Mutual information maximizing GAN inversion for real face with identity preservation

Recent generative adversarial networks (GANs) have yielded remarkable performance in face image synthesis. GAN inversion embeds an image into the latent space of a pretrained generator, enabling it to be used for real face manipulation. However, current inversion approaches for real faces suffer the dilemma of initialization collapse and identity loss. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical GAN inversion for real faces with identity preservation based on mutual information maximization. We first use a facial domain guaranteed initialization to avoid the initialization collapse. Furthermore, we prove that maximizing the mutual information between inverted faces and their identities is equivalent to minimizing the distance between identity features from inverted and original faces. Optimization for real face inversion with identity preservation is implemented on this mutual information-maximizing constraint. Extensive experimental results show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art solutions for inverting and editing real faces, particularly in terms of face identity preservation.     

Dynamic simulation of hydrogen-based off-grid zero energy buildings with hydrogen storage considering Fanger model thermal comfort

In this study, some locations with different climates, off-grid zero energy buildings with hydrogen energy storage systems are designed, and transient analysis is conducted. These considered buildings supply their electricity consumption without using the electrical grid and PV panels or wind turbines. Also, they supply thermal comfort to occupants by using a vapor compression chiller and humidifier. Domestic hot water of occupants is supplied using solar collectors. For analyzing building's performance and objectives achievement, TRNSYS software is used. Also, for evaluating occupant thermal comfort, the Fanger model is used. The considered building is a one-story building with a 150 m² area. Four occupants are considered. Both of them are seated at rest, and another is seated with light working such as typing. Using the Fanger model equation and MATLAB software, the thermal comfort of occupants is determined. For domestic hot water consumption, verified profiles that vary during 24 h of the day are considered. Achieved results show that for humid and cold cities, PV panels with an area of 73 and 76 m² can be supplied the required electricity of considered building with four occupants and battery state of charge is higher than 50% and 10%, respectively. Moreover, with a suitable air conditioner system, the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) can be lower than 12% and 8% for humid and cold cities. Therefore, the building can be converted to a zero-energy building using its rooftop area.     

Influence of radiation and viscous dissipation on MHD heat transfer Casson nanofluid flow along a nonlinear stretching surface with chemical reaction

The present article investigates the influence of Joule heating and chemical reaction on magneto Casson nanofluid phenomena in the occurrence of thermal radiation through a porous inclined stretching sheet. Consideration is extended to heat absorption/generation and viscous dissipation. The governing partial differential equations were transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations and numerically solved using the Implicit Finite Difference technique. The article analyses the effect of various physical flow parameters on velocity, heat, and mass transfer distributions. For the various involved parameters, the graphical and numerical outcomes are established. The analysis reveals that the enhancement of the radiation parameter increases the temperature and the chemical reaction parameter decreases the concentration profile. The empirical data presented were compared with previously published findings.     

MHD mixed convection of a Cu–water nanofluid flow through a channel with an open trapezoidal cavity and an elliptical obstacle

In the current work, numerical simulations are achieved to study the properties and the characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer of (Cu–water) nanofluid under the magnetohydrodynamic effects in a horizontal rectangular canal with an open trapezoidal enclosure and an elliptical obstacle. The cavity lower wall is grooved and represents the heat source while the obstacle represents a stationary cold wall. On the other hand, the rest of the walls are considered adiabatic. The governing equations for this investigation are formulated, nondimensionalized, and then solved by Galerkin finite element approach. The numerical findings were examined across a wide range of Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 10), Reynolds number (1 ≤ Re ≤ 125), Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 100), and volume fraction of nanofluid (0 ≤ φ ≤ 0.05). The current study's findings demonstrate that the flow strength increases inversely as the Reynolds number rises, which pushes the isotherms down to the lower part of the trapezoidal cavity. The Nu_avg rises as the Ri rise, the maximum Nu_avg = 10.345 at Ri = 10, Re = 50, ϕ = 0.05, and Ha = 0; however, it reduces with increasing Hartmann number. Also, it increase by increasing ϕ, at Ri = 10, the Nu_avg increased by 8.44% when the volume fraction of nanofluid increased from (ϕ = 0–0.05).     

Differential gene expression of the healthy conjunctiva during the day

PurposeTo determine if there is diurnal variation in gene expression in normal healthy conjunctival cells.MethodsBulbar conjunctival swab samples were collected from four healthy subjects in the morning and evening of the same day. The two swab samples were taken from one eye of each participant, with a minimum of five hours gap between the two samples. RNA was extracted and analysed using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq).ResultsA total of 121 genes were differentially expressed between the morning and the evening conjunctival samples, of which 94 genes were upregulated in the morning, and 27 genes were upregulated in the evening. Many of the genes that were upregulated in the morning were involved in defence, cell turnover and regulation of gene expression, while the genes upregulated in the evening were involved in signalling and mucin production.ConclusionsThis study has identified several genes whose expression changes over the course of the day. Knowledge of diurnal variations of conjunctival gene expression provides an insight into the regulatory status of the healthy eye and provides a baseline for examining changes during ocular surface disease.     

Direct ink writing of vancomycin-loaded polycaprolactone/ polyethylene oxide/ hydroxyapatite 3D scaffolds

Novel inks were formulated by dissolving polycaprolactone (PCL), a hydrophobic polymer, in organic solvent systems; polyethylene oxide (PEO) was incorporated to extend the range of hydrophilicity of the system. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a weight ratio of 55–85% was added to the polymer-based solution to mimic the material composition of natural bone tissue. The direct ink writing (DIW) technique was applied to extrude the formulated inks to fabricate the predesigned tissue scaffold structures; the influence of HAp concentration was investigated. The results indicate that in comparison to other inks containing HAp (55%, 75%, and 85%w/w), the ink containing 65% w/w HAp had faster ink recovery behavior; the fabricated scaffold had a rougher surface as well as better mechanical properties and wettability. It is noted that the 65% w/w HAp concentration is similar to the inorganic composition of natural bone tissue. The elastic modulus values of PCL/PEO/HAp scaffolds were in the range of 4–12 MPa; the values were dependent on the HAp concentration. Furthermore, vancomycin as a model drug was successfully encapsulated in the PCL/PEO/HAp composite scaffold for drug release applications. This paper presents novel drug-loaded PCL/PEO/HAp inks for 3D scaffold fabrication using the DIW printing technique for potential bone scaffold applications.     

Impact of TiO2 nanoparticles and nanowires on corrosion protection performance of chemically bonded phosphate ceramic coatings

The impact of the addition of TiO₂ nanoparticles and nanowires on the morphology, phase characteristics, contact angle, and electrochemical performance of chemically bonded phosphate ceramic coatings (CBPCs) was investigated. The chemical composition and surface morphology of the TiO₂ nanoparticle and nanowire modified with and without (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetradecyl) trimethoxysilane were characterized. Results indicated that the hydrophobic –CF₂– and –CF₃ groups were successfully introduced into the TiO₂ nanoparticles and nanowires after modification. Corrosion resistance of CBPCs with TiO₂ was evidently improved compared with that without TiO₂. Such improvement was mainly due to the combined effects of low surface energy materials and micro/nano structures. In addition, CBPCs with TiO₂ nanowires exhibited higher hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance than those with TiO₂ nanoparticles because of the special columnar structure of the nanowires.     

A kinetic model involving oxidation and volatilization in SiC-B4C-xAl2O3 ceramics system

In this paper, a new kinetic model considering both oxidation and volatilization kinetics is established and applied to analyze the oxidation of SiC-B₄C-xAl₂O₃ ceramics and other systems in various oxidation conditions. The effects of diffusion area and volume changes during the oxidation process are considered in this model. The physical meaning of each parameter in this model is explicit and simple. According to this model, the diffusion coefficient of species and the corresponding diffusion activation energy are easily available. The practicability of this model is well verified by the experimental data of SiC-B₄C-xAl₂O₃ and other systems oxidized under different conditions. In addition, the practice shows that the model is applicable not only to the systems where oxidation and volatilization coexist, but also to the system where only oxidation plays a major role. We hope the model proposed in this work can be used in other materials with more complex environments.     

Adaptive reversible data hiding for JPEG images with multiple two-dimensional histograms

Joint photographic experts group (JPEG) can provide good quality with small file size but also eliminate extensively the redundancies of images. Therefore, hiding data into JPEG images in terms of maintaining high visual quality at small file sizes has been a great challenge for researchers. In this paper, an adaptive reversible data hiding method for JPEG images containing multiple two-dimensional (2D) histograms is proposed. Adaptability is mainly reflected in three aspects. The first one is to preferentially select sharper histograms for data embedding after $K$ histograms are established by constructing the $k$th ($k\in \{1,2,\dots ,K\}$) histogram using the $k$th non-zero alternating current (AC) coefficient of all the quantized discrete cosine transform blocks. On the other hand, to fully exploit the strong correlation between coefficients of one histogram, the smoothness of each coefficient is estimated by a block smoothness estimator so that a sharply-distributed 2D-histogram is constructed by combining two coefficients with similar smoothness into a pair. The pair corresponding to low complexity is selected priorly for data embedding, leading to high embedding performance while maintaining low file size. Besides, we design multiple embedding strategies to adaptively select the embedding strategy for each 2D histogram. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve higher rate–distortion performance which maintaining lower file storage space, compared with previous studies.