Three-Dimensional Pinecone-like Binder-Free Pt-TiO2 Nanorods on Ti Mesh Structures: Synthesis, Characterization and Electroactivity towards Ethanol Oxidation.

We report here the synthesis of binderless and template-less three-dimensional (3D) pinecone-shaped Pt/TiO2/Ti mesh structure. The TiO2 hydrothermally synthesized onto Ti mesh is composed of a mixture of flower-like nanorods and vertically aligned bar-shaped structures, whereas Pt film grown by pulsed laser deposition displays a smooth surface. XRD analyses reveal an average crystallite size of 41.4 nm and 68.5 nm of the TiO2 nanorods and Pt, respectively. In H2SO4 solution, the platinum oxide formation at the Pt/TiO2/Ti mesh electrode is 180 mV more negative than that at the Pt/Ti mesh electrode, indicating that TiO2 provides oxygeneous species at lower potentials, which will facilitate the removal of CO-like intermediates and accelerate an ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). Indeed, the Pt/TiO2/Ti mesh catalyst exhibits current activity of 1.19 mA towards an EOR at a remarkably superior rate of 4.4 times that of the Pt/Ti mesh electrode (0.27 mA). Moreover, the presence of TiO2 as a support to Pt delivers a steady-state current of 2.1 mA, with an increment in durability of 6.6 times compared to Pt/Ti mesh (0.32 mA). Pt is chosen here as a benchmark catalyst and we believe that with catalysts that perform better than Pt, such 3D pinecone structures can be useful for a variety of catalytic or photoelectrochemical reactions.

Advanced Zinc-Air Batteries with Free-Standing Hierarchical Nanostructures of the Air Cathode for Portable Applications.

It is today advanced that the development of a free-standing (binderless) air cathode via direct growth of nonprecious metal electrocatalysts onto the surface of the conductive collector would be a cutting-edge strategy to reduce the interfacial resistance, improve the mechanical stability, and reduce the final weight and the cost of manufacturing. Here, for Zn-air batteries (ZABs), we propose an innovative binderless noble-metal-free hierarchical nanostructured bifunctional air cathode in which high-density MnOx nanorods (NRs) are directly grown on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) themselves synthesized on a microfibrous carbon paper (CP) substrate. All carbon/MnOx air cathodes achieved specific capacities very close to the theoretical value of 820 mAh gZn-1. A very stable voltage gap between the charge and discharge processes along hundred cycles was obtained, demonstrating the stability and good bifunctional electrocatalytic activities of these cathodes toward the oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction in a real ZAB device. As a proof-of-concept for handheld electronic applications, a ZAB assembled with CP/MnOx NRs as the air electrode and a Zn plate anode operated a timer for 14 days successfully, whereas two ZAB-based CNTs/MnOx cathodes connected in series powered a 2 V light-emitting diode (LED) bulb and a 3 V multimeter. The proposed strategy and results may pave the way for the rational design of hierarchical free-standing bifunctional electrocatalysts for ZABs, other metal-air batteries, and fuel cells.

MADS-Box Transcription Factor ZtRlm1 Is Responsible for Virulence and Development of the Fungal Wheat Pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici.

Zymoseptoria tritici is one of the most economically destructive wheat diseases all over the world and is a model fungal plant pathogen within the ascomycetes. In this study, the instrumental role of the ZtRlm1 gene encoding a MADS-box transcription factor (TF) in the infection process of Z. tritici was functionally characterized as these proteins play critical roles in the global gene regulation required for various developmental and physiological processes. Our infection assays showed that ZtRlm1 mutants were attenuated in disease development as a 30 and 90% reduction in chloro-necrotic lesions and pycnidia formation, respectively, were observed in plants inoculated with ZtRlm1 mutant strains demonstrating that ZtRlm1 is a crucial factor playing a significant role in the late stage of infection corresponding with pycnidial formation. Our expression analysis demonstrated that the transcript level of ZtRlm1 is induced at 2 and 20 days post-inoculation, coinciding with pycnidial sporulation. In addition, microscopic analyses showed that branch intensity and biomass production were significantly reduced, indicating that impaired pycnidia formation is a result of impaired differentiation and biomass production in the ZtRlm1 mutants. Furthermore, melanization, a phenomenon required for fruiting body formation, was significantly hampered in ZtRlm1 mutants as they were not melanized under all tested temperature and media conditions. Overall, our data showed that impaired disease development of the ZtRlm1 mutants is mainly due to the significant impact of ZtRlm1 in different cellular processes, including differentiation, branching, fungal biomass production, and melanization, in which identification of downstream genes are of interest to increase our understanding of this pathosystem.

The ZtVf1 transcription factor regulates development and virulence in the foliar wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici.

The dimorphic fungal pathogen, Zymoseptoria tritici undergoes discrete developmental changes to complete its life cycle on wheat. Molecular mechanisms underlying morphogenesis during infection process of Z. tritici are poorly understood. In this study, we have investigated the role of ZtVf1 gene encoding a transcription factor belonging to C2-H2 subfamily. In planta assays revealed that ZtVf1 is required for virulence. Reduced necrotic lesions and low pycnidia density within the lesions resulted in significantly reduced virulence of ZtVf1 mutants. Cytological analysis showed that the impaired virulence of ZtVf1 mutants attributed to reduced penetration and colonization along with hampered pycnidia differentiation. In vitro phenotyping showed that ZtVf1 deletion affects hyphal branching and biomass production suggesting that the reduced tissue colonization by the ZtVf1 mutant might be due to lower hyphal branching and less fungal biomass production. In addition, the majority of infected substomatal cavities by the ZtVf1 mutant filled with compacted mycelia mat that did not differentiate to mature pycnidia indicating that the impaired melanization negatively affected pycnidia formation and maturation. The ZtVf1 might target multiple genes belonging to different cellular processes whose identification is of eminent interest to increase our understanding of this pathosystem. Overall, the data provided in this study indicates that attenuated pathogenicity of ZtVf1 mutant is due to involvement of this gene in the regulation of both early and late stages of infection.

A plasticizer index to universally correlate the normalized work of fracture and elastic modulus of plasticized cellulose triacetates.

Cellulose triacetate (CTA) plasticization with 25 wt% glycerin (GLY), triethyl citrate (TEC) or dioctyl phthalate (DOP) enhanced its crystalline content as much as 55%, while only 10% crystalline content increase noticed using poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG). In addition, GLY and PEG did not cause any sensible Tg depression regarding CTA, whereas DOP and TEC decreased it as much as 46°C and 16°C, respectively. Furthermore, the work of fracture (WoF) of CTA was deteriorated by PEG, did not change using GLY and magnified as much as 6.5 and 15 times by TEC and DOP, respectively. The elastic modulus (EM) of the plasticized CTAs, however, were 1.07, 1.06, 0.42 and 0.3 GPa using GLY, PEG, TEC and DOP, respectively. Finally, the normalized WoF and EM of the plasticized CTAs by their Tg depression (ΔTg) and crystalline content (Xc) showed a universal correlation with a plasticizer index containing its molar volume, concentration and polymer/plasticizer Painter-Coleman interaction parameter.

Using drug sales data to evaluate the epidemiology of cardiometabolic risk factors and their inequality: an ecological study on atorvastatin and total cholesterol in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Statins have been effective medications in lowering serum total cholesterol (TC) concentrations across populations over time. The aim of this study was to estimate national and provincial trends in atorvastatin sales in Iran, to systematically quantify its relationship with socioeconomic indicators, and changes in TC level. METHODS: In this retrospective ecological study, conducted in Iran, we examined trends in atorvastatin sales, the wealth index (WI) as a validly-available socio-economic indicator, and TC level between 2004 and 2011. The main outcome variable was mean atorvastatin sold in defined daily dose per 100,000 people per day (DPD). We analyzed the relationship between WI and DPD and between DPD and mean TC across time and space. RESULTS: At national level, both mean WI and mean DPD showed increasing trend over time, while we observed decreasing trend for TC. Mean WI and DPD in 2011 was nearly 5 and 50 time that of their respective figures in 2004, while the mean TC decreased for nearly 10%. Increases in both WI and DPD had happened in every province, but with different patterns. The maximum and minimum changes in DPD versus WI were seen in Gilan and North Khorasan respectively. CONCLUSION: A striking increase occurred in the sales for atorvastatin in Iran from 2004-2012 in most provinces examined. The wealthier a province became, the more sales were seen for atorvastatin. TC optimistically decreased from 2005 to 2011 and its decrease was positively correlated with increasing sales for atorvastatin.

Starch-based nanocomposites: a comparative performance study of cellulose whiskers and starch nanoparticles.

A comparative performance study of cellulose whiskers (CW) and starch nanoparticles (SN) on plasticized starch (PS) reinforcement has been presented. In order to study the involved surface phenomena, CW and SN were extracted through acid hydrolysis using sulfuric acid to fulfill the similar surface groups and interactions. CW-filled and SN-filled nanocomposites were then prepared with relatively identical process to alleviate the effect of fabrication method for better comparison of CW and SN performance on PS reinforcement. Morphology of nanoparticles and their dispersion state in the corresponding nanocomposites were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. X-ray diffraction was used for crystallography of nanocomposites and established the transcrystallization only in CW-filled nanocomposites. Nanocomposites comprising quasi-spherical SNs showed higher reinforcement in dynamic mechanical tests compared to the corresponding nanocomposites containing rod-like CWs, which were attributed to more efficient filler/filler and filler/matrix interactions originated from hydrogen bonding in SN-filled nanocomposites.