A study on giant panda recognition based on images of a large proportion of captive pandas

1. As a highly endangered species, the giant panda (panda) has attracted significant attention in the past decades. Considerable efforts have been put on panda conservation and reproduction, offering the promising outcome of maintaining the population size of pandas. To evaluate the effectiveness of conservation and management strategies, recognizing individual pandas is critical. However, it remains a challenging task because the existing methods, such as traditional tracking method, discrimination method based on footprint identification, and molecular biology method, are invasive, inaccurate, expensive, or challenging to perform. The advances of imaging technologies have led to the wide applications of digital images and videos in panda conservation and management, which makes it possible for individual panda recognition in a noninvasive manner by using image‐based panda face recognition method.
2. In recent years, deep learning has achieved great success in the field of computer vision and pattern recognition. For panda face recognition, a fully automatic deep learning algorithm which consists of a sequence of deep neural networks (DNNs) used for panda face detection, segmentation, alignment, and identity prediction is developed in this study. To develop and evaluate the algorithm, the largest panda image dataset containing 6,441 images from 218 different pandas, which is 39.78% of captive pandas in the world, is established.
3. The algorithm achieved 96.27% accuracy in panda recognition and 100% accuracy in detection.
4. This study shows that panda faces can be used for panda recognition. It enables the use of the cameras installed in their habitat for monitoring their population and behavior. This noninvasive approach is much more cost‐effective than the approaches used in the previous panda surveys.

     

Targeting Homologous Recombination in Notch-Driven C. elegans Stem Cell and Human Tumors

Mammalian NOTCH1-4 receptors are all associated with human malignancy, although exact roles remain enigmatic. Here we employ glp-1(ar202), a temperature-sensitive gain-of-function C. elegans NOTCH mutant, to delineate NOTCH-driven tumor responses to radiotherapy. At ≤20°C, glp-1(ar202) is wild-type, whereas at 25°C it forms a germline stem cell⁄progenitor cell tumor reminiscent of human cancer. We identify a NOTCH tumor phenotype in which all tumor cells traffic rapidly to G2⁄M post-irradiation, attempt to repair DNA strand breaks exclusively via homology-driven repair, and when this fails die by mitotic death. Homology-driven repair inactivation is dramatically radiosensitizing. We show that these concepts translate directly to human cancer models.     

Putative candidate genes for blood pressure control in the SHR.BN-RNO8 congenic substrains

The SHR-Lx congenic strain carrying a differential segment of chromosome 8 of BN and PD origin was recently shown to exhibit a significant decrease in blood pressure as compared to the SHR strain. There were two positional candidate genes for blood pressure control mapped to the differential segment: the rat kidney epithelial potassium channel gene (Kcnj1) and brain dopamine receptor 2 gene (Drd2). Bot these genes were separated into SHR.BN-RNO8 congenic substrains. In this communication, we are presenting the assignment of two further putative candidate genes, which might be involved in blood pressure control to the BN/PD differential segment of the SHR-Lx congenic strain. These are: the gene coding for smooth muscle cell specific protein 22 (Sm22) defined by the D8Mcw1 marker and neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene cluster, defined by the D8Bord1 marker. Moreover, the glutamate receptor gene Grik4 which also maps to the differential segment of the SHR-Lx should be taken into account. The genetic separation of all these putative candidate genes of blood pressure control is being performed by recombinations and subsequent selection using (SHR×SHR-Lx) intercross population.     

Unsaturated oligogalacturonic acids are generated by in vitro treatment of pectin with human faecal flora.

Pectins with a degree of esterification (DE) of 95, 66, 34 and 0%, respectively, were incubated in vitro with human faecal flora (pH 7.8). The concentration and composition of oligogalacturonic acids (oligoGalA) generated were determined using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) with UV and colorimetric detection. In the first period of the anaerobic degradation, the pectin macromolecules were fragmented into unsaturated oligoGalA as intermediate products by the action of bacterial pectate lyases. Depending on the incubation time and the DE of pectin, the amount of unsaturated oligoGalA having different degrees of polymerization changed continuously. These oligoGalA were present in the cultures for some hours. Mixtures of unsaturated di-, tri- and tetraGalA were the end products of a pectate lyase action. Later, the oligoGalA disappear as a result of their further fermentation by the gastrointestinal microflora under formation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Low-esterified pectins were depolymerized and fermented faster than the highly esterified by the human faecal flora in vitro. Furthermore, a mixture of unsaturated oligoGalA prepared from pectic acid by the action of pectate lyase from Erwinia carotovora was completely fermented by human faecal flora.     

Determination of turnover of androstenedione to estrone via aromatase in estrogen receptor positive and negative human breast cancer cell lines [Poster 48]

In one estrogen receptor (ER) negative (MDA-MB-231) and two ER positive human breast cancer cell lines (T-47-D,SK-BR-3) we measured aromatase activity by [³H]water assay and estrone (E1) production by thin-layer chromatography. Compared with ether extraction and charcoal method, lyophilization proved to be the most sensitive technique to measure the quantity of [³H]water. The extremely low contamination of the water soluble phase by [1ß-³H]androstenedione (0.02%), as well as the lack of errors due to conjugated steroids, offers the possibility to measure changes of cellular aromatase activity even at very low levels. In contrast to SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-231 cells, we found no aromatase activity in T-47-D cells. There was no coincidence between ER status and aromatase activity. Proliferation of tumor cells was parallel with a continuous increase of aromatase activity and E1 production during mitogenic growth phase reaching highest levels at the transition from log to plateau-phase.