Leveraging SE(3) Equivariance for Learning 3D Geometric Shape Assembly

Shape assembly aims to reassemble parts (or fragments) into a complete object, which is a common task in our daily life. Different from the semantic part assembly (e.g., assembling a chair's semantic parts like legs into a whole chair), geometric part assembly (e.g., assembling bowl fragments into a complete bowl) is an emerging task in computer vision and robotics. Instead of semantic information, this task focuses on geometric information of parts. As the both geometric and pose space of fractured parts are exceptionally large, shape pose disentanglement of part representations is beneficial to geometric shape assembly. In our paper, we propose to leverage SE(3) equivariance for such shape pose disentanglement. Moreover, while previous works in vision and robotics only consider SE(3) equivariance for the representations of single objects, we move a step forward and propose leveraging SE(3) equivariance for representations considering multi-part correlations, which further boosts the performance of the multi-part assembly. Experiments demonstrate the significance of SE(3) equivariance and our proposed method for geometric shape assembly. Project page: https://crtie.github.io/SE-3-part-assembly/Comment: ICCV 2023, Project page: https://crtie.github.io/SE-3-part-assembly/ , Code: https://github.com/crtie/Leveraging-SE-3-Equivariance-for-Learning-3D-Geometric-Shape-Assembl

The Roles of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathways in Human Pheochromocytomas

Objectives. The roles of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK pathways involved in the pathogenesis of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) were demonstrated mostly by in vitro studies with rat or mouse cells and were mainly studied at transcriptional level. This study aimed to investigate the effect of these pathways on the proliferation of human PPGL cells and the activation of these pathways in PPGLs. Methods. Human PPGL cells were treated with sunitinib and inhibitors of PI3K (LY294002), MEK1/2 (U0126), and mTORC1/2 (AZD8055). Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Protein phosphorylation was detected by Western blotting. Results. In most PPGLs, AKT, ERK1/2, and mTOR were activated. LY294002 (10 μM), U0126 (10 μM), AZD8055 (1 μM), and sunitinib (1 μM) inhibited PPGL cell proliferation in ten primary cultures of tissues, including four from patients with gene mutations. MEK1/2 inhibitor decreased mTOR phosphorylation. Inhibition of mTOR reduced phosphorylation of AKT and ERK1/2. Sunitinib inhibited phospho-ERK1/2 and phospho-mTOR. Conclusion. Our study suggested that PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways play vital roles in human PPGL and are activated in most PPGLs. Inhibiting multiple pathways might be a novel therapeutic approach for PPGLs

The Roles of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathways in Human Pheochromocytomas

Objectives. The roles of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK pathways involved in the pathogenesis of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) were demonstrated mostly by in vitro studies with rat or mouse cells and were mainly studied at transcriptional level. This study aimed to investigate the effect of these pathways on the proliferation of human PPGL cells and the activation of these pathways in PPGLs. Methods. Human PPGL cells were treated with sunitinib and inhibitors of PI3K (LY294002), MEK1/2 (U0126), and mTORC1/2 (AZD8055). Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Protein phosphorylation was detected by Western blotting. Results. In most PPGLs, AKT, ERK1/2, and mTOR were activated. LY294002 (10 M), U0126 (10 M), AZD8055 (1 M), and sunitinib (1 M) inhibited PPGL cell proliferation in ten primary cultures of tissues, including four from patients with gene mutations. MEK1/2 inhibitor decreased mTOR phosphorylation. Inhibition of mTOR reduced phosphorylation of AKT and ERK1/2. Sunitinib inhibited phospho-ERK1/2 and phospho-mTOR. Conclusion. Our study suggested that PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways play vital roles in human PPGL and are activated in most PPGLs. Inhibiting multiple pathways might be a novel therapeutic approach for PPGLs

The Comparative RNA Web (CRW) Site: an online database of comparative sequence and structure information for ribosomal, intron, and other RNAs

BACKGROUND: Comparative analysis of RNA sequences is the basis for the detailed and accurate predictions of RNA structure and the determination of phylogenetic relationships for organisms that span the entire phylogenetic tree. Underlying these accomplishments are very large, well-organized, and processed collections of RNA sequences. This data, starting with the sequences organized into a database management system and aligned to reveal their higher-order structure, and patterns of conservation and variation for organisms that span the phylogenetic tree, has been collected and analyzed. This type of information can be fundamental for and have an influence on the study of phylogenetic relationships, RNA structure, and the melding of these two fields. RESULTS: We have prepared a large web site that disseminates our comparative sequence and structure models and data. The four major types of comparative information and systems available for the three ribosomal RNAs (5S, 16S, and 23S rRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and two of the catalytic intron RNAs (group I and group II) are: (1) Current Comparative Structure Models; (2) Nucleotide Frequency and Conservation Information; (3) Sequence and Structure Data; and (4) Data Access Systems. CONCLUSIONS: This online RNA sequence and structure information, the result of extensive analysis, interpretation, data collection, and computer program and web development, is accessible at our Comparative RNA Web (CRW) Site http://www.rna.icmb.utexas.edu. In the future, more data and information will be added to these existing categories, new categories will be developed, and additional RNAs will be studied and presented at the CRW Site

Impact of treatment policies on patient outcomes and resource utilization in acute cholecystitis in Japanese hospitals

BACKGROUND: Although currently available evidence predominantly recommends early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for the treatment of acute cholecystitis, this strategy has not been widely adopted in Japan. Herein, we describe a hospital-based study of patients with acute cholecystitis in 9 Japanese teaching hospitals in order to evaluate the impact of different institutional strategies in treating acute cholecystitis on overall patient outcomes and medical resource utilization. METHODS: From an administrative database and chart review, we identified 228 patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis who underwent cholecystectomy between April 2001 and June 2003. In order to examine the relationship between hospitals' propensity to perform LC and patient outcomes and/or medical resource utilization, we divided the hospitals into three groups according to the observed to expected ratio of performing LC (LC propensity), and compared the postoperative complication rate, length of hospitalization (LOS), and medical charges. RESULTS: No hospital adopted the policy of early surgery, and the mean overall LOS among the subjects was 30.9 days. The use of laparoscopic surgery varied widely across the hospitals; the adjusted rates of LC to total cholecystectomies ranged from 9.5% to 77%. Although intra-operative complication rate was significantly higher among patients whom LC was initially attempted when compared to those whom OC was initially attempted (9.7% vs. 0%), there was no significant association between LC propensity and postoperative complication rates. Although the postoperative time to oral intake and postoperative LOS was significantly shorter in hospitals with high use of LC, the overall LOS did not differ among hospital groups with different LC propensities. Medical charges were not associated with LC propensity. CONCLUSION: Under the prevailing policy of delayed surgery, in terms of the postoperative complication rate and medical resource utilization, our study did not show the superiority of LC in treating acute cholecystitis patients. The timing of surgery and discharge was mainly determined by the institutional policy in Japan, rather than by the clinical course of the patient; however, considering the substantially less postoperative pain and shorter recovery time of LC compared to OC, LC should be actively applied for the treatment of acute cholecystitis. If the policy of early surgery were universally applied, the advantage of LC over OC may be more clearly demonstrated

Differential Epigenetic Regulation of TOX Subfamily High Mobility Group Box Genes in Lung and Breast Cancers

Aberrant cytosine methylation affects regulation of hundreds of genes during cancer development. In this study, a novel aberrantly hypermethylated CpG island in cancer was discovered within the TOX2 promoter. TOX2 was unmethylated in normal cells but 28% lung (n = 190) and 23% breast (n = 80) tumors were methylated. Expression of two novel TOX2 transcripts identified was significantly reduced in primary lung tumors than distant normal lung (p<0.05). These transcripts were silenced in methylated lung and breast cancer cells and 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine treatment re-expressed both. Extension of these assays to TOX, TOX3, and TOX4 genes that share similar genomic structure and protein homology with TOX2 revealed distinct methylation profiles by smoking status, histology, and cancer type. TOX was almost exclusively methylated in breast (43%) than lung (5%) cancer, whereas TOX3 was frequently methylated in lung (58%) than breast (30%) tumors. TOX4 was unmethylated in all samples and showed the highest expression in normal lung. Compared to TOX4, expression of TOX, TOX2 and TOX3 in normal lung was 25, 44, and 88% lower, respectively, supporting the premise that reduced promoter activity confers increased susceptibility to methylation during lung carcinogenesis. Genome-wide assays revealed that siRNA-mediated TOX2 knockdown modulated multiple pathways while TOX3 inactivation targeted neuronal development and function. Although these knockdowns did not result in further phenotypic changes of lung cancer cells in vitro, the impact on tissue remodeling, inflammatory response, and cell differentiation pathways suggest a potential role for TOX2 in modulating tumor microenvironment

Online Estimation of Supercapacitor State of Charge Based on Nonlinear Observer

Supercapacitors have the advantages of fast charging and discharging, high power density, and long life, which are widely used in energy storage systems for new energy vehicles. Reliable operation of the system requires the acquisition of its remaining electricity, which is to estimate its state of charge (SOC). Relying on the equivalent analog circuit model of a single supercapacitor, this paper establishes a state-space model of the capacitor second-order nonlinear system with the multi-capacitor terminal voltage in the model as the state, the capacitor input current as the control input, and the capacitor output voltage as the observation output, and contains the leakage current caused by the self-discharge phenomenon. In order to improve the simulation accuracy, different model parameters were identified to characterize the charging and discharging conditions. In this paper, a nonlinear observer algorithm is used to obtain the internal state of the model to realize the estimation of SOC. The results of the charging and discharging experiment show that considering the leakage factor and establishing the charging and discharging model with different parameters, the dynamic characteristics of the supercapacitor can be better simulated, and the nonlinear observer algorithm has a stable tracking ability

Promoting Reviewer-Related Attribution: Moderately Complex Presentation of Mixed Opinions Activates the Analytic Process

Using metacognition and dual process theories, this paper studied the role of types of presentation of mixed opinions in mitigating negative impacts of online word of mouth (WOM) dispersion on consumer&rsquo;s purchasing decisions. Two studies were implemented, respectively. By employing an eye-tracking approach, study 1 recorded consumer&rsquo;s attention to WOM dispersion. The results show that the activation of the analytic system can improve reviewer-related attribution options. In study 2, three kinds of presentation of mixed opinions originating from China&rsquo;s leading online platform were compared. The results demonstrated that mixed opinions expressed in moderately complex form, integrating average ratings and reviewers&rsquo; impressions of products, was effective in promoting reviewer-related attribution choices. However, too-complicated presentation types of WOM dispersion can impose excessively on consumers&rsquo; cognitive load and eventually fail to activate the analytic system for promoting reviewer-related attribution choices. The main contribution of this paper lies in that consumer attribution-related choices are supplemented, which provides new insights into information consistency in consumer research. The managerial and theoretical significance of this paper are discussed in order to better understand the purchasing decisions of consumers