Design Rules for Self-Assembly of 2D Nanocrystal/Metal-Organic Framework Superstructures.

We demonstrate the guiding principles behind simple two dimensional self-assembly of MOF nanoparticles (NPs) and oleic acid capped iron oxide (Fe3 O4 ) NCs into a uniform two-dimensional bi-layered superstructure. This self-assembly process can be controlled by the energy of ligand-ligand interactions between surface ligands on Fe3 O4 NCs and Zr6 O4 (OH)4 (fumarate)6 MOF NPs. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and TEM tomography confirm the hierarchical co-assembly of Fe3 O4 NCs with MOF NPs as ligand energies are manipulated to promote facile diffusion of the smaller NCs. First-principles calculations and event-driven molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the observed patterns are dictated by combination of ligand-surface and ligand-ligand interactions. This study opens a new avenue for design and self-assembly of MOFs and NCs into high surface area assemblies, mimicking the structure of supported catalyst architectures, and provides a thorough fundamental understanding of the self-assembly process, which could be a guide for designing functional materials with desired structure

Structural analysis of the starfish SALMFamide neuropeptides S1 and S2: The N-terminal region of S2 facilitates self-association

The neuropeptides S1 (GFNSALMFamide) and S2 (SGPYSFNSGLTFamide), which share sequence similarity, were discovered in the starfish Asterias rubens and are prototypical members of the SALMFamide family of neuropeptides in echinoderms. SALMFamide neuropeptides act as muscle relaxants and both S1 and S2 cause relaxation of cardiac stomach and tube foot preparations in vitro but S2 is an order of magnitude more potent than S1. Here we investigated a structural basis for this difference in potency using spectroscopic techniques. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that S1 does not have a defined structure in aqueous solution and this was supported by 2D nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. In contrast, we found that S2 has a well-defined conformation in aqueous solution. However, the conformation of S2 was concentration dependent, with increasing concentration inducing a transition from an unstructured to a structured conformation. Interestingly, this property of S2 was not observed in an N-terminally truncated analogue of S2 (short S2 or SS2; SFNSGLTFamide). Collectively, the data obtained indicate that the N-terminal region of S2 facilitates peptide self-association at high concentrations, which may have relevance to the biosynthesis and/or bioactivity of S2 in vivo

The Integrated Effect of Microbial Inoculants and Biochar Types on Soil Biological Properties, and Plant Growth of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Numerous reports confirm the positive effect of biochar application on soil properties and plant development. However, the interaction between root-associated beneficial microbes and different types of biochar is not well understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the plant growth of lettuce after the application of three types of biochar in loamy, sandy soil individually and in combination with plant-beneficial microbes. Furthermore, total microbial activity in rhizosphere soil of lettuce was measured by means of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolase and enzyme activities linked to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling. We used three types of biochar: (i) pyrolysis char from cherry wood (CWBC), (ii) pyrolysis char from wood (WBC), and (iii) pyrolysis char from maize (MBC) at 2% concentration. Our results showed that pyrolysis biochars positively affected plant interaction with microbial inoculants. Plant dry biomass grown on soil amended with MBC in combination with Klebsiella sp. BS13 and Klebsiella sp. BS13 + Talaromyces purpureogenus BS16aPP inoculants was significantly increased by 5.8% and 18%, respectively, compared to the control plants. Comprehensively, interaction analysis showed that the biochar effect on soil enzyme activities involved in N and P cycling depends on the type of microbial inoculant. Microbial strains exhibited plant growth-promoting traits, including the production of indole 3-acetic-acid and hydrogen cyanide and phosphate-solubilizing ability. The effect of microbial inoculant also depends on the biochar type. In summary, these findings provide new insights into the understanding of the interactions between biochar and microbial inoculants, which may affect lettuce growth and development.Peer Reviewe

Dinâmica populacional de Bemisia tabaci biótipo B em tomate monocultivo e consorciado com coentro sob cultivo orgânico e convencional.

A mosca-branca Bemisia tabaci Biótipo B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), é um herbívoro de difícil controle devido à alta plasticidade genotípica da espécie. No tomateiro pode causar danos severos principalmente pela transmissão de diversas viroses. O manejo do sistema de produção e o consórcio de culturas podem ter um efeito direto nas populações desse herbívoro, sem que seja necessária a aplicação de inseticidas. Avaliou-se a influência dos sistemas de produção orgânico e convencional e o consórcio tomate-coentro na dinâmica populacional da mosca-branca no campo experimental da Embrapa Hortaliças, de maio a setembro/06. O monitoramento dos adultos da mosca-branca e de seus inimigos naturais foi realizado utilizando-se armadilhas adesivas amarelas fixadas nas bordas e no interior das parcelas experimentais e a amostragem de ninfas foi realizada por observação direta das folhas de tomate no campo. Embora as populações ao redor dos diferentes tratamentos fossem equivalentes, a abundância de adultos de mosca-branca foi significativamente menor nas parcelas de tomate consorciado com coentro, tanto no sistema convencional como orgânico. Apenas o consórcio tomatecoentro em sistema orgânico apresentou redução significativa na quantidade de ninfas por planta em relação aos demais tratamentos. Os inimigos naturais foram significativamente mais abundantes em sistema orgânico e foi verificada uma correlação negativa da abundância dos inimigos naturais e a quantidade de ninfas por planta. A associação tomate-coentro e o manejo orgânico do agroecossistema favoreceram ao controle biológico natural da mosca-branca

Humanized mice in studying efficacy and mechanisms of PD-1-targeted cancer immunotherapy.

Establishment of an in vivo small animal model of human tumor and human immune system interaction would enable preclinical investigations into the mechanisms underlying cancer immunotherapy. To this end, nonobese diabetic (NOD).Cg- PrkdcscidIL2rgtm1Wjl/Sz (null; NSG) mice were transplanted with human (h)CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells, which leads to the development of human hematopoietic and immune systems [humanized NSG (HuNSG)]. HuNSG mice received human leukocyte antigen partially matched tumor implants from patient-derived xenografts [PDX; non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), sarcoma, bladder cancer, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)] or from a TNBC cell line-derived xenograft (CDX). Tumor growth curves were similar in HuNSG compared with nonhuman immune-engrafted NSG mice. Treatment with pembrolizumab, which targets programmed cell death protein 1, produced significant growth inhibition in both CDX and PDX tumors in HuNSG but not in NSG mice. Finally, inhibition of tumor growth was dependent on hCD8+ T cells, as demonstrated by antibody-mediated depletion. Thus, tumor-bearing HuNSG mice may represent an important, new model for preclinical immunotherapy research. FASEB J 2018 Mar; 32(3):1537-1549

Community health workers improve contact tracing among immigrants with tuberculosis in Barcelona

Background: The important increase in immigration during recent years has changed the epidemiology and control strategies for tuberculosis (TB) in many places. This study evaluates the effectiveness of intervention with community health workers (CHW) to improve contact tracing among immigrants. Methods: The study included all TB cases detected by the Barcelona TB Program from 2000 to 2005 and compared a period without CHW intervention (2000-2002) to a period with CHW intervention (2003-2005). The influence on contact tracing of sex, age, hospital of diagnosis, district of residence, birthplace, HIV, homeless and CHW intervention was analysed by logistic regression. Odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: 960 foreign born TB cases were detected, 388 in the intervention period. Contact tracing was performed on 65,7 % of 201 smear-positive cases during the pre-intervention period compared to 81.6 % of 152 smear-positive TB cases during the intervention period (p < 0.001). Risk factors associated with incomplete contact tracing of smear-positive index cases included being diagnosed in two hospitals without contact tracing TB unit (OR = 3.5; CI:1.4-8.9) and (OR = 4.6; CI:1.6-13.5) respectively, birth place in India-Pakistan (OR = 4.4; CI:1.9-10.3) or North Africa (OR = 4.3; CI:1.8-10.5), having an unknown residence (OR = 5.4; CI:1.6-18.0), being HIV-infected (OR = 6.1; CI:2.5-14.8

Prevalence and factors associated with rotavirus infection among children admitted with acute diarrhea in Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rotavirus remains the commonest cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea among children worldwide. Children in developing countries die more because of several factors including poorer access to hydration therapy and greater prevalence of malnutrition. Hitherto, the magnitude of rotavirus disease in Uganda has remained unknown. This study was therefore done to determine the prevalence and factors associated with rotavirus infection among children aged 3-59 months admitted with acute diarrhea to paediatric emergency ward of Mulago Hospital, Uganda</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three hundred and ninety children, aged between 3-59 months with acute diarrhoea were recruited. The clinical history, socio-demographic characteristics, physical examination findings and laboratory investigations were recorded. Stool samples were tested for rotavirus antigens using the DAKO IDEIA rotavirus EIA detection kit.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of rotavirus infection was 45.4%. On multivariate analysis rotavirus was significantly associated with a higher education (above secondary) level of the mother [OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-2.7]; dehydration [OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.0] and breastfeeding [OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.4-4.0]. Although age was significantly associated with rotavirus on bivariate analysis; this association disappeared on multivariate analysis. No significant association was found between rotavirus infection and nutritional status, HIV status and attendance of day care or school.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Rotavirus infection is highly prevalent among children with acute diarrhoea admitted to Mulago Hospital in Uganda.</p

On General BCJ Relation at One-loop Level in Yang-Mills Theory

BCJ relation reveals a dual between color structures and kinematic structure and can be used to reduce the number of independent color-ordered amplitudes at tree level. Refer to the loop-level in Yang-Mills theory, we investigate the similar BCJ relation in this paper. Four-point 1-loop example in N = 4 SYM can hint about the relation of integrands. Five-point example implies that the general formula can be proven by unitary- cut method. We will then prove a 'general' BCJ relation for 1-loop integrands by D-dimension unitary cut, which can be regarded as a non-trivial generalization of the (fundamental)BCJ relation given by Boels and Isermann in [arXiv:1109.5888 [hep-th]] and [arXiv:1110.4462 [hep-th]].Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure