Micro-Strain Responsive Near-Infrared Mechanoluminescence for Potential Nondestructive Artificial Joint Stress Imaging.

Recently, joint replacement surgery is facing significant challenges of patient dissatisfaction and the need for revision procedures. In-situ monitoring of stress stability at the site of artificial joint replacement during postoperative evaluation is important. Mechanoluminescence (ML), a novel "force to light" conversion technology, may be used to monitor such bio-stress within tissues.

Label-Free Machine Learning Prediction of Chemotherapy on Tumor Spheroids Using a Microfluidics Droplet Platform.

An integrated approach is proposed to rapidly evaluate the effects of anticancer treatments in 3D models, combining a droplet-based microfluidic platform for spheroid formation and single-spheroid chemotherapy application, label-free morphological analysis, and machine learning to assess treatment response. Morphological features of spheroids, such as size and color intensity, are extracted and selected using the multivariate information-based inductive causation algorithm, and used to train a neural network for spheroid classification into viability classes, derived from metabolic assays performed within the same platform as a benchmark. The model is tested on Ewing sarcoma cell lines and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cells, demonstrating robust performance across datasets.

The unconventional RNA-binding activity of metabolic enzymes.

Metabolism involves a wide range of pathways and chemical reactions catalysed by specialized enzymes whose activity is fundamental for living cells. In the past three decades, metabolic enzymes have emerged as critical regulators of gene expression, thus revealing unexpected functions beyond their canonical metabolic roles. In this Review, we discuss the evidences that these enzymes, with a particular focus on enzymes participating in the glucose metabolism, can directly bind RNA.

Density-dependent network structuring within and across wild animal systems.

Theory predicts that high population density leads to more strongly connected spatial and social networks, but how local density drives individuals' positions within their networks is unclear. This gap reduces our ability to understand and predict density-dependent processes. Here we show that density drives greater network connectedness at the scale of individuals within wild animal populations.

DNA methylation influences human centromere positioning and function.

Maintaining the epigenetic identity of centromeres is essential to prevent genome instability. Centromeres are epigenetically defined by the histone H3 variant CENP-A. Prior work in human centromeres has shown that CENP-A is associated with regions of hypomethylated DNA located within large arrays of hypermethylated repeats, but the functional importance of these DNA methylation (DNAme) patterns remains poorly understood.

Prospects of Nanoscience with Nanocrystals: 2025 Edition.

Nanocrystals (NCs) of various compositions have made important contributions to science and technology, with their impact recognized by the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and synthesis of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). Over four decades of research into NCs has led to numerous advancements in diverse fields, such as optoelectronics, catalysis, energy, medicine, and recently, quantum information and computing. The last 10 years since the predecessor perspective "Prospect of Nanoscience with Nanocrystals" was published in ACS Nano have seen NC research continuously evolve, yielding critical advances in fundamental understanding and practical applications.

A close unicellular animal relative and predator of schistosomes exhibits chemokinesis in response to proteins and peptides from its prey.

Regulated motility is vital for many cells-both for unicellular microbes and for cells within multicellular bodies. Different conditions require different rates and directions of movement. For the microbial predator Capsaspora owczarzaki, its motility is likely essential for predation.

Polysome sorting controls mRNA localization and protein fate.

RNA localization and local translation are widespread phenomena that play key roles in a plethora of cellular processes ranging from embryo patterning to general cellular functions. The traditional paradigm assigns localization elements to cis-acting RNA sequences which assemble into complexes that regulate mRNA transport and translation, and the mRNA is generally transported while remaining translationally silent. However, recent evidence has shown that the nascent protein can also play an essential role in RNA localization and can enable polysomes to control their own transport and be delivered where and when they are needed.

Autistic traits relate to speed/accuracy trade-off but not statistical learning and updating.

Cognitive and social alterations characterize Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yet comprehensive explanations are challenged by ASD's heterogeneity. One candidate framework is predictive processing, which posits that predictive processes are altered in ASD (e.g.

The long non-coding RNA CRNDE stabilises SIRT1 protein and influences Hedgehog signalling in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells that represents 10% of all hematological cancers and remains essentially incurable, despite recent advances. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an important class of regulatory molecules that have been strongly implicated in the aetiology of MM. Colorectal Neoplasia Differentially Expressed (CRNDE) is one lncRNA that is upregulated in tumor plasma cells of MM patients and contributes to disease progression and outcome.

The centromere: the punching bag of the chromosome.

The centromere is a region present on every human chromosome that is essential for mediating chromosome segregation and maintaining genome stability. However, despite its fundamental role in the process of cell division, the centromere is constantly subjected to a wide range of stresses that can challenge their integrity, causing breakages and aneuploidy. In this review, we will examine the plethora of stresses that challenge the centromere, its stress response and how cells cope with perturbations originating from the intracellular and extracellular microenvironment in order to preserve centromere function and, overall, cellular fitness.

TBC1D22B Regulates ER-to-Golgi Trafficking via RAB1B Inactivation and Promotes Oncogenic Programs in Breast Cancer.

TBC1D22B is a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer (BC). Using complementary proximity-labeling and co-immunoprecipitation proteomics, the TBC1D22B interactome in BC cells is defined, revealing strong enrichment in components of the ER-to-Golgi trafficking machinery, endosomal transport, and adhesion-related pathways. Functional assays, using the Retention Using Selective Hooks (RUSH) system, demonstrate that TBC1D22B inhibits ER-to-Golgi transport in a GAP-dependent manner.

Optimal trajectories for Bayesian olfactory search in turbulent flows: The low information limit and beyond.

In turbulent flows, tracking the source of a passive scalar cue requires exploiting the limited information that can be gleaned from rare, randomized encounters with the cue. When crafting a search policy, the most challenging and important decision is what to do in the absence of an encounter. In this work, we perform high-fidelity direct numerical simulations of a turbulent flow with a stationary source of tracer particles, and obtain quasi-optimal policies (in the sense of minimal average search time) with respect to the empirical encounter statistics [1-3].

Unveiling a cryptic snail host of major trematodes in Europe: The susceptibility of Galba schirazensis (Lymnaeidae) to Calicophoron daubneyi (Paramphistomatidae) facilitates Fasciola hepatica (Fasciolidae).

Species of Lymnaeidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) are important intermediate hosts of major parasites some of which are responsible for zoonosis worldwide. Particularly liver and rumen flukes impact livestock production with increasing costs due to flukicide treatments. In Europe, a single snail species, Galba trunctaula, is considered as responsible for the transmission of Fasciola hepatica and Calicophoron daubneyi, two trematode species with almost identical transmission cycles.

Small round cell sarcoma tumoroid biobank reveals CIC::DUX4 sarcoma vulnerability to MCL-1 inhibition.

Small round cell sarcomas (SRCS) are highly aggressive tumors in soft tissues and bone of mostly children and young adults. Despite being different in many aspects, including genetics, possible cell-of-origin, and pathology, patients with any of these entities all receive the same therapeutic regimen. Although several pre-clinical models of Ewing sarcoma have been established, such as cell lines and patient-derived tumor xenografts, few models exist for other SRCS.

International neuroblastoma risk group consortium: a model of a networking for rare cancers.

It is critical to share knowledge and harmonize approaches to optimize progress in rare cancers. The International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) Task Force was formed by the four major neuroblastoma cooperative groups in 2004 to achieve this goal. Strategies developed for neuroblastoma are an exemplar for other rare malignancies.

Contrasting Patterns of Connectivity Between Populations of Euphotic and Mesophotic Hydroids in Reunion Island Support the Deep Reef Refuge Hypothesis.

In the context of coral reef decline, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs, 30-150 m) offer hope for the recovery of degraded euphotic reefs. The Deep Reef Refuge Hypothesis (DRRH) postulates the potential of mesophotic reefs to reseed euphotic reefs. This hypothesis needs to be further tested by estimating connectivity along the depth gradient.

An imminent return to drought in the western Sahel?

In the 1970s and 1980s, the semi-arid Sahel, the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, experienced spatially uniform drought, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. The recovery that ensued is projected to continue in the center and east, leaving the west out. We show that these two patterns-uniform variation and east-west contrast-are present in instrumental observations and in simulations with constant or time-varying external forcing.

Predicting tumor recurrence site after reirradiation in head and neck cancer: a retrospective external validation of a published [18F]-FDG PET radiomic signature.

Purpose: This study evaluates the efficacy of a previously published [18F]-FDG PET radiomic signature in predicting locoregional failure locations post-reirradiation in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, using an independent cohort from a different institution.

Materials And Methods: Among the 66 patients reirradiated for recurrent HNC at Massachusetts General Hospital between 2012 and 2022, 31 underwent pre-reirradiation PET, constituting the external cohort for this analysis. These patients were characterized using the same radiomic features as the original model (Intensity_histogram_min, Kurtosis, Correlation, and Contrast), projected as a supplementary individual onto the published first principal component, and assigned to one of two groups using the published cutoff.

Vesicle tension in porous membranes: Aspiration, spreading, and tube extraction.

We review recent theoretical and experimental advances in understanding the mechanical tension of porous vesicles. Focusing on three key deformation processes, aspiration, spreading, and tube extrusion, we show how membrane porosity introduces novel timescales and feedback mechanisms that alter vesicle behavior. In particular, we highlight how tube extrusion from porous membranes demonstrates the vesicle's ability to regulate internal volume and dynamically modulate membrane tension.

Transverse vortices induced by modulated granular shear flows of elongated particles.

We perform discrete element method (DEM) simulations of elongated grains in a shear cell for various particle aspect ratios and contact frictions, with an additional heterogeneous force perturbation in the flow direction. For a perturbation in the form of a single Fourier mode, we show that the response of the system consists of transverse secondary flows that average onto a pattern of four vortices. We also theoretically studied this phenomenon by generalizing the granular rheology μ(I) to the case of elongated grains and computing the linear response to such a perturbation.

HIV-phyloTSI: subtype-independent estimation of time since HIV-1 infection for cross-sectional measures of population incidence using deep sequence data.

Background: Estimating the time since HIV infection (TSI) at population level is essential for tracking changes in the global HIV epidemic. Most methods for determining TSI give a binary classification of infections as recent or non-recent within a window of several months, and cannot assess the cumulative impact of an intervention.

Results: We developed a Random Forest Regression model, HIV-phyloTSI, which combines measures of within-host diversity and divergence to generate continuous TSI estimates directly from viral deep-sequencing data, with no need for additional variables.