ReFine: Re-randomization before Fine-tuning for Cross-domain Few-shot Learning

Cross-domain few-shot learning (CD-FSL), where there are few target samples under extreme differences between source and target domains, has recently attracted huge attention. Recent studies on CD-FSL generally focus on transfer learning based approaches, where a neural network is pre-trained on popular labeled source domain datasets and then transferred to target domain data. Although the labeled datasets may provide suitable initial parameters for the target data, the domain difference between the source and target might hinder fine-tuning on the target domain. This paper proposes a simple yet powerful method that re-randomizes the parameters fitted on the source domain before adapting to the target data. The re-randomization resets source-specific parameters of the source pre-trained model and thus facilitates fine-tuning on the target domain, improving few-shot performance.Comment: CIKM 2022 Short; 5 pages, 3 figures, 4 table

Function of COP9 Signalosome in Regulation of Mouse Oocytes Meiosis by Regulating MPF Activity and Securing Degradation

The COP9 (constitutive photomorphogenic) signalosome (CSN), composed of eight subunits, is a highly conserved protein complex that regulates processes such as cell cycle progression and kinase signalling. Previously, we found the expression of the COP9 constitutive photomorphogenic homolog subunit 3 (CSN3) and subunit 5 (CSN5) changes as oocytes mature for the first time, and there is no report regarding roles of COP9 in the mammalian oocytes. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the effects of RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated transient knockdown of each subunit on the meiotic cell cycle in mice oocytes. Following knockdown of either CSN3 or CSN5, oocytes failed to complete meiosis I. These arrested oocytes exhibited a disrupted meiotic spindle and misarranged chromosomes. Moreover, down-regulation of each subunit disrupted the activity of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) and concurrently reduced degradation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) substrates Cyclin B1 and Securin. Our data suggest that the CSN3 and CSN5 are involved in oocyte meiosis by regulating degradation of Cyclin B1 and Securin via APC/C

AlphaTuning: Quantization-Aware Parameter-Efficient Adaptation of Large-Scale Pre-Trained Language Models

There are growing interests in adapting large-scale language models using parameter-efficient fine-tuning methods. However, accelerating the model itself and achieving better inference efficiency through model compression has not been thoroughly explored yet. Model compression could provide the benefits of reducing memory footprints, enabling low-precision computations, and ultimately achieving cost-effective inference. To combine parameter-efficient adaptation and model compression, we propose AlphaTuning consisting of post-training quantization of the pre-trained language model and fine-tuning only some parts of quantized parameters for a target task. Specifically, AlphaTuning works by employing binary-coding quantization, which factorizes the full-precision parameters into binary parameters and a separate set of scaling factors. During the adaptation phase, the binary values are frozen for all tasks, while the scaling factors are fine-tuned for the downstream task. We demonstrate that AlphaTuning, when applied to GPT-2 and OPT, performs competitively with full fine-tuning on a variety of downstream tasks while achieving >10x compression ratio under 4-bit quantization and >1,000x reduction in the number of trainable parameters.Comment: Findings of EMNLP 202

The biological significance of non-enzymatic reaction of menadione with plasma thiols: enhancement of menadione-induced cytotoxicity to platelets by the presence of blood plasma

AbstractTo test the hypothesis that the non-enzymatic reaction of quinones with thiols in plasma can generate reactive oxygens (ROS), thereby leading to potentiated cellular toxicity, we have studied the effect of a representative quinone compound, menadione, on plasma isolated from rats. The experimental results are as follows: (1) menadione generated ROS via non-enzymatic reaction with protein thiols in plasma; (2) the presence of plasma increased menadione-induced cytotoxicity to platelets; (3) pretreatment of plasma with a thiol-depleting agent significantly suppressed menadione-induced ROS and cytotoxicity. These results suggest that the non-enzymatic reaction of menadione with plasma thiols could be an important process in quinone-induced cellular toxicity

Anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects of butanol extract from Arctium Lappa L

Background: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, allergic inflammatory skin disease that is accompanied by markedly increased levels of inflammatory cells, including eosinophils, mast cells, and T cells. Arctium lappa L. is a traditional medicine in Asia. This study examined whether a butanol extract of A. lappa (ALBE) had previously unreported anti-allergic or anti-inflammatory effects.Methods: This study examined the effect of ALBE on the release of ??-hexosaminidase in antigen-stimulated-RBL-2H3 cells. We also evaluated the ConA-induced expression of IL-4, IL-5, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and nuclear factor (NF)-??B using RT-PCR, Western blotting, and ELISA in mouse splenocytes after ALBE treatment.Results: We observed significant inhibition of ??-hexosaminidase release in RBL-2H3 cells and suppressed mRNA expression and protein secretion of IL-4 and IL-5 induced by ConA-treated primary murine splenocytes after ALBE treatment. Additionally, ALBE (100 ??g/mL) suppressed not only the transcriptional activation of NF-??B, but also the phosphorylation of MAPKs in ConA-treated primary splenocytes.Conclusions: These results suggest that ALBE inhibits the expression of IL-4 and IL-5 by downregulating MAPKs and NF-??B activation in ConA-treated splenocytes and supports the hypothesis that ALBE may have beneficial effects in the treatment of allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis. ?? 2011 Sohn et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

A case of malignant hyperthermia during anesthesia induction with sevoflurane -A case report-

We experienced a case of malignant hyperthermia (MH) in 6-year-old boy during anesthesia induction for strabismus surgery. It has been generally reported that sevoflurane can induce the delayed onset of MH in the absence of succinylcholine. Our case of MH was elicited after about 2-3 min of sevoflurane administration with N2O, O2 and rocuronium. However, we successfully treated the patient by early recognition of his condition and administering symptomatic treatment and dantrolene

Electrically Robust Single-Crystalline WTe2 Nanobelts for Nanoscale Electrical Interconnects

As the elements of integrated circuits are downsized to the nanoscale, the current Cu-based interconnects are facing limitations due to increased resistivity and decreased current-carrying capacity because of scaling. Here, the bottom-up synthesis of single-crystalline WTe2 nanobelts and low- and high-field electrical characterization of nanoscale interconnect test structures in various ambient conditions are reported. Unlike exfoliated flakes obtained by the top-down approach, the bottom-up growth mode of WTe2 nanobelts allows systemic characterization of the electrical properties of WTe2 single crystals as a function of channel dimensions. Using a 1D heat transport model and a power law, it is determined that the breakdown of WTe2 devices under vacuum and with AlOx capping layer follows an ideal pattern for Joule heating, far from edge scattering. High-field electrical measurements and self-heating modeling demonstrate that the WTe2 nanobelts have a breakdown current density approaching approximate to 100 MA cm(-2), remarkably higher than those of conventional metals and other transition-metal chalcogenides, and sustain the highest electrical power per channel length (approximate to 16.4 W cm(-1)) among the interconnect candidates. The results suggest superior robustness of WTe2 against high-bias sweep and its possible applicability in future nanoelectronics

Long-term Results of Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty with and without Patellar Resurfacing

Among patients that underwent total knee arthroplasty from June, 1990 to January, 1999, 61 cases (44 patients) that could be followed for more than 10 years were included in this study. The patients were divided into a patellar retention group and a patellar resurfacing group, and were compared with regard to their clinical and radiological outcomes. In patients undergoing primary TKA, a selective patellar resurfacing protocol was used. The indications for patellar retention were a small patella, nearly normal articular cartilage, minimal preoperative patellofemoral pain, poor patellar bone quality, and young patient age. When patellar retention was performed, osteophytes of the patella were removed and marginal electrocauterization was carried out. There were 25 cases (20 patients) in the patellar retention group and 36 cases (29 patients) in the patellar resurfacing group. The mean follow-up period was 140.7 months in the patellar retention group and 149.0 months in the patellar resurfacing group. The selective patellar resurfacing with total knee arthroplasty had a favorable outcome;there were a significant difference noted between the 2 groups in the functional scores, which showed better outcomes in the patellar resurfacing group than in the patellar retention group

Evaluation of the pathogenicity of GJB3 and GJB6 variants associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss

AbstractA number of genes responsible for hearing loss are related to ion recycling and homeostasis in the inner ear. Connexins (Cx26 encoded by GJB2, Cx31 encoded by GJB3 and Cx30 encoded by GJB6) are core components of gap junctions in the inner ear. Gap junctions are intercellular communication channels and important factors that are associated with hearing loss. To date, a molecular genetics study of GJB3 and GJB6 as a causative gene for hearing loss has not been performed in Korea. This study was therefore performed to elucidate the genetic characteristics of Korean patients with nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss and to determine the pathological mechanism of hearing loss by analyzing the intercellular communication function of Cx30 and Cx31 variants. Sequencing analysis of the GJB3 and GJB6 genes in our population revealed a total of nine variants, including four novel variants in the two genes. Three of the novel variants (Cx31-p.V27M, Cx31-p.V43M and Cx-30-p.I248V) and two previously reported variants (Cx31-p.V84I and Cx30-p.A40V) were selected for functional studies using a pathogenicity prediction program and assessed for whether the mutations were located in a conserved region of the protein. The results of biochemical and ionic coupling tests showed that both the Cx31-p.V27M and Cx31-p.V84I variants did not function normally when each was expressed as a heterozygote with the wild-type Cx31. This study demonstrated that two variants of Cx31 were pathogenic mutations with deleterious effect. This information will be valuable in understanding the pathogenic role of GJB3 and GJB6 mutations associated with hearing loss