Demographics of Exoplanets in Binaries. I. Architecture of S-type Planetary Systems Revealed by the Radial-velocity Sample

Although the sample of exoplanets in binaries has been greatly expanded, the sample heterogeneity and observational bias are obstacles toward a clear figure of exoplanet demographics in the binary environment. To overcome the obstacles, we conduct a statistical study that focuses on S-type (circumstellar) planetary systems detected by the radial-velocity (RV) method. We try to account for observational biases by estimating, from available RV data, planet detection efficiencies for each individual system. Our main results are as follows. (1) Single (resp. multiple) planetary systems are mostly found in close (wide) binaries with separation a B < (>) ∼ 100–300 au. (2) In binaries, single and multiple-planet systems are similar in 1D distributions of mass and period as well as eccentricity (in contrast to the “eccentricity dichotomy” found in single star systems) but different in the 2D period-mass diagram. Specifically, there is a rectangular-shaped gap in the period-mass diagram of single-planet systems but not for multiples. This gap also depends on binary separation and is more prominent in close binaries. (3) There is a rising upper envelope in the period-mass diagram for planets in wide binaries as well as in single stars but not in close binaries. More specifically, there is a population of massive short-period planets in close binaries but almost absent in wide binaries or single stars. We suggest that enhanced planetary migration, collision and/or ejection in close binaries could be the potential underlying explanation for these three features.

High-speed live cell interferometry for screening bioprinted organoids

There is increasing interest in leveraging tumor organoids for high-throughput drug screenings to investigate tumor biology and identify therapeutic leads. However, functional precision medicine platforms are limited by the difficulties of creating, scaling, and analyzing physiological disease models. Most systems use manually seeded organoids and take advantage of destructive endpoint assays to rapidly characterize response to treatment. These approaches fail to capture transitory changes and intra-sample heterogeneity that underlies much of the clinically observed resistance to therapy. We therefore developed bioprinted tumor organoids linked to real-time growth pattern quantitation via high-speed live cell interferometry (HSLCI). We demonstrate that bioprinting gives rise to 3D organoid structures that preserve histology and gene expression. These are suitable for imaging with HSLCI, enabling accurate parallel mass measurements for thousands of bioprinted organoids. In drug screening experiments, HSLCI rapidly identifies organoids transiently or persistently sensitive or resistant to specific therapies. We show that our approach can provide detailed, actionable information to guide rapid therapy selection.

NMF-Based Approach for Missing Values Imputation of Mass Spectrometry Metabolomics Data

In mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics, missing values (NAs) may be due to different causes, including sample heterogeneity, ion suppression, spectral overlap, inappropriate data processing, and instrumental errors. Although a number of methodologies have been applied to handle NAs, NA imputation remains a challenging problem. Here, we propose a non-negative matrix factorization (NMF)-based method for NA imputation in MS-based metabolomics data, which makes use of both global and local information of the data. The proposed method was compared with three commonly used methods: k-nearest neighbors (kNN), random forest (RF), and outlier-robust (ORI) missing values imputation. These methods were evaluated from the perspectives of accuracy of imputation, retrieval of data structures, and rank of imputation superiority. The experimental results showed that the NMF-based method is well-adapted to various cases of data missingness and the presence of outliers in MS-based metabolic profiles. It outperformed kNN and ORI and showed results comparable with the RF method. Furthermore, the NMF method is more robust and less susceptible to outliers as compared with the RF method. The proposed NMF-based scheme may serve as an alternative NA imputation method which may facilitate biological interpretations of metabolomics data.

Evaluation of intestinal cancer by 1H HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy: A new diagnostic tool?

Previous studies have demonstrated that cancer cells harbor unique metabolic characteristics relative to healthy counterparts. The current study is a prospective ex-vivo HR-MAS NMR analysis of malignant colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue specimens and its corresponding benign tissues.To assess the HR-MAS Spectroscope qualitatively & to analyze significant difference between the normal, benign and malignant intestinal mucosa.Between November 2013and January 2016, 36 consecutive patients with confirmed CRC were recruited to a prospective observational study. Fresh tissue samples were obtained from center of tumor and 5 cm from tumor margin from surgical resection specimens. Samples were run in duplicate where tissue volume permitted to compensate for anticipated sample heterogeneity. Typically, the sample was packed into a 4 mm ZrO2 rotor of 50 μl capacity; a volume of 20μl of D2O having 0.03% TSP was used as a chemical shift reference. The sample-rotor-setup was then transferred into the HR-MAS NMR probe for analysis.A total of 36 spectra were acquired (center of tumor, n = 18; 5 cm from tumor margin, n = 18). The malignant clustering occurs due to increased Val (0.90ppm), Lac (1.34ppm), Ala(1.48ppm) levels of acetate (1.90ppm), glutamate (2.35ppm), taurine (3.23 ppm), choline containing compounds (3.20-3.22ppm), glycine (3.56ppm), lactate (4.12ppm) and α-H of Leu, Ileu, Val, Lys, Ala (3.76-3.79ppm . In addition unique metabolic profiles were observed for tumors of differing T-stage. The information gathered from clustering in PCA had highly suggested that malignancy induces metabolic perturbations at cellular levels.HR-MAS NMR profiling demonstrates cancer-specific metabolic signatures in CRC and reveals metabolic differences between benign and malignant tumors. In addition, this approach reveals that tumor metabolism undergoes modification during local tumor advancement, offering potential in future staging and therapeutic approaches.

Ferries and Environmental DNA: Underway Sampling From Commercial Vessels Provides New Opportunities for Systematic Genetic Surveys of Marine Biodiversity

Marine environmental DNA (eDNA) is an important tool for biodiversity research and monitoring but challenges remain in scaling surveys over large spatial areas, and increasing the frequency of sampling in remote locations at reasonable cost. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of sampling from commercial vessels (Mediterranean ferries) while underway, as a strategy to facilitate replicable, systematic marine eDNA surveys in locations that would normally be challenging and expensive for researchers to access. Sixteen eDNA samples were collected from four fixed sampling stations, and in response to four cetacean sightings, across three cruises undertaken along the 300 km ferry route between Livorno (Tuscany) and Golfo Aranci (Sardinia) in the Ligurian/Tyrrhenian Seas, June-July 2018. Using 12SrDNA and 16SrDNA metabarcoding markers, we recovered diverse marine vertebrate Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) from teleost fish, elasmobranchs, and cetaceans. We detected sample heterogeneity consistent with previously known variation in species occurrences, including putative species spawning peaks associated with specific sea surface temperature ranges, and increased night time abundance of bathypelagic species known to undertake diel migrations through the water column. We suggest commercial vessel based marine eDNA sampling using the global shipping network has potential to facilitate broad-scale biodiversity monitoring in the world’s oceans.

Single-molecule fluorescence vistas of how lipids regulate membrane proteins

The study of membrane proteins is undergoing a golden era, and we are gaining unprecedented knowledge on how this key group of proteins works. However, we still have only a basic understanding of how the chemical composition and the physical properties of lipid bilayers control the activity of membrane proteins. Single-molecule (SM) fluorescence methods can resolve sample heterogeneity, allowing to discriminate between the different molecular populations that biological systems often adopt. This short review highlights relevant examples of how SM fluorescence methodologies can illuminate the different ways in which lipids regulate the activity of membrane proteins. These studies are not limited to lipid molecules acting as ligands, but also consider how the physical properties of the bilayer can be determining factors on how membrane proteins function.

GVC and wage dispersion. Firm-level evidence from employee?employer database

Research background: Wage inequalities are still part of an interesting policy-oriented research area. Given the developments in international trade models (heterogeneity of firms) and increasing availability of micro-level data, more and more attention is paid to wage differences observed within and be-tween firms. Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper is to address the research gap concerning limited cross-country evidence on a nexus of wage inequality?global value chains (GVCs), analysed from the perspective of wage inequality components within and between firms. Methods: This paper uses a large employee?employer database derived from the European Structure of Earnings Survey (SES), combined with sector-level indicators of GVC involvement based on the World Input-Output Database (WIOD). As a result, a rich database covering more than 7.5 million observations is created. The regression-based decomposition modelling technique developed by Fiorio and Jenkins (2010) is used to identify the contributions of different factors to wage inequalities, focusing on the components within and between firms. Findings & value added: The analysis presented in this paper aimed to show the contribution of GVC involvement, among various other factors, to the observed inequality of wages. Due to the use of a rich database that merges employer and employee data, the effects materialised with respect to different types of wages could be analysed separately, in particular components between and within firms. The general conclusion from the regression-based decomposition in log wages is that GVCs contribute marginally to the observed wage inequality in the European sample analysed in this paper. Some differences confronting the components within and between firms (the latter dominates) are observed; there is also certain intra sample heterogeneity in the estimated results (e.g. due to sector type or country group), but the general result is robust.

Variation of CO2-Brine Contact Angles on Natural Rocks of Different Compositions

Contact angles were measured for CO₂-brine interactions on 20 different rocks that represent the properties of various CO₂ storage depositional environments to characterize the wettability during geologic carbon storage. Three different CO₂ phases (gaseous, liquid, and supercritical) were considered to investigate the effect of pressure and temperature. Bubbles were studied in two groups of larger and smaller than 500 μm, the latter being more relevant to pore scale. Variation was observed among contact angle measurements, even while controlling the sample preparation and cleanliness. The contact angle variations could mainly be attributed to natural sample heterogeneity, as shown by an increased range of measured values for the smallest bubbles studied. Despite these variations, the analysis of 1139 contact angle measurements on 20 samples under 3 different experimental conditions showed that 92.8% of the angles were below 40°, meaning that the samples were primarily strongly-to-moderately water-wet with the average contact angle of 22°. 10% of the angles under supercritical conditions were between 40° and 60°. This range of angles constitutes 5% and 4% of the measurements under liquid and gaseous conditions, respectively. Therefore, supercritical CO₂ was observed to be more wetting than liquid or gaseous CO₂</span><span>.