Meta-Adapter: An Online Few-shot Learner for Vision-Language Model

The contrastive vision-language pre-training, known as CLIP, demonstrates remarkable potential in perceiving open-world visual concepts, enabling effective zero-shot image recognition. Nevertheless, few-shot learning methods based on CLIP typically require offline fine-tuning of the parameters on few-shot samples, resulting in longer inference time and the risk of over-fitting in certain domains. To tackle these challenges, we propose the Meta-Adapter, a lightweight residual-style adapter, to refine the CLIP features guided by the few-shot samples in an online manner. With a few training samples, our method can enable effective few-shot learning capabilities and generalize to unseen data or tasks without additional fine-tuning, achieving competitive performance and high efficiency. Without bells and whistles, our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art online few-shot learning method by an average of 3.6\% on eight image classification datasets with higher inference speed. Furthermore, our model is simple and flexible, serving as a plug-and-play module directly applicable to downstream tasks. Without further fine-tuning, Meta-Adapter obtains notable performance improvements in open-vocabulary object detection and segmentation tasks.Comment: Accepted by NeurIPS 202

A star-based method for precise flux calibration of the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) slitless spectroscopic survey

The upcoming Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) slitless spectroscopic survey poses a challenge of flux calibration, which requires a large number of flux-standard stars. In this work, we design an uncertainty-aware residual attention network, the UaRA-net, to derive the CSST SEDs with a resolution of R = 200 over the wavelength range of 2500-10000 \AA using LAMOST normalized spectra with a resolution of R = 2000 over the wavelength range of 4000-7000 \AA. With the special structure and training strategy, the proposed model can not only provide accurate predictions of SEDs but also their corresponding errors. The precision of the predicted SEDs depends on effective temperature (Teff), wavelength, and the LAMOST spectral signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), particularly in the GU band. For stars with Teff = 6000 K, the typical SED precisions in the GU band are 4.2%, 2.1%, and 1.5% at SNR values of 20, 40, and 80, respectively. As Teff increases to 8000 K, the precision increases to 1.2%, 0.6%, and 0.5%, respectively. The precision is higher at redder wavelengths. In the GI band, the typical SED precisions for stars with Teff = 6000 K increase to 0.3%, 0.1%, and 0.1% at SNR values of 20, 40, and 80, respectively. We further verify our model using the empirical spectra of the MILES and find good performance. The proposed method will open up new possibilities for optimal utilization of slitless spectra of the CSST and other surveys.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, accepted by ApJ

Photometric calibration of the Stellar Abundance and Galactic Evolution Survey (SAGES): Nanshan One-meter Wide-field Telescope g, r, and i band imaging data

In this paper, a total of approximately 2.6 million dwarfs were constructed as standard stars, with an accuracy of about 0.01-0.02 mag for each band, by combining spectroscopic data from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope Data Release 7, photometric data from the corrected Gaia Early Data Release 3, and photometric metallicities. Using the spectroscopy based stellar color regression method (SCR method) and the photometric-based SCR method (SCR' method), we performed the relative calibration of the Nanshan One-meter Wide-field Telescope imaging data. Based on the corrected Pan-STARRS DR1 photometry, the absolute calibration was also performed. In the photometric calibration process, we analyzed the dependence of the calibration zero points on different images (observation time), different gates of the CCD detector, and different CCD positions. We found that the stellar flat and the relative gain between different gates depend on time. The amplitude of gain variation in three channels is approximately 0.5%-0.7% relative to the other channel, with a maximum value of 4%. In addition, significant spatial variations of the stellar flat fitting residual are found and corrected. Using repeated sources in the adjacent images, we checked and discovered internal consistency of about 1-2 mmag in all the filters. Using the PS1 magnitudes synthesized by Gaia DR3 BP/RP spectra by the synthetic photometry method, we found that the photometric calibration uniformity is about 1-2 mmag for all the bands, at a spatial resolution of 1.3 degree. A detailed comparison between the spectroscopy-based SCR and photometric-based SCR method magnitude offsets was performed, and we achieved an internal consistency precision of about 2 mmag or better with resolutions of 1.3 degree for all the filters. Which is mainly from the position-dependent errors of the E(B-V) used in SCR' method.Comment: 15 pages in Chinese language, 8 figures, Chinese Science Bulletin accepted and published online (https://www.sciengine.com/CSB/doi/10.1360/TB-2023-0052), see main results in Figures 6, 7 and

Genome-Wide Identification, Primary Functional Characterization of the <i>NHX</i> Gene Family in <i>Canavalia rosea,</i> and Their Possible Roles for Adaptation to Tropical Coral Reefs

Canavalia rosea, distributed in the coastal areas of tropical and subtropical regions, is an extremophile halophyte with good adaptability to high salinity/alkaline and drought tolerance. Plant sodium/hydrogen (Na+/H+) exchanger (NHX) genes encode membrane transporters involved in sodium ion (Na+), potassium ion (K+), and lithium ion (Li+) transport and pH homeostasis, thereby playing key roles in salinity tolerance. However, the NHX family has not been reported in this leguminous halophyte. In the present study, a genome-wide comprehensive analysis was conducted and finally eight CrNHXs were identified in C. rosea genome. Based on the bioinformatics analysis about the chromosomal location, protein domain, motif organization, and phylogenetic relationships of CrNHXs and their coding proteins, as well as the comparison with plant NHXs from other species, the CrNHXs were grouped into three major subfamilies (Vac-, Endo-, and PM-NHX). Promoter analyses of cis-regulatory elements indicated that the expression of different CrNHXs was affected by a series of stress challenges. Six CrNHXs showed high expression levels in five tested tissues of C. rosea in different levels, while CrNHX1 and CrNHX3 were expressed at extremely low levels, indicating that CrNHXs might be involved in regulating the development of C. rosea plant. The expression analysis based on RNA-seq showed that the transcripts of most CrNHXs were obviously decreased in mature leaves of C. rosea plant growing on tropical coral reefs, which suggested their involvement in this species’ adaptation to reefs and specialized islands habitats. Furthermore, in the single-factor stress treatments mimicking the extreme environments of tropical coral reefs, the RNA-seq data also implied CrNHXs holding possible gene-specific regulatory roles in the environmental adaptation. The qRT-PCR based expression profiling exhibited that CrNHXs responded to different stresses to varying degrees, which further confirmed the specificity of CrNHXs’ in responding to abiotic stresses. Moreover, the yeast functional complementation test proved that some CrNHXs could partially restore the salt tolerance of the salt-sensitive yeast mutant AXT3. This study provides comprehensive bio-information and primary functional identification of NHXs in C. rosea, which could help improve the salt/alkaline tolerance of genetically modified plants for further studies. This research also contributes to our understanding of the possible molecular mechanism whereby NHXs maintain the ion balance in the natural ecological adaptability of C. rosea to tropical coral islands and reefs

Ectopic Expression of <i>CrPIP2;3</i>, a Plasma Membrane Intrinsic Protein Gene from the Halophyte <i>Canavalia rosea</i>, Enhances Drought and Salt-Alkali Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis

Aquaporins are channel proteins that facilitate the transmembrane transport of water and other small neutral molecules, thereby playing vital roles in maintaining water and nutrition homeostasis in the life activities of all organisms. Canavalia rosea, a seashore and mangrove-accompanied halophyte with strong adaptability to adversity in tropical and subtropical regions, is a good model for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying extreme saline-alkaline and drought stress tolerance in leguminous plants. In this study, a PIP2 gene (CrPIP2;3) was cloned from C. rosea, and its expression patterns and physiological roles in yeast and Arabidopsis thaliana heterologous expression systems under high salt-alkali and high osmotic stress conditions were examined. The expression of CrPIP2;3 at the transcriptional level in C. rosea was affected by high salinity and alkali, high osmotic stress, and abscisic acid treatment. In yeast, the expression of CrPIP2;3 enhanced salt/osmotic and oxidative sensitivity under high salt/osmotic and H2O2 stress. The overexpression of CrPIP2;3 in A. thaliana could enhance the survival and recovery of transgenic plants under drought stress, and the seed germination and seedling growth of the CrPIP2;3 OX (over-expression) lines showed slightly stronger tolerance to high salt/alkali than the wild-type. The transgenic plants also showed a higher response level to high-salinity and dehydration than the wild-type, mostly based on the up-regulated expression of salt/dehydration marker genes in A. thaliana plants. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) staining results indicated that the transgenic lines did not possess stronger ROS scavenging ability and stress tolerance than the wild-type under multiple stresses. The results confirmed that CrPIP2;3 is involved in the response of C. rosea to salt and drought, and primarily acts by mediating water homeostasis rather than by acting as an ROS transporter, thereby influencing physiological processes under various abiotic stresses in plants

Genome-Wide Identification, Structure Characterization, Expression Pattern Profiling, and Substrate Specificity of the Metal Tolerance Protein Family in Canavalia rosea (Sw.) DC

Plant metal tolerance proteins (MTPs) play key roles in heavy metal absorption and homeostasis in plants. By using genome-wide and phylogenetic approaches, the origin and diversification of MTPs from Canavalia rosea (Sw.) DC. was explored. Canavalia rosea (bay bean) is an extremophile halophyte with strong adaptability to seawater and drought and thereby shows specific metal tolerance with a potential phytoremediation ability. However, MTP genes in leguminous plants remain poorly understood. In our study, a total of 12 MTP genes were identified in C. rosea. Multiple sequence alignments showed that all CrMTP proteins possessed the conserved transmembrane domains (TM1 to TM6) and could be classified into three subfamilies: Zn-CDFs (five members), Fe/Zn-CDFs (five members), and Mn-CDFs (two members). Promoter cis-acting element analyses revealed that a distinct number and composition of heavy metal regulated elements and other stress-responsive elements existed in different promoter regions of CrMTPs. Analysis of transcriptome data revealed organ-specific expression of CrMTP genes and the involvement of this family in heavy metal stress responses and adaptation of C. rosea to extreme coral reef environments. Furthermore, the metal-specific activity of several functionally unknown CrMTPs was investigated in yeast. These results will contribute to uncovering the potential functions and molecular mechanisms of heavy metal absorption, translocation, and accumulation in C. rosea plants

Genome-Wide Analysis of the Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) and Abscisic Acid-, Stress-, and Ripening-Induced (ASR) Gene Superfamily from Canavalia rosea and Their Roles in Salinity/Alkaline and Drought Tolerance

Canavalia rosea (bay bean), distributing in coastal areas or islands in tropical and subtropical regions, is an extremophile halophyte with good adaptability to seawater and drought. Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins typically accumulate in response to various abiotic stresses, including dehydration, salinity, high temperature, and cold, or during the late stage of seed development. Abscisic acid-, stress-, and ripening-induced (ASR) genes are stress and developmentally regulated plant-specific genes. In this study, we reported the first comprehensive survey of the LEA and ASR gene superfamily in C. rosea. A total of 84 CrLEAs and three CrASRs were identified in C. rosea and classified into nine groups. All CrLEAs and CrASRs harbored the conserved motif for their family proteins. Our results revealed that the CrLEA genes were widely distributed in different chromosomes, and all of the CrLEA/CrASR genes showed wide expression features in different tissues in C. rosea plants. Additionally, we introduced 10 genes from different groups into yeast to assess the functions of the CrLEAs/CrASRs. These results contribute to our understanding of LEA/ASR genes from halophytes and provide robust candidate genes for functional investigations in plant species adapted to extreme environments

A Star-based Method for the Precise Flux Calibration of the Chinese Space Station Telescope Slitless Spectroscopic Survey

The upcoming Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) slitless spectroscopic survey poses a challenge of flux calibration, which requires a large number of flux-standard stars. In this work, we design an uncertainty-aware residual attention network, the UaRA-net, to derive the CSST spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with a resolution of R = 200 over the wavelength range of 2500–10000 Å using LAMOST normalized spectra with a resolution of R = 2000 over the wavelength range of 4000–7000 Å. With the special structure and training strategy, the proposed model provides accurate predictions not only of SEDs, but also of their corresponding errors. The precision of the predicted SEDs depends on the effective temperature ( T _eff ), wavelength, and the LAMOST spectral signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns), particularly in the GU band. For stars with T _eff = 6000 K, the typical SED precisions in the GU band are 4.2%, 2.1%, and 1.5% at S/N values of 20, 40, and 80, respectively. As T _eff increases to 8000 K, the precision increases to 1.2%, 0.6%, and 0.5%, respectively. The precision is higher at redder wavelengths. In the GI band, the typical SED precisions for stars with T _eff = 6000 K increase to 0.3%, 0.1%, and 0.1% at S/N values of 20, 40, and 80, respectively. We further verify our model using empirical MILES spectra and find a good performance. The proposed method will open up new possibilities for the optimal use of slitless spectra of the CSST and other surveys

Long-term effects of intercropping on multi-trophic structure and bio-thermodynamic health of mixed Eucalyptus-native tree plantations

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;1. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The intercropping approach of &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; and native trees has been widely recommended, as an ideal replacement for monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; plantations (EUs), to ameliorate global biodiversity loss and mitigate environmental change. However, both suitable native tree species and the best intercropping ratio between &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; and native trees have not been determined. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;2. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To fill this gap, a four-level intercropping gradient of &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; planted with eight native tree species was set up (i.e., 20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), monitored and compared to a monoculture &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU) and a randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS) in southern China. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;3. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The results showed that the intercropping ratio of &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; and native trees had a long-term effect on tree layer structure and health status and a cascading effect on the thermodynamic health state of soil microbes. Shade-tolerant woody species are more suitable for intercropping with &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt;. Intercropping plantations with not less than 30% native trees were more favorable for long-term survival and growth of both planted &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; and native trees and provided much more favorable conditions for the natural immigration of other native trees, which leads to a healthy plant community with significantly higher eco-exergy compared to EU. The initial mixing ratio between &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; and high diversity native trees affected soil fertility through its long-term effects on the biodiversity and bio-thermodynamic state of trees and soil microbes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;4. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;Synthesis and applications&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; Our results highlight the long-term positive effect of the intercropping ratio of &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; and high diversity native trees on multi-trophic biodiversity conservation, bio-thermodynamic health development, and soil fertility conservation. In the conversion of monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt; plantations (EU) to multi-species plantations, it is recommended to mix more than 30% native tree species that have different ecological niches with &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: Guangzhou Municipal Finance Bureau*&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: &lt;br&gt;Award Number: 202206010058&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: National Natural Science Foundation of China&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/01h0zpd94&lt;br&gt;Award Number: 31770487&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: Chinese Academy of Sciences&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/034t30j35&lt;br&gt;Award Number: 2019340&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Change of species abundance: Species abundance (Ind/ha) of each tree species in the six types of forest plantations from 2006 (1a) to 2018 (13 a) were given in this file, based on field investigation. Detailed field investigation method is available in our paper which will be published on Journal of Applied Ecology. The average species abundance of each tree was calculated based on three replicated plots for each of the six types of forest plantations. The six forest plantations are monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;2. Tree layer: Plant biomass density (t/ha), diameter at breast height (DBH, cm), height (m), crown (cm) and mortality (%) for&lt;em&gt; E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native trees in the six types of mixed forest plantations were given in this file. Three repetitive plots were investigated for each type of forest plantation. The biomass density of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native trees was calculated by Eqn 1 and 2, respectively. Details can be checked out in the method section of our paper which will be published on Journal of Applied Ecology. The six forest plantations are monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;3. Plant community: Eco-exergy (KJ/m2), specific eco-exergy (KJ/g), biomass (t/ha), species richness, Shannon-Wiener index, evenness of three plant layers (trees, shrubs and herbs) and the plant community as a whole for the six types of forest plantations, were given in this file based on field investigation done in 2018, 13 years after planting. Three repetitive plots for each type of forest plantation, were investigated. Detailed investigation and calculation methods can be checked out in the method section of our paper which will be published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The six forest plantations are monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;4. Soil fauna: Shannon-Wiener, evenness, species richness, abundance (ind/ha), biomass (kg/ha), eco-exergy (KJ/m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;), specific eco-exergy(KJ/g) of soil fauna represented here were collected from 0–20 cm soil layer at each plot during the dry and wet seasons, respectively, in 2018, 13 years after planting. Detailed investigation and calculation methods can be checked out in the method section in our paper which will be published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The six forest plantations are monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;5. Soil microbial community: Eco-exergy (KJ/m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;), specific eco-exergy (KJ/g), and soil microbe phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs, ng/g) represented here were collected from 0-20 cm soil layer at each plot during the dry and wet seasons, respectively, in 2018, 13 years after planting. The groupings of soil microbe are actinomycetes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AFM), fungi, general bacteria (GB), gram-negative bacteria (G-), gram-positive bacteria (G+). The sum of the above two specific PLFAs was assumed to represent total fungal abundance. The ratio of fungal to bacterial PLFAs( G-, G+, GB and 15:0, 17:0 ) (F/B) was calculated as an indicator of the microbial community structure. The sum of all PLFAs mentioned above was used to represent the total PLFAs of the soil microbial community. Detailed investigation and calculation methods can be checked out in the method section of our paper which will be published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The six forest plantations are monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;6. Soil: SOC (g/kg), NO&lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;-N (mg/kg), NH&lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;-N (g/kg), AP (mg/kg), AK (mg/kg) were measured for three soil layers (0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, 40–60 cm) at each plot during the dry and wet seasons, respectively, in 2018, 13 years after planting. Detailed investigation and calculation methods can be checked out in the method section in our paper which will be published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The six forest plantations are monoculture &lt;em&gt;Eucalyptus urophylla&lt;/em&gt; plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of &lt;em&gt;E. urophylla&lt;/em&gt; and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For detailed dataset collection and processing information, please check Wang Y, Lin Y, Zhang L, Liu S, Wang J, Tian Y, Campbell DE, Lin R, Ren H, Lu H. 2023. Long-term effects of intercropping on multi-trophic structure and bio-thermodyanmic health of mixed Eucalyptus-native tree plantations. Journal of Applied Ecology (JAPPL-2023-00679).&lt;/p&gt