CASA: Category-agnostic Skeletal Animal Reconstruction

Recovering the skeletal shape of an animal from a monocular video is a longstanding challenge. Prevailing animal reconstruction methods often adopt a control-point driven animation model and optimize bone transforms individually without considering skeletal topology, yielding unsatisfactory shape and articulation. In contrast, humans can easily infer the articulation structure of an unknown animal by associating it with a seen articulated character in their memory. Inspired by this fact, we present CASA, a novel Category-Agnostic Skeletal Animal reconstruction method consisting of two major components: a video-to-shape retrieval process and a neural inverse graphics framework. During inference, CASA first retrieves an articulated shape from a 3D character assets bank so that the input video scores highly with the rendered image, according to a pretrained language-vision model. CASA then integrates the retrieved character into an inverse graphics framework and jointly infers the shape deformation, skeleton structure, and skinning weights through optimization. Experiments validate the efficacy of CASA regarding shape reconstruction and articulation. We further demonstrate that the resulting skeletal-animated characters can be used for re-animation.Comment: Accepted to NeurIPS 202

Effects of bilirubin on the development and electrical activity of neural circuits

In the past several decades, bilirubin has attracted great attention for central nervous system (CNS) toxicity in some pathological conditions with severely elevated bilirubin levels. CNS function relies on the structural and functional integrity of neural circuits, which are large and complex electrochemical networks. Neural circuits develop from the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells, followed by dendritic and axonal arborization, myelination, and synapse formation. The circuits are immature, but robustly developing, during the neonatal period. It is at the same time that physiological or pathological jaundice occurs. The present review comprehensively discusses the effects of bilirubin on the development and electrical activity of neural circuits to provide a systematic understanding of the underlying mechanisms of bilirubin-induced acute neurotoxicity and chronic neurodevelopmental disorders

Combining the Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Cabozantinib and the mTORC1/2 Inhibitor Sapanisertib Blocks ERK Pathway Activity and Suppresses Tumor Growth in Renal Cell Carcinoma.

UNLABELLED: Current treatment approaches for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) face challenges in achieving durable tumor responses due to tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance. Combination therapies that leverage tumor molecular profiles could offer an avenue for enhancing treatment efficacy and addressing the limitations of current therapies. To identify effective strategies for treating RCC, we selected ten drugs guided by tumor biology to test in six RCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. The multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) cabozantinib and mTORC1/2 inhibitor sapanisertib emerged as the most effective drugs, particularly when combined. The combination demonstrated favorable tolerability and inhibited tumor growth or induced tumor regression in all models, including two from patients who experienced treatment failure with FDA-approved TKI and immunotherapy combinations. In cabozantinib-treated samples, imaging analysis revealed a significant reduction in vascular density, and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analysis indicated a decreased proportion of endothelial cells in the tumors. SnRNA-seq data further identified a tumor subpopulation enriched with cell-cycle activity that exhibited heightened sensitivity to the cabozantinib and sapanisertib combination. Conversely, activation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway, detected at the protein level, was associated with drug resistance in residual tumors following combination treatment. The combination effectively restrained ERK phosphorylation and reduced expression of ERK downstream transcription factors and their target genes implicated in cell-cycle control and apoptosis. This study highlights the potential of the cabozantinib plus sapanisertib combination as a promising treatment approach for patients with RCC, particularly those whose tumors progressed on immune checkpoint inhibitors and other TKIs. SIGNIFICANCE: The molecular-guided therapeutic strategy of combining cabozantinib and sapanisertib restrains ERK activity to effectively suppress growth of renal cell carcinomas, including those unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors

Operating Charging Infrastructure in China to Achieve Sustainable Transportation: The Choice between Company-Owned and Franchised Structures

The rapid development of electric vehicles (EVs) is conducive to clean transportation, which is an important aspect of sustainable infrastructure. However, the introduction of EVs is constrained by the lagging development of EV chargers. To optimally promote the development of charging stations, we analyzed the differences in the optimal quality and quantity of EV chargers between company-owned and franchised enterprises by constructing a theoretical model, and the changes in the quality and quantity of EV chargers in different market environments are discussed. We found that the total number of franchised charging stations was larger in general, but that the quality of the franchised charging stations was worse compared with the company-owned stations. The supervision cost, operation cost, and the investment return affect the quality and quantity of EV chargers. Although franchised structures are more conducive in the initial stage to increasing the number of charging stations to meet the needs of EVs, company-owned structures perform better and will be needed to improve the quality of the EV chargers as the market becomes more saturated, necessitating a higher quality of EV chargers

Analysis and Discussion on the Optimal Noise Model of Global GNSS Long-Term Coordinate Series Considering Hydrological Loading

The displacement of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) station contains the information of surface elastic deformation caused by the variation of land water reserves. This paper selects the long-term coordinate series data of 671 International GNSS Service (IGS) reference stations distributed globally under the framework of World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) from 2000 to 2021. Different noise model combinations are used for noise analysis, and the optimal noise model for each station before and after hydrologic loading correction is calculated. The results show that the noise models of global IGS reference stations are diverse, and each component has different optimal noise model characteristics, mainly white noise + flicker noise (WN+FN), generalized Gauss–Markov noise (GGM) and white noise + power law noise (WN+PL). Through specific analysis between the optimal noise model and the time series velocity of the station, it is found that the maximum influence value of the vertical velocity can reach 1.8 mm when hydrological loading is considered. Different complex noise models also have a certain influence on the linear velocity and velocity uncertainty of the station. Among them, the influence of white noise + random walking noise is relatively obvious, and its maximum influence value in the elevation direction can reach over 2 mm/year. When studying the impact of hydrological loading correction on the periodicity of the coordinate series, it is concluded whether the hydrological loading is calculated or not, and the GNSS long-term coordinate series has obvious annual and semi-annual amplitude changes, which are most obvious in the vertical direction, up to 16.48 mm

Erosion of alloys used for the stages of electrical submersible pumps

Judicious selection of the material used for the stages of an electric submersible pump (ESP) is crucial for a prolonged service life. Working in high-velocity fluids carrying solid particles, the stage surfaces are subjected to solid particle impingement and thus erosion defects arise. Moreover, subsequent erosion-corrosion synergy brings additional threats to the ESPs operating in corrosive environments. In this report, jet impingement tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of three alloys under erosive and corrosive conditions. The tested materials include two Ni-Resist cast irons — wear-resistant materials commonly used for ESP stages — and one superduplex stainless steel (SDSS) that is famous for high strength and extraordinary corrosion resistance. The erosion rate of each material, along with its dependence on jet impingement angle, is quantified in terms of overall volume loss and localized depth loss. Tap water and salt solution are used as particle carrier in parallel to study the synergy between erosion and corrosion. The erosion mechanism of different phases, as well as its dependence on particle impingement conditions, are discussed. Finally, the applicability of substituting Ni-Resist cast irons with SDSS to cope with highly corrosive conditions is assessed based on the experiment results.Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI)This research is funded by the Singapore Maritime Institute under the Asset Integrity & Risk Management (AIM) R&D Programme Project SMI-2015-OF-03

Analysis and Discussion on the Optimal Noise Model of Global GNSS Long-Term Coordinate Series Considering Hydrological Loading

The displacement of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) station contains the information of surface elastic deformation caused by the variation of land water reserves. This paper selects the long-term coordinate series data of 671 International GNSS Service (IGS) reference stations distributed globally under the framework of World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) from 2000 to 2021. Different noise model combinations are used for noise analysis, and the optimal noise model for each station before and after hydrologic loading correction is calculated. The results show that the noise models of global IGS reference stations are diverse, and each component has different optimal noise model characteristics, mainly white noise + flicker noise (WN+FN), generalized Gauss–Markov noise (GGM) and white noise + power law noise (WN+PL). Through specific analysis between the optimal noise model and the time series velocity of the station, it is found that the maximum influence value of the vertical velocity can reach 1.8 mm when hydrological loading is considered. Different complex noise models also have a certain influence on the linear velocity and velocity uncertainty of the station. Among them, the influence of white noise + random walking noise is relatively obvious, and its maximum influence value in the elevation direction can reach over 2 mm/year. When studying the impact of hydrological loading correction on the periodicity of the coordinate series, it is concluded whether the hydrological loading is calculated or not, and the GNSS long-term coordinate series has obvious annual and semi-annual amplitude changes, which are most obvious in the vertical direction, up to 16.48 mm

Sequential Ambiguity Resolution Method for Poorly-Observed GNSS Data

Integer ambiguity resolution is required to obtain precise coordinates for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Poorly observed data cause unfixed integer ambiguity and reduce the coordinate accuracy. Previous studies mostly used denoise filters and partial ambiguity resolution algorithms to address this problem. This study proposes a sequential ambiguity resolution method that includes a float solution substitution process and a double-difference (DD) iterative correction equation process. The float solution substitution process updates the initial float solution, while the DD iterative correction equation process is used to eliminate the residual biases. The satellite-selection experiment shows that the float solution substitution process is adequate to obtain a more accurate float solution. The iteration-correction experiment shows that the double-difference iterative correction equation process is feasible with an improvement in the ambiguity success rate from 28.4% to 96.2%. The superiority experiment shows significant improvement in the ambiguity success rate from 36.1% to 83.6% and a better baseline difference from about 0.1 m to 0.04 m. It is proved that the proposed sequential ambiguity resolution method can significantly optimize the results for poorly-observed GNSS data

Comparative Analysis of the Effect of the Loading Series from GFZ and EOST on Long-Term GPS Height Time Series

In order to investigate the effect of different loading models on the nonlinear variations in Global Positioning System (GPS) height time series, the characteristics of annual signals (amplitude and phase) of GPS time series, loading series from Deutsche GeoForschungsZentrum, Germany (GFZ) and School and Observatory of Earth Sciences, France (EOST) at 633 global GPS stations are processed and analyzed. The change characteristics of the root mean square (RMS) reduction rate, annual amplitude and phase of GPS time series after environmental loading corrections (ELCs) are then detected. Results show that ELCs have a positive effect on the reduction in the nonlinear deformation contained in most GPS stations around the world. RMS reduction rates are positive at 82.6% stations after GFZ correction and 87.4% after EOST correction, and the average reduction rates of all stations are 10.6% and 15.4%, respectively. As for the environmental loading series from GFZ and EOST, their average annual amplitudes are 2.7 and 3.1 mm, which explains ~40% annual amplitude of GPS height time series (7.2 mm). Further analysis of some specific stations indicates that the annual phase difference between GPS height time series and the environmental loading series is an important reason that affects the reduction rates of the RMS and annual amplitude. The linear relationship between the annual phase difference and the annual amplitude reduction rate is significant. The linear fitting results show that when there is no annual phase difference between GPS and loading series, the reduction rates of the RMS and annual amplitude will increase to the maximum of 15.6% and 41.6% for GFZ, and 22.0% and 46.6% for EOST