Alkaline Earth Metal Superatom of W@Si16: Characterization of Group 6 Metal Encapsulating Si16 Cage on Organic Substrates.

Transition metal atom (M)-encapsulating silicon cage nanoclusters (M@Si16) exhibit a superatomic nature, depending on the central M atom owing to the number of valence electrons and charge state on organic substrates. Since M@Si16 superatom featuring group 4 and 5 transition metal atoms exhibit rare-gas-like and alkali-like characteristics, respectively, group 6 transition metal atoms are expected to show alkaline earth-like behavior. In this study, M@Si16, comprising a central atom from group 6 (MVI = Cr, Mo, and W) were deposited on C60 substrates, and their electronic and chemical stabilities were investigated in terms of their charge state and chemical reactivity against oxygen exposures. In comparison to alkali-like Ta@Si16, the extent of charge transfer to the C60 substrate is approximately doubled, while the oxidative reactivity is subdued for MVI@Si16 on C60, especially for W@Si16. The results show that a divalent state of MVI@Si162+ appears on the C60 substrate, which is consistently calculated to be a symmetrical cage structure of W@Si162+ in C3v, revealing insights into the "periodic law" of M@Si16 superatoms pertaining to the characteristics of alkaline earth metals.

Distinctiveness and continuity in transcriptome and connectivity in the anterior-posterior axis of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus.

The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) projects axons to multiple areas, mediates a wide range of behaviors, and exhibits regional heterogeneity in both functions and axonal projections. Still, questions regarding the cell types present in the PVT and the extent of their differences remain inadequately addressed. We applied single-cell RNA sequencing to depict the transcriptomic characteristics of mouse PVT neurons. We found that one of the most significant variances in the PVT transcriptome corresponded to the anterior-posterior axis. While the single-cell transcriptome classified PVT neurons into five types, our transcriptomic and histological analyses showed continuity among the cell types. We discovered that anterior and posterior subpopulations had nearly non-overlapping projection patterns, while another population showed intermediate patterns. In addition, these subpopulations responded differently to appetite-related neuropeptides, with their activation showing opposing effects on food consumption. Our studies unveiled the contrasts and the continuity of PVT neurons that underpin their function.

An open competition involving thousands of competitors failed to construct useful abstract classifiers for new diagnostic test accuracy systematic reviews.

There are currently no abstract classifiers, which can be used for new diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) systematic reviews to select primary DTA study abstracts from database searches. Our goal was to develop machine-learning-based abstract classifiers for new DTA systematic reviews through an open competition. We prepared a dataset of abstracts obtained through database searches from 11 reviews in different clinical areas. As the reference standard, we used the abstract lists that required manual full-text review. We randomly splitted the datasets into a train set, a public test set, and a private test set. Competition participants used the training set to develop classifiers and validated their classifiers using the public test set. The classifiers were refined based on the performance of the public test set. They could submit as many times as they wanted during the competition. Finally, we used the private test set to rank the submitted classifiers. To reduce false exclusions, we used the Fbeta measure with a beta set to seven for evaluating classifiers. After the competition, we conducted the external validation using a dataset from a cardiology DTA review. We received 13,774 submissions from 1429 teams or persons over 4 months. The top-honored classifier achieved a Fbeta score of 0.4036 and a recall of 0.2352 in the external validation. In conclusion, we were unable to develop an abstract classifier with sufficient recall for immediate application to new DTA systematic reviews. Further studies are needed to update and validate classifiers with datasets from other clinical areas.

Molecular detection of maturation stages in the developing kidney.

Recent advances in stem cell biology have enabled the generation of kidney organoids in vitro, and further maturation of these organoids is observed after experimental transplantation. However, the current organoids remain immature and their precise maturation stages are difficult to determine because of limited information on developmental stage-dependent gene expressions in the kidney in vivo. To establish relevant molecular coordinates, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on developing kidneys at different stages in the mouse. By selecting genes that exhibited upregulation at birth compared with embryonic day 15.5 as well as cell lineage-specific expression, we generated gene lists correlated with developmental stages in individual cell lineages. Application of these lists to transplanted embryonic kidneys revealed that most cell types, other than the collecting ducts, exhibited similar maturation to kidneys at the neonatal stage in vivo, revealing non-synchronous maturation across the cell lineages. Thus, our scRNA-seq data can serve as useful molecular coordinates to assess the maturation of developing kidneys and eventually of kidney organoids.