Single-pixel imaging based on self-supervised conditional mask classifier-free guidance.

Reconstructing high-quality images at a low measurement rate is a pivotal objective of Single-Pixel Imaging (SPI). Currently, deep learning methods achieve this by optimizing the loss between the target image and the original image, thereby constraining the potential of low measurement values. We employ conditional probability to ameliorate this, introducing the classifier-free guidance model (CFG) for enhanced reconstruction. We propose a self-supervised conditional masked classifier-free guidance (SCM-CFG) for single-pixel reconstruction. At a 10% measurement rate, SCM-CFG efficiently completed the training task, achieving an average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 26.17 dB on the MNIST dataset. This surpasses other methods of photon imaging and computational ghost imaging. It demonstrates remarkable generalization performance. Moreover, thanks to the outstanding design of the conditional mask in this paper, it can significantly enhance the accuracy of reconstructed images through overlay. SCM-CFG achieved a notable improvement of an average of 7.3 dB in overlay processing, in contrast to only a 1 dB improvement in computational ghost imaging. Subsequent physical experiments validated the effectiveness of SCM-CFG.

Cooled infrared coaxial four-mirror system design with a low F-number.

A low F-number and 100% cold stop efficiency are beneficial for improving the performance of optical systems and have a wide range of applications in various thermal imaging scenarios. The cooled infrared coaxial four-mirror system can meet these two requirements, improve system integration, and reduce adjustment costs and difficulties. However, the secondary obstruction caused by the central hole of the third mirror will generate potential stray light. A structure model is proposed in which the primary mirror and the quaternary mirror are processed on the same mirror blank. In this model, a method is given to calculate system parameters using the obstruction ratio and magnification of each mirror. To evaluate the performance of the method, two design examples with different F-numbers (1.4, 1.0) were constructed. The influence of initial structural constraints on the exit pupil position and secondary obstruction was analyzed based on the design objectives of the examples. The aberrations were optimized by targeting the spot. In the optimization process, the incident coordinates and directions of the restricted edge field rays in the tertiary mirror and the quaternary mirror were limited to achieve control of the obstruction caused by the holes in the center of the mirrors. In the results, the RMS spot radius of the two design examples is smaller than the Airy disk radius, and the axial beam wavefront deviation RMS values are 0.026λ and 0.024λ, respectively. Moreover, the obstruction caused by the central holes of the mirrors is controlled within the given field of view. The results show that the proposed model and method can be used to design a low F-number cooled infrared coaxial four-mirror system and have good application prospects.

A Case of Postoperative Endophthalmitis Caused by Streptococcus Bovis.

PURPOSE: To report a case of postoperative endophthalmitis caused by Streptococcus bovis (S. bovis). METHODS: Retrospective case report. RESULTS: A 50-year-old healthy man presented with endophthalmitis 16 hours after silicone oil removal. Vitreous cultures remained positive for S. bovis. In addition to vitreous and anterior chamber lavage, the patient received five intravitreal injections in total. All the above aggressive measures did not effectively prevent the deterioration of the disease and the patient was discharged with a final outcome of retinal detachment and atrophia bulbi with no light perception. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of postoperative endophthalmitis caused by S. bovis.

Trifluoro-icaritin ameliorates spared nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain by inhibiting microglial activation through α7nAChR-mediated blockade of BDNF/TrkB/KCC2 signaling in the spinal cord of rats.

Neuropathic pain is still a serious and unsolved health problem. Activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) is known to modulate neuropathic pain by inhibiting microglial activation and BDNF/TrkB/KCC2 signaling. We previously identified that trifluoro-icaritin (ICTF) has an attenuated effect on spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced neuropathic pain, but its potential mechanisms remain unknown. Here, the pain-related behaviors were determined by paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), CatWalk gait analysis, rotarod test, open field test and elevated plus maze test. The expression of pain-related signal molecules was evaluated by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that ICTF (5.0 mg/kg, i.p.) successfully relieved SNI-induced mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behavior, we subsequently found there existed either positive or negative correlation between mechanical allodynia and gait parameters or rotating speed following ICTF treatment. Moreover, ICTF not only enhanced the expression of spinal α7nAChR, KCC2, CD206 and IL-10, but also decreased the levels of spinal BDNF, TrkB, CD11b, Iba-1, CD40 and IL-1ß in SNI rats. Conversely, α7nAChR antagonist α-Bgtx (I.T.) effectively reversed the inhibitory effects of ICTF on SNI rats, resulting in a remarkable improvement of mechanical allodynia, activation of microglia. and suppression of α7nAChR-mediated BDNF/TrkB/KCC2 signaling. Additionally, exogenous BDNF (I.T.) dramatically abrogated both blockade of BDNF/TrkB/KCC2 cascade and alleviation of mechanical allodynia by ICTF treatment. Altogether, the study highlighted that ICTF could relieve SNI-induced neuropathic pain by suppressing microglial activation via α7nAChR-mediated inhibition of BDNF/TrkB/KCC2 signaling in the spinal cord, suggesting that ICTF may be served as a possible painkiller against neuropathic pain.

Physiological and Transcriptome Analyses of CaCl2 Treatment to Alleviate Chilling Injury in Pineapple.

The post-harvest ripening of pineapples can be effectively postponed by refrigerated storage. Nevertheless, internal browning (IB) frequently appears in pineapples after refrigerated storage during the course of the shelf life at room temperature, which is known as chilling injury (CI). In this study, the chilling injury of pineapple fruit was induced by a low temperature (6 °C) and transferred to normal-temperature storage; the best concentration of 50 µmol/L of CaCl2 was selected by the IB appearance and electrical conductivity. Fruit quality, reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidants, and transcription factors were investigated. The physiological data results indicated that pineapples treated with 50 µmol/L of CaCl2 maintained fruit quality, decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS), and enhanced the antioxidant activity of fruits, alleviating internal browning (IB) symptoms in pineapple fruit. The expressions of related genes were also consistent with the physiological changes by the transcriptome data analysis. In addition, we focused on some related metabolic pathways, including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, MAPK pathway, plant hormone, plant-pathogen interaction, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TAC), and fatty acid biosynthesis. We performed integrative analyses of transcriptome data combined with a series of physiology and experimental analyses on the internal browning of pineapples, which will be of great significance to extending the shelf life of pineapples through molecular biology in the future.

Assessment of the effect of perineural dexmedetomidine on oxidative stress during peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion: a randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the addition of dexmedetomidine to ropivacaine on oxidative stress during transversus abdominis plane (TAP) and rectus sheath (RS) blockades for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter insertion. METHODS: Sixty patients with ESRD undergoing PD catheter insertion to receive left ultrasound-guided TAP and RS blockades were randomly divided into two groups: the dexmedetomidine plus ropivacaine group (25 mL of 0.3% ropivacaine + 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine) and the ropivacaine group (25 mL of 0.3% ropivacaine). Primary outcomes were oxidative stress marker levels during the procedure. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients (30 patients in each group) were evaluated. Compared with the ropivacaine group, the dexmedetomidine plus ropivacaine group had significantly lower serum malondialdehyde levels (P < 0.05) and increased glutathione peroxidase (P < 0.01) and superoxide dismutase levels at 24 h after the procedure (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The addition of 1 µg/kg of dexmedetomidine to ropivacaine for ultrasound-guided TAP and RS blockades could inhibit oxidative stress in patients with ESRD undergoing PD catheter insertion. Trial registration This study was registered at www.chictr.org.cn on June 7, 2021 (ChiCTR2100047050).

SlBEL11 affects tomato carotenoid accumulation by regulating SlLCY-b2.

Extensive data have demonstrated that carotenoid accumulation in tomato fruit is influenced by environmental cues and hormonal signals. However, there is insufficient information on the mechanism of its transcriptional regulation, as many molecular roles of carotenoid biosynthetic pathways remain unknown. In this work, we found that the silence of the BEL1-like family transcription factor (TF) BEL1-LIKE HOMEODOMAIN 11 (SlBEL11) enhanced carotenoid accumulation in virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) analysis. In its RNA interference (RNAi) transgenic lines, a significant increase in the transcription level for the lycopene beta cyclase 2 (SlLCY-b2) gene was detected, which encoded a key enzyme located at the downstream branch of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. In Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), SlBEL11 protein was confirmed to bind to the promoter of SlLCY-b2 gene. In addition, the dual-luciferase reporter assay showed its intrinsic transcriptional repression activity. Collectively, our findings added a new member to the carotenoid transcriptional regulatory network and expanded the functions of the SlBEL11 transcription factor.

Trifluoro-icaritin alleviates mechanical hypersensitivity and improves motor coordination and balance in rats with spared nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is still one of the unsolved public health problems worldwide. Although the current reagents can attenuate neuropathic pain to a certain extent, their clinical application is very limited owing to larger toxicity and serious side effects. Trifluoro-icaritin (ICTF) has been documented to possess profound anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities, but whether ICTF exerts an anti-nociceptive effect on neuropathic pain remains unknown. Here, a rat model of spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced neuropathic pain was used. SNI rats were administrated with ICTF (i.p.) once daily lasting for 21 days, and subsequently the pain-related behaviors were evaluated by applying mechanical or thermal pain threshold, CatWalk gait parameter, and rotarod test on day 1 before and day 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 21 after SNI surgery, respectively. The results showed that ICTF (0.5 mg/kg, 1.5 mg/kg, and 5.0 mg/kg, i.p.) treatment alleviated SNI-induced mechanical allodynia but not thermal hyperalgesia in a dose-dependent manner. After administration of ICTF at the most effective dose of 5.0 mg/kg to SNI rats, CatWalk gait analysis revealed that ICTF not only significantly enhanced gait parameters including max contact max intensity, max intensity, print area, and stand time but also decreased the swing time; Rotarod test further exhibited that ICTF could effectively prolong the time on rod and increase the rotating speed in SNI rats. Additionally, following ICTF (5.0 mg/kg) treatment of SNI rats for 21 consecutive days, the max contact max intensity was found to be positively correlated with the rotating speed. Taken together, ICTF successfully ameliorates mechanical hypersensitivity and improves the motor coordination and balance in SNI rats, suggesting that ICTF may be exploited as a potential candidate in the management of neuropathic pain.

Neuroprotective effects of four different fluids on cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury in rats through stabilization of the blood-brain barrier.

Protecting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a potential strategy to treat cerebral ischaemic injury. We previously reported that hypertonic sodium chloride hydroxyethyl starch 40 (HSH) treatment alleviates brain injury induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). However, other fluids, including 20% mannitol (MN), 3% hypertonic sodium chloride (HTS) and hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 solution (HES), have the same effect as HSH in cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury (CI/RI) remains unclear. The present study evaluated the protective effects of these four fluids on the BBB in tMCAO rats. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to six groups. A CI/RI rat model was established by tMCAO for 120 min followed by 24 h of reperfusion. The sham and tMCAO groups were treated with normal saline (NS), whereas the other four groups were treated with the four fluids. After 24 h of reperfusion, neurological function, brain oedema, brain infarction volume, permeability of the BBB, cortical neuron loss and protein and mRNA expression were assessed. The four fluids (especially HSH) alleviated neurological deficits and decreased the infarction volume, brain oedema, BBB permeability and cortical neuron loss induced by tMCAO. The expression levels of GFAP, IL-1ß, TNF-α, MMP-9, MMP-3, AQP4, MMP-9, PDGFR-ß and RGS5 were decreased, whereas the expression levels of laminin and claudin-5 were increased. These data suggested that small-volume reperfusion using HSH, HES, MN and HTS ameliorated CI/RI, probably by attenuating BBB disruption and postischaemic inflammation, with HSH exerting the strongest neuroprotective effect.