Browse Articles

Quantifying mutual hesitation and identifying kinematic predictors in near-collision avoidance in walking

Abstract Humans navigate crowded environments by anticipating others’ movements. When such mutual anticipation fails, this may result in collisions or near-collisions. Previous research on mutual anticipation in collision avoidance has highlighted the importance of kinematic information. However, it remains unclear how full-body kinematics support mutual anticipation in truly interactive near-collision avoidance scenarios.　We introduce cross-recurrence quantification analysis (CRQA) as a novel method to quantify the degree of mutual hesitation (i.e., spatiotemporal overlap between walkers) in near-collision avoidance. Additionally, we examined which pre-avoidance, inter-participant kinematic relationships predict the degree of mutual hesitation. Forty-five dyads (i.e., 90 participants) walked toward each other and aimed at avoiding collision in two differently sized avoidance zones (20 cm, 80 cm). Results revealed that the mean Recurrence Rate in mutual hesitation trials was 37.97 (± 23.2) and 41.95 (± 25.5) in the respective collision avoidance zones. Statistical Parametric Mapping showed that inter-participant head-angle differences diverged earlier than the shoulder or pelvis in non-mutual hesitation trials. Smaller head-angle differences 0.3–0.2s (20 cm) and 0.2–0.1s (80 cm) before avoidance onset predicted a higher degree of mutual hesitation. We conclude that failures in inferring avoidance direction from head kinematics may be linked to mutual anticipation errors that result in mutual hesitation.

Anticipatory and theme-specific neural oscillations predict aesthetic evaluation of poetry

Poetry condenses language into minimal forms, evoking emotion, imagery, and aesthetic judgment, yet the neural basis of such evaluations remains poorly understood. We investigated how the brain evaluates two structurally matched but thematically distinct poetic forms: nature-themed Haiku and emotion-themed Senryu. Participants read poems and rated them across five dimensions—aesthetic appeal, vivid imagery, being moved, originality, and creativity—while EEG was recorded. Using multiclass gradient-boosted tree models with SHapley Additive exPlanations, we predicted evaluative ratings from oscillatory neural features across temporal windows and scalp regions. Models outperformed linear baselines and showed limited cross-theme generalization, indicating content-specific neural encoding. Distinct processing patterns emerged: Senryu showed stronger beta-band contributions, whereas Haiku engaged more distributed multifrequency dynamics. Temporal profiles also differed, with Haiku showing sustained engagement across reading and contemplation phases and Senryu showing earlier evaluative resolution during reading. Prestimulus neural activity contributed to prediction of subsequent evaluations, suggesting a role for anticipatory brain states in aesthetic evaluation. Across poems, evaluative dimensions converged on a dominant shared axis that was reliably predicted from neural features. Together, these findings suggest that aesthetic evaluation of poetry reflects an interaction between anticipatory neural states, content-specific oscillatory dynamics, and dimension-specific processes organized around a shared evaluative axis. This work establishes poetry as a tractable model system for studying how the brain constructs meaning and value from minimal linguistic input.

Thermosensitive biodegradable hydrogels for soil regeneration under changing climate conditions

Arm dominance is an emergent effect of practice executing complex trajectory shapes required by tools and objects

Limb dominance is a human behavioral characteristic with many cultural, practical, scientific, and clinical implications. Yet why the dominant limb performs better across a range of motor skill-requiring tasks remains unanswered. Is it because of an intrinsic hemispheric advantage or instead is it the result of life-long practice with the dominant side? We tested these alternatives using two tasks either cross sectionally or after training. The first was 3D reaching with either an inertial challenge or the need to use a stick-like tool. The second required participants to write with their dominant and nondominant elbows. We applied a geometric analysis to quantify movement-trajectory shape. We show that 1) tool-use unmasks markedly inferior control in the nondominant arm, and this is because tools impose the need to generate unfamiliarly shaped movement trajectories; and 2) there is no general dominant limb motor control advantage, only task-specific experience or practice riding on top of an initial preference. These results reframe dominance as predominantly about learned control of tool kinematics rather than baseline asymmetry in control of limb dynamics.

Genomic characterisation of cellulose-producing Komagataeibacter strains KKR and KKO isolated from kombucha

The cannibalistic trade-off: Why human cannibalism emerges and why taboos suppress it

Cannibalism is among the most widespread taboos in human societies, yet archaeological, ethnographic, and historical evidence indicates that it has repeatedly emerged across human populations. This coexistence of recurrent practice and persistent prohibition raises a fundamental question: when does cannibalism become adaptive, and what mechanisms lead to its suppression? We address this problem using a formal model that treats cannibalism as a potential food source subject to energetic benefits and multiple sources of cost. Nutritional gains are modeled using a saturating function of caloric intake, while costs arise from acquisition, digestion, and infection. Infection costs are represented as a stochastic process whose mean increases with the length of the trophic transmission chain, capturing the risks associated with repeated within-species consumption. Analyzing the expected energetic balance across levels of food availability and cannibalism order reveals narrow ecological conditions in which cannibalism yields a positive expected balance and broader conditions in which it is strongly disfavored. The model provides a framework for interpreting archaeological and ethnographic findings by specifying boundary conditions and identifying the most probable ecological scenarios under which different forms of cannibalism are expected to occur. The results predict that cannibalism is most likely to emerge under extreme resource scarcity, when acquisition costs are low and infection risks are constrained, while sustained cannibalism rapidly becomes unviable due to escalating infection costs. Overall, the findings suggest that cannibalism is best understood as a conditional trade-off rather than a behavioral anomaly, with cultural taboos functioning as adaptive responses to nonlinear epidemiological risks.

Human gut microbiota from acute coronary syndrome patients promotes plaque vulnerability in a mouse model of atherosclerosis

A hierarchical cascade of sleep rhythms supports motor memory and is hijacked by epileptic spikes in human epilepsy

The cross-regional interplay of slow oscillations, spindles, and ripples during sleep is believed to support systems memory consolidation but remains understudied in humans. Using a validated behavioral task and simultaneous intracranial neural recordings from the orbitofrontal cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus in 19 patients with epilepsy, we examined the cross-regional interplay of sleep oscillations (slow oscillations, spindles, and ripples), alongside epileptic spikes, and their role in motor memory consolidation. Orbitofrontal slow oscillations robustly modulate spindle and ripple oscillations within and across regions during sleep. Although most combinations of oscillation rates positively predicted overnight performance change in a motor task, hippocampal ripple rate and coupled hippocampal-orbitofrontal ripple rates were the most reliable predictors across subjects. In contrast, rates of most sleep oscillations coupled to epileptic spikes were negative predictors of overnight motor performance change, with the rate of slow oscillations co-occurring with epileptic spikes the most reliable predictors of negative change across subjects. These findings provide direct evidence of a hierarchical cascade of sleep oscillations in human motor memory processing and reveal that epileptic spikes coupled to sleep oscillations interfere with this process in patients with epilepsy.

Synergistic biosurfactant-integrated hydrogels mitigate washout for sustainable enhanced oil recovery in harsh carbonates

Abstract Eco friendly biosurfactants present outstanding interfacial properties for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). However, their direct injection often leads to rapid downhole washout and severe sacrificial loss, negating the process efficacy. To overcome such a critical limitation, we engineered a rhamnolipid-integrated hydrogel as a highly synergistic system. Interestingly, the physical entrapment turns the biosurfactant into an active filler rather than a simple additive. Rheological data confirmed that this internal remodeling strengthens the hydrogel matrix, with an increase in elastic modulus from 14.1 to 17 kPa along with a significant expansion in the linear viscoelastic region. Furthermore, this designed dense structure limited the equilibrium swelling ratio in high salinity brine (200,000 ppm) to 36%, indicating the excellent tolerance of the biosurfactant integrated hydrogel in harsh reservoir conditions (90 °C). The robust matrix is essential in preventing premature washout by allowing the sustained and localized release of rhamnolipids at the displacement front. This continuous delivery significantly changes the wettability of the rock, shifting its surface state from strongly oil-wet (116.8°) to water-wet (58.48°), while also greatly reducing the interfacial tension. Glass micromodel flooding validated this dual action mechanism. The synergistic hydrogel achieved an outstanding final oil recovery of 82% OOIP in secondary recovery mode, and a remarkable 90% OOIP in tertiary recovery scenarios. These findings present a practical framework for designing green EOR fluids where structural resilience and active interfacial chemistry are mutually reinforced for sustainable hydrocarbon production.

CPKs are involved in Ca ²⁺ signaling encoding by enhancing OST1-initiated Ca ²⁺ influx for ABA-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis

Both Ca 2+ -independent kinase OPEN STOMATA 1 (OST1) and Ca 2+ -DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASEs (CPKs) play important roles in ABA-induced stomatal closure. We recently reported that OST1-mediated phosphorylation and activation of Ca 2+ channels constituted mainly with CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE-GATED CHANNEL 5 (CNGC5), 6, 9, and 12 (CNGC5/6/9/12) are required for ABA-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis. However, Ca 2+ -dependent protein kinases and underlying mechanisms that are involved in this Ca 2+ signaling pathway are still largely unknown. In this study, we identified CPK3, 8, and 10 (CPK3/8/10) as Ca 2+ -dependent CNGC-activating kinases with CPK3 as the main one, and a conserved serine site at CNGCs’ C termini is revealed to be the main CPK3-target sites, differing from OST-target sites at CNGCs’ N termini. Double S-to-D (2D) and S-to-A (2A) point mutations at OST1- and CPK3-target sites respectively coactivate and cosuppress CNGCs, but individual S-to-D activation is impaired by S-to-A mutation at the other site. Abscisic acid (ABA)-induced stomatal closure and Ca 2+ oscillations are impaired in Arabidopsis triple mutant cpk3/8/10 , but are rescued fully by the CNGC6’s 2D variant, largely by mixed A/D variant, and not by 2A variant. These results demonstrate that the cytosolic Ca 2+ elevation derived from OST1-CNGC modules-mediated external Ca 2+ influx activates CPK3 via Ca 2+ binding, the Ca 2+ -bound CPK3 evokes more massive external Ca 2+ influx through enhancing the activity of CNGCs by phosphorylation, and CPK3-evoked Ca 2+ influx is required for the encoding of ABA-induced cytosolic Ca 2+ signaling in Arabidopsis guard cells.

Chaos-driven encryption of biomedical EEG using fractional-order memristive dynamics and random quantization

Sensitivity suppression during attention shifts

The brain possesses the remarkable ability to suppress undesirable signals generated by our own actions to ensure accurate perception, like the suppression of retinal motion signals during rapid eye movements, known as saccadic suppression. Attention, often referred to as the “mind’s eye,” undergoes rapid and frequent shifts, often occurring in the absence of explicit motor actions. Is visual processing similarly suppressed during attention shifts? In this study, we employed pupillometry and magnetoencephalography (MEG) to assess visual sensitivity across different attentional states. Our results revealed a reduced or suppressed visual sensitivity during attention shifts through an attentional oscillation paradigm. Such suppression was not due to microsaccades and was absent during rhythmic attentional sampling without spatial shift. MEG data further indicated that the suppression was more pronounced in parietal channels, manifesting at a relatively late stage (150 to 200 ms) of visual processing and suggesting a distinct neural mechanism compared to saccadic suppression. Our findings indicate that suppression mechanisms operate not only when there are spurious signals generated due to the movements of the sensors, but also during transitional states in the allocation of cognitive resources within representational space, thereby supporting stability of visual processing.

Integrating cross-behavior cognitions into the health action process approach to examine sleep hygiene behaviors among adolescents: A two-wave prospective study

Disruption of dynactin complex function in intellectual disability

Intellectual disability (ID) is a highly prevalent condition affecting approximately 200 millions of people worldwide, characterized by impaired cognitive function. Dynactin complex consists of multiple protein subunits and is required for intracellular trafficking and synaptic homeostasis in developing and mature neurons. Here, we identify deleterious variants of dynactin subunit 4 (DCTN4) in ID pedigrees. DCTN4 ablation in mice results in altered neuronal positioning and apoptosis in neural progenitor cells. Notably, mice carrying the ID-linked DCTN4 variant exhibit cognitive deficits with impaired dendritic development. Cortical neurons with DCTN4 deficiency or variant show reduced levels of various dynactin subunits, suggesting that deficits in dynactin complex affects synaptic function. Furthermore, disruption of the DCTN4–JIP3 complex impairs lysosomal transport and dendritic development as well as synaptic development. Importantly, we showed that damaging variants in another dynactin subunit DCTN2 also disrupt neuronal positioning, reinforcing the critical role of dynactin complex in neurodevelopment and ID pathogenesis. These findings illustrate dysfunctional dynactin complex as a previously unrecognized disease mechanism of ID.

ProCDNet: prostate cancer detection network using quantum machine learning with enhanced addax optimization

A “high-entropy + dilute” design strategy delivers a strong and ductile refractory alloy from 77 to 1,373 K

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) are ideal for extreme-temperature structural applications, but strengthening single-phase body-centered cubic (BCC) RHEAs typically compromises ductility, and systematic optimization across their vast compositional space remains challenging. In this work, we introduce a “high-entropy + dilute” design strategy that integrates concentrated high-entropy matrices with targeted dilute microalloying. We further refine this concept into an opposite-eigenstrain solute-pairing rule, in which solutes with opposite-sign local volumetric strains are combined to cooperatively amplify lattice distortion. Specifically, adding 1.5 at.% substitutional Re (local contraction) and 0.3 at.% interstitial B (local expansion) cooperatively amplifies local lattice distortion by approximately 20%, while maintaining a chemically homogeneous single-phase solid solution. This strategy raises the room-temperature yield strength by more than 34% while maintaining ductility, with the strength advantage sustained across an unusually wide temperature range from 77 to 1,373 K. Mechanistically, the amplified lattice distortion simultaneously modifies kink-pair-mediated screw glide and strengthens solute pinning of edge segments, thereby reducing screw-edge mobility mismatch and promoting coordinated dislocation multiplication and storage. These findings establish opposite-eigenstrain solute pairing as a mechanistically grounded microalloying strategy for strengthening single-phase BCC RHEAs across extreme temperatures.

Organic acid–modified grinding admixtures: effects on grinding efficiency, hydration kinetics, and early-age performance

Injury-induced tau pathology promotes aggressive behavior in <i>Drosophila</i> without neurodegeneration

The microtubule-associated protein tau is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, but its physiological roles remain poorly understood. Here, we find that panneuronal expression of human tau (HsTau) in Drosophila coupled with injury triggers elevated aggression in male flies, which was not observed in flies expressing nonphosphorylatable tau. These behavioral manifestations result from activation of dopaminergic circuits without neurodegeneration. Using in vitro reconstitution assays, we find that phosphorylated HsTau maintains microtubule binding but loses its ability to suppress catastrophes, thereby promoting microtubule dynamicity. In contrast, unphosphorylated HsTau as well as fly tau (DmTau) stabilize microtubules by reducing catastrophe frequency. Our findings challenge the canonical view of tau as a simple microtubule stabilizer and instead position it as a dynamic regulator of microtubule function and neuronal excitability. These results reveal how acute tau phosphorylation can alter neural circuit function and behavior prior to neurodegeneration, providing insights into tau’s physiological and pathological roles.

Prevalence and related factors of Dupuytren’s contracture in a community-dwelling Japanese population

B cell–intrinsic CXCR3 drives efficient generation of ectopic pulmonary germinal center responses to influenza A virus infection

Chemotactic receptors involved in generation of ectopic pulmonary germinal centers (GCs) within inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (iBALT) are poorly defined. Here, using CIBER Cxcr3 -reporter mice, we demonstrate that the prototypical type 1 inflammatory chemokine receptor CXCR3 is highly induced in influenza A virus (IAV)-reactive B cells in the mediastinal lymph node, spleen, lung, peripheral blood, and airways following intranasal infection. Notably, elevated Cxcr3 was observed in ectopic pulmonary germinal center B (GCB) cells in iBALT relative to their contemporaneous counterparts in secondary lymphoid organs across the timecourse of the response to IAV infection. Mice with a B cell–specific deletion of Cxcr3 displayed a 50 to 60% reduction in the frequency and number of ectopic GCB cells in the lungs at the peak of the response following IAV infection, relative to controls. Furthermore, in cotransfers, Cxcr3 -deficient B cells were substantially outcompeted by their Cxcr3 -sufficient counterparts for ectopic pulmonary GC participation, but were not impacted with respect to GCB cell frequencies in other compartments. Thus, the data elucidate the requirement of B cell–intrinsic CXCR3 expression for efficient generation of ectopic pulmonary GCB cell responses in iBALT following respiratory viral infection with IAV, a finding that broadens understanding of the molecular cues underpinning this key component of local protective humoral immunity to IAV.