Explore the vast range of titles available.

A sorption-enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS) system providing CO2-free synthesis gas (CO + H2) for jet fuel production from pure CO was studied. The water-gas shift (WGS) reaction was catalyzed by a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst and carried out with in-situ CO2 removal on a 20 wt% potassium-promoted hydrotalcite-derived sorbent. Catalyst activity was investigated in a fixed bed tubular reactor. Different sorbent materials and treatments were characterized by CO2 chemisorption among other analysis methods to choose a suitable sorbent. Cyclic breakthrough tests in an isothermal packed bed microchannel reactor (PBMR) were performed at significantly lower modified residence times than those reported in literature. A parameter study gave an insight into the effect of pressure, adsorption feed composition, desorption conditions, as well as reactor configuration on breakthrough delay and adsorbed amount of CO2. Special attention was paid to the steam content. The significance of water during adsorption as well as desorption confirmed the existence of different adsorption sites. Various reactor packing concepts showed that the interaction of relatively fast reaction and relatively slow adsorption kinetics plays a key role in the SEWGS process design at low residence time conditions.

Our present understanding of ocean acidification (OA) impacts on marine organisms caused by rapidly rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) concentration is almost entirely limited to single species responses. OA consequences for food web interactions are, however, still unknown. Indirect OA effects can be expected for consumers by changing the nutritional quality of their prey. We used a laboratory experiment to test potential OA effects on algal fatty acid (FA) composition and resulting copepod growth. We show that elevated CO(2) significantly changed the FA concentration and composition of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, which constrained growth and reproduction of the copepod Acartia tonsa. A significant decline in both total FAs (28.1 to 17.4 fg cell(-1)) and the ratio of long-chain polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids (PUFA:SFA) of food algae cultured under elevated (750 µatm) compared to present day (380 µatm) pCO(2) was directly translated to copepods. The proportion of total essential FAs declined almost tenfold in copepods and the contribution of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) tripled at high CO(2). This rapid and reversible CO(2)-dependent shift in FA concentration and composition caused a decrease in both copepod somatic growth and egg production from 34 to 5 eggs female(-1) day(-1). Because the diatom-copepod link supports some of the most productive ecosystems in the world, our study demonstrates that OA can have far-reaching consequences for ocean food webs by changing the nutritional quality of essential macromolecules in primary producers that cascade up the food web.

Background Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the foundation of spermatogenesis, and reside within a specific microenvironment in the testes called “niche” which regulates stem cell properties, such as, self-renewal, pluripotency, quiescence and their ability to differentiate. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we introduce zebrafish as a new model for the study of SSCs in vertebrates. Using 5′-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU), we identified long term BrdU-retaining germ cells, type A undifferentiated spermatogonia as putative stem cells in zebrafish testes. Similar to rodents, these cells were preferentially located near the interstitium, suggesting that the SSC niche is related to interstitial elements and might be conserved across vertebrates. This localization was also confirmed by analyzing the topographical distribution of type A undifferentiated spermatogonia in normal, vasa::egfp and fli::egfp zebrafish testes. In the latter one, the topographical arrangement suggested that the vasculature is important for the SSC niche, perhaps as a supplier of nutrients, oxygen and/or signaling molecules. We also developed an SSC transplantation technique for both male and female recipients as an assay to evaluate the presence, biological activity, and plasticity of the SSC candidates in zebrafish. Conclusions/Significance We demonstrated donor-derived spermato- and oogenesis in male and female recipients, respectively, indicating the stemness of type A undifferentiated spermatogonia and their plasticity when placed into an environment different from their original niche. Similar to other vertebrates, the transplantation efficiency was low. This might be attributed to the testicular microenvironment created after busulfan depletion in the recipients, which may have caused an imbalance between factors regulating self-renewal or differentiation of the transplanted SSCs.

Coccolithophores—single-celled calcifying phytoplankton—are an important group of marine primary producers and the dominant builders of calcium carbonate globally. Coccolithophores form extensive blooms and increase the density and sinking speed of organic matter via calcium carbonate ballasting. Thereby, they play a key role in the marine carbon cycle. Coccolithophore physiological responses to experimental ocean acidification have ranged from moderate stimulation to substantial decline in growth and calcification rates, combined with enhanced malformation of their calcite platelets. Here we report on a mesocosm experiment conducted in a Norwegian fjord in which we exposed a natural plankton community to a wide range of CO 2 -induced ocean acidification, to test whether these physiological responses affect the ecological success of coccolithophore populations. Under high-CO 2 treatments, Emiliania huxleyi , the most abundant and productive coccolithophore species, declined in population size during the pre-bloom period and lost the ability to form blooms. As a result, particle sinking velocities declined by up to 30% and sedimented organic matter was reduced by up to 25% relative to controls. There were also strong reductions in seawater concentrations of the climate-active compound dimethylsulfide in CO 2 -enriched mesocosms. We conclude that ocean acidification can lower calcifying phytoplankton productivity, potentially creating a positive feedback to the climate system. Ocean acidification can affect growth and calcification rates of calcifying phytoplankton. Mesocosm experiments reveal that acidification can also cause declines in population size and inhibit bloom formation.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has caused millions of deaths worldwide. Although a number of vaccines have been deployed, the continual evolution of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the virus has challenged their efficacy. In particular, the emerging variants B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 (first detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, respectively) have compromised the efficacy of sera from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and immunotherapies that have received emergency use authorization 1 – 3 . One potential alternative to avert viral escape is the use of camelid VHHs (variable heavy chain domains of heavy chain antibody (also known as nanobodies)), which can recognize epitopes that are often inaccessible to conventional antibodies 4 . Here, we isolate anti-RBD nanobodies from llamas and from mice that we engineered to produce VHHs cloned from alpacas, dromedaries and Bactrian camels. We identified two groups of highly neutralizing nanobodies. Group 1 circumvents antigenic drift by recognizing an RBD region that is highly conserved in coronaviruses but rarely targeted by human antibodies. Group 2 is almost exclusively focused to the RBD–ACE2 interface and does not neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants that carry E484K or N501Y substitutions. However, nanobodies in group 2 retain full neutralization activity against these variants when expressed as homotrimers, and—to our knowledge—rival the most potent antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 that have been produced to date. These findings suggest that multivalent nanobodies overcome SARS-CoV-2 mutations through two separate mechanisms: enhanced avidity for the ACE2-binding domain and recognition of conserved epitopes that are largely inaccessible to human antibodies. Therefore, although new SARS-CoV-2 mutants will continue to emerge, nanobodies represent promising tools to prevent COVID-19 mortality when vaccines are compromised. Multivalent nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2 from mice engineered to produce camelid nanobodies recognize conserved epitopes that are inaccessible to human antibodies and show promise as a strategy for dealing with viral escape mutations.

In the Kiel Fjord, western Baltic Sea, an experimental culture of Fucus vesiculosus and Fucus serratus has been established in order to develop a sustainable method for biomass production of these species. The cultivation method includes the unattached rearing of fronds in drifting baskets and their vegetative reproduction by cutting of small vegetative apices. In this study, we performed culture experiments to measure growth rates with this method at different initial stocking densities (1–5 kg m−2) and during different seasons of the year. Using the results, we modelled growth over 1 year for different cultivation scenarios (different initial stocking densities (1–4.75 kg m−2) and harvest densities (1.25–5 kg m−2)) in order to identify optimal scenarios and estimate annual yields and the number of necessary harvests in these scenarios. Fucus vesiculosus showed a parabolic yield–density relationship with decreasing yields at high initial stocking densities (> 2.5 kg m−2). In contrast, F. serratus showed an asymptotic yield–density relationship with rather constant yields at high initial stocking densities. Both species showed a typical seasonal growth pattern with low growth rates during winter and high growth rates during summer; however, F. serratus seemed to be growth limited during summer which was not observed for F. vesiculosus. The modelling results reflected the results of the Density experiment: for F. vesiculosus, optimal cultivation scenarios were found for intermediate cultivation densities (initial stocking densities, 1.75–2.25 kg m−2; harvest densities, 3–4 kg m−2); for F. serratus, optimal cultivation scenarios included higher densities (initial stocking densities, 2.5–4 kg m−2; harvest density, 5 kg m−2). The model scenarios predicted maximal annual yields of 6.65–6.76 kg m−2 for F. vesiculosus and 6.88–6.99 kg m−2 for F. serratus. For both species, the number of harvests necessary to achieve these yields varied depending on the cultivation scenario from 2 to 6. Scenarios with only 1 harvest per year yielded slightly lower annual yields. We conclude that the modelling results offer a valid and helpful orientation for future efforts to produce Fucus species in commercial culture.

An experimental farm has been installed in the Kiel Fjord, western Baltic Sea, aiming at the development of a sustainable production process for Fucus species (Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus serratus). The envisaged cultivation method includes the unattached rearing of thalli in baskets deployed in the sea and their vegetative reproduction. Fertility (i.e., receptacle formation) is expected to be problematic for this approach, because receptacles are terminated in growth and degrade after gamete release. In culture experiments, natural fertility led to only minimal overall growth in F. vesiculosus and even weight loss in F. serratus. Therefore, we tested if long-term unattached cultivation of formerly attached thalli leads to a lowering of fertility by an acclimatization process. However, fertility after 1 and 2 years of unattached cultivation was statistically equal and still comparable to the high fertility of attached populations. Furthermore, we tested if the only known naturally unattached population in the western Baltic Sea near Glücksburg, which remains largely infertile in the wild, keeps its low fertility if put under culture conditions. During an experimental 1-year cultivation, thalli from this population remained almost entirely vegetative (2.0 ± 3.1% fertile apices). Hence, the Glücksburg population is a promising source of aquacultural seedling biomass. Yet, further tests are necessary to check, if the fertility remains low over several years of cultivation. If unattached populations are used as source for commercial cultures, the collection of seedling material should always be accompanied by strong measures to ensure the continued integrity of these valuable habitats.

Low-frequency electromagnetic fields (LF-EMF) may present an alternative to conventional sanitation methods of water supply lines in animal production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of LF-EMF on bacterial concentrations and biofilms at scale-models of different drinking systems (circulating and non-circulating) conventionally used in poultry holdings. Treated systems were equipped with commercial devices producing pulsed electromagnetic signals of low frequency up to 10,000 Hz; max. 21 mT. Exposure of water to LF-EMF resulted in changes of the culturable bacterial counts, although with high standard deviations. Differing between systems types, LF-EMF treatment seemed to be responsible either for a limitation or for an increase of colony forming unit counts, with partly statistically significant differences, especially in early stages of treatment. In contrast, neither biofilm formation nor counts of cells suspended in water differed between treated and control lines over 28 days of experiment, as determined by fluorescence microscopy. Although this study indicates that LF-EMF may influence culturability of water microorganisms, no clear inhibitory effects on bacterial biofilm formation or on planktonic microbes by LF-EMF treatment were confirmed in the experiments.

Chromosome instability is a prevalent vulnerability of cancer cells that has yet to be fully exploited therapeutically. To identify genes uniquely essential to chromosomally unstable cells, we mined the Cancer Dependency Map for genes essential in tumor cells with high levels of copy number aberrations. We identify and validate KIF18A, a mitotic kinesin, as a vulnerability of chromosomally unstable cancer cells. Knockdown of KIF18A leads to mitotic defects and reduction of tumor growth. Screening of a chemical library for inhibitors of KIF18A enzymatic activity identified a hit that was optimized to yield VLS-1272, which is orally bioavailable, potent, ATP non-competitive, microtubule-dependent, and highly selective for KIF18A versus other kinesins. Inhibition of KIF18A’s ATPase activity prevents KIF18A translocation across the mitotic spindle, resulting in chromosome congression defects, mitotic cell accumulation, and cell death. Profiling VLS-1272 across >100 cancer cell lines demonstrates that the specificity towards cancer cells with chromosome instability differentiates KIF18A inhibition from other clinically tested anti-mitotic drugs. Treatment of tumor xenografts with VLS-1272 results in mitotic defects leading to substantial, dose-dependent inhibition of tumor growth. The strong biological rationale, robust preclinical data, and optimized compound properties enable the clinical development of a KIF18A inhibitor in cancers with high chromosomal instability. Chromosomal instability occurs frequently in cancer, making it an attractive therapeutic target. Here, the authors identify KIF18A as a targetable vulnerability of cancer cells with chromosomal instability and target this using VLS-1272, a selective KIF18A inhibitor.