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Face information in public images is vulnerable to tampering. Some studies have used pre-embedded watermarks to detect tampering but cannot recover the original face. To address this, we propose a proactive face hiding network that conceals face information in the background region for the first time. Our framework includes three U-Net-based modules: a preparation network, an encoder, and a recovery network. Special loss functions are designed to achieve our objective of recovering the original face from a protected image attacked by face swapping. In addition, we develop a neural network-based JPEG simulator and a differentiable simulator, offering a fresh perspective on addressing the robustness problem associated with JPEG compression. Our method generates protected images with a peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 40.947 dB in experiments. Even after different face attacks, the recovered images maintain PSNR between 28.368 and 33.847 dB. After the attack of JPEG compression, the PSNR of the recovered image decreases by a maximum of 2.142 dB. Our scheme effectively generates high-quality protected images that resist face swapping and JPEG compression attacks, enabling recovery of the original faces.

In this paper, we propose a Swin Transformer-based perceptual image hashing scheme to resist the impact of screen-shooting distortion on content authentication. The system applies a Swin Transformer-based U-shaped architecture to form a feature extractor, cooperates through encoder-decoder for feature extraction and compression, and employs a hash generator consisting of several fully connected layers to generate the final hash sequence. In addition, the scheme adds a distortion simulator to the training process, which uses image processing operations to simulate distortion on the original image to assist the feature extractor and hash generator in learning to resist screen-shooting distortion. Our experiments show that the proposed hashing is robust to single and hybrid content-preserving operations in screen-shooting attack. In addition, we also demonstrate that our hashing scheme outperforms some state-of-the-art schemes in terms of robustness and discrimination.

Objective: Working with suicidal patients can elicit negative emotional responses that can impede clinicians’ empathy and affect clinical outcomes. Virtual human interactions represent a promising tool to train clinicians. The present study investigated the impact of virtual human interaction training to enhance clinicians’ emotional self-awareness and empathy when working with suicidal patients. Methods: Clinicians were randomly assigned into two groups. Both groups interviewed a virtual patient presenting with a suicidal crisis; clinicians in the intervention condition (n= 31) received immediate feedback about negative emotional responses and empathic communication, whereas those in the control condition (n= 33) did not receive any feedback. All clinicians interviewed a second virtual patient 1 week later. Clinicians’ emotional response to the two virtual patients and their empathic communication with each of them were assessed immediately after each interaction. Linear mixed models were used to assess change in clinicians’ emotional response and verbal empathy between the two interactions across conditions. Results: Clinicians’ emotional responses toward the suicidal virtual patients were unchanged in both conditions. Clinicians in the intervention condition presenting low empathy level with the first virtual patient showed higher empathy level with the second virtual patient than with the first (B= 1.15, SE = 0.25, p< 0.001, 95% CI [0.42, 1.89]). Conclusions: This work demonstrates the feasibility of using virtual human interactions to improve empathic communication skills in clinicians with poor empathy skills. Further refinement of this methodology is needed to create effective training modules for a broader array of clinicians.

Reversible data hiding (RDH) has been investigated for over two decades. Depending on the application scenario, it can be divided into RDH and reversible data hiding in encrypted images (RDHEI). Interestingly, almost all studies on RDH/RDHEI have been conducted on gray-scale images, and relatively few studies have been conducted on color images compared to those on gray-scale images. Moreover, very few studies have been undertaken on palette images as a widely used image format. For palette images in which pixels are not gray-scale levels but color table indexes, it is difficult to apply traditional RDH/RDHEI methods directly. Therefore, we propose a new framework for RDH/RDHEI specifically for palette images. This framework adds a route selection algorithm before the conventional RDH/RDHEI approach. To be specific, we propose a method named the shortest route with correlation and frequency selection to reorder the color table, followed by a correlation reconstruction of the remapped index image according to this color table. The experimental results show the improvement brought by our proposed route selection to the existing RDH/RDHEI methods in palette images.

ObjectiveHepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) pathophysiology remains unclear. This study aims to characterise the molecular basis of HBV-ACLF using transcriptomics.MethodsFour hundred subjects with HBV-ACLF, acute-on-chronic hepatic dysfunction (ACHD), liver cirrhosis (LC) or chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and normal controls (NC) from a prospective multicentre cohort were studied, and 65 subjects (ACLF, 20; ACHD, 10; LC, 10; CHB, 10; NC, 15) among them underwent mRNA sequencing using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).ResultsThe functional synergy analysis focusing on seven bioprocesses related to the PBMC response and the top 500 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed that viral processes were associated with all disease stages. Immune dysregulation, as the most prominent change and disorder triggered by HBV exacerbation, drove CHB or LC to ACHD and ACLF. Metabolic disruption was significant in ACHD and severe in ACLF. The analysis of 62 overlapping DEGs further linked the HBV-based immune-metabolism disorder to ACLF progression. The signatures of interferon-related, neutrophil-related and monocyte-related pathways related to the innate immune response were significantly upregulated. Signatures linked to the adaptive immune response were downregulated. Disruptions of lipid and fatty acid metabolism were observed during ACLF development. External validation of four DEGs underlying the aforementioned molecular mechanism in patients and experimental rats confirmed their specificity and potential as biomarkers for HBV-ACLF pathogenesis.ConclusionsThis study highlights immune-metabolism disorder triggered by HBV exacerbation as a potential mechanism of HBV-ACLF and may indicate a novel diagnostic and treatment target to reduce HBV-ACLF-related mortality.

• The strategy for dual-JPEG-image RDH is proposed for the first time in this study. • The dual strategy is introduced to deal with low correlation of DCT coefficients. • The range for embeddable coefficients is extended. • The number of embedding bits per coefficient is increased. • The number and order of embedding bits are arranged by combining two distortions. Because of the widespread popularity of JPEG image compression format, reversible data hiding (RDH) for JPEG images has practical application value with increasing research attention. This paper proposes a dual-image RDH method based on a modification of the discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients. Because of the limited embedding capacity, a dual-image strategy is introduced and improved according to the characteristics of JPEG. In our method, all nonzero DCT coefficients are embedded without the additional distortion caused by invalid modifications, and the spatial distortion caused by the modification of DCT coefficients with different frequencies varies. A dynamic allocation method is proposed to arrange the embedding capacity reasonably to achieve less distortion. The nonzero DCT coefficients can be embedded flexibly with different bits of secret data to significantly improve the embedding capacity. As far as we know, this is the first work to achieve RDH in JPEG images in a dual-image manner. Furthermore, we also apply the proposed method to the reversible authentication of JPEG images. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method with high embedding capacity and satisfactory visual quality while suppressing file size expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTImage hashing is a technique that represents an image as a short unidirectional sequence. In this study, we propose a robust color image hashing technique based on the quaternionic local ranking binary pattern (QLRBP). First, the values of the RGB color channels are expressed as a pure quaternion, and the texture image is generated using the phase difference of the Clifford translation quaternion as the source for local binary pattern (LBP) comparison data. Next, mean pooling is used to reduce the dimensionality of the image texture. For security, the pixels of the dimension-reduced image are randomly selected, and each pixel is quantized to obtain the final image hash. Experimental results showed that the proposed scheme resists a variety of ordinary image operations and achieves good balance between robustness and discrimination. In comparison with other state-of-the-art methods, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of our scheme demonstrate its superiority in terms of content identification.

A self-embedding watermarking algorithm based on a reference sharing mechanism that has recovery ability under high tampering rates is proposed in this paper. In existing methods, the image recovery ability is often limited under an increasing tampering rate. The proposed method overcomes this limitation by seeking an approximate solution for each character-bit group tampered with. Moreover, the priority assignment of such groups can enhance the accuracy of tampering recovery. Based on this, by using the method proposed in this paper, recovered images always maintain excellent visual quality even at relatively high tampering rates. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.

Piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)), have attracted considerable attention due to their potential in flexible, biocompatible energy harvesting and sensing devices. However, their limited piezoelectric performance hinders their widespread application. Inspired by the concept of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) prevalent in high-performance piezoelectric ceramics, we successfully constructed MPB in the piezoelectric polymer P(VDF-TrFE) through size-dependent interface effects. We provided direct structural evidence using atomic force microscopy-infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) and significantly improved the piezoelectric performance of P(VDF-TrFE). The emergence of MPB is attributed to the interface effect induced by electrostatic interactions between ZnO fillers and the −CH2, −CF2, and −CHF groups in P(VDF-TrFE). This interaction drives a concomitant competition between the all-transβ phase (normal ferroelectric) and the 3/1 helical phase (relaxor), resulting in enhanced piezoelectric responses in the transition region. By coupling the MPB effect with a porous structure, we developed a piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) that surpasses the electrical output limitation of current P(VDF-TrFE)-based PENGs. The fabricated PENG exhibits superior piezoelectric outputs (6.9 μW/cm2), impressive pressure sensitivity (2.3038 V/kPa), ultrafast response time (4.3 ms), and recovery time (46.4 ms)─notably, without the need for additional poling treatment. In practical applications, the constructed PENG can efficiently generate characteristic signals in response to various human movements and harvest biomechanical energy. This work offers insight into utilizing interface-induced MPB and proposes a simple, scalable approach for developing high-performance self-polarized piezoelectric polymer films for self-powered sensing systems toward human–machine interaction.

Changes in volatile metabolites during cigar tobacco leaves fermentation as well as the metabolic pathways of metabolites with significant differences were investigated to determine the influence of cigar tobacco leaves fermentation on its flavor. The volatile substances in cigar tobacco leaves at different stages were detected by headspace-solid phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), and the main differences in volatile substances in cigar tobacco leaves at different fermentation stages of Yunxue1 in Yuxi production area were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The results show that in the process of cigar tobacco leaves fermentation (YXF0, YXF1, YXF2, YXF3, YXF4, YXF5), a total of 613 volatile metabolites were detected, and a significant difference was found in 263 kinds of metabolites. Among them, the main upregulated differential metabolites were 1,3,6,10-Cyclotetradecatetraene, 3,7,11-trimethyl-14-(1-methylethyl)-, [S-(E,Z,E,E)]-, Benzoic acid, Benzaldehyde, etc. While the main downregulated differential metabolites included beta.-Myrcene, trans-Farnesol, etc. The metabolites with significant differences are mainly concentrated in the biosynthesis of monoterpenes, diterpenes, sesquiterpenes and triterpenes, the degradation metabolism of amino acids, such as valine, leucine and isoleucine, and the biosynthesis of phenylpropyl. There were 8 different metabolites in 5 groups, including 4- (1-methylethyl) -1-cyclohexene-1-formaldehyde、2, 4-dihydroxyacetophenone、2-methylbutyl 3-methylbutyrate and methylpyrazine, all of which showed upregulation trend during fermentation. In the fermentation process, volatile metabolites participate in various synthesis and degradation pathways. The biosynthesis pathway of terpenes and amino acid synthesis and degradation pathway are connected to produce various terpenes, aldehydes and other substances, such as 1,3,6,10-Cyclotetradecatetraene, 3,7,11-trimethyl-14-(1-methylethyl)-, [S-(E,Z,E,E)]-、benzaldehyde and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, which are conducive to the overall flavor and quality of cigar tobacco leaves.

The identification of protein complexes is significant to understand the mechanisms of cellular processes. Up to present, many methods on protein complex detection have been developed in static PPI networks. However, static PPI networks cannot accurately describe the behaviours of proteins in the different stages of life cycle of a cell. In this paper, we combine different data sets including gene expression data, GO terms and high-throughput PPI data to reconstruct weighted dynamic PPI networks, on which a new method called CPredictor4.0 are proposed. Specifically, we first calculate protein active probability and protein functional similarity to construct weighted dynamic PPI networks, then define a high-order topological overlap measure of similarity to extract protein complexes based on the core-attachment model. In our experiments, four PPI datasets are used to detect protein complexes. Experimental results indicate that CPredictor4.0 is superior to the existing methods in overall.

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been widely researched and used for sustainable energy, sensing and other applications in recent years due to its energy conversion properties. However, in practical applications, TENG is often exposed to complex and harsh environments, so ensuring its stable output performance is a significant challenge. Here, a flexible, superhydrophobic and environmentally resistant TENG for energy harvesting and self-powered sensing is proposed by a cost-effective surface modification and co-blending method. The roughness, hydrophobicity and surface potential of the composites are significantly enhanced by the introduction of surface modified BN (m-BN), resulting in excellent triboelectric output (43 W/m2) of the m-BN/TENG. Moreover, the m-BN/TENG not only maintains 90% initial electrical output at 80% humidity but also its output performance has no noticeable change after treatment with acid and alkali. Apart from energy harvesting, the TENG has been demonstrated as a self-powered humidity sensor with a sensitivity of − 80 nA RH−1and a self-powered droplet detector with an ultra-fast response time of 0.6 ms. Our work provides a practical approach for stable energy harvesting and self-powered sensing of TENG in harsh environments.

Liver transplantation (LT) is an effective therapy for acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) but is limited by organ shortages. We aimed to identify an appropriate score for predicting the survival benefit of LT in HBV-related ACLF patients.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are promising for a variety of applications that require a reliable output performance and stability. In this work, by utilizing the synergistic effect of lithium chloride (LiCl) and MXene, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) based composite films with humidity-sensitive properties were prepared and employed as a friction layer to achieve self-powered TENGs with enhanced output performance under high humidity. The composite material demonstrates exceptional and stable output performance in the humidity range of 30–95% while exhibiting a strong linear correlation with increasing relative humidity (RH). At 95% RH, its short-circuit current increases up to 31.91 μA, which is three times the output of the TENG fabricated by PVA and PTFE (P-TENG). The rich hydroxyl group in PVA, the strong hygroscopicity of LiCl, and the microcapacitor network provided by MXene nanosheets significantly improve the water absorption capacity and surface roughness of the composite material, resulting in an excellent triboelectric output of TENG. Short-circuit current of the TENG in a wide range of RH (from 50% to 98%) responds very sensitively to humidity fluctuations in the environment and superior adsorption–desorption performance as humidity decreases. Furthermore, TENG regarded as a power supply in high humidity conditions was realized and it can light up 240 LEDs instantaneously with the transfer charge density of TENG reaching 194.37 μC m–2. This technology presents an effective method for stable energy harvesting and self-powered sensing in fog, the ocean, and other high-humidity environments.

Developing functional ductal organoids (FDOs) is essential for liver regenerative medicine. We aimed to construct FDOs with biliary tree networks in rat decellularized liver scaffolds (DLSs) with primary cholangiocytes isolated from mouse bile ducts. The developed FDOs were dynamically characterized by functional assays and metabolomics for bioprocess clarification. FDOs were reconstructed in DLSs retaining native structure and bioactive factors with mouse primary cholangiocytes expressing enriched biomarkers. Morphological assessment showed that biliary tree-like structures gradually formed from day 3 to day 14. The cholangiocytes in FDOs maintained high viability and expressed 11 specific biomarkers. Basal-apical polarity was observed at day 14 with immunostaining for E-cadherin and acetylated α-tubulin. The rhodamine 123 transport assay and active collection of cholyl-lysyl-fluorescein exhibited the specific functions of bile secretion and transportation at day 14 compared to those in monolayer and hydrogel culture systems. The metabolomics analysis with 1075 peak pairs showed that serotonin, as a key molecule of the tryptophan metabolism pathway linked to biliary tree reconstruction, was specifically expressed in FDOs during the whole period of culture. Such FDOs with biliary tree networks and serotonin expression may be applied for disease modeling and drug screening, which paves the way for future clinical therapeutic applications.

Measuring the isotopic composition of Hg in natural waters is challenging due to the ultratrace level of aqueous Hg (ng L–1). At least 5 ng of Hg mass is required for Hg isotopic analysis. Given the low Hg concentration in natural waters, a large volume of water (>10 L) is typically needed. The conventional grab sampling method is time-consuming, laborious, and prone to contamination during transportation and preconcentration steps. In this study, a DGT (diffusive gradients in thin films) method based on aminopropyl and mercaptopropyl bi-functionalized SBA-15 nanoparticles was developed and extended to determine the concentration and isotopic composition of aqueous Hg for the first time. The results of laboratory analysis showed that Hg adsorption by DGT induces ∼ −0.2‰ mass-dependent fractionation (MDF) and little mass-independent fractionation (MIF). The magnitude of MDF exhibits a dependence on the diffusion-layer thickness of DGT. Since Hg-MDF can occur in a broad range of environmental processes, monitoring the δ202Hg of aqueous Hg using the DGT method should be performed with caution. Field results show consistent MIF signatures (Δ199Hg) between the DGT and conventional grab sampling method. The developed DGT method serves as a passive sampling method that effectively characterizes the MIF of Hg in waters to understand the biogeochemical cycle of Hg at contaminated sites.

Functional bioengineered livers (FBLs) are promising alternatives to orthotopic liver transplantation. However, orthotopic transplantation of FBLs has not yet been reported. This study aimed to perform the orthotopic transplantation of FBLs in rats subjected to complete hepatectomy. FBLs were developed using rat whole decellularized liver scaffolds (DLSs) with human umbilical vein endothelial cells implanted via the portal vein, and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) and mouse hepatocyte cell line implanted via the bile duct. FBLs were evaluated in terms of endothelial barrier function, biosynthesis, and metabolism and orthotopically transplanted into rats to determine the survival benefit. The FBLs with well-organized vascular structures exhibited endothelial barrier function, with reduced blood cell leakage. The implanted hBMSCs and hepatocyte cell line were well aligned in the parenchyma of the FBLs. The high levels of urea, albumin, and glycogen in the FBLs indicated biosynthesis and metabolism. Orthotopic transplantation of FBLs achieved a survival time of 81.38 ± 4.263 min in rats (n= 8) subjected to complete hepatectomy, whereas control animals (n= 4) died within 30 min (p< 0.001). After transplantation, CD90-positive hBMSCs and the albumin-positive hepatocyte cell line were scattered throughout the parenchyma, and blood cells were limited within the vascular lumen of the FBLs. In contrast, the parenchyma and vessels were filled with blood cells in the control grafts. Thus, orthotopic transplantation of whole DLS-based FBLs can effectively prolong the survival of rats subjected to complete hepatectomy. In summary, this work was the first to perform the orthotopic transplantation of FBLs, with limited survival benefits, which still has important value for the advancement of bioengineered livers.

Antimony (Sb) is a toxic heavy metal, and PM2.5‐bound Sb (SbPM2.5) in the air impacts human health via inhalation pathways. In this study, we analyzed multiyear measurements of ambient SbPM2.5in Beijing to characterize its spatiotemporal distributions, identify main sources, and predict future trends. The results show that ambient SbPM2.5has been decreasing with fluctuations from 2005 to 2012 and decreased rapidly after 2013, which was likely a result of the government's enhanced air pollution control plan that targeted main sources of industrial Sb. Across the city, average SbPM2.5concentrations were relatively higher at nonemission locomotive traffic sampling sites and in densely populated areas (9.45–19.45 ng/m3) and lower in background areas (0.6–0.9 ng/m3). Regional‐scale emissions and local human activities both affected the spatial distributions of SbPM2.5. Notably, SbPM2.5concentration increased by 58.3% from 2006 to 2013 in one suburban background area, indicating the changing emission distributions and intensities over the study period. A neural network model was developed and tested to predict future SbPM2.5levels, results from which showed that with simulated massive reductions in coal supplies and a rapid boom in the waste incineration industry, SbPM2.5concentration would vary in a smaller range (from 4.08 to 4.38 ng/m3) over the next decade as compared to the observed range during 2011–2018 (19.0–5.44 ng/m3). The impact of the continued expansion of the waste incineration industry on SbPM2.5pollution needs to be considered in future emission control policies. Long‐term exposure to antimony (Sb) and related compounds, such as through respiration of Sb containing atmospheric particles, can result in negative health impacts to human body. Knowledge of concentration levels and future trends of Sb in PM2.5(SbPM2.5) especially in populated megacities is needed in assessing the potential risks of atmospheric Sb to human health. In this study, SbPM2.5concentration data in Beijing over the past 15 years were aggregated to assess its past trends and predict its future levels. Benefited from the implementation of stringent air pollution control programs in this region, SbPM2.5concentrations have been decreasing, but with fluctuations from 2005 to 2012, and at a faster rate after 2013. However, the decreasing trend will likely slowdown in the next decade due to the rapid development of the waste‐to‐energy conversion industry, which is an important source of atmospheric SbPM2.5emission. Thus, future SbPM2.5levels may still pose a threat to human health, especially to infants and children. Characteristics of PM2.5‐bound antimony in Beijing have been summarized over 15 years and they predict future trendsThe aggressive reduction of antimony (Sb) pollution levels is mainly influenced by a comprehensive air pollution control program by the governmentThe Sb emissions from waste incineration are likely to replace coal combustion as the primary source in PM2.5now and in the next decade Characteristics of PM2.5‐bound antimony in Beijing have been summarized over 15 years and they predict future trends The aggressive reduction of antimony (Sb) pollution levels is mainly influenced by a comprehensive air pollution control program by the government The Sb emissions from waste incineration are likely to replace coal combustion as the primary source in PM2.5now and in the next decade

There is much fluorescence for impurities on the variation cashmere fiber surface; the characteristic of the Raman spectrum is not obvious. Based on the orthogonal principle, variation cashmere fiber is purified by soaking in different component water/organic solvents, and cleaning with ultrasonic wave. Through measuring and analyzing the Raman spectrum, we confirm the optimal organic solvent system, soaking time and temperature for the cleanse technology of variation cashmere. The result shows that, the variation cashmere fiber is soaked in diethyl ether/aqueous organic solvent in the optimal condition, the Raman spectrum appears good peak-area ratio, and we get cleanest variation cashmere fiber.

String correlations are investigated in an infinite-size XXZ spin-1 chain. By using the infinite matrix product state representation, we calculate a long-range string order directly rather than an extrapolated string order in a finite-size system. In the Néel phase, the string correlations decay exponentially. In the XY phase (Tomonaga--Luttinger liquid phase), the behavior of the string correlations shows a unique two-step decaying to zero within a relatively very large lattice distance for any finite truncation dimension but its disappearance with zero string correlation in the thermodynamic limit, which makes a finite-size study difficult to verify the non-existence of the string order. Thus, in the Haldane phase, the non-vanishing string correlations in the limit of a very large distance allow to characterize the phase boundaries to the XY phase and the Néel phase, which implies that the transverse long-range string order is the order parameter for the Haldane phase. In addition, the singular behavior of the von Neumann entropy and the fidelity per lattice site is shown to capture clearly the phase transition points that are consistent with the results from the transverse long-range string order. The estimated critical points including a Berezinsky--Kosterlitz--Thouless transition from the XY phase to the Haldane phase agree well with the previous results: $\Delta_{c2} = 0$ for the XY--Haldane phase transition and $\Delta_{c3} = 1.185$ for the Haldane--Néel phase transition from the density renormalization group. From a finite-entanglement scaling of the von Neumann entropy with respect to the truncation dimension, the central charges are found to be $c\simeq 1.0$ at $\Delta_{c2} = 0$ and $c \simeq 0.5$ at $\Delta_{c3} = 1.185$, respectively, which shows that the XY--Haldane phase transition at $\Delta_{c2} = 0$ belongs to the Heisenberg universality class, while the Haldane--Néel phase transition at $\Delta_{c2} = 1.185$ belongs to the two-dimensional classical Ising universality class. It is also shown that, the long-range order parameters and the von Neumann entropy, as well as the fidelity per site approach, can be applied to characterize quantum phase transitions as a universal phase transition indicator for one-dimensional lattice many-body systems.

UnISIS (University of Illinois Seeing Improvement System) is a versatile adaptive optics system mounted on a large optics bench at the coudé focus of the Mount Wilson 2.5-m telescope. It was designed to have both laser guide star (LGS) and natural guide star (NGS) adaptive optics capabilities. The LGS side of the system relies on a pulsed UV laser with raw power of 30 W capable of creating an artificial laser star via Rayleigh scattering 18 km above the telescope. The LGS system can work at temporal response rates as high as 333 Hz-limited by the UV laser pulse rate-and the NGS system can work at rates up to 1.4 kHz. Each side of the system has its own high-speed wavefront sensor that runs separately, but in the LGS mode the NGS wavefront sensor is converted into a natural star tip-tilt sensor. The deformable mirror is conjugate to the telescope's primary mirror and has one of the most densely packed sets of actuators of any adaptive optics system currently in operation. This paper provides details of the UnISIS design and describes key updates we have made to the system. We show NGS AO-corrected images from the sky from the 900 nm z-band through the 2.12 ?m Ksband. The highest NGS Strehl achieved to date is 0.67 at Ksband.

Cortical processing depends on finely tuned excitatory and inhibitory connections in neuronal microcircuits. Reduced inhibition by somatostatin-expressing interneurons is a key component of altered inhibition associated with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (depression), which is implicated in cognitive deficits and rumination, but the link remains to be better established mechanistically in humans. Here we test the effect of reduced somatostatin interneuron-mediated inhibition on cortical processing in human neuronal microcircuits using a data-driven computational approach. We integrate human cellular, circuit, and gene expression data to generate detailed models of human cortical microcircuits in health and depression. We simulate microcircuit baseline and response activity and find a reduced signal-to-noise ratio and increased false/failed detection of stimuli due to a higher baseline activity in depression. We thus apply models of human cortical microcircuits to demonstrate mechanistically how reduced inhibition impairs cortical processing in depression, providing quantitative links between altered inhibition and cognitive deficits.

The bending movement of the pulvinus of Mimosa pudicais caused by a rapid change in volume of the abaxial motor cells, in response to various environmental stimuli. We investigated the relationship between the actin cytoskeleton and changes in the level of calcium during rapid contractile movement of the motor cells that was induced by electrical stimulation. The bending of the pulvinus was retarded by treatment with actin-affecting reagents and calcium channel inhibitors. The actin filaments in the motor cells were fragmented in response to electrical stimulation. Further investigations were performed using protoplasts from the motor cells of M. pudicapulvini. Calcium-channel inhibitors and EGTA had an inhibitory effect on contractile movement of the protoplasts. The level of calcium increased and became concentrated in the tannin vacuole after electrical stimulation. Ruthenium Red inhibited the increase in the level of calcium in the tannin vacuole and the contractile movement of the protoplasts. However, treatment with latrunculin A abolished the inhibitory effect of Ruthenium Red. Phalloidin inhibited the contractile movement and the increase in the level of calcium in the protoplasts. Our study demonstrates that depolymerization of the actin cytoskeleton in pulvinus motor cells in response to electrical signals results in increased levels of calcium.

• A RDH scheme in encrypted image based on adaptive encoding strategy is proposed. • Block permutation and stream cipher are applied to encrypt original image contents. • By analyzing MSB distribution, embeddable blocks and auxiliary data can be decided. • MSB layers are encoded with occurrence frequency to vacate room for data embedding. • Additional data are embedded into encrypted image with reversed Huffman codewords. Recently, reversible data hiding in encrypted image have attracted extensive attentions, which can be applied in secure cloud computing and privacy-preserving image processing. In this paper, a reversible data hiding scheme in encrypted image based on the adaptive encoding strategy is proposed. On the content-owner side, block permutation and stream cipher encryption are applied to mask the contents of original image. Through analyzing the distribution of MSB layers, embeddable blocks are first determined and auxiliary data are then generated by data hider. In order to vacate room for data accommodation, MSB layers of embeddable blocks are adaptively compressed according to occurrence frequency of MSB. Thus, additional data can be embedded into MSB layers of encrypted image together with reversed Huffman codewords and auxiliary data. Based on the availability of encryption key and data-hiding key, the receiver can realize separable operations of data extraction, image decryption and image recovery efficiently. Experimental results demonstrate that, our scheme not only can achieve satisfactory rate-distortion performance, but also can obtain greater embedding rate compared with the state-of-the-art schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]