Unveiling the critical role of TiO2-supported atomically dispersed Cu species for enhanced photofixation of N2 to nitrate

Nitrate products are widely used in manufacturing as crucial raw materials and fertilizers. The traditional nitrate synthesis process involves high energy consumption and emission, thereby opposing the goals of zero-carbon emission and green chemistry. Thus, a sustainable roadmap for nitrate synthesis that uses green energy input, clean N sources, and direct catalytic processes is urgently required (e.g., developing a novel photosynthesis system). Here, we synthesized TiO2-supported atomically dispersed Cu species for N2 photofixation to nitrate in a flow reactor. The optimized photocatalyst yielded a high nitrate photosynthesis rate of 0.93 μmol h−1 and selectivity of ∼90%, which is superior to most of the values reported thus far. Further, experimental results and in-situ investigations revealed that the atomically dispersed Cu sites in the as-designed sample significantly enhanced the separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated carriers, adsorption and activation of reactants, and the formation of chemisorbed NOx intermediates, thereby realizing the excellent photofixation of N2 to nitrate

Comparisons between different approximations to energy dissipation rate in a self-preserving far wake

Author name used in this publication: Y. Zhou2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Wavelet multiresolution analysis of the three vorticity components in a turbulent far wake

Author name used in this publication: A. RinoshikaAuthor name used in this publication: Y. Zhou2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Quantum phase transition to unconventional multi-orbital superfluidity in optical lattices

Orbital physics plays a significant role for a vast number of important phenomena in complex condensed matter systems such as high-T$_c$ superconductivity and unconventional magnetism. In contrast, phenomena in superfluids -- especially in ultracold quantum gases -- are commonly well described by the lowest orbital and a real order parameter. Here, we report on the observation of a novel multi-orbital superfluid phase with a {\it complex} order parameter in binary spin mixtures. In this unconventional superfluid, the local phase angle of the complex order parameter is continuously twisted between neighboring lattice sites. The nature of this twisted superfluid quantum phase is an interaction-induced admixture of the p-orbital favored by the graphene-like band structure of the hexagonal optical lattice used in the experiment. We observe a second-order quantum phase transition between the normal superfluid (NSF) and the twisted superfluid phase (TSF) which is accompanied by a symmetry breaking in momentum space. The experimental results are consistent with calculated phase diagrams and reveal fundamentally new aspects of orbital superfluidity in quantum gas mixtures. Our studies might bridge the gap between conventional superfluidity and complex phenomena of orbital physics.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Effective selection of informative SNPs and classification on the HapMap genotype data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are genetic variations which determine the difference between any two unrelated individuals, the SNPs can be used to identify the correct source population of an individual. For efficient population identification with the HapMap genotype data, as few informative SNPs as possible are required from the original 4 million SNPs. Recently, Park <it>et al.</it> (2006) adopted the nearest shrunken centroid method to classify the three populations, i.e., Utah residents with ancestry from Northern and Western Europe (CEU), Yoruba in Ibadan, Nigeria in West Africa (YRI), and Han Chinese in Beijing together with Japanese in Tokyo (CHB+JPT), from which 100,736 SNPs were obtained and the top 82 SNPs could completely classify the three populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this paper, we propose to first rank each feature (SNP) using a ranking measure, i.e., a modified t-test or F-statistics. Then from the ranking list, we form different feature subsets by sequentially choosing different numbers of features (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 100.) with top ranking values, train and test them by a classifier, e.g., the support vector machine (SVM), thereby finding one subset which has the highest classification accuracy. Compared to the classification method of Park <it>et al.</it>, we obtain a better result, i.e., good classification of the 3 populations using on average 64 SNPs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Experimental results show that the both of the modified t-test and F-statistics method are very effective in ranking SNPs about their classification capabilities. Combined with the SVM classifier, a desirable feature subset (with the minimum size and most informativeness) can be quickly found in the greedy manner after ranking all SNPs. Our method is able to identify a very small number of important SNPs that can determine the populations of individuals.</p

Paradigm of tunable clustering using binarization of consensus partition matrices (Bi-CoPaM) for gene discovery

Copyright @ 2013 Abu-Jamous et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Clustering analysis has a growing role in the study of co-expressed genes for gene discovery. Conventional binary and fuzzy clustering do not embrace the biological reality that some genes may be irrelevant for a problem and not be assigned to a cluster, while other genes may participate in several biological functions and should simultaneously belong to multiple clusters. Also, these algorithms cannot generate tight clusters that focus on their cores or wide clusters that overlap and contain all possibly relevant genes. In this paper, a new clustering paradigm is proposed. In this paradigm, all three eventualities of a gene being exclusively assigned to a single cluster, being assigned to multiple clusters, and being not assigned to any cluster are possible. These possibilities are realised through the primary novelty of the introduction of tunable binarization techniques. Results from multiple clustering experiments are aggregated to generate one fuzzy consensus partition matrix (CoPaM), which is then binarized to obtain the final binary partitions. This is referred to as Binarization of Consensus Partition Matrices (Bi-CoPaM). The method has been tested with a set of synthetic datasets and a set of five real yeast cell-cycle datasets. The results demonstrate its validity in generating relevant tight, wide, and complementary clusters that can meet requirements of different gene discovery studies.National Institute for Health Researc

A strategy for emergency treatment of Schistosoma japonicum-infested water

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Schistosomiasis japonica, caused by contact with <it>Schistosoma japonicum </it>cercaria-infested water when washing, bathing or production, remains a major public-health concern in China. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a suspension concentrate of niclosamide (SCN) on killing cercaria of <it>S. japonicum </it>that float on the water surface, and its toxicity to fish, so as to establish an emergency-treatment intervention for rapidly killing cercaria and eliminating water infectivity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 30 min after spraying 100 mg/L SCN, with niclosamide dosages of 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 g/m², the water infectivity reduced significantly and no infectivity was found at 60 min after spraying SCN. The surface of static water was sprayed with 100 mg/L SCN, the peak concentration was found at 0 min, and the solution diffused to site with a water depth of 10 cm after 10 min. 30 min later, SCN diffused to the whole water body, and distributed evenly. After spraying 100 mg/L SCN onto the surface of the water with a volume of(3.14 × 20²×50)cm³, with niclosamide dosages of 0.02 g/m², 96 h later, no death of zebra fish was observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>By spraying 100 mg/L SCN, with a niclosamide dosage of 0.02 g/m²onto the surface of <it>S. japonicum</it>-infested water, infectivity of the water can be eliminated after 30-60 min, and there is no evident toxicity to fish. This cercaria-killing method, as an emergency-treatment intervention for infested water, can be applied in those forecasting and early warning systems for schistosomiasis.</p

Differential Regulation of the Period Genes in Striatal Regions following Cocaine Exposure

Several studies have suggested that disruptions in circadian rhythms contribute to the pathophysiology of multiple psychiatric diseases, including drug addiction. In fact, a number of the genes involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms are also involved in modulating the reward value for drugs of abuse, like cocaine. Thus, we wanted to determine the effects of chronic cocaine on the expression of several circadian genes in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) and Caudate Putamen (CP), regions of the brain known to be involved in the behavioral responses to drugs of abuse. Moreover, we wanted to explore the mechanism by which these genes are regulated following cocaine exposure. Here we find that after repeated cocaine exposure, expression of the Period (Per) genes and Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 2 (Npas2) are elevated, in a somewhat regionally selective fashion. Moreover, NPAS2 (but not CLOCK (Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput)) protein binding at Per gene promoters was enhanced following cocaine treatment. Mice lacking a functional Npas2 gene failed to exhibit any induction of Per gene expression after cocaine, suggesting that NPAS2 is necessary for this cocaine-induced regulation. Examination of Per gene and Npas2 expression over twenty-four hours identified changes in diurnal rhythmicity of these genes following chronic cocaine, which were regionally specific. Taken together, these studies point to selective disruptions in Per gene rhythmicity in striatial regions following chronic cocaine treatment, which are mediated primarily by NPAS2. © 2013 Falcon et al

Efferent Projections of Prokineticin 2 Expressing Neurons in the Mouse Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus is the predominant circadian clock in mammals. To function as a pacemaker, the intrinsic timing signal from the SCN must be transmitted to different brain regions. Prokineticin 2 (PK2) is one of the candidate output molecules from the SCN. In this study, we investigated the efferent projections of PK2-expressing neurons in the SCN through a transgenic reporter approach. Using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mouse line, in which the enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) reporter gene expression was driven by the PK2 promoter, we were able to obtain an efferent projections map from the EGFP-expressing neurons in the SCN. Our data revealed that EGFP-expressing neurons in the SCN, hence representing some of the PK2-expressing neurons, projected to many known SCN target areas, including the ventral lateral septum, medial preoptic area, subparaventricular zone, paraventricular nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, lateral hypothalamic area and paraventricular thalamic nucleus. The efferent projections of PK2-expressing neurons supported the role of PK2 as an output molecule of the SCN