Impact of Anionic Substitution in YbMgSb As Compounds on the Electronic and Thermoelectric Properties.

The effects of anionic site substitution on the electronic transport properties of YbMgSb As compounds were investigated using density functional theory (DFT) with on-site Coulomb interaction correction (PBE+U). By replacing the Sb atoms at the four symmetry sites in YbMgSb with As, we found that the electronic and thermoelectric properties of the compound can be altered substantially. For most of the cases, the thermoelectric properties improve compared to the base compound YbMgSb.

Enhanced Immunogenicity of Adjuvanted Microparticulate HPV16 Vaccines Administered via the Transdermal Route.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer among women and is associated with other anogenital cancers in men and women. Prophylactic particulate vaccines that are affordable, self-administered and efficacious could improve uptake of HPV vaccines world-wide. The goal of this research is to develop a microparticulate HPV16 vaccine for transdermal administration using AdminPatch and assess its immunogenicity in a pre-clinical mouse model.

The small molecule Zaractin activates ZAR1-mediated immunity in .

Pathogenic effector proteins use a variety of enzymatic activities to manipulate host cellular proteins and favor the infection process. However, these perturbations can be sensed by nucleotide-binding leucine-rich-repeat (NLR) proteins to activate effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Here we have identified a small molecule (Zaractin) that mimics the immune eliciting activity of the type III secreted effector (T3SE) HopF1r and show that both HopF1r and Zaractin activate the same NLR-mediated immune pathway in Our results demonstrate that the ETI-inducing action of pathogenic effectors can be harnessed to identify synthetic activators of the eukaryotic immune system.

Discovery of multivalley Fermi surface responsible for the high thermoelectric performance in YbMnSb and YbMgSb.

The Zintl phases, Yb Sb ( = Mn, Mg, Al, Zn), are now some of the highest thermoelectric efficiency p-type materials with stability above 873 K. YbMnSb gained prominence as the first p-type thermoelectric material to double the efficiency of SiGe alloy, the heritage material in radioisotope thermoelectric generators used to power NASA's deep space exploration. This study investigates the solid solution of YbMg Al Sb (0 ≤ ≤ 1), which enables a full mapping of the metal-to-semiconductor transition.

Synthesis and characterization of vacancy-doped neodymium telluride for thermoelectric applications.

Thermoelectric materials exhibit a voltage under an applied thermal gradient and are the heart of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which are the main power system for space missions such as I, II, and the Mars rover. However, materials currently in use enable only modest thermal-to-electrical conversion efficiencies near 6.5% at the system level, warranting the development of material systems with improved thermoelectric performance.

Halide-free neodymium phosphate based catalyst for highly -1,4 selective polymerization of dienes.

Neodymium-based Ziegler-Natta type catalytic systems are known to produce polydienes with high -1,4 content. It is generally believed that in Ziegler-Natta catalytic systems, a halide or pseudohalide, whether in the catalyst itself or a separate source, is required for the success of the polymerization. In this work, we have synthesized an unusual halide-free neodymium diethyl phosphate catalyst for diene polymerization.

Tolerogenic Nanoparticles Induce Antigen-Specific Regulatory T Cells and Provide Therapeutic Efficacy and Transferrable Tolerance against Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.

T cells reacting to self-components can promote tissue damage when escaping tolerogenic control mechanisms which may result in autoimmune disease. The current treatments for these disorders are not antigen (Ag) specific and can compromise host immunity through chronic suppression. We have previously demonstrated that co-administration of encapsulated or free Ag with tolerogenic nanoparticles (tNPs) comprised of biodegradable polymers that encapsulate rapamycin are capable of inhibiting Ag-specific transgenic T cell proliferation and inducing Ag-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs).

Mechanochemical Synthesis and High Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of Calcium-Doped Lanthanum Telluride LaCaTe.

The thermoelectric properties from 300 - 1275 K of calcium-doped LaTe are reported. LaTe is a high temperature n-type thermoelectric material with a previously reported zT ~ 1.1 at 1273 K and x = 0.

Novel Aspergillus hemicellulases enhance performance of commercial cellulases in lignocellulose hydrolysis.

A novel hemicellulase-producing fungal strain was isolated from a local soil sample. The organism is identified as Aspergillus fumigatus based on ribosomal RNA analyses. The Aspergillus strain, designated as 2NB, produces both enzymes acting on xylan backbone (xylanase and β-xylosidase), and those acting on side chains (or accessory enzymes) notably α-arabinofuranosidase and acetyl-xylan esterase.

Escherichia coli binary culture engineered for direct fermentation of hemicellulose to a biofuel.

Metabolic engineering has created several Escherichia coli biocatalysts for production of biofuels and other useful molecules. However, the inability of these biocatalysts to directly use polymeric substrates necessitates costly pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis prior to fermentation. Consolidated bioprocessing has the potential to simplify the process by combining enzyme production, hydrolysis, and fermentation into a single step but requires a fermenting organism to multitask by producing both necessary enzymes and target molecules.

Atomistic design of thermoelectric properties of silicon nanowires.

We present predictions of the thermoelectric figure of merit ( ZT) of Si nanowires with diameter up to 3 nm, based upon the Boltzman transport equation and ab initio electronic structure calculations. We find that ZT depends significantly on the wire growth direction and surface reconstruction, and we discuss how these properties can be tuned to select silicon based nanostructures with combined n-type and p-type optimal ZT. Our calculations show that only by reducing the ionic thermal conductivity by about 2 or 3 orders of magnitudes with respect to bulk values, one may attain ZT larger than 1, for 1 or 3 nm wires, respectively.