This study aimed at using single‐sample gene set enrichment analysis scores to cluster naso/pharyngeal swab specimen samples from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients into two clusters. One ...cluster with higher fractions of immune cells and more active inflammatory‐related pathways was called the Immunity‐High (Immunity‐H) group, and the other one was called the Immunity‐Low group. We explored impacts of the method on COVID‐19 treatment. First, given that the Immunity‐H group was mainly enriched in inflammatory‐related pathways and had higher fractions of inflammatory cells, the Immunity‐H group may obtain more curative effects from anti‐inflammatory treatment. Second, we searched some hot genes from the PubMed platform that had been studied by researchers and found these genes upregulated in the Immunity‐H group, so we speculated the Immunity‐H group and Immunity‐Low group may have different curative effects from drugs targeting these genes. Finally, we screened out hub genes for the Immunity‐H group and predicted potential drugs for these hub genes by a public data set (http://dgidb.genome.wustl.edu). These hub genes are significantly upregulated in the Immunity‐H group and neutrophils so that the Immunity‐H group may obtain different treatment results from potential drugs compared with the Immunity‐Low group. Therefore, the cluster method may provide help in drug development and administration for COVID‐19 patients.
Oxy-fuel combustion has received significant attention because it is widely considered to be a promising method for cost-effective CO2 capture. The key to the success of oxy-fuel combustion processes ...is the availability of inexpensive O2. Therefore, development of low-cost and robust technologies for air separation or separating O2 from air is critical. Great progress has been made in this research and development area. However, a recent review of the progress made in the area is lacking. This review is designed to fill the gap. The review focuses on three major technologies for separating oxygen from air, including membranes, adsorption, and chemical-looping with oxygen uncoupling. The separation principles, characteristics, challenges and the associated solutions of these major technologies are systematically discussed. Future opportunities are outlined for each.
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We present a three‐dimensional vector level set method coupled to a recently developed stable extended finite element method (XFEM). We further investigate a new enrichment approach for XFEM ...adopting discontinuous linear enrichment functions in place of the asymptotic near‐tip functions. Through the vector level set method, level set values for propagating cracks are obtained via simple geometrical operations, eliminating the need for solution of differential evolution equations. The first XFEM variant ensures optimal convergence rates by means of geometrical enrichment, ie, the use of enriched elements in a fixed volume around the crack front, without giving rise to conditioning problems. The linear enrichment approach, significantly simplifies implementation and reduces the computational cost associated with numerical integration, while providing nonoptimal convergence rates similar to standard finite elements. The 2 dicretization schemes are tested for different benchmark problems, and their combination to the vector level set method is verified for nonplanar crack propagation problems.
High-throughput genomic sequencing is rapidly changing the field of phylogenetics by decreasing the cost and increasing the quantity and rate of data collection by several orders of magnitude. This ...deluge of data is exerting tremendous pressure on downstream data-analysis methods providing new opportunities for method development. In this review, we present (a) recent advances in laboratory methods for collection of high-throughput phylogenetic data and (b) challenges and constraints for phylogenetic analysis of these data. We compare the merits of multiple laboratory approaches, compare methods of data analysis, and offer recommendations for the most promising protocols and data-analysis workflows currently available for phylogenetics. We also discuss several strategies for increasing accuracy, with an emphasis on locus selection and proper model choice.
While a direct relationship between family support and job satisfaction has received empirical support, few work–family studies have examined how family support leads to job satisfaction. Drawing on ...the work–home resources model, we investigate the chain mediating roles of work‐to‐family enrichment (WFE), family‐to‐work enrichment (FWE), and job‐related well‐being on the relationship between family support and job satisfaction. Based on data collected from 439 social workers across Australia, structural equation modeling results revealed that the chain mediating effects of WFE and job‐related well‐being were supported. Our findings emphasize the important combination of work–family enrichment and job‐related well‐being in helping employees to harness support from their family members to achieve job satisfaction. We discuss both the theoretical and practical implications of the WFE, FWE, and job‐related well‐being mechanisms underlying the family support–job satisfaction relationship.
The process of chemical uranium enrichment by light isotopes has been studied. The kinetic parameters of the adsorption of UO.sub.2(NO.sub.3).sub.2·2TBP molecules in a heterogeneous system at the ...vertical interface between a polar HNO.sub.3 solution and a solid vertical surface of nonpolar polypropylene (C.sub.3H.sub.6).sub.n during the extraction of uranyl nitrate UO.sub.2(NO.sub.3).sub.2 with tributylphosphate from an HNO.sub.3 solution were measured.
It has been described that environmental enrichment (EE) exerts beneficial effects on cognitive and emotional performances, dendritic branching, synaptic density, neurogenesis and modulation of ...neurotrophic systems and neurotransmitters in rodents. However, the influence of EE on pharmacological and behavioral responses in animal models of psychiatric disorders has not been fully established. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of exposure to EE on mice behavior in the open field test (OFT) and forced swimming tests (FST), as well as the response to antidepressant drugs (fluoxetine 30 mg/kg and bupropion 30 mg/kg, p.o.). CF1 mice were exposed to an enriched housing condition at different developmental stages: from mating to postnatal day (PND) 55 (lifelong enrichment), from mating to PND21 (perinatal enrichment) and from PND21 to PND55 (post-weaning enrichment). At PND58 the male offspring were evaluated in the OFT and FST. BDNF gene expression in the hippocampus was determined through qPCR. Mice exposed to perinatal enrichment remained longer in the peripheral zone of the OFT and performed fewer grooming than mice housed under standard condition, and these effects were independent of drug treatment. Post-weaning and lifelong enrichment increased grooming behavior. Bupropion reduced grooming in all groups except in perinatal enriched. In turn, fluoxetine decreased grooming only in post-weaning enriched group. None of the enriched housing conditions altered the immobility time in the FST, which indicates that EE had no antidepressant-like effect. However, all enriched housing conditions abolished the anti-immobility effect of bupropion. None of the EE protocols affected BDNF hippocampal expression. The main conclusion is that mice behavior in the OFT is sensitive to alterations in the housing environment and depends on the developmental stage of exposure. Bupropion and fluoxetine yielded divergent responses depending on the housing condition, which suggests that EE modulates monoaminergic neurotransmission pathways.
1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP), a refractory contaminant, can be reductive dehalogenated to allyl chloride (AC) by microorganisms, which has been shown a potential in situ bioremediation (ISB) strategy ...for TCP remediation in groundwater. In practice, however, it is hard to monitor the bioreduction extent because the TCP concentrations may also be decreased by non-biodegradation processes. Compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) can be promising in determining the extent of degradation by quantifying the isotope enrichment factors (ε) of relevant degradation mechanisms. To date, no CSIA study has been reported on TCP degradation. In this study, a novel TCP-to-AC transformation enrichment culture (dominated by Azotobacter, Parabacteroides, Fusibacter, Hydrogenophaga, Trichococcus Desulfovibrio, etc) in the absence of the already identified TCP anaerobic reductive dechlorinating microorganisms (e.g., Dehalogenimonas) was derived from a chlorinated hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer. A TCP degradation experiment was carried out by adding yeast extract to produce hydrogen as an electron donor. The TCP-to-AC transformation was found to conform to zero-order conversion kinetics with the rate constant 11 ± 0.34 μmol L−1 d−1 during the main biodegradation stage. The bulk carbon isotope enrichment factor (εbulk) of the TCP-to-AC transformation was firstly evaluated as −5.2 ± 0.1‰. This study for the first time characterized the carbon isotope fractionations during TCP biodegradation using a novel enrichment culture, which would provide a promising tool for the incorporation of ISB for TCP removal in the future.
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•Demonstrated a novel effective enrichment culture for TCP reductive dehalogenation.•TCP-to-AC was found to be a zero-order reaction with a rapid velocity (11 μM d−1).•The bulk carbon isotope enrichment factor (εbulk) of TCP-to-AC was firstly evaluated.
Utilization of faeces has long been a popular approach for genetic and ecological studies of wildlife. However, the success of molecular marker genotyping and genome resequencing is often ...unpredictable due to insufficient enrichment of endogenous DNA in the total faecal DNA that is dominated by bacterial DNA. Here, we report a simple and cheap method named PEERS to predominantly lyse animal cells over bacteria by using sodium dodecyl sulphate so as to discharge endogenous DNA into liquid phase before bacterial DNA. By brief centrifugation, total DNA with enriched endogenous fraction can be extracted from the supernatant using routine methods. Our assessments showed that the endogenous DNA extracted by PEERS was significantly enriched for various types of faeces from different species, preservation time and conditions. It significantly improves the genotyping correctness and efficiency of genome resequencing with the total additional cost of $ 0.1 and a short incubation step to treat a faecal sample. We also provide methods to assess the enrichment efficiency of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and models to predict the usability of faecal DNA for genotyping of short tandem repeat, single‐nucleotide polymorphism and whole‐genome resequencing.
A conceptual framework considering toxicity, metabolism and maintenance energy is proposed for research on microbial degradation of organic pollutants and bioremediation. There is a specific ...concentration range for metabolism of a selective pollutant by microorganisms and this range is above the concentration for maintenance requirement and below one starting to show toxicity. This framework will help the enrichment of microorganisms for isolation and their metabolism successfully, and bioremediation for cleaning up efficiently. By knowing the concentrations of maintenance energy and toxicity, degradation of any pollutants can be carried out more objectively. We propose this framework with indole and its methylated derivatives as examples and also point out several of the most critically important factors involved, specifically enrichment culturing and transfer technique, culture medium and composition, the target organic pollutant as the sole source of carbon and energy, co-metabolism, and source of the potential capable of microorganisms. The challenges facing the scientific community on degradation research are about the understanding and also implementation of the most effective scientific methods to test the research hypothesis to obtain the most significantly and convincing results. With the information presented, it is hoped that this conceptual framework can improve to better design research experiments to advance new knowledge on microbial degradation and also implement bioremediation more effective in applications for cleaning up the contaminated sites.
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