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The zebra finch auditory cortex reconstructs occluded syllables in conspecific song

A physics-based fingerprinting approach for efficient device identification in OWC system

Circular RNA-based protein replacement therapy mitigates osteoarthritis in male mice

Refinement of the rat acetylcholine receptor-specific passive transfer myasthenia gravis model using subcutaneous injections: an update to the guidelines

Aging and memory of transitional turbulence

Abstract The recent classification of the onset of turbulence as a directed percolation (DP) phase transition has been applied to all major shear flows including pipe, channel, Couette and boundary layer flows. A cornerstone of the DP analogy is the memoryless (Poisson) property of turbulent sites. We here show that, for the classic case of channel flow, neither the decay nor the proliferation of turbulent stripes is memoryless. As demonstrated by a standard analysis of the respective survival curves, isolated channel stripes, in the immediate vicinity of the critical point, age. Consequently, the one to one mapping between turbulent stripes and active DP-sites is not fulfilled in this low Reynolds number regime. In addition, the interpretation of turbulence as a chaotic saddle with supertransient properties, the basis of recent theoretical progress, does not apply to individual localized stripes. The discrepancy between channel flow and the transition models established for pipe and Couette flow, illustrates that seemingly minor geometrical differences between flows can give rise to instabilities and growth mechanisms that fundamentally alter the nature of the transition to turbulence.

Climate vulnerability of Earth’s terrestrial biomes

Diaphragm-based carbon monoxide electrolyzers for multicarbon production under alkaline conditions

Abstract Transforming waste carbon into valuable fuels and chemicals is a key step toward sustainable manufacturing. One promising approach is the electrochemical conversion of carbon monoxide (CO), a product of CO 2 recycling, into energy-rich multicarbon (C 2+ ) compounds. However, current CO electrolyzers rely on anion exchange membranes (AEMs) that degrade over time when exposed to organic intermediates, limiting their practical use. Here we show that low-cost diaphragm materials, such as Zirfon, can serve as robust alternatives to AEMs in alkaline CO electrolysis. We evaluate a range of diaphragms and identify candidates that match or exceed the performance of commercial AEMs across a wide range of operating conditions (50 to 400 mA cm −2 ). At 60 °C, Zirfon-based cells maintain 45% Faradaic efficiencies for acetate over 250 hours, while state-of-the-art AEMs fail within 150 hours. Moreover, a 100 cm 2 Zirfon cell operates stably for 700 hours at 200 mA cm −2 . These findings demonstrate that diaphragms offer a scalable and durable pathway for CO electrolysis, helping reduce system costs and enhance compatibility with renewable energy inputs.

Multi-modal music techniques for synthesizing high-quality audio waveforms from MIDI data

Schottky engineering of GDYO@Pt to boost piezoelectric and oxidative stress modulation for accelerated cranial regeneration

Low-rank adaptation for edge AI

EXO1 as a therapeutic target for Fanconi Anaemia, ZRSR2 and BRCA1-A complex deficient cancers

Abstract Exonuclease EXO1 performs multiple roles in DNA replication and DNA damage repair (DDR). However, EXO1 loss is well-tolerated, suggesting the existence of compensatory mechanisms that could be exploited in DDR-deficient cancers. Using CRISPR screening, we find EXO1 loss as synthetic lethal with many DDR genes somatically inactivated in cancers, including Fanconi Anaemia (FA) pathway and BRCA1-A complex genes. We also identify the spliceosome factor and tumour suppressor ZRSR2 as synthetic lethal with loss of EXO1 and show that ZRSR2-deficient cells are attenuated for FA pathway activation, exhibiting cisplatin sensitivity and radial chromosome formation. Furthermore, FA or ZRSR2 deficiencies depend on EXO1 nuclease activity and can be potentiated in combination with PARP inhibitors or ionizing radiation. Finally, we uncover dysregulated replication-coupled repair as the driver of synthetic lethality between EXO1 and FA pathway attributable to defective fork reversal, elevated replication fork speeds, post-replicative single stranded DNA exposure and DNA damage. These findings implicate EXO1 as a synthetic lethal vulnerability and promising drug target in a broad spectrum of DDR-deficient cancers unaddressed by current therapies.

Multifaceted investigation of toxicity induced by overdoses of trace element iron with the Allium cepa

Supercurrent time division multiplexing with solid-state integrated hybrid superconducting electronics

Soil potassium adsorption and speciation dynamics with associated clay microstructural changes revealed by synchrotron X-ray microscopy

Electronic Hong Ou Mandel interferences to unveil the 2/3 fractional quantum Hall edge channel dynamics

Field programmable gate array-based neural network control strategy for computer power supply applications

Biomimetic fibrous semiconducting micromesh via tuning phase separation for high-performance stretchable optoelectronic synapses

Abstract Polymer semiconductors hold great potential for next-generation bionic devices, due to their inherent flexibility and biocompatibility. However, endowing them both robust mechanical properties and significant functionalities remains challenging. Bioinspired microstructures can effectively boost semiconducting properties and functionality, yet the structure engineering strategy in conjugated polymers (CPs) systems is underdeveloped. Here, we fabricate biomimetic hybrid semiconducting films featuring geometry-deformable micromesh and nanofibril substructure, through the Van der Waals force-mediated phase-separation. Poly(butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), an aggregating polymer with abundant intermolecular interactions, is employed as plastic component to facilitate the formation of hierarchically biomimetic structure. Consequently, this geometry-deformable micromesh and interpenetrating phases significantly enhance mechanical and electrical stretchability of the semiconductors. The dependence of strain dissipation mechanism on structural parameters is identified for micromesh structure optimization. Moreover, the nanofibril substructure significantly improves photosensitivity by 100%. Leveraging the synergistic effect of micromesh and nanofibril, synaptic phototransistors are fabricated, which exhibit superior synaptic plasticity and robust performance under strains up to 125% and 1000 repeated cycles at 50% strain, well imitating the phototransduction and memory functionalities of visual system. This strategy shows great potential for processing ultra-stretchable and high-performance conjugated polymer films aiming at stretchable bioelectronics.

Development of a novel assay for antigen presentation measurement

Abstract Accurate measurement of antigen presentation is essential for understanding immune responses to infections and tumors. However, current methods are cumbersome, time-consuming, and rely on known peptide sequences and antibodies, leading to unstable antigen presentation, antigen loss during processing and editing, and inconsistent results. We developed a novel, cost-effective method for examining antigen presentation using Click chemistry, which utilizes a bioorthogonal reaction between azides and alkynes/cyclooctenes. Antigens were pre-labeled with azides or alkynes to facilitate their uptake by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Their presentation was subsequently detected using fluorophore-conjugated dibenzocyclooctyne or azide. The study involved three types of APCs, mouse macrophages (RAW264.7), mouse dendritic cells (DC2.4), and mouse primary bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), and three categories of antigens: BSA, bacteria, and tumor antigens. Antigen presentation was measured and validated through multiple analytic techniques, including a fluorescent plate reader, flow cytometry, and ELISA. We showed efficient and stable presentation of antigens on the surface of all RAW264.7, DC2.4 and BMDCs. Antigens labeled using Click chemistry showed enhanced stability within the phagolysosomes of APCs. Notably, antigens labeled throughout the peptide sequence using azidohomoalanine (AHA) exhibited superior presentation on MHC class II compared to antigens labeled only at the N-terminus. Furthermore, this method preserved the natural antigen editing process, enabling the selection of high-affinity antigens for MHC presentation. This novel antigen presentation assay offers key advantages over existing methods, including faster processing, cost-effectiveness, stable antigen presentation, and reliable detection signals. When paired with mass spectrometry, it can identify stably presented tumor peptides, offering potential targets for immunotherapy development.

Estimating disorder probability based on polygenic prediction using the BPC approach

Abstract Polygenic Scores (PGSs) summarize an individual’s genetic propensity for a given trait. Bayesian methods, which improve the prediction accuracy of PGSs, are not well-calibrated for binary disorder traits in ascertained samples. This is a problem because well-calibrated PGSs are needed for future clinical implementation. We introduce the Bayesian polygenic score Probability Conversion (BPC) approach, which computes an individual’s predicted disorder probability using genome-wide association study summary statistics, an existing Bayesian PGS method (e.g. PRScs, SBayesR), the individual’s genotype data, and a prior disorder probability (which can be specified flexibly, based for example on literature, small reference samples, or prior elicitation). The BPC approach is practical in its application as it does not require a tuning sample with both genotype and phenotype data. Here, we show in simulated and empirical data of nine disorder traits that BPC yields well-calibrated results that are consistently better than the results of another recently published approach.

Neonatal sevoflurane exposure enhances stress-related neurological susceptibility via NKCC1 modulation

Abstract Neonatal exposure to sevoflurane has been associated with neurodevelopmental impairments. However, the mechanisms underlying increased susceptibility to stress-related neurological disorders remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the brain vulnerability after repeated neonatal sevoflurane exposure in rats to future traumatic stress exposure.P5 male Sprague - Dawley rats were exposed to 3% sevoflurane for 2 h daily from P6 to P8. Bumetanide, an NKCC1 inhibitor, was administered intraperitoneally before sevoflurane exposure. The expression of NKCC1 in the hippocampus at P8 was detected by reverse transcription -polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. The brain vulnerability to stress exposure was assessed at P14-20 by conditioned fear traumatic stress model. The stress response was assessed by measuring serum corticosterone level. Primary hippocampal neurons of neonatal rat were cultured in vitro and exposed to sevoflurane with or without bumetanide pretreatment. The growth activity, intracellular LDH enzyme activity, ROS levels and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons were determined. Repeated neonatal sevoflurane exposure in rats enhanced serum corticosterone secretion after fear conditioning training and induced deficits in fear extinction training and recall.Pretreatment with bumetanide reversed these effects. In cultured primary neonatal rat hippocampal neurons, sevoflurane exposure enhanced the expression of NKCC1, increased the markers of neuronal cytotoxicity and downregulated the expression of Noggin, Drebrin and MAP2. In contrast, pretreatment with NKCC1 inhibitor bumetanide attenuated these adverse effects in vitro. Our results suggest repeated neonatal sevoflurane exposure enhances stress-related neurological susceptibility in rats by upregulating NKCC1, highlighting NKCC1 as a potential therapeutic target for anesthesia-induced neurodevelopmental vulnerability.