Computational Study on the Function of Palmitoylation on the Envelope Protein in SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 that caused COVID-19 has spread since the end of 2019. Its major effects resulted in over four million deaths around the whole world by August 2021. Therefore, understanding virulence mechanisms is important to prevent future outbreaks and for COVID-19 drug development.

Improving Medical Students Learning Through an Interprofessional Pharmacotherapy Selective.

Purpose: Current trends in medical school education indicate an existing need for increasing medical student exposure to pharmacotherapy education. The objectives of this study are to describe the development of an interprofessional, application-based Pharmacotherapeutics in Primary Care selective for 3rd year medical students and to assess its influence on knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to pharmacotherapy of high-risk medications and patient populations.

Methods: The selective was implemented across fourteen cohorts of medical students that were evaluated over a 5-year academic period ( = 68).

Comprehension exposures to words in sentence contexts impact spoken word production.

Comprehension or production of isolated words and production of words embedded in sentence contexts facilitated later production in previous research. The present study examined the extent to which contextualized comprehension exposures would impact later production. Two repetition priming experiments were conducted with Spanish-English bilingual participants.

Effects of 4-weeks of elastic variable resistance training on the electrochemical and mechanical components of voluntary electromechanical delay durations.

Purpose: Literature is conflicted on whether electromechanical delay durations decrease following resistance training programs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the contributions and durations of the electrochemical (EMD) and mechanical (EMD) components to the overall electromechanical delay (EMD) during step isometric muscle actions following 4-weeks of structured, multi-joint, lower-body variable resistance training (VRT) program.

Methods: Twelve men performed 4-weeks of VRT leg press training utilizing combination of steel plates (80% total load) and elastic bands (20% total load).

Engineering of Electron Affinity and Interfacial Charge Transfer of Graphene for Self-Powered Nonenzymatic Biosensor Applications.

Facile electron transport and intimate electronic contact at the catalyst-electrode interface are critical for the ideal performance of electrochemical devices such as glucose biofuel cells and biosensors. Here, through a comprehensive experimental-theoretical exploration, we demonstrate that engineering of interfacial properties, including interfacial electron dynamics, electron affinity, electrode-catalyst-adsorbate electrical synergy, and electrocatalytically active surface area, can lead to highly efficient graphene-based electrochemical devices. We selected two closely related but electronically and surface chemically different functionalized graphene analogues-graphene acid (GA) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-as the model graphenic platforms.

Selenite bioreduction and biosynthesis of selenium nanoparticles by Bacillus paramycoides SP3 isolated from coal mine overburden leachate.

A native strain of Bacillus paramycoides isolated from the leachate of coal mine overburden rocks was investigated for its potential to produce selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) by biogenic reduction of selenite, one of the most toxic forms of selenium. 16S rDNA sequencing was used to identify the bacterial strain (SP3). The SeNPs were characterized using spectroscopic (UV-Vis absorbance, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction, and Raman), surface charge measurement (zeta potential), and ultramicroscopic (FESEM, EDX, FETEM) analyses.

Synthesis and Characterization of Two Isomers of Th@C: Th@(9)-C and Th@(5)-C.

Actinide endohedral fullerenes have demonstrated remarkably different physicochemical properties compared to their lanthanide analogues. In this work, two novel isomers of Th@C were successfully synthesized, isolated, and fully characterized by mass spectrometry, X-ray single crystallography, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The molecular structures of the two isomers were determined unambiguously as Th@(9)-C and Th@(5)-C by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.

Recent innovations in cost-effective polymer and paper hybrid microfluidic devices.

Hybrid microfluidic systems that are composed of multiple different types of substrates have been recognized as a versatile and superior platform, which can draw benefits from different substrates while avoiding their limitations. This review article introduces the recent innovations of different types of low-cost hybrid microfluidic devices, particularly focusing on cost-effective polymer- and paper-based hybrid microfluidic devices. In this article, the fabrication of these hybrid microfluidic devices is briefly described and summarized.

Magnetic structure, excitations and short-range order in honeycomb NaNiTeO.

NaNiTeOhas a layered hexagonal structure with a honeycomb lattice constituted by Niand a chiral charge distribution of Nathat resides between the Ni layers. In the present work, the antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition temperature of NaNiTeOis confirmed at≈ 27 K, and further, it is found to be robust up to 8 T magnetic field and 1.2 GPa external pressure; and, without any frequency-dependence.

Plant community composition alters moisture and temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in semi-arid shrubland.

Soil respiration (Rs) is the second largest carbon (C) flux to the atmosphere and our understanding of how Rs and its components shift with plant-community composition remains an important question. We used high-frequency soil respiration measurements and root exclusion to evaluate how Rs, autotrophic respiration (Ra) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) vary between a semi-arid perennial shrub community and annual invasive community. Over two growing seasons, total Rs was 40% higher under annual vegetation compared to shrubs.

Th@(6)-C: a highly symmetric fullerene cage stabilized by a single metal ion.

A novel endohedral metallofullerene (mono-EMF), Th@D5h(6)-C80, has been successfully synthesized and fully characterized by mass spectrometry, single crystal X-ray diffraction, UV-vis-NIR and Raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Single crystal XRD analysis unambiguously assigned the fullerene cage as D5h(6)-C80, the first example in which the highly symmetric cage is stabilized by a single metal ion. The combined experimental and theoretical studies further reveal that the D5h(6)-C80 cage, known only for its stabilization by 6-electron transfer, is stabilized by the 4-electron transfer from the encapsulated Th ion for the first time.

High blocking temperatures for DyScS endohedral fullerene single-molecule magnets.

Dy-based single-molecule magnets (SMMs) are of great interest due to their ability to exhibit very large thermal barriers to relaxation and therefore high blocking temperatures. One interesting line of investigation is Dy-encapsulating endohedral clusterfullerenes, in which a carbon cage protects magnetic Dy ions against decoherence by environmental noise and allows for the stabilization of bonding and magnetic interactions that would be difficult to achieve in other molecular architectures. Recent studies of such materials have focused on clusters with two Dy atoms, since ferromagnetic exchange between Dy atoms is known to reduce the rate of magnetic relaxation quantum tunneling.

Absence of long-range magnetic order in lithium-containing honeycombs in the Li-Cr-Sb(Te)-O phases.

Li((LiCr)(Te/Sb))Ocompounds where Cr atoms along with Li and Te or Sb are part of a honeycomb and are studied using magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and neutron diffraction. The oxides stoichiometries as determined from the neutron diffraction studies are LiCrTeOand LiCrSbOwith a stable oxidation state of +3 for Cr. Both the compounds crystallize in space group2/with intermixing of cations at the 4sites leaving the 2sites preferentially for Te or Sb.

Drug Resistance in Metastatic Breast Cancer: Tumor Targeted Nanomedicine to the Rescue.

Breast cancer, specifically metastatic breast, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women. This is mainly due to relapse and reoccurrence of tumor. The primary reason for cancer relapse is the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) hampering the treatment and prognosis.

A non-isolated pentagon rule C cage stabilized by a stretched ScN cluster.

A novel cluster fullerene, Sc3N@Cs(39 663)-C82, has been synthesized and characterized. Crystallograpic charaterization unambiguously determines the non-IPR cage structure of Cs(39 663)-C82. Structural analyses further reveal that the Sc3N cluster is notably stretched to facilitate the interaction with the non-IPR fullerene cage.

Night stalkers from above: A monograph of Toxicodryas/ tree snakes (Squamata: Colubridae) with descriptions of two new cryptic species from Central Africa.

The genus Toxicodryas, historically included with the renowned Australasian cat-eyed snakes of the colubrid genus Boiga, currently includes two widespread species (T. blandingii and T. pulverulenta) in western, central, and eastern Africa.

The significance of phase reversion-induced nanograined/ultrafine-grained (NG/UFG) structure on the strain hardening behavior and deformation mechanism in copper-bearing antimicrobial austenitic stainless steel.

The unique concept of phase reversion involving severe deformation of parent austenite into martensite, followed by annealing for a short duration, whereby the strain-induced martensite reverts to austenite, was adopted to obtain nano-grained/ultrafine-grained (NG/UFG) structure in a Cu-bearing biomedical austenitic stainless steel resulting in high strength-high ductility combination. Work hardening and accompanying deformation mechanism are two important aspects that govern the mechanical behavior of biomedical devices. Thus, post-mortem electron microscopy of the strained region was carried out to explore the differences in the deformation mechanisms induced by grain refinement, while the strain hardening behavior was analyzed by Crussard-Jaoul (C-J) analysis of the tensile stress-strain data.

The Formation of Native Disulfide Bonds: Treading a Fine Line in Protein Folding.

The folding of proteins that contain disulfide bonds is termed oxidative protein folding. It involves a chemical reaction resulting in the formation of disulfide bonds and a physical conformational folding reaction that promotes the formation of the native structure. While the presence of disulfide bonds significantly increases the complexity of the folding landscape, it is generally recognized that native disulfide bonds help funnel the trajectory towards the final folded form.

Bone tissue engineering techniques, advances and scaffolds for treatment of bone defects.

Bone tissue engineering (BTE) aims to develop strategies to regenerate damaged or diseased bone using a combination of cells, growth factors, and biomaterials. This article highlights recent advances in BTE, with particular emphasis on the role of the biomaterials as scaffolding material to heal bone defects. Studies encompass the utilization of bioceramics, composites, and myriad hydrogels that have been fashioned by injection molding, electrospinning, and 3D bioprinting over recent years, with the aim to provide an insight into the progress of BTE along with a commentary on their scope and possibilities to aid future research.

Co-Cu Bimetallic Metal Organic Framework Catalyst Outperforms the Pt/C Benchmark for Oxygen Reduction.

Platinum (Pt)-based-nanomaterials are currently the most successful catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Nonetheless, Pt catalysts have serious drawbacks, including low abundance in nature, sluggish kinetics, and very high costs, which limit their practical applications. Herein, we report the first rationally designed nonprecious Co-Cu bimetallic metal-organic framework (MOF) using a low-temperature hydrothermal method that outperforms the electrocatalytic activity of Pt/C for ORR in alkaline environments.

Hybrid method for representing ions in implicit solvation calculations.

Fast and accurate calculations of the electrostatic features of highly charged biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, and highly charged proteins are crucial and challenging tasks. Traditional implicit solvent methods calculate the electrostatic features quickly, but these methods are not able to balance the high net biomolecular charges effectively. Explicit solvent methods add unbalanced ions to neutralize the highly charged biomolecules in molecular dynamic simulations, which require more expensive computing resources.

The demography of extinction in eastern North American birds.

Species are being lost at an unprecedented rate during the Anthropocene. Progress has been made in clarifying how species traits influence their propensity to go extinct, but the role historical demography plays in species loss or persistence is unclear. In eastern North America, five charismatic landbirds went extinct last century, and the causes of their extinctions have been heavily debated.

Shape-adaptive single-molecule magnetism and hysteresis up to 14 K in oxide clusterfullerenes DyO@C and DyO@C with fused pentagon pairs and flexible Dy-(μ-O)-Dy angle.

Dysprosium oxide clusterfullerenes DyO@C(10528)-C and DyO@C(13333)-C are synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Carbon cages of both molecules feature two adjacent pentagon pairs. These pentalene units determine positions of endohedral Dy ions hence the shape of the DyO cluster, which is bent in DyO@C but linear in DyO@C.

A Model for Studying the Biomechanical Effects of Varying Ratios of Collagen Types I and III on Cardiomyocytes.

Purpose: To develop a novel model composed solely of Col I and Col III with the lower and upper limits set to include the ratios of Col I and Col III at 3:1 and 9:1 in which the structural and mechanical behavior of the resident CM can be studied. Further, the progression of fibrosis due to change in ratios of Col I:Col III was tested.

Methods: Collagen gels with varying Col I:Col III ratios to represent a healthy (3:1) and diseased myocardial tissue were prepared by manually casting them in wells.

3D Bioprinted Spheroidal Droplets for Engineering the Heterocellular Coupling between Cardiomyocytes and Cardiac Fibroblasts.

Since conventional human cardiac two-dimensional (2D) cell culture and multilayered three-dimensional (3D) models fail in recapitulating cellular complexity and possess inferior translational capacity, we designed and developed a high-throughput scalable 3D bioprinted cardiac spheroidal droplet-organoid model with cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts that can be used for drug screening or regenerative engineering applications. This study helped establish the parameters for bioprinting and cross-linking a gelatin-alginate-based bioink into 3D spheroidal droplets. A flattened disk-like structure developed in prior studies from our laboratory was used as a control.