Visual Prompt Multi-Modal Tracking

Visible-modal object tracking gives rise to a series of downstream multi-modal tracking tributaries. To inherit the powerful representations of the foundation model, a natural modus operandi for multi-modal tracking is full fine-tuning on the RGB-based parameters. Albeit effective, this manner is not optimal due to the scarcity of downstream data and poor transferability, etc. In this paper, inspired by the recent success of the prompt learning in language models, we develop Visual Prompt multi-modal Tracking (ViPT), which learns the modal-relevant prompts to adapt the frozen pre-trained foundation model to various downstream multimodal tracking tasks. ViPT finds a better way to stimulate the knowledge of the RGB-based model that is pre-trained at scale, meanwhile only introducing a few trainable parameters (less than 1% of model parameters). ViPT outperforms the full fine-tuning paradigm on multiple downstream tracking tasks including RGB+Depth, RGB+Thermal, and RGB+Event tracking. Extensive experiments show the potential of visual prompt learning for multi-modal tracking, and ViPT can achieve state-of-the-art performance while satisfying parameter efficiency. Code and models are available at https://github.com/jiawen-zhu/ViPT.Comment: Accepted by CVPR202

Immunoregulatory paracrine effect of mesenchymal stem cells and mechanism in the treatment of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease caused by chronic inflammation that damages articular cartilage. At present, the treatment of OA includes drug therapy to relieve symptoms and joint replacement therapy for advanced OA. However, these palliatives cannot truly block the progression of the disease from the immunological pathogenesis of OA. In recent years, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation has shown great potential in tissue engineering repair. In addition, many studies have shown that BMSC paracrine signals play an important role in the treatment of OA through immune regulation and suppressing inflammation. At present, the mechanism of inflammation-induced OA and the use of BMSC transplantation in joint repair have been reviewed, but the mechanism and significance of BMSC paracrine signals in the treatment of OA have not been fully reviewed. Therefore, this article focused on the latest research progress on the paracrine effects of BMSCs in the treatment of OA and the related mechanisms by which BMSCs secrete cytokines to inhibit the inflammatory response, regulate immune balance, and promote cell proliferation and differentiation. In addition, the application potential of BMSC-Exos as a new type of cell-free therapy for OA is described. This review aimed to provide systematic theoretical support for the clinical application of BMSC transplantation in the treatment of OA

Comparison of recurrence patterns between patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and postoperative adjuvant chemoradiotherapy

PurposeTo compare the recurrence patterns and survival outcomes between patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (ACRT).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 267 patients with locally advanced ESCC who received treatment at Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute (Chengdu, China) between January 2018 and December 2020. Based on different treatment protocols, the patients were divided into two groups: NCRT (n=181) and ACRT (n=86). After propensity score matching, each group included 74 patients. This study compared the recurrence types, sites, frequencies, and timing, as well as overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and prognostic risk factors between the two groups.ResultsThe recurrence rates in the NCRT and ACRT groups were 59.5% (44/74) and 33.8% (25/74), respectively; the difference was statistically significant (P=0.002). Recurrences primarily occurred within 2 years following esophagectomy. The ACRT group had a higher 3-year OS rate than the NCRT group (67.8% versus [vs.] 50.6%, respectively; P=0.019). In the subgroup of patients with local recurrence, the 3-year OS rate was higher in the NCRT group compared to the ACRT group (53.8% vs. 0%, respectively; P=0.029). In terms of DFS, the ACRT group exhibited better results than the NCRT group (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that pathological N staging was an independent risk factor affecting the OS prognosis of patients in the NCRT group. Margin status and pathological T staging were identified as independent risk factors influencing OS in the ACRT group, while sex and treatment regimen were independent risk factors affecting DFS in patients with postoperative pathological lymph node positivity.ConclusionThere was significant difference in the OS and DFS prognosis of patients with ESCC treated with NCRT and ACRT. Recurrence primarily occurs within 2 years following esophagectomy. The recurrence rate was higher in the NCRT group compared to the ACRT group. Patients with early recurrence had a poorer survival prognosis compared to those with late recurrence. Pathological N staging was identified as an independent risk factor affecting OS in the NCRT group. Furthermore, margin status and pathological T staging were independent risk factors influencing OS in the ACRT group

Global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, 1990-2019 : Update from the GBD 2019 Study

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, are the leading cause of global mortality and a major contributor to disability. This paper reviews the magnitude of total CVD burden, including 13 underlying causes of cardiovascular death and 9 related risk factors, using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. GBD, an ongoing multinational collaboration to provide comparable and consistent estimates of population health over time, used all available population-level data sources on incidence, prevalence, case fatality, mortality, and health risks to produce estimates for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 257 to 285 million) in 1990 to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million) in 2019, and the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million (95% UI:11.4 to 12.6 million) in 1990, reaching 18.6 million (95% UI: 17.1 to 19.7 million) in 2019. The global trends for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost also increased significantly, and years lived with disability doubled from 17.7 million (95% UI: 12.9 to 22.5 million) to 34.4 million (95% UI:24.9 to 43.6 million) over that period. The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases

The Green Bonding Hypothesis: How Do Green Bonds Enhance the Credibility of Environmental Commitments?

This paper proposes and provides evidence on a green bonding hypothesis, where green bonds act as a commitment device that subjects firms to institutions holding them accountable to their environmental promises. I find that green-bond issuers face higher climate change risks and opportunities but fewer financial constraints than do traditional-bond issuers. Moreover, consistent with green bonds acting as a commitment device, green-bond issuers increase emissions-target achievements and face more media scrutiny when their target progress decreases after issuing green bonds. In additional analyses, I find that when a municipality issues green bonds, the issuer experiences a reduction in financing costs for both traditional and green bonds issued on the same day, consistent with green bonds being an environmental commitment for an entity, rather than a security-level commitment