Nitric oxide production from nitrite by a series of zeolites produced via the ADOR route

We would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), University of St Andrews, and CRITICAT Centre for Doctoral Training for financial support [Ph.D. studentship to SR; Grant code: EP/L016419/1]. We also thank the EPSRC for funding part of this work through grant EP/K025112/1. R.E.M. would like to acknowledge OP VVV "Excellent Research Teams", project No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000417 – CUCAM.The nitric oxide (NO) production for a series of aluminosilicate zeolites, prepared using the ADOR method, was investigated. Al-UTL and Al-IPC-2,-4 and −6 were prepared and characterised to determine their elemental composition. Positive trends were found to exist between zeolite pore size and the rate and total amount of NO produced. A trend between the number of acid sites and the initial rate of NO produced by the zeolite was also discovered.PostprintPeer reviewe

Transition of Experienced and New Graduate Nurses to a Pediatric Hospital

This study reports on the 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month outcomes of 118 newly hired registered nurses (RNs) who completed a 12-month transition-to-practice program at a pediatric hospital. Experienced RNs (n = 42) and new graduate RNs (n = 76) showed improved organization, prioritization, communication, and leadership skills over time. The experienced RNs reported better communication and leadership skills than the new graduate nurses. Results inform transition program development for both new and experienced nurses. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2012) predicts that, without a multifaceted approach, a national nursing shortage will occur by 2020. Many nurses leave their first position and sometimes the profession within the first year of employment (Baxter, 2010; Welding, 2011). Retaining nurses is a vital component of any approach to averting a nursing shortage. In an attempt to retain nurses, healthcare institutions often provide a transition-to-practice (TTP) or nurse residency program for new graduate nurses (NGN) entering the profession. The Institute of Medicine (2011) in its Future of Nursing report also recommends a transition program for nurses moving to a new specialty or to advanced practice roles. Completing a NGN transition program is associated with a decrease in nurse attrition by as much as 80% (Halfer, Graf, & Sullivan, 2008; Rush, Adamack, Gordon, Lilly, & Janke, 2013; Spector et al., 2015). This reported decrease has led to organizational interest in transition programs to improve retention. The goals of residency programs for the NGN have ranged from increasing new nurse confidence and competence, to increasing satisfaction and retention (Fink, Krugman, Casey, & Goode, 2008; Goode, Lynn, McElroy, Bednash, & Murray, 2013; Institute of Medicine, 2011; Spector et al., 2015). Although literature supports the effectiveness of transition programs for the NGN (Fink et al., 2008; Goode et al., 2013; Spector et al., 2015), there is little evidence on the experienced nurse’s transition to a new specialty practice. Furthermore, most transition programs do not report outcomes beyond the first 12 months of employment. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate nurse stressors and supports during and after a 12-month transition-to-employment program for both new and experienced nurses transitioning to a pediatric practice

Nonthermal Hard X-ray Emission and Iron Kalpha Emission from a Superflare on II Pegasi

We report on an X-ray flare detected on the active binary system II~Pegasi with the Swift telescope. The trigger had a 10-200 keV luminosity of 2.2$\times10^{32}$ erg s$^{-1}$-- a superflare, by comparison with energies of typical stellar flares on active binary systems. The trigger spectrum indicates a hot thermal plasma with T$\sim$180 $\times10^{6}$K. X-ray spectral analysis from 0.8--200 keV with the X-Ray Telescope and BAT in the next two orbits reveals evidence for a thermal component (T$>$80 $\times10^{6}$K) and Fe K 6.4 keV emission. A tail of emission out to 200 keV can be fit with either an extremely high temperature thermal plasma (T$\sim3\times10^{8}$K) or power-law emission. Based on analogies with solar flares, we attribute the excess continuum emission to nonthermal thick-target bremsstrahlung emission from a population of accelerated electrons. We estimate the radiated energy from 0.01--200 keV to be $\sim6\times10^{36}$ erg, the total radiated energy over all wavelengths $\sim10^{38}$ erg, the energy in nonthermal electrons above 20 keV $\sim3\times10^{40}$ erg, and conducted energy $<5\times10^{43}$ erg. The nonthermal interpretation gives a reasonable value for the total energy in electrons $>$ 20 keV when compared to the upper and lower bounds on the thermal energy content of the flare. This marks the first occasion in which evidence exists for nonthermal hard X-ray emission from a stellar flare. We investigate the emission mechanism responsible for producing the 6.4 keV feature, and find that collisional ionization from nonthermal electrons appears to be more plausible than the photoionization mechanism usually invoked on the Sun and pre-main sequence stars.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

E-cadherin can limit the transforming properties of activating β-catenin mutations

Wnt pathway deregulation is a common characteristic of many cancers. But only Colorectal Cancer predominantly harbours mutations in APC, whereas other cancer types (hepatocellular carcinoma, solid pseudopapillary tumours of pancreas) have activating mutations in β-catenin (CTNNB1). We have compared the dynamics and the potency of β-catenin mutations in vivo. Within the murine small intestine (SI), an activating mutation of β-catenin took much longer to achieve a Wnt deregulation and acquire a crypt-progenitor-cell (CPC) phenotype than Apc or Gsk3 loss. Within the colon, a single activating mutation of β-catenin was unable to drive Wnt deregulation or induce the CPC phenotype. This ability of β-catenin mutation to differentially transform the SI versus the colon correlated with significantly higher expression of the β-catenin binding partner E-cadherin. This increased expression is associated with a higher number of E-cadherin:β-catenin complexes at the membrane. Reduction of E-cadherin synergised with an activating mutation of β-catenin so there was now a rapid CPC phenotype within the colon and SI. Thus there is a threshold of β-catenin that is required to drive transformation and E-cadherin can act as a buffer to prevent β-catenin accumulation

Results from the Wide Angle Search for Planets Prototype (WASP0) I: Analysis of the Pegasus Field

WASP0 is a prototype for what is intended to become a collection of wide-angle survey instruments whose primary aim is to detect extra-solar planets transiting across the face of their parent star. The WASP0 instrument is a wide-field (9-degree) 6.3cm aperture F/2.8 Apogee 10 CCD camera (2Kx2K chip, 16-arcsec pixels) mounted piggy-back on a commercial telescope. We present results from analysis of a field in Pegasus using the WASP0 camera, including observations of the known transiting planet around HD 209458. We also present details on solving problems which restrict the ability to achieve photon limited precision with a wide-field commercial CCD. The results presented herein demonstrate that millimag photometry can be obtained with this instrument and that it is sensitive enough to detect transit due to extra-solar planets.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Backbone-functionalised ruthenium diphosphine complexes for catalytic upgrading of ethanol and methanol to iso-butanol †

Efficient catalysts for Guerbet-type ethanol/methanol upgrading to iso-butanol have been developed via Michael addition of a variety of amines to ruthenium-coordinated dppen (1,1-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene). All catalysts produce over 50% iso-butanol yield with >90% selectivity in 2 h with catalyst 1 showing the best activity (74% yield after this time). The selectivity and turnover number approach 100% and 1000 respectively using catalyst 6. The presence of uncoordinated functionalised donor groups in these complexes results in a more stable catalyst compared to unfunctionalised analogues

Eosinophils Are Important for Protection, Immunoregulation and Pathology during Infection with Nematode Microfilariae

Eosinophil responses typify both allergic and parasitic helminth disease. In helminthic disease, the role of eosinophils can be both protective in immune responses and destructive in pathological responses. To investigate whether eosinophils are involved in both protection and pathology during filarial nematode infection, we explored the role of eosinophils and their granule proteins, eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and major basic protein-1 (MBP-1), during infection with Brugia malayi microfilariae. Using eosinophil-deficient mice (PHIL), we further clarify the role of eosinophils in clearance of microfilariae during primary, but not challenge infection in vivo. Deletion of EPO or MBP-1 alone was insufficient to abrogate parasite clearance suggesting that either these molecules are redundant or eosinophils act indirectly in parasite clearance via augmentation of other protective responses. Absence of eosinophils increased mast cell recruitment, but not other cell types, into the broncho-alveolar lavage fluid during challenge infection. In addition absence of eosinophils or EPO alone, augmented parasite-induced IgE responses, as measured by ELISA, demonstrating that eosinophils are involved in regulation of IgE. Whole body plethysmography indicated that nematode-induced changes in airway physiology were reduced in challenge infection in the absence of eosinophils and also during primary infection in the absence of EPO alone. However lack of eosinophils or MBP-1 actually increased goblet cell mucus production. We did not find any major differences in cytokine responses in the absence of eosinophils, EPO or MBP-1. These results reveal that eosinophils actively participate in regulation of IgE and goblet cell mucus production via granule secretion during nematode-induced pathology and highlight their importance both as effector cells, as damage-inducing cells and as supervisory cells that shape both innate and adaptive immunity

Location of chlorogenic acid biosynthesis pathway and polyphenol oxidase genes in a new interspecific anchored linkage map of eggplant

© Gramazio et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2014. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated

Calculation and experimental measurement of paramagnetic NMR parameters of phenolic oximate Cu(II) complexes

This work was supported by the EPSRC through the Collaborative Computational Project on NMR Crystallography (CCP-NC), via EP/M022501/1. SEA would also like to thank the Royal Society and Wolfson Foundation for a merit award. MB would like to thank EaStCHEM and the School of Chemistry for support and access to a computer cluster maintained by Dr. H. Früchtl. ZK gratefully acknowledges a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council. For research data supporting this publication see DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17630/9061ace0-88fb-4a55-a1eb-05e020f369fd.We present a strategy for predicting the unusual 1H and 13C shifts in NMR spectra of paramagnetic bisoximato copper(II) complexes using DFT. We demonstrate good agreement with experimental measurements, although 1H-13C correlation spectra show that a combined experimental and theoretical approach remains necessary for full assignment.PostprintPostprintPeer reviewe

Isolation of a potently neutralizing and protective human monoclonal antibody targeting yellow fever virus

Yellow fever virus (YFV) causes sporadic outbreaks of infection in South America and sub-Saharan Africa. While live-attenuated yellow fever virus vaccines based on three substrains of 17D are considered some of the most effective vaccines in use, problems with production and distribution have created large populations of unvaccinated, vulnerable individuals in areas of endemicity. To date, specific antiviral therapeutics have not been licensed for human use against YFV or any other related flavivirus. Recent advances in monoclonal antibody (mAb) technology have allowed the identification of numerous candidate therapeutics targeting highly pathogenic viruses, including many flaviviruses. Here, we sought to identify a highly neutralizing antibody targeting the YFV envelope (E) protein as a therapeutic candidate. We used human B cell hybridoma technology to isolate mAbs from circulating memory B cells from human YFV vaccine recipients. These antibodies bound to recombinant YFV E protein and recognized at least five major antigenic sites on E. Two mAbs (designated YFV-136 and YFV-121) recognized a shared antigenic site and neutralized the YFV-17D vaccine strai