DPAL-BERT:A Faster and Lighter Question Answering Model

Recent advancements in natural language processing have given rise to numerous pre-training language models in question-answering systems.However,with the constant evolution of algorithms,data,and computing power,the increasing size and complexity of these models have led to increased training costs and reduced efficiency.This study aims to minimize the inference time of such models while maintaining computational performance.It also proposes a novel Distillation model for PAL-BERT(DPAL-BERT),specifically,employs knowledge distillation,using the PAL-BERT model as the teacher model to train two student models:DPAL-BERT-Bi and DPAL-BERTC.This research enhances the dataset through techniques such as masking,replacement,and n-gram sampling to optimize knowledge transfer.The experimental results showed that the distilled models greatly outperform models trained from scratch.In addition,although the distilled models exhibit a slight decrease in performance compared to PAL-BERT,they significantly reduce inference time to just 0.25%of the original.This demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach in balancing model performance and efficiency.

AFBNet: A Lightweight Adaptive Feature Fusion Module for Super-Resolution Algorithms

At present,super-resolution algorithms are employed to tackle the challenge of low image resolution,but it is difficult to extract differentiated feature details based on various inputs,resulting in poor generalization ability.Given this situation,this study first analyzes the features of some feature extraction modules of the current super-resolution algorithm and then proposes an adaptive feature fusion block(AFB)for feature extraction.This module mainly comprises dynamic convolution,attention mechanism,and pixel-based gating mechanism.Combined with dynamic convolution with scale information,the network can extract more differentiated feature information.The introduction of a channel spatial attention mechanism combined with multi-feature fusion further enables the network to retain more important feature information.Dynamic convolution and pixel-based gating mechanisms enhance the module’s adaptability.Finally,a comparative experiment of a super-resolution algorithm based on the AFB module is designed to substantiate the efficiency of the AFB module.The results revealed that the network combined with the AFB module has stronger generalization ability and expression ability.

Policy Iteration for Optimal Control of Discrete-Time Time-Varying Nonlinear Systems

Aimed at infinite horizon optimal control problems of discrete time-varying nonlinear systems,in this paper,a new iterative adaptive dynamic programming algorithm,which is the discrete-time time-varying policy iteration(DTTV)algorithm,is developed.The iterative control law is designed to update the iterative value function which approximates the index function of optimal performance.The admissibility of the iterative control law is analyzed.The results show that the iterative value function is non-increasingly convergent to the Bellman-equation optimal solution.To implement the algorithm,neural networks are employed and a new implementation structure is established,which avoids solving the generalized Bellman equation in each iteration.Finally,the optimal control laws for torsional pendulum and inverted pendulum systems are obtained by using the DTTV policy iteration algorithm,where the mass and pendulum bar length are permitted to be time-varying parameters.The effectiveness of the developed method is illustrated by numerical results and comparisons.

Early life history traits of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus in the Oyashio water revealed by otolith microstructure

Information on survival and growth during the early life stage is essential to understand the mechanism of interannual variations in fish recruitment.Chub mackerel Scomber japonicus is a commercially important pelagic fish widely distributed in the northwestern Pacific.Its catch showed large fluctuations with changes in distribution and migration under climate change and strong fishing.We determined the hatch dates and growth rates of young-of-the-year of chub mackerel through otolith microstructure using samples collected in the Oyashio water in autumn 2018.Results show that the ages of young chub mackerel ranged between 120 and 180 d,and the estimated hatch date lasted from midJanuary to late May with a peak from mid-March to mid-April.Average otolith daily increment width during the early life stages(from hatching to 25 d)showed an increasing trend.Chub mackerel grows slowly in the first 10 d,and then grows faster during the 10thto 25thd.Three groups with dissimilar growth histories and migration routes were identified using unsupervised random forest clustering analysis,but all eventually converge on the same nursery ground.The faster growth of young-of-the-year chub mackerel leads to better recruitment due to the hypothesis of growth-dependent mortality.Most chub mackerels hatched in March and April,the spawning period is longer and earlier,which could lead to strong year classes.These findings on population composition and life history traits of young-of-the-year of chub mackerel provide valuable information on its recruitment processes during the period of stock recovery.

Screening biomarkers for spinal cord injury using weighted gene co-expression network analysis and machine learning

Immune changes and inflammatory responses have been identified as central events in the pathological process of spinal co rd injury.They can greatly affect nerve regeneration and functional recovery.However,there is still limited understanding of the peripheral immune inflammato ry response in spinal cord inju ry.In this study.we obtained microRNA expression profiles from the peripheral blood of patients with spinal co rd injury using high-throughput sequencing.We also obtained the mRNA expression profile of spinal cord injury patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database(GSE151371).We identified 54 differentially expressed microRNAs and 1656 diffe rentially expressed genes using bioinformatics approaches.Functional enrichment analysis revealed that various common immune and inflammation-related signaling pathways,such as neutrophil extracellular trap formation pathway,T cell receptor signaling pathway,and nuclear factor-κB signal pathway,we re abnormally activated or inhibited in spinal cord inju ry patient samples.We applied an integrated strategy that combines weighted gene co-expression network analysis,LASSO logistic regression,and SVM-RFE algorithm and identified three biomarke rs associated with spinal cord injury:ANO10,BST1,and ZFP36L2.We verified the expression levels and diagnostic perfo rmance of these three genes in the original training dataset and clinical samples through the receiver operating characteristic curve.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that ANO20 and BST1 mRNA levels were increased and ZFP36L2 mRNA was decreased in the peripheral blood of spinal cord injury patients.We also constructed a small RNA-mRNA interaction network using Cytoscape.Additionally,we evaluated the proportion of 22 types of immune cells in the peripheral blood of spinal co rd injury patients using the CIBERSORT tool.The proportions of naive B cells,plasma cells,monocytes,and neutrophils were increased while the proportions of memory B cells,CD8^(+)T cells,resting natural killer cells,resting dendritic cells,and eosinophils were markedly decreased in spinal cord injury patients increased compared with healthy subjects,and ANO10,BST1 and ZFP26L2we re closely related to the proportion of certain immune cell types.The findings from this study provide new directions for the development of treatment strategies related to immune inflammation in spinal co rd inju ry and suggest that ANO10,BST2,and ZFP36L2 are potential biomarkers for spinal cord injury.The study was registe red in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(registration No.ChiCTR2200066985,December 12,2022).

Convolution-Transformer for Image Feature Extraction

This study addresses the limitations of Transformer models in image feature extraction,particularly their lack of inductive bias for visual structures.Compared to Convolutional Neural Networks(CNNs),the Transformers are more sensitive to different hyperparameters of optimizers,which leads to a lack of stability and slow convergence.To tackle these challenges,we propose the Convolution-based Efficient Transformer Image Feature Extraction Network(CEFormer)as an enhancement of the Transformer architecture.Our model incorporates E-Attention,depthwise separable convolution,and dilated convolution to introduce crucial inductive biases,such as translation invariance,locality,and scale invariance,into the Transformer framework.Additionally,we implement a lightweight convolution module to process the input images,resulting in faster convergence and improved stability.This results in an efficient convolution combined Transformer image feature extraction network.Experimental results on the ImageNet1k Top-1 dataset demonstrate that the proposed network achieves better accuracy while maintaining high computational speed.It achieves up to 85.0%accuracy across various model sizes on image classification,outperforming various baseline models.When integrated into the Mask Region-ConvolutionalNeuralNetwork(R-CNN)framework as a backbone network,CEFormer outperforms other models and achieves the highest mean Average Precision(mAP)scores.This research presents a significant advancement in Transformer-based image feature extraction,balancing performance and computational efficiency.

Research on the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance Based on Grey Correlation Analysis: Taking the Smartphone Company as an Example

In order to explore the relationship between the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance in different CSR cultures, this paper respectively takes four representative smartphone companies in China, the United States, Japan and Korea as research objects, that is Huawei, Apple, Sony and Samsung smartphone companies. Then, dividing the CSR into five dimensions i.e. shareholder, customer, supplier, technology innovation and government and establishing the grey correlation model to empirically analyze the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The results indicate that for HUAWEI, the CSR performance in shareholder, customer and technology innovation have greater impact on its financial performance;for Apple, the CSR performance in shareholder, technology innovation and customer has greater impact on its financial performance;for SONY, the CSR performance in technology innovation, customer and shareholder has greater impact on its financial performance;for Samsung, the CSR performance in technology innovation, government and shareholder has greater impact on its financial performance.

A Historical Narrative of Study of Fiber Grating Solitons

A brief historical narrative of the study of grating solitons in fiber Bragg grating is presented from the late 1970’s up to now. The formation of photogeneration gratings in optical fiber by sustained exposure of the core to the interference pattern produced by oppositely propagating modes of argon-ion laser radiation was first reported in 1978. One important nonlinear application of fiber Bragg grating is grating solitons, including gap soliton and Bragg soliton. This paper summarily introduces the numerous theoretical and experimental results on this field, each indicating the potential these solitons have in all-optical switching, pulse compression, limiting, and logic operations, and especially important for the optical communication systems.

Effect of nitrile butadiene rubber hardness on the sealing characteristics of hydraulic O-ring rod seals

The nitrile butadiene rubber(NBR)hardness effect on the sealing characteristics of hydraulic O-ring rod seals is analyzed based on a mixed lubrication elastohydrodynamic model.Parameterized studies are conducted to reveal the mechanism of the influence of rubber hardness on the static and dynamic behavior of seals.The optimized selections of rubber hardness are then investigated under different conditions.Results show that the low hardness seal is prone to stress concentration due to the extrusion effect under high pressure conditions;it is also more prone to leaking.A high hardness seal can better prevent leakage by reducing film thickness but it will cause large frictional power loss and increase the probability of wear failure.The choice of low hardness is recommended to reduce friction with the premise that leakage requirements are met.

右旋聚乳酸-己内酯无规共聚物对左旋聚乳酸/聚己内酯共混物的结构调控和性能

采用熔融共混法制备左旋聚乳酸(PLLA)、聚己内酯(PCL)和右旋乳酸-己内酯无规共聚物(PDLA-r-PCL)的共混物。通过差示扫描量热仪、扫描电子显微镜、X射线衍射和拉伸测试等手段探究了相容剂PDLA-r-PCL对PLLA/PCL共混物结构和性能的影响。结果表明,随着PDLA-r-PCL含量的增加,共混物中立构晶(SC)含量增加;降温过程中,α晶结晶温度由93℃提高至108℃,表明SC晶对共混体系中α晶有异相成核作用。无规共聚物PDLA-r-PCL的加入,显著改善了PLLA与PCL的相容性,且随着无规共聚物含量增加,共混物中PCL的相尺寸减小,界面模糊;与PLLA/PCL相比,淬冷和退火处理PLLA/PCL/PDLA-r-PCL共混物的断裂伸长率提高,且强度也略微提升;并且PDLA-r-PCL可有效提高退火的PLLA/PCL样品的冲击强度。

PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA嵌段共聚物的链结构对聚左旋乳酸性能的影响

采用不同聚右旋乳酸(PDLA)分子量的PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA嵌段共聚物改性聚左旋乳酸(PLLA),系统探究不同链结构的PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA嵌段共聚物对PLLA的热行为、结晶行为和拉伸性能的影响。结果表明,在降温过程中,PDLA_(1k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(1k)嵌段共聚物对PLLA均聚物晶体(α晶)的结晶温度影响较小,PDLA_(5k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(5k)嵌段共聚物使α晶的结晶温度从纯PLLA的96℃提高至130℃。130℃等温结晶结果显示,嵌段共聚物的加入均能降低α晶的结晶时间和球晶尺寸,PDLA_(5k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(5k)共聚物对PLLA中α晶形成的促进作用明显优于PDLA_(1k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(1k)共聚物。在室温下拉伸,随着PDLA_(1k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(1k)含量提高,共混物由脆性向韧性断裂转变;而在实验比例范围内,PLLA/PDLA_(5k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(5k)共混物均呈现脆性断裂,这与PLLA/PDLA_(5k)-PEG_(2k)-PDLA_(5k)共混物中含有较多立构晶相关。

Recent Advances on Early-Stage Fire-Warning Systems: Mechanism, Performance, and Perspective

Early-stage fire-warning systems(EFWSs)have attracted significant attention owing to their superiority in detecting fire situations occurring in the pre-combustion process.Substantial progress on EFWSs has been achieved recently,and they have presented a considerable possibility for more evacuation time to control constant unintentional fire hazards in our daily life.This review mainly makes a comprehensive summary of the current EFWSs,including the working mechanisms and their performance.According to the different working mechanisms,fire alarms can be classified into graphene oxide-based fire alarms,semiconductor-based fire alarms,thermoelectric-based fire alarms,and fire alarms on other working mechanisms.Finally,the challenge and prospect for EFWSs are briefly provided by comparing the art of state of fire alarms.This work can propose a more comprehensive understanding of EFWSs and a guideline for the cutting-edge development direction of EFWSs for readers.

Study of hearing screening for rural school children

Objective： To develop an appropriate mass screening system to evaluate hearing loss for primary school children, especially in rural areas. Methods： In Jiangsu Province, at a rural primary school-Longdu Primary School, 317 of 479 rural students （from Grade 1 to Grade 6, over 50 students for each grade） were screened by, using the Chinese Hearing Questionnaire for School Children（CHQS）. Two weeks later, they accepted transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions （TEOAEs） test. At the same time, all participants were given a ＇gold standard＇ audiological assessment that comprised of otoscopy, pure tone, and tympanometry. After eight weeks, 103 out of the 317 students accepted the second TEOAEs and ＇gold standard＇ test to confirm the results. Results： There was no statistical difference in the results of two ＇gold standard＇ test （χ^2 = 0.14, 0.5 〈 P 〈 0.75）. Compared with the ＇gold standard＇ results, the hit rate, sensitivity, specificity of the CHQS was 57%±2.78%, 61% ± 10.18%, 57% ± 2.89% respectively（α= 0.43, β = 0.39）. Youden Index J, LR＋, LR-, PV＋ and PV- was 0.18 ± 0.11, 1.42, 0.68, 0.10, 0.95 （Az 〈 0.54, EF = 0.75-0.95）. While a higher system accuracy was obtained by TEOAEs [HR = 97 ± 0.71%, Sen = 69± 7.8%, Spe = 98 ± 0.52%（α= 0.02,β= 0.31）, Youden Index J = 0.67±0.08, LR＋ = 34.5, LR- = 0.32, PV＋ = 0.71, PV- = 0.99 （Az = 0.85, EF = 0.97）]. Conclusion： TEOAEs got a high efficiency and specificity values with reasonable sensitivity. However, CHQS needs substantial modifications to improve its sensitivity in evaluating heating loss.

An Improvement of Grey Integrated Clustering Method

In the grey clustering assessment, the grey integrated clustering method can solve the problem that there are not distinguished differences of grey clustering coefficient. This paper proposes an improved grey integrated clustering method based on the existing problem that there are some deficiencies in the division of the value scope of the integrated cluster coefficients, and proves the effectiveness of the improved method through the empirical analysis.

Super-enhancer-associated TTC8 alters the nucleocytoplasmic distribution of PHOX2B and activates MAPK signaling in neuroblastoma

Super-enhancers are regions of the mammalian genome comprising multiple enhancers in close proximity and often enriched at cancer genes.^(1)Recent studies suggest the emerging roles of super-enhancer-associated genes in un-derlying the cell identity of neuroblastoma(NB)2 which rises from neural crest-derived cells and is one of the most common malignant solid tumors in children.

Numerical Analysis on the Static Performance of Gas Journal Bearing by Using Finite Element Method

In this paper,finite element method is used to calculate the static performance of gas journal bearing,in which rotation speed term is introduced into the stiffness matrix of linear triangular element to realize the performance calculation of the bearing with rotation speed.The results indicate that the average gas film thicknesses corresponding to the maximum load capac-ity and stiffness,and the minimum attitude angle increase with the growth of orifice diameter.Load capacity and stiffness significantly improved with the increase of rotation speed,eccentricity ratio and supply pressure when the bearing has thin average gas film thickness.Attitude angle increases with the growth of rotation speed,while the growth rate slows down or even decreases at high speed.The most effective way of reducing attitude angle is to increase supply pressure.It can be found that rotation speed affects attitude angle through changing gas pressure difference between two orifices,while other parameters have the same effect by changing gas pressure at orifice outlet.

Lactate metabolism in human health and disease

The current understanding of lactate extends from its origins as a byproduct of glycolysis to its role in tumor metabolism,as identified by studies on the Warburg effect.The lactate shuttle hypothesis suggests that lactate plays an important role as a bridging signaling molecule that coordinates signaling among different cells,organs and tissues.Lactylation is a posttranslational modification initially reported by Professor Yingming Zhao’s research group in 2019.Subsequent studies confirmed that lactylation is a vital component of lactate function and is involved in tumor proliferation,neural excitation,inflammation and other biological processes.An indispensable substance for various physiological cellular functions,lactate plays a regulatory role in different aspects of energy metabolism and signal transduction.Therefore,a comprehensive review and summary of lactate is presented to clarify the role of lactate in disease and to provide a reference and direction for future research.This review offers a systematic overview of lactate homeostasis and its roles in physiological and pathological processes,as well as a comprehensive overview of the effects of lactylation in various diseases,particularly inflammation and cancer.

Trends in the biological functions and medical applications of extracellular vesicles and analogues

Natural extracellular vesicles(EVs)play important roles in many life processes such as in the intermolecular transfer of substances and genetic information exchanges.Investigating the origins and working mechanisms of natural EVs may provide an understanding of life activities,especially regarding the occurrence and development of diseases.Additionally,due to their vesicular structure,EVs(in small molecules,nucleic acids,proteins,etc.)could act as efficient drug-delivery carriers.Herein,we describe the sources and biological functions of various EVs,summarize the roles of EVs in disease diagnosis and treatment,and review the application of EVs as drug-delivery carriers.We also assess the challenges and perspectives of EVs in biomedical applications.

Rapid and accurate detection of carbapenem-resistance gene by isothermal amplification in Acinetobacter baumannii

Background:Acinetobacter baumannii(A.baumannii)is one of the pivotal pathogens responsible for nosocomial infections,especially in patients with low immune response,and infection with carbapenem-resistant A.baumannii has been increasing in recent years.Rapid and accurate detection of carbapenem-resistance genes in A.baumannii could be of immense help to clinical staff.Methods:In this study,a 15-μL reaction system for recombinase polymerase amplification(RPA)was developed and tested.We collected 30 clinical isolates of A.baumannii from the Burn Institute of Southwest Hospital of Third Military Medical University(Army Medical University)for 6 months and tested antibiotic susceptibility using the VITEK 2 system.A.baumannii was detected based on the blaOXA-51 gene by PCR,qPCR and 15μL-RPA,respectively.Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated.In addition,PCR and 15μL-RPA data for detecting the carbapenem-resistance gene blaOXA-23 were comparatively assessed.Results:The detection limit of the blaOXA-51 gene by 15μL RPA was 2.86 CFU/ml,with sensitivity comparable to PCR and qPCR.No positive amplification signals were detected in non-Acinetobacter isolates,indicating high specificity.However,only 18 minutes were needed for the 15μL RPA assay.Furthermore,an antibiotic susceptibility test showed that up to 90%of A.baumannii strains were resistant to meropenem and imipenem;15μL RPA data for detecting blaOXA-23 showed that only 10%(n=3)of A.baumannii isolates did not show positive amplification signals,and the other 90%of(n=27)isolates were positive,corroborating PCR results.Conclusion:We demonstrated that the new 15μL RPA assay for detecting blaOXA-23 in A.baumannii is faster and simpler than qPCR and PCR.It is a promising alternative molecular diagnostic tool for rapid and effective detection of A.baumannii and drug-resistance genes in the field and point-ofcare testing.

Geographical Analysis of Community Resilience to Seismic Hazard in Southwest China

This article presents an explorative analysis of community resilience to seismic hazard in the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake area of Southwest China. We used a regression model to analyze the impact of 13 key socioeconomic and demographic variables on community resilience in 105 counties, based on data derived from population census and provincial statistical yearbooks of China. In this research, we argue that community resilience should be measured by the change of population growth rate(Ddp) instead of population growth rate(dp) when using socioeconomic data from a fast-growing country such as China. Using Ddp as the dependent variable resulted in a better regression model. To avoid the common multicollinearity problems among the independent variables, a principal component-based factor analysis was used to consolidate the socioeconomic variables into four comprehensive factors. The geographically weighted regression coefficient maps revealed the spatial pattern of the association of the variables with resilience. We also used the K-means cluster method to segment the study area into four subregions that exhibit localized characteristics defined by the regression coefficients. In this way, we could infer location-sensitive disaster management policies that help to enhance social resilience to seismic hazards.