How to Evaluate Semantic Communications for Images with ViTScore Metric?

Semantic communications (SC) have been expected to be a new paradigm shifting to catalyze the next generation communication, whose main concerns shift from accurate bit transmission to effective semantic information exchange in communications. However, the previous and widely-used metrics for images are not applicable to evaluate the image semantic similarity in SC. Classical metrics to measure the similarity between two images usually rely on the pixel level or the structural level, such as the PSNR and the MS-SSIM. Straightforwardly using some tailored metrics based on deep-learning methods in CV community, such as the LPIPS, is infeasible for SC. To tackle this, inspired by BERTScore in NLP community, we propose a novel metric for evaluating image semantic similarity, named Vision Transformer Score (ViTScore). We prove theoretically that ViTScore has 3 important properties, including symmetry, boundedness, and normalization, which make ViTScore convenient and intuitive for image measurement. To evaluate the performance of ViTScore, we compare ViTScore with 3 typical metrics (PSNR, MS-SSIM, and LPIPS) through 5 classes of experiments. Experimental results demonstrate that ViTScore can better evaluate the image semantic similarity than the other 3 typical metrics, which indicates that ViTScore is an effective performance metric when deployed in SC scenarios

Identification and characterization of an efficient acyl-CoA: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene from the microalga Chlorella ellipsoidea

RT-PCR detection of DGAT1 genes in transgenic yeast (INVSc1). The yeast actin was used as an internal control. 1, The yeast transformed with pYES2.0; 2–5, the yeast expressing AtDGAT1, GmDGAT1, BnDGAT1 and CeDGAT1, respectively. (DOCX 55 kb

Identification and Characterization of an Efficient acyl-CoA:Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 (\u3cem\u3eDGAT1\u3c/em\u3e) Gene from the Microalga \u3cem\u3eChlorella ellipsoidea\u3c/em\u3e

Background: Oil in the form of triacylglycerols (TAGs) is quantitatively the most important storage form of energy for eukaryotic cells. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is considered the rate-limiting enzyme for TAG accumulation. Chlorella, a unicellular eukaryotic green alga, has attracted much attention as a potential feedstock for renewable energy production. However, the function of DGAT1 in Chlorella has not been reported. Results: A full-length cDNA encoding a putative diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1, EC 2.3.1.20) was obtained from Chlorella ellipsoidea. The 2,142 bp open reading frame of this cDNA, designated CeDGAT1, encodes a protein of 713 amino acids showing no more than 40% identity with DGAT1s of higher plants. Transcript analysis showed that the expression level of CeDGAT1 markedly increased under nitrogen starvation, which led to significant triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation. CeDGAT1 activity was confirmed in the yeast quadruple mutant strain H1246 by restoring its ability to produce TAG. Upon expression of CeDGAT1, the total fatty acid content in wild-type yeast (INVSc1) increased by 142%, significantly higher than that transformed with DGAT1s from higher plants, including even the oil crop soybean. The over-expression of CeDGAT1 under the NOS promoter in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus var. Westar significantly increased the oil content by 8–37% and 12–18% and the average 1,000-seed weight by 9–15% and 6–29%, respectively, but did not alter the fatty acid composition of the seed oil. The net increase in the 1,000-seed total lipid content was up to 25–50% in both transgenic Arabidopsis and B. napus. Conclusions: We identified a gene encoding DGAT1 in C. ellipsoidea and confirmed that it plays an important role in TAG accumulation. This is the first functional analysis of DGAT1 in Chlorella. This information is important for understanding lipid synthesis and accumulation in Chlorella and for genetic engineering to enhance oil production in microalgae and oil plants

Hormonal regulation of ovarian bursa fluid in mice and involvement of aquaporins.

In rodent species, the ovary and the end of oviduct are encapsulated by a thin membrane called ovarian bursa. The biological functions of ovarian bursa remain unexplored despite its structural arrangement in facilitating oocytes transport into oviduct. In the present study, we observed a rapid fluid accumulation and reabsorption within the ovarian bursa after ovarian stimulation (PMSG-primed hCG injection), suggesting that the ovarian bursa might play an active role in regulating local fluid homeostasis around the timing of ovulation. We hypothesized that the aquaporin proteins, which are specialized channels for water transport, might be involved in this process. By screening the expression of aquaporin family members (Aqp1-9) in the ovarian tissue and isolated ovarian bursa (0, 1, 2 and 5 h after hCG injection), we found that AQP2 and AQP5 mRNA showed dynamic changes after hCG treatment, showing upregulation at 1-2 h followed by gradually decrease at 5 h, which is closely related with the intra-bursa fluid dynamics. Further immunofluorescence examinations of AQP2 and AQP5 in the ovarian bursa revealed that AQP2 is specifically localized in the outer layer (peritoneal side) while AQP5 localized in the inner layer (ovarian side) of the bursa, such cell type specific and spatial-temporal expressions of AQP2 and 5 support our hypothesis that they might be involved in efficient water transport through ovarian bursa under ovulation related hormonal regulation. The physiological significance of aquaporin-mediated water transport in the context of ovarian bursa still awaits further clarification

Effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture on adjuvant analgesia in patients with total knee arthroplasty: a randomized sham-controlled trial

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture (AA) on postoperative analgesia, the degree of postoperative nausea, and the effect of inflammation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).MethodsThis was a single-center, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. In total, 96 patients were randomly divided into an AA group with an indwelling intradermal needle (n = 48) and a sham auricular acupuncture (SAA) group with a non-penetrating placebo needle (n = 48). Intra-spinal anesthesia was adopted in both groups during surgery, and an epidural analgesic pump was implanted after surgery for 48 h. The primary outcome was the post-surgery visual analog score (VAS) of resting and movement states (at 6, 12 h and 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days). The secondary outcomes included additional doses of analgesic injection during the treatment, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell (WBC) count on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day after the operation, nausea on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd day after the operation, the Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS) on the 2nd and 12th week after the operation, and adverse events.ResultsThe VAS in the AA group at 6 h, 12 h, 2, 3, and 5 days after surgery were lower than those of the SAA group (p < 0.05). Among the secondary outcomes, the total dose of additional analgesic injection after surgery in the AA group was lower than that in the SAA group (p < 0.05). The serum CRP on the 1st day after operation in the AA group was lower than that in the SAA group (p < 0.05). The degree of nausea on 2nd day after surgery in the AA group was lower than that in the SAA group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in other outcomes (p > 0.05).ConclusionIn this study, AA was shown to be an effective and safe complementary and alternative therapy for pain relief after TKA, which was able to reduce the total postoperative dose of additional painkillers, decrease serum CRP 1 day after surgery, and improve the degree of postoperative nausea.Clinical trial registrationwww.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR2100054403

Newly Identified Essential Amino Acids Affecting <i>Chlorella ellipsoidea</i> DGAT1 Function Revealed by Site-Directed Mutagenesis

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is a rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of triacylglycerol (TAG), the most important form of energy storage in plants. Some residues have previously been proven to be crucial for DGAT1 activity. In this study, we used site-directed mutagenesis of the CeDGAT1 gene from Chlorella ellipsoidea to alter 16 amino acids to investigate effects on DGAT1 function. Of the 16 residues (L482R, E542R, Y553A, G577R, R579D, Y582R, R596D, H603D, H609D, A624R, F629R, S632A, W650R, A651R, Q658H, and P660R), we newly identified 5 (L482, R579, H603, A651, and P660) as being essential for DGAT1 function and 7 (E542, G577, R596, H609, A624, S632, and Q658) that significantly affect DGAT1 function to different degrees, as revealed by heterologous expression of the mutants in yeast strain INVSc1. Importantly, compared with CeDGAT1, expression of the mutant CeDGAT1Y553A significantly increased the total fatty acid and TAG contents of INVSc1. Comparison among CeDGAT1Y553A, GmDGAT1Y341A, AtDGAT1Y364A, BnDGAT1Y347A, and BoDGAT1Y352A, in which tyrosine at the position corresponding to the 553rd residue in CeDGAT1 is changed into alanine, indicated that the impact of changing Y to A at position 553 is specific for CeDGAT1. Overall, the results provide novel insight into the structure and function of DGAT1, as well as a mutant gene with high potential for lipid improvement in microalgae and plants

Clonal Dissemination of Multidrug-Resistant and Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae Clonal Complex in a Chinese Hospital

The emergence of high antimicrobial-resistant and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) clones in clinics has become a cause of concern in recent years. Despite the global spread of the clonal complex (CC) 258, hvKp of other non-CC258 subgroups also emerged. Here, by performing a retrospective study from July 2019 to August 2020 in a Chinese hospital, we obtained 25 K. pneumoniae isolates belonging to CC15. By antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole genome sequencing and analysis, we obtained the resistant phenotypes and genotypes of these isolates. Twenty-one isolates (84%) were carbapenem-resistant, and eighteen were blaKPC-2 positive. In addition, ten isolates were identified as putative hvKp and seven were carbapenem-resistant hvKp. Nine isolates carried the pLVPK-like virulence plasmid, which contains the fragment including rmpA2, peg-589, iutA, and iucABCD. Another isolate carried iucA. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to four lineages, and the putative hvKp isolates were identified in three of these. Two independent sublineages of putative hvKp were caused by the acquisition of pLVPK-like virulence plasmid. Based on comparative genomic analysis, the number of pairwise single nucleotide polymorphisms amongst the four sublineages, Lineage 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b, were 1–43, 2–13, 129–279, and 3–4, respectively, indicating clonal transmission of Lineage 1a, 1b, and 2b. These results indicate that multiple lineages of CC15 carbapenem-resistant hvKp have emerged in the hospital and caused nosocomial transmission, and that the spreading of virulence plasmids among classic K. pneumoniae subtypes might become more common and happen more easily. These findings highlight the importance of surveillance of local epidemics of non-CC258 subgroups in hospitals

Numerical Investigation of Flow Structure and Turbulence Characteristic around a Spur Dike Using Large-Eddy Simulation

Spur dikes provide significant control for flow regimes in river regulation engineering, which can help in the regeneration of stream habitats. However, the narrowing of the flow by spur dike changes the turbulence characteristics. To clarify the turbulence characteristics around the spur dike, the method of large eddy simulation (LES) was used to investigate the horizontal turbulence structure around spur dikes with different discharges in an open-channel flume. The simulations were an exact reproduction of large-scale laboratory experiments, which showed agreement with the experimental results. The distributions of time-averaged streamwise velocity, bed shear stress, and second-order turbulence statistics obtained from the LES were analyzed. An examination of the time series of velocity fluctuation as the probability density function, quadrant analysis, the power density spectra, flow instability, and the vortex separation created in the detached shear layer were estimated. The results accurately revealed the flow field under flow separation, the turbulence statistics inside the separated shear layer, and the vortex structure and emphasized the variation in the different water depths. The results demonstrated that the form of turbulence was not significantly affected by discharge. Moreover, vortex and energy transmission displayed the same periodicity, despite variances in the structural form of turbulence at different water depths. Overall, the results of the study provide an efficient basis for understanding the turbulence around spur dikes, which is crucial for their safe design

Post-Operative Complications in Living Liver Donors: A Single-Center Experience in China.

The gap between the growing demand for available organs and the cadaveric organs facilitates the adoption of living donor liver transplantation. We retrospectively identified and evaluated the post-operative complications as per the modified Clavien classification system in 152 living liver donors at at the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University between December, 2006 and June, 2014. Post-operative complications were observed in 61 patients (40.1%) in the present study, but no mortality was reported. Complications developed in 58 (40.0%) right, 1 (33.3%) left, and 2 (66.7%) lateral left hepatectomy donors. The prevalence of re-operation was 1.3%. Grade I and II complications were observed in 38 (25.0%) and 11 (7.2%) donors, respectively. Grade IIIa complications developed in 9 (5.9%) donors and only 3 (2.0%) patients reported grade IIIb complications. The most common complication was pleural effusion that occurred in 31 (20.4%) donors. No significant prognostic baseline factor was identified in this study. In conclusion, living donors experienced various complications, which were usually mild and had a good prognosis