Loss of Nanoparticles in a Particulate Matter Sampling System Applied for Environmental Ultrafine Particle Measurements

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Current air monitoring networks consist of many measuring stations equipped with sampling systems for the measurement of PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter. To measure the quantity of particulate matter, the sample air flow is fed to the measuring device through a sampling system. In Baden Württemberg, but also across a wide area in Germany, these sampling systems consist of a Sigma-2-Sampling Head (manufacturer Palas GmbH) and an Intelligent Aerosol Drying System (IADS, manufacturer Palas GmbH). To investigate the suitability of these two common components for sampling of ultrafine particles (< 100 nm), the particle loss inside a sampling system consisting of a Sigma-2-Sampling Head, an IADS, and an additional nafion-dryer (MD-700-24S-1, manufacturer Perma Pure LLC) is measured in this study. A low sampling flow rate of only 0.9 l/min was employed to reduce energy consumption, complexity, and the cost of additional instrumentation. This sample flow rate is typical for scanning mobility particle sizers which are commonly used to measure ultrafine particles. The investigations show a 37% loss of spherical 10 nm copper particles in the used sampling system, which is higher than the allowed losses specified in DIN CEN/TS 16976 for 7 nm particles. The root cause of these losses was investigated and correlations were derived to describe the particle penetration in the sampling system.</jats:p&gt

Experimental Investigation of Reactive-Inert Particulate Matter Detachment from Metal Fibres at Low Flow Velocities and Different Gas Temperatures

The detachment of particle structures from single fibres in gas flow has been investigated only for inert particle structures yet. This study investigates the detachment of particle structures containing reactive components. These reactive components disappear during the reaction and enhance detachment at low flow velocities. Soot was used as the reactive component and glass spheres as the inert component of the particle structure. The soot disappears due to combustion with oxygen leaving only the glass spheres on the fibre. Without reaction, the detachment phenomenon was observed at superficial flow velocities above 1.9 m/s and with reaction at 0.5 m/s. This shows that reacting and disappearing components of the particle structure can enhance detachment

Mrs2p Forms a High Conductance Mg2+ Selective Channel in Mitochondria

Members of the CorA-Mrs2-Alr1 superfamily of Mg2+ transporters are ubiquitous among pro- and eukaryotes. The crystal structure of a bacterial CorA protein has recently been solved, but the mode of ion transport of this protein family remained obscure. Using single channel patch clamping we unequivocally show here that the mitochondrial Mrs2 protein forms a Mg2+-selective channel of high conductance (155 pS). It has an open probability of ∼60% in the absence of Mg2+ at the matrix site, which decreases to ∼20% in its presence. With a lower conductance (∼45 pS) the Mrs2 channel is also permeable for Ni2+, whereas no permeability has been observed for either Ca2+, Mn2+, or Co2+. Mutational changes in key domains of Mrs2p are shown either to abolish its Mg2+ transport or to change its characteristics toward more open and partly deregulated states. We conclude that Mrs2p forms a high conductance Mg2+ selective channel that controls Mg2+ influx into mitochondria by an intrinsic negative feedback mechanism

The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics

Schons M, Pilgram L, Reese J-P, et al. The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics. European Journal of Epidemiology . 2022.The German government initiated the Network University Medicine (NUM) in early 2020 to improve national research activities on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. To this end, 36 German Academic Medical Centers started to collaborate on 13 projects, with the largest being the National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON). The NAPKON's goal is creating the most comprehensive Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cohort in Germany. Within NAPKON, adult and pediatric patients are observed in three complementary cohort platforms (Cross-Sectoral, High-Resolution and Population-Based) from the initial infection until up to three years of follow-up. Study procedures comprise comprehensive clinical and imaging diagnostics, quality-of-life assessment, patient-reported outcomes and biosampling. The three cohort platforms build on four infrastructure core units (Interaction, Biosampling, Epidemiology, and Integration) and collaborations with NUM projects. Key components of the data capture, regulatory, and data privacy are based on the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. By April 01, 2022, 34 university and 40 non-university hospitals have enrolled 5298 patients with local data quality reviews performed on 4727 (89%). 47% were female, the median age was 52 (IQR 36-62-) and 50 pediatric cases were included. 44% of patients were hospitalized, 15% admitted to an intensive care unit, and 12% of patients deceased while enrolled. 8845 visits with biosampling in 4349 patients were conducted by April 03, 2022. In this overview article, we summarize NAPKON's design, relevant milestones including first study population characteristics, and outline the potential of NAPKON for German and international research activities.Trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04768998 . https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04747366 . https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04679584. © 2022. The Author(s)

Dietary lipids fuel GPX4-restricted enteritis resembling Crohn’s disease

Abstract: The increased incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has become a global phenomenon that could be related to adoption of a Western life-style. Westernization of dietary habits is partly characterized by enrichment with the ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) arachidonic acid (AA), which entails risk for developing IBD. Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) protects against lipid peroxidation (LPO) and cell death termed ferroptosis. We report that small intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) in Crohn’s disease (CD) exhibit impaired GPX4 activity and signs of LPO. PUFAs and specifically AA trigger a cytokine response of IECs which is restricted by GPX4. While GPX4 does not control AA metabolism, cytokine production is governed by similar mechanisms as ferroptosis. A PUFA-enriched Western diet triggers focal granuloma-like neutrophilic enteritis in mice that lack one allele of Gpx4 in IECs. Our study identifies dietary PUFAs as a trigger of GPX4-restricted mucosal inflammation phenocopying aspects of human CD

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

Concurrent light chain amyloidosis and proximal tubulopathy: Insights into different aggregation behavior—A case report

Abstract Due to differences in the protein folding mechanisms, it is exceedingly rare for amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis and monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) to coexist. We herein report the first case of concurrent AL amyloidosis and a subclass of MGRS, light chain proximal tubulopathy (LCPT). The 53‐year‐old female was diagnosed with smoldering myeloma immunoglobulin G kappa and AL amyloidosis with deposits in fat and gastrointestinal tissue. The kidney biopsy did not show amyloid deposits but electron microscopy revealed the presence of LCPT with crystal formation in proximal tubular epithelial cells. This case illustrates the complex pathophysiology of protein deposition in monoclonal gammopathies