Browse Articles

Electrocatalytic C─C Coupling of Dimethyl Oxalate to C ₄ Dicarboxylate on Cu

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic conversion of CO to value‐added multi‐carbon chemicals enables carbon resource recycling and emission reduction. Building on the industrial process of dimethyl oxalate (DMO) production from CO and methanol, we report in this work a selective electrochemical pathway to convert DMO to dimethyl tartarate (DMT), a precursor to multiple C 4 ‐dicarboxylic acids. On a Cu α catalyst dominated by Cu(111)‐like sites, Faradaic efficiency and partial current density for DMT reach 74.7% and 152 mA/cm − 2 , respectively, which significantly outperforms Cu β dominated with Cu(100)/(110)‐like sites. Facet dependence of the C─C coupling is confirmed via reactivity tests on single‐crystal Cu surfaces and CO‐poison experiments. In situ Raman spectroscopy reveals that DMO adopts distinct adsorption configurations on different Cu facets—planar on Cu(111) and upright on Cu(100)/(110)—accounting for the selectivity difference of DMT. Mechanistic studies indicate a surface‐mediated nonradical pathway, with the initial electron transfer to adsorbed DMO as the rate‐determining step for DMT formation. Our work enables the production of C 4 ‐dicarboxylic acids via cascade reactions with CO as the initial feedstock.

Psychophysiological effects of traditional cycling, virtual reality-enhanced cycling, and passive virtual reality exposure in young adults: A controlled within-subject study

Background Virtual reality (VR) offers a promising tool to enhance engagement in physical activity, but the independent and combined effects of VR on physiological and psychological responses remain underexplored in young adults. Aim To compare acute psychophysiological responses to traditional cycling, VR-enhanced cycling, and passive VR exposure (VR-noEx) in healthy young adults. Methods In this randomized, counterbalanced within-subject study, 60 healthy university students aged 18 years or older completed three 10-minute sessions with 10-minute seated rest between conditions: (1) traditional cycling, (2) cycling with VR, and (3) VR-noEx (VR with no exercise). Outcome measures included self-efficacy, enjoyment, perceived exertion, heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), and respiratory rate (RR). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferroni corrections, and effect sizes were calculated (Cohen’s d). Results Both cycling conditions significantly increased HR (33–35 bpm), SBP (14–17 mmHg), and RR (5.8–6.5 breaths/min) compared to rest (all p < .001), with no significant differences between VR cycling and traditional cycling. VR-noEx did not significantly alter HR or BP relative to rest. VR cycling produced higher self-efficacy and enjoyment than other conditions (p < .05), with small-to-moderate effects and comparable cardiovascular activation. Conclusion VR-enhanced cycling improves self-efficacy and enjoyment without reducing cardiovascular activation, whereas passive VR alone does not confer exercise benefits, suggesting VR-assisted exercise enhances positive psychological responses relevant to physical activity engagement.

Factors influencing women’s literacy status in rural Ethiopia using 2019 mini EDHS data

Proton Exchange Membranes from Microemulsion‐Synthesized COF Nanosheets for Water Electrolysis

Abstract Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) simultaneously with high proton conductivity, strong mechanical strength and low swelling are urgently required for PEM water electrolysis. In this study, we propose a microemulsion‐mediated semi‐confined method for synthesis of covalent organic framework (COF) nanosheets featured by the concurrent implementation of uniform size, high crystallinity and yield, and excellent scalability, which is virtually impossible for the dominant interfacial polymerization and phase‐transfer polymerization methods. The versatility of this method is demonstrated by synthesizing a range of COF nanosheets, including TpPa‐SO 3 H, TpBd‐(SO 3 H) 2 , and TpTG. The resulting TpBd‐(SO 3 H) 2 COF nanosheets are assembled into self‐standing COF membranes, achieving the highest proton conductivity (1.76 S cm −1 ), high mechanical strength (92.1 MPa), and negligible swelling ratio (<5%). In practical PEM water electrolysis, the TpBd‐(SO 3 H) 2 COF membrane yields a current density of 3.0 A cm −2 at 2.3 V and 60 °C, outperforming the commercial Nafion membrane (3.0 A cm −2 at 2.7 V) under identical conditions. Our work develops an alternative platform method for COF nanosheet synthesis and marks the first application of self‐standing COF membranes in PEM water electrolysis, unlocking their great potential for high‐efficiency energy conversion.

Correction: Exploring the potential of nest archives for establishing long-term trends in local populations of an Arctic-nesting colonial sea duck

Interpretable machine learning based decision tree model for predicting obstructive airway disease in a large non-smoking health screening population

Redox‐Activated Probes Enable High‐Contrast Live Imaging of Native Postsynaptic Scaffolds

ABSTRACT Direct visualization of postsynaptic scaffolds in living neurons is essential for dissecting synaptic dynamics and plasticity. Existing methods for live synapse visualization have major constraints, relying on genetic engineering or multistep application of live‐cell incompatible antibodies or nanobodies. Available affinity probes and delivery strategies lack the required contrast due to incomplete or excess delivery. Here, we introduce Sylives, a set of compact, synthetic fluorescent peptides that enable high‐contrast live imaging of inhibitory (gephyrin) and excitatory (PSD‐95) postsynaptic scaffolds in native neurons. Critically, by pre‐purification of the redox‐cleavable CPP‐probe conjugate we overcome side‐product formation of in‐situ coupling strategies, achieving reliable cytosolic delivery and restored scaffold binding after intracellular reduction. The Sylive design addresses the need for nanomolar probe levels versus micromolar CPP for clean labelling and efficient delivery by decoupling targeting and uptake. Through quantitative evaluation of uptake and off‐target binding, we defined a transferrable parameter space for effective intracellular delivery. Near traceless Sylive uptake and target specificity are validated by direct comparison to transiently expressed proteins and immunolabeling in fixed neurons. The reduction‐sensitive Sylive conjugates enable high‐contrast, specificity‐restored labelling of endogenous postsynaptic sites without genetic modification and offer a modular platform for targeting alternative intracellular proteins in living primary neurons.

Correction: Age-related changes in gait, balance, and strength parameters: A cross-sectional study

Land-use types shape soil bacterial communities, co-occurrence networks, and predicted functions in karst ecosystems

Spoken language and attitudes in Hong Kong: English leads in prestige, mandarin rises in employability, and Cantonese faces challenges

Language serves not only as a means of communication but also carries cultural, historical, and socio-economic implications associated with its speakers. These associations can reflect social dynamics and attitudes towards different groups within a society, influencing important decisions in areas such as employment and government. This study employed a modified matched-guise test to investigate how a person’s perceived traits are influenced by the language they speak—Cantonese, English, or Mandarin—in Hong Kong, a multilingual city with a unique Cantonese culture, a history as a British colony, and now a special administrative region of China. In an online questionnaire, 541 participants listened to recordings of the same group of speakers in one of the three languages and rated the speakers on attributes such as competence, prestige, and employability. The findings revealed that speaking English was rated highest in intelligence and prestige, while Mandarin speakers were favored in employability and goodwill. Cantonese was comparable to Mandarin but did not show any favored association. These results suggest that implicit group categorizations associated with certain languages are attributed to those speaking the language, contributing to our understanding of language-based social judgments. This study underscores the need for awareness of the influence of these stereotypical associations in various professional and societal scenarios in multilingual societies such as Hong Kong.

Retraction Note: BMP2 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its effects on SCC9 cell biological behavior

Development of PolyHis‐Targeting PROTAC Degraders

ABSTRACT Targeted protein degradation (TPD) via proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) enables selective removal of proteins of interest (POIs) by hijacking the ubiquitin‐proteasome system (UPS). However, broad application is constrained by the availability of high‐quality target ligands, which remain scarce for much of the human proteome, limiting assessment of POIs for UPS‐mediated degradation. To address this challenge, we developed polyhistidine‐targeting PROTACs (polyHisTACs) by conjugating a nickel‐nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni 2 + ‐NTA) headgroup to ligands of VHL or CRBN, thereby recruiting these E3 ligase complexes to polyHis‐tagged POIs. As expected, polyHisTACs effectively degraded CRISPR‐engineered, endogenously polyHis‐tagged BRD4 and also induced robust degradation of an exogenously expressed polyHis‐tagged RNA‐binding protein, PSPC1, a target that is typically considered undruggable. In summary, polyHisTACs overcome key limitations of existing tag‐based degrader systems by leveraging a minimal, easily implemented polyHis tag. This platform provides a versatile, reliable way to evaluate UPS‐mediated degradability in the absence of target‐specific ligands and serves as a practical tool for acute POI depletion in basic research.

Prevalence and associated factors of health facility delivery during COVID-19 in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana: Analytical cross-sectional study

Introduction Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the provision of maternal health services, especially facility-based delivery. However, there is little evidence on the proportion of women who delivered at the health facility in various locations and the factors that influenced women’s decision-making in choosing a place of delivery during and amid the COVID-19 restrictions. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with health facility delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted. A multistage sampling technique was used in selecting the study communities. At the individual level, random sampling technique was applied, and 461 women were recruited from 21 st February 2021–21 st March 2021. Using a questionnaire, a face-to-face approach was used to conduct the interviews. The questionnaire included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, place of childbirth and factors that led to the choice of delivery place. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25, descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis were conducted. Results The results revealed that 64.0% of the women delivered in health facilities during the pandemic. Health facility delivery was more likely to occur among women with higher educational status (AOR: 5.2; 95% CI: 1.40–19.40), married women (AOR:6.3; 95% C.I:1.10–35.80), active National Health Insurance Scheme holders during delivery (AOR: 13.8; 95% C.I: 4.60–41.90), women who received education on birth preparedness and complication readiness (AOR: 7.6; 95% C.I:3.30–17.50) and women with underlying conditions before pregnancy (AOR:3.3; 95% C.I:1.20–9.20). There were reduced odds of health facility delivery among women with a history of home delivery (AOR:0.2; 95% C.I:0.10–0.50), when the mother-in-law decides on the place of delivery (AOR:0.1; 95% C.I:0.03–0.50), longer distance to the place of delivery (AOR:0.3; 95% C.I:0.01–1.00) and when women perceived COVID-19 as a barrier to facility delivery (AOR:0.1; 95% C.I:0.03–0.20). Conclusion Our findings show that health facility delivery declined during COVID-19. Factors that affected health facility delivery were educational status, marriage, having an active National Health Insurance Scheme, education on birth preparedness and complication readiness, underlying conditions before pregnancy, history of home delivery, mother-in-law decision on place of delivery, distance to place of delivery and perceiving COVID-19 as a barrier to facility delivery. These contributed to low facility delivery. Thus, maternal health services need to be brought to the doorsteps of communities, including proper implementation of the Focused Antenatal Care and community-based pregnancy school programmes, especially during future pandemics.

Evaluation of static oxidation characteristics and analysis of displacement efficiency during air injection in light oil reservoirs

Heavy is the Crown: Crown Ether Modulation of Cobalt Porphyrin CO ₂ Electroreduction in Zero‐Gap Electrolyzers

ABSTRACT Since decades, metalloporphyrins have been studied to catalyze the electrochemical CO 2 reduction (eCO 2 R) with the most recent studies focusing on immobilized complexes aiming for heterogeneous, scalable catalysis. However, reports for the application in industrially relevant zero‐gap type electrolyzer cells (ZGEs) are especially rare. Herein we present the synthesis of four novel crown ether (CE) substituted cobalt porphyrins to benefit from an increased local cation concentration. Following their electrochemical characterization all catalysts have been tested in ZGEs. Experiments under laboratory‐scale conditions (≤100 mA/cm 2 ) revealed that the positioning of the CE influences the catalytic performance in terms of Faradaic Efficiency for CO (FE CO ) as well as cell voltage. A maximum selectivity for CO of 96% at 100 mA/cm 2 is reached, ranking the ortho substituted complex among the best state of the art systems. Post‐mortem analysis of the prepared electrodes proved that the introduction of CEs enhances the complex stability significantly. At higher current densities (≤500 mA/cm 2 ) the positioning of the CEs is less impactful. Instead, the type and concentration of cations in the reactor play a dominant role determining reaction performance, achieving up to 43% FE CO at 300 mA/cm 2 with a high potassium concentration.

Linear anti-jamming algorithm design for multi-channel optical fiber communication

The multi-channel fiber optic communication network, crucial for long-distance digital signal transmission, faces linear interference from orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. To address the challenge of linear anti-interference in digital signal transmission, this paper integrates Discrete Fourier Transform and Wavelet Transform techniques to precisely identify and locate linear interference signals during the transmission process of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing systems, and then specifically suppress and mitigate them. Firstly, this paper transforms multiple subcarrier digital signals in multi-channel transmission into linear interference signals. For these interference signals, wavelet decomposition is performed using wavelet transform technology, decomposing the noise signals into coefficients at different levels. Wavelet coefficients that are either above or below the threshold values are sequentially subjected to thresholding processing, thereby achieving denoising. Finally, by combining DFT and WT, the DFT-WT-LAJ algorithm is proposed. This algorithm searches for linear interference signals by employing both DFT and DMFT algorithms, and filters out all reconstructed linear interference signals from the transmitted signals. Experimental data show that the algorithm controls the amplitude below 10 Hz, achieves a synchronization probability of 0.7 at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 35 dB, and maintains an interference-to-signal ratio above 31 dB, significantly enhancing signal quality and transmission reliability.

Spared cognitive and social function following perinatal ablation of ATRX despite transient microglia dysregulation

Integrative network pharmacology and machine learning identify potential targets of indole-3-lactic acid in colorectal cancer

The treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains challenging due to chemotherapy resistance and genetic heterogeneity. Indole-3-lactic acid (ILA), a tryptophan metabolite derived from gut microbiota, exhibits promising anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties; however, its specific molecular targets and regulatory mechanisms in CRC remain poorly understood. In this study, we combined network pharmacology and machine learning with molecular docking to identify candidate targets and pathways for ILA in CRC. We identified 39 ILA-CRC common targets, ultimately identifying four hub genes through the intersection of machine learning models. Validation in independent GEO datasets confirmed significant differential expression of these genes in CRC tissues. Functional enrichment analyses linked these genes to the PPAR, PI3K-AKT, and IL-17 signaling pathways, and gene set enrichment analysis further implicated ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, DNA replication, and fatty acid metabolism. Immune infiltration analysis indicated associations between hub gene expression and immune cell populations, including mast cells, neutrophils, and macrophages, suggesting potential involvement in the tumor immune microenvironment. Molecular docking supported favorable binding of ILA to all four hub proteins, and 100-ns molecular dynamics simulations specifically validated the dynamic stability of the ILA-HMOX1 complex. In conclusion, these results highlight EPHA2, HMOX1, MMP3, and PARP1 as candidate targets and suggest that ILA may influence CRC-related signaling, metabolic programs, and immune contexture, providing a theoretical foundation for developing gut microbiota-derived metabolites as novel anticancer strategies.

Multiscale neural features of tonal bilingualism: linking regional differences in brain network degree centrality to neurotransmitter-gene signatures in Bai-Mandarin bilinguals

Observations of Isolated Mobile Au–Br and Au–S Surface Complexes on Au(100) Electrodes

ABSTRACT Wet‐chemical processing of metals, for example, galvanic deposition, etching, and nanoparticle synthesis, usually requires complexing agents. In particular, for noble metal processing, anionic complexing species, such as halides or sulfide are indispensable. While it is known that these species strongly adsorb on metal surfaces and affect metal nucleation and growth, the detailed role of these anions in the underlying atomistic processes is less clear. Often, it is assumed that surface complexes are involved, but experimental evidence for the latter is still lacking. Here, we present direct in situ video‐rate scanning tunneling microscopy observations of gold–bromide and gold–sulfur surface complexes on Au(100) electrodes. Based on the intramolecular resolution images obtained in these studies, these species can be assigned to a dimeric planar and a linear complex. Once formed, the surfaces complexes are stable even at rather negative potentials and diffuse as molecular species on the Au surface.