High-Precision 3D Reconstruction Study with Emphasis on Refractive Calibration of GelStereo-Type Sensors.

GelStereo sensing technology is capable of performing three-dimensional (3D) contact shape measurement under various contact structures such as bionic curved surfaces, which has promising advantages in the field of visuotactile sensing. However, due to multi-medium ray refraction in the imaging system, robust and high-precision tactile 3D reconstruction remains a challenging problem for GelStereo-type sensors with different structures. In this paper, we first propose a universal Refractive Stereo Ray Tracing (RSRT) model for GelStereo-type sensing systems to realize 3D reconstruction of the contact surface. Moreover, a relative geometry-based optimization method is presented to calibrate multiple parameters of the proposed RSRT model, such as the refractive indices and structural dimensions. Furthermore, extensive quantitative calibration experiments are performed on four different GelStereo sensing platforms; the experimental results show that the proposed calibration pipeline can achieve less than 0.35 mm in Euclidean distance error, based on which we believe that the proposed refractive calibration method can be further applied in more complex GelStereo-type and other similar visuotactile sensing systems. Such high-precision visuotactile sensors can facilitate the study of robotic dexterous manipulation.

Larger males facilitate population expansion in Ophraella communa.

One of the most intriguing concepts in animal ecology is the reproductive advantages offered by larger body size, and the females prefer to mate with larger males to gain reproductive advantage. Currently, it is not clear how females recognize signs of male 'quality' and what mechanisms are involved in producing offspring with direct or indirect benefits. Our study aims to assess the preferences of females for males in Ophraella communa, determine the reproductive benefits and reveal the underlying mechanism behind this advantage. We demonstrate that male body size is an important determinant in the evolutionary process of O. communa, affecting female mate choice. Moreover, our study establishes that females prefer males with a larger body size, and this could further improve the developmental and reproductive fitness of their offspring. Finally, we focus on the seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) in O. communa, determine differentially expressed genes (i.e. OcACE, OcCBP and OcSFP) by analysing their proteomes and transcriptomes, and define the role of these SFPs-related genes through RNAi. Our study proved that the reproductive benefit of large males may be regulated by biased expression of crucial SFPs genes. The present study advances our understanding of the biological significance of preferential mating.

Olfactory co-receptor is involved in host recognition and oviposition in Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is a notorious invasive weed that has spread across most temperate regions of the world. The beetle (Ophraella communa) is considered to be an effective control agent against A. artemisiifolia. As an oligophagous insect, its olfactory system is extremely important for host seeking in the wild. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the molecular mechanisms underlying olfaction recognition in this beetle. Hence, in this study, we characterized the odorant receptor co-receptor of O. communa and named it as 'OcomORco'. Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that, compared to the control treatment, RNA interference (RNAi) strongly reduced the expression of OcomORco by 89% in male and 90% in female beetles. Electroantennogram assay showed that the antennal response of both male and female beetles to four volatiles of A. artemisiifolia was significantly reduced. The injected male or female beetles lost their preference for plant leaves as observed in the behavioural tests. In addition, disruption of the expression of OcomORco resulted in a reduction of oviposition, while there was no difference in larval hatching rate between control and knockdown females. We demonstrated that OcomORco plays a vital role in olfactory perception and host search in O. communa, and it is involved in oviposition in an indirect way.

Efficacy analysis of a novel thermochemotherapy scheme with pirarubicin for intermediate- and high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer: a single-institution nonrandomized concurrent controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of a novel thermochemotherapy scheme and the instillation of pirarubicin (THP) without hyperthermia in patients with intermediate- and high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Materials and methods: Between June 2012 and December 2016, 300 patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder undergoing intravesical adjuvant therapy with THP after transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) were enrolled in the study. These patients were divided into the CTHC group (thermochemotherapy composed of three consecutive sessions in which only the second hyperthermia was combined with THP, followed by intravesical instillation with THP without using hyperthermia) and the THP group (instillation of THP without hyperthermia). Cystoscopy and urinary cytology were repeated every 3 months. The primary endpoint was 24-month recurrence-free survival (RFS). Secondary endpoints included 24-month progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse event (AE) rates. Results: Baseline characteristics of the CTHC (n = 76) and THP (n = 85) groups were well-balanced. The 24-month RFS was 82.9% in the CTHC group and 63.5% in the THP group (log-rank p = .008). A significantly higher percentage of patients in the CTHC group achieved PFS than in the THP group (97.4% versus 87.1%; log-rank p = .011). There was no significant difference in AEs between the two groups (p > .05). Based on Cox proportional hazards models, CTHC was the only factor that contributed independently to improved RFS (hazard ratio, 0.422; 95% confidence interval, 0.214-0.835; p = .013). Conclusion: The CTHC scheme is a safe and effective adjuvant treatment option after TURBT for patients with intermediate- and high-risk NMIBC.

Growth period and variety together drive the succession of phyllosphere microbial communities of grapevine.

Phyllosphere microbes play a crucial role in plant health and productivity. However, the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on these communities is poorly understood. Here, we used amplicon sequencing to investigate the microbiome variations across eight grape cultivars and three distinct leaf ages. The diversity and richness of phyllosphere microbiomes were significantly affected by cultivars and leaf age. Young leaves of most grape cultivars had a higher diversity. Beta-diversity analyses revealed notable differences in microbial communities across leaf ages, with bacterial communities varying substantially between cultivars. The main bacterial genera included Staphylococcus, Exiguobacterium, Acinetobacter, Enterococcus, and Erwinia; the principal fungal genera were Cladosporium, Moesziomyces, Alternaria, Didymella, and Coprinellus across all samples. LEfSe analysis revealed significant differences in bacterial and fungal biomarkers at different leaf ages, with no biomarkers identified among different cultivars. Fungal biomarkers were more abundant than bacterial at three leaf ages, and older leaves had more fungal biomarkers. Notably, beneficial microbial taxa with biocontrol potential were present on the phyllosphere at 45 d, whereas certain fungal groups associated with increased disease risk were first detected at 100 d. The bacterial network was more complex than the fungal network, and young leaves had a more complex network in most cultivars. Our study elucidated the dynamics of early grape phyllosphere microbes, providing valuable insights for early detection and prediction of grape diseases and a foundation for leveraging the grape leaf microbiome for agricultural purposes.

Learning-Based Slip Detection for Dexterous Manipulation Using GelStereo Sensing.

Endowing the robot with tactile perception can effectively improve manipulation dexterity, along with various benefits of human-like touch. Using GelStereo (GS) tactile sensing, which gives high-resolution contact geometry information, including 2-D displacement field, and 3-D point cloud of the contact surface, we present a learning-based slip detection system in this study. The results reveal that the well-trained network achieves 95.79% accuracy on the never-seen testing dataset, which surpasses the current model-based and learning-based methods using visuotactile sensing. We also propose a general framework for slip feedback adaptive control for dexterous robot manipulation tasks. The experimental results show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed control framework using GS tactile feedback when deployed on real-world grasping and screwing manipulation tasks on various robot setups.

Preoperative Plasma Fibrinogen and D-dimer as Prognostic Biomarkers for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

PURPOSE: To assess the ability of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer as biomarkers to predict survival outcomes in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 206 NMIBC patients receiving transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) were assessed in our retrospective study. The cutoff values of fibrinogen and D-dimer were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Cox regression analyses were adopted to assess the influence of these two parameters on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: The cutoff values of fibrinogen and D-dimer were 3.56 g/L and 0.48 µg/mL, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that high fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were significantly related to poor RFS (all P < .001) and PFS (all P < .001). Moreover, patients with elevated fibrinogen levels tended to have high tumor grade (P = .033), advanced pathologic T stage (P < .001), and multiple tumor lesions (P = .019). Significant associations of high D-dimer levels with advanced pathologic T stage (P = .026), large tumor size (P = .012), and multiple tumor lesions (P = .006) were found. In addition, multivariate analysis revealed that plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer were all independent predictive factors for RFS (P = .029 and .001, respectively) and PFS (P = .023 and .003, respectively). CONCLUSION: High levels of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer may indicate advanced clinicopathologic features and worse prognosis, suggesting that these two coagulation parameters could be used as prognostic biomarkers for NMIBC patients.

Transcriptome Analysis of Ophraella communa Male Reproductive Tract in Indirect Response to Elevated CO2 and Heat Wave.

Increase in atmospheric CO2 directly affects the insect physiology and behavior, and indirectly affects the herbivorous insects by affecting their hosts. The increase in atmospheric CO2 is accompanied by an increase in temperature and heat waves. Ophraella communa LeSage is a natural enemy of Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed). The development and reproduction of this beetle is weakened upon eating common ragweed grown under stress conditions. As female behavior and physiology alter after mating, the reproductive tract of males is likely to modulate reproduction and development in this species. Herein, the transcriptional profiles of testes and accessory glands from male O. communa individuals feeding on common ragweed under conditions of high CO2 concentration and heat waves and that grown under ambient CO2 concentration were compared. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the same tissues from beetles fed on common ragweed grown under different stress conditions. There were 3, 2, 3, 1and 5 genes related to decomposition and transport of macromolecular substances, host location, stress response, reproduction, and poisonous food-utilization. No expected response was observed in the male reproductive tract, but some of the identified DEGs might control the development of the population. The results presented here should be helpful in guiding future studies on deciphering the indirect response of other organs to high CO2 concentration and heat waves, as well as the functions of seminal fluid proteins in O. communa.

Identification and Validation of Reference Genes for Quantitative Gene Expression Analysis in Ophraella communa.

Ophraella communa is an effective bio-control agent of the invasive common weed. By now, the reference genes in O. communa have not yet been screened and validated. The aim of this study was to screen for the most stable reference genes in different backgrounds, such as different developmental stages, sexes, tissues, and male reproductive system with different body sizes. We selected 12 common housekeeping genes involved in different biological processes, including GAPDH, ACT1, ACT2, ARF1, ARF4, SDH, ßTUBC, RPL4, RPL19, RPS18, EF1α, and COX as the candidate reference genes. To analyze the stability of the candidate reference genes, we first used three dedicated algorithms, GeNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper, and further comprehensive ranking was provided by ReFinder. The results showed that RPL19 and RPL4 exhibited the least variation in different developmental stages/sexes and in male reproductive systems with different body sizes. COX proved to be most suitable for normalizing the gene expression levels in different tissues, and coincidentally, RPL19 was also found to be second in terms of stability in this study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify suitable reference genes for analyzing gene expression in O. communa; thus, this study would lay the foundation for future research on the molecular physiology and biochemistry of O. communa and other insects.

OcomCSP12, a Chemosensory Protein Expressed Specifically by Ovary, Mediates Reproduction in Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are considered to be the transporter linking odorant chemicals and receptors on sensory neurons. However, the extensive expression patterns of CSPs in insects suggest that CSPs are also involved in other physiological processes; the range of their functions, however, remains uncertain. In this study, we successfully characterized and cloned the CSP12 of Ophraella communa (OcomCSP12). The open reading frame of OcomCSP12 encodes 131 amino acids, with four conserved cysteine residues. The expression patterns of OcomCSP12 validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that OcomCSP12 is specifically expressed in female ovary. Furthermore, compared with the control treatment, silencing OcomCSP12 resulted in significantly reduced oviposition in females. Surprisingly, the knock-down rate of OcomCSP12 exceeded 95% and remained depressed for more than 15 days, indicating that RNA interference (RNAi) was a suitable method for exploring the function of CSP12 in O. communa. These findings increase our understanding of the expression profile and function of the CSP gene family in insects.

Identification of candidate chemosensory genes of Ophraella communa LeSage (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) based on antennal transcriptome analysis.

Antennal olfaction plays a key role in insect survival, which mediates important behaviors like host search, mate choice, and oviposition site selection. As an oligophagous insect, olfaction is extremely important for Ophraella communa to locate host plants. However, information on the olfactory genes has been lacking in O. communa. Using next generation sequencing, we assembled the antennal transcriptome of O. communa and first reported the major chemosensory genes necessary for olfaction in this species. In this study, a total 105 candidate chemosensory genes were identified in O. communa antennae, including 25 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 11 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), four sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 30 odorant receptors (ORs), 18 ionotropic receptors (IRs), and 17 gustatory receptors (GRs). We also identified full-length sequences of the highly conserved ORco and IR8a/25a family in O. communa. In addition, the expression profile of 15 ORs and four OBPs were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We found that OcomOR2/4/19 and OcomOBP19/20 had a biased expression in male antennae, and OcomOR8 had a biased expression in the female antennae. This large number of chemosensory genes handled by homology analysis and qPCR results will provide the first insights into molecular basis for the olfactory systems of O. communa as well as advance our understanding of olfactory mechanisms in Coleoptera.