The soil and plant biogeochemistry sampling design for The National Ecological Observatory Network

Human impacts on biogeochemical cycles are evident around the world, from changes to forest structure and function due to atmospheric deposition, to eutrophication of surface waters from agricultural effluent, and increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will contribute to understanding human effects on biogeochemical cycles from local to continental scales. The broad NEON biogeochemistry measurement design focuses on measuring atmospheric deposition of reactive mineral compounds and CO2 fluxes, ecosystem carbon (C) and nutrient stocks, and surface water chemistry across 20 eco‐climatic domains within the United States for 30 yr. Herein, we present the rationale and plan for the ground‐based measurements of C and nutrients in soils and plants based on overarching or “high‐level” requirements agreed upon by the National Science Foundation and NEON. The resulting design incorporates early recommendations by expert review teams, as well as recent input from the larger natural sciences community that went into the formation and interpretation of the requirements, respectively. NEON\u27s efforts will focus on a suite of data streams that will enable end‐users to study and predict changes to biogeochemical cycling and transfers within and across air, land, and water systems at regional to continental scales. At each NEON site, there will be an initial, one‐time effort to survey soil properties to 1 m (including soil texture, bulk density, pH, baseline chemistry) and vegetation community structure and diversity. A sampling program will follow, focused on capturing long‐term trends in soil C, nitrogen (N), and sulfur stocks, isotopic composition (of C and N), soil N transformation rates, phosphorus pools, and plant tissue chemistry and isotopic composition (of C and N). To this end, NEON will conduct extensive measurements of soils and plants within stratified random plots distributed across each site. The resulting data will be a new resource for members of the scientific community interested in addressing questions about long‐term changes in continental‐scale biogeochemical cycles, and is predicted to inspire further process‐based research

Structure and optical properties of Zn_xCd_1-xS and Cu:Zn_xCd_1-xS templated on DNA molecules

\ua9 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.One-dimensional ZnxCd1−xS and Cu: Znx Cd1−x S nanostructures were prepared using DNA as a template to promote growth along the molecular axis. The formation of homogeneously alloyed nanocrystals with cubic zinc blende-type structures was verified using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. X-ray photoemission spectra revealed the presence of Cu(I) in the doped Cu: Znx Cd1−x S nanocrystals. The effectiveness of the DNA template to direct the semiconductor growth in one dimension was demonstrated by AFM and TEM. The nanostructures displayed a granular morphology comprising nanoparticles with an average diameter of 14 nm composed of assemblies of smaller crystallites of 2.0 nm in size. Rope-like assemblies with an average diameter of 48 nm and extending in length to several hundred micrometres were obtained by evaporation-induced self-assembly. UV-Vis absorption and emission spectra indicated that the optical bandgaps (2.89-4.00eV) and photoluminescence peaks (608-819 nm) of the DNA-templated nanocrystals could be precisely controlled by modifying the molar ratios of their Zn/Cd precursors. Doping with Cu(I) gave an increase in photoluminescence intensity and a composition-independent red-shift of 0.23 eV. The preparation of DNA-templated Znx Cd1−x S and Cu: Znx Cd1−x S provides a simple, low-temperature route to aqueous dispersions of inorganic materials with controlled optical gap

Prevalence of Disorders Recorded in Dogs Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices in England

Purebred dog health is thought to be compromised by an increasing occurence of inherited diseases but inadequate prevalence data on common disorders have hampered efforts to prioritise health reforms. Analysis of primary veterinary practice clinical data has been proposed for reliable estimation of disorder prevalence in dogs. Electronic patient record (EPR) data were collected on 148,741 dogs attending 93 clinics across central and south-eastern England. Analysis in detail of a random sample of EPRs relating to 3,884 dogs from 89 clinics identified the most frequently recorded disorders as otitis externa (prevalence 10.2%, 95% CI: 9.1-11.3), periodontal disease (9.3%, 95% CI: 8.3-10.3) and anal sac impaction (7.1%, 95% CI: 6.1-8.1). Using syndromic classification, the most prevalent body location affected was the head-and-neck (32.8%, 95% CI: 30.7-34.9), the most prevalent organ system affected was the integument (36.3%, 95% CI: 33.9-38.6) and the most prevalent pathophysiologic process diagnosed was inflammation (32.1%, 95% CI: 29.8-34.3). Among the twenty most-frequently recorded disorders, purebred dogs had a significantly higher prevalence compared with crossbreds for three: otitis externa (P = 0.001), obesity (P = 0.006) and skin mass lesion (P = 0.033), and popular breeds differed significantly from each other in their prevalence for five: periodontal disease (P = 0.002), overgrown nails (P = 0.004), degenerative joint disease (P = 0.005), obesity (P = 0.001) and lipoma (P = 0.003). These results fill a crucial data gap in disorder prevalence information and assist with disorder prioritisation. The results suggest that, for maximal impact, breeding reforms should target commonly-diagnosed complex disorders that are amenable to genetic improvement and should place special focus on at-risk breeds. Future studies evaluating disorder severity and duration will augment the usefulness of the disorder prevalence information reported herein

PEPtalk2: results of a pilot randomised controlled trial to compare VZIG and aciclovir as postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) against chickenpox in children with cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the likely rate of patient randomisation and to facilitate sample size calculation for a full-scale phase III trial of varicella zoster immunoglobulin (VZIG) and aciclovir as postexposure prophylaxis against chickenpox in children with cancer. DESIGN: Multicentre pilot randomised controlled trial of VZIG and oral aciclovir. SETTING: England, UK. PATIENTS: Children under 16 years of age with a diagnosis of cancer: currently or within 6 months of receiving cancer treatment and with negative varicella zoster virus (VZV) serostatus at diagnosis or within the last 3 months. INTERVENTIONS: Study participants who have a significant VZV exposure were randomised to receive PEP in the form of VZIG or aciclovir after the exposure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of patients registered and randomised within 12 months of the trial opening to recruitment and incidence of breakthrough varicella. RESULTS: The study opened in six sites over a 13-month period. 482 patients were screened for eligibility, 32 patients were registered and 3 patients were randomised following VZV exposure. All three were randomised to receive aciclovir and there were no cases of breakthrough varicella. CONCLUSIONS: Given the limited recruitment to the PEPtalk2 pilot, it is unlikely that the necessary sample size would be achievable using this strategy in a full-scale trial. The study identified factors that could be used to modify the design of a definitive trial but other options for defining the best means to protect such children against VZV should be explored. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN48257441, EudraCT number: 2013-001332-22, sponsor: University of Birmingham

24-karat DNA: Integrating tunable electronically delocalized coordination chains into discrete DNA duplexes

\ua9 2025 The Author(s)Biology\u27s information carrier, DNA, through its reliable synthesis, controllable length, and sequence-coded self-assembly, provides a unique capability for molecular-material/-device design. However, the intrinsic lack of tunable optoelectronics associated, generally, with delocalized electronic structures means it commonly acts in a passive role to organize “functional” components. The introduction of metal ions into duplex DNA to overcome this limitation has been widely explored, but, to date, the demonstration of such electronically delocalized motifs has proved elusive. Here, we incorporate Au(I)-thionate coordination chains into discrete duplex-DNA molecules by substituting native guanosine with the sulfur-modified analog, 6-thioguanosine. The resulting “24-karat DNA” displays the associated photoluminescence of the metallo chain, along with chiro-optical properties indicating this is conformationally flexible, adopting a duplex-matching helical arrangement. Furthermore, due to the electronic delocalization in the coordination chain, these features can be modulated by a simple extension of the thioG-sequence and {μS-Au-}n chain length and so provide a new tunability to the electronic structure of DNA-based architectures

Metal Exchange in Thioguanosine Coordination Polymers of Gold (I) and Silver (I)

\ua9 2025 The Author(s). Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.Heterometallic coordination polymers of Au(I) and Ag(I) with 6-thioguanosine, poly((Formula presented.)), have been prepared and were observed to form hydrogels. We find that the composition of the heterometallic polymer is proportional to the mole fractions of the metals in the preparation solution. Optical absorption spectra show single peaks for (Formula presented.) nm which can be interpolated in a linear manner between x (Formula presented.) and x (Formula presented.) consistent with the formation of a heterometallic polymer rather than a mixture of homopolymers. However photoluminescence and circular dichroism spectra are sensitive to the supramolecular structure of the polymers and show more complex behaviour. Atomic force microscopy indicated that the molecular chains of the Au homopolymer entwine to form strands that are predominantly right-hand helices. The Ag homopolymer has previously been shown to form left-hand helices. Intermediate compositions have more complex structures because of the competition between the left and right-handed preferences of the homopolymers. Finally, we have shown that the metal-ligand bonds are labile on a timescale of about 5 h at ambient temperature (about 293 K). Mixtures of homopolymers transform to the corresponding heterometallic coordination polymer by metal exchange as judged by optical absorption, photoluminescence and circular dichroism spectra

Synthesis and crystal structure of a nickel(II) 2′-de\uadoxy-6-thio\uadguanosine nitrate com\uadplex

The reaction of Ni(NO3)2\ub76H2O with the thio-modified nucleoside 2\u27-deoxy-6-thioguanosine (d-tG, C10H13N5O3S) in methanol in a 1:1.3 stoichiometric ratiodeposited the title compound, [Ni(d-tG)3](NO3)2\ub72H2O, as green crystals.Despite the <1:3 Ni–ligand ratio used in the synthesis, the deoxy-thioguanosinebinds to form three N7,S6-coordinated five-membered chelate rings with individualNiII ions in mononuclear complexes rather than bridge metal centres intomore extended oligomeric or polymeric structures

Templating Iron(III) Oxides on DNA Molecules

\ua9 2024 by the authors. Fe(III) oxides were prepared as free nanoparticles and on DNA templates via the precipitation of Fe(III) salts with NaOH in the presence/absence of DNA. Through control of the pH and temperature, FeOOH and Fe2O3 were synthesised. The formation of templated materials FeOOH/DNA and Fe2O3/DNA was confirmed using UV-Vis absorption and FTIR spectra. The direct optical gap of Fe2O3/DNA was estimated as 3.2 eV; the absorption by FeOOH/DNA and Fe2O3/DNA at longer wavelengths is weaker, but consistent with indirect gaps near 2 eV. X-ray photoelectron spectra confirmed the presence of Fe(III) and DNA in the templated samples. Analysis of the X-ray diffraction patterns of both templated and non-templated FeOOH and Fe2O3 demonstrated that the materials were the α-FeOOH and α-Fe2O3 polymorphs with crystallite diameters of the DNA-templated materials estimated as 7.6 nm and 6.8 nm. Transmission electron microscopy showed needle-like crystals of both FeOOH and Fe2O3, but the Fe2O3 contains some globular structures. In contrast, the morphology of FeOOH/DNA and Fe2O3/DNA consists of needle-like crystallites of the respective oxides organised into complex dendritic structures with a length on the 10 μm scale formed by the DNA molecules. Finally, scanned conductance microscopy provided evidence for the conductivity of the FeOOH/DNA after alignment via molecular combing on an Si/SiO2 substrate. Fe2O3/DNA did not exhibit any detectable conductivity