Bronchoscopic biopsies - a novel source for primary airway epithelial cells in respiratory research.

Background: Using primary airway epithelial cells (AEC) is essential to mimic more closely different types and stages of lung disease in humans while reducing or even replacing animal experiments. Access to lung tissue remains limited because these samples are generally obtained from patients who undergo lung transplantation for end-stage lung disease or thoracic surgery for (mostly) lung cancer. We investigated whether forceps or cryo biopsies are a viable alternative source of AEC compared to the conventional technique.

Lead-Free Perovskite CsAgNaBiInCl Microcrystals for Scattering-Fluorescent Luminescent Solar Concentrators.

In recent years, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have gained a renaissance as a pivotal transparent photovoltaic (PV) for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). However, most of the studies focused on light-selective LSCs, and less attention was paid to the utilization of the full solar spectrum. In this study, a lead-free microcrystal CsAgNaBiInCl (CANBIC) perovskite phosphor is demonstrated to have bifunctional effects of luminescent down-shifting (LDS) and light scattering for the fabrication of LSCs, realizing light response from ultraviolet (UV) to NIR regions by an edge-mounted Si solar cell.

Raman microscopy of the Cu/LiAlGe(PO) solid electrolyte interphase.

LiAlGe(PO) (LAGP) is a promising solid-state electrolyte (SSE) for solid-state batteries but suffers from side reactions with Li metal resulting in cracking and interfacial resistance rise which hinders its practical application. Herein, in operando Raman spectroscopy was performed to gain insights into local chemical and structural transformations of the Cu/LAGP interface during cathodic polarization.

Functional characterization of the second feedback loop in the circadian clock of the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba.

Background: The Antarctic krill Euphausia superba is a keystone species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. This crustacean has an ancestral clock whose main components have been identified and characterized in the past few years. However, the second feedback loop, modulating clock gene expression through two transcription factors, VRI and PDP1, has yet to be described.

Systematic assessment of COVID-19 host genetics using whole genome sequencing data.

Courses of SARS-CoV-2 infections are highly variable, ranging from asymptomatic to lethal COVID-19. Though research has shown that host genetic factors contribute to this variability, cohort-based joint analyses of variants from the entire allelic spectrum in individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections are still lacking. Here, we present the results of whole genome sequencing in 1,220 mainly vaccine-naïve individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 827 hospitalized COVID-19 cases.

Impact of wettability onto the growth of air bubbles at micro-cavities on silicon wafers: Experiments, simulations, and analytical solutions.

Hypothesis: The surface wettability influences the oversaturation-driven growth of gas bubbles on the surface via the contact angle. Larger contact angles on hydrophobic surfaces compared to hydrophilic ones lead to faster growth of bubbles nucleating at microcavities of identical size.

Experiments: Cylindric micro-cavities were etched in silicon wafers as nucleation sites.

Nuclear microRNA 9 mediates G-quadruplex formation and 3D genome organization during TGF-β-induced transcription.

The dynamics of three-dimensional (3D) genome organization are essential to transcriptional regulation. While enhancers regulate spatiotemporal gene expression, chromatin looping is a means for enhancer-promoter interactions yielding cell-type-specific gene expression. Further, non-canonical DNA secondary structures, such as G-quadruplexes (G4s), are related to increased gene expression.

Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain.

Introduction: We investigated the neural correlates of cognitive decline in visual word perception from the perspective of intrinsic brain networks.

Methods: A total of 19 healthy older adults and 22 young adults were recruited to participate in two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions (one resting-state session and one for localizer tasks), along with a visual word perceptual processing task. We examined age-related alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) within the word network, as well as between the word network and other networks.

From text to insight: large language models for chemical data extraction.

The vast majority of chemical knowledge exists in unstructured natural language, yet structured data is crucial for innovative and systematic materials design. Traditionally, the field has relied on manual curation and partial automation for data extraction for specific use cases. The advent of large language models (LLMs) represents a significant shift, potentially enabling non-experts to extract structured, actionable data from unstructured text efficiently.

Eye tracker calibration: How well can humans refixate a target?

Irrespective of the precision, the inaccuracy of a pupil-based eye tracker is about 0.5 . This paper delves into two factors that potentially increase the inaccuracy of the gaze signal, namely, 1) Pupil-size changes and the pupil-size artefact (PSA) and 2) the putative inability of experienced individuals to precisely refixate a visual target.

The priority state of items in visual working memory determines their influence on early visual processing.

Items held in visual working memory (VWM) influence early visual processing by enhancing memory-matching visual input. Depending on current task demands, memory items can have different priority states. Here, we investigated how the priority state of items in VWM affects two key aspects of early visual processing: access to visual awareness and attention allocation.

Sodium butyrate is incorporated into central metabolism in fly head while inducing oxygen consumption increase.

Butyrate has been proposed as a drug therapy by acting as a lysine deacetylase (KDAC) inhibitor and elevating protein acetylation, in particular on histones. Nonetheless, recent studies suggest that tissues such as the gut can utilize butyrate as a metabolite. We have previously shown that the addition of butyrate induces a rapid increase of oxygen consumption in whole Drosophila melanogaster heads.

Exploring glioma heterogeneity through omics networks: from gene network discovery to causal insights and patient stratification.

Gliomas are primary malignant brain tumors with a typically poor prognosis, exhibiting significant heterogeneity across different cancer types. Each glioma type possesses distinct molecular characteristics determining patient prognosis and therapeutic options. This study aims to explore the molecular complexity of gliomas at the transcriptome level, employing a comprehensive approach grounded in network discovery.

Unveiling adipose populations linked to metabolic health in obesity.

Precision medicine is still not considered as a standard of care in obesity treatment, despite a large heterogeneity in the metabolic phenotype of individuals with obesity. One of the strongest factors influencing the variability in metabolic disease risk is adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction; however, there is little understanding of the link between distinct cell populations, cell-type-specific transcriptional programs, and disease severity. Here, we generated a comprehensive cellular map of subcutaneous and visceral AT of individuals with metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity.

GOLD COPD Exacerbation History Categories and Disease Outcomes.

Importance: Previous exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD) are associated with future events. For more than a decade, patients at high risk have been defined as individuals with a history of 2 or more moderate ECOPD, 1 or more severe ECOPD, or both within 12 months, and treatments have been allocated accordingly, but these cutoffs lack validation.

Objectives: To validate ECOPD history categories by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and explore alternative cutoffs to estimate moderate and severe ECOPD and all-cause mortality in COPD.

Generalized synchronization in the presence of dynamical noise and its detection via recurrent neural networks.

Given two unidirectionally coupled nonlinear systems, we speak of generalized synchronization when the responder "follows" the driver. Mathematically, this situation is implemented by a map from the driver state space to the responder state space termed the synchronization map. In nonlinear times series analysis, the framework of the present work, the existence of the synchronization map amounts to the invertibility of the so-called cross map, which is a continuous map that exists in the reconstructed state spaces for typical time-delay embeddings.

Cytomegalovirus-Specific T-Cell-Receptor-like Antibodies Target In Vivo-Infected Human Leukocytes Inducing Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation after stem cell or solid organ transplantation remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in this setting. T-cell receptor (TCR)-like antibodies bind to intracellular peptides presented in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on the cell surface and may have the potential to replace T-cell function in immunocompromised patients. Three previously selected CMV-specific, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-restricted (HLA-A*0101, HLA-A*0201 and HLA-B*0702) Fab-antibodies (A6, C1 and C7) were produced as IgG antibodies with Fc optimization.

TAM receptors mediate the Fpr2-driven pain resolution and fibrinolysis after nerve injury.

Nerve injury causes neuropathic pain and multilevel nerve barrier disruption. Nerve barriers consist of perineurial, endothelial and myelin barriers. So far, it is unclear whether resealing nerve barriers fosters pain resolution and recovery.

Low-Temperature Lithium Metal Batteries Achieved by Synergistically Enhanced Screening Li Desolvation Kinetics.

Lithium metal anode is desired by high capacity and low potential toward higher energy density than commercial graphite anode. However, the low-temperature Li metal batteries suffer from dendrite formation and dead Li resulting from uneven Li behaviors of flux with huge desolvation/diffusion barriers, thus leading to short lifespan and safety concern. Herein, differing from electrolyte engineering, a strategy of delocalizing electrons with generating rich active sites to regulate Li desolvation/diffusion behaviors are demonstrated via decorating polar chemical groups on porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Calcium Chemistry as a New Member of Post-Lithium Battery Family: What Can We Learn from Sodium and Magnesium.

Next-generation battery technologies need to consider their environmental impact throughout the whole cycle life, which has brought new chemistries based on earth-abundant elements to the spotlight. Rechargeable calcium batteries are such an emerging technology, which shows the potential to provide high cell voltage and high energy density close to lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, the use of Ca2+ as a charge carrier renders significant sustainable values.

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Perfluoro Aromatic Side Chain Sulfonated PSU Ionomers.

Polyethersulfone (PSU) as a commercially available polymer offers many different opportunities for functionalization for diverse fields of application, for example, electrophilic substitutions like sulfonation and bromination or nucleophilic reactions such as lithiation. This study presents three different polysulfone derivatives, first functionalized by a lithiation reaction, followed by a reaction with carbonyl compounds containing pentafluorophenyl groups. In the last step, the pentafluorophenyl moieties of the modified PSU were sulfonated by thiolation and subsequent oxidation to sulfonic acid groups.

Evaluation of Alternative Lithium Salts for High-Voltage Lithium Ion Batteries: Higher Relevance of Plated Li Morphology Than the Amount of Electrode Crosstalk.

Increasing the upper cut-off voltage (UCV) enhances the specific energy of Li-ion batteries (LIBs), but is accompanied by higher capacity fade as a result of electrode cross-talk, i.e., transition metals (TM) dissolution from cathode and deposition on anode, finally triggering high surface area lithium (HSAL) formation due to locally enhanced resistance.

Fragment Discovery by X-ray Crystallographic Screening Targeting the CTP Binding Site of Pseudomonas aeruginosa IspD.

With antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reaching alarming levels, new anti-infectives with unpreceded mechanisms of action are urgently needed. The 2-C-methylerythritol-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway represents an attractive source of drug targets due to its essential role in numerous pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mt), whilst being absent in human cells. Here, we solved the first crystal structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) IspD, the third enzyme in the MEP pathway and present the discovery of a fragment-based compound class identified through crystallographic screening of PaIspD.