Method validation of nanoparticle tracking analysis to measure pulmonary nanoparticle content: the size distribution in exhaled breath condensate depends on occupational exposure

A particle exposure assessment based on the dose deposited in the lungs would be the gold standard for the evaluation of any resulting health effects. Measuring particles in exhaled breath condensate (EBC)-a matrix containing water and airway lining fluid-could help to evaluate particle retention in the lungs. This study aimed to (1) validate a nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) method for determining the particle number concentration and their hydrodynamic size distribution in EBC, and (2) apply this method to EBC collected from workers exposed to soapstone (n = 55) or quartz dust (n = 12) and controls (n = 11). A standard latex bead solution was used to determine the linear range, limit of detection (LOD), repeatability (coefficient of variation, CV), and bias in spiked EBC. An LM10 NanoSight instrument with NTA version 3.1 software was used for measurement. RTubes(®) were used for field collection of EBC. The repeatability obtained for a D50 size distribution in EBC showed less than 8% variability, with a bias <7%. The particle concentration was linear in the range ≤2.5 × 10(8) particles ml(-1) with a LOD of 4 × 10(6) particles ml(-1). A recovery of 117 ± 20% at 6.2 × 10(7) particles ml(-1) was obtained with a CV <10% and a bias <20%. EBC from workers exposed to quartz, who experienced the largest exposure to silica particles, consistently exhibited a statistically significant (p < 0.01) higher concentration of particles in their EBC, with a size distribution shift towards larger values than the other groups. Results showed that the NTA technique performed well for characterizing the size distribution and concentrations of particles in EBC. The technique needs to be corroborated with a larger population of workers

Bacterial community composition and diversity of two different forms of an organic residue of bioenergy crop

The use of residue of sugarcane ethanol industry named vinasse in fertirrigation is an established and widespread practice in Brazil. Both non-concentrated vinasse (NCV) and concentrated vinasse (CV) are used in fertirrigation, particularly to replace the potassium fertilizer. Although studies on the chemical and organic composition of vinasse and their impact on nitrous oxide emissions when applied in soil have been carried out, no studies have evaluated the microbial community composition and diversity in different forms of vinasse. We assessed the bacterial community composition of NCV and CV by non-culturable and culturable approaches. The non-culturable bacterial community was assessed by next generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and culturable community by isolation of bacterial strains and molecular and biochemical characterization. Additionally, we assessed in the bacterial strains the presence of genes of nitrogen cycle nitrification and denitrification pathways. The microbial community based on 16S rRNA sequences of NCV was overrepresented by Bacilli and Negativicutes while CV was mainly represented by Bacilli class. The isolated strains from the two types of vinasse belong to class Bacilli, similar to Lysinibacillus, encode for nirK gene related to denitrification pathway. This study highlights the bacterial microbial composition particularly in CV what residue is currently recycled and recommended as a sustainable practice in sugarcane cultivation in the tropics

Raman Phonon Modes Of Zinc Blende Inxga1 - Xn Alloy Epitaxial Layers

Transverse-optical (TO) and longitudinal-optical (LO) phonons of zinc blende InxGa1 - xN (0≤x ≤0.31) layers are observed through first-order micro-Raman scattering experiments. The samples are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates, and x-ray diffraction measurements are performed to determine the epilayer alloy composition. Both the TO and LO phonons exhibit a one-mode-type behavior, and their frequencies display a linear dependence on the composition. The Raman data reported here are used to predict the A1 (TO) and E1 (TO) phonon frequencies of the hexagonal InxGa1 - xN alloy. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.75810951097Pankove, J.I., Moustakas, T., Gallium nitrides I (1998) Semiconductors and Semimetals, 50. , Academic, San Diego, CAShan, W., Walukiewicz, W., Haller, E.E., Little, B.D., Song, J.J., McCluskey, M.D., Johnson, N.M., Stall, R.A., (1998) J. Appl. Phys., 84, p. 4452Chichibu, S., Azuhata, T., Sota, T., Nakamura, S., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 70, p. 2822Shan, W., Perlin, P., Ager J.W. III, Walukiewicz, W., Haller, E.E., McCluskey, M.D., Johnson, N.M., Bour, D.P., (1998) Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, p. 1613Chichibu, S., Azuhata, T., Sota, T., Nakamura, S., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 4188Narukawa, Y., Kawakami, Y., Funato, M., Fujita, S., Nakamura, S., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 70, p. 981Orton, J.W., Foxon, C.T., (1998) Rep. Prog. Phys., 61, p. 1Abernathy, C.R., MacKenzie, J.D., Bharatan, S.R., Jones, K.S., Pearton, S.J., (1995) Appl. Phys. Lett., 66, p. 1632(1995) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 13, p. 716Müllhäuser, J.R., Jenichen, B., Wassermeier, M., Brandt, O., Ploog, K.H., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 71, p. 909Müllhäuser, J.R., Brandt, O., Trompert, A., Jenichen, B., Ploog, K.H., (1998) Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, p. 1230Holst, J., Hoffmann, A., Broser, I., Frey, T., Schöttker, B., As, D.J., Schikora, D., Lischka, K., (1999) MRS Internet J. Nitride Semicond. Res., 4 S1, pp. G23Feng, Z.C., Schurman, M., Tran, C.A., Salagaj, T., Karlicek, B., Ferguson, I., Stall, R.A., Pitt, G.D., (1998) Mater. Sci. Forum, 264-268, p. 1359Behr, D., Niebuhr, R., Obloh, H., Wagner, J., Bachem, K.H., Kaufmann, U., (1997) Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 468, p. 213Osamura, K., Naka, S., Murakami, Y., (1975) J. Appl. Phys., 46, p. 3432Tabata, A., Lima, A.P., Teles, L.K., Scolfaro, L.M.R., Leite, J.R., Lemos, V., Schöttker, B., Lischka, K., (1999) Appl. Phys. Lett., 74, p. 362Tabata, A., Enderlein, R., Leite, J.R., Da Silva, S.W., Galzerani, J.C., Schikora, D., Kloidt, M., Lischka, K., (1996) J. Appl. Phys., 79, p. 4137Strite, S., Chandrasekhar, D., Smith, D.J., Sariel, J., Chen, H., Teraguchi, N., Morkoç, H., (1993) J. Cryst. Growth, 127, p. 204Ho, I., Stringfellow, G.B., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 2701Inushima, T., Yaguchi, T., Nagase, A., Iso, A., Shiraishi, T., (1996) Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, , Bristol(1996) Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser., 142, p. 971Dyck, J.S., Kash, K., Kim, K., Lambrecht, W.R.L., Hayman, C.C., Argoitia, A., Grossner, M.T., Angus, J.C., (1998) Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 482, p. 549Yu, S., Kim, K.W., Bergman, L., Dutta, M., Stroscio, M.A., Zavada, J.M., (1998) Phys. Rev. B, 58, p. 15283Kwon, H.-J., Lee, Y.-H., Miki, O., Yamano, H., Yoshida, A., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 937Lee, M.-C., Lin, H.-C., Pan, Y.-C., Shu, C.-K., Ou, J., Chen, W.-H., Chen, W.-K., (1998) Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, p. 260

Crises and collective socio-economic phenomena: simple models and challenges

Financial and economic history is strewn with bubbles and crashes, booms and busts, crises and upheavals of all sorts. Understanding the origin of these events is arguably one of the most important problems in economic theory. In this paper, we review recent efforts to include heterogeneities and interactions in models of decision. We argue that the Random Field Ising model (RFIM) indeed provides a unifying framework to account for many collective socio-economic phenomena that lead to sudden ruptures and crises. We discuss different models that can capture potentially destabilising self-referential feedback loops, induced either by herding, i.e. reference to peers, or trending, i.e. reference to the past, and account for some of the phenomenology missing in the standard models. We discuss some empirically testable predictions of these models, for example robust signatures of RFIM-like herding effects, or the logarithmic decay of spatial correlations of voting patterns. One of the most striking result, inspired by statistical physics methods, is that Adam Smith's invisible hand can badly fail at solving simple coordination problems. We also insist on the issue of time-scales, that can be extremely long in some cases, and prevent socially optimal equilibria to be reached. As a theoretical challenge, the study of so-called "detailed-balance" violating decision rules is needed to decide whether conclusions based on current models (that all assume detailed-balance) are indeed robust and generic.Comment: Review paper accepted for a special issue of J Stat Phys; several minor improvements along reviewers' comment

Global assessment of dengue Virus-Specific CD4+ T cell responses in Dengue-Endemic areas

Background: Dengue is a major public health problem worldwide. Assessment of adaptive immunity is important to understanding immunopathology and to define correlates of protection against dengue virus (DENV). To enable global assessment of CD4+ T cell responses, we mapped HLA-DRB1-restricted DENV-specific CD4+ T cell epitopes in individuals previously exposed to DENV in the general population of the dengue-endemic region of Managua, Nicaragua. Methods: HLA class II epitopes in the population of Managua were identified by an in vitro IFNγ ELISPOT assay. CD4+ T cells purified by magnetic bead negative selection were stimulated with HLA-matched epitope pools in the presence of autologous antigen-presenting cells, followed by pool deconvolution to identify specific epitopes. The epitopes identified in this study were combined with those previously identified in the DENV endemic region of Sri Lanka, to generate a “megapool” (MP) consisting of 180 peptides specifically designed to achieve balanced HLA and DENV serotype coverage. The DENV CD4MP180 was validated by intracellular cytokine staining assays. Results: We detected responses directed against a total of 431 epitopes, representing all 4 DENV serotypes, restricted by 15 different HLA-DRB1 alleles. The responses were associated with a similar pattern of protein immunodominance, overall higher magnitude of responses, as compared to what was observed previously in the Sri Lanka region. Based on these epitope mapping studies, we designed a DENV CD4 MP180 with higher and more consistent coverage, which allowed the detection of CD4+ T cell DENV responses ex vivo in various cohorts of DENV exposed donors worldwide, including donors from Nicaragua, Brazil, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and U.S. domestic flavivirus-naïve subjects immunized with Tetravalent Dengue Live-Attenuated Vaccine (TV005). This broad reactivity reflects that the 21 HLA-DRB1 alleles analyzed in this and previous studies account for more than 80% of alleles present with a phenotypic frequency ≥5% worldwide, corresponding to 92% phenotypic coverage of the general population (i.e., 92% of individuals express at least one of these alleles). Conclusion: The DENV CD4 MP180 can be utilized to measure ex vivo responses to DENV irrespective of geographical location

Uncovering the potentialities of protic ionic liquids based on alkanolammonium and carboxylate ions and their aqueous solutions as non-derivatizing solvents of Kraft lignin

The present study scrutinized in depth the ability of alkanolammonium-based Protic Ionic Liquids (PILs) with carboxylate anions to dissolve Kraft lignin at 323.15 K. A focus was put on understanding the role of both PIL ions and water on the dissolution process. The results demonstrated that the anion plays a more important role in lignin dissolution than the cation. Furthermore, lignin dissolution was favored by increasing the alkyl chain of the carboxylate anion, while a smaller cation with lower number of hydroxyalkyl groups performed better. Among the studied solvents, the 2-hydroxyethylammonium hexanoate (HEAH) displayed the highest lignin solubility (37 wt%). In general, the addition of water had a negative influence on lignin solubility with the tested PILs. A sharp decrease in lignin solubility curves of 2-hydroxyethylammonium formate (HEAF) and acetate (HEAA) was observed, while a more softly effect was observed for 2-hydroxyethylammonium propionate (HEAP) and HEAH with the addition of water. However, a distinct behavior was observed for 2-hydroxyethylammonium octanoate (HEAO) that acted as hydrotrope enhancing lignin solubility in aqueous solutions to a maximum value at 40 wt% water content. Furthermore, by increasing the temperature, the lignin solubility was favored due to endothermic behavior of lignin dissolution process. The dissolution of Kraft lignin was also performed at 393.15 K to unravel any lignin modification unleashed by PILs. GPC, FTIR-ATR and 2D NMR were employed for lignin characterization and the changes observed between native lignin and recovered lignin samples were negligible demonstrating the non-derivatizing char- acter of the PILs. Moreover, the recycle of 2-hydroxyethylammonium propionate (HEAP) was successfully de- monstrated for at least 3 cycles. In this way, PILs are herein revealed as promising solvents to apply in lignin valorization towards more efficient and eco-friendly processes.Suzano Papel & Celulosepublishe

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types