Towards minimizing efforts for Morphing Attacks-Deep embeddings for morphing pair selection and improved Morphing Attack Detection.

Face Morphing Attacks pose a threat to the security of identity documents, especially with respect to a subsequent access control process, because they allow both involved individuals to use the same document. Several algorithms are currently being developed to detect Morphing Attacks, often requiring large data sets of morphed face images for training. In the present study, face embeddings are used for two different purposes: first, to pre-select images for the subsequent large-scale generation of Morphing Attacks, and second, to detect potential Morphing Attacks.

Synthetic Data in Human Analysis: A Survey.

Deep neural networks have become prevalent in human analysis, boosting the performance of applications, such as biometric recognition, action recognition, as well as person re-identification. However, the performance of such networks scales with the available training data. In human analysis, the demand for large-scale datasets poses a severe challenge, as data collection is tedious, time-expensive, costly and must comply with data protection laws.

Robust Identification and Segmentation of the Outer Skin Layers in Volumetric Fingerprint Data.

Despite the long history of fingerprint biometrics and its use to authenticate individuals, there are still some unsolved challenges with fingerprint acquisition and presentation attack detection (PAD). Currently available commercial fingerprint capture devices struggle with non-ideal skin conditions, including soft skin in infants. They are also susceptible to presentation attacks, which limits their applicability in unsupervised scenarios such as border control.

Mobile Contactless Fingerprint Recognition: Implementation, Performance and Usability Aspects.

This work presents an automated contactless fingerprint recognition system for smartphones. We provide a comprehensive description of the entire recognition pipeline and discuss important requirements for a fully automated capturing system. In addition, our implementation is made publicly available for research purposes.

Direct Unsupervised Super-Resolution Using Generative Adversarial Network (DUS-GAN) for Real-World Data.

The deep learning models for the Single Image Super-Resolution (SISR) task have found success in recent years. However, one of the prime limitations of existing deep learning-based SISR approaches is that they need supervised training. Specifically, the Low-Resolution (LR) images are obtained through known degradation (for instance, bicubic downsampling) from the High-Resolution (HR) images to provide supervised data as an LR-HR pair.

On the Effectiveness of Impedance-Based Fingerprint Presentation Attack Detection.

Within the last few decades, the need for subject authentication has grown steadily, and biometric recognition technology has been established as a reliable alternative to passwords and tokens, offering automatic decisions. However, as unsupervised processes, biometric systems are vulnerable to presentation attacks targeting the capture devices, where presentation attack instruments (PAI) instead of bona fide characteristics are presented. Due to the capture devices being exposed to the public, any person could potentially execute such attacks.

Light Fields for Face Analysis.

The term "plenoptic" comes from the Latin words plenus ("full") + optic. The plenoptic function is the 7-dimensional function representing the intensity of the light observed from every position and direction in 3-dimensional space. Thanks to the plenoptic function it is thus possible to define the direction of every ray in the light-field vector function.

Evidence for functional and dynamic microcompartmentation of Cav-1/TRPV4/K(Ca) in caveolae of endothelial cells.

Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels (KCa) play a pivotal role in the endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization and regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure. For activation, KCa depend on an increase of intracellular calcium which is substantially mediated by Ca(2+)-permeable cation channels including the transient receptor potential V4 (TRPV4). It has been proposed that KCa and Ca(2+)-permeable cation channels may be clustered in localized positions within the cell membrane to form functional units and that caveolae may constitute the scaffolding for such microcompartmental organization.

Presentation attack detection for face recognition using light field camera.

The vulnerability of face recognition systems isa growing concern that has drawn the interest from both academic and research communities. Despite the availability of a broad range of face presentation attack detection (PAD)(or countermeasure or antispoofing) schemes, there exists no superior PAD technique due to evolution of sophisticated presentation attacks (or spoof attacks). In this paper, we present a new perspective for face presentation attack detection by introducing light field camera (LFC).

Performance evaluation of fusing protected fingerprint minutiae templates on the decision level.

In a biometric authentication system using protected templates, a pseudonymous identifier is the part of a protected template that can be directly compared. Each compared pair of pseudonymous identifiers results in a decision testing whether both identifiers are derived from the same biometric characteristic. Compared to an unprotected system, most existing biometric template protection methods cause to a certain extent degradation in biometric performance.

Renal fibrosis is attenuated by targeted disruption of KCa3.1 potassium channels.

Proliferation of interstitial fibroblasts is a hallmark of progressive renal fibrosis commonly resulting in chronic kidney failure. The intermediate-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel (K(Ca)3.1) has been proposed to promote mitogenesis in several cell types and contribute to disease states characterized by excessive proliferation.

Genetic deficit of SK3 and IK1 channels disrupts the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor vasodilator pathway and causes hypertension.

Background: It has been proposed that activation of endothelial SK3 (K(Ca)2.3) and IK1 (K(Ca)3.1) K+ channels plays a role in the arteriolar dilation attributed to an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF).

Thymectomy is more effective than conservative treatment for myasthenia gravis regarding outcome and clinical improvement.

Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease with a tremendous impact on the quality of life. Controversies over which patients should be operated on because they may benefit most from thymectomy are still ongoing. The aim of this study was to report our long-term results of patients with MG with comparison of thymectomy and conservative treatment.

Disruption of the Gardos channel (KCa3.1) in mice causes subtle erythrocyte macrocytosis and progressive splenomegaly.

Gardos channel, the erythrocyte Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel (K(Ca)3.1), is considered a major regulator of red blood cell (RBC) volume by mediating efflux of potassium and thus cell dehydration and shrinkage. However, the functional importance of K(Ca)3.

Naphtho[1,2-d]thiazol-2-ylamine (SKA-31), a new activator of KCa2 and KCa3.1 potassium channels, potentiates the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor response and lowers blood pressure.

Small-conductance (KCa2.1-2.3) and intermediate-conductance (KCa3.

Empowerment of health professionals: how high level security education can raise awareness and confidence.

Setting up networks among physicians and other health professionals in virtually any medical discipline is an important part of establishing eHealth world-wide. Medical research strategies nowadays advance diagnostic and therapeutic knowledge and guidelines allowing patients to benefits. Patient data and samples are among the most sensitive information and must carefully be protected according to rules of ethics and professional discretion as well as national and international privacy legislation.

TWIK-related two-pore domain potassium channel TREK-1 in carotid endothelium of normotensive and hypertensive mice.

Aims: Potassium channels are essential elements of endothelial function. Recently, evidence emerged that the TWIK (tandem of P domains in a weak inwardly rectifying K+ channel)-related K+ channel (TREK-1) of the two-pore domain potassium channel gene family (K2P) may be involved in the regulation of vascular tone. However, the functional and molecular characterization of vascular TREK-1 is incomplete.

Long-term outcome and quality of life after open and thoracoscopic thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: analysis of 131 patients.

Background: Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease with a great impact on quality of life. Besides conservative treatment with mestinon and immunosuppressive medication, thymectomy is an established intervention that offers substantial improvements of the disease. Since the past decade, minimally invasive procedures have been performed.

Evidence for a functional role of endothelial transient receptor potential V4 in shear stress-induced vasodilatation.

Objective: Ca2+-influx through transient receptor potential (TRP) channels was proposed to be important in endothelial function, although the precise role of specific TRP channels is unknown. Here, we investigated the role of the putatively mechanosensitive TRPV4 channel in the mechanisms of endothelium-dependent vasodilatation.

Methods And Results: Expression and function of TRPV4 was investigated in rat carotid artery endothelial cells (RCAECs) by using in situ patch-clamp techniques, single-cell RT-PCR, Ca2+ measurements, and pressure myography in carotid artery (CA) and Arteria gracilis.

Impact of different modalities of continuous venovenous hemofiltration on sepsis-induced alterations in experimental pancreatitis.

Background: Continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) is assumed to attenuate systemic complications in septic diseases. The impact of different treatment intensities of CVVH on immunologic and systemic alterations in experimental pancreatitis was evaluated.

Methods: Eighty-four minipigs were allocated either to an untreated control group (group 1) or to one of six treatment groups (groups 2 to 7) that underwent CVVH in different modalities: (1): "late" CVVH, started after a decline of total peripheral resistance of 30% versus "prophylactic" CVVH started immediately after the induction of pancreatitis; (2) no change of hemofilters versus a periodic change of filters every 12 hours; (3) low-volume CVVH with a filtrate turnover of 20 mL/kg body weight (BW)/h versus high-volume CVVH (100 mL/kg/h).

Paraesophageal bronchogenic cyst associated with multiple epithelial splenic cysts.

Background: Bronchogenic cysts are rare congenital cystic lesions of foregut origin. They are the result of abnormal budding of the primitive tracheobronchial tube. Nonparasitic, true splenic cysts are another rare entity that might occur as incidental findings but may lead to deleterious courses in case of ruptures.