MindDial: Belief Dynamics Tracking with Theory-of-Mind Modeling for Situated Neural Dialogue Generation

Humans talk in free-form while negotiating the expressed meanings or common ground. Despite the impressive conversational abilities of the large generative language models, they do not consider the individual differences in contextual understanding in a shared situated environment. In this work, we propose MindDial, a novel conversational framework that can generate situated free-form responses to negotiate common ground. We design an explicit mind module that can track three-level beliefs -- the speaker's belief, the speaker's prediction of the listener's belief, and the common belief based on the gap between the first two. Then the speaking act classification head will decide to continue to talk, end this turn, or take task-related action. We augment a common ground alignment dataset MutualFriend with belief dynamics annotation, of which the goal is to find a single mutual friend based on the free chat between two agents. Experiments show that our model with mental state modeling can resemble human responses when aligning common ground meanwhile mimic the natural human conversation flow. The ablation study further validates the third-level common belief can aggregate information of the first and second-order beliefs and align common ground more efficiently

Lagrange tracking-based long-term drift trajectory prediction method for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) works autonomously in complex marine environments. After a severe accident, an AUV will lose its power and rely on its small buoyancy to ascend at a slow speed. If the reserved buoyancy is insufficient, when reaching the thermocline, the buoyancy will rapidly decrease to zero. Consequently, the AUV will experience prolonged lateral drift within the thermocline. This study focuses on developing a prediction method for the drift trajectory of an AUV after a long-term power loss accident. The aim is to forecast the potential resurfacing location, providing technical support for surface search and salvage operations of the disabled AUV. To the best of our knowledge, currently, there is no mature and effective method for predicting long-term AUV underwater drift trajectories. In response to this issue, based on real AUV catastrophes, this paper studies the prediction of long-term AUV underwater drift trajectories in the cases of power loss. We propose a three-dimensional trajectory prediction method based on the Lagrange tracking approach. This method takes the AUV's longitudinal velocity, the time taken to reach different depths, and ocean current data at various depths into account. The reason for the AUV's failure to ascend to sea surface lies that the remaining buoyancy is too small to overcome the thermocline. As a result, AUV drifts long time within the thermocline. To address this issue, a method for estimating thermocline currents is proposed, which can be used to predict the lateral drift trajectory of the AUV within the thermocline. Simulation is conducted to compare the results obtained by the proposed method and that in a real accident. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach exhibits small directional and positional errors. This validates the effectiveness of the proposed method

Can EAT be an INOCA goalkeeper

Ischemia with non-obstructive coronary artery (INOCA) is a blind spot of coronary artery disease (CAD). Such patients are often reassured but offered no specific care, that lead to a heightened risk of adverse cerebrovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is proven to correlate independently with CAD and its severity, but it is unknown whether EAT is a specific and sensitive indicator of INOCA. This review focuses on the INOCA epidemiology and related factors, as well as the association between EAT

Construction of a High-Density Genetic Map and Identification of Leaf Trait-Related QTLs in Chinese Bayberry (Myrica rubra)

Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra) is an economically important fruit tree that is grown in southern China. Owing to its over 10-year seedling period, the crossbreeding of bayberry is challenging. The characteristics of plant leaves are among the primary factors that control plant architecture and potential yields, making the analysis of leaf trait-related genetic factors crucial to the hybrid breeding of any plant. In the present study, molecular markers associated with leaf traits were identified via a whole-genome re-sequencing approach, and a genetic map was thereby constructed. In total, this effort yielded 902.11 Gb of raw data that led to the identification of 2,242,353 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 140 F1 individuals and parents (Myrica rubra cv. Biqizhong × Myrica rubra cv. 2012LXRM). The final genetic map ultimately incorporated 31,431 SNPs in eight linkage groups, spanning 1,351.85 cM. This map was then used to assemble and update previous scaffold genomic data at the chromosomal level. The genome size of M. rubra was thereby established to be 275.37 Mb, with 94.98% of sequences being assembled into eight pseudo-chromosomes. Additionally, 18 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with nine leaf and growth-related traits were identified. Two QTL clusters were detected (the LG3 and LG5 clusters). Functional annotations further suggested two chlorophyll content-related candidate genes being identified in the LG5 cluster. Overall, this is the first study on the QTL mapping and identification of loci responsible for the regulation of leaf traits in M. rubra, offering an invaluable scientific for future marker-assisted selection breeding and candidate gene analyses

Hydraulics and mixing of the deep overflow in the Lifamatola Passage of the Indonesian Seas

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 50(9),(2020): 2797-2814, https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0326.1.Hydrographic measurements recently acquired along the thalweg of the Lifamatola Passage combined with historical moored velocity measurements immediately downstream of the sill are used to study the hydraulics, transport, mixing, and entrainment in the dense overflow. The observations suggest that the mean overflow is nearly critical at the mooring site, suggesting that a weir formula may be appropriate for estimating the overflow transport. Our assessment suggests that the weir formulas corresponding to a rectangular, triangular, or parabolic cross section all result in transports very close to the observation, suggesting their potential usage in long-term monitoring of the overflow transport or parameterizing the transport in numerical models. Analyses also suggest that deep signals within the overflow layer are blocked by the shear flow from propagating upstream, whereas the shallow wave modes of the full-depth continuously stratified flow are able to propagate upstream from the Banda Sea into the Maluku Sea. Strong mixing is found immediately downstream of the sill crest, with Thorpe-scale-based estimates of the mean dissipation rate within the overflow up to 1.1 × 10−7 W kg−1 and the region-averaged diapycnal diffusivity within the downstream overflow in the range of 2.3 × 10−3 to 10.1 × 10−3 m2 s−1. Mixing in the Lifamatola Passage results in 0.6–1.2-Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) entrainment transport added to the overflow, enhancing the deep-water renewal in the Banda Sea. A bulk diffusivity coefficient estimated in the deep Banda Sea yields 1.6 × 10−3 ± 5 × 10−4 m2 s−1, with an associated downward turbulent heat flux of 9 W m−2.This study is supported by NSFC (91858204), the CAS Strategic Priority Research Program (XDB42000000), NSFC(41720104008, 41421005, 41876025), QMSNL (2018SDKJ0104-02), and the Shandong Provincial projects (U1606402). L. Pratt was supported by the U.S. NSF Grant OCE-1657870

Sex Differences in Quality of Life and their Explanatory Variables in Patients with Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Women with atrial fibrillation (AF) have poorer quality of life (QoL) than men; however, the factors contributing to the poorer QoL in women is unclear. Methods: We analyzed data for 3562 patients with non-valvular AF enrolled in the China Registry of Atrial Fibrillation. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate QoL, which was compared between women and men. A multivariate logistic regression analysis model was used to explore factors potentially explaining the sex difference in QoL. Results: Overall, 43.3% of the cohort comprised women (n=1541) who were older than their male counterparts (72 ± 9.8 vs. 68 ± 11.9 years, P<0.001). Compared with men, women were more likely to have more symptoms, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heart failure. Women were less likely than men to receive catheter ablation (4.5% vs. 6.1%, P=0.044). Women also had lower physical component summary (PCS) scores (48 ± 9 vs. 51 ± 9, P<0.001) and mental component summary (MCS) scores (49 ± 10 vs. 51 ± 10, P<0.001) than men. In the multivariable analysis of the poorer PCS scores in women, patient age explained 32.9%, low socioeconomic status explained 20.0%, lifestyle explained 14.3%, cardiovascular comorbidities explained 15.7%, the presence of more symptoms explained 5.7%, and less catheter ablation explained 1.4%. These factors also explained similar proportions of the sex difference in MCS scores. Together, these factors explained 54.3% of the poorer physical function status and 46.8% of the poorer mental function status in women than men. Conclusions: Women with AF had poorer QoL than men. The following factors partly explained the poorer QoL in women: older age, low level of socioeconomic status, more cardiovascular comorbidities, less smoking and drinking, more symptoms, and less catheter ablation

Potential Blood Pressure Goals in IgA Nephropathy: Prevalence, Awareness, and Treatment Rates in Chronic Kidney Disease Among Patients with Hypertension in China (PATRIOTIC) Study

Background/Aims: IgA nephropathy is the most prevalent form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. Among patients with kidney disease, hypertension is one of the most important risk factors of disease progression. Considering the limited evidence regarding the appropriate blood pressure (BP) goal for patients with IgA nephropathy, our aim was to critically appraise the potential BP goal in IgA nephropathy. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the BP data from 1055 patients with IgA nephropathy, extracted from the database of a nationwide, multi-center, cross-sectional study, including 61 tertiary hospitals in China. Hypertension was defined by a BP ≥140/90 mmHg. Three BP cutoff levels were evaluated as control values: &#x3c; 140/90 mmHg, &#x3c; 130/80 mmHg and &#x3c; 125/75 mmHg. The primary outcome of our study was the prevalence of BP control among patients with a 24-h proteinuria &#x3c; 1 g/d or ≥ 1 g/d. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with a decrease in renal function for the different target levels of BP. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 63.3%. BP was controlled under 140/90 mmHg in 49.1% of patients, with 34.3% of patients with proteinuria &#x3c; 1 g/d reaching the target BP &#x3c; 130/80 mmHg and only 12.9% of patients with proteinuria &#x3e; 1 g/d achieving a BP &#x3c; 125/75 mmHg. Among patients with proteinuria &#x3c; 1 g/d, the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of a decrease in renal function, for the 3 target BP levels, were as follows (P &#x3e; 0.05): &#x3c; 140/90 mmHg, 0.9 (0.5 - 1.6); &#x3c; 130/80 mmHg, 1.0 (0.5 - 1.8); and &#x3c; 125/75 mmHg, 1.0 (0.5 - 2.0). With proteinuria ≥1 g/d, the adjusted ORs (95%CI) of attaining the BP targets of &#x3c; 140/90 mmHg, &#x3c; 130/80 mmHg and &#x3c; 125/75 mmHg were 0.4 (0.2 - 0.6), 0.2 (0.1 - 0.4) and 0.3 (0.1 - 0.5), respectively (P &#x3c; 0.05). Conclusion: Hypertension was common in IgA nephropathy and hypertensive control was suboptimal. Our result supports a benefit of intensive control of BP &#x3c; 130/80 mmHg for patients with proteinuria ≥1 g/d. However, in patients with proteinuria &#x3c; 1 g/d, a renoprotective effect of this BP goal was not identified

A Maluku Sea intermediate western boundary current connecting Pacific Ocean circulation to the Indonesian Throughflow

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Yuan, D., Yin, X., Li, X., Corvianawatie, C., Wang, Z., Li, Y., Yang, Y., Hu, X., Wang, J., Tan, S., Surinati, D., Purwandana, A., Wardana, A., Ismail, M., Budiman, A., Bayhaqi, A., Avianto, P., Santoso, P., Kusmanto, E., Dirhamsyah, Arifin, Z., & Pratt, L. A Maluku Sea intermediate western boundary current connecting Pacific Ocean circulation to the Indonesian Throughflow. Nature Communications, 13(1), (2022): 2093, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29617-6.The Indonesian Throughflow plays an important role in the global ocean circulation and climate. Existing studies of the Indonesian Throughflow have focused on the Makassar Strait and the exit straits, where the upper thermocline currents carry North Pacific waters to the Indian Ocean. Here we show, using mooring observations, that a previous unknown intermediate western boundary current (with the core at ~1000 m depth) exists in the Maluku Sea, which transports intermediate waters (primarily the Antarctic Intermediate Water) from the Pacific into the Seram-Banda Seas through the Lifamatola Passage above the bottom overflow. Our results suggest the importance of the western boundary current in global ocean intermediate circulation and overturn. We anticipate that our study is the beginning of more extensive investigations of the intermediate circulation of the Indo-Pacific ocean in global overturn, which shall improve our understanding of ocean heat and CO2 storages significantly.This study is supported by NSFC (D.Y., Z.W., Y.L., Y.Y., S.T., J.W., and X.L.: 41720104008; D.Y., J.W., Y.L., X.L., Y.Y., S.T., X.H., and X.Y.: 91858204), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (D.Y. and X.L.: 2020YFA0608800), CAS (D.Y., Z.W., J.W., and Y.L.: XDB42000000), projects. Affiliations 1 and 2 share the first position. D.Y. is supported by QMSNL (2018SDKJ0104-02), and Shandong Provincial (U1606402) and the “Kunpeng Outstanding Scholar Program” of the FIO/NMR of China, J.W. supported by NSFC (41776011), Z.W. by NSFC (41876025)

Separable Bilayer Microfiltration Device for Viable Label-free Enrichment of Circulating Tumour Cells

The analysis of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in cancer patients could provide important information for therapeutic management. Enrichment of viable CTCs could permit performance of functional analyses on CTCs to broaden understanding of metastatic disease. However, this has not been widely accomplished. Addressing this challenge, we present a separable bilayer (SB) microfilter for viable size-based CTC capture. Unlike other single-layer CTC microfilters, the precise gap between the two layers and the architecture of pore alignment result in drastic reduction in mechanical stress on CTCs, capturing them viably. Using multiple cancer cell lines spiked in healthy donor blood, the SB microfilter demonstrated high capture efficiency (78–83%), high retention of cell viability (71–74%), high tumour cell enrichment against leukocytes (1.7–2 × 10^3), and widespread ability to establish cultures post-capture (100% of cell lines tested). In a metastatic mouse model, SB microfilters successfully enriched viable mouse CTCs from 0.4–0.6 mL whole mouse blood samples and established in vitro cultures for further genetic and functional analysis. Our preliminary studies reflect the efficacy of the SB microfilter device to efficiently and reliably enrich viable CTCs in animal model studies, constituting an exciting technology for new insights in cancer research