Divergence and convergence in epiphytic and endophytic phyllosphere bacterial communities of rice landraces.

Phyllosphere-associated microbes can significantly alter host plant fitness, with distinct functions provided by bacteria inhabiting the epiphytic (external surface) vs endophytic niches (internal leaf tissue). Hence, it is important to understand the assembly and stability of these phyllosphere communities, especially in field conditions. Broadly, epiphytic communities should encounter more environmental fluctuations and frequent immigration, whereas endophytic microbiota should face stronger host selection.

How Salt and Temperature Drive Reentrant Condensation of Aβ40.

Within the framework of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), biomolecular condensation orchestrates vital cellular processes, and its dysregulation is implicated in severe pathological conditions. Recent studies highlight the role of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in LLPS, yet the influence of microenvironmental factors has remained a puzzling factor. Here, via computational simulation of the impact of solution conditions on LLPS behavior of neurologically pathogenic IDP Aβ40, we chanced upon a salt-driven reentrant condensation phenomenon, wherein Aβ40 aggregation increases with low salt concentrations (25-50 mM), followed by a decline with further salt increments.

Pro stabilization in prolyl carbamates influenced by tetrel bonding interactions.

NMR spectral and theoretical analyses of homologous prolyl carbamates reveal subtle charge transfer tetrel bonding interactions (TBIs), selectively stabilizing their Pro rotamers. These TBIs involve C-terminal-amide to N-terminal carbamate carbonyl-carbonyl (n → π* type) followed by intra-carbamate (n → σ* type) charge transfer interactions exclusively in the Pro motif. The number of TBIs and hence the Pro stability increase with increasing number of C groups at the carbamate alcohol.

Seasonal Patterns of Resource Use Within Natural Populations of Burying Beetles.

For organisms in temperate environments, seasonal variation in resource availability and weather conditions exert fluctuating selection pressures on survival and fitness, resulting in diverse adaptive responses. By manipulating resource availability on a local spatial scale, we studied seasonal patterns of resource use within natural populations of burying beetles in a Norfolk woodland. Burying beetles are necrophagous insects that breed on vertebrate carcasses.

Inertia Drives Concentration-Wave Turbulence in Swimmer Suspensions.

We discover an instability mechanism in suspensions of self-propelled particles that does not involve active stress. Instead, it is driven by a subtle interplay of inertia, swimmer motility, and concentration fluctuations, through a crucial time lag between the velocity and the concentration field. The resulting time-persistent state seen in our high-resolution numerical simulations consists of self-sustained waves of concentration and orientation, transiting from regular oscillations to wave turbulence.

Chirality and odd mechanics in active columnar phases.

Chiral active materials display odd dynamical effects in both their elastic and viscous responses. We show that the most symmetric mesophase with 2D odd elasticity in three dimensions is chiral, polar, and columnar, with 2D translational order in the plane perpendicular to the columns and no elastic restoring force for their relative sliding. We derive its hydrodynamic equations from those of a chiral active variant of model H.

DYRK1A interacts with the tuberous sclerosis complex and promotes mTORC1 activity.

DYRK1A, a ubiquitously expressed kinase is linked to the dominant intellectual developmental disorder, microcephaly, and Down syndrome in humans. It regulates numerous cellular processes such as cell cycle, vesicle trafficking, and microtubule assembly. DYRK1A is a critical regulator of organ growth; however, how it regulates organ growth is not fully understood.

Dynamical crossovers and correlations in a harmonic chain of active particles.

We explore the dynamics of a tracer in an active particle harmonic chain, investigating the influence of interactions. Our analysis involves calculating mean-squared displacements (MSDs) and space-time correlations through Green's function techniques and numerical simulations. Depending on chain characteristics, , different time scales determined by interaction stiffness and persistence of activity, tagged-particle MSDs exhibit ballistic, diffusive, and single-file diffusion (SFD) scaling over time, with crossovers explained by our analytic expressions.

Effects of a Serotonergic Psychedelic on the Lipid Bilayer.

Serotonergic psychedelics, known for their hallucinogenic effects, have attracted interest due to their ability to enhance neuronal plasticity and potential therapeutic benefits. Although psychedelic-enhanced neuroplasticity is believed to require activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) 2A receptors (5-HTRs), serotonin itself is less effective in promoting such plasticity. Also, the psychoplastogenic effects of these molecules correlate with their lipophilicity, leading to suggestions that they act by influencing the intracellular receptors.

Regioisomers containing triarylboron-based motifs as multi-functional photoluminescent materials: from dual-mode delayed emission to pH-switchable room-temperature phosphorescence.

Triarylboron compounds have been established as promising candidates in optoelectronic applications. However, realizing multi-functional properties in triaryl boron-based materials remains challenging. Herein, we present two regioisomers, 1 and 2, designed judiciously by connecting a dimethylamino donor and a dimesitylboryl acceptor at 1,4 and 2,6-positions of the naphthalene spacer, respectively.

, a new genus of jumping spiders (Salticidae, Plexippina) from South Asia, with the new Indian species .

We describe a new plexippine genus, , supported by phylogenomic data from ultraconserved elements (UCEs), Sanger sequences of four genes, and morphological evidence. The type species, (Caleb, Christudhas, Laltanpuii & Chitra, 2014), is transferred from , as is (Caleb, 2022), The phylogenomic data places among the plexippines near C.L.

Cross-Coupling of NHC/CAAC-Based Carbodicarbene: Synthesis of Electron-Deficient Diradicaloids.

Herein, we report nickel(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of NHC/CAAC-based carbodicarbene (NHC = -heterocyclic carbene and CAAC = cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene) with different aryl chlorides, bromides, and iodides. The resulting aryl-substituted cationic carbodicarbene derivatives are prone to one-electron oxidation yielding radical-dications, which, depending on the aryl motif employed, follow different modes of radical-radical dimerization and constitute an entry point to carbon/nitrogen- and nitrogen/nitrogen-centered diradicaloids. Subsequently, this coupling strategy was strategically applied to the synthesis of -phenylene- and ,-biphenylene-bridged carbon/carbon-centered electron-deficient diradicaloids.

Quantum dynamics of wave packets in a Morse potential: A dynamical system approach.

We show how a dynamical systems approach can, somewhat unexpectedly, be relevant in the quantum dynamics featuring oscillations and escape in the Morse potential. We compare the dynamics resulting from the approach with the results obtained from a direct numerical integration of the relevant Schrödinger equation to support our claim. An interesting finding of the numerical investigation is the marked increase in the probability of obtaining a significant fraction (more than 50%) of the wave packet in the classically forbidden range beyond a critical energy of the packet.

Observation of the decay.

Using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of collected by the CMS experiment at , the decay is observed for the first time, with a statistical significance exceeding 5 standard deviations. The relative branching fraction, with respect to the decay, is measured to be , where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is related to the uncertainties in and .

Observation of Enhanced Long-Range Elliptic Anisotropies Inside High-Multiplicity Jets in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for collective effects inside jets produced in proton-proton collisions is performed via correlation measurements of charged particles using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The analysis uses data collected at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=13  TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1}. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-k_{T} algorithm with a distance parameter of 0.

Platinum Stabilises a Molten-Globule Conformation of a Small Globular Cytosolic Protein SUMO1.

Proteins are generally resistant to large conformational changes under physiological conditions. Here, we show that platinum (Pt(II)), which is widely-used metal centre in cancer therapeutic drugs, binds to a cytosolic protein, small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 (SUMO1), under physiological conditions and changes its conformation to a molten globule (MG). Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) studies confirmed stoichiometric Pt(II) binding to SUMO1.

Influence of pseudo-Jahn-Teller activity on the singlet-triplet gap of azaphenalenes.

We analyze the possibility of symmetry-lowering induced by pseudo-Jahn-Teller interactions in six previously studied azaphenalenes that are known to have their first excited singlet state (S) lower in energy than the triplet state (T). The primary aim of this study is to explore whether Hund's rule violation is observed in these molecules when their structures are distorted from or point group symmetries by vibronic coupling. Along two interatomic distances connecting these point groups to their subgroups or , we relaxed the other internal degrees of freedom and calculated two-dimensional potential energy subsurfaces.

Impact of Loss Mechanisms on Linear Spectra of Excitonic and Polaritonic Aggregates.

The presence of loss mechanisms governed by empirical timescales can profoundly affect the dynamics in molecular systems, leading to changes in their spectra. However, incorporation of these effects along with the system's interaction with the thermal dissipative environments proves to be challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the possibility of utilizing the recently developed path integral Lindblad dynamics (PILD) method to study the linear spectra of molecular aggregates.

Anisotropic Porosity and Interface Synergy Enhanced Gas Permselectivity in Heterolayer Metal-Organic Framework Membrane.

The pursuit of sustainable, carbon-free separation technology hinges on the efficient separation of gas mixtures with high separation factors and flow rates, i. e. high permselectivity.

Evolutionary Adaptation in Heterogeneous and Changing Environments.

Organisms that are adapting to long-term environmental change almost always deal with multiple environments and trade-offs that affect their optimal phenotypic strategy. Here, we combine the idea of repeated variation or heterogeneity, like seasonal shifts, with long-term directional dynamics. Using the framework of fitness sets, we determine the dynamics of the optimal phenotype in two competing environments encountered with different frequencies, one of which changes with time.

Uma Ramakrishnan.

Interview with Uma Ramakrishnan, who studies the genetics of Indian biodiversity at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

The challenges, opportunities and future of comparative physiology in the Global South: perspectives of early-career researchers.

Researchers in the Global South (GS, developing countries) make valuable contributions to the field of comparative physiology, but face economic and scientific disparities and several unique challenges compared with colleagues in the Global North (developed countries). This Perspective highlights some of the challenges, knowledge gaps and disparities in opportunity faced by GS researchers, especially those at early-career stages. We propose collaborative solutions to help address these issues, and advocate for promoting investment and cultural and societal change for a more inclusive research community.