BINA

Background Bacterial biocontrol agents that antagonize soilborne pathogens are increasingly considered as alternatives to chemical pesticides, but their in-vivo efficacy is often inconsistent, restricting commercial use. The efficacy of a biocontrol agent can depend on rhizosphere competence and its interaction with native microbiomes, which can effect ecosystem functioning. This study investigated the capacity of a Bacillus cereus sensu lato (Bcsl) biocontrol strain (S-25) to persist on roots and in the rhizosphere of cucumber, and evaluated its impact on bacterial and fungal community composition in the rhizosphere, in the absence and presence of Rhizoctonia solani, the causative agent of damping-off disease in young seedlings. Results Following amendment, S-25 abundance in the cucumber rhizosphere decreased by two orders of magnitude, but remained relatively high for the duration of the experiment, in … Background Results

Summary Knowledge of immunoglobulin and T cell receptor encoding genes is derived from high-quality genomic sequencing. High throughput sequencing is delivering large volumes of data, and precise, high-throughput approaches to annotation are needed. Digger is an automated tool that identifies coding and regulatory regions of these genes, with results comparable to those obtained by current expert curational methods. Availability and Implementation Digger is published under open source licence at https://github.com/williamdlees/Digger and is available as a Python package and a Docker container.

Traditional methods for measuring blood oxygen use multiple wavelengths, which produce an intrinsic error due to ratiometric measurements. These methods assume that the absorption changes with the wavelength, but in fact the scattering changes as well and cannot be neglected. We found that if one measures in a specific angle around a cylindrical tissue, called the iso-pathlength (IPL) point, the reemitted light intensity is unaffected by the tissue’s scattering. Therefore, the absorption can be isolated from the scattering, which allows the extraction of the subject’s oxygen saturation. In this work, we designed an optical biosensor for reading the light intensity reemitted from the tissue, using a single light source and multiple photodetectors (PDs), with one of them in the IPL point’s location. Using this bio-device, we developed a methodology to extract the arterial oxygen saturation using a single wavelength light source. We proved this method is not dependent on the light source and is applicable to different measurement locations on the body, with an error of 0.5%. Moreover, we tested thirty-eight males and females with the biosensor under normal conditions. Finally, we show the results of measuring subjects in a hypoxic chamber that simulates extreme conditions with low oxygen.

Liposomes, self-assembled lipid-based nanoparticles, have gained significant attention due to their versatility and potential applications in various biomedical fields. They serve as promising platforms for targeted drug delivery, imaging, and therapeutics. Among the various types of liposomes, radiolabeled liposomes have attracted considerable interest due to their unique capabilities in both therapy and imaging. In therapy, radiolabeled liposomes can effectively transport therapeutic radioactive agents directly to disease sites, allowing for precise and localized treatment. In imaging, radiolabeling enables non-invasive visualization and tracking of liposomes, providing valuable diagnostic information. In this study, we present a technique for surface radiolabeling of liposomes, achieved by introducing a chelating agent onto the liposome surface and optimizing radiolabeling conditions for desired radionuclides …

Battery technologies based in multivalent charge carriers with ideally two or three electrons transferred per ion exchanged between the electrodes have large promises in raw performance numbers, most often expressed as high energy density, and are also ideally based on raw materials that are widely abundant and less expensive. Yet, these are still globally in their infancy, with some concepts (e.g., Mg metal) being more technologically mature. The challenges to address are derived on one side from the highly polarizing nature of multivalent ions when compared to single valent concepts such as Li+ or Na+ present in Li-ion or Na-ion batteries, and on the other, from the difficulties in achieving efficient metal plating/stripping (which remains the holy grail for lithium). Nonetheless, research performed to date has given some fruits and a clearer view of the challenges ahead. These include technological topics …

Liposomes, self-assembled lipid-based nanoparticles, have gained significant attention due to their versatility and potential applications in various biomedical fields. They serve as promising platforms for targeted drug delivery, imaging, and therapeutics. Among the various types of liposomes, radiolabeled liposomes have attracted considerable interest due to their unique capabilities in both therapy and imaging. In therapy, radiolabeled liposomes can effectively transport therapeutic radioactive agents directly to disease sites, allowing for precise and localized treatment. In imaging, radiolabeling enables non-invasive visualization and tracking of liposomes, providing valuable diagnostic information. In this study, we present a technique for surface radiolabeling of liposomes, achieved by introducing a chelating agent onto the liposome surface and optimizing radiolabeling conditions for desired radionuclides …

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the inability of diagnostic laboratories' testing capacity to keep up with the surging demand. The primary reasons were the lack of reagents (e.g., viral transport media and nucleic acid extraction kits) and the low throughput of the gold-standard molecular detection method (RT-qPCR). While the reagent shortages were eventually resolved, the limited throughput of the RT-qPCR remains a bottleneck for high-throughput testing applications even today. Here, we introduce a rapid saliva-based extraction-free molecular assay, which utilizes a non-invasive saliva sampling and extraction-free sample preparation, a fast endpoint RT-PCR and a high-throughput optical modulation biosensing (ht-OMBi) detection platform. We blindly tested 364 paired nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva samples from suspected SARS-CoV-2 cases in Israel. Compared with the gold standard swab …

Domains known as von Willebrand factor type D (VWD) are found in extracellular and cell‐surface proteins including von Willebrand factor, mucins, and various signaling molecules and receptors. Many VWD domains have a glycine‐aspartate‐proline‐histidine (GDPH) amino‐acid sequence motif, which is hydrolytically cleaved post‐translationally between the aspartate (Asp) and proline (Pro). The Fc IgG binding protein (FCGBP), found in intestinal mucus secretions and other extracellular environments, contains 13 VWD domains, 11 of which have a GDPH cleavage site. In this study, we investigated the structural and biophysical consequences of Asp‐Pro peptide cleavage in a representative FCGBP VWD domain. We found that endogenous Asp‐Pro cleavage increases the resistance of the domain to exogenous proteolytic degradation. Tertiary structural interactions made by the newly generated chain termini …

BACKGROUND Myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure are associated with an increased incidence of cancer. However, the mechanism is complex and unclear. Here, we aimed to test our hypothesis that cardiac small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), particularly cardiac mesenchymal stromal cell–derived sEVs (cMSC-sEVs), contribute to the link between post-MI left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) and cancer. METHODS We purified and characterized sEVs from post-MI hearts and cultured cMSCs. Then, we analyzed cMSC-EV cargo and proneoplastic effects on several lines of cancer cells, macrophages, and endothelial cells. Next, we modeled heterotopic and orthotopic lung and breast cancer tumors in mice with post-MI LVD. We transferred cMSC-sEVs to assess sEV biodistribution and its effect on tumor growth. Finally, we tested the effects of sEV depletion and spironolactone treatment on cMSC-EV release …

The effect of doping concentration on the temperature performance of the novel split-well resonant-phonon (SWRP) terahertz quantum-cascade laser (THz QCL) scheme supporting a clean 4-level system design was analyzed using non-equilibrium Green’s functions (NEGF) calculations. Experimental research showed that increasing the doping concentration in these designs led to better results compared to the split-well direct-phonon (SWDP) design, which has a larger overlap between its active laser states and the doping profile. However, further improvement in the temperature performance was expected, which led us to assume there was an increased gain and line broadening when increasing the doping concentration despite the reduced overlap between the doped region and the active laser states. Through simulations based on NEGF calculations we were able to study the contribution of the different …

We have recently reported on a non-volatile memory effect we discovered in correlated oxides with temperature-driven insulator-metal transitions (IMT), such as VO 2, V 2 O 3 and NdNiO 3. The memory appears as a resistance increase at predefined temperatures that are set or erased by simple heating-cooling (ie, ramp-reversal) protocols, thus it is coined the ramp reversal memory (RRM)[1]. The characteristics of this memory effect do not coincide with any previously reported history or memory effects in similar systems.We will review the broad range of experimental features of the RRM, including the ability to write multiple memories of the device, the effects of writing and erasing speeds on the memory, and the role of epitaxial coupling to the substrate in limiting the magnitude of the memory [2-4]. From these we conclude that the main ingredients for the effect to arise are the spatial phase-separation of metallic …

Quantum interferometers represent a powerful class of devices that exploit the principles of quantum mechanics to achieve highly sensitive measurements and precise detection capabilities. In classical interferometry, light waves or matter waves combine and interfere, resulting in constructive or destructive interference patterns that encode information about the system being studied. In the quantum realm, interferometers leverage the unique properties of quantum states, such as superposition and entanglement, to surpass the sensitivity limits imposed by classical physics. We developed a new class of quantum interferometers, namely, the temporal SU(1,1) interferometer. Here, we present the code for numerically comparing classical SU(2) interferometer, regular quantum SU(1,1) interferometer, and our temporal SU(1,1) interferometer.

Self‐healing (SH) of (opto)electronic material damage can have a huge impact on resource sustainability. The rising interest in halide perovskite (HaP) compounds over the past decade is due to their excellent semiconducting properties for crystals and films, even if made by low‐temperature solution‐based processing. Direct proof of self‐healing in Pb‐based HaPs is demonstrated through photoluminescence recovery from photodamage, fracture healing and their use as high‐energy radiation and particle detectors. Here, the question of how to find additional semiconducting materials exhibiting SH, in particular lead‐free ones is addressed. Applying a data‐mining approach to identify semiconductors with favorable mechanical and thermal properties, for which Pb HaPs are clear outliers, it is found that the Cs2AuIAuIIIX6, (X = I, Br, Cl) family, which is synthesized and tested for SH. This is the first demonstration of …

Chemotherapy is the gold standard for cancer treatment. However, the specific and safe delivery of chemotherapies to cancer cells remains a great challenge. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) offer a promising solution as carriers for chemotherapy due to their biocompatibility and distinctive physicochemical properties that facilitate precise drug binding and enhanced tumor penetration through the enhanced permeability and retention effect. Here, we have designed GNPs bound to chemotherapies together with glucose coating and studied their cancer cell killing efficacy in a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell line. We found that the GNPs bound to chemotherapy had a higher cancer cell killing efficacy as compared to controls, as well as a bystander effect. This GNP-based platform holds promise, for advancing chemotherapy-based cancer treatments.

The paradigm of interdependent networks has recently been manifested in experimentally testable lab setup of interdependent superconducting networks. This system experiences an abrupt transition due to the thermal dissipation between the networks but its underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we study the critical behavior and the underlying mechanism of the transition, unveiling its unique microscopic nature. The microscopic characteristics of the transition result in a macroscopic long-living plateau that lasts for thousands of seconds and increases with the size of the system. We characterize the critical behavior of the transition and find that the critical exponents are consistent with those predicted theoretically for percolation of abstract interdependent networks and interdependent ferromagnetic networks, supporting a common universal origin of interdependent systems.

Efimov trimers are exotic three-body quantum states that emerge from the different types of three-body continua in the vicinity of two-atom Feshbach resonances. In particular, as the strength of the interaction is decreased to a critical point, an Efimov state merges into the atom-dimer threshold and eventually dissociates into an unbound atom-dimer pair. Here we explore the Efimov state in the vicinity of this critical point using coherent few-body spectroscopy in 7Li atoms using a narrow two-body Feshbach resonance. Contrary to the expectation, we find that the 7Li Efimov trimer does not immediately dissociate when passing the threshold, and survives as a metastable state embedded in the atom-dimer continuum. We identify this behavior with a universal phenomenon related to the emergence of a repulsive interaction in the atom-dimer channel which reshapes the three-body interactions in any system …

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have garnered significant attention in biomedical applications, particularly as versatile platforms for drug delivery and targeted therapy. The conjugation of GNPs with antibodies offers a promising strategy to enhance their specificity and efficacy in various therapeutic approaches. In this study, we focus on synthesizing different types of GNPs conjugated with antibodies and investigate the influence of various synthesis methods on nanoparticle characterization. The results demonstrated that different synthesis methods lead to different degrees of antibody conjugation on the GNP surface and to varied efficiency on biosystems. This work has the potential to outline design principles that could positively affect the development of targeted nanotherapeutics for various biomedical applications.

Background Meningioma clinical trials have assessed interventions including surgery, radiotherapy, and pharmacotherapy. However, agreement does not exist on what, how, and when outcomes of interest should be measured. To do so would allow comparative analysis of similar trials. This systematic review aimed to summarise the outcomes measured and reported in meningioma clinical trials. Methods Systematic literature and trial registry searches were performed to identify published and ongoing intracranial meningioma clinical trials (PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL via EBSCO, and Web of Science, completed 22nd Jan 22). Reported outcomes were extracted verbatim, along with an associated definition and method of measurement if provided. Verbatim outcomes were deduplicated and the resulting unique outcomes grouped under standardised outcome terms …

Lately, there has been a renewed attention to the study of multimode signals and their ultrafast interactions. One fascinating phenomenon in this field is known as nonlinear multimode dispersive waves. These waves are frequently observed and hold significant applications across diverse physical systems. While the single-mode case of these waves has been widely researched, the multimode scenario remains relatively unexplored. Understanding and studying nonlinear multimode dispersive waves holds great significance in predicting and analyzing wave phenomena within many systems. In our lab, we developed multimode time lens, which can measure the temporal and spatial dynamics of signals inside multimode fibers. We study the interactions of multimode dispersive waves, in both frequency and time domain. We use the multimode time lens we developed to image and analyze the temporal dynamics …

Terpene synthases (TPS) catalyze the first step in the formation of terpenoids, which comprise the largest class of natural products in nature. TPS employ a family of universal natural substrates, composed of isoprenoid units bound to a diphosphate moiety. The intricate structures generated by TPS are the result of substrate binding and folding in the active site, enzyme‐controlled carbocation reaction cascades, and final reaction quenching. A key unaddressed question in class I TPS is the asymmetric nature of the diphosphate‐(Mg2+)3 cluster, which forms a critical part of the active site. In this asymmetric ion‐cluster, two diphosphate oxygens protrude into the active site pocket. The substrate hydrocarbon tail, which is eventually molded into terpenes, can bind to either of these oxygens, yet to which is unknown. Here, we employ structural, bioinformatics, and EnzyDock docking tools to address this enigma. We bring …

Summary Knowledge of immunoglobulin and T cell receptor encoding genes is derived from high-quality genomic sequencing. High-throughput sequencing is delivering large volumes of data, and precise, high-throughput approaches to annotation are needed. Digger is an automated tool that identifies coding and regulatory regions of these genes, with results comparable to those obtained by current expert curational methods. Availability and implementation Digger is published under open source license at https://github.com/williamdlees/Digger and is available as a Python package and a Docker container.