Rice University

Colorblind retreat: how residents make sense of race and relocation from flood-prone areas

Over recent decades, the United States federal government has funded the purchase and demolition of flood-prone housing across the country through a policy known as managed retreat. As this policy has touched down in areas where residents and government actors look to adapt to gr...

Tracking the baryon number with nuclear collisions

Baryon quantum number is found to be conserved since baryogenesis in the early Universe. Conventionally, each fractionally charged valence quark is understood to carry one-third of a baryon number. An alternative hypothesis posits that baryon number is instead carried by a baryon...

Titanium Oxynitrideby TiO2 Nitridation:A Comparative Study of Film, Nanoparticle, and Metasurface NanostructureProperties

Abstract Titanium oxynitride (TiOxNy) is a unique plasmonic material bridging dielectric TiO2 and metallic TiN. In this study, the properties of TiOxNy films, film-derived metasurfaces, and colloidal nanoparticles, all synthesized by the temperature-controlled ammonia nitridation...

Encapsulation of AAVs into Protein Vault Nanoparticles as a Novel Solution to Gene Therapy’s Neutralizing Antibody Problem

Abstract Although adeno-associated virus (AAV) has enjoyed enormous success as a delivery modality for gene therapy, it suffers from high prevalence of preexisting neutralizing antibodies in human populations, limiting who can receive potentially life-saving treatments. As a nove...

Co-Encapsulation of Indocyanine Green J-Aggregate and Paclitaxel in Biodegradable Polymersomes for Photoacoustic-Guided Chemotherapy

Abstract Treatment of solid tumors remains one of the biggest challenges in oncology. Targeted nanotherapeutics could significantly improve treatment efficacy and reduce side effects. However, their efficient implementation requires knowledge of pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistr...

Understandingthe Electronic Structure of RutheniumOxides during Redox Cycling with High Energy Resolution X-rayAbsorption Spectroscopy

Abstract Ruthenium oxides are essential catalysts and charge storage materials whose performance across reactions, from the oxygen evolution reaction to the chlor-alkali process, depends critically on reversible Ru redox cycling and the associated electronic structure changes. Al...

Templated Synthesis of Heterobimetallic Nd─Co Clusters

ABSTRACT Heterometallic clusters are typically realized through the design of metal site‐specific coordination environments. Their unusual metal‐metal interactions and potentially synergistic effects toward small‐molecule activation and catalysis are two of the many attributes of...

Templated Synthesis of Heterobimetallic Nd─Co Clusters

ABSTRACT Heterometallic clusters are typically realized through the design of metal site‐specific coordination environments. Their unusual metal‐metal interactions and potentially synergistic effects toward small‐molecule activation and catalysis are two of the many attributes of...

Identification of SKI-II as a host-protective immunomodulator against Staphylococcus aureus infection

ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance threatens the effectiveness of conventional antimicrobial agents, underscoring the need for host-directed therapies that enhance immune defense. Here, we present a cross-species discovery pipeline that couples a Caenorhabditis elegans–Staphylococcus...

Polyamorphism in glassy network materials

One dramatic feature of network liquids is the emergence at low temperatures and high pressures of polyamorphism, where multiple distinct liquid phases are accessed in a single material. Polyamorphism can arise from the competition between distinct local structures corresponding...

The impact of structural variation on Alzheimer’s disease in the Alzheimer’s disease sequencing project

Structural variants (SV), genomic alterations spanning more than 50 base pairs, can significantly impact gene expression and protein function. However, their contribution to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains poorly understood. Leveraging a novel SV calling pipeline, we identified...

Surface-LimitedChemical and Physical Alteration ofPlastics during Composting: An In-Depth Field- and Lab-Scale Study

Abstract Plastics entering composting systems are frequently found as fragments in finished compost, yet the mechanisms controlling their degradation and persistence remain unclear. In this study, food waste amended with virgin, 30-day UV-weathered, and 30-day sunlight-weathered...

Shifts in Clinical Practice–Changing Acute Ischemic Stroke Research Over the Past Decade

BACKGROUND: The past decade has witnessed rapid growth of clinical trial programs in Europe and Asia, with randomized clinical trials (RCTs) publications from these regions outpacing those of the United States. However, limited data exist quantifying their relative influence on p...

Climate Anxiety Among Undergraduates at an R1 University in the United States

Climate anxiety is an emerging public health concern, particularly among young adults. Using survey data, this study examines the prevalence, emotional dimensions, and predictors of climate anxiety among 547 undergraduate students at a large university in the U.S. Mountain West....

Mineralogy and thermobarometry of marbles: constraints on retrogression and hydrothermal imprint in a polymetamorphic terrane (Făgăraș Unit, Southern Carpathians, Romania)

Abstract This thermobarometry study employs calcite-dolomite solvus thermometry and thermodynamic pseudosections applied to marbles in the Făgăraș Unit, the uppermost unit of the Variscan metamorphic basement of the Alpine Supragetic units, Central Southern Carpathians. The marbl...

Molecular Machines Enhance Insulin Release in Pancreatic Beta Cells

ABSTRACT The production and secretion of insulin by pancreatic beta cells plays a critical role in glucose homeostasis. Insulin signaling dysfunction typically results in diabetes mellitus, which affects over 415 million people worldwide. The development of new tools to induce in...