Active learning-assisted directed evolution.

Directed evolution (DE) is a powerful tool to optimize protein fitness for a specific application. However, DE can be inefficient when mutations exhibit non-additive, or epistatic, behavior. Here, we present Active Learning-assisted Directed Evolution (ALDE), an iterative machine learning-assisted DE workflow that leverages uncertainty quantification to explore the search space of proteins more efficiently than current DE methods.

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor hypofunction causes recurrent and transient failures of perceptual inference.

Perception integrates external sensory signals with internal predictions that reflect prior knowledge about the world. Previous research suggests that this integration is governed by slow alternations between an external mode, driven by sensory signals, and an internal mode, shaped by prior knowledge. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over experiment in healthy human participants, we investigated the effects of the N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist S-ketamine on the balance between external and internal modes.

Mangrove-based carbon market projects: What stakeholders need to address during pre-feasibility assessment.

Mangrove-based carbon market projects (MbCMP) aim to conserve, protect and restore mangrove habitats in order to generate high quality blue carbon credits via a crediting program, as a contribution to climate change mitigation/adaptation, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services provision and local socio-economic development. The blue carbon credits generated are transferable, verifiable and sold through carbon markets to earn additional income for governments and local communities. The main aim of the paper is to provide important considerations for pre-field planning, that is, how challenges associated with fieldwork, project implementation, and monitoring reporting and verification (MRV) can be addressed with proper pre-field planning.

Ecophysiological responses to heat waves in the marine intertidal zone.

One notable consequence of climate change is an increase in the frequency, scale and severity of heat waves. Heat waves in terrestrial habitats (atmospheric heat waves, AHW) and marine habitats (marine heat waves, MHW) have received considerable attention as environmental forces that impact organisms, populations and whole ecosystems. Only one ecosystem, the intertidal zone, experiences both MHWs and AHWs.

Surface Composition Impacts Selectivity of ZnTe Photocathodes in Photoelectrochemical CO Reduction Reaction.

Light-driven reduction of CO into chemicals using a photoelectrochemical (PEC) approach is considered as a promising way to meet the carbon neutral target. The very top surface of the photoelectrode and semiconductor/electrolyte interface plays a pivotal role in defining the performance for PEC CO reduction. However, such impact remains poorly understood.

Copper Tantalate by a Sodium-Driven Flux-Mediated Synthesis for Photoelectrochemical CO Reduction.

Copper-tantalate, CuTaO (CTO), shows significant promise as an efficient photocathode for multi-carbon compounds (C) production through photoelectrochemical (PEC) CO reduction, owing to its suitable energy bands and catalytic surface. However, synthesizing CTO poses a significant challenge due to its metastable nature and thermal instability. In this study, this challenge is addressed by employing a flux-mediated synthesis technique using a sodium-based flux to create sodium-doped CTO (Na-CTO) thin films, providing enhanced nucleation and stabilization for the CTO phase.

Honoring Hartmut Karl Lichtenthaler, innovative pioneer of photosynthesis, on his 90 birthday.

We honor Professor Hartmut Karl Lichtenthaler, a versatile pioneer of photosynthesis research, plant physiology, isoprenoid biochemistry, and stress physiology of plants, for his groundbreaking and creative contributions to plant science. His innovative research on the chemical composition, ultrastructure, and function of chloroplasts and his detection of the major methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway in plants is key to our current understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of photosynthesis systems. His ingenious use of the powerful laser-induced chlorophyll fluorescence imaging has helped us better understand the stress response processes in plant leaves.

"When I talk about it, my eyes light up!" Impacts of a national laboratory internship on community college student success.

Participation in technical/research internships may improve undergraduate graduation rates and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), yet little is known about the benefits of these activities a) for community college students, b) when hosted by national laboratories, and c) beyond the first few years after the internship. We applied Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to investigate alumni perspectives about how CCI at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) impacted their academic/career activities. We learned that alumni had low confidence and expectations of success in STEM as community college students.

Estimating the Exposure-Response Relationship between Fine Mineral Dust Concentration and Coccidioidomycosis Incidence Using Speciated Particulate Matter Data: A Longitudinal Surveillance Study.

Background: Coccidioidomycosis, caused by inhalation of spp. spores, is an emerging infectious disease that is increasing in incidence throughout the southwestern US. The pathogen is soil-dwelling, and spore dispersal and human exposure are thought to co-occur with airborne mineral dust exposures, yet fundamental exposure-response relationships have not been conclusively estimated.

Diversification and recurrent adaptation of the synaptonemal complex in Drosophila.

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a protein-rich structure essential for meiotic recombination and faithful chromosome segregation. Acting like a zipper to paired homologous chromosomes during early prophase I, the complex is a symmetrical structure where central elements are connected on two sides by the transverse filaments to the chromatin-anchoring lateral elements. Despite being found in most major eukaryotic taxa implying a deeply conserved evolutionary origin, several components of the complex exhibit unusually high rates of sequence turnover.

Assessing the risk spillover effects between the Chinese carbon market and the US-China energy market.

Pollution caused by environmental problems has aggravated the problem of resource scarcity, and the destruction of the ecological environment by mankind has shown serious consequences. Countries around the world are actively launching various carbon emission reduction and energy transformation policies to face this predicament. This paper investigates the risk spillover effects of China's carbon trading market with China's energy market and the U.

Associations of prenatal maternal psychosocial stress and depression with neurodevelopmental outcomes in 7.5-month-old infants in the ECHO.CA.IL prospective birth cohorts.

Background: Exposure to maternal stress and depression during pregnancy can have a marked impact on birth outcomes and child development, escalating the likelihood of preterm birth, lower birth weight, and various domains of physical and neurodevelopment.

Methods: The joint ECHO.CA.

Synapse-specific catecholaminergic modulation of neuronal glutamate release.

Norepinephrine in vertebrates and its invertebrate analog, octopamine, regulate the activity of neural circuits. We find that, when hungry, larvae switch activity in type II octopaminergic motor neurons (MNs) to high-frequency bursts, which coincide with locomotion-driving bursts in type I glutamatergic MNs that converge on the same muscles. Optical quantal analysis across hundreds of synapses simultaneously reveals that octopamine potentiates glutamate release by tonic type Ib MNs, but not phasic type Is MNs, and occurs via the G-coupled octopamine receptor (OAMB).

Wireless power-up and readout from a label-free biosensor.

Wearable and implantable biosensors have rapidly entered the fields of health and biomedicine to diagnose diseases and physiological monitoring. The use of wired medical devices causes surgical complications, which can occur when wires break, become infected, generate electrical noise, and are incompatible with implantable applications. In contrast, wireless power transfer is ideal for biosensing applications since it does not necessitate direct connections between measurement tools and sensing systems, enabling remote use of the biosensors.

Phylogenomic insights into the taxonomy, ecology, and mating systems of the lorchel family Discinaceae (Pezizales, Ascomycota).

Lorchels, also known as false morels (Gyromitra sensu lato), are iconic due to their brain-shaped mushrooms and production of gyromitrin, a deadly mycotoxin. Molecular phylogenetic studies have hitherto failed to resolve deep-branching relationships in the lorchel family, Discinaceae, hampering our ability to settle longstanding taxonomic debates and to reconstruct the evolution of toxin production. We generated 75 draft genomes from cultures and ascomata (some collected as early as 1960), conducted phylogenomic analyses using 1542 single-copy orthologs to infer the early evolutionary history of lorchels, and identified genomic signatures of trophic mode and mating-type loci to better understand lorchel ecology and reproductive biology.

JMJD8 regulates adipocyte hypertrophy through the interaction with Perilipin 2.

Adipocyte hypertrophy significantly contributes to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction. Our previous research established JMJD8 as a mediator of insulin resistance, noting its role in promoting adipocyte hypertrophy within an autonomous adipocyte context. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remained elusive.

Tropical forest clearance impacts biodiversity and function, whereas logging changes structure.

The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from 82 variables categorized into four ecological levels spanning a broad suite of ecosystem properties: (i) structure and environment, (ii) species traits, (iii) biodiversity, and (iv) ecosystem functions. Responses were highly heterogeneous and often complex and nonlinear.

VARX Granger analysis: Models for neuroscience, physiology, sociology and econometrics.

Complex systems, such as in brains, markets, and societies, exhibit internal dynamics influenced by external factors. Disentangling delayed external effects from internal dynamics within these systems is often difficult. We propose using a Vector Autoregressive model with eXogenous input (VARX) to capture delayed interactions between internal and external variables.

Adaptation in the Alleyways: Candidate Genes Under Potential Selection in Urban Coyotes.

In the context of evolutionary time, cities are an extremely recent development. Although our understanding of how urbanization alters ecosystems is well developed, empirical work examining the consequences of urbanization on adaptive evolution remains limited. To facilitate future work, we offer candidate genes for one of the most prominent urban carnivores across North America.

Draft genomes and assemblies of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes hr and jo associated with chestnut trees.

The earthball , an ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete belonging to the Sclerodermataceae family, serves as a significant mutualistic tree symbiont globally. Originally, two genetically sequenced strains of this genus were obtained from fruiting bodies collected under chestnut trees (). These strains were utilized to establish ectomycorrhizal roots of chestnut seedlings.

Impact of declared wildfire disasters on survival of lung cancer patients undergoing radiation.

Purpose: Oncological treatments, such as radiotherapy, which requires consistent electricity, the presence of specialized clinical teams, and daily patient access to treatment facilities, are frequently disrupted by extreme weather events, posing several health hazards to patients. This study explores the association between declared wildfire disasters during radiotherapy and overall survival among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: The study population consisted of 202,935 adults with inoperable Stage III NSCLC, who initiated radiotherapy from 2004 through 2019.

Remodeling pedagogical evaluation tools to incorporate student self-efficacy and sense of belonging in scientific research.

Curated undergraduate research experiences have been widely used at colleges and universities for decades to build student interest, technical preparation, and confidence in the pursuit of scientific careers. Educators often employ standardized survey instruments to evaluate learning outcomes for research experiences, but many of these assessments consider only technical skill development and career interests and are not rooted in discrete pedagogical theories. As higher education aims to create inclusive and equitable learning experiences for students, we argue that pedagogical assessment tools for undergraduate research experiences need to expand to consider outcomes such as increased science literacy, confidence in relational "soft" skills, and a sense of belonging to a community that values scientific inquiry.