Research of White Sucker Cell lines and Associated Viruses

Catostomus commersonii, also known as the White Sucker, is a vital part of most aquatic ecosystems in the U.S. Specifically looking at the Upper Midwest, these fish are widely distributed around the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The importance of these organisms is due to their species reputation, they are indicator species that are very useful in informing whether the environment around them is healthy or if contamination has occurred. To better understand the organism, we needed to start at the molecular level. Understanding the nature of White Sucker cells through cell cultures. To get the individual fins of the White Sucker to flasks with growth media and begin to have the cells grow from the tissue. Through process of cell culturing, the cells differentiated from one another through each passage and adapted to different media to create contrasting growth rates. The differentiating cells were then characterized through DNA barcoding and examined for susceptibility to a variety of viruses to obtain better information about the multiple cell types from the fins of the White Suckerhttps://openriver.winona.edu/urc2018/1045/thumbnail.jp

Broad emission lines in optical spectra of hot dust-obscured galaxies can contribute significantly to JWST/NIRCam photometry

Selecting the first galaxies at z>7-10 from JWST surveys is complicated by z<6 contaminants with degenerate photometry. For example, strong optical nebular emission lines at z7-10 Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs). Dust-obscured 3<z<6 galaxies in particular are potentially important contaminants, and their faint rest-optical spectra have been historically difficult to observe. A lack of optical emission line and continuum measures for 3<z<6 dusty galaxies now makes it difficult to test their expected JWST/NIRCam photometry for degenerate solutions with NIRCam dropouts. Towards this end, we quantify the contribution by strong emission lines to NIRCam photometry in a physically motivated manner by stacking 21 Keck II/NIRES spectra of hot, dust-obscured, massive ($\log\mathrm{M_*/M_\odot}\gtrsim10-11$) and infrared (IR) luminous galaxies at z~1-4. We derive an average spectrum and measure strong narrow (broad) [OIII]5007 and H$\alpha$ features with equivalent widths of $130\pm20$ A ($150\pm50$ A) and $220\pm30$ A ($540\pm80$ A) respectively. These features can increase broadband NIRCam fluxes by factors of 1.2-1.7 (0.2-0.6 mag). Due to significant dust-attenuation ($A_V\sim6$), we find H$\alpha$+[NII] to be significantly brighter than [OIII]+H$\beta$, and therefore find that emission-line dominated contaminants of high-z galaxy searches can only reproduce moderately blue perceived UV continua of $S_\lambda\propto\lambda^\beta$ with $\beta>-1.5$ and z>4. While there are some redshifts (z~3.75) where our stack is more degenerate with the photometry of z>10 LBGs between $\lambda_{rest}\sim0.3-0.8\,\mu$m, redder filter coverage beyond $\lambda_{obs}>3.5\,\mu$m and far-IR/sub-mm follow-up may be useful for breaking the degeneracy and making a crucial separation between two fairly unconstrained populations, dust-obscured galaxies at z~3-6 and LBGs at z>10.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to ApJ

Divergent evolution of the activity and regulation of the glutamate decarboxylase systems in Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e and 10403S : roles in virulence and acid tolerance

The glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) system has been shown to be important for the survival of Listeria monocytogenes in low pH environments. The bacterium can use this faculty to maintain pH homeostasis under acidic conditions. The accepted model for the GAD system proposes that the antiport of glutamate into the bacterial cell in exchange for γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is coupled to an intracellular decarboxylation reaction of glutamate into GABA that consumes protons and therefore facilitates pH homeostasis. Most strains of L. monocytogenes possess three decarboxylase genes (gadD1, D2 & D3) and two antiporter genes (gadT1 & gadT2). Here, we confirm that the gadD3 encodes a glutamate decarboxylase dedicated to the intracellular GAD system (GADi), which produces GABA from cytoplasmic glutamate in the absence of antiport activity. We also compare the functionality of the GAD system between two commonly studied reference strains, EGD-e and 10403S with differences in terms of acid resistance. Through functional genomics we show that EGD-e is unable to export GABA and relies exclusively in the GADi system, which is driven primarily by GadD3 in this strain. In contrast 10403S relies upon GadD2 to maintain both an intracellular and extracellular GAD system (GADi/GADe). Through experiments with a murinised variant of EGD-e (EGDm) in mice, we found that the GAD system plays a significant role in the overall virulence of this strain. Double mutants lacking either gadD1D3 or gadD2D3 of the GAD system displayed reduced acid tolerance and were significantly affected in their ability to cause infection following oral inoculation. Since EGDm exploits GADi but not GADe the results indicate that the GADi system makes a contribution to virulence within the mouse. Furthermore, we also provide evidence that there might be a separate line of evolution in the GAD system between two commonly used reference strains

Developing Interfacial Solar Vapor Generation into a Sustainable Desalination Technology

Seawater desalination is one of the most resilient approaches for obtaining water. However, conventional desalination technologies are also some of the most energy-intensive water treatment processes. For this reason, seawater desalination is often viewed as a last resort, and is generally only an option for large urban centers—where the costs can be spread across densely populated districts. With limited access to reliable power grids, technical and managerial expertise, essential supply chains, and financial resources, smaller communities are often the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.Interfacial solar vapor generation (ISVG) is a phenomenon observed in nano-enabled materials to efficiently vaporize water at extremely high efficiencies when exposed to sunlight. Traditionally, these are porous, light-absorbing materials that float at the air-water interface where evaporation normally takes place. When irradiated by sunlight, these materials absorb that light, convert that light into heat, transfer that heat to water in its pores, and accelerate the rate of evaporation. As a result, these 2D-ISVG materials can achieve an evaporative flux of 2.00 kg m-2 h-1, which is nearly 200% higher than natural rates. While impressive, this rate is still too low for many practical applications. To increase this rate, we have developed a 3D-ISVG material that utilizes capillary action to wick water onto additional surfaces for evaporation. This enhancement has allowed us to achieve an evaporative flux of 34.7 kg m-2 h-1. Given this higher productivity, we have begun evaluating the feasibility of developing 3D-ISVG into a sustainable desalination technology for small-island communities. Specifically, we have been working with Bungin Island in Indonesia to understand how contextual factors should inform the design and implementation of this technology as a means of providing sustainable water access in a climate-impacted future

Regenerable Polyelectrolyte Membrane for Ultimate Fouling Control in Forward Osmosis

This study demonstrated the feasibility of using regenerable polyelectrolyte membranes to ultimately control the irreversible membrane fouling in a forward osmosis (FO) process. The regenerable membrane was fabricated by assembling multiple polyethylenimine (PEI) and poly­(acrylic acid) (PAA) bilayers on a polydopamine-functionalized polysulfone support. The resulting membrane exhibited higher water flux and lower solute flux in FO mode (with the active layer facing feed solution) than in PRO mode (with the active layer facing draw solution) using trisodium citrate as draw solute, most likely due to the unique swelling behavior of the polyelectrolyte membrane. Membrane regeneration was conducted by first dissembling the existing PEI–PAA bilayers using strong acid and then reassembling fresh PEI–PAA bilayers on the membrane support. It was found that, after the acid treatment, the first covalently bonded PEI layer and some realigned PAA remained on the membrane support, acting as a beneficial barrier that prevented the acid–foulant mixture from penetrating into the porous support during acid treatment. The water and solute flux of the regenerated membrane was very similar to that of the original membrane regardless of alginate fouling, suggesting an ultimate solution to eliminating the irreversible membrane fouling in an FO process. With a procedure similar to the typical membrane cleaning protocol, in situ membrane regeneration is not expected to noticeably increase the membrane operational burden but can satisfactorily avoid the expensive replacement of the entire membrane module after irreversible fouling, thereby hopefully reducing the overall cost of the membrane-based water-treatment system

Synthetic Graphene Oxide Leaf for Solar Desalination with Zero Liquid Discharge

Water vapor generation through sunlight harvesting and heat localization by carbon-based porous thin film materials holds great promise for sustainable, energy-efficient desalination and water treatment. However, the applicability of such materials in a high-salinity environment emphasizing zero-liquid-discharge brine disposal has not been studied. This paper reports the characterization and evaporation performance of a nature-inspired synthetic leaf made of graphene oxide (GO) thin film material, which exhibited broadband light absorption and excellent stability in high-salinity water. Under 0.82-sun illumination (825 W/m²), a GO leaf floating on water generated steam at a rate of 1.1 L per m² per hour (LMH) with a light-to-vapor energy conversion efficiency of 54%, while a GO leaf lifted above water in a tree-like configuration generated steam at a rate of 2.0 LMH with an energy efficiency of 78%. The evaporation rate increased with increasing light intensity and decreased with increasing salinity. During a long-term evaporation experiment with a 15 wt % NaCl solution, the GO leaf demonstrated stable performance despite gradual and eventually severe accumulation of salt crystals on the leaf surface. Furthermore, the GO leaf can be easily restored to its pristine condition by simply scraping off salt crystals from its surface and rinsing with water. Therefore, the robust high performance and relatively low fabrication cost of the synthetic GO leaf could potentially unlock a new generation of desalination technology that can be entirely solar-powered and achieve zero liquid discharge