Cross-neutralizing antibodies bind a SARS-CoV-2 cryptic site and resist circulating variants

The emergence of numerous variants of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, has presented new challenges to the global efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we obtain two cross-neutralizing antibodies (7D6 and 6D6) that target Sarbecoviruses’ receptor-binding domain (RBD) with sub-picomolar affinities and potently neutralize authentic SARS-CoV-2. Crystal structures show that both antibodies bind a cryptic site different from that recognized by existing antibodies and highly conserved across Sarbecovirus isolates. Binding of these two antibodies to the RBD clashes with the adjacent N-terminal domain and disrupts the viral spike. Both antibodies confer good resistance to mutations in the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. Thus, our results have direct relevance to public health as options for passive antibody therapeutics and even active prophylactics. They can also inform the design of pan-sarbecovirus vaccines.

What do ‘propositions’ do for research-creation? Truth and modality in Whitehead and Wittgenstein

Research-creation is a way of researching socio-material processes as art practices. Scholars and artists pursuing research-creation often reference Whitehead’s conceptualisation of the ‘proposition’ as a key theoretical device for speculative and creative work. However, this scholarship perhaps downplays the truth/false distinction that is essential to Whitehead’s account of the proposition in favour of the proposition’s potential as a speculative tool. In this paper, I explore the proposition as conceptualized by Whitehead. I think with a series of music theory concepts to theorise how Whitehead’s proposition explores a modality of truth. I then discuss how the concept is taken up in research-creation. I frictionally bring together Whitehead’s articulation of the proposition with that of the early Wittgenstein’s. Finally, I discuss some promises and perils of this approach, with direct relevance to questions around research method and methodology in the social sciences. This article is of relevance to scholars interested in research applications of process philosophy, graduate or post-graduate students interested in an introduction to Whitehead, and research-creation practitioners interested in the proposition.

Cross-neutralizing antibodies bind a SARS-CoV-2 cryptic site and resist to circulating variants

The emergence of numerous variants of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, has presented new challenges to the global efforts to control the still ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we obtain two cross-neutralizing antibodies (7D6 and 6D6) that target Sarbecoviruses’ receptor binding domain (RBD) with sub-picomolar affinities and potently neutralize authentic SARS-CoV-2. Crystal structures show that both antibodies bind a cryptic site different from that recognized by existing antibodies and highly conserved across Sarbecovirus isolates. Binding of these two antibodies to the RBD clashes with the adjacent N-terminal domain and disrupts the viral spike. Significantly, both antibodies confer good mutation resistance to the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. Thus, our results have direct relevance to public health as options for passive antibody therapeutics and even active prophylactics, and can also inform the design of pan-sarbecovirus vaccines.

The Cinema Centaur

The 1960s witnessed the transformation of “film factories” from metaphor to lived reality. Lenfilm’s output rose once more to the levels its predecessor studios had reached in the 1920s, but the conditions of production were now far more complex and demanding, with staffs more than ten times the size. And while the 1960s was an era of optimistic emphasis on the Soviet film industry’s capacity to equal and surpass the world in technological terms, during the 1970s, the conviction took hold that the technological superiority of Western films was of direct relevance to audience share. Increasingly, ambitious filmmakers petitioned Goskino for permission to shoot on Kodak and to use Arriflex cameras; criticism of inferior Soviet film stock and GDR-produced film editing tables mounted, both across the USSR and at Lenfilm itself. Yet investment in studio infrastructure and technology remained at best haphazard, particularly at Lenfilm, which enjoyed less generous support from the center than Mosfilm, but also more limited resourcing than film studios in the capitals of Soviet republics. At the same time, Lenfilm had an unusually diverse, energetic, inventive, and loyal workforce, with corporate values that inspired manual workers and porters as well as “creative” personnel. Hierarchical at some levels, the work culture was egalitarian at others, and the frenetic process of scrambling to finish films in trying circumstances created strong bonds. The chapter explores the various conflicts and contradictions, but also rewards, that this situation generated.

Cats (Felis catus) Show No Avoidance of People Who Behave Negatively to Their Owner

Humans evaluate others based on interactions between third parties, even when those interactions are of no direct relevance to the observer. Such social evaluation is not limited to humans. We previously showed that dogs avoided a person who behaved negatively to their owner (Chijiiwa et al., 2015). Here, we explored whether domestic cats, another common companion animal, similarly evaluate humans based on third-party interactions. We used the same procedure that we used with dogs: cats watched as their owner first tried unsuccessfully to open a transparent container to take out an object, and then requested help from a person sitting nearby. In the Helper condition, this second person (helper) helped the owner to open the container, whereas in the Non-Helper condition the actor refused to help, turning away instead. A third, passive (neutral) person sat on the other side of the owner in both conditions. After the interaction, the actor and the neutral person each offered a piece of food to the cat, and we recorded which person the cat took food from. Cats completed four trials and showed neither a preference for the helper nor avoidance of the non-helper. We consider that cats might not possess the same social evaluation abilities as dogs, at least in this situation, because unlike the latter, they have not been selected to cooperate with humans. However, further work on cats’ social evaluation capacities needs to consider ecological validity, notably with regard to the species’ sociality.

Aspects of Neuroplasticity

The brain exhibits an impressive degree of plasticity, even as it ages. Plasticity is really an intrinsic feature of the nervous system, not an exceptional or occasional state. Neuroplasticity comprises a family of different types of plasticity. Of these, synaptic plasticity is perhaps the best-understood variety, and it plays an important role in cortical map reorganization and memory consolidation. Cortical map plasticity is of direct relevance to any discussion of modularity. There are two types of cortical map plasticity: intramodal (within a modality) and crossmodal. Crossmodal plasticity is likely to arise from the underlying supramodal (or “metamodal”) organization of the brain.

Genomics of the Argentinian cholera epidemic elucidate the contrasting dynamics of epidemic and endemic Vibrio cholerae

In order to control and eradicate epidemic cholera, we need to understand how epidemics begin, how they spread, and how they decline and eventually end. This requires extensive sampling of epidemic disease over time, alongside the background of endemic disease that may exist concurrently with the epidemic. The unique circumstances surrounding the Argentinian cholera epidemic of 1992–1998 presented an opportunity to do this. Here, we use 490 Argentinian V. cholerae genome sequences to characterise the variation within, and between, epidemic and endemic V. cholerae. We show that, during the 1992–1998 cholera epidemic, the invariant epidemic clone co-existed alongside highly diverse members of the Vibrio cholerae species in Argentina, and we contrast the clonality of epidemic V. cholerae with the background diversity of local endemic bacteria. Our findings refine and add nuance to our genomic definitions of epidemic and endemic cholera, and are of direct relevance to controlling current and future cholera epidemics.

Bandgap and refractive index estimates of InAlN and related nitrides across their full composition ranges

III-Nitride bandgap and refractive index data are of direct relevance for the design of (In, Ga, Al)N-based photonic and electronic devices. The bandgaps and bandgap bowing parameters of III-nitrides across the full composition range are reviewed with a special emphasis on InxAl1−xN, where less consensus was reached in the literature previously. Considering the available InAlN data, including those recently reported for low indium contents, empirical formulae for InAlN bandgap and bandgap bowing parameter are proposed. Applying the generalised bandgap data, the refractive index dispersion data available in the literature for III-N alloys is fitted using the Adachi model. For this purpose, a formalism involving a parabolic dependence of the Adachi parameters on the dimensionless bandgap $${\xi }_{{E}_{\mathrm{g}}}=\left({E}_{\mathrm{g}, {\mathrm{A}}_{x}{\mathrm{B}}_{1-x}\mathrm{N}}-{E}_{\mathrm{g},\mathrm{ BN}}\right)/\left({E}_{\mathrm{g}, \mathrm{AN}}-{E}_{\mathrm{g},\mathrm{ BN}}\right)$$ ξ E g = E g , A x B 1 - x N - E g , BN / E g , AN - E g , BN of the corresponding ternary alloys is used rather than one directly invoking the alloy composition.

Spin response function technique in spin-transparent synchrotrons

Small perturbative fields in a synchrotron influence both the spin and orbital motion of a stored beam. Their effect on the beam polarization consists of two contributions, a direct kick and an effect of the ring lattice due to orbit perturbation. Spin response function is an analytic technique to account for both contributions. We develop such a technique for the spin-transparent synchrotrons where the design spin motion is degenerate. Several perspective applications are illustrated or discussed. In particular, we consider the questions of the influence of lattice imperfections on the spin dynamics and spin manipulation during an experiment. The presented results are of a direct relevance to NICA (JINR), RHIC (BNL), EIC (BNL) and other existing and future colliders when they arranged with polarization control in the spin-transparent mode.

Merleau-Ponty: Beauty, Phenomenology, and the ‘Theological Turn’

In a landmark text, ‘The Theological Turn of French Phenomenology’, Dominique Janicaud posits a boundary that sharply divides the legitimate phenomenological tradition from a problematic variant seen to be fundamentally compromised by theology. This article develops an immanent critique of Janicaud’s position. It demonstrates that his boundary relies on the mature work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty as a constitutive exemplar of the tradition, that this work is centrally concerned with beauty, and that its notion of beauty is irreducibly theological. Merleau-Ponty himself will thus be shown to enact his own version of the theological turn. I shall consequently propose a reconstrual of the boundary of phenomenology. My argument relies fundamentally on Merleau-Ponty’s essay, ‘Eye and Mind’, and includes a critical restatement of Galen Johnson’s reading of this text. In addition to its direct relevance to phenomenology, this article bears upon broader concerns, including the relationships between theory, the body, aesthetics, and the post-secular.