Molten Sn solvent expands liquid metal catalysis.

Regulating favorable assemblies of metallic atoms in the liquid state provides promise for catalyzing various chemical reactions. Expanding the selection of metallic solvents, especially those with unique properties and low cost, enables access to distinctive fluidic atomic structures on the surface of liquid alloys and offers economic feasibility. Here, Sn solvent, as a low-cost commodity, supports unique atomic assemblies at the interface of molten SnInCu, which are highly selective for H synthesis from hydrocarbons.

Scaffold-enabled high-resolution cryo-EM structure determination of RNA.

Cryo-EM structure determination of protein-free RNAs has remained difficult with most attempts yielding low to moderate resolution and lacking nucleotide-level detail. These difficulties are compounded for small RNAs as cryo-EM is inherently more difficult for lower molecular weight macromolecules. Here we present a strategy for fusing small RNAs to a group II intron that yields high resolution structures of the appended RNA.

Ligand-Directed Actinide Oxo-Bond Manipulation in Actinyl Thiacalix[4]arene Complexes.

Understanding the chemistry of the inert actinide oxo bond in actinyl ions AnO22+ is important for controlling actinide behavior in the environment, during separations, and in nuclear waste (An = U, Np, Pu). The thioether calixarene TC4A (4-tert-butyltetrathiacalix[4]arene) binds equatorially to [AnO2]n+ (An = U, Np) forming a conical pocket that differentiates the two trans-oxo groups. The 'ate' complexes, [A]2[UO2(TC4A)] (A = [Li(DME)2], HNEt3) and [HNEt3]2[NpO2(TC4A)], enable selective oxo chemistry.

Inpatient Cost of Trauma Care Versus Repair of Elective Open Inguinal Hernias: Nationwide Trends Over Nearly a Decade.

Concerns exist regarding increased trauma activation fees at the expense of vulnerable patients. In contrast, elective open inguinal hernia repair (E-OIHR) has remained relatively fixed in terms of technique. This study aimed to examine health care costs for E-OIHR and trauma patients, hypothesizing trauma cost would increase from 2010 to 2018, while E-OIHR cost would remain unchanged.

The Co-IMPACT Consortium: Integrating Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography and Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer Care.

The Co-IMPACT consortium addresses knowledge gaps in prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography-guided radiotherapy for prostate cancer by establishing a global database (46 centres from 16 countries) to standardise and analyse data across four distinguished clinical scenarios. A collaborative model with the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference aligns urgent clinical needs with actionable research insights.

Long-term increases in wing length occur independently of changes in climate and climate-driven shifts in body size.

Recent widespread reductions in body size across species have been linked to increasing temperatures; simultaneous increases in wing length relative to body size have been broadly observed but remain unexplained. Size and shape may change independently of one another, or these morphological shifts may be linked, with body size mediating or directly driving the degree to which shape changes. Using hierarchical Bayesian models and a morphological time series of 27 366 specimens from five North American migratory passerine bird species, we tested the roles that climate and body size have played in shifting wing length allometry over four decades.

Submarine groundwater discharge drives both direct and indirect effects on organismal and community metabolism on coral reefs.

Coral reefs experience numerous environmental gradients affecting organismal physiology and species biodiversity, which ultimately impact community metabolism. This study shows that submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), a common natural environmental gradient in coastal ecosystems associated with decreasing temperatures, salinity and pH with increasing nutrients, has both direct and indirect effects on coral reef community metabolism by altering individual growth rates and community composition. Our data revealed that SGD exposure hindered the growth of two algae, and by 67 and 200%, respectively, and one coral, by 20%.

Energetic costs of social dominance in wild male baboons.

In vertebrates, glucocorticoids can be upregulated in response to both psychosocial and energetic stressors, making it difficult to identify the cause of elevated glucocorticoid concentrations when both types of stressors are present. This problem has been particularly challenging in studies of social dominance rank in wild animals. In contrast to glucocorticoids, thyroid hormone concentrations are largely unaffected by psychosocial stressors and therefore offer a better estimate of energetic challenges.

CryoEM structure and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses of porcine retinol-binding protein 3.

The vertebrate visual cycle hinges on enzymatically converting all--retinol (at-ROL) into 11--retinal (11c-RAL), the chromophore that binds to opsins in photoreceptors, forming light-responsive pigments. When struck by a photon, these pigments activate the phototransduction pathway and initiate the process of vision. The enzymatic isomerization of at-ROL, crucial for restoring the visual pigments and preparing them to receive new light stimuli, relies on various enzymes found in both the photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium cells.

A minimal model of cognition based on oscillatory and current-based reinforcement processes.

Building mathematical models of brains is difficult because of the sheer complexity of the problem. One potential starting point is basal cognition, which gives an abstract representation of a range of organisms without central nervous systems, including fungi, slime moulds and bacteria. We propose one such model, demonstrating how a combination of oscillatory and current-based reinforcement processes can be used to couple resources in an efficient manner, mimicking the way these organisms function.

The levels of the long non-coding RNA MALAT1 affect cell viability and modulate TDP-43 binding to mRNA in the nucleus.

TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) and Metastasis Associated Lung Adenocarcinoma Transcript (MALAT1) RNA are both abundantly expressed in the human cell nucleus. Increased interaction of TDP-43 and MALAT1, as well as dysregulation of TDP-43 function, was previously identified in brain samples from patients with neurodegenerative disease compared to healthy brain tissues. We hypothesized that TDP-43 function may depend in part on MALAT1 expression levels.

Glioma-induced alterations in excitatory neurons are reversed by mTOR inhibition.

Gliomas are aggressive neoplasms that diffusely infiltrate the brain and cause neurological symptoms, including cognitive deficits and seizures. Increased mTOR signaling has been implicated in glioma-induced neuronal hyperexcitability, but the molecular and functional consequences have not been identified. Here, we show three types of changes in tumor-associated neurons: (1) downregulation of transcripts encoding excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic proteins and dendritic spine development and upregulation of cytoskeletal transcripts via neuron-specific profiling of ribosome-bound mRNA, (2) marked decreases in dendritic spine density via light and electron microscopy, and (3) progressive functional alterations leading to neuronal hyperexcitability via in vivo calcium imaging.

Itch.

A camping trip will quickly become unpleasant if a horde of mosquitoes descends while you pitch your tent, or you find yourself in a patch of poison oak. Whether due to an insect bite, a poisonous plant, or a chronic skin disease, everyone has experienced the urgent sensation of itch and the sweet relief of scratching. The itch-scratch cycle is so powerful that just reading about itch or seeing someone scratching elicits a strong desire to scratch.

Technoeconomic analysis for near-term scale-up of bioprocesses.

Growing the bioeconomy requires products and pathways that are cost-competitive. Technoeconomic analyses (TEAs) aim to predict the long-term economic viability and often use what are known as n plant cost and performance parameters. However, as TEA is more widely adopted to inform everything from early-stage research to company and investor decision-making, the n plant approach is inadequate and risks being misused to inform the early stages of scale-up.

Supercooling tolerance in the Mexican lizard Barisia imbricata (Squamata: Anguidae).

Environmental temperature impacts the physiological processes of reptiles, determines their hours of activity per day, and may constrain their ability to meet critical ecological requirements. When environmental temperatures reach freezing, a few lizard species exhibit two mechanisms (supercooling and freezing tolerance) to survive freezing, and these two processes depend on cryoprotective molecules, such as glucose. Organisms produce high glucose concentrations to reach lower than normal crystallisation points, and this blood glucose concentration can double after freezing.

The 2025 Motile Active Matter Roadmap.

Activity and autonomous motion are fundamental aspects of many living and engineering systems. Here, the scale of biological agents covers a wide range, from nanomotors, cytoskeleton, and cells, to insects, fish, birds, and people. Inspired by biological active systems, various types of autonomous synthetic nano- and micromachines have been designed, which provide the basis for multifunctional, highly responsive, intelligent active materials.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Across the Lifespan.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects individuals worldwide throughout their lives. Copious advances in research have enhanced our understanding of autism significantly since Dr. Leo Kanner's first description of the condition in 1943.

Multi-Institutional Analysis of Surgery for Lichen Sclerosus Induced Penile Urethral Stricture: Establishing Single-Stage Urethroplasty as a Primary Treatment Option.

Introduction: Ideal treatment of lichen sclerosus (LS) induced penile urethral strictures (PUS) remains elusive. The objective of this study is to compare multi-institutional outcomes of single-stage urethroplasty (SSU) with oral mucosal graft (OMG), staged urethroplasty and perineal urethrostomy (PU) for treatment of LS induced PUS.

Methods: Multi-institutional analysis was performed at 9 centers on males undergoing SSU, staged urethroplasty or PU for LS induced PUS.

Traffic pollution, reproductive health, and depressive symptoms in a healthy multiethnic sample of reproductive age women in the Ovarian Aging Study.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is associated with depressive symptoms while also characterizing the contribution of key explanatory factors related to sociodemographics and health. In addition, it aimed to also explore the role of reproductive health as a pathway through which exposure to TRAP may relate to depressive symptoms.

Methods: Participants were 688 healthy reproductive-age women in the Ovarian Aging Study.

Mortality among 5 to 19-year-olds in rural Mali.

The unique healthcare needs of 5 to 9-year-olds and adolescents (10-19 years) in low- and middle-income countries have been largely neglected. We generated estimates of 5 to 9-year-old and adolescent mortality in rural Mali, a setting with high under-five mortality, and aimed to define associated individual and household risk factors. We analysed cross-sectional baseline household survey data from the ProCCM trial (NCT02694055) conducted in Bankass District, Mali collected in December 2016 and January 2017.

Sequence specificity of an essential nuclear localization sequence in Mcm3.

Proteins with nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) are directed into the cell nucleus through interactions between the NLS and importin proteins. NLSs are generally short motifs rich in basic amino acids; however, identifying NLSs can be challenging due to the lack of a universally conserved sequence. In this study, we characterized the sequence specificity of an essential and conserved NLS in Mcm3, a subunit of the replicative DNA helicase.

tttrlib: modular software for integrating fluorescence spectroscopy, imaging, and molecular modeling.

Summary: We introduce software for reading, writing and processing fluorescence single-molecule and image spectroscopy data and developing analysis pipelines to unify various spectroscopic analysis tools. Our software can be used for processing multiple experiment types, e.g.