8 Å structure of the outer rings of the Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex obtained by cryo-EM and AI

The nuclear pore complex (NPC), one of the largest protein complexes in eukaryotes, serves as a physical gate to regulate nucleocytoplasmic transport. Here, we determined the 8 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopic (cryo-EM) structure of the outer rings containing nuclear ring (NR) and cytoplasmic ring (CR) from the Xenopus laevis NPC, with local resolutions reaching 4.9 Å. With the aid of AlphaFold2, we managed to build a pseudoatomic model of the outer rings, including the Y complexes and flanking components. In this most comprehensive and accurate model of outer rings to date, the almost complete Y complex structure exhibits much tighter interaction in the hub region. In addition to two copies of Y complexes, each asymmetric subunit in CR contains five copies of Nup358, two copies of the Nup214 complex, two copies of Nup205 and one copy of newly identified Nup93, while that in NR contains one copy of Nup205, one copy of ELYS and one copy of Nup93. These in-depth structural features represent a great advance in understanding the assembly of NPCs.

Levantamento Florístico da Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) da Lagoa da Maraponga, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

A Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) da Lagoa da Maraponga é uma unidade de conservação municipal localizada no bairro Maraponga, município de Fortaleza, estado do Ceará. Composto predominantemente por um ecossistema lacustre, no qual se destaca a Lagoa da Maraponga, com área de 31 hectares, ameaçada pela ação antrópica, fazendo com que a conservação se torne uma prioridade. Objetivou-se fazer o levantamento florístico da APA da Lagoa da Maraponga e elaborar um guia de campo. Foram realizadas coletas botânicas, observações de campo, fotografias e identificações das espécies. Registraram-se 98 espécies pertencentes a 82 gêneros e 37 famílias botânicas. As famílias mais representativas foram Fabaceae (18 spp.), Malvaceae (13 spp.), Asteraceae (dez spp.), Rubiaceae (cinco spp.), Arecaceae, Convolvulaceae e Solanaceae (quatro spp., cada). Constatou-se que o hábito das espécies tem como predomínio o porte herbáceo (41 spp.), seguido de espécies subarbustivas (19 spp.), arbóreas (17 spp.), arbustivas (dez spp.), trepadeiras (sete spp.) e palmeiras (quatro spp.). Conclui-se que esta área tem demonstrado que mesmo com a interferência humana e o grande avanço da urbanização em seus arredores, a flora local apresenta elevada riqueza de espécies nativas que precisa ser conservada, mantida e reconhecida por políticas públicas e pela sociedade, as quais podem ser auxiliadas pelo guia de campo elaborado. Floristic Survey of the Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of Maraponga Lagoon, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil A B S T R A C TThe Maraponga Lagoon Environmental Protection Area (EPA) is a municipal conservation unit located in the Maraponga neighborhood, in the municipality of Fortaleza, state of Ceará. Composed predominantly of a lake ecosystem, in which the Maraponga Lagoon stands out, with an area of 31 hectares, threatened by anthropic action, prioritizing conservation. The objective was to carry out the floristic survey of the EPA of Maraponga Lagoon and to prepare a field guide. Botanical collections, field observations, photographs and species identification were carried out. A total of 98 species belonging to 82 genera and 37 botanical families were registered. The most representative families were Fabaceae (18 spp.), Malvaceae (13 spp.), Asteraceae (ten spp.), Rubiaceae (five spp.), Arecaceae, Convolvulaceae and Solanaceae (four spp., each). It was found that the habit of the species predominates the herbaceous size (41 spp.), followed by sub-shrubs (19 spp.), trees (17 spp.), shrubs (ten spp.), climbing plants (seven spp.) and palm trees (four spp.). It’s concluded that this area has shown that even with human interference and the great advance of urbanization in its surroundings, the local flora has a high number of native species that need to be conserved, maintained and recognized by public policies and society, which can be assisted by the field guide prepared.Keywords: Urban biodiversity, conservation, vegetable diversity, richness, conservation unit.

8 Å structure of the nuclear ring of the Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex solved by cryo-EM and AI

The nuclear pore complex (NPC), one of the largest protein complexes in eukaryotes, serves as a physical gate to regulate nucleocytoplasmic transport. Here, we determined the 8 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopic (cryo-EM) structure of the nuclear ring (NR) from the Xenopus laevis NPC, with local resolutions reaching 4.9 Å. With the aid of AlphaFold2, we managed to build a pseudoatomic model of the NR, including the Y complexes and flanking components. In this most comprehensive and accurate model to date, the almost complete Y complex structure exhibits much tighter interaction in the hub region. Each NR asymmetric subunit contains two copies of Y complexes, one copy of Nup205 that connects the Y complexes to the neighbouring complex, one copy of ELYS that stabilizes the long arm region of the inner Y complex, and one copy of newly identified Nup93 that forms a bridge across the stems of Y complexes. These in-depth structural features represent a great advance in understanding the assembly of NPCs.

Photogrammetry as a New Scientific Tool in Archaeology: Worldwide Research Trends

Archaeology has made significant advances in the last 20 years. This can be seen by the remarkable increase in specialised literature on all archaeology-related disciplines. These advances have made it a science with links to many other sciences, both in the field of experimental sciences and in the use of techniques from other disciplines such as engineering. Within this last issue it is important to highlight the great advance that the use of photogrammetry has brought for archaeology. In this research, through a systematic study with bibliometric techniques, the main institutions and countries that are carrying them out and the main interests of the scientific community in archaeology related to photogrammetry have been identified. The main increase in this field has been observed since 2010, especially the contribution of UAVs that have reduced the cost of photogrammetric flights for reduced areas. The main lines of research in photogrammetry applied to archaeology are close-range photogrammetry, aerial photogrammetry (UAV), cultural heritage, excavation, cameras, GPS, laser scan, and virtual reconstruction including 3D printing.

Changes in Consumption Patterns and Tourist Promotion after the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has entailed an unprecedented health crisis with significant economic impacts in many sectors worldwide. The tourism sector has been one of the most affected, with significant impacts on the number of cancelled reservations, a decrease in international travel and changes in consumption behaviour. This study aims to analyse the main changes in promotion and marketing in the tourism sector in Spain after the pandemic. To this end, a qualitative analysis was carried out via questionnaire-based interviews with 65 experts in the areas of marketing, consumer behaviour and tourism. The main findings show that online information sources gained weight over consulting friends and relatives, and a great advance in digitization is expected, where physical travel agencies will be displaced by online platforms, except for specialized and advisory services. Additionally, technologies such as virtual reality (VR) or artificial intelligence (AI) may play an increasingly important role in the medium term.

Organic multicomponent microparticle libraries

Multimetallic nanostructures can be synthesized by integrating up to seven or eight metallic elements into a single nanoparticle, which represent a great advance in developing complex multicomponent nanoparticle libraries. Contrary, organic micro- and nanoparticles beyond three π-conjugated components have not been explored because of the diversity and structural complexity of molecular assemblies. Here, we report a library of microparticles composed of an arbitrary combination of four luminescent organic semiconductors. We demonstrate that the composition and emission color of each domain as well as its spatial distribution can be rationally modulated. Unary, binary, ternary, and quaternary microparticles are thus realized in a predictable manner based on the miscibility of the components, resulting in mixed-composition phases or alloyed or phase separated heterostructures. This work reports a simple yet available synthetic methodology for rational modulation of organic multicomponent microparticles with complex architectures, which can be used to direct the design of functional microparticles.

Is “willpower” a scientific concept? Suppressing temptation contra resolution in the face of adversity

The distinction that Ainslie draws among the triple-phenomena “suppression,” “resolve,” and “habit” is a great advance in decision making theory. But the conceptual machinery “willpower,” and its underpinning distinction between small/soon (SS) rewards as opposed to large/later (LL) rewards, provides a faulty framework to understand the triple-phenomena.

Proper motion of the spectrally selected structures in Herbig-Haro flows

We present some results of the investigations of proper motions of spectrally separated structures in the Herbig-Haro (HH) outflows with the aid of Fabry-Perot scanning interferometry. This project was started more than twenty years ago on the 2.6m telescope of Byurakan Observatory and afterwards was continued on 6m telescope (Russia). We describe the progress of research in the frames of this project and focus in more detail on the results of the latest observations of HH 83 outflow system. The method of Fabry-Perot scanning interferometry allowed to reveal the morphology of high and low velocity structures not only inside the terminal working surfaces of the jets but also in their internal knots. As the great advance we consider the development of a methodology for measuring proper motions of already separated kinematical structures using observations in two epochs, which made it possible to reveal the physical nature of these structures. Concerning the HH 83 collimated outflow it should be noted that our first observations of HH 83 revealed two structures in its working surface with strongly different radial velocities, and the second epoch data allowed to measure their proper motions. The proper motions of these structures are nearly equal, which points that they are physically connected and represents forward and reverse shock regions in the terminal working surface of HH 83.

Investment for research at the Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit

Research is one of the substantive functions of Higher Education Institutions. For the promotion, development and strengthening of research, it is necessary the participation of academics, the promotion strategies on the part of the institutions and the investment of the state and federal governments. At the Autonomous University of Nayarit there is a great advance in indicators according to international rankings. From this arises, the need to inquire about the actions that are carried out to achieve it. In this work, the objective is to make known which are the strategies implemented by the institution and analyze the total investment in the last five years. For which a comparison is made of the two main sources of financing: Extraordinary Funds and Patronage Resources. It concludes in a reflection on the institutional strategies applied by the Autonomous University of Nayarit, the behavior of the resources provided by both sources of financing mentioned, and the institutional and federal policies.

Carcinogenesis as Side Effects of Iron and Oxygen Utilization: From the Unveiled Truth toward Ultimate Bioengineering

Evolution from the first life on earth to humans took ~3.8 billion years. During the time there have been countless struggles among the species. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the last major uncontrollable species against the human public health worldwide. After the victory with antibiotics, cancer has become the leading cause of death since 1981 in Japan. Considering that life inevitably depends on ceaseless electron transfers through iron and oxygen, we believe that carcinogenesis is intrinsically unavoidable side effects of using iron and oxygen. Many animal models unequivocally revealed that excess iron is a risk for carcinogenesis. This is supported by a variety of human epidemiological data on cancer risk and prognosis. Cancer is basically a disease of the genome with persistently activated oncogenes and inactivated tumor suppressor genes through which iron addiction with ferroptosis-resistance is maintained. Engineering has made a great advance in the past 50 years. In particular, nanotechnology is distinct in that the size of the engineered molecules is similar to that of our biomolecules. While some nano-molecules are found carcinogenic, there are principles to avoid such carcinogenicity with a smart possibility to use nano-molecules to specifically kill cancer cells. Non-thermal plasma is another modality to fight against cancer.