Big-model Driven Few-shot Continual Learning

Few-shot continual learning (FSCL) has attracted intensive attention and achieved some advances in recent years, but now it is difficult to again make a big stride in accuracy due to the limitation of only few-shot incremental samples. Inspired by distinctive human cognition ability in life learning, in this work, we propose a novel Big-model driven Few-shot Continual Learning (B-FSCL) framework to gradually evolve the model under the traction of the world's big-models (like human accumulative knowledge). Specifically, we perform the big-model driven transfer learning to leverage the powerful encoding capability of these existing big-models, which can adapt the continual model to a few of newly added samples while avoiding the over-fitting problem. Considering that the big-model and the continual model may have different perceived results for the identical images, we introduce an instance-level adaptive decision mechanism to provide the high-level flexibility cognitive support adjusted to varying samples. In turn, the adaptive decision can be further adopted to optimize the parameters of the continual model, performing the adaptive distillation of big-model's knowledge information. Experimental results of our proposed B-FSCL on three popular datasets (including CIFAR100, minilmageNet and CUB200) completely surpass all state-of-the-art FSCL methods.Comment: 9 pages 6 figure

Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Interaction with the Tumor Microenvironment in Malignant Progression of Human Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant brain tumor, characterized with a rapid progression and poor prognosis despite modern therapies. Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) is a membrane tyrosine kinase that could be activated by binding ligands with the extracellular domain, and communicating signals according to the tyrosine kinase activity of the intracellular domain. Recent studies revealed that RTKs such as EGFR, PDGFR and MET play key roles in cancer progression through regulation of abundant cellular processes. As transmembrane proteins, RTKs work as a mediator between the extracellular environment and intracellular compartments, translating the tumor microenvironment (TME) signals into the tumor cells. TME is also a critical regulator for the malignant process, lately receiving considerable attention. It is composed of extracellular matrix (ECM), the stromal cells (i.e., endothelial cells, microglia and fibroblasts), secreted factors, and hypoxia environment, etc. Among these, the strong invasion and sustained angiogenesis of GBM are closely related to ECM-receptor interaction and -associated signaling events. In this chapter, we consider the interaction and mechanisms of RTKs and TME in GBM progression, especially the role of ECM-receptor mediated signaling in tumor invasion, hypoxia and angiogenesis, glioma stem cells and tumor metabolism. We then summarize and discuss recent improvements on the approaches of targeting RTK and TME as the therapy in the primary GBM

Norfloxacin and Bisphenol-A Removal Using Temperature-Switchable Graphene Oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) is a competitive candidate used for adsorption of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) from water. To overcome GO's spontaneous aggregation tendency in adsorption and to ease contaminant desorption from the adsorbent for adsorbent regeneration, a modified GO (P-GO), with temperature-switchable hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, obtained by grafting temperature-responsive poly( N-n-propylacrylamide) was proposed. Two model EOCs, norfloxacin (NOR) and bisphenol A (BPA), with distinct hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity were employed. P-GO showed significant temperature-responsive adsorption behaviors: P-GO was more hydrophilic at a lower temperature and was beneficial for the adsorption of hydrophilic NOR, whereas it turned more hydrophobic at a higher temperature and was preferred for the adsorption of hydrophobic BPA. Compared with GO, P-GO under corresponding optimal conditions had comparable large adsorption amounts for NOR because of an "adsorption site replacement" strategy and notably enhanced adsorption for BPA because of strengthened hydrophobic association. Main interfacial binding interactions were pi-pi electron donor-acceptor effect and H-bonding for NOR adsorption and hydrophobic association and H-bonding for BPA uptake. On the basis of the temperature-responsive adsorption behaviors and studied interfacial interactions, regeneration of the adsorbent at designed temperatures using water (without additional chemicals) as an eluent is realized. This achievement is important for reducing risks of secondary environmental pollution during regeneration and easing further recovery of organic contaminants if needed

Microneedle‐Mediated Cell Therapy

Abstract Microneedles have emerged as a promising platform for transdermal drug delivery with prominent advantages, such as enhanced permeability, mitigated pain, and improved patient adherence. While microneedles have primarily been employed for delivering small molecules, nucleic acids, peptides, and proteins, recent researches have demonstrated their prospect in combination with cell therapy. Cell therapy involving administration or transplantation of living cells (e.g. T cells, stem cells, and pancreatic cells) has gained significant attention in preclinical and clinical applications for various disease treatments. However, the effectiveness of systemic cell delivery may be restricted in localized conditions like solid tumors and skin disorders due to limited penetration and accumulation into the lesions. In this perspective, an overview of recent advances in microneedle‐assisted cell delivery for immunotherapy, tissue regeneration, and hormone modulation, with respect to their mechanical property, cell loading capacity, as well as viability and bioactivity of the loaded cells is provided. Potential challenges and future perspectives with microneedle‐mediated cell therapy are also discussed

Environmental-friendly one-step fabrication of tertiary amine-functionalized adsorption resins for removal of benzophenone-4 from water

2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulfonic acid with a trade name of benzophenone-4, a typical anti-UV product, is increasingly detected in real aqueous environment. Few literature using cost-effective adsorption means with enough high adsorption capacity for the removal of benzophenone-4 is available. In this work, a series of novel tertiary amine-functionalized crosslinking polymeric resins, synthesized using different proportions of raw materials including 2-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate as the monomer, divinylbenzene as the crosslinking reagent and toluene as the pore-forming reagent, were employed for the adsorption of benzophenone-4. During the synthesis process, an environmental friendly one-step fabrication method, following the concept of cleaner production, was established for the reduction of unnecessary derivatization steps, extra pollution risk, costs and time. Among these resins, the optimal one with relatively larger pore diameter, larger specific surface area, and fewer inner defects, exhibited the highest adsorption capacity of 154 mg/g. Such a value was notably larger than several frequently reported commercial adsorbents, including activated carbon, ion exchange resins and macroporous resins. The performance of the resin not only owned strong resistance against influences of coexisting natural organic matter and inorganic ions, but also bore reuse without much capacity loss after six adsorption-desorption cycles. Adsorption interfacial interactions were studied, via both experimental analyses and chemical calculations. Electrostatic attraction between tertiary amine of the resin and -SO3- of benzophenone-4 played a leading role during adsorption. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Polypodiodes amoena (Polypodiaceae), an important medical fern

Polypodiodes amoena is an important medical fern of Polypodiaceae. Its complete chloroplast genome is obtained through Illumina sequencing, which is 152,067 bp in length with a large single copy (LSC) region (81,187 bp), a small single copy (SSC) region (21,590 bp), and two inverted repeats (IRa and IRb) regions (24,645 bp). The genome encodes 130 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 33 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes, and one pseudogene. ML phylogenetic analysis reveals that P. amoena is clustered with polypodiaceous ferns

Environmental-friendly one-step fabrication of tertiary amine-functionalized adsorption resins for removal of benzophenone-4 from water

2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulfonic acid with a trade name of benzophenone-4, a typical anti-UV product, is increasingly detected in real aqueous environment. Few literature using cost-effective adsorption means with enough high adsorption capacity for the removal of benzophenone-4 is available. In this work, a series of novel tertiary amine-functionalized crosslinking polymeric resins, synthesized using different proportions of raw materials including 2-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate as the monomer, divinylbenzene as the crosslinking reagent and toluene as the pore-forming reagent, were employed for the adsorption of benzophenone-4. During the synthesis process, an environmental friendly one-step fabrication method, following the concept of cleaner production, was established for the reduction of unnecessary derivatization steps, extra pollution risk, costs and time. Among these resins, the optimal one with relatively larger pore diameter, larger specific surface area, and fewer inner defects, exhibited the highest adsorption capacity of 154 mg/g. Such a value was notably larger than several frequently reported commercial adsorbents, including activated carbon, ion exchange resins and macroporous resins. The performance of the resin not only owned strong resistance against influences of coexisting natural organic matter and inorganic ions, but also bore reuse without much capacity loss after six adsorption-desorption cycles. Adsorption interfacial interactions were studied, via both experimental analyses and chemical calculations. Electrostatic attraction between tertiary amine of the resin and -SO3- of benzophenone-4 played a leading role during adsorption. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Application of artificial hibernation technology in acute brain injury

Controlling intracranial pressure, nerve cell regeneration, and microenvironment regulation are the key issues in reducing mortality and disability in acute brain injury. There is currently a lack of effective treatment methods. Hibernation has the characteristics of low temperature, low metabolism, and hibernation rhythm, as well as protective effects on the nervous, cardiovascular, and motor systems. Artificial hibernation technology is a new technology that can effectively treat acute brain injury by altering the body's metabolism, lowering the body's core temperature, and allowing the body to enter a state similar to hibernation. This review introduces artificial hibernation technology, including mild hypothermia treatment technology, central nervous system regulation technology, and artificial hibernation-inducer technology. Upon summarizing the relevant research on artificial hibernation technology in acute brain injury, the research results show that artificial hibernation technology has neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and oxidative stress-resistance effects, indicating that it has therapeutic significance in acute brain injury. Furthermore, artificial hibernation technology can alleviate the damage of ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, and other diseases, providing new strategies for treating acute brain injury. However, artificial hibernation technology is currently in its infancy and has some complications, such as electrolyte imbalance and coagulation disorders, which limit its use. Further research is needed for its clinical application