Multiplex genomic tagging of mammalian ATG8s to study autophagy.

Atg8 proteins play a crucial role in autophagy. There is a single Atg8 isoform in yeast, while mammals have up to seven homologs categorized into LC3s and GABARAPs. The GABARAP subfamily consists of GABARAP, GABARAPL1, and GABARAPL2/GATE16, implicated in various stages along the pathway.

A phase II, open-label, single-arm trial of pembrolizumab for recurrent meningioma and solitary fibrous tumor.

Background: Atypical and anaplastic meningiomas account for 20% of all meningioma cases. Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a type of soft tissue sarcoma with similar attributes to meningioma. For patients with refractory or recurrent disease after previous surgery or radiotherapy, there is no effective treatment.

Generalization in perceptual learning across stimuli and tasks.

Perceptual learning, known to improve visual perception, demonstrates the plasticity of brain processes underlying vision. Early studies, using the backward-masked texture discrimination task (TDT), focused on the lack of generalizing learning to stimulus features, relating learning specificity to the selectivity of the brain networks involved in the visual task. Learning was found to be highly specific to the stimulus features, as expected from the processing selectivity found in early visual areas as well as to the task employed in training, pointing to top-down effects.

Eshelby problem in amorphous solids.

The Eshelby problem refers to the response of a two-dimensional elastic sheet to cutting away a circle, deforming it into an ellipse, and pushing it back. The resulting response is dominated by the so-called Eshelby kernel, which was derived for purely elastic (infinite) material, but has been employed extensively to model the redistribution of stress after plastic events in amorphous solids with finite boundaries. Here, we discuss and solve the Eshelby problem directly for amorphous solids, taking into account possible screening effects and realistic boundary conditions.

Efficient laser wakefield accelerator in pump depletion dominated bubble regime.

With the usage of the postcompression technique, few-cycle joule-class laser pulses are nowadays available extending the state of the art of 100 TW-class laser working at 10 Hz repetition. In this Letter, we explore the potential of wakefield acceleration when driven with such pulses. The numerical modeling predicts that 50% of the laser pulse energy can be transferred into electrons with energy above 15 MeV, and with charge exceeding several nanocoulombs for the electrons at hundreds of MeV energy.

Cost-effectiveness of exome sequencing and chromosomal microarray for low-risk pregnancies: Cost-effectiveness of Prenatal Exome Sequencing.

Objective: To investigate the cost -effectiveness of exome and genome sequencing (ES), compared to Chromosomal microarray (CMA) METHODS: costs, utility and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were modeled for prenatal testing with CMA or CMA+ES. Average costs and utilities were discounted at 3%. Two strategies for screening were compared using Markovian decision analysis model: (1) CMA only- abnormal result culminating in termination of pregnancy and normal test has with 1/160 chance for severe disorders.

Unlocking metal-ligand cooperative catalytic photochemical benzene carbonylation: a mechanistic approach.

A key challenge in green synthesis is the catalytic transformation of renewable substrates at high atom and energy efficiency, with minimal energy input (Δ ≈ 0). Non-thermal pathways, , electrochemical and photochemical, can be used to leverage renewable energy resources to drive chemical processes at well-defined energy input and efficiency. Within this context, photochemical benzene carbonylation to produce benzaldehyde is a particularly interesting, albeit challenging, process that combines unfavorable thermodynamics (Δ° = 1.

snPATHO-seq, a versatile FFPE single-nucleus RNA sequencing method to unlock pathology archives.

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples are valuable but underutilized in single-cell omics research due to their low RNA quality. In this study, leveraging a recent advance in single-cell genomic technology, we introduce snPATHO-seq, a versatile method to derive high-quality single-nucleus transcriptomic data from FFPE samples. We benchmarked the performance of the snPATHO-seq workflow against existing 10x 3' and Flex assays designed for frozen or fresh samples and highlighted the consistency in snRNA-seq data produced by all workflows.

Active state structures of a bistable visual opsin bound to G proteins.

Opsins are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that have evolved to detect light stimuli and initiate intracellular signaling cascades. Their role as signal transducers is critical to light perception across the animal kingdom. Opsins covalently bind to the chromophore 11-cis retinal, which isomerizes to the all-trans isomer upon photon absorption, causing conformational changes that result in receptor activation.

Heteronuclear Polarization Transfer under Steady-State Conditions: The INEPT-SSFP Experiment.

NMR finds a wide range of applications, ranging from fundamental chemistry to medical imaging. The technique, however, has an inherently low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)─particularly when dealing with nuclei having low natural abundances and/or low γs. In these cases, sensitivity is often enhanced by methods that, similar to INEPT, transfer polarization from neighboring Hs via -couplings.

Glatiramer Acetate for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis: From First-Generation Therapy to Elucidation of Immunomodulation and Repair.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), with a putative autoimmune origin and complex pathogenesis. Modification of the natural history of MS by reducing relapses and slowing disability accumulation was first attained in the 1990 s with the development of the first-generation disease-modifying therapies. Glatiramer acetate (GA), a copolymer of L-alanine, L-lysine, L-glutamic acid, and L-tyrosine, was discovered due to its ability to suppress the animal model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Investigating the p21 Ubiquitin-Independent Degron Reveals a Dual Degron Module Regulating p21 Degradation and Function.

A group of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are subject to 20S proteasomal degradation in a ubiquitin-independent manner. Recently, we have reported that many IDPs/IDRs are targeted to the 20S proteasome via interaction with the C-terminus of the PSMA3 subunit, termed the PSMA3 Trapper. In this study, we investigated the biological significance of the IDP-Trapper interaction using the IDP p21.

Chiral Nematic Cellulose Nanocrystal Films for Enhanced Charge Separation and Quantum-Confined Stark Effect.

Efficient charge separation is essential in various optoelectronic systems, yet it continues to pose substantial challenges. Building upon the recent evidence that chiral biomolecules can function as electron spin filters, this study aims to extend the application of chirality-driven charge separation from the molecular level to the mesoscale and supramolecular scale. Utilizing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) derived from cellulose, the most abundant biomaterial on Earth, this research leverages their self-assembly into chiral nematic structures and their dielectric properties.

Glioblastoma-cortical organoids recapitulate cell state heterogeneity and intercellular transfer.

Glioblastoma is characterized by heterogeneous malignant cells that are functionally integrated within the neuroglial microenvironment. Here, we model this ecosystem by growing glioblastoma into long-term cultured human cortical organoids that contain the major neuroglial cell types found in the cerebral cortex. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis suggests that, compared to matched gliomasphere models, glioblastoma cortical organoids (GCO) more faithfully recapitulate the diversity and expression programs of malignant cell states found in patient tumors.