WristSketcher: Creating Dynamic Sketches in AR with a Sensing Wristband

Restricted by the limited interaction area of native AR glasses (e.g., touch bars), it is challenging to create sketches in AR glasses. Recent works have attempted to use mobile devices (e.g., tablets) or mid-air bare-hand gestures to expand the interactive spaces and can work as the 2D/3D sketching input interfaces for AR glasses. Between them, mobile devices allow for accurate sketching but are often heavy to carry, while sketching with bare hands is zero-burden but can be inaccurate due to arm instability. In addition, mid-air bare-hand sketching can easily lead to social misunderstandings and its prolonged use can cause arm fatigue. As a new attempt, in this work, we present WristSketcher, a new AR system based on a flexible sensing wristband for creating 2D dynamic sketches, featuring an almost zero-burden authoring model for accurate and comfortable sketch creation in real-world scenarios. Specifically, we have streamlined the interaction space from the mid-air to the surface of a lightweight sensing wristband, and implemented AR sketching and associated interaction commands by developing a gesture recognition method based on the sensing pressure points on the wristband. The set of interactive gestures used by our WristSketcher is determined by a heuristic study on user preferences. Moreover, we endow our WristSketcher with the ability of animation creation, allowing it to create dynamic and expressive sketches. Experimental results demonstrate that our WristSketcher i) faithfully recognizes users' gesture interactions with a high accuracy of 96.0%; ii) achieves higher sketching accuracy than Freehand sketching; iii) achieves high user satisfaction in ease of use, usability and functionality; and iv) shows innovation potentials in art creation, memory aids, and entertainment applications

TouchEditor: Interaction design and evaluation of a flexible touchpad for text editing of head-mounted displays in speech-unfriendly environments

A text editing solution that adapts to speech-unfriendly (inconvenient to speak or difficult to recognize speech) environments is essential for head-mounted displays (HMDs) to work universally. For existing schemes, e.g., touch bar, virtual keyboard and physical keyboard, there are shortcomings such as insufficient speed, uncomfortable experience or restrictions on user location and posture. To mitigate these restrictions, we propose TouchEditor, a novel text editing system for HMDs based on a flexible piezoresistive film sensor, supporting cursor positioning, text selection, text retyping and editing commands (i.e., Copy, Paste, Delete, etc.). Through literature overview and heuristic study, we design a pressure-controlled menu and a shortcut gesture set for entering editing commands, and propose an area-and-pressure-based method for cursor positioning and text selection that skillfully maps gestures in different areas and with different strengths to cursor movements with different directions and granularities. The evaluation results show that TouchEditor i) adapts to various contents and scenes well with a stable correction speed of 0.075 corrections per second; ii) achieves 95.4% gesture recognition accuracy; iii) reaches a considerable level with a mobile phone in text selection tasks. The comparison results with the speech-dependent EYEditor and the built-in touch bar further prove the flexibility and robustness of TouchEditor in speech-unfriendly environments

More Efficient Energy Management for Networked Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids With Multivariable Nonlinear Conversion Losses

Accurate conversion loss models are the keys to guarantee the more efficient operation of networked hybrid ac/dc microgrids (N-ac/dc-MGs). A two-stage stochastic unit commitment (UC) problem is proposed to improve the operational efficiency of N-ac/dc-MGs under uncertain renewable energy generation output and loads. The nonlinear power losses of ac/dc converters and dc/dc converters under different operating modes are formulated as novel multivariate nonlinear functions of both power and voltage. These functions are approximated by linear surrogate models and adopted by the dynamic optimal power flow (OPF), where the voltage and power of the converters can be optimized considering the physical laws among voltages of converters. Embedding the dynamic OPF problem as mixed-integer recourse, a two-stage stochastic programming problem is formulated for the day-ahead operation of N-ac/dc-MGs. To reduce the computational cost, a finite iteration convergent Benders decomposition algorithm is proposed to solve the UC problem. Case studies are performed on hybrid ac/dc MGs and N-ac/dc-MGs. Simulation results reveal that using more accurate conversion loss models, the output commands, especially the dc bus voltage, from the energy management systems will lead to more efficient system operation, and thus, save energy

The recent progress of myeloid‐derived suppressor cell and its targeted therapies in cancers

Abstract Myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are an immature group of myeloid‐derived cells generated from myeloid cell precursors in the bone marrow. MDSCs appear almost exclusively in pathological conditions, such as tumor progression and various inflammatory diseases. The leading function of MDSCs is their immunosuppressive ability, which plays a crucial role in tumor progression and metastasis through their immunosuppressive effects. Since MDSCs have specific molecular features, and only a tiny amount exists in physiological conditions, MDSC‐targeted therapy has become a promising research direction for tumor treatment with minimal side effects. In this review, we briefly introduce the classification, generation and maturation process, and features of MDSCs, and detail their functions under various circumstances. The present review specifically demonstrates the environmental specificity of MDSCs, highlighting the differences between MDSCs from cancer and healthy individuals, as well as tumor‐infiltrating MDSCs and circulating MDSCs. Then, we further describe recent advances in MDSC‐targeted therapies. The existing and potential targeted drugs are divided into three categories, monoclonal antibodies, small‐molecular inhibitors, and peptides. Their targeting mechanisms and characteristics have been summarized respectively. We believe that a comprehensive in‐depth understanding of MDSC‐targeted therapy could provide more possibilities for the treatment of cancer

Dilithio Spiro Zincacyclopentadienes and Dizinca[10]cycles: Synthesis and Structural Characterization

In this work, we report the synthesis and molecular structures of two kinds of organozinc metallacycles: dilithio spiro zincacyclopentadienes 3 and dizinca[10]cycles 4. Both complexes 3 and 4 were obtained from the reaction of 1,4-dilithio-1,3-butadienes 1 with ZnX2 (X = Cl, Br) in THF. The molecular structure of 3 was determined by single-crystal X-ray structural analysis and shows a spiro ring skeleton in which two zincacyclopentadienes are fused by a Zn(II) atom. Complex 3 represents the first well-defined examples of groups 12 metallacyclopentadienes. The molecular structure of 4 contains a distorted ten-membered dizincacycle. Multinuclear NMR measurements of 3 and 4 were conducted, and the structural transformations between them were observed. In addition, the insertion reaction of these organozinc metallacycles with S-8 or Se were investigated to give their corresponding thiophene or selenophene compounds

ONZIN Upregulation by Mutant p53 Contributes to Osteosarcoma Metastasis Through the CXCL5-MAPK Signaling Pathway

Background/Aims: Gain-of-function of mutant p53 is associated with a high rate of lung metastasis in osteosarcoma. To investigate the mechanism of mutant p53-induced osteosarcoma metastasis, expression array analysis was performed, comparing non-metastatic osteosarcomas from p53+/- mice with metastatic osteosarcomas from p53R172H/+ mice. Onzin (Plac8) was identified as one of the genes upregulated in p53R172H/+ mouse metastatic osteosarcomas. Accordingly, we investigated the role of ONZIN in human osteosarcoma metastasis. Methods: ONZIN function and its downstream targets were examined in osteosarcoma cell lines. Assays related to tumorigenesis and metastasis, including cell migration, invasion, clonogenic survival, and soft agar colony formation, were performed in osteosarcoma cells. Additionally, mouse xenograft models were used to examine the role of ONZIN overpression in tumorigenesis in vivo. Lastly, 87 osteosarcoma patients were recruited to investigate the clinical relevance of ONZIN overexpression in metastasis and prognosis. Results: ONZIN overexpression enhanced osteosarcoma cell proliferation, clonogenic survival, migration, and invasion independent of p53 status. Furthermore, ONZIN overexpression induced CXCL5 upregulation and resulted in increased ERK phosphorylation, which contributed to more aggressive osteosarcoma metastatic phenotypes. More importantly, overexpression of ONZIN in human osteosarcoma patients was closely associated with lung metastasis, poor prognoses, and survival. Conclusions: Overexpression of ONZIN promotes osteosarcoma progression and metastasis, and can serve as a clinical biomarker for osteosarcoma metastasis and prognosis