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We report the high-capacity and selective uptake of Cr(VI) from water using the coordination polymer silver bipyridine acetate (SBA, [Ag(4,4'-bipy)][CH

Following the seminal theoretical work on the pleated β-sheet published by Pauling and Corey in 1951, the rippled β-sheet was hypothesized by the same authors in 1953. In the pleated β-sheet the interacting β-strands have the same chirality, whereas in the rippled β-sheet the interacting β-strands are mirror-images. Unlike with the pleated β-sheet that is now common textbook knowledge, the rippled β-sheet has been much slower to evolve. Much of the experimental work on rippled sheets came from groups that study aggregating racemic peptide systems over the course of the past decade. This includes MAX1/DMAX hydrogels (Schneider), L/D-KFE8 aggregating systems (Nilsson), and racemic Amyloid β mixtures (Raskatov). Whether a racemic peptide mixture is "ripple-genic" (

The structural, chemical and electrical properties of Ni/Au contacts to the atomic layer deposited α-Ga2O3 were investigated. Ni forms a Schottky contact with α-Ga2O3, irrespectively of the post-annealing temperature. No sign of metal oxidation was observed at the metal-semiconductor interface (unlike what is observed for other metals like Ti), and instead, the metallurgical processes of the Ni–Au bilayer dominate the electrical properties. It is found that 400 °C–450 °C is the optimal annealing temperature, which allows for metal diffusion to heal gaps at the metal/semiconductor interface, but is not sufficient for Ni and Au to significantly interdiffuse and form an alloy with compositional inhomogeneities.

Starting from the zygote, all cells in the human body continuously acquire mutations. Mutations shared between different cells imply a common progenitor and are thus naturally occurring markers for lineage tracing1,2. Here we reconstruct extensive phylogenies of normal tissues from three adult individuals using whole-genome sequencing of 511 laser capture microdissections. Reconstructed embryonic progenitors in the same generation of a phylogeny often contribute to different extents to the adult body. The degree of this asymmetry varies between individuals, with ratios between the two reconstructed daughter cells of the zygote ranging from 60:40 to 93:7. Asymmetries pervade subsequent generations and can differ between tissues in the same individual. The phylogenies resolve the spatial embryonic patterning of tissues, revealing contiguous patches of, on average, 301 crypts in the adult colonic epithelium derived from a most recent embryonic cell and also a spatial effect in brain development. Using data from ten additional men, we investigated the developmental split between soma and germline, with results suggesting an extraembryonic contribution to primordial germ cells. This research demonstrates that, despite reaching the same ultimate tissue patterns, early bottlenecks and lineage commitments lead to substantial variation in embryonic patterns both within and between individuals. Somatic mutations obtained from laser microdissected biopsies of human tissues are used to reconstruct the developmental phylogenies of these tissues back to the zygote.

We report the crystal structures of four different neutral lanthanide (Ln = La, Nd, Eu and Gd) metal–organic frameworks based on the organic linker 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate (NDC). The materials are three-dimensional and crystallize in three distinct topologies, with distinct bonding modes of NDC and lanthanide coordination numbers ranging from seven to nine and varying geometry. We denote our materials SLUG-49 [La6(NDC)9(DMF)3·6 DMF], -50 [Nd2(NDC)3O(DMF)2], -51 [Eu2(NDC)3(DMF)2·DMF], and -52 [Gd4(NDC)6(DMF)4] (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide). The structures exhibit similar thermal decomposition profiles and infrared spectra. The Eu(III)-based material exhibits a sharp red-orange luminescence at 613 nm with a quantum efficiency of 3.56%.

2H-Benzotriazol-2-ylethylammonium bromide and iodide and its difluorinated derivatives are synthesized and employed as interlayers for passivation of formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) solar cells. In combination with PbI2 and PbBr2, these benzotriazole derivatives form two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (RPPs) as evidenced by their crystal structures and thin film characteristics. When used to passivate n-i-p FAPbI3 solar cells, the power conversion efficiency improves from 20% to close to 22% by enhancing the open-circuit voltage. Quasi-Fermi level splitting experiments and scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging reveal that passivation provides a reduced nonradiative recombi-nation at the interface between the perovskite and hole transport layer. Photoluminescence spectroscopy, angle-resolved grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, and depth profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the 2D/three-dimensional (3D) interface between the benzotriazole RPP and FAPbI3 show that a nonuniform layer of 2D perovskites is enough to passivate defects, enhance charge extraction, and decrease nonradiative recombination. The research has received funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (Gravity program 024.001.035) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research via a Spinoza grant. This work of B.T.v.G. is part of the Advanced Research Center for Chemical Building Blocks, ARC CBBC, which is cofounded and cofinanced by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs (project 2016.03.Tue). W.T.M.v.G., K.V.H., L.L., and D.V. acknowledge the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for the funding of the SBO project PROCEED (S002019N) and the senior FWO research projects G043320N and G0A8723N. A.M. acknowledges the FWO for the funding of his FWO fundamental research PhD grant (1115721N). This study was supported by the Special Research Fund (BOF) of Hasselt University (BOF22PD01). J.F.O. acknowledges funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Nano Doctoral Training Centre (EP/L015978/1).

Placentas can exhibit chromosomal aberrations that are absent from the fetus1. The basis of this genetic segregation, which is known as confined placental mosaicism, remains unknown. Here we investigated the phylogeny of human placental cells as reconstructed from somatic mutations, using whole-genome sequencing of 86 bulk placental samples (with a median weight of 28 mg) and of 106 microdissections of placental tissue. We found that every bulk placental sample represents a clonal expansion that is genetically distinct, and exhibits a genomic landscape akin to that of childhood cancer in terms of mutation burden and mutational imprints. To our knowledge, unlike any other healthy human tissue studied so far, the placental genomes often contained changes in copy number. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships between tissues from the same pregnancy, which revealed that developmental bottlenecks genetically isolate placental tissues by separating trophectodermal lineages from lineages derived from the inner cell mass. Notably, there were some cases with full segregation—within a few cell divisions of the zygote—of placental lineages and lineages derived from the inner cell mass. Such early embryonic bottlenecks may enable the normalization of zygotic aneuploidy. We observed direct evidence for this in a case of mosaic trisomic rescue. Our findings reveal extensive mutagenesis in placental tissues and suggest that mosaicism is a typical feature of placental development. Phylogenies of human placental cells based on whole-genome sequencing of bulk samples and microdissections reveal extensive mutagenesis in placental tissue, and suggest that mosaicism is a typical part of normal placental development.

S��HRN Prezentovan�� s��bor 15 kr��tkych odporu��en�� t��kaj��cich sa racion��lnej indik��cie laborat��rnych vy��etren�� je v��stupom projektu realizovan��ho Slovenskou spolo��nos��ou klinickej bioch��mie v r��mci medzin��rodnej iniciat��vy Choosing Wisely. Cie��om projektu bolo vyvola�� odborn�� diskusiu o neefekt��vnych postupoch pri indik��cii laborat��rnych vy��etren��, s ktor��mi sa stret��vame vo svojej praxi. ABSTRACT The presented set of 15 short recommendations concerning the rational indication of laboratory tests is the result of a project implemented by the Slovak Society of Clinical Biochemistry within the international initiative Choosing Wisely. The aim of the project was to provoke an expert discussion on ineffective procedures for the indication of laboratory tests, which we encounter in our daily practice., Po��akovanie: Autorsk�� kolekt��v vyjadruje osobitn�� po��akovanie prim. MUDr. M��rii Hrdej, prim. MUDr. Rudolfovi Ga��kovi, prim. MUDr. J��novi Vindi��ovi a RNDr. Ivete Mocnejovej, ktor�� sa na pr��prave tohto odpor����ania podie��ali cenn��mi odborn��mi pripomienkami a svojou ����as��ou v ankete na webovej str��nke SSKB. Acknowledgements: The author's team expresses special thanks to prim. MUDr. M��ria Hrd��, prim. MUDr. Rudolf Ga��ko, prim. MUDr. J��n Vindi�� and RNDr. Iveta Mocnejov��, who participated in the preparation of this recommendation with valuable expert comments and their participation in the survey on the SSKB website., {"references":["Cosentino F., Grant P.J., Aboyans V. et al. (2020) \"ESC Scientific Document Group, 2019 ESC Guidelines on diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases developed in collaboration with the EASD: The Task Force for diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)\", European Heart Journal,41(2), pp.255–323.","Evans, L., Rhodes A., Alhazzani W. (2021) \"Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock\", Critical Care Medicine 49(11), e1063-e1143. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000005337.","Friedecký B., Kratochvíla J., Springer D. et al. (2020) \"Doporučení České společnosti klinické biochemie a České diabetologické společnost ČLS JEP Diabetes mellitus – laboratorní diagnostika a sledování stavu pacientů, revize 2020.\" Dostupné online na www.cskb.cz, dátum prístupu 14.10.2021.","Jabor A. (ed.) (2008) \"Sodný kationt – Na+\" in Vnitřní prostředí. 1. vydání, Praha: Grada Publishing a.s., pp.21-39.","Lenders J.W.M., Duh Q.Y., Eisenhofer G. (2014) \"Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline\", Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 99(6), pp.1915–1942.","Leppäniemi A., Tolonen M., Tarasconi A. et al. (2019) \"2019 WSES guidelines for the management of severe acute pancreatitis\", World Journal of Emergency Surgery 14 (27). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13017-019-0247-0","Límanová Z., Pikner R., Springer D. (2010) \"Doporučení pro laboratorní diagnostiku funkčních a autoimunních onemocnění štítné žlázy\", Klinická Biochemie a Metabolismus. 19(40), pp.48- 61.","Loeb S., Sanda M.G., Broyles D.L., et al. (2015) \"The prostate health index selectively identifies clinically significant prostate cancer\" , Journal of Urology 193(4), pp.1163–1169.","National Kidney Foundation (2013) \"KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease\", Kidney Int.- Supplements, 3.","NICE Guidelines (2020) \"Thyroid disease: assessment and management.\" Dostupné online na: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng145, dátum prístupu 15.10.2021.","Scott T., Baillie J., De Witt J. et al. (2013) \"American College of Gastroenterology Guideline: Management of Acute Pancreatitis\", American Journal of Gastroenterology 108(9) pp.1400-1415. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/ajg.2013.218.","Thygesen K., Alpert J.S., Jaffe A.S et al. (2018) \"ESC Scientific Document Group, Fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction\", European Heart Journal, 40(3), pp.237–269. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy462","Valík D., Zdražilová Dubská L., Springer D. et al. (2021) \"Doporučení k využití nádorových markerů v klinické praxi 2020\", Klinická Biochemie a Metabolismus, 29(50), pp. 41-55.","Watson J., Jones H. E., Banks J. et al (2019) \"Use of multiple inflammatory marker tests in primary care: using Clinical Practice Research Datalink to evaluate accuracy\", British Journal of General Practice; 69 (684): e462-e469. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X704309."]}

Tumour behaviour is dependent on the oncogenic properties of cancer cells and their multi-cellular interactions. These dependencies were examined through 270,000 single cell transcriptomes and 100 micro-dissected whole exomes obtained from 12 patients with kidney tumours. Tissue was sampled from multiple regions of tumour core, tumour-normal interface, normal surrounding tissues, and peripheral blood. We found the principal spatial location of CD8+ T cell clonotypes largely defined exhaustion state, with clonotypic heterogeneity not explained by somatic intra-tumoural heterogeneity. De novo mutation calling from single cell RNA sequencing data allows us to lineage-trace and infer clonality of cells. We discovered six meta-programmes that distinguish tumour cell function. An epithelial-mesenchymal transition meta-programme, enriched at the tumour-normal interface appears modulated through macrophage expressed IL1B, potentially forming a therapeutic target.

Funder: Medical Research Council, The cellular landscape of the human intestinal tract is dynamic throughout life, developing in utero and changing in response to functional requirements and environmental exposures. Here, to comprehensively map cell lineages, we use single-cell RNA sequencing and antigen receptor analysis of almost half a million cells from up to 5 anatomical regions in the developing and up to 11 distinct anatomical regions in the healthy paediatric and adult human gut. This reveals the existence of transcriptionally distinct BEST4 epithelial cells throughout the human intestinal tract. Furthermore, we implicate IgG sensing as a function of intestinal tuft cells. We describe neural cell populations in the developing enteric nervous system, and predict cell-type-specific expression of genes associated with Hirschsprung's disease. Finally, using a systems approach, we identify key cell players that drive the formation of secondary lymphoid tissue in early human development. We show that these programs are adopted in inflammatory bowel disease to recruit and retain immune cells at the site of inflammation. This catalogue of intestinal cells will provide new insights into cellular programs in development, homeostasis and disease.

We report the structures of six anionic, isomorphous metal–organic frameworks [Ln(bpdc)2–][NH2(CH3)2+], where Ln = La, Ce, Nd, Eu, Gd, Er, and bpdc2– = biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate = –O2C(C6H4)2CO2–...

We report the first example of linker modification for an N-donor Ag-based cationic material while maintaining and in some cases increasing the anion exchange capacity. Cationic silver(I) pyrazine nitrate selectively traps harmful oxo-anions from water such as permanganate, perrhenate and a variety of α,ω-alkanedicarboxylates. We chose these anions as initial examples of exchange for potential water purification. The host-guest interaction between the cationic layers of π-stacked silver pyrazine polymers and the incoming/outgoing interlamellar anions allows for the exchange. The exchange capacity over 24 h reached 435 and 818 mg/g for permanganate and perrhenate, respectively, a record for a crystalline metal-organic material and over five times the exchange capacity compared to commercial resin. The material also undergoes organic exchange as an analog for pharmaceutical waste, some of which have a carboxylate functionality at the neutral pH range typical of natural water sources. Both the as-synthesized and exchanged materials are characterized by a variety of analytical techniques.

Social Studies is a key tool in this changing world. It serves as the foundation of social development across the country and acts as an agent of change that transforms an individual into an effective citizen of the nation. Moreover, the Philippine K to 12 curriculum accentuates the role of social studies in developing the learners’ literacy and effective engagement as a citizen of the country. This study aims to elicit the junior high school students' perspectives on the significance of social studies in 21st-century society. It involved 25 Grade 7 students enrolled in a public secondary school in Zambales, Philippines. This study used a qualitative descriptive design with a semi-structured interview guide as the primary gathering tool. Five major themes emerged from the categorized statements of the participants. Social studies is still relevant today as it encourages community participation, enhances critical and creative thinking, fosters cultural sensitivity, broadens global perspective, and promotes values formation. Moreover, participants claimed that social studies promotes cultural heritage, fosters economic efficiency, serves as a source of meaningful information, and brings people back to the past. The study recommends that teachers should enhance their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in Social Studies to keep abreast with the demands of 21st-century society. Further, teachers are encouraged to make the teaching of Social Studies contextualized, indigenized and localized to make it responsive and relevant in the current setting.Keywords :21st-century society, social studies, students’ perspectives, qualitative research, Zambales, Philippines

Clinical investigations of human fetuses have revealed that placentas occasionally harbour chromosomal aberrations that are absent from the fetus1. The basis of this genetic segregation of the placenta, termed confined placental mosaicism, remains unknown. Here, we investigated the phylogeny of human placentas reconstructed from somatic mutations, using whole genome sequencing of 86 placental biopsies and of 106 microdissections. We found that every placental biopsy represented a clonal expansion that is genetically distinct. Biopsies exhibited a genomic landscape akin to childhood cancer, in terms of mutation burden and mutational imprints. Furthermore, unlike any other human normal tissue studied to date, placental genomes commonly harboured copy number changes. Reconstructing phylogenetic relationships between tissues from the same pregnancy, revealed that developmental bottlenecks confined placental tissues, by separating trophectodermal from inner cell mass-derived lineages. Of particular note were cases in which inner cell mass-derived and placental lineages fully segregated within a few cell divisions of the zygote. Such early embryonic bottlenecks may enable the normalisation of zygotic aneuploidy. We observed direct evidence for this in a case of mosaic trisomic rescue. Our findings reveal cancer-like mutagenesis in placental tissues and portray confined mosaicism as the normal outcome of placental development.

During the course of a lifetime normal human cells accumulate mutations. Here, using multiple samples from the same individuals we compared the mutational landscape in 29 anatomical structures from soma and the germline. Two ubiquitous mutational signatures, SBS1 and SBS5/40, accounted for the majority of acquired mutations in most cell types but their absolute and relative contributions varied substantially. SBS18, potentially reflecting oxidative damage, and several additional signatures attributed to exogenous and endogenous exposures contributed mutations to subsets of cell types. The mutation rate was lowest in spermatogonia, the stem cell from which sperm are generated and from which most genetic variation in the human population is thought to originate. This was due to low rates of ubiquitous mutation processes and may be partially attributable to a low cell division rate of basal spermatogonia. The results provide important insights into how mutational processes affect the soma and germline.

Over the course of an individual’s lifetime, normal human cells accumulate mutations1. Here we compare the mutational landscape in 29 cell types from the soma and germline using multiple samples from the same individuals. Two ubiquitous mutational signatures, SBS1 and SBS5/40, accounted for the majority of acquired mutations in most cell types, but their absolute and relative contributions varied substantially. SBS18, which potentially reflects oxidative damage2, and several additional signatures attributed to exogenous and endogenous exposures contributed mutations to subsets of cell types. The rate of mutation was lowest in spermatogonia, the stem cells from which sperm are generated and from which most genetic variation in the human population is thought to originate. This was due to low rates of ubiquitous mutational processes and may be partially attributable to a low rate of cell division in basal spermatogonia. These results highlight similarities and differences in the maintenance of the germline and soma. The authors report the mutational landscape of 29 cell types from microdissected biopsies from 19 organs and explore the mechanisms underlying mutation rates in normal tissues.

We present the rapid synthesis of a series of metal–organic framework (MOF) thin films on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass. ITO was first electrodeposited with either copper or zinc microcrystalline fi...

Large Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles (∼200 nm) functionalized with gold and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) have been synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for bioseparation and sensing applications. The particles have been characterized using a combination of experimental techniques including ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy, superconducting quantum interference device magnetrometry, and surface-enhanced Raman sensing (SERS) spectroscopy. The particles have a unique surface morphology comprised of roughened gold nodules. The surface coatings prevent oxidation and render the particles easy to functionalize in order to target a wide range of moieties. The gold coverage is not only uniform across the entire particle surface but also ultrathin so as to maintain a high percentage of the cores magnetic saturation (∼68%) when compared to that of bare magnetite. The gold nodules facilitate the generation ...

We report the selective removal of perchlorate from water by a cationic coordination polymer in the highest observed capacity and rate to date. Silver bipyridine acetate [Ag(4,4′-bipy)+][CH3CO2–]·6H2O (bipy = bipyridine) is easily synthesized in water under ambient conditions (60 min with 99.1% yield). The material releases its environmentally benign acetate anions upon perchlorate uptake to 99.9% mol/mol completion in Millipore water. Actual contaminated industrial water from an underground plume (53 ppm initial perchlorate concentration) was treated to 96% mol/mol in 60 min. The uptake capacity is near-record high at 310 mg/g and is 94% complete within 30 min. Perchlorate exchange was also conducted at 1–30 ppm perchlorate typical of underground contaminated source sites, with up to 99.7% mol/mol completion.

We report the synthesis and antibacterial properties and mechanism of two Zn-based coordination polymers (CPs). The first, [Zn(bipy)(OH2)42+]1.5[ClO4−]3·(bipy)3(H2O), consists of a one-dimensional (1D) structure with two crystallographically independent octahedral zinc centers trans-coordinated by two 4,4′-bipy units and water groups. The second, [Zn1.5(CH3CO2)2(bipy)2+][ClO4−]·H2O, is a two-dimensional (2D) layered structure with the same polymers but bridged together into a layer by acetate and 4,4′-bipy. Both compounds exhibit sustained release of Zn2+ ions upon their gradual degradation in aqueous solution, which results in highly effective antibacterial activity towards Escherichia coli and particularly towards Staphylococcus epidermidis cells. This activity was evaluated in solution by broth dilution assays to determine minimal inhibition concentrations (MICs) as well as in the solid phase by agar diffusion tests to quantify the zones of inhibition (ZOI), and were in close agreement. Further, the biocidal mechanisms of the coordination polymers were investigated in vivo by fluorescence microscopy utilizing CellRox Green and propidium iodide as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and membrane disruption indicators, respectively. Both CPs show superior antibacterial activity compared to two standards, zinc acetate and zinc oxide, which is concluded to be due to both gradual and localized release of Zn2+ ions as well as electrostatic attraction to the bacterial cell surface afforded by their unique structures. This unique Zn release profile and interaction with bacterial surfaces affords marked antibacterial activity and suggests that manipulation of the Zn structures could lead to significant advancements in antimicrobial materials.