Autism Spectrum Disorder: Neurodevelopmental Risk Factors, Biological Mechanism, and Precision Therapy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous, behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder. Over the past two decades, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has progressively increased, however, no clear diagnostic markers and specifically targeted medications for autism have emerged. As a result, neurobehavioral abnormalities, neurobiological alterations in ASD, and the development of novel ASD pharmacological therapy necessitate multidisciplinary collaboration. In this review, we discuss the development of multiple animal models of ASD to contribute to the disease mechanisms of ASD, as well as new studies from multiple disciplines to assess the behavioral pathology of ASD. In addition, we summarize and highlight the mechanistic advances regarding gene transcription, RNA and non-coding RNA translation, abnormal synaptic signaling pathways, epigenetic post-translational modifications, brain-gut axis, immune inflammation and neural loop abnormalities in autism to provide a theoretical basis for the next step of precision therapy. Furthermore, we review existing autism therapy tactics and limits and present challenges and opportunities for translating multidisciplinary knowledge of ASD into clinical practice

Automatic assembly of micro-miniature parts based on coaxial alignment and ORB feature matching

Aiming at the problems of low manual assembly process efficiency and low yield of micro-miniature parts. A vision system based on ORB feature matching for fast coaxial alignment of micro-miniature parts automated assembly is proposed. The coaxial alignment module is the main hardware, the assembly part and the base part can be imaged in the industrial camera; the ORB features are extracted from the known part template image and the part image obtained by the vision imaging system, and the RANSAC algorithm is adopted to match the ORB features of the template image and the actual part image, the pose of parts is calculated by feature matching results. At the same time, the image coordinate system and the motion axis coordinate system are calibrated, and the motion control system is driven by the transformation matrix of the two coordinate systems to complete the assembly between the assembly part and the base part. The assembly experiment shows the system can complete the automated assembly of micro-miniature parts

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Neurodevelopmental Risk Factors, Biological Mechanism, and Precision Therapy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous, behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder. Over the past two decades, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has progressively increased, however, no clear diagnostic markers and specifically targeted medications for autism have emerged. As a result, neurobehavioral abnormalities, neurobiological alterations in ASD, and the development of novel ASD pharmacological therapy necessitate multidisciplinary collaboration. In this review, we discuss the development of multiple animal models of ASD to contribute to the disease mechanisms of ASD, as well as new studies from multiple disciplines to assess the behavioral pathology of ASD. In addition, we summarize and highlight the mechanistic advances regarding gene transcription, RNA and non-coding RNA translation, abnormal synaptic signaling pathways, epigenetic post-translational modifications, brain-gut axis, immune inflammation and neural loop abnormalities in autism to provide a theoretical basis for the next step of precision therapy. Furthermore, we review existing autism therapy tactics and limits and present challenges and opportunities for translating multidisciplinary knowledge of ASD into clinical practice

Small sample parts recognition and localization from unfocused images in precision assembly systems using relative entropy

Recognition and localization of mechanical parts using machine vision is a common approach in precision assembly systems. However, positional inaccuracy in assembly systems often produces unfocused images. Hence, existing methods of part recognition and localization are vulnerable to failure. In this paper, we present a part recognition and localization method, based on relative entropy, which can be applied to small samples. First, a template image is generated based on the contour of the parts and divided into several regions. The intensity distribution of the regions was sampled to generate template features. Then, the captured image is segmented using the Gaussian mixture model and the expectation maximum algorithm to extract the target part in the image. Part features are also generated by sampling the target part image using the template features. Furthermore, an optimization model is established in which the objective function is the sum of the relative entropy between the image features, the template features, and the region matching error correction term. By solving the optimization model, the location of the part can be obtained. The proposed method is compared with the edge and invariant feature-based methods through experiments. The results show that the proposed method has higher robustness and is suitable for the recognition and localization of parts with unfocused images. By using this method, the flexibility and reliability of precision assembly systems can be improved

Developmental neurotoxic effects of bisphenol A and its derivatives in Drosophila melanogaster

As a result of the ban on bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone disruptor with developmental neurotoxicity, several BPA derivatives (BPs) have been widely used in industrial production. However, there are no effective methods for assessing the neurodevelopmental toxic effects of BPs. To address this, a Drosophila exposure model was established, and W1118 was reared in food containing these BPs. Results showed that each BPs displayed different semi-lethal doses ranging from 1.76 to 19.43 mM. Exposure to BPs delayed larval development and affected axonal growth, resulting in the abnormal crossing of the midline of axons in the β lobules of mushroom bodies, but the damage caused by BPE and BPF was relatively minor. BPC, BPAF, and BPAP have the most significant effects on locomotor behavior, whereas BPC exhibited the most affected social interactions. Furthermore, exposure to high-dose BPA, BPC, BPS, BPAF, and BPAP also significantly increased the expression of Drosophila estrogen-related receptors. These demonstrated that different kinds of BPs had different levels of neurodevelopmental toxicity, and the severity was BPZ > BPC and BPAF > BPB > BPS > BPAP ≈ BPAl ≈ BPF > BPE. Therefore, BPZ, BPC, BPS, BPAF, and BPAP should be evaluated as potential alternatives to BPA