Unifying and Merging Well-trained Deep Neural Networks for Inference Stage

We propose a novel method to merge convolutional neural-nets for the inference stage. Given two well-trained networks that may have different architectures that handle different tasks, our method aligns the layers of the original networks and merges them into a unified model by sharing the representative codes of weights. The shared weights are further re-trained to fine-tune the performance of the merged model. The proposed method effectively produces a compact model that may run original tasks simultaneously on resource-limited devices. As it preserves the general architectures and leverages the co-used weights of well-trained networks, a substantial training overhead can be reduced to shorten the system development time. Experimental results demonstrate a satisfactory performance and validate the effectiveness of the method.Comment: To appear in the 27th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the 23rd European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2018. (IJCAI-ECAI 2018

3D Magneto-Hydrodynamic Simulations of Parker Instability with Cosmic Rays

This study investigates Parker instability in an interstellar medium (ISM) near the Galactic plane using three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. Parker instability arises from the presence of a magnetic field in a plasma, wherein the magnetic buoyant pressure expels the gas and cause the gas to move along the field lines. The process is thought to induce the formation of giant molecular clouds in the Galaxy. In this study, the effects of cosmic-ray (CR) diffusion are examined. The ISM at equilibrium is assumed to comprise a plasma fluid and a CR fluid at various temperatures, with a uniform magnetic field passing through it in the azimuthal direction of the Galactic disk. After a small perturbation, the unstable gas aggregates at the footpoint of the magnetic fields and forms dense blobs. The growth rate of the instability increases with the strength of the CR diffusion. The formation of dense clouds is enhanced by the effect of cosmic rays (CRs), whereas the shape of the clouds depends sensitively on the initial conditions of perturbation.Comment: 4 pages, Computer Physics Communications 2011, 182, p177-17

Discordant Findings of Skeletal Metastasis Between Tc99m MDP Bone Scans and F18 FDG PET/CT Imaging for Advanced Breast and Lung Cancers—Two Case Reports and Literature Review

Traditionally, Tc99m methyl diphosphate (MDP) bone scintigraphy provides high-sensitivity detection of skeletal metastasis from breast and lung cancers in regular follow-up. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), based on the glucose metabolism of malignant cells, plays a role in describing rumor growth, proliferation of neoplasm and the extent of metastasis. In general, concordant findings of skeletal metastasis are seen on both types of image, especially in cases of breast and lung cancer. However, there were extremely discordant findings of skeletal metastasis between bone scans and F18 FDG PET/CT imaging in two cases among 300 consecutive F18 FDG PET/CT follow-up exams of patients with malignancies, during the past year, in our center. Both cases, one of breast cancer and one of lung cancer, had negative bone scintigraphic findings, but a diffusely high grade of F18 FDG avid marrow infiltration in the axial spine, leading to the diagnosis of stage IV disease in both cases. Owing to variant genetic aberrance of malignance, F18 FDG PET/CT reveals direct evidence of diffuse, rapid neoplasm metabolism in the bone marrow of the spine, but not of secondary osteoblastic reactions in vivo. F18 FDG PET/CT should always be employed in the follow-up of patients with malignancies

Comparison of Renal Function and Other Health Outcomes in Vegetarians versus Omnivores in Taiwan

Renal disease is one of the top 10 leading causes of death, and the incidence of end-stage renal disease in Taiwan is the highest in the world. Many dietitians consider the diet of plant origin consumed by vegans to be ‘lighter’ and ‘more healthful’ than the diet of both plant and animal origin consumed by omnivores. Dietary protein has significant effects on renal functions. The study explored the effects of both the diets on renal functions. The study subjects included 102 Buddhist nun vegetarians and an equal number of matched control group (omnivores). A cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the effects of the diet of plant origin and the diet of both plant and animal origin on renal functions. There was no difference in the renal functions between the two groups. However, systolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, serum sodium, glucose, cholesterol levels, and urinary specific gravity were lower in the vegetarian group. Although these results were compatible with general concepts regarding diet of plant origin, after adjusting for age, the duration of intake of this diet had no effect on the renal functions. Based on the findings, it is concluded that the renal functions, in terms of the estimated glomerular filtration rate, were not different between the vegetarians and the omnivores

Stimulation of transit-peptide release and ATP hydrolysis by a cochaperone during protein import into chloroplasts

Three components of the chloroplast protein translocon, Tic110, Hsp93 (ClpC), and Tic40, have been shown to be important for protein translocation across the inner envelope membrane into the stroma. We show the molecular interactions among these three components that facilitate processing and translocation of precursor proteins. Transit-peptide binding by Tic110 recruits Tic40 binding to Tic110, which in turn causes the release of transit peptides from Tic110, freeing the transit peptides for processing. The Tic40 C-terminal domain, which is homologous to the C terminus of cochaperones Sti1p/Hop and Hip but with no known function, stimulates adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis by Hsp93. Hsp93 dissociates from Tic40 in the presence of adenosine diphosphate, suggesting that Tic40 functions as an adenosine triphosphatase activation protein for Hsp93. Our data suggest that chloroplasts have evolved the Tic40 cochaperone to increase the efficiency of precursor processing and translocation

New primers for methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction enhance specificity of detecting STAT1 methylation

AbstractObjectiveSignal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1 is a key tumor suppressor, which is always methylated in a variety of human cancers. However, nonspecific primers for the detection of specific promoter hypermethylation of STAT1 gene can lead to false-positive or false-negative results for gene methylation.Materials and MethodsWe designed new primers for the detection of STAT1 methylation and compared the sensitivities and specificities of these new primers with prior published primers by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from ovarian clear cell carcinomas. The mRNA expression levels of STAT1 in these cancerous tissues were also evaluated by reverse-transcriptase PCR and correlated with the results of promoter methylation of STAT1 gene.ResultsNine (39%) of the 23 samples detected by the new primers and 13 samples (56%) detected by prior published primers showed STAT1 methylation. A direct DNA sequencing test revealed that four of the 13 samples (30.8%) showed false positivity for STAT1 methylation using the prior published primers. In contrast, none of the nine samples was false-positive for the detection of STAT1 methylation using the new primers. The new primers for the detection of STAT1 methylation showed 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity without false positivity.ConclusionSpecific primers for methylation-specific PCR are mandatory for the accurate detection of STAT1 gene methylation. Besides, specific primers can generate correct interpretation of STAT1 gene methylation, and its correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics and outcome of cancer patients

Determination of band alignment in the single layer MoS2/WSe2 heterojunction

The emergence of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as 2D electronic materials has stimulated proposals of novel electronic and photonic devices based on TMD heterostructures. Here we report the determination of band offsets in TMD heterostructures by using microbeam X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ({\mu}-XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S). We determine a type-II alignment between $\textrm{MoS}_2$ and $\textrm{WSe}_2$ with a valence band offset (VBO) value of 0.83 eV and a conduction band offset (CBO) of 0.76 eV. First-principles calculations show that in this heterostructure with dissimilar chalcogen atoms, the electronic structures of $\textrm{WSe}_2$ and $\textrm{MoS}_2$ are well retained in their respective layers due to a weak interlayer coupling. Moreover, a VBO of 0.94 eV is obtained from density functional theory (DFT), consistent with the experimental determination.Comment: ^ These authors contributed equally. *Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 20 pages, 4 figures in main tex