86 research outputs found
Prompt, Plan, Perform: LLM-based Humanoid Control via Quantized Imitation Learning
In recent years, reinforcement learning and imitation learning have shown
great potential for controlling humanoid robots' motion. However, these methods
typically create simulation environments and rewards for specific tasks,
resulting in the requirements of multiple policies and limited capabilities for
tackling complex and unknown tasks. To overcome these issues, we present a
novel approach that combines adversarial imitation learning with large language
models (LLMs). This innovative method enables the agent to learn reusable
skills with a single policy and solve zero-shot tasks under the guidance of
LLMs. In particular, we utilize the LLM as a strategic planner for applying
previously learned skills to novel tasks through the comprehension of
task-specific prompts. This empowers the robot to perform the specified actions
in a sequence. To improve our model, we incorporate codebook-based vector
quantization, allowing the agent to generate suitable actions in response to
unseen textual commands from LLMs. Furthermore, we design general reward
functions that consider the distinct motion features of humanoid robots,
ensuring the agent imitates the motion data while maintaining goal orientation
without additional guiding direction approaches or policies. To the best of our
knowledge, this is the first framework that controls humanoid robots using a
single learning policy network and LLM as a planner. Extensive experiments
demonstrate that our method exhibits efficient and adaptive ability in
complicated motion tasks
ASM: Adaptive Skinning Model for High-Quality 3D Face Modeling
The research fields of parametric face models and 3D face reconstruction have
been extensively studied. However, a critical question remains unanswered: how
to tailor the face model for specific reconstruction settings. We argue that
reconstruction with multi-view uncalibrated images demands a new model with
stronger capacity. Our study shifts attention from data-dependent 3D Morphable
Models (3DMM) to an understudied human-designed skinning model. We propose
Adaptive Skinning Model (ASM), which redefines the skinning model with more
compact and fully tunable parameters. With extensive experiments, we
demonstrate that ASM achieves significantly improved capacity than 3DMM, with
the additional advantage of model size and easy implementation for new
topology. We achieve state-of-the-art performance with ASM for multi-view
reconstruction on the Florence MICC Coop benchmark. Our quantitative analysis
demonstrates the importance of a high-capacity model for fully exploiting
abundant information from multi-view input in reconstruction. Furthermore, our
model with physical-semantic parameters can be directly utilized for real-world
applications, such as in-game avatar creation. As a result, our work opens up
new research directions for the parametric face models and facilitates future
research on multi-view reconstruction
The life cycle of Dermacentor nuttalli from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau under laboratory conditions and detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia spp.
Dermacentor nuttalli has been a focus of study because tick-borne pathogens have been widely identified in this tick from northern and southwestern China. The aim of this study was to characterize the life cycle of D. nuttalli under laboratory conditions and to detect spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia in the midgut and salivary glands of both field-collected and first laboratory generation adults. D. nuttalli ticks were collected in the field on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from March to April 2021 and their life cycle was studied under laboratory conditions. Tick identify was molecularly confirmed, and SFG Rickettsia were detected in the midgut and salivary glands of males and females by PCR targeting different rickettsial genes. The results showed that the life cycle of D. nuttalli under laboratory conditions was completed in an average of 86.1 days. High positivity of Rickettsia spp. was detected in the midgut and salivary glands of both males (92.0%) and females (93.0%) of field-collected D. nuttalli ticks. However, a relatively lower positivity (4.0ā6.0%) was detected in first laboratory generation adults. Furthermore, sequencing analysis showed that the Rickettsia sequences obtained in this study shared 98.6 to 100% nucleotide identity with Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii isolated from Dermacentor spp. in China. Phylogenetic analysis of Rickettsia spp. based on the gltA, ompA, ompB and sca4 genes revealed that the Rickettsia sequences obtained could be classified as belonging to R. slovaca and R. raoultii clades. This study described for the first time the life cycle of D. nuttalli from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau under laboratory conditions. Two species of SFG Rickettsia were detected in the midgut and salivary glands of males and females in both field-collected and first laboratory-generation adults of D. nuttalli. Our study provides new insights into pathogen detection in ticks in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the relationships among hosts, ticks, and pathogens
Recent progress in SnO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalysts: Synthesis, modification, and application
Enhanced Interfacial Electronic Transfer of BiVO4 Coupled with 2D gāC3N4 for Visibleālight Photocatalytic Performance
A BiVO4/2D gāC3N4 direct dual semiconductor photocatalytic system has been fabricated via electrostatic selfāassembly method of BiVO4 microparticle and gāC3N4 nanosheet. According to experimental measurements and firstāprinciple calculations, the formation of builtāin electric field and the opposite band bending around the interface region in BiVO4/2D gāC3N4 as well as the intimate contact between BiVO4 and 2D gāC3N4 will lead to high separation efficiency of charge carriers. More importantly, the intensity of bulidāin electric field is greatly enhanced due to the ultrathin nanosheet structure of 2D gāC3N4. As a result, BiVO4/2D gāC3N4 exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance with the 93.0% Rhodamine B (RhB) removal after 40 min visible light irradiation, and the photocatalytic reaction rate is about 22.7 and 10.3 times as high as that of BiVO4 and 2D gāC3N4, respectively. In addition, BiVO4/2D gāC3N4 also displays enhanced photocatalytic performance in the degradation of tetracycline (TC). It is expected that this work may provide insights into the understanding the significant role of builtāin electric field in heterostructure and fabricating highly efficient direct dual semiconductor systems
The association and doseāresponse relationship between dietary intake of Ī±-linolenic acid and risk of CHD: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies
Abstract Previous studies show inconsistent associations between Ī± -linolenic acid (ALA) and risk of CHD. We aimed to examine an aggregate association between ALA intake and risk of CHD, and assess for any doseāresponse relationship. We searched the PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases for prospective cohort studies examining associations between ALA intake and CHD, including composite CHD and fatal CHD. Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis models, comparing the highest category of ALA intake with the lowest across studies. Subgroup analysis was conducted based on study design, geographic region, age and sex. For doseāresponse analyses, we used two-stage random-effects doseāresponse models. In all, fourteen studies of thirteen cohorts were identified and included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that higher ALA intake was associated with modest reduced risk of composite CHD (risk ratios (RR)=0Ā·91; 95 % CI 0Ā·85, 0Ā·97) and fatal CHD (RR=0Ā·85; 95 % CI 0Ā·75, 0Ā·96). The analysis showed a J-shaped relationship between ALA intake and relative risk of composite CHD ( Ļ 2 =21Ā·95, P <0Ā·001). Compared with people without ALA intake, only people with ALA intake <1Ā·4 g/d showed reduced risk of composite CHD. ALA intake was linearly associated with fatal CHD ā every 1 g/d increase in ALA intake was associated with a 12 % decrease in fatal CHD risk (95 % CI ā0Ā·21, ā0Ā·04). Though a higher dietary ALA intake was associated with reduced risk of composite and fatal CHD, the excess composite CHD risk at higher ALA intakes warrants further investigation, especially through randomised controlled trials
Discovery and Validation of Nitroxoline as a Novel STAT3 Inhibitor in Drug-resistant Urothelial Bladder Cancer
Repeated cycles of first-line chemotherapy drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX) and cisplatin (CIS) trigger frequent chemoresistance in recurrent urothelial bladder cancer (UBC). Nitroxoline (NTX), an antibiotic to treat urinary tract infections, has been recently repurposed for cancer treatment. Here we aimed to investigate whether NTX suppresses drug-resistant UBC and its molecular mechanism. The drug-resistant cell lines T24/DOX and T24/CIS were established by continual exposure of parental cell line T24 to DOX and CIS, respectively. T24/DOX and T24/CIS cells were resistant to DOX and CIS, respectively, but they were sensitive to NTX time-and dose-dependently. Overexpressions of STAT3 and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) were identified in T24/DOX and T24/CIS, which could be reversed by NTX. Western blot revealed that NTX downregulated p-STAT3, c-Myc, Cyclin D1, CDK4, CDK6, Bcl-xL, Mcl-1, and Survivin, which were further confirmed by Stattic, a selective STAT3 inhibitor. In vivo, NTX exhibited the significant anti-tumor effect in T24/DOX and T24/CIS tumor-bearing mice. These results suggested that NTX-induced P-gp reversal, G0/G1 arrest, and apoptosis in drug-resistant UBC were mediated by inhibition of STAT3 signaling. Our findings repurpose NTX as a novel STAT3 inhibitor to induce P-gp reversal, G0/G1 arrest, and apoptosis in drug-resistant UBC
The Cell Cycle Checkpoint Gene, RAD17 rs1045051, Is Associated with Prostate Cancer Risk
Human RAD17, as an agonist of checkpoint signaling, plays an essential role in mediating DNA damage. This hospital-based case-control study aimed to explore the association between RAD17 rs1045051, a missense sin-gle nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and prostate cancer risk. Subjects were 358 prostate cancer patients and 314 cancer-free urology patients undergoing treatment at the Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University in China. RAD17 gene polymorphism rs1045051 was evaluated by the SNaPshot method. Compared with the RAD17 gene polymorphism rs1045051 AA genotype, there was a higher risk of prostate cancer for the CC gen-otype (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.731, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.031ā2.908, p = 0.038). Compared with the A allele, the C allele was significantly associated with the disease status (AOR = 1.302, 95%CI = 1.037ā1.634, p = 0.023). All these findings indicate that in the SNP rs1045051, both the CC genotype and C allele may have a substantial influence on the prostate cancer risk
Light-activated ferroelectric transition in layer dependent Bi2O2Se films
Bi2O2Se has attracted intensive attention due to its potential in
electronics, optoelectronics, as well as ferroelectric applications. Despite
that, there have only been a handful of experimental studies based on ultrafast
spectroscopy to elucidate the carrier dynamics in Bi2O2Se thin films, Different
groups have reported various ultrafast timescales and associated mechanisms
across films of different thicknesses. A comprehensive understanding in
relation to thickness and fluence is still lacking. In this work, we have
systematically explored the thickness-dependent Raman spectroscopy and
ultrafast carrier dynamics in chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown Bi2O2Se
thin films on mica substrate with thicknesses varying from 22.44 nm down to
4.62 nm at both low and high pump fluence regions. Combining the thickness
dependence and fluence dependence of the slow decay time, we demonstrate a
ferroelectric transition in the thinner (< 8 nm) Bi2O2Se films, influenced by
substrate-induced compressive strain and non-equilibrium states. Moreover, this
transition can be manifested under highly non-equilibrium states. Our results
deepen the understanding of the interplay between the ferroelectric phase and
semiconducting characteristics of Bi2O2Se thin films, providing a new route to
manipulate the ferroelectric transition
Nitroxoline inhibits bladder cancer progression by reversing EMT process and enhancing anti-tumor immunity
Nitroxoline is considered to be an effective treatment for the urinary tract infections. Recently, it has been found to be effective against several cancers. However, few studies have examined the anti-tumor activity of nitroxoline in bladder cancer. The purpose of the study was to reveal the possible mechanisms how nitroxoline inhibited bladder cancer progression. In vitro assay, we demonstrated that nitroxoline inhibited bladder cancer cell growth and migration in a concentration-related manner. Western blot analysis demonstrated that nitroxoline downregulated the expressions of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins. Furthermore, treatment with nitroxoline in the C3H/He mice bladder cancer subcutaneous model resulted in significant inhibition of tumor growth. Moreover, the percentage of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in peripheral blood cells significantly decreased after treatment of nitroxoline. Taken together, our results suggested that nitroxoline may be used as a potential drug for bladder cancer
- ā¦