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Search for supersymmetry using vector boson fusion signatures and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a search for supersymmetric particles in models with highly compressed mass spectra, in events consistent with being produced through vector boson fusion. The search uses 140 fb −1 of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Events containing at least two jets with a large gap in pseudorapidity, large missing transverse momentum, and no reconstructed leptons are selected. A boosted decision tree is used to separate events consistent with the production of supersymmetric particles from those due to Standard Model backgrounds. The data are found to be consistent with Standard Model predictions. The results are interpreted using simplified models of R-parity-conserving supersymmetry in which the lightest supersymmetric partner is a bino-like neutralino with a mass similar to that of the lightest chargino and second-to-lightest neutralino, both of which are wino-like. Lower limits at 95% confidence level on the masses of next-to-lightest supersymmetric partners in this simplified model are established between 117 and 120 GeV when the lightest supersymmetric partners are within 1 GeV in mass.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into W(ℓν)b in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for single production of a vector-like quark Q, which could be either a singlet T, with charge $\frac{2}{3}$, or a Y from a (T, B, Y) triplet, with charge $-\frac{4}{3}$, is performed using data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data correspond to the full integrated luminosity of 140 fb −1 recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis targets Q → Wb decays where the W boson decays leptonically. The data are found to be consistent with the expected Standard Model background, so upper limits are set on the cross-section times branching ratio, and on the coupling of the Q to the Standard Model sector for these two benchmark models. Effects of interference with the Standard Model background are taken into account. For the singlet T, the 95% confidence level limit on the coupling strength κ ranges between 0.22 and 0.52 for masses from 1150 to 2300 GeV. For the (T, B, Y) triplet, the limits on κ vary from 0.14 to 0.46 for masses from 1150 to 2600 GeV.

beyond Standard Model↗

Measurement of the top-quark pole mass in dileptonic $t\overline{t}$ + 1-jet events at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS experiment

A measurement of the top-quark pole mass $m$$^{pole}_{t}$ is presented in $t\bar{t}$ events with an additional jet, $t\bar{t}$+ 1-jet, produced in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV. The data sample, recorded with the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the LHC, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb −1 . Events with one electron and one muon of opposite electric charge in the final state are selected to measure the $t\bar{t}$ + 1-jet differential cross-section as a function of the inverse of the invariant mass of the $t\bar{t}$ + 1-jet system. Iterative Bayesian Unfolding is used to correct the data to enable comparison with fixed-order calculations at next-to-leading-order accuracy in the strong coupling. The process pp → $t\bar{t}$j(2 → 3), where top quarks are taken as stable particles, and the process pp → $b\bar{b}$l + vl – $\overline{ν}$j (2 → 7), which includes top-quark decays to the dilepton final state and off-shell effects, are considered. The top-quark mass is extracted using a χ 2 fit of the unfolded normalized differential cross-section distribution. The results obtained with the 2 → 3 and 2 → 7 calculations are compatible within theoretical uncertainties, providing an important consistency check.

Hadron-Hadron Scattering↗

Search for resonant leptoquark production via lepton-jet signatures in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=13.6$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a search for physics beyond the Standard Model targeting a heavy resonance visible in the invariant mass of the lepton-jet system. The analysis focuses on final states with a high-energy lepton and jet, and is optimised for the resonant production of leptoquarks — a novel production mode mediated by the lepton content of the proton originating from quantum fluctuations. Four distinct and orthogonal final states are considered: e+light jet, μ+light jet, e+b-jet, and μ+b-jet, constituting the first search at the Large Hadron Collider for resonantly produced leptoquarks with couplings to electrons and muons. Events with an additional same-flavour lepton, as expected from higher-order diagrams in the signal process, are also included in each channel. The search uses proton-proton collision data from the full Run 2, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb −1 at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, and from a part of Run 3 (2022–2023), corresponding to 55 fb −1 at $\sqrt{s}=13.6$ TeV. No significant excess over Standard Model predictions is observed. The results are interpreted as exclusion limits on scalar leptoquark ($\tilde{S}$ 1 ) production, substantially improving upon previous ATLAS constraints from leptoquark pair production for large coupling values. The excluded $\tilde{S}$ 1 $\tilde{S}$ 1 mass ranges depend on the coupling strength, reaching up to 3.4 TeV for quark-lepton couplings y de = 1.0, and up to 4.3 TeV, 3.1 TeV, and 2.8 TeV for y sμ , y be , and y bμ couplings set to 3.5, respectively.

Hadron-Hadron Scattering↗

Synthesis of dehydro-α-lapachones, α- and β-lapachones, and screening against cancer cell lines

14 new naphthoquinones were prepared and tested against human cancer cell lines PC-3 (prostate), HCT-116 (colon carcinoma), SNB-19 (glioblastoma), HL-60 (leukemia) and MCF-7 (breast), and a nontumor cell line L929 (murine fibroblasts) to determine cytotoxicity with the MTT assay. 8-OH-β-lapachones (14a, 14c, 14d) presented best results, showing low IC{sub 50} values and high selectivity for HCT-116 and HL-60 tumor cells.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Design, synthesis, molecular docking, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of new phenylsulfamoyl carboxylic acids of pharmacological interest

Abstracts: The research explores the facile synthesis of some new phenylsulfamoyl carboxylic acids, their molecular docking, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. The procedure involved the mild reaction of amino acids with benzenesulfonyl chloride in a medium of aqueous base. The compounds were characterized using FTIR, {sup 1}H-NMR, {sup 13}C-NMR, and an elemental analysis. They were tested for their antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger microorganisms. The antioxidant activity of the compounds were measured in vitro by the inhibition of generated stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. The molecular docking was carried out properly and five different disease conditions were studied, namely: trypanosomiasis, malaria, bacterial, fungal infections, and oxidative stress. From the results, compounds 4c, 4d, 4e, and 4g possess more excellent in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities than the standard drug Ofloxacin used. Compound 4e displayed the most excellent antioxidant activity. Compound 4g showed significant 2D interaction with amino acid residue of urate oxidase from Aspergillus flavus complexed with uracil. Interestingly, compounds 4a, 4c, 4d, 4e, and 4g exhibited excellent antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antitrypanosome, and antimalaria activities comparable to the corresponding standard drugs such as Penicillin, Ketoconazole; α-Tocopherol, Melarsoprol, and Chloroquine respectively. All the compounds were confirmed drug-like according to “Lipinski’s rule of five”. The compounds were found to be promising antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and antitrypanosome agents.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Synthesis and in silico and in vitro evaluation of trimethoxy-benzamides designed as anti-prion derivatives

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also known as prion diseases, are neurodegenerative disorders which affect mammals, including the human species, and arise after the conversion of the monomeric cellular prion protein (PrP{sup C}) into the aggregated scrapie form (PrP{sup Sc}). There is no therapy to treat TSEs and the identification of compounds that bind PrP{sup C}, preventing its conversion into PrP{sup Sc}, is a viable therapeutic strategy. We designed and synthesized six novel trimethoxy-benzamide compounds as anti-prion drug candidates. Molecular docking analyses predicted that all the derivatives bind to a hotspot region located in the PrP globular domain with very similar spatial orientation and interaction mode. Although none of the analogs inhibited in vitro-aggregation of recombinant PrP (rPrP) in a cell-free conversion assay, the RT-QuIC, compound 8a accelerated rPrP conversion into PrP{sup Sc}-like species. STD-NMR and ITC analyses indicated that both 8a and 8b bind to rPrP{sup 90–231}. These analogs were toxic to PrP{sup Sc}-infected cell lines, hence we could not assess their anti-prion activity by using this cellular approach, although this toxicity was cell line-dependent. These results point out that the 4-amino-quinoline trimethoxy-benzamide scaffold described herein represents a novel chemical pattern useful as a starting point for future structural optimization in the design of PrP ligands with improved affinity and safety profiles.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Synthesis and anticancer effects of conjugates of doxorubicin and unsaturated fatty acids (LNA and DHA)

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a leading cytostatic drug with many adverse effects in use. We are still looking for methods that will allow us to preserve the therapeutic effect against the tumor cells and reduce the toxicity to the normal cells. In our work, we obtained amide derivatives of DOX by reaction of the amino group with α-linolenic (LNA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids (2, 3), as well as double-substituted derivatives via amide and ester linkages (4, 5). The structures of the compounds were confirmed by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR), Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C NMR), and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) analyses. For all compounds 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to determine the cytotoxic effect on human cancer cell lines (SW480, SW620, and PC3) and Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (V79) that were used as a control. The cytotoxic activity was established by calculation of the inhibitory concentration IC{sub 50}. In addition, a cytotoxic capacity against tumor cells for tested compounds was expressed as a selectivity factor (selectivity index, SI). Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was performed for all compounds to assess the level of cell damage. To explain the basic mechanism of cell death induction the Annexin V-FITC/IP flow cytometry analysis was investigated. We found that all studied conjugates exhibit lower cytotoxicity but higher selectivity than DOX. Among the all derivatives, the conjugates formed by the amide and ester linkages (4, 5) were found to be more promising compared with conjugates (2, 3) formed only by the amide linkage. They show high cytotoxicity toward the tumor cell lines and moderate cytotoxicity towards the normal cell line.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Screening for anticancer properties of thiazolidinedione compounds in a galactose media metastatic breast cancer cell model

The metastatic tumors of breast cancer lead to the mortality of patients in part due to the failure of chemotherapeutics to reach the brain and emergence of drug resistance. With the increase in drug resistance, we focused on targeting mitochondrial metabolism, which was recently found to be a viable and novel drug target in breast cancer. Here we screened several ligands for anticancer activity in a phenotypic screen using the MTT dye as a marker for cell proliferation. MCF-7 breast cancer cells were treated with compounds in the presence of galactose to ensure mitochondrial interaction by the compounds. The lead compound of our group, NL-1, a thiazolidinedione (TZD), was found to inhibit cell proliferation with an IC{sub 50} of 7.1 μM, whereas its unsaturated derivative CI-987 was more potent with a IC{sub 50} of 3.3 μM. The TZDs were affected by substitution on both the aromatic ring and the TZD warhead. Taken together, these compounds can serve as lead structures for mitochondrial targeted drug discovery programs in breast cancer.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Synthesis of novel benzimidazole–oxadiazole derivatives as potent anticancer activity

DNA topoisomerase I regulates DNA topological structure in many cellular metabolic processes and is a validated target for the development of antitumor agents. In this work, a series of novel 2-[(5-(4-(5(6)-substituted-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)thio]-1-(4-substitutedphenyl)ethan-1-ones (4a–4s) derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated for DNA Topo I inhibition and cytotoxicity. The structures of the compounds (4a–4s) were confirmed by IR, {sup 1}H-NMR, {sup 13}C-NMR, 2D NMR, and mass spectroscopy. Anticancer activity of these compounds was assessed against two different human cancer cell lines A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma) and HepG2 (human liver cancer cell line), as well as normal mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (NIH3T3). IC{sub 50} values of compounds 4a, 4c, and 4f were highest than those exhibited for the reference drug cisplatin. Then, the inhibitory effect of 4a, 4c, and 4f compounds on topoisomerase I enzyme with the relaxation assay was investigated on supercoiled DNA using agarose gel electrophoresis. The Annexin V-FITC assay demonstrated that these compounds induce cell death by apoptosis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Structure-antioxidant activity relationships, QSAR, DFT calculation, and mechanisms of flavones and flavonols

DFT calculations were performed on nine flavones and flavonols to explain their high antioxidant activity and variations in their activity. Conformational analysis showed that only flavonols with 3-OH directed toward the B-ring are nonplanar; however, flavones and resulted radicals are planar. Hydroxyl group eligible for dissociation is the one with ortho OH directed toward it; otherwise, one of B-ring (in 2′ or 4′-position) hydroxyl group. There are two main factors responsible for stabilizing the resulted radicals and lowering the bond dissociation energy and hence there were found well correlated with the experimental activity. First, driving force resulted from the conversion of nonplanar flavonols to planar radicals accompanied by resonance toward the carbonyl group and H-bond formation with 3-OH and second, radical stabilization by H-bond with ortho hydroxyl group with resonance toward carbonyl or pyrone oxygen. All resonance and H-bonds were confirmed by spin density, bond length, and molecular orbital calculations.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Adaptive laboratory evolution of methylotrophic Escherichia coli enables synthesis of all amino acids from methanol-derived carbon

Recent attempts to create synthetic Escherichia coli methylotrophs identified that de novo biosynthesis of amino acids, in the presence of methanol, presents significant challenges in achieving autonomous methylotrophic growth. Previously engineered methanol-dependent strains required co-utilization of stoichiometric amounts of co-substrates and methanol. As such, these strains could not be evolved to grow on methanol alone. In this work, we have explored an alternative approach to enable biosynthesis of all amino acids from methanol-derived carbon in minimal media without stoichiometric coupling. First, we identified that biosynthesis of threonine was limiting the growth of our methylotrophic E. coli. To address this, we performed adaptive laboratory evolution to generate a strain that grew efficiently in minimal medium with methanol and threonine. Methanol assimilation and growth of the evolved strain were analyzed and, interestingly, we found that the evolved strain synthesized all amino acids, including threonine, from methanol-derived carbon. Here, the evolved strain was then further engineered through overexpression of an optimized threonine biosynthetic pathway. We show that the resulting methylotrophic E. coli strain has a methanol-dependent growth phenotype with homoserine as co-substrate. In contrast to previous methanol-dependent strains, co-utilization of homoserine is not stoichiometrically linked to methanol assimilation. As such, future engineering of this strain and successive adaptive evolution could enable autonomous growth on methanol as the sole carbon source.

13C-labeling analysis↗

Omics-driven onboarding of the carotenoid producing red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous CBS 6938

Transcriptomics is a powerful approach for functional genomics and systems biology, yet it can also be used for genetic part discovery. Here, we derive constitutive and light-regulated promoters directly from transcriptomics data of the basidiomycete red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous CBS 6938 (anamorph Phaffia rhodozyma) and use these promoters with other genetic elements to create a modular synthetic biology parts collection for this organism. X. dendrorhous is currently the sole biotechnologically relevant yeast in the Tremellomycete class-it produces large amounts of astaxanthin, especially under oxidative stress and exposure to light. Thus, we performed transcriptomics on X. dendrorhous under different wavelengths of light (red, green, blue, and ultraviolet) and oxidative stress. Differential gene expression analysis (DGE) revealed that terpenoid biosynthesis was primarily upregulated by light through crtI, while oxidative stress upregulated several genes in the pathway. Further gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed a complex survival response to ultraviolet (UV) where X. dendrorhous upregulates aromatic amino acid and tetraterpenoid biosynthesis and downregulates central carbon metabolism and respiration. The DGE data was also used to identify 26 constitutive and regulated genes, and then, putative promoters for each of the 26 genes were derived from the genome. Simultaneously, a modular cloning system for X. dendrorhous was developed, including integration sites, terminators, selection markers, and reporters. Each of the 26 putative promoters were integrated into the genome and characterized by luciferase assay in the dark and under UV light. The putative constitutive promoters were constitutive in the synthetic genetic context, but so were many of the putative regulated promoters. Notably, one putative promoter, derived from a hypothetical gene, showed ninefold activation upon UV exposure. Thus, this study reveals metabolic pathway regulation and develops a genetic parts collection for X. dendrorhous from transcriptomic data. Therefore, this study demonstrates that combining systems biology and synthetic biology into an omics-to-parts workflow can simultaneously provide useful biological insight and genetic tools for nonconventional microbes, particularly those without a related model organism. This approach can enhance current efforts to engineer diverse microbes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

The impact of demographic, clinical, genetic, and imaging variables on tau PET status

Purpose: A substantial proportion of amyloid-β (Aβ)+ patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are tau PET–negative, while some clinically diagnosed non-AD neurodegenerative disorder (non-AD) patients or cognitively unimpaired (CU) subjects are tau PET–positive. We investigated which demographic, clinical, genetic, and imaging variables contributed to tau PET status. Methods: We included 2338 participants (430 Aβ+ AD dementia, 381 Aβ+ MCI, 370 non-AD, and 1157 CU) who underwent [ 18 F]flortaucipir ( n = 1944) or [ 18 F]RO948 ( n = 719) PET. Tau PET positivity was determined in the entorhinal cortex, temporal meta-ROI, and Braak V-VI regions using previously established cutoffs. We performed bivariate binary logistic regression models with tau PET status (positive/negative) as dependent variable and age, sex, APOE ε4, Aβ status (only in CU and non-AD analyses), MMSE, global white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and AD-signature cortical thickness as predictors. Additionally, we performed multivariable binary logistic regression models to account for all other predictors in the same model. Results: Tau PET positivity in the temporal meta-ROI was 88.6% for AD dementia, 46.5% for MCI, 9.5% for non-AD, and 6.1% for CU. Among Aβ+ participants with AD dementia and MCI, lower age, MMSE score, and AD-signature cortical thickness showed the strongest associations with tau PET positivity. In non-AD and CU participants, presence of Aβ was the strongest predictor of a positive tau PET scan. Conclusion: We identified several demographic, clinical, and neurobiological factors that are important to explain the variance in tau PET retention observed across the AD pathological continuum, non-AD neurodegenerative disorders, and cognitively unimpaired persons.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Synthetic feed-forward loop circuit boosts transgene expression in sugarcane

Bio-based products derived from natural plant-derived materials offer a promising alternative to petroleum-based products, which are essential for achieving global sustainability (Gupta et al. 2022). Sugarcane provides 40% of the world’s biofuel (Brant et al. 2025). Recently, metabolic engineering of sugarcane for hyperaccumulation of biomass oil is emerging as a strategy to elevate the crop’s energy content (Cao et al. 2023; Maitra et al. 2024). Synthetic transcription factors offer a powerful tool for modulating entire metabolic pathways by enabling fine-tuned activation or repression of specific genes (Liu and Stewart 2016; Hooghvorst and Altpeter 2023). However, the application of these technologies faces challenges, including the availability of well-characterized genetic building blocks for precise manipulation of gene expression, and the inherently challenging properties of gene expression in highly polyploid crops like sugarcane (Liu and Stewart 2016).

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Dietary B group vitamin intake and the bladder cancer risk: a pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies

Abstract Purpose Diet may play an essential role in the aetiology of bladder cancer (BC). The B group complex vitamins involve diverse biological functions that could be influential in cancer prevention. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between various components of the B group vitamin complex and BC risk. Methods Dietary data were pooled from four cohort studies. Food item intake was converted to daily intakes of B group vitamins and pooled multivariate hazard ratios (HRs), with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were obtained using Cox-regression models. Dose–response relationships were examined using a nonparametric test for trend. Results In total, 2915 BC cases and 530,012 non-cases were included in the analyses. The present study showed an increased BC risk for moderate intake of vitamin B1 (HR B1 : 1.13, 95% CI: 1.00–1.20). In men, moderate intake of the vitamins B1, B2, energy-related vitamins and high intake of vitamin B1 were associated with an increased BC risk (HR (95% CI): 1.13 (1.02–1.26), 1.14 (1.02–1.26), 1.13 (1.02–1.26; 1.13 (1.02–1.26), respectively). In women, high intake of all vitamins and vitamin combinations, except for the entire complex, showed an inverse association (HR (95% CI): 0.80 (0.67–0.97), 0.83 (0.70–1.00); 0.77 (0.63–0.93), 0.73 (0.61–0.88), 0.82 (0.68–0.99), 0.79 (0.66–0.95), 0.80 (0.66–0.96), 0.74 (0.62–0.89), 0.76 (0.63–0.92), respectively). Dose–response analyses showed an increased BC risk for higher intake of vitamin B1 and B12. Conclusion Our findings highlight the importance of future research on the food sources of B group vitamins in the context of the overall and sex-stratified diet.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Association of small vessel disease with tau pathology

Emerging evidence suggests that small vessel disease (SVD) is a risk factor for clinical dementia and may contribute to AD neuropathological changes. Watershed brain regions are located at the most distal areas between arterial territories, making them vulnerable to SVD-related changes. We examined the association of pathologic markers of SVD, specifically arteriolosclerosis in watershed brain regions, with AD pathologic changes. Participants (N= 982; mean age-at-death = 90; 69% women) were enrolled as part of one of two cohort studies of aging and dementia. At autopsy, neuropathological evaluation included semi-quantitative grading of arteriolosclerosis pathology from 2 cortical watershed regions: the anterior watershed (AWS) and posterior watershed (PWS), densities for cortical β-amyloid and tau-tangle pathology, and other common age-related pathologies. Linear regression models examined the association of watershed arteriolosclerosis pathology with β-amyloid and tau-tangle burden. In follow-up analyses, available ex-vivo MRI and proteomics data in a subset of decedents were leveraged to examine the association of whole brain measure of WMH, as a presumed MRI marker of SVD, with β-amyloid and tau-tangle burden, as well as to examine the association of watershed arteriolosclerosis with proteomic tau. Watershed arteriolosclerosis was common, with 45% of older persons having moderate-to-severe arteriolosclerosis pathology in the AWS region, and 35% in the PWS. In fully adjusted models that controlled for demographics and common age-related pathologies, an increase in severity of PWS arteriolosclerosis was associated with a higher burden of tau-tangle burden, specifically neocortical tau burden, but not with β-amyloid. AWS arteriolosclerosis was not associated with β-amyloid or tau pathology. Ex-vivo WMH was associated with greater tau-tangle pathology burden but not β-amyloid. Furthermore, PWS arteriolosclerosis was associated with higher abundance of tau phosphopeptides, that promote formation of tau aggregates. These data provide compelling evidence that SVD, specifically posterior watershed arteriolosclerosis pathology, is linked with tau pathological changes in the aging brain.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗