PUAD: Frustratingly Simple Method for Robust Anomaly Detection

Developing an accurate and fast anomaly detection model is an important task in real-time computer vision applications. There has been much research to develop a single model that detects either structural or logical anomalies, which are inherently distinct. The majority of the existing approaches implicitly assume that the anomaly can be represented by identifying the anomalous location. However, we argue that logical anomalies, such as the wrong number of objects, can not be well-represented by the spatial feature maps and require an alternative approach. In addition, we focused on the possibility of detecting logical anomalies by using an out-of-distribution detection approach on the feature space, which aggregates the spatial information of the feature map. As a demonstration, we propose a method that incorporates a simple out-of-distribution detection method on the feature space against state-of-the-art reconstruction-based approaches. Despite the simplicity of our proposal, our method PUAD (Picturable and Unpicturable Anomaly Detection) achieves state-of-the-art performance on the MVTec LOCO AD dataset.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Regulation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase beta by cAMP signaling

BACKGROUND: Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaMKK) is a pivotal activator of CaMKI, CaMKIV and 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), controlling Ca2+-dependent intracellular signaling including various neuronal, metabolic and pathophysiological responses. Recently, we demonstrated that CaMKKβ is feedback phosphorylated at Thr144 by the downstream AMPK, resulting in the conversion of CaMKKβ into Ca2+/CaM-dependent enzyme. However, the regulatory phosphorylation of CaMKKβ at Thr144 in intact cells and in vivo remains unclear. METHODS: Anti-phosphoThr144 antibody was used to characterize the site-specific phosphorylation of CaMKKβ in immunoprecipitated samples from mouse cerebellum and in transfected mammalian cells that were treated with various agonists and protein kinase inhibitors. CaMKK activity assay and LC-MS/MS analysis were used for biochemical characterization of phosphorylated CaMKKβ. RESULTS: Our data suggest that the phosphorylation of Thr144 in CaMKKβ is rapidly induced by cAMP/cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) signaling in CaMKKβ-transfected HeLa cells, that is physiologically relevant in mouse cerebellum. We confirmed that the catalytic subunit of PKA was capable of directly phosphorylating CaMKKβ at Thr144 in vitro and in transfected cells. In addition, the basal phosphorylation of CaMKKβ at Thr144 in transfected HeLa cells was suppressed by AMPK inhibitor (compound C). PKA-catalyzed phosphorylation reduced the autonomous activity of CaMKKβ in vitro without significant effect on the Ca2+/CaM-dependent activity, resulting in the conversion of CaMKKβ into Ca2+/CaM-dependent enzyme. CONCLUSION: cAMP/PKA signaling may confer Ca2+-dependency to the CaMKKβ-mediated signaling pathway through direct phosphorylation of Thr144 in intact cells. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest a novel cross-talk between cAMP/PKA and Ca2+/CaM/CaMKKβ signaling through regulatory phosphorylation

Variation of Inner Radius of Dust Torus in NGC4151

The long-term optical and near infrared monitoring observations for a type 1 act ive galactic nucleus NGC 4151 were carried out for six years from 2001 to 2006 b y using the MAGNUM telescope, and delayed response of flux variations in the $K(2.2\mu m)$ band to those in the $V(0.55\mu m)$ band was clearly detected. Based on cross correlation analysis, we precisely measured a lag time $\Delta t$ for eight separate periods, and we found that $\Delta t$ is not constant changing be tween 30 and 70 days during the monitoring period. Since $\Delta t$ is the ligh t travel time from the central energy source out to the surrounding dust torus, this is the first convincing evidence that the inner radius of dust torus did ch ange in an individual AGN. In order to relate such a change of $\Delta t$ with a change of AGN luminosity $L$, we presented a method of taking an average of th e observed $V$-band fluxes that corresponds to the measured value of $\Delta t$, and we found that the time-changing track of NGC 4151 in the $\Delta t$ versus $L$ diagram during the monitoring period deviates from the relation of $\Delta t \propto L^{0.5}$ expected from dust reverberation. This result, combined with t he elapsed time from period to period for which $\Delta t$ was measured, indicat es that the timescale of dust formation is about one year, which should be taken into account as a new constraint in future studies of dust evolution in AGNs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, To appear in the ApJ Lette

In situ SR-XPS observation of Ni-assisted low-temperature formation of epitaxial graphene on 3C-SiC/Si

Low-temperature (~1073 K) formation of graphene was performed on Si substrates by using an ultrathin (2 nm) N

Reverberation measurements of the inner radius of the dust torus in 17 seyfert galaxies

We present the results of a dust reverberation survey for 17 nearby Seyfert 1 galaxies, which provides the largest homogeneous data collection for the radius of the innermost dust torus. A delayed response of the K-band light curve after the V-band ligh

Long-Term Optical Continuum Color Variability of Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei

We examine whether the spectral energy distribution of optical continuum emission of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) changes during flux variation, based on accurate and frequent monitoring observations of 11 nearby Seyfert galaxies and QSOs carried out in the B, V, and I bands for seven years by the MAGNUM telescope. The multi-epoch flux data in any two different bands obtained on the same night show a very tight linear flux to flux relationship for all target AGNs. The flux of the host galaxy within the photometric aperture is carefully estimated by surface brightness fitting to available high-resolution HST images and MAGNUM images. The flux of narrow emission lines in the photometric bands is also estimated from available spectroscopic data. We find that the non-variable component of the host galaxy plus narrow emission lines for all target AGNs is located on the fainter extension of the linear regression line of multi-epoch flux data in the flux to flux diagram. This result strongly indicates that the spectral shape of AGN continuum emission in the optical region does not systematically change during flux variation. The trend of spectral hardening that optical continuum emission becomes bluer as it becomes brighter, which has been reported by many studies, is therefore interpreted as the domination of the variable component of the nearly constant spectral shape of an AGN as it brightens over the non-variable component of the host galaxy plus narrow lines, which is usually redder than AGN continuum emission.Comment: 47 pages, 29 figures, AASTeX, Accepted for publication in Ap

In Situ SR-XPS Observation of Ni-Assisted Low-Temperature Formation of Epitaxial Graphene on 3C-SiC/Si

Low-temperature (~1073 K) formation of graphene was performed on Si substrates by using an ultrathin (2 nm) Ni layer deposited on a 3C-SiC thin film heteroepitaxially grown on a Si substrate. Angle-resolved, synchrotron-radiation X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (SR-XPS) results show that the stacking order is, from the surface to the bulk, Ni carbides(Ni(3)C/NiC(x))/graphene/Ni/Ni silicides (Ni(2)Si/NiSi)/3C-SiC/Si. In situ SR-XPS during the graphitization annealing clarified that graphene is formed during the cooling stage. We conclude that Ni silicide and Ni carbide formation play an essential role in the formation of graphene

Effect of glucosamine and related compounds on the degranulation of mast cells and ear swelling induced by dinitrofluorobenzene in mice.

AIMS: Glucosamine has been used safely to relieve osteoarthritis in humans, but the precise mechanism underlying its efficacy is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the direct effects of glucosamine and related compounds on mast cell mediated inflammation using cultured mast cells and an animal model. MAIN METHODS: Dinitrophenyl (DNP)-IgE-sensitized rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells were treated with glucosamine-HCl (GlcN-HCl), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), chitin oligomer or chitosan oligomer. Cells were stimulated by DNP-BSA to induce degranulation and released beta-hexosaminedase was determined colorimetrically to measure the degree of degranulation. Dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) sensitized BALB/c mice were administrated orally with 1 or 0.1mg GlcN-HCl or GlcNAc for 6 days. One hour after the final administration, mice were challenged by DNFB to induce ear swelling. KEY FINDINGS: GlcN-HCl significantly inhibited the antigen-induced degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells at higher than 0.01 mg/mL for 24h-treatment while GlcNAc, a chitin oligomer and a chitosan oligomer had no effect. GlcN-HCl also suppressed intracellular calcium mobilization. GlcN-HCl and GlcNAc significantly suppressed the antigen-induced up-regulation of TNF-alpha and IL-6 mRNA. Ear swelling and histamine levels of plasma and ear in DNFB-treated mice were significantly suppressed by oral administration of GlcN-HCl or GlcNAc (0.1 and 1mg) for 6 days. SIGNIFICANCE: Our results strongly suggest that GlcN-HCl and GlcNAc have anti-inflammatory effects in vivo by suppressing the activation of mast cells