Isolation of Viable Type I and II Methanotrophs Using Cell-Imprinted Polyurethane Thin Films

Studies on methanotrophs utilizing methane as sole source of carbon and energy are meaningful for governing global warming; although, the isolation of methanotrophs from nature is challenging. Here, surface imprinted polyurethane films were fabricated to selectively capture living methanotrophs from paddy soil. Two tracks of molecularly imprinted film based on polyurethane (PU-MIF₁ and PU-MIF₂) were imprinted using type I or II methanotrophs as template, respectively, and then reacted with polyethylene glycol, castor oil, and hexamethylene diisocyanate. Results demonstrated these PU-MIFs hold low water absorption rate and superior biocompatibility, which was highly demanded for maintaining cell viability. Superior selectivity and affinity of PU-MIFs toward their cognate methanotroph cells was observed by fluorescent microscopy. Atomic force microscopy revealed the adhesion force of PU-MIFs with its cognate cells was much stronger in comparison with noncognate ones. Using the as-prepared PU-MIFs, within 30 min, methanotroph cells could be separated from rice paddy efficiently. Therefore, the PU-MIFs might be used as an efficient approach for cell sorting from environmental samples

Acid-Catalyzed Synthesis of Trioxane in Aprotic Media

The effects of solvent, acid specificity, acid concentration, added salt, and reaction temperature on the yields of trioxane and formic acid (byproduct) in paraformaldehyde + acid (or acid + salt) + aprotic solvent were investigated. The mechanism that underlies the yield of paraformaldehyde and the selectivity of trioxane was determined. A highly practical and efficient synthesis of trioxane by a salt-mediated and acid-catalyzed yield of paraformaldehyde in sulfolane media was developed. The method increased the yield of paraformaldehyde by more than 5 times and decreased the formic acid concentration by 10 times compared to the commercial synthesis of trioxane in an aqueous reaction system (formaldehyde + H₂SO₄ + H₂O)

Zwitterion-Immobilized Imprinted Polymers for Promoting the Crystallization of Proteins

Zwitterion additives have been used in protein crystallization to prevent the appearance of crystal clusters. Herein, we have developed a novel approach for the immobilization of zwitterion onto molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to yield high-quality single protein crystals. For lysozyme, trypsin, catalase, proteinase K, concanavalin A-type IV, and thaumatin, simply adding the selected zwitterion (3-(methacryloylamino)­propyl)-dimethyl­(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide) into the free solution, the crystallization was improved. When further using the zwitterion-immobilized molecularly imprinted polymers (ziMIPs) developed in the current study, the formation of higher quality crystals was facilitated in a shorter time compared with regular MIPs and traditional crystallization trials. Most notably, concanavalin A-type IV, which has nonunique ordered assembly, gave only the form IV structure with higher resolution in the presence of ziMIPs, justifying the superior function of ziMIPs for the ordered assembly of protein molecules. Thus, the ziMIPs could be widely used in protein crystallization

Additional file 1 of Insights into ZmWAKL in maize kernel development: genome-wide investigation and GA-mediated transcription

Additional file 1: Fig. S1

Additional file 2: of Genome-wide characterization of non-reference transposons in crops suggests non-random insertion

Supplemental Material. This file contains Tables S1–S3 and all the Figures S1–S7. (PDF 1647 kb

Cotula australis Hook. fil.

原著和名: マメカミツレ科名: キク科 = Compositae採集地: 東京都 浅草 三社 (武蔵 浅草 三社)採集日: 1980/11/24採集者: 萩庭丈壽整理番号: JH025392国立科学博物館整理番号: TNS-VS-97539

Self-Assembled TiO₂ Nanorods as Electron Extraction Layer for High-Performance Inverted Polymer Solar Cells

We demonstrate the use of TiO₂ nanorods with well-controlled lengths as excellent electron extraction materials for significantly improving the performance of inverted polymer solar cells. The cells containing long nanorods outperform the devices using amorphous TiO₂ particles as the electron extraction layer, mainly by a 2-fold increase in short-circuit current and fill factor. The enhanced charge extraction is attributed to the high electron mobility in crystalline nanorods and their preferential alignment during film formation. Furthermore, transient photocurrent studies suggest the presence of fewer interfacial and internal defects in the nanorod interlayers, which can effectively decrease carrier recombination and suppress electron trapping

Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells with Cesium Acetate-Modified TiO₂ Electron Transport Layer

The photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is still below the Shockley–Queisser limit due to the impact of defects originated from the surface and the bulk of the perovskite. Hence, it is particularly important to alleviate non-radiative losses in the solar cell by employing an interface modification strategy. We implemented TiO2/CsAC as an electron transport layer to achieve high-performance devices based on diethylammonium bromide (DABr)-doped MAPbI3. The critical role of cesium acetate (CsAC) is designed to improve perovskite crystallization and achieve a high-quality interfacial contact between TiO2 and the perovskite layer. TiO2/CsAC promotes the shift of Br ions to form the Br-rich region at the perovskite/HTL interface simultaneously, which can enhance the extraction of holes and block the diffusion of electrons. Attributing to the modification of CsAC to TiO2, the performance of DABr-doped MAPbI3 PSC is improved significantly