bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A stress-activated mid-insula to BNST pathway regulates susceptibility to abstinence-induced negative affect in female mice
Authors: Williams Benjamin M. , Little Jincy R. , O’Connell Nathaniel S. , Centanni Samuel W.
Published: January 2025

Stress is central to many neuropsychiatric conditions, including alcohol use disorder (AUD). Stress influences the initiation and continued use of alcohol, the progression to AUD, and relapse. Identifying the neurocircuits activated during stress, and individual variability in these responses is critical for developing new treatment targets for AUD, particularly to mitigate stress-induced relapse. Using a longitudinal approach, this study examined the relationship between sub-chronic stress exposure and negative affect during protracted abstinence following chronic ethanol exposure. Sub-chronic restraint stress heightened negative affect-like behavior in protracted abstinence. Interestingly, this was driven by a subset of “stress-susceptible” female mice. We examined the mid-insula, a hub in the brain’s salience network, as a driver of this effect, given its role in emotional regulation and links to alcohol craving, consumption, and abstinence-induced negative affect. Mid-insula GCaMP fiber photometry revealed that GCaMP activity during stress exposure was positively correlated with activity during the novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT) two weeks into abstinence. A distinct subset of mice exhibited increasing activity during the consummatory phase, implicating the mid-insula as a neural basis for heightened negative affect in abstinence. Chemogenetic inhibition of mid-insula neurons projecting to the dorsal BNST during stress disrupted the emergence of stress susceptibility, highlighting this circuit as a key determinant of susceptibility to abstinence-induced negative affect. These outcomes were female-specific, addressing a critical gap in understanding AUD risk in women. Furthermore, female mice exhibited higher struggling behavior during stress than males. However, this effect was blocked by chemogenetic inhibition of the insula-BNST pathway during stress. By linking pre-alcohol stress response with abstinence outcomes, this work positions the insula-BNST pathway as a potential AUD circuit activity biomarker and therapeutic target.
Adipocyte Aldosterone in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Dong Yunzhou , Bock Josh , Karim Shahid , Singh Prachi , Somers Virend K.
Published: January 2025

Aldosterone, a hormone synthesized by the adrenal glands, plays a pivotal role in regulating both blood pressure and electrolyte balance and may contribute to long term cardiovascular risk. Recent findings suggest that adipose tissue might serve as a source for aldosterone production and secretion. Patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often exhibit elevated blood pressure levels and increased cardiovascular risk. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether increased aldosterone synthesis in fat tissue could contribute to the increase in hypertension and cardiovascular disease in OSA patients. To address this, we conducted a comparative analysis of adipocyte aldosterone level in OSA patients versus Age and BMI matched healthy individuals. Our data revealed no significant differences in aldosterone content between the two groups. Further examination involved measuring the expression of the key enzyme CYP11B2 responsible for aldosterone synthesis. We observed comparable expression levels of CYP11B2 in both the OSA and control groups. To corroborate these findings, we isolated stromal vascular fraction (SVF) from human fat tissues. The SVF cells were cultured in preadipocyte medium and subjected to normoxia and intermittent hypoxia (IH), mimicking OSA conditions as per established protocol. Subsequent analysis of aldosterone levels in cell lysates and conditioned medium revealed no significant differences. Similarly,in vitroexamination of CYBP11B2 expression was not different in normoxic versus IH conditions. In conclusion, our study did not discern significant differences in adipocyte aldosterone production and secretion between patients with OSA and matched control subjects, nor in human preadipocytes under normoxicversusIH conditions.
Molecular docking, validation, dynamic simulation and pharmacokinetic prediction of natural compounds againstMycobacterium tuberculosisBeta-lactamase BlaC
Authors: Sreekumar Sandra , Bhagya Jyothi J.L , Liji S.S , Pani Subhash Chandra , Rajee Niya Elizaba , Stephanie Aguero Pizzolo , Raphael Terreux , Dhanasingh Immanuel
Published: January 2025

Tuberculosis, caused byMycobacterium tuberculosisranks second globally in terms of infectious disease-related deaths, after HIV. The resistance ofM. tuberculosisto existing beta-lactam antibiotics is primarily due to chromosomally encoded gene blaC, which can hydrolyse predominantly available beta-lactam antibiotics. Despite the available beta-lactamase inhibitors with beta-lactam ring such as clavulanate, being efficacious, they lead the bacteria to develop an inhibitor escape mechanism. In contrast, the natural product inhibitors without beta-lactam ring that might resist bacterial escape mechanisms have the additional advantage of fewer side effects, higher bioavailability, and better bioremediation towards environmental sustainability. This study identifies novel natural inhibitors against BlaC, from the Natural Products Atlas database of PubChem and ZINC comprising 10,000 compounds using molecular docking and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. The virtual screening and docking experiments demonstrated that the top 10 compounds exhibited favourable docking scores in the range of -7.59 to -9.63 kcal/mol compared to the reference molecule, Doripenem (-7.35 kcal/mol). Following targeted docking and ADMET analysis, three lead compounds Lecanorafuran A, Tryptoquivaline K, and Deacetylisowortmin A were selected for MD simulations for a period of 100 ns to evaluate the stability of the protein-ligand complexes. Based on Root Mean Square Deviation, Root Mean Square Fluctuation, Radius of gyration and Solvent Accessible Surface Area, PCA, and FEL analysis, it was found that Tryptoquivaline K exhibited consistent stability throughout the simulation. Additionally, Molecular Mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MMPBSA) analysis was conducted to assess the binding affinity of the complex. All these analyses validate that the natural compound Tryptoquivaline K exhibits potential as a promising BlaC inhibitor but warrants further validation through experimental studies in this aspect.
Higher adaxial stomatal density is associated with lower grain yield in spring wheat
Authors: Samantara Kajal , Ivandi Elena , Tulva Ingmar , Jalakas Pirko , Khalegh Doust Banafsheh , Ingver Anne , Kärp Merko , Brazauskas Gintaras , Bleidere Mara , Tamm Ilmar , Hõrak Hanna , Merilo Ebe
Published: January 2025

In land plants, stomatal pores on leaf surfaces developed to control gas exchange between leaf and surrounding air, but also to enable nutrient uptake and leaf cooling. Traits such as stomatal density (SD), guard cell size, stomatal distribution between the upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) leaf surfaces (stomatal ratio), and stomatal aperture width exhibit notable variation across different genotypes and environments. These traits influence leaf photosynthesis, water loss, growth, productivity, and pathogen susceptibility. Here, we studied different stomatal traits of spring wheat flag leaves and their relationship with grain yield in field experiments during 2022-2023. Significant genotypic variation among adaxial and abaxial SDs and stomatal ratios was detected, whereas stomatal conductance was mostly affected by annual differences in weather. A strong negative relationship between adaxial stomatal density and grain yield was detected under all conditions, when abiotic factors (water stress or nutrient limitation) resulted in yield losses, whereas under favourable conditions, there was no significant relationship between adaxial stomatal density and grain yield. The effects of leaf surface-specific traits on yield are often overlooked in physiological and breeding experiments. Our results indicate that higher-than-optimal adaxial SD values may result in wheat yield losses under stresses imposed by future climate conditions.
Comparative CRISPRi screens reveal a human stem cell dependence on mRNA translation-coupled quality control
Authors: Rodschinka Geraldine , Forcelloni Sergio , Behrens Andrew , Riemenschneider Henrick , Edbauer Dieter , Wani Sascha , Nedialkova Danny
Published: January 2025

The translation of mRNA into proteins in multicellular organisms needs to be carefully tuned to changing proteome demands in development and differentiation, and defects in translation often have a disproportionate impact in distinct cell types. Here we used inducible CRISPR interference screens to compare the essentiality of genes with functions in mRNA translation in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and hiPSC-derived neural and cardiac cells. We find that core components of the mRNA translation machinery are broadly essential, but the consequences of perturbing translation-coupled quality control factors are highly cell type-dependent. Human stem cells critically depend on pathways that detect and rescue slow or stalled ribosomes, and on the E3 ligase ZNF598 to resolve a novel type of ribosome collisions at translation start sites on endogenous mRNAs with highly efficient initiation. Our findings underscore the importance of cell identity for deciphering the molecular mechanisms of translational control in metazoans.
RNA G-Quadruplex Emerges from a Coil-Like Ensemble via Multiple Pathways
Authors: Pokorná Pavlína , Mlýnský Vojtěch , Šponer Jiří , Stadlbauer Petr
Published: January 2025

RNA G-quadruplexes (rG4s) are vital structural elements in gene regulation and genome stability. In untranslated regions of mRNAs, rG4s influence translation efficiency and mRNA localization. Additionally, rG4s of long non-coding RNAs and telomeric RNA play roles in RNA processing and cellular aging. Despite their significance, atomic-level folding mechanisms of rG4s remain poorly understood due to their complexity. We used enhanced-sampling all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to model the folding of an r(GGGA)3GGG sequence into a parallel-stranded rG4. The folding pathways suggest that RNA initially adopts a compact coil- like ensemble, marked by dynamic guanine stacking and pairing. The three-quartet rG4 builds up gradually from the coil via diverse routes involving strand rearrangements and guanine incorporations. While the folding mechanism is multi-pathway, various two-quartet rG4s seem to be a common transitory ensemble for most routes. Our simulations also exposed force-field imbalances, with the predicted folding free energy of +12.5 kcal/mol deviating from experiments. Additionally, the enhanced sampling protocol, combining well-tempered metadynamics with solute tempering, faced productivity challenges on the multidimensional free-energy surface. Overall, this study provides atomistic insights into rG4 folding, emphasizing compact coil-like ensembles as key precursors, while revealing limitations in simulating non-canonical RNA structures.
Targeting histone acetylation to overcome drug resistance in the parasiteTrichomonas vaginalis
Authors: Seifert-Gorzycki Julieta , Muñoz Daniela , Lizarraga Ayelen , Iriarte Lucrecia , Coceres Verónica , Strobl-Mazzulla Pablo H. , de Miguel Natalia
Published: January 2025

Trichomoniasis, caused by the parasiteTrichomonas vaginalis, is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection. Current treatment relies exclusively on 5-nitroimidazole drugs, with metronidazole (MTZ) as the primary option. However, the increasing prevalence of MTZ-resistant strains poses a significant challenge, particularly in the current absence of alternative therapies. Several studies have revealed that the development of metronidazole resistance inT. vaginalisis linked to genomic and transcriptional alterations. Given the role of epigenetic regulation in controlling gene expression, we investigated whether targeting histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes could influence drug resistance. Treatment of an MTZ-resistant strain (B7268) with the HDAC inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA), in combination with MTZ enhanced drug sensitivity and induced significant genome-wide transcriptional changes, as revealed by RNA-seq analysis. To identify drug-related genes epigenetically silenced in the resistant strain but highly active in a sensitive strain, we compared the expression levels of the genes affected by TSA and MTZ treatment with their baseline expression profiles in both resistant and sensitive strains. This analysis identified 130 candidate genes differentially expressed in the sensitive strain NYH209, less expressed in the resistant B7268 strain, that exhibited significant expression changes upon TSA and MTZ treatment. Functional validation involved transfecting the B7268 strain with plasmids encoding four individual candidate genes: a thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), a cysteine synthase (CS), and two genes containing Myb domains (Myb5 and Myb6). Overexpression of three of these genes resulted in a marked reduction in MTZ resistance, demonstrating their role in modulating drug sensitivity. Our findings identified three novel genes that modulate drug resistance inT. vaginalis. This study reveals a previously unknown epigenetic mechanism underlying drug resistance and highlights the therapeutic potential of targeting epigenetic factors, such as HDACs, to overcome resistance and improve treatment efficacy.
Multivariate deep phenotyping reveals behavioral correlates of non-restorative sleep in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome
Authors: Reich Natacha , Imparato Andrea , Cataldi Jacinthe , Thillainathan Niveettha , Delavari Farnaz , Schneider Maude , Eliez Stephan , Siclari Francesca , Sandini Corrado
Published: January 2025

Converging evidence suggests that sleep disturbances can directly contribute to a transdiagnostic combination of behavior and neurocognitive difficulties characterizing most forms of psychopathology. However, it remains unclear how the growing comprehension of sleep neurophysiology should best inform sleep quality assessment in mental health patients. To address this fundamental question, we performed deep multimodal sleep and behavioral phenotyping in 37 individuals at high genetic risk for psychopathology due to 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (Mean age:19±8.17, M/F=22/15) and 34 Healthy Controls (Mean age:17.06±6.87, M/F=12/22). We implemented a multivariate analysis pipeline informed by the current neurobiological understanding of the behavioral consequences of sleep disruption. We detected multivariate patterns of disrupted sleep architecture consistently influenced by age and diagnosis across recordings and experimental settings. With high-density EEG polysomnography we detected atypical trajectories of Slow-Wave-Activity (SWA) reduction, influenced by age and sleep duration which, according to the Synaptic-Homeostasis-Hypothesis, could reflect combined alterations in neurodevelopmental and synaptic homeostasis mechanisms in 22q11DS. Blunted SWA reduction was linked with EEG markers of residual sleep pressure in morning-vs-evening EEG and with questionnaires estimating subjective somnolence in everyday life, potentially representing a clinically relevant signature of non-restorative sleep. Moreover, blunted SWA decline was linked to a transdiagnostic combination of behavioral difficulties, including negative psychotic symptoms, ADHD symptoms, and neurocognitive impairments in processing speed and inhibitory-control. These findings suggest that systematic screening and management of sleep disturbances could directly improve behavioral outcomes in 22q11DS. They highlight the potential of precision/multivariate phenotyping approaches for characterizing the role of sleep disturbances in developmental psychopathology.
RNase III cleavage signals spread across splice junctions enforce sequential processing of co-hosted snoRNAs
Authors: Migeot Valérie , Mary Yves , Fafard-Couture Etienne , Lombard Pierre , Bachand François , Scott Michelle S , Yague-Sanz Carlo
Published: January 2025

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNA molecules whose precursor transcripts are capped and polyadenylated. However, these end modifications are detrimental to snoRNA function and must be removed, a process typically involving excision from introns and/or endonucleolytic cleavage. In the case of polycistronic RNA precursors that host multiple snoRNAs, the sequence of maturation events is not well understood. Here we report a new mode of maturation concerning snoRNA pairs that are co-hosted in the intron and the adjacent 3’ exon of a precursor transcript. For such a pair in the model eukaryotic speciesSchizosaccharomyces pombe, we identified a double-stranded RNA hairpin folding across the exon-exon junction. The hairpin recruits the RNase III Pac1 that cleaves and destabilizes the precursor transcript while participating in the maturation of the downstream exonic snoRNA, but only after splicing and release of the intronic snoRNA. We propose that such RNase III degradation signal hidden in an exon-exon junction evolved to enforce sequential snoRNA processing. Sequence analysis suggest that this mechanism is conserved in animals and plants.
Canonical Wnt induction by OTULIN prevents keratinocyte death and skin inflammation
Authors: Lecomte Kim , Hertens Pieter , Toniolo Annagiada , Boone Fleur , Ciers Maarten , Verboom Lien , Staes Katrien , van Loo Geert , Hoste Esther
Published: January 2025

Loss-of-function mutations in the humanOTULINgene, encoding a deubiquitinase with exclusive specificity for linear ubiquitin chains, cause a severe multi-organ autoinflammatory condition involving the skin1,2. Mice lacking OTULIN selectively in keratinocytes develop inflamed skin lesions that progress into squamous tumours, a phenotype driven by excessive TNF-induced cell death3,4. Previous studies suggested a role for OTULIN in mediating Wnt signalling during development5, but the physiological relevance of this association is unknown. Here, we show that OTULIN promotes Wnt signalling in keratinocytes by regulating the linear ubiquitination status of β-catenin. Stabilisation of β-catenin in OTULIN-deficient keratinocytes prevents progressive skin inflammation in prophylactic and therapeutic settings by blocking keratinocyte death. We demonstrate that linearly ubiquitinated β-catenin accumulates in OTULIN-deficient keratinocytes, promoting its ubiquitination with K48 chains and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Reduced Wnt signalling in OTULIN-deficient keratinocytes leads to degradation of TCF3, an essential survival factor for keratinocytes6. Collectively, our data identify OTULIN’s linear deubiquitination activity as a key regulator of epithelial cell viability, not only by preventing cell death downstream of TNF, but also by promoting canonical Wnt signalling.
Modeling the acutely injured brain environmentin vitro
Authors: María Arzate Dulce , Álvaro Víctor , Prádanos-Senén Ana Victoria , Gallego Lucía , Manzano Diana , Llorente-Sáez Celia , Bartolomé Rocío , Ferrarini Alessia , López Juan Antonio , Murenu Elisa , Berninger Benedikt , Ortega Felipe , Götz Magdalena , Heinrich Christophe , Gascón Sergio
Published: January 2025

A major challenge to study the regenerative potential of the injured brain is the limited access to this organin vivo. To address this, we developed an innovative gliosis model that, although establishedin vitro, originates from a genuine injuryin vivo. The model relies on reactive glia acquiring enhanced adhesion, facilitating their rapid adaptation toin vitroconditions, where it faithfully recapitulates key features of brain injury. These include a secretome associated with injury pathways, degenerative responses like neuronal death and neuroinflammation, and regenerative processes such as progenitor proliferation, recruitment and commitment to oligodendrocytes. Moreover, the exposure of adult glial cells to this culture medium recapitulates their acquisition of multipotency observed in both mouse and human injured brains. Finally, our approach allows studying glia-to-neuron reprogramming, a process challenging to tacklein vivo. Consequently, we present a novel tool for exploring stem cell dynamics and regenerative behaviors in CNS pathology.
Baryon number transportation over full rapidity space in
pp
collisions at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
Authors: Barman Banajit , Hussain Nur , Bhattacharjee Buddhadeb
Published: January 2025

The estimation of the antibaryon to baryon ratio is considered to be a useful tool for studying baryon number transport in pp, pA, and AA collisions. For this paper, the event generator with various tunes is used to measure the Λ¯/Λ ratio as a function of rapidity (y), transverse momentum (pT ), and multiplicity within both ALICE and LHCb acceptances. The results obtained using various Monte Carlo data for pp collisions at s=0.9 and 7 TeV are compared with the experimentally measured values of Λ¯/Λ ratio of ALICE and LHCb experiments. Out of the various studied tunes of 8.3, the string junction model is found to be the most successful to describe the experimentally observed results. Evidence of a considerable amount of baryon number transportation from the beam fragmentation to the ALICE and LHCb acceptances could be recognized.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
TMD evolution effect on
cos2ϕ
azimuthal asymmetry in a back-to-back production of
J/ψ
and a jet at the EIC
Authors: Kishore Raj , Mukherjee Asmita , Pawar Amol , Rajesh Sangem , Siddiqah Mariyah
Published: January 2025

A back-to-back semi-inclusive J/ψ+jet production is a promising process to study gluon transverse momentum distribution (TMD) at the future electron-ion collider. A back-to-back configuration allows a higher transverse momentum for J/ψ. We present an extension of a previous work where we studied cos2ϕ azimuthal asymmetry within the TMD factorization framework for this process. We present and compare the effect of TMD evolution on the asymmetry, in two approaches that differ in the parametrization of the perturbative tails of the TMDs and the nonperturbative factors. We show that the asymmetry depends on the parametrizations of the nonperturbative Sudakov factors in the larger bT region and on the perturbative part of the evolution kernel. We use nonrelativistic QCD to estimate the J/ψ production and show the effect of using different long-distance matrix element sets. Overall, the asymmetry after incorporating TMD evolution is small, but increases with the transverse momentum imbalance of the J/ψ-jet pair.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Minding the gap: Testing natural anomaly-mediated SUSY breaking at high luminosity LHC
Authors: Baer Howard , Barger Vernon , Bolich Jessica , Dutta Juhi , Sengupta Dibyashree
Published: January 2025

While the minimal anomaly-mediated SUSY breaking model (mAMSB) seems ruled out by constraints on Higgs mass, naturalness and wino dark matter, a slightly generalized version dubbed natural AMSB (nAMSB) remains both viable and compelling. Like mAMSB, nAMSB features winos as the lightest gauginos, but unlike mAMSB, nAMSB allows a small μ parameter so that Higgsinos are the lightest of electroweakinos (EWinos). nAMSB spectra depend on the input value of gravitino mass m3/2, where the lower range of m3/2 is excluded by LHC gluino pair searches while a higher m3/2 band is excluded by LHC limits on wino pair production followed by boosted hadronic wino decays. A remaining intermediate gap in m3/2 values remains allowed by present LHC searches, but appears to be completely explorable by high luminosity upgrades of LHC (HL-LHC). We explore a variety of compelling discovery channels that may allow one to close the intermediate gap in m3/2 values: (1) same-sign diboson+ET (SSdB) production arising from wino pair production, leading to same-sign dileptons plus missing ET, (2) trilepton production arising from wino pair production and (3) soft dilepton plus jet events from Higgsino pair production, (4) top-squark pair production. From our signal-to-background analysis along a nAMSB model line, we expect HL-LHC to either discover or rule out the nAMSB model with 3000  fb−1 of integrated luminosity.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Secondary lepton production, propagation, and interactions
Authors: Cummings Austin , Krebs Ryan , Wissel Stephanie , Alvarez-Muñiz Jaime , Carvalho Washington R. , Romero-Wolf Andrés , Schoorlemmer Harm , Zas Enrique
Published: January 2025

Charged current interactions of neutrinos inside the Earth can result in secondary muons and τ-leptons which are detectable by several existing and planned neutrino experiments through a wide variety of event topologies. Consideration of such events can improve detector performance and provide unique signatures which help with event reconstruction. In this work, we describe , a propagation tool for neutrinos and charged leptons that builds on the fast framework. considers energy losses of charged leptons, modeled both continuously for performance or stochastically for accuracy, as well as interaction models for all flavors of neutrinos, including the Glashow resonance. We demonstrate the results from including these effects on the Earth emergence probability of various charged leptons from different flavors of primary neutrino and their corresponding energy distributions. We find that the emergence probability of muons can be higher than that of taus for energies below 100 PeV, whether from a primary muon or τ neutrino, and that the Glashow resonance contributes to a surplus of emerging leptons near the resonant energy.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Stochastic origin of spacetime noncommutativity
Authors: Arzano Michele , Kuipers Folkert
Published: January 2025

We propose a stochastic interpretation of spacetime noncommutativity starting from the path integral formulation of quantum mechanical commutation relations. We discuss how the (non)commutativity of spacetime is inherently related to the continuity or discontinuity of paths in the path integral formulation. Utilizing Wiener processes, we demonstrate that continuous paths lead to commutative spacetime, whereas discontinuous paths correspond to noncommutative spacetime structures. As an example we introduce discontinuous paths from which the κ-Minkowski spacetime commutators can be obtained. Moreover we focus on modifications of the Leibniz rule for differentials acting on discontinuous trajectories. We show how these can be related to the deformed action of translation generators focusing, as a working example, on the κ-Poincaré algebra. Our findings suggest that spacetime noncommutativity can be understood as a result of fundamental discreteness in temporal and/or spatial evolution.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Asymptotic structure of scalar-Maxwell theory at the null boundary
Authors: González Hernán A. , Labrin Oriana , Miskovic Olivera
Published: January 2025

We apply the Hamiltonian formalism to investigate the massless sector of scalar field theory coupled with Maxwell electrodynamics through the Pontryagin term. To this end, we generalize the Dirac procedure to include radially independent zero modes of the symplectic matrix associated with the asymptotic symmetries. Specifically, we analyze asymptotic symmetries at the null infinity of this theory, conserved charges, and their algebra. We find that the theory possesses asymptotic shift symmetries of the fields not present in the bulk manifold coming from the zero modes of the symplectic matrix of constraints. Consequently, we conclude that the real scalar field also contains asymptotic symmetries previously found in the literature by a different approach. We show that these symmetries can be seen as the electric-magnetic duality in electromagnetism with the topological Pontryagin term, and obtain a nontrivial central extension between the electric and magnetic conserved charges. Finally, we examine the full interacting theory and find that, due to the interaction, the symmetry generators are more difficult to identify among the constraints, such that we obtain them in the weak-coupling limit. We find that the asymptotic structure of the theory simplifies due to a fast fall-off of the scalar field, leading to decoupled scalar and Maxwell asymptotic sectors, and losing the electric-magnetic duality.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Stochastic weight matrix dynamics during learning and Dyson Brownian motion
Authors: Aarts Gert , Lucini Biagio , Park Chanju
Published: January 2025

We demonstrate that the update of weight matrices in learning algorithms can be described in the framework of Dyson Brownian motion, thereby inheriting many features of random matrix theory. We relate the level of stochasticity to the ratio of the learning rate and the minibatch size, providing more robust evidence to a previously conjectured scaling relationship. We discuss universal and nonuniversal features in the resulting Coulomb gas distribution and identify the Wigner surmise and Wigner semicircle explicitly in a teacher-student model and in the (near-)solvable case of the Gaussian restricted Boltzmann machine.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Multiphoton emission of x-rays from cooperative resonant nuclei
Authors: Kong Xiangjin , Chang Yue , Zhang Lida , Yuan Jianmin , Ma Yu-Gang
Published: January 2025

The advent of x-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) has opened the door to exploring the x-ray-nuclei interaction in the multiexcitation regime. Here, we show the dependence of emission properties of x-ray photons from an ensemble of identical resonant nuclei on the number of excitations in the system, employing the theoretical methods we have introduced. Under the multiexcitation condition, the detection of x-ray quanta is emission-order selective. Our work presents an efficient approach to investigating the multiphoton emission of x-rays from cooperative resonant nuclei within and beyond weak-excitation regimes, offering valuable insights into nonlinear x-ray optics and many-body nuclear physics.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Multi-reservoir enhanced loading of tweezer atom arrays
Authors: Yan Xu , He Chengdong , Wen Kai , Ren Zejian , Wong Preston Tsz Fung , Hajiyev Elnur , Jo Gyu-Boong
Published: January 2025

We introduce a method for improved loading into a single-atom optical tweezer array, utilizing iterative loading with multiple reservoir tweezers. Demonstrated with dual-wavelength tweezer arrays of Sr88 atoms, our approach achieves a 96% loading rate after four reload cycles. This method can significantly enhance existing tweezer rearrangement protocols and reduce optical power consumption for target tweezer arrays, thereby enabling a larger number of atoms in a quantum logic device. Our approach has the potential for implementation with different atomic species and combination with other enhanced loading methods.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Composition of electron temperature gradient driven plasma turbulence in JET-ILW tokamak plasmas
Authors: Chapman-Oplopoiou B. , Walker J. , Hatch D. R. , Görler T. , contributors JET
Published: January 2025

This letter reports on new fundamental insights into small scale plasma turbulence that is responsible for confinement degradation on the JET tokamak. We compare the structure of electron temperature gradient (ETG) driven turbulence in the edge region of two JET ITER-like-wall (ILW) high-confinement-mode discharges operating at different levels of gas fuelling. By artificially removing the toroidal drifts from our gyrokinetic turbulence simulations, we demonstrate that the high gas pulse has a substantial component from the toroidal branch of ETG turbulence whilst the low gas pulse is completely driven by slab ETG turbulence. This enables us to explicitly answer increased gas puffing on JET-ILW leads to confinement degradation.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Scaling Law for Intrinsic Fracture Energy of Diverse Stretchable Networks
Authors: Hartquist Chase , Wang Shu , Cui Qiaodong , Matusik Wojciech , Deng Bolei , Zhao Xuanhe
Published: January 2025

Networks of interconnected materials permeate throughout nature, biology, and technology due to exceptional mechanical performance. Despite the importance of failure resistance in network design and utility, no existing physical model effectively links strand mechanics and connectivity to predict bulk fracture. Here, we reveal a scaling law that bridges these levels to predict the intrinsic fracture energy of diverse stretchable networks. Simulations and experiments demonstrate its remarkable applicability to a breadth of strand constitutive behaviors, topologies, dimensionalities, and length scales. We show that local strand rupture and nonlocal energy release contribute synergistically to the measured intrinsic fracture energy in networks. These effects coordinate such that the intrinsic fracture energy scales independent of the energy to rupture a strand; it instead depends on the strand rupture force, breaking length, and connectivity. Our scaling law establishes a physical basis for fracture of homogeneous networks with uniform strand mechanics and lattice connectivity throughout. The scaling also extends generally for fabricating tough materials from homogeneous networks across multiple length scales.

Published by the American Physical Society
2025
Co-opted boards and bidder performance
Authors: Shams Syed , Luong Hoa , Ovi Nafisa Zabeen
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Defining co-opted directors as those who join a company’s board after an incumbent chief executive officer assumes office, this study aims to investigate the influence of co-opted boards on bidder performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies ordinary least squares regression analyses to a sample of 8,939 acquisition observations announced by US firms spanning the 1999–2019 period. Event study methodology was employed to capture the market response to acquisition announcements. Propensity score matching technique, a two-stage least squares instrumental variable approach and model selection through the Lasso method were performed for robustness and endogeneity correction purposes.

Findings

The results depict a significant negative relationship between a co-opted board and return to acquirers, suggesting that managers under co-opted boards make value-destructing Mergers and Acquisitions deals. We also show that the relationship between board co-option and acquisition performance is positively moderated by institutional ownership while being negatively moderated by an entrenched board. Our additional tests reveal that board co-option reduces acquisition efficiency and leads to worse financial performance.

Practical implications

This study offers important implications for regulators and policymakers by highlighting how poor monitoring of the board of directors can influence announcement returns.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper appears to be the first investigation that makes a link between board co-option and various dimensions of acquisition decision.
A bibliometric analysis of financial fraud exploiting the elderly in the digital age
Authors: Lindez-Macarro María-Elena , Gallego-Losada Rocio , Montero-Navarro Antonio , Rodríguez-Sánchez José-Luis
Published: January 2025

Purpose

The purpose of this review is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of financial fraud exploiting the elderly by mapping its evolution, identifying major metrics and discussing directions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A bibliometric analysis was conducted, based on 434 articles retrieved from the Web of Science that represent the academic literature on the topic from 1995 to the first quarter of 2024. This paper analyses the antecedents of financial fraud exploiting the elderly, the publication trends and the most prolific countries, institutions, journals, research areas and authors. Bibliometric analyses based on co-citation and co-words explore the intellectual structure of the topic. A bibliographic coupling analysis reveals the hottest research trends in this field.

Findings

A significant increase in the number of publications in recent years shows the importance gained by this research stream. The bibliometric analysis identifies four clusters throughout the literature: differentiation of types of elder abuse; protection of the elderly from fraud; cognitive and decision-making capacity in ageing; and factors influencing fraud victimization of the eldest. The most recent research lines identified through bibliographic coupling focused on the contextual and personal antecedents of financial exploitation of the elderly, as well as the possible impact of interventions. Several key research gaps and additional suggestions for further studies, as well as action lines for the financial authorities and economic agents, are outlined.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to knowledge about financial fraud exploiting the elderly synthesizing the existing literature, stressing that the banking industry has to deal with such financial fraud in the context of a growing relevance of the silver economy.
Transformation of national ranking score for positioning higher education institutions in international ranking – a case on India
Authors: Gupta Seema , Sushil S. , Gulati Khushboo
Published: January 2025

Purpose

The study intends to evaluate first the performance of Indian institutions ranked in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2019. Second, it compares the performance of Indian institutions with international rankings. Third, it spotlights a model for predicting the criteria that will improve these institutions' national and international rankings.

Design/methodology/approach

The cluster analysis has been undertaken to group the sample of 100 institutions into three groups. Further, discriminant analysis has been performed to uncover the criteria that cause significant variations in the ranking. Third, a comparative study is conducted on the international ranking parameters to explore the factors responsible for their lower rank in the global ranking.

Findings

The results reveal that most institutions are low-performing for “research and professional practice” and “peer perception” criteria. Meanwhile, the performance of top-ranked institutions is unsatisfactory on the “outreach and inclusivity” criterion. The study also finds that the national ranking of Indian institutions is significantly affected by the “research and professional practice” and “peer perception” scores, which also results in their low rank in the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking.

Research limitations/implications

This study can be an exemplary model for any developing nation to upgrade its higher education institutions' (HEIs’) performance in international tables

Practical implications

The government can develop policies to better low-performing universities and initiate policy changes in the incapacitated spheres for building a globally distinctive image for the Indian universities. The policymakers can recognise the institutions showcasing excellent research and teaching performance and encourage them accordingly to be the best research or teaching universities as it is not possible for every university to be the best in teaching and research aspect both.

Social implications

The policymakers can also focus more on developing research collaboration form other countries and industry for research universities and professional staff from leading industries for teaching collaborations for the rest. The HPIs should focus on creating a global image for themselves and MPIs and LPIs should be encouraged to raise their national ranking.

Originality/value

The study is a novel attempt to present the present state of Indian institutions grounded on all the national ranking criteria. It further compares the performance of sample NIRF institutions with international rankings criterion to suggest policy changes for improving their performance at the global level.
Research on the tribological properties of kaolin/MoDDP composite lubricant additives under heavy load and impact conditions
Authors: Wang Lei , Wang Xinming , Li Liang , Yang Chuang , Zhu Yuqin
Published: January 2025

Purpose

With respect to severe working conditions such as heavy load and impact, this paper aims to investigate the friction reduction and anti-wear performance of kaolin and molybdenum dialkyl dithiophosphate (MoDDP) composite lubricant additives to improve the lubrication effect of a single additive.

Design/methodology/approach

A four-ball friction test was carried out to determine the optimal concentration of kaolin and organic molybdenum additives and the tribological properties of the kaolin/MoDDP composite lubricant additives. A ring block test of composite lubricant additives was designed to investigate its lubrication performance under the severe working conditions of low speed, heavy load and impact.

Findings

The results showed that the optimal addition mass fractions of kaolin and MoDDP were 4.0 and 1.5 Wt.%, respectively, when kaolin and MoDDP were used as single lubricant additives. Compared with the single additive, the 4.0 Wt.% kaolin/1.5 Wt.% MoDDP composite lubricant additive showed excellent friction reduction and anti-wear effects under heavy load and impact conditions. Physicochemical analysis of the wear surface revealed that the lamellar kaolin additive and MoDDP had excellent synergistic effects, and the friction process promoted the generation of lubricant films containing a chemically reactive layer of MoS2, MoO2, FeS2 and Fe2O3 and a physically adsorbent layer containing SiO2 and Al2O3, which play important roles in anti-wear and friction reduction.

Originality/value

The excellent friction reduction and anti-wear effects of lamellar silicate minerals and the excellent antioxidant properties and good synergistic effects of molybdenum were comprehensively used to develop the composite additives with great lubricating properties.
Integrating intangible cultural heritage elements into mobile games: an exploration of player cultural identity
Authors: Jiang Qianling , Qian Jue , Zang Yong
Published: January 2025

Purpose

In today’s world, there’s a growing recognition of the importance of cultural heritage. Mobile games have emerged as a powerful medium for the dissemination of culture. However, there’s a noticeable gap in the existing research concerning the cultural experiences within games and how they contribute to the development of cultural identity. This study addresses this gap by developing a scale to evaluate cultural experiences and constructing a theoretical model of cultural identity. By focusing on the popular mobile game “王者荣耀” (King of Glory), we highlight its rich representation of intangible cultural heritage elements and its influence on players' cultural identity. By doing so, it seeks to provide valuable insights and guidance for the development and design of mobile games.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve its objectives, this study employs a combination of user interviews, factor analysis and structural equation modeling. These methods are used to identify four key dimensions of cultural experience and explore the intricate relationships between various influencing factors and the formation of cultural identity.

Findings

The concept of cultural experience within games encompasses four distinct facets: emotional connection, design aesthetics, perceived playfulness and knowledge acquisition. Aesthetic appreciation notably influences emotional connection and the overall enjoyment of the game. Furthermore, emotional connection plays a pivotal role in facilitating users' acquisition of knowledge. Additionally, users' cultural heritage values positively impact emotional connection, aesthetic appreciation, emotional attachment and, ultimately, their cultural identity. Within game-based cultural experiences, emotional connection and knowledge acquisition emerge as central elements that significantly influence users' sense of cultural identity.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in its pioneering construction of a comprehensive framework for assessing the impact of cultural experiences within mobile games on cultural identity. By examining “王者荣耀,” this study bridges the gap between intangible cultural heritage and interactive digital media, making an original and significant contribution to both fields.
Skip the AI-BOTs: let’s have real conversations in human-centric services
Authors: Dastane Omkar , Ooi Mun-Yee , Aw Eugene Cheng-Xi , Shyu Wen-Hwa , Tan Garry Wei-Han
Published: January 2025

Purpose

This study integrates the theories of perceived value and human-robot interaction to develop a framework for examining the influence of artificial intelligence-based service chatbot’s (AI-BOT) attributes on user stickiness (US) in the context of human-centric services. The study specifically examines the mediating role of perceived competence (PC) in the association between AI-BOT attributes and the US. It also examines how perceived empathy (PE) moderates the correlation between PC and US.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 470 respondents with prior experience of interacting with AI-BOTs. The data was analysed using SMART-PLS by performing structural equation modelling.

Findings

The study found a positive and significant impact of selected AI-BOT attributes on US. Among all selected attributes, personalization had the strongest impact on PC and recommendations had the strongest impact on US. Responsiveness did not emerge as a contributory factor for generating PC. This paper confirmed the mediating role of PC among relationships between selected attributes and US but such mediation was minor. PE moderated the relationship between PC and US negatively.

Originality/value

This study provides novel insights by identifying that PE dampens the relationship between PC and US. Additionally, it provides a framework to stimulate the US for AI-BOTs by combining technical aspects (human-computer interaction theory) with value aspects (theory of perceived value) and by positioning constructs specific to human-centric services. All in all, the study offers a dual-layered perspective regarding value-in-use resulting in a comprehensive understanding of human-technology interactions during human-centric service encounters.
Testing a consumer-based brand equity model for wine tourism destinations
Authors: Tasci Asli D.A. , Back Robin M.
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) has been used in tourism and hospitality to measure the success of firm-level as well as destination-level brands. As wine tourism gained attention during the past two decades, researchers endeavored to use CBBE to understand consumer reactions to different wine tourism destinations. However, research in this domain has been divergent, with many models of CBBE with diverse components, without being validated for different destinations.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study tested the validity of a CBBE model with the six most-widely used components, namely brand familiarity, brand image, perceived quality, consumer value, brand value and brand loyalty. The model was first tested for five domestic wine tourism destinations in the United States (n = 247) and retested for five global wine tourism destinations (n = 248). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) of data from 495 respondents was used for analysis.

Findings

Findings indicated that a four-component CBBE model with brand familiarity, brand image, consumer value and brand loyalty may be a more parsimonious model in the wine tourism destination context.

Practical implications

Knowledge of the CBBE of the destination within which the winery is located will enable the winery to understand the extent to which it can rely on this CBBE for the sale of their wines versus the extent to which they must rely on their own marketing activities to develop CBBE in their specific wine brand(s).

Originality/value

The study is unique in using multiple wine tourism destinations to test a CBBE model.