Pose-Invariant Face Recognition via RGB-D Images

Three-dimensional (3D) face models can intrinsically handle large pose face recognition problem. In this paper, we propose a novel pose-invariant face recognition method via RGB-D images. By employing depth, our method is able to handle self-occlusion and deformation, both of which are challenging problems in two-dimensional (2D) face recognition. Texture images in the gallery can be rendered to the same view as the probe via depth. Meanwhile, depth is also used for similarity measure via frontalization and symmetric filling. Finally, both texture and depth contribute to the final identity estimation. Experiments on Bosphorus, CurtinFaces, Eurecom, and Kiwi databases demonstrate that the additional depth information has improved the performance of face recognition with large pose variations and under even more challenging conditions

Generalized Related-Key Rectangle Attacks on Block Ciphers with Linear Key Schedule: Applications to SKINNY and GIFT

This paper gives a new generalized key-recovery model of related-key rectangle attacks on block ciphers with linear key schedules. The model is quite optimized and applicable to various block ciphers with linear key schedule. As a proof of work, we apply the new model to two very important block ciphers, i.e. SKINNY and GIFT, which are basic modules of many candidates of the Lightweight Cryptography (LWC) standardization project by NIST. For SKINNY, we reduce the complexity of the best previous 27-round related-tweakey rectangle attack on SKINNY-128-384 from $2^{331}$ to $2^{294}$. In addition, the first 28-round related-tweakey rectangle attack on SKINNY-128-384 is given, which gains one more round than before. For the case of GIFT-64, we give the first 24-round related-key rectangle attack with a time complexity $2^{91.58}$, while the best previous attack on GIFT-64 only reaches 23 rounds at most

Orf virus DNA vaccines expressing ORFV 011 and ORFV 059 chimeric protein enhances immunogenicity

Background: ORFV attenuated live vaccines have been the main prophylactic measure against contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats in the last decades, which play an important role in preventing the outbreak of the disease. However, the available vaccines do not induce lasting immunity in sheep and goats. On the other hand, variation in the terminal genome of Orf virus vaccine strains during cell culture adaptation may affect the efficacy of a vaccine. Currently, there are no more effective antiviral treatments available for contagious ecthyma. Results: We constructed three eukaryotic expression vectors pcDNA3.1-ORFV011, pcDNA3.1-ORFV059 and pcDNA3.1-ORFV011/ORFV059 and tested their immunogenicity in mouse model. High level expression of the recombinant proteins ORFV011, ORFV059 and ORFV011/ORFV059 was confirmed by western blotting analysis and indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) tests. The ORFV-specific antibody titers and serum IgG1/IgG2a titers, the proliferation of lymphocytes and ORFV-specific cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha) were examined to evaluate the immune responses of the vaccinated mice. We found that mice inoculated with pcDNA3.1-ORFV 011/ORFV059 had significantly stronger immunological responses than those inoculated with pcDNA3.1-ORFV011, pcDNA3.1-ORFV059, or pcDNA3.1-ORFV011 plus pcDNA3.1-ORFV059. Compared to other vaccine plasmids immunized groups, pcDNA3.1-ORFV011/ORFV059 immunized group enhances immunogenicity. Conclusions: We concluded that DNA vaccine pcDNA3.1-ORFV011/ORFV059 expressing ORFV011 and ORFV059 chemeric-proteins can significantly improve the potency of DNA vaccination and could be served as more effective and safe approach for new vaccines against ORFV.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000304650500001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701VirologySCI(E)3ARTICLEnull

A Novel Estimation Method for Temperature of Magnetic Nanoparticles Dominated by Brownian Relaxation Based on Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy

This paper presents a novel method for estimating the temperature of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) based on AC magnetization harmonics of MNPs dominated by Brownian relaxation. The difference in the AC magnetization response and magnetization harmonic between the Fokker-Planck equation and the Langevin function was analyzed, and we studied the relationship between the magnetization harmonic and the key factors, such as Brownian relaxation time, temperature, magnetic field strength, core size and hydrodynamic size of MNPs, excitation frequency, and so on. We proposed a compensation function for AC magnetization harmonic with consideration of the key factors and the difference between the Fokker-Planck equation and the Langevin function. Then a temperature estimation model based on the compensation function and the Langevin function was established. By employing the least squares algorithm, the temperature was successfully calculated. The experimental results show that the temperature error is less than 0.035 K in the temperature range from 310 K to 320 K. The temperature estimation model is expected to improve the performance of the magnetic nanoparticle thermometer and be applied to magnetic nanoparticle-mediated hyperthermia

Single-Incision Plus One Port Laparoscopic Surgery for Myomectomy: A Retrospective Study

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of single-incision plus one port laparoscopic surgery (SILS + 1) for myomectomy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent laparoendoscopic single-site myomectomy (LESS-M group, n = 40) and SILS + 1 (SILS + 1-M group, n = 40) for myomectomy at our hospital from October 2018 through December 2020. The patients’ baseline demographic information and clinical data were compared between the two groups. Results The results showed that no significant difference in basic characteristics or between the number, size, and location of uterine myomas between the two groups (p < 0.05). However, the surgery was more difficult and the total operating time was significantly longer in the LESS-M group compared to the SILS + 1-M group (83.5 ± 14.2 vs. 108.2 ± 18.1 min, p = 0.001). Moreover, the estimated intraoperative blood loss (113.4 ± 46.5 vs. 211.4 ± 60.3 ml, p = 0.001) and changes in hemoglobin level (13.1 ± 7.6 vs. 18.2 ± 6.0, p = 0.001) were significantly lower in the SILS + 1-M group compared to the LESS-M group. In addition, no serious intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred after surgery in either group. The clinical outcomes in the SILS + 1-M group were associated with a significant reduction in total surgical time compared to the LESS-M group (p < 0.05). Conclusion SILS + 1 for myomectomy is popular in clinics, with a satisfactory clinical effect

Optimization of Hot-Water Drilling in Ice with Near-Bottom Circulation

Hot-water drilling in ice with near-bottom circulation is more advantageous than traditional hot-water drilling with all-over borehole circulation in terms of power consumption and weight. However, the drilling performance of this type of drill has been poorly studied. Initial experiments showed that drilling with single-orifice nozzles did not proceed smoothly. To achieve the best drilling performance, nozzles with different orifice numbers and structures are evaluated in the present study. The testing results show that a single-orifice nozzle with a 3 mm nozzle diameter and a nine-jet nozzle with a forward angle of 35&deg; had the highest rate of penetration (1.7&ndash;1.8 m h&minus;1) with 5.6&ndash;6.0 kW heating power. However, the nozzles with backward holes ensured a smoother drilling process and a larger borehole, although the rate of penetration was approximately 13% slower. A comparison of the hollow and solid thermal tips showed that under the same experimental conditions, the hollow drill tip had a lower flow rate, higher outlet temperature, and higher rate of penetration. This study provides a prominent reference for drilling performance prediction and drilling technology development of hot-water drilling in ice with near-bottom circulation

Optimization of Hot-Water Drilling in Ice with Near-Bottom Circulation

Hot-water drilling in ice with near-bottom circulation is more advantageous than traditional hot-water drilling with all-over borehole circulation in terms of power consumption and weight. However, the drilling performance of this type of drill has been poorly studied. Initial experiments showed that drilling with single-orifice nozzles did not proceed smoothly. To achieve the best drilling performance, nozzles with different orifice numbers and structures are evaluated in the present study. The testing results show that a single-orifice nozzle with a 3 mm nozzle diameter and a nine-jet nozzle with a forward angle of 35° had the highest rate of penetration (1.7–1.8 m h−1) with 5.6–6.0 kW heating power. However, the nozzles with backward holes ensured a smoother drilling process and a larger borehole, although the rate of penetration was approximately 13% slower. A comparison of the hollow and solid thermal tips showed that under the same experimental conditions, the hollow drill tip had a lower flow rate, higher outlet temperature, and higher rate of penetration. This study provides a prominent reference for drilling performance prediction and drilling technology development of hot-water drilling in ice with near-bottom circulation

Orf virus DNA vaccines expressing ORFV 011 and ORFV 059 chimeric protein enhances immunogenicity

Abstract Background ORFV attenuated live vaccines have been the main prophylactic measure against contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats in the last decades, which play an important role in preventing the outbreak of the disease. However, the available vaccines do not induce lasting immunity in sheep and goats. On the other hand, variation in the terminal genome of Orf virus vaccine strains during cell culture adaptation may affect the efficacy of a vaccine. Currently, there are no more effective antiviral treatments available for contagious ecthyma. Results We constructed three eukaryotic expression vectors pcDNA3.1-ORFV011, pcDNA3.1-ORFV059 and pcDNA3.1-ORFV011/ORFV059 and tested their immunogenicity in mouse model. High level expression of the recombinant proteins ORFV011, ORFV059 and ORFV011/ORFV059 was confirmed by western blotting analysis and indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) tests. The ORFV-specific antibody titers and serum IgG1/IgG2a titers, the proliferation of lymphocytes and ORFV-specific cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) were examined to evaluate the immune responses of the vaccinated mice. We found that mice inoculated with pcDNA3.1-ORFV 011/ORFV059 had significantly stronger immunological responses than those inoculated with pcDNA3.1-ORFV011, pcDNA3.1-ORFV059, or pcDNA3.1-ORFV011 plus pcDNA3.1-ORFV059. Compared to other vaccine plasmids immunized groups, pcDNA3.1-ORFV011/ORFV059 immunized group enhances immunogenicity. Conclusions We concluded that DNA vaccine pcDNA3.1-ORFV011/ORFV059 expressing ORFV011 and ORFV059 chemeric-proteins can significantly improve the potency of DNA vaccination and could be served as more effective and safe approach for new vaccines against ORFV.</p