An Implementation of Multimodal Fusion System for Intelligent Digital Human Generation

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), digital humans have attracted more and more attention and are expected to achieve a wide range of applications in several industries. Then, most of the existing digital humans still rely on manual modeling by designers, which is a cumbersome process and has a long development cycle. Therefore, facing the rise of digital humans, there is an urgent need for a digital human generation system combined with AI to improve development efficiency. In this paper, an implementation scheme of an intelligent digital human generation system with multimodal fusion is proposed. Specifically, text, speech and image are taken as inputs, and interactive speech is synthesized using large language model (LLM), voiceprint extraction, and text-to-speech conversion techniques. Then the input image is age-transformed and a suitable image is selected as the driving image. Then, the modification and generation of digital human video content is realized by digital human driving, novel view synthesis, and intelligent dressing techniques. Finally, we enhance the user experience through style transfer, super-resolution, and quality evaluation. Experimental results show that the system can effectively realize digital human generation. The related code is released at https://github.com/zyj-2000/CUMT_2D_PhotoSpeaker

Priority-Centric Human Motion Generation in Discrete Latent Space

Text-to-motion generation is a formidable task, aiming to produce human motions that align with the input text while also adhering to human capabilities and physical laws. While there have been advancements in diffusion models, their application in discrete spaces remains underexplored. Current methods often overlook the varying significance of different motions, treating them uniformly. It is essential to recognize that not all motions hold the same relevance to a particular textual description. Some motions, being more salient and informative, should be given precedence during generation. In response, we introduce a Priority-Centric Motion Discrete Diffusion Model (M2DM), which utilizes a Transformer-based VQ-VAE to derive a concise, discrete motion representation, incorporating a global self-attention mechanism and a regularization term to counteract code collapse. We also present a motion discrete diffusion model that employs an innovative noise schedule, determined by the significance of each motion token within the entire motion sequence. This approach retains the most salient motions during the reverse diffusion process, leading to more semantically rich and varied motions. Additionally, we formulate two strategies to gauge the importance of motion tokens, drawing from both textual and visual indicators. Comprehensive experiments on the HumanML3D and KIT-ML datasets confirm that our model surpasses existing techniques in fidelity and diversity, particularly for intricate textual descriptions.Comment: Accepted by ICCV202

Nurses\u27 Workplace Social Capital and the Influence of Transformational Leadership: A Theoretical Perspective

Workplace social capital is the relational network, created by respectful interactions among members of a workforce, can contribute to the formation of a wholesome psychological work environment in an organization. Nurses\u27 workplace social capital is a derivative of the workplace social capital, formed because of the complex interactions among the nursing and between the other healthcare professionals. Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that addresses the emotional wellbeing of its workforce and inspires shared group ethics, norms, and goals. The philosophy of transformational leadership is grounded on the premise of workforce as human beings with specific needs. Transformational leadership has been confirmed as a strong predictor of nurses\u27 workplace social capital. Meanwhile, it is of an academic and/or healthcare industry operational value to scholarly assess and discern the theoretical influence of transformational leadership on nurses\u27 workplace social capital. In this paper, we have attempted to explore the associations between transformational leadership and nurses\u27 workplace social capital from a theoretical perspective. We have discussed the importance of each sub-dimension of transformational leadership (modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act and encouraging the heart) in building up the social capital relational network. Finally, we have proposed a graphic framework of our analysis to facilitate understanding of the associations between the transformational leadership and nurses\u27 workplace social capital, in formation of a healthy work environment which is the foundation for efficiency and productivity of the workforce

Reviews and syntheses: Biological weathering and its consequences at different spatial levels - from nanoscale to global scale

Plant nutrients can be recycled through microbial decomposition of organic matter but replacement of base cations and phosphorus, lost through harvesting of biomass/biofuels or leaching, requires de novo supply of fresh nutrients released through weathering of soil parent material (minerals and rocks). Weathering involves physical and chemical processes that are modified by biological activity of plants, microorganisms and animals. This article reviews recent progress made in understanding biological processes contributing to weathering. A perspective of increasing spatial scale is adopted, examining the consequences of biological activity for weathering from nanoscale interactions, through in vitro and in planta microcosm and meso-cosm studies, to field experiments, and finally ecosystem and global level effects. The topics discussed include the physical alteration of minerals and mineral surfaces; the composition, amounts, chemical properties, and effects of plant and microbial secretions; and the role of carbon flow (including stabilisation and sequestration of C in organic and inorganic forms). Although the predominant focus is on the effects of fungi in forest ecosystems, the properties of biofilms, including bacterial interactions, are also discussed. The implications of these biological processes for modelling are discussed, and we attempt to identify some key questions and knowledge gaps, as well as experimental approaches and areas of research in which future studies are likely to yield useful results. A particular focus of this article is to improve the representation of the ways in which biological processes complement physical and chemical processes that mobilise mineral elements, making them available for plant uptake. This is necessary to produce better estimates of weathering that are required for sustainable management of forests in a post-fossil-fuel economy. While there are abundant examples of nanometre- and micrometre-scale physical interactions between microorganisms and different minerals, opinion appears to be divided with respect to the quantitative significance of these observations for overall weathering. Numerous in vitro experiments and microcosm studies involving plants and their associated microorganisms suggest that the allocation of plant-derived carbon, mineral dissolution and plant nutrient status are tightly coupled, but there is still disagreement about the extent to which these processes contribute to field-scale observations. Apart from providing dynamically responsive pathways for the allocation of plant-derived carbon to power dissolution of minerals, mycorrhizal mycelia provide conduits for the long-distance trans-portation of weathering products back to plants that are also quantitatively significant sinks for released nutrients. These mycelial pathways bridge heterogeneous substrates, reducing the influence of local variation in C : N ratios. The production of polysaccharide matrices by biofilms of interacting bacteria and/or fungi at interfaces with mineral surfaces and roots influences patterns of production of antibiotics and quorum sensing molecules, with concomitant effects on microbial community structure, and the qualitative and quantitative composition of mineral-solubilising compounds and weathering products.Patterns of carbon allocation and nutrient mobilisation from both organic and inorganic substrates have been studied at larger spatial and temporal scales, including both ecosystem and global levels, and there is a generally wider degree of acceptance of the "systemic" effects of microorganisms on patterns of nutrient mobilisation. Theories about the evolutionary development of weathering processes have been advanced but there is still a lack of information connecting processes at different spatial scales. Detailed studies of the liquid chemistry of local weathering sites at the micrometre scale, together with upscaling to soil-scale dissolution rates, are advocated, as well as new approaches involving stable isotopes

LY2109761, Transforming Growth Factor β Receptor Type I and Type II Dual Inhibitor, is a Novel Approach to Suppress Endothelial Mesenchymal Transformation in Human Corneal Endothelial Cells

Background/Aims: Preventing undesirable endothelial-mesenchymal transformation (EnMT) with repetitious in vitro expansion of human corneal endothelial cells (CECs) is a pivotal issue in cornea regeneration. Previous studies have shown that inhibition of the TGF-β pathway reduces epithelial-mesenchymal transformation. However, its potential role in EnMT remains poorly understood. As such, the effect of LY2109761, a novel TGF-β receptor type I and type II dual inhibitor, was investigated on EnMT. Methods: CECs cultured with various concentrations of LY2109761 were evaluated for their growth rate and phenotype. Additionally, the expression of functional markers (sodium-potassium pump Na+/K+-ATPase and the tight junction protein ZO-1) and mesenchymal markers (CD73, fibronectin, and vimentin) was detected using immunostaining and western blot. The mRNA expressions were also assayed by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results: At a 1 μM concentration, LY2109761 did not influence the proliferation of CECs and subsequent experiments were therefore performed using this concentration. Furthermore, CECs cultured in the presence of 1 μM LY2109761 maintained their ability to grow as a monolayer of hexagonal-shaped cells. The expression of functional markers increased in LY2109761-treated CECs, while the expression of mesenchymal markers decreased (both in protein and mRNA levels). Conclusion: Inhibition of TGF-β receptor type I and type II by LY2109761 maintained the phenotype of CECs and inhibited the EnMT process. These results indicate the possible continuous in vitro expansion of CECs with normal function

Modeling realistic Earth matter density for CP violation in neutrino oscillation

We examine the effect of a more realistic Earth matter density model which takes into account of the local density variations along the baseline of a possi ble 2100 km very long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. Its influence to the measurement of CP violation is investigated and a comparison with the commonly used global density models made. Significant differences are found in the comparison of the results of the different density models.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

The DSF family of quorum sensing signals: diversity, biosynthesis, and turnover

The diffusible signaling factor (DSF)-based quorum sensing (QS) system has emerged as a widely conserved cell–cell communication mechanism in Gram-negative bacteria. Typically, signals from the DSF family are cis-2-unsaturated fatty acids which regulate diverse biological functions. Recently, substantial progress has been made on the characterization of new members of this family of signals. There have also been new developments in the understanding of the biosynthesis of these molecules where dual enzymatic activities of the DSF synthase and the use of various substrates have been described. The recent discovery of a naturally occurring DSF turnover mechanism and its regulation provides a new dimension in our understanding of how DSF-dependent microorganisms modulate virulence gene expression in response to changes in the surrounding environment