Scheme Based on Multi-Level Patch Attention and Lesion Localization for Diabetic Retinopathy Grading

Early screening of diabetes retinopathy(DR)plays an important role in preventing irreversible blindness.Existing research has failed to fully explore effective DR lesion information in fundus maps.Besides,traditional attention schemes have not considered the impact of lesion type differences on grading,resulting in unreasonable extraction of important lesion features.Therefore,this paper proposes a DR diagnosis scheme that integrates a multi-level patch attention generator(MPAG)and a lesion localization module(LLM).Firstly,MPAGis used to predict patches of different sizes and generate a weighted attention map based on the prediction score and the types of lesions contained in the patches,fully considering the impact of lesion type differences on grading,solving the problem that the attention maps of lesions cannot be further refined and then adapted to the final DR diagnosis task.Secondly,the LLM generates a global attention map based on localization.Finally,the weighted attention map and global attention map are weighted with the fundus map to fully explore effective DR lesion information and increase the attention of the classification network to lesion details.This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method through extensive experiments on the public DDR dataset,obtaining an accuracy of 0.8064.

Do brood parasitic Common Cuckoos develop brood patches during the breeding season?

Many birds develop brood patches on their ventral apterium under hormonal regulation to effectively transmit body heat to eggs during incubation.The developed patch has several characteristics,including de-feathering,vascularization,and edema.However,little is known about whether avian brood parasites that do not incubate their eggs exhibit brood patch development during the breeding season.In this study,we measured the size of the ventral apterium in 114 Common Cuckoos(Cuculus canorus)captured in the field throughout the breeding season and examined the appearance of the ventral apterium to confirm the development of brood patches.We also examined whether morphological traits and various factors correlated with the size of the ventral apterium(sternal apterium and abdominal apterium)and how it changed during the breeding season.We found no clear signs of brood patch development in Common Cuckoos captured throughout the breeding season,indicating that they likely did not develop brood patches on the ventral apterium during this period.We also found that ventral apterium size was positively correlated with wing length and body weight.In addition,Common Cuckoos with newly growing feathers on the boundary of the ventral apterium with pteryla were frequently observed as seasons progressed to the end.In conclusion,Common Cuckoos exhibit neither brood patch development nor the vestigial characteristics of ancestral brood patches,except for the growth of feathers on boundary the ventral apterium.Further studies examining brood patches across different groups of avian brood parasites are valuable for enhancing our understanding of the developmental and physiological adaptations of avian brood parasites.

Formation and ecological response of sand patches in the protection system of Shapotou section of the Baotou-Lanzhou railway,China

The development of bare patches typically signifies a process of ecosystem degradation.Within the protection system of Shapotou section of the Baotou-Lanzhou railway,the extensive emergence of bare sand patches poses a threat to both stability and sustainability.However,there is limited knowledge regarding the morphology,dynamic changes,and ecological responses associated with these sand patches.Therefore,we analyzed the formation and development process of sand patches within the protection system and its effects on herbaceous vegetation growth and soil nutrients through field observation,survey,and indoor analysis methods.The results showed that sand patch development can be divided into three stages,i.e.,formation,expansion,and stabilization,which correspond to the initial,actively developing,and semi-fixed sand patches,respectively.The average dimensions of all sand patch erosional areas were found to be 7.72 m in length,3.91 m in width,and 0.32 m in depth.The actively developing sand patches were the largest,and the initial sand patches were the smallest.Throughout the stage of formation and expansion,the herbaceous community composition changed,and the plant density decreased by more than 50.95%.Moreover,the coverage and height of herbaceous plants decreased in the erosional area and slightly increased in the depositional lobe;and the fine particles and nutrients of soils in the erosional area and depositional lobe showed a decreasing trend.In the stabilization phases of sand patches,the area from the inlet to the bottom of sand patches becomes initially covered with crusts.Vegetation and 0-2 cm surface soil condition improved in the erosional area,but this improvement was not yet evident in the depositional lobe.Factors such as disturbance,climate change,and surface resistance to erosion exert notable influences on the formation and dynamics of sand patches.The results can provide evidence for the future treatment of sand patches and the management of the protection system of Shapotou section of the Baotou-Lanzhou railway.

Mechanobiomaterials:Mechanics-Guided Design of Epicardial Patch for Treating

In recent years,the field of mechanomaterials has emerged at the interface of mechanics,materials science,biology,medicine and data science,where materials are proactively designed or programmed to achieve targeted functionalities by leveraging the fundamental mechanics principles and force-geometry-property relationships.In the biological context,one may likewise introduce mechanobiomaterials as a field with the following goals:(1)proactive design or programming of materials for precisely mediating biomechanical environment of living systems for tissue repair/restoration;(2)proactive control/programming of living systems themselves by an external field via force-structure-function relationships.Here,we will discuss an example of research in mechanobiomaterials on using mechanics to guide the design of acellular epicardial patches for the treatment of myocardial infarction.This technology aims to employ a biocompatible material patch to help reverse left ventricular remodeling and restore heart function after myocardial infarction by increasing the mechanical integrity of damaged heart tissues.However,its application is currently limited by widely scattered therapeutic efficacy.Here,we develop a biomechanics-based simulation platform that allows us to test,design and optimize the performance of an epicardial patch.We show that the widely scattered therapeutic efficacy of this technology can be attributed to a“pre-strain sensitivity”caused by attaching an elastic patch to a dynamically beating heart.To mitigate this challenge,we introduce a viscoelastic epicardial patch,designed at the so-called‘gel point’of the material,that effectively accommodates the cyclic deformation of the myocardium.This then leads to the fabrication and experimentally validated epicardial patch that outperforms all existing ones in restoring heart function after both acute and subacute myocardial infarction in rats.Our study also demonstrates the potential of employing viscoelastic interfaces for better integration of synthetic materials with biological tissues.

Unveiling the adaptation strategies of woody plants in remnant forest patches to spatiotemporal urban expansion through leaf trait networks

Background:With the expansion of urban areas,the remnants of forested areas play a crucial role in preserving biodiversity in urban environments.This study aimed to explore the impact of spatiotemporal urban expansion on the networks of leaf traits in woody plants within remnant forest patches,thereby enhancing our understanding of plant adaptive strategies and contributing to the conservation of urban biodiversity.Methods:Our study examined woody plants within 120 sample plots across 15 remnant forest patches in Guiyang,China.We constructed leaf trait networks (LTNs) based on 26 anatomical,structural,and compositional leaf traits and assessed the effects of the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion on these LTNs.Results and conclusions:Our results indicate that shrubs within these patches have greater average path lengths and diameters than trees.With increasing urban expansion intensity,we observed a rise in the edge density of the LTN-shrubs.Additionally,modularity within the networks of shrubs decreased as road density and urban expansion intensity increased,and increases in the average path length and average clustering coefficient for shrubs were observed with a rise in the composite terrain complexity index.Notably,patches subjected to‘leapfrog’expansion exhibited greater average patch length and diameter than those experiencing edge growth.Stomatal traits were found to have high degree centrality within these networks,signifying their substantial contribution to multiple functions.In urban remnant forests,shrubs bolster their resilience to variable environmental pressures by augmenting the complexity of their leaf trait networks.

Deep Global Multiple-Scale and Local Patches Attention Dual-Branch Network for Pose-Invariant Facial Expression Recognition

Pose-invariant facial expression recognition(FER)is an active but challenging research topic in computer vision.Especially with the involvement of diverse observation angles,FER makes the training parameter models inconsistent from one view to another.This study develops a deep global multiple-scale and local patches attention(GMS-LPA)dual-branch network for pose-invariant FER to weaken the influence of pose variation and selfocclusion on recognition accuracy.In this research,the designed GMS-LPA network contains four main parts,i.e.,the feature extraction module,the global multiple-scale(GMS)module,the local patches attention(LPA)module,and the model-level fusion model.The feature extraction module is designed to extract and normalize texture information to the same size.The GMS model can extract deep global features with different receptive fields,releasing the sensitivity of deeper convolution layers to pose-variant and self-occlusion.The LPA module is built to force the network to focus on local salient features,which can lower the effect of pose variation and self-occlusion on recognition results.Subsequently,the extracted features are fused with a model-level strategy to improve recognition accuracy.Extensive experimentswere conducted on four public databases,and the recognition results demonstrated the feasibility and validity of the proposed methods.

Observing eddy dye patches induced by shear instabilities in the surf zone on a plane beach

The effects of surf zone eddy generated by alongshore currents on the deformation and transport of dye are still poorly understood,and related tracer release experiments are lacking.Therefore,a tracer release laboratory experiment was conducted under monochromatic,unidirectional incident waves with a large incident angle(30°)on a plane beach with a 1:100 slope in a large wave basin.A charge-coupled device suspended above the basin recorded the dye patch image.The evolution of eddy dye patch was observed and the transport and diffusion were analyzed based on the collected images.Subsequently,a linear instability numerical model was adopted to calculate the perturbation velocity field at the initial stage.The observation and image processing results show that surf zone eddy patches occurred and were separated from the original dye patches.Our numerical analysis results demonstrate that the structure of the perturbation velocity field is consistent with the experimental observations,and that the ejection of eddy patches shoreward or offshore may be ascribed to the double vortex.

Ginger oil-loaded transdermal adhesive patch treats post-traumatic stress disorder

Objective:To find a viable alternative to reduce the number of doses required for the patients with post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD),and to improve efficacy and patient compliance.Methods: In this study,we used ginger oil,a phytochemical with potential therapeutic properties,to prepare ginger oil patches.High-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)was used to quantify the main active component of ginger oil,6-gingerol.Transdermal absorption experiments were conducted to optimize the various pressure-sensitive adhesives and permeation enhancers,including their type and concentration.Subsequently,the ginger oil patches were optimized and subjected to content determination and property evaluations.A PTSD mouse model was established using the foot-shock method.The therapeutic effect of ginger oil patches on PTSD was assessed through pathological sections,behavioral tests,and the evaluation of biomarkers such as tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF),and melatonin(MT).Results: The results demonstrated that ginger oil patches exerted therapeutic effects against PTSD by inhibiting inflammatory responses and modulating MT and BDNF levels.Pharmacokinetic experiments revealed that ginger oil patches maintained a stable blood drug concentration for at least one day,addressing the rapid metabolism drawback of 6-gingerol and enhancing its therapeutic efficacy.Conclusions: Ginger oil can be prepared as a transdermal drug patch that meets these requirements,and the bioavailability of the prepared patch is better than that of oral administration.It can improve PTSD with good patient compliance and ease of administration.Therefore,it is a promising therapeutic formulation for the treatment of PTSD.

Treatment of 198 Cases of Thyroid Nodules with Sanying Capsule Combined with Xiaoying Patch

[Objectives]To observe the clinical efficacy of Sanying capsule combined with Xiaoying Patch in treating thyroid nodule(TN).[Methods]Two groups were treated similarly,with 200 cases in the control group undergoing basic treatment for 12 weeks and 198 cases in the observation group receiving Sanying capsule combined with Xiaoying patches for the same duration.The clinical symptoms,number of nodules,diameter of the largest nodule,and maximum reduction of nodules were observed before and after treatment.A control analysis was performed,and the underlying mechanisms were explored.[Results]The primary symptoms of the observation group exhibited a more favorable improvement than those of the control group.Additionally,the number of nodules decreased,the diameter of the largest nodule decreased,and the maximum reduction of nodules decreased in both groups following treatment.However,the observation group demonstrated a more pronounced improvement than the control group(P<0.05).[Conclusions]The combination of Sanying capsule and Xiaoying patch has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for TN,with a high degree of reliability in terms of safety.

A Simple Egg Membrane Patch Bridging Method for Repairing Tympanic Membrane Perforation

Objective:To analyze the clinical effect of a simple egg membrane patch bridging method in repairing tympanic membrane perforation.Methods:A total of 93 tympanic membrane perforation patients admitted to the hospital between September 2022 and October 2023 were selected and divided into two groups according to the random number table method.The control group implemented the conventional treatment(n=46 cases),and the patch group adopted the simple egg membrane patch bridging method(n=47 cases).The healing rate of the tympanic membrane,the air-bone gap,the air conduction hearing threshold,the dry ear rate,and the incidence of complications in both groups were compared before and after treatment.Results:The healing rate of the tympanic membrane in the patch group was significantly higher than that of the control group(95.75%vs.76.09%),with P<0.05;there was no difference in the air-bone gap and air conduction hearing threshold levels between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05),and the hearing indexes of the patch group were significantly lower than those of the control group 3 months after treatment(P<0.05);the dry ear rate in the patch group was significantly higher than that of the control group after treatment(85.11%vs.67.39%),and the total incidence of complications was also significantly lower than that of the control group(6.38%vs.21.74%),with P<0.05.Conclusion:The simple egg membrane patch bridging method is effective in repairing tympanic membrane perforation,which can effectively improve patients’hearing levels and reduce the occurrence of post-treatment complications.Thus,it is worth popularizing and applying in the clinic.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Auricular Acupoint Pressure Patch Combined with Modified Huangqi Decoction in Treating Diabetic Nephropathy

Objective:To explore the efficacy of auricular acupoint pressure patch combined with modified Huangqi Decoction in treating diabetic nephropathy.Methods:60 patients with diabetic nephropathy treated in our hospital from January 2021 to December 2022 were selected for this study.The patients were randomly divided into two groups using the random number table method,with 30 patients in each group.Among them,the control group was treated with conventional Western medicine,while the experimental group was treated with auricular acupoint pressure patches combined with modified Huangqi Decoction.The patients’fasting blood glucose(FPG),2-hour postprandial blood glucose(2hPG),glycated hemoglobin(HbA1c),urinary protein quantification,urea nitrogen(BUN),serum creatinine(SCr),and other indicators were detected and recorded before and after treatment.Results:Before treatment,there was no statistically significant difference in the FPG,the 2hPG,and the HbA1c between the two groups of patients(P>0.05);after treatment,the FPG,the 2hPG,and the HbA1c of the patients in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).Before treatment,there was no statistically significant difference in the urinary protein quantification,the BUN,and the SCr between the two groups of patients(P>0.05);after treatment,the urinary protein quantification,BUN,and SCr of the patients in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).The experimental group showed better improvement in symptoms such as fatigue,backache,and frequency of nocturia(P<0.05).Conclusion:Auricular acupoint pressure patch combined with modified Huangqi Decoction effectively treats diabetic nephropathy and it helps control blood sugar and renal function indicators and improve clinical symptoms,therefore improving the patients’quality of life.

基于PatchTracker的对抗补丁防御算法

基于深度神经网络的目标检测技术已经广泛应用于各领域,然而,通过对抗补丁攻击在图像中添加局部扰动,以此来误导深度神经网络,对基于目标检测技术的视觉系统构成了严重威胁。针对这一问题,利用对抗补丁和图像背景的语义差异性,提出了一种基于PatchTracker的对抗补丁防御算法,该算法由上游补丁检测器与下游数据增强模块组成。上游补丁检测器使用带有注意力机制的YOLOV5(you only look once-v5)确定对抗补丁所在位置,有助于提高对小尺度对抗补丁的检测精度;将检测区域用合适的像素值覆盖以抹除对抗补丁,上游补丁检测器不仅能够有效降低对抗样本的攻击性,而且不依赖大规模的训练数据;下游数据增强模块通过改进模型训练范式,提高下游目标检测器的鲁棒性;将抹除补丁后的图像输入经过数据增强的下游YOLOV5目标检测模型。在公开的TT100K交通标志数据集上进行了交叉验证,实验表明,与未采取防御措施相比,所提算法能够有效防御多种类型的通用对抗补丁攻击,在检测对抗补丁图像时的mAP(mean average precision)提高65%左右,有效地改善了小尺度对抗补丁的漏检情况。与现有算法比较,所提算法有效提高了神经网络在检测对抗样本时的准确率。此外,所提算法不涉及下游模型结构的修改,具有良好的兼容性。

Patch-Locator:一种基于排序学习的开源软件漏洞补丁定位方法

日益增多的开源软件漏洞对软件安全带来了巨大的风险,补丁在应对这一风险的过程中扮演了非常重要的角色.不幸的是,尽管大部分漏洞的补丁在被披露前就已经开发完毕,但仅有部分补丁会随漏洞同步公开.现有的研究发现了漏洞与其补丁之间存在一定的相关性,并基于这些相关性特征对提交进行了排序,以定位漏洞的补丁,但仍旧存在漏洞数据部分缺失、定位准确率不佳等问题.本文提出了Patch-Locator,一种新的基于排序学习的补丁定位方法,通过扩展漏洞数据源对漏洞数据进行补充,并根据漏洞与补丁文本的相似性、漏洞产生的原因和导致的结果等更能反映漏洞与补丁间关联的因素提取了更具有针对性的相关性特征,并使用LambdaMart排序学习模型对提交基于其具有的相关性特征进行排序以定位安全补丁.本文用来自10个开源软件项目的1669个漏洞来评估Patch-Locator.实验结果表明,Patch-Locator的Recall@1指标为92.22%,Recall@5指标为95.51%,Manual Effort@5指标为1.2455,均优于现有方法.

利用GPS对磁暴期间极区TEC变化与极区碎片(Polar Patches)的研究

利用2004年11月6-10日磁暴发生期间南极区域内的中国中山站GPS常年跟踪站（ZHON）和国际GPS服务站（CAS1,MCM4,SYOG,MAW1）的GPS观测数据,计算了可观测卫星传播路径上的TEC和ROT值,进而依据TEC的波动频率和幅度推估出极区碎片的个数,分析了极区磁暴期间电离层响应及其极区碎片特性.最终所得TEC和ROT结果与极区地磁场Dst和Kp指数信息相吻合,如实地反映了磁暴事件和极区碎片的出现.本文所做工作在国内尚未开展,因此所用方法和结论为将来这一方向的研究提供了一定的参考.

基于支持向量回归的patch近场声全息研究

为了解决patch近场声全息中全息数据外推问题,提出一种基于支持向量回归的一步式patch近场声全息技术。该方法首先把初始全息面上的数据当成训练样本进行学习,构造出回归函数,然后利用回归函数实现全息数据外推,最后基于统计最优近场声全息进行重建。数值仿真和实验研究的结果表明:在各个分析频率下,该方法都可以实现小孔径全息面的近场外推。从近场声全息重建结果看,即使初始全息数据受到噪声干扰,该方法也是一种有效的patch近场声全息技术。

基于Patch Analyst的北京城市公园景观格局指数评价

为了解2003年北京城市公园绿地景观格局的构成和特征,在地理信息系统的支持下,选取了景观破碎度、最近邻点指数、平均斑块分维指数与格网分析等方法,通过Patch Analyst软件对北京城八区内的公园进行了分析。其结果表明,城八区内的公园总面积较大,达到了4 380 hm2,最近邻点指数R为1.97,斑块总体趋于均匀分布,整体景观破碎度为2.65,东城区斑块的边界形状较为复杂。值得注意的是,北京西南区域公园数量和面积都较少,应适当加强其区域公园建设。

大鼠纹状体Patch和Matrix间区及其神经元形态学特征的观察

【目的】纹状体Patch和Matrix间区被证实与神经精神活动和躯体运动有关。本实验旨在探测Patch和Matrix间区及其神经元的形态学特征,为研究纹状体-Patch和-Matrix神经元的通路联系提供资料。【方法】成年雄性SD大鼠分别按照常规和电镜要求灌注固定、取脑和后固定;半导体或振动切片之后进行免疫组化PAP方法单标记和双标记;光镜下分别用Photoshop软件测量Patch和Matrix间区的面积并计算百分比;光镜和电镜下观察阳性神经元的结构;实验数据用SPSS软件统计处理。【结果】①Mor阳性的Patch间区呈不规则形的斑块状散在分布于纹状体,在胼胝体深方存在一条恒定的阳性带状区。Patch间区占纹状体面积的9%,其面积在纹状体的头侧明显大于尾侧(P<0.05)。阳性结构呈细丝或絮状,阳性胞体不明显。②Calb阳性的Matrix间区在纹状体内侧区染色较深,可见明显不规则的淡染色区,其形状与相邻片的Patch间区一致。Matrix间区的面积明显大于Patch间区(P<0.05)。可见阳性树突和树突棘,但阳性胞体不明显。③电镜下分别可见Mor和Calb阳性树突和树突棘,其大多数接受兴奋性突触连接,而与阳性树突形成的突触多为穿孔型。抑制性突触少见,阳性胞体不明显。【结论】头侧纹状体密集分布的Patch间区、内侧纹状体Calb强烈反应,和阳性标记的树突、树突棘以及兴奋性突触为主的形态学特征,提示Mor和Calb阳性神经元分别具有特异性的神经通路连接和生理机能。

弓形虫复合粘膜疫苗滴鼻免疫小鼠诱导的Peyer's patches持续性细胞免疫应答

目的以可溶性速殖子抗原（soluble tachyzoite antigen，STAg）和霍乱毒素（choleratoxin，CT）佐剂制备的弓形虫复合粘膜疫苗滴鼻免疫小鼠，观察肠粘膜诱导部位Peyer’s patches（PP）的细胞免疫应答及持续时间，探讨其免疫机制。方法BALB／c小鼠96只，随机分为实验组和对照组，实验组以STAg（20μg／只）为抗原，CT（1／μg／只）为佐剂滴鼻免疫，对照组PBS滴鼻。滴鼻2次（间隔2周）后，每组6只小鼠分别于第1、2、3、4、6、8、10、12周处死。计数PP个数，制备PP淋巴细胞悬液，计数并涂片；免疫细胞化学法检测CD4^＋、CD8^＋T细胞亚群。结果实验期间两组小鼠PP数目均无明显变化；实验组免疫后PP淋巴细胞数量明显增生，第2周达高峰，第1、2、3周显著高于对照组（P〈0.05），其中以CD4^＋T细胞增生为主，第1周～第8周高于对照组（P〈0.01），CD8^＋T细胞第1周～第4周显著增高（P〈0.01），CD4^＋／CD8^＋比值无显著变化（P〉0．05）。结论弓形虫复合粘膜疫苗滴鼻免疫BALB／c小鼠可有效诱导肠PP部位持续性的免疫应答，从而激活肠粘膜效应部位淋巴细胞的抗弓形虫感染作用。

视频流点播Dynamic Batched Patching算法研究

本文提出了一个新的视频流点播传输策略 ,用以解决现有传输策略中存在的系统资源利用率低 ,QoS较差等问题 .该策略的思想是服务器根据用户请求到达时刻 ,按动态批处理的方式来接纳并服务请求用户 ,每组用户必须同时从一个或两个信道接收视频内容 .文中对本策略的性能进行了理论推导与定量分析 ,并与现有传输策略作了性能比较 ,最后采用仿真实验对前面的理论分析与比较进行了验证 .理论分析及实验结果表明该策略是一个简单高效的传输策略 。

基于Patch-Dynamics模式的土地覆被变化预测——以北京市为例

利用北京市土地利用变化数据建立了Patch-dynamics动力模型。模拟结果表明了在不同的时间尺度上耕地所占比例都持续下降,城镇建设用地、林地所占比例继续上升。由于该模式考虑了模拟对象的变化过程以及不同土地利用类型之间的相互影响,其模拟结果比一般的简单动力模型模拟效果好。通过与实际情况的比较检验,用1996年数据对2001年的模拟结果与实际差别不大,误差在0~0.05之间,对于面积较小地类的模拟误差较小,说明这个方法可以用来对未来的土地利用变化状况进行模拟、预测。然而,这个模型只适应于十年尺度的预测,模拟时间越长,误差越大。在此基础上,提出协调土地利用矛盾,维持一定规模的城市绿色空间,实现首都城市定位目标的建议。