UniRQR: A Unified Model for Retrieval Decision, Query, and Response Generation in Internet-Based Knowledge Dialogue Systems

Knowledge-based dialogue systems with internet retrieval have recently attracted considerable attention from researchers. The dialogue systems overcome a major limitation of traditional knowledge dialogue systems, where the timeliness of knowledge cannot be assured, hence providing greater practical application value. Knowledge-based dialogue systems with internet retrieval can be typically segmented into three tasks: Retrieval Decision, Query Generation, and Response Generation. However, many of studies assumed that all conversations require external knowledge to continue, neglecting the critical step of determining when retrieval is necessary. This assumption often leads to an over-dependence on external knowledge, even when it may not be required. Our work addresses this oversight by employing a single unified model facilitated by prompt and multi-task learning approaches. This model not only decides whether retrieval is necessary but also generates retrieval queries and responses. By integrating these functions, our system leverages the full potential of pre-trained models and reduces the complexity and costs associated with deploying multiple models. We conducted extensive experiments to investigate the mutual enhancement among the three tasks in our system. What is more, the experiment results on the Wizint and Dusinc datasets not only demonstrate that our unified model surpasses the baseline performance for individual tasks, but also reveal that it achieves comparable results when contrasted with SOTA systems that deploy separate, specialized models for each task

Isolation and Functional Characterization of an AGAMOUS-LIKE 18 (AGL18) MADS-box Gene from Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

MADS-box proteins play vital roles in plant growth and development. However, few studies have addressed the biological functions of MADS-box genes in cucumber. In this study, a MADS-box gene, CsMADS25, was cloned from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). The open reading frame (ORF) of CsMADS25 was 810 bp in length and encoded a deduced protein consisting of 269 amino acids with a calculated MW of 30.53 kDa and a theoretical pI of 5.38. Sequence alignment showed that CsMADS25 shared the highest amino acid identity with CmMADS09 from Cucumis melo. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that CsMADS25 was clustered with AGL18 proteins with high bootstrap values. qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of CsMADS25 was observably regulated by various abiotic stresses and GAtreatments. Overexpression of CsMADS25 resulted in dwarf and small-leaf phenotypes in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, and the leaf index value (leaf length/width ratio) of transgenic plants was dramatically increased compared with that of wild-type (WT) plants. These findings suggest that CsMADS25 might play important roles in various developmental processes and in response to abiotic stress of cucumber

Learning-based deformable image registration for infant MR images in the first year of life

Many brain development studies have been devoted to investigate dynamic structural and functional changes in the first year of life. To quantitatively measure brain development in such a dynamic period, accurate image registration for different infant subjects with possible large age gap is of high demand. Although many state-of-the-art image registration methods have been proposed for young and elderly brain images, very few registration methods work for infant brain images acquired in the first year of life, because of (1) large anatomical changes due to fast brain development and (2) dynamic appearance changes due to white matter myelination

Morphological Redescription and SSU rDNA-based Phylogeny of Two Freshwater Ciliates, Uronema nigricans and Lembadion lucens (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea), with Discussion on the Taxonomic Status of Uronemita sinensis

Liu, Mingjian, Li, Lifang, Qu, Zhishuai, Luo, Xiaotian, Al-Farraj, Saleh A., Lin, Xiaofeng, Hu, Xiaozhong (2017): Morphological Redescription and SSU rDNA-based Phylogeny of Two Freshwater Ciliates, Uronema nigricans and Lembadion lucens (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea), with Discussion on the Taxonomic Status of Uronemita sinensis. Acta Protozoologica 56 (1): 17-37, DOI: 10.4467/16890027AP.17.003.6967, URL: https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/cb3bc4f7-739f-32f8-92cd-7da31a838cb6

Maternal OGTT Glucose Levels at 26–30 Gestational Weeks with Offspring Growth and Development in Early Infancy

Aims. We aim to evaluate the association of maternal gestational oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) glucose concentrations with anthropometry in the offspring from birth to 12 months in Tianjin, China. Methods:. A total of 27,157 pregnant women underwent OGTT during 26–30 weeks gestation, and their children had body weight/length measured from birth to 12 months old. Results:. Maternal OGTT glucose concentrations at 26–30 gestational weeks were positively associated with Z-scores for birth length-for-gestational age and birth weight-for-length. Compared with infants born to mothers with normal glucose tolerance, infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (impaired glucose tolerance/new diabetes) had higher mean values of Z-scores for birth length-for-gestational age (0.07/0.23; normal group −0.08) and birth weight-for-length (0.27/0.57; normal group −0.001), smaller changes in mean values of Z-scores for length-for-age (0.75/0.62; normal group 0.94) and weight-for-length (0.18/−0.17; normal group 0.37) from birth to month 3, and bigger changes in mean values in Z-scores for weight-for-length (0.07/0.12; normal group 0.02) from month 9 to 12. Conclusions:. Abnormal maternal glucose tolerance during pregnancy was associated with higher birth weight and birth length, less weight and length gain in the first 3 months of life, and more weight gain in the months 9–12 of life