The direct hydrothermal deposition of cobalt-doped MoS2 onto fluorine-doped SnO2 substrates for catalysis of the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction

Metal chalcogenides, and doped molybdenum sulfides in particular, have considerable potential as earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. This is especially true in the case of solar-to-hydrogen devices, where an ability to deposit these materials on transparent substrates is therefore desirable. Hydrothermal methods are perhaps the most common route by which metal chalcogenide materials suitable for the hydrogen evolution reaction are produced. Such methods are simple and scalable, but the direct hydrothermal deposition of metal chalcogenides on transparent oxide electrodes has hitherto never been reported. Such an advance would greatly facilitate the expansion of the field by removing the requirement for separate hydrothermal-synthesis and catalyst-deposition steps. In this paper, we show that the ternary chalcogenide Co2Mo9S26 can be synthesised on a fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate by hydrothermal methods directly from solutions of the simple metal salts. These films display good activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction from acid solution, achieving current densities of 10 mA cm−2 at 260 mV overpotential with a Tafel slope of 64 mV per decade. Moreover, the resulting films can be made to be translucent, a very useful property which would allow light to be transmitted through the catalyst to an underlying light-harvesting array in any solar-to-hydrogen device employing this material at the cathode

Effets de la viscosité et de la capillarité sur les vibrations linéaires d'une structure élastique contenant un liquide incompressible.

Ce travail de recherche traite du couplage entre un liquide incompressible, irrotationnel et son contenant : une structure élastique. Cette interaction fluide-structure est traitée dans le cadre des petites déformations autour d'un état d'équilibre.Dans un premier temps, on présente une méthode d'introduction des sources dissipatives visqueuses dans le liquide à partir des équations du système couplé conservatif en s'appuyant sur une approche de type fluide potentiel généralement utilisée pour traiter les problèmes de couplage fluide-structure linéarisés non amortis. Un modèle d'amortissement diagonal est alors choisi pour le liquide et les effets dissipatifs de celui-ci sont pris en compte en calculant les coefficients d'amortissement modaux. Seuls les effets dissipatifs liées à la viscosité du liquide sont alors pris en compte. Le système couplé dissipatif obtenu possède une matrice d'amortissement non symétrique. Une résolution de ce système à amortissement non classique est alors présentée et les expressions des réponses fréquentielle et temporelle linéarisées sont données pour différents types d'excitations.Dans un deuxième temps, le liquide est supposé non visqueux et les forces de tension surfacique sont prises en compte. Cette configuration concerne principalement les satellites où le système couplé est en situation de microgravité. Une formulation du problème conservatif permettant de prendre en compte l'incompressibilité du fluide, la condition de continuité à l'interface fluide structure, les effets de capillarité du fluide ainsi que les effets éventuels de précontraintes statiques est alors établie. On se propose pour cela d'utiliser une méthode énergétique via le Principe de Moindre Action. La démarche est alors décomposée en deux étapes : une étude statique afin de déterminer la position de référence, puis une étude dynamique linéarisée autour de cette position d'équilibre. Cette formulation forme notamment une base pour l'introduction des sources dissipatives liées aux effets de capillarité via la méthode précédemment introduite.This study deals with the coupling between an incompressible, irrotational fluid and an elastic container in the context of small amplitude vibrations.Firstly, we present a method to introduce the viscous dissipative sources in the liquid directly from the equations of the conservative coupled problem using a fluid potential approach generally used to treat linear undamped problems. A diagonal damping model is chosen for the liquid and its dissipative effects are taken into account through modal damping coefficients. Only the viscous effects are considered here. The coupled system obtained has a non symmetric damping matrix. This system with non classical damping is solved and expressions of the frequency and linearized time responses are given for different load examples.Secondly, the liquid is supposed to be inviscid and surface tension forces are considered. This configuration is related to satellite applications where the coupled system is in microgravity conditions. A unified formulation of the conservative problem taking into account the fluid incompressibility, the contact condition at the fluid structure interface, capillarity and prestress effects is given. Thus, we propose to use an energy method via the Least Action Principle. The reasoning is then divided into two parts: a static study to determine the reference state and a linearized dynamic study around this equilibrium state. This formulation is a good framework to introduce the dissipative sources associated with the capillary effects by using the method previously introduced.PARIS-CNAM (751032301) / SudocSudocFranceF

The Second Transmembrane Domain of P2X7 Contributes to Dilated Pore Formation

Activation of the purinergic receptor P2X7 leads to the cellular permeability of low molecular weight cations. To determine which domains of P2X7 are necessary for this permeability, we exchanged either the C-terminus or portions of the second transmembrane domain (TM2) with those in P2X1 or P2X4. Replacement of the C-terminus of P2X7 with either P2X1 or P2X4 prevented surface expression of the chimeric receptor. Similarly, chimeric P2X7 containing TM2 from P2X1 or P2X4 had reduced surface expression and no permeability to cationic dyes. Exchanging the N-terminal 10 residues or C-terminal 14 residues of the P2X7 TM2 with the corresponding region of P2X1 TM2 partially restored surface expression and limited pore permeability. To further probe TM2 structure, we replaced single residues in P2X7 TM2 with those in P2X1 or P2X4. We identified multiple substitutions that drastically changed pore permeability without altering surface expression. Three substitutions (Q332P, Y336T, and Y343L) individually reduced pore formation as indicated by decreased dye uptake and also reduced membrane blebbing in response to ATP exposure. Three others substitutions, V335T, S342G, and S342A each enhanced dye uptake, membrane blebbing and cell death. Our results demonstrate a critical role for the TM2 domain of P2X7 in receptor function, and provide a structural basis for differences between purinergic receptors. © 2013 Sun et al

The absence of P2X7 receptors (P2rx7) on non-haematopoietic cells leads to selective alteration in mood-related behaviour with dysregulated gene expression and stress reactivity in mice

The purpose of this study was to explore how genetic deletion and pharmacological antagonism of the P2X7 receptor (P2rx7) alter mood-related behaviour, gene expression and stress reactivity in the brain. The forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion (AH) tests were used in wild-type (P2rx7+/+) and P2rx7-deficient (P2rx7-/-) mice. Biogenic amine levels were analysed in the amygdala and striatum, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone levels were measured in the plasma and pituitary after restraint stress. Chimeric mice were generated by bone marrow transplantation. A whole genome microarray analysis with real-time polymerase chain reaction validation was performed on the amygdala. In the absence of P2rx7s decreased behavioural despair in the FST, reduced immobility in the TST and attenuated amphetamine-induced hyperactivity were detected. Basal norepinephrine levels were elevated in the amygdala, whereas stress-induced ACTH and corticosterone responses were alleviated in P2rx7-/- mice. Sub-acute treatment with the selective P2rx7 antagonist, Brilliant Blue G, reproduced the effect of genetic deletion in the TST and AH test in P2rx7+/+ but not P2rx7-/- mice. No change in behavioural phenotype was observed in chimeras lacking the P2rx7 in their haematopoietic compartment. Whole genome microarray analysis indicated a widespread up- and down-regulation of genes crucial for synaptic function and neuroplasticity by genetic deletion. Here, we present evidence that the absence of P2rx7s on non-haematopoietic cells leads to a mood-stabilizing phenotype in several behavioural models and suggest a therapeutic potential of P2rx7 antagonists for the treatment of mood disorders

Adenosine Triphosphate Release and P2 Receptor Signaling in Piezo1 Channel-Dependent Mechanoregulation

Organs and tissues and their constituent cells are physiologically submitted to diverse types of mechanical forces or stress, one common sequence of which is release of intracellular ATP into extracellular space. Extracellular ATP is a well-established autocrine or paracrine signaling molecule that regulates multiple cell functions and mediates cell-to-cell communications via activating the purinergic P2 receptors, more specifically, ligand-gated ion channel P2X receptors and some of the G-protein-coupled P2Y receptors. The molecular mechanisms that sense mechanical and transduce forces to trigger ATP release are poorly understood. The Piezo1, a newly identified mechanosensing ion channel, shows widespread expression and confers mechanosensitivity in many different types of cells. In this mini-review, we briefly introduce the Piezo1 channel and discuss the evidence that supports its important role in the mechanoregulation of diverse cell functions and, more specifically, critical engagement of ATP release and subsequent P2 receptor activation in Piezo1 channel-dependent mechanoregulation. Such ATP release-mediated coupling of the Piezo1 channel and P2 receptors may serve a signaling mechanism that is more common than we currently understand in transducing mechanical information to regulation of the attendant cell functions in various organs and tissues

Linear vibrations of the structures containing viscous liquids

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Amortissement du ballottement d'un liquide dans un réservoir élastique

National audienceOn présente ici une formulation d’un problème couplé fluide - structure linéarisé amorti :il s’agit dans un premier temps d’introduire un modèle d’amortissement diagonal dans les équationsréduites du problème hydroélastique avec ballottement. Le système couplé dissipatif obtenu est alorsnon symétrique. En projetant sur ses modes propres complexes, on construit les réponses fréquentielleset temporelles pour différents types d’excitation

Damped vibrations of structures containing liquids

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Biophysical and structural characterization of the putative nickel chaperone CooT from Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans.

International audienceCarboxydothermus hydrogenoformans is a model microorganism for the study of [NiFe]-CODH, a key enzyme of carbon cycle in anaerobic microorganisms. The enzyme possesses a unique active site (C-cluster), constituted of a distorted [NiFe3S4] cubane linked to a mononuclear Fe(II) center. Both the biogenesis of the C-cluster and the activation of CODH by nickel insertion remain unclear. Among the three accessory proteins thought to play a role in this latter step (CooC, CooJ, and CooT), CooT is identified as a nickel chaperone involved in CODH maturation in Rhodospirillum rubrum. Here, we structurally and biophysically characterized a putative CooT protein present in C. hydrogenoformans (pChCooT). Despite the low sequence homologies between CooT from R. rubrum (RrCooT) and pChCooT (19% sequence identity), the two proteins share several similarities, such as their overall structure and a solvent-exposed Ni(II)-binding site at the dimer interface. Moreover, the X-ray structure of pChCooT reveals the proximity between the histidine 55, a potential nickel-coordinating residue, and the cysteine 2, a highly conserved key residue in Ni(II)-binding