TextFormer: A Query-based End-to-End Text Spotter with Mixed Supervision

End-to-end text spotting is a vital computer vision task that aims to integrate scene text detection and recognition into a unified framework. Typical methods heavily rely on Region-of-Interest (RoI) operations to extract local features and complex post-processing steps to produce final predictions. To address these limitations, we propose TextFormer, a query-based end-to-end text spotter with Transformer architecture. Specifically, using query embedding per text instance, TextFormer builds upon an image encoder and a text decoder to learn a joint semantic understanding for multi-task modeling. It allows for mutual training and optimization of classification, segmentation, and recognition branches, resulting in deeper feature sharing without sacrificing flexibility or simplicity. Additionally, we design an Adaptive Global aGgregation (AGG) module to transfer global features into sequential features for reading arbitrarily-shaped texts, which overcomes the sub-optimization problem of RoI operations. Furthermore, potential corpus information is utilized from weak annotations to full labels through mixed supervision, further improving text detection and end-to-end text spotting results. Extensive experiments on various bilingual (i.e., English and Chinese) benchmarks demonstrate the superiority of our method. Especially on TDA-ReCTS dataset, TextFormer surpasses the state-of-the-art method in terms of 1-NED by 13.2%.Comment: MIR 2023, 15 page

Crosstalk of RNA methylation writers defines tumor microenvironment and alisertib resistance in breast cancer

BackgroundThe five major RNA methylation modifications (m6A, m1A, m6Am, m5C, and m7G) exert biological roles in tumorigenicity and immune response, mediated mainly by “writer” enzymes. Here, the prognostic values of the “writer” enzymes and the TCP1 role in drug resistance in breast cancer (BC) were explored for further therapeutic strategies.MethodsWe comprehensively characterized clinical, molecular, and genetic features of subtypes by consensus clustering. RNA methylation modification “Writers” and related genes_risk (RMW_risk) model for BC was constructed via a machine learning approach. Moreover, we performed a systematical analysis for characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME), alisertib sensitivity, and immunotherapy response. A series of experiments in vitro were carried out to assess the association of TCP1 with drug resistance.ResultsOne “writer” (RBM15B) and two related genes (TCP1 and ANKRD36) were identified for prognostic model construction, validated by GSE1456, GSE7390, and GSE20685 cohorts and our follow-up data. Based on the patterns of the genes related to prognosis, patients were classified into RMW_risk-high and RMW_risk-low subtypes. Lower RMW_Score was associated with better overall survival and the infiltration of immune cells such as memory B cells. Further analysis revealed that RMW_Score presented potential values in predicting drug sensitivity and response for chemo- and immunotherapy. In addition, TCP1 was confirmed to promote BC alisertib-resistant cell proliferation and migration in vitro.ConclusionRMW_Score could function as a robust biomarker for predicting BC patient survival and therapeutic benefits. This research revealed a potential TCP1 role regarding alisertib resistance in BC, providing new sights into more effective therapeutic plans

Study on TCM Syndrome Differentiation of Primary Liver Cancer Based on the Analysis of Latent Structural Model

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is one of the most common malignant tumors because of its high incidence and high mortality. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an active role in the treatment of PLC. As the most important part in the TCM system, syndrome differentiation based on the clinical manifestations from traditional four diagnostic methods has met great challenges and questions with the lack of statistical validation support. In this study, we provided evidences for TCM syndrome differentiation of PLC using the method of analysis of latent structural model from clinic data, thus providing basis for establishing TCM syndrome criteria. And also we obtain the common syndromes of PLC as well as their typical clinical manifestations, respectively

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance findings in Danon disease: a case series of a family

BackgroundCardiac involvement constitutes the primary cause of mortality in patients with Danon disease (DD). This study aimed to explore the cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) features and progressions of DD cardiomyopathies in a family with long-term follow-up.MethodsSeven patients (five females and two males), belonging to the same family and afflicted with DD, were enrolled in this study between 2017 and 2022. The cardiac structure, function, strain, tissue characteristics on CMR and their evolutions during follow-up were analyzed.ResultsThree young female patients (3/7, 42.86%) exhibited normal cardiac morphology. Four patients (4/7, 57.14%) displayed left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH), and mostly with septal thickening (3/4, 75%). A single male case (1/7, 14.3%) showed decreased LV ejection fraction (LVEF). Nonetheless, the global LV strain of the four adult patients decreased in different degree. The global strain of adolescent male patients was decreased compared to the age-appropriate female patients. Five patients (5/7, 71.43%) exhibited late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), with proportion ranging from 31.6% to 59.7% (median value 42.7%). The most common LGE location was the LV free wall (5/5, 100%), followed by right ventricle insertion points (4/5, 80%) and intraventricular septum (2/5, 40%). Segmental radial strain (rs = −0.586), circumferential strain (r = 0.589), and longitudinal strain (r = 0.514) were all moderately correlated with the LGE proportions of corresponding segments (P < 0.001). T2 hyperintense and perfusion defect foci were identified, overlapping with the LGE areas. During follow-up, both the young male patients exhibited notable deterioration of their cardiac symptoms and CMR. The LVEF and strain decreased, and the extent of LGE increased year by year. One patient underwent T1 mapping examination. The native T1 value was sensitively elevated even in regions without LGE.ConclusionsLeft ventricular hypertrophy, LGE with sparing or relatively less involved IVS, and LV dysfunction are prominent CMR features of Danon cardiomyopathy. Strain and T1 mapping may have advantages in detecting early-stage dysfunction and myocardial abnormalities in DD patients, respectively. Multi-parametric CMR can serve as an optimal instrument for detecting DD cardiomyopathies

Experimental Investigation on a Solar-powered Absorption Radiant Cooling System

AbstractSolar cooling has been proved to be technically feasible. It is particularly an attractive application for solar energy, because of the near coincidence of peak cooling loads with the available solar power. Currently, most of the solar cooling systems commonly used are the hot water driven lithium bromide absorption chillers. Solar absorption cooling systems are available from various reports, in large capacities up to several hundred kilowatts. In this paper, a minitype solar absorption cooling system was designed and installed in Shanghai Jiao tong University. The system mainly contains 96 m2 solar collector arrays, one absorption chiller with the rated cooling capacity of 8kW, and a heat storage water storage tank of 3 m3 in volume. The chilled water can be delivered either into fan coils or into radiant cooling panels which are installed to satisfy the indoor thermal environment of the test room. As for the fan coil cooling mode, it was found that the average cooling output reached 3.62kW during 8h operation under typical weather condition of Shanghai. With regard to radiant cooling mode, an individual fresh air unit was installed for the purpose of preventing the cooling panels from condensation. Compared with the experimental results of the fan coil cooling mode, the average cooling output of the radiant cooling mode reached 4.47kW, which increased by 23.5%. Furthermore, the PMV inside the test room was between -0.5 and 0.5, which showed great advantage in meeting the indoor thermal comfort

Research on Dynamic Path Planning of Wheeled Robot Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning on the Slope Ground

The existing dynamic path planning algorithm cannot properly solve the problem of the path planning of wheeled robot on the slope ground with dynamic moving obstacles. To solve the problem of slow convergence rate in the training phase of DDQN, the dynamic path planning algorithm based on Tree-Double Deep Q Network (TDDQN) is proposed. The algorithm discards detected incomplete and over-detected paths by optimizing the tree structure, and combines the DDQN method with the tree structure method. Firstly, DDQN algorithm is used to select the best action in the current state after performing fewer actions, so as to obtain the candidate path that meets the conditions. And then, according to the obtained state, the above process is repeatedly executed to form multiple paths of the tree structure. Finally, the non-maximum suppression method is used to select the best path from the plurality of eligible candidate paths. ROS simulation and experiment verify that the wheeled robot can reach the target effectively on the slope ground with moving obstacles. The results show that compared with DDQN algorithm, TDDQN has the advantages of fast convergence and low loss function

Experimental investigation of a novel phase change cold storage used for a solar air-conditioning system

Solar energy systems in combination with thermal driven sorption chillers for air conditioning are gaining increasing attention. Since solar energy is available only during daytime and solar cooling systems are usually intermittent and susceptible to th

Experimental Study on Adsorption of SO₂ and NH₃ by Activated Carbon with Monometallic Active Sites at Low Concentration under Room Temperature

SO2 and NH3 are toxic compounds and are the main sources of airborne molecular contaminants (AMCs). Even at low concentrations, they can cause equipment corrosion and reduce product yield. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a combined SO2 and NH3 capture material with a simple process and a high adsorption capacity. In this study, dynamic adsorption breakthrough experiments were conducted at 23 °C under an air pollutant concentration of 90 ppm. The synergistic adsorption results showed that Cu/AC-0.05 had a high adsorption capacity of 1.03 mmol of SO2/g and 1.45 mmol of NH3/g. Furthermore, to confirm the rationality of the modification method, characterization methods such as BET, SEM-EDX, XRD, and TG-DSC were used to study the new adsorbent and spent adsorbent. The results showed that copper was successfully attached to the activated carbon and distributed uniformly. In this study, efficient coremoval performance of SO2 and NH3 was achieved by modifying single metal active sites. Through a comprehensive analysis of the characterization results, the surface reaction mechanism of SO2 and NH3 on the prepared material was further determined. This work provides a feasible option for a highly efficient adsorbent for both SO2 and NH3 capture at low concentrations under room temperature

Optimization of Culture Condition for Ganoderic Acid Production in Ganoderma lucidum Liquid Static Culture and Design of a Suitable Bioreactor

Ganoderma lucidum, a famous medicinal mushroom used worldwide, is a rich source of triterpenoids which, together with polysaccharides, are believed to be the main effective constituents of G. lucidum. With the increase of market demand, the wild resource is facing serious limitations, and the quality of cultivated fruiting bodies can be seriously affected by the availability of wood resources and by cultivation management practices. In the present study, we aimed to develop an alternative way to produce useful triterpenoids from G. lucidum. We cultured the strain using a two-stage liquid culture strategy and investigated the effects of nitrogen limitation, carbon supply, static culture volume and air supply in the static culture stage on the accumulation of five triterpenoids (GA-P, GA-Q, GA-T, GA-S, GA-R). Our results showed that, under optimized condition, the total yield of the five triterpenoids reached 963 mg/L (as determined by HPLC). Among the five triterpenoids, GA-T accounted for about 75% of the total yield. Besides, a bioreactor suitable for fungal liquid static culture with a 10 L extensible plastic bag shaped culture unit was designed and in which the maximum total yield of the five GAs reached 856.8 mg/L, and the GAs content reached 5.99%. Our results demonstrate the potential of industrial application of G. lucidum culture for the production of triterpenoids, especially GA-T. Air supply significantly improved the accumulation of triterpenoids, and this will provide important clues to understand why more triterpenoids are produced in the mycelia mat under static liquid culture conditions