Silver nanoparticles embedded in zeolite membranes: release of silver ions and mechanism of antibacterial action

Amber Nagy1, Alistair Harrison2, Supriya Sabbani3, Robert S Munson, Jr2, Prabir K Dutta3, W James Waldman11Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University; 2Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 3Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USABackground: The focus of this study is on the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles embedded within a zeolite membrane (AgNP-ZM).Methods and Results: These membranes were effective in killing Escherichia coli and were bacteriostatic against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. E. coli suspended in Luria Bertani (LB) broth and isolated from physical contact with the membrane were also killed. Elemental analysis indicated slow release of Ag+ from the AgNP-ZM into the LB broth. The E. coli killing efficiency of AgNP-ZM was found to decrease with repeated use, and this was correlated with decreased release of silver ions with each use of the support. Gene expression microarrays revealed upregulation of several antioxidant genes as well as genes coding for metal transport, metal reduction, and ATPase pumps in response to silver ions released from AgNP-ZM. Gene expression of iron transporters was reduced, and increased expression of ferrochelatase was observed. In addition, upregulation of multiple antibiotic resistance genes was demonstrated. The expression levels of multicopper oxidase, glutaredoxin, and thioredoxin decreased with each support use, reflecting the lower amounts of Ag+ released from the membrane. The antibacterial mechanism of AgNP-ZM is proposed to be related to the exhaustion of antioxidant capacity.Conclusion: These results indicate that AgNP-ZM provide a novel matrix for gradual release of Ag+.Keywords: silver nanoparticles, zeolite, antibacterial agent, oxidative stres

Beta-delayed-neutron studies of 135,136^{135,136}Sb and 140^{140}I performed with trapped ions

Beta-delayed-neutron ($\beta$n) spectroscopy was performed using the Beta-decay Paul Trap and an array of radiation detectors. The $\beta$n branching ratios and energy spectra for $^{135,136}$Sb and $^{140}$I were obtained by measuring the time of flight of recoil ions emerging from the trapped ion cloud. These nuclei are located at the edge of an isotopic region identified as having $\beta$n branching ratios that impact the r-process abundance pattern around the A~130 peak. For $^{135,136}$Sb and $^{140}$I, $\beta$n branching ratios of 14.6(11)%, 17.6(28)%, and 7.6(28)% were determined, respectively. The $\beta$n energy spectra obtained for $^{135}$Sb and $^{140}$I are compared with results from direct neutron measurements, and the $\beta$n energy spectrum for $^{136}$Sb has been measured for the first time

Synchronous oceanic spreading and continental rifting in West Antarctica

Magnetic anomalies associated with new ocean crust formation in the Adare Basin off north-western Ross Sea (43 – 26 Ma) can be traced directly into the Northern Basin that underlies the adjacent morphological continental shelf, implying a continuity in the emplacement of oceanic crust. Steep gravity gradients along the margins of the Northern Basin, particularly in the east, suggest that little extension and thinning of continental crust occurred before it ruptured and the new oceanic crust formed, unlike most other continental rifts and the Victoria Land Basin further south. A pre-existing weak crust and localisation of strain by strike slip faulting are proposed as the factors allowing the rapid rupture of continental crust

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: The polarization-sensitive ACTPol instrument

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is designed to make high angular resolution measurements of anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at millimeter wavelengths. We describe ACTPol, an upgraded receiver for ACT, which uses feedhorn-coupled, polarization-sensitive detector arrays, a 3 degree field of view, 100 mK cryogenics with continuous cooling, and meta material anti-reflection coatings. ACTPol comprises three arrays with separate cryogenic optics: two arrays at a central frequency of 148 GHz and one array operating simultaneously at both 97 GHz and 148 GHz. The combined instrument sensitivity, angular resolution, and sky coverage are optimized for measuring angular power spectra, clusters via the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich and kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signals, and CMB lensing due to large scale structure. The receiver was commissioned with its first 148 GHz array in 2013, observed with both 148 GHz arrays in 2014, and has recently completed its first full season of operations with the full suite of three arrays. This paper provides an overview of the design and initial performance of the receiver and related systems

First operational experience with the positive-ion injector of ATLAS

The recently completed positive-ion injector for the heavy-ion accelerator ATLAS was designed as a replacement for the tandem injector of the present tandem-linac system and, unlike the tandem, the positive-ion injector is required to provide ions from the full range of the periodic table. The concept for the new injector, which consists of an ECR ion source on a voltage platform coupled to a very-low-velocity superconducting linac, introduces technical problems and uncertainties that are well beyond those encountered previously for superconducting linacs. The solution to these problems and their relationship to performance are outlined, and initial experience in the acceleration of heavy-ion beams through the entire ATLAS system is discussed. The unusually good longitudinal beam quality of ATLAS with its new injector is emphasized

Recoil-ion detection efficiency for complex β decays studied using the Beta-decay Paul Trap

Beta-delayed neutron emission is being studied by detecting the β particles and recoiling ions emerging from the Beta-decay Paul Trap. For β decays to the ground state or γ-emitting states of the daughter nucleus, the fraction of recoiling ions which reach the ion detector in coincidence with a β particle has been determined for 134, 135Sb, 137, 138, 140I, and 144, 145Cs. This value is needed for the determination of the β-delayed neutron emission branching ratio solely from the recoil-ion time-of-flight (TOF) spectrum. The β-particle energy and recoil-ion TOF spectra were used to constrain a simple decay model, which can be used to determine the detection efficiency. The method is compared to simulations to estimate the uncertainty introduced by incomplete knowledge of the decay pattern. By fitting the simulation results to several β-ion coincidence properties measured during the experiment, the fraction of ions which reach the microchannel plate detector can be determined to within ±4%. This result opens the possibility of using the recoil-ion TOF spectra for high precision β-delayed neutron branching-ratio measurements