ALBERT

Description: Thousands of lives are lost every year in developing countries for failing to detect epidemics early because of the lack of real-time disease surveillance data. We present results from a large-scale deployment of a telephone triage service as a basis for dengue forecasting in Pakistan. Our system uses statistical analysis of dengue-related phone calls to accurately forecast suspected dengue cases 2 to 3 weeks ahead of time at a subcity level (correlation of up to 0.93). Our system has been operational at scale in Pakistan for the past 3 years and has received more than 300,000 phone calls. The predictions from our system are widely disseminated to public health officials and form a critical part of active government strategies for dengue containment. Our work is the first to demonstrate, with significant empirical evidence, that an accurate, location-specific disease forecasting system can be built using analysis of call volume data from a public health hotline.

Description: The lack of a robust anticancer drug screening system to monitor patients during treatment delays realization of personalized treatment. We demonstrate an efficient approach to evaluate drug response using patient-derived circulating tumor cell (CTC) cultures obtained from liquid biopsy. Custom microfabricated tapered microwells were integrated with microfluidics to allow robust formation of CTC clusters without pre-enrichment and subsequent drug screening in situ. Rapid feedback after 2 weeks promotes immediate intervention upon detection of drug resistance or tolerance. The procedure was clinically validated with blood samples ( n = 73) from 55 patients with early-stage, newly diagnosed, locally advanced, or refractory metastatic breast cancer. Twenty-four of these samples were used for drug evaluation. Cluster formation potential correlated inversely with increased drug concentration and therapeutic treatment. This new and robust liquid biopsy technique can potentially evaluate patient prognosis with CTC clusters during treatment and provide a noninvasive and inexpensive assessment that can guide drug discovery development or therapeutic choices for personalized treatment.

Description: Ion transport–driven instabilities in electrodeposition of metals that lead to morphological instabilities and dendrites are receiving renewed attention because mitigation strategies are needed for improving rechargeability and safety of lithium batteries. The growth rate of these morphological instabilities can be slowed by immobilizing a fraction of anions within the electrolyte to reduce the electric field at the metal electrode. We analyze the role of elastic deformation of the solid electrolyte with immobilized anions and present theory combining the roles of separator elasticity and modified transport to evaluate the factors affecting the stability of planar deposition over a wide range of current densities. We find that stable electrodeposition can be easily achieved even at relatively high current densities in electrolytes/separators with moderate polymer-like mechanical moduli, provided a small fraction of anions are immobilized in the separator.

Description: In modern neuroscience, significant progress in developing structural scaffolds integrated with the brain is provided by the increasing use of nanomaterials. We show that a multiwalled carbon nanotube self-standing framework, consisting of a three-dimensional (3D) mesh of interconnected, conductive, pure carbon nanotubes, can guide the formation of neural webs in vitro where the spontaneous regrowth of neurite bundles is molded into a dense random net. This morphology of the fiber regrowth shaped by the 3D structure supports the successful reconnection of segregated spinal cord segments. We further observed in vivo the adaptability of these 3D devices in a healthy physiological environment. Our study shows that 3D artificial scaffolds may drive local rewiring in vitro and hold great potential for the development of future in vivo interfaces.

Description: Silicene is a monolayer allotrope of silicon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure with massless Dirac fermion characteristics similar to graphene. It merits development of silicon-based multifunctional nanoelectronic and spintronic devices operated at room temperature because of strong spin-orbit coupling. Nevertheless, until now, silicene could only be epitaxially grown on conductive substrates. The strong silicene-substrate interaction may depress its superior electronic properties. We report a quasi-freestanding silicene layer that has been successfully obtained through oxidization of bilayer silicene on the Ag(111) surface. The oxygen atoms intercalate into the underlayer of silicene, resulting in isolation of the top layer of silicene from the substrate. In consequence, the top layer of silicene exhibits the signature of a 1 x 1 honeycomb lattice and hosts massless Dirac fermions because of much less interaction with the substrate. Furthermore, the oxidized silicon buffer layer is expected to serve as an ideal dielectric layer for electric gating in electronic devices. These findings are relevant for the future design and application of silicene-based nanoelectronic and spintronic devices.

Description: One of the limiting factors to high device performance in photovoltaics is the presence of surface traps. Hence, the understanding and control of carrier recombination at the surface of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite is critical for the design and optimization of devices with this material as the active layer. We demonstrate that the surface recombination rate (or surface trap state density) in methylammonium lead tribromide (MAPbBr 3 ) single crystals can be fully and reversibly controlled by the physisorption of oxygen and water molecules, leading to a modulation of the photoluminescence intensity by over two orders of magnitude. We report an unusually low surface recombination velocity of 4 cm/s (corresponding to a surface trap state density of 10 8 cm –2 ) in this material, which is the lowest value ever reported for hybrid perovskites. In addition, a consistent modulation of the transport properties in single crystal devices is evidenced. Our findings highlight the importance of environmental conditions on the investigation and fabrication of high-quality, perovskite-based devices and offer a new potential application of these materials to detect oxygen and water vapor.

Description: Protection of populations comprising admixed genomes is a challenge under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which is regarded as the most powerful species protection legislation ever passed in the United States but lacks specific provisions for hybrids. The eastern wolf is a newly recognized wolf-like species that is highly admixed and inhabits the Great Lakes and eastern United States, a region previously thought to be included in the geographic range of only the gray wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has argued that the presence of the eastern wolf, rather than the gray wolf, in this area is grounds for removing ESA protection (delisting) from the gray wolf across its geographic range. In contrast, the red wolf from the southeastern United States was one of the first species protected under the ESA and was protected despite admixture with coyotes. We use whole-genome sequence data to demonstrate a lack of unique ancestry in eastern and red wolves that would not be expected if they represented long divergent North American lineages. These results suggest that arguments for delisting the gray wolf are not valid. Our findings demonstrate how a strict designation of a species under the ESA that does not consider admixture can threaten the protection of endangered entities. We argue for a more balanced approach that focuses on the ecological context of admixture and allows for evolutionary processes to potentially restore historical patterns of genetic variation.

Description: The oceanic Pacific Plate started forming in Early Jurassic time within the vast Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangea, and contains the oldest lithosphere that can directly constrain the geodynamic history of the circum-Pangean Earth. We show that the geometry of the oldest marine magnetic anomalies of the Pacific Plate attests to a unique plate kinematic event that sparked the plate’s birth at virtually a point location, surrounded by the Izanagi, Farallon, and Phoenix Plates. We reconstruct the unstable triple junction that caused the plate reorganization, which led to the birth of the Pacific Plate, and present a model of the plate tectonic configuration that preconditioned this event. We show that a stable but migrating triple junction involving the gradual cessation of intraoceanic Panthalassa subduction culminated in the formation of an unstable transform-transform-transform triple junction. The consequent plate boundary reorganization resulted in the formation of a stable triangular three-ridge system from which the nascent Pacific Plate expanded. We link the birth of the Pacific Plate to the regional termination of intra-Panthalassa subduction. Remnants thereof have been identified in the deep lower mantle of which the locations may provide paleolongitudinal control on the absolute location of the early Pacific Plate. Our results constitute an essential step in unraveling the plate tectonic evolution of "Thalassa Incognita" that comprises the comprehensive Panthalassa Ocean surrounding Pangea.

Description: Thermally rearranged (TR) polymers, which are considered the next-generation of membrane materials because of their excellent transport properties and high thermal and chemical stability, are proven to have significant drawbacks because of the high temperature required for the rearrangement and low degree of conversion during this process. We demonstrate that using a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, the temperature required for the rearrangement of a solid glassy polymer was reduced by 200°C. Conversions of functionalized polyimide to polybenzoxazole of more than 97% were achieved. These highly mechanically stable polymers were almost five times more permeable and had more than two times higher degrees of conversion than the reference polymer treated under the same conditions. Properties of these second-generation TR polymers provide the possibility of preparing efficient polymer membranes in a form of, for example, thin-film composite membranes for various gas and liquid membrane separation applications.

Description: A striking prediction in topological insulators is the appearance of the quantized Hall resistance when the surface states are magnetized. The surface Dirac states become gapped everywhere on the surface, but chiral edge states remain on the edges. In an applied current, the edge states produce a quantized Hall resistance that equals the Chern number C = ±1 (in natural units), even in zero magnetic field. This quantum anomalous Hall effect was observed by Chang et al . With reversal of the magnetic field, the system is trapped in a metastable state because of magnetic anisotropy. We investigate how the system escapes the metastable state at low temperatures (10 to 200 mK). When the dissipation (measured by the longitudinal resistance) is ultralow, we find that the system escapes by making a few very rapid transitions, as detected by large jumps in the Hall and longitudinal resistances. Using the field at which the initial jump occurs to estimate the escape rate, we find that raising the temperature strongly suppresses the rate. From a detailed map of the resistance versus gate voltage and temperature, we show that dissipation strongly affects the escape rate. We compare the observations with dissipative quantum tunneling predictions. In the ultralow dissipation regime, two temperature scales ( T 1 ~ 70 mK and T 2 ~ 145 mK) exist, between which jumps can be observed. The jumps display a spatial correlation that extends over a large fraction of the sample.

Description: Over the past decade, a growing number of studies have revealed that progressive changes to epigenetic information accompany aging in both dividing and nondividing cells. Functional studies in model organisms and humans indicate that epigenetic changes have a huge influence on the aging process. These epigenetic changes occur at various levels, including reduced bulk levels of the core histones, altered patterns of histone posttranslational modifications and DNA methylation, replacement of canonical histones with histone variants, and altered noncoding RNA expression, during both organismal aging and replicative senescence. The end result of epigenetic changes during aging is altered local accessibility to the genetic material, leading to aberrant gene expression, reactivation of transposable elements, and genomic instability. Strikingly, certain types of epigenetic information can function in a transgenerational manner to influence the life span of the offspring. Several important conclusions emerge from these studies: rather than being genetically predetermined, our life span is largely epigenetically determined; diet and other environmental influences can influence our life span by changing the epigenetic information; and inhibitors of epigenetic enzymes can influence life span of model organisms. These new findings provide better understanding of the mechanisms involved in aging. Given the reversible nature of epigenetic information, these studies highlight exciting avenues for therapeutic intervention in aging and age-associated diseases, including cancer.

Description: Molecular mechanisms controlling functional bacterial chromosome (nucleoid) compaction and organization are surprisingly enigmatic but partly depend on conserved, histone-like proteins HUαα and HUαβ and their interactions that span the nanoscale and mesoscale from protein-DNA complexes to the bacterial chromosome and nucleoid structure. We determined the crystal structures of these chromosome-associated proteins in complex with native duplex DNA. Distinct DNA binding modes of HUαα and HUαβ elucidate fundamental features of bacterial chromosome packing that regulate gene transcription. By combining crystal structures with solution x-ray scattering results, we determined architectures of HU-DNA nucleoproteins in solution under near-physiological conditions. These macromolecular conformations and interactions result in contraction at the cellular level based on in vivo imaging of native unlabeled nucleoid by soft x-ray tomography upon HUβ and ectopic HUα38 expression. Structural characterization of charge-altered HUαα-DNA complexes reveals an HU molecular switch that is suitable for condensing nucleoid and reprogramming noninvasive Escherichia coli into an invasive form. Collective findings suggest that shifts between networking and cooperative and noncooperative DNA-dependent HU multimerization control DNA compaction and supercoiling independently of cellular topoisomerase activity. By integrating x-ray crystal structures, x-ray scattering, mutational tests, and x-ray imaging that span from protein-DNA complexes to the bacterial chromosome and nucleoid structure, we show that defined dynamic HU interaction networks can promote nucleoid reorganization and transcriptional regulation as efficient general microbial mechanisms to help synchronize genetic responses to cell cycle, changing environments, and pathogenesis.

Description: Stabilizing superconductivity at high temperatures and elucidating its mechanism have long been major challenges of materials research in condensed matter physics. Meanwhile, recent progress in nanostructuring offers unprecedented possibilities for designing novel functionalities. Above all, thin films of cuprate and iron-based high-temperature superconductors exhibit remarkably better superconducting characteristics (for example, higher critical temperatures) than in the bulk, but the underlying mechanism is still not understood. Solving microscopic models suitable for cuprates, we demonstrate that, at an interface between a Mott insulator and an overdoped nonsuperconducting metal, the superconducting amplitude is always pinned at the optimum achieved in the bulk, independently of the carrier concentration in the metal. This is in contrast to the dome-like dependence in bulk superconductors but consistent with the astonishing independence of the critical temperature from the carrier density x observed at the interfaces of La 2 CuO 4 and La 2– x Sr x CuO 4 . Furthermore, we identify a self-organization mechanism as responsible for the pinning at the optimum amplitude: An emergent electronic structure induced by interlayer phase separation eludes bulk phase separation and inhomogeneities that would kill superconductivity in the bulk. Thus, interfaces provide an ideal tool to enhance and stabilize superconductivity. This interfacial example opens up further ways of shaping superconductivity by suppressing competing instabilities, with direct perspectives for designing devices.

Description: Recent advances in materials, mechanics, and electronic device design are rapidly establishing the foundations for health monitoring technologies that have "skin-like" properties, with options in chronic (weeks) integration with the epidermis. The resulting capabilities in physiological sensing greatly exceed those possible with conventional hard electronic systems, such as those found in wrist-mounted wearables, because of the intimate skin interface. However, most examples of such emerging classes of devices require batteries and/or hard-wired connections to enable operation. The work reported here introduces active optoelectronic systems that function without batteries and in an entirely wireless mode, with examples in thin, stretchable platforms designed for multiwavelength optical characterization of the skin. Magnetic inductive coupling and near-field communication (NFC) schemes deliver power to multicolored light-emitting diodes and extract digital data from integrated photodetectors in ways that are compatible with standard NFC-enabled platforms, such as smartphones and tablet computers. Examples in the monitoring of heart rate and temporal dynamics of arterial blood flow, in quantifying tissue oxygenation and ultraviolet dosimetry, and in performing four-color spectroscopic evaluation of the skin demonstrate the versatility of these concepts. The results have potential relevance in both hospital care and at-home diagnostics.

Description: Motor units are the fundamental elements responsible for muscle movement. They are formed by lower motor neurons and their muscle targets, synapsed via neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). The loss of NMJs in neurodegenerative disorders (such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal muscle atrophy) or as a result of traumatic injuries affects millions of lives each year. Developing in vitro assays that closely recapitulate the physiology of neuromuscular tissues is crucial to understand the formation and maturation of NMJs, as well as to help unravel the mechanisms leading to their degeneration and repair. We present a microfluidic platform designed to coculture myoblast-derived muscle strips and motor neurons differentiated from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) within a three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel. The device geometry mimics the spinal cord–limb physical separation by compartmentalizing the two cell types, which also facilitates the observation of 3D neurite outgrowth and remote muscle innervation. Moreover, the use of compliant pillars as anchors for muscle strips provides a quantitative functional readout of force generation. Finally, photosensitizing the ESC provides a pool of source cells that can be differentiated into optically excitable motor neurons, allowing for spatiodynamic, versatile, and noninvasive in vitro control of the motor units.

Description: European governments are struggling with the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, but there exists little evidence regarding how the management of the asylum process affects the subsequent integration of refugees in the host country. We provide new causal evidence about how one central policy parameter, the length of time that refugees wait in limbo for a decision on their asylum claim, affects their subsequent economic integration. Exploiting exogenous variation in wait times and registry panel data covering refugees who applied in Switzerland between 1994 and 2004, we find that one additional year of waiting reduces the subsequent employment rate by 4 to 5 percentage points, a 16 to 23% drop compared to the average rate. This deleterious effect is remarkably stable across different subgroups of refugees stratified by gender, origin, age at arrival, and assigned language region, a pattern consistent with the idea that waiting in limbo dampens refugee employment through psychological discouragement, rather than a skill atrophy mechanism. Overall, our results suggest that marginally reducing the asylum waiting period can help reduce public expenditures and unlock the economic potential of refugees by increasing employment among this vulnerable population.

Description: Forsterite (Mg 2 SiO 4 ) is one of the major planetary materials, and its behavior under extreme conditions is important to understand the interior structure of large planets, such as super-Earths, and large-scale planetary impact events. Previous shock compression measurements of forsterite indicate that it may melt below 200 GPa, but these measurements did not go beyond 200 GPa. We report the shock response of forsterite above ~250 GPa, obtained using the laser shock wave technique. We simultaneously measured the Hugoniot and temperature of shocked forsterite and interpreted the results to suggest the following: (i) incongruent crystallization of MgO at 271 to 285 GPa, (ii) phase transition of MgO at 285 to 344 GPa, and (iii) remelting above ~470 to 500 GPa. These exothermic and endothermic reactions are seen to occur under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. They indicate complex structural and chemical changes in the system MgO-SiO 2 at extreme pressures and temperatures and will affect the way we understand the interior processes of large rocky planets as well as material transformation by impacts in the formation of planetary systems.

Description: Stimuli-responsive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained increasing attention recently for their potential applications in many areas. We report the design and synthesis of a water-stable zirconium MOF (Zr-MOF) that bears photoresponsive azobenzene groups. This particular MOF can be used as a reservoir for storage of cargo in water, and the cargo-loaded MOF can be further capped to construct a mechanized MOF through the binding of β-cyclodextrin with the azobenzene stalks on the MOF surface. The resulting mechanized MOF has shown on-command cargo release triggered by ultraviolet irradiation or addition of competitive agents without premature release. This study represents a simple approach to the construction of stimuli-responsive mechanized MOFs, and considering mechanized UiO-68-azo made from biocompatible components, this smart system may provide a unique MOF platform for on-command drug delivery in the future.

Description: Cranial neural crest cells populate the future facial region and produce ectomesenchyme-derived tissues, such as cartilage, bone, dermis, smooth muscle, adipocytes, and many others. However, the contribution of individual neural crest cells to certain facial locations and the general spatial clonal organization of the ectomesenchyme have not been determined. We investigated how neural crest cells give rise to clonally organized ectomesenchyme and how this early ectomesenchyme behaves during the developmental processes that shape the face. Using a combination of mouse and zebrafish models, we analyzed individual migration, cell crowd movement, oriented cell division, clonal spatial overlapping, and multilineage differentiation. The early face appears to be built from multiple spatially defined overlapping ectomesenchymal clones. During early face development, these clones remain oligopotent and generate various tissues in a given location. By combining clonal analysis, computer simulations, mouse mutants, and live imaging, we show that facial shaping results from an array of local cellular activities in the ectomesenchyme. These activities mostly involve oriented divisions and crowd movements of cells during morphogenetic events. Cellular behavior that can be recognized as individual cell migration is very limited and short-ranged and likely results from cellular mixing due to the proliferation activity of the tissue. These cellular mechanisms resemble the strategy behind limb bud morphogenesis, suggesting the possibility of common principles and deep homology between facial and limb outgrowth.

Description: Marine phytoplankton may adapt to ocean change, such as acidification or warming, because of their large population sizes and short generation times. Long-term adaptation to novel environments is a dynamic process, and phenotypic change can take place thousands of generations after exposure to novel conditions. We conducted a long-term evolution experiment (4 years = 2100 generations), starting with a single clone of the abundant and widespread coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi exposed to three different CO 2 levels simulating ocean acidification (OA). Growth rates as a proxy for Darwinian fitness increased only moderately under both levels of OA [+3.4% and +4.8%, respectively, at 1100 and 2200 μatm partial pressure of CO 2 ( P co 2 )] relative to control treatments (ambient CO 2 , 400 μatm). Long-term adaptation to OA was complex, and initial phenotypic responses of ecologically important traits were later reverted. The biogeochemically important trait of calcification, in particular, that had initially been restored within the first year of evolution was later reduced to levels lower than the performance of nonadapted populations under OA. Calcification was not constitutively lost but returned to control treatment levels when high CO 2 –adapted isolates were transferred back to present-day control CO 2 conditions. Selection under elevated CO 2 exacerbated a general decrease of cell sizes under long-term laboratory evolution. Our results show that phytoplankton may evolve complex phenotypic plasticity that can affect biogeochemically important traits, such as calcification. Adaptive evolution may play out over longer time scales (〉1 year) in an unforeseen way under future ocean conditions that cannot be predicted from initial adaptation responses.

Description: Recent advances in single-cell analysis have revealed the stochasticity and nongenetic heterogeneity inherent to cellular processes. However, our knowledge of the actual cellular behaviors in a living multicellular organism is still limited. By using a single-cell bioluminescence imaging technique on duckweed, Lemna gibba , we demonstrate that, under constant conditions, cells in the intact plant work as individual circadian clocks that oscillate with their own frequencies and respond independently to external stimuli. Quantitative analysis uncovered the heterogeneity and instability of cellular clocks and partial synchronization between neighboring cells. Furthermore, we found that cellular clocks in the plant body under light-dark cycles showed a centrifugal phase pattern in which the effect of cell-to-cell heterogeneity in period lengths was almost masked. The inherent heterogeneity in the properties of cellular clocks observed under constant conditions is corrected under light-dark cycles to coordinate the daily rhythms of the plant body. These findings provide a novel perspective of spatiotemporal architectures in the plant circadian system.

Description: The physical and chemical properties of Earth’s mantle, as well as its dynamics and evolution, heavily depend on the phase composition of the region. On the basis of experiments in laser-heated diamond anvil cells, we demonstrate that Fe,Al-bearing bridgmanite (magnesium silicate perovskite) is stable to pressures over 120 GPa and temperatures above 3000 K. Ferric iron stabilizes Fe-rich bridgmanite such that we were able to synthesize pure iron bridgmanite at pressures between ~45 and 110 GPa. The compressibility of ferric iron–bearing bridgmanite is significantly different from any known bridgmanite, which has direct implications for the interpretation of seismic tomography data.

Description: As a novel and efficient surface analysis technique, graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS) has attracted increasing research attention in recent years. In particular, chemically doped graphene exhibits improved GERS effects when compared with pristine graphene for certain dyes, and it can be used to efficiently detect trace amounts of molecules. However, the GERS mechanism remains an open question. We present a comprehensive study on the GERS effect of pristine graphene and nitrogen-doped graphene. By controlling nitrogen doping, the Fermi level ( E F ) of graphene shifts, and if this shift aligns with the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of a molecule, charge transfer is enhanced, thus significantly amplifying the molecule’s vibrational Raman modes. We confirmed these findings using different organic fluorescent molecules: rhodamine B, crystal violet, and methylene blue. The Raman signals from these dye molecules can be detected even for concentrations as low as 10 –11 M, thus providing outstanding molecular sensing capabilities. To explain our results, these nitrogen-doped graphene-molecule systems were modeled using dispersion-corrected density functional theory. Furthermore, we demonstrated that it is possible to determine the gaps between the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO-LUMO) of different molecules when different laser excitations are used. Our simulated Raman spectra of the molecules also suggest that the measured Raman shifts come from the dyes that have an extra electron. This work demonstrates that nitrogen-doped graphene has enormous potential as a substrate when detecting low concentrations of molecules and could also allow for an effective identification of their HOMO-LUMO gaps.

Description: Electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) has significantly advanced our understanding of molecular structure in biology. Recent innovations in both hardware and software have made cryo-EM a viable alternative for targets that are not amenable to x-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Cryo-EM has even become the method of choice in some situations where x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy are possible but where cryo-EM can determine structures at higher resolution or with less time or effort. Rotary adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases) are crucial to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. These enzymes couple the synthesis or hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate to the use or production of a transmembrane electrochemical ion gradient, respectively. However, the membrane-embedded nature and conformational heterogeneity of intact rotary ATPases have prevented their high-resolution structural analysis to date. Recent application of cryo-EM methods to the different types of rotary ATPase has led to sudden advances in understanding the structure and function of these enzymes, revealing significant conformational heterogeneity and characteristic transmembrane α helices that are highly tilted with respect to the membrane. In this Review, we will discuss what has been learned recently about rotary ATPase structure and function, with a particular focus on the vacuolar-type ATPases.

Description: DNA breaks activate the DNA damage response and, if left unrepaired, trigger cellular senescence. Telomeres are specialized nucleoprotein structures that protect chromosome ends from persistent DNA damage response activation. Whether protection can be enhanced to counteract the age-dependent decline in telomere integrity is a challenging question. Telomeric repeat–containing RNA (TERRA), which is transcribed from telomeres, emerged as important player in telomere integrity. However, how human telomere transcription is regulated is still largely unknown. We identify nuclear respiratory factor 1 and peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor coactivator 1α as regulators of human telomere transcription. In agreement with an upstream regulation of these factors by adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)–activated protein kinase (AMPK), pharmacological activation of AMPK in cancer cell lines or in normal nonproliferating myotubes up-regulated TERRA, thereby linking metabolism to telomere fitness. Cycling endurance exercise, which is associated with AMPK activation, increased TERRA levels in skeletal muscle biopsies obtained from 10 healthy young volunteers. The data support the idea that exercise may protect against aging.

Description: Emulation of biological synapses is an important step toward construction of large-scale brain-inspired electronics. Despite remarkable progress in emulating synaptic functions, current synaptic devices still consume energy that is orders of magnitude greater than do biological synapses (~10 fJ per synaptic event). Reduction of energy consumption of artificial synapses remains a difficult challenge. We report organic nanowire (ONW) synaptic transistors (STs) that emulate the important working principles of a biological synapse. The ONWs emulate the morphology of nerve fibers. With a core-sheath–structured ONW active channel and a well-confined 300-nm channel length obtained using ONW lithography, ~1.23 fJ per synaptic event for individual ONW was attained, which rivals that of biological synapses. The ONW STs provide a significant step toward realizing low-energy–consuming artificial intelligent electronics and open new approaches to assembling soft neuromorphic systems with nanometer feature size.

Description: Metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are sufficiently active in Co(II)/Co(III) electrolytes but are not satisfactory in the most commonly used iodide/triiodide (I – /I 3 – ) electrolytes. Thus, developing active and stable metal-free electrocatalysts in both electrolytes is one of the most important issues in DSSC research. We report the synthesis of edge-selenated graphene nanoplatelets (SeGnPs) prepared by a simple mechanochemical reaction between graphite and selenium (Se) powders, and their application to the counter electrode (CE) for DSSCs in both I – /I 3 – and Co(II)/Co(III) electrolytes. The edge-selective doping and the preservation of the pristine graphene basal plane in the SeGnPs were confirmed by various analytical techniques, including atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Tested as the DSSC CE in both Co(bpy) 3 2+/3+ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) and I – /I 3 – electrolytes, the SeGnP-CEs exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic performance with ultimately high stability. The SeGnP-CE–based DSSCs displayed a higher photovoltaic performance than did the Pt-CE–based DSSCs in both SM315 sensitizer with Co(bpy) 3 2+/3+ and N719 sensitizer with I – /I 3 – electrolytes. Furthermore, the I 3 – reduction mechanism, which has not been fully understood in carbon-based CE materials to date, was clarified by an electrochemical kinetics study combined with density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green’s function calculations.

Description: The rapid growth of deformable and stretchable electronics calls for a deformable and stretchable power source. We report a scalable approach for energy harvesters and self-powered sensors that can be highly deformable and stretchable. With conductive liquid contained in a polymer cover, a shape-adaptive triboelectric nanogenerator (saTENG) unit can effectively harvest energy in various working modes. The saTENG can maintain its performance under a strain of as large as 300%. The saTENG is so flexible that it can be conformed to any three-dimensional and curvilinear surface. We demonstrate applications of the saTENG as a wearable power source and self-powered sensor to monitor biomechanical motion. A bracelet-like saTENG worn on the wrist can light up more than 80 light-emitting diodes. Owing to the highly scalable manufacturing process, the saTENG can be easily applied for large-area energy harvesting. In addition, the saTENG can be extended to extract energy from mechanical motion using flowing water as the electrode. This approach provides a new prospect for deformable and stretchable power sources, as well as self-powered sensors, and has potential applications in various areas such as robotics, biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology, and entertainment.

Description: Polyethylene (PE) is the largest-volume synthetic polymer, and its chemical inertness makes its degradation by low-energy processes a challenging problem. We report a tandem catalytic cross alkane metathesis method for highly efficient degradation of polyethylenes under mild conditions. With the use of widely available, low-value, short alkanes (for example, petroleum ethers) as cross metathesis partners, different types of polyethylenes with various molecular weights undergo complete conversion into useful liquid fuels and waxes. This method shows excellent selectivity for linear alkane formation, and the degradation product distribution (liquid fuels versus waxes) can be controlled by the catalyst structure and reaction time. In addition, the catalysts are compatible with various polyolefin additives; therefore, common plastic wastes, such as postconsumer polyethylene bottles, bags, and films could be converted into valuable chemical feedstocks without any pretreatment.

Description: Bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) has been widely regarded as a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting because of its low cost, its high stability against photocorrosion, and its relatively narrow band gap of 2.4 eV. However, the achieved performance of the BiVO 4 photoanode remains unsatisfactory to date because its short carrier diffusion length restricts the total thickness of the BiVO 4 film required for sufficient light absorption. We addressed the issue by deposition of nanoporous Mo-doped BiVO 4 (Mo:BiVO 4 ) on an engineered cone-shaped nanostructure, in which the Mo:BiVO 4 layer with a larger effective thickness maintains highly efficient charge separation and high light absorption capability, which can be further enhanced by multiple light scattering in the nanocone structure. As a result, the nanocone/Mo:BiVO 4 /Fe(Ni)OOH photoanode exhibits a high water-splitting photocurrent of 5.82 ± 0.36 mA cm –2 at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode under 1-sun illumination. We also demonstrate that the PEC cell in tandem with a single perovskite solar cell exhibits unassisted water splitting with a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of up to 6.2%.

Description: The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.

Description: Directional liquid transportation is important for a variety of biological processes and technical applications. Although surface engineering through asymmetric chemical modification or geometrical patterning facilitates effective liquid manipulation and enables water droplet self-transportation on synthetic surfaces, self-transportation of oil droplets poses a major challenge because of their low surface tension. We report oil droplet self-transportation on oleophobic surfaces that are microtextured with radial arrays of undercut stripes. More significantly, we observe three modes of oil motion on various sample surfaces, namely, inward transportation, pinned, and outward spreading, which can be switched by the structure parameters, including stripe intersection angle and width. Accompanying theoretical modeling provides an in-depth mechanistic understanding of the structure–droplet motion relationship. Finally, we reveal how to optimize the texture parameters to maximize oil droplet self-transportation capability and demonstrate spontaneous droplet movement for liquids down to a surface tension of 22.4 mN/m. The surfaces presented here open up new avenues for power-free liquid transportation and oil contamination self-removal applications in various analytical and fluidic devices.

Description: Ultrafast spin manipulation for opto–spin logic applications requires material systems that have strong spin-selective light-matter interaction. Conventional inorganic semiconductor nanostructures [for example, epitaxial II to VI quantum dots and III to V multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are considered forerunners but encounter challenges such as lattice matching and cryogenic cooling requirements. Two-dimensional halide perovskite semiconductors, combining intrinsic tunable MQW structures and large oscillator strengths with facile solution processability, can offer breakthroughs in this area. We demonstrate novel room-temperature, strong ultrafast spin-selective optical Stark effect in solution-processed (C 6 H 4 FC 2 H 4 NH 3 ) 2 PbI 4 perovskite thin films. Exciton spin states are selectively tuned by ~6.3 meV using circularly polarized optical pulses without any external photonic cavity (that is, corresponding to a Rabi energy of ~55 meV and equivalent to applying a 70-T magnetic field), which is much larger than any conventional system. The facile halide and organic replacement in these perovskites affords control of the dielectric confinement and thus presents a straightforward strategy for tuning light-matter coupling strength.

Description: Insects have evolved diverse methods of camouflage that have played an important role in their evolutionary success. Debris-carrying, a behavior of actively harvesting and carrying exogenous materials, is among the most fascinating and complex behaviors because it requires not only an ability to recognize, collect, and carry materials but also evolutionary adaptations in related morphological characteristics. However, the fossil record of such behavior is extremely scarce, and only a single Mesozoic example from Spanish amber has been recorded; therefore, little is known about the early evolution of this complicated behavior and its underlying anatomy. We report a diverse insect assemblage of exceptionally preserved debris carriers from Cretaceous Burmese, French, and Lebanese ambers, including the earliest known chrysopoid larvae (green lacewings), myrmeleontoid larvae (split-footed lacewings and owlflies), and reduviids (assassin bugs). These ancient insects used a variety of debris material, including insect exoskeletons, sand grains, soil dust, leaf trichomes of gleicheniacean ferns, wood fibers, and other vegetal debris. They convergently evolved their debris-carrying behavior through multiple pathways, which expressed a high degree of evolutionary plasticity. We demonstrate that the behavioral repertoire, which is associated with considerable morphological adaptations, was already widespread among insects by at least the Mid-Cretaceous. Together with the previously known Spanish specimen, these fossils are the oldest direct evidence of camouflaging behavior in the fossil record. Our findings provide a novel insight into early evolution of camouflage in insects and ancient ecological associations among plants and insects.

Description: Weyl semimetals are of great interest because they provide the first realization of the Weyl fermion, exhibit exotic quantum anomalies, and host Fermi arc surface states. The separation between Weyl nodes of opposite chirality gives a measure of the robustness of the Weyl semimetal state. To exploit the novel phenomena that arise from Weyl fermions in applications, it is crucially important to find robust separated Weyl nodes. We propose a methodology to design robust Weyl semimetals with well-separated Weyl nodes. Using this methodology as a guideline, we search among the material parameter space and identify by far the most robust and ideal Weyl semimetal candidate in the single-crystalline compound tantalum sulfide (Ta 3 S 2 ) with new and novel properties beyond TaAs. Crucially, our results show that Ta 3 S 2 has the largest k -space separation between Weyl nodes among known Weyl semimetal candidates, which is about twice larger than the measured value in TaAs and 20 times larger than the predicted value in WTe 2 . Moreover, all Weyl nodes in Ta 3 S 2 are of type II. Therefore, Ta 3 S 2 is a type II Weyl semimetal. Furthermore, we predict that increasing the lattice by 〈4% can annihilate all Weyl nodes, driving a novel topological metal-to-insulator transition from a Weyl semimetal state to a topological insulator state. The robust type II Weyl semimetal state and the topological metal-to-insulator transition in Ta 3 S 2 are potentially useful in device applications. Our methodology can be generally applied to search for new Weyl semimetals.

Description: The functional role of progesterone receptor (PR) and its impact on estrogen signaling in breast cancer remain controversial. In primary ER + (estrogen receptor–positive)/PR + human tumors, we report that PR reprograms estrogen signaling as a genomic agonist and a phenotypic antagonist. In isolation, estrogen and progestin act as genomic agonists by regulating the expression of common target genes in similar directions, but at different levels. Similarly, in isolation, progestin is also a weak phenotypic agonist of estrogen action. However, in the presence of both hormones, progestin behaves as a phenotypic estrogen antagonist. PR remodels nucleosomes to noncompetitively redirect ER genomic binding to distal enhancers enriched for BRCA1 binding motifs and sites that link PR and ER/PR complexes. When both hormones are present, progestin modulates estrogen action, such that responsive transcriptomes, cellular processes, and ER/PR recruitment to genomic sites correlate with those observed with PR alone, but not ER alone. Despite this overall correlation, the transcriptome patterns modulated by dual treatment are sufficiently different from individual treatments, such that antagonism of oncogenic processes is both predicted and observed. Combination therapies using the selective PR modulator/antagonist (SPRM) CDB4124 in combination with tamoxifen elicited 70% cytotoxic tumor regression of T47D tumor xenografts, whereas individual therapies inhibited tumor growth without net regression. Our findings demonstrate that PR redirects ER chromatin binding to antagonize estrogen signaling and that SPRMs can potentiate responses to antiestrogens, suggesting that cotargeting of ER and PR in ER + /PR + breast cancers should be explored.

Description: Global climate models simulate a robust increase of global mean precipitation of about 1.5 to 2% per kelvin surface warming in response to greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. Here, it is shown that the sensitivity to aerosol cooling is robust as well, albeit roughly twice as large. This larger sensitivity is consistent with energy budget arguments. At the same time, it is still considerably lower than the 6.5 to 7% K –1 decrease of the water vapor concentration with cooling from anthropogenic aerosol because the water vapor radiative feedback lowers the hydrological sensitivity to anthropogenic forcings. When GHG and aerosol forcings are combined, the climate models with a realistic 20th century warming indicate that the global mean precipitation increase due to GHG warming has, until recently, been completely masked by aerosol drying. This explains the apparent lack of sensitivity of the global mean precipitation to the net global warming recently found in observations. As the importance of GHG warming increases in the future, a clear signal will emerge.

Description: There is a growing awareness that biodiversity not only drives ecosystem services but also affects evolutionary dynamics. However, different theories predict contrasting outcomes on when do evolutionary processes occur within a context of competition. We tested whether functional diversity can explain diversification patterns. We tracked the survival and diversification of a focal bacterial species ( Pseudomonas fluorescens ) growing in bacterial communities of variable diversity and composition. We found that high functional diversity reduced the fitness of the focal species and, at the same time, fostered its diversification. This pattern was linked to resource competition: High diversity increased competition on a portion of the resources while leaving most underexploited. The evolved phenotypes of the focal species showed a better use of underexploited resources, albeit at a cost of lower overall growth rates. As a result, diversification alleviated the impact of competition on the fitness of the focal species. We conclude that biodiversity can stimulate evolutionary diversification, provided that sufficient alternative niches are available.

Description: We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility in German cohorts with 4888 cases and 10,395 controls. In addition to associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, 15 non-MHC loci reached genome-wide significance. Four of these loci are novel MS susceptibility loci. They map to the genes L3MBTL3 , MAZ , ERG , and SHMT1 . The lead variant at SHMT1 was replicated in an independent Sardinian cohort. Products of the genes L3MBTL3 , MAZ , and ERG play important roles in immune cell regulation. SHMT1 encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalyzing the transfer of a carbon unit to the folate cycle. This reaction is required for regulation of methylation homeostasis, which is important for establishment and maintenance of epigenetic signatures. Our GWAS approach in a defined population with limited genetic substructure detected associations not found in larger, more heterogeneous cohorts, thus providing new clues regarding MS pathogenesis.

Description: Nonviral gene therapy holds great promise but has not delivered treatments for clinical application to date. Lack of safe and efficient gene delivery vectors is the major hurdle. Among nonviral gene delivery vectors, poly(β-amino ester)s are one of the most versatile candidates because of their wide monomer availability, high polymer flexibility, and superior gene transfection performance both in vitro and in vivo. However, to date, all research has been focused on vectors with a linear structure. A well-accepted view is that dendritic or branched polymers have greater potential as gene delivery vectors because of their three-dimensional structure and multiple terminal groups. Nevertheless, to date, the synthesis of dendritic or branched polymers has been proven to be a well-known challenge. We report the design and synthesis of highly branched poly(β-amino ester)s (HPAEs) via a one-pot "A2 + B3 + C2"–type Michael addition approach and evaluate their potential as gene delivery vectors. We find that the branched structure can significantly enhance the transfection efficiency of poly(β-amino ester)s: Up to an 8521-fold enhancement in transfection efficiency was observed across 12 cell types ranging from cell lines, primary cells, to stem cells, over their corresponding linear poly(β-amino ester)s (LPAEs) and the commercial transfection reagents polyethyleneimine, SuperFect, and Lipofectamine 2000. Moreover, we further demonstrate that HPAEs can correct genetic defects in vivo using a recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa graft mouse model. Our findings prove that the A2 + B3 + C2 approach is highly generalizable and flexible for the design and synthesis of HPAEs, which cannot be achieved by the conventional polymerization approach; HPAEs are more efficient vectors in gene transfection than the corresponding LPAEs. This provides valuable insight into the development and applications of nonviral gene delivery and demonstrates great prospect for their translation to a clinical environment.

Description: On 29 June 2015, Liberia’s respite from Ebola virus disease (EVD) was interrupted for the second time by a renewed outbreak ("flare-up") of seven confirmed cases. We demonstrate that, similar to the March 2015 flare-up associated with sexual transmission, this new flare-up was a reemergence of a Liberian transmission chain originating from a persistently infected source rather than a reintroduction from a reservoir or a neighboring country with active transmission. Although distinct, Ebola virus (EBOV) genomes from both flare-ups exhibit significantly low genetic divergence, indicating a reduced rate of EBOV evolution during persistent infection. Using this rate of change as a signature, we identified two additional EVD clusters that possibly arose from persistently infected sources. These findings highlight the risk of EVD flare-ups even after an outbreak is declared over.

Description: Newly discovered fossils of the Middle Triassic reptile Atopodentatus unicus call for a radical reassessment of its feeding behavior. The skull displays a pronounced hammerhead shape that was hitherto unknown. The long, straight anterior edges of both upper and lower jaws were lined with batteries of chisel-shaped teeth, whereas the remaining parts of the jaw rami supported densely packed needle-shaped teeth forming a mesh. The evidence indicates a novel feeding mechanism wherein the chisel-shaped teeth were used to scrape algae off the substrate, and the plant matter that was loosened was filtered from the water column through the more posteriorly positioned tooth mesh. This is the oldest record of herbivory within marine reptiles.

Description: The dynamics of ocean-terminating outlet glaciers are an important component of ice-sheet mass balance. Using satellite imagery for the past 40 years, we compile an approximately decadal record of outlet-glacier terminus position change around the entire East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) marine margin. We find that most outlet glaciers retreated during the period 1974–1990, before switching to advance in every drainage basin during the two most recent periods, 1990–2000 and 2000–2012. The only exception to this trend was in Wilkes Land, where the majority of glaciers (74%) retreated between 2000 and 2012. We hypothesize that this anomalous retreat is linked to a reduction in sea ice and associated impacts on ocean stratification, which increases the incursion of warm deep water toward glacier termini. Because Wilkes Land overlies a large marine basin, it raises the possibility of a future sea level contribution from this sector of East Antarctica.

Description: The influence of the circadian clock on sleep scheduling has been studied extensively in the laboratory; however, the effects of society on sleep remain largely unquantified. We show how a smartphone app that we have developed, ENTRAIN, accurately collects data on sleep habits around the world. Through mathematical modeling and statistics, we find that social pressures weaken and/or conceal biological drives in the evening, leading individuals to delay their bedtime and shorten their sleep. A country’s average bedtime, but not average wake time, predicts sleep duration. We further show that mathematical models based on controlled laboratory experiments predict qualitative trends in sunrise, sunset, and light level; however, these effects are attenuated in the real world around bedtime. Additionally, we find that women schedule more sleep than men and that users reporting that they are typically exposed to outdoor light go to sleep earlier and sleep more than those reporting indoor light. Finally, we find that age is the primary determinant of sleep timing, and that age plays an important role in the variability of population-level sleep habits. This work better defines and personalizes "normal" sleep, produces hypotheses for future testing in the laboratory, and suggests important ways to counteract the global sleep crisis.

Description: Health care–associated infections (HAIs) and drug-resistant pathogens have become a major health care issue with millions of reported cases every year. Advanced diagnostics would allow clinicians to more quickly determine the most effective treatment, reduce the nonspecific use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials, and facilitate enrollment in new antibiotic treatments. We present a new integrated system, polarization anisotropy diagnostics (PAD), for rapid detection of HAI pathogens. The PAD uses changes of fluorescence anisotropy when detection probes recognize target bacterial nucleic acids. The technology is inherently robust against environmental noise and economically scalable for parallel measurements. The assay is fast (2 hours) and performed on-site in a single-tube format. When applied to clinical samples obtained from interventional procedures, the PAD determined the overall bacterial burden, differentiated HAI bacterial species, and identified drug resistance and virulence status. The PAD system holds promise as a powerful tool for near-patient, rapid HAI testing.

Description: The availability of therapeutics to treat pregnancy complications is severely lacking mainly because of the risk of causing harm to the fetus. As enhancement of placental growth and function can alleviate maternal symptoms and improve fetal growth in animal models, we have developed a method for targeted delivery of payloads to the placenta. We show that the tumor-homing peptide sequences CGKRK and iRGD bind selectively to the placental surface of humans and mice and do not interfere with normal development. Peptide-coated nanoparticles intravenously injected into pregnant mice accumulated within the mouse placenta, whereas control nanoparticles exhibited reduced binding and/or fetal transfer. We used targeted liposomes to efficiently deliver cargoes of carboxyfluorescein and insulin-like growth factor 2 to the mouse placenta; the latter significantly increased mean placental weight when administered to healthy animals and significantly improved fetal weight distribution in a well-characterized model of fetal growth restriction. These data provide proof of principle for targeted delivery of drugs to the placenta and provide a novel platform for the development of placenta-specific therapeutics.

Description: Mantle wedge regions in subduction zone settings show anomalously high electrical conductivity (~1 S/m) that has often been attributed to the presence of aqueous fluids released by slab dehydration. Laboratory-based measurements of the electrical conductivity of hydrous phases and aqueous fluids are significantly lower and cannot readily explain the geophysically observed anomalously high electrical conductivity. The released aqueous fluid also rehydrates the mantle wedge and stabilizes a suite of hydrous phases, including serpentine and chlorite. In this present study, we have measured the electrical conductivity of a natural chlorite at pressures and temperatures relevant for the subduction zone setting. In our experiment, we observe two distinct conductivity enhancements when chlorite is heated to temperatures beyond its thermodynamic stability field. The initial increase in electrical conductivity to ~3 x 10 –3 S/m can be attributed to chlorite dehydration and the release of aqueous fluids. This is followed by a unique, subsequent enhancement of electrical conductivity of up to 7 x 10 –1 S/m. This is related to the growth of an interconnected network of a highly conductive and chemically impure magnetite mineral phase. Thus, the dehydration of chlorite and associated processes are likely to be crucial in explaining the anomalously high electrical conductivity observed in mantle wedges. Chlorite dehydration in the mantle wedge provides an additional source of aqueous fluid above the slab and could also be responsible for the fixed depth (120 ± 40 km) of melting at the top of the subducting slab beneath the subduction-related volcanic arc front.

Description: Following an injury, a blood clot must form at the wound site to stop bleeding before skin repair can occur. Blood clots must satisfy a unique set of material requirements; they need to be sufficiently strong to resist pressure from the arterial blood flow but must be highly flexible to support large strains associated with tissue movement around the wound. These combined properties are enabled by a fibrous matrix consisting of the protein fibrin. Fibrin hydrogels can support large macroscopic strains owing to the unfolding transition of α-helical fibril structures to β sheets at the molecular level, among other reasons. Imaging protein secondary structure on the submicrometer length scale, we reveal that another length scale is relevant for fibrin function. We observe that the protein polymorphism in the gel becomes spatially heterogeneous on a micrometer length scale with increasing tensile strain, directly showing load-bearing inhomogeneity and nonaffinity. Supramolecular structural features in the hydrogel observed under strain indicate that a uniform fibrin hydrogel develops a composite-like microstructure in tension, even in the absence of cellular inclusions.

Description: Dense active matter, from bacterial suspensions and microtubule bundles driven by motor proteins to cellular monolayers and synthetic Janus particles, is characterized by mesoscale turbulence, which is the emergence of chaotic flow structures. By immersing an ordered array of symmetric rotors in an active fluid, we introduce a microfluidic system that exploits spontaneous symmetry breaking in mesoscale turbulence to generate work. The lattice of rotors self-organizes into a spin state where neighboring discs continuously rotate in permanent alternating directions due to combined hydrodynamic and elastic effects. Our virtual prototype demonstrates a new research direction for the design of micromachines powered by the nematohydrodynamic properties of active turbulence.

Description: Using trapped atomic ions, we demonstrate a tailored and versatile effective spin system suitable for quantum simulations and universal quantum computation. By simply applying microwave pulses, selected spins can be decoupled from the remaining system and, thus, can serve as a quantum memory, while simultaneously, other coupled spins perform conditional quantum dynamics. Also, microwave pulses can change the sign of spin-spin couplings, as well as their effective strength, even during the course of a quantum algorithm. Taking advantage of the simultaneous long-range coupling between three spins, a coherent quantum Fourier transform—an essential building block for many quantum algorithms—is efficiently realized. This approach, which is based on microwave-driven trapped ions and is complementary to laser-based methods, opens a new route to overcoming technical and physical challenges in the quest for a quantum simulator and a quantum computer.

Description: Electron transport coupled with magnetism has attracted attention over the years. Among them, recently discovered is topological Hall effect (THE), originating from scalar spin chirality, that is, the solid angle subtended by the spins. THE is found to be a promising tool for probing the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction and consequent magnetic skyrmions. This interaction arises from broken inversion symmetry and hence can be artificially introduced at interface; this concept is lately verified in metal multilayers. However, there are few attempts to investigate such DM interaction at interface through electron transport. We clarified how the transport properties couple with interface DM interaction by fabricating the epitaxial oxide interface. We observed THE in epitaxial bilayers consisting of ferromagnetic SrRuO 3 and paramagnetic SrIrO 3 over a wide region of both temperature and magnetic field. The magnitude of THE rapidly decreases with the thickness of SrRuO 3 , suggesting that the interface DM interaction plays a significant role. Such interaction is expected to realize a 10-nm-sized Néel-type magnetic skyrmion. The present results established that the high-quality oxide interface enables us to tune the effective DM interaction; this can be a step toward future topological electronics.

Description: Calcifying marine phytoplankton—coccolithophores— are some of the most successful yet enigmatic organisms in the ocean and are at risk from global change. To better understand how they will be affected, we need to know "why" coccolithophores calcify. We review coccolithophorid evolutionary history and cell biology as well as insights from recent experiments to provide a critical assessment of the costs and benefits of calcification. We conclude that calcification has high energy demands and that coccolithophores might have calcified initially to reduce grazing pressure but that additional benefits such as protection from photodamage and viral/bacterial attack further explain their high diversity and broad spectrum ecology. The cost-benefit aspect of these traits is illustrated by novel ecosystem modeling, although conclusive observations remain limited. In the future ocean, the trade-off between changing ecological and physiological costs of calcification and their benefits will ultimately decide how this important group is affected by ocean acidification and global warming.

Description: Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), a typical two-dimensional material, is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries because it has three times the theoretical capacity of graphite. The main challenges associated with MoS 2 anodes are the structural degradation and the low rate capability caused by the low intrinsic electric conductivity and large strain upon cycling. Here, we design hierarchical MoS 2 tubular structures internally wired by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to tackle these problems. These porous MoS 2 tubular structures are constructed from building blocks of ultrathin nanosheets, which are believed to benefit the electrochemical reactions. Benefiting from the unique structural and compositional characteristics, these CNT-wired MoS 2 tubular structures deliver a very high specific capacity of ~1320 mAh g –1 at a current density of 0.1 A g –1 , exceptional rate capability, and an ultralong cycle life of up to 1000 cycles. This work may inspire new ideas for constructing high-performance electrodes for electrochemical energy storage.

Description: Magnetic field emerges at the surface of the Sun as sunspots and active regions. This process generates a poloidal magnetic field from a rising toroidal flux tube; it is a crucial but poorly understood aspect of the solar dynamo. The emergence of magnetic field is also important because it is a key driver of solar activity. We show that measurements of horizontal flows at the solar surface around emerging active regions, in combination with numerical simulations of solar magnetoconvection, can constrain the subsurface rise speed of emerging magnetic flux. The observed flows imply that the rise speed of the magnetic field is no larger than 150 m/s at a depth of 20 Mm, that is, well below the prediction of the (standard) thin flux tube model but in the range expected for convective velocities at this depth. We conclude that convective flows control the dynamics of rising flux tubes in the upper layers of the Sun and cannot be neglected in models of flux emergence.

Description: Micrometer-scale acoustic waves are highly useful for refined optomechanical and acoustofluidic manipulation, where these fields are spatially localized along the transducer aperture but not along the acoustic propagation direction. In the case of acoustic tweezers, such a conventional acoustic standing wave results in particle and cell patterning across the entire width of a microfluidic channel, preventing selective trapping. We demonstrate the use of nanosecond-scale pulsed surface acoustic waves (SAWs) with a pulse period that is less than the time of flight between opposing transducers to generate localized time-averaged patterning regions while using conventional electrode structures. These nodal positions can be readily and arbitrarily positioned in two dimensions and within the patterning region itself through the imposition of pulse delays, frequency modulation, and phase shifts. This straightforward concept adds new spatial dimensions to which acoustic fields can be localized in SAW applications in a manner analogous to optical tweezers, including spatially selective acoustic tweezers and optical waveguides.

Description: The search for new hard materials is often challenging, but strongly motivated by the vast application potential such materials hold. Ti 3 Au exhibits high hardness values (about four times those of pure Ti and most steel alloys), reduced coefficient of friction and wear rates, and biocompatibility, all of which are optimal traits for orthopedic, dental, and prosthetic applications. In addition, the ability of this compound to adhere to ceramic parts can reduce both the weight and the cost of medical components. The fourfold increase in the hardness of Ti 3 Au compared to other Ti–Au alloys and compounds can be attributed to the elevated valence electron density, the reduced bond length, and the pseudogap formation. Understanding the origin of hardness in this intermetallic compound provides an avenue toward designing superior biocompatible, hard materials.

Description: Current combinatorial selection strategies for protein engineering have been successful at generating binders against a range of targets; however, the combinatorial nature of the libraries and their vast undersampling of sequence space inherently limit these methods due to the difficulty in finely controlling protein properties of the engineered region. Meanwhile, great advances in computational protein design that can address these issues have largely been underutilized. We describe an integrated approach that computationally designs thousands of individual protein binders for high-throughput synthesis and selection to engineer high-affinity binders. We show that a computationally designed library enriches for tight-binding variants by many orders of magnitude as compared to conventional randomization strategies. We thus demonstrate the feasibility of our approach in a proof-of-concept study and successfully obtain low-nanomolar binders using in vitro and in vivo selection systems.

Description: Studies of materials’ properties at high and ultrahigh pressures lead to discoveries of unique physical and chemical phenomena and a deeper understanding of matter. In high-pressure research, an achievable static pressure limit is imposed by the strength of available strong materials and design of high-pressure devices. Using a high-pressure and high-temperature technique, we synthesized optically transparent microballs of bulk nanocrystalline diamond, which were found to have an exceptional yield strength (~460 GPa at a confining pressure of ~70 GPa) due to the unique microstructure of bulk nanocrystalline diamond. We used the nanodiamond balls in a double-stage diamond anvil cell high-pressure device that allowed us to generate static pressures beyond 1 TPa, as demonstrated by synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Outstanding mechanical properties (strain-dependent elasticity, very high hardness, and unprecedented yield strength) make the nanodiamond balls a unique device for ultrahigh static pressure generation. Structurally isotropic, homogeneous, and made of a low-Z material, they are promising in the field of x-ray optical applications.

Description: Economical and efficient carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies are a requirement for successful implementation of global action plans to reduce carbon emissions and to mitigate climate change. These technologies are also essential for longer-term use of fossil fuels while reducing the associated carbon footprint. We demonstrate an O 2 -assisted Al/CO 2 electrochemical cell as a new approach to sequester CO 2 emissions and, at the same time, to generate substantial amounts of electrical energy. We report on the fundamental principles that guide operations of these cells using multiple intrusive electrochemical and physical analytical methods, including chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetry, direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and coupled thermogravimetric analysis–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. On this basis, we demonstrate that an electrochemical cell that uses metallic aluminum as anode and a carbon dioxide/oxygen gas mixture as the active material in the cathode provides a path toward electrochemical generation of a valuable (C 2 ) species and electrical energy. Specifically, we show that the cell first reduces O 2 at the cathode to form superoxide intermediates. Chemical reaction of the superoxide with CO 2 sequesters the CO 2 in the form of aluminum oxalate, Al 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 3 , as the dominant product. On the basis of an analysis of the overall CO 2 footprint, which considers emissions associated with the production of the aluminum anode and the CO 2 captured/abated by the Al/CO 2 -O 2 electrochemical cell, we conclude that the proposed process offers an important strategy for net reduction of CO 2 emissions.

Description: Atherosclerosis results from maladaptive inflammation driven primarily by macrophages, whose recruitment and proliferation drive plaque progression. In advanced plaques, macrophage death contributes centrally to the formation of plaque necrosis, which underlies the instability that promotes plaque rupture and myocardial infarction. Hence, targeting macrophage cell death pathways may offer promise for the stabilization of vulnerable plaques. Necroptosis is a recently discovered pathway of programmed cell necrosis regulated by RIP3 and MLKL kinases that, in contrast to apoptosis, induces a proinflammatory state. We show herein that necroptotic cell death is activated in human advanced atherosclerotic plaques and can be targeted in experimental atherosclerosis for both therapeutic and diagnostic interventions. In humans with unstable carotid atherosclerosis, expression of RIP3 and MLKL is increased, and MLKL phosphorylation, a key step in the commitment to necroptosis, is detected in advanced atheromas. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying necroptosis showed that atherogenic forms of low-density lipoprotein increase RIP3 and MLKL transcription and phosphorylation—two critical steps in the execution of necroptosis. Using a radiotracer developed with the necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), we show that 123 I-Nec-1 localizes specifically to atherosclerotic plaques in Apoe –/– mice, and its uptake is tightly correlated to lesion areas by ex vivo nuclear imaging. Furthermore, treatment of Apoe –/– mice with established atherosclerosis with Nec-1 reduced lesion size and markers of plaque instability, including necrotic core formation. Collectively, our findings offer molecular insight into the mechanisms of macrophage cell death that drive necrotic core formation in atherosclerosis and suggest that this pathway can be used as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for the treatment of unstable atherosclerosis.

Description: Minimizing the resources required to build logic gates into useful processing circuits is key to realizing quantum computers. Although the salient features of a quantum computer have been shown in proof-of-principle experiments, difficulties in scaling quantum systems have made more complex operations intractable. This is exemplified in the classical Fredkin (controlled-SWAP) gate for which, despite theoretical proposals, no quantum analog has been realized. By adding control to the SWAP unitary, we use photonic qubit logic to demonstrate the first quantum Fredkin gate, which promises many applications in quantum information and measurement. We implement example algorithms and generate the highest-fidelity three-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states to date. The technique we use allows one to add a control operation to a black-box unitary, something that is impossible in the standard circuit model. Our experiment represents the first use of this technique to control a two-qubit operation and paves the way for larger controlled circuits to be realized efficiently.

Description: Thg1-like protein (TLP) catalyzes the addition of a nucleotide to the 5'-end of truncated transfer RNA (tRNA) species in a Watson-Crick template–dependent manner. The reaction proceeds in two steps: the activation of the 5'-end by adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)/guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP), followed by nucleotide addition. Structural analyses of the TLP and its reaction intermediates have revealed the atomic detail of the template-dependent elongation reaction in the 3'-5' direction. The enzyme creates two substrate binding sites for the first- and second-step reactions in the vicinity of one reaction center consisting of two Mg 2+ ions, and the two reactions are executed at the same reaction center in a stepwise fashion. When the incoming nucleotide is bound to the second binding site with Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds, the 3'-OH of the incoming nucleotide and the 5'-triphosphate of the tRNA are moved to the reaction center where the first reaction has occurred. That the 3'-5' elongation enzyme performs this elaborate two-step reaction in one catalytic center suggests that these two reactions have been inseparable throughout the process of protein evolution. Although TLP and Thg1 have similar tetrameric organization, the tRNA binding mode of TLP is different from that of Thg1, a tRNA His -specific G –1 addition enzyme. Each tRNA His binds to three of the four Thg1 tetramer subunits, whereas in TLP, tRNA only binds to a dimer interface and the elongation reaction is terminated by measuring the accepter stem length through the flexible β-hairpin. Furthermore, mutational analyses show that tRNA His is bound to TLP in a similar manner as Thg1, thus indicating that TLP has a dual binding mode.

Description: MgSiO 3 tetragonal garnet, which is the last of the missing phases of experimentally predicted high-pressure polymorphs of pyroxene, has been discovered in a shocked meteorite. The garnet is formed from low-Ca pyroxene in the host rock through a solid-state transformation at 17 to 20 GPa and 1900° to 2000°C. On the basis of the degree of cation ordering in its crystal structure, which can be deduced from electron diffraction intensities, the cooling rate of the shock-induced melt veins from ~2000°C was estimated to be higher than 10 3 °C/s. This cooling rate sets the upper bound for the shock-temperature increase in the bulk meteorite at ~900°C.

Description: We have previously used three-dimensional (3D) printing to prepare tissue-like materials in which picoliter aqueous compartments are separated by lipid bilayers. These printed droplets are elaborated into synthetic cells by using a tightly regulated in vitro transcription/translation system. A light-activated DNA promoter has been developed that can be used to turn on the expression of any gene within the synthetic cells. We used light activation to express protein pores in 3D-printed patterns within synthetic tissues. The pores are incorporated into specific bilayer interfaces and thereby mediate rapid, directional electrical communication between subsets of cells. Accordingly, we have developed a functional mimic of neuronal transmission that can be controlled in a precise way.

Description: The central nervous system (CNS) is an immune-privileged organ with the capacity to prevent excessive inflammation. Aside from the blood-brain barrier, active immunosuppressive mechanisms remain largely unknown. We report that a neuron-specific molecule, synaptic adhesion-like molecule 5 (SALM5), is a crucial contributor to CNS immune privilege. We found that SALM5 suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses in the CNS and that a SALM-specific monoclonal antibody promoted inflammation in the CNS, and thereby aggravated clinical symptoms of mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In addition, we identified herpes virus entry mediator as a functional receptor that mediates SALM5’s suppressive function. Our findings reveal a molecular link between the neuronal system and the immune system, and provide potential therapeutic targets for the control of CNS diseases.

Description: The rich physics exhibited by random optical wave fields permitted Hanbury Brown and Twiss to unveil fundamental aspects of light. Furthermore, it has been recognized that optical vortices are ubiquitous in random light and that the phase distribution around these optical singularities imprints a spectrum of orbital angular momentum onto a light field. We demonstrate that random fluctuations of intensity give rise to the formation of correlations in the orbital angular momentum components and angular positions of pseudothermal light. The presence of these correlations is manifested through distinct interference structures in the orbital angular momentum–mode distribution of random light. These novel forms of interference correspond to the azimuthal analog of the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect. This family of effects can be of fundamental importance in applications where entanglement is not required and where correlations in angular position and orbital angular momentum suffice. We also suggest that the azimuthal Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect can be useful in the exploration of novel phenomena in other branches of physics and astrophysics.

Description: The study of ideal absorbers, which can efficiently absorb light over a broad range of wavelengths, is of fundamental importance, as well as critical for many applications from solar steam generation and thermophotovoltaics to light/thermal detectors. As a result of recent advances in plasmonics, plasmonic absorbers have attracted a lot of attention. However, the performance and scalability of these absorbers, predominantly fabricated by the top-down approach, need to be further improved to enable widespread applications. We report a plasmonic absorber which can enable an average measured absorbance of ~99% across the wavelengths from 400 nm to 10 μm, the most efficient and broadband plasmonic absorber reported to date. The absorber is fabricated through self-assembly of metallic nanoparticles onto a nanoporous template by a one-step deposition process. Because of its efficient light absorption, strong field enhancement, and porous structures, which together enable not only efficient solar absorption but also significant local heating and continuous stream flow, plasmonic absorber–based solar steam generation has over 90% efficiency under solar irradiation of only 4-sun intensity (4 kW m –2 ). The pronounced light absorption effect coupled with the high-throughput self-assembly process could lead toward large-scale manufacturing of other nanophotonic structures and devices.

Description: The norepinephrine pathway is believed to modulate behavioral and physiological processes, such as mood, overall arousal, and attention. Furthermore, abnormalities in the pathway have been linked to numerous diseases, for example hypertension, depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and cocaine dependence. We report the crystal structure of human dopamine β-hydroxylase, which is the enzyme converting dopamine to norepinephrine. The structure of the DOMON (dopamine β-monooxygenase N-terminal) domain, also found in 〉1600 other proteins, reveals a possible metal-binding site and a ligand-binding pocket. The catalytic core structure shows two different conformations: an open active site, as also seen in another member of this enzyme family [the peptidylglycine α-hydroxylating (and α-amidating) monooxygenase], and a closed active site structure, in which the two copper-binding sites are only 4 to 5 Å apart, in what might be a coupled binuclear copper site. The dimerization domain adopts a conformation that bears no resemblance to any other known protein structure. The structure provides new molecular insights into the numerous devastating disorders of both physiological and neurological origins associated with the dopamine system.

Description: Earth’s spin axis has been wandering along the Greenwich meridian since about 2000, representing a 75° eastward shift from its long-term drift direction. The past 115 years have seen unequivocal evidence for a quasi-decadal periodicity, and these motions persist throughout the recent record of pole position, in spite of the new drift direction. We analyze space geodetic and satellite gravimetric data for the period 2003–2015 to show that all of the main features of polar motion are explained by global-scale continent-ocean mass transport. The changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) and global cryosphere together explain nearly the entire amplitude (83 ± 23%) and mean directional shift (within 5.9 ° ± 7.6 ° ) of the observed motion. We also find that the TWS variability fully explains the decadal-like changes in polar motion observed during the study period, thus offering a clue to resolving the long-standing quest for determining the origins of decadal oscillations. This newly discovered link between polar motion and global-scale TWS variability has broad implications for the study of past and future climate.

Description: An early triumph of quantum mechanics was the explanation of metallic and insulating behavior based on the filling of electronic bands. A complementary, classical picture of insulators depicts electrons as occupying localized and symmetric Wannier orbitals that resemble atomic orbitals. We report the theoretical discovery of band insulators for which electron filling forbids such an atomic description. We refer to them as filling-enforced quantum band insulators (feQBIs) because their wave functions are associated with an essential degree of quantum entanglement. Like topological insulators, which also do not admit an atomic description, feQBIs need spin-orbit coupling for their realization. However, they do not necessarily support gapless surface states. Instead, the band topology is reflected in the insulating behavior at an unconventional filling. We present tight binding models of feQBIs and show that they only occur in certain nonsymmorphic, body-centered cubic crystals.

Description: Electrolytes interact with water in many ways: changing dipole orientation, inducing charge transfer, and distorting the hydrogen-bond network in the bulk and at interfaces. Numerous experiments and computations have detected short-range perturbations that extend up to three hydration shells around individual ions. We report a multiscale investigation of the bulk and surface of aqueous electrolyte solutions that extends from the atomic scale (using atomistic modeling) to nanoscopic length scales (using bulk and interfacial femtosecond second harmonic measurements) to the macroscopic scale (using surface tension experiments). Electrolytes induce orientational order at concentrations starting at 10 μM that causes nonspecific changes in the surface tension of dilute electrolyte solutions. Aside from ion-dipole interactions, collective hydrogen-bond interactions are crucial and explain the observed difference of a factor of 6 between light water and heavy water.

Description: Optical fibers are widely used as one of the main tools for transmitting not only classical but also quantum information. We propose and report an experimental realization of a promising method for creating robust bidirectional quantum communication links through paired optical polarization-maintaining fibers. Many limitations of existing protocols can be avoided with the proposed method. In particular, the path and polarization degrees of freedom are combined to deterministically create a photonic decoherence-free subspace without the need for any ancillary photon. This method is input state–independent, robust against dephasing noise, postselection-free, and applicable bidirectionally. To rigorously quantify the amount of quantum information transferred, the optical fibers are analyzed with the tools developed in quantum communication theory. These results not only suggest a practical means for protecting quantum information sent through optical quantum networks but also potentially provide a new physical platform for enriching the structure of the quantum communication theory.

Description: Stimuli-responsive materials with sophisticated yet controllable shape-changing behaviors are highly desirable for real-world device applications. Among various shape-changing materials, the elastic nature of shape memory polymers allows fixation of temporary shapes that can recover on demand, whereas polymers with exchangeable bonds can undergo permanent shape change via plasticity. We integrate the elasticity and plasticity into a single polymer network. Rational molecular design allows these two opposite behaviors to be realized at different temperature ranges without any overlap. By exploring the cumulative nature of the plasticity, we demonstrate easy manipulation of highly complex shapes that is otherwise extremely challenging. The dynamic shape-changing behavior paves a new way for fabricating geometrically complex multifunctional devices.

Description: In subduction zones, elevated pore fluid pressure, generally linked to metamorphic dehydration reactions, has a profound influence on the mechanical behavior of the plate interface and forearc crust through its control on effective stress. We use seismic noise–based monitoring to characterize seismic velocity variations following the 2012 Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica earthquake [ M w (moment magnitude) 7.6] that we attribute to the presence of pressurized pore fluids. Our study reveals a strong velocity reduction (~0.6%) in a region where previous work identified high forearc pore fluid pressure. The depth of this velocity reduction is constrained to be below 5 km and therefore not the result of near-surface damage due to strong ground motions; rather, we posit that it is caused by fracturing of the fluid-pressurized weakened crust due to dynamic stresses. Although pressurized fluids have been implicated in causing coseismic velocity reductions beneath the Japanese volcanic arc, this is the first report of a similar phenomenon in a subduction zone setting. It demonstrates the potential to identify pressurized fluids in subduction zones using temporal variations of seismic velocity inferred from ambient seismic noise correlations.

Description: In eutherians, the placenta acts as a barrier and conduit at the maternal-fetal interface. Syncytiotrophoblasts, the multinucleated cells that cover the placental villous tree surfaces of the human placenta, are directly bathed in maternal blood and are formed by the fusion of progenitor cytotrophoblasts that underlie them. Despite their crucial role in fetal protection, many of the events that govern trophoblast fusion and protection from microbial infection are unknown. We describe a three-dimensional (3D)–based culture model using human JEG-3 trophoblast cells that develop syncytiotrophoblast phenotypes when cocultured with human microvascular endothelial cells. JEG-3 cells cultured in this system exhibit enhanced fusogenic activity and morphological and secretory activities strikingly similar to those of primary human syncytiotrophoblasts. RNASeq analyses extend the observed functional similarities to the transcriptome, where we observed significant overlap between syncytiotrophoblast-specific genes and 3D JEG-3 cultures. Furthermore, JEG-3 cells cultured in 3D are resistant to infection by viruses and Toxoplasma gondii , which mimics the high resistance of syncytiotrophoblasts to microbial infections in vivo. Given that this system is genetically manipulatable, it provides a new platform to dissect the mechanisms involved in syncytiotrophoblast development and microbial resistance.

Description: Trust and cooperation constitute cornerstones of common-pool resource theory, showing that "prosocial" strategies among resource users can overcome collective action problems and lead to sustainable resource governance. Yet, antisocial behavior and especially the coexistence of prosocial and antisocial behaviors have received less attention. We broaden the analysis to include the effects of both "prosocial" and "antisocial" interactions. We do so in the context of marine protected areas (MPAs), the most prominent form of biodiversity conservation intervention worldwide. Our multimethod approach relied on lab-in-the-field economic experiments ( n = 127) in two MPA and two non-MPA communities in Baja California, Mexico. In addition, we deployed a standardized fishers’ survey ( n = 544) to verify the external validity of our findings and expert informant interviews ( n = 77) to develop potential explanatory mechanisms. In MPA sites, prosocial and antisocial behavior is significantly higher, and the presence of antisocial behavior does not seem to have a negative effect on prosocial behavior. We suggest that market integration, economic diversification, and strengthened group identity in MPAs are the main potential mechanisms for the simultaneity of prosocial and antisocial behavior we observed. This study constitutes a first step in better understanding the interaction between prosociality and antisociality as related to natural resources governance and conservation science, integrating literatures from social psychology, evolutionary anthropology, behavioral economics, and ecology.

Description: Behavioral similarity between partners is likely to promote within-pair compatibility and to result in better reproductive success. Therefore, individuals are expected to choose a partner that is alike in behavioral type. However, mate searching is very costly and does not guarantee finding a matching partner. If mismatched individuals pair, they may benefit from increasing their similarity after pairing. We show in a monogamous fish species—the convict cichlid—that the behavioral similarity between mismatched partners can increase after pairing. This increase resulted from asymmetrical adjustment because only the reactive individual became more alike its proactive partner, whereas the latter did not change its behavior. The mismatched pairs that increased their similarity not only improved their reproductive success but also raised it up to the level of matched pairs. While most studies assume that assortative mating results from mate choice, our study suggests that postpairing adjustment could be an alternative explanation for the high behavioral similarity between partners observed in the field. It also explains why interindividual behavioral differences can be maintained within a given population.

Description: Positive news about Sumatran orangutans is rare. The species is critically endangered because of forest loss and poaching, and therefore, determining the impact of future land-use change on this species is important. To date, the total Sumatran orangutan population has been estimated at 6600 individuals. On the basis of new transect surveys, we estimate a population of 14,613 in 2015. This higher estimate is due to three factors. First, orangutans were found at higher elevations, elevations previously considered outside of their range and, consequently, not surveyed previously. Second, orangutans were found more widely distributed in logged forests. Third, orangutans were found in areas west of the Toba Lake that were not previously surveyed. This increase in numbers is therefore due to a more wide-ranging survey effort and is not indicative of an increase in the orangutan population in Sumatra. There are evidently more Sumatran orangutans remaining in the wild than we thought, but the species remains under serious threat. Current scenarios for future forest loss predict that as many as 4500 individuals could vanish by 2030. Despite the positive finding that the population is double the size previously estimated, our results indicate that future deforestation will continue to be the cause of rapid declines in orangutan numbers. Hence, we urge that all developmental planning involving forest loss be accompanied by appropriate environmental impact assessments conforming with the current national and provincial legislations, and, through these, implement specific measures to reduce or, better, avoid negative impacts on forests where orangutans occur.

Description: TiO 2 is exceptionally useful, but it remains a great challenge to develop a universal method to coat TiO 2 nanoshells on different functional materials. We report a one-pot, low-temperature, and facile method that can rapidly form mesoporous TiO 2 shells on various inorganic, organic, and inorganic-organic composite materials, including silica-based, metal, metal oxide, organic polymer, carbon-based, and metal-organic framework nanomaterials via a cooperative assembly-directed strategy. In constructing hollow, core-shell, and yolk-shell geometries, both amorphous and crystalline TiO 2 nanoshells are demonstrated with excellent control. When used as electrode materials for lithium ion batteries, these crystalline TiO 2 nanoshells composed of very small nanocrystals exhibit remarkably long-term cycling stability over 1000 cycles. The electrochemical properties demonstrate that these TiO 2 nanoshells are promising anode materials.

Description: Modern tropical forests harbor an enormous diversity of squamates, but fossilization in such environments is uncommon and little is known about tropical lizard assemblages of the Mesozoic. We report the oldest lizard assemblage preserved in amber, providing insight into the poorly preserved but potentially diverse mid-Cretaceous paleotropics. Twelve specimens from the Albian-Cenomanian boundary of Myanmar (99 Ma) preserve fine details of soft tissue and osteology, and high-resolution x-ray computed tomography permits detailed comparisons to extant and extinct lizards. The extraordinary preservation allows several specimens to be confidently assigned to groups including stem Gekkota and stem Chamaleonidae. Other taxa are assignable to crown clades on the basis of similar traits. The detailed preservation of osteological and soft tissue characters in these specimens may facilitate their precise phylogenetic placement, making them useful calibration points for molecular divergence time estimates and potential keys for resolving conflicts in higher-order squamate relationships.

Description: cis-Encoded antisense RNAs (asRNAs) are widespread along bacterial transcriptomes. However, the role of most of these RNAs remains unknown, and there is an ongoing discussion as to what extent these transcripts are the result of transcriptional noise. We show, by comparative transcriptomics of 20 bacterial species and one chloroplast, that the number of asRNAs is exponentially dependent on the genomic AT content and that expression of asRNA at low levels exerts little impact in terms of energy consumption. A transcription model simulating mRNA and asRNA production indicates that the asRNA regulatory effect is only observed above certain expression thresholds, substantially higher than physiological transcript levels. These predictions were verified experimentally by overexpressing nine different asRNAs in Mycoplasma pneumoniae . Our results suggest that most of the antisense transcripts found in bacteria are the consequence of transcriptional noise, arising at spurious promoters throughout the genome.

Description: A profound problem in modern condensed matter physics is discovering and understanding the nature of fluctuations and their coupling to fermions in cuprates, which lead to high-temperature superconductivity and the invariably associated strange metal state. We report the quantitative determination of normal and pairing self-energies, made possible by laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements of unprecedented accuracy and stability. Through a precise inversion procedure, both the effective interactions in the attractive d-wave symmetry and the repulsive part in the full symmetry are determined. The latter is nearly angle-independent. Near T c , both interactions are nearly independent of frequency and have almost the same magnitude over the complete energy range of up to about 0.4 eV, except for a low-energy feature at around 50 meV that is present only in the repulsive part, which has less than 10% of the total spectral weight. Well below T c , they both change similarly, with superconductivity-induced features at low energies. Besides finding the pairing self-energy and the attractive interactions for the first time, these results expose the central paradox of the problem of high T c : how the same frequency-independent fluctuations can dominantly scatter at angles ±/2 in the attractive channel to give d-wave pairing and lead to angle-independent repulsive scattering. The experimental results are compared with available theoretical calculations based on antiferromagnetic fluctuations, the Hubbard model, and quantum-critical fluctuations of the loop-current order.

Description: High-temperature condensates found in meteorites display uranium isotopic variations ( 235 U/ 238 U), which complicate dating the solar system’s formation, the origin of which remains mysterious. It is possible that these variations are due to the decay of the short-lived radionuclide 247 Cm ( t 1/2 = 15.6 My) into 235 U, but they could also be due to uranium kinetic isotopic fractionation during condensation. We report uranium isotope measurements of meteoritic refractory inclusions that reveal excesses of 235 U reaching ~6% relative to average solar system composition, which can only be due to the decay of 247 Cm. This allows us to constrain the 247 Cm/ 235 U ratio at solar system formation to (1.1 ± 0.3) x 10 –4 . This value provides new clues on the universality of the rapid neutron capture r -process of nucleosynthesis.

Description: Transient electronics built with degradable organic and inorganic materials is an emerging area and has shown great potential for in vivo sensors and therapeutic devices. However, most of these devices require external power sources to function, which may limit their applications for in vivo cases. We report a biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator (BD-TENG) for in vivo biomechanical energy harvesting, which can be degraded and resorbed in an animal body after completing its work cycle without any adverse long-term effects. Tunable electrical output capabilities and degradation features were achieved by fabricated BD-TENG using different materials. When applying BD-TENG to power two complementary micrograting electrodes, a DC-pulsed electrical field was generated, and the nerve cell growth was successfully orientated, showing its feasibility for neuron-repairing process. Our work demonstrates the potential of BD-TENG as a power source for transient medical devices.

Description: Interactions between hosts and parasites have been hypothesized to cause winnerless coevolution, called Red Queen dynamics. The canonical Red Queen dynamics assume that all interacting genotypes of hosts and parasites undergo cyclic changes in abundance through negative frequency-dependent selection, which means that any genotype could become frequent at some stage. However, this prediction cannot explain why many rare genotypes stay rare in natural host-parasite systems. To investigate this, we build a mathematical model involving multihost and multiparasite genotypes. In a deterministic and controlled environment, Red Queen dynamics occur between two genotypes undergoing cyclic dominance changes, whereas the rest of the genotypes remain subordinate for long periods of time in phase-locked synchronized dynamics with low amplitude. However, introduction of stochastic noise in the model might allow the subordinate cyclic host and parasite types to replace dominant cyclic types as new players in the Red Queen dynamics. The factors that influence such evolutionary switching are interhost competition, specificity of parasitism, and degree of stochastic noise. Our model can explain, for the first time, the persistence of rare, hardly cycling genotypes in populations (for example, marine microbial communities) undergoing host-parasite coevolution.

Description: Throughout the four phases of protein biosynthesis—initiation, elongation, termination, and recycling—the ribosome is controlled and regulated by at least one specified translational guanosine triphosphatase (trGTPase). Although the structural basis for trGTPase interaction with the ribosome has been solved for the last three steps of translation, the high-resolution structure for the key initiation trGTPase, initiation factor 2 (IF2), complexed with the ribosome, remains elusive. We determine the structure of IF2 complexed with a nonhydrolyzable guanosine triphosphate analog and initiator fMet-tRNA i Met in the context of the Escherichia coli ribosome to 3.7-Å resolution using cryo-electron microscopy. The structural analysis reveals previously unseen intrinsic conformational modes of the 70 S initiation complex, establishing the mutual interplay of IF2 and initator transfer RNA (tRNA) with the ribsosome and providing the structural foundation for a mechanistic understanding of the final steps of translation initiation.

Description: The frequency conversion of light has proved to be a crucial technology for communication, spectroscopy, imaging, and signal processing. In the quantum regime, it also offers great potential for realizing quantum networks incorporating disparate physical systems and quantum-enhanced information processing over a large computational space. The frequency conversion of quantum light, such as single photons, has been extensively investigated for the last two decades using all-optical frequency mixing, with the ultimate goal of realizing lossless and noiseless conversion. I demonstrate another route to this target using frequency conversion induced by cross-phase modulation in a dispersion-managed photonic crystal fiber. Owing to the deterministic and all-optical nature of the process, the lossless and low-noise spectral reshaping of a single-photon wave packet in the telecommunication band has been readily achieved with a modulation bandwidth as large as 0.4 THz. I further demonstrate that the scheme is applicable to manipulations of a nonclassical frequency correlation, wave packet interference, and entanglement between two photons. This approach presents a new coherent frequency interface for photons for quantum information processing.

Description: Hydrogen (H)-bonds potentiate diverse cellular functions by facilitating molecular interactions. The mechanism and the extent to which H-bonds regulate molecular interactions are a largely unresolved problem in biology because the H-bonding process continuously competes with bulk water. This interference may significantly alter our understanding of molecular function, for example, in the elucidation of the origin of enzymatic catalytic power. We advance this concept by showing that H-bonds regulate molecular interactions via a hitherto unappreciated donor-acceptor pairing mechanism that minimizes competition with water. On the basis of theoretical and experimental correlations between H-bond pairings and their effects on ligand binding affinity, we demonstrate that H-bonds enhance receptor-ligand interactions when both the donor and acceptor have either significantly stronger or significantly weaker H-bonding capabilities than the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water. By contrast, mixed strong-weak H-bond pairings decrease ligand binding affinity due to interference with bulk water, offering mechanistic insight into why indiscriminate strengthening of receptor-ligand H-bonds correlates poorly with experimental binding affinity. Further support for the H-bond pairing principle is provided by the discovery and optimization of lead compounds targeting dietary melamine and Clostridium difficile toxins, which are not realized by traditional drug design methods. Synergistic H-bond pairings have therefore evolved in the natural design of high-affinity binding and provide a new conceptual framework to evaluate the H-bonding process in biological systems. Our findings may also guide wider applications of competing H-bond pairings in lead compound design and in determining the origin of enzymatic catalytic power.

Description: Dispersion of larval offspring is of fundamental ecological importance to sessile marine organisms. Photosymbiotic planulae emitted by many reef-forming corals may travel over large distances before settling to form a new colony. It is not clear whether the metabolic requirements of these planula larvae are met exclusively with lipid and protein reservoirs inherited from the mother colony or when metabolic inputs from their endosymbiotic dinoflagellates become important. Pulse-chase experiments using [ 13 C]bicarbonate and [ 15 N]nitrate, combined with subcellular structural and isotopic imaging of freshly emitted symbiotic larvae from the coral Pocillopora damicornis , show that metabolic input from the dinoflagellates is minimal in the planulae compared with adult colonies. The larvae are essentially lecithotrophic upon emission, indicating that a marked shift in metabolic interaction between the symbiotic partners takes place later during ontogeny. Understanding the cellular processes that trigger and control this metabolic shift, and how climate change might influence it, is a key challenge in coral biology.

Description: Obesity stimulates chronic inflammation in adipose tissue, which is associated with insulin resistance, although the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Here we showed that obesity-related adipocyte degeneration causes release of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which promotes macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), originally known as a sensor of exogenous DNA fragments. Fat-fed obese wild-type mice showed increased release of cfDNA, as determined by the concentrations of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in plasma. cfDNA released from degenerated adipocytes promoted monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expression in wild-type macrophages, but not in TLR9-deficient ( Tlr9 –/– ) macrophages. Fat-fed Tlr9 –/– mice demonstrated reduced macrophage accumulation and inflammation in adipose tissue and better insulin sensitivity compared with wild-type mice, whereas bone marrow reconstitution with wild-type bone marrow restored the attenuation of insulin resistance observed in fat-fed Tlr9 –/– mice. Administration of a TLR9 inhibitory oligonucleotide to fat-fed wild-type mice reduced the accumulation of macrophages in adipose tissue and improved insulin resistance. Furthermore, in humans, plasma ssDNA level was significantly higher in patients with computed tomography–determined visceral obesity and was associated with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), which is the index of insulin resistance. Our study may provide a novel mechanism for the development of sterile inflammation in adipose tissue and a potential therapeutic target for insulin resistance.

Description: Topological insulators are a new class of quantum materials with metallic (edge) surface states and insulating bulk states. They demonstrate a variety of novel electronic and optical properties, which make them highly promising electronic, spintronic, and optoelectronic materials. We report on a novel conic plasmonic nanostructure that is made of bulk-insulating topological insulators and has an intrinsic core-shell formation. The insulating (dielectric) core of the nanocone displays an ultrahigh refractive index of up to 5.5 in the near-infrared frequency range. On the metallic shell, plasmonic response and strong backward light scattering were observed in the visible frequency range. Through integrating the nanocone arrays into a-Si thin film solar cells, up to 15% enhancement of light absorption was predicted in the ultraviolet and visible ranges. With these unique features, the intrinsically core-shell plasmonic nanostructure paves a new way for designing low-loss and high-performance visible to infrared optical devices.

Description: Conventional magnetic resonance (MR) faces serious sensitivity limitations which can be overcome by hyperpolarization methods, but the most common method (dynamic nuclear polarization) is complex and expensive, and applications are limited by short spin lifetimes (typically seconds) of biologically relevant molecules. We use a recently developed method, SABRE-SHEATH, to directly hyperpolarize 15 N 2 magnetization and long-lived 15 N 2 singlet spin order, with signal decay time constants of 5.8 and 23 minutes, respectively. We find 〉10,000-fold enhancements generating detectable nuclear MR signals that last for over an hour. 15 N 2 -diazirines represent a class of particularly promising and versatile molecular tags, and can be incorporated into a wide range of biomolecules without significantly altering molecular function.

Description: The spread of C 4 grasses in the late Neogene is one of the most important ecological transitions of the Cenozoic, but the primary driver of this global expansion is widely debated. We use the stable carbon isotopic composition ( 13 C) of bison and mammoth tissues as a proxy for the relative abundance of C 3 and C 4 vegetation in their grazing habitat to determine climatic and atmospheric CO 2 controls on C 4 grass distributions from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the present. We predict the spatial variability of grass 13 C in North America using a mean of three different methods of classification and regression tree (CART) machine learning techniques and nine climatic variables. We show that growing season precipitation and temperature are the strongest predictors of all single climate variables. We apply this CART analysis to high-resolution gridded climate data and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) mean paleoclimate model outputs to produce predictive isotope landscape models ("isoscapes") for the current, mid-Holocene, and LGM average 13 C of grass-dominated areas across North America. From the LGM to the present, C 4 grass abundances substantially increased in the Great Plains despite concurrent increases in atmospheric CO 2 . These results suggest that changes in growing season precipitation rather than atmospheric CO 2 were critically important in the Neogene expansion of C 4 grasses.

Description: Correlating spatial chemical information with the morphology of closely packed nanostructures remains a challenge for the scientific community. For example, supramolecular self-assembly, which provides a powerful and low-cost way to create nanoscale patterns and engineered nanostructures, is not easily interrogated in real space via existing nondestructive techniques based on optics or electrons. A novel scanning probe technique called infrared photoinduced force microscopy (IR PiFM) directly measures the photoinduced polarizability of the sample in the near field by detecting the time-integrated force between the tip and the sample. By imaging at multiple IR wavelengths corresponding to absorption peaks of different chemical species, PiFM has demonstrated the ability to spatially map nm-scale patterns of the individual chemical components of two different types of self-assembled block copolymer films. With chemical-specific nanometer-scale imaging, PiFM provides a powerful new analytical method for deepening our understanding of nanomaterials.

Description: Surfaces can be slippery or sticky depending on surface chemistry and roughness. We demonstrate in atomistic simulations that regular and random slip patterns on a surface lead to pressure excursions within a lubricated contact that increase quadratically with decreasing contact separation. This is captured well by a simple hydrodynamic model including wall slip. We predict with this model that pressure changes for larger length scales and realistic frictional conditions can easily reach cavitation thresholds and significantly change the load-bearing capacity of a contact. Cavitation may therefore be the norm, not the exception, under boundary lubrication conditions.

Description: Understanding the physical properties of the chain-ladder Sr 3 Ca 11 Cu 24 O 41 hole-doped superconductor has been precluded by the unknown hole distribution among chains and ladders. We use electron energy-loss spectrometry (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) at atomic resolution to directly separate the contributions of chains and ladders and to unravel the hole distribution from the atomic scale variations of the O-K near-edge structures. The experimental data unambiguously demonstrate that most of the holes lie within the chain layers. A quantitative interpretation supported by inelastic scattering calculations shows that about two holes are located in the ladders, and about four holes in the chains, shedding light on the electronic structure of Sr 3 Ca 11 Cu 24 O 41 . Combined atomic resolution STEM-EELS and inelastic scattering calculations is demonstrated as a powerful approach toward a quantitative understanding of the electronic structure of cuprate superconductors, offering new possibilities for elucidating their physical properties.

Description: G-quadruplex (G4) is one of the most important secondary structures in nucleic acids. Until recently, G4 RNAs have not been reported in any ribovirus, such as the hepatitis C virus. Our bioinformatics analysis reveals highly conserved guanine-rich consensus sequences within the core gene of hepatitis C despite the high genetic variability of this ribovirus; we further show using various methods that such consensus sequences can fold into unimolecular G4 RNA structures, both in vitro and under physiological conditions. Furthermore, we provide direct evidences that small molecules specifically targeting G4 can stabilize this structure to reduce RNA replication and inhibit protein translation of intracellular hepatitis C. Ultimately, the stabilization of G4 RNA in the genome of hepatitis C represents a promising new strategy for anti–hepatitis C drug development.

Description: In the absence of water-soluble photoinitiators with high absorbance in the ultraviolet (UV)–visible range, rapid three-dimensional (3D) printing of hydrogels for tissue engineering is challenging. A new approach enabling rapid 3D printing of hydrogels in aqueous solutions is presented on the basis of UV-curable inks containing nanoparticles of highly efficient but water-insoluble photoinitiators. The extinction coefficient of the new water-dispersible nanoparticles of 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl-diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) is more than 300 times larger than the best and most used commercially available water-soluble photoinitiator. The TPO nanoparticles absorb significantly in the range from 385 to 420 nm, making them suitable for use in commercially available, low-cost, light-emitting diode–based 3D printers using digital light processing. The polymerization rate at this range is very fast and enables 3D printing that otherwise is impossible to perform without adding solvents. The TPO nanoparticles were prepared by rapid conversion of volatile microemulsions into water-dispersible powder, a process that can be used for a variety of photoinitiators. Such water-dispersible photoinitiator nanoparticles open many opportunities to enable rapid 3D printing of structures prepared in aqueous solutions while bringing environmental advantages by using low-energy curing systems and avoiding the need for solvents.

Description: Habitat loss, overexploitation, and numerous other stressors have caused global declines in apex predators. This "trophic downgrading" has generated widespread concern because of the fundamental role that apex predators can play in ecosystem functioning, disease regulation, and biodiversity maintenance. In attempts to combat declines, managers have conducted reintroductions, imposed stricter harvest regulations, and implemented protected areas. We suggest that full recovery of viable apex predator populations is currently the exception rather than the rule. We argue that, in addition to well-known considerations, such as continued exploitation and slow life histories, there are several underappreciated factors that complicate predator recoveries. These factors include three challenges. First, a priori identification of the suite of trophic interactions, such as resource limitation and competition that will influence recovery can be difficult. Second, defining and accomplishing predator recovery in the context of a dynamic ecosystem requires an appreciation of the timing of recovery, which can determine the relative density of apex predators and other predators and therefore affect competitive outcomes. Third, successful recovery programs require designing adaptive sequences of management strategies that embrace key environmental and species interactions as they emerge. Consideration of recent research on food web modules, alternative stable states, and community assembly offer important insights for predator recovery efforts and restoration ecology more generally. Foremost among these is the importance of a social-ecological perspective in facilitating a long-lasting predator restoration while avoiding unintended consequences.

Description: Mutation provides the raw material from which natural selection shapes adaptations. The rate at which new mutations arise is therefore a key factor that determines the tempo and mode of evolution. However, an accurate assessment of the mutation rate of a given organism is difficult because mutation rate varies on a fine scale within a genome. A central challenge of evolutionary genetics is to determine the underlying causes of this variation. In earlier work, we had shown that repeat sequences not only are prone to a high rate of expansion and contraction but also can cause an increase in mutation rate (on the order of kilobases) of the sequence surrounding the repeat. We perform experiments that show that simple guanine repeats 13 bp (base pairs) in length or longer ( G 13+ ) increase the substitution rate 4- to 18-fold in the downstream DNA sequence, and this correlates with DNA replication timing ( R = 0.89). We show that G 13+ mutagenicity results from the interplay of both error-prone translesion synthesis and homologous recombination repair pathways. The mutagenic repeats that we study have the potential to be exploited for the artificial elevation of mutation rate in systems biology and synthetic biology applications.