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Duplications and losses of genes encoding known elements of the stress defence system of the Aspergilli contribute to the evolution of these filamentous fungi but do not directly influence their environmental stress tolerance

The contribution of stress protein duplication and deletion events to the evolution of the Aspergilli was studied. We performed a large-scale homology analysis of stress proteins and generated and analysed three stress defence system models based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Aspergillus nidulans . Although both yeast-based and A. nidulans -based models were suitable to trace evolutionary changes, the A. nidulans -based model performed better in mapping stress protein radiations. The strong Mantel correlation found between the positions of species in the phylogenetic tree on the one hand and either in the A. nidulans -based or S. cerevisiae -based models on the other hand demonstrated that stress protein expansions and reductions contributed significantly to the evolution of the Aspergilli. Interestingly, stress tolerance attributes correlated well with the number of orthologs only for a few stress proteins. Notable examples are Ftr1 iron permease and Fet3 ferro-O 2 -oxidoreductase, elements of the reductive iron assimilation pathway, in the S. cerevisiae -based model, as well as MpkC, a HogA-like mitogen activated protein kinase in the A. nidulans-based model. In the case of the iron assimilation proteins, the number of orthologs showed a positive correlation with H 2 O 2 -induced stress tolerance while the number of MpkC orthologs correlated positively with Congo Red induced cell wall stress, sorbitol induced osmotic stress and H 2 O 2 induced oxidative stress tolerances. For most stress proteins, changes in the number of orthologs did not correlate well with any stress tolerance attributes. As a consequence, stress tolerance patterns of the studied Aspergilli did not correlate with either the sets of stress response proteins in general or with the phylogeny of the species studied. These observations suggest that stress protein duplication and deletion events significantly contributed to the evolution of stress tolerance attributes of Aspergilli. In contrast, there are other processes, which may counterbalance the effects of stress gene duplications or deletions including (i) alterations in the structures of stress proteins leading to changes in their biological activities, (ii) varying biosynthesis of stress proteins, (iii) rewiring stress response regulatory networks or even (iv) acquiring new stress response genes by horizontal gene transfer. As a result, all these multilevel changes are indispensable for the successful adaptation of filamentous fungi to altering environmental conditions, especially when these organisms are entering new ecological niches.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Nonlinear encoding in diffractive information processing using linear optical materials

Nonlinear encoding of optical information can be achieved using various forms of data representation. Here, we analyze the performances of different nonlinear information encoding strategies that can be employed in diffractive optical processors based on linear materials and shed light on their utility and performance gaps compared to the state-of-the-art digital deep neural networks. For a comprehensive evaluation, we used different datasets to compare the statistical inference performance of simpler-to-implement nonlinear encoding strategies that involve, e.g., phase encoding, against data repetition-based nonlinear encoding strategies. We show that data repetition within a diffractive volume (e.g., through an optical cavity or cascaded introduction of the input data) causes the loss of the universal linear transformation capability of a diffractive optical processor. Therefore, data repetition-based diffractive blocks cannot provide optical analogs to fully connected or convolutional layers commonly employed in digital neural networks. However, they can still be effectively trained for specific inference tasks and achieve enhanced accuracy, benefiting from the nonlinear encoding of the input information. Our results also reveal that phase encoding of input information without data repetition provides a simpler nonlinear encoding strategy with comparable statistical inference accuracy to data repetition-based diffractive processors. Our analyses and conclusions would be of broad interest to explore the push-pull relationship between linear material-based diffractive optical systems and nonlinear encoding strategies in visual information processors.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Minimal-memory realization of pearl-necklace encoders of general quantum convolutional codes

Quantum convolutional codes, like their classical counterparts, promise to offer higher error correction performance than block codes of equivalent encoding complexity, and are expected to find important applications in reliable quantum communication where a continuous stream of qubits is transmitted. Grassl and Roetteler devised an algorithm to encode a quantum convolutional code with a ''pearl-necklace'' encoder. Despite their algorithm's theoretical significance as a neat way of representing quantum convolutional codes, it is not well suited to practical realization. In fact, there is no straightforward way to implement any given pearl-necklace structure. This paper closes the gap between theoretical representation and practical implementation. In our previous work, we presented an efficient algorithm to find a minimal-memory realization of a pearl-necklace encoder for Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) convolutional codes. This work is an extension of our previous work and presents an algorithm for turning a pearl-necklace encoder for a general (non-CSS) quantum convolutional code into a realizable quantum convolutional encoder. We show that a minimal-memory realization depends on the commutativity relations between the gate strings in the pearl-necklace encoder. We find a realization by means of a weighted graph which details the noncommutative paths through the pearl necklace. The weight of the longest path in this graph is equal to the minimal amount of memory needed to implement the encoder. The algorithm has a polynomial-time complexity in the number of gate strings in the pearl-necklace encoder.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Quantum Adiabatic Optimization with Rydberg Arrays: Localization Phenomena and Encoding Strategies

Quantum adiabatic optimization seeks to solve combinatorial problems using quantum dynamics, requiring the Hamiltonian of the system to align with the problem of interest. However, these Hamiltonians are often incompatible with the native constraints of quantum hardware, necessitating encoding strategies to map the original problem into a hardware-conformant form. While the classical overhead associated with such mappings is easily quantifiable and typically polynomial in problem size, it is much harder to quantify their overhead on the quantum algorithm, e.g., the transformation of the adiabatic timescale. In this work, we address this challenge on the concrete example of the encoding scheme proposed in [Nguyen , PRX Quantum , 010316 (2023)], which is designed to map optimization problems on arbitrarily connected graphs into Rydberg atom arrays. We consider the fundamental building blocks underlying this encoding scheme and determine the scaling of the minimum gap with system size along adiabatic protocols. Even when the original problem is trivially solvable, we find that the encoded problem can exhibit an exponentially closing minimum gap. We show that this originates from a quantum coherent effect, which gives rise to an unfavorable localization of the ground-state wave function. On the QuEra Aquila neutral atom machine, we observe such localization and its effect on the success probability of finding the correct solution to the encoded optimization problem. Finally, we propose quantum-aware modifications of the encoding scheme that avoid this quantum bottleneck and lead to an exponential improvement in the adiabatic performance. This highlights the crucial importance of accounting for quantum effects when designing strategies to encode classical problems onto quantum platforms. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Bombieri, Lisa (ORCID:0009000950422897)↗

Non-Traditional Input Encoding Schemes for Spiking Neuromorphic Systems

A key challenge for utilizing spiking neural networks or spiking neuromorphic systems for most applications is translating numerical data into spikes that are appropriate to apply as input to a spiking neural network. In this work, we present several approaches for encoding numerical values as spikes, including binning, spike-count encoding, and charge-injection encoding, and we show how these approaches can be combined hierarchically to form more complex encoding schemes. We demonstrate how these different encoding approaches perform on four different applications, running on four different neuromorphic systems that are based on spiking neural networks. We show that the input encoding method can have a significant effect on application performance and that the best input encoding method is application-specific.

Schuman, Catherine↗

Optical delay encoding for fast timing and detector signal multiplexing in PET

Purpose: The large number of detector channels in modern positron emission tomography (PET) scanners poses a challenge in terms of readout electronics complexity. Multiplexing schemes are typically implemented to reduce the number of physical readout channels, but often result in performance degradation. Novel methods of multiplexing in PET must be developed to avoid this data degradation. The preservation of fast timing information is especially important for time-of-flight PET. Methods: A new multiplexing scheme based on encoding detector interaction events with a series of extremely fast overlapping optical pulses with precise delays is demonstrated in this work. Encoding events in this way potentially allows many detector channels to be simultaneously encoded onto a single optical fiber that is then read out by a single digitizer. A two channel silicon photomultiplier-based prototype utilizing this optical delay encoding technique along with dual threshold time-over-threshold is demonstrated. Results: The optical encoding and multiplexing prototype achieves a coincidence time resolution of 160 ps full width at half maximum (FWHM) and an energy resolution of 13.1% FWHM at 511 keV with 3 × 3 × 5 mm{sup 3} LYSO crystals. All interaction information for both detectors, including timing, energy, and channel identification, is encoded onto a single optical fiber with little degradation. Conclusions: Optical delay encoding and multiplexing technology could lead to time-of-flight PET scanners with fewer readout channels and simplified data acquisition systems.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

L-lactic acid production from D-xylose with Candida sonorensis expressing a heterologous lactate dehydrogenase encoding gene

Bioplastics, like polylactic acid (PLA), are renewable alternatives for petroleum-based plastics. Lactic acid, the monomer of PLA, has traditionally been produced biotechnologically with bacteria. With genetic engineering, yeast have the potential to replace bacteria in biotechnological lactic acid production, with the benefits of being acid tolerant and having simple nutritional requirements. Lactate dehydrogenase genes have been introduced to various yeast to demonstrate this potential. Importantly, an industrial lactic acid producing process utilising yeast has already been implemented. Utilisation of D-xylose in addition to D-glucose in production of biochemicals such as lactic acid by microbial fermentation would be beneficial, as it would allow lignocellulosic raw materials to be utilised in the production processes. The yeast Candida sonorensis, which naturally metabolises D-xylose, was genetically modified to produce L-lactic acid from D-xylose by integrating the gene encoding L-lactic acid dehydrogenase (ldhL) from Lactobacillus helveticus into its genome. In microaerobic, CaCO 3 -buffered conditions a C. sonorensis ldhL transformant having two copies of the ldhL gene produced 31 g l -1 lactic acid from 50 g l -1 D-xylose free of ethanol. Anaerobic production of lactic acid from D-xylose was assessed after introducing an alternative pathway of D-xylose metabolism, i.e. by adding a xylose isomerase encoded by XYLA from Piromyces sp. alone or together with the xylulokinase encoding gene XKS1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Strains were further modified by deletion of the endogenous xylose reductase encoding gene, alone or together with the xylitol dehydrogenase encoding gene. Strains of C. sonorensis expressing xylose isomerase produced L-lactic acid from D-xylose in anaerobic conditions. The highest anaerobic L-lactic acid production (8.5 g l -1 ) was observed in strains in which both the xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase encoding genes had been deleted and the xylulokinase encoding gene from S. cerevisiae was overexpressed. Integration of two copies of the ldhL gene in C. sonorensis was sufficient to obtain good L-lactic acid production from D-xylose. Under anaerobic conditions, the ldhL strain with exogenous xylose isomerase and xylulokinase genes expressed and the endogenous xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase genes deleted had the highest L- lactic acid production.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Relative Abundance of Soil Nutrient‐Degrading Enzyme‐Encoding Genes Across Continental US Ecoregions

Understanding the spatiotemporal patterns in the relative abundance of soil extracellular enzyme‐encoding genes is critical for predicting microbial responses to environmental change and their potential role in nutrient cycling. Yet, integrating novel metagenomic observations with spatiotemporal environmental gradients to infer regional patterns and future trajectories has remained unclear. To address this gap, we applied a machine learning (ML) approach, integrating soil metagenomic data with environmental variables—soil properties, topography, vegetation, and climate—to predict the relative abundance of enzyme‐encoding genes for soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) across surface soils of the continental United States. We assessed potential responses under future emission scenarios (SSP2‐4.5 and SSP5‐8.5) by comparing a baseline (1985–2014) to a future period (2071–2100). The ML model explained 57%–63% of baseline variation. Precipitation was identified as the most influential factor for the relative abundance of C‐ and N‐degrading enzyme‐encoding genes, while slope length, representing horizontal distance that water can travel downslope, was the primary driver for P‐degrading enzyme‐encoding genes abundance. Projections revealed spatially heterogeneous shifts across continental US ecoregions: the relative abundance of C‐ and N‐degrading enzyme‐encoding genes decreased in wetter ecoregions and increased in drier ecoregions under future climate, while P‐degrading enzyme‐encoding genes abundance decreased significantly in semiarid and Mediterranean ecoregions. This study demonstrates the utility of metagenomic data for mapping soil genetic potential and predicting its regional response to environmental change, to inform ecosystem management strategies.

extracellular enzyme-encoding genes↗

An efficient quantum circuit for block encoding a pairing Hamiltonian

We present an efficient quantum circuit for block encoding a pairing Hamiltonian often studied in nuclear physics. Our block encoding scheme does not require mapping the creation and annihilation operators to the Pauli operators and representing the Hamiltonian as a linear combination of unitaries. Instead, we show how to encode the Hamiltonian directly using controlled swap operations. We analyze the gate complexity of the block encoding circuit and show that it scales polynomially with respect to the number of qubits required to represent a quantum state associated with the pairing Hamiltonian. We also show how the block encoding circuit can be combined with the quantum singular value transformation to construct an efficient quantum circuit for approximating the density of states of a pairing Hamiltonian. The techniques presented can be extended to encode more general second-quantized Hamiltonians.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

F-Hash: Feature-Based Hash Design for Time-Varying Volume Visualization via Multi-Resolution Tesseract Encoding

Interactive time-varying volume visualization is challenging due to its complex spatiotemporal features and sheer size of the dataset. Recent works transform the original discrete time-varying volumetric data into continuous Implicit Neural Representations (INR) to address the issues of compression, rendering, and super-resolution in both spatial and temporal domains. However, training the INR takes a long time to converge, especially when handling large-scale time-varying volumetric datasets. In this work, we proposed F-Hash, a novel feature-based multi-resolution Tesseract encoding architecture to greatly enhance the convergence speed compared with existing input encoding methods for modeling time-varying volumetric data. The proposed design incorporates multi-level collision-free hash functions that map dynamic 4D multi-resolution embedding grids without bucket waste, achieving high encoding capacity with compact encoding parameters. Our encoding method is agnostic to time-varying feature detection methods, making it a unified encoding solution for feature tracking and evolution visualization. Experiments show the F-Hash achieves state-of-the-art convergence speed in training various time-varying volumetric datasets for diverse features. We also proposed an adaptive ray marching algorithm to optimize the sample streaming for faster rendering of the time-varying neural representation.

deep learning↗

Encoding integers and rationals on neuromorphic computers using virtual neuron

Abstract Neuromorphic computers emulate the human brain while being extremely power efficient for computing tasks. In fact, they are poised to be critical for energy-efficient computing in the future. Neuromorphic computers are primarily used in spiking neural network–based machine learning applications. However, they are known to be Turing-complete, and in theory can perform all general-purpose computation. One of the biggest bottlenecks in realizing general-purpose computations on neuromorphic computers today is the inability to efficiently encode data on the neuromorphic computers. To fully realize the potential of neuromorphic computers for energy-efficient general-purpose computing, efficient mechanisms must be devised for encoding numbers. Current encoding mechanisms (e.g., binning, rate-based encoding, and time-based encoding) have limited applicability and are not suited for general-purpose computation. In this paper, we present the virtual neuron abstraction as a mechanism for encoding and adding integers and rational numbers by using spiking neural network primitives. We evaluate the performance of the virtual neuron on physical and simulated neuromorphic hardware. We estimate that the virtual neuron could perform an addition operation using just 23 nJ of energy on average with a mixed-signal, memristor-based neuromorphic processor. We also demonstrate the utility of the virtual neuron by using it in some of the μ -recursive functions, which are the building blocks of general-purpose computation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Contradictory Ambiguous Revocable Assertion Tracker (CARAT) Encoding

How data is encoded in a knowledge graph directly influences what can be done with that data. A common problem with many encodings is that they have difficulty representing ambiguity and evolution inherent in many real-world data sets. The data encoding represented in this paper (called CARAT) is a graph-level description of our attempt to capture data that is contradictory, ambiguous and evolves over time (including deleting information). The data encoding relies on tracking assertions about subjects rather than directly tracking states. This encoding decision resolves many issues our team had experienced using other data encodings but produces a a larger graph. This is a preliminary presentation of our experience with CARAT.

Cottam, Joseph A. [BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)]↗