Feature Extraction and Fusion Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Face Detection

This paper proposes a method that uses feature fusion to represent images better for face detection after feature extraction by deep convolutional neural network (DCNN). First, with Clarifai net and VGG Net-D (16 layers), we learn features from data, respectively; then we fuse features extracted from the two nets. To obtain more compact feature representation and mitigate computation complexity, we reduce the dimension of the fused features by PCA. Finally, we conduct face classification by SVM classifier for binary classification. In particular, we exploit offset max-pooling to extract features with sliding window densely, which leads to better matches of faces and detection windows; thus the detection result is more accurate. Experimental results show that our method can detect faces with severe occlusion and large variations in pose and scale. In particular, our method achieves 89.24% recall rate on FDDB and 97.19% average precision on AFW

Remote Sensing Object Detection Meets Deep Learning: A Meta-review of Challenges and Advances

Remote sensing object detection (RSOD), one of the most fundamental and challenging tasks in the remote sensing field, has received longstanding attention. In recent years, deep learning techniques have demonstrated robust feature representation capabilities and led to a big leap in the development of RSOD techniques. In this era of rapid technical evolution, this review aims to present a comprehensive review of the recent achievements in deep learning based RSOD methods. More than 300 papers are covered in this review. We identify five main challenges in RSOD, including multi-scale object detection, rotated object detection, weak object detection, tiny object detection, and object detection with limited supervision, and systematically review the corresponding methods developed in a hierarchical division manner. We also review the widely used benchmark datasets and evaluation metrics within the field of RSOD, as well as the application scenarios for RSOD. Future research directions are provided for further promoting the research in RSOD.Comment: Accepted with IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine. More than 300 papers relevant to the RSOD filed were reviewed in this surve

Exercise blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness, fatness and cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality on a global scale. Individuals who possess risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure (BP) and obesity, face an elevated risk of experiencing organ-specific pathophysiological changes. This damage includes pathophysiological changes in the heart and peripheral vascular systems, such as ventricular hypertrophy, arterial stiffening, and vascular narrowing and stenosis. Consequently, these damages are associated with an increased risk of developing severe cardiovascular outcomes including stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and coronary heart disease. Among all the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure emerges as the most prominent. However, conventional resting BP measurement methods such as auscultatory or oscillometric methods may fail to identify many individuals with asymptomatic high BP. Recently, exercise BP has emerged as a valuable diagnostic tool for identifying real (high) blood pressure levels and assessing underlying cardiovascular risk, in addition to resting BP measurements in adults. Furthermore, numerous established factors, such as low cardiorespiratory fitness and high body fatness, have been confirmed to contribute to exercise BP and the associated cardiovascular risk. Modifying these factors may help reduce high exercise BP and, consequently, alleviate the burden of cardiovascular disease. A significant body of evidence has demonstrated cardiovascular disease in later life have their origins in early life. Children and adolescents with these cardiovascular risk factors also possess a greater propensity to develop cardiovascular diseases later in life. Nevertheless, the majority of previous studies on the clinical utility of exercise BP have been conducted in middle-to-older aged populations, often with pre-existing clinical conditions. Therefore, there is a need to investigate further of the factors influencing exercise BP in adolescence and its association with cardiovascular risk in early life. Our previously published work showed that exercise BP is a potential useful method to detect adolescents with increased cardiovascular risk. Children and adolescents with cardiovascular risk factors are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases later in life. However, previous studies on the clinical utility of exercise BP have largely focused on middle-to-older aged populations with pre-existing clinical conditions. Therefore, there is a need to investigate further the factors influencing exercise BP in adolescence and its association with future cardiovascular risk. Our previous studies, which focused on exercise BP measured at submaximal intensity, have shown that exercise BP is a potentially useful method for identifying adolescents at increased cardiovascular risk. Our previous findings suggest that improving cardio-respiratory fitness and reducing body fatness may help to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and improve overall cardiovascular health. These findings have important implications for the development of effective prevention and early detection strategies, which can contribute to improved public health outcomes

Anti-cancer natural products isolated from chinese medicinal herbs

In recent years, a number of natural products isolated from Chinese herbs have been found to inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis, suppress angiogenesis, retard metastasis and enhance chemotherapy, exhibiting anti-cancer potential both in vitro and in vivo. This article summarizes recent advances in in vitro and in vivo research on the anti-cancer effects and related mechanisms of some promising natural products. These natural products are also reviewed for their therapeutic potentials, including flavonoids (gambogic acid, curcumin, wogonin and silibinin), alkaloids (berberine), terpenes (artemisinin, β-elemene, oridonin, triptolide, and ursolic acid), quinones (shikonin and emodin) and saponins (ginsenoside Rg3), which are isolated from Chinese medicinal herbs. In particular, the discovery of the new use of artemisinin derivatives as excellent anti-cancer drugs is also reviewed

Golgi Phosphoprotein 3 Promotes Wls Recycling and Wnt Secretion in Glioma Progression

Background/Aims: Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) plays pro-malignancy roles in several types of cancer. However, the molecular mechanism underlying GOLPH3 promoting tumor progression remains poorly understood. Methods: The expression of GOLPH3 and Wntless (Wls) in glioma tissues was examined by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. EdU incorporation assay and colony formation assay was used to examine the cell growth ability. The effect of GOLPH3 on Wls recycling, Wnt secretion and β-catenin activity was detected using western blotting, immunofluorescence, RT-PCR, ELISA or luciferase assay. Results: The protein levels of GOLPH3 and Wls were upregulated and positively correlated with each other in human glioma tissues. The promoting effect of GOLPH3 on glioma cell proliferation was partially mediated by Wls. In addition, GOLPH3 interacted with Wls and GOLPH3 down-regulation drove Wls into lysosome for degradation, inhibiting its recycling to golgi and the plasma membrane. Importantly, GOLPH3 down-regulation inhibited Wnt2b secretion and decreased β-catenin level and transcription activity. Conclusions: This study provides a brand new evidence that GOLPH3 promotes glioma cell proliferation by facilitating Wls recycling and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Our findings suggest a rationale for targeting the GOLPH3-Wls-Wnt axis as a promising therapeutic approach for glioblastoma

Rickettsial Seroepidemiology among Farm Workers, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

High seroprevalence rates for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (8.8%), Coxiella burnetii (6.4%), Bartonella henselae (9.6%), and Rickettsia typhi (4.1%) in 365 farm workers near Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, suggest that human infections with these zoonotic bacteria are frequent and largely unrecognized. Demographic features of seropositive persons suggest distinct epidemiology, ecology, and risks