Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.

North Atlantic Heat Transport Convergence Derived from a Regional Energy Budget Using Different Ocean Heat Content Estimates.

This study uses an oceanic energy budget to estimate the ocean heat transport convergence in the North Atlantic during 2005-2018. The horizontal convergence of the ocean heat transport is estimated using ocean heat content tendency primarily derived from satellite altimetry combined with space gravimetry. The net surface energy fluxes are inferred from mass-corrected divergence of atmospheric energy transport and tendency of the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis combined with top-of-the-atmosphere radiative fluxes from the clouds and the Earth's radiant energy system project.

Exposure therapy consortium: Outcomes of the proof-of-principle study.

Background: This paper reports on the outcomes of a proof-of-principle study for the Exposure Therapy Consortium, a global network of researchers and clinicians who work to improve the effectiveness and uptake of exposure therapy. The study aimed to test the feasibility of the consortium's big-team science approach and test the hypothesis that adding post-exposure processing focused on enhancing threat reappraisal would enhance the efficacy of a one-session large-group interoceptive exposure therapy protocol for reducing anxiety sensitivity.

Methods: The study involved a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial comparing exposure with post-processing (ENHANCED), exposure without post-processing (STANDARD), and a stress management intervention (CONTROL) in students with elevated anxiety sensitivity.

Assessment and ascertainment in psychiatric molecular genetics: challenges and opportunities for cross-disorder research.

Psychiatric disorders are highly comorbid, heritable, and genetically correlated [1-4]. The primary objective of cross-disorder psychiatric genetics research is to identify and characterize both the shared genetic factors that contribute to convergent disease etiologies and the unique genetic factors that distinguish between disorders [4, 5]. This information can illuminate the biological mechanisms underlying comorbid presentations of psychopathology, improve nosology and prediction of illness risk and trajectories, and aid the development of more effective and targeted interventions.

Thermally Stable Anthracene-Based 2D/3D Heterostructures for Perovskite Solar Cells.

Bulky organic cations are used in perovskite solar cells as a protective barrier against moisture, oxygen, and ion diffusion. However, bulky cations can introduce thermal instabilities by reacting with the near-surface of the 3D perovskite forming low-dimensional phases, including 2D perovskites, and by diffusing away from the surface into the film. This study explores the thermal stability of CsFAPbI 3D perovskite surfaces treated with two anthracene salts─anthracen-1-ylmethylammonium iodide (AMAI) and 2-(anthracen-1-yl)ethylammonium iodide (AEAI)─and compares them with the widely used phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI).

Hypothesis generation for rare and undiagnosed diseases through clustering and classifying time-versioned biological ontologies.

Rare diseases affect 1-in-10 people in the United States and despite increased genetic testing, up to half never receive a diagnosis. Even when using advanced genome sequencing platforms to discover variants, if there is no connection between the variants found in the patient's genome and their phenotypes in the literature, then the patient will remain undiagnosed. When a direct variant-phenotype connection is not known, putting a patient's information in the larger context of phenotype relationships and protein-protein interactions may provide an opportunity to find an indirect explanation.

Catalyzing sustainable development: insights from the international workshop on STI policies and innovation systems in Central America.

This article examines the landscape of Science, Technology, and Innovation policies in Central America, focusing on Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. These nations face significant challenges in leveraging STI for sustainable development, including financial constraints and limited resources. Additionally, Central America struggles with systemic issues such as corruption, violence, and high levels of emigration, further complicating efforts to advance STI.

Iodine Activation from Iodate Reduction in Aqueous Films via Photocatalyzed and Dark Reactions.

Iodine in the atmosphere destroys ozone and can nucleate particles by formation of iodic acid, HIO. Recent field observations suggest iodate recycles from particles sustaining significant gas-phase IO radical concentrations (0.06 pptv) in aged stratospheric air, and in elevated dust plumes.

Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation induces stochastic resonance in vestibular perceptual thresholds assessed efficiently using confidence reports.

In sensory perception, stochastic resonance (SR) refers to the application of noise to enhance information transfer, allowing for the sensing of lower-level stimuli. Previously, subjective-assessments identified SR in vestibular perceptual thresholds, assessed using a standard two alternative (i.e.

Speciating volatile organic compounds in indoor air: using GC to interpret real-time PTR-MS signals.

Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is often employed to characterize gas-phase compounds in both indoor and outdoor environments. PTR-MS measurements are usually made without upstream chromatographic separation, so it can be challenging to differentiate between an ion of interest, its isomers, and fragmentation products from other species all detected at the same mass-to-charge ratio. These isomeric contributions and fragmentation interferences can confound the determination of accurate compound mixing ratios, the assignment of accurate chemical properties, and corresponding analyses of chemical fate.

Next generation brain health: transforming global research and public health to promote prevention of dementia and reduce its risk in young adult populations.

Efforts to prevent dementia can benefit from precision interventions delivered to the right population at the right time; that is, when the potential to reduce risk is the highest. Young adults (aged 18-39 years) are a neglected population in dementia research and policy making despite being highly exposed to several known modifiable risk factors. The risk and protective factors that have the biggest effect on dementia outcomes in young adulthood, and how these associations differ across regions and groups, still remain unclear.

Patient-Reported Worst-Case Scenarios in Advanced Cancer: Presence, Contents, and Predictors.

Background: Advancements in precision oncology have led to a growing community of adults with advanced cancer who live longer but face prognostic uncertainty, with corresponding fears of the future. Their worst future fears related to cancer remain understudied, hindering support efforts.

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the presence, content, and predictors of imagined future worst-case scenarios related to cancer (WCS) among distressed adults with advanced cancer.

Pregnancy and age differentially affect stiffness, injury susceptibility, and composition of murine uterosacral ligaments.

Pelvic organ prolapse is a debilitating condition that diminishes quality of life, and it has been linked to pregnancy and aging. Injury of the uterosacral ligaments (USLs), which provide apical support to the pelvic organs, is a major cause of uterine prolapse. In this study, we examined the effect of pregnancy and age on the apparent elastic modulus, susceptibility to collagen damage, and extracellular matrix (ECM) composition of the murine USL.

Protective effects of Mycobacterium vaccae ATCC 15483 against "Western"-style diet-induced weight gain and visceral adiposity in adolescent male mice.

The prevalence of noncommunicable inflammatory disease is increasing in modern urban societies, posing significant challenges to public health. Novel prevention and therapeutic strategies are needed to effectively deal with this issue. One promising approach is leveraging microorganisms such as Mycobacterium vaccae ATCC 15483, known for its anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and stress-resilience properties.

From controllers to cognition: the importance of selection factors on video game and gameplay mechanic-derived cognitive differences.

Playing video games, especially games with action-based mechanics, is correlated with better cognitive performance, yet these performance advantages may originate from intrinsic factors such as earlier life cognitive differences. We investigated whether gaming-cognition associations in a sample past young adulthood remain robust after accounting for adolescent cognitive functioning. Using data from the Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development and cognitive aging (CATSLife; N = 1241, M = 33.

Evaluating methods for integrating single-cell data and genetics to understand inflammatory disease complexity.

Background: Understanding genetic underpinnings of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases is crucial to improve treatments. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) identifies cell states expanded in disease, but often overlooks genetic causality due to cost and small genotyping cohorts. Conversely, large genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are commonly accessible.

The need for adaptability in detection, characterization, and attribution of biosecurity threats.

Modern biotechnology necessitates robust biosecurity protocols to address the risk of engineered biological threats. Current efforts focus on screening DNA and rejecting the synthesis of dangerous elements but face technical and logistical barriers. Screening should integrate into a broader strategy that addresses threats at multiple stages of development and deployment.

Ligand Identification in CryoEM and X-ray Maps Using Deep Learning.

Motivation: Accurately identifying ligands plays a crucial role in the process of structure-guided drug design. Based on density maps from X-ray diffraction or cryogenic-sample electron microscopy (cryoEM), scientists verify whether small-molecule ligands bind to active sites of interest. However, the interpretation of density maps is challenging, and cognitive bias can sometimes mislead investigators into modeling fictitious compounds.

Intrinsically Slow Cooling of Hot Electrons in CdSe Nanocrystals Compared to CdS.

The utilization of excited charge carriers in semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) for optoelectronic technologies has been a long-standing goal in the field of nanoscience. Experimental efforts to extend the lifetime of excited carriers have therefore been a principal focus. To understand the limits of these lifetimes, in this work, we theoretically study the time scales of pure electron relaxation in negatively charged NCs composed of two prototypical materials: CdSe and CdS.

Accurate numerical simulations of open quantum systems using spectral tensor trains.

Decoherence between qubits is a major bottleneck in quantum computations. Decoherence results from intrinsic quantum and thermal fluctuations as well as noise in the external fields that perform the measurement and preparation processes. With prescribed colored noise spectra for intrinsic and extrinsic noise, we present a numerical method, Quantum Accelerated Stochastic Propagator Evaluation (Q-ASPEN), to solve the time-dependent noise-averaged reduced density matrix in the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic noise.

Tutorial on In Situ and (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy for Analysis of Nanoscale Structure-Property Relationships.

In situ and (scanning) transmission electron microscopy [(S)TEM] is a powerful characterization technique that uses imaging, diffraction, and spectroscopy to gain nano-to-atomic scale insights into the structure-property relationships in materials. This technique is both customizable and complex because many factors impact the ability to collect structural, compositional, and bonding information from a sample during environmental exposure or under application of an external stimulus. In the past two decades, in situ and (S)TEM methods have diversified and grown to encompass additional capabilities, higher degrees of precision, dynamic tracking abilities, enhanced reproducibility, and improved analytical tools.

Endocytosis in the axon initial segment: Roles in neuronal polarity and plasticity.

The axon initial segment (AIS) is a specialized domain that maintains neuronal polarity and is the site of action potential generation, both of which underlie the neuron's ability to send and receive signals. Disruption of the AIS leads to a loss of neuronal polarity, altered neuronal signaling, and an array of neurological disorders. Therefore, understanding how the AIS forms and functions is a central question in cellular neuroscience that is essential to understanding neuronal physiology.

The Professional Identity of STEM Faculty as Instructors of Course-based Research Experiences.

The professional identity of scientists has historically been cultivated to value research over teaching, which can undermine initiatives that aim to reform science education. Course-Based Research Experiences (CRE) and the inclusive Research and Education Communities (iREC) are two successful and impactful reform efforts that integrate research and teaching. The aim of this study is to explicate the professional identity of instructors who implement a CRE within an established iREC and to explore how this identity contributes to the success of these programs.