2,313 research outputs found
Catalytic Iridium-Based Janus Micromotors Powered by Ultralow Levels of Chemical Fuels
We describe catalytic micromotors powered by remarkably low concentrations of chemical fuel, down to the 0.0000001% level. These Janus micromotors rely on an iridium hemispheric layer for the catalytic decomposition of hydrazine in connection to SiO_2 spherical particles. The micromotors are self-propelled at a very high speed (of ∼20 body lengths s^(–1)) in a 0.001% hydrazine solution due to osmotic effects. Such a low fuel concentration represents a 10 000-fold decrease in the level required for common catalytic nanomotors. The attractive propulsion performance, efficient catalytic energy-harvesting, environmentally triggered swarming behavior, and magnetic control of the new Janus micromotors hold considerable promise for diverse practical applications
Highly Efficient Light-Driven TiO_2–Au Janus Micromotors
A highly efficient light-driven photocatalytic TiO_2–Au Janus micromotor with wireless steering and velocity control is described. Unlike chemically propelled micromotors which commonly require the addition of surfactants or toxic chemical fuels, the fuel-free Janus micromotor (diameter ∼1.0 μm) can be powered in pure water under an extremely low ultraviolet light intensity (2.5 × 10^(–3) W/cm^2), and with 40 × 10^(–3) W/cm^2, they can reach a high speed of 25 body length/s, which is comparable to common Pt-based chemically induced self-electrophoretic Janus micromotors. The photocatalytic propulsion can be switched on and off by incident light modulation. In addition, the speed of the photocatalytic TiO_2–Au Janus micromotor can be accelerated by increasing the light intensity or by adding low concentrations of chemical fuel H_2O_2 (i.e., 0.1%). The attractive fuel-free propulsion performance, fast movement triggering response, low light energy requirement, and precise motion control of the TiO_2–Au Janus photocatalytic micromotor hold considerable promise for diverse practical applications
Cloning, ligand-binding, and temporal expression of ecdysteroid receptors in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella
BACKGROUND: The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a devastating pest of cruciferous crops worldwide, and has developed resistance to a wide range of insecticides, including diacylhydrazine-based ecdysone agonists, a highly selective group of molt-accelerating biopesticides targeting the ecdysone receptors.
RESULT: In this study, we cloned and characterized the ecdysone receptors from P. xylostella, including the two isoforms of EcR and a USP. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis showed striking conservations among insect ecdysone receptors, especially between P. xylostella and other lepidopterans. The binding affinity of ecdysteroids to in vitro-translated receptor proteins indicated that PxEcRB isoform bound specifically to ponasterone A, and the binding affinity was enhanced by co-incubation with PxUSP (Kd =3.0±1.7 nM). In contrast, PxEcRA did not bind to ponasterone A, even in the presence of PxUSP. The expression of PxEcRB were consistently higher than that of PxEcRA across each and every developmental stage, while the pattern of PxUSP expression is more or less ubiquitous.
CONCLUSIONS: Target site insensitivity, in which the altered binding of insecticides (ecdysone agonists) to their targets (ecdysone receptors) leads to an adaptive response (resistance), is one of the underlying mechanisms of diacylhydrazine resistance. Given the distinct differences at expression level and the ligand-binding capacity, we hypothesis that PxEcRB is the ecdysone receptor that controls the remodeling events during metamorphosis. More importantly, PxEcRB is the potential target site which is modified in the ecdysone agonist-resistant P. xylostella
RTHS of a BMD System
The building mass damper (BMD) system, which incorporates the concept of a tuned mass damper into a mid-story isolation system, has been demonstrated as an effective system for suppressing structural vibration due to earthquakes. The BMD system separates a building into a substructure, a control layer and a superstructure. By applying well-design parameters, the seismic responses of the superstructure and substructure of a building can be mitigated simultaneously. However, merely limited design parameters have been verified by shaking table testing because it is difficult to construct several sets of specimens with limited research funding. Therefore, real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) may become an alternative to conduct parametric studies of the BMD system efficiently and economically. In this study, the BMD system is separated into a numerical substructure and an experimental substructure. The experimental substructure includes the control layer and the superstructure of the BMD system installed on a seismic shake table while the substructure is numerically simulated. Then, substructuring method of the BMD system is derived and the stability analysis considering the dynamics of the shake table is performed to realize the potential feasibility of RTHS for BMD systems. The stability margin is represented as an allowable mass ratio of the experimental substructure to the entire BMD system. Finally, RTHS of a simplified BMD system has been conducted to verify the stability margin in the laboratory. Phase-lead compensation and force correction are applied to RTHS in order to improve the accuracy of RTHS for the simplified BMD system
Pentaaqua(1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxylato-κN 3)nickel(II) pentahydrate
In the title mononuclear complex, [Ni(C9H4N2O4)(H2O)5]·5H2O, the NiII atom is six-coordinated by one N atom from a 1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxylate ligand and by five O atoms from five water molecules and displays a distorted octahedral geometry. Intermolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding interactions among the coordinated water molecules, solvent water molecules and carboxyl O atoms of the organic ligand and additional N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding lead to the formation of a three-dimensional supramolecular network
Catalytic Iridium-Based Janus Micromotors Powered by Ultralow Levels of Chemical Fuels
We describe catalytic micromotors powered by remarkably low concentrations of chemical fuel, down to the 0.0000001% level. These Janus micromotors rely on an iridium hemispheric layer for the catalytic decomposition of hydrazine in connection to SiO_2 spherical particles. The micromotors are self-propelled at a very high speed (of ∼20 body lengths s^(–1)) in a 0.001% hydrazine solution due to osmotic effects. Such a low fuel concentration represents a 10 000-fold decrease in the level required for common catalytic nanomotors. The attractive propulsion performance, efficient catalytic energy-harvesting, environmentally triggered swarming behavior, and magnetic control of the new Janus micromotors hold considerable promise for diverse practical applications
Diaquabis(4-carboxy-2-propyl-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylato-κ2 N 3,O 4)cobalt(II) N,N-dimethylformamide disolvate
In the title complex, [Co(C8H9N2O4)2(H2O)2]·2C3H7NO, the CoII cation (site symmetry ) is six-coordinated by two 5-carboxy-2-propyl-1H-imidazole-4-carboxylate ligands and two water molecules in a distorted octahedral environment. In the crystal structure, the complex molecules and dimethylformamide solvent molecules are linked by extensive O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding into sheets lying parallel to (21)
Hexaaquanickel(II) 4,4′-(1,2-dihydroxyethane-1,2-diyl)dibenzoate monohydrate
In the title compound, [Ni(H2O)6](C16H12O6)·H2O, the NiII cation is located on a mirror plane and is coordinated by six water molecules, two of which are also located on the mirror plane, in a distorted octahedral geometry. The 4,4′-(1,2-dihydroxyethane-1,2-diyl)dibenzoate anion is centrosymmetric with the mid-point of the central ethane C—C bond located on an inversion center. The uncoordinated water molecule is located on a mirror plane. Extensive O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure
Comparison of five methods for genomic breeding value estimation for the common dataset of the 15th QTL-MAS Workshop
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