3D Facial Similarity Measure Based on Geodesic Network and Curvatures

Automated 3D facial similarity measure is a challenging and valuable research topic in anthropology and computer graphics. It is widely used in various fields, such as criminal investigation, kinship confirmation, and face recognition. This paper proposes a 3D facial similarity measure method based on a combination of geodesic and curvature features. Firstly, a geodesic network is generated for each face with geodesics and iso-geodesics determined and these network points are adopted as the correspondence across face models. Then, four metrics associated with curvatures, that is, the mean curvature, Gaussian curvature, shape index, and curvedness, are computed for each network point by using a weighted average of its neighborhood points. Finally, correlation coefficients according to these metrics are computed, respectively, as the similarity measures between two 3D face models. Experiments of different persons’ 3D facial models and different 3D facial models of the same person are implemented and compared with a subjective face similarity study. The results show that the geodesic network plays an important role in 3D facial similarity measure. The similarity measure defined by shape index is consistent with human’s subjective evaluation basically, and it can measure the 3D face similarity more objectively than the other indices

Case report: Optical genome mapping revealed double rearrangements in a male undergoing preimplantation genetic testing

Chromosome rearrangement is one of the main causes of abortion. In individuals with double chromosomal rearrangements, the abortion rate and the risk of producing abnormal chromosomal embryos are increased. In our study, preimplantation genetic testing for structural rearrangement (PGT-SR) was performed for a couple because of recurrent abortion and the karyotype of the male was 45, XY der (14; 15)(q10; q10). The PGT-SR result of the embryo in this in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle showed microduplication and microdeletion at the terminals of chromosomes 3 and 11, respectively. Therefore, we speculated whether the couple might have a cryptic reciprocal translocation which was not detected by karyotyping. Then, optical genome mapping (OGM) was performed for this couple, and cryptic balanced chromosomal rearrangements were detected in the male. The OGM data were consistent with our hypothesis according to previous PGT results. Subsequently, this result was verified by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in metaphase. In conclusion, the male’s karyotype was 45, XY, t(3; 11)(q28; p15.4), der(14; 15)(q10; q10). Compared with traditional karyotyping, chromosomal microarray, CNV-seq and FISH, OGM has significant advantages in detecting cryptic and balanced chromosomal rearrangements

3D Based Visualization Tool to Analyze the Influential Topics via Hashtags on Instagram Platform

This paper intends to develop an interactive, comprehensive information visualization platform of Instagram hashtag analysis. Instagram hashtags has developed themselves into all different kinds of group or communities for users to share hobbies and find similar friends. In order to analyze topic influence and user interest trend from Instagram, which contains billions of end-users and has worldwide influence, hashtag analysis is necessary to gather such information and compare the proportion of people involving in each tags and rank them to visualize. The visualization is developed in 3D space and consists of time-varying data flow of tags, together with tag comparison analysis, as well as event researches. In the rest of the paper, we mainly discuss the design idea and the development process of the system. An example of the system design work will be shown in the discussion, which involves 4 popular hashtags discussed on Instagram and are shown on the system, displayed as an 3D histogram, together with another comparison histogram to compare different tags, as well as an event view in the back

Influence of corporate governance on Internet financial reporting: a cross-sectional study of Singapore.

This study examines the impact of Corporate Governance (CG) mechanisms on the level of Internet Financial Reporting (IFR). CG and IFR play an increasingly vital role in the decision-making process of investors, with greater emphasis placed on quality and timeliness of disclosures by regulators. The relationship of IFR, comprising the 3 features of (1) Presentation, (2) Content and (3) Timeliness, and CG characteristics are explored

Optimal Strategies of the Online-to-Offline Instant Delivery Service of Grocery Retailers

The advantages of an O2O instant delivery service over the traditional retail model for grocery retailers in the local market lie in the ability to increase sales by expanding consumer channels. This study aims to explore how merchants can optimize their pricing and delivery service decisions, including order delivery fees, range, and starting price, to maximize profit with the adoption of instant delivery services. Using the Stackelberg game model, the research examines the retailers’ optimal decision-making within the classical Hotelling linear city model while considering a more realistic cost differentiation between online and offline services. The analysis incorporates variations in the number of consumer purchases and geographic locations. The study finds that increasing product prices while maintaining zero delivery fees consistently outperforms charging delivery fees while keeping prices constant in terms of their impact on retailers. Additionally, rarely-discussed aspects like starting delivery price and delivery range are also considered. Comparing parameter variations between the traditional retail model and the O2O instant delivery model leads to three primary conclusions. Firstly, the cost disparity between online and offline services significantly affects the optimal price and profit for the retailer. Secondly, when the cost of online service is slightly higher, setting a starting delivery price can enhance retailers’ profits compared to not having a starting price. Finally, the study outlines three strategies for implementing the O2O instant delivery model and suggests that defining a reasonable delivery range can help merchants reduce costs, improve delivery efficiency, and ultimately increase profits

Microbial Community Analyses of the Deteriorated Storeroom Objects in the Tianjin Museum Using Culture-Independent and Culture-Dependent Approaches

In the storeroom C7 of the Tianjin Museum, one wooden desk and two leather luggages dated back to Qing dynasty (1644-1912 AD) presented viable microbial contamination. The aim of the present study was to investigate microbial communities responsible for the biodeterioration of storeroom objects using a combination of culture-independent and culture-dependent methods as well microscopic techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the microflora on three storeroom objects were characterized by a marked presence of Eurotium halophilicum. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis proved that fungi were the main causative agents behind the biodeterioration in this case. Fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon sequencing documented the presence of two main fungi — Eurotium halophilicum and Aspergillus penicillioides. Molecular identification of fungal strains isolated from the surfaces and the air of the storeroom were most closely related to Chaetomium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium, showing discrepancies in fungal taxa compared to ITS amplicon sequencing. The most isolated bacterial phylum was Firmicutes, mostly Bacillus members. In addition, four biocide products — Preventol® D 7, P 91, 20 N and Euxyl® K 100 were selected to test their capability against fungal strains isolated from the surfaces. According to the susceptibility assay, Preventol® D 7 based on isothiazolinones was the most effective against fungal isolates. Findings from this study provided a knowledge about storeroom fungi, and exemplify a type of preliminary test that may be conducted before planning any biocide treatment, which may be useful to mitigate the fungal deterioration for further conservation of the museum

Craniofacial Reconstruction Evaluation by Geodesic Network

International audienceCraniofacial reconstruction is to estimate an individual’s face model from its skull. It has a widespread application in forensicmedicine, archeology, medical cosmetic surgery, and so forth. However, little attention is paid to the evaluation of craniofacialreconstruction. This paper proposes an objective method to evaluate globally and locally the reconstructed craniofacial facesbased on the geodesic network. Firstly, the geodesic networks of the reconstructed craniofacial face and the original face are built,respectively, by geodesics and isogeodesics, whose intersections are network vertices. Then, the absolute value of the correlationcoefficient of the features of all corresponding geodesic network vertices between two models is taken as the holistic similarity,where the weighted average of the shape index values in a neighborhood is defined as the feature of each network vertex.Moreover,the geodesic network vertices of each model are divided into six subareas, that is, forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and chin,and the local similarity is measured for each subarea. Experiments using 100 pairs of reconstructed craniofacial faces and theircorresponding original faces show that the evaluation by our method is roughly consistent with the subjective evaluation derivedfrom thirty-five persons in five groups

The protective role of social support on prenatal depression among pregnant women of advanced maternal age: a Three-Trimester follow-up study in China

The aim of this study was to compare the depressive symptoms during pregnancy between pregnant women aged over 35 years and those aged less than 35 years and to evaluate the protective effect of social support in early pregnancy against prenatal depressive symptoms. One hundred and seventy one women aged over 35 years and 342 trimester-matched women aged less than 35 years were included from a level III hospital in Shenzhen, China. The self-report Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used to evaluate prenatal depression and social support in early pregnancy. The proportions of women aged over 35 years who screened positive for prenatal depression were 22.8%, 23.4%, and 24.0% in the first, second and third trimesters, respectively. Advanced maternal age (≥35 years) was a positive predictor of prenatal depressive symptoms (β = 0.747, P = 0,008). Social support, especially objective support (β = -0.030, P = 0.002) and subjective support (β = -0.028, P = 0.006) in early pregnancy, had stronger protective effects against prenatal depressive symptoms for women aged over 35 years than younger women. Our findings support that older pregnant women experience more depressive symptoms than younger pregnant women, and social support could serve as a targeted intervention to decrease prenatal depressive symptoms.Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Depressive symptoms, which are strongly associated with adverse psychosocial and birth outcomes, appear to be prevalent and change in nature. Social support is an important protective factor against prenatal depression. What the results of this study add? Pregnant women of advanced maternal age experienced more depressive symptoms than younger women during the prenatal period. Social support, especially objective support and subjective support, had stronger protective effects against prenatal depression for women aged over 35 years than women aged less than 35 years. What the implications of these findings are for clinical practice? Screening of prenatal depression should be strengthened, especially for women aged over 35 years, and improving subjective support could improve their emotional experience

The Neuroprotective Effect of Byu d Mar 25 in LPS-Induced Alzheimer's Disease Mice Model

Inflammatory factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Byu d Mar 25 (BM25) has been suggested to have protective effects in the central nervous system. However, the effect of BM25 on AD has not been determined. This study aims to investigate the neuroprotective effect of BM25 in AD. A total of 40 AD model mice were randomly assigned to the following five groups (n = 8 per group): the AD + NS group, the AD + donepezil group, and three AD + BM25 groups treated with either 58.39 mg/kg (AD + BM25-L), 116.77 mg/kg (AD + BM25-M), or 233.54 mg/kg BM25 (AD + BM25-H). The Morris water maze test was performed to assess alterations in spatial learning and memory deficits. Nissl staining was performed to detect Nissl bodies and neuronal damage. The expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was evaluated by ELISA. The protein expression of P-P38, P38, P-IκBα, caspase 1, COX2, and iNOS was determined by western blotting. The expression of Aβ, p-Tau, and CD11b was measured by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, COX2, and iNOS were measured by qRT-PCR. Spatial memory significantly improved in the AD + BM25-M and AD + BM25-H groups compared with the AD + NS group (p<0.05). The expression of Aβ and p-Tau significantly decreased in the AD + BM25-M and AD + BM25-H groups (p<0.05). The neuron density and hierarchy and number of pyramidal neurons significantly increased in the AD + BM25-M and AD + BM25-H groups (p<0.05). In addition, the expression levels of CD11b, IL-1β, TNF-α, COX2, iNOS, caspase 1, p-IκBα, and p-P38 significantly decreased in the AD + BM25-M and AD + BM25-H groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that BM25 may exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in AD model mice by suppressing the activity of microglia and inhibiting the phosphorylation of IκBα and p38 MAPK

Neonatal repetitive pain in rats leads to impaired spatial learning and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in later life

Preterm birth is a major health issue. As part of their life-saving care, most preterm infants require hospitalization and are inevitably exposed to repetitive skin-breaking procedures. The long-term effects of neonatal repetitive pain on cognitive and emotional behaviors involving hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in young and adult rats are unknown. From P8 to P85, mechanical hypersensitivity of the bilateral hindpaws was observed in the Needle group (P &lt; 0.001). Compared with the Tactile group, the Needle group took longer to find the platform on P30 than on P29 (P = 0.03), with a decreased number of original platform site crossings during the probe trial of the Morris water maze test (P = 0.026). Moreover, the Needle group spent more time and took longer distances in the central area than the Tactile group in the Open-field test, both in prepubertal and adult rats (P &lt; 0.05). The HPA axis function in the Needle group differed from the Tactile group (P &lt; 0.05), with decreased stress responsiveness in prepuberty and puberty (P &lt; 0.05) and increased stress responsiveness in adulthood (P &lt; 0.05). This study indicates that repetitive pain that occurs during a critical period may cause severe consequences, with behavioral and neuroendocrine disturbances developing through prepuberty to adult life