FedVision: An Online Visual Object Detection Platform Powered by Federated Learning

Visual object detection is a computer vision-based artificial intelligence (AI) technique which has many practical applications (e.g., fire hazard monitoring). However, due to privacy concerns and the high cost of transmitting video data, it is highly challenging to build object detection models on centrally stored large training datasets following the current approach. Federated learning (FL) is a promising approach to resolve this challenge. Nevertheless, there currently lacks an easy to use tool to enable computer vision application developers who are not experts in federated learning to conveniently leverage this technology and apply it in their systems. In this paper, we report FedVision - a machine learning engineering platform to support the development of federated learning powered computer vision applications. The platform has been deployed through a collaboration between WeBank and Extreme Vision to help customers develop computer vision-based safety monitoring solutions in smart city applications. Over four months of usage, it has achieved significant efficiency improvement and cost reduction while removing the need to transmit sensitive data for three major corporate customers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first real application of FL in computer vision-based tasks

KARR-seq reveals cellular higher-order RNA structures and RNA–RNA interactions

RNA fate and function are affected by their structures and interactomes. However, how RNA and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) assemble into higher-order structures and how RNA molecules may interact with each other to facilitate functions remain largely unknown. Here we present KARR-seq, which uses N3-kethoxal labeling and multifunctional chemical crosslinkers to covalently trap and determine RNA–RNA interactions and higher-order RNA structures inside cells, independent of local protein binding to RNA. KARR-seq depicts higher-order RNA structure and detects widespread intermolecular RNA–RNA interactions with high sensitivity and accuracy. Using KARR-seq, we show that translation represses mRNA compaction under native and stress conditions. We determined the higher-order RNA structures of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and identified RNA–RNA interactions between the viruses and the host RNAs that potentially regulate viral replication

The Relationship between Fluid Evolution and Hydrocarbon Accumulation and Metallization in the Nanpanjiang-Youjiang Basin: Evidence from Calcite Petrography and Fluid Inclusions

In the process of diagenesis and burial of sedimentary basins, basin fluid activities participate in the process of hydrocarbon accumulation and metal mineralization. Understanding the evolution of basin fluid is of great significance in revealing the related hydrocarbon accumulation and mineralization. Paleo-reservoirs are closely associated with Carlin-type gold deposits in the Nanpanjiang-Youjiang Basin, South China. Calcite, the fluid activity product, is closely related to bitumen and gold-bearing pyrite. By integrating petrographic, cathode luminescence, and fluid inclusion analysis, as well as the relevant chronological results of predecessors, this paper attempts to establish the relationship between fluid evolution, hydrocarbon accumulation, and gold mineralization. Two types of calcite (black/gray and white) developed in the Banqi-Yata-Laizishan area, the Nanpanjiang-Youjiang Basin. Black/gray calcite is symbiotic with bitumen and features dark red colors in cathode luminescence. Many hydrocarbon inclusions developed along with fluid inclusion analysis at low homogenization temperatures (65.7~173.1 °C). Combining the previously reported U-Pb ages (~250–230 Ma) of this kind of calcite with some geochemistry data on the associated reservoir and gold deposit, this calcite records the consecutive hydrocarbon accumulation and Carlin-type gold mineralization from the Late Permian to the Late Triassic periods controlled by Indosinian tectonic movement. The white calcite featuring bright red in cathodoluminescence is symbiotic with gold-bearing pyrite and realgar, and the associated fluid inclusions have high homogenization temperatures (128.2~299.9 °C). Combined with regional tectonic background and isotopic chronology (~140–106 Ma), it seems to record the early Cretaceous Carlin-type gold mineralization controlled by the subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate in the late Yanshanian period

Surface Upwelling off the Zhoushan Islands, East China Sea, from Himawari-8 AHI Data

The summer upwelling around the Zhoushan Islands is well-known. The previous concise review of (mostly) observational studies reveals that the present knowledge of the Zhoushan upwelling is unsatisfactory and has focused on seasonal variations. In this study, a sea surface temperature (SST) gradient-based upwelling detection algorithm was used. The Level 3 daily and hourly SST data from the geostationary satellite Himawari-8 were used to explore statistical features, seasonal variations, and short-term variations of the Zhoushan upwelling. Despite the duration period being like in previous studies, there is a new finding that the location of the upwelling center has a significant monthly migration. The statistical results show that the potential upwelling spots are clustered in the location with large topographic gradients and can be divided into four aggregation areas: between Gouqi Island and Lvhua Island, off Shengsi Island, around the Zhongjieshan Islands, and off the Taohua-Liuheng Islands. The core area of the Zhoushan upwelling is located at 122°E–123°E, 29.5°N–31.15°N with an irregular ellipse extending from southwest to northeast. The continuous cloud-free satellite images display that the lifecycle of the short-term variations was about 24 h and included two stages: intensification and decay. Meanwhile, the surface upwelling center has onshore–offshore movement under the advective transport of local tidal currents. A preliminary discussion suggests that the quasi-24 h periodic variations may be caused by the competing effect between tidal mixing and the stratification in the water column

Genetic Structure and Differentiation of Endangered <i>Cycas</i> Species Indicate a Southward Migration Associated with Historical Cooling Events

Understanding the genetic structure and differentiation in endangered species is of significance in detecting their phylogenetic relationships and prioritizing conservation. Here we sampled five endangered Cycas species endemic to southwest China and genotyped genetic structure and differentiation among them using the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method. C. hongheensis showed high genetic diversity, but the other four species showed low genetic diversity. The genetic diversity between wild and cultivated populations was similar for C. debaoensis and C. guizhouensis, respectively. Low genetic differentiation and high gene flow were found among C. debaoensis, C. guizhouensis, and C. fairylakea, and C. hongheensis differentiated from them at ~1.74 Mya. TreeMix results showed historic migration events from C. guizhouensis to C. hongheensis, showing southward migration pathways. C. hongheensis showed increased effective population size with time, while the other four species underwent bottleneck events at ~1–5 Mya when continuous cooling events occurred. Our results indicate that the migration, differentiation, and speciation of Cycas species are associated with historical cooling events

Surface Upwelling off the Zhoushan Islands, East China Sea, from Himawari-8 AHI Data

The summer upwelling around the Zhoushan Islands is well-known. The previous concise review of (mostly) observational studies reveals that the present knowledge of the Zhoushan upwelling is unsatisfactory and has focused on seasonal variations. In this study, a sea surface temperature (SST) gradient-based upwelling detection algorithm was used. The Level 3 daily and hourly SST data from the geostationary satellite Himawari-8 were used to explore statistical features, seasonal variations, and short-term variations of the Zhoushan upwelling. Despite the duration period being like in previous studies, there is a new finding that the location of the upwelling center has a significant monthly migration. The statistical results show that the potential upwelling spots are clustered in the location with large topographic gradients and can be divided into four aggregation areas: between Gouqi Island and Lvhua Island, off Shengsi Island, around the Zhongjieshan Islands, and off the Taohua-Liuheng Islands. The core area of the Zhoushan upwelling is located at 122&deg;E&ndash;123&deg;E, 29.5&deg;N&ndash;31.15&deg;N with an irregular ellipse extending from southwest to northeast. The continuous cloud-free satellite images display that the lifecycle of the short-term variations was about 24 h and included two stages: intensification and decay. Meanwhile, the surface upwelling center has onshore&ndash;offshore movement under the advective transport of local tidal currents. A preliminary discussion suggests that the quasi-24 h periodic variations may be caused by the competing effect between tidal mixing and the stratification in the water column