Studying the fate of non-volatile organic compounds in a commercial plasma air purifier

Degradation of non-volatile organic compounds-environmental toxins (methyltriclosane and phenanthrene), bovine serum albumin, as well as bioparticles (Legionella pneumophila, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus anthracis)-in a commercially available plasma air purifier based on a cold plasma was studied in detail, focusing on its efficiency and on the resulting degradation products. This system is capable of handling air flow velocities of up to 3.0m s(-1) (3200Lmin(-1)), much higher than other plasma-based reactors described in the literature, which generally are limited to air flow rates below 10Lmin(-1). Mass balance studies consistently indicated a reduction in concentration of the compounds/particles after passage through the plasma air purifier, 31% for phenanthrene, 17% for methyltriclosane, and 80% for bovine serum albumin. L. pneumophila did not survive passage through the plasma air purifier, and cell counts of aerosolized spores of B. subtilis and B. anthracis were reduced by 26- and 15-fold, depending on whether it was run at 10Hz or 50Hz, respectively. However rather than chemical degradation, deposition on the inner surfaces of the plasma air purifier occured. Our interpretation is that putative "degradation" efficiencies were largely due to electrostatic precipitation rather than to decomposition into smaller molecules.

Fate of accidental symmetries of the relativistic hydrogen atom in a spherical cavity

The non-relativistic hydrogen atom enjoys an accidental SO(4) symmetry, that enlarges the rotational SO(3) symmetry, by extending the angular momentum algebra with the Runge–Lenz vector. In the relativistic hydrogen atom the accidental symmetry is partially lifted. Due to the Johnson–Lippmann operator, which commutes with the Dirac Hamiltonian, some degeneracy remains. When the non-relativistic hydrogen atom is put in a spherical cavity of radius R with perfectly reflecting Robin boundary conditions, characterized by a self-adjoint extension parameter γ, in general the accidental SO(4) symmetry is lifted. However, for R=(l+1)(l+2)a (where a is the Bohr radius and l is the orbital angular momentum) some degeneracy remains when γ=∞ or γ = 2/R. In the relativistic case, we consider the most general spherically and parity invariant boundary condition, which is characterized by a self-adjoint extension parameter. In this case, the remnant accidental symmetry is always lifted in a finite volume. We also investigate the accidental symmetry in the context of the Pauli equation, which sheds light on the proper non-relativistic treatment including spin. In that case, again some degeneracy remains for specific values of R and γ.

Bern's positioning strategies: Escaping the fate of a secondary capital city?

Bern is a classic example of a so-called secondary capital city, which is defined as a capital city that is not the primary economic center of its nation. Such capital cities feature a specific political economy characterized by a strong government presence in its regional economy and its local governance arrangements. Bern has been losing importance in the Swiss urban system over the past decades due to a stagnating economy, population decline and missed opportunities for regional cooperation. To re-position itself in the Swiss urban hierarchy, political leaders and policymakers established a non-profit organization called “Capital Region Switzerland” in 2010 arguing that a capital city should not be measured by economic success only, but by its function as a political center where political decisions are negotiated and implemented. This city profile analyses Bern's strategy and discusses its ambitions and limitations in the context of the city's history, socio-economic and political conditions. We conclude that Bern's positioning strategy has so far been a political success, yet that there are severe limitations regarding advancing economic development. As a result, this re-positioning strategy is not able to address the fundamental economic development challenges that Bern faces as a secondary capital city.

Integrated Data Sets of the EU FP5 Research Project ORFOIS: Origin and fate of biogenic particle fluxes in the ocean and their interactions with atmospheric CO2 concentrations as well as the marine sediment

For a reliable simulation of the time and space dependent CO2 redistribution between ocean and atmosphere an appropriate time dependent simulation of particle dynamics processes is essential but has not been carried out so far. The major difficulties were the lack of suitable modules for particle dynamics and early diagenesis (in order to close the carbon and nutrient budget) in ocean general circulation models, and the lack of an understanding of biogeochemical processes, such as the partial dissolution of calcareous particles in oversaturated water. The main target of ORFOIS was to fill in this gap in our knowledge and prediction capability infrastructure. This goal has been achieved step by step. At first comprehensive data bases (already existing data) of observations of relevance for the three major types of biogenic particles, organic carbon (POC), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and biogenic silica (BSi or opal), as well as for refractory particles of terrestrial origin were collated and made publicly available.

From plant surface to plant metabolism: the uncertain fate of foliar-applied nutrients

The application of agrochemical sprays to the aerial parts of crop plants is an important agricultural practice world-wide. While variable effectiveness is often seen in response to foliar treatments, there is abundant evidence showing the beneficial effect of foliar fertilizers in terms of improving the metabolism, quality, and yields of crops. This mini-review is focused on the major bottlenecks associated with the uptake and translocation of foliar-applied nutrient solutions. A better understanding of the complex scenario surrounding the ultimate delivery of foliar-applied nutrients to sink cells and organs is essential for improving the effectiveness and performance of foliar fertilizers.

Neural fate of seen and unseen faces in visuospatial neglect: A combined event-related functional MRI and event-related potential study

To compare neural activity produced by visual events that escape or reach conscious awareness, we used event-related MRI and evoked potentials in a patient who had neglect and extinction after focal right parietal damage, but intact visual fields. This neurological disorder entails a loss of awareness for stimuli in the field contralateral to a brain lesion when stimuli are simultaneously presented on the ipsilateral side, even though early visual areas may be intact, and single contralateral stimuli may still be perceived. Functional MRI and event-related potential study were performed during a task where faces or shapes appeared in the right, left, or both fields. Unilateral stimuli produced normal responses in V1 and extrastriate areas. In bilateral events, left faces that were not perceived still activated right V1 and inferior temporal cortex and evoked nonsignificantly reduced N1 potentials, with preserved face-specific negative potentials at 170 ms. When left faces were perceived, the same stimuli produced greater activity in a distributed network of areas including right V1 and cuneus, bilateral fusiform gyri, and left parietal cortex. Also, effective connectivity between visual, parietal, and frontal areas increased during perception of faces. These results suggest that activity can occur in V1 and ventral temporal cortex without awareness, whereas coupling with dorsal parietal and frontal areas may be critical for such activity to afford conscious perception.

Effect Of DNA-dependent protein kinase on the molecular fate of the rAAV2 genome in skeletal muscle

We report here that the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) affects the molecular fate of the recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) genome in skeletal muscle. rAAV-human α1-antitrypsin (rAAV-hAAT) vectors were delivered by intramuscular injection to either C57BL/6 (DNA-PKcs+) or C57BL/6-SCID [severe combined immunodeficient (SCID), DNA-PKcs−] mice. In both strains, high levels of transgene expression were sustained for up to 1 year after a single injection. Southern blot analysis showed that rAAV genomes persisted as linear episomes for more than 1 year in SCID mice, whereas only circular episomal forms were observed in the C57BL/6 strain. These results indicate that DNA-PK is involved in the formation of circular rAAV episomes.

The past and the future fate of the universe and the formation of structure in it

The history and the ultimate future fate of the universe as a whole depend on how much the expansion of the universe is decelerated by its own mass. In particular, whether the expansion of the universe will ever come to a halt can be determined from the past expansion. However, the mass density in the universe does not only govern the expansion history and the curvature of space, but in parallel also regulates the growth of hierarchical structure, including the collapse of material into the dense, virialized regions that we identify with galaxies. Hence, the formation of galaxies and their clustered distribution in space depend not only on the detailed physics of how stars are formed but also on the overall structure of the universe. Recent observational efforts, fueled by new large, ground-based telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope, combined with theoretical progress, have brought us to the verge of determining the expansion history of the universe and space curvature from direct observation and to linking this to the formation history of galaxies.

Using ubiquitin to follow the metabolic fate of a protein.

We describe a method that can be used to produce equimolar amounts of two or more specific proteins in a cell. In this approach, termed the ubiquitin/protein/reference (UPR) technique, a reference protein and a protein of interest are synthesized as a polyprotein separated by a ubiquitin moiety. This tripartite fusion is cleaved, cotranslationally or nearly so, by ubiquitin-specific processing proteases after the last residue of ubiquitin, producing equimolar amounts of the protein of interest and the reference protein bearing a C-terminal ubiquitin moiety. In applications such as pulse-chase analysis, the UPR technique can compensate for the scatter of immunoprecipitation yields, sample volumes, and other sources of sample-to-sample variation. In particular, this method allows a direct comparison of proteins' metabolic stabilities from the pulse data alone. We used UPR to examine the N-end rule (a relation between the in vivo half-life of a protein and the identity of its N-terminal residue) in L cells, a mouse cell line. The increased accuracy afforded by the UPR technique underscores insufficiency of the current "half-life" terminology, because in vivo degradation of many proteins deviates from first-order kinetics. We consider this problem and discuss other applications of UPR.

Fate of biological control introductions: monitoring an Australian fungal pathogen of grasshoppers in North America.

In North America there are two generally recognized pathotypes (pathotypes 1 and 2) of the fungus Entomophaga grylli which show host-preferential infection of grasshopper subfamilies. Pathotype 3, discovered in Australia, has a broader grasshopper host range and was considered to be a good biocontrol agent. Between 1989 and 1991 pathotype 3 was introduced at two field sites in North Dakota. Since resting spores are morphologically indistinguishable among pathotypes, we used pathotype-specific DNA probes to confirm pathotype identification in E. grylli-infected grasshoppers collected at the release sites in 1992, 1993, and 1994. In 1992, up to 23% of E. grylli-infected grasshoppers of the subfamilies Melanoplinae, Oedipodinae, and Gomphocerinae were infected by pathotype 3, with no infections > 1 km from the release sites. In 1993, pathotype 3 infections declined to 1.7%. In 1994 grasshopper populations were low and no pathotype 3 infections were found. The frequency of pathotype 3 infection has declined to levels where its long-term survival in North America is questionable. Analyses of biocontrol releases are critical to evaluating the environmental risks associated with these ecological manipulations, and molecular probes are powerful tools for monitoring biocontrol releases.

Fate of a redundant gamma-globin gene in the atelid clade of New World monkeys: implications concerning fetal globin gene expression.

Conclusive evidence was provided that gamma 1, the upstream of the two linked simian gamma-globin loci (5'-gamma 1-gamma 2-3'), is a pseudogene in a major group of New World monkeys. Sequence analysis of PCR-amplified genomic fragments of predicted sizes revealed that all extant genera of the platyrrhine family Atelidae [Lagothrix (woolly monkeys), Brachyteles (woolly spider monkeys), Ateles (spider monkeys), and Alouatta (howler monkeys)] share a large deletion that removed most of exon 2, all of intron 2 and exon 3, and much of the 3' flanking sequence of gamma 1. The fact that two functional gamma-globin genes were not present in early ancestors of the Atelidae (and that gamma 1 was the dispensible gene) suggests that for much or even all of their evolution, platyrrhines have had gamma 2 as the primary fetally expressed gamma-globin gene, in contrast to catarrhines (e.g., humans and chimpanzees) that have gamma 1 as the primary fetally expressed gamma-globin gene. Results from promoter sequences further suggest that all three platyrrhine families (Atelidae, Cebidae, and Pitheciidae) have gamma 2 rather than gamma 1 as their primary fetally expressed gamma-globin gene. The implications of this suggestion were explored in terms of how gene redundancy, regulatory mutations, and distance of each gamma-globin gene from the locus control region were possibly involved in the acquisition and maintenance of fetal, rather than embryonic, expression.