PV - Oligodendrocyte Interactions in the Infralimbic Cortex Promote Extracellular Plasticity after Safety Learning.

Safety learning is mediated by the infralimbic region (IL) of the medial prefrontal cortex, but its cellular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we show that safety learning improves cognitive flexibility in the long-term, which is associated with recruitment of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to a satellite position at parvalbumin (PV) interneurons in the IL and their maturation into oligodendrocytes (OLs), as well as a decrease in perineuronal nets (PNNs) surrounding PVs paired with satellite OLs. Using scRNA transcriptomic data mining, we demonstrate that immature OLs primarily express PNN assembly genes, whereas mature OLs express PNN degradation enzymes.

Adaptive peptide dispersions enable drying-induced biomolecule encapsulation.

Peptides are promising building blocks of designer materials with wide-ranging applications. These materials are stabilized by directional hydrogen-bonding patterns, giving rise to one-dimensional or two-dimensional assembly. It remains a challenge to mimic biology's context-adaptive and flexible structures.

Detection of alphacoronaviruses in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in Ehime, Japan.

Bats are suspected reservoirs for several emerging viruses, including coronaviruses. Here, we report the detection of coronaviruses in the insectivorous bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, in Ehime Prefecture, located in Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial sequence of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene revealed that alphacoronaviruses have circulated throughout Ehime.

Deciphering the Third Phase Structure in Uranium Extraction with Aliphatic Amines Using Combined Small-Angle X-ray and Neutron Scattering.

Organic phase demixing remains a major issue of liquid-liquid extraction processes due to an incomplete understanding of its underlying mechanisms. In the context of uranium extraction with aliphatic amines diluted in linear alkanes, we investigated this phase separation by characterizing the multiscale structure of the demixed phases. We determined the extractant phase stability threshold, defined as the maximum concentration of extractant before macroscopic phase splitting occurs.

Orchestrating function: Concerted dynamics, allostery, and catalysis in protein tyrosine phosphatases.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are a family of enzymes that play critical roles in intracellular signaling and regulation. PTPs are conformationally dynamic, exhibiting motions of catalytic loops and additional regions of the structurally conserved catalytic domain. However, many questions remain about how dynamics contribute to catalysis and allostery in PTPs, how these behaviors vary among evolutionarily divergent PTP family members, and how mutations and ligands reshape dynamics to modulate PTP function.

Glia-derived noncanonical fatty acid binding protein modulates brain lipid storage and clearance.

Glia-derived secretory factors are essential for brain development, physiology, and homeostasis, with their dysfunction linked to a variety of neurological disorders. Through genetic and biochemical approaches, we identified odorant binding protein 44a (Obp44a), a noncanonical α-helical fatty acid binding protein (FABP) highly expressed in central nervous system glia. Obp44a binds long-chain fatty acids and shuttles between glia and neurons, acting as a secretory lipid chaperone and scavenger to support lipid storage, efflux, and redox homeostasis.

Behavioral moderators of superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development-potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study.

Introduction: Prenatal maternal stress may predispose a child to alterations in neurodevelopment and future psychopathology. Meanwhile, environmental disasters related to climate change are increasing in severity with significant impacts on physical and mental health. The current study explores the relationships among child behaviors, brain morphometry, and weather-related stress during Superstorm Sandy (SS).

Flatland wakes based on leaky hyperbolic polaritons.

Hyperbolic polaritons facilitate nanoscale light manipulation, but strong field confinement limits their transmission across interfaces. Conversely, leaky waves can convert radiation from confined sources towards the far field. Here we combine hyperbolic polaritons and leaky wave radiation to demonstrate flatland leaky polaritonic wakes.

Electrically Controlled Nonlinear Magnon-Magnon Coupling in a Synthetic Antiferromagnet.

We investigate the nonlinear coupling between acoustic (ac) and optical (op) modes in the coupled magnetization dynamics of synthetic antiferromagnets, utilizing current-driven resonance spectroscopy. A clear spectral splitting is evident in the ac mode when strongly excited by the radio frequency current at a driving frequency half that of the op mode resonance. The Landau-Lifshitz phenomenology aligns with the experimental observations, affirming the coupling of the radio-frequency-excited ac and op modes through three-magnon mixing.

Surface ligand networking promotes intersystem crossing in the Au(SR) nanocluster.

Understanding the relationships between the structure and optical properties of ligand-protected, atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) is of paramount importance for exploring their applications in photonics, biomedicine and quantum technology. Here, two Au(SR) NCs protected by 2,4-dimethylbenzenethiolate (DMBT) and cyclohexanethiolate (CHT), respectively, are studied using time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopies. Although the two NCs exhibit similar photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields (QY ∼ 0.

Nonlocal Metasurface Lens for Long-Wavelength Infrared Radiation.

Dielectric metasurfaces are structured thin films with a thickness smaller than the operating wavelength aiming at replacing and enhancing conventional bulk optical components. At visible and near-infrared frequencies, titania or silicon is routinely used as substrates to realize these ultrathin devices by structuring local resonances across an aperture. Unfortunately, directly scaling the same design and material approaches to long-wave infrared frequencies is unpractical, due to the resulting thickness and the presence of phonon absorption lines.

Measurement-induced photonic topological insulators.

Topological order in photonics, defined by pseudo-spin degrees of freedom, is traditionally static. By contrast, a unique quantum effect is that measurements alter system states. The convergence of these foundational concepts-measurement and topology-remains unexplored.

A global dataset of nitrogen fixation rates across inland and coastal waters.

Biological nitrogen fixation is the conversion of dinitrogen (N) gas into bioavailable nitrogen by microorganisms with consequences for primary production, ecosystem function, and global climate. Here we present a compiled dataset of 4793 nitrogen fixation (N-fixation) rates measured in the water column and benthos of inland and coastal systems via the acetylene reduction assay, N labeling, or N/Ar technique. While the data are distributed across seven continents, most observations (88%) are from the northern hemisphere.

Hydraulic Activation of the AsLOV2 photoreceptor.

How proteins transduce environmental signals into mechanical motion remains a central question in biology. This study tests the hypothesis that blue light activation of AsLOV2 gives rise to concerted water movement that induce protein conformational extensions. Using electron and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, along with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations at high pressure, we find that activation, whether initiated by blue light or high pressure, is accompanied by selective expulsion of low-entropy, tetrahedrally coordinated "wrap" water from hydrophobic regions of the protein.

Doping Effects on Magnetic and Electronic Transport Properties in (BaRb)(ZnMn)As (0.1 ≤ x, y ≤ 0.25).

Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) represent a significant area of interest for research and applications in spintronics. Recently, DMSs derived from BaZnAs have garnered significant interest due to the record Curie temperature () of 260 K. However, the influence of doping on their magnetic evolution and transport characteristics has not been thoroughly investigated.

Elucidating Quintet-State Dynamics in Singlet Fission Oligomers and Polymers with Tetracene Pendants.

To unlock the potential of molecular engineering for practical quantum sensing and computing, it is essential to create and control pure magnetic states in molecular systems. Singlet fission (SF) in organic materials offers a promising approach by generating pairs of triplet excited states from photoexcited singlets. In this work, we investigate SF in a polymer with strategically positioned tetracene pendant groups along a polynorbornene backbone and its oligomeric counterparts, facilitating intrapolymer through-space coupling.

A Pipeline for Screening Small Molecule-Enhanced Protein Stability in A Bacterial Orphan Receptor.

Bacterial one-component signaling proteins integrate sensory and gene regulation functions within the same polypeptide, creating powerful natural sensors of environmental conditions which can also be adapted into powerful tools for synthetic biology and biotechnology. A key sensor motif within many of these proteins is the Per-ARNT-Sim (PAS) domain, known for its conserved fold yet highly divergent sequences, allowing for a broad range of ligands to control PAS protein function by changes in small molecule binding occupancy or configuration. This diversity introduces a challenging step - identification of ligands for "orphan" PAS proteins which show signatures of ligand binding but no copurifying high-affinity bound small molecules - into characterization and engineering of such proteins.

Declining winter snowpack offsets carbon storage enhancement from growing season warming in northern temperate forest ecosystems.

Northeastern US temperate forests are currently net carbon (C) sinks and play an important role offsetting anthropogenic C emissions, but projected climatic changes, including increased temperatures and decreased winter snowpack, may influence this C sink over the next century. Past studies show that growing season warming increases forest C storage through greater soil nutrient availability that contributes to greater rates of net photosynthesis, while reduced winter snowpack induces soil freeze/thaw cycles that reduce tree root vitality, nutrient uptake, and forest C storage. The year-round effects of climate change on this C sink are not well understood.

Three STEPs Forward: A Trio of Unexpected Structures of PTPN5.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) play pivotal roles in myriad cellular processes by counteracting protein tyrosine kinases. Striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP, PTPN5) regulates synaptic function and neuronal plasticity in the brain and is a therapeutic target for several neurological disorders. Here, we present three new crystal structures of STEP, each with unexpected features.

A bright future for topological acoustics.

Topological physics has been driving exciting progress in the area of condensed matter physics, with findings that have recently spilled over into the field of metamaterials research inspiring the design of structured materials that can govern in new ways the flow of light and sound. While so far these advances have been driven by fundamental curiosity-driven explorations, without a focused interest on their technological implications, opportunities to translate these findings into applied research have started to emerge, in particular in the context of sound control. Our team has been leading a highly collaborative research effort on advancing the field of topological acoustics, dubbed ‘New Frontiers of Sound’ and connecting it to technological opportunities for computing, communications, energy and sensing.

Seniority Structure in Neutron-Rich Nucleus ^{128}Ag: Evidence for Robustness of N=82 Shell Closure in Silver Isotopes.

The spectroscopic studies of very neutron-rich nucleus ^{128}Ag have been performed for the first time at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory of RIKEN. A new seniority isomer with a half-life of 1.60(7)  μs has been identified and is proposed to have a spin-parity of 16^{-} with a maximally aligned configuration comprising three proton holes in the g_{9/2} orbital and one neutron hole in the h_{11/2} orbital.

Probing the Shell Effects on Fission: The New Superheavy Nucleus ^{257}Sg.

Decay properties of the neutron-deficient Sg isotopes were studied at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at GSI, Darmstadt by using the ^{52}Cr+^{206,208}Pb reactions. We report on the discovery of the new isotope ^{257}Sg. Its ground state, tentatively assigned to have 9/2^{-}[734] configuration, was observed to decay by both spontaneous fission and α-particle emission with a half-life of 12.

CryoDRGN-AI: neural ab initio reconstruction of challenging cryo-EM and cryo-ET datasets.

Proteins and other biomolecules form dynamic macromolecular machines that are tightly orchestrated to move, bind and perform chemistry. Cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography can access the intrinsic heterogeneity of these complexes and are therefore key tools for understanding their function. However, three-dimensional reconstruction of the collected imaging data presents a challenging computational problem, especially without any starting information, a setting termed ab initio reconstruction.

Elderly Hip Osteoarthritis: A Review of Short-Term Pain Relief Through Non-Weight-Bearing Therapies.

Older individuals with hip osteoarthritis (OA) who have difficulty walking, climbing stairs, or performing daily tasks often find non-weight-bearing (NWB) exercises essential for rebuilding strength and preserving function without further stressing the joints. In addition, those with a higher body mass index (BMI) particularly benefit from NWB therapy, as it alleviates joint pressure while facilitating safe and effective rehabilitation. Thus, NWB interventions, such as manual therapy (MT) and aquatic therapy (AT), are especially critical for older adults aged 60 and above, offering pain relief and functional improvement by minimizing gravitational impact on the hip joint.

New Application of Histological Staining for Visualization of Endogenous Proteins in Fossil Material.

Biochemical applications are increasingly utilized in paleontological studies, especially for detecting ancient proteins in fossil samples. Histopathological staining techniques have been applied, but they have yet to specifically target type I collagen, the primary bone matrix protein and the most significant protein of interest in paleoproteomic research. Moreover, these staining methods are often applied to demineralized fossils, which remove the original microstructure of the bone matrix and increase the risk of contamination.