Description of collection and/or detection failure in Ruston, LA WBE.

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SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.

N1 and N2 concentrations expressed as genome copies or GC/L in the wastewater of Ruston (A), Grambling (B), and Grambling State University (C).</p

Fig 1 -

Standard curves obtained from IDT 2019-nCoV_N positive control plasmid (left) and reverse-transcribed ATCC VR3276SD synthetic RNA (right).</p

Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in wastewater.

PMMoV concentrations expressed as genome copies or GC/L in the wastewater of Ruston (A), Grambling (B), and Grambling State University (C). The timeline is annotated with key events and dates including dates when no wastewater samples were collected or PMMoV amplification failed. For full table of reporting in Ruston see S1 Table.</p

PMMoV-normalized SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and weekly caseloads.

N1 and N2 concentrations in the wastewater of Ruston (A), Grambling (B), and Grambling State University (C) were divided by PMMoV concentrations to obtain a unitless ratio that normalizes for fecal load. All ratios are relative to the lowest ratio set arbitrarily as 100 and plotted on the left Y axis. Total weekly caseloads in zip codes 71270 and 71273 (Ruston) and zip code 71245 (Grambling/Grambling State University) are plotted on the right Y axis.</p

In Situ Monitoring of Antisolvent Cocrystallization by Combining Near-Infrared and Raman Spectroscopies

In situ monitoring techniques are essential for the control and optimization of the cocrystallization process. In our previous study, we successfully monitored indomethacin–saccharin (IMC–SAC) cocrystallization by antisolvent addition using a method based on near-infrared principal component analysis (NIR–PCA). In this study, a calibration model was developed to predict the solute concentration of the two components. Several samples withdrawn from five sets of experiments were used to develop the calibration model. The actual concentrations of the two components were determined using UV–vis spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The amount of solid-phase material in suspension was calculated from these solute concentration data. Correlations between NIR spectra and solid concentrations were evaluated using partial least-squares (PLS) regression analyses. Reasonably good calibration models with determination coefficients (<i>R</i>²) higher than 0.979 were obtained. Process monitoring was performed using in situ NIR and Raman spectroscopies to predict the concentrations of both IMC and SAC in solution and to identify the solid-phase materials, respectively. The calibration models were deemed suitable, with reasonable accuracy and precision, for in situ concentration monitoring of the antisolvent crystallization of IMC–SAC cocrystals. This combination of NIR and Raman spectroscopies was able to detect the formation and phase transition of the resulting cocrystal

High Efficiency Tandem Thin-Perovskite/Polymer Solar Cells with a Graded Recombination Layer

Perovskite-containing tandem solar cells are attracting attention for their potential to achieve high efficiencies. We demonstrate a series connection of a ∼90 nm thick perovskite front subcell and a ∼100 nm thick polymer:fullerene blend back subcell that benefits from an efficient graded recombination layer containing a zwitterionic fullerene, silver (Ag), and molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃). This methodology eliminates the adverse effects of thermal annealing or chemical treatment that occurs during perovskite fabrication on polymer-based front subcells. The record tandem perovskite/polymer solar cell efficiency of 16.0%, with low hysteresis, is 75% greater than that of the corresponding ∼90 nm thick perovskite single-junction device and 65% greater than that of the polymer single-junction device. The high efficiency of this hybrid tandem device, achieved using only a ∼90 nm thick perovskite layer, provides an opportunity to substantially reduce the lead content in the device, while maintaining the high performance derived from perovskites

presentation_1_Chaperna-Mediated Assembly of Ferritin-Based Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus Nanoparticles.PDF

<p>The folding of monomeric antigens and their subsequent assembly into higher ordered structures are crucial for robust and effective production of nanoparticle (NP) vaccines in a timely and reproducible manner. Despite significant advances in in silico design and structure-based assembly, most engineered NPs are refractory to soluble expression and fail to assemble as designed, presenting major challenges in the manufacturing process. The failure is due to a lack of understanding of the kinetic pathways and enabling technical platforms to ensure successful folding of the monomer antigens into regular assemblages. Capitalizing on a novel function of RNA as a molecular chaperone (chaperna: chaperone + RNA), we provide a robust protein-folding vehicle that may be implemented to NP assembly in bacterial hosts. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was fused with the RNA-interaction domain (RID) and bacterioferritin, and expressed in Escherichia coli in a soluble form. Site-specific proteolytic removal of the RID prompted the assemblage of monomers into NPs, which was confirmed by electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The mutations that affected the RNA binding to RBD significantly increased the soluble aggregation into amorphous structures, reducing the overall yield of NPs of a defined size. This underscored the RNA-antigen interactions during NP assembly. The sera after mouse immunization effectively interfered with the binding of MERS-CoV RBD to the cellular receptor hDPP4. The results suggest that RNA-binding controls the overall kinetic network of the antigen folding pathway in favor of enhanced assemblage of NPs into highly regular and immunologically relevant conformations. The concentration of the ion Fe²⁺, salt, and fusion linker also contributed to the assembly in vitro, and the stability of the NPs. The kinetic “pace-keeping” role of chaperna in the super molecular assembly of antigen monomers holds promise for the development and delivery of NPs and virus-like particles as recombinant vaccines and for serological detection of viral infections.</p

Comparison Study of Gold Nanohexapods, Nanorods, and Nanocages for Photothermal Cancer Treatment

Gold nanohexapods represent a novel class of optically tunable nanostructures consisting of an octahedral core and six arms grown on its vertices. By controlling the length of the arms, their localized surface plasmon resonance peaks could be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared region for deep penetration of light into soft tissues. Herein we compare the <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> capabilities of Au nanohexapods as photothermal transducers for theranostic applications by benchmarking against those of Au nanorods and nanocages. While all these Au nanostructures could absorb and convert near-infrared light into heat, Au nanohexapods exhibited the highest cellular uptake and the lowest cytotoxicity <i>in vitro</i> for both the as-prepared and PEGylated nanostructures. <i>In vivo</i> pharmacokinetic studies showed that the PEGylated Au nanohexapods had significant blood circulation and tumor accumulation in a mouse breast cancer model. Following photothermal treatment, substantial heat was produced <i>in situ</i> and the tumor metabolism was greatly reduced for all these Au nanostructures, as determined with ¹⁸F-flourodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT). Combined together, we can conclude that Au nanohexapods are promising candidates for cancer theranostics in terms of both photothermal destruction and contrast-enhanced diagnosis