Modeling Intra- and Inter-Modal Relations: Hierarchical Graph Contrastive Learning for Multimodal Sentiment Analysis

The existing research efforts in Multimodal Sentiment Analysis (MSA) have focused on developing the expressive ability of neural networks to fuse information from different modalities. However, these approaches lack a mechanism to understand the complex relations within and across different modalities, since some sentiments may be scattered in different modalities. To this end, in this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical graph contrastive learning (HGraph-CL) framework for MSA, aiming to explore the intricate relations of intra- and inter-modal representations for sentiment extraction. Specifically, regarding the intra-modal level, we build a unimodal graph for each modality representation to account for the modality-specific sentiment implications. Based on it, a graph contrastive learning strategy is adopted to explore the potential relations based on unimodal graph augmentations. Furthermore, we construct a multimodal graph of each instance based on the unimodal graphs to grasp the sentiment relations between different modalities. Then, in light of the multimodal augmentation graphs, a graph contrastive learning strategy over the inter-modal level is proposed to ulteriorly seek the possible graph structures for precisely learning sentiment relations. This essentially allows the framework to understand the appropriate graph structures for learning intricate relations among different modalities. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets show that the proposed framework outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines in MSA

Qwen Technical Report

Large language models (LLMs) have revolutionized the field of artificial intelligence, enabling natural language processing tasks that were previously thought to be exclusive to humans. In this work, we introduce Qwen, the first installment of our large language model series. Qwen is a comprehensive language model series that encompasses distinct models with varying parameter counts. It includes Qwen, the base pretrained language models, and Qwen-Chat, the chat models finetuned with human alignment techniques. The base language models consistently demonstrate superior performance across a multitude of downstream tasks, and the chat models, particularly those trained using Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), are highly competitive. The chat models possess advanced tool-use and planning capabilities for creating agent applications, showcasing impressive performance even when compared to bigger models on complex tasks like utilizing a code interpreter. Furthermore, we have developed coding-specialized models, Code-Qwen and Code-Qwen-Chat, as well as mathematics-focused models, Math-Qwen-Chat, which are built upon base language models. These models demonstrate significantly improved performance in comparison with open-source models, and slightly fall behind the proprietary models.Comment: 59 pages, 5 figure

Prosthetic venous valves for chronic venous insufficiency: Advancements and future design directions

With the serious aging population and lifestyle changes, chronic venous insufficiency accounts for approximately 25.95% of the population, which may lead to lower limb edema and leg heaviness, as well as severe infections of skin ulcers that can result in sepsis and necessitate amputation. Conservative treatment and other supportive measures can only slow the disease's progression but are unable to drastically reverse it; surgical interventions are rarely used due to the high risk of catastrophic postoperative consequences. As one of the most promising minimally invasive therapies, percutaneous prosthetic valve replacement has emerged in light of this situation, providing novel alternatives for patients with deep venous valve insufficiency. We reviewed the historical prosthetic venous valve designs, including their structure and materials, animal evaluation models, and assessment criteria. On the basis of the findings from in vitro tests, animal studies, and clinical trials, we summarized the major challenges and potential solutions for the development of advanced prosthetic venous valves

Transcriptome Analysis of the Innate Immunity-Related Complement System in Spleen Tissue of Ctenopharyngodon idella Infected with Aeromonas hydrophila.

The grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is an important commercial farmed herbivorous fish species in China, but is susceptible to Aeromonas hydrophila infections. In the present study, we performed de novo RNA-Seq sequencing of spleen tissue from specimens of a disease-resistant family, which were given intra-peritoneal injections containing PBS with or without a dose of A. hydrophila. The fish were sampled from the control group at 0 h, and from the experimental group at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h. 122.18 million clean reads were obtained from the normalized cDNA libraries; these were assembled into 425,260 contigs and then 191,795 transcripts. Of those, 52,668 transcripts were annotated with the NCBI Nr database, and 41,347 of the annotated transcripts were assigned into 90 functional groups. 20,569 unigenes were classified into six main categories, including 38 secondary KEGG pathways. 2,992 unigenes were used in the analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). 89 of the putative DEGs were related to the immune system and 41 of them were involved in the complement and coagulation cascades pathway. This study provides insights into the complement and complement-related pathways involved in innate immunity, through expression profile analysis of the genomic resources in C. idella. We conclude that complement and complement-related genes play important roles during defense against A. hydrophila infection. The immune response is activated at 4 h after the bacterial injections, indicating that the complement pathways are activated at the early stage of bacterial infection. The study has improved our understanding of the immune response mechanisms in C. idella to bacterial pathogens

Operando film-electrochemical EPR spectroscopy tracks radical intermediates in surface-immobilized catalysts.

Acknowledgements: This study was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (grant no. RPG-2018-183 to M.M.R. and E.R.), a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (ECF-2021-072 to S.J.C.), the Isaac Newton Trust (20.08(r), to S.J.C.), an Imperial College President’s scholarship to Y.D., an EPSRC grant (EP/W005794/1) to M.M.R. and a UKRI Frontiers (ERC Advanced) grant (EP/X030563/1 to E.R.). The EPR measurements were performed at the Centre for Pulse EPR at Imperial College London (PEPR), supported by EPSRC grant no. EP/T031425/1 to M.M.R. We thank J. Eisermann (Imperial College) for using and improving the Laviron method fitting program. A. Collauto (Imperial College) and J. Eisermann are also acknowledged for helpful discussions.Funder: The Leverhulme Trust, Research Grant RPG-2018-183Funder: Imperial College President’s scholarshipThe development of surface-immobilized molecular redox catalysts is an emerging research field with promising applications in sustainable chemistry. In electrocatalysis, paramagnetic species are often key intermediates in the mechanistic cycle but are inherently difficult to detect and follow by conventional in situ techniques. We report a new method, operando film-electrochemical electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (FE-EPR), which enables mechanistic studies of surface-immobilized electrocatalysts. This technique enables radicals formed during redox reactions to be followed in real time under flow conditions, at room temperature and in aqueous solution. Detailed insight into surface-immobilized catalysts, as exemplified here through alcohol oxidation catalysis by a surface-immobilized nitroxide, is possible by detecting active-site paramagnetic species sensitively and quantitatively operando, thereby enabling resolution of the reaction kinetics. Our finding that the surface electron-transfer rate, which is of the same order of magnitude as the rate of catalysis (accessible from operando FE-EPR), limits catalytic efficiency has implications for the future design of better surface-immobilized catalysts

Associations between Breastfeeding Duration and Obesity Phenotypes and the Offsetting Effect of a Healthy Lifestyle

Background: Additional metabolic indicators ought to be combined as outcome variables when exploring the impact of breastfeeding on obesity risk. Given the role of a healthy lifestyle in reducing obesity, we aimed to assess the effect of breastfeeding duration on different obesity phenotypes according to metabolic status in children and adolescents, and to explore the offsetting effect of healthy lifestyle factors on the associations between breastfeeding duration and obesity phenotypes. Methods: A total of 8208 eligible children and adolescents aged 7–18 years were recruited from a Chinese national cross-sectional study conducted in 2013. Anthropometric indicators were measured in the survey sites, metabolic indicators were tested from fasting blood samples, and breastfeeding duration and sociodemographic factors were collected by questionnaires. According to anthropometric and metabolic indicators, obesity phenotypes were divided into metabolic healthy normal weight (MHNW), metabolic unhealthy normal weight (MUNW), metabolic healthy obesity (MHO), and metabolic unhealthy obesity (MUO). Four common obesity risk factors (dietary consumption, physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration) were used to construct a healthy lifestyle score. Scores on the lifestyle index ranged from 0 to 4 and were further divided into unfavorable lifestyles (zero or one healthy lifestyle factor), intermediate lifestyles (two healthy lifestyle factors), and favorable lifestyle (three or four healthy lifestyle factors). Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the associations between breastfeeding duration and obesity phenotypes. Furthermore, the interaction terms of breastfeeding duration and each healthy lifestyle category were tested to explore the offsetting effect of lifestyle factors. Results: The prevalence of obesity among Chinese children and adolescents aged 7–18 years was 11.0%. Among the children and adolescents with obesity, the prevalence of MHO and MUO was 41.0% and 59.0%, respectively. Compared to the children and adolescents who were breastfed for 6–11 months, prolonged breastfeeding (≥12 months) increased the risks of MUNW (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.19–1.52), MHO (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.27–2.05), and MUO (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.20–1.76). When stratified by healthy lifestyle category, there was a typical dose–response relationship between duration of breastfeeding over 12 months and MUNW, MHO, and MUO, with an increased risk of a favorable lifestyle moved to an unfavorable lifestyle. Conclusions: Prolonged breastfeeding (≥12 months) may be associated with increased risks of MUNW, MHO, and MUO, and the benefits of breastfeeding among children and adolescents may begin to wane around the age of 12 months. The increased risks may be largely offset by a favorable lifestyle

The Combined Effect of Birth Weight and Lifestyle on Clustered Cardio-Metabolic Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents: A National School-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Due to the adverse effects of cardio-metabolic risk factors (CMRFs) in children and adolescents on their current and later life health, and the growing evidence that birth weight and lifestyle have on CMRFs, we aimed to estimate the combined effect of birth weight and lifestyle on clustered CMRFs in children and adolescents. Methods: We enrolled 11,509 participants aged 7–18 years old in a national school-based cross-sectional study in seven provinces in China in 2013. Information on CMRFs was collected through anthropometric measurements and blood sample testing. Information on birth weight, lifestyle and other basic information were investigated through children and adolescents’ as well as parents’ questionnaires. The generalized linear mixed model was applied to estimate the odd ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the associations between CMRFs, clustered CMRFs and birth weight, lifestyle, and the combinations of birth weight and lifestyle. Results: Overall, the prevalence of clustered CMRFs was 3.6% in children and adolescents aged 7–18 years, higher in boys (4.4%) than girls (2.9%). The combination of LBW/ideal lifestyle (OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.07–3.72) was associated with higher risk of clustered CMRFs, as well as in adolescents aged 13–18 years and in boys. The combination of HBW/poor lifestyle (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.13–2.68) was related to elevated risk of clustered CMRFs, especially in children aged 7–12 years. Conclusions: CMRFs in Chinese children and adolescents is concerning, ideal lifestyle could weaken the association of birth weight with clustered CMRFs, especially in younger age, indicating that programs to prevent abnormal birth weight or poor lifestyle or both among children and adolescents may reduce CMRFs in China

Dietary phenylalanine level could improve growth performance, glucose metabolism and insulin and mTOR signaling pathways of juvenile swimming crabs, Portunus trituberculatus

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the optimal dietary phenylalanine requirement of juvenile swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus). Six experimental diets (45.0% crude protein and 8.0% crude lipid) were formulated to contain 0.89%, 1.15%, 1.41%, 1.64%, 1.90% and 2.18% phenylalanine, respectively. Each diet was randomly divided into triplicate groups with 30 juvenile swimming crabs (initial weight 22.87 ± 0.03 g). The highest percent weight gain (PWG) and feed efficiency (FE) were presented in crabs fed with 1.64% phenylalanine diet, and the lowest PWG and FE were observed in crabs fed diet with 0.89% phenylalanine (P  0.05). Crabs fed the diet containing 0.89% phenylalanine had the lowest content of crude lipid in hepatopancreas among all treatments (P < 0.05). Hematological parameters related to glucose and lipids metabolism and enzyme activities involved in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis were significantly affected by dietary phenylalanine levels (P < 0.05). The contents of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFAs) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) in the hepatopancreas were notably affected by the dietary phenylalanine levels (P < 0.05). The enzyme activities related to glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen content in hepatopancreas were significantly influenced by dietary phenylalanine levels (P < 0.05). The mRNA levels of genes related to glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in the hepatopancreas were significantly affected by dietary phenylalanine levels (P < 0.05). Moreover, the insulin and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway were notably activated by dietary phenylalanine levels (P < 0.05). Based on two slope broken-line regression analysis of PWG against the dietary phenylalanine levels, the optimal dietary phenylalanine requirement was estimated to be 1.60% dry matter (3.55% dietary protein) for juvenile swimming crab