Our results demonstrate for the first time that direct release of microfibers from garments to air as a consequence of wear is of equal importance to releases to water. Currently there is considerable interest in interventions focused on capture from wastewater. However, our results suggest more effective interventions are likely to result from changes in textile design that could reduce emissions to both air and water.Cross-talk between various hormones is important in regulating many aspects of plant growth, development, and senescence, including fruit ripening. Here, exogenous ethylene (ETH, 100 μL/L, 12 h) rapidly accelerated 'Hayward' kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) softening and ethylene production and was enhanced by supplementing with continuous treatment with methyl jasmonate (MeJA, 100 μM/L, 12 h) (ETH+MeJA). ETH+MeJA enhanced ACC synthase (ACS) activities and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) accumulation but not ACC oxidase (ACO) activity. Increased transcripts of ACS genes AdACS1 and AdACS2, ACS activity, and ethylene production were positively correlated. The abundance of AdACS1 was about 6-fold higher than AdACS2. RNA-seq identified 6 transcription factors among the 87 differentially expressed unigenes induced by ETH+MeJA. Dual-luciferase and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) indicated that AdNAC2/3 physically interacted with and trans-activated the AdACS1 promoter 2.2- and 3.5-fold, respectively. Collectively, our results indicate that MeJA accelerates ethylene production in kiwifruit induced by exogenous ethylene, via a preferential activation of AdACS1 and AdACS2.To advance current Li rechargeable batteries further, tremendous emphasis has been made on the development of anode materials with higher capacities than the widely commercialized graphite. Some of these anode materials exhibit capacities above the theoretical value predicted based on conventional mechanisms of Li storage, namely insertion, alloying, and conversion. In addition, in contrast to conventional observations of loss upon cycling, the capacity has been found to increase during repeated cycling in a significant number of cases. As the internal environment in the battery is very complicated and continuously changing, these abnormal charge storage behaviors are caused by diverse reactions. In this review, we will introduce our current understanding of reported reactions accounting for the extra capacity. It includes formation/decomposition of electrolyte-derived surface layer, the possibility of additional charge storage at sharp interfaces between electronic and ionic sinks, redox reactions of Li-containing species, unconventional activity of structural defects, and metallic-cluster like Li storage. We will also discuss how the changes in the anode can induce capacity increase upon cycling. With this knowledge, new insights into possible strategies to effectively and sustainably utilize these abnormal charge storage mechanisms to produce vertical leaps in performance of anode materials will be laid out.Previous studies have documented the antibacterial activity of certain iron-containing clays. However, the repulsion between negatively charged bacteria and the clay surface makes this process inefficient. The objective of this study is to improve the bactericidal efficiency of clays by reversing their surface charge from negative to positive. To achieve this objective, positively charged chitosan, a nontoxic and biodegradable polymer, was intercalated into nontronite NAu-2. Chitosan-intercalated NAu-2 (C-NAu-2) was chemically reduced to obtain reduced C-NAu-2 (rC-NAu-2). Relative to reduced nontronite (rNAu-2), the antibacterial activity of rC-NAu-2 is higher and more persistent over a pH range of 6-8. The close spatial association between positively charged rC-NAu-2 and negatively charged bacteria increases the chances of cell membrane attack by extracellular ROS, the influx of soluble Fe2+ into the bacterial cell, and the yield of intracellular ROS. All these factors contribute to the enhanced antibacterial activity of rC-NAu-2. In contrast to rNAu-2 treated E. coli cells, where membrane damage and intracellular ROS/Fe accumulation are restricted to the polar regions, the close bacteria-clay association in rC-NAu-2 results in nonselective membrane damage and more uniform intracellular ROS/Fe distribution across whole bacterial cells. These results advance the antibacterial model by highlighting the importance of bacteria-clay interactions to the antibacterial activity of Fe-bearing clays.Artificial intelligence is becoming established in drug discovery. For example, many in the industry are applying machine learning approaches to target discovery or to optimize compound synthesis. While our organization is certainly applying these sorts of approaches, we propose an additional approach using AI to augment human intelligence. We have been working on a series of recommendation systems that take advantage of our existing laboratory processes, both wet and computational, to provide inspiration to our chemists, suggest next steps in their work, and automate existing workflows. MRTX1719 We will describe five such systems in various stages of deployment within the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. While each addresses different stages in the discovery pipeline, all share three common features a trigger that initiates the recommendation, an analysis which leverages our existing systems with AI, and a recommendation delivery. The goal of all of them is to inspire and accelerate the drug discovery process.Dust in homes can contain phthalates that may adversely affect child development, but whether residential interventions and dust removal can prevent children's exposure to phthalates is unknown. We quantified the influence of a residential lead hazard intervention and dust control on children's urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations. Between 2003 and 2006, The Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study randomized 355 pregnant women to receive an intervention to reduce either residential lead or injury hazards before delivery. We quantified eight urinary phthalate metabolites from 288 children at ages 1, 2, or 3 years (680 observations). During yearly home visits, we assessed dust accumulation in housing units. Children in the lead intervention group had 11-12% lower concentrations of the sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites, monocarboxyoctyl phthalate, and monocarboxynonyl phthalate compared to the injury intervention group. Monoethyl phthalate concentrations did not differ by group.