Charge transport in nanoscale vertical organic semiconductor pillar devices

We report charge transport measurements in nanoscale vertical pillar structures incorporating ultrathin layers of the organic semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT). P3HT layers with thickness down to 5 nm are gently top-contacted using wedging transfer, yielding highly reproducible, robust nanoscale junctions carrying high current densities (up to $10^6$ A/m$^2$). Current-voltage data modeling demonstrates excellent hole injection. This work opens up the pathway towards nanoscale, ultrashort-channel organic transistors for high-frequency and high-current-density operation.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Pet pig medicine: 1. The normal pig

PET pigs are related to the Vietnamese potbellied pig, but many are also crossbred with commercial breeds such as the Large White, which can result in interesting body colour combinations. Some owners keep rare breeds, which helps to preserve genetic diversity. All pet pigs are the same species as commercial pigs – Sus scrofa – and this also includes the European wild boar. Management of pet pigs is subtly different from that of commercial pigs, and this should be borne in mind when dealing with these animals. This article describes how to handle and examine the pet pig, highlighting the normal parameters for these animals, and outlines the measures that can be implemented to prevent disease. An article in the next issue will discuss problems commonly encountered in pet pigs

Tunable HMF hydrogenation to furan diols in a flow reactor using Ru/C as catalyst

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), accessible from various feedstocks, represents an important renewable platform-chemical, precursor for valuable biofuels and bio-based chemicals. In this work, the continuous hydrogenation of an aqueous solution of HMF to give strategic monomers, 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) and 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran (BHMTHF) was investigated in a continuous flow reactor adopting a commercial Ru/C (5 wt%) as catalyst. The influence of the main process variables on products yield and selectivity was studied and optimized. The highest BHMF and BHMTHF yields of 87.9 and 93.7 mol%, respectively, were achieved by tuning the catalyst contact time, keeping all other variables constant (temperature, pressure, hydrogen flow rate, initial HMF concentration). Intraparticle diffusion limitation for hydrogen and HMF was shown to occur at some of the tested conditions by performing the HMF hydrogenation with different catalyst particle sizes, confirmed by calculations. Constant catalyst activity was observed up to 6 h time-on-stream and then gradually reduced. Fresh and spent catalyst characterization showed no significant sintering and negligible leaching of ruthenium during time-on-stream. A decrease of the specific surface area was observed, mainly due to humin deposition which is likely the reason for catalyst deactivation. Catalyst performance could be restored to initial values by a thorough washing of the catalyst

Efficient Mild Organosolv Lignin Extraction in a Flow-Through Setup Yielding Lignin with High beta-O-4 Content

Current lignin fractionation methods use harsh conditions that alter the native lignin structure, resulting in a recalcitrant material which is undesired for downstream processing. Milder fractionation processes allow for the isolation of lignins that are high in beta-aryl ether (beta-O-4) content, however, at reduced extraction efficiency. The development of improved lignin extraction methods using mild conditions is therefore desired. For this reason, a flow-through setup for mild ethanosolv extraction (120 degrees C) was developed. The influence of acid concentration, ethanol/water ratio, and the use of other linear alcohol co-solvents on the delignification efficiency and the beta-O-4 content were evaluated. With walnut shells as model feedstock, extraction efficiencies of over 55% were achieved, yielding lignin with a good structural quality in terms of beta-O-4 linking motifs (typically over 60 per 100 aromatic units). For example, lignin containing 66 beta-O-4 linking motifs was obtained with an 80:20 n-propanol/water ratio, 0.18 M H2SO4 with overall a good extraction efficiency of 57% after 5 h. The majority of the lignin was extracted in the first 2 hours and this lignin showed the best structural quality. Compared to batch extractions, both higher lignin extraction efficiency and higher beta-O-4 content were obtained using the flow setup

DETEKSI GLUKOSA DALAM URIN ORANGUTAN SUMATERA (PONGO ABELII) MENGGUNAKAN STRIPTEST SEMIKUANTITATIF DI TAMAN HEWAN PEMATANG SIANTAR

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui ada tidaknya glukosa dalam uron orangutan sumatera (Pongo abelii) sebagai penunjang diagnosa di Taman Hewan Pematang Siantar, Sumatera Utara. Pengoleksian urin terhadap 4 ekor orangutan sumatera di dalam kandang yang dilakukan pada pagi hari yaitu saat orangutan bangun tidur atau sebelum pemberian pakan orangutan. Pengulangan uji dilakukan 3 kali selama 10 hari pada bulan Januari 2015. Setelah pengoleksian urin kemudian dilakukan pemeriksaan dengan cara mencelupkan stripstest pada 5-10 ml urin selama 30 detik. Analisis data menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif dengan hasil bersifat semikuantitatif melalui pembacaan nilai glukosa pada stripstest yang memiliki skala perubahan warna yaitu : negatif, positif 1 (100 mg/dL), positif 2 (250 mg/dL), positif 3 (500 mg/dL), dan positif 4 (1000 mg/dL). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dari 4 sampel urin orangutan sumatera tidak terdeteksi adanya glukosa dalam urin

3D Domain Swapping Causes Extensive Multimerisation of Human Interleukin-10 When Expressed In Planta

Heterologous expression platforms of biopharmaceutical proteins have been significantly improved over the last decade. Further improvement can be established by examining the intrinsic properties of proteins. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine with a short half-life that plays an important role in re-establishing immune homeostasis. This homodimeric protein of 36 kDa has significant therapeutic potential to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In this study we show that the major production bottleneck of human IL-10 is not protein instability as previously suggested, but extensive multimerisation due to its intrinsic 3D domain swapping characteristic. Extensive multimerisation of human IL-10 could be visualised as granules in planta. On the other hand, mouse IL-10 hardly multimerised, which could be largely attributed to its glycosylation. By introducing a short glycine-serine-linker between the fourth and fifth alpha helix of human IL-10 a stable monomeric form of IL-10 (hIL-10mono) was created that no longer multimerised and increased yield up to 20-fold. However, hIL-10mono no longer had the ability to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages. Forcing dimerisation restored biological activity. This was achieved by fusing human IL-10mono to the C-terminal end of constant domains 2 and 3 of human immunoglobulin A (Fca), a natural dimer. Stable dimeric forms of IL-10, like Fca-IL-10, may not only be a better format for improved production, but also a more suitable format for medical applications

Towards Open Access Publishing in High Energy Physics : Report of the SCOAP3 Working Party

This Report concerns the implementation of a process today supported by leading actors from the particle physics community, and worked through in detail by members of an international Working Party. The initiative offers an opportunity for the cost-effective dissemination of high-quality research articles in particle physics, enabling use of the new technologies of e-Science across the literature of High Energy physics

Beta-hexosaminidases along the secretory pathway of nicotiana benthamiana have distinct specificities toward engineered helminth N-glycans on recombinant glycoproteins

Secretions of parasitic worms (helminths) contain a wide collection of immunomodulatory glycoproteins with the potential to treat inflammatory disorders, like autoimmune diseases. Yet, the identification of single molecules that can be developed into novel biopharmaceuticals is hampered by the limited availability of native parasite-derived proteins. Recently, pioneering work has shown that helminth glycoproteins can be produced transiently in Nicotiana benthamiana plants while simultaneously mimicking their native helminth N-glycan composition by co-expression of desired glycosyltransferases. However, efficient "helminthization" of N-glycans in plants by glyco-engineering seems to be hampered by the undesired truncation of complex N-glycans by beta-N-acetyl-hexosaminidases, in particular when aiming for the synthesis of N-glycans with antennary GalNAc beta 1-4GlcNAc (LacdiNAc or LDN). In this study, we cloned novel beta-hexosaminidase open reading frames from N. benthamiana and characterized the biochemical activity of these enzymes. We identified HEXO2 and HEXO3 as enzymes responsible for the cleavage of antennary GalNAc residues of N-glycans on the model helminth glycoprotein kappa-5. Furthermore, we reveal that each member of the HEXO family has a distinct specificity for N-glycan substrates, where HEXO2 has strict beta-galactosaminidase activity, whereas HEXO3 cleaves both GlcNAc and GalNAc. The identification of HEXO2 and HEXO3 as major targets for LDN cleavage will enable a targeted genome editing approach to reduce undesired processing of these N-glycans. Effective knockout of these enzymes could allow the production of therapeutically relevant glycoproteins with tailor-made helminth N-glycans in plants.Host-parasite interactio