MFM-Net: Unpaired Shape Completion Network with Multi-stage Feature Matching

Unpaired 3D object completion aims to predict a complete 3D shape from an incomplete input without knowing the correspondence between the complete and incomplete shapes during training. To build the correspondence between two data modalities, previous methods usually apply adversarial training to match the global shape features extracted by the encoder. However, this ignores the correspondence between multi-scaled geometric information embedded in the pyramidal hierarchy of the decoder, which makes previous methods struggle to generate high-quality complete shapes. To address this problem, we propose a novel unpaired shape completion network, named MFM-Net, using multi-stage feature matching, which decomposes the learning of geometric correspondence into multi-stages throughout the hierarchical generation process in the point cloud decoder. Specifically, MFM-Net adopts a dual path architecture to establish multiple feature matching channels in different layers of the decoder, which is then combined with the adversarial learning to merge the distribution of features from complete and incomplete modalities. In addition, a refinement is applied to enhance the details. As a result, MFM-Net makes use of a more comprehensive understanding to establish the geometric correspondence between complete and incomplete shapes in a local-to-global perspective, which enables more detailed geometric inference for generating high-quality complete shapes. We conduct comprehensive experiments on several datasets, and the results show that our method outperforms previous methods of unpaired point cloud completion with a large margin

Learnable Visual Words for Interpretable Image Recognition

To interpret deep models' predictions, attention-based visual cues are widely used in addressing \textit{why} deep models make such predictions. Beyond that, the current research community becomes more interested in reasoning \textit{how} deep models make predictions, where some prototype-based methods employ interpretable representations with their corresponding visual cues to reveal the black-box mechanism of deep model behaviors. However, these pioneering attempts only either learn the category-specific prototypes and deteriorate their generalizing capacities, or demonstrate several illustrative examples without a quantitative evaluation of visual-based interpretability with further limitations on their practical usages. In this paper, we revisit the concept of visual words and propose the Learnable Visual Words (LVW) to interpret the model prediction behaviors with two novel modules: semantic visual words learning and dual fidelity preservation. The semantic visual words learning relaxes the category-specific constraint, enabling the general visual words shared across different categories. Beyond employing the visual words for prediction to align visual words with the base model, our dual fidelity preservation also includes the attention guided semantic alignment that encourages the learned visual words to focus on the same conceptual regions for prediction. Experiments on six visual benchmarks demonstrate the superior effectiveness of our proposed LVW in both accuracy and model interpretation over the state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, we elaborate on various in-depth analyses to further explore the learned visual words and the generalizability of our method for unseen categories

Effective Extraction of Vanadium from Bauxite-Type Vanadium Ore Using Roasting and Leaching

A new bauxite-type vanadium ore with a grade of 0.96% V2O5 was found in Hanzhong, China, having quartz, illite, and calcite as the main mineral constituents and vanadium that mainly occurs in the aluminosilicate lattice of illite by replacing Al3+ with V3+ in isomorphism form. In this study, a novel process of low-temperature sulfating roasting–water leaching is presented to extract vanadium from the bauxite-type vanadium ore. Addition of sulfuric acid enhanced the conversion of vanadium to NaVO3 in the sulfating roasting process, and addition of ammonium molybdate improved the leaching efficiency in water leaching. The results showed that a leaching efficiency of 90.33% was obtained under optimal test conditions. The calculation results of standard Gibbs free energy (ΔrGθ) further verified that the formation of NaVO3 is feasible

Therapeutic Effect of Berberine on Huntington's Disease Transgenic Mouse Model.

Huntington disease (HD) represents a family of neurodegenerative diseases that are caused by misfolded proteins. The misfolded proteins accumulate in the affected brain regions in an age-dependent manner to cause late-onset neurodegeneration. Transgenic mouse models expressing the HD protein, huntingtin, have been widely used to identify therapeutics that may retard disease progression. Here we report that Berberine (BBR), an organic small molecule isolated from plants, has protective effects on transgenic HD (N171-82Q) mice. We found that BBR can reduce the accumulation of mutant huntingtin in cultured cells. More importantly, when given orally, BBR could effectively alleviate motor dysfunction and prolong the survival of transgenic N171-82Q HD mice. We found that BBR could promote the degradation of mutant huntingtin by enhancing autophagic function. Since BBR is an orally-taken drug that has been safely used to treat a number of diseases, our findings suggest that BBR can be tested on different HD animal models and HD patients to further evaluate its therapeutic effects

Effects of Water Quality Factors on the Main Components and Flavor of Cold Brew Coffee

In this study, six types of commercially available water were selected for preparing cold brew coffee to explore the influence of water quality factors on the main components and sensory flavor of the coffee. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) were used for analysis of the coffee. Physical and chemical indices, volatile and non-volatile components, and sensory evaluation were analyzed and compared, and correlations and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed. It was found that the different types of water had significantly different compositions of major ions. The contents of total phenol, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid, as well as antioxidant activity in the cold brew coffee were not significantly affected by the water ions, but they were significantly affected by the extraction concentration, extraction rate, pH, and titratable acid, caffeine, trigonelline, and furan volatile chemical components. The Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3− ions in the water were positively correlated with the extraction concentration, extraction rate, and caffeine and trigonelline concentrations in the cold brew coffee (P<0.05), and negatively correlated with titratable acid (P<0.05). The ions in the water had significant effects on volatile compounds such as furfuryl alcohol, 5-methylfurfural, 1-furfurylpyrrole, furfuryl methyl sulfide, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxy-pyrazine, and furfuryl acetate. PCA showed that lower ion concentrations in the water promoted fruit and flower flavors in the coffee, and higher concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3− reduced the fruit and flower flavor, as well as sweet and sour taste in different degrees. Higher ion contents (especially Na+ and K+) enhanced caramel flavors and bitterness in the coffee. Na+ and K+ significantly affected the furfuryl alcohol content, while Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3− influenced 1-furfuryl pyrrole, 5-methylfurfural, and furfuryl methyl sulfide. Cold brew coffee brewed in water with moderate ion contents showed better nutty, roasted, and sweet flavors, as well as better overall sensory evaluation. These results could provide a theoretical basis for further understanding the effects of water quality factors on the physicochemical properties and main components of coffee

Mindful non-reactivity is associated with improved accuracy in attentional blink testing: A randomized controlled trial

Practitioners with years of mindfulness training (MT) have a reduced attentional blink (AB), relative to novices and non-practitioners. There is still a lack of evidence regarding the impact of relatively short-term intensive traditional MT on AB. Moreover, it is unknown which component(s) of mindfulness underlie mindfulness-associated reductions in AB. Eighty-nine Chinese subjects were randomized into a MT group (N = 44) and a control (CON) group (N = 45). The participants in the CON group were waitlisted for the opportunity to participate in the training program during the 8 weeks that the MT group underwent training. Before (pretest) and after (posttest) the MT program, the subjects completed the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Peace-of-mind questionnaire (POM), and an AB task. Ultimately, 73 participants (MT group/CON group: 35/38) completed the study. From the pretest to the posttest, the MT group exhibited increases in FFMQ scores (total scores, observing subscores, and non-reactivity subscores) and POM scores, as well as improved accuracy in the AB task and a reduction in the lag-1 sparing effect. Increases in T2 accuracy in the AB correlated with improved non-reactivity. These findings broaden our understanding of the association between mindfulness and AB, and support the supposition that the skill of mindful non-reactivity plays an important role in reducing AB.</p

Oral administration of BBR ameliorates neurological symptoms in transgenic N171-82Q mice.

<p><b>(A, B)</b> Rotarod test of motor coordination of N171-82Q transgenic mice and WT siblings, orally gavaged with 40 mg/kg BBR or vehicle daily. <b>(C, D)</b> Grip strength test on transgenic N171-82Q mice and WT siblings treated with BBR or vehicle. <b>(E)</b> Balance beam test on 18-week-old N171-82Q and WT mice that had been treated with BBR or vehicle. <b>(F)</b> Survival curve for N171-82Q mice and WT siblings treated with BBR or vehicle. (<b>G</b>) The BBR-treated N171-82Q group survived 15 days longer than their untreated HD siblings. <b>(H)</b> Body weight of N171-82Q mice and WT siblings treated with or without BBR. The quantitative data are presented as mean±SE. *p<0.05. **p<0.01. ***p<0.001, n = 7 mice per group.</p