Molecular characterization of the sea lamprey retina illuminates the evolutionary origin of retinal cell types.

The lamprey, a primitive jawless vertebrate whose ancestors diverged from all other vertebrates over 500 million years ago, offers a unique window into the ancient formation of the retina. Using single-cell RNA-sequencing, we characterize retinal cell types in the lamprey and compare them to those in mouse, chicken, and zebrafish. We find six cell classes and 74 distinct cell types, many shared with other vertebrate species.

A single mutation in dairy cow-associated H5N1 viruses increases receptor binding breadth.

Clade 2.3.4.

Magnetosensitivity of tightly bound radical pairs in cryptochrome is enabled by the quantum Zeno effect.

The radical pair mechanism accounts for the magnetic field sensitivity of a large class of chemical reactions and is hypothesised to underpin numerous magnetosensitive traits in biology, including the avian compass. Traditionally, magnetic field sensitivity in this mechanism is attributed to radical pairs with weakly interacting, well-separated electrons; closely bound pairs were considered unresponsive to weak fields due to arrested spin dynamics. In this study, we challenge this view by examining the FAD-superoxide radical pair within cryptochrome, a protein hypothesised to function as a biological magnetosensor.

Embodied neuromorphic synergy for lighting-robust machine vision to see in extreme bright.

Proper exposure settings are crucial for modern machine vision cameras to accurately convert light into clear images. However, traditional auto-exposure solutions are vulnerable to illumination changes, splitting the continuous acquisition of unsaturated images, which significantly degrades the overall performance of underlying intelligent systems. Here we present the neuromorphic exposure control (NEC) system.

Longitudinal network changes and phenoconversion risk in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder.

Isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is a prodrome of α-synucleinopathies. Using positron emission tomography, we assessed changes in Parkinson's disease-related motor and cognitive metabolic networks and caudate/putamen dopaminergic input in a 4-year longitudinal imaging study of 13 male subjects with this disorder. We also correlated times to phenoconversion with baseline network expression in an independent validation sample.

Design of an equilibrative nucleoside transporter subtype 1 inhibitor for pain relief.

The current opioid crisis urgently calls for developing non-addictive pain medications. Progress has been slow, highlighting the need to uncover targets with unique mechanisms of action. Extracellular adenosine alleviates pain by activating the adenosine A1 receptor (A1R).

Deep-learning enabled generalized inverse design of multi-port radio-frequency and sub-terahertz passives and integrated circuits.

Millimeter-wave and terahertz integrated circuits and chips are expected to serve as the backbone for future wireless networks and high resolution sensing. However, design of these integrated circuits and chips can be quite complex, requiring years of human expertise, careful tailoring of hand crafted circuit topologies and co-design with parameterized and pre-selected templates of electromagnetic structures. These structures (radiative and non-radiative, single-port and multi-ports) are subsequently optimized through ad-hoc methods and parameter sweeps.

Enhancing gene transfer to renal tubules and podocytes by context-dependent selection of AAV capsids.

AAV vectors show promise for gene therapy; however, kidney gene transfer remains challenging. Here we conduct a barcode-seq-based comparison of 47 AAV capsids administered through different routes in mice, followed by individual validation. We find that local delivery of AAV-KP1, but not AAV9, via the renal vein or pelvis effectively transduces proximal tubules with minimal off-target liver transduction, while systemic AAV9, but not AAV-KP1, enhances proximal tubule and podocyte transduction in chronic kidney disease.

Multi-Trophic Level Responses to Marine Heatwave Disturbances in the California Current Ecosystem.

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) caused by multiple phenomena with days to months duration are increasingly common disturbances in ocean ecosystems. We investigated the impacts of MHWs on pelagic communities using spatially resolved time-series of multiple trophic levels from the Southern California Current Ecosystem. Indices of phytoplankton biomass mostly declined during MHWs because of reduced nutrient supply (excepting Prochlorococcus) and were generally more sensitive to marine heatwave intensity than duration.

Territory Sizes and Patterns of Habitat Use by Forest Birds Over Five Decades: Ideal Free or Ideal Despotic?

Relations among territoriality, abundance and habitat suitability are fundamental to the ecology of many animal populations. Theory suggests two classes of possible responses to increasing abundance in territorial species: (1) the ideal free distribution (IFD), which predicts smaller territory sizes and decreased fitness as individuals adaptively pack into suitable habitats, and (2) the ideal despotic distribution (IDD), which predicts stable territory sizes and fitness in preferred habitats for dominant individuals and increased use of marginal habitats, reduced fitness and changes in territory sizes for subordinate individuals. We analysed the territory sizes and locations of seven migratory songbird species occupying a 10-ha plot in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA over a 52-year period.

Machine Learning-Corrected Simplified Time-Dependent DFT for Systems With Inverted Single-t-o-Triplet Gaps of Interest for Photocatalytic Water Splitting.

Hydrogen gas (H) can be produced via entirely solar-driven photocatalytic water splitting (PWS). A promising set of organic materials for facilitating PWS are the so-called inverted singlet-triplet, INVEST, materials. Inversion of the singlet (S) and triplet (T) energies reduces the population of triplet states, which are otherwise destructive under photocatalytic conditions.

A truncated isoform of Connexin43 caps actin to organize forward delivery of full-length Connexin43.

While membrane proteins such as ion channels continuously turn over and require replacement, the mechanisms of specificity of efficient channel delivery to appropriate membrane subdomains remain poorly understood. GJA1-20k is a truncated Connexin43 (Cx43) isoform arising from translation initiating at an internal start codon within the same parent GJA1 mRNA and is requisite for full-length Cx43 trafficking to cell borders. GJA1-20k does not have a full transmembrane domain, and it is not known how GJA1-20k enables forward delivery of Cx43 hemichannels.

World-making for a future with sentient AI.

The ways people imagine possible futures with artificial intelligence (AI) affects future world-making-how the future is produced through cultural propagation, design, engineering, policy, and social interaction-yet there has been little empirical study of everyday people's expectations for AI futures. We addressed this by analysing two waves (2021 and 2023) of USA nationally representative data from the Artificial Intelligence, Morality, and Sentience (AIMS) survey on the public's forecasts about an imagined future world with widespread AI sentience (total N = 2401). Average responses to six forecasts (exploiting AI labour, treating AI cruelly, using AI research subjects, AI welfare, AI rights advocacy, AI unhappiness reduction) showed mixed expectations for humanity's future with AI.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Gastric Motility in Conscious Rats.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal (GI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables simultaneous assessment of gastric peristalsis, emptying, and intestinal filling and transit. However, GI MRI in animals typically requires anesthesia, which complicates physiology and confounds interpretation and translation to humans. This study aimed to establish GI MRI in conscious rats, and for the first time, characterize GI motor functions in awake versus anesthetized conditions.

Hydronium Ions Are Less Excluded from Hydrophobic Polymer-Water Interfaces than Hydroxide Ions.

The cloud point temperatures of aqueous poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly(ethylene) oxide (PEO) solutions were measured from pH 1.0 to pH 13.0 at a constant ionic strength of 100 mM.

Amorphous Carbon Monolayer: A van der Waals Interface for High-Performance Metal Oxide Semiconductor Devices.

Ultrasmall-scale semiconductor devices (≤5 nm) are advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. However, the further scaling of these devices poses critical challenges, such as interface properties and oxide quality, particularly at the high-/semiconductor interface in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. Existing interlayer (IL) methods, typically exceeding 1 nm thickness, are unsuitable for ultrasmall-scale devices.

Real-Time 2D Phase-Contrast MRI to Assess Cardiac- and Respiratory-Driven CSF Movement in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

Background And Purpose: In idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow is typically evaluated with a cardiac-gated two-dimensional (2D) phase-contrast (PC) MRI through the cerebral aqueduct. This approach is limited by the evaluation of a single location and does not account for respiration effects on flow. In this study, we quantified the cardiac and respiratory contributions to CSF movement at multiple intracranial locations using a real-time 2D PC-MRI and evaluated the diagnostic value of CSF dynamics biomarkers in classifying iNPH patients.

Enhanced Nonagricultural Emissions of Ammonia Influence Aerosol Ammonium in an Urban Atmosphere: Evidence from Kinetic Versus Equilibrium Isotope Fractionation Controls on Nitrogen.

Aerosol ammonium (NH) is a critical component of particulate matter that affects air pollution, climate, and human health. Isotope-based source apportionment of NH is essential for ammonia (NH) mitigation but the role of kinetic vs equilibrium controls on nitrogen isotope (δN) fractionation between NH and NH remains unresolved. Based on concurrent measurements of NH and NH in winter Beijing, we observed that the difference of δN between NH and NH on clean days (3.

Spatial proteomic differences in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Alzheimer's disease, and primary age-related tauopathy hippocampi.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD), primary age-related tauopathy (PART), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) all feature hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau)-immunoreactive neurofibrillary degeneration, but differ in neuroanatomical distribution and progression of neurofibrillary degeneration and amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition.

Methods: We used Nanostring GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling to compare the expression of 70 proteins in neurofibrillary tangle (NFT)-bearing and non-NFT-bearing neurons in hippocampal CA1, CA2, and CA4 subregions and entorhinal cortex of cases with autopsy-confirmed AD (n = 8), PART (n = 7), and CTE (n = 5).

Results: There were numerous subregion-specific differences related to Aβ processing, autophagy/proteostasis, inflammation, gliosis, oxidative stress, neuronal/synaptic integrity, and p-tau epitopes among these different disorders.

Molecular epidemiology of invasive group B Streptococcus in South Africa, 2019-2020.

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal meningitis and sepsis and an important cause of disease in adults. Capsular polysaccharide and protein-based GBS vaccines are currently under development.

Methods: Through national laboratory-based surveillance, invasive GBS isolates were collected from patients of all ages between 2019 and 2020.

Assessing Trauma and Training Needs of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Across the United States.

Background: Much of the research on sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) focuses on program outcomes rather than the individual experiences of SANEs. The present research therefore sought to examine the individual experiences of SANEs regarding trauma, support, training needs, and challenges.

Methods: A national sample of SANEs participated in an online survey.

Expanding molecular and clinical spectrum of CPT1C-associated hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG73)-a case series.

Autosomal-dominant variants in the CPT1C gene have been associated with hereditary spastic paraplegia type 73 (SPG73), which typically presents with slowly progressive lower limb weakness and spasticity and is therefore considered a pure form of hereditary spastic paraplegia. However, we report two unrelated males with novel CPT1C variants (NM_001199753.2: patient 1: c.

Current and Historical Resource Nitrogen Supply Affects the Eco-Physiological Traits and the Ionome of a Diazotrophic Cyanobacterium.

Diazotrophic cyanobacteria can overcome nitrogen (N)-limitation by fixing atmospheric N; however, this increases their energetic, iron, molybdenum, and boron costs. It is unknown how current and historic N-supplies affect cyanobacterial elemental physiology beyond increasing demands for elements involved in N-fixation. Here, we examined the changes in pigment concentrations, N-storage, and the ionome (i.

Increasing Aridity May Threaten the Maintenance of a Plant Defence Polymorphism.

It is unclear how environmental change influences standing genetic variation in wild populations. Here, we characterised environmental conditions that protect versus erode polymorphic chemical defences in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a short-lived perennial wildflower. By manipulating drought and herbivory in a 4-year field experiment, we measured the effects of driver variation on vital rates of genotypes varying in defence chemistry and then assessed interacting driver effects on total fitness (estimated as each genotype's lineage growth rate, λ) using demographic models.