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Cyanide is a minor constituent of crude syngas whose content depends on the feedstock and gasification procedure. It is a known poison to metal catalysts and inhibits iron-containing enzymes like carbon monoxide dehydrogenase of acetogenic organisms. Therefore, it is considered a component that has to be removed from the gas stream prior to use in chemical synthesis or syngas fermentation. We show that the growth rate and maximum biomass concentration of Clostridium ljungdahlii are unaffected by cyanide at concentrations of up to 1.0 mM with fructose as a carbon source and up to 0.1 mM with syngas as a carbon source. After the culture is adapted to cyanide it shows no growth inhibition. While the difference in growth is an increasing lag-phase with increasing cyanide concentrations, the product spectrum shifts from 97% acetic acid and 3% ethanol at 0 mM cyanide to 20% acetic acid and 80% ethanol at 1.0 mM cyanide for cultures growing on (fructose) and 80% acetic acid and 20% ethanol at 0.1 mM cyanide (syngas).

Abstract Figure-ground organisation is a perceptual grouping mechanism for detecting objects and boundaries, essential for an agent interacting with the environment. Current figure-ground segmentation methods rely on classical computer vision or deep learning, requiring extensive computational resources, especially during training. Inspired by the primate visual system, we developed a bio-inspired perception system for the neuromorphic robot iCub. The model uses a hierarchical, biologically plausible architecture and event-driven vision to distinguish foreground objects from the background. Unlike classical approaches, event-driven cameras reduce data redundancy and computation. The system has been qualitatively and quantitatively assessed in simulations and with event-driven cameras on iCub in various scenarios. It successfully segments items in diverse real-world settings, showing comparable results to its frame-based version on simple stimuli and the Berkeley Segmentation dataset. This model enhances hybrid systems, complementing conventional deep learning models by processing only relevant data in Regions of Interest (ROI), enabling low-latency autonomous robotic applications.

A study has extended knowledge of the phylogenetic diversity of the Neochlamydia hartmannellae gen. nov., sp. nov. (Parachlamydiaceae). It has been found that these endocytobionts can develop naturally in Hartmannella vermiformis amoebae. Free-living amoebae are more and more being seen to serve as vehicles of dispersal for assorted bacterial human pathogens. They also can be hosts for various obligate bacterial endocytobionts.

The primary sequence of the 16S and 23S rRNA of the obligate intracellular bacterial parasites of acanthamoebae is 86 to 87% similar to that of the genus Chlamydia. The parasites probably constitute another genus of Chlamydiaceae rather than another species. The rRNA analysis and in situ hybridization with a horseradish peroxidase-labeled oligonucleotide identifies a site that assigns the 16S rRNA sequence to the respective intracellular parasite. The results of the study show that small amoebae act as environmental reservoirs and vectors for pathogenic bacteria.

Decision-making is a cognitive process involving working memory, executive function, and attention. However, the connectivity of large-scale brain networks during decision-making is not well understood. This is because gaining access to large-scale brain networks in humans is still a novel process. Here, we used SEEG (stereoelectroencephalography) to record neural activity from the default mode network (DMN), dorsal attention network (DAN), and frontoparietal network (FN) in ten humans while they performed a gambling task in the form of the card game, “War”. By observing these networks during a decision-making period, we related the activity of and connectivity between these networks. In particular, we found that gamma band activity was directly related to a participant’s ability to bet logically, deciding what betting amount would result in the highest monetary gain or lowest monetary loss throughout a session of the game. We also found connectivity between the DAN and the relation to a participant’s performance. Specifically, participants with higher connectivity between and within these networks had higher earnings. Our preliminary findings suggest that connectivity and activity between these networks are essential during decision-making.

Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus vulgaris (PV) are common autoimmune bullous dermatoses (AIBD) characterized by blisters and erosions. Treatment options are limited and often insufficient. Immune checkpoint receptors play critical roles in immune homoeostasis and self‐ tolerance. Targeting checkpoint receptors is highly efficient in treatment of various cancers, but often also associated with autoimmune side effects. Objectives: We therefore aimed to investigate the expression of immune checkpoint receptors in patients with BP and PV. Methods: We analysed expression of the checkpoint receptors programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1), T‐cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim‐3) and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (Lag‐3) in lesional skin of patients with BP and PV compared to healthy control skin as well as the expression patterns of PD‐1 and Tim‐3 on various infiltrating immune cells in skin sections of AIBD by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. We also measured serum levels of soluble PD‐1, Tim‐3 and Lag‐3 in AIBD patients by ELISA. Results: We report on increased expression of PD‐1 and Tim‐3, but not Lag‐3, in lesional skin of patients with BP and PV. Investigating the expression pattern of PD‐1 and Tim‐3 on different cutaneous immune cells, we observed significant upregulation of PD‐1 predominantly on infiltrating CD8 T cells and upregulation of Tim‐3 on CD8 T cells as well as macrophages. Conclusions: Our results suggest exploring immune checkpoint receptors as novel therapeutic targets using an agonistic approach in autoimmune bullous diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the distal intertarsal (DIT) and tarsometatarsal (TMT) joints occurs commonly. Synovial fluid (SF) biomarkers of collagen and bone turnover have potential clinical value. Objectives: To measure SF biomarker concentrations from DIT and TMT joints in adult horses and determine if they correlate with radiographic OA severity and are higher in joints with radiographic OA compared to controls. Study design: Cross‐sectional. Methods: Radiographic OA of DIT and TMT joints was evaluated from adult horses (5–35 years old). Overall radiographic scores divided horses into those with mild or moderate radiographic OA (16 joints from 9 horses) or controls (13 joints from 9 horses). Direct biomarkers of OA (Carboxypropeptide of type II collagen = CPII, carboxy‐neoepitope of type II collagen exposed after collagenase‐cleavage = C2C, Bone alkaline phosphatase = BAP and Chondroitin sulfate epitope = CS846) were measured via ELISA and CPII/C2C was calculated. Biomarkers were correlated with radiographic findings and concentrations from those with radiographic OA to control joints and were compared. Results: Concentrations of CPII (R = 0.84, P<0.001), C2C (R = 0.69, P<0.001) and BAP (R = 0.41, P = 0.03) as well as CPII/C2C (R = 0.69, P<0.001) values positively correlated with overall radiographic scores. Adjusted means ± s.d., after controlling for age, for CPII (P<0.001), C2C (P<0.001), CPII/C2C (P = 0.004) and BAP (P = 0.05) were significantly higher in DIT and TMT joints with radiographic OA (CPII: 2174.45 ± 1064.01; C2C: 233.52 ± 51.187; CPII/C2C: 9.01 ± 4.09; BAP: 21.98 ± 15.34) compared to controls (CPII: 594.53 ± 463.05; C2C: 153.12 ± 48.95; CPII/C2C: 3.96 ± 2.38; BAP: 12.76 ± 3.61). CPII (P<0.001), C2C (P = 0.001) and CPII/C2C (P = 0.001) were significantly higher with moderate radiographic OA (CPII: 2444.61 ± 772.78; C2C: 248.90 ± 44.94; CPII/C2C: 9.47 ± 2.97) compared to controls (CPII: 658.38 ± 417.36; C2C: 156.49 ± 47.61; CPII/C2C: 4.15 ± 2.04), with CPII also showing significantly higher concentrations (P = 0.04) with mild radiographic OA compared (1515.00 ± 584.95) to controls (658.38 ± 417.36). There were no differences in CS846 concentrations between radiographic OA and control joints. Age positively correlated with CPII (R = 0.48, P = 0.01) and C2C (R = 0.44, P = 0.02) concentrations. Main limitations: Radiographic OA was assessed, not clinical lameness. Controls were not age‐matched to those with spontaneous radiographic OA. Conclusions: There is an association between collagen (CPII, C2C and CPII/C2C) and bone (BAP) biomarkers and radiographic OA in the distal tarsal joints of horses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In magnesium alloys with aluminum as an alloying component, zirconium loses its grain refinement effect as a grain refiner. Instead of zirconium, Mg3N2 can be used, and promising results have already been obtained. However, the duration of action of Mg3N2 has not been elucidated yet. The aim of this work is therefore to determine the grain size of the AZ80 alloy as a function of the duration of action of Mg3N2 and thus the economically reasonable duration of use. It was found that the Mg3N2 reaches its full effect from 30 min after a complete remelting and does not lose this grain refinement effect even after 90 min. It thus proves to be a stable and reliable grain refiner. A grain size of 146.3 ± 10.3 µm was achieved. Furthermore, a minimum tensile strength of 205 MPa with a break elongation of 5.99% was achieved.

Abstract To interact with its environment, a robot working in 3D space needs to organise its visual input in terms of objects or their perceptual precursors, proto-objects. Among other visual cues, depth is a submodality used to direct attention to visual features and objects. Current depth-based proto-object attention models have been implemented for standard RGB-D cameras that produce synchronous frames. In contrast, event cameras are neuromorphic sensors that loosely mimic the function of the human retina by asynchronously encoding per-pixel brightness changes at very high temporal resolution, thereby providing advantages like high dynamic range, efficiency (thanks to their high degree of signal compression), and low latency. We propose a bio-inspired bottom-up attention model that exploits event-driven sensing to generate depth-based saliency maps that allow a robot to interact with complex visual input. We use event-cameras mounted in the eyes of the iCub humanoid robot to directly extract edge, disparity and motion information. Real-world experiments demonstrate that our system robustly selects salient objects near the robot in the presence of clutter and dynamic scene changes, for the benefit of downstream applications like object segmentation, tracking and robot interaction with external objects.