Devil in the Number: Towards Robust Multi-modality Data Filter

In order to appropriately filter multi-modality data sets on a web-scale, it becomes crucial to employ suitable filtering methods to boost performance and reduce training costs. For instance, LAION papers employs the CLIP score filter to select data with CLIP scores surpassing a certain threshold. On the other hand, T-MARS achieves high-quality data filtering by detecting and masking text within images and then filtering by CLIP score. Through analyzing the dataset, we observe a significant proportion of redundant information, such as numbers, present in the textual content. Our experiments on a subset of the data unveil the profound impact of these redundant elements on the CLIP scores. A logical approach would involve reevaluating the CLIP scores after eliminating these influences. Experimentally, our text-based CLIP filter outperforms the top-ranked method on the ``small scale" of DataComp (a data filtering benchmark) on ImageNet distribution shifts, achieving a 3.6% performance improvement. The results also demonstrate that our proposed text-masked filter outperforms the original CLIP score filter when selecting the top 40% of the data. The impact of numbers on CLIP and their handling provide valuable insights for improving the effectiveness of CLIP training, including language rewrite techniques.Comment: ICCV 2023 Workshop: TNGCV-DataCom

The Dynamic Impacts of the Global Shipping Market under the Background of Oil Price Fluctuations and Emergencies

With growing uncertainty about the evolution of the global landscape, it is of great practical significance to explore the nonlinear dynamic adjustment relationship among the world oil market, the global bulk shipping market, the stock market, and economic growth in China. This paper applied the TVP-SV-VAR model and selected quarterly data from 1998 to 2020 to explore the dynamics. The results indicated that the impact intensity of BDI on China’s economy had a “positive” to “negative” change in different lag periods. This was mainly due to the fact that the negative impact of higher freight prices on China’s economy outweighed the positive impact of higher trade volumes on China’s economy. The impact intensity of BDI on GDP had a distinct medium- to long-term effect. A positive BDI shock had a dampening effect on stock prices in the short and medium term, while a positive BDI shock could promote stock market prosperity in the long-term perspective. The impulse responses of SSE and GDP to BDI showed that the external shipping market shocks to China’s stock market and economic growth gradually became smaller over time. For impulse response at three different time points, the impact intensity of the BDI to GDP varied at different time points, with the largest shock during the financial crisis in 2008, followed by the shock during the oil price crash in 2014, and the smallest during the COVID-19 epidemic. This demonstrated that the external shipping market’s influence on Chinese economic growth and stock market has gradually weakened over time, illustrating the enhancement of Chinese risk-resilience capacity

The Relationship between Solid Content and Particle Size Ratio of Waterborne Polyurethane

A series of high solid content carboxylic acid/sulfonic acid waterborne polyurethanes was prepared by the emulsion dispersion method. The particle size and solid content were measured. By changing the particle size of the large particles to achieve different particle size ratios, high solid content waterborne polyurethanes were obtained at specific particle size ratios. When the particle size ratio was >7, 4–5 or 2–3, the aqueous polyurethane could reach a higher solid content (more than 56%). This indicated that solid content is related to particle size distribution in high solid content waterborne polyurethane. Moreover, the corresponding three-dimensional stacked models (simple cubic accumulation, face-centered cubic accumulation, cubic close packing and hexagonal closest packing) were established

Identification of miRNAs and Target Genes at Key Stages of Sexual Differentiation in Androdioecious <i>Osmanthus fragrans</i>

Androdioecy is the crucial transition state in the evolutionary direction of hermaphroditism to dioecy, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of this sex system remain unclear. While popular in China for its ornamental and cultural value, Osmanthus fragrans has an extremely rare androdioecy breeding system, meaning that there are both male and hermaphroditic plants in a population. To unravel the mechanisms underlying the formation of androdioecy, we performed small RNA sequencing studies on male and hermaphroditic O. fragrans. A total of 334 miRNAs were identified, of which 59 were differentially expressed. Functional categorization revealed that the target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly involved in the biological processes of reproductive development and the hormone signal transduction pathway. We speculated that the miRNA160, miRNA167, miRNA393 and miRNA396 families may influence the sex differentiation in O. fragrans. Overall, our study is the first exploration of miRNAs in the growth and development process of O. fragrans, and is also the first study of androdioecious plants from the miRNA sequencing perspective. The analysis of miRNAs and target genes that may be involved in the sex differentiation process lay a foundation for the ultimate discovery of the androdioecious molecular mechanism in O. fragrans

Deciphering Differences in Microbial Community Diversity between Clubroot-Diseased and Healthy Soils

Clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) is an important soilborne disease that causes severe damage to cruciferous crops in China. This study aims to compare the differences in chemical properties and microbiomes between healthy and clubroot-diseased soils. To reveal the difference, we measured soil chemical properties and microbial communities by sequencing 18S and 16S rRNA amplicons. The available potassium in the diseased soils was higher than in the healthy soils. The fungal diversity in the healthy soils was significantly higher than in the diseased soils. Ascomycota and Proteobacteria were the most dominant fungal phylum and bacteria phylum in all soil samples, respectively. Plant-beneficial microorganisms, such as Chaetomium and Sphingomonas, were more abundant in the healthy soils than in the diseased soils. Co-occurrence network analysis found that the healthy soil networks were more complex and stable than the diseased soils. The link number, network density, and clustering coefficient of the healthy soil networks were higher than those of the diseased soil networks. Our results indicate that the microbial community diversity and network structure of the clubroot-diseased soils were different from those of the healthy soils. This study is of great significance in exploring the biological control strategies of clubroot disease

Dehydrocostus Lactone Suppresses LPS-induced Acute Lung Injury and Macrophage Activation through NF-κB Signaling Pathway Mediated by p38 MAPK and Akt

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe clinical disease marked by dysregulated inflammation response and has a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Macrophages, which play diverse roles in the inflammatory response, are becoming therapeutic targets in ALI. In this study we investigated the effects of dehydrocostus lactone (DHL), a natural sesquiterpene, on macrophage activation and LPS-induced ALI. The macrophage cell line RAW264.7 and primary lung macrophages were incubated with DHL (0, 3, 5, 10 and 30 &#956;mol/L) for 0.5 h and then challenged with LPS (100 ng/mL) for up to 8 hours. C57BL/6 mice were intratracheally injected with LPS (5 mg/kg) to induce acute lung injury (ALI) and then treated with a range of DHL doses intraperitoneally (5 to 20 mg/kg). The results showed that DHL inhibited LPS-induced production of proinflammatory mediators such as iNOS, NO, and cytokines including TNF-&#945;, IL-6, IL-1&#946;, and IL-12 p35 by suppressing the activity of NF-&#954;B via p38 MAPK/MK2 and Akt signaling pathway in macrophages. The in vivo results revealed that DHL significantly attenuated LPS-induced pathological injury and reduced cytokines expression in the lung. NF-&#954;B, p38 MAPK/MK2 and Akt signaling molecules were also involved in the anti-inflammatory effect. Collectively, our findings suggested that DHL is a promising agent for alleviating LPS-induced ALI

Passive Deicing CFRP Surfaces Enabled by Super-Hydrophobic Multi-Scale Micro-Nano Structures Fabricated via Femtosecond Laser Direct Writing

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is the main material of aircraft skin. Preparing superhydrophobic anti-icing/deicing surface on the CFRP is of great importance for aircraft flight safety. In this work, a variety of multi-scale micro-nano structures were imprinted on CFRP by femtosecond laser processing, and a transition from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic CFRP was realized. After being optimized by different geometries and laser conditions, the water contact angle, which is tested at 24.3 °C and 34% humidity, increased from 88 ± 2° (pristine) to 149 ± 3° (100 μm groove) and 153 ± 3° (80 μm grid). A further anti-icing test at −10 °C (measured on the cooling platform) and 28% humidity showed that the freezing time was increased from 78 ± 10 s (pristine) to 282 ± 25 s (80 μm grid). Most importantly, the tensile tests showed that the femtosecond laser processing method did not deteriorate the mechanical properties of CFRP. This work provides great significance for aircraft passive deicing technology

Data_Sheet_1_The occurrence of clubroot in cruciferous crops correlates with the chemical and microbial characteristics of soils.docx

Clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a serious soil-borne disease in Brassica crops worldwide. It seriously occurs in conducive soils of southern China, while never happens in some areas of northern China with suppressive soils. To understanding the differences, we measured the soil suppressiveness, chemical properties, and microbial communities in suppressive and conducive soils by bioassay and sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA amplicons. The biological basis of clubroot suppressiveness was supported by the ability to remove it by pasteurization. The pH value and calcium content in the suppressive soils were higher than those in the conducive soils. Suppressive soils were associated with higher fungal diversity and bacterial abundance. The fungal phyla Chytridiomycota, Olpidiomycota, and Mucoromycota and the bacterial phyla Acidobacteriota and Gemmatimonadota were enriched in suppressive soils. More abundant beneficial microbes, including Chaetomium and Lysobacter, were found in the suppressive soils than in the conducive soils. Molecular ecological network analysis revealed that the fungal network of suppressive soils was more complex than that of conducive soils. Our results indicate that plant health is closely related to soil physicochemical and biological properties. This study is of great significance for developing strategies for clubtroot disease prevention and control.</p