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Abstract Advances in computer image recognition have significantly impacted many industries, including healthcare, security and autonomous systems. This paper aims to explore the potential of improving image algorithms to enhance computer image recognition. Specifically, we will focus on regression methods as a means to improve the accuracy and efficiency of identifying images. In this study, we will analyze various regression techniques and their applications in computer image recognition, as well as the resulting performance improvements through detailed examples and data analysis. This paper deals with the problems related to visual image processing in outdoor unstructured environment. Finally, the heterogeneous patterns are converted into the same pattern, and the heterogeneous patterns are extracted from the fusion features of data modes. The simulation results show that the perception ability and recognition ability of outdoor image recognition in complex environment are improved.

Abstract Background Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with variable symptoms, which presents with cough either as the sole or predominant symptom with or without wheezing. We compared the clinical and pathophysiological characteristics of cough predominant asthma (CPA), cough variant asthma (CVA) and classic asthma (CA) in order to determine any differential phenotypic traits. Methods In 20 clinics across China, a total of 2088 patients were finally recruited, including 327 CVA, 1041 CPA and 720 CA patients. We recorded cough and wheezing visual analogue scale, Leicester cough questionnaire (LCQ) and asthma control test scores. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), induced sputum cell counts, and capsaicin cough challenge were also measured and compared. Results CPA patients more frequently presented with cough as the initial symptom, and laryngeal symptoms (p

Abstract Sea ice elevation is crucial in the characterization of three‐dimensional (3D) sea ice patterns, providing physical insights to advance sea ice dynamic models. Moreover, how sea ice elevation may be related to the ocean geophysical environment is still a significant knowledge gap, especially in Antarctica. A radar theory relating electromagnetic scattering mechanisms to sea ice elevation over old and deformed rough ice has been reported in a prior companion paper. This follow‐up paper presents the validated model function and synthetic aperture radar (SAR)‐retrieved sea ice elevations based on the field data acquired during the Operation IceBridge and TanDEM‐X Antarctic Science Campaign. A high‐resolution sea ice digital elevation model (DEM) is generated extensively over a 19 × 450 km sector in the Western Weddell Sea, achieving a good accuracy with a low root‐mean‐square error of 0.23 m. From the SAR‐retrieved sea ice DEM, 3D sea ice patterns including roughness height, auto‐correlation lengths, correlation ellipticity, and orientation angles are calculated over the old and deformed rough sea ice. The 3D sea ice patterns give a comprehensive characterization of sea ice topography in the Western Weddell Sea and show the potential to be used for understanding sea ice formation processes in the Antarctic.

Single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is an effective technique for sea ice topographic retrieval despite the inherent dynamics of sea ice. However, the penetration of microwaves into snow-covered thick ice and the achievable height sensitivity for tens-of-centimeters thin ice are two major issues, which limit the accuracy of InSAR-derived sea ice topography. Polarimetry provides scattering information concerning the sea ice properties and has the potential, in combination with interferometry, to achieve an accurate reconstruction of a sea ice digital elevation model (DEM). This article studies the relation between polarimetric signatures and sea ice topography, and explores the possibility to compensate the penetration bias by merging copolar coherence into InSAR processing. The newly generated topographic map has a root-mean-square error under 0.3 m. For thin ice below 1 m, a positive relation between copolar phase φcoPol and surface height is observed, suggesting that φcoPol can effectively characterize thin sea ice topography. For thick ice with ridges, the maximum polarimetric phase difference ΔφmaxPol reveals a particular shape of the coherence region, which can be interpreted as oriented volume scattering. It suggests that the model-based approach using polarimetric SAR interferometry assuming an oriented volume scattering model is promising in measuring the scattering centers in thick and deformed sea ice. The study of polarimetric behavior for the InSAR DEM is, therefore, a step forward toward accurate modeling of sea ice topography from polarimetric single-pass InSAR data.

B7-H3 is a cell surface molecule in the immunoglobulin superfamily that is frequently upregulated in response to autoantigens and pathogens during host T cell immune responses. However, B7-H3's role in the differential regulation of T cell subsets remains largely unknown. Therefore, we constructed a new B7-H3 deficient mouse strain (B7-H3 KO) and evaluated the functions of B7-H3 in the regulation of Th1, Th2, and Th17 subsets in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), experimental asthma, and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA); these mouse models were used to predict human immune responses in multiple sclerosis, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. Here, we demonstrate that B7-H3 KO mice have significantly less inflammation, decreased pathogenesis, and limited disease progression in both EAE and CIA mouse models when compared with littermates; these results were accompanied by a decrease in IFN-γ and IL-17 production. In sharp contrast, B7-H3 KO mice developed severe ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma with characteristic infiltrations of eosinophils in the lung, increased IL-5 and IL-13 in lavage fluid, and elevated IgE anti-OVA antibodies in the blood. Our results suggest B7-H3 has a costimulatory function on Th1/Th17 but a coinhibitory function on Th2 responses. Our studies reveal that B7-H3 could affect different T cell subsets which have important implications for regulating pathogenesis and disease progression in human autoimmune disease.

The Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) allows sufficient resources for cross-pol wind speed retrievals over the ocean. In this paper, we present technical evaluation on wind retrieval from both Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B IW cross-pol images. Algorithms are based on the existing theoretical and empirical ones derived from the RADARSAT-2 cross-pol data. First, to better understand the Sentinel-1 observed normalized radar cross section (NRCS) values under various environmental conditions, we constructed a dataset that integrates SAR images with wind field information from scatterometer measurements. There are 11,883 matchup data in the experimental dataset. We then calculated the systemic noise floor of Sentinel-1 IW mode, and presented its unique noise characteristics among different sub-bands. Based on the calculated NESZ measurements, the noise is removed for all matchup data. Empirical relationships among the noise free NRCS σ VH 0 , wind speed, wind direction, and radar incidence angle are analyzed for each sub-band, and a piecewise model is proposed. We showed that a larger correlation coefficient, r, is achieved by including both wind direction and incidence terms in the model. Validation against scatterometer measurements showed the suitability of the proposed model.

The aggressiveness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is characterized by its high metastatic potential and lack of effective therapies, which is the result of a lack of understanding of the mechanisms involved in promoting PDA metastases. We identified Annexin A2 (ANXA2), a member of the Annexin family of calcium-dependent phospholipid binding proteins, as a new molecule that promotes PDA invasion and metastases. We found ANXA2 to be a PDA-associated antigen recognized by post-treatment sera of patients who demonstrated prolonged survival following treatment with a PDA-specific vaccine. Cell surface ANXA2 increases with PDA development and progression. Knockdown of ANXA2 expression by RNA interference or blocking with anti-ANXA2 antibodies inhibits in vitro invasion of PDA cells. In addition, post-vaccination patient sera inhibits in vitro invasion of PDA cells, suggesting that therapeutic anti-ANXA2 antibodies are induced by the vaccine. Furthermore, cell-surface localization of ANXA2 is tyrosine 23 phosphorylation-dependent; and tyrosine 23 phosphorylation is required for PDA invasion. We demonstrated that tyrosine 23 phosphorylation resulting in surface expression of ANXA2 is required for TGFβ-induced, Rho-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), linking the cellular function of ANXA2 which was previously shown to be associated with small GTPase-regulated cytoskeletal rearrangements, to the EMT process in PDA. Finally, using mouse PDA models, we showed that shRNA knock-down of ANXA2, a mutation at tyrosine 23, or anti-ANXA2 antibodies, inhibit PDA metastases and prolong mouse survival. Thus, ANXA2 is part of a novel molecular pathway underlying PDA metastases and a new target for development of PDA therapeutics.