Rhizobial-induced phosphatase GmPP2C61A positively regulates soybean nodulation.

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) is crucial for legumes, providing them with the nitrogen necessary for plant growth and development. Nodulation is the first step in the establishment of SNF. However, the determinant genes in soybean nodulation and the understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms governing nodulation are still limited. Herein, we identified a phosphatase, GmPP2C61A, which was specifically induced by rhizobia inoculation. Using transgenic hairy roots harboring GmPP2C61A::GUS, we showed that GmPP2C61A was mainly induced in epidermal cells following rhizobia inoculation. Functional analysis revealed that knockdown or knock-out of GmPP2C61A significantly reduced the number of nodules, while overexpression of GmPP2C61A promoted nodule formation. Additionally, GmPP2C61A protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm and exhibited conserved phosphatase activity in vitro. Our findings suggest that phosphatase GmPP2C61A serves as a critical regulator in soybean nodulation, highlighting its potential significance in enhancing symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Umbilical cord blood-derived exosomes attenuate dopaminergic neuron damage of Parkinson's disease mouse model.

BACKGROUND: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a rich source of multifunctional stem cells characterized by low immunogenicity. Recent research in the fields of aging and regenerative medicine has revealed the potential of human umbilical cord blood-derived exosomes (UCB-Exos) in promoting wound healing, anti-aging, and regeneration. However, their role in neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Parkinson's disease (PD), remains unexplored. This study investigates the potential therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of UCB-Exos on PD. METHODS: Large extracellular vesicles (LEv), Exos, and soluble fractions (SF) of human UCB plasma were extracted to investigate their effects on motor dysfunction of the MPTP-induced PD mouse model and identify the key components that improve PD symptoms. UCB-Exos were administered by the caudal vein to prevent or treat the PD mouse model. The motor function and pathological markers were detected. Differentially expressed gene and KEGG enrichment pathways were screened by transcriptome sequence. MN9D and SH-SY5Y cells were cultured and evaluated for cell viability, oxidative stress, cell cycle, and aging-related indexes by qRT-PCR, western blot, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry. The protein expression level of the MAPK p38 and ERK1/2 signaling pathway was detected by western blot. RESULTS: We observed that LEv, Exos, and SF all exhibited potential in ameliorating motor dysfunction in MPTP-induced PD model mice, with UCB-Exos demonstrating the most significant effect. UCB-Exos showed comparable efficacy in preventing and treating motor dysfunction, cognitive decline, and substantia nigra pathological damage in PD mice. Further investigations revealed that UCB-Exos could potentially alleviate oxidative damage, aging and degeneration, and energy metabolism disorders in neurons. Transcriptome sequencing results corroborated that genes differentially expressed due to UCB-Exos were primarily enriched in the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, Dopaminergic synapse, and MAPK signaling pathway. We also observed that UCB-Exos significantly inhibited the hyperphosphorylation of the MAPK p38 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a comprehensive evaluation of UCB-Exos on the neuroprotective effects and suggests that inhibition of hyperphosphorylation of MAPK p38 and ERK 1/2 signaling pathways by regulating transcription levels of HspB1 and Ppef2 may be the key mechanism for UCB-Exos to improve PD-related pathological features.

Porphyromonas gingivalis OMVs promoting endothelial dysfunction via the STING pathway in periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis outer membrane vesicles (Pg-OMVs) in chronic periodontitis and explore the underlying mechanism involved. METHODS: In vitro, Pg-OMVs were incubated with Ea.hy926 (vessel endothelial cells, ECs) to evaluate their effects on endothelial functions and to investigate the underlying mechanism. The effects of endothelial dysfunction on MG63 osteoblast-like cells were verified using an indirect co-culture method. For in vivo studies, micro-CT was conducted to identify alveolar bone mass. Immunofluorescence staining was conducted to confirm the levels of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in the blood vessel and the number of Runx2+ cells around the alveolar bone. RESULTS: Pg-OMVs were endocytosed by ECs, leading to endothelial dysfunction. The cGAS-STING-TBK1 pathway was activated in ECs, which subsequently inhibited MG63 migration and early osteogenesis differentiation. In vivo, Pg-OMVs promoted alveolar bone resorption, increased STING levels in the blood vessel, and decreased Runx2+ cells around the alveolar bone. CONCLUSIONS: Pg-OMVs caused endothelial dysfunction and activated the cGAS-STING-TBK1 signal cascade in ECs, thereby impairing ECs-mediated osteogenesis. Furthermore, Pg-OMVs aggregated alveolar bone loss and altered the blood vessel-mediated osteogenesis with elevated STING.

Spontaneous regression of secondary vitreoretinal lymphoma after diagnostic vitrectomy: case report.

PURPOSE: Our purpose is to report a patient with secondary intraocular mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) who experienced spontaneous regression after diagnostic vitrectomy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and imaging features of the case. Multimodal imaging, including fundus photograph, optical coherence tomography, fundus fluorescein angiography and ultrasound scan was presented. RESULTS: A 71-year-old female presented with a subretinal lesion temporal to macula and scattered multifocal creamy lesions deep to retina in her left eye. Optical coherence tomography of the left eye showed multifocal nodular hyper-reflective signals between the Bruch's membrane and RPE. She had a history of gastric MALT lymphoma. Diagnostic vitrectomy was performed. IL-10 level of aqueous was 187.7pg/ml. Cytology, gene rearrangement and flow cytometry of the vitreous were inconclusive. Systemic evaluation was normal. Secondary vitreoretinal MALT lymphoma was considered. Interestingly, her subretinal lesions regressed gradually without any chemotherapy. And IL-10 level of aqueous declined to 64.3pg/ml. CONCLUSIONS: Secondary vitreoretinal MALT lymphoma is extremely rare. Spontaneous regression of intraocular lymphoma does occur.

NEDD4L inhibits migration, invasion, cisplatin resistance and promotes apoptosis of bladder cancer cells by inactivating the p62/Keap1/Nrf2 pathway.

PURPOSE: This study identified the function of neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated 4-like (NEDD4L) on bladder cancer (BLCA). METHODS: NEDD4L expression in BLCA patients was scrutinized. The function of NEDD4L on the viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion of BLCA cells was evaluated by cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry and Transwell assays. The effect of NEDD4L on the cisplatin (DDP) resistance of the DDP-resistant BLCA cells was explored. The influence of NEDD4L on the p62/Keap1/Nrf2 pathway activity in BLCA cells was tested by Western blot. Rescue experiments were implemented to verify whether NEDD4L regulated BLCA cell malignant behavior by mediating the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway activity via p62. The effect of NEDD4L on the growth and the p62/Keap1/Nrf2 pathway activity in vivo was researched in xenograft tumor nude mice models. RESULTS: The down-regulated NEDD4L in BLCA patients was associated with unfavorable survival. NEDD4L suppressed the viability (inhibition rate 57.1%/49.0%), migration (inhibition rate 49.7%/77.1%), invasion (inhibition rate 50.6%/75.7%), promoted the apoptosis of T24/5637 cells (promotion rate 243.8%/201.9%), reduced IC 50 of DDP-resistant T24/5637 cells from 132.2/101.8 to 57.81/59.71 µM, respectively, and inactivated the p62/Keap1/Nrf2 pathway in T24/5637 cells. p62 up-regulation partially abrogated the inhibition of NEDD4L on the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway activity, the malignant behavior of BLCA cells, and the DDP resistance of DDP-resistant BLCA cells. NEDD4L overexpression inhibited the tumor growth and the p62/Keap1/Nrf2 pathway activity in vivo in BLCA. CONCLUSION: NEDD4L inhibits the progression of BLCA by inactivating the p62/Keap1/Nrf2 pathway. It may be an effective target for BLCA treatment.

A Fast and Low-Power Detection System for the Missing Pin Chip Based on YOLOv4-Tiny Algorithm.

In the current chip quality detection industry, detecting missing pins in chips is a critical task, but current methods often rely on inefficient manual screening or machine vision algorithms deployed in power-hungry computers that can only identify one chip at a time. To address this issue, we propose a fast and low-power multi-object detection system based on the YOLOv4-tiny algorithm and a small-size AXU2CGB platform that utilizes a low-power FPGA for hardware acceleration. By adopting loop tiling to cache feature map blocks, designing an FPGA accelerator structure with two-layer ping-pong optimization as well as multiplex parallel convolution kernels, enhancing the dataset, and optimizing network parameters, we achieve a 0.468 s per-image detection speed, 3.52 W power consumption, 89.33% mean average precision (mAP), and 100% missing pin recognition rate regardless of the number of missing pins. Our system reduces detection time by 73.27% and power consumption by 23.08% compared to a CPU, while delivering a more balanced boost in performance compared to other solutions.

Identification of the Microbial Transformation Products of Secoisolariciresinol Using an Untargeted Metabolomics Approach and Evaluation of the Osteogenic Activities of the Metabolites.

Secoisolariciresinol (SECO) is one of the major lignans occurring in various grains, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. The gut microbiota plays an important role in the biotransformation of dietary lignans into enterolignans, which might exhibit more potent bioactivities than the precursor lignans. This study aimed to identify, synthesize, and evaluate the microbial metabolites of SECO and to develop efficient lead compounds from the metabolites for the treatment of osteoporosis. SECO was fermented with human gut microbiota in anaerobic or micro-aerobic environments at different time points. Samples derived from microbial transformation were analyzed using an untargeted metabolomics approach for metabolite identification. Nine metabolites were identified and synthesized. Their effects on cell viability, osteoblastic differentiation, and gene expression were examined. The results showed that five of the microbial metabolites exerted potential osteogenic effects similar to those of SECO or better. The results suggested that the enterolignans might account for the osteoporotic effects of SECO in vivo. Thus, the presence of the gut microbiota could offer a good way to form diverse enterolignans with bone-protective effects. The current study improves our understanding of the microbial transformation products of SECO and provides new approaches for new candidate identification in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Reconfigurable reflective multifunction OAM metasurface based on spin-decoupling.

This Letter develops a spin-decoupled reconfigurable reflective orbital angular momentum (OAM) metasurface (MTS). The reconfigurability is realized by switching the feed among left-hand circular polarization (LHCP), right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), and linear polarization (LP) incidences, and the reconfigurable design principle is provided. This Letter also proposes a design method for the desired energy ratio between the co-polarized and cross-polarized beams. Compared with published multifunction MTSs, the designed MTSs have the following advantages: multi-polarizations, arbitrary beam numbers and modes, composite waveform (pencil and OAM beams), high aperture efficiency (21.1%, 14.6%, 6.63% for RHCP, LP, and LHCP incidences, respectively), high purity (above 92.41%), required energy distribution ratio, and reconfigurability. The MTSs have potential prospects in high-capacity wireless communications.

Temporal trends in ocular manifestations of HIV/AIDS patients in the past 18 years in a tertiary hospital in China.

PURPOSE: To investigate the ocular manifestation changes in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patents in a tertiary eye clinic in China over the past 18 years. METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 264 HIV/AIDS patients (528 eyes) were recruited at the Department of Ophthalmology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, from 2001 to 2018. Patients underwent ophthalmic examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp microscopy, and indirect ophthalmoscopy, and completed a registration form including demographic characteristics, medical history, and immune status data. Kruskal-Wallis test or Mann-Whitney test was used to compare continuous variables, and Pearson's chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test was performed to compare categorical variables. RESULTS: Regarding demographic characteristics, there was a significant increasing trend in male patients, sexual transmission, and HIV/AIDS-syphilis coinfection (all P < 0.001). For systemic features, more patients received cART, and fewer patients had systemic syndromes after 2003 (P < 0.001). For ocular manifestations, there were no significant changes between time intervals in CMVR and HIV retinopathy patients (P = 0.149, P = 0.643), but the proportion of patients with uveitis increased from 1.14% to 19.32% (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: CMVR was the most common ocular compilation in HIV/AIDS patients, followed by uveitis and HIV retinopathy. The proportion of patients with CMVR and HIV retinopathy was stable over time, but the proportion of patients with uveitis showed a significant increasing trend. Therefore, immediate ophthalmic examination should be performed at the point of care or as soon as possible after entry into the health care system.

Study on the public psychological states and its related factors during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in some regions of China.

Background: As COVID-19 occurs suddenly and is highly contagious, this will inevitably cause people anxiety, depression, etc. The study on the public psychological states and its related factors during the COVID-19 outbreak is of practical significance. Methods: 600 valid questionnaires were received. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used. Results: Females' anxiety risk was 3.01 times compared to males (95% CI 1.39-6.52). Compared with people below 40 years old, the anxiety risk of people above 40 years old was 0.40 times (95% CI 0.16-0.99). SDS results indicated that the difference between education level and occupation was statistically significant (p = 0.024, 0.005). Compared to people with a master's degree or above, those with a bachelor's degree group had a depression risk of 0.39 times (95% CI 0.17-0.87). Compared with professionals, industrial service workers and other staff had a depression risk of 0.31 times (95% CI 0.15-0.65) and 0.38 times (95% CI 0.15-0.93). Conclusions: 600 questionnaire participants were psychologically stable. Non-anxiety and non-depression rates were 93.67% and 82.83%, respectively. There were anxiety in 6.33% and depression in 17.17%. Therefore, we should pay attention to the psychological states of the public.

Selecting the Best Elements from Previous Kidney Tumor Scoring Systems to Restructure Efficient Predictive Models for Surgery Type.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to select the best elements from previous scoring systems to restructure efficient predictive models for surgery type. METHODS: Sixteen elements were selected from 7 systems (RENAL, PADUA, DAP, ZS, NephRO, ABC, and CI). They were divided into 6 categories (tumor max. size, exophytic/endophytic, correlation with collecting system or sinus, tumor location, contact situation with the parenchyma, invasion depth). Three elements, selected from 3 different categories, were integrated to establish a total of 320 new models. According to AUC rank, optimized models were developed, and these models were divided into 3 sections. An analysis of the distribution of the 6 categories was made to explore the predictive capacities of the models. RESULTS: A total of 166 consecutive patients were included. Seventy-five patients underwent radical nephrectomy operations. The AUC of the 7 systems ranged from 0.81 to 0.844. Three optimized models (AUC 0.88) were developed to predict surgery type. These optimized models were composed of DAP (D), PADUA, (sinus), and ABC; DAP (D), RENAL (N), and ABC; NePhRO (O), PADUA (UCS), and ABC. Two categories ("exophytic/endophytic," p < 0.001; "correlation with collecting system or sinus," p = 0.001) were nonuniformly distributed. CONCLUSIONS: Seven systems held good predictive power for surgery type. Three optimized models were developed. "Correlation with collecting system or sinus" is a critical factor for predicting surgery type.

Low-density point eating algorithm for surface reconstruction from dense scans.

We present a low-density point eating algorithm for surface reconstruction from dense scans. First, the density map for each scan is estimated and the boundary densities are down-weighted. Subsequently, the poorly scanned low-density overlapping points are eaten up based on a user-specified threshold. Finally, the overlapping areas are thinned by using the moving least-squares operator and the homogeneous points are weighted averaged. The new algorithm can extract smooth but detailed point set surfaces that are as close as possible to the ground truth. The good performance of the new algorithm is demonstrated by comparison with several advanced surface reconstruction algorithms.

Exposure-fusion-based dot-grid image acquisition and recognition for sheet metal strain analysis.

Dot-grid images are usually captured for grid strain analysis during sheet metal forming. Due to the strong reflective characteristic of the metallic surfaces, the recorded dot-grid images often have poor quality, low positioning accuracy, and low recognition rate. Therefore, an exposure-fusion-based dot-grid image acquisition and recognition approach is proposed. First, multiple dot-grid images are captured at different exposure levels. Subsequently, the recorded multi-exposure dot-grid images are fused into a new high-quality dot-grid image based on exposure fusion technology. Finally, a dot-grid image recognition procedure is developed to detect the dot-grids in the new dot-grid image. Both synthetic and real dot-grid images were tested to verify the performance of the novel approach. When synthetic dot-grid images were tested, the maximum positioning error was up to 6.044 pixels if they were recognized in the traditional way, whereas the maximum positioning error was reduced to 0.132 pixels if the novel approach was adopted. When real dot-grid images were tested, the lowest recognition rate is only 50.52% if they were recognized in the traditional way. Nevertheless, the recognition rate can reach about 91% if the novel approach was employed. These experimental results show the superiorities of the novel approach.

[Association of polymorphisms of miRNA biogenesis related genes DICER and DROSHA with azoospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of polymorphisms of miRNA biogenesis related genes DICER and DROSHA with azoospermia. METHODS: For 330 patients with primary azoospermia and 282 fertile male controls, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of DICER rs3742330 and DROSHA rs10719 were determined with a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. RESULTS: For the SNP rs3742330, the frequency of A allele was higher among azoospermia patients compared with the controls (72.0% vs.64.4%, P=0.004), and so was the frequency of AA genotype (53.0% vs. 41.8%, P=0.027, OR=1.829, 95%CI: 1.071-3.124). On the other hand, the allelic and genotypic frequencies of rs10719 did not differ between the two groups (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Polymorphisms of rs3742330 of the DICER gene, particularly the AA genotype, may be associated with azoospermia.

[Clinical study of vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane peeling for idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the result of vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane (ERM) peeling for idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane (IMEM). METHODS: Clinical data of 51 patients (51 eyes) of IMEM who underwent vitrectomy with ERM peeling were retrospectively investigated. All the patients were examined by visual acuity, slit lamp, fundus under mydriasis, optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and after the surgery. The 3-18 months follow-up were included, mean (5.8±3.2) months. All the macular ERM were removed successfully. Paired-sample t test was used to study the visual acuity and macular foveal thickness before and after surgery. The Pearson correlation analysis was used to study the correlation between visual acuity and macular foveal thickness. RESULTS: In the 51 patients, the best visual acuity improved from 4.25±0.34 to 4.65±0.23 postoperatively. The difference was statistically significant (t=-9.012, P=0.000), and the mean foveomacular thickness decreased from (432.7 ± 91.7) to (333.3 ± 66.1)µm postoperatively, the difference was statistically significant (t=10.565, P=0.000). There was negative correlation between visual acuity and mean foveomacular thickness (r=- 0.452, P=0.001), and it was obvious postoperatively (r=-0.602, P=0.000). The increase of visual acuity was strongly correlated with the decline of mean foveomacular thickness (r=0.382, P=0.006). Twelve eyes have developed cataract in 3 to 6 months after vitrectomy which affect the visual acuity. All of them went phacoemulsification and intraocular lenses(IOL) implantation and visual acuity after surgery had an obviously improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Vitrectomy with ERM peeling can improve visual acuity and ease macular edema. And it is a safe and effective therapy to treat patients of IMEM.

[Research progress in primary intraocular lymphoma].

Primary intraocular lymphoma (PIOL) is a rare and fatal ocular malignancy. The diagnosis and treatment of PIOL is usually challenging as it often masquerades as uveitis. PIOL demonstrates characteristic features on fundus autofluorescence (FAF), fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). These methods although not as a basis for diagnosis of PIOL, but can be used as the evaluation of PIOL progress and prognosis. Eye tissue biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of PIOL. The methods to obtain ocular fluid include anterior chamber paracentesis, fine needle aspiration biopsies of the vitreous and diagnostic pars plana vitrectomy. Cytology, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, cytokine analysis and molecular pathology are often used in combination to improve the diagnosis rate of PIOL. While current management of PIOL mainly involves local intraocular chemotherapy, combination therapy protocol yields effective control and prevention of PIOL relapse. This article reviewed recent research progress to improve the clinical understanding of PIOL.

[Identification of null and duplicated alleles for forensic DYS549, DYS527 and DYS459 in male infertility population].

DYS549, DYS527, and DYS459 loci, located on the azoospermia factor (AZF) region and widely used in forensic and pedigree analysis, may be specifically altered in infertile patients, which will obscure the result of individual identification using Y-STR (Y chromosome short tandem repeat). In this study, we determined the AZF polymorphism by STS(-/-) (sequence tagged site) and DAZ, CDY1 gene copy numbers, and screened the samples by 14 Y-STR loci to disclose the unusual genotype of Y-STR in male infertility population. The 240 infertile males including non-obstructive azoospermia, severe oligozoospermia and congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens (CBVAD) were analyzed with a modified multiplex PCR system for AZF microdeletion STSs. AZF microdeletions were found in 40 cases (16.67%) (AZFa deletion, two cases; AZFb deletion, two cases; AZFc deletion, 30 cases; AZFb+c deletion, six cases). Further screening by the 14 Y-STR loci in samples with microdeletions, we found DYS549 allelic loss in all the cases with AZFb deletion, DYS527 and DYS459 allelic loss in all the cases with AZFc deletion, DYS549, DYS527, and DYS459 allelic loss in all the cases with AZFb+c deletion. Ten patients (4.17%) with AZFc partial duplication (one CBVAD case, two non-obstructive azoospermia cases, seven severe oligozoospermia cases) were found by DAZ and CDY1 gene dosage analysis. In conclusion, the unusual patterns of DYS549, DYS527, and DYS459 are caused by genetic defects rather than experimental bias. Revealing the locus heterogeneity in male infertility population can enrich the Y-STR database and assist in interpreting abnormal STR genotype in forensic DNA testing.

[Progression of pharmacologic vitreolysis research].

It is now well recognized that vitreomacular adhesion (VMA) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various retinopathy. Traction released through pars plana vitrectomy was used before, but it is limited by some problems such as incomplete vitreoretinal separation, vitreous remnant and other operative complications. While another new method-Pharmacologic Vitreolysis provided us a new method for persistent pathologic VMA treatment. This review aims to introduce the vitreous molecular structure, principles of posterior vitreous detachment and progression of pharmacologic vitreolysis method study.

[Ocular manifestations of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the ocular manifestations of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. METHODS: Retrospective study. 372 patients were diagnosed as acquired immune deficiency syndrome from April 1997 to December 2012. The examination included best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, mydriatic fundus examination and colored fundus photography. Systemic examination including CD4(+)T- lymphocyte count and HIV viral load test before and after HAART treatment. RESULTS: Fifty three eyes (33 patients) were diagnosed as cytomegalovirus retinitis, among which 16 eyes (10 patients) were later presented with immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after highly active anti-retroviral therapy. There are 9 males and 1 female, aged from 24 to 57 years old, with a mean of (39.0 ± 10.6) years old. The duration of HAART was 2 weeks to 2 years, with a mean of 5.3 months. All of the 16 eyes had decreased visual acuity, and 2 eyes had floaters. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was light perception in 2 eyes, hand move to 0.05 in 5 eyes, 0.1 to 0.5 in 6 eyes, 0.6 to 1.0 in 3 eyes. 8 eyes appeared active iridocyclitis and 5 eyes appeared inactive iridocyclitis, 5 eyes had lens opacity, 9 eyes had vitreitis, 1 eye had pale optic disc, 2 eyes had optic disc edema, 4 eyes were found retinal detachment. CONCLUSION: The improvement of the understanding of the ocular manifestations of IRIS is essential for diagnosis and treatment.

Multi-grained visual pivot-guided multi-modal neural machine translation with text-aware cross-modal contrastive disentangling.

The goal of multi-modal neural machine translation (MNMT) is to incorporate language-agnostic visual information into text to enhance the performance of machine translation. However, due to the inherent differences between image and text, these two modalities inevitably suffer from semantic mismatch problems. To tackle this issue, this paper adopts a multi-grained visual pivot-guided multi-modal fusion strategy with cross-modal contrastive disentangling to eliminate the linguistic gaps between different languages. By using the disentangled multi-grained visual information as a cross-lingual pivot, we can enhance the alignment between different languages and improve the performance of MNMT. We first introduce text-guided stacked cross-modal disentangling modules to progressively disentangle image into two types of visual information: MT-related visual and background information. Then we effectively integrate these two kinds of multi-grained visual elements to assist target sentence generation. Extensive experiments on four benchmark MNMT datasets are conducted, and the results demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves significant improvement over the other state-of-the-art (SOTA) approaches on all test sets. The in-depth analysis highlights the benefits of text-guided cross-modal disentangling and visual pivot-based multi-modal fusion strategies in MNMT. We release the code at https://github.com/nlp-mnmt/ConVisPiv-MNMT.