Highly efficient hydrogen evolution catalysis based on MoS₂/CdS/TiO₂ porous composites

Du, Jimin,Wang, Huiming,Yang, Mengke,Zhang, Fangfang,Wu, Haoran,Cheng, Xuechun,Yuan, Sijie,Zhang, Bing,Li, Kaidi,Wang, Yina,Lee, Hyoyoung Elsevier 2018 International journal of hydrogen energy Vol.43 No.19

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Efficient production of hydrogen through visible-light-driven water splitting mechanism using semiconductor-based composites has been identified as a promising strategy for converting light into clean H<SUB>2</SUB> fuel. However, researchers are facing lots of challenges such as light absorption and electron-hole pair recombination and so on. Here, new sheet-shaped MoS<SUB>2</SUB> and pyramid-shaped CdS <I>in-situ</I> co-grown on porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> photocatalysts (MoS<SUB>2</SUB> CdSTiO<SUB>2</SUB>) are successfully obtained <I>via</I> mild sulfuration of MoO<SUB>3</SUB> and CdO coexisted inside porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> monolith by a hydrothermal route. The scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results exhibit that the MoS<SUB>2</SUB> CdSTiO<SUB>2</SUB> composites have average pore size about 500 nm. The 3%MoS<SUB>2</SUB> 10%CdSTiO<SUB>2</SUB> demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity and high stability for a hydrogen production with a high H<SUB>2</SUB>-generation rate of 4146 μmol h<SUP>−1</SUP> g<SUP>−1</SUP> under visible light irradiation even without noble-metal co-catalysts. The super photocatalytic performance of the visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution is predominantly attributed to the synergistic effect. The conduction band of MoS<SUB>2</SUB> facilitates in transporting excited electrons from visible-light on CdS to the porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> for catalytic hydrogen production, and holes to MoS<SUB>2</SUB> for inhibiting the photocorrosion of CdS, respectively, leading to enhancing the efficient separation of electrons and holes.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> MoS<SUB>2</SUB>-CT photocatalysts have been successfully synthesized by two-step method. </LI> <LI> The porous structure can enhance photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation. </LI> <LI> The 3% MoS<SUB>2</SUB>-CT shows an excellent H<SUB>2</SUB> evolution rate of 4146 μmol h<SUP>−1</SUP> g<SUP>−1</SUP>. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Genotypic Characteristics of Haemophilus influenzae Isolates from Pediatric Pneumonia Patients in Chengdu City, Sichuan, China

Tian Guozhong,Zhang Li,Li Machao,Wang Xiaolei,Zheng Yuhong,Li Xiaojing,Huang Cheng,Li Xuechun,Xie Yongqiong,Xu Li,Ren Hongyu,Shao Zhujun 한국미생물학회 2009 The journal of microbiology Vol.47 No.4

Two hundred and seventy-three Haemophilus influenzae strains isolated from pediatric pneumonia patients in China were studied. We used Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) to analyze genotypic characteristics. All strains were biotyped and serotyped. Relatedness and patterns of genes among isolates were determined by the analysis of MLST and eBURST. H. influenzae primarily causes acute pneumonia in children under 1 year old. Nontypeable H. influenzae was responsible for most cases of pediatric pneumonia. All 273 strains were classified into eight biotypes. They mostly belonged to the I, II, and III biotypes (17.6%, 43.6%, and 22.7%, respectively). 62 strains (22.7%) produced β-lactamase. We found 28 novel alleles. Fifty different STs were found by MLST, of which 39 were novel. These were ST477 through ST508 and ST521 through ST527. Group 17 and predicted founders 503 were new groups in this study. No STs correlated with strains from Korea, which is adjacent to China. The H. influenzae strains from China appeared to have heterogeneous ST types patterns which may be the reason no outbreaks or epidemics of H. influenzae infections have occurred in Chengdu city, Sichuan, China.

Alterations of Amino Acid Level in Depressed Rat Brain

Yang, Pei,Li, Xuechun,Ni, Jian,Tian, Jingchen,Jing, Fu,Qu, Changhai,Lin, Longfei,Zhang, Hui The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2014 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.18 No.5

Amino-acid neurotransmitter system dysfunction plays a major role in the pathophysiology of depression. Several studies have demonstrated the potential of amino acids as a source of neuro-specific biomarkers could be used in future diagnosis of depression. Only partial amino acids such as glycine and asparagine were determined from certain parts of rats' brain included hippocampi and cerebral cortex in previous studies. However, according to systematic biology, amino acids in different area of brain are interacted and interrelated. Hence, the determination of 34 amino acids through entire rats' brain was conducted in this study in order to demonstrate more possibilities for biomarkers of depression by discovering other potential amino acids in more areas of rats' brain. As a result, 4 amino acids (L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine and ${\gamma}$-amino-n-butyric acid) among 34 were typically identified as potentially primary biomarkers of depression by data statistics. Meanwhile, an antidepressant called Fluoxetine was employed to verify other potential amino acids which were not identified by data statistics. Eventually, we found L-${\alpha}$-amino-adipic acid could also become a new potentially secondary biomarker of depression after drug validation. In conclusion, we suggested that L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine, ${\gamma}$-amino-n-butyric acid and L-${\alpha}$-amino-adipic acid might become potential biomarkers for future diagnosis of depression and development of antidepressant.

Alterations of Amino Acid Level in Depressed Rat Brain

Pei Yang,Xuechun Li,Jian Ni,Jingchen Tian,Fu Jing,Changhai Qu,Longfei Lin,Hui Zhang 대한약리학회 2014 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.18 No.5

Amino-acid neurotransmitter system dysfunction plays a major role in the pathophysiology ofdepression. Several studies have demonstrated the potential of amino acids as a source of neuro-specificbiomarkers could be used in future diagnosis of depression. Only partial amino acids such as glycineand asparagine were determined from certain parts of rats’ brain included hippocampi and cerebralcortex in previous studies. However, according to systematic biology, amino acids in different areaof brain are interacted and interrelated. Hence, the determination of 34 amino acids through entirerats’ brain was conducted in this study in order to demonstrate more possibilities for biomarkers ofdepression by discovering other potential amino acids in more areas of rats’ brain. As a result, 4 aminoacids (L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine and γ -amino-n-butyric acid) among 34 were typicallyidentified as potentially primary biomarkers of depression by data statistics. Meanwhile, anantidepressant called Fluoxetine was employed to verify other potential amino acids which were notidentified by data statistics. Eventually, we found L-α -amino-adipic acid could also become a newpotentially secondary biomarker of depression after drug validation. In conclusion, we suggested thatL-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine, γ-amino-n-butyric acid and L-α-amino-adipic acid might becomepotential biomarkers for future diagnosis of depression and development of antidepressant.

Derivation of endothelial cells from porcine induced pluripotent stem cells by optimized single layer culture system

Renyue Wei,Jiawei Lv,Xuechun Li,Yan Li,Qianqian Xu,Junxue Jin,Yu Zhang,Zhonghua Liu 대한수의학회 2020 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.21 No.1

Regenerative therapy holds great promise in the development of cures of some untreatable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, and pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) including induced PSCs (iPSCs) are the most important regenerative seed cells. Recently, differentiation of human PSCs into functional tissues and cells in vitro has been widely reported. However, although porcine reports are rare they are quite essential, as the pig is an important animal model for the in vitro generation of human organs. In this study, we reprogramed porcine embryonic fibroblasts into porcine iPSCs (piPSCs), and differentiated them into cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31)-positive endothelial cells (ECs) (piPSC-derived ECs, piPS-ECs) using an optimized single-layer culture method. During differentiation, we observed that a combination of GSK3β inhibitor (CHIR99021) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) promoted mesodermal differentiation, resulting in higher proportions of CD31-positive cells than those from separate CHIR99021 or BMP4 treatment. Importantly, the piPS-ECs showed comparable morphological and functional properties to immortalized porcine aortic ECs, which are capable of taking up low-density lipoprotein and forming network structures on Matrigel. Our study, which is the first trial on a species other than human and mouse, has provided an optimized single-layer culture method for obtaining ECs from porcine PSCs. Our approach can be beneficial when evaluating autologous EC transplantation in pig models.

Enhanced charge separation of CuS and CdS quantum-dot-cosensitized porous TiO₂-based photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Du, Jimin,Yang, Mengke,Zhang, Fangfang,Cheng, Xuechun,Wu, Haoran,Qin, Huichuang,Jian, Qingsong,Lin, Xialing,Li, Kaidi,Kang, Dae Joon Elsevier 2018 CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL Vol.44 No.3

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using high-performance catalysts shows considerable promise in generating environment-friendly hydrogen energy. Its practical applications, however, suffer from several shortcomings, such as low photocurrent density, large onset-voltage value, and poor durability. In this study, CuS and CdS quantum-dot-cosensitized porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-based PEC catalysts (CuS-CT) have been successfully synthesized via in situ sulfuration of CuO and CdO coexisting inside a porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> monolith by a hydrothermal method. Compared to porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB>, CuS-sensitized porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> (CuS-TiO<SUB>2</SUB>), and CdS-sensitized porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> (CdS-TiO<SUB>2</SUB>) in terms of PEC performance, the CuS-CT photoanode exhibited a significantly high anodic photocurrent for water splitting under simulated sunlight radiation. The photocurrent produced by the optimized sample of 7% CuS-5% CdS-TiO<SUB>2</SUB> (7% CuS-CT) was nearly 2.7 times higher than that of pure porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> at 1.0V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Porous TiO<SUB>2</SUB> possesses large surface areas that can drive fast electrolyte transport and afford more surface reaction active sites. On the other hand, CuS and CdS quantum dots not only broaden the visible light absorption range, but also improve photoinduced electron-hole separation efficiency. The co-sensitized multi-nanostructures photoanodes lead to a remarkable and promising application in PEC water splitting reactions.</P>

Exploring differentially expressed genes related to metabolism by RNA-Seq in porcine embryonic fibroblast after insulin treatment

Yingjuan Liang,Jinpeng Wang,Xinyu Li,Shuang Wu,Chaoqian Jiang,Yue Wang,Xuechun Li,Zhong-Hua Liu,Yanshuang Mu 대한수의학회 2022 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.23 No.6

Background: Insulin regulates glucose homeostasis and has important effects on metabolism, cell growth, and differentiation. Depending on the cell type and physiological context, insulin signal has specific pathways and biological outcomes in different tissues and cells. For studying the signal pathway of insulin on glycolipid metabolism in porcine embryonic fibroblast (PEF), we used high-throughput sequencing to monitor gene expression patterns regulated by insulin. Objectives: The goal of our research was to see how insulin affected glucose and lipid metabolism in PEFs. Methods: We cultured the PEFs with the addition of insulin and sampled them at 0, 48, and 72 h for RNA-Seq analysis in triplicate for each time point. Results: At 48 and 72 h, 801 and 1,176 genes were differentially expressed, respectively. Of these, 272 up-regulated genes and 264 down-regulated genes were common to both time points. Gene Ontology analysis was used to annotate the functions of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), the biological processes related to lipid metabolism and cell cycle were dominant. And the DEGs were significantly enriched in interleukin-17 signaling pathway, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B signaling pathway, pyruvate metabolism, and others pathways related to lipid metabolism by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis. Conclusions: These results elucidate the transcriptomic response to insulin in PEF. The genes and pathways involved in the transcriptome mechanisms provide useful information for further research into the complicated molecular processes of insulin in PEF.

Sorption Behavior and Mechanism of Phosphate onto Natural Magnesite

Xie, Fazhi,Hu, Tingting,Oh, Won-Chun,Sheng, Dandan,Li, Haibin,Wang, Xuechun,Xie, Zhiyong,Li, Guolian,Han, Xuan,Xie, Wenjie,Sun, Mei Materials Research Society of Korea 2017 한국재료학회지 Vol.27 No.3

Removal of phosphate from environmental water has become more important to prevent eutrophication. In the present study, sorption behavior of phosphate onto magnesite was investigated under different conditions. The optimum pH of phosphate adsorption was determined to be 6.0. The adsorption capacity was found to decrease with increasing temperature, which indicates that a low temperature was beneficial for phosphate adsorption. The sorption capacity for phosphate was found to be 10.2 mg/g at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L and a dose of 2 g/L. The first order kinetic equation and Freundlich isotherm model fit the data well. Phosphate adsorption on magnesite was explained by electrostatic attraction and weak physical interactions.