Molecular Tuning of the Magnetic Response in Organic Semiconductors

The tunability of high-mobility organic semi-conductors (OSCs) holds great promise for molecular spintronics. In this study, we show this extreme variability - and therefore potential tunability - of the molecular gyromagnetic coupling ("g-") tensor with respect to the geometric and electronic structure in a much studied class of OSCs. Composed of a structural theme of phenyl- and chalcogenophene (group XVI element containing, five-membered) rings and alkyl functional groups, this class forms the basis of several intensely studied high-mobility polymers and molecular OSCs. We show how in this class the g-tensor shifts, $\Delta g$, are determined by the effective molecular spin-orbit coupling (SOC), defined by the overlap of the atomic spin-density and the heavy atoms in the polymers. We explain the dramatic variations in SOC with molecular geometry, chemical composition, functionalization, and charge life-time using a first-principles theoretical model based on atomic spin populations. Our approach gives a guide to tuning the magnetic response of these OSCs by chemical synthesis

CFE Forum 2016: Rebuilding International Taxation – How To Square the Circle?

peer reviewedIn this note, the authors provide a summary of the presentations made at the CFE Forum 2016 held in Brussels on 21 April 2016

Transient and Prolonged Response of Chicken Cecum Mucosa to Colonization with Different Gut Microbiota

In this study we determined protein and gene expression in the caeca of newly hatched chickens inoculated with cecal contents sourced from hens of different ages. Over 250 proteins exhibited modified expression levels in response to microbiota inoculation. The most significant inductions were observed for ISG12-2, OASL, ES1, LYG2, DMBT1-L, CDD, ANGPTL6, B2M, CUZD1, IgM and Ig lambda chain. Of these, ISG12-2, ES1 and both immunoglobulins were expressed at lower levels in germ-free chickens compared to conventional chickens. In contrast, CELA2A, BRT-2, ALDH1A1, ADH1C, AKR1B1L, HEXB, ALDH2, ALDOB, CALB1 and TTR were expressed at lower levels following inoculation of microbiota. When chicks were given microbiota preparations from different age donors, the recipients mounted differential responses to the inoculation which also differed from the response profile in naturally colonised birds. For example, B2M, CUZD1 and CELA2A responded differently to the inoculation with microbiota of 4- or 40-week-old hens. The increased or decreased gene expression could be recorded 6 weeks after the inoculation of newly hatched chickens. To characterise the proteins that may directly interact with the microbiota we characterised chicken proteins that co-purified with the microbiota and identified a range of host proteins including CDD, ANGPTL6, DMBT1-L, MEP1A and Ig lambda. We propose that induction of ISG12-2 results in reduced apoptosis of host cells exposed to the colonizing commensal microbiota and that CDD, ANGPTL6, DMBT1-L, MEP1A and Ig lambda reduce contact of luminal microbiota with the gut epithelium thereby reducing the inflammatory response

Housing systems influence gut microbiota composition of sows but not of their piglets

Different housing systems can be used in pig production and little is known about their effect on gut microbiota composition. In this study we characterized fecal microbiota by sequencing the rRNA genes in sows kept during gestation in conventional pens with a slatted floor and in enriched pens with a floor covered with deep straw. After farrowing, microbiota of 1- and 4-day-old piglets were also monitored. Microbiota of sows from the enriched system contained significantly more Prevotella, Parabacteroides, CF231, Phascolarctobacterium, Fibrobacter, Anaerovibrio and YRC22 and significantly less Lactobacillus, Bulleidia, Lachnospira, Dorea, Ruminococcus and Oscillospira than microbiota of sows from the conventional system. The Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio was 0.96 in the microbiota of sows kept in the enriched pens and this increased to 1.66 in the microbiota of sows kept in the conventional system. The production system therefore influenced microbiota composition, most likely due the ingestion of the straw. The microbiota of 1- and 4-day-old piglets differed from the microbiota of sows and sows therefore did not represent the most important source for their colonization in early days of life

Prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in ornamental fish carriage water.

<p>Antibiotic resistance gene prevalence is presented with the median, 25% and 75% percentiles (box) and the whiskers indicating the minimum and maximum values recorded.</p

Genes detected in class I integrons in carriage water microbiota of ornamental fish. Numbers show percentages out of a total of 18,806 reads.

<p>*QAC-quaternary ammonium compounds, Tp-trimethoprim, Str-streptomycin, AG-aminoglycosides, Cm-chloramphenicol, Ery-erythromycin, Kan–kanamycin, Rif–rifampicin, Enr–enrofloxacin.</p

Transient and prolonged response of chicken caecum mucosa to the colonization with different gut microbiota

National audienc

Heat map showing the correlation coefficients of the presence of individual families and particular antibiotic resistance genes.

<p>Three main clusters according to their positive and negative correlation with the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes tested in this study are indicated by red, blue and green color.</p

Distribution of selected genes in integron structures determined by pyrosequencing and real-time PCR.

<p>Average values calculated from data available for 48 samples were used for both real-time PCR based pie charts. Quantification of genes in integrons by pyrosequencing and real-time PCR resulted in similar results whereas the comparison of these results with the results from carriage water DNA indicated that <i>dfrA</i> was associated with integrons as its representation decreased when total carriage water was used as a template in real-time PCR. On the other hand, <i>aacA</i> and <i>ereA</i> must have been common in genetic elements different from integrons.</p