To improve the detection ability of infrared small targets in complex backgrounds, a novel method based on non-convex rank approximation minimization joint l2,1 norm (NRAM) was proposed. Due to the defects of the nuclear norm and l1 norm, the state-of-the-art infrared image-patch (IPI) model usually leaves background residuals in the target image. To fix this problem, a non-convex, tighter rank surrogate and weighted l1 norm are instead utilized, which can suppress the background better while preserving the target efficiently. Considering that many state-of-the-art methods are still unable to fully suppress sparse strong edges, the structured l2,1 norm was introduced to wipe out the strong residuals. Furthermore, with the help of exploiting the structured norm and tighter rank surrogate, the proposed model was more robust when facing various complex or blurry scenes. To solve this non-convex model, an efficient optimization algorithm based on alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) plus difference of convex (DC) programming was designed. Extensive experimental results illustrate that the proposed method not only shows superiority in background suppression and target enhancement, but also reduces the computational complexity compared with other baselines.

Sarcopenia is an age-related condition that is characterized by progressive and generalized loss of muscle mass and function. Exercise treatment has been the most commonly used intervention among elderly populations. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the available literature related to the effects of exercise interventions/programs on muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance in older adults with sarcopenia. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE and the Web of Science for randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials exploring exercise in older adults with sarcopenia published through July 2019 without any language restrictions. Pooled analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.3, with standardized mean differences (SMDs) and fixed-effect models. A total of 3898 titles and abstracts were initially identified, and 22 studies (1041 individuals, 80.75% females, mean age ranged from 60.51 to 85.90 years) were included in the meta-analysis. The exercise programs in the studies consisted of 30 to 80 min of training, with 1 to 5 training sessions weekly for 6 to 36 weeks. Muscle strength (grip strength [SMD 0.57, 95 % CI 0.42 to 0.73, P <0.00001] and timed five chair stands [SMD-0.56, 95 % CI-0.85 to-0.28, P < 0.0001]) and physical performance (gait speed [SMD 0.44, 95 % CI 0.26 to 0.61, P < 0.00001] and the timed up and go test [SMD-0.97, 95 % CI-1.22 to-0.72, P < 0.00001]) showed significant improvement following exercise treatment, while no differences in muscle mass (ASM [SMD 0.15, 95 % CI-0.05 to 0.36, P = 0.15] and ASM/height 2 [SMD 0.21, 95 % CI-0.05 to 0.48, P = 0.12]) were detected. Exercise programs showed overall significant positive effects on muscle strength and physical performance but not on muscle mass in sarcopenic older adults.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is one of the major public health concerns in China. Being the province with high incidence rates of HFMD, the epidemiological features and the spatial-temporal patterns of Zhejiang Province were still unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and the high-incidence clusters, as well as explore some potential risk factors. The surveillance data of HFMD during 2008–2012 were collected from the communicable disease surveillance network system of Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The distributions of age, gender, occupation, season, region, pathogen’s serotype and disease severity were analyzed to describe the epidemiological features of HFMD in Zhejiang Province. Seroprevalence survey for human enterovirus 71 (EV71) in 549 healthy children of Zhejiang Province was also performed, as well as 27 seroprevalence publications between 1997 and 2015 were summarized. The spatial-temporal methods were performed to explore the clusters at county level. Furthermore, pathogens’ serotypes such as EV71 and coxsackievirus A16 (Cox A16) and meteorological factors were analyzed to explore the potential factors associated with the clusters. A total of 454,339 HFMD cases were reported in Zhejiang Province during 2008–2012, including 1688 (0.37%) severe cases. The annual average incidence rate was 172.98 per 100,000 (ranged from 72.61 to 270.04). The male-to-female ratio for mild cases was around 1.64:1, and up to 1.87:1 for severe cases. Of the total cases, children aged under three years old and under five years old accounted for almost 60% and 90%, respectively. Among all enteroviruses, the predominant serotype was EV71 (49.70%), followed by Cox A16 (26.05%) and other enteroviruses (24.24%) for mild cases. In severe cases, EV71 (82.85%) was the major causative agent. EV71 seroprevalence survey in healthy children confirmed that occult infection was common in children. Furthermore, literature summary for 26 seroprevalence studies during 1997–2015 confirmed that 0–5 years group showed lowest level of EV71 seroprevalence (29.1% on average) compared to the elder children (6–10 years group: 54.6%; 11–20 years group: 61.8%). Global positive spatial autocorrelation patterns (Moran’s Is>0.25, P<0.05) were discovered not only for mild cases but also for severe cases, and local positive spatial autocorrelation patterns were revealed for counties from the eastern coastal and southern regions. The retrospective space-time cluster analysis also confirmed these patterns. Risk factors analyses implied that more EV71 and less sunshine were associated with the clusters of HFMD in Zhejiang Province. Our study confirmed that Zhejiang Province was one of the highly epidemic provinces in China and that the epidemiological characteristics of HFMD were similar to other provinces. Occult infection in elder children and adults was one of the important reasons why most HFMD cases were children aged under-five. Combining the results of spatial a...

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Following severe spinal cord injury (SCI), dysregulated neuroinflammation causes neuronal and glial apoptosis, resulting in scar and cystic cavity formation during wound healing and ultimately the formation of an atrophic microenvironment that inhibits nerve regrowth. Because of this complex and dynamic pathophysiology, a systemic solution for scar‐ and cavity‐free wound healing with microenvironment remodeling to promote nerve regrowth has rarely been explored. A one‐step solution is proposed through a self‐assembling, multifunctional hydrogel depot that punctually releases the anti‐inflammatory drug methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) and growth factors (GFs) locally according to pathophysiology to repair severe SCI. Synergistically releasing the anti‐inflammatory drug MPSS and GFs in the hydrogel depot throughout SCI pathophysiology protects spared tissues/axons from secondary injury, promotes scar boundary‐ and cavity‐free wound healing, and results in permissive bridges for remarkable axonal regrowth. Behavioral and electrophysiological studies indicate that remnants of spared axons, not regenerating axons, mediate functional recovery, strongly suggesting that additional interventions are still required to render the rebuilt neuronal circuits functional. These findings pave the way for the development of a systemic solution to treat acute SCI.

Although total hip replacement (THR) has been proven to be effective, the effect of THR on employment in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Chinese population is still unknown. We aimed to demonstrate whether or not patients with AS returned to work following THR and factors associated with the work ability after THR. We performed a retrospective study including a total number of 128 AS patients undergoing THR between 2009 and 2013. Presurgery and postsurgery data including disease state, work status, type of job, and time of resuming work were collected. Factors associated with early return to work were assessed through ordinal regression. Eighty-seven of 128 patients (68 %) were employed within 1 year before THR and 98 returned to work after surgery. Among them, 21, 46, and 31 resumed work by 3, 6, and 12 months postoperation, respectively. Multivariate ordinal regression showed that patients with unilateral THR, younger age, lower BASFI score, employed presurgery, and low or moderate physical demand were more likely to resume work earlier. Most individuals working presurgery returned to work after THR. For young AS patients with hip involvement, THR is an effective treatment for improving and maintaining work ability.

The infrared search and track (IRST) system has been widely used, and the field of infrared small target detection has also received much attention. Based on this background, this paper proposes a novel infrared small target detection method based on non-convex optimization with Lp-norm constraint (NOLC). The NOLC method strengthens the sparse item constraint with Lp-norm while appropriately scaling the constraints on low-rank item, so the NP-hard problem is transformed into a non-convex optimization problem. First, the infrared image is converted into a patch image and is secondly solved by the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). In this paper, an efficient solver is given by improving the convergence strategy. The experiment shows that NOLC can accurately detect the target and greatly suppress the background, and the advantages of the NOLC method in detection efficiency and computational efficiency are verified.

We demonstrate the application of mixture density networks (MDNs) in the context of automated radiation therapy treatment planning. It is shown that an MDN can produce good predictions of dose distributions as well as reflect uncertain decision making associated with inherently conflicting clinical tradeoffs, in contrast to deterministic methods previously investigated in the literature. A twocomponent Gaussian MDN is trained on a set of treatment plans for postoperative prostate patients with varying extents to which rectum dose sparing was prioritized over target coverage. Examination on a test set of patients shows that the predicted modes follow their respective ground truths well, both spatially and in terms of their dose-volume histograms. A special dose mimicking method based on the MDN output is used to produce deliverable plans and thereby showcase the usability of voxel-wise predictive densities. Thus, this type of MDN may serve to support clinicians in managing clinical tradeoffs and has the potential to improve the quality of plans produced by an automated treatment planning pipeline.