Fluorinated End‐Groups in Electrolytes Induce Ordered Electrolyte/Anode Interface Even at Open‐Circuit Potential as Revealed by Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy

Fluorine‐based additives have a tremendously beneficial effect on the performance of lithium‐ion batteries, yet the origin of this phenomenon is unclear. This paper shows that the formation of a solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the anode surface in the first five charge/discharge cycles is affected by the stereochemistry of the electrolyte molecules on the anode surface starting at open‐circuit potential (OCP). This study shows an anode‐specific model system, the reduction of 1,2‐diethoxy ethane with lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide, as a salt on an amorphous silicon anode, and compares the electrochemical response and SEI formation to its fluorinated version, bis(2,2,2‐trifluoroethoxy) ethane (BTFEOE), by sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy under reaction conditions. The SFG results suggest that the ? CF₃ end‐groups of the linear ether BTFEOE change their adsorption orientation on the a‐Si surface at OCP, leading to a better protective layer. Supporting evidence from ex situ scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling measurements shows that the fluorinated ether, BTFEOE, yields a smooth SEI on the a‐Si surface and enables lithium ions to intercalate deeper into the a‐Si bulk.     

Assessment of non-response bias in a survey of residential magnetic field exposure in Taiwan

We assessed potential non-response bias in obtaining information on residential extremely low-frequency power frequency magnetic field (MF) in Taiwan. All households occupied by children aged less than 7 years in two study districts, one in an urban town and the other in a rural town, were visited and solicited for on-site measurements in late 2003. The initial response rate was only 32% (33/104, urban) and 60% (61/101, rural). In the same season 1 year later, we performed a second survey of those who declined to be measured at the initial survey and successfully measured another 77 residences (50 and 27 for urban and rural districts, respectively). The two districts were selected mainly because the local public health officers were quite willing to assist the initial survey and to inform residents of the second survey. Except for meteorological conditions, the two surveys came up with very similar findings regarding residential characteristics and power facilities surrounding the houses. The mean residential MF for the urban residences was .121 and .140 micro-Tesla (microT) (P = .620) for the two surveys. The corresponding figures for the rural residences were .119 and .115 microT (P = .802). Although limited in its scope, this study tends to indicate that measurement studies of residential MF are less likely to suffer from serious selection bias if sampling is confined within a small district where people have similar socioeconomic characteristics.     

MEKK2 Kinase Association with 14-3-3 Protein Regulates Activation of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase

MEKK2 (MAP/ERK kinase kinase-2) is a serine/threonine kinase that belongs to the MEKK/STE11 family of MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAP(3)Ks). MEKK2 integrates stress and mitogenic signals to the activation of NF-κB, JNK1/2, p38, and ERK5 pathways. We have found that MEKK2 is regulated through a phosphorylation-dependent association with 14-3-3, a group of adapters that modulate dimerization and association between proteins. We found that MEKK2 was phosphorylated at Thr-283, which resulted in decreased activation loop phosphorylation at Ser-519 and consequently reduced activity. Mechanistically, we found that MEKK2 associated with inactive MEKK2 in the absence of 14-3-3 binding, which led to trans-autophosphorylation of Ser-519. Enforced binding with 14-3-3 reduced Ser-519 trans-autophosphorylation. Expression of T283A MEKK2 within a MEKK2^−/− background enhanced stress-activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity while elevating IL-6 expression, but also reduced ERK activation with a corresponding reduced proliferation rate. These results indicate that Thr-283 phosphorylation is an important regulatory mechanism for MEKK2 activation.     

取食转基因抗虫棉上的棉蚜对粉舞蛛存活和发育的影响

本文以转双价基因棉花SGK321、棉蚜Aphis gossypii和粉舞蛛Alopecosa pulverulenta为对象,研究了捕食转基因植物上的植食性害虫对多食性捕食性天敌的影响。结果表明,粉舞蛛可以猎食棉蚜,但单独捕食棉蚜不足以长期维持若蛛的生存和发育; 与果蝇混合饲养,能显著提高若蛛存活率和体重。在猎物过量或数量不足的情况下,单独捕食转基因棉或常规棉上的棉蚜,若蛛的生存曲线和体重差异不显著。在猎物过量的条件下,用转基因棉上的棉蚜与果蝇混合饲养,若蛛的存活率显著高于用常规棉上的棉蚜与果蝇混合的处理; 但这两种处理下,若蛛的体重差异不显著。在猎物数量不足的情况下,用转基因棉或常规棉上的棉蚜与果蝇混合饲养,若蛛的存活率和体重差异都不显著。可见,转双价基因棉花SGK321上的棉蚜对粉舞蛛的存活和发育没有显著的不利影响。     

Membrane fusogenic lysine type lipid assemblies possess enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome activation potency

Lysine (K) type cationic lipid with a propyl spacer and ditetradecyl hydrophobic moieties composing liposomes, K3C14, previously studied for gene delivery, were reported to activate the NLRP3 inflammasomes in human macrophages via the conventional phagolysosomal pathway. In this study, K3C16, a propyl spacer bearing lysine type lipids with dihexadecyl moieties (an extension of two hydrocarbon tail length) were compared with K3C14 as liposomes. Such a small change in tail length did not alter the physical properties such as size distribution, zeta potential and polydispersity index (PDI). The NLRP3 activation potency of K3C16 was shown to be 1.5-fold higher. Yet, the toxicity was minimal, whereas K3C14 has shown to cause significant cell death after 24 h incubation. Even in the presence of endocytosis inhibitors, cytochalasin D or dynasore, K3C16 continued to activate the NLRP3 inflammasomes and to induce IL-1β release. To our surprise, K3C16 liposomes were confirmed to fuse with the plasma membrane of human macrophages and CHO-K1 cells. It is demonstrated that the change in hydrophobic tail length by two hydrocarbons drastically changed a cellular entry route and potency in activating the NLRP3 inflammasomes.     

Deficient CD4+CD25high T regulatory cell function in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus

CD4(+)CD25(+) T regulatory cells (Tregs) play an essential role in maintaining immunologic homeostasis and preventing autoimmunity. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by a loss of tolerance to nuclear components. We hypothesized that altered function of CD4(+)CD25(high) Tregs might play a role in the breakdown of immunologic self-tolerance in patients with SLE. In this study, we report a significant decrease in the suppressive function of CD4(+)CD25(high) Tregs from peripheral blood of patients with active SLE as compared with normal donors and patients with inactive SLE. Notably, CD4(+)CD25(high) Tregs isolated from patients with active SLE expressed reduced levels of FoxP3 mRNA and protein and poorly suppressed the proliferation and cytokine secretion of CD4(+) effector T cells in vitro. In contrast, the expression of FoxP3 mRNA and protein and in vitro suppression of the proliferation of CD4(+) effector T cells by Tregs isolated from inactive SLE patients, was comparable to that of normal individuals. In vitro activation of CD4(+)CD25(high) Tregs from patients with active SLE increased FoxP3 mRNA and protein expression and restored their suppressive function. These data are the first to demonstrate a reversible defect in CD4(+)CD25(high) Treg function in patients with active SLE, and suggest that strategies to enhance the function of these cells might benefit patients with this autoimmune disease.     

hORFeome v3.1: a resource of human open reading frames representing over 10,000 human genes

Complete sets of cloned protein-encoding open reading frames (ORFs), or ORFeomes, are essential tools for large-scale proteomics and systems biology studies. Here we describe human ORFeome version 3.1 (hORFeome v3.1), currently the largest publicly available resource of full-length human ORFs (available at ). Generated by Gateway recombinational cloning, this collection contains 12,212 ORFs, representing 10,214 human genes, and corresponds to a 51% expansion of the original hORFeome v1.1. An online human ORFeome database, hORFDB, was built and serves as the central repository for all cloned human ORFs (http://horfdb.dfci.harvard.edu). This expansion of the original ORFeome resource greatly increases the potential experimental search space for large-scale proteomics studies, which will lead to the generation of more comprehensive datasets.     

Recognition and Response to Native and Novel Predators in the Largespring mosquitofish,Gambusia geiseri

The introduction of predator species into new habitats is an increasingly common consequence of human activities, and the persistence of native prey species depends upon their response to these novel predators. In this study, we examined whether the Largespring mosquitofish, Gambusia geiseri exhibited antipredator behavior and/or an elevation of circulating stress hormones (cortisol) to visual and chemical cues from a native predator, a novel predator, or a non‐predatory control fish. Prey showed the most pronounced antipredator response to the native predator treatment, by moving away from the stimulus, while the prey showed no significant changes in their vertical or horizontal position in response to the novel or non‐predator treatments. We also found no significant difference in water‐borne cortisol release rates following any of the treatments. Our results suggest the prey did not recognize and exhibit antipredator behavior to the novel predator, and we infer that this predator species could be detrimental if it expands into the range of this prey species. Further, our study demonstrates prey may not respond to an invasive predator that is phylogenetically, behaviorally, and morphologically dissimilar from the prey species' native predators.