3D Face Reconstruction from Light Field Images: A Model-free Approach

Reconstructing 3D facial geometry from a single RGB image has recently instigated wide research interest. However, it is still an ill-posed problem and most methods rely on prior models hence undermining the accuracy of the recovered 3D faces. In this paper, we exploit the Epipolar Plane Images (EPI) obtained from light field cameras and learn CNN models that recover horizontal and vertical 3D facial curves from the respective horizontal and vertical EPIs. Our 3D face reconstruction network (FaceLFnet) comprises a densely connected architecture to learn accurate 3D facial curves from low resolution EPIs. To train the proposed FaceLFnets from scratch, we synthesize photo-realistic light field images from 3D facial scans. The curve by curve 3D face estimation approach allows the networks to learn from only 14K images of 80 identities, which still comprises over 11 Million EPIs/curves. The estimated facial curves are merged into a single pointcloud to which a surface is fitted to get the final 3D face. Our method is model-free, requires only a few training samples to learn FaceLFnet and can reconstruct 3D faces with high accuracy from single light field images under varying poses, expressions and lighting conditions. Comparison on the BU-3DFE and BU-4DFE datasets show that our method reduces reconstruction errors by over 20% compared to recent state of the art

IFN-gamma is associated with risk of Schistosoma japonicum infection in China.

Before the start of the schistosomiasis transmission season, 129 villagers resident on a Schistosoma japonicum-endemic island in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, 64 of whom were stool-positive for S. japonicum eggs by the Kato method and 65 negative, were treated with praziquantel. Forty-five days later the 93 subjects who presented for follow-up were all stool-negative. Blood samples were collected from all 93 individuals. S. japonicum soluble worm antigen (SWAP) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) stimulated IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-gamma production in whole-blood cultures were measured by ELISA. All the subjects were interviewed nine times during the subsequent transmission season to estimate the intensity of their contact with potentially infective snail habitats, and the subjects were all re-screened for S. japonicum by the Kato method at the end of the transmission season. Fourteen subjects were found to be infected at that time. There was some indication that the risk of infection might be associated with gender (with females being at higher risk) and with the intensity of water contact, and there was evidence that levels of SEA-induced IFN-gamma production were associated with reduced risk of infection

The Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter participates in Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury and in Cardioprotection by Ischemic Preconditioning

The objective of the present study was to determine whether the mitochondrial calcium uniporter plays a role in cardioprotection by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Isolated rat hearts were subjected to 30 min regional ischemia by ligation of the left anterior descending artery followed by 120 min reperfusion. We found that both IPC and inhibition of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter during reperfusion improved recovery of left ventricular developed pressure, maximal rise velocity and end-diastolic pressure, and reduced infarct size and lactate dehydrogenase release. These protective effects were attenuated by activating the mitochondrial calcium uniporter. We conclude that the mitochondrial calcium uniporter is involved in the cardioprotection of ischemic preconditioning.published_or_final_versio

Role of the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore in TNF-α -Induced Recovery of Ventricular Contraction and Reduction of Infarct Size in Isolated Rat Hearts Subjected to Ischemia/Reperfusion

Pretreatment with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is known to trigger cardioprotection. TNF-α can activate multiple downstream signaling cascades. However, it is not known whether the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MitoPTP) is involved in TNF-α -induced cardioprotection. In the present study, we examined whether TNF-α inhibits MitoPTP opening. In isolated rat hearts subjected to 30 min regional ischemia and 120 min reperfusion, pretreatment with 10 U/ml TNF-α for 7 min followed by 10 min washout improved the recovery of left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and rate-pressure product (RPP = LVDP × heart rate) during reperfusion and reduced the infarct size. Administration of 20 μ mol/L atractyloside, a MitoPTP opener, for 20 min (last 5 min of ischemia and first 15 min of reperfusion) and pretreatment with 1 μ inhibitor of the Ca2+-activated K+mol/L paxilline, an channel, for 5 min before ischemia, attenuated the recovery of LVDP and RPP and the reduction of infarct size induced by TNF-α. The findings indicate that, in the isolated heart model, TNF-α protects myocardium against ischemia/reperfusion injury via inhibiting MitoPTP opening as well as by activating the Ca2+-activated K+channel.published_or_final_versio

Two-hybrid analysis of Ty3 capsid subdomain interactions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The yeast retrotransposon Ty3 forms stable virus-like particles. Gag3, the major structural protein, is composed of capsid, spacer and nucleocapsid domains. The capsid domain of Gag3 was previously modeled as a structure similar to retrovirus capsid.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Two-hybrid analysis was used to understand the interactions that contribute to particle assembly. Gag3 interacted with itself as predicted based on its role as the major structural protein. The N-terminal subdomain (NTD) of the capsid was able to interact with itself and with the C-terminal subdomain (CTD) of the capsid, but interacted less well with intact Gag3. Mutations previously shown to block particle assembly disrupted Gag3 interactions more than subdomain interactions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings that the NTD interacts with itself and with the CTD are consistent with previous modeling and a role similar to that of the capsid in retrovirus particle structure. These results are consistent with a model in which the Gag3-Gag3 interactions that initiate assembly differ from the subdomain interactions that potentially underlie particle stability.</p

Interleukin-2 Confers Cardioprotection by Inhibiting Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore

In the present study, we determined whether interleukin-2 (IL-2) confers cardioprotection by inhibiting mitochondria permeability transition pore (MPTP) opening. In isolated rat hearts subject to 30 min ischemia and 120 min reperfusion (IR), IL-2 (50 U/ml) decreased the infarct size and LDH release, effects blocked by a selective kappa-opioid receptor antagonist, Nor-BNI (5 microM) or an opener of MPTP, atractyloside (Atr, 20 microM). In isolated ventricular myocytes subjected to anoxia and reoxygenation (AR), which reduced both the amplitude of the electrically induced [Ca2+]i transient and diastolic [Ca2+]i, IL-2 attenuated the AR-induced alterations and their effects were abolished by Atr. In addition, IL-2 attenuated the reduction in calcein fluorescence in myocytes subject to AR and reduced calcium-induced swelling in mitochondria of rat hearts subjected to IR, which were similar to effect of inhibitor of MPTP. The observations indicated that IL-2 confers cardioprotection by inhibiting the MPTP opening.published_or_final_versio

Simultaneous determination of flavonoids and triterpenoids in Cyclocarya paliurus leaves using high-performance liquid chromatography

Background: Cyclocarya paliurus is an endangered plant and endemic to China. The leaves of C. paliurus have been used in drug formulations and as ingredients in functional foods in China. The aim of this study was to develop an effective method to extract most of the compounds and to establish a simplified HPLC analytical method to determine the contents of major bioactive compounds simultaneously.Materials and methods: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a photodiode array detector (PDA) was used for the simultaneous determination of the major flavonoids and triterpenoids in C. paliurus leaves.Results: Ultrasonic extraction in 100% methanol for 30 min was adopted as the optimal extraction method for C. paliurus leaves. The separation conditions were optimized using a Phenomenex C18 ODS column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0.02% formic acid and a detection wavelength of 205 nm. The validation data indicated that this new HPLC analytical method successfully quantified the provenance and seasonal variations of seven major compounds (three flavonoids and four triterpenoids) in C. paliurus leaves.Conclusion: The study provided a novel and simplified approach to simultaneously determine the quantity of major flavonoids and triterpenoids in C. paliurus leaves. The results could promote the optimization of silvicultural systems for quality control of C. paliurus.Key words: Cyclocarya paliurus; HPLC; flavonoids; triterpenoid

A Simple Method to Synthesize Cadmium Hydroxide Nanobelts

Cd(OH)2nanobelts have been synthesized in high yield by a convenient polyol method for the first time. XRD, XPS, FESEM, and TEM were used to characterize the product, which revealed that the product consisted of belt-like crystals about 40 nm in thickness and length up to several hundreds of micrometers. Studies found that the viscosity of the solvent has important influence on the morphology of the final products. The optical absorption spectrum indicates that the Cd(OH)2nanobelts have a direct band gap of 4.45 eV

Genome-wide analysis of the nucleotide binding site leucine-rich repeat genes of four orchids revealed extremely low numbers of disease resistance genes

Orchids are one of the most diverse flowering plant families, yet possibly maintain the smallest number of the nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) type plant resistance (R) genes among the angiosperms. In this study, a genome-wide search in four orchid taxa identified 186 NBS-LRR genes. Furthermore, 214 NBS-LRR genes were identified from seven orchid transcriptomes. A phylogenetic analysis recovered 30 ancestral lineages (29 CNL and one RNL), far fewer than other angiosperm families. From the genetics aspect, the relatively low number of ancestral R genes is unlikely to explain the low number of R genes in orchids alone, as historical gene loss and scarce gene duplication has continuously occurred, which also contributes to the low number of R genes. Due to recent sharp expansions, Phalaenopsis equestris and Dendrobium catenatum having 52 and 115 genes, respectively, and exhibited an "early shrinking to recent expanding" evolutionary pattern, while Gastrodia elata and Apostasia shenzhenica both exhibit a "consistently shrinking" evolutionary pattern and have retained only five and 14 NBS-LRR genes, respectively. RNL genes remain in extremely low numbers with only one or two copies per genome. Notably, all of the orchid RNL genes belong to the ADR1 lineage. A separate lineage, NRG1, was entirely absent and was likely lost in the common ancestor of all monocots. All of the TNL genes were absent as well, coincident with the RNL NRG1 lineage, which supports the previously proposed notion that a potential functional association between the TNL and RNL NRG1 genes

Self-propulsion of flapping bodies in viscous fluids: Recent advances and perspectives

Flapping-powered propulsion is used by many animals to locomote through air or water. Here we review recent experimental and numerical studies on self-propelled mechanical systems powered by a flapping motion. These studies improve our understanding of the mutual interaction between actively flapping bodies and surrounding fluids. The results obtained in these works provide not only new insights into biolocomotion but also useful information for the biomimeticdesign of artificial flyers and swimmers.</div