bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Practical Face Reconstruction via Differentiable Ray Tracing
Authors: Dib A. , Bharaj G. , Ahn J. , Thébault C. , Gosselin P. , Romeo M. , Chevallier L.
Published: June 2021

We present a differentiable ray‐tracing based novel face reconstruction approach where scene attributes – 3D geometry, reflectance (diffuse, specular and roughness), pose, camera parameters, and scene illumination – are estimated from unconstrained monocular images. The proposed method models scene illumination via a novel, parameterized virtual light stage, which in‐conjunction with differentiable ray‐tracing, introduces a coarse‐to‐fine optimization formulation for face reconstruction. Our method can not only handle unconstrained illumination and self‐shadows conditions, but also estimates diffuse and specular albedos. To estimate the face attributes consistently and with practical semantics, a two‐stage optimization strategy systematically uses a subset of parametric attributes, where subsequent attribute estimations factor those previously estimated. For example, self‐shadows estimated during the first stage, later prevent its baking into the personalized diffuse and specular albedos in the second stage. We show the efficacy of our approach in several real‐world scenarios, where face attributes can be estimated even under extreme illumination conditions. Ablation studies, analyses and comparisons against several recent state‐of‐the‐art methods show improved accuracy and versatility of our approach. With consistent face attributes reconstruction, our method leads to several style – illumination, albedo, self‐shadow – edit and transfer applications, as discussed in the paper.
Walk2Map: Extracting Floor Plans from Indoor Walk Trajectories
Authors: Mura Claudio , Pajarola Renato , Schindler Konrad , Mitra Niloy
Published: June 2021

Recent years have seen a proliferation of new digital products for the efficient management of indoor spaces, with important applications like emergency management, virtual property showcasing and interior design. While highly innovative and effective, these products rely on accurate 3D models of the environments considered, including information on both architectural and non‐permanent elements. These models must be created from measured data such as RGB‐D images or 3D point clouds, whose capture and consolidation involves lengthy data workflows. This strongly limits the rate at which 3D models can be produced, preventing the adoption of many digital services for indoor space management.

We provide a radical alternative to such data‐intensive procedures by presentingWalk2Map, a data‐driven approach to generate floor plans only from trajectories of a person walking inside the rooms. Thanks to recent advances in data‐driven inertial odometry, such minimalistic input data can be acquired from the IMU readings of consumer‐level smartphones, which allows for an effortless and scalable mapping of real‐world indoor spaces. Our work is based on learning the latent relation between an indoor walk trajectory and the information represented in a floor plan: interior space footprint, portals, and furniture. We distinguish between recovering area‐related (interior footprint, furniture) and wall‐related (doors) information and use two different neural architectures for the two tasks: an image‐based Encoder‐Decoder and a Graph Convolutional Network, respectively. We train our networks using scanned 3D indoor models and apply them in a cascaded fashion on an indoor walk trajectory at inference time.

We perform a qualitative and quantitative evaluation using both trajectories simulated from scanned models of interiors and measured, real‐world trajectories, and compare against a baseline method for image‐to‐image translation. The experiments confirm that our technique is viable and allows recovering reliable floor plans from minimal walk trajectory data.
RigidFusion: RGB‐D Scene Reconstruction with Rigidly‐moving Objects
Authors: Wong Yu-Shiang , Li Changjian , Nießner Matthias , Mitra Niloy J.
Published: June 2021

Although surface reconstruction from depth data has made significant advances in the recent years, handling changing environments remains a major challenge. This is unsatisfactory, as humans regularly move objects in their environments. Existing solutions focus on a restricted set of objects (e.g., those detected by semantic classifiers) possibly with template meshes, assume static camera, or mark objects touched by humans as moving. We remove these assumptions by introducing RigidFusion. Our core idea is a novel asynchronous moving‐object detection method, combined with a modified volumetric fusion. This is achieved by a model‐to‐frame TSDF decomposition leveraging free‐space carving of tracked depth values of the current frame with respect to the background model during run‐time. As output, we produce separate volumetric reconstructions for the background and each moving object in the scene, along with its trajectory over time. Our method does not rely on the object priors (e.g., semantic labels or pre‐scanned meshes) and is insensitive to the motion residuals between objects and the camera. In comparison to state‐of‐the‐art methods (e.g., Co‐Fusion, MaskFusion), we handle significantly more challenging reconstruction scenarios involving moving camera and improve moving‐object detection (26% on the miss‐detection ratio), tracking (27% on MOTA), and reconstruction (3% on the reconstruction F1) on the synthetic dataset. Please refer the supplementary and the project website for the video demonstration (geometry.cs.ucl.ac.uk/projects/2021/rigidfusion).
Velocity Skinning for Real‐time Stylized Skeletal Animation
Authors: Rohmer Damien , Tarini Marco , Kalyanasundaram Niranjan , Moshfeghifar Faezeh , Cani Marie-Paule , Zordan Victor
Published: June 2021

Secondary animation effects are essential for liveliness. We propose a simple, real‐time solution for adding them on top of standard skinning, enabling artist‐driven stylization of skeletal motion. Our method takes a standard skeleton animation as input, along with a skin mesh and rig weights. It then derives per‐vertex deformations from the different linear and angular velocities along the skeletal hierarchy. We highlight two specific applications of this general framework, namely the cartoon‐like “squashy” and “floppy” effects, achieved from specific combinations of velocity terms. As our results show, combining these effects enables to mimic, enhance and stylize physical‐looking behaviours within a standard animation pipeline, for arbitrary skinned characters. Interactive on CPU, our method allows for GPU implementation, yielding real‐time performances even on large meshes. Animator control is supported through a simple interface toolkit, enabling to refine the desired type and magnitude of deformation at relevant vertices by simply painting weights. The resulting rigged character automatically responds to new skeletal animation, without further input.
Local Light Alignment for Multi‐Scale Shape Depiction
Authors: Mestres Nolan , Vergne Romain , Noûs Camille , Thollot Joëlle
Published: June 2021

Motivated by recent findings in the field of visual perception, we present a novel approach for enhancing shape depiction and perception of surface details. We propose a shading‐based technique that relies on locally adjusting the direction of light to account for the different components of materials. Our approach ensures congruence between shape and shading flows, leading to an effective enhancement of the perception of shape and details while impairing neither the lighting nor the appearance of materials. It is formulated in a general way allowing its use for multiple scales enhancement in real‐time on the GPU, as well as in global illumination contexts. We also provide artists with fine control over the enhancement at each scale.
Film Directing for Computer Games and Animation
Authors: Ronfard Rémi
Published: June 2021

Over the last forty years, researchers in computer graphics have proposed a large variety of theoretical models and computer implementations of a virtual film director, capable of creating movies from minimal input such as a screenplay or storyboard. The underlying film directing techniques are also in high demand to assist and automate the generation of movies in computer games and animation. The goal of this survey is to characterize the spectrum of applications that require film directing, to present a historical and up‐to‐date summary of research in algorithmic film directing, and to identify promising avenues and hot topics for future research.
Chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection and sleep‐wake alterations in mice
Authors: Dupont Damien , Lin Jian‐Sheng , Peyron François , Akaoka Hideo , Wallon Martine
Published: June 2021

Aim

Toxoplasma gondii (Tg) is an intracellular parasite infecting more than a third of the human population. Yet, the impact of Tg infection on sleep, a highly sensitive index of brain functions, remains unknown. We designed an experimental mouse model of chronic Tg infection to assess the effects on sleep‐wake states.

Methods

Mice were infected using cysts of the type II Prugniaud strain. We performed chronic sleep‐wake recordings and monitoring as well as EEG power spectral density analysis in order to assess the quantitative and qualitative changes of sleep‐wake states. Pharmacological approach was combined to evaluate the direct impact of the infection and inflammation caused by Tg.

Results

Infected mouse exhibited chronic sleep‐wake alterations over months, characterized by a marked increase (>20%) in time spent awake and in cortical EEG θ power density of all sleep‐wake states. Meanwhile, slow‐wave sleep decreased significantly. These effects were alleviated by an anti‐inflammatory treatment using corticosteroid dexamethasone.

Conclusion

We demonstrated for the first time the direct consequences of Tg infection on sleep‐wake states. The persistently increased wakefulness and reduced sleep fit with the parasite's strategy to enhance dissemination through host predation and are of significance in understanding the neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders reported in infected patients.
Barriers to effective health care for patients who have smell or taste disorders
Authors: Ball Stephen , Boak Duncan , Dixon Joanne , Carrie Sean , Philpott Carl M.
Published: June 2021

Objectives

Smell/taste disturbances are a common but underrated, under‐researched and under treated sensory loss and an independent risk factor for reduced longevity. This study aimed to characterise the experience of patients with these disorders in seeking help.

Design

The study was designed by patients together with clinicians through a dedicated workshop and conducted as a cross‐sectional survey to capture experiences in public and private healthcare settings internationally.

Setting

Primary, secondary and tertiary care.

Participants

Any members of the public self‐reporting a smell/taste disorder were invited to participate.

Main outcome measures

The survey captured information including experience of getting consultations and referrals to medical professionals, treatments offered, costs incurred and related problems with mental health.

Results

Of 673 participants; 510 female, 160 male, three not stated, self‐reported aetiology included sinonasal disease (24%), idiopathic (24%) and post‐viral olfactory dysfunction (22%); true gustatory disorders were typically rare. Failure of medical professionals to recognise the problem was a key concern ‐ 64%, 76% and 47% of GPs, ENT specialists and Neurologists acknowledged, respectively. Other issues included repeated ineffective treatments, difficulties getting referrals to secondary/tertiary care, mental health problems (60%) and a mean personal cost of £421 to seeking advice and treatment. Whilst the participants were self‐selecting, however, they do represent those who are seeking help and intervention for their disorders.

Conclusion

There is an unmet need for these patients in accessing health care including a clear need to improve education of and engagement with the medical profession in Otorhinolaryngology, General Practice and other specialties, in order to remove the current barriers they face.
Keeping up with the status of freshwater fishes: A California (USA) perspective
Authors: Leidy Robert A. , Moyle Peter B.
Published: June 2021

Freshwater biodiversity loss exceeds that in terrestrial systems; fishes are a predominant indicator of this catastrophe. Current worldwide estimates of freshwater fish species threatened with extinction are about 30%. We discuss why standard monitoring of the status of most fishes is inadequate to keep up with declines. Rapid population declines and shrinking freshwater fish distributions result in shifting baselines that make it challenging to evaluate conservation status reliably and promptly and effectively address further decreases. We present the California Method for Status Evaluation of Fishes as an alternative to existing methods for assessing the regional status of freshwater fishes. This method uses local expertise to score metrics and generates a fish status rating to inform short‐term management decisions. This approach applies to Distinct Population Segments, subspecies, species, and entire regional fish faunas and is adaptable to local, changing environmental conditions. Using this method, we update the freshwater status scores for 131 native California fish species, a fauna in rapid decline.
Best practice recommendations for the use of hepatitis C viremic donor organs for hepatitis C virus naïve recipients
Authors: Stewart Zoe A. , Shah Shimul A. , Rolls Jason A. , Guarrera James V. , Kandaswamy Raja , Axelrod David A.
Published: June 2021

The combination of the transplant organ deficit, the increase in HCV nucleic acid positive donors (HCV NAT+), and the development of direct‐acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has resulted in a rapid increase in HCV NAT+ organ transplants into HCV naïve recipients. Early clinical experience with HCV NAT+ donor organs has shown promising outcomes; however, best practices are lacking to guide transplant programs during all phases of patient care. Transplant programs developing protocols for the utilization of HCV NAT+ organs will need a multidisciplinary team to address all aspects of pre‐transplant and post‐transplant patient care. Reports of fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis in HCV NAT+ organ transplant recipients receiving delayed DAA initiation highlight the need for the transplant community to develop safe and effective protocols. A failure to do so will inevitably lead to the erosion of public trust from cases of missed or inadequately treated donor‐derived HCV infections. Herein, we provide best practice guidelines for the utilization of HCV NAT+ organs into HCV‐negative recipients based on literature review and expert opinion from the faculty of the ASTS Standards and Quality Committee.
Tissue pharmacokinetics of DHP107, a novel lipid‐based oral formulation of paclitaxel, in mice and patients by positron emission tomography
Authors: Moon Byung Seok , Park Hyun Soo , Sunwoo Jung , Lee In‐Hyun , Kim Anhye , Moon Seol Ju , Lee Heechan , Son Min Hee , Kim Su Bin , Park Sun Mi , Woo Sang‐Keun , Jang Jun‐Hee , Kim Bom Sahn , Kim Jee Hyun , Kim Sang Eun , Lee Howard
Published: June 2021

DHP107 is a newly developed lipid‐based oral formulation of paclitaxel. We evaluated the in vivo tissue pharmacokinetics (PKs) of DHP107 in mice and patients using positron emission tomography (PET). Radioisotope‐labeled [3H]DHP107 and [18F]DHP107 for oral administration were formulated in the same manner as the manufacturing process of DHP107. In vivo tissue PK were assessed in healthy ICR mice and breast cancer xenografted SCID mice. Two patients with metastatic breast cancer were clinically evaluated for absorption at the target lesion after internal absorbed dose estimation. Whole‐body PET/computed tomography data were acquired in healthy and xenografted mice and in patients up to 10–24 h after administration. Tissue [18F]DHP107 signals were plotted against time and PK parameters were determined. The amounts of radioactivity in various organs and excreta were determined using a beta‐counter and are expressed as the percentage of injected dose (ID). Oral [18F]DHP107 was well‐absorbed and reached the target lesion in mice and patients with breast cancer. Significant amounts of radioactivity were found in the stomach, intestine, and liver after oral administration of [3H]‐ and [18F]DHP107 in healthy mice. The [18F]DHP107 reached a peak distribution of 0.7–0.8%ID in the tumor at 5.6–7.3 h in the xenograft model. The [18F]DHP107 distribution in patients with metastatic breast cancer was the highest at 3–4 h postadministration. Systemic exposures after administration of a DHP107 therapeutic dose were comparable with those in previous studies. PET using radioisotope‐labeled drug candidates is useful for drug development and can provide valuable information that can complement plasma PK data, particularly in early phase clinical trials.
Agricultural Persistence and Potentials on the Edge of Northern Ontario
Authors: Finnis Elizabeth
Published: June 2021

Drawing on farmers’ lived experiences, I explore factors that shape agricultural persistence in the Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. Local farming is embedded in broader contexts and is place‐based and specific. Agricultural persistence and resilience are shaped in part through individual factors, such as flexibility in response to change, the valuing of local agricultural heritage, and the determination to farm. However, attention to specific agricultural needs is critically necessary to help ensure agricultural futures in the district. I demonstrate the ways that attention to place‐based experiences pinpoints the need for localized understandings and supports to ensure agricultural viability and contribute to diverse and valued visions of agriculture and food production within the province.
A long‐brewing crisis: The historical antecedents of major alcohol policy change in Ireland
Authors: Lesch Matthew , McCambridge Jim
Published: June 2021

Introduction

The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 in Ireland has been hailed as a world‐leading package of alcohol policy reforms. Existing studies have identified the events that led to alcohol emerging onto the high‐level policy agenda in Ireland, particularly after 2009. Using policy feedback theory, this study specifically investigates the political consequences of accumulating alcohol‐related health and social harms for processes of policy change prior to 2009.

Methods

The study traces the development of alcohol policy in Ireland over the past three decades. It draws on primary documents, secondary literature and interviews with public health advocates, medical doctors, public health experts and key decision‐makers.

Results

The study documents a decades‐long struggle to have alcohol recognised as a public health issue in Ireland. We identify 2008/2009 as the key turning point, where policy conditions decisively shifted in a public health direction. We show how insufficient institutional authority and the accumulation of the effects of earlier policy failures helped foster this dynamic. These two factors elevated the visibility of alcohol‐related harm for key stakeholders, helping spur greater demand for major policy change.

Discussion and Conclusions

Not acting on the population health harms caused by alcohol can produce significant societal costs, particularly when consumption is rising, and entail subsequent political consequences. Understanding of innovations in alcohol policy decision making requires an appreciation of the historical context, including earlier policy failures.
Static species distribution models in the marine realm: The case of baleen whales in the Southern Ocean
Authors: El‐Gabbas Ahmed , Van Opzeeland Ilse , Burkhardt Elke , Boebel Olaf
Published: June 2021

Aim

Information on the spatio‐temporal distribution of marine species is essential for developing proactive management strategies. However, sufficient information is seldom available at large spatial scales, particularly in polar areas. The Southern Ocean (SO) represents a critical habitat for various species, particularly migratory baleen whales. Still, the SO’s remoteness and sea ice coverage disallow obtaining sufficient information on baleen whale distribution and niche preference. Here, we used presence‐only species distribution models to predict the circumantarctic habitat suitability of baleen whales and identify important predictors affecting their distribution.

Location

The Southern Ocean (SO).

Methods

We used Maxent to model habitat suitability for Antarctic minke, Antarctic blue, fin and humpback whales. Our models employ extensive circumantarctic data and carefully prepared predictors describing the SO’s environment and two spatial sampling bias correction options. Species‐specific spatial‐block cross‐validation was used to optimize model complexity and for spatially independent model evaluation.

Results

Model performance was high on cross‐validation, with generally little predicted uncertainty. The most important predictors were derived from sea ice, particularly seasonal mean and variability of sea ice concentration and distance to the sea ice edge.

Main conclusions

Our models support the usefulness of presence‐only models as a cost‐effective tool in the marine realm, particularly for studying the migratory whales’ distribution. However, we found discrepancies between our results and (within) results of similar studies, mainly due to using different species data quality and quantity, different study area extent and methodological reasons. We further highlight the limitations of implementing static distribution models in the highly dynamic marine realm. Dynamic models, which relate species information to environmental conditions contemporaneous to species occurrences, can predict near‐real‐time habitat suitability, necessary for dynamic management. Nevertheless, obtaining sufficient species and environmental predictors at high spatio‐temporal resolution, necessary for dynamic models, can be challenging from polar regions.
Optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps using novel blue light imaging classification among trainee endoscopists
Authors: Koehn Christopher , Rex Douglas K. , Allen Jimmy , Bhatti Umer , Bhavsar‐Burke Indira , Thoguluva Chandrasekar Viveksandeep , Challa Abhishek , Duvvuri Abhiram , Dakhoul Lara , Ha John , Hamade Nour , Hicks S. Bradley , Jansson‐Knodell Claire , Krajicek Edward , Das Kundumadam Shanker , Nutalapati Venkat , Phatharacharukul Parkpoom “Peter” , Razmdjou Shadi , Saito Akira , Sarkis Fayez , Sutton Richard , Wehbeh Antonios , Sharma Prateek , Desai Madhav
Published: June 2021

Background

Blue light imaging (BLI) has been shown to improve the characterization of colorectal polyps among the endoscopy experts. We aimed to determine if this technology could be taught to endoscopy trainees while maintaining high accuracy and interobserver agreement.

Methods

Twenty‐one gastroenterology trainees (fellows) from two academic institutions participated in this prospective study. Each trainee completed a web‐based learning comprising four modules: pre‐test, didactic videos explaining the BLI Adenoma Serrated International Classification (BASIC), interactive examples, and post‐test assessment. The pre‐ and post‐test modules consisted of reviewing video images of colon polyps in high definition white light imaging and BLI and then applying the BASIC classification to determine if the polyps were likely to be adenomatous. Confidence in adenoma identification (rated ‘1’ to ‘5’), accuracy in polyp (adenoma vs. non‐adenoma) identification, and agreement in characterization per BASIC criteria were derived.

Results

Trainee accuracy in the adenoma diagnosis improved from 74.7% (pre‐test) to 85.4% (post‐test) (P < 0.01). There was a trend towards higher accuracy in polyp characterization with subsequent years of training (1st year fellows 77.4%, 2nd year 88.5%, and final year 94.0%) with consistent improvements after the e‐learning across years of trainees. Overall, trainees were able to identify adenoma with a high sensitivity of 86.9%, specificity 83.9%, positive predictive value of 84.4%, and negative predictive value of 86.5%. However, their interobserver agreement in adenoma diagnosis was moderate (k = 0.52).

Conclusion

The novel BLI classification can be easily taught to gastroenterology trainees using an online module and accuracy improves with years of training reaching >90% for colorectal polyp characterization.
The International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability Knowledge Hub
Authors: Carroll Jenny
Published: June 2021

Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/2uFznzzk90I
Synthetic resin acid derivatives selectively open the hKV7.2/7.3 channel and prevent epileptic seizures
Authors: Ottosson Nina E. , Silverå Ejneby Malin , Wu Xiongyu , Estrada‐Mondragón Argel , Nilsson Michelle , Karlsson Urban , Schupp Melanie , Rognant Salomé , Jepps Thomas Andrew , Konradsson Peter , Elinder Fredrik
Published: June 2021

Objective

About one third of all patients with epilepsy have pharmacoresistant seizures. Thus there is a need for better pharmacological treatments. The human voltage‐gated potassium (hKV) channel hKV7.2/7.3 is a validated antiseizure target for compounds that activate this channel. In a previous study we have shown that resin acid derivatives can activate the hKV7.2/7.3 channel. In this study we investigated if these channel activators have the potential to be developed into a new type of antiseizure drug. Thus we examined their structure‐activity relationships and the site of action on the hKV7.2/7.3 channel, if they have unwanted cardiac and cardiovascular effects, and their potential antiseizure effect.

Methods

Ion channels were expressed in Xenopus oocytes or mammalian cell lines and explored with two‐electrode voltage‐clamp or automated patch‐clamp techniques. Unwanted vascular side effects were investigated with isometric tension recordings. Antiseizure activity was studied in an electrophysiological zebrafish‐larvae model.

Results

Fourteen resin acid derivatives were tested on hKV7.2/7.3. The most efficient channel activators were halogenated and had a permanently negatively charged sulfonyl group. The compounds did not bind to the sites of other hKV7.2/7.3 channel activators, retigabine, or ICA‐069673. Instead, they interacted with the most extracellular gating charge of the S4 voltage‐sensing helix, and the effects are consistent with an electrostatic mechanism. The compounds altered the voltage dependence of hKV7.4, but in contrast to retigabine, there were no effects on the maximum conductance. Consistent with these data, the compounds had less smooth muscle–relaxing effect than retigabine. The compounds had almost no effect on the voltage dependence of hKV11.1, hNaV1.5, or hCaV1.2, or on the amplitude of hKV11.1. Finally, several resin acid derivatives had clear antiseizure effects in a zebrafish‐larvae model.

Significance

The described resin acid derivatives hold promise for new antiseizure medications, with reduced risk for adverse effects compared with retigabine.
Hidradenitis suppurativa in skin of colour
Authors: Zouboulis Christos C. , Goyal Mankul , Byrd Angel S.
Published: June 2021

Hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa (HS) more prevalent and disproportionally affects African American females. Although there are limited studies in HS skin of colour populations in the USA, there is more scarcity of HS skin of colour studies in other countries, which limits the overall understanding of the disease among these patients. Herein, our overview of the 10th European Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (EHSF) e.V. Conference provided a crude example of the limited number of skin of colour physicians, physician scientists and inclusion of skin of colour patients highlighting the need to increase awareness of this important issue. We summarized the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical picture and focused on treatment options from southeast Asia and Africa. Our outlined general recommendations for diagnosis will render better clinical care and outcomes for diverse patient populations.
Visible light and human skin pigmentation: The importance of skin phototype
Authors: Moreiras Hugo , O'Connor Clare , Bell Mike , Tobin Desmond J.
Published: June 2021

Melanin is synthesised within melanocytes and transferred to keratinocytes in human skin, thereby regulating skin colour and protecting skin cells against UVR‐induced damage. We commonly divide human skin into six phototypes (SPT)‐I to ‐VI (Fitzpatrick scale) according to the skin's tanning response to UVR. In this pilot study, we investigated the impact of UVR (maximum 311nm), blue (peak 450nm) and green visible light (peak 530nm) on melanin production and type in healthy human skin histocultures (SPT‐I, ‐II and ‐III). UVR, blue and green light stimulated a surface tanning response in SPT‐II and ‐III, but not SPT‐I. Using the Warthin‐Starry stain for sensitive melanin detection, all three light treatments induced melanogenesis in SPT‐II and ‐III skin. Surprisingly, blue and green light (but not UVR) stimulated melanin synthesis in SPT‐I skin. Moreover, melanin synthesis induced by blue and green visible light in SPT‐I, SPT‐II, and SPT‐III skin was not associated with a detectable increase in DNA damage or cell apoptosis. By contrast, both responses were detected after UVR. These data suggest that blue and green visible light can stimulate melanin production in fair‐skinned individuals without, at least some of, the harmful consequences of UVR‐induced pigmentation. We are currently examining the molecular basis of UVR‐independent melanogenesis in fair skin.
Nutrients control reproductive traits of hygrophytic bryophytes
Authors: Fernández‐Martínez Marcos , Preece Catherine , Corbera Jordi , Cano Oriol , Garcia‐Porta Joan , Bogdziewicz Michał , Sardans Jordi , Janssens Ivan A. , Sabater Francesc , Peñuelas Josep
Published: June 2021

Nutrient economy and plant nutrient concentrations have been suggested as important selective pressures of reproductive traits in vascular plants. However, evidence supporting that the reproduction of bryophytes and their reproductive traits have also been conditioned by nutrient availability is lacking.

We here analysed the nutrient (N, P, K, and Fe) concentration of 35 aquatic and semi‐aquatic bryophytes and the chemistry of the spring water in which they lived to determine whether bryophyte nutrient concentrations were correlated with the frequency of sexual reproduction, main reproductive mode (sexual vs. asexual), dioicy, and spore diameter, while controlling for climate and nutrient concentrations in the spring water.

Water nutrient concentrations, except for K, had a small but positive influence on bryophyte nutrient concentrations. P‐rich and K‐poor species produced sporophytes more often and were more likely to reproduce sexually and be monoicous. Spore diameter was smaller in P‐ and Fe‐rich mosses but larger in N‐rich mosses living in humid climates. P‐rich species thus produced more and smaller spores and were able to propagate more extensively.

Overall, our results suggest that nutrient economy, especially P economy, has played an important role in shaping the reproductive traits of bryophytes.
Mice with an autism‐associated R451C mutation in neuroligin‐3 show a cautious but accurate response style in touchscreen attention tasks
Authors: Burrows Emma L. , May Carlos , Hill Thomas , Churliov Leonid , Johnson Katherine A. , Hannan Anthony J.
Published: June 2021

One of the earliest identifiable features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is altered attention. Mice expressing the ASD‐associated R451C mutation in synaptic adhesion protein neuroligin‐3 (NL3) exhibit impaired reciprocal social interactions and repetitive and restrictive behaviours. The role of this mutation in attentional abnormalities has not been established. We assessed attention in male NL3R451C mice using two well‐established tasks in touchscreen chambers. In the 5‐choice serial reaction task, rodents were trained to attend to light stimuli that appear in any one of five locations. While no differences between NL3R451C and WT mice were seen in accuracy or omissions, slower response times and quicker reward collection latencies were seen across all training and probe trials. In the rodent continuous‐performance test, animals were required to discriminate, and identify a visual target pattern over multiple distractor stimuli. NL3R451C mice displayed enhanced ability to attend to stimuli when task‐load was low during training and baseline but lost this advantage when difficulty was increased by altering task parameters in probe trials. NL3R451C mice made less responses to the distractor stimuli, exhibiting lower false alarm rates during all training stages and in probe trials. Slower response times and quicker reward latencies were consistently seen in NL3R451C mice in the rCPT. Slower response times are a major cognitive phenotype reported in ASD patients and are indicative of slower processing speed. Enhanced attention has been shown in a subset of ASD patients and we have demonstrated this phenotype also exists in the NL3R451C mouse model.
miR‐29c‐3p regulates TET2 expression and inhibits autophagy process in Parkinson's disease models
Authors: Wang Ruili , Yao Jie , Gong Fuhua , Chen Songsheng , He Ya , Hu Chunting , Li Chen
Published: June 2021

Autophagy in dopamine (DA) neurons is concerned to be associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), but the detailed mechanism remains unknown. Herein, we aimed to investigate the function of microRNA (miR)‐29c‐3p in autophagy in PD models. Intraperitoneal injection of MPTP (20 mg/kg) was given to C57BL/6 mice to establish PD mouse model. SH‐SY5Y cells were treated with MPP+ (1 mmol/L) to establish in vitro PD model. The results indicated that in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) DA neurons of PD mice, autophagy was activated accompanied by down‐regulated miR‐29c‐3p and up‐regulated ten‐eleven translocation 2 (TET2) expression. Up‐regulation of miR‐29c‐3p inhibited TET2 expression and SNpc (including DA neurons) autophagy in PD mice. In vitro PD model confirmed that MPP+ treatment markedly down‐regulated miR‐29c‐3p expression and up‐regulated TET2 expression in SH‐SY5Y cells in a dose/time‐dependent manner. Moreover, miR‐29c‐3p up‐regulation also inhibited autophagy and TET2 expression in vitro. Additionally, TET2 was proved to be targeted and down‐regulated by miR‐29c‐3p. TET2 knockdown inhibited MPP+‐induced autophagy, whereas TET2 over‐expression reversed the effects of miR‐29c‐3p over‐expression on SH‐SY5Y cell autophagy. Overall, miR‐29c‐3p over‐expression inhibits autophagy in PD models, which may be mediated by TET2. Our finding may provide new insights for regulating autophagy to improve PD progression.
Polyvinylpyrrolidone in hemodialysis membranes: Impact on platelet loss during hemodialysis
Authors: Zawada Adam M. , Melchior Pascal , Erlenkötter Ansgar , Delinski Dirk , Stauss‐Grabo Manuela , Kennedy James P.
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Hydrophilic modification with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) increases the biocompatibility profile of synthetic dialysis membranes. However, PVP may be eluted into the patient's blood, which has been discussed as a possible cause for adverse reactions rarely occurring with synthetic membranes. We investigated the content of PVP and its elution from the blood‐side surface from commercially available dialyzers, including the novel FX CorAL, with PVP‐enriched and α‐tocopherol‐stabilized membrane, and link the results to the level of platelet loss during dialysis as a maker of biocompatibility.

Methods

Six synthetic, PVP containing, dialyzers (FX CorAL, FX CorDiax [Fresenius Medical Care]; Polyflux, THERANOVA [Baxter]; ELISIO [Nipro]; xevonta [B. Braun]) were investigated in the present study. The content of PVP on blood‐side surface was determined with X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The amount of elutable PVP was measured photometrically after 5 h recirculation. The level of platelet loss was evaluated in an ex vivo recirculation model with human blood.

Findings

Highest PVP content on the blood‐side surface was found for the polysulfone‐based FX CorAL (26.3%), while the polyethersulfone‐based THERANOVA (15.6%) had the lowest PVP content. Elution of PVP was highest for the autoclave steam‐sterilized THERANOVA (9.1 mg/1.6 m2 dialyzer) and Polyflux (9.0 mg/1.6 m2 dialyzer), while the lowest PVP elution was found for the INLINE steam sterilized FX CorAL and FX CorDiax (<0.5 mg/1.6 m2 dialyzer, for both). Highest platelet loss was found for xevonta (+164.4% compared to the reference) and the lowest for the FX CorAL (−225.2%) among the polysulfone‐based dialyzers; among the polyethersulfone‐based dialyzers, THERANOVA (+95.5%) had the highest and ELISIO (−52.1%) the lowest platelet loss.

Discussion

Polyvinylpyrrolidone content and elution differ between commercially available dialyzers and were found to be linked to the membrane material and sterilization method. The amount of non‐eluted PVP on the blood‐side surface may be an important determinant for the biocompatibility of dialyzers.
Coronary artery bypass grafting versus percutaneous coronary intervention in end‐stage kidney disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical studies
Authors: Kanbay Mehmet , Tapoi Laura , Ureche Carina , Bulbul Mustafa C. , Kapucu Irem , Afsar Baris , Basile Carlo , Covic Adrian
Published: June 2021

The most significant complication of end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD) is cardiovascular disease, mainly coronary artery disease (CAD). Although the effective treatment of CAD is an important prognostic factor, whether percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is better for treating CAD in this group of patients is still controversial. We searched Pubmed/Medline, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials articles that compared the outcomes of CABG versus PCI in patients with ESKD requiring dialysis. A total of 10 observational studies with 39,666 patients were included. Our analysis showed that when compared to PCI, CABG had lower risk of need for repeat revascularization (relative risk [RR] = 2.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1–2.42, p < 0.00001) and cardiovascular death (RR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.14–1.23, p < 0.00001) and higher risk for short‐term mortality (RR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.38–0.48, p < 0.00001). There was no statistically significant difference between the PCI and CABG groups in the risk for late mortality (RR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.97–1.14, p = 0.25), myocardial infarction (RR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.46–2.36, p = 0.91) or stroke (RR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.64–1.61, p = 0.95). This meta‐analysis showed that in ESKD patients requiring dialysis, CABG was superior to PCI in regard to cardiovascular death and need for repeat revascularization and inferior to PCI in regard to short term mortality. However, this meta‐analysis has limitations and needs confirmation with large randomized controlled trials.
Learning the full impact of migraine through patient voices: A qualitative study
Authors: Estave Paige M. , Beeghly Summerlyn , Anderson Reid , Margol Caitlyn , Shakir Mariam , George Geena , Berger Anissa , O’Connell Nathaniel , Burch Rebecca , Haas Niina , Powers Scott W. , Seng Elizabeth , Buse Dawn C. , Lipton Richard B. , Wells Rebecca Erwin
Published: June 2021

Objective

To better characterize the ways that migraine affects multiple domains of life.

Background

Further understanding of migraine burden is needed.

Methods

Adults with migraine randomized to mindfulness‐based stress reduction or headache education arms (n = 81) in two separate randomized clinical trials participated in semistructured in‐person qualitative interviews conducted after the interventions. Interviews queried participants on migraine impact on life and were audio‐recorded, transcribed, and summarized into a framework matrix. A master codebook was created until meaning saturation was reached and magnitude coding established code frequency. Themes and subthemes were identified using a constructivist grounded theory approach.

Results

Despite most participants being treated with acute and/or prophylactic medications, 90% (73/81) reported migraine had a negative impact on overall life, with 68% (55/81) endorsing specific domains of life impacted and 52% (42/81) describing impact on emotional health. Six main themes of migraine impact emerged: (1) global negative impact on overall life; (2) impact on emotional health; (3) impact on cognitive function; (4) impact on specific domains of life (work/career, family, social); (5) fear and avoidance (pain catastrophizing and anticipatory anxiety); and (6) internalized and externalized stigma. Participants reported how migraine (a) controls life, (b) makes life difficult, and (c) causes disability during attacks, with participants (d) experiencing a lack of control and/or (e) attempting to push through despite migraine. Emotional health was affected through (a) isolation, (b) anxiety, (c) frustration/anger, (d) guilt, (e) mood changes/irritability, and (f) depression/hopelessness. Cognitive function was affected through concentration and communication difficulties.

Conclusions

Migraine has a global negative impact on overall life, cognitive and emotional health, work, family, and social life. Migraine contributes to isolation, frustration, guilt, fear, avoidance behavior, and stigma. A greater understanding of the deep burden of this chronic neurological disease is needed to effectively target and treat what is most important to those living with migraine.
Hemophagocytic histiocytosis in severe SARS‐CoV‐2 infection: A bone marrow study
Authors: Dandu Himanshu , Yadav Geeta , Malhotra Hardeep Singh , Pandey Saurabh , Sachu Ruovinuo , Dubey Kinjalk
Published: June 2021

Introduction

The clinical and laboratory features of severe COVID‐19 infection overlap with those of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a hyperinflammatory disorder often associated with several viral infections. The clinical syndrome of HLH encompasses fever, organomegaly, cytopenias, hyperferritinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, raised transaminases, hypofibrinogenemia, absent natural killer (NK) cell activity, increased soluble CD25 and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes.

Methods

We analyzed clinicopathological and laboratory features of thirteen patients with severe COVID‐19 infection suspected to have HLH and found to have hemophagocytic histiocytosis on bone marrow examination (BME).

Results

Five of thirteen (38.46%) patients fulfilled five of eight HLH 2004 criteria and/or had a H‐score ≥169. Three (23.08%) satisfied four of eight and remainder five (38.46%) satisfied three of eight HLH 2004 criteria. Fever, raised serum ferritin (13/13, 100%), transaminases (9/13, 69.23%), triglycerides (4/13, 30.76%), cytopenias (5/13, 38.46%), hypofibrinogenemia (2/13, 15.38%), and organomegaly (1/13, 7.69%) were observed in our patients. BME showed hemophagocytic histiocytosis without lymphocytosis in all. Contrary to HLH, lymphocytopenia (11/13, 84.61%), leukocytosis (7/13, 53.84%), neutrophilia (7/13, 53.84%), and hyperfibrinogenemia (7/13, 53.84%) were observed. Serum CRP, LDH, and plasma D‐dimer were elevated in all, while serum albumin was decreased in 12 of 13 (92.3%) patients. Five patients recovered with high‐dose pulsed corticosteroid therapy.

Conclusion

The immune response associated with severe COVID‐19 infection is similar to HLH with few differences. HLH should be suspected in severe COVID‐19 infection although all patients may not fulfill required HLH diagnostic criteria. BME should be done in suspected cases so that appropriate therapy may be initiated early.
Effects of online stigma‐reduction programme for people experiencing mental health conditions: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Goh Yong‐Shian , Ow Yong Qing Yun Jenna , Tam Wai‐San Wilson
Published: June 2021

Despite the increased awareness of mental health‐related issues, people experiencing mental health conditions have continued to face stigmatization worldwide. The literature on help‐seeking behaviours has frequently highlighted the development of self‐stigma because of public stigma and emphasized the need to address public stigmatization faced by them. Given the increasing acceptance of digital services in recent years, this systematic review aimed to examine the effects of online and face‐to‐face anti‐stigma interventions in reducing public stigma towards people experiencing mental health conditions. A search was conducted on the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and ProQuest from inception of the databases to October 2020. Studies were included in this review if they have explored: (i) public stigmatization towards people of all ages with different types of mental health conditions; (ii) online interventions; and (iii) face‐to‐face interventions. Nine studies were included in this review, of which only five were included in the meta‐analysis as the remaining four had incomplete data. The meta‐analysis included an aggregate of 1203 participants while the four excluded studies included 713 participants. Results revealed that online interventions performed favourably with small effect sizes in comparison to face‐to‐face, wait‐list control, and no‐intervention groups. Results from the studies excluded from the meta‐analysis also found a significant reduction of public stigmatization with online interventions. Such findings provide insightful evidence for the effectiveness of online interventions in reducing public stigmatization. Hence, mental health organizations and groups can consider adopting online interventions suitable for their target audience and type of mental health conditions.
Reactive hot pressing of TiC0.5 ceramic at low applied pressure with 1 wt% Ni additive
Authors: Kannan Rajaguru , Rangaraj Lingappa , Jayaram Vikram
Published: June 2021

Densification in non‐stoichiometric TiC0.5 ceramic has been studied by reactive hot pressing (RHP) of Ti:0.5C composition at 4–40 MPa, 1200°C for 60 min. Incomplete reaction and 94% relative density (RD) at a pressure of 4 MPa changed to 99% RD and a negligible amount of residual Ti at 40 MPa. In contrast, the addition of 1 wt% Ni in the starting Ti‐0.5C powder mixture resulted in full density at a lower pressure of 4 MPa, leading to comparable hardness. It is argued that both, reaction as well as densification, were improved by the formation of transient Ti‐Ni liquid phase. The enhanced RD and residual metallic phase in the nickel‐containing non‐stoichiometric TiC0.5 showed high flexural strength (537 ± 79 MPa), which is comparable to values obtained from materials processed at high temperature and pressure.
Broadening emission band of Yb:LuScO3 transparent ceramics for ultrashort pulse laser
Authors: Wang Wei , Jiang Benxue , Feng Tao , Fan Jintai , Ma Wanqiu , Guo Weian , Li Jiang , Zhang Long
Published: June 2021

Sesquioxides were considered as promising gain medium for high power ultrafast laser. Broadening of emission spectrum plays a crucial role in shortening the pulse width of laser. In this paper, the ratio of lutetium oxide and scandium oxide was adjusted to control the emission wavelength and spectral width. Highly sinterable Yb:(LuxSc1–x)2O3 nanopowders were synthesized through the glycine‐nitrate combustion process. Transparent Yb:(LuxSc1–x)2O3 ceramics were fabricated via vacuum sintering at 1750℃ for 10 h, among which Yb:(Lu0.5Sc0.5)2O3 ceramics have the highest transmittance, reaching 78% at 1100 nm. With increasing Lu2O3 content, the emission wavelengths corresponding to the two transitions of Yb:(LuxSc1–x)2O3 were blueshifted 8 and 15 nm, respectively. Most importantly, from Yb:Sc2O3 to Yb:(Lu0.5Sc0.5)2O3, spectral broadening of the two emission wavelengths was observed by 9 and 16 nm, respectively. Thus, the Yb:(LuxSc1‐x)2O3 ceramics exhibiting high transmittance and broad emission band are promising for ultrashort pulse generation.