DataCI: A Platform for Data-Centric AI on Streaming Data

We introduce DataCI, a comprehensive open-source platform designed specifically for data-centric AI in dynamic streaming data settings. DataCI provides 1) an infrastructure with rich APIs for seamless streaming dataset management, data-centric pipeline development and evaluation on streaming scenarios, 2) an carefully designed versioning control function to track the pipeline lineage, and 3) an intuitive graphical interface for a better interactive user experience. Preliminary studies and demonstrations attest to the easy-to-use and effectiveness of DataCI, highlighting its potential to revolutionize the practice of data-centric AI in streaming data contexts.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Active-Learning-as-a-Service: An Efficient MLOps System for Data-Centric AI

The success of today's AI applications requires not only model training (Model-centric) but also data engineering (Data-centric). In data-centric AI, active learning (AL) plays a vital role, but current AL tools can not perform AL tasks efficiently. To this end, this paper presents an efficient MLOps system for AL, named ALaaS (Active-Learning-as-a-Service). Specifically, ALaaS adopts a server-client architecture to support an AL pipeline and implements stage-level parallelism for high efficiency. Meanwhile, caching and batching techniques are employed to further accelerate the AL process. In addition to efficiency, ALaaS ensures accessibility with the help of the design philosophy of configuration-as-a-service. It also abstracts an AL process to several components and provides rich APIs for advanced users to extend the system to new scenarios. Extensive experiments show that ALaaS outperforms all other baselines in terms of latency and throughput. Further ablation studies demonstrate the effectiveness of our design as well as ALaaS's ease to use. Our code is available at \url{https://github.com/MLSysOps/alaas}.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Task-Oriented Over-the-Air Computation for Multi-Device Edge AI

Departing from the classic paradigm of data-centric designs, the 6G networks for supporting edge AI features task-oriented techniques that focus on effective and efficient execution of AI task. Targeting end-to-end system performance, such techniques are sophisticated as they aim to seamlessly integrate sensing (data acquisition), communication (data transmission), and computation (data processing). Aligned with the paradigm shift, a task-oriented over-the-air computation (AirComp) scheme is proposed in this paper for multi-device split-inference system. In the considered system, local feature vectors, which are extracted from the real-time noisy sensory data on devices, are aggregated over-the-air by exploiting the waveform superposition in a multiuser channel. Then the aggregated features as received at a server are fed into an inference model with the result used for decision making or control of actuators. To design inference-oriented AirComp, the transmit precoders at edge devices and receive beamforming at edge server are jointly optimized to rein in the aggregation error and maximize the inference accuracy. The problem is made tractable by measuring the inference accuracy using a surrogate metric called discriminant gain, which measures the discernibility of two object classes in the application of object/event classification. It is discovered that the conventional AirComp beamforming design for minimizing the mean square error in generic AirComp with respect to the noiseless case may not lead to the optimal classification accuracy. The reason is due to the overlooking of the fact that feature dimensions have different sensitivity towards aggregation errors and are thus of different importance levels for classification. This issue is addressed in this work via a new task-oriented AirComp scheme designed by directly maximizing the derived discriminant gain

Effects of Litchi chinensis fruit isolates on prostaglandin E2 and nitric oxide production in J774 murine macrophage cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Litchi chinensis </it>is regarded as one of the 'heating' fruits in China, which causes serious inflammation symptoms to people.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current study, the effects of isolates of litchi on prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂) and nitric oxide (NO) production in J774 murine macrophage cells were investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The AcOEt extract (EAE) of litchi was found effective on stimulating PGE₂production, and three compounds, benzyl alcohol, hydrobenzoin and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfurolaldehyde (5-HMF), were isolated and identified from the EAE. Benzyl alcohol caused markedly increase in PGE₂and NO production, compared with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as positive control, and in a dose-dependent manner. Hydrobenzoin and 5-HMF were found in litchi for the first time, and both of them stimulated PGE₂and NO production moderately in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression and NF-κB (p50) activation might be involved in mechanism of the stimulative process.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study showed, some short molecular compounds in litchi play inflammatory effects on human.</p

Integrating Sensing, Communication, and Power Transfer: From Theory to Practice

To support the development of internet-of-things applications, an enormous population of low-power devices are expected to be incorporated in wireless networks performing sensing and communication tasks. As a key technology for improving the data collection efficiency, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) enables simultaneous data transmission and radar sensing by reusing the same radio signals. In addition to information carriers, wireless signals can also serve as energy delivers, which enables simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT). To improve the energy and spectrum efficiency, the advantages of ISAC and SWIPT are expected to be exploited, leading to the emerging technology of integrating sensing, communication, and power transfer (ISCPT). In this article, a timely overview of ISCPT is provided with the description of the fundamentals, the characterization of the theoretical boundary, the discussion on the key technologies, and the demonstration of the implementation platform.Comment: This paper has been submitted to IEEE for possible publicatio

Latilactobacillus sakei Furu2019 and stachyose as probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics alleviate constipation in mice

IntroductionSlow transit constipation (STC) is a common disorder in the digestive system. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of stachyose (ST) and Latilactobacillus sakei Furu 2019 (L. sakei) alone or combined on diphenoxylate-induced constipation and explore the underlying mechanisms using a mouse model.MethodsICR mice were randomly divided into five groups. The normal and constipation model groups were intragastrically administrated with PBS. The ST, L. sakei, and synbiotic groups were intragastrically administrated with ST (1.5 g/kg body weight), alive L. sakei (3 × 109 CFU/mouse), or ST + L. sakei (1.5 g/kg plus 3 × 109 CFU/mouse), respectively. After 21 days of intervention, all mice except the normal mice were intragastrically administrated with diphenoxylate (10 mg/kg body weight). Defecation indexes, constipation-related intestinal factors, serum neurotransmitters, hormone levels, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and intestinal microbiota were measured.ResultsOur results showed that three interventions with ST, L. sakei, and synbiotic combination (ST + L. sakei) all alleviated constipation, and synbiotic intervention was superior to ST or L. sakei alone in some defecation indicators. The RT-PCR and immunohistochemical experiment showed that all three interventions relieved constipation by affecting aquaporins (AQP4 and AQP8), interstitial cells of Cajal (SCF and c-Kit), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS). The three interventions exhibited a different ability to increase the serum excitatory neurotransmitters and hormones (5-hydroxytryptamine, substance P, motilin), and reduce the serum inhibitory neurotransmitters (vasoactive intestinal peptide, endothelin). The result of 16S rDNA sequencing of feces showed that synbiotic intervention significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Akkermansia, and regulated the gut microbes of STC mice. In conclusion, oral administration of ST or L. sakei alone or combined are all effective to relieve constipation and the symbiotic use may have a promising preventive effect on STC

Clinical evidence of acupuncture and moxibustion for irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BackgroundAcupuncture and moxibustion have been widely used in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). But the evidence that acupuncture and moxibustion for IBS reduction of symptom severity and abdominal pain, and improvement of quality of life is scarce.MethodsPubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), Wanfang Database, China Biomedical Literature Service System (SinoMed), and unpublished sources were searched from inception until June 30, 2022. The quality of RCTs was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. The strength of the evidence was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system (GRADE). Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was conducted to determine whether the participants in the included trials had reached optimal information size and whether the cumulative data was adequately powered to evaluate outcomes.ResultsA total of 31 RCTs were included. Acupuncture helped reduce the severity of symptoms more than pharmaceutical drugs (MD, −35.45; 95% CI, −48.21 to −22.68; I2 = 71%). TSA showed the cumulative Z score crossed O'Brien-Fleming alpha-spending significance boundaries. Acupuncture wasn't associated with symptom severity reduction (SMD, 0.03, 95% CI, −0.25 to 0.31, I2 = 46%), but exhibited therapeutic benefits on abdominal pain (SMD, −0.24; 95% CI, −0.48 to −0.01; I2 = 8%) compared to sham acupuncture. Moxibustion show therapeutic benefits compared to sham moxibustion on symptom severity (SMD, −3.46, 95% CI, −5.66 to −1.27, I2 = 95%) and abdominal pain (SMD, −2.74, 95% CI, −4.81 to −0.67, I2 = 96%). Acupuncture (SMD, −0.46; 95% CI, −0.68 to −0.24; I2 = 47%) and the combination of acupuncture and moxibustion (SMD, −2.00; 95% CI, −3.04 to −0.96; I2 = 90%) showed more benefit for abdominal pain compared to pharmacological medications as well as shams. Acupuncture (MD, 4.56; 95% CI, 1.46–7.67; I2 = 79%) and moxibustion (MD, 6.97; 95% CI, 5.78–8.16; I2 = 21%) were more likely to improve quality of life than pharmaceutical drugs.ConclusionAcupuncture and/or moxibustion are beneficial for symptom severity, abdominal pain and quality of life in IBS. However, in sham control trials, acupuncture hasn't exhibited robust and stable evidence, and moxibustion's results show great heterogeneity. Hence, more rigorous sham control trials of acupuncture or moxibustion are necessary.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=262118, identifier CRD42021262118

Metallothionein 2A inhibits NF-κB pathway activation and predicts clinical outcome segregated with TNM stage in gastric cancer patients following radical resection

Background: Metallothionein 2A (MT2A) as a stress protein, plays a protective role in gastric mucosal barrier. Its role in the development of gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. The mechanism of MT2A will be investigated in gastric tumorigenesis. Methods: MT2A expression was detected in 973 gastric specimens. The biological function was determined through ectopic expressing MT2A in vitro and in vivo. The possible downstream effectors of MT2A were investigated in NF-kappa B signaling. The protein levels of MT2A, I kappa B-alpha and p-I kappa B-alpha (ser32/36) expression were analyzed in a subset of 258 patients by IHC staining. The prognostic effects of MT2A, status of I kappa B-alpha and TNM stage were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Results: Decreased MT2A expression was detected in cell lines and primary tumors of GC. In clinical data, loss of MT2A (MT2A + in Normal (n = 171, 76.0%); Intestinal metaplasia (n = 118, 50.8%); GC (n = 684. 22.4%, P &lt; 0.001)) was associated with poor prognosis (P &lt; 0.001), advanced TNM stage (P = 0.05), and down-regulation of I kappa B-alpha expression (P &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, MT2A was the independent prognostic signature segregated from the status of I kappa B-alpha and pathological features. In addition, MT2A inhibited cell growth through apoptosis and G2/M arrest, which negatively regulated NF-kappa B pathway through up-regulation of I kappa B-alpha and down-regulation of p-I kappa B-alpha and cyclin D1 expression. Conclusions: MT2A might play a tumor suppressive activity through inhibiting NF-kappa B signaling and may be a prognostic biomarker and potential target for individual therapy of GC patients.Medicine, Research &amp; ExperimentalSCI(E)PubMed4ARTICLE1731

Gentle Handling Attenuates Innate Defensive Responses to Visual Threats

Innate defensive responses to threats are essential for animal survival. The complexity and variability of innate defensive behaviors can be due to individual experiences, environmental factors, and internal states. However, it is not completely understood if the gentle handling involved in sensory processing affects innate defensive responses to visual threats. Here, we report attenuation of innate defensive responses after gentle handling accompanied by de-excitation of the intermediate layer (IL) and deep layer (DL) of the superior colliculus (SC) but not of the superficial layer (SL). Our theoretical analysis of the c-Fos network revealed an increased correlation in module 1, which maybe generally functionally associated with fear emotional, a decreased correlation in module 2, which maybe generally functionally associated with sensory processing. The IL of the SC appeared to have the highest correlation with the two modules. We verified the dynamic activities of the IL of SC in response to overhead looming stimulus using fiber photometry. Retrograde labeling of 18 regions of interest (ROIs) showed that the IL received significant inputs from the cortical areas, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem. These data suggest the sensory processing involved in the modulatory roles of the SC in innate fear processing