Video Saliency Detection Using Object Proposals

In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to identify salient object regions in videos via object proposals. The core idea is to solve the saliency detection problem by ranking and selecting the salient proposals based on object-level saliency cues. Object proposals offer a more complete and high-level representation, which naturally caters to the needs of salient object detection. As well as introducing this novel solution for video salient object detection, we reorganize various discriminative saliency cues and traditional saliency assumptions on object proposals. With object candidates, a proposal ranking and voting scheme, based on various object-level saliency cues, is designed to screen out nonsalient parts, select salient object regions, and to infer an initial saliency estimate. Then a saliency optimization process that considers temporal consistency and appearance differences between salient and nonsalient regions is used to refine the initial saliency estimates. Our experiments on public datasets (SegTrackV2, Freiburg-Berkeley Motion Segmentation Dataset, and Densely Annotated Video Segmentation) validate the effectiveness, and the proposed method produces significant improvements over state-of-the-art algorithms

Influence of shield tunnel construction on ground surface settlement under the condition of upper-soft and lower-hard composite strata

Taking the shield tunnel project of Guangzhou Metro Line 8 from Tongdewei Station to Shangbu Station as the research background, using the research method of finite element simulation and site monitoring, this paper analyses the influence rules of shield tunneling on ground subsidence under the condition of different hard rock height ratios. The research results show that in the process of crossing different hard rock height ratio composite stratum, as the hard rock height ratio decreases, the value of ground settlement decreases and settlement tank becomes shallow. The surface subsidence in different hard rock height ratio strata is obviously different, and the maximum difference is about 8.6 mm; The influence of the hard rock height ratio on the surface longitudinal settlement is mainly reflected in the position change of the beginning and the end of the settlement. With the increase of the hard rock height ratio, the shield construction reduces the amount of the surface longitudinal settlement and its influence range; Through the research, it is found that the hard rock height ratio in the 0-0.2 and 0.5-1 is the sensitive interval, and the settlement value in these two hard rock height ratio interval varies greatly. It is necessary to pay attention to the uneven settlement of the ground surface caused by shield construction in the sensitive hard rock height ratio interval. The research results of this paper can provide reference value for similar shield construction in upper soft and lower hard composite stratum

The Ninth Visual Object Tracking VOT2021 Challenge Results

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Nucleic acid nanostructure for delivery of CRISPR/Cas9‐based gene editing system

Abstract CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR‐associated protein 9)‐based gene editing system has aroused great interest in many research fields. However, the efficient and safe delivery of this gene editing system into the target tissues and cells remain a major challenge. During the past decades, nucleic acid nanostructures have been widely developed for drug delivery. In this perspective, we will introduce and discuss the recent progress in the design of multifunctional nucleic acid nanostructures, including RCA‐derived DNA, branched DNA, and hybrid DNA, for delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9‐based gene editing system. Furthermore, we prospect the challenges and future opportunities of nucleic acid nanotechnology in the delivery of gene editing systems

Research on an intelligent traffic congestion control model

This paper summarizes the status quo of intelligent traffic congestion control and vehicle following on traffic road, puts forward the key technology model and its content of intelligent traffic control, elaborates the model and content in detail, and summarizes the research done, hoping to provide reference for the related research on intelligent traffic congestion control

The Crosstalk between Calcium Ions and Aldosterone Contributes to Inflammation, Apoptosis, and Calcification of VSMC via the AIF-1/NF-κB Pathway in Uremia

Vascular calcification is a major complication of maintenance hemodialysis patients. Studies have confirmed that calcification mainly occurs in the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) of the vascular media. However, the exact pathogenesis of VSMC calcification is still unknown. This study shows that the crosstalk between calcium and aldosterone via the allograft inflammatory factor 1 (AIF-1) pathway contributes to calcium homeostasis and VSMC calcification, which is a novel mechanism of vascular calcification in uremia. In vivo results showed that the level of aldosterone and inflammatory factors increased in calcified arteries, whereas no significant changes were observed in peripheral blood. However, the expression of inflammatory factors markedly increased in the peripheral blood of uremic rats without aortic calcification and gradually returned to normal levels with aggravation of aortic calcification. In vitro results showed that there was an interaction between calcium ions and aldosterone in macrophages or VSMC. Calcium induced aldosterone synthesis, and in turn, aldosterone also triggered intracellular calcium content upregulation in macrophages or VSMC. Furthermore, activated macrophages induced inflammation, apoptosis, and calcification of VSMC. Activated VSMC also imparted a similar effect on untreated VSMC. Finally, AIF-1 enhanced aldosterone- or calcium-induced VSMC calcification, and NF-κB inhibitors inhibited the effect of AIF-1 on VSMC. These in vivo and in vitro results suggest that the crosstalk between calcium ions and aldosterone plays an important role in VSMC calcification in uremia via the AIF-1/NF-κB pathway. Local calcified VSMC induced the same pathological process in surrounding VSMC, thereby contributing to calcium homeostasis and accelerating vascular calcification

Up-regulation of microRNA-93 inhibits TGF-β1-induced EMT and renal fibrogenesis by down-regulation of Orai1

TGF-β1-induced excessive deposition of ECM and EMT process of tubular epithelial cells play critical roles in the development and progression of fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Orai1 has been demonstrated to be involved in TGF-β1-induced EMT via TGF-β/Smad3 pathway. We are aimed to explore the effects of miR-93 on TGF-β1-induced EMT process in HK2 cells. In this study, our data showed that miR-93 was dramatically decreased in renal tissues of patients with DN and TGF-β1-stimulated HK2 cells. Moreover, the decreased level of miR-93 was closely associated with the increased expression of Orai1. Overexpression of miR-93 decreased Orai1 expression, and then suppressed TGF-β1-mediated EMT and fibrogenesis. Next, we predicted that the Orai1 was a potential target gene of miR-93, and demonstrated that miR-93 could directly target Orai1. SiRNA targeting Orai1 was sufficient to suppress TGF-β1-induced EMT and fibrogenesis in HK2 cells. Furthermore, Overexpression of Orai1 partially reversed the protective effect of miR-93 overexpression on TGF-β1-mediated EMT and fibrogenesis in HK2 cells. Taken together, Orai1 and miR-93 significantly impact on the progression of TGF-β1-mediated EMT and fibrogenesis in HK2 cells, and they may represent novel targets for the prevention strategies of fibrosis in the context of DN. Keywords: Diabetic nephropathy, MicroRNA-93, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Renal fibrogenesis, Orai

PbSe quantum dots-based chemiresistors for room-temperature NO2 detection

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are promising building blocks for low-cost and high-performance gas sensors due to their excellent solution processability and extremely small size. Among chalcogenide CQDs, PbSe has a large exciton Bohr radius and exhibits strong confinement energies, facilitating the fast charge-carrier transport. However, CQDs-based devices are susceptible to degrade due to the poor stability of CQDs. Here, in order to obtain air-stable PbSe CQDs for gas sensing application, we synthesized PbSe CQDs using a cation exchange method with in situ chloride and cadmium passivation. The sharp absorption peak in UV–vis absorption spectra confirmed strong quantum confinement in the PbSe CQDs and their average diameter was estimated to be 2.87 ± 0.23 nm. To construct gas sensors, PbSe CQDs were spin-coated onto ceramic substrates and then Pb(NO3)2 treatment was carried out to remove the long-chain ligands surrounding PbSe CQDs. At 25 °C, the sensor was highly sensitive and selective to NO2 with a response of 22.3 at 50 ppm and a fast response time of 7 s. Moreover, the sensor response showed a 85.2% stability as the time increased up to 20 days, suggesting the potential applications of PbSe CQDs for NO2 monitoring at room temperature