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Metabolically flexible microorganisms rapidly establish glacial foreland ecosystems
Abstract An overriding question in ecology is how new ecosystems form. This question can be tested by studying colonisation of environments with little to no pre-existing life. Here, we investigated the functional basis of microbial colonisation in the forelands of a maritime Antarctic and an alpine Swiss retreating glacier, by integrating quantitative ecology, metagenomics, and biogeochemical measurements. Habitat generalists and opportunists rapidly colonise both forelands and persist across soil decadal chronosequences serving as proxies for temporal community dynamics. These microbes are metabolically flexible chemotrophic aerobes that overcome oligotrophic conditions by using organic and inorganic compounds, including atmospheric trace gases and sulphur substrates, for energy and carbon acquisition. They co-exist with metabolically flexible early-colonising opportunists and metabolically restricted later-colonising specialists, including Cyanobacteria, ammonia-oxidising archaea, and obligate predatory and symbiotic bacteria, that exhibit narrower habitat distributions. Analysis of 589 species-level metagenome-assembled genomes reveals early colonisation by generalists and opportunists is strongly associated with metabolic flexibility. Field- and laboratory-based biogeochemical measurements reveal the activity of metabolically flexible microbes rapidly commenced in the forelands. Altogether, these findings suggest primary succession in glacial foreland soils is driven by self-sufficient metabolically flexible bacteria that mediate chemosynthetic primary production and likely provide a more hospitable environment for subsequent colonisation.
The role of fractal dimension in wireless mesh network performance
LightMG-Net: an efficient lightweight deep neural network for multiclass grading of retinal detachment using handcrafted statistical mechanisms
Abstract Retinal detachment is a severely curable eye condition that becomes a genuine factor for the increased visual acuity worldwide. If neglected, it may result significant visual impairment in individuals aged 60 to 69 years. The successful cure percentage of retinal detachment critically relies on early-stage diagnosis. If addressed early, almost 90% of people with retinal detachment can recover from vision loss. Consequently, it is imperative to classify retinal detachment patients in an early phase. We developed a novel optimized lightweight multiclass retinal detachment grading model named LightMG-Net, which utilizes the image and feature-oriented handcrafted techniques for best feature analysis and the Grey Wolf Optimization technique for automatic hyperparameter tuning of a lightweight convolutional neural network for multiclass grading of retinal detachment from fundus images. The proposed LightMG-Net model is applied on four commonly utilized online databases, such as the Retinal Image Bank, Cataract Image Dataset, Kaggle, and Eye Disease Retinal Image for validation. The proposed LightMG-Net model achieved the best classification accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve at 95.42%, 95.10%, 98.90%, and 0.9947, respectively. Experimental outcomes demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach over existing baseline methodologies.
The NMDA receptor subunit GluN2D is a potential target for rapid antidepressant action
Abstract Ketamine is the first glutamatergic agent in clinical use for major depression, but its primary target remains unclear. Further research is needed to develop more specific interventions with fewer side effects. Ketamine is a noncompetitive antagonist of the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Here, we show that ketamine preferentially targets GluN2D-containing NMDA receptors on interneurons, and that selective GluN2D antagonism is sufficient to produce rapid antidepressant-like effects. We use ketamine, the selective GluN2C/D inhibitor NAB-14, Grin2d -siRNA and chemogenetic approaches in hippocampal slices and in vivo mice. We find that GluN2D antagonism inhibits NMDAR currents in interneurons but not pyramidal cells, and that GluN2D-mediated recruitment of GABAergic interneurons controls inhibitory circuits regulating hippocampal activity and plasticity. In a mouse model of depression, GluN2D inhibition recovers excitation-inhibition balance, restores plasticity, and mimics antidepressant-like actions of ketamine with fewer side effects. These findings identify GluN2D as a highly specific target for novel antidepressant therapy.
Fault diagnosis using ISMA to optimize SVM parameters for aircraft engine damage repair
Inflammatory response in bacteremia survivors and non-survivors: a case-control study
Abstract Survival in bacteremia is influenced by host comorbidities, pathogen virulence, immune response, and the quality of medical care. A deeper understanding of host inflammatory responses may help identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve outcomes. In this study, we analyzed plasma samples from adult patients with bacteremia who presented to the emergency department. Patients who died within seven days ( n = 44) were compared to matched survivors ( n = 44) who lived at least 90 days, with matching based on age, sex, and causative bacterium. Relative concentrations of 92 inflammation-related plasma proteins were measured using the proximity extension assay (Olink Proteomics AB). Of these, 82 proteins were successfully quantified. Thirty proteins, including IL-20RA, CD40, and HGF, were significantly elevated in non-survivors, while three proteins—IFNG, Flt3L, and TNFB—were significantly reduced. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed activation of multiple proinflammatory signaling cascades in non-survivors, particularly those involving IL-6, IL-23, and IL-17. Logistic regression identified HGF, IL-17 C, and Flt3L as key discriminative proteins between groups. These findings indicate that the host inflammatory profile in bacteremia differs markedly between survivors and early non-survivors. Our results highlight potential diagnostic biomarkers for identifying high-risk patients and point to promising therapeutic targets in the management of bacteremia.
Rapid amide ligation between α-halo acylsilanes and amines under aqueous conditions
Deep learning-based multi-parameter coupling compensation algorithm for clamp-on gas metering systems
Human visual attention-inspired knowledge distillation underlying interpretable computational pathology
A Latin American perspective on microbiome research
Abstract The human gut microbiome plays a crucial role in human health, adapting and responding to changes in diet, environment, and lifestyle. However, current microbiome research is heavily biased toward high-income countries, leaving regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) severely underrepresented. This imbalance limits our global understanding of microbial diversity and hinders the development of region-specific health interventions. In this Perspective, we discuss how LAC offers an exceptional opportunity for microbiome studies due to its unique ethnic diversity, rapid urbanization, distinct dietary traditions, and dual burden of infectious and chronic diseases. We highlight key findings from regional microbiome research, emphasizing the high diversity of ancestral microbial communities and the rapid shifts occurring in response to urbanization and globalization. To address existing disparities, we also introduce the Latinbiota Consortium, a collaborative network formed to strengthen local scientific capacity, ensure ethical and equitable research practices, promote data sovereignty, and foster inclusive participation by LAC researchers within global microbiome science. Through strategic investment and international collaboration, Latinbiota aims to preserve microbial diversity and ensure equitable participation in global microbiome science.
Grey matter volume reduction and its association with brain-enriched blood biomarkers in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors
Different photosynthetic responses to heat and light favour green and red over brown macroalgae in the mediterranean sea
Abstract Global change is rapidly altering temperature and light regimes in marine environments, yet the physiological responses of benthic primary producers to these shifts remain poorly understood. Red ( Phyllophora ), brown ( Cystoseira ) and green ( Flabellia ) macroalgae dominate distinct assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea and act as ecosystem engineers that overgrow rocky substrates or seagrass meadows. Their taxon-specific physiological responses to changing temperature and light levels may have long-lasting consequences on algal community composition and overall ecosystem functioning, but remain poorly understood. Here, we experimentally test how water temperature and light availability affect photosynthesis and respiration in these macroalgae using specimens collected on Giglio Island, Italy. We exposed different macroalgae to a full-factorial combination of three temperatures (21, 26, and 30 °C) and light intensity levels (180, 320, and 760 µM photons m − 2 s − 1 ) and measured oxygen fluxes to determine net photosynthesis (P n ) and respiration (R). Temperature and light both significantly influenced net photosynthesis, with marked taxon-specific responses. In Cystoseira , photosynthesis nearly ceased in high light and high temperature conditions, also indicated by a critically low photosynthesis to respiration (P:R) ratio. Flabellia and Phyllophora maintained more stable photosynthetic rates under medium light and temperature conditions and showed a moderate decline in their P: R ratios. Flabellia sustained slightly higher photosynthesis rates in high light and temperature conditions than Phyllophora and both significantly outperformed Cystoseira under maximal light and temperature conditions. Our findings suggest that under increasing temperature and light regimes, Cystoseira may decline, Phyllophora may persist, and Flabellia may even thrive. This may in turn degrade habitat complexity and affect coastal community assembly, as Flabellia , unlike the architecturally complex and persistent Cystoseira , does not form stable, three-dimensional habitats for associated organisms.