The chromosome-level genome of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi A. Agassiz, 1865 reveals a unique immune gene repertoire.

Ctenophora are basal marine metazoans, the sister group of all other animals. Mnemiopsis leidyi is one of the most successful invasive species worldwide with intense ecological and evolutionary research interest. Here, we generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of M.

One-Pot Depolymerization of Mixed Plastics Using a Dual Enzyme System.

As global plastic consumption and littering escalate, innovative approaches to sustainable waste management are crucial. Enzymatic depolymerization has emerged as a promising recycling method for polyesters via monomer recovery under mild conditions. However, current research mainly focuses on using a single plastic feedstock, which can only be derived from complex and costly plastic waste sorting.

Consistent long-distance foraging flights across years and seasons at colony level in a neotropical bat.

All foraging animals face a trade-off: how much time should they invest in exploitation of known resources versus exploration to discover new resources? For group-living central place foragers, this balance is challenging. Due to the nature of their movement patterns, exploration and exploitation are often mutually exclusive, while the availability of social information may discourage individuals from exploring. To examine these trade-offs, we GPS-tracked groups of greater spear-nosed bats () from three colonies on Isla Colón, Panamá.

Structural and Functional Characterization of an Amidase Targeting a Polyurethane for Sustainable Recycling.

Global plastic production exceeded 400 million tons in 2022, urgently demanding improved waste management and recycling strategies for a circular plastic economy. While the enzymatic hydrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has become feasible on industrial scales, efficient enzymes targeting other hydrolyzable plastic types, such as polyurethanes (PURs), are lacking. Recently, enzymes of the amidase signature (AS) family, capable of cleaving urethane bonds in a polyether-PUR analog and a linear polyester-PUR, have been identified.

Differences in setting of initial dementia diagnosis among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries.

Background: Accurate and timely diagnosis of dementia is necessary to allow affected individuals to make informed decisions and access appropriate resources. When dementia goes undetected until a hospitalization or nursing home stay, this could reflect delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, and may reflect underlying disparities in healthcare access.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we used 2012-2020 Medicare claims and other administrative data to examine variation in setting of dementia diagnosis among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with an initial claims-based dementia diagnosis in 2016.

Medication Changes Among Older Drivers Involved in Motor Vehicle Crashes.

Importance: Although older adults may use potentially driver-impairing (PDI) medications that can produce psychomotor impairment, little is known about changes to PDI medication use among older adults from the time before to the time after a motor vehicle crash (MVC).

Objective: To quantify use of and changes in PDI medications among older adults before and after an MVC.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used linked Medicare claims and police-reported MVC data on 154 096 person-crashes among 121 846 older drivers.

Skilled Nursing Facility Rehabilitation Intensity and Successful Discharge in Persons with Dementia.

Objectives: Skilled therapies (STs), including audiology, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, can address functional deficits in dementia. This study aims to quantify the association between ST and successful discharge after heart failure (HF) hospitalization in persons living with dementia.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Biosensor-Guided Engineering of a Baeyer-Villiger Monooxygenase for Aliphatic Ester Production.

Esters are valuable aroma compounds and can be produced enzymatically by Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) from (aliphatic) ketone precursors. However, a genetically encoded biosensor system for the assessment of BVMO activity and the detection of reaction products is missing. In this work, we assembled a synthetic enzyme cascade - featuring an esterase, an alcohol dehydrogenase, and LuxAB - in the heterologous host Escherichia coli.

XUV-beamline for photoelectron imaging spectroscopy with shaped pulses.

We introduce an extreme ultraviolet (XUV)-beamline designed for the time-resolved investigation and coherent control of attosecond (as) electron dynamics in atoms and molecules by polarization-shaped as-laser pulses. Shaped as-pulses are generated through high-harmonic generation (HHG) of tailored white-light supercontinua (WLS) in noble gases. The interaction of shaped as-pulses with the sample is studied using velocity map imaging (VMI) techniques to achieve the differential detection of photoelectron wave packets.

Climate challenges for fish larvae: Interactive multi-stressor effects impair acclimation potential of Atlantic herring larvae.

Fish early life stages are particularly vulnerable and heavily affected by changing environmental factors. The interactive effects of multiple climate change-related stressors on fish larvae remain, however, largely underexplored. As rising temperatures can increase the abundance and virulence of bacteria, we investigated the combination of a spring heat wave and bacterial exposure on the development of Atlantic herring larvae (Clupea harengus).

Non-benzodiazepine Hypnotics and Police-Reported Motor Vehicle Crash Risk among Older Adults: A Sequential Target Trial Emulation.

Non-benzodiazepine hypnotics ( "Z-drugs") are prescribed for insomnia, but might increase risk of motor vehicle crash (MVC) among older adults through prolonged drowsiness and delayed reaction times. We estimated the effect of initiating Z-drug treatment on the 12-week risk of MVC in a sequential target trial emulation. After linking New Jersey driver licensing and police-reported MVC data to Medicare claims, we emulated a new target trial each week (July 1, 2007 - October 7, 2017) in which Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries were classified as Z-drug-treated or untreated at baseline and followed for an MVC.

Structural Elucidation of a Metagenomic Urethanase and Its Engineering Towards Enhanced Hydrolysis Profiles.

While plastics like polyethylene terephthalate can already be degraded efficiently by the activity of hydrolases, other synthetic polymers like polyurethanes (PUs) and polyamides (PAs) largely resist biodegradation. In this study, we solved the first crystal structure of the metagenomic urethanase UMG-SP-1, identified highly flexible loop regions to comprise active site residues, and targeted a total of 20 potential hot spots by site-saturation mutagenesis. Engineering campaigns yielded variants with single mutations, exhibiting almost 3- and 8-fold improved activity against highly stable N-aryl urethane and amide bonds, respectively.

Changes in Physical Function and Physical Therapy Use in Older Veterans Not Infected by CoVID-19 Residing in Community Living Centers during the CoVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: Examine physical function change and physical therapy (PT) use in short-stay and long-stay residents not infected by CoVID-19 within Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Living Centers (CLCs).

Design: Retrospective cohort study using Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 assessments.

An Extremely Sensitive Ultra-High Throughput Growth Selection Assay for the Identification of Amidase Activity.

In the last decades, biocatalysis has offered new perspectives for the synthesis of (chiral) amines, which are essential building blocks for pharmaceuticals, fine and bulk chemicals. In this regard, amidases have been employed due to their broad substrate scope and their independence from expensive cofactors. To expand the repertoire of amidases, tools for their rapid identification and characterization are greatly demanded.

Wandering Behavior and SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Veterans Affairs Community Living Center Residents.

Objective: Wandering behavior in nursing home (NH) residents could increase risk of infection. The objective of this study was to assess the association of wandering behavior with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Living Center (CLC) residents.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

A somatic genetic clock for clonal species.

Age and longevity are key parameters for demography and life-history evolution of organisms. In clonal species, a widespread life history among animals, plants, macroalgae and fungi, the sexually produced offspring (genet) grows indeterminately by producing iterative modules, or ramets, and so obscure their age. Here we present a novel molecular clock based on the accumulation of fixed somatic genetic variation that segregates among ramets.

Efficient Enzymatic Synthesis of Carbamates in Water Using Promiscuous Esterases/Acyltransferases.

Biocatalysis provides an attractive approach to facilitate synthetic reactions in aqueous media. Motivated by the discovery of promiscuous aminolysis activity of esterases, we exploited the esterase from Pyrobaculum calidifontis VA1 (PestE) for the synthesis of carbamates from different aliphatic, aromatic, and arylaliphatic amines and a set of carbonates such as dimethyl-, dibenzyl-, or diallyl carbonate. Thus, aniline and benzylamine derivatives, aliphatic and even secondary amines could be efficiently converted into the corresponding benzyloxycarbonyl (Cbz)- or allyloxycarbonyl (Alloc)-protected products in bulk water, with (isolated) yields of up to 99 %.

Comparison of 3T and 7T magnetic resonance imaging for direct visualization of finger flexor pulley rupture: an ex-vivo study.

Objective: To compare image quality and diagnostic performance of 3T and 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for direct depiction of finger flexor pulleys A2, A3 and A4 before and after artificial pulley rupture in an ex-vivo model using anatomic preparation as reference.

Materials And Methods: 30 fingers from 10 human cadavers were examined at 3T and 7T before and after being subjected to iatrogenic pulley rupture. MRI protocols were comparable in duration, both lasting less than 22 min.

Fusion Imaging of Non-Invasive and Invasive Cardiac Electroanatomic Mapping in Patients with Ventricular Ectopic Beats: A Feasibility Analysis in a Case Series.

In patients with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), non-invasive mapping could locate the PVCs' origin on a personalized 3-dimensional (3D) heart model and, thus, facilitate catheter ablation therapy planning. The aim of our report is to evaluate its accuracy compared to invasive mapping in terms of assessing the PVCs' early activation zone (EAZ). For this purpose, non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) was performed using the Amycard 01C system (EP Solutions SA, Switzerland) in three cases.

Lower odds of successful community discharge after medical hospitalization for Veterans with schizophrenia: A retrospective cohort study of national data.

Medical comorbidity, particularly cardiovascular diseases, contributes to high rates of hospital admission and early mortality in people with schizophrenia. The 30 days following hospital discharge represents a critical period for mitigating adverse outcomes. This study examined the odds of successful community discharge among Veterans with schizophrenia compared to those with major affective disorders and those without serious mental illness (SMI) after a heart failure hospital admission.

Detection of femoropopliteal arterial steno-occlusion at MR angiography: initial experience with artificial intelligence.

Background: This study evaluated a deep learning (DL) algorithm for detecting vessel steno-occlusions in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). It utilised a private dataset, which was acquired and annotated by the authors through their institution and subsequently validated by two blinded readers.

Methods: A single-centre retrospective study analysed 105 magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) images using an EfficientNet B0 DL model.