Vehicle-Type Recognition Method for Images Based on Improved Faster R-CNN Model

The rapid increase in the number of vehicles has led to increasing traffic congestion, traffic accidents, and motor vehicle crime rates. The management of various parking lots has also become increasingly challenging. Vehicle-type recognition technology can reduce the workload of humans in vehicle management operations. Therefore, the application of image technology for vehicle-type recognition is of great significance for integrated traffic management. In this paper, an improved faster region with convolutional neural network features (Faster R-CNN) model was proposed for vehicle-type recognition. Firstly, the output features of different convolution layers were combined to improve the recognition accuracy. Then, the average precision (AP) of the recognition model was improved through the contextual features of the original image and the object bounding box optimization strategy. Finally, the comparison experiment used the vehicle image dataset of three vehicle types, including cars, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and vans. The experimental results show that the improved recognition model can effectively identify vehicle types in the images. The AP of the three vehicle types is 83.2%, 79.2%, and 78.4%, respectively, and the mean average precision (mAP) is 1.7% higher than that of the traditional Faster R-CNN model.

Biomimetic Nanoarchitectonics with Chitosan Nanogels for Collaborative Induction of Ferroptosis and Anticancer Immunity for Cancer Therapy

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) shows promising therapeutic potential for tumor regression. However, the low sensitivity and immunosuppressive state of current cell death manners seriously impede tumor immunogenicity. Ferroptosis characterized by excessive lipid peroxidation, has emerged as a potential strategy to induce ICD and activate antitumor immune responses. However, the effectiveness of ferroptosis is limited by antioxidant regulatory networks, including the glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) pathways, presenting challenges for its induction. Herein, they propose a novel approach that involves utilizing functionalized chitosan-ferrocene-sodium alginate (CFA) crosslinked nanogels, which are modified to pravastatin (PRV) and M1 macrophage membrane (MM) (designing as CFA/PRV@MM). Specifically, ferrocene boots intracellular reactive oxygen species levels for efficient glutathione (GSH) depletion through Fenton reaction, thus disrupting the GPX4/GSH axis, while PRV intervenes in the mevalonate pathway to inhibit the FSP1/CoQ10 antioxidant axis, thereby synergistically causing pronounced ferroptotic damage and promoting ICD. The CFA/PRV@MM nanogels demonstrate superior therapeutic efficacy in a mouse breast model, resulting in effective tumor ablation and immune response with minimal side effects. RNA transcription analysis reveals that nanogels can significantly affect metabolic progress, as well as immune activation. This research provides valuable insights into the design of ferroptosis induction for cancer immunotherapy.

Neural specialization with generalizable representations underlies children's cognitive development of attention

From childhood to adulthood, the human brain develops highly specialized yet interacting neural modules that give rise to nuanced attention and other cognitive functions. Each module can specialize over development to support specific functions, yet also coexist in multiple neurobiological modes to support distinct processes. Advances in cognitive neuroscience have conceptualized human attention as a set of cognitive processes anchored in highly specialized yet interacting neural systems. The underlying mechanisms of how these systems interplay to support children's cognitive development of multiple attention processes remain unknown. Leveraging developmental functional magnetic resonance imaging with attention network test paradigm, we demonstrate differential neurocognitive development of three core attentional processes from childhood to adulthood, with alerting reaching adult-like level earlier, followed by orienting and executive attention with more protracted development throughout middle and late childhood. Relative to adults, young children exhibit immature specialization with less pronounced dissociation of neural systems specific to each attentional process. Children manifest adult-like distributed representations in the ventral attention and cingulo-opercular networks, but less stable and weaker generalizable representations across multiple processes in the dorsal attention network. Our findings provide insights into the functional specialization and generalization of neural representations scaffolding cognitive development of core attentional processes from childhood to adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Growth hormone reduces aneuploidy and improves oocytes quality by JAK2-MAPK3/1 pathway in aged mice

BACKGROUND

The global delay in women's reproductive age has raised concerns about age-related infertility. The decline in oocyte quality is a limiting factor of female fertility, yet there are currently no strategies to preserve oocyte quality in aged women. Here, we investigated the effects of growth hormone (GH) supplementation on aneuploidy of aged oocytes.

METHODS

For the in vivo experiments, the aged mice (8-month-old) were intraperitoneally injected with GH daily for 8 weeks. For the in vitro experiments, germinal vesicle oocytes from aged mice were treated with GH during oocyte maturation. The impacts of GH on ovarian reserve before superovulation was evaluated. Oocytes were retrieved to assess oocyte quality, aneuploidy and developmental potential characteristics. Quantitative proteomics analysis was applied to investigate the potential targets of GH in aged oocytes.

RESULTS

In this study, we demonstrated that GH supplementation in vivo not only alleviated the decline in oocyte number caused by aging, but also improved the quality and developmental potential of aged oocytes. Strikingly, we discovered that GH supplementation reduced aneuploidy in aged oocytes. Mechanically, in addition to improving mitochondrial function, our proteomic analysis indicated that the MAPK3/1 pathway may be involved in the reduction in aneuploidy of aged oocytes, as confirmed both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, JAK2 may also act as a mediator in how GH regulates MAPK3/1.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, our research reveals that GH supplementation protects oocytes against aging-related aneuploidy and enhances the quality of aged oocytes, which has clinical significance for aged women undergoing assisted reproduction technology.

Tropoelastin-Pretreated Exosomes from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Improve the Synthesis of Cartilage Matrix and Alleviate Osteoarthritis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have recently been widely used to treat osteoarthritis (OA). Our prior research shows that tropoelastin (TE) increases MSC activity and protects knee cartilage from OA-related degradation. The underlying mechanism might be that TE regulates the paracrine of MSCs. Exosomes (Exos), the paracrine secretion of MSCs, have been found to protect chondrocytes, reduce inflammation, and preserve the cartilage matrix. In this study, we used Exos derived from TE-pretreated adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) (TE-Exo^ADSCs) as an injection medium, and compared it with Exos derived from unpretreated ADSCs (Exo^ADSCs). We found that TE-Exo^ADSCs could effectively enhance the matrix synthesis of chondrocytes in vitro. Moreover, TE pretreatment increased the ability of ADSCs to secrete Exos. In addition, compared with Exo^ADSCs, TE-Exo^ADSCs exhibited therapeutic effects in the anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-induced OA model. Further, we observed that TE altered the microRNA expression in Exo^ADSCs and identified one differentially upregulated microRNA: miR-451-5p. In conclusion, TE-Exo^ADSCs helped maintain the chondrocyte phenotype in vitro, and promoted cartilage repair in vivo. These therapeutic effects might be related with the altered expression of miR-451-5p in the Exo^ADSCs. Thus, the intra-articular delivery of Exos derived from ADSCs with TE pretreatment could be a new approach to treat OA.

Aberrant intra- and internetwork functional connectivity patterns of the anterior and posterior hippocampal networks in schizophrenia

AIM

Schizophrenia is associated with abnormal hippocampal structure and function. Available evidence suggests that the anterior and posterior hippocampus are differentially affected by schizophrenia pathology. This study was designed to provide new insight into the anterior and posterior hippocampus in schizophrenia from the perspective of functional connectivity.

METHODS

Based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 71 schizophrenia patients and 74 normal controls, we utilized a data-driven approach to functionally segment the hippocampus into anterior and posterior segments and then investigated the functional connectivity patterns within and between the two hippocampal networks at the network, edge, and nodal levels.

RESULTS

We found that schizophrenia patients showed hyperconnectivity of both the anterior and posterior hippocampal networks. We also observed that the network alterations appear somewhat greater in the anterior hippocampal network than the posterior network, the left side than the right, and the intranetwork connectivity than the internetwork connectivity.

CONCLUSION

The results reveal convergent and divergent intranetwork and internetwork connectivity patterns of the anterior and posterior hippocampus in schizophrenia, providing novel and important insights into the mechanisms of hippocampal pathology in schizophrenia.