Molecular logic for cellular specializations that initiate the auditory parallel processing pathways.

The cochlear nuclear complex (CN), the starting point for all central auditory processing, encompasses a suite of neuronal cell types highly specialized for neural coding of acoustic signals. However, the molecular logic governing these specializations remains unknown. By combining single-nucleus RNA sequencing and Patch-seq analysis, we reveal a set of transcriptionally distinct cell populations encompassing all previously observed types and discover multiple hitherto unknown subtypes with anatomical and physiological identity.

Association of 3-year change in frailty index with risk of all-cause mortality among older Chinese population: a national cohort study.

Background: Evidence on the association of dynamic change in frailty index (FI) with risk of all-cause mortality in the older Chinese population is limited. This study aimed to explore the association of 3-year change in FI with risk of all-cause mortality in an older Chinese population.

Methods: We analyzed the data of 4969 participants from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.

Optimizing soil remediation with multi-functional L-PH hydrogel: Enhancing water retention and heavy metal stabilization in farmland soil.

Agricultural soils face severe challenges, including water scarcity and heavy metal contamination. Optimizing soil remediation efficiency while minimizing inputs is essential. This study assessed the water retention and heavy metal adsorption properties of L-PH hydrogel through aqueous experiments.

Application of Bacillus cereus for synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates from industrial corn starch residue.

Starch hydrolysate from corn is typically employed as a carbon source for citric acid production by Aspergillus niger. Enzymatic or acid hydrolysis of corn starch generates a corn starch residue (CSR), which represents a potential bio-fermentation carbon source. In addition, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can be used as an alternative to traditional petrochemical plastics.

GmHSP40.1, a nuclear-localized soybean J domain protein, participates in regulation of flowering time through interacting with EMF1 and JMJ14.

Heat shock protein 40s (HSP40s) are a group of J domain proteins (JDPs), which serve as co-chaperones for heat shock protein 70s. We previously reported that over-expression of a soybean class C JDP, GmHSP40.1, in Arabidopsis activated defense responses.

Cryo-EM Structure of AAA + ATPase Thorase Reveals Novel Helical Filament Formation.

The AAA+ (ATPases associated with a variety of cellular activities) ATPase, Thorase, also known as ATAD1, plays multiple roles in synaptic plasticity, mitochondrial quality control and mTOR signaling through disassembling protein complexes like AMPAR and mTORC1 in an ATP-dependent manner. The Oligomerization of Thorase is crucial for its disassembly and remodeling functions. We show that wild-type Thorase forms long helical filaments , dependent on ATP binding but not hydrolysis.

Synthesizing ordered polar patterns in nonpolar SrTiO nanofilms via wrinkle-induced flexoelectricity.

Ordered polar structures in oxide nanofilms play a pivotal role in the development of nanoelectronic applications. Hitherto, ordered polar structures have been restricted to a limited number of ferroelectric materials, and there is no effective scheme to induce and manipulate ordered polar patterns in centrosymmetric nonpolar nanofilms due to the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking. Here, we circumvent these limitations by utilizing the wrinkle-induced strain gradient modulation associated with flexoelectricity as a general means of inducing and manipulating ordered polar patterns in nonpolar nanofilms.

Limitation of summer extreme high temperatures on radial growth relieve with increasing latitude in subtropics.

Global warming has induced an increase in the intensity and frequency of summer extreme high temperature events in Chinese subtropical forest, which contributes to a large component of net primary ecological production among global forests. However, how summer extreme high temperature events would influence tree radial growth in these humid subtropical forest remains unclear. We investigated the non-linear response of tree radial growth to temperature, soil moisture and their mixed effect across broad latitude gradients in Chinese subtropical forests, using a method of modelling cambial growth kinetics of Schima superba.

Advancements in the Development of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutics.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus that causes COVID-19, and so far, it has occurred five noteworthy variants of concern (VOC). SARS-CoV-2 invades cells by contacting its Spike (S) protein to its receptor on the host cell, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). However, the high frequency of mutations in the S protein has limited the effectiveness of existing drugs against SARS-CoV-2 variants, particularly the Omicron variant.

Transcriptomics-based anti-tuberculous mechanism of traditional Chinese polyherbal preparation NiuBeiXiaoHe intermediates.

Background: Integrated traditional Chinese medicine and biomedicine is an effective method to treat tuberculosis (TB). In our previous research, traditional Chinese medicine preparation NiuBeiXiaoHe (NBXH) achieved obvious anti-TB effects in animal experiments and clinical practice. However, the action mechanism of NBXH has not been elucidated.

Association between early blood glucose dynamic trajectory and mortality for critically ill patients with heart failure: Insights from real-world data.

Aims: This study endeavors to explore the ramifications of early dynamic blood glucose (BG) trajectories within the initial 48 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission on mortality among critically ill heart failure (HF) patients.

Methods: The study employed a retrospective observational design, analyzing dynamic BG data of HF patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database. The BG trajectory subphenotypes were identified using the hierarchical clustering based on the dynamic time-warping algorithm.

Peptide GLP-1 receptor agonists: From injection to oral delivery strategies.

Peptide glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are effective drugs for treating type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and have been proven to benefit the heart and kidney. Apart from oral semaglutide, which does not require injection, other peptide GLP-1RAs need to be subcutaneously administered. However, oral semaglutide also faces significant challenges, such as low bioavailability and frequent gastrointestinal discomfort.

Partial asynchrony of coniferous forest carbon sources and sinks at the intra-annual time scale.

As major terrestrial carbon sinks, forests play an important role in mitigating climate change. The relationship between the seasonal uptake of carbon and its allocation to woody biomass remains poorly understood, leaving a significant gap in our capacity to predict carbon sequestration by forests. Here, we compare the intra-annual dynamics of carbon fluxes and wood formation across the Northern hemisphere, from carbon assimilation and the formation of non-structural carbon compounds to their incorporation in woody tissues.

Distribution and effects of microplastics as carriers of heavy metals in river surface sediments.

There are few studies on microplastics (MPs) in urban river sediments compared to oceans, soils, and even rivers. In this study, the seasonal abundance of MPs, as well as their influencing factors on heavy metal adsorption in river sediments of the Ancient Canal of Zhenjiang City, China, were investigated for the first time. Through on-site sampling, microscopic observation, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high-temperature digestion, the abundance, shape, color, particle size, type, and surface characteristics of MPs in Ancient Canal sediments in different seasons, as well as the influencing factors of MPs as heavy metal carriers in different seasons, were analyzed.

Atypical chemokine receptor 1-positive endothelial cells mediate leucocyte infiltration and synergize with secreted frizzled-related protein 2/asporin-positive fibroblasts to promote skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis.

Background: Skin fibrosis is the typical pathological manifestation of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and localized scleroderma (LS); it has an unclear aetiology and few effective treatments. Although excessive collagen secretion by fibroblasts is the primary cause of skin fibrosis, evidence has suggested that vascular damage is the initiating event and that various cell types, including fibroblasts, work together to contribute to the pathogenesis of skin fibrosis.

Objectives: To explore the relationship between vascular endothelial cell lesions and immune cell infiltration, along with the interactions between various cell types within the fibrotic skin ecosystem.

Experimental study on the mechanical properties of desert sand improved by the combination of additives and bio-cement.

Bio-cement is a green and energy-saving building material that has attracted much attention in the field of ecological environment and geotechnical engineering in recent years. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of bio-cement (enzyme-induced calcium carbonate precipitation-EICP) in combination with admixtures for the improvement of desert sands, which can effectively improve the mechanical properties of desert sands and is particularly suitable for sand-rich countries. In addition, the suitability of tap water in bio-cement was elucidated and the optimum ratio of each influencing factor when tap water is used as a solvent was derived.

The Relationship between Thyroid Hormones and Insulin Resistance in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Women.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the changes in thyroid hormones in the serum of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and their correlation with insulin resistance.

Design: This is a retrospective study.

Participants: 84 patients having insulin resistance and 76 patients without insulin resistance were included.

Jasmonate ZIM Domain Protein () Gene Increases Resistance to in Tomato.

Pers. is a holoparasitic plant that severely reduces tomato ( L.) production in China.

Spa2 remodels ADP-actin via molecular condensation under glucose starvation.

Actin nucleotide-dependent actin remodeling is essential to orchestrate signal transduction and cell adaptation. Rapid energy starvation requires accurate and timely reorganization of the actin network. Despite distinct treadmilling mechanisms of ADP- and ATP-actin filaments, their filament structures are nearly identical.

Identification and analysis of prognostic immune cell homeostasis characteristics in lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the most invasive malignant tumor of the respiratory system. It is also the common pathological type leading to the death of LUAD. Maintaining the homeostasis of immune cells is an important way for anti-tumor immunotherapy.

A hybrid water quality prediction model based on variational mode decomposition and bidirectional gated recursive unit.

Water quality predicted accuracy is beneficial to river ecological management and water pollution prevention. Owing to water quality data has the characteristics of nonlinearity and instability, it is difficult to predict the change of water quality. This paper proposes a hybrid water quality prediction model based on variational mode decomposition optimized by the sparrow search algorithm (SSA-VMD) and bidirectional gated recursive unit (BiGRU).

Giant dielectric tunability in ferroelectric ceramics with ultralow loss by ion substitution design.

Due to their responsiveness to modulation by external direct current fields, dielectric tunable materials are extensively utilized in integrated components, such as ferroelectric phase shifters. Barium strontium titanate ceramics have been considered the most potential tunable materials for a long time. However, the significant dielectric loss and high voltage drive have limited their further applications.

ADCY4 promotes brain metastasis in small cell lung cancer and is associated with energy metabolism.

Brain metastasis (BMs) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has a very poor prognosis. This study combined WGCNA with the mfuzz algorithm to identify potential biomarkers in the peripheral blood of patients with BMs. By comparing the significantly differentially expressed genes present in BMs samples, we identified ADCY4 as a target for further study.

Integrated Transcriptome and Proteome Analysis Reveals That Cell Wall Activity Affects Parasitism.

can infect many crops, causing large agricultural production losses. It is important to study the parasitism mechanism of to control its harm. In this experiment, the HY13M and TE9M from Tacheng Prefecture and Hami City in Xinjiang, respectively, were used to analyze the parasitical mechanism of by means of transcriptome and proteome analyses.