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A text classification method by integrating mobile inverted residual bottleneck convolution networks and capsule networks with adaptive feature channels
Manganese ferrite-graphite oxide-chitosan nanocomposite for efficient dye removal from aqueous and textile wastewater under UV and sunlight irradiation
Phylogenetic analysis and detection of positive selection in the SIRT gene family across vertebrates
Dietary Nigella sativa nanoparticles enhance broiler growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immunity, gene expression modulation, and cecal microbiota during high ambient temperatures
AbstractEnvironmental heat stress causes significant economic loss in the poultry industry. Therefore, interest has increased in using feed additives to reduce the negative impacts of heat stress on the chickens and improve production performance. This study aimed to assess the effect of supplementing with Nigella sativa nanoparticles (Nano-NS) as an anti-stress and growth promoter in broiler diets under hot climatic conditions. A total of 375 male one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly divided into a control group and four treatment groups (75 chicks/group). The first group fed a basal diet without additives, the second group fed a basal diet supplemented with avilamycin at 50 mg/kg, and the other groups fed a basal diet supplemented with 30, 40, and 50 mg/kg Nano-NS, respectively. Despite that feed intake was not affected, feed conversion ratio, body weight gain, and crude protein digestibility improved in broilers fed Nano-NS (P < 0.05) compared with avilamycin and the control groups. Adding Nano-NS led to an increase in the dressing percentage and the relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius and thymus. Serum high-density lipoprotein levels increased while total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein concentrations decreased (P < 0.05) in broilers fed Nano-NS compared with control groups. Furthermore, Nano-NS supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) serum immunoglobulin (IgG and IgA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, while decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentration. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the Lactobacillus population and a decrease (P < 0.05) in the E. coli and C. perfringens population in chicks fed Nano-NS. In the intestinal tissues, mucin 2 (MUC2) gene expression increased in chickens fed 50 mg/kg Nano-NS compared to other groups. It is concluded that adding Nano-NS (up to 50 mg/kg) reduced the negative effects of heat stress via enhancing growth performance, immune responses, and antioxidant status, modulating the microbial community structure, and increasing the expression of the MUC2 gene in broilers under high ambient temperature.
ATG8 delipidation is not universally critical for autophagy in plants
AbstractIntracellular recycling via autophagy is governed by post-translational modifications of the autophagy-related (ATG) proteins. One notable example is ATG4-dependent delipidation of ATG8, a process that plays critical but distinct roles in autophagosome formation in yeast and mammals. Here, we aim to elucidate the specific contribution of this process to autophagosome formation in species representative of evolutionarily distant green plant lineages: unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, with a relatively simple set of ATG genes, and a vascular plant Arabidopsis thaliana, harboring expanded ATG gene families. Remarkably, the more complex autophagy machinery of Arabidopsis renders ATG8 delipidation entirely dispensable for the maturation of autophagosomes, autophagic flux, and related stress tolerance; whereas autophagy in Chlamydomonas strictly depends on the ATG4-mediated delipidation of ATG8. Importantly, we also demonstrate the distinct impact of different Arabidopsis ATG8 orthologs on autophagosome formation, especially prevalent under nitrogen depletion, providing new insight into potential drivers behind the expansion of the ATG8 family in higher plants. Our findings underscore the evolutionary diversification of the molecular mechanism governing the maturation of autophagosomes in eukaryotic lineages and highlight how this conserved pathway is tailored to diverse organisms.
The optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate for maize in the US Midwest is increasing
Depth-corrected multi-factor dissection of chromatin accessibility for scATAC-seq data with PACS
Structural insights into the interplay between microtubule polymerases, γ-tubulin complexes and their receptors
AbstractThe γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) is a structural template for controlled nucleation of microtubules from α/β-tubulin heterodimers. At the cytoplasmic side of the yeast spindle pole body, the CM1-containing receptor protein Spc72 promotes γ-TuRC assembly from seven γ-tubulin small complexes (γ-TuSCs) and recruits the microtubule polymerase Stu2, yet their molecular interplay remains unclear. Here, we determine the cryo-EM structure of the Candida albicans cytoplasmic nucleation unit at 3.6 Å resolution, revealing how the γ-TuRC is assembled and conformationally primed for microtubule nucleation by the dimerised Spc72 CM1 motif. Two coiled-coil regions of Spc72 interact with the conserved C-terminal α-helix of Stu2 and thereby position the α/β-tubulin-binding TOG domains of Stu2 in the vicinity of the microtubule assembly site. Collectively, we reveal the function of CM1 motifs in γ-TuSC oligomerisation and the recruitment of microtubule polymerases to the γ-TuRC.
On-site biosignal amplification using a single high-spin conjugated polymer
Phosphorylation of a nuclear condensate regulates cohesion and mRNA retention
Earthworm inspired lubricant self-pumping hydrogel with sustained lubricity at high loading
Mediators of the association between nut consumption and cardiovascular diseases: a two-step mendelian randomization study
Machine learning-based interpretation of non-contrast feature tracking strain analysis and T1/T2 mapping for assessing myocardial viability
Carboxymethyl hemicellulose hydrogel as a fluorescent biosensor for bacterial and fungal detection with DFT and molecular docking studies
AbstractA new method was developed to quickly produce carboxymethyl hemicellulose (CM-Hemi) and fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N–CDs) from sugarcane bagasse (SB). These materials were then combined with calcium chloride (CaCl₂) to create hydrogel sensors with antibacterial and antifungal properties. The CM-Hemi@Ca-N–CDs hydrogel was effective against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria compared to CM-Hemi@Ca which give no antibacterial activity. Both hydrogels also exhibited antifungal properties against Candida albicans. Molecular docking studies revealed that the CM-Hemi@Ca-N–CDs hydrogel had strong binding interactions with the protein from Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans (1.92 A°) compard to Escherichia coli (2.01 A°), which was aligned with the inhibition zone measurements from the antibacterial test. The fluorescence microscope revealed differences in the emitted light color when the hydrogel interacted with different types of microorganisms, likely due to variations in their cell walls. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the incorporation of N–CDs into the CM-Hemi@Ca hydrogel enhances its stability and rigidity. This is evidenced by the lower energy gap (Eg), higher electron affinity (μ), and lower softness (S) of the CM-Hemi@Ca-N–CDs compared to the CM-Hemi@Ca hydrogel. Additionally, the formation of amide bonds between the N–CDs and CM-Hemi contributes to the increased rigidity of the hydrogel.These findings supporting th effectiveness of CM-Hemi@Ca-N–CDs as an antibacterial/antifungal sensor.
Supercontinuum generation in scintillator crystals
AbstractWe present a comparative experimental study of supercontinuum generation in undoped scintillator crystals: bismuth germanate (BGO), yttrium orthosilicate (YSO), lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO), lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) and gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG), pumped by 180 fs fundamental harmonic pulses of an amplified Yb:KGW laser. In addition to these materials, experiments in yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG), potassium gadolinium tungstate (KGW) and lithium tantalate (LT) were performed under identical experimental settings (focusing geometry and sample thickness), which served for straightforward comparison of supercontinuum generation performances. The threshold and optimal (that produces optimized red-shifted spectral extent) pump pulse energies for supercontinuum generation were evaluated from detailed measurements of spectral broadening dynamics. The measured cut-off wavelengths at the short-wavelength side are in line with the general trend of blue-shifted spectral broadening on the bandgap of nonlinear material. All the nonlinear materials produced reasonable red-shifted spectral broadenings under conditions of optimal pump pulse energies, with the largest red-shift exceeding 2000 nm measured in GGG crystal. Our results revealed that GGG and BGO (which also had the lowest supercontinuum generation threshold) offer durable, optical damage-free performance at a laser repetition rate of 200 kHz, suggesting that these materials are good alternatives to YAG and KGW for low threshold, high average power supercontinuum generation in the near- and short-wave infrared spectral ranges. We also demonstrated that scintillating properties of bulk materials could be readily studied in the filamentation regime, via multiphoton excitation using near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses.