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This paper investigates the robust asymptotic stabilization of a linear time-invariant (LTI) system by a static feedback with a static state quantization. It is shown that the controllable LTI system can be stabilized to zero in a finite time by means of a nonlinear feedback with a quantizer having a limited (finite) number of values (quantization seeds) even when all parameters of the controller and the quantizer are time-invariant. The control design is based on generalized homogeneity. A homogeneous spherical quantizer is introduced. The static homogeneous feedback is shown to be local (or global) finite-time stabilizer for the linear system (dependently of the system matrix). The tuning rules for both the quantizer and the feedback law are obtained in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The closed-loop system is proven to be robust with respect to some bounded matched and vanishing mismatched perturbations. Theoretical results are supported by numerical simulations.

Along with the celebration of the new year, we celebrate many successes at Bioconjugate Chemistry. This includes additions and renewal of our editors, who play a critical role in service to our research community of authors, reviewers, and readers. As highlighted in our January 2023 editorial, (1) we sincerely thank Prof. Vince Rotello, who stepped down after a decade of success as Editor-in-Chief. We also extend a sincere thank you to Prof. Bradley Smith, who also stepped down after 10 years of service as Associate Editor for the journal. With great enthusiasm, we introduce the 2023 editorial team at Bioconjugate Chemistry, which includes five new additions to the editorial staff: Prof. Gonçalo Bernardes from the University of Cambridge, Prof. Peng Zou, from the Peking University, Mr. Nathan Quinn and Dr. Christina MacLaughlin from ACS Publications, and Prof. Theresa Reineke from the University of Minnesota. We also introduce and celebrate the team of four editors that are continuing in dedicated service to our community and ACS Publications: Prof. Zhifei Dai from Peking University, Prof. Jan van Hest from Eindhoven University of Technology, Prof. Erin Lavik from the University of Maryland Baltimore Country, and Prof. Gang Zheng from the University of Toronto. We wish our entire scientific community a happy, healthy, and productive 2023 and look forward to working with you all to disseminate many exciting advances in Bioconjugate Chemistry.

This article describes research carried out during 2023 under an International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS)-funded project to develop and disseminate a metadata catalogue of Earth observation data sources/products and types that are relevant to human health research in exposomics, as a free service to interested researchers worldwide. The proof-of-concept catalogue was informed by input from existing research literature on the subject (desk research), as well as online communications with, and relevant research publications collected from, a small panel (n = 5) of select experts from the academia in three countries (China, UK and USA). It has 90 metadata records of relevant Earth observation datasets (n = 40) and associated health-focused research publications (n = 50). The project's online portal offers a searchable version of the catalogue featuring a number of search modes and filtering options. It is hoped future, more comprehensive versions of this service will enable more researchers and studies to discover and use remote sensing data about population-level exposures to disease determinants (exposomic determinants of disease) in combination with other relevant data to reveal fresh insights that could improve our understanding of relevant diseases, and hence contribute to the development of better-optimized prevention and management plans to tackle them., Comment: 6 figures

This paper develops a homogeneity-based approach to finite/fixed-time stabilization of linear time-invariant (LTI) system with quantized measurements. A sufficient condition for finite/fixed-time stabilization of multi-input LTI system under states quantization is derived. It is shown that a homogeneous quantized state feedback with logarithmic quantizer can guarantee finite/fixed-time stability of the closed-loop system provided that the quantization is sufficiently dense. Theoretical results are supported with numerical simulations.

Soft slender robots have attracted more and more research attentions in these years due to their continuity and compliance natures. However, mechanics modeling for soft robots interacting with environment is still an academic challenge because of the non-linearity of deformation and the non-smooth property of the contacts. In this work, starting from a piece-wise local strain field assumption, we propose a nonlinear dynamic model for soft robot via Cosserat rod theory using Newtonian mechanics which handles the frictional contact with environment and transfer them into the nonlinear complementary constraint (NCP) formulation. Moreover, we smooth both the contact and friction constraints in order to convert the inequality equations of NCP to the smooth equality equations. The proposed model allows us to compute the dynamic deformation and frictional contact force under common optimization framework in real time when the soft slender robot interacts with other rigid or soft bodies. In the end, the corresponding experiments are carried out which valid our proposed dynamic model.

The attitude tracking problem for a full-actuated rigid body in 3D is studied using a impulsive system model based on Lie algebra so(3). A nonlinear homogeneous controller is designed to globally track a smooth attitude trajectory in a finite or a (nearly) fixed time. A global settling time estimate is obtained, which is easily adjustable by tuning the homogeneity degree. The local input-to-state stability is proven. Simulations illustrating the performance of the proposed algorithm are presented., Comment: Global homogeneous attitude finite/fixed-time attitude controller. Strict Lyapunov and settling time estimate is provided

Recently soft robotics has rapidly become a novel and promising area of research with many designs and applications due to their flexible and compliant structure. However, it is more difficult to derive the nonlinear dynamic model of such soft robots. The differential kinematics and dynamics of the soft manipulator can be formulated as a set of highly nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) via the classic Cosserat rod theory. In this work, we propose a discrete modeling technique named piecewise linear strain (PLS) to solve the PDEs of Cosserat-based models, based on which the associated analytic models are deduced. To validate the accuracy of the proposed Cosserat model, the static model of the conical cantilever rod under gravity as a simple example is simulated by using different discretization methods. Results indicate that PLS Cosserat model is comparable to the mechanical deformation behavior of real-world soft manipulator. Finally, a parameters identification scheme for this model is established, and the simulation as well as experimental validation demonstrate that using this method can identify the model physical parameters with high accuracy.

With the utilization of underground space, backward erosion piping (BEP) has been observed in many underground structures. Different from BEP in embankments or river dikes, the BEP in underground structures is usually triggered by a sudden flow of water and persists in a “progression phase,” in which the piping process can always reach an equilibrium before higher hydraulic loads are employed. In this study, the progression of BEP with sudden and gradual hydraulic loads was investigated using a radial Hele-Shaw cell. The test results indicated that the progression of BEP could be strongly influenced by the hydraulic loading speed. Once a faster hydraulic loading method was employed, the erodible medium could organize itself and show a greater resistance to erosion; additionally, the erosion pattern could be more uniform. These findings were included in a discussion of the erosion mechanism. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

The basolateral amygdalar complex (BLA) is implicated in behaviors ranging from fear acquisition to addiction. Optogenetic methods have enabled the association of circuit-specific functions to uniquely connected BLA cell types. Thus, a systematic and detailed connectivity profile of BLA projection neurons to inform granular, cell type-specific interrogations is warranted. Here, we apply machine-learning based computational and informatics analysis techniques to the results of circuit-tracing experiments to create a foundational, comprehensive BLA connectivity map. The analyses identify three distinct domains within the anterior BLA (BLAa) that house target-specific projection neurons with distinguishable morphological features. We identify brain-wide targets of projection neurons in the three BLAa domains, as well as in the posterior BLA, ventral BLA, posterior basomedial, and lateral amygdalar nuclei. Inputs to each nucleus also are identified via retrograde tracing. The data suggests that connectionally unique, domain-specific BLAa neurons are associated with distinct behavior networks.

With the utilization of underground space, backward erosion piping (BEP) has been observed in many underground structures. Different from BEP in embankments or river dikes, the BEP in underground structures is usually triggered by a sudden flow of water and persists in a “progression phase,” in which the piping process can always reach an equilibrium before higher hydraulic loads are employed. In this study, the progression of BEP with sudden and gradual hydraulic loads was investigated using a radial Hele-Shaw cell. The test results indicated that the progression of BEP could be strongly influenced by the hydraulic loading speed. Once a faster hydraulic loading method was employed, the erodible medium could organize itself and show a greater resistance to erosion; additionally, the erosion pattern could be more uniform. These findings were included in a discussion of the erosion mechanism. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

An index system and technical monitoring and early warning systems for water inrush in seam floors have been developed based on the mechanical response of the floor to stress, strain, water temperature, and water pressure. The systems can be used to determine monitoring positions, and to select monitoring horizons and criteria for placing sensors for early warning. A new monitoring and early warning system was developed using a fibre Bragg grating sensor. Sensors were used in boreholes below coal face 2113 of the Chengjiao mine, Henan Province, to monitor water temperature and water pressure changes during mining, and combined stress and strain sensors were laid 80 m from the working face. Five faces were monitored and no inrush warnings were necessary., An index system and technical monitoring and early warning systems for water inrush in seam floors have been developed based on the mechanical response of the floor to stress, strain, water temperature, and water pressure. The systems can be used to determine monitoring positions, and to select monitoring horizons and criteria for placing sensors for early warning. A new monitoring and early warning system was developed using a fibre Bragg grating sensor. Sensors were used in boreholes below coal face 2113 of the Chengjiao mine, Henan Province, to monitor water temperature and water pressure changes during mining, and combined stress and strain sensors were laid 80 m from the working face. Five faces were monitored and no inrush warnings were necessary.

Background: Establishing the efficacy of novel photosensitizers (PSs) for phototherapy of lung cancer requires in vivo study prior to clinical evaluation. However, previously described animal models are not ideal for assessing transbronchial approaches with such PSs. Methods: An ultra-small parallel-type composite optical fiberscope (COF) with a 0.97 mm outer diameter tip. The integration of illumination and laser irradiation fibers inside the COF allows simultaneous white-light and fluorescence imaging, as well as real-time monitoring of tip position during laser phototherapy. An orthotopic lung cancer mouse model was created with three human lung cancer cell lines transbronchially inoculated into athymic nude mice. The COF was inserted transbronchially into a total of 15 mice for tumor observation. For in vivo fluorescence imaging, an organic nanoparticle, porphysome, was used as a PS. Laser excitation through the COF was performed at 50 mW using a 671 nm source. Results: The overall success rate for creating orthotopic lung tumors was 71%. Transbronchial white light images were successfully captured by COF. Access to the left main bronchus was successful in 87% of mice (13/15), the right main bronchus to the cranial lobe bronchus level in 100% (15/15), and to the right basal trifurcation of the middle lobe, caudal lobe and accessory lobe in 93% (14/15). For transbronchial tumor localization of orthotopic lung cancer tumors, PS-laden tumor with the strong signal was clearly contrasted from the normal bronchial wall. Conclusions: The ultra-small COF enabled reliable transbronchial access to orthotopic human lung cancer xenografts in vivo. This method could serve as a versatile preclinical research platform for PS evaluation in lung cancer, enabling transbronchial approaches in in vivo survival models inoculated with human lung cancer cells.

We report the design, construction, and initial tests of a hyperpolariser to produce polarised 129Xe and 3He gas for medical imaging of the lung. The hyperpolariser uses the Spin-Exchange Optical Pumping method to polarise the nuclear spins of the isotopic gas. Batch mode operation was chosen for the design to produce polarised 129Xe and polarised 3He. Two-side pumping, electrical heating and a piston to transfer the polarised gas were some of the implemented techniques that are not commonly used in hyperpolariser designs. We have carried out magnetic resonance imaging experiments demonstrating that the 3He and 129Xe polarisation reached were sufficient for imaging, in particular for in vivo lung imaging using 129Xe. Further improvements to the hyperpolariser have also been discussed., Accepted Author Manuscript, Instrumenten groep

While photodynamic therapy (PDT) can induce acute inflammation in the irradiated tumor site, a sustained systemic, adaptive immune response is desirable, as it may control the growth of nonirradiated distant disease. Previously, we developed porphyrin lipoprotein (PLP), a ∼20 nm nanoparticle photosensitizer, and observed that it not only efficiently eradicated irradiated primary VX2 buccal carcinomas in rabbits, but also induced regression of nonirradiated metastases in a draining lymph node. We hypothesized that PLP-mediated PDT can induce an abscopal effect and we sought to investigate the immune mechanism underlying such a response in a highly aggressive, dual subcutaneous AE17-OVA+ mesothelioma model in C57BL/6 mice. Four cycles of PLP-mediated PDT was sufficient to delay the growth of a distal, nonirradiated tumor four-fold relative to controls. Serum cytokine analysis revealed high interleukin-6 levels, showing a 30-fold increase relative to phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) treated mice. Flow cytometry revealed an increase in CD4+ T cells and effector memory CD8+ T cells in non-irradiated tumors. Notably, PDT in combination with PD-1 antibody therapy prolonged survival compared to monotherapy and PBS. PLP-mediated PDT shows promise in generating a systemic immune response that can complement other treatments, improving prognoses for patients with metastatic cancers.

This paper demonstrates the capability and performance of sea surface wind speed retrieval in coastal regions (within 200 km away from the coastline) using spaceborne Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) data from NASA's Cyclone GNSS (CYGNSS) mission. The wind speed retrieval is based on the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). A feedforward neural network is trained with the collocated CYGNSS Level 1B (version 2.1) observables and the wind speed from European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast Reanalysis 5th Generation (ECMWF ERA5) data in coastal regions. An ANN model with five hidden layers and 200 neurons in each layer has been constructed and applied to the validation set for wind speed retrieval. The proposed ANN model achieves good wind speed retrieval performance in coastal regions with a bias of −0.03 m/s and a RMSE of 1.58 m/s, corresponding to an improvement of 24.4% compared to the CYGNSS Level 2 (version 2.1) wind speed product. The ANN based retrievals are also compared to the ground truth measurements from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys, which shows a bias of −0.44 m/s and a RMSE of 1.86 m/s. Moreover, the sensitivities of the wind speed retrieval performance to different input parameters have been analyzed. Among others, the geolocation of the specular point and the swell height can provide significant contribution to the wind speed retrieval, which can provide useful reference for more generic GNSS-R wind speed retrieval algorithms in coastal regions.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CyGNSS) mission was launched in December 2016, which can remotely sense sea surface wind with a relatively high spatio-temporal resolution for tracking tropical cyclones. In recent years, with the gradual development of the geophysical model function (GMF) for CyGNSS wind retrieval, different versions of CyGNSS Level 2 products have been released and their performance has gradually improved. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of CyGNSS wind product v1.1 produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) analysis wind (v02.0 and v02.1 near real time) products produced by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) were used as the reference. Data pairs between the NOAA CyGNSS and RSS CCMP products were processed and evaluated by the bias and standard deviation SD. The CyGNSS dataset covers the period between May 2017 and December 2020. The statistical comparisons show that the bias and SD of CyGNSS relative to CCMP-nonzero collocations when the flag of CCMP winds is nonzero are –0.05 m/s and 1.19 m/s, respectively. The probability density function (PDF) of the CyGNSS winds coincides with that of CCMP-nonzero. Furthermore, the average monthly bias and SD show that CyGNSS wind is consistent and reliable generally. We found that negative deviation mainly appears at high latitudes in both hemispheres. Positive deviation appears in the China Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the west of Africa and South America. Spatial–temporal analysis demonstrates the geographical anomalies in the bias and SD of the CyGNSS winds, confirming that the wind speed bias shows a temporal dependency. The verification and comparison show that the remotely sensed wind speed measurements from NOAA CyGNSS wind product v1.1 are in good agreement with CCMP winds.

A grouting technique is introduced as a measure to protect tunnels adjacent to a large-scale excavation. Field measurements indicated that this grouting technique reduced the maximum horizontal displacement in the tunnel from 9.2 to 4.6 mm. Based on this application and two field tests, the following recommendations are proposed: (1) the upper boundary of the grouted zone should be set at or below the tunnel; (2) grouting holes should be installed 3-4 m from the tunnel and at an interval of the length of a tunnel ring along the tunnel axis; (3) in a row of grouting holes, grouting should be conducted at an interval of six to eight holes in a day, and the grout volume per hole should be small, such as 0.5 m3; and (4) when using multiple rows of grouting holes, a far-row-first grouting scheme, in which the grouting sequence progresses toward the tunnel, should be adopted.

Small-strain soil stiffness is an important parameter for the design of wall deflection and ground movements around deep excavations in urban cities. However, the use of unsaturated small-strain soil stiffness in the design of excavation is rarely reported, although the ground condition often becomes unsaturated due to de-watering. The objective of this technical communication is to report and illustrate the effects of suction-dependent small-strain soil stiffness on the design of wall deflection and ground movements due to a 15-m deep excavation in unsaturated soils in Tianjin, China. A small-strain stiffness model for unsaturated soils incorporated into the Hardening Soil-Small Strain (HSS) model was adopted. Two analyses, with and without considering suction-dependent small-strain soil stiffness, were carried out to provide design and construction guidelines to control the progress of excavation. By comparing the measured data with the two different analyses, it is clear that the analysis without considering unsaturated small-strain soil stiffness significantly overestimated the deflection of pile wall by 85%, ground surface settlement by 55% and basement heave by 40%. On the contrary, by considering unsaturated soil stiffness, more accurate predictions were obtained to save construction time and to reduce construction costs. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

The high penetration of wind energy in electrical power systems presents challenges for all operators. For the wind farm (WF) planners, one of these challenges is optimizing its layout with a set of constraints. This paper proposes a bi-hierarchy optimization scheme to determine the capacity and layout of a grid-connected WF. The environmental impacts involved by the installation of a WF have been taken into consideration in the problem. The first-layer model optimizes the WF capacity and configuration with minimized comprehensive generation cost of wind energy and two sets of constraints. The sound pressure level (SPL) limit of the noise emitted by the wind turbines (WTs) is handled to be one of the constraints of the first-layer model. The second-layer model determines the generation schedule of other conventional generators. A Gaussian wake model is applied to calculate the effective wind speed for each WT. For the simulations, the WF is supposed to be integrated in the IEEE 30-bus test system. The wild goats algorithm (WGA) and the quadratic programming (QP) method are used to solve the problem. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed model and prove that environmental influences of WFs should not be ignored during the planning stage.

We study the convergence of $\mathtt{Expected~Sarsa}(\lambda)$ with linear function approximation. We show that applying the off-line estimate (multi-step bootstrapping) to $\mathtt{Expected~Sarsa}(\lambda)$ is unstable for off-policy learning. Furthermore, based on convex-concave saddle-point framework, we propose a convergent $\mathtt{Gradient~Expected~Sarsa}(\lambda)$ ($\mathtt{GES}(\lambda)$) algorithm. The theoretical analysis shows that our $\mathtt{GES}(\lambda)$ converges to the optimal solution at a linear convergence rate, which is comparable to extensive existing state-of-the-art gradient temporal difference learning algorithms. Furthermore, we develop a Lyapunov function technique to investigate how the step-size influences finite-time performance of $\mathtt{GES}(\lambda)$, such technique of Lyapunov function can be potentially generalized to other GTD algorithms. Finally, we conduct experiments to verify the effectiveness of our $\mathtt{GES}(\lambda)$., Comment: This submission has been accepted by AAAI2021

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are essential for many reasons, including their destruction of human lives and property and their effect on heat and nutrient fluxes between the ocean’s surface and its depths. A better understanding of ocean fluxes is needed to predict the impact of global climate change on the oceans and to quantify how ocean heat content modulates the dynamics of global climate change. Similarly, improved modeling of nutrient fluxes is crucial for maintaining fisheries and preserving crucial marine ecosystems to benefit both humanity and marine life. Numerous remote sensors measure crucial geophysical quantities before, during, and after TCs, including sea surface temperature (SST), ocean color, chlorophyll concentration, ocean surface winds, sea surface height, and significant wave height. In this special issue, an international group of researchers have written articles describing (1) novel techniques and remote sensors for measuring the aforementioned quantities in tropical cyclones, (2) methods for validating and improving the accuracy of those measurements and harmonizing them among different sensors, (3) scientific analyses that investigate the relationships between remote-sensed ocean surface measurements and in situ measurements of vertical profiles of ocean temperature, salinity, and current, and (4) strategies for utilizing remote-sensed measurements to improve operational forecasts in order to provide better tropical cyclone warnings to human populations.

Shi S, Zheng G, Yang C, et al. Onco Targets Ther. 2019;12:11715–11727. The authors have advised that the affiliation “3Department of Dermatology, Xuzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Huai’an 221003, People’s Republic of China;” is incorrect. The correct affiliation is "3Department of Dermatology, Xuzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Xuzhou 221002, People’s Republic of China;". The authors apologize for this error. Read the original article

Shangyuchen Shi, 1,* Gang Zheng, 2, 3,* Chunsheng Yang, 4,* Xi Chen, 2 Qiuyue Yan, 1 Fan Jiang, 1 Xiaojie Jiang, 1 Yong Xin, 1 Guan Jiang 2 1Department of Radiotherapy, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221002, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221002, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Dermatology, Xuzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Huai’an 221003, People’s Republic of China; 4The Affiliated Huai’an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, The Second People’s Hospital of Huai’an, Huai’an 223002, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yong Xin Email deep369@163.comGuan Jiang Email dr.guanjiang@gmail.comPurpose: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer and its incidence continues to rise yearly. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a non-invasive form of cancer therapy, which utilizes the combined action of a photosensitizer, light, and oxygen molecules to selectively cause cellular damage to tumor cells. Vitamin K3 (VitK3) has been shown to induce apoptosis and inhibit the growth of tumor cells in humans. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of VitK3 and ultraviolet radiation B (UVB) on oxidative damage, proliferation and apoptosis of A431 cells.Methods: CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation; Hoechst staining, TUNEL assay and flow cytometry analysis were used to detect apoptosis. Western Blot was perfomed to measure the expression of apoptosis-related proteins. Flow cytometry analysis was employed to detect the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential. Finally, the role of VitK3 in combination with UVB on the proliferation and apoptosis of A431 cells was investigated using mice xenogra

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

In recent years significant progress has been made in dealing with challenging problems using reinforcement learning.Despite its great success, reinforcement learning still faces challenge in continuous control tasks. Conventional methods always compute the derivatives of the optimal goal with a costly computation resources, and are inefficient, unstable and lack of robust-ness when dealing with such tasks. Alternatively, derivative-based methods treat the optimization process as a blackbox and show robustness and stability in learning continuous control tasks, but not data efficient in learning. The combination of both methods so as to get the best of the both has raised attention. However, most of the existing combination works adopt complex neural networks (NNs) as the policy for control. The double-edged sword of deep NNs can yield better performance, but also makes it difficult for parameter tuning and computation. To this end, in this paper we presents a novel method called FiDi-RL, which incorporates deep RL with Finite-Difference (FiDi) policy search.FiDi-RL combines Deep Deterministic Policy Gradients (DDPG)with Augment Random Search (ARS) and aims at improving the data efficiency of ARS. The empirical results show that FiDi-RL can improves the performance and stability of ARS, and provide competitive results against some existing deep reinforcement learning methods, Comment: I found some theoretical errors

Improving sample efficiency has been a longstanding goal in reinforcement learning. This paper proposes $\mathtt{VRMPO}$ algorithm: a sample efficient policy gradient method with stochastic mirror descent. In $\mathtt{VRMPO}$, a novel variance-reduced policy gradient estimator is presented to improve sample efficiency. We prove that the proposed $\mathtt{VRMPO}$ needs only $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-3})$ sample trajectories to achieve an $\epsilon$-approximate first-order stationary point, which matches the best sample complexity for policy optimization. The extensive experimental results demonstrate that $\mathtt{VRMPO}$ outperforms the state-of-the-art policy gradient methods in various settings.

In this paper we illustrate the technique used by the New Vacuum Solar Telescope to increase the spatial resolution of two-dimensional (2D) solar spectroscopy observation involving two dimensions of space and one of wavelength. Without an image stabilizer at the NVST, a large scale wobble motion is present during the spatial scanning, whose instantaneous amplitude could reach up to 1.3" due to the earth's atmosphere and the precision of the telescope guiding system, and seriously decreases the spatial resolution of 2D spatial maps composed with the scanning spectra. We make the following effort to resolve this problem: the imaging system (e.g., the TiO-band) is used to record and detect the displacement vectors of solar image motion during the raster scan, in both the slit and scanning directions. The spectral data (e.g., the Ha line) which are originally obtained in time sequence are corrected and re-arranged in space according to those displacement vectors. Raster scans are carried out in several active regions with different seeing conditions (two rasters are illustrated in this paper). Given a certain spatial sample and temporal resolution, the spatial resolution of the composed 2D map could be close to that of the slit-jaw image. The resulting quality after correction is quantitatively evaluated with two methods. Two-dimensional physical quantity, such as the line-of-sight velocities in multi-layer of the solar atmosphere, is also inferred demonstrating the effect of this technique., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures

Inhibiting specific gene expression with siRNA provides a new therapeutic strategy to tackle many diseases at the molecular level. Recent strategies called high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-mimicking peptide-phospholipid nanoscaffold (HPPS) nanoparticles have been used to induce siRNAs-targeted delivery to scavenger receptor class B type I receptor (SCARB1)-expressing cancer cells with high efficiency. Here, eight ideal therapeutic target genes were identified for advanced lung cancer throughout the screenings using endobronchial ultrasonography-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and the establishment of a personalized siRNA-nanoparticle therapy. The relevance of these genes was evaluated by means of siRNA experiments in cancer cell growth. To establish a therapeutic model, kinesin family member-11 (KIF11) was selected as a target gene. A total of 356 lung cancers were analyzed immunohistochemically for its clinicopathologic significance. The antitumor effect of HPPS-conjugated siRNA was evaluated in vivo using xenograft tumor models. Inhibition of gene expression for these targets effectively suppressed lung cancer cell growth. SCARB1 was highly expressed in a subset of tumors from the lung large-cell carcinoma (LCC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. High-level KIF11 expression was identified as an independent prognostic factor in LCC and squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) patients. Finally, a conjugate of siRNA against KIF11 and HPPS nanoparticles induced downregulation of KIF11 expression and mediated dramatic inhibition of tumor growth in vivo.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) following lung- sparing extended pleurectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has been investigated as a potential means to kill residual microscopic cells. High expression levels of folate receptor 1 (FOLR1) have been reported in MPM; therefore, targeting FOLR1 has been considered a novel potential strategy. The present study developed FOLR1-targeting porphyrin-lipid nanoparticles (folate-porphysomes, FP) for the treatment of PDT. Furthermore, inhibition of activated epidermal growth factor (EGFR)-associated survival pathways enhance PDT efficacy. In the present study, these approaches were combined; FP-based PDT was used together with an EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). The frequency of FOLR1 and EGFR expression in MPM was analyzed using tissue microarrays. Confocal microscopy and a cell viability assay were performed to confirm the specificity of FOLR1-targeting cellular uptake and photocytotoxicity in vitro. In vivo fluorescence activation and therapeutic efficacy were subsequently examined. The effects of EGFR-TKI were also assessed in vitro. The in vivo combined antitumor effect of EGFR-TKI and FP-PDT was then evaluated. The results revealed that FOLR1 and EGFR were expressed in 79 and 89% of MPM samples, respectively. In addition, intracellular uptake of FP corresponded well with FOLR1 expression. When MPM cells were incubated with FP and then irradiated at 671 nm, there was significant in vitro cell death, which was inhibited in the presence of free folic acid, thus suggesting the specificity of FPs. FOLR1 targeting resulted in disassembly of the porphysomes and subsequent fluorescence activation in intrathoracic disseminated MPM tumors, as demonstrated by ex vivo tissue imaging. FP-PDT resulted in significant cellular damage and apoptosis in vivo. Furthermore, the combination of pretreatment with EGFR-TKI and FP-PDT induced a marked improvement of treatment responses. In conclusion, FP-based PDT induced selective

This study investigates how Chinese and German adult daughters evaluate the norm of reciprocity and the unbalanced exchange of support in relation to their aging parents. Women from rural and urban China (n = 292) and from Germany (n = 264) have participated in this study. Results show that for the German daughters, differently from rural Chinese daughters, perception of imbalance is strongly related to their intention to support their elderly parents. The results for the urban Chinese daughters are closer to those of the German sample than those of the rural Chinese daughters. The results are discussed in light of theoretical approaches to intergenerational relations taking into account the Confucian concept of filial piety and influences of social change.

The exchange of support between generations is a fundamental feature of intergenerational relationships. Although most studies have concentrated on the impact of social support on the receiver, effects on subjective well-being of the provider of support have been studied less often. Given cultural differences in the norms and values of intergenerational relationships, the present study compared samples from rural and urban China, Indonesia, and Germany. The results showed that in the different cultural contexts elderly mothers’ well-being was differently related to help that they provided to their adult daughters. The results are discussed from a culture-informed perspective on intergenerational relationships.

This study analyzed the noise equivalent sigma zero (NESZ) and ocean wind sensitivity for Chinese C-band Gaofen-3 (GF-3) quad-polarization synthetic aperture radar (SAR) measurements to facilitate further operational wind extraction from GF-3 data. Data from the GF-3 quad-polarization SAR and collocated winds from both NOAA/NCEP Global Forecast System (GFS) atmospheric model and National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys were used in the analysis. For NESZ, the co-polarization was slightly higher compared to the cross-polarization. Regarding co-polarization and cross-polarization, NESZ was close to RadarSAT-2 and Sentinel-1 A. Wind sensitivity was analyzed by evaluating the dependence on winds in terms of normalized radar cross-sections (NRCS) and polarization combinations. The closest geophysical model function (GMF) and the polarization ratio (PR) model to GF-3 data were determined by comparing data and the model results. The dependence of co-polarized NRCS on wind speed and azimuth angle was consistent with the proposed GMF models. The combination of CMOD5 and CMOD5.N was considered to be the closest GMF in co-polarization. The cross-polarized NRCS exhibited a strong linear relationship with moderate wind speeds higher than 4 ms-1, but a weak correlation with the azimuth angle. The proposed model was considered as the closest GMF in cross-polarization. For polarization combinations, PR and polarization difference (PD) were considered. PR increased only with the incidence angle, whereas PD increased with wind speed and varied with azimuth angle. There were three very close PR models and each can be considered as the closest. Preliminary results indicate that GF-3 quad-polarization data are valid and have the ability to extract winds in each polarization.

Objective: Despite modest improvements, the prognosis of lung cancer patients has still remained poor and new treatment are urgently needed. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), the use of light-activated compounds (photosensitizers) is a treatment option but its use has been restricted to central airway lesions. Here, we report the use of novel porphyrin-lipid nanoparticles (porphysomes) targeted to folate receptor 1 (FOLR1) to enhance the efficacy and specificity of PDT that may translate into a minimally-invasive intervention for peripheral lung cancer and metastatic lymph nodes of advanced lung cancer. Materials and methods: The frequency of FOLR1 expression in primary lung cancer and metastatic lymph nodes was first analyzed by human tissue samples from surgery and endobronchial ultrasonography-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). Confocal fluorescence microscopy was then used to confirm the cellular uptake and fluorescence activation in lung cancer cells, and the photocytotoxicity was evaluated using a cell viability assay. In vivo fluorescence activation and quantification of uptake were investigated in mouse lung orthotopic tumor models, followed by the evaluation of in vivo PDT efficacy. Results: FOLR1 was highly expressed in metastatic lymph node samples from patients with advanced lung cancer and was mainly expressed in lung adenocarcinomas in primary lung cancer. Expression of FOLR1 in lung cancer cell lines corresponded with the intracellular uptake of folate-porphysomes in vitro. When irradiated with a 671 nm laser at a dose of 10 J/cm2, folate-porphysomes showed marked therapeutic efficacy compared with untargeted porphysomes (28% vs. 83% and 24% vs. 99% cell viability in A549 and SBC5 lung cancer cells, respectively). Systemically-administered folate-porphysomes accumulated in lung tumors with significantly enhanced disease-to-normal tissue contrast. Folate-porphysomes mediated PDT successfully inhibited tumor cell proliferation and activated

Scene text recognition has been a hot research topic in computer vision due to its various applications. The state of the art is the attention-based encoder-decoder framework that learns the mapping between input images and output sequences in a purely data-driven way. However, we observe that existing attention-based methods perform poorly on complicated and/or low-quality images. One major reason is that existing methods cannot get accurate alignments between feature areas and targets for such images. We call this phenomenon "attention drift". To tackle this problem, in this paper we propose the FAN (the abbreviation of Focusing Attention Network) method that employs a focusing attention mechanism to automatically draw back the drifted attention. FAN consists of two major components: an attention network (AN) that is responsible for recognizing character targets as in the existing methods, and a focusing network (FN) that is responsible for adjusting attention by evaluating whether AN pays attention properly on the target areas in the images. Furthermore, different from the existing methods, we adopt a ResNet-based network to enrich deep representations of scene text images. Extensive experiments on various benchmarks, including the IIIT5k, SVT and ICDAR datasets, show that the FAN method substantially outperforms the existing methods., Comment: Revise the description of IC15 datasets (1811 samples)

In this work an interval observer is proposed for on-line estimation of differentiation errors in some class of high order differentiators (like a high-gain differentiator from [26], or homogeneous nonlinear differentiator from [24 or super twisting differentiator [15]). The results are verified and validated on the telescopic link of a robotic arm for forestry applications in which the mentioned approaches are used to estimate the extension velocity while the interval observer gives bounds to this estimation.

Jian-min Han,1,2 Guang Hong,3 Hong Lin,1 Yoshinaka Shimizu,4 Yuhan Wu,2 Gang Zheng,1 Hongyu Zhang,5 Keiichi Sasaki2 1Department of Dental Materials, National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Division of Advanced Prosthetic Dentistry, 3Liaison Center for Innovative Dentistry, 4Department of Oral Pathology, Graduate School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan; 5State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical and histological behavior of a ceria-stabilized zirconia–alumina nanocomposite (NanoZr) in comparison with that of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (3Y-TZP) in Sprague Dawley rats. Cylindrical NanoZr and 3Y-TZP implants (diameter 1 mm, length 2 mm) were used. Implant-surface morphology and surface roughness were determined by scanning white-light interferometry and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The cylindrical zirconia implants were placed at the distal edge of the femur of Sprague Dawley rats. At weeks 2, 4, and 8, the interfacial shear strength between implant and bone was measured by push-in test. Histological analysis was performed using hard-tissue sections. Bone–implant contact (BIC), the thickness of new bone around the implant within the bone marrow area, and osteoclast numbers were evaluated. The average surface roughness of 3Y-TZP (Sa 0.788 µm) was significantly higher than that of NanoZr (Sa 0.559 µm). The shear strengths of 3Y-TZP and NanoZr were similar at 2 weeks, but at 4 and 8 weeks the shear strength of NanoZr was higher than that of 3Y-TZP. The average BIC values within the bone marrow area for 3Y-TZP and NanoZr were 25.26% and 31.51% at 2 weeks, 46.78%

As the human population continues to age, an increasing number of people will exhibit significant deficits in cognitive function and dementia. It is now recognized that cerebrovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases all play major roles in the evolution of cognitive impairment and dementia. Thus with our more recent recognition of these relationships and our need to understand and more positively impact on this world health problem, "The Leo and Anne Albert Charitable Trust" (Gene Pranzo, Trustee with significant support from Susan Brogan, Meeting Planner) provided generous support for this inaugural international workshop that was held from April 13-16, 2015 at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in North Naples, Florida. Researchers from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY organized the event by selecting the present group of translationally inclined preclinical, clinical and population scientists focused on cerebrovascular disease (CVD) risk and its progression to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and dementia. Participants at the workshop addressed important issues related to aging, cognition and dementia by: (1) sharing new data, information and perspectives that intersect vascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, (2) discussing gaps in translating population risk, clinical and preclinical information to the progression of cognitive loss, and (3) debating new approaches and methods to fill these gaps that can translate into future therapeutic interventions. Participants agreed on topics for group discussion prior to the meeting and focused on specific translational goals that included promoting better understanding of dementia mechanisms, the identification of potential therapeutic targets for intervention, and discussed/debated the potential utility of diagnostic/prognostic markers. Below summarizes the new data-presentations, concepts, novel directions and specific discussion topics addressed by this international translation

Yu Zou,1,2 Chuan-Gen Guo,2 Zheng-Gang Yang,3 Jun-Hui Sun,4 Min-Ming Zhang,5 Cai-Yun Fu6,71Department of Radiology, Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 2Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 3Institute of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 4Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 5Department of Radiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 6College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 7Key Laboratory of Cell-Based Drug and Applied Technology Development in Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma is currently the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with an increasing incidence.Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor small interfering RNA (VEGF-siRNA) on rabbit VX2 carcinoma cell viability in vitro and the effect of transarterial embolization (TAE)-mediated VEGF-siRNA delivery on the growth of rabbit VX2 liver-transplanted model in vivo.Methods: Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot technologies were used to detect the expression level of VEGF. TAE and computed tomography scan were used to deliver the VEGF-siRNA and detect the tumor volume in vivo, respectively. Microvessel density was detected by immunohistochemistry with CD34 antibody. A biochemical autoanalyzer was used to evaluate the hepatic and renal toxicity.Results: The designed VEGF-siRNAs could effectively decrease the expression levels of VEGF mRNA and protein in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, the viability of rabbit VX2 carcinoma cells was reduced by 38.5%±7.3% (VEGF-siRNA no 1) and 30.0%&

This work addresses the stabilization of dynamical systems in presence of uncertain bounded perturbations using epsilon-invariance theory. Under some assumptions, the problem is reduced to the stabilization of a chain of integrators subject to a perturbation and is treated in two steps. The evaluation of the disturbance and its compensation. Homogeneous observer and control [5], [19] are the tools utilized to achieve a global asymptotic stability and robustness. The result is formally proven and, to validate the theory, it is applied to the control of the telescopic link of a hydraulic actuated industrial crane used in forestry. Experimental results and a comparison with a standard PI controller are presented.

2015 Elsevier B.V. We generalize and study the properties of a test proposed by Zheng (2008) for hypothesis testing involves nuisance parameters that are not present under the null hypothesis. The methodology is illustrated by case-control genetic association studies under model uncertainty.