360ORB-SLAM: A Visual SLAM System for Panoramic Images with Depth Completion Network

To enhance the performance and effect of AR/VR applications and visual assistance and inspection systems, visual simultaneous localization and mapping (vSLAM) is a fundamental task in computer vision and robotics. However, traditional vSLAM systems are limited by the camera's narrow field-of-view, resulting in challenges such as sparse feature distribution and lack of dense depth information. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a 360ORB-SLAM system for panoramic images that combines with a depth completion network. The system extracts feature points from the panoramic image, utilizes a panoramic triangulation module to generate sparse depth information, and employs a depth completion network to obtain a dense panoramic depth map. Experimental results on our novel panoramic dataset constructed based on Carla demonstrate that the proposed method achieves superior scale accuracy compared to existing monocular SLAM methods and effectively addresses the challenges of feature association and scale ambiguity. The integration of the depth completion network enhances system stability and mitigates the impact of dynamic elements on SLAM performance.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure

A modified modulation scheme for three-level diode-clamped matrix converter under unbalanced input conditions

The three-level diode-clamped matrix converter topology has outstanding performance under ideal operating conditions. However, input disturbance can influence the waveforms at the output side of the converter due to the direct coupling between the input and output. This paper proposes a modified modulation scheme for three-level diode-clamped matrix converter during operation with unbalanced input voltages and when different transformer turns ratios are used for an isolation transformer at the input. With this modulation technique, sinusoidal and balanced output voltages are guaranteed and the input current harmonics are minimized. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed modulation scheme

Factors influencing inappropriate use of antibiotics in outpatient and community settings in China: a mixed-methods systematic review.

BACKGROUND: For decades, antibiotics have been excessively consumed around the world, contributing to increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and negatively impacting health outcomes and expenditures. Antibiotic use in China accounts for half of worldwide antibiotic consumption, which mainly takes place in outpatient and community settings, and often unnecessarily for self-limiting community-acquired infections. This study aimed to identify and assess factors of inappropriate use of antibiotics in the Chinese context to inform the development of interventions to mitigate inappropriate consumption in the absence of clinical indications. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods systematic review and included empirical studies with original data conducted in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan that investigated factors of antibiotic use in the community including outpatient care among patients, caregivers and prescribers. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Google Scholar and one Chinese database CNKI (China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database), using a combination of the key terms 'antibiotic', 'antimicrobial', 'use', 'consumption', 'behaviour', 'prescribe' and related syntax for all peer-reviewed publications published before June 2020. Health Belief Model was employed for data synthesis. FINDINGS: Fifty-four studies were included in the full-text review: 44 quantitative, 5 qualitative and 5 mixed-methods studies. Despite a high AMR awareness, public perception/misconception of antibiotic efficacy and easy access to antibiotics for self-limiting conditions drive inappropriate demand and use in the community including primary care setting. Providers' prescribing behaviours are influenced by financial incentives, lack of diagnostic capacity and concerns over complications. CONCLUSIONS: Inappropriate outpatient and community antibiotic use is influenced by non-biomedical factors at the individual, community, health system and societal levels in mainland China, contributing to a high antibiotic use rate. This study calls for context-tailored One Health interventions, restrictive antibiotic drug policy and multifaceted antibiotic stewardship programmes that simultaneously address drivers of inappropriate use from both the supply-side and demand-side within and beyond clinical settings. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019139591

The impact of digital transformation on green total factor productivity of heavily polluting enterprises

IntroductionDigital transformation has become an important engine for economic high-quality development and environment high-level protection. However, green total factor productivity (GTFP), as an indicator that comprehensively reflects economic and environmental benefits, there is a lack of studies that analyze the effect of digital transformation on heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP from a micro perspective, and its impact mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, we aim to study the impact of digital transformation on heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP and its mechanism, and explore the heterogeneity of its impact.MethodsWe use Chinese A-share listed enterprises in the heavily polluting industry data from 2007 to 2019, measure enterprise digital transformation indicator using text analysis, and measure enterprise GTFP indicator using the GML index based on SBM directional distance function, to investigate the impact of digital transformation on heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP.ResultsDigital transformation can significantly enhance heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP, and this finding still holds after considering the endogenous problem and conducting robustness tests. Digital transformation can enhance heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP by promoting green innovation, improving management efficiency, and reducing external transaction costs. The improvement role of digital transformation on heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP is more obvious in the samples of non-state-owned enterprises, non-high-tech industries, and the eastern region. Compared with blockchain technology, artificial intelligence technology, cloud computing technology, big data technology, and digital technology application can significantly improve heavily polluting enterprises’ GTFP.DiscussionOur paper breaks through the limitations of existing research, which not only theoretically enriches the literature related to digital transformation and GTFP, but also practically provides policy implications for continuously promoting heavily polluting enterprises’ digital transformation and facilitating their high-quality development

Stability and drug dissolution evaluation of Qingkailing soft/hard capsules based on multi-component quantification and fingerprint pattern statistical analysis

Purpose: To carry out a post-marketing evaluation of the stability and drug dissolution of Qingkailing soft/hard capsules.Methods: High performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method was developed for the determination of three key ingredients (chlorogenic acid, geniposide and baicalin) and fingerprints of QKL soft/hard capsules. Stability tests were carried out based on long-term testing. The drug release profile of Qingkailing soft and hard capsules were studied using semi-bionic incubation experiments.Results: The linearity, precision, stability, repeatability and recovery of HPLC and fingerprint all met the requirements of CFDA. Stability data from long-term studies showed that within 6 months the contents of the three key ingredients in both soft and hard capsules remained > 90 %. However, fingerprint pattern statistical analysis showed that the soft capsule is more stable than the hard capsule. Furthermore, the key ingredients of the hard capsule dissolved much faster (p < 0.05) than from the soft capsule. The level of dissolved drug of hard capsule is about 4 times the rate of soft capsule, after a 4-h incubation in gastric lavage fluid. In intestinal lavage fluid, more than 90 % of chlorogenic acid, geniposide and baicalin of hard capsule were dissolved in 2 h, while the soft capsule displayed a 12 h sustained release. Fingerprint pattern statistical analysis also showed that most of the components of soft capsule dissolved after 8 h.Conclusion: Compared with the hard capsule, Qingkailing soft capsule has certain advantages in stability and drug dissolution, which may affect the biopharmaceutics and the clinical effects of the drug.Keywords: Qingkailing capsule, Chlorogenic acid, Geniposide, Baicalin, Fingerprint, Sustained release, Principal component analysi

A Drive to Driven Model of Mapping Intraspecific Interaction Networks.

Community ecology theory suggests that an individual\u27s phenotype is determined by the phenotypes of its coexisting members to the extent at which this process can shape community evolution. Here, we develop a mapping theory to identify interaction quantitative trait loci (QTL) governing inter-individual dependence. We mathematically formulate the decision-making strategy of interacting individuals. We integrate these mathematical descriptors into a statistical procedure, enabling the joint characterization of how QTL drive the strengths of ecological interactions and how the genetic architecture of QTL is driven by ecological networks. In three fish full-sib mapping experiments, we identify a set of genome-wide QTL that control a range of societal behaviors, including mutualism, altruism, aggression, and antagonism, and find that these intraspecific interactions increase the genetic variation of body mass by about 50%. We showcase how the interaction QTL can be used as editors to reconstruct and engineer new social networks for ecological communities

Recombinant proteins A29L, M1R, A35R, and B6R vaccination protects mice from mpox virus challenge

Since May 2022, mutant strains of mpox (formerly monkeypox) virus (MPXV) have been rapidly spreading among individuals who have not traveled to endemic areas in multiple locations, including Europe and the United States. Both intracellular and extracellular forms of mpox virus have multiple outer membrane proteins that can stimulate immune response. Here, we investigated the immunogenicity of MPXV structural proteins such as A29L, M1R, A35R, and B6R as a combination vaccine, and the protective effect against the 2022 mpox mutant strain was also evaluated in BALB/c mice. After mixed 15 μg QS-21 adjuvant, all four virus structural proteins were administered subcutaneously to mice. Antibody titers in mouse sera rose sharply after the initial boost, along with an increased capacity of immune cells to produce IFN-γ alongside an elevated level of cellular immunity mediated by Th1 cells. The vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies significantly inhibited the replication of MPXV in mice and reduced the pathological damage of organs. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a multiple recombinant vaccine for MPXV variant strains

Study on pathological and clinical characteristics of chronic HBV infected patients with HBsAg positive, HBV DNA negative, HBeAg negative

AimsStudy of clinical characteristics of hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA)-negative, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients based on liver histopathology.MethodsWe retrospectively enrolled patients with chronic HBV infection diagnosis at Beijing Ditan Hospital from May 2008 to November 2020. To study the differences between patients with significant hepatic histopathology and those without significant hepatic histopathology. And to study the independent factors of significant hepatic histopathology.Results85 HBV DNA-negative and HBeAg-negative patients were 37.90 ± 10.30 years old, 23.50% of patients with grade of inflammation (G) >1, 35.30% of patients with liver fibrosis stage (S) >1, 44.70% patients were diagnosed with significant hepatic histopathology. Compared to the no significant hepatic histopathology group, another group had older age (41.70 ± 10.70 vs 34.80 ± 8.87 years, t=-3.28, P=0.002), higher total bilirubin (TBIL) [14.9(10.3, 22.4) vs 11(8.9, 14.4) μmol/L, z=-2.26, P=0.024], lower cholinesterase (CHE) (t=-2.86, P=0.005, 7388.00 ± 2156.00 vs 8988.00 ± 2823.00 U/L) and lower platelet (PLT) (t=2.75, P=0.007, 157.00 ± 61.40 vs 194.00 ± 61.00 10^9/L). Abnormal ALT patients are more likely to have significant hepatic histopathology (z=5.44, P=0.020, 66.70% vs 337.50%). G had significant correlation with CHE (P=0.008, r=-0.23), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P=0.041, r=0.18), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P=0.001, r=0.29). S had significant correlation with TBIL (P = 0.008, r = 0.23), age (P < 0.001, r = 0.32), international normalized ratio (INR) (P = 0.04, r = 0.23), CHE (P < 0.001, r = -0.30), PLT (P < 0.001, r = -0.40) and prothrombin time activity (PTA) (P = 0.046, r = -0.22). Multivariate logistic analysis indicated only age (95%CI=1.014~1.130, OR=1.069, P=0.013) was an impact factor for significant hepatic histopathology. The cutoff point of age was 34.30 years.ConclusionsA large proportion of chronic HBV infection patients with HBeAg-negative and HBV DNA-negative still have chronic hepatitis. Age is an independent factor for significant hepatic histopatholog