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Traumatic injuries, neurodegenerative diseases and oxidative stress serve as the early biomarkers for neuronal damage and impede angiogenesis and subsequently neuronal growth. Considering this, the present work aimed to develop a poly(N-acryloylglycine)-co-(acrylamide)-co-(N-acryloylglutamate) hydrogel [p(NAG-Ac-NAE)] with angiogenesis/neurogenesis properties. As constituents of this polymer modulate their vital role in biological functions, inhibitory neurotransmitter glycine regulates neuronal homeostasis, and glutamatergic signalling regulates angiogenesis. The p(NAG-Ac-NAE) hydrogel is a highly branched, biodegradable and pH-responsive polymer with a very high swelling behavior of 6188%. The mechanical stability (G′, 2.3–2.7 kPa) of this polymeric hydrogel is commendable in the differentiation of mature neurons. This hydrogel is biocompatible (as tested in HUVEC cells) and helps to …

Restriction-modification (R-M) systems, present in most bacterial genomes, protect against phage infection by detecting and degrading invading foreign DNA. However, like many prokaryotic anti-phage systems, R-M systems pose a significant risk of auto-immunity, exacerbated by the presence of hundreds to thousands of potential cleavage sites in the bacterial genome. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, restriction inactivation upon growth at high temperatures was previously described, however, which system is being inactivated, the underlying mechanism, as well as the timing of recovery, remain unknown. Here, we report that P. aeruginosa Type I methyltransferase (HsdMS) and restriction endonuclease (HsdR) components are degraded by two Lon-like proteases when replicating above 41 °C, which induces partial genome hypomethylation and simultaneously prevents self-targeting, respectively. Interestingly, upon return to 37 °C, methyltransferase activity returns gradually, with restriction activity not fully recovering for over 60 bacterial generations, representing the longest bacterial memory to our knowledge. Forced expression of HsdR over the first 45 generations is toxic, demonstrating the fitness benefit of HsdR inactivation. Our findings demonstrate that type I R-M is tightly regulated post-translationally with a remarkable memory effect to ensure genomic stability and emphasize the importance of mitigating auto-toxicity for bacterial defense systems.

The microperoxidase-11 hemopeptide exhibits configuration-dependent selectivity for guanine-quadruplexes by specifically uncaging c-MYC guanine-quadruplexes from a duplex DNA.

The time-multiplexing super resolution concept requires post-processing for extracting the super-resolved image. Moreover, to perform the post-processing image restoration one needs to know the exact high-resolution encoding pattern. Both of these limiting conditions are overcome by the method and experiment reported in this Letter.

Optical properties determine how light interacts with biological tissues. The current methods for measuring these optical properties are influenced by both deep and superficial skin layers. Polarization‐based methods have been proposed in order to determine the influence of deep layer scattering. Polarized light allows for the separation of ballistic photons from diffuse ones, enhancing image contrast and resolution while providing additional tissue information. The Q‐sensing technique captures co‐polarized I∥$$ \left({I}_{\parallel}\right) $$ and cross‐polarized I⊥$$ \left({I}_{\perp}\right) $$ signals, making it possible to isolate the superficial scattering. However, the random structure of tissues leads to rapid depolarization of the polarized light. Detecting where the light becomes depolarized aids in sensing abnormalities within the tissues. Hence, this research focuses on identifying where depolarization occurs …

Fe–N–C catalysts are currently the leading candidates to replace Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. To maximize their activity, it is necessary to optimize their structure to allow high active site density on one hand, and hierarchical porous structure that will allow good mass transport of reactants and products to and from the active sites on the other hand. Hence, the hierarchical structure of the catalyst plays an important role in the balance between the electrochemical active site density and the mass transport resistance. Aerogels were synthesized in this work to study the interplay between these two parameters. Aerogels are covalent organic frameworks with ultra-low density, high porosity, and large surface area. The relative ease of tuning the composition and pore structure of aerogels make them prominent candidates for catalysis. Herein, we report on a …

Lead chalcogenides are compelling materials for nanophotonics and optoelectronics due to their high refractive indices, extreme thermo‐optic coefficients, and high transparency in the mid‐infrared (MIR). In this study, PbTe hoppercubes (HC, face‐open box cubes) are synthesized and explored for their MIR resonant characteristics. Single‐particle microspectroscopy uncovered deep‐subwavelength light localization, with a spectral response dominated by both fundamental and multiple high‐order Mie‐resonant modes. Nanoimaging mapping using scattering‐type scanning near‐field optical microscopy (s‐SNOM) reveals that the scattering at the center of the HC is reduced by more than five times compared to the edges. 2D‐Hyperspectral scans conducted using a low‐power broadband MIR source and nanometer spatial resolutions provided information on the local amplitude and phase‐resolved near‐fields …

Adaptive Immune Receptor Repertoire sequencing (AIRR-seq) is critical for our understanding of the adaptive immune system's dynamics in health and disease. Reliable analysis of AIRR-seq data depends on accurate Immunoglobulin (Ig) sequence alignment. Various Ig sequence aligners exist, but there is no unified benchmarking standard representing the complexities of AIRR-seq data, obscuring objective comparisons of aligners across tasks. Here, we introduce GenAIRR, an efficient simulation framework for generating Ig sequences alongside their ground truths. GenAIRR realistically simulates the intricacies of V(D)J recombination, somatic hypermutation, and an array of sequence corruptions. We comprehensively assessed prominent Ig sequence aligners across various metrics, unveiling unique performance characteristics for each aligner. The GenAIRR-produced datasets, combined with the proposed rigorous evaluation criteria, establish a solid basis for unbiased benchmarking of immunogenetics computational tools. It sets up the ground for further improving the crucial task of Ig sequence alignment, ultimately enhancing our understanding of adaptive immunity.

Nickel‐rich cathode materials such as LiNi0.9Co0.05Mn0.05O2 (NMC90) have gained attention due to their ability to deliver high energy densities while being cost‐effective for Lithium‐ion battery manufacturing. However, NMC90 cathodes suffer irreversible parasitic reactions such as electrolyte decomposition, severe capacity fading and impedance build‐up upon prolonged cycling. Herein, we synthesize a conformal ultrathin, surface protection layer on NMC90 powder using ZnxOy via atomic layer deposition technique (ZnxOy@NMC90). Prolonged electrochemical investigation of full cells at high discharge rates of 2 C shows that ZnxOy@NMC90 cells yielded ~31 % improvement in discharge capacity compared to pristine NMC90. Furthermore, operando electrochemical mass spectroscopy studies show that the ZnxOy@NMC90 cells have significantly suppressed electrolyte decomposition as compared to …

Complete decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial sectors is critical to reach the carbon neutrality goal set for 2050. The production of nitrogen-containing fertilizers (N-fertilizers) is responsible for 2.1% of the overall global carbon dioxide emissions. Urea is the most common N-fertilizer, and it is currently produced through the Bosch-Meiser process starting from ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Electrochemical production of urea can reduce drastically the emission of greenhouse gases and the energy required for the process. Promising results were recently reported using nitrate (NO3-) and CO2 as reagents with increasing production rate and Faradaic efficiency. In this mini-review, we summarize the most recent studies, including reaction mechanisms, electrocatalysts, and detection methods, highlighting the challenges in the field. A roadmap for future developments is envisioned with the scope of …

In recent years, there has been a lot of interest in biodegradable surface-engineered iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) because they could be used in drug delivery and other biomedical fields. This chapter gives an overview of the current state of research on how to make biodegradable IONPs, how to engineer their surfaces, and how to make them work for drug delivery and other biomedical applications. Because these nanoparticles are biodegradable, they will break down and leave the body in a safe way, reducing worries about toxicity. Also, the surface of IONPs can be changed to make them more stable, biocompatible, and able to target specific cells or tissues. This makes it easier for drugs to get to where they need to go. The review talks about how natural polymers, peptides, and targeting ligands are used to change the surface, as well as how these changes affect the physicochemical properties and …

This study delves into the critical role of customized material design and synthesis methods in influencing the performance of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs). It introduces a novel approach to obtain platinum-free electrocatalysts (PGM-free), based on the controlled integration of iron active sites onto the surface of silica nanoparticles (NPs) by using nitrogen-based surface ligands. These NPs are used as hard templates to form tailored nanostructured electrocatalysts with an improved iron dispersion into the carbon matrix. Utilizing a wide array of analytical techniques including infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction and surface area measurements, this work provides insight into the physical parameters that are critical for the ORR electrocatalysis with PGM-free electrocatalysts. These findings underscore the potential …

Calcium (Ca) metal batteries, due to the high crustal abundance and potential for dendrite-free cycling of Ca, are promising alternative to current lithium battery chemistry. Ca deposition in aprotic organic electrolytes had been stalled by ion-blocking passivation layers on Ca metal. This limitation was recently overcome by using borate-based electrolyte solutions, but the electrode/electrolyte interfacial chemistry enabling reversible Ca metal deposition remains unclear. This study elucidates the formation and dynamic evolution of passivation layers upon immersion of Ca metal electrodes and during electrochemical Ca deposition/dissolution processes in a representative calcium tetrakis(hexafluoroisopropyloxy)-borate (Ca[B(hfip)4]2) and glyme electrolyte solution. Upon ageing, a native passivation layer comprising porous Ca metal and Ca ion conducting solid-electrolyte interphase is formed. In subsequent …

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 …

The progression of kidney damage in chronic kidney disease (CKD) involves multiple post-injury stages and complex cellular and molecular mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. In our study we set to characterize the dynamics of mRNA splicing following kidney injury. To this end, we analyzed publicly available bulk RNA-seq data covering nine time points following a kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) mouse experiment. Using topic modeling we discerned five distinct temporal phases corresponding to the following cell states: 'early injury response', 'injury', 'repairing', 'failed recovery', and 'healthy proximal tubule'. Additionally, we discovered a set of genes that are alternatively spliced between selected time points associated with these cell states, some of which are related to injury, stress, EMT, and apoptosis. Finally, we found several putative splicing regulators that are differentially expressed between the different time points and whose binding motifs are enriched in the vicinity of alternatively spliced exons, indicating that they may play critical roles in mRNA splicing dynamics following kidney injury and repair. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in kidney injury and repair, offering potential avenues for developing targeted therapeutic strategies for acute kidney injury (AKI) and its progression to CKD.

A-to-I RNA editing is an important cellular process that modifies genomically encoded information during transcription, to generate various RNA isoforms from a single DNA sequence. It involves the conversion of specific adenosines in the RNA sequence to inosines by ADAR proteins, resulting in their recognition as guanosines by cellular machinery, and as such plays a vital role in neuronal and immune functions. Given the widespread occurrence of A-to-I RNA editing events across the animal kingdom, with thousands to millions of editing sites found in the transcriptomes of organisms such as flies and humans, identifying the critical sites and understanding their in-vivo functions remains a challenging task. Here we show for the first time the physiological importance of a single editing site, found within the extracellular domain of the glutamate-gated chloride channel (GluClα), and bridge the gap between its evolutionary conservation across Drosophila species and its function in shaping the behavior of adult flies. We used genomic editing to ablate editing at this specific site, such that the endogenous channel harbors only the unedited version and used a battery of behavioral paradigms to analyze the effects on various features of adult behavior. We provide evidence that GluClαunedited flies exhibit reduced olfactory responses to both appetitive and aversive odors, as well as impaired pheromone-dependent social interactions, and that editing of this site is required for proper processing of olfactory information in olfactory projection neurons. Our findings demonstrate that evolutionary conservation is a useful criterion to pinpoint which of the many …

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Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XVI Page 1 PROGRESS IN BIOMEDICAL OPTICS AND IMAGING Vol. 25 No. 46 Volume 12861 Proceedings of SPIE, 1605-7422, V. 12861 SPIE is an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XVI Amos Danielli Benjamin L. Miller Sharon M. Weiss Editors 28–29 January 2024 San Francisco, California, United States Sponsored and Published by SPIE Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XVI, edited by Amos Danielli, Benjamin L. Miller, Sharon M. Weiss, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 12861, 1286101 © 2024 SPIE · 1605-7422 · doi: 10.1117/12.3030107 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 12861 1286101-1 Page 2 The papers in this volume were part of the technical conference cited on the cover and title page. Papers were selected …

Quantum tunneling (QT) is not an effect often considered in chemistry, and rightfully so. However, in many cases it is significant, and in some cases it is even considerable. In this chapter we will describe the basic tenets of QT with a focus on catalysis, followed by some of the most important tools to study and compute them. The chapter goes on to address the title of the chapter by discussing several clear cases of QT for hydrogen-based reactions in organometallic, enzymatic, astrochemical, and organic systems. The insights highlighted in the chapter showcase the importance of QT in specific catalyzed reactions and help uncover the instances that are worth of attention.

Here we propose a not pupil‐dependent microsaccades tracking technique and a novel detection method. We present a proof of concept for detecting microsaccades using a non‐contact laser‐based photonic system recording and processing the temporal changes of speckle patterns scattered from an eye sclera. The data, simultaneously recorded by the speckle‐based tracker (SBT) and the video‐based eye tracker (Eyelink), was analyzed by the frequently used detection method of Engbert and Kliegl (E&K) and by advanced machine learning detection (MLD) techniques. We detected 93% of microsaccades in the SBT data out of microsaccades detected in the Eyelink data with the E&K method. By utilizing MLD, a precision of 86% was achieved. The findings of our study demonstrate a potential improvement in measuring tiny eye movements, such as microsaccades, using speckle‐based eye tracking and, thus …

Lignin, an aromatic biopolymer, in the terrestrial lignocellulosic biomass constitutes the single largest and sustainable source of biofuels and biochemicals. The recalcitrant nature of lignin is a hindrance to its chemical or biochemical conversion. Moreover, its insolubility in water too is a major challenge in its quantification which is a necessary step prior to and after its conversion. Though there are celebrated quantification methods like the classical Klason lignin method and the acetyl bromide solubilisation (ABSL) method they are not environmentally friendly as harmful chemicals are used in these processes. State of the art analytical techniques based on NMR, HPLC and GC-MS are also being developed for the quantification of lignin owing to the strategic significance of its detection and estimation. Addressing these issues, herein we report a simple and environmentally friendly method for the quantification of lignin (alkali, low sulfonate content) in a two-step process using water as the solvent for the solubilisation of lignin, which is indeed a breakthrough. Clear aqueous solutions of lignin were obtained by high-speed stirring using an ultra-turrax. The aqueous solutions of lignin showed characteristic absorbance at 306 nm. A linear relationship between the amount of lignin and the absorbance at 306 nm is observed that formed the basis of this novel analytical method for the quantification of lignin.