Astrocytic trans-Differentiation Completes a Multicellular Paracrine Feedback Loop Required for Medulloblastoma Tumor Growth.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is critical for tumor progression. However, the establishment and function of the TME remain obscure because of its complex cellular composition. Using a mouse genetic system called mosaic analysis with double markers (MADMs), we delineated TME evolution at single-cell resolution in sonic hedgehog (SHH)-activated medulloblastomas that originate from unipotent granule neuron progenitors in the brain. First, we found that astrocytes within the TME (TuAstrocytes) were trans-differentiated from tumor granule neuron precursors (GNPs), which normally never differentiate into astrocytes. Second, we identified that TME-derived IGF1 promotes tumor progression. Third, we uncovered that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) is produced by tumor-associated microglia in response to interleukin-4 (IL-4) stimulation. Finally, we found that IL-4 is secreted by TuAstrocytes. Collectively, our studies reveal an evolutionary process that produces a multi-lateral network within the TME of medulloblastoma: a fraction of tumor cells trans-differentiate into TuAstrocytes, which, in turn, produce IL-4 that stimulates microglia to produce IGF1 to promote tumor progression.

SoxB family genes delay regeneration and cause abnormal movement in Dugesia japonica.

SoxB subfamily is an important branch of Sox family and plays a key role in animal physiological process, but little is known about their function in planarian regeneration. This study aims to evaluate the function of DjSoxB family genes in intact and regenerating planarians Dugesia japonica. Here, we amplify the full-length cDNA of DjSoxB1 and DjSoxB2 in D. japonica by rapid amplification of the cDNA ends (RACE), detect the expression of DjSoxB family genes in planarian. The results show that DjSoxBs are expressed in parenchymal tissue and the hybridization signals partially disappear after irradiation indicates DjSoxB family genes are expressed in neoblasts. After the RNA interference (RNAi) of DjSoxB1, DjSoxB2 and DjSoxB3 separately, the numbers of proliferative cells are all reduced that causes planarians show slower growth of blastema in the early stage of regeneration, and nerves of planarians are affected that the movement speed of planarians decreases in varying degrees. Specially, planarians in the DjSoxB3 RNAi group show shrinkage and twisting. Overall, this study reveals that DjSoxB family genes play a role in cell proliferation during regeneration. They also play an important role in the maintenance of normal nerve function and nerve regeneration. These results provide directions for the functional study of SoxB family genes and provide an important foundation for planarian regeneration.

Association between triglyceride glucose index-related indices with gallstone disease among US adults.

BACKGROUND: Triglyceride glucose (TyG) index combined with obesity-related indicators [triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI), triglyceride glucose-waist to height ratio (TyG-WHtR), triglyceride glucose-waist circumference (TyG-WC)], represents emerging methodologies for assessing insulin resistance. The objective of this investigation was to explore the correlation between TyG-related indices and gallstone disease. METHODS: The study included 3740 adults from the 2017-2020 period of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. TyG-BMI, TyG-WC, and TyG-WHtR were integrated as both continuous and categorical variables within the multivariate logistic model, respectively to evaluate the connection between various TyG-related indices and gallstone disease. Additionally, restriction cubic splines and subgroup analysis were employed to deepen our understanding of this relationship. RESULTS: When analyzed as continuous variables, positive correlations were observed between TyG-BMI, TyG-WC, TyG-WHtR and gallstone disease. The OR(95%CI) were 1.063(1.045,1.082) for TyG-BMI (per 10-unit), 1.026(1.018,1.034) for TyG-WC (per 10-unit) and 1.483(1.314,1.676) for TyG-WHtR (per 1-unit), respectively. When categorized into quartiles, these three TyG-related indices still show statistically significant associations with gallstone disease. Descending in order, the diagnostic capability for gallstone disease is demonstrated as follows: TyG-WHtR (AUC = 0.667), TyG-BMI (AUC = 0.647), and TyG-WC (AUC = 0.640). CONCLUSION: There were significantly positive associations between TyG-related indices, including TyG-BMI, TyG-WC, and TyG-WHtR, and gallstone disease. Of these indices, TyG-WHtR demonstrated the most favorable performance in identifying the risk of gallstone disease.

Light-Driven Ion Transport through Single-Heterojunction Nanopores.

Inspired by natural photosynthesis, light has become an emerging ionic behavior regulator and ion-pumping source. Nanoprocessing technology has allowed the bridge between the light-regulated nanofluids and the optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which inspires applications like energy harvesting and enhances fundamental understandings in nanofluidics. However, unlike light-induced ion pumping based on densely layered membranes with multiple nanochannels, experimental implementation on atomically thin materials featuring only a single nanochannel remains challenging. Here, we report light-induced ion pumping based on a single artificial heterojunction nanopore. Under light illumination, the induced current through a single nanopore reaches tens of picoamperes. The hole-electron separation originating from the optoelectrical property of a van der Waals PN junction is proposed to capture the light-driven ion transport. Further, different methods are adopted to modify the ion behavior and response time, presenting potential applications in fluidic photoenergy harvesting, photoelectric ion transport control, and bionic artificial neurons.

Ultrafast Nanoimaging of Electronic Coherence of Monolayer WSe2.

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have demonstrated a wide range of novel photonic, optoelectronic, and correlated electron phenomena for more than a decade. However, the coherent dynamics of their excitons, including possibly long dephasing times and their sensitivity to spatial heterogeneities, are still poorly understood. Here we implement adiabatic plasmonic nanofocused four-wave mixing (FWM) to image the coherent electron dynamics in monolayer WSe2. We observe nanoscale heterogeneities at room temperature with dephasing ranging from T2 ≲ 5 to T2 ≳ 60 fs on length scales of 50-100 nm. We further observe a counterintuitive anticorrelation between FWM intensity and T2, with the weakest FWM emission at locations of longest coherence. We interpret this behavior as a nonlocal nano-optical interplay between spatial coherence of the nonlinear polarization and disorder-induced scattering. The results highlight the challenges associated with heterogeneities in TMDs limiting their photophysical properties, yet also the potential of their novel nonlinear optical phenomena.

Two-dimensional scanning of silicon-based focal plane array with field-of-view splicing technology.

All-solid-state beam scanning chip is ideal for next-generation LiDAR due to its reliability and small size. Here we propose a focal plane array chip for two-dimensional scanning using field-of-view splicing technology on silicon photonics platform. The chip has two rotationally symmetric structures, each including a 1 × 64 antenna array accompanied by a 1 × 64 micro-ring optical switch array. We demonstrate a two-dimensional scanning equivalent to an 8-line LiDAR with a field-of-view of 82° × 32°, a beam divergence angle of 0.07° × 0.07°, and a background suppression ratio of over 20 dB. Our chip works in such a simple way that only one optical switch needs to be turned on each time the beam is emitted. And the chip is scalable that a larger range of two-dimensional scanning can be achieved when using more antennas for field-of-view splicing and cascading more optical switches.

Wide field of view optical phased array with a high-directionality antenna.

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a widely utilized technology for extracting information from the outside world in fields such as automotive, robotics, and aerospace. Optical phased array (OPA) is a promising solution for LiDAR technology, although its application is limited by loss and alias-free steering range. In this paper, we propose a dual-layer antenna that achieves a peak directionality of over 92%, thereby mitigating antenna loss and enhancing power efficiency. Based on this antenna, we design and fabricate a 256-channel non-uniform OPA that achieves 150° alias-free steering.

Problem-Dependent Power of Quantum Neural Networks on Multiclass Classification.

Quantum neural networks (QNNs) have become an important tool for understanding the physical world, but their advantages and limitations are not fully understood. Some QNNs with specific encoding methods can be efficiently simulated by classical surrogates, while others with quantum memory may perform better than classical classifiers. Here we systematically investigate the problem-dependent power of quantum neural classifiers (QCs) on multiclass classification tasks. Through the analysis of expected risk, a measure that weighs the training loss and the generalization error of a classifier jointly, we identify two key findings: first, the training loss dominates the power rather than the generalization ability; second, QCs undergo a U-shaped risk curve, in contrast to the double-descent risk curve of deep neural classifiers. We also reveal the intrinsic connection between optimal QCs and the Helstrom bound and the equiangular tight frame. Using these findings, we propose a method that exploits loss dynamics of QCs to estimate the optimal hyperparameter settings yielding the minimal risk. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach to explain the superiority of QCs over multilayer Perceptron on parity datasets and their limitations over convolutional neural networks on image datasets. Our work sheds light on the problem-dependent power of QNNs and offers a practical tool for evaluating their potential merit.

Nucleon Transversity Distribution in the Continuum and Physical Mass Limit from Lattice QCD.

We report a state-of-the-art lattice QCD calculation of the isovector quark transversity distribution of the proton in the continuum and physical mass limit using large-momentum effective theory. The calculation is done at four lattice spacings a={0.098,0.085,0.064,0.049} fm and various pion masses ranging between 220 and 350 MeV, with proton momenta up to 2.8 GeV. The result is nonperturbatively renormalized in the hybrid scheme with self-renormalization, which treats the infrared physics at large correlation distance properly, and extrapolated to the continuum, physical mass, and infinite momentum limit. We also compare with recent global analyses for the nucleon isovector quark transversity distribution.

Femtosecond Laser Preparation of Terracotta Warrior-like Pit Superhydrophobic Structure on Magnesium Alloy with Mechanical Durability and Corrosion Resistance.

Magnesium alloys are among the most promising materials for medical implants, and by preparing a superhydrophobic surface, the rate of corrosion can be effectively slowed down and durability be improved. However, the anticorrosion surfaces are inevitable to be damaged for the conventional micro-nanostructured superhydrophobic magnesium alloys, which highly limits their application prospects. This work proposes the development of a Terracotta Warrior pit superhydrophobic structure (TWPSS), consisting of a wall structure with a Terracotta Warrior-like pit and a lotus-like surface papillae structure within the wall. For the first time, top-down laser ablation of the pits to prepare the lotus-like surface papilla structure is used in conjunction with a bottom-up laser-guided melt stacking of the raised wall structure to achieve rapid fabrication of a TWPSS on a magnesium alloy surface. The Cassie-Baxter-based design of the wall structure spacing effectively protects the internal lotus-like surface papillae from damage and the disappearance of low surface energy material, and the results show that the superhydrophobic surfaces of magnesium alloys have excellent mechanical durability and repairability. In addition, it was found that the recast layer and laser melting stacked layers produced on the surface of the alloy during femtosecond laser processing refined the grain size of the magnesium alloy and effectively suppressed the corrosion rate. The combination of the superhydrophobic gas layer and the resulting grain refinement slowed down the corrosion of the magnesium alloy. Thus, the rapid preparation of TWPSS structures with mechanical durability and corrosion resistance by femtosecond lasers expands the clinical applications of superhydrophobic surface magnesium alloys in medical devices.

Renormalization of Transverse-Momentum-Dependent Parton Distribution on the Lattice.

To calculate the transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMDPDFs) from lattice QCD, an important goal yet to be realized, it is crucial to establish a viable nonperturbative renormalization approach for linear divergences in the corresponding Euclidean quasi-TMDPDF correlators in large-momentum effective theory. We perform a first systematic study of the renormalization property of the quasi-TMDPDFs by calculating the relevant matrix elements in a pion state at five lattice spacings ranging from 0.03 fm to 0.12 fm. We demonstrate that the square root of the Wilson loop combined with the short distance hadron matrix element provides a successful method to remove all ultraviolet divergences of the quasi-TMD operator, and thus provides the necessary justification to perform a continuum limit calculation of TMDPDFs. In contrast, the popular regularization independent momentum subtraction renormalization (RI/MOM) scheme fails to eliminate all linear divergences.

Pion and Kaon Distribution Amplitudes from Lattice QCD.

We present a state-of-the-art lattice QCD calculation of the pion and kaon light-cone distribution amplitudes (DAs) using large-momentum effective theory. The calculation is done at three lattice spacings a≈{0.06,0.09,0.12} fm and physical pion and kaon masses, with the meson momenta P_{z}={1.29,1.72,2.15} GeV. The result is nonperturbatively renormalized in a recently proposed hybrid scheme with self-renormalization, and extrapolated reliably to the continuum as well as the infinite momentum limit. We find a significant deviation of the pion and kaon DAs from the asymptotic form, and a large SU(3) flavor breaking effect in the kaon DA.

Temperature and Precipitation Drive Elevational Patterns of Microbial Beta Diversity in Alpine Grasslands.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying biodiversity patterns is a central issue in ecology, while how temperature and precipitation jointly control the elevational patterns of microbes is understudied. Here, we studied the effects of temperature, precipitation and their interactions on the alpha and beta diversity of soil archaea and bacteria in alpine grasslands along an elevational gradient of 4300-5200 m on the Tibetan Plateau. Alpha diversity was examined on the basis of species richness and evenness, and beta diversity was quantified with the recently developed metric of local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD). Typical alpine steppe and meadow ecosystems were distributed below and above 4850 m, respectively, which was consistent with the two main constraints of mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). Species richness and evenness showed decreasing elevational patterns in archaea and nonsignificant or U-shaped patterns in bacteria. The LCBD of both groups exhibited significant U-shaped elevational patterns, with the lowest values occurring at 4800 m. For the three diversity metrics, soil pH was the primary explanatory variable in archaea, explaining over 20.1% of the observed variation, whereas vegetation richness, total nitrogen and the K/Al ratio presented the strongest effects on bacteria, with relative importance values of 16.1%, 12.5% and 11.6%, respectively. For the microbial community composition of both archaea and bacteria, the moisture index showed the dominant effect, explaining 17.6% of the observed variation, followed by MAT and MAP. Taken together, temperature and precipitation exerted considerable indirect effects on microbial richness and evenness through local environmental and energy supply-related variables, such as vegetation richness, whereas temperature exerted a larger direct influence on LCBD and the community composition. Our findings highlighted the profound influence of temperature and precipitation interactions on microbial beta diversity in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.

Non-uniform optical phased array with a large steering angle and high side mode suppression ratio.

An optical phased array (OPA) is one of the most promising methods of light detection and ranging. A non-uniform array with different emitter distances is a method to realize OPA steering without grating lobes or a distance between two adjacent emitters larger than λ/2. However, the side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) will decrease as OPA turns into a large angle. In this paper, 64-, 128-, and 256-channel non-uniform OPAs are optimized by non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), which is a multi-objective optimization algorithm. Compared with arrays optimized by a genetic algorithm, the SMSR at 80° improves by 2.18, 2.61, and 2.56 dB, respectively.

PBDEs disrupt homeostasis maintenance and regeneration of planarians due to DNA damage, proliferation and apoptosis anomaly.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely used as brominated flame retardants in the manufacturing industry, belonging to persistent organic pollutants in the environment. Planarians are the freshwater worms, with strong regenerative ability and extreme sensitivity to environmental toxicants. This study aimed to evaluate the potential acute comprehensive effects of PBDE-47/-209 on freshwater planarians. Methods to detect the effects include: detection of oxidative stress, observation of morphology and histology, detection of DNA fragmentation, and detection of cell proliferation and apoptosis. In the PBDE-47 treatment group, planarians showed increased oxidative stress intensity, severe tissue damage, increased DNA fragmentation level, and increased cell proliferation and apoptosis. In the PBDE-209 treatment group, planarians showed decreased oxidative stress intensity, slight tissue damage, almost unchanged DNA fragmentation level and apoptosis, proliferation increased only on the first day after treatment. In conclusion, both PBDE-47 and PBDE-209 are dangerous environmental hazardous material that can disrupt planarians homeostasis, while the toxicity of PBDE-47 is sever than PBDE-209 that PBDE-47 can lead to the death of planarians.

Distribution Amplitudes of K

We present the first lattice QCD calculation of the distribution amplitudes of longitudinally and transversely polarized vector mesons K^{*} and ϕ using large momentum effective theory. We use the clover fermion action on three ensembles with 2+1+1 flavors of highly improved staggered quarks action, generated by the MIMD Lattice Computation Collaboration, at physical pion mass and {0.06,0.09,0.12} fm lattice spacings and choose three different hadron momenta P_{z}={1.29,1.72,2.15} GeV. The resulting lattice matrix elements are nonperturbatively renormalized in a recently proposed hybrid scheme. An extrapolation to the continuum and infinite momentum limit is carried out. We find that, while the longitudinal distribution amplitudes tend to be close to the asymptotic form, the transverse ones deviate rather significantly from the asymptotic form. Our final results provide crucial ab initio theory inputs for analyzing pertinent exclusive processes.

Lattice QCD Calculations of Transverse-Momentum-Dependent Soft Function through Large-Momentum Effective Theory.

The transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) soft function is a key ingredient in QCD factorization of Drell-Yan and other processes with relatively small transverse momentum. We present a lattice QCD study of this function at moderately large rapidity on a 2+1 flavor CLS dynamic ensemble with a=0.098 fm. We extract the rapidity-independent (or intrinsic) part of the soft function through a large-momentum-transfer pseudoscalar meson form factor and its quasi-TMD wave function using leading-order factorization in large-momentum effective theory. We also investigate the rapidity-dependent part of the soft function-the Collins-Soper evolution kernel-based on the large-momentum evolution of the quasi-TMD wave function.

87 Sr/86 Sr isotope ratios in rocks determined using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry in O2 mode without prior Sr purification.

RATIONALE: An inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) instrument can be developed to determine 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios with an external precision better than 0.05% relative standard deviation (RSD) in "mass shift" mode without prior Sr purification. Previous studies suggested using CH3 F, N2 O, and SF6 as reaction gases for this method because a better reaction rate can be achieved with Sr+ than with O2 in the reaction cell. However, these gases are not commonly used in general chemistry laboratories, and processes using these gases are difficult to implement quickly due to regulations. We aim to develop a rapid method that can be applied to many samples for the accurate determination of 87 Sr/86 Sr isotope ratios with precision below 0.1% RSD (or approximately to the fourth decimal place). METHODS: We evaluated the accuracy and precision of 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios in certified reference materials and different rock types determined using ICP-MS/MS with O2 as the reaction gas in comparison with those determined using the multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) method. RESULTS: This study showed that by using the ICP-MS/MS method, the 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios of BCR-2 and BHVO-2 do not vary significantly with and without prior Sr purification; when the Sr concentration of the measured solution is within the range of 60-350 ng/mL, there is no significant effect on the measured 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios. The results also showed that the 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios of 23 different rock types measured by ICP-MS/MS and MC-ICP-MS methods agree very well. CONCLUSIONS: The precision of the 87 Sr/86 Sr ratio measured using ICP-MS/MS varies between 0.0001 and 0.0019 (2SD). This precision is less than that of the MC-ICP-MS method but is sufficient for certain applications, such as identifying 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios in different rock types. These results suggest that the developed ICP-MS/MS method has the potential for future studies involving the identification of Sr sources.

Expression and functional analysis of flotillins in Dugesia japonica.

FLOTILLIN-1 and FLOTILLIN-2 are membrane rafts associated proteins that have been implicated in insulin and growth factor signaling, endocytosis, cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, cytoskeleton remodeling and membrane trafficking. Furthermore, FLOTILLINs also play important roles in the progression of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, the roles of flotillins are investigated in planarian Dugesia japonica. The results show that Djflotillin-1 and Djflotillin-2 play a key role in homeostasis maintenance and regeneration process by regulating the proliferation of the neoblast cells, they are not involved in the maintenance and regeneration of the central nervous system in planarians.

Gluon Quasi-Parton-Distribution Functions from Lattice QCD.

We present the first attempt to access the x dependence of the gluon unpolarized parton-distribution function (PDF), based on lattice simulations using the large-momentum effective theory approach. The lattice calculation is carried out with pion masses of 340 and 678 MeV on a (2+1)-flavor domain-wall fermion configuration with lattice spacing a=0.111 fm, for the gluon quasi-PDF matrix element with the nucleon momentum up to 0.93 GeV. Taking the normalization from similar matrix elements in the rest frame of the nucleon and pion, our results for these matrix elements are consistent with the Fourier transform of the global fit CT14 and PDF4LHC15 NNLO of the gluon PDF, within statistical uncertainty and the systematic one up to power corrections, perturbative O(α_{s}) matching and the mixing from the quark PDFs.