2,937 research outputs found
Cooperation and interdependence in global science funding
Research and development investments are key to scientific and economic
development and to the well-being of society. Because scientific research
demands significant resources, national scientific investment is a crucial
driver of scientific production. As scientific production becomes increasingly
multinational, it is critically important to study how nations' scientific
activities are funded both domestically and internationally. By tracing
research grants acknowledged in scholarly publications, our study reveals a
duopoly of China and the United States in the global funding landscape, with a
contrasting funding pattern; while China has surpassed the United States both
in acknowledged domestic and international funding with its strong funding
activity for the Chinese institutions, the United States largely maintains its
place as the most important research partner for most countries. Our results
also highlight the precarity of low- and middle-income countries to global
funding disruptions. By revealing the complex interdependence and collaboration
between countries in the global scientific enterprise, our study informs future
studies investigating the national and global scientific enterprise and how
funding leads to both productive cooperation and dependencies.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figure
Polar Microalgae: New Approaches towards Understanding Adaptations to an Extreme and Changing Environment
Polar Regions are unique and highly prolific ecosystems characterized by extreme environmental gradients. Photosynthetic autotrophs, the base of the food web, have had to adapt physiological mechanisms to maintain growth, reproduction and metabolic activity despite environmental conditions that would shut-down cellular processes in most organisms. High latitudes are characterized by temperatures below the freezing point, complete darkness in winter and continuous light and high UV in the summer. Additionally, sea-ice, an ecological niche exploited by microbes during the long winter seasons when the ocean and land freezes over, is characterized by large salinity fluctuations, limited gas exchange, and highly oxic conditions. The last decade has been an exciting period of insights into the molecular mechanisms behind adaptation of microalgae to the cryosphere facilitated by the advancement of new scientific tools, particularly “omics” techniques. We review recent insights derived from genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics studies. Genes, proteins and pathways identified from these highly adaptable polar microbes have far-reaching biotechnological applications. Furthermore, they may provide insights into life outside this planet, as well as glimpses into the past. High latitude regions also have disproportionately large inputs into global biogeochemical cycles and are the region most sensitive to climate change
The latent structure of global scientific development
Science is essential to innovation and economic prosperity. Although studies
have shown that national scientific development is affected by geographic,
historic, and economic factors, it remains unclear whether there are universal
structures and trajectories of national scientific development that can inform
forecasting and policymaking. Here, by examining countries' scientific
'exports'-publications that are indexed in international databases-we reveal a
three-cluster structure in the relatedness network of disciplines that underpin
national scientific development and the organization of global science. Tracing
the evolution of national research portfolios reveals that while nations are
proceeding to more diverse research profiles individually, scientific
production is increasingly specialized in global science over the past decades.
By uncovering the underlying structure of scientific development and connecting
it with economic development, our results may offer a new perspective on the
evolution of global science.Comment: 30 pages(main text), 5 figures(main text), 3 tables(main text
The Putative Endoglucanase PcGH61D from Phanerochaete chrysosporium Is a Metal-Dependent Oxidative Enzyme that Cleaves Cellulose
Many fungi growing on plant biomass produce proteins currently classified as glycoside hydrolase family 61 (GH61), some of which are known to act synergistically with cellulases. In this study we show that PcGH61D, the gene product of an open reading frame in the genome of Phanerochaete chrysosporium, is an enzyme that cleaves cellulose using a metal-dependent oxidative mechanism that leads to generation of aldonic acids. The activity of this enzyme and its beneficial effect on the efficiency of classical cellulases are stimulated by the presence of electron donors. Experiments with reduced cellulose confirmed the oxidative nature of the reaction catalyzed by PcGH61D and indicated that the enzyme may be capable of penetrating into the substrate. Considering the abundance of GH61-encoding genes in fungi and genes encoding their functional bacterial homologues currently classified as carbohydrate binding modules family 33 (CBM33), this enzyme activity is likely to turn out as a major determinant of microbial biomass-degrading efficiency
Unusual activity of rationally designed cobalt phosphide/oxide heterostructure composite for hydrogen production in alkaline medium.
Design and development of an efficient, nonprecious catalyst with structural features and functionality necessary for driving the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline medium remain a formidable challenge. At the root of the functional limitation is the inability to tune the active catalytic sites while overcoming the poor reaction kinetics observed under basic conditions. Herein, we report a facile approach to enable the selective design of an electrochemically efficient cobalt phosphide oxide composite catalyst on carbon cloth (CoP-CoxOy/CC), with good activity and durability toward HER in alkaline medium (η10= -43 mV). Theoretical studies revealed that the redistribution of electrons at laterally dispersed Co phosphide/oxide interfaces gives rise to a synergistic effect in the heterostructured composite, by which various Co oxide phases initiate the dissociation of the alkaline water molecule. Meanwhile, the highly active CoP further facilitates the adsorption-desorption process of water electrolysis, leading to extremely high HER activity
Tissue storage affects lipidome profiling in comparison to in vivo microsampling approach
Low-invasive in vivo solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was used to investigate the lipid profiles of muscle tissue of living fish. Briefly, mixed mode SPME fibers were inserted into the muscle for 20 min extraction, and then the fibers were desorbed in an optimal mixture of solvents. The obtained lipid profile was then compared and contrasted to that obtained with employment of ex vivo SPME and solid-liquid extraction (SLE) from fish muscle tissue belonging to the same group of fish, following a one-year storage period. Ex vivo SPME analysis of stored muscle samples revealed 10-fold decrease in the number of detected molecular features in comparison to in vivo study. Moreover, in vivo microsampling enabled the identification of different classes of bioactive lipids, including fatty acyls, not present in the lipid profile obtained through ex vivo SPME and SLE, suggesting the alterations occurring in the unbound lipid fraction of the system under study during the storage and also indicating the advantage of the in vivo extraction approach.This work was supported by Environment Canada through the Environmental Damages Fund (Grant EC-129114)
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