The preparation of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts with high activity, stability and low platinum loading has always been the focus of research. The single-atom platinum supported catalyst greatly improves the utilization of platinum, but the catalytic activity and selectivity are greatly affected by the platinum coordination environment, and the pre

The TESS mission has reported a wealth of new planetary systems around bright and nearby stars amenable for detailed characterizations of planet properties and atmospheres. However, not all interesting TESS planets orbit around bright host stars. TOI-263 b is a validated ultra-short-period substellar object in a 0.56-day orbit around a faint (V = 18.97) M 3.5 dwarf star. The substellar nature of T

The rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) is increasingly considered an important regulator of below-ground C and N cycling, with implications for terrestrial ecosystem feedback to global change. Even so, there is a lack of knowledge about the mechanisms underlying RPEs. We used novel stable isotope probing methods to investigate RPEs in an experiment with Scots pine and Norway spruce seedlings, two of

Background: Although avian Plasmodium species are widespread and common across the globe, limited data exist on how genetically variable their populations are. Here, the hypothesis that the avian blood parasite Plasmodium relictum exhibits very low genetic diversity in its Western Palearctic transmission area (from Morocco to Sweden in the north and Transcaucasia in the east) was tested. Methods:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a deterioration of neuronal connectivity. The pathological accumulation of tau in neurons is one of the hallmarks of AD and has been connected to the loss of dendritic spines of pyramidal cells, which are the major targets of cortical excitatory synapses and key elements in memory storage. However, the detailed m

Target protection proteins confer resistance to the host organism by directly binding to the antibiotic target. One class of such proteins are the antibiotic resistance (ARE) ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins of the F-subtype (ARE-ABCFs), which are widely distributed throughout Gram-positive bacteria and bind the ribosome to alleviate translational inhibition from antibiotics that target the lar

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has an origin in the fetal period which may distinguish it from ALL diagnosed later in life. We wanted to test whether familial risks differ in ALL diagnosed in the very early childhood from ALL diagnosed later. The Swedish nation-wide family-cancer data were used until year 2016 to calculate standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for familial risks in AL

In 2016, we reported the presence of Plasmodium vivax in Botswana through active case detection. A realtime PCR was used during a similar study in 10 districts to assess changes in the P. vivax prevalence. We assessed 1,614 children (2-13 years of age) for hemoglobin (Hb; g/dL) and Plasmodium parasites. The median age of all participants was 5.0 years (25th percentile, 3 years; 75th percentile, 8

The bacterial species Cutibacterium acnes (formerly known as Propionibacterium acnes) is tightly associated with humans. It is the dominant bacterium in sebaceous regions of the human skin, where it preferentially colonizes the pilosebaceous unit. Multiple strains of C. acnes that belong to phylogenetically distinct types can co-exist. In this review we summarize and discuss the current knowledge

The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe biotic crisis in Earth’s history. In its direct aftermath, microbial communities were abundant on shallow-marine shelves around the Tethys. They colonized the space left vacant after the dramatic decline of skeletal metazoans. The presence of sponges and sponge microbial bioherms has largely gone unnoticed due to the sponges’ size and the cryptic

Spatially-distributed values of glacier aerodynamic roughness (z0) are vital for robust estimates of turbulent energy fluxes and ice and snow melt. Microtopographic data allow rapid estimates of z0 over discrete plot-scale areas, but are sensitive to data scale and resolution. Here, we use an extensive multi-scale dataset from Hintereisferner, Austria, to develop a correction factor to derive z0 v

Background: Research has indicated that interactive, computerized case simulations using immersive virtual reality (VR) technology may be beneficial in the augmentation of conventional methods of assessment and treatment in forensic psychiatry, primarily through providing an engaging and safe environment in which the user can practice and learn skills and behaviors. However, there does not appear

Fiji is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the Pacific Ocean, with relatively population mobility. In this context, we study the individual-level characteristics of Fijian internal migration. Hence, our contribution lies in investigating migrant selectivity and differences in migratory behavior of different subgroups of the Fijian population. Specifically, we focus on factors such as gender

Purpose–This study aims to assess the associations of early marriage and spousal age difference(independent of early marriage) with reproductive and sexual health and autonomy in decision-making amongmarried women before conception.Design/methodology/approach–The present study was a part of a three-year community intervention toimprove the preconception health of young married women (20–35 years)

This article uses 1910 Japan–British Exhibition as a case study for examining the strategies employed by Japanese leaders to win Western acceptance for Japan as a ‘great power’ in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Like other contemporaneous imperial powers, Japanese leaders employed colonial imagery and discourses of otherness at large expositions to raise their status compared to

A key factor for the insulin response to oral glucose is the pro-glucagon derived incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), together with the companion incretin hormone, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). Studies in GIP and GLP-1 receptor knockout (KO) mice have been undertaken in several studies to examine this role of the incretin hormones. In the present study, we revie

In 1876, the Kaitakushi, the Japanese government agency responsible for the settlement of the northern island of Hokkaido, hired three Americans from Massachusetts Agricultural College: William Smith Clark, William Wheeler and David Pearce Penhallow. Their task was to establish a comparable institution in Hokkaido, Sapporo Agricultural College, that would spread American-style scientific agricultu

Were the ordinary citizens of imperial metropoles during the 19th and 20th centuries arduous supporters or apathetic observers of their country's colonial expansionism, or did their relationship to empire fall somewhere in between? Although this is a central question for understanding the how and why of modern imperialism and evaluating responsibility for colonial wrongs, scholars in the only loos

The study of popular imperialism, or the extent to which the ordinary citizens of an imperial metropole were aware of and supported their country’s imperial expansion, provides a crucial empirical basis for evaluating the causes of and responsibility for colonial aggression. Nevertheless, this topic has received considerably less attention than comparable topics like fascism, genocide or nationali