bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Direct Numerical Simulation of Mixing Phenomena in the Upper Plenum of Advanced Reactors
Authors: Nguyen Tri , Merzari Elia , Coppo Leite Victor , Jackson Brian
Published: September 2024

The conceptualization and development of advanced nuclear reactors encompasses challenging fluid-flow concerns that significantly impact their operational safety and efficacy. The establishment of a comprehensive numerical database focused on high-fidelity data holds promising potential in facilitating the formulation of accurate and cost-effective reduced-resolution heat transfer models. These models can be designed based on a multiscale hierarchy developed as part of the recent U.S. Department of Energy-funded Center of Excellence for Thermal Fluids Applications in Nuclear Energy, which represents a significant stride toward resolving industry-specific challenges associated with the heat transfer behavior of advanced reactors. In this paper, we consider Direct Numerical Simulation of the upper plenum with discharging jets of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Two isothermal cases at Re = 10622 and 4097 have been considered following the experimental setups of TAMU and MiGaDome facilities. The low Prandtl number fluid (Helium) is considered for all simulations. First and second-order statistics are investigated, and improvements of the agreement with experimental data have been observed compared to previous LES studies. Moreover, the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is applied to reveal and illuminate the flow behaviors in the upper plenum. The generated high-fidelity DNS data will be utilized alongside data-driven methods to improve turbulence modeling closures.
The effect of localized disturbance on the acoustic behavior of the common tern (Sterna hirundo)
Authors: Brosseau J. E. , Eddington V. M. , Craig E. C. , White E. R. , Kloepper L. N.
Published: September 2024

In this study, passive acoustic monitoring was used to assess the impact of investigator disturbance on the acoustic behavior of a colony of common terns. A graded antipredator response in the colony was hypothesized, which would result in an increase in acoustic energy with increased proximity to investigator disturbance. Human disturbance was found to result in a significant increase in acoustic energy within 20 meters of recorders, though not from farther distances. Our findings provide a framework for assessing the behavioral impact of disturbance on colonies and support the existence of a graded alarm call system in common terns.
Molecular characterization of clinically isolated
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
with varying resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam collected as a part of the ATLAS global surveillance program from 2020 to 2021
Authors: Li H. , Oliver A. , Shields R. K. , Kamat S. , Stone G. , Estabrook M.
Published: September 2024

Ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) and ceftolozane-tazobactam (C/T) are important agents for treating multidrug-resistant
P. aeruginosa
infections. In this study, we evaluated the molecular characteristics of 300 globally collected clinical
P. aeruginosa
isolates non-susceptible (NS) to CZA, C/T, or both agents. Isolates were CZA-NS and C/T-NS (
n
= 57), CZA-susceptible (S) and C/T-NS (
n
= 145), or CZA-NS and C/T-S (
n
= 98) selected from the Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance (ATLAS) surveillance program from 2020 to 2021. Characterization was by whole-genome sequencing. Analysis was performed to identify β-lactamase genes and mutations that impact efflux regulation, AmpC regulation, and target binding (PBP3). Of the 57 CZA-NS+C/T-NS isolates, 64.9% carried a metallo-β-lactamase (MBL), and a cumulative 84.2% carried any non-intrinsic β-lactamase [i.e., not
Pseudomonas-
derived cephalosporinase (PDC) or OXA-50-like]. Of the 145 CZA-S+C/T-NS isolates, 26.2% carried an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and no carbapenemase, 17.9% carried a serine-carbapenemase, and 42.1% were negative for non-intrinsic β-lactamases. Of 98 CZA-NS+C/T-S isolates, 34.7% carried mutations previously described as causing an upregulation of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump, while only 9.2% carried a non-intrinsic β-lactamase, and no resistance mechanism was identified in 29.6% of these isolates. MBLs were present in most isolates NS to both agents. More than half of the CZA-S+C/T-NS isolates carried serine β-lactamases. The most frequently identified resistance mechanism identified in CZA-NS+C/T-S isolates was a marker indicating the upregulation of MexAB-OprM. No mechanism was identified that is thought to support resistance to these agents in numerous isolates. This may be due in part to the fact that whole genome sequencing (WGS) cannot directly measure gene expression of chromosomal resistance mechanisms.
Evolution toward extremely high imipenem resistance in
Mycobacterium abscessus
outbreak strains
Authors: Le Run Eva , Tettelin Hervé , Holland Steven M. , Zelazny Adrian M.
Published: September 2024

Treatment of
Mycobacterium abscessus
pulmonary disease requires multiple antibiotics including intravenous β-lactams (e.g., imipenem).
M. abscessus
produces a β-lactamase (Bla
Mab
) that inactivates β-lactam drugs but less efficiently carbapenems. Due to intrinsic and acquired resistance in
M. abscessus
and poor clinical outcomes, it is critical to understand the development of antibiotic resistance both within the host and in the setting of outbreaks. We compared serial longitudinally collected
M. abscessus
subsp.
massiliense
isolates from the index case of a cystic fibrosis center outbreak and four outbreak-related strains. We found strikingly high imipenem resistance in the later patient isolates, including the outbreak strain (MIC > 512 µg/mL). The phenomenon was recapitulated upon exposure of intracellular bacteria to imipenem. Addition of the β-lactamase inhibitor avibactam abrogated the resistant phenotype. Imipenem resistance was caused by an increase in β-lactamase activity and increased
bla
Mab
mRNA level. Concurrent increase in transcription of the preceding
ppiA
gene indicated upregulation of the entire operon in the resistant strains. Deletion of the porin
mspA
coincided with the first increase in MIC (from 8 to 32 µg/mL). A frameshift mutation in
msp2
responsible for the rough colony morphology and a SNP in ATP-dependent helicase
hrpA
cooccurred with the second increase in MIC (from 32 to 256 µg/mL). Increased Bla
Mab
expression and enzymatic activity may have been due to altered regulation of the
ppiA-bla
Mab
operon by the mutated HrpA alone or in combination with other genes described above. This work supports using carbapenem/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations for treating
M. abscessus
, particularly imipenem-resistant strains.
Engineering probiotic
Escherichia coli
Nissle 1917 to block transfer of multiple antibiotic resistance genes by exploiting a type I CRISPR-Cas system
Authors: Fang Mengdie , Zhang Ruiting , Wang Chenyu , Liu Zhizhi , Fei Mingyue , Tang Biao , Yang Hua , Sun Dongchang
Published: September 2024

Many multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria have evolved through the accumulation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Although the potential risk of probiotics as reservoirs of ARGs has been recognized, strategies for blocking the transfer of ARGs while using probiotics have rarely been explored. The probiotic
Escherichia coli
Nissle 1917 (EcN) has long been used for treating intestinal diseases. Here, we demonstrate frequent transfer of ARGs into EcN both
in vitro
and
in vivo
, raising concerns about its potential risk of accumulating antibiotic resistance. Given that no CRISPR-Cas system was found in natural EcN, we integrated the type I-E CRISPR-Cas3 system derived from
E. coli
BW25113 into EcN. The engineered EcN was able to efficiently cleave multiple ARGs [i.e.,
mcr-1
,
bla
NDM-1
, and
tet
(X)] encoding enzymes for degrading last-resort antibiotics. Through co-incubation of EcN expressing Cas3-Cascade and that expressing Cas9, we showed that the growth of the former strain outcompeted the latter strain, demonstrating a better clinical application prospect of EcN expressing the type I-E CRISPR-Cas3 system. In the intestine of a model animal (i.e., zebrafish), the engineered EcN exhibited immunity against the transfer of CRISPR-targeted ARGs. Our work equips EcN with immunity against the transfer of multiple ARGs by exploiting the exogenous type I-E CRISPR-Cas3 system, thereby reducing the risk of the spread of ARGs while using it as a probiotic chassis for generating living therapeutics.

IMPORTANCE

To reduce the development of antibiotic resistance, probiotics have been considered as a substitute for antibiotics. However, probiotics themselves are reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This study introduces a new strategy for limiting the spread of ARGs by engineering the typical probiotic strain
Escherichia coli
Nissle 1917 (EcN), which has been used for treating intestinal diseases and developed as living therapeutics. We also demonstrate that the type I CRISPR-Cas system imposes a lower growth burden than the type II CRISPR-Cas system, highlighting its promising clinical application potential. Our work not only provides a new strategy for restricting the transfer of ARGs while using probiotics but also enriches the genetic engineering toolbox of EcN, paving the way for the safe use and development of probiotics as living therapeutics.
Phage-based biocontrol of
Porphyromonas gingivalis
through indirect targeting
Authors: Wu Chuncheng , Fujiki Jumpei , Mathieu Jacques , Schwarz Cory , Cornell Carolyn , Alvarez Pedro J. J.
Published: September 2024

Bacteriophages offer an opportunity for chemical-free, precise control of problematic bacteria, but this approach can be limited when lytic phages are difficult to obtain for the target host. In such cases, phage-based targeting of cooperating or cross-feeding bacteria (e.g.,
Streptococcus gordonii
) can be an effective approach to control the problematic bacteria (e.g.,
Porphyromonas gingivalis
). Using a dual-species biofilm system, phage predation of
S. gordonii
(10
8
PFU·mL
−1
) decreased the abundance of pathogenic
P. gingivalis
by >99% compared with no-treatment controls, while also inhibiting the production of cytotoxic metabolic end products (butyric and propionic acids). Phage treatment upregulated genes associated with interspecies co-adhesion (5- to 8-fold) and quorum sensing (10-fold) in residual
P. gingivalis
, which is conducive to increased potential to bind to
S. gordonii
. Counterintuitively, lower-titer phage applications (10
4
PFU·mL
−1
) increased the production of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) by 22% and biofilm biomass by 50%. This overproduction of EPS may contribute to the phenomenon where the biofilm separated into two distinct species layers, as observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Although more complex mixed-culture systems should be considered to delineate the merits and limitations of this novel biocontrol approach (which would likely require the use of phage cocktails), our results offer proof of concept that indirect phage-based targeting can expand the applicability of phage-based control of pathogenic bacteria for public health protection.

IMPORTANCE

Lytic phages are valuable agents for targeted elimination of bacteria in diverse applications. Nevertheless, lytic phages are difficult to isolate for some target pathogens. We offer proof of concept that this limitation may be overcome via indirect phage targeting, which involves knocking out species that interact closely with and benefit the primary problematic target bacteria. Our target (
P. gingivalis
) only forms a periodontal pathogenic biofilm if the pioneer colonizer (
S. gordonii
) offers its surface for
P. gingivalis
to attach. Phage predation of the co-adhesive
S. gordonii
significantly reduced abundance of the target pathogen by >99%, decreased the total biofilm biomass by >44%, and suppressed its production of cytotoxic metabolic byproducts. Thus, this research extends the scope of phage-based biocontrol for public health protection.
A low-cost and versatile paramagnetic bead DNA extraction method for
Mycobacterium ulcerans
environmental surveillance
Authors: Lee Jean Y. H. , Porter Jessica L. , Hobbs Emma C. , Whiteley Pam , Buultjens Andrew H. , Stinear Timothy P.
Published: September 2024

In Australia, native possums are a major wildlife reservoir for
Mycobacterium ulcerans
, the causative agent of the neglected tropical skin disease Buruli ulcer (BU). Large-scale possum excreta surveys that use PCR to detect
M. ulcerans
in 100–1,000 s of excreta specimens are an important tool that can inform geospatial modeling and predict locations of future human BU risk. However, the significant expense of commercial kits used to extract DNA from specimens is a major barrier to routine implementation. Here, we developed a low-cost method for DNA extraction from possum excreta, possum tissue, and pure mycobacterial cultures, using a guanidinium isothiocyanate lysis solution and paramagnetic beads. In a 96-well plate format for high-throughput processing, the paramagnetic bead DNA extraction method was threefold less sensitive but only 1/6 the cost of a commonly used commercial kit. Applied to tissue swabs, the method was fourfold more sensitive and 1/5 the cost of a commercial kit. When used for preparing DNA from pure mycobacterial cultures, the method yielded purified genomic DNA with quality metrics comparable to more lengthy techniques. Our paramagnetic bead method is an economical means to undertake large-scale
M. ulcerans
environmental surveillance that will directly inform efforts to halt the spread of BU in Victoria, Australia, with potential for applicability in other endemic countries.

IMPORTANCE

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical skin disease, with an incidence that has dramatically increased in temperate southeastern Australia over the last decade. In southeastern Australia, BU is a zoonosis with native possums the major wildlife reservoir of the causative pathogen,
Mycobacterium ulcerans
. Infected possums shed
M. ulcerans
in their excreta, and excreta surveys using PCR to screen for the presence of pathogen DNA are a powerful means to predict future areas of Buruli ulcer risk for humans. However, excreta surveys across large geographic areas require testing of many thousands of samples. The cost of commercial DNA extraction reagents used for preparing samples for PCR testing can thus become prohibitive to effective surveillance. Here, we describe a simple, low-cost method for extracting DNA from possum excreta using paramagnetic beads. The method is versatile and adaptable to a variety of other sample types including swabs collected from possum tissues and pure cultures of mycobacteria.
Eosinophils respond to, but are not essential for control of an acute
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium infection in mice
Authors: FitzPatrick Rachael D. , Noone Jonathan R. , Cartwright Richard A. , Gatti Dominique M. , Brosschot Tara P. , Lane Jenna M. , Jensen Erik L. , Kroker Kimber Isabella , Reynolds Lisa A.
Published: September 2024

Eosinophils are a highly abundant cell type in the gastrointestinal tract during homeostatic conditions, where they have recently been reported to take on an activated phenotype following colonization by the bacterial microbiota. To date, there have been few studies investigating whether eosinophils respond to infection with enteric bacterial pathogens and/or investigating the requirements for eosinophils for effective bacterial pathogen control. In this study, we investigated the response of eosinophils to an acute enteric infection of mice with the bacterial pathogen
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium. We also assessed whether eosinophil deficiency impacted
Salmonella
burdens in the intestinal tract or impacted the systemic dissemination of
Salmonella
following an oral infection of littermate wild-type BALB/cJ and eosinophil-deficient ΔdblGATA BALB/cJ mice. We found comparable
Salmonella
burdens in the intestinal tract of wild-type and eosinophil-deficient mice and no significant differences in the levels of
Salmonella
disseminating to systemic organs within 3 days of infection. Despite our evidence suggesting that eosinophils are not an essential cell type for controlling bacterial burdens in this acute infection setting, we found higher levels of eosinophils in gut-draining lymph nodes following infection, indicating that eosinophils do respond to
Salmonella
infection. Our data contribute to the growing evidence that eosinophils are responsive to bacterial stimuli, yet the influence of and requirements for eosinophils during bacterial infection appear to be highly context-dependent.
Genome of
Dietzia cinnamea
55, a desert-isolated microbe with plant growth-promoting properties for grain crops
Authors: Hirsch Ann M. , Khan Noor , Humm Ethan , Rubbi Mila , Del Vecchio Giorgia , Ha Sung Min , Pellegrini Matteo , Gunsalus Robert P.
Published: September 2024

Here, we report the genome sequence of
Dietzia cinnamea
55, isolated from the Negev Desert, Israel.
D. cinnamea
55 was found to promote the growth of several cereal crops (corn, wheat, and pearl millet) in greenhouse and field studies.
Thirteen draft genome assemblies of
Bacillus
spp. isolated from HLB-impacted citrus trees
Authors: Campos Vieira Flávia , Blacutt Alex , Drozd Christopher , Viravathana Polrit , Ginnan Nichole , Roper M. Caroline
Published: September 2024

We report the draft genome assembly, annotation, and phylogenetic placement of 13
Bacillus
spp. isolates isolated from citrus groves under high (Florida) or low (California) Huanglongbing disease pressure.
Complete genome sequences of 12 lytic phages against multidrug-resistant
Enterococcus faecalis
Authors: Soro Oumarou , Kigen Collins , Nyerere Andrew , Gachoya Moses , Wachira James , Onyonyi Vanessa , Georges Martin , Wataka Allan , Ondolo Stephen , Cherono Karen , Odoyo Erick , Musila Lillian
Published: September 2024

We report the genome sequences of 12
Enterococcus faecalis
phages isolated in Kenya, belonging to the genus
Copernicusvirus
,
Efquatrovirus
,
Saphexavirus
, and
Kochikohdavirus
. They have double-stranded DNA with lengths varying from 17,979 to 147,374 bp and G+C content from 33.14% to 40.05%. The genomes contain 28–250 coding sequences.
The occurrence of
Aerococcus urinaeequi
and non-aureus staphylococci in raw milk negatively correlates with
Escherichia coli
clinical mastitis
Authors: Jung Dongyun , Park Soyoun , Kurban Daryna , Dufour Simon , Ronholm Jennifer
Published: September 2024

Escherichia coli
is a common environmental pathogen associated with clinical mastitis (CM) in dairy cattle. There is an interest in optimizing the udder microbiome to increase the resistance of dairy cattle to
E. coli
CM; however, the details of which members of the healthy udder microbiome may play a role in antagonizing
E. coli
are unknown. In this study, we characterized the bacterial community composition in raw milk collected from quarters of lactating Holstein dairy cows that developed
E. coli
CM during lactation, including milk from both healthy and diseased quarters (
n
= 1,172). The milk microbiome from infected quarters was compared before, during, and after CM. A combination of 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing was used generate data sets with a high level of both depth and breadth. The microbial diversity present in raw milk significantly decreased in quarters experiencing
E. coli
CM, indicating that
E. coli
displaces other members of the microbiome. However, the diversity recovered very rapidly after infection. Two genera,
Staphylococcus
and
Aerococcus
, and the family Oscillospiraceae were significantly more abundant in healthy quarters with low inflammation. Species of these genera,
Staphylococcus auricularis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus,
and
Aerocussus urinaeequi
, were identified by metagenomics. Thus, these species are of interest for optimizing the microbiome to discourage
E. coli
colonization without triggering inflammation.

IMPORTANCE

In this study, we show that
E. coli
outcompetes and displaces several members of the udder microbiome during CM, but that microbial diversity recovers post-infection. In milk from quarters which remained healthy, the community composition was often highly dominated by
S. auricularis, S. haemolyticus, A. urinaeequi,
and
S. marcescens
without increases in somatic cell count (SCC). Community dominance by these organisms, without inflammation, could indicate that these species might have potential as prophylactic probiotics which could contribute to colonization resistance and prevent future instances of
E. coli
CM.
A new Re-Os age constraint informs the dynamics of the Great Oxidation Event
Authors: Millikin Alexie E.G. , Uveges Benjamin T. , Izon Gareth , Bauer Ann M. , Summons Roger E. , Evans David A.D. , Rooney Alan D.
Published: September 2024

The early Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2.5–2.2 Ga) represents a critical juncture in Earth history, marking the inception of an oxygenated atmosphere while bearing witness to potentially multiple widespread and severe glaciations. Deciphering the nature of this glacial epoch and its connection with atmospheric oxygenation has, however, proven difficult, hindered by a reliance on disputed stratigraphic correlations given the paucity of direct radiometric age constraints. Nowhere is this more acute than within the South African Transvaal Supergroup: Here, while the loss of oxygen-sensitive mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation (S-MIF) has been reported from both the Duitschland and Rooihoogte formations, divided opinion surrounding the time-equivalence of these units has prompted authors to argue for vastly different oxygenation trajectories. Addressing this debate, we present a depositional Re-Os age (2443 ± 33 Ma) from diamictite samples preserved in drillcore of the upper Duitschland Formation. The 100-million-year separation between the Duitschland Formation and its previously presumed equivalent reveals at least two isolated disappearances of S-MIF, requiring that the Great Oxidation Event was dynamic and proceeded via discrete oxygenation episodes whose structure remains incompletely understood. Importantly, our revised framework aligns the lower Duitschland diamictite with the low-latitude glacigenic Makganyene Formation, supporting hypotheses of widespread regional, and potentially global, early Paleoproterozoic glaciation.
Training health workers and community influencers to be Vaccine Champions: a mixed-methods RE-AIM evaluation
Authors: Kaufman Jessica , Overmars Isabella , Fong James , Tudravu Jemesa , Devi Rachel , Volavola Litiana , Vodonaivalu Luisa , Jenkins Kylie , Leask Julie , Seale Holly , Mohamed Yasmin , Joshi Kshitij , Datt Halitesh , Sagan Sonya , Dynes Michelle , Hoq Monsurul , Danchin Margie
Published: September 2024

Introduction

Increasing trust and confidence in vaccines is a global priority, as countries have grappled with delivering COVID-19 vaccines, maintaining routine childhood vaccination rates and introducing new vaccines. Community-based vaccine promotion interventions are commonly implemented, but effectiveness evidence is limited. In 2022, supported by the Australian Government and in partnership with Fiji’s Ministry of Health and UNICEF, we codesigned, delivered and comprehensively evaluated a vaccine education and communication training programme for health workers and community influencers to promote COVID-19 and routine immunisation.

Methods

The Vaccine Champions programme included three phases: (1) codesign with Fiji stakeholders; (2) vaccine education and communication training for Vaccine Champions and (3) support for Champions to deliver community vaccine discussion sessions over 6 months.

The RE-AIM framework evaluation measured programme reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance. Mixed-methods data were collected through interviews, surveys and field notes, integrating qualitative and quantitative data to triangulate findings. Primary outcomes included Champions’ knowledge, communication self-efficacy, trust in COVID-19 vaccines, programme satisfaction and community members’ intention to vaccinate.

Results

We trained 35 Champions (27/35 female), including health workers, faith and community influencers. Half had a health background (17/35). Champions conducted 54 discussion sessions, reaching 1717 community members. Most Champions (22/35) conducted at least 1 session, with 16 running 3 or more. Champions who did not run sessions reported barriers like lack of confidence and competing duties. Training increased Champions’ communication self-efficacy and trust in COVID-19 vaccines. Community member intention to vaccinate increased from 41% (394/960) to 83% (822/991) before and after a session. The programme was well received with interest in continued engagement.

Conclusion

Training health workers and community Vaccine Champions can promote vaccine confidence. Programmes require government support and engagement for sustainability. Robust evaluation frameworks are needed to build the evidence base.
Improving the secondary diagnoses capture rate in SingHealth Community Hospital discharge summaries: a quality improvement project made successful by change management principles
Authors: Wong Ann Mei , Gopal Pamela
Published: September 2024

High-quality discharge summaries are essential for promoting patient safety during transitions between care settings. When the diagnosis list in the discharge summary is not accurate, the subsequent care provider will not have the latest medical history list and the care and safety of the patient will be compromised. Discrepancies in the secondary diagnosis capture rates have been identified in close to 30% of patients admitted to Sengkang Community Hospital (SKCH) during internal audits. Our project aimed to improve the rates of secondary diagnoses coding in the discharge summaries of patients who were admitted to SKCH using skills of change management in our interventions. Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles used in combination with change management skills led to the success of our quality improvement project. Remarkably, we managed to achieve close to 100% of the secondary diagnoses capture rate after a 5-month period.
A NEW ALGORITHM FOR GENERATING POWER SERIES SOLUTIONS FOR A BROAD CLASS OF FRACTIONAL PDES: APPLICATIONS TO INTERESTING PROBLEMS
Authors: EL-AJOU AHMAD , BURQAN ALIAA
Published: September 2024

This research offers a precise analytical solution for initial value problems of both linear and nonlinear fractional order partial differential equations. A new approach called the limit residual function method is developed and utilized to generate a series solution for the equations. The key tools of this method are the concepts of power series, residual function, and the limit at zero. The new method is characterized by the speed of determining the series solution coefficients and the limited mathematical operations used. The study examines five significant applications of fractional partial differential equations using this new method. To validate the accuracy of the results, they are compared with exact solutions in the classical case for the discussed applications. We conclude that the proposed approach is straightforward, effective, and successful in solving linear and nonlinear fractional differential equations.
AutoTherm: A Dataset and Benchmark for Thermal Comfort Estimation Indoors and in Vehicles
Authors: Colley Mark , Hartwig Sebastian , Zeqiri Albin , Ropinski Timo , Rukzio Enrico
Published: September 2024

Thermal comfort inside buildings is a well-studied field where human judgment for thermal comfort is collected and may be used for automatic thermal comfort estimation. However, indoor scenarios are rather static in terms of thermal state changes and, thus, cannot be applied to dynamic conditions, e.g., inside a vehicle. In this work, we present our findings of a gap between building and in-vehicle scenarios regarding thermal comfort estimation. We provide evidence by comparing deep neural classifiers for thermal comfort estimation for indoor and in-vehicle conditions. Further, we introduce a temporal dataset for indoor predictions incorporating 31 input signals and self-labeled user ratings by 18 subjects in a self-built climatic chamber. For in-vehicle scenarios, we acquired a second dataset featuring human judgments from 20 subjects in a BMW 3 Series. Our experimental results indicate superior performance for estimations from time series data over single vector input. Leveraging modern machine learning architectures enables us to recognize human thermal comfort states and estimate future states automatically. We provide details on training a recurrent network-based classifier and perform an initial performance benchmark of the proposed dataset. Ultimately, we compare our collected dataset to publicly available thermal comfort datasets.
CoplayingVR: Understanding User Experience in Shared Control in Virtual Reality
Authors: Zhou Hongyu , Ayesh Treshan , Fan Chenyu , Sarsenbayeva Zhanna , Withana Anusha
Published: September 2024

Shared control of avatars in virtual reality is emerging as a promising method to enhance collaborative interactions. While the literature investigates shared control as an input modality to understand the design of functional experiences, the user experience associated with shared control remains underexplored. In this paper, we investigate the user experience of shared control using a networked VR environment, "CoplayingVR". Through a user study comprised of three gaming tasks in VR with 48 participants, we collect both quantitative and qualitative data on the user experience and performance of shared control. Our findings reveal that the shared control mode significantly improved user experience factors and brought novelty to the play. Furthermore, shared control significantly enhanced the task efficiency for novice users. Finally, we discuss how our findings inform the implications for research and practice of shared control for the growing body of research in VR.
Environment Texture Optimization for Augmented Reality
Authors: Scargill Tim , Janamsetty Ritvik , Fronk Christian , Eom Sangjun , Gorlatova Maria
Published: September 2024

Augmented reality (AR) platforms now support persistent, markerless experiences, in which virtual content appears in the same place relative to the real world, across multiple devices and sessions. However, optimizing environments for these experiences remains challenging; virtual content stability is determined by the performance of device pose tracking, which depends on recognizable environment features, but environment texture can impair human perception of virtual content. Low-contrast 'invisible textures' have recently been proposed as a solution, but may result in poor tracking performance when combined with dynamic device motion. Here, we examine the use of invisible textures in detail, starting with the first evaluation in a realistic AR scenario. We then consider scenarios with more dynamic device motion, and conduct extensive game engine-based experiments to develop a method for optimizing invisible textures. For texture optimization in real environments, we introduce MoMAR, the first system to analyze motion data from multiple AR users, which generates guidance using situated visualizations. We show that MoMAR can be deployed while maintaining an average frame rate > 59fps, for five different devices. We demonstrate the use of MoMAR in a realistic case study; our optimized environment texture allowed users to complete a task significantly faster (p=0.003) than a complex texture.
Examining Psychological Conflict-Handling Strategies for Highly Automated Vehicles to Resolve Legal User-Vehicle Conflicts
Authors: Stampf Annika , Colley Mark , Knuth Ann-Kathrin , Tasci Cagla , Rukzio Enrico
Published: September 2024

As vehicle automation progresses, with SAE levels 3 to 5 introducing varying degrees of control transfer from driver to vehicle, a key challenge emerges: aligning driver interests with the automated vehicle's (AV) operational goals. Despite technical feasibility, drivers' tendencies to intervene due to distrust in or dissatisfaction with AVs necessitate consideration of control mechanisms in future AV designs. This study investigates the potential of persuasion strategies inspired by Human-Robot Interaction research to harmonize driver actions with AV goals in legal conflict situations. We conducted a Virtual Reality driving simulator study with 36 participants, comparing 11 persuasive conflict-handling strategies and a baseline of no persuasion. Our research helps understand the effects of persuasion on users' compliance with law-abiding AV goals, trust, and acceptance towards the AV and evaluates the effectiveness of these strategies based on their working mechanism (cognitive, emotional, social, politeness) and valence (negative, neutral, positive). Results show that none of the strategies could substantially increase compliance with the AV, but neutral and positive persuasion strategies did not decrease acceptance and trust towards the AV compared to no persuasion. These findings contribute to the discourse on cooperation design and control allocation in AVs, particularly in scenarios involving legal conflicts.
StethoSpeech: Speech Generation Through a Clinical Stethoscope Attached to the Skin
Authors: Shah Neil , Sahipjohn Neha , Tambrahalli Vishal , Subramanian Ramanathan , Gandhi Vineet
Published: September 2024

We introduce StethoSpeech, a silent speech interface that transforms flesh-conducted vibrations behind the ear into speech. This innovation is designed to improve social interactions for those with voice disorders, and furthermore enable discreet public communication. Unlike prior efforts, StethoSpeech does not require (a) paired-speech data for recorded vibrations and (b) a specialized device for recording vibrations, as it can work with an off-the-shelf clinical stethoscope. The novelty of our framework lies in the overall design, simulation of the ground-truth speech, and a sequence-to-sequence translation network, which works in the latent space. We present comprehensive experiments on the existing CSTR NAM TIMIT Plus corpus and our proposed StethoText: a large-scale synchronized database of non-audible murmur and text for speech research. Our results show that StethoSpeech provides natural-sounding and intelligible speech, significantly outperforming existing methods on several quantitative and qualitative metrics. Additionally, we showcase its capacity to extend its application to speakers not encountered during training and its effectiveness in challenging, noisy environments. Speech samples are available at https://stethospeech.github.io/StethoSpeech/.
DeepBreath: Breathing Exercise Assessment with a Depth Camera
Authors: Xie Wentao , Xu Chi , Gong Yanbin , Wang Yu , Liu Yuxin , Zhang Jin , Zhang Qian , Zheng Zeguang , Yang Shifang
Published: September 2024

Practicing breathing exercises is crucial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to enhance lung function. Breathing mode (chest or belly breathing) and lung volume are two important metrics for supervising breathing exercises. Previous works propose that these metrics can be sensed separately in a contactless way, but they are impractical with unrealistic assumptions such as distinguishable chest and belly breathing patterns, the requirement of calibration, and the absence of body motions. In response, this research proposes DeepBreath, a novel depth camera-based breathing exercise assessment system, to overcome the limitations of the existing methods. DeepBreath, for the first time, considers breathing mode and lung volume as two correlated measurements and estimates them cooperatively with a multitask learning framework. This design boosts the performance of breathing mode classification. To achieve calibration-free lung volume measurement, DeepBreath uses a data-driven approach with a novel UNet-based deep-learning model to achieve one-model-fit-all lung volume estimation, and it is designed with a lightweight silhouette segmentation model with knowledge transferred from a state-of-the-art large segmentation model that enhances the estimation performance. In addition, DeepBreath is designed to be resilient to involuntary motion artifacts with a temporal-aware body motion compensation algorithm. We collaborate with a clinical center and conduct experiments with 22 healthy subjects and 14 COPD patients to evaluate DeepBreath. The experimental result shows that DeepBreath can achieve high breathing metrics estimation accuracy but with a much more realistic setup compared with previous works.
SilverCycling: Exploring the Impact of Bike-Based Locomotion on Spatial Orientation for Older Adults in VR
Authors: Chen Qiongyan , Wu Zhiqing , Liu Yucheng , Han Lei , Li Zisu , Kan Ge Lin , Fan Mingming
Published: September 2024

Spatial orientation is essential for people to effectively navigate and interact with the environment in everyday life. With age-related cognitive decline, providing VR locomotion techniques with better spatial orientation performance for older adults becomes important. Such advancements not only make VR more accessible to older adults but also enable them to reap the potential health benefits of VR technology. Natural motion-based locomotion has been shown its effective in enhancing younger users' performance in VR navigation tasks that require spatial orientation. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding the impact of natural motion-based locomotion on spatial orientation for older adults in VR. To address this gap, we selected the SilverCycling system, a VR bike-based locomotion technique that we developed, as a representative of natural motion-based locomotion, guided by findings from our pilot study. We conducted a user study with 16 older adults to compare SilverCycling with the joystick-based controller. The findings suggest SilverCycling potential to significantly enhance spatial orientation in the open-road urban environment for older adults, offering a better user experience. Based on our findings, we identify key factors influencing spatial orientation and propose design recommendations to make VR locomotion more accessible and user-friendly for older adults.
AngleSizer: Enhancing Spatial Scale Perception for the Visually Impaired with an Interactive Smartphone Assistant
Authors: Jing Xiaoqing , Yu Chun , Yue Kun , Lu Liangyou , Gao Nan , Shi Weinan , Zhang Mingshan , Wang Ruolin , Shi Yuanchun
Published: September 2024

Spatial perception, particularly at small and medium scales, is an essential human sense but poses a significant challenge for the blind and visually impaired (BVI). Traditional learning methods for BVI individuals are often constrained by the limited availability of suitable learning environments and high associated costs. To tackle these barriers, we conducted comprehensive studies to delve into the real-world challenges faced by the BVI community. We have identified several key factors hindering their spatial perception, including the high social cost of seeking assistance, inefficient methods of information intake, cognitive and behavioral disconnects, and a lack of opportunities for hands-on exploration. As a result, we developed AngleSizer, an innovative teaching assistant that leverages smartphone technology. AngleSizer is designed to enable BVI individuals to use natural interaction gestures to try, feel, understand, and learn about sizes and angles effectively. This tool incorporates dual vibration-audio feedback, carefully crafted teaching processes, and specialized learning modules to enhance the learning experience. Extensive user experiments validated its efficacy and applicability with diverse abilities and visual conditions. Ultimately, our research not only expands the understanding of BVI behavioral patterns but also greatly improves their spatial perception capabilities, in a way that is both cost-effective and allows for independent learning.
NeuroCamTags: Long-Range, Battery-free, Wireless Sensing with Neuromorphic Cameras
Authors: Scott Danny , Bringle Matthew , Fahad Imran , Morales Gaddiel , Zahid Azizul , Swaminathan Sai
Published: September 2024

In this research, we introduce NeuroCamTags, a battery-free platform designed to detect a range of rich human interactions and activities in entire rooms and floors without the need for batteries. The NeuroCamTag system comprises low-cost tags that harvest ambient light energy and utilize high-frequency modulation of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for wireless communication. These visual signals are captured by an available neuromorphic camera, which boasts temporal resolution and frame rates an order of magnitude higher than those of conventional cameras. We present an event processing pipeline that allows simultaneous localization and identification of multiple unique tags. NeuroCamTags offer a wide range of functionalities, providing battery-free wireless sensing for various physical stimuli, including changes in temperature, contact, button presses, key presses, and even sound cues. Our empirical evaluations demonstrate impressive accuracy at long ranges up to 200 feet. In addition to these findings, we consider a range of applications such as battery-free input devices, tracking of human movement, and long-range detection of human activities in various environments such as kitchens, workshops, etc. By reducing reliance on batteries, NeuroCamTags promotes eco-friendliness and opens doors to exciting possibilities in smart environment technology.
MRehab: A Mixed Reality Rehabilitation System Supporting Integrated Speech and Hand Training
Authors: Wang Qi , Luo Can , Yang Shuai , Xu Shuo , Yang Yibo , Jia Jie , Yu Bin
Published: September 2024

Integrated speech and hand-motor training is an effective post-stroke rehabilitation method. However, few interactive systems and assistive technologies were developed in this field. Driven by this challenge, we leverage Mixed Reality technology, which merges immersive virtual scenarios with physical hands-on tools in the real world, to provide patients with multi-modal interactions and engaging training experiences. Following a user-centered design approach, we first interviewed seven therapists to identify user requirements and design considerations. We further designed MRehab, an interactive rehabilitation system that allows patients to regain speech and hand skills through MR scenarios that depict daily living activities. We conducted a preliminary user test with 12 patients and 5 therapists to validate the feasibility and understand the user experience with MRehab. The results confirmed its feasibility for hand-motor training. Additionally, the patients expressed high motivation, engagement, and a positive attitude toward using MRehab. Our findings demonstrate the potential of MR technology in integrated speech and hand function rehabilitation training.
TimelyTale: A Multimodal Dataset Approach to Assessing Passengers' Explanation Demands in Highly Automated Vehicles
Authors: Kim Gwangbin , Hwang Seokhyun , Seong Minwoo , Yeo Dohyeon , Rus Daniela , Kim SeungJun
Published: September 2024

Explanations in automated vehicles enhance passengers' understanding of vehicle decision-making, mitigating negative experiences by increasing their sense of control. These explanations help maintain situation awareness, even when passengers are not actively driving, and calibrate trust to match vehicle capabilities, enabling safe engagement in non-driving related tasks. While design studies emphasize timing as a crucial factor affecting trust, machine learning practices for explanation generation primarily focus on content rather than delivery timing. This discrepancy could lead to mistimed explanations, causing misunderstandings or unnecessary interruptions. This gap is partly due to alack of datasets capturing passengers' real-world demands and experiences with in-vehicle explanations. We introduce TimelyTale, an approach that records passengers' demands for explanations in automated vehicles. The dataset includes environmental, driving-related, and passenger-specific sensor data for context-aware explanations. Our machine learning analysis identifies proprioceptive and physiological data as key features for predicting passengers' explanation demands, suggesting their potential for generating timely, context-aware explanations. The TimelyTale dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CQ8UB0.
EStatiG: Wearable Haptic Feedback with Multi-Phalanx Electrostatic Brake for Enhanced Object Perception in VR
Authors: Vanichvoranun Nicha , Lee Hojeong , Kim Seoyeon , Yoon Sang Ho
Published: September 2024

Haptic gloves have enabled the immersive and realistic sense of interacting with objects in virtual reality (VR) by providing coordinated haptic sensation with visual information. However, previous approaches mainly focused on providing feedback on the fingertips or distal phalanges, with minimal attention paid to the other phalanges. We propose EStatiG, a haptic glove that delivers force feedback over all finger regions from the fingertip to the proximal phalanges. Here, we enrich the perception of object shape during grasping tasks in VR. To do this, we developed the double layer and multi-stacked electrostatic clutches (ES clutches) to form an electrostatic brake (ES brake) for each phalanx. With the lightweight structure (130 grams), we enabled high-resolution force feedback while maintaining wearability and usability. We validated the user perception performance when using the proposed device. Our results showed a significant improvement in the perception of phalanx angle positions and the overall experience of realism and immersion when interacting with various object shapes in VR.
RF-GymCare: Introducing Respiratory Prior for RF Sensing in Gym Environments
Authors: Wang Jianyang , Zhang Dongheng , Zhang Binbin , Chen Jinbo , Hu Yang , Chen Yan
Published: September 2024

Exercise-induced sudden death has become an increasingly serious health issue in recent years. Fortunately, respiratory monitoring can serve as an effective early prevention solution. In particular, radio frequency (RF) sensing has emerged as a promising solution due to its contactless nature and privacy preservation. Existing RF-based respiratory monitoring solutions for homes, offices, or vehicles would suffer from significant performance degradation when deployed in typical gym workouts, where respiratory and physical movements are mixed in the RF signals in an unpredictable manner, leading to a blind source separation (BSS) problem. What is worse, the prior assumptions of source independence in existing BSS algorithms no longer hold, leaving respiratory monitoring in gym scenarios as an open issue. In this paper, we propose RF-GymCare, which introduces respiratory priors into the BSS problem and utilizes knowledge distillation to transfer these priors, aiming to learn the demixing weight from mixed signals. With the demixing weight, the respiratory signal can be obtained through a linear combination of the mixed signals. Our experiments with 13 hours of data across nine types of exercises demonstrate its superiority over existing methods, achieving a median similarity of 0.75 and a median rate error of 0.5 respiration per minute (RPM), respectively.