The structural, thermal, and nutritional characteristics of embedded corn starch after gelatinization and digestive enzyme treatment.

Background: Understanding starch behavior under various processing conditions is important for the development of novel food products with tailored nutritional profiles. This study investigated changes to the structure and properties of native corn starch (NCS) and biomimetic starch-entrapped microspheres following thermal and enzymatic treatments.

Results: Heat-treated microspheres showed more birefringence and structural order than native starch, indicating incomplete gelatinization due to the alginate matrix.

Engineering a Coiled-Coil Protein for DARPin Presentation as a Potent SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for rapid, flexible, and readily adaptable treatment options for future pandemic preparedness. Due to the speed at which viruses like SARS-CoV-2 mutate, the customary approach of using highly specific monoclonal antibodies as neutralization therapies is challenging, given their size, production complexity, and cost. Here, we leveraged rational protein design to create fusion proteins from small, antibody-mimetic proteins, Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins) and a self-assembling hexameric coiled coil (CC-HEX).

Complementary biomolecular coassemblies direct energy transport for cardiac photostimulators.

Charge and energy transport within living systems are fundamental processes that enable the autonomous function of excitable cells and tissues. To date, localized control of these transport processes has been enabled by genetic modification approaches to render light sensitivity to cells. Here, we present peptidic nanoassemblies as constituents of a cardiac biomaterial platform that leverages complementary sequence interactions to direct photoinduced energy transport at the cellular interface.

Mechanism of Contrasting Ionic Conductivities in LiZrCl via I and Br Substitution.

Understanding the complex structural and chemical factors that influence ionic conduction mechanisms is paramount for developing advanced inorganic superionic conductors in all-solid-state batteries, particularly halide solid electrolytes with excellent electrochemical oxidative stability and mechanical sinterability. Herein, contrasting ionic conduction behaviors in I and Br substituted LiZrCl are revealed by combining experimental structural analyses and theoretical calculations. The inter-slab distance along the c-axis, which varies with the anion substitution and M2-M3 site disorder, is a key factor for opening the ab-plane conduction and facilitating the overall Li conduction.

Pervaporative Dehydration of 2,3-Butanediol by Dense Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Hollow Fiber Membranes: Parameter Estimation, Process Design, and Technoeconomic Evaluation under Uncertainty.

Pervaporation, combined with other separation processes, can effectively remove water from fermentation product streams, making it highly suitable for purifying alcohols like 2,3-butanediol (BDO). In this study, a dense poly-(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane module prototype was fabricated for BDO dehydration, achieving >0.2 LMH total flux and >95% BDO rejection.

Development of a microneedle patch for delivery of mRNA-lipid nanoparticles.

mRNA delivered by microneedle patch (MNP) can enable painless delivery, reduced need for healthcare expertise, and improved thermostability. In this study, we investigated formulation and manufacturing approaches for developing MNPs that deliver mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) encoding luciferase as a reporter protein during MNP fabrication and storage, including mRNA-LNP concentration, formulation, pH, excipients, and backing material. MNPs were assessed for mRNA-LNP size, encapsulation efficiency, and protein expression in vitro and in vivo.

Intelligent Bionic Design of Robust Superamphiphobic Fire Sensing EP/F-POS@FeO Coating on Wood Substrate.

Wood is a widely used carbon-storing material, but its applications are constrained by vulnerabilities to water, oil and fire. Existing coatings have limited functionalities, failing to meet the intelligent requirements of modern wood products and constructions. Inspired by bionics, a robust superamphiphobic fire sensing EP/F-POS@FeO coating was designed on wood substrate, fabricated from functional ferroferric oxide (FeO) particles, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, hydrolyzed into polysiloxane), 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (PFDTMS), and epoxy resin (EP) adhesive.

Development of oat-derived biomimetic macrocapsules via hierarchically crosslinked polysaccharide matrix.

The rapid digestion of starch can cause blood sugar spikes, contributing to health issues like diabetes. Encapsulating starch to control its digestibility is a promising strategy in functional food development. A hierarchical core-shell microarchitecture was designed through sequential encapsulation, co-encapsulating oat starch and protein within a nutrient-dense core, followed by the assembly of tunable polysaccharide shells.

A mathematical model of cell-free transcription-translation with plasmid crosstalk.

Cell-free expression (CFE) systems are emerging as a powerful tool in synthetic biology, with diverse applications from prototyping genetic circuits to serving as a platform for point-of-care biosensors. When multiple genes need to be expressed in the same CFE reaction, their DNA templates (often added as plasmids) are generally assumed to behave independently of each other, with neither affecting the other's expression. However, recent work in CFE systems shows that multiple aspects of these templates can lead to antagonistic or synergistic interactions in expression levels of individual genes, a phenomenon referred to as plasmid crosstalk.

MXene-Based Oxygen Electrocatalysts: Mechanistic Insights, Property Tuning Strategies, and Prospects toward Practical Applications.

MXene delivers promising features that are highly compatible with oxygen electrocatalysis, such as excellent electroconductivity, high specific surface area, superhydrophilicity, and tailorable chemically functionalized surfaces, thus being recognized as the ideal platform for developing high-performance catalysts for practical applications in industrial devices. A comprehensive understanding of oxygen catalytic mechanism on MXene ontology and a systematic refining of the general principles toward various physicochemical property regulation strategies are, respectively, the basis and effective alleyway to hitting the target, yet it is currently insufficient and need to be further explored in-depth. Herein, the fundamental effects of MXene on oxygen catalytic activity are sorted out thoroughly, and on this basis, the current mainstream strategies for tuning the property of MXene-based electrocatalysts are classified into four categories, including anion-tuning, cation-tuning, defect/vacancy regulation, and heterometallic dual-site collaboration, where the intrinsic mechanism of each strategy affecting the structure-activity relationship of catalysts is revealed accordingly.

Electroluminescent Liquid Metal Marbles for Reconfigurable Multi-Color Display.

Conventional display technologies rely on rigid architectures, limiting their adaptability for reconfigurable systems. Plasma discharge, as a field-driven excitation method, offers great opportunities for visual interfaces, yet integrating it into controllable and adaptable color display platforms remains challenging. Here, configurable and adaptable electroluminescent platforms based on the plasma discharge of phosphor-coated liquid metal marbles based on eutectic gallium indium liquid metal droplets are presented.

Insight into conformation and foaming properties of RuBisCO-enriched Edible dock leaf protein concentrates.

As the most abundant plant protein on Earth, RuBisCO represents a promising sustainable alternative to animal-derived ingredients. This study compared the pH-induced conformational changes and foaming properties of RuBisCO-enriched Edible dock leaf protein concentrate (RPI) extracted via an alkali-ultrafiltration method, with commercial protein isolates. The results demonstrated that RPI exhibited greater flexibility than other proteins under pH modulation.

Immobilized Azole Layer Tunes Interfacial Hydrogen Source for CO Electroreduction in Strong Acid.

Achieving selective electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) in strong acid holds potential to resolve the "carbonate formation" problem yet is hindered by the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The interplay between different hydrogen sources (i.e.

Telemetric Assessment and Comparison of Regional Colonic Metabolic Activity in Ambulant Healthy Individuals Using pH and Gas-Sensing Wireless Motility Capsules.

Background: Ingestible wireless motility capsules enable locoregional quantification of luminal pH and concentrations of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the human colon.

Aim: To evaluate these measures in the colon of healthy adults.

Methods: Gas-sensing and pH-sensing wireless motility capsules were ingested tandemly and repeatedly over time.

Engineering affinity-matured variants of an anti-polysialic acid monoclonal antibody with superior cytotoxicity-mediating potency.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that specifically recognize cell surface glycans associated with cancer and infectious disease hold tremendous value for basic research and clinical applications. However, high-quality anti-glycan mAbs with sufficiently high affinity and specificity remain scarce, highlighting the need for strategies that enable optimization of antigen-binding properties. To this end, we engineered the affinity of a polysialic acid (polySia)-specific antibody called mAb735, which possesses only modest affinity.

Ultrafast elastocapillary fans control agile maneuvering in ripple bugs and robots.

ripple bugs use specialized middle-leg fans with a flat-ribbon architecture to navigate the surfaces of fast-moving streams. We show that the fan's directional stiffness enables fast, passive elastocapillary morphing, independent of muscle input. This flat-ribbon fan balances collapsibility during leg recovery with rigidity during drag-based propulsion, enabling full-body 96° turns in 50 milliseconds, with forward speeds of up to 120 body lengths per second-on par with fruit fly saccades in air.

Hierarchically ordered porous transition metal compounds from one-pot type 3D printing approaches.

Solution-based soft matter self-assembly (SA) promises unique material structures and properties from approaches including additive manufacturing/three-dimensional (3D) printing. The 3D printing of periodically ordered porous functional inorganic materials through SA unfolding during printing remains a major challenge, however, due to the often vastly different ordering kinetics of separate processes at different length scales. Here, we report a "one-pot" direct ink writing process to produce hierarchically porous transition metal nitrides and precursor oxides from block copolymer (BCP) SA.

RNA Polymerase III Promoters Compatible with CRISPR Gene Regulation in .

is a model organism commonly used to study gene regulation and function recently via CRISPR-()Cas9 technologies. Modulating the expression of multiple gene targets simultaneously is often important for synthetic biology and metabolic engineering applications and is crucial for genetic interaction studies. CRISPR-based systems can be used to target multiple genetic loci via expression of multiple single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) in a single cell.

Scalable high-voltage Zn||MnO batteries achieved by mild amphiphilic hydrogel electrolytes.

The practical applications of aqueous Zn||MnO batteries are limited by their small areal capacity, low discharging plateau, and clumsy packing device. Currently, the high potential MnO/Mn redox conversion can only be well activated in electrolytes with a very low pH value, which is not friendly to the Zn metal anode. To overcome these limitations, we have designed mild amphiphilic hydrogel electrolytes (AHEs) with a wide electrochemical stability window (ESW) and high ionic activity.

Fibrous network nature of plant cell walls enables tunable mechanics for development.

During plant development, the mechanical properties of the cell walls must be tuned to regulate the growth of the cells. Cell growth involves significant stretching of the cell walls, yet little is known about the mechanical properties of cell walls under such substantial deformation, or how these mechanical properties change to regulate development. Here, we investigated the mechanical behavior of the Arabidopsis leaf epidermal cells being stretched.

Unveiling Spin-Dependent Polarization Dynamics of Interlayer Excitons in TMD-Based Heterostructures.

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers with type-II band alignment provide a versatile platform for spatially separating electrons and holes, facilitating the formation of interlayer excitons with distinct spin states. While these systems show great potential, the interaction between interlayer exciton spin states and polarization optics is not yet fully understood. Here, the manipulation of interlayer exciton linear polarization is reported in a WS/WSe heterostructure integrated with low-symmetry antiferromagnetism CrOCl.

Automated Label-Free Assay for Viral Detection and Inhibitor Screening via Biomembrane-Functionalized Microelectrode Arrays.

Most virus infection assays have indirect readout such as virus number following entry (e.g., PCR, cell lysis).

Target sequence-conditioned design of peptide binders using masked language modeling.

The computational design of protein-based binders presents unique opportunities to access 'undruggable' targets, but effective binder design often relies on stable three-dimensional structures or structure-influenced latent spaces. Here we introduce PepMLM, a target sequence-conditioned designer of de novo linear peptide binders. Using a masking strategy that positions cognate peptide sequences at the C terminus of target protein sequences, PepMLM finetunes the ESM-2 protein language model to fully reconstruct the binder region, achieving low perplexities matching or improving upon validated peptide-protein sequence pairs.

Katydids shift to higher-stability gaits when climbing inclined substrates.

When terrestrial organisms locomote in natural settings, they must navigate complex surfaces that vary in incline angles and substrate roughness. Variable surface structures are common in arboreal environments and can be challenging to traverse. This study examines the walking gait of katydids (Tettigoniidae) as they traverse a custom-built platform with varying incline angles (30○, 45○, 60○, 75○, 90○) and substrate roughness (40, 120, and 320 grit sandpaper).