A lane-departure identification based on LBPE, Hough transform, and linear regression

This paper presents a lane-departure identification (LDI) system of a traveling vehicle on a structured road with lane marks. As is the case with modified version of the previous EDF-based LDI approach [J.W. Lee, A machine vision system for lane-departure detection, CVIU 86 (2002) 52–78], the new system increases the number of lane-related parameters and introduces departure ratios to determine the instant of lane departure and a linear regression (LR) to minimize wrong decisions due to noise effects. To enhance the robustness of LDI, we conceive of a lane boundary pixel extractor (LBPE) capable of extracting pixels expected to be on lane boundaries. Then, the Hough transform utilizes the pixels from the LBPE to provide the lane-related parameters such as an orientation and a location parameter. The fundamental idea of the proposed LDI is based on an observation that the ratios of orientations and location parameters of left- and right-lane boundaries are equal to one as far as the optical axis of a camera mounted on a vehicle is coincident with the center of lane. The ratios enable the lane-related parameters and the symmetrical property of both lane boundaries to be connected. In addition, the LR of the lane-related parameters of a series of successive images plays the role of determining the trend of a vehicle’s traveling direction and the error of the LR is used to avoid a wrong LDI. We show the efficiency of the proposed LDI system with some real images.     

Contrast Enhancement and Intensity Preservation for Gray-Level Images Using Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization

The contrast enhancement of gray-level digital images is considered in this paper. In particular, the mean image intensity is preserved while the contrast is enhanced. This provides better viewing consistence and effectiveness. The contrast enhancement is achieved by maximizing the information content carried in the image via a continuous intensity transform function. The preservation of image intensity is obtained by applying gamma-correction on the images. Since there is always a trade-off between the requirements for the enhancement of contrast and preservation of intensity, an improved multiobjective particle swarm optimization procedure is proposed to resolve this contradiction, making use of its flexible algorithmic structure. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated by a number of images including the benchmarks and an image sequence captured from a mobile robot in an indoor environment.     

Microbiota and Serum Metabolic Profile Changes in Korean Native Hanwoo Steer in Response to Diet Feeding Systems

The diversity of bacteria and their function in cattle gastrointestinal tracts can influence animal welfare. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to investigate microbial diversity in the feces of Hanwoo steers reared under natural grazing (GS) and housing (HS) systems. Additionally, serum metabolic parameters, such as liver and kidney markers and mineral and lipid content changes, as well as their correlation with pyrotags, were studied. A total of 6468 ± 87.86 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified in both steer groups, of which 3538 ± 38.17 OTUs were from grazing steer and 2930 ± 94.06 OTUs were from GS. Chao1 index analysis revealed a higher bacterial richness in GS. The dominant bacterial taxa were Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. GS showed lower Bacteroidetes and higher Firmicutes abundance than HS. The serum of HS showed consistent increases in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γGTP), glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (T-CHO), and triglyceride (TG) levels. The impact of GS on animal health and serum metabolic markers was strongly correlated with microbiota. As shown in this study, grazing has a significant impact on the fecal microbiota at the phylum and family levels, as well as the serum biochemical metabolites of Hanwoo steers.     

The Protective Effect of Zebularine,an Inhibitor of DNA Methyltransferase,on Renal Tubulointerstitial Inflammation and Fibrosis

Renal fibrosis, the final pathway of chronic kidney disease, is caused by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Although DNA methylation has drawn attention as a developing mechanism of renal fibrosis, its contribution to renal fibrosis has not been clarified. To address this issue, the effect of zebularine, a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, on renal inflammation and fibrosis in the murine unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model was analyzed. Zebularine significantly attenuated renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis and inflammation. Zebularine decreased trichrome, α-smooth muscle actin, collagen IV, and transforming growth factor-β1 staining by 56.2%. 21.3%, 30.3%, and 29.9%, respectively, at 3 days, and by 54.6%, 41.9%, 45.9%, and 61.7%, respectively, at 7 days after UUO. Zebularine downregulated mRNA expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, fibronectin, and Snail1 by 48.6%. 71.4%, 31.8%, and 42.4%, respectively, at 7 days after UUO. Zebularine also suppressed the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, by 69.8%, 74.9%, and 69.6%, respectively, in obstructed kidneys. Furthermore, inhibiting DNA methyltransferase buttressed the nuclear expression of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like factor 2, which upregulated downstream effectors such as catalase (1.838-fold increase at 7 days, p < 0.01), superoxide dismutase 1 (1.494-fold increase at 7 days, p < 0.05), and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreduate-1 (1.376-fold increase at 7 days, p < 0.05) in obstructed kidneys. Collectively, these findings suggest that inhibiting DNA methylation restores the disrupted balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways to alleviate renal inflammation and fibrosis. Therefore, these results highlight the possibility of DNA methyltransferases as therapeutic targets for treating renal inflammation and fibrosis.     

Downregulation of miR-99b-5p and Upregulation of Nuclear mTOR Cooperatively Promotes the Tumor Aggressiveness and Drug Resistance in African American Prostate Cancer

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulates various fundamental cellular events including cell proliferation, protein synthesis, metabolism, apoptosis, and autophagy. Tumor suppressive miR-99b-5p has been implicated in regulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in a variety of types of cancer. Our previous study suggested the reciprocal miR-99b-5p/MTOR (downregulated/upregulated) pairing as a key microRNA-mRNA regulatory component involved in the prostate cancer (PCa) disparities. In this study, we further validated the expression profiles of mTOR and miR-99b-5p in the PCa, colon, breast, and lung cancer specimens and cell lines. The immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence, Western blot, and RT-qPCR assays have confirmed that mTOR is upregulated while miR-99b-5p is downregulated in different patient cohorts and a panel of cancer cell lines. Intriguingly, elevated nuclear mTOR expression was observed in African American PCa and other advanced cancers. Transfection of the miR-99b-5p mimic resulted in a significant reduction in nuclear mTOR and androgen receptor (AR), while a slight/moderate to no decrease in cytoplasmic mTOR and AR in PCa and other cancer cells, suggesting that miR-99b-5p inhibits mTOR and AR expression and their nuclear translocation. Moreover, overexpression of miR-99b-5p targets/inhibits AR-mTOR axis, subsequently initiating cell apoptosis and sensitizing docetaxel-induced cytotoxicity in various cancers. In conclusion, our data suggest that reciprocal miR-99b-5p/nuclear mTOR pairing may be a more precise diagnostic/prognostic biomarker for aggressive PCa, than miR-99b-5p/MTOR pairing or mTOR alone. Targeting the AR-mTOR axis using miR-99b-5p has also been suggested as a novel therapeutic strategy to induce apoptosis and overcome chemoresistance in aggressive PCa.     

Open Questions in Cold Atmospheric Plasma Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review

Over the past decade, we witnessed a promising application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) in cancer therapy. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an exhaustive state of the art of CAP employed for the treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC), a tumor whose late diagnosis, local recurrence, distant metastases, and treatment failure are the main causes of patients’ death. Specifically, the characteristics and settings of the CAP devices and the in vitro and in vivo treatment protocols were summarized to meet the urgent need for standardization. Its molecular mechanisms of action, as well as the successes and pitfalls of current CAP applications in HNC, were discussed. Finally, the interesting emerging preclinical hypotheses that warrant further clinical investigation have risen. A total of 24 studies were included. Most studies used a plasma jet device (54.2%). Argon resulted as the mostly employed working gas (33.32%). Direct and indirect plasma application was reported in 87.5% and 20.8% of studies, respectively. In vitro investigations were 79.17%, most of them concerned with direct treatment (78.94%). Only eight (33.32%) in vivo studies were found; three were conducted in mice, and five on human beings. CAP showed pro-apoptotic effects more efficiently in tumor cells than in normal cells by altering redox balance in a way that oxidative distress leads to cell death. In preclinical studies, it exhibited efficacy and tolerability. Results from this systematic review pointed out the current limitations of translational application of CAP in the urge of standardization of the current protocols while highlighting promising effects as supporting treatment in HNC.     

Multitask bilateral learning for real‐time image enhancement

Nowadays, deep neural networks (DNNs) for image processing are becoming more complex; thus, reducing computational cost is increasingly important. This study highlights the construction of a DNN for real‐time image processing, training various image processing operators efficiently through multitask learning. For real‐time image processing, the proposed algorithm takes a joint upsampling approach through bilateral guided upsampling. For multitask learning, the overall network is based on an encoder‐decoder architecture, which consists of encoding, processing, and decoding components, in which the encoding and decoding components are shared by all the image processing operators. In the processing component, a semantic guidance map, which contains processing information for each image processing operator, is estimated using simple linear shifts of the shared deep features. Through these components, the proposed algorithm requires an increase of only 5% in the number of parameters to add another image processing operator and achieves faster and higher performance than that of deep‐learning‐based joint upsampling methods in local image processing as well as global image processing.     

Cellular Regulation of Kynurenic Acid-Induced Cell Apoptosis Pathways in AGS Cells

Kynurenic acid was included in the three compounds (caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and kynurenic acid) that showed high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential among the phenolic compounds contained in Gynura procumbens. In this study, the mechanism of cancer cell death induced by kynurenic acid (KYNA), which has the highest molecular binding affinity, in the gastric cancer cell line AGS was confirmed in molecular docking analysis. KYNA showed the most cancer cell death effect on AGS cells among several gastric cancer cell lines (MKN, AGS, and SNU). AGS cells were used for later experiments, and KYNA concentrations of 0, 150, 200, and 250 µM were used. KYNA inhibited cell migration and proliferation in AGS cells in a concentration-dependent manner. G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and reduction of related proteins (Cdc25C, CDK1 and CyclinB1) were confirmed in KYNA-treated AGS cells. Apoptosis of KYNA-treated AGS cells was confirmed by Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining flow cytometry analysis. As a result of morphological chromatin condensation through DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole), intense blue fluorescence was confirmed. The mechanism of apoptosis induction of KYNA-treated AGS cells was confirmed by western blotting. In the extrinsic pathway, apoptosis induction markers FasL, Fas, and Caspase-3 and -8 were increased in a concentration-dependent manner upon KYNA treatment. In the intrinsic pathway, the expression of anti-apoptotic factors PI3K, AKT, and Bcl-xL was down-regulated, and the expression of apoptosis-inducing factors BAD, Bak, Bax, Cytochrom C, and Caspase-9 was up-regulated. Therefore, in the present study, we strongly imply that KYNA induces apoptosis in AGS gastric cancer cells. This suggests that KYNA, a natural compound, could be the basis for drug for the treatment of gastric cancer.     

Hypoxia Promotes Angiogenic Effect in Extracranial Arteriovenous Malformation Endothelial Cells

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is characterized by high-flow blood vessels connecting arteries and veins without capillaries. This disease shows increased angiogenesis and a pathophysiological hypoxic environment in proximal tissues. Here, we analyzed the effects of hypoxia on angiogenesis in the endothelial cells (ECs) of AVM and normal tissues. ECs from human normal and AVM tissues were evaluated using immunocytochemistry with CD31. In vitro tube formation under hypoxia was tested in both ECs using Matrigel. The relative expression of angiogenesis-related genes was measured using real-time PCR. Under normoxia, CD31 was significantly higher in AVM ECs (79.23 ± 0.65%) than in normal ECs (74.15 ± 0.70%). Similar results were observed under hypoxia in AVM ECs (63.85 ± 1.84%) and normal ECs (60.52 ± 0.51%). In the tube formation test under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, the junction count and total vessel length were significantly greater in AVM ECs than normal ECs. Under both normoxia and hypoxia, the angiogenesis-related gene FSTL1 showed a significantly higher expression in AVM ECs than in normal ECs. Under hypoxia, CSPG4 expression was significantly lower in AVM ECs than in normal ECs. Accordingly, the angiogenic effect was increased in AVM ECs compared with that in normal ECs. These results provide a basic knowledge for an AVM treatment strategy.