PbS Nanoparticle Sensitized ZnO Nanowire Arrays to Enhance Photocurrent for Water Splitting

Improving the visible-light absorption is one of the key ways to optimize the photoelectrochemical performance of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays (NWs). In this study, as-synthesized PbS nanoparticles (NPs), which are adsorbed onto ZnO NWs through a dip-coating method, are used to enhance the photocurrent of the ZnO NW photoelectrochemical anode for water splitting. The morphology crystalline nature and optical properties of the ZnO NWs and PbS nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, XRD, and UV-NIR absorption spectra. The hybrid anode exhibits a significant photocurrent density enhancement which is about ten times larger than that of pristine ZnO NWs. Moreover, we believe through some effective modifications there is ample room for improvement of the photoelectrochemical performance of the PbS NP sensitized ZnO NW photoanode that can be achieved

Zinc Oxide Nanoclusters Encapsulated in MFI Zeolite as a Highly Stable Adsorbent for the Ultradeep Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide

Often, trace impurities in a feed stream will cause failures in industrial applications. The efficient removal of such a trace impurity from industrial steams, however, is a daunting challenge due to the extremely small driving force for mass transfer. The issue lies in an activity–stability dilemma, that is, an ultrafine adsorbent that offers a high exposure of active sites is favorable for capturing species of a low concentration, but free-standing adsorptive species are susceptible to rapidly aggregating in working conditions, thus losing their intrinsic high activity. Confining ultrafine adsorbents in a porous matrix is a feasible solution to address this activity–stability dilemma. We herein demonstrate a proof of concept by encapsulating ZnO nanoclusters into a pure-silica MFI zeolite (ZnO@silicalite-1) for the ultradeep removal of H2S, a critical need in the purification of hydrogen for fuel cells. The Zn species and their interaction with silicalite-1 were thoroughly investigated by a collection of characterization techniques such as HADDF-STEM, UV–visible spectroscopy, DRIFTS, and 1H MAS NMR. The results show that the zeolite offers rich silanol defects, which enable the guest nanoclusters to be highly dispersed and anchored in the silicious matrix. The nanoclusters are present in two forms, Zn(OH)+ and ZnO, depending on the varying degrees of interaction with the silanol defects. The ultrafine nanoclusters exhibit an excellent desulfurization performance in terms of the adsorption rate and utilization. Furthermore, the ZnO@silicalite-1 adsorbents are remarkably stable against sintering at high temperatures, thus maintaining a high activity in multiple adsorption–regeneration cycles. The results demonstrate that the encapsulation of active metal oxide species into zeolite is a promising strategy to develop fast responsive and highly stable adsorbents for the ultradeep removal of trace impurities

Ultrafast Continuous-Flow Synthesis of Crystalline Microporous Aluminophosphate AlPO₄‑5

Crystalline microporous materials have been typically synthesized by long-time hydrothermal treatment in a batch reactor, which suffers from drawbacks like frequent start-up and shut-down operations and low energy efficiency. The development of a continuous flow process for the synthesis of crystalline microporous materials is extremely challenging due to the slow crystallization of the microporous materials. In this work, we demonstrate the continuous flow synthesis of an important crystalline microporous aluminophosphate material, AlPO₄-5. The continuous synthesis of AlPO₄-5 was achieved by combining the seed-assisted method with a continuous flow reactor that could provide a much higher heating rate. The results showed that single phase AlPO₄-5 was obtained after one-minute synthesis in the continuous flow reactor. A stable continuous process was maintained, because any hydrodynamic failure from the precipitation of the solid product could be minimized thanks to the ultrafast synthesis and the small particle size of the AlPO₄-5 product. In addition, the reuse of the product from the continuous flow synthesis as a seed is demonstrated. This easily designed, efficient route can result in the significant cost and energy savings and thus has huge potential for the industrial-level production of AlPO₄-5 crystals in the future

Construction of a high-density genetic map for grape using specific length amplified fragment (SLAF) sequencing

<div><p>Genetic maps are important tools in plant genomics and breeding. We report a large-scale discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using the specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) technique for the construction of high-density genetic maps for two elite wine grape cultivars, ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Beibinghong’, and their 130 F₁ plants. A total of 372.53 M paired-end reads were obtained after preprocessing. The average sequencing depth was 33.81 for ‘Chardonnay’ (the female parent), 48.20 for ‘Beibinghong’ (the male parent), and 12.66 for the F₁ offspring. We detected 202,349 high-quality SLAFs of which 144,972 were polymorphic; 10,042 SNPs were used to construct a genetic map that spanned 1,969.95 cM, with an average genetic distance of 0.23 cM between adjacent markers. This genetic map contains the largest molecular marker number of the grape maps so far reported. We thus demonstrate that SLAF-seq is a promising strategy for the construction of high-density genetic maps; the map that we report here is a good potential resource for QTL mapping of genes linked to major economic and agronomic traits, map-based cloning, and marker-assisted selection of grape.</p></div

Data_Sheet_1_High salt intake damages myocardial viability and induces cardiac remodeling via chronic inflammation in the elderly.pdf

BackgroundThe heart is an important target organ for the harmful effects of high dietary salt intake. However, the effects and associations of high salt intake on myocardial viability, cardiac function changes, and myocardial remodeling are unclear.MethodsA total of 3,810 participants aged 60 years and older were eligible and enrolled from April 2008 to November 2010 and from August 2019 to November 2019 in the Shandong area of China. Salt intake was estimated using 24-h urine collection consecutively for 7 days. Myocardial strain rates, cardiac function and structure, and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were assessed. Participants were classified into low (n = 643), mild (n = 989), moderate (n = 1,245), and high (n = 933) groups, corresponding to 12 g/day of salt intake, respectively, depending on the salt intake estimation.ResultsThe global early diastolic strain rate (SRe) and late diastolic strain rate (SRa) in the high group were 1.58 ± 0.26, 1.38 ± 0.24. respectively, and significantly lower compared with the low, mild, and moderate groups (all P adjusted adjusted ConclusionOur data indicate that excess salt intake is independently associated with the impairment in myocardial viability and cardiac function, as well as myocardial remodeling. Chronic inflammation might play a mediating role in the association between high salt intake and cardiac function damage and myocardial remodeling.</p

Associations between the α-terpineol synthase gene and α-terpineol content in different grapevine varieties

<p>α-Terpineol is one of the main monoterpenes found in the grape berry (<i>Vitis vinifera</i> L.) with its concentrations varying in different varieties. The present study was conducted to identify associations between the α-terpineol synthase (<i>α-TPS</i>) gene, a regulator of α-terpineol metabolism, and α-terpineol content in different grapevine varieties. We used a core collection of 61 grape accessions to identify causal single nucleotide polymorphisms in <i>α-TPS</i>, and evaluated the α-terpineol content in two consecutive years (2014 and 2015). Twenty SNPs were detected in the <i>α-TPS</i> coding region and were used in an association analysis. We found that the α-terpineol levels were higher in the varieties with a T/G genotype at S133 than in the varieties with other genotypes at this site. Additionally, we found S1556 (C/T) with a functional effect on α-terpineol content related to the regulation of gene transcription. This study suggests a relationship between <i>α-TPS</i> and α-terpineol content, with the identified polymorphism sites potentially assisting in the molecular breeding of grapevines.</p

Genetic map lengths and marker distribution in 19 linkage groups of the male parent.

<p>Genetic map lengths and marker distribution in 19 linkage groups of the male parent.</p

Genetic map lengths and marker distribution in 19 linkage groups of the female parent.

<p>Genetic distance is indicated by the vertical scale in centimorgans (cM). Black lines represent mapped markers. 1–19 represent corresponding linkage groups ID.</p

Distribution of SLAFs and SNPs on chromosomes.

<p>Distribution of SLAFs and SNPs on chromosomes.</p

Summary of SLAF-seq data for grape.

<p>Summary of SLAF-seq data for grape.</p