Browse Articles

Prevalence and associated factors of co-occurring diabetes and hypertension among university academic staff and students in Bangladesh

Seasonal dynamics and genetic diversity of human adenoviruses in patients with acute respiratory infection in Thailand, 2024

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are a significant cause of acute respiratory infections (ARIs), particularly in pediatric populations. Continuous molecular surveillance is essential to understand their epidemiology, genetic diversity, and seasonal dynamics. In 2024, a surveillance study was conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, involving 8,130 nasopharyngeal swabs collected from ARI patients. HAdV was detected in 5.3% (429/8,130) of ARI cases, with peak weekly positivity reaching 17.7% during weeks 10–12 (March). These HAdV-positive samples were subsequently genotyped through partial hexon gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis using the maximum likelihood method. HAdV-B3 was the predominant genotype (70.7%), followed by HAdV-C2 (11.6%) and HAdV-C1 (10.4%). Genotype diversity increased toward the end of the year, with the emergence of HAdV-B7, C5, and C6. The majority of cases occurred in children aged 0–9 years, with HAdV-B3 dominating across all pediatric groups. Phylogenetic analysis revealed close genetic relationships between Thai strains and reference strains from China, Japan, the USA, and Europe, indicating both local circulation and international linkages. Despite the detection of HAdV-B7, no severe outcomes were reported in this cohort. This study also reports potential relevant sites under episodic positive selection in the hexon gene, suggesting adaptive evolution at specific codon positions. This study provides updated insight into the molecular epidemiology of HAdV in Thailand. The findings highlight seasonal and age-specific patterns in genotype distribution and underscore the importance of continued genomic surveillance to detect emerging variants and guide public health responses.

Ultra-large virtual screening unveils potent agonists of the neuromodulatory orphan receptor GPR139

Abstract The orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) GPR139 attracts interest as a target for neuropsychiatric disorders. Whereas the physiological functions of GPR139 remain elusive, a high-resolution receptor structure is now available. To assess whether structural information enables ligand discovery, we computationally dock 235 million compounds to the GPR139 binding site. Of 68 top-ranked compounds evaluated experimentally, five are full agonists with potencies ranging from 160 nM to 3.6 µM. Structure-guided optimization identifies one of the most potent GPR139 agonists, and a cryo-EM structure of the receptor-ligand complex confirms the predicted binding mode. Functional characterization provides insights into GPR139 signalling, and one agonist elicits behavioural effects in mice. We also explore the potential to replace experimental structure determination with the deep-learning method AlphaFold3, revealing a limited capability of artificial intelligence to model receptor-ligand interactions for understudied GPCRs. The results demonstrate how high-resolution GPCR structures combined with large-library docking can accelerate drug discovery.

Systematic analysis of noncanonical ribosomal protein paralogs does not provide evidence for specialized functions in <i>Drosophila</i>

Ribosomes catalyze all protein synthesis, and mutations altering their levels and function underlie many developmental diseases and cancer. Historically considered to be invariant machines, ribosomes differ in composition between tissues and developmental stages, incorporating a diversity of ribosomal proteins (RPs) encoded by duplicated paralogous genes. Here, we use Drosophila to systematically investigate the origins and functions of noncanonical RP paralogs. We show that new paralogs mainly originated through retroposition and that only a few new copies retain coding capacity over time. Although transcriptionally active noncanonical RP paralogs often present tissue-specific expression, we show that the majority of those are not required for either viability or fertility in Drosophila melanogaster . The only exception, RpS5b, which is required for oogenesis, is functionally interchangeable with its canonical paralog, indicating that the RpS5b −/− phenotype results from insufficient ribosomes rather than the absence of an RpS5b-specific, functionally specialized ribosome. Altogether, our results provide evidence that instead of new functions, RP gene duplications provide a means to regulate ribosome levels during development.

Network pharmacology identifies AKR1C3 and KYNU as potential targets of Astragalus Membranaceus and Ephedra in pediatric obesity-associated asthma

Design strategies for tourism cultural and creative products of Hetuala city based on KANO and AHP

With the rapid development of China’s “Culture + Tourism” industry, tourism cultural and creative products have increasingly become a key factor in attracting tourists. However, the tourism cultural and creative products in Hetuala City have difficulty effectively attracting tourists and meeting diverse consumer demands. To address this issue, this paper proposes a user-centered consumption demand evaluation framework, aimed at providing systematic guidance and decision-making support for the design and development of tourism cultural and creative products in Hetuala City. Firstly, consumption demands for tourism cultural and creative products were collected through interviews, initially identifying 80 demand indicators. Expert interviews were then employed to further summarize and refine these into 29 core demand indicators. Based on the 29 demand indicators, a sample survey of 150 consumers was conducted using the KANO model. Data analysis identified five must-be needs, nine performance needs, and ten attractive needs, thereby constructing a demand evaluation system for tourism cultural and creative products. Secondly, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to calculate the weights and importance rankings of each demand indicator, ensuring alignment between product design objectives and users’ core demands. The results indicate that the evaluated demand attributes significantly influence tourist satisfaction, with regional characteristics, historical culture, and practical functionality regarded as key indicators, while tourists’ expectations for product storytelling were particularly prominent. The integrated application of the KANO model and AHP method facilitates more accurate identification and evaluation of the importance of tourist demands, rendering the design of tourism cultural and creative products more systematic and precise. This study offers targeted design recommendations and optimization directions for the development of tourism cultural and creative products.

Two-dimensional gradients in magnetic properties created with direct-write laser annealing

Abstract Across the fields of magnetism, microelectronics, optics, and others, engineered local variations in material properties can yield groundbreaking functionalities that play a crucial role in enabling future technologies. One-dimensional lateral gradients in material properties give rise to a plethora of new effects in thin-film magnetic systems. However, extending such gradient-induced behaviors to two dimensions has been challenging to realize experimentally. Here, we demonstrate the creation of two-dimensional complex patterns with continuous variations in magnetic anisotropy, interlayer exchange coupling, and ferrimagnetic compensation at the mesoscopic scale in numerous application-relevant magnetic materials. We exploit our engineered gradients in material properties to demonstrate novel magnetic functionalities, including the creation of a spin wave band pass filter and an architecture for passively resetting the position of a magnetic domain wall. Our results highlight the exciting new physics and device applications enabled by two-dimensional gradients in thin film properties.

Endothelial cells sialylate IgG within the FcRn-mediated recycling pathway

IgG is a key to adaptive immunity and a critical platform for drug design. Sialic acid on the conserved glycan within the Fc domain is believed to promote anti-inflammatory IgG function; however, regulation of sialylation remains poorly defined. We previously showed that IgG sialylation is primarily mediated by B cell–extrinsic processes in mice. Here, we found that IgG sialylation occurs in the subcellular compartments of the FcRn-mediated IgG recycling pathway of endothelial cells. This process is down-regulated by inflammatory signals and up-regulated during gestation, providing mechanistic insight into the epidemiology associating IgG glycosylation, pregnancy and inflammatory disease. These findings demonstrate that plasma-localized IgG glycosylation is dynamically altered by the endothelium, revealing a potential mechanism through which the function of all endogenous and administered IgG and Fc-containing pharmaceuticals could be altered.

Correction: ADORA2A promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis through PI3K/AKT pathway activation in colorectal carcinoma

Diversity of ESBL-producing E. coli in various water and sediment types

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat, and aquatic ecosystems serve as critical interfaces between human activity and the environment, providing reservoirs and pathways for the spread of resistant bacteria. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and diversity of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli across multiple aquatic environments in Slovenia by analysing water, sediment, and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent samples collected between June 2023 and April 2024. ESBL-producing E. coli was detected in 93% of WWTP influents, 61% of water, and 35% of sediment samples. From 315 positive samples, 564 isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing. In total, 134 MLST-sequence types (STs) were identified, with globally prevalent lineages (ST131, ST38, ST10, ST69, ST1193) occurring across regions and sample types. Clonally related isolates occurred in geographically distant sites, and persistent strains were observed over time, suggesting both local persistence and broader dissemination. Fourteen distinct ESBL genes were detected, predominantly plasmid-encoded bla CTX-M-15 . Water samples captured the greatest ST diversity, whereas sediment and WWTP influents provided complementary insights. Combining sample types improved detection of overall diversity, with water and sediment or WWTP samples providing the most comprehensive overview. Our findings demonstrate widespread and dynamic dissemination of ESBL-producing E. coli in Slovenian aquatic environments and emphasize the value of integrated sampling strategies for effective surveillance.

Carbon markets promote environmental justice in China

An Archean atmosphere rich in sulfur biomolecules

The abiotic production of sulfur-containing biomolecules under mild and globally relevant conditions has been an elusive endeavor in prebiotic chemistry experiments. As a result, a disconnect has emerged between understanding the origins of life and the later stages of biological evolution; the former potentially occurred independent of sulfur while the latter is universally dependent on it. Here, we demonstrate that planetary organic haze chemistry produces a suite of sulfur biomolecules including cysteine, coenzyme M, taurine, and potentially methionine and homocysteine. These compounds may form high in the atmosphere and subsequently deposit to early surface environments in sufficient amounts to support a budding global biosphere. Our findings thus challenge long-standing assumptions that sulfur biomolecules such as cysteine must have been biological “inventions.”

Inter-and intra-period dietary variations revealed by dental microwear texture analysis in Holocene Levantine populations

Risk factor analysis and development of a nomogram prediction model for Plasma Cell Mastitis

Background and objective The risk factors for plasma cell mastitis (PCM) remain unclear. Understanding and mitigating these factors to prevent PCM before its onset has become a significant concern. This study identifies PCM risk factors, develops a predictive nomogram, and offers insights for targeted prevention and awareness in high-risk groups. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 82 patients diagnosed with PCM at Hangzhou Women’s Hospital’s Breast Surgery Department from 01/01/2019 to 01/01/2022. A control group was randomly selected, consisting of 82 healthy women aged between 20–60 years who had undergone routine health check-ups during the same period. Using SPSS 26.0 software for univariate analysis, significant risk factors for PCM were identified. R software was used for multivariate logistic regression analysis, and a nomogram prediction model for the risk of developing PCM was established. Results The average age of patients in the study group was 32.37 ± 6.64 years, the control group was 29.54 ± 5.33 years, with no statistically significant difference between the groups (P = 0.176). The onset time after childbirth or miscarriage was 3.37 ± 1.91 years. Univariate analysis revealed significant differences in BMI, nipple retraction, number of pregnancies, recent trauma history, and hyperlipidemia (P &lt; 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified nipple retraction (OR=20.128, P = 0.000, 95% CI: 5.952–68.072), number of pregnancies (OR=0.343, P = 0.000, 95% CI: 0.189–0.624), and recent trauma history (within two weeks) (OR=11.154, P = 0.000, 95% CI: 2.936–42.382) as independent risk factors for PCM. Conclusion Nipple retraction, recent trauma history, and the number of pregnancies were identified as independent risk factors for PCM. Targeted education for high-risk groups, particularly women within 3 years postpartum/post-abortion, improves disease prevention. The nomogram model had a C-index of 0.809, indicating strong discriminatory power and high prediction accuracy.

Reactant-dependent volcano trends in Pt-catalyzed cycloalkane dehydrogenation: orbital hybridization-guided design of active sites

Abstract Catalyst design is often reaction-specific due to the lack of universal descriptors linking molecular structures to optimal active-site configurations. Here, we uncover a reactant-dependent volcano relationship in Pt-catalyzed dehydrogenation, governed by the Pt-Pt coordination number (CN Pt-Pt ). Using a tunable Pt/MgAl 2 O 4 system, we identify optimal CN Pt-Pt values of ~2.5, ~4.7, and ~7.0 for cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, and decalin, respectively. This activity trend is explained by an orbital hybridization-guided mechanism, where optimal activity emerges from a balance between C-H bond activation and product desorption, mediated by the interactions between Pt d-orbitals and the π* orbitals of dehydrogenated intermediates. We introduce the LUMO energy of aromatic products as a universal electronic descriptor that serves as a proxy for π* orbital energy. LUMO energy shows strong linear correlations with the d-band center of Pt at the optimal CN Pt-Pt , enabling rational tuning of electronic interactions across diverse reactants. The optimized Pt/MgAl 2 O 4 catalyst delivers 2-3 times higher activity with &gt;100 h stability under industrial conditions at only 300 o C, offering a robust strategy for hydrogen release and active-site engineering in dehydrogenation catalysis.

Something from nothing: The birth of new phage defense genes

Retraction Note: Potential biological applications of environment friendly synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles using Sageretia thea root extract

Culturally-attuned AI: Implicit learning of altruistic cultural values through inverse reinforcement learning

Constructing a universal moral code for artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging because human cultures have different values, norms, and social practices. We therefore argue that AI systems should adapt to culture based on observation: Just as a child raised in a particular culture learns the specific values, norms, and behaviors of that culture, we propose that an AI system operating in a particular human community could similarly learn them as well. How AI systems might accomplish this from observing and interacting with humans has remained an open question. Here, we propose using inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) as a method for AI agents to acquire culturally relevant values implicitly from humans. We test our approach using an experimental paradigm in which AI agents use IRL to learn different reward functions, which govern the agents’ actions, by learning from variations in the altruistic behavior of human subjects from two cultural groups in an online game requiring real-time decision making. We show that an AI agent learning from a particular human cultural group can acquire the altruistic characteristics reflective of that group’s average behavior, and can generalize to new scenarios requiring altruistic judgments. Our results provide a proof-of-concept demonstration that AI agents can be endowed with the ability to learn culturally-typical behaviors and values directly from observing human behavior.

Distinct structural features of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATP synthase revealed by cryo-electron microscopy

Abstract F 1 F o ATP synthase is the ubiquitous enzyme that synthesizes cellular ATP by coupling proton-motive force with rotational catalysis. Structural differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ATP synthases offer potential targets for antimicrobial development. Here, we present the 2.0–2.4 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy structures of the ATP synthase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa , an opportunistic bacterial pathogen capable of causing serious infections in humans. Our structures identify two distinctive features of this species’ enzyme: a distinct binding site for the inhibitory ε subunit, and a coordinated metal ion capping the cytoplasmic proton channel. Lower-resolution maps of the enzyme following incubation with MgATP showed conformational rearrangements of the ε subunit during activation. Visualization of bound water molecules in the periplasmic half-channel supports a Grotthuss proton-transfer mechanism. Focused classification of the F o motor resolves distinct ~11° sub-steps in the c-ring, corresponding to protonation and deprotonation events. Functional analyses show that modifications to either the ε subunit or the metal binding site influence ATP synthesis and hydrolysis. Mass spectrometry analyses suggests that the physiological metal within the complex is zinc. Collectively, these findings define structural features of P. aeruginosa ATP synthase that could serve as targets for antimicrobial therapeutics.

Warming from cold pools: A pathway for mesoscale organization to alter Earth’s radiation budget

Marine shallow cumulus clouds have long caused large uncertainty in climate projections. Such “trade cumuli” frequently organize into mesoscale (10 to 500 km) structures, through two processes that couple the clouds to shallow mesoscale circulations: i) mesoscale moisture aggregation and ii) cold pools, driven by mesoscale rain evaporation beneath the mesoscale cloud structures. Since global climate models do not capture these mesoscale processes, while the degree of mesoscale organization is observed to correlate to shortwave cooling, it has been suggested that mesoscale processes modulate contemporary estimates of cloud response to global warming. Here, we show that introducing mesoscale dynamics can indeed substantially alter top-of-the-atmosphere radiative budget, if the balance between the two circulations is upset. By homogenizing mesoscale rain evaporation patterns, we suppress the formation and effects of cold pools in a large ensemble of large-domain, large-eddy simulations. The experiments reveal that cold pool dynamics reduce mesoscale ascent in the cloud systems, thereby arresting a runaway self-aggregation of moisture into very moist, cloudy regions that occurs without them. This reduces the net rainfall of the cumulus fields, moistens the cloud layer and thus reduces the emission of clear-sky longwave radiation to space, giving an ensemble-averaged warming of 1.88 W/m 2 . Our results highlight that the proper interplay between mesoscale processes is critical for capturing radiative budgets-especially in kilometer-scale climate models that only partially resolve shallow cumulus aggregation and cold pools.