Neural Novel Actor: Learning a Generalized Animatable Neural Representation for Human Actors.

We propose a new method for learning a generalized animatable neural human representation from a sparse set of multi-view imagery of multiple persons. The learned representation can be used to synthesize novel view images of an arbitrary person and further animate them with the user's pose control. While most existing methods can either generalize to new persons or synthesize animations with user control, none of them can achieve both at the same time. We attribute this accomplishment to the employment of a 3D proxy for a shared multi-person human model, and further the warping of the spaces of different poses to a shared canonical pose space, in which we learn a neural field and predict the person- and pose-dependent deformations, as well as appearance with the features extracted from input images. To cope with the complexity of the large variations in body shapes, poses, and clothing deformations, we design our neural human model with disentangled geometry and appearance. Furthermore, we utilize the image features both at the spatial point and on the surface points of the 3D proxy for predicting person- and pose-dependent properties. Experiments show that our method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-arts on both tasks.

A Modified Shielding and Rapid Transition DDES Model for Separated Flows.

In this paper, the major problems associated with detached eddy simulation (DES) (namely, modeled stress depletion (MSD) and slowing of the RANS to LES transition (RLT)) are discussed and reviewed, and relevant improvements are developed. A modified version for the delayed DES (DDES) method with adaptive modified adequate shielding and rapid transition is proposed; this is called MSRT DDES. The modified shielding strategy can be adjusted adaptively according to the local flow conditions: keeping the RANS behavior in the whole boundary layer when there is no resolved turbulence, and weakening the shielding function when resolved turbulence exists in the mainstream over the boundary layer. This strategy can significantly ameliorate the MSD in the RANS boundary layer, regardless of the mesh refinement, and avoid excessive shielding in the fully developed resolved turbulence that may otherwise delay the development of the separated and reattached flow. Three cases are designed to test the modified DDES, namely, complete shielding in the RANS zone of a boundary layer (the zero-pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer with the refined mesh), modified adaptive improved shielding with a rapid transition (the flow over a hump), and the overall performance in a complex 3D separation (the corner separation in a compressor cascade). The results show that the modified shielding function is more physical than earlier proposals compared to shielding functions, and according to detailed comparisons of the wall skin friction coefficients, velocity profiles, total pressure-loss coefficients, entropy production analyses, and so on, the MSD and RLT problems are moderately alleviated by the MSRT DDES.

MiRNA-520a-3p combined with folic acid conjugated Fe2O3@PDA multifunctional nanoagents for MR imagine and antitumor gene-photothermal therapy.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary malignant bone tumor that occurs mainly in adolescents. Researchers are devoting to develop combination therapy methods in a multifunctional nanoplatform for the treatment of osteosarcoma. The results of previous research have shown that up-regulation of miR-520a-3p could induce anticancer effects in osteosarcoma. In order to improve the effect of gene therapy (GT), we attempted to carry miR-520a-3p in a multifunctional vector for comprehensive therapy. Fe2O3is a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast that is widely used as a drug delivery agent. When coated with polydopamine (PDA), it can also be used as a photothermal therapy (PTT) agent (Fe2O3@ PDA). To deliver nanoagents targeted to a tumor site, folic acid (FA) conjugated with Fe2O3@PDA was manufactured as FA-Fe2O3@PDA. FA was chosen as the target molecule to enhance utilization and reduce toxicity of nanoparticles. However, the therapeutic efficacy of FA-Fe2O3-PDA combined with miR-520a-3p has not yet been studied. In this study, we synthesized FA-Fe2O3@PDA-miRNA and investigated the potential of combining PDA regulated PTT and miR-520a-3p regulated GT to kill osteosarcoma cells. The results indicated that down-regulation of interleukin 6 receptor (IL6R) by miR-520a-3p and the photothermal ability of PDA could induce satisfactory anticancer effects in osteosarcoma, and the curative ratio was better than that used alone PTT or GT. Moreover, as a kind ofT2magnetic contrast, miRNA-Fe2O3@PDA-FA can be used for MRI. These findings indicated that miRNA-Fe2O3@PDA-FA is an effective anti-tumor nanovector for PTT combined with GT.