Crowd3D: Towards Hundreds of People Reconstruction from a Single Image

Image-based multi-person reconstruction in wide-field large scenes is critical for crowd analysis and security alert. However, existing methods cannot deal with large scenes containing hundreds of people, which encounter the challenges of large number of people, large variations in human scale, and complex spatial distribution. In this paper, we propose Crowd3D, the first framework to reconstruct the 3D poses, shapes and locations of hundreds of people with global consistency from a single large-scene image. The core of our approach is to convert the problem of complex crowd localization into pixel localization with the help of our newly defined concept, Human-scene Virtual Interaction Point (HVIP). To reconstruct the crowd with global consistency, we propose a progressive reconstruction network based on HVIP by pre-estimating a scene-level camera and a ground plane. To deal with a large number of persons and various human sizes, we also design an adaptive human-centric cropping scheme. Besides, we contribute a benchmark dataset, LargeCrowd, for crowd reconstruction in a large scene. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The code and datasets will be made public.Comment: 8 pages (not including reference

Inversion of shallow seabed structure and geoacoustic parameters with waveguide characteristic impedance based on Bayesian approach

Underwater acoustic technology is essential for ocean observation, exploration and exploitation, and its development is based on an accurate predication of underwater acoustic wave propagation. In shallow sea environments, the geoacoustic parameters, such as the seabed structure, the sound speeds, the densities, and the sound speed attenuations in seabed layers, would significantly affect the acoustic wave propagation characteristics. To obtain more accurate inversion results for these parameters, this study presents an inversion method using the waveguide characteristic impedance based on the Bayesian approach. In the inversion, the vertical waveguide characteristic impedance, which is the ratio of the pressure over the vertical particle velocity, is set as the matching object. The nonlinear Bayesian theory is used to invert the above geoacoustic parameters and analysis the uncertainty of the inversion results. The numerical studies and the sea experiment processing haven shown the validity of this inversion method. The numerical studies also proved that the vertical waveguide characteristic impedance is more sensitive to the geoacoustic parameters than that of single acoustic pressure or single vertical particle velocity, and the error of simulation inversion is within 3%. The sea experiment processing showed that the seabed layered structure and geoacoustic parameters can be accurately determined by this method. The root mean square between the vertical waveguide characteristic impedance and the measured impedance is 0.38dB, and the inversion results accurately represent the seabed characteristics in the experimental sea area

The Philosophical Thought of Confucius and Mencius, and the Concept of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind

The Community of a Shared Future for Mankind seeks to mitigate the world’s current challenges, and to create a more sustainable future through better global governance. Some of the philosophical arguments of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, and its foundations, which this article traces, are grounded in the philosophical teachings of Confucius and Mencius. The five pillars of Confucianism are benevolence (Ren), righteousness (Yi), propriety (Li), wisdom (Zhi) and fidelity (Xin). The five pillars have their equivalents in the philosophy of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind: benevolence has its equivalents in multilateral and bilateral agreements; righteousness shows justice; propriety’s equivalents are international standards and regulations; wisdom is the problem-solving dialogues; and trustworthiness is equated to international organizations that safeguard global integrity. The Confucian principle of harmony is congruent with the objective of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, of creating a world of harmony, peace and cooperation. The Golden Rule has been observed in the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, through its insistence on reciprocal bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Mencius’ philosophical contribution to the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind is in his theory of human nature, where humaneness is seen as developmental—as would be the community built by the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind. Mencius’ principle of governance is congruent with the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind’s insistence on responsible governance. These congruences and similarities, between the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind and the philosophies of Confucius and Mencius, point to the foundations for the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind

The Philosophical Thought of Confucius and Mencius, and the Concept of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind

The Community of a Shared Future for Mankind seeks to mitigate the world’s current challenges, and to create a more sustainable future through better global governance. Some of the philosophical arguments of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, and its foundations, which this article traces, are grounded in the philosophical teachings of Confucius and Mencius. The five pillars of Confucianism are benevolence (Ren), righteousness (Yi), propriety (Li), wisdom (Zhi) and fidelity (Xin). The five pillars have their equivalents in the philosophy of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind: benevolence has its equivalents in multilateral and bilateral agreements; righteousness shows justice; propriety’s equivalents are international standards and regulations; wisdom is the problem-solving dialogues; and trustworthiness is equated to international organizations that safeguard global integrity. The Confucian principle of harmony is congruent with the objective of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, of creating a world of harmony, peace and cooperation. The Golden Rule has been observed in the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, through its insistence on reciprocal bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Mencius’ philosophical contribution to the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind is in his theory of human nature, where humaneness is seen as developmental—as would be the community built by the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind. Mencius’ principle of governance is congruent with the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind’s insistence on responsible governance. These congruences and similarities, between the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind and the philosophies of Confucius and Mencius, point to the foundations for the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind

Quantifying nitrate pollution sources of shallow groundwater and related health risks based on deterministic and Monte Carlo models: A study in Huaibei mining area, Huaibei coalfield, China

Nitrate pollution in groundwater is a global environmental concern. As a result, accurate identification of potential sources for such pollution is of critical significance to the effective control of groundwater quality. In this study, forty-nine shallow groundwater samples were collected from the Huaibei mining area. Hydro-chemical characterization, geospatial analysis technique, dual nitrate isotopes (δ15N-NO3- and δ18O-NO3-), Bayesian model and health risk assessment model were adopted for exploring the conditions, sources, proportion, and potential health risks of nitrate pollution for the first time in the study area. The results showed that the nitrate concentration ranged from 0.00 to 293.21 mg/L, and that 18.37% groundwater samples exceeded the standard of drinking water in China (GB 5749–2006). Based on the dual isotopic values of nitrate, it could be concluded that nitrification was dominated migration and transformation process of nitrogen. The results of Bayesian model showed that the proportional contributions of the potential nitrate pollution sources in shallow groundwater were manure and sewage (M&S) (39.54 %), NH4+ in fertilizer and precipitation (NHF&P) (34.93 %), soil nitrogen (SN) (14.89 %), and NO3- in atmospheric deposition (NAD) (10.64 %). The health risk assessment indicated that non-carcinogenic risks posed by NO3--N was higher for children than adults. The primary exposure pathway was oral ingestion. Monte Carlo simulation were applied to evaluate model uncertainty. The probabilities of non-carcinogenic risks were up to 12.54 % for children and 5.22 % for adults. In order to protect water quality and drinking water safety, it was suggested that effective nitrate reduction strategies and better management practices can be implemented

Anti-TNF-α Therapy Suppresses Proinflammatory Activities of Mucosal Neutrophils in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Neutrophils have been found to play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and anti-TNF-α mAb (i.e., infliximab) therapy is demonstrated to be effective in the induction of clinical remission and mucosal healing in these patients. However, how anti-TNF-α mAb regulates the functions of neutrophils is still unknown. Herein, we found that anti-TNF-α therapy significantly downregulated infiltration of neutrophils in inflamed mucosa of IBD patients. Importantly, anti-TNF-α mAb could inhibit neutrophils to produce proinflammatory mediators, such as ROS, calprotectin, IL-8, IL-6, and TNF-α. These data indicate that TNF-α plays a critical role in the induction of mucosal inflammatory response, and that blockade of TNF-α modulates intestinal homeostasis through balancing immune responses of neutrophils