Search Results (12)

Robotic systems increasingly operate in complex and distributed environments, where software deployment and orchestration pose major challenges. This paper presents a model-driven approach that automates the containerized deployment of robotic systems in Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) environments. Our solution integrates Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) with containerization technologies to improve scalability, reproducibility, and maintainability. A dedicated metamodel introduces high-level abstractions for describing deployment architectures, repositories, and container configurations. A web-based tool enables collaborative model editing, while an external deployment automator generates validated Docker and Compose artifacts to support seamless multi-host orchestration. We validated the approach through real-world experiments, which show that the method effectively automates deployment workflows, ensures consistency across development and production environments, and significantly reduces configuration effort. These results demonstrate that model-driven automation can bridge the gap between Software Engineering (SE) and robotics, enabling Software-Defined Robotics (SDR) and supporting scalable IoRT applications. Full article

In the context of the deep integration of digital art and geometric computing, this paper proposes a digital art pattern generation method with arbitrary quadrilateral tiling. The aim is to break through the limitations of traditional fixed tiling templates in terms of adaptability to irregular tiling shapes, controllability of local deformations, and naturalness of boundary transitions. By decoupling the topological stability of quadrilaterals from deformation parameters and combining the Coons surface interpolation method, a smooth invariant mapping for the fundamental region of arbitrary quadrilaterals is constructed, solving the seamless splicing problem of irregular fundamental region. This method supports real-time editing of quadrilateral shape and colors the fundamental region based on the dynamical system model to generate periodic seamless patterns with global symmetry and controllable local details. Experiments show that the proposed method can be adapted to any quadrilateral structure, from regular rectangles to non-convex polygons. By adjusting the interpolation parameters and dynamical system functions, the symmetry, texture complexity, and visual rhythm of the patterns can be flexibly regulated. The algorithm achieves efficient computation under GPU parallel optimization (with an average generation time of 0.25 s per pattern), providing a new solution for the pattern generation and personalized design of digital art patterns. Full article

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are central to food, feed, and health biotechnology, yet their genomes have long resisted rapid, precise manipulation. This review charts the evolution of LAB genome-editing strategies from labor-intensive RecA-dependent double-crossovers to state-of-the-art CRISPR and CRISPR-associated transposase systems. Native homologous recombination, transposon mutagenesis, and phage-derived recombineering opened the door to targeted gene disruption, but low efficiencies and marker footprints limited throughput. Recent phage RecT/RecE-mediated recombineering and CRISPR/Cas counter-selection now enable scar-less point edits, seamless deletions, and multi-kilobase insertions at efficiencies approaching model organisms. Endogenous Cas9 systems, dCas-based CRISPR interference, and CRISPR-guided transposases further extend the toolbox, allowing multiplex knockouts, precise single-base mutations, conditional knockdowns, and payloads up to 10 kb. The remaining hurdles include strain-specific barriers, reliance on selection markers for large edits, and the limited host-range of recombinases. Nevertheless, convergence of phage enzymes, CRISPR counter-selection and high-throughput oligo recombineering is rapidly transforming LAB into versatile chassis for cell-factory and therapeutic applications. Full article

CrystalShift is an open-source computational tool tailored for the analysis, transformation, and conversion of crystallographic data, with a particular emphasis on organic crystal structures. It offers a comprehensive suite of features valuable for the computational study of solids: format conversion, crystallographic basis transformation, atomic coordinate editing, and molecular layer analysis. These options are especially valuable for studying the mechanical properties of molecular crystals with potential applications in organic materials science. Written in the C programming language, CrystalShift offers computational efficiency and compatibility with widely used crystallographic formats such as CIF, POSCAR, and XYZ. It provides a command-line interface, enabling seamless integration into research workflows while addressing specific challenges in crystallography, such as handling non-standard file formats and robust error correction. CrystalShift may be applied for both in-depth study of particular crystal structure origins and the high-throughput conversion of crystallographic datasets prior to DFT calculations with periodic boundary conditions using VASP code. Full article

Video content is widely applied in the multimedia field. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence generative content (AIGC) is continuously developing. As a result, video editing techniques in the field of computer vision are constantly evolving. However, at present, there are still numerous challenges in achieving fine-grained local editing of videos and maintaining temporal consistency.In this paper, we propose a novel framework for local video editing that integrates image-based local editing techniques with CoDeF (Content Deformation Field). Unlike existing methods, our approach explicitly models temporal deformation, ensuring spatial precision in local edits while maintaining high temporal consistency. Our framework first utilizes CoDeF to generate canonical images that aggregate static video content while preserving semantic integrity. A dual diffusion-based local editing module is then applied to modify these canonical images with user-specified editing regions and reference images. Finally, the learned temporal deformation field propagates the edits back to the entire video, achieving coherent and seamless video editing. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art approaches in both editing quality and user satisfaction, offering a significant improvement in local precision and temporal stability. Full article

CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated with protein 9) was first identified as a component of the bacterial adaptive immune system and subsequently engineered into a genome-editing tool. The key breakthrough in this field came with the realization that CRISPR/Cas9 could be used in mammalian cells to enable transformative genetic editing. This technology has since become a vital tool for various genetic manipulations, including gene knockouts, knock-in point mutations, and gene regulation at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. CRISPR/Cas9 holds great potential in human medicine, particularly for curing genetic disorders. However, despite significant innovation and advancement in genome editing, the technology still possesses critical limitations, such as off-target effects, immunogenicity issues, ethical considerations, regulatory hurdles, and the need for efficient delivery methods. To overcome these obstacles, efforts have focused on creating more accurate and reliable Cas9 nucleases and exploring innovative delivery methods. Recently, functional biomaterials and synthetic carriers have shown great potential as effective delivery vehicles for CRISPR/Cas9 components. In this review, we attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of the existing CRISPR-Cas9 delivery strategies, including viral delivery, biomaterials-based delivery, synthetic carriers, and physical delivery techniques. We underscore the urgent need for effective delivery systems to fully unlock the power of CRISPR/Cas9 technology and realize a seamless transition from benchtop research to clinical applications. Full article

The Topographic Chart of the Kingdom of Poland (pol. Topograficzna Karta Królestwa Polskiego, commonly referred to as ‘the Quartermaster’s Map’, hereinafter: TKKP) is the first Polish modern topographic map of Poland (1:126,000, 1843). Cartographic historians acclaim its conception by the General Quartermaster of the Polish Army, noting its editorial principles and technical execution as exemplars of the early 19th-century cartographic standards. Today, it stands as a national heritage relic, furnishing invaluable insights into the former Polish Kingdom’s topography. Although extensively utilised in geographical and historical inquiries, the TKKP has yet to undergo a comprehensive geomatic investigation and publication as spatial data services. Primarily, this delay stems from the challenges of mosaicking and georeferencing its 60 constituent sheets, owing to the uncertain mathematical framework and irregular sheet cuts. In 2023, the authors embarked on rectifying this by creating a unified TKKP mosaic and georeferencing the map to contemporary reference data benchmarks. This endeavour involved scrutinising the map’s mathematical accuracy and verifying prior findings. The resultant product is accessible via the ‘Maps with the Past’ platform, developed by the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences The dissemination of raster data services adhering to OGC standards such as WMTS (Web Map Tile Service), ECW (Enhanced Compression Wavelet), and COG (Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF) facilitates the swift and seamless integration of the generated data into web and GIS tools. The digital edition of the TKKP emerges as a pivotal resource for investigations spanning natural and anthropogenic environmental transformations, sustainable development, and cultural heritage studies. Full article

Video fusion aims to synthesize video footage from different sources into a unified, coherent output. It plays a key role in areas such as video editing and special effects production. The challenge is to ensure the quality and naturalness of synthetic video, especially when dealing with footage of different sources and qualities. Researchers continue to strive to optimize algorithms to adapt to a variety of complex application scenarios and improve the effectiveness and applicability of video fusion. We introduce an algorithm based on a convolution pyramid and propose a 3D video fusion algorithm that looks for the potential function closest to the gradient field in the least square sense. The 3D Poisson equation is solved to realize seamless video editing. This algorithm uses a multi-scale method and wavelet transform to approximate linear time. Through numerical optimization, a small core is designed to deal with large target filters, and multi-scale transformation analysis and synthesis are realized. In terms of seamless video fusion, it shows better performance than existing algorithms. Compared with editing multiple 2D images into video after Poisson fusion, the video quality produced by this method is very close, and the computing speed of the video fusion is improved to a certain extent. Full article

In this manuscript, we present EventGeoScout, an innovative framework for collaborative geographic information management, tailored to meet the needs of the dynamically changing landscape of geographic data integration and quality enhancement. EventGeoScout enables the seamless fusion of open data from different sources and provides users with the tools to refine and improve data quality. A distinctive feature of our framework is its commitment to platform-agnostic data management, ensuring that processed datasets are accessible via standard Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, reducing the maintenance burden on organizations while ensuring the continued relevance of the data. Our approach goes beyond the boundaries of traditional data integration, enabling users to fully harness the power of geospatial information by simplifying the data creation process and providing a versatile solution to the complex challenges posed by layered geospatial data. To demonstrate the versatility and robustness of EventGeoScout as an optimization tool, we present a case study centered on the Uncapacitated Facility Location Problem (UFLP), where a genetic algorithm was used to achieve outstanding performance on both traditional computing platforms and smartphone devices. As a concrete case study, we applied our solution in the context of the Málaga City Marathon, using the latest data from the last edition of the marathon. Full article

Recently, text-driven video editing has received increasing attention due to the surprising success of the text-to-image model in improving video quality. However, video editing based on the text prompt is facing huge challenges in achieving precise and controllable editing. Herein, we propose Latent prompt Image-driven Video Editing (LIVE) with a precise and controllable video editing function. The important innovation of LIVE is to utilize the latent codes from reference images as latent prompts to rapidly enrich visual details. The novel latent prompt mechanism endows two powerful capabilities for LIVE: one is a comprehensively interactive ability between video frame and latent prompt in the spatial and temporal dimensions, achieved by revisiting and enhancing cross-attention, and the other is the efficient expression ability of training continuous input videos and images within the diffusion space by fine-tuning various components such as latent prompts, textual embeddings, and LDM parameters. Therefore, LIVE can efficiently generate various edited videos with visual consistency by seamlessly replacing the objects in each frame with user-specified targets. The high-definition experimental results from real-world videos not only confirmed the effectiveness of LIVE but also demonstrated important potential application prospects of LIVE in image-driven video editing. Full article

CRISPR-Cas technology has rapidly changed life science research and human medicine. The ability to add, remove, or edit human DNA sequences has transformative potential for treating congenital and acquired human diseases. The timely maturation of the cell and gene therapy ecosystem and its seamless integration with CRISPR-Cas technologies has enabled the development of therapies that could potentially cure not only monogenic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy, but also complex heterogenous diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Here, we review the current landscape of clinical trials involving the use of various CRISPR-Cas systems as therapeutics for human diseases, discuss challenges, and explore new CRISPR-Cas-based tools such as base editing, prime editing, CRISPR-based transcriptional regulation, CRISPR-based epigenome editing, and RNA editing, each promising new functionality and broadening therapeutic potential. Finally, we discuss how the CRISPR-Cas system is being used to understand the biology of human diseases through the generation of large animal disease models used for preclinical testing of emerging therapeutics. Full article

Cupriavidus nantongensis X1^T is a type strain of the genus Cupriavidus, that can degrade eight kinds of organophosphorus insecticides (OPs). Conventional genetic manipulations in Cupriavidus species are time-consuming, difficult, and hard to control. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/associated protein 9 (Cas9) system has emerged as a powerful tool for genome editing applied in prokaryotes and eukaryotes due to its simplicity, efficiency, and accuracy. Here, we combined CRISPR/Cas9 with the Red system to perform seamless genetic manipulation in the X1^T strain. Two plasmids, pACasN and pDCRH were constructed. The pACasN plasmid contained Cas9 nuclease and Red recombinase, and the pDCRH plasmid contained the dual single-guide RNA (sgRNA) of organophosphorus hydrolase (OpdB) in the X1^T strain. For gene editing, two plasmids were transferred to the X1^T strain and a mutant strain in which genetic recombination had taken place, resulting in the targeted deletion of opdB. The incidence of homologous recombination was over 30%. Biodegradation experiments suggested that the opdB gene was responsible for the catabolism of organophosphorus insecticides. This study was the first to use the CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene targeting in the genus Cupriavidus, and it furthered our understanding of the process of degradation of organophosphorus insecticides in the X1^T strain. Full article