TARGET: Federated Class-Continual Learning via Exemplar-Free Distillation

This paper focuses on an under-explored yet important problem: Federated Class-Continual Learning (FCCL), where new classes are dynamically added in federated learning. Existing FCCL works suffer from various limitations, such as requiring additional datasets or storing the private data from previous tasks. In response, we first demonstrate that non-IID data exacerbates catastrophic forgetting issue in FL. Then we propose a novel method called TARGET (federat\textbf{T}ed cl\textbf{A}ss-continual lea\textbf{R}nin\textbf{G} via \textbf{E}xemplar-free dis\textbf{T}illation), which alleviates catastrophic forgetting in FCCL while preserving client data privacy. Our proposed method leverages the previously trained global model to transfer knowledge of old tasks to the current task at the model level. Moreover, a generator is trained to produce synthetic data to simulate the global distribution of data on each client at the data level. Compared to previous FCCL methods, TARGET does not require any additional datasets or storing real data from previous tasks, which makes it ideal for data-sensitive scenarios.Comment: ICCV 202

Equipments for Crop Protection:Standardization Development in China

 The history of standardization for crop protection equipments was reviewed to analyze the trends of standards preparation in this paper. The currently active standards were firstly reviewed by their attributes to present the general state of art. The trends of standard preparation, through which the overall development of crop protection equipments are reflected, were interpreted by descriptive items. Finally the future development was predicted as suggestions for decision-making in policy constitution

Factors Influencing Farmer Willingness to Fallow Winter Wheat and Ecological Compensation Standards in a Groundwater Funnel Area in Hengshui, Hebei Province, China

Land use/land cover change will have a certain impact on the regional ecological environment. This study uses the questionnaire survey method, an opportunity cost method and a logistic model to evaluate the suitability of an ecological compensation standard for a winter- wheat-fallow cropping system in a groundwater funnel area in Hebei. The main factors affecting farmers’ willingness to fallow fields provide a theoretical basis for scientifically and rationally developing a rotation policy in the groundwater funnel area. The results indicate the following: (1) nearly 87% of the surveyed farmers would accept a winter-wheat-fallow policy, whereas 13% would not; (2) farmer educational level, the total number of participants in the agricultural labor force, dependency rate, farmers’ attitudes toward a winter wheat-fallow policy in the groundwater funnel area and the farmer level of trust in government policy have significant positive effects farmer intention to fallow, whereas the number of days of participation in farming, the cultivated land quality and the per capita area of cultivated land have a significant negative effect on farmers’ fallowing intentions; (3) considering only the impact of winter wheat on groundwater, the proposed compensation standard for farmers who accept the policy is 0.00095 $/hm2; (4) some policy implications are put forward to improve the effectiveness of the winter wheat fallowing policy in the groundwater funnel

Uniformly dispersed CdS/CdSe quantum dots co-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays with high photocatalytic property under visible light

Highly detached TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2-NTAs) were fabricated by anodization method using electrolyte with high water content. CdS and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) were co-deposited on the TiO2-NTAs. The results showed that the CdS and CdSe QDs were uniformly deposited on both the outer wall and inner tube of TiO2-NTAs. The photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared (CdS-CdSe)/TiO2-NTAs was tested by degradation of methyl orange with 0.2 M Na2S and Na2SO3 as sacrificial reagents under visible light (lambda &gt; 400 nm). It was found that the photodegradation rate reached as high as 95.1% in 2 h. Also, a reasonable degradation rate of 87.5% was achieved after 3 cycles, suggesting a good stability of the as-prepared (CdS-CdSe)/TiO2-NTAs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p

Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into cardiomyocytes is regulated by miRNA-1-2 via WNT signaling pathway

Abstract Background Bone marrow derived stem cells (BMSCs) have the potential to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, but the rate of differentiation is low and the mechanism of differentiation is unclear completely. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of miR1-2 in differentiation of mouse BMSCs into cardiomyocyte-like cells and reveal the involved signaling pathways in the procedure. Methods Mouse BMSCs were treated with miR1-2 and 5-azacytine (5-aza). The expression of cardiac cell markers: NKx2.5, cTnI and GATA4 in BMSCs were examined by qPCR. The apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry and the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was evaluated by measuring the upstream protein of this signaling pathway. Results After over-expression of miR1-2 in mouse BMSCs, the apoptosis rate was significantly lower than the 5-aza group, while the expressions of cardiac-specific genes: such as Nkx2.5, cTnI and GATA4 were significantly increased compared to the control group and the 5-aza group. Meanwhile, over-expression of miR1-2 in mouse BMSCs enhanced the expression of wnt11, JNK, β-catenin and TCF in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Use of LGK-974, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, significantly reduced the expression of cardiac-specific genes and partially blocked the role of the miR1-2. Conclusion Over-expression of miR1-2 in mouse BMSCs can induce them toward promoted cardiomyocyte differentiation via the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Compared to 5-aza, miR1-2 can induce differentiation of BMSCs into cardiomyocytes more effectively with a less cytotoxicity

ADAD2 interacts with RNF17 in P-bodies to repress the Ping-pong cycle in pachytene piRNA biogenesis

Pachytene piRNA biogenesis is a hallmark of the germline, distinct from another wave of pre-pachytene piRNA biogenesis with regard to the lack of a secondary amplification process known as the Ping-pong cycle. However, the underlying molecular mechanism and the venue for the suppression of the Ping-pong cycle remain elusive. Here, we showed that a testis-specific protein, ADAD2, interacts with a TDRD family member protein RNF17 and is associated with P-bodies. Importantly, ADAD2 directs RNF17 to repress Ping-pong activity in pachytene piRNA biogenesis. The P-body localization of RNF17 requires the intrinsically disordered domain of ADAD2. Deletion of Adad2 or Rnf17 causes the mislocalization of each other and subsequent Ping-pong activity derepression, secondary piRNAs overproduced, and disruption of P-body integrity at the meiotic stage, thereby leading to spermatogenesis arrested at the round spermatid stage. Collectively, by identifying the ADAD2-dependent mechanism, our study reveals a novel function of P-bodies in suppressing Ping-pong activity in pachytene piRNA biogenesis