Metallo-Glycodendrimeric Materials against Enterotoxigenic .

Conjugation of carbohydrates to nanomaterials has been extensively studied and recognized as an alternative in the biomedical field. Dendrimers synthesized with mannose at the end group and with entrapped zero-valent copper/silver could be a potential candidate against bacterial proliferation. This study is aimed at investigating the bactericidal activity of metal-glycodendrimers.

Electrocatalytic water treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances reduces adsorbable organofluorine and bioaccumulation potential.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are pervasive in industrial processes, eliciting public concern upon their release into municipal sewers or the environment. Removing PFAS from the environment has become an urgent need. However, because potential endpoints span from energy-intensive complete mineralization to partial PFAS transformation, understanding and developing metrics for evaluating PFAS treatment can be a challenge.

Conserved role of hnRNPL in alternative splicing of epigenetic modifiers enables B cell activation.

The multifunctional RNA-binding protein hnRNPL is implicated in antibody class switching but its broader function in B cells is unknown. Here, we show that hnRNPL is essential for B cell activation, germinal center formation, and antibody responses. Upon activation, hnRNPL-deficient B cells show proliferation defects and increased apoptosis.

Studying the nonlinear response of incompressible hyperelastic thin circular cylindrical shells with geometric imperfections.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of hyperelastic thin cylindrical shells exhibiting initial geometrical imperfections. The nonlinear equations of motion are derived using an improved formulation of Donnell's nonlinear shallow-shell theory and Lagrange's equations, incorporating the small strain hypothesis. Mooney-Rivlin constitutive model is employed to capture the hyperelastic behavior of the material.

A generalized analytical energy balance model for evaluating agglomeration from a binary collision of wet particles.

Agglomeration of wet particles, i.e., particles coated with a thin liquid layer, is a common phenomenon in many processes like fluidized bed combustion of low rank fuels.

Impact of heat islands vs. city greening: Real-time monitoring and modeling of drinking water temperature in the city of Montreal in Canada.

Urbanization increases the land surface temperature through surface mineralization, adversely affecting vegetation and enhancing the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Global climate change has intensified this warming effect with more frequent and intense heatwaves during hot seasons. While these transformations influence soil temperature, their consequences on drinking water temperature within the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) remains poorly understood.

Mid-infrared Imaging Using Strain-Relaxed GeSn Alloys Grown on 20 nm Ge Nanowires.

Germanium-tin (GeSn) semiconductors are a front-runner platform for compact mid-infrared devices due to their tunable narrow bandgap and compatibility with silicon processing. However, their large lattice parameter has been a major hurdle, limiting the quality of epitaxial layers grown on silicon or germanium substrates. Herein, we demonstrate that 20 nm Ge nanowires (NWs) act as effective compliant substrates to grow extended defect-free GeSn alloys with a composition uniformity over several micrometers along the NW growth axis without significant buildup of the compressive strain.

Emerging threat: Antimicrobial resistance proliferation during epidemics - A case study of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in South Brazil.

The escalating global concern of antimicrobial resistance poses a significant challenge to public health. This study delved into the occurrence of resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes in the waters and sediments of urban rivers and correlated this emergence and the heightened use of antimicrobials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolating 45 antimicrobial-resistant bacteria across 11 different species, the study identifies prevalent resistance patterns, with ceftriaxone resistance observed in 18 isolates and ciprofloxacin resistance observed in 13 isolates.

The type IVc pilus: just a Tad different.

Bacteria utilize type IV pili (T4P) to interact with their environment, where they facilitate processes including motility, adherence, and DNA uptake. T4P require multisubunit, membrane-spanning nanomachines for assembly. The tight adherence (Tad) pili are an Archaea-derived T4P subgroup whose machinery exhibits significant mechanistic and architectural differences from bacterial type IVa and IVb pili.

Comparative study on electro-regeneration of antibiotic-laden activated carbons in reverse osmosis concentrate.

Electro-regeneration is emerging as a new technique to regenerate spent carbon adsorbents through an electrochemical process. In this study, sequential adsorption and electro-regeneration of ciprofloxacin (CIP)-laden carbon were investigated using both pristine and iron (Fe)-doped F400 activated carbon in distilled, deionized (DI) water and reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate water. The impact of reactor flow rate and sequential adsorption/electro-regeneration cycles on the regeneration efficiency were also evaluated.

Exploring the Differences Between an Immature and a Mature Human Auditory System Through Auditory Late Responses in Quiet and in Noise.

Children are disadvantaged compared to adults when they perceive speech in a noisy environment. Noise reduces their ability to extract and understand auditory information. Auditory-Evoked Late Responses (ALRs) offer insight into how the auditory system can process information in noise.

The processing of spatial frequencies through time in visual word recognition.

This study examined the temporal profile of spatial frequency processing in a word reading task in 16 normal adult readers. They had to report the word presented in a 200 ms display using a four-alternative forced-choice task (4AFC). The stimuli were made of an additive combination of the signal (i.

Mobile version of the Battery for the Assessment of Auditory Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities (BAASTA): Implementation and adult norms.

Timing and rhythm abilities are complex and multidimensional skills that are highly widespread in the general population. This complexity can be partly captured by the Battery for the Assessment of Auditory Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities (BAASTA). The battery, consisting of four perceptual and five sensorimotor tests (finger-tapping), has been used in healthy adults and in clinical populations (e.

Climate change and future water demand: Implications for chlorine and trihalomethanes management in water distribution systems.

The global change in surface water quality calls for increased preparedness of drinking water utilities. The increasing frequency of extreme climatic events combined with global warming can impact source and treated water characteristics such as temperature and natural organic matter. On the other hand, water saving policies in response to water and energy crisis in some countries can aggravate the situation by increasing the water residence time in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS).

Contrasting physiological strategies explain heterogeneous responses to severe drought conditions within local populations of a widespread conifer.

Understanding how trees prioritize carbon gain at the cost of drought vulnerability under severe drought conditions is crucial for predicting which genetic groups and individuals will be resilient to future climate conditions. In this study, we investigated variations in growth, tree-ring anatomy as well as carbon and oxygen isotope ratios to assess the sensitivity and the xylem formation process in response to an episode of severe drought in 29 mature white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) families grown in a common garden trial. During the drought episode, the majority of families displayed decreased growth and exhibited either sustained or increased intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE), which was largely influenced by reduced stomatal conductance as revealed by the dual carbon‑oxygen isotope approach.

Removal of urea in ultrapure water system by urease-coated reverse osmosis membrane.

Among the various substances found in the feed source for the production of ultrapure water (UPW), urea is challenging to remove because it is a small molecular weight molecule that is not easily oxidized and does not carry a charge under neutral pH conditions. Urease enzyme, found in various organisms such as plants and bacteria, catalyze the hydrolysis of urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia. In this study, urease was immobilized on the polyamide layer of a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane to remove urea in UPW systems.

Heavy Atom Effect in Halogenated mCP and Its Influence on the Efficiency of the Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence of Dopant Molecules.

In this study, we explore the impact of halogen functionalization on the photophysical properties of the commonly used organic light-emitting diode (OLED) host material, 1,3-bis(-carbazolyl)benzene (mCP). Derivatives with different numbers and types of halogen substituents on mCP were synthesized. By measuring steady-state and transient photoluminescence at 6 K, we study the impact of the type, number, and position of the halogens on the intersystem crossing and phosphorescence rates of the compounds.

Iron coatings on carbonate rocks shape the attached bacterial aquifer community.

Most studies of groundwater ecosystems target planktonic microbes, which are easily obtained via water samples. In contrast, little is known about the diversity and function of microbes adhering to rock surfaces, particularly to consolidated rocks. To investigate microbial attachment to rock surfaces, we incubated rock chips from fractured aquifers in limestone-mudstone alternations in bioreactors fed with groundwater from two wells representing oxic and anoxic conditions.

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure.

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised.

AI maturity in health care: An overview of 10 OECD countries.

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications in health care are on the agenda of policymakers around the world, but a major challenge remains, namely, to set policies that will ensure wide acceptance and capture the value of AI while mitigating associated risks.

Objective: This study aims to provide an overview of how OECD countries strategize about how to integrate AI into health care and to determine their actual level of AI maturity.

Methods: A scan of government-based AI strategies and initiatives adopted in 10 proactive OECD countries was conducted.

Modeling the impact of heat stress on the toxicokinetics of toluene and acetone.

Many workers can be exposed simultaneously to heat and volatile chemicals. In a controlled human exposure study, it was observed that an increase in ambient temperature was associated with increased blood concentrations for acetone and toluene. Based on the expected changes in physiological parameters that occur with an increase in ambient temperature, we aimed to develop a PBPK model for acetone and toluene that could account for the impact of temperature on the kinetics of these solvents.

Potential future changes in soil carbon dynamics in the Ziwuling Forest, China under different climate change scenarios.

Soil carbon (C) cycling processes in terrestrial ecosystems are significantly influenced by global changes, and soil microorganisms play a crucial role in soil organic carbon (SOC) and its feedbacks to climate change. To investigate the potential future changes in soil C dynamics under different scenarios in the Ziwuling Forest region, China, we conducted a soil observation and sampling experiment from April 2021 to July 2022. By utilizing a microbial ecological model (MEND), we aimed to predict the future dynamics of soil C under different scenarios in the area.

Nuclear Spin-Depleted, Isotopically Enriched Ge/ Si Ge Quantum Wells.

The p-symmetry of the hole wavefunction is associated with a weaker hyperfine interaction, which makes hole spin qubits attractive candidates to implement quantum processors. However, recent studies demonstrate that hole qubits are still very sensitive to nuclear spin bath, thus highlighting the need for nuclear spin-free germanium (Ge) qubits to suppress this decoherence channel. Herein, this work demonstrates the epitaxial growth of Ge- and Si-depleted, isotopically enriched Ge/silicon-germanium (SiGe) quantum wells.