Biomimetic tools: insights and implications of a comprehensive analysis and classification.

Biomimetics as the transdisciplinary field leveraging biologically inspired solutions for technical and practical challenges has gained traction in recent decades. Despite its potential for innovation, the complexity of its process requires a deeper understanding of underlying tasks, leading to the development of various tools to aid this process. This study identified an inventory of 104 tools used in biomimetics, of which 24 have been classified as fully accessible, functional, and ready-to-use biomimetic tools.

Acute encephalopathy without hyperammonemia has a different presentation than overt hepatic encephalopathy and displays similarly severe prognosis.

Background And Aims: In cirrhosis, some patients display acute encephalopathy without hyperammonemia (NonHep E) which is not considered as overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE). We aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of NonHep E and OHE in cirrhotic patients displaying acute encephalopathy, assess their respective prognosis and compare it to other causes of acute decompensation (AD) with/without hyperammonemia.

Approach And Results: We conducted a retrolective analysis from a prospective cohort of patients hospitalized for AD.

Fatuamide A, a Hybrid PKS/NRPS Metallophore from a sp. Marine Cyanobacterium Collected in American Samoa.

A structurally novel metabolite, fatuamide A (), was discovered from a laboratory cultured strain of the marine cyanobacterium sp., collected from Faga'itua Bay, American Samoa. A bioassay-guided approach using NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells directed the isolation of fatuamide A, which was obtained from the most cytotoxic fraction.

Tree age affects key fine root morphological traits but does not interfere strongly with (ecto-)mycorrhizal traits.

Background And Aims: It is assumed that trees should adapt their above and belowground organs as they age. However, most studies to date have quantified these trait adjustments in homogeneous forest stands, confounding the effect of stand aging on soil properties and the intrinsic response of trees to aging.

Methods: Here, we examined 11 morphological, architectural, anatomical and mycorrhizal fine root traits of each of the first five orders for 66 Pinus koraiensis individuals of 16 to 285 years old in northeast China, while accounting for soil characteristics (pH and total C, N and P concentrations).

Early-onset sleep alterations found in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are ameliorated by orexin antagonist in mouse models.

Sleep alterations have been described in several neurodegenerative diseases yet are currently poorly characterized in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study investigates sleep macroarchitecture and related hypothalamic signaling disruptions in ALS. Using polysomnography, we found that both patients with ALS as well as asymptomatic and mutation carriers exhibited increased wakefulness and reduced non-rapid eye movement sleep.

Unraveling Ofloxacin Behavior in Aqueous Environments: Molecular Dynamics of Colloidal Formation and Surface Adsorption Mechanisms.

Ofloxacin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic, raises serious environmental concerns due to its persistence in aquatic systems. This study offers new insights into the environmental behavior of ofloxacin and its interactions with carbon-based adsorbents with the aim of enhancing our understanding of its removal mechanisms via adsorption processes. Using a comprehensive computational approach, we analyzed the speciation, pK values, and solubility of ofloxacin across various pH conditions, accounting for all four microspecies, including the often-overlooked neutral form.

Replication-Poison Treatment in BRCA1-Deficient Breast Cancer Causes MRE11 Over-Resection that Induces Single-Stranded DNA Accumulation and Mitotic Catastrophe.

BRCA1 deficiency is observed in approximately 25% of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). BRCA1, a key player of homologous recombination (HR) repair, is also involved in stalled DNA replication fork protection and repair. Here, we investigated the sensitivity of BRCA1-deficient TNBC models to the frequently used replication chain terminator gemcitabine, which does not directly induce DNA breaks.

Computational Methods for Modeling Lipid-Mediated Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Delivery.

Lipid-mediated delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) opened new possibilities in advanced therapies. By encapsulating an API into a lipid nanocarrier (LNC), one can safely deliver APIs not soluble in water, those with otherwise strong adverse effects, or very fragile ones such as nucleic acids. However, for the rational design of LNCs, a detailed understanding of the composition-structure-function relationships is missing.

Metabolically stable apelin analogs: development and functional role in water balance and cardiovascular function.

Apelin, a (neuro) vasoactive peptide, plays a prominent role in controlling water balance and cardiovascular functions. Apelin and its receptor co-localize with vasopressin in magnocellular vasopressinergic neurons. Apelin receptors (Apelin-Rs) are also expressed in the collecting ducts of the kidney, where vasopressin type 2 receptors are also present.

Amphiphilic Poly(β-Myrcene--Acrylic Acid) Copolymers Synthesized by Nitroxide-Mediated Copolymerization as Stabilizers of Terpene-Based Waterborne Latex.

Terpene-based amphiphilic copolymers have been designed as biobased stabilizers for waterborne latex synthesized by miniemulsion or emulsion polymerization of 1,3-diene terpene monomers. The pH-responsive P(AA--My) amphiphilic copolymers were synthesized by nitroxide-mediated radical copolymerization of β-myrcene (My) and acrylic acid (AA) with reactivity ratios of = 0.24 ± 0.

Stochastic Density Functional Theory for Ions in a Polar Solvent.

In recent years, the theoretical description of electrical noise and fluctuation-induced effects in electrolytes has gained renewed interest, enabled by stochastic field theories like stochastic density functional theory (SDFT). Such models, however, treat solvents implicitly, ignoring their generally polar nature. In the present study, starting from microscopic principles, we derive a fully explicit SDFT theory that applies to ions in a polar solvent.

Elastic Wave Packets Crossing a Space-Time Interface.

The interaction between waves and evolving media challenges traditional conservation laws. We experimentally investigate the behavior of elastic wave packets crossing a moving interface that separates two media with distinct propagation properties, observing the noninvariance of wavelength and frequency. Our experimental setup employs an elastic strip whose local stretching can be dynamically altered by pulling one end at a constant velocity.

Symmetry: A Fundamental Resource for Quantum Coherence and Metrology.

We introduce a new paradigm for the preparation of deeply entangled states useful for quantum metrology. We show that, when the quantum state is an eigenstate of an operator A, observables G which are completely off diagonal with respect to A have purely quantum fluctuations, as quantified by the quantum Fisher information, namely, F_{Q}(G)=4⟨G^{2}⟩. This property holds regardless of the purity of the quantum state, and it implies that off-diagonal fluctuations represent a metrological resource for phase estimation.

Superselection Rules and Bosonic Quantum Computational Resources.

We present a method to systematically identify and classify quantum optical nonclassical states as classical or nonclassical based on the resources they create on a bosonic quantum computer. This is achieved by converting arbitrary bosonic states into multiple modes, each occupied by a single photon, thereby defining qubits of a bosonic quantum computer. Starting from a bosonic classical-like state in a representation that explicitly respects particle number superselection rules, we apply universal gates to create arbitrary superpositions of states with the same total particle number.

Accurate Standard Siren Cosmology with Joint Gravitational-Wave and γ-Ray Burst Observations.

Joint gravitational-wave and γ-ray burst (GRB) observations are among the best prospects for standard siren cosmology. However, the strong selection effect for the coincident GRB detection, which is possible only for sources with small inclination angles, induces a systematic uncertainty that is currently not accounted for. We show that this severe source of bias can be removed by inferring the a priori unknown electromagnetic detection probability directly from multimessenger data.

Observation of Optical Chaotic Solitons and Modulated Subharmonic Route to Chaos in Mode-Locked Laser.

We reveal a new scenario for the transition of solitons to chaos in a mode-locked fiber laser: the modulated subharmonic route. Its universality is confirmed in two different laser configurations, namely, a figure-of-eight and a ring laser. Numerical simulations of the laser models agree well with the experiments.

Soliton Dynamics over a Disordered Topography.

We report on the dynamics of a soliton propagating on the surface of a fluid in a 4-m-long canal with a random or periodic bottom topography. Using a full space-and-time resolved wave field measurement, we evidence, for the first time experimentally, how the soliton is affected by the disorder, in the context of Anderson localization, and how localization depends on nonlinearity. For weak soliton amplitudes, the localization length is found in quantitative agreement with a linear shallow-water theory.

Topological Moiré Polaritons.

The combination of an in-plane honeycomb potential and of a photonic spin-orbit coupling (SOC) emulates a photonic or polaritonic analog of bilayer graphene. We show that modulating the SOC magnitude allows us to change the overall lattice periodicity, emulating any type of moiré-arranged bilayer graphene with unique all-optical access to the moiré band topology. We show that breaking the time-reversal symmetry by an effective exciton-polariton Zeeman splitting opens a large topological gap in the array of moiré flat bands.

Algebraic Depletion Interactions in Two-Temperature Mixtures.

The phase separation that occurs in two-temperature mixtures, which are driven out of equilibrium at the local scale, has been thoroughly characterized, but much less is known about the depletion interactions that drive it. Using numerical simulations in dimension 2, we show that the depletion interactions extend beyond two particle diameters in dilute systems, as expected at equilibrium, and decay algebraically with an exponent -4. Solving for the N-particle distribution function in the stationary state, perturbatively in the interaction potential, we show that algebraic correlations with an exponent -2d arise from triplets of particles at different temperatures in spatial dimension d.

Simultaneous Unbinned Differential Cross-Section Measurement of Twenty-Four Z+jets Kinematic Observables with the ATLAS Detector.

Z boson events at the Large Hadron Collider can be selected with high purity and are sensitive to a diverse range of QCD phenomena. As a result, these events are often used to probe the nature of the strong force, improve Monte Carlo event generators, and search for deviations from standard model predictions. All previous measurements of Z boson production characterize the event properties using a small number of observables and present the results as differential cross sections in predetermined bins.

Measurement of Λ_{b}^{0}, Λ_{c}^{+}, and Λ Decay Parameters Using Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}h^{-} Decays.

A comprehensive study of the angular distributions in the bottom-baryon decays Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}h^{-}(h=π,K), followed by Λ_{c}^{+}→Λh^{+} with Λ→pπ^{-} or Λ_{c}^{+}→pK_{S}^{0} decays, is performed using a data sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1} collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. The decay parameters and the associated charge-parity (CP) asymmetries are measured, with no significant CP violation observed. For the first time, the Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}h^{-} decay parameters are measured.

Generic Elasticity of Thermal, Underconstrained Systems.

Athermal (i.e., zero-temperature) underconstrained systems are typically floppy, but they can be rigidified by the application of external strain, which is theoretically well understood.

HBV and HBsAg strongly reshape the phenotype, function, and metabolism of DCs according to patients' clinical stage.

Background: Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by HBV. Infected individuals who fail to control the viral infection develop chronic hepatitis B and are at risk of developing life-threatening liver diseases, such as cirrhosis or liver cancer. Dendritic cells (DCs) play important roles in the immune response against HBV but are functionally impaired in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

TgGloL is an atypical glyoxalase/VOC domain-containing apicoplast protein that is important for the growth of .

Glycolysis is a conserved metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate in the cytosol, producing ATP and NADH. In and several other apicomplexan parasites, some glycolytic enzymes have isoforms located in their plastid (called the apicoplast). In this organelle, glycolytic intermediates like glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GAP) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) are imported from the cytosol and further metabolized, providing ATP, reducing power, and precursors for anabolic pathways such as isoprenoid synthesis.