bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The integrated metallicity profile of the Milky Way
Authors: Lian Jianhui , Bergemann Maria , Pillepich Annalisa , Zasowski Gail , Lane Richard R.
Published: June 2023

The heavy element abundance profiles of galaxies place stringent constraints on galaxy growth and assembly history. As the Milky Way is currently the only spiral galaxy in which we can measure temporally resolved chemical abundances, it enables insights into the origin of metallicity gradients and their correlation with the growth history of galaxies. However, until now, these abundance profiles have not been translated into the integrated-light measurements that are needed to compare the Milky Way with the general galaxy population. Here we report the measurement of the light-weighted, integrated stellar metallicity profile of our Galaxy. We find that the integrated stellar metallicity profile of the Milky Way has a ∧-like broken shape, with a mildly positive gradient inside a Galactocentric radius of 7 kpc and a steep negative gradient outside. This broken integrated metallicity profile of the Milky Way is not unique but is not common among Milky Way-mass star-forming galaxies observed in the MaNGA survey and simulated in the TNG50 cosmological simulation. Our results suggest that the Milky Way might not have a typical metallicity distribution for a galaxy of its mass, and thus offers valuable insight into the rich variety of galaxy enrichment processes.
Rapid and stain-free quantification of viral plaque via lens-free holography and deep learning
Authors: Liu Tairan , Li Yuzhu , Koydemir Hatice Ceylan , Zhang Yijie , Yang Ethan , Eryilmaz Merve , Wang Hongda , Li Jingxi , Bai Bijie , Ma Guangdong , Ozcan Aydogan
Published: June 2023

A plaque assay—the gold-standard method for measuring the concentration of replication-competent lytic virions—requires staining and usually more than 48 h of runtime. Here we show that lens-free holographic imaging and deep learning can be combined to expedite and automate the assay. The compact imaging device captures phase information label-free at a rate of approximately 0.32 gigapixels per hour per well, covers an area of about 30 × 30 mm2 and a 10-fold larger dynamic range of virus concentration than standard assays, and quantifies the infected area and the number of plaque-forming units. For the vesicular stomatitis virus, the automated plaque assay detected the first cell-lysing events caused by viral replication as early as 5 h after incubation, and in less than 20 h it detected plaque-forming units at rates higher than 90% at 100% specificity. Furthermore, it reduced the incubation time of the herpes simplex virus type 1 by about 48 h and that of the encephalomyocarditis virus by about 20 h. The stain-free assay should be amenable for use in virology research, vaccine development and clinical diagnosis.
Coulomb-correlated electron number states in a transmission electron microscope beam
Authors: Haindl Rudolf , Feist Armin , Domröse Till , Möller Marcel , Gaida John H. , Yalunin Sergey V. , Ropers Claus
Published: June 2023

While correlated electrons are at the heart of many phenomena in condensed matter, as well as atomic and molecular physics, Coulomb interactions in free-electron beams are generally considered detrimental. Here, we demonstrate the generation of Coulomb-correlated pair, triple and quadruple states of free electrons by femtosecond photoemission from a nanoscale field emitter inside a transmission electron microscope. Event-based electron spectroscopy allows the spatial and spectral characterization of the electron ensemble emitted by each laser pulse. We identify distinctive energy and momentum correlations arising from acceleration-enhanced interparticle energy exchange, revealing strong few-body Coulomb interactions at an energy scale of 2 eV. State-sorted beam caustics show a discrete increase in virtual source size and longitudinal source shift for few-electron states, associated with transverse momentum correlations. We observe field-controllable electron antibunching, attributed primarily to transverse Coulomb deflection. The pronounced spatial and spectral characteristics of these electron number states allow filtering schemes that control the statistical distribution of the pulse charge. In this way, the fraction of specific few-electron states can be actively suppressed or enhanced, facilitating the preparation of highly non-Poissonian electron beams for microscopy and lithography, including future heralding schemes and correlated multi-electron probing.
Single-cell m6A mapping in vivo using picoMeRIP–seq
Authors: Li Yanjiao , Wang Yunhao , Vera-Rodriguez Maria , Lindeman Leif Christopher , Skuggen Linda Ellevog , Rasmussen Erik M. K. , Jermstad Ingunn , Khan Shaista , Fosslie Madeleine , Skuland Trine , Indahl Marie , Khodeer Sherif , Klemsdal Eva Kristine , Jin Kang-Xuan , Dalen Knut Tomas , Fedorcsak Peter , Greggains Gareth D. , Lerdrup Mads , Klungland Arne , Au Kin Fai , Dahl John Arne
Published: June 2023

Current N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mapping methods need large amounts of RNA or are limited to cultured cells. Through optimized sample recovery and signal-to-noise ratio, we developed picogram-scale m6A RNA immunoprecipitation and sequencing (picoMeRIP–seq) for studying m6A in vivo in single cells and scarce cell types using standard laboratory equipment. We benchmark m6A mapping on titrations of poly(A) RNA and embryonic stem cells and in single zebrafish zygotes, mouse oocytes and embryos.
Coswara: A respiratory sounds and symptoms dataset for remote screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Bhattacharya Debarpan , Sharma Neeraj Kumar , Dutta Debottam , Chetupalli Srikanth Raj , Mote Pravin , Ganapathy Sriram , Chandrakiran C. , Nori Sahiti , Suhail K. K. , Gonuguntla Sadhana , Alagesan Murali
Published: June 2023

This paper presents the Coswara dataset, a dataset containing diverse set of respiratory sounds and rich meta-data, recorded between April-2020 and February-2022 from 2635 individuals (1819 SARS-CoV-2 negative, 674 positive, and 142 recovered subjects). The respiratory sounds contained nine sound categories associated with variants of breathing, cough and speech. The rich metadata contained demographic information associated with age, gender and geographic location, as well as the health information relating to the symptoms, pre-existing respiratory ailments, comorbidity and SARS-CoV-2 test status. Our study is the first of its kind to manually annotate the audio quality of the entire dataset (amounting to 65 hours) through manual listening. The paper summarizes the data collection procedure, demographic, symptoms and audio data information. A COVID-19 classifier based on bi-directional long short-term (BLSTM) architecture, is trained and evaluated on the different population sub-groups contained in the dataset to understand the bias/fairness of the model. This enabled the analysis of the impact of gender, geographic location, date of recording, and language proficiency on the COVID-19 detection performance.
Human viral nucleic acids concentrations in wastewater solids from Central and Coastal California USA
Authors: Boehm Alexandria B. , Wolfe Marlene K. , Wigginton Krista R. , Bidwell Amanda , White Bradley J. , Hughes Bridgette , Duong Dorothea , Chan-Herur Vikram , Bischel Heather N. , Naughton Colleen C.
Published: June 2023

We measured concentrations of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mpox virus, human metapneumovirus, norovirus GII, and pepper mild mottle virus nucleic acids in wastewater solids at twelve wastewater treatment plants in Central California, USA. Measurements were made daily for up to two years, depending on the wastewater treatment plant. Measurements were made using digital droplet (reverse-transcription–) polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) following best practices for making environmental molecular biology measurements. These data can be used to better understand disease occurrence in communities contributing to the wastewater.
Durable recovery from amblyopia with donepezil
Authors: Wu Carolyn , Gaier Eric D. , Nihalani Bharti R. , Whitecross Sarah , Hensch Takao K. , Hunter David G.
Published: June 2023

An elevated threshold for neuroplasticity limits visual gains with treatment of residual amblyopia in older children and adults. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) can enable visual neuroplasticity and promote recovery from amblyopia in adult mice. Motivated by these promising findings, we sought to determine whether donepezil, a commercially available AChEI, can enable recovery in older children and adults with residual amblyopia. In this open-label pilot efficacy study, 16 participants (mean age 16 years; range 9–37 years) with residual anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia were treated with daily oral donepezil for 12 weeks. Donepezil dosage was started at 2.5 or 5.0 mg based on age and increased by 2.5 mg if the amblyopic eye visual acuity did not improve by 1 line from the visit 4 weeks prior for a maximum dosage of 7.5 or 10 mg. Participants < 18 years of age further patched the dominant eye. The primary outcome was visual acuity in the amblyopic eye at 22 weeks, 10 weeks after treatment was discontinued. Mean amblyopic eye visual acuity improved 1.2 lines (range 0.0–3.0), and 4/16 (25%) improved by ≥ 2 lines after 12 weeks of treatment. Gains were maintained 10 weeks after cessation of donepezil and were similar for children and adults. Adverse events were mild and self-limited. Residual amblyopia improves in older children and adults treated with donepezil, supporting the concept that the critical window of visual cortical plasticity can be pharmacologically manipulated to treat amblyopia. Placebo-controlled studies are needed.
A feasibility study on AI-controlled closed-loop electrical stimulation implants
Authors: Eickhoff Steffen , Garcia-Agundez Augusto , Haidar Daniela , Zaidat Bashar , Adjei-Mosi Michael , Li Peter , Eickhoff Carsten
Published: June 2023

Miniaturized electrical stimulation (ES) implants show great promise in practice, but their real-time control by means of biophysical mechanistic algorithms is not feasible due to computational complexity. Here, we study the feasibility of more computationally efficient machine learning methods to control ES implants. For this, we estimate the normalized twitch force of the stimulated extensor digitorum longus muscle on n = 11 Wistar rats with intra- and cross-subject calibration. After 2000 training stimulations, we reach a mean absolute error of 0.03 in an intra-subject setting and 0.2 in a cross-subject setting with a random forest regressor. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first experiment showing the feasibility of AI to simulate complex ES mechanistic models. However, the results of cross-subject training motivate more research on error reduction methods for this setting.
Micronutrient intake status and associated factors in children aged 6–23 months in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Engidaw Melaku Tadege , Gebremariam Alemayehu Digssie , Tiruneh Sofonyas Abebaw , Tesfa Desalegn , Fentaw Yalelet , Kefale Belayneh , Tiruneh Mulu , Wubie Abebaw Tadesse
Published: June 2023

Micronutrient deficiency has serious consequences across all ages worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Poor micronutrient (MN) consumption among children remains a major public health concern in many countries. Low literacy, poor diets, a lack of access to healthcare, and insufficient agricultural productivity made proper micronutrient consumption difficult, despite numerous interventions. Thus, this research aimed to determine the adequate intake of MNs among 6–23 months of age children in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially, a two-stage stratified sampling technique was applied for the selected recent demographic and health survey data. The data source was the (2015–2020) standard demographic and health surveys (DHS) among 20 Sub-Saharan African countries. Micronutrient intake status (the outcome variable) was determined using either food rich in Vitamin A or iron consumed within the previous 24 hr or multiple micronutrient powder or iron supplementation within the previous 07 days or vitamin A supplementation or deworming within 06 months. A generalized linear mixed model based on Modified Poisson regression and robust error variance was used to identify factors associated with children’s adequate micronutrient intake. An adjusted Prevalence Ratio (aPR) with a 95% confidence interval was used to identify factors, strength and direction of the association. The total samples of 65,187 children aged 6–23 months were included. Of all, 73.99% (95% CI: 73.65, 74.32) of children had adequate intake of micronutrients. Maternal education (primary (aPR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.06) and secondary (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.09)), father’s education (primary (aPR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05) and secondary (aPR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.06)), occupational status of the mother (aPR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.06), pregnancy interval (aPR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95, 0.99), exclusive breastfeeding status (aPR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.85), birthweight (average (aPR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05) and larger than average (aPR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.06)), multiple/twin at birth (aPR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91, 0.98), child age (aPR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.25), number of children in home (aPR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.03), ANC utilization (aPR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.27), place of birth (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91, 0.95), rich households (aPR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05), and countries from Central (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.09), South Africa (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.11), and West African (aPR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92, 0.99) were associated with level of micronutrients intake status. The prevalence of adequate intake of MN was considerable. Variables at the child, family and community levels were associated with adequate intake of micronutrients. Consequently, stakeholders’ involvement is required in healthcare and community settings.
In-situ preparation of sulfonated carbonaceous copper oxide-zirconia nanocomposite as a novel and recyclable solid acid catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol
Authors: Farrag Mostafa
Published: June 2023

The missing-linker defects of UiO-66 were exploited to covalently anchor Cu nanoclusters (Cu/UiO-66). The molecular interactions between the metals and oxides as copper-zirconia interfaces in Cu/UiO-66 are essential for heterogeneous catalysis, leading to remarkable synergistic impacts on activity and selectivity. Homogeneously distributed carbonaceous mixed metal oxides (CuO/ZrO2@C) nanocomposite was prepared via carbonization of the Cu/UiO-66 at 600 °C for 3 h in air. To enhance the acidity properties of the CuO/ZrO2@C nanocomposite, a small amount of sulfuric acid was added and heated at 150 °C under an N2 atmosphere (CuO/ZrO2-SO3H@C). The synthesised Cu/UiO-66 and CuO/ZrO2-SO3H@C catalysts were used as novel catalysts in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The Cu/UiO-66 and CuO/ZrO2-SO3H@C catalysts displayed complete conversion of the 4-NP solution during (4 and 2 min) stirring at room temperature, respectively. These two catalysts exhibited a high reduction rate of 8.61 × 10–3 s−1, and 18.3 × 10–3 s−1, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis showed the charge of copper atoms in the Cu/UiO-66 catalyst was Cu0/CuII and in the CuO/ZrO2-SO3H@C catalyst was CuI/CuII with nearly the same ratio (65/35). The particle size and the elemental composition of the CuO/ZrO2-SO3H@C catalyst were analysed by using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and elemental mapping, respectively. The key point beyond the high catalytic activity and selectivity of the CuO/ZrO2-SO3H@C catalyst is both the carbon–metal oxides heterojunction structure that leads to good dispersion of the CuO and ZrO2 over the carbon sheets, and the high acidity properties that come from the combination between the Brønsted acid sites from sulfuric acid and Lewis acid sites from the UiO-66. The catalysts exhibited good recyclability efficiency without significant loss in activity, indicating their good potential for industrial applications.
A coiled-coil-based design strategy for the thermostabilization of G-protein-coupled receptors
Authors: Amer Marwa , Leka Oneda , Jasko Piotr , Frey Daniel , Li Xiaodan , Kammerer Richard A.
Published: June 2023

Structure elucidation of inactive-state GPCRs still mostly relies on X-ray crystallography. The major goal of our work was to create a new GPCR tool that would provide receptor stability and additional soluble surface for crystallization. Towards this aim, we selected the two-stranded antiparallel coiled coil as a domain fold that satisfies both criteria. A selection of antiparallel coiled coils was used for structure-guided substitution of intracellular loop 3 of the β3 adrenergic receptor. Unexpectedly, only the two GPCR variants containing thermostable coiled coils were expressed. We showed that one GPCR chimera is stable upon purification in detergent, retains ligand-binding properties, and can be crystallized. However, the quality of the crystals was not suitable for structure determination. By using two other examples, 5HTR2C and α2BAR, we demonstrate that our approach is generally suitable for the stabilization of GPCRs. To provide additional surface for promoting crystal contacts, we replaced in a structure-based approach the loop connecting the antiparallel coiled coil by T4L. We found that the engineered GPCR is even more stable than the coiled-coil variant. Negative-staining TEM revealed a homogeneous distribution of particles, indicating that coiled-coil-T4L receptor variants might also be promising candidate proteins for structure elucidation by cryo-EM. Our approach should be of interest for applications that benefit from stable GPCRs.
Thermal management analyses of induction motor through the combination of air-cooling and an integrated water-cooling system
Authors: Madhavan Sameer , Devdatta P B Raunak , Konda Yashwanth Reddy , Gundabattini Edison , Mystkowski Arkadiusz , Palka Ryszard , Wardach Marcin , Prajzendanc Pawel
Published: June 2023

The correct strategy of heat management in electric machines is extremely important due to their operating costs and length of operation. In this paper, the thermal management element strategies of the induction motors are developed to assure better endurance and boost efficiency. Additionally, an extensive review of the literature was carried out in terms of cooling methods for electrical machines. As the main result, the thermal analysis of an air-cooled and large-capacity induction motor is given, considering well-known heat distribution problems. Moreover, this study also presents an integrated approach with two or more cooling strategies to be the need of the hour. A model of a 100-kW air-cooled induction motor and an improved thermal management model of the same motor were both numerically investigated, using a combination of air cooling and integrated water cooling systems to achieve a significant improvement in motor efficiency. The integrated system comprising air- and water-cooled systems are investigated using SolidWorks 2017 and ANSYS Fluent version 2021. Three different flow rates of water 5 LPM, 10 LPM and 15 LPM are analyzed and compared with a conventional air-cooled induction motor, which was validated with the available published resources. Performed analyses indicate that for different flow rates of 5 LPM, 10 LPM and 15 LPM respectively, we have obtained a reduction of temperature accordingly of 2.94%, 4.79% and 7.69%. Hence, the results indicated that an integrated induction motor is efficient in bringing down the temperature compared to air cooled induction motor.
Live-cell imaging of septins and cell polarity proteins in the growing dikaryotic vegetative hypha of the model mushroom Coprinopsis cinerea
Authors: Kakizaki Tetsuya , Abe Haruki , Kotouge Yuuka , Matsubuchi Mitsuki , Sugou Mayu , Honma Chiharu , Tsukuta Kouki , Satoh Souichi , Shioya Tatsuhiro , Nakamura Hiroe , Cannon Kevin S. , Woods Benjamin L. , Gladfelter Amy , Takeshita Norio , Muraguchi Hajime
Published: June 2023

The developmental biology underlying the morphogenesis of mushrooms remains poorly understood despite the essential role of fungi in the terrestrial environment and global carbon cycle. The mushroom Coprinopsis cinerea is a leading model system for the molecular and cellular basis of fungal morphogenesis. The dikaryotic vegetative hyphae of this fungus grow by tip growth with clamp cell formation, conjugate nuclear division, septation, subapical peg formation, and fusion of the clamp cell to the peg. Studying these processes provides many opportunities to gain insights into fungal cell morphogenesis. Here, we report the dynamics of five septins, as well as the regulators CcCla4, CcSpa2, and F-actin, visualized by tagging with fluorescent proteins, EGFP, PA-GFP or mCherry, in the growing dikaryotic vegetative hyphae. We also observed the nuclei using tagged Sumo proteins and histone H1. The five septins colocalized at the hyphal tip in the shape of a dome with a hole (DwH). CcSpa2-EGFP signals were observed in the hole, while CcCla4 signals were observed as the fluctuating dome at the hyphal tip. Before septation, CcCla4-EGFP was also occasionally recruited transiently around the future septum site. Fluorescent protein-tagged septins and F-actin together formed a contractile ring at the septum site. These distinct specialized growth machineries at different sites of dikaryotic vegetative hyphae provide a foundation to explore the differentiation program of various types of cells required for fruiting body formation.
Remaining useful lifetime estimation for discrete power electronic devices using physics-informed neural network
Authors: Lu Zhonghai , Guo Chao , Liu Mingrui , Shi Rui
Published: June 2023

Estimation of Remaining Useful Lifetime (RUL) of discrete power electronics is important to enable predictive maintenance and ensure system safety. Conventional data-driven approaches using neural networks have been applied to address this challenge. However, due to ignoring the physical properties of the target RUL function, neural networks can result in unreasonable RUL estimates such as going upwards and wrong endings. In the paper, we apply the fundamental principle of Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) to enhance Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) based RUL estimation methods. Through formulating proper constraints into the loss function of neural networks, we demonstrate in our experiments with the NASA IGBT dataset that PINN can make the neural networks trained more realistically and thus achieve performance improvements in estimation error and coefficient of determination. Compared to the baseline vanilla RNN, our physics-informed RNN can improve Mean Squared Error (MSE) of out-of-sample estimation on average by 24.7% in training and by 51.3% in testing; Compared to the baseline Long Short Term Memory (LSTM, a variant of RNN), our physics-informed LSTM can improve MSE of out-of-sample estimation on average by 15.3% in training and 13.9% in testing.
Optimizing extinguishing angle of 6MF-30 pneumatic extinguisher for wildland fire-fighting based on CFD and experiments
Authors: Chen Fanbao , Miao Bin , Wang Qingbiao
Published: June 2023

The 6MF-30 pneumatic extinguisher is a widely utilized and efficient tool for combating wildland fires. However, using incorrect extinguishing angles can diminish its effectiveness. This study aimed to determine the optimal extinguishing angle for the 6MF-30 pneumatic extinguisher by conducting computational fluid dynamics simulations and experimental verification. The findings revealed that ground roughness did not significantly affect the optimal extinguishing angle or the attenuation of jet velocity near the fan outlet region. The study determined that an optimal extinguishing angle of 37° applies to lossless ground, natural grassland, grassland with artificial disturbance, and enclosed grassland. Furthermore, among the selected angles, the highest rate of jet velocity reduction was observed at 45°, whereas the slowest reduction occurred at 20° and 25°. These findings offer valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing the efficacy of wildland fire-fighting when employing the 6MF-30 pneumatic extinguisher.
Biosynthesis of cellulose from Ulva lactuca, manufacture of nanocellulose and its application as antimicrobial polymer
Authors: El-Sheekh Mostafa M. , Yousuf Wesam E. , Kenawy El-Refaie , Mohamed Tarek M.
Published: June 2023

Green nanotechnology has recently been recognized as a more proper and safer tool for medical applications thanks to its natural reductions with low toxicity and avoidance of injurious chemicals. The macroalgal biomass was used for nanocellulose biosynthesis. Algae are abundant in the environment and have a high content of cellulose. In our study, we extracted parent cellulose from Ulva lactuca where consecutive treatments extracted cellulose to obtain an insoluble fraction rich in cellulose. The extracted cellulose has the same results obtained by matching it with reference cellulose, especially the same Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis peaks. Nanocellulose was synthesized from extracted cellulose with hydrolysis by sulfuric acid. Nanocellulose was examined by Scanning electron microscope (SEM) shown by a slab-like region as Fig. 4a and Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) to examine the chemical composition. The size of nanocellulose in the range of 50 nm is calculated by XRD analysis. Antibacterial examination of nanocellulose was tested against Gram+ bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC6538), Klebsiella pneumonia (ST627), and Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli (ATCC25922), and coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) to give 4.06, 4.66, 4.93 and 4.43 cm as respectively. Comparing the antibacterial effect of nanocellulose with some antibiotics and estimating minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of nanocellulose. We tested the influence of cellulose and nanocellulose on some fungi such as Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans, and Candida tropicalis. These results demonstrate that nanocellulose could be developed as an excellent solution to these challenges, making nanocellulose extracted from natural algae a very important medical material that is compatible with sustainable development.
Earlier collapse of Anthropocene ecosystems driven by multiple faster and noisier drivers
Authors: Willcock Simon , Cooper Gregory S. , Addy John , Dearing John A.
Published: June 2023

A major concern for the world’s ecosystems is the possibility of collapse, where landscapes and the societies they support change abruptly. Accelerating stress levels, increasing frequencies of extreme events and strengthening intersystem connections suggest that conventional modelling approaches based on incremental changes in a single stress may provide poor estimates of the impact of climate and human activities on ecosystems. We conduct experiments on four models that simulate abrupt changes in the Chilika lagoon fishery, the Easter Island community, forest dieback and lake water quality—representing ecosystems with a range of anthropogenic interactions. Collapses occur sooner under increasing levels of primary stress but additional stresses and/or the inclusion of noise in all four models bring the collapses substantially closer to today by ~38–81%. We discuss the implications for further research and the need for humanity to be vigilant for signs that ecosystems are degrading even more rapidly than previously thought.
A type II protein arginine methyltransferase regulates merozoite invasion in Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Lucky Amuza Byaruhanga , Wang Chengqi , Liu Min , Liang Xiaoying , Min Hui , Fan Qi , Siddiqui Faiza Amber , Adapa Swamy Rakesh , Li Xiaolian , Jiang Rays H. Y. , Chen Xiaoguang , Cui Liwang , Miao Jun
Published: June 2023

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) regulate many important cellular processes, such as transcription and RNA processing in model organisms but their functions in human malaria parasites are not elucidated. Here, we characterize PfPRMT5 in Plasmodium falciparum, which catalyzes symmetric dimethylation of histone H3 at R2 (H3R2me2s) and R8, and histone H4 at R3 in vitro. PfPRMT5 disruption results in asexual stage growth defects primarily due to lower invasion efficiency of the merozoites. Transcriptomic analysis reveals down-regulation of many transcripts related to invasion upon PfPRMT5 disruption, in agreement with H3R2me2s being an active chromatin mark. Genome-wide chromatin profiling detects extensive H3R2me2s marking of genes of different cellular processes, including invasion-related genes in wildtype parasites and PfPRMT5 disruption leads to the depletion of H3R2me2s. Interactome studies identify the association of PfPRMT5 with invasion-related transcriptional regulators such as AP2-I, BDP1, and GCN5. Furthermore, PfPRMT5 is associated with the RNA splicing machinery, and PfPRMT5 disruption caused substantial anomalies in RNA splicing events, including those for invasion-related genes. In summary, PfPRMT5 is critical for regulating parasite invasion and RNA splicing in this early-branching eukaryote.
Thermally-assisted photosensitized emission in a trivalent terbium complex
Authors: Kitagawa Yuichi , Shima Kaori , Nakai Takuma , Kumagai Marina , Omagari Shun , Ferreira da Rosa Pedro Paulo , Shoji Sunao , Fushimi Koji , Hasegawa Yasuchika
Published: June 2023

Luminescent lanthanide complexes containing effective photosensitizers are promising materials for use in displays and sensors. The photosensitizer design strategy has been studied for developing the lanthanide-based luminophores. Herein, we demonstrate a photosensitizer design using dinuclear luminescent lanthanide complex, which exhibits thermally-assisted photosensitized emission. The lanthanide complex comprised Tb(III) ions, six tetramethylheptanedionates, and phosphine oxide bridge containing a phenanthrene frameworks. The phenanthrene ligand and Tb(III) ions are the energy donor (photosensitizer) and acceptor (emission center) parts, respectively. The energy-donating level of the ligand (lowest excited triplet (T1) level = 19,850 cm−1) is lower than the emitting level of the Tb(III) ion (5D4 level = 20,500 cm−1). The long-lived T1 state of the energy-donating ligands promoted an efficient thermally-assisted photosensitized emission of the Tb(III) acceptor (5D4 level), resulting in a pure-green colored emission with a high photosensitized emission quantum yield (73%).
Direct gas-phase formation of formic acid through reaction of Criegee intermediates with formaldehyde
Authors: Luo Pei-Ling , Chen I-Yun , Khan M. Anwar H. , Shallcross Dudley E.
Published: June 2023

Ozonolysis of isoprene is considered to be an important source of formic acid (HCOOH), but its underlying reaction mechanisms related to HCOOH formation are poorly understood. Here, we report the kinetic and product studies of the reaction between the simplest Criegee intermediate (CH2OO) and formaldehyde (HCHO), both of which are the primary products formed in ozonolysis of isoprene. By utilizing time-resolved infrared laser spectrometry with the multifunctional dual-comb spectrometers, the rate coefficient kCH2OO+HCHO is determined to be (4.11 ± 0.25) × 10−12 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 at 296 K and a negative temperature dependence of the rate coefficient is observed and described by an Arrhenius expression with an activation energy of (–1.81 ± 0.04) kcal mol−1. Moreover, the branching ratios of the reaction products HCOOH + HCHO and CO + H2O + HCHO are explored. The yield of HCOOH is obtained to be 37–54% over the pressure (15–60 Torr) and temperature (283–313 K) ranges. The atmospheric implications of the reaction CH2OO + HCHO are also evaluated by incorporating these results into a global chemistry-transport model. In the upper troposphere, the percent loss of CH2OO by HCHO is found by up to 6% which can subsequently increase HCOOH mixing ratios by up to 2% during December-January-February months.
Visualizing heterogeneous dipole fields by terahertz light coupling in individual nano-junctions
Authors: Kim Richard H. J. , Park Joong M. , Haeuser Samuel , Huang Chuankun , Cheng Di , Koschny Thomas , Oh Jinsu , Kopas Cameron , Cansizoglu Hilal , Yadavalli Kameshwar , Mutus Josh , Zhou Lin , Luo Liang , Kramer Matthew J. , Wang Jigang
Published: June 2023

The challenge underlying superconducting quantum computing is to remove materials bottleneck for highly coherent quantum devices. The nonuniformity and complex structural components in the underlying quantum circuits often lead to local electric field concentration, charge scattering, dissipation and ultimately decoherence. Here we visualize interface dipole heterogeneous distribution of individual Al/AlOx/Al junctions employed in transmon qubits by broadband terahertz scanning near-field microscopy that enables the non-destructive and contactless identification of defective boundaries in nano-junctions at an extremely precise nanoscale level. Our THz nano-imaging tool reveals an asymmetry across the junction in electromagnetic wave-junction coupling response that manifests as hot (high intensity) vs cold (low intensity) spots in the spatial electrical field structures and correlates with defected boundaries from the multi-angle deposition processes in Josephson junction fabrication inside qubit devices. The demonstrated local electromagnetic scattering method offers high sensitivity, allowing for reliable device defect detection in the pursuit of improved quantum circuit fabrication for ultimately optimizing coherence times.
Compressing network populations with modal networks reveal structural diversity
Authors: Kirkley Alec , Rojas Alexis , Rosvall Martin , Young Jean-Gabriel
Published: June 2023

Analyzing relational data consisting of multiple samples or layers involves critical challenges: How many networks are required to capture the variety of structures in the data? And what are the structures of these representative networks? We describe efficient nonparametric methods derived from the minimum description length principle to construct the network representations automatically. The methods input a population of networks or a multilayer network measured on a fixed set of nodes and output a small set of representative networks together with an assignment of each network sample or layer to one of the representative networks. We identify the representative networks and assign network samples to them with an efficient Monte Carlo scheme that minimizes our description length objective. For temporally ordered networks, we use a polynomial time dynamic programming approach that restricts the clusters of network layers to be temporally contiguous. These methods recover planted heterogeneity in synthetic network populations and identify essential structural heterogeneities in global trade and fossil record networks. Our methods are principled, scalable, parameter-free, and accommodate a wide range of data, providing a unified lens for exploratory analyses and preprocessing large sets of network samples.
An ATP-sensitive phosphoketolase regulates carbon fixation in cyanobacteria
Authors: Lu Kuan-Jen , Chang Chiung-Wen , Wang Chun-Hsiung , Chen Frederic Y-H , Huang Irene Y. , Huang Pin-Hsuan , Yang Cheng-Han , Wu Hsiang-Yi , Wu Wen-Jin , Hsu Kai-Cheng , Ho Meng-Chiao , Tsai Ming-Daw , Liao James C.
Published: June 2023

Regulation of CO2 fixation in cyanobacteria is important both for the organism and global carbon balance. Here we show that phosphoketolase in Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 (SeXPK) possesses a distinct ATP-sensing mechanism, where a drop in ATP level allows SeXPK to divert precursors of the RuBisCO substrate away from the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle. Deleting the SeXPK gene increased CO2 fixation particularly during light–dark transitions. In high-density cultures, the Δxpk strain showed a 60% increase in carbon fixation and unexpectedly resulted in sucrose secretion without any pathway engineering. Using cryo-EM analysis, we discovered that these functions were enabled by a unique allosteric regulatory site involving two subunits jointly binding two ATP, which constantly suppresses the activity of SeXPK until the ATP level drops. This magnesium-independent ATP allosteric site is present in many species across all three domains of life, where it may also play important regulatory functions.
Construction of white-rot fungal-bacterial consortia with improved ligninolytic properties and stable bacterial community structure
Authors: Mori Toshio , Terashima Taiki , Matsumura Masaki , Tsuruta Koudai , Dohra Hideo , Kawagishi Hirokazu , Hirai Hirofumi
Published: June 2023

It is believed that wood-rot fungi change their wood decay activities due to influences from co-existing bacterial communities; however, it is difficult to elucidate experimentally the interaction mechanisms in fungal-bacterial consortia because the bacterial community structure is quite unstable and readily changes. Indeed, the wood decay properties of fungal-bacterial consortia consisting of a white-rot fungus Phanerochaete sordida YK-624 and a natural bacterial community changed dramatically during several sub-cultivations on wood. Therefore, development of a sub-cultivation method that imparts stability to the bacterial community structure and fungal phenotype was attempted. The adopted method using agar medium enabled maintenance of fungal phenotypes relating to wood decay and the bacterial community even through dozens of repetitive sub-cultures. Some bacterial metabolic pathways identified based on gene predictions were screened as candidates involved in P. sordida–bacterial interactions. In particular, pathways related to prenyl naphthoquinone biosynthesis appeared to be involved in an interaction that promotes higher lignin degradation selectivity by the consortia, as naphthoquinone derivatives induced phenol-oxidizing activity. Based on these results, it is expected that detailed analyses of the relationship between the wood-degrading properties of white-rot fungal-bacterial consortia and bacterial community structures will be feasible using the sub-cultivation method developed in this study.
Proteomic analysis reveals mechanisms underlying increased efficacy of bleomycin by photochemical internalization in bladder cancer cells
Authors: Gederaas Odrun A. , Sharma Animesh , Mbarak Saide , Sporsheim Bjørnar , Høgset Anders , Bogoeva Vanya , Slupphaug Geir , Hagen Lars
Published: June 2023

SILAC-proteome analysis of rat bladder cancer cells using bleomycin (BML) and photochemical internalization (PCI); fimaporfin. BLMPCIdownregulates bleomycin hydrolase, mediates synergistic cytotoxic effect and affects several cellular responses.
Multiple gene detection using a selective fluorophore probe–RNA hybridization/graphene oxide quenching system
Authors: Asa Tasnima Alam , Seo Young Jun
Published: June 2023

We developed a new method of LDT (ligation–double transcription) mediated fluorometric detection of multiple genes.
Photoswitching of halide-binding affinity and selectivity in dithienylethene-strapped calix[4]pyrrole
Authors: Villarón David , Brugman Guido E. A. , Siegler Maxime A. , Wezenberg Sander J.
Published: June 2023

Photoisomerization between ring-open and -closed dithienylethene-strapped calix[4]pyrrole alters binding affinity and selectivity towards halide anions.
Potential of MXenes as a novel material for spintronic devices: a review
Authors: Amrillah Tahta , Hermawan Angga , Cristian Yeremia Budi , Oktafiani Agustina , Dewi Diva Meisya Maulina , Amalina Ilma , Darminto  , Juang Jenh-Yih
Published: June 2023

The explosive development of MXenes for example by tuning the bandgap and wakening their magnetic properties could simply pave the way for the integration of MXenes in device configurations suitable for spintronic devices.
Wave function analyses of scandium-doped aluminium clusters, AlnSc (n= 1–24), and their CO2fixation abilities
Authors: Guevara-Vela José Manuel , la Vega Arturo Sauza-de , Gallegos Miguel , Martín Pendás Ángel , Rocha-Rinza Tomas
Published: June 2023

We address the effect of Sc-doping on the structure and chemical bonding of Al clusters. Selected Sc-doped Al clusters adsorb and distort the CO2molecule very strongly, an observation that could lead to the use of these systems in carbon capture.
Mechanical, magnetic and electronic properties of 2D MSX (M = Ti, V, Co and Ni, X = Br and I)
Authors: Li Yutong , Li Bowen , Bai Haoyun , Yu Zhichao , Kwok Chi Tat , Pan Hui
Published: June 2023

Based on the density-functional theory, we investigate the mechanical, magnetic, and electronic properties of 2D MSX and uncover the switch from super-exchange to carrier-mediated double-exchange with the increase of d-electrons of metal atoms.
Dopant-induced modulation of lithium-ion conductivity in cubic garnet solid electrolytes: a first-principles study
Authors: Lu Feye-Feng , Tian Hong-Kang
Published: June 2023

Ga and Fe doping enhance Li-ion conductivity in c-LLZO, while Al doping reduces it due to distinct charge distribution affecting Li chemical potential and the restrained force.
Deconvolution of capacitive and diffusive charge/lithium storage in lyophilized NiCo2S4–NiCo2O4 composite for supercapattery and lithium-ion battery
Authors: Kannadasan Kalidoss , Sankar Devi Vaithiyanathan , Archana Suresh , Thomas Paramanandam , Elumalai Perumal
Published: June 2023

Freeze-dried (lyophilized) NiCo2S4–NiCo2O4 composite as an electrode for supercapatteries and lithium-ion batteries.
Neuroprotective effects of salidroside against 6-OHDA-induced oxidative stress in PC12 cells
Authors: Li Minyan , Wang Sha , Fu Chunmei , Chen Hongyu , Su Yuxia , Wu Peng , Yan Xinhao , Gao Juanjuan
Published: June 2023

Neuroprotective effects of salidroside (Sal) in PC12 cells against oxidative stress induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Sal scavenges reactive oxygen species (ROS), enhances antioxidant enzyme activity (SOD, CAT, GPX4), and reduces α-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation.
Designing inorganic–organic hybrid molecules based on carbazole/indole-appended cyclotriphosphazenes and the investigation of their photophysical properties
Authors: Palabıyık Duygu , Mutlu Balcı Ceylan , Tümay Süreyya Oğuz , Beşli Serap
Published: June 2023

The synergistic effect between carbazole and indole fluorophores enhanced the fluorescence properties of the hybrid cyclotriphosphazene derivative (7a).
Recent advances in catalytic decarboxylative transformations of carboxylic acid groups attached to a non-aromatic sp2or sp carbon
Authors: Rahaman Ajijur , Chauhan Shivani Singh , Bhadra Sukalyan
Published: June 2023

The current review highlights various decarboxylative transformations of α-keto acids, α,β-unsaturated acids and alkynoic acids developed since 2017.
Electrochemical oxidation of 3-substituted indoles
Authors: Arteaga Giraldo Juan J. , Lindsay Ashley C. , Seo Rachel Chae-Young , Kilmartin Paul A. , Sperry Jonathan
Published: June 2023

Electrosynthesis of 2-oxindoles from indoles is reported.
Characteristics of ignition delay of hypergolic ionic liquids combined with 1-amino-4-methylpiperazine
Authors: Shin Kyung Su , Jang Hoi-Gu , Park Soon Hee , Cho Sung June
Published: June 2023

Ignition delay time of the hypergolic reaction of energetic ionic liquids, [EMIM][C2N3] and [DMIM][C2N3], is decreased to 20 ms when a piperazine derivative, AMPZ, is employed.
Chemometric tools for kinetic investigations of a homogeneously catalysed Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction in flow
Authors: Schulz Lisa , Sawall Mathias , Kockmann Norbert , Röder Thorsten
Published: June 2023

A chemometrics-based approach for process optimisation of a chemical reaction in an automated microreactor flow setup and performing kinetic investigations.
Thermochemical behavior of alkali pretreated biomass – a thermogravimetric and Py-GC/FID study
Authors: Ellison Candice , Garcia-Perez Manuel , Mullen Charles A. , Yadav Madhav P.
Published: June 2023

Pyrolysis of pretreated biomass significantly reduces pyrolysis vapor acidity, enabling improved downstream upgrading. Also, increased selectivity for sugars could provide another valuable co-product for bioethanol.
A polypyrrole derived nitrogen doped porous carbon support for an atomically dispersed Mn electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction
Authors: Parida Sanjit Kumar , Barik Tulasi , Jena Hrudananda
Published: June 2023

A facile design approach exploiting the nitrogen rich, unique three-dimensional network structure of polypyrrole (PPy) hydrogel is developed for the synthesis of a Mn–N–C electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).
The acyl carrier proteins of lipid synthesis are busy having other affairs
Authors: Cronan John E.
Published: June 2023

This is a review of the acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) of type II fatty acid synthesis in bacteria and mitochondria, their structures and protein interactions. Type II fatty acid synthesis in bacteria (Prog. Lipid Res. (2013) 52, 249–276; Biochim. Biophys. Acta (1996) 1302, 1–16; Annu. Rev. Biochem. (2005) 74, 791–831) and in the mitochondria of yeast and mammals (Biochim. Biophys. Acta Mol. Cell. Res. (2019) 1866, 118540; MedChemComm (2019) 10, 209–220; Elife (2016) 5, e17828; Mol. Cell (2018) 71, 567–580.e4) will be discussed only tangentially in this review. The above references are excellent recent reviews. Bacterial fatty acid synthesis has been a popular target for the development of new antimicrobials and an up-to-date review of the field has been published (Annu. Rev. Microbiol. (2022) 76, 281–304). The ACP-like proteins of secondary metabolites (e.g. polyketide synthesis will not be reviewed). Escherichia coli ACP is now called AcpP to distinguish it from the enzymes that attach (AcpS) and remove (AcpH) the 4′-phosphopantetheine (4′PP) prosthetic group. Note that the primary translation product of the acpP gene is called apo-AcpP. The addition of the 4′PP prosthetic group converts apo-AcpP to holo-AcpP (commonly referred to as AcpP). Acylation of the 4′PP prosthetic group gives acyl-AcpP species. The length of the acyl chain determines the properties of the acyl-AcpP as will be discussed below.
Growing sustainable materials from filamentous fungi
Authors: Peeters Eveline , Salueña Martin Jara , Vandelook Simon
Published: June 2023

The urgent need to transition to a more sustainable way of life is driving the development of natural and sustainable materials. One such example is mycelium materials, which are partially or solely composed of hyphae, the vegetative life form of filamentous fungi. Mycelium materials offer a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic materials like plastics and to animal leather, by minimizing waste, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting a circular economy. In their natural habitat, fungi play a vital role in maintaining balanced forest ecosystems by decomposing and recycling organic matter. From a material application perspective, the mycelium itself is now being considered as a product that can be easily generated by cultivating the fungus on renewable biomass feedstocks. Mycelium-based composites and pure mycelium materials can be produced through different fermentation techniques, including solid-state (SSF), liquid-state submerged (LSF) and liquid-state surface fermentation (LSSF). Interestingly, the properties of mycelium materials are highly tuneable by altering the growth and post-growth process parameters, the choice of fungal species and the used substrate. Although the link between the biology of a living organism and the emergent material characteristics thereof offers great opportunities for fine-tuning material properties, a current lack of understanding of the underlying scientific principles makes industrial scalability and product reproducibility a challenging step. In this article, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of mycelium materials as a novel class of biomaterials.