Rheological behavior of ulvan-based networks: Influence of cations, pH and chemical composition.

The rheological behavior of ulvan/kappa-carrageenan, ulvan/funoran and ulvan/gelatin mixtures is investigated using dynamic rheology to provide insights into the phase aggregation behavior of each ulvan-based network. The average molecular weight of extracted ulvan was between 436 and 573 kDa, and contained varying amounts of sulfate (10.3-28.

Drought and liming impacts of mine-impacted wetland sediments.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a serious environmental problem at legacy and active mine sites around the world. Climate associated drought and rewetting events can increase the severity of AMD impacts through oxidation and release of stored metal(loid)s and acidity from contaminated sediments. The area surrounding Sudbury, Ontario, with its massive mining and smelting complexes, appears especially vulnerable to drought-driven effects.

Omics Insights Into the Effects of Highbush Blueberry and Cranberry Crop Agroecosystems on Honey Bee Health and Physiology.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are vital pollinators in fruit-producing agroecosystems like highbush blueberry (HBB) and cranberry (CRA). However, their health is threatened by multiple interacting stressors, including pesticides, pathogens, and nutritional changes. We tested the hypothesis that distinct agricultural ecosystems-with different combinations of agrochemical exposure, pathogen loads, and floral resources-elicit ecosystem-specific, tissue-level molecular responses in honey bees.

Regio- and chemoselective catalytic partial transfer hydrogenation of quinolines by dinuclear aluminum species.

Catalytic reduction of quinolines has gained continuous interest in both academia and industry, providing direct and efficient access to tetrahydroquinolines or 1,2-dihydroquinolines. The catalytic preparation of tetrahydroquinolines has been extensively studied by transition metal complexes. By contrast, the related catalytic synthesis of 1,2-dihydroquinolines remains underdeveloped due to the difficulties in achieving precise control over both chemo- and regioselectivity.

The Earth Hologenome Initiative: Data Release 1.

Background: The Earth Hologenome Initiative (EHI) is a global endeavor dedicated to revisit fundamental ecological and evolutionary questions from the systemic host-microbiota perspective, through the standardized generation and analysis of joint animal genomic and associated microbial metagenomic data.

Results: The first data release of the EHI contains 968 shotgun DNA sequencing read files containing 5.2 TB of raw genomic and metagenomic data derived from 21 vertebrate species sampled across 12 countries, as well as 17,666 metagenome-assembled genomes reconstructed from these data.

Unlocking early academic skills: children's cognitive processes, learning skills, and parental beliefs and behaviors predicting children's language and math skills.

Introduction: This study explored the emerging academic skills of five-year-old Estonian children, focusing on cognitive processes, learning skills, and parental beliefs and behaviors. While previous research has concentrated on a limited number of skill areas and aspects of the home environment, this study aimed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of children's early learning by studying multiple skills and parental characteristics concurrently.

Methods: Data was collected through direct e-assessments of children's skills alongside parental questionnaires ( = 279).

Is individual heterogeneity in growth rates relevant to population dynamics of long-lived reptiles?

Many populations show pronounced individual heterogeneity in traits such as somatic growth rates, but the relevance of this heterogeneity to population dynamics remains unclear. Individual heterogeneity may be particularly relevant to long-lived organisms for which vital rates (survival and reproduction) increase with adult growth, as subtle differences in growth rates can have major fitness consequences. Previous analysis of data for snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) in Algonquin Park, Canada, from 1972 to 2012 showed that individual heterogeneity in growth rates and size-specific reproductive rates of adult females led to eightfold variation in lifetime reproductive output.

Trait-based island biogeography as a tool for studying future ecological communities.

Understanding the future of ecological communities under global change is among the most pressing challenges in plant ecology. Islands, with their reduced species diversity and clear boundaries, have been central in developing ecological theories and have served as valuable ecological models. But islands are also important in themselves, supporting unique diversity and acting as species refugia.

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.

From Trees to Traits: A Review of Advances in PhyloG2P Methods and Future Directions.

Mapping genotypes to phenotypes is a fundamental goal in biology. Phylogenetic Genotype to Phenotype mapping methods are a relatively new set of tools that aim to identify genomic regions associated with trait variation between species. Here, we review recent developments in Phylogenetic Genotype to Phenotype mapping methods, focusing on three key areas: methods based on replicated substitutions at individual amino acid sites; methods detecting changes in evolutionary rates; and methods analyzing gene duplication and loss.

Divergent Synthesis of 1-Azabicyclo[n.1.1]alkane Bioisosteres via Photoinduced Palladium Catalysis.

Nitrogen heterocycles are indispensable structural motifs in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials science. However, the development of new synthetic methods to access these frameworks remains a significant challenge. Here, we describe a switchable radical approach for the synthesis of 1-azabicyclo[2.

A parasitic or mutualistic conundrum: can symbiotic protists increase thermal tolerance in a semi-aquatic insect?

Rising temperatures and frequent heatwaves pose a major threat to ectotherms due to their reliance on environmental temperature for physiological processes. Thermal tolerance, the ability to withstand varying temperature, determines how effectively and efficiently individuals can survive under extreme conditions. Host-microbial symbiotic interactions can influence thermal tolerance in insects; however, we have limited information especially for some endosymbionts such as gregarines, a group of apicomplexan endoparasites, which are commonly found in the guts of many aquatic and terrestrial insects.

Polyserine-mediated targeting of FAF2/UBXD8 ameliorates tau aggregation.

Tau aggregation is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders, and the gain of toxic function of misfolded tau species is linked to pathobiology. Herein, we identified proteins that limit tau aggregation when targeted to tau aggregates by polyserine domains. Polyserine targeting was most effective at mitigating tau aggregation when fused to the vasolin-containing protein (VCP) adaptor protein fas-associated factor family member 2/UBX domain-containing protein 8 (FAF2/UBXD8).

Organic ultraviolet filters in Irish sediments and biosolids.

This study provides baseline data on the concentrations of selected ultraviolet filters (UVFs) in 81 inland and transitional sediments as well as in 21 agricultural biosolid samples sourced from seven wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) across Ireland. Concentrations of five prominent UVFs were determined: 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC); benzophenone-3 (BP-3); 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC); homosalate (HMS); and Octocrylene (OC). Mean concentrations in sediments were as follows: OC (3.

Homogeneous FACsPbI Films via Sequential Deposition for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Despite significant advancements in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of FAPbI-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs), their commercialization remains hindered by stability issues. These challenges arise primarily from the phase transition of the α-phase to the δ-phase under operation. Alloying FAPbI with Cs to form FA-Cs perovskite (FACsPbI) emerged as a promising approach to enhance phase and thermal stability.

Advancements in the design and development of pyrazoline-based antimycobacterial agents: an update and future perspectives.

Pyrazoline scaffolds have attracted significant interest in medicinal chemistry due to their broad spectrum of pharmacological activities. Pyrazole-based drugs are either already approved or are currently undergoing clinical trials across a range of therapeutic areas. Pyrazolines (Δ-pyrazolines or 2-pyrazoline or 4,5-dihydropyrazoles) evolved as cyclic analogues of thioacetazone and were explored for enhanced antitubercular activity over the past five decades.

A refined atomistic model of functionalized self-assembled monolayers on gold: Assessment of force field parameters.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols on gold surfaces are important for various technological applications, such as electroanalytical sensors, organic electronic devices, and catalysts. However, providing a consistent computational description of the unique structural features of these SAMs, such as adsorption patterns, chain conformations, and superlattice arrangements, is challenging, particularly within a versatile computational framework that can simulate both the structural features of these systems and their irradiation-driven chemical transformations. This study systematically analyzes molecular mechanics force field parameters for bonded and nonbonded (van der Waals and electrostatic) interactions in alkanethiol SAMs with different terminal groups.

Modelling behavioural interactions in infection disclosure during an outbreak: An evolutionary game theory approach.

In confronting the critical challenge of disease outbreak management, health authorities consistently encourage individuals to voluntarily disclose a potential exposure to infection and adhere to self-quarantine protocols by assuring medical care (hospital beds, oxygen, and constant health monitoring) and helplines for severe patients. These have been observed during pandemics; for example, COVID-19 phases in many middle-income countries, such as India, promoted quarantine and reduced stigma. Here, we present a game-theoretic model to elucidate the behavioural interactions in infection disclosure during an outbreak.

Asthenospheric flow and lithospheric erosion driving the outward growth of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.

The northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau is extruding eastward at a rapid rate (∼15 mm a), but the role of the upper mantle in this process remains unclear. Early-Miocene primary melilitites from the leading edge of the extruding plateau provide critical insights into the upper mantle dynamics. Geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb-Os isotopic data, supported by experimental melt comparisons, reveal that these melilitites originate from a hybrid source of CO-bearing mantle source, probably dominated by peridotite and pyroxenite/wehrlite lithologies.

Variation in temperature but not diet determines the stability of latitudinal clines in tolerance traits and their plasticity.

Latitudinal clines are routinely used as evidence of adaptation across broad climatic gradients. However, if environmental variation influences the strength of latitudinal clines, then clinal patterns will be unstable, and using patterns of adaptation to predict population responses to global change will be difficult. To test whether environmental variation influences latitudinal clines, we sampled five populations of spanning 3000 km of east coast Australia, and measured stress tolerance (heat, cold and desiccation) and body size on flies that developed in six combinations of temperature (13°C, 25°C and 29°C) and diet (standard and low-calorie) treatments.

Market-based instruments to fund nature-based solutions for flood risk management can disproportionately benefit affluent areas.

Market-based instruments, including competitive tenders, are central to funding global environmental restoration and management projects. Recently, tenders have been utilised to fund Nature-based Solutions schemes for Natural Flood Management, with the explicit purpose of achieving co-benefits; flood management reducing inequities. While multiple studies consider the efficacy of Nature-based Solutions for tackling inequities, no prior research has quantified whether the resource allocation for these projects has been conducted equitably.

Studies on the impact of modifications at the Gln-Trp site in RM2-based GRPR ligands.

Background: One of the most studied, and preclinically as well as clinically applied gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) ligands represents the antagonist RM2 (DOTA-Pip-D-Phe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Sta-Leu-NH). As an improved in vivo stability was observed for a RM2 analog comprising the unnatural amino acid α-methyl-L-tryptophan instead of L-Trp, we aimed to elucidate the impact of other unnatural amino acids (homoserine [Hse], β-(3-benzothienyl)alanine [Bta]) at the metabolically less stable Gln-Trp site. Furthermore, we conjugated either DOTA, NOTA or NODAGA to the RM2 peptide and its modified derivatives, and evaluated each analog preclinically using Ga and Cu, as well as Lu (only DOTA-comprising compounds).

Platinum-Doped Carbon Nitride-Loaded Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) Hydrogel Thin Films for Green Hydrogen Production Systems: Morphological Study for Higher Efficiency.

Photocatalytic water splitting enables the generation of green hydrogen (H). In this framework, water and sunlight are the sustainable sources. Photocatalyst-loaded hydrogel materials have already shown their potential as a water storage and catalyst host matrix for H production.

Chiral Molecules Induce Enantiomorphic Lattice Helicity in Chiral 0D Tin Bromide Crystals.

Chiral organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides have emerged as a promising class of materials for spin-controlled optical and optoelectronic effects and related applications. Chiral hybrid metal halides generally crystallize in non-helical space groups. Herein, we report the discovery of zero-dimensional (0D) chiral (R/S-MBA)SnBr (MBA: methylbenzylammonium cation) single crystals with enantiomorphic lattice helicity.