Intestinal absorption by Sarotherodon galilaeus (syn Tilapia galilaea ) of Lake Kainji, Nigeria

Carbohydrates, protein, lipid and crude fibre were found to reduce in amount from the anterior to posterior regions along the gut of Sarotherodon galilaeus collected from Lake Kainji. Different regions of the gut exhibited different absorptive powers and all the compounds were differently absorbed in amount. Different sizes of fish showed different absorptive capacity

Development of catalytic methane reforming systems integrating hydrogen selective PdCu membrane modules

En la presente tesis doctoral se ha estudiado la integración del proceso de producción de hidrógeno con su purificación mediante el empleo de membranas selectivas de hidrógeno. La producción de hidrógeno se realiza empleando catalizadores no convencionales de níquel soportado sobre magnesia y alúmina en un reactor catalítico. Se analiza la actividad de los catalizadores y la producción de hidrógeno mediante distintos procesos con metano como son la oxidación parcial catalítica (OPC), OPC húmeda y reformadoLa purificación de hidrógeno se realiza en un módulo provisto de una membrana selectiva de hidrógeno de PdCu depositado en un soporte poroso cerámico. Una vez optimizada su preparación mediante deposición no electrolítica se caracterizan. Para ello se determina su permeabilidad a distintas temperaturas y realizando ciclos térmicos en atmósferas inerte y de hidrógeno, que puede fragilizar el metal. Una vez preparados los catalizadores y las membranas se integran los dos sistemas y se determinan los parámetros de operación óptimos como la presión de la línea de alimentación y el caudal de gas de arrastre en el módulo de membrana. Ambos parámetros se optimizan para lograr la máxima recuperación de hidrógeno en el módulo de membrana. Por últimos se realizan ensayos completos de producción y purificación, que permiten observar el rendimiento del sistema y también el efecto que los compuestos de la mezcla compleja alimentada a las membranas tienen en su comportamiento. Para concluir la integración de procesos se realizan ensayos añadiendo azufre de forma que el sistema sea más similar al proceso real. Esto permite también analizar el efecto del azufre tanto en los catalizadores como en las membranas.

A Wide Band Strong Acoustic Absorption in a Locally Network Anechoic Coating

Composite materials with interpenetrating network structures usually exhibit unexpected merit due to the cooperative interaction. Locally resonant phononic crystals (LRPC) exhibit excellent sound attenuation performance based on a periodical arrangement of sound wave scatters. Inspired by the interpenetrating network structure and the LRPC concept, we develop a locally network anechoic coating (LNAC) that can achieve a wide band of underwater strong acoustic absorption. The experimental results show that the LNAC possesses an excellent underwater acoustic absorbing capacity in a wide frequency range. Moreover, in order to investigate the impact of the interpenetrating network structure, we fabricate a faultage structure sample and the network is disconnected by hard polyurethane (PU). The experimental comparison between the LNAC and the faultage structure sample shows that the interpenetrating network structure of the LNAC plays an important role in achieving a wide band strong acoustic absorption.

Absorption of food in the black-jaw tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron (Ruppell) from a small tropical man-made lake in Ibadan, Nigeria

The carbohydrate, protein and lipid contents of the food ingested and their absorption in the intestine of Sarotherodon melanotheron inhabiting Awba lake in Ibadan, Nigeria, were investigated. Total carbohydrates of the ingested food ranged from 39.33 to 55.38% (mean = 48.70% while total protein and total lipid ranged from 10.10 to 17.13% (mean = 12.91%) and 7.79 to 8.96% (mean = 8.28%) dry weight, respectively. Calculated total percentages absorbed were 54.86-62.01 (mean 58.07) carbohydrates 47.33-54.06 (mean = 50.43) protein and 43.27-52.23% (mean 46.56) lipid. Absorption of protein and carbohydrate occurred mostly in the fore-gut (the first one-third of the intestine), while lipid was mostly absorbed in the mid-gut (the second one-third of the intestine). Dietary carbohydrate, protein and lipid contents of the food as well as the absorptive capacity of the intestine for these components of the food varied with size of fish

Isotopic proxies for microbial and environmental change : insights hydrogen isotopes and the Ediacaran Khufai Formation

Microbes have profoundly influenced the Earth’s environments through time. Records of these interactions come primarily from the development and implementation of proxies that relate known modern processes to chemical signatures in the sedimentary record. This thesis is presented in two parts, focusing first on novel proxy development in the modern and second on interpretation of past environments using well-established methods. Part 1, presented in two chapters, builds on previous observations that different microbial metabolisms produce vastly different lipid hydrogen isotopic compositions. Chapter 1 evaluates the potential environmental expression of metabolism-based fractionation differences by exploiting the natural microbial community gradients in hydrothermal springs. We find a very large range in isotopic composition that can be demonstrably linked to the microbial source(s) of the fatty acids at each sample site. In Chapter 2, anaerobic culturing techniques are used to evaluate the hydrogen isotopic fractionations produced by anaerobic microbial metabolisms. Although the observed fractionation patterns are similar to those reported for aerobic cultures for some organisms, others show large differences. Part 2 changes focus from the modern to the ancient and uses classical stratigraphic methods combined with isotope stratigraphy to interpret microbial and environmental changes during the latest Precambrian Era. Chapter 3 presents a detailed characterization of the facies, parasequence development, and stratigraphic architecture of the Ediacaran Khufai Formation. Chapter 4 presents measurements of carbon, oxygen, and sulfur isotopic ratios in stratigraphic context. Large oscillations in the isotopic composition of sulfate constrain the size of the marine sulfate reservoir and suggest incorporation of an enriched isotopic source. Because this data was measured in stratigraphic context, we can assert with confidence that these isotopic shifts are not related to stratigraphic surfaces or facies type but instead reflect the evolution of the ocean through time. This data integrates into the chemostratigraphic global record and contributes to the emerging picture of changing marine chemistry during the latest Precambrian Era.

Olefin cyclopropanation and carbon-hydrogen amination via carbene and nitrene transfers catalyzed by engineered cytochrome P450 enzymes

Synthetic biology promises to transform organic synthesis by enabling artificial catalysis in living cells. I start by reviewing the state of the art in this young field and recognizing that new approaches are required for designing enzymes that catalyze nonnatural reactions, in order to expand the scope of biocatalytic transformations. Carbene and nitrene transfers to C=C and C-H bonds are reactions of tremendous synthetic utility that lack biological counterparts. I show that various heme proteins, including cytochrome P450BM3, will catalyze promiscuous levels of olefin cyclopropanation when provided with the appropriate synthetic reagents (e.g., diazoesters and styrene). Only a few amino acid substitutions are required to install synthetically useful levels of stereoselective cyclopropanation activity in P450BM3. Understanding that the ferrous-heme is the active species for catalysis and that the artificial reagents are unable to induce a spin-shift-dependent increase in the redox potential of the ferric P450, I design a high-potential serine-heme ligated P450 (P411) that can efficiently catalyze cyclopropanation using NAD(P)H. Intact E. coli whole-cells expressing P411 are highly efficient asymmetric catalysts for olefin cyclopropanation. I also show that engineered P450s can catalyze intramolecular amination of benzylic C-H bonds from arylsulfonyl azides. Finally, I review other examples of where synthetic reagents have been used to drive the evolution of novel enzymatic activity in the environment and in the laboratory. I invoke preadaptation to explain these observations and propose that other man-invented reactions may also be transferrable to natural enzymes by using a mechanism-based approach for choosing the enzymes and the reagents. Overall, this work shows that existing enzymes can be readily adapted for catalysis of synthetically important reactions not previously observed in nature.

Effects of spontaneously induced coherence on absorption of a ladder-type atom

This paper investigates the effects of spontaneously induced coherence on absorption properties in a nearly equispaced three-level ladder-type system driven by two coherent fields. It find that the absorption properties of this system with the probe field applied on the lower transition can be significantly modified if this coherence is optimized. In the case of small spontaneous decay rate in the upper excited state, it finds that such coherence does not destroy the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Nevertheless, the absorption peak on both sides of zero detuning and the linewidth of absorption line become larger and narrower than those in the case corresponding to the effects of spontaneously induced coherence; while in the case of large decay rate, it finds that, instead of EIT with low resonant absorption, a sharp absorption peak at resonance appears. That is, electromagnetically induced absorption in the nearly equispaced ladder-type system can occur due to such coherent effects.

Energetic protons emitted from coulomb explosion dynamics of large-sized hydrogen clusters driven by an ultrashort intense laser pulse

Protons with very high kinetic energy of about 10keV and the saturation effect of proton energy for laser intensity have been observed in the interaction of an ultrashort intense laser pulse with large-sized hydrogen clusters. Including the cluster-size distribution as well as the laser-intensity distribution on the focus spot, the theoretical calculations based on a simplified Coulomb explosion model have been compared with our experimental measurements, which are in good agreement with each other.

The intergalactic and circumgalactic medium surrounding star-forming galaxies at redshifts 2 < z < 3

We present measurements of the spatial distribution, kinematics, and physical properties of gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of 2.0<z<2.8 UV color-selected galaxies as well as within the 2<z<3 intergalactic medium (IGM). These measurements are derived from Voigt profile decomposition of the full Lyα and Lyβ forest in 15 high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio QSO spectra resulting in a catalog of ∼6000 HI absorbers.

Chapter 2 of this thesis focuses on HI surrounding high-z star-forming galaxies drawn from the Keck Baryonic Structure Survey (KBSS). The KBSS is a unique spectroscopic survey of the distant universe designed to explore the details of the connection between galaxies and intergalactic baryons within the same survey volumes. The KBSS combines high-quality background QSO spectroscopy with large densely-sampled galaxy redshift surveys to probe the CGM at scales of ∼50 kpc to a few Mpc. Based on these data, Chapter 2 presents the first quantitative measurements of the distribution, column density, kinematics, and absorber line widths of neutral hydrogen surrounding high-z star-forming galaxies.

Chapter 3 focuses on the thermal properties of the diffuse IGM. This analysis relies on measurements of the ∼6000 absorber line widths to constrain the thermal and turbulent velocities of absorbing "clouds." A positive correlation between the column density of HI and the minimum line width is recovered and implies a temperature-density relation within the low-density IGM for which higher-density regions are hotter, as is predicted by simple theoretical arguments.

Chapter 4 presents new measurements of the opacity of the IGM and CGM to hydrogen-ionizing photons. The chapter begins with a revised measurement of the HI column density distribution based on this new absorption line catalog that, due to the inclusion of high-order Lyman lines, provides the first statistically robust measurement of the frequency of absorbers with HI column densities 14 ≲ log(N_HI/cm^-2) ≲ 17.2. Also presented are the first measurements of the column density distribution of HI within the CGM (50 <d < 300 pkpc) of high-z galaxies. These distributions are used to calculate the total opacity of the IGM and IGM+CGM and to revise previous measurements of the mean free path of hydrogen-ionizing photons within the IGM. This chapter also considers the effect of the surrounding CGM on the transmission of ionizing photons out of the sites of active star-formation and into the IGM.

This thesis concludes with a brief discussion of work in progress focused on understanding the distribution of metals within the CGM of KBSS galaxies. Appendix B discusses my contributions to the MOSFIRE instrumentation project.

High efficiency four-wave mixing induced by double-dark resonances in a five-level tripod system

A five-level tripod scheme is proposed for obtaining a high efficiency four-wave-mixing (FWM) process. The existence of double-dark resonances leads to a strong modification of the absorption and dispersion properties against a pump wave at two transparency windows. We show that both of them can be used to open the four-wave mixing channel and produce efficient mixing waves. In particular, higher FWM efficiency is always produced at the transparent window corresponding to the relatively weak-coupling field. By manipulating the intensity of the two coupling fields, the conversion efficiency of FWM can be controlled.

Earth-abundant materials for solar hydrogen generation

A critical challenge for the 21st century is shifting from the predominant use of fossil fuels to renewables for energy. Among many options, sunlight is the only single renewable resource with sufficient abundance to replace most or all of our current fossil energy use. However, existing photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies cannot be scaled infinitely due to the temporal and geographic intermittency of sunlight. Therefore efficient and inexpensive methods for storage of solar energy in a dense medium are needed in order to greatly increase utilization of the sun as a primary resource. For this purpose we have proposed an artificial photosynthetic system consisting of semiconductors, electrocatalysts, and polymer membranes to carry out photoelectrochemical water splitting as a method for solar fuel generation.

This dissertation describes efforts over the last five years to develop critical semiconductor and catalyst components for efficient and scalable photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution, one of the half reactions for water splitting. We identified and developed Ni–Mo alloy and Ni₂P nanoparticles as promising earth-abundant electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. We thoroughly characterized Ni–Mo alloys alongside Ni and Pt catalysts deposited onto planar and structured Si light absorbers for solar hydrogen generation. We sought to address several key challenges that emerged in the use of non-noble catalysts for solar fuels generation, resulting in the synthesis and characterization of Ni–Mo nanopowder for use in a new photocathode device architecture. To address the mismatch in stability between non-noble metal alloys and Si absorbers, we also synthesized and characterized p-type WSe₂ as a candidate light absorber alternative to Si that is stable under acidic and alkaline conditions.

Phase-dependent properties for absorption and dispersion in a closed equispaced three-level ladder system

It is shown that in a closed equispaced three-level ladder system, by controlling the relative phase of two applied coherent fields, the conversion from absorption with inversion to lasing without inversion (LWI) can be realized; a large index of the refraction with zero absorption can be gotten; considerable increasing of the spectrum region and value of the LWI gain can be achieved. Our study also reveals that the incoherent pumping will produce a remarkable effect oil the phase-dependent properties of the system. Modifying value of the incoherent pumping can change the property of the system from absorption to amplification and enhance significantly LWI gain. If the incoherent pumping is absent, we cannot get any gain for any value of the relative phase. (c) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.