The surface termination of a Fe (III) spin crossover molecular salt.

From a comparison of the known molecular stoichiometry and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), it is evident that the Fe(III) spin crossover salt [Fe(qsal)2Ni(dmit)2], where qsal = N(8quinolyl)salicylaldimine, and dmit2- = 1,3-dithiol-2-thione-4,5-dithiolato has a preferential surface termination with the Ni(dmit)2 moiety. This preferential surface termination leads to a significant surface to bulk core level shift for the Ni 2p X-ray photoemission core level, not seen in the corresponding Fe 2p core level spectra. A similar surface to bulk core level shift is seen in Pd 3d in the related [Fe(qsal)2]2Pd(dmit)2, ], where qsal = N(8quinolyl)salicylaldimine, and dmit2- = 1,3-dithiol-2-thione-4,5-dithiolato.

Millimeter-scale radioluminescent power for electronic sensors.

The storage and generation of electrical energy at the mm-scale is a core roadblock to realizing many untethered miniature systems, including industrial, environmental, and medically implanted sensors. We describe the potential to address the sensor energy requirement in a two-step process by first converting alpha radiation into light, which can then be translated into electrical power through a photovoltaic harvester circuit protected by a clear sealant. Different phosphorescent and scintillating materials were mixed with the alpha-emitter Th-227, and the conversion efficiency of europium-doped yttrium oxide was the highest at around 2%.

Competing addition processes give distinct growth regimes in the assembly of 1D filaments.

We present a model to describe the concentration-dependent growth of protein filaments. Our model contains two states, a low entropy/high affinity ordered state and a high entropy/low affinity disordered state. Consistent with experiments, our model shows a diffusion-limited linear growth regime at low concentration, followed by a concentration-independent plateau at intermediate concentrations, and rapid disordered precipitation at the highest concentrations.

Signatures of natural selection may indicate a genetic basis for the beneficial effects of oily fish intake in indigenous people from coastal Ecuador.

Atahualpa is a rural village located in coastal Ecuador, a region that has been inhabited by people as early as 10,000 years ago. The traditional diet of their indigenous inhabitants is rich in oily fish and they have, therefore, served as a model for investigating the beneficial effects of such a diet. However, the genetic background of this population has not been studied.

Splicing accuracy varies across human introns, tissues, age and disease.

Alternative splicing impacts most multi-exonic human genes. Inaccuracies during this process may have an important role in ageing and disease. Here, we investigate splicing accuracy using RNA-sequencing data from >14k control samples and 40 human body sites, focusing on split reads partially mapping to known transcripts in annotation.

Characterizing hole trap production due to proton irradiation in germanium cross-strip detectors.

We present an investigation into the effects of high-energy proton damage on charge trapping in germanium cross-strip detectors with the goal of accomplishing three important measurements. First, we calibrated and characterized the spectral resolution of a spare COSI-balloon detector in order to determine the effects of intrinsic trapping, finding that electron trapping due to impurities dominates over hole trapping in the undamaged detector. Second, we performed two rounds of proton irradiation of the detector in order to quantify, for the first time, the rate at which charge traps are produced by proton irradiation.

Evolutionary Trajectories of Shoots vs. Roots: Plant Volatile Metabolomes Are Richer but Less Structurally Diverse Belowground in the Tropical Tree Genus .

The breadth and depth of plant leaf metabolomes have been implicated in key interactions with plant enemies aboveground. In particular, divergence in plant species chemical composition-amongst neighbors, relatives, or both-is often suggested as a means of escape from insect herbivore enemies. Plants also experience strong pressure from enemies such as belowground pathogens; however, little work has been carried out to examine the evolutionary trajectories of species' specialized chemistries in both roots and leaves.

Relations Between Parental Emotion Talk and Preschoolers' Emotion Expressions in Low-Income Chinese American and Mexican American Families.

: Preschool children learn to express emotions in accordance with sociocultural norms. Parental emotion talk (ET) has been theorized to shape these processes. Limited research has examined preschoolers' observed emotion expressions and emotion-related behaviors in culturally diverse samples.

Diverse and highly differentiated lava suite in Jezero crater, Mars: Constraints on intracrustal magmatism revealed by Mars 2020 PIXL.

The Jezero crater floor features a suite of related, iron-rich lavas that were examined and sampled by the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance, and whose textures, minerals, and compositions were characterized by the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). This suite, known as the Máaz formation (fm), includes dark-toned basaltic/trachy-basaltic rocks with intergrown pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar, and altered olivine and overlying trachy-andesitic lava with reversely zoned plagioclase phenocrysts in a K-rich groundmass. Feldspar thermal disequilibrium textures indicate that they were carried from their crustal staging area.

Description of the New Species (Hydnangiaceae, Basidiomycota) and a Reassessment of Based on Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses.

is a diverse and widespread genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi that form symbiotic associations with various trees and shrubs, playing a significant role in forest ecosystems. Approximately 85 species are formally recognised, but recent studies indicate this number may be an underestimation, highlighting the need for further taxonomic studies to improve our understanding of species boundaries. This manuscript focuses on , originally described by Singer in 1967 as var.

The Carnivoran Adaptive Landscape Reveals Trade-offs among Functional Traits in the Skull, Appendicular, and Axial Skeleton.

Analyses of form-function relationships are widely used to understand links between morphology, ecology, and adaptation across macroevolutionary scales. However, few have investigated functional trade-offs and covariance within and between the skull, limbs, and vertebral column simultaneously. In this study, we investigated the adaptive landscape of skeletal form and function in carnivorans to test how functional trade-offs among these skeletal regions contribute to ecological adaptations and the topology of the landscape.

Combined UV/HO and biochar processes for enhanced removal of contaminants of emerging concern in dry wells.

Dry wells are neighborhood-scale stormwater infiltration systems increasingly used in drought-prone areas for stormwater capture and groundwater recharge. These systems bypass the low permeability surface soil to maximize infiltration rates. However, hydrophilic contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in urban runoff pose potential groundwater contamination risks.

Identify biological Alzheimer's disease using a novel nucleic acid-linked protein immunoassay.

Blood-based biomarkers have been revolutionizing the detection, diagnosis and screening of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, phosphorylated-tau variants (p-tau, p-tau and p-tau) are promising biomarkers for identifying Alzheimer's disease pathology. Antibody-based assays such as single molecule arrays immunoassays are powerful tools to investigate pathological changes indicated by blood-based biomarkers and have been studied extensively in the Alzheimer's disease research field.

Dynamic molecular architecture of the synaptonemal complex.

During meiosis, pairing between homologous chromosomes is stabilized by the assembly of the synaptonemal complex (SC). The SC ensures the formation of crossovers between homologous chromosomes and regulates their distribution. However, how the SC regulates crossover formation remains elusive.

Circularity in polydiketoenamine thermoplastics via control over reactive chain conformation.

Controlling the reactivity of bonds along polymer chains enables both functionalization and deconstruction with relevance to chemical recycling and circularity. Because the substrate is a macromolecule, however, understanding the effects of chain conformation on the reactivity of polymer bonds emerges as important yet underexplored. Here, we show how oxy-functionalization of chemically recyclable condensation polymers affects acidolysis to monomers through control over distortion and interaction energies in the rate-limiting transition states.

Itch.

A camping trip will quickly become unpleasant if a horde of mosquitoes descends while you pitch your tent, or you find yourself in a patch of poison oak. Whether due to an insect bite, a poisonous plant, or a chronic skin disease, everyone has experienced the urgent sensation of itch and the sweet relief of scratching. The itch-scratch cycle is so powerful that just reading about itch or seeing someone scratching elicits a strong desire to scratch.

A climatically significant abiotic mechanism driving carbon loss and nitrogen limitation in peat bogs.

Sphagnum-dominated bogs are climatically impactful systems that exhibit two puzzling characteristics: CO:CH ratios are greater than those predicted by electron balance models and C decomposition rates are enigmatically slow. We hypothesized that Maillard reactions partially explain both phenomena by increasing apparent CO production via eliminative decarboxylation and sequestering bioavailable nitrogen (N). We tested this hypothesis using incubations of sterilized Maillard reactants, and live and sterilized bog peat.

Enhanced multiscale human brain imaging by semi-supervised digital staining and serial sectioning optical coherence tomography.

A major challenge in neuroscience is visualizing the structure of the human brain at different scales. Traditional histology reveals micro- and meso-scale brain features but suffers from staining variability, tissue damage, and distortion, which impedes accurate 3D reconstructions. The emerging label-free serial sectioning optical coherence tomography (S-OCT) technique offers uniform 3D imaging capability across samples but has poor histological interpretability despite its sensitivity to cortical features.

Estimating Wingbeat Frequency of Hummingbirds using a No-labeling Learning Computer Vision Approach.

Wingbeat frequency estimation is an important aspect for the study of avian flight, energetics, and behavioral patterns, among others. Hummingbirds, in particular, are ideal subjects to test a method for this estimation due to their fast wing motions and unique aerodynamics, which results from their ecological diversification, adaptation to high-altitude environments, and sexually selected displays. Traditionally, wingbeat frequency measurements have been done via "manual" image/sound processing.

New approaches to secondary metabolite discovery from anaerobic gut microbes.

The animal gut microbiome is a complex system of diverse, predominantly anaerobic microbiota with secondary metabolite potential. These metabolites likely play roles in shaping microbial community membership and influencing animal host health. As such, novel secondary metabolites from gut microbes hold significant biotechnological and therapeutic interest.

FSP1-mediated lipid droplet quality control prevents neutral lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles that store and supply lipids based on cellular needs. While mechanisms preventing oxidative damage to membrane phospholipids are established, the vulnerability of LD neutral lipids to peroxidation and protective mechanisms are unknown. Here, we identify LD-localized Ferroptosis Suppressor Protein 1 (FSP1) as a critical regulator that prevents neutral lipid peroxidation by recycling coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to its lipophilic antioxidant form.

ChromBPNet: bias factorized, base-resolution deep learning models of chromatin accessibility reveal cis-regulatory sequence syntax, transcription factor footprints and regulatory variants.

Despite extensive mapping of cis-regulatory elements (cREs) across cellular contexts with chromatin accessibility assays, the sequence syntax and genetic variants that regulate transcription factor (TF) binding and chromatin accessibility at context-specific cREs remain elusive. We introduce ChromBPNet, a deep learning DNA sequence model of base-resolution accessibility profiles that detects, learns and deconvolves assay-specific enzyme biases from regulatory sequence determinants of accessibility, enabling robust discovery of compact TF motif lexicons, cooperative motif syntax and precision footprints across assays and sequencing depths. Extensive benchmarks show that ChromBPNet, despite its lightweight design, is competitive with much larger contemporary models at predicting variant effects on chromatin accessibility, pioneer TF binding and reporter activity across assays, cell contexts and ancestry, while providing interpretation of disrupted regulatory syntax.

System-level modeling with temperature compensation for a CMOS-MEMS monolithic calorimetric flow sensing SoC.

We present a system-level model with an on-chip temperature compensation technique for a CMOS-MEMS monolithic calorimetric flow sensing SoC. The model encompasses mechanical, thermal, and electrical domains to facilitate the co-design of a MEMS sensor and CMOS interface circuits on the EDA platform. The compensation strategy is implemented on-chip with a variable temperature difference heating circuit.

Novel adaptive immune systems in pristine Antarctic soils.

Antarctic environments are dominated by microorganisms, which are vulnerable to viral infection. Although several studies have investigated the phylogenetic repertoire of bacteria and viruses in these poly-extreme environments with freezing temperatures, high ultra violet irradiation levels, low moisture availability and hyper-oligotrophy, the evolutionary mechanisms governing microbial immunity remain poorly understood. Using genome-resolved metagenomics, we test the hypothesis that Antarctic poly-extreme high-latitude microbiomes harbour diverse adaptive immune systems.

Unifying community whole-brain imaging datasets enables robust neuron identification and reveals determinants of neuron position in C. elegans.

We develop a data harmonization approach for C. elegans volumetric microscopy data, consisting of a standardized format, pre-processing techniques, and human-in-the-loop machine-learning-based analysis tools. Using this approach, we unify a diverse collection of 118 whole-brain neural activity imaging datasets from five labs, storing these and accompanying tools in an online repository WormID (wormid.