Highly Ordered Periodic Au/TiO₂ Hetero-Nanostructures for Plasmon-Induced Enhancement of the Activity and Stability for Ethanol Electro-oxidation

The catalytic electro-oxidation of ethanol is the essential technique for direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) in the area of alternative energy for the ability of converting the chemical energy of alcohol into the electric energy directly. Developing highly efficient and stable electrode materials with antipoisoning ability for ethanol electro-oxidation remains a challenge. A highly ordered periodic Au-nanoparticle (NP)-decorated bilayer TiO₂ nanotube (BTNT) heteronanostructure was fabricated by a two-step anodic oxidation of Ti foil and the subsequent photoreduction of HAuCl₄. The plasmon-induced charge separation on the heterointerface of Au/TiO₂ electrode enhances the electrocatalytic activity and stability for the ethanol oxidation under visible light irradiation. The highly ordered periodic heterostructure on the electrode surface enhanced the light harvesting and led to the greater performance of ethanol electro-oxidation under irradiation compared with the ordinary Au NPs-decorated monolayer TiO₂ nanotube (MTNT). This novel Au/TiO₂ electrode also performed a self-cleaning property under visible light attributed to the enhanced electro-oxidation of the adsorbed intermediates. This light-driven enhancement of the electrochemical performances provides a development strategy for the design and construction of DAFCs

Universal Stress Protein Regulates Electron Transfer and Superoxide Generation Activities of the Cytochrome <i>bc</i>₁ Complex from <i>Rhodobacter sphaeroides</i>

Interactions between <i>Rhodobacter sphaeroides</i> cytochrome <i>bc</i>₁ complex (<i>Rsbc</i>₁) and soluble cytosolic proteins were studied by a precipitation pull-down technique. After being purified, detergent-dispersed <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complex was incubated with soluble cytosolic fraction and then dialyzed in the absence of detergent; the interacting proteins were coprecipitated with <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complex upon centrifugation. One of the cytosolic proteins pulled down by <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complex was identified by liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to be the reported <i>R. sphaeroides</i> universal stress protein (UspA). Incubating purified UspA with the detergent dispersed <i>bc</i>₁ complex resulted in an increase in the <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complex activity by 60% and a decrease in superoxide generation activity by the complex by more than 70%. These UspA effects were only observed with <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complexes containing subunit IV and assayed under aerobic conditions. These results suggest that the interaction between UspA and <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complex may play an important role in <i>R. sphaeroides</i> cells during oxidative stress. Using a biotin label transfer technique, cytochrome <i>c</i>₁ of the <i>Rsbc</i>₁ complex was identified as the interacting site for UspA

Additional file 3 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 3: Table S3. Statistics of bases data

Additional file 6 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 6: Table S6 DEGs involved in protein degradation in the drought-tolerant A.wellbyi under drought stress

Additional file 2 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 2: Table S2. Statistics of filtered data

Additional file 7 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 7: Table S7. DEGs involved in protein modification genes in the drought-tolerant A.wellbyi under drought stress

Additional file 13 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 13: Table S13. DEGs involved in starch and sucrose metabolism in sensitive material

Additional file 16 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 16: Table S16. Description and expression levels of PPI network

Additional file 17 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 17: Table S17. Interactions between HSP70 and ubiquitination-related genes in the drought-tolerant A.wellbyi under drought stress

Additional file 18 of Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics

Additional file 18: Table S18. SRA accession numbers