Virtual portraits from rotating selfies

Selfies are a popular form of photography. However, due to physical constraints, the compositions of selfies are limited. We present algorithms for creating virtual portraits with interesting compositions from a set of selfies. The selfies are taken at the same location while the user spins around. The scene is analyzed using multiple selfies to determine the locations of the camera, subject, and background. Then, a view from a virtual camera is synthesized. We present two use cases. After rearranging the distances between the camera, subject, and background, we render a virtual view from a camera with a longer focal length. Following that, changes in perspective and lens characteristics caused by new compositions and focal lengths are simulated. Second, a virtual panoramic view with a larger field of view is rendered, with the user's image placed in a preferred location. In our experiments, virtual portraits with a wide range of focal lengths were obtained using a device equipped with a lens that has only one focal length. The rendered portraits included compositions that would be photographed with actual lenses. Our proposed algorithms can provide new use cases in which selfie compositions are not limited by a camera's focal length or distance from the camera

iCSDB: an integrated database of CRISPR screens.

High-throughput screening based on CRISPR-Cas9 libraries has become an attractive and powerful technique to identify target genes for functional studies. However, accessibility of public data is limited due to the lack of user-friendly utilities and up-to-date resources covering experiments from third parties. Here, we describe iCSDB, an integrated database of CRISPR screening experiments using human cell lines. We compiled two major sources of CRISPR-Cas9 screening: the DepMap portal and BioGRID ORCS. DepMap portal itself is an integrated database that includes three large-scale projects of CRISPR screening. We additionally aggregated CRISPR screens from BioGRID ORCS that is a collection of screening results from PubMed articles. Currently, iCSDB contains 1375 genome-wide screens across 976 human cell lines, covering 28 tissues and 70 cancer types. Importantly, the batch effects from different CRISPR libraries were removed and the screening scores were converted into a single metric to estimate the knockout efficiency. Clinical and molecular information were also integrated to help users to select cell lines of interest readily. Furthermore, we have implemented various interactive tools and viewers to facilitate users to choose, examine and compare the screen results both at the gene and guide RNA levels. iCSDB is available at https://www.kobic.re.kr/icsdb/

Mutations in DDX58, which Encodes RIG-I, Cause Atypical Singleton-Merten Syndrome

Singleton-Merten syndrome (SMS) is an autosomal-dominant multi-system disorder characterized by dental dysplasia, aortic calcification, skeletal abnormalities, glaucoma, psoriasis, and other conditions. Despite an apparent autosomal-dominant pattern of inheritance, the genetic background of SMS and information about its phenotypic heterogeneity remain unknown. Recently, we found a family affected by glaucoma, aortic calcification, and skeletal abnormalities. Unlike subjects with classic SMS, affected individuals showed normal dentition, suggesting atypical SMS. To identify genetic causes of the disease, we performed exome sequencing in this family and identified a variant (c.1118A>C [p.Glu373Ala]) of DDX58, whose protein product is also known as RIG-I. Further analysis of DDX58 in 100 individuals with congenital glaucoma identified another variant (c.803G>T [p.Cys268Phe]) in a family who harbored neither dental anomalies nor aortic calcification but who suffered from glaucoma and skeletal abnormalities. Cys268 and Glu373 residues of DDX58 belong to ATP-binding motifs I and II, respectively, and these residues are predicted to be located closer to the ADP and RNA molecules than other nonpathogenic missense variants by protein structure analysis. Functional assays revealed that DDX58 alterations confer constitutive activation and thus lead to increased interferon (IFN) activity and IFN-stimulated gene expression. In addition, when we transduced primary human trabecular meshwork cells with c.803G>T (p.Cys268Phe) and c.1118A>C (p.Glu373Ala) mutants, cytopathic effects and a significant decrease in cell number were observed. Taken together, our results demonstrate that DDX58 mutations cause atypical SMS manifesting with variable expression of glaucoma, aortic calcification, and skeletal abnormalities without dental anomalies

Mutations in DDX58, which Encodes RIG-I, Cause Atypical Singleton-Merten Syndrome

Singleton-Merten syndrome (SMS) is an autosomal-dominant multi-system disorder characterized by dental dysplasia, aortic calcification, skeletal abnormalities, glaucoma, psoriasis, and other conditions. Despite an apparent autosomal-dominant pattern of inheritance, the genetic background of SMS and information about its phenotypic heterogeneity remain unknown. Recently, we found a family affected by glaucoma, aortic calcification, and skeletal abnormalities. Unlike subjects with classic SMS, affected individuals showed normal dentition, suggesting atypical SMS. To identify genetic causes of the disease, we performed exome sequencing in this family and identified a variant (c.1118A>C [p.GLu373Ala]) of DDX58, whose protein product is also known as RIG-I. Further analysis of DDX58 in 100 individuals with congenital glaucoma identified another variant (c.803G>T [p.Cys268Phe]) in a family who harbored neither dental anomalies nor aortic calcification but who suffered from glaucoma and skeletal abnormalities. Cys268 and Glu373 residues of DDX58 belong to ATP-binding motifs I and II, respectively, and these residues are predicted to be located closer to the ADP and RNA molecules than other nonpathogenic missense variants by protein structure analysis. Functional assays revealed that DDX58 alterations confer constitutive activation and thus lead to increased interferon (IFN) activity and IFN-stimulated gene expression. In addition, when we transduced primary human trabecular meshwork cells with c.803G>T (p.Cys268Phe) and c.1118A>C (p.Glu373A1a) mutants, cytopathic effects and a significant decrease in cell number were observed. Taken together, our results demonstrate that DDX58 mutations cause atypical SMS manifesting with variable expression of glaucoma, aortic calcification, and skeletal abnormalities without dental anomalies.X116452Ysciescopu

Semantic Social Networks Constructed by Topical Aspects of Conversations: An Explorative Study

As the number of social networking services (SNS) and their users grow, so does the complexity of individual networks as well as the amount of information to be consumed by the users. Users of SNS exchange short and instantaneous messages interactively, which can be seen as conversations. We explore this conversational aspect of SNS and show how refined topic-based semantic social networks can be formed in order to reduce the complexity and information overload. Among other possibilities, we use the notion of topic diversity and topic purity of SNS conversations between two users and show different types of social relationships can be identified in that they break down a huge “syntactic” social network into topic-based ones based on different interaction types. Resulting semantic social networks can be useful in designing various targeted services on online social networks

Direct Visulatization of Octahedral Tilting and Polar Distortion Coupling in La-doped SrTiO3 Ultrathin Film

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Direct observation of zero-domain wall ferroelectricity in HfO2

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Unit-cell wide domains in Brownmillerite Oxides

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Simulating SPH Fluid with Multi-Level Vorticity

International audienceThe vortical motion of fluid in various scales is one of the most important elements in capturing the vivid realism of turbulent water. However, it is still challenging to resolve mul-ti-level vorticity effectively. This paper presents a novel hybrid method that combines a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) system with multiple Eulerian grids to reproduce the multi-level vorticity. In our hybrid method, the SPH system is responsible for resolving flow velocity while the multiple grids support the SPH system in efficiently detecting and computing the multi-level vor-ticity field