Identifying structure-function relationships to modulate crossover in nonaqueous redox flow batteries.

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NARFBs) offer a promising solution for large-scale storage of renewable energy. However, crossover of redox active molecules between the two sides of the cell is a major factor limiting their development, as most selective separators are designed for deployment in water, rather than organic solvents. This report describes a systematic investigation of the crossover rates of redox active organic molecules through an anion exchange separator under RFB-relevant non-aqueous conditions (in acetonitrile/KPF) using a combination of experimental and computational methods.

Data science enabled discovery of a highly soluble 2,2'-bipyrimidine anolyte for application in a flow battery.

Development of non-aqueous redox flow batteries as a viable energy storage solution relies upon the identification of soluble charge carriers capable of storing large amounts of energy over extended time periods. A combination of metrics including number of electrons stored per molecule, redox potential, stability, and solubility of the charge carrier impact performance. In this context, we recently reported a 2,2'-bipyrimidine charge carrier that stores two electrons per molecule with reduction near -2.

Does Sentence-Level Coarticulation Affect Speech Recognition in Noise or a Speech Masker?

Purpose Three experiments were conducted to better understand the role of between-word coarticulation in masked speech recognition. Specifically, we explored whether naturally coarticulated sentences supported better masked speech recognition as compared to sentences derived from individually spoken concatenated words. We hypothesized that sentence recognition thresholds (SRTs) would be similar for coarticulated and concatenated sentences in a noise masker but would be better for coarticulated sentences in a speech masker.

How did we rapidly implement a convalescent plasma program?

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of convalescent plasma as a possible treatment has been explored. Here we describe our experience as the first U.S.

Does the semantic content or syntactic regularity of masker speech affect speech-on-speech recognition?

Speech-on-speech recognition differs substantially across stimuli, but it is unclear what role linguistic features of the masker play in this variability. The linguistic similarity hypothesis suggests similarity between sentence-level semantic content of the target and masker speech increases masking. Sentence recognition in a two-talker masker was evaluated with respect to semantic content and syntactic structure of the masker (experiment 1) and linguistic similarity of the target and masker (experiment 2).

Selective formation of heteroaryl thioethers via a phosphonium ion coupling reaction.

Heteroaryl thioethers, comprised of pyridines and diazines, are an important class of compounds with relevance to medicinal chemistry. Metal-catalyzed cross-couplings and SAr are traditionally used to form C-S bonds in these systems but are limited by available halogenated precursors. An alternative approach is presented where pyridines and diazines are transformed into heterocyclic phosphonium salts and then C-S bonds are formed by adding thiolate nucleophiles.

A Unified Approach to Couple Aromatic Heteronucleophiles to Azines and Pharmaceuticals.

Coupling aromatic heteronucleophiles to arenes is a common way to assemble drug-like molecules. Many methods operate via nucleophiles intercepting organometallic intermediates, via Pd-, Cu-, and Ni-catalysis, that facilitate carbon-heteroatom bond formation and a variety of protocols. We present an alternative, unified strategy where phosphonium salts can replicate the behavior of organometallic intermediates.

Comparison of clinical pharmacy specialists and primary care physicians in treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in rural Veterans Affairs facilities.

Purpose: Results of a study to compare the impact of clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) interventions with primary care physician (PCP) interventions in veterans with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) in a rural setting are presented.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed examining veterans diagnosed with T2D with a glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA) of ≥8% receiving treatment at a rural community-based outpatient clinic associated with the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Propensity score matching was used to create a 1:1 cohort of patients managed by physicians or clinical pharmacy specialists.

Effect of Clinical Pharmacist Intervention on Hemoglobin A1C Reduction in Veteran Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in a Rural Setting.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), if left uncontrolled, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Patients in rural areas may not have access to adequate resources to successfully treat diabetes. Clinical pharmacists may be utilized to bridge this gap.

Potency analysis of cellular therapies: the emerging role of molecular assays.

Potency testing is an important part of the evaluation of cellular therapy products. Potency assays are quantitative measures of a product-specific biological activity that is linked to a relevant biological property and, ideally, a product's in vivo mechanism of action. Both in vivo and in vitro assays can be used for potency testing.

Biofilm formation by Enterococcus faecalis on intraocular lens material.

Purpose: To compare biofilm formation by Enterococcus faecalis on different intraocular lens (IOL) materials.

Methods: E. faecalis biofilms were cultivated on disks of IOL material (silicone, PMMA [polymethylmethacrylate], or acrylic).

The value of pH as a quality control indicator for apheresis platelets.

Background: Standards and regulations require measurement of pH as an apheresis platelet (PLT) component quality monitor. The usefulness of this quality control (QC) measure was investigated.

Study Design And Methods: QC data were retrospectively reviewed for apheresis PLTs collected over 4.

Enterococcus faecalis senses target cells and in response expresses cytolysin.

Many virulent strains of Enterococcus faecalis produce a two-subunit toxin, termed cytolysin. Cytolysin expression is regulated by one of the subunits (CylL(S)'') through a quorum-sensing autoinduction mechanism. We found that when target cells are absent, the other subunit (CylL(L)'') forms a complex with CylL(S)'', blocking it from autoinducing the operon.

Host-parasite interactions in Staphylococcus aureus keratitis.

Ulcerative keratitis is among the leading ocular bacterial infections, and Streptococcus aureus accounts for approximately 25% of cases in some surveys. Although S. aureus expresses numerous virulence factors, many of which are under the control of staphylococcal global regulatory genes, their pathophysiologic roles in keratitis are largely unknown.

Internalization of Staphylococcus aureus by human corneal epithelial cells: role of bacterial fibronectin-binding protein and host cell factors.

Wild-type Staphylococcus aureus was observed to be capable of invading human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) in vitro. Internalization of S. aureus required expression of fibronectin-binding proteins (FnBPs); the capacity of an FnBP-deficient isogenic strain to invade HCEC was reduced by more than 99%.

Bacterial endophthalmitis: epidemiology, therapeutics, and bacterium-host interactions.

Endophthalmitis is a severe inflammation of the interior of the eye caused by the introduction of contaminating microorganisms following trauma, surgery, or hematogenous spread from a distant infection site. Despite appropriate therapeutic intervention, bacterial endophthalmitis frequently results in visual loss, if not loss of the eye itself. Although the pathogenicity of bacterial endophthalmitis has historically been linked with toxin production during infection, a paucity of information exists as to the exact mechanisms of retinal toxicity and the triggers for induction of the intraocular immune response.

Role of hemolysin BL in the pathogenesis of extraintestinal Bacillus cereus infection assessed in an endophthalmitis model.

Bacillus cereus is a rare cause of serious human infection but, paradoxically, causes one of the most severe posttraumatic or endogenous infections of the eye, endophthalmitis, which frequently results in blindness. The virulence of B. cereus endophthalmitis historically has been attributed to toxin production.

Pathogenesis of gram-positive bacterial endophthalmitis.

The severity of endophthalmitis has been associated generally with the virulence of the offending pathogen. However, precisely what constitutes the virulence in intraocular infections remains ill defined. We therefore sought to identify the basis for virulence for three common ocular pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus) in terms of intraocular growth rates, bacterial localization patterns, and the contribution of cell walls and secreted products to the pathogenesis of endophthalmitis.

Ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli isolates producing TEM-10 and TEM-43 beta-lactamases from St. Louis, Missouri.

Ceftazidime-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (49 and 102 isolates, respectively) were collected from Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Mo., from 1992 to 1996.

Enterococcus faecalis localization in experimental endophthalmitis: role of plasmid-encoded aggregation substance.

Enterococci have emerged as leading agents of nosocomial infection, yet relatively little is known about the pathogenesis of enterococcal disease. In previous studies, we developed an Enterococcus faecalis endophthalmitis infection model which provides unique opportunities to study the evolution of enterococcal disease by direct observation, as well as through sensitive electrophysiologic measures of organ function. The present study was designed to determine whether E.

Molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis in endophthalmitis.

Genomic DNA fingerprint analysis was performed on 39 Staphylococcus aureus and 28 Enterococcus faecalis endophthalmitis isolates collected from multiple clinical centers. Among 21 S. aureus genomic DNA fingerprint patterns identified, five clonotypes were recovered from multiple unrelated patients and accounted for 58.

Staphylococcal accessory regulator (sar) in conjunction with agr contributes to Staphylococcus aureus virulence in endophthalmitis.

Previous studies showed that an agr mutant strain of Staphylococcus aureus was partially attenuated in virulence compared to a parental strain in experimental endophthalmitis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the sar locus, either alone or through interactions with agr, contributes to the regulation of virulence in S. aureus endophthalmitis.

Host/parasite interactions in bacterial endophthalmitis.

Bacterial infections within the eye arise as complications of intraocular surgery, penetrating injury, or hematogenous spread from distant anatomical sites. Because: 1) the interior surfaces of the eye are lined with sensitive, nonregenerating tissues, 2) the inner chambers of the eye are relatively sequestered from circulating immunological components, 3) the integrity of blood-ocular barriers provides poor penetration of systemically administered antibiotics, and 4) aqueous and vitreous humor represent rich, relatively acellular culture media; endophthalmitis often progresses rapidly and total loss of vision frequently results. Years of clinical experience have shown that current therapies for endophthalmitis, including antimicrobials, antiinflammatory agents, and vitrectomy, are frequently unsuccessful in ameliorating destruction of intraocular tissues.

Factors influencing the vitek gram-positive susceptibility system's detection of vanB-encoded vancomycin resistance among enterococci.

Studies were conducted to identify factors contributing to the inability of the Vitek Gram-Positive Susceptibility system (GPS; bioMerieux, Vitek, Inc., Hazelwood, Mo.) to reliably detect vanB-mediated vancomycin resistance among enterococci.