Iron Mobilization from Ferritin in Yeast Cell Lysate and Physiological Implications

Most in vitro iron mobilization studies from ferritin have been performed in aqueous buffered solutions using a variety of reducing substances. The kinetics of iron mobilization from ferritin in a medium that resembles the complex milieu of cells could dramatically differ from those in aqueous solutions, and to our knowledge, no such studies have been performed. Here, we have studied the kinetics of iron release from ferritin in fresh yeast cell lysates and examined the effect of cellular metabolites on this process. Our results show that iron release from ferritin in buffer is extremely slow compared to cell lysate under identical experimental conditions, suggesting that certain cellular metabolites present in yeast cell lysate facilitate the reductive release of ferric iron from the ferritin core. Using filtration membranes with different molecular weight cut-offs (3, 10, 30, 50, and 100 kDa), we demonstrate that a cellular component >50 kDa is implicated in the reductive release of iron. When the cell lysate was washed three times with buffer, or when NADPH was omitted from the solution, a dramatic decrease in iron mobilization rates was observed. The addition of physiological concentrations of free flavins, such as FMN, FAD, and riboflavin showed about a two-fold increase in the amount of released iron. Notably, all iron release kinetics occurred while the solution oxygen level was still high. Altogether, our results indicate that in addition to ferritin proteolysis, there exists an auxiliary iron reductive mechanism that involves long-range electron transfer reactions facilitated by the ferritin shell. The physiological implications of such iron reductive mechanisms are discussed.     

Powers and speeds in electromechanical systems: Hybrid propulsion systems in cars

Mathematical expressions for determining the moments and speeds of the elements of planetary gearboxes are obtained. The possible modes of the operation of an internal combustion engine (ICE) combined with two electric machines are shown. The relation between powers of electric machines and the geometrical parameters of the planetary gear is achieved.     

Advanced Characterization and Optimization of NiOx:Cu-SAM Hole-Transporting Bi-Layer for 23.4% Efficient Monolithic Cu(In,Ga)Se2-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells

The performance of five hole-transporting layers (HTLs) is investigated in both single-junction perovskite and Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ (CIGSe)-perovskite tandem solar cells: nickel oxide (NiO_x,), copper-doped nickel oxide (NiO_x:Cu), NiO_x+SAM, NiO_x:Cu+SAM, and SAM, where SAM is the [2-(3,-6Dimethoxy-9H-carbazol-9yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (MeO-2PACz) self-assembled monolayer. The performance of the devices is correlated to the charge-carrier dynamics at the HTL/perovskite interface and the limiting factors of these HTLs are analyzed by performing time-resolved and absolute photoluminescence ((Tr)PL), transient surface photovoltage (tr-SPV), and X-ray/UV photoemission spectroscopy (XPS/UPS) measurements on indium tin oxide (ITO)/HTL/perovskite and CIGSe/HTL/perovskite stacks. A high quasi-Fermi level splitting to open-circuit (QFLS-V_oc) deficit is detected for the NiO_x-based devices, attributed to electron trapping and poor hole extraction at the NiO_x-perovskite interface and a low carrier effective lifetime in the bulk of the perovskite. Simultaneously, doping the NiO_x with 2% Cu and passivating its surface with MeO-2PACz suppresses the electron trapping, enhances the holes extraction, reduces the non-radiative interfacial recombination, and improves the band alignment. Due to this superior interfacial charge-carrier dynamics, NiO_x:Cu+SAM is found to be the most suitable HTL for the monolithic CIGSe-perovskite tandem devices, enabling a power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.4%, V_oc of 1.72V, and a fill factor (FF) of 71%, while the remaining four HTLs suffer from prominent V_oc and FF losses.     

Fully Solution‐Processed Photonic Structures from Inorganic/Organic Molecular Hybrid Materials and Commodity Polymers

Managing the interference effects from thin (multi‐)layers allows for the control of the optical transmittance/reflectance of widely used and technologically significant structures such as antireflection coatings (ARCs) and distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). These rely on the destructive/constructive interference between incident, reflected, and transmitted radiation. While known for over a century and having been extremely well investigated, the emergence of printable and large‐area electronics brings a new emphasis: the development of materials capable of transferring well‐established ideas to a solution‐based production. Here, demonstrated is the solution‐fabrication of ARCs and DBRs utilizing alternating layers of commodity plastics and recently developed organic/inorganic hybrid materials comprised of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAl), cross‐linked with titanium oxide hydrates. Dip‐coated ARCs exhibit an 88% reduction in reflectance across the visible compared to uncoated glass, and fully solution‐coated DBRs provide a reflection of >99% across a 100 nm spectral band in the visible region. Detailed comparisons with transfermatrix methods (TMM) highlight their excellent optical quality including extremely low optical losses. Beneficially, when exposed to elevated temperatures, the hybrid material can display a notable, reproducible, and irreversible change in refractive index and film thickness while maintaining excellent optical performance allowing postdeposition tuning, e.g., for thermo‐responsive applications, including security features and product‐storage environment monitoring.     

Transverse optical mode patterns for an RF excited Ar-He-Xe laser

Transverse optical modes for an RF excited Ar-He-Xe laser are studied both experimentally and theoretically. A diffraction model for a waveguide with a nonsaturable gain and refractive index gradients placed between two plane mirrors is formulated. The effects of gain and diffraction index gradients and of diffraction in free space are evaluated for typical experimental conditions. A direct comparison between theoretical mode patterns and experimentally measured ones at distances of 17 and 114 cm from the output mirror demonstrated a satisfactory agreement for various laser wavelengths and gas mixture compositions     

利用基于扫描相机的荧光寿命成像显微技术研究细胞周期

利用基于扫描相机的荧光寿命成像显微系统,以细胞周期为模型,研究转染绿色荧光蛋白的HeLa细胞的荧光寿命。结果表明,处于周期内不同进程的细胞的荧光寿命为2.50~3.00 ns。处于分裂期的细胞的荧光寿命在1 h内从2.86 ns下降到2.82 ns;在DNA合成前期的8 h内,荧光寿命从2.82 ns下降到2.78 ns。荧光寿命的差异反映了细胞周期中核浆内大分子浓度的变化,对了解细胞周期的分子机制有一定的意义。     

Effect of temperature on aggregation/dissociation behavior of interpolymer complexes stabilized by hydrogen bonds

The effect of temperature on the aggregation/dissociation behavior of interpolymer complexes based on poly(acrylic acid) and various nonionic polymers—poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(acrylamide), hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, poly(vinyl methyl ether), poly(vinyl ether of ethyleneglycol), and vinyl ether of ethyleneglycol‐co‐vinyl butyl ether—has been studied in aqueous solutions. It was shown that nonionic polymers could be classified into two groups according to the stability of their polycomplexes with respect to temperature. The first group of nonionic polymers forms interpolymer complexes, which are stable and undergo further aggregation upon increase in temperature. The second group forms polycomplexes, which dissociate at higher temperatures. The nature of forces stabilizing different interpolymer complexes in aqueous solutions is discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 1946–1950, 2004     

Enhanced transport properties of Sn-substituted proton-conducting BaZr0.8Sc0.2O3–δ ceramic materials

High-temperature proton conductors based on acceptor-doped barium zirconate exhibit excellent chemical stability in atmospheres containing CO₂ or H₂O. However, due to their refractory nature, these conductors have a low grain growth rate, which negatively affects the overall electrical conductivity. A possible strategy for increasing the ionic conductivity of zirconates lies in the partial substitution of Zr-ions with other isovalent dopants. In this work, we carried out systematic studies of the crystal structure, microstructure, hydration capacity, transport, and thermal properties of BaZr_0.8–xSn_xSc_0.2O_3–δ (x = 0, 0.1, and 0.2). According to X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy data, all studied ceramic samples have a cubic perovskite structure, whose average grain size decreases with tin doping. It is found that the composition with x = 0.1 exhibits the highest values in terms of total, ionic, grain, and grain-boundary conductivities. The complex analysis of the obtained data shows that a low-level substitution of Zr⁴⁺- with Sn⁴⁺-ions is a competent approach for designing new proton-conducting electrolytes attractive for high-temperature applications.     

Corrosion of aluminium,stainless steels and AISI 680 nickel alloy in nitrogen‐based fuels

Nitrogen‐based compounds can potentially be used as alternative non‐carbon or low‐carbon fuels. Nevertheless, the corrosion of construction materials at high temperatures and pressures in the presence of such fuel has not been reported yet. This work is focused on the corrosion of AISI Al 6061, 1005 carbon steel (CS), 304, 316L, 310 austenitic stainless steels (SS) and 680 nickel alloy in highly concentrated water solution of ammonium nitrate and urea (ANU). The corrosion at 50 °C and ambient pressure and at 350 °C and 20 bar was investigated to simulate storage and working conditions. Sodium chloride was added to the fuel (0–5 wt%) to simulate industrial fertilizers and accelerated corrosion environment. Heavy corrosion of CS was observed in ANU solution at 50 °C, while Al 6061, 304 and 316L SS showed high resistance both to uniform and pitting corrosion in ANU containing 1% of sodium chloride. Addition of 5% sodium chloride caused pitting of Al 6061 but had no influence on the corrosion of SS. Tests in ANU at 350 °C and 20 bar showed pitting on SS 304 and 316L and 680 nickel alloy. The highest corrosion resistance was found for SS 310 due to formation of stable oxide film on its surface.