Flickr30K-CFQ: A Compact and Fragmented Query Dataset for Text-image Retrieval

With the explosive growth of multi-modal information on the Internet, unimodal search cannot satisfy the requirement of Internet applications. Text-image retrieval research is needed to realize high-quality and efficient retrieval between different modalities. Existing text-image retrieval research is mostly based on general vision-language datasets (e.g. MS-COCO, Flickr30K), in which the query utterance is rigid and unnatural (i.e. verbosity and formality). To overcome the shortcoming, we construct a new Compact and Fragmented Query challenge dataset (named Flickr30K-CFQ) to model text-image retrieval task considering multiple query content and style, including compact and fine-grained entity-relation corpus. We propose a novel query-enhanced text-image retrieval method using prompt engineering based on LLM. Experiments show that our proposed Flickr30-CFQ reveals the insufficiency of existing vision-language datasets in realistic text-image tasks. Our LLM-based Query-enhanced method applied on different existing text-image retrieval models improves query understanding performance both on public dataset and our challenge set Flickr30-CFQ with over 0.9% and 2.4% respectively. Our project can be available anonymously in https://sites.google.com/view/Flickr30K-cfq

Vision-force-fused curriculum learning for robotic contact-rich assembly tasks

Contact-rich robotic manipulation tasks such as assembly are widely studied due to their close relevance with social and manufacturing industries. Although the task is highly related to vision and force, current methods lack a unified mechanism to effectively fuse the two sensors. We consider coordinating multimodality from perception to control and propose a vision-force curriculum policy learning scheme to effectively fuse the features and generate policy. Experiments in simulations indicate the priorities of our method, which could insert pegs with 0.1 mm clearance. Furthermore, the system is generalizable to various initial configurations and unseen shapes, and it can be robustly transferred from simulation to reality without fine-tuning, showing the effectiveness and generalization of our proposed method. The experiment videos and code will be available at https://sites.google.com/view/vf-assembly

Te-based chalcogenide films with high thermal stability for phase change memory

This study reports on the synthesis of tellurium-based chalcogenide films that have high thermal stability for phase change memory application. Several Te-based chalcogenide alloys of In-Bi-Te, Ag-Bi-Te, In-Sb-Te, Sn-Sb-Te, Zn-Ge-Te, and Ga-Ge-Te are reported. Their thermal, optical, and electrical properties are investigated. The results show that Bi-Te-based films have a higher crystallization temperature and greater activation energy compared with the other Sb-Te-based and Ge-Te-based films. Especially, In₂.₈Bi₃₆.₆Te₆₀.₆film exhibits high crystallization temperature (252 °C) and great activation energy (5.16 eV), showing much improved amorphous thermal stability. A relatively wider optical band gap (0.674 eV) of thermal annealed In₂.₈Bi₃₆.₆Te₆₀.₆film is obtained. In addition, it also has a higher amorphous/crystalline resistance ratio of about 10⁵, implying that current consumption could be low in the phase-change memory operation.This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61008041, 61107047, and 60978058), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China (Grant No. Y1090996), the Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo City, China (Grant No. 2011A610092), the Ningbo optoelectronic materials and devices creative team (Grant No. 2009B21007), the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. SKLST201010), and sponsored by K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University

Effect of the application of peanut shell, bamboo, and maize straw biochars on the bioavailability of Cd and growth of maize in Cd-contaminated soil

Biochar is a versatile, carbon-rich, organic material that can effectively immobilize Cd in the soil. In this study, peanut shell biochar (SP), maize straw biochar (MS), and bamboo straw biochar (BS) were applied in different proportions to evaluate their effects on the remediation of Cd-contaminated farmland soil and plant growth. The results revealed that both single and mixed applications of biochar substantially increased corn biomass and chlorophyll content compared to the unamended control treatment, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline contents were largely unaffected. The bamboo straw block biochar with maize straw biochar at a mass ratio of 2:1 (DBM) significantly increased the dry total biomass of maize (+107.24% compared to the unamended soil). SP application has highly increased the SPAD value. PB with BS application at a mass ratio of 1:1 (MSB) significantly decreased the soluble sugar content (+21.81% compared to the unamended control soil). Soil pH was increased by the application of biochar alone and in combination with feedstocks. The soil content of Fe/Mn oxide-bound (OX) and exchangeable-bound Cd (EX) was decreased, whereas that of carbonate-bound Cd (CA), residue-bound Cd (RE), and organic-bound Cd (OM) contents increased. The Cd content in corn grains under MSB and SP application was markedly reduced by 42.62% and 31.48%, respectively, compared to the unamended control soil. Overall, MSB and SP applications were effective in improving soil quality and crop growth

Preparation of AZO Nanoparticles, Ceramic Targets and Thin Films by a Co-precipitaition Method

We comprehensively study the co-precipitation preparation of aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles, ceramic target and thin film deposition. The nanoparticles calcined below 700 degrees C possessed pure wurtzite structure of ZnO. When the calcination temperature exceeded 700 degrees C, ZnAl2O4 phase appeared. The resistivity and relative density of the AZO target pressed from nanoparticles were 3x10(-3) Omega.cm and 99.1%, respectively. The minimum resistivity of AZO thin films prepared by DC sputtering of the ceramic target reached 4.1x10(-4) Omega.cm with the mobility of 33 cm(2)/v.s and the carrier concentration of 4.5x10(20) cm(-3). The average optical transmittance of the AZO thin films in the visible wavelength range (400-800 nm) was more than 80%

Investigations of structure and nonlinear optical properties of gold doped germanium-gallium-sulfur chalcogenide glasses

10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2015.01.004Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids41230-3

Identification of iron metabolism-related genes as prognostic indicators for papillary thyroid carcinoma: a retrospective study

Background The thyroid cancer subtype that occurs more frequently is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Despite a good surgical outcome, treatment with traditional antitumor therapy does not offer ideal results for patients with radioiodine resistance, recurrence, and metastasis. The evidence for the connection between iron metabolism imbalance and cancer development and oncogenesis is growing. Nevertheless, the iron metabolism impact on PTC prognosis is still indefinite. Methods Herein, we acquired the medical data and gene expression of individuals with PTC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Typically, three predictive iron metabolism-related genes (IMRGs) were examined and employed to build a risk score (RS) model via the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, univariate Cox, and differential gene expression analyses. Then we analyzed somatic mutation and immune cell infiltration among RS groups. We also validated the prognostic value of two IMRGs (SFXN3 and TFR2) by verifying their biological function through in vitro experiments. Results Based on RS, all patients with PTC were stratified into low- and high-risk groups, where Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that disease-free survival (DFS) in the high-risk group was much lower than in the low-risk group (P < 0.0001). According to ROC analysis, the RS model successfully predicted the 1-, 3-, and 5-year DFS of individuals with PTC. Additionally, in the TCGA cohort, a nomogram model with RS was developed and exhibited a strong capability to anticipate PTC patients’ DFS. In the high-risk group, the enriched pathological processes and signaling mechanisms were detected utilizing the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Moreover, the high-risk group had a significantly higher level of BRAF mutation frequency, tumor mutation burden, and immune cell infiltration than the low-risk group. In vitro experiments found that silencing SFXN3 or TFR2 significantly reduced cell viability. Conclusion Collectively, our predictive model depended on IMRGs in PTC, which could be potentially utilized to predict the PTC patients’ prognosis, schedule follow-up plans, and provide potential targets against PTC