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Microbial biofouling is one of the major obstacles for reaching the ultimate goal of realizing a high permeability over a prolonged period of nanofiltration operation. In this study, the hybrid nanocomposite membranes consisting of silver (Ag) nanoparticles with antibiofouling capability on microorganism and polyamide (PA) were prepared by in situ interfacial polymerization and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The hybrid membranes were shown to possess the dramatic antibiofouling effect on Pseudomonas. In addition, Ag nanocomposite membranes had little influence on the performances of the membrane such as on water flux and salt rejection. SEM analysis results showed that all Pseudomonas were dead on the PA/Ag nanocomposite membrane, indicating the effectiveness of silver nanoparticles. This investigation offers a strong potential for possible use as a new type of antibiofouling membrane.Pseudomonas was deposited on the pristine silver nanoparticle immobilized TFC membranes, and cultivated in the incubator at 378C and at 90 AE 5% humidity for 24 hr. Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the membrane permeation test. 566 S. Y. Lee et al.Figure 8. SEM surface images of PA/Ag membranes after antibiofouling test. (a) PA and (b) PA/Ag.

Narcissists, who seek keenly to self-enhance, strive to positively distinguish themselves. Might they therefore be inclined to purchase consumer products that enable them to do so? Study 1 found that narcissism, but not self-esteem, predicted dispositions to purchase products for the purpose of promoting personal uniqueness. Studies 2 and 3 found that narcissism predicted greater interest in exclusive, customizable, and personalizable products. Study 3 also found participants higher in narcissism regarded their prized possessions as less likely to be owned by others. Finally, Studies 3 and 4 found that interest in a hypothetical product, respectively, to be bought either for oneself or someone else, covaried with an experimental manipulation of product exclusivity and scarcity, but principally when levels of narcissism were high. Our findings illustrate the impact of narcissism on consumer preferences and support an agentic interpretation of narcissistic self-enhancement.

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) of chromosomal DNA trigger the cellular response that activates the pathways for DNA repair and cell-cycle checkpoints, and sometimes the pathways leading to cell death if the damage is too severe to be tolerated. Evidence indicates that, upon generation of DNA DSBs, many nuclear proteins that are involved in DNA repair and checkpoints are recruited to chromatin around the DNA lesions. In the present study we used a proteomics approach to identify DNA-damage-induced chromatin-binding proteins in a systematic way. Two-dimensional gel analysis for protein extracts of chromatin from DNA-damage-induced and control HeLa cells identified four proteins as the candidates for DNA-damage-induced chromatin-binding proteins. MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization-time-of-flight) MS analysis identified these proteins to be NPM (nucleophosmin), hnRNP (heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein) C1, hnRNP C2 and 37-kDa laminin-receptor precursor, and the identity of these proteins was further confirmed by immunoblot analysis with specific antibodies. We then demonstrated with chromatin-binding assays that NPM and hnRNP C1/C2, the abundant nuclear proteins with pleiotropic functions, indeed bind to chromatin in a DNA-damage-dependent manner, implicating these proteins in DNA repair and/or damage response. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that NPM, normally present in the nucleoli, is mobilized into the nucleoplasm after DNA damage, and that neither NPM nor hnRNP C1/C2 is actively recruited to the sites of DNA breaks. These results suggest that NPM and hnRNP C1/C2 may function at the levels of the global context of chromatin, rather than by specifically targeting the broken DNA.

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