A human isolate of bovine H5N1 is transmissible and lethal in animal models.

The outbreak of clade 2.3.4.

Characterization of a human H3N8 influenza virus.

Background: In 2022 and 2023, novel reassortant H3N8 influenza viruses infected three people, marking the first human infections with viruses of this subtype.

Methods: Here, we generated one of these viruses (A/Henan/4-10CNIC/2022; hereafter called A/Henan/2022 virus) by using reverse genetics and characterized it.

Findings: In intranasally infected mice, reverse genetics-generated A/Henan/2022 virus caused weight loss in all five animals (one of which had to be euthanized) and replicated efficiently in the respiratory tract.

The mammalian midbody and midbody remnant are assembly sites for RNA and localized translation.

Long ignored as a vestigial remnant of cytokinesis, the mammalian midbody (MB) is released post-abscission inside large extracellular vesicles called MB remnants (MBRs). Recent evidence suggests that MBRs can modulate cell proliferation and cell fate decisions. Here, we demonstrate that the MB matrix is the site of ribonucleoprotein assembly and is enriched in mRNAs that encode proteins involved in cell fate, oncogenesis, and pluripotency, which we are calling the MB granule.

The sensitive mobility of Cr in ashes studied by SiO-AlO-FeO-CaO system.

Since incineration is a feasible method for stabilization/solidification of chromium (Cr)-enriched wastes, the species, distribution, and mobility of Cr in ashes deserve more studies, especially as the function of ash composition. Synthetic Cr-bearing ashes (SAs) were synthesized by SiO-AlO-FeO-CaO systems to investigate Cr mobility under 1100 °C. A study from simplicity to complexity.

The Farm Hall Transcripts: The Smoking Gun That Wasn't.

Over 75 years after their creation, the Farm Hall transcripts remain a tantalizing source from the dawn of the atomic age in 1945. Declassified in 1992, the transcripts document ten prominent German nuclear physicists, including Werner Heisenberg, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, and Otto Hahn, contemplating the Nazi defeat, their complicity in the German war machine, and - after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima - whether they truly intended to build a nuclear weapon for Adolf Hitler. As a written record of conversations, one might expect the transcripts to be the proverbial smoking gun that determines, once and for all, whether German physicists intended to build a nuclear weapon for the Nazi regime.

Differential control of uterine artery endothelial monolayer integrity by TNF and VEGF is achieved through multiple mechanisms operating inside and outside the cell - Relevance to preeclampsia.

Uterine artery endothelium undergoes a form of functional adaptation during pregnancy because of an increase in Cx43 communication, resulting in increased Ca2+/IP3 exchange and more synchronous and sustained vasodilator production. We have shown previously that acute exposure to growth factors and TNF can block this adaptation through ERK and/or Src-mediated Cx43 phosphorylation. In preeclampsia such adapted function is already missing, but while elevated TNF is associated with this condition, particularly after 28 weeks (late PE), elevated circulating VEGF165 is not.

Fe(II) interaction with cement phases: Method development, wet chemical studies and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Fe(II) interaction with cement phases was studied by means of co-precipitation and sorption experiments in combination with X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. Oxidation of Fe(II) was fast in alkaline conditions and therefore, a methodology was developed which allowed Fe(II) to be stabilised in the sorption experiments and to prepare samples for spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the co-precipitation samples showed uptake of a small portion of Fe(II) by calcium-silicate-hydrates (C-S-H) in the interlayer indicated by an increase in the interlayer spacing.

Mechanical behavior and phase change of alkali-silica reaction products under hydrostatic compression.

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) causes severe degradation of concrete. The mechanical property of the ASR product is fundamental to the multiscale modeling of concrete behavior over the long term. Despite years of study, there is a lack of consensus regarding the structure and elastic modulus of the ASR product.

Iron Adsorption on Clays Inferred from Atomistic Simulations and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

The atomistic level understanding of iron speciation and the probable oxidative behavior of iron (Fe → Fe) in clay minerals are fundamental for environmental geochemistry of redox reactions. Thermodynamic analyses of wet chemistry data suggest that iron adsorbs on the edge surfaces of clay minerals at distinct structural sites commonly referred as  and sites (with high and low affinity, respectively). In this study, we applied molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the structure and the stability of the edge surfaces of - and -vacant montmorillonites.

Characterization of Structural Iron in Smectites - An Ab Initio Based X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study.

Fe-bearing clay minerals are abundant in argillaceous rocks as their redox-active structural iron may control the sorption mechanism of redox sensitive elements on the surface of clay minerals. The extent and efficiency of the redox reactions depend on the oxidation state (Fe/Fe ratio) and structural distribution of the substituting cations in the TOT-layer of clay minerals. Even smectites with similar structure originating from different locations might have a distinct arrangement of isomorphic substitutions (e.

New Medications in the Treatment of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Acute decompensated heart failure is a sudden worsening of heart failure symptoms, typically resulting in peripheral edema and dyspnea as a result of pulmonary congestion. Acute decompensated heart failure is responsible for over 1 million hospitalizations every year. Current pharmacologic therapy is limited in its options.

Combined XAFS Spectroscopy and Ab Initio Study on the Characterization of Iron Incorporation by Montmorillonite.

Iron occurs in clay minerals in both ferric and ferrous forms. Depending on its oxidation state and the environmental conditions, it can participate in redox reactions and influence the sorption processes at surfaces of clay minerals. Knowing the oxidation state and the preferential structural position of Fe and Fe is essential for the detailed understanding of the mechanism and kinetics of such processes.

Molecular development of chondrichthyan claspers and the evolution of copulatory organs.

The earliest known vertebrate copulatory organs are claspers, paired penis-like structures that are associated with evolution of internal fertilization and viviparity in Devonian placoderms. Today, only male chondrichthyans possess claspers, which extend from posterior pelvic fins and function as intromittent organs. Here we report that clasper development from pelvic fins of male skates is controlled by hormonal regulation of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway.

Fe(II) uptake on natural montmorillonites. I. Macroscopic and spectroscopic characterization.

Iron is an important redox-active element that is ubiquitous in both engineered and natural environments. In this study, the retention mechanism of Fe(II) on clay minerals was investigated using macroscopic sorption experiments combined with Mössbauer and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Sorption edges and isotherms were measured under anoxic conditions on natural Fe-bearing montmorillonites (STx, SWy, and SWa) having different structural Fe contents ranging from 0.

Competitive Fe(II)-Zn(II) uptake on a synthetic montmorillonite.

The interaction of Fe(II) with clay minerals is of particular relevance in global geochemical processes controlling metal and nutrient cycles and the fate of contaminants. In this context, the influence of competitive sorption effects between Fe(II) and other relevant transition metals on their uptake characteristics and mobility remains an important issue. Macroscopic sorption experiments combined with surface complexation modeling and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy were applied to elucidate competitive sorption processes between divalent Fe and Zn at the clay mineral-water interface.

Fe(II) sorption on a synthetic montmorillonite. A combined macroscopic and spectroscopic study.

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and Mössbauer spectroscopy combined with macroscopic sorption experiments were employed to investigate the sorption mechanism of Fe(II) on an iron-free synthetic montmorillonite (Na-IFM). Batch sorption experiments were performed to measure the Fe(II) uptake on Na-IFM at trace concentrations as a function of pH and as a function of sorbate concentration at pH 6.2 and 6.

Zinc adsorption on clays inferred from atomistic simulations and EXAFS spectroscopy.

Clay minerals are efficient sinks for heavy metals in the geosphere. Knowing the uptake mechanism of these elements on clays can help to protect the natural environment from industrial pollution. In this study ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) calculations were applied to simulate the uptake of Zn on the edge surfaces of montmorillonite, a dioctahedral clay, and to explain the measured K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra of adsorbed Zn.

Structural insight into iodide uptake by AFm phases.

The ability of cement phases carrying positively charged surfaces to retard the mobility of (129)I, present as iodide (I(-)) in groundwater, was investigated in the context of safe disposal of radioactive waste. (125)I sorption experiments on ettringite, hydrotalcite, chloride-, carbonate- and sulfate-containing AFm phases indicated that calcium-monosulfate (AFm-SO(4)) is the only phase that takes up trace levels of iodide. The structures of AFm phases prepared by coprecipitating iodide with other anions were investigated in order to understand this preferential uptake mechanism.

A natural deletion of the HoxC cluster in elasmobranch fishes.

Hox proteins are a metazoan-specific family of transcription factors that are required for developmental patterning. The genomic arrangement of Hox genes into four paralogous clusters is a primitive feature of jawed vertebrates. By using high-throughput sequencing, we demonstrate the absence of all HoxC transcripts from embryos of the shark Scyliorhinus canicula and the skate Leucoraja erinacea and the absence of all HoxC genes and two HoxC-associated microRNAs from the genome of L.

Uptake of Np(IV) by C-S-H phases and cement paste: an EXAFS study.

Nuclear waste disposal concepts developed worldwide foresee the use of cementitious materials for the immobilization of long-lived intermediate level waste (ILW). This waste form may contain significant amounts of neptunium-237, which is expected to be present as Np(IV) under the reducing conditions encountered after the closure of the repository. Predicting the release of Np(IV) from the cementitious near field of an ILW repository requires a sufficiently detailed understanding of its interaction with the main sorbing components of hardened cement paste (HCP).

Appendage expression driven by the Hoxd Global Control Region is an ancient gnathostome feature.

The evolutionary transition of the fins of fish into tetrapod limbs involved genetic changes to developmental systems that resulted in novel skeletal patterns and functions. Approaches to understanding this issue have entailed the search for antecedents of limb structure in fossils, genes, and embryos. Comparative genetic analyses have produced ambiguous results: although studies of posterior Hox genes from homology group 13 (Hoxa-13 and Hoxd-13) reveal similarities in gene expression between the distal segments of fins and limbs, this functional homology has not been supported by genomic comparisons of the activity of their cis-regulatory elements, namely the Hoxd Global Control Region.