Explore the vast range of titles available.

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a pandemic worldwide. Currently, however, no effective drug or vaccine is available to treat or prevent the resulting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we report our discovery of a promising anti-COVID-19 drug candidate, the lipoglycopeptide antibiotic dalbavancin, based on virtual screening of the FDA-approved peptide drug library combined with in vitro and in vivo functional antiviral assays. Our results showed that dalbavancin directly binds to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with high affinity, thereby blocking its interaction with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Furthermore, dalbavancin effectively prevents SARS-CoV-2 replication in Vero E6 cells with an EC 50 of ~12 nM. In both mouse and rhesus macaque models, viral replication and histopathological injuries caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection are significantly inhibited by dalbavancin administration. Given its high safety and long plasma half-life (8–10 days) shown in previous clinical trials, our data indicate that dalbavancin is a promising anti-COVID-19 drug candidate.

We introduce a new nonparametric representation of the neutron star (NS) equation of state (EOS) by using the variational autoencoder (VAE). As a deep neural network, the VAE is frequently used for dimensionality reduction since it can compress input data to a low-dimensional latent space using the encoder component and then reconstruct the data using the decoder component. Once a VAE is trained, one can take the decoder of the VAE as a generator. We employ 100,000 EOSs that are generated using the nonparametric representation method based on Han et al. as the training set and try different settings of the neural network, then we get an EOS generator (the trained VAE’s decoder) with four parameters. We use the mass–tidal-deformability data of binary NS merger event GW170817, the mass–radius data of PSR J0030+0451, PSR J0740+6620, PSR J0437-4715, and 4U 1702-429, and the nuclear constraints to perform the Bayesian inference. The overall results of the analysis that includes all the observations are R1.4=12.59−0.42+0.36km , Λ1.4=489−110+114 , and Mmax=2.20−0.19+0.37M⊙ (90% credible levels), where R 1.4/Λ1.4 are the radius/tidal deformability of a canonical 1.4 M ⊙ NS, and Mmax is the maximum mass of a nonrotating NS. The results indicate that the implementation of these VAE techniques can obtain reasonable results, while accelerating calculation by a factor of ∼3–10 or more, compared with the original method.

The origin of the correlation between the effective spins (χeff) and mass ratios (q) of LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA’s binary black holes (BBHs) is still an open question. Motivated by the recent identification of two subpopulations of the BBHs, in this work we investigate the potential χeff–q correlation for each subpopulation. Surprisingly, the χeff–q correlation either significantly weakens or disappears for the low-mass subpopulation if we introduce a second χeff distribution for the high-mass subpopulation, which likely originates from hierarchical mergers. This suggests that the χeff–q correlation in the overall population can be explained by the superposition of two distinct subpopulations. We find Bayesian evidence strongly favoring two separate χeff distributions over a single mass ratio–dependent distribution, with Bayes factors lnB>4.2 . The first subpopulation has a narrow χeff distribution peaking at ∼0.05, whose primary mass function shows a rapid decline beyond ∼40M⊙, in agreement with first-generation BBHs. The second χeff distribution is broad and peaks at μχ,2 ∼ 0.4, aligning with predictions for hierarchical mergers in active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks. However, we cannot exclude negative χeff values in the second subpopulation, suggesting that hierarchical mergers might occur both in AGN disks and stellar clusters. Furthermore, the inferred second χeff distribution might alternatively arise from other formation channels, such as stable mass transfer or chemically homogeneous evolution, if not interpreted as hierarchical mergers.

Acorus tatarinowii Schott (A. tatarinowii) is a natural medicinal plant. It plays an indispensable role in the treatment of diseases by the empirical medicine system and has achieved remarkable curative effects. A. tatarinowii is often used to treat various diseases, such as depression, epilepsy, fever, dizziness, heartache, stomachache, etc. More than 160 compounds of different structural types have been identified in A. tatarinowii, including phenylpropanoids, terpenoids, lignans, flavonoids, alkaloids, amides, and organic acids. These bioactive ingredients make A. tatarinowii remarkable for its pharmacological effects, including antidepressant, antiepileptic, anticonvulsant, antianxiety, neuroprotective, antifatigue, and antifungal effects, improving Alzheimer’s disease, and so on. It is noteworthy that A. tatarinowii has been widely used in the treatment of brain diseases and nervous system diseases and has achieved satisfactory therapeutic effects. This review focused on the research publications of A. tatarinowii and aimed to summarize the advances in the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology, which will provide a reference for further studies and applications of A. tatarinowii.

We investigate formation channels for merging binary black holes (BBHs) in GWTC-3, with a dedicated semiparametric population model. The model first describes or excludes a high-spin (with magnitudes of ∼0.7) and high-mass (ranging in ∼20–80M ⊙) subpopulation, which was identified by previous works and can be interpreted as hierarchical mergers. We find that the rest of BBH population can be categorized into two subpopulations with different mass and mass-ratio distributions, as indicated by a Bayes factor of lnB=1.8 . One subpopulation, characterized by nearly aligned spins and consistent with isolated field formation, likely dominates the 10-solar-mass peak in the primary-mass function. The other subpopulation, with isotropic spins and consistent with the dynamical channels, shows a stronger preference for symmetric pairing, and mainly contributes to the 35-solar-mass peak in the primary-mass function. Note that the Bayes factor is not high enough with the currently available data, so that the case of a single population is still acceptable. Additionally, we compare the mass distributions between merging BBHs and black holes (BHs) in high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs). We find that the primary mass of the aligned subpopulation is slightly lighter than those of the HMXB BHs, while the isotropic subpopulation is consistent with the HMXB BHs, if the power-law index of its mass function is shifted by 2, as indicated by the dynamical formation channels. However, the spin magnitudes of both subpopulations are significantly smaller than those of the HMXB BHs.

Approximately 10% of bone fractures do not heal satisfactorily, leading to significant clinical and socioeconomic implications. Recently, the role of macrophages in regulating bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) differentiation through the osteogenic pathway during fracture healing has attracted much attention. : The tibial monocortical defect model was employed to determine the critical role of macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (MSR1) during intramembranous ossification (IO) . The potential functions and mechanisms of MSR1 were explored in a co-culture system of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), RAW264.7 cells, and BMSCs using qPCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and RNA sequencing. : In this study, using the tibial monocortical defect model, we observed delayed IO in MSR1 knockout (KO) mice compared to MSR1 wild-type (WT) mice. Furthermore, macrophage MSR1 mediated PI3K/AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling increased ability to promote osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in the co-culture system. We also identified proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α) as the target gene for macrophage MSR1-activated PI3K/AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway in the co-culture system that facilitated M2-like polarization by enhancing mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. : Our findings revealed a previously unrecognized function of MSR1 in macrophages during fracture repair. Targeting MSR1 might, therefore, be a new therapeutic strategy for fracture repair.

This study examined adolescent basketball participation through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), focusing on the roles of passion (harmonious and obsessive) and affect (positive and negative), with gender and age as moderators. We collected data from 400 Chinese adolescents from south of China using convenience sampling ( M age  = 15.20, SD  = 1.99). Participants completed the Passion Scale and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Scale (PANAS). Basketball participation was operationalized as self-reported engagement in basketball over the past seven days. Hypothesized pathways were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) in Mplus, which included test of measurement invariance and moderation. Results revealed that harmonious passion positively predicted basketball engagement (β = .280, 95% CI [.127,.432], p  = .003) though enhanced positive affect. Specifically, harmonious passion was positively associated with positive affect (β = .495, 95% CI [.356,.635], p  < .001), which, in turn, predicted basketball engagement (β = .253, 95% CI [.132,.373], p  = .001). In contrast, obsessive passion was linked to negative affect (β = .196, 95% CI [.083,.310], p  = .004) but showed no direct effect on basketball participation. While no significant gender differences were observed, age differences emerged. Specifically, the pathways from both harmonious and obsessive passion to basketball engagement were stronger among junior high school students compared to their senior high school counterparts. This study revealed that harmonious passion and positive affect play pivotal roles in sustaining adolescent basketball participation, whereas obsessive passion’s negative emotional consequences may undermine engagement. The findings underscore the importance of interventions designed to promote harmonious passion and positive affect, particularly for senior high students facing academic pressures. Given the cross-sectional design and sampling from southern China, the generalizability of our findings to other cultural contexts or regions of China should be interpreted with caution. Additionally, due to the less-than-ideal model fit in multi-group analyses examining gender as a moderator, results concerning gender differences require the same cautious approach.

The multimessenger data of neutron star merger events are promising for constraining the Hubble constant. So far, GW170817 is still the unique gravitational wave event with multiwavelength electromagnetic counterparts. In particular, its radio and X-ray emission have been measured in the past ∼3–5 yr. In this work, we fit the long-lasting X-ray, optical, and radio afterglow light curves of GW170817/GRB 170817A, including the forward shock radiation from both the decelerating relativistic gamma-ray burst outflow and the subrelativistic kilonova outflow (though whether the second component contributes significantly is still uncertain), and find out a relatively large viewing angle (∼0.5 rad). Such a viewing angle has been taken as a prior in the gravitational wave data analysis, and the degeneracy between the viewing angle and the luminosity distance is broken. Finally, we have a Hubble constant H0=72.57−4.17+4.09kms−1Mpc−1 , which is more consistent with that obtained by other local measurements. If rather similar values are inferred from multimessenger data of future neutron star merger events, it will provide critical support to the existence of the Hubble tension.

The cosmic expansion rate can be directly measured with gravitational-wave (GW) data of the compact binary mergers by jointly constraining the mass function of the population and the cosmological model via the so-called spectral sirens. Such a method relies on the features in the mass functions, which may originate from some individual subpopulations and hence become blurred/indistinct due to the superposition of different subpopulations. In this work, we propose a novel approach to constrain the cosmic expansion rate with subpopulations of GW events, named multispectral sirens. The advantage of the multispectral sirens compared to the traditional spectral sirens is demonstrated by the simulation with the mock data. The application of this approach to the GWTC-3 data yields H0=73.3−25.6+29.9Mpc−1kms−1 (median and symmetric 68.3% credible interval), which is about 19% tighter than the result inferred with the traditional spectral sirens utilizing a powerlaw+peak mass function. The incorporation of the bright standard siren GW170817 with a uniform prior in [10, 200] (log-uniform prior in [20,140]) Mpc−1 km s−1 gives H0=71.1−7.5+15.0(70.3−7.1+12.9)Mpc−1kms−1 (68.3% confidence level), corresponding to an improvement of ∼26% (23%) with respect to the measurement from sole GW170817.

Rapid uniformly rotating neutron stars are expected to be formed, for instance, in the collapse of some massive stars, the accretion of compact object binaries, and double neutron star mergers. The huge amount of rotational energy has been widely believed to be the source of some cosmic gamma-ray bursts and superluminous supernovae. Benefiting from the constraints on the equation of state of the neutron star matter set by the latest multimessenger data, the chiral effective field theory, and perturbative quantum chromodynamics, here we present the maximum gravitational mass as well as the rotational energy for a neutron star at a given spin period. Our nonparametric equation-of-state analysis reveals that the critical Keplerian configurations ( Ωkepcrit=1.02−0.07+0.06×104rads−1 ) can sustain maximum gravitational masses of Mkepcrit=2.73±0.09M⊙ with the corresponding rotational energy reaching Erot,kepcrit=2.36−0.22+0.24×1053 erg. However, the maximum rotational energy that can be feasibly extracted from a neutron star is limited to 1.40−0.13+0.14×1053 erg, which holds for a baryon mass of 2.66−0.09+0.10M⊙ . All these parameters, obtained via the nonparametric reconstruction of the equation of state, are at the 68.3% confidence level, and the adoption of a quarkonic model yields rather similar results. These findings are found to have already set some intriguing constraints on the millisecond magnetar interpretation of some exciting data.