Deep-learning the Latent Space of Light Transport

We suggest a method to directly deep‐learn light transport, i. e., the mapping from a 3D geometry‐illumination‐material configuration to a shaded 2D image. While many previous learning methods have employed 2D convolutional neural networks applied to images, we show for the first time that light transport can be learned directly in 3D. The benefit of 3D over 2D is, that the former can also correctly capture illumination effects related to occluded and/or semi‐transparent geometry. To learn 3D light transport, we represent the 3D scene as an unstructured 3D point cloud, which is later, during rendering, projected to the 2D output image. Thus, we suggest a two‐stage operator comprising a 3D network that first transforms the point cloud into a latent representation, which is later on projected to the 2D output image using a dedicated 3D‐2D network in a second step. We will show that our approach results in improved quality in terms of temporal coherence while retaining most of the computational efficiency of common 2D methods. As a consequence, the proposed two stage‐operator serves as a valuable extension to modern deferred shading approaches

Negaton and Positon Solutions of the KDV Equation

We give a systematic classification and a detailed discussion of the structure, motion and scattering of the recently discovered negaton and positon solutions of the Korteweg-de Vries equation. There are two distinct types of negaton solutions which we label $[S^{n}]$ and $[C^{n}]$, where $(n+1)$ is the order of the Wronskian used in the derivation. For negatons, the number of singularities and zeros is finite and they show very interesting time dependence. The general motion is in the positive $x$ direction, except for certain negatons which exhibit one oscillation around the origin. In contrast, there is just one type of positon solution, which we label $[\tilde C^n]$. For positons, one gets a finite number of singularities for $n$ odd, but an infinite number for even values of $n$. The general motion of positons is in the negative $x$ direction with periodic oscillations. Negatons and positons retain their identities in a scattering process and their phase shifts are discussed. We obtain a simple explanation of all phase shifts by generalizing the notions of ``mass" and ``center of mass" to singular solutions. Finally, it is shown that negaton and positon solutions of the KdV equation can be used to obtain corresponding new solutions of the modified KdV equation.Comment: 20 pages plus 12 figures(available from authors on request),Latex fil

A systematic review of intravenous gamma globulin for therapy of acute myocarditis

BACKGROUND: Intravenous gamma globulin (IVGG) is commonly used in the management of acute myocarditis. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature evaluating this practice. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search (electronic databases, trials registries, conference proceedings, reference lists, contact with authors) to identify studies evaluating the use of IVGG in adults and children with a clinical or histologically proven diagnosis of myocarditis of possible viral etiology and symptoms of less than six months duration. Two reviewers independently screened the searches, applied inclusion criteria, and graded the evidence. RESULTS: Results were described qualitatively; data were not pooled because only one randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 62 patients was identified. The RCT showed no benefit with respect to cardiac function, functional outcome, or event-free survival. A small, uncontrolled trial (n = 10) showed significant improvement in LVEF from a mean of 24% to 41% 12 months after IVGG in nine survivors. A retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients showed improvement in cardiac function and a trend towards improved survival in patients receiving IVGG (n = 21) versus historic controls (n = 25). Ten case reports and two case series (total n = 21) described improvement in cardiac function after administration of IVGG; two case reports showed no benefit of IVGG. One case of hemolytic anemia was attributed to IVGG. CONCLUSION: There is insufficient data from methodologically strong studies to recommend routine use of IVGG for acute myocarditis. Future randomized studies that take into account the etiology of acute myocarditis will be required to determine the efficacy of IVGG

New data on the ichthyosaur Platypterygius hercynicus and its implications for the validity of the genus

The description of a nearly complete skull from the late Albian of northwestern France reveals previously unknown anatomical features of Platypterygius hercynicus (Kuhn 1946), and of European Cretaceous ichthyosaurs in general. These include a wide frontal forming the anteromedial border of the supratemporal fenestra, a parietal excluded from the parietal foramen, and the likely presence of a squamosal, inferred from a very large and deep facet on the quadratojugal. The absence of a squamosal has been considered as an autapomorphy of the genus Platypterygius for more than ten years and has been applied to all known species by default, but the described specimen casts doubt on this putative autapomorphy. Actually, it is shown that all characters that have been proposed previously as autapomorphic for the genus Platypterygius are either not found in all the species currently referred to this genus, or are also present in other Ophthalmosauridae. Consequently, the genus Platypterygius must be completely revised.Peer reviewe

A new small-bodied azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of England and its implications for pterosaur anatomy, diversity and phylogeny

BACKGROUND: Pterosaurs have been known from the Cretaceous sediments of the Isle of Wight (southern England, United Kingdom) since 1870. We describe the three-dimensional pelvic girdle and associated vertebrae of a small near-adult pterodactyloid from the Atherfield Clay Formation (lower Aptian, Lower Cretaceous). Despite acknowledged variation in the pterosaur pelvis, previous studies have not adequately sampled or incorporated pelvic characters into phylogenetic analyses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The new specimen represents the new taxon Vectidraco daisymorrisae gen. et sp. nov., diagnosed by the presence of a concavity posterodorsal to the acetabulum and the form of its postacetabular process on the ilium. Several characters suggest that Vectidraco belongs to Azhdarchoidea. We constructed a pelvis-only phylogenetic analysis to test whether the pterosaur pelvis carries a useful phylogenetic signal. Resolution in recovered trees was poor, but they approximately matched trees recovered from analyses of total evidence. We also added Vectidraco and our pelvic characters to an existing total-evidence matrix for pterosaurs. Both analyses recovered Vectidraco within Azhdarchoidea. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: The Lower Cretaceous strata of western Europe have yielded members of several pterosaur lineages, but Aptian pterosaurs from western Europe are rare. With a pelvis length of 40 mm, the new animal would have had a total length of c. 350 mm, and a wingspan of c. 750 mm. Barremian and Aptian pterodactyloids from western Europe show that small-bodied azhdarchoids lived alongside ornithocheirids and istiodactylids. This assemblage is similar in terms of which lineages are represented to the coeval beds of Liaoning, China; however, the number of species and specimens present at Liaoning is much higher. While the general phylogenetic composition of western European and Chinese communities appear to have been approximately similar, the differences may be due to different palaeoenvironmental and depositional settings. The western Europe pterodactyloid record may therefore be artificially low in diversity due to preservational factors

Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Levels Reflect Hemodynamic Changes Under Pacemaker Stimulation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73244/1/j.1540-8159.1990.tb02142.x.pd

Short-Snouted Toothless Ichthyosaur from China Suggests Late Triassic Diversification of Suction Feeding Ichthyosaurs

Ichthyosaurs were an important group of Mesozoic marine reptiles and existed from the Early Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous. Despite a great diversity in body shapes and feeding adaptations, all share greatly enlarged eyes, an elongated rostrum with numerous conical teeth, and a streamlined body.. may be linked to the Late Triassic minimum in atmospheric oxygen

New ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs from the European lower cretaceous demonstrate extensive ichthyosaur survival across the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary

Background Ichthyosauria is a diverse clade of marine amniotes that spanned most of the Mesozoic. Until recently, most authors interpreted the fossil record as showing that three major extinction events affected this group during its history: one during the latest Triassic, one at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary (JCB), and one (resulting in total extinction) at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. The JCB was believed to eradicate most of the peculiar morphotypes found in the Late Jurassic, in favor of apparently less specialized forms in the Cretaceous. However, the record of ichthyosaurs from the Berriasian–Barremian interval is extremely limited, and the effects of the end-Jurassic extinction event on ichthyosaurs remains poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings Based on new material from the Hauterivian of England and Germany and on abundant material from the Cambridge Greensand Formation, we name a new ophthalmosaurid, Acamptonectes densus gen. et sp. nov. This taxon shares numerous features with Ophthalmosaurus, a genus now restricted to the Callovian–Berriasian interval. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Ophthalmosauridae diverged early in its history into two markedly distinct clades, Ophthalmosaurinae and Platypterygiinae, both of which cross the JCB and persist to the late Albian at least. To evaluate the effect of the JCB extinction event on ichthyosaurs, we calculated cladogenesis, extinction, and survival rates for each stage of the Oxfordian–Barremian interval, under different scenarios. The extinction rate during the JCB never surpasses the background extinction rate for the Oxfordian–Barremian interval and the JCB records one of the highest survival rates of the interval. Conclusions/Significance There is currently no evidence that ichthyosaurs were affected by the JCB extinction event, in contrast to many other marine groups. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs remained diverse from their rapid radiation in the Middle Jurassic to their total extinction at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous

Detection of optimal PEEP for equal distribution of tidal volume by volumetric capnography and electrical impedance tomography during decreasing levels of PEEP in post cardiac-surgery patients

Background Homogeneous ventilation is important for prevention of ventilator-induced lung injury. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has been used to identify optimal PEEP by detection of homogenous ventilation in non-dependent and dependent lung regions. We aimed to compare the ability of volumetric capnography and EIT in detecting homogenous ventilation between these lung regions. Methods Fiftee