ILCAS: Imitation Learning-Based Configuration-Adaptive Streaming for Live Video Analytics with Cross-Camera Collaboration

The high-accuracy and resource-intensive deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely adopted by live video analytics (VA), where camera videos are streamed over the network to resource-rich edge/cloud servers for DNN inference. Common video encoding configurations (e.g., resolution and frame rate) have been identified with significant impacts on striking the balance between bandwidth consumption and inference accuracy and therefore their adaption scheme has been a focus of optimization. However, previous profiling-based solutions suffer from high profiling cost, while existing deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based solutions may achieve poor performance due to the usage of fixed reward function for training the agent, which fails to craft the application goals in various scenarios. In this paper, we propose ILCAS, the first imitation learning (IL) based configuration-adaptive VA streaming system. Unlike DRL-based solutions, ILCAS trains the agent with demonstrations collected from the expert which is designed as an offline optimal policy that solves the configuration adaption problem through dynamic programming. To tackle the challenge of video content dynamics, ILCAS derives motion feature maps based on motion vectors which allow ILCAS to visually ``perceive'' video content changes. Moreover, ILCAS incorporates a cross-camera collaboration scheme to exploit the spatio-temporal correlations of cameras for more proper configuration selection. Extensive experiments confirm the superiority of ILCAS compared with state-of-the-art solutions, with 2-20.9% improvement of mean accuracy and 19.9-85.3% reduction of chunk upload lag.Comment: This work has been submitted to the IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Potential Micronutrients and Phytochemicals against the Pathogenesis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer

Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have shared etiology, including key etiological changes (e.g., DNA damage and epigenetics change) and lung function impairment. Focusing on those shared targets may help in the prevention of both. Certain micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and phytochemicals (carotenoids and phenols) have potent antioxidant or methyl-donating properties and thus have received considerable interest. We reviewed recent papers probing into the potential of nutrients with respect to lung function preservation and prevention of lung cancer risk, and suggest several hypothetical intervention patterns. Intakes of vitamins (i.e., A, C, D, E, B12), carotenoids, flavonoids, curcumins, resveratrol, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids all show protective effects against lung function loss, some mainly by improving average lung function and others through reducing decline rate. Dietary interventions early in life may help lung function reserve over the lifespan. Protective nutrient interventions among smokers are likely to mitigate the effects of cigarettes on lung health. We also discuss their underlying mechanisms and some possible causes for the inconsistent results in observational studies and supplementation trials. The role of the lung microbiome on lung health and its potential utility in identifying protective nutrients are discussed as well. More prospective cohorts and well-designed clinical trials are needed to promote the transition of individualized nutrient interventions into health policy

Nap1l1 Controls Embryonic Neural Progenitor Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in the Developing Brain

Summary: The precise function and role of nucleosome assembly protein 1-like 1 (Nap1l1) in brain development are unclear. Here, we find that Nap1l1 knockdown decreases neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation and induces premature neuronal differentiation during cortical development. A similar deficiency in embryonic neurogenesis was observed in Nap1l1 knockout (KO) mice, which were generated using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis indicates that Ras-associated domain family member 10 (RassF10) may be the downstream target of Nap1l1. Furthermore, we found that Nap1l1 regulates RassF10 expression by promoting SETD1A-mediated H3K4 trimethylation at the RassF10 promoter. Nap1l1 KO defects may be rescued by RassF10 overexpression, suggesting that Nap1l1 controls NPC differentiation through RassF10. Our findings reveal an essential role for the Nap1l1 histone chaperone in cortical neurogenesis during early embryonic brain development. : Nap1l1 plays essential roles in embryonic neurogenesis, including the proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitors. Qiao et al. find that Nap1l1 regulates RassF10 through SETD1A-mediated H3K4me3 of the RassF10 promoter. Keywords: neural progenitor cell, neural differentiation and proliferation, cortex development, gain of function, loss of function, histone chaperone, Nap1l1, RassF10, H3K4me

Development of a Lung Vacancy Mouse Model through CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Deletion of Thyroid Transcription Factor 1 Exon 2

A developmental niche vacancy in host embryos is necessary for stem cell complementation-based organ regeneration (SCOG). Thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) is a tissue-specific transcription factor that regulates the embryonic development and differentiation of the thyroid and, more importantly, lungs; thus, it has been considered as a master gene to knockout in order to develop a lung vacancy host. TTF-1 knockout mice were originally produced by inserting a stop codon in Exon 3 of the gene (E3stop) through embryonic stem cell-based homologous recombination. The main problems of utilizing E3stop host embryos for lung SCOG are that these animals all have a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), which cannot be corrected by donor stem cells, and most of them have monolateral sac-like lungs. To improve the mouse model towards achieving SCOG-based lung generation, in this project, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 tool to remove Exon 2 of the gene by zygote microinjection and successfully produced TTF-1 knockout (E2del) mice. Similar to E3stop, E2del mice are birth-lethal due to retarded lung development with sac-like lungs and only a rudimentary bronchial tree, increased basal cells but without alveolar type II cells and blood vessels, and abnormal thyroid development. Unlike E3stop, 57% of the E2del embryos presented type I tracheal agenesis (TA, a kind of human congenital malformation) with a shortened trachea and clear separations of the trachea and esophagus, while the remaining 43% had TEF. Furthermore, all the E2del mice had bilateral sac-like lungs. Both TA and bilateral sac-like lungs are preferred in SCOG. Our work presents a new strategy for producing SCOG host embryos that may be useful for lung regeneration

Efficient generation of hepatocyte-like cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells

Human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells, and can proliferate intensively and differentiate into a variety of cell types. However, the hepatic differentiation of human iPS cells has not yet been reported. In this report, human iPS cells were induced to differentiate into hepatic cells by a stepwise protocol. The expression of liver cell markers and liver-related functions of the human iPS cell-derived cells were monitored and compared with that of differentiated human ES cells and primary human hepatocytes. Approximately 60% of the differentiated human iPS cells at day 7 expressed hepatic markers alpha fetoprotein and Alb. The differentiated cells at day 21 exhibited liver cell functions including albumin Asecretion, glycogen synthesis, urea production and inducible cytochrome P450 activity. The expression of hepatic markers and liver-related functions of the iPS cell-derived hepatic cells were comparable to that of the human ES cell-derived hepatic cells. These results show that human iPS cells, which are similar to human ES cells, can be efficiently induced to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells.Cell BiologySCI(E)PubMed中国科技核心期刊(ISTIC)中国科学引文数据库(CSCD)168ARTICLE111233-12421

Chinese Film Satire and Its Foreign Connections in the People’s Republic of China (1950-1957): Laughter without Borders?

This chapter examines the emerging comedy film culture in the early People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 1950 to 1957 by paying specific attention to the importation of film comedies from the Soviet bloc and their dynamic interaction with Chinese cinema. Through a comparative study of the Soviet comedy Did We Meet Somewhere Before and the Chinese film satire The Man Who Doesn’t Bother about Trifles, the chapter reveals paradoxical practices and contested discourses pertaining to the film comedy in the early PRC. On the one hand, importation, exhibition and translation of foreign comedies dismantled national and linguistic borders to welcome laughter as a transnational binding force for socialist communities. On the other hand, the boundary of “appropriate laughter” was reinforced in the process of Chinese filmmakers’ comic experimentation and by film reviews and criticisms. Overall, these practical and discursive efforts highlight the complexity involved in the management of laughter for the purpose of constructing hegemony in the early PRC