Exploring the Role of Video Playback Visual Cues in Object Retrieval Tasks.

Searching for objects is a common task in daily life and work. For augmented reality (AR) devices without spatial perception systems, the image of the object's last appearance serves as a common search assistance. Compared to using only images as visual cues, videos capturing the process of object placement can provide procedural guidance, potentially enhancing users' search efficiency. However, complete video playback capturing the entire object placement process as visual cues can be excessively lengthy, requiring users to invest significant viewing time. To explore whether segmented or accelerated video playback can still assist users in object retrieval tasks effectively, we conducted a user study. The results indicated that when video playback is covering the first appearance of the object's destination to the object's final appearance (referred to as the destination appearance, DA) and playing at normal speed, search time and cognitive load were significantly reduced. Subsequently, we designed a second user study to evaluate the performance of video playback compared to image cues in object retrieval tasks. The results showed that combining the DA playback starting point with images of the object's last appearance further reduced search time and cognitive load.

Exploring Metaphorical Transformations of a Safety Boundary Wall in Virtual Reality.

Current virtual reality (VR) devices enable users to visually immerse themselves in the virtual world, contributing to their limited awareness of bystanders' presence. To prevent collisions when bystanders intrude into VR users' activity area, it is necessary to intuitively alert VR users to the intrusion event and the intruder's position, especially in cases where bystanders intrude from the side or behind the VR user. Existing intruder awareness cues fail to intuitively present the intrusion event in such cases. We propose a novel intruder awareness cue called "BrokenWall" by applying a metaphor of "a wall breached by invading soldiers" to the VR user's safety boundary wall. Specifically, BrokenWall refers to a safety boundary wall with a gap appearing in front of a VR user and rotating, guiding the user's attention toward an intruder coming from the side or behind the VR user. We conducted an empirical study (N = 30) comparing BrokenWall with existing awareness cue techniques, Halo and Radar. Halo employs a sphere to represent the intruder, with the size indicating proximity and the position reflecting the direction. Radar employs a radar map to visualize the intruder's position. The results showed that the BrokenWall awareness cue not only significantly reduces the time needed for users to detect an intruder but also has superior performance in subjective ratings. Based on our findings, we have established a design space for an interactive safety boundary wall to facilitate interactions between VR users and bystanders.

Establishment and Validation of a Novel MRI Radiomics Feature-Based Prognostic Model to Predict Distant Metastasis in Endemic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Purpose: We aimed to establish a prognostic model based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics features for individual distant metastasis risk prediction in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: Regression analysis was applied to select radiomics features from T1-weighted (T1-w), contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (T1C-w), and T2-weighted (T2-w) MRI scans. All prognostic models were established using a primary cohort of 518 patients with NPC. The prognostic ability of the radiomics, clinical (based on clinical factors), and merged prognostic models (integrating clinical factors with radiomics) were identified using a concordance index (C-index). Models were tested using a validation cohort of 260 NPC patients. Distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were calculated by using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by using the log-rank test. Results: In the primary cohort, seven radiomics prognostic models showed similar discrimination ability for DMFS to the clinical prognostic model (P=0.070-0.708), while seven merged prognostic models displayed better discrimination ability than the clinical prognostic model or corresponding radiomics prognostic models (all P<0.001). In the validation cohort, the C-indices of seven radiomics prognostic models (0.645-0.722) for DMFS prediction were higher than in the clinical prognostic model (0.552) (P=0.016 or <0.001) or in corresponding merged prognostic models (0.605-0.678) (P=0.297 to 0.857), with T1+T1C prognostic model (based on Radscore combinations of T1 and T1C Radiomics models) showing the highest C-index (0.722). In the decision curve analysis of the validation cohort for all prognostic models, the T1+T1C prognostic model displayed the best performance. Conclusions: Radiomics models, especially the T1+T1C prognostic model, provided better prognostic ability for DMFS in patients with NPC.

MRI-based radiomics models can improve prognosis prediction for nasopharyngeal carcinoma with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the prognostic value of imaging features and related models in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients that received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically reviewed the data of 110 NPC patients who received radiotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The patients were randomly divided into the training cohort (n = 88) and the verification cohort (n = 22). The imaging data collected in this study were screened via Pyramidics and used to construct prediction models based on histology and clinical nomographs. The models' accuracy was evaluated via calibration curves and the consistency index (C-index). In addition, we also explored the correlation between radiomics expression patterns, quantitative histological characteristics, and clinical data and then constructed a model to predict the prognosis of NPC. RESULTS: The models that integrated radiomics contours with all the clinical data were superior to those based on the clinical data alone (C-index 0.746 vs. C-index 0.814, respectively) and the calibration curves showed good consistency. The heat map showed that the radiomics expression pattern and selected histological characteristics were correlated with the clinical stage, T stage, and N stage (p < 0.05), and no radiomics feature was associated with lactate dehydrogenase expression, lymphocyte count, or mononuclear cell count. CONCLUSION: MRI-based radiomics can significantly improve the efficacy of traditional TNM staging and clinical data in predicting the progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with advanced NPC, which may provide an opportunity for precision medicine.

Long non­coding RNA HOXA11­AS promotes cell proliferation and metastasis in human breast cancer.

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently occurring malignancies in female cancers worldwide, however, its detailed mechanism of tumorigenesis remains to be elucidated. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have previously been demonstrated to be important in multiple cancers, including breast cancer. The present study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the effects of the novel Lnc RNA HOXA11­AS, on cell proliferation and metastasis in breast cancer. The data revealed that the relative transcript level of HOXA11­AS was upregulated in vivo and in vitro in models of breast cancer. Knockdown of HOXA11­AS in MDA­MB­231 and MDA­MB­436 breast cancer cell lines inhibited the formation of cell colonies and arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. Depletion of HOXA11­AS using two specific short interfering (si)RNAs against HOXA11­AS (siHOXA11­AS­1 and siHOXA11­AS­2) additionally suppressed the cell proliferative rate. Furthermore, transwell assays and wound­healing analysis revealed that siRNA transfection inhibited cell migration and invasion by ~50% in the two cell lines. The results of the present study demonstrated the oncogenic role of HOXA11­AS in breast cancer, providing novel clues for the future clinical diagnosis and treatment of early stage breast cancer patients.

Application of NIR and MIR spectroscopy for rapid determination of antioxidant activity of Radix Scutellariae from different geographical regions.

INTRODUCTION: The beneficial health effects of traditional Chinese medicines are often attributed to their potent antioxidant activities, usually established in vitro. However, these wet chemical methods for determining antioxidant activities are time-consuming, laborious, and expensive. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to establish a rapid determination of antioxidant activity of Radix Scutellariae using near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Antioxidant capabilities were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The total flavonoid contents (TFCs) of Radix Scutellariae were measured by the aluminium chloride colorimetric method. The same sample was then scanned using NIR and MIR spectroscopy. Chemometrics analysis using partial least-squares (PLS) regression was performed to establish the models for predicting the antioxidant activities of Radix Scutellariae. RESULTS: A better predictive performance was achieved using PLS models based on NIR data. The determination coefficient (R(2)) and the residual predictive deviation (RPD) for the validation set were 0.9298 and 2.84 for DPPH, and 0.9436 and 2.66 for TFCs, respectively. MIR-PLS algorithms gave a slightly lower reliability (R(2) = 0.9090 and 0.9374, RPD = 2.01 and 2.42, for DPPH and TFC, respectively). Very comparable results for ORAC were obtained with the two methods. CONCLUSION: The developed spectroscopic method can be successfully applied in high-throughput screening of the antioxidant capability of Radix Scutellariae samples. It can also be a viable and advantageous alternative to laborious chemical procedures.

Development and application of a UPLC method for studying influence of phenological stage on chemical composition of Scutellariae Radix.

The influence of phenological stages on chemical composition of Scutellariae Radix (SR), the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, was investigated. In order to deal with a large quantity of samples, a rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) was first developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of five flavonoids, namely baicalin (baicalein-7-O-ß-D-glucuronide, BG), wogonoside (wogonin-7-O-ß-D-glucuronide, WG), baicalein (BA), wogonin (WO), oroxylin A (OA) in the samples. Good linearity was obtained in the range of 0.742-389 ng (r 2  > 0.9999) and satisfactory recoveries were obtained (101.72-104.56 %) with the RSD value below 5.0 %, for all analytes. Also, extraction conditions were optimized to obtain maximum extractive contents of the five flavonoids. Content variations of the five active ingredients in 225 samples from three different origins were investigated in five major phenological periods. It was found that the effect of phenology on the contents of the tested five flavonoids was similar in the three origins. The contents of flavone O-glycosides, i.e., BG and WG accumulated to the highest level in leaf expansion period, while flavonoid aglycones, i.e., BA, WO and OA appeared a maximum concentration in flowering period. The UPLC method established in this study was rapid and of good accuracy, repeatability and resolution, and hence can assist in the quality control of SR.