Ray tracing cores are specialized units in modern GPUs designed to accelerate real-time ray tracing, enhancing rendering in gaming, animation, and visualization. Beyond graphics, recent research has explored repurposing these cores to solve non-graphical problems by reformulating them as geometric queries, leveraging the inherent parallelism of ray tracing. Although successful in specific cases, these applications lack a clear pattern, and the conditions under which RT cores can provide computational benefits are still not clearly understood. The objective of this literature review is to examine diverse applications of ray tracing cores in general-purpose computation, identifying common features, performance gains, and limitations. By categorizing these efforts, the review aims to provide guidance on the types of problems that can effectively exploit ray tracing hardware beyond traditional rendering tasks. This is achieved with a bibliometric review based on 59 research articles indexed in Scopus, and a systematic literature review on 35 of them which propose new RT solutions and compare them with state-of-the-art methods to solve 32 distinct problems, in some works achieving up to 200× speedup. Most of the problems analyzed in this work have applications in physics simulations and in solving some geometric queries, but problems with potential applications in databases and AI can also be found. Analyzing the characteristics of the problems, it was found that nearest neighbor search, including its variants, benefit the most from ray tracing cores as well as problems that rely on heuristic to diminish the necessary work. This is aligned with the biggest strength of RT cores; discarding tree branches when traversing a tree to avoid unnecessary work. Also, it was found that many short-length rays should be preferred over a few large rays. The results found in this work can serve as a guide for knowing beforehand which applications are better potential candidates to benefit from RT Core computation.
Migration represents one of the most energetically demanding phases in the life cycle of long-distance migratory birds. Pre-migratory fattening is a critical preparatory stage characterized by hyperphagia, rapid fat accumulation, organ remodelling, and immune modulation. Although the gut microbiome has been recognized as a key contributor to these physiological adaptations, the role of the gut virome remains poorly understood. In this study, the diversity, functional potential, and temporal dynamics of the gut DNA virome in a trans-hemispheric migratory shorebird, the Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica), were assessed during pre-migratory fattening. Adult individuals were maintained under controlled aviary conditions for 15 weeks during the preparation for northbound migration, and faecal samples were collected at two distinct physiological time points: at the beginning and the end of pre-migratory fattening. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed 798 high-quality viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), the majority of which were bacteriophages (92%). Potential functional annotation identified auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) associated with nucleotide metabolism, redox balance, and host adaptation. Although overall gut virome diversity did not differ between stages, significant changes in potential functional profiles of phages were observed, especially during the final stage of fattening when energy demands are at their highest. In addition to bacteriophages, we report two divergent adenoviruses potentially associated with the Siadenovirus and Aviadenovirus genera. These findings suggest that dynamic viral communities may play underrecognized roles in supporting host physiology during energetically costly life stages.
In this study, we analysed the genome of Radiobacillus sp. PE A8.2, an endospore-forming bacterium isolated from the surface of the Antarctic red seaweed Pyropia endiviifolia. Combined 16 S rRNA gene phylogeny and phylogenomic analyses, including Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI), indicate that strain PE A8.2 represents a putative novel species within the rare genus Radiobacillus. The PE A8.2 genome is a circular chromosome of 5.18 Mb in size. Annotated genes were primarily associated with core metabolic processes, and the abundance of transporter systems and regulatory enzymes highlights a strong capacity for substrate uptake and metabolic versatility. Additionally, we discovered a circular plasmid of approximately 10 kb, which contains multiple carbohydrate-active genes, suggesting a potential role in polysaccharide degradation. The PE A8.2 genome putatively encodes 220 CAZyme genes. Moreover, PE A8.2 is distinguished by a rich complement of CAZymes associated with algal polysaccharide degradation, including several glycoside hydrolase families linked to carrageenan, a trait rarely reported in Gram-positive bacteria. As a putative novel species, Radiobacillus sp. PE A8.2 represents a valuable resource for biotechnology, particularly for the discovery of new carbohydrate-degrading enzymes.
Anion exchange has been recognized as one of the most effective approaches for mediating the spontaneous formation of mixed-halide perovskite nanocrystals (MHPs) with tunable optical properties and color quality. However, the difference in the diffusion capability of halides, specifically between bromide and iodide species, into MHPs makes these materials prone to halide deficiency, which deteriorates their structural integrity and stability. In this work, we studied the surface passivation and composition engineering by introducing a dinuclear calcium-iodide scorpionate complex (CaISC) dispersed into different organic solvents such as chloroform, dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, and acetonitrile, which favor or hinder the I-for-Br exchange process between this ligand and native CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs). By analyzing the CaISC content and the nature of the solvent, we are able to efficiently promote halide exchange, also generating an intermediate mononuclear Ca2+ complex, favoring Ca2+ doping and the diffusion of a high density of iodide species for triggering Pb2+ and halide defect compensation. From this strategy, suitable CaISC-capped CsPbBr3-xIx PNCs active layers were prepared for the fabrication of efficient down-light converters, with operational stability up to 480 h. This contribution offers an alternative for the processing of stable multicolor PNCs with facile modulation of their photophysical properties, making them adequate for the fabrication of future LED technologies.
The objective of this study is to examine the progress of decentralization in recent years and its relationship to the influence of elites in Chile. The research combines two methods: archival research and semi-structured interviews. Indeed, this paper offers a new theoretical contribution that highlights the elite features of decentralization and is grounded in the theory of multilevel governance by Hooghe and Marks, as well as its critiques. This paper concludes that decentralization and regional democratic governance have evolved depending on the ruling political elite and have been favored in the current political context in Chile.
