Automated clustering method for point spread function classification

The point spread function (PSF) plays a very important part in image post-processing and high-precion astrometry and photometry. It is necessary to analyse the properties of the PSF before we use it to process data. However, in real observations, the PSF is affected by many different factors and the shape of it has inevitable spatial and temporal variations that can be hard to describe. In this paper, we propose a clustering method to evaluate the shape variations of PSFs. We analyse the performance of this method with simulated PSFs under different observation conditions. Then, we process two observational data sets with this method. The PSF clustering results can provide a reference for checking observation conditions and can be used for astrometry based on PSF fitting. In general, our method can reveal the morphologic similarities of different PSFs and can provide a reference for observations. The cluster revealed by our method can provide a reference for the evaluation of observation conditions and for the post-processing of astronomical observation data

Comparative effectiveness and safety of xiyanping with ribavirin for rotavirus enteritis therapy in childhood: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: To employ meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness and adverse events of Xiyanping and ribavirin in children with rotavirus enteritis.Methods: Searches included PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine Database (CBM), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP database), and Wanfang database from inception to March 2017. Clinical indicators, with respect to the total effectiveness rate, fever time, duration of diarrhea, creatinine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB), rotavirus (RV) negative conversion rate, and adverse reaction, were compared between Xiyanping and ribavirin groups.Results: Five-hundred and twenty-six records were obtained after searching the databases, and 18 studies (3557 participants) that met the inclusion criteria were included. All of them assessed total effectiveness rate, and two records evaluated RV negative conversion rate. There were significantly higher rates in the Xiyanping group than in the ribavirin group {OR = 3.76, 95 %CI (3.03 - 4.66), p < 0.00001; OR = 2.68, 95 %CI (1.56 - 4.60), p = 0.0004}. Compared with ribavirin group, fever time, duration of diarrhea, and creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) were significantly lower in xiyanping group [MD = -1.23, 95 %CI (-1.64 to -0.81), p < 0.00001; MD= -2.15, 95 %CI (-2.68 to -1.62), p < 0.00001; MD = -16.90, 95 %CI (-17.23 to -16.57), p < 0.00001}. Six studies reported adverse reactions, but there was no significant difference between xiyanping and ribavirin groups {OR = 1.44, 95 %CI (0.40 - 5.17), p = 0.58}.Conclusion: This review suggests that xiyanping is more effective than ribavirin in children suffering from rotavirus enteritis.Keywords: Ribavirin, Rotavirus enteritis, Systematic review, Virazole®, Xiyanpin

Breaking Language Barriers in Multilingual Mathematical Reasoning: Insights and Observations

Existing research predominantly focuses on developing powerful language learning models (LLMs) for mathematical reasoning within monolingual languages, with few explorations in preserving efficacy in a multilingual context. To bridge this gap, this paper pioneers exploring and training powerful Multilingual Math Reasoning (xMR) LLMs. Firstly, by utilizing translation, we construct the first multilingual math reasoning instruction dataset, MGSM8KInstruct, encompassing ten distinct languages, thus addressing the issue of training data scarcity in xMR tasks. Based on the collected dataset, we propose different training strategies to build powerful xMR LLMs, named MathOctopus, notably outperform conventional open-source LLMs and exhibit superiority over ChatGPT in few-shot scenarios. Notably, MathOctopus-13B reaches 47.6% accuracy which exceeds ChatGPT 46.3% on MGSM testset. Beyond remarkable results, we unearth several pivotal observations and insights from extensive experiments: (1) When extending the rejection sampling strategy to the multilingual context, it proves effective for model performances, albeit limited. (2) Employing parallel corpora for math Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) across multiple languages not only significantly enhances model performance multilingually but also elevates their monolingual performance. This indicates that crafting multilingual corpora can be regarded as a vital strategy for enhancing model performance in a specific language, especially in mathematical reasoning tasks. For instance, MathOctopus-7B improves its counterparts that trained on English from 42.2% to 50.8% on GSM8K testset.Comment: Work in Progres

Functional and postoperative outcomes after high-intensity interval training in lung cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe study evaluated the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on postoperative complications and lung function in patients with lung cancer compared to usual care.MethodsWe searched electronic databases in April 2022, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Two authors independently applied the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool to assess the quality of RCTs. The postoperative complications, length of hospitalization, and cardiopulmonary functions from the studies were pooled for statistical analysis.ResultsA total of 12 randomized controlled trials were eligible for inclusion and were conducted in the meta-analysis. HIIT significantly increased VO2peak (MD = 2.65; 95% CI = 1.70 to 3.60; I2 = 40%; P <0.001) and FEV1 (MD = 0.12; 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.20; I2 = 51%; P = 0.003) compared with usual care. A subgroup analysis of studies that applied HIIT perioperatively showed significant improvement of HIIT on FEV1 (MD = 0.14; 95% CI = 0.08 to 0.20; I2 = 36%; P <0.0001). HIIT significantly reduced the incidence of postoperative atelectasis in lung cancer patients compared with usual care (RD = −0.16; 95% CI = −0.24 to −0.08; I2 = 24%; P <0.0001). There was no statistically significant effect of HIIT on postoperative arrhythmias (RD = −0.05; 95% CI = −0.13 to 0.03; I2 = 40%; P = 0.22), length of hospitalization (MD = −1.64; 95% CI = −3.29 to 0.01; P = 0.05), and the six-minute walk test (MD = 19.77; 95% CI = −15.25 to 54.80; P = 0.27) compared to usual care.ConclusionHIIT may enhance VO2peak and FEV1 in lung cancer patients and reduce the incidence of postoperative atelectasis. However, HIIT may not reduce the incidence of postoperative arrhythmia, shorten the length of hospitalization, or improve the exercise performance of patients with lung cancer.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO, CRD4202233544

ZBTB20 Is a Sequence-Specific Transcriptional Repressor of Alpha-Fetoprotein Gene

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) represents a classical model system to study developmental gene regulation in mammalian cells. We previously reported that liver ZBTB20 is developmentally regulated and plays a central role in AFP postnatal repression. Here we show that ZBTB20 is a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor of AFP. By ELISA-based DNA-protein binding assay and conventional gel shift assay, we successfully identified a ZBTB20-binding site at -104/-86 of mouse AFP gene, flanked by two HNF1 sites and two C/EBP sites in the proximal promoter. Importantly, mutation of the core sequence in this site fully abolished its binding to ZBTB20 in vitro, as well as the repression of AFP promoter activity by ZBTB20. The unique ZBTB20 site was highly conserved in rat and human AFP genes, but absent in albumin genes. These help to explain the autonomous regulation of albumin and AFP genes in the liver after birth. Furthermore, we demonstrated that transcriptional repression of AFP gene by ZBTB20 was liver-specific. ZBTB20 was dispensable for AFP silencing in other tissues outside liver. Our data define a cognate ZBTB20 site in AFP promoter which mediates the postnatal repression of AFP gene in the liver