Explore the vast range of titles available.

The replacement of energy harvesters by flexible, bendable, and environmentally benign materials could result in a significant breakthrough in wearable and portable electronics. In this context, polymeric nanocomposites consisting of organic polymer and inorganic nanoparticles are considered as suitable candidates that demonstrate enhanced performance as compared to their unmodified pristine polymeric counterparts. Herein, lead-free Ba 0.85 Ca 0.15 Zr 0.05 Ti 0.95 (BCZT) nanoparticles were prepared by using the hydrothermal method and were impregnated within polymer matrix P(VDF-HFP) (poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) via electrospinning to enhance the electroactive β-phase. XRD peak profile analysis and FTIR spectrum signify the strong emergence of electroactive β-phase. The electrospun BCZT/P(VDF-HFP) nanofiber mat exhibits higher β-phase fraction of 70.3% as compared to pristine electrospun P(VDF-HFP) nanofiber mat which can be ascribed to the presence of interfacial interactions at the interface of inorganic nanoparticle surface and the dipoles of P(VDF-HFP) inducing the electroactive β-phase. The fabricated piezoelectric nanogenerator BCZT/P(VDF-HFP) exhibited an output voltage of 2.5 V which is much higher than that of pristine P(VDF-HFP) (1.0 V) due to in situ alignment of BCZT nanoparticles and higher β-phase fraction.

Smart fish farming faces critical challenges in achieving comprehensive automation, real-time decision-making, and adaptability to diverse environmental conditions and multi-species aquaculture. This study presents a novel Internet of Things (IoT)-driven intelligent decision-making system that dynamically monitors and optimizes water quality parameters to enhance fish survival rates across various regions and species setups. The system integrates advanced sensors connected to an ESP32 microcontroller, continuously monitoring key water parameters such as pH, temperature, and turbidity which are increasingly affected by climate-induced variability. A custom-built dataset comprising 43,459 records, covering ten distinct fish species across diverse pond environments, was meticulously curated. The data were stored as a comma-separated values (CSV) file on the IoT cloud platform ThingSpeak and synchronized with Firebase, enabling seamless remote access, control, and real-time updates. Advanced machine learning techniques, with feature transformation and balancing, were applied to preprocess the dataset, which includes water quality metrics and species-specific parameters. Multiple algorithms were trained and evaluated, with the Decision Tree classifier emerging as the optimal model, achieving remarkable performance metrics: 99.8% accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, a 99.6% Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC), and the highest Area Under the Curve (AUC) score for multi-class classification. Our framework’s capability to manage complex, multi-species fishpond environments was validated across diverse setups, showcasing its potential to transform fish farming practices by ensuring sustainable climate-adaptive management through real-time water quality optimization. This study marks a significant step forward in climate-smart aquaculture, contributing to enhanced fish health, survival, and yield while mitigating the risks posed by climate change on aquatic ecosystems.

Cancers adapt to increasingly potent targeted therapies by reprogramming their phenotype. Here we investigated such a phenomenon in prostate cancer, in which tumours can escape epithelial lineage confinement and transition to a high-plasticity state as an adaptive response to potent androgen receptor (AR) antagonism. We found that AR activity can be maintained as tumours adopt alternative lineage identities, with changes in chromatin architecture guiding AR transcriptional rerouting. The epigenetic regulator enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) co-occupies the reprogrammed AR cistrome to transcriptionally modulate stem cell and neuronal gene networks—granting privileges associated with both fates. This function of EZH2 was associated with T350 phosphorylation and establishment of a non-canonical polycomb subcomplex. Our study provides mechanistic insights into the plasticity of the lineage-infidelity state governed by AR reprogramming that enabled us to redirect cell fate by modulating EZH2 and AR, highlighting the clinical potential of reversing resistance phenotypes. Davies et al. demonstrate that androgen receptor–targeted therapy induces lineage-plastic transcriptional reprogramming, which is mediated by EZH2 and favours stem cell and neuronal gene networks in treatment-resistant prostate cancer.

Low-cost sensors have revolutionized air quality monitoring, however, precision is questioned compared to reference instruments. Hence, the performance of two widely used PM 2.5 Sensors, Purple Air (PA) and ATMOS, were evaluated over a 10-month period in the North Western-Indo Gangetic Plains (NW-IGP). In-field collocation with Beta Attenuation Monitor found low R 2 values; 0.40 for ATMOS and 0.43 for PA. To calibrate and improve the accuracy of sensors, five Machine Learning (ML) models and an empirical relative humidity correction methodology were used separately for both sensors. Out of these, the Decision Tree outperformed others, and R 2 values improved to 0.996 for ATMOS and 0.999 for PA. Root mean square error reduced from 34.6 µg/m 3 to 0.731 µg/m 3 for ATMOS and from 77.7 µg/m 3 to 0.61 µg/m 3 for PA, while using DT as a calibrating model. The study reveals the best-performing ML model for correcting PM 2.5 sensor data, enhancing the accuracy of air quality monitoring systems.

Lead-free perovskite materials Barium Magnesium Titanate (BMT) and composite of BMT/Ga 2 O 3 were prepared using environment friendly low temperature method. XRD peak profile analysis of pure BMT and nanocomposite of BMT/Ga 2 O 3 to determine the crystallite size have been carried out using various calculations methods like Scherrer, Williamson–Hall, and Size–Strain plot. The crystallite size was found to increase with the addition of Ga 2 O 3 in BMT. Moreover, XRD patterns reveal the pure and crystalline phase of the prepared samples. Raman study of BMT and BMT/Ga 2 O 3 are showing the tetragonal symmetry. SEM studies revealed that the addition of Ga 2 O 3 accelerates the grain growth of BMT whereas EDX indicated that there is no significant trace of any impurity and confirmed the stoichiometric presence of the expected elements within the sample. SAED patterns demonstrate broad concentric rings, which confirm the presence of crystalline powder. P–E hysteresis loop confirms the ferroelectric behaviour of the samples with increase in remnant polarization and the increase in coercive field.

The current study investigated comprehensive phytochemical profile through high resolution techniques like GCMS, GC×GC–TOF–MS, UHPLC–QTOF–MS, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of Morchella esculenta oil using in vitro approaches. The results showed the identification of 19 (GCMS) 20 (UHPLC–QTOF–MS) and 68 (GC×GC–TOF–MS) phytochemical compounds belonging to diverse classes of compounds. Hexadecenoic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, octanoic acid, C16 sphinganine, allopumiliotoxin267A, 3’-Hydroxy-T2 Toxin were the main compounds identified. The Morchella esculenta oil showed moderate phenolic content (13.26 ± 2.52 mg GAE/g dw), flavonoid content (11.35 ± 1.58 mg RE/g dw) and antioxidant activities (DPPH-IC50 = 118.46 µg/mL; ABTS-IC50 = 125 µg/mL; and FRAP-IC50 = 117.90 µg/mL). Using human cervix (HeLa), human colon (HCT-116) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines, essential oil of Morchella esculenta showed a dose/time-dependent antiproliferative and cytotoxicity activity with GI50 values of 27.61 µg/mL, 19.52 µg/mL, and 31.34 µg/mL respectively. The obtained results confirmed that Morchella esculenta oil is a rich source of bioactive molecules with strong antiproliferative and cytotoxicity potential towards cancer cell lines.

Protein tertiary structure mimetics are valuable tools to target large protein–protein interaction interfaces. Here, we demonstrate a strategy for designing dimeric helix-hairpin motifs from a previously reported three-helix-bundle miniprotein that targets the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Through truncation of the third helix and optimization of the interhelical loop residues of the miniprotein, we developed a thermostable dimeric helix-hairpin. The dimeric four-helix bundle competes with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in binding to RBD with 2:2 stoichiometry. Cryogenic-electron microscopy revealed the formation of dimeric spike ectodomain trimer by the four-helix bundle, where all the three RBDs from either spike protein are attached head-to-head in an open conformation, revealing a novel mechanism for virus neutralization. The proteomimetic protects hamsters from high dose viral challenge with replicative SARS-CoV-2 viruses, demonstrating the promise of this class of peptides that inhibit protein–protein interaction through target dimerization.A redesigned antiviral miniprotein based on a dimeric helix-hairpin motif binds and dimerizes the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and inhibits viral infection by inhibiting spike interaction with ACE2.

Exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM 2.5 ) is a cause of concern in cities and major emission regions of northern India. An intensive field campaign involving the states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi national capital region (NCR) was conducted in 2022 using 29 Compact and Useful PM 2.5 Instrument with Gas sensors (CUPI-Gs). Continuous observations show that the PM 2.5 in the region increased gradually from < 60 µg m −3 in 6–10 October to up to 500 µg m −3 on 5–9 November, which subsequently decreased to about 100 µg m −3 in 20–30 November. Two distinct plumes of PM 2.5 over 500 µg m −3 are tracked from crop residue burning in Punjab to Delhi NCR on 2–3 November and 10–11 November with delays of 1 and 3 days, respectively. Experimental campaign demonstrates the advantages of source region observations to link agricultural waste burning and air pollution at local to regional scales.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a poverty-related disease caused by Leishmania donovani , is ranked by the World Health Organization as the second largest killer parasitic disease in the world. The protective immune response against VL is primarily regulated by dendritic cells (DCs), which upon activation/maturation initiate an antileishmanial immune response. An immunological hallmark of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by Leishmania donovani , is profound immunosuppression. However, the molecular basis for this immune dysfunction has remained ill defined. Since dendritic cells (DCs) normally initiate antileishmanial immune responses, we investigated whether DCs are dysregulated during L. donovani infection and assessed its role in immunosuppression. Accordingly, we determined the regulatory effect of L. donovani on DCs. Notably, it is still unclear whether L. donovani activates or suppresses DCs. In addition, the molecular mechanism and the relevant receptor (or receptors) mediating the immunoregulatory effect of L. donovani on DCs are largely undefined. Here, we report that L. donovani inhibited DC activation/maturation by transmitting inhibitory signals through the T cell immunoglobulin and mucin protein-3 (TIM-3) receptor and thereby suppressed antileishmanial immune responses. L. donovani in fact triggered TIM-3 phosphorylation in DCs, which in turn recruited and activated a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, Btk. Btk then inhibited DC activation/maturation by suppressing the NF-κB pathway in an interleukin-10 (IL-10)-dependent manner. Treatment with TIM-3-specific blocking antibody or suppressed expression of TIM-3 or downstream effector Btk made DCs resistant to the inhibitory effects of L. donovani . Adoptive transfer experiments further demonstrated that TIM-3-mediated L. donovani -induced inhibition of DCs plays a crucial role in the suppression of the antileishmanial immune response in vivo . These findings identify TIM-3 as a new regulator of the antileishmanial immune response and demonstrate a unique mechanism for host immunosuppression associated with L. donovani infection. IMPORTANCE Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a poverty-related disease caused by Leishmania donovani , is ranked by the World Health Organization as the second largest killer parasitic disease in the world. The protective immune response against VL is primarily regulated by dendritic cells (DCs), which upon activation/maturation initiate an antileishmanial immune response. However, it remains obscure whether L. donovani promotes or inhibits DC activation. In addition, the receptor through which L. donovani exerts immunoregulatory effect on DCs is ill defined. Here, we for the first time report that L. donovani inhibits DC activation and maturation via the T cell immunoglobulin and mucin protein-3 (TIM-3) receptor and thereby attenuates the capacity of DCs to trigger antileishmanial immune responses in vivo . In fact, we demonstrate here that suppression of TIM-3 expression in DCs augments antileishmanial immunity. Our study uncovers a unique mechanism by which L. donovani subverts host immune responses and suggests TIM-3 as a potential new target for immunotherapy against VL.

Transmasculine individuals, considering whether to undergo total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingectomy, have the option to have a concomitant oophorectomy. While studies have evaluated hormone changes following testosterone therapy initiation, most of those patients have not undergone oophorectomy. Data are currently limited to support health outcomes regarding the decision to retain or remove the ovaries. We performed a retrospective chart review of transmasculine patients maintained on high-dose testosterone therapy at a single endocrine clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Twelve transmasculine individuals who underwent bilateral oophorectomy and had presurgical and postsurgical serum data were included. We identified 12 transmasculine subjects as controls, who were on testosterone therapy and did not undergo oophorectomy, but additionally matched to the first group by age, testosterone dosing regimen, and body mass index. There was a statistically significant decrease in the estradiol levels of case subjects postoophorectomy, when compared to presurgical estradiol levels (P = 0.02). There was no significant difference between baseline estradiol levels between control and case subjects; however, the difference in estradiol levels at follow-up measurements was significant (P = 0.03). Total testosterone levels did not differ between control and case subjects at baseline and follow-up (both P > 0.05). Our results demonstrate that oophorectomy further attenuates estradiol levels below what is achieved by high-dose exogenous testosterone alone. Correlated clinical outcomes, such as impacts on bone health, were not available. The clinical implications of oophorectomy versus ovarian retention on endocrinological and overall health outcomes are currently limited.