Yeast flocculation is a phenomenon in which yeast zymolectins bind to mannose on adjacent cells resulting in aggregation within fermentation media. Flocculation has been extensively studied and is often assumed to occur only after media sugars are depleted as these are thought to competitively bind to zymolectins. However, yeast within the brewing industry have often been observed flocculating prematurely or staying suspended after media sugars were depleted. In this study, the mechanism of yeast (Saccharomyces pastorianus) flocculation was further investigated, specifically, how flocculation ability, zymolectins, and mannose associated with yeast cells changed throughout fermentation. It was observed that yeast flocculation behavior changed throughout fermentation despite no changes in zymolectin concentrations (as measured using bound fluoroprobes) independent of media sugar concentration. However, a strong positive correlation was observed between yeast flocculation ability and mannose concentration which increased as the fermentation progressed. This implies that the changes observed in flocculation behavior during fermentation may be more dependent on cell mannose rather than media sugars or lectins. These results have implications for yeast immobilization and flocculation control schemes. This research enhances the current understanding of the yeast flocculation mechanism with applications in brewing, bioethanol production, pharmaceutical production, precision fermentation, and cell biomass industries.

Zero-dimensional (0D) metal halides have garnered unprecedented research interest in sensing, anti-counterfeiting, light-emitting diodes, and other cutting-edge fields, owing to their unique crystal structures and exceptional optical properties. However, substantial challenges still remain in elucidating their luminescent mechanisms and precisely regulating their optoelectronic properties. Herein, we design and synthesize a 0D metal halide temperature-sensing material, Rb2(Zn,Sn)Cl4, which features stable sensing sensitivity and distinct temperature-visualization capability. The host Rb2ZnCl4 exhibits defect-related blue photoluminescence under ultraviolet excitation. Alloying with Sn2+ not only induces temperature-sensitive broadband orange emission originating from self-trapped exciton (STE) recombination but also remarkably enhances the thermal stability of defect-derived luminescence. Combined analysis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and temperature-dependent luminescence decay curves verifies that Sn2+ doping reinforces the electron localization at the conduction band bottom, which effectively suppresses the migration of excited electrons to luminescence-quenching centers. This material displays a distinct color transition from orange to blue with increasing temperature and maintains a high and stable relative sensitivity (SR) of over 1.26% K-1 in the range of 20°C-100°C. These characteristics endow Rb2ZnCl4:Sn2+ with great application potential in the field of optical temperature sensing.

BackgroundAttention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder individuals face heightened risk of unemployment and underemployment. Addressing the impact of workplace conditions on ADHD employees is a matter of equity and organisational success. A supportive and inclusive work environment allows employers to capitalise on the strengths of ADHD employees while moderating potential challenges, leading to mutual benefits for employees and organisations. Identifying how work environments undermine or facilitate success for ADHD employees is an important first step toward this goal.ObjectiveThis study examines literature on the experiences of ADHD employees in open-plan office environments, aiming to identify the scope and nature of existing research.MethodsUsing Arskey and O'Malley's scoping review framework, literature was sourced through systematic searches of four library databases, and reference lists of pertinent articles.ResultsThe analysis identified twenty-two pieces of literature, revealing a significant gap in empirical research on ADHD workers in open-plan offices. Themes that emerged include publication type and purpose, impact of open-plan office spaces, and key recommendations for employers. While empirical evidence is sparse, anecdotal evidence, professional opinions, the inherent nature of ADHD, and participants' lived experiences indicate that open-plan offices can impede creativity and productivity of ADHD employees.ConclusionsThis scoping review highlights the scarcity of systematic research on this topic and underscores the need for future studies to empirically assess how open-plan office environments affect ADHD employees. The findings suggest these environments may negatively impact not only the wellbeing of ADHD workers but the general workforce and potentially an organisation's overall performance.

Childhood malnutrition is linked to gut microbiome changes; however, most studies focus on faecal samples, while less is known about the small intestinal microbiome. Here, we characterized the duodenal microbiota of children in Zambia with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and stunting and compared the microbiomes of stunted children living across the globe. To do this, duodenal aspirates from only stunted (i.e. not concurrently wasted) (n = 53) and SAM (n = 24) Zambian children were analysed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Associations between bacterial composition, clinical features and biomarkers of enteropathy were explored. Comparison of duodenal 16S rRNA gene datasets from malnourished children in different countries was also performed using publicly available datasets to assess the impact of age and geography on microbial diversity and composition. The duodenal microbiota in both stunted and SAM children was dominated by Streptococcus, Granulicatella, Gemella and Klebsiella. Children with SAM had lower α-diversity than stunted children. Meta-analysis revealed similarities in the bacterial composition of age-matched children in different countries, but relative abundances and their association with nutritional status differed. This study offers insight into the duodenal microbiota in children with different states of malnutrition, highlighting the potential influence of geography and age in shaping the proximal small intestine. This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological, biomedical and environmental drivers of stunting'.

Addressing endemic stunting remains a primary United Nations development goal. One potential contributor to global linear growth failure is environmental enteric dysfunction (EED). However, it has proven challenging to address with interventions focused on water, sanitation and hygiene. Initial theories of EED placed primacy on recurrent enteric exposures; however, it appears that these exposures are inadequate to explain the phenotype and sequelae. Children in EED endemic regions are at high risk of having inadequate nutrition, and strong associations can be found between malnutrition and stunting. In this review, we summarize the clinical, translational and mechanistic evidence linking intake of animal source foods as a source of protein and micro-nutrients and, in their absence, essential amino acid (EAA) deficiency with stunted growth and features of EED such as altered immune behaviour. EAA deficiency has been linked to growth failure through several mechanistic pathways including intestinal inflammation, barrier disruption and chondral plate closure, and amino acid supplementation has shown clinical efficacy. By better understanding this linkage, we will be able to better study not only EED but also pathways in which dietary sources mechanistically alter systemic signalling in metabolism and immune function. This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological, biomedical and environmental drivers of stunting'.

The Y chromosome harbours few protein-coding genes and their roles in early human development remain unclear. In their work, Tomohiko Akiyama and colleagues investigate the function of UTY in human pluripotent stem cells and revisit the assumption that Y-linked genes play only limited roles in core developmental processes. To learn more about their work, we spoke with the first and corresponding author, Tomohiko Akiyama, Assistant Professor from Yokohama City University, Japan, in the Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine and the Department of Medicine.

BackgroundWork disability incurs considerable costs to individuals, companies and societies. However, work disability has not been managed in the same systematic way as workplace safety.ObjectiveWe aimed to study the current state of work disability management (WDM), in the light of Canadian WDM system standard, CSA Z1011, in large and medium-sized Finnish companies.MethodsCompany decision-makers responded to a questionnaire survey on planning, implementing and monitoring and evaluating strategic- and operational-level WDM practices. We received 311 responses (response rate 24%).ResultsDifferent operational-level WDM measures, such as return-to-work policies, modified and part-time work, were commonly documented and implemented in the majority of the participating workplaces. However, the planning and monitoring of the results were less frequent. In less than half of the companies the management had a shared understanding of WDM and its goals, and only a third had a written WDM plan. The results were evaluated in less than 60% of the companies, and only in half of them, these goals belonged to the top management's agenda.ConclusionsThis is the first published research concerning WDM in the light of CSA Z1011 system standard. The results suggest that operational-level WDM measures are common in Finnish companies, but that measures are not particularly goal oriented, and WDM is seldom connected to the company strategy.

The development of effective and succinct molecular engineering strategies for electrically conductive and structurally robust materials underpins a wide scope of electronic applications from the bottom. In this work, we construct a new family of conductive covalent organic frameworks (COFs) composed of nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) units fused by a single piperazine and dioxin linkage via aromatic nucleophilic substitution of octafluoro-substituted NiPc with the other two size- and symmetry-identical NiPc monomers peripherally equipped with amino and hydroxyl groups, respectively. This geometrically identical wielding of NiPc fragments not only affords high crystallinity by minimizing the crosslinking errors of the monomers but also yields a pair of isoelectronic COFs with only a structural difference on a single site from their piperazine and dioxin linkages. This subtle difference results in a pronounced modulation of the electrical properties of two COFs, as evidenced by their distinct bulk conductivities, which span two orders of magnitude (6 × 10- 4 S cm- 1 vs. 7 × 10- 6 S cm- 1). Further iodine incorporation enables substantial conductivity enhancements of 300% and 500% in the piperazine- and dioxin-linked COFs (NiPc-NH and NiPc-O). When integrated into chemiresistive devices, the two isoelectronic COFs show discriminated electronic responses to NO and NO2, allowing straightforward identification and quantification of these species, which would otherwise be challenging to distinguish with a single material.

Common mental disorders (CMDs) such as depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among older adults. While psychosocial interventions are increasingly recognized for their preventive potential, a comprehensive synthesis of their effectiveness with nonclinical elderly populations is pending. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms among older adults with subclinical symptom levels and to examine potential moderators (that is, intervention type, length, delivery modality, and control group characteristics). A meta-analysis was conducted of 58 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing psychosocial interventions aimed at preventing depression and/or anxiety, using validated measures and targeting adults aged ≥60. Moderator variable effects were assessed through mixed-effects meta-regressions, and effect generality was examined using multiverse analyses. Psychosocial interventions showed a moderate postintervention effect in reducing depressive symptoms (d = -0.474) that remained nontrivial and modest at follow-up (d = -0.386) compared to control. For anxiety, a small-to-moderate effect was observed postintervention (d = -0.333), with a small, albeit nominally nonsignificant, effect at follow-up (d = -0.205) compared to control. No significant differences were found between intervention types or control conditions. Younger participants experienced greater reductions in depressive symptoms from pre-to-post-intervention and at follow-up, and in anxiety symptoms from pre-to-post-intervention only. Multiverse analyses showed that intervention effects generalized across numerous variables, thus indicating a remarkable robustness of the findings. Our findings demonstrate that it is important to implement psychosocial interventions in community settings, regardless of intervention type, to protect the elderly against CMDs.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a devastating disease with high mortality and a pressing need for safer, less toxic therapies. This study identifies Hui-Xiang decoction (HXD), a formulation from food and medicine homology (FMH) herbs, as an effective and low-toxicity treatment. We identified the presence of 122 active ingredients and 12 PC associated targets in HXD by network pharmacology. HXD and its active component, ammidin, effectively inhibited the proliferation and migration of PC cells. Furthermore, treatment with HXD in clinically relevant patient-derived organoid (PDO) and xenograft (PDX) models significantly inhibited tumor growth, with minimal toxicity. Crucially, we found that HXD combats PC through a dual mechanism: simultaneously inhibiting the oncogenic EGFR/ErbB2/AKT1 pathway and activating the tumor-suppressive Hippo signaling pathway. These results not only elucidate the molecular basis for HXD's efficacy but also provide a strong rationale for its potential application in the management of PC.

Chirality, as an inherently geometric concept, is well understood at most length scales and is a principal attribute of objects and figures. Quantitative models predicting the efficacy of chirality transmission across length scales have only recently begun to emerge. We provide further proof-of-concept data and calculations for a modus operandi for nanoshape solutes featuring a chiral ligand shell in an achiral discotic nematic (ND) liquid crystal solvent, demonstrating that chirality transfer can be understood through remarkably simple geometric considerations. This mechanism is based on the product of a pseudoscalar chirality indicator and a geometric shape compatibility factor based on the 2D isoperimetric quotients for nanoshape solutes and ND molecule. The model is tested on an experimental set of precisely engineered gold nanoshapes, rods, prisms, and discs, that validates that shape commensurability between nanoscale solute and nematic solvent is a prerequisite for efficacious chirality transfer as determined by the helical twisting power of the nanoshapes in the induced chiral ND* phase. Thus, we predict that libraries of calculated and in-parallel acquired experimental data among related nanoshapes and even small organic molecules pave the way for predictive calculations of chirality transfer in nanoscale, macromolecular, biological, and small-molecule systems.

Exciton effects play a vital role in photocatalytic reactions, yet their precise regulation remains highly challenging, as even subtle variations can lead to pronounced differences in exciton behavior. To date, the influence of intermolecular interactions on exciton dynamics remains largely unexplored. Herein, two isoreticular donor-acceptor hydrogen-bonded or ganic frameworks (D-A HOFs), PFC-19 and PFC-70, are synthesized. Notably, PFC-70's monomer lacks an intrinsic donor-acceptor structure. However, pronounced orbital perturbation and reorganization occur during its self-assembly, leading to an emergent D-A reconstruction. In contrast, PFC-19 retains orbital distribution similar to its monomer. These distinct behaviors originate from stronger intermolecular interactions in PFC-70, thereby inducing dramatic energy-level reorganization. Consequently, PFC-19 predominantly generates 1O2 via an energy-transfer pathway. On the contrary, PFC-70 shows a reduced exciton binding energy and enhanced charge-transfer efficiency, leading to the formation of O2•-/•OH via a charge-transfer-dominated process. Accordingly, photocatalytic aerobic organic transformations are achieved, exhibiting excellent efficiency in 1O2-mediated C-3 arylation of quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones with PFC-19 and predominant O2•--triggered oxidative coupling of benzylamines over PFC-70. This work not only provides a general strategy for regulating intermolecular interactions via molecular engineering but also gains deep insight into exciton regulation for controlling ROS species in noncovalently assembled systems.

Accumulating evidence from experimental animal studies is essential for clarifying the causal relationship between exposure to power-frequency magnetic fields (MFs) and childhood leukemia. In this study, we developed a 50 Hz MF exposure system for experimental animals. To ensure uniform whole-body exposure of multiple animals placed at the center of the coil, we fabricated a Merritt-type coil. The maximum MF output inside the coil was 5 mT(rms), and spatial variation remained within ±2.5% of the target intensity. The system enabled stable exposure of experimental animals to uniform 50 Hz MFs while eliminating equipment-related artifacts. We then conducted exposure experiments using humanized mice, in which a human-like hematopoietic system was established by transplanting human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), to a 50 Hz, 5 mT(rms) MF for 2 months. After exposure, the chimerism rates of human leukocytes in hematopoietic organs of the MF-exposed group were comparable to those in the control group. Furthermore, exposure to the 50 Hz MF did not affect early differentiation of human B cells in the bone marrow of humanized mice. These findings support our previous in vitro results and validate the use of humanized mice for evaluating the effects of power-frequency MFs on human hematopoiesis. This system is expected to evaluate the effects of 50 Hz MFs not only on normal human hematopoiesis in humanized mice but also under abnormal conditions such as preleukemic state induced by transplanting genetically modified HSPCs.

Supported boron oxide catalysts have demonstrated ultra-high selectivity in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP), but their practical deployment is severely limited by poor thermal stability and rapid deactivation, primarily due to the hydrolysis of active B-O sites forming volatile boric acid. Here, we develop a catalyst comprising a crystalline LaAlO3 (LAO) perovskite coated with an amorphous LaAlBOx overlayer, achieved through the thermal treatment of physically mixed H3BO3 and LAO. During reaction, the amorphous LaAlBOx overlayer grows in thickness, wherein the concurrent formation of strong M-O-B (M = La, Al) bonds effectively suppress boron volatilization, ensuring long-term structural stability. The optimized catalyst achieves a propylene yield of 21% and a total olefin selectivity of 97% during continuous operation at 500°C for 100 h, which ranks among the top-tier performance reported in the literature. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the formation of M-O-B bonds not only stabilizes boron species from volatilization but also lowers the energy barrier of the rate-determining-step in ODHP, thereby leading to remarkable catalytic performance. Importantly, this strategy is found to be extendable to other perovskites (e.g., SmAlO3, SrTiO3, BaTiO3), underscoring its generality for designing durable boron‑based catalysts.