The CO2 adsorption behavior at 25–75 °C and 0–1.0 bar of various alkali cation‐exchanged forms of merlinoite (framework type MER) zeolites with Si/Al=2.3 and 3.8 is described. The adsorption ...isotherms at 25 °C on the Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+ forms of MER zeolite with Si/Al=2.3 are characterized by a clear step, the CO2 pressure of which differs notably according to the type of their extraframework cations. Structural analysis shows that CO2 adsorption on the former three zeolites includes the relocation of gating cations with high site occupancy and the remarkable concomitant structural breathing. We define this unusual adsorption phenomenon as a cooperative cation gating‐breathing mechanism. The overall results suggest that the actual mechanism of selective CO2 adsorption on intermediate‐silica small‐pore zeolites can change from cation gating to cooperative cation gating‐breathing to breathing, depending on a combination of their topological and compositional flexibilities.
The dominant mechanism of selective CO2 adsorption on intermediate‐silica small‐pore zeolites can change from cation gating to cooperative cation gating‐breathing to breathing, depending on both the framework Si/Al ratio (or alkali cation concentration) and extraframework cation type and thus location, as well as on the framework topology.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have discovered over 100 RA loci, explaining patient-relevant RA pathogenesis but showing a large fraction of missing heritability. ...As a continuous effort, we conducted GWAS in a large Korean RA case-control population.
We newly generated genome-wide variant data in two independent Korean cohorts comprising 4068 RA cases and 36 487 controls, followed by a whole-genome imputation and a meta-analysis of the disease association results in the two cohorts. By integrating publicly available omics data with the GWAS results, a series of bioinformatic analyses were conducted to prioritise the RA-risk genes in RA loci and to dissect biological mechanisms underlying disease associations.
We identified six new RA-risk loci (
,
,
,
,
and
) with p
<5×10
and consistent disease effect sizes in the two cohorts. A total of 122 genes were prioritised from the 6 novel and 13 replicated RA loci based on physical distance, regulatory variants and chromatin interaction. Bioinformatics analyses highlighted potentially RA-relevant tissues (including immune tissues, lung and small intestine) with tissue-specific expression of RA-associated genes and suggested the immune-related gene sets (such as CD40 pathway, IL-21-mediated pathway and citrullination) and the risk-allele sharing with other diseases.
This study identified six new RA-associated loci that contributed to better understanding of the genetic aetiology and biology in RA.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; however, the roles of GABA in antimicrobial host defenses are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that ...GABAergic activation enhances antimicrobial responses against intracellular bacterial infection. Intracellular bacterial infection decreases GABA levels in vitro in macrophages and in vivo in sera. Treatment of macrophages with GABA or GABAergic drugs promotes autophagy activation, enhances phagosomal maturation and antimicrobial responses against mycobacterial infection. In macrophages, the GABAergic defense is mediated via macrophage type A GABA receptor (GABA
R), intracellular calcium release, and the GABA type A receptor-associated protein-like 1 (GABARAPL1; an Atg8 homolog). Finally, GABAergic inhibition increases bacterial loads in mice and zebrafish in vivo, suggesting that the GABAergic defense plays an essential function in metazoan host defenses. Our study identified a previously unappreciated role for GABAergic signaling in linking antibacterial autophagy to enhance host innate defense against intracellular bacterial infection.
Ion enhanced polarizationHafnium oxide is an exciting material because it has ferroelectric behavior that makes it attractive for various device applications. Kang et al. found that the ferroelectric ...properties improve by bombarding films of hafnium oxide with a beam of helium ions. The ion bombardment creates oxygen vacancies and strain changes from helium implantation that push more of the polycrystalline samples into the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase. This method may become an important tool for stabilizing the ferroelectric phase for the next generation of electronic devices. —BG
The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) needs to be improved. We investigated if hippocampal subfield volume measured by structural imaging, could supply information, so that the diagnosis of AD ...could be improved. In this study, subjects were classified based on clinical, neuropsychological, and amyloid positivity or negativity using PET scans. Data from 478 elderly Korean subjects grouped as cognitively unimpaired β-amyloid-negative (NC), cognitively unimpaired β-amyloid-positive (aAD), mild cognitively impaired β-amyloid-positive (pAD), mild cognitively impaired—specific variations not due to dementia β-amyloid-negative (CIND), severe cognitive impairment β-amyloid-positive (ADD+) and severe cognitive impairment β-amyloid-negative (ADD-) were used. NC and aAD groups did not show significant volume differences in any subfields. The CIND did not show significant volume differences when compared with either the NC or the aAD (except L-HATA). However, pAD showed significant volume differences in Sub, PrS, ML, Tail, GCMLDG, CA1, CA4, HATA, and CA3 when compared with the NC and aAD. The pAD group also showed significant differences in the hippocampal tail, CA1, CA4, molecular layer, granule cells/molecular layer/dentate gyrus, and CA3 when compared with the CIND group. The ADD- group had significantly larger volumes than the ADD+ group in the bilateral tail, SUB, PrS, and left ML. The results suggest that early amyloid depositions in cognitive normal stages are not accompanied by significant bilateral subfield volume atrophy. There might be intense and accelerated subfield volume atrophy in the later stages associated with the cognitive impairment in the pAD stage, which subsequently could drive the progression to AD dementia. Early subfield volume atrophy associated with the β-amyloid burden may be characterized by more symmetrical atrophy in CA regions than in other subfields. We conclude that the hippocampal subfield volumetric differences from structural imaging show promise for improving the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
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•Partially negatively charged fluorine functional groups were introduced on AC surface via fluorination.•The FAC electrode was applied for asymmetric CDI.•Salt adsorption capacity and ...charge efficiency were improved in R || F-.•FAC exhibited cation attractive effect.
Activated carbons (ACs) were fluorinated and fabricated into electrodes to investigate the effect of fluorination on asymmetric capacitive deionization (CDI). Fluorine functional groups were introduced on the AC surfaces via fluorination. The specific capacitance of the fluorinated AC (FAC) electrode increased drastically from 261 to 337F/g compared with the untreated AC (RAC) electrode at a scan rate of 5mV/s, despite a decrease in the specific surface area and total pore volume after fluorination. The desalination behavior of asymmetric CDI cells assembled with an RAC electrode as the counter electrode and an FAC electrode as the cathode (R || F-) or anode (R || F+) was studied. For R || F-, the salt adsorption capacity and charge efficiency increased from 10.6mg/g and 0.58–12.4mg/g and 0.75, respectively, compared with the CDI cell assembled with identical RAC electrodes at 1V. This CDI cell exhibited consistently better salt adsorption capacity and charge efficiency at different applied voltages because FAC electrodes have a cation attractive effect originating from the partially negatively charged fluorine functional groups on the AC surface. Therefore, co-ion expulsion in the FAC electrode as the cathode is effectively diminished, leading to enhanced CDI performance.
Herein we report a detailed investigation of a highly robust hybrid system (sensitizer/TiO2/catalyst) for the visible-light reduction of CO2 to CO; the system comprises ...5′-(4-bis(4-methoxymethylphenyl)aminophenyl-2,2′-dithiophen-5-yl)cyanoacrylic acid as the sensitizer and (4,4′-bis(methylphosphonic acid)-2,2′-bipyridine)ReI(CO)3Cl as the catalyst, both of which have been anchored on three different types of TiO2 particles (s-TiO2, h-TiO2, d-TiO2). It was found that remarkable enhancements in the CO2 conversion activity of the hybrid photocatalytic system can be achieved by addition of water or such other additives as Li+, Na+, and TEOA. The photocatalytic CO2 reduction efficiency was enhanced by approximately 300% upon addition of 3% (v/v) H2O, giving a turnover number of ≥570 for 30 h. A series of Mott–Schottky (MS) analyses on nanoparticle TiO2 films demonstrated that the flat-band potential (V fb) of TiO2 in dry DMF is substantially negative but positively shifts to considerable degrees in the presence of water or Li+, indicating that the enhancement effects of the additives on the catalytic activity should mainly arise from optimal alignment of the TiO2 V fb with respect to the excited-state oxidation potential of the sensitizer and the reduction potential of the catalyst in our ternary system. The present results confirm that the TiO2 semiconductor in our heterogeneous hybrid system is an essential component that can effectively work as an electron reservoir and as an electron transporting mediator to play essential roles in the persistent photocatalysis activity of the hybrid system in the selective reduction of CO2 to CO.
Numerous marine sessile organisms adhere to ship hulls and increase the sailing resistance. Antibiofouling paints are employed to maintain the ship performance. However, the chemicals employed for ...antifouling purposes are becoming increasingly diverse, lacking clear toxicological information. Particularly, the imperfect antibiofouling efficacies of these chemicals necessitate periodic hull cleaning to dislodge attached marine organisms. This hull cleaning process inadvertently releases a plethora of hazardous substances, including antibiofouling chemicals, heavy metals, and cleaning agents, alongside exotic microorganisms. This results in profound marine pollution and ecosystem disruption. Specifically, these exotic microorganisms pose a novel ecological threat in coastal waters. However, despite the gravity of ship hull cleaning-related issues, comprehensive investigations have been lacking, and international regulatory measures are gaining attention recently. Aiming to provide solutions to the emerging challenges associated with hull cleaning, this review endeavors to comprehensively address the biofouling organisms and their mechanisms, potential antifouling paint hazards, and effective hull cleaning methodologies.
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•Marine sessile organisms are responsible for biofouling on hull surfaces.•Regular hull cleaning is essential to remove biofouling from the hull.•Hull cleaning processes can lead to the release of pollutants into the sea.•Hull cleaning wastewater recovery and treatment are required.
Members of the genus Nocardia are widespread in diverse environments; a wide range of Nocardia species are known to cause nocardiosis in several animals, including cat, dog, fish, and humans. Of the ...pathogenic Nocardia species, N. seriolae is known to cause disease in cultured fish, resulting in major economic loss. We isolated two N. seriolae strains, CK‐14008 and EM15050, from diseased fish and sequenced their genomes using the PacBio sequencing platform. To identify their genomic features, we compared their genomes with those of other Nocardia species. Phylogenetic analysis showed that N. seriolae shares a common ancestor with a putative human pathogenic Nocardia species. Moreover, N. seriolae strains were phylogenetically divided into four clusters according to host fish families. Through genome comparison, we observed that the putative pathogenic Nocardia strains had additional genes for iron acquisition. Dozens of antibiotic resistance genes were detected in the genomes of N. seriolae strains; most of the antibiotics were involved in the inhibition of the biosynthesis of proteins or cell walls. Our results demonstrated the virulence features and antibiotic resistance of fish pathogenic N. seriolae strains at the genomic level. These results may be useful to develop strategies for the prevention of fish nocardiosis.
The genomes of two N. seriolae strains from diseased fish were completely sequenced and their genomic features were identified using a comparative approach with those of other Nocardia species.
Summary
Acinetobacter baumannii is a multi‐drug resistant, Gram‐negative bacteria and infection with this organism is one of the major causes of mortality in intensive care units. Inflammasomes are ...multiprotein oligomers that include caspase‐1, and their activation is required for maturation of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β). Inflammasome signalling is involved in host defences against various microbial infections, but the precise mechanism by which A. baumannii activates inflammasomes and the roles of relevant signals in host defence against pulmonary A. baumannii infection are unknown. Our results showed that NLRP3, ASC and caspase‐1, but not NLRC4, are required for A. baumannii‐induced production of IL‐1β in macrophages. An inhibitor assay revealed that various pathways, including P2X7R, K+ efflux, reactive oxygen species production and release of cathepsins, are involved in IL‐1β production in macrophages in response to A. baumannii. Interleukin‐1β production in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was impaired in NLRP3‐deficient and caspase‐1/11‐deficient mice infected with A. baumannii, compared with that in wild‐type (WT) mice. However, the bacterial loads in BAL fluid and lungs were comparable between WT and NLRP3‐deficient or caspase‐1/11‐deficient mice. The severity of lung pathology was reduced in NLRP3‐ deficient, caspase‐1/11‐ deficient and IL‐1‐receptor‐deficient mice, although the recruitment of immune cells and production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were not altered in these mice. These findings indicate that A. baumannii leads to the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, which mediates IL‐1β production and lung pathology.
NLRP3/ASC/caspase‐1 axis mediates IL‐1β production in response to Acinetobacter baumannii NLRP3 inflammasome and IL‐1β contribute to A. baumannii‐induced lung pathology.
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