BINA

The success of the human body in fighting SARS-CoV2 infection relies on lymphocytes and their antigen receptors. Identifying and characterizing clinically relevant receptors is of utmost importance. We report here the application of a machine learning approach, utilizing B cell receptor repertoire sequencing data from severely and mildly infected individuals with SARS-CoV2 compared with uninfected controls. In contrast to previous studies, our approach successfully stratifies non-infected from infected individuals, as well as disease level of severity. The features that drive this classification are based on somatic hypermutation patterns, and point to alterations in the somatic hypermutation process in COVID-19 patients. These features may be used to build and adapt therapeutic strategies to COVID-19, in particular to quantitatively assess potential diagnostic and therapeutic antibodies. These results constitute a proof of concept for future epidemiological challenges.

The Leggett–Garg Inequality (LGI) constrains, under certain fundamental assumptions, the correlations between measurements of a quantity Q at different times. Here, we analyze the LGI and propose similar but somewhat more elaborate inequalities, employing a technique that utilizes the mathematical properties of correlation matrices, which was recently proposed in the context of nonlocal correlations. We also find that this technique can be applied to inequalities that combine correlations between different times (as in LGI) and correlations between different locations (as in Bell inequalities). All the proposed bounds include additional correlations compared to the original ones and also lead to a particular form of complementarity. A possible experimental realization and some applications are briefly discussed.

Speckle pattern analysis become a widespread method for remote sensing of various biomedical parameters. This technique is based on tracking the secondary speckle patterns reflected from a human skin illuminated by a laser beam. Speckle pattern variations can be translated into the corresponding partial carbon dioxide (CO_2) state (High or Normal) in the bloodstream. We present a novel approach for remote sensing of human blood carbon dioxide partial pressure (PCO_2) based on speckle pattern analyses combined with machine learning approach. The blood CO_2 partial pressure is an important indicative parameter for a variety of malfunctions in the human body.

Metal-free polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) materials are at the forefront of photocatalytic applications. Nevertheless, the overall functionality and performance of bulk PCN are limited by rapid charge recombination, high chemical inertness, and inadequate surface-active sites. To address these, here, we employed potassium molten salts (K+X–, where X– is Cl–, Br–, and I–) as a template for the in situ generation of surface reactive sites in thermal pyrolyzed PCN. Theoretical calculations imply that addition of KX salts to PCN-forming monomers causes halogen ions to be doped into C or N sites of PCN with a relative trend of halogen ion doping being Cl < Br < I. The experimental results show that reconstructing C and N sites in PCN develops newer reactive sites that are beneficial for surface catalysis. Interestingly, the photocatalytic H2O2 generation rate of KBr-modified PCN was 199.0 μmol h–1, about three times …

The parasitic reactions at the electrolyte/electrode interfaces inhibit the increase of the charging cut-off voltage and the improvement of energy density. Herein, the authors design multifunctional solvent molecules and propose a practical design principle to stabilize the electrolyte/electrode interfaces for high-voltage Li ion batteries.

Rechargeable beyond‐lithium batteries are promising low‐cost alternatives to lithium and Li‐ion technology for large‐scale applications and potential high‐voltage energy storage systems. Sodium‐, potassium‐, and magnesium‐ion batteries are gaining increased attention since these metals and their salts are less expensive, ecofriendly, and more abundant than lithium. High‐performance electrolytes, compatible with anode and cathode, are key to the success of advanced, beyond‐lithium batteries. Recently discovered alkali‐ion and alkaline‐earth‐ion conducting solid electrolytes have become the focus of research by both scientific and industrial communities because of their high safety and energy density. Unlike liquid‐electrolyte systems, the performance of a solid electrolyte dominates the overall performance of a battery. In this …

Myopia (nearsightedness) and presbyopia (aging eye) are the most common refractive errors of the human eye. Technology has advanced toward correcting aberration using various surgical procedures, including laser surgery, as well as prescribing corrective lenses. Hence, the effect of various laser wavelengths on the eye has been extensively studied over the last few decades. Usually, excimer lasers are used for this purpose, which increases the cost of the procedure because they are unique and difficult to manufacture and require regular maintenance. Due to the absorption properties, visible wavelengths do not interact with the corneal layers and hence are currently not used for eye surgery. This study presents the first clinical evidence that a 532 nm laser in combination with an eye-safe fluorescein dye that is in wide clinical use in ophthalmology can be utilized for high-precision ablation purposes due to the …

The electrochemical response of ethereal solutions containing magnesium organohaloaluminate complexes has drawn great interest in recent decades owing to their relevance to rechargeable magnesium batteries, as demonstrated with solutions containing complexes formed by reacting R2Mg and AlCl2R moieties in ethers like tetrahydrofuran (THF). However, most of previous reports focused on battery related performances, and less on the structure of the active species. Herein, we focus on (1) identifying electroactive species and (2) correlating the electrochemical properties of their solutions to the preparation modes: either through reactions of their precursors in THF, or by dissolving isolated crystallized products in the ether solvent. Specifically, we explore the products of the reaction of the Grignard reagent t-BuMgCl with AlCl3 (1:1) in THF, and how their presence in solutions affect their electrochemical …

This paper aims to present initial proof of concept of a non-invasive early diagnostic tool for Alzheimer disease (AD). The approach is based on the identification using Raman spectroscopy and machine learning algorithms of two proteins that are linked with AD and exist in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). As demonstrated in previous studies, the concentration of the proteins amyloid-β and tau may indicate the existence of AD. The proteins’ concentration in the CSF signifies the condition of AD. The current study can contribute to the existing body of knowledge by enabling the development of a non-invasive diagnostic tool that may help with early diagnosis of AD.

Rechargeable Zn-air batteries (RZABs) with non-alkaline electrolytes are a promising type of energy storage devices that potentially combine low cost, high energy density and safety. However, cathode materials for these devices remain poorly developed. We present a systematic study of how structure of carbons affects their performance as cathode scaffolds in non-alkaline RZABs. Ten commercially available types of carbon are characterized and tested in Zn-air battery cathodes with 1M Zn(OAc)2 or ZnSO4 solutions in H2O as electrolytes. At a low current density (0.1 mA cm−2), there is a roughly linear dependence between the roundtrip energy efficiency and the logarithm of BET surface area, and this dependence is relevant across materials with different morphology and graphitization degree. Lower overpotentials at the initial cycles are observed for cathodes that are more hydrophilic. At higher currents (1 mA …

Up scaling of kidney epithelial cells is crucial for renal regenerative medicine. Nonetheless, the adult kidney lacks a distinct stem cell hierarchy limiting the ability to long-term propagate clonal populations of primary cells that retain renal identity. Towards this goal, we tested the paradigm of shifting the balance between differentiation and stemness in the kidney by introducing a single pluripotency factor, OCT4. Here we show that ectopic expression of OCT4 in human adult kidney epithelial cells (hKEpC) induces cells to dedifferentiate, stably proliferate and clonally emerge over many generations. Control hKEpC de-differentiate, assume fibroblastic morphology, and completely lose clonogenic capacity. Analysis of gene expression and histone methylation patterns revealed that OCT4 represses the HNF1b gene module, which is critical for kidney epithelial differentiation, and concomitantly activate stemness-related …

The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT) is scheduled to be launched to geostationary orbit in 2026. It will carry a telescope with an unprecedentedly large field of view (204 deg) and NUV (230-290nm) sensitivity (22.5 mag, 5, at 900s). ULTRASAT will conduct the first wide-field survey of transient and variable NUV sources and will revolutionize our ability to study the hot transient universe: It will explore a new parameter space in energy and time-scale (months long light-curves with minutes cadence), with an extra-Galactic volume accessible for the discovery of transient sources that is 300 times larger than that of GALEX and comparable to that of LSST. ULTRASAT data will be transmitted to the ground in real-time, and transient alerts will be distributed to the community in 15 min, enabling a vigorous ground-based follow-up of ULTRASAT sources. ULTRASAT will also provide an all-sky NUV image to 23.5 AB mag, over 10 times deeper than the GALEX map. Two key science goals of ULTRASAT are the study of mergers of binaries involving neutron stars, and supernovae: With a large fraction (50%) of the sky instantaneously accessible, fast (minutes) slewing capability and a field-of-view that covers the error ellipses expected from GW detectors beyond 2025, ULTRASAT will rapidly detect the electromagnetic emission following BNS/NS-BH mergers identified by GW detectors, and will provide continuous NUV light-curves of the events; ULTRASAT will provide early (hour) detection and continuous high (minutes) cadence NUV light curves for hundreds of core-collapse supernovae, including for rarer supernova …

A stunning loss to the scientific community and to humanity, the news of George Crabtree’s recent demise came as a shock to his numerous colleagues and friends. George was the epitome of an inspirational visionary and an astounding human being, as well as a force for critical and interdisciplinary scientific thought. Remembered by all as approachable, warm, wonderful, kind, curious, fearless, insightful, articulate, inspiring, inclusive, empathetic, intelligent, and impactful, George was the consummate scientist, gentleman, and leader with a deep appreciation for diverse thought, dialogue, and approaches. With so many dimensions to George, we will always remember him as our friend, a thoughtful scholar, a kind soul, and for his smile and laugh. His sudden recent death on January 23, 2023 affected many of us individually and impacted the entire materials research community. George’s immense contributions to …

This paper presents a partially coherent illumination quantitative phase contrast microscopic (PCI-QPCM) prototype. In the PCI-QPCM prototype, the light scattered by a rotating diffuser is coupled into a multi-mode fiber, and the output light is used as the illumination for PCI-QPCM. The illumination wave has a constrained spectrum with a diameter of tens of micrometers, which can reduce speckle noise and will not broaden the dc term of the object wave. In the Fourier plane of the object wave, grating-masked phase shifters generated by a spatial light modulator (SLM) allow for measuring the intensity of the undiffracted and diffracted components of the object wave, as well as the phase-shifted interference patterns of the two. Quantitative phase images can be reconstructed from the recorded intensity images. The proposed PCI-QPCM was demonstrated with quantitative phase imaging of a transparent waveguide and a phase-step sample.

We study non-normalizable quasi-equilibrium states (NNQE) arising from anomalous diffusion. Initially, particles in contact with a thermal bath are released from an asymptotically flat potential well, with dynamics that is described by fractional calculus. For temperatures that are sufficiently low compared to the potential depth, the properties of the system remain almost constant in time. We use the fractional-time Fokker-Planck equation (FTFPE) and continuous-time random walk approaches to calculate the ensemble averages of observables. We obtain analytical estimates of the duration of NNQE, depending on the fractional order, from approximate theoretical solutions of the FTFPE. We study and compare two types of observables, the mean square displacement typically used to characterize diffusion, and the thermodynamic energy. We show that the typical time scales for stagnation depend exponentially on the activation energy in units of temperature multiplied by a function of the fractional exponent.

Speckle pattern analysis become a widespread method for remote sensing of various biomedical parameters. This technique is based on tracking the secondary speckle patterns reflected from a human skin illuminated by a laser beam. Speckle pattern variations can be translated into the corresponding partial carbon dioxide (CO 2) state (High or Normal) in the bloodstream. We present a novel approach for remote sensing of human blood carbon dioxide partial pressure (PCO 2) based on speckle pattern analyses combined with machine learning approach. The blood CO 2 partial pressure is an important indicative parameter for a variety of malfunctions in the human body.

This paper presents a structured illumination microscopy (SIM) reconstruction algorithm that allows the reconstruction of super-resolved images with 2N + 1 raw intensity images, with N being the number of structured illumination directions used. The intensity images are recorded after using a 2D grating for the projection fringe and a spatial light modulator to select two orthogonal fringe orientations and perform phase shifting. Super-resolution images can be reconstructed from the five intensity images, enhancing the imaging speed and reducing the photobleaching by 17%, compared to conventional two-direction and three-step phase-shifting SIM. We believe the proposed technique will be further developed and widely applied in many fields.

Enhancing the image quality of the captured image is one of the prime objectives of modern image acquisition systems. These imaging systems can be broadly divided into two subsystems: an optical subsystem and a digital subsystem. There are various limitations associated with the optical and digital subsystems. One of the crucial parameters that are affected by the limitation of the physical extent of the recording or capturing system is the field of view (FOV). A reduced FOV can lead to loss of information thereby increasing the time for post-processing of images as well as introducing mechanical scanning to achieve a larger FOV. A simple yet efficient technique for FOV enhancement is demonstrated in this paper. An optical element is designed in such a way that it diffracts different wavelengths in the desired manner and the information from different regions of the object is carried by different wavelengths which …

The Leggett-Garg Inequality (LGI) constrains, under certain fundamental assumptions, the correlations between measurements of a quantity Q at different times. Here we analyze the LGI, and propose similar but somewhat more elaborate inequalities, employing a technique that utilizes the mathematical properties of correlation matrices, which was recently proposed in the context of nonlocal correlations. We also find that this technique can be applied to inequalities that combine correlations between different times (as in LGI) and correlations between different locations (as in Bell inequalities). All the proposed bounds include additional correlations compared to the original ones and also lead to a particular form of complementarity. A possible experimental realization and some applications are briefly discussed.

We review in this short perspective the history of cholesterol crystals and crystal structures. We address in particular the helical crystals that form in vitro and in pathology from environments rich in bile acids or from phospholipid membranes. We review the known mechanisms leading to crystals with chiral morphology, from screw‐dislocation mediated growth to mechanisms involving asymmetric mechanical strain. We propose a mechanism for cholesterol helical crystal development based on the monoclinic cholesterol monohydrate crystal structure. We suggest that curvature arises in few layers thick crystals due to the tension induced between the hydrophobic layer and the ice‐like H‐bonded lattice of the water molecules with the cholesterol hydroxy groups. Helicity would ensue through a combination of the curvature and the fast growth of a thin ribbon in one crystal direction.