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Quantum states of light and matter can be manipulated on the nanoscale to provide a technological resource for aiding the implementation of scalable photonic quantum technologies [1-3]. Experimental progress relies on the quality and efficiency of the coupling between photons and internal states of quantum emitters [4-6]. Here we demonstrate a nanophotonic waveguide platform with embedded quantum dots (QDs) that enables both Purcell-enhanced emission and strong chiral coupling. The design uses slow-light effects in a glide-plane photonic crystal waveguide with QD tuning to match the emission frequency to the slow-light region. Simulations were used to map the chirality and Purcell enhancement depending on the position of a dipole emitter relative to the air holes. The highest Purcell factors and chirality occur in separate regions, but there is still a significant area where high values of both can be obtained. Based on this, we first demonstrate a record large radiative decay rate of 17 ns^-1 (60 ps lifetime) corresponding to a 20 fold Purcell enhancement. This was achieved by electric-field tuning of the QD to the slow-light region and quasi-resonant phonon-sideband excitation. We then demonstrate a 5 fold Purcell enhancement for a dot with high degree of chiral coupling to waveguide modes, substantially surpassing all previous measurements. Together these demonstrate the excellent prospects for using QDs in scalable implementations of on-chip spin-photonics relying on chiral quantum optics., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Supporting information is available upon request to the corresponding author

The increase in dye-containing effluents that are discharged into the environment and the need to remediate the water bodies from the adverse effect of these dye pollutants have motivated a lot of research work. In this study, ZnO and TiO2 heterojunction systems (MO) embedded in cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), derived from sawdust, are reported. The nanocomposites (CNC/MO) were subsequently used as photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl blue (MB). The nanocomposites were characterized using SEM/EDs, XRD, and the degradation of MB were determined by UV-vis spectrophotometer. The XRD analysis showed characteristic peaks of CNC and the metal oxide (MO) upon the nanocomposite formation. A reduction in the intensity of peak at 30°, attributed to the cellulose 1β phase of pristine CNC, was observed. The morphological evaluation revealed that the nanocomposite exhibited intertwined spherical and rod-like shape on the surface. The effects of some key operating parameters, such as initial pH, catalyst dosage, and initial dye concentration on the degradation of MB were investigated. Higher degradation percentage (98.52%) of MB was observed for the CNC/MO at optimum pH 6. The adopted kinetics models showed that MB degradation was well described by the pseudo-second order model. The application of this nanocomposites in real industrial sample will confirm its robustness.

Combined anaerobic digestion (AD) and photodegradation of slaughterhouse wastewater (SWW) was carried out to remove biodegradable chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biorecalcitrant aromatic compounds which were mainly p-cresol and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The synergy between the two processes was analyzed through biodegradability enhancement by photodegradation and supply of bioenergy through AD to supplement the energy requirement of the photodegradation process. Degradation products of each process were determined using gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC–MS). Anaerobic digestion as a stand-alone process removed up to 80% COD, while it could only remove about 35% of the aromatic compounds. Photodegradation, as a post-treatment to the AD, removed 92% of the aromatic compounds and enhanced the biodegradability of the digester effluent by 50%, which could be recycled to the AD unit. The aromatic compounds were photodegraded via phthalic acid and hydroquinone. Also, AD as an initial step removed fats, oils, and grease which otherwise would have hindered catalytic activity during photodegradation post-treatment. The biomethane produced could supplement up to 20% of the electricity requirement by the energy-intensive photodegradation process to achieve total pollutants removal, making the integrated process to be a viable option for SWW management.

Background Several chemical bactericides were applied for controlling soft rot bacteria, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, which causes the destructive soft rot disease to many economically important vegetables, but because of their toxic hazards on human and environment became limit. The biocontrol was applied to control many plant pathogens. Therefore, this work is aimed to study the antagonistic activity of bacterial agents, i.e. Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus megaterium and Pseudomonas fluorescens, and fugal agents, i.e. Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma viride and Trichoderma virens, to control bacterial soft rot disease under in vitro and in vivo tests. Results The tested treatments could protect the potato tubers against the development of soft rot. T. viride and T. virens were highly effective in reducing soft rot symptoms on inoculated potato tuber slices, when applied at the same time or 2 h before pathogen inoculation, while B. megaterium and T. harzianum were highly effective when applied at the same time or 2 h after pathogen inoculation. In whole potato tubers technique, B.pumilus highly protected the stored potato tuber under artificially infection conditions, than P. fluorescens, T. harzianum, B. subtilis, T. viride, T. virens and B. megaterium, respectively. Conclusion Application of fungal agents or specify the bacterial species can play an important role in controlling bacterial soft rot disease in vegetables and increase the stored periods of potato tubers under storage conditions without any toxic effects.

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Pollution of water sources by pathogens is a major concern worldwide. This study investigated critical disinfection aspects such as bacterial regrowth or decay and evaluation of metal-ion leaching during photocatalytic disinfection. The inactivation of waterborne bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Shigella species and Vibrio cholerae) using ultraviolet and solar photocatalysis was evaluated. Bare and metal-ion (silver, copper and iron)-doped titanium dioxide photocatalysts were used to explore comparative performance. The influence of photocatalyst concentration (0.1–1.0 g/L), source of radiation (ultraviolet or solar light) and water type (synthetic and municipal wastewater) was examined. The disinfection data were fitted to the pseudo-first-order model. The disinfection efficiency was higher in saline deionized water (99.9998–100%) that was spiked with the target pathogens (106 colony forming units/mL), compared to actual wastewater samples. Within 180 min of treatment under solar irradiation, disinfection efficacy of 86.8–100% was achieved, while 99.4–100% disinfection efficacy was attained under ultraviolet irradiation within 60 min. A significant difference (p

The present study investigated the potential of clay/manganese oxide (CMnO) hybrid adsorbent for the removal of manganese (Mn2+) from mine impacted water (MIW). The adsorbent was characterised by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The equilibrium sorption capacity was depended on solution pH, MnO content of the clay, concentration and temperature. Isothermal adsorption highly inclined towards Freundlich isotherm model while thermodynamic parameters directed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The adsorption kinetics of Mn2+ onto CMnO fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model and the value of activation energy of adsorption (Ea) was 32 kJ/mol, inferring that the adsorption proceeded by activated chemisorption process. Both intra-particle and film diffusion mechanisms were found to be the sorption rate-controlling steps. Experiments with real MIW water revealed that CMnO exhibited high Mn2+ removal efficiency in the presence of interfering ions but anions removal posed a great challenge. The XPS, FT-IR and pH analyses suggested that oxidation, complexation and ion-exchange mechanisms were responsible for Mn2+ removal by CMnO. These findings demonstrate that CMnO could serve as an inexpensive adsorbent for polishing Mn2+ polluted water.

Clinoptilolite modified with polypyrrole and iron oxide nanoparticles (Cln-PPy-Fe3O4) nanocomposite as a potential adsorbent for V (V) ions was prepared via polymerization of pyrrole monomer using FeCl3 oxidant in aqueous medium in which clinoptilolite-Fe3O4 nanoparticles were suspended. The structure and morphology of the prepared adsorbent was analysed with the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM). Column fixed bed studies were performed to test the ability of the adsorbent to remove V (V) ions from aqueous solution. Low values of adsorbent exhaustion rate (AER) and large bed volumes were observed at lower metal ion concentration, higher bed mass and lower flow rate for V(V) removal indicating good performance. The volume of treated water processed at breakthrough point were found to be 0.09; 0.63 and 1.26 L for bed mass of 1, 2.5; and 5 g, respectively. The Yoon–Nelson and Thomas models appropriately described the breakthrough curves.

This study focuses on the performance of nanostructured banana peels in lanthanide-laden mine water treatment. Specifically, nanostructure formation via mechanical milling, characterization in detail and application of this sorbent media in rare earth elements (REEs) removal from synthetic and real mine water are thoroughly investigated. The sorbent samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared analyses, while the amount of REEs adsorbed was analysed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Results revealed that the particle and crystallite sizes were reduced from

Montmorillonite modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide was used to remove vanadium (V) from synthetic and real mine water. Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterise the adsorbent before and after adsorption, while the amount of V adsorbed was determined by ICP-OES. Batch adsorption was evaluated for dissolved V concentrations of 50–320 mg/L and V tailings seepage water from a South African mine. Adsorption capacity was affected by solution pH, temperature, sorbent mass, and the initial concentration. Electrical conductivity of the mine water before and after adsorption was measured to estimate the total dissolved solids. Equilibrium isotherm results revealed that V sorption follows the Freundlich isotherm, indicating that the sorbent surface was heterogeneous. A pseudo-second order kinetic model gave the best fit to the kinetic experimental data. The results of this study allow us to predict uptake efficiency of South African montmorillonite for V removal from mine water. However, the best adsorbent for the uptake of V or other contaminants will depend on the effluent to be treated.

Suspension freeze desalination is a promising technique for producing clean water from mine wastewaters. The principle is that growing ice crystals reject impurities during freezing. As a result, pure water is separated from mine wastewaters as clean ice. Actually, there is a need for improved techniques to increase water yield and purity. Here we tested ice formation in complex synthetic solutions during cooling and addition of seed. Solutions included: pure distilled water, 50, 33 g/L NaCl and 17, 50 g/L Na2SO4, 50 g/L NaCl and 50 g/L Na2SO4. Results show that heat of crystallization was the highest with pure distilled water at 8859 J, whereas the lowest heat of crystallization, of 4608 J, was for the solution of 50 g/L NaCl and 50 g/L Na2SO4, indicating that the presence of the salt enhances ice formation. As an application, we designed a new flow diagram, which, in addition to heat exchanger and ice filter, now includes a fluidized bed reactor for salt crystallization and recovery, and a separate heat exchanger for ice crystallization.

In terms of supporting veteran populations, little is known of the experiences of chaplains professionally active outside of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare settings. The present study looks to examine how involved non-VA chaplains are in supporting veterans as well as their familiarity with the VA. An online survey was distributed in a convenience sample of chaplains, of which n = 39 met the inclusion criterion for this study (i.e., no past or present VA affiliation). The results find that most of the non-VA chaplains encounter veteran service users either on a weekly or monthly basis. Though familiar with VA services, non-VA chaplains were not sure of their veteran service users' VA enrollment status nor did they feel able to adequately advise their veteran service users on VA enrollment. The results suggest that non-VA chaplains actively support veteran populations. Opportunities for enhancing chaplaincy services and VA outreach programs are discussed.

Alternative splicing (AS) is one crucial step of gene expression that must be tightly regulated during neurodevelopment. However, the precise timing of developmental splicing switches and the underlying regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we systematically analyze the temporal regulation of AS in a large number of transcriptome profiles of developing mouse cortices, in vivo purified neuronal subtypes, and neurons differentiated in vitro. Our analysis reveals early-switch and late-switch exons in genes with distinct functions, and these switches accurately define neuronal maturation stages. Integrative modeling suggests that these switches are under direct and combinatorial regulation by distinct sets of neuronal RNA-binding proteins including Nova, Rbfox, Mbnl, and Ptbp. Surprisingly, various neuronal subtypes in the sensory systems lack Nova and/or Rbfox expression. These neurons retain the “immature” splicing program in early-switch exons, affecting numerous synaptic genes. These results provide new insights into the organization and regulation of the neurodevelopmental transcriptome., The precise timing of neurodevelopmental splicing switches and the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study identifies two major waves of developmental switches under the control of distinct combinations of RNA-binding proteins in central and peripheral nervous systems.

N-doped carbon nanotubes have unique structures and strong interactions with metal nanoparticles due to the presence of nitrogen. There is actually a need for nanoparticles to treat water, without leaching of toxic metals. Here, we synthesized nanocomposites by deposition of Ag and Fe nanoparticles on N-doped carbon nanotubes with a surface area of 52 m2/g and 2 % N content to form nanocomposites. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the nanocomposites revealed that the best dispersion of the deposited nanoparticles was achieved by the microwave-assisted polyol method. The Ag and Fe nanoparticles were indeed monodispersed and uniformly distributed on the surface of the N-doped carbon nanotubes. Deposition could be achieved in 5 min. The wet impregnation and deposition–precipitation methods gave composites with agglomerated nanoparticles. We observed that leaching of Fe and Ag into water was also influenced by the preparation method. No leaching of nanoparticles was observed when the composites were prepared by the microwave polyol method. This synthesis is therefore efficient with less energy and time. The strong metal/N-doped carbon nanotube interactions render these composites suitable for use in water purification.

A fundamental goal of evolutionary ecology is to understand the environmental drivers of ecological divergence during the early stages of adaptive diversification. Using the model system of the post-Pleistocene radiation of Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabiting blue holes, we used a comparative field study to examine variation in density, age structure, tertiary (adult) sex ratio, habitat use, as well as adult feeding and social behaviors in relation to environmental features including predation risk, interspecific competition, productivity (e.g. chlorophyll a, zooplankton density), and abiotic factors (e.g. salinity, surface diameter). The primary environmental factor associated with ecological differentiation in G. hubbsi was the presence of piscivorous fish. Gambusia hubbsi populations coexisting with predatory fish were less dense, comprised of a smaller proportion of juveniles, and were more concentrated in shallow, near-shore regions of blue holes. In addition to predation risk, the presence of a competitor fish species was associated with G. hubbsi habitat use, and productivity covaried with both age structure and habitat use. Feeding and social behaviors differed considerably between sexes, and both sexes showed behavioral differences between predator regimes by exhibiting more foraging behaviors in the absence of predators and more sexual behaviors in their presence. Males additionally exhibited more aggressive behaviors toward females in the absence of predators, but were more aggressive toward other males in the presence of predators. These results largely matched a priori predictions, and several findings are similar to trends in other related systems. Variation in predation risk appears to represent the primary driver of ecological differentiation in this system, but other previously underappreciated factors (interspecific competition, resource availability) are notable contributors as well. This study highlights the utility of simultaneously evaluating multiple environmental factors and multiple population characteristics within a natural system to pinpoint environmental drivers of ecological differentiation.

Temozolomide (TMZ) is an oral alkylating agent that has been widely used in the treatment of refractory glioma, although inherent and acquired resistance to this drug is common. The clinical use of valproic acid (VPA) as an anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug has been reported primarily for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder and less commonly for major depression. VPA is also used in the treatment of glioma-associated seizures with or without intracranial operation. In this study, we evaluated the potential synergistic effect of TMZ and VPA in human glioma cell lines. Compared with the use of TMZ or VPA alone, concurrent treatment with both drugs synergistically induced apoptosis in U87MG cells as evidenced by p53 and Bax expression, mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss, reactive oxygen species production, and glutathione depletion. This synergistic effect correlated with a decrease in nuclear translocation of the nuclear factor-erythroid 2 p45-related factor and corresponded with reduced heme oxygenase-1 and γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase expression. Pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine partially recovered the apoptotic effect of the TMZ/VPA combination treatment. The same degree of synergism is also seen in p53-mutant Hs683 cells, which indicates that p53 may not play a major role in the increased proapoptotic effect of the TMZ/VPA combination. In conclusion, VPA enhanced the apoptotic effect of TMZ, possibly through a redox regulation mechanism. The TMZ/VPA combination may be effective for treating glioma cancer and may be a powerful agent against malignant glioma. This drug combination should be further explored in the clinical setting.

The common form of myotonic dystrophy (DM1) is associated with the expression of expanded CTG DNA repeats as RNA (CUG(exp) RNA). To test whether CUG(exp) RNA creates a global splicing defect, we compared the skeletal muscle of two mouse models of DM1, one expressing a CTG(exp) transgene and another homozygous for a defective muscleblind 1 (Mbnl1) gene. Strong correlation in splicing changes for approximately 100 new Mbnl1-regulated exons indicates that loss of Mbnl1 explains >80% of the splicing pathology due to CUG(exp) RNA. In contrast, only about half of mRNA-level changes can be attributed to loss of Mbnl1, indicating that CUG(exp) RNA has Mbnl1-independent effects, particularly on mRNAs for extracellular matrix proteins. We propose that CUG(exp) RNA causes two separate effects: loss of Mbnl1 function (disrupting splicing) and loss of another function that disrupts extracellular matrix mRNA regulation, possibly mediated by Mbnl2. These findings reveal unanticipated similarities between DM1 and other muscular dystrophies.

The photosynthetic characteristics of four transgenic rice lines over-expressing rice NADP-malic enzyme (ME), and maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PC), pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase (PK), and PC+PK (CK) were investigated using outdoor-grown plants. Relative to untransformed wild-type (WT) rice, PC transgenic rice exhibited high PC activity (25-fold increase) and enhanced activity of carbonic anhydrase (more than two-fold increase), while the activity of ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and its kinetic property were not significantly altered. The PC transgenic plants also showed a higher light intensity for saturation of photosynthesis, higher photosynthetic CO(2) uptake rate and carboxylation efficiency, and slightly reduced CO(2) compensation point. In addition, chlorophyll a fluorescence analysis indicates that PC transgenic plants are more tolerant to photo-oxidative stress, due to a higher capacity to quench excess light energy via photochemical and non-photochemical means. Furthermore, PC and CK transgenic rice produced 22-24% more grains than WT plants. Taken together, these results suggest that expression of maize C(4) photosynthesis enzymes in rice, a C(3) plant, can improve its photosynthetic capacity with enhanced tolerance to photo-oxidation.

C4-type phosphenolpyruvate carboxylase (C4PEPC) acts as a primary carbon assimilatory enzyme in the C4 photosynthetic pathway. The maize C4PEPC gene (C4Ppc1) is specifically expressed in mesophyll cells (MC) of light-grown leaves, but the molecular mechanism responsible for its cell type-specific expression has not been characterized. In this study, we introduced a chimeric maize C4Ppc1 5'-flanking region/beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene into maize plants by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Activity assay and histochemical staining showed that GUS is almost exclusively localized in leaf MC of transgenic maize plants. This observation suggests that the introduced 5' region of maize C4Ppc1 contains the necessary cis element(s) for its specific expression in MC. Next, we investigated whether the 5' region of the maize gene interacts with nuclear proteins in a cell type-specific manner. By gel shift assays with nuclear extracts prepared from MC or bundle sheath cells (BSC), cell type-specific DNA-protein interactions were detected: nuclear factors PEP(Ib) and PEP(Ic) are specific to MC whereas PEP(Ia) and PEP(IIa) are specific to BSC. Light alters the binding activity of these factors. These interactions were not detected in the assay with nuclear extract prepared from root, or competed out by oligonucleotides corresponding to the binding sites for the maize nuclear protein, PEP-I, which is known to bind specifically to the promoter region of C4Ppc1. The results suggest that novel cell type-specific positive and negative nuclear factors bind to the maize C4Ppc1 5'-flanking region and regulate its differential transcription in MC in a light-dependent manner.

Most species of the genus Salsola (Chenopodiaceae) that have been examined exhibit C4 photosynthesis in leaves. Four Salsola species from Central Asia were investigated in this study to determine the structural and functional relationships in photosynthesis of cotyledons compared to leaves, using anatomical (Kranz versus non-Kranz anatomy, chloroplast ultrastructure) and biochemical (activities of photosynthetic enzymes of the C3 and C4 pathways, 14C labeling of primary photosynthesis products and 13C/12C carbon isotope fractionation) criteria. The species included S. paulsenii from section Salsola, S. richteri from section Coccosalsola, S. laricina from section Caroxylon, and S. gemmascens from section Malpigipila. The results show that all four species have a C4 type of photosynthesis in leaves with a Salsoloid type Kranz anatomy, whereas both C3 and C4 types of photosynthesis were found in cotyledons. S. paulsenii and S. richteri have NADP- (NADP-ME) C4 type biochemistry with Salsoloid Kranz anatomy in both leaves and cotyledons. In S. laricina, both cotyledons and leaves have NAD-malic enzyme (NAD-ME) C4 type photosynthesis; however, while the leaves have Salsoloid type Kranz anatomy, cotyledons have Atriplicoid type Kranz anatomy. In S. gemmascens, cotyledons exhibit C3 type photosynthesis, while leaves perform NAD-ME type photosynthesis. Since the four species studied belong to different Salsola sections, this suggests that differences in photosynthetic types of leaves and cotyledons may be used as a basis or studies of the origin and evolution of C4 photosynthesis in the family Chenopodiaceae.