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The molecular mechanism of the protective effect of tianeptine against ovarian ischemia-reperfusion injury
Dynamic birefringence and chirality of magnetically controllable assemblies of anisotropic plasmonic nanoparticles in dispersion
Abstract The ability to control the orientation and arrangement of plasmonic nanoparticles with shape anisotropy offers a promising route to achieving highly tunable optical properties. In this study, we introduce a synthetic approach for magnetically controllable plasmonic nanoparticles (MPs) consisting of an anisotropic gold core encapsulated by an iron oxide shell. The superparamagnetic property of the iron oxide shell enables rapid, reversible, and remotely controlled alignment of MPs, allowing for dynamic manipulation of their optical properties. Linearly aligned MPs demonstrate tunable transmission colors via plasmon-mediated birefringence. Helical MP arrays exhibit circular dichroism of up to 12° and g-factors reaching 0.21—the highest reported value for solution-phase assemblies of achiral nanoparticles. The synthetic method is applicable to nanoparticles of various sizes and shapes, highlighting its generality and expandability.
Impact of asymptomatic malaria infection on children’s growth in rural Malawi
Abstract Asymptomatic malaria infections are common in endemic regions, yet their impact on children’s growth remains inadequately understood. This study investigates the association between asymptomatic malaria and 6-18-month-old children’s growth indices in rural Malawi. Dried blood spots from 840 participants in Lungwena Child Nutrition Intervention 5 (LCNI-5) clinical trial were analysed at the baseline (N = 697) and every 3 months for a year. The associations between asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum (determined by real-time PCR), and growth indices (length-for-age Z score (LAZ), weight-for-age Z score (WAZ), and weight-for-length Z score (WLZ)) were examined. Across all ages (6 to 18 months), malaria-positive children had lower mean WAZ (-1.03 vs. -0.87, 95% CI -0.17 − -0.04) and WLZ (-0.03 vs. -0.13, 95% CI -0.22 − -0.06) compared to those uninfected peers, whereas LAZ showed no significant association. However, no significant impact was observed at individual time points, except at 12 months of age. After adjusting for confounders, malaria infection remained associated with poorer children growth outcome. Asymptomatic malaria is linked to impaired growth outcomes among young children in rural Malawi. Targeted interventions aimed at managing asymptomatic malaria could mitigate growth faltering and improve child health in malaria-endemic settings.
Development and application of GlycanDIA workflow for glycomic analysis
Temporal prediction and feedforward control in cerebellar ataxia during spontaneous, instructed, and adaptive auditory-motor coupling while walking
Explainable multimodal deep learning for predicting thyroid cancer lateral lymph node metastasis using ultrasound imaging
The role of cognitive load in automatic integration of emotional information from face and body
3D quantification of nanolites using X-ray ptychography reveals syn-eruptive nanocrystallisation impacts magma rheology
Abstract Nanoscale crystals are becoming increasingly recognised in the products of volcanic eruptions, spanning a range of magma compositions. The crystallisation of nanolites impacts magma rheology, ascent dynamics, and eruptive style. Their impact can be enhanced due to their capacity to aggregate and develop neighbouring chemically differentiated boundary layers. However, their 3D interaction, spatial distribution, and morphology is not currently understood. Here we present a cutting-edge, 3D nanometre-scale visualisation and quantification of nanolites in scoriae of the Las Sierras-Masaya basaltic Plinian eruptions, acquired using X-ray ptychography. We find that Ti-magnetite nanolites aggregate, forming elongate, irregular structures in 3D. Their crystallisation extracts Fe and Ti from the melt, resulting in differentiated boundary layers with higher viscosity. Syn-eruptive crystallisation of nanolites and their interaction is estimated to have increased magma viscosity by 2–3 orders of magnitude, therefore, they likely had a strong control on magma rheology, increasing the potential of magma fragmentation.
Prevalence, characterization and antibiogram of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bovine and swine population in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
PAL-AI reveals genetic determinants that control poly(A)-tail length during oocyte maturation, with relevance to human fertility
Abstract In oocytes of mammals and other animals, gene regulation is mediated primarily through changes in poly(A)-tail length. Here, we introduce PAL-AI, an integrated neural network machine-learning model that accurately predicts tail-length changes in maturing oocytes of frogs and mammals. We show that PAL-AI learned known and previously unknown sequence elements and their contextual features that control poly(A)-tail length, enabling it to predict tail-length changes resulting from 3′-untranslated region single-nucleotide substitutions. It also predicted tail-length-mediated translational changes, allowing us to nominate genes important for oocyte maturation. When comparing predicted tail-length changes in human oocytes with genomic datasets of the All of Us Research Program and gnomAD, we found that genetic variants predicted to disrupt tail lengthening have been under negative selection in the human population, thereby linking mRNA tail lengthening to human female fertility.
Nanoprobe synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy reveals selenium-rich spherical structure in mouse retinal pigment epithelium
Abstract High-resolution nano-focus X-ray fluorescence microscopy using hard X-rays at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) IDB16 beamline detected endogenous barium, bromine, calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, rubidium, sulphur, selenium, strontium and zinc, at tissue, cellular and subcellular level in the outer retinal complex of light adapted, 3-week-old, male C57BL6 mice. Fresh snap-frozen (20 μm) cryosections dried at room temperature were scanned at 1 μm, 300 nm and 50 nm spatial resolution by incident X-ray photons from the synchrotron beam. Analysis of 2D maps and 3D surface plots by PyMCA and ImageJ revealed elevated zinc concentrations in the choriocapillaris (CC) (mean 45, range 28–77 ppm), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer (mean 47, range 20–76 ppm), photoreceptor inner segments (RIS) ellipsoid zone, outer limiting membrane (OLM) (mean 32, range < 1–44 ppm) and outer nuclear layer (ONL) in between photoreceptor cell bodies. Mūller cells processes in ONL and their interdigitations in RIS ellipsoid zone seem to contain zinc in the cell membrane. Iron was found at elevated amounts in RIS myoid zone (mean 38, range 14–68 ppm), RPE layer (52, range 24–143 ppm), and choroid (60, range 36–172 ppm). Copper was also detected in the CC (4.3, range 1.9–9.7 ppm), RPE layer (4.5, range 1.6–20.8 ppm), and RIS myoid zone (4.9, range 1.25–10.2 ppm). Calcium was found with granular/punctate distribution in OLM (159, range 49–962 ppm), RIS myoid zone (245, range 36-1370 ppm), RPE layer (1134, range 257–2503 ppm), and CC (1101, range 323–2090 ppm). The metalloid selenium was present in the CC (1.8, range < 1-4.7 ppm] and across the RPE (basal, central, apical) (2.4, range < 1-8.5 ppm). High resolution maps of the interface photoreceptor outer segments (ROS) and the RPE apical side revealed selenium-rich spherical structures (appr. 1 μm diameter) (mean 5.6, range 2.2–8.1 ppm), associated with calcium (mean 1057, range 619–1755 ppm), phosphorus (9924, range 6118–15058 ppm), and manganese (0.7, < 1–24 ppm), surrounded by a zinc-containing layer. This study presents the first nanoprobe X-ray fluorescence microscopy image analysis of adult mouse light adapted outer retinal complex from the whole tissue to subcellular structures. The high spatial resolution (location) and high sensitivity (metal quantity) findings, together with the information on biometals available in the literature, allowed us to propose a schematic model of possible selenium biological processes and their role in physiological activities in the outer retinal complex. We hypothesise there is a dedicated selenium-rich spherical structure with the ability to cross RPE cell membranes (i.e. the outer blood retinal barrier) and with potential roles in certain biological function(s) (e.g. ROS phagocytosis by RPE cell microvilli, trans-RPE transport).
Structural convergence and water-mediated substrate mimicry enable broad neuraminidase inhibition by human antibodies
Abstract Influenza has been responsible for multiple global pandemics and seasonal epidemics and claimed millions of lives. The imminent threat of a panzootic outbreak of avian influenza H5N1 virus underscores the urgent need for pandemic preparedness and effective countermeasures, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Here, we characterize human mAbs that target the highly conserved catalytic site of viral neuraminidase (NA), termed NCS mAbs, and the molecular basis of their broad specificity. Cross-reactive NA-specific B cells were isolated by using stabilized NA probes of non-circulating subtypes. We found that NCS mAbs recognized multiple NAs of influenza A as well as influenza B NAs and conferred prophylactic protections in mice against H1N1, H5N1, and influenza B viruses. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of two NCS mAbs revealed that they rely on structural mimicry of sialic acid, the substrate of NA, by coordinating not only amino acid side chains but also water molecules, enabling inhibition of NA activity across multiple influenza A and B viruses, including avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses. Our results provide a molecular basis for the broad reactivity and inhibitory activity of NCS mAbs targeting the catalytic site of NA through substrate mimicry.
Climate-driven physiological changes in Mahseer (Tor tambroides) juveniles
Neuropeptide Y neurons mediate opioid-induced itch by disinhibiting GRP-GRPR microcircuits in the spinal cord
A novel data-driven NLMPC strategy for techno-economic microgrid management with battery energy storage under uncertainty
Abstract As renewable energy sources become more widespread and energy consumption continues to grow, there is an urgent requirement for smarter, more flexible control methods to manage microgrids (MGs) effectively. This study proposes a data-driven nonlinear model predictive control (NLMPC) framework for optimized MG operation, emphasizing energy storage system (ESS) integration. Effective MG management is crucial given increasing renewable penetration and energy demands. This framework coordinates distributed generation (DG) units, including rotating and non-rotating resources, with a battery ESS in a dynamic MG environment. Leveraging Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), the framework accurately models the complex dynamics of both DG units and the ESS. Unlike traditional model-based approaches, GPR learns system behavior from operational data, enabling precise performance prediction under varying conditions. This accuracy is crucial for optimized resource dispatch and efficient MG operation. GPR models capture ESS charging/discharging characteristics, efficiency, and state-of-charge (SOC) dynamics for informed ESS utilization. To address renewable energy uncertainties, Monte Carlo simulations are incorporated. This allows robust evaluation of the control strategy under various scenarios, ensuring MG stability and reliability despite fluctuating renewable generation. By considering these uncertainties, the NLMPC controller proactively manages DG and ESS dispatch, mitigating forecast errors and maximizing renewable energy use. The framework aims to achieve optimal power flow, balancing supply and demand while respecting operational constraints. This includes constraints on DG units, the ESS (SOC limits, charge/discharge rates), and overall MG operation (voltage and frequency stability). The NLMPC controller dynamically adjusts DG and ESS setpoints to minimize costs, maximize renewable energy use, and ensure MG stability and reliability. Simulation results demonstrate the framework’s effectiveness. Significant cost savings (approximately 39.2% compared to Conventional MPC and 41.5% compared to Adaptive MPC) and voltage stability improvements (28.57% and 52.38% respectively) are achieved. These improvements stem from accurate system dynamics modeling, robust uncertainty handling, and coordinated DG and ESS control.