Content-Based Hyperspectral Image Compression Using a Multi-Depth Weighted Map With Dynamic Receptive Field Convolution

In content-based image compression, the importance map guides the bit allocation based on its ability to represent the importance of image contents. In this paper, we improve the representational power of importance map using Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) block, and propose multi-depth structure to reconstruct non-important channel information at low bit rates. Furthermore, Dynamic Receptive Field convolution (DRFc) is introduced to improve the ability of normal convolution to extract edge information, so as to increase the weight of edge content in the importance map and improve the reconstruction quality of edge regions. Results indicate that our proposed method can extract an importance map with clear edges and fewer artifacts so as to provide obvious advantages for bit rate allocation in content-based image compression. Compared with typical compression methods, our proposed method can greatly improve the performance of Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM) and spectral angle (SAM) on three public datasets, and can produce a much better visual result with sharp edges and fewer artifacts. As a result, our proposed method reduces the SAM by 42.8% compared to the recently SOTA method to achieve the same low bpp (0.25) on the KAIST dataset

Post-thrombolysis hemorrhage in a patient with hypothyroidism and acute ischemic stroke: Case report

Thrombolytic treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke. However, its effectiveness and risks in patients with hypothyroidism have not been reported. Here, we report the case of hemorrhagic transformation after intravenous rtPA thrombolysis treatment in a patient with acute ischemic stroke and hypothyroidism. An apparent edema formed around the hematoma and progressively worsened. He also developed lung infection, electrolyte imbalance, and abnormal liver and kidney functions, and eventually died within 1 month of symptom onset. Thus, our observations suggest that caution should be exercised for the administration of intravenous rtPA thrombolysis to patients with hypothyroidism

Intrinsically core-shell plasmonic dielectric nanostructures with ultrahigh refractive index

Topological insulators are a new class of quantum material s with metallic (edge) surface states and insulating bulk states. They demonstrate a variety of novel electronic and optical properties, which make them highly promising electronic, spintronic, and optoelectronic materials. We report on a novel conic plasmonic nanostructure that is made of bulk-insulating topological insulators and has an intrinsic core-shell formation. The insulating (dielectric) core of the nanocone displays an ultrahigh refractive index of up to 5.5 in the near-infrared frequency range. On the metallic shell, plasmonic response and strong backward light scattering were observed in the visible frequency range. Through in- tegrating the nanocone arrays into a-Si thin film solar cel ls, up to 15% enhancement of light absorption was predicted in the ultraviolet and visible ranges. With these unique features, the intrinsically core-shell plasmonic nanostructure paves a new way for designing low-loss and high-performance visible to infrared optical devices

Helicobacter pylori

Background. Infection with Helicobacter pylori contributes to the etiopathogenesis of various extragastrointestinal conditions, yet its etiological association with either symptomatic or asymptomatic dialysis patients remains inconclusive. Methods. Two researchers working independently conducted a literature search of the online databases PubMed, EMBase, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify relevant articles to the end of 2012. Case-control and cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria were included. Results. Fifteen studies involving 1237 dialysis patients and 1568 controls with normal renal function were included. Compared with normal controls, dialysis patients overall were associated with a relatively lower risk of H. pylori infection though not statistically significant. A significant inverse association was found between H. pylori prevalence and duration of treatments in those who were dialyzed >4 years (odds ratio 0.28; 95% confidence interval 0.22–0.36, ). No relationship between H. pylori status and duration of dialysis was observed in CRF patients. There were no significant differences in endoscopic features between patients and controls. Conclusions. Our meta-analysis found no evidence of a significant association between infection with H. pylori and dialysis overall, whereas long-term treatments of more than four years had a significant protective effect

Black Truffles Affect Quercus aliena Physiology and Root-Associated nirK- and nirS-Type Denitrifying Bacterial Communities in the Initial Stage of Inoculation

Truffles (Tuber spp.) are edible ectomycorrhizal fungi with high economic value. Bacteria in ectomycorrhizosphere soils are considered to be associated with the nutrient uptake of truffles and hosts. Whether Tuber spp. inoculation can affect the growth of Quercus aliena, the ectomycorrhizosphere soil, and the rhizosphere nirK and nirS-denitrifier communities at the ectomycorrhizae formation stage is still unclear. Therefore, we inoculated Q. aliena with the black truffles Tuber melanosporum and Tuber indicum, determined the physiological activity and morphological indices of Q. aliena seedlings, analyzed the physicochemical properties of ectomycorrhizosphere soils, and applied DNA sequencing to assess the nirK and nirS- denitrifier community structure in ectomycorrhizosphere soils. Peroxidase activity was higher in the seedlings inoculated with T. melanosporum than in the T. indicum inoculation and uninoculated control treatments. The available phosphorus contents were lower and nitrate contents were higher in those with truffle inoculation, and T. melanosporum treatment differed more from the control than the T. indicum treatment. The richness of the nirK-community was highest in the T. indicum treatment and lowest in the uninoculated treatment. The differences in nirK-community composition across treatments were not statistically significant, but the nirS communities were different. The nirS-type bacteria correlated with three environmental factors (pH, available phosphorus, and nitrate contents), whereas the nirK-type bacteria were only associated with the nitrate contents. Generally, this work revealed that inoculation with Tuber spp. would change a few nutrient contents and richness of nirK-type bacteria and had little effects on growth of Q. aliena seedlings in the initial stage of inoculation. The results of this study may provide in-depth insights into the relationships between Tuber spp. and hosts, which should be taken into account when developing truffle production methods.Peer reviewe

Panorama-Based Multilane Recognition for Advanced Navigation Map Generation

Precise navigation map is crucial in many fields. This paper proposes a panorama based method to detect and recognize lane markings and traffic signs on the road surface. Firstly, to deal with the limited field of view and the occlusion problem, this paper designs a vision-based sensing system which consists of a surround view system and a panoramic system. Secondly, in order to detect and identify traffic signs on the road surface, sliding window based detection method is proposed. Template matching method and SVM (Support Vector Machine) are used to recognize the traffic signs. Thirdly, to avoid the occlusion problem, this paper utilities vision based ego-motion estimation to detect and remove other vehicles. As surround view images contain less dynamic information and gray scales, improved ICP (Iterative Closest Point) algorithm is introduced to ensure that the ego-motion parameters are consequently obtained. For panoramic images, optical flow algorithm is used. The results from the surround view system help to filter the optical flow and optimize the ego-motion parameters; other vehicles are detected by the optical flow feature. Experimental results show that it can handle different kinds of lane markings and traffic signs well

Flow-through anastomosis using a T-shaped vascular pedicle for gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation in brachial plexus injury

OBJECTIVE: In gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation, the limited caliber of the dominant vascular pedicle increases the complexity of the anastomosis and the risk of vascular compromise. The purpose of this study was to characterize the results of using a T-shaped vascular pedicle for flow-through anastomosis in gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation for brachial plexus injury. METHODS: The outcomes of patients with brachial plexus injury who received gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation with either conventional end-to-end anastomosis or flow-through anastomosis from 2005 to 2013 were retrospectively compared. In the flow-through group, the pedicle comprised a segment of the profunda femoris and the nutrient artery of the gracilis. The recipient artery was interposed by the T-shaped pedicle. RESULTS: A total of 46 patients received flow-through anastomosis, and 25 patients received conventional end-to-end anastomosis. The surgical time was similar between the groups. The diameter of the arterial anastomosis in the flow-through group was significantly larger than that in the end-to-end group (3.87 mm vs. 2.06 mm, respectively,

Convergence of DNA methylation and phosphorothioation epigenetics in bacterial genomes

Explosive growth in the study of microbial epigenetics has revealed a diversity of chemical structures and biological functions of DNA modifications in restriction-modification (R-M) and basic genetic processes. Here, we describe the discovery of shared consensus sequences for two seemingly unrelated DNA modification systems, [superscript 6m]A methylation and phosphorothioation (PT), in which sulfur replaces a nonbridging oxygen in the DNA backbone. Mass spectrometric analysis of DNA from Escherichia coli B7A and Salmonella enterica serovar Cerro 87, strains possessing PT-based R-M genes, revealed d(G[subscript PS] [superscript 6m]A) dinucleotides in the G[subscript PS] [superscript 6m]AAC consensus representing ∼5% of the 1,100 to 1,300 PT-modified d(G[subscript PS] A) motifs per genome, with [superscript 6m]A arising from a yet-to-be-identified methyltransferase. To further explore PT and 6m A in another consensus sequence, G[subscript PS] [superscript 6m]ATC, we engineered a strain of E. coli HST04 to express Dnd genes from Hahella chejuensis KCTC2396 (PT in G[subscript PS] ATC) and Dam methyltransferase from E. coli DH10B ( [superscript 6m] A in G [superscript 6m] ATC). Based on this model, in vitro studies revealed reduced Dam activity in G PS ATC-containing oligonucleotides whereas single-molecule real-time sequencing of HST04 DNA revealed [superscript 6m] A in all 2,058 G[subscript PS] ATC sites (5% of 37,698 total GATC sites). This model system also revealed temperature-sensitive restriction by DndFGH in KCTC2396 and B7A, which was exploited to discover that [superscript 6m] A can substitute for PT to confer resistance to restriction by the DndFGH system. These results point to complex but unappreciated interactions between DNA modification systems and raise the possibility of coevolution of interacting systems to facilitate the function of each