arXiv subjects

Pranay Jaiswal

Publications and source records attributed to Pranay Jaiswal.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Physical Mechanism of Vacuole Formation in Liquid Droplets

Vacuoles have been observed in liquid droplets across variety of experimental systems, ranging from biomolecular condensates composed of proteins and RNA, to synthetic coacervates formed by charged polymers or synthetic nanostars. These vacuoles are long-lived domains depleted of droplet material, and their formation is puzzling because the associated increase in interfacial area is thermodynamically unfavorable. Using theory, we show that vacuoles form through a generic mechanism: a local spinodal instability within the droplet. We demonstrate this mechanism in several experimentally relevant scenarios, including temperature quenches and droplets coupled to chemical processes occurring either inside or outside the droplet. Using non-equilibrium thermodynamics, we develop a theoretical framework that identifies the physicochemical conditions controlling whether vacuoles form and how big vacuoles can become. Our results suggest molecular designs and chemical pathways that promote vacuolation, enabling multi-compartment formation with engineered functions such as enhanced surface catalysis and compartment fission.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Harvesting chemical power from cyclic environments

Life relies on a sophisticated metabolic molecular machinery that turns over high-energy molecules to evolve complex macromolecules and assemblies. At the molecular origin of life, such machinery was absent, implying the need for simple yet robust physical mechanisms to harvest energy from the environment and perform chemical work or produce chemical power. However, the mechanisms involved in harvesting energy from a macroscopic cyclic environment to drive chemical processes on the molecular scale remain elusive. In this work, we propose a theory that describes the kinetics of chemical reactions in a system subject to a cyclic reservoir with varying properties. We compare cycles of solvent (wet-dry cycles), with cycles of a component participating in a chemical reaction (reactant cycle). We find that for both wet-dry and reactant cycles, resonance frequencies exist at which the chemical power is maximal. We identify which cycle type is more beneficial in harvesting chemical power for different molecular interactions. Our findings of harvest efficiencies around ten percent suggest that the cyclic environment could have played a key role in catalyzing the metabolic molecular machinery at the molecular origin of life.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2025

From Idea to Implementation: Evaluating the Influence of Large Language Models in Software Development -- An Opinion Paper

The introduction of transformer architecture was a turning point in Natural Language Processing (NLP). Models based on the transformer architecture such as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT) have gained widespread popularity in various applications such as software development and education. The availability of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Bard to the general public has showcased the tremendous potential of these models and encouraged their integration into various domains such as software development for tasks such as code generation, debugging, and documentation generation. In this study, opinions from 11 experts regarding their experience with LLMs for software development have been gathered and analysed to draw insights that can guide successful and responsible integration. The overall opinion of the experts is positive, with the experts identifying advantages such as increase in productivity and reduced coding time. Potential concerns and challenges such as risk of over-dependence and ethical considerations have also been highlighted.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2024

Harnessing Smartwatch Microphone Sensors for Cough Detection and Classification

This study investigates the potential of using smartwatches with built-in microphone sensors for monitoring coughs and detecting various cough types. We conducted a study involving 32 participants and collected 9 hours of audio data in a controlled manner. Afterward, we processed this data using a structured approach, resulting in 223 positive cough samples. We further improved the dataset through augmentation techniques and employed a specialized 1D CNN model. This model achieved an impressive accuracy rate of 98.49% while non-walking and 98.2% while walking, showing smartwatches can detect cough. Moreover, our research successfully identified four distinct types of coughs using clustering techniques.

cs.SD↗

arXiv2023

Non-equilibrium wet-dry cycling acts as a catalyst for chemical reactions

Recent experimental studies suggest that wet-dry cycles and coexisting phases can each strongly alter chemical processes. The mechanisms of why and to which degree chemical processes are altered when subject to evaporation and condensation are unclear. To close this gap, we developed a theoretical framework for non-dilute chemical reactions subject to non-equilibrium conditions of evaporation and condensation. We find that such conditions can change the half-time of the product's yield by more than an order of magnitude, depending on the substrate-solvent interaction. We show that the cycle frequency strongly affects the chemical turnover when maintaining the system out of equilibrium by wet-dry cycles. There exists a resonance behavior in the cycle frequency where the turnover is maximal. This resonance behavior enables wet-dry cycles to select specific chemical reactions suggesting a potential mechanism for chemical evolution in prebiotic soups at early Earth.

physics.bio-ph↗