Ultrasmall Pd Clusters in FER Zeolite Alleviate CO Poisoning for Effective Low-Temperature Carbon Monoxide Oxidation.

Ultrasmall Pd clusters form in the micropores of FER zeolite during low-temperature treatment (100 °C) in the presence of humid CO gas. They effectively catalyze CO oxidation below 100 °C, whereas Pd nanoparticles are not active as they are poisoned by CO. Using catalytic measurements, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS), microscopy, and density functional theory calculations, we provide the molecular-level insight into this previously unreported phenomenon.

Dynamic Evolution of Palladium Single Atoms on Anatase Titania Support Determines the Reverse Water-Gas Shift Activity.

Research interest in single-atom catalysts (SACs) has been continuously increasing. However, the lack of understanding of the dynamic behaviors of SACs during applications hinders catalyst development and mechanistic understanding. Herein, we report on the evolution of active sites over Pd/TiO-anatase SAC (Pd/TiO) in the reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction.

Single Ru(II) Ions on Ceria as a Highly Active Catalyst for Abatement of NO.

Atom trapping leads to catalysts with atomically dispersed RuO sites on (100) facets of ceria, as identified by spectroscopy and DFT calculations. This is a new class of ceria-based materials with Ru properties drastically different from the known M/ceria materials. They show excellent activity in catalytic NO oxidation, a critical step that requires use of large loadings of expensive noble metals in diesel aftertreatment systems.

Ising Model on Random Triangulations of the Disk: Phase Transition.

In Chen and Turunen (Commun Math Phys 374(3):1577-1643, 2020), we have studied the Boltzmann random triangulation of the disk coupled to an Ising model on its faces with Dobrushin boundary condition at its critical temperature. In this paper, we investigate the phase transition of this model by extending our previous results to arbitrary temperature: We compute the partition function of the model at all temperatures, and derive several critical exponents associated with the infinite perimeter limit. We show that the model has a local limit at any temperature, whose properties depend drastically on the temperature.

Immunomodulatory effects of fentanyl and morphine on DSS- and TNBS-induced colitis.

Background: Opioid prescription for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related pain is on the rise. However, the use of strong opioids can result in severe complications, and even death, in IBD patients. This study aimed to define the role of fentanyl and morphine, two representative strong opioids, in the pathogenesis of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)- and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid solution (TNBS)-induced colitis.

Tuning Ligand-Coordinated Single Metal Atoms on TiO and their Dynamic Response during Hydrogenation Catalysis.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Steven Tait at Indiana University. The image shows single metal atoms stabilized by small molecules on a titanium dioxide powder support that are active in catalyzing ethylene hydrogenation. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.

Unlocking the Catalytic Potential of TiO-Supported Pt Single Atoms for the Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction by Altering Their Chemical Environment.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) often exhibit dynamic responses to the reaction and pretreatment environment that affect their activity. The lack of understanding of these behaviors hinders the development of effective, stable SACs, and makes their investigations rather difficult. Here we report a reduction-oxidation cycle that induces nearly 5-fold activity enhancement on Pt/TiO SACs for the reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction.

Tuning Ligand-Coordinated Single Metal Atoms on TiO and their Dynamic Response during Hydrogenation Catalysis.

Ligand-coordinated supported catalysts (LCSCs) are of growing interest for heterogeneous single-atom catalysis. Here, the effect of the choice of organic ligand on the activity and stability of TiO -supported single-atom Pt-ligand catalysts was investigated for ethylene hydrogenation. The activity of these catalysts showed a significant dependence on the choice of ligand and also correlated with coordination number for Pt-ligand and Pt-Cl .

Network-based modeling of herb combinations in traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been practiced for thousands of years for treating human diseases. In comparison to modern medicine, one of the advantages of TCM is the principle of herb compatibility, known as TCM formulae. A TCM formula usually consists of multiple herbs to achieve the maximum treatment effects, where their interactions are believed to elicit the therapeutic effects.

Enhanced thermotolerance of by chitooligosaccharides-induced fusion gene.

Heat stress is a major growth-limiting factor for most crops over the world. Chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 () is a chitin/chitooligosaccharides receptor, and () plays a crucial role in plant resistance to heat stress. In the present study, a chitooligosaccharides-induced fusion gene was designed and synthesized, in which the extracellular domain and transmembrane domain of gene is connected with the response region of gene.

In Situ Dispersion of Palladium on TiO During Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction: Formation of Atomically Dispersed Palladium.

The application of single-atom catalysts (SACs) to high-temperature hydrogenation requires materials that thermodynamically favor metal atom isolation over cluster formation. We demonstrate that Pd can be predominantly dispersed as isolated atoms onto TiO during the reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction at 400 °C. Achieving atomic dispersion requires an artificial increase of the absolute TiO surface area by an order of magnitude and can be accomplished by physically mixing a precatalyst (Pd/TiO ) with neat TiO prior to the rWGS reaction.

Prostate-specific antigen modulates the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs via the cadherin 11-Akt axis.

Background: A high prevalence of osteoblastic bone metastases is characteristic of prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a serine protease uniquely produced by prostate cancer cells and is an important serological marker for prostate cancer. However, whether PSA modulates the osteogenic process remains largely unknown.

Structural elucidation and immunomodulatory activity of a neutral polysaccharide from the Kushui Rose (Rosa setate x Rosa rugosa) waste.

In this present study, the structure and immunomodulatory activity of a novel polysaccharide (WSRP-1b) from Kushui rose (Rosa setate x Rosa rugosa) waste were investigated. Structure characterization demonstrated that WSRP-1b had a weight-average molecular weight of 1.11 × 10 Da and consisted of glucose (42.

Avertin affects murine colitis by regulating neutrophils and macrophages.

Anesthetics are thought to be involved in immunomodulation. Avertin is one of the safest and most commonly used intravenous anesthetics in rodent experiments; it is also widely used in euthanasia of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) models. This study aimed to define the role and mechanism of action of Avertin on murine colitis.

Preparation and characterization of arginine-modified chitosan/hydroxypropyl methylcellose antibacterial film.

Chitosan and its derivatives are widely used in medical, cosmetic and food fields. In this study, chitosan-N-arginine (CSA) was synthesized and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), H NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A novel antibacterial composite film consisting of CSA, hydroxypropyl methylcellose (HPMC) and glycerol was then prepared.

A Molecularly Complete Planar Bacterial Outer Membrane Platform.

The bacterial outer membrane (OM) is a barrier containing membrane proteins and liposaccharides that fulfill crucial functions for Gram-negative bacteria. With the advent of drug-resistant bacteria, it is necessary to understand the functional role of this membrane and its constituents to enable novel drug designs. Here we report a simple method to form an OM-like supported bilayer (OM-SB), which incorporates native lipids and membrane proteins of gram-negative bacteria from outer membrane vesicles (OMVs).

Immunization with Outer Membrane Vesicles Displaying Designer Glycotopes Yields Class-Switched, Glycan-Specific Antibodies.

The development of antibodies against specific glycan epitopes poses a significant challenge due to difficulties obtaining desired glycans at sufficient quantity and purity, and the fact that glycans are usually weakly immunogenic. To address this challenge, we leveraged the potent immunostimulatory activity of bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to deliver designer glycan epitopes to the immune system. This approach involved heterologous expression of two clinically important glycans, namely polysialic acid (PSA) and Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (T antigen) in hypervesiculating strains of non-pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Outer membrane vesicles displaying engineered glycotopes elicit protective antibodies.

The O-antigen polysaccharide (O-PS) component of lipopolysaccharides on the surface of gram-negative bacteria is both a virulence factor and a B-cell antigen. Antibodies elicited by O-PS often confer protection against infection; therefore, O-PS glycoconjugate vaccines have proven useful against a number of different pathogenic bacteria. However, conventional methods for natural extraction or chemical synthesis of O-PS are technically demanding, inefficient, and expensive.

Pathogen-like particles: biomimetic vaccine carriers engineered at the nanoscale.

Vaccine adjuvants are an essential component of vaccine design, helping to generate immunity to pathogen antigens in the absence of infection. Recent advances in nanoscale engineering have created a new class of particulate bionanotechnology that uses biomimicry to better integrate adjuvant and antigen. These pathogen-like particles, or PLPs, can come from a variety of sources, ranging from fully synthetic platforms to biologically derived, self-assembling systems.

Microbial biosynthesis of designer outer membrane vesicles.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are nanoscale proteoliposomes that are ubiquitously secreted by Gram-negative bacteria. Interest in these bioparticles has escalated over the years, leading to discoveries regarding their composition, production, and vaccine potential. Given that many steps in vesicle biogenesis are 'engineerable,' it is now possible to tailor OMVs for specific applications.