Rapid single step atmospheric pressure plasma jet deposition of a SERS active surface

A helium gas atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is used to prepare a silver-based SERS substrate. The Raman enhancement from substrates created using APPJ compares well with two commercially available silver-based SERS substrates and an in-house prepared physical deposition of pre-synthesised silver nanoparticles. An aqueous solution of rudimentary silver salt was required as an ink to deposit zero valent silver in a single step with no post processing. An array of 16 × 16 silver ‘islands’ are printed on borosilicate glass, each island taking 5 seconds to print with a power of < 14 W to sustain the plasma. The SERS response was assessed using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid and rhodamine 6G as model analytes, with a calculated detection limit of 1 × 10−6 M. Also demonstrated is the removal of analyte from the surface after Raman measurement by exposure to helium APPJ doped with oxygen followed by hydrogen to restore zero baseline. This regeneration takes less than 10 seconds and allows for replicate measurements using the same SERS substrate

Unpublished Mediterranean and Black Sea records of marine alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia).peer-reviewe

Optimization and structure-activity relationships of phosphinic pseudotripeptide inhibitors of aminopeptidases that generate antigenic peptides

The oxytocinase subfamily of M1 aminopeptidases, consisting of ER aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1), ER aminopeptidase 2 (ERAP2), and insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP), plays critical roles in the generation of antigenic peptides and indirectly regulates human adaptive immune responses. We have previously demonstrated that phosphinic pseudotripeptides can constitute potent inhibitors of this group of enzymes. In this study, we used synthetic methodologies able to furnish a series of stereochemically defined phosphinic pseudotripeptides and demonstrate that side chains at P1′ and P2′ positions are critical determinants in driving potency and selectivity. We identified low nanomolar inhibitors of ERAP2 and IRAP that display selectivity of more than 2 and 3 orders of magnitude, respectively. Cellular analysis demonstrated that one of the compounds that is a selective IRAP inhibitor can reduce IRAP-dependent but not ERAP1-dependent cross-presentation by dendritic cells with nanomolar efficacy. Our results encourage further preclinical development of phosphinic pseudotripeptides as regulators of adaptive immune responses.</p

Unpublished Mediterranean and Black Sea records of marine alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia)