A feature preserved mesh simplification algorithm

Large-volume mesh model faces challenge in rendering, storing, and transmission due to large size of polygon data. Mesh simplification is one of solutions to reduce the data size. This paper presents a mesh simplification method based on feature extraction with curvature estimation to triangle mesh. The simplified topology preserves good geometrical features in the area with distinct features, that is, coarse simplified mesh in the flat region and fine simplified mesh around the areas of crease and corner. Sequence of mesh simplification is controlled on the basis of geometrical feature sensitivity, which results in reasonable simplification topology with less data size. This algorithm can decrease the size of the file by largely simplifying flat areas and preserving the geometric feature as well

Observation of Quantum Griffiths Singularity and Ferromagnetism at Superconducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110) Interface

Diverse phenomena emerge at the interface between band insulators LaAlO3 and SrTiO3, such as superconductivity and ferromagnetism, showing an opportunity for potential applications as well as bringing fundamental research interests. Particularly, the two-dimensional electron gas formed at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface offers an appealing platform for quantum phase transition from a superconductor to a weakly localized metal. Here we report the superconductor-metal transition in superconducting two-dimensional electron gas formed at LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110) interface driven by a perpendicular magnetic field. Interestingly, when approaching the quantum critical point, the dynamic critical exponent is not a constant but a diverging value, which is a direct evidence of quantum Griffiths singularity raised from quenched disorder at ultralow temperatures. Furthermore, the hysteretic property of magnetoresistance was firstly observed at LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110) interfaces, which suggests potential coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism

Pollen tube emergence is mediated by ovary-expressed ALCATRAZ in cucumber

Pollen tube guidance within female tissues of flowering plants can be divided into preovular guidance, ovular guidance and a connecting stage called pollen tube emergence. As yet, no female factor has been identified to positively regulate this transition process. In this study, we show that an ovary-expressed bHLH transcription factor Cucumis sativus ALCATRAZ (CsALC) functions in pollen tube emergence in cucumber. CsALC knockout mutants showed diminished pollen tube emergence, extremely reduced entry into ovules, and a 95% reduction in female fertility. Further examination showed two rapid alkalinization factors CsRALF4 and CsRALF19 were less expressed in Csalc ovaries compared to WT. Besides the loss of male fertility derived from precocious pollen tube rupture as in Arabidopsis, Csralf4 Csralf19 double mutants exhibited a 60% decrease in female fertility due to reduced pollen tube distribution and decreased ovule targeting efficiency. In brief, CsALC regulates female fertility and promotes CsRALF4/19 expression in the ovary during pollen tube guidance in cucumber. Pollen tube growth is guided towards ovules. Here the authors show that a bHLH transcriptional factor CsALC functions in pollen tube emergence towards ovules to regulate female fertility in cucumber and promotes the expression of two rapid alkalinization factors CsRALF4/19 in the ovary

The Bone-Forming Effects of HIF-1α-Transduced BMSCs Promote Osseointegration with Dental Implant in Canine Mandible

The presence of insufficient bone volume remains a major clinical problem for dental implant placement to restore the oral function. Gene-transduced stem cells provide a promising approach for inducing bone regeneration and enhancing osseointegration in dental implants with tissue engineering technology. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) promotes osteogenesis in rat bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). In this study, the function of HIF-1α was validated for the first time in a preclinical large animal canine model in term of its ability to promote new bone formation in defects around implants as well as the osseointegration between tissue-engineered bone and dental implants. A lentiviral vector was constructed with the constitutively active form of HIF-1α (cHIF). The ectopic bone formation was evaluated in nude mice. The therapeutic potential of HIF-1α-overexpressing canine BMSCs in bone repair was evaluated in mesi-implant defects of immediate post-extraction implants in the canine mandible. HIF-1α mediated canine BMSCs significantly promoted new bone formation both subcutaneously and in mesi-implant defects, including increased bone volume, bone mineral density, trabecular thickness, and trabecular bone volume fraction. Furthermore, osseointegration was significantly enhanced by HIF-1α-overexpressing canine BMSCs. This study provides an important experimental evidence in a preclinical large animal model concerning to the potential applications of HIF-1α in promoting new bone formation as well as the osseointegration of immediate implantation for oral function restoration

A Novel Spectral Clustering and its Application in Image Processing

This paper proposes an improved spectral clustering algorithm based on neighbour adaptive scale, who fully considers the local structure of dataset using neighbour adaptive scale, which simplifies the selection of parameters and makes the improved algorithm insensitive to both density and outliers. This paper illustrates the proposed algorithm not only has inhibition for certain outliers but is able to cluster the data sets with different scales. Experiments on UCI data sets show that the proposed method is effective. Some experiments were also performed in image clustering and image segmentation to demonstrate its excellent features in application

Do Controlling Shareholders Who Pledged Their Shares Affect Sustainable Development? An Investigation Based on the Perspective of Corporate Innovation

We examine the impact of share pledging (SP) on a firm’s innovation using a sample of Chinese firms. Our findings show that when controlling shareholders pledged their shares in personal loans, their firm’s innovation decreases. Our findings are robust for alternative metrics of innovation and SP. Additional analyses suggest that when controlling shareholders have little ownership or stock price volatility is high, the impact of SP on corporate innovation magnifies, presumably due to the high margin call risk of share against the pledged controlling shareholders. Overall, our study shows that the self-interest of controlling shareholders with pledged shares impedes corporate innovation, thereby impeding the sustainable development of society

Region Stability for a Class of Networked Control Systems

The stability analysis for Networked Control Systems (NCSs) has been one of the main research focuses in academia for many years. Some preliminary results have been derived in the existing literature. In this paper, the region stabilization is researched for a class of NCSs with uncertainties and random time-delays. The sufficient condition for feasibility is provided in the presence of communication constraints. And the maximum allowable delay is presented in term of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) approach, which can be the optimization problem of computation the time-delay lower bound. The efficacy and feasibility of the proposed methodology is shown by presenting simulation results

Opening a Window on Attention: Adjuvant Therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), most commonly known as Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative disease (UC), is a chronic and relapsing intestinal disease which cannot be cured completely. The prevalence of IBD in Europe and in North America has increased over the past 20 years. As most IBD patients are young at onset, their quality of life (QOL) can be influenced to varying degrees. Thus, current treatment goals are typically focused on preventing complications, including maintaining clinical remission and improving the QOL. Adjuvant therapies have been widely concerned as an effective treatment in alleviating IBD symptoms, including dietary intervention, traditional Chinese medicine, smoking, alcohol, and physical activities. This review focuses on different ancillary therapies for IBD treatments, in particular the mechanism of reducing inflammation based on the actual data from research studies. Moreover, comparing the latest data, this review also presented potential future prospect for adjuvant therapies