Computer vision is used in many sectors for its ability to monitor and analyze visual data in ways that extend past what human vision can do. This includes the medical, agricultural, and industrial sectors where, for example, early tumor detection, early pest detection and fine quality control can save both money and, most importantly, lives. For computer vision one of the most challenging functions is camouflage object detection (COD), the ability to recognize, identify and analyse an object in an image or video that is difficult to differentiate from its background. Since 2023 there has been a surge in research on COD in conjunction with the use of deep learning, a type of machine learning. This has created a large pool of research that has not yet been surveyed. To address this a research group at Duke University and Tsinghua University has undertaken an extensive review of the COD literature to catalogue, review and analyze the current state of the field. 

Cortinarius species are widely distributed in the world and constitute a diverse group of ectomycorrhizal fungi that are associated with a broad range of plant hosts. The species diversity of this genus has been investigated in China, but it remains poorly understood, especially in subtropical regions. In this study, one new section, six novel species, one new combination, one new name, and one new record of Cortinarius are reported from subtropical China based on the morphological and molecular evidences. Cortinarius lilacinicarpus, C. sinocalaisopus, C. sinosalor, and C. vividus spp. nov., C. orientisalor nom. nov., and C. illibatus are typical species of the section Delibuti. Cortinarius macroflavicapus sp. nov. belongs to Macroflavicapi sect. nov., a new section in the subgenus Dermocybe. Cortinarius tianbaoyanensis sp. nov. and C. dryadicola comb. nov. belong to section Spilomei. Detailed descriptions, basidiocarps, and microscopic photographs are provided for these species. In addition, C. leptospermorum comb. nov. in section Pauperae, subgenus Dermocybe is proposed.

A new study published in Forest Ecosystems highlights the growing wildfire risk posed by standing dead trees in Yellowstone National Park. Using advanced machine learning and spatial analysis, the researchers mapped tree mortality and assessed the vulnerability of nearby infrastructure, offering valuable insights for fire management and wildfire mitigation efforts in high-risk areas.

In this issue of hLife, the team led by Prof. Min Wang from Ocean University of China systematically mined and characterized the diversity of viral reverse transcriptases from global metagenomic datasets. Viral reverse transcriptases are not only encoded by pathogenic retroviruses; their vast diversity is hidden in the genomes of ubiquitous bacteriophages, which are widely distributed in the human gut microbiomes and various ecosystems on Earth. This study is expected to shed light on their critical roles in microbial ecology and evolution, offering valuable insights for future antiviral strategies and biotechnological applications.

For reusable rockets, the precision landing on Earth is very challenging. In atmospheric reentry flight, the rockets are subjected to disturbing conditions, mainly including engine thrust fluctuation, aerodynamic uncertainty, and winds, which severely decrease landing accuracy and fuel efficiency. Although the reusable rockets have achieved successful landing and recovery in recent years, the disturbance rejection issue of endoatmospheric powered descent guidance has not been systematically addressed in the field of advanced guidance and control, highlighting an important aspect of ongoing research.

Standing detonation engines have emerged as the prime power source for highspeed vehicles. While current detonation flow field designs have demonstrated their effectiveness, several hurdles still remain. These include the limited geometric utilization of the combustion chamber and the lack of seamless integration with existing highspeed aerodynamic designs. Selecting the right basic detonation flow field is paramount to enhancing the performance and refining the geometric design of standing detonation vehicles.

Multiphase composition design and entropy engineering control are promising strategies to improve the properties of ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs). In this study, spark plasma sintering was used to prepare fully dense dual-phase (Zr, Hf, Ta)B₂-(Zr, Hf, Ta)C ceramics from self-synthesized equimolar medium-entropy diboride and carbide powders. The obtained ceramics comprised two distinct solid solution phases, the Zr-rich diboride phase and the Ta-rich carbide phase, indicating metal element exchange occurred between the starting equimolar medium-entropy diboride and carbide during sintering. The chemical driving force originating from the metal element exchange during the sintering process is considered to promote the densification process of the ceramics. The metal element exchange between the medium-entropy diboride and carbide phase significantly increased Young’s modulus of the dual-phase ceramics. Owing to the mutual grain-boundary pinning effect, fine-grained dual-phase ceramics were obtained. The dual-phase medium-entropy 50 vol.% (Zr, Hf, Ta)B₂-50 vol.% (Zr, Hf, Ta)C ceramics with the smallest grain size exhibited the highest hardness of 22.4 ± 0.2 GPa. It is inferred that optimized comprehensive properties or performance of dual-phase high-entropy or medium-entropy UHTCs can be achieved by adjusting both the volume content and the metal element composition of the corresponding starting powders of diborides and carbides.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a bacterial density-dependent gene expression mechanism that involves the binding of receptors and autoinducers to govern pathogenic bacteria (swarming, swimming, and biofilm formation) by producing virulence factors, which can diminish antibiotic efficacy. This novel concept may broaden the usage of antibiotics while preventing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans. So in this investigation, the authors developed, synthesized, and evaluated β-nitrostyrenes derivatives to identify a new class of Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) against S. marcescens. Through QS inhibitory screening of β-nitrostyrene derivatives, m-NPe was identified as a potent QSI against S. marcescens, and it could be employed in clinical trials to partially restore or increase drug sensitivity. Therefore, m-NPe has the potential to be developed as an effective and efficient QSI and antibiofilm agent for treating microbial infection and can evolve as an alternative clinical drug in the future.