Double Refinement Network for Efficient Indoor Monocular Depth Estimation

Monocular depth estimation is the task of obtaining a measure of distance for each pixel using a single image. It is an important problem in computer vision and is usually solved using neural networks. Though recent works in this area have shown significant improvement in accuracy, the state-of-the-art methods tend to require massive amounts of memory and time to process an image. The main purpose of this work is to improve the performance of the latest solutions with no decrease in accuracy. To this end, we introduce the Double Refinement Network architecture. The proposed method achieves state-of-the-art results on the standard benchmark RGB-D dataset NYU Depth v2, while its frames per second rate is significantly higher (up to 18 times speedup per image at batch size 1) and the RAM usage per image is lower

Neotectonics and Stressed State Patterns of the Sakhalin Island

The study of neotectonics, neotectonic and modern stress of the Sakhalin has been performed by the set of methods. The scheme of modern geodynamics of the island has been constructed by the data of neotectonic activation of the faults. Three types of zones with dissimilar geodynamic conditions have been distinguished: transtension, transpression, and strike-slip (simple shift). The results of Sakhalin modern stress reconstruction based on focal mechanisms of earthquakes allowed to characterize the distribution of the stress state parameters over the island surface: the Lode-Nadai factor and the direction of axes of deviatoric compression and tension. The changes in characteristics of modern tectonic stress field have been noticed at the boundaries of regions with different regimes of modern faulting. Specific orientations of compression axes of the neotectonic stress field are proper for North Sakhalin. Therein, the directions of compression axes become northeast in contrast to the predominant sublatitude orientation on the island as a whole. The obtained data on neotectonics and inherited modern stress field are applicable to the problems of engineering geological support of oil and gas projects’ realization in the Sakhalin (new wells construction, control of the pipelines stability, accompanying urban planning, etc.)

Association of insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

BACKGROUND: The number of patients with chronic metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is growing at an alarming rate worldwide in both developed and developing countries. In the world, the prevalence of NAFLD is approaching 25%. Among patients with T2D, 70–80% are diagnosed with NAFLD. Insulin resistance (IR) is recognized as one of the main pathogenetic factors in the development of the most common chronic liver disease — NAFLD.AIM: Our search work was aimed at determining the contribution of the degree of IR to the progression of NAFLD; compare the gold standard for the determination of IR (clamp) and the mathematical model (HOMA-IR).METHODS: An observational one-stage open comparative study was conducted on the basis of the case-control principle. The objects of the study were overweight and obese patients who had not previously been diagnosed carbohydrate metabolism disorders, without secondary causes of fat accumulation in the liver. During the examination, clinical and laboratory studies were carried out, IR indices (M-index, HOMA-IR index) were obtained, a diagnosis of carbohydrate metabolism disturbance (or its absence) was made, a liver biopsy was made, morphological and clinical diagnoses were made.RESULTS: The analysis included information about 60 patients, they are divided into 3 groups: without NAFLD (7 people), with steatosis (18 people), with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (35 people), groups are comparable by age, gender, and body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin. When assessing the degree of IR using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp test, 19 showed a severe degree of IR, 28 had a moderate degree, 8 had a mild degree, and 5 had no IR. In the three studied groups, the median IR corresponded to an average degree and did not significantly differ. When comparing the gold standard for determining IR and the mathematical model (HOMA-IR) in the studied groups, an negative significant correlation was revealed (p = 0,0001).CONCLUSIONS: In the course of our study, no correlation was found between the degree of IR and the severity of NAFLD. This result allows us to think about other pathogenetic factors that affect the progression of NAFLD

A look at new therapeutic opportunities in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, and is considered to be the liver manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Currently, there is no etiotropic treatment of NAFLD, so an active research for new methods of treatment is underway. In the meantime, drugs are used to treat comorbid conditions, such as dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, which are present in varying degrees in patients. This review considers medications that are used in patients with NAFLD and related concomitant features, and also describes new strategies for regressing changes in liver tissue in NAFLD. In our opinion, one of the promising groups of drugs are agonists of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR). FXR belongs to the group of nuclear receptors, which are ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate the genes involved in metabolism. FXR agonists can claim to be a new promising drug for the treatment of NAFLD and related diseases influencing carbohydrate metabolism, fat metabolism, bile acid metabolism, as well as inflammatory processes in the liver to ensure metabolic homeostasis

The role of statins on helicobacter pylori eradication : Results from the european registry on the management of h. pylori (hp-eureg)

Funding: This project was promoted and funded by the European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (EHMSG), the Spanish Association of Gastroenterology (AEG), and the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effectiveness of empirical <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> eradication therapy with furazolidone in Russia: results from the European Registry on <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Management (Hp-EuReg)

Background. First-line therapy does not always provide a high level of Helicobacter pylori eradication due to the increase of H. pylori resistance to antibiotics; therefore, it remains necessary to identify the most effective rescue treatments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of empirical H. pylori furazolidone-containing regimens. Materials and methods. Adult H. pylori infected patients empirically treated with furazolidone-containing eradication regimens were registered in an international, prospective, multicenter non-intervention European registry on H. pylori management (Hp-EuReg). Data were collected at AEG-REDCap e-CRF from 2013 to 2021 and the quality was reviewed. Modified intention-to-treat (mITT) effectiveness analyses were performed. Results. Overall 106 patients received empirical furazolidone-containing therapy in Russia. Furazolidone was prescribed in a sequential scheme along with amoxicillin, clarithromycin and a proton pump inhibitor in 68 (64%) cases, triple regimens were prescribed in 28 (26%) patients and quadruple regimens in 10 (9.4%). Treatment duration of 7 days was assigned to 2 (1.9%) patients, 10-day eradication therapy in case of 80 (75%) and 14 days in 24 (23%) patients. Furazolidone was mainly used in first- (79%) and second-line (21%) regimens. The methods used to diagnose H. pylori infection were: histology (81%), stool antigen test (64%), 13C-urea breath test (6.6%), and rapid urease test (1.9%). The mITT effectiveness of sequential therapy was 100%; 93% with the triple therapy and 75.5% with quadruple therapy. Compliance was reported in 98% of cases. Adverse events were revealed in 5.7% of patients, mostly nausea (3.8%). No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion. Furazolidone containing eradication regimens appear to be an effective and safe empirical therapy in Russia

Double Refinement Network for Efficient Monocular Depth Estimation

Monocular depth estimation is the task of obtaining a measure of distance for each pixel using a single image. It is an important problem in computer vision and is usually solved using neural networks. Though recent works in this area have shown significant improvement in accuracy, the state-of-the-art methods tend to require massive amounts of memory and time to process an image. The main purpose of this work is to improve the performance of the latest solutions with no decrease in accuracy. To this end, we introduce the Double Refinement Network architecture. The proposed method achieves state-of-the-art results on the standard benchmark RGB-D dataset NYU Depth v2, while its frames per second rate is significantly higher (up to 18 times speedup per image at batch size 1) and the RAM usage is lower

Genetic Aspects of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most commonly diagnosed hepatopathy. There is an increase in the incidence of NAFLD in the structure of liver diseases in children and adolescents, which is directly related to the increasing prevalence of obesity. The spectrum of liver tissue changes in NAFLD ranges from benign hepatocellular steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis of the liver, and hepatocellular carcinoma. With the increasing prevalence of NAFLD in children, we can expect an increase in the incidence of adverse outcomes among people of working age. The key problem for NAFLD is the prediction of disease outcomes. In epidemiological and genetic studies, the relationship between the morphological stage of NAFLD and hereditary factors is shown. Currently, there are three genes associated with NAFLD (PNPLA3, TM6SF2, and GCKR), which, together with the genes responsible for insulin resistance, lipid deposition, inflammation and fibrogenesis in hepatocytes, determine the phenotype of fatty liver disease. The article considers the modern understanding of the issues of genetics, development of liver steatosis and progression of NASH. It is expected that this knowledge can transform our risk stratification strategies in patients with NAFLD and help identify new therapeutic goals