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“Alternative” or integrated role of mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
Coordinated expression and assembly of BiP, p58 <sup>IPK</sup> , and ER chaperone complexes maximize proinsulin folding in pancreatic β cells
Proper proinsulin folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is prerequisite to producing bioactive insulin, and proinsulin misfolding causing β cell ER stress accompanies pancreatic β cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes (T2D). How (and which) ER chaperones coordinate to prevent proinsulin misfolding is largely unknown other than an unspecified dependence on the hsp70 member, BiP. A genetically engineered mouse enables efficient, specific pulldown of endogenous islet β cell BiP (GRP78, the major HSP70 ER chaperone) in complexes with client proteins. We demonstrate that BiP assembles in various protein complexes (including cochaperones p58 IPK , GRP170, ERdj3, and oxidoreductases PDIA1 and PDIA6) that specifically bind to nonnative proinsulin. BiP requires p58 IPK for productive proinsulin folding, whereas nonstoichiometric BiP excess actually hinders proinsulin folding. Coordinated and dyscoordinated BiP/cochaperone assembly in response to demand for proinsulin highlights physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions, respectively, offering a potential check point for therapeutic intervention.
Crotonylation impedes c-Myc oncogenic activity
c-Myc, an important oncoprotein, is highly regulated via posttranslational modifications. Herein, we report c-Myc crotonylation, an acylation stemming from the short-chain fatty acid crotonate. By biochemical analyses and high-resolution mass spectrometry sequencing, we showed that c-Myc is crotonylated at several lysine residues, spanning its middle to C termini. Mutation of these crotonylation sites conferred cells with a significant proliferative advantage with two key residues at K289 and K298 identified. Mutation of these lysine residues increased the binding of the mutant c-Myc to its regulator S-phase-kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2) that can enhance c-Myc transcriptional activity while degrading it afterward. Interestingly, the K298N mutation was identified in some primary human tumors via screening human cancer database. More interestingly, this cancer-derived mutant c-Myc displayed more oncogenic activity than did wild type c-Myc in vitro and in vivo, in part, by partnering with Skp2. Together, these results demonstrate that crotonylation can impair the oncogenic activity of c-Myc.
A targeted combination therapy achieves effective pancreatic cancer regression and prevents tumor resistance
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has one of the lowest cancer survival rates. Recent studies using RAS inhibitors have opened the door to more efficacious therapies although their beneficial effect is still limited mainly due to the rapid appearance of tumor resistance. Here, we demonstrate that genetic ablation of three independent nodes involved in downstream (RAF1), upstream (EGFR), and orthogonal (STAT3) KRAS signaling pathways leads to complete and permanent regression of orthotopic PDACs induced by K ras / T p53 mutations. Likewise, a combination of selective inhibitors of KRAS (RMC-6236/daraxonrasib), EGFR family (afatinib), and STAT3 (SD36) induced the complete regression of orthotopic PDAC tumors with no evidence of tumor resistance for over 200 d posttreatment. This combination therapy also led to significant regression of genetically engineered mouse tumors as well as patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDX) in the absence of tumor relapses. Of importance, this combination therapy was well tolerated. In sum, these results should guide the development of new clinical trials that may benefit PDAC patients.
Microbial desalination using Advenella faeciporci ZF1 as a novel iron-reducing bacterium isolated from oil refinery sludge
Positive health behaviors and their relationships with well-being and work ability of Polish women: Research results
Introduction Lifestyle is considered one of the most important determinants of health, which most of us have an influence on and can modify. However, it is necessary to raise health awareness among people so that they know how to do it effectively. Objective This study examines the relationships between health behaviors, well-being, and work ability among Polish female employees. Material and methods Anonymous questionnaire surveys conducted among 927 women aged 18−65, using the CAWI method, using a survey developed for the project containing selected standard tools (Work Ability Index, WHO-5 Well-being Index) and a personal survey including personal data and questions regarding, among others: self-assessment of health status and care for it, and well-being. Results Women obtained an average result in the Positive Health Behavior Scale; they received an average of 60.3 points out of 102 possible to obtain. Women’s care for their health increased with age; women performing mental work obtained better results than those who performed physical and mixed work. A statistically significant relationship between positive health behaviors and well-being and work ability was demonstrated. Conclusions Due to the average care of women for their health, there is a need to constantly raise their health awareness, preferably through health education conducted at the workplace.
Spin-wave phase modulation using magnetic domain walls in dipolarly coupled structures for non-volatile magnonic computation
A controllable phase shifter is a key component for spin-wave–based logic and information-processing devices. Here, we propose a domain-wall-position–controlled spin-wave phase shifter that exploits dipolar coupling between two closely spaced waveguides to enable continuous phase tuning over a range approaching 360° while keeping the spin-wave amplitude constant. Using micromagnetic simulations, we model a bias-free hybrid structure composed of a nanoscale waveguide magnetostatically coupled to a half-ring-shaped structure, both made from bismuth-doped yttrium iron garnet with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Displacing a domain wall in the half-ring modulates the dispersion relation in the adjacent straight waveguide due to the changed magnetostatic interaction, providing a compact and dynamically reconfigurable phase-shifting mechanism. This approach offers precise and non-volatile control over spin-wave propagation and is compatible with energy-efficient magnonic logic architectures.
An experimental study on the effects of drying-wetting cycles to the mechanical properties of red mud
Correction: Resilience of the gelatinous zooplankton species Oikopleura dioica to ocean alkalinity enhancement
Low-temperature growth of two-dimensional InP nanosheets for optoelectronic applications
Two-dimensional (2D) III–V semiconductors hold exceptional promise for next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices; however, their scalable synthesis remains a long-standing challenge owing to the strong, directional covalent bonding in non-layered crystal structures—which inherently suppresses natural cleavage and lateral growth. Here, we report a controllable, low-temperature (&lt;450 °C) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) strategy enabling the direct synthesis of ultrathin, single- to few-layer InP nanosheets on commercially available mica substrates—without requiring costly lattice-matched buffers or catalytic templates. The as-grown InP nanosheets exhibit atomic-level thickness uniformity, large lateral dimensions (&gt;10 μm), and high crystallinity, as confirmed by atomic-resolution imaging and electron diffraction. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) unambiguously reveals the absence of an interfacial van der Waals gap at the InP/mica interface, demonstrating that growth proceeds via interfacial chemical interaction rather than weak physisorption—thus representing a departure from conventional van der Waals epitaxy. Critically, nanosheet formation is exclusively observed on mica, whereas only isotropic nanoparticles nucleate on SiO2 and sapphire under identical conditions—highlighting mica's unique role as an atomically smooth, chemically inert, and defect-poor substrate that kinetically favors anisotropic lateral extension over 3D islanding. Polarization-resolved second-harmonic generation (SHG) measurements further confirm the non-centrosymmetric structure of the nanosheets and reveal exceptional optical homogeneity across micrometer-scale domains. Field-effect transistors fabricated from individual InP nanosheets show excellent bias stability, while photodetectors exhibit reproducible photoresponse with a maximum responsivity of 510 mA W−1 and a peak detectivity of 3.2 × 109 Jones under low-intensity illumination (0.1 mW cm−2). Collectively, this work establishes a generalizable, template-free route toward the 2D integration of non-layered III–V semiconductors and underscores the viability of 2D InP as a high-performance platform for ultrathin optoelectronics and quantum-confined devices.
Thermochemical upcycling of banana stem fibers into biochar and activated carbon for rapid, high-capacity removal of methylene blue from water
A black-winged kite improved fuzzy clustering handling imbalanced uncertain data
Clustering uncertain data is a fundamental problem in data mining. Imbalance among uncertain objects significantly degrades clustering performance, as minority clusters are repeatedly overshadowed by dominant ones. Consequently, existing clustering techniques often fail due to initialisation biases and inadequate similarity modelling. This paper proposes a novel algorithm, the B lack-winged K ite I mproved F uzzy clustering for probability density F unctions (BKIFF), which combines an optimisation-based initialisation strategy with an enhanced fuzzy clustering framework. Specifically, BKIFF incorporates the Hellinger distance into the clustering objective to more reliably capture similarities between probability density functions (pdfs), and introduces improved membership updating and prototype estimation mechanisms tailored for uncertain and imbalanced data formulated as I mproved F uzzy clustering for probability density F unctions (IFF) while theoretical convergence is established. In addition, the algorithm employs Black-winged Kite Optimisation (BKO) to enhance prototype selection, improving clustering stability and convergence. As a result, comprehensive experiments with synthetic Gaussian probability distributions, skewed pdfs, and real-world image datasets demonstrate that BKIFF consistently outperforms baseline methods such as FCF, FCF- ℒ 1 , K MEANS, and Self-Updating. Across all three examples, BKIFF achieves near-perfect ARI , improving from near-zero values in highly imbalanced cases {20,50,80,100} by approximately 30–35% in moderate settings, while increasing NMI by about 25–95%. Additionally, it reduces computational time by approximately 95–99% compared to baseline methods. In conclusion, BKIFF demonstrates superior performance and opens up new possibilities for applications in medical diagnostics, ecological analysis, and high-dimensional uncertain data mining, particularly in imbalanced environments.
Development of a uniform microwave-induced low-temperature plasma jet array at atmospheric pressure
This paper presents the design of a low-temperature microwave atmospheric-pressure plasma jet array operating at 2.45 GHz, based on a power divider and coaxial transmission-line structures. To expand the discharge area of each individual jet, a hemispherical dielectric block with a diameter of 6 mm was incorporated into the ionization zone of the coaxial plasma source unit. The device can generate four plasma jets at atmospheric pressure with a total microwave input power as low as 55 W. Experimental results demonstrate that increasing the incident power and gas flow rate effectively increases both the length and width of the plasma jets. At a total incident power of 100 W for the array and a gas flow rate of 15 l/min for each jet unit, the jet length reached 9 mm, with a maximum diameter of 7 mm. After 5 min of treatment with one plasma-array unit, the finger-skin temperature was only 35.7 °C. Spectral measurements and sterilization experiments confirmed the high uniformity of the designed plasma jet array. This study offers a potential pathway for industrial applications of large-area microwave atmospheric-pressure plasmas and provides a novel design approach for related devices.
Nonlinear vibration analysis of graphene nanoplatelet-reinforced polymer plates incorporating hyperelastic material behavior
Perspective of Turkish society toward autistic individuals: Personal experiences, knowledge, and interaction comfort
Despite increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autistic individuals, factors shaping social interactions involving autistic individuals in the general population remain relatively underexplored. This study examined the interrelationships among personal experience, knowledge, and interaction comfort toward autistic individuals among Turkish adults and explored demographic differences. A total of 507 participants (aged 18+) were recruited using snowball sampling, and data were collected via an online survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive, comparative, and correlational analyses, followed by regression-based mediation and moderated mediation models (PROCESS macro). Participants primarily reported indirect experiences with autistic individuals, and both knowledge levels and interaction comfort were relatively high, with significant differences across several demographic characteristics. Interaction comfort was lower in social than in professional settings and varied according to levels of support needs. Knowledge mediated the relationship between personal experience and interaction comfort. The indirect effect was significant only at higher levels of interaction quality. These findings highlight the role of knowledge and interaction quality in shaping interaction comfort and suggest the importance of interventions that promote meaningful and informed interactions. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Time-resolved interferometric measurements of plasma density evolution in laser-driven capacitor-coil targets
Laser-driven capacitor-coil targets provide a compact platform for generating strong magnetic fields and are widely used in magnetized high-energy-density (HED) plasma experiments. In addition to magnetic-field generation, these targets also produce plasma in the coil region, which can influence the subject physical processes and interact with secondary targets or external plasmas in their applications. However, direct, time-resolved measurements of the plasma density surrounding the coil remain limited. Here, we report interferometric measurements of the plasma density evolution in laser-driven capacitor-coil targets irradiated by the University of Osaka LFEX laser. Two-dimensional electron density maps reveal two distinct plasma sources loading the coil region: plasma generated in the coil itself and plasma produced by laser ablation of the target plates. These results provide quantitative information on plasma loading and evolution in capacitor-coil targets and are directly relevant to the design and modeling of magnetized HED plasma experiments.
Hypoalbuminemia as a severity predictor of preeclampsia in a multicenter study from Indonesia
Abstract Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, affecting 5–10% of pregnancies, pose significant risks to maternal and fetal health. Pregnant women with preeclampsia and proteinuria experience a gradual decrease in serum albumin due to increased protein requirements, urinary protein loss, and endothelial damage. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between hypoalbuminemia and the severity of preeclampsia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted from 2022 to 2024 at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital and Regional General Hospital Prof. Dr. Margono Soekarjo. The study included 245 pregnant women diagnosed with preeclampsia who met specific inclusion criteria. Data were collected on age, body mass index (BMI), parity status, and albumin levels. Chi-square tests, relative risk, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were utilized to assess the correlation between hypoalbuminemia and preeclampsia severity. Hypoalbuminemia was predominantly identified in individuals aged 31–40 years with mild to moderate hypoalbuminemia. Most participants were multiparous, obese, and presented with preeclampsia without severe features. A significant correlation ( p = 0.000) was observed between hypoalbuminemia and preeclampsia severity. Pregnant women with severe hypoalbuminemia had a 4.4 times higher risk of developing preeclampsia with severe features compared to those with mild to moderate hypoalbuminemia. ROC analysis identified an albumin cut-off value of 2.51 g/dL as a predictor of preeclampsia with severe features. Hypoalbuminemia is significantly correlated with the severity of preeclampsia and may serve as a valuable predictor for identifying severe cases. Recognizing this relationship could improve the management of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and potentially reduce maternal morbidity and mortality rates.
Correction: Salidroside protects against high-altitude hypoxia-induced kidney injury via regulation of renal dopamine D1-like receptors
Knitting mechanism of skyrmions from interfacial magnetic anisotropies in γ-FeMn/Co bilayer films
Interfacial skyrmions, which hold great promise for applications among various types of skyrmions, typically form through interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions (DMI) induced by heavy metal layers. In contrast to conventional interfacial DMI, we propose an interfacial skyrmion knitting mechanism stemming from 3Q-antiferromagnet/ferromagnet interfacial interactions, with micromagnetic simulations confirming its feasibility. Our experimental investigations on the effects of critical temperature, magnetic anisotropy, and interface morphology on the topological Hall effect in γ-FeMn/Co bilayer films yield results consistent with this proposed knitting mechanism. Micromagnetic simulations further reveal the potential of this mechanism to generate diverse complex topological spin textures via artificially engineered interface morphologies. Our work enriches skyrmion formation mechanisms and material systems, broadening the platform for skyrmionics research.