Probing Protein Folding with Sequence-Reversed α-Helical Bundles

Recurrent protein folding motifs include various types of helical bundles formed by α-helices that supercoil around each other. While specific patterns of amino acid residues (heptad repeats) characterize the highly versatile folding motif of four-α-helical bundles, the significance of the polypeptide chain directionality is not sufficiently understood, although it determines sequence patterns, helical dipoles, and other parameters for the folding and oligomerization processes of bundles. To investigate directionality aspects in sequence-structure relationships, we reversed the amino acid sequences of two well-characterized, highly regular four-α-helical bundle proteins and studied the folding, oligomerization, and structural properties of the retro-proteins, using Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy (CD), Size Exclusion Chromatography combined with Multi-Angle Laser Light Scattering (SEC-MALS), and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). The comparison of the parent proteins with their retro-counterparts reveals that while the α-helical character of the parents is affected to varying degrees by sequence reversal, the folding states, oligomerization propensities, structural stabilities, and shapes of the new molecules strongly depend on the characteristics of the heptad repeat patterns. The highest similarities between parent and retro-proteins are associated with the presence of uninterrupted heptad patterns in helical bundles sequences.     

Characteristics of reaction and product microstructure during light calcination of magnesite in transport bed

A gas-heating laboratory transport bed was adopted to simulate the industrial transportbed reactor for flash calcination of magnesite, and a method based on TG analysis of a reacted sample was further developed to calculate the decomposition rate or conversion of its containing MgCO₃. The study investigated how the conversion and product reactivity as well as microstructure vary with reaction conditions including temperature, particle size and times of re-calcination for powder magnesite. Magnesite powder (<150 μm) calcination is a quick reaction that reaches 98% decomposition of its containing MgCO₃ in 1—2 s,corroborating the feasibility of magnesite flash-calcination in transport bed reactors. The coloration time given by the citric acid chromogenic method was 17—55 s and 294 s for the obtained products from transport and fixed beds, respectively. This proves the obviously higher activity and thus improved microstructure of the product from transport bed. During the calcination process, the MgO grain size of the product gradually increases, and the surface structure changes from loose and porous to dense and smooth. This structural change can be completed within a few seconds.     

CuO-SiO2气凝胶@TiO2纳米纤维无牺牲剂光催化还原CO2

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备CuO-SiO2复合气凝胶,通过在气凝胶孔道内填充TiCl4,然后将其气相水解,得到了在CuO-SiO2气凝胶表面生长了高结晶度的TiO2纳米纤维(CuO-SiO2@TiO2),纤维直径～16 nm.通过XPS、UPS、UV-Vis DRS、荧光光谱(PL)等表征了材料的结构及光电性能.结果表明,制备的CuO-SiO2@TiO2对可见光有明显吸收,且荧光强度较商用TiO2(P25)大幅降低,光生电子-空穴对更加稳定.再在纳米纤维上负载CuO,所得CuO-SiO2@TiO2/CuO在可见光区的荧光强度进一步增强.以300 W氙灯为光源,分别以CuO-SiO2@TiO2及CuO-SiO2@TiO2/CuO为催化剂,无牺牲剂条件下光催化还原CO2,4 h后甲醇产率分别为1304.0及1589.0μmol/g-cat,转换频率(TOF)分别为0.038及0.046 h–1.循环实验表明,纳米纤维具有较好的光催化稳定性,经过4次光催化循环实验后,CuO-SiO2@TiO2/CuO的保留率～94％,甲醇产率可达1472.0μmol/g-cat,TOF为0.042 h–1.     

Highly efficient photocatalytic activity and mechanism of novel Er3+ and Tb3+ co-doped BiOBr/ g-C3N5 towards sulfamethoxazole degradation

Bismuth oxyhalides (BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I) are considered to be an important p-type semiconductors in the photocatalysis applications. In particular, tetragonal BiOBr is considered as a stable photocatalyst due to its resilient absorption in the visible region with an band gap energy of 2.8 eV. In the meantime, lanthanide ions (with 3+ oxidation state) implies as conversion catalyst gained huge impact and remain a serious topic in materials chemistry. Here we synthesized upconversion photocatalyst mainly consists of BiOBr with the Er ³⁺ and Tb ³⁺ ions along with low band gap g-C₃N₅ for the improved photocatalytic performances. The synthesized Er³⁺/Tb³⁺@BiOBr-g-C₃N₅ heterojunction was systematically characterized by XRD, and FT-IR for the confirmation of the composite and their morphology were analysed with FESEM and HR-TEM analysis which revealed that the sheets of g-C₃N₅ were decorated by Er³⁺/Tb³⁺ loaded BiOBr microspheres. The XPS analysis confirmed the suitable oxidation state of all the individual elements existing in the composite. As the UV-DRS analysis showed that the band gap of the Er³⁺/Tb³⁺ BiOBr-gC₃N₅ heterojunction was narrowed to 2.64 eV. To evaluate the photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized g-C₃N₅, Er³⁺/Tb³⁺@BiOBr and Er³⁺/Tb³⁺@BiOBr-gC₃N₅ heterojunction under the simulated visible light irradiation source towards the aqueous sulfamethoxazole degradation. The Er³⁺/Tb³⁺@BiOBr-gC₃N₅ heterojunction shows maximum degradation efficiency of 94.2% after 60 min of visible light irradiation whereas the pure g-C₃N₅ provided about 43.8% and Er³⁺/Tb³⁺@BiOBr implies 55.2% degradation efficiency. The plausible degradation mechanism of pollutant removal was proposed.     

Three-dimensional complex construct fabrication of illite by digital light processing-based additive manufacturing technology

Illite is a group of clay minerals that are expected to be widely used in catalyst fabrication, radioactive element adsorption, and so forth, due to its excellent adsorption properties. However, the shape control limitation of the illite product should be overcome to maximize its utilization and properties. We herein propose additive manufacturing (AM) as one of the best solutions to solve this structural drawback. Digital light processing (DLP) technology with the film-type of the material supplying system was adapted instead of the general vat-type DLP system to increase illite printability. The photo-curability and printability of illite-contained photocurable suspension were optimized. The color effect due to different ferric oxide content in yellow- and white-illite which influence the photopolymerization process also adjusted thoroughly. White illite showed better photo-curability and could be increased solid loading than yellow illite. The defect-free illite products with three-dimensional complex structures, which cannot be produced by typical ceramic processes, were obtained by DLP technology for both yellow- and white-illite after sintering at 1100°C. The overcoming of shape control limitation of illites by ceramic AM proved in this study has excellent potential for expanding illite utilities in various applications.     

High-temperature sulfurized synthesis of MnxCd1-xS composites for enhancing solar-light driven H2 evolution

In recent years, tremendous efforts have been devoted to develop new photocatalyst with wide spectrum response for H₂ generation from water or aqueous solution. In this paper, Mn_xCd_1-xS composites were in-situ fabricated via the high-temperature sulfurization to enhance the solar-light photocatalytic capacity of H₂ evolution. Benefiting from the S defects and junction interface between MnS and CdS, Mn_xCd_1-xS composites exhibited the better H₂ evolution rate than pure MnS. The H₂ evolution rate of optimal Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S with a Mn(II) content of 22.52% and a Mn/Cd mole ratio of 0.95:1 was 9.27 mmol g^?1 h^?1, which was 35.65 and 2.38 times higher than pure MnS (0.26 mmol g^?1 h^?1) and CdS (3.89 mmol g^?1 h^?1), respectively. In addition, H₂ evolution capacity of Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S decreased from 44.83 to 41.66 mmol g^?1 after three cycles. Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S prepared via the high-temperature sulfurization was thus a potential material for solar-light induced H₂ generation.     

LED light-induced enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution on Au@TiO2 core–shell modified by nitrogen doping and reduced graphene oxide

This study focused on the large band gap of TiO₂ for its use as a photocatalyst under light emitting diode (LED) light irradiation. The photocatalytic activities of core–shell structured Au@TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs), nitrogen doped Au@TiO₂ NPs, and Au@TiO₂/rGO nanocomposites (NCs) were investigated under various light intensities and sacrificial reagents. All the materials showed better photocatalytic activity under white LED light irradiation than under blue LED light. The N-doped core–shell structured Au@TiO₂ NPs (Au@N–TiO₂) and Au@TiO₂/rGO NCs showed enhanced photocatalytic activity with an average H₂ evolution rate of 9205 μmol h^?1g^?1 and 9815 μmol h^?1g^?1, respectively. All these materials showed an increasing rate of hydrogen evolution with increasing light intensity and catalyst loading. In addition, methanol was more suitable as a sacrificial reagent than lactic acid. The rate of hydrogen evolution increased with increasing methanol concentration up to 25% in DI water and decreased at higher concentrations. Overall, Au@TiO₂ core–shell-based nanocomposites can be used as an improved photocatalyst in photocatalytic hydrogen production.     

快速反求测量系统标定方法研究

提出一种基于结构光三维视觉测量的方法,利用结构光特征解决了三维视觉测量中存在的图像匹配困难的问题,使三维数据的测量更加方便、快捷。最后利用平面网格模板对测量系统的参数进行了标定,通过实验,此系统得到了验证。     

华北矿业型城市长序列能源消费碳排放特征

区域视角的长序列能源消费碳排放特征研究对低碳减排政策的制定具有一定意义。针对中国地市级及以下尺度数据难以获取、统计标准存在差异、从时间长序列角度对矿业型城市能源消费碳排放的研究较少等问题,基于夜间灯光影像数据模拟估算了1995～2017年华北矿业型城市能源消费碳排放量,对矿业型城市进行多维研究,分析不同矿业型城市碳排放的差异性。结果表明:能源消费碳排放量较高的矿业型城市为成长型煤炭型、再生型铁矿型、成熟型铁矿型以及成熟型煤炭型中的张家口市、忻州市和赤峰市;强度效应是促使能源消费碳排放量与经济增长脱钩的重要手段,结合人口效应、规模效应的调控,通过科学的低碳减排政策,能够有效地控制能源消费碳排放量的增加,加快矿业型城市的经济转型。