HI-Light: A Glass-Waveguide-Based "Shell-and-Tube" Photothermal Reactor Platform for Converting CO to Fuels.

In this work, we introduce HI-Light, a surface-engineered glass-waveguide-based "shell-and-tube" type photothermal reactor which is both scalable in diameter and length. We examine the effect of temperature, light irradiation, and residence time on its photo-thermocatalytic performance for CO hydrogenation to form CO, with a cubic phase defect-laden indium oxide, In2O3-x(OH)y, catalyst. We demonstrate the light enhancement effect under a variety of reaction conditions.

Hydroxyl radical scavenging of the compatible solute ectoine generates two N-acetimides.

Living cells employ various defence mechanisms against reactive oxygen species and free radicals. Besides protecting enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase, non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules also play an important role as radical scavengers. Within bacteria the amino acid derivative ectoine (2-methyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-4-carboxylate) is the most abundant compatible solute and stress protectant.

Healing the Professional Culture of Medicine.

The past decade has been a time of great change for US physicians. Many physicians feel that the care delivery system has become a barrier to providing high-quality care rather than facilitating it. Although physician distress and some of the contributing factors are now widely recognized, much of the distress physicians are experiencing is related to insidious issues affecting the cultures of our profession, our health care organizations, and the health care delivery system.

Simultaneous Characterization of Nanoparticle Size and Particle-Surface Interactions with Three-Dimensional Nanophotonic Force Microscopy.

The behavior of a nanoparticle in solution depends strongly on the particle's physical and chemical characteristics, most notably the particle size and the surface properties. Accurately characterizing these properties is critical for quality control in a wide variety of industries. To understand a complex and polydisperse nanoparticle suspension, however, ensemble averaging is not sufficient, and there is a great need for direct measurements of size and surface properties at the individual nanoparticle level.

Dynamics of an optically confined nanoparticle diffusing normal to a surface.

Here we measure the hindered diffusion of an optically confined nanoparticle in the direction normal to a surface, and we use this to determine the particle-surface interaction profile in terms of the absolute height. These studies are performed using the evanescent field of an optically excited single-mode silicon nitride waveguide, where the particle is confined in a height-dependent potential energy well generated from the balance of optical gradient and surface forces. Using a high-speed cmos camera, we demonstrate the ability to capture the short time-scale diffusion dominated motion for 800-nm-diam polystyrene particles, with measurement times of only a few seconds per particle.