Abstract

Owing to the low brightness, low contrast, and high labeling difficulty of night-time vehicle images, night-time vehicle model recognition (NVMR) faces significant challenges. To address these challenges, this paper proposes the Night-time Vehicle Model Recognition (DA-NVMR) method based on domain adaptation theory and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). The proposed method realizes the NVMR based on the VMR model trained on daytime vehicle images. In DA-NVMR, a Domain Adaption Network (DANet) is designed to find the mapping between night-time vehicle images and daytime vehicle images. The DANet consists of two modules: the decomposition module and conversion module. The decomposition module decomposes the vehicle images into reflectance images and illumination images. The conversion module realizes the conversion between the illumination of the night-time and daytime vehicle images. Experiments based on the simulated night-time vehicle dataset and real night-time vehicle dataset confirmed that DA-NVMR can effectively identify night-time vehicle models. Compared with other low-light image enhancement methods and domain adaptation methods, the Top-1 recognition accuracy of the proposed method improved by at least 2% and 1%, respectively.

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been extensively studied in tumor development and treatment. CircZNF609 (hsa_circ_0000615) has been shown to serve as an oncogene in all kinds of solid tumors and may act as the novel biomarker in tumor diagnosis and therapy in tumor early diagnosis and therapy. However, the underlying character and mechanism of circZNF609 in cisplatin chemosensitivity and bladder cancer (BCa) development were unknown. The expression level of cell division cycle 25B (CDC25B), microRNA 1200 (miR-1200), and circZNF609 in BCa cells and tissues depended on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CDC25B protein level was assayed with Western blot. Functional assays in vitro and in vivo had been conducted to inspect the important role of circZNF609 on BCa progression and cisplatin chemosensitivity in BCa. RNA sequencing and online databases were used to predict the interactions among circZNF609, miR-1200, and CDC25B. Mechanistic exploration was confirmed by RNA pull-down assay, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Dual luciferase reporter assay. CircZNF609 expression was increased significantly in BCa cell lines and tissues. For BCa patients, increased expression of circZNF609 was correlated with a worse survival. In vitro and in vivo, enforced expression of circZNF609 enhanced BCa cells proliferation, migration, and cisplatin chemoresistance. Mechanistically, circZNF609 alleviated the inhibition effect on target CDC25B expression by sponging miR-1200. CircZNF609 promoted tumor growth through novel circZNF609/miR-1200/CDC25B axis, implying that circZNF609 has significant potential to act as a new diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target in BCa.

Abstract

Magnetic anastomosis substantially shortens the duration of vascular anastomosis. We aimed to apply magnetic anastomosis technology (MAT) to donor liver implantations in pig orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Twenty healthy adult pigs were randomly divided into donors and recipients, and major vascular anastomosis was performed using MAT during OLT. Recipient liver and kidney function was measured pre-surgery and 12, 24 and 72 h post-surgery. Vascular anastomoses examinations were performed using ultrasound or angiography weekly post-surgery, and pathological examinations of vascular anastomoses were performed during autopsy after animal euthanasia. All recipients survived 24 h after surgery, which is considered as successful transplantation. Anhepatic duration was only 13 min, and no anastomotic obstruction or stenosis, magnetic displacement and anastomotic angulation, or distortion was found upon postoperative examinations of major liver vasculature. Aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin serum levels increased considerably postoperatively. The follow-up period for this study was 1 year, and the median survival time of all recipients was 115 d (interquartile range = 11–180 d). The main causes of death were liver failure, immune rejection, infection, and arterial anastomotic bleeding. Moreover, vascular anastomoses healed well with a survival time of more than two weeks. We developed a novel magnetic device to create a fast and safe technique to perform major vascular anastomoses in pig liver transplantations. Additionally, the liver graft implantation using MAT considerably shortened the recipient warm ischemia time, which will reduce the extent of ischemia–reperfusion injury. We conclude that MAT is an effective method for donor liver fast implantation in OLT in pigs.

Abstract

Ultrasound practice is a longstanding tradition for radiology departments, being part of the family of imaging techniques. Ultrasound is widely practiced by non-radiologists but becoming less popular within radiology. The position of ultrasound in radiology is reviewed, and a possible long-term solution to manage radiologist expectations is proposed. An international group of experts in the practice of ultrasound was invited to describe the current organisation of ultrasound within the radiology departments in their own countries and comment on the interaction with non-radiologists and training arrangements. Issues related to regulation, non-medical practitioners, and training principles are detailed. A consensus view was sought from the experts regarding the position of ultrasound within radiology, with the vision of the best scenario for the continuing dominance of radiologists practising ultrasound. Comments were collated from nine different countries. Variable levels of training, practice, and interaction with non-radiologist were reported, with some countries relying on non-physician input to manage the service. All experts recognised there was a diminished desire to practice ultrasound by radiologists. Models varied from practising solely ultrasound and no other imaging techniques to radiology departments being central to the practice of ultrasound by radiologists and non-radiologist, housed within radiology. The consensus view was that the model favoured in select hospitals in Germany would be the most likely setup for ultrasound radiologist to develop and maintain practice. The vision for 20 years hence is for a central ultrasound section within radiology, headed by a trained expert radiologist, with non-radiologist using the facilities.

Critical relevance statement The future of ultrasound within the radiology department should encompass all ultrasound users, with radiologists expert in ultrasound, managing the ultrasound section within the radiology department. The current radiology trainees must learn of the importance of ultrasound as a component of the ‘holistic’ imaging of the patient.

Key points: 1. Ultrasound imaging within radiology departments precedes the introduction of CT and MR imaging and was first used over 50 years ago.

2. Non-radiology practitioners deploy ultrasound examinations to either ‘problem solve’ or perform a comprehensive ultrasound examination; radiologists provide comprehensive examinations or use ultrasound to direct interventional procedures.

3. Radiology does not ‘own’ ultrasound, but radiologists are best placed to offer a comprehensive patient-focused imaging assessment.

4. A vision of the future of ultrasound within the radiology department is encompassing all ultrasound users under radiologists who are experts in ultrasound, positioned within the radiology department.

5. The current radiology trainee must be aware of the importance of ultrasound as a component of the ‘holistic’ imaging of the patient.

Abstract

Abstract

Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) shows good potential in determining muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients. However, whether VI-RADS could predict the prognosis of radical cystectomy (RC) patients has not been reported. Our purpose is to determine whether VI-RADS contributed to predict oncologic outcomes. In this retrospective study, we analysed the information of bladder cancer patients who admitted to our centre from June 2012 to June 2022. All patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and underwent RC were included. VI-RADS scoring was performed by two radiologists blinded to the clinical data. Patients’ clinical features, pathology data, and imaging information were recorded. Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate patients' overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Log-rank test was used to assess statistical differences. COX regression analysis was used to estimate risk factors. Ultimately, we included 219 patients, with 188 males and 31 females. The median age was 66 (IQR = 61–74.5) years. The VI-RADS scores were as follows: VI-RADS 1, 4 (1.8%); VI-RADS 2, 68 (31.1%); VI-RADS 3, 40 (18.3%); VI-RADS 4, 69 (31.5%); and VI-RADS 5, 38 (17.4%). Patients with VI-RADS ≥ 3 had poorer OS and PFS than those with VI-RADS < 3. The AUC of VI-RADS predicting 3-year OS was 0.804, with sensitivity of 0.824 and negative predictive value of 0.942. Multivariate COX analysis showed that VI-RADS ≥ 3 was risk factors for OS (HR = 3.517, P = 0.003) and PFS (HR = 4.175, P < 0.001). In the MIBC subgroup, patients with VI-RADS ≥ 4 had poorer OS and PFS. In the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) subgroup, the prognosis of patients with VI-RADS ≥ 3 remained poorer. VI-RADS scores could effectively predict the survival of patients after RC.

Abstract

Abstract

Head gesture is a natural and non-verbal communication method for human-computer and human-robot interaction, conveying attitudes and intentions. However, the existing vision-based recognition methods cannot meet the precision and robustness of interaction requirements. Due to the limited computational resources, applying most high-accuracy methods to mobile and onboard devices is challenging. Moreover, the wearable device-based approach is inconvenient and expensive. To deal with these problems, an end-to-end two-stream fusion network named TSIR3D is proposed to identify head gestures from videos for analyzing human attitudes and intentions. Inspired by Inception and ResNet architecture, the width and depth of the network are increased to capture motion features sufficiently. Meanwhile, convolutional kernels are expanded from the spatial domain to the spatiotemporal domain for temporal feature extraction. The fusion position of the two-stream channel is explored under an accuracy/complexity trade-off to a certain extent. Furthermore, a dynamic head gesture dataset named DHG and a behavior tree are designed for human-robot interaction. Experimental results show that the proposed method has advantages in real-time performance on the remote server or the onboard computer. Furthermore, its accuracy on the DHG can surpass most state-of-the-art vision-based methods and is even better than most previous approaches based on head-mounted sensors. Finally, TSIR3D is applied on Pepper Robot equipped with Jetson TX2.

Abstract

It is commonplace to use hypergraphs to represent cooperative work since hypergraphs explicitly capture complex interactions and connections, enabling researchers to analyze with ease. Nonetheless, hypergraphs are usually chaotic due to sophisticated relations between vertices. Therefore, it is necessary to look into which method prevails over other methods in specific circumstances. In our study, we propose an appraisal framework in which we use six quantitative and five qualitative metrics to assess the performance of each conversion method in terms of layout quality and effectiveness. The results show that while no method is ideal for all situations, certain methods, such as Centroid-single, perform well. Researchers can use our experiment results to select the optimal method tailored to their specific dataset and circumstances. This paper serves researchers and practitioners in choosing the most suitable conversion method for their research.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between serum uric acid (UA) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during the first trimester and provide a new perspective for the prevention and treatment of GDM. Based on the diagnostic criteria of gestational diabetes of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups, 1744 and 4256 patients were enrolled in the GDM and normal glucose tolerance (NGT) groups. Four groups were constituted based on the quartile of first-trimester serum UA (UA) level, and the differences in each indicator between groups were compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of UA level on GDM risk. The rate of GDM in the UA quartile changed from low to high. Significant differences were also observed in fasting plasma glucose level, 1 h post glucose and 2 h post glucose levels, in all the groups (P < 0.05), which increased with the UA level. UA level were independent risk factors for GDM. The best threshold of GDM predicted by the first-trimester UA level was 226.55 μmol/L. The first-trimester UA level in patients with GDM was relatively higher and was an independent risk factor for GDM.

Abstract

The composition of biomass pyrolysis gas is complex, and the selective separation of its components is crucial for its further utilization. Metal-incorporated nitrogen-doped materials exhibit enormous potential, whereas the relevant adsorption mechanism is still unclear. Herein, 16 metal-incorporated nitrogen-doped carbon materials were designed based on the density functional theory calculation, and the adsorption mechanism of pyrolysis gas components H₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, and C₂H₆ was explored. The results indicate that metal-incorporated nitrogen-doped carbon materials generally have better adsorption effects on CO and CO₂ than on H₂, CH₄, and C₂H₆. Transition metal Mo- and alkaline earth metal Mg- and Ca-incorporated nitrogen-doped carbon materials show the potential to separate CO and CO₂. The mixed adsorption results of CO₂ and CO further indicate that when the CO₂ ratio is significantly higher than that of CO, the saturated adsorption of CO₂ will precede that of CO. Overall, the three metal-incorporated nitrogen-doped carbon materials can selectively separate CO₂, and the alkaline earth metal Mg-incorporated nitrogen-doped carbon material has the best performance. This study provides theoretical guidance for the design of carbon capture materials and lays the foundation for the efficient utilization of biomass pyrolysis gas.

Abstract

Abstract

This study analyzed the important role of top management team (TMT) social networks in enterprise digital innovation as well as the moderating impact of financing constraints on this association based on an attention-based perspective. A sample of A-share listed companies in China in 2010–2018 is employed. The multidimensional fixed-effect regression results show that the influence of internal TMT relationship stability on digital innovation exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship and the external TMT alumni network exerts positive effects on digital innovation. The interaction between TMT relationship stability and TMT alumni network positively affects digital innovation. In addition, financing constraints have no moderating effects on the relationship between TMT relationship stability and digital innovation, but negatively moderate the relationship between TMT alumni network and digital innovation. These findings extended the literature on the relationship between TMT social networks and digital innovation from the perspective of attention allocation.

Abstract

Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.) is important for health care and ecological protection. However, it faces problems of low productivity and resource utilization during planting. Exploring reasonable models for water and nitrogen management is important for solving these problems. Based on field trials in 2021 and 2022, this study analyzed the effects of controlling soil water and nitrogen application levels on wolfberry height, stem diameter, crown width, yield, and water (WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The upper and lower limits of soil water were controlled by the percentage of soil water content to field water capacity (θf), and four water levels, i.e., adequate irrigation (W0, 75%–85% θ_f), mild water deficit (W1, 65%–75% θ_f), moderate water deficit (W2, 55%–65% θ_f), and severe water deficit (W3, 45%–55% θ_f) were used, and three nitrogen application levels, i.e., no nitrogen (N0, 0 kg/hm²), low nitrogen (N1, 150 kg/hm²), medium nitrogen (N2, 300 kg/hm²), and high nitrogen (N3, 450 kg/hm²) were implied. The results showed that irrigation and nitrogen application significantly affected plant height, stem diameter, and crown width of wolfberry at different growth stages (P<0.01), and their maximum values were observed in W1N2, W0N2, and W1N3 treatments. Dry weight per plant and yield of wolfberry first increased and then decreased with increasing nitrogen application under the same water treatment. Dry weight per hundred grains and dry weight percentage increased with increasing nitrogen application under W0 treatment. However, under other water treatments, the values first increased and then decreased with increasing nitrogen application. Yield and its component of wolfberry first increased and then decreased as water deficit increased under the same nitrogen treatment. Irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE, 8.46 kg/(hm²•mm)), WUE (6.83 kg/(hm²•mm)), partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN, 2.56 kg/kg), and NUE (14.29 kg/kg) reached their highest values in W2N2, W1N2, W1N2, and W1N1 treatments. Results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that yield, WUE, and NUE were better in W1N2 treatment, making it a suitable water and nitrogen management mode for the irrigation area of the Yellow River in the Gansu Province, China and similar planting areas.

Abstract

The massive data and information in the petroliferous basins formed by exploration and development are extremely valuable. Thus, they need to be deeply mined and utilized by new technologies to provide data support and decision basis for exploration and development. The knowledge graph can well integrate the knowledge contained in these data and documents. However, its concept and relationship rely on manual construction, which results in its limited coverage of knowledge areas. The traditional question-and-answer (Q&A) method can get relevant answers from documents according to questions, which has the characteristics of wide knowledge coverage. Nevertheless, it is difficult to understand the contents of professional fields, which leads to its low accuracy in petroliferous basins. In order to address the above problems, this paper proposes a hybrid Q&A method for merging the knowledge graph and documents in petroliferous basins. The method takes the knowledge graph of petroliferous basins as the knowledge base of professional background. Additionally, it obtains professional-related knowledge contents from documents. In particular, to answer the question on petroliferous basins, the method firstly extracts entities from the question according to the knowledge graph. Then, with these entities, the method converts the question into a query in the knowledge graph, obtaining partial candidate answers to the question. For obtaining candidate answers from documents, the method constructs a deep semantic matching model which incorporates knowledge graph embedding. The model can match the question and answers in documents base on the information from the knowledge graph. Finally, the method leverages a sort algorithm to reorder the above two types of candidate answers from the knowledge graph and documents respectively. Compared with traditional Q&A methods, the hybrid Q&A method supports professional Q&A scenarios for the knowledge graph and documents of petroliferous basins, improving the efficiency of users’ knowledge query and increasing the recall rate while ensuring the retrieval accuracy. The hybrid Q&A method has the characteristics of convenient operation, strong interaction and high accuracy, etc., which provides a platform on knowledge deep sharing and application for the study of petroliferous basins.

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa can develop resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to design proper treatment for it. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can develop resistance against levofloxacin due to the development of efflux pumps. However, the development of these efflux pumps cannot develop resistance against imipenem. Additionally, the MexCDOprJ efflux system which is responsible for the resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to levofloxacin is highly susceptible to imipenem. The objective of the study was to evaluate the emergence of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa against 750 mg levofloxacin, 250 mg imipenem, and a combination of 750 mg levofloxacin and 250 mg imipenem. An in vitro pharmacodynamic model was selected for the evaluation of the emergence of resistance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 236, Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain GB2, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain GB65 were selected. Susceptibility testing of both antibiotics was done by agar dilution methodology. A disk diffusion bioassay was performed for antibiotics. RT-PCR measurement was done for the evaluation of expressions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa genes. Samples were tested at 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 12 h, 16 h, 24 h, and 30 h. Levofloxacin and imipenem both individually reported a decrease in colony-forming unit per milliliter of strength in the initial stage but in the later stage both develop resistance individually. Levofloxacin with imipenem had no resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa during 30 h. Time after the start of development of resistance or decrease in clinical efficacy was higher for levofloxacin and imipenem combination in all strains. The concentration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at the time after the start of development of resistance or decrease in clinical efficacy was fewer for levofloxacin and imipenem combination. Levofloxacin with imipenem is recommended for the treatment of infection due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

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Abstract

Abstract

In contrast to the common small target detection problems, it is more difficult to locate and identify the small surface defects of fabric due to its own texture and complex background interference. Therefore, this paper proposes an effective detector for small-scale block defects on fabric surface by taking advantage of the backbone which integrates the Coordinate Attention module to enhance the acquisition of small-scale block defect location information. The FPN + PAN multi-scale detection structure is adopted to effectively integrate the feature information between different levels and deal with the multi-scale problem of defects. In the Neck section, a small target detection layer is set to expand the receptive field to prevent the loss of small-scale defect feature information. Moreover, we propose to use the GhostBottleneck module instead of the ordinary downsampling process to eliminate redundant convolutional calculations to improve the detection speed. The experimental results show that the optimal detection results of 0.56 and 0.842 are achieved in the detection recall and accuracy of the public fabric dataset; compared with other detectors, the result of small-scale defect detection rate is reduced by at least 2.7%, and the detection process meets the real-time requirement of automatic defect detection, which verifies the effectiveness of our method. Code and data are available at: https://github.com/VIMLab-hfut/SCG-NET.