A real-time all-optical interface for dynamic perturbation of neural activity during behavior

We developed a strategy for implementing a dream experiment in systems neuroscience, where circuit manipulation is guided by the real-time readout of neural activity in behaving mice. The system integrates a state-of-the-art calcium imaging analysis package that achieves rapid online activity readout from two-photon calcium imaging, a custom hologram generation program that targets two-photon optogenetic stimulation of specific neuronal ensembles, and software modules that automate essential steps in running complex all-optical experiments. Proof-of-principle experiments demonstrate that neurons can be automatically detected and recruited into a photostimulation ensemble, closed-loop photoinhibition can be implemented immediately after fast mapping of the functional properties of cortical neurons, and targeted activation can be guided by readout of ongoing activity patterns in behaviorally relevant neuronal ensembles during decision making

Scenes from a Marriage: How We Found Our Way from Experimental Psychology to Social Neuroscience

Looking back on our life and work, we reflect on the changes in our thinking due to three scientific and technological revolutions. These are information processing, computers, and brain imaging, and together they ousted behaviorism from its dominant position in experimental psychology. We champion a model of the mind that is hierarchically organized with both a robust unconscious and a harder-to-pin-down conscious mode of operation. Our studies were inspired by disorders that made us realize that cognitive processes at all levels of the information processing hierarchy impact social interactions. We locate the influence of culture at the highest level of this processing hierarchy. Here we see the interface between different minds and the importance of norms when regulating the opposing trends in our complex and even contradictory social nature

The HITRAN2024 methane update

Spectroscopic parameters of methane from many different studies were gathered to improve the HITRAN database towards its 2024 version. After a validation process using high-resolution FTS and CRDS spectra, about 80,000 lines of the four most abundant isotopologues were replaced from the dyad to the triacontad regions. These changes amount to 51,000 transition wavenumbers, 18,000 line intensities, 33,000 pressurebroadening half-widths, and 3300 assignments. 44,000 new lines were added with 16,000 old lines removed, extending the database from 12,000 cm−1 up to 14,000 cm−1 , and covering some gaps. A greater focus was brought on the pentad, octad, and tetradecad regions, targeted by several remote sensing instruments. In these regions, comparisons of spectral fits from multiple line lists were performed, taking only the parameters that provide best fit for each line. In th

SurgicalGS: Dynamic 3D Gaussian Splatting for Accurate Robotic-Assisted Surgical Scene Reconstruction

Accurate 3D reconstruction of dynamic surgical scenes from endoscopic video is essential for robotic-assisted surgery. While recent 3D Gaussian Splatting methods have shown promise in achieving high-quality reconstructions with fast rendering speeds, their use of inverse depth loss functions compresses depth variations. This can lead to a loss of fine geometric details, limiting their ability to capture precise 3D geometry and effectiveness in intraoperative applications. To address the limitations of existing methods, we developed SurgicalGS, a dynamic 3D Gaussian Splatting framework specifically designed for improved geometric accuracy in surgical scene reconstruction. Our approach integrates a temporally coherent multi-frame depth fusion and an adaptive motion mask for Gaussian initialisation. Besides, we represent dynamic scenes using the Flexible Deformation Model and introduce a novel normalized depth regularization loss and an unsupervised depth smoothness constraint to ensure high geometric accuracy in the reconstruction. Extensive experiments on two real surgical datasets demonstrate that SurgicalGS achieves state-of-the-art reconstruction quality, especially in precise geometry, advancing the usability of 3D Gaussian Splatting in robotic-assisted surgery. Our code is available at https://github.com/neneyork/SurgicalGS

Multi-Spatial-Parametric evacuation modeling for data mining of route selection in University Libraries: an immersive VR-based approach

The evacuation performance of university libraries directly impacts the safety of students’ lives during emergencies. Accurate evacuation models can provide evacuation design with reliable evidence for decision-making. While the Original Evacuation Model (OEM) relies solely on distance-based route selection, they ignore critical spatial parameters that influence human behavior. In this study, therefore, a Refined Evacuation Model (REM) with multi-spatial-parameter-based route selection logic has been developed through immersive virtual reality experiments, focusing on circulation spaces comprising corridors and open spaces (wider than corridors) in university libraries. The physiological data were collected to explain the route selection process, and the results indicated that the left–right positioning and width of open spaces significantly influence path selection in cases with equal distance. The REM models these behavioral patterns as rule-based logic, correcting the OEM evacuation time by up to 46.43%. Case studies show that widening right-side open spaces or narrowing left-side ones could reduce evacuation time. This strategic layout can shorten the evacuation time by up to 31.71%. This study bridges behavioral knowledge with computational modeling and provides a framework for knowledge-intensive evacuation design. It can be used as a practical tool for architects and safety planners to optimize library layout design, based on evidence-driven spatial parameter rules

The Politics of Copossession of the World

This article critiques Pierre Crétois’ theory of copossession of the world which rethinks property as a relative right, regulated by the principle of social equity. It argues that despite aiming to deconstruct proprietary absolutism, his theory inverts rather than challenges its logic: copossession replaces private property as the foundation of a fair and rational society. As the only system to realise distributive justice, its politics forecloses legitimate opposition and restricts the democratic agency it claims to promote. Like the proponents of private ownership, Crétois presumes his model’s inherent respectability to the extent that any inequality copossession would cause would register as personal rather than systemic failure. Crétois’s citizens would therefore have to accept that system rather than question, and take responsibility for, its fairness. To repoliticise copossession, the article draws on Pierre Dardot’s and Christian Laval’s cosmopolitics of the commons: copossession gets reconceived as one situated praxis of commoning among others rather than the politics of the world. Relativising it reintroduces antagonism, plurality, and contingency as conditions for fostering collective responsibility for justice and for enacting and defending a world that many worlds can share. Only then could Crétois’ politics remain responsive to the issue of how equally the world is copossessed