Pedestrian detection plays an indispensable role in human-centric applications. Although having enjoyed the merits of generic object detectors based on deep learning frameworks, pedestrian detection ...is still a persistent crucial task since the pedestrians often gather together and occlude each other. In this study, we propose a simple yet effective Multi-Stream Attribute-Guided Network (MSAGNet) to regard occluded pedestrian detection as a standard central point and height estimation problem. Specifically, we focus on searching for the central points of the pedestrians and predicting the scales and offsets of the corresponding pedestrians. Meanwhile, an adaptive weighting parameter, i.e., Intersection over the Visible part region of ground truth (IoV), is utilized to conduct accurate bounding box regression. Furthermore, a novel nonlinear Non-Maximum Suppression (NMS) is proposed to flexibly prune false positives and decrease the miss rate of adjacent overlapping pedestrians. Experimental results on Caltech-USA, CityPersons, CrowdHuman and WiderPerson pedestrian datasets show that the proposed MSAGNet can obtain significant performance boosts, while maintaining a reasonable run-time speed.
A multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (DRL)-based model is presented in this study to reconstruct flow fields from noisy data. A combination of reinforcement learning with pixel-wise rewards, ...physical constraints represented by the momentum equation and the pressure Poisson equation, and the known boundary conditions is used to build a physics-constrained deep reinforcement learning (PCDRL) model that can be trained without the target training data. In the PCDRL model, each agent corresponds to a point in the flow field and learns an optimal strategy for choosing pre-defined actions. The proposed model is efficient considering the visualisation of the action map and the interpretation of the model operation. The performance of the model is tested by using direct numerical simulation-based synthetic noisy data and experimental data obtained by particle image velocimetry. Qualitative and quantitative results show that the model can reconstruct the flow fields and reproduce the statistics and the spectral content with commendable accuracy. Furthermore, the dominant coherent structures of the flow fields can be recovered by the flow fields obtained from the model when they are analysed using proper orthogonal decomposition and dynamic mode decomposition. This study demonstrates that the combination of DRL-based models and the known physics of the flow fields can potentially help solve complex flow reconstruction problems, which can result in a remarkable reduction in the experimental and computational costs.
The cell surface receptor Fn14/TWEAKR was recently reported by our laboratory to be a prominent marker in the resistance exercise (RE) induced Transcriptome. The purpose of the present study was to ...extend our Transcriptome findings and investigate the gene and protein expression time course of markers in the TWEAK-Fn14 pathway following RE or run exercise (RUN). Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained from 6 RE subjects 25 ± 4 yr, 1-repetition maximum (RM): 99 ± 27 kg pre- and 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h post RE (3 × 10 at 70% 1-RM). Lateral gastrocnemius biopsies were obtained from 6 RUN subjects 25 ± 4 yr, maximum oxygen uptake (V̇O2max): 63 ± 8 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1) pre- and 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h after a 30-min RUN (75% V̇O2max). After RE, Fn14 gene and protein expression were induced (P < 0.05) and peaked at 8 and 12 h, respectively. Downstream markers analyzed showed evidence of TWEAK-Fn14 signaling through the alternative NF-κB pathway after RE. After RUN, Fn14 gene expression was induced (P < 0.05) to a much lesser extent and peaked at 24 h. Fn14 protein expression was only measurable on a sporadic basis, and there was weak evidence of alternative NF-κB pathway signaling after RUN. TWEAK gene and protein expression were not influenced by either exercise mode. These are the first human data to show a transient activation of the TWEAK-Fn14 axis in the recovery from exercise, and our data suggest the level of activation is exercise mode dependent. Furthermore, our collective data support a myogenic role for TWEAK-Fn14 through the alternative NF-κB pathway in human skeletal muscle.
To improve air quality for the period of the G20 Hangzhou Summit, comprehensive and stringent emission controls were implemented over the Yangtze River delta region, China. To evaluate the impacts of ...emission controls on variations of atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs), field measurements of VOCs were conducted at urban and suburban sites in Shanghai from August 24 to September 15, 2016. At both sites, the total budgets of VOCs were determined by alkanes (48.05–57.62%), followed by alkenes (4.74–10.17%), acetylene (0.16–3.90%), and aromatics (32.16–45.64%). As indicated by maximum incremental reactivity methods, aromatics were likely the most important VOCs groups for the ozone formation potential. All of VOCs presented to have significant increases, the maximum rate of change 74.47% at PD and 147.92% at DSL, after the G20 summit were compared with the G20 summit, suggesting the substantial reduction in VOCs due to emission controls over regional scales. Positive matrix factorization analysis of VOCs identified five sources, including petrochemical industry, vehicle exhaust, LPG/NG/fuel vaporization (for suburban the source appended incomplete combustion), solvent usage, organic synthetic materials (only for urban) and plant sources were (only for suburban), at the two sites, respectively. On average, petrochemical industry was the largest contributor (22.11–33.89%) to the total VOCs, followed by vehicle exhaust (22.22–27.27%) and solvent usage (15.01–20.11%). High loadings of VOCs were observed associating with westerly and northerly wind, reflecting the impact of regional transport from surrounding regions on VOCs pollution in Shanghai.
•Characteristics of VOCs in the urban and suburban areas of Shanghai as joint control areas during the 2016 G20 Summit.•Comparative analysis of photochemical ozone potential of VOCs under different control schemes.•Source and influence of potential regional transports on VOCs.
SUMMARY
Leaf senescence involves massive multidimensional alterations, such as nutrient redistribution, and is closely related to crop yield and quality. No apical meristem, Arabidopsis transcription ...activation factor, and Cup‐shaped cotyledon (NAC)‐type transcription factors integrate various signals and modulate an enormous number of target genes to ensure the appropriate progression of leaf senescence. However, few leaf senescence‐related NACs have been functionally characterized in wheat. Based on our previous RNA‐sequencing (RNA‐seq) data, we focused on a NAC family member, TaNAC69‐B, which is increasingly expressed during leaf senescence in wheat. Overexpression of TaNAC69‐B led to precocious leaf senescence in wheat and Arabidopsis, and affected several agricultural traits in transgenic wheat. Moreover, impaired expression of TaNAC69‐B by virus‐induced gene silencing retarded the leaf senescence in wheat. By RNA‐seq and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis, we confirmed that some abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis genes, including AAO3 and its ortholog in wheat, TraesCS2B02G270600 (TaAO3‐B), were elevated by the overexpression of TaNAC69‐B. Consistently, we observed more severe ABA‐induced leaf senescence in TaNAC69‐B‐OE wheat and Arabidopsis plants. Furthermore, we determined that TaNAC69‐B bound to the NAC binding site core (CGT) on the promoter regions of AAO3 and TaAO3‐B. Moreover, we confirmed elevated ABA levels in TaNAC69‐B‐OE wheat lines. Although TaNAC69‐B shares 39.83% identity (amino acid) with AtNAP, TaNAC69‐B did not completely restore the delayed leaf senescence in the atnap mutant. Collectively, our results revealed a positive feedback loop, consisting of TaNAC69‐B, ABA biosynthesis and leaf senescence, that is essential for the regulation of leaf senescence in wheat.
Significance Statement
Leaf senescence is vital for crop yield and quality; however, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of leaf senescence in wheat remain unknown. This study revealed a tripartite positive feedback loop comprising TaNAC69‐B expression, abscisic acid biosynthesis and leaf senescence that is crucial for the regulation of leaf senescence in plants and potentially impacts their yield. This loop can be targeted to optimize the progression of leaf senescence in wheat via molecular breeding.
Infrastructure systems are encountering unprecedented challenges as a result of climate change. Identifying infrastructure vulnerabilities before hazards strike is of paramount significance as it can ...help minimize the adverse consequences. However, investigating the vulnerability of single infrastructure system is myopic as it neglects the interdependencies between networked infrastructure systems. Owners and operators of different infrastructure systems should collaborate to identify infrastructure vulnerabilities against various hazard types from a system-of-systems standpoint. Nonetheless, systematic high-resolution vulnerability assessment of interdependent infrastructure systems requires versatile data and computational resources. While it is cost intensive and resourceful to develop a gigantic software for assessing infrastructure vulnerability, it is possible to synchronize available toolkits like building information modeling (BIM), geographic information system (GIS) and domain-specific computational engines (DCEs) to perform interdisciplinary infrastructure vulnerability assessment. This paper proposes an integrated BIM-GIS-DCEs approach to facilitate system-of-systems-based infrastructure vulnerability assessment. The proposed approach consists of the following key components: (i) Building information elicitation from BIM model, (ii) Physics-based pre- and post-hazard infrastructure performance simulation using DCEs, and (iii) Data integration and geospatial analysis for decision making on GIS platform. In the proposed approach, BIM provides hazard-sensitive properties of building elements, and DCEs serve to simulate the infrastructure performance before and after hazard occurs based on the predetermined physics-based operating regimes. Essentially, GIS stores the data from heterogeneous sources and mediates the semantic mapping between the simulation tools of distinct infrastructure domains. The embedded geospatial analysis functions in GIS facilitate the investigation of hazard-vulnerable components within an infrastructure system and also the expected hazard impacts at the community scale. The validity of the integrated approach is demonstrated using the stormwater drainage-building-road transport nexus during urban flooding. The integration of BIM, GIS and DCEs constitutes a new modeling paradigm which is expected to provide an effective avenue to formalize the collaborative effort between different infrastructure stakeholders not to mention about its ability to intelligently generate reliable and high-resolution vulnerability assessment results.
•BIM, GIS and domain-specific computational engines are integrated to facilitate infrastructure system vulnerability identification.•The approach captures infrastructure topological and functional properties considers infrastructure systems' interdependencies between different infrastructure systems.•The stormwater drainage-building-road transport nexus in urban flooding is leveraged to verify the effectiveness of the approach.•The three categories of toolkits play complementary roles in infrastructure vulnerability identification process.•GIS would mediate semantic mapping between the computational toolkits from distinct infrastructure domains.
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•High-temperature steaming and high-temperature baking-induced ovalbumin (OVA)-glucose glycation was compared.•High-temperature steaming promoted OVA-glucose glycation.•Glycated OVA ...under high-temperature steaming showed a higher ordered structure.•High-temperature steaming enhanced the antioxidant activities of glycated OVA more than high-temperature baking.•The number of glycation sites and DSP values were all higher under high-temperature steaming than under high-temperature baking.
High-temperature steaming (HTS) and high-temperature baking (HTB)-induced ovalbumin (OVA)-glucose glycation (140 °C, 1–3 min) were compared, and the different mechanisms were evaluated by changes in protein conformation, glycation sites and average degree of substitution per peptide molecule (DSP) values as well as the antioxidant activity of glycated OVA. Conventional spectroscopic results suggested that in comparison with HTB, HTS promoted protein expansion, increased β-sheet content and made OVA structure more orderly. Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis showed that 10 glycation sites were found under HTB, while 4 new glycation sites R111, R200, R219 and K323 appeared under HTS, and 2 of them (R219 and K323) were located in internal β-sheet chains. The antioxidant activities of glycated OVA increased with increasing treatment time, and HTS showed stronger enhancement effect than HTB. Furthermore, the DSP values were generally higher under HTS than HTB. Compared with HTB, HTS with high penetrability could enhance the change of OVA primary structure and spatial conformation, making the protein structure more unfolded and stable, leading to more protein-sugar collisions occurred in inner OVA molecular and significantly promoted glycation. In conclusion, HTS is a promising method for high-temperature short-time glycation reaction, with drastically increasing the protein antioxidant activities.
Small RNA (sRNA) Sequencing technology has revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs) are capable of exhibiting frequent variations from their canonical sequences, generating multiple variants: the isoforms of ...miRNAs (isomiRs). However, integrated tool to precisely detect and systematically annotate isomiRs from sRNA sequencing data is still in great demand. Here, we present an online tool, DeAnnIso (Detection and Annotation of IsomiRs from sRNA sequencing data). DeAnnIso can detect all the isomiRs in an uploaded sample, and can extract the differentially expressing isomiRs from paired or multiple samples. Once the isomiRs detection is accomplished, detailed annotation information, including isomiRs expression, isomiRs classification, SNPs in miRNAs and tissue specific isomiR expression are provided to users. Furthermore, DeAnnIso provides a comprehensive module of target analysis and enrichment analysis for the selected isomiRs. Taken together, DeAnnIso is convenient for users to screen for isomiRs of their interest and useful for further functional studies. The server is implemented in PHP + Perl + R and available to all users for free at: http://mcg.ustc.edu.cn/bsc/deanniso/ and http://mcg2.ustc.edu.cn/bsc/deanniso/.
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