bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Disease clusters subsequent to anxiety and stress-related disorders and their genetic determinants
Authors: Han Xin , Shen Qing , Hou Can , Yang Huazhen , Chen Wenwen , Zeng Yu , Qu Yuanyuan , Suo Chen , Ye Weimin , Fang Fang , Valdimarsdóttir Unnur A. , Song Huan
Published: February 2024

Anxiety/stress-related disorders have been associated with multiple diseases, whereas a comprehensive assessment of the structure and interplay of subsequent associated diseases and their genetic underpinnings is lacking. Here, we first identify 136, out of 454 tested, medical conditions associated with incident anxiety/stress-related disorders attended in specialized care using a population-based cohort from the nationwide Swedish Patient Register, comprising 70,026 patients with anxiety/stress-related disorders and 1:10 birth year- and sex-matched unaffected individuals. By combining findings from the comorbidity network and disease trajectory analyses, we identify five robust disease clusters to be associated with a prior diagnosis of anxiety/stress-related disorders, featured by predominance of psychiatric disorders, eye diseases, ear diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and skin and genitourinary diseases. These five clusters and their featured diseases are largely validated in the UK Biobank. GWAS analyses based on the UK Biobank identify 3, 33, 40, 4, and 16 significantly independent single nucleotide polymorphisms for the link to the five disease clusters, respectively, which are mapped to several distinct risk genes and biological pathways. These findings motivate further mechanistic explorations and aid early risk assessment for cluster-based disease prevention among patients with newly diagnosed anxiety/stress-related disorders in specialized care.
Water-stable boroxine structure with dynamic covalent bonds
Authors: Li Xiaopei , Zhang Yongjie , Shi Zhenqiang , Wang Dongdong , Yang Hang , Zhang Yahui , Qin Haijuan , Lu Wenqi , Chen Junjun , Li Yan , Qing Guangyan
Published: February 2024

Boroxines are significant structures in the production of covalent organic frameworks, anion receptors, self-healing materials, and others. However, their utilization in aqueous media is a formidable task due to hydrolytic instability. Here we report a water-stable boroxine structure discovered from 2-hydroxyphenylboronic acid. We find that, under ambient environments, 2-hydroxyphenylboronic acid undergoes spontaneous dehydration to form a dimer with dynamic covalent bonds and aggregation-induced enhanced emission activity. Intriguingly, upon exposure to water, the dimer rapidly transforms into a boroxine structure with excellent pH stability and water-compatible dynamic covalent bonds. Building upon these discoveries, we report the strong binding capacity of boroxines toward fluoride ions in aqueous media, and develop a boroxine-based hydrogel with high acid–base stability and reversible gel–sol transition. This discovery of the water-stable boroxine structure breaks the constraint of boroxines not being applicable in aqueous environments, opening a new era of researches in boroxine chemistry.
Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles of the penultimate and last glacial period recorded in stalagmites from Türkiye
Authors: Held F. , Cheng H. , Edwards R. L. , Tüysüz O. , Koç K. , Fleitmann D.
Published: February 2024

The last glacial period is characterized by abrupt climate oscillations, also known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles. However, D-O cycles remain poorly documented in climate proxy records covering the penultimate glacial period. Here we present highly resolved and precisely dated speleothem time series from Sofular Cave in northern Türkiye to provide clear evidence for D-O cycles during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 as well as MIS 2-4. D-O cycles are most clearly expressed in the Sofular carbon isotope time series, which correlate inversely with regional sea surface temperature (SST) records from the Black Sea. The pacing of D-O cycles is almost twice as long during MIS 6 compared to MIS 2-4, and could be related to a weaker Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and a different mean climate during MIS 6 compared to MIS 2-4, leading most likely to a higher threshold for the occurrence of D-O cycles.
Molecular basis of SAP05-mediated ubiquitin-independent proteasomal degradation of transcription factors
Authors: Yan Xiaojie , Yuan Xinxin , Lv Jianke , Zhang Bing , Huang Yongle , Li Qianqian , Ma Jinfeng , Li Yanran , Wang Xiaolu , Li Yao , Yu Ying , Liu Quanyan , Liu Tong , Mi Wenyi , Dong Cheng
Published: February 2024

SAP05, a secreted effector by the obligate parasitic bacteria phytoplasma, bridges host SPL and GATA transcription factors (TFs) to the 26 S proteasome subunit RPN10 for ubiquitination-independent degradation. Here, we report the crystal structures of SAP05 in complex with SPL5, GATA18 and RPN10, which provide detailed insights into the protein-protein interactions involving SAP05. SAP05 employs two opposing lobes with an acidic path and a hydrophobic path to contact TFs and RPN10, respectively. Our crystal structures, in conjunction with mutagenesis and degradation assays, reveal that SAP05 targets plant GATAs but not animal GATAs dependent on their direct salt-bridged electrostatic interactions. Additionally, SAP05 hijacks plant RPN10 but not animal RPN10 due to structural steric hindrance and the key hydrophobic interactions. This study provides valuable molecular-level information into the modulation of host proteins to prevent insect-borne diseases.
Benchmarking signal quality and spatiotemporal distribution of interictal spikes in prolonged human iEEG recordings using CorTec wireless brain interchange
Authors: Ayyoubi Amir Hossein , Fazli Besheli Behrang , Quach Michael M. , Gavvala Jay R. , Goldman Alica M. , Swamy Chandra Prakash , Bartoli Eleonora , Curry Daniel J. , Sheth Sameer A. , Francis David J. , Ince Nuri F.
Published: February 2024

Neuromodulation through implantable pulse generators (IPGs) represents an important treatment approach for neurological disorders. While the field has observed the success of state-of-the-art interventions, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) or responsive neurostimulation (RNS), implantable systems face various technical challenges, including the restriction of recording from a limited number of brain sites, power management, and limited external access to the assessed neural data in a continuous fashion. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time in this study, we investigated the feasibility of recording human intracranial EEG (iEEG) using a benchtop version of the Brain Interchange (BIC) unit of CorTec, which is a portable, wireless, and externally powered implant with sensing and stimulation capabilities. We developed a MATLAB/SIMULINK-based rapid prototyping environment and a graphical user interface (GUI) to acquire and visualize the iEEG captured from all 32 channels of the BIC unit. We recorded prolonged iEEG (~ 24 h) from three human subjects with externalized depth leads using the BIC and commercially available clinical amplifiers simultaneously in the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). The iEEG signal quality of both streams was compared, and the results demonstrated a comparable power spectral density (PSD) in all the systems in the low-frequency band (< 80 Hz). However, notable differences were primarily observed above 100 Hz, where the clinical amplifiers were associated with lower noise floor (BIC-17 dB vs. clinical amplifiers <  − 25 dB). We employed an established spike detector to assess and compare the spike rates in each iEEG stream. We observed over 90% conformity between the spikes rates and their spatial distribution captured with BIC and clinical systems. Additionally, we quantified the packet loss characteristic in the iEEG signal during the wireless data transfer and conducted a series of simulations to compare the performance of different interpolation methods for recovering the missing packets in signals at different frequency bands. We noted that simple linear interpolation has the potential to recover the signal and reduce the noise floor with modest packet loss levels reaching up to 10%. Overall, our results indicate that while tethered clinical amplifiers exhibited noticeably better noise floor above 80 Hz, epileptic spikes can still be detected successfully in the iEEG recorded with the externally powered wireless BIC unit opening the road for future closed-loop neuromodulation applications with continuous access to brain activity.
Forecasting Sauter mean droplet size and examining the range of droplet sizes in a Tenova liquid–liquid extraction column
Authors: Rahimpour Neshat , Bahmanyar Hossein , Hemmati Alireza , Asadollahzadeh Mehdi
Published: February 2024

A new type of Tenova pulsed extraction column was introduced in 2017. It is the newest generation of pulsed columns. Due to the internal equipment of this column and the lack of moving parts and the simplicity and speed of repairs and maintenance, it has been the focus of researchers in recent years. No correlations for predicting the mean drop size and drop size distribution of the Tenova column have been reported. The Sauter mean drop diameter and drop size distribution are investigated for a Tenova pulsed column with a diameter and an active height of 7.4 and 73 cm, respectively. Three standard chemical systems of isobutyl acetate-water, isobutanol-water, and toluene-water have been used. The effects of pulse intensity, dispersed and continuous phase flow rates have been taken into account. In each experiment, 200–300 drops have been analyzed in a total of 10,000 drops. The investigation covered a spectrum of physical properties, notably surface tension (within a range of 1.75–36 mN/m). Operating conditions including pulse intensity (in the range of 0.2–2 cm/s) and the flow rate of continuous and dispersed phases (in the range of 8–30 L/h) have been investigated. Methods based on artificial intelligence (AI) such as multilayer perceptron neural networks and gene expression programming were combined with a dimensional analysis approach to provide a new approach to estimating the mean drop diameter (d32). Experimental results have been compared with the equations found by other researchers in similar columns. The variation of drop size distribution has also been experimentally obtained.Methods based on artificial intelligence (AI) such as multilayer perceptron neural networks and gene expression programming were combined with a dimensional analysis approach to provide a new approach to estimating the mean drop diameter (d32). Experimental results have been compared with the equations found by other researchers in similar columns. The variation of drop size distribution has also been experimentally obtained.
The impact of corporate governance on the total factor productivity of pharmaceutical enterprises: a study based on the fsQCA method
Authors: Gao Liquan , Dong Fei
Published: February 2024

The pharmaceutical industry is an important industry for the national economy and the people's livelihood, which is not only beneficial to the people's livelihood, but also has huge commercial value. How to promote the development of Chinese pharmaceutical industry is an urgent problem to be solved. In this study, 47 listed pharmaceutical companies are taken as cases, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Fuzzy Sets (fsQCA) is used to analyze the influence of five antecedent conditions on the total factor productivity of pharmaceutical enterprises from the perspective of corporate governance, and to explore the composition to Total Factor Productivity (TFP) improvement. The results are as follows. First, single corporate governance factor does not constitute the necessary condition to improve the TFP of pharmaceutical enterprises. Second, there are three configurations of high TFP of pharmaceutical enterprises, among these, two configurations belong to regulatory constraints type and one configuration belongs to the active board type. There is only one configurations to low TFP of pharmaceutical enterprises: the passive board. Based on the perspective of configuration, this paper discusses how corporate governance drives TFP improvement in pharmaceutical enterprises, which can provide systematic thinking and practical guidance for each company to promote its TFP improvement according to its own corporate structure.
Long noncoding RNA SNHG1 promotes breast cancer progression by regulating the miR-641/RRS1 axis
Authors: Deng Lin , Wang Jun , Song Junying , Wu Qinglan , Gong Zunshuang , Song Jinlian , Hou Lin
Published: February 2024

An increasing number of studies have indicated the crucial involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the onset and progression of malignancies. However, a complete understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of abnormally expressed lncRNAs on breast cancer (BC) remains elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the influence of the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (SNHG1) on BC progression and its underlying mechanism. Our findings revealed a conspicuous up-regulation of SNHG1 in both BC tissues and cells. The downregulation of SNHG1 was observed to inhibit BC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes, while simultaneously promoting apoptosis. Furthermore, dual-luciferase reporter gene and RNA pull-down assays established that SNHG1 targeted miR-641 expression, while miR-641 targeted RRS1. Rescue studies demonstrated that in vitro SNHG1 silencing could be reversed by the miR-641 inhibitor, as well as by RRS1 upregulation. Moreover, in vivo downregulation of SNHG1 was found to inhibit BC growth. Through the inhibition of the miR-641 level, SNHG1 elevated the level of the downstream target RRS1, thereby fostering BC growth, migration, and invasion while inhibiting apoptosis. These findings suggest that SNHG1 may represent a potential therapeutic target for BC treatment.
Three measures of internet use, social media use and video game playing as predictors of insomnia during the pandemic among students
Authors: Selak Špela , Šorgo Andrej , Crnkovič Nuša , Gabrovec Branko , Cesar Katarina , Žmavc Mark
Published: February 2024

Existing research indicates that the relationship between digital technology use and insomnia can largely depend on which digital technology measure and which insomnia measure is considered. Data on 4261 Slovenian tertiary students was gathered through an online survey in February 2021, which included measures of depression and insomnia symptoms, as well as measures of internet, social media and video game use divided into three measurement levels (use, duration of use, addictive use). Regression analysis revealed an apparent effect of measurement level, where addictive use measures consistently outperformed other technology use measures in predicting insomnia. Regardless of measurement level, social media use seems to produce more risk for insomnia, compared to playing video games or general internet use for leisure purposes. Importantly, a single measure of depression symptoms explained more variance in insomnia than the nine measures of digital technology use combined, meaning that the effect of digital technology on sleep should not be overstated. Most of the effect of social media use on insomnia may in fact be explained by understanding users' depression symptoms. In case of gaming, a larger part of its effect on insomnia is independent of depression symptoms.
Innovative approaches in soil carbon sequestration modelling for better prediction with limited data
Authors: Davoudabadi Mohammad Javad , Pagendam Daniel , Drovandi Christopher , Baldock Jeff , White Gentry
Published: February 2024

Soil carbon accounting and prediction play a key role in building decision support systems for land managers selling carbon credits, in the spirit of the Paris and Kyoto protocol agreements. Land managers typically rely on computationally complex models fit using sparse datasets to make these accounts and predictions. The model complexity and sparsity of the data can lead to over-fitting, leading to inaccurate results when making predictions with new data. Modellers address over-fitting by simplifying their models and reducing the number of parameters, and in the current context this could involve neglecting some soil organic carbon (SOC) components. In this study, we introduce two novel SOC models and a new RothC-like model and investigate how the SOC components and complexity of the SOC models affect the SOC prediction in the presence of small and sparse time series data. We develop model selection methods that can identify the soil carbon model with the best predictive performance, in light of the available data. Through this analysis we reveal that commonly used complex soil carbon models can over-fit in the presence of sparse time series data, and our simpler models can produce more accurate predictions.
Audiovisual integration in the McGurk effect is impervious to music training
Authors: Lee Hsing-Hao , Groves Karleigh , Ripollés Pablo , Carrasco Marisa
Published: February 2024

The McGurk effect refers to an audiovisual speech illusion where the discrepant auditory and visual syllables produce a fused percept between the visual and auditory component. However, little is known about how individual differences contribute to the McGurk effect. Here, we examined whether music training experience—which involves audiovisual integration—can modulate the McGurk effect. Seventy-three participants completed the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) questionnaire to evaluate their music expertise on a continuous scale. Gold-MSI considers participants’ daily-life exposure to music learning experiences (formal and informal), instead of merely classifying people into different groups according to how many years they have been trained in music. Participants were instructed to report, via a 3-alternative forced choice task, “what a person said”: /Ba/, /Ga/ or /Da/. The experiment consisted of 96 audiovisual congruent trials and 96 audiovisual incongruent (McGurk) trials. We observed no significant correlations between the susceptibility of the McGurk effect and the different subscales of the Gold-MSI (active engagement, perceptual abilities, music training, singing abilities, emotion) or the general musical sophistication composite score. Together, these findings suggest that music training experience does not modulate audiovisual integration in speech as reflected by the McGurk effect.
Discovery of lung adenocarcinoma tumor antigens and ferroptosis subtypes for developing mRNA vaccines
Authors: Chen Yan , Zhang Changwen , Li Yu , Tan Xiaoyu , Li Wentao , Tan Sen , Liu Guangnan
Published: February 2024

mRNA vaccines are becoming a feasible alternative for treating cancer. To develop mRNA vaccines against LUAD, potential antigens were identified and LUAD ferroptosis subtypes distinguished for selecting appropriate patients. The genome expression omnibus, cancer genome atlas (TCGA) and FerrDB were used to collect gene expression profiles, clinical information, and the genes involved in ferroptosis, respectively. cBioPortal was used to visualize and compare genetic alterations, GEPIA2 to calculate prognostic factors of the selected antigens, and TIMER to visualize the relationship between potential antigens and tumor immune cell infiltration. Consensus clustering analysis was utilized to identify ferroptosis subtypes and their prognostic value assessed by Log-rank and cox regression tests. The modules of ferroptosis-related gene screening were conducted by weight gene co-expression network analysis. The LUAD ferroptosis landscape was visualized through dimensionality reduction and graph learning. Six tumor antigens had obvious LUAD-mutations, positively correlated with different antigen-presenting cells, and might induce tumor cell ferroptosis. LUAD patients were stratified into three ferroptosis subtypes (FS1, FS2, and FS3) according to diverse molecular, cellular, and clinical characteristics. FS3 showed the highest tumor mutation burden and the most somatic mutations, deemed potential indicators of mRNA vaccine effectiveness. Moreover, different ferroptosis subtypes expressed distinct immune checkpoints and immunogenic cell death modulators. AGPS, NRAS, MTDH, PANX1, NOX4, and PPARD are potentially suitable for mRNA vaccinations against LUAD, specifically in patients with FS3 tumors. This study defines vaccination candidates and establishes a theoretical basis for LUAD mRNA vaccinations.
Signs of criticality in social explosions
Authors: Beiró Mariano G. , Chung Ning Ning , Chew Lock Yue , Gandica Yérali
Published: February 2024

The success of an on-line movement could be defined in terms of the shift to large-scale and the later off-line massive street actions of protests. The role of social media in this process is to facilitate the transformation from small or local feelings of disagreement into large-scale social actions. The way how social media achieves that effect is by growing clusters of people and groups with similar effervescent feelings, which otherwise would not be in touch with each other. It is natural to think that these kinds of macro social actions, as a consequence of the spontaneous and massive interactions, will attain the growth and divergence of those clusters, like the correlation length of statistical physics, giving rise to important simplifications on several statistics. In this work, we report the presence of signs of criticality in social demonstrations. Namely, similar power-law exponents are found whenever the distributions are calculated either considering time windows of the same length or with the same number of hashtag usages. In particular, the exponents for the distributions during the event were found to be smaller than before the event, and this is also observed either if we count the hashtags only once per user or if all their usages are considered. By means of network representations, we show that the systems present two kinds of high connectedness, characterised by either high or low values of modularity. The importance of analysing systems near a critical point is that any small disturbance can escalate and induce large-scale—nationwide—chain reactions.
Using genome-wide data to ascertain taxonomic status and assess population genetic structure for Houston toads (Bufo [= Anaxyrus] houstonensis)
Authors: Sirsi Shashwat , Rodriguez David , Forstner Michael R. J.
Published: February 2024

The Houston toad (Bufo [= Anaxyrus] houstonensis) is an endangered amphibian with a small geographic range. Land-use changes have primarily driven decline in B. houstonensis with population supplementation predominant among efforts to reduce its current extinction risk. However, there has been historic uncertainty regarding the evolutionary and conservation significance of B. houstonensis. To this end, we used 1170 genome-wide nuclear DNA markers to examine phylogenetic relationships between our focal taxon, representatives of the Nearctic B. americanus group, and B. nebulifer, a sympatric Middle American species. Phylogenetic analyses indicate B. houstonensis is a taxon that is distinct from B. americanus. We corroborated such genetic distinctiveness with an admixture analysis that provided support for recent reproductive isolation between B. americanus and B. houstonensis. However, ABBA-BABA tests for ancient admixture indicated historic gene flow between Nearctic species while no signal of historic gene flow was detected between Nearctic and Middle-American species. We used an admixture analysis to recognize four Management Units (MU) based on observed genetic differentiation within B. houstonensis and recommend captive propagation, population supplementation, and habitat restoration efforts specific to each MU. Our results re-affirm the evolutionary novelty of an endangered relict.
Development of a predictive nomogram for postembolization syndrome after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Bai Jinfeng , Huang Ming , Zhou Jinmei , Song Bohan , Hua Jianjie , Ding Rong
Published: February 2024

Post-embolization syndrome (PES) is a frequent complication after receiving transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but only a few studies have focused on the factors influencing PES in those patients. In this study, the impact factors of PES were explored and a nomogram was constructed to predict the occurrence of PES in HCC patients with TACE. This was a retrospective cohort study of HCC patients who underwent TACE obtained from the third affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between January 1, 2020, and September 1, 2022. T‑test and Chi‑square test were used to search for factors influencing PES occurrence, and then the nomogram was further established based on multivariable logistic regression analysis. Validation of the predictive nomogram was also evaluated by calibration curve, concordance index (C-index), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The enrolled patients (n = 258) were randomly assigned to the primary cohort (n = 180) and validation cohort (n = 78) in a 7:3 ratio. Among 180 patients in the primary cohort, 106 (58.89%) experienced PES. TACE types (P = 0.015), embolization degree (P = 0.008), and tumor number (P = 0.026) were identified as predictors by the logistic regression analysis and were used to develop the predictive nomogram. The internally validated and externally validated C-indexes were 0.713 and 0.703, respectively. The calibration curves presented good consistency between actual and predictive survival. Types of embolic agents, embolization degree, and tumor number were found to be the predictors of PES after TACE. The nomogram could reliably predict PES in HCC patients with TACE. This predictive model might be considered for clinical practice.
Association of serum and hair antioxidant minerals with an oxidative stress marker in relation with characteristics of healthy adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Kang Yoo-Ree , Sung Mi-Kyung , Baik Hyun-Wook , Choi Mi-Kyeong
Published: February 2024

Excess oxidative stress generated in the body causes various types of cellular damage, including DNA damage. Certain trace minerals act as antioxidants by functioning as cofactors for antioxidant enzymes. This study was conducted to evaluate the serum and hair concentrations of major antioxidant trace minerals (zinc, manganese, selenium, and chromium) and to determine the association between the oxidative stress marker urinary 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and serum or hair antioxidant trace mineral concentrations, according to the general characteristics of healthy adults. Study participants were selected after screening, and 108 participants aged 19–69 years were finally included. Serum and hair trace mineral concentrations were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and urine 8-OHdG levels were quantified using an ELISA kit. Results showed that urinary 8-OHdG levels were significantly higher in exercisers than in those who did not exercise. Correlation analysis revealed that urinary 8-OHdG was negatively correlated with hair zinc in participants over 60 years of age and with poor health status, and positively correlated with hair chromium in participants with irregular dietary habits. In conclusion, these results suggest that urinary 8-OHdG is particularly correlated with hair zinc and chromium levels. Additional large-scale epidemiological studies are needed to generally confirm these findings.
Experimental study on the freezing process of water droplets for ice air jet technology
Authors: Jingru Hu , Jingbin Li , Zhongwei Huang , Kang Cheng , Haojun Xia
Published: February 2024

Ice air jet technology is one non-destructive, residue-free and environmentally friendly machining process. It is an efficient method to form ice particles by atomizing water droplets in ultra-low temperature environment. The freezing characteristics of water droplets in cryogenic gas and liquid nitrogen environment are visually analyzed, and the effects of droplet volume, ambient temperature are also studied. The results show that when water droplets freeze in a cryogenic gas environment, four distinct stages are observed, namely pre-cooling stage, recalescence stage, solidification stage, and deep cooling stage. However, when water droplets freeze in liquid nitrogen, the recalescence stage cannot be observed. For a 5 µl water droplet, it takes 68 s for water droplets to freeze into ice particles at − 20.36 °C, while it takes only 1.7 s in liquid nitrogen. During the freezing process, the water droplets form an ice shell outside and freeze inwardly. Ice particles may break up due to differences in solubility and density. With the increase of volume the time spent on pre-cooling stage and freezing stage both increases. For the large latent heat of water phase transformation, the solidification stage time is greatly affected by the volume of water droplets. When the ambient temperature drops from − 10.67 °C to − 24.68 °C, the freezing time of 5 µl water droplets decreases by 45.5%, indicating that the ambient temperature has a great influence on the freezing time. The results of the study can significantly contribute to the development of ice air jet technology.
Fungicide ingestion reduces net energy gain and microbiome diversity of the solitary mason bee
Authors: Porras Mitzy F. , Raygoza Garay Juan Antonio , Brought Malachi , López–Londoño Tomas , Chautá Alexander , Crone Makaylee , Rajotte Edwin G. , Phan Ngoc , Joshi Neelendra K. , Peter Kari , Biddinger David
Published: February 2024

Fungicides are frequently used during tree fruit bloom and can threaten insect pollinators. However, little is known about how non-honey bee pollinators such as the solitary bee, Osmia cornifrons, respond to contact and systemic fungicides commonly used in apple production during bloom. This knowledge gap limits regulatory decisions that determine safe concentrations and timing for fungicide spraying. We evaluated the effects of two contact fungicides (captan and mancozeb) and four translaminar/plant systemic fungicides (cyprodinil, myclobutanil, penthiopyrad, and trifloxystrobin) on larval weight gain, survival, sex ratio, and bacterial diversity. This assessment was carried out using chronic oral ingestion bioassays where pollen provisions were treated with three doses based on the currently recommended field use dose (1X), half dose (0.5X), and low dose (0.1X). Mancozeb and penthiopyrad significantly reduced larval weight and survival at all doses. We then sequenced the 16S gene to characterize the larvae bacteriome of mancozeb, the fungicide that caused the highest mortality. We found that larvae fed on mancozeb-treated pollen carried significantly lower bacterial diversity and abundance. Our laboratory results suggest that some of these fungicides can be particularly harmful to the health of O. cornifrons when sprayed during bloom. This information is relevant for future management decisions about the sustainable use of fruit tree crop protection products and informing regulatory processes that aim to protect pollinators.
Low-loaded Ru on hollow SnO2 for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Authors: Saira Yousaf , Li Zhijuan , Zhu Yu , Liu Qicheng , Luo Wenkai , Wang Yu , Gong Mingxing , Fu Gengtao , Tang Yawen
Published: February 2024

Ru–SnO2 with low Ru loading and a hollow structure is developed as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.
Investigation of the stability of D5SIC-DNAM-incorporated DNA duplex in Taq polymerase binary system: a systematic classical MD approach
Authors: Debnath Tanay , Cisneros G. Andrés
Published: February 2024

DS-DN incorporated DNA bound to Taq.
Mechanism of palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution of tertiary allylic carbonates with sodium sulfinates: unusual bifunctional nucleophile-enabled inner-sphere pathway and origin of regio- and enantioselectivities
Authors: Wu Hongli , Wu Botao , Kleij Arjan W. , Huang Genping
Published: February 2024

DFT calculations were performed to investigate Pd-catalyzed allylic sulfonylation of tertiary allylic carbonates. The bifunctional role of the sulfonate nucleophile enables the C–S bond formation via a unique inner-sphere pathway.
Dietary supplementation with α-ionone alleviates chronic UVB exposure-induced skin photoaging in mice
Authors: Geng Ruixuan , Kang Seong-Gook , Huang Kunlun , Tong Tao
Published: February 2024

Dietary α-ionone mitigates chronic UVB-induced skin photoaging by reducing wrinkles, alleviating dryness, promoting extracellular matrix, and inhibiting cellular senescence in mice.
Recent advances in cellulose nanocrystals-based sensors: a review
Authors: Singh Shiva , Bhardwaj Shakshi , Tiwari Pragya , Dev Keshav , Ghosh Kaushik , Maji Pradip K.
Published: February 2024

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) continue to pique the interest of researchers as sensors for sustainable development.
Chronic full-band recordings with graphene microtransistors as neural interfaces for discrimination of brain states
Authors: Camassa A. , Barbero-Castillo A. , Bosch M. , Dasilva M. , Masvidal-Codina E. , Villa R. , Guimerà-Brunet A. , Sanchez-Vives M. V.
Published: February 2024

Graphene-based transistors (gSGFETs) enabled stable full-band brain recordings for 5+ months, allowing precise brain state identification and prediction, which is critical both in brain science and neurology.
Development of wound healing scaffolds based on polymeric blends of polyvinyl alcohol and hyaluronic acid doped with super antibacterials of silver phosphate with magnesium vanadate
Authors: Alghasham Hawra A.
Published: February 2024

Silver ions are considered an antibacterial candidate for numerous applications.
Efficient charge separation and transportation using 1D iron-sulfide@titania heterojunctions as photoanodes for improved interface stability and photoelectrochemical activity to produce hydrogen
Authors: Alam Noor , Rehman Fazeelat , Sohail Manzar , Mumtaz Asad
Published: February 2024

1D FeS–FeS2@TiO2 heterojunctions were developed to investigate the photoexcited charge separation and transportation to active sites for improved photocatalytic properties for the hydrogen production from water splitting.
Room temperature synthesis of highly luminescent Eu3+ and Tb3+-doped hexagonal-phase YPO4 nanoparticles with tunable emission
Authors: Singh Laishram Peter , Devi Potshangbam Sorodhoni , Sharma Aribam Rishikanta , Devi Laishram Priyabati , Singh W. Rameshwor , Laishram Raju
Published: February 2024

Luminescent lanthanide nanoparticles are usually prepared at high temperatures, which makes these materials costly. Room temperature synthesis will make the material cheap.
Machine learning-enabled performance prediction and optimization for iron–chromium redox flow batteries
Authors: Niu Yingchun , Heydari Ali , Qiu Wei , Guo Chao , Liu Yinping , Xu Chunming , Zhou Tianhang , Xu Quan
Published: February 2024

Iron–chromium flow batteries (ICRFBs) are regarded as one of the most promising large-scale energy storage devices with broad application prospects in recent years. In this work, active learning is used to explore the most optimized cases considering the highest energy efficiency and capacity.
Ammonia gas sensors based on undoped and Ca-doped ZnO nanoparticles
Authors: Hjiri M. , Algessair Saja , Dhahri R. , Albargi Hasan B. , Ben Mansour N. , Assadi A. A. , Neri G.
Published: February 2024

Ca-ZnO gas sensor exibited a good response and high selectivity toward NH3 gas. Theses performances make the material an excellent candidate for monitoring ammonia gas at low concentrations.
Nanoarchitectonics of highly dispersed polythiophene on paper for accurate quantitative detection of metal ions
Authors: Sasaki Yui , Lyu Xiaojun , Kawashima Takayuki , Zhang Yijing , Ohshiro Kohei , Okabe Kiyosumi , Tsuchiya Kazuhiko , Minami Tsuyoshi
Published: February 2024

Paper fibers allow the high dispersion of a fluorescent polythiophene chemosensor for the suppression of aggregation-induced quenching, which is applied to the solid-state fluorescent quantitative sensing of metal ions using imaging analysis and pattern recognition techniques.
Biodecolorization and biotransformation of methylene blue using mixed cultures of brown-rot fungus Daedalea dickinsii and filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae: identification of metabolites and degradation pathway
Authors: Purnomo Adi Setyo , Fauzany Umirul Solichah , Rizqi Hamdan Dwi , Alkas Taufiq Rinda , Kamei Ichiro
Published: February 2024

This study aimed to examine biodecolorization and biotransformation of methylene blue (MB) using mixed cultures of brown-rot fungus Daedalea dickinsii and filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae.
The preparation of polysilicon films on highly boron doped silicon substrates and their effects on Cu out-diffusion
Authors: Zhang Qingxu , Zhou Zaifu , Shen Yijun , Rao Weixing , Xiao Shihao , Wu Xiongjie , Zhang Lian , Liu Dandan , Wang Zonghua
Published: February 2024

The impurity gettering efficiency of the polysilicon film significantly hinders the out diffusion of Cu in the heavily boron-doped mono-silicon substrate. Moreover, as the thickness and layer count of the polysilicon film increase, its gettering effectiveness is further enhanced.
Alkyl sulfonate surfactant mediates electroreduction of carbon dioxide to ethylene or ethanol over hydroxide-derived copper catalysts
Authors: Wang Yiding , Zhao Runyao , Liu Yunpeng , Zhang Fengtao , Wang Yuepeng , Wu Zhonghua , Han Buxing , Liu Zhimin
Published: February 2024

During CO2 electroreduction process, SDS anions on in situ generated Cu catalyst not only facilitate the C–C coupling procedure but also tune the adsorption modes of *HCCOH intermediates on the catalyst.
Thermoresponsive oil-continuous gels based on double-interpenetrating colloidal-particle networks
Authors: Macias-Rodriguez Braulio A. , Gouzy Roland , Coulais Corentin , Velikov Krassimir P.
Published: February 2024

Gels of multicomponent building blocks offer promising opportunities for the development of novel soft materials with unique and useful structures and properties.
Influence of adhesion-promoting glycolipids on the structure and stability of solid-supported lipid double-bilayers
Authors: Bange Lukas , Mukhina Tetiana , Fragneto Giovanna , Rondelli Valeria , Schneck Emanuel
Published: February 2024

Glycolipids affect the inter-bilayer water layer thickness and contribute to the stability of the double bilayer architecture through the formation of “sugar bonds”.
Development of bioactive short fiber-reinforced printable hydrogels with tunable mechanical and osteogenic properties for bone repair
Authors: Moghimi Nafiseh , Kamaraj Meenakshi , Zehtabi Fatemeh , Amin Yavari Saber , Kohandel Mohammad , Khademhosseini Ali , John Johnson V.
Published: February 2024

Personalized bone-regenerative materials with enhanced mechanical and osteogenic properties.
Polymerization of α-pinene catalyzed by Lewis acidic deep eutectic solvents
Authors: Ji Ningning , Yu Fengli , Yuan Bing , Xie Congxia , Yu Shitao
Published: February 2024

A green and effective catalytic system for α-pinene polymerization using a recyclable Lewis acidic DES catalyst has been developed.
Structural biology of microbial gas vesicles: historical milestones and current knowledge
Authors: Huber Stefan T. , Jakobi Arjen J.
Published: February 2024

Gas vesicles mediate buoyancy-based motility in aquatic bacteria and archaea and are the only protein-based structures known to enclose a gas-filled volume. Their unique physicochemical properties and ingenious architecture rank them among the most intriguing macromolecular assemblies characterised to date. This review covers the 60-year journey in quest for a high-resolution structural model of gas vesicles, first highlighting significant strides made in establishing the detailed ultrastructure of gas vesicles through transmission electron microscopy, X-ray fibre diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and NMR spectroscopy. We then survey the recent progress in cryogenic electron microscopy studies of gas vesicles, which eventually led to a comprehensive atomic model of the mature assembly. Synthesising insight from these structures, we examine possible mechanisms of gas vesicle biogenesis and growth, presenting a testable model to guide future experimental work. We conclude by discussing future directions in the structural biology of gas vesicles, particularly considering advancements in AI-driven structure prediction.
Cell-free genomics: transcription factor interactions in reconstituted naïve embryonic chromatin
Authors: Becker Peter B.
Published: February 2024

Extracts from Drosophila preblastoderm embryos (DREX) form the basis of a powerful in vitro chromatin reconstitution system that assembles entire genomes into complex chromatin with physiological nucleosome spacing and polymer condensation. As the zygotic genome has not yet been activated in preblastoderm embryos, the reconstitution extract lacks endogenous transcription factors (TFs) and the RNA polymerase machinery. At the same time, it contains high levels of ATP-dependent nucleosome sliding enzymes that render the reconstituted chromatin dynamic. The naïve chromatin can be used to determine the intrinsic DNA binding properties of exogenous, usually recombinant TFs (or DNA binding proteins in general) in a complex chromatin context. Recent applications of the system include the description of cooperation and competition of Drosophila pioneer TFs for composite binding sites, and the characterization of nucleosome interactions of mammalian pioneer TFs in the heterologous system.
Supercapacitor‐based coordinated synthetic inertia scheme for voltage source converter‐based HVDC integrated offshore wind farm
Authors: Zhu Jiebei , Shi Meiqi , Yu Lujie , Zhao Junbo , Bu Siqi , Chung Chi Yung , Booth Campbell D.
Published: February 2024

A supercapacitor‐based coordinated synthetic inertia (SCSI) scheme for a voltage source converter‐based HVDC (VSC‐HVDC)‐integrated offshore wind farm (OWF) is proposed. The proposed SCSI allows the OWF to provide a designated inertial response to an onshore grid. Under the SCSI scheme, a supercapacitor is added to the DC side of each wind turbine generator via a bidirectional DC/DC converter, varying its voltage along with the offshore frequency to synthesise the desired inertial response. The HVDC grid side VSC employs a DC voltage/frequency droop control to convey the onshore frequency information to DC voltage without communication. Meanwhile, the wind farm side VSC regulates the offshore frequency to couple with the conveyed onshore frequency, considering voltage drop across the DC cables. An offshore frequency switching algorithm is incorporated to avoid undesired SCSI maloperation under offshore faults. The key parameters of the proposed SCSI are optimised through a small signal stability analysis. The effectiveness of the SCSI scheme is evaluated using a modified IEEE 39‐bus test system. The results show that the proposed SCSI scheme can provide required inertial support from WTG‐installed supercapacitors to the onshore grid through the VSC‐HVDC link, significantly improving the onshore frequency stability.
Impact of EV charging on electrical distribution network and mitigating solutions – A review
Authors: Nutkani Inam , Toole Hamish , Fernando Nuwantha , Andrew Loh Poh Chiang
Published: February 2024

Rapidly increasing uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is expected to have a significant impact on electrical power distribution networks. Considerable work has been carried out to understand this impact and quantify the distribution networks hosting capacity, with and without network management solutions. However, the current body of knowledge does not have a comprehensive review of the research done to‐date on this topic which is vital to understand the scope of the existing studies, the data used in analysing the impact, and, most importantly, the findings. A comprehensive yet focused review of impact of EV charging on distribution networks is presented by delving into the main factors restricting EV hosting capacity and the strategies used to maximise EV hosting capacity by managing the aforementioned impacts. The authors comprehensively summarise the approaches used to quantify the impact, network and data types, and the proposed solutions to increase network hosting capacity. Moreover, the shortcomings in the existing work are identified and recommendations for future research are provided to help stakeholders understand the current state‐of‐the‐art, make informed decisions, and to be considered by future researchers.
NGTS discovery of a highly inflated Saturn-mass planet and a highly irradiated hot Jupiter
Authors: Bouchy F. , Gillen E. , Turner O. , Gill S. , Nielsen L. D. , Lendl M. , Vines J. I. , Alves D. R. , Anderson D. R. , Armstrong D. J. , Bayliss D. , Jenkins J. S. , Acton J. S. , Belardi C. , Bryant E. M. , Burleigh M. R. , Casewell S. L. , Costes J. C. , Chaushev A. , Cooke B. F. , Eigmüller Ph. , Erikson A. , Günther M. N. , Goad M. R. , Grieves N. , McCormac J. , Moyano M. , Raynard L. , Smith A. M. S. , Tilbrook R. H. , Udry S. , Watson C. A. , West R. G. , Wheatley P. J.
Published: February 2024

We report the discovery of two new transiting giant exoplanets NGTS-26 b and NGTS-27 b by the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). NGTS-26 b orbits around a G6-type main sequence star every 4.52 days. It has a mass of 0.29-0.06+0.07 MJup and a radius of 1.33-0.05+0.06 RJup making it a Saturn-mass planet with a highly inflated radius. NGTS-27 b orbits around a slightly evolved G3-type star every 3.37 days. It has a mass of 0.59-0.07+0.10 MJup and a radius of 1.40±0.04 RJup, making it a relatively standard hot Jupiter. The transits of these two planetary systems were re-observed and confirmed in photometry by the SAAO 1.0-m telescope, 1.2-m Euler Swiss telescope as well as the TESS spacecraft, and their masses were derived spectroscopically by the CORALIE, FEROS and HARPS spectrographs. Both giant exoplanets are highly irradiated by their host stars and present an anomalously inflated radius, especially NGTS-26 b which is one of the largest objects among peers of similar mass.