A comprehensive study of multiscale pore structural characteristics in deep-buried coals of different ranks.

The pore structure characteristics of coal significantly influence its gas adsorption and desorption capacity, as well as gas migration, playing a crucial role in the development of coalbed methane and the management of gas-related disasters. To investigate the pore distribution characteristics of coal in-depth, pore data for coal samples with varying degrees of metamorphism were obtained using low-pressure nitrogen adsorption (LPGA-N), low-pressure CO adsorption (LPGA-CO) methods, and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). Multiscale pore size distributions were constructed for three types of coal samples.

Bedmap3 updated ice bed, surface and thickness gridded datasets for Antarctica.

We present Bedmap3, the latest suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic south of 60 °S. Bedmap3 incorporates and adds to all post-1950s datasets previously used for Bedmap2, including 84 new aero-geophysical surveys by 15 data providers, an additional 52 million data points and 1.9 million line-kilometres of measurement.

Business Intent and Network Slicing Correlation Dataset from Data-Driven Perspective.

Intent-Based Networking (IBN) is an emerging network management technology that enables automated configurations based on user intents. A critical aspect of IBN is the accurate and autonomous extraction of user intents and their translation into a language comprehensible by network management systems. However, the current scarcity of publicly available datasets for intent extraction presents significant challenges.

Integrated Three-in-one to Boost Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia Utilizing a 1D Mesoporous Carbon Cascade Nanoreactor.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO) offers a promising waste-to-value strategy for synthesizing ammonia (NH), yet it involves a complex multi-interface system with several stages such as mass transport, species enrichment, and interfacial transformation. This complexity necessitates catalysts with diverse structural characteristics across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Herein, a three-in-one nanoreactor system is designed with 1D geometry, open mesochannels, and synergistic active sites for optimized NH synthesis.

Impact of liver fibrosis on AAV-mediated gene transfer to mouse hepatocytes.

Liver fibrosis, characterized by scar tissue accumulation due to liver injury, poses significant barriers to liver-targeted gene therapy. Current clinical trials exclude patients with fibrosis, as intact liver architecture is considered essential for efficient and safe adeno-associated viral vector (AAV)-mediated gene delivery. Here, we show that liver fibrosis reduces the efficiency of hepatocyte transduction by AAV8 vectors across three mouse models with diverse fibrotic patterns.

Rational Design of Lanthanide-Binding Tags to Optimize Magnetic Anisotropy in Paramagnetic Protein NMR.

Due to their exceptional anisotropic magnetic properties, lanthanide ion (Ln) complexes are of great utility in many fields of chemistry, including magnetic materials, biomedical imaging, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. How to achieve large magnetic anisotropies in the Ln complexes coordinated with open-chain ligands is still a challenge. In this study, we started from the open-chain 4PS-PyMTA ligand and assessed the magnetic anisotropy using installed Ln coordinating pendants by increasing size and rigidity.

Rare pathogenic structural variants show potential to enhance prostate cancer germline testing for African men.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is highly heritable, with men of African ancestry at greatest risk and associated lethality. Lack of representation in genomic data means germline testing guidelines exclude for Africans. Established that structural variations (SVs) are major contributors to human disease and prostate tumourigenesis, their role is under-appreciated in familial and therapeutic testing.

Variation in wood density across South American tropical forests.

Wood density is a critical control on tree biomass, so poor understanding of its spatial variation can lead to large and systematic errors in forest biomass estimates and carbon maps. The need to understand how and why wood density varies is especially critical in tropical America where forests have exceptional species diversity and spatial turnover in composition. As tree identity and forest composition are challenging to estimate remotely, ground surveys are essential to know the wood density of trees, whether measured directly or inferred from their identity.

Discrete and conserved inflammatory signatures drive thrombosis in different organs after Salmonella infection.

Inflammation-induced thrombosis is a common consequence of bacterial infections, such as those caused by Salmonella Typhimurium (STm). The presentation of multi-organ thrombosis post-infection that develops and resolves with organ-specific kinetics raises significant challenges for its therapeutic control. Here, we identify specific inflammatory events driving thrombosis in the spleens and livers of STm-infected mice.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor levels and atherothrombotic events in patients with chronic kidney disease or diabetes.

Increased tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aim to evaluate the predictive capability of TFPI for atherothrombotic events (ATE) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes. A prospective observational study was performed at Northern Health, Australia.

Far-red light-driven photoautotrophy of chlorophyll f-producing cyanobacterium without red-shifted phycobilisome core complex.

Chlorophyll (Chl) f production expands oxygenic photosynthesis of some cyanobacteria into the far-red light (FRL) region through reconstructed FRL-allophycocyanin (APC) cores and Chl f-containing photosystems. Presently, a unicellular cyanobacterium was isolated for studying FRL photoacclimation (FaRLiP) and classified as a new species Altericista leshanensis. It uses additional Chl f and FRL-APC cores, with retained white light (WL)-phycobiliproteins to thrive FRL conditions.

FGFR1 variation in the divergent settings of congenital hypopituitarism and pituitary tumours.

Purpose: Pituitary tumours are relatively common, and familial in approximately 5% of cases. However, germline genetic contributions to pituitary tumour development are incompletely characterised. Preliminary evidence suggests pituitary tumours may be promoted by variants in pituitary organogenesis genes.

The Hippo effector TEAD1 regulates postnatal murine cerebellar development.

The Hippo signalling cascade is an evolutionarily conserved pathway critical for the development of numerous organ systems and is required for the development of many parts of the mammalian nervous system, including the cerebellum. The Hippo pathway converges, via the nuclear YAP/TAZ co-transcription factors, on transcription factors of the TEA Domain (TEAD) family (TEAD1-4) and promotes the expression of pro-proliferative genes. Despite the importance of TEAD function, our understanding of spatial and temporal expression of this family is limited, as is our understanding of which TEAD family members regulate Hippo-dependent organ development.

Prophylactic Tranexamic Acid Use in Orthognathic Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effects of tranexamic acid (TXA) on bleeding and thromboembolic events in orthognathic surgery out.

Methods: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) were searched until 01/06/2024.

Results: Nine randomised controlled trials and two cohort studies were included for pooled analysis.

Nanomaterial Innovations and Machine Learning in Gas Sensing Technologies for Real-Time Health Diagnostics.

Breath sensors represent a frontier in noninvasive diagnostics, leveraging the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath for real-time health monitoring. This review highlights recent advancements in breath-sensing technologies, with a focus on the innovative materials driving their enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. Polymers, carbon-based materials like graphene and carbon nanotubes, and metal oxides such as ZnO and SnO have demonstrated significant potential in detecting biomarkers related to diseases including diabetes, liver/kidney dysfunction, asthma, and gut health.

Alphavirus nsP2: A Multifunctional Regulator of Viral Replication and Promising Target for Anti-Alphavirus Therapies.

Alphaviruses are re-emerging vector-born pathogens that cause arthralgia or encephalitic diseases on a global scale. While a vaccine against chikungunya virus was recently approved, no vaccines currently exist for other alphaviruses, nor are there antiviral drugs for the treatment of alphavirus infections. Alphaviruses have positive-strand RNA genomes, and their RNA replication is coordinated by activities of the multifunctional nonstructural protein 2 (nsP2), a helicase-protease and a subunit of viral RNA replicase.

Mowat-Wilson Syndrome in Hirschsprung: Something Special or Just a Generic Problem?

The author comments on the recent paper by Cheng et al describing a series of MWS patients derived from a much larger series of HSCR patients. Children operated for HSCR with developmental delay suffer more difficulties than children without, but the literature varies on the outcomes associated with developmental delay such as Down syndrome and MWS. The author suggests that the degree of developmental delay has a bearing on outcome, and he further asks whether MWS has any particular features to make its prognosis different from other developmental delay syndromes associated with HSCR.

My Life: A Photovoice Exploration of Aspirations of People With Intellectual Disabilities.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the everyday ways that individuals with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities exercise choice and control.

Method: Photovoice with 17 adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability who were receiving individual funding was conducted. Focus groups were held to review the photos.

Exploring Changes in Primary Motor Cortex Organization and Associations With Changes in Motor-Sensory Tests Over Time in Relation to Low Back Pain Recovery. A Longitudinal Study.

The evidence for primary motor cortex reorganization in people with low back pain varies and is conflicting. Little is known about its association with motor and sensory tests, and recovery. We investigated primary motor cortex (re)organization and its associations with motor and sensory tests over time in people with (N = 25) and without (N = 25) low back pain in a longitudinal study with a 5-week follow-up.

Highlights of 2024. Broadening anti-cancer immunotherapy modalities with antibody-drug conjugates: emerging insights from clinical studies.

In this article for the "Highlights of 2024" series, we discuss antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are an emerging class of targeted cancer therapies that harness the specificity of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cytotoxic agents directly to tumor cells. ADCs bind to tumor-associated antigens, undergo internalization via receptor-mediated endocytosis, and release their cytotoxic payload intracellularly, reducing systemic toxicity. This highly selective mechanism has led to significant advancements in oncology, improving treatment efficacy while minimizing adverse effects.

Drinking water plumbing systems are a hot spot for antimicrobial resistant pathogens.

Background: Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens in drinking water plumbing systems represent a significant yet underestimated public health threat.

Methods: This is the first study to use qPCR and culture-based methods to investigate the prevalence of key AMR threats, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, in Australian hospital and residential drinking water and biofilm samples.

Results: Seventy three percent of residential water and biofilm samples were qPCR positive for at least one target pathogen compared with 38% of hospital samples, and 45% of residential plumbing fixtures harboured at least two target pathogens.

Inflammation and metabolic dysfunction underly anhedonia-like behavior in antidepressant resistant male rats.

Inflammation and metabolic dysfunction impair dopamine neurotransmission, which is thought to serve as a critical mechanism underpinning motivational deficits such as anhedonia across a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. This difficult-to-treat transdiagnostic symptom has important implications for treatment resistant depression (TRD), and may warrant more targeted therapeutic approaches that address the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Using the adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) model of antidepressant treatment resistance we characterized the relationship between antidepressant-like and anhedonia-like behavioral responses to bupropion, mesocortical tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression, chronic low-grade inflammation, and metabolic changes in male rats.

Long-term health, neurodevelopmental and educational outcomes of children born to mothers with hyperemesis gravidarum: A population-based sibling-design record linkage cohort study.

Background: Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), characterised by severe and constant nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, can lead to nutritional deficiencies and other pregnancy complications. In turn, HG has also been linked with adverse long-term health and neurodevelopmental outcomes for the children of women affected by HG. However, previous studies have not accounted for potential confounding due to shared family-level factors.

Evaluating practical approaches for including MYOC variants alongside common variants for genetics-based risk stratification for glaucoma: Including MYOC Variants for Glaucoma Risk Stratification.

Objective: Rare variants in the MYOC gene are associated with glaucoma risk, with p.Gln368Ter the most common pathogenic variant in Europeans. Genetics-based risk stratification may aid with early diagnosis for glaucoma but it is unclear how best to combine the p.