3-D Scene Graph: A Sparse and Semantic Representation of Physical Environments for Intelligent Agents.

Intelligent agents gather information and perceive semantics within the environments before taking on given tasks. The agents store the collected information in the form of environment models that compactly represent the surrounding environments. The agents, however, can only conduct limited tasks without an efficient and effective environment model. Thus, such an environment model takes a crucial role for the autonomy systems of intelligent agents. We claim the following characteristics for a versatile environment model: accuracy, applicability, usability, and scalability. Although a number of researchers have attempted to develop such models that represent environments precisely to a certain degree, they lack broad applicability, intuitive usability, and satisfactory scalability. To tackle these limitations, we propose 3-D scene graph as an environment model and the 3-D scene graph construction framework. The concise and widely used graph structure readily guarantees usability as well as scalability for 3-D scene graph. We demonstrate the accuracy and applicability of the 3-D scene graph by exhibiting the deployment of the 3-D scene graph in practical applications. Moreover, we verify the performance of the proposed 3-D scene graph and the framework by conducting a series of comprehensive experiments under various conditions.

Effects of a combination treatment of KD5040 and L-dopa in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Although the dopamine precursor L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ( l -dopa) remains the gold standard pharmacological therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), long-term treatment with this drug has been known to result in several adverse effects, including l -dopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). Recently, our group reported that KD5040, a modified herbal remedy, had neuroprotective effects in both in vitro and in vivo models of PD. Thus, the present study investigated whether KD5040 would have synergistic effects with l -dopa and antidyskinetic effects caused by l -dopa as well. METHODS: The effects of KD5040 and l -dopa on motor function, expression levels of substance P (SP) and enkephalin (ENK) in the basal ganglia, and glutamate content in the motor cortex were assessed using behavioral assays, immunohistochemistry, Western blot analyses, and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in a mouse model of PD induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). In addition, the antidyskinetic effects of KD5040 on pathological movements triggered by l -dopa were investigated by testing abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) and measuring the activations of FosB, cAMP-dependent phosphor protein of 32 kDa (DARPP-32), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), and cAMP response element-binding (CREB) protein in the striatum. RESULTS: KD5040 synergistically improved the motor function when low-dose l -dopa (LL) was co-administered. In addition, it significantly reversed MPTP-induced lowering of SP, improved ENK levels in the basal ganglia, and ameliorated abnormal reduction in glutamate content in the motor cortex. Furthermore, KD5040 significantly lowered AIMs and controlled abnormal levels of striatal FosB, pDARPP-32, pERK, and pCREB induced by high-dose l -dopa. CONCLUSIONS: KD5040 lowered the effective dose of l -dopa and alleviated LID. These findings suggest that KD5040 may be used as an adjunct therapy to enhance the efficacy of l -dopa and alleviate its adverse effects in patients with PD.

Changes of Local Blood Flow in Response to Acupuncture Stimulation: A Systematic Review.

Objectives. This systematic review aimed to summarize and evaluate the findings of studies investigating the local microcirculatory effects following acupuncture stimulation. Methods. MEDLINE, EMBASE, OASIS, and Cochrane library were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before January 30, 2015. Studies demonstrating any type of microcirculation response to manual acupuncture in healthy subjects and patients were included. The risk of bias and the reliability of the experimental conditions were evaluated to determine quality assessment. Results. Eight RCTs met the inclusion criteria; there was at least one acupuncture-induced change in a microcirculatory parameter. Of the seven studies in healthy subjects, four reported significant increases in blood flow following acupuncture compared with control, whereas one other study observed reductions in microcirculation immediately after acupuncture needling. The studies that assessed patients with either fibromyalgia or trapezius myalgia found significant increases in blood flow in the skin and muscle. Additionally, the degree and duration of increases in microcirculation varied depending on the condition of the subjects and the manipulation technique. Conclusions. The current evidence regarding the local effects of acupuncture in terms of blood flow remains insufficient for reliable conclusions due to few well-designed studies. Additional well-designed studies are needed to clarify these issues.