Prairie voles seek social contact with peer companions during immune challenge.

Selection for group living has occurred across taxa, despite inherent risk of disease transmission. Behavioral and immune responses to sickness affect social interactions and can be altered by social contexts. However, the majority of research on sickness behavior has focused on species that do not form selective social relationships.

Reductive pathways in molten inorganic salts enable colloidal synthesis of III-V semiconductor nanocrystals.

Colloidal quantum dots, with their size-tunable optoelectronic properties and scalable synthesis, enable applications in which inexpensive high-performance semiconductors are needed. Synthesis science breakthroughs have been key to the realization of quantum dot technologies, but important group III-group V semiconductors, including colloidal gallium arsenide (GaAs), still cannot be synthesized with existing approaches. The high-temperature molten salt colloidal synthesis introduced in this work enables the preparation of previously intractable colloidal materials.

Soft hydrogel semiconductors with augmented biointeractive functions.

Hydrogels, known for their mechanical and chemical similarity to biological tissues, are widely used in biotechnologies, whereas semiconductors provide advanced electronic and optoelectronic functionalities such as signal amplification, sensing, and photomodulation. Combining semiconducting properties with hydrogel designs can enhance biointeractive functions and intimacy at biointerfaces, but this is challenging owing to the low hydrophilicity of polymer semiconductors. We developed a solvent affinity-induced assembly method that incorporates water-insoluble polymer semiconductors into double-network hydrogels.

Highly sensitive multiplexed colorimetric lateral flow immunoassay by plasmon-controlled metal-silica isoform nanocomposites: PINs.

Lateral flow assay (LFA) systems use metal nanoparticles for rapid and convenient target detection and are extensively studied for the diagnostics of various diseases. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are often used as probes in LFAs, displaying a single red color. However, there is a high demand for colorimetric LFAs to detect multiple biomarkers, requiring the use of multicolored NPs.

Learning protocols for the fast and efficient control of active matter.

Exact analytic calculation shows that optimal control protocols for passive molecular systems often involve rapid variations and discontinuities. However, similar analytic baselines are not generally available for active-matter systems, because it is more difficult to treat active systems exactly. Here we use machine learning to derive efficient control protocols for active-matter systems, and find that they are characterized by sharp features similar to those seen in passive systems.

Synthetic Control of Water-Stable Hybrid Perovskitoid Semiconductors.

Hybrid metal-halide perovskites and their derived materials have emerged as the next-generation semiconductors with a wide range of applications, including photovoltaics, light-emitting devices, and other optoelectronics. Over the past decade, numerous single-crystalline perovskite derivatives have been synthesized and developed. However, the synthetic methods for these derivatives mainly rely on acidic crystallization conditions.

Binding profiles for 961 and transcription factors reveal tissue-specific regulatory relationships.

A catalog of transcription factor (TF) binding sites in the genome is critical for deciphering regulatory relationships. Here, we present the culmination of the efforts of the modENCODE (model organism Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) and modERN (model organism Encyclopedia of Regulatory Networks) consortia to systematically assay TF binding events in vivo in two major model organisms, (fly) and (worm). These data sets comprise 605 TFs identifying 3.

Learning from employer experiences with paid leave policy expansions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States does not have a federal policy offering employees paid leave. We study employer attitudes toward the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) federal emergency paid leave policies temporarily adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to draw lessons for proposed permanent federal paid leave policies. We analyzed a 2021 survey of 300 San Francisco Bay Area employers to examine employers' experiences with paid sick leave (PSL) and paid family leave (PFL) policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with their attitudes regarding FFCRA paid leave.

Non-averaged single-molecule tertiary structures reveal RNA self-folding through individual-particle cryo-electron tomography.

Large-scale and continuous conformational changes in the RNA self-folding process present significant challenges for structural studies, often requiring trade-offs between resolution and observational scope. Here, we utilize individual-particle cryo-electron tomography (IPET) to examine the post-transcriptional self-folding process of designed RNA origami 6-helix bundle with a clasp helix (6HBC). By avoiding selection, classification, averaging, or chemical fixation and optimizing cryo-ET data acquisition parameters, we reconstruct 120 three-dimensional (3D) density maps from 120 individual particles at an electron dose of no more than 168 eÅ, achieving averaged resolutions ranging from 23 to 35 Å, as estimated by Fourier shell correlation (FSC) at 0.

Sustainable transformation of energy sector: Cluster analysis for the sustainable development strategies of selected European countries.

Implementing measures by the European countries within the framework of the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement should ensure an enlarged share in energy production from alternative energy sources and the introduction of new alternative energy capacities, which would provide an annual decrease in carbon dioxide emissions growth rate, reduce anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment and the use of non-renewable natural resources while preserving biodiversity. This paper aims at forming a system of indicators of sustainable transformation of the energy sector and studying their influence on the policy of environmental-oriented development. The paper applies Ward's method for determining the optimal cluster number and discriminant analysis for checking which variables significantly influence the formation of countries' clusters.

The Transdiagnostic Intervention for Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction (TranS-C) in community mental health: Comorbidity and use of modules under the microscope.

Sleep and circadian problems are intertwined with serious mental illness (SMI). Thus, optimizing treatments that target comorbid sleep and circadian problems and SMI is critical. Among adults with sleep and circadian problems and SMI, the present study conducted a secondary data analysis of the Transdiagnostic Intervention for Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction (TranS-C).

Future Shorelines: A Living Shoreline Site Selection and Design Decision Support Tool that Incorporates Future Conditions Induced by Sea Level Rise.

Most living shoreline site selection and design decision support tools are based upon existing environmental conditions. We developed a web-based, geospatial tool called Future Shorelines that integrates high-resolution landscape elevation data and a matrix of locally derived NOAA Interagency Sea Level Rise Scenarios to characterize future conditions of submergence and shoreline translation induced by sea level rise. Once the practitioner selects a location of interest, sea level rise scenario (e.

Achieving gigawatt-scale green hydrogen production and seasonal storage at industrial locations across the U.S.

Onsite production of gigawatt-scale wind- and solar-sourced hydrogen (H) at industrial locations depends on the ability to store and deliver otherwise-curtailed H during times of power shortages. Thousands of tonnes of H will require storage in regions where subsurface storage is scarce, which may only be possible using liquid organic H carriers. We evaluate aboveground system with a focus on providing technical insights into toluene/methylcyclohexane (TOL/MCH) storage systems in locations suitable for gigawatt-scale wind- and solar-powered electrolyzer systems in the United States.

Understanding the neural basis of natural intelligence.

Understanding the neural basis of natural intelligence necessitates a paradigm shift: from strict reductionism toward embracing complexity and diversity. New tools and theories enable us to tackle this challenge, providing unprecedented access to neural dynamics and behavior across time, contexts, and species. Principles for intelligent behavior and learning in the natural world are now, more than ever, within reach.

Acoustography by Beam Engineering and Acoustic Control Node: BEACON.

Acoustic manipulation has emerged as a valuable tool for precision controls and dynamic programming of cells and particles. However, conventional acoustic manipulation approaches lack the finesse necessary to form intricate, configurable, continuous, and 3D patterning of particles. Here, this study reports acoustography by Beam Engineering and Acoustic Control Node (BEACON), which delivers intricate, configurable patterns by guiding particles along custom paths with independent phase modulation.

A Multi-institutional Cluster Analysis to Identify Groups of Courses with Exemplary Opportunity Gaps for Undergraduate Students in the Biological Sciences.

Examining institutional data from seven cohorts of students intending to major in biology across five research-intensive institutions, this work analyzes opportunity gaps-defined as the difference between the grade received by students from the dominant and nondominant sociodemographic groups in institutions of higher education-at the course-section level across mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry disciplines. From this analysis, we find that the majority of course sections have large opportunity gaps between female and male students, students who are Black, Latino/a/e/x, or indigenous to the United States and its territories and students who are White or Asian, first-generation and non-first-generation students, and low-income and non-low-income students. This work provides a framework to analyze equity across institutions using robust methodology, including: using multiple approaches to measure grades, quantile regression rankscores which adjust for previous academic performance, and cluster analysis.

All In: Understanding and Motivating Stakeholders to Create an Equitable Culture of Student Success.

Discourse around Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the United States has long focused on improving the persistence and academic achievement of students. On the surface, such goals are reasonable and well-intentioned. However, the near-exclusive focus on those two outcomes as shorthand for "success" serves hegemonic norms which preclude the equitable success of all students.

Molecular states underlying neuronal cell type development and plasticity in the whisker cortex.

Mouse whisker somatosensory cortex (wS1) is a major model system to study the experience-dependent plasticity of cortical neuron physiology, morphology, and sensory coding. However, the role of sensory experience in regulating neuronal cell type development and gene expression in wS1 remains poorly understood. We assembled and annotated a transcriptomic atlas of wS1 during postnatal development comprising 45 molecularly distinct neuronal types that can be grouped into eight excitatory and four inhibitory neuron subclasses.

Room-temperature non-volatile optical manipulation of polar order in a charge density wave.

Utilizing ultrafast light-matter interaction to manipulate electronic states of quantum materials is an emerging area of research in condensed matter physics. It has significant implications for the development of future ultrafast electronic devices. However, the ability to induce long-lasting metastable electronic states in a fully reversible manner is a long-standing challenge.

Correlated topological flat bands in rhombohedral graphite.

Flat bands and nontrivial topological physics are two important topics of condensed matter physics. With a unique stacking configuration analogous to the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, rhombohedral graphite (RG) is a potential candidate for realizing both flat bands and nontrivial topological physics. Here, we report experimental evidence of topological flat bands (TFBs) on the surface of bulk RG, which are topologically protected by bulk helical Dirac nodal lines via the bulk-boundary correspondence.