SAR-to-Optical Image Translation via Thermodynamics-inspired Network

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is prevalent in the remote sensing field but is difficult to interpret in human visual perception. Recently, SAR-to-optical (S2O) image conversion methods have provided a prospective solution for interpretation. However, since there is a huge domain difference between optical and SAR images, they suffer from low image quality and geometric distortion in the produced optical images. Motivated by the analogy between pixels during the S2O image translation and molecules in a heat field, Thermodynamics-inspired Network for SAR-to-Optical Image Translation (S2O-TDN) is proposed in this paper. Specifically, we design a Third-order Finite Difference (TFD) residual structure in light of the TFD equation of thermodynamics, which allows us to efficiently extract inter-domain invariant features and facilitate the learning of the nonlinear translation mapping. In addition, we exploit the first law of thermodynamics (FLT) to devise an FLT-guided branch that promotes the state transition of the feature values from the unstable diffusion state to the stable one, aiming to regularize the feature diffusion and preserve image structures during S2O image translation. S2O-TDN follows an explicit design principle derived from thermodynamic theory and enjoys the advantage of explainability. Experiments on the public SEN1-2 dataset show the advantages of the proposed S2O-TDN over the current methods with more delicate textures and higher quantitative results

Identification of microRNA precursors based on random forest with network-level representation method of stem-loop structure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in regulating various biological processes such as participating in the post-transcriptional pathway and affecting the stability and/or the translation of mRNA. Current methods have extracted feature information at different levels, among which the characteristic stem-loop structure makes the greatest contribution to the prediction of putative miRNA precursor (pre-miRNA). We find that none of these features alone is capable of identifying new pre-miRNA accurately.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present work, a pre-miRNA stem-loop secondary structure is translated to a network, which provides a novel perspective for its structural analysis. Network parameters are used to construct prediction model, achieving an area under the receiver operating curves (AUC) value of 0.956. Moreover, by repeating the same method on two independent datasets, accuracies of 0.976 and 0.913 are achieved, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Network parameters effectively characterize pre-miRNA secondary structure, which improves our prediction model in both prediction ability and computation efficiency. Additionally, as a complement to feature extraction methods in previous studies, these multifaceted features can reflect natural properties of miRNAs and be used for comprehensive and systematic analysis on miRNA.</p

The global/local (limited to some regions) effect of cesarean delivery on the risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundAllergic rhinitis is a chronic and refractory disease that can be affected by a variety of factors. Studies have shown an association between cesarean section and the risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis.MethodsThe PubMed, Springer, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched to retrieve all studies published from January 2000 to November 2022, focusing on the relationship between cesarean section and the risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis. A meta-analysis was conducted to find a correlation between cesarean section and the risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis. A subgroup analysis was performed, considering the region and family history of allergy, after adjusting for confounding factors. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated, publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot, and heterogeneity between study-specific relative risks was taken into account.ResultsThe results showed that cesarean section was significantly associated with an increased risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.20–1.35). Subgroup analysis stratified by region indicated that cesarean section increased the risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis, with the highest increase in South America (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.10–2.52) and the lowest in Europe (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02–1.25). The results of the subgroup analysis stratified by family history of allergy indicate that family history of allergy was not associated with the risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis.ConclusionAn association exists between cesarean section as the mode of delivery and the increased risk of pediatric allergic rhinitis, and cesarean section is a risk factor for allergic rhinitis

Fingolimod exerts in vitro anticancer activity against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines via YAP/TAZ suppression

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a notably global health challenge with high mortality rates and poor prognosis. The deregulation of the Hippo signalling pathway, especially the overexpression and activation of downstream effector Yes-associated protein (YAP), has been demonstrated to result in the rapid malignant evolution of HCC. In this context, multiple efforts have been dedicated to targeting YAP for HCC therapy, but effective YAP inhibitors are still lacking. In this study, through a YAP-TEAD (8×GTIIC) luciferase reporter assay, we identified fingolimod, an immunomodulatory drug approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, as a novel YAP inhibitor. Fingolimod suppressed the proliferation of HCC cell lines by downregulating the protein levels as well as the transactivating function of YAP. Overall, our current study not only identifies fingolimod as a novel YAP-targeting inhibitor, but also indicates that this clinically-approved drug could be utilized as a potential and feasible therapeutic drug for HCC

Genetic Polymorphisms in CYP2E1: Association with Schizophrenia Susceptibility and Risperidone Response in the Chinese Han Population

CYP2E1 is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily, which is involved in the metabolism and activation of both endobiotics and xenobiotics. The genetic polymorphisms of CYP2E1 gene (Chromosome 10q26.3, Accession Number NC_000010.10) are reported to be related to the development of several mental diseases and to be involved in the clinical efficacy of some psychiatric medications. We investigated the possible association of CYP2E1 polymorphisms with susceptibility to schizophrenia in the Chinese Han Population as well as the relationship with response to risperidone in schizophrenia patients.In a case-control study, we identified 11 polymorphisms in the 5' flanking region of CYP2E1 in 228 schizophrenia patients and 384 healthy controls of Chinese Han origin. From among the cases, we chose 130 patients who had undergone 8 weeks of risperidone monotherapy to examine the relationship between their response to risperidone and CYP2E1 polymorphisms. Clinical efficacy was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).Statistically significant differences in allele or genotype frequencies were found between cases and controls at rs8192766 (genotype p = 0.0048, permutation p = 0.0483) and rs2070673 (allele: p = 0.0018, permutation p = 0.0199, OR = 1.4528 95%CI = 1.1487-1.8374; genotype: p = 0.0020, permutation p = 0.0225). In addition, a GTCAC haplotype containing 5 SNPs (rs3813867, rs2031920, rs2031921, rs3813870 and rs2031922) was observed to be significantly associated with schizophrenia (p = 7.47E-12, permutation p<0.0001). However, no association was found between CYP2E1 polymorphisms/haplotypes and risperidone response.Our results suggest that CYP2E1 may be a potential risk gene for schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population. However, polymorphisms of the CYP2E1 gene may not contribute significantly to individual differences in the therapeutic efficacy of risperidone. Further studies in larger groups are warranted to confirm our results

Investigation on Diagnostic Methods of Rotating Machines and Influence Factors Based on Existing Testing Products

This thesis summarizes established methods for electrical diagnostics of the insulationof large rotating electrical machines, i.e. generators and large motorsworking above the low-voltage range. It then investigates the possibility ofusing some existing diagnostic instruments, not specically intended for machineinsulation, for performing standard tests on a certain type and range ofthe rotating machines. The summary of general diagnostic methods for rotatingmachinery includes the traditional methods and currently used methodsin industry. It considers what types of the defects can be detected, and theinuence of the applied voltage magnitudes and frequencies, etc. Then thereis a literature study of several recent or developing technologies such as on-linemonitoring and frequency response analysis, to investigate the possible futuredevelopment of the diagnostic methods that have practical applications duringmanufacturing and operation of rotating machinery for a more accurateand timely assessment. Possible modications to testing devices to suit themmore to machine insulation are investigated. A study of three market-existingdevices summarizes the machine diagnostic tests that they could be used for.Finally, an experimental study on a stator coil rated 7 kV is reported, and itsresults are used to analyze the inuence of the test factors such as frequencydependency, for future investigation.Denna avhandling sammanfattar etablerade metoder för elektrisk diagnos-tik av isolering hos stora roterande elektriska maskiner, dvs generatorer och stora motorer med märkspänningar högre än lågspänning. Därefter undersöks möjligheten att använda vissa befintliga diagnostiska instrument, som inte är särskilt avsedda för maskinisolering, för att utföra standardtester på roterande maskinerna. I sammanfattningen av diagnostiska metoder för roterande maskiner ingår traditionella metoder och för närvarande använda metoder inom industrin. Den anser vilka typer av defekter kan upptäckas, och påverkan av de tillämpade spännings magnituder och frekvenser, etc. En litteraturstudieomfattar flera nya eller utvecklande teknologier såsom on-line övervakningoch frekvensresponsanalys, för att undersöka den möjliga framtida utvecklingen av de diagnostiska metoder som har praktiska tillämpningar under tillverkning och drift av roterande maskiner för en mer exakt och punktlig bedömning. Möjliga modifieringar av provningsanordningar som passar dem mer för maskin isolering undersöks. study av tre marknadsföra-existerande apparater sammanfattar de bearbeta med maskin diagnostiska testar att de kunde användas för. En experimentell studie på en 7 kV statorlindning rapporteras, och dess resultat används för att analysera påverkan av test faktorersåsom frekvensberoendet av resultaten, för framtida utredning