Comparative mitogenomics of the eulipotyphlan species (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla) provides novel insights into the molecular evolution of hibernation.

Hibernation is an elaborate response strategy employed by numerous mammals to survive in cold conditions that involves active suppression of metabolism. Despite the role of mitochondria as energy metabolism centers during hibernation, the adaptive and evolutionary mechanisms of mitochondrial genes in hibernating animals, like hedgehogs in eulipotyphlan species, are not yet fully understood. In this study, we sequenced and assembled mitochondrial genomes of the hibernating four-toed hedgehog () and the non-hibernating Asian house shrew ().

Enzyme-Click Postsynthetic Modification of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Photocatalytic HO Production.

Postsynthetic modification (PSM) is a powerful strategy for tailoring the structure and functionality of covalent organic frameworks (COFs). In this work, we present a novel enzymatic PSM strategy for functional group engineering within COFs. By taking advantage of enzymatic catalysis, 2-hydroxyethylthio (-S-EtOH) and ethylthio (-S-Et) groups were covalently implanted within the COF pore channels with high grafting efficiency under ambient aqueous conditions, highlighting the mild, efficient, and ecofriendly nature of this approach.

TRPV1 Suppresses Microglial Inflammatory Activation to Ameliorate Schizophrenia-Associated Behaviors in Maternal Separation Rats.

Background And Hypothesis: Schizophrenia is linked to hippocampal dysfunction and microglial inflammatory activation. Our prior clinical findings revealed significantly reduced transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) expression in both first-episode and recurrent schizophrenia patients, with levels inversely correlating with symptom severity, implicating TRPV1 dysfunction in disease progression. Preclinical maternal separation (MS) models recapitulate schizophrenia-like behavioral and synaptic deficits, paralleled by hippocampal microglial TRPV1 downregulation.

A Uniquely Structured Heteronuclear Cluster Cage with Anion-Templated Pentagons and Hexagons.

Constructing structurally sophisticated molecules with interesting properties is the goal of supramolecular chemistry. Herein, two heterometallic clusters, formulated respectively as [GdNi(μ-CO)(μ-NO)(μ-OH)(μ-OH)(μ-CO)(HO)]Cl·49HO·90MeOH (, H = -methyliminodiacetic acid) and [TbNi(μ-CO)(μ-NO)(μ-OH)(μ-OH)(HO)]Cl·50HO·130MeOH (), were obtained by the cohydrolysis of Ln (Ln = Gd, Tb) and Ni in the presence of H and triethylamine. The essentially isostructural cationic cluster cages are constructed by coexisting pentagons and hexagons whose formation is respectively templated by nitrate and oxalate ions.

Stabilizing effect of amino acids on protein and colloidal dispersions.

Amino acids (AAs) have a long history of being used as stabilizers for biological media. For example, they are important components in biomedical formulations. The effect of AAs on biological systems is also starting to be appreciated.

An Eocene shallow water isselicrinid sea lilies from the Northern Hemisphere.

Stalked crinoids are uncommon fossils in the Cenozoic. This is particularly due to their continuous decline starting from the Late Cretaceous and gradual restriction to the deep-sea environment, which bears a fossil record bias. On the other hand, in recent times, new data have emerged documenting some relict populations of sea lilies in the shallow marine facies from the Cenozoic.

Klotho attenuates D-galactose-induced cardiac aging through the ROS/NLRP3/pyroptosis pathway.

Objective: Activation of NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to cardiac aging progression. Klotho, a recognised anti-aging protein, exerts protective effects against cardiac aging. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the protective effects of Klotho on D-galactose (D-gal)-induced cardiac aging and the underlying mechanisms.

Association between diabetes duration and risk of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: Prior studies have implicated diabetes as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer, yet the impact of diabetes progression on pancreatic cancer incidence remains unclear. We aim to assess pancreatic cancer risk across different stages of diabetes.

Methods: Employing a predefined search strategy, we conducted a literature review of electronic databases up to 29 February 2024.

Neural Quantum Embedding via Deterministic Quantum Computation with One Qubit.

Quantum computing is expected to provide an exponential speedup in machine learning. However, optimizing the data loading process, commonly referred to as "quantum data embedding," to maximize classification performance remains a critical challenge. In this Letter, we propose a neural quantum embedding (NQE) technique based on deterministic quantum computation with one qubit (DQC1).

Positive Neutrino Masses with DESI DR2 via Matter Conversion to Dark Energy.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is a massively parallel spectroscopic survey on the Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak, which has released measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations determined from over 14 million extragalactic targets. We combine DESI Data Release 2 with CMB datasets to search for evidence of matter conversion to dark energy (DE), focusing on a scenario mediated by stellar collapse to cosmologically coupled black holes (CCBHs). In this physical model, which has the same number of free parameters as ΛCDM, DE production is determined by the cosmic star formation rate density (SFRD), allowing for distinct early- and late-time cosmologies.

On-Chip Emitter-Coupled Meta-Optics for Versatile Photon Sources.

Controlling the spontaneous emission of nanoscale quantum emitters (QEs) is crucial for developing advanced photon sources required in many areas of modern nanophotonics, including quantum information technologies. Conventional approaches to shaping photon emission are based on using bulky configurations, while approaches recently developed in quantum metaphotonics suffer from limited capabilities in achieving desired polarization states and directionality, failing to provide on-demand photon sources tailored precisely to technological needs. Here, we propose a universal approach to designing versatile photon sources using on-chip QE-coupled meta-optics that enable direct transformations of QE-excited surface plasmon polaritons into spatially propagating photon streams with arbitrary polarization states, directionality, and amplitudes via both resonance and geometric phases supplied by scattering meta-atoms.

A compact cassette tape for DNA-based data storage.

DNA with high storage density can serve as an alternative storage medium to respond to the global explosion of data growth and become a powerful personal storage memory if an integrated compact device can store and handle large-scale data. Here, we incorporate a DNA cassette tape with 5.5 × 10 addressable data partitions (addressing rate up to 1570 partitions per second), a DNA loading capacity of 28.

Full Characterization of Genuine 17-qubit Entanglement on the Superconducting Processor.

We present a least square state estimator regularized by state purity to accomplish the task of quantum state tomography and entanglement verification, and report an experimental validation on a superconducting processor. First, a scalable full-state tomography is achieved with state fidelity 0.8217(1) for the 9-qubit W state and 0.

Onset of Constituent Quark Number Scaling in Heavy-Ion Collisions at RHIC.

Partonic collectivity is one of the necessary signatures for the formation of quark-gluon plasma in high-energy nuclear collisions. Number of constituent quarks (NCQ) scaling has been observed for hadron elliptic flow v_{2} in top energy nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the LHC, and this has been theoretically suggested as strong evidence for partonic collectivity. In this Letter, a systematic analysis of v_{2} of π^{±}, K^{±}, K_{S}^{0}, p, and Λ in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.

Quantum-Size Effect Induced Andreev Bound States in Ultrathin Metallic Islands Proximitized by a Superconductor.

While Andreev bound states (ABSs) have been realized in engineered superconducting junctions, their direct observation in normal metal-superconductor heterostructures-enabled by quantum confinement-remains experimentally elusive. Here, we report the detection of ABSs in ultrathin metallic islands (Bi, Ag, and SnTe) grown on the s-wave superconductor NbN. Using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we clearly reveal in-gap ABSs with energies symmetric about the Fermi level.

Beyond lethal temperatures: Factors behind the disappearance of chum salmon from their southern margins under climate change.

The Tone River in Japan represents one of the southern limit distributions of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) on the western side of the North Pacific, but the number of adult chum salmon observed here has declined dramatically since 2013 and reached zero in 2024. The factors behind the recent decline of the chum salmon population in the Tone River were investigated by using ocean reanalysis data and a 20-year particle-tracking simulation. Virtual chum salmon fry were released at the mouth of the Tone River in spring each year with six different swimming strategies to evaluate the effects of ocean currents on the population growth rate of salmon.

Integrative profiling of lung cancer biomarkers EGFR, ALK, KRAS, and PD-1 with emphasis on nanomaterials-assisted immunomodulation and targeted therapy.

Background: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, primarily due to late-stage diagnosis, molecular heterogeneity, and therapy resistance. Key biomarkers such as EGFR, ALK, KRAS, and PD-1 have revolutionized precision oncology; however, comprehensive structural and clinical validation of these targets is crucial to enhance therapeutic efficacy.

Methods: Protein sequences for EGFR, ALK, KRAS, and PD-1 were retrieved from UniProt and modeled using SWISS-MODEL to generate high-confidence 3D structures.

Single-Molecule Dual-Anchor Design Enables Extreme-Condition Lithium Metal Batteries Through Solvation Reconstruction and Cathode Polymerization.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have emerged as the most promising candidate for next-generation high-energy-density energy storage systems. However, their practical implementation is hindered by the inability of conventional carbonate electrolytes to simultaneously stabilize the lithium metal anode and LiNiCoMnO (NCM811) cathode interfaces, particularly under extreme operating conditions. Herein, we present a transformative molecular design using 3,5-difluorophenylboronic acid neopentyl glycol ester (DNE), which uniquely integrates dual interfacial stabilization mechanisms in a single molecule.

Long-term efficacy and safety of tirzepatide in participants with type 2 diabetes with inadequate glycaemic control on metformin and/or sulfonylurea: Post-hoc analysis of SURPASS-4.

Aim: To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety data at 104 weeks in tirzepatide-treated participants with type 2 diabetes who had inadequate glycaemic control on metformin and/or sulfonylurea.

Materials And Methods: This post-hoc analysis was based on the SURPASS-4 data (NCT03730662), a multicenter, Phase III trial. Participants were randomised to receive tirzepatide (5, 10, or 15 mg) or insulin glargine.

Developing and Externally Validating the Multivariable Prediction Model for White-Coat Hypertension.

Aim: The white-coat hypertension (WCH) detection by monitoring the out-of-office blood pressure (BP) consumes resources and time. This study aimed at developing the prediction model based on patients' characteristics obtained from clinical data.

Methods: Individuals who participated in two large hospitals health check-up examination were screened.

The X-Age Project to construct a Chinese aging clock.

The global surge in the population of people 60 years and older, including that in China, challenges healthcare systems with rising age-related diseases. To address this demographic change, the Aging Biomarker Consortium (ABC) has launched the X-Age Project to develop a comprehensive aging evaluation system tailored to the Chinese population. Our goal is to identify robust biomarkers and construct composite aging clocks that capture biological age, defined as an individual's physiological and molecular state, across diverse Chinese cohorts.

Characterization of the extrinsic and intrinsic signatures and therapeutic vulnerability of small cell lung cancers.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), an aggressive neuroendocrine tumor strongly associated with exposure to tobacco carcinogens, is characterized by early dissemination and dismal prognosis with a five-year overall survival of less than 7%. High-frequency gain-of-function mutations in oncogenes are rarely reported, and intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) remains to be determined in SCLC. Here, via multiomics analyses of 314 SCLCs, we found that the ASCL1/MKI67 and ASCL1/CRIP2 clusters accounted for 74.

High-throughput screening identifies a dual-activity inhibitor of OXCT1 for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy.

3-Oxoacid CoA-transferase 1 (OXCT1) plays a crucial role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression through its ketolytic and succinyltransferase activities. Despite its potential as a therapeutic target, no small molecules have been developed to inhibit the dual enzymatic activities of OXCT1 specifically. In this study, our structural analysis revealed that the active sites for both enzymatic functions of OXCT1 are located in the same pocket.

Impact of wettability heterogeneity on methane hydrate growth kinetics in partially water-saturated sediments.

Hypothesis: Gas hydrate formation in sediments is influenced by the availability of gas-water interfacial areas, which governs gas-water interactions. The surface wettability of sediment particles is expected to affect the spatial distribution of water within the pore space, thereby altering the extent of gas-liquid contact. Consequently, by tuning the wettability heterogeneity of the sediment, the spatial distribution of pore water can be regulated, which in turn influences the gas-water interactions and the kinetics of gas hydrate formation.