Si‐Encapsulating Hollow Carbon Electrodes via Electroless Etching for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Remarkable improvements in the electrochemical performance of Si materials for Li‐ion batteries have been recently achieved, but the inherent volume change of Si still induces electrode expansion and external cell deformation. Here, the void structure in Si‐encapsulating hollow carbons is optimized in order to minimize the volume expansion of Si‐based anodes and improve electrochemical performance. When compared to chemical etching, the hollow structure is achieved via electroless etching is more advanced due to the improved electrical contact between carbon and Si. Despite the very thick electrodes (30 ～ 40 μm), this results in better cycle and rate performances including little capacity fading over 50 cycles and 1100 mA h g^?1 at 2C rate. Also, an in situ dilatometer technique is used to perform a comprehensive study of electrode thickness change, and Si‐encapsulating hollow carbon mitigates the volume change of electrodes by adoption of void space, resulting in a small volume increase of 18% after full lithiation corresponding with a reversible capacity of about 2000 mA h g^?1.     

1H, 13C and 15N chemical shift assignments of Ninjurin1 Extracellular N-terminal Domain

Cell adhesion molecules play a crucial role in fundamental biological processes via regulating cell–cell interactions. Nerve injury induced protein1 (Ninjurin1) is a novel adhesion protein that has no significant homology with other known cell adhesion molecules. Here we present the assignment of an 81 aa construct for human Ninjurin1 Extracellular N-Terminal (ENT) domain, which comprises the critical adhesion domain.     

Implication of Progranulin and C1q/TNF-Related Protein-3 (CTRP3) on Inflammation and Atherosclerosis in Subjects with or without Metabolic Syndrome

Objective

Progranulin and C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) were recently discovered as novel adipokines which may link obesity with altered regulation of glucose metabolism, chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

Research Design and Methods

We examined circulating progranulin and CTRP3 concentrations in 127 subjects with (n = 44) or without metabolic syndrome (n = 83). Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship of progranulin and CTRP3 levels with inflammatory markers and cardiometabolic risk factors, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and adiponectin serum concentrations, as well as carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).

Results

Circulating progranulin levels are significantly related with inflammatory markers, hsCRP (r = 0.30, P = 0.001) and IL-6 (r = 0.30, P = 0.001), whereas CTRP3 concentrations exhibit a significant association with cardiometabolic risk factors, including waist circumference (r = −0.21), diastolic blood pressure (r = −0.21), fasting glucose (r = −0.20), triglyceride (r = −0.34), total cholesterol (r = −0.25), eGFR (r = 0.39) and adiponectin (r = 0.26) levels. Serum progranulin concentrations were higher in patients with metabolic syndrome than those of the control group (199.55 [179.33, 215.53] vs. 185.10 [160.30, 204.90], P = 0.051) and the number of metabolic syndrome components had a significant positive correlation with progranulin levels (r = 0.227, P = 0.010). In multiple regression analysis, IL-6 and triglyceride levels were significant predictors of serum progranulin levels (R ² = 0.251). Furthermore, serum progranulin level was an independent predictor for increased CIMT in subjects without metabolic syndrome after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors (R ² = 0.365).

Conclusions

Serum progranulin levels are significantly associated with systemic inflammatory markers and were an independent predictor for atherosclerosis in subjects without metabolic syndrome.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01668888","term_id":"NCT01668888"}}NCT01668888     

Critical Structure Sparing in Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for Central Lung Lesions: Helical Tomotherapy vs. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

Background

Helical tomotherapy (HT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) are both advanced techniques of delivering intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Here, we conduct a study to compare HT and partial-arc VMAT in their ability to spare organs at risk (OARs) when stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is delivered to treat centrally located early stage non-small-cell lung cancer or lung metastases.

Methods

12 patients with centrally located lung lesions were randomly chosen. HT, 2 & 8 arc (Smart Arc, Pinnacle v9.0) plans were generated to deliver 70 Gy in 10 fractions to the planning target volume (PTV). Target and OAR dose parameters were compared. Each technique’s ability to meet dose constraints was further investigated.

Results

HT and VMAT plans generated essentially equivalent PTV coverage and dose conformality indices, while a trend for improved dose homogeneity by increasing from 2 to 8 arcs was observed with VMAT. Increasing the number of arcs with VMAT also led to some improvement in OAR sparing. After normalizing to OAR dose constraints, HT was found to be superior to 2 or 8-arc VMAT for optimal OAR sparing (meeting all the dose constraints) (p = 0.0004). All dose constraints were met in HT plans. Increasing from 2 to 8 arcs could not help achieve optimal OAR sparing for 4 patients. 2/4 of them had 3 immediately adjacent structures.

Conclusion

HT appears to be superior to VMAT in OAR sparing mainly in cases which require conformal dose avoidance of multiple immediately adjacent OARs. For such cases, increasing the number of arcs in VMAT cannot significantly improve OAR sparing.     

Use of Hangeul Twitter to Track and Predict Human Influenza Infection

Influenza epidemics arise through the accumulation of viral genetic changes. The emergence of new virus strains coincides with a higher level of influenza-like illness (ILI), which is seen as a peak of a normal season. Monitoring the spread of an epidemic influenza in populations is a difficult and important task. Twitter is a free social networking service whose messages can improve the accuracy of forecasting models by providing early warnings of influenza outbreaks. In this study, we have examined the use of information embedded in the Hangeul Twitter stream to detect rapidly evolving public awareness or concern with respect to influenza transmission and developed regression models that can track levels of actual disease activity and predict influenza epidemics in the real world. Our prediction model using a delay mode provides not only a real-time assessment of the current influenza epidemic activity but also a significant improvement in prediction performance at the initial phase of ILI peak when prediction is of most importance.     

Cover Image

The immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecule has a long circulating serum half-life (~3 weeks) through pH- dependent FcRn binding-mediated recycling. To hijack the intracellular trafficking and recycling mechanism of IgG as a way to extend serum persistence of non-antibody therapeutic proteins, we have evolved the ectodomain of a low-affinity human FcγRIIa for enhanced binding to the lower hinge and upper CH2 region of IgG, which is very far from the FcRn binding site (CH2–CH3 interface). High-throughput library screening enabled isolation of an FcγRIIa variant (2A45.1) with 32-fold increased binding affinity to human IgG1 Fc (equilibrium dissociation constant: 9.04 × 10⁻⁷ M for wild type FcγRIIa and 2.82 × 10⁻⁸ M for 2A45.1) and significantly improved affinity to mouse serum IgG compared to wild type human FcγRIIa. The in vivo pharmacokinetic profile of PD-L1 fused with engineered FcγRIIa (PD-L1–2A45.1) was compared with that of PD-L1 fused with wild type FcγRIIa (PD-L1–wild type FcγRIIa) and human PD-L1 in mice. PD-L1–2A45.1 showed 11.7- and 9.7-fold prolonged circulating half-life (t_1/2) compared to PD-L1 when administered intravenously and intraperitoneally, respectively. In addition, the AUC_inf of PD-L1–2A45.1 was two-fold higher compared to that of PD-L1–wild type FcγRIIa. These results demonstrate that engineered FcγRIIa fusion offers a novel and successful strategy for prolonging serum half-life of therapeutic proteins.     

Synthesis,copolymerization and peptide-modification of carboxylic acid-functionalized 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOTacid) for neural electrode interfaces

Background

Conjugated polymers have been developed as effective materials for interfacing prosthetic device electrodes with neural tissue. Recent focus has been on the development of conjugated polymers that contain biological components in order to improve the tissue response upon implantation of these electrodes.

Methods

Carboxylic acid-functionalized 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOTacid) monomer was synthesized in order to covalently bind peptides to the surface of conjugated polymer films. EDOTacid was copolymerized with EDOT monomer to form stable, electrically conductive copolymer films referred to as PEDOT-PEDOTacid. The peptide GGGGRGDS was bound to PEDOT-PEDOTacid to create peptide functionalized PEDOT films.

Results

The PEDOT-PEDOTacid-peptide films increased the adhesion of primary rat motor neurons between 3 and 9 times higher than controls, thus demonstrating that the peptide maintained its biological activity.

Conclusions

The EDOT-acid monomer can be used to create functionalized PEDOT-PEDOTacid copolymer films that can have controlled bioactivity.

General Significance

PEDOT-PEDOTacid-peptide films have the potential to control the behavior of neurons and vastly improve the performance of implanted electrodes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Organic Bioelectronics—Novel Applications in Biomedicine.     

Monoclonal antibody against the poly-γ-d-glutamic acid capsule of Bacillus anthracis protects mice from enhanced lethal toxin activity due to capsule and anthrax spore challenge

Background

The poly-γ-d-glutamic acid (PGA) capsule, a major virulence factor of Bacillus anthracis, protects bacilli from immune surveillance and allows its unimpeded growth in the host. Recently, the importance of the PGA in the pathogenesis of anthrax infection has been reported. The PGA capsule is associated with lethal toxin (LT) in the blood of experimentally infected animals and enhances the cytotoxicity of LT.

Methods

To investigate the role of anti-PGA Abs on progression of anthrax infection, two mouse anti-PGA mAbs with K_d values of 0.8 μM and 2.6 μM respectively were produced and in silico three dimensional (3D) models of mAbs with their cognitive PGA antigen complex were analyzed.

Results

Anti-PGA mAbs specifically bound encapsulated B. anthracis H9401 and showed opsonophagocytosis activity against the bacteria with complement. The enhancement effect of PGA on LT-mediated cytotoxicity was confirmed ex vivo using mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages and was effectively inhibited by anti-PGA mAb. Passive immunization of mAb completely protected mice from PGA-enhanced LT toxicity and partially rescued mice from anthrax spore challenges. 3D structure models of these mAbs and PGA complex support specific interactions between CDR and cognitive PGA. These results indicate that mouse mAb against PGA capsule prevents the progress of anthrax disease not only by eliminating the vegetative form of encapsulated B. anthracis but also by inhibiting the enhanced cytotoxic activity of LT by PGA through specific binding with PGA capsule antigen.

General significance

Our results suggest a potential role for PGA antibodies in preventing and treating anthrax infection.     

Algivirga pacifica gen. nov., sp. nov., a Novel Agar-Degrading Marine Bacterium of the Family Flammeovirgaceae Isolated from Micronesia

An aerobic, Gram-negative, coccoid to short rod-shaped and non-flagellated marine bacterial strain S354^T was isolated from seawater of Micronesia. The strain was capable to degrade agar-forming slight depression into agar plate. Growth occurred at a temperature range of 12–44 °C, a pH range of 5–9, and a salinity range of 1–7 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that S354^T belongs to the family Flammeovirgaceae. The novel strain was most closely related to Limibacter armeniacum YM 11-185^T with similarity of 92.5 %. The DNA G+C content was 43.8 mol%. The major fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C_15:0 and C_16:1 ω5c. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was determined to be MK-7. Polar lipid profile of S354^T consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, unknown polar lipid, and unknown glycolipids. Based on the phenotypic, phylogenetic, biochemical, and physiological tests conducted in this study, S354^T is proposed to represent a type strain of a novel genus and species. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of S354^T is registered in GenBank under the accession number JQ639084. The type of strain Algivirga pacifica gen. nov., sp. nov. is S354^T (=KCCM 90107^T=JCM 18326^T).     

Comparison of Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines in the Spinal Cord Between Young Adult and Aged Beagle Dogs

Aging is an inevitable process that occurs in the whole body system accompanying with many functional and morphological changes. Inflammation is known as one of age-related factors, and inflammatory changes could enhance mortality risk. In this study, we compared immunoreactivities of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-2 (a pro-inflammatory cytokine), its receptor (IL-2R), IL-4 (an anti-inflammatory cytokine), and its receptor (IL-4R) in the cervical and lumbar spinal cord of young adult (2–3 years old) and aged (10–12 years old) beagle dogs using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. IL-2 and IL-2R-immunoreactive nerve cells were found throughout the gray matter of the cervical and lumbar spinal cord of young adult and aged dogs. In the spinal cord neurons of the aged dog, immunoreactivity and protein levels were apparently increased compared with those in the young adult dog. Change patterns of IL-4- and IL-4R-immunoreactive cells and their protein levels were also similar to those in IL-2 and IL-2R; however, IL-4 and IL-4R immunoreactivity in the periphery of the neuronal cytoplasm in the aged dog was much stronger than that in the young adult dog. These results indicate that the increase of inflammatory cytokines and their receptors in the aged spinal cord might be related to maintaining a balance of inflammatory reaction in the spinal cord during normal aging.