EyeSee3D 2.0: Model-based Real-time Analysis of Mobile Eye-Tracking in Static and Dynamic Three-Dimensional Scenes

Pfeiffer T, Renner P, Pfeiffer-Leßmann N. EyeSee3D 2.0: Model-based Real-time Analysis of Mobile Eye-Tracking in Static and Dynamic Three-Dimensional Scenes. In: Proceedings of the Ninth Biennial ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications. New York, NY, USA: ACM Press; 2016: 189-196.With the launch of ultra-portable systems, mobile eye tracking finally has the potential to become mainstream. While eye movements on their own can already be used to identify human activities, such as reading or walking, linking eye movements to objects in the environment provides even deeper insights into human cognitive processing. We present a model-based approach for the identification of fixated objects in three-dimensional environments. For evaluation, we compare the automatic labelling of fixations with those performed by human annotators. In addition to that, we show how the approach can be extended to support moving targets, such as individual limbs or faces of human interaction partners. The approach also scales to studies using multiple mobile eye-tracking systems in parallel. The developed system supports real-time attentive systems that make use of eye tracking as means for indirect or direct human-computer interaction as well as off-line analysis for basic research purposes and usability studies

Efficient analysis of gaze-behavior in 3D environments

Pfeiffer T, Renner P, Pfeiffer-Leßmann N. Efficient analysis of gaze-behavior in 3D environments. Cognitive Processing. 2014;15(Suppl. 1):S127-S129.We present an approach to identify the 3D point of regard and the fixated object in real-time based on 2D gaze videos without the need for manual annotation. The approach does not require additional hardware except for the mobile eye tracker. It is currently applicable for scenarios with static target objects and requires an instrumentation of the environment with markers. The system has already been tested in two different studies. Possible applications are visual world paradigms in complex 3D environments, research on visual attention or human-human/human-agent interaction studies

RING domains act as both substrate and enzyme in a catalytic arrangement to drive self-anchored ubiquitination.

Funder: Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (Stiftung für medizinische Grundlagenforschung); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001645Attachment of ubiquitin (Ub) to proteins is one of the most abundant and versatile of all posttranslational modifications and affects outcomes in essentially all physiological processes. RING E3 ligases target E2 Ub-conjugating enzymes to the substrate, resulting in its ubiquitination. However, the mechanism by which a ubiquitin chain is formed on the substrate remains elusive. Here we demonstrate how substrate binding can induce a specific RING topology that enables self-ubiquitination. By analyzing a catalytically trapped structure showing the initiation of TRIM21 RING-anchored ubiquitin chain elongation, and in combination with a kinetic study, we illuminate the chemical mechanism of ubiquitin conjugation. Moreover, biochemical and cellular experiments show that the topology found in the structure can be induced by substrate binding. Our results provide insights into ubiquitin chain formation on a structural, biochemical and cellular level with broad implications for targeted protein degradation

Take Part Prototype: Creating New Ways of Participation Through Augmented and Virtual Reality [in press]

Famous examples like the Amazon headquarter in New York City or the Stuttgart 21 train station demonstrate that construction projects are often subjects of common interest and can therefore produce protests if citizens feel unheard in urban planning. In this manuscript, we would therefore like to investigate whether e-participation can be used as a tool to foster citizen involvement in construction projects that are of public interest. To this end, we present a prototype that combines participation with augmented and virtual reality. While offering a source for a better understanding of construction processes, our prototype allows users to bring in their own design suggestions and discuss these with others. With this prototype paper, we thus want to demonstrate how augmented and virtual reality can lay the ground for innovative ways of political participation that would offer great potential for project initiators and citizens

A lysine ring in HIV capsid pores coordinates IP6 to drive mature capsid assembly.

The HIV capsid self-assembles a protective conical shell that simultaneously prevents host sensing whilst permitting the import of nucleotides to drive DNA synthesis. This is accomplished through the construction of dynamic, highly charged pores at the centre of each capsid multimer. The clustering of charges required for dNTP import is strongly destabilising and it is proposed that HIV uses the metabolite IP6 to coordinate the pore during assembly. Here we have investigated the role of inositol phosphates in coordinating a ring of positively charged lysine residues (K25) that forms at the base of the capsid pore. We show that whilst IP5, which can functionally replace IP6, engages an arginine ring (R18) at the top of the pore, the lysine ring simultaneously binds a second IP5 molecule. Dose dependent removal of K25 from the pore severely inhibits HIV infection and concomitantly prevents DNA synthesis. Cryo-tomography reveals that K25A virions have a severe assembly defect that inhibits the formation of mature capsid cones. Monitoring both the kinetics and morphology of capsids assembled in vitro reveals that while mutation K25A can still form tubes, the ability of IP6 to drive assembly of capsid cones has been lost. Finally, in single molecule TIRF microscopy experiments, capsid lattices in permeabilised K25 mutant virions are rapidly lost and cannot be stabilised by IP6. These results suggest that the coordination of IP6 by a second charged ring in mature hexamers drives the assembly of conical capsids capable of reverse transcription and infection

Ich sehe was, was du auch siehst. Über die Möglichkeiten von Augmented und Virtual Reality für die digitale Beteiligung von Bürger:innen in der Bau- und Stadtplanung

Digital Government eröffnet Möglichkeiten, Verwaltungs- und Regierungsprozesse kritisch zu reflektieren und sie entsprechend neu zu denken. Oblagen Bürgerbeteiligungsprozesse in der Vergangenheit zahlreichen Hürden, bietet die e‑Partizipation Möglichkeiten, sie mit modernen Technologien zu verbinden, die eine niedrigschwellige Teilhabe ermöglichen. In dem Forschungsprojekt Take Part, gefördert durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, werden innovative Formen der Beteiligung von Bürger:innen in der Stadt- und Bauplanung mithilfe von Augmented und Virtual Reality (AR und VR) erforscht. Dabei geht es vor allem darum, neue Anreize zu schaffen, Bürger:innen zur Beteiligung zu motivieren und durch diese das Konfliktpotential um Bauprojekte zu reduzieren. Mithilfe der innerhalb von Take Part entwickelten App können Bürger:innen Bauvorhaben diskutieren, Feedback geben oder über sie abstimmen, während sie dabei den Beteiligungsgegenstand anschaulich in AR und VR präsentiert bekommen. Zugleich können auch Initiator:innen mithilfe eines Partizipationsökosystems die Beteiligung im jeweiligen Bauvorhaben konfigurieren, indem sie sowohl vorhandene Module kombinieren und konfigurieren, als auch passende Dienstleistungen, wie beispielsweise 3D-Modellierungen, einkaufen. In diesem Beitrag sollen die konkreten technologischen Entwicklungen (u. a. Outdoor-AR-Tracking und räumlich verankerte Diskussionen), sowie das Partizipationsökosystem (Dienstentwicklungs- und Ausführungsplattform) vorgestellt werden. Erstmalig soll so der entwickelte Prototyp umfassend dargestellt werden. Auf die Herausforderung, eine e‑Partizipations-App zu entwickeln, die die Möglichkeit bietet, verschiedene Interaktionskonzepte ineinander zu integrieren und gleichzeitig eine überzeugende User-Experience bietet, soll ebenfalls eingegangen werden. Anschließend wird das Potenzial einer solchen Lösung für die digitale Mitbestimmung in lokaler Verwaltung vor allem in Bezug auf gesteigerte Vorstellungskraft und Motivation zur Teilhabe für Nutzer:innen diskutiert und in den Kontext der Covid-19 Pandemie gesetzt

Amphiphilic Copolymers for Versatile, Facile, and In Situ Tunable Surface Biofunctionalization

Precision surface engineering is key to advanced biomaterials. A new platform of PEGylated styrene-maleic acid copolymers for adsorptive surface biofunctionalization is reported. Balanced amphiphilicity renders the copolymers water-soluble but strongly affine for surfaces. Fine-tuning of their molecular architecture provides control over adsorptive anchorage onto specific materials-which is why they are referred to as "anchor polymers" (APs)-and over structural characteristics of the adsorbed layers. Conjugatable with an array of bioactives-including cytokine-complexing glycosaminoglycans, cell-adhesion-mediating peptides and antimicrobials-APs can be applied to customize materials for demanding biotechnologies in uniquely versatile, simple, and robust ways. Moreover, homo- and heterodisplacement of adsorbed APs provide unprecedented means of in situ alteration and renewal of the functionalized surfaces. The related options are exemplified with proof-of-concept experiments of controlled bacterial adhesion, human umbilical vein endothelial cell, and induced pluripotent cell growth on AP-functionalized surfaces