Real Scene Text Image Super-Resolution Based on Multi-Scale and Attention Fusion

Xinhua Lu,Haihai Wei,Li Ma,Qingji Xue,Yonghui Fu 한국정보처리학회 2023 Journal of information processing systems Vol.19 No.4

Plenty of works have indicated that single image super-resolution (SISR) models relying on synthetic datasetsare difficult to be applied to real scene text image super-resolution (STISR) for its more complex degradation. The up-to-date dataset for realistic STISR is called TextZoom, while the current methods trained on this datasethave not considered the effect of multi-scale features of text images. In this paper, a multi-scale and attentionfusion model for realistic STISR is proposed. The multi-scale learning mechanism is introduced to acquiresophisticated feature representations of text images; The spatial and channel attentions are introduced to capturethe local information and inter-channel interaction information of text images; At last, this paper designs amulti-scale residual attention module by skillfully fusing multi-scale learning and attention mechanisms. Theexperiments on TextZoom demonstrate that the model proposed increases scene text recognition’s (ASTER)average recognition accuracy by 1.2% compared to text super-resolution network.

High-Quality Water-Soluble Core/Shell/Shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS Quantum Dots Balanced by Ionic and Nonionic Hydrophilic Capping Ligands

Lu Liu,Hu Xu,Bing Shen,Xinhua Zhong 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2016 NANO Vol.11 No.7

Pentaerythritol tetrakis 3-mercaptopropionate (PTMP) grafted poly(acryl acid) (PAA) ionic hydrophilic oligomer PAA-PTMP (PP) and dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) grafted methoxypoly (ethylene glycol) (mPEG) nonionic hydrophilic oligomer mPEG-DHLA (PD) have been designed, synthesized and used as co-capping ligands in water-solubilization of hydrophobic quantum dots (QDs) via ligand exchange. The obtained oligomers with multi-thiol groups could bind strongly to the surface atoms of QDs. Meanwhile, the carboxyl groups (from PP) and mPEG segment (from PD) can render QDs water-soluble, and the free carboxylic groups can possibly be used for the further bioconjugation. The resulting water-soluble QDs have been characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. The water-soluble QDs have relatively small hydrodynamic size (10-12 nm), and importantly, retain high fluorescence quantum yields (up to 45%) compared with that of the originally hydrophobic QDs (49%). In addition, they have tunable surface charges and show excellent colloidal stability over a relatively broad pH range (2-13), in high salt concentration, and even after thermal treatment at 100℃. These results indicate that the water-soluble QDs coated by PP and PD oligomers have potential applications in cellular imaging and biosensor.

Lack of Association Between the Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 -1306C>T Polymorphism and Breast Cancer Susceptibility: a Meta-analysis

Yang, Lu,Li, Ning,Wang, Siyu,Kong, Yanan,Tang, Hailin,Xie, Xinhua,Xie, Xiaoming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: Since inconsistent results have been reported regarding the relation between the matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) -1306C>T polymorphism and susceptibility for breast cancer, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the issue. Materials and Methods: An internet search of PubMed and EMBASE was performed to identify eligible studies. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate any association between MMP-2 -1306C>T polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility. Results: Nine case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis, involving 9,858 cases and 10,871 controls. Overall, there was no evidence of any association between the MMP-2 -1306C>T polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility in different genetic models (T-allele vs C-allele: OR=0.95, 95%CI, 0.82-1.10, p=0.49; TT vs CC: OR=1.03, 95%CI, 0.90-1.19, p=0.66; TT+TC vs CC: OR=0.93, 95%CI, 0.78-1.10, p=0.38; TT vs TC+CC: OR=1.02, 95%CI, 0.89-1.17, p=0.77). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, CC was associated with a significant increase in breast susceptibility among Latin-Americans in the dominant model (OR=0.61, 95%CI, 0.40-0.93, p=0.02), but the association disappeared in other models. No significant association was observed among Europeans, East Asians and others in different genetic models. In the subgroup analysis by their source of controls, no significant association between MMP-2 -1306C>T polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility was noted among population-based studies and hospital-based studies in different genetic models. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis suggest that MMP-2 -1306C>T polymorphism is not associated with breast cancer susceptibility, although the association among Latin-Americans in the dominant model was significant.

Functional analysis of a homologue of the FLORICAULA/LEAFY gene in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) revealing its significance in early flowering process

Feng Ding,Shuwei Zhang,Houbin Chen,Hongxiang Peng,Jiang Lu,Xinhua He,Jiechun Pan 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.12

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is an important subtropical fruit crop with high commercial value due to its high nutritional values and favorable tastes. However, irregular bearing attributed to unstable flowering is a major ongoing problem for litchi producers. Previous studies indicate that low-temperature is a key factor in litchi floral induction. In order to reveal the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive process in litchi, we had analyzed the transcriptome of buds before and after low-temperature induction using RNA-seq technology. A key flower bud differentiation associated gene, a homologue of FLORICAULA/LEAFY, was identified and named LcLFY (GenBank Accession No. KF008435). The cDNA sequence of LcLFY encodes a putative protein of 388 amino acids. To gain insight into the role of LcLFY, the temporal expression level of this gene was measured by real-time RT-PCR. LcLFY was highly expressed in flower buds and its expression correlated with the floral developmental stage. Heterologous expression of LcLFY in transgenic tobacco plants induced precocious flowering. Meantime, we investigated the sub-cellular localization of LcLFY. The LcLFY-Green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was found in the nucleus. The results suggest that LcLFY plays a pivotal role as a transcription factor in controlling the transition to flowering and in the development of floral organs in litchi.

Expression characterization and transcription regulation analysis of porcine Yip1 domain family member 3 gene

Ni, Dongjiao,Huang, Xiang,Wang, Zhibo,Deng, Lin,Zeng, Li,Zhang, Yiwei,Lu, Dongdong,Zou, Xinhua Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2020 Animal Bioscience Vol.33 No.3

Objective: The Yip1 domain family (YIPF) proteins were proposed to function in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to Golgi transport and maintenance of the morphology of the Golgi, which were homologues of yeast Yip1p and Yif1p. YIPF3, the member 3 of YIPF family was a homolog of Yif1p. The aim of present study was to investigate the expression and regulation mechanism of porcine YIPF3. Methods: Quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze porcine YIPF3 mRNA expression pattern in different tissues and pig kidney epithelial (PK15) cells stimulated by polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (poly [I:C]). Site-directed mutations combined with dual luciferase reporter assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) were employed to reveal transcription regulation mechanism of porcine YIPF3. Results: Results showed that the mRNA of porcine YIPF3 (pYIPF3) was widely expressed with the highest levels in lymph and lung followed by spleen and liver, while weak in heart and skeletal muscle. Subcellular localization results indicated that it expressed in Golgi apparatus and plasma membranes. Upon stimulation with poly (I:C), the level of this gene was dramatically up-regulated in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. pYIPF3 core promoter region harbored three cis-acting elements which were bound by ETS proto-oncogene 2 (ETS2), zinc finger and BTB domain containing 4 (ZBTB4), and zinc finger and BTB domain containing 14 (ZBTB14), respectively. In which, ETS2 and ZBTB4 both promoted pYIPF3 transcription activity while ZBTB14 inhibited it, and these three transcription factors all played important regulation roles in tumorigenesis and apoptosis. Conclusion: The pYIPF3 mRNA expression was regulated by ETS2, ZBTB4, and ZBTB14, and its higher expression in immune organs might contribute to enhancing ER to Golgi transport of proteins, thus adapting to the immune response.