VDialogUE: A Unified Evaluation Benchmark for Visually-grounded Dialogue

Visually-grounded dialog systems, which integrate multiple modes of communication such as text and visual inputs, have become an increasingly popular area of investigation. However, the absence of a standardized evaluation framework poses a challenge in assessing the development of this field. To this end, we propose \textbf{VDialogUE}, a \textbf{V}isually-grounded \textbf{Dialog}ue benchmark for \textbf{U}nified \textbf{E}valuation. It defines five core multi-modal dialogue tasks and covers six datasets. Furthermore, in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of the model's performance across all tasks, we developed a novel evaluation metric called VDscore, which is based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process~(AHP) method. Additionally, we present a straightforward yet efficient baseline model, named \textbf{VISIT}~(\textbf{VIS}ually-grounded d\textbf{I}alog \textbf{T}ransformer), to promote the advancement of general multi-modal dialogue systems. It progressively builds its multi-modal foundation and dialogue capability via a two-stage pre-training strategy. We believe that the VDialogUE benchmark, along with the evaluation scripts and our baseline models, will accelerate the development of visually-grounded dialog systems and lead to the development of more sophisticated and effective pre-trained models

A naphthalimide-based fluorescent sensor for halogenated solvents

A fluorescent sensor for halogenated solvents termed AMN is reported. AMN shows strong fluorescence in most halogenated solvents (QE > 0.1) but weak fluorescence (QE < 0.01) in most non-halogenated solvents. In chlorinated solvents, the fluorescence intensity decreased with the reduction of chlorine content. On the contrary, in brominated solvents the fluorescence intensity increased with the reduction of bromine content. It is worth mentioning that AMN displayed fluorescence emission centered at 520 nm in CCl4 with a quantum yield of 0.607, at 556 nm in CHCl3 with a quantum yield of 0.318, at 584 nm in CH2Cl2 with a quantum yield of 0.128, whereas in CHBr3 was centered at 441 nm with a quantum yield of 0.012. AMN was shown to have the ability to differentiate CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2 and CHBr3 halogenated solvents

Biomarker-targeted fluorescent probes for breast cancer imaging

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A twisted-intramolecular-charge-transfer (TICT) based ratiometric fluorescent thermometer with a mega-Stokes shift and a positive temperature coefficient

The fluorescence intensity of N, N-dimethyl-4-((2-methylquinolin-6-yl)ethynyl) aniline exhibits an unusual intensification with increasing temperature, by activating more vibrational bands and leading to stronger TICT emissions upon heating in dimethyl sulfoxide. Based on the different temperature dependence at various wavelengths, as shown in the TICT fluorescence spectrum, this dye can be employed to ratiometrically detect temperature

Biomarker-targeted fluorescent probes for breast cancer imaging

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Cd2+-triggered amide tautomerization produces a highly Cd2+-selective fluorescent sensor across a wide pH range

An NBD-derived fluorescent sensor termed CdTS was reported to sense Cd2+ with very high binding selectivity and significant fluorescence turn-on signal selectivity (65 fold enhancement). The amide/di-2-picolylamine receptor binds Cd2+ in an imidic acid tautomeric form, but binds most of other metal ions in an amide tautomeric form. The transformable ability makes CdTS have the specific selectivity for Cd2+. Additionally, CdTS can fluoresently and colorimetricly recognize Cd2+ across a wide pH range from 4.5 to 11.5. Finally, we applied CdTS to detect Cd2+ in living cells. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A naphthalimide-derived fluorogenic probe for SNAP-tag with a fast record labeling rate

SNAP-tag is one of most popular genetically encoded protein tags that can be labeled with fluorescent molecules for visualizing a protein of interest in live cells. Fluorogenic probes keep dark until they label protein tags, significantly improving the signal-to-noise ratio to image proteins without wash-out step. However, most of reported fluorogenic probes for SNAP-tag suffered from the low or mild labeling rate comparing with non-fluorogenic ones. In this paper, we reported a 4-amino-naphthliamide derived fluorogenic probe for SNAP-tag, which exhibited the fast record labeling rate among fluorogenic probes. Finally, we applied this probe to image proteins in mitochondria and nucleus in live cells without washout steps. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Integrative physiological and transcriptome analyses provide insights into the Cadmium (Cd) tolerance of a Cd accumulator: Erigeron canadensis

Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic pollutant in soil and water that severely hampers the growth and reproduction of plants. Phytoremediation has been presented as a cost-effective and eco-friendly method for addressing heavy metal pollution. However, phytoremediation is restricted by the limited number of accumulators and the unknown mechanisms underlying heavy metal tolerance. In this study, we demonstrated that Erigeron canadensis (Asteraceae), with its strong adaptability, is tolerant to intense Cd stress (2 mmol/L CdCl2 solution). Moreover, E. canadensis exhibited a strong ability to accumulate Cd2+ when treated with CdCl2 solution. The activity of some antioxidant enzymes, as well as the malondialdehyde (MDA) level, was significantly increased when E. canadensis was treated with different CdCl2 solutions (0.5, 1, 2 mmol/L CdCl2). We found high levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities under 1 mmol/L CdCl2 treatment. Comparative transcriptomic analysis identified 5,284 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the roots and 3,815 DEGs in the shoots after E. canadensis plants were exposed to 0.5 mM Cd. Functional annotation of key DEGs indicated that signal transduction, hormone response, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism responded significantly to Cd. In particular, the DEGs involved in auxin (IAA) and ethylene (ETH) signal transduction were overrepresented in shoots, indicating that these genes are mainly involved in regulating plant growth and thus likely responsible for the Cd tolerance. Overall, these results not only determined that E. canadensis can be used as a potential accumulator of Cd but also provided some clues regarding the mechanisms underlying heavy metal tolerance

Immunocompromised rabbit model of chronic HEV reveals liver fibrosis and distinct efficacy of different vaccination strategies

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: HEV infection can lead to chronicity and rapid progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in immunocompromised organ transplant recipients. Robust animal models are urgently needed to study the pathogenesis and test the efficacy of vaccines and antiviral drugs in immunosuppressed settings. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Cyclosporin A was used to induce immunosuppression. Rabbits were challenged with genotype 3 or 4 HEV (i.e., the rabbit-derived HEV3 and human-derived HEV3 or HEV4). We assessed HEV markers within 13 weeks post inoculation (wpi) and pathological changes by hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining at 4, 8, or 13 wpi. Chronic HEV infection was successfully established in immunocompromised rabbits. HEV RNA and/or antigens were detected in the liver, kidney, intestine, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid samples. Chronically infected animals exhibited typical characteristics of liver fibrosis development. Intrahepatic transcriptomic analysis indicated activation of both innate and adaptive immunity. Establishment of HEV chronicity likely contributed to the inhibited T-cell immune response. Ribavirin is effective in clearing HEV infection in immunocompromised rabbits. Most interestingly, vaccination completed before immunosuppression conferred full protection against both HEV3 and HEV4 infections, but vaccination during immunosuppression was only partially protective, and the efficacy did not improve with increased or additional vaccine doses. CONCLUSIONS: The immunocompromised rabbit model of both chronic HEV3 and HEV4 infection that was established captured the key features of chronic HEV infection in transplant patients, including liver fibrogenesis, and revealed the distinct effectiveness of vaccination administered before or under immunosuppression. This rabbit model is valuable for understanding the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis E, as well as for evaluating antiviral agents and vaccines