replicAnt: a pipeline for generating annotated images of animals in complex environments using Unreal Engine.

Deep learning-based computer vision methods are transforming animal behavioural research. Transfer learning has enabled work in non-model species, but still requires hand-annotation of example footage, and is only performant in well-defined conditions. To help overcome these limitations, we developed replicAnt, a configurable pipeline implemented in Unreal Engine 5 and Python, designed to generate large and variable training datasets on consumer-grade hardware.

Skin Microbiome in Patients with Hand Eczema and Healthy Controls: A Three-week Prospective Study.

The pathogenesis of chronic hand eczema remains unclear. Insights into the skin microbiome in hand eczema and its potential relevance to disease severity may help to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of hand eczema. The aim of this study was to characterize the microbiome in patients with hand eczema and healthy controls.

Tail Base Deflection but not Tail Curvature Varies with Speed in Lizards: Results from an Automated Tracking Analysis Pipeline.

Tail movement is an important component of vertebrate locomotion and likely contributes to dynamic stability during steady-state locomotion. Previous results suggest that the tail plays a significant role in lizard locomotion, but little data are available on tail motion during locomotion and how it differs with morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic parameters. We collected high-speed vertical climbing and horizontal locomotion video data from 43 lizard species from four taxonomic groups (Agamidae, Gekkota, Scincidae, and Varanidae) across four habitats.

-an open-source platform for the creation of 3D models of arthropods (and other small objects).

We present , an open-source platform for the creation of digital 3D models of arthropods and small objects. consists of a scanner and a Graphical User Interface, and enables the automated generation of Extended Depth Of Field images from multiple perspectives. These images are then masked with a novel automatic routine which combines random forest-based edge-detection, adaptive thresholding and connected component labelling.

Colonization with Staphylococcus aureus in patients with hand eczema: Prevalence and association with severity, atopic dermatitis, subtype and nasal colonization.

Background: While Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonization has been thoroughly studied in atopic dermatitis (AD), where S. aureus is related to flares and considered a trigger factor, S.

Skin barrier function after repeated short-term application of alcohol-based hand rub following intervention with water immersion or occlusion.

Background: Alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) is recommended for hand hygiene, and application on dry skin is generally well tolerated. However, hydration of the skin may lead to increased susceptibility to ABHR.

Objectives: To evaluate if increased skin hydration changes skin barrier response to ABHR, as compared to application on dry skin.

SAUV-A Bio-Inspired Soft-Robotic Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

Autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles allow us to reach places which have previously been inaccessible and perform complex repair, exploration and analysis tasks. As their navigation is not infallible, they may cause severe damage to themselves and their often fragile surroundings, such as flooded caves, coral reefs, or even accompanying divers in case of a collision. In this study, we used a shallow neural network, consisting of interlinking PID controllers, and trained by a genetic algorithm, to control a biologically inspired AUV with a soft and compliant exoskeleton.

Low-oxygen response is triggered by an ATP-dependent shift in oleoyl-CoA in .

Plant response to environmental stimuli involves integration of multiple signals. Upon low-oxygen stress, plants initiate a set of adaptive responses to circumvent an energy crisis. Here, we reveal how these stress responses are induced by combining () energy-dependent changes in the composition of the acyl-CoA pool and () the cellular oxygen concentration.

Behavioural improvements with thalamic stimulation after severe traumatic brain injury.

Widespread loss of cerebral connectivity is assumed to underlie the failure of brain mechanisms that support communication and goal-directed behaviour following severe traumatic brain injury. Disorders of consciousness that persist for longer than 12 months after severe traumatic brain injury are generally considered to be immutable; no treatment has been shown to accelerate recovery or improve functional outcome in such cases. Recent studies have shown unexpected preservation of large-scale cerebral networks in patients in the minimally conscious state (MCS), a condition that is characterized by intermittent evidence of awareness of self or the environment.

fMRI reveals large-scale network activation in minimally conscious patients.

Background: The minimally conscious state (MCS) resulting from severe brain damage refers to a subset of patients who demonstrate unequivocal, but intermittent, behavioral evidence of awareness of self or their environment. Although clinical examination may suggest residual cognitive function, neurobiological correlates of putative cognition in MCS have not been demonstrated.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that MCS patients retain active cerebral networks that underlie cognitive function even though command following and communication abilities are inconsistent.

Residual cerebral activity and behavioural fragments can remain in the persistently vegetative brain.

This report identifies evidence of partially functional cerebral regions in catastrophically injured brains. To study five patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) with different behavioural features, we employed [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), MRI and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) responses to sensory stimulation. Each patient's brain expressed a unique metabolic pattern.

Developing prosthetics to treat cognitive disabilities resulting from acquired brain injuries.

Persistent cognitive disabilities represent the most troublesome consequences of acquired brain injury. Although these problems are widely recognized, few neuroprosthetic efforts have focused on developing therapeutic strategies aimed at improving general cognitive functions such as sustained attention, intention, working memory or awareness. If possible, effective modulation of these neuropsychologic components might improve recovery of interactive behaviors.

The role of arousal and "gating" systems in the neurology of impaired consciousness.

A brief taxonomy of neurologic disorders resulting in global impairments of consciousness is presented. Particular emphasis is placed on focal injuries of subcortical structures that may produce disorders that are otherwise associated to large bilateral cortical injuries. A distinction between subcortical arousal and "gating" systems is developed.

A neuromodulation strategy for rational therapy of complex brain injury states.

We review initial efforts at neuromodulation in the vegetative state and organize several aspects of recent studies of the underlying neurobiology of catastrophic brain injuries. An innovative strategy for patient and target selection for neuromodulation of impaired cognitive function is outlined. Scientific and ethical issues that will attend future efforts to appropriately risk-stratify patients and initiate interventions with therapeutic intent are considered.

Words without mind.

A woman (LR), unconscious for 20 years, spontaneously produces infrequent, isolated words unrelated to any environmental context. Fluorodeoxy-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging coregistered with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mean brain metabolism equivalent to deep anesthesia. Nevertheless, PET imaging demonstrated islands of modestly higher metabolism that included Broca's and Wernicke's areas.

Coordinated expression in chronically unconscious persons.

The clinically described 'persistent vegetative state' (PVS), consists of wakefulness unaccompanied by any evidence of the subject's awareness of self or environment. Past studies from our own and other laboratories have used positron emission tomography (PET) to study brain metabolism in approximately 20 such patients during wakeful periods. All those efforts identified global cerebral glucose metabolism at or below levels encountered during deep barbiturate anaesthesia.

Incidence of blindness in relation to diabetes. A population-based study.

Objective: A reduction of diabetes-related blindness was declared a primary objective for Europe (St. Vincent Declaration). We collected data about incidence rates of blindness in the diabetic population compared with the nondiabetic population.

Extension of fundamental stroke research into clinical care.

Clinical efforts in stroke prevention have measurably reduced the incidence of stroke in persons experiencing a number of risk factors. Clinical efforts to reduce stroke size once the process starts, however, have been disappointing. A variety of agents aimed at blocking the effects of excitotoxic neurotransmitters or interfering with intracellular calcium entry have been tested but with little success on clinical outcome.

Diabetes as a predictor of mortality in a cohort of blind subjects.

Background: There is only a little information about survival in newly registered blind subjects.

Methods: A closed cohort of blind subjects (n = 2680, 1803 of them women), newly registered between 1990 and 1993 in the district of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Germany, was observed for up to 48 months. Mortality was compared to that of the general population.