Browse Articles

Quantification and optimization of platinum–molybdenum carbide interfacial sites to enhance low-temperature water-gas shift reaction

Abstract Pt/α-MoC1-x catalysts exhibit exceptional activity in low-temperature water-gas shift reactions. However, quantitatively identifying and fine-tuning the active sites has remained a significant challenge. In this study, we reveal that fully exposed monolayer Pt nanoclusters on molybdenum carbides demonstrate mass activity that exceeds that of bulk molybdenum carbide catalysts by one to two orders of magnitude at 100–200 °C for low-temperature water-gas shift reactions. This advancement is driven by the precise quantification and elucidation of active sites along the Pt-molybdenum carbide interfacial perimeter. By combining sacrificial CO adsorption per Pt atom, Density Functional Theory calculations, and CO chemisorption measurements, we establish a direct correlation between the monolayer Pt nanocluster size and the number of interfacial perimeters on Pt/α-MoC1-x catalysts. In this work, these findings provide key insights into the active site configuration of Pt/α-MoC1-x catalysts and open pathways for innovative catalyst design, with the interfacial perimeter identified as a crucial factor in enhancing catalytic performance.

A dual-stream model based on PRNU and quaternion RGB for detecting fake faces

The forensic examination of AIGC(Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) faces poses a contemporary challenge within the realm of color image forensics. A myriad of artificially generated faces by AIGC encompasses both global and local manipulations. While there has been noteworthy progress in the forensic scrutiny of fake faces, current research primarily focuses on the isolated detection of globally and locally manipulated fake faces, thus lacking a universally effective detection methodology. To address this limitation, we propose a sophisticated forensic model that incorporates a dual-stream framework comprising quaternion RGB and PRNU(Photo Response Non-Uniformity). The PRNU stream extracts the “camera fingerprint” feature by discerning the non-uniform response of the image sensor under varying lighting conditions, thereby encapsulating the overall distribution characteristics of globally manipulated faces. The quaternion RGB stream leverages the inherent nonlinear properties of quaternions and their informative representation capabilities to accurately describe changes in image color, background, and spatial structure, facilitating the meticulous capture of nuanced local distinctions between locally manipulated faces and real faces. Ultimately, we integrate the two streams to establish the exchange of feature information between PRNU and quaternion RGB streams. This strategic integration fully exploits the complementarity between two streams to amalgamate local and global features effectively. Experimental results obtained from diverse datasets underscore the advantages of our method in terms of accuracy, achieving a detection accuracy of 96.81%.

Lateral olivocochlear neurons modulate cochlear responses to noise exposure

The sense of hearing originates in the cochlea, which detects sounds across dynamic sensory environments. Like other peripheral organs, the cochlea is subjected to environmental insults, including loud, damage-inducing sounds. In response to internal and external stimuli, the central nervous system directly modulates cochlear function through olivocochlear neurons (OCNs), which are located in the brainstem and innervate the cochlear sensory epithelium. One population of OCNs, the lateral olivocochlear (LOC) neurons, target spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), the primary sensory neurons of the ear. LOCs alter their transmitter expression for days to weeks in response to noise exposure (NE), suggesting that they could tune SGN excitability over long time periods in response to auditory experience. To examine how LOCs affect auditory function after NE, we characterized OCN transcriptional profiles and found transient LOC-specific gene expression changes after NE, including upregulation of multiple neuropeptide-encoding genes. Next, by generating intersectional mouse lines that selectively target LOCs, we chemogenetically ablated LOCs and assayed auditory responses at baseline and after NE. Compared to controls, mice with reduced LOC innervation showed greater NE-induced functional deficits 1 d later and had worse auditory function after a 2-wk recovery period. The number of remaining presynaptic puncta at the SGN synapse with inner hair cells did not differ between control and LOC-ablated animals, suggesting that the primary role of LOCs after NE is likely not to protect but instead to compensate, ensuring that SGN function is enhanced during periods of need.

Activation of lysophagy by a TBK1-SCFFBXO3-TMEM192-TAX1BP1 axis in response to lysosomal damage

Investigating Pb2 CAP-binding domain inhibitors from marine bacteria for targeting the influenza A H5N1

The ongoing increase in the prevalence and mutation rate of the influenza virus remains a critical global health issue. A promising strategy for antiviral drug development involves targeting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, specifically the PB2-cap binding domain of Influenza A H5N1. This study employs an in-silico approach to inhibit this domain, crucial for viral replication, using potential inhibitors derived from marine bacterial compounds. Utilizing the MTi-OpenScreen web server, we screened a library of compounds to assess their molecular interactions with the target. This process identified four potential inhibitors: CMNPD25830, CMNPD18675, CMNPD18676, and CMNPD27216. Subsequent molecular dynamics simulations, conducted using the Amber software suite, evaluated their binding affinities and dynamic interactions with the PB2 protein. Notably, CMNPD25830 and CMNPD27216 emerged as the most promising candidates, exhibiting higher binding affinities and more favourable interaction profiles compared to the control molecule. Additional analyses, including post-simulation free energy calculations and free energy landscape analysis, strengthened the potential of these compounds as effective PB2-cap binding domain inhibitors. This comprehensive computational investigation identifies CMNPD27216 and CMNPD25830 as standout candidates due to their superior binding energies and dynamic stability, suggesting their strong potential as therapeutic agents against influenza. This research sets the stage for further in vitro validation and optimization of these lead compounds, potentially supporting the development of more effective influenza treatments.

A tough soft–hard interface in the human knee joint driven by multiscale toughening mechanisms

Joining heterogeneous materials in engineered structures remains a significant challenge due to stress concentration at interfaces, which often leads to unexpected failures. Investigating the complex, multiscale-graded structures found in animal tissue provides valuable insights that can help address this challenge. The human meniscus root–bone interface is an exemplary model, renowned for its exceptional fatigue resistance, toughness, and interfacial adhesion properties throughout its lifespan. Here, we investigated the multiscale graded mineralization structure and their strengthening mechanisms within the 30-micron soft–hard interface at the root–bone junction. This graded interface, featuring interdigitated structures and an exponential increase in modulus, undergoes a phase transition from amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) to gradually matured hydroxyapatite (HAP) crystals, regulated by location-specific distributed biomolecules. In coordination with collagen fibril deformation and reorientation, the in situ tensile mechanical experiments and molecular dynamic simulations revealed that immature ACP particles debond from the collagenous matrix and translocate to dissipate energy, while the progressively matured HAP crystals with high stiffness pins propagating cracks, thereby enhancing both the toughness and fatigue resistance of the interface. To further validate our findings, we built biomimetic soft–hard interfaces with phase-transforming mineralization which exhibited boosted strength, toughness, and interface adhesion. This interface model is generalizable to other material joints and provides a blueprint for developing robust soft–hard composites across various applications.

The disparities and development trajectories of nations in achieving the sustainable development goals

Abstract The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a comprehensive framework for societal progress and planetary health. However, it remains unclear whether universal patterns exist in how nations pursue these goals and whether key development areas are being overlooked. Here, we apply the product space methodology, widely used in development economics, to construct an ‘SDG space of nations’. The SDG space models the relative performance and specialization patterns of 166 countries across 96 SDG indicators from 2000 to 2022. Our SDG space reveals a polarized global landscape, characterized by distinct groups of nations, each specializing in specific development indicators. Furthermore, we find that as countries improve their overall SDG scores, they tend to modify their sustainable development trajectories, pursuing different development objectives. Additionally, we identify orphaned SDG indicators — areas where certain country groups remain under-specialized. These patterns, and the SDG space more broadly, provide a high-resolution tool to understand and evaluate the progress and disparities of countries towards achieving the SDGs.

Towards automated recipe genre classification using semi-supervised learning

Sharing cooking recipes is a great way to exchange culinary ideas and provide instructions for food preparation. However, categorizing raw recipes found online into appropriate food genres can be challenging due to a lack of adequate labeled data. In this study, we present a dataset named the “Assorted, Archetypal, and Annotated Two Million Extended (3A2M+) Cooking Recipe Dataset” that contains two million culinary recipes labeled in respective categories with extended named entities extracted from recipe descriptions. This collection of data includes various features such as title, NER, directions, and extended NER, as well as nine different labels representing genres including bakery, drinks, non-veg, vegetables, fast food, cereals, meals, sides, and fusions. The proposed pipeline named 3A2M+ extends the size of the Named Entity Recognition (NER) list to address missing named entities like heat, time or process from the recipe directions using two NER extraction tools. 3A2M+ dataset provides a comprehensive solution to the various challenging recipe-related tasks, including classification, named entity recognition, and recipe generation. Furthermore, we have demonstrated traditional machine learning, deep learning and pre-trained language models to classify the recipes into their corresponding genre and achieved an overall accuracy of 98.6%. Our investigation indicates that the title feature played a more significant role in classifying the genre.

Antiviral Mx proteins have an ancient origin and widespread distribution among eukaryotes

Mx proteins, first identified in mammals, encode potent antiviral activity against a wide range of viruses. Mx proteins arose within the Dynamin superfamily of proteins (DSP), which mediate critical cellular processes, such as endocytosis and mitochondrial, plastid, and peroxisomal dynamics. Despite their crucial role, the evolutionary origins of Mx proteins are poorly understood. Through comprehensive phylogenomic analyses with progressively expanded taxonomic sampling, we demonstrate that Mx proteins predate the interferon signaling system in vertebrates. Our analyses find an ancient monophyletic DSP lineage in eukaryotes that groups vertebrate and invertebrate Mx proteins with fungal MxF proteins, the largely uncharacterized plant and algal Dynamin 4A/4C proteins, and representatives from several other eukaryotic lineages, suggesting that Mx-like proteins date back close to the origin of Eukarya. Our phylogenetic analyses also find host-encoded and nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses-encoded DSPs interspersed in four distinct DSP lineages, indicating recurrent viral theft of host DSPs. Our analyses thus reveal an ancient history of viral and antiviral functions encoded by the Dynamin superfamily in eukaryotes.

Structure and function of a near fully-activated intermediate GPCR-Gαβγ complex

Abstract Unraveling the signaling roles of intermediate complexes is pivotal for G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) drug development. Despite hundreds of GPCR-Gαβγ structures, these snapshots primarily capture the fully activated complex. Consequently, the functions of intermediate GPCR-G protein complexes remain elusive. Guided by a conformational landscape visualized via 19 F quantitative NMR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we determined the structure of an intermediate GPCR-mini-Gα s βγ complex at 2.6 Å using cryo-EM, by blocking its transition to the fully activated complex. Furthermore, we present direct evidence that the complex at this intermediate state initiates a rate-limited nucleotide exchange before transitioning to the fully activated complex. In this state, BODIPY-GDP/GTP based nucleotide exchange assays further indicated the α-helical domain of the Gα is partially open, allowing it to grasp a nucleotide at a non-canonical binding site, distinct from the canonical nucleotide-binding site. These advances bridge a significant gap in our understanding of the complexity of GPCR signaling.

Prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicide tendency among individual with long-COVID and determinants: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background While mental health alterations during active COVID-19 infection have been documented, the prevalence of long-term mental health consequences remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of mental health symptoms—depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal tendencies—and to identify their trends and associated risk factors in individuals with long-COVID. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search of databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO up to August 2024, targeting observational studies published in English. Study quality was assessed using structured standard tools. The primary outcome was the pooled prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal tendencies in individuals with long-COVID. Secondary outcomes included trends in these mental health problems over time and identification of associated determinants. Results A total of 94 eligible studies were included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence estimates, regardless of follow up times duration, were as follows: depression, 25% (95%CI:22–28%; PI:1–59%); anxiety (adjusted via trim and fill method), 23%(95%CI:21–25%;PI:2–35%); composite outcomes of depression and/or anxiety, 25% (95%CI:23–27%;PI:2–51%); stress, 26%(95%CI:13–39%;PI:1–69%); and suicidality, 19%(95%CI:15–22%;PI:13–25%). The results of meta-regression analyses revealed a statistically significant trend showing a gradual decrease in the prevalence of the composite outcome of anxiety and/or depression over time (RD = -0.004,P = 0.022). Meta-regression results indicated that being female and younger age were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of mental health symptoms. Study design and study setting did not contribute to heterogeneity. Conclusion One-fourth of individual with long-COVID experience mental health symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and stress, which remain prevalent even two years post-infection despite a slight decreasing trend. Factors such as female gender and younger age were linked to higher rates of anxiety and depression. These findings indicate the need for ongoing mental health screening and early interventions to mitigate long-term psychological distress in long-COVID patients.

Structure-guided engineering of a mutation-tolerant inhibitor peptide against variable SARS-CoV-2 spikes

Pathogen mutations present an inevitable and challenging problem for therapeutics and the development of mutation-tolerant anti-infective drugs to strengthen global health and combat evolving pathogens is urgently needed. While spike proteins on viral surfaces are attractive targets for preventing viral entry, they mutate frequently, making it difficult to develop effective therapeutics. Here, we used a structure-guided strategy to engineer an inhibitor peptide against the SARS-CoV-2 spike, called CeSPIACE, with mutation-tolerant and potent binding ability against all variants to enhance affinity for the invariant architecture of the receptor-binding domain (RBD). High-resolution structures of the peptide complexed with mutant RBDs revealed a mechanism of mutation-tolerant inhibition. CeSPIACE bound major mutant RBDs with picomolar affinity and inhibited infection by SARS-CoV-2 variants in VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells (IC 50 4 pM to 13 nM) and demonstrated potent in vivo efficacy by inhalation administration in hamsters. Mutagenesis analyses to address mutation risks confirmed tolerance against existing and/or potential future mutations of the RBD. Our strategy of engineering mutation-tolerant inhibitors may be applicable to other infectious diseases.

Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration

Experience modulates gaze behavior and the effectiveness of information pickup to overcome the inversion effect in biological motion perception

The inversion effect in biological motion suggests that presenting a point-light display (PLD) in an inverted orientation impairs the observer’s ability to perceive the movement, likely due to the observer’s unfamiliarity with the dynamic characteristics of inverted motion. Vertical dancers (VDs), accustomed to performing and perceiving others to perform dance movements in an inverted orientation while being suspended in the air, offer a unique perspective on this phenomenon. A previous study showed that VDs were more sensitive to the artificial inversion of PLDs depicting dance movements when compared to typical and non-dancers if given sufficient dynamic information. The current study compared the gaze behaviors of non-dancers, typical dancers, and VDs when observing PLDs of upright and inverted dance movements (either on the ground or in the air) to determine if the PLDs were artificially inverted. Behavioral results replicated the previous study, showing that VDs were more sensitive in detecting inverted movements. Eye-tracking data revealed that VDs had longer fixations, primarily directed at the depicted dancer’s pelvic area. When performing movements in the air, the depicted dancer was suspended via a harness around their pelvis, providing unique dynamic information that specified the movement’s canonical orientation. In contrast, although typical dancers also attended to the pelvic area, their lack of experience with perceiving and performing vertical dance movements limited their ability to interpret the dynamic information effectively. These findings highlight the role of specialized visuomotor experience in enhancing biological motion perception and have implications for training techniques that leverage visual strategies to improve performance in complex or unfamiliar movement contexts.

Life sets off a cascade of machines

Life is invasive, occupying all physically accessible scales, stretching between almost nothing (protons, electrons, and photons) and almost everything (the whole biosphere). Motivated by seventeenth-century insights into this infinity, this paper proposes a language to discuss life as an infinite double cascade of machines making machines. Using this simplified language, we first discuss the micro-cascade proposed by Leibniz, which describes how the self-reproducing machine of the cell is built of smaller submachines down to the atomic scale. In the other direction, we propose that a macro-cascade builds from cells larger, organizational machines, up to the scale of the biosphere. The two cascades meet at the critical point of 10 3 s in time and 1 micron in length, the scales of a microbial cell. We speculate on how this double cascade evolved once a self-replicating machine emerged in the salty water of prebiotic earth.

Water-mediated ion transport in an anion exchange membrane

Abstract Water is a critical component in polyelectrolyte anion exchange membranes (AEMs). It plays a central role in ion transport in electrochemical systems. Gaining a better understanding of molecular transport and conductivity in AEMs has been challenged by the lack of a general methodology capable of capturing and connecting water dynamics, water structure, and ionic transport over time and length scales ranging from those associated with individual bond vibrations and molecular reorientations to those pertaining to macroscopic AEM performance. In this work, we use two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and semiclassical simulations to examine how water molecules are arranged into successive solvation shells, and we explain how that structure influences the dynamics of bromide ion transport processes in polynorbornene-based materials. We find that the transition to the faster transport mechanism occurs when the reorientation of water molecules in the second solvation shell is fast, allowing a robust hydrogen bond network to form. Our findings provide molecular-level insights into AEMs with inherent transport of halide ions, and help pave the way towards a comprehensive understanding of hydroxide ion transport in AEMs.

Does opting in or out affect the take up of incentives in a long running population-based cohort study: A nested randomised trial in ALSPAC

Background Financial incentives may be important for improving response rates to data collection activities and for retaining participants in longitudinal studies. However, for large studies, this introduces significant additional costs. We sought to determine whether an opt-in or an opt-out option for receiving financial incentives when completing questionnaires offers any cost saving measures. Methods The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children has been ongoing for more than 30 years. It has offered a £10 incentive for returning a partly or fully completed annual questionnaire for >10 years, this is provided by default unless a participant chooses to opt out. For questionnaires completed in 2020 by the original parents recruited to the study and by their offspring, we randomised eligible participants to either opt-out or to opt-in to receiving their vouchers. Logistic regressions determined whether opt-out or opt-in made any difference to the proportion of respondents receiving their vouchers. Results Respondents are less likely to choose to receive a thank you for their time in the form of a £10 shopping voucher if they are asked to opt in compared to if they are asked to opt out. The odds ratio, adjusted for baseline characteristics was 3.94 (95% Confidence Interval: 3.49, 4.45). There was no difference in response rates according to whether respondents were randomised to the opt-in or opt-out group. Conclusions ALSPAC now employs an opt-in procedure for respondents receiving their financial incentive when completing a questionnaire. We recommend similar studies that rely on volunteers consider this option if they want to introduce some cost savings without harming overall response rates.

Lipid-induced condensate formation from the Alzheimer’s Aβ peptide triggers amyloid aggregation

The onset and development of Alzheimer’s disease is linked to the accumulation of pathological aggregates formed from the normally monomeric amyloid-β peptide within the central nervous system. These Aβ aggregates are increasingly successfully targeted with clinical therapies at later stages of the disease, but the fundamental molecular steps in early stage disease that trigger the initial nucleation event leading to the conversion of monomeric Aβ peptide into pathological aggregates remain unknown. Here, we show that the Aβ peptide can form biomolecular condensates on lipid bilayers both in molecular assays and in living cells. Our results reveal that these Aβ condensates can significantly accelerate the primary nucleation step in the amyloid conversion cascade that leads to the formation of amyloid aggregates. We show that Aβ condensates contain phospholipids, are intrinsically heterogeneous, and are prone to undergo a liquid-to-solid transition leading to the formation of amyloid fibrils. These findings uncover the liquid–liquid phase separation behavior of the Aβ peptide and reveal a molecular step very early in the amyloid-β aggregation process.

Assembly of Genetically Engineered Ionizable Protein Nanocage-based Nanozymes for Intracellular Superoxide Scavenging

Obstacles to emergency medical consultation in cases of conflict-related sexual violence

Background Despite the availability of a well-developed holistic care model for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, little is known about the factors that determine late presentation for care post-sexual violence care. Drawing from data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this study aimed to determine obstacles to accessing emergency medical care within 72-hours of sexual violence (SV). Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from 4048 victims of SV treated at Panzi Hospital (PH) in Bukavu city between 2015 and 2018. The factors of access to care within 72h were analyzed using logistic regression. Results 88% of the victims consulted after 72h post sexual violence. Several sociodemographic factors were found to limit access to the medical care post-sexual violence including the victim’s age (p = 0,022), place of residence (p = 0,000) and education level (p = 0,039). Clinical discomfort from pain during urination (p = 0,002) and fear of pregnancy (p = 0,000) were also associated with late assessment of care. Conclusion Seeking medical care within 72 hours after sexual violence within the critical 72-hours timeframe is crucial to avoid several medical complications stemming from SV. Improvement will be achieved by integrating the post-exposure prophylaxis protocol into primary health care, as well as by increasing community awareness of the relevance of timely consultation after sexual abuse.