Case study on user knowledge and design knowledge in product form design

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Visible-light driven water splitting over BiFeO₃ photoanodes grown via the LPCVD reaction of [Bi(OtBu)₃] and [Fe(OtBu)₃]₂ and enhanced with a surface nickel oxygen evolution catalyst

Phase-pure BiFeO3 films were grown directly via dual-source low-pressure CVD (LPCVD) from the ligand-matched precursors [Bi(O(t)Bu)3] and [Fe(O(t)Bu)3]2, without the requirement for oxidising gas or post deposition annealing. Photocatalytic testing for water oxidation revealed extremely high activity for PEC water splitting and photocatalytic water oxidation under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) with a benchmark IPCE for BiFeO3 of 23% at 400 nm. The high activity is ascribed to the ultrafine morphology achieved via the LPCVD process. The performance was enhanced by over four times when the BiFeO3 photoanode is coupled to a Ni-B surface OEC

The CoQ oxidoreductase FSP1 acts parallel to GPX4 to inhibit ferroptosis.

Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death that is caused by the iron-dependent peroxidation of lipids1,2. The glutathione-dependent lipid hydroperoxidase glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) prevents ferroptosis by converting lipid hydroperoxides into non-toxic lipid alcohols3,4. Ferroptosis has previously been implicated in the cell death that underlies several degenerative conditions2, and induction of ferroptosis by the inhibition of GPX4 has emerged as a therapeutic strategy to trigger cancer cell death5. However, sensitivity to GPX4 inhibitors varies greatly across cancer cell lines6, which suggests that additional factors govern resistance to ferroptosis. Here, using a synthetic lethal CRISPR-Cas9 screen, we identify ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) (previously known as apoptosis-inducing factor mitochondrial 2 (AIFM2)) as a potent ferroptosis-resistance factor. Our data indicate that myristoylation recruits FSP1 to the plasma membrane where it functions as an oxidoreductase that reduces coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) (also known as ubiquinone-10), which acts as a lipophilic radical-trapping antioxidant that halts the propagation of lipid peroxides. We further find that FSP1 expression positively correlates with ferroptosis resistance across hundreds of cancer cell lines, and that FSP1 mediates resistance to ferroptosis in lung cancer cells in culture and in mouse tumour xenografts. Thus, our data identify FSP1 as a key component of a non-mitochondrial CoQ antioxidant system that acts in parallel to the canonical glutathione-based GPX4 pathway. These findings define a ferroptosis suppression pathway and indicate that pharmacological inhibition of FSP1 may provide an effective strategy to sensitize cancer cells to ferroptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic agents

Deformation of the Fermi surface in the extended Hubbard model

The deformation of the Fermi surface induced by Coulomb interactions is investigated in the t-t'-Hubbard model. The interplay of the local U and extended V interactions is analyzed. It is found that exchange interactions V enhance small anisotropies producing deformations of the Fermi surface which break the point group symmetry of the square lattice at the Van Hove filling. This Pomeranchuck instability competes with ferromagnetism and is suppressed at a critical value of U(V). The interaction V renormalizes the t' parameter to smaller values what favours nesting. It also induces changes on the topology of the Fermi surface which can go from hole to electron-like what may explain recent ARPES experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 4 ps figure

Novel Regulation of CCL2 Gene Expression by Murine LITAF and STAT6B

Inflammation is a multifaceted process: beneficial as a defense mechanism but also detrimental depending on its severity and duration. At the site of injury, inflammatory cells are activated by a cascade of mediators, one of which is LITAF, a transcription regulator known to upregulate TNF-α. We previously showed that human LITAF forms a complex with human STAT6B, which translocates into the nucleus to upregulate cytokine transcription. To dissect the molecular implications of this complex, a murine model was developed and interactions between mouse STAT6B (mSTAT6B) and mouse LITAF (mLITAF) were analyzed. Both mLITAF and mSTAT6B expression were MyD88- and TLR ligand-dependent. Furthermore, mLITAF was found to mediate LPS-induced CCL2 gene transcription with the cooperation of mSTAT6B leading to CCL2 protein expression. In LITAF-deficient mice, mLITAF-mediated CCL2 production in macrophages was significantly reduced compared to the wild-type control animals. Mice knockdown for mSTAT6B by 6BsiRNA1 tail vein injection resulted in a decrease in serum TNF-α and CCL2 production. mLITAF/mSTAT6B complex is proposed to play a role in LPS-induced CCL2 expression and possibly other cytokines

Effect of strengthened standards on Chinese ironmaking and steelmaking emissions

China has produced roughly half of the world’s steel in recent years, but the country’s iron and steel industry is a major source of air pollutants, especially particulate matter, SO2 and NOx emissions. To reduce such emissions, China imposed new emission standards in 2015 and promoted ultralow emission standards in 2019. Here we use measurements from China’s continuous emissions monitoring systems (covering 69–91% of national iron and steel production) to develop hourly, facility-level emissions estimates for China’s iron and steel industry. In turn, we use this data to evaluate the emission reductions related to China’s increasingly stringent policies. We find steady declines in emission concentrations at iron- and steelmaking plants since the 2015 standards were implemented. From 2014 to 2018, particulate matter and SO2 emissions fell by 47% and 42%, respectively, and NOx increased by 3%, even as the production increased by 14%. Moreover, we estimate that if all facilities achieve the ultralow emission standards, particulate matter, SO2 and NOx emissions will drop by a further 50%, 37% and 58%, respectively. Our results thus reveal the substantial benefits of the Chinese government’s interventions to curb emissions from iron and steel production and emphasize the promise of ongoing ultralow emission renovations

Nonperturbative Renormalization in Light-Cone Quantization

Two approaches to nonperturbative renormalization are discussed for theories quantized on the light cone. One is tailored specifically to a calculation of the dressed-electron state in quantum electrodynamics, where an invariant-mass cutoff is used as a regulator and a Tamm-Dancoff truncation is made to include no more than two photons. The other approach is based on Pauli-Villars regulators and is applied to Yukawa theory and a related soluble model. In both cases discretized light-cone quantization is used to obtain a finite matrix problem that can be solved nonperturbatively.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX/RevTex, no figures, to appear in the proceedings of Orbis Scientiae 1997: Twenty-Five Coral Gables Conferences and their Impact on High Energy Physics and Cosmology, B.N. Kursunoglu, e

Atmospheric carbon dioxide, ice sheet and topographic constraints on palaeo moisture availability in Asia

Today, the hydrological regime in East and South Asia is dominated by the monsoons, whilst central Asia is characterized as arid. Studies that have examined the onset of aridity and the intensification of the monsoons in Asia have generated significant debate, especially in respect to the timing of monsoon onset and how this relates to the potential causal mechanisms. The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, the retreat of the Paratethys Sea, and the global cooling after the Eocene/Oligocene transition are all considered major drivers of Asian aridity and monsoonal intensification. However, little is known about each of these factor's contribution to the development of modern monsoon behaviour. Here, for the first time, we perform sensitivity simulations of a fully coupled ocean–atmosphere climate model (HadCM3) to investigate the effect of the Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheets formation, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) variability, and Tibetan Plateau uplift on East Central Asian aridity and monsoon driven precipitation. We focus on three individual regions, the South Asian Monsoon, the East Asian Monsoon and the Arid East Central Asia and we present the annual precipitation cycle and the moisture availability over each region. Our results show that of the parameters investigated the primary control on Asian hydroclimate is the topography of the Tibetan Plateau. Furthermore, our results highlight that the significance of each forcing depends on the component of the hydrological region and factors studied, a factor that proxy interpretation need to take into consideration