Ochre Bathing of the Bearded Vulture: A Bio-Mimetic Model for Early Humans towards Smell Prevention and Health.

Since primordial times, vultures have been competing with man for animal carcasses. One of these vultures, the once widespread bearded vulture ( Gypaetus barbatus ), has the habit of bathing its polluted feathers and skin in red iron oxide - ochre - tainted water puddles. Why? Primitive man may have tried to find out and may have discovered its advantages. Red ochre, which has accompanied human rituals and everyday life for more than 100,000 years, is not just a simple red paint for decoration or a symbol for blood. As modern experiments demonstrate, it is active in sunlight producing aggressive chemical species. They can kill viruses and bacteria and convert smelly organic substances into volatile neutral carbon dioxide gas. In this way, ochre can in sunlight sterilize and clean the skin to provide health and comfort and make it scentless, a definitive advantage for nomadic meat hunters. This research thus also demonstrates a sanitary reason for the vulture's habit of bathing in red ochre mud. Prehistoric people have therefore included ochre use into their rituals, especially into those in relation to birth and death. Significant ritual impulses during evolution of man may thus have developed bio-mimetically, inspired from the habits of a vulture. It is discussed how this health strategy could be developed to a modern standard helping to fight antibiotics-resistant bacteria in hospitals.

Bio-Mimetics of Disaster Anticipation-Learning Experience and Key-Challenges.

Anomalies in animal behavior and meteorological phenomena before major earthquakes have been reported throughout history. Bio-mimetics or bionics aims at learning disaster anticipation from animals. Since modern science is reluctant to address this problem an effort has been made to track down the knowledge available to ancient natural philosophers. Starting with an archaeologically documented human sacrifice around 1700 B.C. during the Minoan civilization immediately before a large earthquake, which killed the participants, earthquake prediction knowledge throughout antiquity is evaluated. Major practical experience with this phenomenon has been gained from a Chinese earthquake prediction initiative nearly half a century ago. Some quakes, like that of Haicheng, were recognized in advance. However, the destructive Tangshan earthquake was not predicted, which was interpreted as an inherent failure of prediction based on animal phenomena. This is contradicted on the basis of reliable Chinese documentation provided by the responsible earthquake study commission. The Tangshan earthquake was preceded by more than 2,000 reported animal anomalies, some of which were of very dramatic nature. They are discussed here. Any physical phenomenon, which may cause animal unrest, must involve energy turnover before the main earthquake event. The final product, however, of any energy turnover is heat. Satellite based infrared measurements have indeed identified significant thermal anomalies before major earthquakes. One of these cases, occurring during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat, India, is analyzed together with parallel animal anomalies observed in the Gir national park. It is suggested that the time window is identical and that both phenomena have the same geophysical origin. It therefore remains to be demonstrated that energy can be released locally before major earthquake events. It is shown that by considering appropriate geophysical feedback processes, this is possible for large scale energy conversion phenomena within highly non-linear geophysical mechanisms. With satellite monitored infrared anomalies indicating possible epicenters and local animal and environmental observations immediately initiated, the learning experience towards an understanding of the phenomena involved could be accelerated.

Photosensitization of nanostructured TiO2 with WS2 quantum sheets.

Porous, nanostructured sol gel TiO2 (100 nm) has been sensitized with WS2 quantum sheets (approximately 5 nm) with the help of chemical bath deposition. The absorber has been characterized with help of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and light absorption measurements. The photosensitization was confirmed via electrochemical measurements. The surface of TiO2 has been modified by a thin Al2O3 film, which significantly enhanced the photocurrent density to 0.4-0.7 mA/cm2. Moiré patterns suggest that the S-W-S layers of WS2 are not perfectly aligned in the direction of the c-axis, emphasizing the role of lateral electron transfer, which is also evidenced by surface passivation experiments. With WS2, a new, cheap, environmentally friendly, and stable absorber material for the sensitization of wide band gap nanomaterials has been introduced.

Electrochemical mass spectroscopic and surface photovoltage studies of catalytic water photooxidation by undoped and carbon-doped titania.

Carbon-doped TiO2, demonstrated as an efficient photocatalyst in visible light photooxidation of organic compounds, was prepared with different doping concentrations and investigated via differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy (DEMS) and capacitive surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements in the form of thin layer electrodes. In all cases the total photocurrent as well as the surface photovoltage of the doped materials decreased markedly in relation to the undoped one. No detectable oxygen evolved from the doped electrodes in acidic solution under UV-light excitation. Since an oxidation of formic acid is still apparent, it is concluded that this oxidation occurs via isolated, catalytically poorly active trap states within the forbidden energy region. The existence of these states is confirmed by capacitive SPV measurements.

Kinetic studies on the tensile state of water in trees.

The solar-powered generation and turnover of tensile, cohesive water in trees is described as a kinetic phenomenon of irreversible thermodynamics. A molecular kinetic model for tensile water formation and turnover is presented, which is found to be mathematically equivalent with an autocatalytic reaction (Brusselator). It is also shown to be consistent with the van der Waals equation for real liquid-gas systems, which empirically considers intermolecular forces. It can therefore be used to explain both the irreversible thermodynamics and the kinetics of the tensile liquid state of water. A nonlinear bistable evaporation behavior of tensile water is predicted, which has not yet been experimentally characterized in trees. Conventional sap flow techniques in combination with infrared imaging of heat flow around a local heat source were used to study the dynamics and energetics of water transport of trees during the eclipse of August 11, 1999. The evaporative "pulling force" in a tree was demonstrated with infrared techniques and shown to respond within seconds. While the ambient temperature during the eclipse did not drop by more than 2 degrees C, evaporative water transport was reduced by a factor of up to 2-3. The expected hysteresis (with an up to 50% decrease in energy-conversion-related entropy production) was measured, reflecting a bistable mode of conversion of solar energy into tensile water flow. This nonlinear (autocatalytic) phenomenon, together with tensile molecular order, damped the oscillating behavior of xylem tensile water, and its occasional all-or-none rupture (cavitation) can thus be explained by the nonlinear nature of intermolecular forces active in the water conduit/parenchyma environment. This characterizes the physical chemistry and energetics of tensile water in trees as an active-solar-energy-driven self-organizing process. Water is handled in the form of microcanonical ensembles and transformed into a stretched, metastable icelike state with stronger hydrogen bonding and increased heat of evaporation. The discussed model may open new opportunities for research and understanding toward innovative water technologies.

Role of nanochemical environments in porous TiO2 in photocurrent efficiency and degradation in dye sensitized solar cells.

Elongated dye sensitized solar cells with a thickness gradient of the nanoporous TiO2 front electrode were used to assess the impact of the layer thickness on photocurrent and degradation. The photocurrent efficiency passes through a maximum (in our case at about 12 microm). Interestingly, the degradation rate also strongly depends on the layer thickness and is about 3 times faster for a 15-microm cell (in comparison with a 1-microm cell). To explain these nonanticipated results, a model to describe the I3(-)/I- concentration within a typical dye sensitized solar cell under steady-state conditions was derived. It includes the nanoporous TiO2 layer and a bulk solution with their different mobilities for the electrolyte species. Using typical parameters from the literature, it turned out that, despite the fact that the initial I- concentration is about 1 order of magnitude larger and the assumed diffusion coefficient is 1.3 times higher, the depletion of the I- concentration at the TiO2/FTO front contact happens to be in the same range as the depletion of the I3(-) concentration at the back contact. This stresses the importance of iodide in nanoporous environments for both the maximum attainable photocurrent and its role in the regeneration of the oxidized dye. Enhanced degradation rates might be related to poor iodide supply, since the oxidized state cannot be regenerated efficiently.

Interfacial activity and leaching patterns of Leptospirillum ferrooxidans on pyrite.

The leaching ability of Leptospirillum ferrooxidans goes beyond the mere oxidation of Fe(2+) to Fe(3+). Addition of these bacteria to pyrite triggers interfacial phenomena that lead to bacterial attachment and local forms of corrosion (surface pitting). As the leaching process proceeds, bacterial cells undergo changes, characterized by the release of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and the uptake and storage of electro-dense nanoparticles. The latter are embedded in an exopolymeric capsule, which coats the bacterial surface leading to distinctive biomineralized assemblages. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray measurements and electron diffraction established that the embedded electron-dense nanoparticles comprise pyrite with a well-defined stoichiometry. Addition of Fe(3+) alone did not induce any form of local corrosion on pyrite, which indicates that the reactions taking place between the attached bacteria and the underlying pyrite surface are responsible for the leaching patterns observed in this study. The observed corrosion process resembles that of 'electrochemical machining', because it uses a corrosion promoter, namely the locally concentrated Fe(3+) in the biofilm environment, formed by the attached cells.