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Unsupervised salient image generation without the aid of prior assumptions has many applications in computer vision. We present three unique real-time saliency generation algorithms that provide state-of-the-art performance for greyscale and colour images. Our fastest method run under 50 ms per frame on average. Our algorithm introduces a novel weighted histogram of orientation feature to supplement image intensity for monochromatic image manifold ranking. We also provide a method of dimensional reduction for the non-normalized optimal affinity matrix (OAM) using principal components analysis; this novel technique allows faster computation and stabilization of the OAM inversion process. We compare our methods with 18 traditional and recent techniques using three standard and custom datasets including ECSSD, DUT-OMRON and MSRA10K totalling 32,536 images for colour and greyscale variations. The results show our method to be more than $$10{\times }$$ faster than the RC and GMR models and having similar or better precision performances.

Background and objective Oxidative stress has been suggested as an important pathogenic factor contributing to chronic periodontitis with diabetes mellitus (CPDM). Previous studies have revealed the potential therapeutic properties of baicalein (BCI) in oxidative stress-related diseases; however, the antioxidant effects of BCI on therapy for individual with CPDM remain largely unexplored. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) plays a critical role in cellular defence against oxidative stress. In this study, we aim to determine whether BCI prevents diabetes-related periodontal tissue destruction by regulating Nrf2 signaling pathway. Material and methods Human gingival epithelial cells (hGECs) were challenged with high glucose (HG, 25 mmol/L) and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 20 µg/mL). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The changes of antioxidant-related genes, including Nrf2, catalase (Cat), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (Gclc), superoxide dismutase 1 (Sod1), and superoxide dismutase 2 (Sod2), were quantified by real-time PCR. The localization of phospho-Nrf2 (pNrf2, S40) in the nucleus was detected by immunofluorescence staining and laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). PNrf2 and total form of Nrf2 were determined using western blot. The above indicators together with mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were further investigated in hGECs pre-treated with different concentrations of BCI (0.01, 0.1, or 0.5 µg/mL) before stimulated with HG plus LPS (GP). Finally, the role of BCI in activating Nrf2 signaling pathway and relieving the alveolar bone absorption was examined in the CPDM model of Sprague Dawley rats. CPDM rats were oral gavaged with BCI (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg daily). The pNrf2 was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the alveolar bone absorption was examined by microcomputed tomography. Results Our results showed that ROS were significantly increased in both groups of HG and LPS, with the strongest generation in the GP group. In terms of ROS-related gene expression, we found that the mRNA levels of Nrf2, Cat, Gclc, Sod1, and Sod2 were significantly decreased in HG and LPS groups. In consistent with the strongest induction of ROS in GP group, the gene expression in GP group was further decreased as compared to those of HG and LPS groups. Also, the expression of pNrf2 exhibited the same trend with the expression of those antioxidant genes. However, the generation of ROS and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by GP were abolished by pre-treatment with different concentrations of BCI (0.01, 0.1, or 0.5 µg/mL). Interestingly, we observed that BCI promoted the nucleus translocation of pNrf2, as well as the gene expression levels of pNrf2 and its target genes (Cat, Gclc, Sod1, and Sod2). Finally, in the CPDM animal model, we found that BCI (at concentrations: 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) markedly increased the number of pNrf2-positive cells in periodontal tissue and mitigated the alveolar bone loss. Conclusions Our data revealed a potential role for clinic application of BCI under CPDM conditions, suggesting a new therapeutic drug for CPDM patients.

To observe the clinical effect of transforaminal endoscopy combined with interspinous fusion in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis with instability in the elderly.From February 2018 to February 2019, 82 elderly patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and instability were divided into control group and observation group. In the control group, there were 23 males and 18 females;the age was (68.9±4.1) years;the course of disease was (14.1±5.7) months;there were 5 cases of single segment lesions and 36 cases of multi segment lesions;simple bacfuse interspinous fusion was used. In the observation group, there were 22 males and 19 females;the age was (69.1±4.0) years;the course of diseasewas (14.4±5.5) months;there were 6 cases of single segment lesions and 35 cases of multi segment lesions;they were treated with transforaminal endoscopic surgery combined with Bacfuse interspinous fusion. The clinical efficacy, visual analogue scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores (JOA), Oswestry disability index (ODI), Lehmann lumbar function score, posterior disc height and intervertebral foramen height, complication rate and recurrence rate of the two groups were compared.The clinical efficacy of the observation group was better than that of the control group;the VAS score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, the JOA score was higher than that of the control group, and the ODI index at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up was lower than that of the control group, the Lehmann lumbar function score was higher than that of the control group;the posterior edge height of intervertebral disc and intervertebral foramen height were higher than those of the controlgroup;the incidence of complications and recurrence rate (4.9% and 0.0%) of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (19.5%, 9.8%), the difference was statistically significant (The clinical effect of transforaminal endoscopy combined with interspinous process fusion in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis with instability in the elderly is ideal. It can reduce postoperative pain, improve lumbar function, improve the height of posterior edge of intervertebral disc and intervertebral foramen, and reduce the incidence and recurrence rate. It is worthy of clinical promotion.

Coptidis Rhizoma binds to the membrane receptors on hPDLSC/CMC, and the active ingredient Berberine (BER) that can be extracted from it may promote the proliferation and osteogenesis of periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSC). The membrane receptor that binds with BER on the cell surface of hPDLSC, the mechanism of direct interaction between BER and hPDLSC, and the related signal pathway are not yet clear. In this research, EGFR was screened as the affinity membrane receptor between BER and hPDLSC, through retention on CMC, competition with BER and by using a molecular docking simulation score. At the same time, the MAPK PCR Array was selected to screen the target genes that changed when hPDLSC was simulated by BER. In conclusion, BER may bind to EGFR on the cell membrane of hPDLSC so the intracellular ERK signalling pathways activate, and nuclear-related genes of FOS change, resulting in the effect of osteogenesis on PDLSC.

We report the LD-pumped continuous-wave (CW) thin-disk Yb 3+ -doped Lu 2 O 3 laser at 1034 nm. The maximum output power is 1.17 W with a 7.8% output coupler and under a pump power of 18.6 W. Moreover, intracavity second-harmonic generation (SHG) has also been achieved with a power of 192 mW at 517 nm by using a LiB 3 O 5 (LBO) nonlinear crystal. The M 2 factors are about 1.14 and 1.28 in X and Y directions respectively. The fluctuation of the output power is about 2.7% in 4 h.

This paper investigates the use of convolutional neural networks for the purpose of image foreground extraction from a dynamic environment. The proposed solution utilises the latest developments in image segmentation using pixel-wise classification to produce foreground target extraction for real-time operations. A collection of spacecraft images were assembled for network training and evaluation. The proposed technique takes advantage of transfer learning for the stable training of a convolutional neural network classifier. The image extraction software was applied to a thermal camera video, taken by an undocking spacecraft from the International Space Station. The results show the proposed deep learning-based image extraction has advantages over traditional background subtraction methods. This investigation provides evidence that semantic segmentation using convolutional neural network can be an effective tool for spacecraft image isolation and extraction from a dynamically cluttered scene.

This paper studies an image descriptor that mimics the retina's photo receiving cell pattern. Various pattern differencing combinations and second order differencing techniques were explored. This new method shows higher precision and recall performance than the classical BRIEF and steered BRIEF descriptors.

This study investigates the rotational invariance of various image features extracted from monocular thermal and photo camera images that can be used for robot navigation. In addition to the conventional SIFT, SURF, ORB, AKAZE, and BRIEF image features, a new non-Gaussian binary feature descriptor is introduced using Levy-Laplace probability density functions. The rotational, viewpoint and noise invariance of all features are compared.

Treatments for periodontitis are not absolutely perfect, and a vaccine against Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) could become a valuable adjunct therapy for periodontitis.In this study, a vaccine of peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD) from P. gingivalis was evaluated in P. gingivalis-induced murine lesion and periodontitis models. The prevention of alveolar bone loss analysis determined by micro-computed X-ray tomography (micro-CT), and histological assays. Furthermore, the induction of immune response of mouse anti-PAD done with ELISA and Western Blot analysis.Compared with animal immunization with incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) alone, PAD group significantly inhibited (P0.05) bone resorption. ELISA and Western Blot showed that PAD induced response involving immunoglobulin G1 (Ig G1) predominantly.These results suggest that PAD could be a candidate antigen for a vaccine against P. gingivalis infection.

Background Recently, stem cells derived from inflammatory dental pulp tissues (DPSCs-IPs) have demonstrated regenerative potential, but the real effect remains to be examined. This pilot study attempted to isolate DPSCs-IPs from two patients and to evaluate the feasibility and the effect of reconstructing periodontal intrabone defects in each patient. Methods DPSCs-IPs were harvested from two patients with periodontal intrabone defects with their approval. After discussing the biological characteristics of DPSCs-IPs in each patient, DPSCs-IPs were loaded onto the scaffold material β-tricalcium phosphate and engrafted into the periodontal defect area in the root furcation. After 1, 3, and 9 months, the outcome was evaluated by clinical assessment and radiological study. Furthermore, new samples were collected and the biological characteristics of DPSCs-IPs were further studied compared with normal dental pulp stem cells. The primary cell culture success rate, cell viability, cell cycle analysis, and proliferation index were used to describe the growth state of DPSCs-IPs. In-vitro differentiation ability detection was used to further discuss the stem cell characteristics of DPSCs-IPs. Results As expected, DPSCs-IPs were able to engraft and had an effect of regeneration of new bones to repair periodontal defects 9 months after surgical reconstruction. Although the success rate of primary cell culture and growth status was slightly inhibited, DPSCs-IPs expressed comparable levels of stem cell markers as well as retaining their multidifferentiation ability. Conclusions We developed a standard procedure that is potentially safe and technological for clinical periodontal treatment using human autologous DPSCs-IPs. Trial registration According to the editorial policies, the present study is a purely observational study, so trial registration is not required.

University-industry knowledge innovation alliance, a new form of university-industry cooperation. The paper explores this kind of alliance based on actor-network theory. It builds a different nature actor-network which contains enterprise, university, institute, government, resource and the concepts to explain the alliance's mechanism. Some appropriate solutions are proposed that may be encountered in the cooperating process. It stresses that the alliance's internal network should be strengthened with the external environment, so as to improve the performance of alliance and achieve the desired goals. Index Terms -ANT, university-industry knowledge innovation alliance

We have developed an online analytical method that combines human periodontal ligament cell membrane chromatography (hPDLC/CMC) with high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC/MS) for recognizing and identifying osteoplastic active components from Coptidis Rhizoma. Retention fractions on hPDLC/CMC were enriched onto an enrichment column and the components were directly analyzed by combining a 10-port column switcher with an LC/MS system for separation and preliminary identification. Using simvastatin (SIM) as a positive control, berberine from Coptidis Rhizoma was identified as the active component which could act on the hPDLC. The MTT colorimetric assay, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and staining tests revealed that berberine could promote hPDLC growth, increase the secretion of ALP in the culture medium, and enhance the formation of mineralized nodule, thus it is a potential osteoplastic ingredient. This hPDLC/CMC-online-LC/MS method can be applied for screening active components acting on hPDLC from traditional Chinese medicines exemplified by Coptidis Rhizoma and will be of great utility in drug discovery using natural medicinal herbs as a source of leading compounds.

Four gram-negative, aerobic, motile, non-spore, forming rods with a wide pH and temperature range for growth (pH 7.0-11.0, optimum pH 8.0; 20-45°C, optimum 28°C) strains were isolated from root nodules of Sphaerophysa salsula and characterized by means of a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the four strains formed a new lineage related to the genus Rhizobium and the sequence similarities between the isolate and the most related type strain Rhizobium giardinii was 96.5%. These strains also formed a distinctive group from the reference strains for defined Rhizobium species based on housekeeping gene sequences (atpD and recA), BOX-PCR fingerprinting, phenotypic features and symbiotic properties. The representative strain CCNWGS0238(T) has DNA-DNA relatedness of less than 33.4% with the most closely related species R. giardinii. It is therefore proposed as a new species, Rhizobium sphaerophysae sp. nov., with isolate CCNWGS0238(T) (=ACCC17498(T) = HAMBI3074(T)) as the type strain.

Diameter of nanoparticles plays a vital role in tribological properties of lubricanting oil. Three kinds of nano-copper with different diameters (50nm, 65nm, 80nm) were produced using the electric explosion of metallic wire (EEW), and their diameters were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The tribological properties of the lubricating oils containing nano-copper additives were investigated using friction wear testing machine, and the wear scar morphology photographs were observed by means of continuously multiple microscope. The results show that lubricanting oil with the large diameter of 80nm copper particles and the weight percentage of 1.0% ~ 1.2% has good characteristic of extreme pressure ; while the lubricanting oil with the small diameter of 50nm copper particles and the weight percentage of 1.2% provides good properties of anti-wear and friction reducing. This has a guiding role in selecting nanooil additives.

This paper presents the design of a pose estimation method for autonomous robotic proximity operations with an uncooperative target using a single infrared camera and a simple three-dimensional model of the target. Specically, the presented method makes use of the so-called SoftPOSIT algorithm to solve the model-to-image registration problem. This particular method is found to be most useful for ranges where surface features are not well resolved, that is, from approximately 30 to 500 meters. The proposed solution is validated in preliminary numerical simulations using low-resolution CAD models of Envisat and ISS that emulate IR images, and obtained results are reported and discussed.

In this paper, a nonlinear direct adaptive output control methodology is developed to address the problem of spacecraft attitude control under large dynamics uncertainties. The main advantage of the proposed approach over other adaptive approaches for spacecraft attitude control is that it can handle significantly large inertia uncertainties, without requiring any on-line estimation of the unknown moments of inertia. Furthermore, the implementation of the controller does not require a mathematical model of the plant as the control gain adaptation mechanism relies on feedforward signals from an ideal model designed to provide a satisfactory response to the desired attitude commands, as well as on output tracking errors between the uncertain spacecraft and the ideal model. By modeling the spacecraft as a square nonlinear state-space plant through the use of the modified Rodrigues parameters allows the system to satisfy the almost striclty passive conditions, which are required to establish the formal proof of stability. The performance of the new adaptive attitude control approach is illustrated in numerical simulations for both a simple rigid-body rest-to-rest maneuver and a high-fidelity ISS free-flyer robotic capture maneuver.

To investigate the pathogenic infection and its drug resistance in expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) and its correlation with serum PSA, and provide some evidence for the systematic and normalized diagnosis and treatment of prostatitis.Three EPS swabs were collected from each of the 320 prostatis patients following measurement of the serum PSA level, 1 for bacterial culture and identification, 1 for detection of Mycoplasma and drug sensitivity, and the other for examination of Chlamydia trachomatis antigen by colloidal gold immunoblot.Totally 244 strains were isolated from the 320 EPS samples, including 188 bacterial strains (dominated by Staphylococcus and sensitive to vancomycin or linezolid) and 44 Mycoplasma and Chlamydia strains (mainly Ureaplasma urealyticum and susceptible to josamycin or doxycycline). The serum PSA level was significantly higher in the pathogen-positive than in the pathogen-negative group ([6.98 +/- 0.56] microg/L vs [2.32 +/- 0.12] microg/L, P0.05).Prostatitis may lead to the elevation of the serum PSA level and the pathogens involved vary in their resistance to different antibacterial spectrums. Therefore, appropriate and individualized antibiotic therapy should be selected according to etiological diagnosis and the results of drug sensitivity test.

The purpose of this study was to culture and identify dental pulp stem cells(DPSCs) from deciduous teeth in vitro and construct the recombinant hFOXA2 and hPDX1 lentivirus vectors and transfect the DPSCs to induce insulin-producing cells (IPCs).DPSCs were separated and cultured by enzyme digest method, and purified by limited dilution method. Flow cytometry was used to determine the surface marker expression of the DPSCs, and the ability of multiple differentiations was determined by specific staining. hFOXA2 and hPDX1 genes were amplified by PCR, and the recombinant hFOXA2 and hPDX1 lentivirus vectors were reconstructed and transfected into 293T cells by lipofectamine2000 for virus packaging. The viral infection efficiency and titer were determined through fluorescence cell count. The recombinant virus was used to infect the DPSCs cells via multiplicity of infection (MOI) and induce the DPSCs reprogramming for IPCs. Immunofluorescence staining was used to measure the expression of proinsulin, FOXA2 and PDX1. ELISA method was used to detect the insulin secretion. The data was analyzed Using SPSS13.0 software package.DPSCs were isolated and cultured successfully. Cell surface highly expressed STRO-1 (98.01%), CDl46 (98.51%), CD34 (99.54%) and CD45 (24.08%). The multi-lineage differentiation capacity into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipose was achieved. The recombinant hFOXA2 and hPDX1 lentivirus vectors were successfully constructed. Double enzyme digestion and sequencing appraisal showed that the sequence was fully consistent with GenBank retrieval. Virus packing efficiency was (96.15±0.17) % and (95.49±0.21) % respectively, and the infection titer was about 1.80±108 GTU/mL. The best MOI of the virus was 20. After inducing the cells to express proinsulin, FOXA2 and PDX1, insulin secretion volume was about 1.92 μmol/L. Compared with the uninduced group and control group, insulin secretion increased significantly (P0.01).The recombinant transcription factor virus can activate cell reprogramming mechanism, form insulin-producing cells, and can be used for gene therapy of diabetes seed cells. Supported by Science and Technology Research Program of Shaanxi Province (2009K17-06) and Science and Technology Innovation as a Whole Plan Resources Leading Industry Key Technology (Chain) Project of Shaanxi Province (2011KTCL03-24).

An eficent, one-pot procedure is reported for the synthesis of N-trifluoroacetyl adriamycin-14-valerate (AD-32, 3) from daunorubicin (1) in 35% overall yield.