Alkaline oxygen evolution: exploring synergy between fcc and hcp cobalt nanoparticles entrapped in N-doped graphene

Herein, we report a Mott-Schottky catalyst by entrapping cobalt nanoparticles inside the N-doped graphene shell (Co@NC). The Co@NC delivered excellent oxygen evolution activity with an overpotential of merely 248 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^–2 with promising long-term stability. The importance of Co encapsulated in NC has further been demonstrated by synthesizing Co nanoparticles without NC shell. The synergy between the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) and face-centered cubic (fcc) Co plays a major role to improve the OER activity, whereas the NC shell optimizes the electronic structure, improves the electron conductivity, and offers a large number of active sites in Co@NC. The density functional theory calculations have revealed that the hcp Co has a dominant role in the surface reaction of electrocatalytic oxygen evolution, whereas the fcc phase induces the built-in electric field at the interfaces with N-doped graphene to accelerate the H⁺ ion transport.     

Optimal design of gears contact interface modification for an objective as minimum impact resistance of initial meshing-in time domain

Meccanica - In gear pair actual alternating meshing process, the comprehensive errors of the transmission system and the thermal elastic deformation of the teeth body cause the gears in the meshing...     

Subdominant H60 antigen-specific CD8 T-cell response precedes dominant H4 antigen-specific response during the initial phase of allogenic skin graft rejection

In allogeneic transplantation, including the B6 anti-BALB.B settings, H60 and H4 are two representative dominant minor histocompatibility antigens that induce strong CD8 T-cell responses. With different distribution patterns, H60 expression is restricted to hematopoietic cells, whereas H4 is ubiquitously expressed. H60-specific CD8 T-cell response has been known to be dominant in most cases of B6 anti-BALB.B allo-responses, except in the case of skin transplantation. To understand the mechanism underlying the subdominance of H60 during allogeneic skin transplantation, we investigated the dynamics of the H60-specific CD8 T cells in B6 mice transplanted with allogeneic BALB.B tail skin. Unexpectedly, longitudinal bioluminescence imaging and flow cytometric analyses revealed that H60-specific CD8 T cells were not always subdominant to H4-specific cells but instead showed a brief dominance before the H4 response became predominant. H60-specific CD8 T cells could expand in the draining lymph node and migrate to the BALB.B allografts, indicating their active participation in the anti-BALB.B allo-response. Enhancing the frequencies of H60-reactive CD8 T cells prior to skin transplantation reversed the immune hierarchy between H60 and H4. Additionally, H60 became predominant when antigen presentation was limited to the direct pathway. However, when antigen presentation was restricted to the indirect pathway, the expansion of H60-specific CD8 T cells was limited, whereas H4-specific CD8 T cells expanded significantly, suggesting that the temporary immunodominance and eventual subdominance of H60 could be due to their reliance on the direct antigen presentation pathway. These results enhance our understanding of the immunodominance phenomenon following allogeneic tissue transplantation.     

Precise Synthesis and Thin Film Self-Assembly of PLLA-b-PS Bottlebrush Block Copolymers

The ability of bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) to self-assemble into ordered large periodic structures could greatly expand the scope of photonic and membrane technologies. In this paper, we describe a two-step synthesis of poly(l-lactide)-b-polystyrene (PLLA-b-PS) BBCPs and their rapid thin-film self-assembly. PLLA chains were grown from exo-5-norbornene-2-methanol via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of l-lactide to produce norbornene-terminated PLLA. Norbonene-terminated PS was prepared using anionic polymerization followed by a termination reaction with exo-5-norbornene-2-carbonyl chloride. PLLA-b-PS BBCPs were prepared from these two norbornenyl macromonomers by a one-pot sequential ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). PLLA-b-PS BBCPs thin-films exhibited cylindrical and lamellar morphologies depending on the relative block volume fractions, with domain sizes of 46–58 nm and periodicities of 70–102 nm. Additionally, nanoporous templates were produced by the selective etching of PLLA blocks from ordered structures. The findings described in this work provide further insight into the controlled synthesis of BBCPs leading to various possible morphologies for applications requiring large periodicities. Moreover, the rapid thin film patterning strategy demonstrated (>5 min) highlights the advantages of using PLLA-b-PS BBCP materials beyond their linear BCP analogues in terms of both dimensions achievable and reduced processing time.     

Association between the microbiomes of tonsil and saliva samples isolated from pediatric patients subjected to tonsillectomy for the treatment of tonsillar hyperplasia

Oral microbes have the capacity to spread throughout the gastrointestinal system and are strongly associated with multiple diseases. Given that tonsils are located between the oral cavity and the laryngopharynx at the gateway of the alimentary and respiratory tracts, tonsillar tissue may also be affected by microbiota from both the oral cavity (saliva) and the alimentary tract. Here, we analyzed the distribution and association of the microbial communities in the saliva and tonsils of Korean children subjected to tonsillectomy because of tonsil hyperplasia (n = 29). The microbiome profiles of saliva and tonsils were established via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Based on the alpha diversity indices, the microbial communities of the two groups showed high similarities. According to Spearman’s ranking correlation analysis, the distribution of Treponema, the causative bacterium of periodontitis, in saliva and tonsils was found to have a significant positive correlation. Two representative microbes, Prevotella in saliva and Alloprevotella in tonsils, were negatively correlated, while Treponema 2 showed a strong positive correlation between saliva and tonsils. Taken together, strong similarities in the microbial communities of the tonsils and saliva are evident in terms of diversity and composition. The saliva microbiome is expected to significantly affect the tonsil microbiome. Furthermore, we suggest that our study creates an opportunity for tonsillar microbiome research to facilitate the development of novel microbiome-based therapeutic strategies.Subject terms: Comparative genomics, Metagenomics     

Determination of 5-nitroindazole using silver solid amalgam electrode

Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly - The voltammetric behavior of 5-nitroindazole was investigated at polished (p-AgSAE) and at mercury meniscus-modified (m-AgSAE) silver solid amalgam...     

Cobalt Based Nanoparticles Embedded Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogel for Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst

Efficient water electrolysis catalyst is highly demanded for the production of hydrogen as a sustainable energy fuel. It is reported that cobalt derived nanoparticle (CoS₂, CoP, CoS|P) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite aerogel catalysts for highly active and reliable hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. 7 nm level cobalt derived nanoparticles are synthesized over graphene aerogel surfaces with excellent surface coverage and maximal expose of active sites. CoS|P/rGO hybrid aerogel composites show an excellent catalytic activity with overpotential of ≈169 mV at a current density of ≈10 mA cm^?2. Accordingly, efficient charge transfer is attained with Tafel slope of ≈52 mV dec^?1 and a charge transfer resistance (R_ct) of ≈12 Ω. This work suggests a viable route toward ultrasmall, uniform nanoparticles decorated graphene surfaces with well‐controlled chemical compositions, which can be generally useful for various applications commonly requiring large exposure of active surface area as well as robust interparticle charger transfer.     

基于模糊集相容性的模糊控制规则优化方法

在简要介绍模糊模型的完备性和相容性的基础上 ,根据模糊集贴近度 ,提出模糊集相容性的概念 ;通过对模糊控制规则表特征的分析 ,进一步完善规则相容性概念及其定量评价方法 ;最后给出模糊控制规则模型自寻优优化方法。仿真结果表明 ,该方法可以大大提高控制系统的控制性能。     

浅析二阶齐次线性变系数微分方程的一个可积类型

本文讨论了二阶齐次线性变系数微分方程的特殊形式，给出了这种微分方程的一个可积类型．