Antigenic determinants driving serogroup-specific antibody response to Neisseria meningitidis C, W, and Y capsular polysaccharides: Insights for rational vaccine design.

Meningococcal glycoconjugate vaccines sourced from capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) of pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis strains are well-established measures to prevent meningococcal disease. However, the exact structural factors responsible for antibody recognition are not known. CPSs of Neisseria meningitidis serogroups Y and W differ by a single stereochemical center, yet they evoke specific immune responses.

Re-determination of R(C/C) for Vienna Peedee belemnite (VPDB).

Rationale: The isotope ratio for the internationally agreed but virtual zero-point of the carbon isotope-delta scale, Vienna Peedee belemnite (VPDB), plays a critical role in linking carbon isotope delta values to the SI. It is also a quantity used for various data processing procedures including 'O correction', clumped isotope analysis and conversion of carbon isotope delta values into other expressions of isotopic composition. A value for R(C/C) with small uncertainty is therefore desirable to facilitate these procedures.

Correlations of light scattering properties in human skin with the person's age assessed using a non-invasive technique.

We analyze the influence of a person's age on the thicknesses and reduced scattering coefficients of the epidermis and dermis in visible part of the spectrum. Their values were assessed using a non-invasive technique which combines pulsed photothermal radiometry and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with Monte Carlo modeling of light transport in a four-layer model of skin. The analysis is affected by the strong influences of the melanin content on the reduced scattering coefficient of the epidermis, , and blood content in the case of dermis ( ).

Tunable entangled photon-pair generation in a liquid crystal.

Liquid crystals, with their ability to self-assemble, strong response to an electric field and integrability into complex systems, are key materials in light-beam manipulation. The recently discovered ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals also have considerable second-order optical nonlinearity, making them a potential material for nonlinear optics. Their use as sources of quantum light could considerably extend the boundaries of photonic quantum technologies.

Gold/cobalt ferrite nanocomposite as a potential agent for photothermal therapy.

The study encompasses an investigation of optical, photothermal and biocompatibility properties of a composite consisting of golden cores surrounded by superparamagnetic CoFeO nanoparticles. Accompanied with the experiment, the computational modeling reveals that each adjusted magnetic nanoparticle redshifts the plasmon resonance frequency in gold and nonlinearly increases the extinction cross-section at ~800 nm. The concentration dependent photothermal study demonstrates a temperature increase of 8.

Oxygen-Promoted on-Surface Synthesis of Polyboroxine Molecules.

We present a protocol for the on-surface synthesis of polyboroxine molecules derived from boroxine molecules precursors. This process is promoted by oxygen species present on the Au(111) surface: oxygen atoms facilitate the detachment of naphthalene units of trinaphthyl-boroxine molecules and bridge two unsaturated boroxine centers to form a boroxine-O-boroxine chemical motif. X-ray spectroscopic characterization shows that, as the synthesis process proceeds, it progressively tunes the electronic properties of the interface, thus providing a promising route to control the electron level alignment.

DOT: a flexible multi-objective optimization framework for transferring features across single-cell and spatial omics.

Single-cell transcriptomics and spatially-resolved imaging/sequencing technologies have revolutionized biomedical research. However, they suffer from lack of spatial information and a trade-off of resolution and gene coverage, respectively. We propose DOT, a multi-objective optimization framework for transferring cellular features across these data modalities, thus integrating their complementary information.

Generalized channel separation algorithms for accurate camera-based multi-wavelength PTT and BP estimation.

Single-site multi-wavelength (MW) pulse transit time (PTT) measurement was recently proposed using contact sensors with sequential illumination. It leverages different penetration depths of light to measure the traversal of a cardiac pulse between skin layers. This enabled continuous single-site MW blood pressure (BP) monitoring, but faces challenges like subtle skin compression, which importantly influences the PPG morphology and subsequent PTT.

Traceable Calibration of Atmospheric Oxidized Mercury Measurements.

Most previous measurements of oxidized mercury were collected using a method now known to be biased low. In this study, a dual-channel system with an oxidized mercury detection limit of 6-12 pg m was deployed alongside a permeation tube-based automated calibrator at a mountain top site in Steamboat Springs Colorado, USA, in 2021 and 2022. Permeation tubes containing elemental mercury and mercury halides were characterized via an International System of Units (SI)-traceable gravimetric method and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry before deployment in the calibrator.

Non-equilibrium quantum domain reconfiguration dynamics in a two-dimensional electronic crystal and a quantum annealer.

Relaxation dynamics of complex many-body quantum systems trapped into metastable states is a very active field of research from both the theoretical and experimental point of view with implications in a wide array of topics from macroscopic quantum tunnelling and nucleosynthesis to non-equilibrium superconductivity and energy-efficient memory devices. In this work, we investigate quantum domain reconfiguration dynamics in the electronic superlattice of a quantum material using time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and unveil a crossover from temperature to noisy quantum fluctuation dominated dynamics. The process is modeled using a programmable superconducting quantum annealer in which qubit interconnections correspond directly to the microscopic interactions between electrons in the quantum material.

Effects and avoidance of photoconversion-induced artifacts in confocal and STED microscopy.

Fluorescence microscopy is limited by photoconversion due to continuous illumination, which results in not only photobleaching but also conversion of fluorescent molecules into species of different spectral properties through photoblueing. Here, we determined different fluorescence parameters of photoconverted products for various fluorophores under standard confocal and stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy conditions. We observed changes in both fluorescence spectra and lifetimes that can cause artifacts in quantitative measurements, which can be avoided by using exchangeable dyes.

Azimuthal Angle Correlations of Muons Produced via Heavy-Flavor Decays in 5.02 TeV Pb+Pb and pp Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

Angular correlations between heavy quarks provide a unique probe of the quark-gluon plasma created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Results are presented of a measurement of the azimuthal angle correlations between muons originating from semileptonic decays of heavy quarks produced in 5.02 TeV Pb+Pb and pp collisions at the LHC.

Bilateral Acrylic Hip Mold Arthroplasty in a Child With a Revision 60 years After Implantation: Clinical Case and Chemical Analysis of Endoprosthetic Material.

A 68-year-old man was referred due to bilateral hip pain and gradual deterioration of walking. He had mold arthroplasties on both hips at the age of 7 years and has been functioning well for more than 5 decades. However, the original data on operative report and the prostheses were missing.

Perilous paradigm of graphene oxide and its derivatives in biomedical applications: Insight to immunocompatibility.

With advancements in nanotechnology and innovative materials, Graphene Oxide nanoparticles (GONP) have attracted lots of attention among the diverse types of nanomaterials owing to their distinctive physicochemical characteristics. However, the usage at scientific and industrial level has also raised concern to their toxicological interaction with biological system. Understanding these interactions is crucial for developing guidelines and recommendations for applications of GONP in various sectors, like biomedicine and environmental technologies.

A screening method for plastic-degrading fungi.

The growing amount of plastic waste requires new ways of disposal or recycling. Research into the biodegradation of recalcitrant plastic polymers is gathering pace. Despite some progress, these efforts have not yet led to technologically and economically viable applications.

Kinetics of Surface Wettability of Aromatic Polymers (PET, PS, PEEK, and PPS) upon Treatment with Neutral Oxygen Atoms from Non-Equilibrium Oxygen Plasma.

The wettability of polymers is usually inadequate to ensure the appropriate spreading of polar liquids and thus enable the required adhesion of coatings. A standard ecologically benign method for increasing the polymer wettability is a brief treatment with a non-equilibrium plasma rich in reactive oxygen species and predominantly neutral oxygen atoms in the ground electronic state. The evolution of the surface wettability of selected aromatic polymers was investigated by water droplet contact angles deposited immediately after exposing polymer samples to fluxes of oxygen atoms between 3 × 10 and 1 × 10 ms.

The Impact of Plasma Surface Treatments on the Mechanical Properties and Magnetic Performance of FDM-Printed NdFeB/PA12 Magnets.

This study presents a novel approach for improving the interfacial adhesion between Nd-Fe-B spherical magnetic powders and polyamide 12 (PA12) in polymer-bonded magnets using plasma treatments. By applying radio frequency plasma to the magnetic powder and low-pressure microwave plasma to PA12, we achieved a notable enhancement in the mechanical and environmental stability of fused deposition modeling (FDM)-printed Nd-Fe-B/PA12 magnets. The densities of the FDM-printed materials ranged from 92% to 94% of their theoretical values, with magnetic remanence (B) ranging from 85% to 89% of the theoretical values across all batches.

Automatic Classification and Visualization of Text Data on Rare Diseases.

More than 7000 rare diseases affect over 400 million people, posing significant challenges for medical research and healthcare. The integration of precision medicine with artificial intelligence offers promising solutions. This work introduces a classifier developed to discern whether research and news articles pertain to rare or non-rare diseases.

Fracture Resistance of a Bone-Level Two-Piece Zirconia Oral Implant System-The Influence of Artificial Loading and Hydrothermal Aging.

Preclinical and clinical research on two-piece zirconia implants are warranted. Therefore, we evaluated the in vitro fracture resistance of such a zirconia oral implant system. The present study comprised 32 two-piece zirconia implants and abutments attached to the implants using a titanium ( = 16) or a zirconia abutment screw ( = 16).

Development and Characterization of Gelatin-Based Hydrogels Containing Triblock Copolymer and Phytic Acid.

In recent research, significant interest has been directed towards gelatin-based hydrogels due to their affordable price, extensive availability, and biocompatibility, making them promising candidates for various biomedical applications. The development and characterization of novel hydrogels formed from varying ratios of gelatin, triblock copolymer Pluronic F-127, and phytic acid have been presented. Swelling properties were examined at different pH levels.

Delocalized spin states at zigzag termini of armchair graphene nanoribbon.

Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy we demonstrate a revival of magnetism in 7-armchair nanoribbon by unpassivated atoms at the termini. Namely, a pair of intense Kondo resonances emerges at the peripheries of zigzag terminus revealing the many-body screening effects of local magnetic moments. Although Kondo resonance originates from a missing local orbital, it extends to a distance of 2.

Development of a long noncoding RNA-based machine learning model to predict COVID-19 in-hospital mortality.

Tools for predicting COVID-19 outcomes enable personalized healthcare, potentially easing the disease burden. This collaborative study by 15 institutions across Europe aimed to develop a machine learning model for predicting the risk of in-hospital mortality post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. Blood samples and clinical data from 1286 COVID-19 patients collected from 2020 to 2023 across four cohorts in Europe and Canada were analyzed, with 2906 long non-coding RNAs profiled using targeted sequencing.