Optimizing Automated Optical Inspection: An Adaptive Fusion and Semi-Supervised Self-Learning Approach for Elevated Accuracy and Efficiency in Scenarios with Scarce Labeled Data.

In the field of automatic optical inspection (AOI), this study presents innovative strategies to enhance object detection accuracy while minimizing dependence on large annotated datasets. We initially developed a defect detection model using a dataset of 3579 images across 32 categories, created in collaboration with a major Taiwanese panel manufacturer. This model was evaluated using 12,000 ambiguously labeled images, with improvements achieved through data augmentation and annotation refinement. To address the challenges of limited labeled data, we proposed the Adaptive Fused Semi-Supervised Self-Learning (AFSL) method. This approach, designed for anchor-based object detection models, leverages a small set of labeled data alongside a larger pool of unlabeled data to enable continuous model optimization. Key components of AFSL include the Bounding Box Assigner, Adaptive Training Scheduler, and Data Allocator, which together facilitate dynamic threshold adjustments and balanced training, significantly enhancing the model's performance on AOI datasets. The AFSL method improved the mean average precision (mAP) from 43.5% to 57.1% on the COCO dataset and by 2.6% on the AOI dataset, demonstrating its effectiveness in achieving high levels of precision and efficiency in AOI with minimal labeled data.

Polysaccharides from Basella alba Protect Post-Mitotic Neurons against Cell Cycle Re-Entry and Apoptosis Induced by the Amyloid-Beta Peptide by Blocking Sonic Hedgehog Expression.

The amyloid-beta peptide (Aß) is the neurotoxic component in senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains. Previously we have reported that Aß toxicity is mediated by the induction of sonic hedgehog (SHH) to trigger cell cycle re-entry (CCR) and apoptosis in post-mitotic neurons. Basella alba is a vegetable whose polysaccharides carry immunomodulatory and anti-cancer actions, but their protective effects against neurodegeneration have never been reported. Herein, we tested whether polysaccharides derived from Basella alba (PPV-6) may inhibit Aß toxicity and explored its underlying mechanisms. In differentiated rat cortical neurons, Aß25-35 reduced cell viability, damaged neuronal structure, and compromised mitochondrial bioenergetic functions, all of which were recovered by PPV-6. Immunocytochemistry and western blotting revealed that Aß25-35-mediated induction of cell cycle markers including cyclin D1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and histone H3 phosphorylated at Ser-10 (p-Histone H3) in differentiated neurons was all suppressed by PPV-6, along with mitigation of caspase-3 cleavage. Further studies revealed that PPV-6 inhibited Aß25-35 induction of SHH; indeed, PPV-6 was capable of suppressing neuronal CCR and apoptosis triggered by the exogenous N-terminal fragment of sonic hedgehog (SHH-N). Our findings demonstrated that, in the fully differentiated neurons, PPV-6 exerts protective actions against Aß neurotoxicity via the downregulation of SHH to suppress neuronal CCR and apoptosis.

Protein Kinase C-Delta Mediates Cell Cycle Reentry and Apoptosis Induced by Amyloid-Beta Peptide in Post-Mitotic Cortical Neurons.

Amyloid-beta peptide (Aß) is a neurotoxic constituent of senile plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The detailed mechanisms by which protein kinase C-delta (PKCδ) contributes to Aß toxicity is not yet entirely understood. Using fully differentiated primary rat cortical neurons, we found that inhibition of Aß25-35-induced PKCδ increased cell viability with restoration of neuronal morphology. Using cyclin D1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and histone H3 phosphorylated at Ser-10 (p-Histone H3) as the respective markers for the G1-, S-, and G2/M-phases, PKCδ inhibition mitigated cell cycle reentry (CCR) and subsequent caspase-3 cleavage induced by both Aß25-35 and Aß1-42 in the post-mitotic cortical neurons. Upstream of PKCδ, signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT)-3 mediated PKCδ induction, CCR, and caspase-3 cleavage upon Aß exposure. Downstream of PKCδ, aberrant neuronal CCR was triggered by overactivating cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (CDK5) via calpain2-dependent p35 cleavage into p25. Finally, PKCδ and CDK5 also contributed to Aß25-35 induction of p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) in cortical neurons. Together, we demonstrated that, in the post-mitotic neurons exposed to Aßs, STAT3-dependent PKCδ expression triggers calpain2-mediated p35 cleavage into p25 to overactivate CDK5, thus leading to aberrant CCR, PUMA induction, caspase-3 cleavage, and ultimately apoptosis.

Lensless facial recognition with encrypted optics and a neural network computation.

Face recognition plays an essential role for the biometric authentication. Conventional lens-based imagery keeps the spatial fidelity with respect to the object, thus, leading to the privacy concerns. Based on the point spread function engineering, we employed a coded mask as the encryption scheme, which allows a readily noninterpretable representation on the sensor. A deep neural network computation was used to extract the features and further conduct the identification. The advantage of this data-driven approach lies in that it is neither necessary to correct the lens aberration nor revealing any facial conformity amid the image formation chain. To validate the proposed framework, we generated a dataset with practical photographing and data augmentation by a set of experimental parameters. The system has the capability to adapt a wide depth of field (DoF) (60-cm hyperfocal distance) and pose variation (0 to 45 deg). The 100% recognition accuracy on real-time measurement was achieved without the necessity of any physics priors, such as the encryption scheme.

Effectiveness of Positioning in Unconscious Adults During Nasogastric Intubation on Correct Placement and Intubation Time: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Nasogastric intubation is a common procedure in hospitals that causes adverse outcomes if performed incorrectly. There is currently insufficient guidance for patient positioning, which increases the success of nasogastric intubation at the bedside. Therefore, a systematic review with a meta-analysis was performed to determine the effectiveness of changing an unconscious adults' positions compared with the supine position to improve the correct placement of a nasogastric tube, intubation time, and complications. The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and CINAHL databases were searched from inception to April 2019 for randomized controlled trials. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the quality of eligible studies. Cochrane Review Manager 5.3 software was used to analyze the data. A total of 288 articles were obtained in the literature search, 10 of which were included in the analysis. Most of the included trials were at low risk of bias. All postures were significantly effective, though neck flexion had the highest success rate (odds ratio = 4.87, 95% confidence interval [2.48, 9.57], Z = 4.6, p < .00001, I2 = 0%) for nasogastric intubation. In terms of the time required for the procedure, compared with the usual posture, although the total effects were significant ( MD =-10.33, 95% confidence interval [-15.38, -5.29], Z = 4.02, p < .00001, I2 = 98%), only neck flexion and lifting of the larynx reduced the time. The meta-analysis suggests that patient positioning improves the success rate of nasogastric intubation and increases safety. Finally, the authors developed a procedural instruction sheet to aid practitioners with nasogastric intubation.

3D display by binary computer-generated holograms with localized random down-sampling and adaptive intensity accumulation.

In this paper, we proposed a new technique to realize a high-quality three-dimensional (3D) display by using binary holograms. First, we applied a localized random down-sampling (LRDS) mask to down-sample the object function and generated a binary CGH by direct sign-thresholding. Subsequently, we devised the display by adaptive intensity accumulation (AIA). In AIA, multiple CGHs of the same object are generated. However, selective sampling points of the same scene are removed according to the reconstructed image of previous binary CGHs as the second and more binary CGHs are generated. Finally, these holograms are sequentially displayed on a fast spatial light modulator, a digital micromirror device (DMD). Thus, a high-quality 3D image is reconstructed without artifacts and speckle noise.

Absolute frequency of cesium 6S-8S 822 nm two-photon transition by a high-resolution scheme.

We present an alternative scheme for determining the frequencies of cesium (Cs) atom 6S-8S Doppler-free transitions. With the use of a single electro-optical crystal, we simultaneously narrow the laser linewidth, lock the laser frequency, and resolve a narrow spectrum point by point. The error budget for this scheme is presented, and we prove that the transition frequency obtained from the Cs cell at room temperature and with one-layer µ-metal shielding is already very near that for the condition of zero collision and zero magnetic field. We point out that a sophisticated linewidth measurement could be a good guidance for choosing a suitable Cs cell for better frequency accuracy.

Investigating Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Epitaxially Strained CoFe Thin Films on a Flexible Mica.

This study investigates the crystal structure, epitaxial relation, and magnetic properties in CoFe thin films deposited on a flexible mica substrate. The epitaxial growth of CoFe thin films was successfully achieved by DC magnetron sputtering, forming three CoFe(002) domains exhibiting four-fold symmetry on the mica substrate. A notable achievement of this work was the attainment of the highest anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) value reported to date on a flexible substrate. Additionally, it was observed that the magnetic characteristics of the CoFe films on the flexible mica substrate display reversibility upon strain release. More importantly, the AMR effect of epitaxial CoFe films on flexible mica shows lesser dependence on the crystalline orientation and remains the same under different bending states. These findings demonstrate the potential of utilizing CoFe films on flexible substrates to develop wearable magnetoresistance sensors with diverse applications.

Roles of Id1/HIF-1 and CDK5/HIF-1 in cell cycle reentry induced by amyloid-beta peptide in post-mitotic cortical neuron.

One neurotoxic mechanism of amyloid-beta peptide (Aß), the major component of senile plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, is to trigger cell cycle reentry in fully differentiated neurons. However, the detailed underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using Aß25-35-treated primary rat cortical neurons as the experimental system, in the present study we tested whether Aß-induced inhibitor of differentiation-1 (Id1)/hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α) and cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (CDK5) contribute to cell cycle reentry in fully differentiated post-mitotic neurons. We found that Id1-induced HIF-1α mediated Aß25-35-dependent expression of the cell cycle markers cyclin D1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), both colocalized with microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) + cells, indicative of cell cycle reentry in the mature neurons. Aß25-35 also enhanced p35 cleavage to p25 without affecting CDK5 expression. The CDK5 inhibitor roscovitine and the siRNA targeting CDK5 both suppressed Aß25-35-dependent HIF-1α expression and cell cycle reentry. Intriguingly, Aß25-35-induced Id1 repressed p25 production while CDK5/p25 reciprocally inhibited Id1 expression, despite the observation that both Id1 and CDK5/p25 acted upstream of HIF-1α. These results demonstrated that both Id1/HIF-1 and CDK5/HIF-1 contribute to Aß-induced cell cycle reentry in post-mitotic neurons; furthermore, Id1 and CDK5/p25 reciprocally suppress expression of each other.

A neuroprotective sulfone of marine origin and the in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of an analogue.

Our continuing effort of searching bioactive substances from the Formosan soft coral Cladiella australis has led to the isolation of a bioactive substance austrasulfone (1), which possesses significant neuroprotective activities. A straightforward synthesis of 1 was achieved by a two-step reaction sequence. Dihydroaustrasulfone alcohol (3), the synthetic precursor of 1, not only exhibited in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, but also showed potent therapeutic ability in the treatment of neuropathic pain, atherosclerosis, and multiple sclerosis in rats.

Eunicellin-based diterpenoids, australins A-D, isolated from the soft coral Cladiella australis.

The EtOAc extract of a Taiwanese soft coral, Caldiella australis, yielded four new eunicellin-based diterpenoids, australins A-D (1-4). The chemical structures of these metabolites were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic (including 1D and 2D NMR) analyses and by comparison of their NMR spectral data with those of related metabolites. Metabolite 2 was found to possess a moderate cytotoxic activity against selected breast and liver cancer cell lines.