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Selective electrochemical methanol to formate conversion via direct CHO hydroxylation on Ptδ+-Ptδ– dipoles
Hormonal contraceptive use is associated with love intensity across 51 countries
Abstract Hormonal contraception has revolutionized women’s reproductive control, yet its effects on romantic relationships are underexplored. We tested the Congruency Hypothesis, which predicts that changes in hormonal contraceptive (HC) use after forming a romantic relationship can reduce relationship quality. Using semi-representative samples from 51 countries ( n = 10,482), we analyzed partnered women aged 45 or younger ( n = 2,224) who reported HC use both when they met their partner and at the time of the study, and who rated their relationship satisfaction and intensity of the three components of love: Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment toward their partner. We found no robust support for the Congruency Hypothesis. However, in a weighted model, participants who changed their HC use pattern reported slightly lower Passion than those who consistently used (or consistently did not use) HC. Our study contributes to the growing body of research on the role of HCs by offering some reassurance: for most women, choosing or changing HCs is unlikely to meaningfully alter their relationship quality, including their experience of love and relationship satisfaction. We acknowledge, however, that our study was underpowered to detect very small effect sizes (e.g., r = .04) reported in a recent meta-analysis, and should therefore not be read as a definitive contribution in the ongoing debate. Although such small effects are generally considered practically negligible at the population level, they may nonetheless carry personal relevance for individual women.
Epigenetic compartmentalization of mitotic chromosomes by phase-separation-driven repulsion between WDR5 and the chromosomal passenger complex
Longitudinal associations of DNA-methylation of OXT, SLC6A4 and NR3C1 genes with the treatment response in patients with depression
Abstract Altered methylation of genes implicated in depression has been proposed as a biomarker for treatment response. Yet, replication remains inconsistent while methodological concerns have grown. In a matched case control study, we investigated DNA-methylation of the NR3C1 (glucocorticoid receptor), SLC6A4 (serotonin transporter), and OXT (oxytocin) genes in peripheral blood of patients with depression ( N = 66) and healthy controls ( N = 66) at baseline and after two weeks of inpatient treatment. We tested group differences, convergence over time, associations with changes in depression severity, and relations to mRNA abundance. At baseline, OXT methylation was significantly lower in patients, but this effect disappeared when adjusting for neutrophil and lymphocyte abundance, highlighting the impact of cellular composition on methylation measures. Despite significant decrease in depression severity, methylation changes in none of the candidate genes were associated with treatment response. In healthy controls, two OXT CpG sites showed negative associations with mRNA abundance, which were absent in patients. These findings emphasize the importance of rigorous control of confounders, especially blood cell composition, in psychiatric epigenetics. Our results add to accumulating null findings for stress- and serotonergic-related genes and caution against overinterpreting peripheral methylation signals as biomarkers for depression.
Structural evidence that a lipid plug controls K2P6.1(TWIK-2) function
Abstract Lipids are integral to ion channel function yet delineating mechanisms by which they affect function remains challenging. Within the K 2P family of leak potassium channels, observation of tubular densities interpreted as alkyl chains occupying lateral fenestrations linking the pore and bilayer raised the possibility that lipid access from the bilayer acts as a regulatory mechanism. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of the human leak potassium channel K 2P 6.1 (TWIK2) and mutants in nanodisc and detergent environments that reveal an unusual conformation in the first selectivity filter (SF1) and a pair of two-chain lipids within the channel cavity (denoted the ‘lipid plug’). The chains of each plug lipid occupy separate binding sites that laterally extend to the bilayer from the channel cavity. One, the upper tail, matches the previously identified alkyl chain binding site. The second, the lower tail, occupies a fenestration common with K 2P 1.1 (TWIK1). Together, they demonstrate a two-tailed means to coordinate each plug lipid that offers a reinterpretation of previous observations. Structures of a K 2P 6.1 (TWIK2) mutant that directs the channel to the plasma membrane and an R257A mutant that increases function yield plugged and unplugged forms. Notably, the R257A plugged form shows a change in lipid plug position, indicating a key role for this residue in lipid binding. Molecular dynamics simulations support the stability of the lipid plug and highlight the role of the Arg257 site in plug coordination. Together, our data suggest a model in which occupation of the central cavity by the lipid plug serves as a mechanism to render the TWIK channels inactive and points to the importance of lipid plug removal to create an ion permeable pore. Such a mechanism could provide a potent way for limiting the leak function of K 2P s based on cellular location or other contextual factors.
Optimized atrazine biodegradation in Egyptian soils via native bacterial isolates and molecular insights using different statistical methods
Abstract Forty four bacterial candidates isolated from Egyptian atrazine polluted soil sites, were examined to select atrazine bio-degraders. Among them thirty four were proved their ability to use it as nitrogen source. Strains HA19 and A7 gave the highest efficient rate to biodegrade atrazine with efficiency of 81% and 81.3%. They were identified and belonging taxonomically to Klebsiella sp. and Ochrobactrum sp. according to sequencing of 16S rRNA and phylogenetic analysis. Both of them confirmed their possession of atrazine degrading genes like atzA , atzC and atzD while atzB was appeared as faint band with strain A7 only. HPLC analysis indicated that the two strains degraded atrazine via the pathway of producing deethylatrazine as an important intermediate. Thus interesting data revealed the possibility of acquisition of these strains for two couples of atrazine degrading mechanisms located on chromosomal and plasmid sites. Applying the advanced statistical method of response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) model has contributed to increase the biodegradation process with both strains by a rate of (94.2%) and (96.7%) on respectively. For our knowledge this article is one of condensed work and applicable way that will introduce bio safety solution for bioremediating atrazine and reducing its toxicity in agricultural polluted fields, as there is little reports from Egypt published before concerning atrazine bioremediation.
Structural insights into PSL polysaccharide assembly and export to the cell surface via the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway
The association of positive and negative affect with care dependence in elderly patients with senile cataract: the mediating role of self-regulatory fatigue
Relay semi-hydrogenation of acetylene via hydrogen spillover on non-reducible Al2O3-supported single-atom catalysts
Climate-driven dust intensification over the Mongolian Gobi in early spring
Stabilizing stiffness is the most limiting factor in human force exertion
Experimental and analytical study on the performance of an efficient octagonal greenhouse solar chimney as a solar dryer
Abstract Agricultural product drying is one of the most widely used preservation techniques for reducing post-harvest losses and extending shelf life. However, conventional solar dryers often suffer from non uniform airflow distribution, thermal instability, airflow stagnation zones, and limited drying efficiency under varying climatic conditions. To address these limitations, this study experimentally and analytically investigates the performance of a novel octagonal greenhouse solar dryer integrated with a solar chimney under different seasonal operating conditions. Unlike conventional rectangular and trapezoidal configurations commonly reported in the literature, the proposed octagonal geometry was designed to enhance airflow circulation, improve thermal distribution uniformity, minimize stagnant airflow regions, and provide improved structural stability under wind loading conditions. Four representative months (March, June, September, and December) were selected to evaluate seasonal performance and simulate year-round operating conditions. Both leafy products (Molokhia and mint) and non-leafy products (tomato and onion) were experimentally and analytically examined under different climatic conditions. The results showed that the proposed system effectively utilized available solar energy, achieving an average thermal efficiency of approximately 50%. The required solar energy to reach the target moisture content was approximately 7.8, 8.1, 4.4, and 3.35 kWh/m² for tomato, onion, Molokhia, and mint, respectively. Leafy products exhibited lower energy demand and were successfully dried within one day, while tomato required approximately 1.5–2 days and onion required 2–3 days to reach safe moisture levels .Thermal analysis indicated a progressive increase in air temperature from ambient conditions to absorber plate temperatures, with the highest performance observed in June and the lowest in December. Furthermore, experimental validation conducted on 15 March showed strong agreement between predicted and measured results, confirming the reliability of the proposed analytical model. Overall, the proposed octagonal greenhouse solar chimney dryer exhibits improved thermo-aerodynamic performance compared with conventional greenhouse dryer geometries and provides a reliable low-energy solution for agricultural drying applications.
Longitudinal analysis of influenza A virus deletion-containing viral genomes reveals key determinants of co-evolutionary dynamics and interference
YOLO with Kolmogorov-Arnold networks and vision-language foundation models for interpretable object detection with trustworthy multimodal AI in computer vision perception
Abstract The trustworthy object detection capabilities of a novel Kolmogorov-Arnold network framework are examined here. The approach addresses a key limitation in computer vision for vehicle detection perception, and beyond. These systems offer limited transparency regarding the reliability of their confidence scores in visually degraded or ambiguous scenes. To this end, a Kolmogorov-Arnold network is employed as an interpretable post-hoc surrogate to model the trustworthiness of the You Only Look Once (Yolov10) detections using seven geometric and semantic features. The additive spline-based structure of the Kolmogorov-Arnold network enables direct visualisation of each feature’s influence. This produces smooth and transparent functional mappings that reveal when the model’s confidence is well supported and when it is unreliable. Furthermore, a bootstrapped language-image (BLIP) foundation model generates descriptive captions of each scene. This tool enables a lightweight multimodal interface without affecting the interpretability layer. Experiments on both Common Objects in Context (COCO), and images from the University of Bath campus demonstrate that the framework accurately identifies low-trust predictions under blur, occlusion, or low texture. This provides actionable insights for acceptance, review, or downstream risk mitigation. The resulting system delivers interpretable object detection with trustworthy confidence estimates. It offers a powerful tool for transparent and practical perception component for autonomous and multimodal artificial intelligence applications.
A comprehensive landscape of human organ N-glycoproteome
Factors influencing local residents’ attitudes toward mental health welfare centers
Discovering multiscale deep formulas in complex systems via neural-guided lambda calculus
Abstract A fundamental problem in science is identifying underlying patterns of complex systems in the form of concise mathematical formulas. Current Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based methods have shown strong performance in single-scale systems, yet remain limited in identifying scale-specific formulas in multiscale complex systems. We present Deflex, an end-to-end AI method to automatically extract multiscale formulas with potentially different forms, including invariants and distributions, from complex systems. Deflex consists of two subsystems named Deflexformer and Deflexpressor. Deflexpressor is a lambda-calculus symbolic regression model for higher-order formulas. Deflexformer is a decomposable deep energy model for learning unified representations across scales. Deflexpressor generates synthetic data to pre-train Deflexformer, which then guides formula discovery by decoupling multiscale latent relationships. Across six representative complex systems with diverse behaviors, Deflex achieves up to 7-fold higher efficiency than the state-of-the-art methods while enabling automated multiscale discovery. Our work could be a useful tool for scientific discovery across disciplines.
Expression of tardigrade extremotolerance-associated proteins improves recovery but not acute stress response of human microvascular endothelial cells
Abstract Vascular endothelial cells (VECs) play a critical role in tissue and organ homeostasis, wound healing, and immune function. VECs are commonly utilized for in vitro cell culture and in vivo tissue engineering applications which experience intrinsic and extrinsic stressors. Severe stress can overwhelm VECs adaptive stress response mechanisms inducing damage and loss of cell viability. Improving VEC stress tolerance is therefore of increasing interest. In this study we assess the transgenic expression of tardigrade extremotolerance-associated proteins (TEAPs), specifically CAHS3, MAHS, LEAM, and Dsup for improved VEC tolerance to heat shock and hyperosmotic stress. In vitro studies of all TEAP-expressing VECs demonstrate up to 45% decrease in population metabolic activity in response to 24 h incubation in hyperosmotic media solution without recovery. Interestingly, acute hyperosmotic stress treatments followed by a 24 h recovery period showed significant increase in population metabolic activity for CAHS3 (186%), Dsup (202%), and LEAM (223%), while MAHS (161%) showed non-significant increases. Similarly, heat shock treatments followed by a recovery period showed significant increases for CAHS3 (198%), Dsup (182%), MAHS (195%), and LEAM (156%). Our results demonstrate that TEAP expression in VECs confer context dependent protective effects with respect to heat shock and hyperosmotic stress, motivating further exploration of TEAPs stress tolerance function and mechanism of action in mammalian cells.