Identification of yttrium oxide-specific peptides for future recycling of rare earth elements from electronic scrap

Yttrium is a heavy rare earth element (REE) that acquires remarkable characteristics when it is in oxide form and doped with other REEs. Owing to these characteristics Y2 O3 can be used in the manufacture of several products. However, a supply deficit of this mineral is expected in the coming years, contributing to its price fluctuation. Thus, developing an efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly process to recover Y2 O3 from secondary sources has become necessary. In this study, we used phage surface display to screen peptides with high specificity for Y2 O3 particles. After three rounds of enrichment, a phage expressing the peptide TRTGCHVPRCNTLS (DM39) from the random pVIII phage peptide library Cys4 was found to bind specifically to Y2 O3 , being 531.6-fold more efficient than the wild-type phage. The phage DM39 contains two arginines in the polar side chains, which may have contributed to the interaction between the mineral targets. Immunofluorescence assays identified that the peptide's affinity was strong for Y2 O3 and negligible to LaPO4 :Ce3+ ,Tb3+ . The identification of a peptide with high specificity and affinity for Y2 O3 provides a potentially new strategic approach to recycle this type of material from secondary sources, especially from electronic scrap.

Schizophrenia-risk variant rs6994992 in the neuregulin-1 gene on brain developmental trajectories in typically developing children

The neuregulin-1 (NRG1) gene is one of the best-validated risk genes for schizophrenia, and psychotic and bipolar disorders. The rs6994992 variant in the NRG1 promoter (SNP8NRG243177) is associated with altered frontal and temporal brain macrostructures and/or altered white matter density and integrity in schizophrenic adults, as well as healthy adults and neonates. However, the ages when these changes begin and whether neuroimaging phenotypes are associated with cognitive performance are not fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the association of the rs6994992 variant on developmental trajectories of brain macro- and microstructures, and their relationship with cognitive performance. A total of 972 healthy children aged 3-20 years had the genotype available for the NRG1-rs6994992 variant, and were evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological tests. Age-by-NRG1-rs6994992 interactions and genotype effects were assessed using a general additive model regression methodology, covaried for scanner type, socioeconomic status, sex and genetic ancestry factors. Compared with the C-carriers, children with the TT-risk-alleles had subtle microscopic and macroscopic changes in brain development that emerge or reverse during adolescence, a period when many psychiatric disorders are manifested. TT-children at late adolescence showed a lower age-dependent forniceal volume and lower fractional anisotropy; however, both measures were associated with better episodic memory performance. To our knowledge, we provide the first multimodal imaging evidence that genetic variation in NRG1 is associated with age-related changes on brain development during typical childhood and adolescence, and delineated the altered patterns of development in multiple brain regions in children with the T-risk allele(s).

Hoarding, compulsive buying and reasons for saving

Two studies examined hypotheses about compulsive hoarding, compulsive buying and beliefs about saving and discarding derived from the cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding [Frost, R. O. and Hartl, T. (1996). A cognitive behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 341-350.]. Study 1 examined the hypotheses in a college student population, while study 2 compared members of a support group for hoarding and clutter-related problems with a nonclinical control. Across studies the hypotheses were supported. Compulsive hoarding was associated with compulsive buying and the frequency of acquisition of possessions discarded by others, suggesting that compulsive acquisition may be a broader construct than compulsive buying among people with hoarding problems. Regarding its association with OCD symptoms, hoarding was most closely associated with the impaired mental control features of OCD. Finally, offa hoarding-related task, hoarding was associated with a greater frequency of reasons to save, but was not associated with fewer reasons to discard a target possession.