Nutritional consistency of macroalgae across a sea ice cover gradient along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

Sea ice can profoundly influence photosynthetic organisms by altering subsurface irradiance, but it is susceptible to changes in the climate. The patterns and timing of sea ice cover can vary on a monthly to annual timescale in small sub-regions of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). During the latter part of the 20th century, sea ice coverage significantly decreased in the WAP, a trend that aligns with warming in this area.

Classical and quantum trial wave functions in auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo applied to oxygen allotropes and a CuBr2 model system.

In this work, we test a recently developed method to enhance classical auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) calculations with quantum computers against examples from chemistry and material science, representative of classes of industry-relevant systems. As molecular test cases, we calculate the energy curve of H4 and the relative energies of ozone and singlet molecular oxygen with respect to triplet molecular oxygen, which is industrially relevant in organic oxidation reactions. We find that trial wave functions beyond single Slater determinants improve the performance of AFQMC and allow it to generate energies close to chemical accuracy compared to full configuration interaction or experimental results.

Fishers' knowledge on a large floodplain river in South America. Contributions for sustainable management of inland fisheries.

Unlabelled: This study presents a comparison between fishers' knowledge and fiscal records about the structure of inland fisheries in the Paraná River (Argentina). First of all, we characterized the fishing population according to the main demographic and economic indicators, identifying two different fishing areas: the northern and southern sections in the lower La Plata basin. Secondly, we carried out a comparative analysis of fiscal fishery records (from two commercial sets: 1930-1984 and 2011-2019) and local fishers' knowledge on inland commercial fisheries (frequency of occurrence and abundance).

Sequence-Specific Features of Short Double-Strand, Blunt-End RNAs Have RIG-I- and Type 1 Interferon-Dependent or -Independent Anti-Viral Effects.

Pathogen-associated molecular patterns, including cytoplasmic DNA and double-strand (ds)RNA trigger the induction of interferon (IFN) and antiviral states protecting cells and organisms from pathogens. Here we discovered that the transfection of human airway cell lines or non-transformed fibroblasts with 24mer dsRNA mimicking the cellular micro-RNA (miR)29b-1* gives strong anti-viral effects against human adenovirus type 5 (AdV-C5), influenza A virus X31 (H3N2), and SARS-CoV-2. These anti-viral effects required blunt-end complementary RNA strands and were not elicited by corresponding single-strand RNAs.

Who Cares More about Chemical Defenses - the Macroalgal Producer or Its Main Grazer?

The consequences of defensive secondary metabolite concentrations and interspecific metabolite diversity on grazers have been extensively investigated. Grazers which prefer certain food sources are often found in high abundance on their host and as a result, understanding the interaction between the two is important to understand community structure. The effects of intraspecific diversity, however, on the grazer are not well understood.

Autonomous materials synthesis via hierarchical active learning of nonequilibrium phase diagrams.

Autonomous experimentation enabled by artificial intelligence offers a new paradigm for accelerating scientific discovery. Nonequilibrium materials synthesis is emblematic of complex, resource-intensive experimentation whose acceleration would be a watershed for materials discovery. We demonstrate accelerated exploration of metastable materials through hierarchical autonomous experimentation governed by the Scientific Autonomous Reasoning Agent (SARA).

Regulation of glucose responsive protein (GRP) gene expression by insulin.

While screening for insulin-induced genes, we identified two members of a family of stress-induced genes referred to as glucose-regulated proteins (GRPs). GRPs are members of the stress-responsive superfamily of genes which also includes heat shock proteins (HSPs). The GRP proteins are not normally heat-inducible, but are overproduced when cells are starved of glucose.

The 2021 room-temperature superconductivity roadmap.

Designing materials with advanced functionalities is the main focus of contemporary solid-state physics and chemistry. Research efforts worldwide are funneled into a few high-end goals, one of the oldest, and most fascinating of which is the search for an ambient temperature superconductor (A-SC). The reason is clear: superconductivity at ambient conditions implies being able to handle, measure and access a single, coherent, macroscopic quantum mechanical state without the limitations associated with cryogenics and pressurization.

Occurrence of Escherichia coli non-susceptible to quinolones in faecal samples from fluoroquinolone-treated, contact and control pigs of different ages from 24 Swiss pig farms.

Background: Despite their indispensability in human medicine, fluoroquinolones (FQ) are used for the treatment of bacterial infections in farm animals which increases the risk of transferring FQ-resistant bacteria into the environment and via the food chain to humans. The objectives of this observational study were to follow-up of the presence of quinolone non-susceptible Escherichia coli (QNSE) qualitatively and quantitatively in faecal samples of pigs at four time points (2 weeks old, 4 weeks old, 2 weeks post weaning and during fattening period). Moreover differences between groups of FQ-treated pigs, pigs with contact to treated pigs and control pigs were investigated.

Gentamicin plasma concentrations in hospitalized horses and retrospective minimal inhibitory concentrations of gram-negative equine pathogens.

Objectives: The optimal dosage regimen of gentamicin in horses is still under investigation. The objectives of this study were to determine gentamicin plasma concentrations in hospitalized horses treated with 10 mg/kg gentamicin (IV, q 24 h) and to determine whether a plasma concentration to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ratio of 10:1 is reached for equine pathogens using this dose.

Design: Prospective clinical observational study; retrospective study on MICs of 131 gram-negative bacteria isolated from horses (2012-2015).

Optical Identification of Materials Transformations in Oxide Thin Films.

Recent advances in high-throughput experimentation for combinatorial studies have accelerated the discovery and analysis of materials across a wide range of compositions and synthesis conditions. However, many of the more powerful characterization methods are limited by speed, cost, availability, and/or resolution. To make efficient use of these methods, there is value in developing approaches for identifying critical compositions and conditions to be used as knowledge for follow-up characterization with high-precision techniques, such as micrometer-scale synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD).

Low-Energy Phases of Bi Monolayer Predicted by Structure Search in Two Dimensions.

We employ an ab-initio structure search algorithm to explore the configurational space of bismuth in quasi-two dimensions. A confinement potential is introduced to restrict the movement of atoms within a predefined thickness to find the stable and metastable forms of monolayer Bi. In addition to the two known low-energy structures (puckered monoclinic and buckled hexagonal), our calculations predict three new phases: α, β, and γ.

Commercial fisheries in a mega unregulated floodplain river: Assessment of the most favourable hydrological conditions for its preservation.

This paper deals with the hydrological variability effects on the primary commercial fish species inhabiting the main channel and the floodplain of the large Paraná River in its middle reaches in Argentina. Analysing more than eight decades (1935-2016) of information on the most frequent and abundant commercial species in conjunction with hydrological levels and temperature, our results show that spring-summer floods of a certain magnitude (c. 6 m) and durations (> 80 days) are crucial for sustaining commercial fisheries.

Optimized symmetry functions for machine-learning interatomic potentials of multicomponent systems.

Current machine-learning methods to reproduce potential energy landscapes suffer from an unfavorable computational scaling with respect to the number of chemical species. In this work, we propose a new approach by using optimized symmetry functions to explore similarities of structures in multicomponent systems in order to yield linear complexity. We combine these symmetry functions with the charge equilibration via neural network technique, a reliable artificial neural network potential for ionic materials, and apply this method to study alkali-halide materials MX with 6 chemical species (M = {Li, Na, K} and X = {F, Cl, Br}).

Prospective Determination of Aspirin Sensitivity in Patients Resistant to Low Dose Aspirin: A Proof of Concept Study.

This study tested the capability of an assay to predict aspirin response and reduce ischemic events, and healthcare costs, and delays to optimal treatment. Patients who needed aspirin in the course of normal medical care were included. Patients were excluded if they had disorders affecting platelet function, alcohol use within 24 hours of a test, or NSAID use.

First-Principles Study of Lithium Cobalt Spinel Oxides: Correlating Structure and Electrochemistry.

Embedding a lithiated cobalt oxide spinel (LiCoO, or LiCoO) component or a nickel-substituted LiCoNi O analogue in structurally integrated cathodes such as xLiMnO·(1- x)LiM'O (M' = Ni/Co/Mn) has been recently proposed as an approach to advance the performance of lithium-ion batteries. Here, we first revisit the phase stability and electrochemical performance of LiCoO synthesized at different temperatures using density functional theory calculations. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the occurrence of low- and high-temperature structures (i.

High-pressure discovery of β-NiBi.

Herein, we present the discovery of a new high-pressure phase in the Ni-Bi system, β-NiBi, which crystallizes in the TlI structure type. The powerful technique of in situ high-pressure and high-temperature powder X-ray diffraction enabled observation of the formation of β-NiBi and its reversible reconversion to the ambient pressure phase, α-NiBi.

Prediction of superconducting iron-bismuth intermetallic compounds at high pressure.

The synthesis of materials in high-pressure experiments has recently attracted increasing attention, especially since the discovery of record breaking superconducting temperatures in the sulfur-hydrogen and other hydrogen-rich systems. Commonly, the initial precursor in a high pressure experiment contains constituent elements that are known to form compounds at ambient conditions, however the discovery of high-pressure phases in systems immiscible under ambient conditions poses an additional materials design challenge. We performed an extensive multi component structural search in the immiscible Fe-Bi system at high pressure and report on the surprising discovery of two stable compounds at pressures above ≈36 GPa, FeBi and FeBi.

Discovery of a Superconducting Cu-Bi Intermetallic Compound by High-Pressure Synthesis.

A new intermetallic compound, the first to be structurally identified in the Cu-Bi binary system, is reported. This compound is accessed by high-pressure reaction of the elements. Its detailed characterization, physical property measurements, and ab initio calculations are described.

Ultralow Thermal Conductivity in Full Heusler Semiconductors.

Semiconducting half and, to a lesser extent, full Heusler compounds are promising thermoelectric materials due to their compelling electronic properties with large power factors. However, intrinsically high thermal conductivity resulting in a limited thermoelectric efficiency has so far impeded their widespread use in practical applications. Here, we report the computational discovery of a class of hitherto unknown stable semiconducting full Heusler compounds with ten valence electrons (X_{2}YZ, X=Ca, Sr, and Ba; Y=Au and Hg; Z=Sn, Pb, As, Sb, and Bi) through high-throughput ab initio screening.

Prenylation differentially inhibits insulin-dependent immediate early gene mRNA expression.

Increased activity of prenyl transferases is observed in pathological states of insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity. Thus, functional inhibitors of farnesyl transferase (FTase) and geranylgeranyl transferase (GGTase) may be promising therapeutic treatments. We previously identified insulin responsive genes from a rat H4IIE hepatoma cell cDNA library, including β-actin, EGR1, Pip92, c-fos, and Hsp60.

The immediate wound-induced oxidative burst of Saccharina latissima depends on light via photosynthetic electron transport.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by an oxidative burst are an important component of the wound response in algae, vascular plants, and animals. In all taxa, ROS production is usually attributed solely to a defense-related enzyme like NADPH-oxidase (Nox). However, here we show that the initial, wound-induced oxidative burst of the kelp Saccharina latissima depends on light and photosynthetic electron transport.

A fingerprint based metric for measuring similarities of crystalline structures.

Measuring similarities/dissimilarities between atomic structures is important for the exploration of potential energy landscapes. However, the cell vectors together with the coordinates of the atoms, which are generally used to describe periodic systems, are quantities not directly suitable as fingerprints to distinguish structures. Based on a characterization of the local environment of all atoms in a cell, we introduce crystal fingerprints that can be calculated easily and define configurational distances between crystalline structures that satisfy the mathematical properties of a metric.

Materials Design On-the-Fly.

The dream of any solid-state theorist is to be able to predict new materials with tailored properties from scratch, i.e., without any input from experiment.