Improving Domain Generalization by Learning without Forgetting: Application in Retail Checkout

Designing an automatic checkout system for retail stores at the human level accuracy is challenging due to similar appearance products and their various poses. This paper addresses the problem by proposing a method with a two-stage pipeline. The first stage detects class-agnostic items, and the second one is dedicated to classify product categories. We also track the objects across video frames to avoid duplicated counting. One major challenge is the domain gap because the models are trained on synthetic data but tested on the real images. To reduce the error gap, we adopt domain generalization methods for the first-stage detector. In addition, model ensemble is used to enhance the robustness of the 2nd-stage classifier. The method is evaluated on the AI City challenge 2022 -- Track 4 and gets the F1 score $40\%$ on the test A set. Code is released at the link https://github.com/cybercore-co-ltd/aicity22-track4

Pharmacological inhibition of leukotrienes in an animal model of bleomycin-induced acute lung injury

Leukotrienes are increased locally in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, a role for these arachidonic acid metabolites has been thoroughly characterized in the animal bleomycin model of lung fibrosis by using different gene knock-out settings. We investigated the efficacy of pharmacological inhibition of leukotrienes activity in the development of bleomycin-induced lung injury by comparing the responses in wild-type mice with mice treated with zileuton, a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor and MK-571, a cys-leukotrienes receptor antagonist. Mice were subjected to intra-tracheal administration of bleomycin or saline and were assigned to receive either MK-571 at 1 mg/Kg or zileuton at 50 mg/Kg daily. One week after bleomycin administration, BAL cell counts, lung histology with van Gieson for collagen staining and immunohistochemical analysis for myeloperoxidase, IL-1 and TNF-α were performed. Following bleomycin administration both MK-571 and zileuton treated mice exhibited a reduced degree of lung damage and inflammation when compared to WT mice as shown by the reduction of:(i) loss of body weight, (ii) mortality rate, (iii) lung infiltration by neutrophils (myeloperoxidase activity, BAL total and differential cell counts), (iv) lung edema, (v) histological evidence of lung injury and collagen deposition, (vi) lung myeloperoxidase, IL-1 and TNF-α staining. This is the first study showing that the pharmacological inhibition of leukotrienes activity attenuates bleomycin-induced lung injury in mice. Given our results as well as those coming from genetic studies, it might be considered meaningful to trial this drug class in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that still represents a major challenge to medical treatment

Mitoxantrone and Analogues Bind and Stabilize i-Motif Forming DNA Sequences

YesThere are hundreds of ligands which can interact with G-quadruplex DNA, yet very few which target i-motif. To appreciate an understanding between the dynamics between these structures and how they can be affected by intervention with small molecule ligands, more i-motif binding compounds are required. Herein we describe how the drug mitoxantrone can bind, induce folding of and stabilise i-motif forming DNA sequences, even at physiological pH. Additionally, mitoxantrone was found to bind i-motif forming sequences preferentially over double helical DNA. We also describe the stabilisation properties of analogues of mitoxantrone. This offers a new family of ligands with potential for use in experiments into the structure and function of i-motif forming DNA sequences

Insights gained from the reverse engineering of gene networks in keloid fibroblasts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Keloids are protrusive claw-like scars that have a propensity to recur even after surgery, and its molecular etiology remains elusive. The goal of reverse engineering is to infer gene networks from observational data, thus providing insight into the inner workings of a cell. However, most attempts at modeling biological networks have been done using simulated data. This study aims to highlight some of the issues involved in working with experimental data, and at the same time gain some insights into the transcriptional regulatory mechanism present in keloid fibroblasts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Microarray data from our previous study was combined with microarray data obtained from the literature as well as new microarray data generated by our group. For the physical approach, we used the fREDUCE algorithm for correlating expression values to binding motifs. For the influence approach, we compared the Bayesian algorithm BANJO with the information theoretic method ARACNE in terms of performance in recovering known influence networks obtained from the KEGG database. In addition, we also compared the performance of different normalization methods as well as different types of gene networks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using the physical approach, we found consensus sequences that were active in the keloid condition, as well as some sequences that were responsive to steroids, a commonly used treatment for keloids. From the influence approach, we found that BANJO was better at recovering the gene networks compared to ARACNE and that transcriptional networks were better suited for network recovery compared to cytokine-receptor interaction networks and intracellular signaling networks. We also found that the NFKB transcriptional network that was inferred from normal fibroblast data was more accurate compared to that inferred from keloid data, suggesting a more robust network in the keloid condition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Consensus sequences that were found from this study are possible transcription factor binding sites and could be explored for developing future keloid treatments or for improving the efficacy of current steroid treatments. We also found that the combination of the Bayesian algorithm, RMA normalization and transcriptional networks gave the best reconstruction results and this could serve as a guide for future influence approaches dealing with experimental data.</p

I-Motif Structures Formed in the Human c-MYC Promoter Are Highly Dynamic–Insights into Sequence Redundancy and I-Motif Stability

The GC-rich nuclease hypersensitivity element III1 (NHE III1) of the c-MYC promoter largely controls the transcriptional activity of the c-MYC oncogene. The C-rich strand in this region can form I-motif DNA secondary structures. We determined the folding pattern of the major I-motif formed in the NHE III1, which can be formed at near-neutral pH. While we find that the I-motif formed in the four 3′ consecutive runs of cytosines appears to be the most favored, our results demonstrate that the C-rich strand of the c-MYC NHE III1 exhibits a high degree of dynamic equilibration. Using a trisubstituted oligomer of this region, we determined the formation of two equilibrating loop isomers, one of which contains a flipped-out cytosine. Our results indicate that the intercalative cytosine+–cytosine base pairs are not always necessary for an intramolecular I-motif. The dynamic character of the c-MYC I-motif is intrinsic to the NHE III1 sequence and appears to provide stability to the c-MYC I-motif

Mdm2-SNP309 polymorphism in prostate cancer: no evidence for association with increased risk or histopathological tumour characteristics

The search for inherited cancer susceptibility factors is a major focus of epidemiologic cancer studies. Analyses of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in a variety of genes revealed a correlation between a specific allele variant and cancer predisposition. Human mouse double-minute 2 protein (Mdm2) is a cellular E3 ligase capable of ubiquitination and degradation of p53. Therefore, Mdm2 is a crucial factor of cell cycle control and cell survival. The Mdm2 promoter SNP309 was shown to increase Mdm2 expression and can, thereby, inhibit the p53 pathway. This SNP was found to be associated with increased risk and early onset of various malignancies. For prostate cancer no studies are reported to date. In a case–control study we determined the distribution of the Mdm2 SNP309 in 145 male subjects with prostate cancer and in 124 male controls without any malignancy using RFLP analysis. Cases and controls showed a similar distribution of the SNP (P=0.299). Genotype distribution showed neither an association with histopathological characteristics of the tumours nor with prognosis. Age at disease onset was also not modified by the SNP. This first study of the Mdm2 SNP309 in prostate cancer patients suggests no correlation between a certain allelic variant and an increased cancer risk

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Influence of Novel Norovirus GII.4 Variants on Gastroenteritis Outbreak Dynamics in Alberta and the Northern Territories, Canada between 2000 and 2008

BACKGROUND: Norovirus GII.4 is the predominant genotype circulating worldwide over the last decade causing 80% of all norovirus outbreaks with new GII.4 variants reported in parallel with periodic epidemic waves of norovirus outbreaks. The circulating new GII.4 variants and the epidemiology of norovirus outbreaks in Alberta, Canada have not been described. Our hypothesis is that the periodic epidemic norovirus outbreak activity in Alberta was driven by new GII.4 variants evolving by genetic drift. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Alberta Provincial Public Health Laboratory performed norovirus testing using RT-PCR for suspected norovirus outbreaks in the province and the northern Territories between 2000 and 2008. At least one norovirus strain from 707 out of 1,057 (66.9%) confirmed norovirus outbreaks were successfully sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using BioNumerics and 617 (91.1%) outbreaks were characterized as caused by GII.4 with 598 assigned as novel variants including: GII.4-1996, GII.4-2002, GII.4-2004, GII.4-2006a, GII.4-2006b, GII.4-2008a and GII.4-2008b. Defining July to June of the following year as the yearly observation period, there was clear biannual pattern of low and high outbreak activity in Alberta. Within this biannual pattern, high outbreak activity followed the emergence of novel GII.4 variants. The two variants that emerged in 2006 had wider geographic distribution and resulted in higher outbreak activity compared to other variants. The outbreak settings were analyzed. Community-based group residence was the most common for both GII.4 variants and non-GII.4 variants. GII.4 variants were more commonly associated with outbreaks in acute care hospitals while outbreaks associated non-GII.4 variants were more commonly seen in school and community social events settings (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The emergence of new norovirus GII.4 variants resulted in an increased norovirus outbreak activity in the following season in a unique biannual pattern in Alberta over an eight year period. The association between antigenic drift of GII.4 strains and epidemic norovirus outbreak activity could be due to changes in host immunity, viral receptor binding efficiency or virulence factors in the new variants. Early detection of novel GII.4 variants provides vital information that could be used to forecast the norovirus outbreak burden, enhance public health preparedness and allocate appropriate resources for outbreak management

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or τ lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, φ, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan β in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN