The butenolide molecule, karrikin (KAR), emerging in smoke of burned plant material, enhances light responses such as germination, inhibition of hypocotyl elongation, and anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis. The KAR signaling pathway consists of KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) and MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 2 (MAX2), which, upon activation, act in an SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase complex to target the downstream signaling components SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1 (SMAX1) and SMAX1-LIKE 2 (SMXL2) for degradation. How degradation of SMAX1 and SMXL2 is translated into growth responses remains unknown. Although light clearly influences the activity of KAR, the molecular connection between the two pathways is still poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the KAR signaling pathway promotes the activity of a transcriptional module consisting of ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), B-BOX DOMAIN PROTEIN 20 (BBX20), and BBX21. The bbx20 bbx21 mutant is largely insensitive to treatment with KAR2, similar to a hy5 mutant, with regards to inhibition of hypocotyl elongation and anthocyanin accumulation. Detailed analysis of higher order mutants in combination with RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that anthocyanin accumulation downstream of SMAX1 and SMXL2 is fully dependent on the HY5-BBX module. However, the promotion of hypocotyl elongation by SMAX1 and SMXL2 is, in contrast to KAR2 treatment, only partially dependent on BBX20, BBX21, and HY5. Taken together, these results suggest that light- and KAR-dependent signaling intersect at the HY5-BBX transcriptional module.

A series of experiments is carried out to identify the contribution of interface and bulk antiferromagnetic (AFM) spins to exchange bias (EB) in ultrathin epitaxial ferromagnetic (FM)/AFM bilayer samples. These are single-crystalline AFM Ni𝑥Mn100−𝑥 and ferromagnetic Co layers on Cu3Au(001), deposited under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, in which structural or chemical defects are deliberately introduced by controlled Ar ion sputtering at the surface of the AFM layer or at a certain depth inside the AFM layer. Comparison of the magnetic properties measured by magneto-optical Kerr effect for sputtered and nonsputtered parts of the same sample then allows a precise determination of the influence of sputtering on the AFM layer during the sample preparation, whereas all other parameters are kept identical. The results show that the creation of defects in the bulk of the AFM layer enhances the magnitude of EB and its blocking temperature, but not the creation of defects at the interface. It is also observed that the deeper the insertion of defects in the AFM layer, the higher the value of the EB field and the larger the coercivity, These findings are discussed as the effect of additional pinning centers in the bulk of the AFM layer.

Zinc and cadmium atoms from laser ablation of the metals and mercury atoms ablated from a dental amalgam target react with HCN in excess argon during deposition at 5 K to form the MCN and MNC molecules and CN radicals. UV irradiation decreases the higher energy ZnNC isomer in favor of the lower energy ZnCN product. Cadmium and mercury atoms produce analogous MCN primary molecules. Laser ablation of metals also produces plume radiation which initiates H-atom detachment from HCN. The freed H atom can add to CN radical to produce the HNC isomer. The argon matrix also traps the higher energy but more intensely absorbing isocyanide molecules. Further reactions with H atoms generate HMCN and HMNC hydrides, which can be observed by virtue of their C−N stretches and intense M−H stretches. Computational modeling of IR spectra and relative energies guides the identification of reaction products by providing generally reliable frequency differences within the Zn, Cd and Hg family of products, and estimating isotopic shifts using to 13C and 15N isotopic substitution for comparison with experimental data.

Wet-chemical generation of pores in graphene is a challenging synthetic task. Although graphene oxide is available in large quantities and chemically diverse, extended lattice defects already present from synthesis hamper the controlled growth of pores. However, membrane, energy, or nanoelectronic applications essentially require uniform pores in applications. Here, oxo-functionalized graphene (oxoG), a type of graphene oxide with a controlled density of vacancy defects, is used as starting material. Pores in graphene are generated from potassium permanganate treated oxoG and heating from room temperature to 400 °C. With etching time, the size of pores increases and pore-diameters of, for example, 100–200 nm in majority become accessible. The experiments are conducted on the single-layer level on Si/SiO2 wafers. Flakes remain stable on the µm scale and do not fold. The process leads to rims of pores, which are functionalized by carbonyl groups in addition to hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. In addition, it is found that heterostructures with intrinsically n-doped MoS2 can be fabricated and photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal a 10-fold increased PL. Thus, graphene with pores is a novel highly temperature-stable electron-accepting 2D material to be integrated into van der Waals heterostructures.

Tetracene is an archetypal material undergoing singlet fission—the generation of a pair of triplet excitons from one singlet exciton. Here, using time-resolved electron spin resonance, we show how the spin dynamics in tetracene crystals are influenced by temperature and morphology. Upon cooling from 300 to 200 K, we observe a switch between singlet fission and intersystem crossing generated triplets, manifesting as an inversion in transient spin polarization. We extract a spin dephasing time of approximately 40 ns for fission-generated triplets at room temperature, nearly 100 times shorter than the dephasing time that we measure for triplets localized on isolated tetracene molecules. These results highlight the importance of morphology and thermal activation in singlet fission systems.

Background: Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), a neurodegenerative disease leading to reduced dopamine production, is a common disease in aged horses. The treatment is based on administration of the dopamine agonist pergolide. This drug has been related to valvular fibrosis in humans, but the cardiovascular effect of this drug has not yet been investigated in horses.

Objectives: To determine whether pergolide induces valvular disease in horses or affects the cardiac function.

Methods: Standard, tissue Doppler (TDE) and two-dimensional speckle tracking (STE) echocardiography were performed in horses with diagnosed PPID based on adrenocorticotropic hormone dosage. Measurements taken in horses treated with pergolide were compared with those from untreated horses with nonparametric t-tests. Furthermore, measurements from follow-up examinations performed at least three months after the initial exam were compared with a Wilcoxon signed rank test for repeated measurements in each group.

Results: Twenty-three horses were included. None of the 12 horses under treatment developed valvular regurgitation. Furthermore, no differences in the measurements of the left ventricular systolic or diastolic function could be seen between the group of horses with treatment and those without treatment. Measurements taken in the follow-up exam did not differ compared to those taken in the initial exam in both groups.

Conclusions: No changes of the left ventricular function assessed by TDE and STE could be shown in a small population of horses with confirmed PPID. Treatment with pergolide did not affect the ventricular function nor induce valvular disease.

Soft law instruments such as recommendations, guidelines or communications do not entail jurisdictional control, but produce important legal and practical effects. The literature on soft law frequently praises these instruments for enhancing governance efficiency through flexible problem solving. On the other hand critiques stress a lack of legitimacy as soft law is typically adopted outside the legislative arena. Yet, relatively little is known about concrete effects it takes at the national level. On the basis of case study evidence from Germany, this chapter shows that despite being non-binding, EU soft law is frequently implemented. Comparing implementation of nine soft law instruments in financial market regulation, social and environmental policy the chapter highlights that actors implement soft EU instruments either in the form of soft or hard law. Efficiency gains are frequently a main driver of implementation, while legitimacy and accountability become a concern where responsibilities are blurred during implementation.

Background Introns are generally removed from primary transcripts to form mature RNA molecules in a post-transcriptional process called splicing. An efficient splicing of primary transcripts is an essential step in gene expression and its misregulation is related to numerous human diseases. Thus, to better understand the dynamics of this process and the perturbations that might be caused by aberrant transcript processing it is important to quantify splicing efficiency.

Results Here, we introduce SPLICE-q, a fast and user-friendly Python tool for genome-wide SPLICing Efficiency quantification. It supports studies focusing on the implications of splicing efficiency in transcript processing dynamics. SPLICE-q uses aligned reads from strand-specific RNA-seq to quantify splicing efficiency for each intron individually and allows the user to select different levels of restrictiveness concerning the introns’ overlap with other genomic elements such as exons of other genes. We applied SPLICE-q to globally assess the dynamics of intron excision in yeast and human nascent RNA-seq. We also show its application using total RNA-seq from a patient-matched prostate cancer sample.

Conclusions Our analyses illustrate that SPLICE-q is suitable to detect a progressive increase of splicing efficiency throughout a time course of nascent RNA-seq and it might be useful when it comes to understanding cancer progression beyond mere gene expression levels. SPLICE-q is available at: https://github.com/vrmelo/SPLICE-q

Understanding chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS), resulting from charge transport through helical systems, has recently inspired many experimental and theoretical efforts but is still the object of intense debate. In order to assess the nature of CISS, we propose to focus on electron-transfer processes occurring at the single-molecule level. We design simple magnetic resonance experiments, exploiting a qubit as a highly sensitive and coherent magnetic sensor, to provide clear signatures of the acceptor polarization. Moreover, we show that information could even be obtained from time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance experiments on a randomly oriented solution of molecules. The proposed experiments will unveil the role of chiral linkers in electron transfer and could also be exploited for quantum computing applications.

High-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-GF-MAS) was employed for determining adsorbable organic chlorine (AOCl) in water. Organic chlorine was indirectly quantified by monitoring the molecular absorption of the transient aluminum monochloride molecule (AlCl) around a wavelength of 261.42 nm in a graphite furnace. An aluminum solution was used as the molecular-forming modifier. A zirconium coated graphite furnace, as well as Sr and Ag solutions were applied as modifiers for a maximal enhancement of the absorption signal. The pyrolysis and vaporization temperatures were 600 °C and 2300 °C, respectively. Non-spectral interferences were observed with F, Br, and I at concentrations higher than 6 mg L−1, 50 mg L−1, and 100 mg L−1, respectively. Calibration curves with NaCl, 4-chlorophenol, and trichlorophenol present the same slope and dynamic range, which indicates the chlorine atom specificity of the method. This method was evaluated and validated using synthetic water samples, following the current standard DIN EN ISO 9562:2004 for the determination of the sum parameter adsorbable organic halides (AOX) for water quality. These samples contain 4-chlorophenol as the chlorinated organic standard in an inorganic chloride matrix. Prior to analysis, organic chlorine was extracted from the inorganic matrix via solid-phase extraction with a recovery rate >95%. There were no statistically significant differences observed between measured and known values and for a t-test a confidence level of 95% was achieved. The limits of detection and characteristic mass were found to be 48 and 22 pg, respectively. The calibration curve was linear in the range 0.1–2.5 ng with a correlation coefficient R2 = 0.9986.

The size and architecture of the root system is functionally relevant for the access to water and soil nutrients. A great number of mostly unknown genes are involved in regulating root architecture complicating targeted breeding of plants with a larger root system. Here, we have explored whether root-specific degradation of the hormone cytokinin, which is a negative regulator of root growth, can be used to genetically engineer maize (Zea mays L.) plants with a larger root system. Root-specific expression of a CYTOKININ OXIDASE/DEHYDROGENASE (CKX) gene of Arabidopsis caused the formation of up to 46% more root dry weight while shoot growth of these transgenic lines was similar as in non-transgenic control plants. The concentration of several elements, in particular of those with low soil mobility (K, P, Mo, Zn), was increased in leaves of transgenic lines. In kernels, the changes in concentration of most elements were less pronounced, but the concentrations of Cu, Mn and Zn were significantly increased in at least one of the three independent lines. Our data illustrate the potential of an increased root system as part of efforts towards achieving biofortification. Taken together, this work has shown that root-specific expression of a CKX gene can be used to engineer the root system of maize and alter shoot element composition.

Transition metal oxides are promising electrocatalysts for water oxidation, i.e., the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is critical in electrochemical production of non-fossil fuels. The involvement of oxidation state changes of the metal in OER electrocatalysis is increasingly recognized in the literature. Tracing these oxidation states under operation conditions could provide relevant information for performance optimization and development of durable catalysts, but further methodical developments are needed. Here, we propose a strategy to use single-energy X-ray absorption spectroscopy for monitoring metal oxidation-state changes during OER operation with millisecond time resolution. The procedure to obtain time-resolved oxidation state values, using two calibration curves, is explained in detail. We demonstrate the significance of this approach as well as possible sources of data misinterpretation. We conclude that the combination of X-ray absorption spectroscopy with electrochemical techniques allows us to investigate the kinetics of redox transitions and to distinguish the catalytic current from the redox current. Tracking of the oxidation state changes of Co ions in electrodeposited oxide films during cyclic voltammetry in neutral pH electrolyte serves as a proof of principle.

Taming the magnetic anisotropy of lanthanides through coordination environments is crucial to take advantage of the lanthanides properties in thermally robust nanomaterials. In this work, the electronic and magnetic properties of Dy-carboxylate metal–organic networks on Cu(111) based on an eightfold coordination between Dy and ditopic linkers are inspected. This surface science study based on scanning probe microscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, complemented with density functional theory and multiplet calculations, reveals that the magnetic anisotropy landscape of the system is complex. Surface-supported metal–organic coordination is able to induce a change in the orientation of the easy magnetization axis of the Dy coordinative centers as compared to isolated Dy atoms and Dy clusters, and significantly increases the magnetic anisotropy. Surprisingly, Dy atoms coordinated in the metallosupramolecular networks display a nearly in-plane easy magnetization axis despite the out-of-plane symmetry axis of the coordinative molecular lattice. Multiplet calculations highlight the decisive role of the metal–organic coordination, revealing that the tilted orientation is the result of a very delicate balance between the interaction of Dy with O atoms and the precise geometry of the crystal field. This study opens new avenues to tailor the magnetic anisotropy and magnetic moments of lanthanide elements on surfaces.

1. Freshwater cyanobacterial blooms have become ubiquitous, posing major threats to ecological and public health. 2. Decades of research have focused on understanding drivers of these blooms with a primary focus on eutrophic systems; however, cyanobacterial blooms also occur in oligotrophic systems, but have received far less attention, resulting in a gap in our understanding of cyanobacterial blooms overall. 3. In this review, we explore evidence of cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic freshwater systems and provide explanations for those occurrences. 4. We show that through their unique physiological adaptations, cyanobacteria are able to thrive under a wide range of environmental conditions, including low-nutrient waterbodies. 5. We contend that to fully understand cyanobacterial blooms, and thereby mitigate and manage them, we must expand our inquiries to consider systems along the trophic gradient, and not solely focus on eutrophic systems, thus shifting the high-nutrient paradigm to a trophic-gradient paradigm.

Recent years have enjoyed an overwhelming interest in quantum thermodynamics, a field of research aimed at understanding thermodynamic tasks performed in the quantum regime. Further progress, however, seems to be obstructed by the lack of experimental implementations of thermal machines in which quantum effects play a decisive role. In this work, we introduce a blueprint of quantum field machines, which—once experimentally realized—would fill this gap. Even though the concept of the QFM presented here is very general and can be implemented in any many-body quantum system that can be described by a quantum field theory. We provide here a detailed proposal of how to realize a quantum machine in one-dimensional ultracold atomic gases, which consists of a set of modular operations giving rise to a piston. These can then be coupled sequentially to thermal baths, with the innovation that a quantum field takes up the role of the working fluid. In particular, we propose models for compression on the system to use it as a piston, and coupling to a bath that gives rise to a valve controlling heat flow. These models are derived within Bogoliubov theory, which allows us to study the operational primitives numerically in an efficient way. By composing the numerically modeled operational primitives we design complete quantum thermodynamic cycles that are shown to enable cooling and hence giving rise to a quantum field refrigerator. The active cooling achieved in this way can operate in regimes where existing cooling methods become ineffective. We describe the consequences of operating the machine at the quantum level and give an outlook of how this work serves as a road map to explore open questions in quantum information, quantum thermodynamic, and the study of non-Markovian quantum dynamics.

Creating artificial macromolecular transport systems that can support the movement of molecules along defined routes is a key goal of nanotechnology. Here, we report the bottom-up construction of a macromolecular transport system in which molecular pistons diffusively move through micrometer-long, hollow filaments. The pistons can cover micrometer distances in fractions of seconds. We build the system using multi-layer DNA origami and analyze the structures of the components using transmission electron microscopy. We study the motion of the pistons along the tubes using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and perform Langevin simulations to reveal details of the free energy surface that directs the motions of the pistons. The tubular transport system achieves diffusivities and displacement ranges known from natural molecular motors and realizes mobility improvements over five orders of magnitude compared to previous artificial random walker designs. Electric fields can also be employed to actively pull the pistons along the filaments, thereby realizing a nanoscale electric rail system. Our system presents a platform for artificial motors that move autonomously driven by chemical fuels and for performing nanotribology studies, and it could form a basis for future molecular transportation networks.

Navigating animals combine multiple perceptual faculties, learn during exploration, retrieve multi-facetted memory contents, and exhibit goal-directedness as an expression of their current needs and motivations. Navigation in insects has been linked to a variety of underlying strategies such as path integration, view familiarity, visual beaconing, and goal-directed orientation with respect to previously learned ground structures. Most works, however, study navigation either from a field perspective, analyzing purely behavioral observations, or combine computational models with neurophysiological evidence obtained from lab experiments. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) has long been a popular model in the search for neural correlates of complex behaviors and exhibits extraordinary navigational capabilities. However, the neural basis for bee navigation has not yet been explored under natural conditions. Here, we propose a novel methodology to record from the brain of a copter-mounted honey bee. This way, the animal experiences natural multimodal sensory inputs in a natural environment that is familiar to her. We have developed a miniaturized electrophysiology recording system which is able to record spikes in the presence of time-varying electric noise from the copter's motors and rotors, and devised an experimental procedure to record from mushroom body extrinsic neurons (MBENs). We analyze the resulting electrophysiological data combined with a reconstruction of the animal's visual perception and find that the neural activity of MBENs is linked to sharp turns, possibly related to the relative motion of visual features. This method is a significant technological step toward recording brain activity of navigating honey bees under natural conditions. By providing all system specifications in an online repository, we hope to close a methodological gap and stimulate further research informing future computational models of insect navigation.

The chemical composition of metasediments is a valuable source of paleogeographic information about the protolith's sedimentary environment. Here, we compile major- and trace-element whole-rock data, including B contents, and 10/11

B-isotope ratios from the Permo-Triassic metasedimentary cover of the Pfitsch–Mörchner basin, overlying the Variscan basement in the western Tauern Window, Eastern Alps (Austria and Italy). The basement consists of orthogneiss (“Zentralgneis”, metamorphosed Variscan granitoids with intrusion ages between 305 and 280 Ma), and the roof pendant consists of granites (amphibolites, paragneiss, and minor serpentinites). The Zentralgneis is partly hydrothermally altered into pyrite quartzite with high Al–S contents, low Na–Sr–Ca–Mg contents, and very strong depletion of the light rare earth elements. Comparison with published detailed mapping of this and other time-equivalent basins in the western Tauern Window, with radiometric age data in the literature, and with unmetamorphosed basins in the South Alpine realm yields a late Permian to Early Triassic age of sedimentation.

Although during Alpine metamorphism all rocks were strongly deformed, the whole-rock chemical compositions of the metasediments were not pervasively changed during deformation. We show that the sediments were deposited in a small, probably lacustrine–fluviatile, intramontane basin, under arid to semi-arid climatic conditions. The sequence starts with metaconglomerates, which can be interpreted as a mixture of the different basement rocks, based on a combination of major-element ratios Na2O /  (Na2O + K2O) and MgO / (MgO + Fe2O3) with concentrations of trace elements Cr, V, and Ni. The sequence is overlain by a fining-upwards sequence of clastic sediments, in which the behavior of K, Rb, and Sr allows the reconstruction of intense diagenetic K–B metasomatism, which raised the K2O contents up to ∼ 10 wt %. The average B content of 218 µg g−1 is well above the B content of common sediments, and the B-isotope composition reaches extremely low values of down to −33 ‰ δ11B. The top of the sequence is a lazulite quartzite, interpreted as a former conglomeratic phosphatic sandstone, which marks the transition from a closed Permian basin to an open Triassic basin. Within the clastic sequence, the presence of hydrothermal tourmalinite veins documents a hydrothermal event after deposition but before the onset of Alpine metamorphism. A metamorphosed mafic dike swarm in the orthogneiss indicates a post-Variscan event of basaltic magmatism, and this event is tentatively correlated with increased heat flow in the Triassic basin and hydrothermal activity. A consistent conceptual model of this basin and its diagenetic modifications, based on a combination of geochemical data with petrographical and field information, provides the geodynamic context of the European margin at the onset of the Alpine orogeny.

In this paper we generalise the results proved in N. Katzourakis (SIAM J. Math. Anal. 51, 1349–1370, 2019) by studying the ill-posed problem of identifying the source of a fully nonlinear elliptic equation. We assume Dirichlet data and some partial noisy information for the solution on a compact set through a fully nonlinear observation operator. We deal with the highly nonlinear nonconvex nature of the problem and the lack of weak continuity by introducing a two-parameter Tykhonov regularisation with a higher order L2 “viscosity term” for the L∞ minimisation problem which allows to approximate by weakly lower semicontinuous cost functionals.