Learning a 3D gaze estimator with adaptive weighted strategy

As a method of predicting the target’s attention distribution, gaze estimation plays an important role in human-computer interaction. In this paper, we learn a 3D gaze estimator with adaptive weighted strategy to get the mapping from the complete images to the gaze vector. We select the both eyes, the complete face and their fusion features as the input of the regression model of gaze estimator. Considering that the different areas of the face have different contributions on the results of gaze estimation under free head movement, we design a new learning strategy for the regression net. To improve the efficiency of the regression model to a great extent, we propose a weighted network that can adjust the learning strategy of the regression net adaptively. Experimental results conducted on the MPIIGaze and EyeDiap datasets demonstrate that our method can achieve superior performance compared with other state-of-the-art 3D gaze estimation methods

DataSheet_1_Influence of surface water and groundwater on functional traits and trade-off strategies of oasis communities at the end of the Keriya River, China.docx

Plant functional traits reflect the capacity of plants to adapt to their environment and the underlying optimization mechanisms. However, few studies have investigated trade-off strategies for functional traits in desert-wetland ecosystems, the mechanisms by which surface water disturbance and groundwater depth drive functional trait variation at the community scale, and the roles of intraspecific and interspecific variation. Therefore, this study analyzed specific differences in community-weighted mean traits among habitat types and obtained the relative contribution of intraspecific and interspecific variation by decomposing community-weighted mean traits, focusing on the Daliyabuyi Oasis in the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert. We also explored the mechanisms by which surface water and groundwater influence different sources of variability specifically. The results showed that plant height, relative chlorophyll content, leaf thickness, leaf nitrogen content, and nitrogen-phosphorus ratio were the key traits reflecting habitat differences. As the groundwater depth becomes shallower and surface water disturbance intensifies, plant communities tend to have higher leaf nitrogen content, nitrogen-phosphorus ratio, and relative chlorophyll content and lower height. Surface water, groundwater, soil water content, and total soil nitrogen can influence interspecific and intraspecific variation in these traits through direct and indirect effects. As arid to wet habitats change, plant trade-off strategies for resources will shift from conservative to acquisitive. The study concluded that community functional traits are mainly contributed by interspecific variation, but consideration of intraspecific variation and the covariation effects that exist between it and interspecific variation can help to further enhance the understanding of the response of community traits in desert-wetland ecosystems to environmental change. Surface water disturbance has a non-negligible contribution to this adaptation process and plays a higher role than groundwater depth.</p

Enhanced expression and phosphorylation of Sirt7 activates smad2 and ERK signaling and promotes the cardiac fibrosis differentiation upon angiotensin-II stimulation

<div><p>Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) phenotypic conversion to myofibroblasts (MFs) represents a crucial event in cardiac fibrosis that leads to impaired cardiac function. However, regulation of this phenotypic transformation remains unclear. Here, we showed that sirtuin-7 (Sirt7) plays an important role in the regulation of MFs differentiation. Sirt7 expression and phosphorylation were upregulated in CFs upon angiotensin-II (Ang-II) stimulation. Sirt7 depletion by siRNA in CFs resulted in decreased cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Further, examination of Sirt7-depleted CFs demonstrated significantly lower expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), the classical marker of MFs differentiation, and decreased formation of focal adhesions. Moreover, overexpression of Sirt7 increased α-SMA expression in Ang-II treated CFs and exacerbated Ang-II-induced MFs differentiation. Moreover, Sirt7 depletion could largely reverse Ang-II induced increase of nuclear translocalization and activity of smad2 and extracellular regulated kinases (ERK) in CFs. Importantly, the increased differentiation of CFs to MFs was also abolished by smad2 siRNA or U0126. Our findings reveal a novel role of Sirt7 and its phosphorylation in the phenotypic conversion of CFs to MFs and might lead to the development of new therapeutic and prognostic tools for cardiac fibrosis.</p></div

Smad2 partially mediates the effects of Sirt7 on fibrosis of CFs.

<p>(A) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The p-smad2 was analyzed by western blot. (B) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The nuclear localization of smad2 was analyzed by nuclear proteins western blot. (C) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The transcriptional activity of smad2 was measured through luciferase assay. (D) CFs were transfected with NC or si-samd2 and empty vector or Sirt7 plasmid. The expressions of α-SMA, (E) Paxillin and (F) Vinculin were analyzed by western blot. All experiments were repeated at least three times. (*<i>P</i><0.05)</p

Increased expression and activity of Sirt7 regulates CFs fibrosis upon Ang-II stimulation.

<p>(A) CFs were transfected with Sirt7 siRNAs pool (si-Sirt7) and negative control (NC) siRNA. At 48 h after transfection, cells were lysed and subjected to western blot analysis for Sirt7 and GAPDH. (B) Cell lysates from Ang-II-treated CFs were immunoprecipitated with Sirt7 followed by western blotting using anti-p-Ser/Thr antibody. (C) CFs were treated with or without 100nM Ang-II for 24h followed by immunostaining with anti-Sirt7 antibody (red). (D) CFs were treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The nuclear localization of Sirt7 was analyzed by nuclear proteins western blot. (E)CFs were transfected with empty vector or Sirt7 plasmid, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The expression of α-SMA was analyzed by western blot. The expressions of α-SMA, (F) Paxillin and (G) Vinculin were analyzed by western blot. (H) CFs were transfected with negative control siRNA or Sirt7 siRNAs pool, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II for 24h. All experiments were repeated at least three times. (*<i>P</i><0.05)</p

The schematic diagram illustrates the mechanism for the effect of the Ang-II/Sirt7/ERK and Ang-II/Sirt7/Smad2 axises on differentiation of CFs to MFs during cardiac fibrosis.

<p>Activation of Sirt7 by Ang-II stimulation promotes phosphorylation of ERK and Smad2. Then ERK and Smad2 regulate the activity of some transcription factors in the nucleus and further mediate expression of some genes about differentiation of CFs to MFs.</p

Sirt7 affects the function of CFs.

<p>(A) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and the expression of PAI-1, FN, Collagen I and Sirt7 were analyzed by western blot. (B) CFs were transfected with empty vector or Sirt7 plasmid, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The expression of FN was analyzed by western blot. (C) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II for 24h. The hydroxyproline content was determined and analyzed. (D) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The cell viability was determined and analyzed. All experiments were repeated at least three times. (*<i>P</i><0.05)</p

Loading Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S Quantum Dots onto Onion-Like Carbon Nanoparticles to Boost Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

Carbon dots (C dots, size < 10 nm) have been conventionally decorated onto semiconductor matrixes for photocatalytic H₂ evolution, but the efficiency is largely limited by the low loading ratio of the C dots on the photocatalyst. Here, we propose an inverse structure of Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S quantum dots (QDs) loaded onto the onionlike carbon (OLC) matrix for noble metal-free photocatalytic H₂ evolution. Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S QDs (6.9 nm) were uniformly distributed on an OLC (30 nm) matrix with both upconverted and downconverted photoluminescence property. Such an inverse structure allows the full optimization of the QD/OLC interfaces for effective energy transfer and charge separation, both of which contribute to efficient H₂ generation. An optimized H₂ generation rate of 2018 μmol/h/g (under the irradiation of visible light) and 58.6 μmol/h/g (under the irradiation of 550–900 nm light) was achieved in the Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S/OLC composite samples. The present work shows that using the OLC matrix in such a reverse construction is a promising strategy for noble metal-free solar hydrogen production

Sirt7 regulates CFs fibrosis through synergistic activation of smad2 and ERK pathways.

<p>(A) CFs were treated with Ang-II for the indicated time. The expression of p-ERK and ERK were analyzed by western blot. (B) CFs were treated with or without Ang-II followed by immunostaining with anti-p-ERK antibody (green). (C) CFs were transfected with NC or si-Sirt7, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. The p-ERK was analyzed by western blot. (D) CFs were treated with or without U0126 and transfected with empty vector or Sirt7 plasmid. The expressions of α-SMA and Vinculin were analyzed by western blot. (E) CFs were transfected with empty vector or Sirt7 wild-type plasmid (WT) or Sirt7 phosphorylation site mutant plasmid (Sirt7-T153A), respectively. The expression of p-ERK, ERK, p-smad2, smad2 and GAPDH were analyzed by western blot. (F) The cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 assay. CFs were transfected with empty vector or Sirt7 plasmid, and treated with or without 100nM Ang-II. All experiments were repeated at least three times. (*<i>P</i><0.05)</p