A glovebox-integrated confocal microscope for quantum sensing in inert atmosphere.

Confocal microscopy is an invaluable tool for studying fluorescent materials and finds a wide application in biology and in quantum sensing. Usually, these experiments are performed under ambient conditions, but many materials are air sensitive (for example, black phosphorus) and degrade quickly under the strong laser irradiance. Here, we present a glovebox-integrated confocal microscope designed for nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center-based nano-scale sensing and NMR spectroscopy in an inert gas atmosphere.

Beyond , Pharmaceutical Molecule Production in Cell-Free Systems and the Use of Noncanonical Amino Acids Therein.

Throughout history, we have looked to nature to discover and copy pharmaceutical solutions to prevent and heal diseases. Due to the advances in metabolic engineering and the production of pharmaceutical proteins in different host cells, we have moved from mimicking nature to the delicate engineering of cells and proteins. We can now produce novel drug molecules, which are fusions of small chemical drugs and proteins.

Highly accurate real-space electron densities with neural networks.

Variational ab initio methods in quantum chemistry stand out among other methods in providing direct access to the wave function. This allows, in principle, straightforward extraction of any other observable of interest, besides the energy, but, in practice, this extraction is often technically difficult and computationally impractical. Here, we consider the electron density as a central observable in quantum chemistry and introduce a novel method to obtain accurate densities from real-space many-electron wave functions by representing the density with a neural network that captures known asymptotic properties and is trained from the wave function by score matching and noise-contrastive estimation.

pH-sensitive polyglycerol nanogels for periodontitis treatment through antibacterial and pro-angiogenesis action.

Periodontitis is a microbe-driven inflammatory disease leading to bone resorption and tissue destruction. We propose a dual-functional nanogel complex armed with the antimicrobial drug triclosan (TCS) and the pro-angiogenesis medication deferoxamine (DFO) for combating microbial pathogens and promoting tissue regeneration. The nanogel system (NG-TCS-DFO) that we fabricated from linear polyglycerol exhibits well-defined spherical morphology and a positively charged surface for bacteria adhesion.

Targeting MYCN upregulates L1CAM tumor antigen in MYCN-dysregulated neuroblastoma to increase CAR T cell efficacy.

Current treatment protocols have limited success against MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma. Adoptive T cell therapy presents an innovative strategy to improve cure rates. However, L1CAM-targeting CAR T cells achieved only limited response against refractory/relapsed neuroblastoma so far.

A new phylogenetic framework for the genus Kalanchoe (Crassulaceae) and implications for infrageneric classification.

Background And Aims: Kalanchoe is a diverse genus in the Crassulaceae, with centres of diversity in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa. The genus is known for its popularity in horticulture, its use as a model system for research on CAM photosynthesis and vegetative reproduction, its high invasive potential, and its use in traditional medicine. The genus-rank circumscription and infrageneric classification of Kalanchoe have been the subject of debate for centuries, especially regarding the status and rank of what is now treated as K.

RIF1 integrates DNA repair and transcriptional requirements during the establishment of humoral immune responses.

The establishment of protective immune responses relies on the ability of terminally differentiated B cells to secrete a broad variety of antigen-specific antibodies with different effector functions. RIF1 is a multifunctional protein that promotes antibody isotype diversification via its DNA end protection activity during class switch recombination. In this study, we showed that RIF1 ablation resulted in increased plasmablast formation ex vivo and enhanced terminal differentiation into plasma cells upon immunization.

Inhibition of EphB4 Receptor Signaling by Ephrin-B2-Competitive and Non-Competitive DARPins Prevents Angiogenesis.

The receptor tyrosine kinase EphB4 is involved in tumor angiogenesis, proliferation, and metastasis. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) binding to the EphB4 extracellular domain were identified from a combinatorial library using phage display. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) allowed us to distinguish between DARPins that either compete with the EphB4 ligand ephrin-B2 for binding to a common site or target a different epitope.

Decoding the rhythmic representation and communication of visual contents.

Rhythmic neural activity is considered essential for adaptively modulating responses in the visual system. In this opinion article we posit that visual brain rhythms also serve a key function in the representation and communication of visual contents. Collating a set of recent studies that used multivariate decoding methods on rhythmic brain signals, we highlight such rhythmic content representations in visual perception, imagery, and prediction.

An Anionic Mesoionic Carbene (anMIC) and its Transformation to Metallo MIC-Boranes: Synthesis and Properties.

Neutral mesoionic carbenes (MICs) based on a 1,2,3-triazole core have had a strong impact on various branches of chemistry such as homogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis, and photochemistry/photophysics. We present here the first general synthesis of anionic mesoionic carbenes (anMICs) based on a 1,2,3-triazole core and a borate backbone. The free anMIC is stable in solution under an inert atmosphere at low temperatures, and can be stored for several weeks.

Halogenated Trityl Cations as Easy-to-Access Super Electrophiles.

Herein, we present the first easy-to-access synthesis of the perfluorotrityl cation (15F+) with commercial GaCl3 and the further functionalization of the para-fluorine atoms of 15F+ via halodefluorination using trimethylsilyl halides TMSX (X = Cl, Br). This gives access to equally reactive perhalogenated trityl derivatives (p-3Cl12F+ and p-3Br12F+), which can be handled at room temperature. The impact of the para-exchange on the electronic structure is determined by NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy.

Binding Kinetics of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Fluorinated Phosphate Ester on Metal Oxides for Underwater Aerophilicity.

The term "aerophilic surface" is used to describe superhydrophobic surfaces in the Cassie-Baxter wetting state that can trap air underwater. To create aerophilic surfaces, it is essential to achieve a synergy between a low surface energy coating and substrate surface roughness. While a variety of techniques have been established to create surface roughness, the development of rapid, scalable, low-cost, waste-free, efficient, and substrate-geometry-independent processes for depositing low surface energy coatings remains a challenge.

Hybrid hydrogels containing gradients in gold nanoparticles for localized delivery of mesenchymal stem cells and enhanced nerve tissues remodeling .

Currently, most peripheral nerve injuries are incurable mainly due to excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in inflammatory tissues, which can further exacerbate localized tissue injury and cause chronic diseases. Although promising for promoting nerve regeneration, stem cell therapy still suffers from abundant intrinsic limitations, mainly including excessive ROS in lesions and inefficient production of growth factors (GFs). Biomaterials that scavenge endogenous ROS and promote GFs secretion might overcome such limitations and thus are being increasingly investigated.

Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach to the Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Cu-Doped LaMnO Perovskites.

Cu-doped LaCu Mn O perovskites have been used as a model system for a joint experimental and theoretical assessment of the influence of the Cu doping level on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties. The different Cu-doped phases LaCuMnO (LCM37), LaCuMnO (LCM55), and LaCuMnO (LCM73) including the respective Cu- and Mn-free benchmark materials LaCuO (LC) and LaMnO (LM) have been studied by magnetization measurements and electronic paramagnetic resonance. Ferromagnetic behavior was detected for pure LM and all Cu-doped perovskites, whereas antiferromagnetic behavior was revealed for LaCuO.

Estimating realized relatedness in free-ranging macaques by inferring identity-by-descent segments.

Biological relatedness is a key consideration in studies of behavior, population structure, and trait evolution. Except for parent-offspring dyads, pedigrees capture relatedness imperfectly. The number and length of identical-by-descent DNA segments (IBD) yield the most precise relatedness estimates.

Non-native species have higher consumption rates than their native counterparts.

Non-native species can be major drivers of ecosystem alteration, especially through changes in trophic interactions. Successful non-native species have been predicted to have greater resource use efficiency relative to trophically analogous native species (the Resource Consumption Hypothesis), but rigorous evidence remains equivocal. Here, we tested this proposition quantitatively in a global meta-analysis of comparative functional response studies.

Solvent-Dependent Reactivity of Fe(CO) under Superacidic and Oxidative Conditions.

Herein, we report the solvent-dependent reactivity of Fe(CO) toward AsF in either anhydrous HF or liquid SO. The reaction of Fe(CO) with the superacid HF/AsF leads to the protonation of the iron center and allows for the first-time structural characterization of [FeH(CO)] in the solid state, representing one of the most acidic transition metal hydride complexes to ever be isolated and structurally characterized. In the aprotic but oxidation-stable solvent SO, Fe(CO) is oxidized and dimerized to [Fe(CO)], which is isoelectronic with well-known Mn(CO).

Therapeutic alliance during trauma focused treatment in adolescent and young adult patients with PTSD.

Background: Greater therapeutic alliance has been associated with an improved treatment outcome in various clinical populations. However, there is a lack of evidence for this association in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young patients. We therefore investigated the development of the therapeutic alliance during Developmentally adapted cognitive processing therapy (D-CPT) in adolescents and young adults with PTSD following abuse to answer the question whether there was a connection between the therapeutic alliance and symptom reduction.

Physics-Based Synthetic Data Model for Automated Segmentation in Catalysis Microscopy.

In catalysis research, the amount of microscopy data acquired when imaging dynamic processes is often too much for nonautomated quantitative analysis. Developing machine learned segmentation models is challenged by the requirement of high-quality annotated training data. We thus substitute expert-annotated data with a physics-based sequential synthetic data model.

Toward Grid-Based Models for Molecular Association.

This paper presents a grid-based approach to model molecular association processes as an alternative to sampling-based Markov models. Our method discretizes the six-dimensional space of relative translation and orientation into grid cells. By discretizing the Fokker-Planck operator governing the system dynamics via the square-root approximation, we derive analytical expressions for the transition rate constants between grid cells.

Decoupling many-body interactions in the CeO(111) oxygen vacancy structure with statistical learning and cluster expansion.

Oxygen vacancies (V's) are of paramount importance in influencing the properties and applications of ceria (CeO). Yet, comprehending the distribution and nature of V's poses a significant challenge due to the vast number of electronic configurations and intricate many-body interactions among V's and polarons (Ce ions). In this study, we established a cluster expansion model based on first-principles calculations and statistical learning to decouple the interactions among the Ce ions and V's, thereby circumventing the limitations associated with sampling electronic configurations.

Sulfonium-based polymethacrylamides for antimicrobial use: influence of the structure and composition.

We are facing a shortage of new antibiotics to fight against increasingly resistant bacteria. As an alternative to conventional small molecule antibiotics, antimicrobial polymers (AMPs) have great potential. These polymers contain cationic and hydrophobic groups and disrupt bacterial cell membranes through a combination of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions.

Microplastic Materials for Inhalation Studies: Preparation by Solvent Precipitation and Comprehensive Characterization.

Assessing the inhalation hazard of microplastics is important but necessitates sufficient quantity of microplastics that are representative and respirable (<4 µm). Common plastics are not typically manufactured in such small sizes. Here, solvent precipitation is used to produce respirable test materials from thermoplastics polyurethane (TPU), polyamide (PA-6), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE).