An effective method to obtain contour of fisheye images based on explicit level set method

Obtaining the effective contour from an image taken by fisheye lens is important for the following transactions. Many studies try to develop suitable methods to get accurate contours of fisheye images. Using the traditional level set method (CV model) is hard to meet the desire task that the final segmentation region is a circle. Therefore, the preprocessing of fisheye images and the improvement of traditional level set method are redesigned to get a final circular segmentation which may be suitable to other applications. In this paper, we use the local entropy method to make the value of pixels be even inside the effective circular region, further threshold method to remove the hole(s), and at last the explicit circular level set method to get final segmentation. The final experimental results show that the segmentation is effective

Analysis of a new variational model for image multiplicative denoising

In this paper, we study the mathematical properties of a new variational model for image multiplicative noise removal. Some important properties of the model, including the lower semicontinuity, the differential property, the convergence and regularization property, are established for the first time. The existence and uniqueness of a solution for the problem as well as a comparison principle have also been established

Bis{μ-4,4′,6,6′-tetra­bromo-2,2′-[o-phenyl­enebis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]­diphenol­ato}­bis­[(dimethyl­formamide)cadmium(II)]

The Schiff base ligand derived from the condensation of 3,5-dibromo­salicylaldehyde and 1,2-phenyl­enediamine, in the presence of dimethyl­formamide, forms the centrosymmetric title neutral binuclear distorted complex, [Cd2(C20H10Br4N2O2)2(C3H7NO)2], with the two octa­hedral Cd atoms linked by two O atoms. All bond lengths and angles show normal values

Microstructures and Toughening of TiC-TiB 2

Micro-nanocrystalline microstructures which are characterized by TiB2 platelets of the average thickness close to or smaller than 1 μm can be achieved in nearly full-density solidified TiC-TiB2 ceramic composites with Cr-based alloy phases by combustion synthesis in ultra-high gravity field of 2500 g. The filler phases in ceramic composites are actually Cr-based alloy with a little solidified solution of Ni atoms and Al atoms. The hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of the materials are 18.5 ± 1.5 GPa, 650 ± 35 MPa, and 16.5 ± 1.5 MPa⋅m0.5, respectively. The improved fracture toughness of TiC-TiB2 ceramic composites results from crack deflection, crack bridging, and pull-out by a large number of fine TiB2 platelets and plastic deformation with some Cr-based alloy phases

Two novel TSC2 mutations in renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma sensitive to everolimus.

People who suffers renal angiomyolipoma (AML) has a low quality of life. It is widely known that genetic factors including TSC2 mutation contribute to certain populations of renal AML-bearing patients. In this study, we are the first to identify novel TSC2 mutations in one Chinese renal epithelioid AML patient: c.2652C>A; c.2688G>A based on sequencing result from biopsy tissue. These two somatic mutations cause a translational stop of TSC2, which leads to mTORC1 activation. Given the fact that activation of mTORC1 ensures cell growth and survival, we applied its inhibitor, FDA-approved everolimus, to this woman. After months of treatment with everolimus, Computer-Tomography (CT) scan results showed that everolimus successfully reduced tumor growth and distal metastasis and achieved partial response (PR) to everolimu according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST version 1.1). Further Blood Routine Examination results showed the concentration of red cell mass, hemoglobin, white blood cell (WBC), platelets and hematocrit (HCT) significantly returned to normal levels indicating patients with these two TSC2 mutations could be effectively treated by everolimus

MiR-218 Inhibits Invasion and Metastasis of Gastric Cancer by Targeting the Robo1 Receptor

MicroRNAs play key roles in tumor metastasis. Here, we describe the regulation and function of miR-218 in gastric cancer (GC) metastasis. miR-218 expression is decreased along with the expression of one of its host genes, Slit3 in metastatic GC. However, Robo1, one of several Slit receptors, is negatively regulated by miR-218, thus establishing a negative feedback loop. Decreased miR-218 levels eliminate Robo1 repression, which activates the Slit-Robo1 pathway through the interaction between Robo1 and Slit2, thus triggering tumor metastasis. The restoration of miR-218 suppresses Robo1 expression and inhibits tumor cell invasion and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our results describe a Slit-miR-218-Robo1 regulatory circuit whose disruption may contribute to GC metastasis. Targeting miR-218 may provide a strategy for blocking tumor metastasis

Evaluation of individual and ensemble probabilistic forecasts of COVID-19 mortality in the United States

Short-term probabilistic forecasts of the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States have served as a visible and important communication channel between the scientific modeling community and both the general public and decision-makers. Forecasting models provide specific, quantitative, and evaluable predictions that inform short-term decisions such as healthcare staffing needs, school closures, and allocation of medical supplies. Starting in April 2020, the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub (https://covid19forecasthub.org/) collected, disseminated, and synthesized tens of millions of specific predictions from more than 90 different academic, industry, and independent research groups. A multimodel ensemble forecast that combined predictions from dozens of groups every week provided the most consistently accurate probabilistic forecasts of incident deaths due to COVID-19 at the state and national level from April 2020 through October 2021. The performance of 27 individual models that submitted complete forecasts of COVID-19 deaths consistently throughout this year showed high variability in forecast skill across time, geospatial units, and forecast horizons. Two-thirds of the models evaluated showed better accuracy than a naïve baseline model. Forecast accuracy degraded as models made predictions further into the future, with probabilistic error at a 20-wk horizon three to five times larger than when predicting at a 1-wk horizon. This project underscores the role that collaboration and active coordination between governmental public-health agencies, academic modeling teams, and industry partners can play in developing modern modeling capabilities to support local, state, and federal response to outbreaks

The United States COVID-19 Forecast Hub dataset

Academic researchers, government agencies, industry groups, and individuals have produced forecasts at an unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. To leverage these forecasts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with an academic research lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to create the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub. Launched in April 2020, the Forecast Hub is a dataset with point and probabilistic forecasts of incident cases, incident hospitalizations, incident deaths, and cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 at county, state, and national, levels in the United States. Included forecasts represent a variety of modeling approaches, data sources, and assumptions regarding the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this dataset is to establish a standardized and comparable set of short-term forecasts from modeling teams. These data can be used to develop ensemble models, communicate forecasts to the public, create visualizations, compare models, and inform policies regarding COVID-19 mitigation. These open-source data are available via download from GitHub, through an online API, and through R packages

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead