Nitrate and chloride concentrations in the high plains aquifer,Texas

Groundwater nitrate and chloride concentrations were compiled for 122 wells in a rural, three‐county area of northwest Texas. The counties are located on the High Plains aquifer, a major source of groundwater in the region. Cropland/pasture is the predominant land use in the study area. The area also contains numerous cattle feedlots. Fertilizer and manure associated with those land uses are potential sources of ground‐water contamination. Although locally elevated above background levels, none of the chemical concentrations exceeded the primary drinking water standard of 44.27 mg/L for nitrate (10mg/L for NO₃ — N) or secondary standard of 250mg/L for chloride. Rank correlations between nitrate and chloride were statistically significant in two of the three counties, where the solutes may have originated from a common surface source. Denitrification and scant precipitation recharge may account for an absence of nitrate levels above the drinking water standard.     

Discovery of Selective Luteinizing Hormone Receptor Agonists Using the Bivalent Ligand Method

Two series of dimeric ligands for a G‐protein‐coupled receptor were prepared that differ by the interconnecting spacer system. Biological evaluation revealed that both dimeric series exhibit unique biological properties relative to their monomeric counterparts.

     

Rapid Internalization and Nuclear Translocation of CCL5 and CXCL4 in Endothelial Cells

The chemokines CCL5 and CXCL4 are deposited by platelets onto endothelial cells, inducing monocyte arrest. Here, the fate of CCL5 and CXCL4 after endothelial deposition was investigated. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and EA.hy926 cells were incubated with CCL5 or CXCL4 for up to 120 min, and chemokine uptake was analyzed by microscopy and by ELISA. Intracellular calcium signaling was visualized upon chemokine treatment, and monocyte arrest was evaluated under laminar flow. Whereas CXCL4 remained partly on the cell surface, all of the CCL5 was internalized into endothelial cells. Endocytosis of CCL5 and CXCL4 was shown as a rapid and active process that primarily depended on dynamin, clathrin, and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), but not on surface proteoglycans. Intracellular calcium signals were increased after chemokine treatment. Confocal microscopy and ELISA measurements in cell organelle fractions indicated that both chemokines accumulated in the nucleus. Internalization did not affect leukocyte arrest, as pretreatment of chemokines and subsequent washing did not alter monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. Endothelial cells rapidly and actively internalize CCL5 and CXCL4 by clathrin and dynamin-dependent endocytosis, where the chemokines appear to be directed to the nucleus. These findings expand our knowledge of how chemokines attract leukocytes to sites of inflammation.     

Farm-scale bio-power-to-methane: Comparative analyses of economic and environmental feasibility

Power-to-gas technologies are considered to be part of the future energy system, but their viability and applicability need to be assessed. Therefore, models for the viability of farm-scale bio-power-to-methane supply chains to produce green gas were analysed in terms of levelised cost of energy, energy efficiency and saving of greenhouse gas emission. In bio-power-to-methane, hydrogen from electrolysis driven by surplus renewable electricity and carbon dioxide from biogas are converted to methane by microbes in an ex situ trickle-bed reactor. Such bio-methanation could replace the current upgrading of biogas to green gas with membrane technology. Four scenarios were compared: a reference scenario without bio-methanation (A), bio-methanation (B), bio-methanation combined with membrane upgrading (C) and the latter with use of renewable energy only (all-green; D). The reference scenario (A) has the lowest costs for green gas production, but the bio-methanation scenarios (B-D) have higher energy efficiencies and environmental benefits. The higher costs of the bio-methanation scenarios are largely due to electrolysis, whereas the environmental benefits are due to the use of renewable electricity. Only the all-green scenario (D) meets the 2026 EU goal of 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but it would require a CO₂ price of 200 € t⁻¹ to achieve the levelised cost of energy of 65 €ct Nm⁻³ of the reference scenario. Inclusion of the intermittency of renewable energy in the scenarios substantially increases the costs. Further greening of the bio-methanation supply chain and how intermittency is best taken into account need further investigation.     

A bipolar membrane combined with ferric iron reduction as an efficient cathode system in microbial fuel cells

There is a need for alternative catalysts for oxygen reduction in the cathodic compartment of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). In this study, we show that a bipolar membrane combined with ferric iron reduction on a graphite electrode is an efficient cathode system in MFCs. A flat plate MFC with graphite felt electrodes, a volume of 1.2 L and a projected surface area of 290 cm2 was operated in continuous mode. Ferric iron was reduced to ferrous iron in the cathodic compartment according to Fe(3+) + e(-) --> Fe2+ (E0 = +0.77 V vs NHE, normal hydrogen electrode). This reversible electron transfer reaction considerably reduced the cathode overpotential. The low catholyte pH required to keep ferric iron soluble was maintained by using a bipolar membrane instead of the commonly used cation exchange membrane. For the MFC with cathodic ferric iron reduction, the maximum power density was 0.86 W/m2 at a current density of 4.5 A/m2. The Coulombic efficiency and energy recovery were 80-95% and 18-29% respectively.     

Multivalent Antibody-Recruiting Macromolecules: Linking Increased Binding Affinity with Enhanced Innate Immune Killing

Antibody-recruiting molecules (ARMs) are a novel class of immunotherapeutics. They are capable of introducing antibodies onto disease-relevant targets such as cancer cells, bacterial cells or viruses. This can induce antibody-mediated immune responses such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent phagocytosis (ADCP), which can kill the pathogen. In contrast to the classic ARMs, multivalent ARMs could offer the advantage of increasing the efficiency of antibody recruitment and subsequent innate immune killing. Such compounds consist of multiple target-binding termini (TBT) and/or antibody-binding termini (ABT). Those multivalent interactions are able to convert low binding affinities into increased binding avidities. This minireview summarizes the current status of multivalent ARMs and gives insight into possible benefits, hurdles still to be overcome and future perspectives.     

Steady-state performance and chemical efficiency of Microbial Electrolysis Cells

The objective of this paper was to study MEC performance at steady-state conditions in continuous mode and to analyse MEC performance in terms of chemical efficiency. At steady-state operation, a current density of 10.2 A m⁻² (applied voltage 1.0 V) for a set-up with an AEM was produced, compared to 7.2 A m⁻² for a set-up with a CEM. For all applied voltages, total internal resistance for the AEM configuration was lower than or the CEM configuration. Therefore, energy input for the AEM configuration is lower than for the CEM configuration. In case a CEM is used, the conductivity in the cathode reaches high values: >130 mS cm⁻¹. This conductivity is mainly caused by the presence of Na⁺ (7.8 g L⁻¹), K⁺ (12.2 g L⁻¹) and OH⁻ (8.3 g L⁻¹). Furthermore, MECs perform better at high buffer and electrolyte concentrations. However, as current density does not increase proportionally with increase in chemicals, the effectiveness of chemical addition decreases when more chemicals are added. Therefore, addition of chemicals and buffer does not necessarily enhance performance but increases operational costs.