Interfacial Reactions of Ozone with Surfactant Protein B in a Model Lung Surfactant System

Oxidative stresses from irritants such as hydrogen peroxide and ozone (O_3) can cause dysfunction of the pulmonary surfactant (PS) layer in the human lung, resulting in chronic diseases of the respiratory tract. For identification of structural changes of pulmonary surfactant protein B (SP-B) due to the heterogeneous reaction with O_3, field-induced droplet ionization (FIDI) mass spectrometry has been utilized. FIDI is a soft ionization method in which ions are extracted from the surface of microliter-volume droplets. We report structurally specific oxidative changes of SP-B_(1−25) (a shortened version of human SP-B) at the air−liquid interface. We also present studies of the interfacial oxidation of SP-B_(1−25) in a nonionizable 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycerol (POG) surfactant layer as a model PS system, where competitive oxidation of the two components is observed. Our results indicate that the heterogeneous reaction of SP-B_(1−25) at the interface is quite different from that in the solution phase. In comparison with the nearly complete homogeneous oxidation of SP-B_(1−25), only a subset of the amino acids known to react with ozone are oxidized by direct ozonolysis in the hydrophobic interfacial environment, both with and without the lipid surfactant layer. Combining these experimental observations with the results of molecular dynamics simulations provides an improved understanding of the interfacial structure and chemistry of a model lung surfactant system subjected to oxidative stress

A microfluidic-based bubble generation platform enables analysis of physical property change in phospholipid surfactant layers by interfacial ozone reaction

The air-liquid interface filled with pulmonary surfactant is a unique feature of our lung alveoli. The mechanical properties of this interface play an important role in breathing and its malfunction induced by an environmental hazard, such as ozone, relates to various lung diseases. In order to understand the interfacial physics of the pulmonary surfactant system, we employed a microfluidic bubble generation platform with a model pulmonary surfactant composed of two major phospholipids: DPPC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine) and POPG (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-phosphatidylglycerol). With fluorescence imaging, we observed the ozone-induced chemical modification of the unsaturated lipid component of the lipid mixture, POPG. This chemical change due to the oxidative stress was further utilized to study the physical characteristics of the interface through the bubble formation process. The physical property change was evaluated through the oscillatory behaviour of the monolayer, as well as the bubble size and formation time. The results presented demonstrate the potential of this platform to study interfacial physics of lung surfactant system under various environmental challenges, both qualitatively and quantitatively

Improved Ambient Pressure Pyroelectric Ion Source

The detection of volatile vapors of unknown species in a complex field environment is required in many different applications. Mass spectroscopic techniques require subsystems including an ionization unit and sample transport mechanism. All of these subsystems must have low mass, small volume, low power, and be rugged. A volatile molecular detector, an ambient pressure pyroelectric ion source (APPIS) that met these requirements, was recently reported by Caltech researchers to be used in in situ environments

Time Resolved Studies of Interfacial Reactions of Ozone with Pulmonary Phospholipid Surfactants Using Field Induced Droplet Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Field induced droplet ionization mass spectrometry (FIDI-MS) comprises a soft ionization method to sample ions from the surface of microliter droplets. A pulsed electric field stretches neutral droplets until they develop dual Taylor cones, emitting streams of positively and negatively charged submicrometer droplets in opposite directions, with the desired polarity being directed into a mass spectrometer for analysis. This methodology is employed to study the heterogeneous ozonolysis of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG) at the air−liquid interface in negative ion mode using FIDI mass spectrometry. Our results demonstrate unique characteristics of the heterogeneous reactions at the air−liquid interface. We observe the hydroxyhydroperoxide and the secondary ozonide as major products of POPG ozonolysis in the FIDI-MS spectra. These products are metastable and difficult to observe in the bulk phase, using standard electrospray ionization (ESI) for mass spectrometric analysis. We also present studies of the heterogeneous ozonolysis of a mixture of saturated and unsaturated phospholipids at the air−liquid interface. A mixture of the saturated phospholipid 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) and unsaturated POPG is investigated in negative ion mode using FIDI-MS while a mixture of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine (SOPC) surfactant is studied in positive ion mode. In both cases FIDI-MS shows the saturated and unsaturated pulmonary surfactants form a mixed interfacial layer. Only the unsaturated phospholipid reacts with ozone, forming products that are more hydrophilic than the saturated phospholipid. With extensive ozonolysis only the saturated phospholipid remains at the droplet surface. Combining these experimental observations with the results of computational analysis provides an improved understanding of the interfacial structure and chemistry of a surfactant layer system when subject to oxidative stress

Quantum Gates and Memory using Microwave Dressed States

Trapped atomic ions have been successfully used for demonstrating basic elements of universal quantum information processing (QIP). Nevertheless, scaling up of these methods and techniques to achieve large scale universal QIP, or more specialized quantum simulations remains challenging. The use of easily controllable and stable microwave sources instead of complex laser systems on the other hand promises to remove obstacles to scalability. Important remaining drawbacks in this approach are the use of magnetic field sensitive states, which shorten coherence times considerably, and the requirement to create large stable magnetic field gradients. Here, we present theoretically a novel approach based on dressing magnetic field sensitive states with microwave fields which addresses both issues and permits fast quantum logic. We experimentally demonstrate basic building blocks of this scheme to show that these dressed states are long-lived and coherence times are increased by more than two orders of magnitude compared to bare magnetic field sensitive states. This changes decisively the prospect of microwave-driven ion trap QIP and offers a new route to extend coherence times for all systems that suffer from magnetic noise such as neutral atoms, NV-centres, quantum dots, or circuit-QED systems.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Do Biofilm Formation and Interactions with Human Cells Explain the Clinical Success of Acinetobacter baumannii?

BACKGROUND: The dramatic increase in antibiotic resistance and the recent manifestation in war trauma patients underscore the threat of Acinetobacter baumannii as a nosocomial pathogen. Despite numerous reports documenting its epidemicity, little is known about the pathogenicity of A. baumannii. The aim of this study was to obtain insight into the factors that might explain the clinical success of A. baumannii. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We compared biofilm formation, adherence to and inflammatory cytokine induction by human cells for a large panel of well-described strains of A. baumannii and compared these features to that of other, clinically less relevant Acinetobacter species. Results revealed that biofilm formation and adherence to airway epithelial cells varied widely within the various species, but did not differ among the species. However, airway epithelial cells and cultured human macrophages produced significantly less inflammatory cytokines upon exposure to A. baumannii strains than to strains of A. junii, a species infrequently causing infection. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The induction of a weak inflammatory response may provide a clue to the persistence of A. baumannii in patients

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes