Appearance-based virtual view generation from multicamera videos captured in the 3-D room

We present an appearance-based virtual view generation method that allows viewers to fly through a real dynamic scene. The scene is captured by multiple synchronized cameras. Arbitrary views are generated by interpolating two original camera-views near the given viewpoint. The quality of the generated synthetic view is determined by the precision, consistency and density of correspondences between the two images. All or most of previous work that uses interpolation extracts the correspondences from these two images. However, not only is it difficult to do so reliably (the task requires a good stereo algorithm), but also the two images alone sometimes do not have enough information, due to problems such as occlusion. Instead, we take advantage of the fact that we have many views, from which we can extract much more reliable and comprehensive 3D geometry of the scene as a 3D model. Dense and precise correspondences between the two images, to be used for interpolation, are obtained using this constructed 3D model.     

Increased Synovial CD14 mRNA Expression and Proportion of CD14high Subsets in Early-Stage Hip Osteoarthritis: Propensity Matched Score Analysis

The pathophysiology of early-stage hip osteoarthritis (EOA) is not fully understood. Although a previous study in an age-unmatched cohort reported that the number of macrophages was increased in knee EOA compared to late OA (LOA), it remained unclear whether increased macrophages in EOA accurately reflect EOA pathology. We investigated the differences in CD14 expression levels between EOA and LOA using age-unmatched and -matched cohorts. Synovial tissues were obtained from 34 EOA (Tönnis grades 0 and 1) and 80 LOA (Tönnis grades 2 and 3) patients. To correct for differences in demographics between patients with LOA and EOA, we also created propensity score-matched cohorts (16 EOA and 16 LOA). CD14 expression and its association with pain was estimated in LOA and EOA before and after propensity matching. We performed flow cytometry on tissues from the 16 patients, with 8 from each group, to assess for CD14+ subsets in the cells. The CD14 expression in EOA was higher than that in LOA both before and after propensity matching. The proportion of CD14^high subsets in EOA was higher than that in LOA. The CD14 expression was associated with pain in EOA before matching. However, no difference was observed between the pain and CD14 expression after matching in EOA. The increased CD14 expression and the proportion of CD14^high subsets may be important features associated with hip EOA pathology. To accurately compare early and late OA, the analysis of a propensity score-matched cohort is necessary.     

Possible Involvement of the Upregulation of ΔNp63 Expression Mediated by HER2-Activated Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor in Mammosphere Maintenance

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to the drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis of breast cancers. Recently, we demonstrated that HER2 overexpression increases mammosphere formation via the activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). In this study, the objective was to identify the mechanism underlying mammosphere maintenance mediated by HER2 signaling-activated AHR. We compared the chromatin structure of AHR-knockout (AHRKO) HER2-overexpressing MCF-7 (HER2-5) cells with that of wild-type HER2-5 cells; subsequently, we identified TP63, a stemness factor, as a potential target gene of AHR. ΔNp63 mRNA and protein levels were higher in HER2-5 cells than in HER2-5/AHRKO cells. Activation of HER2/HER3 signaling by heregulin treatment increased ΔNp63 mRNA levels, and its induction was decreased by AHR knockdown in HER2-5 cells. The results of the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed an interaction between AHR and the intronic region of TP63, which encodes ΔNp63. A luciferase reporter gene assay with the intronic region of TP63 showed that AHR expression increased reporter activity. Collectively, our findings suggest that HER2-activated AHR upregulates ΔNp63 expression and that this signaling cascade is involved in CSC maintenance in HER2-expressing breast cancers.     

Production of Lacto-N-biose I Using Crude Extracts of Bifidobacterial Cells

Lacto-N-biose I (LNB) is supposed to represent the bifidus factor in human milk oligosaccharides, and can be practically produced from sucrose and GlcNAc using four bifidobacterial enzymes, 1,3-β-galactosyl-N-acetylhexosamine phosphorylase, sucrose phosphorylase, UDP-glucose-hexose 1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, and UDP-glucose 4-epimerase, recombinantly produced by Escherichia coli. Here the production of LNB by the same enzymatic method without using genetically modified enzymes to consider the use of LNB for a food ingredient was reported. All four enzymes were produced as the intracellular enzymes of Bifidobacterium strains. The mixture of the crude extracts contained all four enzymes, with other enzymes interfering with the LNB production, namely, phosphoglucomutase, fructose 6-phosphate phosphoketolase, and glycogen phosphorylase. The first two interfering enzymes were selectively inactivated by heat treatment at 47 °C for 1 h in the presence of pancreatin, and glycogen phosphorylase was disabled by hydrolyzing its possible acceptor molecules using glucoamylase. Finally, 91 % of GlcNAc was converted into LNB in the 100-mL reaction mixture containing 300 mM GlcNAc.     

Lipid characteristics of two subtropical Seriola fishes, Seriola dumerili and Seriola rivoliana, with differences between cultured and wild varieties

The lipid and fatty acid compositions of the muscle and liver of two subtropical Seriola fish species, Seriola dumerili and Seriola rivoliana, were investigated. The lipid levels of cultured S. dumerili were significantly higher than were those of the wild ones. Triacylglycerols and phospholipids were the dominant lipids of both the cultured and wild. In both species, the major fatty acids in the muscle and liver triacylglycerols were 14:0 (cultured), 16:0, 18:0, 16:1n-7, 18:1n-7, 18:1n-9, 18:2n-6 (linoleic acid: LA, cultured), 20:5n-3, and 22:6n-3. In spite of similar levels of many of the fatty acids between cultured and wild triacylglycerols, the cultured samples had markedly higher levels of LA with trace levels of 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid: ARA) and 22:5n-6, while the wild ones had very low 18:2n-6 levels with small levels of ARA and 22:5n-6. The ratio (R(LA/ARA)) of LA to ARA in the cultured samples was markedly higher than were those of the wild samples.     

Perfluorinated surfactants in surface, subsurface water and microlayer from Dalian Coastal waters in China

Two predominant perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), in surface water (SW, 0-20 cm), subsurface water (SSW, > 30 cm depth), and sea surface microlayer (SML, 50 microm thickness) were measured from Dalian Coastal waters in China. The SML samples were collected using glass-plate dipping method. Analysis of the PFCs was conducted through solid-phase extraction, followed by LC/MS-SIM. The PFC's concentrations in SW samples were consistent with previously reported data in this region. Significantly higher concentrations of PFCs were found in SML samples than corresponding SSW samples. The enrichment factors (EF = C(SML)/C(SSW)) for PFOS were as high as 24-109 atthree near-shore sites. The concentration in SW was also generally higher than corresponding SSW samples, giving C(SW)/C(SSW) mean ratios of 1.5 and 1.4 for PFOS and PFOA, respectively. This apparent enrichment of PFCs in surface water, especially in the microlayer, has implications for designing measurement techniques, understanding their distributions, and sea spray-mediated transport in the environment.     

Computational cavitation flows at inception and light stages on an axial-flow pump blade and in a cage-guided control valve

Cavitation flows induced around an axial-flow pump blade and inside a high pressure cage-type valve are simu-lated by a two-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes analysis with the simplest treatment of bubble dynamics.Thefluid is assumed as a continuum of homogeneous dispersed mixture of water and vapor nuclei.The analysis isaimed to capture transient stages with high amplitude pressure change during the birth and collapse of the bubbleespecially at the stage of cavitation inception.By the pump blade analysis,in which the field pressure is moderate,cavitation number of the inception and locations of developed cavitation are found to agree with experimental re-suits in a wide flow range between high incidence and negative incidence.In the valve flow analysis,in which thewater pressure of 5MPa is reduced to 2MPa,pressure change responding to the bubble collapse between the vaporpressure lower than 1 KPa and the extreme pressure of higher than 10~4 KPa is captured through a stable computa-tion.Location of the inception bubble and pressure force to the valve plug is found agree well with the respectiveexperimental features.     

Transmutation characteristics of problematic radionuclides in spallation and fusion neutron source

Transmutation of radiowaste is often referred to as a crucial step toward environmentally harmonized nuclear energy system. This area concerns with elimination of two classes of radionuclides: minor actinides and fission products. In a great majority of transmutation studies the stress has been given to some particular transmuters, mainly fast and accelerator driven reactors, and potential advantage of their use in waste management. The logic of the present paper goes in an opposite direction. Having finished general discussion on the final goal of transmutation, it turns to identify the radionuclides being the most severe obstacle on this way and, only after that, advocates the appropriate transmutation environments. Among the problematic nuclides cesium isotopes and ²⁴⁴Cm are accentuated with advocated correspondingly fusion and accelerator-driven transmutation.     

Data base for radiation damage analysis of advanced transmutors

The new cross-section data library BISERM2 elaborated for radiation damage analysis is described. Data base contains neutron induced displacement, hydrogen and helium production cross-sections for 259 stable isotopes of structural materials from aluminum to bismuth for energy range up to 1 GeV, and displacement cross-sections for most important alloys, namely Zircaloy, Inconel and various types of stainless steel.     

WO3/BiVO4 composite photoelectrode prepared by improved auto-combustion method for highly efficient water splitting

We report on the improvement in the water splitting efficiency of a WO₃/BiVO₄ composite photoelectrode by the application of an improved auto-combustion method to the preparation of porous BiVO₄ thin films. The unique feature of this preparation method is the addition of both NH₄NO₃, as a strong oxidizing agent, and an organic additive into BiVO₄ precursor solution. The local decomposition heat of the organic additive and oxidizing agent created a porous film with small, highly crystalline BiVO₄ particles. The photoelectrode has many advantages over existing ones, such as the high light-harvesting efficiency (LHE), a single BiVO₄ phase, the facile access of the holes to the photoelectrode/electrolyte interface, and the ease of water and oxygen diffusion. The maximum incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) was estimated to be 64% (at 440 nm, 1.23 V vs. RHE) and the applied bias photon-tocurrent efficiency (ABPE) reached as high as 1.28%. This ABPE value is highest among all oxide semiconductor photoelectrodes reported previously, except for the case of a stacking photoelectrode system.