A biofuel cell harvesting energy from glucose-air and fruit juice-air

The membraneless biofuel cell (BFC) is facile prepared based on glucose oxidase and laccase as anodic and cathodic catalyst, respectively, by using 1,1'-dicarboxyferrocene as the mediators of both anode and cathode. The BFC can work by taking glucose as fuel in air-saturated solution, in which air serves as the oxidizer of the cathode. More interestingly, the fruit juice containing glucose, e.g. grape, banana or orange juice as the fuels substituting for glucose can make the BFC work. The BFC shows several advantages which have not been reported to our knowledge: (1) it is membraneless BFC which can work with same mediator on both anode and cathode; (2) fruit juice can act as fuels of BFCs substituting for usually used glucose; (3) especially, the orange juice can greatly enhance the power output rather than that of glucose, grape or banana juice. Besides, the facile and simple preparation procedure and easy accessibility of fruit juice as well as air being whenever and everywhere imply that our system has promising potential for the development and practical application of BFCs.

微生物法生成辅酶Q10的研究

本文根据我们实验室建立的发酵产物中辅酶Q10定性定量检测方法，筛选得到一株可以代谢产生较多辅酶Q10的野生菌株放射形土壤杆菌(Agrobacterium radiobacter No.50)。 为了提高放射形土壤杆菌的辅酶Q10的产量，本实验利用液体培养研究了单因素对菌株辅酶Q10产量的影响，并用正交法确定了最佳液态发酵条件。最佳发酵培养基是：葡萄糖20g,蔗糖40g, 硫酸铵10g,玉米浆30g, 酵母膏3g，K2HPO4 3g,MgSO4.7H2O 1g，蒸馏水1000mL,pH 7.0-7.2。最佳发酵条件是：转接斜面菌种到种子培养基, 转速220r/min、温度28。C培养24h后，转入发酵培养基(250mL三角拼装液量为50mL，pH 7.0), 接种量为10％，转速220r/min、温度28。C，培养120h。在此条件下，菌体湿重约为50g/L，辅酶Q10含量约为20mg/L。 本文以放射形土壤杆菌为出发菌株进行诱变育种，以期获得辅酶Q10高产菌。根据微生物育种原理、参照辅酶Q10的代谢调控机制，以野生型放射形土壤杆菌(Agrobacterium radiobacter No.50)为出发菌株，采用紫外线和亚硝基胍复合诱变技术，依次筛选得到菌体提取物M抗性菌ARM－7、烟草提取物T抗性菌株ARMT-26、Vk3抗性菌株ARMTV-25、链霉素抗性菌株ARMTVS-32，菌株ARMTVS-32产量达到了36.8mg/L，与原始出发菌株相比，产量提高了77％。 研究了茄尼醇、对羟基苯甲酸、橘子皮提取物D、胡萝卜提取物E、烟草提取物对ARMTVS-32合成辅酶Q10的影响，结果表明这些物质对菌体合成辅酶Q10有一定促进作用，添加0.2g/L茄尼醇时，辅酶Q10含量提高了17%，达到了40.7mg/L；添加1.2g/L橘子皮提取物D时，辅酶Q10含量提高了13.8%，达到了39.6mg/L；添加0.5g/L胡萝卜提取物E时，辅酶Q10含量提高了25.3% ，达到了43.6mg/L；添加8g/L烟草提取物时，辅酶Q10含量提高了12.6%，达到了39.2mg/L。 Production of Coenzyme- Q10 (CoQ10) by fermentation is considered as a process with broad prospects.Quantitative Analysis of CoQ10 in the culture of microbe by TLC—UV spectrophotometry was developed, by using this method we got the strain Agrobacterium radiobacter,which was isolated from forest soil of southwest of China. The effect of the single factor on CoQ10-production ability of the strain was examined by liquid cultured, and its best optimum cultivation conditions were established by orthogonal method. The results showed that the optimum fermentation conditions were as following: carbon sources glucose 20g/L,sucrose 40g/L; nitrongen sources (NH4)2SO4 10g/L,maize liquid 30g/L;yeast extract 3g; K2HPO4 3g/L,MgSO4.7H2O 1g/L; initial pH was 7 and volume of medium(medium volume vs flask volume) was 50mL/500mL, incubating for 120h on a rotary shaker at 220 rpm and 28℃.Under these conditions, the biomass and CoQ10 concentration reached 50g/L and 20mg/L respectively. According to the biosynthesis mechanism of CoQ10 and breeding theory, CoQ10 over-production strains were screened by UV--NTG. mutation using Agrobacterium radiobacter No.50 as parent strain. A microbe-juice resistant mutant ARMTVS-32, which also could resist tobacco-juice, VK3 and streptomycin, was screened out from an agar plate. The CoQ10 content of ARMTVS-32 reached 36.8mg/L, which was 77% higher than the initial strain. In addition, We discussed the effects of some organic substrates on the synthesis of CoQ10 in ARMTVS-32. The results showed that solanesol, orange juice D, carrot juice E and tobacco juice could promote the CoQ10 accumulation in the cells. The CoQ10 content of ARMTVS-32 reached 40.7mg/L when added 0.2g/L solanesol,it reached 39.6mg/L when added 1.2g/L orange juice D，it reached 43.6mg/L when added 0.5g/L carrot juice E. it reached 39.2mg/L when added 8g/L tobacco juice.

Facile chemical conversion synthesis and luminescence properties of uniform Ln3+ (Ln = Eu, Tb)-doped NaLuF4 nanowires and LuBO3 microdisks

Uniform NaLuF(4) nanowires and LuBO(3) microdisks have been successfully prepared by a designed chemical conversion method. The lutetium precursor nanowires were first prepared through a simple hydrothermal process. Subsequently, uniform NaLuF(4) nanowires and LuBO(3) microdisks were synthesized at the expense of the precursor by a hydrothermal conversion process. The whole process was carried out in aqueous condition without any organic solvents, surfactant, or catalyst. The conversion processes from precursor to the final products have been investigated in detail. The as-obtained Eu(3+) and Tb(3+)-doped LuBO(3) microdisks and NaLuF(4) nanowires show strong characteristic red and green emissions under ultraviolet excitation or low-voltage electron beam excitation. Moreover, the luminescence colors of the Eu(3+) and Tb(3+) codoped LuBO(3) samples can be tuned from red, orange, yellow, and green-yellow to green by simply adjusting the relative doping concentrations of the activator ions under a single wavelength excitation, which might find potential applications in the fields such as light display systems and optoelectronic devices.

Synthesis and characterization of high-quality ZnS, ZnS : Mn2+, and ZnS : Mn2+/ZnS (core/shell) luminescent nanocrystals

High-quality ZnS, ZnS:Mn2+, and ZnS:Mn2+/ZnS (core/shell) nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized via a high-boiling solvent process and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The monodisperse ZnS NCs (size = 8 nm), which self-assembled into several micrometer-sized domains, were achieved by adopting poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in the reaction process (without using a size-selection process). The obtained ZnS:Mn2+ and ZnS:Mn2+/ZnS core/shell NCs are highly crystalline and quasimonodisperse with an average particle size of 6.1 and 8.4 nm, respectively. All of the as-formed NCs can be well dispersed in hexane to form stable and clear colloidal solutions, which show strong visible emission (blue for ZnS and red-orange for ZnS:Mn2+ and ZnS:Mn2+/ZnS) under UV excitation. The growth of a ZnS shell on ZnS:Mn2+ NCs, that is, the formation of ZnS:Mn2+/ZnS core/shell NCs, resulted in a 30% enhancement in the PL intensity with respect to that of bare ZnS:Mn2+ NCs due to the elimination of the surface defects.

Copolymers derived from bismaleimide oligomer with active solvent

An oligomer from 4, 4'-bis(maleimido)diphenyl methane and methylenedianiline were dissolved in active solvent N,N-dimethyl acrylamide in a solid content up to 50-70%; the solution was poured in a sheet-shaped module and irradiated b y Co-60 with the dose from 20 to 350 kGy at room temperature. The polymerized sheet was postcured at 180degreesC to obtain a transparent red-orange sheet with tensile strength above 100 MPa. The glass transition temperature before and after postcuring was around 100degreesC and 150-180degreesC, respectively. Styrene was used along with DMAA to decrease the water absorption for the copolymers.

Citrate-gel synthesis and luminescent properties of alpha-Zn-3(PO4)(2) doped with Eu3+

By using inorganic salts as raw materials and citric acid as complexing agent, alpha-Zn-3(PO4)(2) and Eu3+ doped alpha-Zn-3(PO4)(2) phosphor powders were prepared by a citrate-gel process. X-ray diffraction, (XRD), TG - DTA, FT - IR and luminescence excitation and emission spectra were used to characterize the resulting products. The results of XRD reveal that the powders begin to crystallize at 500 degreesC and pure alpha-Zn-3(PO4)(2) phase is obtained at 800 degreesC. And the results of XRD reveal that Eu3+ exists Lis EoPO(4) ill the powder. In the phosphor powders, the Eu3+ shows its characteristic red-orange (592 nm, D-5(0) - F-7(1)) emission and has no quenching concentration.

Highly efficient phosphorescent bis-cyclometalated iridium complexes based on quinoline ligands

The synthesis and electrochemical and photophysical study of a series of bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes based on quinoline ligands have been carried out. These complexes are found to emit red-orange to deep red phosphorescence with high quantum yield and short lifetime. The red organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with the external quantum efficiency up to 11.3% were demonstrated. Slow decay of efficiency with increasing current density was observed. These indicate that quinoline-based iridium complexes are promising candidates for efficient red emitters.

Differential expression of thyroid-stimulating hormone beta subunit in gonads during sex reversal of orange-spotted and red-spotted groupers

We have cloned and characterized the full-length cDNA encoding thyroid-stimulating hormone beta-subunit (TSHbeta) from orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides. It contains 913 nucleotides with an open reading frame encoding 146 amino acids with a 20 amino acid signal peptide. The grouper mature TSHbeta has 75, 70, 61, 59, 41, 42 and 40% identities to that of rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon, zebrafish, European eel, chicken. mouse and human, respectively. RT-PCR analysis indicated that the TSHbeta mRNA was expressed abundantly not only in pituitary but also in gonads. A more interesting finding is to reveal the differential TSHbeta expressions between the ovaries and the transitional gonads or testes in natural individuals of orange-spotted grouper and red-spotted grouper Epinephelus akaara, and in artificial sex reversal individuals of red-spotted grouper induced by MT feeding. In situ hybridization localization provided direct evidence that the TSHbeta was transcribed in the germ cells. In the growing oocytes, the TSHbeta transcripts were concentrated on the ooplasm periphery. In testicular tissues, the intensively expressed TSHbeta cells were found to be spermatogonia and spermatocytes in the spermatogenic cysts. This is the first report of a TSHbeta expressed in the gonads of any vertebrates in addition to the expected expression in the pituitary, and it expresses more transcripts in the gonads during sex reversal or testis than in the ovaries both in E. coioides and E. akaara. Importantly, the TSHbeta identification in germ cells allows us to further investigate the functional roles and the molecular mechanisms in gametogenesis of groupers, especially in sex reversal and in spermatogenesis. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temperature behaviour of the orange and blue emissions in ZnS : Mn nanoparticles

The temperature dependences of the orange and blue emissions in 10, 4.5, and 3 nm ZnS:Mn nanoparticles were investigated. The orange emission is from the T-4(1)-(6)A(1) transition of Mn2+ ions and the blue emission is related to the donor-acceptor recombination in the ZnS host. With increasing temperature, the blue emission has a red-shift. On the other hand, the peak energy of the orange emission is only weakly dependent on temperature. The luminescence intensity of the orange emission decreases rapidly from 110 to 300 K for the 10 nm sample but increases obviously for the 3 nm sample, whereas the emission intensity is nearly, independent of temperature for the 4.5 nm sample. A thermally activated carrier-transfer model has been proposed to explain the observed abnormal temperature behaviour of the orange emission in ZnS:Mn nanoparticles.

White Electroluminescence from a Star-Like Polymer with an Orange Emissive Core and Four Blue Emissive Arms

A star-like white light-emitting polymer with an orange emissive core and four blue emissive arms is designed and synthesized. White electroluminescence is observed with simultaneous orange emission from the core and blue emission from the arms. A single-layer device based on this polymer emits white light with CIE coordinates of (0.35, 0.39) and a luminous efficiency of 7.06 cd A(-1).

White electroluminescence from a single-polymer system with simultaneous two-color emission: Polyfluorene as blue host and 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole derivatives as orange dopants on the side chain

Four single polymers with two kinds of attachment of orange chromophore to blue polymer host for white electroluminescence (EL) were designed. The effect of the side-chain attachment and main-chain attachment on the EL efficiencies of the resulting polymers was compared. The side-chain-type single polymers are found to exhibit more efficient white EL than that of the main-chain-type single polymers. Based on the side-chain-type white single polymer with 4-(4-alkyloxy-phenyl)-7-(4-diphenylamino-phenyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazoles as the orange-dopant unit and polyfluorene as the blue polymer host, white EL with simultaneous orange (lambda(max) = 545 nm) and blue emission (lambda(max) = 432 nm/460 nm) is realised. A single-layer device (indium tin oxide/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/polymer/Ca/Al) made of these polymers emits white light with the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinates of (0.30,0.40), possesses a turn-on voltage of 3.5 V, luminous efficiency of 10.66 cd A(-1), power efficiency of 6.68 lm W-1, and a maximum brightness of 21240 cd m(-2).

Red-shift conical emission by femtosecond pulses at low input power

Red-shift conical emission (CE) is observed by femtosecond laser pulse propagating in BK7 at a low input power (compared to those input powers for generation of blue-shift CE). With the increasing input power the blue-shift CE begins to appear whereas the red-shift CE ring (902 nm in our experiment) disappears accompanied by the augment of the central white spot size synchronously. The disappearing of red-shift CE in our experiment is explained such that the increase of axial intensity is much higher than that of ring emission and the augment of the central white spot size with the increasing input laser power.

Red shift and broadening of backward harmonic radiation from electron oscillations driven by femtosecond laser pulse

The characteristics of backward harmonic radiation due to electron oscillations driven by a linearly polarized fs laser pulse are analysed considering a single electron model. The spectral distributions of the electron's backward harmonic radiation are investigated in detail for different parameters of the driver laser pulse. Higher order harmonic radiations are possible for a sufficiently intense driving laser pulse. We have shown that for a realistic pulsed photon beam, the spectrum of the radiation is red shifted as well as broadened because of changes in the longitudinal velocity of the electrons during the laser pulse. These effects are more pronounced at higher laser intensities giving rise to higher order harmonics that eventually leads to a continuous spectrum. Numerical simulations have further shown that by increasing the laser pulse width the broadening of the high harmonic radiations can be controlled.

Study of the effect of alcohol on single human red blood cells using near-infrared laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy

The effect of alcohol solution on single human red blood Cells (RBCs) was investigated using near-infrared laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS). In our system, a low-power diode laser at 785 nm was applied for the trapping of a living cell and the excitation of its Raman spectrum. Such a design could simultaneously reduce the photo-damage to the cell and suppress the interference from the fluorescence on the Raman signal. The denaturation process of single RBCs in 20% alcohol solution was investigated by detecting the time evolution of the Raman spectra at the single-cell level. The vitality of RBCs was characterized by the Raman band at 752 cm(-1), which corresponds to the porphyrin breathing mode. We found that the intensity of this band decreased by 34.1% over a period of 25 min after the administration of alcohol. In a further study of the dependence of denaturation on alcohol concentration, we discovered that the decrease in the intensity of the 752 cm(-1) band became more rapid and more prominent as the alcohol concentration increased. The present LTRS technique may have several potential applications in cell biology and medicine, including probing dynamic cellular processes at the single cell level and diagnosing cell disorders in real time. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley T Sons, Ltd.

Red laser-induced domain inversion in MgO-doped lithium niobate crystals

A laser beam at wavelength 647 nm is focused on a sample of 5 mol% MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal for domain inversion by a conventional external electric field. In this case, a reduction of 36% in the electric field required for domain nucleation (nucleation field) is observed. To the best of our knowledge, it is the longest wavelength reported for laser-induced domain inversion. This extends the spectrum of laser inducing, and the experimental results are helpful to understand the nucleation dynamics under laser illumination. The dependence of nucleation fields on intensities of laser beams is analysed in experiments.