Zeolite phi: a physical mixture of chabazite and offretite

Zeolite Phi is synthesized by two methods reported previously. Results from X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy suggest that the materials are physical mixtures of chabazite and offretite; one sample has a small amount of phillipsite. The X-ray powder diffraction data from these samples, and those reported previously, are indexed and their unit-cell parameters compare well to those obtained from a physical mixture of chabazite and offretite. These samples show multiple particle morphologies that are indicative of physical mixtures. Zeolite Phi is concluded to be a physical mixture of chabazite and offretite and we suggest that the use of the name zeolite Phi be discontinued

Extreme scattering events and Galactic dark matter

Extreme Scattering Events (ESEs) are attributed to radio-wave refraction by a cloud of free-electrons crossing the line-of-sight. We present a new model in which these electrons form the photo-ionized 'skin' of an underlying cool, self-gravitating cloud in the Galactic halo. In this way we avoid the severe over-pressure problem which afflicts other models. The UV flux in the Galactic halo naturally generates electron densities of the right order. We demonstrate, for the first time, a good reproduction of the prototypical ESE in the quasar 0954+658. The neutral clouds are a few AU in radius and have masses less than about 10^{-3} solar. The observed rate of ESEs implies that a large fraction of the mass of the Galaxy is in this form.Comment: 5 pp incl 3 figs, LaTeX, uses aas2pp4.sty. Minor revisions. ApJ Letters in pres

The Extreme Spin of the Black Hole in Cygnus X-1

The compact primary in the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 was the first black hole to be established via dynamical observations. We have recently determined accurate values for its mass and distance, and for the orbital inclination angle of the binary. Building on these results, which are based on our favored (asynchronous) dynamical model, we have measured the radius of the inner edge of the black hole's accretion disk by fitting its thermal continuum spectrum to a fully relativistic model of a thin accretion disk. Assuming that the spin axis of the black hole is aligned with the orbital angular momentum vector, we have determined that Cygnus X-1 contains a near-extreme Kerr black hole with a spin parameter a/M>0.95 (3\sigma). For a less probable (synchronous) dynamical model, we find a/M>0.92 (3\sigma). In our analysis, we include the uncertainties in black hole mass, orbital inclination angle and distance, and we also include the uncertainty in the calibration of the absolute flux via the Crab. These four sources of uncertainty totally dominate the error budget. The uncertainties introduced by the thin-disk model we employ are particularly small in this case given the extreme spin of the black hole and the disk's low luminosity.Comment: Paper III of three papers on Cygnus X-1; 21 pages including 5 figures and 12 tables, ApJ in press. The paper is significantly restructured; two further tests of the robustness of our spin measurement are presented, and our error analysis has been substantially improved; the conclusions are unchange

Exome resequencing and GWAS for growth, ecophysiology, and chemical and metabolomic composition of wood of Populus trichocarpa.

BackgroundPopulus trichocarpa is an important forest tree species for the generation of lignocellulosic ethanol. Understanding the genomic basis of biomass production and chemical composition of wood is fundamental in supporting genetic improvement programs. Considerable variation has been observed in this species for complex traits related to growth, phenology, ecophysiology and wood chemistry. Those traits are influenced by both polygenic control and environmental effects, and their genome architecture and regulation are only partially understood. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) represent an approach to advance that aim using thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Genotyping using exome capture methodologies represent an efficient approach to identify specific functional regions of genomes underlying phenotypic variation.ResultsWe identified 813 K SNPs, which were utilized for genotyping 461 P. trichocarpa clones, representing 101 provenances collected from Oregon and Washington, and established in California. A GWAS performed on 20 traits, considering single SNP-marker tests identified a variable number of significant SNPs (p-value < 6.1479E-8) in association with diameter, height, leaf carbon and nitrogen contents, and δ15N. The number of significant SNPs ranged from 2 to 220 per trait. Additionally, multiple-marker analyses by sliding-windows tests detected between 6 and 192 significant windows for the analyzed traits. The significant SNPs resided within genes that encode proteins belonging to different functional classes as such protein synthesis, energy/metabolism and DNA/RNA metabolism, among others.ConclusionsSNP-markers within genes associated with traits of importance for biomass production were detected. They contribute to characterize the genomic architecture of P. trichocarpa biomass required to support the development and application of marker breeding technologies

High-Resolution Monitoring for Thermal Remediation Optimization

Abstract is in response to call for abstracts for Battelle Chlorinated Solvent Conference. The abstract discusses how we conducted high-resolution monitoring for thermal remediation optimization

Commercial Seed Lots Exhibit Reduced Seed Dormancy in Comparison to Wild Seed Lots of Echinacea purpurea

Seed germination patterns were studied in Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench grouped by seed source, one group of seven lots from commercially cultivated populations and a second group of nine lots regenerated from ex situ conserved wild populations. Germination tests were conducted in a growth chamber in light (40 μmol·m–2·s–1) or darkness at 25 °C for 20 days after soaking the seeds in water for 10 minutes. Except for two seed lots from wild populations, better germination was observed for commercially cultivated populations in light (90% mean among seed lots, ranging from 82% to 95%) and in darkness (88% mean among seed lots, ranging from 82% to 97%) than for wild populations in light (56% mean among seed lots, ranging from 9% to 92%) or in darkness (37% mean among seed lots, ranging from 4% to 78%). No germination difference was measured between treatments in light and darkness in the commercially cultivated populations, but significant differences were noted for treatments among wild populations. These results suggest that repeated cycles of sowing seeds during cultivation without treatments for dormancy release resulted in reduced seed dormancy in E. purpurea

Challenges of and Insights into Acid-Catalyzed Transformations of Sugars

The selective transformation of hexose and pentose sugars to intermediate platform chemicals, such as furans, is an essential step in the conversion of cellulosic and hemicellulosic biomass to biofuels and biochemicals. Yet, many challenges in achieving commercially viable processes remain. In this feature article, we outline challenges that need to be overcome to enable these transformations. Then, we present the newly introduced acid-catalyzed isomerization of aldose sugars to ketose sugars via a class of solid Lewis acid catalysts (e.g., Sn-Beta, Ti-Beta). We elucidate mechanistic insights arising from subnanometer cooperativity and solvent effects that can be controlled to tune reaction pathways and selectivity and draw parallels between heterogeneous and homogeneous Lewis acid catalysts. Subsequently, we discuss fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxyl-methylfurfural (HMF) via homogeneous and heterogeneous Brønsted acid-catalyzed chemistry. We show how fundamental insights arising from the combination of kinetics, spectroscopy, and multiscale simulations rationalize the improved yield of HMF in water–organic cosolvents. The stability of heterogeneous Lewis acid catalysts under low pH enables tandem Brønsted and Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions in a single pot that overcomes equilibrium limitations and gives a high HMF yield starting from sugar raw materials. Additionally, we provide an overview of multicomponent adsorption of biomass derivatives from solution in microporous materials and discuss how structure–property relations can lead to superior micro- and micromesoporous carbon adsorbents for reactive adsorption toward high HMF yield. Finally, we provide an outlook for the field