Are transformer-based models more robust than CNN-based models?

As the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) models in real-world settings grows, their open-environment robustness becomes increasingly critical. This study aims to dissect the robustness of deep learning models, particularly comparing transformer-based models against CNN-based models. We focus on unraveling the sources of robustness from two key perspectives: structural and process robustness. Our findings suggest that transformer-based models generally outperform convolution-based models in robustness across multiple metrics. However, we contend that these metrics may not wholly represent true model robustness, such as the mean of corruption error. To better understand the underpinnings of this robustness advantage, we analyze models through the lens of Fourier transform and game interaction. From our insights, we propose a calibrated evaluation metric for robustness against real-world data, and a blur-based method to enhance robustness performance. Our approach achieves state-of-the-art results, with mCE scores of 2.1% on CIFAR-10-C, 12.4% on CIFAR-100-C, and 24.9% on TinyImageNet-C.

Dietary supplementation with garcinol during late gestation alleviates disorders of bile acid metabolism and improves the performance of sows and newborn piglets.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary garcinol supplementation during late gestation on bile acid metabolism and performance of sows. Sixty sows (Duroc × Yorkshire × Landrace; second- or third-parity; n = 20) with disorder of bile acid metabolism were randomly divided into three groups: control diet (CON; basal diet), basal diet with 200 mg garcinol (Low Gar), and basal diet with 600 mg garcinol (High Gar) per kg of feed. The body weight (BW); backfat thickness and litter size of the sows; and birth weight, weaning weight, and mortality of piglets were recorded. Sows' blood was collected for the measurements of hematological parameters and antioxidative and immune indexes, and indicators related to bile acid metabolism, respectively. The colostrum and fecal samples of the sows were also collected for analysis of colostrum composition and apparent total tract nutrient digestibility. Garcinol had no effect on the BW and backfat thickness of the sows but significantly decreased the mortality and number of weak litter (P < 0.05). Moreover, the white blood cell counts, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) activity in the plasma of the sows were increased more significantly (P < 0.05) in the garcinol groups than that in the CON group, whereas the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was decreased (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation with garcinol significantly reduced TBA concentrations (P < 0.05). The content of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the plasma and in colostrum of sows were increased more significantly (P < 0.05) in the garcinol groups than that in the CON group. In addition, dry matter (DM), Ash, and EE in the colostrum were similar between groups (P > 0.05), whereas the garcinol significantly increased the crude protein (CP) in the colostrum. The apparent total tract nutrient digestibility was similar between treatments. Garcinol treatment induced a gradually decreased (P > 0.05) the expression of genes involved in BA synthesis (CYP7A1, CYP8B1), BA uptake (NTCP, OATP1A2), BA secretion (BSEP and MRP2), BA detoxification (SULT2A1), and BA efflux into the blood circulation (OSTß). Collectively, this study indicates that sows fed with garcinol in late gestation showed relieved bile acid metabolism disorder and improved sows performance, antioxidative status, colostrum protein content, showing promise in natural plant extract nutrition for sows with disorder of bile acid metabolism.

The elevated maternal serum bile acid (BA) levels in late gestation leads to accumulation of BA in fetal tissues, and thus increases the risk of fetal mortality and metabolic disease of offspring. It has confirmed that BA disordered and oxidative damage are intimately related. Thus, studies about alleviating oxidative stress and facilitating BA metabolism in pregnant sows can be relevant. As an excellent antioxidative plant extract, garcinol has been widely used in dietary supplementation of rodents; however, the effect of dietary supplementation with garcinol on the bile acids disorders of sows in late gestation has rarely been reported. The present study provides the first evidence that dietary supplementation with garcinol during late gestation improved maternal BA metabolism of sows with disorder of BA metabolism, as well as the health and antioxidative status, colostrum protein content, showing promise in natural plant extract nutrition for sows with disorder of bile acid metabolism.

Inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by a disintegrin and metalloproteinase-17 inhibitor TNF484.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to test the effect of TNF484 on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Various doses (0, 1, 10, 50, and 100 nM) of TNF484 were applied to the HepG2 and Bel7402 cells, and cell proliferation was measured by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay after 72 h. Cell migration rate was measured using the xCELLigence system, and the cell invasion ability was examined by the three-dimensional spheroid BME cell invasion assay. The expression level of ADAM17 was also measured with RT-PCR. RESULTS: With the treatment of TNF484, the cell proliferation of HepG2 and Bel7402 cells was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, under TNF484 treatment, the cell migration rate as well as cell invasion ability of the HepG2 and Bel7402 cells were suppressed. CONCLUSION: TNF484 could inhibit the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of some HCC cell lines, making it a potential therapeutic option for liver cancer treatment.

Zinc-Enriched Yeast Improves Learning and Memory Impairments in Zinc-Deficient Rats.

Zinc (Zn) highly concentrates in the brain and plays a key role in memory formation and learning processes. Zn deficiency results in cognitive impairments, memory deficits, alterations of neuropsychological behavior, and motor development. Although Zn-enriched yeast (ZnY) is widely used for dietary fortification and supplementation of Zn, the effect of ZnY on cognition still remains unclear. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of ZnY on behavior in Zn-deficient and Zn-sufficient rats. Three-week-old rats were fed low Zn diets for 145 days to establish Zn-deficient rats. ZnY was orally administered to Zn-deficient rats at three dose levels of 1, 2, and 4 mg Zn/kg/day for 55 days. Rat appearance, body weight, plasma and brain Zn, Morris water maze test, and step-through passive avoidance test were observed. Compared to Zn-sufficient rats, body weight gain, plasma zinc level, resident time, and step-through time in Zn-deficient rats were significantly lower. Zn deficiency impaired functions of learning and memory, while ZnY as a plausible therapeutic intervention alleviated the cognitive impairments caused by Zn deficiency.

Correlations between serum trypsinogen-2 and pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate associations be- tween serum trypsinogen-2, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer (PC) and determine cutoff values for PC diagnosis. METHODOLOGY: We recruited 88 patients from Internal Medicine/Surgical Departments of General Military Hospital of Beijing PLA between 12/2009 and 6/2010. Serum samples were collected preoperatively from 23 PC patients, 30 pancreatitis patients and 35 healthy controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect trypsinogen-2 semiquantitatively. RESULTS: Serum trypsinogen-2 levels of PC and pancreatitis patients were significantly higher than those of controls (51.2 ± 80.3, 107.7 ± 98.1 vs. 1.0 ± 0.5, p = 0.03, p < 0.001) and significantly higher in pancreatitis vs. PC patients (107.7 ± 98.1 vs. 51.2 ± 80.3, p = 0.01). Higher Balthazar CT grades correlated with higher trypsinogen-2 in pancreatitis group. ROC curves for trypsinogen-2 revealed optimal cutoff value 1.8 as lower PC detection limit with 95.7% sensitivity and 91.4% specificity, and optimal cutoff value 19.9 for upper PC detection limit with 87.0% sensitivity and 97.1% specificity. Trypsinogen-2 levels correlated with pancreatic injury level. An AUC of 0.73 (95% Cl: 0.59-0.84, p = 0.002) distinguished PC from pancreatitis. CONCLUSION: Serum trypsinogen-2 is associated with PC and pancreatitis. Levels between 1.8 µg/L and 19.9 µg/L strongly suggest PC. Detection of serum trypsinogen-2 may provide simple, sensitive, specific non-invasive initial screening for early PC diagnosis.

Imaging the survival and utility of pre-differentiated allogeneic MSC in ischemic heart.

The aim of the study is to track the survival and utility of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and pre-differentiated MSCs in allogeneic infarcted myocardium. MSCs labeled with green fluorescent protein and luciferase (GFP-Fluc) were characterized by flow cytometry and multi-differentiation. 5-Azacytidine (5-AZ) was employed to induced cardiac differentiation from MSCs. Cardiac markers and immune antigen expression were assessed. Then, pre-differentiated MSCs induced by 5-AZ were intramyocardially injected into allogeneic C57 mice of myocardial infarction, undifferentiated MSCs were transplanted as control. The survival of transplanted cells, immune response and cardiac function of recipients were assessed with bioluminescence imaging, immunohistochemistry and echocardiography, respectively. In vitro results showed that 5-AZ treatment induced cardiac differentiation from MSCs, which also increased their expression of MHC-Ia and MHC-II. After intramyocardial transplantation in allogeneic mice, 5-AZ treated MSCs would rapidly be recognized and excluded by recipients. Meanwhile, a severe infiltration of immune cells could be detected. Though beneficial effects on cardiac function by 5-AZ treated MSCs could be detected, it was short and disappeared within 1 month. In contrast, undifferentiated MSCs were immune-privileged and could survive in allogeneic myocardium for more than 1 month, resulting in a significant improvement on cardiac function.

Fecal cytology in conjunction with immunofecal occult blood test for colorectal cancer screening.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a simple method to extract and analyze the cytomorphology of epithelial cells from fecal samples and to compare the efficacy of fecal cytology with the immunofecal occult blood test (IFOBT) in colorectal cancer screening. STUDY DESIGN: Fecal cytology and IFOBT were performed on fecal samples obtained from 41 patients with colorectal cancer; 34 patients with a small, single adenoma (<0.5 cm); and 20 without abnormality. The samples were obtained prior to colonoscopic examination. For fecal cytology, epithelial cells were exacted through filtration, centrifugation and cytocentrifugation and stained with hematoxylin-eosin prior to morphologic analysis. RESULTS: Fecal cytology and IFOBT test had similar levels of sensitivity for detecting colorectal cancer (75.6% vs. 68.3%, respectively), but fecal cytology had higher specificity than IFOBT (100% as compared to 85.2%, respectively, p<0.05 by chi2 test). Seven of 41 colorectal cancer patients (17.1%) with negative IFOBT were positive by fecal cytology analysis. Combining fecal cytology with the IFOBT test in an either/or scenario significantly increased the sensitivity of IFOBT test to 92.68% for colorectal cancer detection (p<0.05 by chi2 test) without compromising the specificity. CONCLUSION: Fecal cytology augments the sensitivity of IFOBT in detecting colorectal cancers, and combining fecal cytology and IFOBT may provide an important simple and cost-effective alternative for colon cancer screening.

Transferrin dipstick as a potential novel test for colon cancer screening: a comparative study with immuno fecal occult blood test.

Recent proteomic studies identified Transferrin (Tf) as a potential biomarker for cancer. We examined the efficacy of the newly developed Tf dipstick for detecting colorectal cancer and premalignant lesions, and compared that to Immuno Fecal Occult Blood test (IFOBT). Fecal samples from 110 patients including 40 colorectal cancer, 36 premalignant subjects (including 16 with high-risk adenomas and 20 with ulcerative colitis), and 34 low-risk subjects were collected before colonoscopic examination. Compared with IFOBT, Tf had a significantly higher positive rate in patients with colorectal cancer and premalignant lesions (76% for Tf versus 61% for IFOBT, respectively; chi(2) = 4.38; P < 0.05). The difference of positivity was mainly observed in patients with premalignant lesions (72% for Tf versus 44% for IFOBT; chi(2) = 5.71; P < 0.05), whereas the positive rates in cancer group and in low-risk group were similar (both P > 0.05). Combining Tf with IFOBT together (either/or) had 90% positive rate in cancer patients, 78% in premalignant patients, and 29% in low-risk subjects. The overall accuracy of IFOBT and Tf tests for detecting colorectal cancer and premalignant lesion was 69.0% and 76.4%, respectively. Tf dipstick test seems to be a highly sensitive test for detecting not only cancer, but also premalignant lesions, and provides an additional tool for colorectal cancer screening.

Genetic diagnosis strategy of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer.

AIM: To study the characteristics of mismatch repair gene mutation of Chinese hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and hMLH1 gene promoter methylation, and to improve the screening strategy and explore the pertinent test methods. METHODS: A systematic analysis of 30 probands from HNPCC families in the north of China was performed by immunohistochemistry, microsatellite instability (MSI), gene mutation and methylation detection. RESULTS: High frequency microsatellite instability occurred in 25 probands (83.3%) of HNPCC family. Loss of hMLH1 and hMSH2 protein expression accounted for 88% of all microsatellite instability. Pathogenic mutation occurred in 14 samples and 3 novel mutational sites were discovered. Deletion of exons 1-6, 1-7 and 8 of hMSH2 was detected in 3 samples and no large fragment deletion was found in hMLH1. Of the 30 probands, hMLH1 gene promoter methylation occurred in 3 probands. The rate of gene micromutation detection combined with large fragment deletion detection was 46.7%-56.7%. The rate of the two methods in combination with methylation detection was 63.3%. CONCLUSION: Scientific and rational detection strategy can improve the detection rate of HNPCC. Based on traditional molecular genetics and combined with epigenetics, multiple detection methods can accurately diagnose HNPCC.

Tunable diode laser spectrometer for pulsed supersonic jets: application to weakly-bound complexes and clusters.

The design and operation of an apparatus for studying infrared spectra of weakly-bound complexes is described in detail. A pulsed supersonic jet expansion is probed using a tunable Pb-salt diode laser spectrometer operated in a rapid-scan mode. The jet may be fitted with either pinhole or slit shaped nozzles, the former giving lower effective rotational temperatures, and the latter giving sharper spectral lines. Notable features of the apparatus include use of a toroidal multi-pass mirror system to give over 100 passes of the laser through the supersonic jet, use of the normal laser controller for laser sweeping during both setup and data acquisition, and use of a simple semi-automated wavenumber calibration procedure. Performance of the apparatus is illustrated with observed spectra of the van der Waals complex He-OCS, and the seeded helium clusters He(N)-OCS and He(N)-CO.