RXFOOD: Plug-in RGB-X Fusion for Object of Interest Detection

The emergence of different sensors (Near-Infrared, Depth, etc.) is a remedy for the limited application scenarios of traditional RGB camera. The RGB-X tasks, which rely on RGB input and another type of data input to resolve specific problems, have become a popular research topic in multimedia. A crucial part in two-branch RGB-X deep neural networks is how to fuse information across modalities. Given the tremendous information inside RGB-X networks, previous works typically apply naive fusion (e.g., average or max fusion) or only focus on the feature fusion at the same scale(s). While in this paper, we propose a novel method called RXFOOD for the fusion of features across different scales within the same modality branch and from different modality branches simultaneously in a unified attention mechanism. An Energy Exchange Module is designed for the interaction of each feature map's energy matrix, who reflects the inter-relationship of different positions and different channels inside a feature map. The RXFOOD method can be easily incorporated to any dual-branch encoder-decoder network as a plug-in module, and help the original backbone network better focus on important positions and channels for object of interest detection. Experimental results on RGB-NIR salient object detection, RGB-D salient object detection, and RGBFrequency image manipulation detection demonstrate the clear effectiveness of the proposed RXFOOD.Comment: 10 page

Injectable Self‐Healing Antibacterial Bioactive Polypeptide‐Based Hybrid Nanosystems for Efficiently Treating Multidrug Resistant Infection, Skin‐Tumor Therapy, and Enhancing Wound Healing

The surgical procedure in skin‐tumor therapy usually results in cutaneous defects, and multidrug‐resistant bacterial infection could cause chronic wounds. Here, for the first time, an injectable self‐healing antibacterial bioactive polypeptide‐based hybrid nanosystem is developed for treating multidrug resistant infection, skin‐tumor therapy, and wound healing. The multifunctional hydrogel is successfully prepared through incorporating monodispersed polydopamine functionalized bioactive glass nanoparticles (BGN@PDA) into an antibacterial F127‐ε‐Poly‐L‐lysine hydrogel. The nanocomposites hydrogel displays excellent self‐healing and injectable ability, as well as robust antibacterial activity, especially against multidrug‐resistant bacteria in vitro and in vivo. The nanocomposites hydrogel also demonstrates outstanding photothermal performance with (near‐infrared laser irradiation) NIR irradiation, which could effectively kill the tumor cell (>90%) and inhibit tumor growth (inhibition rate up to 94%) in a subcutaneous skin‐tumor model. In addition, the nanocomposites hydrogel effectively accelerates wound healing in vivo. These results suggest that the BGN‐based nanocomposite hydrogel is a promising candidate for skin‐tumor therapy, wound healing, and anti‐infection. This work may offer a facile strategy to prepare multifunctional bioactive hydrogels for simultaneous tumor therapy, tissue regeneration, and anti‐infection.This paper reports an intrinsically multifunctional bioactive hybrid hydrogel for treating multidrug resistant infection, skin‐tumor therapy, and wound healing. The hybrid hydrogels display excellent self‐healing and injectable ability, as well as robust antibacterial activity, especially against multidrug‐resistant bacteria in vitro and in vivo, and also efficiently inhibits tumor growth and enhances wound healing.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149555/1/adfm201806883.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149555/2/adfm201806883-sup-0001-S1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149555/3/adfm201806883_am.pd

Defense against Adversarial Cloud Attack on Remote Sensing Salient Object Detection

Detecting the salient objects in a remote sensing image has wide applications for the interdisciplinary research. Many existing deep learning methods have been proposed for Salient Object Detection (SOD) in remote sensing images and get remarkable results. However, the recent adversarial attack examples, generated by changing a few pixel values on the original remote sensing image, could result in a collapse for the well-trained deep learning based SOD model. Different with existing methods adding perturbation to original images, we propose to jointly tune adversarial exposure and additive perturbation for attack and constrain image close to cloudy image as Adversarial Cloud. Cloud is natural and common in remote sensing images, however, camouflaging cloud based adversarial attack and defense for remote sensing images are not well studied before. Furthermore, we design DefenseNet as a learn-able pre-processing to the adversarial cloudy images so as to preserve the performance of the deep learning based remote sensing SOD model, without tuning the already deployed deep SOD model. By considering both regular and generalized adversarial examples, the proposed DefenseNet can defend the proposed Adversarial Cloud in white-box setting and other attack methods in black-box setting. Experimental results on a synthesized benchmark from the public remote sensing SOD dataset (EORSSD) show the promising defense against adversarial cloud attacks

Emodin targets the β-hydroxyacyl-acyl carrier protein dehydratase from Helicobacter pylori: enzymatic inhibition assay with crystal structural and thermodynamic characterization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The natural product Emodin demonstrates a wide range of pharmacological properties including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferation, vasorelaxant and anti-<it>H. pylori </it>activities. Although its <it>H. pylori </it>inhibition was discovered, no acting target information against Emodin has been revealed to date.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we reported that Emodin functioned as a competitive inhibitor against the recombinant β-hydroxyacyl-ACP dehydratase from <it>Helicobacter pylori </it>(HpFabZ), and strongly inhibited the growth of <it>H. pylori </it>strains SS1 and ATCC 43504. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) based assays have suggested the kinetic and thermodynamic features of Emodin/HpFabZ interaction. Additionally, to inspect the binding characters of Emodin against HpFabZ at atomic level, the crystal structure of HpFabZ-Emodin complex was also examined. The results showed that Emodin inhibition against HpFabZ could be implemented either through its occupying the entrance of the tunnel or embedding into the tunnel to prevent the substrate from accessing the active site.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our work is expected to provide useful information for illumination of Emodin inhibition mechanism against HpFabZ, while Emodin itself could be used as a potential lead compound for further anti-bacterial drug discovery.</p

Noninvasive Submillimeter-Precision Brain Stimulation by Optically-Driven Focused Ultrasound

High precision neuromodulation is a powerful tool to decipher neurocircuits and treat neurological diseases. Current non-invasive neuromodulation methods offer limited millimeter-level precision. Here, we report an optically-driven focused ultrasound (OFUS) for non-invasive brain stimulation with submillimeter precision. OFUS is generated by a soft optoacoustic pad (SOAP) fabricated through embedding candle soot nanoparticles in a curved polydimethylsiloxane film. SOAP generates a transcranial ultrasound focus at 15 MHz with a lateral resolution of 83 micrometers, which is two orders of magnitude smaller than that of conventional transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS). Effective OFUS neurostimulation in vitro with a single ultrasound cycle is shown. Submillimeter transcranial stimulation of mouse motor cortex in vivo is demonstrated. An acoustic energy of 0.02 J/cm^2, two orders of magnitude less than that of tFUS, is sufficient for successful OFUS neurostimulation. By delivering a submillimeter focus non-invasively, OFUS opens a new way for neuroscience studies and disease treatments.Comment: 36 pages, 5 main figures, 13 supplementary figure

Electric Field Switching of Magnon Spin Current in a Compensated Ferrimagnet

Manipulation of directional magnon propagation, known as magnon spin current, is essential for developing magnonic memory and logic devices featuring nonvolatile functionalities and ultralow power consumption. Magnon spin current can usually be modulated by magnetic field or current-induced spin torques. However, these approaches may lead to energy dissipation caused by Joule heating. Electric-field switching of magnon spin current without charge current is highly desired but very challenging to realize. By integrating magnonic and piezoelectric materials, we demonstrate manipulation of the magnon spin current generated by the spin Seebeck effect in the ferrimagnetic insulator Gd3Fe5O12 (GdIG) film on a piezoelectric substrate. We observe reversible electric-field switching of magnon polarization without applied charge current. Through strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling, the electric field induces the magnetic compensation transition between two magnetic states of the GdIG, resulting in its magnetization reversal and the simultaneous switching of magnon spin current. Our work establishes a prototype material platform that pave the way for developing magnon logic devices characterized by all electric field reading and writing and reveals the underlying physics principles of their functions

Different Physical Activity Subtypes and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese People

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is growing rapidly in China. Tai chi and dancing are common types of exercise among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. It remains unclear whether these activities are associated with a lower risk of MetS. Methodology/Principal Findings A total of 15,514 individuals (6,952 men, 8,562 women) aged 50 to 70 years from the Dongfeng-Tongji Cohort in Shiyan, China participated in a cross-sectional study. Physical activity and other lifestyle factors were assessed with semi-structured questionnaires during face-to-face interviews. MetS was defined by the current National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult treatment Panel III criteria for Asian Americans. The prevalence of MetS was 33.2% in the study population. In the multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses, total physical activity levels were monotonically associated with a lower odds of MetS [OR 0.75 comparing extreme quintiles, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66–0.86, P<0.001]. Compared with non-exercisers in a specific exercise type, jogging (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.68–1.00, P = 0.046), tai chi (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.60–0.88, P<0.001), and dancing (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.47–0.67, P<0.001) were associated with significantly lower odds of MetS. Furthermore, each 1–h/week increment in tai chi and dancing was associated with a 5% (95% CI 2%–9%) and a 9% (95% CI 6%, 12%) lower risk of MetS. Conclusions/Significance: Jogging, tai chi and dancing are associated with a significantly lower risk of having MetS in middle-aged and older Chinese. Future intervention studies should consider the role of jogging, tai chi and dancing in preventing MetS