Inhaled ethanol may treat respiratory infections and stop pandemics

In mice, the treatment decreased infections caused by the Influenza A virus

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OKINAWA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (OIST) GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: THE STUDY FOUND THAT MICE TREATED WITH ETHANOL VAPOR ARE PROTECTED FROM LETHAL RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS CAUSED BY THE INFLUENZA A VIRUS. view more 

CREDIT: DR. MIHO TAMAI AND PROF. HIROKI ISHIKAWA (OIST)

Inhaling low concentrations of ethanol vapor can disable the influenza A virus in mice, without harmful side effects, says a new study by scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). The scientists believe it may also treat similar viruses such as the one that causes Covid-19. 

Prof. Tsumoru Shintake, who leads the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit at OIST, first proposed the idea to use ethanol vapor to treat respiratory tract infections. He set out to test the approach with his colleague, Prof. Hiroki Ishikawa, leader of the Immune Signal Unit at OIST, and their team members.  

“Ethanol is an effective disinfectant for body surfaces, so we wanted to know whether ethanol could also be effective inside the body,” said Dr. Miho Tamai, a scientist in Prof. Ishikawa’s lab.  

Using a humidifier to produce ethanol vapor in a small container, they found that when mice infected with influenza A inhale the vapor for ten minutes, the virus is inactivated. The study is published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.  

Influenza A viruses accumulate in a thin fluid layer covering lung cells that protect the surface of the airway. The scientists think that the ethanol vapor must increase ethanol concentrations in the fluid to 20% to successfully treat the infection. This concentration is not toxic to lung cells the scientists created in the lab to mimic human cells. At body temperature, 20% ethanol can not only inactivate the influenza A virus outside of the cells in one minute, but also stop the virus from replicating inside these cells.  

The concentration of ethanol provided is important. If the concentration does not reach the right level to inactivate viruses, it will not be useful. 

Influenza A is a virus that has an outer membrane, called an envelope. “Ethanol vapor may also inactivate other enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2,” Prof. Ishikawa said, and so far, all viruses that have caused pandemics have been enveloped. “Once the next pandemic happens, maybe we can quickly apply the ethanol vapor inhalation therapy to prevent or cure the disease,” he explained. 

Prof. Shintake agreed, noting that the effectiveness of this method does not depend on the variant of the virus. He explained that if designed carefully, an ethanol vapor inhalation method could possibly stop a pandemic in future. He and Prof. Ishikawa will continue to collaborate to optimize the therapy and to investigate its effects on other respiratory infectious diseases such as avian influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2.  

The researchers believe that ethanol vapor inhalation treatment has great potential as a versatile and cost-effective new therapy against various respiratory infectious diseases. But Prof. Ishikawa cautioned that people should not try using ethanol as a therapy on their own. “That may lead to serious side-effects or explosion risks,” he said. “The efficacy and safety of this new treatment on humans and other mammals should be carefully evaluated in the future.”  

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JOURNAL

The Journal of Infectious Diseases

DOI

10.1098/jiad089 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Effect of Ethanol Vapor Inhalation Treatment on Lethal Respiratory Viral Infection With Influenza A

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

Maths unlocks molecular interactions that open window to how life evolved

A “window to evolution” has opened after mathematicians uncovered the universal explanatory framework for how molecules interact with each other to adapt to new and variable conditions while maintaining tight control over key survival properties.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Dr Araujo, from the QUT School of Mathematical Sciences, said the research findings represented a blueprint for adaptation-capable signalling networks across all domains of life and for the design of synthetic biosystems.

“Our study considers a process called robust perfect adaptation (RPA) whereby biological systems, from individual cells to entire organisms, maintain important molecules within narrow concentration ranges despite continually being bombarded with disturbances to the system,” Dr Araujo said.

“Until now, no one had a general way to explain how this vital process was orchestrated at the molecular level through the vast, complex, often highly intricate networks of chemical reactions among different types of molecules, mostly proteins. 

“We have now solved this problem, having discovered fundamental molecular-level design principles that organise all forms of biological complexity into robustness-promoting, and ultimately, survival-promoting, chemical reaction structures.”

Dr Araujo said they had found that collections of interacting molecules in living systems cannot simply ‘transmit’ biochemical signals but must actually make ‘computations’ on these signals.

“These complex intermolecular interactions must implement a special type of regulation known as integral control – a design strategy known to engineers for almost a century.

“However, signalling networks in nature are vastly different, having evolved to rely on the physical interactions between discrete molecules.  So, nature’s ‘solutions’ operate through remarkable and highly intricate collections of interactions, without engineering’s specially designed, integral-computing components, and often without feedback loops.

“We show that molecular network structures use a form of integral control in which multiple independent integrals, each with a very special and simple structure, can collaborate to confer the capacity for adaptation on specific molecules.

“Using an algebraic algorithm based on this finding, we have been able to demonstrate the existence of embedded integrals in biologically important chemical reaction networks whose ability to exhibit adaptation could never before be explained by any systematic method.”

Professor Liotta said the quest to uncover the fundamental design principles of biological systems throughout nature is considered to be one of the most important and far-reaching grand challenges in the life sciences. 

“On the basis of this ground-breaking new research, RPA currently stands alone as a keystone biological response for which there now exists a universal explanatory framework.

“It’s a framework that imposes strict and inviolable design criteria on arbitrarily large and complex networks, and one that now accounts for the subtleties of intricate intermolecular interactions at the network microscale. 

“At a practical level, this discovery could provide a completely fresh approach to tackle grand challenges in personalized medicine such as cancer drug resistance, addiction, and autoimmune diseases.”

Universal structures for adaptation in biochemical reaction networks was published in Nature Communications.

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-38011-9 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Universal structures for adaptation in biochemical reaction networks

Infectious-diseases response initiative reduced staff burnout and helped prevent HAI increases at VA health care system during covid-19 pandemic

Analysis published in AJIC suggest program was an essential service during the pandemic

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ASSOCIATION FOR PROFESSIONALS IN INFECTION CONTROL

Arlington, Va., April 27, 2023 – A serious infectious threat response initiative (SITRI) implemented by the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) team at Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) positively impacted IPC staff burnout and helped prevent an increase in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings, published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), suggest that pre-emptive investment in preparedness initiatives can enable healthcare facilities to retain routine prevention efforts and improve patient safety during infectious disease outbreaks.

“During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare facilities lacked essential infection prevention resources and information, and staff anxiety was incredibly high,” said Madhuri Sopirala, MD, MPH, Director of IPC, VA North Texas Health Care System at the time of implementation of the program, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and the lead author on the published study. “Our evaluation shows that the VANTHCS’ SITRI provided support and services that contributed meaningfully to patient safety and staff well-being during this time.”

The IPC team at VANTHCS, which is the second largest healthcare system in the Department of Veterans Affairs, formed the SITRI in 2015 in response to a Veterans Health Administration mandate for ongoing emerging-pathogens preparation following the most recent Ebola epidemic. The SITRI comprised multi-disciplinary staff who developed an algorithm to enable an effective process for communication, safe handling, assessment, and care of patients presenting with emerging pathogens.

When SARS-CoV-2 emerged in early 2020, the VANTHCS IPC team identified specific gaps and emerging issues, including staff member anxiety, COVID-19 knowledge deficit, and personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supply shortages. To address these gaps and reduce any potential impacts on VANTHCS staff and the healthcare system’s infection prevention practices, Dr. Sopirala and colleagues adapted their existing SITRI program to enhance staff support, facilitate day-to-day clinical operations related to COVID-19, and enable maintenance of routine prevention focused efforts.

This adaptation included evolving SITRI into a 24/7 call service staffed by infection preventionists and a hospital epidemiologist who was also an infectious diseases physician. SITRI infection preventionists also conducted other critical support activities, including COVID-19 surveillance, data abstraction, exposure management, and public health reporting. The SITRI team then evaluated and quantified the workload and utility of SITRI, burnout among the system’s infection preventionists, and HAI incidence across VANTHCS during the SITRI implementation period.

Results from this evaluation show:

• SITRI received 3,816 calls from hospital staff from January 1, 2020 -March 27, 2021. There was a statistically significant correlation between the number of phone calls SITRI received in a given week and the weekly average census of COVID-19 hospital admissions (0.438; p=0.00026).
• Staff members reported lower levels of both exhaustion and reduced achievement in 2020 and 2021 as compared to 2019. Depersonalization (i.e., the feeling that a job is hardening someone emotionally) increased gradually from 2019 to 2021, a finding the authors suggest could be associated with pandemic-related compassion fatigue.
• Rates of four common HAIs [central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff)] decreased or stayed the same in VANTHCS acute care and long-term care centers during the implementation period. The authors suggest that this outcome was at least partly attributable to SITRI enabling the IPC team to retain its routine functions – including HAI surveillance, audits, and feedback – throughout the pandemic.
• The overall cost of the initiative for the 14 months from March 2020 to May 2021 was $360,000, based on overtime paid to IPC staff covering the SITRI line. 

“This initiative demonstrates the value of maintaining readiness for emerging pathogens so that routine care can still be provided, and preventable HAIs can be avoided during a pandemic or other infectious disease emergency,” said Patricia Jackson, RN, BSN, MA, CIC, FAPIC, 2023 APIC president.

About APIC

Founded in 1972, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is the leading association for infection preventionists and epidemiologists. With more than 15,000 members, APIC advances the science and practice of infection prevention and control. APIC carries out its mission through research, advocacy, and patient safety; education, credentialing, and certification; and fostering development of the infection prevention and control workforce of the future. Together with our members and partners, we are working toward a safer world through the prevention of infection. Join us and learn more at apic.org.

About AJIC

As the official peer-reviewed journal of APIC, The American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) is the foremost resource on infection control, epidemiology, infectious diseases, quality management, occupational health, and disease prevention. Published by Elsevier, AJIC also publishes infection control guidelines from APIC and the CDC. AJIC is included in Index Medicus and CINAHL. Visit AJIC at ajicjournal.org.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

“Effect of serious infectious threat response initiative (SITRI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System,” by Madhuri Sopirala, Kathleen Hartless, Sherry Reid, Angela Christie-Smith, Jeanette Fiveash, Aderonke Badejogbin, Islamia Omoola, Andrew Otto Psenicka, Roman Jandarov, India Kazadi, and Rachelle Barriento, was published online in AJIC on April 27, 2023. The article may be found at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2023.02.007

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR

Madhuri Sopirala, MD, MPH (madhuri.sopirala@UTSouthwestern.edu), VA North Texas Health Care System, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA

 

# # #

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Infection Control

DOI

10.1016/j.ajic.2023.02.007 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Effect of serious infectious threat response initiative (SITRI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

Using microbes to get more out of mining waste

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

Researchers have developed a new mining technique which uses microbes to recover metals and store carbon in the waste produced by mining. Adopting this technique of reusing mining waste, called tailings, could transform the mining industry and create a greener and more sustainable future.

Tailings are a by-product of mining. They are the fine-grained waste materials left after extracting the target ore mineral, which are then stacked and stored. This method is called dry-stack tailing.

Over time, mining practices have evolved and become more efficient. But the climate crisis and rising demand for critical minerals require the development of new ore removal and processing technologies.

Old tailings contain higher amounts of critical minerals that can be extracted with the help of microbes through a process called bioleaching. The microbes help break down the ore, releasing any valuable metals that weren’t fully recovered in an eco-friendly way that is much faster than natural biogeochemical weathering processes. 

“We can take tailings that were produced in the past and recover more resources from those waste materials and, in doing so, also reduce the risk of residual metals entering into local waterways or groundwater,” said Dr. Jenine McCutcheon, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

In addition to improving resource recovery, the microbes capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it within the mine tailings as new minerals. This process aids in offsetting some of the emissions released while the mine was active and helps stabilize the tailings.

Microbial mineral carbonation could offset more than 30 per cent of a mine sites annual greenhouse gas emissions if applied to an entire mine. In addition, this microbial-driven technique gives value to historical mine tailings that are otherwise considered industrial waste. 

“This technique makes better use of current and past mine sites,” McCutcheon said. “Rethinking how future mine sites are designed in order to integrate this process could result in mines that are carbon neutral from the get-go rather than thinking about carbon storage as an add-on at the end.

“This technology is a potential game-changer in the fight against climate change, and the mining industry has a unique opportunity to play a significant role in the future of green energy.”

McCutcheon further believes that the microbial-driven processes could help the industry move towards carbon-neutral or carbon-negative mining, but industry engagement is critical to move this technology towards large-scale deployment.

Dr. McCutcheon published this research with co-author and associate professor Ian Power of Trent University in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Biology.

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JOURNAL

PLoS Biology

DOI

10.1371/journal.pbio.3002026 

‘Vein-on-a-chip’ could help scientists study thrombosis without animal models

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

Blood clot researchers could benefit from a new device that mimics a human vein, replacing the need for animals for some studies.

 

The vein-on-a-chip model has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham and can be used in experiments to understand mechanisms of blood clot formation.

 

The device, described in a recent paper published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, is a tiny channel, which includes structures called ‘valves’ that ensure the correct direction of blood flow.

 

Dr Alexander Brill from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences together with Drs Daniele Vigolo and Alessio Alexiadis from the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, led the development of the new device. Dr Brill said:

 

“The device is more advanced than previous models because the valves can open and close, mimicking the mechanism seen in a real vein. It also contains a single layer of cells, called endothelial cells, covering the inside of the vessel. These two advances make this vein-on-a-chip a realistic alternative to using animal models in research that focuses on how blood clots form. It is biologically reflective of a real vein, and it also recapitulates blood flow in a life-like manner.

 

“Organ-on-a-chip devices, such as ours, are not only created to help researchers move away from the need for animal models, but they also advance our understanding of biology as they are more closely representative of how the human body works.”

 

Researchers at the University of Birmingham were able to demonstrate one of the basic mechanisms underlying venous clot formation using their newly developed model. Namely, the role of a bridge between a molecule called von Willebrand Factor and a surface receptor on platelets called glycoprotein Ib-alpha.

 

Deep vein thrombosis is the development of blood clots in veins, usually in the legs. It is a serious condition because the clot can detach and travel to the lungs, where it may block blood vessels, causing difficulty in breathing that may be fatal. Deep vein thrombosis is a third most common cardiovascular disease after myocardial infarction and stroke, with tens of thousands of people in the UK developing this condition every year. Mechanisms of deep vein thrombosis require further research to improve clinicians’ understanding and ability to treat or prevent the condition.

 

Dr Alexander Brill said:

 

“The principles of the 3Rs – to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research – are embedded in national and international legislation and regulations on the use of animals in scientific procedures. But there is always more that can be done. Innovations such as the new device created for use in thrombosis research are a step in the right direction.”

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

DOI

10.3389/fcvm.2023.1167884 

ARTICLE TITLE

Platelet accumulation in an endothelium-coated elastic vein valve model of deep vein thrombosis is mediated by GPIb[alpha]-VWF interaction

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

German researchers figure out how lager first developed in Bavaria

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS USA

 

IMAGE: PILSNER-STYLE LAGER view more 

CREDIT: JOHN MORRISSEY/ FEMS YEAST RESEARCH

A new paper in FEMS Yeast Research, published by Oxford University Press, reveals the possible origin story of lager beers. Using historical records and contemporary phylogenomics research, investigators here show where lagers likely first originated: at the court brewery (Hofbräuhaus) of Maximilian the Great, elector of Bavaria, in Munich in 1602.

Beer has been made since ancient times. Recent archaeology shows evidence of brewing in the eastern Mediterranean some 13,000 years ago. Although from the origins of brewing until the early 20th century, ale was the typical beer produced, lager now accounts for approximately 90% of the beer consumed annually.

The beginnings of this shift from ale to yeast occurred when a new yeast species, Saccharomyces pastorianus or “lager yeast,” appeared in Germany around the end of the middle ages. This is a hybrid species that arose from mating the top-fermenting ale yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the cold-tolerant Saccharomyces eubayanus around the start of the 17th century. But until now no one has figured out how the combination lager yeast S. pastorianus came about.

The general assumption was that the hybrid arose when a traditional S. cerevisiae ale fermentation became contaminated with wild yeasts including S. eubayanus. But the researchers here believe this is doubtful. Using a detailed analysis of Central European historical brewing records, they discovered that “lager-style” bottom fermentation was happening in Bavaria from at least two hundred years earlier.

They propose an alternative hypothesis that it was S. cerevisiae that contaminated a batch of beer brewed with S. eubayanus, rather than the other way around. And in an intriguing piece of detective work, they identified what they believe to be the source of the contaminating S. cerevisiae – a wheat brewery in the small Bavarian town of Schwarzach.

Beer was always a valuable commodity and its production was regulated carefully. In Bavaria a brewing ordnance from 1516 (the famous “reinheitsgebot”) permitted only bottom fermentation and brewing of “lager-style” beer.  But in neighboring Bohemia, excellent wheat beer made with S. cerevisiae was produced and vast quantities were imported into Bavaria. To limit the economic damage from these imports, in 1548 the Bavarian ruler, Wilhelm IV gave Baron Hans VI von Degenberg a special privilege to brew and sell wheat beer in the border regions to Bohemia.

When the grandson of Hans von Degenberg failed to produce an heir, the family finally died out and, in 1602, the new Bavarian ruler, Maximilian the Great, seized the special wheat beer privilege himself and took over the over the von Degenbergs’ Schwarzach breweries. In October of that year, the yeast from the wheat brewery was brought to the Duke’s court brewery in Munich, where the researchers propose the famous hybridization took place and S. pastorianus was born. After that, the researchers here show, S. pastorianus strains from Bavaria spread all over Europe and are the source of all modern lager yeast strains.

The results of the researchers’ investigation of the historical record, together with published phylogenomic (evolution and genomics) data, suggest that the dominance of S. pastorianus lager yeast developed in three stages. First, the yeast strain S. cerevisiae came to Munich from Bohemia, where brewers had made wheat beer since at least the 14th century. Second, the S. cerevisiae that was introduced into the Munich brewery in 1602 mated with S, eubayanus, which was already involved in making Munich-style beer, to give rise to S. pastorianus. And finally, the new S. pastorianus yeast was distributed around Munich breweries first, and then throughout Europe and the world. The researchers here note that the co-occurrence of S. pastorianus with the technologically advanced brewing methods in Munich, and the willingness of Munich brewers to share knowledge (and actual yeast) may have contributed to the strain’s dominance.

“There is a certain irony that the inability of Hans VIII von Degenberg to produce a son triggered the events that led to the creation of creation of lager yeast, said Mathias Hutzler, one of the paper’s lead authors. “As one lineage died out, another began. No heir - but what a legacy he left for the world!”

The paper, “A new hypothesis for the origin of the lager yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus,” is available (at midnight EST on April 27th) at: https://academic.oup.com/femsyr/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/femsyr/foad023.

Direct correspondence to: 
Mathias Hutzler
Weihenstephan Research Center for Brewing and Food Quality
Technical University of Munich
Alte Akademie 3, 85354 Freising, GERMANY
m.hutzler@tum.de

To request a copy of the study, please contact:
Daniel Luzer 
daniel.luzer@oup.com

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JOURNAL

FEMS Yeast Research

DOI

10.1093/femsyr/foad023 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

A new hypothesis for the origin of the lager yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

Discovering hidden order in disordered crystals

New material analysis method combining resonant X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: - view more 

CREDIT: PROFESSOR MASATOMO YASHIMA OF TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Researchers at Tokyo Tech have discovered hidden chemical order of the Mo and Nb atoms in disordered Ba7Nb4MoO20, by combining state-of-the-art techniques, including resonant X-ray diffraction and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. This study provides valuable insights into how a material’s properties, such as ionic conduction, can be heavily influenced by its hidden chemical order. These results would stimulate significant advances in materials science and engineering.

Determining the precise structure of a crystalline solid is a challenging endeavor. Materials properties such as ion conduction and chemical stability, are heavily influenced by the chemical (occupational) order and disorder. However, the techniques that scientists typically use to elucidate unknown crystal structures suffer from serious limitations.

For instance, X-ray and neutron diffraction methods are powerful techniques to reveal the atomic positions and arrangement in the crystal lattice.  However, they may not be adequate for distinguishing different atomic species with similar X-ray scattering factors and similar neutron scattering lengths.

To tackle this issue, a research team led by Professor Masatomo Yashima of Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in Japan sought to develop a novel and more powerful approach to analyze the order and disorder in crystals. They combined four different techniques to analyze the crystal structure of an important ionic conductor, Ba7Nb4MoO20. “We chose Ba7Nb4MoO20 as Ba7Nb4MoO20-based oxides and related compounds are a class of emerging materials with interesting properties such as high ionic conduction and high chemical stability,” explains Prof. Yashima. “However, given that both the Mo6+ and Nb5+ cations have similar scattering powers, all structural analyses of Ba7Nb4MoO20 until now have been performed assuming complete Mo/Nb disorder.”

As described in their recent paper published in Nature Communications, the researchers used an approach that combined two experimental techniques, resonant X-ray diffraction (RXRD) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) aided by computational calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). The NMR provided direct experimental evidence that the Mo atoms occupy only the crystallographic M2 site in Ba7Nb4MoO20, indicating the chemical order of Mo atoms.

Next, the researchers used RXRD to quantify the occupancy factors of Mo and Nb atoms. They found that the occupancy factor of Mo atoms was 0.5 at the M2 site but zero at all other sites. Interestingly, the M2 site is close to the oxide-ion conducting, oxygen-deficient layer of Ba7Nb4MoO20. This suggests that the Mo atoms at the M2 site have key role in the high ion conduction of Ba7Nb4MoO20. Furthermore, DFT calculations indicated that the Mo ordering stabilizes Mo excess composition exhibiting high ionic conductivity. Positions, occupancy, and atomic displacements of protons and oxide ions were also determined by neutron diffraction.

“Our results demonstrate that the Mo order affects the material properties of Ba7Nb4MoO20,” highlights Prof. Yashima. “In this regard, our work represents a major advance in our understanding of the correlation between the crystal structure and the material properties of ionic conductors.” Further, in contrast to single-crystal X-ray and neutron diffraction, the proposed approach can even be extended to other polycrystalline and powdered samples.

Overall, the methodology presented in this study can open up new avenues for an in-depth analysis of chemical order/disorder in materials. In turn, this could lead to the development of physics, chemistry, and materials science and technology.

Only time will tell what other hidden orders and disorders we will stumble upon!

 

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Yashima Research Group

Novel Oxychloride Shows High Stability and Oxide-Ion Conduction through Interstitial Oxygen Site | Tokyo Tech News

Fueling the Future with New Perovskite-related Oxide-ion Conductors | Tokyo Tech News

New Ba7Nb4MoO20-Based Materials with High Oxygen-Ion Conductivity Could Open Sustainable Future | Tokyo Tech News

New High Proton Conductors with Inherently Oxygen Deficient Layers Open Sustainable Future | Tokyo Tech News

Getting through the bottleneck—A new class of layered perovskite with high oxygen-ion conductivity | Tokyo Tech News

Apatite-Type Materials without Interstitial Oxygens Show High Oxide-Ion Conductivity by Overbonding | Tokyo Tech News

About Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of “monotsukuri,” meaning “technical ingenuity and innovation,” the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research.

https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-37802-4 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Hidden chemical order in disordered Ba7Nb4MoO20 revealed by resonant X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

24-Apr-2023

Odyssey of a 90-Year-Old from Israel, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore

Peter Ellinger's Trip Down Memory Lane

Book Announcement

WORLD SCIENTIFIC

 

IMAGE: COVER FOR "DOWN MEMORY LANE: PETER ELLINGER’S MEMOIRS" view more 

CREDIT: WORLD SCIENTIFIC

Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs details the life of Law Professor Peter Ellinger, which has taken him around the world from Israel, to the United Kingdom, Australasia and finally Singapore, where he has chosen to retire. From his escape from Austria during Hitler’s reign, to his growing-up years in Israel, academia and legal practice, and his eventual retirement, this book takes you on a journey in time alongside Professor Ellinger.

Professor Ellinger is a Professor Emeritus of the National University of Singapore and was a Consultant of Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP. Over the course of his journey, he has also held Chairs of Law at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and at Monash University, Australia. An internationally renowned leading authority on banking law, Professor Ellinger has published widely, including Modern Banking Law and chapters in Benjamin’s Sales of Goods and Chitty on Contracts. He has lived a long and fruitful life, contributing to the development of the law. In addition, he came across several well-known individuals during his teaching years, including Professor S. Jayakumar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore; V.K. Rajah, former Justice of the Court of Appeal and then Attorney-General of Singapore; Davinder Singh, one of the Commonwealth’s leading advocates; and Andrew Phang, a Justice of the Court of Appeal. Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is an old friend of Professor Ellinger. In his Foreword, he refers to their friendship which can be traced back to 1961, including his being Best Man at Professor Ellinger's wedding.

Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs details Professor Ellinger’s journey in four parts. The first covers his escape from Austria, his years as a refugee in Italy and France, and his education in Israel. He sets out his reflections as he witnessed the foundation of Israel and the struggle of the newly born country in its early years. His first practice of law was in Tel Aviv, of which he discusses some of the cases handled by him.

The next part covers Professor Ellinger’s post-graduate years in Oxford, his first steps towards academia and his first spell in Singapore. Likewise, his journey also captures Singapore’s history, in particular its development from a Crown colony into a sovereign city-state.

The third section deals with his life as a mendicant professor and teacher of law in Wellington, New Zealand; Monash, Melbourne, Australia, and Singapore. He also spent some time in Germany as a Humboldt Fellow at the Institute of Comparative Commercial Law, Freiburg. During a spell in Hamburg, he envisaged the fall of the Brandenburg Wall and the unification of the DDR with Western Germany.

The last part of the book covers his employment at the National University of Singapore, his experience in legal practice in the city and his eventual retirement during which he reflected on the world’s future.

He also captures his personal life, including his marriage with Patricia Goh, a Chinese-educated girl to whom he was married for 43 years until her death; his religious and political views; his hobby of collecting antiques and Bible Critique.

Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs retails for US$48 / £40 (paperback) and US$88 / £75 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. To order or know more about the book, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/13271.

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About the Author

Peter Ellinger graduated from the Hebrew University, Israel with an MJur in 1959 and was called to the Israeli Bar. Following practice in Tel Aviv, he went to Oxford University, UK, obtaining his DPhil in 1964. He started his academic career at the University of Singapore (1961–1966). In 1963, he married Patricia Goh Peh Choo. He subsequently held Chairs of Law at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (1967–1976) and at Monash University, Australia (1977–1986). In 1986, he accepted the post of Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. After his retirement from this position, he was appointed as a consultant at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and obtained a practice certificate. He also continued to teach as a Professorial Fellow at the National University of Singapore.

On 14 September 1998, Professor Ellinger was constituted an Emeritus Professor. During his academic career, he has published books, chapters in leading commercial law texts and numerous articles in regional law reviews as well as in the United Kingdom, Australasia, Canada, the United States and in Europe. Modern Banking Law (published by Oxford University Press) is a standard text on banking law and went into five editions.

Professor Ellinger has specialised in commercial law with particular emphasis on banking law. Over the years, he has acquired an experience in opinion work and drafting of documents. He has also appeared as an expert witness in local and foreign courts. In 2008, Professor Ellinger retired from his position as a consultant of Rajah and Tann but continued to teach as a Professorial Fellow at the University. His wife passed away in 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He retired from teaching in July 2013 and has remained in Singapore since.

About World Scientific Publishing Co.

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For more information, contact WSPC Communications at communications@wspc.com.

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DOI

10.1142/13271