Wood Veneer Defect Detection Based on Multiscale DETR with Position Encoder Net.

Wood is one of the main building materials. However, defects on veneers result in substantial waste of wood resources. Traditional veneer defect detection relies on manual experience or photoelectric-based methods, which are either subjective and inefficient or need substantial investment. Computer vision-based object detection methods have been used in many realistic areas. This paper proposes a new deep learning defect detection pipeline. First, an image collection device is constructed and a total of more than 16,380 defect images are collected coupled with a mixed data augmentation method. Then, a detection pipeline is designed based on DEtection TRansformer (DETR). The original DETR needs position encoding functions to be designed and is ineffective for small object detection. To solve these problems, a position encoding net is designed with multiscale feature maps. The loss function is also redefined for much more stable training. The results from the defect dataset show that using a light feature mapping network, the proposed method is much faster with similar accuracy. Using a complex feature mapping network, the proposed method is much more accurate with similar speed.

Prevalence and WGS-based characteristics of MRSA isolates in hospitals in Shanghai, China.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates remain a serious threat to global health despite a decrease in MRSA infections since 2005. MRSA isolates exhibit great diversity worldwide, and their lineages show geographic variation. In this study, we used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to analyze antibiotic resistance genes and virulence genes, spa, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec, sequence types (STs), and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) of MRSA isolates from patients and environmental surface in hospitals in China to determine their prevalence and molecular traits. The highest number of infections by MRSA isolates was observed in patients aged ≥60 years (69.8%, P < 0.05). We identified a total of 19 STs from 162 MRSA isolates from patients. A significant increase was observed in the incidence of ST764-t002-II MRSA infection, which is replacing ST5-t002-II MRSA as the predominant ST. Similarly, isolates from environmental surface were predominantly ST764-t002-II (47%). Notably, most ST764 isolates (97.7%) carried seb, but not arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME), which differed from ST764 isolates in Japan and Thailand. The potential danger of spreading requires rigorous surveillance of emerging ST764 MRSA isolates. We also found higher resistance to seven antimicrobials [OXA, cefoxitin (FOX), ERY, CFZ, ciprofloxacin (CIP), levofloxacin (LEV), and moxifloxacin (MXF)]. Resistance to gentamicin (38.3%), tetracycline (55.9%), and minocycline (41.5%) were also common. Phenotypic resistance to antimicrobials was associated with resistance genes to its content, and cgMLST clustering suggested a strong link between these strains. Overall, our findings revealed the prevalence and molecular characteristics of MRSA isolates in Shanghai, China, providing a theoretical reference for preventing and controlling clonal transmission of MRSA isolates in hospitals in China.

A Novel Image Inpainting Method Used for Veneer Defects Based on Region Normalization.

The quality of the veneer directly affects the quality and grade of a blockboard made of veneer. To improve the quality and utilization of a defective veneer, a novel deep generative model-based method is proposed, which can generate higher-quality inpainting results. A two-phase network is proposed to stabilize the network training process. Then, region normalization is introduced to solve the inconsistency problem between the mean and standard deviation, improve the convergence speed of the model, and prevent the model gradient from exploding. Finally, a hybrid dilated convolution module is proposed to reconstruct the missing areas of the panels, which alleviates the gridding problem by changing the dilation rate. Experiments on our dataset prove the effectiveness of the improved approach in image inpainting tasks. The results show that the PSNR of the improved method reaches 33.11 and the SSIM reaches 0.93, which are superior to other methods.

Challenges and growth opportunities: the landscape of Chinese medical publication professionals in the global context: a questionnaire-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: The Chinese healthcare industry has immense potential for innovation and requires competent publication professionals for global reach. Changes in regulatory landscape of China necessitates pharmaceutical industries to collaborate with medical professionals who are capable of keeping up with both changes in regulations and innovative medicine. METHODS: We initiated an online questionnaire-based survey via WeChat from August 3 to August 14, 2019 which focused on experience level, challenges, career development, and training requirements of survey participants. RESULTS: A total of 53 medical publication professionals participated in this survey. Contrary to global trends, 77% of participants had <5 years of professional experience in publication, although only 36% of participants had <5 years of experience in healthcare industry. In all, 63% of respondents spent <50% of their time in publication-related activities, contributing to <10 manuscripts per year. Their expertise in manuscripts spanned clinical studies (68%), post-marketing studies (62%), and reviews (38%). Poor research design and data quality, limited medical writing skill, and inefficient communication with authors were major challenges for developing high-quality publications. Awareness of good publication practices guidelines was high (49%) and 15% of respondents were Certified Medical Publication Professionals. Strategic publication planning (72%), industry trends (66%), and best practices (55%) were some of training requirements identified to increase competencies among respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Although the Chinese medical publication professional industry is at a nascent stage, an attempt is being made to provide opportunities for its publication professionals to develop their competencies to match global standards.

Pertuzumab in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy for Chinese patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer: a subpopulation analysis of the JACOB trial.

BACKGROUND: The JACOB trial (NCT01774786) was a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, multicenter, international, phase III trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of adding pertuzumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy in first-line treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic gastric cancer/gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJC). The aim of this analysis was to investigate efficacy and safety outcomes in the Chinese subpopulation from the JACOB trial. METHODS: This post hoc subpopulation analysis included all patients recruited in mainland China (n = 163; 20.9%) between June 2013 and January 2016. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive pertuzumab plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy (pertuzumab group; n = 82) or placebo plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy (control group; n = 81). Intravenous pertuzumab (840 mg) and trastuzumab (8 mg/kg loading and 6 mg/kg maintenance doses) were given every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Chemotherapy was given as per standard regimens/doses of capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil plus cisplatin. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS); secondary efficacy endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), and overall objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS: The median OS was 18.7 months in the pertuzumab group and 16.1 months in the control group (hazard ratio [HR] 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49 to 1.14). The median PFS was 10.5 and 8.6 months in the pertuzumab and control groups, respectively (HR 0.85; 95% CI 0.60 to 1.21), and the median ORRs were 68.9% and 55.7%, respectively. The treatment effect in this Chinese subpopulation showed consistency with that in the global ITT population with numerically lower HR for OS and PFS compared with the control group. The safety profiles of the pertuzumab and control groups in this Chinese subpopulation analysis were generally comparable. The most common grade 3-5 adverse events were neutropenia, anemia, and leukopenia. However, due to the nature of being a post hoc subgroup analysis, the results presented here are descriptive only and need to be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: OS and PFS were numerically improved by adding pertuzumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy as first-line treatment in Chinese HER2-positive gastric cancer/GEJC patients, and this regimen demonstrated an acceptable safety profile. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT01774786. Registered on 24 January 2013, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01774786.

Effect of Bulk MoS2 on the Metabolic Profile of Yeast.

MoS2, a kind of two-dimensional material with unique performances, has been widely used in many fields. However, an in-depth understanding of its toxicity is still needed, let alone its effects on the environmental microorganism. Herein, we used different methods, including metabolomics technology, to investigate the influence of bulk MoS2 (BMS) on yeast cells. The results indicated that high concentrations (1 mg/L and more) of BMS could destroy cell membrane and induce ROS accumulation. When exposed to a low concentration of BMS (0.1 mg/L), the intracellular concentrations of many metabolites (e.g., fumaric acid, lysine) increased. However, most of their concentrations descended significantly as the yeast cells were treated with BMS of high concentrations (1 mg/L and more). Metabolomics analysis further revealed that exposure to high concentrations of BMS could significantly affect some metabolic pathways such as amino acid and citrate cycle related metabolism. These findings will be beneficial for MoS2 toxicity assessment and further applications.

Fabrication of MgFe2O4/MoS2 Heterostructure Nanowires for Photoelectrochemical Catalysis.

A novel one-dimensional MgFe2O4/MoS2 heterostructure has been successfully designed and fabricated. The bare MgFe2O4 was obtained as uniform nanowires through electrospinning, and MoS2 thin film appeared on the surface of MgFe2O4 after further chemical vapor deposition. The structure of the MgFe2O4/MoS2 heterostructure was systematic investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), and Raman spectra. According to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results, the MgFe2O4/MoS2 heterostructure showed a lower charge-transfer resistance compared with bare MgFe2O4, which indicated that the MoS2 played an important role in the enhancement of electron/hole mobility. MgFe2O4/MoS2 heterostructure can efficiently degrade tetracycline (TC), since the superoxide free-radical can be produced by sample under illumination due to the active species trapping and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement, and the optimal photoelectrochemical degradation rate of TC can be achieved up to 92% (radiation intensity: 47 mW/cm(2), 2 h). Taking account of its unique semiconductor band gap structure, MgFe2O4/MoS2 can also be used as an photoelectrochemical anode for hydrogen production by water splitting, and the hydrogen production rate of MgFe2O4/MoS2 was 5.8 mmol/h·m(2) (radiation intensity: 47 mW/cm(2)), which is about 1.7 times that of MgFe2O4.

[Intratympanic dexamethasone injections for intractable sudden sensorineural hearing loss].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of intratympanic dexamethasone injection (IDI) for 23 patients with intractable sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). METHOD: Dexamethasone (5 g/ml) was injected into the middle ear. The injection was repeated once two days and had a total of 4 doses (10 mg). RESULT: The 23 patients were followed up for one month. Eight of 23 patients (34.8%) demonstrated a 17 to approximately 54 dB improvement in PTA and 15 of 23 (65.2%) had no response. CONCLUSION: IDI is a simple and effective treatment for SSNHL patient who had not responded to conventional therapy, although hearing was rarely improved to normal levels.