Sign language recognition based on dual-path background erasure convolutional neural network.

Sign language is an important way to provide expression information to people with hearing and speaking disabilities. Therefore, sign language recognition has always been a very important research topic. However, many sign language recognition systems currently require complex deep models and rely on expensive sensors, which limits the application scenarios of sign language recognition. To address this issue, based on computer vision, this study proposed a lightweight, dual-path background erasing deep convolutional neural network (DPCNN) model for sign language recognition. The DPCNN consists of two paths. One path is used to learn the overall features, while the other path learns the background features. The background features are gradually subtracted from the overall features to obtain an effective representation of hand features. Then, these features are flatten into a one-dimensional layer, and pass through a fully connected layer with an output unit of 128. Finally, use a fully connected layer with an output unit of 24 as the output layer. Based on the ASL Finger Spelling dataset, the total accuracy and Macro-F1 scores of the proposed method is 99.52% and 0.997, respectively. More importantly, the proposed method can be applied to small terminals, thereby improving the application scenarios of sign language recognition. Through experimental comparison, the dual path background erasure network model proposed in this paper has better generalization ability.

The thalamic reticular nucleus orchestrates social memory.

Social memory has been developed in humans and other animals to recognize familiar conspecifics and is essential for their survival and reproduction. Here, we demonstrated that parvalbumin-positive neurons in the sensory thalamic reticular nucleus (sTRNPvalb) are necessary and sufficient for mice to memorize conspecifics. sTRNPvalb neurons receiving glutamatergic projections from the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) transmit individual information by inhibiting the parafascicular thalamic nucleus (PF). Mice in which the PPCCaMKII→sTRNPvalb→PF circuit was inhibited exhibited a disrupted ability to discriminate familiar conspecifics from novel ones. More strikingly, a subset of sTRNPvalb neurons with high electrophysiological excitability and complex dendritic arborizations is involved in the above corticothalamic pathway and stores social memory. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed the biochemical basis of these subset cells as a robust activation of protein synthesis. These findings elucidate that sTRNPvalb neurons modulate social memory by coordinating a hitherto unknown corticothalamic circuit and inhibitory memory engram.

New insights into the role of mild hypoxia in regulating neural stem cell characteristics.

The proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs) is precisely regulated by extracellular and extracellular environmental factors. In situ hypoxia, one of the key factors involved in the regulation of NSC characteristics, has attracted increasing amounts of attention. Numerous studies have demonstrated that hypoxia can significantly promote the formation of neurospheres and the proliferation of NSCs in vitro and that intermittent hypoxia can promote the proliferation of endogenous NSCs in vivo. In this paper, the effects of different concentrations of oxygen on NSC proliferation and differentiation both in vivo and in vitro are reviewed, and the potential applications of hypoxia-preconditioned NSCs, as well as research progress and challenges in the treatment of central nervous system diseases. are further summarized. Here, the critical role of oxygen in the neurogenesis of NSCs is emphasized, and insights into the use of hypoxia to regulate NSC characteristics are provided.

Orthogonal Spatial Binary Coding Method for High-Speed 3D Measurement.

Temporal phase unwrapping based on single auxiliary binary coded pattern has been proven to be effective for high-speed 3D measurement. However, in traditional spatial binary coding, it often leads to an imbalance between the number of periodic divisions and codewords. To meet this challenge, a large codewords orthogonal spatial binary coding method is proposed in this paper. By expanding spatial multiplexing from 1D to 2D orthogonal direction, it goes beyond the traditional 8 codewords to 27 codewords at three-level periodic division. In addition, a novel full-period connected domain segmentation technique based on local localization is proposed to avoid the time-consuming global iterative erosion and complex anomaly detection in traditional methods. For the decoding process, a purely spatial codewords recognition and a spatial-temporal hybrid codewords recognition methods are established to better suppress the percentage offset caused by static defocusing and dynamic motion, respectively. Obviating the need for intricate symbol recognition, the decoding process in our proposed method encompasses a straightforward analysis of statistical distribution. Building upon the development of special spatial binary coding, we have achieved a well-balance between low periodic division and large codewords for the first time. The experimental results verify the feasibility and validity of our proposed whole image processing method in both static and dynamic measurements.

Kaempferol attenuates inflammation in lipopolysaccharide-induced gallbladder epithelial cells by inhibiting the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Kaempferol (KPR), a flavonoid compound found in various plants and foods, has garnered attention for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. In preliminary studies, KPR can modulate several signaling pathways involved in inflammation, making it a candidate for treating cholecystitis. This study aimed to explore the effects and mechanisms of KPR on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced human gallbladder epithelial cells (HGBECs). To assess the impact of KPR on HGBECs, the HGBECs were divided into control, KPR, LPS, LPS + KPR, and LPS + UDCA groups. Cell viability and cytotoxicity were evaluated by MTT assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, respectively, and concentrations of KPR (10-200 µM) were tested. LPS-induced inflammatory responses in HGBECs were to create an in vitro model of cholecystitis. The key inflammatory markers (IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α) levels were quantified using ELISA, The modulation of the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway was measured by western blot using specific antibodies against pathway components (p-IκBα, IκBα, p-p65, p65, p-JNK, JNK, p-ERK, ERK, p-p38, and p38). The cell viability and LDH levels in HGBECs were not significantly affected by 50 µM KPR, thus it was selected as the optimal KPR intervention concentration. KPR increased the viability of LPS-induced HGBECs. Additionally, KPR inhibited the inflammatory factors level (IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α) and protein expression (iNOS and COX-2) in LPS-induced HGBECs. Furthermore, KPR reversed LPS-induced elevation of p-IκBα/IκBα, p-p65/p65, p-JNK/JNK, p-ERK/ERK, and p-p38/p38 ratios. KPR attenuates the LPS-induced inflammatory response in HGBECs, possibly by inhibiting MAPK/NF-κB signaling.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram Model to Predict Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Objectives: Polysomnography was class I test for who was suspected of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which would cost lots of time and money. This study aimed to develop a nomogram model mainly based on oxygen and blood routine indicators to predict OSA. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 685 patients with suspected OSA at our hospital. Multivariate analysis was used to construct a nomogram. The performance of the nomogram was assessed using calibration and discrimination. Results: The multivariate analysis identified age, gender, body mass index, mean pulse oxygen saturation, percent nighttime with oxygen saturation less than 90%, red blood cell, hematocrit, and red blood cell distribution width SD as significant factors (P < .05). A nomogram was created for the prediction of OSA using these clinical parameters and was internally validated using a bootstrapping method. Our nomogram model showed good discrimination and calibration in terms of predicting OSA, and had a C-index of 0.935 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.917-0.954] according to the internal validation. Discrimination and calibration in the validation group were also good (C-index, 0.957; 95% CI, 0.930-0.984). Conclusion: The newly developed nomogram can effectively help physicians make better clinical decisions, which may save a lot of time and costs.

miR-122-3p targets UBE2I to regulate the immunosuppression of liver cancer and the intervention of Liujunzi formula.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Liujunzi formula has been used to treat liver cancer in China for many years, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. We previously found that decreased expression of miR-122-3p was associated with liver cancer. In this study, we aimed to explore the target of miR-122-3p and the effect of the Liujunzi formula on miR-122-3p and its downstream events in liver cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Bioinformatics pinpointed potential targets of miR-122-3p. The actual target was confirmed by miRNA mimic/inhibitor transfections and a dual-luciferase reporter assay. RNA-seq looked at downstream genes impacted by this target. Flow cytometry checked for changes in T cell apoptosis levels after exposing them to liver cancer cells. Gene expression was measured by RT-qPCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Cell experiments found the Liujunzi extract (LJZ) upregulated miR-122-3p and in a dose-dependent manner. Bioinformatics analysis found UBE2I was a potential target of miR-122-3p, which was validated through experiments using miRNA mimics/inhibitors and a dual-luciferase reporter assay. RNA-seq data implicated the NF-κB pathway as being downstream of the miR-122-3p/UBE2I axis, further confirmed by forcing overexpression of UBE2I. Bioinformatic evidence suggested a link between UBE2I and T cell infiltration in liver cancer. Given that the NF-κB pathway drives PD-L1 expression, which can inhibit T cell infiltration, we investigated whether PD-L1 is a downstream effector of miR-122-3p/UBE2I. This was corroborated through mining public databases, UBE2I overexpression studies, and tumor-T cell co-culture assays. In addition, we also confirmed that LJZ downregulates UBE2I and NF-κB/PD-L1 pathways through miR-122-3p. LJZ also suppressed SUMOylation in liver cancer cells and protected PD-1+ T cells from apoptosis induced by co-culture with tumor cells. Strikingly, a miR-122-3p inhibitor abrogated LJZ's effects on UBE2I and PD-L1, and UBE2I overexpression rescued the LJZ-mediated effects on NF-κB and PD-L1. CONCLUSIONS: miR-122-3p targets UBE2I, thereby suppressing the NF-κB signaling cascade and downregulating PD-L1 expression, which potentiates anti-tumor immune responses. LJZ bolsters anti-tumor immunity by modulating the miR-122-3p/UBE2I/NF-κB/PD-L1 axis in liver cancer cells.

Identification and scoring of conservation gaps in wetlands of China's coastal provinces: Implications for extending protected areas.

Wetlands in China's coastal provinces are strategically positioned along migratory flyways for waterbirds, serving as essential habitats and stopover sites due to the expansive land area and abundant wetland resources they offer. This study aimed to introduce a simplified index system to enable rapid assessment and prioritization of unprotected areas for wetlands in China's coastal provinces. A spatial analysis was conducted, combining wetland distribution and existing protected areas data and spatial extent of wetlands extracted by remote sensing data. Results indicate substantial gaps in coverage, covering an area of 108.33 × 104 ha, with 76% being natural wetlands. Over half of these gaps are identified as high-value wetlands with significant ecological functions. The uneven distribution of unprotected wetlands reflects a tension between economic development and wetland conservation. Our findings support the expansion of the existing coastal wetland protected areas' coverage, as well as protecting critical habitats in conservation gaps, and establishing of a network-based waterbird protection system. This research contributes to informed decision-making and policy in wetlands' conservation planning.

Pro-tumorigenic activity of PYCR1 in gastric cancer through regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling.

Background: The primary objective of this investigation was to assess the impact of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1 (PYCR1) on the progression of gastric cancer (GC), specifically focusing on tumor growth and metastatic potential. Methods: Surgical specimens from patients with different stages of GC were assayed for PYCR1 expression using immunohistochemistry. PYCR1 expression was manipulated by depletion or overexpression approaches in GC cells, and these cells were applied to explore the functional roles of PYCR1. Expression of apoptosis- and metastasis-related markers was quantified through quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. Results: Higher PYCR1 expression was ascertained in surgical specimens from patients with GC as compared to noncancerous adjacent tissues. Additionally, PYCR1 overexpression in GC tissues was linked to adverse clinical outcomes. The depletion of PYCR1 in GC cells resulted in a pronounced reduction in proliferation, the induction of apoptosis, and the attenuation of invasion and metastasis. Conversely, its ectopic expression notably augmented proliferation, restricted apoptosis, and stimulated invasion and metastasis. In addition, the knockdown of PYCR1 resulted in a significant elevation in the activation of caspase 3, a key protein involved in apoptosis. This depletion also led to a decrease in the activation or expression of proteins associated with metastasis, such as phosphorylated (p)-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), p-AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT), and snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (Snail). Additionally, it resulted in an upregulation of E-cadherin expression. Conversely, the overexpression of PYCR1 notably increased the levels of p-PI3K, p-AKT, and Snail, while simultaneously reducing E-cadherin expression. Conclusion: PYCR1, by activating PI3K/AKT signaling, assumes a crucial role in governing malignant characteristics of GC cells, including proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. These findings underscore the promising potential of PYCR1 as a diagnostic biomarker and a target for tailored therapeutic interventions in patients with GC.

SUMF1 overexpression promotes tumorous cell growth and migration and is correlated with the immune status of patients with glioma.

BACKGROUND: Glioma is a prevalent type of malignant tumor. To date, there is a lack of literature reports that have examined the association between sulfatase modifying factor 1 (SUMF1) and glioma. METHODS: The levels of SUMF1 were examined, and their relationships with the diagnosis, prognosis, and immune microenvironment of patients with glioma were investigated. Cox and Lasso regression analysis were employed to construct nomograms and risk models associated with SUMF1. The functions and mechanisms of SUMF1 were explored and verified using gene ontology, cell counting kit-8, wound healing, western blotting, and transwell experiments. RESULTS: SUMF1 expression tended to increase in glioma tissues. SUMF1 overexpression was linked to the diagnosis of cancer, survival events, isocitrate dehydrogenase status, age, and histological subtype and was positively correlated with poor prognosis in patients with glioma. SUMF1 overexpression was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis. SUMF1-related nomograms and high-risk scores could predict the outcome of patients with glioma. SUMF1 co-expressed genes were involved in cytokine, T-cell activation, and lymphocyte proliferation. Inhibiting the expression of SUMF1 could deter the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioma cells through epithelial mesenchymal transition. SUMF1 overexpression was significantly associated with the stromal score, immune cells (such as macrophages, neutrophils, activated dendritic cells), estimate score, immune score, and the expression of the programmed cell death 1, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4, CD79A and other immune cell marker. CONCLUSION: SUMF1 overexpression was found to be correlated with adverse prognosis, cancer detection, and immune status in patients with glioma. Inhibiting the expression of SUMF1 was observed to deter the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. The nomograms and risk models associated with SUMF1 could predict the prognosis of patients with glioma.

PRRC2B modulates oligodendrocyte progenitor cell development and myelination by stabilizing Sox2 mRNA.

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) differentiate into myelin-producing cells and modulate neuronal activity. Defects in OPC development are associated with neurological diseases. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) contributes to neural development; however, the mechanism by which m6A regulates OPC development remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that PRRC2B is an m6A reader that regulates OPC development and myelination. Nestin-Cre-mediated Prrc2b deletion affects neural stem cell self-renewal and glial differentiation. Moreover, the oligodendroglia lineage-specific deletion of Prrc2b reduces the numbers of OPCs and oligodendrocytes, causing hypomyelination and impaired motor coordination. Integrative methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, RNA sequencing, and RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing analyses identify Sox2 as the target of PRRC2B. Notably, PRRC2B, displaying separate and cooperative functions with PRRC2A, stabilizes mRNA by binding to m6A motifs in the coding sequence and 3' UTR of Sox2. In summary, we identify the posttranscriptional regulation of PRRC2B in OPC development, extending the understanding of PRRC2 family proteins and providing a therapeutic target for myelin-related disorders.

Spartina alterniflora invasion decouples multiple elements in coastal wetland soils.

Deciphering the biogeochemical coupling of multiple elements in soils could better mechanistic understanding of ecosystem stability response to the alien invasion. The coupling of 45 elements in soils from wetlands covered by Spartina alterniflora (Sa) was compared with that in soils covered by native Phragmites australis (Pa) in coastal regions of China. Results showed that S. alterniflora invasion not only significantly reshaped geochemical enrichment and dispersion states, but also decoupled the coupling of multiple elements in soils compared with Pa. Atomic mass emerged as the primary factor governing the coupling of multiple elements, of which a significantly positive correlation exhibited between atomic mass with elemental coupling in Pa, but no such relation was observed in SaThe coupling of lighter elements was more susceptible to and generally enhanced by the invasion of S. alterniflora compared to the heavier, of which carbon, iron (Fe), and cadmium (Cd) had the highest susceptibility. Besides atomic mass, biological processes (represented by soil organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur), interactions between sea and land (represented by salinity and pH), and their combination explained 17 %, 10 %, and 13 % variation in the coupling of multiple elements, respectively. The present work confirmed that S. alterniflora invasion was the important factor driving soil multi-element cycling and covariation in coastal wetlands.

Fabrication and characterization of salidroside W/O/W emulsion with sodium alginate.

Salidroside (Sal), the main bioactive substance in Rhodiola rosea, is a promising functional food component with a wide range of pharmacological effects, but its biological activity is challenging to sustain due to its short half-life, low oral bioavailability, and susceptibility to environmental factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium alginate (SA) concentration on the construction of W/O/W emulsion in the protection of Sal. With the escalation of SA concentrations, the range of droplet size distribution was smaller and the droplets were more uniform. When the concentration of SA was 2 %, the average droplet size reached 9.1 ± 0.1 µm, and the encapsulation efficiency of Sal was 77.8 ± 1.8 %. Moreover, the double emulsion with 2 % SA was the most stable for 28 days at 4 °C since the oil droplets were embedded in the network structure of SA.

Unveiling out-of-loop attosecond timing jitter precision in Ti:sapphire mode-locked lasers with an optical heterodyne technique.

The out-of-loop timing jitter exhibited in free-running Ti:sapphire mode-locked lasers with attosecond resolution is demonstrated using an optical heterodyne technique. To assess the feasibility of the experiment and discrimination signal properties, numerical simulations were conducted for Ti:sapphire mode-locked lasers. For accurately characterizing the genuine phase noise exhibited by Ti:sapphire mode-locked lasers, out-of-loop measurements were conducted, and a straightforward yet improved optical heterodyne setup was employed, allowing simultaneous low-bandwidth locking and out-of-loop timing jitter measurements with two Ti:sapphire mode-locked lasers. The out-of-loop phase noise floor for a single mode-locked laser reaches -203.47 d B c/H z, assuming a 10 GHz carrier frequency. Additionally, the out-of-loop integrated timing jitter is 11.9 a s from 10 kHz to the Nyquist frequency (50 M H z).

A multi-branch convolutional neural network for snoring detection based on audio.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with various health complications, and snoring is a prominent characteristic of this disorder. Therefore, the exploration of a concise and effective method for detecting snoring has consistently been a crucial aspect of sleep medicine. As the easily accessible data, the identification of snoring through sound analysis offers a more convenient and straightforward method. The objective of this study was to develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) for classifying snoring and non-snoring events based on audio. This study utilized Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) as a method for extracting features during the preprocessing of raw data. In order to extract multi-scale features from the frequency domain of sound sources, this study proposes the utilization of a multi-branch convolutional neural network (MBCNN) for the purpose of classification. The network utilized asymmetric convolutional kernels to acquire additional information, while the adoption of one-hot encoding labels aimed to mitigate the impact of labels. The experiment tested the network's performance by utilizing a publicly available dataset consisting of 1,000 sound samples. The test results indicate that the MBCNN achieved a snoring detection accuracy of 99.5%. The integration of multi-scale features and the implementation of MBCNN, based on audio data, have demonstrated a substantial improvement in the performance of snoring classification.

Effect of black wolfberry anthocyanin and maltitol on the gelation and microstructural properties of curdlan/gellan gum hybrid gels.

BACKGROUND: Laboratory scale experiments have shown that curdlan and gellan gum gelled together as curdlan/gellan gum (CG) hybrid gels showed better gel properties than the individual curdlan and gellan gum. In this study, CG and black wolfberry anthocyanin (BWA), CG and maltitol (ML) hybrid gels were constructed using CG hybrid gel as matrix. The effects of BWA or ML on the gel properties and microstructure of CG hybrid gels were investigated and a confectionery gel was developed. RESULTS: The presence of BWA increased the storage modulus (G') value of CG at 0.1 Hz, whereas ML had little effect on the G' value of CG. The addition of BWA (5 g L-1 ) and ML (0.3 mol L-1 ) increased the melting and gelling temperatures of CG hybrid gels to 42.4 °C and 34.1 °C and 44.2 °C and 33.2 °C, respectively. Meanwhile, the relaxation time T22 in CG-ML and CG-BWA hybrid gels was reduced to 91.96 and 410.27 ms, indicating the strong binding between BWA and CG, ML and CG. The hydrogen bond interaction between BWA or ML and CG was confirmed by the shift in the hydroxyl stretching vibration peak. Moreover, the microstructures of CG-ML and CG-BWA hybrid gels were denser than that of CG. In addition, confectionery gel containing CG-BWA-ML has good chewing properties. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that the incorporation of BWA or ML could improve the structure of CG hybrid gels and assign a sustainability potential for the development of confectionery gels based on CG complex. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Acute exposure of microwave impairs attention process by activating microglial inflammation.

BACKGROUND: Attention provides the foundation for cognitions, which was shown to be affected by microwave (MW) radiation. With the ubiquitous of microwaves, public concerns regarding the impact of MW radiation on attention has hence been increased. Our study aims to investigate the potential effect and mechanism of acute microwave exposure on attention. RESULTS: We identified obvious impairment of attention in mice by the five-choice serial reaction time (5-CSRT) task. Proteomic analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed neuroinflammation and microglial activation potentially due to acute MW exposure. Moreover, biochemical analysis further confirmed microglial activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of mice subjected to acute MW exposure. Finally, minocycline, a commercially available anti-inflammatory compound, attenuated neuroinflammation, inhibited the upregulation of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) including NR2A and NR2B, and also accelerated the attentional recovery after MW exposure. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that microglial activation and NMDAR upregulation likely contribute to inattention induced by acute MW exposure, and we found that minocycline may be effective in preventing such process.

Mechanically robust, self-reporting and healable polyurethane elastomers by incorporating symmetric/asymmetric chain extenders.

Self-healing elastomers usually show poor mechanical properties and environmental stability, and they cannot self-report mechanical/chemical damage. Herein, an innovative design strategy is reported that combines symmetric/asymmetric chain extenders to create large yet disordered hard domains within polyurethane (PU) elastomers, enabling the integration of mechanical robustness and self-reporting and self-healing capabilities to overcome both mechanical and chemical damage. Specifically, large yet disordered hard domains were created by governing the molar contents of asymmetric fluorescent 2-(4-aminophenyl)-5-aminobenzimidazole (PABZ) and symmetric 4-aminophenyl disulfide (APDS). Such a structural feature led to a small free-volume fraction, prominent strain-induced crystallization (SIC), and high energy of dissipation, enabling the PU elastomer to display outstanding mechanical strength (60.7 MPa) and toughness (177.9 MJ m-3). Meanwhile, the loose stacking of disordered hard domains imposed small restriction on network chains and imparted the network with high relaxation dynamics, leading to high healing efficiency (97.8%). More importantly, the fluorescence intensity was stimulus-responsive and thus the PU elastomer could self-report mechanical/chemical damage and healing processes. The PU elastomer also showed potential application prospects in information encoding and encryption. Furthermore, selecting polydimethylsiloxane as one of the soft segments could effectively endow the PU elastomer with intrinsic hydrophobicity. Therefore, this work provides valuable guidance for designing multi-functional materials with anti-counterfeiting, self-reporting, and healing properties as well as high mechanical properties and hydrophobicity.