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Author Correction: FANCD2–FANCI surveys DNA and recognizes double- to single-stranded junctions

Evolution of the Swiss pork production systems and logistics: the impact on infectious disease resilience

Abstract Livestock production systems are complex and evolve over time, affecting their adaptability to economic, political, and disease-related changes. In Europe, disease resilience is crucial due to threats like the African swine fever virus, which jeopardizes pork production stability. The European Union identifies farm production type as a key risk factor for disease spread, making it important to track changes in farm production types to assess disease risk. However, detailed production type data is often lacking in national databases. For Swiss pig farms, we used prediction and clustering algorithms to classify 9’687 − 11’247 trading farms between 2014 and 2019 by one of eleven production types. We then analyzed the pig trade network and stratified farm centrality measures (ICC and OCC) by production type. We found that 145 farms belonging to three production types have substantially higher ICC and OCC than other farms, suggesting that they could be the target of disease surveillance programs. Our predictions until 2025 show an increase both in overall pig trade network connectivity and in proportion of production types with high ICC and OCC, indicating that the structural changes in the Swiss pig production system may increase infectious disease exposure over time.

Blood pressure levels and risk of end-stage renal disease in patients with type 2 diabetes who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention: a nationwide population-based study

Robust and blind video watermarking against online sharing platforms

Retraction: Super-resolution reconstruction of real infrared images acquired with unmanned aerial vehicle

Pressure-Modulated Energy Transfer Dynamics in Mn²⁺-Doped CdS/ZnS Core/Shell Quantum Dots

Retraction: Chemical characteristics of groundwater and source identification in a coastal city

Identification of Cell Receptors Responsible for Recognition and Binding of Lipid Nanoparticles

Identification of antimicrobial peptides from the Ambystoma mexicanum displaying antibacterial and antitumor activity

Antibiotic resistance is a significant healthcare concern. Therefore, identifying target molecules that can serve as antibiotic substitutes is crucial. Among the promising candidates are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). AMPs are defense mechanisms of the innate immune system which exist in almost all living organisms. Research on the AMPs of some amphibians has shown that, in addition to their antimicrobial effectiveness, AMPs also exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. In this study, we identify and characterize AMPs deriving from the skin mucus of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). Upon activity spectrum evaluation of the AMPs, we synthesized and ranked 22 AMPs according to antimicrobial efficacy by means of a prediction tool. To assess the AMPs’ potential as antibacterial and anticarcinogenic compounds, we performed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay for efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and an apoptosis assay on T-47D mammary carcinoma cells. We identified four AMPs that showed significant inhibition of MRSA, of which three also demonstrated anticarcinogenic activity. Gene expression analysis was performed on AMP-stimulated carcinoma cells using a breast cancer-specific RT-PCR array. In cells stimulated with the AMPs, gene expression analysis showed upregulation of tumor suppressor genes and downregulation of oncogenes. Overall, our work demonstrates the antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic activity of axolotl-derived AMPs. The results of this work serve as a basis to further investigate the mode of action and potential use of axolotl AMPs as therapeutic anticancer or antibiotic agents.

Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of Thorium Nitride Complex from Dinitrogen Reduction

Optimizing nitrogen removal with an immobilized biological filler system: realizing stage-independent operational process

Due to the operation mode of traditional activated sludge systems, it is difficult for various functional bacteria to exert their respective advantages. In this study, immobilized fillers for hydrolytic acidification, nitrification, and denitrification were developed to allow independent operation at each stage, enhancing nitrogen removal performance of overall process. The results showed that ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen levels in the effluent stabilized at 0.75–0.83 and 1.5–2 mg/L, respectively, when the total hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the system was 6.4 h and the nitrification unit HRT was 3 h. These values represented significant improvements compared with the traditional activated sludge process. Unit performance tests revealed that reducing the hydrolytic-acidification time to 0 min increased nitrite nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen levels in the effluent of unit A2 to 6.11 ±  0.2 mg/L and 3.67 ±  0.1 mg/L, respectively. This demonstrates that an active hydrolysis - acidification stage is the prerequisite for A2 to fully utilize raw organic matter in the water for remove nitrogen. When raw organic matter in the water bypassed the A2 unit and entered the O1 unit directly, ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) significantly decreased (from 0.32–0.33 to 0.22–0.23 kg/m3 ⋅ d), with further reduction at a low temperature (down to 0.11–0.12 kg/m3 ⋅ d). At this time, the AOR, unaffected by organic matter, decreased only slightly. This indicates that directing organic matter into the nitrification stage is essential for maintaining stability and resisting low temperatures. This process has certain guiding significance for improving nitrogen removal efficiency in municipal wastewater processes.

Leveraging Immunogenic Cell Death to Enhance the Immune Response against Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Tumors

Correction: Understanding the interactions of genotype with environment and management (G×E×M) to enhance maize productivity in Conservation Agriculture systems of Malawi

Ancient reef-building corals had a little help from microbial friends

Cambered Bipyridyl Ligand with Extended Aryl System Enables Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide and Bicarbonate by Mn(bpy)(CO)₃Br-type Catalyst Immobilized on Carbon Nanotubes

Menopausal symptom burden as a predictor of mid- to late-life cognitive function and mild behavioral impairment symptoms: A CAN-PROTECT study

Background Recent evidence suggests the experience of menopausal symptoms (i.e., perimenopausal symptoms) may be associated with cognitive and behavioural changes. We investigated these two relationships in a sample of postmenopausal females. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Setting Participant data was collected from the Canadian Platform for Research Online to Investigate Health, Quality of Life, Cognition, Behaviour, Function, and Caregiving in Aging (CAN-PROTECT) study. Participants 896 postmenopausal female participants. Methods Menopausal symptom burden was operationalized by summing the total number of recalled perimenopausal symptoms experienced. Cognitive function was measured using the Everyday Cognition (ECog-II) Scale, with higher scores reflecting greater severity. Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI) was measured using the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C), with higher scores reflecting greater severity. A negative-binomial regression model examined the relationship between menopausal symptom burden and cognitive function, while a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model examined the relationship between menopausal symptom burden and MBI symptoms. Models adjusted for age, years of education, age of menopausal onset, type of menopause, and hormone therapy (HT). Age of menopausal onset and use of HT in the two associations were investigated with moderation analyses. Results Greater menopausal symptom burden was associated with higher ECog-II total scores (b [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 5.37 [2.85, 7.97]) and higher MBI-C total scores (b [95% CI] = 6.09 [2.50, 9.80]). Use of HT did not significantly associate with ECog-II total scores (b [95% CI] = -10.98 [-25.33, 6.35]), however, HT was significantly associated with lower MBI-C total scores (b [95% CI] = -26.90 [-43.35, -5.67]). Conclusions Menopausal symptom burden is associated with poorer cognitive function and more MBI symptoms in mid- to late life. HT may help mitigate symptoms of MBI. These findings suggest that the experience of menopause may indicate susceptibility to cognitive and behavioural changes, both markers of dementia.

Daily briefing: PubMed blackout stokes fears about database’s future

Closed-Loop Recyclable Solid-State Polymer Electrolytes Enabled by Reversible Lithium Salt Catalysis

Mis-splicing drives loss of function of p53E224D point mutation

Background The tumor suppressor p53 (Trp53), also known as p53, is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer. Canonical p53 DNA damage response pathways are well characterized and classically thought to underlie the tumor suppressive effect of p53. Challenging this dogma, mouse models have revealed that p53-driven apoptosis and cell cycle arrest are dispensable for tumor suppression. Here, we investigated the inverse context of a p53 mutation predicted to drive the expression of canonical targets but is detected in human cancer. Methods We established a novel mouse model with a single base pair mutation (GAG>GAT, p53E221D) in the DNA-Binding domain that has wild-type function in screening assays, but is paradoxically found in human cancer in Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Using mouse p53E221D and the analogous human p53E224D mutants, we evaluated expression, transcriptional activation, and tumor suppression in vitro and in vivo. Results Expression of human p53E224D from cDNA translated to a fully functional p53 protein. However, p53E221D/E221D RNA transcribed from the endogenous locus is mis-spliced resulting in nonsense-mediated decay. Moreover, fibroblasts derived from p53E221D/E221D mice do not express a detectable protein product. Mice homozygous for p53E221D exhibited increased tumor penetrance and decreased life expectancy compared to p53WT/WT animals. Conclusions Mouse p53E221D and human p53E224D mutations lead to splice variation and a biologically relevant p53 loss of function in vitro and in vivo.

Profiling Proteins Involved in Peroxynitrite Homeostasis Using ROS/RNS Conditional Proteomics