The preprophase band-associated kinesin-14 OsKCH2 is a processive minus-end-directed microtubule motor.

In animals and fungi, cytoplasmic dynein is a processive minus-end-directed motor that plays dominant roles in various intracellular processes. In contrast, land plants lack cytoplasmic dynein but contain many minus-end-directed kinesin-14s. No plant kinesin-14 is known to produce processive motility as a homodimer. OsKCH2 is a plant-specific kinesin-14 with an N-terminal actin-binding domain and a central motor domain flanked by two predicted coiled-coils (CC1 and CC2). Here, we show that OsKCH2 specifically decorates preprophase band microtubules in vivo and transports actin filaments along microtubules in vitro. Importantly, OsKCH2 exhibits processive minus-end-directed motility on single microtubules as individual homodimers. We find that CC1, but not CC2, forms the coiled-coil to enable OsKCH2 dimerization. Instead, our results reveal that removing CC2 renders OsKCH2 a nonprocessive motor. Collectively, these results show that land plants have evolved unconventional kinesin-14 homodimers with inherent minus-end-directed processivity that may function to compensate for the loss of cytoplasmic dynein

Predicting the Severity and Prognosis of Trismus after Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Oral Cancer Patients by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

To develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicators to predict trismus outcome for post-operative oral cavity cancer patients who received adjuvant intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), 22 patients with oral cancer treated with IMRT were studied over a two-year period. Signal abnormality scores (SA scores) were computed from Likert-type ratings of the abnormalities of nine masticator structures and compared with the Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test between groups. Seventeen patients (77.3%) experienced different degrees of trismus during the two-year follow-up period. The SA score correlated with the trismus grade (r = 0.52, p<0.005). Patients having progressive trismus had higher mean doses of radiation to multiple structures, including the masticator and lateral pterygoid muscles, and the parotid gland (p<0.05). In addition, this group also had higher SA-masticator muscle dose product at 6 months and SA scores at 12 months (p<0.05). At the optimum cut-off points of 0.38 for the propensity score, the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity was 93% for predicting the prognosis of the trismus patients. The SA score, as determined using MRI, can reflect the radiation injury and correlate to trismus severity. Together with the radiation dose, it could serve as a useful biomarker to predict the outcome and guide the management of trismus following radiation therapy

Post-activation Performance Enhancement after a Bout of Accentuated Eccentric Loading in Collegiate Male Volleyball Players

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) after accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) compared to traditional resistance loading (TR). Sixteen male volleyball athletes were divided in AEL and TR group. AEL group performed 3 sets of 4 repetitions (eccentric: 105% of concentric 1RM, concentric: 80% of concentric 1RM) of half squat, and TR group performed 3 sets of 5 repetitions (eccentric & concentric: 85% of 1RM). Countermovement jump (CMJ), spike jump (SPJ), isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), and muscle soreness test were administered before (Pre) exercise, and 10 min (10-min), 24 h (24-h), and 48 h (48-h) after exercise. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Peak force and rate of development (RFD) of IMTP in AEL group were significantly greater (p 0.05) groups x time. AEL seemed capable to maintain force production in IMTP, but not in CMJ and SPJ. It is recommended the use of accentuated eccentric loading protocols to overcome the fatigue

Design of high antifouling pH-responsive membrane for anionic dye filtration under alkaline conditions

In this work, a novel high-antifouling poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composite membrane was synthesized via free radical polymerization by incorporating a pH-responsive poly(N-acryloyl-L-alanine) (poly(Ala-OH)) as a functional skin layer and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate-terminated poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (SMA-HEA) as an amphiphilic linker for effective integration onto the PVDF substrate. FT-IR and XRD analyses confirmed the successful grafting of poly(Ala-OH) through the C=C bond of the linker, leading to a significant enhancement in membrane hydrophilicity. As a result, the modified membranes exhibited a hydrophilic surface. The pH-responsive behavior of the membrane was evident under alkaline conditions (pH = 11), where deprotonation of carboxylic acid groups induced a stronger negative surface charge, causing molecular chain expansion due to electrostatic repulsion. This structural adjustment further improved membrane hydrophilicity and anionic dye rejection. Consequently, the poly(Ala-OH)-modified PVDF membrane demonstrated higher and more stable flux during cyclic filtration tests under alkaline conditions. The results highlight the critical role of the poly(Ala-OH) layer’s carboxylic acid groups and membrane charge variations in significantly enhancing overall hydrophilicity and antifouling performance, making it a promising solution for anionic dye filtration

Direct evidence of ZnO morphology modification via the selective adsorption of ZnO-binding peptides

Biomolecule-mediated ZnO synthesis has great potential for the tailoring of ZnO morphology for specific application in biosensors, window materials for display and solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), biomedical materials, and photocatalysts due to its specificity and multi-functionality. In this contribution, the effect of a ZnO-binding peptide (ZnO-BP, G-12: GLHVMHKVAPPR) and its GGGC-tagged derivative (GT-16: GLHVMHKVAPPRGGGC) on the growth of ZnO crystals expressing morphologies dependent on the relative growth rates of (0001) and (10 (1) over bar0) planes of ZnO have been studied. The amount of peptide adsorbed was determined by a depletion method using oriented ZnO films grown by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), while the adsorption behavior of G-12 and GT-16 was investigated using XPS and a computational approach. Direct evidence was obtained to show that (i) both the ZnO-BP identified by phage display and its GGGC derivative (GT-16) are able to bind to ZnO and modify crystal growth in a molecule and concentration dependent fashion, (ii) plane selectivity for interaction with the (0001) versus the (10 (1) over bar0) crystal planes is greater for GT-16 than G-12; and (iii) specific peptide residues interact with the crystal surface albeit in the presence of charge compensating anions. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide unambiguous and direct quantitative experimental evidence of the modification of ZnO morphology via (selective and nonselective) adsorption-growth inhibition mechanisms mediated by a ZnO-BP identified from phage display libraries

Familial aggregation and heritability of schizophrenia and co-aggregation of psychiatric illnesses in affected families

Strong familial aggregation of schizophrenia has been reported but there is uncertainty concerning the degree of genetic contribution to the phenotypic variance of the disease. This study aimed to examine the familial aggregation and heritability of schizophrenia, and the relative risks (RRs) of other psychiatric diseases, in relatives of people with schizophrenia using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. The study population included individuals with affected first-degree or second-degree relatives identified from all beneficiaries (n = 23 422 955) registered in 2013. Diagnoses of schizophrenia made by psychiatrists were ascertained between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2013. Having an affected co-twin, first-degree relative, second-degree relative, or spouse was associated with an adjusted RR (95% CI) of 37.86 (30.55-46.92), 6.30 (6.09-6.53), 2.44 (1.91-3.12), and 1.88 (1.64-2.15), respectively. Compared with the general population, individuals with one affected first-degree relative had a RR (95% CI) of 6.00 (5.79-6.22) and those with 2 or more had a RR (95% CI) of 14.66 (13.00-16.53) for schizophrenia. The accountability for the phenotypic variance of schizophrenia was 47.3% for genetic factors, 15.5% for shared environmental factors, and 37.2% for non-shared environmental factors. The RR (95% CI) in individuals with a first-degree relative with schizophrenia was 3.49 (3.34-3.64) for mood disorders and 3.91 (3.35-4.57) for delusional disorders. A family history of schizophrenia is therefore associated with a higher risk of developing schizophrenia, mood disorders, and delusional disorders. Heritability and environmental factors each account for half of the phenotypic variance of schizophrenia

Neural \'{E}tendue Expander for Ultra-Wide-Angle High-Fidelity Holographic Display

Holographic displays can generate light fields by dynamically modulating the wavefront of a coherent beam of light using a spatial light modulator, promising rich virtual and augmented reality applications. However, the limited spatial resolution of existing dynamic spatial light modulators imposes a tight bound on the diffraction angle. As a result, modern holographic displays possess low \'{e}tendue, which is the product of the display area and the maximum solid angle of diffracted light. The low \'{e}tendue forces a sacrifice of either the field-of-view (FOV) or the display size. In this work, we lift this limitation by presenting neural \'{e}tendue expanders. This new breed of optical elements, which is learned from a natural image dataset, enables higher diffraction angles for ultra-wide FOV while maintaining both a compact form factor and the fidelity of displayed contents to human viewers. With neural \'{e}tendue expanders, we experimentally achieve 64$\times$ \'{e}tendue expansion of natural images in full color, expanding the FOV by an order of magnitude horizontally and vertically, with high-fidelity reconstruction quality (measured in PSNR) over 29 dB on retinal-resolution images

Hepatitis Delta Virus RNA Replication

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a distant relative of plant viroids in the animal world. Similar to plant viroids, HDV replicates its circular RNA genome using a double rolling-circle mechanism. Nevertheless, the production of hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg), which is indispensible for HDV replication, is a unique feature distinct from plant viroids, which do not encode any protein. Here the HDV RNA replication cycle is reviewed, with emphasis on the function of HDAg in modulating RNA replication and the nature of the enzyme involved

Fabrication and Characterization of CuInSe 2

The chalcopyrite CuInSe2 thin film synthesized via a low temperature solid state reaction from CuSe and InSe powders was investigated using X-ray diffractomy (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. CuSe and InSe phases react and directly transform into CuInSe2 without the occurrence of any intermediate phase. The morphology of the newly formed CuInSe2 crystalline was close to that of the CuSe reactant particle based on the TEM results, which indicate that the solid state reaction kinetics may be dominated by the In3+ ions diffusion. The CuInSe2 thin film prepared from the solid state reaction did not use the selenide process; its band gap might reach 1.06 eV, which is competent and suitable to be used for a thin film solar cell light absorption layer

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns