Shoppers complain that Starbucks isn’t fancy enough — but they also say it’s too expensive. The new CEO, Brian Niccol, is ordering up big changes.

People suffering as a result of unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion should be allowed to seek professional help, and the Church must offer a more hopeful message than simply telling them to be celibate for the rest of their lives.

89.7 NPR News's weekly sports show After The Score is back after taking most of the summer off. This week we talk with an Upper Arlington native competing at the Summer Olympic in Rio. We also look check in on Ohio State's football team as they start training camp and talk about an OSU world championship in powerlifting. Then we'll get an update on the first place Cleveland Indians.

Source: Pravda.Ru photo archive If you are a smoker who wants to get rid of the nasty habit, you can bid farewell to cigarettes on May 31, the World No Tobacco Day. This day appeared in 1988 when the World Health Organization set a goal to the international community to root out the problem of tobacco smoking in the 21st century. Needless to say that the noble initiative has not brought any results: tobacco still rules the world and kills people. In Russia, smoking remains the most widely-spread ill habit. Up to 65 percent of Russian males and up to 30 percent of females are smokers. The number of smokers in Russia has increased by 440,000 people during the recent two decades. The growth is based on the involvement of new social groups – women and young people. The share of smoking women in the age group of 20-29 is ten times as much as in the group of women over 60. “This year all those who want to quit smoking will have a wonderful opportunity to quit with thousands of other people who care about their own health. You won’t be alone here – you will quit with thousands of other people,” a message from Russia’s Healthcare Ministry said.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the first president of the USSR, turned 89 years old on March 2, 2020. Gorbachev is probably the most notorious politician in Russia, and many Russians still have mixed feelings about him. Of course, we all wish him good health to be able to celebrate his 90th anniversary next year. However, as time goes by, he will inevitably become a myth character. When he passes away, he will become the character of the myth about a man, who managed to single-handedly destroy the most powerful empire in history, having accomplished either a heroic feat or a terrible act of betrayal. According to opinion polls, more than 50 percent of Russians share a negative attitude about Gorbachev's role in the history of the USSR. A much smaller amount of Russians - ten percent - are grateful Gorbachev for destroying the Soviet Union that they despised. As many as eight percent of the polled said that they share a neutral attitude towards Mikhail Gorbachev. It was Gorbachev who nailed the USA to the wall It was Gorbachev who reprimanded the West for violating all agreements of his time. It was Gorbachev, who had every right to do so. Not so long ago, Mikhail Gorbachev said: "Crimea is Russia and let someone prove otherwise." When asked whether Putin had "imperialistic ambitions", taking into account the "annexation of the Crimea" and Russia's interference in the Syrian conflict, Gorbachev answered with a strong "no."

Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985-1991, the first and last president of the USSR, died on Tuesday evening, August 30, 2022. Gorbachev personifies a lot of things for both Russia and other nations of the world: perestroika, glasnost, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact Organization, a bloc created as a counterweight to NATO. Gorbachev took a course to improve relations with the West and contributed to the unification of Germany. At the same time, there was a series of bloody conflicts in the USSR during his rule. Many hold Gorbachev accountable for the violent dispersal of the rally in Tbilisi in 1989, when 21 people were killed. The same applies to events in Vilnius in January 1991. The results of Gorbachev's era still raise a lot of questions and debates. Some hold him up for the democratization of the regime, while others blame the politician for the collapse of the USSR. It is worthy of note that all the world leaders, with whom Mikhail Gorbachev had worked are now dead:

Last polling stations have closed in the Aleutian Islands in the state of Alaska having thus marked the completion of the 2024 US presidential election. More than 142 million votes have been counted so far. After preliminary counts, most major US media outlets said that Donald Trump was winning by a solid margin. He has received the majority of both popular and electoral votes.

Perhaps my view on the victory of Donald Trump is unorthodox for Europe and certainly for a Leftist but hear me out Contrary to the flow here in Europe and certainly contrary to the flow of the Leftist Group, I am not dismayed or even surprised at the astonishing victory of Donald Trump in this 2024 Presidential election of the United States of America. In fact, I have been predicting it for the last year. And come to think of it, Donald Trump’s victory is not that astonishing. It is a remarkable political comeback, that is true, for an able politician, a man with tremendous political skills and enormous capacity in communication and political marketing, which will write his epitaph as one of the most extraordinary Presidents of the United States of America in the years to come.

In recent times, there has been a greater focus on hygiene in the workplace, likely spurred on by the COVID pandemic. While some germs are completely harmless, others can cause unpleasant illnesses. The chances of a germ surviving largely depends on the type of species, the surface where it is present, and other factors such as ambient temperature or solar radiation.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK are facing significant challenges in today’s digital landscape, with misinformation, fake reviews and inadequate search and engagement tools putting them at a serious disadvantage compared to larger competitors.

imageHOLDERS’ bespoke kiosk technology has helped ViewPoint Feedback develop a new range of touchless self-service solutions ­- ensuring customers, employees, patients and students continue to leave vital real-time responses.

Oleksandr Syrsky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) wants to withdraw troops from the Kursk region of Russia, but is unable to do so, military correspondent Marat Khairullin believes. In addition, the AFU is covering up its desire to retreat from the Kursk region with Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, although in fact, Ukrainian troops are forced to retreat because they are losing, the correspondent noted. According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have found themselves in an extremely deplorable situation in the Kursk region of Russia. In this regard, they are looking for at least some justification to leave, Khairullin said.

Added October 22, 2006:

TWICE’s Nayeon has made a comeback with her 2nd solo EP.“Na” is the singer’s first solo release in two years since the release of her debut solo album “Im Nayeon” in July 2022. The...

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Band FTIsland will make a comeback with their seventh full-length album in July.The group's agency FNC Entertainment released the band's promotion schedule for the album 'Serious' through its official...

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STAYC will be making a comeback this month. The group’s label, High Up Entertainment, has confirmed that the group will be making a comeback on October 30. It added that the group is...

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Rosé will make a solo comeback in December.The Blackpink member will release her first solo studio album on Dec. 6. Titled, “rosie” the album will include 12 tracks, including the...

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G-Dragon is rumored to be making a solo comeback this month. He was reportedly shooting a music video last week, with local media outlets speculating his comeback will take place in late...

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Soccer, football — no matter what you call it, the world's most popular sport has a long and colorful history, from its ancient origins to its modern-day status as a global phenomenon. But when was soccer invented? How did it become the "beautiful game" that captivates millions today?

Mycobacterium tuberculosis can reside and persist in deep tissues; latent tuberculosis can evade immune detection and has a unique mechanism to convert it into active disease through reactivation. M. tuberculosis Rv1421 (MtRv1421) is a hypothetical protein that has been proposed to be involved in nucleotide binding-related metabolism in cell-growth and cell-division processes. However, due to a lack of structural information, the detailed function of MtRv1421 remains unclear. In this study, a truncated N-terminal domain (NTD) of MtRv1421, which contains a Walker A/B-like motif, was purified and crystallized using PEG 400 as a precipitant. The crystal of MtRv1421-NTD diffracted to a resolution of 1.7 Å and was considered to belong to either the C-centered monoclinic space group C2 or the I-centered orthorhombic space group I222, with unit-cell parameters a = 124.01, b = 58.55, c = 84.87 Å, β = 133.12° or a = 58.53, b = 84.86, c = 90.52 Å, respectively. The asymmetric units of the C2 or I222 crystals contained two or one monomers, respectively. In terms of the binding ability of MtRv1421-NTD to various ligands, uridine diphosphate (UDP) and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine significantly increased the melting temperature of MtRv1421-NTD, which indicates structural stabilization through the binding of these ligands. Altogether, the results reveal that a UDP moiety may be required for the interaction of MtRv1421-NTD as a nucleotide-binding protein with its ligand.

Pseudoalteromonas fuliginea sp. PS47 is a recently identified marine bacterium that has extensive enzymatic machinery to metabolize polysaccharides, including a locus that targets pectin-like substrates. This locus contains a gene (locus tag EU509_03255) that encodes a pectin-degrading lyase, called PfPL1, that belongs to polysaccharide lyase family 1 (PL1). The 2.2 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of PfPL1 reveals the compact parallel β-helix fold of the PL1 family. The back side of the core parallel β-helix opposite to the active site is a meandering set of five α-helices joined by lengthy loops. A comparison of the active site with those of other PL1 enzymes suggests a catalytic mechanism that is independent of metal ions, such as Ca2+, but that substrate recognition may require metal ions. Overall, this work provides the first structural insight into a pectinase of marine origin and the first structure of a PL1 enzyme in subfamily 2.

Crystallographic fragment screening has become a pivotal technique in structure-based drug design, particularly for bacterial targets with a crucial role in infectious disease mechanisms. The enzyme CdaA, which synthesizes an essential second messenger cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP) in many pathogenic bacteria, has emerged as a promising candidate for the development of novel antibiotics. To identify crystals suitable for fragment screening, CdaA enzymes from Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium were purified and crystallized. Crystals of B. subtilis CdaA, which diffracted to the highest resolution of 1.1 Å, were used to perform the screening of 96 fragments, yielding data sets with resolutions spanning from 1.08 to 1.87 Å. A total of 24 structural hits across eight different sites were identified. Four fragments bind to regions that are highly conserved among pathogenic bacteria, specifically the active site (three fragments) and the dimerization interface (one fragment). The coordinates of the three active-site fragments were used to perform an in silico drug-repurposing screen using the OpenEye suite and the DrugBank database. This screen identified tenofovir, an approved drug, that is predicted to interact with the ATP-binding region of CdaA. Its inhibitory potential against pathogenic E. faecium CdaA has been confirmed by ITC measurements. These findings not only demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for identifying lead compounds for the design of novel antibacterial agents, but also pave the way for further fragment-based lead-optimization efforts targeting CdaA.

Guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP) synthetase (GuaA) catalyzes the last step of GMP synthesis in the purine nucleotide biosynthetic pathway. This enzyme catalyzes a reaction in which xanthine 5'-monophosphate (XMP) is converted to GMP in the presence of Gln and ATP through an adenyl-XMP intermediate. A structure of an XMP-bound form of GuaA from the domain Bacteria has not yet been determined. In this study, the crystal structure of an XMP-bound form of GuaA from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB8 (TtGuaA) was determined at a resolution of 2.20 Å and that of an apo form of TtGuaA was determined at 2.10 Å resolution. TtGuaA forms a homodimer, and the monomer is composed of three domains, which is a typical structure for GuaA. Disordered regions in the crystal structure were obtained from the AlphaFold2-predicted model structure, and a model with substrates (Gln, XMP and ATP) was constructed for molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations. The structural fluctuations of the TtGuaA dimer as well as the interactions between the active-site residues were analyzed by MD simulations.

An integrated computer software system for macromolecular crystallography (MX) data collection at the BL02U1 and BL10U2 beamlines of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is described. The system, Finback, implements a set of features designed for the automated MX beamlines, and is marked with a user-friendly web-based graphical user interface (GUI) for interactive data collection. The Finback client GUI can run on modern browsers and has been developed using several modern web technologies including WebSocket, WebGL, WebWorker and WebAssembly. Finback supports multiple concurrent sessions, so on-site and remote users can access the beamline simultaneously. Finback also cooperates with the deployed experimental data and information management system, the relevant experimental parameters and results are automatically deposited to a database.

The title compound, 3-[(benzo-1,3-dioxol-5-yl)amino]-4-meth­oxy­cyclo­but-3-ene-1,2-dione, C12H9NO5 (3), is a precursor to an anti­mycobacterial squaramide. Block-shaped crystals of a monoclinic form (3-I, space group P21/c, Z = 8, Z' = 2) and needle-shaped crystals of a triclinic form (3-II, space group P-1, Z = 4, Z' = 2) were found to crystallize concomitantly. In both crystal forms, R22(10) dimers assemble through N—H⋯O=C hydrogen bonds. These dimers are formed from crystallographically unique mol­ecules in 3-I, but exhibit crystallographic Ci symmetry in 3-II. Twinning by pseudomerohedry was encountered in the crystals of 3-II. The conformations of 3 in the solid forms 3-I and 3-II are different from one another but are similar for the unique mol­ecules in each polymorph. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the free mol­ecule of 3 indicate that a nearly planar conformation is preferred.

Macromolecular crystallography generally requires the recovery of missing phase information from diffraction data to reconstruct an electron-density map of the crystallized molecule. Most recent structures have been solved using molecular replacement as a phasing method, requiring an a priori structure that is closely related to the target protein to serve as a search model; when no such search model exists, molecular replacement is not possible. New advances in computational machine-learning methods, however, have resulted in major advances in protein structure predictions from sequence information. Methods that generate predicted structural models of sufficient accuracy provide a powerful approach to molecular replacement. Taking advantage of these advances, AlphaFold predictions were applied to enable structure determination of a bacterial protein of unknown function (UniProtKB Q63NT7, NCBI locus BPSS0212) based on diffraction data that had evaded phasing attempts using MIR and anomalous scattering methods. Using both X-ray and micro-electron (microED) diffraction data, it was possible to solve the structure of the main fragment of the protein using a predicted model of that domain as a starting point. The use of predicted structural models importantly expands the promise of electron diffraction, where structure determination relies critically on molecular replacement.

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols are involved in many processes in all organisms, playing a protective role against reactive species, heavy metals, toxins and antibiotics. Actinobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, use the LMW thiol mycothiol (MSH) to buffer the intracellular redox environment. The NADPH-dependent FAD-containing oxidoreductase mycothiol disulfide reductase (Mtr) is known to reduce oxidized mycothiol disulfide (MSSM) to MSH, which is crucial to maintain the cellular redox balance. In this work, the first crystal structures of Mtr are presented, expanding the structural knowledge and understanding of LMW thiol reductases. The structural analyses and docking calculations provide insight into the nature of Mtrs, with regard to the binding and reduction of the MSSM substrate, in the context of related oxidoreductases. The putative binding site for MSSM suggests a similar binding to that described for the homologous glutathione reductase and its respective substrate glutathione disulfide, but with distinct structural differences shaped to fit the bulkier MSSM substrate, assigning Mtrs as uniquely functioning reductases. As MSH has been acknowledged as an attractive antitubercular target, the structural findings presented in this work may contribute towards future antituberculosis drug development.

Tryptophan is the most prominent amino acid found in proteins, with multiple functional roles. Its side chain is made up of the hydrophobic indole moiety, with two groups that act as donors in hydrogen bonds: the Nɛ—H group, which is a potent donor in canonical hydrogen bonds, and a polarized Cδ1—H group, which is capable of forming weaker, noncanonical hydrogen bonds. Due to adjacent electron-withdrawing moieties, C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are ubiquitous in macromolecules, albeit contingent on the polarization of the donor C—H group. Consequently, Cα—H groups (adjacent to the carbonyl and amino groups of flanking peptide bonds), as well as the Cɛ1—H and Cδ2—H groups of histidines (adjacent to imidazole N atoms), are known to serve as donors in hydrogen bonds, for example stabilizing parallel and antiparallel β-sheets. However, the nature and the functional role of interactions involving the Cδ1—H group of the indole ring of tryptophan are not well characterized. Here, data mining of high-resolution (r ≤ 1.5 Å) crystal structures from the Protein Data Bank was performed and ubiquitous close contacts between the Cδ1—H groups of tryptophan and a range of electronegative acceptors were identified, specifically main-chain carbonyl O atoms immediately upstream and downstream in the polypeptide chain. The stereochemical analysis shows that most of the interactions bear all of the hallmarks of proper hydrogen bonds. At the same time, their cohesive nature is confirmed by quantum-chemical calculations, which reveal interaction energies of 1.5–3.0 kcal mol−1, depending on the specific stereochemistry.

The Azotobacter vinelandii FeSII protein forms an oxygen-resistant complex with the nitrogenase MoFe and Fe proteins. FeSII is an adrenodoxin-type ferredoxin that forms a dimer in solution. Previously, the crystal structure was solved [Schlesier et al. (2016), J. Am. Chem. Soc. 138, 239–247] with five copies in the asymmetric unit. One copy is a normal adrenodoxin domain that forms a dimer with its crystallographic symmetry mate. The other four copies are in an `open' conformation with a loop flipped out exposing the 2Fe–2S cluster. The open and closed conformations were interpreted as oxidized and reduced, respectively, and the large conformational change in the open configuration allowed binding to nitrogenase. Here, the structure of FeSII was independently solved in the same crystal form. The positioning of the atoms in the unit cell is similar to the earlier report. However, the interpretation of the structure is different. The `open' conformation is interpreted as the product of a crystallization-induced domain swap. The 2Fe–2S cluster is not exposed to solvent, but in the crystal its interacting helix is replaced by the same helix residues from a crystal symmetry mate. The domain swap is complicated, as it is unusual in being in the middle of the protein rather than at a terminus, and it creates arrangements of molecules that can be interpreted in multiple ways. It is also cautioned that crystal structures should be interpreted in terms of the contents of the entire crystal rather than of one asymmetric unit.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis trifunctional enzyme (MtTFE) is an α2β2 tetrameric enzyme in which the α-chain harbors the 2E-enoyl-CoA hydratase (ECH) and 3S-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HAD) active sites, and the β-chain provides the 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (KAT) active site. Linear, medium-chain and long-chain 2E-enoyl-CoA molecules are the preferred substrates of MtTFE. Previous crystallographic binding and modeling studies identified binding sites for the acyl-CoA substrates at the three active sites, as well as the NAD binding pocket at the HAD active site. These studies also identified three additional CoA binding sites on the surface of MtTFE that are different from the active sites. It has been proposed that one of these additional sites could be of functional relevance for the substrate channeling (by surface crawling) of reaction intermediates between the three active sites. Here, 226 fragments were screened in a crystallographic fragment-binding study of MtTFE crystals, resulting in the structures of 16 MtTFE–fragment complexes. Analysis of the 121 fragment-binding events shows that the ECH active site is the `binding hotspot' for the tested fragments, with 41 binding events. The mode of binding of the fragments bound at the active sites provides additional insight into how the long-chain acyl moiety of the substrates can be accommodated at their proposed binding pockets. In addition, the 20 fragment-binding events between the active sites identify potential transient binding sites of reaction intermediates relevant to the possible channeling of substrates between these active sites. These results provide a basis for further studies to understand the functional relevance of the latter binding sites and to identify substrates for which channeling is crucial.

β-Glucosidase from the thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor saccharo­lyticus (Bgl1) has been denoted as having an attractive catalytic profile for various industrial applications. Bgl1 catalyses the final step of in the decomposition of cellulose, an unbranched glucose polymer that has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years as it is the most abundant renewable source of reduced carbon in the biosphere. With the aim of enhancing the thermostability of Bgl1 for a broad spectrum of biotechnological processes, it has been subjected to structural studies. Crystal structures of Bgl1 and its complex with glucose were determined at 1.47 and 1.95 Å resolution, respectively. Bgl1 is a member of glycosyl hydrolase family 1 (GH1 superfamily, EC 3.2.1.21) and the results showed that the 3D structure of Bgl1 follows the overall architecture of the GH1 family, with a classical (β/α)8 TIM-barrel fold. Comparisons of Bgl1 with sequence or structural homologues of β-glucosidase reveal quite similar structures but also unique structural features in Bgl1 with plausible functional roles.

The discovery of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), a family of copper-dependent enzymes that play a major role in polysaccharide degradation, has revealed the importance of oxidoreductases in the biological utilization of biomass. In fungi, a range of redox proteins have been implicated as working in harness with LPMOs to bring about polysaccharide oxidation. In bacteria, less is known about the interplay between redox proteins and LPMOs, or how the interaction between the two contributes to polysaccharide degradation. We therefore set out to characterize two previously unstudied proteins from the shipworm symbiont Teredinibacter turnerae that were initially identified by the presence of carbohydrate binding domains appended to uncharacterized domains with probable redox functions. Here, X-ray crystal structures of several domains from these proteins are presented together with initial efforts to characterize their functions. The analysis suggests that the target proteins are unlikely to function as LPMO electron donors, raising new questions as to the potential redox functions that these large extracellular multi-haem-containing c-type cytochromes may perform in these bacteria.

MltG, a membrane-bound lytic transglycosyl­ase, has roles in terminating glycan polymerization in peptidoglycan and incorporating glycan chains into the cell wall, making it significant in bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis and remodeling. This study provides the first reported MltG structure from Mycobacterium abscessus (maMltG), a superbug that has high antibiotic resistance. Our structural and biochemical analyses revealed that MltG has a flexible peptidoglycan-binding domain and exists as a monomer in solution. Further, the putative active site of maMltG was disclosed using structural analysis and sequence comparison. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the transglycosyl­ation reaction of the MltG family, aiding the design of next-generation antibiotics targeting M. abscessus.

OaPAC is a recently discovered blue-light-using flavin adenosine dinucleotide (BLUF) photoactivated adenylate cyclase from the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria acuminata that uses adenosine triphosphate and translates the light signal into the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Here, we report crystal structures of the enzyme in the absence of its natural substrate determined from room-temperature serial crystallography data collected at both an X-ray free-electron laser and a synchrotron, and we compare these structures with cryo-macromolecular crystallography structures obtained at a synchrotron by us and others. These results reveal slight differences in the structure of the enzyme due to data collection at different temperatures and X-ray sources. We further investigate the effect of the Y6W mutation in the BLUF domain, a mutation which results in a rearrangement of the hydrogen-bond network around the flavin and a notable rotation of the side chain of the critical Gln48 residue. These studies pave the way for picosecond–millisecond time-resolved serial crystallography experiments at X-ray free-electron lasers and synchrotrons in order to determine the early structural intermediates and correlate them with the well studied pico­second–millisecond spectroscopic intermediates.

The tetra­kis complex of neodymium(III), tetra­kis­{μ-N-[bis­(pyrrolidin-1-yl)phos­phor­yl]acet­am­id­ato}bis(pro­pan-2-ol)neodymiumsodium pro­pan-2-ol monosol­vate, [NaNd(C10H16Cl3N3O2)4(C3H8O)2]·C3H8O or NaNdPyr4(i-PrOH)2·i-PrOH, with the amide type CAPh ligand bis(N,N-tetra­methylene)(tri­chloro­acetyl)phos­phoric acid tri­amide (HPyr), has been synthesized, crystallized and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The complex does not have the tetra­kis­(CAPh)lanthanide anion, which is typical for ester-type CAPh-based coordin­ation compounds. Instead, the NdO8 polyhedron is formed by one oxygen atom of a 2-propanol mol­ecule and seven oxygen atoms of CAPh ligands in the title compound. Three CAPh ligands are coordinated in a bidentate chelating manner to the NdIII ion and simultaneously binding the sodium cation by μ2-bridging PO and CO groups while the fourth CAPh ligand is coordinated to the sodium cation in a bidentate chelating manner and, due to the μ2-bridging function of the PO group, also binds the neodymium ion.

The title compound, C15H15F3N2O3S, crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group I2/a, with Z = 8. As expected, the nine-membered heterobicyclic system is virtually planar and the cyclo­hexyl group adopts a chair conformation. There is structural evidence for intra­molecular N—S⋯O chalcogen bonding between the benziso­thia­zolinone S atom and one O atom of the nitro group, approximately aligned along the extension of the covalent N—S bond [N—S⋯O = 162.7 (1)°]. In the crystal, the mol­ecules form centrosymmetric dimers through C—H⋯O weak hydrogen bonding between a C—H group of the electron-deficient benzene ring and the benzo­thia­zolinone carbonyl O atom with an R22(10) motif. In contrast to the previously described N-acyl 7-nitro-5-(tri­fluoro­meth­yl)benzo[d]iso­thia­zol-3(2H)-ones, the title N-cyclo­hexyl­methyl analogue does not inhibit growth of Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium smegmatis in vitro.

we introduce a novel approach for a real-time dual-frequency feedback system, which has been firstly used at the hard X-ray nanoprobe beamline of SSRF. The BiBEST can then efficiently stabilize X-ray beam position and stability in parallel, making use of different optical systems in the beamline.

The spatial orientation of α lamellae in a metastable β-Ti matrix of Timetal LCB (Ti–6.8 Mo–4.5 Fe–1.5 Al in wt%) was examined and the orientation of the hexagonal close-packed α lattice in the α lamella was determined. For this purpose, a combination of methods of small-angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction was used. The habit planes of α laths are close to {111}β, which corresponds to (1320)α in the hexagonal coordinate system of the α phase. The longest α lamella direction lies approximately along one of the 〈110〉β directions which are parallel to the specific habit plane. Taking into account the average lattice parameters of the β and α phases in aged conditions in Timetal LCB, it was possible to index all main axes and faces of an α lath not only in the cubic coordinate system of the parent β phase but also in the hexagonal system of the α phase.

Coherent diffractive imaging with X-ray free-electron lasers could enable structural studies of macromolecules at room temperature. This type of experiment could provide a means to study structural dynamics on the femtosecond timescale. However, the diffraction from a single protein is weak compared with the incoherent scattering from background sources, which negatively affects the reconstruction analysis. This work evaluates the effects of the presence of background on the analysis pipeline. Background measurements from the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser were combined with simulated diffraction patterns and treated by a standard reconstruction procedure, including orientation recovery with the expand, maximize and compress algorithm and 3D phase retrieval. Background scattering did have an adverse effect on the estimated resolution of the reconstructed density maps. Still, the reconstructions generally worked when the signal-to-background ratio was 0.6 or better, in the momentum transfer shell of the highest reconstructed resolution. The results also suggest that the signal-to-background requirement increases at higher resolution. This study gives an indication of what is possible at current setups at X-ray free-electron lasers with regards to expected background strength and establishes a target for experimental optimization of the background.

The lineup from the "Justice League" animated series.; Credit: Warner Bros.

Bruce Timm's DC Comics animated universe, beginning with "Batman: The Animated Series" and continuing with "Superman," "Batman Beyond," "Justice League," "Justice League Unlimited" and more, remains one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed animated runs in existence. The run was so idenified with the producer that it was sometimes called the Timmverse, but the last show in that continuity ended in 2006 and Timm officially stepped down from working with DC animation in 2013.

Now Timm is back. He's providing a darker take than the optimistic world he became known for in "Justice League: Gods and Monsters," a three-part digital series launching spring 2015 that will be tied in with a full-length animated film that comes out later that year, according to a press release.

Timm's also re-teaming with Alan Burnett, who worked with Timm on "Batman: The Animated Series." It's part of DC Comics' efforts to set up their new film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which hits in 2016, with the full Justice League film set for 2018.

DC Comics as a whole has been moving in a darker direction with Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, the "Man of Steel" reboot of Superman and a more serious direction in many of its comic books. The company has followed in its tradition of epic storytelling, passing on the quips Marvel has popularized in films from "Iron Man" to "Guardians of the Galaxy."

It's yet to be seen if Timm can recapture any of the magic from his classic cartoons, but there's reason to be optimistic for the creator of the series that introduced fan favorite Joker sidekick Harley Quinn, created a new origin for Mr. Freeze that cemented the character in the Batman mythos and led the team reimagining numerous characters in an iconic, broadly appealing way.

If you want to catch up on Timm's legacy, his previous two Justice League series are available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, along with "Batman Beyond," while the Batman and Superman animated series are available on Amazon Prime.

Timm also recently produced a short for the 75th anniversary of Batman called "Strange Days," setting the character in the retro world of the serialized pulp storytelling from the time Batman was originally created. You can watch that below:

Batman anniversary short

Watch the classic opening to "Batman: The Animated Series":

Batman: The Animated Series opening

And, a personal favorite joke from when Lex Luthor and the Flash trade bodies on "Justice League Unlimited":

Flash/Luthor body swap

Off-Ramp host John Rabe and Mayor Eric Garcetti playing backgammon in John’s car. Julian “The First Lady of Off-Ramp” Bermudez in the passenger seat with camera. ; Credit: Andrea Garcia

John Rabe’s last show coincides with Eric Garcetti’s inauguration for his second term as Mayor of Los Angeles. In John's car, the two talked about:

• The joys of exploring Los Angeles
• The time the future Mayor's mom and dad took his drivers' license away
• Where Justin Trudeau should visit when he comes to LA
• And how the drop in crime has led to more people doing the Off-Ramp thing

The Mayor also did some slam poetry, and then played a competitive game of backgammon. Listen with the audio player to see who was brown and who was white. And listen to Off-Ramp on the radio to find out who won the game! (Saturday at noon/Sunday at 6pm)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

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The molecular mechanism used by many bacteria to kill neighboring cells has redundancy built into its genetic makeup, which could allow for the mechanism to be expressed in different environments, say researchers at Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their new study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of competition among bacteria. "Many organisms, including humans, acquire bacteria from their environment," said Tim Miyashiro, a biochemist and molecular biologist at Penn State and the leader of the research team. "These bacteria can contribute to functions within the host organism, like how our gut bacteria help us digest food. We're interested in the interactions among bacteria cells, and between bacteria and their hosts, to better understand these mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships." Cells of the bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fisheri take up residence in the light organ of newly hatched bobtail squid. At night, the bacteria produce a blue glow that researchers believe obscures a squid's silhouette and helps protect it from predators. The light organ has pockets, or crypts, in the squid's skin that provide nutrients and a safe environment for the bacteria. "When the squid hatches, it doesn't yet have any bacteria in its light organ," said Miyashiro. "But bacteria in the environment quickly colonize the squid's light organ." Some of these different bacteria strains can coexist, but others can't. "Microbial symbioses are essentially universal in animals, and are crucial to the health and development of both partners," says Irwin Forseth, a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Integrative Organismal Systems, which funded the research. "The results from this study highlight the role small genetic changes can play in microbe interactions. Increased understanding will allow us to better predict organisms' performance in changing environments."

Image credit: Andrew Cecere

This summer, USGS Western Fisheries Research Center and collaborating scientists were delighted to find that the abundance of wild born juvenile fall Chinook salmon migrating out of the Snake River has increased by almost 2 orders of magnitude within the last 30 years. 

Mauna Loa summit webcams have been down for several months due to wind damage at the radio telemetry site. On November 7, 2024, HVO staff visited the site and performed a partial fix that brought the webcams back online.

Circus of Books storefront.; Credit: Netflix/Circus Of Books (2020)

The documentary “Circus of Books”  tells the story of two book stores, one in West Hollywood and the other in Silver Lake, operated by Karen and Barry Mason, who became accidental book sellers. They also became real pillars of the LGBTQ communties. Rachel Mason is the daughter of the masons and she’s also the filmmaker. Larry talked with Rachel about “Circus of Books” when it was first released on Netflix. Today on FilmWeek, we excerpt a portion of that conversation. 

This conversation aired during FilmWeek’s Saturday broadcast. 

Guest: 

Rachel Mason, director of the Netflix documentary ‘Circus of Books’ and daughter of Circus of Books owners Karen and Barry Mason; she tweets @RachelMasonArt

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Cars make their way toward downtown Los Angeles on April 22. California could regain the right to set its own vehicle emissions standards after the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was moving to curb a Trump-era policy that sought to erode the state's previously-held power.; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Monday it is preparing to restore California's right to set its own vehicle emissions standards, in a widely anticipated reversal of Trump-era policies.

The decision, which will take several months to be finalized, reaffirms the Golden State's powerful position as an environmental regulator after the Trump administration had in 2019 sought to remove California's powers to set its own emissions standards.

It also sets the stage for negotiations over how strict federal vehicle standards will be under President Biden.

"I am a firm believer in California's long-standing statutory authority to lead," EPA administration Michael Regan said in a statement.

"The 2019 decision to revoke the state's waiver to enforce its greenhouse gas pollution standards for cars and trucks was legally dubious and an attack on the public's health and wellbeing," he added.

The EPA will be accepting public comment until July 6 as part of the process of reversing the Trump-era rule.

The populous, car-loving state has been waging a battle against smog for decades.

And in recognition of that history, the EPA has long granted a waiver giving the state the authority to set its own standards for vehicle emissions, as long as they're more stringent than the national regulations.

That's an unusual exemption — other states can't set their own policies, although they can choose to adopt California's standards as their own.

Between California and the states that follow suit, about a third of the U.S. new car market is covered by the Golden State's policies, giving California regulators a remarkable amount of sway over the auto industry.

However, when the Trump administration weakened federal clean car standards, it also sought to revoke the waiver allowing California to set a higher bar.

That triggered a legal battle and divided the auto industry, with some carmakers choosing to side with California and voluntarily accept somewhat stricter vehicle emissions standards while the rest backed the Trump administration.

After Biden won the White House, every major automaker eventually dropped their support for the now-doomed Trump position.

The EPA has now started the process of reversing Trump's decision. The Department of Transportation last week also proposed to "wipe clean the regulatory slate," indicating that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would no longer seek to block state emissions standards, as it had under Trump.

It's still not clear what federal regulations on vehicle emissions and fuel economy will be under the Biden administration. Some environmental groups and progressive lawmakers are pushing for the reinstatement of the Obama-era standards, with more ambitious targets to follow.

The auto industry, meanwhile, is calling for standards midway between the Obama-era and Trump-era policies.

The EPA says it will propose new fuel economy rules in July.

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Americas progress in arresting its obesity epidemic has been too slow, and the condition continues to erode productivity and cause millions to suffer from potentially debilitating and deadly chronic illnesses.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) have named the 2018-2019 class of FDA Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellows.

After several months sitting empty and quiet, commercial districts are coming back to life as businesses and offices are being given permission to reopen. When the lights come on and doors are unlocked, will the water that comes out of the tap be safe?

Learning experiences in computing that are designed with attention to K-12 students’ interests, identities, and backgrounds may attract underrepresented groups to computing better than learning experiences that mimic current professional computing practices and culture do, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.