Data_Sheet_1_Real-time depth completion based on LiDAR-stereo for autonomous driving.PDF

The integration of multiple sensors is a crucial and emerging trend in the development of autonomous driving technology. The depth image obtained by stereo matching of the binocular camera is easily influenced by environment and distance. The point cloud of LiDAR has strong penetrability. However, it is much sparser than binocular images. LiDAR-stereo fusion can neutralize the advantages of the two sensors and maximize the acquisition of reliable three-dimensional information to improve the safety of automatic driving. Cross-sensor fusion is a key issue in the development of autonomous driving technology. This study proposed a real-time LiDAR-stereo depth completion network without 3D convolution to fuse point clouds and binocular images using injection guidance. At the same time, a kernel-connected spatial propagation network was utilized to refine the depth. The output of dense 3D information is more accurate for autonomous driving. Experimental results on the KITTI dataset showed that our method used real-time techniques effectively. Further, we demonstrated our solution's ability to address sensor defects and challenging environmental conditions using the p-KITTI dataset.</p

Precise Pattern Replication of Polymer Blends into Nonuniform Geometries via Reducing Interfacial Tension between Two Polymers

Patterned polymer structures with different functionalities have many potential applications. Directed assembly of polymer blends using chemically functionalized patterns during spin-coating has been used to fabricate the patterned polymer structures. For bridging the gap between laboratorial experiments and manufacturing of nanodevices, the polymer blends structures are required to be precisely patterned into nonuniform geometries in a high-rate process, which still is a challenge. In this Article, we demonstrated for the first time that by decreasing the interfacial tension between two polymers polystyrene and poly­(acrylic acid) via adding a compatibilizer (polystyrene-<i>b</i>-poly­(acrylic acid) ), a polystyrene/poly­(acrylic acid) blend was precisely patterned into nonuniform geometries in a high-rate fashion. The patterned nonuniform geometries included angled lines with angles varied from 30° to 150°, T-junctions, square arrays, circle arrays, and arbitrary letter-shaped geometries. The reduction in the interfacial tension improved the line edge roughness and the patterning efficiency of the patterned polymer blends. In addition, the commensurability between characteristic length and pattern periodicity for well-ordered morphologies was also expanded with decreasing interfacial tension. This approach can be easily extended to other functional polymers in a blend and facilitate the applications of patterned polymer structures in biosensors, organic thin-film electronics, and polymer solar cells

Propofol inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion but promotes apoptosis by regulation of Sox4 in endometrial cancer cells

<div><p>Propofol is an intravenous sedative hypnotic agent of which the growth-inhibitory effect has been reported on various cancers. However, the roles of propofol in endometrial cancer (EC) remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the effects of propofol on EC in vitro and in vivo. Different concentrations of propofol were used to treat Ishikawa cells. Colony number, cell viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were analyzed by colony formation, MTT, flow cytometry, and Transwell assays. In addition, the pcDNA3.1-Sox4 and Sox4 siRNA plasmids were transfected into Ishikawa cells to explore the relationship between propofol and Sox4 in EC cell proliferation. Tumor weight in vivo was measured by xenograft tumor model assay. Protein levels of cell cycle-related factors, apoptosis-related factors, matrix metalloproteinases 9 (MMP9), matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were examined by western blot. Results showed that propofol significantly decreased colony numbers, inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion but promoted apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in Ishikawa cells. Moreover, propofol reduced the expression of Sox4 in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, propofol significantly suppressed the proportions of Ki67+ cells, but Sox4 overexpression reversed the results. Furthermore, in vivo assay results showed that propofol inhibited tumor growth; however, the inhibitory effect was abolished by Sox4 overexpression. Moreover, propofol inhibited Sox4 expression via inactivation of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway. Our study demonstrated that propofol inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion but promoted apoptosis by regulation of Sox4 in EC cells. These findings might indicate a novel treatment strategy for EC.</p></div

B7-H1 Expression Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Colorectal Carcinoma and Regulates the Proliferation and Invasion of HCT116 Colorectal Cancer Cells

<div><p>Background And Objective</p><p>The investigation concerning the B7-H1 expression in colorectal cancer cells is at an early stage. It is unclear whether B7-H1 expression may have diagnostic or prognostic value in colorectal carcinoma. Additionally, how B7-H1 is associated with the clinical features of colorectal carcinoma is not known. In order to investigate the relationship between B7-H1 and colorectal cancer, we analyzed B7-H1 expression and its effect in clinical specimens and HCT116 cells.</p> <p>Methods</p><p>Paraffin-embedded specimens from 143 eligible patients were used to investigate the expression of CD274 by immunohistochemistry. We also examined whether B7-H1 itself may be related to cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in colon cancer HCT116 cells.</p> <p>Results</p><p>Our results show that B7-H1 was highly expressed in colorectal carcinoma and was significantly associated with cell differentiation status and TNM (Tumor Node Metastasis) stage. Patients with positive B7-H1 expression showed a trend of shorter survival time. Using multivariate analysis, we demonstrate that positive B7-H1 expression is an independent predictor of colorectal carcinoma prognosis. Our results indicate that B7-H1 silencing with siRNA inhibits cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, cell apoptosis was also increased by B7-H1 inhibition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p><p>Positive B7-H1 expression is an independent predictor for colorectal carcinoma prognosis. Moreover, knockdown of B7-H1 can inhibit cell proliferation, migration and invasion.</p> </div

Plasmon-Induced Accelerated Exciton Recombination Dynamics in ZnO/Ag Hybrid Nanolasers

The recent development of plasmonics has break through the optical diffraction limit and realized ultracompact nanolasers that can directly generate coherent optical fields at the nanometre scale. However, it remains to a profound understanding on the light and matter interactions in so-called Spaser, especially on the coupling mechanism between the surface plasmon and exciton although many reports have claimed surface plasmonic lasers. Here, we demonstrated a ZnO/SiO₂/Ag structural hybrid plasmonic nanolaser and compared with a conventional photonic laser systematically. We proposed that these two kinds of lasers originated from the entirely different optical gain mechanisms, and resulted in the generation of lasing mode shift. Time-resolved spectra collected from these two samples at room temperature presented the dynamic process of exciton recombination and revealed the energy-transfer from excitons to SPs. Our research provides an important theoretical and experimental basis for the practical application of plasmonic nanolasers in the future

Data_Sheet_1_Antioxidant properties of water-soluble polysaccharides prepared by co-culture fermentation of straw and shrimp shell.PDF

Herein, we present a method for producing water-soluble polysaccharides (WSPs) by co-culture fermentation of straw and shrimp shells. The chitin-degrading strain was isolated and genotypically identified as the non-pathogen Photobacterium sp. LYM-1 in this study. Photobacterium sp. LYM-1 and Aureobasidium pullulans 2012 could coexist without antagonism. WSPs concentrations were higher in co-culture fermentations of Photobacterium sp. LYM-1 and A. pullulans 2012 (PsL/AP-WSPs) compared to monocultures (PsL-WSPs and AP-WSPs). FTIR was used to examine the polysaccharide properties of three WSP fractions. The monosaccharide compositions of three WSPs fractions were primarily composed of mannose, ribose, glucosamine, glucose, galactose, and arabinose with varying molecular weights and molar ratios according to HPLC analysis. PsL/AP-WSPs showed better scavenging effects on DPPH, ABTS, and OH free radicals, demonstrating the application potential of PsL/AP-WSPs from straw and shrimp shells. The maximum yield obtained under optimum conditions (fermentation time of 6 days, temperature of 31°C, inoculum concentration of 10% (w/v), and inoculum composition of 2:1) was 5.88 ± 0.40 mg/mL, based on the PsL/AP-WSPs production optimization by orthogonal design. The results suggest that an environmentally friendly approach for WSPs production from agro-food wastes straw and shrimp shells was developed.</p

Effect of B7-H1 knockdown on cell migration and invasion in HCT116 cells.

<p>(A) Boyden chamber assay to detect cell migration. Parental or HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were seeded in Boyden chambers without Matrigel-coated membrane, and after another 48 h, migrated cells were stained and counted under a microscope (magnification×10). Representative images were shown. (B) Number of migrated cells shown in A. Data was shown as means ± SD from five fields. *P<0.05 versus the si-scramble group. (C) Boyden chamber assay to detect cell invasion. Parental or HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were seeded in modified Boyden chambers with Matrigel-coated membrane, and after another 24 h, invasive cells that moved through the Matrigel membrane were stained and counted under a microscope (magnification×10). Representative images were shown. (D) Number of invasive cells shown in C. Data was shown as means ± SD from five fields. *P<0.05 versus the si-scramble group.</p

Phase-Selective Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Nanocrystals through Cation Exchange for Photovoltaic Devices

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) nanocrystals with two typical structures, i.e., zinc blende (ZB)-derived and wurtzite (WZ) crystal frameworks, have been selectively synthesized via a solution-based route. Initially, Cu₂SnS₃ (CTS) nanoparticles with two different phases, i.e., zinc blende- and wurtzite-derived, can be prepared with different S sources and temperatures. Afterward, addition of the Zn precursor to the CTS matrix results in the substitutions of Cu and Sn cations, yielding CZTS with desirable phases. This method can be extended to the synthesis of other similar quaternary chalcogenide nanocrystals. The cation exchange method described here provides a convenient approach for fine-tuning the nanocrystal’s cation ratio, which enables us to optimize the solar absorber layer compositions and get a power conversion efficiency of 2.89% in copper-poor and zinc-rich devices. The capability to synthetically access stable phases with controllable morphologies and compositions demonstrates that the developed cation exchange method is powerful as a manufacturing technique for photovoltaic devices

Effective knockdown of B7-H1 by siRNA in HCT116 cells.

<p>(A) RT-qPCR analysis to show the B7-H1 mRNA level. Parental or HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were harvested and RT-qPCR was performed; (B) Western blot analysis to detect the B7-H1 protein level. Parental or HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were harvested and cell lysates were prepared and used for Western blot; (C) Flow cytometric analysis and mean channel fluorescence to show the B7-H1 expression on cell membrane. Parental or HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were harvested and cell surface staining was performed before flow cytometric analysis. Data were presented as means ± SD, *P<0.05 versus the si-scramble group.</p

Effect of B7-H1 knockdown on cell proliferation and apoptosis in HCT 116 cells.

<p>(A) MTT analysis to detect cell proliferation. Parental or HCT116 cells were transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were seeded in 96-well plates and cell proliferation was detected by MTT. Data were presented as means ± SD, *P<0.05 versus the si-scramble group. (B) Flow cytometric analysis to detect cell apoptosis. Parental or HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled siRNA or siRNA targeting B7-H1 for 48 h were collected and stained with Annexin-V-FITC and PI before flow cytometric analysis. Data were presented as means ± SD, *P<0.05 versus the si-scramble group.</p