SpaText: Spatio-Textual Representation for Controllable Image Generation

Recent text-to-image diffusion models are able to generate convincing results of unprecedented quality. However, it is nearly impossible to control the shapes of different regions/objects or their layout in a fine-grained fashion. Previous attempts to provide such controls were hindered by their reliance on a fixed set of labels. To this end, we present SpaText - a new method for text-to-image generation using open-vocabulary scene control. In addition to a global text prompt that describes the entire scene, the user provides a segmentation map where each region of interest is annotated by a free-form natural language description. Due to lack of large-scale datasets that have a detailed textual description for each region in the image, we choose to leverage the current large-scale text-to-image datasets and base our approach on a novel CLIP-based spatio-textual representation, and show its effectiveness on two state-of-the-art diffusion models: pixel-based and latent-based. In addition, we show how to extend the classifier-free guidance method in diffusion models to the multi-conditional case and present an alternative accelerated inference algorithm. Finally, we offer several automatic evaluation metrics and use them, in addition to FID scores and a user study, to evaluate our method and show that it achieves state-of-the-art results on image generation with free-form textual scene control.Comment: CVPR 2023. Project page available at: https://omriavrahami.com/spatex

A Sexual Shift Induced by Silencing of a Single Insulin-Like Gene in Crayfish: Ovarian Upregulation and Testicular Degeneration

In sequential hermaphrodites, intersexuality occurs naturally, usually as a transition state during sexual re-differentiation processes. In crustaceans, male sexual differentiation is controlled by the male-specific androgenic gland (AG). An AG-specific insulin-like gene, previously identified in the red-claw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus (designated Cq-IAG), was found in this study to be the prominent transcript in an AG cDNA subtractive library. In C. quadricarinatus, sexual plasticity is exhibited by intersex individuals in the form of an active male reproductive system and male secondary sex characters, along with a constantly arrested ovary. This intersexuality was exploited to follow changes caused by single gene silencing, accomplished via dsRNA injection. Cq-IAG silencing induced dramatic sex-related alterations, including male feature feminization, a reduction in sperm production, extensive testicular degeneration, expression of the vitellogenin gene, and accumulation of yolk proteins in the developing oocytes. Upon silencing of the gene, AG cells hypertrophied, possibly to compensate for low hormone levels, as reflected in the poor production of the insulin-like hormone (and revealed by immunohistochemistry). These results demonstrate both the functionality of Cq-IAG as an androgenic hormone-encoding gene and the dependence of male gonad viability on the Cq-IAG product. This study is the first to provide evidence that silencing an insulin-like gene in intersex C. quadricarinatus feminizes male-related phenotypes. These findings, moreover, contribute to the understanding of the regulation of sexual shifts, whether naturally occurring in sequential hermaphrodites or abnormally induced by endocrine disruptors found in the environment, and offer insight into an unusual gender-related link to the evolution of insulins

Circulation of bovine ephemeral fever in the Middle East-Strong evidence for transmission by winds and animal transport

Bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV) is an economically important arbovirus of cattle. The main routes of its transmission between countries and continents are not completely elucidated. This study aimed to explore BEFV transmission in the Middle-East. A phylogenetic analysis was performed on the gene encoding the G protein of BEFV isolates from Israel from 2000 and 2008 with isolates from Turkey (2008), Egypt (2005), Australia (1968-1998) and East Asia (1966-2004). Calf sera collected during the years 2006-2007 were tested by serum neutralization in order to explore for recent exposure to BEFV before 2008. These were followed by a meteorological analysis, aimed to reveal movement of air parcels into Israel in the two weeks preceding the first case of BEF in Israel in 2008. The 2008 Israeli and Turkish isolates showed 99% identity and formed a new cluster with the 2000 Israeli isolate. The serological survey showed no new exposure to BEFV during 2006 and 2007. These results coincided with the meteorological analysis, which revealed that air parcels originating in Southern Turkey had reached the location of outbreak onset in Israel nine days before the discovery of the index case. The Egyptian isolate clustered phylogenetically with the Taiwanese isolates, coinciding with data on importation of cattle from China to the Middle East in the year preceding the isolation of the Egyptian isolates. These results suggest that both winds and animal transport may have an important role in trans-boundary transmission of BEFV. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Comparison of whole ovaries obtained from dsRNA and DDW-injected intersex crayfish.

<p>The whole ovary from a dsRNA-injected intersex animal (A) contained yellowish oocytes, as in a mature female ovary (B), with an average diameter of approximately 900 µm. The ovary of a DDW-injected intersex animal (C) contained whitish oocytes, approximately 300 µm in diameter (bar  = 2 mm).</p

Levels of <i>Cq-IAG</i> transcripts following <i>in vivo</i> dsRNA injections in male crayfish.

<p>Relative <i>Cq-IAG</i> transcript levels were quantified in crayfish males by real-time RT-PCR following short-term silencing. Three different groups were injected with either ds<i>Cq-IAG</i> (n = 6), ds<i>Mr-IAG</i> (n = 6) or DDW (n = 6). The groups were found to be statistically different (Kruskal-Wallis statist: H (df = 2, N = 18) = 7.450, p = 0.0241). Followed by a multiple pair-wise comparison ds<i>Cq-IAG</i> group was found significantly different from the DDW (P = 0.0386) and showed a difference that turned out to be non-significant (P = 0.0798) from the ds<i>Mr-IAG</i> group. Different letters represent significant difference and error bars represent SEM.</p

Effects of ds<i>Cq-IAG</i> injection on the reproductive system of intersex individuals.

<p>Hematoxylin- and eosin-stained cross-sections used for structure description. Components of the reproductive system of <i>Cq-IAG</i> dsRNA-injected intersex animals showed an empty sperm duct (black arrowhead, A) and inactive testicular lobules (black arrowheads, B), along with an activated ovary containing enlarged yolk-accumulating oocytes (C). A filled sperm duct (E), spermatogenic testis (F) and an arrested ovary (G) were observed in the control intersex animal. Enlarged areas within the ovaries of both groups are shown in the right hand side (D and H). Bar  = 500 µm in ovarian sections, 50 µm in sperm duct, testis and ovary, high magnification sections.</p

Levels of vitellogenin and expression of its encoding gene following <i>Cq-IAG</i> silencing in intersex crayfish.

<p>(A) <i>Cq-Vg</i> transcription in the hepatopancreas was demonstrated by RT-PCR. A single band was observed in the ds<i>Cq-IAG</i>-injected intersex animal sample but not in the control intersex sample. Samples of a vitellogenic female and a male served as controls. (B) Detection of the vitellogenin protein in the hemolymph was conducted by ELISA using anti-Cq-Vg antibodies. Hemolymph samples were collected from DDW-injected intersex (INX) animals (n = 7), ds<i>Cq-IAG</i>-injected INX (n = 3), vitellogenic females (n = 6) and mature males (n = 6). Egg high density lipoprotein (HDL) equivalent levels in dsRNA-injected INX were similar to those of vitellogenic females (Kruskal-Wallis statist: H (df = 3, N = 22) = 16.137, p = 0.001 followed by multiple pair-wise comparison). Negligible levels of egg HDL equivalents were detected in control intersex and mature males. Different letters represent significant differences (p<0.05±SEM).</p

Effects of ds<i>Cq-IAG</i> injections on maternal care-related characteristics in intersex crayfish.

<p>Pleopods were collected from intersex animals injected with DDW (A) or ds<i>Cq-IAG</i> (B) and from mature females (C). Length:width ratios between endopods and exopods of DDW-injected intersex were identical (A), while those of dsRNA-injected animals (B) showed female-like biometrics. Whereas the inner side of the endopod of DDW-injected intersex bore only plumose setae (D), as in males, the inner side of the endopod of dsRNA-injected animals was lined with ovigerous simple setae (E) as is the case of mature females (F). Bottom row (bar  = 100 µm) represents an enlargement of the areas defined in squares in the top row (bar  = 500 µm).</p

Presence of Cq-IAG in hAGs from endocrinologically-induced versus ds<i>Cq-IAG</i>-injected crayfish.

<p>Immunohistochemistry was performed on sections from the base of the fifth pereiopod of induced (top) and <i>Cq-IAG</i> dsRNA-injected (bottom) intersex animals. Large quantities of Cq-IAG, demonstrated by the green fluorescence of bound goat anti-rabbit FITC conjugated antibodies, were observed in the cytoplasm of induced AG cells (B, C). Reduced levels of the Cq-IAG hormone were observed in the cytoplasm of AG cells of ds<i>Cq-IAG</i> -injected intersex animals (F). DAPI counterstain was used to identify nuclei in both induced (A, C) and silenced (D, F) intersex animals. Bar  = 20 µm.</p