bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Auxiliary liver xenotransplantation technique in a transgenic pig‐to‐non‐human primate model: A surgical approach to prolong survival
Authors: Lee Kyo Won , Park Sean S. W. , Kim Dong Suk , Choi Kimyung , Shim Joohyun , Kim Jihun , Kim Sung Joo , Park Jae Berm
Published: July 2023

Xenotransplantation using pigs' liver offers a potentially alternative method to overcome worldwide donor shortage, or more importantly as a bridge to allotransplantation. However, it has been challenged by profound thrombocytopenia and fatal coagulopathy in non‐human primate models. Here we suggest that a left auxiliary technique can be a useful method to achieve extended survival of the xenograft. Fifteen consecutive liver xenotransplants were carried out in a pig‐to‐cynomolgus model. Right auxiliary technique was implemented in two cases, orthotopic in eight cases, and left auxiliary in five cases. None of the right auxiliary recipients survived after surgery due to hemorrhage during complex dissection between the primate's right lobe and inferior vena cava. Orthotopic recipients survived less than 7 days secondary to profound thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy. Two out of five left auxiliary xenotransplants survived more than 3 weeks without uncontrolled thrombocytopenia or anemia, with one of them surviving 34 days, the longest graft survival reported to date. Left auxiliary xenotransplant is a feasible approach in non‐human primate experiments, and the feared risk of thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy can be minimized. This may allow for longer evaluation of the xenograft and help better understand histopathological and immunological changes that occur following liver xenotransplantation.
A step toward stem cell engineering in vivo
Authors: Ferrari Samuele , Naldini Luigi
Published: July 2023

mRNA-based delivery may change the paradigm of hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy
Supplemental Material: Evidence for a prehistoric multifault rupture along the southern Calico fault system, Eastern California Shear Zone, USA
Authors: Vadman Michael , al. et , Spotila James A.
Published: July 2023

Includes additional supporting figures not shown in text, detailed information on all measured offsets, and additional methods and data related to OSL and IRSL geochronology. 
Usage of cervical cancer screening services among HIV-positive women in Southern Ethiopia: a multicentre cross-sectional study
Authors: Mesfin Atnafwork Haile , Gufue Zenawi Hagos , Alemayehu Mihiretu Arba , Kedida Beimnet Desalegn , Legese Birhan , Gejo Negeso Gebeyehu
Published: July 2023

Objectives

To assess the usage of cervical cancer screening services and associated factors among HIV-positive women on antiretroviral treatment in Southern Ethiopia in 2020.

Design

A multicentre cross-sectional study.

Setting

The study was conducted in Wolaita Sodo University Teaching Referral Hospital and Sodo Health Centre, Southern Ethiopia, from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020.

Participants

Four hundred and seventeen HIV-positive women on antiretroviral treatment attending public health facilities were approached during the study period. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was carried out to identify independent factors associated with the usage of cervical cancer screening services, and a p value<0.05 was used to declare statistical significance.

Results

The uptake of cervical cancer screening services among HIV-positive women was 27.8% with a 95% CI of 24.2% to 33.1%. Married women and women reporting a high level of perceived barriers were 75% and 66% less likely to receive cervical cancer screening services, adjusted OR (AOR)=0.25; 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.93, and AOR=0.34; 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.98, respectively. Whereas, being a government employee, AOR=3.85; 95% CI: 1.31 to 11.3, sexual debut before the age of 20, AOR=2.39; 95% CI: 1.09 to 5.26, using modern contraceptives, AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.05 to 5.65, having a high perceived self-efficacy, AOR=4.42; 95% CI: 1.79 to 10.89 and having a high perceived benefit of cervical cancer screening services, AOR=12.23; 95% CI: 2.22 to 67.35 were significantly associated with the usage of cervical cancer screening services.

Conclusions

The usage of cervical cancer screening services among HIV-positive women remains low in this setting. Married HIV-positive women and those with a high perceived barrier were associated with low uptake of cervical cancer screening services. Being a government employee, having an early sexual experience, using modern contraceptives, having a high perceived self-efficacy and having a high perceived benefit were identified as factors associated with increased uptake of cervical cancer screening services.
Associations of WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Service Ladder service levels and sociodemographic factors with diarrhoeal disease among children under 5 years in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Girmay Aderajew Mekonnen , Weldetinsae Abel , Mengesha Sisay Derso , Adugna Ermias Alemayehu , Alemu Zinabu Assefa , Wagari Bedasa , Serte Melaku Gizaw , Awoke Kaleab Sebsibe , Bedada Tesfaye Legesse , Weldegebriel Mesaye Getachew , Dinssa Danial Abera , Alemayehu Tsigereda Assefa , Kenea Moa Abate , Tekulu Kirubel Tesfaye , Gobena Waktole , Fikresilassie Getinet , Wube Wendayehu , Melese Abayew Wassie , Redwan Ekram , Hoffmann Vivian , Tessema Masresha , Tollera Getachew
Published: July 2023

Objective

To determine the associations of WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Service Ladder service levels and sociodemographic factors with diarrhoeal disease among children under 5 years in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia.

Design

A community-based cross-sectional study.

Setting

Bishoftu town, Ethiopia, January–February 2022.

Participants

A total of 1807 mothers with at least one child under 5 years were included. Sociodemographic and WASH variables were collected using a structured questionnaire. 378 drinking water samples were collected.

Outcome

The response variable was diarrhoeal disease among children under 5 years.

Results

The 2-week prevalence of diarrhoeal disease among children under 5 years was 14.8%. Illiteracy (adjusted OR 3.15; 95% CI 1.54 to 6.47), occupation (0.35; 0.20 to 0.62), mother’s age (1.63; 1.15 to 2.31), family size (2.38; 1.68 to 3.39), wealth index (5.91; 3.01 to 11.59), residence type (1.98; 1.35 to 2.90), sex of the child (1.62; 1.17 to 2.24), child’s age (3.52; 2.51 to 4.93), breastfeeding status (2.83; 1.74 to 4.59), food storage practice (3.49; 1.74 to 8.26), unimproved drinking water source (8.16; 1.69 to 39.46), limited drinking water service (4.68; 1.47 to 14.95), open defecation practice (5.17; 1.95 to 13.70), unimproved sanitation service (2.74; 1.60 to 4.67), limited sanitation service (1.71; 1.10 to 2.65), no hygiene service (3.43; 1.91 to 6.16) and limited hygiene service (2.13; 1.17 to 3.86) were significantly associated with diarrhoeal disease.

Conclusion

In this study, diarrhoea among children is a significant health issue. Child’s age, drinking water service, residence type and hygiene service were the largest contributors with respect to the prevalence of diarrhoeal disease. This investigation provides information that could help to inform interventions to reduce childhood diarrhoea. The findings suggest that state authorities should initiate robust WASH strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3 agenda.
Comparison of diagnoses of early-onset sepsis associated with use of Sepsis Risk Calculator versus NICE CG149: a prospective, population-wide cohort study in London, UK, 2020–2021
Authors: Piyasena Chinthika , Galu Sorana , Yoshida Rie , Thakkar Devangi , O'Sullivan Joanna , Longley Catherine , Evans Katie , Sweeney Suzanne , Kendall Giles , Ben-Sasi Khadija , Richards Justin , Harris Chris , Jagodzinski Jenni , Demirjian Alicia , Lamagni Theresa , Le Doare Kirsty , Heath Paul T , Battersby Cheryl
Published: July 2023

Objective

We sought to compare the incidence of early-onset sepsis (EOS) in infants ≥34 weeks’ gestation identified >24 hours after birth, in hospitals using the Kaiser Permanente Sepsis Risk Calculator (SRC) with hospitals using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.

Design and setting

Prospective observational population-wide cohort study involving all 26 hospitals with neonatal units colocated with maternity services across London (10 using SRC, 16 using NICE).

Participants

All live births ≥34 weeks’ gestation between September 2020 and August 2021.

Outcome measures

EOS was defined as isolation ofa bacterial pathogen in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture from birth to 7 days of age. We evaluated the incidence of EOS identified by culture obtained >24 hours to 7 days after birth. We also evaluated the rate empiric antibiotics were commenced >24 hours to 7 days after birth, for a duration of ≥5 days, with negative blood or CSF cultures.

Results

Of 99 683 live births, 42 952 (43%) were born in SRC hospitals and 56 731 (57%) in NICE hospitals. The overall incidence of EOS (<72 hours) was 0.64/1000 live births. The incidence of EOS identified >24 hours was 2.3/100 000 (n=1) for SRC vs 7.1/100 000 (n=4) for NICE (OR 0.5, 95% CI (0.1 to 2.7)). This corresponded to (1/20) 5% (SRC) vs (4/45) 8.9% (NICE) of EOS cases (χ=0.3, p=0.59). Empiric antibiotics were commenced >24 hours to 7 days after birth in 4.4/1000 (n=187) for SRC vs 2.9/1000 (n=158) for NICE (OR 1.5, 95% CI (1.2 to 1.9)). 3111 (7%) infants received antibiotics in the first 24 hours in SRC hospitals vs 8428 (15%) in NICE hospitals.

Conclusion

There was no significant difference in the incidence of EOS identified >24 hours after birth between SRC and NICE hospitals. SRC use was associated with 50% fewer infants receiving antibiotics in the first 24 hours of life.
Protocol: carrageenan for the prevention of oral HPV infection – a feasibility randomised clinical trial
Authors: Alli Babatunde Y , Madathil Sreenath , Tran Simon D , Nicolau Belinda
Published: July 2023

Introduction

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are a significant health burden worldwide. Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a major risk factor for HNCs. Unfortunately, currently available prophylactic vaccines have limited coverage and potential for HPV type replacement. Carrageenan, a natural product extracted from marine red algae, has demonstrated potency as an HPV inhibitor and could offer a potential alternative to prevent HPV-related diseases, including oral HPV infection. However, there is a lack of clinical studies on the effect of carrageenan on oral HPV infections. As a first step to address this gap, we propose a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a larger multicentric RCT to investigate the effect of a carrageenan mouthwash on oral HPV infection.

Methods and analysis

We will conduct a placebo-controlled triple-blinded feasibility RCT with two parallel arms, each arm consisting of 20 participants. Participants will complete a single in-person visit at baseline and conduct biweekly follow-ups from home by completing a web-based questionnaire and sending saliva self-samples via mail. During the 6-month period trial, participants will gargle with the mouthwash morning and night, and around sexual activities. The study will evaluate several factors including recruitment and retention rates, the feasibility of data collection procedures, compliance with study procedures, acceptability of RCT procedures and intervention and safety data on carrageenan use in the oral cavity. We will estimate the standard deviation of outcome measures, including time to the incidence of oral HPV infection and time to clearance of prevalent oral HPV infection. The trial primary outcome is whether to proceed to a definitive trial based on prespecified progression criteria.

Ethics and dissemination

The protocol was approved by the McGill University institutional review board. Study results will be presented at scientific conferences and published in academic journals.

Trial registration number

NCT05746988.
Prevalence of swallow, communication, voice and cognitive compromise following hospitalisation for COVID-19: the PHOSP-COVID analysis
Authors: Dawson Camilla , Clunie Gemma , Evison Felicity , Duncan Sallyanne , Whitney Julie , Houchen-Wolloff Linzy , Bolton Charlotte E , Leavy Olivia C , Richardson Matthew , Omer Elneima , McAuley Hamish , Shikotra Aarti , Singapuri Amisha , Sereno Marco , Saunders Ruth M , Harris Victoria C , Greening Neil J , Nolan Claire Marie , Wootton Dan Gower , Daynes Enya , Donaldson Gavin , Sargent Jack , Scott Janet , Pimm John , Bishop Lettie , McNarry Melitta , Hart Nicholas , Evans Rachael A , Singh Sally , Yates Tom , Chalder Trudie , Man William , Harrison Ewen , Docherty Annemarie , Lone Nazir I , Quint Jennifer K , Chalmers James , Ho Ling-Pei , Horsley Alex Robert , Marks Michael , Poinasamy Krisnah , Raman Betty , Wain Louise V , Brightling Chris ,   PHOSP-COVID collaborative Group, Sharma Neil , Coffey Margaret , Kulkarni Amit , Wallace Sarah
Published: July 2023

Objective

Identify prevalence of self-reported swallow, communication, voice and cognitive compromise following hospitalisation for COVID-19.

Design

Multicentre prospective observational cohort study using questionnaire data at visit 1 (2–7 months post discharge) and visit 2 (10–14 months post discharge) from hospitalised patients in the UK. Lasso logistic regression analysis was undertaken to identify associations.

Setting

64 UK acute hospital Trusts.

Participants

Adults aged >18 years, discharged from an admissions unit or ward at a UK hospital with COVID-19.

Main outcome measures

Self-reported swallow, communication, voice and cognitive compromise.

Results

Compromised swallowing post intensive care unit (post-ICU) admission was reported in 20% (188/955); 60% with swallow problems received invasive mechanical ventilation and were more likely to have undergone proning (p=0.039). Voice problems were reported in 34% (319/946) post-ICU admission who were more likely to have received invasive (p<0.001) or non-invasive ventilation (p=0.001) and to have been proned (p<0.001). Communication compromise was reported in 23% (527/2275) univariable analysis identified associations with younger age (p<0.001), female sex (p<0.001), social deprivation (p<0.001) and being a healthcare worker (p=0.010). Cognitive issues were reported by 70% (1598/2275), consistent at both visits, at visit 1 respondents were more likely to have higher baseline comorbidities and at visit 2 were associated with greater social deprivation (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Swallow, communication, voice and cognitive problems were prevalent post hospitalisation for COVID-19, alongside whole system compromise including reduced mobility and overall health scores. Research and testing of rehabilitation interventions are required at pace to explore these issues.
Diverticular disease: update on pathophysiology, classification and management
Authors: Williams Sophie , Bjarnason Ingvar , Hayee Bu'Hussain , Haji Amyn
Published: July 2023

Colonic diverticulosis is prevalent, affecting approximately 70% of the western population by 80 years of age. Incidence is rapidly increasing in younger age groups. Between 10% and 25% of those with diverticular disease (DD) will experience acute diverticulitis. A further 15% will develop complications including abscess, bleeding and perforation. Such complications are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and constitute a worldwide health burden. Furthermore, chronic symptoms associated with DD are difficult to manage and present a further significant healthcare burden. The pathophysiology of DD is complex due to multifactorial contributing factors. These include diet, colonic wall structure, intestinal motility and genetic predispositions. Thus, targeted preventative measures have proved difficult to establish. Recently, commonly held conceptions on DD have been challenged. This review explores the latest understanding on pathophysiology, risk factors, classification and treatment options.
Early parental death and its association with children’s mental and economic well-being in adulthood: a nationwide population-based register study
Authors: Böckerman Petri , Haapanen Mika , Jepsen Christopher
Published: July 2023

Background

This study examined the association between early parental death and children’s subsequent mental health, years of schooling, and labour-market outcomes (ie, employment and earnings) in adulthood.

Methods

We used nationwide register-based data for Finnish citizens born between 1971 and 1986 (n=962 350). Logistic and linear regression models were used to examine the association of early parental death before the age of 21 years with subsequent mental health and labour-market outcomes in adulthood at ages 26–30. The estimated models accounted for an extensive set of demographic and parental characteristics based on longitudinal register data.

Results

Early-life parental death was found to be consistently associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation due to mental health disorders, higher use of mental health-related medications, and absence from work due to illness in adulthood. The associations were negative regardless of the gender of the child or parent, but the estimated odds ratios were usually quantitatively larger for males than females. When examining the type of outcome, we observed the largest quantitative effects were observed using substance-use disorders and intentional self-harm as outcomes. Moreover, we documented considerable reductions in years of schooling, employment, and earnings in adulthood.

Conclusions

Parental death before the age of 21 was significantly associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with a mental disorder and lower level of economic well-being measured by labour-market success in adulthood.
Factors affecting length and complexity of hospital stay in pediatric dog bite patients
Authors: Alessio-Bilowus Dominic , Kumar Nishant , Donoghue Lydia , Ridelman Elika , Shanti Christina
Published: July 2023

Background

Dog bite injuries are a source of significant morbidity and expense in the USA, and rates of hospitalization have been rising. Children are at increased risk of dog bites compared with adults, yet there is a lack of published material on factors affecting hospital course. The objective of this study is to explore factors associated with increased length of stay (LOS), more complex course of care and post-discharge return rates in this population.

Methods

A retrospective review was conducted of all patients presenting to our urban, academic children’s hospital for dog bite injuries between January 2016 and May 2021. Only those patients admitted for inpatient care were included, as identified through our institution’s trauma registry, and variables were examined prior to, during, and after hospital stay.

Results

739 pediatric patients in total were treated for dog bites during the study period, of which 349 were admitted. Analysis revealed two pre-admission predictors of increased LOS: bone fracture (mean LOS=5.3 days vs. 2.5 days, p=0.013) and prior medical comorbidity (4.3 days vs. 2.8 days, p=0.042). After admission, fractures were associated with a higher rate of postoperative complications (16% vs. 5.6%, p=0.014) and return (13% vs. 2.0%, p<0.001), primarily due to wound infection. Although the facial region represented the largest proportion of fractures, long bone fractures of the arm and leg were noted to have comparatively higher LOS and complication rates. Postoperative complications were not associated with any documented infection at admission.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that long bone fractures in pediatric dog bites can be an underappreciated source of latent wound infection associated with late-presenting negative outcomes. Increased awareness of these relationships could lead to earlier detection of infection in this vulnerable population.

Level of evidence

Level III, Prognostic / Epidemiological.
Assisted migration and plant invasion: importance of belowground ecology in conifer forest tree ecosystems
Authors: Argüelles-Moyao Andrés , Galicia Leopoldo
Published: July 2023

This paper reviews and discusses the main features of biological invasion by plants and the assisted migration theory referencing a critical common factor—belowground ecology. The risk of a plant becoming invasive and the potential failure of assisted migration programs depend on the presence or absence of soil microorganisms that regulate key ecosystem processes and mitigate adverse environmental conditions. This biotic interaction should be considered in the selection of sites for afforestation programs since it is as important as temperature and precipitation regarding conservation decisions, and assisted migration practices in response to climate change. Fungal species should be determined and included in climate change mitigation programs to avoid disease outbreaks and ensure the presence of beneficial mutualistic species in sites selected for assisted migration. Plants considered for assisted migration should pose a low risk of becoming invasive for having establishment difficulties per se. However, the real threat is that they may displace other species, introduce pathogens, or trigger disease outbreaks in introduction sites that nullify assisted migration efforts.
Polynomial solutions of generalized quartic anharmonic oscillators
Authors: Klink W. H. , Schweiger W.
Published: July 2023

This paper deals with the partial solution of the energy eigenvalue problem for generalized symmetric quartic oscillators. Algebraization of the problem is achieved by expressing the Schrödinger operator in terms of the generators of a nilpotent group, which we call the quartic group. Energy eigenvalues are then seen to depend on the values of the two Casimir operators of the group. This dependence exhibits a scaling law which follows from the scaling properties of the group generators. Demanding that the potential gives rise to polynomial solutions in a particular Lie algebra element puts constraints on the four potential parameters, leaving only two of them free. For potentials satisfying such constraints, at least one of the energy eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions can be obtained in closed analytic form by pure algebraic means. With our approach, we extend the class of quasi-exactly solvable quartic oscillators which have been obtained in the literature by means of the more common $$\textrm{sl}(2,{\mathbb {R}})$$

sl
(
2
,
R
)

algebraization. Finally, we show how solutions of the generalized quartic oscillator problem give rise to solutions for a charged particle moving in particular non-constant electromagnetic fields.
A study of cosmological dynamics of expansion in modified gravity and phase–space analysis
Authors: Mughal Muhammad Zahid , Ahmad Iftikhar
Published: July 2023

Accelerating cosmic expansion is a challenging issue faced by cosmology in the present times. Modified gravity could present a promising choice in order to understand and explain it in its framework. In this context, [Formula: see text] models of modified gravity look apparently the most compatible and viable scenario. In this work, we investigate the cosmic dynamics of the late times using a dynamical system approach in [Formula: see text] cosmology. The properties associated with the critical points are investigated to understand the system stability by analyzing the dynamical system which describes the cosmological evolution from the perspective of the model under consideration. It is observed that the accelerated cosmic expansion following the phase of matter domination is arrived at in a particular model [Formula: see text] under discussion. The geometric curve [Formula: see text] also helps figure out some significant properties of the model upon plotting in the [Formula: see text] plane. It also assists substantially to form the dynamical system for the model in question. The analysis of system stability is carried out by finding out the critical points of the dynamical system whose dynamic characteristics are responsible for the stability of the model. It is extended afterward by considering the cosmological constant as dark energy, which proves, however, redundant from the viewpoint of modified gravity in [Formula: see text] models. Two cases regarding linear and nonlinear interactions between cosmic fluids are also discussed. At some points, as the analysis shows, we see that accelerated expansion is attained by yielding a viable epoch of matter domination. The results which came out through stability analysis show that the universe is currently subject to accelerating expansion regardless of the dark energy to remain in existence.
FRACTAL ANALYSIS OF PORE MICROSTRUCTURES OF JUNCUS EFFUSUS
Authors: ZHENG QIAN , YIN ZUOZHUANG , YANG HUAI , WANG HUILI , XIA LIANGJUN , TIAN YUANYUAN
Published: July 2023

It is found that the pore microstructures of Juncus effusus (JE), a yearly renewable and high-yield cellulose fiber with unique three-dimensional network structure and interconnected channels, exhibit the fractal characters. The cross-sectional images are measured by SEM and the fractal dimensions are calculated by the box-counting method. In order to reveal more details of JE, the multi-fractal spectrum method is employed to analyze its local features, which further shows the fractal structures. The results indicate that the fractal characteristics are obvious although JE is complex and disordered in structure. The present fractal study may have the potential and significance on fractal analysis of mechanical properties and transport properties of these natural fibers.
NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSIS OF LUNG CANCER BASED ON CFD MODELING AND FRACTAL ANALYSIS
Authors: CHEN ROU , ZHOU YING , YAN WEIWEI , LI HUA
Published: July 2023

Due to a great majority of lung cancer patients dying within one year after being diagnosed with apparent symptoms, developing a diagnostic/monitoring technique for early-stage lung cancer is in critical demand. Conventionally, lung cancer diagnostic approaches are costly, and they increase the health risks caused by invasiveness and radiation hazards. In this work, a new diagnostic technique using aerosol fingerprints in the breath test is explored based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and fractal analysis. At first, the three-dimensional symmetrical human lung model is constructed by Solidworks. Then, the large eddy simulation-discrete-phase model (LES-DPM) approach is used in CFD modeling to model the airflow pattern and aerosol behaviors in the human lung model. After that, the box-counting method is employed in fractal analysis to calculate the fractal dimension of exhaled aerosol patterns in the human lung model. Finally, the fractal distributions of exhaled aerosols in the breath test at different respiratory intensities and aerosol-releasing positions are specifically investigated. The results show that the coupled CFD modeling and fractal analysis is a reliable method for deciphering the complexity of exhaled fingerprints which is shown to quantify and differentiate the exhaled aerosol patterns adequately. Meanwhile, the exhaled aerosol fingerprints are found to be relevant to the respiratory intensity, and the distribution of exhaled aerosols exhibits a unique pattern at different respiratory intensities. Therefore, the abnormal respiration of patients, which hints at the severity of lung cancer, can be judged by aerosol fingerprints and fractal dimensions. In addition, the exhaled aerosol fingerprints are associated with the aerosol-releasing positions. Different aerosol-releasing positions lead to different aerosol distribution patterns. It is feasible to locate the site of lung cancer by judging the aerosol fingerprints and fractal dimension. This study is helpful in determining the respiratory abnormalities caused by lung cancer and diagnosing the location where the lung cancer occurs.
The Synthesis Convolver
Authors: Bunton John D.
Published: July 2023

A system, the synthesis convolver, is described that can process the output of an analysis filter bank and:

• Reconstruct the analysis filter bank input signal, • Implement continuous convolution on the reconstructed signal, and • Resample the reconstructed signal to different sample rates.

The synthesis convolver combines the capabilities of a synthesis filter bank and a continuous convolver. The synthesis convolver is based on earlier work but improves upon it, adding convolution and resampling. As well as reconstructing filterbank data, convolution allows dechirping of pulsar signals and resampling allows synthesized data to conform to the VLBI VDIF standard. The spectral overlap-add approach described, compared to earlier work, reduces errors and is more robust to channel gain errors. The system uses windows with smoothed or apodized edges, with the classical Tukey window being used previously. Here the Tukey window is generalized leading to a class of apodized windows. This class of windows is explored and one is found that is close to optimal in all conditions and can reduce errors by up to 40[Formula: see text]dB compared to an equivalent Tukey window. Achievable aliasing errors are lower than those of a standard polyphase synthesis filter bank. The synthesis convolver provides a high quality and versatile replacement for polyphase synthesis filter banks.
Exosomes: From “Dust” to Design in Proteome Medicine
Authors: Sharrer G. T.
Published: July 2023

Four properties define exosomes. First, they are tiny bodies–as small as 35 nm in diameter, 1,000 times less than the width of a human hair—that perform key assignments in cell signaling and other biological processes. Second, their size aids in transiting hard-to-navigate tissue boundaries in the body, such as the brain–blood barrier and the gut–blood barrier, optioning an oral administration of therapy in some instances. Third, since they can convey protein peptides, nucleic acids, and small molecule drugs, they represent an amalgam of proteomic, genomic, and lipidomic concepts in biomedicine. And fourth, it is conceivable, exosomes can address any human disease—many of which cannot be accessed today—even using material from other species. Two research groups—in St. Louis and Montreal—first characterized them almost simultaneously in 1984, offering an explanation of how immature red blood cells lost their iron-transporting transferrin receptor when they matured. Their role as intercellular communicators grew in 1996 when researchers at the University of Utrecht showed how exosomes induced a powerful immune response that caused cancerous tumors to regress. They travel in every body fluid: blood, lymph, urine, tears, saliva, cerebrospinal, and mother’s milk. Originally seen in electron micrographs and thought to be inconsequential, they now have a presence in biotechnology as a new platform for diagnostics and therapy, broadly representing proteome medicine. As yet, they have not reached a critical mass for clinical adoption, though their prospects are tantalizing. This piece ends with a prediction—that by 2034, the 50th anniversary of the term exosome, proteome medicine will have several generally recognized as safe and effective exosome-based prescriptions, with China leading the way.
SketchFaceNeRF: Sketch-based Facial Generation and Editing in Neural Radiance Fields
Authors: Gao Lin , Liu Feng-Lin , Chen Shu-Yu , Jiang Kaiwen , Li Chun-Peng , Lai Yu-Kun , Fu Hongbo
Published: July 2023

Realistic 3D facial generation based on Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs) from 2D sketches benefits various applications. Despite the high realism of free-view rendering results of NeRFs, it is tedious and difficult for artists to achieve detailed 3D control and manipulation. Meanwhile, due to its conciseness and expressiveness, sketching has been widely used for 2D facial image generation and editing. Applying sketching to NeRFs is challenging due to the inherent uncertainty for 3D generation with 2D constraints, a significant gap in content richness when generating faces from sparse sketches, and potential inconsistencies for sequential multi-view editing given only 2D sketch inputs. To address these challenges, we present SketchFaceNeRF, a novel sketch-based 3D facial NeRF generation and editing method, to produce free-view photo-realistic images. To solve the challenge of sketch sparsity, we introduce a Sketch Tri-plane Prediction net to first inject the appearance into sketches, thus generating features given reference images to allow color and texture control. Such features are then lifted into compact 3D tri-planes to supplement the absent 3D information, which is important for improving robustness and faithfulness. However, during editing, consistency for unseen or unedited 3D regions is difficult to maintain due to limited spatial hints in sketches. We thus adopt a Mask Fusion module to transform free-view 2D masks (inferred from sketch editing operations) into the tri-plane space as 3D masks, which guide the fusion of the original and sketch-based generated faces to synthesize edited faces. We further design an optimization approach with a novel space loss to improve identity retention and editing faithfulness. Our pipeline enables users to flexibly manipulate faces from different viewpoints in 3D space, easily designing desirable facial models. Extensive experiments validate that our approach is superior to the state-of-the-art 2D sketch-based image generation and editing approaches in realism and faithfulness.
A Temporal Coherent Topology Optimization Approach for Assembly Planning of Bespoke Frame Structures
Authors: Wang Ziqi , Kennel-Maushart Florian , Huang Yijiang , Thomaszewski Bernhard , Coros Stelian
Published: July 2023

We present a computational framework for planning the assembly sequence of bespoke frame structures. Frame structures are one of the most commonly used structural systems in modern architecture, providing resistance to gravitational and external loads. Building frame structures requires traversing through several partially built states. If the assembly sequence is planned poorly, these partial assemblies can exhibit substantial deformation due to self-weight, slowing down or jeopardizing the assembly process. Finding a good assembly sequence that minimizes intermediate deformations is an interesting yet challenging combinatorial problem that is usually solved by heuristic search algorithms. In this paper, we propose a new optimization-based approach that models sequence planning using a series of topology optimization problems. Our key insight is that enforcing temporal coherent constraints in the topology optimization can lead to sub-structures with small deformations while staying consistent with each other to form an assembly sequence. We benchmark our algorithm on a large data set and show improvements in both performance and computational time over greedy search algorithms. In addition, we demonstrate that our algorithm can be extended to handle assembly with static or dynamic supports. We further validate our approach by generating a series of results in multiple scales, including a real-world prototype with a mixed reality assistant using our computed sequence and a simulated example demonstrating a multi-robot assembly application.
Unsupervised Learning of Robust Spectral Shape Matching
Authors: Cao Dongliang , Roetzer Paul , Bernard Florian
Published: July 2023

We propose a novel learning-based approach for robust 3D shape matching. Our method builds upon deep functional maps and can be trained in a fully unsupervised manner. Previous deep functional map methods mainly focus on predicting optimised functional maps alone, and then rely on off-the-shelf post-processing to obtain accurate point-wise maps during inference. However, this two-stage procedure for obtaining point-wise maps often yields sub-optimal performance. In contrast, building upon recent insights about the relation between functional maps and point-wise maps, we propose a novel unsupervised loss to couple the functional maps and point-wise maps, and thereby directly obtain point-wise maps without any post-processing. Our approach obtains accurate correspondences not only for near-isometric shapes, but also for more challenging non-isometric shapes and partial shapes, as well as shapes with different discretisation or topological noise. Using a total of nine diverse datasets, we extensively evaluate the performance and demonstrate that our method substantially outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods, even compared to recent supervised methods. Our code is available at https://github.com/dongliangcao/Unsupervised-Learning-of-Robust-Spectral-Shape-Matching.
Contact Edit: Artist Tools for Intuitive Modeling of Hand-Object Interactions
Authors: Lakshmipathy Arjun Sriram , Feng Nicole , Lee Yu Xi , Mahler Moshe , Pollard Nancy
Published: July 2023

Posing high-contact interactions is challenging and time-consuming, with hand-object interactions being especially difficult due to the large number of degrees of freedom (DOF) of the hand and the fact that humans are experts at judging hand poses. This paper addresses this challenge by elevating contact areas to first-class primitives. We provide
end-to-end art-directable
(EAD) tools to model interactions based on contact areas, directly manipulate contact areas, and compute corresponding poses automatically. To make these operations intuitive and fast, we present a novel axis-based contact model that supports real-time approximately isometry-preserving operations on triangulated surfaces, permits movement between surfaces, and is both robust and scalable to large areas. We show that use of our contact model facilitates high quality posing even for unconstrained, high-DOF custom rigs intended for traditional keyframe-based animation pipelines. We additionally evaluate our approach with comparisons to prior art, ablation studies, user studies, qualitative assessments, and extensions to full-body interaction.
Coupling Conduction, Convection and Radiative Transfer in a Single Path-Space: Application to Infrared Rendering
Authors: Bati Mégane , Blanco Stéphane , Coustet Christophe , Eymet Vincent , Forest Vincent , Fournier Richard , Gautrais Jacques , Mellado Nicolas , Paulin Mathias , Piaud Benjamin
Published: July 2023

In the past decades, Monte Carlo methods have shown their ability to solve PDEs, independently of the dimensionality of the integration domain and for different use-cases (e.g. light transport, geometry processing, physics simulation). Specifically, the path-space formulation of transport equations is a key ingredient to define tractable and scalable solvers, and we observe nowadays a strong interest in the definition of simulation systems based on Monte Carlo algorithms. We also observe that, when simulating combined physics (e.g. thermal rendering from a heat transfer simulation), there is a lack of coupled Monte Carlo algorithms allowing to solve all the physics at once, in the same path space, rather than combining several independent MC estimators, a combination that would make the global solver critically sensitive to the complexity of each simulation space. This brings to our proposal: a coupled, single path-space, Monte Carlo algorithm for efficient multi-physics problems solving.

In this work, we combine our understanding and knowledge of Physics and Computer Graphics to demonstrate how to formulate and arrange different simulation spaces into a single path space. We define a tractable formalism for coupled heat transfer simulation using Monte Carlo, and we leverage the path-space construction to interactively compute multiple simulations with different conditions in the same scene, in terms of boundary conditions and observation time. We validate our proposal in the context of infrared rendering with different thermal simulation scenarios: e.g., room temperature simulation, visualization of heat paths within materials (detection of thermal bridges), heat diffusion capacity of thermal exchanger. We expect that our theoretical framework will foster collaboration and multidisciplinary studies. The perspectives this framework opens are detailed and we suggest a research agenda towards the resolution of coupled PDEs at the interface of Physics and Computer Graphics.
B-rep Matching for Collaborating Across CAD Systems
Authors: Jones Benjamin , Noeckel James , Kodnongbua Milin , Baran Ilya , Schulz Adriana
Published: July 2023

Large Computer-Aided Design (CAD) projects usually require collaboration across many different CAD systems as well as applications that interoperate with them for manufacturing, visualization, or simulation. A fundamental barrier to such collaborations is the ability to refer to parts of the geometry (such as a specific face) robustly under geometric and/or topological changes to the model. Persistent referencing schemes are a fundamental aspect of most CAD tools, but models that are shared across systems cannot generally make use of these internal referencing mechanisms, creating a challenge for collaboration. In this work, we address this issue by developing a novel learning-based algorithm that can automatically find correspondences between two CAD models using the standard representation used for sharing models across CAD systems: the Boundary-Representation (B-rep). Because our method works directly on B-reps it can be generalized across different CAD applications enabling collaboration.
Film Grain Rendering and Parameter Estimation
Authors: Zhang Kaixuan , Wang Jingxian , Tian Daizong , Pappas Thrasyvoulos N.
Published: July 2023

We propose a realistic film grain rendering algorithm based on statistics derived analytically from a physics-based Boolean model that Newson et al. adopted for Monte Carlo simulations of film grain. We also propose formulas for estimation of the model parameters from scanned film grain images. The proposed rendering is computationally efficient and can be used for real-time film grain simulation for a wide range of film grain parameters when the individual film grains are not visible. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for both constant and real-world images, for a six orders of magnitude speed-up compared with the Monte Carlo simulations of the Newson
et al.
approach.
Globally Consistent Normal Orientation for Point Clouds by Regularizing the Winding-Number Field
Authors: Xu Rui , Dou Zhiyang , Wang Ningna , Xin Shiqing , Chen Shuangmin , Jiang Mingyan , Guo Xiaohu , Wang Wenping , Tu Changhe
Published: July 2023

Estimating normals with globally consistent orientations for a raw point cloud has many downstream geometry processing applications. Despite tremendous efforts in the past decades, it remains challenging to deal with an unoriented point cloud with various imperfections, particularly in the presence of data sparsity coupled with nearby gaps or thin-walled structures. In this paper, we propose a smooth objective function to characterize the requirements of an acceptable winding-number field, which allows one to find the globally consistent normal orientations starting from a set of completely random normals. By taking the vertices of the Voronoi diagram of the point cloud as examination points, we consider the following three requirements: (1) the winding number is either 0 or 1, (2) the occurrences of 1 and the occurrences of 0 are balanced around the point cloud, and (3) the normals align with the outside Voronoi poles as much as possible. Extensive experimental results show that our method outperforms the existing approaches, especially in handling sparse and noisy point clouds, as well as shapes with complex geometry/topology.
Encoder-based Domain Tuning for Fast Personalization of Text-to-Image Models
Authors: Gal Rinon , Arar Moab , Atzmon Yuval , Bermano Amit H. , Chechik Gal , Cohen-Or Daniel
Published: July 2023

Text-to-image personalization aims to teach a pre-trained diffusion model to reason about novel, user provided concepts, embedding them into new scenes guided by natural language prompts. However, current personalization approaches struggle with lengthy training times, high storage requirements or loss of identity. To overcome these limitations, we propose an encoder-based
domain-tuning
approach. Our key insight is that by
underfitting
on a large set of concepts from a given domain, we can improve generalization and create a model that is more amenable to quickly adding novel concepts from the same domain. Specifically, we employ two components: First, an encoder that takes as an input a single image of a target concept from a given domain,
e.g.
a specific face, and learns to map it into a word-embedding representing the concept. Second, a set of regularized weight-offsets for the text-to-image model that learn how to effectively injest additional concepts. Together, these components are used to guide the learning of unseen concepts, allowing us to personalize a model using only a single image and as few as 5 training steps --- accelerating personalization from dozens of minutes to
seconds
, while preserving quality.

Code and trained encoders will be available at our project page.
Meso-Facets for Goniochromatic 3D Printing
Authors: Abu Rmaileh Lubna , Brunton Alan
Published: July 2023

Goniochromatic materials and objects appear to have different colors depending on viewing direction. This occurs in nature, such as in wood or minerals, and in human-made objects such as metal and effect pigments. In this paper, we propose algorithms to control multi-material 3D printers to produce goniochromatic effects on arbitrary surfaces by procedurally augmenting the input surface with meso-facets, which allow distinct colors to be assigned to different viewing directions of the input surface while introducing minimal changes to that surface. Previous works apply only to 2D or 2.5D surfaces, require multiple fabrication technologies, or make considerable changes to the input surface and require special post-processing, whereas our approach requires a single fabrication technology and no special post-processing. Our framework is general, allowing different generating functions for both the shape and color of the facets. Working with implicit representations allows us to generate geometric features at the limit of device resolution without tessellation. We evaluate our approach for performance, showing negligible overhead compared to baseline color 3D print processing, and for goniochromatic quality.
Walk on Stars: A Grid-Free Monte Carlo Method for PDEs with Neumann Boundary Conditions
Authors: Sawhney Rohan , Miller Bailey , Gkioulekas Ioannis , Crane Keenan
Published: July 2023

Grid-free Monte Carlo methods based on the
walk on spheres (WoS)
algorithm solve fundamental partial differential equations (PDEs) like the Poisson equation without discretizing the problem domain or approximating functions in a finite basis. Such methods hence avoid aliasing in the solution, and evade the many challenges of mesh generation. Yet for problems with complex geometry, practical grid-free methods have been largely limited to basic Dirichlet boundary conditions. We introduce the
walk on stars (WoSt)
algorithm, which solves linear elliptic PDEs with arbitrary mixed Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. The key insight is that one can efficiently simulate reflecting Brownian motion (which models Neumann conditions) by replacing the balls used by WoS with
star-shaped
domains. We identify such domains via the closest point on the visibility silhouette, by simply augmenting a standard bounding volume hierarchy with normal information. Overall, WoSt is an easy modification of WoS, and retains the many attractive features of grid-free Monte Carlo methods such as progressive and view-dependent evaluation, trivial parallelization, and sublinear scaling to increasing geometric detail.