Accurate whole-body multi-person pose estimation and tracking is an important yet challenging topic in computer vision. To capture the subtle actions of humans for complex behavior analysis, ...whole-body pose estimation including the face, body, hand and foot is essential over conventional body-only pose estimation. In this article, we present AlphaPose, a system that can perform accurate whole-body pose estimation and tracking jointly while running in realtime. To this end, we propose several new techniques: Symmetric Integral Keypoint Regression (SIKR) for fast and fine localization, Parametric Pose Non-Maximum-Suppression (P-NMS) for eliminating redundant human detections and Pose Aware Identity Embedding for jointly pose estimation and tracking. During training, we resort to Part-Guided Proposal Generator (PGPG) and multi-domain knowledge distillation to further improve the accuracy. Our method is able to localize whole-body keypoints accurately and tracks humans simultaneously given inaccurate bounding boxes and redundant detections. We show a significant improvement over current state-of-the-art methods in both speed and accuracy on COCO-wholebody, COCO, PoseTrack, and our proposed Halpe-FullBody pose estimation dataset. Our model, source codes and dataset are made publicly available at https://github.com/MVIG-SJTU/AlphaPose .
Multi-person pose estimation is fundamental to many computer vision tasks and has made significant progress in recent years. However, few previous methods explored the problem of pose estimation in ...crowded scenes while it remains challenging and inevitable in many scenarios. Moreover, current benchmarks cannot provide an appropriate evaluation for such cases. In this paper, we propose a novel and efficient method to tackle the problem of pose estimation in the crowd and a new dataset to better evaluate algorithms. Our model consists of two key components: joint-candidate single person pose estimation (SPPE) and global maximum joints association. With multi-peak prediction for each joint and global association using the graph model, our method is robust to inevitable interference in crowded scenes and very efficient in inference. The proposed method surpasses the state-of-the-art methods on CrowdPose dataset by 5.2 mAP and results on MSCOCO dataset demonstrate the generalization ability of our method.
Tool wear monitoring (TWM) system plays an important role since it ensures the accuracy of manufacturing and workpiece quality, especially in aerospace manufacturing. Due to the challenge of various ...paths from the milling process of large cavity-like structural parts and impact of tool wear on the surface quality, there remains an urgent need for a high-precision and robust TWM approach. This article addresses this issue by employing a stacked network in conjunction with a feature extraction method in which it combines vibration singularity analysis with correlation analysis. The singularity of the original vibration signal, estimated by the Holder exponent (HE), is analyzed to eliminate the influence of the milling path, and the sensitive features based on HEs are extracted and reduced via Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC) analysis. Subsequently, a stacked long short-term memory neural network (LSTM) trained by these features has been applied to estimate tool wear, which is verified by a dataset obtained from the processing site. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method has improved the accuracy of tool wear prediction, which outperforms the developed methods such as LSTM, bi-direction LSTM (BiLSTM) and its stacked model, partial least squares regression (PLSR) model, and support vector regression (SVR) model optimized by the whale optimization algorithm (WOA). Meanwhile, this method lays the foundation for using vibration signal to monitor tool wear in cavity milling.
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•A novel vermireactor consists of substrate and bed compartments was designed.•Vermicomposting of FVW with and without the addition of EAS was investigated.•Growth and cocoon ...production of earthworms were improved by the addition of EAS.•Microbial activity and decomposition efficiency of FVW was improved by EAS.•Nitrogen and phosphorus contents in the final products were enriched by EAS.
This study aimed to clarify the effect of excess activated sludge (EAS) on vermicomposting of fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW). For this, a novel vermireactor consists of substrate and bed compartments was used for treating five types of FVW (banana peels, cabbage, lettuce, carrot, and potato) with and without the addition of EAS by earthworms. The EAS promoted the growth and cocoon production of earthworms, and the decomposition efficiency of FVW. The changes of dehydrogenase activity revealed that the EAS enhanced the microbial activity in all treatments except for the carrot. The organic matter content, total carbon and the C/N ratio showed a significant decrease after addition of EAS into FVW. The content of nitrogen and phosphorus was also improved in the final products after vermicomposting. This study suggested that the addition of EAS could be a feasible option to enhance the vermicomposting of FVW.
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•Novel vermireactors consist of substrate and bed compartments were established.•ARGs &intl 1 from EAS added for effective treatment of FVW were eliminated.•Relative abundances of ...ARGs &intl 1 in fresh cast samples were reduced markedly.•Earthworms’ gut could selectively digest the host bacteria harboring ARGs &intl 1.
Elimination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from excess activated sludge (EAS) mixed for effective treatment of different fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) by using a novel vermireactor consisted of substrate and bed compartments was investigated. ARGs (tet G, tet M and sul 1) and mobile genetic element gene (intl 1) were targeted and, through quantitative analysis of their abundances in both the compartments and the fresh cast of earthworms, significant reductions in substrate compartments were confirmed for the treatments for FVW added with EAS and EAS alone even if the reduction extents differed among the types of FVW. Apparent reductions were not found in the bed compartment where the final products accumulated. For the fresh cast, the relative abundances of ARGs and intl 1 against to the total bacterial 16S rDNA decreased markedly. The present study provided an insight for proper controlling of ARGs during vermicomposting of FVW and EAS.
In laying hens, fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) is a common metabolic disorder, which can affect egg production and nutritional value. However, the impact of FLHS on the lipid content in egg ...yolks was not clear. In this study, FLHS model was induced by using high-energy low-protein diet, and the egg quality was evaluated. Egg yolk lipids were quantitatively analyzed by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with multivariate statistical analysis. Gene expressions of the lipoprotein were determined by qRT-PCR and antioxidant capacity of the egg yolk were determined by kits. The elevated blood lipids and extensive lipid droplets observed indicated successful establishment of the FLHS model in laying hens. Measurements of egg quality showed that egg yolk weight was increased in the FLHS group. Lipidomics revealed that 1,401 lipids, comprising 27 lipid subclasses in the egg yolk. According to score plots of principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, different lipid profile was observed between the control and FLHS groups. A total of 97 different lipid species were screen out. Sphingolipid and glycerophospholipid metabolism were identified as key pathways. Free polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) exhibited an increase in the FLHS group (P < 0.05). Notably, the form of PUFAs was changed that the FLHS group showed an increase in triacylglycerol-docosahexenoic acid and triacylglycerol-arachidonic acid in the egg yolk, while triacylglycerol-α-linolenic acid was decreased (P < 0.05). Total superoxide dismutase was decreased in the egg yolks affected by FLHS. Gene expressions of vitellogenin 2 (VTG2), VTG3, very low-density apolipoprotein II and apolipoprotein B were increased in the liver of laying hens with FLHS (P < 0.05). In conclusion, FLHS promoted the lipid transport from the liver to the yolk by upregulating lipoprotein expression, which altered lipid profile, and reduced antioxidant capacity in the yolk. This study provided a foundation for understanding the changes in lipids, lipid transport and lipid antioxidation capacity in egg yolk from laying hens with FLHS.
The fate and behavior of radioactive cesium (Cs) in the water environment are of great concern. The involvement of bacteria regarding their accumulation capability for this element is the most ...fundamental factor that needs to be clarified even for exploring the interactions between many environmental factors that involve together in governing the transport and distribution of Cs. As the first systematical study that aimed to evaluate the accumulation capability of environmental bacteria for Cs, bacteria in the sediment of a freshwater reservoir and coastal water environment were isolated and multiplied for contact experiment with Cs under different temperature conditions (5, 25, and 35 °C). The accumulation concentration of Cs in bacteria from freshwater sediment varied in 3.95 × 10−6 to 5.68 × 10−4ng-Cs/cell, and that from coastal sediment in 1.52 × 10−6 to 7.41 × 10−4ng-Cs/cell, indicating obvious differences among bacterial species. Bacteria of coastal sediment possessed higher accumulation capability for Cs than bacteria from freshwater sediment, and temperature dependency was confirmed for bacteria from coastal sediment. The findings of this study have great reference value for better understanding and controlling the fate and behavior of radioactive Cs associated with bacteria in the water environment.
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•Different bacteria from sediment were isolated for contact with Cs.•Accumulation capacity for Cs among bacteria differed more than 100 times.•Cs accumulation dependency on temperatures appeared for coastal water species.
The widespread proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is a serious environmental and human health issue. Wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) are potential sources to spread ARGs to ...natural environment, for which, the presence state of ARGs in the sludge, as extracellular ones (eARGs) or intracellular ones (iARGs), along with the sludge settleability, are very important factors. The sludge settleability is closely associated with its floc size and density, bacterial activity, and the proportion of intact/damaged bacterial cells that aggregate together to form flocs for separation in the sedimentation process. It is reasonable to hypothesize that the distribution of eARGs and iARGs may differ with the sludge fractions of different settleability, a topic of great academic and practical significance requiring clarification. In this study, sludge samples from the aerobic contact tank of six household WWTFs were fractionated into fractions with different settling velocities: sludge of low settleability (LS), medium settleability (MS) and high settleability (HS); and the distribution of eARGs and iARGs in the obtained fractions for the widely detected tet G, tet M and sul 1 in water environment was evaluated based on the PMA-qPCR method, together with the evaluation for the well reported mobile genomic element intl 1 and total bacterial 16S rDNA. For the LS fractions, which contained more damaged bacterial cells, the distribution percentages of eARGs were generally higher than those of iARGs. For the HS fractions, which contained flocs with larger sizes formed by both intact and damaged bacterial cells, the relative abundances of ARGs and intl 1 were found apparently lower even if the presence percentages of eARGs were comparatively higher. It is thus inferable that sludge fractions of LS may possess higher transfer potential for ARGs and enhancing their settleability through optimization of the operation conditions is important for mitigating the proliferation of ARGs.
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•Sludge from WWTFs was separated into fractions with different settleability.•Extracellular & intercellular ARGs (eARGs & iARGs) were quantified.•Low settleability sludge contained more damaged cells and eARGs.•Highly settling sludge had lower relative abundances for ARGs and MGE.•Enhancing sludge settleability may mitigate ARGs proliferation via eARGs.
The development of visible-light photocatalytic materials in porous morphology with suitable photon management is significant for energy utilization and environmental protection. g-C
3
N
4
and Bi
2
O
...3
are both typical visible-light semiconductor photocatalysts and their inverse-opal structures could provide larger surface area. Meanwhile, the fabrication of heterojunction composites is conducive to suppress the recombination of photo-generated carriers and enhance the photocatalytic performance. In this work, g-C
3
N
4
inverse opals on the basis of TiO
2
or TiO
2
/SiO
2
framework and Bi
2
O
3
inverse opals were successfully synthesized by a simple sol-gel method. The photocatalytic performance gets improved with the introduction of g-C
3
N
4
in inverse opals, and the removal of SiO
2
in SiO
2
/TiO
2
framework provides additional mesoporous morphologies which further advances the light harvesting efficiency. The photocurrent densities of the inverse-opal structures are all higher than the corresponding films. The photonic band gap position originated from the periodicity of inverse opals was modulated by using colloidal crystals template in different diameters. Better photochemical characteristics are achieved when the absorption peak of Bi
2
O
3
is coincident with the high-frequency photonic band edge of inverse opals. The heterostructures consisting of g-C
3
N
4
inverse opals and Bi
2
O
3
inverse opals were fabricated and stronger optical absorption and higher transient photocurrent responses are presented compared with both individual inverse-opal structures.
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Introduction Achalasia (AC) is an esophageal motility disorder clinically manifested as dysphagia. Aim To investigate the effective factors of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for AC treatment. ...Material and methods A total of 182 AC patients treated between August 2019 and September 2020 were enrolled to receive POEM. They were assigned to an effective group (n = 143) and an ineffective group (n = 39). Their clinical data were recorded. The biochemical indices were determined. Results Compared with the ineffective group, the Eckardt score and incidence of reflux 1 year after the operation were lower in the effective group, and the effective rate 6 months and 1 year after the operation was higher (p < 0.05). Significant differences were observed in drinking history, Eckardt score 1 year after the operation, hemoglobin (Hb), alanine aminotransferease (ALT), white blood cells (WBC), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) between the two groups (p < 0.05). The Eckardt score 1 year after the operation, WBC, IL-6 and hs-CRP were lower, while the levels of Hb and ALT were higher in the effective group than those in the ineffective group. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that drinking history, Eckardt score at 1 year after the operation, Hb, ALT, WBC, IL-6, and hs-CRP were independent factors affecting the therapeutic effect of POEM on AC. The results were well fitted by evaluation discrimination and calibration of the nomogram model, with good consistency. Conclusions POEM is safe, feasible and effective for AC treatment, based on factors such as drinking history, Eckardt score 1 year after the operation, Hb, ALT, WBC, IL-6, and hs-CRP.
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