likely likely scenario. In this zone, sulfate was enriched in S through microbial sulfate reduction (MSR), and this heavy sulfate became the source for pore water or bottom water, from which superheavy pyrite was produced. The conceptual model for formation of the superheavy pyrite in the Nenjiang Formation indicates that the distribution range of the SMZ was variable in the different sedimentary stages of the Nenjiang Formation. These variations were likely related to successive inputs of sulfate from continental weathering, which led to partial mixing of sulfate and attenuation of the SMZ in the basal Nenjiang Member II.

Cao, H., Wang, C., Liu, H., Jia, W., Sun, H., 2020. Enzyme activities during benzo[a]pyrene degradation by the Lasiodiplodia theobromae fungus isolated from a polluted soil. Scientific Reports 10, 865.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57692-6 Lasiodiplodia theobromae L. theobromae The enzyme activities of the fungus ( ) were studied during L. theobromae degradation of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). The was isolated from a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soil collected from the Beijing Coking Plant in China and can potentially use BaP as its sole carbon source with a degradation ratio of up to 53% over 10 days. The activities of lignin peroxidase (LiP) and laccase (LAC) could be detected during BaP biodegradation; while manganese peroxidase (MnP) was not detected. Both glucose and salicylic acid enhanced BaP biodegradation slightly. In contrast, the coexistence of phenanthrene (PHE) inhibited BaP degradation. These metabolic substrates all enhanced the secretion of LiP and LAC. The addition of Tween 80 (TW-80) enhanced BaP biodegradation as well as the LiP and LAC L. theobromae L. theobromae activities. At the same time, TW-80 was degraded by the . In addition, the was Phanerochaete chrysosporium (P. chrysosporium) compared to , which is a widely studied fungus for degrading P. chrysosporium PAH. was unable to use BaP as its sole carbon source. The activities of LiP and LAC P. chrysosporium L. theobromae produced by the were less than those of the . Additionally, the four intermediates formed in the BaP biodegradation process were monitored using GC-MS analysis. Four metabolite concentrations first increased and then decreased or obtained the platform with prolonged BaP L. theobromae biodegradation time. Therefore, this study shows that the may be explored as a new strain for removing PAHs from the environment.

Caputo, M., Lyles, J.T., Salazar, M., Quave, C.L., 2020. LEGO MINDSTORMS fraction collector: A low-cost tool for a preparative high performance liquid chromatography system. Analytical Chemistry 92, 1687-1690.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04299 Preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (prep-HPLC) systems are used in many research schemes including purifying products from reaction mixtures, fractionating natural product extracts, and isolating compounds. Manual fraction collection from a prep-HPLC is a common method; however, it often lacks the reproducibility of automated fraction collectors due to human error. Automated fraction collectors for prep-HPLC systems range can add thousands of dollars to the cost of prep-HPLC and are thus not always available to budgetary constrained research programs. Nevertheless, an automated fraction collector is a tremendous resource for any lab that employs prep-HPLC methods. Using LEGO MINDSTORMS pieces and easily obtained lumber and steel C-channel we were able to deploy an automated fraction collector for only a fraction of the cost of a commercial instrument. The programming software allows for a simple interface to create fraction collection programs tailored to individual HPLC methods. This fraction collector can be connected to any LC system and tailored to collect fractions in nearly any size or shaped container. This fraction collector was designed to provide maximum versatility and will make automated fraction collection more accessible to all researchers. The simple interface allows for quickly adapting the fraction collector method to any liquid chromatographic separation, no matter how complex.

Cardona, P.-J., Català, M., Prats, C., 2020. Origin of tuberculosis in the Paleolithic predicts unprecedented population growth and female resistance. Scientific Reports 10, 42.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56769-1