Physico-Chemical Differences Between Particle- and Molecule-Derived Toxicity: Can We Make Inherently Safe Nanoparticles?

The rapidly growing applications of nanotechnology require a detailed understanding of benefits and risks, particularly in toxicology. The present study reviews the physical and chemical differences between particles and molecules when interacting with living organisms. In contrast to classical chemicals, the mobility of nanoparticles is governed by agglomeration, a clustering process that changes the characteristic size of the nanomaterials during exposure, toxicity tests or in the environment. The current status of nanotoxicology highlights non-classical toxic interactions through catalytic processes inside living cells and the enhanced heavy metal transport into the cytosol through the 'Trojan horse mechanism'. The safety of nanoparticles in consumer goods is proposed to be rendered inherently safer by substituting the currently used persistent oxides through biodegradable materials

Water, not salt, causes most of the Seebeck effect of nonisothermal aqueous electrolytes

When two electrolyte-immersed electrodes have different temperatures, a voltage $\Delta \psi$ can be measured between them. This electrolyte Seebeck effect is usually explained by cations and anions flowing differently in thermal gradients. However, our molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous electrolytes reveal a large temperature-dependent potential drop $\chi$ near blocking electrodes caused by water layering and orientation. The difference in surface potentials at hot and cold electrodes is more important to the Seebeck effect than ionic thermodiffusion, $\Delta \psi \sim \chi_{\rm hot}-\chi_{\rm cold}$.Comment: Main text: 6 pages with 3 figures. Supplemental material: 5 pages with 5 figure

Plant Carbonic Anhydrases: Structures, Locations, Evolution, and Physiological Roles

© 2017 The Authors Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the interconversion of CO2 and HCO3− and are ubiquitous in nature. Higher plants contain three evolutionarily distinct CA families, αCAs, βCAs, and γCAs, where each family is represented by multiple isoforms in all species. Alternative splicing of CA transcripts appears common; consequently, the number of functional CA isoforms in a species may exceed the number of genes. CAs are expressed in numerous plant tissues and in different cellular locations. The most prevalent CAs are those in the chloroplast, cytosol, and mitochondria. This diversity in location is paralleled in the many physiological and biochemical roles that CAs play in plants. In this review, the number and types of CAs in C3, C4, and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants are considered, and the roles of the α and γCAs are briefly discussed. The remainder of the review focuses on plant βCAs and includes the identification of homologs between species using phylogenetic approaches, a consideration of the inter- and intracellular localization of the proteins, along with the evidence for alternative splice forms. Current understanding of βCA tissue-specific expression patterns and what controls them are reviewed, and the physiological roles for which βCAs have been implicated are presented

Author Correction: Early pregnancy ultrasound measurements and prediction of first trimester pregnancy loss: A logistic model (Scientific Reports, (2020), 10, 1, (1545), 10.1038/s41598-020-58114-3)

The original version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of the author Patricia J. Goedecke which was incorrectly given as Patricia J. Goeske. The original Article has been corrected

Randomized controlled trial of Family Nurture Intervention in the NICU: assessments of length of stay, feasibility and safety

Background: While survival rates for preterm infants have increased, the risk for adverse long-term neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes remains very high. In response to the need for novel, evidence-based interventions that prevent such outcomes, we have assessed Family Nurture Intervention (FNI), a novel dual mother-infant intervention implemented while the infant is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Here, we report the first trial results, including the primary outcome measure, length of stay in the NICU and, the feasibility and safety of its implementation in a high acuity level IV NICU. Methods: The FNI trial is a single center, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital for mothers and their singleton or twin infants of 26–34 weeks gestation. Families were randomized to standard care (SC) or (FNI). FNI was implemented by nurture specialists trained to facilitate affective communication between mother and infant during specified calming interactions. These interactions included scent cloth exchange, sustained touch, vocal soothing and eye contact, wrapped or skin-to-skin holding, plus family-based support interactions. Results: A total of 826 infants born between 26 and 34 weeks during the 3.5 year study period were admitted to the NICU. After infant and mother screening plus exclusion due to circumstances that prevented the family from participating, 373 infants were eligible for the study. Of these, we were unable to schedule a consent meeting with 56, and consent was withheld by 165. Consent was obtained for 150 infants from 115 families. The infants were block randomized to groups of N = 78, FNI and N = 72, SC. Sixteen (9.6%) of the randomized infants did not complete the study to home discharge, 7% of those randomized to SC and 12% of FNI infants. Mothers in the intervention group engaged in 3 to 4 facilitated one- to two-hour sessions/week. Intent to treat analyses revealed no significant difference between groups in medical complications. The mean length of stay was not significantly affected by the intervention. Conclusion: There was no significant effect demonstrated with this intervention amount on the primary short-term outcome, length of stay. FNI can be safely and feasibly implemented within a level IV NICU