•We propose a generative segment-pose wise multi-clustering approach.•Unsupervised generative augmentation is proposed to resolve the sample scarcity.•Segment-pose wise threshold determination is ...proposed to validate generative networks.•A validation technique to evaluate the generated person re-ID images.
Person re-identification matches the images of a person captured in multiple cameras in a smart surveillance environment. The process of matching the images captured from multiple viewing angles is challenging due to the variations caused by illumination, occlusion, dynamic pose change, etc., To tackle such challenges, large number of samples are required to identify the unique features of a person. In real-world crowded surveillance environment, it is highly difficult to capture the sufficient number of images to build a deep model. This scarcity in samples can be resolved by generating images using generative networks. The existing literature lacks robust discriminators and validation techniques to validate the generative network in an unsupervised person re-identification setup. Thus, we propose an unsupervised adversarial segment-pose distance threshold representation to validate the generated images in addition to the conventional discriminator. The images are generated and cross-validated with the determined segment-pose distance threshold. Labelling process is performed by matching the unoccluded segment with its appropriate ground truth parent cluster based on the segment-pose distance threshold. We have performed experiments on the benchmark person re-ID datasets like DukeMTMC re-ID, Market1501, CUHK03 and MSMT17. The effectiveness of the proposed unsupervised generative model is proved by reporting a +2.6% highest ranking accuracy over the state-of-the-art methods.
Aggregations of social organisms exhibit a remarkable range of properties and functionalities. Multiple examples, such as fire ants or slime mold, show how a population of individuals is able to ...overcome an existential threat by gathering into a solid-like aggregate with emergent functionality. Surprisingly, these aggregates are driven by simple rules, and their mechanisms show great parallelism among species. At the same time, great effort has been made by the scientific community to develop active colloidal materials, such as microbubbles or Janus particles, which exhibit similar behaviors. However, a direct connection between these two realms is still not evident, and it would greatly benefit future studies. In this review, we first discuss the current understanding of living aggregates, point out the mechanisms in their formation and explore the vast range of emergent properties. Second, we review the current knowledge in aggregated colloidal systems, the methods used to achieve the aggregations and their potential functionalities. Based on this knowledge, we finally identify a set of over-arching principles commonly found in biological aggregations, and further suggest potential future directions for the creation of bio-inspired colloid aggregations.
Display omitted
•Social insects and organisms often aggregate and behave as a solid superorganism.•Solid aggregations can be conceptualized as dynamic and active networks.•Interactions within those networks are the origin of collective intelligence.•This review shows how these networks can be recreated in synthetic soft matter.
Fuel cells represent a clean alternative to current technologies for utilizing hydrocarbon fuel resources. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have acquired due importance as they are ...best suited for applications where a quick start up is required such as in automobiles. The prime requirements of fuel cell membranes are high proton conductivity, low methanol/water permeability, good mechanical and thermal stability and moderate price. Membranes and the operating parameters together have a profound influence on performance of PEMFCs. Perfluorinated ionomers, hydrocarbon and aromatic polymers and acid–base complexes have been described in the review. The performance of this special class of polymers, considering their structure–property relationship and the current research involving their applicability in fuel cell systems are presented. Modifications made to Nafion
® membranes, the conceptual design of substitutes for perfluorosulfonic acid materials and modifications made to aromatic membranes to render them suitable for this application have been summarized. Promising avenues for further research in this area have been identified.
The study assessed the epigenetic regulation and the role of microRNA (miR) expression in locally advanced triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) and comparison with the clinico-pathological variables ...and survival.
Fifty patients of locally advanced TNBC during the period 2011-2013 were included. Expression level of test microRNA (miR-182 and miR-18a) was determined using Taqman quantitative Real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) from formalin fixed paraffin embedded biopsy blocks. Clinical and demographic information and survival data was retrieved from the Hospital medical records.
An improved clinical complete response (cCR) was observed in patients with age ≥ 45 years (80%), premenopausal status (70%), tumor size < 6 cms (80%), nodal status N0-N1 (95%) and grade II-III tumor (80%). A statistically significant correlation was observed on comparison of cCR with menopausal status (p-value 0.020), T category (p-value 0.018) and the clinical nodal status (p-value 0.003). pCR also correlated with clinical nodal status (p-value 0.008). Epigenetically, miR-18a under expression (< 8.84) was most commonly associated with tumor size < 6 cms (76.7%), clinical nodal status N0-N1 (90%), cCR (60%) and pCR (53.3%). A similar trend was observed with miR-182. Statistical significance was observed with T category (p-values 0.003 and 0.004), clinical nodal status (p-values 0.001 and 0.001), clinical response (p-values 0.002 and 0.002) and pathological response (p-values 0.007 and 0.006) with respect to miR-18a and miR-182, respectively. Also, the menopausal status significantly correlated with the miR-182 expression (p-value 0.009). miR-182 overexpression (≥ 6.32) was not observed in any of the postmenopausal patients. A univariate cox proportional hazard regression model also showed statistical interactions (p-values <0.004).
miR-182 and miR-18a overexpression correlates with worse clinical and pathological tumor characteristics in locally advanced TNBC and hence could be used to predict the outcomes and prognosis in these patients.
Separation of air to produce enriched nitrogen and oxygen has been of great significance to the chemical industry. Membrane-based gas permeation process has gained due importance over conventional ...methods such as cryogenic distillation, solid adsorption and solvent absorption, because it is economical, compact in size, modular in configuration and has the capacity to offer low specific power consumption. Typical applications of the membrane-produced nitrogen include blanketing, purging, inerting and underbalanced drilling, while the oxygen-enriched air is mainly used for combustion enhancement in furnaces, fuel cells, medical respiration and undersea breathing. Most membranes used in air separation are made of solid polymers. This review seeks to define the current technological factors that govern the field of application of polymeric membranes for the separation of air. Potential membrane materials, physical and chemical modifications of membranes for further research in this area are discussed.
Multiple factors can influence outcomes of patients receiving identical interventions in clinical trials and in routine practice. Here, we compare outcomes of men with metastatic castrate-resistant ...prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with docetaxel and prednisone in routine practice and in clinical trials.
We reviewed patients with mCRPC treated with docetaxel at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Primary outcomes were overall survival and PSA response rate. Secondary outcomes were reasons for discontinuation and febrile neutropenia. Outcomes were compared for men treated in routine practice and in clinical trials, and with data from the TAX 327 study.
From 2001 to 2011, 438 men were treated, of whom 357 received 3-weekly docetaxel as first-line chemotherapy: 314 in routine practice and 43 in clinical trials. Trial patients were younger and had better performance status. Median survival was 13.6 months 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 12.1–15.1 months in routine practice and 20.4 months (95% CI 17.4–23.4 months, P = 0.007) within clinical trials, compared with 19.3 months (95% CI 17.6–21.3 months, P < 0.001) in the TAX 327 study. PSA response rates were 45%, 54%, and 53%, respectively (P = NS). Reasons for treatment discontinuation were similar although trial patients received more cycles (median: 6 versus 8 versus 9.5, P < 0.001). Rates of febrile neutropenia were 9.6, 0, and 3% (P < 0.001) while rates of death within 30 days of last dose were 4%, 0%, and 3%, respectively (P = NS).
Survival of patients with mCRPC treated with docetaxel in routine practice is shorter than for men included in trials and is associated with more toxicity.
•Segment-aware clustering to handle occluded unlabeled person re-identification image.•Unsupervised learning based dynamic segment-wise reliability threshold determination.•Cluster refinement ...strategy to match occluded images with its reliable clusters.•Improved query-gallery rank evaluation strategy for better matching accuracy.•Evaluation with different occlusion percentage to simulate the real-world setup.
Person Re-Identification (re-ID) in a crowded multi-camera surveillance environment is a highly challenging task. The traditional benchmark datasets contain less number of occluded images due to the pre-planned setup and limited duration of the videos recorded. Unlike the traditional benchmark person re-ID datasets, real-world surveillance environment possess high static and dynamic occlusions. The analysis of different image segments captured in diverse environments by using a static reliability threshold leads to a poor matching accuracy. To resolve this issue of poor reliability threshold determination and to handle the occluded person re-ID images efficiently, we propose an unsupervised spatial segmented clustering model (SSC-DRTD) which determines a dynamic segment-wise reliability threshold. The unlabeled person re-ID images are segmented into k-parts to determine the segment-wise reliability threshold and the optimal number of segments for a given dataset. A cluster refinement strategy is proposed by incorporating the determined dynamic reliability threshold values to match the occluded noisy images with its appropriate ground truth identities for robust cluster formation. An improved rank evaluation has been performed on the benchmark person re-ID datasets such as DukeMTMC re-ID, Market1501, CUHK03, and MSMT17. The experimental results show the improved performance of our proposed SSC-DRTD model in handling occluded person re-ID images over the state-of-the-art unsupervised person re-ID methods. To further prove the efficiency of our proposed model, an exploratory analysis is performed by increasing the number of occluded query images to simulate the real-world surveillance scenario.
Separation of organic–organic mixtures using membrane separation techniques is being investigated extensively owing to its great importance in chemical and petrochemical industries. Pervaporation is ...today considered as a basic unit operation for separation of organic–organic liquid mixtures because of its efficiency in separating azeotropic and close-boiling mixtures, isomers and heat-sensitive compounds. Membranes used for separating the four major categories of organic–organic mixtures viz., polar/non-polar mixtures, aromatic/alicyclic mixtures, aromatic/aliphatic mixtures, aromatic isomers are made of materials that are organic as well as inorganic in nature. A considerable amount of background information related to the developments in the field, and the current trends of industrial pervaporation are dealt with. This review seeks to define the current
scientific, and
technological factors that govern the field of application of membranes for separation of organic mixtures. Potential membrane materials for further research in this area are also discussed.
PDF
