Anthropogenic Aerosols Modulated 20th-Century Sahel Rainfall Variability Via Their Impacts on North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature.

The Sahel rainfall has a close teleconnection with North Atlantic sea surface temperature (NASST) variability, which has separately been shown to be affected by aerosols. Therefore, changes in regional aerosols emission could potentially drive multidecadal Sahel rainfall variability. Here we combine ensembles of state-of-the-art global climate models (the CESM and CanESM large ensemble simulations and CMIP6 models) with observational data sets to demonstrate that anthropogenic aerosols have significantly impacted 20th-century detrended Sahel rainfall multidecadal variability through modifying NASST.

Longitudinal humoral response in MS patients treated with cladribine tablets after receiving the second and third doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients receive immunomodulatory treatments which can influence their ability to maintain vaccine specific serological response overtime. MS patients treated with cladribine tablets developed a positive serology response following two doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. However, there is only limited data regarding the effect of cladribine tablets on long-term humoral response after the second and the third booster.

Sulfonium cations as versatile strongly π-acidic ligands.

More than a century old, sulfonium cations are still intriguing species in the landscape of organic chemistry. On one hand they have found broad applications in organic synthesis and materials science, but on the other hand, while isoelectronic to the ubiquitous tertiary phosphine ligands, their own coordination chemistry has been neglected for the last three decades. Here we report the synthesis and full characterization of the first Rh(i) and Pt(ii) complexes of sulfonium.

Use of artificial intelligence as a didactic tool to improve ejection fraction assessment in the emergency department: A randomized controlled pilot study.

Objectives: Incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into echocardiography operated by clinicians working in the emergency department to accurately assess left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) may lead to better diagnostic decisions. This randomized controlled pilot study aimed to evaluate AI use as a didactic tool to improve noncardiologist clinicians' assessment of LVEF from the apical 4-chamber (A4ch) view.

Methods: This prospective randomized controlled pilot study tested the feasibility and acceptability of the incorporation of AI as a didactic tool by comparing the ability of 16 clinicians who work in the emergency department to assess LVEF before and after the introduction of an AI-based ultrasound application.

Application of a conversion electrode based on decomposition derivatives of Ag[Fe(CN)] for aqueous electrolyte batteries.

The lack of stable electrode materials for water-based electrolytes due to the intercalation and conversion reaction mechanisms encourage scientists to design new or renovate existing materials with better cyclability, capacity, and cost-effectiveness. Ag[Fe(CN)] is a material belonging to the Prussian blue family that can be used, as its other family members, as an electrode material with the intercalation/deintercalation reaction or conversion-type mechanism through Ag oxidation/reduction. However, due to the instability of this material in its dry state, it decomposes to AgCN and a Prussian blue residual complex.

Introduction of quorum sensing elements into bacterial bioreporter circuits enhances explosives' detection capabilities.

A possible solution for the standoff detection of buried landmines is based on the use of microbial bioreporters, genetically engineered to emit a remotely detectable optical signal in response to trace amounts of explosives' signature chemicals, mostly 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT). Previously developed DNT sensor strains were based on the fusion of a DNT-inducible gene promoter to a reporting element, either a fluorescent protein gene or a bacterial bioluminescence gene cassette. In the present study, a different approach was used: the DNT-inducible promoter activates, in , the quorum-sensing and genes of .

Peer feedback decreases impulsive choice in adolescents with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: Impulsivity is a core feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous work using the delay discounting task to assess impulsivity reveals that adolescents with ADHD tend to prefer a smaller-immediate reward over a larger-delayed reward, and this relates to problematic choices in daily life. To gain a better understanding of daily decision-making in adolescence, it is important to examine the social context, as peers have a major influence on decisions.

One-pot construction of nitrogen-rich polymeric ionic porous networks for effective CO capture and fixation.

Facile preparation of ionic porous networks (IPNs) with large and permanent porosity is highly desirable for CO capture and transformation but remains a challenge. Here we report a one-pot base-mediated construction of nitrogen-rich IPNs through a combination of nucleophilic substitution and quaternisation chemistry from H-imidazole. This strategy, as proven by the model reactions of 1-imidazole or 1-methyl-1-imidazole with cyanuric chloride, allows for fine regulation of porosity and physicochemical properties, leading to nitrogen-rich IPNs featuring abundant ionic units and radicals.

Aptamer-modified DNA tetrahedra-gated metal-organic framework nanoparticle carriers for enhanced chemotherapy or photodynamic therapy.

UiO-66 metal-organic framework nanoparticles (NMOFs) gated by aptamer-functionalized DNA tetrahedra provide superior biomarker-responsive hybrid nano-carriers for biomedical applications. Hybrid nano-carriers consisting of ATP-aptamer or VEGF-aptamer functionalized tetrahedra-gated NMOFs are loaded with the chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin (DOX). In the presence of ATP or VEGF, both abundant in cancer cells, the tetrahedra-gated NMOFs are unlocked to release the drug.

Bending versus Twisting Acenes - A Computational Study.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely used in organic electronic devices. The electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of PAHs can be tuned by structural modifications to the aromatic backbone to introduce an inherent distortion from planarity, such as bending or twisting. However, it remains difficult to isolate and control the effects of such distortions.

Forcing Convection to Aggregate Using Diabatic Heating Perturbations.

Tropical deep convection can aggregate into large clusters, which can have impacts on the local humidity and precipitation. Sea surface temperature (SST) gradients have been shown to organize convection, yet there has been little work done to investigate the impact of diabatic heating perturbations in the atmosphere on the aggregation of convection. Here we investigate how anomalous diabatic heating of the atmospheric column, through an idealized aerosol plume, affects the existence and mechanisms of convective aggregation in non-rotating, global radiative-convective equilibrium simulations.

Normative data for ages 18-45 for ocular motor and vestibular testing using eye tracking.

Objective: Eye tracking technology has been employed in assessing ocular motor and vestibular function following vestibular and neurologic conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). Assessments include tests that provide visual and motion (rotation) stimuli while recording horizontal, vertical, and torsional eye movements. While some of these tests have shown diagnostic promise in previous studies, their use in clinical practice is limited by the lack of normative data.

An analysis of social determinants of health and structural competency training in global emergency medicine fellowship programs in the United States.

Background: Clinicians must be aware of the structural forces that affect their patients to appropriately address their unique health care needs. This study aimed to assess the participation of global emergency medicine (GEM) fellowship programs in formal social determinants of health (SDH) and structural competency (SC) training to evaluate the existence and procedures of such programs.

Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted with a short, online survey with questions regarding the presence of curriculum focused on SDH, SC, educational metrics, and the desire for further formal training in this domain was sent to all 25 GEM fellowship directors through the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Consortium (GEMFC) email listserv.

DNAzyme- and light-induced dissipative and gated DNA networks.

Nucleic acid-based dissipative, out-of-equilibrium systems are introduced as functional assemblies emulating transient dissipative biological transformations. One system involves a Pb-ion-dependent DNAzyme fuel strand-driven network leading to the transient cleavage of the fuel strand to "waste" products. Applying the Pb-ion-dependent DNAzyme to two competitive fuel strand-driven systems yields two parallel operating networks.

Diffuse pulmonary calcifications: A case series and review of literature.

Pulmonary calcifications are usually incidental asymptomatic findings discovered on x-rays or computed tomography scans that can be easily overlooked, and their significance undermined, especially in a seemingly asymptomatic person. Calcifications can be a marker of chronicity or disease severity, and thus have diagnostic value. Rarely, calcification can be the direct cause of morbidity.

Cognitive and behavioral radicalization: A systematic review of the putative risk and protective factors.

Background: Two of the most central questions in radicalization research are, (1) why do some individuals radicalize when most of those from the same groups or exposed to similar conditions do not? and (2) why do radicalized individuals turn to radical violence while the majority remain inert? It has been suggested that the answer to both questions lie in the cumulative and interactive effects of a range of risk factors. While risk assessment and counter-radicalization take a risk-protective factor approach, there is widespread debate as to what these factors are and which are most important.

Objectives: This review has two primary objectives.

A unique sonographic presentation of prenatal volvulus associated with malrotation.

This is a unique case of prenatal diagnosis of bowel malrotation suspected by an abnormal course of the duodenum. Early detection of volvulus was enabled, leading to timely intervention and a favorable outcome.

Metal nanoparticles entrapped in metal matrices.

We developed synthetic methods for the doping of metals (M) with metallic nanoparticles (NPs). To the best of our knowledge - unlike oxides, polymers and carbon-based supports - metals were not used so far as supporting matrices for metallic NPs. The composites (denoted M1-NPs@M2) comprise two separate phases: the metallic NPs (the dopant) and the entrapping 3D porous metallic matrix, within which the NPs are intimately held and well dispersed.

Working through the fog of a pandemic: Street-level policy entrepreneurship in times of crises.

Imposing significant challenges for both street-level implementation and policy (re)design, crises alter the environment for street-level policy entrepreneurship (SLPE), wherein street-level bureaucrats engage in policy formulation processes to secure future policy outcomes. Nevertheless, like street-level implementation in general, SLPE is studied during ordinary times but rarely during crises. Focusing on community-health workers in Brazil during the Covid-19 crisis uncovered a defensive motivation for SLPE, which aimed to legitimize community healthcare as an integral part of pandemic treatment, reforming the government's hitherto neglectful approach to community health services.

InterCarb: A Community Effort to Improve Interlaboratory Standardization of the Carbonate Clumped Isotope Thermometer Using Carbonate Standards.

Increased use and improved methodology of carbonate clumped isotope thermometry has greatly enhanced our ability to interrogate a suite of Earth-system processes. However, interlaboratory discrepancies in quantifying carbonate clumped isotope (Δ) measurements persist, and their specific sources remain unclear. To address interlaboratory differences, we first provide consensus values from the clumped isotope community for four carbonate standards relative to heated and equilibrated gases with 1,819 individual analyses from 10 laboratories.

DNA-based constitutional dynamic networks as functional modules for logic gates and computing circuit operations.

A nucleic acid-based constitutional dynamic network (CDN) is introduced as a single computational module that, in the presence of different sets of inputs, operates a variety of logic gates including a half adder, 2 : 1 multiplexer and 1 : 2 demultiplexer, a ternary multiplication matrix and a cascaded logic circuit. The CDN-based computational module leads to four logically equivalent outputs for each of the logic operations. Beyond the significance of the four logically equivalent outputs in establishing reliable and robust readout signals of the computational module, each of the outputs may be fanned out, in the presence of different inputs, to a set of different logic circuits.

Programmed catalysis within stimuli-responsive mechanically unlocked nanocavities in DNA origami tiles.

The assembly of reversible stimuli-responsive locked DNA origami tiles being unlocked, in the presence of appropriate triggers, to form nanocavities in the origami rafts, is introduced. In the presence of ATP, K-ion-stabilized G-quadruplexes or pH-responsive T-A·T triggers and appropriately engineered "helper units", the origami rafts are unlocked to form nanocavities. By the application of appropriate counter-triggers, the nanocavities are relocked, thus establishing the switchable and reversible "mechanical" opening and closure mechanism of the nanocavities.

Multiplexed and amplified chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) detection of genes and microRNAs using dye-loaded hemin/G-quadruplex-modified UiO-66 metal-organic framework nanoparticles.

Dye-loaded UiO-66 metal-organic framework nanoparticles (NMOFs) modified with catalytic hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme labels act as functional hybrid modules for the chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) analysis of miRNAs (miRNA-155 or miRNA-21) or genes (p53 or BRCA1). The dye-loaded NMOFs (dye = fluorescein (Fl) or rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G)) are modified with hairpin probes that are engineered to include in their loop domains recognition sequences for the miRNAs or genes, and in their stem regions caged G-quadruplex domains. In the presence of the analytes miRNAs or genes, the hairpin structures are opened, leading, in the presence of hemin, to the self-assembly of hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme labels linked to the dye-loaded NMOFs.