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Passive highly dispersive matching network enabling broadband electromagnetic absorption
Retraction Note: Multivariate optimization of removing of cobalt(II) with an efficient aminated-GMA polypropylene adsorbent by induced-grafted polymerization under simultaneous gamma-ray irradiation
Ammonia electrosynthesis from nitrate using a stable amorphous/crystalline dual-phase Cu catalyst
Efficient and rapid identification of tropical maize inbred lines tolerant to waterlogging stress
High organofluorine concentrations in municipal wastewater affect downstream drinking water supplies for millions of Americans
Wastewater receives per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from diverse consumer and industrial sources, and discharges are known to be a concern for drinking water quality. The PFAS family includes thousands of potential chemical structures containing organofluorine moieties. Exposures to a few well-studied PFAS, mainly perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA), have been associated with increased risk of many adverse health outcomes, prompting federal drinking water regulations for six compounds in 2024. Here, we find that the six regulated PFAS (mean = 7 to 8%) and 18 measured PFAA (mean = 11 to 21%) make up only a small fraction of the extractable organofluorine (EOF) in influent and effluent from eight large municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Most of the EOF in influent (75%) and effluent (62%) consists of mono- and polyfluorinated pharmaceuticals. The treatment technology and sizes of the treatment facilities in this study are similar to those serving 70% of the US population. Despite advanced treatment technologies, the maximum EOF removal efficiency among facilities in this work was <25%. Extrapolating our measurements to other large facilities across the United States results in a nationwide EOF discharge estimate of 1.0 to 2.8 million moles F y −1 . Using a national model that simulates connections between wastewater discharges and downstream drinking water intakes, we estimate that the sources of drinking water for up to 23 million Americans could be contaminated above regulatory thresholds by wastewater-derived PFAS alone. These results emphasize the importance of further curbing ongoing PFAS sources and additional evaluations of the fate and toxicity of fluorinated pharmaceuticals.
Enhanced solar hydrogen production via reconfigured semi-polar facet/cocatalyst heterointerfaces in GaN/Si photocathodes
Information theory and thermodynamic properties for a combined potential model
N-Cadherin promotes cardiac regeneration by potentiating pro-mitotic β-Catenin signaling in cardiomyocytes
Research on accelerating the recycling efficiency of waste batteries for new energy vehicles based on a stochastic evolutionary game model
Publisher Correction: NET formation-mediated in situ protein delivery to the inflamed central nervous system
Multifactorial approach is needed to unravel the maturation phases of human neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells
Abstract Neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (h-iPSC-Ns) provide an invaluable model for studying the physiological aspects of human neuronal development under healthy and pathological conditions. However, multiple studies have demonstrated that h-iPSC-Ns exhibit a high degree of functional and epigenetic diversity. Due to the imprecise characterization and significant variation among the currently available maturation protocols, it is essential to establish a set of criteria to standardize models and accurately characterize and define the developmental properties of human neurons derived from iPSCs. In this study, we conducted comprehensive cellular and network level analysis of the functional development of human neurons, generated from iPSCs obtained from healthy young female peripheral blood mononuclear cells by BDNF and GDNF treatment. We provide a thorough description of the maturation process of h-iPSC-Ns over a 10-week in vitro period using conventional whole-cell patch clamp and dynamic clamp techniques, alongside with morphometry and immunocytochemistry. Additionally, we utilized calcium imaging to monitor the progression of synaptic activity and network communication. At the single cell level, human neurons exhibited gradually decreasing membrane resistance in parallel with improved excitability. By the fifth week of maturation, firing profiles were consistent with those of mature regular firing type of neurons. At the network level, fast glutamatergic and depolarizing GABAergic synaptic connections were abundant together with synchronized network activity from the sixth week of maturation. Alterations in the expression of GABA A receptor subunits were also observed during the process of maturation. The sequence of differentiation events was consistent, providing a robust temporal framework to execute experiments at defined stages of neuronal maturation as well as to use a specific set of experiments to assess a culture’s maturation. The uncovered progression of differentiation events provides a powerful tool to aid the planning and designing of targeted experiments during defined stages of neuronal maturation.
High-entropy engineered BaTiO3-based ceramic capacitors with greatly enhanced high-temperature energy storage performance
Seismic refraction investigation of the shallow bedrock in New Qena City, Eastern Desert, Egypt
Abstract The seismic refraction technique has demonstrated its efficiency as a cost-effective geophysical approach for bedrock investigation, which is very important for major construction projects. In the southern part of New Qena City, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, construction of many domestic facilities is planned. Therefore, a prior investigation focusing on bedrock is required to validate the site for construction and other projects. In this study, a site investigation of the southern part of New Qena City is conducted using the seismic refraction method to estimate the depth and thickness of the bedrock and to present the subsurface structural features affecting the area. Ten seismic refraction profiles were measured, and the data were used for tomographic inversion. The results revealed a four-layered subsurface, with the bedrock represented by the mudstone unit of the Pliocene Durri Formation. This layer is located at a shallow depth and exhibits relatively low velocities as well as lateral velocity variations. This is attributed to the clay content of the layer, the high degree of fracturing, and the lateral facies variation. Therefore, the layer could undergo geotechnical problems that could affect future construction projects in the area. Ten subsurface faults were also detected in the velocity sections.
Declining precipitation frequency may drive earlier leaf senescence by intensifying drought stress and enhancing drought acclimation
Improving ocean reanalyses of observationally sparse regions with transfer learning
Abstract Oceanic subsurface observations are sparse and lead to large uncertainties in any model-based estimate. We investigate the applicability of transfer learning based neural networks to reconstruct North Atlantic temperatures in times with sparse observations. Our network is trained on a time period with abundant observations to learn realistic physical behavior. Evaluating it within a consistent data assimilation framework, this network learns and reproduces its training data’s physical patterns. Additionally, the network is able to transfer these patterns towards a historical ocean heat content estimate in times with sparse observations. Consequently, with infrequent input data, machine learning reconstructions exhibit similar physical structures, while correcting for known errors compared to state-of-the-art data assimilation products. In this manner, transfer learning can impact the initialization and evaluation of climate hindcasts. Furthermore, by exhibiting the capability to accurately transfer results from high to low-frequencies, transfer learning based neural networks showcase their relevance in mixed-frequency measurements beyond climate science.
Olfaction with legs—Spiders use wall-pore sensilla for pheromone detection
The sense of smell is a central sensory modality of most terrestrial species. However, our knowledge of olfaction is based on vertebrates and insects. In contrast, little is known about the chemosensory world of spiders and nothing about how they perform olfaction despite their important ecological role. The orb-weaving spider Argiope bruennichi lends itself to an in-depth study on olfaction as it is one of the few spider species whose volatile sex pheromone, emitted by females to attract males, is known. We combined ultrastructural and electrophysiological analyses and found that previously overlooked sensilla with wall pores are abundant on all walking legs of A. bruennichi males. We compared the ultrastructure of these wall-pore sensilla with those known to perform olfaction in insects, exploring similarities and differences. Electrophysiological single sensillum recordings demonstrated that the wall-pore sensilla in A. bruennichi respond highly sensitive and in a concentration-dependent manner to the sex pheromone. Our study demonstrates male-specific sensilla for detecting signaling females, whereas females and subadult males are devoid of wall pore sensilla. In a preliminary comparative morphological analysis using 19 species from 16 spider families, we found that wall-pore sensilla occur in male spiders from most, but not in basally branching clades or in Salticids, suggesting that wall-pore sensilla evolved at least once within spiders and were lost at least once. This research significantly expands our knowledge of the sensory ecology of spiders, will stimulate studies on the diversity and function of sensilla, as well as studies on the evolution of olfaction in arthropods.