Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis of graphene suggesting charging and dispersion mechanism in certain organic solvents.

Background: Graphene, with its unique electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties, plays an important role in electronic devices and batteries. Current applications strongly rely on liquid-phase processing, which requires stable graphene dispersions. However, stabilizing graphene dispersions in a liquid phase remains challenging because graphene easily aggregates due to strong inter-sheet forces.

Importance of Selective Quenching of the Triplet Excited State of Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) Photosensitizers in Redox-Photosensitized Reactions: Case Studies on Photocatalytic CO Reduction.

Redox photosensitizers exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) are widely used in the various research fields. We investigated the roles of the singlet and triplet excited states of such molecules in photocatalytic CO reduction. Two TADF compounds ( and ) were used in combination with a manganese(I) complex as a catalyst and 1,3-dimethyl-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1-benzo[]imidazole (BIH) and triethanolamine (TEOA) as sacrificial electron donors.

Enrichment of Horizontally Transferred Gene Clusters in Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles via Non-Lytic Mechanisms.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles are emerging as key mediators of horizontal gene transfer, enhancing microbial adaptability. A critical factor determining the effectiveness of horizontal gene transfer is the fraction of vesicles containing specific functional genes. However, the proportion of containing specific DNA fragments has not been adequately determined, which hinders the understanding of the conditions and mechanisms that facilitate the incorporation of specific genes into the vesicles and possible evolutionary roles of vesicle-derived DNA.

Chloroplast envelope-localized DLDG1 modulates H+ translocation across thylakoid membranes via plastidial ATP synthase.

Land plants have evolved sophisticated regulatory mechanisms to precisely modulate electron flow during photosynthesis that is crucial for protecting the photosynthetic machinery and other cellular components from oxidative photodamage. Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) serves as a major photoprotective mechanism, dissipating excess absorbed light energy as heat. The chloroplast protein DAY-LENGTH-DEPENDENT DELAYED-GREENING1 (DLDG1), which is specifically conserved in oxygenic phototrophs, plays a pivotal role in controlling NPQ by regulating H+ translocation across the chloroplast envelope membranes.

DHX8 regulates degradation of RNA by RNautophagy.

RNautophagy is an intracellular degradation pathway in which RNA is directly taken up by lysosomes. The cytoplasmic regions of the lysosomal membrane proteins, LAMP2C and SIDT2, can interact with consecutive guanine sequences in RNA, mediating the uptake of RNA during RNautophagy. RNautophagy has also been implicated in the clearance of expanded CAG-repeat mRNA and RNA foci associated with polyQ disease.

Machine learning-assisted Ru-N bond regulation for ammonia synthesis.

Ruthenium-bearing intermetallics (Ru-IMCs) featured with well-defined structures and variable compositions offer new opportunities to develop ammonia synthesis catalysts under mild conditions. However, their complex phase nature and the numerous controlling parameters pose major challenges for catalyst design and exploration. Herein, we demonstrate that a combination of machine learning (ML) and model mining techniques can effectively address these challenges.

Asymmetric Stress Engineering of Dense Dislocations in Brittle Superconductors for Strong Vortex Pinning.

Large lossless currents in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) critically rely on dense defects with suitable size and dimensionality to pin vortices, with dislocations being particularly effective due to their 1D geometry to interact extensively with vortex lines. However, in non-metallic compounds such as HTS with rigid lattices, conventional deformation methods typically lead to catastrophic fracture rather than dislocation-mediated plasticity, making it a persistent challenge to introduce dislocations at high density. Here, an asymmetric stress field strategy is proposed using extrusion to directly nucleate a high density of dislocations in HTS by activating shear-driven lattice slip and twisting under superimposed hydrostatic compression.

Intron turnover of slc26a1 and slc26a2 and convergence of intron insertion sites.

Intron gain and loss are rare events in vertebrates; however, comparative genome analysis of elephant sharks, tetrapods, and teleosts revealed a higher level of intron turnover in teleosts. slc26a1 and slc26a2 are members of the anion-exchanger gene family. Human, zebrafish, and Japanese pufferfish slc26a1 consist of two, two, and seven exons, respectively, and slc26a2, two, three, and four exons, respectively.

Information dynamics and the emergence of high-order individuality in ecosystems.

At what level does natural selection occur? When considering the reproductive dynamics of interacting and mutating agents, it has long been debated whether selection is better understood by focusing on the individual or if hierarchical selection emerges as a consequence of joint adaptation. Despite longstanding efforts in theoretical ecology, there is still no consensus on this fundamental issue, most likely due to the difficulty in obtaining adequate data spanning a sufficient number of generations and the lack of adequate tools to quantify the effect of hierarchical selection. Here, we capitalise on recent advances in information-theoretic data analysis to advance this state of affairs by investigating the emergence of high-order structures- such as groups of species- in the collective dynamics of the Tangled Nature model of evolutionary ecology.

Organization and Dynamics of Transcription Elongation Foci in Mouse Tissues.

RNA polymerase II (RNAP2) transcribes most genes in eukaryotic nuclei. During the transition from transcription initiation to productive elongation, and throughout the elongation phase, RNAP2 becomes phosphorylated at the Ser2 residue within the heptapeptide repeats of the carboxyl-terminal domain of its largest subunit. Antibodies specific to RNAP2 Ser2 phosphorylation (Ser2ph) have enabled visualization of active transcription sites in fixed cells and tissues.

Exploring Sulfate as an Alternative Electron Acceptor: A Potential Strategy to Mitigate NO Emissions in Upland Arable Soils.

Agricultural activities are a significant source of nitrous oxide (NO), accounting for approximately 60% of global emissions, highlighting the urgent need for innovative strategies to mitigate NO emissions. Microbes conserve nearly as much energy with nitrate (NO ) as oxygen (O) respiration under limited O availability. Thus, microorganisms prioritize NO , limiting exploration of alternative electron acceptors (EAs) to inhibit NO emissions through NO respiration in upland arable soils.

Fatigue, anxiety and depression in parents of children with retinoblastoma: a cohort study.

Background: Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common primary ocular malignancy in childhood, possibly causing vision loss and even a threat to life. Parents, as the primary caregivers of children with RB, are prone to negative emotions such as fatigue, anxiety, and depression. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal fluctuations in fatigue, anxiety, and depression in parents of children with RB and the factors influencing them.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) enhancing therapeutic effects of 4-l-boronophenylalanine on thoracic tumors in neutron capture therapy.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been expected to be a promising approach to treat lung cancers in a non-invasive manner. Development of boron drugs showing efficient accumulation and long-term retention within the target tumor is key to realizing BNCT for such deep-seated cancers. Here, we report that the complex comprising poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and 4-l-boronophenylalanine (BPA), the only clinically approved drug in BNCT, could show drastic therapeutic efficiency to thoracic tumors mimicking intractable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in mice.

Glucose-activated JMJD1A drives visceral adipogenesis via α-ketoglutarate-dependent chromatin remodeling.

Adipose tissue remodels via hypertrophy or hyperplasia in response to nutrient status, but the mechanisms governing these expansion modes remain unclear. Here, we identify a nutrient-sensitive epigenetic circuit linking glucose metabolism to chromatin remodeling during adipogenesis. Upon glucose stimulation, α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) accumulates in the nucleus and activates the histone demethylase JMJD1A to remove repressive histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) marks at glycolytic and adipogenic gene loci, including Pparg.

Ancestral sequence reconstruction as a tool for structural analysis of modular polyketide synthases.

Modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) are large multi-domain enzymes critical for the biosynthesis of polyketide antibiotics. However, challenges with structural analysis limits our mechanistic understanding of modular PKSs. In this report, we explore the potential of ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) for structure analysis of target proteins.

Emergence of conformational diversity and complexity of supramolecular structure by the interaction of a simple molecule with a uniform surface.

The emergence of complexity during self-assembly of simple molecular building blocks is an important aspect in the synthesis of nanoarchitectures from supramolecular functional units. In particular, two-dimensional nanostructures are important from the point-of-view of technological applications. Here, a remarkably complex on surface network is observed to form spontaneously from a single molecular module (porphyrin) having multiple site-specific conformations.

Aquaporin 10 paralogs exhibit evolutionarily altered urea and boric acid permeabilities based on the amino acid residues at positions 1 and 3 in the ar/R region.

Aquaporin (Aqp)-10 is an aquaglyceroporin permeable to both water and uncharged small-molecule compounds. In ray-finned fish Aqp10 paralogs, urea and boric acid permeabilities of Aqp10.2-but not its glycerol permeability-are much weaker than those of Aqp10.

Whole brain gray matter volume may mediate the relationship between light physical activity and Body Mass Index in middle-aged Japanese adults.

Obesity is a multifactorial condition that cannot be fully explained by traditional energy-balance models. Recent studies highlight the role of brain structure-particularly gray matter volume-as a potential risk factor of obesity. Physical activity (PA) has been shown to enhance gray matter volume, particularly in older adults.

Svalbard winter warming is reaching melting point.

The Arctic is at the forefront of global climate change and is encountering unprecedented winter warming. In February 2025, exceptionally high air temperatures and rainfall over Svalbard triggered widespread snowmelt and pooling of meltwater. Increasingly frequent winter thaw events are reshaping Arctic landscapes, signaling a dramatic shift towards a new Arctic.

The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time.

Microbial biofilms colonize mineral and biological substrates exposed to fluid circulation at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, providing a biologically active interface along redox boundaries. Since many biofilms at deep-sea vents are associated with invertebrates, microbial distribution and abundance are not only constrained by local fluid geochemistry, but also through host-microbe interactions. This study examined the spatial distribution and diversity of established microbial biofilm communities collected from three distinct biological regimes characteristic of the East Pacific Rise (9°50 N, 104°17 W) vent system, as well as newly established biofilms on experimental microbial colonization devices.

Intracellular evaluation of protein droplet-forming capability using self-assembling peptide tags.

Protein droplet formation is a crucial process involved in transient cellular responses and pathogenic protein aggregations. Conventionally, the droplet-forming capability of target proteins has been evaluated through reconstitution studies, where purified proteins are dissolved in buffer solutions. However, such droplets are highly sensitive to environmental factors, including temperature, ionic strength, and molecular crowding.

Selective and Sequential Heterometallic Assembly in Amine/Imine Dendrimers.

The use of dendrimers for metal cluster synthesis is an attractive approach for alloying multiple metal atoms into metal clusters because of the nanosized spaces and wide variety of metal salts that can be coordinated by dendrimers. However, the repeating structure of the dendrimers is generally not suitable for the precise assembly of different kinds of metal salts in them. Here, an amine/imine hybrid dendrimer was synthesized as a template for bimetallic assembly via the partial reduction of dendritic polyphenylazomethines (DPAs), which exhibit atomically precise metal salt assembly via 1:1 coordination between metal ions and their imine sites.

Selective splenectomy centered on graft-to-spleen volume ratio is a practical option in living donor liver transplantation to prevent early allograft dysfunction: A Prospective validation study.

Background: While simultaneous splenectomy (SPX) is an option in selected cases of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) to protect graft function, graft-to-spleen volume ratio (GSVR) may serve as a new determinant of SPX. A prospective validation study was conducted to test our institutional strategy of SPX based mainly on GSVR, which has been employed since 2019.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled 141 LDLT recipients from 2019 to 2024.

Discovery of trisubstituted meta-carboranes as T cell activators by regulating CD28 cytoplasmic region and SH2 domains of Grb2 and PI3K interactions.

We have achieved efficient synthesis of trisubstituted meta-carboranes and identified cluster of differentiation 28 (CD28) regulators from our established compound library of the carborane skeleton. CD28-mediated co-stimulation plays an important role in T cell immune responses and is regulated by protein-protein interactions, such as those involving growth factor receptor binding protein 2 (Grb2) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), via Src homology 2 (SH2) domains. Among the synthesized carboranes, compound 5o exhibited the most efficient T cell activation with minimal cytotoxicity.