bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incumbents’ Capabilities for Sustainability-Oriented Innovation in the Norwegian Food Sector—an Integrated Framework
Authors: Gonera Antje , Nykamp Hilde Andrea , Carraresi Laura
Published: November 2022

The urgency of sustainability transition requires large incumbents in the food industry to implement sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI). However, the high concentration of the food sector and the complexity of the sustainability concept make its understanding and overall transition challenging and slow. Incumbents would need to drive the transition by redesigning business models and practices and acquiring new competencies to integrate sustainability into their innovation strategy. This paper has a twofold aim: (I) analyzing the evolution of sustainability understanding over time and (II) evaluating the extent of dynamic capabilities of food incumbents to foster SOI. We developed an integrated theoretical framework combining the theory of dynamic capabilities with aspects of SOI and applied it to the case of the Norwegian food industry. We interviewed eight food incumbents and one food industry association, and we reviewed their annual and sustainability reports from 2016 till 2020. Key findings show a high strategic activity in SOI, as well as a notable and industry-wide ambiguity about what sustainability means in the food sector. Most companies reveal both an adaptive and expanding behavior implementing conscious sustainability-integrated product and process innovations. Most innovations are incremental without a radical modification of business models. Some exceptions have been detected resembling transformative changes. Clear initiatives of moving away from a linear supply chain to a more systematic approach are currently happening through food system collaborations.
Connecting theory of plasmoid-modulated reconnection to observations of solar flares
Authors: Hillier Andrew , Takasao Shinsuke
Published: November 2022

The short timescale of the solar flare reconnection process has long proved to be a puzzle. Recent studies suggest the importance of the formation of plasmoids in the reconnecting current sheet, with quantifying the aspect ratio of the width to length of the current sheet in terms of a negative power

$ \alpha $

of the Lundquist number, that is,

$ {S}^{-\alpha } $

, being key to understanding the onset of plasmoids formation. In this paper, we make the first application of theoretical scalings for this aspect ratio to observed flares to evaluate how plasmoid formation may connect with observations. For three different flares that show plasmoids we find a range of

$ \alpha $

values of

$ \alpha =0.26 $

to

$ 0.31 $

. The values in this small range implies that plasmoids may be forming before the theoretically predicted critical aspect ratio (

$ \alpha =1/3 $

) has been reached, potentially presenting a challenge for the theoretical models.
Reduced cerebral cortex thickness is related to overexpression of exosomal miR-146a-5p in medication-free patients with major depressive disorder
Authors: Deng Yanjia , Gong Ping , Han Shuguang , Zhang Jingyu , Zhang Shuai , Zhang Bin , Lin Yong , Xu Kai , Wen Ge , Liu Kai
Published: November 2022

Background

Previous studies have confirmed that miR-146a-5p overexpression suppresses neurogenesis, thereby enhancing depression-like behaviors. However, it remains unclear how miR-146a-5p dysregulation produces in vivo brain structural abnormalities in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods

In this case–control study, we combined cortical morphology analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and miR-146a-5p quantification to investigate the neuropathological effect of miR-146a-5p on cortical thickness in MDD patients. Serum-derived exosomes that were considered to readily cross the blood-brain barrier and contain miR-146a-5p were isolated for miRNA quantification. Moreover, follow-up MRI scans were performed in the MDD patients after 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment to further validate the clinical relevance of the relationship between miR-146a-5p and brain structural abnormalities.

Results

In total, 113 medication-free MDD patients and 107 matched healthy controls were included. Vertex-vise general linear model revealed miR-146a-5p-dependent cortical thinning in MDD patients compared with healthy individuals, i.e., overexpression of miR-146a-5p was associated with reduced cortical thickness in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral lateral occipital cortices (LOCs), etc. Moreover, this relationship between baseline miR-146a-5p and cortical thinning was nonsignificant for all regions in the patients who had received antidepressant treatment, and higher baseline miR-146a-5p expression was found to be related to greater longitudinal cortical thickening in the left OFC and right LOC.

Conclusions

The findings of this study reveal a relationship between miR-146a-5p overexpression and cortical atrophy and thus may help specify the in vivo mediating effect of miR-146a-5p dysregulation on brain structural abnormalities in patients with MDD.
A compact triple band-notched quasi-self-complementary UWB MIMO antenna decoupled by SRRs
Authors: Su Jinrong , Li Yanling , Chen Xinwei , Han Guorui , Zhang Wenmei
Published: November 2022

In this paper, a compact four-element quasi-self-complementary (QSC) ultra-wideband (UWB) multiple-input multiple-output antenna with triple band-notched characteristics is proposed. Coplanar waveguides fed QSC structure is designed as radiation element to achieve wideband and small size. Besides, regular hexagonal split-ring resonators with single negative properties are designed and added on the back of the substrate to obtain high isolation in the whole operating band. Moreover, a double-fork-shaped slit is etched in each radiating element to generate three notched bands covering 3.63–4.24, 5.15–5.98, and 7.17–8 GHz. The experiment results indicate that the isolation of the proposed antenna is higher than 22 dB and the peak gain varies from 2.5 to 6.7 dB in the entire band of 3–18 GHz, which demonstrates that it is suitable for UWB applications.
Resilient rivers and connected marine systems: a review of mutual sustainability opportunities
Authors: Hansen Henry H. , Bergman Eva , Cowx Ian G. , Lind Lovisa , Pauna Valentina H. , Willis Kathryn A.
Published: November 2022

Non-technical summary

Rivers are crucial to the water cycle, linking the landscape to the sea. Human activities, including effluent discharge, water use and fisheries, have transformed the resilience of many rivers around the globe. Sustainable development goal (SDG) 14 prioritizes addressing many of the same issues in marine ecosystems. This review illustrates how rivers contribute directly and indirectly to SDG 14 outcomes, and also provides ways to potentially address them through a river to sea view on policy, management and research.

Technical summary

The United Nations initiated the SDGs to produce ‘a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future’. Established in 2015, progress of SDGs directed at the aquatic environment is slow despite an encroaching 2030 deadline. The modification of flow regimes combined with other anthropogenic pressures underpin ecological impacts across aquatic ecosystems. Current SDG 14 targets (life below water) do not incorporate the interrelationships of rivers and marine systems systematically, nor do they provide recommendations on how to improve existing management and policy in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, this review aims to illustrate the linkages between rivers and marine ecosystems concerning the SDG 14 targets and to illustrate land to sea-based strategies to reach sustainability goals. We provide an applied case study to show how opportunities can be explored. We review three major areas where mutual opportunities are present: (1) rivers contribute to marine and estuary ecosystem resilience (targets 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.5); (2) resilient rivers are part of the global fisheries sustainability concerns (targets 14.4, 14.6, 14.7, 14.B) and (3) enhancing marine policy and research from a river and environmental flows perspective (targets 14.A, 14.C).

Social media summary

Restoring resilience to rivers and their environmental flows helps fulfil SDG 14.
Modeling of Continental Normal Fault Earthquakes
Authors: Muldashev Iskander A. , Pérez‐Gussinyé Marta , Sobolev Stephan V.
Published: November 2022

The magnitude of earthquakes on continental normal faults rarely exceeds 7.0 Mw. However, because of their vicinity to large population centers they can be highly destructive. Long recurrence time, relatively small deformations, and limited observations hinder our understanding of the deformation patterns and mechanisms controlling the magnitude of events. Here, this problem is addressed with 2D thermomechanical modeling of normal fault seismic cycles. The 2020 Samos, Greece Mw7.0 earthquake is used as an example as it is one of the largest and most studied continental normal fault earthquakes. The modeling approach employs visco‐elasto‐plastic rheology, compressibility, free surface, and a rate‐and‐state friction law for the fault. Modeling of the Samos earthquake suggests the pore fluid pressure ratio on the fault ranges from 0 to 0.7. The model demonstrates that most of the deformation during interseismic and coseismic periods, besides on the fault, occurs in the hanging wall and footwall below the seismogenic part of the fault. The largest vertical surface displacement during the earthquake is the subsidence of the hanging wall in the vicinity of the fault, while the uplift of the footwall and remote part of the hanging wall is significantly smaller. Modeling of the seismic cycles on normal faults with different setups shows the dependency of the magnitude on the thermal profile and dipping angle of the fault; low heat flow and low dipping angle are favorable conditions for the largest events, while steep normal faults in the areas of high heat flow tend to have the smallest magnitudes.
Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human milk from 21 women with confirmed COVID-19 infection
Authors: Bode Lars , Bertrand Kerri , Najera Julia A. , Furst Annalee , Honerkamp-Smith Gordon , Shandling Adam D. , Chambers Christina D. , Camerini David , Campo Joseph J.
Published: November 2022

Background

One potential mechanism for protection from SARS-CoV-2 in children is through passive immunity via breast milk from a mother infected with the novel coronavirus. The primary objectives of this study were to establish the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG and to characterize the antigenic regions of SARS-CoV-2 proteins that were reactive with antibodies in breast milk.

Methods

Between March 2020 and September 2020, 21 women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled in Mommy’s Milk. Participants donated serial breast milk samples around their time of illness. Breast milk samples were used to probe a multi-coronavirus protein microarray containing full-length and variable-length overlapping fragments of SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Samples were also tested against S and N proteins by electrochemiluminescence assay.

Results

The breast milk samples contained IgA reactive with a variety of SARS-CoV-2 antigens. The most IgA-reactive SARS-CoV-2 proteins were N (42.9% of women responded to ≥1 N fragment) and S proteins (23.9% responded to ≥1 fragment of S1 or S2). IgG responses were similar. A striking observation was the dissimilarity between mothers in antibody recognition, giving distinct antibody reactivity and kinetic profiles.

Conclusions

Individual COVID-19 cases had diverse and unique milk IgA profiles following the onset of symptoms.

Impact

In this observational longitudinal case series of 21 women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, IgA binding to SARS-CoV-2 proteins detected by orthologous proteome microarray and electrochemiluminescence assays was observed in >75% of women, but there was heterogeneity in which antigens and how many were reactive between women.

Immunological profiles of protein regions recognized by each woman were distinct.

Diverse repertoires of mucosal breast milk antibody to SARS-CoV-2 reflect heterogeneous passive transfer of maternal antibody to exposed breastfeeding infants.
The ColR/S two-component system is a conserved determinant of host association across Pseudomonas species
Authors: Wiesmann Christina L , Zhang Yue , Alford Morgan , Hamilton Corri D , Dosanjh Manisha , Thoms David , Dostert Melanie , Wilson Andrew , Pletzer Daniel , Hancock Robert E W , Haney Cara H
Published: November 2022

Members of the bacterial genus Pseudomonas form mutualistic, commensal, and pathogenic associations with diverse hosts. The prevalence of host association across the genus suggests that symbiosis may be a conserved ancestral trait and that distinct symbiotic lifestyles may be more recently evolved. Here we show that the ColR/S two-component system, part of the Pseudomonas core genome, is functionally conserved between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Using plant rhizosphere colonization and virulence in a murine abscess model, we show that colR is required for commensalism with plants and virulence in animals. Comparative transcriptomics revealed that the ColR regulon has diverged between P. aeruginosa and P. fluorescens and deleting components of the ColR regulon revealed strain-specific, but not host-specific, requirements for ColR-dependent genes. Collectively, our results suggest that ColR/S allows Pseudomonas to sense and respond to a host, but that the ColR-regulon has diverged between Pseudomonas strains with distinct lifestyles. This suggests that conservation of two-component systems, coupled with life-style dependent diversification of the regulon, may play a role in host association and lifestyle transitions.
Translational readthrough of nonsense mutant TP53 by mRNA incorporation of 5-Fluorouridine
Authors: Palomar-Siles Mireia , Heldin Angelos , Zhang Meiqiongzi , Strandgren Charlotte , Yurevych Viktor , van Dinter Jip T. , Engels Sem A. G. , Hofman Damon A. , Öhlin Susanne , Meineke Birthe , Bykov Vladimir J. N. , van Heesch Sebastiaan , Wiman Klas G.
Published: November 2022

TP53 nonsense mutations in cancer produce truncated inactive p53 protein. We show that 5-FU metabolite 5-Fluorouridine (FUr) induces full-length p53 in human tumor cells carrying R213X nonsense mutant TP53. Ribosome profiling visualized translational readthrough at the R213X premature stop codon and demonstrated that FUr-induced readthrough is less permissive for canonical stop codon readthrough compared to aminoglycoside G418. FUr is incorporated into mRNA and can potentially base-pair with guanine, allowing insertion of Arg tRNA at the TP53 R213X UGA premature stop codon and translation of full-length wild-type p53. We confirmed that full-length p53 rescued by FUr triggers tumor cell death by apoptosis. FUr also restored full-length p53 in TP53 R213X mutant human tumor xenografts in vivo. Thus, we demonstrate a novel strategy for therapeutic rescue of nonsense mutant TP53 and suggest that FUr should be explored for treatment of patients with TP53 nonsense mutant tumors.
Amyloid fibril structure from the vascular variant of systemic AA amyloidosis
Authors: Banerjee Sambhasan , Baur Julian , Daniel Christoph , Pfeiffer Peter Benedikt , Hitzenberger Manuel , Kuhn Lukas , Wiese Sebastian , Bijzet Johan , Haupt Christian , Amann Kerstin U. , Zacharias Martin , Hazenberg Bouke P. C. , Westermark Gunilla T. , Schmidt Matthias , Fändrich Marcus
Published: November 2022

Systemic AA amyloidosis is a debilitating protein misfolding disease in humans and animals. In humans, it occurs in two variants that are called ‘vascular’ and ‘glomerular’, depending on the main amyloid deposition site in the kidneys. Using cryo electron microscopy, we here show the amyloid fibril structure underlying the vascular disease variant. Fibrils purified from the tissue of such patients are mainly left-hand twisted and contain two non-equal stacks of fibril proteins. They contrast in these properties to the fibrils from the glomerular disease variant which are right-hand twisted and consist of two structurally equal stacks of fibril proteins. Our data demonstrate that the different disease variants in systemic AA amyloidosis are associated with different fibril morphologies.
Measurement of the transition frequency from 2S1/2, F = 0 to 2P1/2, F = 1 states in Muonium
Authors: Janka Gianluca , Ohayon Ben , Cortinovis Irene , Burkley Zak , de Sousa Borges Lucas , Depero Emilio , Golovizin Artem , Ni Xiaojie , Salman Zaher , Suter Andreas , Prokscha Thomas , Crivelli Paolo
Published: November 2022

Muons are puzzling physicists since their discovery when they were first thought to be the meson predicted by Yukawa to mediate the strong force. The recent result at Fermilab on the muon g-2 anomaly puts the muonic sector once more under the spotlight and calls for further measurements with this particle. Here, we present the results of the measurement of the 2S1/2, F = 0 → 2P1/2, F = 1 transition in Muonium. The measured value of 580.6(6.8) MHz is in agreement with the theoretical calculations. A value of the Lamb shift of 1045.5(6.8) MHz is extracted, compatible with previous experiments. We also determine the 2S hyperfine splitting in Muonium to be 559.6(7.2) MHz. The measured transition being isolated from the other hyperfine levels holds the promise to provide an improved determination of the Muonium Lamb shift at a level where bound state QED recoil corrections not accessible in hydrogen could be tested. This result would be sensitive to new physics in the muonic sector, e.g., to new bosons which might provide an explanation of the g-2 muon anomaly and allow to test Lorentz and CPT violation. We also present the observation of Muonium in the n = 3 excited state opening up the possibility of additional precise microwave measurements.
Path sampling of recurrent neural networks by incorporating known physics
Authors: Tsai Sun-Ting , Fields Eric , Xu Yijia , Kuo En-Jui , Tiwary Pratyush
Published: November 2022

Recurrent neural networks have seen widespread use in modeling dynamical systems in varied domains such as weather prediction, text prediction and several others. Often one wishes to supplement the experimentally observed dynamics with prior knowledge or intuition about the system. While the recurrent nature of these networks allows them to model arbitrarily long memories in the time series used in training, it makes it harder to impose prior knowledge or intuition through generic constraints. In this work, we present a path sampling approach based on principle of Maximum Caliber that allows us to include generic thermodynamic or kinetic constraints into recurrent neural networks. We show the method here for a widely used type of recurrent neural network known as long short-term memory network in the context of supplementing time series collected from different application domains. These include classical Molecular Dynamics of a protein and Monte Carlo simulations of an open quantum system continuously losing photons to the environment and displaying Rabi oscillations. Our method can be easily generalized to other generative artificial intelligence models and to generic time series in different areas of physical and social sciences, where one wishes to supplement limited data with intuition or theory based corrections.
Effect of current density on the solid electrolyte interphase formation at the lithium∣Li6PS5Cl interface
Authors: Narayanan Sudarshan , Ulissi Ulderico , Gibson Joshua S. , Chart Yvonne A. , Weatherup Robert S. , Pasta Mauro
Published: November 2022

Understanding the chemical composition and morphological evolution of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed at the interface between the lithium metal electrode and an inorganic solid-state electrolyte is crucial for developing reliable all-solid-state lithium batteries. To better understand the interaction between these cell components, we carry out X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements during lithium plating on the surface of a Li6PS5Cl solid-state electrolyte pellet using an electron beam. The analyses of the XPS data highlight the role of Li plating current density on the evolution of a uniform and ionically conductive (i.e., Li3P-rich) SEI capable of decreasing the electrode∣solid electrolyte interfacial resistance. The XPS findings are validated via electrochemical impedance spectrsocopy measurements of all-solid-state lithium-based cells.
High-throughput screening of caterpillars as a platform to study host–microbe interactions and enteric immunity
Authors: Windfelder Anton G. , Müller Frank H. H. , Mc Larney Benedict , Hentschel Michael , Böhringer Anna Christina , von Bredow Christoph-Rüdiger , Leinberger Florian H. , Kampschulte Marian , Maier Lorenz , von Bredow Yvette M. , Flocke Vera , Merzendorfer Hans , Krombach Gabriele A. , Vilcinskas Andreas , Grimm Jan , Trenczek Tina E. , Flögel Ulrich
Published: November 2022

Mammalian models of human disease are expensive and subject to ethical restrictions. Here, we present an independent platform for high-throughput screening, using larvae of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta, combining diagnostic imaging modalities for a comprehensive characterization of aberrant phenotypes. For validation, we use bacterial/chemical-induced gut inflammation to generate a colitis-like phenotype and identify significant alterations in morphology, tissue properties, and intermediary metabolism, which aggravate with disease progression and can be rescued by antimicrobial treatment. In independent experiments, activation of the highly conserved NADPH oxidase DUOX, a key mediator of gut inflammation, leads to similar, dose-dependent alterations, which can be attenuated by pharmacological interventions. Furthermore, the developed platform could differentiate pathogens from mutualistic gastrointestinal bacteria broadening the scope of applications also to microbiomics and host-pathogen interactions. Overall, larvae-based screening can complement mammals in preclinical studies to explore innate immunity and host-pathogen interactions, thus representing a substantial contribution to improve mammalian welfare.
Discovery of LaAlO3 as an efficient catalyst for two-electron water electrolysis towards hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Baek Jihyun , Jin Qiu , Johnson Nathan Scott , Jiang Yue , Ning Rui , Mehta Apurva , Siahrostami Samira , Zheng Xiaolin
Published: November 2022

Electrochemical two-electron water oxidation reaction (2e-WOR) has drawn significant attention as a promising process to achieve the continuous on-site production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, compared to the cathodic H2O2 generation, the anodic 2e-WOR is more challenging to establish catalysts due to the severe oxidizing environment. In this study, we combine density functional theory (DFT) calculations with experiments to discover a stable and efficient perovskite catalyst for the anodic 2e-WOR. Our theoretical screening efforts identify LaAlO3 perovskite as a stable, active, and selective candidate for catalyzing 2e-WOR. Our experimental results verify that LaAlO3 achieves an overpotential of 510 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 4 M K2CO3/KHCO3, lower than those of many reported metal oxide catalysts. In addition, LaAlO3 maintains a stable H2O2 Faradaic efficiency with only a 3% decrease after 3 h at 2.7 V vs. RHE. This computation-experiment synergistic approach introduces another effective direction to discover promising catalysts for the harsh anodic 2e-WOR towards H2O2.
Genomic disparities between cancers in adolescent and young adults and in older adults
Authors: Wang Xiaojing , Langevin Anne-Marie , Houghton Peter J. , Zheng Siyuan
Published: November 2022

Cancers cause significant mortality and morbidity in adolescents and young adults (AYAs), but their biological underpinnings are incompletely understood. Here, we analyze clinical and genomic disparities between AYAs and older adults (OAs) in more than 100,000 cancer patients. We find significant differences in clinical presentation between AYAs and OAs, including sex, metastasis rates, race and ethnicity, and cancer histology. In most cancer types, AYA tumors show lower mutation burden and less genome instability. Accordingly, most cancer genes show less mutations and copy number changes in AYAs, including the noncodingTERTpromoter mutations. However,CTNNB1andBRAFmutations are consistently overrepresented in AYAs across multiple cancer types. AYA tumors also exhibit more driver gene fusions that are frequently observed in pediatric cancers. We find that histology is an important contributor to genetic disparities between AYAs and OAs. Mutational signature analysis of hypermutators shows stronger endogenous mutational processes such as MMR-deficiency but weaker exogenous processes such as tobacco exposure in AYAs. Finally, we demonstrate a panoramic view of clinically actionable genetic events in AYA tumors.
A topological nonlinear parametric amplifier
Authors: Sohn Byoung-Uk , Huang Yue-Xin , Choi Ju Won , Chen George F. R. , Ng Doris K. T. , Yang Shengyuan A. , Tan Dawn T. H.
Published: November 2022

Topological boundary states are well localized eigenstates at the boundary between two different bulk topologies. As long as bulk topology is preserved, the topological boundary mode will endure. Here, we report topological nonlinear parametric amplification of light in a dimerized coupled waveguide system based on the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with a domain wall. The good linear transmission properties of the topological waveguide arising from the strong localization of light to the topological boundary is demonstrated through successful high-speed transmission of 30 Gb/s non-return-to-zero and 56 Gb/s pulse amplitude 4-level data. The strong localization of a co-propagating pump and probe to the boundary waveguide is harnessed for efficient, low power optical parametric amplification and wavelength conversion. A nonlinear tuning mechanism is shown to induce chiral symmetry breaking in the topological waveguide, demonstrating a pathway in which Kerr nonlinearities may be applied to tune the topological boundary mode and control the transition to bulk states.
Enhanced access to the human phosphoproteome with genetically encoded phosphothreonine
Authors: Moen Jack M. , Mohler Kyle , Rogulina Svetlana , Shi Xiaojian , Shen Hongying , Rinehart Jesse
Published: November 2022

Protein phosphorylation is a ubiquitous post-translational modification used to regulate cellular processes and proteome architecture by modulating protein-protein interactions. The identification of phosphorylation events through proteomic surveillance has dramatically outpaced our capacity for functional assignment using traditional strategies, which often require knowledge of the upstream kinase a priori. The development of phospho-amino-acid-specific orthogonal translation systems, evolutionarily divergent aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and tRNA pairs that enable co-translational insertion of a phospho-amino acids, has rapidly improved our ability to assess the physiological function of phosphorylation by providing kinase-independent methods of phosphoprotein production. Despite this utility, broad deployment has been hindered by technical limitations and an inability to reconstruct complex phopho-regulatory networks. Here, we address these challenges by optimizing genetically encoded phosphothreonine translation to characterize phospho-dependent kinase activation mechanisms and, subsequently, develop a multi-level protein interaction platform to directly assess the overlap of kinase and phospho-binding protein substrate networks with phosphosite-level resolution.
Varying strength of selection contributes to the intragenomic diversity of rRNA genes
Authors: Sultanov Daniel , Hochwagen Andreas
Published: November 2022

Ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes is supported by hundreds of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene copies that are encoded in the ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The multiple copies of rRNA genes are thought to have low sequence diversity within one species. Here, we present species-wide rDNA sequence analysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that challenges this view. We show that rDNA copies in this yeast are heterogeneous, both among and within isolates, and that many variants avoided fixation or elimination over evolutionary time. The sequence diversity landscape across the rDNA shows clear functional stratification, suggesting different copy-number thresholds for selection that contribute to rDNA diversity. Notably, nucleotide variants in the most conserved rDNA regions are sufficiently deleterious to exhibit signatures of purifying selection even when present in only a small fraction of rRNA gene copies. Our results portray a complex evolutionary landscape that shapes rDNA sequence diversity within a single species and reveal unexpectedly strong purifying selection of multi-copy genes.
Examining the influence of turbulence on viscosity measurements of molten germanium under reduced gravity
Authors: Bracker G. P. , Luo Y. , Damaschke B. , Samwer K. , Hyers R. W.
Published: November 2022

The thermophysical properties of liquid germanium were recently measured both in parabolic flight experiments and on the ISS in the ISS-EML facility. The viscosity measurements differed between the reduced gravity experiments and the literature values. Since the oscillating drop method has been widely used in EML, further exploration into this phenomenon was of interest. Models of the magnetohydrodynamic flow indicated that turbulence was present during the measurement in the ISS-EML facility, which accounts for the observed difference.
Examining the source of increased bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder common risk variation burden in multiplex schizophrenia families
Authors: Ahangari Mohammad , Kirkpatrick Robert , Nguyen Tan-Hoang , Gillespie Nathan , Kendler Kenneth S. , Bacanu Silviu-Alin , Webb Bradley T. , Verrelli Brian C. , Riley Brien P.
Published: November 2022

Psychotic and affective disorders often aggregate in the relatives of probands with schizophrenia, and genetic studies show substantial genetic correlation among schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. In this study, we examined the polygenic risk burden of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder in 257 multiplex schizophrenia families (N = 1005) from the Irish Study of High-Density Multiplex Schizophrenia Families versus 2205 ancestry-matched controls. Our results indicate that members of multiplex schizophrenia families have an increased polygenic risk for bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder compared to population controls. However, this observation is largely attributable to the part of the genetic risk that bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder share with schizophrenia due to genetic correlation, rather than the affective portion of the genetic risk unique to them. These findings suggest that a complete interpretation of cross-disorder polygenic risks in multiplex families requires an assessment of the relative contribution of shared versus unique genetic factors to account for genetic correlations across psychiatric disorders.
Ameliorating the stability of erbium-doped fiber laser using saturable absorber fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition technique
Authors: Asghar Haroon , Ahmed Rizwan , Ajmal Rizwan , Umar Zeshan A. , McInerney John. G. , Baig M. Aslam
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we present the performance and stability of an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) based on ZnO saturable-absorber (SA) prepared using two schemes: solution method (SM) and pulsed laser deposition technique (PLDT). It was observed that EDFL with ZnO-SA prepared using SM emits at 1561.25 nm under a pump power of 230 mW. As the pump power is increased from 22.2 mW to 75.3 mW, the pulse duration decreases from 24.91 to 10.69 µs, and the pulse repetition rates increase from 11.59 to 40.91 kHz. Besides at pump power of 75.3 mW, the peak power, pulse energy, and average output power are measured as 0.327 mW, 2.86 nJ, and 0.18 mW, respectively. However, when PLDT-based SA was incorporated into the ring cavity, the emission wavelength is noticed at 1568.21 nm at a pump power of 230 mW. With the increase in pump power from 22.2 mW to 418 mW, the pulse repetition rates increase from 10.79 to 79.37 kHz and the pulse width decreases from 23.58 to 5.6 µs. Furthermore, the peak power, pulse energy, and average output power are observed to be 10.9 mW, 74 nJ, and 5.35 mW, respectively. The stability of EDFL based on SAs prepared using SM and PLDT has also been investigated. To the best of the author's knowledge, it is the first comparison of performance and long-term stability of EDFL based on two experimental techniques SM and PLDT-based SAs. These findings suggest that PLDT-based SAs provides optimum stability over a long period and enhanced the performance of fiber lasers compared to the SAs prepared using the conventional SM technique. This study paves the way for the development of ultra-stable SAs for their potential applications in pulsed laser sources and photonic devices.
Influence of bisphenol A on growth and metabolism of Vicia faba ssp. minor seedlings depending on lighting conditions
Authors: Kaźmierczak Andrzej , Kornaś Andrzej , Mościpan Małgorzata , Łęcka Justyna
Published: November 2022

The effect of one of anthropogenic pollutants, i.e., 4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol, called 2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane (BPA), at 30 and 120 mg L−1 concentrations in the darkness (DK) or dark/light (DK/LT) on growth and selected elements of metabolism of seedlings and leaf discs of Vicia faba ssp. minor was studied. Treatment with 120 mg L−1 BPA had greater effects which were reflected by increase in the number of necrotic changes in roots and stems as well as in leaf discs and reduction of the length of roots DK and DK/LT, and volume of roots in the DK group. However, minimal and no influence on the fresh and dry weight of roots and stems in plants growing under both types of lighting conditions were observed. In both DK and DK/LT groups these effects were correlated with reduced amounts of storage and cell wall-bound sugars as well as of proteins while in the DK/LT additionally with reduced soluble sugar levels in the roots and increased amounts of hydrogen peroxide and phenols in roots and stems as well as in treatment solutions, where these compounds were released. We suggest that endogenous phenols and BPA can be metabolised in roots and stems to quinones. It seems that TB-1,4-BQ, is the one of that of the five studied quinones. We expect that the results of this paper will help to answer the following question: does the phytomeliorative and phytosanitative V. faba ssp. minor plant is enough to be resistant on negative effects, and to be useful to reduce increasing amount of BPA in the environment?
The nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) contributes to the renal corticomedullary differences in gene expression
Authors: Chernyakov Dmitry , Fischer Annika , Brandau Max , Petrillo Federica , Fenton Robert A. , Edemir Bayram
Published: November 2022

The corticomedullary osmotic gradient between renal cortex and medulla induces a specific spatial gene expression pattern. The factors that controls these differences are not fully addressed. Adaptation to hypertonic environment is mediated by the actions of the nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 (NFAT5). NFAT5 induces the expression of genes that lead to intracellular accumulation of organic osmolytes. However, a systematical analysis of the NFAT5-dependent gene expression in the kidneys was missing. We used primary cultivated inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells from control and NFAT5 deficient mice as well as renal cortex and inner medulla from principal cell specific NFAT5 deficient mice for gene expression profiling. In primary NFAT5 deficient IMCD cells, hyperosmolality induced changes in gene expression were abolished. The majority of the hyperosmolality induced transcripts in primary IMCD culture were determined to have the greatest expression in the inner medulla. Loss of NFAT5 altered the expression of more than 3000 genes in the renal cortex and more than 5000 genes in the inner medulla. Gene enrichment analysis indicated that loss of NFAT5 is associated with renal inflammation and increased expression of kidney injury marker genes, like lipocalin-2 or kidney injury molecule-1. In conclusion we show that NFAT5 is a master regulator of gene expression in the kidney collecting duct and in vivo loss of NFAT function induces a kidney injury like phenotype.
A continuous-time stochastic Boolean model provides a quantitative description of the budding yeast cell cycle
Authors: Laomettachit Teeraphan , Kraikivski Pavel , Tyson John J.
Published: November 2022

The cell division cycle is regulated by a complex network of interacting genes and proteins. The control system has been modeled in many ways, from qualitative Boolean switching-networks to quantitative differential equations and highly detailed stochastic simulations. Here we develop a continuous-time stochastic model using seven Boolean variables to represent the activities of major regulators of the budding yeast cell cycle plus one continuous variable representing cell growth. The Boolean variables are updated asynchronously by logical rules based on known biochemistry of the cell-cycle control system using Gillespie’s stochastic simulation algorithm. Time and cell size are updated continuously. By simulating a population of yeast cells, we calculate statistical properties of cell cycle progression that can be compared directly to experimental measurements. Perturbations of the normal sequence of events indicate that the cell cycle is 91% robust to random ‘flips’ of the Boolean variables, but 9% of the perturbations induce lethal mistakes in cell cycle progression. This simple, hybrid Boolean model gives a good account of the growth and division of budding yeast cells, suggesting that this modeling approach may be as accurate as detailed reaction-kinetic modeling with considerably less demands on estimating rate constants.
Ancestral social environments plus nonlinear benefits can explain cooperation in human societies
Authors: Kristensen Nadiah P. , Ohtsuki Hisashi , Chisholm Ryan A.
Published: November 2022

Human cooperation (paying a cost to benefit others) is puzzling from a Darwinian perspective, particularly in groups with strangers who cannot repay nor are family members. The beneficial effects of cooperation typically increase nonlinearly with the number of cooperators, e.g., increasing returns when cooperation is low and diminishing returns when cooperation is high. Such nonlinearity can allow cooperation between strangers to persist evolutionarily if a large enough proportion of the population are already cooperators. However, if a lone cooperator faces a conflict between the group’s and its own interests (a social dilemma), that raises the question of how cooperation arose in the first place. We use a mathematically tractable evolutionary model to formalise a chronological narrative that has previously only been investigated verbally: given that ancient humans interacted mostly with family members (genetic homophily), cooperation evolved first by kin selection, and then persisted in situations with nonlinear benefits as homophily declined or even if interactions with strangers became the norm. The model also predicts the coexistence of cooperators and defectors observed in the human population (polymorphism), and may explain why cooperators in behavioural experiments prefer to condition their contribution on the contributions of others (conditional cooperation in public goods games).
Enhanced Arctic moisture transport toward Siberia in autumn revealed by tagged moisture transport model experiment
Authors: Sato Tomonori , Nakamura Tetsu , Iijima Yoshihiro , Hiyama Tetsuya
Published: November 2022

Rapid Arctic warming has altered the regional hydrological cycle through reduction in Arctic sea ice. Observational and modeling efforts provided evidence that the enhanced evaporation from the Arctic Ocean could increase snowfall over high latitude terrestrial zones. However, questions remain regarding the amount of equatorward moisture transport and its change over the decadal timescale. Here we show that the transport of atmospheric moisture to Siberia that originated from Arctic Ocean evaporation has increased significantly in autumn to early winter during 1981–2019 when substantial sea ice retreat was observed. The enhanced Arctic moisture content is found in western Siberia in September, consistent with the observed increase in snow cover investigated in earlier studies. Meanwhile, the annual maximum daily amount of Arctic moisture shows a sharp increase in eastern Siberia during October–December associated with cyclonic activities along coastal regions. Our results suggest the importance of monitoring equatorward moisture transport during snow accumulation seasons because it could enhance local snowstorms as evaporation from the Arctic Ocean increases in the near future.
Poly ADP-ribosylation of SET8 leads to aberrant H4K20 methylation in mammalian nuclear genome
Authors: Estève Pierre-Olivier , Sen Sagnik , Vishnu Udayakumar S. , Ruse Cristian , Chin Hang Gyeong , Pradhan Sriharsa
Published: November 2022

In mammalian cells, SET8 mediated Histone H4 Lys 20 monomethylation (H4K20me1) has been implicated in regulating mitotic condensation, DNA replication, DNA damage response, and gene expression. Here we show SET8, the only known enzyme for H4K20me1 is post-translationally poly ADP-ribosylated by PARP1 on lysine residues. PARP1 interacts with SET8 in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Poly ADP-ribosylation on SET8 renders it catalytically compromised, and degradation via ubiquitylation pathway. Knockdown of PARP1 led to an increase of SET8 protein levels, leading to aberrant H4K20me1 and H4K20me3 domains in the genome. H4K20me1 is associated with higher gene transcription levels while the increase of H4K20me3 levels was predominant in DNA repeat elements. Hence, SET8 mediated chromatin remodeling in mammalian cells are modulated by poly ADP-ribosylation by PARP1.
Offshore wind farms are projected to impact primary production and bottom water deoxygenation in the North Sea
Authors: Daewel Ute , Akhtar Naveed , Christiansen Nils , Schrum Corinna
Published: November 2022

The wind wake effect of offshore wind farms affects the hydrodynamical conditions in the ocean, which has been hypothesized to impact marine primary production. So far only little is known about the ecosystem response to wind wakes under the premisses of large offshore wind farm clusters. Here we show, via numerical modeling, that the associated wind wakes in the North Sea provoke large-scale changes in annual primary production with local changes of up to ±10% not only at the offshore wind farm clusters, but also distributed over a wider region. The model also projects an increase in sediment carbon in deeper areas of the southern North Sea due to reduced current velocities, and decreased dissolved oxygen inside an area with already low oxygen concentration. Our results provide evidence that the ongoing offshore wind farm developments can have a substantial impact on the structuring of coastal marine ecosystems on basin scales.
Pathway trajectory analysis with tensor imputation reveals drug-induced single-cell transcriptomic landscape
Authors: Iwata Michio , Mutsumine Hiroaki , Nakayama Yusuke , Suita Naomasa , Yamanishi Yoshihiro
Published: November 2022

Genome-wide identification of single-cell transcriptomic responses of drugs in various human cells is a challenging issue in medical and pharmaceutical research. Here we present a computational method, tensor-based imputation of gene-expression data at the single-cell level (TIGERS), which reveals the drug-induced single-cell transcriptomic landscape. With this algorithm, we predict missing drug-induced single-cell gene-expression data with tensor imputation, and identify trajectories of regulated pathways considering intercellular heterogeneity. Tensor imputation outperformed existing imputation methods for data completion, and provided cell-type-specific transcriptomic responses for unobserved drugs. For example, TIGERS correctly predicted the cell-type-specific expression of maker genes for pancreatic islets. Pathway trajectory analysis of the imputed gene-expression profiles of all combinations of drugs and human cells identified single-cell-specific drug activities and pathway trajectories that reflect drug-induced changes in pathway regulation. The proposed method is expected to expand our understanding of the single-cell mechanisms of drugs at the pathway level.
Nature-inspired architected materials using unsupervised deep learning
Authors: Shen Sabrina Chin-yun , Buehler Markus J.
Published: November 2022

Nature-inspired material design is driven by superior properties found in natural architected materials and enabled by recent developments in additive manufacturing and machine learning. Existing approaches to push design beyond biomimicry typically use supervised deep learning algorithms to predict and optimize properties based on experimental or simulation data. However, these methods constrain generated material designs to abstracted labels and to “black box” outputs that are only indirectly manipulable. Here we report an alternative approach using an unsupervised generative adversarial network (GAN) model. Training the model on unlabeled data constructs a latent space free of human intervention, which can then be explored through seeding, image encoding, and vector arithmetic to control specific parameters of de novo generated material designs and to push them beyond training data distributions for broad applicability. We illustrate this end-to-end with new materials inspired by leaf microstructures, showing how biological 2D structures can be used to develop novel architected materials in 2 and 3 dimensions. We further utilize a genetic algorithm to optimize generated microstructures for mechanical properties, operating directly on the latent space. This approach allows for transfer of information across manifestations using the latent space as mediator, opening new avenues for exploration of nature-inspired materials.
Intradermal delivery of an angiotensin II receptor blocker using a personalized microneedle patch for treatment of hypertrophic scars
Authors: Huang Yihui , Li Jingwen , Wang Yan , Chen Danyang , Huang Jianglong , Dai Wubin , Peng Pan , Guo Liang , Lei Yifeng
Published: November 2022

A personalized, dissolving microneedle patch is developed for an intradermal delivery of an angiotensin II receptor blocker to treat a hypertrophic scar.
A non-covalent supramolecular dual-network polyelectrolyte evaporator based on direct-ink-writing for stable solar thermal evaporation
Authors: Tang Sihan , Lu Xinyue , Geng Peng , Chen Daobing , Shi Yunsong , Su Jin , Zhou Yan , Su Bin , Wen Shifeng
Published: November 2022

Polymers possessing highly adjustable physicochemical properties have been accepted as ideal flexible materials for solar thermal evaporation, which is considered as an eco-friendly and progressive strategy for water reclamation.
Rb2CdSi4S10: novel [Si4S10] T2-supertetrahedra-contained infrared nonlinear optical material with large band gap
Authors: Zhou Jiazheng , Fan Zhongxu , Zhang Kewang , Yang Zhihua , Pan Shilie , Li Junjie
Published: November 2022

A [Si4S10] supertetrahedra containing infrared nonlinear optical material, Rb2CdSi4S10, with a wide band gap (4.23 eV), high LIDT (5 × AgGaS2), and moderate SHG response (0.6 × AgGaS2) is designed and fabricated using a flux method.
Synthesis of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles by dispersion polymerization of acetylene
Authors: Jayswal Vijay Kumar , Ritcey Anna M. , Morin Jean-François
Published: November 2022

Polymerization of acetylene using a Glaser-Hay dispersion polymerization was achieved, yielding spherical CNPs. UV irradiation of these CNPs makes them fluorescent in the blue region.