A volume-based description of transport in incompressible liquid electrolytes and its application to ionic liquids

Transference numbers play an important role in understanding the dynamics of electrolytes and assessing their performance in batteries. Unfortunately, these transport parameters are difficult to measure in highly concentrated liquid electrolytes such as ionic liquids. Also, the interpretation of their sign and magnitude has provoked an ongoing debate in the literature further complicated by the use of different languages. In this work, we highlight the role of the reference frame for the interpretation of transport parameters using our novel thermodynamically consistent theory for highly correlated electrolytes. We argue that local volume conservation is a key principle in incompressible liquid electrolytes and use the volume-based drift velocity as a reference. We apply our general framework to electrophoretic NMR experiments. For ionic liquid based electrolytes, we find that the results of the eNMR measurements can be best described using this volume-based description. This highlights the limitations of the widely used center-of-mass reference frame which for example forms the basis for molecular dynamics simulations – a standard tool for the theoretical calculation of transport parameters. It shows that the assumption of local momentum conservation is incorrect in those systems on the macroscopic scale

Local volume conservation in concentrated electrolytes is governing charge transport in electric fields

While ion transport processes in concentrated electrolytes, e.g. based on ionic liquids (IL), are a subject of intense research, the role of conservation laws and reference frames is still a matter of debate. Employ-ing electrophoretic NMR, we show that momentum conservation, a typical prerequisite in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, is not governing ion transport. Involving density measurements to deter-mine molar volumes of distinct ion species, we propose that conservation of local molar species volumes is the governing constraint for ion transport. The experimentally quantified net volume flux is found as zero, implying a non-zero local momentum flux, as tested in pure ILs and IL-based electrolytes for a broad variety of concentrations and chemical compositions. This constraint is consistent with incom-pressibility, but not with a local application of momentum conservation. The constraint affects the calcu-lation of transference numbers as well as comparisons of MD results to experimental findings

Increased Expression of Cell-Cell Signaling Genes by Stimulated Mononuclear Leukocytes in Patients with Previous Atherothrombotic Stroke A Whole Genome Expression Profile Study

Background/Aims: Inflammation plays an important role in atherosclerosis and stroke. Acute infections are recognized as trigger factors for ischemic stroke. Methods: In this whole genome expression profile study of 15 patients and 15 control subjects, we tested the hypothesis that patients with a history of atherothrombotic stroke show enhanced transcription of inflammatory genes in circulating leukocytes. RNA from unstimulated or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was analyzed with Affymetrix U133A GeneChips using a pooling design. Expression of single genes and functional groups of genes was analyzed by global statistical tests. Results: A total of 10,197 probe sets showed positive calls. After correction for multiple testing no single probe set revealed significant differences either without or with LPS stimulation. However, significant global expression differences were found upon LPS stimulation for the group of genes that are involved in cell-cell signaling. Conclusion: LPS stimulation of PBMCs, a condition mimicking bacterial infection, induces differential expression of a group of cell-cell signaling genes in patients with previous atherothrombotic stroke. This finding can be caused by genetic differences between both groups, but acquired risk factors, medication and technical factors may also have contributed to the result. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base

An alternative CYB5A transcript is expressed in aneuploid ALL and enriched in relapse

Background: B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is a genetically heterogenous malignancy with poor prognosis in relapsed adult patients. The genetic basis for relapse in aneuploid subtypes such as near haploid (NH) and high hyperdiploid (HeH) BCP-ALL is only poorly understood. Pathogenic genetic alterations remain to be identified. To this end, we investigated the dynamics of genetic alterations in a matched initial diagnosis-relapse (ID-REL) BCP-ALL cohort. Here, we firstly report the identification of the novel genetic alteration CYB5Aalt, an alternative transcript of CYB5A, in two independent cohorts. Methods: We identified CYB5alt in the RNAseq-analysis of a matched ID-REL BCP-ALL cohort with 50 patients and quantified its expression in various molecular BCP-ALL subtypes. Findings were validated in an independent cohort of 140 first diagnosis samples from adult BCP-ALL patients. Derived from patient material, the alternative open reading frame of CYB5Aalt was cloned (pCYB5Aalt) and pCYB5Aalt or the empty vector were stably overexpressed in NALM-6 cells. RNA sequencing was performed of pCYB5Aalt clones and empty vector controls followed by differential expression analysis, gene set enrichment analysis and complementing cell death and viability assays to determine functional implications of CYB5Aalt. Results: RNAseq data analysis revealed non-canonical exon usage of CYB5Aalt starting from a previously undescribed transcription start site. CYB5Aalt expression was increased in relapsed BCP-ALL and its occurrence was specific towards the shared gene expression cluster of NH and HeH BCP-ALL in independent cohorts. Overexpression of pCYB5Aalt in NALM-6 cells induced a distinct transcriptional program compared to empty vector controls with downregulation of pathways related to reported functions of CYB5A wildtype. Interestingly, CYB5A wildtype expression was decreased in CYB5Aalt samples in silico and in vitro. Additionally, pCYB5Aalt NALM-6 elicited a more resistant drug response. Conclusions: Across all age groups, CYB5Aalt was the most frequent secondary genetic event in relapsed NH and HeH BCP-ALL. In addition to its high subgroup specificity, CYB5Aalt is a novel candidate to be potentially implicated in therapy resistance in NH and HeH BCP-ALL. This is underlined by overexpressing CYB5Aalt providing first evidence for a functional role in BCL2-mediated apoptosis

Acquisition of Complement Inhibitor Serine Protease Factor I and Its Cofactors C4b-Binding Protein and Factor H by Prevotella intermedia

Infection with the Gram-negative pathogen Prevotella intermedia gives rise to periodontitis and a growing number of studies implies an association of P. intermedia with rheumatoid arthritis. The serine protease Factor I (FI) is the central inhibitor of complement degrading complement components C3b and C4b in the presence of cofactors such as C4b-binding protein (C4BP) and Factor H (FH). Yet, the significance of complement inhibitor acquisition in P. intermedia infection and FI binding by Gram-negative pathogens has not been addressed. Here we show that P. intermedia isolates bound purified FI as well as FI directly from heat-inactivated human serum. FI bound to bacteria retained its serine protease activity as shown in degradation experiments with 125I-labeled C4b. Since FI requires cofactors for its activity we also investigated the binding of purified cofactors C4BP and FH and found acquisition of both proteins, which retained their activity in FI mediated degradation of C3b and C4b. We propose that FI binding by P. intermedia represents a new mechanism contributing to complement evasion by a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen associated with chronic diseases

Als Reiseführer unbrauchbar

Aufsatz über das Werk des Nirgun-Bhakti Dichters Sundardas (1596-1689), vor allem über das Gedicht "Desatan" (Wanderungen durch die Regionen), das von der Autorin übersetzt wurde

Véronique Bouillier, Itinérance et vie monastique. Les ascètes Nath Yogis en Inde contemporaine, 2008

Horstmann Monika. Véronique Bouillier, Itinérance et vie monastique. Les ascètes Nath Yogis en Inde contemporaine, 2008. In: Bulletin de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient. Tome 95-96, 2008. pp. 542-544

Anne Feldhaus, edited and translated with Ramdas Atkar and Rajaram Zagade, Say to the Sun, “Don’t Rise,” and to the Moon, “Don’t Set.” Two Oral Narratives from the Countryside of Maharashtra, New York, Oxford University Press, 2014

Horstmann Monika. Anne Feldhaus, edited and translated with Ramdas Atkar and Rajaram Zagade, Say to the Sun, “Don’t Rise,” and to the Moon, “Don’t Set.” Two Oral Narratives from the Countryside of Maharashtra, New York, Oxford University Press, 2014. In: Bulletin de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient. Tome 102, 2016. pp. 475-477