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The cell morphology of rod-shaped bacteria is determined by the rigid net of peptidoglycan forming the cell wall. Alterations to the rod shape, such as the curved rod, occur through manipulating the process of cell wall synthesis. The human pathogenVibrio choleraetypically exists as a curved rod, but straight rods have been observed under certain conditions. While this appears to be a regulated process, the regulatory pathways controlling cell shape transitions inV. choleraeand the benefits of switching between rod and curved shape have not been determined. We demonstrate that cell shape inV. choleraeis regulated by the bacterial second messenger cyclic dimericmore »guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) by posttranscriptionally repressing expression ofcrvA, a gene encoding an intermediate filament-like protein necessary for curvature formation inV. cholerae.This regulation is mediated by the transcriptional cascade that also induces production of biofilm matrix components, indicating that cell shape is coregulated withV. cholerae’s induction of sessility. During microcolony formation, wild-typeV. choleraecells tended to exist as straight rods, while genetically engineering cells to maintain high curvature reduced microcolony formation and biofilm density. Conversely, straightV. choleraemutants have reduced swimming speed when using flagellar motility in liquid. Our results demonstrate regulation of cell shape in bacteria is a mechanism to increase fitness in planktonic and biofilm lifestyles.

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A bstract A search for a heavy resonance decaying into a top quark and a W boson in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV is presented. The data analyzed were recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb − 1 . The top quark is reconstructed as a single jet and the W boson, from its decay into an electron or muon and the corresponding neutrino. A top quark tagging technique based on jet clustering with a variable distance parameter and simultaneous jet grooming is used tomore »identify jets from the collimated top quark decay. The results are interpreted in the context of two benchmark models, where the heavy resonance is either an excited bottom quark b ∗ or a vector-like quark B. A statistical combination with an earlier search by the CMS Collaboration in the all-hadronic final state is performed to place upper cross section limits on these two models. The new analysis extends the lower range of resonance mass probed from 1.4 down to 0.7 TeV. For left-handed, right-handed, and vector-like couplings, b ∗ masses up to 3.0, 3.0, and 3.2 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, respectively. The observed upper limits represent the most stringent constraints on the b ∗ model to date.« less

A bstract A search for a heavy resonance decaying to a top quark and a W boson in the fully hadronic final state is presented. The analysis is performed using data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb − 1 recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is focused on heavy resonances, where the decay products of each top quark or W boson are expected to be reconstructed as a single, large-radius jet with a distinct substructure. The production of an excited bottom quark, b *more », is used as a benchmark when setting limits on the cross section for a heavy resonance decaying to a top quark and a W boson. The hypotheses of b * quarks with left-handed, right-handed, and vector-like chiralities are excluded at 95% confidence level for masses below 2.6, 2.8, and 3.1 TeV, respectively. These are the most stringent limits on the b * quark mass to date, extending the previous best limits by almost a factor of two.« less

A bstract A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb − 1 , collected in 2017–2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with anmore »earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb − 1 , collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.« less

Abstract Production cross sections of the Higgs boson are measured in the $${\mathrm{H}} \rightarrow {\mathrm{Z}} {\mathrm{Z}} \rightarrow 4\ell $$ H → Z Z → 4 ℓ ( $$\ell ={\mathrm{e}},{{{\upmu }}_{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}} $$ ℓ = e , μ ) decay channel. A data sample of proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 $$\,\text {Te}\text {V}$$ Te , collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 $$\,\text {fb}^{-1}$$ fb - 1 is used. The signal strength modifier $$\mu $$ μ , defined as the ratio of the Higgs boson production rate in the $$4\ellmore »$$ 4 ℓ channel to the standard model (SM) expectation, is measured to be $$\mu =0.94 \pm 0.07 \,\text {(stat)} ^{+0.09}_{-0.08} \,\text {(syst)} $$ μ = 0.94 ± 0.07 (stat) - 0.08 + 0.09 (syst) at a fixed value of $$m_{{\mathrm{H}}} = 125.38\,\text {Ge}\text {V} $$ m H = 125.38 Ge . The signal strength modifiers for the individual Higgs boson production modes are also reported. The inclusive fiducial cross section for the $${\mathrm{H}} \rightarrow 4\ell $$ H → 4 ℓ process is measured to be $$2.84^{+0.23}_{-0.22} \,\text {(stat)} ^{+0.26}_{-0.21} \,\text {(syst)} \,\text {fb} $$ 2 . 84 - 0.22 + 0.23 (stat) - 0.21 + 0.26 (syst) fb , which is compatible with the SM prediction of $$2.84 \pm 0.15 \,\text {fb} $$ 2.84 ± 0.15 fb for the same fiducial region. Differential cross sections as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of the Higgs boson, the number of associated jets, and the transverse momentum of the leading associated jet are measured. A new set of cross section measurements in mutually exclusive categories targeted to identify production mechanisms and kinematical features of the events is presented. The results are in agreement with the SM predictions.« less