Interpreting Multivariate Shapley Interactions in DNNs

This paper aims to explain deep neural networks (DNNs) from the perspective of multivariate interactions. In this paper, we define and quantify the significance of interactions among multiple input variables of the DNN. Input variables with strong interactions usually form a coalition and reflect prototype features, which are memorized and used by the DNN for inference. We define the significance of interactions based on the Shapley value, which is designed to assign the attribution value of each input variable to the inference. We have conducted experiments with various DNNs. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method

Capacitive Touch Panel with Low Sensitivity to Water Drop employing Mutual-coupling Electrical Field Shaping Technique

This paper proposes a novel method to reduce the water interference on the touch panel based on mutual-capacitance sensing in human finger detection. As the height of a finger (height >10 mm) is far larger than that of a water-drop (height 10 mm) and low in the low-height space (height <1 mm), the sensing cell can be designed to distinguish the finger from the water-drop. To achieve this density distribution of the electrical field, the mutual-coupling electrical field shaping (MEFS) technique is employed to build the sensing cell. The drawback of the MEFS sensing cell is large parasitic capacitance, which can be overcome by a readout IC with low sensitivity to parasitic capacitance. Experiments show that the output of the IC with the MEFS sensing cell is 1.11 V when the sensing cell is touched by the water-drop and 1.23 V when the sensing cell is touched by the finger, respectively. In contrast, the output of the IC with the traditional sensing cell is 1.32 and 1.33 V when the sensing cell is touched by the water-drop and the finger, respectively. This demonstrates that the MEFS sensing cell can better distinguish the finger from the water-drop than the traditional sensing cell does.National Research Foundation (NRF)Accepted versionThis work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant 61771363, in part by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) under Grant 201706960042, and in part by the National Research Foundation of Singapore under Grant NRF-CRP11-2012-01

Why should we invest in CoCos than stocks? An optimal growth portfolio approach

We investigate an optimal growth portfolio problem with contingent convertible bonds (CoCos). As the conversion risk in CoCos is closely associated with the issuer&apos;s capital structure and the stock price at conversion, we model both equity and credit risk to frame this optimisation problem. This study aims to answer two questions that (i) how investors should optimally allocate their financial wealth between a CoCo and a risk-free bond; and (ii) which approach ??? investing in a CoCo or in a stock issued by the same bank ??? could result in higher expected returns. First, we derive the dynamic of a coupon-paying CoCo price under a reduced-form approach. We then decompose the problem into pre- and post-conversion regimes to obtain closed-form optimal strategies. A comparative simulation leads us to conclude that, under various market conditions, investing in a CoCo with a risk-free bond provides a higher expected growth than investing in stock

Synergistic sensing of stratified structures enhancing touch recognition for multifunctional interactive electronics

Efficient touch feedback, capable of monitoring the magnitude of force and identifying active location, is significant to artificial intelligence and interactive robotics. It generally needs the integration of multitudinous sensing elements and intricate manufacturing procedures. Here we propose a multifunctional paper-based touch sensor to realize touch trajectory recognition as well as achieve pressure information. The asymmetric and symmetric structures are designed to skillfully construct localization layer and pressure sensing layer. These functional layers effectively assemble a scalable touch sensor and, thus, greatly simplify the device's architecture with the competitive advantages of easiness in fabrication, cost-effectiveness, self-switching characteristic, and programmability in interactive function. Through coding and using the electrical signals, human-computer interaction, human-machine interaction, and force-enhanced cryptographic matrix are explored and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed touch sensor. This work provides a novel mechanosensational sensing paradigm to leverage the complex physics of a feasible strategy for advancing human-related interactive electronics.National Research Foundation (NRF)Accepted versionThis work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Singapore (No. NRF-CRP11-2012-01). The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Intensified decomposition of vanadium slag via aeration in concentrated NaOH solution

Abstract A new metallurgical process via aeration for the decomposition of vanadium slag in concentrated NaOH solution was proposed. The improvement of oxygen mass transfer coefficient when using aeration at different NaOH concentration was studied and the effects of critical reaction parameters on vanadium extraction were systematically investigated. The optimal condition was determined to be: alkali concentration of 60%, reaction temperature of 130 °C, alkali-to-ore mass ratio of 6:1, stirring speed of 500 rpm. The yield of vanadium could reach to 97.41% after reacting for 6 h under this reaction condition. The reaction temperature in this new method is 50–270 °C lower than the current liquid oxidation methods reported in the literatures, and the medium alkaline concentration declined from 85% to 60%, exhibiting significant advantages in energy consumption as well as reactor design. Kinetics study indicated that the extraction of vanadium was governed by internal diffusion, and the apparent activation energy was calculated to be 17.57 kJ/mol

The application advances of dendrimers in biomedical field

Abstract Dendrimers are a family of nano‐sized three‐dimensional polymers with unique dendritic branching structures and compact spherical geometries. In recent years, dendrimers have made a series of breakthroughs in the biomedical field. In this review, we introduce the synthesis principles, modification methods, and new materials designed based on dendrimers; discuss the importance of cytotoxicity of dendrimers for applications; and elaborate on their applications in the field of molecular assembly and cancer diagnosis and treatment. We speculate that in the near future, more new materials based on dendrimers will be applied in the biomedical field

BCAS2 regulates granulosa cell survival by participating in mRNA alternative splicing

Abstract Background Granulosa cell proliferation and differentiation are essential for follicle development. Breast cancer amplified sequence 2 (BCAS2) is necessary for spermatogenesis, oocyte development, and maintaining the genome integrity of early embryos in mice. However, the function of BCAS2 in granulosa cells is still unknown. Results We show that conditional disruption of Bcas2 in granulosa cells caused follicle development failure; the ratio of the positive cells of the cell proliferation markers PCNA and Ki67 were unchanged in granulosa cells. Specific deletion of Bcas2 caused a decrease in the BrdU-positive cell ratio, cell cycle arrest, DNA damage, and an increase in apoptosis in granulosa cells, and RPA1 was abnormally stained in granulosa cells. RNA-seq results revealed that knockout of Bcas2 results in unusual expression of cellular senescence genes. BCAS2 participated in the PRP19 complex to mediate alternative splicing (AS) of E2f3 and Flt3l mRNA to inhibit the cell cycle. Knockout of Bcas2 resulted in a significant decrease in the ratio of BrdU-positive cells in the human granulosa-like tumour (KGN) cell line. Conclusions Our results suggest that BCAS2 may influence the proliferation and survival of granulosa cells through regulating pre-mRNA splicing of E2f3 and Flt3l by forming the splicing complex with CDC5L and PRP19

Splicing factor SRSF1 is essential for homing of precursor spermatogonial stem cells in mice

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are essential for continuous spermatogenesis and male fertility. The underlying mechanisms of alternative splicing (AS) in mouse SSCs are still largely unclear. We demonstrated that SRSF1 is essential for gene expression and splicing in mouse SSCs. Crosslinking immunoprecipitation and sequencing data revealed that spermatogonia-related genes (e.g. Plzf, Id4, Setdb1, Stra8, Tial1/Tiar, Bcas2, Ddx5, Srsf10, Uhrf1, and Bud31) were bound by SRSF1 in the mouse testes. Specific deletion of Srsf1 in mouse germ cells impairs homing of precursor SSCs leading to male infertility. Whole-mount staining data showed the absence of germ cells in the testes of adult conditional knockout (cKO) mice, which indicates Sertoli cell-only syndrome in cKO mice. The expression of spermatogonia-related genes (e.g. Gfra1, Pou5f1, Plzf, Dnd1, Stra8, and Taf4b) was significantly reduced in the testes of cKO mice. Moreover, multiomics analysis suggests that SRSF1 may affect survival of spermatogonia by directly binding and regulating Tial1/Tiar expression through AS. In addition, immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation data showed that SRSF1 interacts with RNA splicing-related proteins (e.g. SART1, RBM15, and SRSF10). Collectively, our data reveal the critical role of SRSF1 in spermatogonia survival, which may provide a framework to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the posttranscriptional network underlying homing of precursor SSCs