@article{21746, abstract = {As vertebrates transitioned from water to land, locomotion shifted from undulatory swimming to limb-based movement. How spinal circuits and their cell types evolved to support this transition remains unclear. We leverage frog metamorphosis, which recapitulates this transition within a single organism, to define how spinal circuits generate aquatic versus terrestrial motor patterns. At swim stages, spinal architecture is uniform, with a transcriptionally and anatomically homogeneous motor and interneurons. As limbs develop and their movement complexifies, spinal circuits expand in neuron number and subtype diversity. This expansion is most pronounced for V1 inhibitory neurons, which increase ∼70-fold and diversify into transcriptionally distinct subtypes. Disrupting transcription factors defining emerging motor and V1 populations reveals molecular segregation between swim and limb circuits, highlighting the role of subtype diversity in motor coordination. A multifold increase in inhibitory neuron diversity thus underlies the tail-to-limb locomotor transition, providing a framework for spinal circuit adaptation during vertebrate evolution.}, author = {Vijatovic, David and Toma, Florina Alexandra and Ignatyev, Y and Harrington, Zoe P and Sommer, Christoph M and Hauschild, Robert and Smits, Matthijs Geert and Dalla Vecchia, Marco and Trevisan, Alexandra J. and Chapman, Phillip and Julseth, Mara and Brenner-Morton, Susan and Gabitto, Mariano I. and Dasen, Jeremy S. and Bikoff, Jay B. and Sweeney, Lora Beatrice Jaeger}, issn = {2211-1247}, journal = {Cell Reports}, number = {4}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Multifold increase in spinal inhibitory cell types with emergence of limb movement}}, doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117227}, volume = {45}, year = {2026}, } @article{21987, abstract = {We introduce JODIE, a genetic joint modeling approach that estimates how DNA loci influence human traits by partitioning genetic effects into four components: direct effects (from a child’s alleles), indirect maternal and paternal effects (from parents’ alleles), and parent-of-origin (PofO) effects (dependent on parental transmission of alleles), while uniquely accounting for assortative mating. We analyze 30,000 child-mother-father trios from the Estonian Biobank and the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort, focusing on height, body mass index, and childhood educational test scores. We find direct effects to be the largest contributor to trait variation, but combined, indirect parental and PofO effects are similarly substantial. We support our results by within-family genome-wide association testing and identify 276 independently associated DNA regions with a complex interplay between direct, indirect, and PofO effects. By joint modeling, we show that direct, indirect, and PofO effects collectively shape human phenotypic variation across loci genome-wide.}, author = {Krätschmer, Ilse and Hegemann, Laura and Hofmeister, Robin J. and Corfield, Elizabeth C. and Mahmoudi, Mahdi and Delaneau, Olivier and Andreassen, Ole A. and Campbell, Archie and Hayward, Caroline and Marioni, Riccardo E. and Ystrom, Eivind and Havdahl, Alexandra and Robinson, Matthew Richard}, issn = {2666-979X}, journal = {Cell Genomics}, keywords = {direct genetic effects, DGE, indirect genetic effects, IGE, parent-of-origin effects, phenotypic variation, assortative mating, within-family GWAS, MoBa, EstBB}, number = {7}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Separating direct, indirect, and parent-of-origin genetic effects in the human population}}, doi = {10.1016/j.xgen.2026.101277}, volume = {6}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{22258, abstract = {Uncovering the genetic architecture of complex traits and pinpointing causal molecular drivers require the ability to distinguish true signals from noise within massive, high-dimensional omics datasets. To extract meaningful biological insights from these datasets, such as identifying causal genetic variants and proteins, scalable and accurate inference methods are essential. To this end, this thesis develops novel Bayesian inference frameworks based on Vector Approximate Message Passing and demonstrates their effectiveness in the modeling of disease onset times and quantitative physical and clinical measures. First, we introduce gVAMP, a Bayesian framework tailored for Genome-Wide Association Studies that enables the joint modeling of quantitative complex traits across millions of genetic variants. gVAMP demonstrates superior accuracy in variable selection and out-of-sample polygenic risk prediction compared to state-of-the-art approaches. We model human height using 17 million whole-genome sequence variants from the UK Biobank, incorporating a vast number of rare variants and revealing novel associations. gVAMP achieves a prediction accuracy of approximately 46% for human height, representing the highest reported performance for this trait to date. Second, we present vampW, a Bayesian framework for survival analysis applied to proteomic data. By effectively handling right-censoring and complex protein dependencies within the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project dataset, vampW identifies 219 protein associations across 24 disease outcomes, the majority of which are not among the top marginal discoveries. We further adjust protein levels for exponential age effects, yielding 1,308 associations and highlighting the sensitivity of the analysis to the chosen age-correction methodology. Finally, vampW improves upon the variable selection capabilities of the commonly used (penalized) variants of the Cox proportional hazards model and delivers state-of-the-art out-of-sample prediction of disease onset times. Collectively, these methods provide powerful tools for dissecting the genetic architecture of complex traits and the proteomic drivers of disease onset. Furthermore, by delivering accurate polygenic risk scores and precise predictions of onset times, this work advances the capabilities of personalized medicine and clinical risk stratification.}, author = {Depope, Al}, issn = {2663-337X}, keywords = {Approximate Message Passing, GWAS, Genomics, Proteomics, Survival modeling}, pages = {169}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{From sparse selection to risk prediction: Approximate message passing for proteomic survival models and large-scale genomics}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-22258}, year = {2026}, } @article{21488, abstract = {Human height is a model for the genetic analysis of complex traits, and recent studies suggest the presence of thousands of common genetic variant associations and hundreds of low-frequency/rare variants. Here, we develop a new algorithmic paradigm based on approximate message passing (genomic vector approximate message passing [gVAMP]) for identifying DNA sequence variants associated with complex traits and common diseases in large-scale whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data. We show that gVAMP accurately localizes associations to variants with the correct frequency and position in the DNA, outperforming existing fine-mapping methods in selecting the appropriate genetic variants within WGS data. We then apply gVAMP to jointly model the relationship of tens of millions of WGS variants with human height in hundreds of thousands of UK Biobank individuals. We identify 59 rare variants and gene burden scores alongside many hundreds of DNA regions containing common variant associations and show that understanding the genetic basis of complex traits will require the joint analysis of hundreds of millions of variables measured on millions of people. The polygenic risk scores obtained from gVAMP have high accuracy (including a prediction accuracy of ∼46% for human height) and outperform current methods for downstream tasks such as mixed linear model association testing across 13 UK Biobank traits. In conclusion, gVAMP offers a scalable foundation for a wider range of analyses in WGS data.}, author = {Depope, Al and Bajzik, Jakub and Mondelli, Marco and Robinson, Matthew Richard}, issn = {2666-979X}, journal = {Cell Genomics}, number = {5}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Joint modeling of whole-genome sequencing data for human height via approximate message passing}}, doi = {10.1016/j.xgen.2026.101162}, volume = {6}, year = {2026}, } @article{22267, abstract = {Thermal pollution, whether local or driven by global warming, threatens biodiversity in part through its detrimental effects on reproduction. Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) are crucial for maintaining germline developmental robustness under heat stress. Remarkably, we uncovered that neuronal sRNAs regulate germ cells’ thermotolerance, affecting both spermatogenic and oogenic germlines in a cell-non-autonomous manner. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, in RNAi mutants, an oxygen-sensing neural circuit, modulated by neuropeptide signaling, antagonizes germline maintenance, likely reflecting the nematode’s innate association of reduced oxygen levels with food availability and reproductive permissive environments. Finally, we provide evidence that laboratory-domesticated alleles of oxygen-response genes encoding neuropeptide receptor NPR-1 and hexacoordinated globin GLB-5 compromise germline thermotolerance. Hence, our findings raise the possibility that sensory perception, independent of direct environmental change, modulates germline integrity, highlighting a novel mechanism by which neural circuits integrate environmental information to safeguard reproductive fitness in fluctuating environments.}, author = {Ewe, Chee Kiang and Achache, Hanna and Schön, Hanna and Kontorovich, Leonid and Teichman, Guy and Weiss, Shir and Mogilevskaya, Anna and Valenski, Myriam and Anava, Sarit and Bardapurkar, Rutwik and Gingold, Hila and Posner, Rachel and Antonova, Olga and De Bono, Mario and Tzur, Yonatan B. and Rechavi, Oded}, issn = {1879-0445}, journal = {Current Biology}, number = {14}, pages = {3566--3579.e5}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Neuronal RNAi and oxygen-sensing circuit shape germline resilience to heat stress}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2026.06.016}, volume = {36}, year = {2026}, } @article{22148, abstract = {How the twin-arginine translocase (Tat) system transports fully folded substrate proteins across cellular membranes without disrupting membrane integrity has been a fundamental question in cell biology for decades. The Tat system, found in prokaryotes and plant organelles, recognizes a cargo signal peptide via a conserved twin-arginine motif. The multi-subunit Tat complex facilitates the proton-motive-force-dependent translocation process, yet its overall architecture has remained unknown. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) trimeric TatB₃C₃ complex with bound substrate SufI, assembled in vivo. The complex adopts an unusual, wide-open, bowl-shaped architecture with a polar inner cavity. Unexpectedly, the cargo is engaged in a dual-contact mode: while the signal peptide binds inside one TatBC unit, the folded domain docks tightly onto an adjacent unit, possibly performing a proofreading function. This structure provides a mechanistic framework for substrate engagement and suggests the direct involvement of the entire Tat complex in substrate translocation.}, author = {Zhao, Ziyu and Sazanov, Leonid A}, issn = {1097-4164}, journal = {Molecular Cell}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Structure of E. Coli twin-arginine translocase (Tat) complex with bound cargo}}, doi = {10.1016/j.molcel.2026.05.026}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{22667, author = {Vijatovic, David}, isbn = {978-3-99078-082-4}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {172}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Dissecting the molecular and functional basis of motor control in the frog Xenopus laevis}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-22667}, year = {2026}, } @article{20858, abstract = {Targeted antigen delivery to immune cells, particularly dendritic cells, has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance therapeutic efficacy of vaccines, while minimizing adverse effects associated with conventional immunization. In this study, we use our previously described small glycomimetic molecule that is selectively recognized by the Langerhans cell (LC)-specific surface receptor Langerin and demonstrate specific delivery of protein antigens to these specialized dendritic cells. Our results show that Langerin-mediated antigen delivery significantly enhances the immune response in vivo, resulting in increased expansion and activation of antigen-specific T cells, compared to immunization with unmodified antigen. We demonstrate the feasibility of our LC-targeted platform for immune cell-specific immunization with protein antigen and underscore the potential of LCs as an access point for next-generation vaccines and immunotherapies.}, author = {Rica, Ramona and Klein, Klara and Johnson, Litty and Carta, Gabriele and Sarcevic, Mirza and Langer, Freyja and Rademacher, Christoph and Wawrzinek, Robert and Quattrone, Federica and Sparber, Florian}, issn = {1525-0024}, journal = {Molecular Therapy}, number = {1}, pages = {397--406}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Langerhans cell-targeted protein delivery enhances antigen-specific cellular immune response}}, doi = {10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.10.008}, volume = {34}, year = {2026}, } @misc{22189, abstract = {Raw images for SDS and Blue Native gels, western blots and spot growth assays, related to figures S1 and S2.}, author = {Sazanov, Leonid A}, keywords = {Protein Purification}, publisher = {Mendeley Data}, title = {{Structure of E. coli twin-arginine translocase (Tat) complex with bound cargo. Zhao et al.}}, doi = {10.17632/V2G3P9N985.1}, year = {2026}, } @article{22955, abstract = {The regulation of 3D cell shape is a fundamental problem of life. In multicellular tissues, cell shape emerges through the balance of forces inside and outside the cell. In epithelia, the basement membrane (BM) is the first extracellular barrier that cells sense biochemically and mechanically. Despite this, little is known about how BM mechanical properties are regulated and how they impact cell shape. Through mathematical modeling, we show that the stress relaxation time of the BM can regulate cell shape. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the stress relaxation time of a collagen IV network can be inferred from the lifetime of collagen IV molecules. To measure collagen IV lifetime in vivo, we develop a fluorescent timer reporter for collagen IV and show that perlecan modifies collagen IV lifetime. This cross-disciplinary approach establishes a multiscale framework to probe matrix turnover, and its regulation and function in cell shape control.}, author = {Barrientos, Ricardo and Meadowcroft, Billie and Sánchez-Sánchez, Besaiz J. and Stramer, Brian M. and Paluch, Ewa K. and Charras, Guillaume and Banerjee, Shiladitya and Šarić, Anđela and Mao, Yanlan}, issn = {1097-4172}, journal = {Cell}, number = {18}, pages = {5611--5624.e4}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010}, volume = {189}, year = {2026}, } @article{21996, abstract = {In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Osterman et al. discover aRES,1 a new family of bacterial immune proteins that deplete cellular NAD+, generating cleavage products that cannot be utilized by canonical phage NAD+ regeneration pathways. They identify the invader-specific trigger for aRES and characterize two distinct evolutionary countermeasures employed by phages to resist aRES.}, author = {Williams-Jones, Daniel and Bravo, Jack Peter Kelly}, issn = {1934-6069}, journal = {Cell Host & Microbe}, number = {6}, pages = {978--980}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{NAD to the bone: How bacteria put phages under aRES-t … and how phages fight back}}, doi = {10.1016/j.chom.2026.05.013}, volume = {34}, year = {2026}, } @inproceedings{22104, abstract = { Modern computer systems store vast amounts of personal data, enabling advances in AI and ML but risking user privacy and trust. For privacy reasons, it is sometimes desired for an ML model to forget part of the data it was trained on. In this paper, we introduce a novel unlearning approach based on Forgetting Neural Networks (FNNs), a neuroscience-inspired architecture that explicitly encodes forgetting through multiplicative decay factors. While FNNs had previously been studied as a theoretical construct, we provide the first concrete implementation and demonstrate their effectiveness for targeted unlearning. We propose several variants with per-neuron forgetting factors, including rank-based assignments guided by activation levels, and evaluate them on MNIST and Fashion-MNIST benchmarks. Our method systematically removes information associated with forget sets while preserving performance on retained data. Membership inference attacks confirm the effectiveness of FNN-based unlearning in erasing information about the training data from the neural network. These results establish FNNs as a promising foundation for efficient and interpretable unlearning.}, author = {Hatua, Amartya and Nguyen, Trung T. and Cano Cordoba, Filip and Sung, Andrew H.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence}, isbn = {9789897587962}, issn = {2184-433X}, keywords = {Machine Unlearning, Neuroscience-Inspired Machine Learning, Membership Inference Attacks}, location = {Marbella, Spain}, pages = {1536--1546}, publisher = {Science and Technology Publications}, title = {{Machine unlearning using forgetting neural networks}}, doi = {10.5220/0014326500004052}, volume = {2}, year = {2026}, } @article{22970, abstract = {We study the ground state of a system of N two-dimensional trapped almost-bosonic anyons. This setup can equivalently be viewed as bosons interacting through long-range magnetic potentials generated by magnetic charges carried by each particle. These magnetic charges are assumed to be smeared over discs of radius R—a model known as extended anyons. To recover the point-like anyons perspective, we consider the joint limit R -> 0 as N →∞. We rigorously justify the average-field approximation for any radius R that decays polynomially, and even for certain exponentially decaying R. The average-field approximation asserts that the particles behave like independent, identical bosons interacting through a self-consistent magnetic field. Our result significantly improves upon the best-known estimates from [1, 2], and it in particular covers radii that are much smaller than the mean interparticle distance. The proof strategy builds on a recent work on two-dimensional attractive Bose gases by Junge and the author [3].}, author = {Visconti, Francois L}, issn = {1432-0835}, journal = {Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations}, number = {9}, publisher = {Springer}, title = {{Average-field approximation for dilute almost-bosonic anyons}}, doi = {10.1007/s00526-026-03428-9}, volume = {65}, year = {2026}, } @unpublished{22359, abstract = {We prove a mesoscopic central limit theorem for linear eigenvalue statistics of correlated Hermitian random matrices. The class considered here includes Wigner and Wigner-type matrices, as well as models whose entry correlations decay polynomially in the distance between index pairs. The proof combines a multivariate cumulant expansion with multi-resolvent local laws and a detailed analysis of the resulting variance kernel on the operator-level.}, author = {Lee, Jaehun and Erdös, László}, booktitle = {arXiv}, keywords = {Central limit theorem, universality, matrix Dyson equation, multi-resolvent local law}, title = {{Mesoscopic eigenvalue statistics for correlated random matrices}}, doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2607.05848}, year = {2026}, } @article{22381, abstract = {Context. X-ray binaries exhibit complex variability patterns studied in the power spectrum. These include the broadband noise (BBN) components and various types of narrow components called quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). There is currently no consensus about what determines the presence or absence of the BBN or what generates the QPOs. Many believe that QPO generation is due to framedragging effects caused by Lense–Thirring torques. Aims. We investigated the potential impact of frame-dragging effects on the accretion disk itself. In particular, we focused on its impact on the observed variability and on the presence (and types) of associated QPOs. Methods. We made analytical estimates to assess the potential presence of a geometric warp in the inner accretion disk during state transitions. Results. We show that the presence of a warp can modify the spectral-timing properties in a way that matches the observed transition between QPO types during outbursts. We also discuss the peculiar case of Cyg X-1, as well as how the hard-to-soft transition could be driven by the warp itself. Conclusions. The (expected) emergence of a warp provides a consistent explanation for the evolution of both the BBN and the QPO properties during state transitions. This offers a first path toward unifying the variability of black hole X-ray binaries.}, author = {Marcel, G. and Turner, S. G. D. and Ricketts, B. J. and López-Barquero, V. and Buisson, D. J. K. and Vincentelli, F. and Middleton, M. and Reynolds, C.S. and Avara, Mark}, issn = {1432-0746}, journal = {Astronomy & Astrophysics}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, title = {{Disk warping and black hole X-ray binaries: I. Tentative unification of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations}}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202558103}, volume = {710}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{22399, author = {Spasić, Aleksa}, issn = {2791-4585}, pages = {32}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Studying the evolutionary systems biology of the lac operon}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-22399}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{22281, abstract = {In this thesis, we took a look at networks, and more specifically, at networks that change over time, whether those are networks in the distributed algorithms sense of the word, or the graph algorithm sense. In distributed algorithms, we looked at two main problems. First, the broadcast problem: given n agents, each agent is tasked to forward a (unique) message to every other agent. Agents collaborate and can copy and forward all messages they have received up until that point. Broadcast is achieved when one agent has successfully broadcast its message to everyone else. We studied the case where the communication network is controlled by an adversary, under the condition that the graph is rooted in every round of communication. We show that the adversary can delay broadcast for at most l (1 + √ 2)n m rounds, improving on the $O(n\log\log n)$ previous upper bound~\cite{fugger2020radius}, and asymptotically matching the $\sim 1.5n$ lower bound~\cite{schwarz2017linear}. We then looked at the stochastic version of the problem: here, the adversary -- parametrized by $k$ where $k=0$ signifies that the adversary has no control, and $k=n$ that the adversary has full control -- can choose parts of the graph, and the graph is then completed stochastically. Here, we are able to look at a stronger version of broadcast: instead of having $n$ messages trying to be broadcast in parallel, we can assume that only one message needs to be broadcasted. We show the bound $\Theta(k+\log n)$. Then, we looked at undecided states dynamics in population protocols: given a population of $n$ agents, where each initially holds an opinion among $k$ different ones. In each round, two agents are chosen uniformly at random, and can interact. If they have different opinions, they forget their opinions and become undecided. If one of them is undecided while the other has an opinion, they undecided agent copies they opinion of the decided one. The question is then, how many interactions does it take for the whole population to share the same opinion? We show a $\Omega(kn\log \frac {\sqrt n} {k \log n})$ lower bound for any $k = o\left(\frac {\sqrt n}{\log n}\right)$. This is tight for any $ k \le n^{\frac 1 2 - \epsilon}$, where $\epsilon >0$ can be any small constant, matching the known $O(kn\log n)$ upper bound for $k = O\left(\frac {\sqrt n} {\log ^2 n}\right)$~\cite{DBLP:conf/podc/AmirABBHKL23}. Finally, in dynamic algorithms, we study the minimum cut problem: we are given a graph, whose vertex set we want to partition into two subsets such that the number of edges crossing from one subset to the other is minimized. Then, the graph can be updated via edge insertions or deletions, and we must update the solution without recomputing everything from scratch. We present an exact fully-dynamic minimum cut algorithm that runs in $n^{o(1)}$ deterministic update time when the minimum cut size is at most $2^{\Theta(\log^{3/4-c}n)}$ for any $c>0$, improving on the previous algorithm~\cite{DBLP:conf/soda/JinST24} whose minimum cut size limit is $(\log n)^{o(1)}$. Using sparsification and randomization techniques, we are able to extend this to all values of the minimum cut in weighted graphs, at the cost of a $(1+o(1))$-approximation ratio.}, author = {El-Hayek, Antoine}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {244}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Handling updates and failures: Dynamic graph algorithms and distributed computing on dynamic networks}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-22281}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{20991, abstract = {Rapid local adaptation to new environments is critical for species persistence, especially in introduced populations. The evolutionary success of these populations is fundamentally dictated by the organization of genetic variation—the genomic architecture—in the face of severe demographic constraints, such as the founder effects and genetic bottlenecks that frequently accompany colonization. A central question in evolutionary biology is whether rapid adaptation relies on major-effect loci, such as chromosomal inversions, or on many small-effect loci dispersed across the genome. Furthermore, the genomic architecture strongly influences the extent to which evolutionary outcomes are predictable. Using introduced populations of the marine snail, Littorina saxatilis, as a model, this thesis investigates how genetic variation and genomic structure drive adaptation following introduction. We employed a population genomics approach on experimentally and accidentally introduced populations to dissect the specific genomic features that underpin divergence in newly colonized environments. In Chapter 2, we tested the predictability of local adaptation through an uncommon 30-year transplant experiment in nature. By distinguishing allele and chromosomal inversion frequency changes from neutral expectations, we found that evolutionary change was highly predictable at the macro-scale (phenotypes and chromosomal inversions), but less robust at the level of individual collinear loci. This result demonstrates that evolution can be predictable when a population possesses sufficient standing genetic variation (SGV), with chromosomal inversions acting as key integrated units that facilitate a rapid response to selection. Building on this, Chapter 3 applied whole-genome sequencing to three accidentally introduced populations (Venice, San Francisco, and Redwood City) to investigate their likely source and genomic patterns of divergence. We identified genomic regions of remarkable divergence potentially associated with local adaptation, and likely fuelled by SGV, while explicitly acknowledging the difficulty in disentangling selection signals from the genome-wide effects of demographic processes. Furthermore, we found that the divergence patterns relied extensively on the collinear genome in these introduced populations, and less clearly on the chromosomal inversions. This observation contrasts with local adaptation observed in the experimental system that relied on both collinear loci and highly selected chromosomal inversions, highlighting how demographic history and genomic architecture influence the detectable signature of local adaptation. A major limitation to conducting large-scale comparative evolutionary studies is the lack of data standardization, which prevents the integration of community knowledge and high-resolution environmental and genetic data. Chapter 4 addresses this by developing a community database for the Littorina system. This platform implements standardized protocols for the integration of diverse phenotypic and environmental data from multiple Littorina species. Likewise, the platform also centralizes the availability of associated genomic data through links to external repositories. This database represents a crucial tool to test complex, large-scale evolutionary hypotheses. Collectively, this thesis strongly reinforces the fundamental importance of SGV as the raw material for successful local adaptation, a conclusion supported by evidence in both experimental and accidental introductions. Furthermore, this work highlights the critical role of the genomic architecture—specifically chromosomal inversions—in driving the predictability and effectiveness of adaptive responses. Our findings underscore how the interplay between SGV and genomic architecture dictates the trajectory and detectability of evolution in colonizing populations, while simultaneously providing a necessary tool to advance comparative evolutionary genomics in emerging model organisms.}, author = {Garcia Castillo, Diego Fernando}, isbn = {978-3-99078-077-0}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {199}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{The genomic architecture of local adaptation in introduced populations}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-20991}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{22684, abstract = {Contact electrification (CE) is a simple yet elusive phenomenon that occurs when two materials come into contact and separate, leaving behind net electrical charge. Despite its ubiquity, the microscopic origin of CE remains unclear. In this thesis, we investigate CE from three complementary perspectives: developing a quantitative method to measure charge at the nanoscale, exploring the dynamic behavior of charge on insulating surfaces, and uncovering the role of mechanical history in forming a triboelectric series. In the first part, we establish a rigorous framework for converting qualitative Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) voltage maps into quantitative charge density distributions. Using finite element method (FEM) simulations, we determine the point-spread function of the KPFM tip–sample geometry and demonstrate that the true surface charge can be reconstructed by numerical deconvolution. This procedure enables the recovery of both the magnitude and sign of charge density with high fidelity, resolving nanoscale features that are otherwise obscured. Applying the method to contact-charged SiO$_2$ surfaces, we show that existing analytical approximations, such as parallel plate or spherical models, can miscalculate charge magnitude by orders of magnitude. Our hybrid FEM/KPFM approach therefore provides a fast and general method to convert qualitative KPFM signals into quantitative charge data, enabling nanoscale charge mapping under realistic experimental conditions. In the second part, we study the temporal stability of CE-induced charges and identify the key material factors that determine whether KPFM can capture meaningful charge patterns. Through time-resolved experiments combining a custom-built transfer system with both microscopic and macroscopic measurements, we demonstrate that only the best insulators, such as SiO$_2$, preserve CE charge long enough for stationary imaging. For less conductive polymers, such as PDMS, charge decays within the duration of a single KPFM scan due to bulk conduction. Using a simple capacitor-based model, we reproduce the observed decay dynamics and confirm that the transferred charge decays characteristic to the sample's bulk conductivity. Further, we always observe homogeneous charge transfer. In the third part, we address the question: can we form a triboelectric series with identical materials? Using controlled repetitive contact experiments, we show that nominally identical materials can progressively order themselves into a triboelectric series, where surfaces with more contact history charge negatively relative to fresher ones. By constructing a minimal model based on this ``contact bias'', we replicate the evolution from random to ordered charging observed in experiments. Supporting surface analyses, including atomic force microscopy, reveal that repeated contact induces nanoscale morphological changes, suggesting a mechanism tightly coupled to mechanical strain. These results highlight the crucial role of surface history and nanoscale mechanics in dictating charge transfer, motivating further exploration of mechanisms such as mechanochemical bond cleavage and flexoelectric polarization.}, author = {Pertl, Felix}, isbn = {978-3-99078-083-1}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {107}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Experimental probing of nanoscale charge features and surface morphology changes during tribocharging}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-22684}, year = {2026}, } @article{17437, abstract = {We prove that the zero-fiber of the moment map of a totally negative quiver has rational singularities. Our proof consists in generalizing dimension bounds on jet spaces of this fiber, which were introduced by Budur. We also transfer the rational singularities property to other moduli spaces of objects in 2-Calabi-Yau categories, based on recent work of Davison. This has interesting arithmetic applications on quiver moment maps and moduli spaces of objects in 2-Calabi-Yau categories. First, we generalize results of Wyss on the asymptotic behaviour of counts of jets of quiver moment maps over finite fields. Moreover, we interpret the limit of counts of jets on a given moduli space as its p-adic volume under a canonical measure analogous to the measure built by Carocci, Orecchia and Wyss on certain moduli spaces of coherent sheaves.}, author = {Vernet, Tanguy}, issn = {1531-586X}, journal = {Transformation Groups}, pages = {1047--1083}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Rational singularities for moment maps of totally negative quivers}}, doi = {10.1007/s00031-024-09873-0}, volume = {31}, year = {2026}, }