Understanding scene structure from images

The task of recovering 3D information from 2D images has long been a focus of Computer Vision research. Such information is useful in many applications: from robot navigation, where it allows the robot to understand the physical constraints of the environment it is in, to augmented reality, where 3D information is used to alter images and videos in physically plausible ways. While much progress has been made in this line of research there is still scope for further improvement. This is especially true in the case of pictures taken "in the wild", where variables such as the presence of clutter, people, irregularly shaped buildings, unusual camera angles, etc tend to cause current techniques to fail. In this work we focus on recovering 3D information from images in the presence of clutter and other such variables. We work on both indoor and outdoor scenes, utilizing different approaches in each case in order to make the 3D information recovery more robust. Since this work focuses on expanding existing techniques to work well on more challenging datasets, we had to create new datasets for both indoor and outdoor scenes that could test the robustness of our methods. Details of these datasets are also provided in this work

Insulin Signal Transduction Perturbations in Insulin Resistance

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a widespread medical condition, characterized by high blood glucose and inadequate insulin action, which leads to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance in insulin-responsive tissues precedes the onset of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. Multiple molecular and pathophysiological mechanisms are involved in insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a consequence of a complex combination of metabolic disorders, lipotoxicity, glucotoxicity, and inflammation. There is ample evidence linking different mechanistic approaches as the cause of insulin resistance, but no central mechanism is yet described as an underlying reason behind this condition. This review combines and interlinks the defects in the insulin signal transduction pathway of the insulin resistance state with special emphasis on the AGE-RAGE-NF-κB axis. Here, we describe important factors that play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance to provide directionality for the events. The interplay of inflammation and oxidative stress that leads to β-cell decline through the IAPP-RAGE induced β-cell toxicity is also addressed. Overall, by generating a comprehensive overview of the plethora of mechanisms involved in insulin resistance, we focus on the establishment of unifying mechanisms to provide new insights for the future interventions of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in thiram-induced tibial dyschondroplasia

Tetramethyl thiuram disulfide (thiram) is an important dithiocarbamate bactericide; it has been widely used for the control of various diseases in fruits, vegetables, seeds and food grains. However, it also causes environmental pollution problems and poses a threat to human health to a certain extent. Thiram induces tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) by causing oxidative stress and antioxidants imbalance in tibial growth plate in poultry. TD is a skeletal abnormality in fastgrowing poultry birds. It has been considered an economically important disease in poultry that affects poultry industry by carcass loss at meat processing plant due to decrease in disease resistance, production performance, and carcass quality and induces breast cysts and osteomyelitis worldwide. Oxidative stress is developed due to the imbalance of free radical oxygen, which disrupts the equilibrium state of oxidant and antioxidant tending to oxidation. This review is based on the current research, mainly to explore the relationship and mechanism between tibial dyschondroplasia and oxidative stress induced by thiram, which provides a new theoretical foundation for the further research of the related mechanism.The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32002350) and the Youth Innovative Talents Project of Education Department of Guangdong Province (No. 2020KQNCX007).Peer reviewe

Tribological, Oxidation and Thermal Analysis of Advanced Microwave–Hydrothermal Synthesised Ti₃C₂T_x MXene as Additives in Outboard Engine Oil

In today’s fast, globalised world, lubrication has become essential in enhancing engine efficiency, including in the marine sector. While the number of fishing vessels increased, so did the environmental pollution issues, due to inefficient engines. An outboard engine oil’s tribological, oxidation and thermal conductivity behaviour play a crucial role in improving the quality of an outboard engine’s life. In this research, Ti3C2Tx MXene nanoparticles with different interlayer spacing were synthesised via an advanced microwave–hydrothermal approach. Later, the nanoparticles were dispersed in TC-W outboard engine oil to formulate the Ti3C2Tx MXene nanolubricant with different concentrations. The results show that nanolubricant with a 0.01 wt.% Ti3C2Tx MXene concentration with higher interlayer spacing reduced the coefficient of friction, and the average wear scar diameter by 14.5% and 6.3%, respectively, compared to the base oil. Furthermore, the nanolubricant with a 0.01 wt.% concentration of the Ti3C2Tx MXene nanoparticle showed an improvement of 54.8% in oxidation induction time compared to the base oil. In addition, MXene nanolubricant established a more than 50% improvement in thermal conductivity compared to the base oil

Self-reported health and smoking status, and body mass index: a case-control comparison based on GEN SCRIP (GENetics of SChizophRenia In Pakistan) data

Introduction Individuals with schizophrenia are at a high risk of physical health comorbidities and premature mortality. Cardiovascular and metabolic causes are an important contributor. There are gaps in monitoring, documenting and managing these physical health comorbidities. Because of their condition, patients themselves may not be aware of these comorbidities and may not be able to follow a lifestyle that prevents and manages the complications. In many low-income and middle-income countries including Pakistan, the bulk of the burden of care for those struggling with schizophrenia falls on the families.Objectives To determine the rate of self-reported physical health disorders and risk factors, like body mass index (BMI) and smoking, associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders in cases of schizophrenia compared with a group of mentally healthy controls.Design A case-controlled, cross-sectional multicentre study of patients with schizophrenia in Pakistan.Settings Multiple data collection sites across the country for patients, that is, public and private psychiatric OPDs (out patient departments), specialised psychiatric care facilities, and psychiatric wards of teaching and district level hospitals. Healthy controls were enrolled from the community.Participants We report a total of 6838 participants’ data with (N 3411 (49.9%)) cases of schizophrenia compared with a group of healthy controls (N 3427 (50.1%)).Results BMI (OR 0.98 (CI 0.97 to 0.99), p=0.0025), and the rate of smoking is higher in patients with schizophrenia than in controls. Problems with vision (OR 0.13 (0.08 to 0.2), joint pain (OR 0.18 (0.07 to 0.44)) and high cholesterol (OR 0.13 (0.05 to 0.35)) have higher reported prevalence in controls. The cases describe more physical health disorders in the category ‘other’ (OR 4.65 (3.01 to 7.18)). This captures residual disorders not listed in the questionnaire.Conclusions Participants with schizophrenia in comparison with controls report more disorders. The access in the ‘other’ category may be a reflection of undiagnosed disorders