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Cutting to the Chase

Synergistic experimental and theoretical investigation of ZnO derived from ZIF-8 photocatalysts for methylene blue degradation under visible light

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a promising structure to improve the physicochemical performance of semiconductors by constructing MOF-based structures. In this study, ZnO photocatalysts were successfully synthesized from zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) utilizing an elementary notion aqueous approach, which requires mixing at room temperature. By adjusting the heating temperature and total amount of organic ligands in the MOF structure, the optical and structural properties of the resultant ZnO were successfully controlled. The resulting ZnO derived from ZIF-8 was applied as water pollutant removal by degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation, and the ZnO-650 sample outperformed the other samples, removing approximately 91% of MB within 30 min. The enhanced activity was primarily due to the sample’s improved crystallinity and increased specific surface area preserved from the ZIF-8 precursor, as well as the decreased photoluminescence intensity, which reduced electron–hole recombination. Furthermore, density functional theory was used to simulate the ZnO-derived ZIF-8 structures and calculate the samples’ energy bandgap and work function, which explain the charge migration process sufficiently to better understand the photocatalytic pathway of ZnO derived from ZIF-8, allowing us to propose a potential MB degradation mechanism. Overall, this study will offer an effective procedure for creating and establishing efficient semiconductor photocatalysts that utilize the advantage of MOFs’ superb properties.

scFAST-seq reveals a wide diversity of transcripts, CNV events, and regulatory activity in adrenocortical tumor

Abstract The emergence of single-cell multi-omics technologies has enabled researchers to identify rare cell populations and investigate gene regulation with unmatched resolution, advancing cancer research. However, each technique comes with its own distinct advantages and drawbacks. In this study, we compared two high-throughput droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies—10X Chromium 3’ scRNA-seq and SeekGene scFAST-seq—using two paired samples derived from adrenocortical tumor. scFAST-seq exhibited a higher ratio of long non-coding RNAs, along with an increased number of detected genes and transcripts, while ribosomal RNA was underrepresented. Although the overlap in top cell type markers was relatively low, the relative abundances of cell populations were alike in both datasets. Also gene markers showed to be specific for scFAST-seq and 3’ scRNA-seq displayed minimal general variability in gene expression. We noted changes in RNA dynamics across the datasets, identified through RNA velocity analysis and fewer copy number variations (CNV) detected by CNV analysis. Furthermore, we found variations in regulon activity in 3’ scRNA-seq and scFAST-seq datasets. In conclusion, our research offers essential insights for selecting the most suitable scRNA-seq approach.

Evidence for multiple scattering effects in the electron mobility in dense argon gas

We report measurements of the electron drift mobility in dense argon gas over an extended range of densities, temperatures, and electric fields, supplementing our earlier work. The measurements confirm the validity of the heuristic model we previously developed by introducing multiple scattering effects into the classical kinetic theory description of the electron mobility in a dilute gas. We definitively show that, in argon gas, because of the particular energy dependence of its electron–atom momentum-transfer scattering cross section, none of the multiple scattering effects we have identified in the past can be neglected if the mobility behavior is to be accurately rationalized over the whole investigated parameter range.

Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic-Valve Replacement at 7 Years

Synchrotron-radiation x-ray topography and reticulography of bulk β-Ga2O3 crystals grown by the cold crucible method

The structural properties of a β-Ga2O3 single crystal grown by the oxide crystal growth from cold crucible (OCCC) method were investigated using synchrotron radiation x-ray topography and x-ray reticulography. The region grown beneath the seed exhibits high crystalline quality with a rocking curve full width at half maximum of about 26 arc sec. During diameter enlargement, a twist-type lattice misorientation develops between the central and laterally expanded regions, originating near the shoulder and propagating along boundaries parallel to the 〈010〉 growth direction. Dislocation analysis reveals that 〈010〉-oriented screw dislocations dominate the defect structure with densities of ∼105 cm−2, while higher densities (∼106 cm−2) appear in the wing region (i.e., the laterally expanded region formed during diameter enlargement). These results clarify defect formation in OCCC-grown β-Ga2O3 and provide insights into optimizing growth conditions.

Virtual immunohistochemistry by conditional generative adversarial networks

Environment-specific spectroscopic maps for water: Decoding the vibrational signature of non-hydrogen-bonded OH groups

The quantum/classical mixed approach to vibrational spectroscopy of complex molecular systems provides an excellent tool for obtaining computational spectra with high fidelity and low cost. The vibrational spectroscopic maps prepared through quantum chemical calculations are the central part of the quantum/classical mixed approach, allowing for the construction of time-dependent Hamiltonians from trajectories of classical molecular dynamics simulations. In practice, the vibrational spectroscopic maps, which directly affect the fidelity of the computational spectra to the experimental data, still leave room for improvement in many cases. Here, we report a new technique to build the vibrational spectroscopic maps, based on the concept of environment-specific mapping. We apply this technique to bulk liquid water where hydrogen-bonded (HB) and non-hydrogen-bonded (NHB) OH groups are separately mapped. Armed with these new environment-specific maps in the quantum/classical mixed approach, we successfully reproduce the weak shoulder band in the Raman spectrum around 3650 cm−1, which is the vibrational signature of the NHB OH groups. The present computational study elucidates how the NHB OH groups contribute to the shoulder band from a dynamical perspective, revealing that ultrafast chemical exchange between NHB and HB is encoded in the steady-state Raman spectrum.

A Eulogy for Structural Competence?

Semiconducting p-GaN gate HEMT with avalanche-like non-destructive breakdown capability

Non-destructive avalanche breakdown is crucial for enhancing the robustness of power devices against overvoltage stresses and surge energy, whereas state-of-the-art GaN HEMTs present no avalanche capability. In this work, we demonstrate a semiconducting p-GaN gate HEMT (SG-HEMT) that achieves avalanche-like non-destructive breakdown capability. A thin p-GaN layer covering the AlGaN layer serves as the intrinsic gate, with a control electrode formed outside the active region. This thin p-GaN layer (i.e., the SG) depletes the 2DEG in the channel and creates an energy barrier for electrons. During the blocking state, the depletion region gradually expands within the SG under high drain stress. Once the SG is fully depleted, the electron barrier in the channel is eliminated, allowing electron current to flow and consequent avalanche-like non-destructive breakdown. While this non-destructive breakdown exhibits similar electrical characteristics as the avalanche process, the SG-HEMT operates on a distinct physical mechanism. Instead of impact ionization and carrier multiplication, breakdown of the SG-HEMT is triggered by the full depletion of the SG, facilitating unipolar channel electron conduction. Thus, the well-designed SG-HEMT with an SG length of 9 μm exhibits a non-destructive breakdown voltage of ∼483 V, targeting 400 V applications. Moreover, the SG-HEMT shows no current degradation after ten cycles of repetitive breakdown tests. Meanwhile, owing to the suppression of trapping effects by the SG, an ultra-low dynamic RON/static RON ratio of 1.09 is achieved after 400 V stress. These results indicate that the SG-HEMT offers a promising pathway to construct highly robust GaN power systems.

Multi-source music knowledge graph construction and prosodic evolution trajectory prediction via DRL-VAE collaborative learning

Probing competitive photochemical pathways of 2,5-dichlorofuran via surface hopping dynamics and ultrafast electron diffraction

Conical intersections (CIs) play a crucial role in determining the photochemical outcomes of excited-state molecular dynamics. Such is the case for systems such as furan and many of its derivatives, which exhibit two main competing pathways—ring-opening and ring-puckering that are mediated by two distinct CIs. Since even single CIs are hard to detect spectroscopically, disentangling the contribution between multiple competing CIs is an exceptionally difficult challenge. In this study, we theoretically evaluate the possibility to disentangle competing CI-mediated pathways in 2,5-dichlorofuran with ultrafast electron diffraction (UED). We simulate the photochemistry of 2,5-dichlorofuran with semi-classical surface-hopping molecular dynamics based on XMS-CASPT2 theory. This approach captures non-adiabatic transitions between electronic states at CIs. Compared to furan, we find that chlorine substitution pushes the relaxation time well above 100 fs, which is beneficial for current temporal resolution in UED. We simulate UED patterns that involve scattering off electronic and nuclear charge densities, thereby being sensitive to structural changes in the molecule. In the static UED patterns of the optimized conical intersection structures, we find an observable difference between puckering and opening. The pair distribution functions of the UED signals we calculated exhibit signature peaks of the opening CI at 6.1 Å and of the puckering CI at 3.7 Å. Because the trajectories primarily exhibit mixed puckering/opening character instead of a clean branching, these differences are not clearly visible in the ensemble UED pattern.

The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans — Progress, Pitfalls, and the Path Forward

Biosurveillance and early outbreak detection of rabies in settings with limited laboratory capacity using spatiotemporal clustering and a machine learning framework

Abstract Rabies is an important but often neglected zoonotic disease with significant public health, veterinary, and economic impacts. Inadequate surveillance and diagnostic resources in low- and middle-income countries impede its effective public health responses. This study demonstrates the use of an extreme gradient boosting (XGB) technique for animal rabies risk assessment in endemic areas of Haiti with limited diagnostic resources. We employed spatiotemporal clustering and trend analysis techniques to assess rabies status across large geographic areas. The XGB model achieved high specificity (0.99, 95% CI: 0.98–0.99), sensitivity (0.78, 95% CI: 0.61–0.95), negative predictive value (1.0, 95% CI: 0.99–1.00), and accuracy (0.98, 95% CI: 0.98–0.99) in predicting animal rabies cases. The framework identified 20 high-risk rabies clusters, representing a 40% increase in detected transmission zones compared to laboratory-confirmed data alone. This included 8 clusters in underserved communities where no diagnostic infrastructure was previously available, enabling real-time monitoring of disease and surveillance trends in previously unmonitored regions. Trend analysis facilitated real-time monitoring of high-risk clusters with significantly changing disease and surveillance statuses. This study showcases a data-driven, evidence-based framework for neglected and emerging zoonotic disease surveillance in economically constrained regions.

Crystallite shape and packing of paramagnetic microcrystalline powders from the measurement and calculation of bulk magnetic susceptibility shifts in solid-state NMR

The size and shape of crystallites strongly influence the properties of functional materials yet remain challenging to access experimentally. In paramagnetic solids, the bulk magnetic susceptibility (BMS) contributes a part to the measured nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shift tensor, which depends strongly on particle shape and packing. Here, we use a Fourier-space approach to quantify BMS shifts in LiFePO4 and use the 7Li magic-angle spinning NMR spectra to directly probe the crystallite shape and size. By disentangling internal and external BMS shift contributions from the crystallite of interest and its neighbors, we show that particle shape anisotropy leaves a clear signature in the NMR line shape. Combining BMS modeling with quantum-chemical local shift parameters yields excellent agreement with experimental spectra and enables the extraction of new morphological insights, highlighting solid-state NMR as a quantitative probe of crystallite morphology in paramagnetic materials.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors — Lifestyle Modifications

The DNA virome varies with human genes and environments

Abstract Many viruses have adapted to persist in infected humans for life 1,2 . Variable host control of their ongoing abundance (viral load) can lead to clearance or disease 3–5 . Here we analysed the viral DNA load of 31 common viruses in human blood and saliva using whole-genome sequencing data from UK Biobank ( n  = 490,401), All of Us ( n  = 414,817) and Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK; n  = 12,519). Viral DNA load varied markedly with age, time of day and season; most viruses were also present at greater abundance in men than in women. Human genetic variation at dozens of loci associated with DNA load of seven viruses: Epstein–Barr virus (EBV, 45 loci), human herpesvirus (HHV)-7 (37 loci), HHV-6B, Merkel cell polyomavirus and three anelloviruses. Variation at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus generated the strongest associations ( P  = 5.8 × 10 –9 to 2.5 × 10 –1459 ), which were specific to each virus. The HLA-B*08:01 allele also exhibited a host–virus genetic interaction with EBV subtype ( P  = 7.4 × 10 –70 ). Other human genetic effects implicated genes encoding proteins that process peptides for antigen presentation, such as ERAP1 (HHV-7, P = 2.7 × 10 –78 ) and ERAP2 (EBV, P = 4.6 × 10 –111 ). Mendelian randomization analyses supported a strong causal effect of EBV DNA load on increased risk of Hodgkin’s lymphoma ( P  = 1.8 × 10 –3 ), but not multiple sclerosis ( P = 0.52). This suggests that higher chronic EBV load increases lymphoma risk, whereas associations of EBV infection with autoimmune conditions reflect host immune responses to particular viral epitopes.

HBO-NAS: class-aware zero-cost fitness for diversity-preserving neural architecture search through hybrid breeding optimization algorithm

Molecular dynamics simulation study of soluble fission products impact on MOX fuel thermodynamic properties

The impact of soluble fission products, Ce, Gd, La, Nd, and Zr, on the thermodynamic properties of the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel was investigated. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to compute the lattice parameters, linear thermal expansion coefficient, and heat capacity of systems of which composition can be considered as representative of irradiated MOX fuel. The introduction of trivalent cations showed a more significant effect on heat capacity than the one of tetravalent cations, highlighting the importance to take into account these elements to evaluate MOX fuel properties, especially at high temperatures where experimental data are not available.

Secondary Prevention after Ischemic Stroke