Distinct Patterns Research Articles

Common and distinct cortical thickness alterations in youth with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with overlapping behavioral features and genetic etiology. While brain cortical thickness (CTh) alterations have been reported in ASD and ADHD separately, the degree to which ASD and ADHD are associated with common and distinct patterns of CTh changes is unclear.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Science Direct from inception to 8 December 2023 and included studies of cortical thickness comparing youth (age less than 18) with ASD or ADHD with typically developing controls (TDC). We conducted a comparative meta-analysis of vertex-based studies to identify common and distinct CTh alterations in ASD and ADHD.ResultsTwelve ASD datasets involving 458 individuals with ASD and 10 ADHD datasets involving 383 individuals with ADHD were included in the analysis. Compared to TDC, ASD showed increased CTh in bilateral superior frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and right superior parietal lobule (SPL) and decreased CTh in right temporoparietal junction (TPJ). ADHD showed decreased CTh in bilateral precentral gyri, right postcentral gyrus, and right TPJ relative to TDC. Conjunction analysis showed both disorders shared reduced TPJ CTh located in default mode network (DMN). Comparative analyses indicated ASD had greater CTh in right SPL and TPJ located in dorsal attention network and thinner CTh in right TPJ located in ventral attention network than ADHD.ConclusionsThese results suggest shared thinner TPJ located in DMN is an overlapping neurobiological feature of ASD and ADHD. This alteration together with SPL alterations might be related to altered biological motion processing in ASD, while abnormalities in sensorimotor systems may contribute to behavioral control problems in ADHD. The disorder-specific thinner TPJ located in disparate attention networks provides novel insight into distinct symptoms of attentional deficits associated with the two neurodevelopmental disorders.Trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42022370620. Registered on November 9, 2022.

Variation and Correlation among Fine Root Traits of Desert Plants in Arid Areas of Northwest China

Variation and Correlation among Fine Root Traits of Desert Plants in Arid Areas of Northwest China

Transcriptome Profiling Reveals Molecular Responses to Salt Stress in Common Vetch (Vicia sativa L.).

Common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) is an important annual diploid leguminous forage. In the present study, transcriptomic profiling in common vetch in response to salt stress was conducted using a salt-tolerant line (460) and a salt-sensitive line (429). The common responses in common vetch and the specific responses associated with salt tolerance in 460 were analyzed. Several KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathways, including plant hormone and MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling, galactose metabolism, and phenylpropanoid phenylpropane biosynthesis, were enriched in both lines, though some differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed distinct expression patterns. The roots in 460 showed higher levels of lignin than in 429. α-linolenic acid metabolism, carotenoid biosynthesis, the photosynthesis-antenna pathway, and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways were specifically enriched in salt-tolerant line 460, with higher levels of accumulated soluble sugars in the leaves. In addition, higher transcript levels of genes involved in ion homeostasis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging were observed in 460 than in 429 in response to salt stress. The transcriptomic analysis in common vetch in response to salt stress provides useful clues for further investigations on salt tolerance mechanism in the future.

Assessing the nucleic acid decay of human wastewater markers and enteric viruses in estuarine waters in Sydney, Australia

This research investigated the in-situ decay rates of four human wastewater-associated markers (Bacteroides HF183 (HF183), Lachnospiraceae Lachno3 (Lachno3), cross-assembling phage (crAssphage), pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) and three enteric viruses (human adenovirus 40/41 (HAdV 40/41), enterovirus (EV) and human norovirus GII (HNoV GII) in two estuarine water environments (Davidson Park (DP) and Hen and Chicken Bay (HCB) in temperate Sydney, NSW, Australia, employing qPCR and RT-qPCR assays. The study also aimed to compare decay rates observed in mesocosms with previously published laboratory microcosms, providing insights into the persistence of markers and viruses in estuarine environments. Results indicated varying decay rates between DP and HCB mesocosms, with HF183 exhibiting relatively faster decay rates compared to other markers and enteric viruses in sunlight and dark mesocosms. In DP mesocosms, HF183 decayed the fastest, contrasting with PMMoV, which exhibited the slowest. Sunlight induced higher decay rates for all markers and viruses in DP mesocosms. In HCB sunlight mesocosms, HF183 nucleic acid decayed most rapidly compared to other markers and enteric viruses. In dark mesocosms, crAssphage showed the fastest decay, while PMMoV decayed at the slowest rate in both sunlight and dark mesocosms. Comparisons with laboratory microcosms revealed faster decay of markers and enteric viruses in laboratory microcosms than the mesocosms, except for crAssphage and HAdV 40/41 in dark, and PMMoV in sunlight mesocosms. The study concludes that decay rates of markers and enteric viruses vary between estuarine mesocosms, emphasizing the impact of sunlight exposure, which was potentially influenced by the elevated turbidity at HCB estuarine waters. The generated decay rates contribute valuable insights for establishing site-specific risk-based thresholds of human wastewater-associated markers.

Imprint from early-life family environment: how do CEOs’ only-child backgrounds impact product innovation

ABSTRACT Although studies have explored the effect of CEOs’ characteristics on product innovation, family backgrounds have received little attention. This study endeavoured to fill this gap by investigating how a CEO’s only-child background impacts product innovation. Integrating the imprinting theory with the upper echelon work, we contend that only-child CEOs have lower motivation to pursue product innovation, as a result of the imprinting from distinctive parenting patterns and the lack of peer competition in their early family life. Based on the Survey Data of ESIEC (Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China), we test our hypotheses using a sample of 639 Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The empirical results support the negative relationship between CEOs’ only-child imprinting and product innovation. Moreover, we further examine the moderating effects that CEOs’ family financing and CEOs’ faith in effort exerted on the strength of the only-child imprinting. This study extends our understanding of the non-ignorable effect of only-child background on an individual’s later strategic decision, which is necessary and timely given the speedy growing proportion of only children around the world because of falling fertility rates.

Oligarchs, Political Ties and Nomenklatura Capitalism: Introducing a New Dataset

This article examines the relationship between nomenklatura membership, wealth accumulation and political ties across the post-Soviet region from the 1990s to the mid-2010s. It introduces the Post-Soviet Oligarchs (PSO) dataset, containing the sociodemographic characteristics of the super-rich across the former Soviet republics. While the article finds partial support in favour of the nomenklatura capitalism hypothesis, statistical analysis also points to distinct regional patterns of wealth and political inequality. Thus, the most extensive overlap of wealth and power is observed in the authoritarian regimes of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, where ties to the Soviet regime facilitated the exertion of political influence after 1991, enabling in turn wealth accumulation. By contrast, in democratising contexts, the political connections of the super-rich point to a mutually dependent relationship between the economic and political realms, with wealth featuring as a major power resource.

DNA Barcoding of Invasive Terrestrial Plant Species in India.

Invasive plants are known to cause biodiversity loss and pose a major risk to human health and environment. Identification of invasive plants and distinguishing them from native species has been relied on morphological examination. Stringent requirement of floral characters and decreasing number of expert taxonomists are making conventional morphology-based identification system tedious and resource-intensive. DNA barcoding may help in quick identification of invasive species if distinct sequence divergence pattern at various taxonomic levels is observed. The present work evaluates the utility of four molecular markers; rbcL, matK, their combination (rbcL + matK), and psbA-trnH for identification of 37 invasive plant species from India and also in distinguishing them from 97 native species. A psbA-trnH locus was found to be of restricted utility in this work as it was represented by the members of a single family. A hierarchical increase in K2P mean divergence across different taxonomic levels was found to be the maximum for matK alone followed by rbcL + matK and rbcL alone, respectively. NJ clustering analysis, however, confirmed the suitability of combined locus (rbcL + matK) over individual rbcL and matK as the DNA barcode. RbcL showed the lowest resolution power among the three markers studied. MatK exhibited much better performance compared to rbcL alone in identifying most of the species accurately although it failed to show monophyly of genus Dinebra. Two families; Asteraceae and Poaceae, remained polyphyletic in the trees constructed by all three markers. Combined locus (rbcL + matK) was found to be the most suitable marker as it raised the resolution power of both the markers and could identify more than 90% of genera correctly. Phylogenetic tree constructed by Maximum-Parsimony method using combined locus as a molecular marker exhibited the best resolution, thus, supporting the significance of two-locus combination of rbcL + matK for barcoding invasive plant species from India. Present study contributes to the global barcode data of invasive plant species by adding fifty-one new sequences to it. Effective barcoding of additional number of native as well as invasive plant species from India is possible using this dual locus if it is combined with one or more new molecular plastid markers. Expansion of barcode database with a focus on barcode performance optimisation to improve discrimination ability at species level can be undertaken in future.

Autistic Individuals Do Not Alter Visual Processing Strategy During Encoding Versus Recognition of Faces: A Hidden Markov Modeling Approach.

Visual face recognition-the ability to encode, discriminate, and recognize the faces of others-is fundamentally supported by eye movements and is a common source of difficulty for autistic individuals. We aimed to evaluate how visual processing strategies (i.e., eye movement patterns) directly support encoding and recognition of faces in autistic and neurotypical (NT) individuals. We used a hidden Markov modeling approach to evaluate the spatiotemporal dynamics of eye movements in autistic (n = 15) and neurotypical (NT) adolescents (n = 17) during a face identity recognition task. We discovered distinct eye movement patterns among all participants, which included a focused and exploratory strategy. When evaluating change in visual processing strategy across encoding and recognition phases, autistic individuals did not shift their eye movement patterns like their NT peers, who shifted to a more exploratory visual processing strategy during recognition. These findings suggest that autistic individuals do not modulate their visual processing strategy across encoding and recognition of faces, which may be an indicator of less efficient face processing.

MobileNet-GRU fusion for optimizing diagnosis of yellow vein mosaic virus

Yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV) is a destructive plant virus that commonly affects crops, particularly okra, in India. The virus is transmitted by whiteflies and poses significant challenges to agricultural productivity. Infection with YVMV leads to distinct yellow vein patterns on leaves, stunted growth, reduced yield, and ultimately economic losses for farmers. Timely and accurate detection of YVMV is crucial for effective disease management. In this article, we present a novel method that employs advanced deep-learning models to identify YVMV-infected okra plants. The study leverages a dataset of over 2000 okra plant leaves that implements transfer learning models, including MobileNet, EfficientNet, InceptionV3, VGG19, InceptionResNetV2, and ResNet50 and recurrent neural networks (RNN) variants, including Long short-term memory (LSTM), Bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) and Gated recurrent unit (GRU). Additionally, three hybrid models, combining MobileNet with LSTM, BiLSTM, and GRU, are incorporated to capitalize on the characteristics of both MobileNet and RNNs through superior feature extraction and detection of temporal dependencies. The results demonstrate that the MobileNet model combined with all three RNNs achieves exceptional accuracy, surpassing 99.27%. Notably, the MobileNet model integrated with GRU exhibits the most optimized performance with the least loss and greatest accuracy, facilitating improved disease management strategies and aiding in the yield of crops by reducing the impact of YVMV.

Inclusion Body Myositis in Children: Does it Exist?

Context: Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is a rare type of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIMs). It mainly affects skeletal muscles but can also affect the skin and other organs in the body. Sporadic inclusion body myositis prevalence in children under 18 years old is very rare. Objectives: This review provides an overview of the evidence of sIBM in children, discusses the possible clinical and pathological features, and explores the proposed pathogenesis. Methods: A literature review of over 44 articles in PubMed and other medical libraries, such as Google Scholar and Web of Science, was carried out using terms such as JIIM, IBM, Inflammatory Myopathies in Children, and Inherited IBM. Two documented reports for sIBM were found, and the rest included the disease pathogenesis, prevalence of inherited IBM, and other myopathies in children. Results: This review discussed the prevalence and incidence of JIIM, in particular sIBM in children. While IBM is typically sporadic, there have been rare cases where it is familial and inherited. Genetic susceptibility factors are believed to play a role in sIBM. Most patients with sIBM are over 50 years old and experience significant weakness in the quadriceps; however, patients with inherited IBM (h-IBM) typically present earlier in adulthood with a distinct pattern of weakness. Sporadic inclusion body myositis can be misdiagnosed as other forms of myopathies, such as juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) or limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), during the early stages of the disease. The exact causes of sIBM are still unknown; however, environmental factors, genetic predispositions, and immune dysregulation might contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Conclusions: Sporadic inclusion body myositis is a rare form of JIIMs. Its early diagnosis in children can be challenging due to the presence of other coexisting diseases. Discussions have revolved around potential environmental factors, such as viral infections, specific myositis-specific antibodies (MSAs), such as anti-Ro52, and possibly certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes. Given the rarity of reported cases of sIBM in children, it is important to encourage further studies to better understand the underdiagnosed instances of this condition.

The role of biogeographical barriers on the historical dynamics of passerine birds with a circum-Amazonian distribution.

Common distributional patterns have provided the foundations of our knowledge of Neotropical biogeography. A distinctive pattern is the "circum-Amazonian distribution", which surrounds Amazonia across the forested lowlands south and east of the basin, the Andean foothills, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. The underlying evolutionary and biogeographical mechanisms responsible for this widespread pattern of avian distribution have yet to be elucidated. Here, we test the effects of biogeographical barriers in four species in the passerine family Thamnophilidae by performing comparative demographic analyses of genome-scale data. Specifically, we used flanking regions of ultraconserved regions to estimate population historical parameters and genealogical trees and tested demographic models reflecting contrasting biogeographical scenarios explaining the circum-Amazonian distribution. We found that taxa with circum-Amazonian distribution have at least two main phylogeographical clusters: (1) Andes, often extending into Central America and the Tepuis; and (2) the remaining of their distribution. These clusters are connected through corridors along the Chaco-Cerrado and southeastern Amazonia, allowing gene flow between Andean and eastern South American populations. Demographic histories are consistent with Pleistocene climatic fluctuations having a strong influence on the diversification history of circum-Amazonian taxa, Refugia played a crucial role, enabling both phenotypic and genetic differentiation, yet maintaining substantial interconnectedness to keep considerable levels of gene flow during different dry/cool and warm/humid periods. Additionally, steep environmental gradients appear to play a critical role in maintaining both genetic and phenotypic structure.

Investigating students’ meaning-making of multiple visual representations of epigenetics at different levels of biological organisation

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate students’ meaning–making of multiple visual representations of epigenetics at different levels of biological organisation, and to discern what visual aspects of the multiple visual representations might influence students’ reasoning. Adopting an exploratory approach, we analysed how students made meaning of visually communicated epigenetics phenomena while pointing at and reasoning about the multiple visual representations as part of semi-structured focus groups. We investigated students’ meaning-making of the multiple visual representations by analysing their indications through physical pointing and accompanying verbal utterances. The analysis revealed meaning-making and the nature of linking between levels of organisation in four distinct patterns, namely intra horizontal linking, inter horizontal linking, one level vertical linking and two level vertical linking. In addition, five different visual characteristics of the multiple visual representations emerged as influencing students’ reasoning while linking between different organisation levels: multiple visual representations, salient visual features, analogous visual features, familiar visual elements, and textual adjuncts. The study shows that multiple visual representations at different levels of organisation can support students’ meaning-making of epigenetics, indicating that this way of communicating can be transferable to other biological domains. Potential implications for future research and teaching practice are provided.

Functional characterization of D-type cyclins involved in cell division in rice

BackgroundD-type cyclins (CYCD) regulate the cell cycle G1/S transition and are thus closely involved in cell cycle progression. However, little is known about their functions in rice.ResultsWe identified 14 CYCD genes in the rice genome and confirmed the presence of characteristic cyclin domains in each. The expression of the OsCYCD genes in different tissues was investigated. Most OsCYCD genes were expressed at least in one of the analyzed tissues, with varying degrees of expression. Ten OsCYCD proteins could interact with both retinoblastoma-related protein (RBR) and A-type cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKA) forming holistic complexes, while OsCYCD3;1, OsCYCD6;1, and OsCYCD7;1 bound only one component, and OsCYCD4;2 bound to neither protein. Interestingly, all OsCYCD genes except OsCYCD7;1, were able to induce tobacco pavement cells to re-enter mitosis with different efficiencies. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsCYCD2;2, OsCYCD6;1, and OsCYCD7;1 (which induced cell division in tobacco with high-, low-, and zero-efficiency, respectively) were created. Higher levels of cell division were observed in both the stomatal lineage and epidermal cells of the OsCYCD2;2- and OsCYCD6;1-overexpressing plants, with lower levels seen in OsCYCD7;1-overexpressing plants.ConclusionsThe distinct expression patterns and varying effects on the cell cycle suggest different functions for the various OsCYCD proteins. Our findings will enhance understanding of the CYCD family in rice and provide a preliminary foundation for the future functional verification of these genes.

Identification of MicroRNA Profiles in Fetal Spina Bifida: The Role in Pathomechanism and Diagnostic Significance.

Distinct miRNA expression patterns may reflect anomalies related to fetal congenital malformations such as spinal bifida (SB). The aim of this preliminary study was to determine the maternal miRNA expression profile of women carrying fetuses with SB. Therefore, six women carrying fetuses with SB and twenty women with euploid healthy fetuses were enrolled in this study. Using NanoString technology, we evaluated the expression level of 798 miRNAs in both plasma and amniotic fluid samples. A downregulation of miR-1253, miR-1290, miR-194-5p, miR-302d-3p, miR-3144-3p, miR-4536-5p, miR-548aa + miR-548t-3p, miR-548ar-5p, miR-548n, miR-590-5p, miR-612, miR-627-5p, miR-644a, and miR-122-5p, and an upregulation of miR-320e, let-7b-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-873-3p, and miR-30d-5p were identified in maternal amniotic fluid samples in SB when compared to the control group. The target genes of these miRNAs play a predominant role in regulating the synthesis of several biological compounds related to signaling pathways such as those regulating the pluripotency of stem cells. Moreover, the maternal plasma expression of miR-320e was increased in pregnancies with SB, and this marker could serve as a valuable non-invasive screening tool. Our results highlight the SB-specific miRNA signature and the differentially expressed miRNAs that may be involved in SB pathogenesis. Our findings emphasize the role of miRNA as a predictive factor that could potentially be useful in prenatal genetic screening for SB.

Identification of lineage-specific epigenetic regulators FOXA1 and GRHL2 through chromatin accessibility profiling in breast cancer cell lines.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and breast cancer cell lines are invaluable for studying this heterogeneity. However, the epigenetic diversity across these cell lines remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed genome-wide chromatin accessibility analysis on 23 breast cancer cell lines, including 2 estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative (ER+/HER2-), 3 ER+/HER2+, 3 HER2+, and 15 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lines. These cell lines were classified into three groups based on their chromatin accessibility: the receptor-positive group (Group-P), TNBC basal group (Group-B), and TNBC mesenchymal group (Group-M). Motif enrichment analysis revealed that only Group-P exhibited coenrichment of forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) and grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2) motifs, whereas Group-B was characterized by the presence of the GRHL2 motif without FOXA1. Notably, Group-M did not show enrichment of either FOXA1 or GRHL2 motifs. Furthermore, gene ontology analysis suggested that group-specific accessible regions were associated with their unique lineage characteristics. To investigate the epigenetic landscape regulatory roles of FOXA1 and GRHL2, we performed knockdown experiments targeting FOXA1 and GRHL2, followed by assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing analysis. The findings revealed that FOXA1 maintains Group-P-specific regions while suppressing Group-B-specific regions in Group-P cells. In contrast, GRHL2 preserves commonly accessible regions shared between Group-P and Group-B in Group-B cells, suggesting that FOXA1 and GRHL2 play a pivotal role in preserving distinct chromatin accessibility patterns for each group. Specifically, FOXA1 distinguishes between receptor-positive and TNBC cell lines, whereas GRHL2 distinguishes between basal-like and mesenchymal subtypes in TNBC lines.

Association of diet, lifestyle, and chronotype with metabolic health in Ukrainian adults: a cross-sectional study

Morning chronotypes are associated with healthier metabolic profiles and lifestyles compared to evening chronotypes. However, limited research examined the relationship between chronotype, dietary intake, and metabolic health using accurate measures such as food records. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between chronotype, dietary intake, and metabolic health markers in a cohort of Ukrainian individuals. Chronotypes were determined using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) in 110 healthy to obese individuals (30–75 years) without type 2 diabetes. Dietary intake was derived from weighed seven days food diaries, anthropometrics and blood markers of glucose and lipid metabolism were measured. Morning chronotypes were significantly older and exhibited distinct dietary patterns, including lower intake of fat and animal protein and higher intake of carbohydrates when compared to evening chronotypes (p < 0.01). Higher MEQ scores, reflecting a tendency toward a morning chronotype, were associated with lower BMI, waist circumference, fasting triglycerides, and glucose (p < 0.05). Further, being of morning chronotype predicted better overall metabolic health. These associations remained significant after adjusting for confounders. The findings suggest that morning chronotypes have a different dietary pattern characterized by a more balanced diet and favorable metabolic profile. Synchronizing daily routines with morning preferences could positively influence metabolic health.

A numerical study on the hydrodynamics of a swimming crocodile model

Aiming to uncover the propulsion mechanisms underlying a cruising crocodile, we conduct computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations on the flow around a simplified three-dimensional model of the Crocodylus siamensis. The locomotion of the crocodile model is realized through undulating its body and tail, mimicking a crocodile-like swimming pattern. At a cruising speed of U∞ = 0.5 m/s (corresponding to a Reynolds number Re = 9.95 × 105 based on U∞ and the body length L), the hydrodynamics of the crocodile model are investigated, taking into account effects of the undulation parameters (i.e., amplitude A and frequency f). The normalized undulation parameters cover broad ranges of 0.6 ≤ A* = A/W ≤ 1.0 and 0.25 ≤ f * = fW/U∞ ≤ 0.625, where W is the body width. The CFD simulations are conducted in ANSYS Fluent, with the SST k–ω turbulence model and user-defined functions for dynamic mesh being used. Numerical results reveal that A* and f * render profound effects on the hydrodynamic performance of the crocodile model. The time-mean axial force coefficient (CA¯) and power coefficient (C¯Power) exhibit rapid growth with increasing A* and/or f *, while the root mean square lateral force coefficient (Cy,rms) is more dependent on f * than on A*. It is further found that, irrespective of A*, CA¯ and C¯Power can be well scaled with Strouhal number St (= 2fA/U∞) or St2(1 − U∞/c). Furthermore, distinct flow patterns are observed in the wake of the crocodile model undulating at different St, corresponding to the drag, transition (or cruising), and thrust type swimming, respectively. Discussion is made on the wake flow structures and their connections to the generation of the hydrodynamic forces. The findings from this work contribute to the understanding of the propulsion mechanisms of the swimming crocodile, meaningful for the design of efficient biomimetic amphibious robots.

Harnessing Gravity‐Induced Instability of Soft Materials: Mechanics and Application

AbstractThis work offers a comprehensive overview of how gravity affects soft materials, with a particular emphasis on gravity‐induced instability. Soft materials, including biological tissues, elastomers, and gels, are characterized by low elastic moduli and the ability to undergo significant deformations. These large deformations can lead to instabilities and the emergence of distinctive surface patterns when even small perturbations are introduced. An in‐depth understanding of these gravity‐induced instabilities in soft materials is of paramount importance for both fundamental scientific research and practical applications across diverse domains. The underlying mechanisms governing these instabilities are delved in and elucidate the techniques employed to study and manipulate them. Further, the gravity‐induced wrinkling and the Rayleigh‐Taylor (RT) instability in soft materials are zoomed in, highlighting how altered gravity environments impact natural and synthetic systems. Lastly, current and potential applications are underscored where gravity‐induced instabilities are already making an impact or may hold promise in the near future. In sum, the exploration of gravity‐induced instabilities in soft materials paves the way for innovative applications and advancements in a wide range of fields.

Spatially uncorrelated two port MIMO DRA using phase gradient PRS for dual directional pattern diversity

This study presents a system utilizing a cylindrical shape ceramic along with a suspended frequency selective surface (FSS), designed for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) applications with dual ports. The proposed antenna system showcases dual pattern diversity properties introducing spatially uncorrelated pattern. Key features of the structured radiator include the arrangement of cylindrical ceramic and the incorporation of an FSS. The alumina ceramic is purposefully placed on the upper part of the dielectric with a joint ground plane. These ceramics are stimulated using circular aperture. To reduce the far-field correlation, FSS with similar phase gradients are placed at the top of DRA at a certain distance. This arrangement yields two distinct radiation patterns from the two ports, ensuring a diverse radiation pattern for the antenna. The proposed technique yields significant improvements, surpassing 10 dB in isolation and achieving a 70% improvement in correlation values. The measured results validate the applicability of this antenna structure for WLAN access point applications within the 5.15–5.35 GHz frequency range.

Holistic exploration of CHGA and hsa-miR-137 in colorectal cancer via multi-omic data Integration

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks among the most widespread malignancies globally, with early detection significantly influencing prognosis. Employing a systems biology approach, we aimed to unravel the intricate mRNA-miRNA network linked to CRC pathogenesis, potentially yielding diagnostic biomarkers. Through an integrative analysis of microarray, Bulk RNA-seq, and single-cell RNA-seq data, we explored CRC-related transcriptomes comprehensively. Differential gene expression analysis uncovered crucial genes, while Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified key modules closely linked to CRC. Remarkably, CRC manifested its strongest correlation with the turquoise module, signifying its pivotal role. From the cohort of genes showing high Gene Significance (GS) and Module Membership (MM), and Differential Expression Genes (DEGs), we highlighted the downregulated Chromogranin A (CHGA) as a notable hub gene in CRC. This finding was corroborated by the Human Protein Atlas database, which illustrated decreased CHGA expression in CRC tissues. Additionally, CHGA displayed elevated expression in primary versus metastatic cell lines, as evidenced by the CCLE database. Subsequent RT-qPCR validation substantiated the marked downregulation of CHGA in CRC tissues, reinforcing the significance of our differential expression analysis. Analyzing the Space-Time Gut Cell Atlas dataset underscored specific CHGA expression in epithelial cell subclusters, a trend persisting across developmental stages. Furthermore, our scrutiny of colon and small intestine Enteroendocrine cells uncovered distinct CHGA expression patterns, accentuating its role in CRC pathogenesis. Utilizing the WGCNA algorithm and TargetScan database, we validated the downregulation of hsa-miR-137 in CRC, and integrated assessment highlighted its interplay with CHGA. Our findings advocate hsa-miR-137 and CHGA as promising CRC biomarkers, offering valuable insights into diagnosis and prognosis. Despite proteomic analysis yielding no direct correlation, our multifaceted approach contributes comprehensive understanding of CRC's intricate regulatory mechanisms. In conclusion, this study advances hsa-miR-137 and CHGA as promising CRC biomarkers through an integrated analysis of diverse datasets and network interactions.