Browse Articles

Demonstration of time-resolved Fe K-edge XANES with a self-seeded X-ray free-electron laser at PAL-XFEL

Short- and long-term costs of reproduction revealed by telomere dynamics in wild greater horseshoe bats

Life-history trade-offs between reproduction and survival are well documented, yet the biological mechanisms underlying costs remain unclear. Telomere length (TL) is a potential biomarker for such costs, although its association with reproductive efforts is mixed. Bats, particularly the long-lived greater horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ), provide a rare opportunity to explore these dynamics due to their longevity and low reproductive rates. We examined telomere dynamics in 202 female R. ferrumequinum (819 samples) from a wild population with over 65 y of monitoring, to assess whether reproductive effort leads to telomere shortening (cost of reproduction) or whether longer telomeres were associated with greater reproductive success (reflecting individual quality). Using Bayesian models, we show that females breeding from 2 y of age had significantly shorter relative TL (rTL) compared to females delaying reproduction until later ages. Selective disappearance was evident, with individuals possessing shorter rTL less likely to persist in the population. Cumulative reproductive success showed a positive nonsignificant association with rTL, consistent with the idea that long-term costs may be mitigated by individual quality or selective disappearance of low-quality individuals. However, short-term reproductive costs were evident, particularly in older females that bred in the previous year. Female R. ferrumequinum rTL declined during annual summer reproductive periods, particularly through the energetically demanding lactation stage. Within individuals, shorter rTL was associated with a reduced probability of surviving to the following year. These findings highlight the interplay between reproductive investment, telomere dynamics, and survival, supporting aspects of both the cost of reproduction and individual quality hypotheses in long-lived, low-fecundity species such as bats.

A 25-year assessment of aerosol dynamics and environmental drivers in Iran’s Lakes and wetlands

Traditional clothing pattern extraction considering attention mechanism and image data enhancement processing

10H-phenothiazine exerts beneficial effects in spinal muscular atrophy in vitro and in vivo models

Abstract Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting lower motor neurons (MNs) and leading to muscle atrophy, due to mutation of the SMN1 gene, which encodes SMN protein. Experimental studies also demonstrated the upper MN impairment. The available approved drugs for SMA increase the SMN protein production. Although effective, outcomes are dependent upon treatment timing and disease severity. Drug repositioning may represent a valid strategy to identify new treatments by repurposing FDA/EMA-approved drugs that, combined with the available ones, could delay neurodegeneration. To this aim, for the first time we used primary cortical neurons derived from the SMNΔ7 mice as defective in vitro disease model, to preliminary assess drug efficacy on neuronal survival and morphology. Under basal conditions, SMA cortical neurons showed significantly reduced vitality and altered morphology compared to WT neurons. All the parameters were rescued after treatment with known compounds (Valproic Acid, 4-aminopyridine and N-acetylcysteine), already tested in either preclinical or clinical context for SMA. We then investigated for the first time in SMA pathology the efficacy of 10H-phenothiazine (10H-PTZ), known to exert neuroprotection and to target altered mechanisms in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Its administration to SMA cortical neurons induced significant protective effects on both neuronal survival and morphology that were further confirmed in vivo, in a C. elegans SMA model. Overall, our results provide valuable insights, both in vitro and in vivo, into the potential of 10 H-PTZ repurposing for SMA, although additional functional studies will be required.

Analysis of the impact of non-real-time frequency sampling and damping coefficient on the dynamic frequency support response of grid-forming type renewable energy

Optimization of unit commitment considering multiple stochastic factors and interruptible load under chance constraints

Diethylcarbamazine elicits calcium signals by activation of Brugia malayi TRP-2b channels heterologously expressed in HEK293 cells

Advancing animal behavior recognition with self-supervised pre-training on unlabeled data

Physiological fluid shear stress synergistically enhances the protective effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza extract on endothelial cells

Healthcare waste management practice and associated factors among health workers of public health centers in Adama City, Southern central Ethiopia, 2024: a cross-sectional study

Association of higher triglyceride glucose index and triglyceride to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with early-onset post-stroke depression

An evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of the RIPASA and Alvarado scoring systems in diagnosing acute appendicitis: a cross-sectional study

Abstract The aim of this research is to evaluate the diagnostic precision of the Alvarado and RIPASA scoring systems in detecting acute appendicitis. This will be done by comparing their outcomes with histopathology, which is considered the most reliable benchmark for comparison. Accurate and prompt identification of acute appendicitis is crucial in order to avoid complications such as perforation and peritonitis. Over the years, several clinical scoring systems have been developed to aid in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. The RIPASA (Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis) and Alvarado scoring systems are well recognised in the medical field. It is essential to do a comparison examination of these two scoring systems because to the possible changes in sensitivity, specificity, and overall diagnostic accuracy.This study included 145 male and female patients who presented with right iliac fossa discomfort and were thought to have acute appendicitis. Two diagnostic grading systems were used to guide surgical choices. Alvarado Score: Patients having a score of 7 or above were subjected to an appendectomy. RIPASA Score: Patients with a score less than 12 also had an appendectomy. 145 individuals included between the ages of 13 and 60, the Alvarado score was found to have a sensitivity of 34.4%, specificity of 75.8%, diagnostic accuracy of 51%, positive predictive value of 68.2%, and negative predictive value of 43.5% for diagnosing acute appendicitis. On the other hand, the RIPASA score performed better, with a sensitivity of 94.2%, specificity of 94.8%, diagnostic accuracy of 94%, positive predictive value of 96.5%, and negative predictive value of 91.6%. In the adult Pakistani population, the RIPASA scoring system demonstrates superior accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV compared to the Alvarado score, with a lower rate of negative appendectomies.

Heterotic potential and combining ability for yield and quality attributes in slicing cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Electrostatics overcome acoustic collapse to assemble, adapt, and activate levitated matter

Acoustic levitation provides a unique method for manipulating small particles as it completely evades effects from gravity, container walls, or physical handling. These advantages make it a tantalizing platform for studying complex phenomena in many-particle systems. In most standing-wave traps, however, particles interact via acoustic scattering forces that cause them to merge into a single dense object. Here, we introduce a complementary approach that combines acoustic levitation with electrostatic charging to assemble, adapt, and activate complex, separated many-particle systems. The key idea is to superimpose electrostatic repulsion on the intrinsic acoustic attraction, rendering a so-called “mermaid” potential where interactions are attractive at short range and repulsive at long range. By controlling the attraction–repulsion balance, we can levitate expanded structures where all particles are separated, collapsed structures where they are in contact, and hybrid ones consisting of both expanded and collapsed components. We find that collapsed and expanded structures are inherently stable, whereas hybrid ones exhibit transient stability governed by acoustically unstable dimers. Furthermore, we show how electrostatics allow us to adapt between configurations on the fly, either by quasistatic discharge or discrete up/down charge steps. Finally, we demonstrate how large structures experience selective energy pumping from the acoustic field—thrusting some particles into motion while others remain stationary—leading to complex dynamics including coupled rotations and oscillations. Our approach establishes a design space beyond acoustic collapse, offering possibilities to study many-particle systems with complex interactions, while suggesting pathways toward scalable integration into materials processing and other applications.

Scaling up actionable climate knowledge

To address climate-driven crises, we need actionable climate knowledge to inform decision-making and support problem solving. Although the science of actionable knowledge is rapidly evolving, less is known about how and why actionable climate knowledge scales up and with what outcomes. We advance three outcome-driven pathways to scale up actionable climate knowledge: 1) broadening participation by increasing the diversity and number of actors involved in actionable climate knowledge coproduction; 2) diffusing actionable climate knowledge uptake among actors not originally involved in its coproduction, and 3) aggregating impact by coproducing actionable climate knowledge with influential actors, such as practitioners and policy-makers, whose decisions affect many others. These pathways can intersect, complement, interact, and tradeoff with each other. Understanding how these pathways work, evolve, and change is critical if we want to better inform the production and scaling of climate actionable knowledge to solve climate problems.

Science’s role in my Great British Sewing Bee success

A dual-functional cobalt ferrite nanocomplex for targeted cisplatin prodrug delivery and MALAT1 gene silencing in gastric cancer cells

A General Strategy to Develop Intramolecular Spirocyclic Boron Dipyrromethene Fluorophores for Self‐Blinking Super‐Resolution Imaging

Abstract Intramolecular spirocyclic fluorophores, with their controllable on‐off switching, have enabled diverse stimuli‐responsive probes and serve as cornerstones of self‐blinking super‐resolution imaging. However, their design has been largely restricted to Rhodamine frameworks, while boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes, renowned for their superior photostability, brightness, and near‐infrared tunability, remain underutilized due to the inherent rigidity of the indacene core. To overcome this limitation, we developed a general molecular engineering strategy to confer BODIPY with spirocyclic functionality: Introducing 2‐(hydroxymethyl)phenyl or 2‐carboxyphenyl groups at the meso ‐position as intramolecular nucleophiles, coupled with electron‐withdrawing groups at α / β ‐positions to modulate core electron density and enhance meso ‐carbon's electrophilicity. We present the first single‐crystal X‐ray structure of a spirocyclized BODIPY, unambiguously confirming the closed form and its blinking mechanism. By tuning this system, we established a clear pK a ‐structure‐activity relationship, enabling precise prediction and customization of the open‐closed equilibrium. The resulting spirocyclization‐capable BODIPYs exhibited exceptional brightness up to ∼87,122 M −1 cm −1 , and enable self‐blinking super‐resolution imaging of mitochondria and lysosomes in living cells under low‐power laser density (≥32 W cm −2 ) without requiring imaging‐enhancing buffers. This work pioneers the extension of intramolecular spirocyclization to the BODIPY scaffold, establishing a general design strategy for a new class of high‐performance, stimuli‐responsive probes.

Near-term climate extremes in Iran based on compound hazards analysis