A Communication Theory Perspective on Prompting Engineering Methods for Large Language Models

The springing up of Large Language Models (LLMs) has shifted the community from single-task-orientated natural language processing (NLP) research to a holistic end-to-end multi-task learning paradigm. Along this line of research endeavors in the area, LLM-based prompting methods have attracted much attention, partially due to the technological advantages brought by prompt engineering (PE) as well as the underlying NLP principles disclosed by various prompting methods. Traditional supervised learning usually requires training a model based on labeled data and then making predictions. In contrast, PE methods directly use the powerful capabilities of existing LLMs (i.e., GPT-3 and GPT-4) via composing appropriate prompts, especially under few-shot or zero-shot scenarios. Facing the abundance of studies related to the prompting and the ever-evolving nature of this field, this article aims to (i) illustrate a novel perspective to review existing PE methods, within the well-established communication theory framework; (ii) facilitate a better/deeper understanding of developing trends of existing PE methods used in four typical tasks; (iii) shed light on promising research directions for future PE methods

Vertical Federated Learning

Vertical Federated Learning (VFL) is a federated learning setting where multiple parties with different features about the same set of users jointly train machine learning models without exposing their raw data or model parameters. Motivated by the rapid growth in VFL research and real-world applications, we provide a comprehensive review of the concept and algorithms of VFL, as well as current advances and challenges in various aspects, including effectiveness, efficiency, and privacy. We provide an exhaustive categorization for VFL settings and privacy-preserving protocols and comprehensively analyze the privacy attacks and defense strategies for each protocol. In the end, we propose a unified framework, termed VFLow, which considers the VFL problem under communication, computation, privacy, and effectiveness constraints. Finally, we review the most recent advances in industrial applications, highlighting open challenges and future directions for VFL

A Study on Parameterization of the Beijing Winter Heavy Haze Events Associated with Height of Pollution Mixing Layer

North China Plain, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province are the major areas facing the decreasing air quality and frequent pollution events in the recent years. Identifying the effect of meteorological conditions on changes in aerosol concentration and the mechanism for forming such heavy pollution in North China Plain has become the focus of scientific research. The influence of atmospheric boundary layer characteristics on air quality has become the focus of attention and research. However, the boundary layer describes that the influences of air pollution have sometimes been duplicated and confused with each other in some of the studies. It is necessary to pay attention to some extent, raising awareness of related pollution mixing layer. The conclusions of the study include the following: (1) The lowered height of pollution mixing layer (H_PML) was favorable for the increase of the PM2.5 density. The lowered height of pollution mixing layer had significant impacts on formation of severe haze. (2) A statistical analysis of large-scale heavy pollution cases in eastern China shows that the H_PML parameters have significant contributions. (3) The feedback effect of the high value of the convection inhibition (CIN), which is unfavorable to vertical diffusion of pollution, causes further reduction of H_PML, resulting in cumulative pollution again

The role of indole derivative in the growth of plants: A review

Indole compounds with their unique properties of mimicking peptide structures and reversible binding to enzymes are of great exploitative value in the regulation of plant growth. They stimulate root and fruit formation and activate the plant’s immune system against biotic and abiotic factors harmful to the plant. Analysis of target recognition, receptor recognition, key activation sites and activation mechanisms of indoles in plant to enhance crop growth or disease resistance is a crucial step for further developing compounds as plant growth regulators and immune inducers. Therefore, this review focused on the mechanism of action of indoles in regulating plant growth and enhancing plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

A Study on Parameterization of the Beijing Winter Heavy Haze Events Associated with Height of Pollution Mixing Layer

North China Plain, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province are the major areas facing the decreasing air quality and frequent pollution events in the recent years. Identifying the effect of meteorological conditions on changes in aerosol concentration and the mechanism for forming such heavy pollution in North China Plain has become the focus of scientific research. The influence of atmospheric boundary layer characteristics on air quality has become the focus of attention and research. However, the boundary layer describes that the influences of air pollution have sometimes been duplicated and confused with each other in some of the studies. It is necessary to pay attention to some extent, raising awareness of related pollution mixing layer. The conclusions of the study include the following: (1) The lowered height of pollution mixing layer (H_PML) was favorable for the increase of the PM2.5 density. The lowered height of pollution mixing layer had significant impacts on formation of severe haze. (2) A statistical analysis of large-scale heavy pollution cases in eastern China shows that the H_PML parameters have significant contributions. (3) The feedback effect of the high value of the convection inhibition (CIN), which is unfavorable to vertical diffusion of pollution, causes further reduction of H_PML, resulting in cumulative pollution again

Cell-intrinsic PD-L1 ablation sustains effector CD8+ T cell responses and promotes antitumor T cell therapy

Summary: Adoptive cell therapies are emerging forms of immunotherapy that reprogram T cells for enhanced antitumor responses. Although surface programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)/programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) engagement inhibits antitumor immunity, the role of cell-intrinsic PD-L1 in adoptive T cell therapy remains unknown. Here, we found that intracellular PD-L1 was enriched in tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells of cancer patients. PD-L1 ablation promoted antitumor immune responses and the maintenance of an effector-like state of therapeutic CD8+ T cells, while blockade of surface PD-L1 was unable to impact on their expansion and function. Moreover, cell-intrinsic PD-L1 impeded CD8+ T cell activity, which partially relied on mTORC1 signaling. Furthermore, endogenous tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells were motivated by BATF3-driven dendritic cells after adoptive transfer of PD-L1-deficient therapeutic CD8+ T cells. This role of cell-intrinsic PD-L1 in therapeutic CD8+ T cell dysfunction highlights that disrupting cell-intrinsic PD-L1 in CD8+ T cells represents a viable approach to improving T cell-based cancer immunotherapy

Proteomic Analysis of Hepatic Tissue of <i>Cyprinus carpio</i> L. Exposed to Cyanobacterial Blooms in Lake Taihu, China

<div><p>With the rapid development of industry and agriculture and associated pollution, the cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Taihu have become a major threat to aquatic wildlife and human health. In this study, the ecotoxicological effects of cyanobacterial blooms on cage-cultured carp (<i>Cyprinus carpio</i> L.) in Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu were investigated. Microcystins (MCs), major cyanobacterial toxins, have been detected in carp cultured at different experimental sites of Meiliang Bay. We observed that the accumulation of MCs in carp was closely associated with several environmental factors, including temperature, pH value, and density of cyanobacterial blooms. The proteomic profile of carp liver exposed to cyanobacterial blooms was analyzed using two-dimensional difference in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and mass spectrometry. The toxic effects of cyanobacterial blooms on carp liver were similar to changes caused by MCs. MCs were transported into liver cells and induced the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). MCs and ROS inhibited protein phosphatase and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), directly or indirectly resulting in oxidative stress and disruption of the cytoskeleton. These effects further interfered with metabolic pathways in the liver through the regulation of series of related proteins. The results of this study indicated that cyanobacterial blooms pose a major threat to aquatic wildlife in Meiliang Bay in Lake Taihu. These results provided evidence of the molecular mechanisms underlying liver damage in carp exposed to cyanobacterial blooms.</p></div