Browse Articles

Atom-economy upcycling of commodity thermoset polyurethane into photocuring 3D printing resins based on selective cleavage—crosslink strategy

Identification and clustering analysis of drug-responsive temporally varying genes through high-frequency longitudinal RNA sequencing

Noncollinear ferrielectricity in a van der Waals crystal

Unreported Rift Valley fever virus circulation during 2023–2024 El Niño event detected by slaughterhouse-based surveillance in southern Kenya

Abstract Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic arbovirus, and livestock cases are often underreported in endemic countries due to reliance on passive clinical surveillance. During the 2023–2024 El Niño event, Kenya experienced widespread flooding, but no RVF outbreaks were reported in the southern regions. We implemented slaughterhouse-based surveillance in southern Kenya from May 2023—June 2024, using five consecutive cross-sectional surveys. Cattle, sheep, and goats were tested for anti-RVFV IgG and IgM antibodies, with concurrent recording of post-mortem lesions. Using age estimates from dentition, catalytic models estimated the force of infection (FOI) over time and spatial analysis assessed the Loitokitok sub-county for hotspots. Among 955 animals, 10.2% were IgG-positive, with seroprevalence and FOI increasing after El Niño rains, reaching 22.6% by May 2024. Six animals (0.6%) were IgM-positive, indicating recent infection, with cases detected in 3/5 sampling periods, including before the rains. All recently infected IgM-positive animals were deemed fit for slaughter and none had lesions. Adult animals in endemic areas, void of clinical and pathological signs, may therefore play a role in the silent spread and maintenance of RVFV. Slaughterhouse-based surveillance offers a practical and scalable platform for improving RVF detection and monitoring livestock in endemic regions.

Engineering programmable CAR and antigen pairing via drug-gated light activation

Abstract Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy has achieved clinical success, but remains limited in solid tumors by antigen escape and tumor heterogeneity. Here, we engineer a high-affinity R-phycoerythrin (PE)-binding monobody to create a PE-programmable CAR toward user-defined antigens sequentially or simultaneously. To reduce off-tumor toxicity, we implement a drug-gated light-activation approach (DGLA) strategy to spatially confine CAR function. We further couple DGLA-controlled tumor antigen presentation with synNotch-mediated programmable antigen-targeting CAR (sPAT) to establish programmable CAR-antigen pairing (DGLA-sPAT). This system induces clinically validated antigens on tumor cells as local ‘training centers’ that recruit and activate sPAT CAR T cells, enabling elimination of entire tumor populations through broadly expressed tumor antigens using PE-conjugated antibodies. In vivo, DGLA-sPAT manifests local T cell activation and potent tumor suppression with minimal off-tumor toxicity. Thus DGLA-sPAT provides a modular and spatially controlled framework to overcome antigen escape and heterogeneity while improving safety in solid-tumor CAR-T therapy.

Global ocean heat content over the past 3 million years

Association of long COVID with health-related quality-of-life outcomes

Endemism and regionalization patterns of squamate reptiles in Amazonia

Convergent evolution of scavenger cell development at brain borders

Task-specific compensatory joint control strategies in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis during dynamic balance tasks

Aptamers with magnetically tunable affinity for divalent cobalt ions

Assessment of knowledge and practice of childhood vaccination among mothers of under five year children in Jimma city government health facilities, South-West Oromia, Ethiopia

Coagulation pretreatment could deteriorate reverse osmosis membrane fouling

Abstract Coagulation is widely regarded as an indispensable pretreatment process in reverse osmosis (RO) systems of zero liquid discharge applications. Yet in practical applications, coagulation pretreatment often causes perplexing impact on membrane fouling and even deteriorates the RO performance with ambiguous mechanisms, thereby seriously disrupting the progress of RO-based applications. This study systematically reveals the RO performance devolution caused by Fe- or Al-based coagulation pretreatment, and elucidates the fundamental mechanism of membrane fouling deterioration due to residual coagulants. The Al-based coagulation predominantly triggers inorganic fouling, with the disruption of microbial ecological interaction networks within the biofilm exacerbated by copper-induced oxidative stresses. The Fe residues dramatically enhance the production of extracellular polymeric substances and facilitate robust fouling layer development, exacerbating membrane fouling and diminishing RO performance. These findings not only provide essential engineering guidance for optimizing practical operations but also deepen the understanding of the coagulation–RO interactions, establishing a refined framework for enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of advanced water treatment systems.

What’s the best way to change research fields? These three scientists have ideas

Probabilistic seismic demand assessment of special truss moment frames with Vierendeel panels under geometric variations

Abstract Special truss moment frames (STMFs) have attracted growing interest due to the demand for column spacing that exceeds conventional restrictions. This study investigates the seismic performance of 27 three-span STMFs with mid-span Vierendeel truss panels having different structural configurations. The considered STMFs include three, six, and nine stories; span lengths of 10, 15, and 20 m; and have special ductile segment lengths of 1, 1.5, and 2.25 m. Incremental dynamic analyses (IDA) of STMFs were performed under 22 strong ground motions to assess the dependence of structural responses on geometric configurations while explicitly accounting for record-to-record uncertainty. Seismic demand models and fragility curves were constructed using Bayesian statistics and combined with site-specific hazard curves in a probabilistic seismic demand analysis (PSDA). The results indicate that the structural seismic performance of STMFs is strongly affected by the height-to-span (h/L) and the special segment length-to-span (Lₛ/L) ratios. Seismic demand predictive equations in terms of geometric parameters were proposed and validated against numerical data, confirming their reliability for preliminary seismic assessment. The results demonstrate that, within the studied range of parameters, reducing either the height-to-span ratio (h/L) or normalized special segment length (Lₛ/L) leads to improved seismic performance of STMFs.

Divergent white matter metabolic signature patterns indicate impending cognitive decline in aging and dementia

Deformation characteristics of weakly cemented overburden in Western mining areas in China

Shape-optimized metasurface beamformer for high-efficiency full-duplex optical wireless communications across an ultra-wide field-of-view

Leading the charge to explain static electricity

Geophagy in Gibraltar Barbary macaques is a primate tradition anthropogenically induced

Abstract We report, for the first time, geophagy – the deliberate consumption of earth – in the Barbary macaque ( Macaca sylvanus ) population living at the human-primate interface in Gibraltar. We evaluate potential adaptive functions of this behavior in an anthropogenic context, drawing on predictions from the protection and supplementation hypotheses. Geophagy occurred at exceptionally high rates compared to other macaque species and locations, and it was more common in summer when tourist numbers peak. It was also more likely when macaques consumed greater amounts of tourist-derived food, supporting a protective function. Local ecological factors contributed as well, with the distribution of red soil (terra rossa) influencing geophagy frequency. Although the behavior was not linked to female reproductive status, supplementation cannot be fully dismissed given the very limited insectivory in this population. We propose that tourist-derived foods may disrupt gut microbiome composition, producing discomfort that individuals mitigate through soil ingestion. Geophagy is likely socially learned, as groups showed consistent preferences for specific soil types, and its practice in presence of conspecifics offered opportunities for social learning. Reports from other sites indicate that geophagy is not unique to Gibraltar, but in this population it appears to be anthropogenically induced and socially transmitted, forming a locally maintained tradition.