An improved face attributes editing method based on DDIM.

The main advantage of DDIM is that it guarantees the quality of the generated images while increasing the efficiency of the generation by modifying the sampling strategy in the diffusion process. DiffusionRig, which addresses the problem of maintaining identity consistency by learning the person-specific facial prior in a tiny personalized dataset, is a successful representation of the DDIM strategy. Based on DiffusionRig, in this article, we propose an improved face attributes editing method based on DDIM to improve naturalness and accuracy of editing results in complex face attribute editing tasks and the generalization ability.

Effects of low-frequency ultrasound combined with microbubbles on breast cancer xenografts in nude mice.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of low-frequency ultrasound (US) combined with microbubbles (MBs) on breast cancer xenografts and explain its underlying mechanisms. A total of 20 xenografted nude mice were randomly divided into four groups: a group treated with US plus MBs (the US + MBs group), a group treated with US alone (the US group), a group treated with MBs alone (the MBs group), and a control group. In different groups, mice were treated with different US and injection regimens on an alternate day, three times in total.

Performance of feeding black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae on shrimp carcasses: A green technology for aquaculture waste management and circular economy.

Over 944 thousand tonnes of shrimp carcasses are produced worldwide during the shrimp production cycle, and black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are a potential solution for this shrimp carcass accumulation. In this study, we evaluated the performance of BSFL feeding on shrimp carcasses. Six combinations of wheat bran and shrimp carcass powder (with replacement increments of 20 %) and one whole shrimp carcasses treatment were tested.

Measurements of abdominal wall defect and hernia sac volume for the treatment of incisional hernia: Application of the ultrasonic volume auto-scan in 50 cases.

Purpose: Abdominal incisional hernia is one of the most common complications after surgery. The preoperative evaluation of the area of abdominal wall defect and the hernia sac volume(HCV) is very important for the selection of patch size and incisional herniorrhaphy. Meanwhile the overlap range of reinforcement repair is controversial.

A case report of successful therapy for neonatal chylothorax with pneumothorax by conservative medical treatment.

Background: Neonatal chylothorax is a rare disease that causes breathing difficulties in newborns and is one of the most common causes of pleural effusion during the neonatal period. Neonatal chylothorax is often caused by lymph leakage into the chest and can be divided into the following 5 types: congenital chylothorax, traumatic chylothorax, postoperative chylothorax, embolic chylothorax, and spontaneous chylothorax. Among them, spontaneous chylothorax is the most common type of neonatal chylothorax and has unknown causes.

Decreased Salinity Offsets the Stimulation of Elevated pCO on Photosynthesis and Synergistically Inhibits the Growth of Juvenile Sporophyte of (Laminariaceae, Phaeophyta).

The combined effect of elevated pCO (Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide) and decreased salinity, which is mainly caused by freshwater input, on the growth and physiological traits of algae has been poorly assessed. In order to investigate their individual and interactive effects on the development of commercially farmed algae, the juvenile sporophytes of were cultivated under different levels of salinity (30, 25 and 20 psu) and pCO (400 and 1000 µatm). Individually, decreased salinity significantly reduced the growth rate and pigments of , indicating that the alga was low-salinity stressed.

Identification of quantitative trait loci governing early germination and seedling vigor traits related to weed competitive ability in rice.

Weed competitive ability (WCA) is vital for the improvement of grain yield under direct-seeded and aerobic rice ecosystems where weeds are a major limiting factor. Early seed germination (ESG) and early seedling vigor (ESV) are the crucial traits for WCA. This study attempted to map the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and hotspot regions governing ESG and ESV traits.

Comprehensive Application of Autologous Costal Cartilage Grafts in Rhino- and Mentoplasty.

Background: Underdevelopment of nose and chin in East Asians is quite common. Rhinoplasty and mentoplasty are effective procedures to solve the above-depicted defects and can achieve remarkable cosmetic effects. An autologous costal cartilage graft has become an ideal material for rhinoplasty, especially for revision surgery.

Is there an extraclinical value of automated breast volume scanner compared with hand-held ultrasound?: A pilot study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the extraclinical value of automated breast volume scanning (ABVS) in the diagnosis of breast tumor compare to hand-handle ultrasound (HHUS).One hundred twenty-four patients with breast tumor were performed HHUS and ABVS before operation. The research focused on whether there were newly found tumors or new findings on the coronal planes by using ABVS compared with HHUS.

Anti-pentraxin 3 auto-antibodies might be protective in lupus nephritis: a large cohort study.

Objectives: Anti-pentraxin 3 (PTX3) auto-antibodies were found to be associated with the absence of renal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study is to investigate the prevalence of anti-PTX3 auto-antibodies and their clinical significance based on a large Chinese lupus nephritis cohort.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-six active lupus nephritis patients, 150 SLE patients without clinical renal involvement, and 100 healthy controls were enrolled.

Serum A08 C1q antibodies are associated with disease activity and prognosis in Chinese patients with lupus nephritis.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by overproduction of numerous autoantibodies. Many studies have sought to identify such biomarkers to distinguish patients with active lupus nephritis from SLE patients without renal involvement. Because antibodies to complement C1q appear to be prevalent in patients with active lupus nephritis, we analyzed the frequency of antigenic epitopes of C1q and their clinical significance in a large multicenter study of Chinese patients.

Pentraxin 3 Is Closely Associated With Tubulointerstitial Injury in Lupus Nephritis: A Large Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Lupus nephritis always elicits immune inflammatory tissue damages in kidney. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), mainly produced at inflammatory sites, is known to be involved in the regulation of the innate immunity system. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum and urine levels of PTX3, and the expression of PTX3 in renal tissues in lupus nephritis patients from a large Chinese cohort.

Intelligent speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion algorithm for automated 3-D ultrasound images.

A novel 3-D filtering method is presented for speckle reduction and detail preservation in automated 3-D ultrasound images. First, texture features of an image are analyzed by using the improved quadtree (QT) decomposition. Then, the optimal homogeneous and the obvious heterogeneous regions are selected from QT decomposition results.

The diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in differentiating small renal carcinoma and angiomyolipoma.

The aim of this study was to explore the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in differentiating small renal masses. A total of 102 small renal masses (≤ 3 cm) in 99 patients were examined using conventional ultrasound (CUS) and CEUS, and the findings were reviewed and evaluated in comparison to pathology. Significant differences between renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) and angiomyolipomas (AMLs) were noted in terms of the orientation and echogenicity on CUS (p < 0.

Identification of implanted mesh after incisional hernia repair using an automated breast volume scanner.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the utility of an automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) versus handheld ultrasound (US) for identifying implanted mesh after incisional hernia repair.

Methods: In vitro, the appearances of 3 samples of different flat mesh and a mesh plug on both ABVS and handheld US examinations were evaluated. In vivo, 97 patients received both ABVS and handheld US examinations in the incisional region.

Nfu facilitates the maturation of iron-sulfur proteins and participates in virulence in Staphylococcus aureus.

The acquisition and metabolism of iron (Fe) by the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is critical for disease progression. S. aureus requires Fe to synthesize inorganic cofactors called iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters, which are required for functional Fe-S proteins.

Anti-C1q autoantibodies from active lupus nephritis patients could inhibit the clearance of apoptotic cells and complement classical pathway activation mediated by C1q in vitro.

Anti-C1q antibodies are prevalent in patients with active lupus nephritis and were found to be closely associated with renal involvement and predictive for a flare of nephritis. However, the pathogenesis of anti-C1q antibodies involved in human lupus nephritis remains unclear. C1q, which plays a key role in apoptotic cell and immune complex removal, is a very important functional molecule in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Diagnostic value of automated 3D ultrasound for incisional hernia.

The automated volume scanning system (AVSS) has been applied in breast diseases, but its use in incisional hernias has not been reported. In this study, conventional handheld B-mode ultrasound (HHUS) and AVSS examined a total of 122 hernia defects in 78 patients. The results from two modalities were then compared with surgical findings for the purpose of assessing the diagnostic value of AVSS.

Diagnostic value of an automated breast volume scanner for abdominal hernias.

Objectives: This study explored the diagnostic values of an automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) for abdominal external hernias.

Methods: Conventional sonograms and ABVS images from 128 abdominal external hernias in 104 patients (98 male and 6 female; age range, 41-79 years; mean age ± SD, 68.0 ± 14.

Methionine sulfoxide reductases protect against oxidative stress in Staphylococcus aureus encountering exogenous oxidants and human neutrophils.

To establish infection successfully, Staphylococcus aureus must evade clearance by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). We studied the expression and regulation of the methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msr) that are involved in the repair of oxidized staphylococcal proteins and investigated their influence on the fate of S. aureus exposed to oxidants or PMN.

Comparative study of automated breast 3-D ultrasound and handheld B-mode ultrasound for differentiation of benign and malignant breast masses.

The automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) represents a new technology for diagnosing breast masses. In this study, a total of 219 breast masses in 175 patients underwent both conventional handheld B-mode ultrasound (HHUS) and ABVS examinations, and the differences in the diagnostic values of the two modalities for benign and malignant breast masses were compared with the final pathologic findings. In addition, the diagnostic accuracy for breast masses with features including retraction phenomenon and hyperechoic rim in the coronal plane of the ABVS was evaluated.

A human-derived protein SBP (HBsAg-binding protein) can bind to hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) and enhance the immune response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine.

A high titer of antibody to HBsAg (Hepatitis B virus surface antigen) (anti-HBs) is a requisite for the prevention of HB (Hepatitis B), and adjuvants generally play a great role in eliciting special anti-HBs to HB vaccine. However, adjuvants still need to be improved because of their shortages such as unremarkable efficacy, undesirable side effect or poor security. In this study, we used HBsAg separated from HB patient sera to screen a human liver cDNA expression library, and found a novel HBsAg-binding protein (SBP), which is located at the human chromosome 14q32.

A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 33 protein in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Background And Objective: A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) 33 is a susceptibility gene associated with inflammatory lung and skin diseases. It is selectively expressed in mesenchymal cells, and its metalloprotease activity has been linked to angiogenesis and tissue remodelling. A soluble form of ADAM33 (sADAM33) has been identified in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of asthmatic patients, and its levels inversely correlate with lung function.