Beyond fossil fuel-driven nitrogen transformations Chen, Jingguang G; Crooks, Richard M; Seefeldt, Lance C ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
05/2018, Letnik:
360, Številka:
6391
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals ...is largely powered by fossil fuels. A key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review.
The scientific community has responded to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by rapidly undertaking research to find effective strategies to reduce the burden of this disease. ...Encouragingly, researchers from a diverse array of fields are collectively working towards this goal. Research with infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is undertaken in high-containment laboratories; however, it is often desirable to work with samples at lower-containment levels. To facilitate the transfer of infectious samples from high-containment laboratories, we have tested methods commonly used to inactivate virus and prepare the sample for additional experiments. Incubation at 80°C, a range of detergents, Trizol reagents, and UV energies were successful at inactivating a high titer of SARS-CoV-2. Methanol and paraformaldehyde incubation of infected cells also inactivated the virus. These protocols can provide a framework for in-house inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in other laboratories, ensuring the safe use of samples in lower-containment levels.
We present a finely binned tomographic weak lensing analysis of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS) mitigating contamination to the signal from the presence of intrinsic ...galaxy alignments via the simultaneous fit of a cosmological model and an intrinsic alignment model. CFHTLenS spans 154 square degrees in five optical bands, with accurate shear and photometric redshifts for a galaxy sample with a median redshift of z
m = 0.70. We estimate the 21 sets of cosmic shear correlation functions associated with six redshift bins, each spanning the angular range of 1.5 < θ < 35 arcmin. We combine this CFHTLenS data with auxiliary cosmological probes: the cosmic microwave background with data from WMAP7, baryon acoustic oscillations with data from Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and a prior on the Hubble constant from the Hubble Space Telescope distance ladder. This leads to constraints on the normalization of the matter power spectrum σ8 = 0.799 ± 0.015 and the matter density parameter Ωm = 0.271 ± 0.010 for a flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology. For a flat wCDM cosmology, we constrain the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w = −1.02 ± 0.09. We also provide constraints for curved ΛCDM and wCDM cosmologies. We find the intrinsic alignment contamination to be galaxy-type dependent with a significant intrinsic alignment signal found for early-type galaxies, in contrast to the late-type galaxy sample for which the intrinsic alignment signal is found to be consistent with zero.
Background
Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is increasingly being used to detect the presence and relative abundance of rare species, especially invasive or imperiled aquatic species. The rapid ...progress in the eDNA field has resulted in numerous studies impacting conservation and management actions. However, standardization of eDNA methods and reporting across the field is yet to be fully established, with one area being the calculation and interpretation of assay limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ).
Aims
Here, we propose establishing consistent methods for determining and reporting of LOD and LOQ for single‐species quantitative PCR (qPCR) eDNA studies.
Materials & Methods/ Results
We utilize datasets from multiple cooperating laboratories to demonstrate both a discrete threshold approach and a curve‐fitting modeling approach for determining LODs and LOQs for eDNA qPCR assays. We also provide details of an R script developed and applied for the modeling method.
Discussion/Conclusions
Ultimately, standardization of how LOD and LOQ are determined, interpreted, and reported for eDNA assays will allow for more informed interpretation of assay results, more meaningful interlaboratory comparisons of experiments, and enhanced capacity for assessing the relative technical quality and performance of different eDNA qPCR assays.
We propose establishing consistent methods for determining and reporting of LOD and LOQ for single‐species quantitative PCR (qPCR) eDNA studies. We demonstrate the use of both a discrete threshold approach and a curve‐fitting modeling approach for determining LODs and LOQs for these assays. Ultimately, standardization of how LOD and LOQ are determined, interpreted, and reported for eDNA assays will allow for more informed interpretation of assay results, more meaningful interlaboratory comparisons of experiments, and enhanced capacity for assessing the relative technical quality and performance of different eDNA qPCR assays.
The effects of neutron irradiation on microstructural evolution and the resultant changes in physical and mechanical properties are of critical importance for the development of silicon carbide (SiC) ...materials for nuclear applications. This study neutron‐irradiated β‐SiC under a wide range of conditions at temperatures between 235 and 750°C and neutron doses of 0.01–11.8 displacements per atom, and then evaluated the effects on the SiC structure using Raman spectroscopy. The SiC optical phonon lines were shifted to lower wavenumbers by irradiation. Correlations were found among the wavenumber of the longitudinal optical phonon line, irradiation‐induced swelling, and irradiation temperature. The peak shift also correlated indirectly with decreasing thermal conductivity of irradiated SiC. The irradiation‐induced peak shift is explained by combinations of lattice strain, reduction of the elastic modulus, and other factors including decreasing coherent domain size. These findings bridge irradiation‐induced microstructural changes and property changes and illustrate how Raman spectroscopy is a useful tool for nondestructively assessing irradiated SiC materials for nuclear applications.
We found correlation among Raman phonon line positions, radiation‐induced swelling, and irradiation temperature for SiC ceramics exposed to reactor neutron irradiation at elevated temperatures. These findings are useful to nondestructively probe and assess neutron irradiation effects in SiC for nuclear applications.
The vagus nerve plays an important role in maintaining physiological homeostasis, which includes reflex pathways that regulate cardiac function. The link between vagus nerve activity and the ...high-frequency component of heart rate variability (HRV) has been well established, correlating with vagal tone. Recently, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been investigated as a therapeutic for a multitude of diseases, such as treatment-resistant epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and asthma. Because of the vagus nerve's innervation of the heart, VNS has been identified as a potential therapy for cardiovascular disorders, such as cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke. Here, we review the current state of preclinical and clinical studies, as well as the potential application of VNS in relation to the cardiovascular system.
Species assemblages composed of non-native and native fishes are found in freshwater systems throughout the world, and interactions such as interspecific competition that may negatively affect native ...species are expected when non-native species are present. In the Smith River watershed, Montana, rainbow trout were introduced by 1930. Native mountain whitefish and non-native rainbow trout have presumably occurred in sympatry since the introduction of rainbow trout; however, knowledge about how these two species compete with one another for food resources is sparse. We quantified diet compositions of rainbow trout and mountain whitefish in the mainstem Smith River and in a tributary to the Smith River-Sheep Creek-to determine the degree of overlap in the diets of mountain whitefish and rainbow trout in the Smith River and between the mainstem Smith River and a tributary stream. Rainbow trout and mountain whitefish had generalist feeding strategies, which probably contribute to the amicable coexistence of these species. Diet overlap between rainbow trout and mountain whitefish was high (Pianka's index value = 0.85) in the Smith River and moderate in Sheep Creek (Pianka's index value = 0.57). Despite overlap in diets, some resource partitioning may alleviate resource competition (e.g., rainbow trout consumed far more Oligochaeta than mountain whitefish but fewer Brachycentridae and Chironomidae). Diet composition of rainbow trout and mountain whitefish did not differ greatly between the Smith River and Sheep Creek. Prey categories most commonly used by mountain whitefish at the population and individual levels (i.e., Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera) are sensitive taxa and many species within these orders have experienced extinctions and population declines. Therefore, future changes in resource availability or competition could be of concern.
•Precise rare earth pyrochlore structural and thermo-mechanical data obtained.•Experimental results and density functional theory calculations compared.•Insights obtained into rare earth bonding and ...hybridization in pyrochlores.•Thermal expansion results obtained for use in nuclear waste-form design.•Structural/bonding results obtained that are pertinent to radiation damage studies.
Rare-earth titanates, RE2Ti2O7 (where RE=a rare-earth) with the pyrochlore structure continue to be investigated for use as potential stable host materials for nuclear and actinide-rich wastes. Accordingly, the present work is directed towards the elucidation of the fundamental structural, physical, and thermochemical properties of this class of compounds. Single-crystals of the rare earth pyrochlores were synthesized using a high-temperature flux technique and were subsequently characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The cubic lattice parameters display an approximately linear correlation with the RE-site cation radius. Theoretical calculations of the lattice constants and bond lengths of the subject materials were carried out using density functional theory, and the results are compared to the experimental values. The Sm and Eu titanates exhibit a covalency increase between the REO8 and TiO6 polyhedral resulting in a deviation from the increasing linear lattice parameter through the transition series. Gd2Ti2O7 with the 4f7 half-filled f-orbital Gd3+ sub-shell exhibits the lowest 48f oxygen positional parameter. The coefficient of thermal expansion for the rare-earth titanate series is approximately linear, and it has a range of 10.1–11.2×10−6°C−1. Raman spectroscopy indicated that the ∼530cm−1 peak associated with the Ti–O stretching mode follows a general trend of decreasing frequency with increasing RE reduced mass.
We present cosmological constraints from 2D weak gravitational lensing by the large-scale structure in the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS) which spans 154 deg2 in five ...optical bands. Using accurate photometric redshifts and measured shapes for 4.2 million galaxies between redshifts of 0.2 and 1.3, we compute the 2D cosmic shear correlation function over angular scales ranging between 0.8 and 350 arcmin. Using non-linear models of the dark-matter power spectrum, we constrain cosmological parameters by exploring the parameter space with Population Monte Carlo sampling. The best constraints from lensing alone are obtained for the small-scale density-fluctuations amplitude σ8 scaled with the total matter density Ωm. For a flat Λcold dark matter (ΛCDM) model we obtain σ8(Ωm/0.27)0.6 = 0.79 ± 0.03.
We combine the CFHTLenS data with 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7), baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO): SDSS-III (BOSS) and a Hubble Space Telescope
distance-ladder prior on the Hubble constant to get joint constraints. For a flat ΛCDM model, we find Ωm = 0.283 ± 0.010 and σ8 = 0.813 ± 0.014. In the case of a curved wCDM universe, we obtain Ωm = 0.27 ± 0.03, σ8 = 0.83 ± 0.04, w
0 = −1.10 ± 0.15 and ΩK = 0.006+ 0.006
− 0.004.
We calculate the Bayesian evidence to compare flat and curved ΛCDM and dark-energy CDM models. From the combination of all four probes, we find models with curvature to be at moderately disfavoured with respect to the flat case. A simple dark-energy model is indistinguishable from ΛCDM. Our results therefore do not necessitate any deviations from the standard cosmological model.
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