Virginia State University

Stroke triggers a rapid and complex immune response that is not yet fully understood, especially within hours after an ischemic infarct. Our previous study in stroke patients revealed a significant increase in interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) immediately (hyperacute) and downstream of the ischemic ictus, within the arterial compartment. The present study investigated the source, inciting factors, and role of IFN-γ in a preclinical murine model. Stroke was produced using transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, and immune cells within the arterial vasculature distal to the occlusion (pre- and post-occlusion) were characterized using flow cytometry. Compared with the control samples, the post-occlusion samples presented an increase in IFN-γ+ and CD69+ cells, whereas no significant increase was detected in IL17+, IL4+, and CD25+ cells. Further analysis of the IFN-γ+ population revealed two novel attributes. First, interrogation of the identity of these IFN-γ+ cells revealed that the increase in IFN-γ production was largely driven by CD14+ myeloid cells in the post-occlusion sample, with negligible contributions from other canonical IFN-γ-producing cells (CD4, CD8, NK). Second, the IFN-γ+ cells exhibited two distinct clusters, an IFN-γlow and an IFN-γhi population. Further analysis revealed that the IFN-γ low population was largely composed of CD14+ myeloid cells, whereas the IFN-γhi population was dominated by CD4+ T-cells. To explore the conditions driving IFN-γ production, an in vitro ischemia model involving oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) was employed. Co-culturing of naïve splenocytes with OGD-treated CNS cells and OGD-derived supernatant resulted in a significant increase in IFN-γ+CD14+ cells, as compared to normoxic controls, an effect that coincided with marked loss of DAPI+ and NeuN+DAPI+ cells in mixed cortical (neuronal and glial) cultures. In summary, this study identified intra-arterial CD14+ myeloid cells as novel early sources of IFN-γ in the hyperacute phase of stroke, a role traditionally attributed to adaptive immune cells. Using in vivo and in vitro ischemia models, the findings reveal that injury-associated signals from CNS cells are sufficient to directly induce IFN-γ production in CD14+ myeloid cells, redefining early stroke immunopathology and uncovering a potential target for timely immunomodulation.

Correction for 'Inhibition of pro-atherogenic trimethylamine production from choline by human gut bacteria is not determined by varying chlorogenic acid content in highbush blueberries' by Ashley M. McAmis et al., Food Funct., 2025, 16, 8004-8020, https://doi.org/10/1039/D5FO02676H.

Electromagneticsoft actuator arrays (ESAAs) combine compliance with fast, controllable actuation and scalability, providing a promising foundation for the development of interconnected soft actuator arrays inspired by the structure and function of biological muscles. In this work, we present a control framework and an actuator selection strategy for an artificial soft muscle composed of ESAAs to enable accurate reference tracking. Since directly measuring the states of each ESA is often impractical in real-world applications, we first design a Kalman filter-based observer to estimate all system states from available observations. Using these estimates, we develop a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller to achieve reference tracking. Since thermal buildup from constant use can damage the actuators, we consider whether switching between different subsets of active actuators could offer thermal relief. While actuator switching intuitively suggests reduced heating by providing resting periods, our investigation reveals that this strategy can lead to higher thermal accumulation compared to the continuous mode. This is because we need substantially larger control effort when we have fewer active actuators in the switching mode, which, in the absence of effective active cooling, fail to provide sufficient heat dissipation during operation. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in achieving the trajectory objective and to explore how switching affects the system’s thermal profile, revealing a trade-off between tracking performance and heat generation.

University entrance exams (UEEs) play a crucial role in higher education admissions worldwide, influencing curriculum design and teaching practices. This study examines the mathematics questions in UEEs in Iran, Turkey, and the USA from 2021 to 2024, comparing their content based on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics strands and Cognitive Demand Level framework. The results of the study showed that algebra comprised a higher percentage of questions compared to other content areas across all the countries. Additionally, the UEEs questions in all three countries predominantly consisted of procedural-level questions (either procedures without connections or procedures with connections). Based on these findings, suggestions and recommendations were provided to enhance the balance of question types and promote deeper conceptual understanding in assessments.

Chickpea is a highly weed-prone crop with limited herbicide options and high labor demands, raising the following question: Can fall-planted legume–cereal cover crops (CCs) improve soil properties while reducing herbicide use and manual weeding pressure? To explore this, we evaluated the effect of fall-planted winter rye (WR) alone in 2021 and mixed with hairy vetch (HV) in 2022 and 2023 at Randolph farm in Petersburg, Virginia. The objectives were two-fold: (a) to examine the effect of CCs on soil properties using monthly growth dynamics and biomass harvested from fifteen 0.25 m2-quadrants and (b) to evaluate the efficiency of five termination methods: (1) green manure (GM); (2) GM plus pre-emergence herbicide (GMH); (3) burn (BOH); (4) crimp mulch (CRM); and (5) mow-mulch (MW) in suppressing weeds in chickpea fields. Weed distribution, particularly nutsedge, was patchy and dominant on the eastern side. Growth dynamics followed an exponential growth rate in fall 2022 (R2 ≥ 0.994, p < 0.0002) and a three-parameter sigmoidal curve in 2023 (R2 ≥ 0.972, p < 0.0047). Biomass averaged 55.8 and 96.9 t/ha for 2022 and 2023, respectively. GMH consistently outperformed GM in weed suppression, though GM was not significantly different from no-till systems by the season’s end. Kabuli-type chickpeas under GMH had significantly higher yields than desi types. Pooled data fitted well to a three-parametric logistic curve, predicting half-time to 50% weed coverage at 35 (MM), 38 (CRM), 40 (BOH), 46 (GM), and 53 (GMH) days. Relapses of CCs were consistent in no-till systems, especially BOH and MW. Although soil properties improved, CCs alone did not significantly suppress weed.

People sometimes inflict harm with the intent to help the very target of their aggression. Across six studies (N=1,527), we examined the nature of such prosocial aggression. Many participants believed that altruistically-motivated aggression exists and exhibited a self-serving bias in which most believed their aggression was more altruistic than others' - beliefs that were linked to greater antisocial and prosocial traits. Translating these beliefs to behavior, participants were often prosocially-aggressive when given the chance - inflicting more harm when their aggression could also help (versus only hurt) the target. Such prosocial aggression also exhibited features of both aggression (i.e., it was positively correlated with dispositional aggressiveness) and altruism (i.e., it was preferentially doled out to people who had been previously kind to participants and even when it was personally costly to do so). We also independently varied the amount of harm and help that prosocial aggression provided, revealing that participants sought to maximize the help and minimize the harm done to people who had been kind to them but not towards those who had provoked them. Our findings argue against models that conceptualize harm- and help-based motives as opponent processes, showing that these motives readily coexist and dynamically interact to shape aggressive behavior - even towards the same target.