Tootfinder

(PDF) Neural mechanisms underlying intracortical microstimulation for sensory restoration https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025…

I spent Friday trying to hack into a customer box in India. They need support but have "secured" the system beyond the reach of the access mechanisms they have offered. None of the 4 different VPN’s we operate for their US operations can reach the box directly, so I must RDP into a domain controller in Mumbai, which they replaced without telling us. After finally getting to the box, none of the dozen passwords they’ve provided over the years work.
Definitely billable hours. <…

Lets Encrypt for IP addresses \o/
https://letsencrypt.org/2026/01/15/6day-and-ip-general-availability.html

Good article, makes you think 🤔
"How AI Destroys Institutions"
#ai

Witkoff reveals cards: defense mechanisms & economic deal for Ukraine at final stage: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/07/witkoff-reveals-cards-defense-mechanisms.html

Theo Jansen still at it with full force... (life goals!)
Strandbeest evolution 2025
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ANhA94ZqnEQ
...and obligatory re-sharing of some pics of our joint generative design workshop in 2013, incl. Theo's graveyard of older Strandbeests and mechanisms:
…

The Inheritance: When the Body Remembers What the Mind Cannot
Some secrets do not stay buried. They write themselves into blood and bone. They pass from grandmother to mother to daughter through mechanisms we are only beginning to understand. The Inheritance, the second novel in the Fractional Fiction series, asks what happens when a scientist trained to study transgenerational trauma in laboratory mice discovers that the patterns she has been mapping exist in her own…

The Inheritance: When the Body Remembers What the Mind Cannot | David Boles, Blogs
Some secrets do not stay buried. They write themselves into blood and bone. They pass from grandmother to mother to daughter through mechanisms we are only beginning to understand. The Inheritance,…

Scientists shocked as bumblebees learn to read simple “Morse code” #bee

Scientists shocked as bumblebees learn to read simple “Morse code”
In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists found that bumblebees can tell the difference between short and long light flashes, much like recognizing Morse code. The insects learned which signal led to a sweet reward, demonstrating an unexpected sense of timing. This ability may stem from a fundamental neural process, suggesting that even tiny brains have complex time-tracking mechanisms relevant to evolution and AI.

😵‍💫 Targeted ultrasound can shape the brain's reward-seeking mechanisms
#ultrasound

Targeted ultrasound can shape the brain's reward-seeking mechanisms
The nucleus accumbens is a tiny element of the human brain triggered when we experience something enjoyable, and used to help us learn behaviors that lead to rewards. A new study has shown for the first time that its influence on human behavior can be altered using transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS).

Decoding AGN Feedback with X-arithmetic - From Morphology to Physical Mechanisms: #GalaxyClusters by Numbers (and Physics): https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2025/xa/

Non-invasive technology can shape the brain's reward-seeking mechanisms https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/non-invasive-technology-can-shape-the-brains-reward-seeking-mechanisms Non-invasive ultrasonic neuromodulation of the human …

Non-invasive technology can shape the brain’s reward-seeking mechanisms
University of Plymouth news: New research led by the University of Plymouth has found that targeted ultrasound can be used to change the function of a...

OpenAI releases a blueprint the company hopes lawmakers will use in crafting safety standards for teens using AI, with five suggestions for AI companies (Ashley Gold/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/06/openai-blueprint-teen-ai-safety-standards

Exclusive: OpenAI unveils blueprint for teen AI safety standards
OpenAI is trying to get ahead of criticism — and shape the norms for teens' use — by touting its new safety mechanisms to policymakers.

Fascinating analysis by Aurel Sari on mechanisms to effectively suspend a #NATO member (or lack thereof).
https://www.justsecurity.org/66574/can-turkey-be-expelled-from-nato/

Can Turkey be Expelled from NATO? It's Legally Possible, Whether or Not Politically Prudent
The absence of a specific mechanism in the North Atlantic Treaty does not prevent suspending or terminating an ally's membership.

@… DOCSIS has some really crazy mechanisms for QoS when your segment is congested, I really can‘t quite believe that‘s what you’re seeing in your rural area, though.
Are you running a DOCSIS 3.1 capable modem? What are your upstream measurements like? All channels running on proper modulation modes?

Meta-learning three-factor plasticity rules for structured credit assignment with sparse feedback
Dimitra Maoutsa
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09366 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.09366 https://arxiv.org/html/2512.09366
arXiv:2512.09366v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Biological neural networks learn complex behaviors from sparse, delayed feedback using local synaptic plasticity, yet the mechanisms enabling structured credit assignment remain elusive. In contrast, artificial recurrent networks solving similar tasks typically rely on biologically implausible global learning rules or hand-crafted local updates. The space of local plasticity rules capable of supporting learning from delayed reinforcement remains largely unexplored. Here, we present a meta-learning framework that discovers local learning rules for structured credit assignment in recurrent networks trained with sparse feedback. Our approach interleaves local neo-Hebbian-like updates during task execution with an outer loop that optimizes plasticity parameters via \textbf{tangent-propagation through learning}. The resulting three-factor learning rules enable long-timescale credit assignment using only local information and delayed rewards, offering new insights into biologically grounded mechanisms for learning in recurrent circuits.
toXiv_bot_toot

Selling Privacy in Blockchain Transactions
Georgios Chionas, Olga Gorelkina, Piotr Krysta, Rida Laraki
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08096 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.08096 https://arxiv.org/html/2512.08096
arXiv:2512.08096v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: We study methods to enhance privacy in blockchain transactions from an economic angle. We consider mechanisms for privacy-aware users whose utility depends not only on the outcome of the mechanism but also negatively on the exposure of their economic preferences. Specifically, we study two auction-theoretic settings with privacy-aware users. First, we analyze an order flow auction, where a user auctions off to specialized agents, called searchers, the right to execute her transaction while maintaining a degree of privacy. We examine how the degree of privacy affects the revenue of the auction and, broadly, the net utility of the privacy-aware user. In this new setting, we describe the optimal auction, which is a sealed-bid auction. Subsequently, we analyze a variant of a Dutch auction in which the user gradually decreases the price and the degree of privacy until the transaction is sold. We compare the revenue of this auction to that of the optimal one as a function of the number of communication rounds. Then, we introduce a two-sided market - a privacy marketplace - with multiple users selling their transactions under their privacy preferences to multiple searchers. We propose a posted-price mechanism for the two-sided market that guarantees constant approximation of the optimal social welfare while maintaining incentive compatibility (from both sides of the market) and budget balance. This work builds on the emerging line of research that attempts to improve the performance of economic mechanisms by appending cryptographic primitives to them.
toXiv_bot_toot

Latching mechanisms are so fucking cool! Especially the ones that do not rely on gravity.

Can you guess which country's EV charging strategy prioritises market-based price signals to guide charging and discharging?
#V2G

I made a small thing. Just a little automated masto account @… to track updates to 7-Zip and RAR (WinRAR).
Why!? 🤔 These types of archiving tools are very handy but have been known to have security issues (both had exploits last year). Plus they don't always provide automatic update mechanisms on most platforms. 😉
It …

(2024) Rapid desensitization to retinally stabilized flickering stimuli https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2797077 To the extent that mechanisms for perceptual fading are in the brain it could have consequences for visual cortical prostheses.

Non-Gravitational Acceleration in 3I ATLAS: Constraints on Exotic Volatile Outgassing in Interstellar Comets
Florian Neukart
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07450 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.07450 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.07450
arXiv:2511.07450v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS exhibited a measurable nongravitational acceleration similar in form to that of 1I/'Oumuamua but of smaller magnitude. Using thermophysical and Monte Carlo models, we show that this acceleration can be fully explained by anisotropic outgassing of conventional volatiles, primarily CO and CO2, under realistic surface and rotational conditions. The model includes diurnal and obliquity-averaged energy balance, empirical vapor-pressure relations, and collimated jet emission from localized active regions. Mixed CO-CO2 compositions reproduce both the magnitude and direction of the observed acceleration with physically plausible active fractions below one percent for nucleus radii between 0.5 and 3 km. Less volatile species such as NH3 and CH4 underproduce thrust at equilibrium temperatures near 1 AU. These results eliminate the need for nonphysical or exotic explanations and define thermophysical limits for natural acceleration mechanisms in interstellar comets.
toXiv_bot_toot

One of the banks I use apparently doesn't have any customer support mechanisms beyond an AI chatbot. I just want to know why I don't see my damn welcome bonus!

Ontology is shaping up to be the buzzword of 2026 because they are offering what #LLMs are lacking: formal grounding
LLMs offer creativity but need logical grounding. Ontologies provide this formal structure, anchoring meaning and unifying diverse data sources into a single semantic layer. They are essential for achieving precision and are one of the most reliable defense mechanisms against

There was a writer in 'Life' magazine ... who claimed that rabbits have
no memory, which is one of their defensive mechanisms. If they recalled
every close shave they had in the course of just an hour life would become
insupportable.
-- Kurt Vonnegut

Teaching students simple #WebScraping was always quite rewarding. It opens up numerous relevant, real-world data sources that are the foundation for any further analysis. Things already got more complicated with dynamic content loading, but now bot-exclusion-mechanisms make it almost impossible in many cases. Is web scraping for the

Layer-Resolved Impurity States Reveal Competing Pairing Mechanisms in Trilayer Nickelate Superconductor La$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10}$
Suyin Zheng, Tao Zhou
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.07636

Replaced article(s) found for q-bio.NC. https://arxiv.org/list/q-bio.NC/new
[1/1]:
- State-space kinetic Ising model reveals task-dependent entropy flow in sparsely active nonequilib...
Ken Ishihara, Hideaki Shimazaki
https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.15440 https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_qbioNC_bot/114057779012161849
- Mechanisms for anesthesia, unawareness, respiratory depression, memory replay and sleep: MHb > IP...
Karin Vadovi\v{c}ov\'a
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.04454 https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_qbioNC_bot/115167812677714466
- Meta-learning three-factor plasticity rules for structured credit assignment with sparse feedback
Dimitra Maoutsa
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09366 https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_qbioNC_bot/115699940165988688
- Prefrontal scaling of reward prediction error readout gates reinforcement-derived adaptive behavi...
Sang, Huang, Zhong, Wang, Yu, Li, Feng, Wang, Chai, Menon, Wang, Fang, Wang
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09761 https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_qbioNC_bot/115700046994546552
- Proof of a perfect platonic representation hypothesis
Liu Ziyin, Isaac Chuang
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.01098 https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_csLG_bot/114788750477759162
toXiv_bot_toot

(paywalled) Appropriation of perceptual prostheses: an enactive approach to spatial perception https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-91550-5_2 "analysis of the mechanisms of perception through perceptual prostheses", "A coupling device which is…

Appropriation of Perceptual Prostheses: An Enactive Approach to Spatial Perception
This chapter presents an analysis of the mechanisms of perception through perceptual prostheses. Using minimalist devices, we gain a better understanding of possible explanations for the appropriation of the prosthesis and the type of perception it affords. In...

Increased Covalence and V-center mediated Dark Fenton-Like Reactions in V-doped TiO2: Mechanisms of Enhanced Charge-Transfer
Manju Kumari, Dilip Sasmal, Suresh Chandra Baral, Maneesha P, Poonam Singh, Abdelkrim Mekki, Khalil Harrabi, Somaditya Sen
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.24219

Weighted Stochastic Differential Equation to Implement Wasserstein-Fisher-Rao Gradient Flow
Herlock Rahimi
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17878 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.17878 https://arxiv.org/html/2512.17878
arXiv:2512.17878v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Score-based diffusion models currently constitute the state of the art in continuous generative modeling. These methods are typically formulated via overdamped or underdamped Ornstein--Uhlenbeck-type stochastic differential equations, in which sampling is driven by a combination of deterministic drift and Brownian diffusion, resulting in continuous particle trajectories in the ambient space. While such dynamics enjoy exponential convergence guarantees for strongly log-concave target distributions, it is well known that their mixing rates deteriorate exponentially in the presence of nonconvex or multimodal landscapes, such as double-well potentials. Since many practical generative modeling tasks involve highly non-log-concave target distributions, considerable recent effort has been devoted to developing sampling schemes that improve exploration beyond classical diffusion dynamics.
A promising line of work leverages tools from information geometry to augment diffusion-based samplers with controlled mass reweighting mechanisms. This perspective leads naturally to Wasserstein--Fisher--Rao (WFR) geometries, which couple transport in the sample space with vertical (reaction) dynamics on the space of probability measures. In this work, we formulate such reweighting mechanisms through the introduction of explicit correction terms and show how they can be implemented via weighted stochastic differential equations using the Feynman--Kac representation. Our study provides a preliminary but rigorous investigation of WFR-based sampling dynamics, and aims to clarify their geometric and operator-theoretic structure as a foundation for future theoretical and algorithmic developments.
toXiv_bot_toot

MAN Trucks and EDF in France have launched an electric truck package that guarantees price parity with the diesel equivalent. Smart charging plays a key role in reducing energy costs by 30–50%.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaapburger_

Is a battery-electric truck achieving cost parity with a diesel truck possible? Yes, that's the guarantee offered by MAN Truck & Bus France in a new package together with EDF. Smart charging plays a… | Jaap Burger
Is a battery-electric truck achieving cost parity with a diesel truck possible? Yes, that's the guarantee offered by MAN Truck & Bus France in a new package together with EDF. Smart charging plays a key role in this. Under the Energy Savings Certificates (CEE) scheme, EDF pays a bonus of up to 25% of the vehicle's price. Changes to the taxation system allow the price difference to a diesel truck to be depreciated more quickly. These changes, along with several other mechanisms, bring costs dow…

Door Dasher Life Fun Facts: This might be useful to think of when you're rating your Dasher.... Who's at fault in this situation?
Let's say I accept an offer for McDonalds.
I head straight there... pull up to the store, and as I walk in the app buzzes again with a 2nd order for the same McDs.
Naturally, I accept. (not accepting reduces my Acceptance rate and potentially my ability to get new offers).
Now I have two orders at the same place! Great! Efficient!
The first order comes up quickly, I put it in my bag, 'pick it up' in the app, and wait for the 2nd order.
Now the fun begins. The restaurant says the 2nd order will be 10 minutes beyond the pickup time. I notify the app, and both customers of the wait... and I wait... and wait... if I remove the 2nd order from my app it affects my completion rate *and* means the customer has to wait for another dasher to come along.
Eventually the 2nd order is ready and I head out to make the deliveries. Both of course now late.. the first potentially cold (even in an insulated bag) *and* late.
In addition, sometimes, often a day or two later, the dasher will receive a “Contract Violation” for the lateness. 3 Contract Violations in a short period and you can be deactivated.
So... there ya go. It happens. I'm never sure what the best course of action is... unless both orders are immediately ready, which you can never predict, someone will end up losing; the store, customer, dasher, or a mix of all three.
#DasherLife #GigWork #DoorDash #Uber
P.S. It's worth noting that Door Dash is the only service I know of that is this strict. Uber Eats does not have mechanisms like this (at least in my experience). Never used Skip, so can't say on that.

Manifolds and Modules: How Function Develops in a Neural Foundation Model
Johannes Bertram, Luciano Dyballa, T. Anderson Keller, Savik Kinger, Steven W. Zucker
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.07869 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.07869 https://arxiv.org/html/2512.07869
arXiv:2512.07869v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Foundation models have shown remarkable success in fitting biological visual systems; however, their black-box nature inherently limits their utility for under- standing brain function. Here, we peek inside a SOTA foundation model of neural activity (Wang et al., 2025) as a physiologist might, characterizing each 'neuron' based on its temporal response properties to parametric stimuli. We analyze how different stimuli are represented in neural activity space by building decoding man- ifolds, and we analyze how different neurons are represented in stimulus-response space by building neural encoding manifolds. We find that the different processing stages of the model (i.e., the feedforward encoder, recurrent, and readout modules) each exhibit qualitatively different representational structures in these manifolds. The recurrent module shows a jump in capabilities over the encoder module by 'pushing apart' the representations of different temporal stimulus patterns; while the readout module achieves biological fidelity by using numerous specialized feature maps rather than biologically plausible mechanisms. Overall, we present this work as a study of the inner workings of a prominent neural foundation model, gaining insights into the biological relevance of its internals through the novel analysis of its neurons' joint temporal response patterns.
toXiv_bot_toot

Mechanisms of Resistive Switching in 2D Monolayer and Multilayer Materials
M. Kaniselvan, Y. R. Jeon, M. Mladenovi\'c, M. Luisier, D. Akinwande
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.21242

Setting up for failure: automatic discovery of the neural mechanisms of cognitive errors
Puria Radmard, Paul M. Bays, M\'at\'e Lengyel
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.04808 h…

Triangular neural synchronization patterns in visual impairment: A comprehensive case series exploring multi-node network dynamics and the Neural Triangle Index (NTI) https://www.

Triangular Neural Synchronization Patterns in Visual Impairment: A Comprehensive Case Series Exploring Multi-node Network Dynamics and the Neural Triangle Index
Background: Compensatory neural plasticity in visual impairment involves complex reorganization of multi-node networks that goes beyond conventional bilateral connection analysis. Triangular synchronization patterns, representing coordinated activity among three cortical sites simultaneously, remain unexplored despite their potential to reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying compensatory neuroplasticity. Objective: This study aimed to conduct a case series examining triangular neural synchro…

There were actually a lot of good recommendations from that Committee report, the one on PR was just the final one! Here's a few more.. including some that local #Fediverse proponents could dig into! @… was on the Committee.
—>FEDI ADVANTAGE<— “The Committee heard about a number of issues related to
the electoral information environment. Members recommend
that the provincial government collaborate with Elections
BC and the federal government to review existing legislative
and regulatory measures related to misinformation,
disinformation, and hate speech during elections, including
**mechanisms to ensure the timely removal of harmful content** (**emphasis added)”
—> FEDI ADVANTAGE<— “To better address challenges associated with social media and emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence, Members recommend establishing a working group to propose amendments to BC’s privacy and election legislation. To better protect all users, the Committee recommends requiring digital platforms to act with a duty of care and establish clear safety-related requirements such as data privacy, platform design, and content policy. The Committee also heard about concerns regarding foreign interference, and recommends that these be considered by the Electoral Integrity Working Group.”
—The Committee heard about the critical importance of
civic education to ensure the public’s understanding of
democratic institutions, processes, and participation. The
Committee recommends strengthening civic education
in the K-12 school system with input from experts and a
greater emphasis on applied learning.
— the Committee suggests enhancing data collection by requiring proactive enumeration on an annual basis and ensuring that registered parties and candidates can access poll-by-poll results. Elections BC should review and improve
voter registration practices and communication, as well as
access to and public awareness of voting opportunities. With respect to expanding voter eligibility, the Committee supports further examination of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds as well as permanent residents in BC.
— Committee Members recommend modernizing the candidate nominator verification process, requiring Elections BC to collect and share voters’ contact information with registered political parties and candidates, and strengthening measures related to access to multi-unit buildings for candidates and their campaigns.
Full report to the Legislature: #BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #ElectoralReform #Democracy #ProportionalRepresentation #Polarization

The psychology of collective abandonment https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/harnessing-hybrid-intelligence/202511/the-psychology-of-collective-abandonment Why we choose

The Psychology of Collective Abandonment
What psychological mechanisms allow us to pour hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence while 600 million people will live in extreme poverty by 2030?