Baichuan 2: Open Large-scale Language Models

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance on a variety of natural language tasks based on just a few examples of natural language instructions, reducing the need for extensive feature engineering. However, most powerful LLMs are closed-source or limited in their capability for languages other than English. In this technical report, we present Baichuan 2, a series of large-scale multilingual language models containing 7 billion and 13 billion parameters, trained from scratch, on 2.6 trillion tokens. Baichuan 2 matches or outperforms other open-source models of similar size on public benchmarks like MMLU, CMMLU, GSM8K, and HumanEval. Furthermore, Baichuan 2 excels in vertical domains such as medicine and law. We will release all pre-training model checkpoints to benefit the research community in better understanding the training dynamics of Baichuan 2.Comment: Baichuan 2 technical report. Github: https://github.com/baichuan-inc/Baichuan

Cystic lesions of the adrenal gland: our experience over the last 20 years.

Cystic lesions of the adrenal gland are uncommon, often presenting with nonspecific clinical and radiologic findings, and are thus underrecognized. They are occasionally associated with malignant neoplasms, which can greatly mimic benign lesions and carry detrimental clinical consequences if misdiagnosed. Here we present our 20-year experience (1992-2012) with these lesions at an academic medical center. Among more than 4500 adrenal gland specimens, 31 cases of adrenal lesions with a predominant cystic component were identified in 30 patients with an age range of 34 to 86 years (median, 55.5 years) and a male/female ratio of 13:17. Macroscopic descriptions, available histologic and immunostain slides, and available radiologic records were reviewed for all included cases. Radiologic studies and gross examination correlated well, and hemorrhage (26 cases; 84%) and encapsulation (25 cases; 81%) appeared to be nonspecific radiologic/gross features shared across histologic subtypes. Microscopic review identified 12 cases (39%) of pseudocysts, 2 cases (6%) of endothelium-derived cysts, and 17 cases (55%) of epithelium-derived cysts. Among these 31 cystic adrenal lesions, 2 cases (6%) were malignant neoplasms (1 epithelioid angiosarcoma, 1 adrenocortical carcinoma). Radiologic impression and histopathologic diagnosis were concordant in 11 (73%) of the 15 cases for which radiologic records were available. This study represents the second largest case series to date on cystic adrenal lesions and presents a comprehensive review on their demographic, clinical, radiologic, and gross and microscopic pathologic features, as well as their differential diagnoses

Analysis of Coal Swelling Deformation Caused by Carbon Dioxide Adsorption Based on X-Ray Computed Tomography

The geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide by coal beds leads to the swelling deformation of coal. In order to investigate the swelling deformation characteristics at the microscopic scale, X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning technology was used. X-ray CT scanning technology detects the internal structure, deformation, and porosity of coal at different gas pressures. Results show that swelling deformation is nonuniform, which is caused by the heterogeneity of the coal structure. Through quantitative measurement of the distance between fractures and pseudocolor processing of CT images, we observed that fractures gradually close with the increase of adsorption pressure. As adsorption pressure increases, the porosity of coal decreases, and the density of coal increases

Antimicrobial potential of myristic acid against Listeria monocytogenes in milk

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), an important food-borne pathogenic microorganism, has resistance immune function to many commonly used drugs. Myristic acid is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, but it has been rarely used as a food additive, limiting the development of natural food preservatives. In this study, the antibacterial activity and mechanism of myristic acid against L. monocytogenes were studied. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of myristic acid against 13 L. monocytogenes strains ranged from 64 to 256 mu g ml(-1). The time-kill assay demonstrated that when myristic acid was added to dairy products, flow cytometry confirmed that myristic acid influenced cell death and inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and NPN uptake studies illustrated that myristic acid changed the bacterial morphology and membrane structure of L. monocytogenes, which led to rapid cell death. Myristic acid could bind to DNA and lead to changes in DNA conformation and structure, as identified by fluorescence spectroscopy. Our studies provide additional evidence to support myristic acid being used as a natural antibacterial agent and also further fundamental understanding of the modes of antibacterial action

The Multiple Influences of Natural Farming Environment on the Cultured Population Behavior of Kuruma Prawn, Penaeus japonicus

Recent years have witnessed a tremendous development in shrimp farming around the world, which, however, has raised a variety of issues, possibly due to a lack of knowledge of shrimp behavior in farms. This study focused on the relationship between shrimp behavior and the various factors of natural farming environment through situ surveys, as distinguished from the majority of laboratory studies on shrimp behavior. In the survey, the behaviors of kuruma prawn (Penaeus japonicus) were investigated in the groups of swimming in the water, crawling on the sand, resting on the sand, and hiding in the sand, followed by the quantification of the sex ratio, water quality, density, and light intensity. The results showed the average proportions of resting, hiding, crawling, and swimming activities of 69.87%, 20.85%, 8.24%, and 1.04%, respectively, of P. japonicus. The behavior of hiding, resting, and crawling is significantly affected by the sex ratio of the shrimp (p < 0.05). The proportions of hiding behavior exhibited a negative connection with density and a positive connection with light intensity, while the proportions of resting behavior showed the opposite according to both Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The light intensity was the only factor that significantly influenced the swimming behavior, in which the probability of the swimming behavior was reduced from 48% to 5% when light intensity varied from 0 to 10 lx, as determined by the generalized linear model. It could be speculated that P. japonicus prefers a tranquil environment. Female shrimp might exhibit less aggression and more adventure compared to male shrimp. The findings suggested light intensity, followed by density, as the most crucial element influencing the behavior of P. japonicus in the culture environment. These findings will contribute to the comprehension of the behavior of P. japonicus and provide a novel perspective for the formulation of its culture management strategy