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In microbial fuel cells and electrolysis cells (MXCs), anode-respiring bacteria (ARB) oxidize organic substrates to produce electrical current. In order to develop an electrical current, ARB must transfer electrons to a solid anode through extracellular electron transfer (EET). ARB use various EET mechanisms to transfer electrons to the anode, including direct contact through outer-membrane proteins, diffusion of soluble electron shuttles, and electron transport through solid components of the extracellular biofilm matrix. In this review, we perform a novel kinetic analysis of each EET mechanism by analyzing the results available in the literature. Our goal is to evaluate how well each EET mechanism can produce a high current density (>10 A m⁻²) without a large anode potential loss (less than a few hundred millivolts), which are feasibility goals of MXCs. Direct contact of ARB to the anode cannot achieve high current densities due to the limited number of cells that can come in direct contact with the anode. Slow diffusive flux of electron shuttles at commonly observed concentrations limits current generation and results in high potential losses, as has been observed experimentally. Only electron transport through a solid conductive matrix can explain observations of high current densities and low anode potential losses. Thus, a study of the biological components that create a solid conductive matrix is of critical importance for understanding the function of ARB.

In the dynamic landscape of renewable energy technologies, organic solar cells (OSCs) have emerged as frontrunners, offering a sustainable and promising alternative for harnessing solar energy. This review article delves into the recent strides made in leveraging the potential of the benzotriazole nucleus within the context of organic solar cells. The unique electronic properties of benzotriazole, coupled with its structural adaptability, position it as a key component in the pursuit of enhancing OSC performance. As researchers delve deeper into the intricacies of this compound, a clearer understanding of its impact on light absorption, charge transport, and overall device stability emerges. The exploration of recent literature in the last three years reveals a rich landscape with innovation and discovery, showcasing the diverse approaches taken to incorporate benzotriazole into different OSC architectures. From fundamental studies elucidating its electronic interactions to applied research refining its integration strategies, the potential of benzotriazole in advancing the capabilities of organic solar cells becomes increasingly evident, and showing that, with the most important advances in the last three years, is the main goal of this article. This article shows the key role of benzotriazole (BTZ) moiety in the last years in organic solar cells (OSCs). This review not only provides a comprehensive overview of recent breakthroughs in the use of BTZ polymers and small molecules in OSCs but also establishes a roadmap for future research directions. The journey of BTZ in the realm of OSCs is dynamic and promising, and its continued exploration promises to contribute significantly to the ongoing evolution of solar energy conversion technologies.

Maternal care, including by non-biological parents, is important for offspring survival 1 – 8 . Oxytocin 1 , 2 , 9 – 15 , which is released by the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), is a critical maternal hormone. In mice, oxytocin enables neuroplasticity in the auditory cortex for maternal recognition of pup distress 15 . However, it is unclear how initial parental experience promotes hypothalamic signalling and cortical plasticity for reliable maternal care. Here we continuously monitored the behaviour of female virgin mice co-housed with an experienced mother and litter. This documentary approach was synchronized with neural recordings from the virgin PVN, including oxytocin neurons. These cells were activated as virgins were enlisted in maternal care by experienced mothers, who shepherded virgins into the nest and demonstrated pup retrieval. Virgins visually observed maternal retrieval, which activated PVN oxytocin neurons and promoted alloparenting. Thus rodents can acquire maternal behaviour by social transmission, providing a mechanism for adapting the brains of adult caregivers to infant needs via endogenous oxytocin. Behavioural studies and neural recordings in mice show that virgin mice can acquire maternal behaviour through an oxytocin-dependent mechanism.

Ultrasound (US) imaging is the primary choice for diagnosing and triaging patients in the battlefield as well as emergency medicine due to ease of portability and low-power requirements. Interpretation and acquisition of ultrasound images can be challenging and requires personnel with specialized training. Incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance the imaging process while improving diagnostic accuracy. To accomplish this goal, we have developed a full torso tissue-mimicking phantom for simulating US image capture at each site of the extended-focused assessment with sonography for trauma (eFAST) exam and is suitable for developing AI guidance and classification models. The US images taken from the phantom were used to train AI models for detection of specific anatomical features and injury state diagnosis. The tissue-mimicking phantom successfully simulated full thoracic motion as well as modular injuries at each scan site. AI models trained from the tissue phantom were able to achieve IOU’s greater than 0.80 and accuracy of 71.5% on blind inferences. In summary, the tissue mimicking phantom is a reliable tool for acquiring eFAST images for training AI models. Furthermore, the tissue phantom could be implemented for training personnel on ultrasound examination techniques as well as developing image acquisition automation techniques.

After decades of research in the neurobiology of IGF-I, its role as a prototypical neurotrophic factor is undisputed. However, many of its actions in the adult brain indicate that this growth factor is not only involved in brain development or in the response to injury. Following a three-layer assessment of its role in the central nervous system, we consider that at the cellular level, IGF-I is indeed a bona fide neurotrophic factor, modulating along ontogeny the generation and function of all the major types of brain cells, contributing to sculpt brain architecture and adaptive responses to damage. At the circuit level, IGF-I modulates neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity at multiple sites, whereas at the system level, IGF-I intervenes in energy allocation, proteostasis, circadian cycles, mood, and cognition. Local and peripheral sources of brain IGF-I input contribute to a spatially restricted, compartmentalized, and timed modulation of brain activity. To better define these variety of actions, we consider IGF-I a modulator of brain states. This definition aims to reconcile all aspects of IGF-I neurobiology, and may provide a new conceptual framework in the design of future research on the actions of this multitasking neuromodulator in the brain.

Ultrasound imaging is essential for non-invasively diagnosing injuries where advanced diagnostics may not be possible. However, image interpretation remains a challenge as proper expertise may not be available. In response, artificial intelligence algorithms are being investigated to automate image analysis and diagnosis. Here, we highlight an image classification convolutional neural network for detecting shrapnel in ultrasound images. As an initial application, different shrapnel types and sizes were embedded first in a tissue mimicking phantom and then in swine thigh tissue. The algorithm architecture was optimized stepwise by minimizing validation loss and maximizing F1 score. The final algorithm design trained on tissue phantom image sets had an F1 score of 0.95 and an area under the ROC curve of 0.95. It maintained higher than a 90% accuracy for each of 8 shrapnel types. When trained only on swine image sets, the optimized algorithm format had even higher metrics: F1 and area under the ROC curve of 0.99. Overall, the algorithm developed resulted in strong classification accuracy for both the tissue phantom and animal tissue. This framework can be applied to other trauma relevant imaging applications such as internal bleeding to further simplify trauma medicine when resources and image interpretation are scarce.

Lesions in the motor cortex induced by contusions or pathological insults can exert the degeneration of afferent neurons lying distal to these lesions. Axon degeneration and demyelination are hallmarks of several diseases sharing pathophysiological and clinical characteristics. These conditions are very disabling due to the disruption of motor abilities, with lesions that affect this area proving to be a therapeutic challenge, which has driven increasing efforts to search for treatments. Cerebrolysin (CBL) contains a mix of pig brain-derived peptides with activity similar to neurotrophic factors. Here, the effect of cerebrolysin administration on the motor impairment produced by kainic acid (KA) lesion of the motor cortex was evaluated in Sprague–Dawley female rats (n = 27), defining its effect on motoneurons dendritic tree changes, dendritic spine density and GAP43 presence in the ventral thoracolumbar regions of the spinal cord. Ten days after the KA lesion of the motor cortex, rats were administered cerebrolysin, and their motor performance was evaluated using the “Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan” (BBB) and Bederson scores. Cerebrolysin administration improved motor activity according to the BBB and Bederson scales, along with increased dendritic intersections and dendritic spine density on motoneurons. There was also a significant increase in GAP43 protein, suggesting that CBL may promote plastic changes through this protein, among others. Hence, this study proposes that cerebrolysin could promote motor recovery following motor cortex lesions by driving neuronal changes and dendritic spine plasticity on motoneurons and an increase in GAP43 protein, along with other mechanisms.

Despite the efforts that have been made in the field of breast cancer therapy, it is a leading cause of cancer death in women and a major health problem. The current treatments combine several strategies (surgery, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy) depending on cancer subtype and tumour stage. The use of chemotherapy is required in certain circumstances, like before or after surgery or in advanced stages of the disease. Chemotherapeutic regimens that include anthracyclines (e.g. doxorubicin), taxanes (e.g. paclitaxel), 5-fluorouracil and/or cyclophosphamide show, in general, a high toxicity that limit their clinical use. The use of targeted chemotherapy allows to get a selective location of the drug at tumour mass, decreasing the toxicity of these treatments. An increase of the antitumour efficacy can also be achieved. The use of nanocarriers containing anticancer drugs can be a good strategy to get targeted chemotherapy. In fact, several nanoformulations containing paclitaxel and doxorubicin have been approved or are under clinical trial for breast cancer therapy. The main advantage of these nanomedicines is their lower toxicity compared to conventional formulations, which can be attributed to the elimination of the solvents of the formulation (e.g. Cremophor-EL in paclitaxel conventional formulations) and the more selective location of the drug at tumour site (e.g. cardiotoxicity related to free doxorubicin). However, some adverse events (e.g. hand foot syndrome or infusion reactions) have been related to the administration of some nanomedicines, which have to be considered.

Individual susceptibility to anxiety disorders after maladaptive responses to stress is not well understood. We now report that while exploring stress responses in mice after traumatic brain injury (TBI), a condition associated to stress susceptibility, we observed that the anxiogenic effects of either TBI or exposure to life-threatening experiences (predator) were blocked when both stressors were combined. Because TBI increases the entrance into the brain of serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), a known modulator of anxiety with a wide range of concentrations in the human population, we then determined whether circulating IGF-I is related to anxiety measures. In mice, anxiety-like responses to predator were inversely related to circulating IGF-I levels. Other indicators of mood regulation such as sensitivity to dexamethasone suppression and expression levels of blood and brain FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5), a co-chaperone of the glucocorticoid receptor that regulates its activity, were also associated to circulating IGF-I. Indeed, brain FKBP5 expression in mice was stimulated by IGF-I. In addition, we observed in a large human cohort (n = 2686) a significant relationship between plasma IGF-I and exposure to recent stressful life events, while FKBP5 expression in blood cells was significantly associated to plasma IGF-I levels. Collectively, these data indicate that circulating IGF-I appears to be involved in mood homeostasis across different species. Furthermore, the data in mice allow us to indicate that IGF-I may be acting at least in part by modulating FKBP5 expression.

A hot topic in recent decades, the application of organic amendments to arid-degraded soils has been shown to benefit microbially-mediated processes. However, despite the importance of soils for global sustainability, a gap has not been addressed yet in soil science: is there any connection between ecosystem-community processes, cellular functionality and microbial lifestyles (i.e. oligotrophy-copiotrophy) in restored soils? Together with classical ecosystem indicators (fatty-acids, extracellular-enzyme activities, basal respiration), state-of-the-art metaproteomics was applied to fill this gap in a model-restoration experiment initiated 10-years ago by the addition of sewage-sludge and compost. Organic amendment strongly impacted ecosystem processes. Furthermore, the type of material used induced differences in the cellular functionalities through variations in the percentages of proteins involved in translation, transcription, energy production and C-fixation. We conclude that the long-term impact of organic restoration goes beyond ecosystem processes and affects cellular functionalities and phyla-lifestyles coupled with differences in microbial-community structures.