Browse Articles

Differential temperature preferences exhibited in the juvenile Antarctic notothenioids Trematomus bernacchii and Trematomus pennellii

Abstract High-latitude Antarctic fishes experience the world’s coldest ocean temperatures, which have remained consistent for millions of years. Living at sub-zero temperatures limits biochemical processes and has driven the evolution of unique physiological mechanisms that allow survival, but at increased energetic costs. We sought to identify whether juvenile Antarctic fishes would behaviorally thermoregulate to slightly warmer temperatures than presently available in this extreme environment, which may offer an energetic reprieve to the high costs of protein malformation, protein denaturation, and antifreeze glycoprotein production at colder temperatures. Two species of juvenile Antarctic rockcod, Trematomus bernacchii ( n  = 29) and T. pennellii ( n  = 30), were collected from McMurdo Sound and exposed to an annular temperature gradient over two trials permitting each fish to select a temperature preference twice. We calculated temperature preference using three approaches: the average temperature selected, the most commonly selected temperature, and the temperature selected for the longest continuous time. These measures were generally comparable across trials. We found both species exhibited mean temperature preferences significantly above the ambient temperature of the Ross Sea (− 1.9 °C, p  ≤ 0.0001). T. bernacchii exhibited temperature preferences near 0 °C (− 0.89–0.49 °C), while T. pennellii preferred significantly ( p  < 0.01) warmer temperatures approaching 1 °C (0.92–1.44 °C). Both species preferred lower temperatures and exhibited less movement during the second trial ( p  ≤ 0.02). The behavioral results of this study, which demonstrate thermal preference at or above freezing, supports the hypothesis that sub-zero temperatures are associated with energetic costs that could be partially alleviated under conditions of slight warming. Furthermore, the different species-specific temperature preference of two closely related fishes with overlapping niches could indicate T. pennellii are more resilient than T. bernacchii to a warming ocean.

Occurrence of ESBL-E. coli in feces of dairy calves and nipples of teat buckets for calves before and after automatic cleaning in two dairy farms

Abstract Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia (E.) coli are highly prevalent in dairy calves. In calf housing, the feeding equipment can function as a reservoir, thereby constituting a risk factor for the dissemination of ESBL- E. coli . The aim of this present study was to determine if ESBL- E. coli can be detected on the inner surface of teat buckets for calves and to evaluate if an automatic wash system specifically designed for teat buckets is suitable to eliminate existing ESBL- E. coli from the surfaces. Fecal samples from calves (aged three to 14 days) and teat swabs (before and after cleaning) on two farms were analyzed. Prior to cleaning, nipple contamination was detected on both farms on different levels. Automated cleaning significantly reduced contamination ( P  < 0.001). Whole-genome sequencing revealed close genetic similarities between fecal and nipple isolates, indicating transmission between calves and feeding equipment. Although the automatic cleaning significantly reduced bacterial contamination in teat buckets, ESBL- E. coli were detected in all calves (40/40), suggesting additional farm-level transmission routes.

Systemic inflammation score, organ dysfunction and bacteraemia are independently associated with in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection

Abstract Klebsiella pneumoniae is a major cause of severe infections among critically ill patients and is frequently associated with multidrug resistance (MDR). However, the relative prognostic importance of antimicrobial resistance, illness severity, bacteraemia, and Systemic Inflammation Score (SIS) remains incompletely understood. We evaluated the independent associations of organ dysfunction severity, bacteraemia, SIS, and MDR with in-hospital mortality among critically ill patients with microbiologically confirmed K. pneumoniae infection. This prospective observational study included 144 adult ICU patients with microbiologically confirmed monomicrobial K. pneumoniae infection. Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological variables were collected at the index infectious episode. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify variables independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Internal validation of the regression model was performed using 1,000 bootstrap resamples with bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) confidence intervals. Exploratory machine learning analyses were performed using six supervised algorithms, and model interpretability was evaluated using Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP). Overall in-hospital mortality was 52.8%. MDR and carbapenem-resistant isolates were identified in 67.4% and 54.9% of patients, respectively. In the primary multivariable model, SOFA score (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.158, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.071–1.252; p  < 0.001), bacteraemia (aOR 3.609, 95% CI 1.504–8.657; p  = 0.004), and SIS (aOR 3.260, 95% CI 1.241–8.565; p  = 0.016) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Internal bootstrap validation using 1,000 resamples supported the robustness of the independent associations identified in the primary multivariable model (BCa 95% CIs: SOFA 1.06–1.31, bacteraemia 1.26–15.83, SIS 1.04–21.20). MDR was not independently associated with mortality after adjustment (aOR 1.352, 95% CI 0.396–4.615; p  = 0.631). Among the exploratory machine learning models, Gaussian Naïve Bayes demonstrated the highest predictive performance (AUROC 0.78; Brier score 0.19). Global SHAP analysis ranked SOFA score, empirically active antimicrobial therapy, bacteraemia, and SIS as the most influential predictors within the prediction model. In this prospective observational cohort of critically ill patients with microbiologically confirmed K. pneumoniae infection, higher SOFA score, bacteraemia, and higher SIS were independently associated with in-hospital mortality, whereas MDR was not independently associated with mortality after multivariable adjustment, although this finding should be interpreted cautiously given the modest sample size and the wide confidence interval. The bootstrap analysis demonstrated the internal stability of the primary regression model. The exploratory machine learning analyses yielded predictor rankings broadly consistent with the regression findings but should be interpreted as complementary predictive analyses rather than evidence of causal or biological importance. External validation in independent cohorts is warranted before clinical implementation.

Investigation of the potential value and mechanisms of copper-related death markers PPOX and TBC1D22B in acute respiratory distress syndrome

RDD-YOLO: a real-time fall detection model incorporating a lightweight visual transformer with dynamic sampling

Automatic report-based assessment of radiology-pathology concordance in surgical patients using BERT and DPCNN

Improvement of split-luciferase complementation through stabilization of NLRP3 PYD fused luciferase fragments: in vitro and in silico studies

Association of heavy metal exposure via drinking water with obesity: a cross-sectional study in Ahvaz, Iran

Synergistic Electronic and Steric Engineering of Thiophene Donors in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Efficient CO ₂ Photoconversion

ABSTRACT Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), featuring broad light absorption and permanent porosity, serve as excellent supports for metal catalytic sites in photocatalytic CO 2 reduction, offering great promise for efficient and stable CO 2 photoconversion. Herein, two rationally designed thiophene‐rich monomers enable the effective coupling of thiophene and benzothiadiazole units within the same COF materials, yielding D–A type COFs with bex topological structures (TTB‐COF and TTP‐COF). By modulating the central unit, the intramolecular built‐in electric field is enhanced, and the rotational freedom of thiophene units is also constrained, leading to a wavy structure in the monolayer COF, which significantly improves the material's photocatalytic performance. Using 2,2′‐bipyridine as an additive, TTB‐COF‐Co achieves a high CO production rate of 28.0 mmol g −1  h −1 with a selectivity of 88.4% in the presence of the photosensitizer [Ru(bpy) 3 ]Cl 2 ·6H 2 O and the sacrificial agent triethanolamine (TEOA), being one of the best performances among COF‐based catalysts. Analysis of the cumulative free energy change diagrams reveals that TTB‐COF‐Co lowers the energy barrier of the rate‐determining step in CO 2 photoreduction, thereby demonstrating superior photocatalytic performance. This work provides a referable design strategy for constructing high‐performance COF‐based photocatalysts for CO 2 reduction.

Negative emotional visual context and improvised dance biomechanics: an exploratory motion-capture study in professional dancers

Retail sales optimization using a hybrid K-Means, particle swarm optimization and reinforcement learning framework

Photocatalytic Lignin Depolymerization and Cross‐Coupling With Alcohols to Produce Unsymmetric Aromatic Diols

ABSTRACT Conversion of lignin into chemical products typically involves two separate steps, such as depolymerization and subsequent upgrading of monomers, which often require different catalytic systems or varying reaction conditions. Notably, the direct one‐pot conversion of lignin into valuable compounds is crucial for advancing biomass utilization, aiming to streamline production by combining depolymerization and functionalization steps to maximize process‐, atom‐, and cost‐efficiency. Here we report the photocatalytic approach for synchronized depolymerization and C–C coupling processes for the direct conversion of lignin and its derivatives into aromatic diols using CdZnS (Cd 0.3 Zn 0.7 S) catalyst. By coupling hole‐driven radical generation with electron‐driven regeneration of overoxidized benzylic intermediates, this strategy overcomes the intrinsic preference for homocoupling and enables selective cross‐coupling between benzylic and aliphatic alcohol derivatives. This CdZnS‐based photocatalytic process enables simultaneous hydrogen transfer, hydrogenolysis and cross‐coupling of various lignin model compounds with alcohols to obtain unsymmetrical aromatic diols. In the case of real lignin, this depolymerization‐cross‐coupling protocol gives corresponding aromatic diols up to 10 wt% monomer yield. The resulting diol products are directly applicable to the synthesis of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) as well as fused polycyclic frameworks, functional materials, and bioactive molecules.

Explainability-driven adaptive cyber deception control system for autonomous network defense

Robust thermometry-imaging down to sub-micrometer or millisecond-resolution by fluorescence lifetime microscopy allows for additional acquisition of multiple imaging channels

Abstract Temperature is a fundamental parameter governing all molecular processes, including those that define life. Fluorescence microscopy is a powerful tool to observe molecular processes in living systems in real time. Precise control and measurement of temperature during fluorescence microscopy is therefore essential. We present here a temperature measurement based on the excited-state lifetime of the widely available and relatively inexpensive fluorescent dye pentamethine cyanine (Cy5). Thermometry by excited-state lifetime has been shown to be more robust to external parameters than intensity-based methods. The excited-state lifetime of Cy5 shows a monotonic decline in the measurement range of 0–80 °C. The measured dependency is linear until 39 °C and monoexponential above. The dependance of excited-state lifetime upon temperature is used to measure temperature up to a precision of 0.5 °C or less, a temporal resolution down to < 1 ms for single pixel measurements and to resolve temperature gradients with spatial resolutions that are only diffraction-limited. The far-red excitation and emission of Cy5 leaves bandwidth to simultaneously measure at least 3 additional spectral channels in standard fluorescent microscopes. We demonstrate determination of temperature during 4-color live-cell fluorescence microscopy for a temperature-controlled experiment. We also show its applicability in measuring temperature gradients and laser-induced sample heating such as during STED nanoscopy.

A composite splenomegaly and platelet score for thrombosis risk in myeloproliferative neoplasms in Saudi Arabia

Glutathione‐Induced In Situ Oxygen Vacancies in FeOOH Nanospindles for Boosting Sonocatalytic Tumor Therapy

ABSTRACT Defect engineering can enhance carrier separation in sonocatalysts to boost reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation; however, the current methods still rely on in vitro physicochemical defect introduction that lacks tumor specificity and poses a risk of off‐target activation. Herein, we developed FeOOH nanospindles in which glutathione (GSH) within tumor cells triggers the formation of in situ oxygen vacancies (O vac ), promoting ROS generation during sonocatalytic therapy (SCT) to enhance antitumor efficacy while minimizing off‐target toxicity. The introduction of O vac narrows the bandgap, raises the Fermi level, promotes charge separation, and inhibits electron‐hole recombination, thereby significantly enhancing the sonocatalytic production of 1 O 2 . Concurrently, Fe 3+ ions catalyze oxygen evolution to alleviate tumor hypoxia, while Fe 3+ ions are reduced to Fe 2+ ions by GSH, which mediate the Fenton reaction, generating toxic •OH under ultrasound irradiation. This “three‐in‐one” design ingeniously integrates tumor microenvironment (TME) responsiveness, in situ defect engineering, and multiple catalytic mechanisms to disrupt redox homeostasis and trigger apoptosis and ferroptosis synergistically. By enabling in situ activation and site‐specific amplification of therapeutic functions, this work offers a great promise for advancing precision oncology and overcoming the current limitations of ROS‐based tumor therapies.

Biological contributions to manganese oxides in rock varnish at Murujuga (Western Australia)

Optimized hybrid multilevel inverter with vertical extension topology for energy management and power quality improvement in renewable energy systems

Ultrastructural and electrophysiological determination of the patency of monkey cone outer segment membranes

Cone photoreceptors support the high-acuity color vision characteristic of many primates, including humans. In several nonmammalian species, such as amphibians, the light-sensitive disk membranes within cone outer segments (COSs) are fully open to the extracellular space and continuous (patent) with the surrounding plasma membrane. In contrast, the extent of such patency in mammalian COSs has remained unresolved. The open disk architecture represents a fundamental distinction from the closed, discrete disks that dominate a rod OS (ROS), with important implications for outer-segment renewal and phototransduction. Here, we documented ROS and COS disk patency in the retina of macaque monkeys of both sexes, near the foveal-parafoveal boundary, by 3D ultrastructural analysis, using serial-section electron microscope tomography. The frequency of disk patency was determined at different locations along the entire OS length. It was less in the apical region of both COSs and ROSs, although still evident, even in ROSs. We complemented our 3D ultrastructural assessment of COS disk patency with electrophysiological measurements of whole-cell membrane capacitance. Both methods indicated that only a minority of all COS disk membranes are open, though more than in ROSs. Thus, in contrast to COSs of many lower vertebrates, the majority of monkey COSs are closed, especially distally. Compared with fully open disks, this structural organization should improve the efficiency of disk membrane renewal and may influence aspects of visual signaling. Significance Statement For over 60 years, scientists have debated whether the membrane disks of mammalian cone photoreceptors are continuous with the plasma membrane, as in many other vertebrates, or instead form closed, independent structures similar to those in rod photoreceptors. The difference between the two types of disk organization may have important implications for cell biological processes (e.g. disk membrane renewal) and the physiology of phototransduction. We report that EM tomographic analyses of disk ultrastructure and measurements of electrical membrane capacitance both indicate that the majority of cone disks are completely closed. This information now allows for enhanced understanding of the relationship between structure and function of cone photoreceptors – the sensory cells that mediate the most complex information about our external environment.

Serum PFAS levels in UK firefighters

Abstract Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent an emerging concern due to their persistence, bioaccumulation, and emerging associations with different cancers and other diseases. Biomonitoring studies worldwide report elevated PFAS serum concentrations in firefighters compared with other occupations and the general population. The aim of this study was to quantify PFAS serum concentration in current and former firefighters and a general population comparison group in the UK. PFAS serum concentrations were analysed in a total sample of 1224 participants, including 942 firefighters from eight Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) and 282 individuals from the general population. PFAS concentrations varied across tested FRSs, with geometric mean serum levels for some analytes higher than those observed in the general population. These included PFHxS (4.1 times higher), PFOS sum (1.5 times higher) and PFHPS (about 1.6 times higher), compounds that have been historically associated with the use of aqueous film forming firefighting foams. Furthermore, four PFAS (8:2 FTS, FOSA, PFBS, and PFPeS) were detected exclusively in firefighter serum and not in the general population, of which three are commonly detected in firefighter turnout gear. Descriptively, PFAS geometric mean concentrations tended to be higher among older firefighters and those with longer service duration. The general population cohort, drawn from a region which has subsequently been found to have some of the UK’s highest PFAS environmental contamination, showed relatively high baseline serum PFAS levels, suggesting the contribution of high background environmental exposure in this cohort. Reported data highlights the need for PFAS monitoring among firefighters, including evaluation of occupational exposure pathways, with attention to likely sources such as firefighting foam types and formulations; the type of chemicals applied to turnout gear; PPE use, frequency and type of decontamination. Further research should also include wider monitoring of the general population, including evaluation of likely sources and pathways of exposure.