Perceived intrinsic 3D shape of faces is robust to changes in lighting direction, image rotation and polarity inversion.

Face recognition from 2D images is influenced by various factors, including lighting conditions, viewing direction, rotation, and polarity inversion. It has been proposed that these techniques affect face recognition by distorting shape from shading. This study investigates the perception of 3D face shape in 2D images using a gauge figure task.

Directed conservation of the world's reef sharks and rays.

Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays ('elasmobranchs'), with little known about how fisheries management and MPAs interact to conserve these species.

Assessment of CD8 T-cell mediated immunity in an influenza A(H3N2) human challenge model in Belgium: a single centre, randomised, double-blind phase 2 study.

Background: Protection afforded by inactivated influenza vaccines can theoretically be improved by inducing T-cell responses to conserved internal influenza A antigens. We assessed whether, in an influenza controlled human infection challenge, susceptible individuals receiving a vaccine boosting T-cell responses would exhibit lower viral load and decreased symptoms compared with placebo recipients.

Methods: In this single centre, randomised, double-blind phase 2 study, healthy adult (aged 18-55 years) volunteers with microneutralisation titres of less than 20 to the influenza A(H3N2) challenge strain were enrolled at an SGS quarantine facility in Antwerp, Belgium.

Hypertension Trends and Disparities Over 12 Years in a Large Health System: Leveraging the Electronic Health Records.

Background: The digital transformation of medical data enables health systems to leverage real-world data from electronic health records to gain actionable insights for improving hypertension care.

Methods And Results: We performed a serial cross-sectional analysis of outpatients of a large regional health system from 2010 to 2021. Hypertension was defined by systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, or recorded treatment with antihypertension medications.

Serial direct sodium removal in patients with heart failure and diuretic resistance.

Aims: Loop diuretics may exacerbate cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) in heart failure (HF). Direct sodium removal (DSR) using the peritoneal membrane, in conjunction with complete diuretic withdrawal, may improve CRS and diuretic resistance.

Methods And Results: Patients with HF requiring high-dose loop diuretics were enrolled in two prospective, single-arm studies: RED DESERT (n = 8 euvolaemic patients), and SAHARA (n = 10 hypervolaemic patients).

Nowcasting and forecasting the 2022 U.S. mpox outbreak: Support for public health decision making and lessons learned.

In June of 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Mpox Response wanted timely answers to important epidemiological questions which can now be answered more effectively through infectious disease modeling.

Modelling the impact of vaccination and sexual behaviour adaptations on mpox cases in the USA during the 2022 outbreak.

Background: The 2022 mpox outbreak has infected over 30 000 people in the USA, with cases declining since mid-August. Infections were commonly associated with sexual contact between men. Interventions to mitigate the outbreak included vaccination and a reduction in sexual partnerships.

Energetic Electron Precipitation Driven by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves from ELFIN's Low Altitude Perspective.

We review comprehensive observations of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave-driven energetic electron precipitation using data collected by the energetic electron detector on the Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN (ELFIN) mission, two polar-orbiting low-altitude spinning CubeSats, measuring 50-5000 keV electrons with good pitch-angle and energy resolution. EMIC wave-driven precipitation exhibits a distinct signature in energy-spectrograms of the precipitating-to-trapped flux ratio: peaks at >0.5 MeV which are abrupt (bursty) (lasting ∼17 s, or ) with significant substructure (occasionally down to sub-second timescale).

Excitation-Inhibition Imbalance in Migraine: From Neurotransmitters to Brain Oscillations.

Migraine is among the most common and debilitating neurological disorders typically affecting people of working age. It is characterised by a unilateral, pulsating headache often associated with severe pain. Despite the intensive research, there is still little understanding of the pathophysiology of migraine.

Widespread diversity deficits of coral reef sharks and rays.

A global survey of coral reefs reveals that overfishing is driving resident shark species toward extinction, causing diversity deficits in reef elasmobranch (shark and ray) assemblages. Our species-level analysis revealed global declines of 60 to 73% for five common resident reef shark species and that individual shark species were not detected at 34 to 47% of surveyed reefs. As reefs become more shark-depleted, rays begin to dominate assemblages.

The importance of forward flow and venous congestion in diuretic response in acute heart failure: Insights from the ESCAPE trial.

Aims: Previous studies have suggested venous congestion as a stronger mediator of negative cardio-renal interactions than low cardiac output, with neither factor having a dominant role. While the influence of these parameters on glomerular filtration have been described, the impact on diuretic responsiveness is unclear. The goal of this analysis was to understand the hemodynamic correlates of diuretic response in hospitalized patients with heart failure.

Evaluation of a panel of therapeutic antibody clinical candidates for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in Syrian hamsters.

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the rapid development of a range of therapeutic antibody treatments. As part of the US government's COVID-19 therapeutic response, a research team was assembled to support assay and animal model development to assess activity for therapeutics candidates against SARS-CoV-2. Candidate treatments included monoclonal antibodies, antibody cocktails, and products derived from blood donated by convalescent patients.

Intramolecular crankshaft-type rearrangement in a photoisomerised glycoconjugate.

High-resolution NMR spectroscopy revealed that a novel glycoconjugate, consisting of two β-glucopyranoses attached to a quinazolinone-like structure, exhibited photoisomerization around the -N-N[double bond, length as m-dash] and [double bond, length as m-dash]CH-C- bonds of the -N-N[double bond, length as m-dash]CH-C- linkage in the same timeframe (the so-called "crankshaft rotation") upon exposure to UV light. Experimental NMR data combined with DFT calculations discovered that the attachment of carbohydrate residues to photoactive compounds significantly changed the isomerization process and intramolecular rearrangement compared to the unglycosylated system, while the overall molecular structure remained virtually unchanged.

Serial Interval and Incubation Period Estimates of Monkeypox Virus Infection in 12 Jurisdictions, United States, May-August 2022.

Using data from 12 US health departments, we estimated mean serial interval for monkeypox virus infection to be 8.5 (95% credible interval 7.3-9.

Binocular Information Improves the Reliability and Consistency of Pictorial Relief.

Binocular disparity is an important cue to three-dimensional shape. We assessed the contribution of this cue to the reliability and consistency of depth in stereoscopic photographs of natural scenes. Observers viewed photographs of cluttered scenes while adjusting a gauge figure to indicate the apparent three-dimensional orientation of the surfaces of objects.

Novel modelling approaches to predict the role of antivirals in reducing influenza transmission.

To aid understanding of the effect of antiviral treatment on population-level influenza transmission, we used a novel pharmacokinetic-viral kinetic transmission model to test the correlation between nasal viral load and infectiousness, and to evaluate the impact that timing of treatment with the antivirals oseltamivir or baloxavir has on influenza transmission. The model was run under three candidate profiles whereby infectiousness was assumed to be proportional to viral titer on a natural-scale, log-scale, or dose-response model. Viral kinetic profiles in the presence and absence of antiviral treatment were compared for each individual (N = 1000 simulated individuals); subsequently, viral transmission mitigation was calculated.

Visual Field Loss: Integrating Overlayed Information to Increase the Effective Field of View.

Visual field loss is a debilitating impairment that can impact normal daily activities. The advancement of augmented and virtual realities brings opportunities for potential substitutive technologies for visual field loss. Here we outline a conceptual approach to increasing the amount of useful information by overlaying the blind field into the sighted field.

A study of the photochemical behaviour and relaxation mechanisms of - isomerisation around quinazolinone -N-N[double bond, length as m-dash] bonds.

High-resolution NMR experiments revealed that differently substituted quinazolinone-based Schiff bases undergo to isomerisation on exposure to ultraviolet light in DMSO solution. The degree to conversion varied significantly upon substitution (between 5% and 100%) and also showed two noteworthy features: that relaxation back to the -form goes far faster (by at least 3 orders of magnitude) when the C rings B and C have -OH substituents, and that relaxation can also be significantly sped up by addition of acid. Two possible mechanisms explaining the differences in relaxation process have been proposed: (I) the interaction of the azomethine hydrogen with the carbonyl oxygen results in slower reversion to the -form and/or (II) suppression of conjugation of the N3 lone pair with the N[double bond, length as m-dash]CH double bond by protonation and/or internal H-bonding.

Transmission of spin-polarization by π-orbitals: an approach to assessing its effect on NMR spin-spin coupling and EPR hyperfine structure.

A new approach to assessing the effect of the transmission of spin-polarization by π-orbitals (π-TSP) is presented. In order to switch off the π-TSP effect, we artificially average the α- and β-densities of the valence π-orbitals when calculating the exchange-correlation contribution to the Fock matrix in the unrestricted Kohn-Sham framework. The π-TSP effect is then evaluated as the difference between the results obtained with switched-on and switched-off options.

Robust natural depth for anticorrelated random dot stereogram for edge stimuli, but minimal reversed depth for embedded circular stimuli, irrespective of eccentricity.

The small differences between the images formed in our left and right eyes are an important cue to the three-dimensional structure of scenes. These disparities are encoded by binocular neurons in the visual cortex. At the earliest stage of processing, these respond to binocular correlation between images.

Hemoconcentration of Creatinine Minimally Contributes to Changes in Creatinine during the Treatment of Decompensated Heart Failure.

Background: Worsening serum creatinine is common during treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). A possible contributor to creatinine increase is diuresis-induced changes in volume of distribution (VD) of creatinine as total body water (TBW) contracts around a fixed mass of creatinine. Our objective was to better understand the filtration and nonfiltration factors driving change in creatinine during ADHF.

Assessing the vulnerability of marine life to climate change in the Pacific Islands region.

Our changing climate poses growing challenges for effective management of marine life, ocean ecosystems, and human communities. Which species are most vulnerable to climate change, and where should management focus efforts to reduce these risks? To address these questions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Climate Science Strategy called for vulnerability assessments in each of NOAA's ocean regions. The Pacific Islands Vulnerability Assessment (PIVA) project assessed the susceptibility of 83 marine species to the impacts of climate change projected to 2055.

Modeling pandemic to endemic patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission using parameters estimated from animal model data.

The contours of endemic coronaviral disease in humans and other animals are shaped by the tendency of coronaviruses to generate new variants superimposed upon nonsterilizing immunity. Consequently, patterns of coronaviral reinfection in animals can inform the emerging endemic state of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We generated controlled reinfection data after high and low risk natural exposure or heterologous vaccination to sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV) in rats.