Browse Articles

Antifouling Spiky Nanoelectrodes Enhance Detection of Bacterial mRNA

Laser-Induced Alignment of Nanoparticles and Macromolecules for Coherent-Diffractive-Imaging Applications

Retraction: The data dimensionality reduction and bad data detection in the process of smart grid reconstruction through machine learning

How the brain decides whether to persist — and when to give up

Photoenolization of <i>α,β</i>-Unsaturated Esters Enables Enantioselective Contra-Thermodynamic Positional Isomerization to α-Tertiary <i>β,γ</i>-Alkenyl Esters

Correction: Examining infantile facial features and their influence on caretaking behaviors in free-ranging Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Combining Organic Cations of Different Sizes Grants Improved Control over Perovskitoid Dimensionality and Bandgap

Correction: Impact of feralization on evolutionary trajectories in the genomes of feral cat island populations

Sexual harassment allegations linked to drop in citations

Identification of Covalent Cyclic Peptide Inhibitors Targeting Protein–Protein Interactions Using Phage Display

Correction: Yield of soybean genotypes identified through GGE biplot and path analysis

Excited State Covalency, Dynamics, and Photochemistry of Square Planar Ni-Thiolate Complexes Revealed by Ultrafast X-ray Absorption

Ebola and Marburg viruses IgG detections in small ruminants and dogs from villages within outbreak areas in Gabon

The Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV) have been in circulation in Africa for several decades and are the cause of numerous outbreaks. There has been very little research on the role of domestic animals in their transmission to humans, but studies have only been conducted in dogs and pigs where relatively high levels of IgG was detected. These levels suggest that ruminants, which have not been studied, should also be investigated. This study aims at evaluating the circulation of MARV and EBOV in dogs, sheep and goats and to assess their exposure to these two viruses. Between November 2018 and March 2023, a total of 448 domestic animal sera or plasma samples, including 128 dogs, 222 goats and 98 sheep, were analyzed by serological and molecular methods. The Luminex technique was employed for the detection of IgG antibodies against EBOV NP, GP, MARV GP and VP40, while EBOV specific and pan-filovirus polymerase chain reaction amplification was used for molecular analysis. All samples tested negative for EBOV and MARV RNA. However, our results showed that 2/128 (1.5%) dogs, 1/222 (0.4%) goats and 3/98 (3.1%) sheep displayed NP and GP anti-EBOV antibodies. In addition, 2/128 (1.5%) dogs displayed GP and VP40 anti-MARV antibodies, while no antibodies were detected in goats and sheep. Over all, these results suggest that dogs and small ruminants are naturally exposed to EBOV and MARV. In the absence of clinically sick individuals, the presence of IgG-positive animals suggests various sources of exposure, such as contaminated fruits with the urine and saliva of bats or dead bats fallen on the ground ate by dogs. These contaminated substrates are both consumed by both dogs and small ruminants. The findings provide new insights into the circulation and exposure of EBOV and MARV in domestic animals, emphasising their potential use as sentinels. Furthermore, they prompt significant considerations regarding the potential risk to humans in this region.

A Dual-Targeted Molecule for Disease-Activatable Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras and Targeted Radionuclide Therapy of Cancer

Causes, management and outcomes of polyhydramnios at a secondary level hospital in Cape Town, South Africa

Introduction Polyhydramnios is associated with both maternal and fetal adverse outcomes. Idiopathic polyhydramnios, regardless of its severity category, was considered not to be associated with an increase in adverse outcomes. In contrast, when conditions such as congenital and chromosomal abnormalities or diabetes mellitus are detected, neonatal and maternal adverse outcomes can be up to five times higher. We thus aimed to document the outcomes of patients with mild, moderate and severe polyhydramnios according to whether an underlying cause was found and which management protocol was followed. Methodology We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all patients with polyhydramnios on ultrasound examination at our secondary hospital between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020. Hospital folders were reviewed. We recorded demographic data, information on underlying causes, management and outcomes. We summarised categorical variables using count (percentage). We tested the association between categorical variables using the chi-square test. Statistical significance was set at p &lt; 0.05. Results A total of 136 patients with polyhydramnios (80 mild, 42 moderate, and 14 severe) were included. Most cases of polyhydramnios were idiopathic regardless of category [81.2% (65/80), 78% (32/42) and 78% (11/14) in the mild, moderate and severe groups, respectively]. The likelihood of occurrence of the composite adverse outcome, was higher with increasing severity of polyhydramnios, with 6.75%. 19.05%, and 35.71% in the mild, moderate and severe groups, respectively, having the composite adverse outcome (p =  0.01). Elective delivery before 40 weeks’ gestation for polyhydramnios in patients with idiopathic polyhydramnios was associated with a significant reduction in the occurrence of the composite adverse outcome compared to awaiting spontaneous labor (3.77% versus 15.79%, p =  0.036),. Conclusions Adverse outcomes were related to severity of the polyhydramnios and were significantly lower in the mild compared to the moderate and severe groups, with the rate of adverse outcome in the mild group comparable to that of the general population. Early delivery before 40 weeks gestation may be associated with benefit in moderate and severe groups of polyhydramnios.

Catalytic Regio- and Enantioselective Hydroformylation of Trisubstituted Alkenes to Construct α-Quaternary Lactams

The global invasion risk of rice yellow stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas Walker (Lepidoptera:Crambidae) under current and future climate scenarios

Rice yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a serious pest, that causes significant yield loss (10-40%) to rice crop in India and other parts of the world. This study emphasizes the prediction of the potential invasion risk, distribution, and further spread of S. incertulas during current and future climate change scenarios in India and the world. The pest identity was confirmed with morphological taxonomy, and the possible habitat distribution and further spread in future climate scenarios were modelled using the MaxEnt algorithm. The climate niche for S. incertulas was also established by analyzing the correlation between the pest occurrence data of 143 locations in India and seven bioclimatic variables viz., bio01, bio02, bio03, bio05, bio12, bio13, and bio15, were chosen for predicting the distribution of S. incertulas. The model performance was good as it exhibited a strong Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve value of 0.949. Based on the Jackknife test, the Bio 13 (precipitation of the wettest month), exhibited the highest gain value and emerged as the primary abiotic factor exerting influence on the potential habitat distribution of this borer. The study demonstrated that bioclimatic variables annual mean temperature (30 °C), and annual precipitation (10-700 mm) favour its multiplication, infestation, and further spread to new areas. As the anticipated habitat range of S. incertulas is of considerable importance for researchers and other stakeholders involved in plant protection, the data generated here may be useful for researchers, policymakers, and farmers for designing better management strategies to mitigate this pest and curtail its spread to new rice growing areas in a rapidly changing global environment.

Little Shop of Dreams

Hydrophobic Ionic Liquid Engineering for Reversing CO Intermediate Configuration toward Ampere-Level CO₂ Electroreduction to C₂₊ Products

The survival of survival auditions: The effects of cultural memes in the Korean TV broadcasting industry

This study empirically analyzes the evolution of cultural products based on theoretical cultural discourse and evolutionary processes. We use data from 116 survival auditions aired in Korea between 2006 and 2017 to examine the cultural memes that shape the continued appeal of survival audition programs. Specifically, we discuss the influence of “memes” in cultural codes, namely, audience empowerment, experts’ involvement, fair rewards, and career opportunities. The results of probit regression analysis with survival audition program reproduction as the dependent variable show that audience empowerment, experts’ involvement, fair rewards, and career opportunities in survival audition programs influence the reproduction of cultural goods. The findings confirm all four hypotheses. The findings of this study have theoretical and practical implications. First, it enriches the theoretical discourse on the evolution of cultural goods by offering a meme-based explanation for their reproduction. Second, it has implications for industry practitioners involved in planning and producing cultural goods by identifying normative cultural codes that affect the longevity of these products.