Efficiency-Accuracy Trade-Off in Light Field Estimation with Cost Volume Construction and Aggregation.

The Rich spatial and angular information in light field images enables accurate depth estimation, which is a crucial aspect of environmental perception. However, the abundance of light field information also leads to high computational costs and memory pressure. Typically, selectively pruning some light field information can significantly improve computational efficiency but at the expense of reduced depth estimation accuracy in the pruned model, especially in low-texture regions and occluded areas where angular diversity is reduced. In this study, we propose a lightweight disparity estimation model that balances speed and accuracy and enhances depth estimation accuracy in textureless regions. We combined cost matching methods based on absolute difference and correlation to construct cost volumes, improving both accuracy and robustness. Additionally, we developed a multi-scale disparity cost fusion architecture, employing 3D convolutions and a UNet-like structure to handle matching costs at different depth scales. This method effectively integrates information across scales, utilizing the UNet structure for efficient fusion and completion of cost volumes, thus yielding more precise depth maps. Extensive testing shows that our method achieves computational efficiency on par with the most efficient existing methods, yet with double the accuracy. Moreover, our approach achieves comparable accuracy to the current highest-accuracy methods but with an order of magnitude improvement in computational performance.

Cisplatin-Based Combination Therapy for Enhanced Cancer Treatment.

Cisplatin, a primary chemotherapeutic drug, is of great value in the realm of tumor treatment. However, its clinical efficacy is strictly hindered by issues, such as drug resistance, relapse, poor prognosis, and toxicity to normal tissue. Cisplatin-based combination therapy has garnered increasing attention in both preclinical and clinical cancer research for its ability to overcome resistance, reduce toxicity, and enhance anticancer effects. This review examines three primary co-administration strategies of cisplatin-based drug combinations and their respective advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, seven types of combination therapies involving cisplatin are discussed, focusing on their main therapeutic effects, mechanisms in preclinical research, and clinical applications. This review also discusses future prospects and challenges, aiming to offer guidance for the development of optimal cisplatin-based combination therapy regimens for improved cancer treatment.

A2/B1 Promotes NRF2 mRNA Stability and Inhibits Ferroptosis and Cell Proliferation in Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer is a highly harmful malignant tumor, which poses a great threat to women's body and mind, and the mortality rate ranks second among all women's diseases. The incidence rate accounts for 7-10% of various malignant tumors in the whole body, second only to uterine cancer in women, and has become the main cause of threatening women's health. Advanced breast cancer is often considered an incurable disease. The family of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes is composed of about 20 hnRNP proteins with molecular weights ranging from 32 to 120 kDa, and they are named according to their molecular weights. Among them, hnRNPA2 and hnRNPB1 are the two most important members of the hnRNP family, both derived from the same gene on chromosome 7p15. Therefore, research to understand the molecular mechanism and process of breast cancer progression has an important role in promoting the current medical research on breast cancer treatment methods. Therefore, studying the mechanism of tumorigenesis is the key to tumor prevention and treatment. Therefore, this paper proposes that A2/B1 promotes the stability of NRF2 mRNA and inhibits ferroptosis and cell proliferation in breast cancer cells. The article mainly introduces the disease diagnosis method based on artificial neural network and its neural network algorithm. In the experimental part, the activity of hnRNP A2/B1 on cancer cells is deeply studied. The results show that the absorbance of the MTT method increases continuously with the extension of the culture time, and the maximum reaches 1.2. This fully shows that its absorption capacity is very strong, especially after 24 hours, the absorption rate rises from 0.6 to 0.9, which shows that 24 hours is the best absorption time. And it can also be found that hnRNPA2/B1 has a significant inhibitory effect on breast cancer cells; it can reduce the effect on breast cancer cell cycle and apoptosis.

Underwater image enhancement based on zero-shot learning and level adjustment.

Light is scattered and partially absorbed while traveling through water, hence, underwater captured images often exhibit issues such as low contrast, detail blurring, color attenuation, and low illumination. To improve the visual performance of underwater imaging, herein, we propose a two-step method of zero-shot dehazing and level adjustment. In the newly developed approach, the original image is fed into a "zero-shot" dehazing network and further enhanced by an improved level adjustment methodology combined with auto-contrast. By conducting experiments, we then compare the performance of the proposed method with six classical state-of-the-art methods. The qualitative results confirm that the proposed method is capable of effectively removing haze, correcting color deviations, and maintaining the naturalness of images. We further perform a quantitative evaluation, revealing that the proposed method outperforms the comparison methods in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity. The enhancement results are also measured by employing the underwater color image quality evaluation index (UCIQE), indicating that the proposed approach exhibits the highest mean values of 0.58 and 0.53 on the two data sets. The experimental results collectively validate the efficiency of the proposed methodology in enhancing underwater blurred images.

A Tightly Integrated Navigation Method of SINS, DVL, and PS Based on RIMM in the Complex Underwater Environment.

Navigation and positioning of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in the complex and changeable marine environment are crucial and challenging. For the positioning of AUVs, the integrated navigation of the strap-down inertial navigation system (SINS), Doppler velocity log (DVL), and pressure sensor (PS) has a common application. Nevertheless, in the complex underwater environment, the DVL performance is affected by the current and complex terrain environments. The outliers in sensor observations also have a substantial adverse effect on the AUV positioning accuracy. To address these issues, in this paper, a novel tightly integrated navigation model of the SINS, DVL, and PS is established. In contrast to the traditional SINS, DVL, and PS tightly integrated navigation methods, the proposed method in this paper is based on the velocity variation of the DVL beam by applying the DVL bottom-track and water-track models. Furthermore, a new robust interacting multiple models (RIMM) information fusion algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, DVL beam anomaly is detected, and the Markov transfer probability matrix is accordingly updated to enable quick model matching. By simulating the motion of the AUV in a complex underwater environment, we also compare the performance of the traditional loosely integrated navigation (TLIN) model, the tightly integrated navigation (TTIN) model, and the IMM algorithm. The simulation results show that because of the PS, the velocity and height in the up-change amplitude of the four algorithms are small. Compared with the TLIN algorithm in terms of maximum deviation of latitude and longitude, the RIMM algorithm also improves the accuracy by 39.1243 m and 26.4364 m, respectively. Furthermore, compared with the TTIN algorithm, the RIMM algorithm improves latitude and longitude accuracy by 1.8913 m and 11.8274 m, respectively. A comparison with IMM also shows that RIMM improves the accuracy of latitude and longitude by 1.1506 m and 7.2301 m, respectively. The results confirm that the proposed algorithm suppresses the observed noise and outliers of DVL and further achieves quick conversion between different DVL models while making full use of the effective information of the DVL beams. The proposed method also improves the navigation accuracy of AUVs in complex underwater environments.

Can emergency avoidance behavior reduce injuries to electric two-wheeler riders in vehicle collisions?

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of emergency avoidance behaviors on the kinematics and injuries of electric two-wheeler (ETW) riders. METHODS: Four typical riding postures of ETW riders before collisions, including one normal posture and three avoidance postures, were identified through analysis of 298 videos of vehicle to ETW accidents. Crash simulations were then performed using the Total Human Model of Safety (THUMS) occupant model, ETW and a sedan finite element (FE) model, and the kinematics of ETW riders were compared. The risk of head injury and lower extremity injury was also investigated. RESULTS: When the struck foot position of the ETW rider was lower than the ETW pedal, the lower extremity was struck by the sedan bumper and ETW frame from the right and left side respectively, and the upper body of the rider rotated around the hood leading edge. At a car velocity of 40 km/h, the rider was at high risk of head injury and the tibia was fractured. The medial cruciate ligament (MCL) was ruptured in both the 20 km/h and 40 km/h collisions. When the struck foot position of the ETW rider was higher than the pedal, the lower extremity was hit by the bumper and then rebounded. In this situation, the bending moments of the femur and tibia, as well as the bending angle and shear displacement of the knee joint were less than the injury threshold in all crash simulations. Furthermore, when the head was turned toward the colliding car, the risk of head injury varied with the emergency avoidance posture. CONCLUSIONS: The height of the struck foot relative to the ETW pedal influenced the rider's global kinematics, and head and lower extremity injuries risk. In the struck side foot landing and both feet landing postures, the lower extremity was restrained and compressed by the ETW frame, resulting in a high risk of tibia fracture and MCL rupture. Reducing the impact velocities could effectively mitigate the injury risk of the ETW riders; however, loading patterns remain an important factor influencing the risk of lower extremity injury.

Exosomes Derived from SW480-Resistant Colon Cancer Cells Are Promote Angiogenesis via BMP-2/Smad5 Signaling Pathway.

Background: Multidrug resistance is the main cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Therefore, it is urgent to explore the mechanism and treatment of drug resistance of tumor cells. We aim to investigate the relationship between drug resistance and angiogenesis in SW480 colon cancer cells and the possible underlying mechanism. Methods: Exosomes were extracted from SW480-sensitive or SW480-resistant colon cancer cells (SW480/oxaliplatin). The CCK-8 assay, migration assay, tube formation assay, qPCR, and Western blotting were performed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The underlying mechanisms were detected by Western blotting assays and BMP-2 si-RNA silencing assay in vitro and in vivo. Results: The conditioned medium and exosomes of SW480/oxaliplatin cells promoted proliferation, migration, and tube formation of HUVECs. The expression of BMP-2 released by SW480/oxaliplatin exosomes was 2.3-folds higher than that by SW480 exosomes. Additionally, exosomal BMP-2 inhibiting the Smad signaling pathway induced the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and CD31. Silencing of BMP-2 partly blocks the promoting effect of SW480/oxaliplatin exosomes on angiogenesis. Moreover, SW480/oxaliplatin cells increased the BMP-2 expression, consequently promoting angiogenesis in vivo. Conclusions: SW480-resistant colon cancer exosomes promoted angiogenesis via the BMP-2/Smad signaling pathway, which is potential for the novel treatment for antiangiogenic therapies in colon cancer.

Study of typical electric two-wheelers pre-crash scenarios using K-medoids clustering methodology based on video recordings in China.

Crash safety of electric two-wheelers (ETWs) has been one of the most important safety issues in China due to their high proportion of involvement in traffic accidents. Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) systems have proven to be effective in reducing the number of fatalities and injuries in traffic accidents. Providing test scenarios is one of the fundamental tasks required for establishing a set of AEB test programs for ETWs. Compared to traditional in-depth accident data, accident data accompanied with video recordings provide more accurate accident information prior to a crash as both the traffic environment and the crash process can be observed from the video. In this study, a set of typical AEB test scenarios for ETWs was developed using accident data with video information. Video recordings of 630 car-to-ETW crashes in China from 2010 to 2021 were selected from the VRU Traffic Accident database with Video (VRU-TRAVi). A K-medoids1 cluster analysis was carried out based on variables including the collision time, visual obstruction, motion of the car and ETW before the collision, relative motion direction between the car and ETW, and the ETW type. The velocity information of cars and ETWs was also accounted for in each clustering scenario. Seven typical pre-crash scenarios were obtained, including five electric-scooter (E-scooter) scenarios (representing two scenarios where the ETWs are approaching the car from the left side, two scenarios where the ETWs are approaching the car in the same direction and another scenario where the ETWs are approaching the car in the opposite direction) and two electric-bike (E-bike) scenarios where the E-bikes are approaching the car in the perpendicular direction. Both E-bike scenarios are consistent with the E-scooter scenario except for the ETW type and velocity range; therefore, by combining the E-bike and E-scooter scenarios, five ETW scenarios were finally recommended as AEB test scenarios. By comparing with typical scenarios extracted based on the China In-Depth Accident Study (CIDAS) data and the China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) test scenarios, the results show that future AEB test scenarios for ETWs should focus on scenarios with visual obstructions and scenarios where either the car or the ETW is turning, with a velocity range of 15-30 km/h for ETWs.

Rhubarb granule promotes diethylnitrosamine-induced liver tumorigenesis by activating the oxidative branch of pentose phosphate pathway via G6PD in rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Rhubarb is a natural herbal medicine widely used clinically with numerous pharmacological activities including anti-cancer. Specifically, several studies reported that free anthraquinones from Rhubarb suppressed the proliferation of hepatoma cells. Nonetheless, recent studies revealed that Rhubarb caused hepatotoxicity in vivo, confirming its "two-way" effect on the liver. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of Rhubarb in the in vivo treatment of liver cancer should be further elucidated. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study investigated the presence of hepatoprotection or hepatotoxicity of Rhubarb in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 112 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 190-250 g were enrolled. The rats were induced hepatocarcinogenesis using diethylnitrosamine (0.002 g/rat) until 17 weeks. Starting at week 11, Rhubarb granules (4 g/kg and 8 g/kg) were intragastrically administered daily for 7 weeks. All rats were euthanized at week 20 and the livers were analyzed via non-targeted metabolomics analysis. We established hepatic glucose 6 phosphate (6PG) levels and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activities to assess the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). And the liver injuries of rats were analyzed via histological changes, hepatic function, as well as hepatic protein levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2 (PKM2), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Furthermore, polydatin (0.1 g/kg/d) as a specific inhibitor of G6PD was used to treat rats. Notably, their histological changes, hepatic function, hepatic 6PG levels, hepatic G6PD activities, PCNA levels, and PKM2 levels were recorded. RESULTS: Non-targeted metabolomics revealed that Rhubarb regulated the PPP in the liver of Rhubarb-DEN-treated rats. Besides, Rhubarb activated the oxidative branch of the PPP by activating G6PD (a rate-limiting enzyme in the oxidative PPP) in the liver of Rhubarb-DEN-treated rats. Meanwhile, Rhubarb promoted DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Moreover, polydatin attenuated the promoting effect of Rhubarb on DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: Rhubarb promoted DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis by activating the PPP, indicating that the efficacy and safety of Rhubarb in the treatment of liver cancer deserve to be deliberated.

The Head AIS 4+ Injury Thresholds for the Elderly Vulnerable Road User Based on Detailed Accident Reconstructions.

Compared with the young, the elderly (age greater than or equal to 60 years old) vulnerable road users (VRUs) face a greater risk of injury or death in a traffic accident. A contributing vulnerability is the aging processes that affect their brain structure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the injury mechanisms and establish head AIS 4+ injury tolerances for the elderly VRUs based on various head injury criteria. A total of 30 elderly VRUs accidents with detailed injury records and video information were selected and the VRUs' kinematics and head injuries were reconstructed by combining a multi-body system model (PC-Crash and MADYMO) and the THUMS (Ver. 4.0.2) FE models. Four head kinematic-based injury predictors (linear acceleration, angular velocity, angular acceleration, and head injury criteria) and three brain tissue injury criteria (coup pressure, maximum principal strain, and cumulative strain damage measure) were studied. The correlation between injury predictors and injury risk was developed using logistical regression models for each criterion. The results show that the calculated thresholds for head injury for the kinematic criteria were lower than those reported in previous literature studies. For the brain tissue level criteria, the thresholds calculated in this study were generally similar to those of previous studies except for the coup pressure. The models had higher (>0.8) area under curve values for receiver operator characteristics, indicating good predictive power. This study could provide additional support for understanding brain injury thresholds in elderly people.

Evaluation of injury thresholds for predicting severe head injuries in vulnerable road users resulting from ground impact via detailed accident reconstructions.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various head injury criteria and associated risk functions in prediction of vulnerable road users (VRUs) severe head injuries caused by ground impact during vehicle collisions. Ten VRU accidents with video information were reconstructed by using Chalmers Pedestrian Model, vehicle multi-body system models and the THUMS (Ver. 4.0.2) finite element model. The head kinematics were used to calculate injury risks for seven head kinematics-based criteria: head angular velocity and acceleration, linear acceleration, head injury criterion (HIC), head impact power (HIP) and two versions of brain injury criterion (i.e., BRIC and BrIC). In addition, the intracranial responses were used to estimate seven tissue injury criteria, Von Mises stress, shear stress, coup pressure (C.P.) and countercoup pressure (CC.P.), maximum principal strain (MPS), cumulative strain damage measure (CSDM), and dilatation damage measure (DDM). A review of the medical reports for all cases indicated that each individual suffered severe head injuries and died. The injury risks predicted through simulations were compared to the head injuries recorded in the medical or forensic reports. The results indicated that 75-100% of the reconstructed ground impact accidents injuries were correctly predicted by angular acceleration, linear acceleration, HIC, C.P., MPS and CSDM0.15. Shear stress, CC.P. and CSDM0.25 correctly predicted 50-75% of the reconstructed accidents injuries. For angular velocity, HIP, BRIC and BrIC, the injuries were correctly predicted for less than 50% of the reconstructed accidents. The Von Mises stress and DDM did not correctly predict any reconstructed accidents injuries. The results could help to understand the effectiveness of the brain injury criteria for future head injury evaluation.

Analysis of pedestrian-to-ground impact injury risk in vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions based on rotation angles.

INTRODUCTION: Due to the diversity of pedestrian-to-ground impact (secondary impact) mechanisms, secondary impacts always result in more unpredictable injuries as compared to the vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions (primary impact). The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of vehicle frontal structure, vehicle impact velocity, and pedestrian size and gait on pedestrian-to-ground impact injury risk. METHOD: A total of 600 simulations were performed using the MADYMO multi-body system and four different sizes of pedestrians and six types initial gait were considered and impacted by five vehicle types at five impact velocities, respectively. The pedestrian rotation angle ranges (PRARs) (a, b, c, d) were defined to identify and classify the pedestrian rotation angles during the ground impact. RESULTS: The PRARs a, b, and c were the ranges primarily observed during the pedestrian landing. The PRAR has a significant influence on pedestrian-to-ground impact injuries. However, there was no correlation between the vehicle velocity and head injury criterion (HIC) caused by the secondary impact. In low velocity collisions (20, 30km/h), the severity of pedestrian head injury risk caused by the secondary impact was higher than that resulting from the primary impact. CONCLUSIONS: The PRARs defined in this study are highly correlated with the pedestrian-to-ground impact mechanism, and can be used to further analyze the pedestrian secondary impact and to predict the head injury risk. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: To reduce the pedestrian secondary impact injury risk, passive and active safety countermeasures should be considered together to prevent the pedestrian's head-to-ground impacts, particularly in the low-velocity collisions.

[RHCE genotyping in Chinese Han from north and Li from south].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method which processes RHCE genotyping with PCR. METHODS: Using PCR-SSP to detect RHCE genotype in 200 cases of Han population in north of China and Li population in south of China and detecting 5 samples of parentage testing at the same time. RESULTS: The results of RHCE genotyping in individuals of two populations are completely accorded with the results of serology typing. And the distribution of RH genotypic frequency in Han population in north China is: RHCCEE 1, RHCCEe 3, RHCCee 88, RHCcEE 4, RHCcEe 20, RHCcee 54, RHccEE 1, RHccEe 22, RHccee; The distribution of RH genotypic frequency in Li populatin in south China is RHCCEE 2, RHCCEe 2, RHCCee 106, RHCcEE 7, RHCcEe 62, RHCcee 10, RHccEE 3, RHccEe 8. The results of RHCE genotype detecting of parentage testing samples are accorded with the results of associated identification of 13 STR loci. CONCLUSION: PCR-SSP technology can exactly detect RHCE genotype in individuals of Han population in north China and Li population in south China.

[A PCR-RFLP analysis to HLA-B gene among Chinese northern Han populations].

OBJECTIVE: To set up the method for analyzing HLA-B gene polymorphism with PCR-RFLP, and to gain population data among northern Chinese Hans of HLA-B's restricted fragments after NlaIII digestion, and to achieve application in forensic medicine practice. METHODS: Sample DNA was extracted by the phenol/chloroform extraction method, 943 bp-long fragments containing HLA-B exon 2 and 3 were got by PCR. The endonuclease NlaIII was applied to cut the PCR products into polymorphic fragments shorter than 943bp, then PAGE and silver staining were used to detect the digestion results, finally the digestion sites were assured by DNA sequencing. RESULTS: Along 943bp-long PCR products, 14 length-different fragments, 20 kinds of fragment combinations were got and 6 cutting site were observed after NlaIII digestion. CONCLUSION: HLA-B gene was highly polymorphic among Chinese northern Hans. Even with only one endonuclease, 14 restricted fragments were got and the PIC was great. Such a HLA-B PCR-RFLP analysis will have values in forensic medicine applications.