Recent ucb items

Leveraging a synthetic biology approach to enhance BCG-mediated expansion of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There is an urgent need to develop a more efficacious anti-tuberculosis vaccine as the current live-attenuated vaccine strain BCG fails to prevent pulmonary infection in adults. In this study, we leverage a synthetic biology approach to engineer BCG to produce more (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP), an intermediate of bacterial-but not host-isoprenoid biosynthesis via the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway. HMBPP strongly activates and expands Vγ9Vδ2 T cells, which are unique to higher-order primates and protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. BCG has been engineered to produce specific ligands and antigens to some success; in contrast, our strategy exploits a self-nonself recognition mechanism in the host via HMBPP sensing, which has not been attempted before. To inform the design of our recombinant strains, we performed synteny analyses of >63 mycobacterial species and found that isoprenoid biosynthetic genes are not operonic across...

Identification of Solid-Electrolyte Interphase Species by Joint Characterization of Li-Ion Battery Chemistry by Mass Spectrometry and Electrochemical Reaction Networks.

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The formation and stability of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) play central roles in determining the long-term performance and safety of modern electrochemical energy storage systems. Despite decades of research, the SEI's heterogeneous, dynamic, and multiphase nature has defied comprehensive molecular-level characterization, creating a critical knowledge gap that limits rational battery design. In this work, we introduce a computational-experimental framework that integrates high-throughput quantum chemistry calculations, data-driven electrochemical reaction networks (eCRNs), stochastic algorithms, and laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (LDI-FTICR-MS) to unravel SEI formation in carbonate-based electrolytes without imposing predefined mechanisms. We constructed the most comprehensive eCRN to date, spanning over 10,000 species and 209 million reactions. Through stochastic network analysis, we successfully recovered 27...

Enhanced Interlayer Coupling and Excitons in Twin-Stacked Two-Dimensional Magnetic CrSBr Bilayers

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The degree of electronic coupling between individual layers in van der Waals heterostructures offers a route to engineer their magnetic, electronic, and optical functionalities. Using state-of-the-art first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the electronic coupling between two monolayers of CrSBr─an anisotropic two-dimensional magnetic semiconductor─is highly nonlinear and nonmonotonic with respect to their relative twist angle, exhibiting a pronounced maximum at the twin-stacking configuration. The coupling strength scales with both the degree of overlap of Br orbitals adjacent to the van der Waals gap and the cosine of half of the interlayer spin angle. This enhanced interlayer electronic coupling leads to excitons delocalized across the two layers, with a polarization dependence that reflects the interlayer spin alignment. Our results reveal a sensitive interplay among twist angle, magnetism, and excitonic properties in twin-stacked CrSBr bilayers, suggesting twin...

Forward modeling approach to nuclear reaction cross sections: Applications in neutron inelastic scattering

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The development of nuclear reaction models for the production of evaluated nuclear data has traditionally been performed by comparing measured cross sections with predictions from reaction model codes whose physical input parameters are adjusted to obtain the best agreement between measured and modeled results. To more directly probe reaction model inputs, this work introduces a forward modeling approach to experimental reaction cross-section determination, where the most important physical input parameters to reaction model calculations are obtained via minimization between measured and calculated observables. This was demonstrated using data collected by the Gamma Energy Neutron Energy Spectrometer for Inelastic Scattering (GENESIS) at the 88-inch cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a detection array consisting of organic liquid scintillators and high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors. Using a broad-spectrum neutron beam and a -enriched target, GENESIS...

Spin Polarization from Circularly Polarized Light Induced Charge Transfer

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We show how a spin polarization can be generated through the photoinduced electron transfer of an achiral donor-acceptor complex following chiral light excitation. In particular, we illustrate the basic energetic and symmetry requirements for chirality induced spin selectivity where the chirality emerges from the electronic degrees of freedom following excitation with circularly polarized light. We study this effect in a simple model of a metalloporphyrin complex with an axial acceptor ligand using quantum mechanical rate theories and numerical simulations. We find that the spin polarization emerges due to the selective excitation of a ring current within the porphryin, breaking the degeneracy of the two degenerate spin states. The resultant spin polarization increases with the spin orbit coupling between the metal in the porphyrin and the axial ligand, and is transient, with a lifetime dependent on the rate of dephasing from the Jahn-Teller distortion mode. This proposed effect...

Investigating charm quark energy loss in medium with the nuclear modification factor of D 0 -tagged jets

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The nuclear modification factor R AA of charm jets, identified by the presence of a D0 meson among the jet constituents, has been measured for the first time in Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair s NN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The D0 mesons and their charge conjugates are reconstructed from the hadronic decay D 0 → K − π + . Jets are reconstructed from D0-meson candidates and charged particles using the anti-k T algorithm with jet resolution parameter R = 0.3 , in the jet transverse momentum (p T) range 5 < p T ch jet < 50 GeV/c and pseudorapidity |η ch jet| < 0.6. A hint of reduced suppression in the charm-jet R AA is observed in comparison to inclusive jets in central Pb–Pb collisions with a significance of about 2σ in 20 < p T ch jet < 50 GeV/c, suggesting the in-medium energy loss to depend on both the difference between quark and gluon coupling strength (Casimir colour-charge effect) and quark mass (dead-cone effect)....

A rapid embodied carbon assessment tool for priority materials

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Embodied carbon limits within building materials are a driving factor in global trade, generating new research and analysis tools in industry. These product assessments, which require utilizing life-cycle assessment (LCA) across broad supply chains, can be expensive, time and data-intensive, and subject to significant variations. Existing methods and tools, such as specific environmental product declarations, typically do not capture these variations and dynamics in supply and manufacturing. Moreover, models and tools must enable stakeholders to assess customized supply chains and future scenarios. In this study, we present the Rapid Embodied Carbon Assessment and Target-setting for Emissions-intensive Materials (REDuCE) tool for building materials. We developed a tool that allows users to select production technologies, transportation mode and distances, concrete carbonation, fuel sources, and regional electricity mixes to supply customization for cement and concrete produced...

Revealing short- and long-range Li-ion diffusion in Li 2 MnO 3 from finite-temperature dynamical mean field theory

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Li 2 MnO 3 is a key component of Li-excess layered cathodes of the form (1 − x ), LiMO 2 + x , Li 2 MnO 3 (M = Mn, Ni, Co, …), yet its role in setting Li-ion transport limitations remains under debate. Li 2 MnO 3 is a key component of Li-excess layered cathodes of the form (1 − x ), LiMO 2 + x , Li 2 MnO 3 (M = Mn, Ni, Co, …), yet its role in setting Li-ion transport limitations remains under debate. Here we combine DFT+U, finite-temperature DFT+DMFT with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo impurity solver, and nudged-elastic-band (NEB) calculations to study Li + migration in paramagnetic Li 2 MnO 3 in the presence of a single Li vacancy. Evaluating DMFT total energies along the DFT+U NEB geometries reveals that dynamical correlations strongly renormalize the lowest-barrier processes, reducing the activation energies to E a = 0.18 eV for the shortest-range hop and E a = 0.50 eV for the next-lowest (transport-controlling) step. The 0.18 eV barrier quantitatively reproduces...

Evidence for Neutrino Emission from X-Ray Bright Seyfert Galaxies in the Southern Hemisphere Using Enhanced Starting Track Events with IceCube

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

IceCube recently reported the observation of TeV neutrinos from the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, and the corresponding neutrino flux is significantly higher than the upper limit implied by observations of GeV–TeV gamma rays. This suggests that neutrinos are produced near the supermassive black hole, where the radiation density is high enough to obscure gamma rays. We use a set of muon neutrinos with interaction vertices inside the detector, which have good sensitivity to sources in the southern sky, from IceCube data recorded between 2011 and 2021. We then search for individual and collective neutrino signals from 14 Seyfert galaxies in the southern sky selected from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope AGN Spectroscopic Survey. Using the correlations between keV X-rays and TeV neutrinos predicted by disk–corona models, and assuming production characteristics similar to NGC 1068, a collective neutrino signal search reveals an excess of 6.7−3.2+4.0 events, which is inconsistent with...

What is quantum biology?

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Quantum biology is the field at the intersection of quantum-related physics and the biology of living systems. The goal of the field is to determine if quantum phenomena underpin biological function at the macroscale. Such results, supported by compelling experimental evidence, will be important because they will show how quantum effects can have functional relevance, even in very complex and nominally classical systems. Here, we attempt to define the scope of quantum biology with a forward-facing view to help focus the research agenda. To that end, we propose open questions fundamental to consolidating the field of quantum biology. These open questions highlight the importance of developing suitable probes at the quantum scale, the possibility that classical biological machinery might simply mimic quantum systems, and of elucidating the ways quantum function can be amplified to the macroscale.

pyDiSCaMB: enabling the use of multipolar scattering factors in Phenix

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Multipolar scattering models, such as the transferable aspherical atom model, account for atomic chemical interactions and provide a more accurate representation of experimental data. However, the simpler independent atom model (IAM), which assumes non-interacting atoms, is the only model available in the most widely used macromolecular refinement programs. This is primarily because IAM offers a hard-to-beat combination of computational efficiency and modelling power at typical macromolecular resolutions. By contrast, more accurate multipolar modelling has historically been limited due to its computational cost and the absence of an interface between software capable of calculating structure factors and gradients based on multipolar models and software designed for macromolecular refinement. This work introduces pyDiSCaMB, a Python software package designed to integrate between the computational crystallography toolbox (cctbx) and the quantum crystallography library DiSCaMB (Densities...

Out-of-time-order correlators bridge classical transport and quantum dynamics.

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) has emerged as a central tool for quantifying decoherence across wide-ranging physical platforms. Here, we demonstrate its direct measurement in a classical ensemble using nuclear magnetic resonance with a modulated gradient spin echo sequence and extend the method into a multidimensional correlation to track exchange phenomena. Position is encoded through magnetic field gradients and momentum through the velocity autocorrelation function, enabling experimental access to OTOCs for proton motion confined within the self-similar lattice of the metal-organic framework MOF-808. Here, water confined to specified geometries within the MOF pores gives rise to spatially distinct diffusive eigenmodes with characteristic relative entropies. We demonstrate that periodic radio frequency driving combined with gradient modulation yields entropy evolution through the selection of distinct diffusion modes. Frequency-resolved diffusion spectra connect these...

Extended Rice–Thomson analysis and atomistic simulations revealing grain boundary effects on fracture in refractory high-entropy alloys

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Understanding how grain boundaries mediate fracture remains a critical challenge in designing ductile, high-performance refractory alloys. Here, we extend the Rice-Thomson criterion to account for the angle between cracks and the impinging grain boundaries (GBs), capturing the competition between intergranular fracture and dislocation-mediated plasticity. Using machine learning interatomic potentials, we performed molecular statics simulations to probe fracture mechanisms in nanocrystalline NbMoTaW and Nb₄₅Ta₂₅Ti₁₅Hf₁₅, each with two different grain sizes, revealing trends consistent with experimental observations and the extended Rice model. Comparison with averaged R-curves for bulk samples demonstrates that GBs enhance ductility in Nb₄₅Ta₂₅Ti₁₅Hf₁₅ in both grain sizes investigated. In contrast, GBs only locally improve fracture resistance in NbMoTaW when cracks are temporarily pinned at...

The Interplay of Pauli Repulsion, Electrostatics, and Field Inhomogeneity for Blueshifting and Redshifting Vibrational Probe Molecules

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Many molecules' vibrational frequencies are sensitive to intermolecular electric fields, enabling them to probe the field in complex molecular environments. However, it is often unclear whether the probe is responding to the local electric field or other types of intermolecular interactions, inhibiting interpretation of the frequency and effectiveness as probes. This is especially true for molecules whose vibrational frequencies blueshift instead of the more typical redshift in hydrogen bonding configurations. Here, we computationally investigate the causes of redshifting versus blueshifting over a range of vibrational reporters. First, we apply adiabatic energy decomposition analysis to a paradigmatic set of probes, finding that redshifting only occurs when electrostatic interactions are strong enough to overcome the dominant and large blueshifting contribution of Pauli repulsion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that field inhomogeneity can further shift the frequency of many probes...

CMIP7 data request: Earth system priorities and opportunities

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 7 (CMIP7) request for data pertaining to Earth systems science, and provides justification for the resources needed to produce this data. Topics within the CMIP7 Earth System (CMIP7-ES) theme centre around tracking of flows of energy, carbon, water and other fluxes across domains, and constraining feedbacks between these cycles and the climate system. These topics are summarized in this paper as scientific “opportunities” describing specific model intercomparison experiments and use cases for next-generation Earth System Model (ESM) output. These opportunities were submitted by modelling groups and scientific consortia following an extended public consultation process. Contained within each opportunity are requests for groups of Climate & Forecasting (CF) variables, which are bundled into variable groups representing all data required to address...

The DESI DR1 peculiar velocity survey: Growth rate measurements from the galaxy power spectrum

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The large-scale structure of the Universe and its evolution encapsulate a wealth of cosmological information. A powerful means of unlocking this knowledge lies in measuring the auto-power spectrum and/or the cross-power spectrum of the galaxy density and momentum fields, followed by the estimation of cosmological parameters based on these spectrum measurements. In this study, we generalize the cross-power spectrum model to accommodate scenarios in which the density and momentum fields are derived from distinct galaxy surveys. The growth rate of the large-scale structures of the Universe, commonly represented as fσ 8 , was extracted by jointly fitting the monopole and quadrupole moments of the auto-density power spectrum, the monopole of the auto-momentum power spectrum, and the dipole of the cross-power spectrum. Our estimators, theoretical models, and parameter-fitting framework were tested using mocks, confirming their robustness and accuracy in retrieving the fiducial growth...

Ecological and genomic variation in ectomycorrhizal fungal exploration types

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) produce mycelia with variable extension and complexity, which can be classified according to soil 'exploration types' (ETs). ETs have received attention as one of the few mycorrhizal trait frameworks, but without an empirical classification of ET functional diversity and environmental preferences, understanding and interpreting EMF biogeographic patterns has been difficult. We conducted a synthesis combining: comparative EMF genomics to describe functional divergence in decomposition and nutrient cycling genes across ETs; and EMF trait distribution modeling across continental Europe, pairing soil and root EMF surveys to establish biogeographic ET niche profiles. We demonstrate a signature of ETs encoded in EMF genomes, which is independent from phylogeny and linked to biomass production strategies. EMF ET relative abundances were separated by soil, root, and dominant tree leaf type habitats and exhibited unique correlations with forest biotic (e.g....

Orbital-Dependent Coulomb Drag in Electron-Hole Bilayer Graphene Heterostructures

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We report Coulomb drag studies in an electron-hole bilayer graphene heterostructure in a magnetic field, where the orbital, spin, and valley degrees of freedom are lifted by the combined effects of exchange interaction, Zeeman energy, and a vertical displacement field. Our device enables the application of a large vertical displacement field across both layers. In addition to the well-established strong Coulomb drag between the Landau levels with an orbital quantum number N=0, we observe a Coulomb drag signal between the N=1 Landau levels under a suitable vertical displacement field. As the vertical displacement field increases further, the Coulomb drag signal between N=1 Landau levels weakens, and a Coulomb drag signal emerges between the N=0 and N=1 Landau levels. These findings suggest the important roles of the orbital index and the vertical displacement field in interlayer Coulomb interaction within the quantum Hall regime of coupled bilayer systems.

Call of the Island

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Call of the Island

Mango Doula

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mango Doula

Click to Exist, Click to Vanish

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Click to Exist, Click to Vanish

New Materials for Photoelectrochemical Energy Conversion

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This review concerns light-to-chemical energy conversion, focusing on approaches that could be driven by terrestrial sunlight to produce hydrogen and/or reduce carbon dioxide. Recent advances in photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) materials are covered. In both approaches, the electron-hole pairs that are created by photon absorption must travel in specific directions to the sites that mediate multielectron bond making/breaking redox reactions. Thermodynamic requirements for materials stability are described, although some recently discovered materials appear to be exceptions. For PC materials, the importance of rate matching between reduction and oxidation processes and the mass transfer of intermediates and products is emphasized. Surprisingly, metal sulfides appear to be promising for PC carbon dioxide reduction. For PEC materials, recent work elucidating the elementary step mechanism for oxygen evolution on metal oxides and the discovery of chalcogen-based...

Effects of ejective stops on preceding vowel duration

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

One of the most widely studied observations in linguistic phonetics is that, all else being equal, vowels are longer before voiced than before voiceless obstruents. The causes of this phonetic generalization are, however, poorly understood and several competing explanations have been proposed. No studies have so far measured vowel duration before stops with yet another laryngeal feature: ejectives. This study fills this gap and presents results from an experiment that measures vowel duration before stops with all three laryngeal features in Georgian and models effects of both closure and voice onset time (VOT) on preceding vowel duration at the same time. The results show that vowels have significantly different durations before all three series of stops, voiced, ejective, and voiceless aspirated, even when closure and VOT durations are controlled for. The results also suggest that closure and VOT durations are inversely correlated with preceding vowel duration. These results...

Machine learning-enhanced MPC for demand flexibility in small commercial buildings: An experimental study

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Small- and medium-sized commercial buildings (SMCBs) represent the majority of U.S. commercial building stock and a significant share of peak electricity demand, yet they often lack centralized building automation systems, representing a significant untapped resource for urban energy management. This infrastructure gap makes advanced control implementation challenging, limiting the potential for widespread demand flexibility. Model Predictive Control (MPC) has shown strong potential for load shifting, peak demand reduction, and cost savings, but its effectiveness is hindered by unmeasured disturbances such as internal heat gains. This paper presents a Hybrid MPC framework that integrates a physics-based gray-box building thermal model, identified using a lumped disturbance (LD) approach, with a machine learning (ML) model for forecasting unmeasured disturbances. The hybrid approach is designed for buildings with multiple individually controlled heat pump and thermostat pairs,...

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

The phage nucleus synergizes with an anti-defense protein to resist bacterial immunity

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Chimallivirus bacteriophages enclose their replicating genomes in a protein-based compartment termed the phage nucleus. While the phage nucleus segregates phage DNA from host immune proteins, it is not known if additional factors are required to protect against DNA-targeting host defenses. Here, we identify a chimallivirus-encoded DarG2-like antitoxin that localizes to the phage nucleus and provides protection against phage-targeting DarTG2 toxin-antitoxin systems. This protein, which we term AdfM (anti-darT factor macro), contains a macrodomain and removes DarT2-mediated ADP-ribose modifications from DNA. In the absence of AdfM, DarT2 modifies phage DNA and restricts chimallivirus replication despite being largely excluded from the phage nucleus. Increasing the nuclear concentration of DarT2 while decreasing the nuclear concentration of AdfM reduces phage replication. These results show that the phage nucleus is insufficient to completely protect the chimallivirus genome from...

Distinguishing Cognitive from Historical Influences in Phonology

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Distinguishing cognitive influences from historical influences on human behavior has long been a disputed topic in behavioral sciences, including linguistics. The discussion is often complicated due to empirical evidence being consistent with both the cognitive and the historical approach. This article argues that phonology offers a unique test case for distinguishing historical and cognitive influences on grammar, and it proposes an experimental technique for testing the cognitive factor which controls for the historical factor. The article outlines a model called CATALYSIS for explaining how learnability influences phonological typology and presents experiments that simulate this process. Central to this discussion are unnatural phonological processes, that is, those that operate against universal phonetic tendencies and require complex historical trajectories in order to arise. By using statistical methods for estimating historical influences, mismatches in predictions between...

New Rule in Vedic Metrics

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper I propose a new rule of Vedic meter. The glides *v and *y are regularly lost before the corresponding high vowels ū̆ and ̆ī in Vedic. I argue that the word-initial glides *v and *y before the short vowels ŭ and ĭ still “make position” and that they should be restored for metrical purposes. This means that word-final syllables of the shape -V̆ C should be scanned long if the following syllable begins with a u- or i- that goes back to *vu- or *yi-. This new rule has consequences for the general metrical shape of the Rigveda, as cadences previously scanned as irregular will be repaired to their canonical shape. The rule can also be employed as etymologically decisive for words that can potentially go back to forms with or without an initial glide.

Artificial Intelligence and Grade Inflation

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial Intelligence and Grade Inflation

Reducing Language Anxiety Through the LARC Framework

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Language anxiety makes it difficult for many English learners to speak, even when they know what they want to say. This emotional barrier can block communication, limit classroom participation, and slow progress. While research has explored how anxiety affects second language learning, many teachers still lack simple, practical tools to help students build confidence. This article introduces the Language Anxiety Reduction Cycle (LARC), a four-step framework that guides learners from initial exposure to authentic English through structured practice, supported real-world interaction, and independent use. Each stage is designed to reduce fear and promote meaningful communication. Grounded in classroom experience and informed by second language acquisition theories, the model offers flexible, actionable strategies. Rather than aiming to eliminate anxiety altogether, the LARC helps students manage it and grow. This practical article is intended for teachers, program designers, and...

Risk Assessment and Risk Management for Transportation Research

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper sets forth a preliminary methodology to assess and manage risk for transportation research. The California Dept. of Transportation (Caltrans) funds numerous transportation research projects that range from studies that aim to improve the understanding of travel behavior to field operations tests and deployment studies for new technologies. The risk assessment methodology is designed to help 1) identify needs for transportation research, 2) identify likely audiences for the anticipated research products, as well as potential applications; 3) identify potential barriers that could impede research or prevent its implementation; and based on the findings of the first three steps, 4) assess whether Caltrans is best suited to fund and oversee the research, should co-‐sponsor it with other agencies, should support it in less direct ways, or should refrain from engaging in research efforts on the topic and simply monitor developments in the field. The methodology is intended...

Innovative DOTs: Identifying Critical Issues and Strategies with Broad Support

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Many state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are engaged in strategic planning aimed at helping them improve their ability to identify coming problems and improve their ability to innovate. This paper examines common concerns or 'threats' currently facing DOTs, and identifies strategies to address them, or 'opportunities' that many DOTs support. The paper gives examples of innovative projects and programs from DOTs around the U.S., across a spectrum from leading innovative agencies to those just starting to initiate a discussion about change. Our methodology was to scan recent reports on critical issues and changing trends from a variety of experts and transportation stakeholder groups representing a broad selection of viewpoints. We then sought examples of how DOTs are currently innovating to address these critical issues and changing trends—both opportunities and threats—and identified ten main ways in which DOTs are adapting to meet them. Many reports on innovative DOTs...

Contesting Standard Language Norms: A Study of Wuhanese Families’ Language Practices in the United States in the Post-Pandemic Era

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This ethnographic study examines language ideologies and practices in Chinese American families in the U.S. in the post-pandemic era. Our specific focus here is the families’ use of a dialect of Southwest Mandarin, Wuhanhua (literally, “Wuhan Vernacular”), with their children at a time when Wuhan was marked by stigma due to its association with the initial COVID-19 outbreak. In our ten-month longitudinal study with the three focal families who came from Wuhan, each with U.S.-born children, data were generated from home visits, semi-structured interviews, and audio-recorded family interactions. While the three families shared a prevalent adherence to Standard Mandarin, our results show how the parents’ stated ideologies become contested in their everyday language practices. These ambiguities and inconsistencies in the planning and regulation of Wuhanhua use at home illuminate the translocal nature of heritage language learning, which is shaped not only by movement between countries...

If You Build It, They May Not Come: Willingness to Participate in Managed EV Charging

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If You Build It, They May Not Come: Willingness to Participate in Managed EV Charging

Multidialectal Practices in L2 Arabic Pragmatics Research: Methodological Implications

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research on learning second language (L2) pragmatics has undergone substantial methodological development in recent years (Taguchi & Roever, 2017; Taguchi, 2019), but it remains limited by a lack of attention to a key feature of pragmatic competence: multilingual and multidialectal practices. In a field dedicated to helping L2 students learn “how-to-say-what-to-whom-when” (Bardovi-Harlig, 2013, p. 68), methodological approaches that do not account for multidialectal practices miss key aspects of pragmatic development that are directly related to learners’ agency and identity. Current research methodologies are still highly influenced by monolingual ideologies often missing crucial layers of the learning process and environment, resulting in an incomplete view of pragmatic development. This article synthesizes existing methods and proposes ways to address these limitations by adopting a multidialectal perspective. Taking research on L2 Arabic pragmatics learning as a case...

Multilingualism Meets Multidialectism in L2 Study Abroad

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines how second language (L2) learners engaged with both multilingualism and multidialectism during a short-term study abroad (SA) program in Vienna, Austria and Freiburg, Germany which featured a course on German sociolinguistics. While the multilingual turn in L2 education has challenged monolingual ideologies (May, 2013; Diao & Trentman, 2021), it often overlooks linguistic diversity within languages. Focusing on German, a pluricentric language with rich dialectal variation, this research analyzes nine students’ reflections through questionnaires and diaries. Qualitative text analyses reveal that students developed critical awareness of language variation, connecting dialects to broader multilingual ecologies and deconstructing ideologies of standardization and linguistic purity. Students observed translanguaging practices, reflected on heritage languages, and contextualized language use within sociopolitical frameworks. These insights underscore the pedagogical...

Countering Negative Language Attitudes: Adopting a Critical Multidialectal Approach to Language Teaching

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Language attitudes have been recognized as an important area of study in sociolinguistic research (Evans & Preston, 2023; Preston, 2013), and the consequences of prescriptive ideologies and negative attitudes toward non-privileged varieties extend to language instruction. These ideologies regard certain uses of the language as unacceptable if they diverge from what is considered the “standard” variety, established through linguistic imperialism and a colonial heritage (Benaglia & Smith, 2022) and perpetuated by linguistic authorities. Adherence to a prescriptive perspective without questioning its ideological and discriminatory function leads to the reproduction of a “deficit perspective”, in which those who use alternative varieties of a language are considered academically deficient (Quan et al., 2025). These attitudes can influence students’ feelings about themselves, their abilities, and their academic performance, especially for speakers of heritage languages (Loza,...

Introduction to the Special Issue: Multidialectism in the Multilingual Turn

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

While the Multilingual Turn has critically shifted the field of Second Language Acquisition away from monolingual ideologies, it has often ignored the irreconcilability of the prescriptivist standard ideologies that devalue the diversity within named languages. This oversight perpetuates linguistic hierarchies, marginalizes non-standard variety speakers, and misrepresents the complex nature of real-world language use. The contributions to this special issue dismantle monocentric, native-speakerist, and prescriptivist standard language ideologies in second language education in order to explore the potentials of a multidialectal and multilingual approach. In so doing, they raise questions about social justice implications of dialect representation and erasure and showcase successful pedagogical applications of second language dialect instruction. By integrating multidialectal perspectives, this issue seeks to foster a more robust and inclusive Multilingual Turn that accurately...

Phages indirectly maintain tomato plant pathogen defense through regulation of the commensal microbiome

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As parasites of bacteria, phages can regulate microbiome diversity and composition and may therefore affect susceptibility to pathogens and disease. Many infectious diseases are associated with altered bacteriophage communities, but observational studies alone do not allow us to determine when altered phage community composition is a contributor to disease risk, a response to infection, or simply an indicator of dysbiosis. To address this question directly, we used size-selective filtration to deplete plant-associated microbial communities of phages, then challenged plants with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Plants with phage-depleted microbiomes were more susceptible to infection, an effect that could not be explained by direct effects of the phage communities on either P. syringae or the plant host. Moreover, the presence of phages was most impactful when the phage communities were isolated from neighboring field locations rather than from the same...

Causes and consequences of bacterial local adaptation via MGEs in the plant microbiome

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Adaptations that enable plant-associated bacteria to fill disparate niches comprise a critical component of microbial diversity. Genes that confer locally adaptive bacterial traits, ranging from heavy metal resistance to pathogen or symbiont infectivity, often reside within mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that can move between genomes. While MGEs may speed microbial adaptation, they also have selfish fitness interests and potentially separate evolutionary trajectories from their host genome. MGEs can also impose physiological burdens and be limited in the transmissibility of function across hosts, which likely constrains bacterial local adaptation. Given these constraints, the prevalence of adaptive loci on potentially exploitative MGEs poses a dilemma: how do fitness conflicts and alignments between MGEs and the main replicon shape bacterial local adaptation and impact plant hosts? We synthesize research on ways MGEs confer rapid, niche-specific fitness advantages to bacteria,...

Across The Ocean: Follow the journey of stolen devices from the Bay Area to Vietnam

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Across The Ocean: Follow the journey of stolen devices from the Bay Area to Vietnam

Teacher Talk in Multidialectal Classrooms

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As a diglossic language, Arabic has high and low varieties of the same language that are used in different contexts. Arabic classrooms traditionally focus on the acquisition of the high variety, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), with the expectation that learners can pick up local dialects abroad. This creates challenges for learners who find themselves ill-equipped to deal with everyday situations outside of the classroom. In recent years, advocates of integrated approaches have emphasized the need to teach both MSA and a dialect, whether in the same or separate classes (Al-Batal, 2018; Younes, 2014). Yet this leads to questions about which dialect to choose, as learners and teachers may come from different dialect backgrounds or have different dialect interests. Trentman & Shiri (2020) advocate for a multidialectal approach, where learners are encouraged to develop their ability to understand multiple varieties of Arabic and the meta-linguistic awareness...

Medicine Music

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Medicine Music

Impact of phage treatment on fire blight disease outcome and floral microbiome composition

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

With the increasing importance of alternative pesticides for the control of bacterial pathogens in agricultural and clinical settings, the use of bacteriophage viruses (phages) to reduce bacterial growth and prevent disease is gaining in popularity. Phages have been shown to be highly effective in killing bacterial cells both in vitro and across plant and animal host systems, although many questions remain about the predictability of their success across more realistic ecological conditions and in light of natural strain variation of pathogens. Furthermore, as phage application becomes more common, it is imperative that we better understand the consequences of these treatments on the microbial communities associated with hosts (i.e., their microbiomes). Here, we leverage a recently developed phage cocktail targeting the causal agent of fire blight disease, Erwinia amylovora, to both test the efficacy of these phages in pear flowers inoculated with the pathogen and...

Distinguishing among evolutionary and ecological processes shaping microbiome dynamics

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Evolution is defined as the change in allele frequency over time as a result of either neutral processes, such as genetic drift, or as an adaptive process in response to selection. In contrast, ecological dynamics describe changes in population densities, species distributions, species interactions, and/or relative abundances within communities, all of which can also be the result of either stochastic or deterministic processes. Although the distinction between these patterns has long held for plants and animals, microbial community dynamics can blur the line between ecological and evolutionary processes, especially as they can occur on very similar timescales. Despite the importance of differentiating changes occurring within a population or strain from those occurring among populations, many common methodologies used to study microbiomes are not able to differentiate among them. In this review, we summarize the forces known to generate genetic diversity in bacterial genomes...

Operation-Induced BiVO4 Surface Reconstruction Modulates Photoelectrochemical Glycerol Photooxidation Stability and Activity

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Operation-Induced BiVO4 Surface Reconstruction Modulates Photoelectrochemical Glycerol Photooxidation Stability and Activity

How a Right-to-Know Law Shifts Industry away from Chemicals of Concern: The Case of California’s Proposition 65

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Since enactment of the major federal environmental statutes of the 1970s, U.S. toxics policy has departed from a primary goal of controlling pollution to increasingly focus on information transparency. One of the most prominent right-to-know laws, California's Proposition 65, has been in force since 1986, yet there is scant literature on its systemic impacts. We conducted 32 semi-structured interviews with business leaders representing some of the largest actors in their sectors to investigate Proposition 65's impacts. We found that Proposition 65 prompts changes to consumer product ingredients and improves supply chain transparency. Businesses (re)formulated products for national and even international markets based on this state law, highlighting the leverage of environmental regulations in a large state like California. Information-forcing laws can thus protect public health in ways that transcend the immediate impacts of transparency with the public about product ingredients....

An 8-Level Flying Capacitor Multi-Level Boost Converter for High-Voltage Power Distribution in Electric Aircraft

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Aviation is a rapidly growing transportation sector that has been seeing a shift towards more-electric and fully electric propulsion systems. Lightweight onboard DC-DC converters play a critical role in this transition by managing the varying DC voltages associated with battery charge and discharge, enabling the integration of diverse battery technologies onto a common DC bus, reducing high-voltage insulation mass by allowing lower battery voltages, and embedding fault protection directly within the converters. To support these applications, this work demonstrates an 8-level flying capacitor multilevel (FCML) converter designed and tested to boost an input battery voltage of 500-786 V to a 1000 V DC bus. The demonstrated system integrates embedded control, sensing, startup, and output disconnect. It achieves over 99.0% peak efficiency, as well as a gravimetric power density exceeding 100 kW/kg for the power stage.

Culture is Not Trivia: Sociocultural Theory for Cultural NLP

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The field of cultural NLP has recently experienced rapid growth, driven by a pressing need to ensure that language technologies are effective and safe across a pluralistic user base. This work has largely progressed without a shared conception of culture, instead choosing to rely on a wide array of cultural proxies. However, this leads to a number of recurring limitations: coarse national boundaries fail to capture nuanced differences that lay within them, limited coverage restricts datasets to only a subset of usually highly-represented cultures, and a lack of dynamicity results in static cultural benchmarks that do not change as culture evolves. In this position paper, we argue that these methodological limitations are symptomatic of a theoretical gap. We draw on a well-developed theory of culture from sociocultural linguistics to fill this gap by 1) demonstrating in a case study how it can clarify methodological constraints and affordances, 2) offering theoretically-motivated...

General Editors’ Introduction

Thu, 7 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are exceptionally pleased to introduce the first special issue of 2026, Multidialectism in the Multilingual Turn, guest edited by Dan Walter, Associate Professor of German and Linguistics at Oxford College of Emory University, and Julia Ruck, Assistant Teaching Professor at Emory University. Dan and Julia bring a robust mix of experience and expertise to the table, making them ideal editors for this particular special issue: their training in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and world language education is coupled with extensive experience in the world language classroom; this combination has yielded important research and practitioner guidance on numerous important contemporary issues in world language teaching, including multidialectism in the classroom. Our sincere thanks go out to the guest editors, who have shaped and shepherded the volume with care.

Are Consumers Myopic? Evidence from New and Used Car Purchases

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Are Consumers Myopic? Evidence from New and Used Car Purchases

Turning gold to stone: A case study in exchange value and cultural alloys

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In 1933, monuments from the Classic Maya site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, were loaned to the Penn Museum for a temporary period. Twelve years later, the agreement was revisited at the request of the Guatemalan government, which sought to incorporate the monuments into its National Museum. In order for the Penn Museum to retain two monuments for longer, the two parties agreed upon a deal: a longer loan extension for two Piedras Negras monuments in exchange for a disparate assemblage of Central and South American gold pieces from the Penn Museum’s storage collections. I argue that in facilitating this agreement, archaeologists, government officials, and museum professionals layered monetary value onto disparate archaeological cultures. In trying to create a fair exchange, this valuation process also involved a balancing act, in which objects of Maya heritage were weighed against objects united only by their material: gold. I refer to this skewing of objects from Panamá, Colombia,...

Identification of the pygmy dipole resonance in a well deformed nucleus by combined isoscalar and isovector probes

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The low-energy electric dipole response in the axially deformed 154Sm nucleus was investigated for the first time using complementary probes. The isoscalar (IS) response was extracted from an (α, α′γ) coincidence experiment and the isovector (IV) response from polarization observables measured with the ( p → , p → ′ ) reaction at 0∘. Both the IS and IV responses exhibit a resonance-like structure at excitation energies 5.5-6 MeV identified as the pygmy dipole resonance. Its evolution with deformation is investigated by comparison to the spherical isotope 144Sm. The low-energy IV strength in 154Sm departs from the K-splitting picture that characterizes the IV giant dipole resonance in this nucleus. This finding is further supported by the absence of significant IS strength above 7 MeV.

Control of Vegetation and Temperature on Topsoil Water Losses

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract Due to its location at the interface between land surface and atmosphere, soil moisture (SM) plays an important role in modulating energy, water and carbon fluxes. During periods of decreasing SM, SM loss is dependent on evapotranspiration (ET), drainage and changes in plant water storage. Investigating SM loss can give important insights into these processes. Here we use 25 years of global remote sensing data to investigate how SM loss is controlled by vegetation and temperature. We find that positive vegetation anomalies lead to slower SM loss in most areas, except for cold boreal forests. We hypothesize that these effects arise from competing effects of soil shading, transpiration and root water uptake by the vegetation. The effect whereby positive vegetation anomalies increase SM loss is limited to high SM conditions and disappears at lower SM, likely due to water stress limiting transpiration. By analyzing temperature and vegetation anomalies jointly we find...

Changes in Dietary Supplement Use Among Children and Adolescents in the United States, 2015–2016 to 2021–2023

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Changes in Dietary Supplement Use Among Children and Adolescents in the United States, 2015–2016 to 2021–2023

Probing the j dependence of angular distributions and N = 20 shell rigidity via the 36 S( p , d ) 35 S reaction

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Probing the j dependence of angular distributions and N = 20 shell rigidity via the 36 S( p , d ) 35 S reaction

Reduced visual acuity disrupts fixational stability but fails to fully capture amblyopic eye movements

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

PURPOSE: Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by diminished visual acuity (VA) and aberrant fixational eye movements (FEMs), affecting both the amblyopic and fellow eyes. While previous studies have established a strong correlation between impaired VA and increased fixational instability (FI), whether this reflects a causal relationship-or a shared downstream consequence of cortical dysfunction-remains unclear. We sought to determine whether reduced VA alone is sufficient to alter FEMs in the absence of developmental abnormalities. METHODS: To investigate whether reduced VA alone is sufficient to alter FEMs, we induced retinal defocus using convex lenses in neurotypical individuals (n = 5) and compared their FEM characteristics-microsaccade amplitude, latency, drift magnitude, and FI-with those of individuals with amblyopia (n = 7), under both monocular (nondominant eye only) and binocular viewing conditions. In addition to a control (0.0...

XAP5 CIRCADIAN TIMEKEEPER coordinates circadian rhythms and anthocyanin biosynthesis independently of splicing

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Circadian clocks provide plants with an adaptive advantage by enabling them to anticipate daily environmental changes. The periodicity of circadian clocks is regulated at multiple levels of gene expression, including transcription, mRNA processing, translation, and protein modification. Numerous mRNA splicing factors have been implicated in maintaining circadian period length. However, these factors often play additional roles in transcription, making it difficult to determine whether they affect the clock through splicing-dependent or -independent mechanisms. We and others have shown that XAP5 CIRCADIAN TIMEKEEPER (XCT) and components of the PRE-MRNA-PROCESSING FACTOR 19 (PRP19) complex, including the functionally redundant PRP19A and PRP19B, physically associate and regulate both splicing and circadian rhythms. Here, our transcriptome analyses reveal that the antagonistic regulation of circadian period length by XCT and PRP19 likely occurs through splicing-independent mechanisms....

Profiting from Regulation: An Event Study of the European Carbon Market

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Profiting from Regulation: An Event Study of the European Carbon Market

Navitas Worth $3.5 Billion on$50 Million Sales in AI Power Bet

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Navitas Worth $3.5 Billion on$50 Million Sales in AI Power Bet

On the Trail of the Trump Administration

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On the Trail of the Trump Administration

Modeling Binary Lenses and Sources with the BAGLE Python Package

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool that can be used to find and measure the mass of isolated and dark compact objects. In many microlensing events, the lens, the source, or both may be binary systems. In this work, we introduce binary source and lens models into the gravitational lensing formalism encoded in the Bayesian Analysis of Gravitational Lensing Events (BAGLE) Python software package. These new binary models in BAGLE account for Keplerian orbits. We also add binary models with fewer parameters that describe the binary orbital motion as acceleration, linear, or stationary motion of the secondary companion; these are useful when the orbit has a very low eccentricity or the orbital period is much longer than the microlensing timescale. The model parameterizations based on these binary lensing equations enable joint fitting of photometric and astrometric data sets. These binary models will be used to fit microlensing event data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory,...

Mango Doula

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Mango Doula is a 20-minute documentary following Marie and Jay as

they welcome their newborn with the help of community doula, Bethany “The Mango

Doula” Monsrud, whose work is guided by the ancestral wisdom of pre-colonial

Philippine shamans and healers. Through prenatal rituals, breathwork, recipes, and

intimate conversations, the two women explore the intimate connection between birth

and the ongoing struggle for sovereignty and identity both in the Philippines and in the

diaspora.

As first-generation children of immigrants, Marie and Bethany’s paths crossed in their

own individual journeys toward reconnecting with their ancestral roots. Using poetic

montages of nature, archival footage, and meaningful family objects, the film will blur

past and present– illustrating

Stranger Danger-How Random Video Chatting Websites Impact Children's Online Safety

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Stranger Danger-How Random Video Chatting Websites Impact Children's Online Safety

Blaxit: Black Americans build new lives in Mexico City

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Blaxit: Black Americans build new lives in Mexico City

Real-time monitoring of growth of neon film for electron-on-neon qubits

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Electron-on-neon (eNe) charge states coupled to superconducting circuits are a promising platform for quantum computing. Control over the formation of these charge states requires techniques to track and control the growth of solid Ne films on the circuit surface. We demonstrate a real-time Ne film-growth monitor using high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) YBCO microwave resonators. The high Tc enables tracking of the film thickness near Ne’s triple temperature and below. Across more than 300 solidification experiments, we find that the final Ne thickness varies stochastically from a few nanometers to a few microns for films solidified from the liquid phase. By increasing the driving power in the resonator, we consistently reduce the final thickness to below 100 nm. These results represent an important step toward controlled formation of Ne films for eNe qubits and highlight the broader utility of high-Tc resonators for hybrid quantum systems.

Oxygen-tolerant CO 2 capture using protected redox-driven reverse bias bipolar membrane electrodialysis

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Electrochemical methods for carbon capture potentially have the advantage of low cost and low energy consumption. The practical applicability of pH-swing carbon capture processes driven by proton-coupled redox-active molecules has been limited by the sensitivity of reduced molecules to oxidation by O2. In those CO2 capture processes, the molecules are reduced, basifying the electrolyte; the electrolyte containing the reduced molecules is exposed to air or flue gas containing CO2 but also containing enough O2 to oxidize the molecules. O2 sensitivity would not be problematic if the electrolyte that captures CO2 contains the oxidized form of the molecule instead; this can be accomplished by switching from an electron-driven system to an ion-driven system. We report the development and performance of a two-chamber flow cell incorporating a reverse-bias bipolar membrane (BPM) and non-proton-coupled redox-active molecules for ion-driven pH-swing. When using ferri/ferrocyanide electrolytes...

Impacts of warming on outdoor worker well-being in the tropics and adaptation options

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Over a billion outdoor workers live in the tropics, where nearly a fifth of all hours in the year are hot and humid enough to exceed recommended safety thresholds for workers conducting heavy labor. Reviews have focused on heat impacts on worker health, well-being, and productivity, but synthesis on how to increase resilience to heat for outdoor workers is lacking. Here we assess current and future heat exposure in the tropics and review four bodies of literature on heat impacts on workers. We also synthesize knowledge about mitigation and adaptation uncertainties as well as the actions that can be taken to strengthen worker resilience. We show that under an additional 1°C of warming, ∼800 million people in the tropics will live in areas where heavy work should be limited for over half of the hours in the year. Our review provides primary, secondary, and tertiary solutions that will inform policies and practices as well as research that is needed to bolster worker resilience and...

hashin_shtrikman_mp: a package for the optimal design and discovery of multi-phase composite materials

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

hashin_shtrikman_mp: a package for the optimal design and discovery of multi-phase composite materials

Makini: King of Powerslap