Collaborative Intelligence: Accelerating Deep Neural Network Inference via Device-Edge Synergy

With the development of mobile edge computing (MEC), more and more intelligent services and applications based on deep neural networks are deployed on mobile devices to meet the diverse and personalized needs of users. Unfortunately, deploying and inferencing deep learning models on resource-constrained devices are challenging. The traditional cloud-based method usually runs the deep learning model on the cloud server. Since a large amount of input data needs to be transmitted to the server through WAN, it will cause a large service latency. This is unacceptable for most current latency-sensitive and computation-intensive applications. In this paper, we propose Cogent, an execution framework that accelerates deep neural network inference through device-edge synergy. In the Cogent framework, it is divided into two operation stages, including the automatic pruning and partition stage and the containerized deployment stage. Cogent uses reinforcement learning (RL) to automatically predict pruning and partition strategies based on feedback from the hardware configuration and system conditions so that the pruned and partitioned model can better adapt to the system environment and user hardware configuration. Then through containerized deployment to the device and the edge server to accelerate model inference, experiments show that the learning-based hardware-aware automatic pruning and partition scheme can significantly reduce the service latency, and it accelerates the overall model inference process while maintaining accuracy. Using this method can accelerate up to 8.89× without loss of accuracy of more than 7%

Single injection of a novel nerve growth factor coacervate improves structural and functional regeneration after sciatic nerve injury in adult rats

The prototypical neurotrophin, nerve growth factor (NGF), plays an important role in the development and maintenance of many neurons in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, and can promote functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury in adulthood. However, repair of peripheral nerve defects is hampered by the short half-life of NGF in vivo, and treatment with either NGF alone or NGF contained in synthetic nerve conduits is inferior to the use of nerve autografts, the current gold standard. We tested the reparative ability of a single local injection of a polyvalent coacervate containing polycation-poly(ethylene argininylaspartate diglyceride; PEAD), heparin, and NGF, in adult rats following sciatic nerve crush injury, using molecular, histological and behavioral approaches. In vitro assays demonstrated that NGF was loaded into the coacervate at nearly 100% efficiency, and was protected from proteolytic degradation. In vivo, the coacervate enhanced NGF bioavailability, leading to a notable improvement in motor function (track walking analysis) after 30 days. The NGF coacervate treatment was also associated with better weight gain and reduction in atrophy of the gastrocnemius muscle. Furthermore, light and electron microscopy showed that the number of myelinated axons and axon-to-fiber ratio (G-ratio) were significantly higher in NGF coacervate-treated rats compared with control groups. Expression of markers of neural tissue regeneration (MAP-2, S-100β, MBP and GAP-43), as well as proliferating Schwann cells and myelin-axon relationships (GFAP and NF200), were also increased. These observations suggest that even a single administration of NGF coacervate could have therapeutic value for peripheral nerve regeneration and functional recovery

Novel H₂S Releasing Nanofibrous Coating for In Vivo Dermal Wound Regeneration

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), together with nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, has been recognized as an important gasotransmitter. It plays an essential physiological role in regulating cyto-protective signal process, and H₂S-based therapy is considered as the next generation of promising therapeutic strategies for many biomedical applications, such as the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Through electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL) containing JK1, a novel pH-controllable H₂S donor, nanofibers with H₂S releasing function, PCL-JK1, are fabricated. This fibrous scaffold showed a pH-dependent H₂S releasing behavior, i.e., lower pH induced greater and faster H₂S release. In addition, the H₂S release of JK1 was prolonged by the fibrous matrix as shown by decreased releasing rates compared to JK1 in solutions. In addition, in vitro studies indicated that PCL-JK1 exhibited excellent cyto-compatibility, similar to PCL fibers. Finally, we investigated PCL-JK1 as a wound dressing toward a cutaneous wound model in vivo and found that PCL-JK1 could significantly enhance the wound repair and regeneration compared with the control PCL scaffold, likely due to the release of H₂S, which results in a broad range of physiologically protective functions toward the wound

Comparative Study of Heparin-Poloxamer Hydrogel Modified bFGF and aFGF for <i>in Vivo</i> Wound Healing Efficiency

Wound therapy remains a clinical challenge. Incorporation of growth factors (GFs) into heparin-functionalized polymer hydrogel is considered as a promising strategy to improve wound healing efficiency. However, different GFs incorporation into the same heparin-based hydrogels often lead to different wound healing effects, and the underlying GF-induced wound healing mechanisms still remain elusive. Herein, we developed a thermos-sensitive heparin-poloxamer (HP) hydrogel to load and deliver different GFs (aFGF and bFGF) for wound healing in vivo. The resulting GFs-based hydrogels with and without HP hydrogels were systematically evaluated and compared for their wound healing efficiency by extensive <i>in vivo</i> tests, including wound closure rate, granulation formation, re-epithelization, cell proliferation, collagen, and angiogenesis expressions. While all GFs-based dressings with and without HP hydrogels exhibited better wound healing efficacy than controls, both HP-aFGF and HP-bFGF hydrogels demonstrated their superior healing activity to improve wound closure, granulation formation, re-epithelization, and blood vessel density by up-regulation of PCNA proliferation and collagen synthesis, as compared to GF dressings alone. More importantly, HP-aFGF dressings exhibited the higher healing efficacy than HP-bFGF dressings, indicating that different a/bFGF surface properties lead to different binding and release behaviors in HP hydrogels, both of which will affect different wound healing efficiency. On the basis of experimental observations, the working mechanisms of different healing effects of HP-GFs on full skin removal wound were proposed. This work provides different views of the design and development of an effective hydrogel-based delivery system for GFs toward rapid wound healing

Heparin-Based Coacervate of FGF2 Improves Dermal Regeneration by Asserting a Synergistic Role with Cell Proliferation and Endogenous Facilitated VEGF for Cutaneous Wound Healing

Effective wound healing requires complicated, coordinated interactions and responses at protein, cellular, and tissue levels involving growth factor expression, cell proliferation, wound closure, granulation tissue formation, and vascularization. In this study, we develop a heparin-based coacervate consisting of poly­(ethylene argininylaspartate digylceride) (PEAD) as a storage matrix, heparin as a bridge, and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) as a cargo (namely heparin-FGF2@PEAD) for wound healing. First, in vitro characterization demonstrates the loading efficiency and control release of FGF2 from the heparin-FGF2@PEAD coacervate. The following in vivo studies examine the wound healing efficiency of the heparin-FGF2@PEAD coacervate upon delivering FGF2 to full-thickness excisional skin wounds <i>in vivo</i>, in comparison with the other three control groups with saline, heparin@PEAD as vehicle, and free FGF2. Collective in vivo data show that controlled release of FGF2 to the wounds by the coacervate significantly accelerates the wound healing by promoting cell proliferation, stimulating the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for re-epithelization, collagen deposition, and granulation tissue formation, and enhancing the expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (CD31) and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) for blood vessel maturation. In parallel, no obvious wound healing effect is found for the control, vehicle, and free FGF2 groups, indicating the important role of the coavervate in the wound healing process. This work designs a suitable delivery system that can protect and release FGF2 in a sustained and controlled manner, which provides a promising therapeutic potential for topical treatment of wounds