Convolutional neural network-based approaches for semantic segmentation rely on supervision with pixel-level ground truth, but may not generalize well to unseen image domains. As the labeling process ...is tedious and labor intensive, developing algorithms that can adapt source ground truth labels to the target domain is of great interest. In this paper, we propose an adversarial learning method for domain adaptation in the context of semantic segmentation. Considering semantic segmentations as structured outputs that contain spatial similarities between the source and target domains, we adopt adversarial learning in the output space. To further enhance the adapted model, we construct a multi-level adversarial network to effectively perform output space domain adaptation at different feature levels. Extensive experiments and ablation study are conducted under various domain adaptation settings, including synthetic-to-real and cross-city scenarios. We show that the proposed method performs favorably against the state-of-the-art methods in terms of accuracy and visual quality.
Based on the results of many studies devoted to exploring the effect of adding different elements to CoCrFeNi alloys in the field of high-entropy alloys, in this study, Ge is included in CoCrFeNi ...alloys to form CoCrFeNiGex alloys (molar ratio, x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3). Ge is used to improve mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of traditional alloys, but its application in high-entropy alloys has been less discussed. CoCrFeNiGex alloys (x ≤ 0.3) exhibit a single face-centered cubic phase. Tensile testing of these alloys revealed that the CoCrFeNiGe0.3 alloy exhibited slightly better mechanical properties—a yield strength of 223 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 617 MPa, and elongation of 63.2%—due to solid-solution hardening. A potentiodynamic polarization test in deaerated 3.5% NaCl solution showed that Ge addition can effectively inhibit pitting corrosion and can improve the corrosion resistance of CoCrFeNi alloys by reducing the corrosion and passive current density.
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•CoCrFeNiGex alloys were prepared by vacuum arc-melting from pure elements.•With x equal to or lower than 0.3, alloys exhibit a face-centered cubic phase.•The CoCrFeNiGe0.3 alloy showed fairly better mechanical properties than the CoCrFeNi alloy.•Addition of Ge inhibits pitting corrosion and improves the corrosion resistance.
Focused ultrasound (FUS)-induced with microbubbles (MBs) is a promising technique for noninvasive opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to allow targeted delivery of therapeutic substances into ...the brain and thus the noninvasive delivery of gene vectors for CNS treatment. We have previously demonstrated that a separated gene-carrying liposome and MBs administration plus FUS exposure can deliver genes into the brain, with the successful expression of the reporter gene and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene. In this study, we further modify the delivery system by conjugating gene-carrying liposomes with MBs to improve the GDNF gene-delivery efficiency, and to verify the possibility of using this system to perform treatment in the 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced animal disease model. FUS-BBB opening was verified by contrast-enhanced MRI, and GFP gene expression was verified via in vivo imaging system (IVIS). Western blots as well as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were conducted to measure protein expression, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted to test the Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-neuron distribution. Dopamine (DA) and its metabolites as well as dopamine active transporter (DAT) were quantitatively analyzed to show dopaminergic neuronal dopamine secretion/activity/metabolism. Motor performance was evaluated by rotarod test weekly. Results demonstrated that the LpDNA-MBs (gene-liposome-MBs) complexes successfully serve as gene carrier and BBB-opening catalyst, and outperformed the separated LpDNA/MBs administration both in terms of gene delivery and expression. TH-positive IHC and measurement of DA and its metabolites DOPAC and HVA confirmed improved neuronal function, and the proposed system also provided the best neuroprotective effect to retard the progression of motor-related behavioral abnormalities. Immunoblotting and histological staining further confirmed the expression of reporter genes in neuronal cells. This study suggests that FUS exposures with the administration of LpDNA-MBs complexes synergistically can serve as an effective gene therapy strategy for MPTP-animal treatment, and may have potential for further application to perform gene therapy for neurodegenerative disease.
Schematic representation of the synergistic use of the LpDNA-MBs complex to assist FUS-induced BBB opening to perform noninvasive and targeted GDNF gene delivery for MPTP-treated animals. Display omitted
Quantum memory is an important component in the long-distance quantum communication based on the quantum repeater protocol. To outperform the direct transmission of photons with quantum repeaters, it ...is crucial to develop quantum memories with high fidelity, high efficiency and a long storage time. Here, we achieve a storage efficiency of 92.0 (1.5)% for a coherent optical memory based on the electromagnetically induced transparency scheme in optically dense cold atomic media. We also obtain a useful time-bandwidth product of 1200, considering only storage where the retrieval efficiency remains above 50%. Both are the best record to date in all kinds of schemes for the realization of optical memory. Our work significantly advances the pursuit of a high-performance optical memory and should have important applications in quantum information science.
Recently, cases of bone defects have been increasing incrementally. Thus, repair or replacement of bone defects is gradually becoming a huge problem for orthopaedic surgeons. Three-dimensional (3D) ...scaffolds have since emerged as a potential candidate for bone replacement, of which titanium (Ti) alloys are one of the most promising candidates among the metal alloys due to their low cytotoxicity and mechanical properties. However, bioactivity remains a problem for metal alloys, which can be enhanced using simple immersion techniques to coat bioactive compounds onto the surface of Ti⁻6Al⁻4V scaffolds. In our study, we fabricated magnesium-calcium silicate (Mg⁻CS) and chitosan (CH) compounds onto Ti⁻6Al⁻4V scaffolds. Characterization of these surface-modified scaffolds involved an assessment of physicochemical properties as well as mechanical testing. Adhesion, proliferation, and growth of human Wharton's Jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) were assessed in vitro. In addition, the cell attachment morphology was examined using scanning electron microscopy to assess adhesion qualities. Osteogenic and mineralization assays were conducted to assess osteogenic expression. In conclusion, the Mg⁻CS/CH coated Ti⁻6Al⁻4V scaffolds were able to exhibit and retain pore sizes and their original morphologies and architectures, which significantly affected subsequent hard tissue regeneration. In addition, the surface was shown to be hydrophilic after modification and showed mechanical strength comparable to natural bone. Not only were our modified scaffolds able to match the mechanical properties of natural bone, it was also found that such modifications enhanced cellular behavior such as adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, which led to enhanced osteogenesis and mineralization downstream. In vivo results indicated that Mg⁻CS/CH coated Ti⁻6Al⁻4V enhances the bone regeneration and ingrowth at the critical size bone defects of rabbits. These results indicated that the proposed Mg⁻CS/CH coated Ti⁻6Al⁻4V scaffolds exhibited a favorable, inducive micro-environment that could serve as a promising modification for future bone tissue engineering scaffolds.
Prenatal exposure to heavy metals may cause atopic diseases. Little association between cord blood total immunoglobulin E (CB‐tIgE) levels and the occurrence of atopic diseases has been found. This ...study investigated the atopic status and tIgE trajectory trend in a Taiwanese birth cohort over 15 years. We also assessed the effect of maternal heavy metal exposure on maternal serum cytokine and CB‐tIgE levels. We recruited 430 pregnant women during their third trimester in 2000–2001. Maternal urinary heavy metal concentrations and serum cytokine levels were measured. The CB‐tIgE and serum tIgE levels of the women’s children when they were aged 5, 8, 11, and 14 years were measured. The upper quartile of the maternal urinary arsenic concentration was associated with an increased risk of a CB‐tIgE level higher than 1 IU/mL (odds ratio, 1.845; 95% confidence interval, 1.003–3.395). Serum tIgE trajectory levels were the highest in children with asthma, followed by those with atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis at the age of 5–14 years. Serum tIgE levels tended to peak at the age of 11 years in the atopic children but were stable from the age of 8 years in the non‐atopic children. We first demonstrated that serum tIgE levels reached a trajectory peak in the atopic children aged 11 years. Prenatal exposure to arsenic may increase the risk of elevated CB‐tIgE levels. Further investigation is warranted to elucidate the mechanism through which maternal serum cytokines affect the occurrence of atopic diseases in children.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides, which negatively regulate the gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. This study describes an update of the ...miRTarBase (http://miRTarBase.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/) that provides information about experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions (MTIs). The latest update of the miRTarBase expanded it to identify systematically Argonaute-miRNA-RNA interactions from 138 crosslinking and immunoprecipitation sequencing (CLIP-seq) data sets that were generated by 21 independent studies. The database contains 4966 articles, 7439 strongly validated MTIs (using reporter assays or western blots) and 348 007 MTIs from CLIP-seq. The number of MTIs in the miRTarBase has increased around 7-fold since the 2014 miRTarBase update. The miRNA and gene expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) are integrated to provide an effective overview of this exponential growth in the miRNA experimental data. These improvements make the miRTarBase one of the more comprehensively annotated, experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions databases and motivate additional miRNA research efforts.
Microbubbles (MBs) serve as a critical catalyst to amplify local cavitation in CNS capillary lumen to facilitate focused ultrasound (FUS) to transiently open the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, ...limited understanding is available regarding the effect of different microbubbles to induce BBB opening. The aim of this study is to characterize different MBs on their effect in FUS-induced BBB opening. Three MBs, SonoVue, Definity, and USphere, were tested, with 0.4-MHz FUS exposure at 0.62-1.38 of mechanical index (MI) on rats. Evans blue, dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and small-animal ultrasound imaging were used as surrogates to allow molecule-penetrated quantification, BBB-opened observation, and MBs circulation/persistence. Cavitation activity was measured via the passive cavitation detection (PCD) setup to correlate with the exposure level and the histological effect. Under given and identical MB concentrations, the three MBs induced similar and equivalent BBB-opening effects and persistence. In addition, a treatment paradigm by adapting exposure time is proposed to compensate MB decay to retain the persistence of BBB-opening efficiency in multiple FUS exposures. The results potentially improve understanding of the equivalence among MBs in focused ultrasound CNS drug delivery, and provide an effective strategy for securing persistence in this treatment modality.
Resistin is a recently discovered adipocyte-secreting adipokine, which may play a critical role in modulating cancer pathogenesis. Chondrosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor known to frequently ...metastasize; however, the role of resistin in the metastasis of human chondrosarcoma is largely unknown. Here, we found that the expression of resistin was higher in chondrosarcoma biopsy tissues than in normal cartilage. Moreover, treatment with resistin increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 expression and promoted cell migration in human chondrosarcoma cells. Co-transfection with microRNA (miR)-519d mimic resulted in reversed resistin-mediated cell migration and MMP-2 expression. Additionally, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and p38 inhibitors or siRNAs reduced the resistin-increased cell migration and miR-519d suppression, and inhibition of resistin expression resulted in suppression of MMP-2 expression and lung metastasis in vivo. Taken together, our results indicate that resistin promotes chondrosarcoma metastasis and MMP-2 expression through activation of the AMPK/p38 signaling pathway and down-regulation of miR-519d expression. Therefore, resistin may represent a potential novel molecular therapeutic target in chondrosarcoma metastasis.
Interleukin (IL)-25 is a cytokine released by airway epithelial cells responding to pathogens. Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to airway inflammation and remodeling in ...asthma. Mitochondria are the major source of ROS. After stress, defective mitochondria often undergo selective degradation, known as mitophagy. In this study, we examined the effects of IL-25 on ROS production and mitophagy and investigated the underlying mechanisms. The human monocyte cell line was pretreated with IL-25 at different time points. ROS production was measured by flow cytometry. The involvement of mitochondrial activity in the effects of IL-25 on ROS production and subsequent mitophagy was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blotting, and confocal microscopy. IL-25 stimulation alone induced ROS production and was suppressed by N-acetylcysteine, vitamin C, antimycin A, and MitoTEMPO. The activity of mitochondrial complex I and complex II/III and the levels of p-AMPK and the mitophagy-related proteins were increased by IL-25 stimulation. The CCL-22 secretion was increased by IL-25 stimulation and suppressed by mitophagy inhibitor treatment and PINK1 knockdown. The Th2-like cytokine IL-25 can induce ROS production, increase mitochondrial respiratory chain complex activity, subsequently activate AMPK, and induce mitophagy to stimulate M2 macrophage polarization in monocytes.
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