@article{20651, abstract = {The origin of merging binary black holes detected through gravitational waves remains a fundamental question in astrophysics. While stellar evolution imposes an upper mass limit of ∼50⁢𝑀⊙ for black holes, some observed mergers—most notably GW190521—involve significantly more massive components, suggesting alternative formation channels. Here we investigate the maximum masses attainable by black hole mergers within active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks. Using a comprehensive semianalytic model incorporating 27 binary and environmental parameters, we explore the role of AGN disk conditions in shaping the upper end of the black hole mass spectrum. We find that an AGN disk lifetime is the dominant factor, with high-mass mergers (≳200⁢𝑀⊙) only possible if disks persist for ≳40  Myr. The joint electromagnetic observation of an AGN-assisted merger could therefore lead to a direct measurement of the age of an AGN disk.}, author = {Xue, Ling Qin and Tagawa, Hiromichi and Haiman, Zoltán and Bartos, Imre}, issn = {2470-0029}, journal = {Physical Review D}, number = {6}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{What determines the maximum mass of AGN-assisted black hole mergers?}}, doi = {10.1103/5m1n-qh9v}, volume = {112}, year = {2025}, } @article{20655, abstract = {Traits that affect organismal fitness are often highly genetically variable. This genetic variation is vital for populations to adapt to their environments, but it is also surprising given that nature – after all – ‘selects’ the best genotypes at the expense of those that fall short. Explaining the extensive genetic variation of fitness‐related traits is thus a longstanding puzzle in evolutionary biology, with cascading implications for ecology, conservation, and human health. Balancing selection – an umbrella term for scenarios in which natural selection maintains genetic variation – is a century‐old explanation to resolve this puzzle that has gained recent momentum from genome‐scale methods for detecting it. Yet evaluating whether balancing selection can, in fact, resolve the puzzle is challenging, given the logistical constraints of distinguishing balancing selection from alternative hypotheses and the daunting collection of theoretical models that formally underpin this debate. Here, we track the development of balancing selection theory over the last century and provide an accessible review of this rich collection of models. We first outline the range of biological scenarios that can generate balancing selection. We then examine how fundamental features of genetic systems – non‐random mating between individuals, ploidy levels, genetic drift, linkage, and genetic architectures of traits – have been progressively incorporated into the theory. We end by linking these theoretical predictions to ongoing empirical efforts to understand the evolutionary processes that explain genetic variation.}, author = {Ruzicka, Filip and Zwoinska, Martyna K. and Goedert, Debora and Kokko, Hanna and Li Richter, Xiang‐Yi and Moodie, Iain R. and Nilén, Sofie and Olito, Colin and Svensson, Erik I. and Czuppon, Peter and Connallon, Tim}, issn = {1469-185X}, journal = {Biological Reviews}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{A century of theories of balancing selection}}, doi = {10.1111/brv.70103}, year = {2025}, } @article{20656, abstract = {Phytohormone auxin and its directional transport mediate much of the remarkably plastic development of higher plants. Positive feedback between auxin signaling and transport is a prerequisite for (1) self-organizing processes, including vascular tissue formation, and (2) directional growth responses such as gravitropism. Here, we identify a mechanism by which auxin signaling directly targets PIN auxin transporters. Via the cell-surface AUXIN-BINDING PROTEIN1 (ABP1)-TRANSMEMBRANE KINASE 1 (TMK1) receptor module, auxin rapidly induces phosphorylation and thus stabilization of PIN2. Following gravistimulation, initial auxin asymmetry activates autophosphorylation of the TMK1 kinase. This induces TMK1 interaction with and phosphorylation of PIN2, stabilizing PIN2 at the lower root side, thus reinforcing asymmetric auxin flow for root bending. Upstream of TMK1 in this regulation, ABP1 acts redundantly with the root-expressed ABP1-LIKE 3 (ABL3) auxin receptor. Such positive feedback between cell-surface auxin signaling and PIN-mediated polar auxin transport is fundamental for robust root gravitropism and presumably for other self-organizing developmental phenomena.}, author = {Rodriguez Solovey, Lesia and Fiedler, Lukas and Zou, Minxia and Giannini, Caterina and Monzer, Aline and Vladimirtsev, Dmitrii and Randuch, Marek and Yu, Yongfan and Gelová, Zuzana and Verstraeten, Inge and Hajny, Jakub and Chen, Meng and Tan, Shutang and Hörmayer, Lukas and Li, Lanxin and Marques-Bueno, Maria Mar and Quddoos, Zainab and Molnar, Gergely and Kulich, Ivan and Jaillais, Yvon and Friml, Jiří}, issn = {0092-8674}, journal = {Cell}, number = {22}, pages = {6138--6150.e17}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{ABP1/ABL3-TMK1 cell-surface auxin signaling targets PIN2-mediated auxin fluxes for root gravitropism}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.026}, volume = {188}, year = {2025}, } @article{20657, abstract = {The Upper Bound Theorem for convex polytopes implies that the p-th Betti number of the Čech complex of any set of N points in ℝ^d and any radius satisfies β_p = O(N^m), with m = min{p+1, ⌈d/2⌉}. We construct sets in even and odd dimensions, which prove that this upper bound is asymptotically tight. For example, we describe a set of N = 2(n+1) points in ℝ³ and two radii such that the first Betti number of the Čech complex at one radius is (n+1)² - 1, and the second Betti number of the Čech complex at the other radius is n². }, author = {Edelsbrunner, Herbert and Pach, János}, issn = {1432-0444}, journal = {Discrete & Computational Geometry}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Maximum Betti numbers of Čech complexes}}, doi = {10.1007/s00454-025-00796-5}, year = {2025}, } @inproceedings{20658, abstract = {The medial axis of a smoothly embedded surface in R^3 consists of all points for which the Euclidean distance function on the surface has at least two global minima. We generalize this notion to the mid-sphere axis, which consists of all points for which the Euclidean distance function has two interchanging saddles that swap their partners in the pairing by persistent homology. It offers a discrete-algebraic multi-scale approach to computing ridge-like structures on the surface. As a proof of concept, an algorithm that computes stair-case approximations of the mid-sphere axis is provided.}, author = {Edelsbrunner, Herbert and Stephenson, Elizabeth R and Thoresen, Martin H}, booktitle = {4th International Joint Conference on Discrete Geometry and Mathematical Morphology}, isbn = {9783032095435}, issn = {1611-3349}, location = {Groningen, The Netherlands}, pages = {133--147}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{The mid-sphere cousin of the medial axis transform}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-032-09544-2_10}, volume = {16296}, year = {2025}, } @article{20659, abstract = {Metabotropic GABA (GABAB) receptors have modulatory functions on neuronal excitability and neurotransmitter release. To fulfil these functions, GABAB receptors form macromolecular signaling complexes with G proteins, effectors, and other associated proteins. Here we investigated the postnatal development of GABAB receptors (GABAB1 and GABAB2 subunits) in mouse brain, focusing on potential similarities in the spatial and temporal expression pattern of their associated proteins CaV2.1, Gαo, Gβ5, and RGS7, using histoblots, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopic techniques. At all ages analyzed, histoblot showed that the six proteins were widely expressed in the brain, with mostly an overlapping pattern throughout postnatal development. In the hippocampus, immunoelectron microscopy and quantitative analysis of immunoparticles for GABAB1, GABAB2, Gαo, Gβ5, and RGS7 revealed their progressive enrichment around excitatory synapses on dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal cells toward P15. At presynaptic sites, GABAB receptors colocalize with CaV2.1, Gαo, Gβ5, and RGS7 in the active zone and extrasynaptic membranes of axon terminals, establishing synapses on dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal cells. In the cerebellum, double immunofluorescence at P7 and P10 revealed the colocalization of GABAB1 and CaV2.1 in the whole dendritic tree of developing Purkinje cells. Immunoelectron microscopy at P15 showed that GABAB1, GABAB2, CaV2.1, Gαo, Gβ5, and RGS7 are distributed along the dendritic surface of Purkinje cells, enriched close to excitatory synapses in spines. Altogether, these data suggest that macromolecular complexes composed of GABAB1 /GABAB2/CaV2.1/ Gαo/Gβ5/RGS7 are pre-assembled during key stages of postnatal development in hippocampal and cerebellar neurons.}, author = {Aguado, Carolina and Alfaro-Ruiz, Rocío and Martínez-Poyato, María Llanos and Moreno-Martínez, Ana Esther and García-Madrona, Sebastián and Roldán-Sastre, Alberto and Alonso-Gómez, Pablo and Fernández, Miriam and Puertas-Avendaño, Ricardo and Shigemoto, Ryuichi and Martemyanov, Kirill A. and Luján, Rafael}, issn = {1699-5848}, journal = {Histology and Histopathology}, number = {12}, pages = {1967--1984}, publisher = {Sercrisma International}, title = {{Developmental regulation of GABAB receptors and downstream molecules in the mouse brain}}, doi = {10.14670/HH-18-970}, volume = {40}, year = {2025}, } @article{20660, abstract = {We used observations from the JWST Emission Line Survey (JELS) to measure the half-light radii (re) of 23 Hα-emitting starforming (SF) galaxies at z = 6.1 in the PRIMER/COSMOS field. Galaxy sizes were measured in JWST near-infrared camera observations in rest-frame Hα (tracing recent star formation) with the F466N and F470N narrow-band filters from JELS, and compared against rest-R- and V -band (tracing established stellar populations) and near-ultraviolet sizes. We find a size–stellar mass(re − M∗) relationship with a slope that is consistent with literature values at lower redshifts, though offset to lowersizes. We observe a large scatter in re at low stellar mass (M∗ < 10^8.4 Mo) which we believe is the result of bursty star formation histories (SFHs) of SF galaxies at the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). We find that the stellar and ionized gas components are similar in size at z = 6.1. The evidence of already-established stellar components in these Hα emitters (HAEs) indicates previous episodes of star formation have occurred. As such, following other JELS studies finding our HAEs are undergoing a current burst of star formation, we believe our results indicate that SF galaxies at the end of the EoR have already experienced a bursty SFH. From our re − M∗ relationship, we find re,F444W = 0.76 ± 0.46 kpc for fixed stellar mass M∗ = 10^9.25 M, which is in agreement with other observations and simulations of SF galaxies in the literature. We find a close-pair (major) merger fraction of (fmaj. merger =0.44 ± 0.22) fmerger = 0.43 ± 0.11 for galaxy separations d <~ 25 kpc, which is in agreement with other z ≈ 6 studies.}, author = {Stephenson, H. M.O. and Stott, J. P. and Pirie, C. A. and Duncan, K. J. and Mcleod, D. J. and Best, P. N. and Brinch, M. and Clausen, M. and Cochrane, R. K. and Dunlop, J. S. and Flury, S. R. and Geach, J. E. and Hale, C. L. and Ibar, E. and Li, Zefeng and Matthee, Jorryt J and Mclure, R. J. and Ossa-Fuentes, L. and Patrick, A. L. and Sobral, D. and Swinbank, A. M.}, issn = {1365-2966}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {2}, pages = {1412--1431}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{The JWST Emission Line Survey (JELS): The sizes and merger fraction of star-forming galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization}}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/staf1725}, volume = {544}, year = {2025}, } @article{20661, abstract = {We analyse James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) and Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) spectroscopic observations in the Abell 2744 galaxy cluster field. From approximately 120 candidates, we identify 12 objects with at least two prominent emission lines among [O II] λ3727, H β λ4861, [O III] λ4959, [O III] λ5007, and H α λ6563 that are spectroscopically confirmed by both instruments. Our key findings reveal systematic differences between the two spectrographs based on source morphology and shutter aperture placement. Compact objects show comparable or higher integrated flux in NIRSpec relative to NIRISS (within 1σ uncertainties), while extended sources consistently display higher flux in NIRISS measurements. This pattern reflects NIRSpec’s optimal coverage for compact objects while potentially undersampling extended sources. Quantitative analysis demonstrates that NIRSpec recovers at least 63 per cent of NIRISS-measured flux when the slit covers >15 per cent of the source or when Re < 1 kpc. For lower coverage or larger effective radii, the recovered flux varies from 24 per cent to 63 per cent. When studying the H α λ6563/[O III] λ5007 emission line ratio, we observe that measurements from these different spectrographs can vary by up to ∼0.3 dex, with significant implications for metallicity and star formation rate characterizations for individual galaxies. These results highlight the importance of considering instrumental effects when combining multi-instrument spectroscopic data and demonstrate that source morphology critically influences flux recovery between slit-based and slitless spectroscopic modes in JWST observations.}, author = {Dalmasso, Nicolò and Watson, Peter J. and Treu, Tommaso and Trenti, Michele and Vulcani, Benedetta and Nanayakkara, Themiya and Bradač, Maruša and Jones, Tucker and Boyett, Kristan and Wang, Xin and Mascia, Sara and Pentericci, Laura}, issn = {1365-2966}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {2}, pages = {1915--1925}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Quantifying spectroscopic flux variations between JWST NIRISS and NIRSpec: Slit losses in emission line measurements of z ∼ 1-3 galaxies}}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/staf1837}, volume = {544}, year = {2025}, } @article{20662, abstract = {Task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals individual differences in neural correlates of cognition but faces scalability challenges due to cognitive demands, protocol variability, and limited task coverage in large datasets. Here, we propose DeepTaskGen, a deep-learning approach that synthesizes non-acquired task-based contrast maps from resting-state (rs-) fMRI. We validate this approach using the Human Connectome Project lifespan data, then generate 47 contrast maps from 7 different cognitive tasks for over 20,000 individuals from UK Biobank. DeepTaskGen outperforms several benchmarks in generating synthetic task-contrast maps, achieving superior reconstruction performance while retaining inter-individual variation essential for biomarker development. We further show comparable or superior predictive performance of synthetic maps relative to actual maps and rs-connectomes across diverse demographic, cognitive, and clinical variables. This approach facilitates the study of individual differences and the generation of task-related biomarkers by enabling the generation of arbitrary functional cognitive tasks from readily available rs-fMRI data.}, author = {Serin, Emin and Ritter, Kerstin and Schumann, Gunter and Banaschewski, Tobias and Marquand, Andre and Walter, Henrik and Ogoh, George and Stahl, Bernd Carsten and Brandlistuen, Ragnhild and Schikowski, Tamara and Young, Allan H. and Xinyang, Yu and Zhang, Zuo and Agunbiade, Kofoworola and Chen, Di and Desrivières, Sylvane and Clinton, Nicholas and Thompson, Paul and Köhler, Venessa and Schwalber, Ameli and Calhoun, Vince D. and Chang, Xiao and Zhang, Yanqing and Li, Yuzhu and Dai, Yuxiang and Yuan, Jiacan and Xia, Yunman and Jia, Tianye and Renner, Paul and Hese, Sören and Spanlang, Bernhard and Pearmund, Charlie and Athanasiadis, Anastasios Polykarpos and Petkoski, Spase and Jirsa, Viktor and Schmitt, Karen and Wilbertz, Johannes H. and Patraskaki, Myrto and Sommer, Peter and Heilmann-Heimbach, Stefanie and Mathey, Carina M. and Miller, Abigail J. and Claus, Isabelle and Nöthen, Markus M. and Hoffmann, Per and Forstner, Andreas J. and Pastor, Alvaro and Gallego, Jaime and Itatani, Reiya and Eiroa-Orosa, Francisco and Feixas, Guillem and Slater, Mel and Novarino, Gaia and Böttger, Sarah Jane and Tschorn, Mira and Rapp, Michael and Ask, Helga and Kjelkenes, Rikka and Fernandez, Sara and Van Der Meer, Dennis and Westlye, Lars T. and Andreassen, Ole A. and Aden, Rieke and Seefried, Beke and Nees, Frauke and Neidhart, Maja and Stringaris, Argyris and Schwarz, Emanuel and Holz, Nathalie and Tost, Heike and Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas and Christmann, Nina and Janson, Karina and Schepanski, Kerstin and Schütz, Tatjana and Taron, Ulrike Helene and Eils, Roland and Roy, Jean Charles and Lett, Tristram A. and Kebir, Hedi and Polemiti, Elli and Hitchen, Esther and Jentsch, Marcel and Serin, Emin and Bernas, Antoine and Vaidya, Nilakshi and Twardziok, Sven and Ralser, Markus and Heinz, Andreas and Schumann, Gunter}, issn = {2399-3642}, journal = {Communications Biology}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Generating synthetic task-based brain fingerprints for population neuroscience using deep learning}}, doi = {10.1038/s42003-025-09158-6}, volume = {8}, year = {2025}, } @article{20663, abstract = {Gravitropism, the patterning of postembryonic growth in relation to the gravity vector, allows plants to optimize the use of limited and nonhomogenous resources in their immediate environment. Since the current model of root gravitropism has not been able to integrate all aspects of the response (perception, response, and behavior), research on gravitropism has been dominated by different theories attempting to conceptualize each aspect individually. In this work, we sought to reevaluate all the main components of the root graviresponse through the lens of angle dependence. We show angle dependence in Cholodny–Went-based auxin asymmetry and growth response, which we tracked back to angle-dependent variation in PIN asymmetry and statolith sedimentation in the columella. Thanks to this approach, we were able to suggest distinct roles for PINs and columella cell tiers, and a potential function for auxin vertical flux through the columella. Our findings provide a unifying framework to further explore the mechanisms that regulate angle-dependent gravitropic response, with major implications of time-dependent features of root graviresponse.}, author = {Roychoudhry, Suruchi and Sageman-Furnas, Katelyn and Taylor, Harry J. and Showpnil, Iftekhar and Wolverton, Chris and Friml, Jiří and Bianco, Marta Del and Kepinski, Stefan}, issn = {1091-6490}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, number = {46}, pages = {e2506400122}, publisher = {National Academy of Sciences}, title = {{Angle dependence as a unifying feature of root graviresponse modules}}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2506400122}, volume = {122}, year = {2025}, } @article{20666, abstract = {We theoretically investigate the stationary properties of a spin-1/2 impurity immersed in a one-dimensional confined Bose gas. In particular, we consider coherently coupled spin states with an external field, where only one spin component interacts with the bath, enabling light dressing of the impurity and spin-dependent bath-impurity interactions. Through detailed comparisons with ab-initio many-body simulations, we demonstrate that the composite system is accurately described by a simplified effective Hamiltonian. The latter builds upon previously developed effective potential approaches in the absence of light dressing. It can be used to extract the impurity energy, residue, effective mass, and anharmonicity induced by the phononic dressing. Light-dressing is shown to increase the polaron residue, undressing the impurity from phononic excitations because of strong spin coupling. For strong repulsions, previously shown to trigger dynamical Bose polaron decay (a phenomenon called temporal orthogonality catastrophe), it is explained that strong light-dressing stabilizes a repulsive polaron-dressed state. Our results establish the effective Hamiltonian framework as a powerful tool for exploring strongly interacting polaronic systems and corroborating forthcoming experimental realizations.}, author = {Koutentakis, Georgios and Mistakidis, S. I. and Grusdt, F. and Sadeghpour, H. R. and Schmelcher, P.}, issn = {2542-4653}, journal = {Scipost Physics}, number = {4}, publisher = {SciPost Foundation}, title = {{Competition of light-and phonon-dressing in microwave-dressed Bose polarons}}, doi = {10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.4.093}, volume = {19}, year = {2025}, } @inproceedings{20667, abstract = {We explore the problem of mean estimation for a high-dimensional binary symmetric Gaussian mixture model, where the label (sign) follows a time-inhomogeneous Markov chain. We propose a spectral estimator based on a partition of a subset of the samples to blocks. We develop a computationally efficient algorithm to find the optimal blocks, and derive minimax lower bounds on the estimation loss of any estimator, which establish the effectiveness of our proposed estimator. The resulting minimax rate illuminates the interplay between the sample size, dimension, signal strength, and the memory on the loss.}, author = {El Latif Kadry, Abd and Zhang, Yihan and Weinberger, Nir}, booktitle = {2025 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory Proceedings}, isbn = {9798331543990}, issn = {2157-8095}, location = {Ann Arbor, MI, United States}, publisher = {IEEE}, title = {{Mean estimation in high-dimensional binary timeinhomogeneous Markov Gaussian mixture models}}, doi = {10.1109/ISIT63088.2025.11195426}, year = {2025}, } @inproceedings{20668, abstract = {The Message Layer Security (MLS) protocol has recently been standardized by the IETF. MLS is a scalable secure group messaging protocol expected to run more efficiently compared to the Signal protocol at scale, while offering a similar level of strong security. Even though MLS has undergone extensive examination by researchers, the majority of the works have focused on confidentiality. In this work, we focus on the authenticity of the application messages exchanged in MLS. Currently, MLS authenticates every application message with an EdDSA signature and while manageable, the overhead is greatly amplified in the post-quantum setting as the NIST-recommended Dilithium signature results in a 40x increase in size. We view this as an invitation to explore new authentication modes that can be used instead. We start by taking a systematic view on how application messages are authenticated in MLS and categorize authenticity into four different security notions. We then propose several authentication modes, offering a range of different efficiency and security profiles. For instance, in one of our modes, COSMOS++, we replace signatures with one-time tokens and a MAC tag, offering roughly a 75x savings in the post-quantum communication overhead. While this comes at the cost of weakening security compared to the authentication mode used by MLS, the lower communication overhead seems to make it a worthwhile trade-off with security.}, author = {Hashimoto, Keitaro and Katsumata, Shuichi and Pascual Perez, Guillermo}, booktitle = {34th Usenix Security Symposium}, isbn = {9781939133526}, location = {Seattle, WA, USA}, pages = {6699--6716}, publisher = {Usenix Association}, title = {{Exploring how to authenticate application messages in MLS: More efficient, post-quantum, and anonymous blocklistable}}, year = {2025}, } @article{20669, abstract = {Ice cliffs and supraglacial ponds are key drivers of mass loss on debris-covered glaciers. However, the relationship between melt ponds and adjacent ice cliffs has not been fully explored. We investigated the seasonal drainage patterns of a melt pond on the debris-covered Zhuxi Glacier in southeast Tibet and estimated the mass loss of its adjacent ice cliff during 2023-2024. Using hourly time-lapse photogrammetry we built a series of high-resolution point clouds to quantify the evolution of the ice cliff-pond system. Our findings indicate that subaerial melting and undercutting were the primary mechanisms of ice cliff mass loss during summer. In winter when the pond water level dropped, ice cliff calving became the dominant mode of ice loss. As the water level rose in spring, calving and subaerial melting occurred simultaneously and ice loss from calving accounted for approximately 19.5 % of total ice loss from February to July 2024. Our results reveal the transitional state of this ice cliff-pond system, exhibiting characteristics of both melt hotspots and lake-terminating calving fronts, and highlight the interplay between seasonal drainage-refill pond and differing modes of ice loss on adjacent ice cliff. Future research should focus on additional high-resolution monitoring of similar systems and incorporation of ice cliff-pond dynamics in glacier-scale numerical models. }, author = {He, Zhen and Westoby, Matthew and Ren, Shaoting and Zhao, Chuanxi and He, Yifei and Zhang, Tianzhao and Yang, Wei}, issn = {1727-5652}, journal = {Journal of Glaciology}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, title = {{Quantifying the seasonal dynamics of a transitional ice cliff-pond system on a debris-covered glacier}}, doi = {10.1017/jog.2025.10104}, year = {2025}, } @article{20670, abstract = {β-Barrel nanopores are involved in crucial biological processes, from ATP export in mitochondria to bacterial resistance, and represent a promising platform for emerging sequencing technologies. However, in contrast to ion channels, the understanding of the fundamental principles governing ion transport through these nanopores remains largely unexplored. Here we integrate experimental, numerical and theoretical approaches to elucidate ion transport mechanisms in β-barrel nanopores. We identify and characterize two distinct nonlinear phenomena: open-pore rectification and gating. Through extensive mutation analysis of aerolysin nanopores, we demonstrate that open-pore rectification is caused by ionic accumulation driven by the distribution of lumen charges. In addition, we provide converging evidence suggesting that gating is controlled by electric fields dissociating counterions from lumen charges, promoting local structural deformations. Our findings establish a rigorous framework for characterizing and understanding ion transport processes in protein-based nanopores, enabling the design of adaptable nanofluidic biotechnologies. We illustrate this by optimizing an aerolysin mutant for computing applications.}, author = {Mayer, Simon and Mitsioni, Marianna Fanouria and Robin, Paul and Van Den Heuvel, Lukas and Ronceray, Nathan and Marcaida, Maria Jose and Abriata, Luciano A. and Krapp, Lucien F. and Anton, Jana S. and Soussou, Sarah and Jeanneret-Grosjean, Justin and Fulciniti, Alessandro and Möller, Alexia and Vacle, Sarah and Feletti, Lely and Brinkerhoff, Henry and Laszlo, Andrew H. and Gundlach, Jens H. and Emmerich, Theo and Dal Peraro, Matteo and Radenovic, Aleksandra}, issn = {1748-3395}, journal = {Nature Nanotechnology}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Lumen charge governs gated ion transport in β-barrel nanopores}}, doi = {10.1038/s41565-025-02052-6}, year = {2025}, } @inproceedings{20684, abstract = {Quantization is a powerful tool for accelerating large language model (LLM) inference, but the accuracy-performance trade-offs across different formats remain unclear. In this paper, we conduct the most comprehensive empirical study to date, evaluating FP8, INT8, and INT4 quantization across academic benchmarks and real-world tasks on the entire Llama-3.1 model family. Through over 500,000 evaluations, our investigation yields several key findings: (1) FP8 (W8A8-FP) is effectively lossless across all model scales, (2) well-tuned INT8 (W8A8-INT) achieves surprisingly low (1-3%) accuracy degradation, and (3) INT4 weightonly (W4A16-INT) is more competitive than expected, rivaling 8-bit quantization. Further, we investigate the optimal quantization format for different deployments by analyzing inference performance through the popular vLLM framework. Our analysis provides clear deployment recommendations: W4A16 is the most cost-efficient for synchronous setups, while W8A8 dominates in asynchronous continuous batching. For mixed workloads, the optimal choice depends on the specific use case. Our findings offer practical, data-driven guidelines for deploying quantized LLMs at scale—ensuring the best balance between speed, efficiency, and accuracy. }, author = {Kurtic, Eldar and Marques, Alexandre and Pandit, Shubhra and Kurtz, Mark and Alistarh, Dan-Adrian}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics}, isbn = {9798891762510}, issn = {0736-587X}, location = {Vienna, Austria}, pages = {26872--26886}, publisher = {Association for Computational Linguistics}, title = {{“Give me BF16 or give me death”? Accuracy-performance trade-offs in LLM quantization}}, year = {2025}, } @article{20685, abstract = {The Next Generation of Earth Modeling Systems (nextGEMS) project aimed to produce multidecadal climate simulations, for the first time, with resolved kilometer-scale (km-scale) processes in the ocean, land, and atmosphere. In only 3 years, nextGEMS achieved this milestone with the two km-scale Earth system models, ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic model (ICON) and Integrated Forecasting System coupled to the Finite-volumE Sea ice-Ocean Model (IFS-FESOM). nextGEMS was based on three cornerstones: (1) developing km-scale Earth system models with small errors in the energy and water balance, (2) performing km-scale climate simulations with a throughput greater than 1 simulated year per day, and (3) facilitating new workflows for an efficient analysis of the large simulations with common data structures and output variables. These cornerstones shaped the timeline of nextGEMS, divided into four cycles. Each cycle marked the release of a new configuration of ICON and IFS-FESOM, which were evaluated at hackathons. The hackathon participants included experts from climate science, software engineering, and high-performance computing as well as users from the energy and agricultural sectors. The continuous efforts over the four cycles allowed us to produce 30-year simulations with ICON and IFS-FESOM, spanning the period 2020–2049 under the SSP3-7.0 scenario. The throughput was about 500 simulated days per day on the Levante supercomputer of the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ). The simulations employed a horizontal grid of about 5 km resolution in the ocean and 10 km resolution in the atmosphere and land. Aside from this technical achievement, the simulations allowed us to gain new insights into the realism of ICON and IFS-FESOM. Beyond its time frame, nextGEMS builds the foundation of the Climate Change Adaptation Digital Twin developed in the Destination Earth initiative and paves the way for future European research on climate change.}, author = {Segura, Hans and Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, Xabier and Weiss, Philipp and Müller, Sebastian K. and Rackow, Thomas and Lee, Junhong and Dolores-Tesillos, Edgar and Benedict, Imme and Aengenheyster, Matthias and Aguridan, Razvan and Arduini, Gabriele and Baker, Alexander J. and Bao, Jiawei and Bastin, Swantje and Baulenas, Eulàlia and Becker, Tobias and Beyer, Sebastian and Bockelmann, Hendryk and Brüggemann, Nils and Brunner, Lukas and Cheedela, Suvarchal K. and Das, Sushant and Denissen, Jasper and Dragaud, Ian and Dziekan, Piotr and Ekblom, Madeleine and Engels, Jan Frederik and Esch, Monika and Forbes, Richard and Frauen, Claudia and Freischem, Lilli and García-Maroto, Diego and Geier, Philipp and Gierz, Paul and González-Cervera, Álvaro and Grayson, Katherine and Griffith, Matthew and Gutjahr, Oliver and Haak, Helmuth and Hadade, Ioan and Haslehner, Kerstin and ul Hasson, Shabeh and Hegewald, Jan and Kluft, Lukas and Koldunov, Aleksei and Koldunov, Nikolay and Kölling, Tobias and Koseki, Shunya and Kosukhin, Sergey and Kousal, Josh and Kuma, Peter and Kumar, Arjun U. and Li, Rumeng and Maury, Nicolas and Meindl, Maximilian and Milinski, Sebastian and Mogensen, Kristian and Niraula, Bimochan and Nowak, Jakub and Praturi, Divya Sri and Proske, Ulrike and Putrasahan, Dian and Redler, René and Santuy, David and Sármány, Domokos and Schnur, Reiner and Scholz, Patrick and Sidorenko, Dmitry and Spät, Dorian and Sützl, Birgit and Takasuka, Daisuke and Tompkins, Adrian and Uribe, Alejandro and Valentini, Mirco and Veerman, Menno and Voigt, Aiko and Warnau, Sarah and Wachsmann, Fabian and Wacławczyk, Marta and Wedi, Nils and Wieners, Karl-Hermann and Wille, Jonathan and Winkler, Marius and Wu, Yuting and Ziemen, Florian and Zimmermann, Janos and Bender, Frida A.-M. and Bojovic, Dragana and Bony, Sandrine and Bordoni, Simona and Brehmer, Patrice and Dengler, Marcus and Dutra, Emanuel and Faye, Saliou and Fischer, Erich and van Heerwaarden, Chiel and Hohenegger, Cathy and Järvinen, Heikki and Jochum, Markus and Jung, Thomas and Jungclaus, Johann H. and Keenlyside, Noel S. and Klocke, Daniel and Konow, Heike and Klose, Martina and Malinowski, Szymon and Martius, Olivia and Mauritsen, Thorsten and Mellado, Juan Pedro and Mieslinger, Theresa and Mohino, Elsa and Pawłowska, Hanna and Peters-von Gehlen, Karsten and Sarré, Abdoulaye and Sobhani, Pajam and Stier, Philip and Tuppi, Lauri and Vidale, Pier Luigi and Sandu, Irina and Stevens, Bjorn}, issn = {1991-9603}, journal = {Geoscientific Model Development}, number = {20}, pages = {7735--7761}, publisher = {Copernicus Publications}, title = {{nextGEMS: Entering the era of kilometer-scale Earth system modeling}}, doi = {10.5194/gmd-18-7735-2025}, volume = {18}, year = {2025}, } @article{20686, abstract = {Emission from two massive black holes (MBHs) bound in a close binary is expected to be modulated by different processes, such as the Doppler boost due to the orbital motion, accretion rate variability generated by the interaction with a circumbinary disc, and binary gravitational self-lensing. When the binary is compact enough, the two black holes are thought to be surrounded by a common broad-line region that reprocesses the impinging periodically varying ionising flux, creating broad emission lines with variable line shapes. Therefore, the study of broad emission line variability through multi-epoch spectroscopic campaigns is of paramount importance for the unambiguous identification of a binary. In this work, we study the response of a disc-like broad-line region to the Doppler-boosted ionising flux emitted by sub-milliparsec MBH binaries on a circular orbit and compare it with the response of a broad-line region illuminated by a single MBH with a periodically but isotropically varying intrinsic luminosity. We show that in the binary case, the time lags of the blue and red wings of the broad emission lines, arising from diametrically opposite sides of the circumbinary disc, are out of phase by half of the binary’s orbital period, as they each respond to the periodic ‘lighthouse’ modulation from the binary’s continuum emission. This asymmetric time lag represents a new binary signature that cannot be mimicked by a single MBH.}, author = {Bertassi, Lorenzo and Sottocorno, Erika and Rigamonti, Fabio and D’Orazio, Daniel and Eracleous, Michael and Haiman, Zoltán and Dotti, Massimo}, issn = {1432-0746}, journal = {Astronomy & Astrophysics}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, title = {{Testing compact massive black hole binary candidates through multi-epoch spectroscopy}}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202554574}, volume = {702}, year = {2025}, } @article{20687, abstract = {Subgiants and early red giants are crucial for studying the first dredge-up, a key evolutionary phase in which the convective envelope deepens, mixing previously interior-processed material and bringing it to the surface. Yet, very few have been seismically characterized with Kepler because their oscillation frequencies are close to the 30 minute sampling frequency of the mission. We developed a new method as part of the new PyA2Z code of identifying super-Nyquist oscillators and inferring their global seismic parameters, νmax and large separation, Δν. Applying PyA2Z to 2065 Kepler targets, we seismically characterize 285 super-Nyquist and 168 close-to-Nyquist stars with masses from 0.8 to 1.6 M⊙. In combination with APOGEE spectroscopy, Gaia spectrophotometry, and stellar models, we derive stellar ages for the sample. There is good agreement between the predicted and actual positions of stars on the HR diagram (luminosity vs. effective temperature) as a function of mass and composition. While the timing of dredge-up is consistent with predictions, the magnitude and mass dependence show discrepancies with models, possibly due to uncertainties in model physics or calibration issues in observed abundance scales.}, author = {Liagre, Bastien Raymond Bernard and García, R. A. and Mathur, S. and Pinsonneault, M. H. and Serenelli, A. and Zinn, J. C. and Cao, K. and Godoy-Rivera, D. and Tayar, J. and Beck, P. G. and Grossmann, D. H. and Palakkatharappil, D. B.}, issn = {1432-0746}, journal = {Astronomy & Astrophysics}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, title = {{Beyond the Nyquist frequency}}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202555167}, volume = {702}, year = {2025}, } @inproceedings{20688, abstract = {We consider two-player zero-sum concurrent stochastic games (CSGs) played on graphs with reachability and safety objectives. These include degenerate classes such as Markov decision processes or turn-based stochastic games, which can be solved by linear or quadratic programming; however, in practice, value iteration (VI) outperforms the other approaches and is the most implemented method. Similarly, for CSGs, this practical performance makes VI an attractive alternative to the standard theoretical solution via the existential theory of reals.VI starts with an under-approximation of the sought values for each state and iteratively updates them, traditionally terminating once two consecutive approximations are ϵ-close. However, this stopping criterion lacks guarantees on the precision of the approximation, which is the goal of this work. We provide bounded (a.k.a. interval) VI for CSGs: it complements standard VI with a converging sequence of over-approximations and terminates once the over- and under-approximations are ϵ-close.}, author = {Grobelna, Marta and Kretinsky, Jan and Weininger, Maximilian}, booktitle = {2025 40th Annual ACM/IEEE Symposium on Logic in Computer Science}, location = {Singapore, Singapore}, pages = {568--580}, publisher = {IEEE}, title = {{Stopping criteria for value iteration on concurrent stochastic reachability and safety games}}, doi = {10.1109/lics65433.2025.00049}, year = {2025}, }