Policymakers and environmental advocacy organizations are increasingly using AI-generated images of climate disasters to advocate for climate interventions. Here we show that highly realistic AI-generated climate disaster images do not increase support for climate action. Three large-scale experiments (N = 2580) provide evidence that these images intensify emotional responses but also elicit resistance in the form of reactance and reduced trust in the message source. These adverse effects are especially pronounced for highly realistic images that are suspected to be AI-generated or explicitly labeled as such. Moreover, when their AI origin is suspected but not disclosed, such images significantly reduce individuals' willingness to make personal sacrifices for climate action. Overall, our findings call for an informed use of generative AI in climate advocacy that accounts for unintended effects and challenges the assumption that highly realistic AI-generated disaster images are inherently persuasive.
Mitochondria play an important role in maintaining redox balance, energy, calcium, and the viability of neurons. The mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the primary sources of glial activation and dopaminergic neuron loss in Parkinson's disease (PD). The key biochemical elements of the pathogenesis of PD include impaired oxidative phosphorylation, elevated generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and impaired mitophagy. This review is a synthesis and stringent evaluation of recent experimental, clinical and genetic studies relating mitochondrial dysfunction and Parkinson's disease (PD). We examined information on bioenergetics, mitochondrial dynamics, calcium homeostasis, and interactions between neurons and glia. The molecular and therapeutic importance of therapies, such as mitophagy modulators, bioenergetic enhancers, and mitochondrial antioxidants, was investigated. The absence of Complex I, excess ROS, mitochondrial DNA damage, and nonfunctioning fusionfission cycles leads to neurodegeneration. The glial metabolic abnormalities worsen the oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, weakening the support of the neurons. The effects of impaired mitophagy are the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria, and the effects of calcium overload disrupt energy metabolism. Neuroprotective effects of such substances as spermidine, urolithin A, resveratrol, αlipoic acid, MitoQ, SkQ1, or CoQ10 have been shown using preclinical research. Sacrifices such as exercising and proper dieting enable the mitochondria to perform better and become stronger. Mitochondrial dysfunction enhances the progression of PD through oxidative stress, bioenergetic breakdown, and inflammatory signalling. Attention to these related systems is an entire way to alter the direction of a disease. PD can be treated using an increase in mitochondrial quality control, redox regulation, and metabolic efficiency. Continued studies in the framework of precision medicine are required to validate the safety and effectiveness of mitochondrial-targeted medications.
Maintaining stable line-of-sight (LOS) for free-space optical (FSO) communication terminals on mobile platforms is a critical challenge due to platform-induced jitter. Conventional inertial sensor-based feedforward control (FFC) employs a high-pass filter (HPF) to decouple commanded tracking motion from disturbance measurements, but this sacrifices the system's ability to reject crucial low-frequency disturbances. This paper proposes a synergistic control architecture that combines a disturbance observer (DOB) for low-frequency disturbance estimation with a gyro-based FFC for mid- and high-frequency rejection. The two signals are seamlessly fused by a complementary filter pair. This band combination strategy relaxes the conflict between wideband disturbance rejection and agile target tracking, eliminating the destructive effects of motion coupling without performance-degrading. The parameter tuning is systematically formulated as an optimization problem for the complementary filter pair, constrained by the target's maneuvering dynamics. Furthermore, the closed-loop stability and robustness are analyzed based on the sensitivity function and the small-gain theorem. Using this approach, satisfactory control performance is achieved for a telescope mounted on a 6-degree-of-freedom swing platform. Comparative simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Development of high-performance SmCo magnets, simultaneously possessing high magnetic energy product (BH)max and low remanence temperature coefficient |α|, is critical for applications of wide-temperature precision instruments. Conventional heavy rare-earth (HRE) substitution improves temperature stability via antiferromagnetic coupling but inevitably sacrifices (BH)max, resulting in a persistent trade-off between (BH)max and |α|. Herein, we propose a Fe-HRE synergistic compositional-design strategy that integrates Fe enrichment and HRE segregation to break this bottleneck. First-principles calculations reveal that increasing Fe concentration provides a thermodynamic driving force for HREs segregation from the 1:5H cell boundary into the 2:17R matrix. Furthermore, molecular field simulations quantitatively demonstrate that HRE enrichment in the 2:17R phase enhances its temperature compensation effect and effectively overcomes this trade-off. Guided by these insights, a series of Sm0.4Gd0.6(CobalFexCu0.08Zr0.025)7.2 (x = 0.20-0.24) magnets are prepared. Magnetic and microstructural characterizations confirm that moderate Fe enrichment (x = 0.22) not only improves (BH)max but also facilitates Gd segregation into 2:17R phase without microstructural degradations. These synergistic effects yield a record-high (BH)max of 18.8 MGOe and α20°C-300°C = -0.012%/°C. This work establishes a unified design framework integrating magnetic moment engineering with thermodynamic element distribution regulation, paving a viable path for high-temperature-stable SmCo magnets for aerospace precision instruments.
Massive femoral bone loss with collateral insufficiency in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is often managed with distal femoral replacement (DFR), but this procedure sacrifices bone stock and carries notable risks. We described outcomes of a bone-preserving alternative (the "DFR downgrade") that pairs bicondylar, metadiaphyseal-engaging femoral cones with a hinge construct. We performed a retrospective review of consecutive patients who underwent revision TKA using a "DFR downgrade" technique for severe femoral bone loss between February 2016 and July 2024. There were twenty patients (mean age, 69 years (range, 58 to 86); 65% men) included, with a mean follow-up of 14.5 months (range, 0.9 to 43.7). Indications were aseptic loosening in 75%, infection in 10%, ligamentous instability in 10%, and arthrofibrosis in 5%. Demographics, Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute (AORI) classification, operative details, postoperative complications, and clinical and radiographic outcomes were collected. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate reoperation-free and re-revision-free survivorship. Femoral bone loss was classified as AORI IIA in 10%, IIB in 30%, and III in 60% of cases. Survivorship free from revision for aseptic loosening was 100% at one and two years. Survivorship free from any re-revision was 85.1% at one and two years. Survivorship free from any reoperation was also 85.1% at one and two years. There were three knees that required reoperation: one for a periprosthetic femoral fracture revised to a DFR; one for infection treated with two-stage revision and reimplantation of a DFR downgrade construct; and one for patellar button exchange after an implant recall. In patients who have severe femoral bone loss and condylar compromise, a "DFR downgrade" consisting of a bicondylar cone-hinge construct achieved favorable survivorship. While further study is warranted, this appears to be a pragmatic, bone-preserving alternative to DFR.
Robotic applications increasingly demand systems that are resilient, adaptable, and scalable. One promising route is through collectives of simple modules, where complex group-level behavior emerges from local interactions. By omitting fixed topologies and tight coordination, this approach sacrifices predictability and conventional tools for behaviors inherently optimized through stochastic mechanical interactions. A key challenge is maintaining cohesion and functionality without fixed connections and explicit coordination. We introduce the cross-link collective, a physically entangled robotic system inspired by cross-linking in active gels. Through shape morphing and transient entanglement, individually immobile modules produce sustained collective motion. The mechanically intelligent robot matter favors chains and phase relationships that reduce joint torques and reconfigures in response to perturbations. We show that distributed control can be added to this substrate to further enhance cohesion. Leveraging weak, reversible connections, the cross-link collective is adaptable, scalable, and fault tolerant, offering insights to applications from soft matter and robotics.
Single-cell RNA sequencing has revolutionized our ability to dissect cellular heterogeneity and study cell fate mechanisms, yet inferring stochastic dynamics from static snapshots remains a fundamental challenge. Current approaches face a critical trade-off: mechanistic models impose rigid assumptions limiting biological realism, while data-driven methods sacrifice interpretability for deeper mechanistic explorations. Here, we present DynNet, a deep learning method that integrates Neural ODEs with biophysical models and prior knowledge of gene expression dynamics. DynNet learns the stochastic dynamics of gene regulatory systems for cell fate decisions. Benchmarking on synthetic data shows DynNet's ability to infer stable cell states, reconstruct dynamical trajectories, and characterize multi-stable cell fate transitions. Using hepatocyte differentiation data, DynNet demonstrates its capability to infer developmental trajectory and the underlying cell fate landscape, revealing the stability and transition probabilities among distinct cell states. Applied to Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) data, DynNet further captures critical gene regulations and transition paths during EMT.
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) modulates systemic inflammation through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, but its effects on cutaneous inflammatory diseases remain unexplored. We investigated whether invasive VNS could reduce clinical inflammation and proinflammatory cytokines in murine models of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD). C57BL/6 mice received imiquimod 5% cream to induce psoriasiform inflammation, while NC/Nga mice received 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) to induce AD-like inflammation. Acute invasive VNS (5 Hz/5 ms for 5 min) or sham procedures were performed 6 or 24 h before sacrifice. Cutaneous cytokine levels were assessed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence staining, while systemic inflammation was evaluated by analyzing splenic and plasma cytokines. VNS reduced TNF-α and IL-6 in imiquimod-treated skin at both 6- and 24-h post-stimulation (TNF-α/6 h: 63%, p < 0.01; IL-6/6 h: 63%, p < 0.01; TNF-α/24 h: 69%, p < 0.001; IL-6/24 h: 60%, p < 0.05). In DNCB-treated skin, VNS decreased TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 at 24 h post-stimulation (TNF-α/24 h: 68%, p < 0.001; IL-1β/24 h: 48%, p < 0.05; IL-6/24 h: 66%, p < 0.01). VNS altered cutaneous CD11b-positive macrophage distribution patterns and reduced splenic cytokine levels (TNF-α and IL-1β) in the psoriasis model (TNF-α/6 h: 73%, p < 0.001; 24 h: 46%, p < 0.05) (IL-1β/6 h: 48%, p < 0.01; 24 h: 41%, p < 0.05) while plasma TNF-α decreased in the AD model (24 h: 32%, p < 0.01). This study provides the first evidence that VNS reduces proinflammatory cytokines in inflammatory skin diseases, supporting clinical translation for dermatological applications.
Gold nanoparticles stabilized by sodium citrate (GNPs-citrate) are highly effective catalysts but often suffer from colloidal instability. Polymeric stabilizers can improve dispersion stability, yet chemisorbed polymer layers are canonically associated with suppressed catalytic activity. Herein, we evaluate an in situ sacrificial stabilizing system (ISSS) based on physisorbed hydroxyl-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on GNPs-citrate. GNPs-PEG were prepared using PEG (1.5, 4.0, and 6.0 kDa) at Au/PEG molar ratios of 1:2, 1:7, and 1:12. Dynamic light scattering showed substantially increased hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) and decreased magnitude of ζ-potential with increasing PEG loading, while UV-visible spectroscopy indicated invariant surface plasmon resonance (λSPR) features relative to GNPs-citrate. In the NaBH4 reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol, GNPs-PEG exhibited pseudo-first-order rate constants with no statistically significant difference to those of GNPs-citrate across the series; at 8.0 μM Au, the mean activity differed from the citrate control by only ∼3%, and no induction period was observed. Prolonged storage preserved Dh, ζ-potential, and λSPR, whereas stability tests under reaction conditions showed declining activity and increasing Dh over time, consistent with the expected loss of the physisorbed PEG layer. Collectively, these data support physisorbed PEG as a storage-stabilizing coating that is labile under reducing catalytic conditions, enabling stability without any sacrifice to initial catalytic performance.
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) has been traditionally used as a nephroprotective agent, but limited information exists on its underlying molecular mechanisms. Trichloroethylene (TCEL) is a toxicant that negatively impacts the kidneys. This study investigated breadfruit leaf ethanol extract's (BF) ability to protect against TCEL-induced nephrotoxicity. Thirty Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n = 5) and treated orally for 15 days. Group I received corn oil; group II (TCEL 1000 mg/kg); groups III and IV received BF at 100 and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Groups V and VI were administered 100 and 200 mg/kg of BF, respectively, 2 h before TCEL exposure. Serum urea, albumin, uric acid, creatinine, and bilirubin were evaluated using standard protocols after sacrifice. KIM-1, SOD, CAT, JNK, p38 MAPK, and p53 genes' expression studies were done with RT-PCR. Molecular docking and free binding energy of BF compounds with NF-κB, p38 MAPK, and p53 were performed using the Schrödinger suite. TCEL (1000 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.05) elevated urea, albumin, uric acid, creatinine, and bilirubin serum levels and upregulated KIM-1 and JNK gene expression compared to control. Pre-treatment of rats with BF (100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly increased SOD and CAT gene expressions, reduced serum levels of kidney biomarkers, and modulated p38 MAPK and p53 gene expressions compared with TCEL-induced untreated groups. The free binding energies and molecular docking of A. altilis compounds with NF-κB, p38 MAPK, and p53 suggest possible interactions. The study suggests that BF could be an effective agent against TCEL-induced toxicity.
In our companion paper, in this issue, we describe our efforts to provide embryonic rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) brain histology for the study of brain development, with emphasis on cortical development. Here we continue our description of efforts to provide postnatal rhesus macaque brain histology relevant for the study of cellular circuits which continue to mature and change well into postnatal life, in males and females, and which naturally deteriorate in the elderly. The mission of the MacBrain Resource Center (MBRC) in the Department of Neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine is to provide a cost-effective means for researchers to conduct de novo studies on this non-human primate (NHP) brain animal model using materials already in existence and therefore without exorbitant costs and without having to sacrifice additional animals (https://medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience/macbrain/mission/). Here we report on how this mission is being accomplished. Because MBRC materials have been and continue to be gathered from unrelated studies over many years, most methods have already been published. The MBRC divides different types of materials into separate Collections. The present description of histo- and immunohistochemical processes is limited to current work that provides materials to populate Collection 6 and is accurate as of May 2026. Collections in the MBRC are dynamic. Of the 8 current MBRC datasets, here we emphasize Collections 5, 6, and 7 and illustrate through examples how different materials are currently being used to conduct research both in cortical and subcortical structures. Many of the electron microscopy (EM) blocks in Collection 5 sampling the brain at numerous regions come from the >100 cases of titrated thymidine (3H-TdR) injections in Collection 1 in addition to cases in Collections 2 and 3. Altogether, at present there are ~1000 inventoried EM blocks collected from postnatal cases. Collection 6 currently contains >30,000 digital images illustrating 35 different cellular and fiber markers in 32 brains of both sexes ranging from P0 to 32 years of age. Materials in Collections 6 and 7 keep growing as we constantly process and add NHP brains to them. Based on the molecular, genetic, and anatomical similarities between this animal model and human, we underline the importance of archiving and (re-)using rhesus macaque brains to foster neuroscience research. As far as we know the NHP brain materials in the MBRC Collections constitute the largest datasets of their kind in the world.
Bile acids are known to have a positive impact on atherosclerosis. The study investigates the impact of sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) inhibition with bulevirtide, organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) inhibition with rifampicin, and their combination on bile acid levels and atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE⁻/⁻) mice. Fifty-six female ApoE⁻/⁻ mice on a Western type diet were treated daily for four weeks with bulevirtide (5 mg/kg), rifampicin (20 mg/kg), a combination of both, or vehicle. Plasma bile acids and lipids were measured at sacrifice. Atherosclerotic lesion size was quantified in the aortic sinus, and macrophage content was analyzed by Mac-2 immunohistochemistry. Plasma cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglyceride levels remained unchanged across all groups, being accompanied with no changes of atherosclerotic lesion size (p = 0.896). However, treatment with bulevirtide (p = 0.017), rifampicin (p = 0.003), but mostly their combination (p < 0.001) significantly increased plasma bile acid concentrations and altered the macrophage-to-lesion area ratio, at least for the combination therapy group (p = 0.020). The combined treatment exhibited the highest bile acid levels, indicating additive effects of dual transporter inhibition. While lesion sizes remained unaffected, the combined NTCP and OATP inhibition significantly enhanced bile acid levels and reduced macrophage content in early atherosclerotic lesions of ApoE⁻/⁻ mice. These results highlight the association of bile acid with the modulation of plaque composition as a potential therapeutic mode of action.
The most prevalent malignant tumor of the urinary system, bladder cancer, exhibits a rising global incidence rate. However, recent diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, such as ostomy surgery, can effectively prolong patient survival. The majority of patients require support from family carers, presenting considerable challenges to these caregivers. Although existing research has primarily focused on patients' physiological adaptation, quality of life, and the burden on family carers, the moral dilemmas faced by these caregivers have not been explored yet. This study aimed to explore the psychological and moral dilemmas of family caregivers in a specific care situation. Using a descriptive research design, we conducted one-on-one qualitative interviews with 23 patients who had undergone urostomy. The interview time for each patient lasted over 60 min. All the interviewees emphasized that urostomy had significantly influenced their sexual experience. Moreover, we used thematic analysis to analyze the data. All the interviewees emphasized that a urostomy had significantly influenced their sexual experience. Our analysis yielded three primary themes: (1) the tearing of care responsibility and self-life, (2) reconstruction of family roles and relationships, and (3) the contradiction between the best care and practical limitations, and eight subthemes: guilt of giving up, social alienation, sacrifice of physical and mental health, the challenge of intimacy, balance of multiple responsibilities, great economic pressure, limited knowledge and skills, and emotional collapse. This study reveals that family carers of Chinese urostomy patients perceive caregiving as a moral obligation rather than a mere action, viewing self-sacrifice as evidence of virtue within a Confucian ethical framework. Hence, providers must develop culturally sensitive assessment tools, redesign supportive interventions respecting diverse moral perspectives, and establish ethical support systems to bridge understanding between differing moral contexts. This might foster a healthcare system that genuinely honors the carers' moral dignity.
Microplastics' (MPs) role as pesticide carriers in vegetables remains unclear, particularly regarding size-dependent transport mechanisms. Herein, the fate of eight pyrethroids (PYs) in Malabar spinach was differentially affected by polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs), as revealed using a novel hollow covalent organic framework-based solid-phase microextraction (HCOF-SPME) technology. This method enabled precise in vivo tracking of pesticide fate while minimizing vegetable sacrifice. Experimental results revealed that PS-MPs enhanced PYs accumulation in roots via adsorption, with smaller MPs (100 nm) exhibiting 1.71-2.52 times higher (500 nm and 1000 nm) vascular transport efficiency to stems compared to larger counterparts, driven by hydrophobic interactions. Notably, PS-MPs co-exposure prolonged PYs persistence, extending maximum half-lives from 4.02 to 12.4 days via carrier-mediated stabilization, thereby increasing residue retention risks during storage and distribution. The developed HCOF-SPME methodology provides a robust analytical platform for investigating multiphase contaminant behavior in aquatic ecosystems, offering actionable insights for food safety assessment and risk management of vegetables in MP-polluted irrigation systems.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone plays a crucial role in vertebrate reproduction through the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal axis. While its functional effects are well understood, the transcriptional regulation of gnrh1 remains poorly characterized in teleosts. This study investigates the promoter regulation of catfish gnrh1, i.e., cfgnrh1, in the brain of the Asian stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis. To accomplish this, the 5'-upstream promoter fragments of cfgnrh1 were isolated and characterized using in silico motif analysis, luciferase reporter assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and site-directed mutagenesis. The results identified Pax6 as a key regulator of cfgnrh1 transcription. Immunolocalization of Pax6 and Gnrh in the preoptic area and hypothalamus of the H. fossilis brain indicates possible interaction. Polyethylenimine-mediated siRNA transient gene silencing of pax6 confirmed its regulatory importance, as evidenced by the downregulation of cfgnrh1. Collectively, these findings highlight and validate a clear transcriptional interaction between pax6 and cfgnrh1, emphasizing their significant roles in catfish reproduction.
To quantify colonic lengthening achieved by complete splenic flexure mobilization (SFM) and high inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) ligation while preserving the left colic artery (LCA) in laparoscopic low rectal cancer surgery. Standardized LCA-preserving anterior resection was performed on 18 fresh cadavers. The additional colonic length gained after each maneuver was measured under tension-free conditions. High inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) ligation, which sacrifices the LCA, was also measured as a reference comparator. The mean baseline resection length was 10.4 ± 6.9 cm. Additional gains: 6.3 ± 1.7 cm after SFM and 14.4 ± 2.1 cm after high IMV ligation (maximum gain under LCA preservation). As a reference, high IMA ligation (without LCA preservation) provided a lengthening of 18.4 ± 1.7 cm. In malrotation (n = 2), IMV ligation yielded only 10.2-12.3 cm of mesenteric length. BMI correlated positively with the baseline length (r = 0.529, p = 0.023). Under LCA preservation, high IMV ligation provides the greatest lengthening (14.4 cm), although efficacy is reduced with malrotation. These data guide preoperative planning for tension-free anastomosis and adequate margin placement.
Genomic selection (GS) has revolutionized modern breeding by utilizing genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). While traditional models such as GBLUP and Bayesian approaches remain prevalent, several deep learning approaches have recently been introduced for plant GS, demonstrating superior predictive performance. Here, we introduce Gsformer, a novel deep learning framework designed to predict phenotypes by modeling complex genetic architectures. It features two distinct architectures: CSA, which combines convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with self-attention to capture local and long-range genomic dependencies, and NSA, which employs a native sparse attention mechanism to enhance computational efficiency by focusing on the most informative features. We evaluated Gsformer on six datasets spanning animal and plant species-pig, cattle, chicken, mouse, wheat, and maize-and compared its phenotypic prediction performance against five established GS methods: DNNGP, MLP, LightGBM, SVR, and GBLUP. Gsformer generally ranked among the top two models across six diverse animal and plant genomic prediction datasets. Specifically, Gsformer-CSA yielded notable improvements in predicting cattle fat percentage, while Gsformer-NSA was more accurate in predicting chicken first egg weight, pig age at 100 kg body weight, and mouse anxiety. With the topN hyperparameter set to 20%, Gsformer-NSA matched or marginally exceeded Gsformer-CSA for most traits-though it showed lower accuracy for a subset of traits. Adjusting the topN value further enhanced Gsformer-NSA's performance, allowing it to match that of Gsformer-CSA. Ablation studies confirmed the complementary roles of CNN and self-attention modules in the CSA architecture. To enhance interpretability, we applied SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) to identify influential SNPs and annotate candidate genes associated with growth and body size traits in pigs. Functional enrichment analysis revealed biologically relevant pathways involved in nervous system development, glycolytic process regulation, and digestive tract morphogenesis. In summary, Gsformer establishes a flexible and powerful framework for genomic prediction, demonstrating broad applicability across both animal and plant breeding. Owing to its lower computational cost, Gsformer-NSA is recommended over Gsformer-CSA in scenarios where the minor sacrifice in prediction accuracy is acceptable.
Understanding how we perceive and interpret the movements of other living beings is fundamental to social interaction, survival, and navigating our dynamic environment. Traditional studies of biological motion perception have predominantly employed simplified stimuli, such as point-light displays, which sacrifice ecological validity for experimental control. To overcome this limitation, we created a novel stimulus set featuring naturalistic videos of isolated hand and leg movements. These stimuli incorporated variations in viewing perspective (first-person vs. third-person) and the presence or absence of object interactions, thereby increasing their real-world relevance. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) from 28 adult participants as they viewed these goal-directed movements alongside nature scenes that served as control stimuli. Neural engagement was assessed through two complementary measures: inter-subject correlation (ISC), which captures shared neural responses across viewers, and intra-subject correlation (IaSC), which reflects temporal consistency of responses within individual viewers. We hypothesized that (1) biological limb movements would elicit stronger neural synchrony than non-biological motion, (2) movement type (arm vs. leg), object interaction, and visual perspective would differentially modulate ISC based on distinct affordance-related processing systems, and (3) these effects would replicate upon second exposure. Our findings revealed that lower-limb movements elicited significantly greater ISC compared to both upper-limb movements and nature scenes. This effect proved robust, replicating consistently when participants viewed the same experimental conditions a second time. Furthermore, specific stimulus features modulated neural synchronization in domain-specific ways: first-person perspective enhanced ISC specifically for leg videos, whereas object interaction increased ISC specifically for arm videos. Notably, IaSC showed no differences across conditions, revealing a dissociation between cross-individual neural alignment and within-individual temporal consistency. These findings provide new insights into how particular features of naturalistic movement systematically modulate shared neural engagement, advancing our understanding of biological motion perception in ecologically valid contexts. The dissociation between ISC and IaSC suggests that cross-individual neural synchronization and within-individual temporal consistency reflect distinct neural processes.
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful tool for investigating biomolecular dynamics underlying biological functions. However, the accessible spatiotemporal scales of conventional all-atom simulations remain limited by high computational costs. Coarse-graining reduces these costs by decreasing the number of interaction sites and enabling longer timesteps. In extreme cases, proteins are represented as single spherical particles; while such approximations facilitate cellular-scale simulations, they often sacrifice essential structural information, such as molecular shape and interaction anisotropy. Here, we present CGRig, a rigid-body protein model with residue-level interaction sites designed for long-time, large-scale simulations. In CGRig, each protein is treated as a single rigid-body embedding residue-level interaction sites. Its translational and rotational motions are described by the overdamped Langevin equation incorporating a shape-dependent friction matrix. Intermolecular interactions are calculated using Go̅-like native contact potentials, Debye-Hückel electrostatics, and volume exclusion. We validated that CGRig accurately reproduces the translational and rotational diffusion coefficients expected from the friction matrix for an isolated protein. For dimeric systems, the model successfully maintained native complex structures. Furthermore, two initially separated proteins converged into the correct complex with an association rate consistent with all-atom simulations. Notably, CGRig achieved a simulation performance exceeding 17 μs/day for a 1024-molecule system. These results demonstrate that CGRig provides an efficient framework for simulating protein assembly while retaining residue-level interaction specificity, making it a valuable tool for investigating large-scale biomolecular self-assembly.
While pursuing high energy density in sodium-ion battery cathodes, ensuring intrinsic safety remains challenging. This study establishes a complete evidence chain linking "intrinsic chemical stability-metal dissolution-electrolyte catalytic decomposition-thermal safety" using NaNi1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3O2 (NFM), Na4Fe3(PO4)2(P2O7) (NFPP), and NaCrO2 (NCO) as models. We reveal that multivalent ions (Mn3+/Fe2+) in both NFM and NFPP trigger severe thermal runaway via a "dissolution-catalysis-runaway" cascade, despite their distinct structures. In contrast, NCO leverages the extreme chemical inertness of Cr3+ (unique d3 configuration and high Cr-O bond energy) to effectively sever this catalytic pathway, achieving counterintuitive high safety with minimal capacity sacrifice. This work elucidates that chemical inertness, rather than mere structural robustness, governs thermal safety, providing a new paradigm for designing intrinsically safe cathode materials.