Effects of algal blooms on selenium species dynamics: A case study in the Changjiang Estuary, China.

The selenium cycle in the marine environment is sensitive to biological activity, but knowledge of dissolved Se species dynamics during coastal algal blooms is limited. Selenium species dynamics during diatom blooms in the Changjiang Estuary were investigated in a survey of dissolved inorganic and organic Se. Dissolved inorganic Se (Se(IV) + Se(VI)) was the predominant species in river-dominanated areas, while dissolved organic selenide (DOSe) was predominant in ocean-dominanated areas. Relationships between DOSe and chromophoric dissolved organic matter involved both humic- and protein-like components, suggesting distinct sources of DOSe in river- and ocean-dominance areas, respectively. A three-endmember-mixing model was used to describe biological processes in ocean-dominanated surface waters. In diatom-bloom areas, the co-occurrence of depletion of Se(IV) and Se(VI) (of ~90% and 30%, respectively) and a 44% increase in production of DOSe indicates that phytoplankton act as vectors for Se species transformation. A Se(IV)*P indicator was developed to quantify limiting concentrations of Se(IV) in water relative to that of phosphorus. Negative Se(IV)*P concentrations indicate that Se(IV) is limited due to biological utilization of dissolved inorganic phosphorus by diatoms, resulting in secondary uptake of Se(VI) in the Changjiang Estuary.

Novel method for effectively amplifying human peripheral blood T cells in vitro.

The use of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR T cells) is an effective therapy for advanced cancer, especially hematological malignancies, and this method has attracted widespread attention in the last several years. The type, number and vitality of the effector cells clearly play important roles in this approach. In this study, to expand the possibility of curing cancer through adoptive cell therapy (ACT), we developed a novel method for effectively obtaining abundant T cells in vitro. The fusion proteins of three cytokines, SA-hIL-2, SA-hIL-7 and SA-hIL-21, were anchored onto biotin magnetic beads to increase the number of cytokines on the surface of the magnetic beads, which increased the local concentration of cytokines and thus promoted the binding of cytokines to T cells. Next, we examined the effects of these modified magnetic beads on the proliferation rate of T cells and CD19 CAR T cells. In this study, we report the expression and purification of the active bifunctional fusion proteins SA-hIL-2, SA-hIL-7 and SA-hIL-21, which were bound to biotin magnetic beads to develop a platform that was employed to increase the local concentration of cytokines. When the cells had been cultured for 14 days, the proliferation rate of the CD3+ T cells in the group that received cytokine-coupled biotin magnetic beads (Beads-SA-CK) was higher than that of the cells in the groups that received soluble cytokines (Soluble-SA-CK) and that of the cells in the standard group (Standard-CK). We speculate that this difference may be the result of the increased expression of Bcl-2 and the increased phosphorylation of Stat5. Moreover, our results preliminarily indicate that compared with the other two treatments, Soluble-SA-CK and Standard-CK, adding cytokine-coupled biotin magnetic beads more effectively increases the proliferation rate of CD19 CAR-T cells. As expected, the CD19 CAR-T cells stimulated by Beads-SA-CK had a stronger anticancer effect than the cells stimulated by the other two treatments. An effective method of preparing abundant T cells in vitro was developed, and it may provide a novel strategy for ACT.

Concentration and size distribution of total airborne microbes in hazy and foggy weather.

Atmospheric bioaerosol particles were collected using a bioaerosol sampler from Oct. 2013 to Aug. 2014 in the coastal region of Qingdao. The total microbes were measured using an epifluorescence microscope after staining with DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole). The concentration of total airborne microbes showed seasonal variation, with the highest value in winter and the lowest in summer. The mean concentration of total microbes was 6.55 × 10(5)Cells/m(3) on non-hazy days. The total microbe concentration increased to 7.09 × 10(5) and 9.00 × 10(5)Cells/m(3) on hazy and foggy days, respectively. The particle sizes of the total microbes presented a bimodal distribution on sunny days, with one peak at 1.1-2.1 µm and another at 4.7-7.0 µm. The size distribution of total microbes showed an increase in the fine fraction on hazy days and an increase in the coarse fraction on foggy days. However, the size distribution became unimodal during a heating period. Spearman correlation analysis showed that temperature and O3 had a significant negative correlation with the airborne microbe concentration, while PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO and the air quality index (AQI) had significant positive correlations with the airborne microbe concentration during hazy days. The increased number of airborne microbes will affect the air quality on hazy days.

Poly[diaquabis-(µ(4)-fumarato-κO:O:O:O)(µ(4)-fumarato-κO:O,O:O:O,O)(µ(2)-fumaric acid-κO:O)dipraseodymium(III)].

The title complex, [Pr(2)(C(4)H(2)O(4))(3)(C(4)H(4)O(4))(H(2)O)(2)](n), was synthesized by reaction of praseodymium(III) nitrate hexa-hydrate with fumaric acid in a water-ethanol (4:1) solution. The asymmetric unit comprises a Pr(3+) cation, one and a half fumarate dianions (L(2-)), one half-mol-ecule of fumaric acid (H(2)L) and one coordinated water mol-ecule. The carboxyl-ate groups of the fumarate dianion and fumaric acid exhibit different coordination modes. In one fumarate dianion, two carboxyl-ate groups are chelating with two Pr(3+) cations, and the other two O atoms each coordinate a Pr(3+) cation. Each O atom of the second fumarate dianion binds to a different Pr(3+) cation. The fumaric acid employs one O atom at each end to bridge two Pr(3+) cations. The Pr(3+) cation is coordinated in a distorted tricapped trigonal-prismatic environment by eight O atoms of fumarate dianion or fumaric acid ligands and one water O atom. The PrO(9) coordination polyhedra are edge-shared through one carboxyl-ate O atom and two carboxyl-ate groups, generating infinite praseodymium-oxygen chains, which are further connected by the ligands into a three-dimensional framework. The crystal structure is stabilized by O-H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter-actions between the coordin-ated water mol-ecule and the carboxyl-ate O atoms.

2-(3,3,4,4-Tetra-fluoro-pyrrolidin-1-yl)aniline.

In the title fluorinated pyrrolidine derivative, C(10)H(10)F(4)N(2), the dihedral angle between the best planes of the benzene and pyrrolidine rings is 62.6 (1)°. The crystal packing features inter-molecular N-H⋯F hydrogen bonds.

3,3,4,4-Tetra-fluoro-1-[2-(3,3,4,4-tetra-fluoro-pyrrolidin-1-yl)phen-yl]pyrrolidine.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(14)H(12)F(8)N(2), contains one tetra-fluoro-pyrrolidine system and one half-mol-ecule of benzene; the latter, together with a second heterocyclic unit, are completed by symmetry, with a twofold crystallographic axis crossing through both the middle of the bond between the C atoms bearing the heterocyclic rings and the opposite C-C bonds of the whole benzene mol-ecule. The pyrrolidine ring shows an envelope conformation with the apex at the N atom. The dihedral angle between the least-squares plane of this ring and the benzene ring is 36.9 (5)°. There are intra-molecular C-H⋯N inter-actions generating S(6) ring motifs. In the crystal structure, the mol-ecules are linked by C-H⋯F inter-actions, forming chains parallel to [010].

3,3,4,4-Tetra-fluoro-2,3,4,5-tetra-hydro-1,6-benzodioxocine-8-carbaldehyde.

In the title compound, C(11)H(8)F(4)O(3), the eight-membered dialk-oxy ring adopts a highly puckered conformation. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯O inter-actions.