Electron transfer theory revisit: Quantum solvation effect

The effect of solvation on the electron transfer (ET) rate processes is investigated on the basis of the exact theory constructed in J. Phys. Chem. B Vol. 110, (2006); quant-ph/0604071. The nature of solvation is studied in a close relation with the mechanism of ET processes. The resulting Kramers' turnover and Marcus' inversion characteristics are analyzed accordingly. The classical picture of solvation is found to be invalid when the solvent longitudinal relaxation time is short compared with the inverse temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. J. Theo. & Comput. Chem., accepte

The Sorption of Sulfamethoxazole by Aliphatic and Aromatic Carbons from Lignocellulose Pyrolysis

Massive biomass waste with lignocellulose components can be used to produce biochar for environmental remediation. However, the impact of lignocellulose pyrolysis on biochar structure in relation to the sorption mechanism of ionizable antibiotics is still poorly understood. In this paper, diverse techniques including thermogravimetric analysis and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance were applied to investigate the properties of biochars as affected by the pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin in feedstock. Cellulose-derived biochars possessed more abundant groups than lignin-derived biochars, suggesting the greater preservation of group for cellulose during the carbonization. Higher sorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was also observed by cellulose-derived biochars owing to hydrogen bond interaction. Sorption affinity gradually declined with the conversion aliphatic to aromatic carbon, whereas the enhanced specific surface area (SSA) subsequently promoted SMX sorption as evidenced by increased SSA-N2 and SSA-CO2 from 350 to 450 °C. The decreased Kd/SSA-N2 values with increasing pH values implied a distinct reduction in sorption per unit area, which could be attributed to enhanced electrostatic repulsion. This work elucidated the role of carbon phases from thermal conversion of lignocellulose on the sorption performance for sulfonamide antibiotics, which will be helpful to the structural design of carbonaceous adsorbents for the removal of ionizable antibiotics

Preparation of amidoxime-based adsorption materials with a multi-amino synergistic effect and their uranium adsorption performance

Uranyl ions in seawater are prone to complexing with organic matter, forming stable compounds that can impact the adsorption performance of uranium adsorption materials. Herein, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) monomers were introduced onto the surface of the polypropylene/polyethylene nonwoven (PP/PE SNW) substract using radiation-induced graft polymerization (RIGP). Thereafter, three different polyamines, namely, triethylenetetramine (TETA), tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA), and pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA), were utilized to a ring-opening reaction, introducing the amine group into the substrate. This was followed by an addition reaction with acrylonitrile and an amidoxime reaction to produce the straight-chain-structured AO-based adsorbents, termed P-TETA-AO, P-TEPA-AO, and P-PEHA-AO. Subsequently, structural characterization, adsorption performance investigation, and adsorption mechanism analysis were performed. The experimental results confirm that three different functional polymer chains with varying chain lengths were successfully modified on the substrate surface and that the target amidoxime-based adsorption material was successfully prepared. The adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the adsorption isotherm was well described by the Langmuir model. The adsorption capacities of P-TETA-AO, P-TEPA-AO, and P-PEHA-AO for uranium were 66.1 mg/g, 63.22 mg/g, and 65.62 mg/g, respectively, within 24 h and exhibited adequate adsorption performance in the pH range of 5~9. The adsorption-desorption experiments indicated good regenerability, with only a 6% decrease in the uranium adsorption rate after five cycles, and a desorption ratio that was consistently above 95%. In the simulated seawater adsorption experiment, the uranium removal rates for P-TETA-AO, P-TEPA-AO, and P-PEHA-AO were found to be 72.94%, 79.97%, and 87.78%, respectively, indicating that the adsorption performance improved with the growth of the grafting chain in a highly saline, multi-competitive ion environment. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate that during uranium adsorption, the amino and amidoxime groups of all three adsorption materials participate in the coordination with uranyl ions, demonstrating a synergistic effect

Plant developmental stage drives the differentiation in ecological role of the maize microbiome

Background: Plants live with diverse microbial communities which profoundly affect multiple facets of host performance, but if and how host development impacts the assembly, functions and microbial interactions of crop microbiomes are poorly understood. Here we examined both bacterial and fungal communities across soils, epiphytic and endophytic niches of leaf and root, and plastic leaf of fake plant (representing environment-originating microbes) at three developmental stages of maize at two contrasting sites, and further explored the potential function of phylloplane microbiomes based on metagenomics. Results: Our results suggested that plant developmental stage had a much stronger influence on the microbial diversity, composition and interkingdom networks in plant compartments than in soils, with the strongest effect in the phylloplane. Phylloplane microbiomes were co-shaped by both plant growth and seasonal environmental factors, with the air (represented by fake plants) as its important source. Further, we found that bacterial communities in plant compartments were more strongly driven by deterministic processes at the early stage but a similar pattern was for fungal communities at the late stage. Moreover, bacterial taxa played a more important role in microbial interkingdom network and crop yield prediction at the early stage, while fungal taxa did so at the late stage. Metagenomic analyses further indicated that phylloplane microbiomes possessed higher functional diversity at the early stage than the late stage, with functional genes related to nutrient provision enriched at the early stage and N assimilation and C degradation enriched at the late stage. Coincidently, more abundant beneficial bacterial taxa like Actinobacteria, Burkholderiaceae and Rhizobiaceae in plant microbiomes were observed at the early stage, but more saprophytic fungi at the late stage. Conclusions: Our results suggest that host developmental stage profoundly influences plant microbiome assembly and functions, and the bacterial and fungal microbiomes take a differentiated ecological role at different stages of plant development. This study provides empirical evidence for host exerting strong effect on plant microbiomes by deterministic selection during plant growth and development. These findings have implications for the development of future tools to manipulate microbiome for sustainable increase in primary productivity

Clinical benefits of oral anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation patients with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThe management of atrial fibrillation (AF) with oral anticoagulants (OAC) is generally recommended to reduce the risk of stroke. However, the decision to prescribe these medications for patients with AF and dementia remains controversial.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of retrospective cohort studies were conducted. The search encompassed PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase databases from inception until May 1st, 2023, with language limited to English. Eligible studies included comparisons between exposure to OAC vs. non-OAC in the AF population with dementia or cognitive impairment. Studies that compared the effects of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) and vitamin-K antagonists were also included. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcomes were ischemic stroke and major bleeding. This study was registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD42023420678).ResultsA total of five studies (N = 21,962 patients) met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. The follow-up duration ranged from 1 to 4 years. Meta-analysis demonstrated that OAC treatment was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in AF patients with dementia with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.79 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 0.68 to 0.92, compared to non-OAC treatment. No statistical differences were observed in the risk of major bleeding (HR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.88–1.42) or ischemic stroke (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.58–1.00). Three studies reported comparisons between DOAC and warfarin; however, pooled analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity.ConclusionThe use of OACs in individuals diagnosed with both AF and dementia holds the potential to reduce all-cause mortality rates, thereby improving the overall clinical prognosis within this specific population.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023420678, PROSPERO identifier, CRD42023420678

Antibiotic-Induced Primary Biles Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Endoribonuclease Nsp15 Activity in Mouse Gut

The gut microbiome profile of COVID-19 patients was found to correlate with a viral load of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 severity, and dysfunctional immune responses, suggesting that gut microbiota may be involved in anti-infection. In order to investigate the role of gut microbiota in anti-infection against SARS-CoV-2, we established a high-throughput in vitro screening system for COVID-19 therapeutics by targeting the endoribonuclease (Nsp15). We also evaluated the activity inhibition of the target by substances of intestinal origin, using a mouse model in an attempt to explore the interactions between gut microbiota and SARS-CoV-2. The results unexpectedly revealed that antibiotic treatment induced the appearance of substances with Nsp15 activity inhibition in the intestine of mice. Comprehensive analysis based on functional profiling of the fecal metagenomes and endoribonuclease assay of antibiotic-enriched bacteria and metabolites demonstrated that the Nsp15 inhibitors were the primary bile acids that accumulated in the gut as a result of antibiotic-induced deficiency of bile acid metabolizing microbes. This study provides a new perspective on the development of COVID-19 therapeutics using primary bile acids

Annual (2023) taxonomic update of RNA-directed RNA polymerase-encoding negative-sense RNA viruses (realm Riboviria: kingdom Orthornavirae: phylum Negarnaviricota)

55 Pág.In April 2023, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by one new family, 14 new genera, and 140 new species. Two genera and 538 species were renamed. One species was moved, and four were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV.This work was supported in part through the Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, prime contract with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infec tious Diseases (NIAID) under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. U.J.B. was supported by the Division of Intramural Resarch, NIAID. This work was also funded in part by Contract No. HSHQDC15-C-00064 awarded by DHS S and T for the management and operation of The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Centre, a federally funded research and development centre operated by the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (V.W.); and NIH contract HHSN272201000040I/HHSN27200004/D04 and grant R24AI120942 (N.V., R.B.T.). S.S. acknowl edges support from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), USDA-ARS project 58-6066-9-033 and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hatch Project, under Accession Number 1021494. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of the Army, the U.S. Department of Defence, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S and T), or of the institutions and companies affiliated with the authors. In no event shall any of these entities have any responsibility or liability for any use, misuse, inability to use, or reliance upon the information contained herein. The U.S. departments do not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S.Government retains a non-exclusive, paid up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.Peer reviewe

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Housing Price and Fundamentals in A Transition Economy: The Case of Beijing Market *

Abstract This paper develops a dynamic rational expectations general equilibrium framework that links house value to fundamental economic variables such as income growth, demographics, migration and land supply. Our framework is general and can handle non-stationary dynamics as well as structural changes in fundamentals. Applying the framework to Beijing, we find that the rational equilibrium housing price is substantially lower than the data under reasonable parameterizations of the model, unless the income level is seriously understated. We can rationalize the current housing price in Beijing in an extension of our model with endogenous migration of rich households from outside Beijing. Our model is able to capture the long-run historical trends of house price and rent in San Francisco. JEL Classification: E20, E30, R10, R13, R21, R3