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A native sulfur deposit in Gale crater, Mars
Martian rocks are known to contain sulfur-bearing species, including sulfates and sulfides. These compounds record a sulfur cycle that operated over Mars’ geological evolution. We used the Curiosity rover to investigate a deposit of light-toned stones in Gediz Vallis, within Gale crater on Mars. We find that the stones are composed of native sulfur. The sulfur deposit appears to have formed in place, within a sinuous entrenched canyon cut into the floor of Gediz Vallis. The presence of native sulfur implies that a sulfur enrichment pathway involving buoyant subsurface fluids operated on ancient Mars. We propose that the primary source of this sulfur was magmatic vapor, which cooled in the near subsurface cryosphere and was released by decompression during the erosion of Gediz Vallis.
Identification of Catalytic Sequence at a Single Active Site on a Single-Cluster Catalyst
Comparing the effects of two occupational therapy programmes on selected indicators in women with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised controlled trial
Physiological resilience of freshwater microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana under NaCl stress supplemented with sodium sulfate as a mitigating agent
Cross-attention-based multimodal fusion for early diabetic retinopathy detection
A 20-year experimental stability assessment of silane-functionalized silica for energetic and chromatographic applications
Lifestyle-associated blood metabolic pathways and functional performance in cognitive aging
Integrated eco-physiological and anatomical responses of Capparis decidua to salinity and water deficit stress
The potential role of Escherichia coli as an indicator of environmental antimicrobial resistance in an urban river in Japan
Abstract Coliforms, including Escherichia coli , are widely used as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in water quality assessments. However, the potential of these bacteria to act as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in urban rivers under wet-weather conditions potentially influenced by combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharge remains insufficiently characterized. Using a One Health perspective, we evaluated temporal and weather-related variation in the concentrations of Escherichia coli and non- E. coli coliforms and in the proportions of colonies exhibiting ampicillin resistance or intermediate tetracycline resistance in the Hirano River, an urban river in Osaka, Japan, between October and November 2023. Sampling was conducted 10 times between October 17 and November 14, 2023, including sampling conducted 33 and 15 h after strong rainfall events classified as having the potential to trigger CSOs. Samples were analyzed using CHROMagar™ ECC medium for bacterial enumeration and to test resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline. Both non- E. coli coliform and E. coli concentrations increased by more than two orders of magnitude in the sample collected 15 h after a strong rainfall event classified as having the potential to trigger a CSO, suggesting possible contributions from CSO-related inputs and/or other fecal contamination sources. E. coli exhibited higher resistance ratios, with averages of 23.1% for ampicillin resistance and 12.3% for intermediate tetracycline resistance, compared with 3.7% and 0.8%, respectively, in the non- E. coli coliform fraction, supporting the potential utility of E. coli as an indicator of antibiotic resistance among culturable coliforms in urban river water. These findings support the potential utility of E. coli for both fecal contamination assessment and environmental AMR surveillance in urban river systems.
Wild tomato genome assemblies reveal structural variants and repeat content act as recombination barriers
Abstract Crop wild relatives are used to improve cultivated plants and precise tracking of genetic introgression requires high-quality genome assemblies. Here we present de novo genome assemblies of two wild tomato species — the broadly stress-resistant Solanum pennellii (LA0716) and the salt-resistant Solanum cheesmaniae (LA1039). The improved S. pennellii genome adds 146 Mbp to the twelve chromosomes compared with the original reference. The alignment of the new assemblies with multiple gold-standard assemblies identified shared and species-specific structural variants. Analysis of repeat content demonstrates independent explosions of Tekay retrotransposons in S. pennellii and S. peruvianum . Genome sequencing of 709 recombinant plants derived from male and female backcrosses of three different hybrids reveals higher crossover rate in female meiosis. Conserved female-enhanced recombination regions were discovered and coldspots were attributed to megabase-scale inversions and insertion-deletion polymorphisms. Our S. pennellii and S. cheesmaniae genome assemblies reveal how repeat content diverged in nature and during breeding, and uncovers how both reproductive gender and structural variants dictate recombination landscapes in tomato hybrids.
Integrative exosomal RNA analysis reveals the hsa-miR-186-5p–CADM1 axis in plasma cell-mediated inflammation of allergic rhinitis
Effects of wood and groundnut shell ashes on the geotechnical properties of lateritic soil
A multi-scale feature fusion network for CNV segmentation in SD-OCT images toward quantitative assessment of neovascular AMD
Implementation of manual perineal protection reduced OASIS incidence in first vaginal births after previous caesarean section
Ecology, host plant resistance, and management of paddy black beetle (Heteronychus lioderes) in rice under north-western Himalayan conditions
Effects of concurrent transcranial direct current stimulation and robotic lower-limb training on motor recovery after stroke: a randomized sham-controlled trial
Effects of synbiotic supplementation on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight or obese calcium oxalate stone formers: a randomized controlled trial
Deep learning for time-series segmentation of mechanical ventilator waveforms
Abstract Accurate segmentation of ventilator waveforms is essential for detecting patient–ventilator asynchronies (PVAs), yet current heuristic methods can fail in noisy, real-world data. We developed and validated a deep learning model using a one-dimensional attention-gated U-Net architecture to identify inspiratory and expiratory onsets in mechanical ventilation waveforms. The model was trained and tested on 9719 breaths from 33 patients and outperformed published rule-based methods, achieving F1 scores of > 0.99 for both inspiratory and expiratory onset detection within a 0.1-s tolerance window. Performance remained robust in asynchronous breaths (F1 ≥ 0.98). When applied to quantify PVAs, the model reproduced reference standard asynchrony frequencies with no significant differences, whereas heuristic methods produced large deviations. Gradient-weighted class activation maps suggest that the model leveraged a diverse set of waveform features to inform segmentation. This computationally efficient model enables highly-accurate, clinically timely waveform analysis and provides a foundation for scalable, reproducible assessment of ventilator–patient interactions.
Genomic analysis identifies candidate SOS-associated and EPS/envelope-remodeling islands in a drinking-water Stenotrophomonas maltophilia complex isolate
Abstract Drinking-water distribution systems (DWDS) impose ecological pressures shaped by oligotrophy, surface attachment, hydraulic fluctuation, and residual disinfectants. These conditions may favor stress-tolerant and biofilm-capable microorganisms, including members of the Stenotrophomonas maltophilia complex. Although this complex is clinically relevant because of intrinsic multidrug resistance and opportunistic pathogenic potential, the strain-level genomic features that may support persistence in disinfectant-managed water systems remain incompletely characterized. We applied an integrated genome-resolved framework to Stenotrophomonas sp. NG-SM01, a drinking-water isolate assigned to the S. maltophilia complex genomospecies Sgn4. Hybrid sequencing was used to generate a closed genome assembly, followed by phylogenomics and MLST for taxonomic placement, pangenome analysis for gene-content context, and genomic-island mapping to identify candidate accessory regions. Functional profiling included BacMet screening for metal/biocide tolerance-associated loci and genome-scale metabolic reconstruction using gapseq. Phenotypic assays assessed crystal-violet biofilm biomass and acute hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) survival as a general oxidative-stress proxy. NG-SM01 clustered within the Sgn4 genomospecies of the S. maltophilia complex and formed a strongly supported sister lineage to its closest available reference genome, GCF_025642255.1 (UFboot = 100). MLST confirmed a newly curated guaA allele ( guaA -909), and the allelic profile was assigned ST1409. Disk diffusion showed limited inhibition by several antimicrobial agents; however, categorical interpretation using S. maltophilia -specific CLSI criteria was applied only to levofloxacin and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, both of which were susceptible. Genomic-island analysis highlighted two candidate loci potentially relevant to stress adaptation: GI_6, carrying an EPS/envelope-remodeling cassette including algL and a GT26-family glycosyltransferase within a panel-restricted architecture, and GI_4, an IME-associated region located near SOS-response genes including recA , recX , and lexA . NG-SM01 formed reproducible moderate biofilm biomass under static microtiter conditions and showed plateau-like survival dynamics during acute H₂O₂ exposure. BacMet screening prioritized Tier-1 metal/biocide tolerance-associated signals, including CzcR-like and AdeL-like regulators and a YfeB-like transport component, while gapseq reconstruction predicted broad transport capacity, including 1,920 transporter entries, of which 23% were metal-related. This single-isolate study identifies genomic and phenotypic features potentially relevant to persistence in a drinking-water S. maltophilia complex Sgn4 isolate. The combined evidence supports a hypothesis-generating “Switch–Shield” framework, in which stress-response regulation and mobilome-associated plasticity may represent a candidate “switch,” while EPS/envelope remodeling may represent a candidate protective “shield.” However, direct causality between GI_4/GI_6 and the observed phenotypes was not demonstrated. Future validation using transcriptomics, mutant-based assays, and DWDS-mimetic free-chlorine or chloramine exposure models, including flow/pipe reactors with detachment and shedding measurements, will be required to test this model.