Chaoji Liu¹, Xingqiao Liu^1,*, Chong Chen², Kang Zhou¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.139, No.1, pp. 405-440, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2023.031040

Abstract 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 self-occlusion 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… More >

Ahmed Hassan Abdou^1,*, Omar Abdullah Alkhateeb², Hossam Eldin Hamed Mansour³, Hesham S. Ghazzawy⁴, Muayad Saud Albadrani⁵, Nadi Awad Al-harbi⁶, Wasimah B. Al-Shammari⁷, Khaled Abdelaal^8,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.12, pp. 3305-3321, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.044780

Abstract Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) play an important role in improving agricultural production under several abiotic stress factors. PGPB can be used to increase crop growth and development through hormonal balance and increase nutrient uptake. The positive effect of PGPB may be due to its pivotal role in morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics like leaf number, leaf area, and stem length. Furthermore, relative water content, chlorophyll content, carotenoids, antioxidant enzymes, and plant hormones were improved with PGPB treatment. Crop yield and yield components were also increased with PGPB treatment in numerous crops. The anatomical structure of plant organs was increased such as… More >

JING LI^1,2, WANWAN FAN⁴, LILI HAO¹, YONGSHENG LI⁵, GUOCHENG YU¹, WEI SUN⁶, XIANQIONG LUO^2,*, JINGXIANG ZHONG^1,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.11, pp. 2485-2494, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.044177

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hucMSC)-derived exosomes (hucMSC-Exos) in inhibiting hypoxia-induced cell hyper proliferation and overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in immature human fetal retinal microvascular endothelial cells (hfRMECs). Methods: Exosomes were isolated from hucMSCs using cryogenic ultracentrifugation and characterized through various techniques, including transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, bicinchoninic acid assays, and western blotting. The hfRMECs were identified using von Willebrand factor (vWF) co-staining and divided into four groups: a control group cultured under normoxic condition, a hypoxic model group, a hypoxic group treated with… More > Graphic Abstract

CHENYANG CHEN^1,*, JUAN WEN¹, WEI HUANG¹, JIANG LI^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.11, pp. 2423-2433, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.044459

Abstract Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic and progressive disease that is strongly associated with dysregulation of glucose metabolism. Alterations in nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (NR4A1) activity alter the outcome of PAH. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NR4A1 on glycolysis in PAH and its underlying mechanisms. Methods: This study included twenty healthy volunteers and twenty-three PAH patients, and plasma samples were collected from the participants. To mimic the conditions of PAH in vitro, a hypoxia-induced model of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) model was established. The proliferation of PASMCs was assessed… More > Graphic Abstract

GERWIN HELLER^1,*, THORSTEN FUEREDER¹, ALEXANDER MICHAEL GRANDITS¹, ROTRAUD WIESER^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 1-17, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.044774

Abstract Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most frequent cancers worldwide. The main risk factors are consumption of tobacco products and alcohol, as well as infection with human papilloma virus. Approved therapeutic options comprise surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapy through epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition, and immunotherapy, but outcome has remained unsatisfactory due to recurrence rates of ~50% and the frequent occurrence of second primaries. The availability of the human genome sequence at the beginning of the millennium heralded the omics era, in which rapid technological progress has advanced our knowledge of the molecular biology of… More >

HEE JU SONG, TAEHEE KIM, HAN NA CHOI, SOO JIN KIM, SANG DO LEE^*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 151-161, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030690

Abstract Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate among all cancers, in part because it readily metastasizes. The tumor microenvironment, comprising blood vessels, fibroblasts, immune cells, and macrophages [including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs)], is closely related to cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion. TAMs secrete several cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, which participate in cancer migration and invasion. p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1), an important signaling molecule, induces cell migration and invasion in several carcinomas. Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP) is also known to participate in cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion. However, the mechanisms by which it increases lung cancer migration remain unclear. Therefore,… More > Graphic Abstract

QIUQIANG CHEN^1,*, XIAOLEI ZHAO², WENXUE MA^3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 95-98, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.046174

Abstract Greenblatt and his team have unveiled vertebral skeletal stem cells (vSSCs) as a critical player in the landscape of bone metastasis. This commentary delves into the transformative discoveries surrounding vSSCs, emphasizing their distinct role in bone metastasis compared to other stem cell lineages. We illuminate the unique properties and functions of vSSCs, which may account for the elevated susceptibility of vertebral bones to metastatic invasion. Furthermore, we explore the exciting therapeutic horizons opened by this newfound understanding. These include potential interventions targeting vSSCs, modulation of associated signaling pathways, and broader implications for the treatment and management of bone metastasis. By… More > Graphic Abstract

MINGCAI ZHANG, TANNER CAMPBELL, SPENCER FALCON, JINXI WANG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.10, pp. 2125-2132, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030161

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of joint disease, is characterized clinically by joint pain, stiffness, and deformity. OA is now considered a whole joint disease; however, the breakdown of the articular cartilage remains the major hallmark of the disease. Current treatments targeting OA symptoms have a limited impact on impeding or reversing the OA progression. Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying OA development is a critical barrier to progress in OA therapy. Recent studies by the current authors’ group and others have revealed that the nuclear factor of activated T cell 1 (NFAT1), a member of the NFAT… More > Graphic Abstract

Wenqiu Zhu^1,2, Yongsheng Li^1,2, Qiang Liu^1,2,*, Zhigao Zeng^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.77, No.1, pp. 1373-1392, 2023, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2023.037216

Abstract Aiming at the problems of short duration, low intensity, and difficult detection of micro-expressions (MEs), the global and local features of ME video frames are extracted by combining spatial feature extraction and temporal feature extraction. Based on traditional convolution neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM), a recognition method combining global identification attention network (GIA), block identification attention network (BIA) and bi-directional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) is proposed. In the BIA, the ME video frame will be cropped, and the training will be carried out by cropping into 24 identification blocks (IBs), 10 IBs and uncropped IBs. To alleviate… More >

Lei Wang¹, Runying Wang¹, Yi Li³, Yichen Zhao^1,*, Degang Zhao^1,2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.11, pp. 3063-3075, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.043803

Abstract Adventitious root formation poses a major constraint on the tissue culture and genetic transformation of Eucommia ulmoides. Micrografting offers a new method for the transplantation of genetic transformation, and its success depends on the formation of graft unions. This study used transgenic rootless test-tube seedlings as scions and seedlings from seed as rootstocks during micrografting to avoid the rooting issues that occur during tissue culture and to investigate the role of the EuEG1 gene in the graft healing process. We found that the EuEG1 gene is a vital regulator of graft, and its overexpression contributes to the survival of Eucommia… More >