67 research outputs found
APAUNet: Axis Projection Attention UNet for Small Target in 3D Medical Segmentation
In 3D medical image segmentation, small targets segmentation is crucial for
diagnosis but still faces challenges. In this paper, we propose the Axis
Projection Attention UNet, named APAUNet, for 3D medical image segmentation,
especially for small targets. Considering the large proportion of the
background in the 3D feature space, we introduce a projection strategy to
project the 3D features into three orthogonal 2D planes to capture the
contextual attention from different views. In this way, we can filter out the
redundant feature information and mitigate the loss of critical information for
small lesions in 3D scans. Then we utilize a dimension hybridization strategy
to fuse the 3D features with attention from different axes and merge them by a
weighted summation to adaptively learn the importance of different
perspectives. Finally, in the APA Decoder, we concatenate both high and low
resolution features in the 2D projection process, thereby obtaining more
precise multi-scale information, which is vital for small lesion segmentation.
Quantitative and qualitative experimental results on two public datasets (BTCV
and MSD) demonstrate that our proposed APAUNet outperforms the other methods.
Concretely, our APAUNet achieves an average dice score of 87.84 on BTCV, 84.48
on MSD-Liver and 69.13 on MSD-Pancreas, and significantly surpass the previous
SOTA methods on small targets.Comment: Accepted by ACCV202
A neural network-based scale-adaptive cloud-fraction scheme for GCMs
Cloud fraction significantly affects the short- and long-wave radiation. Its
realistic representation in general circulation models (GCMs) still poses great
challenges in modeling the atmosphere. Here, we present a neural network-based
diagnostic scheme that uses the grid-mean temperature, pressure, liquid and ice
water mixing ratios, and relative humidity to simulate the sub-grid cloud
fraction. The scheme, trained using CloudSat data with explicit consideration
of grid sizes, realistically simulates the observed cloud fraction with a
correlation coefficient (r) > 0.9 for liquid-, mixed-, and ice-phase clouds.
The scheme also captures the observed non-monotonic relationship between cloud
fraction and relative humidity and is computationally efficient, and robust for
GCMs with a variety of horizontal and vertical resolutions.
For illustrative purposes, we conducted comparative analyses of the 2006-2019
climatological-mean cloud fractions among CloudSat, and simulations from the
new scheme and the Xu-Randall scheme (optimized the same way as the new
scheme). The network-based scheme improves not only the spatial distribution of
the total cloud fraction but also the cloud vertical structure (r > 0.99). For
example, the biases of too-many high-level clouds over the tropics and too-many
low-level clouds over regions around 60{\deg}S and 60{\deg}N in the Xu-Randall
scheme are significantly reduced. These improvements are also found to be
insensitive to the spatio-temporal variability of large-scale meteorology
conditions, implying that the scheme can be used in different climate regimes
Immunomodulatory effect of Bifidobacterium breve on experimental allergic rhinitis in BALB/c mice
Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) may have a beneficial effect on allergic rhinitis (AR). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether microbial induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and adjustment of Th1 and Th2 responses by B. breve are associated with protection against allergic inflammation, and to identify a dose-response association in a murine AR model. Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized BALB/c mice were orally treated with different doses of B. breve [10(10), 10(9), 10(7) and 10(5) colony forming units (CFU)]. Following nasal challenge with OVA, sneeze frequency, serum OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) and cytokine concentrations [interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-13 and interferon-gamma], splenic percentage of cluster of differentiation (CD)4+CD25+ Tregs, and morphology of the nasal mucosa were examined. Oral treatment with live B. breve at doses of 10(7) CFU or higher alleviated nasal mucosal injury and suppressed sneezing upon repeated administration over a 6-week period. Furthermore, treatment with B. breve at these higher doses reduced the concentrations of serum OVA-specific IgE, IL-4 and IL-10, and increased the splenic percentage of CD4+CD25+ Tregs in rhinitic mice compared with those who did not receive probiotics. In contrast, treatment with B. breve at a lower dose did not indicate any effect on sneezing frequency or mucosal morphology in this animal model, even though the splenic percentage of CD4+CD25+ Tregs increased and the concentrations of serum OVA-specific IgE and IL-10 declined. B. breve exerts its anti-allergic effects by inhibiting type 2 helper T cell immune responses and enhancing CD4+CD25+ Treg activity. Sneezing was also reduced at a dose of 10(7) CFU or higher. The current study investigated the role of B. breve and aided in identifying the optimal dose of B. breve administration in the treatment of AR
Crosstalk between microbial biofilms in the gastrointestinal tract and chronic mucosa diseases
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the largest reservoir of microbiota in the human body; however, it is still challenging to estimate the distribution and life patterns of microbes. Biofilm, as the predominant form in the microbial ecosystem, serves ideally to connect intestinal flora, molecules, and host mucosa cells. It gives bacteria the capacity to inhabit ecological niches, communicate with host cells, and withstand environmental stresses. This study intends to evaluate the connection between GI tract biofilms and chronic mucosa diseases such as chronic gastritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer. In each disease, we summarize the representative biofilm makers including Helicobacter pylori, adherent-invasive Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis, and Fusobacterium nucleatum. We address biofilm’s role in causing inflammation and the pro-carcinogenic stage in addition to discussing the typical resistance, persistence, and recurrence mechanisms seen in vitro. Biofilms may serve as a new biomarker for endoscopic and pathologic detection of gastrointestinal disease and suppression, which may be a useful addition to the present therapy strategy
Mudskipper genomes provide insights into the terrestrial adaptation of amphibious fishes
Mudskippers are amphibious fishes that have developed morphological and physiological adaptations to match their unique lifestyles. Here we perform whole-genome sequencing of four representative mudskippers to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these adaptations. We discover an expansion of innate immune system genes in the mudskippers that may provide defence against terrestrial pathogens. Several genes of the ammonia excretion pathway in the gills have experienced positive selection, suggesting their important roles in mudskippers’ tolerance to environmental ammonia. Some vision-related genes are differentially lost or mutated, illustrating genomic changes associated with aerial vision. Transcriptomic analyses of mudskippers exposed to air highlight regulatory pathways that are up- or down-regulated in response to hypoxia. The present study provides a valuable resource for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying water-to-land transition of vertebrates
Discovery of anomalous gallium enriched in stone coal: Significance, provenance and recommendations
Gallium (Ga) is a critical mineral that plays an irreplaceable role in consumer electronics, clean energy technologies and the aerospace industry. Nowadays competition for gallium resources at the national strategic level has begun to emerge, but gallium resources are unevenly distributed globally, and their presence is not guaranteed. New discoveries revealed an average gallium concentration of thirty-one samples from M1, M2, M3 and M4 stone coal-bearing seams of the Cambrian strata on South Qinling Orogenic Belt in central China is 157 mg/kg (9.98–747 mg/kg), which is 27.6-fold higher than the global hard coal average, as well as the existing association of Mo–V–U–Cd–Zn–Ba–Se–Mg–Ni–Cu enrichment. Ga average of these coal seams are 344 mg/kg (M3, 44.5–747 mg/kg, n = 11), 270 mg/kg (M4, 14.3–270 mg/kg, n = 5), 53.8 mg/kg (M2, 22.6–75.4 mg/kg, n = 8) and 19.8 mg/kg (M1, 9.98–34.9 mg/kg, n = 7) respectively, as well as the thickness of approximately 6, 12, 8, and 20 m, which be close to or exceed to the boundary grade standard (30 mg/kg) and minimum recoverable thickness (0.7 m) of gallium resources exploration. These findings indicate that the Cambrian stone coal deposits, especially in the middle and late Cambrian period, should be considered as promising alternative sources of gallium. The anomalous gallium-enriched sediments originated from a complex combination of hydrothermal fluids, original biomass and terrigenous materials. For the M1 stone coal-bearing seams, gallium most likely occurred in the mode of GaAs, GaxIn1-xAs and GaO(OH), while modes of gallium in the M2 to M4 seams is interrelated with the organic affinity and clay minerals. The crude reserve estimate of gallium resources in central China is approximately 10.06 × 104 tons, corresponding to a super-large coal-hosted gallium ore deposit. The unique paleogeographic location and geological structure in central China resulted that this newly discovered deposit is a unique type of gallium-enriched deposit that has been discovered worldwide. These discoveries will provide the critical parameters when developing distinctive beneficiation processes and appropriate extraction procedures, as well as guidance and effective for future prospecting regions of gallium resources around the globe, involving a combination consider the distribution of regional deep–large fault zones and the middle to late Cambrian black rock series deposits
Hypoxic tolerance of Chinese black sleeper Bostrichthys sinensis embryos at heartbeat stage
Tolerance of hypoxia in Chinese black sleeper (Bostrichtlyssinensis) embryos at heartbeat stage was examined at different oxygen concentrations. Embryonic response to hypoxic conditions was expressed in terms of the intensity, of variation in heartbeat rate (17). Exposure of the embryos at 25 degrees C to 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/l dissolved oxygen (DO), caused bradycardia, which was developed within the first 10 mill of hypoxia, followed by a plateau, and lasted until termination of the hypoxia. The V values were significantly affected by DO concentrations (P 0.05)
- …