Delving deeper into the whorl of flower segmentation

We describe an algorithm for automatically segmenting flowers in colour photographs. This is a challenging problem because of the sheer variety of flower classes, the variability within a class and within a particular flower, and the variability of the imaging conditions – lighting, pose, foreshortening, etc.     

综合航电开放式软件设计技术

综合航电开放式软件设计技术是新一代航电系统支持平台机载实时容错分布式计算机系统的重点,它的设计直接或间接地关系到新一代综合航电系统的性能和成本.针对先进综合航电系统的特点、性能要求,对目前机载计算机软件系统存在的可靠性、安全性低,不易移植,成本高,层次分割不清晰,功能独立性差,对系统容错支持能力弱等缺陷,提出了"三层栈结构"的软件设计新思想,通过标准接口(物理接口和逻辑接口)使得层与层,模块与模块之间得以分开,实现了功能模块化、软硬件隔离性、软件的再利用性、可剪裁性、易维护性,以适应不断增长的航空电子系统任务能力需求,为新一代航电系统支持平台机载实时容错分布式计算机系统的开发、研制提供了可靠的保证.     

Creation and control of high-dimensional multi-partite classically entangled light

Vector beams, non-separable in spatial mode and polarisation, have emerged as enabling tools in many diverse applications, from communication to imaging. This a...     

The Regulatory Role of H19/miR-181a/ATG5 Signaling in Perinatal Nicotine Exposure-Induced Development of Neonatal Brain Hypoxic-Ischemic Sensitive Phenotype

Nicotine exposure either from maternal cigarette smoking or e-cigarette vaping is one of the most common risk factors for neurodevelopmental disease in offspring. Previous studies revealed that perinatal nicotine exposure programs a sensitive phenotype to neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in postnatal life, yet the underlying mechanisms remain undetermined. The goal of the present study was to determine the regulatory role of H19/miR-181a/ATG5 signaling in perinatal nicotine exposure-induced development of neonatal brain hypoxic-ischemic sensitive phenotype. Nicotine was administered to pregnant rats via subcutaneous osmotic minipumps. All experiments were conducted in offspring pups at postnatal day 9 (P9). Perinatal nicotine exposure significantly enhanced expression of miR-181a but attenuated autophagy-related protein 5 (ATG5) mRNA and protein levels in neonatal brains. Of interest, miR-181a mimicking administration in the absence of nicotine exposure also produced dose-dependent increased hypoxia/ischemia (H/I)-induced brain injury associated with a decreased ATG5 expression, closely resembling perinatal nicotine exposure-mediated effects. Locked nucleic acid (LNA)-miR-181a antisense reversed perinatal nicotine-mediated increase in H/I-induced brain injury and normalized aberrant ATG5 expression. In addition, nicotine exposure attenuated a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 expression level. Knockdown of H19 via siRNA increased the miR-181a level and enhanced H/I-induced neonatal brain injury. In conclusion, the present findings provide a novel mechanism that aberrant alteration of the H19/miR-181a/AGT5 axis plays a vital role in perinatal nicotine exposure-mediated ischemia-sensitive phenotype in offspring and suggests promising molecular targets for intervention and rescuing nicotine-induced adverse programming effects in offspring.     

Development of a Mortality Prediction Model in Hospitalised SARS-CoV-2 Positive Patients Based on Routine Kidney Biomarkers

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a prevalent complication in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive inpatients, which is linked to an increased mortality rate compared to patients without AKI. Here we analysed the difference in kidney blood biomarkers in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with non-fatal or fatal outcome, in order to develop a mortality prediction model for hospitalised SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. A retrospective cohort study including data from suspected SARS-CoV-2 positive patients admitted to a large National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust hospital in the Yorkshire and Humber regions, United Kingdom, between 1 March 2020 and 30 August 2020. Hospitalised adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) with at least one confirmed positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and blood tests of kidney biomarkers within 36 h of the RT-PCR test were included. The main outcome measure was 90-day in-hospital mortality in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. The logistic regression and random forest (RF) models incorporated six predictors including three routine kidney function tests (sodium, urea; creatinine only in RF), along with age, sex, and ethnicity. The mortality prediction performance of the logistic regression model achieved an area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve of 0.772 in the test dataset (95% CI: 0.694–0.823), while the RF model attained the AUROC of 0.820 in the same test cohort (95% CI: 0.740–0.870). The resulting validated prediction model is the first to focus on kidney biomarkers specifically on in-hospital mortality over a 90-day period.     

缆型钢丝圈在半钢轿车子午线轮胎中的应用

以245/45R18 100W轮胎为例,研究缆型钢丝圈替代六角形钢丝圈在半钢轿车子午线轮胎中的应用。结果表明,采用缆型钢丝圈生产工艺性能良好,可有效减小轮胎质量,降低滚动阻力,提高抗撞击性能,显著增强轮胎在使用过程中的抗风险能力。     

Sensing Matrix Optimization for Multi-Target Localization Using Compressed Sensing in Wireless Sensor Network

In the multi-target localization based on Compressed Sensing(CS), the sensing matrix’s characteristic is significant to the localization accuracy.To improve the CS-based localization approach’s performance, we propose a sensing matrix optimization method in this paper, which considers the optimization under the guidance of the t%-averaged mutual coherence. First, we study sensing matrix optimization and model it as a constrained combinatorial optimization problem. Second, the t%-averaged mutual ...     

The Role of the Choroid in Stargardt Disease

Stargardt disease is the commonest juvenile macular dystrophy. It is caused by genetic mutations in the ABCA4 gene. Diagnosis is not always straightforward, and various phenocopies exist. Late-onset disease can be misdiagnosed with age-related macular disease. A correct diagnosis is particularly critical because of emergent gene therapies. Stargardt disease is known to affect retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors. Many studies have also highlighted the importance of the choroid in the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and progression of the disease. The choroid is in an integral relationship with the retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors, and its possible involvement during the disease should be considered. The purpose of this review is to analyze the current diagnostic tools for choroidal evaluation and the extrapolation of useful data for ophthalmologists and researchers studying the disease.     

Internal OH? induced cascade quenching of upconversion luminescence in NaYF4:Yb/Er nanocrystals

Internal hydroxyl impurity is known as one of the main detrimental factors affecting the upconversion (UC) efficiency of upconversion luminescence (UCL) nanomat...