus) can provide a unique perspective into the health status of past human populations but currently no studies have focused on the oral microbial ecosystem of other primates, including our closest relatives, within the hominids. Here we use ancient DNA extraction methods, shotgun library preparation, and next generation Illumina sequencing to examine oral microbiota from 19 dental calculus samples recovered from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) who died in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. The resulting sequences were trimmed for quality, analyzed using MALT, MEGAN, and alignment scripts, and integrated with previously published dental calculus microbiome data. We report significant differences in oral microbiome phyla between chimpanzees and anatomically modern humans (AMH), with chimpanzees possessing a greater abundance of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria, and AMH showing higher Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Our results suggest that by using an enterotype clustering method, results cluster largely based on host species. These clusters are driven by Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium genera in chimpanzees and Haemophilus and Streptococcus in AMH. Additionally, we compare a nearly complete Porphyromonas gingivalis genome to previously published genomes recovered from human gingiva to gain perspective on evolutionary relationships across host species. Finally, using shotgun sequence data we assessed indicators of diet from DNA in calculus and suggest exercising caution when making assertions related to host lifestyle. These results showcase core differences between host species and stress the importance of continued sequencing of nonhuman primate microbiomes in order to fully understand the complexity of their oral ecologies
Orexin in the chicken hypothalamus: immunocytochemical localisation and comparison of mRNA concentrations during the day and night, and after chronic food restriction
In mammals Orexin-A and -B are neuropeptides involved in the hypothalamic regulation
of diverse physiological functions including food intake and the sleep-wake cycle. This
generalisation was investigated in meat-(broiler) and layer-type juvenile domestic chickens
by immunocytochemical localisation of orexin A/B in the hypothalamus, and by
measurements of hypothalamic hypocretin mRNA which encodes for orexin A/B after
chronic food restriction, and during the sleep-wake cycle. Orexin immunoreactive fibres
were observed throughout the hypothalamus with cell bodies in and around the
paraventricular nucleus. No differences were observed in the pattern of immunoreactivity
using anti- human orexin-A, or -B antisera. The amount of hypothalamic hypocretin
mRNA in food -restricted broilers was higher than in broilers fed ad libitum, but the same as
in layer- type hens fed ad libitum. Hypothalamic hypocretin mRNA was increased (Po0.01)
in 12-week-old broilers fed 25% of their ad libitum intake between 6–12 weeks of age. No
difference in hypothalamic hypocretin mRNA was seen in 12-week-old layer- type hens
when they were awake (1–2 h after lights on) or sleeping (1–2 h after lights off). It is
concluded that in the chicken, we could not find evidence that hypothalamic orexin plays a
role in the sleep-wake cycle and it may be involved in aspects of energy balance
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