Article is a study determining whether ReN cells, a superior cell model system for studying neurodevelopment, differentiation, and neuroprotection, express proteins involved in canonical eCB NAE signaling and whether oxidative stress can induce their expression. This study is a first step toward determining how oxidative stress affects CB1, CB2, FAAH, NAAA, and NAPE-PLD expression and their potential defense against oxidative stress.

Article describes how pectin is a complex polysaccharide present in the plant cell wall, whose composition is constantly remodeled to adapt to environmental or developmental changes. Here, authors describe a quick and efficient gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based method that allows the differential analysis of pectin monosaccharide composition in plants under different conditions or between mutant plants and their respective wild types.

Article states that to bolster the series of Brief Guides released by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the authors introduce the first Brief Guide to Polymer Characterization. This article provides a concise overview of characterization methods for teachers, students, non-specialists, and newcomers to polymer science as well as being a useful manual for researchers and technicians.

Article presents a case study of a 35 year-old Caucasian woman who experienced multiple vertebral fractures two months after her second pregnancy. The results suggest a potential role of heterozygous WNT1 variants in the pathogenesis of early-onset osteoporosis. The authors suggest that teriparatide is one of the most appropriate available therapies for such cases.

This article develops an inducible expression system to study AtNEET function in mature plants using a time-course proteomics approach. The authors report that the suppression of AtNEET cluster transfer function results in drastic changes in the expression of different members of the ferredoxin (Fd), Fd-thioredoxin (TRX) reductase (FTR), and TRX network of Arabidopsis, as well as in cytosolic cluster assembly proteins.

Article filling the regional gap in knowledge of diet composition of the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the long-eared owl (Asio otus). The study was conducted at the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) and examined the remains found in owl pellets collected September 2016 to March 2017.

This article is the fourth paper of the Special Issue Memory and Criticality. It bridges the the theoretical debate on the role of memory and criticality discussed in the three earlier manuscripts, with a review of key concepts in biology and focus on cell-to-cell communication in organismal development. The authors suggest that in conjunction with morphogenetic gradients, there exist gradients of information transfer creating cybernetic loops of stability and disorder, setting the stage for adaptive capability. Criticality, therefore, appears to be an important factor in the transmission, transfer and coding of information for complex adaptive system development.

This article finds a zero in the positronium formation scattering amplitude and a deep minimum in the logarithm of the corresponding differential cross section for positron–helium collisions for an energy just above the positronium formation threshold. Results show that there is a valley in the logarithm of the positronium formation differential cross section that includes the deep minimum and also a minimum in the forward direction.

Article verifying a conjecture of Vershik by showing that Hall’s universal countable locally finite group can be embedded as a dense subgroup in the isometry group of the Urysohn space and in the automorphism group of the random graph. It shows the same for all automorphism groups of known infinite ultraextensive spaces.

Article detects the presence of a specific pancreatic cancer-derived miRNA (pre-miR-132) using the fluorescence properties of biocompatible nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) synthesized using a bottom-up approach from a single glucosamine precursor. This non-invasive approach allows cancer-specific miRNA detection to facilitate early diagnosis of various forms of cancer.

This article demonstrates for the first time that Neutral Red (NR) can also serve as a CO2 sensor, because of NR’s unique optical properties, which change with dissolved carbon dioxide (dCO2) concentrations. In this article optical sensitivity of NR was quantified as a function of changes in absorption and emission spectra to dCO2 in a pH 7.3 buffer medium at eight dCO2 concentrations.

Article describes how, twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystems services for human well-being, addressing the global biodiversity crisis still implied confronting barriers to incorporating nature's diverse values into decision-making. The authors assert that a better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever.

This article is an editorial on the research topic Microbial C1 Metabolism and Biotechnology. This special topic presents studies focused on the fundamental aspects of C1 metabolism in diverse microbial systems with the ability to convert anthropogenic greenhouse gases into valuable products.

Article states that though adult psychopathic traits emerge from both genetic and environmental risk, no studies have examined etiologic associations between adult psychopathic traits and experiences of parenting in childhood, or the extent to which parenting practices may impact the heritability of adult psychopathic traits using a genetically-informed design. Utilizing a genetically-informed design, the authors found that both genetic and non-shared environmental factors contribute to the emergence of psychopathic traits.

Authors of the article state that the aim of this study was to understand the encroachment order, spatial patterns, interspecific associations, and species diversity of a Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation and to provide context for how to improve the spatial structure of C. lanceolata plantations. Their results show that the encroachment of broad-leaf trees into the C. lanceolata plantation followed a clear successional sequence of tree community assembly: intolerant tree species encroachment first, such as Alniphyllum fortunei and Liquidambar formosana, encroached; neutral tree species then encroachment, such as Daphniphyllum oldhamii and Schima superba, and shade-tolerant tree species encroachment last, such as Castanopsis eyrei and Castanopsis tibetana.

Article describes how organic-inorganic perovskites hold great promise as optoelectronic semiconductors for pure color light emitting and photovoltaic devices. This paper investigates the laser radiation hardening and self-healing-induced properties of aged MAPbBr3 perovskites encapsulated in NiO nanotubes (MAPbBr3@NiO) using photoluminescence (PL) and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). After deliberately subjecting the MAPbBr3@ NiO to atmospheric conditions for two years, the sample remains remarkably stable.

Article describes how the biodiversity–ecosystem function hypothesis postulates that higher biodiversity is correlated with faster ecosystem process rates and increased ecosystem stability in fluctuating environments. The authors examined linkages among floodplain wetland habitats, invertebrate communities and their associated traits, and ecosystem function across 60 sites within the floodplain wetlands of the lower Wolastoq, Saint John River, New Brunswick.

This article determines the equilibrium solubility of benzoic acid in water and ethanol, as well as in nine {ethanol (1) + water (2)} mixtures from T = (293.15 to 323.15) K. The thermodynamic results presented could be useful in optimizing different physical and chemical processes involving benzoic acid in mixed aqueous-ethanol media.

Article discusses how hybrid organic–inorganic formate perovskites, AB(HCOO)3, are a large family of compounds that exhibit a variety of phase transitions and diverse properties, such as (anti)ferroelectricity, ferroelasticity, (anti)ferromagnetism, and multiferroism. While many properties of these materials have already been characterized, the authors seek to focus on the comprehensive property assessment of a large number of formate perovskites.

This article studies the hemolymph vascular system (HVS) in two cambarid crayfishes, i.e. the Marbled Crayfish, Procambarus virginalis Lyko, 2017 and the Spiny Cheek Crayfish, Faxonius limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) in regard to areas of non-genetic phenotypic variation.

This article studies the solubility of meloxicam in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-aqueous solvent systems at several temperatures from 273.15 to 313.15 K to expand the solubility database about analgesic drugs in mixed solvents.

This article uses metazachlor, an inhibitor of VLCFA synthesis, to find that VLCFAs are involved in the TGN/MVB distribution of PI3P. This effect is independent from either synthesis of PI3P by PI3-kinase or degradation of PI(3,5)P2 into PI3P by the SUPPRESSOR OF ACTIN1 (SAC1) phosphatase. Results suggest that PI3P might be transferable from TGN to MVBs and that VLCFAs act in this process.

This article investigates if the widespread use of magnesium in fibromyalgia is supported by evidence in the literature. This review provides a layout of the studies examining the correlation between body magnesium levels and fibromyalgia and elaborates on the trials testing the effectiveness of magnesium in treating different clinical parameters of fibromyalgia.

Article reviews current research of role/function diversities of host matrix metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), noting the importance of understanding enzyme structural alternation and enzyme−MOF interaction after immobilization.