AMDFNet: Adaptive multi-level deformable fusion network for RGB-D saliency detection

Effective exploration of useful contextual information in multi-modal images is an essential task in salient object detection. Nevertheless, the existing methods based on the early-fusion or the late-fusion schemes cannot address this problem as they are unable to effectively resolve the distribution gap and information loss. In this paper, we propose an adaptive multi-level deformable fusion network (AMDFNet) to exploit the cross-modality information. We use a cross-modality deformable convolution module to dynamically adjust the boundaries of salient objects by exploring the extra input from another modality. This enables incorporating the existing features and propagating more contexts so as to strengthen the model's ability to perceiving scenes. To accurately refine the predicted maps, a multi-scaled feature refinement module is proposed to enhance the intermediate features with multi-level prediction in the decoder part. Furthermore, we introduce a selective cross-modality attention module in the fusion process to exploit the attention mechanism. This module captures dense long-range cross-modality dependencies from a multi-modal hierarchical feature's perspective. This strategy enables the network to select more informative details and suppress the contamination caused by the negative depth maps. Experimental results on eight benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the components in our proposed model, as well as the overall saliency model

52-week efficacy and safety of telbivudine with conditional tenofovir intensification at week 24 in HBeAg-positive chronic Hepatitis B

Background and Aims: The Roadmap concept is a therapeutic framework in chronic hepatitis B for the intensification of nucleoside analogue monotherapy based on early virologic response. The efficacy and safety of this approach applied to telbivudine treatment has not been investigated. Methods: A multinational, phase IV, single-arm open-label study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT00651209) was undertaken in HBeAg-positive, nucleoside-naive adult patients with chronic hepatitis B. Patients received telbivudine (600 mg once-daily) for 24 weeks, after which those with undetectable serum HBV DNA (<300 copies/mL) continued to receive telbivudine alone while those with detectable DNA received telbivudine plus tenofovir (300 mg once-daily). Outcomes were assessed at Week 52. Results: 105 patients commenced telbivudine monotherapy, of whom 100 were included in the efficacy analysis. Fifty-five (55%) had undetectable HBV DNA at Week 24 and continued telbivudine monotherapy; 45 (45%) received tenofovir intensification. At Week 52, the overall proportion of undetectable HBV DNA was 93% (93/100) by last-observation-carried-forward analysis (100% monotherapy group, 84% intensification group) and no virologic breakthroughs had occurred. ALT normalization occurred in 77% (87% monotherapy, 64% intensification), HBeAg clearance in 43% (65% monotherapy, 16% intensification), and HBeAg seroconversion in 39% (62% monotherapy, 11% intensification). Six patients had HBsAg clearance. Myalgia was more common in the monotherapy group (19% versus 7%). No decrease in the mean glomerular filtration rate occurred in either treatment group at Week 52. Conclusions: Telbivudine therapy with tenofovir intensification at Week 24, where indicated by the Roadmap strategy, appears effective and well tolerated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0065120

Organochlorine Pesticides in Consumer Fish and Mollusks of Liaoning Province, China: Distribution and Human Exposure Implications

Fish and mollusk samples were collected from markets located in 12 cities in Liaoning province, China, during August and September 2007, and 22 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were detected. DDT, HCH, endosulfan, chlordane, and HCB were the dominating OCPs, with mean concentrations and ranges of, respectively, 15.41 and 0.57 to 177.56 ng/g, 0.84 and below detection limit (BDL) to 22.99 ng/g, 1.31 and BDL to 13.1 ng/g, 1.05 and BDL to 15.68 ng/g, and 0.63 and BDL to 9.21 ng/g in all fish and mollusk samples. The concentrations of other OCPs generally were low and were detectable in a minority of samples, reflecting the low levels of these OCPs in the study region. In general, OCP concentrations were obviously higher in fish than in mollusks, and higher in freshwater fish than in marine fish, which indicated, first, that freshwater fish are more easily influenced than seawater fish and mollusks by OCP residues in agricultural areas and, second, that there are different biota accumulation factors for OCPs between fish and mollusk. To learn the consumption of fish and mollusk, 256 questionnaires were sent to families in 12 cities of Liaoning province. Using the contamination data, average estimated daily intakes of OCPs via fish and mollusk consumption were calculated, which were used for exposure assessment. The public health risks caused by exposure to OCPs in the course of fish and mollusk consumption were compared to noncancer benchmarks and cancer benchmarks

Asian-Pacific consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B: a 2008 update

Large amounts of new data on the natural history and treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have become available since 2005. These include long-term follow-up studies in large community-based cohorts or asymptomatic subjects with chronic HBV infection, further studies on the role of HBV genotype/naturally occurring HBV mutations, treatment of drug resistance and new therapies. In addition, Pegylated interferon α2a, entecavir and telbivudine have been approved globally. To update HBV management guidelines, relevant new data were reviewed and assessed by experts from the region, and the significance of the reported findings were discussed and debated. The earlier “Asian-Pacific consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B” was revised accordingly. The key terms used in the statement were also defined. The new guidelines include general management, special indications for liver biopsy in patients with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy. Recommendations on the therapy of patients in special circumstances, including women in childbearing age, patients with antiviral drug resistance, concurrent viral infection, hepatic decompensation, patients receiving immune-suppressive medications or chemotherapy and patients in the setting of liver transplantation, are also included

Measurement of the Branching Fraction of J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0

Using 58 million J/psi and 14 million psi' decays obtained by the BESII experiment, the branching fraction of J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0 is determined. The result is (2.10+/-0.12)X10^{-2}, which is significantly higher than previous measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, RevTex

Search for K_S K_L in psi'' decays

K_S K_L from psi'' decays is searched for using the psi'' data collected by BESII at BEPC, the upper limit of the branching fraction is determined to be B(psi''--> K_S K_L) < 2.1\times 10^{-4} at 90% C. L. The measurement is compared with the prediction of the S- and D-wave mixing model of the charmonia, based on the measurements of the branching fractions of J/psi-->K_S K_L and psi'-->K_S K_L.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

First observation of psi(2S)-->K_S K_L

The decay psi(2S)-->K_S K_L is observed for the first time using psi(2S) data collected with the Beijing Spectrometer (BESII) at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC); the branching ratio is determined to be B(psi(2S)-->K_S K_L) = (5.24\pm 0.47 \pm 0.48)\times 10^{-5}. Compared with J/psi-->K_S K_L, the psi(2S) branching ratio is enhanced relative to the prediction of the perturbative QCD ``12%'' rule. The result, together with the branching ratios of psi(2S) decays to other pseudoscalar meson pairs (\pi^+\pi^- and K^+K^-), is used to investigate the relative phase between the three-gluon and the one-photon annihilation amplitudes of psi(2S) decays.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Study of psi(2S) decays to X J/psi

Using J/psi -> mu^+ mu^- decays from a sample of approximately 4 million psi(2S) events collected with the BESI detector, the branching fractions of psi(2S) -> eta J/psi, pi^0 pi^0 J/psi, and anything J/psi normalized to that of psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi are measured. The results are B(psi(2S) -> eta J/psi)/B(psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi) = 0.098 \pm 0.005 \pm 0.010, B(psi(2S) -> pi^0 pi^0 J/psi)/B(psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi) = 0.570 \pm 0.009 \pm 0.026, and B(psi(2S) -> anything J/psi)/B(psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi) = 1.867 \pm 0.026 \pm 0.055.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Impact of the Herbal Medicine Sophora flavescens on the Oral Pharmacokinetics of Indinavir in Rats: The Involvement of CYP3A and P-Glycoprotein

Sophora flavescens is a Chinese medicinal herb used for the treatment of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, skin diseases, pyretic stranguria and viral hepatitis. In this study the herb-drug interactions between S. flavescens and indinavir, a protease inhibitor for HIV treatment, were evaluated in rats. Concomitant oral administration of Sophora extract (0.158 g/kg or 0.63 g/kg, p.o.) and indinavir (40 mg/kg, p.o.) in rats twice a day for 7 days resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of plasma indinavir concentrations, with 55%–83% decrease in AUC0-∞ and 38%–78% reduction in Cmax. The CL (Clearance)/F (fraction of dose available in the systemic circulation) increased up to 7.4-fold in Sophora-treated rats. Oxymatrine treatment (45 mg/kg, p.o.) also decreased indinavir concentrations, while the ethyl acetate fraction of Sophora extract had no effect. Urinary indinavir (24-h) was reduced, while the fraction of indinavir in faeces was increased after Sophora treatment. Compared to the controls, multiple dosing of Sophora extract elevated both mRNA and protein levels of P-gp in the small intestine and liver. In addition, Sophora treatment increased intestinal and hepatic mRNA expression of CYP3A1, but had less effect on CYP3A2 expression. Although protein levels of CYP3A1 and CYP3A2 were not altered by Sophora treatment, hepatic CYP3A activity increased in the Sophora-treated rats. All available data demonstrated that Sophora flavescens reduced plasma indinavir concentration after multiple concomitant doses, possibly through hepatic CYP3A activity and induction of intestinal and hepatic P-gp. The animal study would be useful for predicting potential interactions between natural products and oral pharmaceutics and understanding the mechanisms prior to human studies. Results in the current study suggest that patients using indinavir might be cautioned in the use of S. flavescens extract or Sophora-derived products

CNx-modified Fe3O4 as Pt nanoparticle support for the oxygen reduction reaction

A novel electrocatalyst support material, nitrogendoped carbon (CNx)-modified Fe3O4 (Fe3O4-CNx), was synthesized through carbonizing a polypyrrole-Fe3O4 hybridized precursor. Subsequently, Fe3O4-CNx-supported Pt (Pt/Fe3O4-CNx) nanocomposites were prepared by reducing Pt precursor in ethylene glycol solution and evaluated for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The Pt/Fe3O4-CNx catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of the as-prepared electrocatalysts toward ORR were studied by cyclic voltammetry and steady-state polarization measurements. The results showed that Pt/ Fe3O4-CNx catalysts exhibited superior catalytic performance for ORR to the conventional Pt/C and Pt/C-CNx catalysts.Web of Scienc