University of Bath

About: University of Bath is a education organization based out in Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 15830 authors who have published 39608 publications receiving 1358769 citations. The organization is also known as: Bath University.

Fabrication of hollow porous shells of calcium carbonate from self-organizing media

Abstract: A RICH variety of elaborate microscopic skeletal structures composed of inorganic materials are produced in nature1. Such complex, three-dimensional structures, if produced synthetically, could find important applications as light-weight ceramics, catalyst supports, biomedical implants and robust membranes for high-temperature separation technology. Here we describe a method for synthesizing hollow porous shells of crystalline calcium carbonate (aragonite) that resemble the coccospheres of certain marine algae. We show that thin cellular frameworks of either mesoporous or macroporous aragonite can be formed from oil–water–surfactant microemulsions supersaturated with calcium bicarbonate, with the pore size determined by the relative concentrations of water and oil. Using micrometre-sized polystyrene beads as the substrate for the microemulsion, hollow spherical shells of the honeycomb architecture can be produced. We propose that these cellular frameworks originate from rapid mineralization of aragonite, with a self-organized foam of oil droplets acting as a structural template, and suggest that similar processes could be of general importance in materials chemistry.

Crystal structure of the multifunctional paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase.

Abstract: Paramyxoviruses are the main cause of respiratory disease in children. One of two viral surface glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), has several functions in addition to being the major surface antigen that induces neutralizing antibodies. Here we present the crystal structures of Newcastle disease virus HN alone and in complex with either an inhibitor or with the β-anomer of sialic acid. The inhibitor complex reveals a typical neuraminidase active site within a β-propeller fold. Comparison of the structures of the two complexes reveal differences in the active site, suggesting that the catalytic site is activated by a conformational switch. This site may provide both sialic acid binding and hydrolysis functions since there is no evidence for a second sialic acid binding site in HN. Evidence for a single site with dual functions is examined and supported by mutagenesis studies. The structure provides the basis for the structure-based design of inhibitors for a range of paramyxovirus-induced diseases.

Gas sensing using porous materials for automotive applications

Abstract: Improvements in the efficiency of combustion within a vehicle can lead to reductions in the emission of harmful pollutants and increased fuel efficiency. Gas sensors have a role to play in this process, since they can provide real time feedback to vehicular fuel and emissions management systems as well as reducing the discrepancy between emissions observed in factory tests and ‘real world’ scenarios. In this review we survey the current state-of-the-art in using porous materials for sensing the gases relevant to automotive emissions. Two broad classes of porous material – zeolites and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) – are introduced, and their potential for gas sensing is discussed. The adsorptive, spectroscopic and electronic techniques for sensing gases using porous materials are summarised. Examples of the use of zeolites and MOFs in the sensing of water vapour, oxygen, NOx, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen are then detailed. Both types of porous material (zeolites and MOFs) reveal great promise for the fabrication of sensors for exhaust gases and vapours due to high selectivity and sensitivity. The size and shape selectivity of the zeolite and MOF materials are controlled by variation of pore dimensions, chemical composition (hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity), crystal size and orientation, thus enabling detection and differentiation between different gases and vapours.

The everyday accountant and researching his reality

Abstract: It is the contention of this paper that accounting researchers have been dominated in thier research methodology by methods supposedly adopted from the natural sciences. It is argued that it is time that attention was paid to the possible use of radically different “naturalistic” (or “interpretive humanistic”) research approaches in order both to focus research more closely on the concerns of practitioners and to give greater insight into everyday effects of accounting and the practices of accountants themselves.