bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Portrait3D: Text-Guided High-Quality 3D Portrait Generation Using Pyramid Representation and GANs Prior
Authors: Wu Yiqian , Xu Hao , Tang Xiangjun , Chen Xien , Tang Siyu , Zhang Zhebin , Li Chen , Jin Xiaogang
Published: July 2024

Existing neural rendering-based text-to-3D-portrait generation methods typically make use of human geometry prior and diffusion models to obtain guidance. However, relying solely on geometry information introduces issues such as the Janus problem, over-saturation, and over-smoothing. We present
Portrait3D
, a novel neural rendering-based framework with a novel joint geometry-appearance prior to achieve text-to-3D-portrait generation that overcomes the aforementioned issues. To accomplish this, we train a 3D portrait generator, 3DPortraitGAN, as a robust prior. This generator is capable of producing 360° canonical 3D portraits, serving as a starting point for the subsequent diffusion-based generation process. To mitigate the "grid-like" artifact caused by the high-frequency information in the feature-map-based 3D representation commonly used by most 3D-aware GANs, we integrate a novel
pyramid tri-grid
3D representation into 3DPortraitGAN. To generate 3D portraits from text, we first project a randomly generated image aligned with the given prompt into the pre-trained 3DPortraitGAN's latent space. The resulting latent code is then used to synthesize a
pyramid tri-grid.
Beginning with the obtained
pyramid tri-grid
, we use score distillation sampling to distill the diffusion model's knowledge into the
pyramid tri-grid.
Following that, we utilize the diffusion model to refine the rendered images of the 3D portrait and then use these refined images as training data to further optimize the
pyramid tri-grid
, effectively eliminating issues with unrealistic color and unnatural artifacts. Our experimental results show that Portrait3D can produce realistic, high-quality, and canonical 3D portraits that align with the prompt.
DreamMat: High-quality PBR Material Generation with Geometry- and Light-aware Diffusion Models
Authors: Zhang Yuqing , Liu Yuan , Xie Zhiyu , Yang Lei , Liu Zhongyuan , Yang Mengzhou , Zhang Runze , Kou Qilong , Lin Cheng , Wang Wenping , Jin Xiaogang
Published: July 2024

Recent advancements in 2D diffusion models allow appearance generation on untextured raw meshes. These methods create RGB textures by distilling a 2D diffusion model, which often contains unwanted baked-in shading effects and results in unrealistic rendering effects in the downstream applications. Generating Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials instead of just RGB textures would be a promising solution. However, directly distilling the PBR material parameters from 2D diffusion models still suffers from incorrect material decomposition, such as baked-in shading effects in albedo. We introduce
DreamMat
, an innovative approach to resolve the aforementioned problem, to generate high-quality PBR materials from text descriptions. We find out that the main reason for the incorrect material distillation is that large-scale 2D diffusion models are only trained to generate final shading colors, resulting in insufficient constraints on material decomposition during distillation. To tackle this problem, we first finetune a new light-aware 2D diffusion model to condition on a given lighting environment and generate the shading results on this specific lighting condition. Then, by applying the same environment lights in the material distillation, DreamMat can generate high-quality PBR materials that are not only consistent with the given geometry but also free from any baked-in shading effects in albedo. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the materials produced through our methods exhibit greater visual appeal to users and achieve significantly superior rendering quality compared to baseline methods, which are preferable for downstream tasks such as game and film production.
3D-Layers: Bringing Layer-Based Color Editing to VR Painting
Authors: Yu Emilie , Chevalier Fanny , Singh Karan , Bousseau Adrien
Published: July 2024

The ability to represent artworks as stacks of layers is fundamental to modern graphics design, as it allows artists to easily separate visual elements, edit them in isolation, and blend them to achieve rich visual effects. Despite their ubiquity in 2D painting software, layers have not yet made their way to VR painting, where users paint strokes directly in 3D space by gesturing a 6-degrees-of-freedom controller. But while the concept of a stack of 2D layers was inspired by real-world layers in cell animation, what should 3D layers be? We propose to define
3D-Layers
as groups of 3D strokes, and we distinguish the ones that represent 3D geometry from the ones that represent color modifications of the geometry. We call the former
substrate layers
and the latter
appearance layers.
Strokes in appearance layers modify the color of the substrate strokes they intersect. Thanks to this distinction, artists can define sequences of color modifications as stacks of appearance layers, and edit each layer independently to finely control the final color of the substrate. We have integrated
3D-Layers
into a VR painting application and we evaluate its flexibility and expressiveness by conducting a usability study with experienced VR artists.
Simplicits: Mesh-Free, Geometry-Agnostic Elastic Simulation
Authors: Modi Vismay , Sharp Nicholas , Perel Or , Sueda Shinjiro , Levin David I. W.
Published: July 2024

The proliferation of 3D representations, from explicit meshes to implicit neural fields and more, motivates the need for simulators agnostic to representation. We present a data-, mesh-, and grid-free solution for elastic simulation for any object in any geometric representation undergoing large, nonlinear deformations. We note that every standard geometric representation can be reduced to an occupancy function queried at any point in space, and we define a simulator atop this common interface. For each object, we fit a small implicit neural network encoding spatially varying weights that act as a reduced deformation basis. These weights are trained to learn physically significant motions in the object via random perturbations. Our loss ensures we find a weight-space basis that best minimizes deformation energy by stochastically evaluating elastic energies through Monte Carlo sampling of the deformation volume. At runtime, we simulate in the reduced basis and sample the deformations back to the original domain. Our experiments demonstrate the versatility, accuracy, and speed of this approach on data including signed distance functions, point clouds, neural primitives, tomography scans, radiance fields, Gaussian splats, surface meshes, and volume meshes, as well as showing a variety of material energies, contact models, and time integration schemes.
Seamless Parametrization in Penner Coordinates
Authors: Capouellez Ryan , Zorin Denis
Published: July 2024

We introduce a conceptually simple and efficient algorithm for seamless parametrization, a key element in constructing quad layouts and texture charts on surfaces. More specifically, we consider the construction of parametrizations with prescribed
holonomy signatures
i.e., a set of angles at singularities, and rotations along homology loops, preserving which is essential for constructing parametrizations following an input field, as well as for user control of the parametrization structure. Our algorithm performs exceptionally well on a large dataset based on Thingi10k [Zhou and Jacobson 2016], (16156 meshes) as well as on a challenging smaller dataset of [Myles et al. 2014], converging, on average, in 9 iterations. Although the algorithm lacks a formal mathematical guarantee, presented empirical evidence and the connections between convex optimization and closely related algorithms, suggest that a similar formulation can be found for this algorithm in the future.
Neural Slicer for Multi-Axis 3D Printing
Authors: Liu Tao , Zhang Tianyu , Chen Yongxue , Huang Yuming , Wang Charlie C. L.
Published: July 2024

We introduce a novel neural network-based computational pipeline as a representation-agnostic slicer for multi-axis 3D printing. This advanced slicer can work on models with diverse representations and intricate topology. The approach involves employing neural networks to establish a deformation mapping, defining a scalar field in the space surrounding an input model. Isosurfaces are subsequently extracted from this field to generate curved layers for 3D printing. Creating a differentiable pipeline enables us to optimize the mapping through loss functions directly defined on the field gradients as the local printing directions. New loss functions have been introduced to meet the manufacturing objectives of support-free and strength reinforcement. Our new computation pipeline relies less on the initial values of the field and can generate slicing results with significantly improved performance.
CharacterGen: Efficient 3D Character Generation from Single Images with Multi-View Pose Canonicalization
Authors: Peng Hao-Yang , Zhang Jia-Peng , Guo Meng-Hao , Cao Yan-Pei , Hu Shi-Min
Published: July 2024

BNRist, Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, China

In the field of digital content creation, generating high-quality 3D characters from single images is challenging, especially given the complexities of various body poses and the issues of self-occlusion and pose ambiguity. In this paper, we present CharacterGen, a framework developed to efficiently generate 3D characters. CharacterGen introduces a streamlined generation pipeline along with an image-conditioned multi-view diffusion model. This model effectively calibrates input poses to a canonical form while retaining key attributes of the input image, thereby addressing the challenges posed by diverse poses. A transformer-based, generalizable sparse-view reconstruction model is the other core component of our approach, facilitating the creation of detailed 3D models from multi-view images. We also adopt a texture-back-projection strategy to produce high-quality texture maps. Additionally, we have curated a dataset of anime characters, rendered in multiple poses and views, to train and evaluate our model. Our approach has been thoroughly evaluated through quantitative and qualitative experiments, showing its proficiency in generating 3D characters with high-quality shapes and textures, ready for downstream applications such as rigging and animation.
Variational Feature Extraction in Scientific Visualization
Authors: Daßler Nico , Günther Tobias
Published: July 2024

Across many scientific disciplines, the pursuit of even higher grid resolutions leads to a severe scalability problem in scientific computing. Feature extraction is a commonly chosen approach to reduce the amount of information from dense fields down to geometric primitives that further enable a quantitative analysis. Examples of common features are isolines, extremal lines, or vortex corelines. Due to the rising complexity of the observed phenomena, or in the event of discretization issues with the data, a straightforward application of textbook feature definitions is unfortunately insufficient. Thus, feature extraction from spatial data often requires substantial pre- or post-processing to either clean up the results or to include additional domain knowledge about the feature in question. Such a separate pre- or post-processing of features not only leads to suboptimal and incomparable solutions, it also results in many specialized feature extraction algorithms arising in the different application domains. In this paper, we establish a mathematical language that not only encompasses commonly used feature definitions, it also provides a set of regularizers that can be applied across the bounds of individual application domains. By using the language of variational calculus, we treat features as variational minimizers, which can be combined and regularized as needed. Our formulation not only encompasses existing feature definitions as special case, it also opens the path to novel feature definitions. This work lays the foundations for many new research directions regarding formal definitions, data representations, and numerical extraction algorithms.
Asymmetric Deformable Spatio-temporal Framework for Infrared Object Tracking
Authors: Wu Jingjing , Zhou Xi , Li Xiaohong , Liu Hao , Qi Meibin , Hong Richang
Published: July 2024

The Infrared Object Tracking (IOT) task aims to locate objects in infrared sequences. Since color and texture information is unavailable in infrared modality, most existing infrared trackers merely rely on capturing spatial contexts from the image to enhance feature representation, where other complementary information is rarely deployed. To fill this gap, we in this article propose a novel Asymmetric Deformable Spatio-Temporal Framework (ADSF) to fully exploit collaborative shape and temporal clues in terms of the objects. Firstly, an asymmetric deformable cross-attention module is designed to extract shape information, which attends to the deformable correlations between distinct frames in an asymmetric manner. Secondly, a spatio-temporal tracking framework is coined to learn the temporal variance trend of the object during the training process and store the template information closest to the tracking frame when testing. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate that ADSF outperforms state-of-the-art methods on three public datasets. Extensive ablation experiments further confirm the effectiveness of each component in ADSF. Furthermore, we conduct generalization validation to demonstrate that the proposed method also achieves performance gains in RGB-based tracking scenarios.
Channel Estimation Algorithm Based on Spatial Direction Acquisition and Dynamic‐Window Expansion in Massive MIMO System
Authors: Li Shufeng , Su Baoxin , Liu Yiming , Zhang Junwei , You Minglei
Published: July 2024

Millimeter‐wave (mmWave) and massive multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) technologies are critical in current and future communication research. They play an essential role in meeting the demands for high‐capacity, high‐speed, and low‐latency communication brought about by technological advancements. However, existing mmWave channel estimation schemes rely on idealized common sparse channel support assumptions, and their performance significantly degrades when encountering beam squint scenarios. To address this issue, this paper introduces a dynamic support detection window (DSDW) algorithm. This algorithm dynamically adjusts the position and size of the window based on the received signal strength, thereby better capturing signal strength variations and obtaining a more complete set of signal supports. The DSDW algorithm can better capture and utilize the sparsity of the channel, improving the efficiency and accuracy of the channel state information acquisition. By combining the beam‐split pattern (BSP) algorithm with the DSDW algorithm, this paper designs an effective method to address the inherent beam‐spreading problem in mmWave scenarios. Simulation results are proposed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the BSP‐DSDW algorithm.
Phase II Trial of HER-Vaxx, a B-cell Peptide-Based Vaccine, in HER2-Overexpressing Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients Under Platinum-Based Chemotherapy (HERIZON)
Authors: Tobias Joshua , Maglakelidze Marina , Andrić Zoran , Ryspayeva Dinara , Bulat Iurie , Nikolić Ivan , Petrović Zoran , Chawla Tanuj , Nagarkar Rajnish , Garner-Spitzer Erika , Zielinski Christoph C. , Chong Leslie Mi Ok , Nixon Bonnie , Ede Nicholas J. , Yavrom Sharon , Kundi Michael , Wiedermann Ursula
Published: July 2024

Purpose:

A multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase II study (HERIZON; NCT02795988) was conducted to evaluate the clinical and immunologic efficacy of HER-Vaxx (IMU-131), a B-cell, peptide-based vaccine targeting HER2 overexpressed in 6% to 30% of gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas (GEA).

Patients and Methods:

Patients (n = 36) with GEA were treated with standard-of-care chemotherapy (n = 17) or HER-Vaxx plus chemotherapy (n = 19), using the recommended phase 2 dose for the vaccine. Overall survival (OS; primary endpoint), safety, progression-free survival (PFS), clinical response (secondary endpoints), and vaccine-induced HER2-specific antibody levels in serum and correlation with tumor response rates (exploratory endpoints) were investigated.

Results:

A 40% OS benefit [HR, 0.60; median OS, 13.9 months; 80% confidence interval (CI), 7.52–14.32] for patients treated with HER-Vaxx plus chemotherapy compared with OS of 8.31 months (80% CI, 6.01–9.59) in patients that received chemotherapy alone. A 20% PFS difference was obtained for the vaccination arm (HR, 0.80; 80% CI, 0.47, 1.38). No additional toxicity due to HER-Vaxx was observed. The vaccine-induced high levels of HER2-specific total IgG and IgG1 antibodies (P < 0.001 vs. controls) that significantly correlated with tumor reduction (IgG, P = 0.001; IgG1, P = 0.016), had a significant capacity in inhibiting phosphorylation of the intracellular HER2-signaling pathways, mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and decreased immunosuppressive FOXP3+ regulatory T cells.

Conclusions:

HER-Vaxx plus standard chemotherapy exhibits an excellent safety profile and improves OS. Furthermore, vaccine-induced immune response was significantly associated with reduced tumor size compared with standard-of-care chemotherapy. The presented vaccination approach may substitute for treatment with trastuzumab, upon unavailability or toxicity, based on further evidence of equivalent treatment efficacy.
Comparing Neural Correlates of Memory Encoding and Maintenance for Foveal and Peripheral Stimuli
Authors: Kandemir Güven , Olivers Chris
Published: July 2024

Visual working memory is believed to rely on top–down attentional mechanisms that sustain active sensory representations in early visual cortex, a mechanism referred to as sensory recruitment. However, both bottom–up sensory input and top–down attentional modulations thereof appear to prioritize the fovea over the periphery, such that initially peripheral percepts may even be assimilated by foveal processes. This raises the question whether and how visual working memory differs for central and peripheral input. To address this, we conducted a delayed orientation recall task in which an orientation was presented either at the center of the screen or at 15° eccentricity to the left or right. Response accuracy, EEG activity, and gaze position were recorded from 30 participants. Accuracy was slightly but significantly higher for foveal versus peripheral memories. Decoding of EEG recordings revealed a clear dissociation between early sensory and later maintenance signals. Although sensory signals were clearly decodable for foveal stimuli, they were not for peripheral input. In contrast, maintenance signals were equally decodable for both foveal and peripheral memories, suggesting comparable top–down components regardless of eccentricity. Moreover, although memory representations were initially spatially specific and reflected in voltage fluctuations, later during the maintenance period, they generalized across locations, as emerged in alpha oscillations, thus revealing a dynamic transformation within memory from separate sensory traces to what we propose are common output-related codes. Furthermore, the combined absence of reliable decoding of sensory signals and robust presence of maintenance decoding indicates that storage activity patterns as measured by EEG reflect signals beyond primary visual cortex. We discuss the implications for the sensory recruitment hypothesis.
Same Same, But Different: Brain Areas Underlying the Learning from Repetitive Episodic Prediction Errors
Authors: Jainta Benjamin , Zahedi Anoushiravan , Schubotz Ricarda I.
Published: July 2024

Prediction errors (PEs) function as learning signals. It is yet unclear how varying compared to repetitive PEs affect episodic memory in brain and behavior. The current study investigated cerebral and behavioral effects of experiencing either multiple alternative versions (“varying”) or one single alternative version (“repetitive”) of a previously encoded episode. Participants encoded a set of episodes (“originals”) by watching videos showing toy stories. During scanning, participants either experienced originals, one single, or multiple alternative versions of the previously encoded episodes. Participants' memory performance was tested through recall of original objects. Varying and repetitive PEs revealed typical brain responses to the detection of mismatching information including inferior frontal and posterior parietal regions, as well as hippocampus, which is further linked to memory reactivation, and the amygdala, known for modulating memory consolidation. Furthermore, experiencing varying and repetitive PEs triggered distinct brain areas as revealed by direct contrast. Among others, experiencing varying versions triggered activity in the caudate, a region that has been associated with PEs. In contrast, repetitive PEs activated brain areas that resembled more those for retrieval of originally encoded episodes. Thus, ACC and posterior cingulate cortex activation seemed to serve both reactivating old and integrating new but similar information in episodic memory. Consistent with neural findings, participants recalled original objects less accurately when only presented with the same, but not varying, PE during fMRI. The current findings suggest that repeated PEs interact more strongly with a recalled original episodic memory than varying PEs.
Nested Cinema: An Immersive Fiction-Film Experience
Authors: Prokopic Pavel
Published: July 2024

Nested Cinema is an original immersive experience that complicates the boundaries between the physical and the virtual, between the real and the imaginary. Nested Cinema reimagines film through the orchestration of technology across three distinct layers of experience—traditional screens, the installation space, and cinematic virtual reality—giving rise to a new immersive mode of dramatic fiction and expanded cinema. By combining established and emerging production and presentation technologies, the project explores the narrative and atmospheric effects of a nested multimodal environment, as well as new modes of visitor engagement and novel audiovisual expression and communication.
The Algorithmic Pedestal: A Practice-Based Study of Algorithmic and Artistic Curation
Authors: Herman Laura M. , Moruzzi Caterina
Published: July 2024

This paper delineates the authors’ practice-based findings from The Algorithmic Pedestal exhibit, a practice-based research project examining the impact of algorithmic curation on visual ecology. Instagram, a platform that deploys algorithmic recommendations to select and display artworks, was instructed to choose a set of images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection to display. Fabienne Hess, a London-based artist, also chose images to display from the same collection. This article reflects on the process of producing an exhibit with curatorial inputs from both a machine and a human. It also shares and describes the selected images for the first time.
A General, Noise-Driven Mechanism for the 1/f-Like Behavior of Neural Field Spectra
Authors: Kramer Mark A. , Chu Catherine J.
Published: July 2024

Consistent observations across recording modalities, experiments, and neural systems find neural field spectra with 1/f-like scaling, eliciting many alternative theories to explain this universal phenomenon. We show that a general dynamical system with stochastic drive and minimal assumptions generates 1/f-like spectra consistent with the range of values observed in vivo without requiring a specific biological mechanism or collective critical behavior.
Psychological Issues in the Development and Implementation of VR Technologies in the System of Medical Education
Authors: Buzina Tatyana S. , Kotelnikova Anastasiya V. , Shalina Olga S. , Denisov Aleksandr A. , Kolosov Yuri A. , Gorbunova Yulia V. , Kurkin Denis V. , Mursalov Igor J.
Published: July 2024

Background. In connection with the pronounced trend to constant intensification of the global information space, the inclusion of immersive technologies in the educational process and training of healthcare professionals has significantly intensified in recent years. They are distinguished from traditional educational technologies by immersion, presence and interactivity that provide a developing effect (Tishkov D.S., 2020). However, the active implementation of such programmes requires an understanding of their place in the education system and the possible risks of application, not only from the point of view of the effectiveness of mastering the necessary professional competencies, but also from the subjective experiences of participants in the educational process and their psychological well-being. Objectives. The aim is to analyse psychological aspects of the use of VR technologies in the medical education system and the problem of developing a comprehensive system for assessing the safety and effectiveness of educational VR programmes. Methods. The systematic review and theoretical analysis of the problem of using VR technologies in the medical education system. Results. The introduction of educational VR programmes and the use of virtual reality tools did not receive methodological justification. Despite the prevalence and speculative effectiveness of VR technologies, there is still no reliable data on their teaching potential in the educational process. The use of virtual reality in the medical education system requires a systematic interdisciplinary analysis and discussion by a community of specialists. Conclusion. The introduction of VR technologies into the educational system requires a comprehensive psychological, pedagogical, and medical analysis. The discussion of new technologies and means of the educational process should affect a number of psychological aspects, such as: determining the zone and focus of the use of virtual reality in medical education; analyzing social components of educational activities; forming an expert community for the development, control of implementation, evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of educational VR programmes; developing methodological, didactic and methodological principles for educational programmes using VR technologies.
Typical Personal Prerequisites for the Problems of Clients in psychotherapy and its Purpose in the Works of S. Freud and A. Adler from the Perspective of an Integrative Approach
Authors: Kapustin Sergey A.
Published: July 2024

Background. Currently, there are many different theories of psychotherapy, which are united by the general position that the most important prerequisites for the problems of psychotherapy clients are their personality traits, from which the main goal of psychotherapeutic practice follows, which is to help clients eliminate these preconditions. However, they lack a single, common understanding of what these premises and the goal of psychotherapy are. In an earlier article (Kapustin, 2014a), as a result of the analysis of E. Fromm's works, three basic theoretical provisions were formulated that constitute the basis proposed by ourselves integrative approach to understanding the personal prerequisites of the problems of clients in psychotherapy and its purpose. This allows us to consider the different points of view on these issues contained in world-famous theories of psychotherapy by S. Freud, A. Adler, C. Jung, C. Rogers and V. Frankl from a unified, common position. The first of them characterizes the objective property of human life inherent in its very nature, the second is the typical personal prerequisites for the problems of clients of psychotherapy, the third is the purpose of psychotherapy. However, this article did not provide any justification for the stated capabilities of the integrative approach. Objectives. The goal is to analyze the theoretical ideas of the typical personal prerequisites of the problems of clients in psychotherapy and its purpose contained in the works of S. Freud and A. Adler from the position of an integrative approach, demonstrating its stated capabilities on the basis of these two different theories. Results. It is shown that the theoretical ideas of these authors about the typical personal prerequisites of the problems of clients in psychotherapy and its purpose can be considered as a special variant of three more general basic provisions of the integrative approach. Conclusions. Ideas of S. Freud and A. Adler about the typical personal prerequisites for the problems of clients of psychotherapy and its purpose, despite obvious theoretical differences, nevertheless allow for the possibility of considering them from a unified, common position set by the three basic provisions of the integrative approach. Thus, an integrative approach on the basis of these two psychotherapeutic theories gets a certain theoretical justification for its stated capabilities.
Liminal Stigma and the Interference With the Positive Construction of Face Masks: The Case of Online Reactions to an Anti-Mask Rally
Authors: Silva Eric O.
Published: July 2024

Masks emerged as one of the few means of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant minority of Americans, however, resisted the emergent mask wearing norm. This study seeks to examine the ways that constructions of mask use as an appropriate alleviation of the threat posed by COVID-19 was disrupted in public discourse. It does so by employing a qualitative content analysis of comments made on Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube in response to a mask burning rally held in Boise, Idaho in March 2021. Guided by the literature on aligning activity, this analysis identifies four of the processes by which the positive definition of mask wearing was undermined. Through fragmentation, neutralization, dilution, and displacement, the official definition of mask use was complicated by competing definitions of conduct and also contested evaluations of identities. These findings provide further understanding of the obstacles to coordination during COVID-19 and the role that aligning activity plays as an obstacle to the social construction of danger in the absence of established norms.
Area Deprivation Index and Frailty Among Older People With HIV
Authors: Iriarte Evelyn , Cooley Sarah , Wisch Julie , Erlandson Kristine M. , Ances Beau M. , Jankowski Catherine
Published: July 2024

We evaluated the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage (measured by the Area Deprivation Index [ADI]) and frailty. We performed a secondary analysis, pooling cross-sectional data collected from 209 people with HIV (PWH) aged ≥50 years enrolled in studies in Colorado (CO) and Missouri (MO). MO participants ( N = 137) had a higher ADI (µ= 70, ơ2 = 25) compared to CO (µ= 32, ơ2 = 15; p < .001). No significant differences in ADI were observed between frailty categories when cohorts were examined either separately or combined; however, when comparing individual frailty criteria, the most apparent differences by neighborhood disadvantage were seen among those with limited physical activity (μ = 67, ơ2 = 28) compared to those without (μ = 55, ơ2 = 29, p = .03). Neighborhood disadvantage was associated with low physical activity but not with overall frailty status. Future research should examine how access to physical activity spaces varies based on ADI, as this could be crucial in preventing frailty.
Child Welfare Outcomes After Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up Intervention Participation: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Authors: Liming Kiley W. , Grube Whitney , Lloyd Sieger Margaret H. , Brook Jody , Berryhill Elicia , Akin Becci A. , Mendenhall Amy
Published: July 2024

Limited research is available examining distal child welfare outcomes after participation in evidence-based parenting interventions. To address this gap, this study employed a multi-tiered analytic approach to examine child welfare outcomes after participation in Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC). Using propensity score analytic techniques to establish a matched comparison group, logistic regressions examined subsequent maltreatment reports and substantiation, and survival analyses observed time to and likelihood of reunification for children who received one of three ABC curriculums compared to comparison group children (child welfare services as usual). In total, 205 children were included in the impact analysis ( n = 66 treatment; n = 139 comparison); the majority of the children were White (53.7%), non-Hispanic (84.4%), males (59.5%) with an average age of 6 months (M [SD] = .50 [1.0]). Over half (56.1%) of the study sample was in out-of-home placement; 23.5% of the removed children experienced reunification. No statistically significant group differences were observed on the likelihood of subsequent or substantiated maltreatment reports. All three ABC curriculums were associated with a statistically significant increased likelihood of reunification, when compared to their matched counterpart. Additional research is warranted, though results indicate ABC may be a promising intervention to help enhance the likelihood of reunification.
Strategies of passing: Hypervisible bodies, disrespectable affinities, and Syrian trans refugees in Lebanon
Authors: Chaer Nisrine
Published: July 2024

In today’s Lebanon, Syrian trans refugees face intersecting systems of violence that position them as hypervisible ‘deviants’ in multiple ways: as refugees without formal legal residency, as trans individuals without congruent gender markers, and as working-class individuals. Attending ethnographically to the notions of hypervisibility and (dis)respectability that underpin such deviances, this article explores how the Lebanese security-morality apparatus enforces hypervisibility on Syrian trans women by eroding their respectability and privacy. In the context of recent crackdowns on Syrian-majority areas and LGBT spaces, I look specifically to how (dis)respectability is deployed by and against Syrian trans women in their crisscrossing of the boundaries of both a ‘trans closet’ and ideals of middle-class Lebanese (cis)womanhood. My analysis evolves the concept of respectability to account for how my interlocuters navigate the permeability of their private spaces, secure themselves against potential harm, and assert their sovereignty. This is accomplished through the use of two strategies: ‘respectable passing’—investing in markers of class and citizenship over those of gender, and ‘disrespectable affinities’—engaging in a politics of the vulgar and forging social connections between hypervisible communities, effecting alternative forms of sociality that unsettle the border between trans and cis Syrians in the racialized and classed order of contemporary Beirut.
Strains and Self-Harm: A Look at LGBQ, Transgender, and Non-binary College Students
Authors: Isom Deena A. , Grosholz Jessica M. , Franklin Sarah , Rogers Sarah A.
Published: July 2024

Queer criminology is quickly growing but is often not integrated within orthodox theoretical frameworks. Moreover, many studies analyze the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals as a monolithic experience instead of investigating the nuances between sexuality and gender identity. This study bridges these gaps by using a national sample of college students and applying an intersectional, queer criminological lens to a general strain theory framework to understand how LGBQ and trans and non-binary individuals experience and respond to strain in relation to self-harm. We find distinct variations among these groups. We discuss the implications of these findings and directions for future research.
Solar bird banding: Notes on changes in avian behavior while mist-netting during an eclipse
Authors: DeNiro Adara , Kittelberger Kyle D , Samani Atoosa M , Şekercioğlu Çağan Hakkı
Published: July 2024

Solar eclipses present rare celestial events that can elicit unique behavioral responses in animals, yet comprehensive studies on these phenomena, particularly concerning bird behavior, remain limited. This study, conducted at the Red Butte Canyon Research Natural Area in Utah during the annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, aimed to document and analyze avian activity using bird banding data. Leveraging 11 years of banding records, we observed a surprising positive peak in bird captures, indicating increased activity during the eclipse, challenging conventional expectations of decreased activity during peak totality. The unexpected, record-breaking captures on the eclipse day at this location, which also surpassed the average trend in captures over time for 18 other banding days in mid-October, highlights the complexity of bird behavior during celestial events. This study marks the first known published effort to conduct bird banding during a solar eclipse. Quantitative analyses, including species composition and capture trends, contribute to a nuanced understanding of avian responses to the eclipse. This study underscores the importance of empirical research in unraveling the intricacies of how birds navigate and adapt to unique environmental conditions created by solar eclipses.
Integrative analyses of metabolome and transcriptome reveal the dynamic accumulation and regulatory network in rhizomes and fruits of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua
Authors: Ning Luyun , Xu Yuanshu , Luo Lu , Gong Limin , Liu Yeman , Wang Zhi , Wang Wei
Published: July 2024

Background

According to Chinese ancient books, both fruits and rhizomes of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua have medicinal and edible values. Up to now, there is no report about the metabolite profiles and regulatory network in fruits and different year-old rhizomes of P. cyrtonema.

Results

In this study, we performed integrative analyses of metabolome and transcriptome to reveal the dynamic accumulation and regulatory network of fruits and different year-old rhizomes in P. cyrtonema. The relative content of phenolic acids, lignans and coumarins, flavonoids and alkaloids increased with growth years, while steroids and lipids decreased with it. In addition, the relative content of nucleotides and derivatives, flavonoids, organic acids, steroids and lipids in fruits were higher than rhizomes. Genes that might relate to the biosynthesis of polysaccharides, flavonoids, triterpene saponins and alkaloids biosynthesis were further analyzed by transcriptome analysis, including sacA, GMPP, PMM, CCoAOMT, CHI, ANR, CHS, DXS, GGPS, ZEP, CYP72A219 and so on, for their expressions were positively correlated with the relative content of the metabolites. Additionally, the correlation network in sugar and aromatic amino acids metabolites were constructed to further illustrate the biosynthesis of polysaccharides, flavonoids and alkaloids in P. cyrtonema, and some transcription factors (TFs) were screened, such as C2C2, MYB, bZIP, GRAS and NAC.

Conclusions

This study can deepen our understanding of the accumulation patterns and molecular mechanism of the main compounds in P. cyrtonema, and provide reference for the standardize production of P. cyrtonema.
Genome-wide analysis of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) laccase gene family and its functions in response to abiotic stress
Authors: Cheng Tong , Ren Chunyuan , Xu Jinghan , Wang Huamei , Wen Bowen , Zhao Qiang , Zhang Wenjie , Yu Gaobo , Zhang Yuxian
Published: July 2024

Background

Laccase (LAC) gene family plays a pivotal role in plant lignin biosynthesis and adaptation to various stresses. Limited research has been conducted on laccase genes in common beans.

Results

29 LAC gene family members were identified within the common bean genome, distributed unevenly in 9 chromosomes. These members were divided into 6 distinct subclades by phylogenetic analysis. Further phylogenetic analyses and synteny analyses indicated that considerable gene duplication and loss presented throughout the evolution of the laccase gene family. Purified selection was shown to be the major evolutionary force through Ka / Ks. Transcriptional changes of PvLAC genes under low temperature and salt stress were observed, emphasizing the regulatory function of these genes in such conditions. Regulation by abscisic acid and gibberellins appears to be the case for PvLAC3, PvLAC4, PvLAC7, PvLAC13, PvLAC14, PvLAC18, PvLAC23, and PvLAC26, as indicated by hormone induction experiments. Additionally, the regulation of PvLAC3, PvLAC4, PvLAC7, and PvLAC14 in response to nicosulfuron and low-temperature stress were identified by virus-induced gene silence, which demonstrated inhibition on growth and development in common beans.

Conclusions

The research provides valuable genetic resources for improving the resistance of common beans to abiotic stresses and enhance the understanding of the functional roles of the LAC gene family.
Integrative analysis of the transcriptome and proteome reveals the molecular responses of tobacco to boron deficiency
Authors: Lin Jinbin , Zheng Xiangli , Xia Jing , Xie Rongrong , Gao Jingjuan , Ye Rongrong , Liang Tingmin , Qu Mengyu , Luo Yaxin , Wang Yuemin , Ke Yuqin , Li Chunying , Guo Jinping , Lu Jianjun , Tang Weiqi , Li Wenqing , Chen Songbiao
Published: July 2024

Background

Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants. Inappropriate B supply detrimentally affects the productivity of numerous crops. Understanding of the molecular responses of plants to different B supply levels would be of significance in crop improvement and cultivation practices to deal with the problem.

Results

We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome and proteome of tobacco seedlings to investigate the expression changes of genes/proteins in response to different B supply levels, with a particular focus on B deficiency. The global gene and protein expression profiles revealed the potential mechanisms involved in the responses of tobacco to B deficiency, including up-regulation of the NIP5;1-BORs module, complex regulation of genes/proteins related to cell wall metabolism, and up-regulation of the antioxidant machinery.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that B deficiency caused severe morphological and physiological disorders in tobacco seedlings, and revealed dynamic expression changes of tobacco genes/proteins in response to different B supply levels, especially to B deficiency, thus offering valuable insights into the molecular responses of tobacco to B deficiency.
Liver abscess in the caudate lobe caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae: a rare case report and literature review
Authors: Cheng Lingxia , Li Lei , Liu Yongzao , Cheng Wei , Wang Guan , Xu Ping
Published: July 2024

Background

K. pneumoniae liver abscess (KPLA) mostly involves the right lobe. We present a case of K. pneumoniae caudate liver abscess with invasive liver abscess syndrome (ILAS) was rarely identified.

Case presentation

A 53-year-old man with elevated glycated hemoglobin with chills, rigors and a fever of five days. The patient presented with tachycardia and fever. Physical examination revealed tenderness over the right abdomen was elicited. In particular, the inflammatory markers were markedly elevated, and computerized tomography (CT) showed pulmonary abscess, pulmonary embolism and caudate liver abscess. The patient’s sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score was 10 points. Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from sputum, urine and blood. With the suspicion of liver abscesses, ILAS and sepsis. The patient was successfully treated with antibiotics. He returned to close to his premorbid function.

Conclusion

K. pneumoniae caudate liver abscess was rare. This is the first detailed report of K. pneumoniae caudate liver abscess with invasive liver abscess syndrome. Patients with cryptogenic K. pneumoniae liver abscess are advised to undergo an examination of intestinal barrier function. The study indicates that in patients with K. pneumoniae liver abscess, a caudate liver abscess size of ≤ 9.86 cm² may be characteristic of those suitable for conservative treatment of invasive liver abscess syndrome.
Data quality in Brazilian population-based cancer registries for gastrointestinal cancers
Authors: e Silva Diego Rodrigues Mendonça , de Oliveira Max Moura , Curado Maria Paula
Published: July 2024

Background

Population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) are the primary source of information for cancer surveillance and monitoring. Currently, there are 30 active PBCRs in Brazil. The objective of this study was to analyze the data quality of five gastrointestinal cancers (esophagus, stomach, colorectal, liver, and pancreas) according to the criteria of comparability, validity, completeness, and timeliness in Brazilian cancer registries.

Methods

This study included data from Brazilian PBCRs with more than ten years of historical data starting in the year 2000, regardless of the type of defined geographical coverage (state, metropolitan region, or capital), totaling 16 registries. Brazilian PBCRs were evaluated based on four international data quality criteria: comparability, validity (accuracy), completeness, and timeliness. All cancer cases were analyzed, except for nonmelanoma skin cancer cases (C44) and five gastrointestinal tumors (esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer) per cancer registry and sex, according to the available period.

Results

The 16 Brazilian PBCRs represent 17% of the population (36 million inhabitants in 2021) according to data from 2000 to 2018. There was a variation in the incidence in the historical series ranging from 12 to 19 years. The proportion of morphologically verified (MV%) cases varied from 74.3% (Manaus) to 94.8% (Aracaju), and the proportion of incidentally reported death certificate only (DCO%) cases varied from 3.0% (São Paulo) to 23.9% (Espírito Santo). High-lethality malignant neoplasms, such as liver and pancreas, had DCO percentages greater than 30% in most cancer registries. The sixteen registries have more than a 48-month delay in data release compared to the 2022 calendar year.

Conclusion

The studied Brazilian cancer registries met international comparability criteria; however, half of the registries showed indices below the expected levels for validity and completeness criteria for high-lethality tumors such as liver and pancreas tumors, in addition to a long delay in data availability and disclosure. Significant efforts are necessary to ensure the operational and stability of the PBCR in Brazil, which continues to be a tool for monitoring cancer incidence and assessing national cancer control policies.