Projecting stream water quality using Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS): An example with drought conditions in the Delaware River Basin.

Future water availability depends on understanding the responses of constituent concentrations to hydrologic change. Projecting future water quality remains a methodological challenge, particularly when using discrete observations with limited temporal resolution. This study introduces Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season for Projection (WRTDS-P), a novel, computationally efficient method that enables the projection of daily stream water quality under varying hydrologic conditions using commonly available discrete monitoring data.

Peptide Coacervates Can Protect Sequestered Oligonucleotides from Nucleases and Release Them for Transcription and Translation.

We demonstrate that coacervates, membraneless organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation, sequester and protect short DNA reporters and a functional luciferase gene from enzymatic degradation by various nucleases. Associative coacervates, formed by electrostatic interactions between polyhistidine peptides and ATP, inhibit degradation very efficiently. This protection arises from strong electrostatic interactions between the peptides and oligonucleotides, limiting the enzyme access to recognition and active sites.

Heterologous COVID-19 vaccine schedule with protein-based prime (NVX-CoV2373) and mRNA boost (BNT162b2) induces strong humoral responses: Results from COV-BOOST trial.

Background: Heterologous schedules of booster vaccines for COVID-19 following initial doses of mRNA or adenoviral vector vaccines have been shown to be safe and immunogenic. There are few data on booster doses following initial doses of protein nanoparticle vaccines.

Methods: Participants of the phase 3 clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine NVX-CoV2373 (EudraCT 2020-004123-16) enroled between September 28 and November 28, 2020, who received 2 doses of NVX-CoV2373 administered 21 days apart were invited to receive a third dose booster vaccine of BNT162b2 (wild type mRNA vaccine) as a sub-study of the COV-BOOST clinical trial, and were followed up for assessment of safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity to day 242 post-booster.

Quantum dot molecular beacons achieve sub-10 pM CRISPR-Cas detection in field-ready assays.

CRISPR-Cas systems have revolutionized molecular diagnostics through their specificity and programmability, yet their broad adoption is hindered by the reliance on expensive and complex instrumentation. Here, we present an optimized quantum dot (QD) molecular beacon (QD-MB) platform that integrates Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based detection with CRISPR-Cas functionality, achieving sub-picomolar sensitivity without the need for target amplification. By systematically tuning components, including His-tag modifications for improved QD conjugation, nucleic acid hairpin structures for enhanced enzyme interaction, and QD surface passivation strategies, we demonstrate a two-order-of-magnitude improvement in detection sensitivity.

Modeling seawater intrusion along the Alabama coastline using physical and machine learning models to evaluate the effects of multiscale natural and anthropogenic stresses.

Seawater intrusion threatens groundwater resources in coastal regions, including southern Baldwin County, Alabama, where the freshwater-saltwater interface dynamics remain poorly understood. To address this gap, this study uses combined physics-based and machine-learning models to quantify seawater intrusion caused by natural (storm surges) and anthropogenic (human activities) perturbations. The long short-term memory network and wavelet analysis were used to assess vertical aquifer vulnerabilities, revealing that the shallow part of the Coastal lowlands aquifer system (CL1) in the southern Baldwin County region is more susceptible to sea level rise and groundwater extraction than deeper aquifers.

Differential control of mycobacterial growth ex vivo by COVID-19 patients is associated with CD8+ CD28+ T cells.

Diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) represent two public health emergencies. In severe presentations of disease, both pathogens may share a biological niche in the lower respiratory tract.

Tools of the data detective: A review of statistical methods to detect data and result anomalies in psychology.

In psychology, it is largely assumed that researchers collect real data and analyze them honestly-that is, it is assumed that data fabrication seldom occurs. While data fabrication is a rare phenomenon, estimates suggest that it occurs frequently enough to be a concern. To this end, statistical tools have been created to detect and deter data fabrication.

A comparative analysis of distinct assays for the investigation of behavior during organophosphate exposure.

motility is a convenient paradigm to describe the behavioral outcome of genetic- and drug-induced changes in neural circuits. Motility may be parameterized by scoring movement on solid medium or in liquid. In addition, body wall muscle contraction inhibits pharyngeal pumping, providing an indirect measure of motility.

The synthesis and influence of the novel bispyridinium compound LB1 on the effectiveness of the standard antidotal treatment of organophosphorus nerve agent intoxicated mice and some structure-activity considerations.

The design of MB327, a bispyridinium compound that ameliorates the nicotinic effects of acute organophosphorus nerve agent (NA) intoxication, followed an observation made by the German pharmacologist Klaus Schoene in the 1970s, who noted therapeutic activity in bispyridinium molecules missing the usual oxime group, CHNOH. Some of these compounds protected mice against soman. One structurally related to obidoxime called HY10 had this action.

Structure-activity studies of bispyridinium antinicotinics to select candidates to treat soman intoxication as part of a combined therapy.

The standard treatment of atropine and oximes is insufficiently effective against all organophosphorus nerve agents. Bispyridinium non-oxime nicotinic antagonists are promising components to add to treatments. One of these, MB327, improves the survival of guinea-pigs after intoxication with tabun, sarin or soman.

Analyzing the Creation and Use of Abbreviations in Cardiology and Cardiac Imaging Society Guidelines.

Background: Abbreviation use in clinical and academic cardiology is widespread, yet there are few guidelines regulating the creation and utilization of abbreviations. Inconsistent abbreviations can introduce ambiguity and pose challenges to practice and research.

Objectives: The authors aimed to analyze how abbreviations are created and utilized in general cardiology and cardiac imaging society guidelines in order to assess whether ambiguities and discrepancies exist between societies.

Design and Characterization of a Gene-Encoding DNA Nanoparticle in a Cell-Free Transcription-Translation System.

DNA nanotechnology has made initial progress toward developing gene-encoded DNA origami nanoparticles (NPs) that display potential utility for future gene therapy applications. However, due to the challenges involved with gene delivery into cells including transport through the membrane, intracellular targeting, and inherent expression of nucleases along with interference from other active proteins, it can be difficult to more directly study the effect of DNA NP design on subsequent gene expression. In this work, we demonstrate an approach for studying the expression of gene-encoding DNA origami NPs without the use of cells.

Gut feelings on short-chain fatty acids to regulate respiratory health.

Respiratory infections and diseases pose significant challenges to society and healthcare systems, underscoring the need for preventative and therapeutic strategies. Recent research in rodent models indicates that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), metabolites produced by gut bacteria, may offer medicinal benefits for respiratory conditions. In this opinion, we summarize the current literature that highlights the potential of SCFAs to enhance immune balance in humans.

Super-Resolved Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Single Cy3 Molecules and Quantum Dots Using Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting with a Four-Pixel Fiber Optic Array Camera.

Time-resolved single molecule localization microscopy (TR-SMLM) with a 2 × 2 pixel fiber optic array camera was combined with time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) to obtain super-resolved fluorescence lifetime images of individual Cy3 dye molecules and individual colloidal CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/shell/shell semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The characteristic blinking and bleaching behavior of the Cy3 and the blinking behavior of the QD emitters were used as distinguishing optical characteristics to isolate them and determine their centroid locations with spatial resolution below the optical diffraction limit. TCSPC was used to characterize the fluorescence lifetime and intensity corresponding to each emitter location.

Prioritizing US Geological Survey science on salinization and salinity in candidate and selected priority river basins.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) is selecting and prioritizing basins, known as Integrated Water Science basins, for monitoring and intensive study. Previous efforts to aid in this selection process include a scientifically defensible and quantitative assessment of basins facing human-caused water resource challenges (Van Metre et al. in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(7), 458 2020).

Investigating serum concentration profiles of orally ingested short-chain fatty acid supplements.

Acetate, propionate, and butyrate are naturally-occurring short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) derived from bacterial metabolism of dietary fibre and have been associated with numerous positive health outcomes. All three acids have been shown to offer unique physiological and metabolic effects and, therefore, could be targeted for co-ingestion as part of a nutritional/medicinal plan. However, a better understanding of the outcomes of supplementing in combination on circulating concentration profiles is necessary to confirm uptake efficacy.

Direct determination of lithium in brine samples using handheld LIBS without sample treatment: sample introduction by venturi system.

Splashing is the main problem for the direct analysis of aqueous samples using LIBS since it generates serious precision and accuracy issues. This study demonstrates the direct determination of Li content in brines for the control of industrial mining processes using a portable LIBS device based on the direct laser impact on the sample, without any sample treatment, through the design of a sample injection system based on the Venturi effect. Our results demonstrated that the utilization of the 653.

FTY720/Fingolimod mitigates paclitaxel-induced Sparcl1-driven neuropathic pain and breast cancer progression.

Paclitaxel is among the most active chemotherapy drugs for the aggressive triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Unfortunately, it often induces painful peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a major debilitating side effect. Here we demonstrate that in naive and breast tumor-bearing immunocompetent mice, a clinically relevant dose of FTY720/Fingolimod that targets sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1), alleviated paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain.

Sphingosine kinase 2 and p62 regulation are determinants of sexual dimorphism in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality, and its incidence is increasing due to endemic obesity. HCC is sexually dimorphic in both humans and rodents with higher incidence in males, although the mechanisms contributing to these correlations remain unclear. Here, we examined the role of sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2), the enzyme that regulates the balance of bioactive sphingolipid metabolites, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramide, in gender specific MASH-driven HCC.

The use of bispyridinium non-oxime analogues for the restoration of nerve agent impaired neuromuscular transmission in rat hemidiaphragms - Structure optimization.

Organophosphate pesticide poisoning challenges health care systems worldwide. Furthermore, nerve agents remain a continuous threat. The treatment options for organophosphate poisoning have virtually been unchanged for decades, relying on symptomatic treatment and the use of oximes to indirectly restore neuromuscular function.

Optimizing the conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate to lactate by enzymatic channeling with mixed nanoparticle display.

Co-assembling enzymes with nanoparticles (NPs) into nanoclusters allows them to access channeling, a highly efficient form of multienzyme catalysis. Using pyruvate kinase (PykA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) to convert phosphoenolpyruvic acid to lactic acid with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) confirms how enzyme cluster formation dictates the rate of coupled catalytic flux (k) across a series of differentially sized/shaped QDs and 2D nanoplatelets (NPLs). Enzyme kinetics and coupled flux were used to demonstrate that by mixing different NP systems into clusters, a >10× improvement in k is observed relative to free enzymes, which is also ≥2× greater than enhancement on individual NPs.