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Chiral edge states are the hallmark of two- and three-dimensional topological materials, but their one-dimensional (1D) analog has not yet been found. We report that the 1D topological edge states, solitons, of the charge density wave system of indium atomic wires self-assembled on a silicon surface have chirality. The system is described by a coupled double Peierls-dimerized atomic chain, where the interchain coupling induces dynamical sublattice symmetry breaking. This changes its topological symmetry from Z2 × Z2 to Z4 and endows solitons with a chiral degree of freedom. Chiral solitons can produce quantized charge transport across the chain that is topologically protected and controllable by the soliton's chirality. Individual right- and left-chiral solitons in indium wires are directly identified by scanning tunneling microscopy.

A demonstration of switching between solitons of different chirality in a one-dimensional electronic system shows how topological excitations can be used to realize non-trivial algebraic operations. Chiral objects can be found throughout nature 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ; in condensed matter chiral objects are often excited states protected by a system’s topology. The use of chiral topological excitations to carry information has been demonstrated, where the information is robust against external perturbations 5 , 6 . For instance, reading, writing, and transfer of binary information have been demonstrated with chiral topological excitations in magnetic systems, skyrmions 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , for spintronic devices 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 . The next step is logic or algebraic operations of such topological bits 20 , 21 , 22 . Here, we show experimentally the switching between chiral topological excitations or chiral solitons of different chirality in a one-dimensional electronic system with Z 4 topological symmetry 23 , 24 . We found that a fast-moving achiral soliton merges with chiral solitons to switch their handedness. This can lead to the realization of algebraic operation of Z 4 topological charges 25 . Chiral solitons could be a platform for storage and operation of robust topological multi-digit information.

Background IL-17A has recently emerged as a potential target that regulates the extensive inflammation and abnormal bone formation observed in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Blocking IL-17A is expected to inhibit bony ankylosis. Here, we investigated the effects of anti IL-17A agents in AS. Methods TNFα, IL-17A, and IL-12/23 p40 levels in serum and synovial fluid from patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), or healthy controls (HC) were measured by ELISA. Bone tissue samples were obtained at surgery from the facet joints of ten patients with AS and ten control (Ct) patients with noninflammatory spinal disease. The functional relevance of IL-17A, biological blockades, Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), and non-receptor tyrosine kinase was assessed in vitro with primary bone-derived cells (BdCs) and serum from patients with AS. Results Basal levels of IL-17A and IL-12/23 p40 in body fluids were elevated in patients with AS. JAK2 was also highly expressed in bone tissue and primary BdCs from patients with AS. Furthermore, addition of exogenous IL-17A to primary Ct-BdCs promoted the osteogenic stimulus-induced increase in ALP activity and mineralization. Intriguingly, blocking IL-17A with serum from patients with AS attenuated ALP activity and mineralization in both Ct and AS-BdCs by inhibiting JAK2 phosphorylation and downregulating osteoblast-involved genes. Moreover, JAK2 inhibitors effectively reduced JAK2-driven ALP activity and JAK2-mediated events. Conclusions Our findings indicate that IL-17A regulates osteoblast activity and differentiation via JAK2/STAT3 signaling. They shed light on AS pathogenesis and suggest new rational therapies for clinical AS ankylosis.

Superconductivity in the vicinity of a competing electronic order often manifests itself with a superconducting dome, centered at a presumed quantum critical point in the phase diagram. This common feature, found in many unconventional superconductors, has supported a prevalent scenario in which fluctuations or partial melting of a parent order are essential for inducing or enhancing superconductivity. Here we present a contrary example, found in IrTe 2 nanoflakes of which the superconducting dome is identified well inside the parent stripe charge ordering phase in the thickness-dependent phase diagram. The coexisting stripe charge order in IrTe 2 nanoflakes significantly increases the out-of-plane coherence length and the coupling strength of superconductivity, in contrast to the doped bulk IrTe 2 . These findings clarify that the inherent instabilities of the parent stripe phase are sufficient to induce superconductivity in IrTe 2 without its complete or partial melting. Our study highlights the thickness control as an effective means to unveil intrinsic phase diagrams of correlated van der Waals materials. Superconductivity often appears due to suppression of competing electronic orders. Here, the authors present a contrary example showing a superconducting dome inside the parent phase with a stripe charge order in IrTe 2 nanoflakes and identify their unusual superconducting properties.

Glutathione (GSH) plays diverse roles in the physiological processes, stress defense, growth, and development of plants. This study investigated the effects of exogenous GSH on the biochemical responses of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant levels in rice ( Oryza sativa L. cv. Dasan) seedlings under arsenic (As) stress. As treatment inhibited growth; increased the level of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde; and enhanced the uptake of As by the roots and shoots in hydroponically grown 14-day-old seedlings. Furthermore, it reduced GSH content and GSH redox ratios, which have been correlated with the decrease in ascorbate (AsA) redox state. Whereas the exogenous application of GSH in As-treated seedlings reduced As-induced oxidative stress, improved antioxidant defense systems by maintaining antioxidant and/or redox enzyme homeostasis, and increased the AsA and GSH contents, the GSH application also increased the As translocation from the roots to the shoots. These results indicated that the increase in GSH redox state can be linked to an increase in the AsA redox ratio via the induction of the AsA–GSH cycle. Therefore, the results suggest that exogenous GSH application should be a promising approach to enhance As stress resistance in rice plants.

This study analyzes recloser operation in the South Korean distribution system to propose effective operational strategies for improving safety and efficiency. This research is based on actual data, such as recloser operation data and fault statistics provided by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Electric Power Corporation, without the use of simulation tools or experiments. Key operational elements, such as reclosure counts, sequence settings, and high-current interruption features, were analyzed. First, an analysis of reclosure counts revealed that over 73% of faults were cleared after the first reclosure, and when the second reclosure was included, more than 90% were successfully restored. This finding suggests that reducing the number of reclosures from the standard three to one or two would not significantly impact fault restoration performance while simultaneously reducing arc generation, thereby improving safety. Additionally, a review of recloser sequence settings highlighted the fact that the traditional 2F2D (two fast, two delayed) sequence often led to frequent instantaneous tripping, increasing the risk of arc generation. The 1F1D (one fast, one delayed) sequence, which applies a delayed trip after an initial fast trip, offers a better fault-clearing performance and reduces the risk of arc generation. Lastly, an analysis of the high-current interruption feature suggested that enabling this function for faults with low reclosing success rates, particularly in cases of short-circuit faults, and setting an immediate trip threshold for fault currents exceeding 3 kA would enhance both safety and efficiency. This operational strategy was implemented in the South Korean distribution system over a three-year period, starting in 2021. While there was a 2.1% decrease in reclosure success rates, this strategy demonstrated that similar success levels could be maintained while reducing the number of reclosures, thus mitigating equipment damage risks and improving safety measures. The refined recloser operation plan derived from this study is expected to enhance the overall stability and reliability of distribution systems.

Background: Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) can closely mimic degenerative spinal disorders, often leading to diagnostic delay or inappropriate surgical decisions. However, its epidemiologic characteristics among patients undergoing spinal surgery remain unknown. This nationwide, population-based study investigated the incidence, perioperative diagnostic trends, and risk factors of ATM in patients treated surgically for degenerative spinal disease. Methods: Data were extracted from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database (2014–2018). Adults (>19 years) who underwent surgery for degenerative spinal disease were identified, and those with malignancy, infection, fracture, or prior myelitis were excluded. The two-year perioperative observation period (−360 to +360 days) was divided into 24 consecutive 30-day intervals. Patients were classified by ATM occurrence, and multivariable logistic regression with bootstrap validation was used to identify independent risk factors. Incidence rates were expressed per 100,000 person-years. Results: Among 201,769 eligible patients, 269 (0.13%) developed ATM, yielding an incidence of 67 (95% CI: 59–75) per 100,000 person-years—substantially higher than in the general population. Younger age, male sex, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatologic disease, and cervical or thoracic spinal lesions were independent predictors. Notably, 28.3% of ATM cases were diagnosed within 30 days before surgery, and 50.9% within the four-month window from three months preoperatively to one month postoperatively, indicating a marked temporal clustering around surgery. Conclusions: ATM occurred far more frequently among patients undergoing surgery for degenerative spinal disease than in the general population, with diagnoses peaking immediately before surgery. This pattern likely reflects diagnostic delay rather than true perioperative onset. Because ATM can clinically and radiologically resemble degenerative myelopathy, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion in patients presenting with atypical or rapidly progressive neurological deterioration. Early recognition may prevent unnecessary surgery and improve neurological outcomes.

Drought stress induces oxidative damage that disrupts cellular redox homeostasis. Biochar has recently attracted attention for its potential to enhance antioxidant defense systems and reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation under drought conditions. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which biochar alleviates drought-induced oxidative stress in Brassica napus , focusing on hormonal regulatory pathway in glutathione (GSH)-based redox control. The plants were grown under well-watered (Control), drought stress (Drought), or drought stress with biochar application (Drought + Biochar) conditions for 43 days. Drought increased ROS (O₂⁻and H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde levels, while reducing soil water content, shoot biomass, relative water content, and chlorophyll concentration. These changes were accompanied by increased abscisic acid (ABA) levels and the upregulation of ABA biosynthesis and signaling genes ( NCED3 and ABI5 ). Drought also decreased GSH content, GSH/GSSG ratio, GSH1 expression, and GR activity, indicating severe oxidative stress and impaired redox homeostasis. Biochar application significantly alleviated drought-induced ROS accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Compared with drought alone, biochar promoted SA accumulation by 1.5-fold, upregulated the expression of SA biosynthesis ( ICS1 ) and signaling ( NPR1 ) by 5.6- and 3.3-fold, respectively, and reduced ABA content by 28%. Biochar also enhanced GSH levels (2.9-fold) and GSH/GSSG ratio (4.5-fold), accompanied by the upregulation of GSH1 (4.2-fold) and suppression of GPX7 (60.7%), relative to drought alone. Correlation analysis revealed a strong association between SA, GSH, and ROS. These findings indicate that biochar alleviates drought-induced oxidative stress by activating the SA-mediated GSH biosynthesis pathway and antagonizing ABA signaling, thereby enhancing antioxidant defense mechanisms and improving drought stress resilience in Brassica napus .

We want to predict body weight while lying in bed for an elderly patient who is unable to move by himself/herself. To this end, we have implemented a prototype system that estimates the body weight of a person lying on a smart mat in nonrestraint and unconsciousness conditions. A total of 128 FSR (force sensing resistor) sensors were placed in a 16 × 8-grid structure on the smart mat. We formulated three methods based on the features to be applied: segmentation, average cumulative sum of pressure, and serialization. All the proposed methods were implemented with four different machine-learning models: regression, deep neural network (DNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), and random forest. We compared their performance using MAE and RMSE as evaluation criteria. From the experimental results, we chose the serialization method with the DNN model as the best model. Despite the limitations of the presence of dead space due to the wide spacing between the sensors and the small dataset, the MAE and the RMSE of the body weight prediction of the proposed method was 4.608 and 5.796, respectively. That is, it showed an average error of ±4.6 kg for the average weight of 72.9 kg.

Multiple bacterial genera take advantage of the multifunctional autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (MARTX) toxin to invade host cells. Secretion of the MARTX toxin by Vibrio vulnificus , a deadly opportunistic pathogen that causes primary septicemia, the precursor of sepsis, is a major driver of infection; however, the molecular mechanism via which the toxin contributes to septicemia remains unclear. Here, we report the crystal and cryo-electron microscopy (EM) structures of a toxin effector duet comprising the domain of unknown function in the first position (DUF1)/Rho inactivation domain (RID) complexed with human targets. These structures reveal how the duet is used by bacteria as a potent weapon. The data show that DUF1 acts as a RID-dependent transforming NADase domain (RDTND) that disrupts NAD + homeostasis by hijacking calmodulin. The cryo-EM structure of the RDTND-RID duet complexed with calmodulin and Rac1, together with immunological analyses in vitro and in mice, provide mechanistic insight into how V. vulnificus uses the duet to suppress ROS generation by depleting NAD(P) + and modifying Rac1 in a mutually-reinforcing manner that ultimately paralyzes first line immune responses, promotes dissemination of invaders, and induces sepsis. These data may allow development of tools or strategies to combat MARTX toxin-related human diseases. The MARTX toxins secreted by clinical V. vulnificus strains release the DUF1-RID effector duet in infected host cells. Here, the authors show that the duet hijacks calmodulin and Rac1, respectively, and transforms into a potent weapon to promote sepsis.