Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
So Ozawa, Ryosuke Ando, Eric M. Dunham
Summary: Fault bends act as barriers to rupture propagation in earthquakes. A recent study quantifies the probability of rupture termination as a function of the bend angle. By conducting earthquake simulations on a fault with restraining or releasing bends, the researchers reproduce empirical laws and geological observations, and find that restraining and releasing bends have different earthquake cycles. This model can potentially enhance our understanding of nonplanar fault seismogenesis and be applied to hazard assessment.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
J. A. McBeck, Y. Ben-Zion, X. Zhou, F. Renard
Summary: Accelerating geophysical activity can be observed before some large earthquakes, indicating possible precursors to fault reactivation. Using models, researchers found that fault geometry and strength ratio control off-fault deformation. Velocity analysis suggests that fault-parallel velocity provides the most valuable information, while strain analysis reveals that shear strain is more informative during the interseismic period.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2022)
Article
Geology
Hanna Elston, Michele Cooke, Alex Hatem
Summary: Recent field studies have shown evidence of variability in fault slip rates over time. In this study, researchers observed the evolution of a fault system through a physical experiment and measured slip-rate histories. The results indicate that fault reorganization and site migration can cause changes in slip rates, with the growth of new oblique-slip faults increasing strike-slip rates.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shuai Zhang, Lishuang Xu, Jie Wu, Ying Yang, Chengxin Zhang, Haiyan Tao, Jingquan Lin, Licheng Huang, Wencheng Fang, Keying Shi, Xiangting Dong
Summary: The coupling effect of chemical composition and physical structure is crucial for constructing superaerophobic electrodes. By using high precision femtosecond laser technology, hierarchical micro-nano structures with superaerophobic properties were successfully constructed on the surface of silicon substrate, inheriting such special super-wettability to subsequent self-supporting electrodes through chemical synthesis. The introduction of femtosecond laser has opened up new possibilities for synthesizing self-supporting electrodes for gas-involving reactions.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jiangge Zheng, Meiting Yang, Kun Dong, Jianbo Zhang, Huali Wang, Mengjia Xie, Wei Wu, Yong-Jun Zhang, Zhongzhou Chen
Summary: The study elucidated the three-dimensional structure of the cotton bollworm pheromone-binding protein, its ligand binding mechanism, and the impact of pH on the protein structure. The findings provide insights into the interactions between pheromones and pheromone-binding proteins.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yang-Shuang Wang, Mo Xu, Yan-Na Yang, Qiang Xia, Bing Jiang, Chang Yang, Heng Zhang
Summary: Based on tectonophysical simulation experiments, this study investigated the tectonic geometry and kinematics of the Eastern Sichuan fold-impulse zone. The results show that the deformation style is influenced by various factors, including the basement properties, interlayer cohesions, and burial depth.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Sergey Yu. Ketkov, Sheng-Yuan Tzeng, Elena A. Rychagova, Gennady V. Markin, Sergei G. Makarov, Wen-Bih Tzeng
Summary: Transition-metal sandwich complexes play important roles in various fields due to their ability to form stable or reactive ions. This study presents accurate descriptions of electron detachment in mixed sandwich compounds through mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectra. Laser threshold ionization spectroscopy, combined with DFT calculations, reveals different structural variations upon detachment of the non-bonding d electron from the sandwich molecules, shedding light on the nature of these effects.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Shuo Ma
Summary: Inelastic off-fault deformation can result in large tsunamis in various tectonic settings. This study presents a mechanism for generating tsunamis through dynamic off-fault failure at restraining bends in strike-slip earthquakes. The results show that dynamic off-fault failure at restraining bends produces significantly larger and more localized surface uplift than purely elastic models, leading to a positive flower and coseismic pop-up structure. This larger uplift is due to frictional sliding with a thrust component on conjugate microfractures, modeled through inelastic deformation.
Article
Plant Sciences
Shadma Afzal, Nand K. Singh, Nivedita Singh, Nidhi Chaudhary
Summary: The study focuses on the structural and anatomical characteristics of the extrafloral nectaries of S. occidentalis, a plant species with economic importance. The evolutionary implications of EFNs, their morphology, and gland distribution are discussed, highlighting the importance of understanding the evolution of these traits in vascular plants. The research identifies two developmental stages of the EFNs and emphasizes the potential for future work exploring the phylogenetic patterns and evolutionary origins of these nectaries.
Review
Cell Biology
Mahmoud Bayoumi, Muhammad Munir
Summary: Emerging evidence suggests that cellular RNA undergoes various modifications during the cell cycle, with a focus on the importance of m(6)A methylation in RNA metabolism and cell physiology. The installation and removal of m(6)A marks by writers and erasers respectively play crucial roles in biomedical aspects, including human diseases and cancer. Understanding the mechanisms of m(6)A erasers presents new opportunities for basic research on RNA biology and potential therapeutic advancements in cancer treatment.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Anastasiia Shabalina, Alexandra G. Golubovskaya, Elena D. Fakhrutdinova, Sergei A. Kulinich, Olga V. Vodyankina, Valery A. Svetlichyi
Summary: Laser methods are used to prepare complex functional nanomaterials, which have applications in biomedicine, optoelectronics, and heterogeneous catalysis. In this paper, complex oxide and composite nanomaterials based on Bi and Si were produced using laser ablation in liquid followed by powder annealing. Characterization techniques were used to analyze the samples, and their ability to decompose organic molecules was demonstrated.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
W. Hamish Mitchell, Alexander C. Whittaker, Mike Mayall, Lidia Lonergan, Marco Pizzi
Summary: The study combined seismic techniques with the concept of stratigraphic mobility to quantify how gravity-driven deformation influenced the stratigraphic architecture of two submarine channels. Results showed variations in channel element and channel complex characteristics in structured reaches of the slope, with lateral migration being the dominant form of stratigraphic preservation in these locations. The study demonstrates the intricate relationship between the planform characteristics of channel elements and the cross-sectional dimensions of the channel complex, showing how tectonically driven changes in slope develop channel complexes with distinct cross-sectional and planform architectures.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pablo Aledo, Juan Carlos Aledo
Summary: This study proposes a neutral continuous fitness-stability model inspired by the Arrhenius law to explain the observed amino acid substitution rates. The model suggests that the rate of substitution depends on a pre-exponential factor and an exponential term reflecting relative fitness. By analyzing stability changes in proteins and their disease-causing potential, the study found a significant positive correlation between energy values and the fitness effect of substitutions, supporting the validity of the model.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
F. Xavier Gomis-Rueth, Walter Stoecker
Summary: Astacins are a family of metallopeptidases found in animals, consisting of multidomain extracellular proteins. They share similar structural features with other metallopeptidases and belong to the metzincin metallopeptidase clan. The distribution and origin of astacins have been investigated, and it is proposed that they originated in the root of Holozoa through horizontal gene transfer.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wenhua Han, Endong Wang, Wen Wu Xu
Summary: This study provides comprehensive insights into the stability of crystallized Au-22(SAdm)(16) nanocluster and reveals the underlying mechanism for the spontaneous transformation to Au-21(SAdm)(15). It also successfully predicts two new isomers of Au-22(SCH3)(16) with lower energies and distinct optical properties.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)