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Many vehicle re-identification (Re-ID) problems require the robust recognition of vehicle instances across multiple viewpoints. Existing approaches for dealing with the vehicle re-ID problem are insufficiently robust because they cannot distinguish among vehicles of the same type nor recognize high-level representations in deep networks for identical vehicles with various views. To address these issues, this paper proposes a viewpoint adaptation network (VANet) with a cross-view distance metric for robust vehicle Re-ID. This method consists of two modules. The first module is the VANet with cross-view label smoothing regularization (CVLSR), which abstracts different levels of a vehicle’s visual patterns and subsequently integrates multi-level features. In particular, CVLSR based on color domains assigns a virtual label to the generated data to smooth image-image translation noise. Accordingly, this module supplies the viewing angle information of the training data and provides strong robust capability for vehicles across different viewpoints. The second module is the cross-view distance metric, which designs a cascaded cross-view matching approach to combine the original features with the generated ones, and thus, obtain additional supplementary viewpoint information for the multi-view matching of vehicles. Results of extensive experiments on two large scale vehicle Re-ID datasets, namely, VeRi-776 and VehiclelD demonstrate that the performance of the proposed method is robust and superior to other state-of-the-art Re-ID methods across multiple viewpoints.

Aims Apelin is the endogenous ligand of G protein-coupled receptor APJ and play an important role in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. We aimed to investigate whether apelin ameliorates vascular calcification (VC) by inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). Methods and results VC model in rats was induced by nicotine plus vitamin D, while calcification of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) was induced by beta-glycerophosphate. Alizarin Red S staining showed dramatic calcium deposition in the aorta of rats with VC, while calcium contents and ALP activity also increased in calcified aorta. Protein levels of apelin and APJ were decreased in the calcified aorta. In rats with VC, apelin treatment significantly ameliorated aortic calcification, compliance and stimulation of ERS. The ameliorative effect of apelin on VC and ERS was also observed in calcified VSMCs. ERS stimulator (tunicamycin or DTT) blocked the beneficial effect of apelin. Apelin treatment activated the PI3K/Akt signaling, blockage of which by wortmannin or inhibitor IV prevented the ameliorative effect of apelin, while ERS inhibitor 4-PBA rescued the blockade effect of wortmannin. Akt-induced GSK inhibition prevented the phosphorylation of PERK and IRE1, and the activation of these two major ERS branches. F13A blocked the ameliorative effect of apelin on VC and ERS, which was reversed by treatment with 4-PBA or Akt activator SC79 Conclusions Apelin ameliorated VC by binding to APJ and then prevented ERS activation by stimulating Akt signaling. These results might provide new target for therapy and prevention of VC.

Alzheimer's disease is a prevalent health problem with a heavy global burden. Definitely diagnosed by autopsy, the clear mechanism of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis process needs to be illustrated. MicroRNAs are suggested to be involved in many diseases. We aimed to investigate the role of microRNA in Alzheimer's disease.We attempted to discover the role of microRNA in Alzheimer's disease by microarray bioinformatics analysis using autopsy sample data from the GEO database. Temporal cortex samples were included in this study. Bioinformatics analyses and visualization were processed based on R.After filtering out significantly differential expressed microRNAs and genes, enrichment analyses of both microRNAs and genes were conducted, respectively. Then, we constructed a transcription factor-microRNA-mRNA network and a protein-protein interaction network. In parallel, we used the receiver operating characteristic curve to evaluate the diagnostic value of microRNA. Based on the evidence, we finally identified hsa-miR-365b-5p as a key target in Alzheimer's disease.Hsa-miR-365b-5p act as a key target in Alzheimer's disease. It regulates Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis process via neuroinflammation, Wnt and oxidative stress pathway which provides a potential target for Alzheimer's disease treatment.

In this study, mesoporous silica-based adsorbents functionalized with four kinds of amino groups, namely (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane, trimethoxy[3-(methylamino)propyl]silane, N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine and 3-[(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]diethylenetriamine, were prepared using post-synthesis method and named as SiO2-N, SiO2-N-, SiO2-2N and SiO2-3N, respectively. Infrared spectrum, elemental analysis, water contact angle and adsorption/desorption measurements were applied to evaluate the characteristics of these materials. Five kinds of aromatic acids (gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and rosmarinic acid) were chosen as probe molecules to evaluate adsorption properties of the four adsorbents. Their adsorption performances were evaluated by two strategies of dynamic solid phase extraction (SPE) adsorption and static adsorption under individual and mixed two modes. Through a series of adsorption experiments, the results clearly illustrated adsorption capacities conformed to SiO2-N