Disposble electrochemical aptasensors: From design strategies, signal amplification, to applications and future perspectives.

Disposable electrochemical aptasensors (DEAs) hold significant promise for different analyte detection across diverse fields, due to inherent advantages of rapid response, portability, low cost, and high sensitivity. This review systematically examines the design strategies, signal amplification methodologies, and recent advances in DEAs in the fields of environmental analysis, food safety monitoring, and medical diagnostics. Specifically, it critically evaluates construction strategies for screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) and paper-based electrodes, including substrate selection, ink formulations, and key fabrication techniques such as screen printing, inkjet printing, deposition methods, and direct-writing technologies.

Modulating Interfacial Solvent Aggregation Chemistry to Enable Low-Temperature Sodium-Ion Battery.

The capability of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) to operate under extreme temperatures is highly desirable; however, achieving stable performance remains challenging due to limitations in interfacial dynamics. Here, it is revealed that at low temperatures, linear solvents tend to aggregate within the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP), leading to the formation of a solvent-derived solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) with sluggish Na diffusion kinetics. To address this issue, it is proposed to leverage the polarization interaction induced by the orbital overlap between the solvent molecules and free radicals as an effective approach to breaking solvent aggregation.

PolyA-Bridged Aptamer for Label-Free Electrochemical Aptasensors: Comparable Performance to Thiol-Terminated Aptamer but with Sharply Reduced Cost.

Thiol-terminated aptamers (SH-Apt) enable Au-S self-assembly on Au electrodes but face great challenges due to expensive thiol modification and laborious disulfide cleavage steps. Poly adenine (PolyA)-mediated aptamers offer a simpler and cost-effective alternative, yet lack systematic comparative studies against Au-S immobilization for critical metrics in electrochemical aptasensors. In this work, we present a systematic comparative evaluation of PolyA-bridged aptamer (PolyA-Apt) and SH-Apt immobilization strategies on Au electrodes for electrochemical aptasensor, using metronidazole (MTZ) as a model target and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for performance assessment.

Genome sequencing and population genomics provide insights into the demographic history, genetic load, and local adaptation of an endangered Tertiary relict.

Endangered Tertiary relict trees represent an exceptional evolutionary heritage with small and isolated populations, yet little is known about how demographic history, local adaptation, and genetic load have affected their long-term survival and extinction risk. We performed whole-genome sequencing and population genomic analyses on Ulmus elongata L. K.

Genomic Insights Into Local Adaptation Across Heterogeneous Understory Habitats and Climate Change Vulnerability.

Understanding adaptive evolution and survival risks in understory herbs is crucial for the effective conservation of biodiversity. How environmental gradients shape species local adaptation patterns is not well understood, nor is how populations of understory herbs respond to a changing climate. In this study, we conducted population genomic analyses of Adenocaulon himalaicum (Asteraceae) with a pan-East Asian distribution, representing a good model for dominant understory herbs to elucidate adaptation mechanisms in heterogeneous forest ecosystems.

Transcriptional Analysis of Sf9 Cells Infected with Cypovirus-23.

cypovirus-23 (DnCPV-23) is a new type of cypovirus that has a lethal effect on many species of Sphingidae pests. DnCPV-23 can replicate in Sf9 cells, but the replication characteristics of the virus in this cell line are still unclear. To determine the replication characteristics of DnCPV-23 in Sf9 cells, uninfected Sf9 cells and Sf9 cells at 24 and 72 h after DnCPV-23 infection were collected for transcriptome analysis.

Long-distance coherent secure communication network based on synchronized chaotic semiconductor lasers.

In this paper, we propose and numerically investigate a long-distance coherent secure communication network scheme based on a synchronized chaotic semiconductor laser. The central driving laser (CDL) with optical feedback can achieve chaotic signals with enhanced bandwidth and suppressed time delay signature through a dispersion component and a phase modulator, and high-quality chaos synchronization and communication between two arbitrary response lasers (RLs, legal receivers) can be guaranteed due to the identical injection from CDL. After adopting coherent detection and the modified constant modulus algorithm (MCMA) to compensate for the fiber transmission impairments, including chromatic dispersion and nonlinear effects, we demonstrate a bidirectional 64 Gb/s 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) message transmission over 800 km with a bit-error rate (BER) below the hard-decision forward-error-correction threshold of 3.

Advances in Three-Dimensional Temperature Sensing: From Materials to Applications.

Temperature sensing has broad applications in everyday life and serves as a crucial tool for ensuring safety, efficiency, and sustainable development across various industries. Recently, 3D temperature sensing has become increasingly vital in modern society due to the boosted demand for comprehensive thermal information in various applications. This field has attracted global efforts in developing temperature-sensitive materials, spatial positioning technologies, and new mechanisms of heat transfer to improve temperature resolution and spatial resolution in various systems.

Life history of a new Paraceratheriid from the Early Oligocene of Northwest China.

Understanding life history is crucial for elucidating mammalian evolution. Body size and tooth development have long been fundamental parameters in reconstructing the life histories of both fossil and extant species. The superfamily Rhinocerotoidea exhibits a protracted evolutionary history from the Eocene to the present, with its large body sizes and high-crowned teeth providing compelling evidence for such studies.

The 5'-end segment-specific noncoding region of influenza A virus regulates both competitive multi-segment RNA transcription and selective genome packaging during infection.

The 3' and 5' termini of the eight RNA segments of the influenza A virus (IAV) genome contain segment-specific or subtype-specific (in HA and NA segments) noncoding regions (ssNCRs), located between the highly conserved terminal promoter sequences and the coding start or stop codons. These ssNCRs vary significantly in both length and sequence among segments and have been implicated in selective genome packaging. Beyond their established role in packaging, we previously demonstrated that the 3'-end H1-ssNCR, together with its adjacent coding region, supports optimal replication of HA viral RNA (vRNA) in a multi-segment context.

New insights into the molecular phylogeny and biogeographical history of subgenus (Amaryllidaceae) based on plastome and nuclear sequences.

Subgenus is the second largest subgenus of , with a wide distribution ranging from the Canary Islands to northwestern India. This study investigates the phylogeny, biogeographic patterns, and morphological character evolution of the subgenus using 117 accessions representing 107 taxa across the 19 currently recognized sections within subgenus . Although the subgenus is monophyletic, significant incongruence exists between morphological and molecular data.

CdZnS Nanowire Decorated with Graphene for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Harnessing abundant and renewable solar energy for photocatalytic hydrogen production is a highly promising approach to sustainable energy generation. To realize the practical implementation of such systems, the development of photocatalysts that simultaneously exhibit high activity, cost-effectiveness, and long-term stability is critically important. In this study, a CdZnS nanowire photocatalytic system decorated with graphene (GR) was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method.

CINTER-seq: Chemical profiling reveals interaction-dependent cell landscapes and gene signatures in vivo.

Physical interactions between cells are essential for physiological functions, yet the in situ cellular interactome remains largely unexplored. In this study, we developed a photocatalytic chemistry to capture targeted physically interacting cells in living mice. Furthermore, we introduce sequencing of the cellular interactome (CINTER-seq), a quantitative approach for multiplexed indexing of the captured cellular interactome, enabled by the simultaneous ex situ sequencing of multidimensional parameters.

Savanna ecosystems and mammalian adaptations in Mid-Miocene Northern China.

The paleoenvironments and ecosystems of northern China during the Miocene (ca. 23-5.3 Ma) are complex topics, especially concerning the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau on the surrounding areas and the ecological adaptations of mammals as a consequence.

[Difference of compensatory mechanisms in bilateral knee osteoarthritis patients of varying severity].

Objective: To investigate the load distribution on the more painful and less painful limbs in patients with mild-to-moderate and severe bilateral knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and explore the compensatory mechanisms in both limbs among bilateral KOA patients with different severity levels.

Methods: A total of 113 participants were enrolled between July 2022 and September 2023. This cohort comprised 43 patients with mild-to-moderate bilateral KOA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2-3), 43 patients with severe bilateral KOA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 4), and 27 healthy volunteers (healthy control group).

LEGEND: Identifying Co-expressed Genes in Multimodal Transcriptomic Sequencing Data.

Identifying co-expressed genes across tissue domains and cell types is essential for revealing co-functional genes involved in biological or pathological processes. While both single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatially resolved transcriptomic (SRT) data offer insights into gene co-expression patterns, current methods typically utilize either data type alone, potentially diluting the co-functionality signals within co-expressed gene groups. To bridge this gap, we introduce muLtimodal co-Expressed GENes finDer (LEGEND), a novel computational method that integrates scRNA-seq and SRT data for identifying groups of co-expressed genes at both cell type and tissue domain levels.

Host lncRNA assists the nuclear import of influenza A virus protein PB2 in a species-specific manner.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to modulate immune responses to viral infections. However, it remains largely unexplored how viruses exploit host lncRNAs to promote viral replication. Here, we found that an lncRNA, called lnc-ALOX12, is upregulated specifically in cells infected by influenza A virus (IAV).

An all-atom molecular dynamics-based method for evaluating particle-level stress and diffusion of sintering LaSrFeCoO-SmCeO electrodes.

In this study, Von Mises stress at the electrode pore level and B-site atom/ion migration inside sintering particles are characterized and analyzed for LaSrFeCoO (LSFC)-SmCeO (SDC) materials applied in reversible solid oxide fuel cells. An all-atom (AA) molecular dynamics (MD) approach is developed to predict diffusion and migration phenomena of ions in the LSFC-SDC electrodes, and further to evaluate the stress changes related to ion segregation. The effects on ion diffusion and stresses are also investigated in terms of sintering temperature, particle size, mass fraction and the number of A-site vacancies.

In Transition: How Influenza Virus Switches from Transcription to Genome Replication.

Influenza virus is a segmented, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA virus. Viral genome transcription (to make more viral messenger RNA) and replication (to make more viral genome) of influenza virus are catalyzed by the influenza viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (FluPol) in the context of the viral ribonucleoprotein complexes in the nucleus of infected cells. The dynamics of the transcription and replication are tightly regulated throughout the viral life cycle, with a switch from transcription to replication in the later stages of infection being essential for efficient progeny virus production.

Aggressive motivation mediates the influence of prosocial video game play on young children's aggressive behavior.

Introduction: Aggressive behavior in early childhood can have lasting consequences. This study examined whether prosocial video game play can reduce aggressive behavior in relatively Chinese preschoolers and explored the mediating role of aggressive motivation and the moderating effects of age and gender.

Methods: A total of 132 children aged 4 to 6 years (50% girls; = 5.

Liquid metal-based terahertz metamaterial sensors with integrated microfluidic channels for sensitive biosensing applications.

In this paper, we designed, fabricated, and experimentally validated liquid metal (LM)-based terahertz (THz) metamaterial (MM) sensors in the THz frequency range. The sensor consists of two layers of embedded microfluidic channels filled with liquid metal (LM) and liquid analyte, respectively, where the LM layer functions as the MM resonators. By designing different resonant structures (MM-1 and MM-2), different desired sensing effects can be obtained theoretically and experimentally.

Highly Emissive Luminophores for Direct Chemiluminescence Detection.

Direct chemiluminescence (CL) detection requires a proper luminophore to emit light through nonenzymatic activation. Herein, we synthesized a new class of 3-aminophthalhydrazide-type luminophores (LM-1-LM-13) with intensive CL emission. A typical analogue LM-5 was studied in detail, which exhibits greatly improved CL properties and enhanced storage stability compared to the widely used luminophore -(4-aminobutyl)--ethylisoluminol (ABEI).

A genome-wide base-editing screen uncovers a pivotal role of paxillin δ ubiquitination in influenza virus infection.

Dissecting host factors critical for viral infection and understanding their mechanisms of action is critical for identifying drug targets. Here, we leverage a genome-wide CRISPR base-editing screen to identify functional lysine residues in host factors required for influenza A virus (IAV) replication. Multiple host genes, including GSTM4, FLNC, HMGB1, ZNF236, GRIP1, and PXN, along with regulatory lysine codons, are identified.

Regulating Solvating Sites for Stable High-Voltage Lithium Metal Batteries.

The long-lasting stability of high-voltage lithium metal batteries (LMBs) critically rely on both the cathodic and anodic stability of electrolytes, which can be enhanced by increasing the salt-to-solvent molar ratio. However, this approach is limited by solubility constraints. In this work, we introduce a dual-anchoring strategy to regulate the solvating sites of glymes via directional atomic interactions.

hnRNPM regulates influenza A virus replication through distinct mechanisms in human and avian cells: implications for cross-species transmission.

The eight-segmented RNA genome of influenza A virus (IAV) is transcribed and spliced into 10 major viral mRNAs in the nucleus of infected cells. Both transcription and splicing are facilitated by the host RNA polymerase II (Pol II) machinery via interactions between the viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complex and various host factors. In this study, we demonstrate that IAV vRNPs recruit species-specific heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein M (hnRNPM) to support their replication in human and avian cells through distinct mechanisms.