The study aimed to assess whether aerobic exercise (AEx) training and a fibre-enriched diet can reduce hepatic fat content (HFC) and increase glycaemic control in pre-diabetic patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Six-hundred-and-three patients from seven clinics in Yangpu district, Shanghai, China were recruited. Of them 115 individuals aged 50–65-year fulfilled the inclusion criteria (NAFLD with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance) and were randomly assigned into exercise (AEx n = 29), diet (Diet n = 28), exercise plus diet (AED n = 29), or no-intervention (NI n = 29) groups. Progressive supervised AEx training (60–75% VO2max intensity) was given 2-3 times/week in 30–60 min/sessions, and the diet intervention was provided as lunch with 38% carbohydrate and diet fibre of 12 g/day for 8.6-month. HFC was assessed by ¹H MRS. We found that HFC was significantly reduced in the AEx (−24.4%), diet (−23.2%), and AED (−47.9%) groups by contrast to the 20.9% increase in the NI group (p = 0.001 for all) after intervention. However, only AED group significantly decreased HbA_1c (−4.4%, p = 0.01) compared with the NI group (−0.6%). Aerobic exercise training combined with fibre-enriched diet can reduce HFC more effectively than either exercise or increased fibre-intake alone in pre-diabetic patients with NAFLD.

Random Phase Encoding (RPE) techniques for image encryption have drawn increasing attention during the past decades. We demonstrate in this contribution that the RPE-based optical cryptosystems are vulnerable to the chosen-plaintext attack (CPA) with deep learning strategy. A deep neural network (DNN) model is employed and trained to learn the working mechanism of optical cryptosystems, and finally obtaining a certain optimized DNN that acts as a decryption system. Numerical simulations were carried out to verify its feasibility and reliability of not only the classical Double RPE (DRPE) scheme but also the security-enhanced Tripe RPE (TRPE) scheme. The results further indicate the possibility of reconstructing images (plaintexts) outside the original data set.

A compressive optical steganography based on single-pixel imaging (SPI) is proposed. The SPI system, which employs a digital light projector to illuminate the host image with modulated patterns, is similar to a wireless broadcast system. Therefore, it is suitable for covert communication naturally. By leveraging the compressive sensing technique and a generalized phase retrieval algorithm, the secret message is sparse-sampled and then encoded into the illumination patterns, which are projected onto the host image in an SPI architecture. The resulting reflected light signals travel in the free space as a broadcast system, and the signals would be captured by the authorized receivers and the potential eavesdroppers. By implementing an inverse Fourier transform, a stegoimage will be received, which is almost the same as the host image. However, only the authorized receivers, who possess the secret key, could extract the desired data from the stegoimage and then reconstruct the secret message by using a convex optimization algorithm. Because the secret message is sparse-sampled before embedding, the imperceptibility is well preserved while the capacity also be kept in a high level. A series of simulation and experimental results verifies the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Pre-diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are associated with an unhealthy lifestyle and pose extremely high costs to the healthcare system. In this study, we aim to explore whether individualized aerobic exercise (AEx) and low carbohydrate diet (LCh) intervention affect hepatic fat content (HFC) in pre-diabetes via modification of gut microbiota composition and other post-interventional effects. A 6-month randomized intervention with 6-month follow-up is conducted from January 2013 to December 2015. The target sample size for intervention is 200 postmenopausal women and middle-aged men aged 50–65 year-old with pre-diabetes and NAFLD. The qualified subjects are randomized into 4 groups with 50 subjects in each group: 1 = AEx, 2 = LCh, 3 = AEx + LCh, and 4 = control. In addition, two age-matched reference groups (5 = pre-diabetes without NAFLD (n = 50) and 6 = Healthy without pre-diabetes or NAFLD (n = 50)) are included. The exercise program consists of progressive and variable aerobic exercise (intensity of 60 to 75% of initial fitness level, 3–5 times/week and 30–60 min/time). The diet program includes dietary consultation plus supplementation with a special lunch meal (40% of total energy intake/day) which aims to reduce the amount of carbohydrate consumption (30%). The control and reference groups are advised to maintain their habitual habits during the intervention. The primary outcome measures are HFC, serum metabolomics and gut microbiota composition. The secondary outcome measures include body composition and cytokines. In addition, socio-psychological aspects, social support, physical activity and diet will be performed by means of questionnaire and interview. Specific individualized exercise and diet intervention in this study offers a more efficient approach for liver fat reduction and diabetes prevention via modification of gut microbiota composition. Besides, the study explores the importance of incorporating fitness assessment and exercise in the management of patients with pre-diabetes and fatty liver disorders. If our program is shown to be effective, it will open new strategies to combat these chronic diseases. Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN42622771 .

Speckle correlation imaging (SCI) has been considered one of the most promising techniques for computational imaging through a scattering medium. However, the image quality is not always acceptable in conventional SCI, especially when a complex object is involved. In this work, a modified phase retrieval algorithm is introduced to significantly improve the imaging quality of SCI. In the proposed scheme, nonzero-pixel constraints, rather than the real and nonnegative constraints, are employed as the object domain constraints of the iterative algorithm in the image reconstruction process. Experimental results are presented to show the performance enhancement of this scheme, inclusive of less iterations, better image quality, and higher reliability, in comparison with the conventional SCI method.

We experimentally investigate image reconstruction through a scattering medium under white-light illumination. To solve the inverse problem of noninvasive scattering imaging, a modified iterative algorithm is employed with an interpretable constraint on the optical transfer function (OTF). As a result, a sparse and real object can be retrieved whether it is illuminated with a narrowband or broadband light. Compared with the well-known speckle correlation technique (SCT), the proposed method requires no restrictions on the speckle autocorrelation and shows a potential advantage in scattering imaging.