A Novel Biocontrol Strain Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FS6 for Excellent Control of Gray Mold and Seedling Diseases of Ginseng.

The biocontrol efficacy of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FS6 against seedling diseases and gray mold of ginseng (Panax ginseng), as well as application techniques, were evaluated in a series of field trials. FS6 fermentation broth showed a strong antagonistic effect against the ginseng fungal pathogens, and the inhibition rates on mycelial growth and spore germination were 84 to 88% and 71 to 72%, respectively. Field evaluation showed that combination of seed and soil treatments exhibited better protection than that of individual treatment alone. FS6 wettable powder soil treatment in combination with thiamethoxam plus metalaxyl-M plus fludioxonil for seed coating performed the best, with >83% overall control efficacy for seedling diseases. FS6 had a long-acting effect of >78% control efficacy on ginseng gray mold at 30 days after the last application, almost 2.5- and 2-fold better than that of B. amyloliquefaciens B7900 wettable powder and cyprodinil, respectively. In addition, FS6 reduced the diversity and relative abundance of fungi and affected the fungi and bacterial composition in the rhizosphere soil of ginseng. Therefore, FS6 can be used to effectively control seedling diseases and gray mold in ginseng.

Visible-light driven photodegradation on Ag nanoparticle-embedded fullerene (C60) heterostructural microcubes.

Three-dimensional Ag(I)-fullerene hybrid microcrystal is fabricated by AgNO3 assisted liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation, containing the abundant sp2-π-electron system. With a mild chemical reduction, it produces the massive Ag nanocluster/fullerene junctions, on which fullerene doubles role as the excellent electron acceptor and photon scavenger, enabling the Plasmon-driven catalytic reaction. Ag nanocluster employed alone could not perform this photocatalytic reaction, neither of fullerene (C60) crystal. It implicates that Ag-fullerene interface is a key to drive catalytic process. Relative to conventional TiO2 nanostructures, fullerene expands light absorption to most solar wavelength and possesses a tightened bandgap which intrinsically expedites the charge transfer and charge separation from coinage metals. Demonstrated by photodegradation of organic molecules, this Ag(I)-fullerene (C60) composite, consisted of a plethora of electron donor-acceptor dyads renders an additional member to photocatalyst family, potentially implemented for photo-electron conversion, water remedy and beyond.

Improving the transmission efficiency of the Cassegrain optical system for Bessel-Gaussian beams.

With the improvement of the transmission efficiency, the Cassegrain antenna can be widely used in space optical communication. In this paper, the Bessel-Gaussian (BG) beam is used to avoid the central energy loss of a Cassegrain antenna system. The intensity distribution and the phase distribution of the BG beam passing through a Cassegrain antenna are theoretically derived and simulated. At a wavelength of 1550 nm, this method can theoretically improve the transmission efficiency to approach 100% under the situation in which the obscuration ratio is nonzero, and the transmission efficiency can reach more than 80% when obscuration ratio is in the range of from 0 to 0.1252 with $l=4$l=4. The effects of on-axial defocusing on the light field and the transmission efficiency are studied. The method proposed in this paper can remarkably improve the transmission efficiency of a Cassegrain antenna in a practical and uncomplicated approach.

Ag(I)-Hived Fullerene Microcube as an Enhanced Catalytic Substrate for the Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol and the Photodegradation of Orange G Dye.

We report a facile approach to fabricate an Ag-embedded fullerene (C60) catalyst by the chemical reduction of the AgNO3 complex encapsulated fullerene microcrystal, which showed an enhanced catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol because of the strong absorption and propagation of H2 along the fullerene surface. With the aid of visible-light radiation, photodegradation of orange G dye is achieved through the formation of an electron donor-acceptor dyad between plasmon Ag nanostructures and fullerene molecules, which effectively offsets the "electron-hole" recombination. Neither Ag nanoparticle nor fullerene crystal used in isolation could perform this chemical conversion, implying that the metal-fullerene hybrid structure is imperative for performing the catalytic reaction. The obtained Ag-embedded fullerene crystal is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), associated energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) imaging, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and demonstrates that the present hybrid materials would add a supplemental member to a family of photocatalysts toward the organic synthesis and wastewater remediation.

A real-time fluorescence turn-on assay for trypsin based on a conjugated polyelectrolyte.

We report a continuous and sensitive fluorescence turn-on assay for trypsin by using an anionic conjugated polyelectrolyte (PPE-CO2H) and a cationic peptide substrate labelled with p-nitroaniline (RxG-pNA). Applications of the assay in trypsin activity study and high-throughput screening of protease inhibitors were demonstrated.

Continuous and sensitive acid phosphatase assay based on a conjugated polyelectrolyte.

We report a novel continuous and sensitive fluorescence turn-on assay for ACPs, which consists of a cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte (PPE4+) and a commonly used phosphatase substrate p-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP). The kinetics of the ACP catalyzed hydrolysis of the substrate pNPP was monitored by the fluorescence change of PPE4+ and corresponding kinetic parameters were derived to be consistent with the literature reports. The applications of PPE4+/pNPP-based ACP assay in high-throughput screening of ACP inhibitors and detection of prostatic acid phosphotase (PAP) in vitro were demonstrated.

A band dispersion mechanism for Pt alloy compositional tuning of linear bound CO stretching frequencies.

The C-O stretching frequency (nu(CO)) of atop CO/Pt in PtRu alloys is compositionally tuned in proportion to the Pt mole percent. The application of a Blyholder-Bagus type mechanism (i.e., increased back-donation from the metal d-band to the hybridized 2pi CO molecular orbitals (MOs)) to compositional tuning has been paradoxical because (1) a Pt-C bond contraction, expected with increased back-donation as the Pt mole percent is reduced, is not observed (i.e., calculated Pt-C bond is either elongated or insensitive to alloying and the binding energies of CO/Pt decrease with alloying) and (2) the lowering d-band center and increased d-band vacancies upon alloying (suggesting less back-donation to the higher energy metal hybridized 2pi CO MOs) must be reconciled with the alloy-induced red shift of the nu(CO). A library of spin-optimized Pt and Pt alloy clusters was the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations of CO binding energies, nu(CO) values, shifts, and broadening of 5sigma/2pi CO MO upon hybridization with the alloy orbitals and a DFT derived Mulliken electron population analysis. The DFT results, combined with FEFF8 local density of states (LDOS) calculations, validate a 5sigma donation-2pi back-donation mechanism, reconciling the direction of alloy compositional tuning with the lowering of the d-band center and increased vacancies. Although the d-band center decreases in energy with alloying, an asymmetric increase in the dispersion of the d-band is accompanied by an upshift of the metal cluster HOMO level. Concomitantly, the hybridization and renormalization of the CO 5sigma/2pi states results in a broadening of the 5sigma/2pi manifold with additional lower energy states closer to the upshifted (with respect to the pure Pt cluster) HOMO of the alloy cluster. The dispersion toward higher energies of the alloy d-density of states results in more 5sigma/2pi CO filled states (i.e., enhanced 2pi-back-donation). Finally, Mulliken and FEFF8 electron population analysis shows that the increase of the average d-band vacancies upon alloying and additional 2pi back-donation are not mutually exclusive. The d-electron density of the CO-adsorbed Pt atom increases with alloying while the average d-electron density throughout the cluster is reduced. The localized electron density is manifested as an electrostatic wall effect, preventing the Pt-C bond contractions expected with increased back-donation to the 2pi CO MOs.

Laser-activated membrane introduction mass spectrometry for high-throughput evaluation of bulk heterogeneous catalysts.

Laser-activated membrane introduction mass spectrometry (LAMIMS), a high-throughput screening method, evaluates heterogeneous catalysts under realistic reactor conditions. It is a precise, versatile system requiring no moving parts. The catalyst array is supported on carbon paper overlaid upon a silicone rubber membrane configured in a variation of membrane introduction mass spectrometry as introduced by Cooks. The carbon paper serves as a heat-dissipating gas diffusion layer that permits laser heating of catalyst samples far above the decomposition temperature of the polymer membrane that separates the array from the mass spectrometer vacuum chamber. A computer-controlled CO2 bar code writing laser is used for fine-tune heating of the catalyst spots above the base temperature of the LAMIMS reactor. The detailed design and performance of LAMIMS is demonstrated on arrays of "real world" bulk water-gas shift catalysts using natural and isotopically labeled reactor feed streams. A bulk catalyst array spot can be evaluated for activity and selectivity in as little as 1.5 min. All array screening results were confirmed by industrial microreactor evaluations.