Purdue University

About: Purdue University is a education organization based out in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 73219 authors who have published 163563 publications receiving 5775236 citations. The organization is also known as: Purdue & Purdue-West Lafayette.

Phase retrieval in crystallography and optics

Abstract: Phase problems occur in many scientific disciplines, particularly those involving remote sensing using a wave field. Although there has been much interest in phase retrieval in optics and in imaging in general over the past decade, phase retrieval has a much longer history in x-ray crystallography, and a variety of powerful and practical techniques have been developed. The nature of crystallography means that crystallographic phase problems are distinct from those in other imaging contexts, but there are a number of commonalities. Here the principles of phase retrieval in crystallography are outlined and are compared and contrasted with phase retrieval in general imaging. Uniqueness results are discussed, but the emphasis is on phase-retrieval algorithms and areas in which results in one discipline have, and may, contribute to the other.

Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 Nanocrystal Ink and Its Use for Solar Cells

Abstract: Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) based solar cells are promising candidates for low cost solar cells due to the natural abundance and low toxicity of the constituent elements. Here, we present the first reported synthesis of colloidal CZTS nanocrystals using a simple solution-phase method. Solar cells fabricated using selenized CZTS nanocrystal inks had a power conversion efficiency of 0.74% under AM1.5G illumination.

MAP kinase and cAMP signaling regulate infection structure formation and pathogenic growth in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea.

Abstract: Many fungal pathogens invade plants using specialized infection structures called appressoria that differentiate from the tips of fungal hyphae contacting the plant surface. We demonstrate a role for a MAP kinase that is essential for appressorium formation and infectious growth in Magnaporthe grisea, the fungal pathogen responsible for rice blast disease. The PMK1 gene of M. grisea is homologous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MAP kinases FUS3/KSS1, and a GST-Pmk1 fusion protein has kinase activity in vitro. pmk1 mutants of M. grisea fail to form appressoria and fail to grow invasively in rice plants. pmk1 mutants are still responsive to cAMP for early stages of appressorium formation, which suggests Pmk1 acts downstream of a cAMP signal for infection structure formation. PMK1 is nonessential for vegetative growth and sexual and asexual reproduction in culture. Surprisingly, when expressed behind the GAL1 promoter in yeast, PMK1 can rescue the mating defect in a fus3 kss1 double mutant. These results demonstrate that PMK1 is part of a highly conserved MAP kinase signal transduction pathway that acts cooperatively with a cAMP signaling pathway for fungal pathogenesis.

Molecular Paleohydrology: Interpreting the Hydrogen-Isotopic Composition of Lipid Biomarkers from Photosynthesizing Organisms

Abstract: Hydrogen-isotopic abundances of lipid biomarkers are emerging as important proxies in the study of ancient environments and ecosystems. A decade ago, pioneering studies made use of new analytical methods and demonstrated that the hydrogen-isotopic composition of individual lipids from aquatic and terrestrial organisms can be related to the composition of their growth (i.e., environmental) water. Subsequently, compound-specific deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratios of sedimentary biomarkers have been increasingly used as paleohydrological proxies over a range of geological timescales. Isotopic fractionation observed between hydrogen in environmental water and hydrogen in lipids, however, is sensitive to biochemical, physiological, and environmental influences on the composition of hydrogen available for biosynthesis in cells. Here we review the factors and processes that are known to influence the hydrogen-isotopic compositions of lipids-especially n-alkanes-from photosynthesizing organisms, and we provide a framework for interpreting their D/H ratios from ancient sediments and identify future research opportunities.