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Photothermocatalytic Wet Reforming of Waste Plastics to Syngas

Single-cell RNA-seq reveals disease-specific CD8+ T cell clonal expansion and a high frequency of transcriptionally distinct double-negative T cells in diabetic NOD mice

T cells primarily drive the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells in Type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, the profound yet uncharacterized diversity of the T cell populations in vivo has hindered obtaining a clear picture of the T cell changes that occur longitudinally during T1D onset. This study aimed to identify T cell clonal expansion and distinct transcriptomic signatures associated with T1D progression in Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) mice. Here we profiled the transcriptome and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of T cells at single-cell resolution from longitudinally collected peripheral blood and pancreatic islets of NOD mice using single-cell RNA sequencing technology. We detected disease dependent development of infiltrating CD8 + T cells with altered cytotoxic and inflammatory effector states. In addition, we discovered a high frequency of transcriptionally distinct double negative (DN) T cells that fluctuate throughout T1D pathogenesis. This study identifies potential disease relevant TCR sequences and potential disease biomarkers that can be further characterized through future research.

Harnessing plant growth-promoting bacteria to combat watermelon mosaic virus in squash

Abstract Plant diseases significantly threaten global food security, with viral infections, particularly Watermelon Mosaic Virus (WMV), causing substantial losses in economically important crops such as squash. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of beneficial bacteria isolated from various plants in promoting growth and mitigating the effects of WMV in squash. Understanding the interactions between plants and beneficial microbes could provide sustainable solutions for managing viral infections in agriculture. Sixty-two bacterial isolates were obtained from the rhizosphere of basil, mint, thyme, and squash plants. Among these, six strains exhibited notable plant growth-promoting activities, including the synthesis of indole acetic acid, solubilization of phosphate and zinc, ammonia production, and activity of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACCD). Morphological observations and 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified these isolates as Pseudomonas indica, Bacillus paramycoides, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus mycoides, Paenibacillus glucanolyticus, and Niallia circulans. In pot experiments, squash plants inoculated with these bacterial strains demonstrated significant reductions in disease severity after being infected with WMV. Specifically, foliar applications of the bacteria resulted in the following reductions in disease severity: B. mycoides (87%), B. thuringiensis (73%), Paenibacillus glucanolyticus (73%), Niallia circulans (70%), B. paramycoides (65%), and Pseudomonas indica (65%). Additionally, plants treated with B. mycoides showed increased plant height and shoot dry weight, indicating enhanced growth performance relative to infected controls. Statistical analysis revealed that these growth promotions and disease severity reduction were significant (p < 0.05). GC–MS analysis of the six bacterial strains revealed a diverse array of 73 chemical metabolites, including common compounds such as 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z), benzene derivatives, and cyclopentanones. These findings suggest shared metabolic pathways among the strains and indicate potential roles in ecological interactions, plant defense mechanisms, and antiviral properties. These metabolites likely contribute to the observed reductions in viral severity and enhance plant resilience. The study indicates that inoculating squash plants with specific beneficial bacteria, especially B. mycoides, through foliar or soil application can significantly decrease the severity of WMV and promote plant growth. This approach offers an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical antiviral treatments and may reduce reliance on pesticides. This research highlights the potential of using plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB)as a sustainable approach to control viral infections in crops. Further field trials are necessary to PGPB validate the scalability of these findings and assess their effectiveness under diverse agricultural conditions. Incorporating these beneficial microbes into agricultural practices could enhance the resilience of cropping systems, ultimately fostering sustainable agriculture and enhancing food security.

Correction: Metabolisable energy content in canine and feline foods is best predicted by the NRC2006 equation

Transcriptome profiles of leaves and roots of Brassica napus L. in response to antimony stress

Assessing white matter plasticity in a randomized controlled trial of early literacy training in preschoolers

Reading is a cognitive skill that requires our brain to go through a myriad of changes during learning. While many studies have described how reading acquisition shapes children’s brain function, less is known about the impact of reading on brain structure. Here we examined short-term causal effects of reading training on preschoolers’ behavior and white matter structure. Forty-eight English-speaking preschoolers (4y10m to 6y2m) participated in a randomized controlled trial where they were randomly assigned to two training programs: the Letter training program was focused on key skills for reading (e.g., decoding and letter knowledge), while the Language training program strengthened oral language comprehension skills without exposure to text. Longitudinal behavioral data showed that only the Letter Training group increased letter knowledge and decoding skills after the two-week training. Diffusion MRI measures (FA and MD) of eighteen white matter pathways (including the left arcuate and the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus) did not reveal any statistically significant changes for either group despite high degrees of scan-rescan reliability across sessions. These findings suggest that a two-week reading training program can cause changes in preschoolers’ letter knowledge and decoding abilities, without being accompanied by measurable changes in the diffusion properties of the major white matter pathways of the reading network. We conclude highlighting possible constraints (i.e., age, training onset and duration, cognitive profile) to reading-related white matter plasticity.

Transient Upregulation of Procaspase-3 during Oligodendrocyte Fate Decisions

Oligodendrocytes are generated throughout life and in neurodegenerative conditions from brain resident oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). The transition from OPC to oligodendrocyte involves a complex cascade of molecular and morphological states that position the cell to make a fate decision to integrate as a myelinating oligodendrocyte or die through apoptosis. Oligodendrocyte maturation impacts the cell death mechanisms that occur in degenerative conditions, but it is unclear if and how the cell death machinery changes as OPCs transition into oligodendrocytes. Here, we discovered that differentiating oligodendrocytes transiently upregulate the zymogen procaspase-3 in both female and male mice, equipping these cells to make a survival decision during differentiation. Pharmacological inhibition of caspase-3 decreases oligodendrocyte density, indicating that procaspase-3 upregulation is linked to successful oligodendrocyte generation. Moreover, using procaspase-3 as a marker, we show that oligodendrocyte differentiation continues in the aging cortex and white matter. Taken together, our data establish procaspase-3 as a differentiating oligodendrocyte marker and provide insight into the underlying mechanisms occurring during the decision to integrate or die.

Rigid enlargement of sybodies with antibody fragments for cryo-EM analyses of small membrane proteins

Abstract Single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become the method of choice to determine experimental structures of integral membrane proteins. However, high-resolution structure determination by cryo-EM remains a challenge for membrane proteins that are too small or lack distinctive structural elements for particle alignment. To address this problem, single-domain antibodies called nanobodies and their synthetic variants called sybodies are widely used tools to trap membrane transporters in defined conformations, to enlarge particle sizes and to act as fiducial markers enabling reliable particle alignment. Recently, antibody fragments (Fabs) enlarging nanobodies at their backside in a rigid fashion, called Legobody and NabFab, have been developed. Here, we investigated how Legobodies and NabFabs can be harmonized with sybodies. We show that any sybody can be adapted to the Legobody approach with minimal effort, while only a subset of sybodies belonging to the loop library can be converted into a format recognized by the NabFab without complementarity-determining region-grafting. This technical note will facilitate the usage of Legobodies and NabFabs in the context of sybodies targeting membrane proteins and other small proteins for high-resolution structure determination by cryo-EM.

Parsing social context in auditory forebrain of male zebra finches

To understand the influence of natural behavioral context on neural activity requires studying awake-behaving animals. Microdrive devices facilitate bridging behavior and physiology to examine neural dynamics across behavioral contexts. Impediments to long-term single unit recordings in awake-behaving animals include tradeoffs between weight, functional flexibility, expense, and fabrication difficulty in microdrive devices. We describe a straightforward and low-cost method to fabricate versatile and lightweight microdrives that remain functional for months in awake-behaving zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). The vocal and gregarious nature of zebra finches provide an opportunity to investigate neural representations of social and behavioral context. Using microdrives, we report how auditory responses in an auditory association region of the pallium are modulated by two naturalistic contexts: self- vs. externally-generated song (behavioral context), and solitary vs. social listening (social context). While auditory neurons exhibited invariance across behavioral contexts, in a social context, response strength and stimulus selectivity were greater in a social condition. We also report stimulus-specific correlates of audition in local field potentials. Using a versatile, lightweight, and accessible microdrive design for small animals, we find that the auditory forebrain represents social but not behavioral context in awake-behaving animals.

Global and local path planning of robots combining ACO and dynamic window algorithm

Relationship between physical function and sarcopenia in the older adults from Amazonas: A cross-sectional study

Background Physical functioning refers to the ability to perform daily living activities, namely basic activities, instrumental, and advanced activities. Poorer performance in these areas may indicate the potential presence of sarcopenia. Objectives To analyze the differences in physical function between older people with and without sarcopenia and to investigate the associations between physical function tests and sarcopenia. Methods A cross-sectional study based on data from older people from the Northern region of Brazil in the year 2018 was conducted. Study participants included 312 older people aged ≥  60 years (64.1% female). Sarcopenia was defined using the updated criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2). Physical functioning was measured using functional physical fitness tests (30-second chair stand test, chair sit-and-reach test, 8-foot Up-and-Go Test, 6-minute walk test, 4-meter gait speed, and the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale). Results Confirmed sarcopenia was detected in 29.2% of participants, but no participant had severe sarcopenia. Most physical function parameters in the crude analysis were associated with confirmed sarcopenia (all p < 0.05), except for the back scratch test. In a model adjusted for sex, age and body mass index, slower 4-meter gait speed (OR = 1.29, 95%CI = 1.08 to 1.54), slower 8-foot up-and-go test time (OR = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.16 to 1.49), greater chair sit-and-reach test (OR = 0.97, 95%CI = 0.94 to 0.99) and higher self-reported Composite Physical Function scores (OR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.89 to 0.99) were significantly associated with confirmed sarcopenia status. Conclusions EWGSOP2 confirmed sarcopenia is prevalent in older people residing in Brazil’s Northern region and is independently associated with slower walking speed and chair rising ability, reduced trunk and lower-limb flexibility, as well as poorer self-reported physical function.

Research on the condition monitoring method of unmanned aerial vehicle based on improved multivariate state estimation technique

FDTransUnet: An aluminum surface defect segmentation model based on feature differentiation

Aiming at the current problems in the field of industrial defect segmentation, such as difficulty of obtaining a large number of defect samples, low recognition accuracy and lack of segmentation accuracy, a surface defect segmentation model for aluminum based on feature differentiation is proposed: FDTransUnet. First, the limited defective samples are effectively expanded by the feature differentiation data augmentation strategy to alleviate the overfitting problem caused by the insufficient sample. Second, the Transformer architecture is added by improving the U-net network, and the improved network combines the global self-attention mechanism of the Transformer and the hierarchical structure of the U-net, which can effectively extract the local and global information in the defect sample. Finally, a composite loss function is constructed to address the problem of unbalanced foreground and background sizes of defective samples and to improve segmentation accuracy. The experimental results show that FDTransUnet achieves 94.5% MPA and 89.7% Dice coefficient on the aluminum surface defect dataset. In the final generalization experiment, FDTransUnet is validated with other mainstream segmentation models on the steel surface defect dataset, and the experiment proves that the segmentation model has good generalization performance and robustness, and can be applied to different scenarios of industrial inspection.

Metabolomic profiles in serum uncover novel biomarkers in children with Williams–Beuren syndrome

The association between obstructive sleep apnea severity and sleep architecture measured with non-contact radar technology in primary investigation and follow-up on therapy: A pilot study

Purpose The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate if sleep classification data from a non-contact sleep monitor placed in the patient’s bedroom at home were associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity at the time of primary investigation. Secondly, we aimed to study the effect of established continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on objective sleep classification measurements. Methods We performed a prospective single center study at a medium size hospital. Adult patients referred with symptoms that could indicate OSA underwent standard respiratory polygraphy (RPG) registration, sleep classification measured with non-contact radar technology (Somnofy, Vitalthings AS, Norway), and answered the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaire. After 12-20 weeks, ESS and non-contact registration was repeated in patients diagnosed with OSA who had eslished effective CPAP therapy. Results A total of 47 patients (62% men, mean age 51 years) were diagnosed with OSA based on the respiratory event index (REI). OSA severity correlated negatively with total sleep time (p <  0.003), fraction of deep and REM sleep (p <  0.000 and p <  0.036, respectively), and positively for sleep fragmentations (p <  0.007), recorded by the Somnofy. After CPAP therapy, patients slept longer in total (p <  0.012), with more deep sleep (p <  0.001) and less sleep fragmentation (p <  0.009). Although OSA severity correlated with sleep classification data, there was no association with self-reported symptoms (ESS) at baseline or during CPAP therapy. Conclusion We demonstrated that non-contact sleep measurements in a home environment seem to correlate with OSA severity and could be a valuable supplement to RPG and ESS in OSA diagnosis and follow up on therapy.

Enhancing the speed of DNA walkers through soft confinement

Abstract Over the past two decades, dynamic DNA origami structures have emerged as promising candidates for nanoscale signal and cargo transport. DNA walkers, programmable nanostructures that traverse tracks made of DNA, represent a key innovation in this field, enabling controlled and directional movement at the nanoscale. Despite relatively fast diffusion rates, the speed of DNA walkers remains constrained by the reaction-limited nature of strand exchange mechanisms, which depend both on the foothold-walker affinity and on the probability of the molecules being found close enough to bind. In this study, we explore how spatial confinement can expedite walker motion and evaluate two strategies to achieve this: the introduction of tailed DNA footholds, promoting pseudo-rotational dynamics, and the addition of walls along the DNA track, promoting pseudo-curvilinear dynamics. Using simulations and stochastic theories, we demonstrate that, by reducing the sampling of conformations far from the binding sites, tailed footholds provide the best speed enhancement, achieving a fourfold increase in speed. Trench-like confinement yields a more modest threefold increase, what, while significant, requires extensive structural modifications to the DNA track, limiting design flexibility and reducing cost-efficiency in comparison to the tailed footholds. The combination of tailed footholds and trench-like confinement turns the walker-foothold system bistable, with two distinct stable states separated by an energy barrier. By focusing on the properties of the DNA track, this study offers novel insights into leveraging soft structural motifs to optimize signal propagation rates, with implications for sensing, robotics and molecular computing in reaction-diffusion systems.

Effect of echocardiography on prognosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective There was a lack of studies on the relationship between the presence or absence of echocardiography and the prognosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Therefore, we used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database to explore the relationship between them. Method The patient information was obtained from the MIMIC-IV database. Taking age, BMI, sex, race, and marital status as scoring items, Propensity Score Matching was carried out according to the ratio of 1: 1. Generalized linear regression, multivariate logistic regression and hierarchical analysis were used to analyze the correlation between echocardiography and prognosis in type 2 DM patients. Results A total of 9140 patients were enrolled in this study. There were differences in body mass index, days of type 2 DM, estimation of glomerular filtration rate, length of stay, survival time, readmission, marital status, family history of type 2 DM, drinking, smoking, metformin, coronary heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, epilepsy, and thyroid diseases between patients with echocardiography and those without echocardiography. Echocardiography was independently related to survival time and readmission in type 2 DM patients. Besides, echocardiography was related to the survival time of patients with type 2 DM without complications. Conclusions We found for the first time that echocardiography was independently associated with the survival time of type 2 DM patients without complications.

Prophylactic anticoagulation in traumatic subdural hematoma

Abstract Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) with acute subdural hematoma (SDH) is common in neurosurgical care. Especially due to demographic development, it becomes increasingly coincident with preexisting therapeutic anticoagulation and comorbidity, such as atrial fibrillation or coagulative disorders. High-velocity trauma mechanisms become rarer, while low-impact trauma to the skull with acute-on-chronic subdural hemorrhage gets relatively more frequent. In this study we elucidate the timing of perioperative prophylactic AC and its influence on morbidity and mortality as well as complications after neurosurgical treatment. We focused especially on postoperative intracranial hemorrhage (PH) and thromboembolic events (TE). For this retrospective data analysis, 259 patients who suffered from severe TBI with consecutive subdural hematoma between 01/01/2014 and 31/12/2019 were included. We followed up for the length of stay. We assessed various biographical and clinical data for risk factors and focused on the connection between time-point of AC and adverse events. Subgroup analyses were performed for TE and PH that either required surgical intervention or was managed conservatively with radiological follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, Mann-Whitney U Test, Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test and univariate binomial logistic regression. P-values below 0.05 were considered statistically significant. TE were relatively rare in this cohort (n = 14, 5.4%). The more common adverse event was PH (n = 34, 13.1%), with a total of 28 patients (10.8%) needing surgical revision. Though PH was correlated to a delay in AC (p = 0.010), there was no correlation between early prophylactic AC and PH (p = 0.287) or TE (p = 0.444), respectively. Furthermore, only 4 patients had been administered AC before the PH. In this context, AC was delayed purposely after PH, explaining the significant correlation between PH and delayed AC. Occurrence of PH significantly decreased overall survival (p = 0.022), while TE did not (p = 0.357). Prophylactic AC within 24–48 h after surgery did not result in more frequent PH. Our data on AC timing suggest that PH is not caused by prophylactic AC.

Impact of high temperatures on enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) performance for leptin measurements in human milk stored under varied freeze/thaw conditions

Ambient temperature conditions are a common concern during laboratory analysis. Due to unexpected shipping conditions, leptin ELISA kits (Leptin Ultrasensitive, ALPCO USA; Catalog #22-LEPHUU-E01) arrived from the manufacturer at our laboratory at a temperature (76.3°F/24.6°C) well above the 2-8°C conditions recommended by the manufacturer. Since no data are available on the effects of high ambient temperature exposure on the performance of this commercial assay, we opportunistically assessed assay performance using human milk samples. Leptin measurement of recently collected and frozen human milk samples was compared between the warm temperature exposed assay kits and Normal kits that arrived and were stored at recommended temperatures (2-8 °C). We found that assay kit exposure to warm temperature during shipping resulted in sample results that were significantly different from Normal kits despite similar standard curve performance. Measurement variability from human milk samples increased with warmed kits in association with greater freeze/thaw times. This suggests that even under high temperature transportation conditions, this leptin assay performance is robust with kit reagents but compromised with human milk samples. We conclude that kits exposed to high temperature during shipment and/or storage should not be used to run human milk samples and that our concerns may extend to other biological media (i.e., serum, urine, or saliva). This study fills a critical gap in the literature on assay performance validation under non-ideal conditions, such as high temperatures. As global temperatures continue to rise, this question will become more pertinent to research integrity if left unaddressed. In light of our findings, we propose that industry standards for ELISA kit shipping and handling should be evaluated to ensure that all kits are being received in an optimal condition.

Daytime sleepiness and health-related quality of life in patients with childhood-onset craniopharyngioma

Abstract Overall survival rates after craniopharyngioma (CP) are high (92%), but frequently quality of life (QoL) is impaired in patients with CP involving hypothalamic structures. Tumour- and/or treatment-related hypothalamic lesions may result in disturbances of circadian rhythms including increased daytime sleepiness. We investigated the relationship between health-related QoL and daytime sleepiness in patients with childhood-onset CP. After a median follow-up of 10 years (range: 1–39), 119 CP patients (63 female), who were recruited 2000–2022 in the KRANIOPHARYNGEOM 2000/2007 and KRANIOPHARYNGEOM Registry 2019 trials, were assessed for daytime sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and for QoL by EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. CP patients with increased daytime sleepiness (ESS score > 10, n = 34) had worse self-assessment of QoL (p = 0.003), when compared to CP patients with normal ESS scores (n = 85). Increased daytime sleepiness was negatively correlated with QoL (r=-0.395; p < 0.001). Surgical hypothalamic lesions, detectable after surgical intervention in 92.9% of the reference-assessed patients, were associated with significantly higher ESS scores, whereas such impact could not be observed for presurgical hypothalamic involvement of the CP (72.4% of the reference-assessed patients). Compared to patients with an ESS score in the normal range, patients with increased daytime sleepiness suffered from impaired QoL in all functional scales and the global QoL scale of the EORTC QLQ-C30. As increased daytime sleepiness plays an important role for QoL in survivors of CP, hypothalamus-sparing surgical treatment strategies should be considered as state of the art in patients with CP for prevention of increased daytime sleepiness. Clinical trial registration NCT01272622; NCT04158284, NCT00258453.