University of Minnesota aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) project report on the third long-term cycle

The University of Minnesota aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system has been operated as a field test facility (FTF) since 1982. The objectives were to design, construct, and operate the facility to study the feasibility of high-temperature ATES in a confined aquifer. Four short-term and two long-term cycles were previously conducted, which provided a greatly increased understanding of the efficiency and geochemical effects of high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage. The third long-term cycle (LT3) was conducted to operate the ATES system in conjunction with a real heating load and to further study the geochemical impact that heated water storage had on the aquifer. For LT3, the source and storage wells were modified so that only the most permeable portion, the Ironton-Galesville part, of the Franconia-Ironton-Galesville aquifer was used for storage. This was expected to improve storage efficiency by reducing the surface area of the heated volume and simplify analysis of water chemistry results by reducing the number of aquifer-related variables which need to be considered. During LT3, a total volume of 63.2 {times} 10{sup 3} m {sup 3} of water was injected at a rate of 54.95 m{sup 3}/hr into the storage well at a mean temperature of 104.7{degrees}C. Tie-in to the reheat system of the nearby Animal Sciences Veterinary Medicine (ASVM) building was completed after injection was completed. Approximately 66 percent (4.13 GWh) of the energy added to the aquifer was recovered. Approximately 15 percent (0.64 GWh) of the usable (10 building. Operations during heat recovery with the ASVM building`s reheat system were trouble-free. Integration into more of the ASVM (or other) building`s mechanical systems would have resulted in significantly increasing the proportion of energy used during heat recovery

Alternatively spliced tissue factor and full-length tissue factor protect cardiomyocytes against TNF-α-induced apoptosis

Tissue Factor (TF) is expressed in various cell types of the heart, such as cardiomyocytes. In addition to its role in the initiation of blood coagulation, the TF:FVIIa complex protects cells from apoptosis. There are two isoforms of Tissue Factor (TF): “full length” (fl)TF – an integral membrane protein; and alternatively spliced (as)TF – a protein that lacks a transmembrane domain and can thus be secreted in a soluble form. Whether asTF or flTF affect apoptosis of cardiomyocytes is unknown

HIV therapy by a combination of broadly neutralizing antibodies in humanized mice

Human antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) can neutralize a broad range of viral isolates in vitro and protect non-human primates against infection. Previous work showed that antibodies exert selective pressure on the virus but escape variants emerge within a short period of time. However, these experiments were performed before the recent discovery of more potent anti-HIV-1 antibodies and their improvement by structure-based design. Here we re-examine passive antibody transfer as a therapeutic modality in HIV-1-infected humanized mice. Although HIV-1 can escape from antibody monotherapy, combinations of broadly neutralizing antibodies can effectively control HIV-1 infection and suppress viral load to levels below detection. Moreover, in contrast to antiretroviral therapy the longer half-life of antibodies led to control of viraemia for an average of 60 days after cessation of therapy. Thus, combinations of potent monoclonal antibodies can effectively control HIV-1 replication in humanized mice, and should be re-examined as a therapeutic modality in HIV-1-infected individuals

Transcriptome sequencing of three Pseudo-nitzschia species reveals comparable gene sets and the presence of Nitric Oxide Synthase genes in diatoms

Diatoms are among the most diverse eukaryotic microorganisms on Earth, they are responsible for a large fraction of primary production in the oceans and can be found in different habitats. Pseudo-nitzschia are marine planktonic diatoms responsible for blooms in coastal and oceanic waters. We analyzed the transcriptome of three species, Pseudo-nitzschia arenysensis, Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima and Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata, with different levels of genetic relatedness. These species have a worldwide distribution and the last one produces the neurotoxin domoic acid. We were able to annotate about 80% of the sequences in each transcriptome and the analysis of the relative functional annotations allowed comparison of the main metabolic pathways, pathways involved in the biosynthesis of isoprenoids (MAV and MEP pathways), and pathways putatively involved in domoic acid synthesis. The search for homologous transcripts among the target species and other congeneric species resulted in the discovery of a sequence annotated as Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS), found uniquely in Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. The predicted protein product contained all the domains of the canonical metazoan sequence. Putative NOS sequences were found in other available diatom datasets, supporting a role for nitric oxide as signaling molecule in this group of microalgae

Carbon Metabolism of Enterobacterial Human Pathogens Growing in Epithelial Colorectal Adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) Cells

Analysis of the genome sequences of the major human bacterial pathogens has provided a large amount of information concerning their metabolic potential. However, our knowledge of the actual metabolic pathways and metabolite fluxes occurring in these pathogens under infection conditions is still limited. In this study, we analysed the intracellular carbon metabolism of enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC HN280 and EIEC 4608-58) and Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium (Stm 14028) replicating in epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). To this aim, we supplied [U-13C6]glucose to Caco-2 cells infected with the bacterial strains or mutants thereof impaired in the uptake of glucose, mannose and/or glucose 6-phosphate. The 13C-isotopologue patterns of protein-derived amino acids from the bacteria and the host cells were then determined by mass spectrometry. The data showed that EIEC HN280 growing in the cytosol of the host cells, as well as Stm 14028 replicating in the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV) utilised glucose, but not glucose 6-phosphate, other phosphorylated carbohydrates, gluconate or fatty acids as major carbon substrates. EIEC 4608-58 used C3-compound(s) in addition to glucose as carbon source. The labelling patterns reflected strain-dependent carbon flux via glycolysis and/or the Entner-Doudoroff pathway, the pentose phosphate pathway, the TCA cycle and anapleurotic reactions between PEP and oxaloacetate. Mutants of all three strains impaired in the uptake of glucose switched to C3-substrate(s) accompanied by an increased uptake of amino acids (and possibly also other anabolic monomers) from the host cell. Surprisingly, the metabolism of the host cells, as judged by the efficiency of 13C-incorporation into host cell amino acids, was not significantly affected by the infection with either of these intracellular pathogens

Enhancing Production of Bio-Isoprene Using Hybrid MVA Pathway and Isoprene Synthase in E. coli

The depleting petroleum reserve, increasingly severe energy crisis, and global climate change are reigniting enthusiasm for seeking sustainable technologies to replace petroleum as a source of fuel and chemicals. In this paper, the efficiency of the MVA pathway on isoprene production has been improved as follows: firstly, in order to increase MVA production, the source of the “upper pathway” which contains HMG-CoA synthase, acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and HMG-CoA reductase to covert acetyl-CoA into MVA has been changed from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Enterococcus faecalis; secondly, to further enhance the production of MVA and isoprene, a alanine 110 of the mvaS gene has been mutated to a glycine. The final genetic strain YJM25 containing the optimized MVA pathway and isoprene synthase from Populus alba can accumulate isoprene up to 6.3 g/L after 40 h of fed-batch cultivation