bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SNX17 Regulates Antigen Internalisation and Phagosomal Maturation by Dendritic Cells
Authors: Dinamarca Sofía , Croce Cristina , Salvioni Anna , Garrido Facundo , Fidalgo Sandra Estrada , Bigliani Gonzalo , Mayorga Luis S. , Blanchard Nicolas , Cebrian Ignacio
Published: November 2024

Antigen cross‐presentation is the process whereby small peptides derived from exogenous antigens are attached to MHC‐I molecules triggering CD8+ T lymphocyte activation. The endocytic route of dendritic cells (DCs) is highly specialised for cross‐presentation to initiate cytotoxic immune responses against numerous intracellular pathogens and tumours. In this study, we identify the endosomal protein sorting nexin (SNX) 17 as a key regulator of antigen internalisation and cross‐presentation by DCs. SNX17 expression in DCs guarantees optimal cross‐presentation of soluble, particulate, and Toxoplasma gondii‐associated antigens. The silencing of SNX17 expression in DCs significantly affected the internalisation of exogenous antigens by fluid‐phase endocytosis, phagocytosis, and more strikingly, T. gondii invasion. We show that SNX17 controls proper integrin recycling, actin cytoskeleton organisation, and phagosomal maturation. Altogether, our findings provide compelling evidence that SNX17 plays a central role in the modulation of the DC endocytic network, which is essential for competent antigen cross‐presentation.
Comparing remote and hand‐held video observation methods for quantifying a cleaning mutualism
Authors: Cryan Daniel M. , Freeze Jesse , Osenberg Craig W.
Published: November 2024

Field studies of cleaning mutualisms use a variety of methods to quantify behavioral dynamics. Studies in marine systems typically utilize data recorded by human observers on scuba or snorkel or via remote underwater video. The effects of these different methods on cleaner–client behaviors have not been rigorously assessed. We quantified cleaner–client interactions at 13 bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) cleaning stations in Moorea, French Polynesia using hand‐held and remote videos. We found that cleaning, cheating, and client posing rates, cleaning duration, and client species richness were all greater in the remote than in the hand‐held videos, suggesting that human presence disrupts cleaning interactions by inducing antipredator responses among clients. Some metrics, such as the ratio of cleaner chasing to cleaning behavior and the cleaners' benthic feeding rate, were higher for the hand‐held than the remote videos, possibly due to limited access of cleaners to clients in the presence of humans. Other metrics, such as cleaner and client chasing rates, the ratio of cleaning to cheating behaviors, and the duration of cleaner chases, did not differ between video types. Finally, piscivorous clients were far more abundant in the remote than the hand‐held videos, suggesting that piscivores are particularly sensitive to human presence, likely because they are targeted by fishers. Overall, our study suggests that human presence can bias studies of cleaning behavior and cleaner–client interactions, and that remote cameras should be used to conduct behavioral studies. These potential biases should be considered when interpreting existing behavioral data.
New bass on the block: Trophic interactions among invasive largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and local sportfish
Authors: Culberson Abigale E. , Nakamoto Bobby , Lento Jennifer , Curry R. Allen , Harrison Philip M.
Published: November 2024

Novel introductions of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, often cause negative impacts on endemic populations of prey fishes and interspecific competitors. Although many studies have investigated trophic interactions between M. salmoides and smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu, few have included chain pickerel, Esox niger, as a competitor despite similarities in their habitat use. We used stable isotope analysis to investigate the trophic ecology of a recently introduced population of M. salmoides in the Wolastoq|Saint John River. Specifically, we measured carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes to describe isotopic niches and infer resource use of introduced M. salmoides, M. dolomieu, E. niger, and native yellow perch, Perca flavescens, at various life stages. Our results showed that isotopic niche overlap occurred between M. salmoides and other study species, indicative of resource competition. However, resource use plasticity, as demonstrated by a wide variety of resources (marine, terrestrial, littoral, and pelagic) used by all study species, could potentially reduce interspecific competition. Our findings indicate that competition is highest between adult M. salmoides and E. niger, but the presence of a seasonal marine resource can provide important contributions to diets and potentially reduce competition. Further research should focus on monitoring of long‐term trends to identify the dynamics of all study species as M. salmoides populations become further established and dispersed.
Comparative efficacy of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy between tegoprazan‐based concomitant and bismuth quadruple therapies: A real‐world evidence
Authors: Jung Yoon Suk , Jung Byung Wook , Park Chan Hyuk
Published: November 2024

Background and Aim

Tegoprazan, a potassium‐competitive acid blocker, can be used as a substitute for proton pump inhibitors in Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy; some studies have reported improved efficacy. In Korea, where clarithromycin resistance rates are high, we aimed to compare the efficacies of tegoprazan‐based concomitant and bismuth quadruple therapies.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with H. pylori infection who received either 10‐day tegoprazan‐based concomitant therapy or 14‐day tegoprazan‐based bismuth quadruple therapy as first‐line treatment. The primary outcome was H. pylori eradication rate, with secondary outcomes including adverse events and insufficient medication rates.

Results

Among the 1082 patients included in the study, 620 and 462 were treated with tegoprazan‐based concomitant and bismuth quadruple therapies, respectively. Intention‐to‐treat analysis demonstrated no difference in eradication rates between the tegoprazan‐based concomitant and bismuth quadruple therapy groups (74.7% [95% confidence interval—CI, 71.1–78.0%] vs 74.7% [95% CI, 70.6–78.5%], P = 0.999). Per‐protocol analysis also showed similar eradication rates between the two groups (88.0% [95% CI, 85.0–90.6%] vs 89.7% [95% CI, 86.3–92.5%], P = 0.424). The overall adverse event rates (49.6% vs 39.2%, P = 0.001) and insufficient medication rates (4.8% vs 2.4%, P = 0.036) were higher in the bismuth quadruple therapy group than in the concomitant therapy group.

Conclusions

The eradication rates of tegoprazan‐based 10‐day concomitant therapy and 14‐day bismuth quadruple therapy were comparable. However, because of its shorter treatment duration, better medical adherence, and lower incidence of adverse events, tegoprazan‐based concomitant therapy may be preferable in regions with high rates of clarithromycin and metronidazole resistance.
Daily association between parent‐adolescent emotion contagion: The role of parent‐adolescent connectedness
Authors: Chiang Shou‐Chun
Published: November 2024

Emotion contagion between parents and adolescents is crucial for understanding adolescents' emotional experiences. However, little is known about how emotion contagion unfolds in daily life and the unique contributions of parent‐adolescent relationships. This study examines the associations between parent and adolescent positive and negative emotions, and the moderating role of daily parent‐adolescent connectedness. Participants were 191 Taiwanese adolescents (Mage = 12.93; SDage = 0.75; 53% female) and their parents who completed 10‐day diary reports of emotions and parent‐adolescent connectedness. Results indicate that higher daily parent negative emotions were associated with more adolescent negative emotions, and higher average parent negative emotions were associated with greater average negative emotions and fewer positive emotions in adolescents. Similar bidirectional effects were also found in adolescent‐to‐parent emotion contagion. Moreover, on days when connectedness was high, parent negative emotions were not associated with adolescent negative emotions but were related to increased positive emotions. Parent positive emotions were related to more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions when connectedness was low. The findings provide important insights into daily parent‐adolescent emotion contagion and highlight parent‐adolescent connectedness as a modifying factor in shaping dyadic emotional processes.
Differential effects of sleep position and sleep stage on the severity of obstructive sleep apnea
Authors: Lim Soyun , Lee Hyun‐Kyung , Kang Yun Jin , Shin Hyun‐Woo
Published: November 2024

This study compared the effects of sleeping in the supine position and rapid eye movement sleep on the severity of obstructive sleep apnea, and investigated the effect of sleep stage on position‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea, and of sleep position on rapid eye movement‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea. We analysed epoch‐labelled polysomnographic readouts of 3843 patients, and calculated the apnea–hypopnea index for each sleep position and sleep stage. Subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate whether the proportion of position‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea patients changed during rapid eye movement and non‐rapid eye movement sleep, and whether that of rapid eye movement‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea patients changed during supine/lateral sleep. The apnea–hypopnea index was highest in the rapid eye movement‐supine position (50.7 ± 22.6 events per hr), followed by non‐rapid eye movement‐supine, rapid eye movement‐lateral and non‐rapid eye movement‐lateral (39.2 ± 25.3, 22.9 ± 24.4, 15.9 ± 21.9 events per hr, respectively; p < 0.001). Patients with position‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea had a higher ratio of rapid eye movement sleep, and those with rapid eye movement‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea had a higher ratio of sleep time in the supine position (p < 0.001). During rapid eye movement sleep, position‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea was not observed in 21.1% of patients who otherwise had position‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea. In the lateral position, 36.9% of patients with rapid eye movement‐dependent obstructive sleep apnea did not retain rapid eye movement dependency. Although sleeping in the supine position and rapid eye movement sleep were both associated with more frequent respiratory events, this was the first study to demonstrate that the former had a stronger correlation with obstructive sleep apnea severity. Position dependency in patients with obstructive sleep apnea decreased during rapid eye movement sleep, and worsening of rapid eye movement dependency was alleviated in the lateral position, suggesting potential for personalized obstructive sleep apnea management.
Floral phenotypic divergence and genomic insights in an Ophrys orchid: unraveling early speciation processes
Authors: Gibert Anaïs , Schatz Bertrand , Buscail Roselyne , Nguyen Dominique , Baguette Michel , Barthes Nicolas , Bertrand Joris A. M.
Published: November 2024

Adaptive radiation in Ophrys orchids leads to complex floral phenotypes that vary in scent, color and shape.

Using a novel pipeline to quantify these phenotypes, we investigated trait divergence at early stages of speciation in six populations of Ophrys aveyronensis experiencing recent allopatry. By integrating different genetic/genomic techniques, we investigated: variation and integration of floral components (scent, color and shape); phenotypes and genomic regions under divergent selection; and the genomic bases of trait variation.

We identified a large genomic island of divergence, likely associated with phenotypic variation in particular in floral odor. We detected potential divergent selection on macular color, while stabilizing selection was suspected on floral morphology and for several volatile olfactive compounds. We also identified candidate genes involved in anthocyanin and in steroid biosynthesis pathways associated with standing genetic variation in color and odor.

This study sheds light on early differentiation in Ophrys, revealing patterns that often become invisible over time, that is the geographic mosaic of traits under selection and the early appearance of strong genomic divergence. It also supports a crucial genomic region for future investigation and highlights the value of a multifaceted approach in unraveling speciation within taxa with large genomes.
Creation of high‐resistant starch rice through systematic editing of amylopectin biosynthetic genes in rs4
Authors: Wang Anqi , Cheng Qiao , Li Wenjia , Kan Mingxi , Zhang Yuxin , Meng Xiangbing , Guo Hongyan , Jing Yanhui , Chen Mingjiang , Liu Guifu , Wu Dianxing , Li Jiayang , Yu Hong
Published: November 2024

Resistant starch (RS) is a special kind of starch with beneficial effects on obesity, type 2 diabetes and other chronic complications. Breeding high‐RS rice varieties is considered a valuable way to improve public health. However, most rice cultivars only contain an RS level lower than 2% in cooked rice, and cloning of RS genes is critical to improve RS levels in rice. The loss of function of Starch Synthases IIIa (SSIIIa) and SSIIIb, two amylopectin biosynthetic genes, could elevate RS levels up to 10%. Here, we performed a systematic genetic study of 14 amylopectin biosynthetic genes in the ssIIIa ssIIIb double mutant via genome editing, and investigated their effects on RS formation, the eating quality and grain yield. The results showed that deficiency in SSIIa, SSIVb or ISA2 under the ssIIIa ssIIIb background could each elevate RS content to above 14%, and the quadruple mutants of sbeI sbeIIb ssIIIa ssIIIb and sbeI ssIVb ssIIIa ssIIIb could further increase RS levels to over 18%. Furthermore, the eating quality of cooked rice and grain yield decreased along with the elevated RS contents, showing a trade‐off among these traits. In these mutants, ssIIIa ssIIIb showed the balanced performance of RS and grain yield. This study provides insights into RS biosynthesis with a series of RS genes in the amylopectin biosynthesis pathway and practical strategy to breed high‐RS rice varieties with balanced performance.
Short‐Photoperiod Induces Floral Induction Involving Carbohydrate Metabolism and Regulation by VcCO3 in Greenhouse Blueberry
Authors: Feng Xin , Wu Xinliang , Wu Huiling , Li Yang , Zhou Bingjie , Jiang Ying , Zhang Suilin , Wei Jiali , Su Shuchai , Hou Zhixia
Published: November 2024

Blueberry flower buds cultivated in greenhouses develop during both autumn and spring, with floral induction being a critical process for flowering, influenced by environmental factors. This study aimed to clarify the regulatory mechanisms governing floral induction in greenhouse blueberries, focusing on the similarities and differences in flower bud differentiation between the spring and autumn seasons. Understanding these mechanisms is pivotal for enhancing blueberry production. In this study, we analysed the phenotypic characteristics associated with flower bud differentiation and observed that short photoperiods markedly affect the induction process. Transcriptomic analyses revealed distinct major metabolic pathways activated in autumn compared to spring. Seasonal variations in carbohydrate metabolism were also noted, with sucrose hydrolysis being prominent in autumn and sucrose synthesis prevailing in spring. The interplay between circadian rhythms and photosynthesis appeared to facilitate the allocation of sugars for bud development. Subsequent investigations underscored the sensitivity of VcCO3 to variations in photoperiod. Predominantly localised in the nucleus, VcCO3 facilitated floral induction in response to short photoperiods by activating the expression of downstream genes, including VcFT, VcLFY, VcAP3, and VcSOC1. Furthermore, VcCO3 exhibits a close association with the sugar metabolism gene VcSUS, promoting increased sucrose concentrations.
First impressions: An analysis of professional stereotypes and their impact on sector attraction
Authors: Jakobsen Mette , Homberg Fabian
Published: November 2024

Public sector professionals are often negatively portrayed with ascriptions such as “ineffective” and “lazy.” Such negative connotations might disadvantage public sector organizations when trying to attract applicants, as it can reflect negatively on individuals' social identities. With this pre‐registered experimental study, we examine stereotypes of public and private sector workers with and without a signal of specific professions present across both the public and private sector. We examine how this influences attraction in the initial phases of a job search before tangible job attributes become visible. Our study among 290 job seeking citizens in the United Kingdom provides evidence for a generic public sector worker bias, but the bias diminishes when the specific profession is known. Furthermore, we find that job seekers are less attracted to public employment and that this relationship is influenced by a negativity bias against public sector workers. We discuss implications of the study.
The epibiotic community associated to the European flat oyster: a function of the state of development of the reef
Authors: Zempléni Abel , Pouvreau Stéphane , Desroy Nicolas
Published: November 2024

When healthy, Ostrea edulis populations are capable of creating remarkable biogenic reefs, providing a unique habitat for marine biodiversity. At present, the biotic assemblages associated with flat oysters remain poorly defined. This study aims to analyze biodiversity associated with the reef's development stage by focusing on its epibiotic community. The studied oyster population is an old remnant bed located in the Bay of Brest, which has been undergoing restoration for 5 years. The epibiotic communities (>500 μm) of scattered individual living (n = 10) and dead (n = 9) oysters, as well as of aggregates from the ground (n = 10) and from a restored reef (n = 3) were compared. 137 species associated with oysters were found, among which 22 were specific to individual oysters and 55 to aggregates and reefs. Although reef samples formed a distinct group in the SIMPER analysis, Shannon's (between 2.25 and 2.52) and Simpson's (between 0.84 and 0.86) diversity indices remained constant for each reef development stage. Piélou's indices (between 0.71 and 0.80) were significantly lower for aggregates displaying a less evenly distributed community. Mean abundance and species richness per sample were higher for aggregated structures. However, when standardized to abundance per centimeter square of shell surface, both parameters were significantly higher for individual oysters. Therefore, while reefs may support a higher species richness at a larger spatial scale, at a smaller scale, single oysters have a higher species richness per unit area of shell. Seemingly, despite the poor state of their remnant populations, flat oysters are still hosting important macrofaunal biodiversity.
Influence of soil conditioners for enhanced water retention on the accuracy and longer‐term deployment of widely used soil moisture sensors
Authors: Marin M. , Elsakloul F. , Norton G. J. , Sanchez J. , Roundy S. , Hallett P. D.
Published: November 2024

In precision agriculture, water content sensors are fundamental to monitor soil moisture and hence optimize irrigation scheduling. Climate‐smart agriculture has also focused on improving soil moisture retention by using soil conditioners. However, despite that ‘sensor deployment’ and ‘soil conditioners’ are both intended to improve water use efficiency, data are lacking on the responses of soil water sensors to soil conditioners for enhanced water holding capacity. We evaluated soil moisture sensor readings taken in a sandy loam soil, with added biochar (2.5% w/w), compost (5% w/w), hydrogel (0.6% w/w) and water treatment residues (WTR; 5% w/w). The soils were saturated and then subjected to wetting and drying cycles. Measurements were taken continuously using multiple commercial sensors: ML3 and SM150T soil moisture sensors (Delta‐T Devices) as well as EC‐5 soil moisture sensors (Meter). The accuracy of the tested sensors was reduced by the addition of conditioners in the following order: biochar <WTR<compost <hydrogel. Sensor accuracy was highly dependent on soil water content, with larger deviations from actual values when soil water content <0.14 m3 m−3. All sensors performed best at mid values of soil water content (0.14–0.33 m3 m−3), where ML3, SM150T and EC‐5 sensor readings did not differ significantly from the actual water content in unamended soil. The presence of conditioners did affect such accuracy, but the application of a soil + conditioner − specific calibration was effective in increasing sensor accuracy in this water content range.
Evaluation of the safety and effect of lyophilized canine‐specific albumin to increase serum albumin concentration and colloid osmotic pressure in healthy dogs
Authors: Enders Brittany D. , Musulin Sarah E. , Holowaychuk Marie K. , Hale Anne S.
Published: November 2024

Objective

To evaluate the safety of repeated administration of a lyophilized canine‐specific albumin (CSA) product and to quantify its effect on serum albumin concentrations and colloid osmotic pressure (COP) in healthy dogs.

Design

Prospective study.

Setting

University research facility.

Animals

Six healthy, adult, purpose‐bred Beagles.

Interventions

Dogs received 1 g/kg of 16% CSA intravenously on days 1, 2, and 14 and were observed, with serial measurement of vital parameters during and for 2 hours after each infusion, to monitor for adverse events or evidence of a hypersensitivity reaction. Serum albumin concentration and COP were measured at predetermined time points before and after each infusion.

Results

One dog experienced a single episode of vomiting approximately 1 hour after completion of the second infusion. No other adverse reactions were observed during the 28‐day study period. Serum albumin concentration was increased by a mean of 0.57 g/dL (5.7 g/L) (P = 0.003) when measured 2 hours after the first CSA infusion, and albumin concentration remained significantly higher than baseline at 24 hours after infusion, with a mean difference of 0.42 g/dL (4.2 g/dL) (P < 0.001). The second and third CSA infusions similarly increased serum albumin concentration at 2 hours (P = 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively) and 24 hours (P = 0.012 and P = 0.007, respectively) after infusion. COP increased by a mean of 2.03 mm Hg at 2 hours after the first infusion (P = 0.013) and remained significantly higher than baseline at 24 hours after infusion, with a mean difference of 1.52 mm Hg (P = 0.002). The second CSA infusion similarly increased COP at 2 hours (P < 0.001) and 24 hours (P = 0.017) after infusion. The third CSA infusion increased COP at 2 hours after infusion (P = 0.004) but did not achieve statistical significance at 24 hours after infusion (P = 0.053).

Conclusions

A 1‐g/kg dose of lyophilized CSA was effective at increasing serum albumin concentration and COP. Repeated infusions of CSA appear safe in healthy dogs.
A suspected anaphylactoid reaction to intravenous administration of mannitol in a dog
Authors: Seddon Kathleen , Stewart Georgina , Gillespie Íde
Published: November 2024

Objective

To describe a case of a suspected anaphylactoid reaction to mannitol in a dog.

Case Summary

A 1‐year‐old, neutered female French Bulldog was anesthetized for a T12–T13 dorsal laminectomy surgery for a previously diagnosed spinal arachnoid diverticulum. Perioperatively, the spinal cord appeared grossly edematous, and IV mannitol administration was elected. Midway through administration of mannitol, peracute erythema and angioedema were noted around the patient's tongue, muzzle, and paws. The dog's tongue grew to approximately twice its normal size. All vital parameters remained within normal limits. The dog was treated intravenously with dexamethasone and intramuscularly with mepyramine maleate. The remainder of the anesthetization was uneventful. The swelling completely resolved during the 2‐hour recovery period, but careful management of the enlarged tongue was required to prevent airway occlusion.

New or Unique Information Provided

This is the first reported case of a suspected anaphylactoid reaction to IV administration of mannitol in a dog.
Challenging dynamic cerebral autoregulation across the physiological CO2 spectrum: Influence of biological sex and cardiac cycle
Authors: Johnson Nathan E. , Burma Joel S. , Neill Matthew G. , Burkart Joshua J. , Fletcher Elizabeth K. S. , Smirl Jonathan D.
Published: November 2024

This study applied alterations in partial pressure of end‐tidal carbon dioxide () to challenge dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) responses across the cardiac cycle in both biological sexes. A total of 20 participants (10 females and 10 males; aged 19–34 years) performed 4‐min bouts of repeated squat–stand manoeuvres (SSMs) at 0.05 and 0.10 Hz (randomized orders) with clamped at ∼40 mmHg. The protocol was repeated for hypercapnic (∼55 mmHg) and hypocapnic (∼20 mmHg) conditions. Middle cerebral artery (MCA) and posterior cerebral artery (PCA) were insonated via transcranial Doppler ultrasound. Dynamic end‐tidal forcing clamped , and finger photoplethysmography quantified beat‐to‐beat changes in blood pressure. Linear regressions were performed for transfer function analysis metrics including power spectrum densities, coherence, phase, gain and normalized gain (nGain) with adjustment for sex. During hypercapnic conditions, phase metrics were reduced from eucapnic levels (all P < 0.009), while phase increased during the hypocapnic stage during both 0.05 and 0.10 Hz SSMs (all P < 0.037). Sex differences were present with females displaying greater gain and nGain systole metrics during 0.10 Hz SSMs (all P < 0.041). Across stages, females displayed reduced buffering against systolic aspects of the cardiac cycle and augmented gain. Sex‐related variances in dCA could explain sex differences in the occurrence of clinical conditions such as orthostatic intolerance and stroke, though the effect of fluctuating sex hormones and contraceptive use on dCA metrics is not yet understood.
Prospective in silico trials identify combined SK and K2P channel block as an effective strategy for atrial fibrillation cardioversion
Authors: Dasí Albert , Berg Lucas Arantes , Martinez‐Navarro Hector , Bueno‐Orovio Alfonso , Rodriguez Blanca
Published: November 2024

Virtual evaluation of medical therapy through human‐based modelling and simulation can accelerate and augment clinical investigations. Treatment of the most common cardiac arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AF), requires novel approaches. This study prospectively evaluates and mechanistically explains three novel pharmacological therapies for AF through in silico trials, including single and combined SK and K2P channel block. AF and pharmacological action were assessed in a large cohort of 1000 virtual patients, through 2962 multiscale simulations. Extensive calibration and validation with experimental and clinical data support their credibility. Sustained AF was observed in 654 virtual patients. In this cohort, cardioversion efficacy increased to 82% (535 of 654) through combined SK+K2P channel block, from 33% (213 of 654) and 43% (278 of 654) for single SK and K2P blocks, respectively. Drug‐induced prolongation of tissue refractoriness, dependent on the virtual patient's ionic current profile, explained cardioversion efficacy (atrial refractory period increase: 133.0 ± 48.4 ms for combined vs. 45.2 ± 43.0 and 71.0 ± 55.3 ms for single SK and K2P block, respectively). Virtual patients cardioverted by SK channel block presented lower K2P densities, while lower SK densities favoured the success of K2P channel inhibition. Both ionic currents had a crucial role on atrial repolarization, and thus a synergism resulted from the multichannel block. All three strategies, including the multichannel block, preserved atrial electrophysiological function (i.e. conduction velocity and calcium transient dynamics) and thus its contractile properties (safety). In silico trials identify key factors determining treatment success and the combined SK+K2P channel block as a promising strategy for AF management.

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Key points

This is a large‐scale in silico trial study involving 2962 multiscale simulations.

A population of 1000 virtual patients underwent three treatments for atrial fibrillation.

Single and combined SK+K2P channel block were assessed prospectively.

The multi‐ion channel inhibition resulted in 82% cardioversion efficacy.

In silico trials have broad implications for precision medicine.
Effect of discharge pulse frequency on the microstructure and field-emission performance of CNX films deposited by pulse cathode arc evaporation
Authors: Du Haowei , Zhou Bing , Piliptsou D. G. , Sun Hui , Ma Yong , Hei Hongjun , Yu Shengwang , Liu Zhubo
Published: November 2024

CNX thin films were prepared by a pulse cathode arc technique using nitrogen as a dopant at different frequencies. Microstructure, compositions, and morphology of CNX thin films were investigated in the dependence of discharge pulse frequency by Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis spectrophotometry, Hall measurements, and field-emission test. The results of Raman and XPS showed that the Csp2 cluster size of CNX films decreases and then increases and decreases with discharge pulse frequency increasing. The Csp2 cluster size of the films prepared at 9 Hz was the largest. The size of Csp3 content increases for the CNX films at the high discharge pulse frequency. The variation of C–N bonding content with frequency in CNX films is similar to that of Csp2. CNX thin films prepared at a frequency of 9 Hz were improved field-emission properties corresponding to the variation of microstructure parameters (the size and ordering of Csp2 clusters) and compositions (C–N bonds). The excellent field-emission properties, such as a low turn-on electric field of 2.1 V/μm and a high field-emission current density of 517.34 μA/cm2, were obtained.
Using articulatory feature detectors in progressive networks for multilingual low-resource phone recognition
Authors: Morshed Mahir , Hasegawa-Johnson Mark
Published: November 2024

Systems inspired by progressive neural networks, transferring information from end-to-end articulatory feature detectors to similarly structured phone recognizers, are described. These networks, connecting the corresponding recurrent layers of pre-trained feature detector stacks and newly introduced phone recognizer stacks, were trained on data from four Asian languages, with experiments testing the system on those languages and four African languages. Later adjustments of these networks include the use of contrastive predictive coding layers at the inputs to those networks' recurrent portions. Such adjustments allow for performance differences to be attributed to the presence or absence of individual feature detectors (for consonant place/manner and vowel height/backness). Some of these differences manifest after feature-level comparisons of recognizer outputs, as well as through considering variations and ablations in architecture and training setup. These differences encourage further exploration of methods to reduce errors with phones having specific articulatory features as well as further architectural modifications.
Summary of the 2024 Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport “10 Questions/10 Experts” Session—Hot Topics for the Paris Olympic Games
Authors: Wardenaar Floris C. , Clark Nancy , Stellingwerff Trent , Siegler Jason , Saunders Bryan , Dolan Eimear , Wilson Patrick B. , Hawley John A. , Fuchs Cas J. , Aussieker Thorben , Phillips Stuart M. , Manore Melinda , Burke Louise M.
Published: November 2024

This article provides a recap of the 10 Questions/10 Experts session at the 2024 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. Each of the speakers considered the validity of common “myths,” while providing evidence-based opinions to support, or, bust, myths addressing the following questions: (1) Would 100 g/hr of carbohydrate be advisable for the Olympic Cycling Road race? (2) Is there an advantage in the marathon of ingesting bicarbonate as a hydrogel product? (3) Can genotyping be used to individualize caffeine supplementation in football? (4) Should low fluid consumers drink more to improve 1,500-m track performance? (5) Do urinary markers of dehydration predict poor basketball performance? (6) Do placebo effects influence 10-km track performance? (7) Should combat athletes make weight using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists? (8) Would crushed ice ingestion help tennis umpires make better decisions in the heat? (9) Are collagen supplements useful to reduce tendon and ligament injuries in volleyball? and (10) Should female athletes plan their training and diet according to their menstrual cycle? This article describes the content of each of the presentations including the most important outcomes and conclusions drawn by the presenters.
Extent and Impact of Accelerometer Time Drift on Linkage With Global Positioning System Data for Physical Activity Research
Authors: Liu Wei , Clevenger Kimberly A. , Brønd Jan Christian , Pfeiffer Karin Allor , Pearson Amber L.
Published: November 2024

Background: Accelerometer time may drift, whereas global positioning system time does not (due to constant satellite communication), potentially impacting linkage of these data; the impact of this issue on outcome measures is unknown. Our study assessed if time drift is consistent between devices and/or data collection waves and the impacts on common outcomes in built environment physical activity research. Methods: First, 11 ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers were manually or automatically shaken every 6 hr for 10 days, and this experiment was repeated twice (two waves). Accelerometer time was compared with local atomic clock time to identify time drifts. Next, we assessed the time-drift impact on estimates of park moderate to vigorous physical activity in an outdoor experiment, comparing no adjustment (status quo) to device-specific and average adjustment to account for time drift. Finally, we used data from an ongoing health study in Detroit, Michigan, to evaluate the impact of time drift adjustment on free-living linked accelerometer and global positioning system data. Results: There was an average of 6.1 ± 5.1 s of lag in accelerometer time after 10 days, but time drifts varied among accelerometers. Mean absolute differences in park moderate to vigorous physical activity were 0.4–0.5 min/day over the entire outdoor experiment or 0.8–0.9 min/day on Day 7. In the free-living study, overall differences in park moderate to vigorous physical activity were 0.0–0.1 min/day, but the maximum difference was 1.9 min/day. Conclusions: Time drift had little impact on estimates, although research requiring high temporal resolution should assess the time drift of individual accelerometers before data collection to account for drift, particularly when linking to global positioning system data.
Supplemental Material: Timescales of pluton assembly and growth history of Colorado Plateau lithosphere: Geochronology (U-Pb, K-Ar, and Ar-Ar) and zircon Hf isotopic study of the Mount Hillers intrusive center (Henry Mountains, Utah, USA)
Authors: Paquette Jean-Louis , al. et
Published: November 2024

Figures S1–S4 and Tables S1–S4.
LetsGo: Large-Scale Garage Modeling and Rendering via LiDAR-Assisted Gaussian Primitives
Authors: Cui Jiadi , Cao Junming , Zhao Fuqiang , He Zhipeng , Chen Yifan , Zhong Yuhui , Xu Lan , Shi Yujiao , Zhang Yingliang , Yu Jingyi
Published: November 2024

Large garages are ubiquitous yet intricate scenes that present unique challenges due to their monotonous colors, repetitive patterns, reflective surfaces, and transparent vehicle glass. Conventional Structure from Motion (SfM) methods for camera pose estimation and 3D reconstruction often fail in these environments due to poor correspondence construction. To address these challenges, we introduce LetsGo, a LiDAR-assisted Gaussian splatting framework for large-scale garage modeling and rendering. We develop a handheld scanner, Polar, equipped with IMU, LiDAR, and a fisheye camera, to facilitate accurate data acquisition. Using this Polar device, we present the GarageWorld dataset, consisting of eight expansive garage scenes with diverse geometric structures, which will be made publicly available for further research. Our approach demonstrates that LiDAR point clouds collected by the Polar device significantly enhance a suite of 3D Gaussian splatting algorithms for garage scene modeling and rendering. We introduce a novel depth regularizer that effectively eliminates floating artifacts in rendered images. Additionally, we propose a multi-resolution 3D Gaussian representation designed for Level-of-Detail (LOD) rendering. This includes adapted scaling factors for individual levels and a random-resolution-level training scheme to optimize the Gaussians across different resolutions. This representation enables efficient rendering of large-scale garage scenes on lightweight devices via a web-based renderer. Experimental results on our GarageWorld dataset, as well as on ScanNet++ and KITTI-360, demonstrate the superiority of our method in terms of rendering quality and resource efficiency.
Differentiable Owen Scrambling
Authors: Doignies Bastien , Coeurjolly David , Bonneel Nicolas , Digne Julie , Iehl Jean-Claude , Ostromoukhov Victor
Published: November 2024

Quasi-Monte Carlo integration is at the core of rendering. This technique estimates the value of an integral by evaluating the integrand at well-chosen sample locations. These sample points are designed to cover the domain as uniformly as possible to achieve better convergence rates than purely random points. Deterministic low-discrepancy sequences have been shown to outperform many competitors by guaranteeing good uniformity as measured by the so-called discrepancy metric, and, indirectly, by an integer
t
value relating the number of points falling into each domain stratum with the stratum area (lower
t
is better). To achieve randomness, scrambling techniques produce multiple realizations preserving the
t
value, making the construction stochastic. Among them, Owen scrambling is a popular approach that recursively permutes intervals for each dimension. However, relying on permutation trees makes it incompatible with smooth optimization frameworks. We present a differentiable Owen scrambling that regularizes permutations. We show that it can effectively be used with automatic differentiation tools for optimizing low-discrepancy sequences to improve metrics such as optimal transport uniformity, integration error, designed power spectra or projective properties, while maintaining their initial
t
-value as guaranteed by Owen scrambling. In some rendering settings, we show that our optimized sequences improve the rendering error.
GPU Coroutines for Flexible Splitting and Scheduling of Rendering Tasks
Authors: Zheng Shaokun , Chen Xin , Shi Zhong , Yan Ling-Qi , Xu Kun
Published: November 2024

We introduce
coroutines
into GPU kernel programming, providing an automated solution for flexible splitting and scheduling of rendering tasks. This approach addresses a prevalent challenge in harnessing the power of modern GPUs for complex, imbalanced graphics workloads like path tracing. Usually, to accommodate the SIMT execution model and latency-hiding architecture, developers have to decompose a monolithic mega-kernel into smaller sub-tasks for improved thread coherence and reduced register pressure. However, involving the handling of intricate nested control flows and numerous interdependent program states, this process can be exceedingly tedious and error-prone when performed manually.

Coroutines, a building block for asynchronous programming in many high-level CPU languages, exhibit untapped potential for restructuring GPU kernels due to their versatility in control representation. By extending Luisa [Zheng et al. 2022], we implement an asymmetric, stackless coroutine model with programming language support and multiple built-in schedulers for modern GPUs. To showcase the effectiveness of our model and implementation, we examine them in different application scenarios, including path tracing, SDF rendering, and incorporation with custom passes.
Generative Portrait Shadow Removal
Authors: Yoon Jae Shin , Shu Zhixin , Ren Mengwei , Zhang Cecilia , Hold-Geoffroy Yannick , Singh Krishna kumar , Zhang He
Published: November 2024

We introduce a high-fidelity portrait shadow removal model that can effectively enhance the image of a portrait by predicting its appearance under disturbing shadows and highlights. Portrait shadow removal is a highly ill-posed problem where multiple plausible solutions can be found based on a single image. For example, disentangling complex environmental lighting from original skin color is a non-trivial problem. While existing works have solved this problem by predicting the appearance residuals that can propagate local shadow distribution, such methods are often incomplete and lead to unnatural predictions, especially for portraits with hard shadows. We overcome the limitations of existing local propagation methods by formulating the removal problem as a generation task where a diffusion model learns to globally rebuild the human appearance from scratch as a condition of an input portrait image. For robust and natural shadow removal, we propose to train the diffusion model with a compositional repurposing framework: a pre-trained text-guided image generation model is first fine-tuned to harmonize the lighting and color of the foreground with a background scene by using a background harmonization dataset; and then the model is further fine-tuned to generate a shadow-free portrait image via a shadow-paired dataset. To overcome the limitation of losing fine details in the latent diffusion model, we propose a guided-upsampling network to restore the original high-frequency details
(e.g.
, wrinkles and dots) from the input image. To enable our compositional training framework, we construct a high-fidelity and large-scale dataset using a lightstage capturing system and synthetic graphics simulation. Our generative framework effectively removes shadows caused by both self and external occlusions while maintaining original lighting distribution and high-frequency details. Our method also demonstrates robustness to diverse subjects captured in real environments.
EgoHDM: A Real-time Egocentric-Inertial Human Motion Capture, Localization, and Dense Mapping System
Authors: Yin Handi , Liu Bonan , Kaufmann Manuel , He Jinhao , Christen Sammy , Song Jie , Hui Pan
Published: November 2024

We present EgoHDM, an online egocentric-inertial human motion capture (mocap), localization, and dense mapping system. Our system uses 6 inertial measurement units (IMUs) and a commodity head-mounted RGB camera. EgoHDM is the first human mocap system that offers
dense
scene mapping in
near real-time.
Further, it is fast and robust to initialize and fully closes the loop between physically plausible map-aware global human motion estimation and mocap-aware 3D scene reconstruction. To achieve this, we design a tightly coupled mocap-aware dense bundle adjustment and physics-based body pose correction module leveraging a local body-centric elevation map. The latter introduces a novel terrain-aware contact PD controller, which enables characters to physically contact the given local elevation map thereby reducing human floating or penetration. We demonstrate the performance of our system on established synthetic and real-world benchmarks. The results show that our method reduces human localization, camera pose, and mapping accuracy error by 41%, 71%, 46%, respectively, compared to the state of the art. Our qualitative evaluations on newly captured data further demonstrate that EgoHDM can cover challenging scenarios in non-flat terrain including stepping over stairs and outdoor scenes in the wild. Our project page: https://handiyin.github.io/EgoHDM/
Evaluating Visual Perception of Object Motion in Dynamic Environments
Authors: Duinkharjav Budmonde , Kang Jenna , Miller Gavin Stuart Peter , Xiao Chang , Sun Qi
Published: November 2024

Precisely understanding how objects move in 3D is essential for broad scenarios such as video editing, gaming, driving, and athletics. With screen-displayed computer graphics content, users only perceive limited cues to judge the object motion from the on-screen optical flow. Conventionally, visual perception is studied with stationary settings and singular objects. However, in practical applications, we---the observer---also move within complex scenes. Therefore, we must extract object motion from a combined optical flow displayed on screen, which can often lead to mis-estimations due to perceptual ambiguities.

We measure and model observers' perceptual accuracy of object motions in dynamic 3D environments, a universal but under-investigated scenario in computer graphics applications. We design and employ a crowdsourcing-based psychophysical study, quantifying the relationships among patterns of scene dynamics and content, and the resulting perceptual judgments of object motion direction. The acquired psychophysical data underpins a model for generalized conditions. We then demonstrate the model's guidance ability to significantly enhance users' understanding of task object motion in gaming and animation design. With applications in measuring and compensating for object motion errors in video and rendering, we hope the research establishes a new frontier for understanding and mitigating perceptual errors caused by the gap between screen-displayed graphics and the physical world.
Differential Walk on Spheres
Authors: Miller Bailey , Sawhney Rohan , Crane Keenan , Gkioulekas Ioannis
Published: November 2024

We introduce a Monte Carlo method for computing derivatives of the solution to a partial differential equation (PDE) with respect to problem parameters (such as domain geometry or boundary conditions). Derivatives can be evaluated at arbitrary points, without performing a global solve or constructing a volumetric grid or mesh. The method is hence well suited to inverse problems with complex geometry, such as PDE-constrained shape optimization. Like other
walk on spheres (WoS)
algorithms, our method is trivial to parallelize, and is agnostic to boundary representation (meshes, splines, implicit surfaces,
etc.
), supporting large topological changes. We focus in particular on screened Poisson equations, which model diverse problems from scientific and geometric computing. As in differentiable rendering, we jointly estimate derivatives with respect to all parameters---hence, cost does not grow significantly with parameter count. In practice, even noisy derivative estimates exhibit fast, stable convergence for stochastic gradient-based optimization, as we show through examples from thermal design, shape from diffusion, and computer graphics.