Desalination of seawater with zero‐liquid discharge is a major challenge. Here we developed a three‐dimensional “umbrella” architecture to evaporate hypersaline brines of up to 20 wt% using ...solar‐driven interfacial evaporation. By controlling the water pathway and the thickness of the evaporator films to manipulate the salt capacitance of the system, a stable evaporation rate of >2.6 kg m−2 h−1 was achieved over 4‐day operation in the laboratory environment with minimized salt accumulation on evaporation surfaces. By placing the system in an outdoor environment with natural wind, the peak evaporation rate was improved to 9.05 kg m−2 h−1. After a 4‐day outdoor test, the total evaporated water by the umbrella system was 3.7× more than the natural evaporation from a bulk water surface under identical environmental conditions. The predesigned water flow also controlled the local salt accumulation, resulting in easier salt removing and collection, which is highly desired for accelerated salt mining applications.
A self‐salt‐cleaning design is proposed for maintenance‐free solar‐ and wind‐driven interfacial evaporation. The large surface area of the architecture results in high evaporation rates. Due to the water transportation and the salt capacitance engineering, the salt accumulation and fouling issues are minimized. The desalination of hypersaline water reveals the potential for fresh‐water production and high value salt mining applications with zero‐liquid discharge.
The G12/13 class of heterotrimeric G proteins, comprising the α-subunits Gα12 and Gα13, regulates multiple aspects of cellular behavior, including proliferation and cytoskeletal rearrangements. ...Although guanine nucleotide exchange factors for the monomeric G protein Rho (RhoGEFs) are well characterized as effectors of this G protein class, a variety of other downstream targets has been reported. To identify Gα12 determinants that mediate specific protein interactions, we used a structural and evolutionary comparison between the G12/13, Gs, Gi, and Gq classes to identify "class-distinctive" residues in Gα12 and Gα13. Mutation of these residues in Gα12 to their deduced ancestral forms revealed a subset necessary for activation of serum response element (SRE)-mediated transcription, a G12/13-stimulated pathway implicated in cell proliferative signaling. Unexpectedly, this subset of Gα12 mutants showed impaired binding to heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) while retaining binding to RhoGEFs. Corresponding mutants of Gα13 exhibited robust SRE activation, suggesting a Gα12-specific mechanism, and inhibition of Hsp90 by geldanamycin or small interfering RNA-mediated lowering of Hsp90 levels resulted in greater downregulation of Gα12 than Gα13 signaling in SRE activation experiments. Furthermore, the Drosophila G12/13 homolog Concertina was unable to signal to SRE in mammalian cells, and Gα12:Concertina chimeras revealed Gα12-specific determinants of SRE activation within the switch regions and a C-terminal region. These findings identify Gα12 determinants of SRE activation, implicate Gα12:Hsp90 interaction in this signaling mechanism, and illuminate structural features that arose during evolution of Gα12 and Gα13 to allow bifurcated mechanisms of signaling to a common cell proliferative pathway.
The Greater Short-horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) is a small reptile endemic to western North America that is classified as endangered in Canada. Here, we describe the development of 8 ...microsatellite markers for P. hernandesi. Observed allelic diversity varied from 2 to 11 while observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.370–0.852 to 0.486–0.856, respectively. These markers will facilitate studies that address conservation of the species, such as levels of genetic diversity and population structure.
We reveal a three-dimensional "umbrella" architecture to evaporate hypersaline brines using solar-thermal effects. A stable evaporation rate of >2.6 kg m -2 h -1 was achieved over a 4-day operation ...with minimized salt accumulation on evaporation surfaces.
The specialty of Laboratory Genetics and Genomics (LGG) was created in 2017 in an effort to reflect the increasing convergence in technologies and approaches between clinical molecular genetics and ...clinical cytogenetics. However, there has not yet been any formal evaluation of the merging of these disciplines and the challenges faced by Program Directors (PDs) tasked with ensuring the successful training of laboratory geneticists under the new model.
An electronic multi-question Qualtrics survey was created and was sent to the PD for each of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–accredited LGG fellowship programs at the time. The data were collected, and the responses were aggregated for each question.
All of the responding PDs had started training at least 1 LGG fellow. PDs noted challenges with funding, staff shortages, molecular/cytogenetics content integration, limited total training time, increased remote work, increased sendout testing, and a lack of prior cytogenetics knowledge among incoming fellows.
This survey attempted to assess the challenges that LGG PDs have been facing in offering and integrating clinical molecular genetics and clinical cytogenetics fellowship training. Common challenges between programs were noted, and a set of 6 concluding comments are provided to facilitate future discussion.
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