Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this work, we calculate the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biolo...Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this work, we calculate the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculate the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We find that the optimal number of units could maximize this array＇s energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.展开更多
Hydrogenase is a paradigm of highly efficient biocatalyst for H_(2) production and utilization evolved in nature. A dilemma is that despite the high activity and efficiency expected for hydrogenases as promising catal...Hydrogenase is a paradigm of highly efficient biocatalyst for H_(2) production and utilization evolved in nature. A dilemma is that despite the high activity and efficiency expected for hydrogenases as promising catalysts for the hydrogen economy, the poor oxygen tolerance and low yield of hydrogenases largely hinder their practical application. In these years, the enigmas surrounding hydrogenases regarding their structures, oxygen tolerance, mechanisms for catalysis, redox intermediates, and proton-coupled electron transfer schemes have been gradually elucidated;the schemes, which can well couple hydrogenases with other highly efficient(in)organic and biological catalysts to build novel reactors and drive valuable reactions, make it possible for hydrogenases to find their niches. To see how scientists put efforts to tackle this issue and design novel reactors in the fields where hydrogenases play crucial roles, in this review,recent advances were summarized, including different strategies for protecting enzyme molecules from oxygen, enzyme-based assembling systems for H_(2) evolution in the photoelectronic catalysis, enzymatic biofuel cells for H_(2) utilization and storage and the efficient electricity-hydrogen-carbohydrate cycle for high-purity hydrogen and biofuel automobiles. Limitations and future perspectives of hydrogenasebased applications in H_(2) production and utilization with great impact are discussed. In addition, this review also provides a new perspective on the use of biohydrogen in healthcare beyond energy.展开更多
This article reports an innovative integrated system utilizing solar energy as power for decentralized wastewater treatment, which consists of an oxidation ditch with double channels and a photovoltaic （PV） system w...This article reports an innovative integrated system utilizing solar energy as power for decentralized wastewater treatment, which consists of an oxidation ditch with double channels and a photovoltaic （PV） system without a storage battery. Because the system operates without a storage battery, which can reduce the cost of the PV system, the solar radiation intensity affects the amount of power output from the PV system. To ensure that the power output is sufficient in all different weather conditions, the solar radiation intensity of 78 W/m 2 with 95% confidence interval was defined as a threshold of power output for the PV system according to the monitoring results in this study, and a step power output mode was used to utilize the solar energy as well as possible. The oxidation ditch driven by the PV system without storage battery ran during the day and stopped at night. Therefore, anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic conditions could periodically appear in the oxidation ditch, which was favorable to nitrogen and phosphate removal from the wastewater. The experimental results showed that the system was efficient, achieving average removal efficiencies of 88% COD, 98% NH 4 ＋ -N, 70% TN and 83% TP, under the loading rates of 140 mg COD/（g MLSS·day）, 32 mg NH 4 ＋ -N/（g MLSS·day）, 44 mg TN/（g MLSS·day） and 5 mg TP/（g MLSS·day）.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 11105062 and 11265014the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant Nos LZUJBKY-2011-57 and LZUJBKY-2015-119
文摘Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this work, we calculate the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculate the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We find that the optimal number of units could maximize this array＇s energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Nos. 2020YFA0907300, 2020YFA0907800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22077069)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (Nos. 19JCZDJC33400 and 21JCYBJC00310)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Nankai University (No. 63201111)。
文摘Hydrogenase is a paradigm of highly efficient biocatalyst for H_(2) production and utilization evolved in nature. A dilemma is that despite the high activity and efficiency expected for hydrogenases as promising catalysts for the hydrogen economy, the poor oxygen tolerance and low yield of hydrogenases largely hinder their practical application. In these years, the enigmas surrounding hydrogenases regarding their structures, oxygen tolerance, mechanisms for catalysis, redox intermediates, and proton-coupled electron transfer schemes have been gradually elucidated;the schemes, which can well couple hydrogenases with other highly efficient(in)organic and biological catalysts to build novel reactors and drive valuable reactions, make it possible for hydrogenases to find their niches. To see how scientists put efforts to tackle this issue and design novel reactors in the fields where hydrogenases play crucial roles, in this review,recent advances were summarized, including different strategies for protecting enzyme molecules from oxygen, enzyme-based assembling systems for H_(2) evolution in the photoelectronic catalysis, enzymatic biofuel cells for H_(2) utilization and storage and the efficient electricity-hydrogen-carbohydrate cycle for high-purity hydrogen and biofuel automobiles. Limitations and future perspectives of hydrogenasebased applications in H_(2) production and utilization with great impact are discussed. In addition, this review also provides a new perspective on the use of biohydrogen in healthcare beyond energy.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51138009, 50678170)
文摘This article reports an innovative integrated system utilizing solar energy as power for decentralized wastewater treatment, which consists of an oxidation ditch with double channels and a photovoltaic （PV） system without a storage battery. Because the system operates without a storage battery, which can reduce the cost of the PV system, the solar radiation intensity affects the amount of power output from the PV system. To ensure that the power output is sufficient in all different weather conditions, the solar radiation intensity of 78 W/m 2 with 95% confidence interval was defined as a threshold of power output for the PV system according to the monitoring results in this study, and a step power output mode was used to utilize the solar energy as well as possible. The oxidation ditch driven by the PV system without storage battery ran during the day and stopped at night. Therefore, anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic conditions could periodically appear in the oxidation ditch, which was favorable to nitrogen and phosphate removal from the wastewater. The experimental results showed that the system was efficient, achieving average removal efficiencies of 88% COD, 98% NH 4 ＋ -N, 70% TN and 83% TP, under the loading rates of 140 mg COD/（g MLSS·day）, 32 mg NH 4 ＋ -N/（g MLSS·day）, 44 mg TN/（g MLSS·day） and 5 mg TP/（g MLSS·day）.
