Information-Preserved Blending Method for Forward-Looking Sonar Mosaicing in Non-Ideal System Configuration

Forward-Looking Sonar (FLS) has started to gain attention in the field of near-bottom close-range underwater inspection because of its high resolution and high framerate features. Although Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) algorithms have been applied tentatively for object-searching tasks, human supervision is still indispensable, especially when involving critical areas. A clear FLS mosaic containing all suspicious information is in demand to help experts deal with tremendous perception data. However, previous work only considered that FLS is working in an ideal system configuration, which assumes an appropriate sonar imaging setup and the availability of accurate positioning data. Without those promises, the intra-frame and inter-frame artifacts will appear and degrade the quality of the final mosaic by making the information of interest invisible. In this paper, we propose a novel blending method for FLS mosaicing which can preserve interested information. A Long-Short Time Sliding Window (LST-SW) is designed to rectify the local statistics of raw sonar images. The statistics are then utilized to construct a Global Variance Map (GVM). The GVM helps to emphasize the useful information contained in images in the blending phase by classifying the informative and featureless pixels, thereby enhancing the quality of final mosaic. The method is verified using data collected in the real environment. The results show that our method can preserve more details in FLS mosaics for human inspection purposes in practice

Locally Spontaneous Dynamic Oxygen Migration on Biphenylene: A DFT Study

The dynamic oxygen migration on the interface of carbon materials, such as graphene and carbon nanotube, has opened up a new avenue to realizing the dynamic covalent materials. However, the understanding of dynamic behaviors of oxygen groups on the non-honeycomb structure, such as the biphenylene sheet, is still limited. Using both density functional theory calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that the oxygen groups on the biphenylene, which is an allotrope of graphene and composed of four-, six- and eight-membered rings with unequal C-C bonds, can exhibit locally spontaneous dynamic oxygen migration through the breaking/reforming of the C-O bond. The density of state analyses show that the p-band center of the oxygen atom is closer to the Fermi energy level on biphenylene, compared to that of the oxygen atom adsorbed on graphene. This contrast confirms the locally spontaneous dynamic activity of the oxygen atom on biphenylene. This work provides scientific guidance for the exploration of the locally/globally spontaneous dynamic covalent materials and adds a new member to the 2D dynamic covalent material family.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Rod genesis driven by mafba in an nrl knockout zebrafish model with altered photoreceptor composition and progressive retinal degeneration

Neural retina leucine zipper (NRL) is an essential gene for the fate determination and differentiation of the precursor cells into rod photoreceptors in mammals. Mutations in NRL are associated with the autosomal recessive enhanced S-cone syndrome and autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. However, the exact role of Nrl in regulating the development and maintenance of photoreceptors in the zebrafish (Danio rerio), a popular animal model used for retinal degeneration and regeneration studies, has not been fully determined. In this study, we generated an nrl knockout zebrafish model via the CRISPR-Cas9 technology and observed a surprising phenotype characterized by a reduced number, but not the total loss, of rods and over-growth of green cones. We discovered two waves of rod genesis, nrl-dependent and -independent at the embryonic and post-embryonic stages, respectively, in zebrafish by monitoring the rod development. Through bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing, we characterized the gene expression profiles of the whole retina and each retinal cell type from the wild type and nrl knockout zebrafish. The over-growth of green cones and mis-expression of green-cone-specific genes in rods in nrl mutants suggested that there are rod/green-cone bipotent precursors, whose fate choice between rod versus green-cone is controlled by nrl. Besides, we identified the mafba gene as a novel regulator of the nrl-independent rod development, based on the cell-type-specific expression patterns and the retinal phenotype of nrl/mafba double-knockout zebrafish. Gene collinearity analysis revealed the evolutionary origin of mafba and suggested that the function of mafba in rod development is specific to modern fishes. Furthermore, the altered photoreceptor composition and abnormal gene expression in nrl mutants caused progressive retinal degeneration and subsequent regeneration. Accordingly, this study revealed a novel function of the mafba gene in rod development and established a working model for the developmental and regulatory mechanisms regarding the rod and green-cone photoreceptors in zebrafish

The splicing factor DHX38 enables retinal development through safeguarding genome integrity

DEAH-Box Helicase 38 (DHX38) is a pre-mRNA splicing factor and also a disease-causing gene of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP). The role of DHX38 in the development and maintenance of the retina remains largely unknown. In this study, by using the dhx38 knockout zebrafish model, wedemonstrated that Dhx38 deficiency causes severe differentiation defects and apoptosis of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) through disrupted mitosis and increased DNA damage. Furthermore, we found a significant accumulation of R-loops in the dhx38-deficient RPCs and human cell lines. Finally, we found that DNA replication stress is the prerequisite for R-loop-induced DNA damage in the DHX38 knockdown cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates a necessary role of DHX38 in the development of retina and reveals a DHX38/R-loop/replication stress/DNA damage regulatory axis that is relatively independent of the known functions of DHX38 in mitosis control

Advanced lung cancer inflammation index is associated with long-term cardiovascular death in hypertensive patients: national health and nutrition examination study, 1999–2018

Background: Hypertension is one of the main causes of cardiovascular death. Inflammation was considered influential factors of cardiovascular (CVD) death in patients with hypertension. Advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) is an index to assess inflammation, few studies have investigated the relationship between advanced lung cancer inflammation index and cardiovascular death in hypertensive patients.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between advanced lung cancer inflammation index and long-term cardiovascular death in hypertensive patients.Method: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2018 with mortality follow-up through 31 December 2019 were analyzed. Advanced lung cancer inflammation index was calculated as BMI (kg/㎡) × serum albumin level (g/dL)/neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). A total of 20,517 participants were evaluated. Patients were divided into three groups based on tertiles of advanced lung cancer inflammation index as follows: T1 (n = 6,839), T2 (n = 6,839), and T3 (n = 6,839) groups. The relationship between advanced lung cancer inflammation index and long-term cardiovascular death was assessed by survival curves and Cox regression analysis based on the NHANES recommended weights.Results: The median advanced lung cancer inflammation index value in this study was 61.9 [44.4, 84.6]. After full adjustment, the T2 group (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50–0.69; p < 0.001) and T3 group (HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.39–0.58; p < 0.001) were found to have a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular death compared to the T1 group.Conclusion: High levels of advanced lung cancer inflammation index were associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular death in hypertensive patients

<i>Trans</i>-vaccenic acid reprograms CD8⁺ T cells and anti-tumour immunity

Diet-derived nutrients are inextricably linked to human physiology by providing energy and biosynthetic building blocks and by functioning as regulatory molecules. However, the mechanisms by which circulating nutrients in the human body influence specific physiological processes remain largely unknown. Here we use a blood nutrient compound library-based screening approach to demonstrate that dietary trans-vaccenic acid (TVA) directly promotes effector CD8+ T cell function and anti-tumour immunity in vivo. TVA is the predominant form of trans-fatty acids enriched in human milk, but the human body cannot produce TVA endogenously. Circulating TVA in humans is mainly from ruminant-derived foods including beef, lamb and dairy products such as milk and butter, but only around 19% or 12% of dietary TVA is converted to rumenic acid by humans or mice, respectively. Mechanistically, TVA inactivates the cell-surface receptor GPR43, an immunomodulatory G protein-coupled receptor activated by its short-chain fatty acid ligands. TVA thus antagonizes the short-chain fatty acid agonists of GPR43, leading to activation of the cAMP–PKA–CREB axis for enhanced CD8+ T cell function. These findings reveal that diet-derived TVA represents a mechanism for host-extrinsic reprogramming of CD8+ T cells as opposed to the intrahost gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids. TVA thus has translational potential for the treatment of tumours

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

A review of building detection from very high resolution optical remote sensing images

Building detection from very high resolution (VHR) optical remote sensing images, which is an essential but challenging task in remote sensing, has attracted increased attention in recent years. However, despite the many methods that have been developed, an in-depth review of the recent literature on building extraction from VHR optical images is still lacking. In this article, we present a comprehensive review of the recent advances (since 2000) in this field. In total, we survey and summarize 417 articles in terms of the building detection method, post-processing, and accuracy assessment. The building detection methods are categorized into physical rule based methods, image segmentation based methods, and traditional and advanced machine learning (i.e. deep learning) methods. Furthermore, four promising related research directions of building polygon delineation, building change detection, building type classification, and height retrieval from monocular optical images are also discussed. Overall, building detection from VHR optical images is a popular research topic that has received extensive attention, due to its great significance. It is hoped that this review will help researchers to have a better understanding of this topic, and thus assist them to conduct related work

Characteristics and Meteorological Factors of Severe Haze Pollution in China

A severe haze pollution incident caused by unfavorable weather conditions and a northern air mass occurred in eastern, northern, northwestern, and southwestern China from January 15 to January 22, 2018. To comparatively analyze variations in PM2.5 pollution, hourly monitoring data and 24 h meteorological data were collected. Air quality observations revealed large spatiotemporal variation in PM2.5 concentrations in Handan, Zhengzhou, Xi’an, Yuncheng, Chengdu, Xiangyang, and Jinan. The daily mean PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 111.35 to 227.23 μg·m−³, with concentration being highest in Zhengzhou. Hourly mean PM2.5 concentration presented multiple U-shaped curves, with higher values at night and lower values during the day. The ratios of PM2.5 to PM10 were large in target cities and the results of multiscale geographic weighted regression model (MGWR) and Pearson correlation coefficients showed that PM2.5 had a significant positive or negative correlation with PM10, CO, NO2, and SO2. The concentration of PM2.5 was closely related to the combustion of fossil fuels and other organic compounds, indicating the large contribution of secondary aerosols to PM2.5 concentrations. The analysis of meteorological conditions showed that low temperature, low wind speed, and high relative humidity could aggravate the accumulation of regional pollutants in winter. Northwestern trajectory clusters were predominant contributions except in Jinan, and the highest PM2.5 concentrations in target cities were associated with short trajectory clusters in winter. The potential sources calculated by Weight Potential Source Contribution Function (WPSCF) and Weight Concentration-Weighted Trajectory (WCWT) models were similar and the highest values of the WPSCF (>0.5) and the WCWT (>100 μg·m−³) were mainly distributed in densely populated, industrial, arid, and semiarid regions.Peer Reviewe