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The highly infectious disease COVID-19 caused by the Betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2 poses a severe threat to humanity and demands the redirection of scientific efforts and criteria to organized research projects. The international COVID19-NMR consortium seeks to provide such new approaches by gathering scientific expertise worldwide. In particular, making available viral proteins and RNAs will pave the way to understanding the SARS-CoV-2 molecular components in detail. The research in COVID19-NMR and the resources provided through the consortium are fully disclosed to accelerate access and exploitation. NMR investigations of the viral molecular components are designated to provide the essential basis for further work, including macromolecular interaction studies and high-throughput drug screening. Here, we present the extensive catalog of a holistic SARS-CoV-2 protein preparation approach based on the consortium’s collective efforts. We provide protocols for the large-scale production of more than 80% of all SARS-CoV-2 proteins or essential parts of them. Several of the proteins were produced in more than one laboratory, demonstrating the high interoperability between NMR groups worldwide. For the majority of proteins, we can produce isotope-labeled samples of HSQC-grade. Together with several NMR chemical shift assignments made publicly available on covid19-nmr.com, we here provide highly valuable resources for the production of SARS-CoV-2 proteins in isotope-labeled form.

After more than a decade of studying the ecotoxicity of graphene oxide nanomaterials (nGOs), it has been concluded that there is limited information available regarding the environmental risk of graphene-based materials. Since existing ecotoxicological studies of nanomaterials have produced contradictory results, it is recommended that case-by-case studies should be conducted to evaluate their effects. This can be carried out by employing several methods, testing species from different trophic levels, and conducting community studies. Our goal was to evaluate the toxicity effects of two GOs (AF 96/97 and PM 995) derived from different graphite precursors on various test organisms from diverse trophic levels (bacteria, protozoa, a freshwater microbial community, plants, and invertebrate animals) in aquatic environments. We compared the effects of both nGO types and estimated the predicted no-effect environmental concentration (PNEC) values to determine their potential environmental risk. Our findings demonstrated the need for a complex ecotoxicity toolkit since the ecotoxicity results varied based on the test organism, the selected endpoints, and the test method used. Additionally, we found that toxicity effects were dependent on the concentration and characteristics of the specific nGO type used, as well as the exposure time. We estimated the PNEC values for GO AF 96/97 and GO PM 995 in the aquatic compartment to be 8 ng/L and 4 ng/L, respectively. Even after applying the worst-case scenario approach, the tested nGOs pose no environmental risk.

W tekście koncentrujemy się na filozofowaniu rozumianym jako proces – droga prowadząca do wiedzy. Przyjmujemy tezę, iż edukacja filozoficzna dzieci w młodszym wieku szkolnym ma charakter wstępny, kompetencyjny i służy rozwijaniu określonych postaw poznawczych i zachowań społecznych. Prezentujemy wyniki badań w działaniu zrealizowanych z udziałem uczniów klasy trzeciej szkoły podstawowej w Łodzi. Inspiracją dla wprowadzonej zmiany (dydaktycznego działania interwencyjnego) był program Matthew Lipmana Philosophy for Children oraz koncepcja Warsztatów z dociekań filozoficznych Aldony Pobojewskiej. Przedmiotem badań uczyniono przebieg procesu filozofowania wśród uczniów wczesnej edukacji, zaś celem rozpoznanie i opis dziecięcych doświadczeń nabywanych w trakcie zajęć opartych na tej metodzie uczenia się. Uzyskane wyniki pozwalają zobaczyć w dociekaniach filozoficznych dzieci aktywność prowadzącą do samodzielności intelektualnej i zachęcają do ich wykorzystywania w praktyce edukacyjnej uczniów w młodszym wieku szkolnym.

In this study, the technology for producing ridge waveguides with a minimal roughness of the sidewalls and material surface in a near-waveguide region was developed with the purpose of fabricating miniature photonic integrated circuits on a LiNbO3 substrate. Plasma etching processes were used for the ridge waveguide fabrication on different material substrates. The specifications of the equipment and plasma source, method of mask fabrication and substrate material determined the process conditions for producing ridge waveguides with minimal sidewall roughness. In this work, for the ridge waveguide fabrication, the processes of reactive ion etching of LiNbO3 with a chromium mask were carried out in a mixture of SF6/Ar with an ICP/TCP plasma source. The process of plasma etching the LiNbO3 with the ICP/TCP plasma source is not well studied, especially for integrated photonics purposes. As a result of our experimental work, the narrow ranges of technological parameters suitable for producing ridge waveguides on LiNbO3 with smooth sidewalls, a slope angle of 60°–75° and a minimal quantity of observed defects in the near-waveguide region were identified. A model explaining the kinetics of the etching process of LiNbO3 in SF6/Ar plasma as a physical–chemical process was proposed.