2D nanomaterials with precisely controlled dimensions and spatially segregated functionalities hold tremendous promise for advanced applications, yet the high-yield fabrication of polymeric analogues with compositional complexity remains challenging. Herein, we report a strategy for the controlled growth of patchy nanosheets via crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-containing block copolymers (BCPs). Two sets of BCPs, BPOSS4-APOSS and BPOSS2-KPOM, were precisely synthesized through efficient thiol-maleimide coupling. BPOSS4-APOSS undergoes CDSA to form uniform, monodisperse 2D nanosheets with a thickness of ≈4.5 nm, serving as crystalline seeds. Critically, BPOSS2-KPOM can undergo kinetically controlled heteroepitaxial deposition exclusively at the edges of preformed nanosheets, yielding patchy 2D architectures with tunable peripheral thickness. The inner region maintains the original BPOSS4-APOSS structure with hydrophilic APOSS coronas, while the outer patch consists of BPOSS2-KPOM featuring polyoxometalate (POM)-based coronas. This sequential epitaxial growth enables precise control over the lateral dimensions and patch thickness through multiple growth cycles. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of heteroepitaxy in precision molecular systems and establishes a versatile route toward multifunctional 2D nanomaterials with spatially encoded chemical complexity, opening new avenues for the rational design of hierarchical nanostructures.

Ag is attractive for thin-film applications requiring high thermal and electrical conductivity, yet increasing strength and strain resistance without compromising the physical performance in pure Ag remains difficult. Here, experiments and atomistic simulations reveal a nanoscale strengthening mechanism in which ultrathin semicrystalline Ni-rich nanolayers are intercalated between thicker nanocrystalline Ag films, forming a stable multilayered structure composed of pure nanocrystalline Ag and multiphase Ni-Ag nanoalloy. This architecture yields a hardness of 2.6 GPa, a tensile strength of 677 MPa, and 6.6% plastic elongation, all surpassing previous Ag thin-film records while preserving high electrical conductivity. Chemical and structural heterogeneities confined within the intercalated nanolayers promote multiphase interface-mediated plasticity, which markedly enhances strain hardening and tensile ductility relative to conventional crystalline Ag-Ni nanolaminates at similar Ag thickness. This nanoscale strengthening mechanism provides a general strategy for designing nanocrystalline metallic films with exceptional mechanical and physical properties.

The late Cenozoic period saw widespread diversification of grazing hoofed mammals characterized by high-crowned molar teeth with low, thinly enameled crests. However, Australia's dominant grazing herbivores, the kangaroos, have much lower-crowned and higher-relief molars that are more akin to some "archaic" placental herbivores. Using x-ray microcomputed tomography scanning, we show that as kangaroos shifted to higher-abrasion grazing diets, their ancestrally vertical, interlocking mode of occlusion favored the acquisition of thick enamel as a durability adaptation. Extant grass-feeding kangaroos have relatively much thicker molar enamel than browsing taxa, especially across the cutting lophs. Data from 41 fossil assemblages reveal a progressive increase in kangaroo enamel thickness from the Late Miocene that correlates with the expansion of arid Australian habitats. The evolutionary success of kangaroos reveals unappreciated contingency in herbivore adaptation and diversification.

Continental margins are sources of iron (Fe), a critical oceanic micronutrient limiting productivity over nearly a third of the ocean. Paradoxically, they are also sinks of Fe and other particle-reactive elements that are sequestered in margin sediments. When dissolved Fe is released from reducing sediments, most is retained on the shelf by oxidative scavenging ("Fe trapping"), severely constraining cross-shelf export of dissolved Fe. However, observations from the Oregon shelf in 2021 show that cross-shelf export is overwhelmingly dominated by particulate Fe, forming persistent, particle-rich plumes that extend well beyond the shelf-slope break. Particles accumulate in a 30 m thick benthic nepheloid layer within hypoxic zones overlying the continental shelf sediments, previously shown to be a strong source of reduced iron. Surprisingly, resuspended particulate Fe includes both nonlithogenic and lithogenic components, suggesting that hypoxia influences particle buoyancy and resuspension, consistent with recent advances in organic geochemistry. A physical-biogeochemical model that incorporates oxygen-dependent particle sources and realistic settling velocities reproduces the distribution of particle-rich plumes, highlighting the dynamic physical processes driving cross-shelf export of particulate Fe. We propose that increases in particle buoyancy is a previously unrecognized mechanism linking hypoxia and Fe mobilization acting in tandem with well-established redox processes. Particles settle on the continental slope and supply large Fe plumes extending westward from the slope from 200 m to 2,000 m. Simulations with an inverse model show that these plumes outcrop in Fe-limited high nutrient low chlorophyll regions. Thus, local and regional hypoxia on the margins could have basin-scale biogeochemical impacts.

Phonocardiogram (PCG) has increasingly been applied to out-of-hospital monitoring and home health management. Among these, Bone-Conduction PCG (BCPCG) has emerged as a promising solution for long-term wearable cardiac sound monitoring due to its superior noise resistance and privacy protection. However, its acquisition is susceptible to variations in textile thickness and contact pressure, exacerbating instability in critical event detection. To systematically evaluate these influencing mechanisms, this study quantifies the impact of varying textile thickness (0-5.92 mm) and pressure (0-15 N) combinations on BCPCG. First, an equivalent mass-damping-spring model was employed to assess the transmission dynamics qualitatively. Subsequently, rigorous experiments were designed to collect signals and compare key features, including S1/S2 localization accuracy, pseudo signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and spectral centroid (SC). The results demonstrate that BCPCG signals remain relatively stable within the 0-2 N range, exhibit slight degradation between 3-5 N, and experience a marked decline under high pressure (10-15 N), where the PSNR drops by nearly 50% and S1 localization accuracy decreases to 70.27%. This may stem from tissue tremors and amplified high-frequency noise under high pressure. Meanwhile, textile thickness at low pressures primarily affects high-frequency components without significantly impacting localization accuracy. Finally, a classification model based on Top-11 features identified contact pressure intervals (0-2 N, 3-5 N, 10-15 N), and the macro-averaged AUC reached 0.985. This study validates the feasibility of pressure-inverse inference using BCPCG features, providing theoretical and practical foundations for real-world applications.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy is the mainstay of management for diabetic macular edema (DME), but marked variability in response, high injection frequency, and cumulative treatment burden highlight the need for tools that can individualize treatment beyond protocol-driven regimens. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a pathway toward more individualized risk stratification and prognostic support primarily by capturing statistical associations rather than biological mechanisms. Deep learning systems have achieved great accuracy in detecting diabetic retinopathy (DR) and DME. Several autonomous DR/DME screening solutions are in clinical use. Recent advances have applied supervised machine learning, convolutional neural networks, generative adversarial networks, and ensemble methods to multimodal data from fundus images, baseline and follow-up optical coherence tomography (OCT), along with clinical and biochemical data, to classify likely responders and non-responders. These models automatically quantify and track imaging biomarkers to accurately predict central subfield thickness and vision outcomes after loading doses, and estimate future injection burden. AI-driven decision-support tools analyze vast amounts of patient data, treatment histories, and integrate multimodal data, including fundus images, OCT images, and systemic data to provide recommendations for optimal treatment and follow-up, tailored to each individual profile. The AI systems can potentially generate individualized risk and response profiles that can support decisions on initiating therapy, choosing between agents, tailoring treat-and-extend intervals, and timing switches to steroids or combination strategies. However, issues of generalizability, transparency, workflow integration, and ethical deployment need to be systematically addressed. AI-enabled decision support for patient selection and treatment response prediction is poised to become an integral component of anti-VEGF therapy.

Volcanic eruptions and glacial ice have occurred at virtually all latitudes and altitudes throughout Mars history. To assess the astrobiological potential of processes and microenvironments associated with lava flows onto glacial ice, we explore: (1) the influence of lava flow loading on the flow behavior of underlying ice, (2) whether, and for how long, wet-based conditions might occur and be sustained in otherwise cold-based glacial environments, and (3) the immediate fate of the meltwater generated, whether moulins can be generated, and whether and for how long wet-based conditions are generated by such processes. We employ a 1D time-dependent solution of the heat-flow equation to solve for the transient temperature field within a column of ice subjected to instantaneous deposition of a hot lava layer, exploring the parameter space by examining six different initial surface temperatures and three potential geothermal fluxes to characterize a range of past climates/geological regimes. We observe an initial pulse of accelerated flow due to the increased loading by the lava and consequent increase in the driving stress. A secondary pulse of acceleration occurs as the temperature wave from the lava penetrates the ice and reaches the bed, where the bulk of the deformation occurs in response to the warmer, softer ice. We observe basal melting as the bed briefly reaches the melting point and characterize the amounts of water produced during such brief basal melting intervals. Examination of the meltwater generated below, and in moats adjacent to the superposed lava, shows that completely full moats can propagate cracks through km-thick ice, and such crevasses can remain open (moulins) if they are at least 90% full. The greatest volume of drained water is produced by thin lava over thick ice, but the longest duration draining events occur for moderate lava thicknesses over thinner ice. Locally wet-based glacial conditions could persist below the superposed lava flow for durations well over ∼10[3] years. We explore the detailed consequences of lava flow/ice interaction, highlighting those most important for the formation and dispersal of potential cryophilic microbiota on Mars, opening new windows of Mars history for astrobiological research and exploration.

This study evaluated the effect of aging on bone regeneration in mandibular extraction sockets. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three age groups: 2-month-old (2 M, n = 6), 10-month-old (10 M, n = 6), and 18-month-old (18 M, n = 5). Two weeks post-extraction, comprehensive analyses were performed using micro-computed tomography (µ-CT), serum bone turnover markers, histology, and immunohistochemistry. Notably, to ensure accurate volumetric assessment, a specific tooth-based region of interest utilizing the extracted tooth was employed for precise µ-CT analysis. Radiologically, the 18 M group exhibited significantly reduced bone volume and trabecular thickness compared to the younger groups. Serum analysis revealed that younger rats maintained higher baseline metabolic activity, specifically regarding osteocalcin and CTX-I, and exhibited a distinct post-extraction tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b response. Histological and immunohistochemical findings corroborated these results; the 10 M group demonstrated the most favorable bone regeneration with maximal alkaline phosphatase expression filling the socket, whereas the 18 M group exhibited compromised healing characterized by empty sockets and inflammatory cell accumulation. In conclusion, aging significantly deteriorates the biological healing capacity of alveolar bone. Although younger animals exhibit robust metabolic responses and bone formation, senescent rats show a marked decline in regenerative potential, emphasizing the need for age-specific considerations in dental rehabilitation.

Age-related changes to BMD, morphometry, and microarchitecture do not occur uniformly across the population and the common skeletal phenotypes beyond BMD are not well defined. Additionally, the associations between bone and muscle are critical to understanding fall and fracture risk. We hypothesized that unsupervised clustering of High Resolution-peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT) measures at the distal tibia (DT) and radius (DR), separately, would reveal unique skeletal phenotypes; and certain phenotypes would be associated with worse muscle function. In the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA; first annual follow-up visit), a cohort of community-dwelling older women and men (61% women; 87% White), HR-pQCT parameters acquired at the DT (N = 321; 76.3 ± 4.6 yr) and DR (N = 295; 76.1 ± 4.5 yr) were standardized within-sex then combined to form clusters. This resulted in 3 phenotypic clusters, (C1) high total BMD (Tt.BMD) and cortical area (Ct.Ar); (C2) medium Tt.BMD, Ct.Ar and low trabecular BMD (Tb.BMD); and (C3) low Tt.BMD, and Ct.Ar. DT C2 and C3 exhibited lower micro finite element analysis failure loads, with the cortical load fraction higher in C2 and lower in C3. C2 and C3 both had a similar proportion of osteoporotic and osteopenic/low bone density individuals, highlighting the novel granularity of HR-pQCT clusters vs. aBMD clinical cutoffs. In linear regression models for women, DT C3 was associated with lower leg power (p < .05). For men, DT C3 was associated with lower stair climb and leg power (p < .05). No significant difference was found in grip strength between DT clusters. For DR, no significant difference or association was found between muscle function and clusters for women and men. These findings suggest the concept of bone phenotypic-specific associations with lower but not upper extremity muscle function and have possible implications for the interaction between skeletal phenotypes and muscle function as potential contributory factors to fracture risk.