Predicting the Next Best View for 3D Mesh Refinement

3D reconstruction is a core task in many applications such as robot navigation or sites inspections. Finding the best poses to capture part of the scene is one of the most challenging topic that goes under the name of Next Best View. Recently, many volumetric methods have been proposed; they choose the Next Best View by reasoning over a 3D voxelized space and by finding which pose minimizes the uncertainty decoded into the voxels. Such methods are effective, but they do not scale well since the underlaying representation requires a huge amount of memory. In this paper we propose a novel mesh-based approach which focuses on the worst reconstructed region of the environment mesh. We define a photo-consistent index to evaluate the 3D mesh accuracy, and an energy function over the worst regions of the mesh which takes into account the mutual parallax with respect to the previous cameras, the angle of incidence of the viewing ray to the surface and the visibility of the region. We test our approach over a well known dataset and achieve state-of-the-art results.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, to be published in IAS-1

Targeting Macrophages and Synoviocytes Intracellular Milieu to Augment Anti-Inflammatory Drug Potency

Using a preclinical in vivo model of arthritis and the gold standard disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, methotrexate, pH-responsive phosphorylcholine polymersomes, elicit both anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic therapeutic efficacy, while drastically minimizing off-target toxicity. First, the selective accumulation of polymersomes within synovium of inflamed joints. Second, the polymersomes targeting ability toward activated macrophages and synoviocytes, via scavenger receptors, allow their uptake via endocytosis. And third, the polymersomes pH-responsiveness enables the drug escape from early endosomes and hence its intracellular milieu delivery. On-site augment of methotrexate loaded polymersomes enable the complete abrogation of synovial inflammation and prevent the disease progression and severity. Overall, in vitro and in vivo investigations reveal the potential of polymersomes as a promising nanotherapy for treating arthritic inflammation

TeV scale mirage mediation in NMSSM

We study the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model. We consider soft supersymmetry breaking parameters, which are induced by the mirage mediation mechanism of supersymmetry breaking. We concentrate on the mirage mediation, where the so-called mirage scale is the TeV scale. In this scenario, we can realize the up-type Higgs soft mass of O(200) GeV, while other masses such as gaugino masses and stop masses are heavy such as 1 TeV or more. Cancellation between the effective \mu-term and the down-type Higgs soft mass ameliorates the fine-tuning in the electroweak symmetry breaking even for \mu=O(500) GeV. The mixing between the doublet and singlet Higgs bosons is suppressed by (\lambda/\kappa)/tan\beta. Then the lightest doublet Higgs mass naturally reaches 125 GeV lifted by the new quartic coupling. The higgsino and singlino are light and their linear combination is the lightest superparticle.Comment: 24 pages, 24 figures, Numerical analysis is replaced with the version calculated by NMSSMTools. Comments and references are added on the suppressed doublet-singlet mixing and cases in which the 125 GeV boson is the 2nd lightest CP-even scalar. The version accepted by JHE

Epigenome-wide analysis links SMAD3 methylation at birth to asthma in children of asthmatic mothers

Background The timing and mechanisms of asthma inception remain imprecisely defined. Although epigenetic mechanisms likely contribute to asthma pathogenesis, little is known about their role in asthma inception. Objective We sought to assess whether the trajectory to asthma begins already at birth and whether epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation, contribute to asthma inception. Methods We used the Methylated CpG Island Recovery Assay chip to survey DNA methylation in cord blood mononuclear cells from 36 children (18 nonasthmatic and 18 asthmatic subjects by age 9 years) from the Infant Immune Study (IIS), an unselected birth cohort closely monitored for asthma for a decade. SMAD3 methylation in IIS (n = 60) and in 2 replication cohorts (the Manchester Asthma and Allergy Study [n = 30] and the Childhood Origins of Asthma Study [n = 28]) was analyzed by using bisulfite sequencing or Illumina 450K arrays. Cord blood mononuclear cell–derived IL-1β levels were measured by means of ELISA. Results Neonatal immune cells harbored 589 differentially methylated regions that distinguished IIS children who did and did not have asthma by age 9 years. In all 3 cohorts methylation in SMAD3, the most connected node within the network of asthma-associated, differentially methylated regions, was selectively increased in asthmatic children of asthmatic mothers and was associated with childhood asthma risk. Moreover, SMAD3 methylation in IIS neonates with maternal asthma was strongly and positively associated with neonatal production of IL-1β, an innate inflammatory mediator. Conclusions The trajectory to childhood asthma begins at birth and involves epigenetic modifications in immunoregulatory and proinflammatory pathways. Maternal asthma influences epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to the inception of this trajectory

Parenting Intervention and the Prevention of Serious Mental Health Problems in Children

The reduction of coercive or inadequate parenting is essential if the mental health status of Australian children and adolescents is to be improved. Of the available approaches that address parenting practices, behavioural family interventions have the strongest empirical support and are effective in reducing parenting practices that contribute to the development of behavioural and emotional problems in children. However, only a small proportion of parents access such interventions. A comprehensive multilevel, evidence-based parenting and family support strategy needs to be implemented on a wide scale to reduce the prevalence of mental health problems in children and youth. The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is an example of a population-level strategy that can be used to improve the mental health status of children and their parents

A New Endemic Focus of Chagas Disease in the Northern Region of Veraguas Province, Western Half Panama, Central America

Background: Chagas disease was originally reported in Panama in 1931. Currently, the best knowledge of this zoonosis is restricted to studies done in historically endemic regions. However, little is known about the distribution and epidemiology of Chagas disease in other rural areas of the country. Methods and Findings: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out between May 2005 – July 2008 in four rural communities of the Santa Fe District, Veraguas Province. The study included an entomologic search to collect triatomines, bloodmeal type identification and infection rate with trypanosomes in collected vectors using a dot- blot and PCR analysis, genotyping of circulating Trypanosoma cruzi (mini-exon gene PCR analysis) and the detection of chagasic antibodies among inhabitants. The vector Rhodnius pallescens was more frequently found in La Culaca and El Pantano communities (788 specimens), where it was a sporadic household visitor. These triatomines presented darker coloration and larger sizescompared with typical specimens collected in Central Panama. Triatoma dimidiata was more common in Sabaneta de El Macho (162 specimens). In one small sub-region (El Macho), 60 % of the houses were colonized by this vector. Of the examined R. pallescens, 54.7.0 % (88/161) had fed on Didelphis marsupialis, and 24.6 % (34/138) of T. dimidiata specimens collected inside houses were positive for human blood. R. pallescens presented an infection index with T. cruzi of 17.7 % (24/ 136), with T. rangeli of 12.5 % (17/136) and 50.7 % (69/136) were mixed infections. In 117 T. dimidiata domestic specimens th

Magnetic Modulation in Mechanical Alloyed Cr1.4fe0.6o3 Oxide

We have synthesized Cr1.4Fe0.6O3 compound through mechanical alloying of Cr2O3 and Fe2O3 powders and subsequent thermal annealing. The XRD spectrum, SEM picture and microanalysis of EDAX spectrum have been used to understand the structural evolution in the alloyed compound. The alloyed samples are matching to rhombohedral structure with R3C space group. The observation of a modulated magnetic order confirmed a systematic diffusion of Fe atoms into the Cr sites of lattice structure. A field induced magnetic behaviour is seen in the field dependence of magnetization data of the annealed samples. The behaviour is significantly different from the mechanical alloyed samples. The experimental results provided the indications of considering the present material as a potential candidate for opto-electronic applications.Comment: 8 figure

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets