PIAVE: A Pose-Invariant Audio-Visual Speaker Extraction Network

It is common in everyday spoken communication that we look at the turning head of a talker to listen to his/her voice. Humans see the talker to listen better, so do machines. However, previous studies on audio-visual speaker extraction have not effectively handled the varying talking face. This paper studies how to take full advantage of the varying talking face. We propose a Pose-Invariant Audio-Visual Speaker Extraction Network (PIAVE) that incorporates an additional pose-invariant view to improve audio-visual speaker extraction. Specifically, we generate the pose-invariant view from each original pose orientation, which enables the model to receive a consistent frontal view of the talker regardless of his/her head pose, therefore, forming a multi-view visual input for the speaker. Experiments on the multi-view MEAD and in-the-wild LRS3 dataset demonstrate that PIAVE outperforms the state-of-the-art and is more robust to pose variations.Comment: Interspeech 202

Characterization of the chloroplast genome of Verbena officinalis Linn. (Verbenaceae) and its phylogenetic analysis

Verbena officinalis has a long history as a source plant in traditional Chinese medicine. This study adopted next-generation sequencing technology in order to determine complete chloroplast genome of V. officinalis. The results of this investigation showed the chloroplast genome of V. officinalis was 153,286 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (each 25,825 bp), separated by a large single-copy region (LSC) of 84,316 bp and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 17,320 bp, and the overall GC contents of the chloroplast genome was 39.04%. Additionally, we annotated 83 genes, including 48 protein-coding genes, 31 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. By creating the phylogenetic tree, relationship between V. officinalis and relevant species was discussed, and the result proved that V. officinalis was closely related to Avicennia marina. The findings of the study will serve as a stepping stone for follow-up researches regarding its chloroplast genome

Simulation and Experiment of Gas-Solid Flow in a Safflower Sorting Device Based on the CFD-DEM Coupling Method

To study the movement characteristics and separation mechanism of safflower petals and their impurities under the action of airflow and lower the impurity rate in the cleaning operation process, integration of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) codes was performed to study the motion and sorting behavior of impurity particles and safflower petals under different airflow inclination angles, dust removal angles and inlet airflow velocities by establishing a true particle model. In this model, the discrete particle phase was applied by the DEM software, and the continuum gas phase was described by the ANSYS Fluent software. The Box-Behnken experimental design with three factors and three levels was performed, and parameters such as inlet airflow velocity, airflow inclined angle, and dust remover angle were selected as independent variables that would influence the cleaning impurity rate and the cleaning loss rate. A mathematical model was established, and then the effects of various parameters and their interactions were analyzed. The test results show that the cleaning effect is best when the inlet airflow velocity is 7 m/s, the airflow inclined angle is 0°, and the dust remover angle is 25°. Confirmatory tests showed that the average cleaning impurity rate and cleaning loss rate were 0.69% and 2.75%, respectively, which dropped significantly compared with those from previous optimization. An experimental device was designed and set up; the experimental results were consistent with the simulation results, indicating that studying the physical behavior of safflower petals-impurity separation in the airflow field by using the DEM-CFD coupling method is reliable. This result provides a basis for follow-up studies of separation and cleaning devices for lightweight materials such as safflower petals

Rabeprazole combined with hydrotalcite is effective for patients with bile reflux gastritis after cholecystectomy

BACKGROUND: Regardless of surgical technique, patients who have undergone cholecystectomy appear to be predisposed to the development of bile reflux gastritis

TRIM47 is up-regulated in colorectal cancer, promoting ubiquitination and degradation of SMAD4

Abstract Background Tripartite motif 47 (TRIM47), a member of the TRIM family proteins, plays a key role in many types of cancers including colorectal cancer (CRC). We found that levels of TRIM47 mRNA and protein were increased significantly in colorectal tumors compared with nontumor tissues and the increased levels were associated with advanced tumor stage and poor outcome. Methods We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot to measure levels of TRIM47 mRNA and protein in human colorectal cancer and paired normal tissues. TRIM47 was knocked down and overexpressed in colorectal cancer cells, and the effects on cell proliferation, migration and growth of xenograft tumors in nude mice were assessed. The signaling pathways were examined by western blot and immunoprecipitation assays. Results TRIM47 promoted CRC proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo as an oncogene. Mechanistically, TRIM47 interacted physically with SMAD4, increasing its ubiquitination and degradation. Loss of SMAD4 leaded to up-regulation of CCL15 expression and caused growth and invasion in human CRC cells through the CCL15-CCR1 signaling. Moreover, TRIM47 overexpression played a role in CRC chemoresistance in response to 5-FU therapy. Conclusions Our study demonstrated a functional role of the TRIM47-SMAD4-CCL15 axis in CRC progression and suggested a potential target for CRC therapy

LRG1 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells via RUNX1 activation

<div><p>Leucine-rich-alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) has been shown to be involved in various human malignancies. Whether it plays a role in colorectal cancer (CRC) development remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether and through what mechanism LRG1 functions in human CRC cells. The plasma level of LRG1 was significantly increased in CRC patients, but it was remarkably decreased in patients with resected colorectal cancers. Meanwhile, both mRNA and protein levels of LRG1 were remarkable overexpressed in CRC tissues than normal tissues. The knockdown of LRG1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, and promoted apoptosis in SW480 and HCT116 cells in vitro. In addition, LRG1 silencing led to the downregulation of the levels of key cell cycle factors, such as cyclin D1, B, and E and anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2). However, it up-regulated the expression of pro-apoptotic Bax and cleaved caspase-3. Furthermore, RUNX1 could be induced by LRG1 in a concentration-dependent manner, while the knockdown of RUNX1 blocked the promotion of the proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis induced by LRG1. Collectively, these findings indicate that LRG1 plays a crucial role in the proliferation and apoptosis of CRC by regulating RUNX1 expression. Thus, LRG1 may be a potential detection biomarker as well as a marker for monitoring recurrence and therapeutic target for CRC.</p></div

LRG1 promoted the expression of RUNX1 and CRC cell proliferation.

<p><b>(a)</b> SW480 and HCT116 cells were transfection with LRG1 siRNA, and the expression of the tested RUNXs was quantified by RT-PCR. (<b>b)</b> Cells were stimulated with rLRG1 (0–1,000 ng/ml) for 24 h, and the RUNX1 expression was determined by RT-PCR. (<b>c)</b> Cells were stimulated with rLRG1 (0–1000 ng/ml), and a CCK-8 assay was performed to evaluate cell proliferation. (<b>d)</b> The protein levels of cyclin D1, B, E, Bcl-2, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 in response to LRG1 treatment in SW480 cells were analysed by Western blot. This figure shows representative images of repeated experiments, and the data are presented as the mean±standard deviation. Compared with NC, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, and ***P<0.001.</p

The knockdown of LRG1 inhibited CRC cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest.

<p><b>(a)</b> RT-PCR and Western blot analyses showed that LRG1 was effectively down-regulated by siRNA transfection. (<b>b)</b> A CCK-8 assay was performed to evaluate cell proliferation in vitro. (<b>c-d)</b> SW480 and HCT116 cells were fixed, stained with PI, and subjected to flow cytometry analysis for cell cycle. (<b>e–f)</b> The expression levels of cyclin D1, B, and E in SW480 and HCT116 cells transfected with LRG1 siRNA or control siRNA were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. This figure shows representative images of repeated experiments, and the data are presented as the mean±standard deviation. Compared with NC, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, and ***P<0.001.</p

The role of RUNX1 in LRG1-induced cell proliferation and anti-apoptosis.

<p>(<b>a)</b> RUNX1 expression was knocked down in siRNA-transfected SW480 cells at both the mRNA and protein levels. <b>(b)</b> SW480 cells were transfected with RUNX1 or control siRNA with or without rLRG1 (500 ng/ml) stimulation, and a CCK-8 assay was performed to evaluate cell proliferation. <b>(c-d)</b> SW480 cells were transfected with RUNX1 or control siRNA for 24 h and treated with or without rLRG1 (500 ng/ml) for an additional 24 h. Then, the SW480 cells were fixed, stained with PI, and subjected to flow cytometry analysis to probe the cell cycle. <b>(e-f)</b> SW480 and HCT116 cells were harvested and double stained with an FITC-conjugated anti-Annexin V antibody and PI. Then, the cells were subjected to flow cytometry for cell apoptosis analysis. <b>(g)</b> The protein levels of Runx1,cyclin D1, B, E, Bcl-2, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 in response to RUNX1 or control siRNA with or without rLRG1 treatment in SW480 cells, which were analysed by Western blot. This figure shows representative images of repeated experiments, and the data are presented as the mean±standard deviation. Compared with NC, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, and ***P<0.001.</p