Browse Articles

Mechanistic Investigation of [Co ₂ (CO) ₈ ] Catalyzed Photoaminocarbonylation

Prefecture government fiscal intervention and corporate asset allocation: The perspective of transaction cost theory

This study examines the impact of prefecture-level government fiscal intervention on corporate asset allocation in China from the perspective of transaction cost theory. Using a panel dataset of Chinese listed firms from 2008 to 2023, we find that increased fiscal intervention significantly reduces firms’ allocation to operating assets while increasing financial asset holdings, indicating a substitution effect. Mechanism analysis suggests that fiscal intervention raises regional transaction costs, discouraging long-term productive investment. Heterogeneity analysis shows stronger effects among private firms and firms more dependent on local economies. These findings provide new evidence on how government intervention shapes firm-level resource allocation and offer policy implications for improving fiscal efficiency and supporting real-sector development in emerging economies.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic test accuracy of artificial intelligence in predicting intradialytic hypotension in hemodialysis patients

SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 helicase resolves G-quadruplexes and is inhibited by G4 ligands or an antiviral regulator: Implications for G4 anti-coronavirus therapies

RNF2 mediates H2A ubiquitination to promote colitis via suppressing monocyte-macrophage transition in mice

Ionic-Size-Dependent Reversible Interlayer Cation Migration and Voltage Hysteresis in P2-Type Sodium Layered Cathodes

Validation of a portable pressure tile system for standing and stepping stability assessment in young and older adults

Portable gait analysis technology for assessing mobility and balance among older adults in community environments remains an underutilized resource, often due to lack of field validation. To address this gap, we used a mixed-validation approach to evaluate a commercially available portable pressure tile system in terms of measurement accuracy: is it true enough to be believed; and sensitivity: can it detect age-related changes in balance and mobility? Thirty healthy adults were recruited in two cohorts of fifteen: YA = 19–64 years of age, and OA = 65 + years of age, to perform a battery of standing and locomotor tasks (static stand = SS, five-times sit-to-stand = STS, step-up/step-down task = SUSD with dominant and non-dominant lead) using a dual elevation, two-tile, StepScan™ pressure tile system placed upon in-floor mounted AMTI™ force platforms for simultaneous data acquisition. Common parameters for balance and stepping analysis were extracted from centre-of-pressure (CoP) kinematics from both systems and analyzed in terms of absolute agreement between systems (paired t-tests and Intra-Class Correlation, ICC(2,k)) and ability to discriminate by age group (independent t-tests and Pearson R 2 ). Agreement between systems was high (<5mm error, ICC > .9) for most measures, and a small but statistically significant decline in balance and mobility performance was detected in the OA cohort compared to the YA cohort (R 2  = .2, p < .05). We conclude that portable, modular, pressure tile systems such as StepScan™ are sufficiently accurate and sensitive for quantifying age-related changes in balance and mobility. Larger scale studies are needed to determine the potential for integrating this technology into routine clinical workflow.

Correction: A method for supervoxel-wise association studies of age and other non-imaging variables from coronary computed tomography angiograms

The cellular stress sensor HSPB1 regulates the membrane localization of amino acid transporter SLC7A5 in breast cancer

Toughening elastomer via sequentially activated multi-pathway energy dissipation

Abstract Auxiliary energy dissipation pathways have been incorporated into elastomer design to enhance the toughness. However, most strategies involving multiple pathways rely on non-synergistic dissipation that ceases to function once structural evolution occurs. Herein, we report a strategy to toughen elastomer via sequentially activated multi-pathway energy dissipation, simultaneously integrating mechanically interlocked networks (MINs), scissile mechanophore, and woven networks within a single polymer. A rotaxane crosslinker is applied to construct MINs in polyurethane as the primary energy dissipation pathway. After the sliding motion of the rotaxane crosslinkers reaches its maximal extent, the truxinate mechanophore embedded in rotaxane’s macrocycle undergoes sacrificial scission as the secondary pathway. Subsequently, the linear chain produced by cleavage of the rotaxane’s macrocycle inherently entangles with the axle chain, resulting in woven networks as the tertiary energy dissipation pathway. This strategy substantially enhances the toughness and clarifies how mechanophore activation interacts with supramolecular architecture in polymeric materials.

Discovery, Genome-Guided Structure Elucidation, and Total Synthesis of Terukufazoline A, a Macrocyclic Docosapeptide, from a Marine Cyanobacterium

Y-maze performance predicts refined motor learning in mice

The relationships between distinct abilities and their interdependencies during memory tasks and motor learning activities are not clear. An important question is whether being proficient in memory or motor learning tasks also translates into better performance in another, similar task – reflecting potential generalization of motor learning abilities. To investigate the correlation between memory performance and motor learning, we used a combination of behavioral tasks that assess general exploratory behavior, declarative memory, and fine motor learning in female mice. For the exploratory behavior, we used the open field task, and assessed declarative memory using the novel object recognition and Y-maze. Motor performance and learning was assessed through the vertical pole and pellet reaching tasks. We found a positive correlation between the Y-maze and the pellet reaching task performance, where a higher exploration rate indicated a higher success ratio in the pellet reaching task. Further, leave-one-out cross-validation prediction analysis show that Y-maze performance is a robust predictor of pellet reaching performance, showing that mice pellet reaching performance can reliably be predicted from Y-maze performance. These results can be used to conduct a pre-study for challenging motor tasks that include pre-behavioral procedures on mice. Our study shows that performance in the Y-maze predicts pellet reaching performance, indicating that these tasks can be used as pre-screening for motor learning performance and activity.

Taxonomic profiling of nematode community using morphological and metabarcoding approaches under diverse irrigation systems

Intracellular lactic acidosis reprograms glycolysis and mitochondrial anaplerosis in cancer cells

Transposable elements impact the human regulatory landscape through cell type specific epigenomic associations

Two of a Kind: Composition and Photophysics of Two Silver Nanoclusters Stabilized by the Same DNA Sequence

Reliability of cancer screening questions from the National Health Interview Survey

Background The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationwide in-person and telephone survey of the civilian non-institutionalized population, is used to measure progress towards Healthy People objectives on cancer screening. Survey reports have been compared to medical record data to assess validity of these questions; however, few studies have assessed reliability, or response consistency over time. We assessed the test-retest reliability of questions on cervical, colorectal, breast and lung cancer screening from the 2021 and 2022 NHIS. Methods We surveyed 1,770 adults ages 18 + years with and without prior screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer from four U.S. health systems (three in Washington state and one in Michigan) to examine validity of the NHIS questions. Among people who completed the validity survey, we randomized individuals to receive an additional survey one month later (N = 944) and three months later (N = 822). We calculated Cohen’s Kappa, Gwet’s AC1, and simple concordance to assess reliability. Results Among our study sample, 535 (56.7% of those assigned) to one month follow-up and 537 (65.0%) assigned to three month follow-up completed the reliability survey. Among these, 36 (6.6%) and 94 (17.6%) of those assigned to one and three month follow-up respectively were excluded from reliability analyses because they had additional screening tests after completing the validity survey. Cohen’s Kappa showed strong-to-moderate reliability for being up to date with mammography screening: 0.83 at one month and 0.78 at three months; reliability for other screening tests was considerably lower: 0.61 and 0.60 for cervical, 0.57 and 0.62 for colorectal, and 0.72 and 0.58 for lung and one and three months, respectively. Conclusions We found strong-to-moderate reliability of responses recalling breast cancer screening at one and three months following an initial survey. Reliability may not be a major threat to self-reported cancer screening behavior.

Toward Multi(radio)metalated DNA: Enzymatic Polymerization of Metal‐Chelate‐Modified Deoxyribonucleoside Triphosphates

ABSTRACT We report the first enzymatic synthesis of precisely defined metal‐oligonucleotide conjugates through template‐directed polymerase‐mediated primer extension with two different (radio)metal‐chelator‐modified deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. We successfully incorporated five different metals (Ga, In, Tb, Lu, and Y) along designed oligonucleotide templates, including the simultaneous incorporation of two different metal chelates within a given strand. To provide bio‐orthogonality, this approach exploits the well‐known enzymatic fidelity of DNA polymerase to generate uniformly metal‐loaded DNA constructs with well‐defined and programmable compositions. The platform is validated using chelators DOTA and DTPA and confirmed by both inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) quantification and autoradiographic analysis following gel electrophoresis to demonstrate radioisotope incorporation with clinically relevant metals ( 68 Ga for PET, 111 In for SPECT, 161 Tb and 177 Lu for β − therapy), establishing the potential for using the information content of DNA to create multi‐metalated radiopharmaceuticals. This programmable platform establishes a new paradigm for metalated molecular probe development with versatility for potential therapeutic, theranostic, and mass spectrometry‐based applications, and potentially generalizable to other metal isotopes based on diagnostic or therapeutic requirements.

Fluorite and rare-metals mineralization in greisenized granite of Um Naggat area, Egypt constrained by physical separation and beneficiation assessment

Abstract Fluorite and rare-metals mineralization hosted within the greisenized granites of Um Naggat area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt, represents a potential source of critical raw materials. The studied sample is dominated by quartz and feldspar, with a minor heavy-mineral fraction enriched in fluorite and accessory rare-metal phases, including zircon, columbite, ilmenite, cassiterite, uranothorite, monazite, aegirine, almandine garnet, iron oxides, and biotite. Comprehensive mineralogical, geochemical, and beneficiation investigations were conducted to assess the recovery potential of fluorite and associated rare-metals mineralization. Particle-size analysis and mineralogical characterization indicated favorable liberation of the target minerals, enabling efficient separation from the silicate gangue. Gravity concentration using a Wilfley shaking table upgraded the total heavy-mineral (THM) content from 1.95 wt% in the feed to 6.11 wt% in the combined concentrate, achieving an overall THM recovery of ~ 80%. Subsequent high-intensity magnetic separation effectively partitioned the concentrate into fluorite-rich diamagnetic and rare-metals-bearing magnetic fractions. XRD and SEM-EDS analyses indicate that fluorite is the dominant phase in the diamagnetic product, accompanied by accessory zircon and galena, while columbite, thorite, garnet, and other rare-metals-bearing minerals are concentrated in the magnetic fraction. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of a combined gravity–magnetic beneficiation flowsheet for upgrading fluorite and associated rare-metals mineralization from the studied greisenized granite under laboratory-scale conditions. These findings provide a basis for further process optimization and detailed technical and economic evaluation of Um Naggat mineralization.

The expanding role of formulations to enable oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs