MuRAL: Multi-Scale Region-based Active Learning for Object Detection

Obtaining large-scale labeled object detection dataset can be costly and time-consuming, as it involves annotating images with bounding boxes and class labels. Thus, some specialized active learning methods have been proposed to reduce the cost by selecting either coarse-grained samples or fine-grained instances from unlabeled data for labeling. However, the former approaches suffer from redundant labeling, while the latter methods generally lead to training instability and sampling bias. To address these challenges, we propose a novel approach called Multi-scale Region-based Active Learning (MuRAL) for object detection. MuRAL identifies informative regions of various scales to reduce annotation costs for well-learned objects and improve training performance. The informative region score is designed to consider both the predicted confidence of instances and the distribution of each object category, enabling our method to focus more on difficult-to-detect classes. Moreover, MuRAL employs a scale-aware selection strategy that ensures diverse regions are selected from different scales for labeling and downstream finetuning, which enhances training stability. Our proposed method surpasses all existing coarse-grained and fine-grained baselines on Cityscapes and MS COCO datasets, and demonstrates significant improvement in difficult category performance

Cyclooxygenase-2 enhances α2β1 integrin expression and cell migration via EP1 dependent signaling pathway in human chondrosarcoma cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, the inducible isoform of prostaglandin (PG) synthase, has been implicated in tumor metastasis. Interaction of COX-2 with its specific EP receptors on the surface of cancer cells has been reported to induce cancer invasion. However, the effects of COX-2 on migration activity in human chondrosarcoma cells are mostly unknown. In this study, we examined whether COX-2 and EP interaction are involved in metastasis of human chondrosarcoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that over-expression of COX-2 or exogenous PGE₂increased the migration of human chondrosarcoma cells. We also found that human chondrosarcoma tissues and chondrosarcoma cell lines had significant expression of the COX-2 which was higher than that in normal cartilage. By using pharmacological inhibitors or activators or genetic inhibition by the EP receptors, we discovered that the EP1 receptor but not other PGE receptors is involved in PGE₂-mediated cell migration and α2β1 integrin expression. Furthermore, we found that human chondrosarcoma tissues expressed a higher level of EP1 receptor than normal cartilage. PGE₂-mediated migration and integrin up-regulation were attenuated by phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase C (PKC) and c-Src inhibitor. Activation of the PLCβ, PKCα, c-Src and NF-κB signaling pathway after PGE₂treatment was demonstrated, and PGE₂-induced expression of integrin and migration activity were inhibited by the specific inhibitor, siRNA and mutants of PLC, PKC, c-Src and NF-κB cascades.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicated that PGE₂enhances the migration of chondrosarcoma cells by increasing α2β1 integrin expression through the EP1/PLC/PKCα/c-Src/NF-κB signal transduction pathway.</p

Challenges in the management of a child with yolk sac tumour of the nasal cavity presenting with epistaxis and progressive respiratory distress

Yolk Sac tumour (YST) of the nasal cavity is extremely rare with only less than five previously reported cases in the English literature. Due to its rarity, the diagnosis is not one that is considered at initial presentation until tissue biopsies are sent for histopathological examination. Serum α-fetoprotein levels aid in diagnosis and in monitoring progression of the tumour. Being a very uncommon tumour of germ cell origin presenting as localized disease in the nasal cavity, prognosis and survival rates are difficult to determine. We are reporting a rare yolk sac tumour case in an infant and the challenges encountered in its management

Design and synthesis of 6,7-methylenedioxy-4-substituted phenylquinolin-2(1H)-one derivatives as novel anticancer agents that induce apoptosis with cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase

Novel 6,7-methylenedioxy-4-substituted phenylquinolin-2-one derivatives 12a–n were designed and prepared through an intramolecular cyclization reaction and evaluated for in vitro anticancer activity. Among the synthesized compounds, 6,7-methylenedioxy-4-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)quinolin-2(1H)-one (12e) displayed potent cytotoxicity against several different tumor cell lines at a sub-micromolar level. Furthermore, results of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis suggested that 12e induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase accompanied by apoptosis in HL-60 and H460 cells. This action was confirmed by Hoechst staining and caspase-3 activation. Due to their easy synthesis and remarkable biological activities, 4-phenylquinolin-2(1H)-one analogs (4-PQs) are promising new anticancer leads based on the quinoline scaffold. Accordingly, compound 12e was identified as a new lead compound that merits further optimization and development as an anticancer candidate

Biomechanical investigation of flexor digitorum tendons in trigger finger patients using sonography

Trigger finger (TF) has generally been ascribed to primary changes in the first annular (A1) pulley. Repeated friction between the A1 pulley and flexor digitorum tendons could result in swelling of soft tissues, and thus it has been speculated that TF affects tendons’ biomechanical behaviors. However, the pathology mechanism related to these behaviors remains unclear. The purposes of this study are to understand (1) the variations in the morphologies of the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) between normal fingers and TFs, (2) the differences in the biomechanical behaviors of the FDP and FDS between normal fingers and TFs in various finger flexion positions, and (3) the effect of various finger positions on the biomechanical behaviors of the FDP and FDS

Lessons Learned of NSPO’s Picosatellite Mission: Yamsat - 1A, 1B & 1C

The YamSat is the first developed picosatellite in National Space Program Office’s (NSPO), Taiwan, R.O.C. It is scheduled to flight in the CubeSat launch in 2003. The rapid-prototyping system engineering different from the past formal discipline opens a new satellite development model in NSPO. The YamSat Test Readiness Review Meeting was successfully held in January 2002 and the environmental tests were completed by end March 2002. Besides the breadboard model and engineering test bed to prove of operation concept are built, three YamSats (1A, 1B, & 1C) instead of one are manufactured with slightly different configurations and purposes. The YamSat- 1A is for flight with ambitious and novel R.O.C. made components, including 15 domestic organizations and companies’ participation. The YamSat-1B is basically for backup purpose and demonstration, whereas the YamSat-1C is for amateur communication experiment end-to-end field test, and for public education purpose. This new experience gives fruitful lessons learned and provides low cost space experimentation and education to the next built picosatellites in Taiwan’s universities. Detailed mission and lessons learned are addressed in this paper

Outcomes of resection for colorectal cancer hepatic metastases stratified by evolving eras of treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and purpose</p> <p>The outcomes and management of colorectal cancer (CRC) hepatic metastasis have undergone many evolutionary changes. In this study, we aimed to analyze the outcomes of patients with CRC hepatic metastasis in terms of the era of treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a retrospective review of 279 patients who underwent liver resection (LR) for CRC hepatic metastases. The prognoses of patients treated pre-2003 (era 1) and post-2003 (era 2) were examined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the patients included in the study, 210 (75.3%) had CRC recurrence after LR. There was a significant difference in the ratio of CRC recurrence between the 2 eras (82.0% in era 1 <it>vs</it>. 69.5% in era 2; <it>p </it>= 0.008). Analysis of recurrence-free and overall survival rates also showed that the patient outcome was significantly better in the post-2003 era than in the pre-2003 era. Further analysis showed that a significantly higher percentage of patients in era 2 had received modern chemotherapeutic regimens including irinotecan and oxaliplatin, while patients in era 1 were mainly administered fluorouracil and leucovorin for adjuvant chemotherapy. Among patients with CRC recurrence, a significant ratio of those in era 2 underwent surgical resection for recurrent lesions, and these patients had a better survival curve than did patients without resection (34.1% <it>vs</it>. 2.2% for 5-year survival; <it>p </it>< 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The incidence of CRC recurrence after LR for hepatic metastasis remains very high. However, the management and outcomes of patients with CRC hepatic metastasis have greatly improved with time, suggesting that the current use of aggressive multimodality treatments including surgical resection combined with modern chemotherapeutic regimens effectively prolongs the life expectancy of these patients.</p

A systematic scoping review of approaches to teaching and assessing empathy in medicine

10.1186/s12909-021-02697-6BMC Medical Education21129

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities