Molecular characterization and function analysis of the vitellogenin receptor from the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)

Developing oocytes accumulate plentiful yolk protein during oogenesis through receptor-mediated endocytosis. The vitellogenin receptor (VgR), belonging to the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) family, regulates the absorption of yolk protein. In this work, the full-length vitellogenin receptor (HaVgR) in the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera was identified, encoding a 1817 residue protein. Sequence alignment revealed that the sequence of HaVgR contained all of the conservative structural motifs of LDLR family members, and phylogenetic analysis indicated that HaVgR had a high identity among Lepidoptera and was distinct from that of other insects. Consistent with other insects, HaVgR was specifically expressed in ovarian tissue. The developmental expression pattern showed that HaVgR was first transcribed in the newly metamorphosed female adults, reached a peak in 2-day-old adults and then declined. Western blot analysis also revealed an ovarian-specific and developing expression pattern, which was consistent with the HaVgR mRNA transcription. Moreover, RNAi-mediated HaVgR knockdown strongly reduced the VgR expression in both the mRNA and protein levels, which inhibited the yolk protein deposition in the ovaries, led to the dramatic accumulation of vitellogenin and the up-regulation of HaVg expression in hemolymph, and eventually resulted in a declined fecundity. Together, all of these findings demonstrate that HaVgR is a specific receptor in uptake and transportation of yolk protein for the maturation of oocytes and that it plays a critical role in female reproduction

AdaLomo: Low-memory Optimization with Adaptive Learning Rate

Large language models have achieved remarkable success, but their extensive parameter size necessitates substantial memory for training, thereby setting a high threshold. While the recently proposed low-memory optimization (LOMO) reduces memory footprint, its optimization technique, akin to stochastic gradient descent, is sensitive to hyper-parameters and exhibits suboptimal convergence, failing to match the performance of the prevailing optimizer for large language models, AdamW. Through empirical analysis of the Adam optimizer, we found that, compared to momentum, the adaptive learning rate is more critical for bridging the gap. Building on this insight, we introduce the low-memory optimization with adaptive learning rate (AdaLomo), which offers an adaptive learning rate for each parameter. To maintain memory efficiency, we employ non-negative matrix factorization for the second-order moment estimation in the optimizer state. Additionally, we suggest the use of a grouped update normalization to stabilize convergence. Our experiments with instruction-tuning and further pre-training demonstrate that AdaLomo achieves results on par with AdamW, while significantly reducing memory requirements, thereby lowering the hardware barrier to training large language models.Comment: Fix some typ

Self-prescribed nutrition supplements for hair loss following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy bariatric surgery: extent of the problem in a cohort of Chinese patients

Introductions: Hair loss is common after bariatric surgery. This study analyzes the extent and risk factors of hair loss following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), and satisfaction of self-prescribed supplements. Methods: All patients of LSG bariatric surgery during June 2013 to August 2016 at Shanghai East Hospital affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai, China were included in the study. Study variables were- age, gender, preoperative body mass index, hemoglobin, albumin, total cholesterol, iron, zinc, copper, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and postoperative excess weight loss (% EWL), time and degree of hair loss, satisfaction of using supplements. Logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors for hair loss. Results: Total of 86 patients underwent LSG. After exclusion data on 54 patients (M=11, F=43) were analyzed. Hair loss was reported by 42/54 (77.8%, M=6, F=36), starting at 3.43±1.36 months and ending at 8.59±3.38. All of 11 severe hair losses were in female. The female gender, preoperative serum folic acid, and %EWL were significant risk factors for hair loss. Hair regrowth was reported by 39/42 (92.86%). The 15 patients who used various self-prescribed iron and zinc supplements reported no satisfactory benefit.  Conclusions: Hair loss was seen in 3/4th of patents after LSG bariatric surgery. Self-prescribed nutrition supplements were used by 1/3 of patients without satisfaction. Female gender, preoperative serum folic acid, and %EWL were significant risk factors for hair loss. Keywords: bariatric surgery, hair loss, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy LSG, obesity, nutrition supplement

A finite element numerical simulation analysis of mine direct current method’s advanced detection under varied field sources

Ensuring the safety of coal mine production requires accurate forecasting of coal road heading faces in advance. Because of its high resistance to electromagnetic interference, the mine direct current (DC) method has been widely utilized in the advanced detection and prediction of coal mines. The layout of the field source significantly influences the detection outcomes obtained through this method. In this study, a variety of full-space three-dimensional geoelectric models were established based on the fundamental principle of DC resistivity, and the response features of geological anomalies located in various positions in front of a roadway were studied under different field source conditions using finite element numerical simulation. The electrical response characteristics were analyzed with the electrodes positioned in different directions and two-point to seven-point current sources located on the floor and side of the roadway, respectively. The electrical response of the geological anomalies was characterized with varying positions of the multi-point current source in the roadway and the pole distance of the power supply electrode. Furthermore, the electrical response characteristics of the mine DC method in advanced detection were compared for geological anomalies placed differently across the entire space. The results indicate that the response effect of the geological anomaly in front of the roadway is greater when the field source is placed on the shorter side of the roadway cross-section, with the number of field sources showing a positive correlation with the product of the pole distance and low-resistance amplitude. In advanced detection by DC method, the existence of geological anomalies on the side will affect the recognition of anomalies in front of the roadway

Efficacy of Zhifei Kangfu Decoction in the Treatment of Infantile Pneumonia in the Recovery Period

The objective of this article is to explore the effect of applying Zhifei Kangfu Decoction on the treatment effect of patients during the recovery period of children with pneumonia. The method of this research is to take patients who were treated in our hospital from December 2019 to December 2020 as an example to carry out the research work. The researchers selected all patients in the recovery period of pediatric pneumonia, and the number was selected as 100 cases, who were divided into two groups, and the treatment methods used are conventional western medicine and Zhifei Kangfu Decoction treatment, who were named the control group and the experimental group, and the clinical treatment effects of the two groups of patients are compared and analyzed. The effective rate and adverse reaction rate of children in the experimental group were 96.00% and 4.00%, respectively. The effective rate and adverse reaction rate of children in the control group were 82.00% and 30.00%, respectively. Asthma, cough relieving, and treatment time were shorter than those of the control group, and the difference in the data was P<0.05, which was statistically significant. The experimental group had better results. The treatment of children in the recovery period of pneumonia and the application of Zhifei Kangfu Decoction can promote the improvement of clinical efficacy, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions in children, and have a positive significance in promoting the recovery of children