DiP: Learning Discriminative Implicit Parts for Person Re-Identification

In person re-identification (ReID) tasks, many works explore the learning of part features to improve the performance over global image features. Existing methods extract part features in an explicit manner, by either using a hand-designed image division or keypoints obtained with external visual systems. In this work, we propose to learn Discriminative implicit Parts (DiPs) which are decoupled from explicit body parts. Therefore, DiPs can learn to extract any discriminative features that can benefit in distinguishing identities, which is beyond predefined body parts (such as accessories). Moreover, we propose a novel implicit position to give a geometric interpretation for each DiP. The implicit position can also serve as a learning signal to encourage DiPs to be more position-equivariant with the identity in the image. Lastly, a set of attributes and auxiliary losses are introduced to further improve the learning of DiPs. Extensive experiments show that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance on multiple person ReID benchmarks

Identification of Honey Adulterated with Syrup by Raman Spectroscopy and Chemometrics

In order to qualitatively and quantitatively identify syrup adulteration in honey, a method for rapid identification of adulterated honey by Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics was proposed. Raman spectroscopy was used to acquire spectral data of honey samples, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract features from the spectral data. Principal components with a cumulative contribution rate of more than 85% were selected for modeling and prediction. By using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), models to identify honey adulterated with 20% syrup were established. A support vector machine (SVM) model to identify honey adulterated with 5% syrup, and all LDA, PLS-DA and SVM models could distinguish adulterated honey samples with 1% syrup content from pure honey with an accuracy of more than 0.9. Raman spectroscopy combined with chemometrics is a fast and non-destructive method for the identification of adulterated honey with high accuracy, which is significant to maintaining the order of the honey market

Characterization of Cassava Starch-Stearic Acid Complex Nanoparticles and Stability of Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by It

In order to study the feasibility of applying cassava starch-fatty acid complexes as a Pickering emulsion stabilizer, complex nanoparticles with complexing index (CPI) of 2.74%, 9.17% and 27.66% were prepared by mixing cassava starch paste containing 78.65% amylopectin at 95 ℃ and stearic acid followed by alcohol precipitation. The three complexes had an irregular spherical-like shape under field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and their average particle sizes, determined by a laser particle size analyzer, were 315.35, 348.19 and 427.60 nm, respectively. The X-ray diffraction pattern of each of the complexes showed two peaks at 13° and 21°, which were characteristics of the V type crystal structure, and the crystal content increase with increasing CPI. Their deconvoluted infrared spectra exhibited changes in short-range ordering at 1 047, 1 022 and 995 cm-1. The contact angle of the particles with the highest CPI was 60.30°. The three complex nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsions for more than seven days compared to less than two days with starch nanoparticles. The complex nanoparticles with CPI of 27.66% stabilized emulsions best. The addition of the complex nanoparticles with CPI of 27.66% at levels above 0.1 g/100 mL resulted in the formation of an emulsion with an oil-to-water ratio of 1:9 (V/V). The emulsion with this nanoparticle at 7 g/100 mL exhibited an improved stability for 60 days without creaming or phase separation. Moreover, no significant changes in the droplet size distribution were observed. The emulsion was stable at pH 5.6-9.0 and not affected by NaCl concentration in the range of 0.01-0.1 mol/L. The emulsion maintained its morphology well after being heated to 80 ℃. These results suggest that the complex nanoparticles are a potential Pickering emulsion stabilizer

Cloning, distribution, and effects of growth regulation of MC3R and MC4R in red crucian carp (Carassius auratus red var.)

BackgroundMelanocortin-3 and -4 receptors (MC3R and MC4R), G protein-coupled receptors, play vital roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis. To understand the functions of mc3r and mc4r in the energy homeostasis of red crucian carp (Carassius auratus red var., RCC), we cloned mc3r and mc4r, analyzed the tissue expression and localization of the genes, and investigated the effects of knockout of mc3r (mc3r+/-) and mc4r (mc4r+/-) in RCC. ResultsThe full-length cDNAs of RCC mc3r and mc4r were 1459 base pairs (bp) and 1894 bp, respectively. qRT-PCR indicated that mc3r and mc4r were profusely expressed in the brain, but lower expressed in the periphery tissues. ISH revealed that mc3r and mc4r were located in NPP, NPO, NAPv, NSC, NAT, NRL, NLTl, and NLTp of the brain, suggesting that mc3r and mc4r might regulate many physiological and behavioral aspects in RCC. To further verify the roles of mc3r and mc4r in energy homeostasis, the mc3r+/- and mc4r+/- fish were obtained by the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The average body weights, total lengths, body depths, and food intake of mc4r+/- fish were significantly higher than those of mc3r+/- and the normal wild-type (WT) fish, but there was no difference between the mc3r+/- and WT fish, indicating that the RCC phenotype and food intake were mainly influenced by mc4r but not mc3r. Interestingly, mc4r+/- fish displayed more visceral fat mass than mc3r+/- and WT fish, and mc3r+/- fish also exhibited slightly more visceral fat mass compared to WT. RNA-seq of the liver and muscle revealed that a large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) differed in WT vs. mc3r+/-, WT vs. mc4r+/-, and mc3r+/- vs. mc4r+/-, mainly related to lipid, glucose, and energy metabolism. The KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways such as steroid biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, wnt signaling pathway, PPAR signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway, thereby affecting lipid accumulation and growth. ConclusionIn conclusion, these results will assist in the further investigation of the molecular mechanisms in which MC3R and MC4R were involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis in fish

E6 Protein Expressed by High-Risk HPV Activates Super-Enhancers of the EGFR and c-MET Oncogenes by Destabilizing the Histone

The high-risk (HR) human papillomaviruses (HPV) are causative agents of anogenital tract dysplasia and cancers and a fraction of head and neck cancers. The HR HPV E6 oncoprotein possesses canonical oncogenic functions, such as p53 degradation and telomerase activation. It is also capable of stimulating expression of several oncogenes, but the molecular mechanism underlying these events is poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence that HPV16 E6 physically interacts with histone H3K4 demethylase KDM5C, resulting in its degradation in an E3 ligase E6AP- and proteasome-dependent manner. Moreover, we found that HPV16-positive cancer cell lines exhibited lower KDM5C protein levels than HPV-negative cancer cell lines. Restoration of KDM5C significantly suppressed the tumorigenicity of CaSki cells, an HPV16-positive cervical cancer cell line. Whole genome ChIP-seq and RNA-seq results revealed that CaSki cells contained super-enhancers in the proto-oncogenes EGFR and c-MET. Ectopic KDM5C dampened these super-enhancers and reduced the expression of proto-oncogenes. This effect was likely mediated by modulating H3K4me3/H3K4me1 dynamics and decreasing bidirectional enhancer RNA transcription. Depletion of KDM5C or HPV16 E6 expression activated these two super-enhancers. These results illuminate a pivotal relationship between the oncogenic E6 proteins expressed by HR HPV isotypes and epigenetic activation of super-enhancers in the genome that drive expression of key oncogenes like EGFR and c-MET. Significance: This study suggests a novel explanation for why infections with certain HPV isotypes are associated with elevated cancer risk by identifying an epigenetic mechanism through which E6 proteins expressed by those isotypes can drive expression of key oncogenes.</p

Adsorption of thallium(I) on rutile nano-titanium dioxide and environmental implications

Rutile nano-titanium dioxide (RNTD) characterized by loose particles with diameter in 20–50 nm has a very large surface area for adsorption of Tl, a typical trace metal that has severe toxicity. The increasing application of RNTD and widespread discharge of Tl-bearing effluents from various industrial activities would increase the risk of their co-exposure in aquatic environments. The adsorption behavior of Tl(I) (a prevalent form of Tl in nature) on RNTD was studied as a function of solution pH, temperature, and ion strength. Adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics for Tl(I) were also investigated. The adsorption of Tl(I) on RNTD started at very low pH values and increased abruptly, then maintained at high level with increasing pH >9. Uptake of Tl(I) was very fast on RNTD in the first 15 min then slowed down. The adsorption of Tl(I) on RNTD was an exothermic process; and the adsorption isotherm of Tl(I) followed the Langmuir model, with the maximum adsorption amount of 51.2 mg/g at room temperature. The kinetics of Tl adsorption can be described by a pseudo-second-order equation. FT-IR spectroscopy revealed that -OH and -TiOO-H play an important role in the adsorption. All these results indicate that RNTD has a fast adsorption rate and excellent adsorption amount for Tl(I), which can thus alter the transport, bioavailability and fate of Tl(I) in aqueous environment

Sirt7 protects against vascular calcification via modulation of reactive oxygen species and senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells

Vascular calcification is frequently seen in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and significantly increases cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Sirt7, a NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases, plays a crucial role in cardiovascular disease. However, the role of Sirt7 in vascular calcification remains largely unknown. Using in vitro and in vivo models of vascular calcification, this study showed that Sirt7 expression was significantly reduced in calcified arteries from mice administered with high dose of vitamin D3 (vD3). We found that knockdown or inhibition of Sirt7 promoted vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC), aortic ring and vascular calcification in mice, whereas overexpression of Sirt7 had opposite effects. Intriguingly, this protective effect of Sirt7 on vascular calcification is dependent on its deacetylase activity. Unexpectedly, Sirt7 did not alter the osteogenic transition of VSMCs. However, our RNA-seq and subsequent studies demonstrated that knockdown of Sirt7 in VSMCs resulted in increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and induced an Nrf-2 mediated oxidative stress response. Treatment with the ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine (NAC) significantly attenuated the inhibitory effect of Sirt7 on VSMC calcification. Furthermore, we found that knockdown of Sirt7 delayed cell cycle progression and accelerated cellular senescence of VSMCs. Taken together, our results indicate that Sirt7 regulates vascular calcification at least in part through modulation of ROS and cellular senescence of VSMCs. Sirt7 may be a potential therapeutic target for vascular calcification.</p

Room temperature 2D ferromagnetism in few-layered 1TT-CrTe2_{2}

Spin-related electronics using two dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials as a platform are believed to hold great promise for revolutionizing the next generation spintronics. Although many emerging new phenomena have been unravelled in 2D electronic systems with spin long-range orderings, the scarcely reported room temperature magnetic vdW material has thus far hindered the related applications. Here, we show that intrinsic ferromagnetically aligned spin polarization can hold up to 316 K in a metallic phase of 1$T$-CrTe$_{2}$ in the few-layer limit. This room temperature 2D long range spin interaction may be beneficial from an itinerant enhancement. Spin transport measurements indicate an in-plane room temperature negative anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in few-layered CrTe$_{2}$, but a sign change in the AMR at lower temperature, with -0.6$\%$ at 300 K and +5$\%$ at 10 K, respectively. This behavior may originate from the specific spin polarized band structure of CrTe$_{2}$. Our findings provide insights into magnetism in few-layered CrTe$_{2}$, suggesting potential for future room temperature spintronic applications of such 2D vdW magnets.Comment: 9 Pages, 4 Figure