ContrastAlign: Toward Robust BEV Feature Alignment via Contrastive Learning for Multi-Modal 3D Object Detection

In the field of 3D object detection tasks, fusing heterogeneous features from LiDAR and camera sensors into a unified Bird's Eye View (BEV) representation is a widely adopted paradigm. However, existing methods are often compromised by imprecise sensor calibration, resulting in feature misalignment in LiDAR-camera BEV fusion. Moreover, such inaccuracies result in errors in depth estimation for the camera branch, ultimately causing misalignment between LiDAR and camera BEV features. In this work, we propose a novel ContrastAlign approach that utilizes contrastive learning to enhance the alignment of heterogeneous modalities, thereby improving the robustness of the fusion process. Specifically, our approach includes the L-Instance module, which directly outputs LiDAR instance features within LiDAR BEV features. Then, we introduce the C-Instance module, which predicts camera instance features through RoI (Region of Interest) pooling on the camera BEV features. We propose the InstanceFusion module, which utilizes contrastive learning to generate similar instance features across heterogeneous modalities. We then use graph matching to calculate the similarity between the neighboring camera instance features and the similarity instance features to complete the alignment of instance features. Our method achieves state-of-the-art performance, with an mAP of 70.3%, surpassing BEVFusion by 1.8% on the nuScenes validation set. Importantly, our method outperforms BEVFusion by 7.3% under conditions with misalignment noise

Optimization of rigid-flexible coupling skin scheme for continuous variable curvature trailing edge wing

Variable camber wing structure is a hot topic in many scientific research institutions. In order to improve the deformation accuracy of the continuously variable trailing edge structure, it is necessary to design a more reasonable structure. The corresponding mathematical model is established for the rigid-flexible coupling continuously variable bending trailing edge structure. The Latin hypercube sampling method is used to perform the stratified sam pling of the parameters. The correlation vector machine algorithm is adopted to build the model, and the the model is optimized by the differential evolution algorithm. The correlation coefficient of each variable to the deformation error is analyzed, and the variables that have a greater impact on the overall design are determined. The results show that the deformation accuracy of the optimized rigid-flexible coupling skin is improved by about 67% compared with the initial state

The clinical outcome of pembrolizumab for patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a single center, real world study in China

BackgroundThe KEYNOTE-048 and KEYNOTE-040 study have demonstrated the efficacy of pembrolizumab in recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (R/M HNSCC), we conducted this real-world study to investigate the efficacy of pembrolizumab in patients with R/M HNSCC.MethodsThis is a single-center retrospective study conducted in the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (Shanghai, China). Between December 2020 and December 2022, a total of 77 patients with R/M HNSCC were included into analysis. The primary endpoint of the study was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR)and toxicity.Efficacy was assessed according to RECIST version 1.1.SPSS 27.0 and GraphPad Prism 8.0 software were utilized to perform the statistical analysis.ResultsBy the cut-off date (February 28, 2023), the median OS,PFS and ORR were 15.97 months,8.53 months and 48.9% in patients treated with the pembrolizumab regimen in the first line therapy. Among these patients, 17 patients received pembrolizumab with cetuximab,and 18 received pembrolizumab with chemotherapy.We observed no significant differences between two groups neither in median OS (13.9 vs 19.4 months, P=0.3582) nor PFS (unreached vs 8.233 months, P= 0.2807). In the ≥2nd line therapy (n=30), the median OS, PFS and ORR were 5.7 months, 2.58 months and 20% respectively. Combined positive score (CPS) was eligible from 54 patients. For first line therapy, the median OS and PFS were 14.6 and 8.53 months in patients with CPS ≥1, and median OS and PFS were 14.6 and 12.33 months in patients with CPS ≥20. The immune-related adverse events (irAEs) were occurred in the 31 patients (31/77, 40.26%), and the most common potential irAEs were hypothyroidism (25.97%), and pneumonitis (7.79%).ConclusionOur real-world results indicated that pembrolizumab regimen is a promising treatment in patients with R/M HNSC

Vasohibin 2 reduces chemosensitivity to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cells via Jun proto-oncogene dependent transactivation of ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2

Quality and safety food products problem was usually after thought in the food industry development issues, accordance with the consumer's desirability that understand the importance of product quality and food safety. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification is one way for company to implementing food safety. Sierad Produce Corp. at this moment has obtained HACCP certificate to produce chicken carcasses.But the implementation need to be controlled, as the case of foodborne illness and foodborne disease can occur easily if not properly controlled. The main objective of this research is to develop the best strategy to implement HACCP and to maintain the food safety quality system at Sierad Produce Corp. The information and data that has been collected within this research were covering both the primary and secondary data based on the date of September 2012 to December 2012. The methods used in this research are descriptive analysis, Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE), External Factor Evaluation (EFE), Internal External (IE), Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat (SWOT) and Analysis Hierarchy Process (AHP). Based on this research, the best strategy for implementing HACCP and sustain the system on Sierad Produce are Critical Control Points (CCP) evaluation and improvement of production room

Learning Based Toolpath Planner on Diverse Graphs for 3D Printing

This paper presents a learning based planner for computing optimized 3D printing toolpaths on prescribed graphs, the challenges of which include the varying graph structures on different models and the large scale of nodes & edges on a graph. We adopt an on-the-fly strategy to tackle these challenges, formulating the planner as a Deep Q-Network (DQN) based optimizer to decide the next `best\u27 node to visit. We construct the state spaces by the Local Search Graph (LSG) centered at different nodes on a graph, which is encoded by a carefully designed algorithm so that LSGs in similar configurations can be identified to re-use the earlier learned DQN priors for accelerating the computation of toolpath planning. Our method can cover different 3D printing applications by defining their corresponding reward functions. Toolpath planning problems in wire-frame printing, continuous fiber printing, and metallic printing are selected to demonstrate its generality. The performance of our planner has been verified by testing the resultant toolpaths in physical experiments. By using our planner, wire-frame models with up to 4.2k struts can be successfully printed, up to 93.3% of sharp turns on continuous fiber toolpaths can be avoided, and the thermal distortion in metallic printing can be reduced by 24.9%

Differences in lower extremity kinematics and kinetics during a side-cutting task in patients with and without chronic ankle instability

BackgroundPatients with chronic ankle instability (CAI) have demonstrated altered hip and knee movement strategies during walking and running, but these movement modalities do not involve changes in speed and direction, making it difficult to simulate the conditions of real sports, whereas side-cutting task can provide CAI patients with a more realistic athletic challenge. However, there is limited literature examining the kinematic and kinetic differences in the hip, knee, and ankle joints of CAI patients during the side-cutting task.ObjectiveTo assess differences in lower extremity joint kinematics and kinetics during the side-cutting task in individuals with and without CAI.DesignCross-sectional study.Participants48 males, 24 in each of the CAI group and healthy control group; 40 females, 20 in each of the CAI group and healthy control group.MethodsLower extremity three-dimensional kinematic and kinetics data were evaluated by using a three-dimensional motion analysis system during the initial contact (IC) and toe off (TO) while side-cutting.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, male patients with CAI exhibited greater hip flexion and external rotation angles, knee internal rotation angles, smaller knee flexion angles and ankle inversion angles, greater hip external rotation moments, and greater knee abduction moments; female patients with CAI exhibited smaller hip and knee flexion angles, greater hip external rotation angles, larger ankle inversion angles and internal rotation angles, smaller hip external rotation moments, and greater knee abduction moments.ConclusionOur findings indicate that patients with CAI exhibit altered lower limb joint kinematics and kinetics during side-cutting task, with significant sex-specific differences. These movement pattern changes involve proximal joint compensation to stabilize the unstable distal ankle joint; however, these compensatory changes are not always favorable. The greater hip external rotation moment and greater knee internal rotation angle demonstrated by male CAI patients, the smaller hip flexion angle and greater ankle internal rotation angle demonstrated by female CAI patients, and the smaller knee flexion angle and greater knee abduction moment common to both sexes may impair the lower limb's ability to effectively absorb and dissipate ground reaction forces, potentially elevating the risk of lower extremity injuries

Relationship between dietary patterns and overactive bladder: a cross sectional study of NHANES 2013 to 2023

BackgroundDietary patterns, as a comprehensive dietary indicator, may influence the risk of developing overactive bladder (OAB). However, it remains unclear whether dietary patterns independently affect the development of OAB.ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify specific dietary patterns using principal component analysis (PCA) and evaluate their associations with the risk of OAB, thereby providing new insights for OAB prevention and management.MethodsDietary patterns were identified by applying PCA, and their associations with OAB risk were analyzed. After adjusting for three known confounders (age, sex, and BMI), four key dietary patterns were determined: (1) PC5: Antioxidant-balanced pattern, OR = 0.96, 95% CI (0.94–0.97), p < 0.05; (2) PC16: Diversified low-alcohol pattern, OR = 0.92, 95% CI (0.89–0.94), p < 0.05; (3) PC18: Whole-grain high-alcohol pattern, OR = 1.04, 95% CI (1.01–1.07), p < 0.05; (4) PC22: High-fiber low-sugar pattern, OR = 0.93, 95% CI (0.90–0.96), p < 0.05.ResultsThe findings indicated that the antioxidant-balanced (PC5), diversified low-alcohol (PC16), and high-fiber low-sugar (PC22) dietary patterns were associated with a decreased risk of OAB, while the whole-grain high-alcohol pattern (PC18) exhibited a dual effect. Specifically, when considered independently, the high-fiber low-sugar pattern showed a protective effect; however, when combined with the whole-grain high-alcohol pattern, it increased the risk of OAB.ConclusionDietary patterns are independent factors influencing the development of OAB. In particular, the antioxidant-balanced, diversified low-alcohol, and high-fiber low-sugar patterns help reduce OAB risk, whereas the whole-grain high-alcohol pattern exerts a dual effect

MicroRNA-192 targeting retinoblastoma 1 inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells

microRNAs play an important roles in cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. They can function either as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. We found that the overexpression of miR-192 inhibited cell proliferation in A549, H460 and 95D cells, and inhibited tumorigenesis in a nude mouse model. Both caspase-7 and the PARP protein were activated by the overexpression of miR-192, thus suggesting that miR-192 induces cell apoptosis through the caspase pathway. Further studies showed that retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) is a direct target of miR-192. Over-expression of miR-192 decreased RB1 mRNA and protein levels and repressed RB1-3′-UTR reporter activity. Knockdown of RB1 using siRNA resulted in a similar cell morphology as that observed for overexpression of miR-192. Additionally, RB1-siRNA treatment inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Analysis of miRNA expression in clinical samples showed that miR-192 is significantly downregulated in lung cancer tissues compared to adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that miR-192 is a tumor suppressor that can target the RB1 gene to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, miR-192 was expressed at low levels in lung cancer samples, indicating that it might be a promising therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment

Combined analysis of AFP and HCCR-1 as an useful serological marker for small hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective cohort study

Abstract. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent malignant tumors in the world. The only serological marker widely used for the diagnosis of HCC is alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Despite that AFP is widely used for the diagnosis of HCC, it has a limit as a serological marker due to its low sensitivity and specificity. The human cervical cancer proto-oncogene 1 (HCCR-1) was previously reported as a new biomarker for HCC. To further evaluate the HCCR-1 as a biomarker for HCC, we conducted the prospective cohort study. We evaluated the significance of simultaneous measurement of 2 tumor markers in the diagnosis of HCC in China, Japan and Korea. Two markers for HCC, AFP and HCCR-1, were measured in the sera obtained from 1,338 patients at the time of initial diagnosis of HCC. Of the 1338 HCC patients, 616 (46%) and 686 (51.3%) were sero-positive for AFP and HCCR-1, respectively. The positive rate for HCC was increased up to 74.1% in combined use of AFP and HCCR-1. Many cases (54%) for AFP-negative HCC were positive for HCCR-1 and vice versa. More importantly, the diagnostic rate for small HCC (< 2 cm) was significantly improved in the combined analysis of AFP and HCCR-1 to 56.9% although it was only 40.1% and 23.4% in the single analysis of HCCR-1 and AFP, respectively. Our result suggests that the HCCR-1 could be an useful biomarker for HCC while the diagnostic rate could be significantly improved in the combined use of HCCR-1 and AFP