Activated carbon nanofibers as an alternative cathode catalyst to platinum in a two-chamber microbial fuel cell

This paper evaluated the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) system by using chemically and physically activated electrospun carbon nanofibers (ACNFs) in an MFC and comparing their performance with that of plain carbon paper. The chemical and physical activation was carried out by KOH reagents and CO₂ gas to increase the electrode surface area and the catalytic activity. As a result, it was found that the MFC with the chemically activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs) exhibited better catalytic activity than that of the physically activated ACNFs. Chemically ACNFs with 8 M KOH were found to be one of the most promising candidates for the ORR and could generate up to 3.17 times more power than that of the carbon paper. The ACNFs with 8 M KOH exhibited 78% more power generation than that of the physically activated ACNFs and exhibited 16% more power generation than the chemically activated ACNFs with 4 M KOH. The power per cost of ACNFs with 8 M KOH is 2.65 times greater than that of the traditionally used platinum cathode. Thus, ACNFs are a good alternative catalyst to Pt for MFCs.     

E96V Mutation in the Kdelr3 Gene Is Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Susceptibility in Obese NZO Mice

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) represents a multifactorial metabolic disease with a strong genetic predisposition. Despite elaborate efforts in identifying the genetic variants determining individual susceptibility towards T2D, the majority of genetic factors driving disease development remain poorly understood. With the aim to identify novel T2D risk genes we previously generated an N2 outcross population using the two inbred mouse strains New Zealand obese (NZO) and C3HeB/FeJ (C3H). A linkage study performed in this population led to the identification of the novel T2D-associated quantitative trait locus (QTL) Nbg15 (NZO blood glucose on chromosome 15, Logarithm of odds (LOD) 6.6). In this study we used a combined approach of positional cloning, gene expression analyses and in silico predictions of DNA polymorphism on gene/protein function to dissect the genetic variants linking Nbg15 to the development of T2D. Moreover, we have generated congenic strains that associated the distal sublocus of Nbg15 to mechanisms altering pancreatic beta cell function. In this sublocus, Cbx6, Fam135b and Kdelr3 were nominated as potential causative genes associated with the Nbg15 driven effects. Moreover, a putative mutation in the Kdelr3 gene from NZO was identified, negatively influencing adaptive responses associated with pancreatic beta cell death and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Importantly, knockdown of Kdelr3 in cultured Min6 beta cells altered insulin granules maturation and pro-insulin levels, pointing towards a crucial role of this gene in islets function and T2D susceptibility.     

Use of adaptive RLS, LMS, and NLMS algorithms for nonlinearity modeling in a modified laser interferometer

Laser heterodyne interferometer is one kind of nano-metrology systems which has been widely used in industry for high-accuracy displacement measurements. The accuracy of the nano-metrology systems based on the laser heterodyne interferometers can be effectively limited by the periodic nonlinearity. In this paper, we present the nonlinearity modeling of the nano-metrology interferometric system using some adaptive filters. The adaptive algorithms consist of the least mean squares (LMS), normalized least mean squares (NLMS), and recursive least squares (RLS). It is shown that the RLS algorithm can obtain optimal modeling parameters of nonlinearity.     

Study of aerosols and molecular extinction effects in ultraviolet DIAL remote sensing in the lower atmosphere

Light passing through the atmosphere is scattered and absorbed by the molecules and particles in the atmosphere. This can adversely restrict and limit not only the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) but also the accuracy and sensitivity of measurements, especially in long-path remote sensing. Usually, in differential absorption lidar (DIAL) techniques, errors are increased mainly because of the different extinction and backscattering properties of the atmosphere at the DIAL probe wavelengths. In this work we have investigated the effects of background aerosol and molecular extinction in DIAL remote sensing in the lower atmosphere for several visibilities at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths by taking into account the dependence of refraction on the air temperature and pressure. For simplicity, we neglected the spatial inhomogeneity of aerosols in the lower atmosphere. Because of the weak attenuation produced by oxygen and other gaseous atmospheric constituents in this region compared with that from ozone, only ozone is considered as significant among the expected errors. Values for the total attenuation (km^?1) at wavelengths 200–400 nm are tabulated for several values of visibility. The acquired results show that the absorption and scattering by the molecules and aerosols vary with wavelength and visibility. The aerosol attenuation in the UV region varies smoothly and thereby errors caused by aerosol scattering can be neglected in remote sensing by UV-DIAL. In addition, aerosols play a very important role in lidar remote sensing in the lower atmosphere by scattering and absorption of radiation, which is considered as a significant factor. At high altitudes, the aerosol concentration is lower than at the ground; the molecular scattering is important, especially for wavelengths greater than 310 nm, where ozone attenuation is not important. The obtained results are important for accurate UV-DIAL measurements of concentration as well as when real-world signals are not available, for example when designing lidar and simulating or when access to real-world signals is not possible.     

Efficient analytic model to optimum design laser resonator and optical coupling system of diode-end-pumped solid-state lasers: influence of gain medium length and pump beam M2 factor

A comprehensive analytical model for optimization longitudinal pumping of ideal four-level lasers is presented for accurate analysis by removing limiting assumptions on active length and pump-beam radius in the gain medium. By taking into account the circular-symmetric Gaussian pump beam including the M2 factor, an analytical formula for the root mean square of the pump beam in the active medium is developed to relate properties of the gain medium and pump beam to the requirement on efficient optimum design. Under the condition of minimum root mean square of pump-beam radius inside the active medium, the key parameters of the optimum optical coupling system have been analytically derived. Using these parameters, optimum mode size and maximum output efficiency are derived as a function of the gain medium length, absorption coefficient, pump-beam M2 factor, and input power. Dependence of the obtained parameters on the gain medium length, absorption coefficient, pump-beam M2 factor, and input power has been investigated. The results of this theory are found to be more comprehensive than the previous theoretical investigations. The present model provides a straightforward procedure to design the optimum laser resonator and the coupling optics for maximizing the output.     

Effect of poly‐glutamate on uptake efficiency and cytotoxicity of cell penetrating peptides

Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) were developed as vehicles for efficient delivery of various molecules. An ideal CPP‐peptide should not display any toxicity against cancer cells as well as healthy cells and efficiently enter into the cell. Because of the cationic nature and the intrinsic vector capabilities, these peptides can cause cytotoxicity. One of the possible reasons for toxicity of CPPs is direct translocation and consequently, pore formation on the plasma membrane. In this study it was demonstrated that interaction of poly‐glutamate with CPP considerably reduced their cytotoxicity in A549 cell. This strategy could be useful for efficient drug delivery mediated by CPP.Inspec keywords: cellular biophysics, polymers, drug delivery systems, biomedical materials, toxicology, molecular biophysicsOther keywords: drug delivery, A549 cell, plasma membrane, pore formation, cancer cells, poly‐glutamate, cytotoxicity, uptake efficiency, cell penetrating peptides     

A survey of methods for time series change point detection

Change points are abrupt variations in time series data. Such abrupt changes may represent transitions that occur between states. Detection of change points is useful in modelling and prediction of time series and is found in application areas such as medical condition monitoring, climate change detection, speech and image analysis, and human activity analysis. This survey article enumerates, categorizes, and compares many of the methods that have been proposed to detect change points in time series. The methods examined include both supervised and unsupervised algorithms that have been introduced and evaluated. We introduce several criteria to compare the algorithms. Finally, we present some grand challenges for the community to consider.     

Ion separation and water purification by applying external electric field on porous graphene membrane

Nano Research - Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, a porous graphene membrane was exposed to external electric fields to separate positive and negative ions from salt-water and to produce...     

Improving the quality of meat‐free sausages using κ‐carrageenan,konjac mannan and xanthan gum

High consumption of processed red meat can cause health issues. Therefore, production of high‐quality meat‐free food alternatives is necessary. The main objective of this study was to use hydrocolloids including κ‐carrageenan, konjac mannan and xanthan gum at 0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0 and 1.5% w/w to improve the quality of meat‐free sausages formulated by soy protein isolated, texturised soy protein, corn starch, vegetable oil and spices. With the addition of the tested hydrocolloids, the lightness of the sausages improved. κ‐Carrageenan and konjac mannan significantly improved the water‐holding capacity and texture and reduced the cooking loss of the samples, while xanthan gum showed no considerable effect on these parameters. Konjac mannan and κ‐carrageenan (up to 0.6%) improved the general acceptability of the sausages, while inclusion of xanthan gum made no significant difference. Unlike xanthan gum, κ‐carrageenan followed by konjac mannan was highly successful in improving the overall quality of meat‐free sausages.