Facile preparation of N-doped activated carbon produced from rice husk for CO2 capture.

Activated carbons (AC) were prepared by carbonization and KOH activation using rice husk as feedstock. The effects of impregnation ratios and activation temperatures on the properties of AC were investigated. Under optimum conditions, BET surface area, total pore volume and micropore volume of AC are as high as 1495.52 m2/g, 0.786 cm3/g and 0.447 cm3/g, respectively. Surface modification with chitosan as nitrogen source was performed simultaneously during KOH activation process. XPS and FT-IR analyses show that N-species was successfully incorporate into AC. Compared with AC-5 (general AC), CAC-5 (modified AC) exhibits better CO2 adsorption performance, reaching 5.83 mmol/g at 273 K and 1 bar, which can be attributed to the formation of the CO2-philic active sites on AC surface by N-species. The linear correlations between CO2 uptake, micropore volume within specific size section and N-content was investigated. The isosteric heat of CO2 adsorption for CAC-5 (average 30.21 kJ/mol) is much higher than that of AC-5 (average 14.48 kJ/mol). The adsorption behavior of CAC-5 can be well described by Freundlich model. The high IAST selectivity factor for N-doped ACs indicates their excellent adsorption selectivity for CO2 over N2. Both physisorption and chemisorption are present in CO2 adsorption process of N-doped ACs.

Nacre-biomimetic graphene oxide paper intercalated by phytic acid and its ultrafast fire-alarm application.

A novel nacre-like flame-retardant paper based on graphene oxide (GO), and phytic acid (PTA) is fabricated via evaporation-induced self-assembly. This facile method is time saving and low energy consuming. A facile approach is proposed to improve thermal oxidative stability of GO paper by in situ phosphorus doping during flame exposure. Then fire-alarm system is designed based on the high-temperature thermal reduction characteristic of GO. The GO paper functionalized with PTA (GO-PTA) can provide ultrasensitive, reliable and longtime fire early-warning signal. Fire alarm can be triggered at approximately 0.50 s when GO-PTA samples are attacked by fire. Phosphorus atoms are in situ doped into graphene layers during fire exposure, endowing GO-PTA paper with outstanding thermal oxidative stability, and thus alarm duration time of GO is greatly improved. The work develops advanced fire detection and early-warning sensors that provide reliable and continuous signals, which provide more available time for fire evacuation.

T-type calcium channel gene alpha (1G) is not associated with childhood absence epilepsy in the Chinese Han population.

We investigated whether the T-type calcium channel gene alpha (1G) is associated with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), a form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy. We carried out direct sequencing of exons 1-37 and the exon-intron boundaries of the alpha (1G) gene in 48 Han Chinese patients with CAE and 48 normal controls. We found no mutation in the exons of alpha (1G). However, we did identify six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Using two of these as markers, we carried out a case-control study in 192 patients with CAE and 192 normal controls. The allele and genotype distributions of all the SNPs studied were not significantly different between cases and control groups, thus the alpha (1G) gene is not an important susceptibility gene for CAE, at least in the Chinese population.

[The association of two single nucleotide polymorphisms in PRKCZ and UTS2 respectively with type 2 diabetes in Han people of northern China].

OBJECTIVE: To probe the candidate susceptibility gene (s) of type 2 diabetes in the formal mapping region, 1p36.33-p36.23, in Han people of Northern China using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). METHODS: 23 SNPs located in 10 candidate genes in the mapping region were chosen from public SNP domain by bioinformatic methods and single base extension (SBE) method were used to genotype the loci in 192 sporadic type 2 diabetes patients and 172 normal individuals to perform case-control study. RESULTS: Among the 23 SNPs, 8 were found to be common in Chinese population. There were statistically different in the allele frequency of 2 SNP, rs436045 in the protein kinase C/xi gene and rs228648 in Urotensin II gene between case and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The two SNP may be associated with type 2 diabetes in Han people of China, which makes base for further study of the relation between the genes they located with type 2 diabetes.