MapTrack: Tracking in the Map

Multi-Object Tracking (MOT) aims to maintain stable and uninterrupted trajectories for each target. Most state-of-the-art approaches first detect objects in each frame and then implement data association between new detections and existing tracks using motion models and appearance similarities. Despite achieving satisfactory results, occlusion and crowds can easily lead to missing and distorted detections, followed by missing and false associations. In this paper, we first revisit the classic tracker DeepSORT, enhancing its robustness over crowds and occlusion significantly by placing greater trust in predictions when detections are unavailable or of low quality in crowded and occluded scenes. Specifically, we propose a new framework comprising of three lightweight and plug-and-play algorithms: the probability map, the prediction map, and the covariance adaptive Kalman filter. The probability map identifies whether undetected objects have genuinely disappeared from view (e.g., out of the image or entered a building) or are only temporarily undetected due to occlusion or other reasons. Trajectories of undetected targets that are still within the probability map are extended by state estimations directly. The prediction map determines whether an object is in a crowd, and we prioritize state estimations over observations when severe deformation of observations occurs, accomplished through the covariance adaptive Kalman filter. The proposed method, named MapTrack, achieves state-of-the-art results on popular multi-object tracking benchmarks such as MOT17 and MOT20. Despite its superior performance, our method remains simple, online, and real-time. The code will be open-sourced later.Comment: 10 page

Validation of scales for researching stakeholders’ attitudes toward domestic violence in China

Domestic violence (DV) is a significant concern within China. Currently, there are few standardized measurement tools to gauge Chinese stakeholders’ perceptions and beliefs concerning DV. This research sought to validate tools to be used with such stakeholders. Factor analyses were utilized on cross-sectional, survey data from a purposive sample of 683 Chinese DV professionals working in four institutions in Guangdong. Analyses developed three scales for measuring DV Definitions, DV Attitudes, and DV Policing. The development of these scales is beneficial to advance the already growing research related to DV in China in ways that are relevant to the Chinese context

A doubly robust estimator for the Mann Whitney Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test when applied for causal inference in observational studies

The Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon rank sum test (MWWRST) is a widely used method for comparing two treatment groups in randomized control trials, particularly when dealing with highly skewed data. However, when applied to observational study data, the MWWRST often yields invalid results for causal inference. To address this limitation, Wu et al. (2014) introduced an approach that incorporates inverse probability weighting (IPW) into this rank-based statistics to mitigate confounding effects. Subsequently, Mao (2018), Zhang et al. (2019), and Ai et al. (2020) extended this IPW estimator to develop doubly robust estimators. Nevertheless, each of these approaches has notable limitations. Mao's method imposes stringent assumptions that may not align with real-world study data. Zhang et al.'s (2019) estimators rely on bootstrap inference, which suffers from computational inefficiency and lacks known asymptotic properties. Meanwhile, Ai et al. (2020) primarily focus on testing the null hypothesis of equal distributions between two groups, which is a more stringent assumption that may not be well-suited to the primary practical application of MWWRST. In this paper, we aim to address these limitations by leveraging functional response models (FRM) to develop doubly robust estimators. We demonstrate the performance of our proposed approach using both simulated and real study data

Monte Carlo simulation of errors in gantry angle and multi-leaf collimators on intensity modulated arc therapy radiation dose

This study aimed to investigate the impact of conventional linear accelerator errors in the gantry angle and multi-leaf collimators (MLCs) on the intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) radiation dose for brain tumors. Seven typical planning datasets of patients with brain tumors were randomly selected and retreated using the IMAT conventional linear accelerator Varian 23EX. Random and system errors were introduced to modify these plans while maintaining the remaining treatment information. The dose-volume parameters of the target and critical organs were compared and analyzed. The results showed that for random single-sided MLCs errors, if a group of errors was moved outward by 2 mm, the planning target volume (PTV)-Dmean increased by approximately 2.7%. If one side of the MLCs expanded outward with MLC-1, MLC-2, and MLC-rnd, the mean deviations of PTV-Dmean were 1.12%, 2.15%, and 1.15%, respectively, and the Dmean deviations of the lenses were 5.25%, 9.97%, and 5.49%, respectively. The maximum deviation of PTV-Dmean because of the deviation of two sets of leaves caused by system errors (±2 mm) was 0.8%, and maximum dose and Dmean of the lens and brainstem increased by 11.4%, 15.8% and 1.99%, 1.07%, respectively. By introducing a gantry angle error, the maximum doses of PTV-Dmin and-Dmean reduced by 2.75% and 0.35%, respectively. An incorrect gantry position results in significant changes in the dosimetric deviation of the OAR dose-volume histogram, especially for the lens. Note that the maximum and mean dose deviations of a patient’s lens if the gantry deviation (–2°) were 16.9% and 38.5% higher than those of the reference plan, respectively. The dose deviation caused by random errors of the MLCs leaves was influenced by the actual size of the random displacement errors of the leaves and weight of the beam subfield at a specific arc segment. The maximum dose deviation occurs if MLCs move to the maximum simulation error (±2 mm). The gantry rotation error had no significant impact on the target area PTV dose distribution; however, it had a significant dose deviation for the OAR

Feasibility of flattening filter free beams for hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy: a dosimetric and radiobiological analysis

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of the flattening filter free (FFF) mode of a linear accelerator for patients with hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT) by comparison with flattened beams (FF) technique in the application of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) using dosimetric and radiobiological indexes based on the volume of hippocampus and target.Methods2 VMAT- and 2 IMRT- plans were optimized in Eclipse planning system with 2 different delivery modes (6 MV standard vs. 6 MV FFF) for each of 25 patients. Dose distributions of the target and organs at risk (OARs), normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of the hippocampus, monitor units, treatment time and quality assurance results were evaluated to compare the normal and FFF beam characteristics by Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test with a significance level of 0.05.ResultsVMAT-FFF provided the significantly best homogeneity and conformity of the target, delivered the lowest dose to hippocampus and the other OARs, and led to the lowest NTCP of the hippocampus among all modalities, which has the potential to alleviate neurocognitive decline after WBRT. IMRT-FFF reduced the dose to the lens with similar dose distributions of the target compared with IMRT-FF, whereas the lower dose to the hippocampus was achieved using the conventional beams. The monitor units were obviously increased by 19.2% for VMAT and 33.8% for IMRT, when FFF beams w ere used. The removal of flattening filter for IMRT resulted in a 26% reduction in treatment time, but VMAT had the similar treatment time for the two modes owing to the limitation of gantry rotation speed. Gamma analysis showed an excellent agreement for all plans at 3%/2 mm, and no statistical differences were found between FF and FFF.ConclusionIn conclusion, this study suggests that FFF mode is feasible and advantageous in HA-WBRT and VMAT-FFF is the optimal solution in terms of dose distribution of the target, OARs sparing, NTCP of the hippocampus and delivery efficiency compared to the other three techniques. Additionally, the advantages of the FFF technique for VMAT are more prominent in cases with small hippocampal volumes

High-risk subtype: Clinical manifestations and molecular characteristics of submandibular gland adenoid cystic carcinoma

ObjectiveAdenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck mainly occurs in the major salivary glands, of which the parotid gland and submandibular gland are the most common. The purpose of this study was to clarify the site-specific differences in prognosis and molecular expression characteristics of the patients and to achieve stratified risk management of the clinical prognosis.MaterialsBy performing a single-centre retrospective analysis combined with analyses of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, cBioPortal and GEO databases, the clinical prognostic characteristics and the differences in molecular expression patterns of ACC in the submandibular gland and parotid gland were analysed. Cox regression analysis, the chi-square test, Fisher’s test and the log-rank test were used to compare the significance of differences.ResultsCompared with patients with parotid gland ACC, the submandibular gland ACC is more likely to have metastases in the cervical lymph node (21.7% vs. 3.3%) and shows a higher rate of distant metastasis within 1 year after the primary site diagnosis (47.8% vs. 23.3%), a worse overall prognosis, more frequent mutations of MYB/MYBL1 (50% vs. 25%) and abnormal upregulation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway.ConclusionsSubmandibular gland ACC is associated with site-specific early cervical lymph node metastasis and hidden distant metastasis, along with rapid progression and a poor prognosis. A high MYB/MYBL1 mutation rate and abnormal upregulation of the PI3K pathway with MYB involvement were identified

Does Trauma Exacerbate Criminal Behavior? An Exploratory Study of Child Maltreatment and Chronic Offending in a Sample of Chinese Juvenile Offenders

(1) Background: Maltreated children are at increased risk for juvenile delinquency. Extant research has explored the effect of child maltreatment on either the initial risk of juvenile delinquency or general juvenile recidivism. However, little is known regarding the effect of child maltreatment on chronic offending. (2) Methods: Using a sample of 695 male juvenile offenders incarcerated in a centralized juvenile reformatory of the province X located in Southwest China, this study investigates both the prevalence of child maltreatment and the effect of child maltreatment on chronic offending among the juvenile offenders. Descriptive statistical analyses and multinomial logistic regression were utilized to conduct the analyses. (3) Results: A vast majority of the juvenile offenders experienced at least one type of child maltreatment. Moreover, maltreatment was generally found to be more prevalent in chronic offenders than in one-time offenders and recidivists. Results from a series of logistic regression analyses revealed that among five specific maltreatment types, only physical abuse exerted a statistically significant and positive impact on chronic offending. (4) Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of providing early prevention and intervention programs to juvenile offenders who were physically abused in order to reduce general chronic offending as well as chronic violent offending

Design of a Four-Port Flexible UWB-MIMO Antenna with High Isolation for Wearable and IoT Applications

A 2 × 2 ultra-wideband MIMO flexible antenna with a low profile and good isolation was designed for Internet of Things (IoT) realms and wearable devices. The antenna elements were placed on a novel flexible substrate of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) with compact dimensions fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW). In order to ameliorate isolation, the cross-shaped decoupling branches were placed among the antenna elements. The proposed UWB antenna can operate from 2.9 GHz to 10.86 GHz with a good reflection coefficient of S11 < −10 dB as well as a high isolation better than 22 dB. Its operating bands include 5G, WiFi, X-band, etc. Moreover, the parameters of diversity performance were also tested. These parameters included an average gain of approximately 4 dB, a low ECC of less than 0.01, and good diversity gain of 9.999. The flexible MIMO antenna performs well in bending and on-body conditions. To sum up, the antenna has good prospects in IoT applications and wearable fields