H2 production by the photocatalytic reforming of cellulose and raw biomass using Ni, Pd, Pt and Au on titania

Here, we report a method for sustainable hydrogen production using sunlight and biomass. It is shown that cellulose can be photoreformed to produce hydrogen, even in solid form, by use of metal-loaded titania photocatalysts. The experiments performed verified that the process is enabled by initial hydrolysis via glucose, which itself is shown to be efficiently converted to produce hydrogen by photocatalysis. Importantly, it is shown that not only precious metals such as Pt, Pd and Au can be used as the metal component, but also much more economic and less environmentally damaging Ni is effective. Even more importantly, we show for the first time, to the best our knowledge, that fescue grass as raw biomass can be effective for hydrogen production without significant pretreatment. This provides additional benefits for the efficiency of biomass hydrogen production, because fewer processing steps for the raw material are required than in the production of purer forms of cellulose, for example

Bostonia. Volume 16

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Costs of delivering human papillomavirus vaccination to schoolgirls in Mwanza Region, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of female cancer-related deaths in Tanzania. Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) offers a new opportunity to control this disease. This study aimed to estimate the costs of a school-based HPV vaccination project in three districts in Mwanza Region (NCT ID: NCT01173900), Tanzania and to model incremental scaled-up costs of a regional vaccination program. METHODS: We first conducted a top-down cost analysis of the vaccination project, comparing observed costs of age-based (girls born in 1998) and class-based (class 6) vaccine delivery in a total of 134 primary schools. Based on the observed project costs, we then modeled incremental costs of a scaled-up vaccination program for Mwanza Region from the perspective of the Tanzanian government, assuming that HPV vaccines would be delivered through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). RESULTS: Total economic project costs for delivering 3 doses of HPV vaccine to 4,211 girls were estimated at about US$349,400 (including a vaccine price of US$5 per dose). Costs per fully-immunized girl were lower for class-based delivery than for age-based delivery. Incremental economic scaled-up costs for class-based vaccination of 50,290 girls in Mwanza Region were estimated at US$1.3 million. Economic scaled-up costs per fully-immunized girl were US$26.41, including HPV vaccine at US$5 per dose. Excluding vaccine costs, vaccine could be delivered at an incremental economic cost of US$3.09 per dose and US$9.76 per fully-immunized girl. Financial scaled-up costs, excluding costs of the vaccine and salaries of existing staff were estimated at US$1.73 per dose. CONCLUSIONS: Project costs of class-based vaccination were found to be below those of age-based vaccination because of more eligible girls being identified and higher vaccine uptake. We estimate that vaccine can be delivered at costs that would make HPV vaccination a very cost-effective intervention. Potentially, integrating HPV vaccine delivery with cost-effective school-based health interventions and a reduction of vaccine price below US$5 per dose would further reduce the costs per fully HPV-immunized girl

R-Coffee: a web server for accurately aligning noncoding RNA sequences

The R-Coffee web server produces highly accurate multiple alignments of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) sequences, taking into account predicted secondary structures. R-Coffee uses a novel algorithm recently incorporated in the T-Coffee package. R-Coffee works along the same lines as T-Coffee: it uses pairwise or multiple sequence alignment (MSA) methods to compute a primary library of input alignments. The program then computes an MSA highly consistent with both the alignments contained in the library and the secondary structures associated with the sequences. The secondary structures are predicted using RNAplfold. The server provides two modes. The slow/accurate mode is restricted to small datasets (less than 5 sequences less than 150 nucleotides) and combines R-Coffee with Consan, a very accurate pairwise RNA alignment method. For larger datasets a fast method can be used (RM-Coffee mode), that uses R-Coffee to combine the output of the three packages which combines the outputs from programs found to perform best on RNA (MUSCLE, MAFFT and ProbConsRNA). Our BRAliBase benchmarks indicate that the R-Coffee/Consan combination is one of the best ncRNA alignment methods for short sequences, while the RM-Coffee gives comparable results on longer sequences. The R-Coffee web server is available at http://www.tcoffee.org

R-Coffee: a web server for accurately aligning noncoding RNA sequences

The R-Coffee web server produces highly accurate multiple alignments of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) sequences, taking into account predicted secondary structures. R-Coffee uses a novel algorithm recently incorporated in the T-Coffee package. R-Coffee works along the same lines as T-Coffee: it uses pairwise or multiple sequence alignment (MSA) methods to compute a primary library of input alignments. The program then computes an MSA highly consistent with both the alignments contained in the library and the secondary structures associated with the sequences. The secondary structures are predicted using RNAplfold. The server provides two modes. The slow/accurate mode is restricted to small datasets (less than 5 sequences less than 150 nucleotides) and combines R-Coffee with Consan, a very accurate pairwise RNA alignment method. For larger datasets a fast method can be used (RM-Coffee mode), that uses R-Coffee to combine the output of the three packages which combines the outputs from programs found to perform best on RNA (MUSCLE, MAFFT and ProbConsRNA). Our BRAliBase benchmarks indicate that the R-Coffee/Consan combination is one of the best ncRNA alignment methods for short sequences, while the RM-Coffee gives comparable results on longer sequences. The R-Coffee web server is available at http://www.tcoffee.org

Identification of single-site gold catalysis in acetylene hydrochlorination

There remains considerable debate over the active form of gold under operating conditions of a recently validated gold catalyst for acetylene hydrochlorination. We have performed an in situ x-ray absorption fine structure study of gold/carbon (Au/C) catalysts under acetylene hydrochlorination reaction conditions and show that highly active catalysts comprise single-site cationic Au entities whose activity correlates with the ratio of Au(I):Au(III) present. We demonstrate that these Au/C catalysts are supported analogs of single-site homogeneous Au catalysts and propose a mechanism, supported by computational modeling, based on a redox couple of Au(I)-Au(III) species. View Full Tex

A comprehensive approach for correcting voxel‐wise b‐value errors in diffusion MRI

Purpose In diffusion MRI, the actual b‐value played out on the scanner may deviate from the nominal value due to magnetic field imperfections. A simple image‐based correction method for this problem is presented. Methods The apparent diffusion constant (ADC) of a water phantom was measured voxel‐wise along 64 diffusion directions at b = 1000 s/mm2. The true diffusion constant of water was estimated, considering the phantom temperature. A voxel‐wise correction factor, providing an effective b‐value including any magnetic field deviations, was determined for each diffusion direction by relating the measured ADC to the true diffusion constant. To test the method, the measured b‐value map was used to calculate the corrected voxel‐wise ADC for additionally acquired diffusion data sets on the same water phantom and data sets acquired on a small water phantom at three different positions. Diffusion tensor was estimated by applying the measured b‐value map to phantom and in vivo data sets. Results The b‐value‐corrected ADC maps of the phantom showed the expected spatial uniformity as well as a marked improvement in consistency across diffusion directions. The b‐value correction for the brain data resulted in a 5.8% and 5.5% decrease in mean diffusivity and angular differences of the primary diffusion direction of 2.71° and 0.73° inside gray and white matter, respectively. Conclusion The actual b‐value deviates significantly from its nominal setting, leading to a spatially variable error in the common diffusion outcome measures. The suggested method measures and corrects these artifacts

Liquid Chromatography Electron Capture Dissociation Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-ECD-MS/MS) versus Liquid Chromatography Collision-induced Dissociation Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-CID-MS/MS) for the Identification of Proteins

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) offers many advantages over the more traditional fragmentation techniques for the analysis of peptides and proteins, although the question remains: How suitable is ECD for incorporation within proteomic strategies for the identification of proteins? Here, we compare LC-ECD-MS/MS and LC-CID-MS/MS as techniques for the identification of proteins.Experiments were performed on a hybrid linear ion trap–Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Replicate analyses of a six-protein (bovine serum albumin, apo-transferrin,lysozyme, cytochrome c, alcohol dehydrogenase, and β-galactosidase) tryptic digest were performed and the results analyzed on the basis of overall protein sequence coverage and sequence tag lengths within individual peptides. The results show that although protein coverage was lower for LC-ECDMS/MS than for LC-CID-MS/MS, LC-ECD-MS/MS resulted in longer peptide sequence tags,providing greater confidence in protein assignment

Octane isomer dynamics in H-ZSM-5 as a function of Si/Al ratio:a quasi-elastic neutron scattering study

Dynamical behaviour of n-octane and 2,5-dimethylhexane in H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts of differing Si/Al ratios (15 and 140) was probed using quasi-elastic neutron scattering, to understand molecular shape and Brønsted acid site density effects on the behaviour of common species in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process, where H-ZSM-5 is an additive catalyst. Between 300 and 400 K, n-octane displayed uniaxial rotation around its long axis. However, the population of mobile molecules was larger in H-ZSM-5(140), suggesting that the lower acid site concentration allows for more molecules to undergo rotation. The rotational diffusion coefficients were higher in H-ZSM-5(140), reflecting this increase in freedom. 2,5-dimethylhexane showed qualitative differences in behaviour to n-octane, with no full molecule rotation, probably due to steric hindrance in the constrictive channels. However, methyl group rotation in the static 2,5-dimethylhexane molecules was observed, with lower mobile fractions in H-ZSM-5(15), suggesting that this rotation is less hindered when fewer Brønsted sites are present. This was further illustrated by the lower activation barrier calculated for methyl rotation in H-ZSM-5(140). We highlight the significant immobilizing effect of isomeric branching in this important industrial catalyst and show how compositional changes of the zeolite can affect a range of dynamical behaviours of common FCC species upon adsorption