Pseudo-Labeling Enhanced by Privileged Information and Its Application to In Situ Sequencing Images

Various strategies for label-scarce object detection have been explored by the computer vision research community. These strategies mainly rely on assumptions that are specific to natural images and not directly applicable to the biological and biomedical vision domains. For example, most semi-supervised learning strategies rely on a small set of labeled data as a confident source of ground truth. In many biological vision applications, however, the ground truth is unknown and indirect information might be available in the form of noisy estimations or orthogonal evidence. In this work, we frame a crucial problem in spatial transcriptomics - decoding barcodes from In-Situ-Sequencing (ISS) images - as a semi-supervised object detection (SSOD) problem. Our proposed framework incorporates additional available sources of information into a semi-supervised learning framework in the form of privileged information. The privileged information is incorporated into the teacher's pseudo-labeling in a teacher-student self-training iteration. Although the available privileged information could be data domain specific, we have introduced a general strategy of pseudo-labeling enhanced by privileged information (PLePI) and exemplified the concept using ISS images, as well on the COCO benchmark using extra evidence provided by CLIP.Comment: This paper has been accepted for publication at IJCAI 202

Neutralizing antibodies to Omicron after the fourth SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine dose in immunocompromised patients highlight the need of additional boosters

IntroductionImmunocompromised patients have been shown to have an impaired immune response to COVID-19 vaccines.MethodsHere we compared the B-cell, T-cell and neutralizing antibody response to WT and Omicron BA.2 SARS-CoV-2 virus after the fourth dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with hematological malignancies (HM, n=71), solid tumors (ST, n=39) and immune-rheumatological (IR, n=25) diseases. The humoral and T-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination were analyzed by quantifying the anti-RBD antibodies, their neutralization activity and the IFN-γ released after spike specific stimulation.ResultsWe show that the T-cell response is similarly boosted by the fourth dose across the different subgroups, while the antibody response is improved only in patients not receiving B-cell targeted therapies, independent on the pathology. However, 9% of patients with anti-RBD antibodies did not have neutralizing antibodies to either virus variants, while an additional 5.7% did not have neutralizing antibodies to Omicron BA.2, making these patients particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The increment of neutralizing antibodies was very similar towards Omicron BA.2 and WT virus after the third or fourth dose of vaccine, suggesting that there is no preferential skewing towards either virus variant with the booster dose. The only limited step is the amount of antibodies that are elicited after vaccination, thus increasing the probability of developing neutralizing antibodies to both variants of virus.DiscussionThese data support the recommendation of additional booster doses in frail patients to enhance the development of a B-cell response directed against Omicron and/or to enhance the T-cell response in patients treated with anti-CD20

Student employment as a model for experiential learning

Background: Evidence suggests experiential learning promotes the development of a range of transferrable skills including communication, responsibility, and social skills. However, many students are unable to participate in internships or other common forms of experiential education because they need to work for pay. University employment has been positively associated with academic success, but less is known about its potential to develop transferrable skills. Purpose: This evaluation assessed the outcomes and experiences of former student workers employed by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Outreach project in a paid, university position. Methodology/Approach: Former workers were surveyed regarding grade point average and graduation, employment and postgraduate education, transferrable skill development, and civic behaviors and attitudes. Findings/Conclusions: Former workers reported growth on transferrable skills (e.g., communication, problem-solving), civic behaviors, and attitudes and qualitatively attributed these gains to their work as outreach workers, particularly in terms of interacting with diverse clients in the community. Results suggest benefits associated with structuring meaningful experiences in university jobs similar to those observed in other experiential education settings. Implications: University employment may be a viable route for promoting transferrable skill development. Greater consideration of employment opportunities that foster partnerships between the institution and the community may benefit the university, community, and students

Reaching the Hard to Reach: Lessons Learned from a Statewide Outreach Initiative

Despite high levels of need, many federal assistance programs are underutilized, with differential participation rates among demographic subpopulations. Outreach efforts seek to address challenges facing potentially eligible program recipients. This article examines a statewide initiative to address barriers to participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), focusing on the elderly and people with disabilities, eligible immigrants, and low-income working households. We describe a dynamic approach that relies on community partnerships and utilizes media messaging, information dissemination, and direct client assistance to reach our target populations. The data illustrate how continuous evaluation allows for systematic adaptation of strategies, highlighting lessons learned for future outreach efforts. 11The name of the Food Stamp Program was officially changed as a result of the 2008 Farm Bill to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Work reported on here began with the Food Stamp Program and transitioned to SNAP. For purposes of consistency, the program will be referred to as SNAP. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

“Distinct cellular responses induced by saporin and a transferrin-saporin conjugate in two different human glioblastoma cell lines”

"Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumour in adults, with a. median survival of ~12-18 months post-diagnosis. GBM usually recurs within 12 months postresection,. with poor prognosis. Thus, novel therapeutic strategies to target and kill GBM cells are. urgently needed. The marked difference of tumour cells with respect to normal brain cells, renders. glioblastoma a good candidate for selective targeted therapies. Recent experimental strategies focus. on over expressed cell surface receptors. Targeted toxins represent a new class of selective. molecules composed by a potent protein toxin and a carrier ligand. Targeted toxins approaches. against glioblastoma were under investigation in phase I and II clinical trials with several. immunotoxins (IT)\/ligand toxins such as IL4-Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A(IL4-PE, NBI-. 3001), tumour growth factor fused to PE38, a shorter PE variant, (TGF)alpha-TP-38, IL13-PE38,. and a transferrin-C diphtheriae toxin mutant (Tf-CRM107). In this work, we studied the effects of. the plant ribosome–inactivating saporin and of its chimera transferrin-saporin against two different. GBM cell lines. The data obtained here indicate that cell proliferation is affected by the toxin. treatments but that different mechanisms are used, directly linked to the presence of an active or. inactive p53. A model is proposed for these alternate intracellular pathways..