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Despite impressive progress, obtaining appropriate data for instance-level lane segmentation remains a significant challenge. This limitation hinders the refinement of granular lane-related applications such as lane line crossing surveillance, pavement maintenance, and management. To address this gap, we introduce a benchmark for lane instance segmentation called InstLane. To the best of our knowledge, InstLane constitutes the first publicly accessible instance-level segmentation standard for lane line detection. The complexity of InstLane emanates from the fact that the original data are procured using cameras mounted laterally, as opposed to traditional front-mounted sensors. InstLane encapsulates a range of challenging scenarios, enhancing the generalization and robustness of the lane line instance segmentation algorithms. In addition, we propose GeoLaneNet, a real-time, geometry-aware lane instance segmentation network. Within GeoLaneNet, we design a finer localization of lane proto-instances based on geometric features to counteract the prevalent omission or multiple detections in dense lane scenarios resulting from non-maximum suppression (NMS). Furthermore, we present a scheme that employs a larger receptive field to achieve profound perceptual lane structural learning, thereby improving detection accuracy. We introduce an architecture based on partial feature transformation to expedite the detection process. Comprehensive experiments on InstLane demonstrate that GeoLaneNet can achieve up to twice the speed of current State-Of-The-Artmethods, reaching 139 FPS on an RTX3090 and a mask AP of 73.55%, with a permissible trade-off in AP, while maintaining comparable accuracy. These results underscore the effectiveness, robustness, and efficiency of GeoLaneNet in autonomous driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risky driving is a major factor in traffic incidents, necessitating constant monitoring and prevention through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Despite recent progress, a lack of suitable data for detecting risky driving in traffic surveillance settings remains a significant challenge. To address this issue, Bayonet-Drivers, a pioneering benchmark for risky driving detection, is proposed. The unique challenge posed by Bayonet-Drivers arises from the nature of the original data obtained from intelligent monitoring and recording systems, rather than in-vehicle cameras. Bayonet-Drivers encompasses a broad spectrum of challenging scenarios, thereby enhancing the resilience and generalizability of algorithms for detecting risky driving. Further, to address the scarcity of labeled data without compromising detection accuracy, a novel semi-supervised network architecture, named DGMB-Net, is proposed. Within DGMB-Net, an enhanced semi-supervised method founded on a teacher–student model is introduced, aiming at bypassing the time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks associated with data labeling. Additionally, DGMB-Net has engineered an Adaptive Perceptual Learning (APL) Module and a Hierarchical Feature Pyramid Network (HFPN) to amplify spatial perception capabilities and amalgamate features at varying scales and levels, thus boosting detection precision. Extensive experiments on widely utilized datasets, including the State Farm dataset and Bayonet-Drivers, demonstrated the remarkable performance of the proposed DGMB-Net. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CsCu2I3 crystal is a promising Cu-based halide material for scintillation detection. In this paper, Na+ ion-doped CsCu2I3 crystals with a size of ϕ12 mm × 50 mm were grown successfully using the vertical Bridgman method, and the properties were systematically investigated. CsCu2I3:Na crystals exhibit yellow light emission peaking at 575 nm and a large Stokes shift of 1.55 eV. Based on the results of the XRD and XPS, the Na+ was introduced successfully. The optical absorption spectra show that the band gap of CsCu2I3 crystals was narrowed when the Na+ was doped. The photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQY) is improved from 16.4% to 19.6%. Finally, the X-ray-induced afterglow, and scintillation (energy resolution, light yield and decay time) under a 137Cs source were measured and discussed. These results illustrate that CsCu2I3:Na crystals have potential applications in the radiation detection field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the burgeoning demands for captioning-related applications have inspired great endeavors in the remote sensing community. However, current benchmark datasets are deficient in data volume, category variety, and description richness, which hinders the advancement of new remote sensing image captioning approaches, especially those based on deep learning. To overcome this limitation, we present a larger and more challenging benchmark dataset termed NWPU-Captions is available at https://github.com/HaiyanHuang98/NWPU-Captions. NWPU-Captions contains 157 500 sentences, with all 31 500 images annotated manually by seven experienced volunteers. The superiority of NWPU-Captions over current publicly available benchmark datasets not only lies in its much larger scale but also in its wider coverage of complex scenes and the richness and variety of describing vocabularies. Furthermore, a novel encoder–decoder architecture, multilevel and contextual attention network (MLCA-Net), is proposed. MLCA-Net employs a multilevel attention module to adaptively aggregate image features of specific spatial regions and scales and introduces a contextual attention module to explore the latent context hidden in remote sensing images. MLCA-Net improves the flexibility and diversity of the generated captions while keeping their accuracy and conciseness by exploring the properties of scale variations and semantic ambiguity. Finally, the effectiveness, robustness, and generalization of MLCA-Net are proved through extensive experiments on existing datasets and NWPU-Captions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) are essential enzymes in DNA synthesis. However, little is known about the RNRs in plants. Here, we identified a svstl1 mutant from the self‐created ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutant library of Setaria viridis. The mutant leaves exhibited a bleaching phenotype at the heading stage. Paraffin section analysis showed the destruction of the C4 Kranz anatomy. Transmission electron microscopy results further demonstrated the severely disturbed development of some chloroplasts. MutMap analysis revealed that the SvSTL1 gene is the primary candidate, encoding a large subunit of RNRs. Complementation experiments confirmed that SvSTL1 is responsible for the phenotype of svstl1. There are two additional RNR large subunit homologs in S. viridis, SvSTL2 and SvSTL3. To further understand the functions of these three RNR large subunit genes, a series of mutants were generated via CRISPR/Cas9 technology. In striking contrast to the finding that all three SvSTLs interact with the RNR small subunit, the phenotype varied along with the copies of chloroplast genome among different svstl single mutants: the svstl1 mutant exhibited pronounced chloroplast development and significantly fewer copies of the chloroplast genome than the svstl2 or svstl3 single mutants. These results suggested that SvSTL1 plays a major role in the optimal function of RNRs and is essential for chloroplast development. Furthermore, through the analysis of double and triple mutants, the study provides new insights into the finely tuned coordination among SvSTLs to maintain normal chloroplast development in the emerging C4 model plant S. viridis. Significance Statement: Understanding the chloroplast development of C4 plants is very important. Setaria viridis was used as a model system to study the functions of the three RNR large subunit genes in chloroplast development. SvSTL1 was identified by forward genetics, and SvSTL2 and SvSTL3 were identified by homolog analysis. All three genes were knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9. SvSTL1 plays a major role in chloroplast development. This study provides new insights into the fine control of RNRs on chloroplast development in an emerging C4 model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare Earth (RE) such as Y, La, Sc and Gd ions doped Ce:[Lu.sub.2]Si[O.sub.5] (LSO) crystals, were grown by Czochralski method. The concentrations of these RE ions in LSO crystals were measured, and their segregation coefficients were calculated according to the concentrations. [La.sup.3+] was found to be helpful to increase the segregation coefficients of [Ce.sup.3+] in LSO crystals. Transmission, UV and X-ray excited emission spectra, and UV light emission decay curves of RE-doped LSO crystals were tested at room temperature. No significant difference in emission spectra and decay time can be identified among these RE-doped LSO crystals. Doping with [La.sup.3+] may improve the energy resolution and photoelectron yield of LSO crystals. Index Terms--LSO, RE doping, scintillation properties.

Ce0.03Gd2.97Ga2Al3O12 (Ce:GGAG) single crystals were successfully grown by the traveling solvent floating zone method (TSFZ). A series of compositions, where the mole ratio is Gd2O3 : Al2O3 = 25 : 75, 27 : 73, 29 : 71, were investigated as solvents. The 25 mol% Gd2O3-75 mol% Al2O3 solvent component was found to be the most effective in stabilizing the molten zone to obtain a crystal rod with uniform diameter. The crystal cracks were relieved clearly due to the improved molten zone stabilization during the crystal growth process. XRD patterns of the obtained crystals prove the garnet structure without any evident second phase. The characteristic Ce3+ emission located at around 540 nm was presented in the photoluminescence and X-ray excited luminescence spectra. The scintillation light yield reaches up to 34 132 pho MeV−1 and scintillation decay time was optimized to 64 ns with a high fast decay component of about 85%. The TSFZ method demonstrated the growth feasibility of Ce:GGAG crystals that have an incongruent-melting trend with lower Ga/Al ratio in the compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study was performed to explore the function of B-Raf proto-oncogene-activated non-coding RNA (BANCR) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and cisplatin resistance.Material and Methods: The relative expression level of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) BANCR was examined by qRT-PCR in tumor tissues and adjacent tissues, normal laryngeal cells (Het-1A) and laryngeal squamous carcinoma cells (TU686, TU177). Cisplatin-resistant laryngeal squamous carcinoma cell lines (TU686-DDP-R, TU177-DDP-R) were established. Next, we inhibited BANCR expression by transfecting siRNA-BANCR and enhanced BANCR expression by transfecting pcDNA3.1-BANCR into TU686, TU177, TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R cells. The CCK-8 assay and clone formation assay were performed to detect colony proliferation ability and formation ability of cells. Further, to investigate through which BANCR cell viability/formation is regulated, we detected the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, p-PKB, and Bax by western blot.Results: BANCR was highly expressed in laryngeal squamous carcinoma tissues and cells. Chemoresistance was generated in TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R compared with TU686 and TU177 cells after cisplatin treatment. In addition, upregulated lncRNA BANCR reduced or postponed cell sensitivity to cisplatin by enhancing cell proliferation in TU686 and TU177 cells. Meanwhile, the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, and p-PKB was increased, while Bax was reduced. After cisplatin treatment, down-regulation of BANCR could consequently attenuate TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R cell proliferation, and the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, and p-PKB was decreased and Bax was increased.Conclusions: Down-regulation of BANCR reverses cisplatin resistance of cisplatin-resistant LSCC cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is known to be a leading cariogenic pathogen in the oral cavity. Antimicrobial peptides possess excellent properties to combat such pathogens. In this study, we compared the antimicrobial activity of novel linear reutericin 6‐ and/or gassericin A‐inspired peptides and identified LR‐10 as the leading peptide. Antibacterial assays demonstrate that LR‐10 is more active against S. mutans (3.3 μM) than many peptide‐based agents without resistance selection, capable of killing many oral pathogens, and tolerant of physiological conditions. LR‐10 also presented a faster killing rate than chlorhexidine and erythromycin, and appeared to display selective activity against S. mutans within 10 s. S. mutans is usually encased in plaque biofilms. Biofilm inhibitory assays indicated that LR‐10 had excellent inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation of S. mutans and biofilm‐encased cells in vitro at low concentrations (6.5 μM). Consistent with most peptides, LR‐10 kills S. mutans mainly by disrupting the cell membranes. Notably, both hemolytic activity assays and cytotoxicity tests indicated that LR‐10 could keep biocompatible at the effective concentrations. Hence, LR‐10 could be a good candidate for clinical treatment of dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leprosy continues to be prevalent in some mountainous regions of China, and genotypes of leprosy strains endemic to the country are not known. Mycobacterium lepromatosis is a new species that was discovered in Mexico in 2008, and it remains unclear whether this species exists in China. Here, we conducted PCR- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to classify genotypes of 85 DNA samples collected from patients from 18 different provinces. All 171 DNA samples from skin biopsies of leprosy patients were tested for the presence of Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis by amplifying the 16S rRNA gene using nested PCR, followed by DNA sequencing. The new species M. lepromatosis was not found among the 171 specimens from leprosy patients in 22 provinces in China. However, we found three SNP genotypes among 85 leprosy patients. A mutation at C251T in the 16S rRNA gene was found in 76% of the strains. We also found that the strains that showed the 16S rRNA C251T mutation belonged to SNP type 3, whereas strains without the point mutation belonged to SNP type 1. The SNP type 3 leprosy strains were observed in patients from both the inner and coastal regions of China, but the SNP type 1 strains were focused only in the coastal region. This indicated that the SNP type 3 leprosy strains were more prevalent than the SNP type 1 strains in China. In addition, the 16S rRNA gene sequence mutation at C251T also indicated a difference in the geographical distribution of the strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a new polymorphism in 16S rRNA gene in M. leprae in China. Our findings shed light on the prevalent genotypes and provide insight about leprosy transmission that are important for leprosy control in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: CdS/TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared via a simple wet chemical method, and characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Their ability to degrade Acid Rhodamine B was investigated under visible light irradiation. The results indicate that CdS/TiO2 nanocomposite with a mass ratio of 4:1(TiO2:CdS) showed high photocatalytic activity and the CdS loaded on TiO2 nanotube surface exhibited a hexagonal phase. The dispersion of CdS on TiO2 nanotube surface had an important effect on the degradation efficiency of pollutant, which provides a strategy for practical industry application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this experiment, properties of LYSO crystals with different yttrium concentrations were investigated by Czochralski method. The concentrations of yttrium and cerium were analyzed by ICP-AES and the distribution coefficients of yttrium and cerium in LYSO crystal were calculated. It was found that the light output and the decay time of LYSO crystals are almost the same as that of cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate crystal (LSO). The energy resolutions of LYSO crystals, however, fluctuated in a large range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The crystals of (Lu1−x Ce x )2Si2O7 (LPS) (x =0.003, 0.005, 0.0075, 0.01 and 0.013) are grown by Czochralski (Cz) method. The scintillation and optical properties of these LPS:Ce crystals were studied and compared systematically, mainly focused on the absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and decay time. It is found that the self absorption of LPS:Ce is increased as the cerium doping concentration increases; the PLE curves of LPS:Ce samples are influenced by the both cerium doping concentrations and sample thickness. Specially, thicker and higher cerium doped LPS:Ce, i.e. the stronger self absorption, will lead to incomplete PLE curves. The temperature dependence of luminescence of LPS:0.3%Ce, including the decay time, PLE and PL properties, is investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The reduction behaviour of Co 3 O 4 by H 2 -TPR. • The Co 3 O 4 catalysts were prepared by in-situ pyrolysis of ZIF-67. • The calcination temperature influences the structural properties of Co 3 O 4 catalysts. • The Co 3 O 4 -400 shows the highest removal the toluene performance. • The catalyst shows some resistance to the water vapor. A serial of Co 3 O 4 catalysts were prepared through a facile method of calcining of ZIF-67 at different temperatures. Physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis(TGA-DTA), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) equation, H 2 temperature-programmed reduction (H 2 -TPR) and The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques, and their catalytic performance were investigated for the oxidation of toluene. The structural characterization certified that the calcination temperature has an important effect to catalytic activities. With the increase of the calcination temperature, the BET surface area reduces, pore size increases and the ratio of Co3+/Co2+ and O ads /O latt firstly increase then decrease. The results showed that the conversion of toluene on the Co 3 O 4 -400 catalyst could reach 100 % when the reaction temperature was 240 ºC. The Co 3 O 4 -400 catalyst presented better performance and excellent resistance to H 2 O, which are very important to Industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ce3+ activated LaCl3 is a promising scintillation crystal for radiation detection. The starting raw materials used to grow LaCl3 crystals are rather hygroscopic and XRD proves that LaCl3·7H2O and LaCl3·3H2O are two main compounds in the raw materials. Five endothermal peaks, 100.4°C, 156.0°C, 181.0°C, 210.6°C and 840°C, are observed in the DTA curves, they are corresponding to the thermal dehydration effect of crystallized water and melting. The process of dehydration is described to be 7→6→3→1→0. In the dehydration process, little amount of LaOCl phase can be identified, its formation is related to the oxidation of LaCl3 at high temperature: LaCl3·nH2O→LaOCl+HCl↑. In addition, LaOCl phases also appear in the grown crystals, they are suggested to be responsible for the transmission loss of the crystals. The oxidation temperature of LaCl3 with oxygen is much lower than that with water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate crystals with dimension of ∅40×60 mm3 were grown by Czochralski method from an inductively heated iridium crucible. The crystal structure was examined by XRD and confirmed to be monoclinic symmetry. Its optical transmission, UV-excited, X-ray excited emission and light yield were measured at room temperature. Its decay time was also tested under optical excitation and gamma excitation, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: We analyzed the effects of the Er:YAG laser used with different parameters on dentinal tubule (DT) occlusion, intrapulpal temperature and pulp tissue morphology in order to determine the optimal parameters for treating dentin hypersensitivity., Methodology: Dentin specimens prepared from 36 extracted human third molars were randomized into six groups according to the treatment method (n=6 each): control (A); Gluma desensitizer (B); and Er:YAG laser treatment at 0.5 W , 167 J/cm2 (50 mJ, 10 Hz) (C), 1 W , 334 J/cm2 (50 mJ, 20 Hz) (D), 2 W , 668 J/cm2 (100 mJ, 20 Hz) (E), and 4 W and 1336 J/cm2 (200 mJ, 20 Hz) (F). Treatment-induced morphological changes of the dentin surfaces were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to find parameters showing optimal dentin tubule occluding efficacy. To further verify the safety of these parameters (0.5 W, 167 J/cm2), intrapulpal temperature changes were recorded during laser irradiation, and morphological alterations of the dental pulp tissue were observed with an upright microscope., Results: Er:YAG laser irradiation at 0.5 W (167 J/cm2) were found to be superior in DT occlusion, with an exposure rate significantly lower than those in the other groups (P<0.05). Intrapulpal temperature changes induced by Er:YAG laser irradiation at 0.5 W (167 J/cm2) with (G) and without (H) water and air cooling were demonstrated to be below the threshold. Also, no significant morphological alterations of the pulp and odontoblasts were observed after irradiation., Conclusion: Therefore, 0.5 W (167 J/cm2) is a suitable parameter for Er:YAG laser to occlude DTs, and it is safe to the pulp tissue.

Introduction: This study was performed to explore the function of B-Raf proto-oncogene-activated non-coding RNA (BANCR) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and cisplatin resistance., Material and Methods: The relative expression level of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) BANCR was examined by qRT-PCR in tumor tissues and adjacent tissues, normal laryngeal cells (Het-1A) and laryngeal squamous carcinoma cells (TU686, TU177). Cisplatin-resistant laryngeal squamous carcinoma cell lines (TU686-DDP-R, TU177-DDP-R) were established. Next, we inhibited BANCR expression by transfecting siRNA-BANCR and enhanced BANCR expression by transfecting pcDNA3.1-BANCR into TU686, TU177, TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R cells. The CCK-8 assay and clone formation assay were performed to detect colony proliferation ability and formation ability of cells. Further, to investigate through which BANCR cell viability/formation is regulated, we detected the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, p-PKB, and Bax by western blot., Results: BANCR was highly expressed in laryngeal squamous carcinoma tissues and cells. Chemoresistance was generated in TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R compared with TU686 and TU177 cells after cisplatin treatment. In addition, upregulated lncRNA BANCR reduced or postponed cell sensitivity to cisplatin by enhancing cell proliferation in TU686 and TU177 cells. Meanwhile, the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, and p-PKB was increased, while Bax was reduced. After cisplatin treatment, down-regulation of BANCR could consequently attenuate TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R cell proliferation, and the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, and p-PKB was decreased and Bax was increased., Conclusions: Down-regulation of BANCR reverses cisplatin resistance of cisplatin-resistant LSCC cell lines., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Termedia & Banach.)

Purpose: Several studies have shown that the oral cavity is a secondary location for Helicobacter pylori colonization and that H. pylori is associated with the severity of periodontitis. This study investigated whether H. pylori had an effect on the periodontium. We established an invasion model of a standard strain of H. pylori in human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLFs), and evaluated the effects of H. pylori on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression., Methods: Different concentrations of H. pylori were used to infect hPDLFs, with 6 hours of co-culture. The multiplicity of infection in the low- and high-concentration groups was 10:1 and 100:1, respectively. The Cell Counting Kit-8 method and Ki-67 immunofluorescence were used to detect cell proliferation. Flow cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and western blots were used to detect cell cycle progression. In the high-concentration group, the invasion of H. pylori was observed by transmission electron microscopy., Results: It was found that H. pylori invaded the fibroblasts, with cytoplasmic localization. Analyses of cell proliferation and flow cytometry showed that H. pylori inhibited the proliferation of periodontal fibroblasts by causing G2 phase arrest. The inhibition of proliferation and G2 phase arrest were more obvious in the high-concentration group. In the low-concentration group, the G2 phase regulatory factors cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cell division cycle 25C (Cdc25C) were upregulated, while cyclin B1 was inhibited. However, in the high-concentration group, cyclin B1 was upregulated and CDK1 was inhibited. Furthermore, the deactivated states of tyrosine phosphorylation of CDK1 (CDK1-Y15) and serine phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Cdc25C-S216) were upregulated after H. pylori infection., Conclusions: In our model, H. pylori inhibited the proliferation of hPDLFs and exerted an invasive effect, causing G2 phase arrest via the Cdc25C/CDK1/cyclin B1 signaling cascade. Its inhibitory effect on proliferation was stronger in the high-concentration group., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Leprosy has long been thought to have a strong genetic component, and so far, only positional cloning and genomewide association studies have been used to study the genetic susceptibility to leprosy,while whole exome sequencing (WES) approach has not yet been applied. In this study, we used WES approach on four leprosy patients and four healthy control relatives from two leprosy families. We found three new susceptible loci of leprosy, one in GAL3ST4 and two in CHGB. We went on to validate the findings of WES using 151 leprosy cases and 226 healthy controls by Sanger sequencing. Stratified by gender, GAL3ST4 was found to be the susceptible gene only for the female population, and CHGB48 and CHGB23 were susceptibile to leprosy for the male population, respectively). Moreover, the gene expression levels of the three susceptible loci were measured by real-time PCR after the stimulation by M. leprae antigens in the PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) of 69 healthy people. The results showed that the female subjects with high frequent genotype in GAL3ST4 had a fivefold elevated expression. We suggest the polymorphisms in GAL3ST4 in different population are associated with increased risk of leprosy.

Multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) has been proposed as a means of strain typing for tracking the transmission of leprosy. However, empirical data for a defined population are lacking. To this end, a study was initiated to assess the diversity and distribution of prevalent Mycobacterium leprae strains in Qiubei County, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, where the annual detection rate of leprosy is 10-fold higher than the national average rate. Sixty-eight newly diagnosed leprosy patients were included in the study. MLVA at eight M. leprae loci was applied using DNA extracts from skin biopsies. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 24, providing adequate strain discrimination. MLVA strain typing identified several clusters of patients whose M. leprae specimens shared similar VNTR profiles. Two of these clusters were comprised of patients who resided predominantly in the north and northwest parts of Qiubei County. Furthermore, it was found that multicase families are common in this county: 23 of the 68 patients were from 11 families. Intrafamilial VNTR profiles closely matched within six families, although they were different between the families. Moreover, VNTR patterns related to those found in some multicase families were also detected in patients in the same or adjacent townships, indicating the utility of VNTR strain typing to identify and detect short-range transmission events. Social contact through village markets is proposed as a means of transmission.