New type of filaments for improved accuracy of multiple sulfur isotope analyses by electron-impact gas-source mass spectrometry.

Rationale: The analysis of the three sulfur stable isotope ratios (S/S, S/S, S/S) is routinely performed by gas-source isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) on the SF gaseous molecule, collecting SF ions at m/z ~ 127, 128, 129 and 131. High precision and accuracy are commonly achieved owing to a lack of correction because fluorine has only one isotope and the inert nature of the SF molecule. The analysis of the S/S ratio is, however, complicated by the low abundance of S (~0.

Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the longitudinal study of adult health (ELSA-Brasil).

Background: The association between vegetarianism and depression is still unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between a meatless diet and the presence of depressive episodes among adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed with baseline data from the ELSA-Brasil cohort, which included 14,216 Brazilians aged 35 to 74 years.

Chromium Isotopic Evidence for Mixing of NC and CC Reservoirs in Polymict Ureilites: Implications for Dynamical Models of the Early Solar System.

Nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies show that the first few million years of solar system history were characterized by two distinct cosmochemical reservoirs, CC (carbonaceous chondrites and related differentiated meteorites) and NC (the terrestrial planets and all other groups of chondrites and differentiated meteorites), widely interpreted to correspond to the outer and inner solar system, respectively. At some point, however, bulk CC and NC materials became mixed, and several dynamical models offer explanations for how and when this occurred. We use xenoliths of CC materials in polymict ureilite (NC) breccias to test the applicability of such models.

Hydrothermal NN abundances constrain the origins of mantle nitrogen.

Nitrogen is the main constituent of the Earth's atmosphere, but its provenance in the Earth's mantle remains uncertain. The relative contribution of primordial nitrogen inherited during the Earth's accretion versus that subducted from the Earth's surface is unclear. Here we show that the mantle may have retained remnants of such primordial nitrogen.

The First Samples from Almahata Sitta Showing Contacts Between Ureilitic and Chondritic Lithologies: Implications for the Structure and Composition of Asteroid 2008 TC.

Almahata Sitta (AhS), an anomalous polymict ureilite, is the first meteorite observed to originate from a spectrally classified asteroid (2008 TC). However, correlating properties of the meteorite with those of the asteroid is not straightforward because the AhS stones are diverse types. Of those studied prior to this work, 70-80% are ureilites (achondrites) and 20-30% are various types of chondrites.

Ultrafast Shock-Induced Reactions in Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate Thin Films.

The chemical and physical processes involved in the shock-to-detonation transition of energetic solids are not fully understood due to difficulties in probing the fast dynamics involved in initiation. Here, we employ shock interferometry experiments with sub-20-ps time resolution to study highly textured (110) pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) thin films during the early stages of shock compression using ultrafast laser-driven shock wave methods. We observe evidence of rapid exothermic chemical reactions in the PETN thin films for interface particle velocities above ∼1.

Assessing Pyrite-Derived Sulfate in the Mississippi River with Four Years of Sulfur and Triple-Oxygen Isotope Data.

Riverine dissolved sulfate (SO) sulfur and oxygen isotope variations reflect their controls such as SO reduction and reoxidation, and source mixing. However, unconstrained temporal variability of riverine SO isotope compositions due to short sampling durations may lead to mischaracterization of SO sources, particularly for the pyrite-derived sulfate load. We measured the sulfur and triple-oxygen isotopes (δS, δO, and Δ'O) of Mississippi River SO with biweekly sampling between 2009 and 2013 to test isotopic variability and constrain sources.

Extreme enrichment in atmospheric NN.

Molecular nitrogen (N) comprises three-quarters of Earth's atmosphere and significant portions of other planetary atmospheres. We report a 19 per mil (‰) excess of NN in air relative to a random distribution of nitrogen isotopes, an enrichment that is 10 times larger than what isotopic equilibration in the atmosphere allows. Biological experiments show that the main sources and sinks of N yield much smaller proportions of NN in N.

Early formation of the Moon 4.51 billion years ago.

Establishing the age of the Moon is critical to understanding solar system evolution and the formation of rocky planets, including Earth. However, despite its importance, the age of the Moon has never been accurately determined. We present uranium-lead dating of Apollo 14 zircon fragments that yield highly precise, concordant ages, demonstrating that they are robust against postcrystallization isotopic disturbances.

Cancer metabolism: the volatile signature of glycolysis-in vitro model in lung cancer cells.

Discovering the volatile signature of cancer cells is an emerging approach in cancer research, as it may contribute to a fast and simple diagnosis of tumors in vivo and in vitro. One of the main contributors to such a volatile signature is hyperglycolysis, which characterizes the cancerous cell. The metabolic perturbation in cancer cells is known as the Warburg effect; glycolysis is preferred over oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), even in the presence of oxygen.

Oxygen isotopic evidence for vigorous mixing during the Moon-forming giant impact.

Earth and the Moon are shown here to have indistinguishable oxygen isotope ratios, with a difference in Δ'(17)O of -1 ± 5 parts per million (2 standard error). On the basis of these data and our new planet formation simulations that include a realistic model for primordial oxygen isotopic reservoirs, our results favor vigorous mixing during the giant impact and therefore a high-energy, high-angular-momentum impact. The results indicate that the late veneer impactors had an average Δ'(17)O within approximately 1 per mil of the terrestrial value, limiting possible sources for this late addition of mass to the Earth-Moon system.

Persistence of Bactericidal Antibodies After Infant Serogroup B Meningococcal Immunization and Booster Dose Response at 12, 18 or 24 Months of Age.

Background: A serogroup B meningococcal vaccine (4CMenB) is licensed for infant use in countries including Canada, Australia and those of the European Union. Data on serum bactericidal antibody (hSBA) waning and the ideal timing of a "toddler" booster dose are essential to optimize vaccine utilization.

Methods: An open-labeled, multicenter phase-2b follow-on European study conducted from 2009 to 2012.

Meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB): Booster dose in previously vaccinated infants and primary vaccination in toddlers and two-year-old children.

Objective: The multicomponent, recombinant serogroup B vaccine, 4CMenB, is approved in Europe, Canada and Australia from two months of age. We investigated persistence to booster doses at 12 months of age following infant vaccination, and immune response to catch-up vaccination of toddlers and children up to two years of age.

Methods: We assessed persistence of immune responses after one year in participants vaccinated as infants, and responses to two doses at 12-15 or 24-26 months of age in vaccine-naïve children, as serum bactericidal activity with human complement (hSBA) against indicator strains for four vaccine antigens.

A phase 2 randomized controlled trial of a multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (I).

The novel meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB, Bexsero(®)), recently approved in Europe and Australia, may soon be included in routine infant immunization schedules, subject to guidance from national or regional recommending bodies. In the development of 4CMenB and consistent with other newly introduced vaccines, clinical studies have shown concomitant administration with routine infant vaccines induces an incremental increase in some reactions, including fever. As this may hinder acceptability, we examined the impact of prophylactic paracetamol on the occurrence of fever and other solicited reactions, as well as the immune responses to study vaccines, in a prospectively designed study.

Real-time metabolic monitoring with proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry.

We analysed the time evolution of several volatile organic compounds formed by the catabolism of ingested isotope-labelled ethanol using real-time breath gas analysis with proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry. Isotope labelling allowed distinguishing the emerging volatile metabolites from their naturally occurring, highly abundant counterparts in the human breath. Due to an extremely low detection limit of the employed technologies in the parts per trillion per volume range, it was possible to detect the emerging metabolic products in exhaled breath within ∼10 min after oral ingestion of isotope-labelled ethanol.

First observation of a potential non-invasive breath gas biomarker for kidney function.

We report on the search for low molecular weight molecules-possibly accumulated in the bloodstream and body-in the exhaled breath of uremic patients with kidney malfunction. We performed non-invasive analysis of the breath gas of 96 patients shortly before and several times after kidney transplantation using proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), a very sensitive technique for detecting trace amounts of volatile organic compounds. A total of 642 individual breath analyses which included at least 41 different chemical components were carried out.

Immunogenicity and safety of an investigational multicomponent, recombinant, meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB) administered concomitantly with routine infant and child vaccinations: results of two randomised trials.

Background: Meningococcal serogroup B disease disproportionately affects infants. We assessed lot-to-lot consistency, safety and immunogenicity, and the effect of concomitant vaccination on responses to routine vaccines of an investigational multicomponent vaccine (4CMenB) in this population.

Methods: We did primary and booster phase 3 studies between March 31, 2008, and Aug 16, 2010, in 70 sites in Europe.

Radar-enabled recovery of the Sutter's Mill meteorite, a carbonaceous chondrite regolith breccia.

Doppler weather radar imaging enabled the rapid recovery of the Sutter's Mill meteorite after a rare 4-kiloton of TNT-equivalent asteroid impact over the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in northern California. The recovered meteorites survived a record high-speed entry of 28.6 kilometers per second from an orbit close to that of Jupiter-family comets (Tisserand's parameter = 2.

Cryoflotation: densities of amorphous and crystalline ices.

We present an experimental method aimed at measuring mass densities of solids at ambient pressure. The principle of the method is flotation in a mixture of liquid nitrogen and liquid argon, where the mixing ratio is varied until the solid hovers in the liquid mixture. The temperature of such mixtures is in the range of 77-87 K, and therefore, the main advantage of the method is the possibility of determining densities of solid samples, which are instable above 90 K.

Extending the phenotype of monosomy 1p36 syndrome and mapping of a critical region for obesity and hyperphagia.

Rearrangements of 1p36 are the most frequently detected abnormalities in diagnostic testing for chromosomal cryptic imbalances and include variably sized simple terminal deletions, derivative chromosomes, interstitial deletions, and complex rearrangements. These rearrangements result in the specific pattern of malformation and neurodevelopmental disabilities that characterizes monosomy 1p36 syndrome. Thus far, no individual gene within this region has been conclusively determined to be causative of any component of the phenotype.

Raman spectroscopic study of the phase transition of amorphous to crystalline beta-carbonic acid.

What's the matter? The laboratory Raman spectra for carbonic acid (H(2)CO(3)), both for the beta-polymorph and its amorphous state, are required to detect carbonic acid on the surface of the pole caps of Mars in 2009, when the Mars Microbeam Raman Spectrometer lands on the planet. The picture shows a martian crater with ice of unknown composition, possibly containing carbonic acid (image adapted from DLR, with permission from ESA, DLR, and FU Berlin--G. Neukum).

Buffered end-tidal (BET) sampling-a novel method for real-time breath-gas analysis.

We present a novel method for real-time breath-gas analysis using mass-spectrometric techniques: buffered end-tidal (BET) on-line sampling. BET has several advantages over conventional direct on-line sampling where the subject inhales and exhales through a sampling tube. In our approach, a single exhalation is administered through a tailored tube in which the end-tidal fraction of the breath-gas sample is buffered.

Radicals produced by gamma-irradiation of hyperquenched glassy water containing 2'-deoxyguanosine-5'-monophosphate.

Hyperquenched glassy water (HGW) has been suggested as the best model for liquid water, to be used in low-temperature studies of indirect radiation effects on dissolved biomolecules (Bednarek et al. J. Am.