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Parents adjust their foraging effort according to the chick and their own body condition and dual foraging strategy is one of the foraging tactics parents replenish their own reserves while feeding their chicks. During the post-breeding season, seabirds disperse to recover their own body condition and prepare for the next breeding season. Recently, we discovered Black-tailed gulls ( Larus crassirostris ) breeding around the Korean Peninsula occasionally foraging long trips during the late fledging, however, our understanding of the behavioral patterns of Black-tailed gulls during the late fledging and post-breeding, as well as its inter-colonial differences, remains considerably limited. Here, we employed 92 GPS trackers to adult Black-tailed gulls ( Larus crassirostris ) from six breeding colonies around the Korean peninsula (Yellow Sea—three colonies, South Sea—one colony, and East Sea—two colonies). To determine the foraging investment during the fledging, we suggested the flight efficiency in each trip as the ratio of maximum foraging distance (i.e., straight line distance) to total foraging distance (i.e., sum of all consecutive distance for each trip). Overall, the mean flight efficiency of the long foraging trips were lower than 57% (40.76 ± 13.07%) whereas that of the short foraging trips were over 74% (80.87 ± 4.03%). This may suggest that Black-tailed gulls may visited more than one foraging site during the long foraging trip while they flew directly between the foraging site and breeding colony during the short foraging trip to invest more in their juvenile. Moreover, longer maximum foraging distance with higher flight efficiency observed in the East Sea may indicate a balance between the costs (such as energy expended during foraging or food competition near breeding sites) and the benefits (quantity and quality of food obtained). Our findings revealed the flight behavior of Black-tailed gulls during the late fledging and post breeding, across six breeding colonies, which have different competition pressures and proximity to foraging site.

Durability of high-energy throughput batteries is a prerequisite for electric vehicles to penetrate the market. Despite remarkable progresses in silicon anodes with high energy densities, rapid capacity fading of full cells with silicon–graphite anodes limits their use. In this work, we unveil degradation mechanisms such as Li + crosstalk between silicon and graphite, consequent Li + accumulation in silicon, and capacity depression of graphite due to silicon expansion. The active material properties, i.e. silicon particle size and graphite hardness, are then modified based on these results to reduce Li + accumulation in silicon and the subsequent degradation of the active materials in the anode. Finally, the cycling performance is tailored by designing electrodes to regulate Li + crosstalk. The resultant full cell with an areal capacity of 6 mAh cm −2 has a cycle life of >750 cycles the volumetric energy density of 800 Wh L −1 in a commercial cell format. The degradation in silicon-graphite anodes is originated from Li ion crosstalk between silicon and graphite, and the pressure-induced staging transition of the graphite. Here, the authors demonstrate a prismatic cell with improved volumetric energy density and cycle stability by targeted solving above issues.

Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, “The Little Mermaid,” has been adored by both children and parents for decades. The tale shows an astonishingly different quality to Andersen’s early genre of fairy tales, which allows the reader to sense his keenness on the meaning of human sexuality. The author used the short narrative form, becoming more conservative, cautious, and concise in his ideological compromise between religiosity and human nature. “The Little Mermaid” is a tale that draws the reader in about “universal preoccupations” of femininity, self-concept, and self-actualization. Andersen’s intentions and the authenticity of this tale should not be overlooked.

In patients with major depressive disorder, various functional areas are impaired, negatively impacting the quality of life. Remission can restore pre-depression functions; however, some patients may still have residual impairments. Distinguishing between near-normal recovery and residual impairment helps identify those at a high risk of relapse risk and helps tailor treatment. Accordingly, we aimed to discover and validate biomarkers that distinguish between near-normal recovery and residual impairment in remission states through serum proteome analysis. Pooled serum and individual serum samples from three groups (depression status, remission status with residual impairment, and remission status with normal recovery) were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The combination of four proteins—antithrombin-III, serum amyloid A4 protein, C1q subcomponent subunit B, and serum amyloid P-component—was selected as a candidate biomarker. The trend of protein changes suggests complement C1q subcomponent subunit B and serum amyloid P-component as potential biomarkers for distinguishing remission from residual impairment. Changes in complement C1q subcomponent subunit B and serum amyloid P-component suggest that the complement system and inflammation-related immune mechanisms are associated with residual impairment in remittent major depressive disorder.

Bacterial cellulose nanofiber (BCNF) with high thermal stability produced by an ecofriendly process has emerged as a promising solution to realize safe and sustainable materials in the large-scale battery. However, an understanding of the actual thermal behavior of the BCNF in the full-cell battery has been lacking, and the yield is still limited for commercialization. Here, we report the entire process of BCNF production and battery manufacture. We systematically constructed a strain with the highest yield (31.5%) by increasing metabolic flux and improved safety by introducing a Lewis base to overcome thermochemical degradation in the battery. This report will open ways of exploiting the BCNF as a “single-layer” separator, a good alternative to the existing chemical-derived one, and thus can greatly contribute to solving the environmental and safety issues.

Background: Platinum-based combination chemotherapy, including cisplatin and carboplatin, are important cytotoxic anti-cancer agents that are widely used to treat various solid tumors. Carboplatin has a similar effect on survival in small cell lung cancer, but generally has a milder toxicity profile when compared with cisplatin. Both may cause moderate or severe neurotoxicity, but ocular neurotoxicity from carboplatin is rarely reported. Case presentation: A 79-year-old man underwent intravenous polychemotherapy (atezolizumab, etoposide, and carboplatin) for small cell lung cancer. One week after the second cycle of chemotherapy, he reported bilateral visual loss as hand motion in both eyes. Dilated fundus examination showed retinal arterial narrowing without hemorrhage, and diffuse choroidal and retinal thinning was observed in an optical coherence tomography scan. Fluorescein angiography revealed significantly delayed circulation without evidence of obstructive lesions. 30-Flicker electroretinogram testing showed a complete absence of cone response in both eyes. The patient’s visual acuity aggravated to no light perception in both eyes, even after the cessation of chemotherapy. Conclusions: Carboplatin combination chemotherapy administered at therapeutic doses can result in irreversible visual loss, a side effect that is not widely acknowledged. When using carboplatin, physicians should be aware of its potential ocular toxicity.

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibits a recurrence rate of up to 70%. Frequent recurrence can lead to chronic depression, which has considerable personal and societal consequences. This study aims to identify a serum protein biomarker to predict MDD recurrence and progression to chronicity. Methods Serum samples from the MDD with single episode group (MDD-S), MDD with recurrence group (MDD-R), and a healthy control group were collected. Non-targeted analysis of the serum proteome was conducted using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Statistically significant common proteins when comparing the three groups were chosen. The selected marker candidates were subsequently validated through multiple response monitoring (MRM), incorporating a healthy control, MDD-S, MDD-R(2) (two episodes), and MDD-R(> 2) (more than two episodes) groups. Results L-selectin levels showed an upward trend in the MDD-R group compared to the healthy control and MDD-S groups. MRM validation revealed a decreased tendency for L-selectin in the MDD-R(> 2) group, indicative of a chronic state, versus the healthy control and MDD-S groups. The receiver operating characteristic analysis highlighted L-selectin as the chosen biomarker due to its classification efficacy for the MDD-R(> 2) group. Conclusion L-selectin emerged as a predictive biomarker for MDD recurrence and its potential evolution into chronic depression. This marker offers insights into changes in leukocyte-mediated inflammatory responses characteristic of chronic depression. Consequently, it may forecast the transition from acute to chronic inflammation in depressive patients.

Traffic congestion not only affects traffic flow but also influences public perception of congested regions. While analyzing congestion at the road section level can help identify engineering solutions, it often fails to reveal broader spatial patterns and trends at the regional or macro scale unless summarized effectively. This study aims to address these challenges by focusing on regional-scale traffic congestion amounts measured by distanceTime metrics. A 12–month dataset, sampled every 10 min, was analyzed to identify spatial patterns, temporal trends, regional variations, and predictive models in the Metro Atlanta area. The results show that congestion is the most severe and increasing at key urban corridors like Brookhaven–Sandy Springs, the downtown connector, Druid Hills–Decatur, and Johns Creek–Cumming, aligning with recent urban developments. Cities such as Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Austell, Stone Mountain, East Point, Lake City, Morrow, Fairburn, and Jonesboro show high increasing trends in congestion. Predictive modeling with the long short-term memory (LSTM) method shows promising results for short-term forecasts, though variability in data requires further optimization for certain cities. This research is significant because it demonstrates that congestion amounts measured by distanceTime metrics can be used for assessing regional characteristics broadly at a metropolitan city scale. The findings and methodologies identified in this research might support urban and transportation planning efforts in metropolitan planning organizations, such as the Atlanta Regional Commission, by identifying congestion amounts and trends at both the regional and road scales.

Ergothioneine, which is a naturally occurring metabolite, generally accumulates in tissues and cells subjected to oxidative stress, owing to its structural stability at physiological pH; therefore, it has been attracting attention in various biomedical fields. Ergothioneine has also been suggested as a potential forensic marker, but its applicability has not yet been quantitatively validated. In this study, quantitative analysis of ergothioneine in bloodstains was conducted to estimate the age of bloodstains and that of bloodstain donors. Blood from youth and elderly participants was used to generate bloodstains. After extracting metabolites from the bloodstains under prevalent age conditions, ergothioneine levels were quantified by mass spectrometry via multiple reaction monitoring. The concentration of ergothioneine in day 0 bloodstains (fresh blood), was significantly higher in the elderly group than in the youth group, but it did not differ by sex. Statistically significant differences were observed between the samples from the two age groups on days 0, 5 and 7, and on days 2 and 3 compared with day 0. The findings suggest that ergothioneine can be used to estimate the age of bloodstains and of the donor; it could be useful as a potential marker in reconstructing crime scenes.