The Missing Link between Candida albicans Hyphal Morphogenesis and Host Cell Damage

Funding: Our own work was funded by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (102549/Z/13/Z), a Wellcome Trust ISSF (RG12723-14), the MRC and University of Aberdeen (MR/N006364/1) (DW); Medical Research Council (MR/J008303/1, MR/M011372/1), Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J015261/1), FP7-PEOPLE-2013-Initial Training Network (606786) (JRN); Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology (097377/Z/11/Z) (JRN and DW); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft CRC/TR124 FungiNet Project C1 and SPP 1580 (Hu 528/17-1) and CSCC, German Federal Ministry of Education and Health [BMBF] 01EO1002 (BH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Can Point Defects in Surfaces in Solution be Atomically Resolved by Atomic Force Microscopy?

While the atomic force microscope (AFM) is able to image mineral surfaces in solution with atomic resolution, so far, it has been a matter of debate whether imaging point defects is also possible under these conditions. The difficulties stem from the limited knowledge of what types of defects may be stable in the presence of an AFM tip, as well as from the complicated imaging mechanism involving interactions between hydration layers over the surface and around the tip apex. Here, we present atomistic molecular dynamics and free energy calculations of the AFM imaging of vacancies and ionic substitutions in the calcite (10-14) surface in water, using a new silica AFM tip model. Our results indicate that both calcium and carbonate vacancies, as well as a magnesium substitution, could be resolved in an AFM experiment, albeit with different imaging mechanisms

IR-MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging with Plasma Post-Ionization of Nonpolar Metabolites

Ambient mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) methods come with the advantage of visualizing biomolecules from tissues with no or minimal sample preparation and operation under atmospheric-pressure conditions. Similar to all other MSI methodologies, however, ambient MSI modalities suffer from a pronounced bias toward either polar or nonpolar analytes due to the underlying desorption and ionization mechanisms of the ion source. In this study, we present the design, construction, testing, and application of an in-capillary dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) module for post-ionization of neutrals desorbed by an ambient infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (IR-MALDI) MSI source. We demonstrate that the DBD device enhances signal intensities of nonpolar compounds by up to 104 compared to IR-MALDI without affecting transmission of IR-MALDI ions. This allows performing MSI experiments of mouse tissue and Danaus plexippus caterpillar tissue sections, visualizing the distribution of sterols, fatty acids, monoglycerides, and diglycerides that are not detected in IR-MALDI MSI experiments. The pronounced signal enhancement due to IR-MALDI-DBD compared to IR-MALDI MSI enables mapping of nonpolar analytes with pixel resolutions down to 20 μm in mouse brain tissue and to discern the spatial distribution of sterol lipids characteristic for histological regions of D. plexippus

Atomistic Simulation of Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging of Hydration Layers on Calcite, Dolomite, and Magnesite Surfaces

Advances in atomic force microscopy (AFM) in water have enabled the study of hydration layer structures on crystal surfaces, and in a recent study on dolomite (CaMg(CO3)(2)), chemical sensitivity was demonstrated by observing significant differences in force-distance curves over the calcium and magnesium ions in the surface. Here, we present atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of a hydration layer structure and dynamics on the (10 (1) over bar4) surfaces of dolomite, calcite (CaCO3), and magnesite (MgCO3), as well as simulations of AFM imaging on these three surfaces with a model silica tip. Our results confirm that it should be possible to distinguish between water molecules coordinating the calcium and magnesium ions in dolomite, and the details gleaned from the atomistic simulations enable us to clarify the underlying imaging mechanism in the AFM experiments.Peer reviewe

Application of Quantum Cascade Laser-Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for In-Line Discrimination of Coeluting Proteins from Preparative Size Exclusion Chromatography

An external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL)-based flow-through mid-infrared (IR) spectrometer was placed in line with a preparative size exclusion chromatography system to demonstrate real-time analysis of protein elutions with strongly overlapping chromatographic peaks. Two different case studies involving three and four model proteins were performed under typical lab-scale purification conditions. The large optical path length (25 μm), high signal-to-noise ratios, and wide spectral coverage (1350 to 1750 cm-1) of the QCL-IR spectrometer allow for robust spectra acquisition across both the amide I and II bands. Chemometric analysis by self-modeling mixture analysis and multivariate curve resolution enabled accurate quantitation and structural fingerprinting across the protein elution transient. The acquired concentration profiles were found to be in excellent agreement with the off-line high-performance liquid chromatography reference analytics performed on the collected effluent fractions. These results demonstrate that QCL-IR detectors can be used effectively for in-line, real-time analysis of protein elutions, providing critical quality attribute data that are typically only accessible through time-consuming and resource-intensive off-line methods.Fil: Akhgar, Christopher K.. Vienna University of Technology; AustriaFil: Ebner, Julian. Vienna University of Technology; AustriaFil: Alcaraz, Mirta R.. Institute Of Chemical Technologies And Analytics; AustriaFil: Kopp, Julian. Vienna University of Technology; AustriaFil: Goicoechea, Hector Casimiro. Universidad Nacional del Litoral; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Spadiut, Oliver. Vienna University of Technology; AustriaFil: Schwaighofer, Andreas. Vienna University of Technology; AustriaFil: Lendl, Bernhard. Vienna University of Technology; Austri

Introduction of an adhesion factor to cube in cube models and its effect on calculated moduli of particulate composites

The cube in cube approach was used by Paul and Ishai-Cohen to model and derive formulas for filler content dependent Young's moduli of particle filled composites assuming perfect filler matrix adhesion. Their formulas were chosen because of their simplicity, and recalculated using an elementary volume approach which transforms spherical inclusions to cubic inclusions. The EV approach led to expression of the composites moduli that allows introducing an adhesion factor kadh ranging from 0 and 1 to take into account reduced filler matrix adhesion. This adhesion factor scales the edge length of the cubic inclusions, thus reducing the stress transfer area between matrix and filler. Fitting the experimental data with the modified Paul model provides reasonable kadh for PA66, PBT, PP, PE-LD and BR which are in line with their surface energies. Further analysis showed that stiffening only occurs if kadh exceeds [Formula: see text] and depends on the ratio of matrix modulus and filler modulus. The modified model allows for a quick calculation of any particle filled composites for known matrix modulus EM, filler modulus EF, filler volume content vF and adhesion factor kadh. Thus, finite element analysis (FEA) simulations of any particle filled polymer parts as well as materials selection are significantly eased. FEA of cubic and hexagonal EV arrangements show that stress distributions within the EV exhibit more shear stresses if one deviates from the cubic arrangement. At high filler contents the assumption that the property of the EV is representative for the whole composite, holds only for filler volume contents up to 15 or 20% (corresponding to 30 to 40 weight %). Thus, for vast majority of commercially available particulate composites, the modified model can be applied. Furthermore, this indicates that the cube in cube approach reaches two limits: (i) the occurrence of increasing shear stresses at filler contents above 20% due to deviations of EV arrangements or spatial filler distribution from cubic arrangements (singular), and (ii) increasing interaction between particles with the formation of particle network within the matrix violating the EV assumption of their homogeneous dispersion

Zukunftstechnologien in der aktuellen Medienmanagementforschung und -praxis

Technologien und technologische Veränderungen sind eng mit der Weiterentwicklung von Medienindustrien und Medienmanagement verknüpft. Aus diesem Grund erscheint es sinnvoll, Medienmanagementforschung auch mit Blick auf die Weiter- und Neuentwicklung von Technologien zu gestalten, da bereits jetzt Technologien die konzeptionelle und empirische Arbeit in der Forschungsdisziplin beeinflussen. Der vorliegende Beitrag fasst in einem ersten Schritt drei empirische Studien zusammen, in denen Expertengruppen die Bedeutung von neun Zukunftstechnologien für das Medienmanagement einschätzen. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Ergebnisse einer strukturierten Literaturanalyse dargestellt, bei der N=147 Publikationen aus dem Feld der Medienmanagementforschung (2009-2019) hinsichtlich der Berücksichtigung von Zukunftstechnologien analysiert wurden. In einem dritten Schritt werden aus diesen beiden Perspektiven Potenziale für die zukünftige Medienmanagementforschung abgeleitet. Mit diesem Beitrag sollen Vorschläge angeboten werden, wie etablierte Forschungsprozesse hinterfragt werden können und neue Theorieperspektiven Optionen neuer Fragen eröffnen.Technologies and technological changes are closely connected with the further development of media industries and media management. For this reason, it makes sense to keep an eye on the further and new development of technologies when designing media management research, as technologies already influence the conceptual and empirical work in the research discipline. In a first step, this paper summarizes three empirical studies in which experts assess the significance of nine emerging technologies for media management. In a second step, the results of a structured literature analysis are presented, in which N=147 publications from the field of media management research (2009-2019) were analyzed with respect to the consideration of emerging technologies. In a third step, potentials for future media management research are derived from these two perspectives. This contribution aims to offer suggestions on how established research processes can be questioned and how new theoretical perspectives can open up options for new questions

Space, Time, and Interaction: A Taxonomy of Corner Cases in Trajectory Datasets for Automated Driving

Trajectory data analysis is an essential component for highly automated driving. Complex models developed with these data predict other road users\u27 movement and behavior patterns. Based on these predictions - and additional contextual information such as the course of the road, (traffic) rules, and interaction with other road users - the highly automated vehicle (HAV) must be able to reliably and safely perform the task assigned to it, e.g., moving from point A to B. Ideally, the HAV moves safely through its environment, just as we would expect a human driver to do. However, if unusual trajectories occur, so-called trajectory corner cases, a human driver can usually cope well, but an HAV can quickly get into trouble. In the definition of trajectory corner cases, which we provide in this work, we will consider the relevance of unusual trajectories with respect to the task at hand. Based on this, we will also present a taxonomy of different trajectory corner cases. The categorization of corner cases into the taxonomy will be shown with examples and is done by cause and required data sources. To illustrate the complexity between the machine learning (ML) model and the corner case cause, we present a general processing chain underlying the taxonomy

The preparation and properties of lanthanum-promoted nickel-alumina catalysts:Structure of the precipitates

Precursors of La-promoted Ni-alumina catalysts have been prepared by precipitation from their nitrate solutions at pH 7 using solutions of NH4HCO3, Na2CO3 or K2CO3. The preparation was carried out either by coprecipitation from a mixed salt solution or by sequential precipitation of Al3+, La3+ and Ni2+ in succession. In the absence of promoter, the precipitate with Ni/Al ratio of 2.5 is of the pyroaurite structure and has the composition Ni5Al2(OH)14CO3.4H2O. Two types of lanthanum-containing precipitate were made in which either extra La was added (Ni/Al kept constant at 2.5) or the proportion Ni/(Al+La) was kept constant at 2.5. The majority of these precipitates were single compounds which also had the pyroaurite structure. At high La contents, the series in which La is added gives separation of the compounds La2O(CO3)2 and LaONO3 in addition to the layer structure; with the series in which the La is substituted for Al, all the samples appeared to have the pyroaurite structure, even one in which no Al was present. The sequential precipitation route yields smaller crystallites than does coprecipitation. Materials precipitated with NH4HCO3 in all cases contained NH4NO3 while those precipitated with Na2CO3 gave inclusion of NaNO3. In both cases, the presence of the nitrates causes a decrease of crystallinity of the layer compound. Potassium is not included in the precipitate in any of the samples examined. A model is presented for the structure of the lanthanum-containing precipitates