Compact Saloplastic Poly(Acrylic Acid)/Poly(Allylamine) Complexes: Kinetic Control Over Composition, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties

Durable compact polyelectrolyte complexes (CoPECs) with controlled porosity and mechanical properties are prepared by ultracentrifugation. Because thestarting materials, poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acidsodium salt) (PAA), are weak acids/bases, both composition and morphology are controlled by solution pH. In addition, the nonequilibrium nature of polyelectrolyte complexation can be exploited to provide a range of compositions and porosities under the infl uence of polyelectrolyte addition order and speed, and concentration. Confocal microscopy shows these “saloplastic” materials to be highly porous, where pore formation is attributed to a combination of deswelling of the polyelectrolyte matrix and expansion of small inhomogenities by osmotic pressure. The porosity (15–70%) and the pore size ( < 5 μ m to > 70 μ m) of these materials can be tuned by adjusting the PAA to PAH ratio, the salt concentration, and the pH. The modulus of these CoPECs depends on the ratio of the two polyelectrolytes, with stoichiometric complexes being the stiffest due to optimized charge pairing, which correlates with maximized crosslinking density. Mechanical properties, pore sizes, and pore density of these materials make them well suited to three dimensional supports for tissue engineering applications

'Chardonel' Grape

'Chardonel' resulted from the cross, 'SeyvaT x 'Chardonnay,' made in 1953. Fruit were first observed in 1958, and the original vine was propagated in 1960 under the number NY 45010. In later testing, it was re-named GW 9 (Geneva White 9) for ease of identification in cooperatively run yield trials. The vine was initially described as vigorous and productive with large clusters

Functional consequences of seven novel mutations in the CYP11B1 Gene: four mutations associated with nonclassic and three mutations causing classic 11 -Hydroxylase Deficiency

Context: Steroid 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1) deficiency (11OHD) is the second most common form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Cases of nonclassic 11OHD are rare compared with the incidence of nonclassic 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the functional consequences of seven novel CYP11B1 mutations (p.M88I, p.W116G, p.P159L, p.A165D, p.K254_A259del, p.R366C, p.T401A) found in three patients with classic 11OHD, two patients with nonclassic 11OHD, and three heterozygous carriers for CYP11B1 mutations. Methods: We conducted functional studies employing a COS7 cell in vitro expression system comparing wild-type (WT) and mutant CYP11B1 activity. Mutants were examined in a computational three-dimensional model of the CYP11B1 protein. Results: All mutations (p.W116G, p.A165D, p.K254_A259del) found in patients with classic 11OHD have absent or very little 11β-hydroxylase activity relative to WT. The mutations detected in patients with nonclassic 11OHD showed partial functional impairment, with one patient being homozygous (p.P159L; 25% of WT) and the other patient compound heterozygous for a novel mild p.M88I (40% of WT) and the known severe p.R383Q mutation. The two mutations detected in heterozygous carriers (p.R366C, p.T401A) also reduced CYP11B1 activity by 23 to 37%, respectively. Conclusion: Functional analysis results allow for the classification of novel CYP11B1 mutations as causative for classic and nonclassic 11OHD, respectively. Four partially inactivating mutations are predicted to result in nonclassic 11OHD. These findings double the number of mild CYP11B1 mutations previously described as associated with mild 11OHD. Our data are important to predict phenotypic expression and provide important information for clinical and genetic counseling i

Large tunable valley splitting in edge-free graphene quantum dots on boron nitride

Coherent manipulation of binary degrees of freedom is at the heart of modern quantum technologies. Graphene offers two binary degrees: the electron spin and the valley. Efficient spin control has been demonstrated in many solid state systems, while exploitation of the valley has only recently been started, yet without control on the single electron level. Here, we show that van-der Waals stacking of graphene onto hexagonal boron nitride offers a natural platform for valley control. We use a graphene quantum dot induced by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and demonstrate valley splitting that is tunable from -5 to +10 meV (including valley inversion) by sub-10-nm displacements of the quantum dot position. This boosts the range of controlled valley splitting by about one order of magnitude. The tunable inversion of spin and valley states should enable coherent superposition of these degrees of freedom as a first step towards graphene-based qubits

Towards environmentally sustainable human behaviour: targeting non-conscious and conscious processes for effective and acceptable policies.

Meeting climate change targets to limit global warming to 2°C requires rapid and large reductions in demand for products that most contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These include production of bulk materials (e.g. steel and cement), energy supply (e.g. fossil fuels) and animal source foods (particularly ruminants and their products). Effective strategies to meet these targets require transformative changes in supply as well as demand, involving changes in economic, political and legal systems at local, national and international levels, building on evidence from many disciplines. This paper outlines contributions from behavioural science in reducing demand. Grounded in dual-process models of human behaviour (involving non-conscious and conscious processes) this paper considers first why interventions aimed at changing population values towards the environment are usually insufficient or unnecessary for reducing demand although they may be important in increasing public acceptability of policies that could reduce demand. It then outlines two sets of evidence from behavioural science towards effective systems-based strategies, to identify interventions likely to be effective at: (i) reducing demand for products that contribute most to GHG emissions, mainly targeting non-conscious processes and (ii) increasing public acceptability for policy changes to enable these interventions, targeting conscious processes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'

Bacterial SBP56 identified as a Cu-dependent methanethiol oxidase widely distributed in the biosphere

Oxidation of methanethiol (MT) is a significant step in the sulfur cycle. MT is an intermediate of metabolism of globally significant organosulfur compounds including dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulfide (DMS), which have key roles in marine carbon and sulfur cycling. In aerobic bacteria, MT is degraded by a MT oxidase (MTO). The enzymatic and genetic basis of MT oxidation have remained poorly characterized. Here, we identify for the first time the MTO enzyme and its encoding gene (mtoX) in the DMS-degrading bacterium Hyphomicrobium sp. VS. We show that MTO is a homotetrameric metalloenzyme that requires Cu for enzyme activity. MTO is predicted to be a soluble periplasmic enzyme and a member of a distinct clade of the Selenium-binding protein (SBP56) family for which no function has been reported. Genes orthologous to mtoX exist in many bacteria able to degrade DMS, other one-carbon compounds or DMSP, notably in the marine model organism Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3, a member of the Rhodobacteraceae family that is abundant in marine environments. Marker exchange mutagenesis of mtoX disrupted the ability of R. pomeroyi to metabolize MT confirming its function in this DMSP-degrading bacterium. In R. pomeroyi, transcription of mtoX was enhanced by DMSP, methylmercaptopropionate and MT. Rates of MT degradation increased after pre-incubation of the wild-type strain with MT. The detection of mtoX orthologs in diverse bacteria, environmental samples and its abundance in a range of metagenomic data sets point to this enzyme being widely distributed in the environment and having a key role in global sulfur cycling.The ISME Journal advance online publication, 24 October 2017; doi:10.1038/ismej.2017.148

The Q2Q^2-dependence of the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral for the deuteron, proton and neutron

The Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule connects the anomalous contribution to the magnetic moment of the target nucleus with an energy-weighted integral of the difference of the helicity-dependent photoabsorption cross sections. The data collected by HERMES with a deuterium target are presented together with a re-analysis of previous measurements on the proton. This provides a measurement of the generalised GDH integral covering simultaneously the nucleon-resonance and the deep inelastic scattering regions. The contribution of the nucleon-resonance region is seen to decrease rapidly with increasing $Q^2$. The DIS contribution is sizeable over the full measured range, even down to the lowest measured $Q^2$. As expected, at higher $Q^2$ the data are found to be in agreement with previous measurements of the first moment of $g_1$. From data on the deuteron and proton, the GDH integral for the neutron has been derived and the proton--neutron difference evaluated. This difference is found to satisfy the fundamental Bjorken sum rule at $Q^2 = 5$ GeV$^2$.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Natural infection of Run1-positive vines by naïve genotypes of Erysiphe necator

The Run1 locus for dominant resistance to powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) has been successfully introgressed into Euvitis from Vitis rotundifolia. In the current study, Run1 vines were hybridized with breeding lines at Cornell University, and the presence of the locus was assayed using the markers GLP1-12 and VMC8g9. Signs of powdery mildew were observed on 14 of 113 Run1-positive seedlings in October 2010 in Geneva, N.Y. Severity of infection was lower for Run1-positive than for Run1-negative seedlings. Presence of mature cleistothecia suggested infection by at least two pathogen genotypes, which since V. rotundifolia is not grown within 800+ km of Geneva, N.Y., evolved from a pathogen population naïve to Run1 resistance. Therefore, caution in the deployment of the Run1 locus in new resistant cultivars is suggested so the effectiveness of Run1 does not diminish over time.

More Than a Fencing System? Testing the Validity of Virtual Fencing Collars for Animal Monitoring on Pasture

High labour requirements for fencing and animal monitoring appear to be general obstacles for the wider use of pastureland for grazing livestock. Virtual fencing (VF) enables a less laborious pasture management. Fence lines can be easily drawn and moved using GPS data. The advantages of VF for reducing the labour inherent to controlled grazing management are obvious. Potential additional animal monitoring opportunities arising from such a VF system that uses real-time GPS data have not yet been studied. Lying is seen as an indicator for assessing comfort or restlessness of cattle. Therefore, we focus on lying behavior in this evaluation. Based on data from conventional GPS collars, lying and standing often cannot be distinguished. The VF collars (® Nofence, AS, Batnfjordsøra Norway) used in this study detect low movement via an integrated accelerometer and then send the same GPS position during this time of low movement, in order to save battery life. We tested whether this battery life save function could be suitable for the detection of lying behavior. To address this question in a two-step-approach, we first compared observational data with IceTag pedometer (IceRobotics Ltd. Edinburgh, Scotland) data. In the second step, the pedometer data were compared to VF collar data via a confusion matrix. With 93% precision, 89% accuracy and 83% recall in this second step, the use of the VF collars can be recommended for a valid measure of lying behavior monitoring on pasture, which would be an added benefit to VF technology