Targeting intestinal inflammation using locked nucleic acids delivered via lipid nanoparticles.

Locked nucleic acids are a third-generation antisense oligonucleotides with high binding affinity. A major limitation is the high dosages they require to achieve efficacy which may induce unwanted adverse effects. Here, we report the use of Lipid-based nanoparticles to deliver locked nucleic acids for treating intestinal inflammation in mice.

Non-Abelian Phases from the Condensation of Abelian Anyons.

The observed fractional quantum Hall (FQH) plateaus follow a recurring hierarchical structure that allows an understanding of complex states based on simpler ones. Condensing the elementary quasiparticles of an Abelian FQH state results in a new Abelian phase at a different filling factor, and this process can be iterated ad infinitum. We show that condensing clusters of the same quasiparticles into an Abelian state can instead realize non-Abelian FQH states.

The effectiveness of a principle-based professional development programme in promoting teachers' high-level talk in primary mathematics classrooms.

Introduction: We investigate whether a principle-based professional development programme can effectively promote teachers' talk in primary mathematics classrooms. The programme aimed to implement accountable talk (AT), integrating three design principles: (a) incorporating authentic classroom episodes, alongside individual and collective reflection; (b) long-term duration; and (c) video-based discussions.

Methods: We analysed the classroom talk of eight teachers of different ages, seniority and academic background at three timepoints: before, during and at the end of the programme, focusing on teachers' AT quality at both macro- and micro-levels.

Immune surveillance of senescent cells in aging and disease.

Senescent cells are intrinsically immunogenic and can be eliminated by the immune system to facilitate tissue repair and regeneration. However, immune-mediated elimination is compromised with age, causing senescent cell accumulation in tissues, thus limiting healthspan and lifespan and promoting age-related diseases such as cancer. Here, we review how different components of the innate and adaptive immune systems, including natural killer cells, macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, T cells and B cells, target senescent cells and how the intrinsic properties of senescent cells can lead to their escape from surveillance.

Mild chronic stress promotes female fertility via the ovarian CRF receptor.

Background: In many species, including human, stress is accompanied by disruption of reproductive functions. The endocrine stress-response is activated and regulated by members of the corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) protein family. Stress stimuli may affect reproductive functions locally, recruiting autocrine/paracrine strategies.

"Bud to Fruit"- Hormonal Interactions Governing Early Fruit Development.

Hormones are fundamental architects of plant reproduction, orchestrating the transition from pollination to fruit set. Recent advances have underscored the central roles of auxin and gibberellins in ovary growth, seed development, and parthenocarpy, while their intricate interplay with cytokinin, ethylene, abscisic acid, brassinosteroids, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid fine-tunes early fruit development. A dynamic regulatory network involving transcription factors, microRNAs, and hormone-responsive genes modulates these processes, ensuring coordinated cellular events across diverse fruit types.

Multimodal profiling reveals tissue-directed signatures of human immune cells altered with age.

The immune system comprises multiple cell lineages and subsets maintained in tissues throughout the lifespan, with unknown effects of tissue and age on immune cell function. Here we comprehensively profiled RNA and surface protein expression of over 1.25 million immune cells from blood and lymphoid and mucosal tissues from 24 organ donors aged 20-75 years.

The geologic history of marine dissolved organic carbon from iron oxides.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the largest reduced carbon reservoir in modern oceans. Its dynamics regulate marine communities and atmospheric CO levels, whereas C compositions track ecosystem structure and autotrophic metabolism. However, the geologic history of marine DOC remains largely unconstrained, limiting our ability to mechanistically reconstruct coupled ecological and biogeochemical evolution.

Predictive machine-learning model for screening iron deficiency without anaemia: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate a machine-learning (ML) model to predict iron deficiency without anaemia (IDWA) using routinely collected electronic health record (EHR) data. The primary hypothesis was that an ML model could achieve better accuracy in identifying low ferritin levels (<30 ng/mL) in non-anaemic patients compared with traditional methods.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Investigating the effective temporal resolution in a task-based functional MRI experiment at 7 T MRI using a dynamic phantom.

An increasing number of human fMRI studies aim to discern the time delays between evoked responses under different stimuli conditions in different brain regions. To achieve that, a primary goal is to acquire fMRI data with high sampling rates. This task is now possible with ultra-high field (≥7 T) MRI and the advancement of imaging acceleration methods.

Interplay of asexual and sexual reproduction in bifunctional insects.

Reproduction is a fundamental biological process, with organisms reproducing sexually, asexually, and, in some cases, utilizing both modes of reproduction within the same population. Does the ability to reproduce through a combination of asexual and sexual modes offer an evolutionary advantage over relying on either mode alone? Here, we introduce an empirically driven theoretical model to examine the dynamics and interplay between sexual and asexual reproduction in stick insect populations. We analyse it using a novel phase transition approach and corroborate it using published experimental data.

Principles of cotranslational mitochondrial protein import.

Nearly all mitochondrial proteins are translated on cytosolic ribosomes. How these proteins are subsequently delivered to mitochondria remains poorly understood. Using selective ribosome profiling, we show that nearly 20% of mitochondrial proteins can be imported cotranslationally in human cells.

Two opposing redox signals mediated by 2-cys peroxiredoxin shape the redox proteome during photosynthetic induction.

Photosynthetic induction, characterized by the lag in CO assimilation rates during transition from darkness to light, has traditionally been attributed to Rubisco activase activity and stomatal opening. Yet, the faster induction of photosynthesis in the 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (Prxs) mutant (2cpab) suggested a role for oxidative signals in regulating photosynthetic rates, although the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. SPEAR, a redox proteomics approach, was used to systematically map redox changes occurring during photosynthesis induction and to unravel the role of 2-Cys Prxs in shaping these redox alterations.

Overnight residues of sensorimotor aftereffects and lack of visuospatial aftereffects following a single prism exposure in healthy subjects.

Prism adaptation (PA) is a visuomotor adaptation paradigm resulting in transient sensorimotor shifts. Previous work shows PA can cause additional changes in higher-level visuospatial representations in healthy subjects. In patients with neglect symptoms, records of beneficial visuospatial aftereffects of PA form the basis for its usage as a potential rehabilitation strategy.

Catalytic Oxidation of Carbon-Halogen Bonds by Water with H Liberation.

The unprecedented catalytic oxidation of carbon-halogen bonds to carboxylic acids using water as the oxidant is disclosed. Compared to previous traditional oxidation reactions, this transformation avoids the use of sacrificial oxidants and liberates useful hydrogen gas as byproduct, presenting an efficient method. Catalyzed by an acridine-based PNP-Ru pincer complex, a series of primary aliphatic and benzylic halides were successfully converted into carboxylic acids in high yields.

Vagal blockade of the brain-liver axis deters cancer-associated cachexia.

Cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is a multifactorial and currently incurable syndrome responsible for nearly one-third of cancer-related deaths. It contributes to therapy resistance and increases mortality among affected patients. In this study, we show that cancer-induced systemic inflammation alters vagal tone in CAC mouse models.

Transgene-free generation of mouse post-gastrulation whole embryo models solely from naive ESCs and iPSCs.

The generation of post-gastrulation stem cell-derived mouse embryo models (SEMs) exclusively from naive embryonic stem cells (nESCs) has underscored their ability to give rise to embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages. However, existing protocols for mouse SEMs rely on the separate induction of extra-embryonic lineages and on ectopic expression of transcription factors to induce nESC differentiation into trophectoderm (TE) or primitive endoderm (PrE). Here, we demonstrate that mouse nESCs and naive induced pluripotent stem cells (niPSCs) can be simultaneously co-induced, via signaling pathway modulation, to generate PrE and TE extra-embryonic cells that self-organize into embryonic day (E) 8.

Identification of RNA binding proteins that mediate a quality control mechanism of splicing.

Accurate splicing, which involves the controlled removal of non-coding sequences (introns) from precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs), is essential for producing correct mature mRNAs that encode functional proteins. Within pre-mRNAs, latent splice sites (LSSs) resemble proper splice sites but are usually not used because their activation can introduce in-frame STOP codons. The nuclear suppression of splicing (SOS) mechanism prevents the use of LSSs.

Dipole-induced transition in 3 dimensions.

The Kosterlitz-Thouless and the Hexatic phase transitions are celebrated examples of dipole (vortex, dislocation) induced transitions in condensed matter physics. For very clear reasons, these important "topological" transitions are restricted to 2-dimensions. Here, we present a genuine dipole-induced transition in the 3-dimensional response of (athermal) amorphous solids to applied strain.

Long-Short-Arm Acridine Ru-Pincer Catalysts for Reversible Hydrogen Storage Based on Ethylene Glycol.

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) offer an attractive strategy for efficient hydrogen storage and release, thereby facilitating the effective use of hydrogen as a carbon-neutral energy carrier. The advancement of LOHC technology is highly dependent on the innovation of the catalysts. Herein, based on a strategy combining rigidity and flexibility in a single molecular catalyst, a novel class of PNP-pincer ligands, called long-short-arm acridine ligands, and their Ru complexes have been developed and successfully used in the LOHC system based on ethylene glycol (EG).

Computationally Designed Peroxygenases That Exhibit Diverse and Selective Terpene Oxyfunctionalization.

The selective oxyfunctionalization of terpenes remains a major challenge in chemical synthesis and is of significant industrial importance. This study presents a computational enzyme design approach based on an AlphaFold2 model of an unspecific peroxygenase (UPO). Using the FuncLib algorithm, only 50 variants were required, and they exhibit remarkable advancements.

Quarter- and half-filled quantum Hall states and their topological orders revealed by daughter states in bilayer graphene.

Even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states are promising candidates for fault-tolerant quantum computing due to their underlying non-Abelian topological order. However, the topological order of these states remains hotly debated. Here, we report transport measurements on ultra-clean bilayer graphene heterostructures, where we observed four quarter-filled states and their corresponding Levin-Halperin daughter states, constraining their topological order.

Modulating Antimicrobial Activity and Structure of the Peptide Esc(1-21) via Site-Specific Isopeptide Bond Formation.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent valid alternatives to conventional antibiotics primarily due to their mechanism of action, which consists of cytoplasmic membrane disruption. However, their clinical application is often limited by cytotoxicity at high concentrations and low intrinsic biostability. To address these limitations, various biochemical approaches have been explored.

Molecular Characterization of Composition and Volatility of Ambient Organic Aerosol Sampled by an UAV-Mounted Portable Aethalometer.

Aethalometers are commonly used to measure light absorption by brown carbon (BrC) components of organic aerosols (OA), but they offer limited insight into OA composition. In this study, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was equipped with a microaethalometer and an optical particle counter (OPC) to measure multiwavelength absorption coefficients and aerosol mass concentrations, while collecting ambient OA samples at 15 and 200 m flight altitudes over an urban area. The collected aethalometer samples were analyzed using an advanced analytical chemistry measurement platform that combines temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) with direct analysis in real-time (DART) ionization and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), enabling combined optical and molecular characterization.

Sex Identification and Species Confirmation in Modern and Archeological Caprine Enamel.

Proteomics has become a transformative tool for species and sex determination. This study introduces a novel methodology that integrates amelogenin (Amel) and enamelin (Enam) proteins extracted from the tooth enamel of caprines. Since morphologically, osteological remains of sheep and goats often cannot be easily discriminated, we developed our method on both modern domestic sheep () and goats () to establish unique proteomic signatures for each species for sex and species identification.