bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Firing feature-driven neural circuits with scalable memristive neurons for robotic obstacle avoidance
Authors: Yang Yue , Zhu Fangduo , Zhang Xumeng , Chen Pei , Wang Yongzhou , Zhu Jiaxue , Ding Yanting , Cheng Lingli , Li Chao , Jiang Hao , Wang Zhongrui , Lin Peng , Shi Tuo , Wang Ming , Liu Qi , Xu Ningsheng , Liu Ming
Published: May 2024

Neural circuits with specific structures and diverse neuronal firing features are the foundation for supporting intelligent tasks in biology and are regarded as the driver for catalyzing next-generation artificial intelligence. Emulating neural circuits in hardware underpins engineering highly efficient neuromorphic chips, however, implementing a firing features-driven functional neural circuit is still an open question. In this work, inspired by avoidance neural circuits of crickets, we construct a spiking feature-driven sensorimotor control neural circuit consisting of three memristive Hodgkin-Huxley neurons. The ascending neurons exhibit mixed tonic spiking and bursting features, which are used for encoding sensing input. Additionally, we innovatively introduce a selective communication scheme in biology to decode mixed firing features using two descending neurons. We proceed to integrate such a neural circuit with a robot for avoidance control and achieve lower latency than conventional platforms. These results provide a foundation for implementing real brain-like systems driven by firing features with memristive neurons and put constructing high-order intelligent machines on the agenda.
A potent Henipavirus cross-neutralizing antibody reveals a dynamic fusion-triggering pattern of the G-tetramer
Authors: Fan Pengfei , Sun Mengmeng , Zhang Xinghai , Zhang Huajun , Liu Yujiao , Yao Yanfeng , Li Ming , Fang Ting , Sun Bingjie , Chen Zhengshan , Chi Xiangyang , Chen Li , Peng Cheng , Chen Zhen , Zhang Guanying , Ren Yi , Liu Zixuan , Li Yaohui , Li Jianmin , Li Entao , Guan Wuxiang , Li Shanshan , Gong Rui , Zhang Kaiming , Yu Changming , Chiu Sandra
Published: May 2024

The Hendra and Nipah viruses (HNVs) are highly pathogenic pathogens without approved interventions for human use. In addition, the interaction pattern between the attachment (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins required for virus entry remains unclear. Here, we isolate a panel of Macaca-derived G-specific antibodies that cross-neutralize HNVs via multiple mechanisms. The most potent antibody, 1E5, confers adequate protection against the Nipah virus challenge in female hamsters. Crystallography demonstrates that 1E5 has a highly similar binding pattern to the receptor. In cryo-electron microscopy studies, the tendency of 1E5 to bind to the upper or lower heads results in two distinct quaternary structures of G. Furthermore, we identify the extended outer loop β1S2-β1S3 of G and two pockets on the apical region of fusion (F) glycoprotein as the essential sites for G-F interactions. This work highlights promising drug candidates against HNVs and contributes deeper insights into the viruses.
Fluorescent fatty acid conjugates for live cell imaging of peroxisomes
Authors: Korotkova Daria , Borisyuk Anya , Guihur Anthony , Bardyn Manon , Kuttler Fabien , Reymond Luc , Schuhmacher Milena , Amen Triana
Published: May 2024

Peroxisomes are eukaryotic organelles that are essential for multiple metabolic pathways, including fatty acid oxidation, degradation of amino acids, and biosynthesis of ether lipids. Consequently, peroxisome dysfunction leads to pediatric-onset neurodegenerative conditions, including Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders (PBD). Due to the dynamic, tissue-specific, and context-dependent nature of their biogenesis and function, live cell imaging of peroxisomes is essential for studying peroxisome regulation, as well as for the diagnosis of PBD-linked abnormalities. However, the peroxisomal imaging toolkit is lacking in many respects, with no reporters for substrate import, nor cell-permeable probes that could stain dysfunctional peroxisomes. Here we report that the BODIPY-C12 fluorescent fatty acid probe stains functional and dysfunctional peroxisomes in live mammalian cells. We then go on to improve BODIPY-C12, generating peroxisome-specific reagents, PeroxiSPY650 and PeroxiSPY555. These probes combine high peroxisome specificity, bright fluorescence in the red and far-red spectrum, and fast non-cytotoxic staining, making them ideal tools for live cell, whole organism, or tissue imaging of peroxisomes. Finally, we demonstrate that PeroxiSPY enables diagnosis of peroxisome abnormalities in the PBD CRISPR/Cas9 cell models and patient-derived cell lines.
LaCl3-based sodium halide solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity for all-solid-state batteries
Authors: Fu Chengyu , Li Yifan , Xu Wenjie , Feng Xuyong , Gu Weijian , Liu Jue , Deng Wenwen , Wang Wei , Abeykoon A. M. Milinda , Su Laisuo , Zhu Lingyun , Wu Xiaojun , Xiang Hongfa
Published: May 2024

To enable high performance of all solid-state batteries, a catholyte should demonstrate high ionic conductivity, good compressibility and oxidative stability. Here, a LaCl3-based Na+ superionic conductor (Na1−xZrxLa1−xCl4) with high ionic conductivity of 2.9 × 10−4 S cm−1 (30 °C), good compressibility and high oxidative potential (3.80 V vs. Na2Sn) is prepared via solid state reaction combining mechanochemical method. X-ray diffraction reveals a hexagonal structure (P63/m) of Na1−xZrxLa1−xCl4, with Na+ ions forming a one-dimensional diffusion channel along the c-axis. First-principle calculations combining with X-ray absorption fine structure characterization etc. reveal that the ionic conductivity of Na1−xZrxLa1−xCl4 is mainly determined by the size of Na+-channels and the Na+/La3+ mixing in the one-dimensional diffusion channels. When applied as a catholyte, the NaCrO2||Na0.7Zr0.3La0.7Cl4||Na3PS4||Na2Sn all-solid-state batteries demonstrate an initial capacity of 114 mA h g−1 and 88% retention after 70 cycles at 0.3 C. In addition, a high capacity of 94 mA h g−1 can be maintained at 1 C current density.
A facile synthesis of α,β-unsaturated imines via palladium-catalyzed dehydrogenation
Authors: Zhao Chunyang , Gao Rongwan , Ma Wenxuan , Li Miao , Li Yifei , Zhang Qian , Guan Wei , Fu Junkai
Published: May 2024

The dehydrogenation adjacent to an electron-withdrawing group provides an efficient access to α,β-unsaturated compounds that serving as versatile synthons in organic chemistry. However, the α,β-desaturation of aliphatic imines has hitherto proven to be challenging due to easy hydrolysis and preferential dimerization. Herein, by employing a pre-fluorination and palladium-catalyzed dehydrogenation reaction sequence, the abundant simple aliphatic amides are amendable to the rapid construction of complex molecular architectures to produce α,β-unsaturated imines. Mechanistic investigations reveal a Pd(0)/Pd(II) catalytic cycle involving oxidative H–F elimination of N-fluoroamide followed by a smooth α,β-desaturation of the in-situ generated aliphatic imine intermediate. This protocol exhibits excellent functional group tolerance, and even the carbonyl groups are compatible without any competing dehydrogenation, allowing for late-stage functionalization of complex bioactive molecules. The synthetic utility of this transformation has been further demonstrated by a diversity-oriented derivatization and a concise formal synthesis of (±)-alloyohimbane.
Discovery of fungal onoceroid triterpenoids through domainless enzyme-targeted global genome mining
Authors: Tang Jia , Matsuda Yudai
Published: May 2024

Genomics-guided methodologies have revolutionized the discovery of natural products. However, a major challenge in the field of genome mining is determining how to selectively extract biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for untapped natural products from numerous available genome sequences. In this study, we developed a fungal genome mining tool that extracts BGCs encoding enzymes that lack a detectable protein domain (i.e., domainless enzymes) and are not recognized as biosynthetic proteins by existing bioinformatic tools. We searched for BGCs encoding a homologue of Pyr4-family terpene cyclases, which are representative examples of apparently domainless enzymes, in approximately 2000 fungal genomes and discovered several BGCs with unique features. The subsequent characterization of selected BGCs led to the discovery of fungal onoceroid triterpenoids and unprecedented onoceroid synthases. Furthermore, in addition to the onoceroids, a previously unreported sesquiterpene hydroquinone, of which the biosynthesis involves a Pyr4-family terpene cyclase, was obtained. Our genome mining tool has broad applicability in fungal genome mining and can serve as a beneficial platform for accessing diverse, unexploited natural products.
LINE-1 retrotransposons contribute to mouse PV interneuron development
Authors: Bodea Gabriela O. , Botto Juan M. , Ferreiro Maria E. , Sanchez-Luque Francisco J. , de los Rios Barreda Jose , Rasmussen Jay , Rahman Muhammed A. , Fenlon Laura R. , Jansz Natasha , Gubert Carolina , Gerdes Patricia , Bodea Liviu-Gabriel , Ajjikuttira Prabha , Da Costa Guevara Darwin J. , Cumner Linda , Bell Charles C. , Kozulin Peter , Billon Victor , Morell Santiago , Kempen Marie-Jeanne H. C. , Love Chloe J. , Saha Karabi , Palmer Lucy M. , Ewing Adam D. , Jhaveri Dhanisha J. , Richardson Sandra R. , Hannan Anthony J. , Faulkner Geoffrey J.
Published: May 2024

Retrotransposons are mobile DNA sequences duplicated via transcription and reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate. Cis-regulatory elements encoded by retrotransposons can also promote the transcription of adjacent genes. Somatic LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposon insertions have been detected in mammalian neurons. It is, however, unclear whether L1 sequences are mobile in only some neuronal lineages or therein promote neurodevelopmental gene expression. Here we report programmed L1 activation by SOX6, a transcription factor critical for parvalbumin (PV) interneuron development. Mouse PV interneurons permit L1 mobilization in vitro and in vivo, harbor unmethylated L1 promoters and express full-length L1 mRNAs and proteins. Using nanopore long-read sequencing, we identify unmethylated L1s proximal to PV interneuron genes, including a novel L1 promoter-driven Caps2 transcript isoform that enhances neuron morphological complexity in vitro. These data highlight the contribution made by L1 cis-regulatory elements to PV interneuron development and transcriptome diversity, uncovered due to L1 mobility in this milieu.
Coupling enzymatic activity and gating in an ancient TRPM chanzyme and its molecular evolution
Authors: Huang Yihe , Kumar Sushant , Lee Junuk , Lü Wei , Du Juan
Published: May 2024

Channel enzymes represent a class of ion channels with enzymatic activity directly or indirectly linked to their channel function. We investigated a TRPM2 chanzyme from choanoflagellates that integrates two seemingly incompatible functions into a single peptide: a channel module activated by ADP-ribose with high open probability and an enzyme module (NUDT9-H domain) consuming ADP-ribose at a remarkably slow rate. Using time-resolved cryogenic-electron microscopy, we captured a complete series of structural snapshots of gating and catalytic cycles, revealing the coupling mechanism between channel gating and enzymatic activity. The slow kinetics of the NUDT9-H enzyme module confers a self-regulatory mechanism: ADPR binding triggers NUDT9-H tetramerization, promoting channel opening, while subsequent hydrolysis reduces local ADPR, inducing channel closure. We further demonstrated how the NUDT9-H domain has evolved from a structurally semi-independent ADP-ribose hydrolase module in early species to a fully integrated component of a gating ring essential for channel activation in advanced species.
Exploring Alashan Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus alashanicus) Diversity: Metagenomic and Transcriptomic Datasets from the Helan Mountains
Authors: Zhao Yao , Deng Siwei , Zhang Zhirong , Chen Junda , Teng Liwei , Liu Zhensheng
Published: May 2024

This study investigates the adaptive strategies of the Alashan Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus alashanicus) in response to habitat changes, as rodents are sensitive indicators of ecosystem changes. Despite its ecological importance, the genome and microbiome of this species have not been thoroughly studied. This research fills this gap by presenting the first comprehensive metagenomic and transcriptomic datasets of the species. Transcriptomic data was collected from five tissue types, including heart, liver, cecum, muscle, and blood, resulting in the assembly of 72,156 unigenes. Metagenomic sequencing identified predominant bacterial groups such as Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Urovircota, and Proteobacteria. Our workflow involved RNA and DNA extraction, library preparation, assembly, and annotation, yielding valuable insights into gene discovery, microbial composition, and further genome and microbial function studies. In conclusion, our findings have significant implications for understanding the adaptive mechanisms of this species in response to environmental changes.
Insights from modelling sixteen years of climatic and fumonisin patterns in maize in South Africa
Authors: Gbashi Sefater , Adelusi Oluwasola Abayomi , Njobeh Patrick Berka
Published: May 2024

Mycotoxin contamination of agricultural commodities is a global public health problem that has remained elusive to various mitigation approaches, particularly in developing countries. Climate change and its impact exacerbates South Africa’s vulnerability to mycotoxin contamination, and significantly threatens its’s food systems, public health, and agro-economic development. Herein we analyse sixteen years (2005/2006–2020/2021) of annual national meteorological data on South Africa which reveals both systematic and erratic variability in critical climatic factors known to influence mycotoxin contamination in crops. Within the same study period, data on fumonisin (FB) monitoring show clear climate-dependent trends. The strongest positive warming trend is observed between 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 (0.51 °C/year), and a strong positive correlation is likewise established between FB contamination and temperature (r ranging from 0.6 to 0.9). Four machine learning models, viz support vector machines, eXtreme gradient boosting, random forest, and orthogonal partial least squares, are generalized on the historical data with suitable performance (RMSE as low as 0.00). All the adopted models are able to predict future FB contamination patterns with reasonable precision (R2 ranging from 0.34 to 1.00). The most important model feature for predicting average FB contamination (YA) is the historical pattern of average FB contamination in maize within the region (ΣFBs_avg). The two most significant features in modelling maximum FB contamination (YM) are minimum temperature from the CMIP6 data (Pro_tempMIN) and observed precipitation from the CRU data (O_prep). Our study provides strong evidence of the impact of climate change on FB in South Africa and reiterates the significance of machine learning modelling in predicting mycotoxin contamination in light of changing climatic conditions, which could facilitate early warnings and the adoption of relevant mitigation measures that could help in mycotoxin risk management and control.
Approximating the nuclear binding energy using analytic continued fractions
Authors: Moscato Pablo , Grebogi Rafael
Published: May 2024

Understanding nuclear behaviour is fundamental in nuclear physics. This paper introduces a data-driven approach, Continued Fraction Regression (), to analyze nuclear binding energy (B(A, Z)). Using a tailored loss function and analytic continued fractions, our method accurately approximates stable and experimentally confirmed unstable nuclides. We identify the best model for nuclides with $$A\ge 200$$

A
≥
200

, achieving precise predictions with residuals smaller than 0.15 MeV. Our model’s extrapolation capabilities are demonstrated as it converges with upper and lower bounds at the nuclear mass limit, reinforcing its accuracy and robustness. The results offer valuable insights into the current limitations of state-of-the-art data-driven approaches in approximating the nuclear binding energy. This work provides an illustration on the use of analytical continued fraction regression for a wide range of other possible applications.
Impact of LaZnFe2O4 supported NiWO4@D400-MMT@CMS/MMA nanocomposites as a catalytic system in remediation of dyes from wastewater
Authors: Fouda Safaa. R. , Hassan Salah A.
Published: May 2024

Herein, a novel nanocomposite based on lanthanum zinc ferrite and nickel tungstate was created by incorporation between (MMT-jeffamine-400) nanoparticles (NPs), chloromethyl styrene as a binder and polymethyl methacrylate monomer using solution polymerization. The as-designed nanocomposites were employed to confiscate xylenol orange “X.O” as an acidic dye and rhodamine B “RhB” as “an amphoteric dye” from colored wastewater. The impact of several parameters such as solution pH, initial dye concentration, the effect of time, and the effect of temperature was explored. The consequences indicated that the pure organoclay had negligible adsorption while that composed of organoclay with PMMA@CMS-polymer incorporated with LaZnFe2O4@NiWO4 particles detached more than 90% for xylenol orange (XO) and 93% for “rhodamine B” molecules. Electrostatic interactions are the predominant factor in the adsorption of cationic and amphoteric adsorbates, as proven by zeta-potential measurement. Additionally, the adsorbent may be regenerate and utilized up to five times with good adsorption capabilities by adding sodium hydroxide. As a result, the removal can be effectively accomplished using the nanocomposite as an adsorbent. The actual and theoretical adsorption capacity values for both dyes at all doses were closely matched, which supported the adsorption kinetics data that fit the pseudo-first order rate model well. The adsorption data’s correlation values (0.995 for XO and 0.98 for RhB) indicated that both dyes’ Langmuir adsorption would perform well. Furthermore, the adsorption of XO and RhB dyes on the adsorbent is confirmed to be a viable reaction by the negative values of ΔGo. The enhanced adsorbent material for the removal of amphoteric and anionic dyes from waste water is the synthesized LaZnFe2O4 supported NiWO4@D400-MMT@CMS/MMA nanocomposites, which exhibits a reusability affinity of up to five cycles.
Introduction of sugar-modified nucleotides into CpG-containing antisense oligonucleotides inhibits TLR9 activation
Authors: Yoshida Tokuyuki , Hagihara Tomoko , Uchida Yasunori , Horiuchi Yoshiyuki , Sasaki Kiyomi , Yamamoto Takenori , Yamashita Takuma , Goda Yukihiro , Saito Yoshiro , Yamaguchi Takao , Obika Satoshi , Yamamoto Seiji , Inoue Takao
Published: May 2024

Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are synthetic single-stranded oligonucleotides that bind to RNAs through Watson–Crick base pairings. They are actively being developed as therapeutics for various human diseases. ASOs containing unmethylated deoxycytidylyl-deoxyguanosine dinucleotide (CpG) motifs are known to trigger innate immune responses via interaction with toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). However, the TLR9-stimulatory properties of ASOs, specifically those with lengths equal to or less than 20 nucleotides, phosphorothioate linkages, and the presence and arrangement of sugar-modified nucleotides—crucial elements for ASO therapeutics under development—have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we first established SY-ODN18, an 18-nucleotide phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide with sufficient TLR9-stimulatory activity. We demonstrated that an unmethylated CpG motif near its 5′-end was indispensable for TLR9 activation. Moreover, by utilizing various sugar-modified nucleotides, we systematically generated model ASOs, including gapmer, mixmer, and fully modified designs, in accordance with the structures of ASO therapeutics. Our results illustrated that introducing sugar-modified nucleotides in such designs significantly reduces TLR9-stimulatory activity, even without methylation of CpG motifs. These findings would be useful for drug designs on several types of ASOs.
All-optical control of skyrmion configuration in CrI$$_3$$ monolayer
Authors: Kazemi M. , Kudlis A. , Bessarab P. F. , Shelykh I. A.
Published: May 2024

The potential for manipulating characteristics of skyrmions in a CrI$$_3$$

3

monolayer using circularly polarised light is explored. The effective skyrmion-light interaction is mediated by bright excitons whose magnetization is selectively influenced by the polarization of photons. The light-induced skyrmion dynamics is illustrated by the dependencies of the skyrmion size and the skyrmion lifetime on the intensity and polarization of the incident light pulse. Two-dimensional magnets hosting excitons thus represent a promising platform for the control of topological magnetic structures by light.
Elevated levels of IL-12/IL-23p40 in Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers with autoimmune disease and lymphoma
Authors: Nilsson Malin , Kozyrev Sergey V. , Saellström Sara , Johansson Siri , Andersson Göran , Lindblad-Toh Kerstin , Hansson-Hamlin Helene , Rönnberg Henrik
Published: May 2024

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (NSDTR) is predisposed to immune mediated rheumatic disease (IMRD), steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) and certain forms of cancer. Cytokines are the main regulators of the immune system. Interleukin 2 is a cytokine involved in activation of T regulatory cells, playing a role in central tolerance and tumor immunity. Interleukin 12 and interleukin 23 share the same subunit, p40, and are both pro-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this study was to compare levels of IL-2 in healthy NSDTRs to those with cancer or autoimmune disease and to compare levels of IL-12/IL-23p40 in healthy NSDTRs and beagles versus NSDTRs with cancer or autoimmune disease. 62 dogs were included in the analysis of IL-12/IL-23p40; healthy NSDTRs (n = 16), healthy beagles (n = 16), NSDTRs autoimmune (n = 18) and NDSTRs lymphoma/mastocytoma (n = 12) and 68 dogs for IL-2; healthy (n = 20), autoimmune (n = 36) and lymphoma/mastocytoma/adenocarcinoma (n = 12). NSDTRs with autoimmune disease had higher levels of IL-12/IL-23p40 compared to healthy dogs (p = 0.008). NSDTRs with lymphoma also had higher levels of IL-12/IL-23p40 compared to healthy NSDTRs (p = 0.002). There was no difference in levels of IL-2 between healthy and diseased NSDTR. Statistical analysis was performed using Bonferroni corrections for multiple testing. These findings can contribute to the knowledge of autoimmune disease and cancer in dogs.
Combination of proton- or X-irradiation with anti-PDL1 immunotherapy in two murine oral cancers
Authors: Rykkelid Anne Marit , Sinha Priyanshu Manojkumar , Folefac Charlemagne Asonganyi , Horsman Michael R. , Sørensen Brita Singers , Søland Tine Merete , Schreurs Olaf Joseph Franciscus , Malinen Eirik , Edin Nina Frederike J.
Published: May 2024

Combining radiation therapy with immunotherapy is a strategy to improve both treatments. The purpose of this study was to compare responses for two syngeneic head and neck cancer (HNC) tumor models in mice following X-ray or proton irradiation with or without immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). MOC1 (immunogenic) and MOC2 (less immunogenic) tumors were inoculated in the right hind leg of each mouse (C57BL/6J, n = 398). Mice were injected with anti-PDL1 (10 mg/kg, twice weekly for 2 weeks), and tumors were treated with single-dose irradiation (5–30 Gy) with X-rays or protons. MOC2 tumors grew faster and were more radioresistant than MOC1 tumors, and all mice with MOC2 tumors developed metastases. Irradiation reduced the tumor volume in a dose-dependent manner. ICI alone reduced the tumor volume for MOC1 with 20% compared to controls, while no reduction was seen for MOC2. For MOC1, there was a clear treatment synergy when combining irradiation with ICI for radiation doses above 5 Gy and there was a tendency for X-rays being slightly more biologically effective compared to protons. For MOC2, there was a tendency of protons being more effective than X-rays, but both radiation types showed a small synergy when combined with ICI. Although the responses and magnitudes of the therapeutic effect varied, the optimal radiation dose for maximal synergy appeared to be in the order of 10–15 Gy, regardless of tumor model.
Design and development of a novel multirotor configuration with counter-rotating coaxial propellers
Authors: Malakouti Khah Mohammad , Esmailifar Sayyed Majid , Saadat Sepehr
Published: May 2024

In this study, a novel multirotor configuration has been developed, which utilizes a coaxial counter-rotating propeller with a large diameter at the center and four propellers with smaller diameters on four arms in an X configuration. The research pursues two main objectives. The first objective is to establish a development method for multirotors based on the well-known V-method approach in system development. The proposed method enables the design team to analyse and evaluate the multirotor at each stage of the design process, from the system to the component level, and improve the design with greater speed and accuracy. Additionally, the proposed approach can be integrated with various optimization methods, if necessary, to achieve an optimal design. The second objective is to provide the proof-of-concept of the novel multirotor configuration. This objective is pursued across different evaluation sections, from evaluating individual components to fully evaluating the multirotor, to assess the performance of this novel configuration and identify its advantages and disadvantages. The results of various evaluations demonstrate the proposed development process's practicality and proves that the novel configuration is operational and competitive with conventional multirotors in various applications.
The Gly82Ser polymorphism in the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts increases the risk for coronary events in the general population
Authors: Grauen Larsen Helena , Sun Jiangming , Sjögren Marketa , Borné Yan , Engström Gunnar , Nilsson Peter , Orho-Melander Marju , Goncalves Isabel , Nilsson Jan , Melander Olle , Schiopu Alexandru
Published: May 2024

The receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) has pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic effects. Low plasma levels of soluble RAGE (sRAGE), a decoy receptor for RAGE ligands, have been associated with increased risk for major adverse coronary events (MACE) in the general population. We performed a genome-wide association study to identify genetic determinants of plasma sRAGE in 4338 individuals from the cardiovascular arm of the Malmö Diet and Cancer study (MDC-CV). Further, we explored the associations between these genetic variants, incident first-time MACE and mortality in 24,640 unrelated individuals of European ancestry from the MDC cohort. The minor alleles of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs2070600, rs204993, rs116653040, and rs7306778 were independently associated with lower plasma sRAGE. The minor T (vs. C) allele of rs2070600 was associated with increased risk for MACE [HR 1.13 95% CI (1.02–1.25), P = 0.016]. Neither SNP was associated with mortality. This is the largest study to demonstrate a link between a genetic sRAGE determinant and CV risk. Only rs2070600, which enhances RAGE function by inducing a Gly82Ser polymorphism in the ligand-binding domain, was associated with MACE. The lack of associations with incident MACE for the other sRAGE-lowering SNPs suggests that this functional RAGE modification is central for the observed relationship.
Medial sigmoid depression prevalence and association with a sigmoid notch: cone beam computed tomography and panoramic image study
Authors: Dogan Ozlem Busra , Boyacioglu Hatice
Published: May 2024

This study aims to determine whether and how the data of the medial sigmoid depression (MSD) area via cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) differs from panoramic radiography. This study also aims to evaluate various sigmoid notch types and assess the relationship between sigmoid depression and notch morphology. A total of 129 individuals consisting of 258 sides were evaluated. Chi-Square/Fisher Exact tests were used to assess parameters on a categorical scale between two or more groups. McNemar’s test compared the findings detected on panoramic and CBCT images. MSD was more prevalent in females than males in both techniques, but this difference was not statistically significant. There was no association between the prevalence of MSD and the morphology of the sigmoid notch. The incidence of MSD shape was not significantly different between both imaging modalities. In both panoramic and CBCT, we found a high and similar prevalence of MSD. While the MSD prevalence was 66.7% for CBCT, it was 58.1% for panoramic. The shape or prevalence of MSDs in either approach did not correlate with sigmoid notch morphology. The two approaches' identical prevalence indicates that the panoramic image has adequately defines MSD. The high prevalence of MSD demonstrated how important it is for clinicians to characterize this anatomical variation accurately for the surgical treatment.
Down-film as a new non-frame porous material for sound absorption
Authors: Zhang Tingying , Zhang Jiyang , Hou Hong , Xu Ying , Chen Kean
Published: May 2024

Down-polyethylene film material has been introduced for the first time as an excellent non-frame sound absorber, showing a distinctively outstanding performance. It contains down fiber adjacent to each other without firm connection in between, forming a structure of elastic fiber network. The unique structure has broadband response to sound wave, showing non-synchronous vibration in low and middle frequency and synchronous vibration in middle and high frequency. The broadband resonance in middle and high frequency allows the structure to achieve complete sound absorption in resonance frequency band. Moreover, down-polyethylene film material possesses forced vibration, corresponding sound absorption coefficient has been obtained based on vibration theory. The down-film sound absorption material has the characteristics of light weight, soft, environment-friendly, and has excellent broadband sound absorption performance.
Chronic ingestion of soy peptide supplementation reduces aggressive behavior and abnormal fear memory caused by juvenile social isolation
Authors: Tamura Hideki , Miyazaki Akiko , Kawamura Takashi , Gotoh Hikaru , Yamamoto Naoki , Narita Minoru
Published: May 2024

Juvenile loneliness is a risk factor for psychopathology in later life. Deprivation of early social experience due to peer rejection has a detrimental impact on emotional and cognitive brain function in adulthood. Accumulating evidence indicates that soy peptides have many positive effects on higher brain function in rodents and humans. However, the effects of soy peptide use on juvenile social isolation are unknown. Here, we demonstrated that soy peptides reduced the deterioration of behavioral and cellular functions resulting from juvenile socially-isolated rearing. We found that prolonged social isolation post-weaning in male C57BL/6J mice resulted in higher aggression and impulsivity and fear memory deficits at 7 weeks of age, and that these behavioral abnormalities, except impulsivity, were mitigated by ingestion of soy peptides. Furthermore, we found that daily intake of soy peptides caused upregulation of postsynaptic density 95 in the medial prefrontal cortex and phosphorylation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein in the hippocampus of socially isolated mice, increased phosphorylation of the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase in the hippocampus, and altered the microbiota composition. These results suggest that soy peptides have protective effects against juvenile social isolation-induced behavioral deficits via synaptic maturation and cellular functionalization.
Theoretical prediction of broadband ambient light optogenetic vision restoration with ChRmine and its mutants
Authors: Bansal Himanshu , Pyari Gur , Roy Sukhdev
Published: May 2024

Vision restoration is one of the most promising applications of optogenetics. However, it is limited due to the poor-sensitivity, slow-kinetics and narrow band absorption spectra of opsins. Here, a detailed theoretical study of retinal ganglion neurons (RGNs) expressed with ChRmine, ReaChR, CoChR, CatCh and their mutants, with near monochromatic LEDs, and broadband sunlight, halogen lamp, RGB LED light, and pure white light sources has been presented. All the opsins exhibit improved light sensitivity and larger photocurrent on illuminating with broadband light sources compared to narrow band LEDs. ChRmine allows firing at ambient sunlight (1.5 nW/mm2) and pure white light (1.2 nW/mm2), which is lowest among the opsins considered. The broadband activation spectrum of ChRmine and its mutants is also useful to restore color sensitivity. Although ChRmine exhibits slower turn-off kinetics with broadband light, high-fidelity spikes can be evoked upto 50 Hz. This limit extends upto 80 Hz with the improved hsChRmine mutant although it requires double the irradiance compared to ChRmine. The present study shows that ChRmine and its mutants allow activation of RGNs with ambient light which is useful for goggle-free white light optogenetic retinal prostheses with improved quality of restored vision.
Applying oversampling before cross-validation will lead to high bias in radiomics
Authors: Demircioğlu Aydin
Published: May 2024

Class imbalance is often unavoidable for radiomic data collected from clinical routine. It can create problems during classifier training since the majority class could dominate the minority class. Consequently, resampling methods like oversampling or undersampling are applied to the data to class-balance the data. However, the resampling must not be applied upfront to all data because it would lead to data leakage and, therefore, to erroneous results. This study aims to measure the extent of this bias. Five-fold cross-validation with 30 repeats was performed using a set of 15 radiomic datasets to train predictive models. The training involved two scenarios: first, the models were trained correctly by applying the resampling methods during the cross-validation. Second, the models were trained incorrectly by performing the resampling on all the data before cross-validation. The bias was defined empirically as the difference between the best-performing models in both scenarios in terms of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, balanced accuracy, and the Brier score. In addition, a simulation study was performed on a randomly generated dataset for verification. The results demonstrated that incorrectly applying the oversampling methods to all data resulted in a large positive bias (up to 0.34 in AUC, 0.33 in sensitivity, 0.31 in specificity, and 0.37 in balanced accuracy). The bias depended on the data balance, and approximately an increase of 0.10 in the AUC was observed for each increase in imbalance. The models also showed a bias in calibration measured using the Brier score, which differed by up to −0.18 between the correctly and incorrectly trained models. The undersampling methods were not affected significantly by bias. These results emphasize that any resampling method should be applied correctly only to the training data to avoid data leakage and, subsequently, biased model performance and calibration.
Mechanical recycling of CFRPs based on thermoplastic acrylic resin with the addition of carbon nanotubes
Authors: Demski Szymon , Misiak Michał , Majchrowicz Kamil , Komorowska Gabriela , Lipkowski Adrian , Stankiewicz Karolina , Dydek Kamil , Waśniewski Bartłomiej , Boczkowska Anna , Ehrlich Hermann
Published: May 2024

Carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are commonly used in aviation, automotive and renewable energy markets, which are constantly growing. Increasing the production of composite parts leads to increased waste production and a future increase in end-of-life components. To improve the recyclability of CFRPs, new materials that fit in with the idea of a circular economy should be used as a composite matrix. One such material is a commercially available thermoplastic liquid resin, Elium® (Arkema, France). In this work, the authors investigated how the mechanical recycling process affects the properties of thermoplastic-based carbon fibre composites. CFRPs with neat Elium® resin and resin modified with 0.02 wt.% single-walled carbon nanotubes or 0.02 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotubes were manufactured using the resin infusion process. Afterwards, prepared laminates were mechanically ground, and a new set of composites was manufactured by thermopressing. The microstructure, mechanical, thermal and electrical properties were investigated for both sets of composites. The results showed that mechanical grinding and thermopressing processes lead to a significant increase in the electrical conductivity of composites. Additionally, a sharp decrease in all mechanical properties was observed.
Stochastic Gradient Descent-like relaxation is equivalent to Metropolis dynamics in discrete optimization and inference problems
Authors: Angelini Maria Chiara , Cavaliere Angelo Giorgio , Marino Raffaele , Ricci-Tersenghi Federico
Published: May 2024

Is Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) substantially different from Metropolis Monte Carlo dynamics? This is a fundamental question at the time of understanding the most used training algorithm in the field of Machine Learning, but it received no answer until now. Here we show that in discrete optimization and inference problems, the dynamics of an SGD-like algorithm resemble very closely that of Metropolis Monte Carlo with a properly chosen temperature, which depends on the mini-batch size. This quantitative matching holds both at equilibrium and in the out-of-equilibrium regime, despite the two algorithms having fundamental differences (e.g. SGD does not satisfy detailed balance). Such equivalence allows us to use results about performances and limits of Monte Carlo algorithms to optimize the mini-batch size in the SGD-like algorithm and make it efficient at recovering the signal in hard inference problems.
Lightweight interactive feature inference network for single-image super-resolution
Authors: Wang Li , Li Xing , Tian Wei , Peng Jianhua , Chen Rui
Published: May 2024

The emergence of convolutional neural network (CNN) and transformer has recently facilitated significant advances in image super-resolution (SR) tasks. However, these networks commonly construct complex structures, having huge model parameters and high computational costs, to boost reconstruction performance. In addition, they do not consider the structural prior well, which is not conducive to high-quality image reconstruction. In this work, we devise a lightweight interactive feature inference network (IFIN), complementing the strengths of CNN and Transformer, for effective image SR reconstruction. Specifically, the interactive feature aggregation module (IFAM), implemented by structure-aware attention block (SAAB), Swin Transformer block (SWTB), and enhanced spatial adaptive block (ESAB), serves as the network backbone, progressively extracts more dedicated features to facilitate the reconstruction of high-frequency details in the image. SAAB adaptively recalibrates local salient structural information, and SWTB effectively captures rich global information. Further, ESAB synergetically complements local and global priors to ensure the consistent fusion of diverse features, achieving high-quality reconstruction of images. Comprehensive experiments reveal that our proposed networks attain state-of-the-art reconstruction accuracy on benchmark datasets while maintaining low computational demands. Our code and results are available at: https://github.com/wwaannggllii/IFIN.
Origins of cancer: ain’t it just mature cells misbehaving?
Authors: Cho Charles J , Brown Jeffrey W , Mills Jason C
Published: May 2024

A pervasive view is that undifferentiated stem cells are alone responsible for generating all other cells and are the origins of cancer. However, emerging evidence demonstrates fully differentiated cells are plastic, can be coaxed to proliferate, and also play essential roles in tissue maintenance, regeneration, and tumorigenesis. Here, we review the mechanisms governing how differentiated cells become cancer cells. First, we examine the unique characteristics of differentiated cell division, focusing on why differentiated cells are more susceptible than stem cells to accumulating mutations. Next, we investigate why the evolution of multicellularity in animals likely required plastic differentiated cells that maintain the capacity to return to the cell cycle and required the tumor suppressor p53. Finally, we examine an example of an evolutionarily conserved program for the plasticity of differentiated cells, paligenosis, which helps explain the origins of cancers that arise in adults. Altogether, we highlight new perspectives for understanding the development of cancer and new strategies for preventing carcinogenic cellular transformations from occurring.
Semi-supervised learning of images with strong rotational disorder: assembling nanoparticle libraries
Authors: Ziatdinov Maxim A. , Yaman Muammer Yusuf , Liu Yongtao , Ginger David , Kalinin Sergei V.
Published: May 2024

ss-rVAE classification can generalize from a small labeled data subset with weak orientational disorder to a larger unlabeled dataset with stronger disorder. We apply it to nanoparticle datasets to train a robust classifier and understand physical factors of data variation.
Comparing drawing tasks and elaborate single-choice questions in simulation-based learning: how do they facilitate students’ conceptual understanding on chemical equilibria?
Authors: Peperkorn Yannik , Buschmann Jana-Kim , Schwedler Stefanie
Published: May 2024

Past research repeatedly revealed students’ struggles to understand chemical equilibria, especially concerning their dynamic nature. Black-box simulations have proven to be helpful here. However, the effect is strongly dependent on the quality of teaching, the design principles of which are not yet fully known. One aspect of debate concerns the nature of supportive learning tasks, which require students to activate, construct and reflect on their mental models to foster conceptual understanding. In this paper, we investigate how drawing-assisted simulation-based learning promotes conceptual understanding of chemical equilibria in comparison to single-choice tasks. Both types of supporting tasks involve simulation-based activities according to the German instructional design SIMMS (Simulation-basedInstruction forMentalModelling inSchool), which requires students to construct their own explanations and predictions on a chemical system before exploring it via molecular dynamics simulations and revising their explanations and predictions retrospectively. In a quasi-experimental intervention study with 174 German high school students of ten chemistry courses (tenth grade), two treatment groups (drawing group and single-choice group) were compared with a control group, assessing the progress in conceptual understanding during simulation-based learning via drawings and explanations as well as pre- and post-intervention via questionnaire. Our findings reveal similar effects of drawing tasks and elaborate single-choice tasks on conceptual understanding of chemical equilibria. For equilibrium dynamics specifically, simulation-based settings featuring drawing tasks seem to be slightly more effective than simulation-based settings featuring elaborate single-choice-tasks in fostering understanding. What is more, simulation-based settings on the divergent phenomenon of Le Chatelier (where different final states emerge from the same initial state, depending on the nature of external perturbation) seem to be more efficient than those on the convergent nature of chemical equilibria (where several initial states with different educt/product ratios yield the same final state in equilibrium) in fostering student understanding irrespective of the mode of the supportive learning task.
Analytical applications of droplet deposition Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Kočišová Eva , Kuižová Alžbeta , Procházka Marek
Published: May 2024

This review summarizes sensitive analytical detection. Analyte pre-concentration by droplet deposition is combined with SERS enhancement.
Ultrafast protein digestion using an immobilized enzyme reactor following high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis for rapid identification of abrin toxin
Authors: Chen Meng , Li Baoqiang , Wei Wenlu , Zhang Zhongyao , Zhang Lin , Li Cuiping , Huang Qibin
Published: May 2024

A method combining ultrasound probe-assisted digestion with immobilized enzyme reactors and direct nanoelectrospray ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometry was developed for rapid abrin toxin analysis.
A facile fluorescence method for the effective detection of ampicillin using antioxidant carbon dots with specific fluorescent response to ˙OH
Authors: Deng Xiaoqin , Zhang Menghan , Wang Yao , Miao Chenfang , Zheng Yanjie , Huang Jiyue , Chen Yongzhong , Weng Shaohuang
Published: May 2024

Antioxidative CDs with excellent fluorescence properties and specific responsiveness to ˙OH were prepared and applied to effectively detect ampicillin through fluorescence approach.
Application of the QuEChERS method combined with UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS for the determination of isoprocarb and carbaryl pesticides in Indonesian coffee
Authors: Harmoko Harmoko , Munawar Hasim , Bahri Syaiful , Andarwulan Nuri , Tjahjono Daryono Hadi , Kartasasmita Rahmana Emran , Fernández-Alba Amadeo R.
Published: May 2024

The QuEChERS method combined with UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS was validated for detecting isoprocarb and carbaryl in Indonesian coffee, showing high sensitivity and confirming no significant health risk from contaminated coffee consumption.
Sn-based film electrodeposited on Ag foil for selective electrochemical CO2 reduction to CO
Authors: Fan Zixi , Yang Han , Yang Dexin , Li Hongping , Qi Kongsheng , Hua Zhixin , Jia Xiaoyan , Chen Keke , Han Buxing
Published: May 2024

The Sn/Ag-20 electrode exhibits good performance on the selective electroreduction of CO2 to CO in combination with the appropriate electrolyte.
Hierarchical porous amorphous metal–organic frameworks constructed from ZnO/MOF glass composites
Authors: Feng Ying , Wu Jia-Xuan , Mo Yi-Hong , Liu Shuai , Cai Song-Liang , Zhang Wei-Guang , Fan Jun , Zheng Sheng-Run
Published: May 2024

Hierarchical porous amorphous MOFs containing ultramicropores, micropores, and mesopores were obtained via an ammonia etching posttreatment approach by using MOF galss/ZnO composites as precursors.
Far-red fluorescence and chiroptical properties of pyrrolopyrrole aza-BODIPYs induced by the B,O-chelation
Authors: Fukami Shuhei , Mori Shigeki , Harada Takunori , Shimizu Soji
Published: May 2024

A titanium-mediated aza-BODIPY synthesis using diketopyrrolopyrrole bearing o-anisyl substituents provided B,O-chelated pyrrolopyrrole aza-BODIPYs exhibiting far-red fluorescence and circularly polarized luminescence.
Aggregation and phase separation of α-synuclein in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Han Wanlu , Wei Mengrui , Xu Fei , Niu Zheng
Published: May 2024

Two distinct routes may lead to amyloid deposition in Parkinson's disease, nucleation mediated aggregation and condensate mediated aggregation, which are relevant to the pathogenesis and progression of the disease.
Pd(ii)-catalyzed cyclization of 2-methyl aromatic ketones with maleimides through weak chelation assisted dual C–H activation
Authors: Naskar Gouranga , Jeganmohan Masilamani
Published: May 2024

A palladium-catalyzed [3+2] annulation of substituted aromatic ketones and ester with maleimides leading to tricyclic heterocyclic molecules in good to excellent yields via a very poor carbonyl coordinated directing group is illustrated.
Electronic interaction between dimethyl carbonate and Li+ studied by attenuated total reflectance far-ultraviolet spectroscopy
Authors: Sato Hitomi , Ueno Nami , Tanabe Ichiro
Published: May 2024

Electronic interaction between an electrolyte solvent and lithium ions was revealed by far-ultraviolet spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations.