Shared Environment Research Articles

On the Design and Implementation of a Mixed-Platform Collaborative Virtual RAS Planner

Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS) represents an important step forward in the field of minimally invasive surgery. However, the learning curve of RAS is steep, and a systematic planning of surgical robot setups should be performed to leverage the features of RAS. For this reason, in this paper we show the design and implementation of a mixed-platform collaborative system, creating an interactive virtual shared environment that simulates RAS during the surgery planning phase. The proposed system allows one or more experts to plan together the different phases of an RAS-based surgical procedure, while integrating different levels of immersion to enhance computer-assisted training. We have tested our system with a total of four domain experts. Our results show that experts found the system excellent in terms of usability and useful to prepare and discuss surgical planning with RAS.

A Duty to Remain Connected: a Biblical Perspective of the Wisdom of the Shabbàt.

Our labour is intricately woven into our identity, extending beyond mere livelihood. It ought to facilitate personal growth, define our societal roles, and contribute to a common good within the confines of social and environmental sustainability. However, the contemporary work landscape is undergoing profound and global changes, disrupting traditional and conventional notions of work dynamics and its associated relationships. Amidst the diverse and country-specific alterations, a universal paradigm shift is reshaping nearly every sector of the economy. The pressing question emerges: How can we prevent the shift toward more flexible employment from translating into a life of perpetual instability? As job structures become more malleable and the boundaries between professional and personal life blur, the risks of self-exploitation and work-induced stress loom. In navigating these transformations, we must discern the evolving paradigms of work and consider their social and economic repercussions. What lessons are we being prompted to internalize as the European work landscape undergoes unprecedented changes? It becomes imperative to explore these shifts and their implications for a sustainable and equitable future. Exploring the existential insights of the Shabbàt and extracting valuable lessons from biblical wisdom prompts us to ponder the significance of rest in fostering healthy relationships and connectivity—with ourselves, others, our work, and our shared environment. The prevalent culture of constant availability and the obligation to stay connected could benefit from a biblical perspective, particularly in grasping the essence of Shabbàts wisdom.

Kerosene Is King: Kerosene Consumers and the Antitrust Movement against Standard Oil, 1859–1911

AbstractIn the late nineteenth-century United States, kerosene became a universal illuminant for artificial lighting, providing its users with a shared material environment. While kerosene users employed the fluid not only for lighting but also for washing, cooking, and cleaning, they had to deal with the material’s risks, such as fires and explosions. With the help of chemists and domestic advisors, American consumers adapted to this ambivalent material condition, weaving kerosene into their economic life and social thought. In so doing, some consumers identified as a “professional class” that navigated within this material environment through their own expertise—which paralleled their economic struggle within a rapidly growing but volatile political economy during the Gilded Age. As Standard Oil’s monopolization of the kerosene business became a substantial issue in national politics, this social consciousness among kerosene users attracted anti-monopolists like Ida Tarbell. Because Standard Oil had lowered the consumer price, these reformers sought an alternative rationale to persuade kerosene-consuming households to participate in the antitrust movement against the company. Examining how these progressive reformers turned kerosene consumers’ social identity to their political ends, this article sheds new light on the relationship between the energy transition, consumer culture, and American capitalism.

Bidirectional Temporal Plan Graph: Enabling Switchable Passing Orders for More Efficient Multi-Agent Path Finding Plan Execution

The Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) problem involves planning collision-free paths for multiple agents in a shared environment. The majority of MAPF solvers rely on the assumption that an agent can arrive at a specific location at a specific timestep. However, real-world execution uncertainties can cause agents to deviate from this assumption, leading to collisions and deadlocks. Prior research solves this problem by having agents follow a Temporal Plan Graph (TPG), enforcing a consistent passing order at every location as defined in the MAPF plan. However, we show that TPGs are overly strict because, in some circumstances, satisfying the passing order requires agents to wait unnecessarily, leading to longer execution time. To overcome this issue, we introduce a new graphical representation called a Bidirectional Temporal Plan Graph (BTPG), which allows switching passing orders during execution to avoid unnecessary waiting time. We design two anytime algorithms for constructing a BTPG: BTPG-naïve and BTPG-optimized. Experimental results show that following BTPGs consistently outperforms following TPGs, reducing unnecessary waits by 8-20%.

Abstract 1772: A naturally occurring canine model of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified

Abstract Despite being the most common subtype of human peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), PTCL-not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) remains a poorly understood diagnosis of exclusion with poor survival times and treatment responses. Canine PTCL clinically and immunophenotypically resembles human PTCL-NOS, and PTCL is more common in dogs than humans, leading to their interest as a naturally occurring preclinical model. Canine models of cancer offer several unique advantages: in contrast to traditional rodent models, these are spontaneous tumors in genetically diverse and immunocompetent animals living in a shared environment with humans, but relative to their human counterparts, they offer accelerated lifespans with shorter clinical courses of disease. Here, we analyzed the gene expression profile of 96 canine CD4+ PTCLs to determine similarities to human PTCL-NOS and investigate a possible cell of origin. Bulk RNA-seq was performed on lymph node aspirates of 96 cases of canine CD4+ PTCL diagnosed by flow cytometry and sorted CD4+ nodal lymphocytes and CD4+ thymocytes from healthy control dogs. Raw reads were aligned to the Ensembl canine reference genome (ROS_Cfam_1.0) and tabulated. Data normalization and differential expression analysis was conducted with DESeq2, and differentially expressed genes were compared to human PTCL-NOS and various stages of T-cell development via gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA). Global gene expression in canine CD4+ PTCL was analogous to that of human PTCL-NOS (NES = 2.3, p < 0.001). Additionally, canine CD4+ PTCL had increased expression of GATA3 (log2fc = 1.9, padj = 6.5e-07) and was enriched for gene signatures associated with downregulation of PTEN (NES = 1.7, p = 0.0001) and upregulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling (NES = 1.5, padj = 0.0007), resembling the more aggressive human GATA3-PTCL subtype. Canine CD4+ PTCL was also enriched for human and murine gene signatures associated with early thymocyte progenitor cells and had increased expression of genes of immaturity, including CD34 (log2fc = 7.8, padj = 2.6e-14), KIT (log2fc = 3.3, padj = 7.7e-05), and CCR9 (log2fc = 4.8, padj = 3.9e-11), although surface CD34 expression is not detected by flow cytometry. These findings were confirmed when we compared the canine PTCL gene expression programs to a canine single cell transcriptomic atlas of hematopoietic precursors and T cells across canine bone marrow, thymic, and lymph node tissues. Canine CD4+ PTCL cells were significantly (padj < 0.05) enriched for gene signatures associated with early thymic and bone marrow precursors (NES 1.3-2.1), and negatively enriched for gene signatures associated with naïve nodal CD4+ T cells (NES = -3.2, padj = 0.006). In conclusion, the gene expression profile of canine CD4+ PTCL resembles human PTCL-NOS, supporting its potential as a naturally occurring preclinical model, and a subset of these neoplasms may arise from a thymic precursor cell of origin. Citation Format: Eileen Owens, Adam Harris, Anne Avery. A naturally occurring canine model of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 1772.

Целостность и иерархичность структур данных в жизненном цикле объектов малоэтажного жилищного строительства

The subject area of the article is construction facilities life cycle management, where the object-oriented automated technologies of low-rise housing construction are the subject of consideration. The purpose of this study is to describe the meta-structure of such technologies, consisting of a set of hierarchical structures of the finite elements (premises, structures, engineering equipment, etc.) and for this meta-structure definition the concept of low-rise housing estate construction facilities integrity is introduced. The object of the article's research is hierarchical data structures, on the basis of which object-oriented databases and knowledge bases are formed, serving automated technologies for construction facilities integrity generation within all stages of the life cycle. The article uses the method of decomposition of the low-rise housing estate construction facilities integrity into a variety of automated technologies and their constituent hierarchical data structures, which allows us to identify all subject areas of objects of manor low-rise housing estate construction for computational justifications of the limiting states of finite elements (objects) of architecture, building structures, engineering equipment. Hierarchical structures create a standardized basis for the organization of finite element information models for managing the life cycle of manor low-rise estate housing construction. Decision-makers should prepare hierarchical data structures and algorithms for calculating the justifications for finite elements. The article presents examples of hierarchical data structures schemes for the design stage tasks solving. It is concluded that all information models of finite elements on a variety of subject areas of manor low-rise estate housing construction objects arise during the execution of constructive (algorithmized) processes in the decision-making layers of the corresponding stages of the life cycle of construction objects. It is concluded that all information models of finite elements on a variety of subject areas of manor low-rise estate housing construction objects arise during the execution of constructive (algorithmized) processes in the decision-making layers of the corresponding stages of the life cycle of construction objects. A structuring condition is also proposed: if the main link of the life cycle management technology is the information model of the object, then the fundamental condition for object orientation and meaningful filling of hierarchical data structures is the construction system used in this construction object, as a set of load-bearing and enclosing structures, its components and materials used. The proposed approach will make it possible to create and maintain a shared data environment on a regular and ongoing basis as part of a set of hierarchical data structures of the construction projects under consideration. In the development, it becomes possible to qualitatively improve the technological conditions for decision-making according to various criteria, including criteria for environmental friendliness, energy efficiency, economy, comfort for low-rise residential buildings using neural network data structures and the use of artificial intelligence algorithms. The above together is the basis for the formation of a modern innovative technological order for the objects of estate low-rise housing construction.

Conflict Avoidance in Social Navigation—a Survey

A major goal in robotics is to enable intelligent mobile robots to operate smoothly in shared human-robot environments. One of the most fundamental capabilities in service of this goal is competent navigation in this “social” context. As a result, there has been a recent surge of research on social navigation; and especially as it relates to the handling of conflicts between agents during social navigation. These developments introduce a variety of models and algorithms, however as this research area is inherently interdisciplinary, many of the relevant papers are not comparable and there is no shared standard vocabulary. This survey aims at bridging this gap by introducing such a common language, using it to survey existing work, and highlighting open problems. It starts by defining the boundaries of this survey to a limited, yet highly common type of social navigation—conflict avoidance. Within this proposed scope, this survey introduces a detailed taxonomy of the conflict avoidance components. This survey then maps existing work into this taxonomy, while discussing papers using its framing. Finally, this article proposes some future research directions and open problems that are currently on the frontier of social navigation to aid ongoing and future research.

Collaborative robots (cobots) for disaster risk resilience: a framework for swarm of snake robots in delivering first aid in emergency situations.

Cobots are robots that are built for human-robot collaboration (HRC) in a shared environment. In the aftermath of disasters, cobots can cooperate with humans to mitigate risks and increase the possibility of rescuing people in distress. This study examines the resilient and dynamic synergy between a swarm of snake robots, first responders and people to be rescued. The possibility of delivering first aid to potential victims dispersed around a disaster environment is implemented. In the HRC simulation framework presented in this study, the first responder initially deploys a UAV, swarm of snake robots and emergency items. The UAV provides the first responder with the site planimetry, which includes the layout of the area, as well as the precise locations of the individuals in need of rescue and the aiding goods to be delivered. Each individual snake robot in the swarm is then assigned a victim. Subsequently an optimal path is determined by each snake robot using the A* algorithm, to approach and reach its respective target while avoiding obstacles. By using their prehensile capabilities, each snake robot adeptly grasps the aiding object to be dispatched. The snake robots successively arrive at the delivering location near the victim, following their optimal paths, and proceed to release the items. To demonstrate the potential of the framework, several case studies are outlined concerning the execution of operations that combine locomotion, obstacle avoidance, grasping and deploying. The Coppelia-Sim Robotic Simulator is utilised for this framework. The analysis of the motion of the snake robots on the path show highly accurate movement with and without the emergency item. This study is a step towards a holistic semi-autonomous search and rescue operation.

Learning contexts and visions for STEM in schools

ABSTRACT STEM education is viewed as being vital for economic prosperity and productivity; and can contribute productively to changing technological, economic, and social demands of the twenty-first Century. However, there is limited consensus on how STEM education is understood and taught, and inadequate discussion around its role in addressing global issues such as climate change, health, poverty, food security, and other STEM-related social concerns. In this paper, we identify the contexts adopted for STEM teaching and learning in 47 Australian schools, drawing data from semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers who participated in the Principals as STEM Leaders (PASL) project. These data were categorised according to four visions for STEM education that align with different levels of social justice and activist approaches to STEM teaching and learning. Findings indicate that STEM education in Australia is predominantly enacted through instrumental ‘products and processes’ approaches dominated by robotics and coding. Learning contexts had minimal ‘real-life’ applications and were devoid of social and ethical dimensions of STEM applications that would better equip students with the knowledge, skills, and agency to make informed, socially just decisions about their own and others’ futures, and that of our shared environment.

Spirit in Creation: Mizo Primal Cosmology and Its Implications for Anthropogenic Climate Change Concern

In the face of an escalating climate crisis, humanity is confronted not only with pressing environmental challenges but also with a profound moral imperative to protect our planet for the sake of generations yet unborn. This paper embarks on an urgent re-examination and expansion of the timeless inquiry into the God—human—world relationship as perceived within Mizo primal cosmology. This unique worldview offers a perspective on God's interaction with creation through the lens of pneumatology. In the midst of our contemporary environmental predicament, this exploration holds the potential to enrich theological discourse by shedding light on alternative perspectives of the God—human—world relationship. The inherited theology, which often revolves around anthropocentrism and other-worldly spiritual concerns, is found wanting in addressing climate change concerns. It tends to limit God's relationship with creation, neglecting its holistic dimensions. In contrast, the Mizo primal cosmology seems to offer a potential viewpoint to bridge this theological deficit, highlighting the intricate interplay between God, humanity and the environment. By bridging the traditional and the contemporary, this paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about humanity’s role in safeguarding our planet and nurturing a more harmonious coexistence with the natural world. Ultimately, it endeavours to inspire a renewed sense of responsibility for our shared environment and the intricate web of life it sustains.

Virtual acoustics in distributed performance over a closed audio network

We explore an application of active acoustics used to produce a shared virtual environment for live musical performance. As part of a concert given in the Immersive Media Lab at McGill University, musicians and audience members were located in adjacent but acoustically isolated spaces on the same digital audio network. With computer generated effects and live instruments, the concert consisted of electroacoustic performances that utilized dynamic virtual environments produced by our Virtual Acoustic Technology (VAT) system as an improvisatory partner and a mixing device to blend the diffusion of electronic and acoustic musical sources. The performance, including its evolving virtual environment, was captured using spatial microphone techniques and distributed in real-time to the audience over an immersive loudspeaker system in an adjacent control room. Audience members were given the opportunity to visit the musicians’ performance space in order to compare the reproduction to the original environment. Overall, the blending of computer-generated and acoustic sources created a specific use case for virtual acoustics, while the immersive capture and distribution method examined an avenue for producing a real-time shared experience. Future work in this area includes audio networks with multiple virtual acoustic environments and distributions.

Bioenergetic signatures of neurodevelopmental regression.

Background: Studies have linked autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to physiological abnormalities including mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction may be linked to a subset of children with ASD who have neurodevelopmental regression (NDR). We have developed a cell model of ASD which demonstrates a unique mitochondrial profile with mitochondrial respiration higher than normal and sensitive to physiological stress. We have previously shown similar mitochondrial profiles in individuals with ASD and NDR. Methods: Twenty-six ASD individuals without a history of NDR (ASD-NoNDR) and 15 ASD individuals with a history of NDR (ASD-NDR) were recruited from 34 families. From these families, 30 mothers, 17 fathers and 5 typically developing (TD) siblings participated. Mitochondrial respiration was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with the Seahorse 96 XF Analyzer. PBMCs were exposed to various levels of physiological stress for 1h prior to the assay using 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-napthoquinone. Results: ASD-NDR children were found to have higher respiratory rates with mitochondria that were more sensitive to physiological stress as compared to ASD-NoNDR children, similar to our cellular model of NDR. Differences in mitochondrial respiration between ASD-NDR and TD siblings were similar to the differences between ASD-NDR and ASD-NoNDR children. Interesting, parents of children with ASD and NDR demonstrated patterns of mitochondrial respiration similar to their children such that parents of children with ASD and NDR demonstrated elevated respiratory rates with mitochondria that were more sensitive to physiological stress. In addition, sex differences were seen in ASD children and parents. Age effects in parents suggested that mitochondria of older parents were more sensitive to physiological stress. Conclusion: This study provides further evidence that children with ASD and NDR may have a unique type of mitochondrial physiology that may make them susceptible to physiological stressors. Identifying these children early in life before NDR occurs and providing treatment to protect mitochondrial physiology may protect children from experiencing NDR. The fact that parents also demonstrate mitochondrial respiration patterns similar to their children implies that this unique change in mitochondrial physiology may be a heritable factor (genetic or epigenetic), a result of shared environment, or both.

LIVE PROCESSING AND FEEDBACK ON A COMBINED LASERSCANNING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRIC DOCUMENTATION WORKFLOW

Abstract. The use of a combined terrestrial laserscanning (TLS) and structure-from-motion (SFM) surveying approach has proved to be able to deliver advantageous benefits in terms of coverage and surface rendition. The elaboration of such approaches entails a succession of processes and are without many options for on-site feedback largely dependent on the experience of the surveyor. In support of this approach a combined automated processing workflow with augmented reality feedback is introduced, allowing operators to get a better understanding of their progress and project success during surveying. To do so native TLS and SFM software is connected to a shared network and data storage environment and controlled within an active framework. Within this, scans and images are aligned within RealityCapture and resulting registration is visualised to the operator using augmented reality (AR). To achieve complete independence of pre-scanned environments, the augmented reality application presented within this research uses a GNSS supported visual SLAM algorithm. With this the application is able to position virtual objects – such as markers representing the positions of registered cameras – within a physical space using only their geoposition as reference. The workflow presented here should be understood as a proof of concept to determine possible improvements that would enable such interactive means of surveying and would allow deeper integration of components into a combined AR supported documentation workflow.

Safety of female ride-hailing passengers: Perception and prevention

Ride-hailing, as part of wider transitions to smart city, has emerged as a beneficial complement to urban public transport. However, the frequent occurrence of ride-hailing safety accidents in multiple countries has raised concerns about passenger safety on an international scale. Within this context, this study aims to investigate female passengers’ safety perception and prevention action when using ride-hailing services, helping establish better management and protection mechanisms for passenger safety. Using objective data from 7898 ride-hailing criminal adjudications (674 passenger victimizations) and subjective data from 596 Chinese female respondents, the safety perception scale and prevention tendency scale, with six potential variables, are developed to further examine the heterogeneity of perception and prevention. Results reveal that driver’s words and actions directly influence female passengers’ safety judgments regarding ride-hailing services and that traveling with companions significantly enhances their perceived safety. The main preventative actions identified include relying on mobile phones for information and communication, as well as avoiding risky ride-hailing situations. Furthermore, the analysis of individual heterogeneity has uncovered perception and prevention differences based on factors such as age, education level, residence conditions, ride-hailing frequency, and victimization experiences. These differences are evident in perception biases towards driver attitudes and accompanying travel, as well as variations in risk avoidance behaviors. The insights inductively derived hold fundamental conceptual and empirical value for scholarship on safety evaluation and crime prevention in the context of shared mobility. Additionally, the countermeasures proposed in this study can serve as a theoretical reference for enhancing the safety supervision of ride-hailing services, contributing to the establishment of safer, more reliable and more sustainable shared travel environment.

Sex and ancestry patterning of residual correlations in human dental development: Cooperative genetic interaction and phenotypic plasticity.

Most research in human dental age estimation has focused on point estimates of age, and most research on dental development theories has focused on morphology or eruption. Correlations between developing teeth using ordinal staging have received less attention. The effect of demographic variables on these correlations is unknown. I tested the effect of reference sample demographic variables on the residual correlation matrix using the lens of cooperative genetic interaction (CGI). The sample consisted of Moorrees et al., Journal of Dental Research, 1963, 42, 1490-1502, scores of left mandibular permanent teeth from panoramic radiographs of 880 London children 3-22.99 years of age stratified by year of age, sex, and Bangladeshi or European ancestry. A multivariate cumulative probit model was fit to each sex/ancestry group (n = 220), each sex or ancestry (n = 440), and all individuals (n = 880). Residual correlation matrices from nine reference sample configurations were compared using Bartlett's tests of between-sample difference matrices against the identity matrix, hierarchical cluster analysis, and dendrogram cophenetic correlations. Bartlett's test results were inconclusive. Cluster analysis showed clustering by tooth class, position within class, and developmental timing. Clustering patterns and dendrogram correlations showed similarity by sex but not ancestry. Expectations of CGI were supported for developmental staging. This supports using CGI as a model for explaining patterns of variation within the dentition. Sex was found to produce consistent patterns of dental correlations, whereas ancestry did not. Clustering by timing of development supports phenotypic plasticity in the dentition and suggests shared environment over genetic ancestry to explain population differences.

Securing Cloud Computing Environments: An Analysis of Multi-Tenancy Vulnerabilities and Countermeasures

The rise of cloud computing has brought significant advancements in scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, with multi-tenancy emerging as a core feature that allows multiple tenants to share the same physical infrastructure. However, this shared environment introduces serious security vulnerabilities, including data breaches, side-channel attacks, denial of service (DoS) attacks, and insecure APIs, all of which threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of tenant data. The problem statement addressed in this study revolves around the challenge of securing multi-tenant environments, where resource sharing can expose tenants to risks stemming from improper isolation, malicious actors, and insufficient security measures. This study contributes to the field by providing a comprehensive analysis of these vulnerabilities and assessing the effectiveness of various countermeasures, such as enhanced isolation techniques, encryption, and access control mechanisms. A multi-faceted methodology, including literature review, case study analysis, risk assessment, and experimental simulations, was employed to evaluate these risks and their mitigation. The results reveal that, while security solutions like encryption and isolation can reduce the attack success rate to 5%, they do introduce a performance overhead of 12%. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of adhering to regulatory agreement frameworks such as GDPR and HIPAA, realizing a compliance score of 9.2. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that effective implementation of security measures can expressively mitigate risks in multi-tenant cloud settings. However, it also highlights the trade-offs between show and security, urging cloud providers and leaseholders to adopt a shared charge model for ongoing monitoring and protection. Future technologies, such as AI-driven security results and zero-trust styles, are also submitted as likely advances to further support the security of cloud calculating systems.

Explaining the Behaviour of Reinforcement Learning Agents in a Multi-Agent Cooperative Environment Using Policy Graphs

The adoption of algorithms based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been rapidly increasing during the last few years. However, some aspects of AI techniques are under heavy scrutiny. For instance, in many use cases, it is not clear whether the decisions of an algorithm are well informed and conforming to human understanding. Having ways to address these concerns is crucial in many domains, especially whenever humans and intelligent (physical or virtual) agents must cooperate in a shared environment. In this paper, we apply an explainability method based on the creation of a Policy Graph (PG) based on discrete predicates that represent and explain a trained agent’s behaviour in a multi-agent cooperative environment. We show that from these policy graphs, policies for surrogate interpretable agents can be automatically generated. These policies can be used to measure the reliability of the explanations enabled by the PGs through a fair behavioural comparison between the original opaque agent and the surrogate one. The contributions of this paper represent the first use case of policy graphs in the context of explaining agent behaviour in cooperative multi-agent scenarios and present experimental results that sets this kind of scenario apart from previous implementations in single-agent scenarios: when requiring cooperative behaviour, predicates that allow representing observations about the other agents are crucial to replicate the opaque agent’s behaviour and increase the reliability of explanations.

Prevalence and heritability of parental-reported speech and/or language difficulties in a Swedish population-based twin sample.

Research on genetic and environmental influences on speech and/or language difficulties (SaLD) is sparse, with inconsistent heritability estimates. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of parental reported SaLD and the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors for the phenotype using a Swedish population-based twin sample. We hypothesized that there would be a stronger genetic than environmental effect on SaLD. Data were collected from The Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden. The study sample included 16,774 twin pairs (16,946 males, 16,602 females), of which 5141 were monozygotic, 5861 dizygotic (DZ), and 5772 opposite-sex DZ pairs. The language items in the Autism-Tics, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and other Comorbidities inventory were used to categorize individuals as having parental-reported SaLD. A classical twin design was used to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the liability of SaLD. The prevalence of SaLD was 7.85% (95% confidence interval (CI) [7.57%-8.15%]) and 7.27% (95% CI [6.99%-7.55%]) when excluding individuals with autism and intellectual disability (ID). We also found that SaLD were significantly more prevalent in males than females with a ratio of 2:1. The heritability was estimated to be 75% (95% CI [67%-83%]) for SaLD. Shared environment played a significant role with an estimated contribution of 22% (95% CI [14%-30%]). The heritability estimate was reduced to 70% but with overlapping CI when excluding individuals with autism and ID. We provide evidence that SaLD is common in the population and under strong genetic influence. Future studies should focus on mapping the genetic architecture of SaLD and related disorders.

Observation of millihertz-level cooperative Lamb shifts in an optical atomic clock.

Collective couplings of atomic dipoles to a shared electromagnetic environment produce a wide range of many-body phenomena. We report on the direct observation of resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions in a cubic array of atoms in the many-excitation limit. The interactions produce spatially dependent cooperative Lamb shifts when spectroscopically interrogating the millihertz-wide optical clock transition in strontium-87. We show that the ensemble-averaged shifts can be suppressed below the level of evaluated systematic uncertainties for optical atomic clocks. Additionally, we demonstrate that excitation of the atomic dipoles near a Bragg angle can enhance these effects by nearly an order of magnitude compared with nonresonant geometries. Our work demonstrates a platform for precise studies of the quantum many-body physics of spins with long-range interactions mediated by propagating photons.

Exploring the Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Salmonella and commensal Escherichia coli from Non-Traditional Companion Animals: A Pilot Study.

Companion animal ownership has evolved to new exotic animals, including small mammals, posing a new public health challenge, especially due to the ability of some of these new species to harbour zoonotic bacteria, such as Salmonella, and spread their antimicrobial resistances (AMR) to other bacteria through the environment they share. Therefore, the objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the current epidemiological AMR situation in commensal Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in non-traditional companion animal small mammals in the Valencia region. For this purpose, 72 rectal swabs of nine different species of small mammals were taken to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility against 28 antibiotics. A total of one Salmonella enterica serovar Telelkebir 13,23:d:e,n,z15 and twenty commensal E. coli strains were isolated. For E. coli strains, a high prevalence of AMR (85%) and MDR (82.6%) was observed, although neither of them had access outside the household. The highest AMR were observed in quinolones, one of the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs) in human medicine. However, no AMR were found for Salmonella. In conclusion, the results showed that small mammals' commensal E. coli poses a public health risk due to the high AMR found, and the ability of this bacterium to transmit its resistance genes to other bacteria. For this reason, this pilot study highlighted the need to establish programmes to control AMR trends in the growing population of new companion animals, as they could disseminate AMR to humans and animals through their shared environment.