Browse Articles

Characteristics of overburden failure and evolution of fractures in fully mechanized top coal mining face

Abstract The characteristics of overlying strata failure and the evolution law of fractures during coal mining are of great significance for mine water prevention and gas control. To further study the overlying strata failure characteristics and fracture evolution in fully mechanized top-coal caving (FMTC) mining faces, a Shanxi coal mine was selected as the experimental site. Methods such as segmented water injection, borehole television imaging, and microseismic monitoring were employed to detect the failure height of the overlying strata. A digital analysis was conducted on the relationship between fracture dip angle, quantity, and width before and after mining, along with numerical simulations of fracture evolution during the mining process.The results show that the overlying strata failure height in the FMTC mining face ranges from 127.3 m to 132.2 m. Before mining, fracture development was relatively low, whereas after mining, the number of fractures significantly increased, indicating enhanced fracture development. Pre-mining fractures were primarily characterized by high angles and low widths. As the coal face advanced, the number of fractures rose linearly, with the newly formed fractures mainly exhibiting small angles and medium widths. During mining, fractures predominantly concentrated around the coal wall, and the density distribution curve of overlying strata fractures showed a “wave-like” pattern, with higher values at both ends and the middle.

A neural circuit for context-dependent multimodal signaling in Drosophila

Abstract Many animals produce multimodal displays that combine acoustic, visual, or vibratory signals, yet the neural mechanisms coordinating these behaviors remain unclear. Using Drosophila courtship as a model, we reveal how a single neural circuit integrates sensory cues and motivational state to orchestrate multimodal signaling. Male flies produce both air-borne song and substrate-borne vibrations during courtship, but in distinct, largely non-overlapping contexts. We demonstrate that the same brain neurons that drive song also control vibrations through separate pre-motor pathways, with cell-type specific dynamics. This shared circuit coordinates multimodal displays with locomotion, ensuring vibrations are produced only when they can effectively reach the female. The circuit employs shared motifs—recurrence and mutual inhibition—that enable dynamic control of multimodal signals by external cues and internal state. A computational model confirms that these motifs are sufficient to explain the observed behavioral dynamics. Our findings illustrate how simple neural circuit elements can be combined to select and coordinate complex multimodal behaviors.

Bioactivity and genotoxicity effects of certain compounds on Theba pisana and Monacha cartusiana land snails

Abstract Theba pisana and Monacha cartusiana , both land snails, are agricultural pests that have caused significant losses in many orchards and fields in various areas of Egypt. In this study, the efficacy of nicotinamide, imidacloprid, and silver nitrate nanoparticles compounds compared to oxamyl were evaluated against these two snail species using residual film and poison bait techniques under laboratory and field conditions to identify alternative, more effective options to conventional pesticides. In addition, the genotoxicity impacts of these compounds on the tested snails were thoroughly investigated. Results showed that, for T. pisana , oxamyl exhibited the highest mortality rate, followed by nicotinamide and silver nitrate, with calculated LC 50 values of 0.028%, 0.049%, and 0.120% for residual film technique and 0.546%, 0.971%, and 1.333% for poison bait technique. Similarly, for M. cartusiana , oxamyl exhibited the highest toxicity, followed by nicotinamide and silver nitrate, with LC 50 values of 0.054%, 0.063 and 0.103% in residual film method, While in the poison bait method, oxamyl showed the highest toxicity, followed by silver nitrate and nicotinamide with LC 50 values of 0.273%, 1.150 and 1.204, respectively. Imidacloprid showed the lowest efficacy in both species with LC 50 values of (0.19, 0.14%) and (1.57, 1.48%) for residual film and baits techniques, respectively. The field evaluation of tested compounds against T. pisana and M. cartusiana snails using poisonous baits revealed varying effectiveness in reducing snail populations. Oxamyl showed the highest reduction rates, with 46.31%, 63.63%, and 90.85% for T. pisana and 29.47%, 63.92%, and 92.13% for M. cartusiana after 1, 7, and 21 days of treatment, respectively. Nicotinamide and silver nitrate nanoparticles were also effective, reducing populations by 81.71% and 72.83% for T. pisana and 92.62% and 84.95% for M. cartusiana after 21 days. Imidacloprid compound resulted in the lowest reductions, with 60.64 and 63.26% for two species, respectively. Respecting molecular diagnosis RAPD- PCR, the results demonstrated that the presence of polymorphism in the two types of snails treated with tested compounds.

Dynamic radical recombination enabling stereodivergent construction of spirocycles with nonadjacent stereocenters

UAVs detect hazards with multi-directional Mamba on overhead transmission lines

The diagnostic potential of proteomics and machine learning in Lyme neuroborreliosis

Abstract Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), a nervous system infection caused by tick-borne spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, is among the most frequent bacterial infections of the nervous system in Europe. Early diagnosis and continuous monitoring remain challenging due to limited sensitivity and specificity of current methods and requires invasive lumbar punctures, underscoring the need for improved, less invasive diagnostic tools. Here, we apply mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyse 308 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples and 207 plasma samples from patients with LNB, viral meningitis, controls and other manifestations of Lyme borreliosis. Diagnostic panels of regulated proteins are identified and evaluated through machine learning-assisted proteome analyses. In CSF, the classifier distinguishes LNB from viral meningitis and controls with AUCs of 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. In plasma, LNB is distinguished from controls with an AUC of 0.80. Our findings suggest a potential diagnostic role for machine learning-assisted proteomics in adults with LNB.

Proximal phalanges of digit 1 have different identities in the forelimbs and hindlimbs of the mouse

Fe-(μ-O)-Zn dual-atom boosting C-C coupling for direct oxidation of methane to acetic acid using O2

Co-occurrence of memory impairment and fatigue distinguishes post COVID from pandemic-related health effects in the 4-year CON-VINCE cohort study

Abstract A major challenge in diagnosing post COVID lies in differentiating symptoms following a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from those that may also occur in uninfected individuals (post COVID mimics) and be associated with a broader impact of the pandemic. The WHO post COVID definition was applied to the Luxembourgish longitudinal CON-VINCE cohort, where SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed via either a positive RT-qPCR or a serology test. Risk factor analysis was conducted on 1,865 individuals. Female gender, lower resilience, greater loneliness, and a higher number of comorbidities were associated with symptoms persistence. The symptomatology and comorbidity profiles of 559 participants (including 50 post COVID and 66 post COVID mimics) were investigated. Two distinct clusters of persistent symptoms were identified: (1) depression with anxiety, present in both infected and non-infected groups, and (2) memory impairment with fatigue, unique to the post COVID group. Therefore, presence of both memory impairment and fatigue may help differentiate post COVID patients from post COVID mimics. Yet, verification that memory impairment was newly developed was not possible, as this symptom was not recorded at baseline. Our findings suggest that future studies should consider factors affecting development of persistent post COVID-like symptoms observed in individuals that were never infected.

Real-space observation of a time-reversal invariant topological state in twisted bilayer InSe

The interplay of olfaction and vision in host plant selection by Anthrenus verbasci

Abstract Anthrenus verbasci is commonly associated with museums, where the larvae can destroy valuable collections and displays. In households they are a nuisance; carpets, fabrics, food-items, or any proteinaceous material can be damaged. Little is known about the host preference of adults, they are frequently seen on plants of the Apiaceae, yet we do not know why they are preferred. Contrast of white flowers attract these insects primarily, yet it is unknown if floral volatiles mediate host recognition. We observed a high abundance of A. verbasci adults on the umbels of Aegopodium podagraria and sought to determine whether this mass attraction is driven by floral volatiles. Gas chromatography coupled electroantennography, revealed 8 antennally active compounds from the headspace volatilome of A. podagraria . Y-tube assays confirmed that intact A. podagraria floral volatiles attracted A. verbasci adults significantly; however, this attraction was reduced when damaged umbels were presented. In Petri dish experiments, germacrene-D induced aversion, highlighting a possible repellency. Beetles seemed to prefer discs baited with A. podagraria headspace volatiles at first, yet choice shifted towards the visual stimulus of dried umbellets at the end of the experiments. We have concluded that olfaction plays an important role in host recognition of A. verbasci.

Assembly of dynamic helical β-peptides with switchable handedness into multiple types of metal-peptide frameworks

Co-application of gibberellin and copper sulphate reduces number of seeds as innovative technique for alleviating alternate bearing in Balady mandarin

Abstract Seeds are regarded as a source of gibberellins (GA) which promote fruit set, fruit growth and plant growth. However, trees with more-seeded fruits tend to alternate bearing (AB) due to high gibberellins supplies. So, this investigation aimed to reduce number of seeds via spraying with 1000 ppm GA or copper sulphate (0.1% CuSO 4 ) or 1000 ppm GA + 0.1% CuSO 4 twice during flowering as a new technique to alleviate AB in Balady mandarin tree. Generally, individual spray of GA or CuSO 4 reduced number of seeds per fruit and AB. Also, the combined application of GA + CuSO 4 recorded the lowest significant number of seeds by 35.48% & 37.22% and fruit set by 27.6% & 25%, meanwhile, it recorded the highest increase percentage of fruit weight (32.2% & 37.2%) and marketable yield (17.7% & 28.17%) compared to the control in the two On year seasons. In addition, this treatment recorded the lowest concentration of endogenous GA in leaves of mandarin trees (7.6 & 7 µg/g F.W.) with the highest reduction percentage of 16.48% & 22.2% in comparison to the control (9.1 & 9 µg/g F.W.) in both seasons, respectively. Thus, this treatment reduced endogenous GA levels by 16.48% & 22.2% and AB index by 55.4% & 50.7% in both seasons. Furthermore, in the following two Off seasons, GA + CuSO 4 improved fruit weight by 2.4% & 16.7%, number of fruits by 76.7% & 97.7%, and yield by 58.3% & 107.7%, in both seasons, respectively. Accordingly, GA + CuSO 4 proved to be efficient treatment which effectively reduced endogenous GA in leaves of mandarin trees, produced low-seeded fruits (high quality fruits), reduced AB index and improved On year yield via increasing fruit weight and the following Off year yield via increasing fruits number per tree.

An RNA sponge directs the transition from feast to famine in Caulobacter crescentus

Abstract In bacteria, regulatory networks controlling the adaptation of gene expression in response to stress are frequently complemented by base-pairing small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) that act at the post-transcriptional level. While many regulatory circuits governing stress resilience have been studied in the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus , only a small fraction of its diverse sRNA repertoire has been characterized. In this study, we globally identify interacting RNA-RNA pairs associated with the major RNA-binding protein Hfq in C. crescentus . In addition to numerous connections between sRNAs and mRNAs, we also recover RNA-RNA pairs consisting of two non-coding transcripts. Our results indicate that the sRNA CrfA acts as a sponge to inactivate a family of four conserved sRNAs, SisA-D. When induced by carbon starvation, CrfA redirects gene expression towards the utilization of distinct energy sources, and loss of the RNA sponge is linked to a severe growth defect in environments with fluctuating nutrient availability.

Utilization of sugarcane bagasse ash as green adsorbent for Fuchsin basic dye removal

Metallocene-anchor inducing oriented MOF membrane for helium separation

Dynamics of one-dimensional spin models via complex-time evolution of tensor networks

Resolution limit of the eye — how many pixels can we see?

Abstract As large engineering efforts go towards improving the resolution of mobile, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) displays, it is important to know the maximum resolution at which further improvements bring no noticeable benefit. This limit is often referred to as the retinal resolution, although the limiting factor may not necessarily be attributed to the retina. To determine the ultimate resolution at which an image appears sharp to our eyes with no perceivable blur, we created an experimental setup with a sliding display, which allows for continuous control of the resolution. The lack of such control was the main limitation of the previous studies. We measure achromatic (black-white) and chromatic (red-green and yellow-violet) resolution limits for foveal vision, and at two eccentricities (10° and 20°). Our results demonstrate that the resolution limit is higher than what was previously believed, reaching 94 pixels per degree (ppd) for foveal achromatic vision, 89 ppd for red-green patterns, and 53 ppd for yellow-violet patterns. We also observe a much larger drop in the resolution limit for chromatic patterns (red-green and yellow-violet) than for achromatic patterns. Our results provide quantitative benchmarks for display development, with implications for future imaging, rendering, and video coding technologies.

Situating emotion regulation in autism and ADHD through neurodivergent adolescents’ perspectives

Abstract Accounts of emotional dysregulation in autism and ADHD are typically based on external adult observations anchored in neurotypical notions of appropriate emotional responses1. These often fail to account for neurodivergent people’s efforts to regulate in the context of the upsetting experiences they face, and to explore how neurodivergent young people manage emotional burden or find effective strategies to reduce distress and increase resilience. We interviewed 57 adolescents (11-15 years; 19 females) with diagnoses of ADHD (n=24), autism (n=21) or both (n=12), about their experience of upsetting events using a codesigned semi-structured interview schedule. We analysed data using reflexive thematic analysis which generated shared themes with diagnostic nuances. Three themes were found: (1) What helps prevent experiences from becoming upsetting, (2) Managing emotional responses during periods of upset and (3) Leveraging own strengths. Participants highlighted the importance of consistent, neurodivergent-affirming environments, flexible supports, and being genuinely accepted. Autonomy in choosing self-regulation strategies, co-regulation and expressing distress without stigma were key to emotional wellbeing. These findings underscore the value of stable, trusting relationships and the need for predictable routines. Results offer actionable insights for educators, caregivers, and professionals aiming to foster inclusive, emotionally supportive environments for neurodivergent youth.

CRL4DCAF12 regulation of MCMBP ensures optimal licensing of DNA replication

Abstract The minichromosome maintenance (MCM2-7) protein complexes are central drivers of genome duplication. Distinct protein pools, parental and nascent MCMs, and their precise equilibrium are essential to sustain error-free DNA replication. However, the mechanism responsible for generating these pools and maintaining their equilibrium remains largely unexplored. Here, we identified CRL4 DCAF12 as a factor controlling the assembly of nascent MCM complexes. During MCM biogenesis, MCMBP facilitates the assembly and transport of newly synthesized MCM3-7 subcomplexes into the nucleus. Once in the nucleus, the MCM2 subunit must be incorporated into the MCM3-7 subcomplex, while MCMBP needs to be removed. CRL4 DCAF12 facilitates the degradation of MCMBP and thereby regulates the assembly of MCM2-7 complexes. The absence of CRL4 DCAF12 adversely affects the level of chromatin-bound nascent MCMs, resulting in accelerated replication forks and replication stress. Collectively, our findings uncovered the molecular mechanism underlying nascent MCM production essential to counteract genome instability.