A blind image super-resolution network guided by kernel estimation and structural prior knowledge.

The goal of blind image super-resolution (BISR) is to recover the corresponding high-resolution image from a given low-resolution image with unknown degradation. Prior related research has primarily focused effectively on utilizing the kernel as prior knowledge to recover the high-frequency components of image. However, they overlooked the function of structural prior information within the same image, which resulted in unsatisfactory recovery performance for textures with strong self-similarity. To address this issue, we propose a two stage blind super-resolution network that is based on kernel estimation strategy and is capable of integrating structural texture as prior knowledge. In the first stage, we utilize a dynamic kernel estimator to achieve degradation presentation embedding. Then, we propose a triple path attention groups consists of triple path attention blocks and a global feature fusion block to extract structural prior information to assist the recovery of details within images. The quantitative and qualitative results on standard benchmarks with various degradation settings, including Gaussian8 and DIV2KRK, validate that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of fidelity and recovery of clear details. The relevant code is made available on this link as open source.

A Preliminary Discussion on the Safety of Mild Therapeutic Hypothermia in Target Vessels after Endovascular Intervention in Acute Large Vessel Occlusion Cerebral Infarction.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to discuss the safety of rapid administration of 4°C hypothermic normal saline into the occluded vessels using an intra-arterial catheter to induce mild hypothermia following endovascular thrombectomy in patients with acute large vessel occlusion cerebral infarction. METHODS: We selected 78 patients with acute large vessel occlusion cerebral infarction who underwent endovascular thrombectomy in the Department of Neurology of our hospital from January 2020 to July 2022 and achieved TICI 2b recanalization. RESULT: Twenty-five patients were administered 500 mL of 4°C hypothermic normal saline in the occluded vessels at a rate of 25 mL/min to induce mild hypothermia. Twenty pairs of subjects conformed to strict matching and were finally included in the statistical analysis. The two groups of patients differed significantly in white blood cell count and percentage of neutrophils (p < 0.05); however, there were no significant differences in D-dimer, procalcitonin, and BNP levels. The two groups of patients did not differ significantly with respect to the incidence of the following indicators: upper gastrointestinal bleeding; pulmonary infection; venous thrombosis; vasospasms; seizures; and chills (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Mild therapeutic hypothermia in target vessels plus endovascular thrombectomy was shown to be safe in patients with acute large vessel occlusion cerebral infarction.

Plating and Stripping Calcium Metal in Potassium Hexafluorophosphate Electrolyte toward a Stable Hybrid Solid Electrolyte Interphase.

The use of calcium (Ca) metal anodes in batteries is currently challenged by the development of a suitable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) that enables effective Ca2+ ion transport. Native calcium electrolytes produce a passivation layer on the surface of the calcium electrodes during cycling, causing a decrease in capacity during cycling and the need for large overpotentials. The use of a hybrid SEI is a strategy to mitigate the uncontrolled production of a passivation layer and reduce the overpotentials needed for the plating and stripping of calcium. Here, we report the development of a hybrid potassium (K)/Ca SEI layer investigated in symmetric Ca//Ca cell configurations. Using KPF6 salt in a ternary mixture of carbonate solvent (EC/EMC/DMC), Ca//Ca cells can be cycled up to 200 h at a capacity of 0.15 mAh/cm2 with a current density of 0.025 mA/cm2. The symmetrical cells consistently cycle at overpotentials of 1.8 V. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) of cycled electrodes reveals plating and stripping of both calcium and potassium. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) maps confirm the plating of calcium and potassium during galvanostatic cycling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) cross-sectional views of the calcium electrodes reveal a continuous SEI layer formed over the calcium metal. XRD analysis reveals the SEI layer consists of K-based inorganics along with the identification of permanent and transient phases. FTIR outlines the parallel plating of both calcium and potassium at both regions of redox activity. Raman spectroscopy of the electrolyte reveals compositional changes over the course of cycling that promote increased plating and stripping. The results indicate that potassium electrolytes are a possible route for tuning the SEI to enable reversible calcium electrochemical cycling.