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In today’s education industry, online teaching is increasingly becoming an important teaching way, and it is necessary to evaluate the quality of online teaching so as to improve the overall level of the education industry. The online teaching quality evaluation is a typical multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problem, and its evaluation index can be expressed by linguistic term sets (LTSs) by decision makers (DMs). Especially, multi-granularity probabilistic linguistic term sets (MGPLTSs) produced from many DMs are more suitable to express complex fuzzy evaluation information, and they can not only provide different linguistic term set for different DMs the give their preferences, but also reflect the importance of each linguistic term. Based on the advantages of MGPLTSs, in this paper, we propose a transformation function of MGPLTSs based on proportional 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic representation model. On this basis, the operational laws and comparison rules of MGPLTSs are given. Then, we develop a new Choquet integral operator for MGPLTSs, which considers the relationship among attributes and does not need to consider the process of normalizing the probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs), and can effectively avoid the loss of evaluation information. At the same time, the properties of the proposed operator are also proved. Furthermore, we propose a new MAGDM method based on the new operator, and analyze the effectiveness of the proposed method by online teaching quality evaluation. Finally, by comparing with some existing methods, the advantages of the proposed method are shown.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), social network, and resource acquisition on firm performance in Chinese SMEs.Moreover, we analyze the impact of EO and social network on resource acquisition and further the mediating effect of resource acquisition on the relationship between EO and firm performance, and the mediating effect of resource acquisition on the relationship between social network and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a survey of 204 SMEs in the Liaoning province of China, which includes entrepreneurial orientation, social network, resource acquisition, and firm performance.A structural equation model is used as the methodology. Findings: EO and social network have a significant positive impact on resource acquisition and firm performance. Resource acquisition proves to play a mediating role in the relationship between EO and firm performance, and the relationship between social network and firm performance.A higher EO can acquire more resources, and thus improve firm performance. Research limitations/implications: This research is meaningful, but it has its own limitations.First, the analysis target is limited to one area of China.If the target is expanded to other areas, different results may come out. Second, there may be measurement errors because firm performance is self-reported by the respondents.It is almost impossible that the authors gauge the accuracy and precision of these responses. The research implications are as follows: for SMEs in this region to thrive, the corporate executives should promote their entrepreneurial orientation, and strengthen their business and political ties to enhance mutual trust, and to get government support, information, loans or financing from financial institutions.These ties may also enable them to get favorable details on tax reduction Originality/value: The five-dimensional model of EO is the most prevalent in recent studies.Yet, there is not much research existent on Chinese companies.In this regard, this research using EO's five-dimensional model on Chinese SMEs may provide some contributions to the literature.

Resistive random-access memory (RRAM) devices have drawn increasing interest for the simplicity of its structure, low power consumption and applicability to neuromorphic computing. By combining analog computing and data storage at the device level, neuromorphic computing system has the potential to meet the demand of computing power in applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT). Monolayer rhenium diselenide (ReSe2), as a two-dimensional (2D) material, has been reported to exhibit non-volatile resistive switching (NVRS) behavior in RRAM devices with sub-nanometer active layer thickness. In this paper, we demonstrate stable multiple-step RESET in ReSe2 RRAM devices by applying different levels of DC electrical bias. Pulse measurement has been conducted to study the neuromorphic characteristics. Under different height of stimuli, the ReSe2 RRAM devices have been found to switch to different resistance states, which shows the potentiation of synaptic applications. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) have been demonstrated with the gradual resistance switching behaviors observed in long-term plasticity programming. A Verilog-A model is proposed based on the multiple-step resistive switching behavior. By implementing the LTP/LTD parameters, an artificial neural network (ANN) is constructed for the demonstration of handwriting classification using Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (MNIST) dataset.

A novel miniaturized, multi-mode, pattern diversity antenna for wearable wireless body area networks is proposed. The antenna uses even-modes to provide directional and omnidirectional radiation patterns, which can realize the miniaturization of the antenna. The omnidirectional radiation pattern is obtained by introducing a probe to excite TM 01 mode. The directional mode is realized by exciting the first negative order resonance (-1st mode) based on compound right-/left-hand (CRLH). Compared with the traditional patch antenna, the -1st mode works in the LH region, which is much lower than the +1st mode resonance. These CRLH resonators are realized by etching the gap on the surface of the chip and introducing short-circuit pins. The CRLH circuit consists of series and parallel inductors and capacitors provided by the above mentioned constitute. In addition, the antenna has simple structure and low profile. It only consists of patch, pins and thin metal ground, which is easy to process. Finally, the two antennas are integrated together to achieve pattern diversity, effectively save space and realize the miniaturization of the antenna. Its overall size is only 0.41λ 0 × 0.41λ 0 × 0.049λ 0 .

In the field of aviation emergency rescue, in view of the large-scale transport deployment and dispatching demands, the study on rescue deployment, command and dispatching of existing aviation emergency power is carried out. Based on it, through building large-scale aviation transport mission scenarios quickly, setting up aviation emergency power capacity model, making rules of the transport simulation, evaluating the comprehensive effectiveness, a simulation evaluation system based on multi-agent is completed. This system is applied for the simulations of aviation emergency rescue deployment and dispatching for large-scale aviation transport missions, and evaluating the different deployment schemes by the effectiveness of mission execution. It provides the auxiliary decision-making role of scheme evaluation for the training and decision-making of large-scale aviation transport missions.

The key drivers of 6G result not only from the challenges and performance limits that 5G presents but also from the technology-driven paradigm shift and the continuous evolution of wireless networks. Intelligent driving and industry revolutions create core requirements for 6G that will lead to service classes of ubiquitous mobile ultrabroadband (uMUB), ultrahighspeed-with-low-latency communications (uHSLLC), and ultrahigh data density (uHDD).

The traditional Cancellable biometrics scheme needs another key or token to generate the revocable template, which usually suffers from the token-stolen problem. To solve this problem, a one-factor cancellable palmprint biometric recognition scheme based on Orthogonal Index of Maximum (OIOM) hash and Minimum Signature Hash (MSH) is proposed to generate pseudonymous identifier. Firstly, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness, a parallel structure is designed to obtain Orthogonal Gaussian random projection(GRP)matrices, which is employed to generate the OIOM hash code. Secondly, a random binary string is XOR the binary OIOM hash code to construct the helper data and it is stored in the database. Meanwhile, this string is hashed by MSH to get the final pseudonymous identifier. Lastly, during matching stage, based on helper data and a palmprint images, another pseudonymous identifier is generated to recognition. This implies that, just one factor, a palmprint of user, is needed in the matching stage, and therefore the privacy of user is preserved. To evaluate the proposed scheme, PolyU database and touchless TJU database are used in experiments. The noninvertible, renewability, unlinkability and several security attacks of the proposed scheme are analyzed. The experiment results and analysis show that the proposed scheme has strong security on the basis of maintaining palmprint recognition performance.

OBJECTIVETo identify the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on postoperative patients with stage II-III colorectal cancer (CRC) and to explore the core herb combination and its mechanism.METHODSFor this observational cohort study, patients diagnosed between January 2006 and September 2016 were enrolled from two hospitals, data was followed up from January 2019 to November 2020 and was analyzed in December 2020. The primary outcome, disease-free survival (DFS), was compared for those patients who received or did not receive TCM, and the secondary outcome was the hazard ratio (HR). The relevance principle was used to obtain the candidate herb combinations, and the core combination was evaluated through assessment of efficacy and representativeness. Then, the interactions among herbs and CRC were visualized by Cytoscape. Furthermore, related biological processes and signalling pathways were obtained by enrichment and KEGG analyses.RESULTSA total of 707 patients were finally included. In general, TCM decreased the metastatic recurrence associated with stage II-III CRC (HR: 0.61, log-rank P＜0.05). Among those patients in the TCM group, the core combination was Baizhu → Yinchen, Chenpi, and Fuling (C), and its antitumor mechanism was most likely related to 30 core targets, which were associated with 327 biological processes and 111 KEGG pathways. The most closely associated pathways were the PI3K-Akt, MAPK and HIF-1 pathways.CONCLUSIONSOn the whole, a combination of four herbs, Baizhu → Yinchen, Chenpi, and Fuling, could reduce metastatic recurrence in postoperative patients with stage II-III CRC, and the mechanism might be related to the PI3K-Akt, MAPK and HIF-1 pathways.

To extract more palmprint features and achieve better recognition results, an Orthogonal Index of Maximum and Minimum (OIOMM) revocable palmprint recognition method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the competitive code features of region of interest (ROI) are extracted. Then, the statistical histogram of palmprint competition code features is obtained by partitioning the features. The Gaussian random projection (GRP)-based IOM mapping is used to generate a GRP matrix. Orthogonal GRP matrix is obtained by Schmidt orthogonalization. OIOMM hash converts real-valued biological eigenvectors into discrete index hash codes. Finally, the palmprint image is matched with Jaccard distance. The experiment is carried out in the palmprint database of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. When the random projection size is 200 and the revocable palmprint feature length is 500, the equal error rate is 0.90. This shows that the algorithm not only improves security but also maintains the classification effect.

Camera-based tracking systems have been deployed in a wide range of applications. These systems usually aim to infer the temporal and spatial patterns of people and vehicles, rather than identifying them. Nonetheless, there is a substantial concern nowadays over user privacy - the image and video archives of pedestrians and vehicles may expose their identities and behaviors, which lead to unintended criminal consequences. Particularly, hackers may hijack the control of these camera-based tracking systems for malicious purposes. In this work, we explore a privacy-preserving approach by obscuring the camera by a physical blurry filter. We seek to develop an obscured camera-based tracking system that is capable of offering real-time monitoring of parking space vacancies using only low-cost embedded systems (Raspberry Pi). We evaluated the effectiveness of our system at various blurriness levels. Our system demonstrated high accuracy, despite the obstruction by blurry filters.

In breast cancer, genetic heterogeneity, the lack of actionable targets and immune evasion all contribute to the limited clinical response rates to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Here, we report a high-throughput screen based on the functional interaction of mouse- or patient-derived breast tumour organoids and tumour-specific cytotoxic T cells for the identification of epigenetic inhibitors that promote antigen presentation and potentiate T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We show that the epigenetic inhibitors GSK-LSD1, CUDC-101 and BML-210, identified by the screen, display antitumour activities in orthotopic mammary tumours in mice, that they upregulate antigen presentation mediated by the major histocompatibility complex class I on breast tumour cells and that treatment with BML-210 substantially sensitized breast tumours to the inhibitor of the checkpoint programmed death-1. Standardized measurements of tumour-cell killing activity facilitated by tumour-organoid–T-cell screens may help with the identification of candidate immunotherapeutics for a range of cancers. Epigenetic inhibitors that promote antigen presentation and potentiate T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity can be identified by a high-throughput screen of cytotoxic T-cell activity in breast tumour organoids.

Backscatter communication offers a reliable and energy-efficient alternative to conventional radio systems. With the additional capability of wireless power transmission, the backscatter tags can work in a completely battery-less manner. Due to these exciting features, the researchers from academia and industry are extensively investigating its utility as an enabler of massive Internet of Things (IoT) networks. However, before reaping the benefits of ambient backscatter communications, it is necessary to evaluate its feasibility and operability for large scale networks. To do so, this research paper provides an empirical study of the real city wide deployment of monostatic wireless powered backscatter tags in Helsinki region. The coverage and outage performance has been assessed for both indoor and outdoor conditions using a sophisticated 3D ray tracing simulations. Whereby, the indoor scenario consists of several story buildings with low and high loss materials. Moreover, an indepth evaluation of energy shortage at backscatter tags has also been provided which sheds the light on the importance of wireless power transmission for such networks. The results provided here would be helpful in upscaling the practical deployment of backscatter tags.

This paper proposes a blind channel estimator based on expectation maximization algorithm and historical information-based basis expansion model for uplink wireless communication systems on high speed railways. The information of basis matrices is obtained from the uplink data of the past trains at the base station (BS). With the known basis matrices at the BS, our suggested estimator can estimate the basis coefficients and recover the channel parameters without requiring training symbols. The modified Cramer-Rao bound is derived for the estimated basis coefficients and the computational complexity of the proposed estimator is analyzed. Numerical results are then provided to corroborate our studies. It is shown that the proposed estimator outperforms existing data-aided estimators, including least square and linear minimum mean square error.

Background: Expression of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) has been observed, but their prognostic role in advanced cancers remains uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis to establish the prognostic effect of HIFs and to better guide treatment planning for advanced cancers. Methods: Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was also performed. The clinical outcomes included overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), relapse/recurrence-free survival (RFS), and metastasis-free survival (MFS) in patients with advanced tumors according to multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 31 studies including 3453 cases who received chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy were identified. Pooled analyses revealed that HIF-1α expression was correlated with worse OS (HR = 1.61, p Conclusions: Targeting HIF-1α may be a useful therapeutic approach to improve survival for advanced cancer patients. Based on TSA, more randomized controlled trials are strongly suggested.

Objective: Cancer stem cell marker CD44 and its variant isoforms (CD44v) may be correlated with tumor growth, metastasis, and chemo-radiotherapy resistance. However, the prognostic power of CD44 and CD44v in advanced cancer remains controversial. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to generalize the prognostic significance of these cancer stem cell markers in advanced cancer patients. Methods: Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated from multivariable analysis to assess the associations among CD44, CD44v6, and CD44v9 positivity and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was also conducted. Results: We included 15 articles that reported on 1,201 patients with advanced cancer (CD44: nine studies with 796 cases, CD44v6: three studies with 143 cases, and CD44v9: three studies with 262 cases). CD44 expression was slightly linked to worse OS (HR = 2.03, P = 0.027), but there was no correlation between CD44 expression and DFS, RFS, or PFS. Stratified analysis showed that CD44 expression was not correlated with OS at ≥5 years or OS in patients receiving adjuvant therapy. CD44v6 expression was not associated with OS. CD44v9 expression was closely associated with poor 5-years CSS in patients treated with chemo/radiotherapy (HR = 3.62, P < 0.001). However, TSA suggested that additional trials were needed to confirm these conclusions. Conclusions: CD44 or CD44v9 might be novel therapeutic targets for improving the treatment of advanced cancer patients. Additional prospective clinical trials are strongly needed across different cancer types.

Background: Novel prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for advanced cancer are urgently needed. This report with trial sequential analysis (TSA) was first conducted to provide robust estimates of the correlation between aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) and Nestin and clinical outcomes of advanced cancer patients. Methods: Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were summarized for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), relapse/recurrence-free survival (RFS), and metastasis-free survival (MFS) from multivariable analysis. TSA was performed to control for random errors. Results: A total of 20 studies with 2050 patients (ALDH1: 15 studies with 1557 patients and Nestin: 5 studies with 493 patients) were identified. ALDH1 (HR = 2.28, p < 0.001) and Nestin (HR = 2.39, p < 0.001) were associated with a worse OS, as confirmed by TSA. Nestin positivity was linked to a poor PFS (HR = 2.08, p < 0.001), but ALDH1 was not linked to DFS, RFS, MFS, or PFS, and TSA showed that more studies were needed. Subgroup analysis by tumor type indicated that ALDH1 positivity may be associated with shorter OS in breast, head and neck cancers, but there was no association with colorectal cancer. Subgroup analysis by study source showed that ALDH1 positivity was correlated with a worse OS for Japanese (HR = 1.94, p = 0.002) and European patients (HR = 4.15, p < 0.001), but there was no association for Chinese patients. Subgroup analysis by survival rate showed that ALDH1 positivity correlated with poor OS at ⩾ 5 years (HR = 2.33, p < 0.001) or 10 years (HR = 1.76, p = 0.038). Conclusions: ALDH1 may be more valuable as an effective therapeutic target than Nestin for improving the long-term survival rate of advanced cancer. Additional prospective clinical trials are needed across different cancer types.

Information fusion mainly includes feature level fusion, matching-score level fusion and decision level fusion. However, the feature level fusion is considered to be a more effective fusion method because of the more biometric data than the matching fraction fusion and the decision level fusion. Feature level fusion is the extraction of feature information from the source image and the multiple features are analyzed, processed and integrated to get a single fusion image feature. In this paper, the palm vein features are extracted with Competition code and local binary pattern (LBP), respectively, to obtain two different palm vein features. Then two features are fused using discriminant correlation analysis (DCA). DCA is a feature level fusion technology, which associates class associations to the correlation analysis of feature sets. DCA implements effective feature fusion by maximizing the pairwise correlation between the two feature sets, and eliminating inter class correlation and restricting the correlation within the class. The Competition code uses the directional characteristics of the image to extract the palm vein features, while the LBP is an operator used to describe the local texture features of the image. The two features are complementary. Using DCA to combine the two characteristics of the palm vein can achieve a good classification effect. This paper uses the multispectral near-infrared palm vein image database of Hong Kong Polytech University for testing. Compared with the single palm vein Competition code feature or LBP feature, the DCA combines the two characteristics of the palm vein, which not only shortens the classification time in some degree, but also improves the recognition rate to 99.8% in the case of training samples of 9 and test samples of 3.

Metabolic reprogramming confers cancer cells plasticity and viability under harsh conditions. Such active alterations lead to cell metabolic dependency, which can be exploited as an attractive target in development of effective antitumor therapies. Similar to cancer cells, activated T cells also execute global metabolic reprogramming for their proliferation and effector functions when recruited to the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the high metabolic activity of rapidly proliferating cancer cells can compete for nutrients with immune cells in the TME, and consequently, suppressing their anti-tumor functions. Thus, therapeutic strategies could aim to restore T cell metabolism and anti-tumor responses in the TME by targeting the metabolic dependence of cancer cells. In this review, we highlight current research progress on metabolic reprogramming and the interplay between cancer cells and immune cells. We also discuss potential therapeutic intervention strategies for targeting metabolic pathways to improve cancer immunotherapy efficacy.

Semiconductor heterostructure is usually constructed to separate carriers, and the energy band structures of component semiconductors are mainly considered to achieve the separation. However, the interface of heterostructure also has a great influence on the transmission of carriers which is always neglected. Here, we employed {001} and {101} facets of anatase TiO2 as substrate to composite with two-dimension MoS2 and compared the photocatalytic activity. The results show that MoS2/TiO2(001) composite with optimal ratio demonstrates a large enhancement of photocatalytic activity as much as 3.4 times than that of pristine TiO2 nanosheets with exposed {001} facets. As compared, P25 with main exposed surface of anatase {101} facets was composited with MoS2, and the composite only exhibits 31% boost of photocatalytic activity than pristine P25. This contrast confirmed that {001} facets of anatase TiO2 are the key to construct carrier exchange heterostructure between MoS2 and TiO2 to enhance the photocatalytic activity. The HRTEM images show that the two-dimension MoS2 grown on the {001} facets of TiO2 nanosheets to show a face-to-face contact. This contact is an ideal transmission channel for photo-induce carriers with less scattering. Moreover, due to the higher valence band compared with {101} facets, the photo-induced holes will transfer to {001} facets and finally be extracted by MoS2 for photocatalysis degradation. The strategy that employs different crystal faces to regulate heterostructure interface can also be applied in other fields such as solar cell and electron device.

Photocatalysts with exposed specific active facets usually exhibit desirable photocatalytic activity. These active crystal facets offer various advantages that are often ignored. In this work, we employed specific exposed crystal facets as substrate to construct an excellent heterostructure for high-efficiency photocarrier transformation channel. The (001) face of anatase TiO 2 was selected to fabricate the composite (001) Bi 2 WO 6 as Bi 2 WO 6 (001)/TiO 2 (001) heterostructure. The lattice spacing of {110} facets of TiO 2 (0.26741 nm) in the heterostructure was very close to that of {020} (0.27180 nm) or {200} facet (0.27285 nm) of Bi 2 WO 6 . Thus, (001) Bi 2 WO 6 grew on the (001) faces of anatase TiO 2 with little lattice compression between the {020} and {200} facets. Bi 2 WO 6 nanocrystal could not grow on the (101) faces of P25, which confirms that the {001} facet of the substrate is the critical factor for constructing the heterostructure. The Bi 2 WO 6 (001)/TiO 2 (001) heterostructure was confirmed to be an ideal transmission channel that extended the separation time of photocarriers and enhanced the photocatalytic activity. Thus, an improved strategy that employs specific crystal facet substrate is proposed to construct a heterostructure for high-efficiency photocarrier transformation channel.

In this paper, we propose a novel scenario forecasts approach which can be applied to a broad range of power system operations (e.g., wind, solar, load) over various forecasts horizons and prediction intervals. This approach is model-free and data-driven, producing a set of scenarios that represent possible future behaviors based only on historical observations and point forecasts. It first applies a newly-developed unsupervised deep learning framework, the generative adversarial networks, to learn the intrinsic patterns in historical renewable generation data. Then by solving an optimization problem, we are able to quickly generate large number of realistic future scenarios. The proposed method has been applied to a wind power generation and forecasting dataset from national renewable energy laboratory. Simulation results indicate our method is able to generate scenarios that capture spatial and temporal correlations. Our code and simulation datasets are freely available online., Accepted to Power Systems Computation Conference 2018 Code available at https://github.com/chennnnnyize/Scenario-Forecasts-GAN

Sera anti-enteric neuronal antibodies (AENA), neuronal inflammation, and degeneration in myenteric plexus in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were reported. Effects of sera AENA in patients with IBS are unclear.Patients with IBS met Rome III criteria were enrolled. Controls included healthy subjects (HS) and patients with slow transit functional constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and autoimmune diseases. Indirect immunofluorescence was used to detect AENA. Anti-enteric neuronal antibodies intensities were termed as "1" = weak fluorescence (mild positive); "2" = moderate fluorescence (moderate positive); "3" = very high fluorescence (intensive positive). Intensities of ≥1 were defined as positive and ≥2 were defined as obvious positive. Cultured myenteric neurons of small intestine from guinea pigs and human SH-Sy5Y cells were incubated with fetal bovine serum (FBS), HS sera, or IBS sera with or without AENA. Indirect immunofluorescence with anti-PGP9.5/DAPI/anti-active caspase-3 or TUNEL, Western blot, and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis.Overall, 293 patients with IBS were enrolled (41.7 ± 11.5 years). AENA-positive and obvious positive rates in IBS were higher than HS (76.8% vs 33%; 43.7% vs 7%; all P 0.001). Myenteric neurons incubated with AENA moderate or intensive positive IBS sera showed higher rates of anti-active caspase-3 and TUNEL-positive cells than HS or FBS (20% ± 7.3% and 35% ± 13.3% vs 4.3% ± 1.5% and 0.9% ± 0.4%, respectively; 6.2% ± 2.0% and 10.2% ± 4.6% vs 1.3% ± 1.9% and 0.5%±0.5%, respectively; all P 0.05). Human SH-Sy5Y cells incubated with AENA moderate or intensive positive IBS sera showed increased cleaved caspase-3 and Bax expression and decreased Bcl-2 expression. Flow cytometry showed apoptosis rates of these two groups were higher than that of AENA mild positive, negative, HS, and FBS (7.6%±0.8% and 10.7%±1.3% vs 5.0%±0.8%, 3.8%±0.3%, 3.4%±0.2% and, 2.8%±0.2%, P 0.05).The AENA obvious positive rate in patients with IBS was higher than HS, and sera with higher levels of AENA promoted neuronal apoptosis. AENA-mediated neuropathy might exist in a subset of patients with IBS.

Time-of-use (TOU) pricing has become an effective measure to incentivize demand response (DR) resources to interact with power grids and facilitate the accommodation of renewable energy. In this paper, a TOU pricing method is proposed considering dynamic time period partition. Distinguished from the conventional TOU prices fixed for a long term, the proposed time period partition is updated every day due to the volatility of high-penetration renewable energy, and determined based on the day-ahead system net load forecast. For practical implementation with minimal policy adjustment, the levels of TOU prices remain unchanged, and the daily time periods are categorized into three clusters using the Fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm, i.e., peak, intermediate and valley periods. Then a day-ahead economic dispatch model considering DR is formulated to evaluate the impacts of the proposed TOU prices on the accommodation of renewable energy. Case studies based on a provincial power grid illustrates that the proposed method can determine the time period partition of TOU prices according to the system net load forecast, and effectively encourage DR resources to interact with power grids and improve renewable energy accommodation.

This paper proposes a blind channel estimator based on expectation maximization (EM) algorithm and historical information based basis expansion model (HiBEM) for uplink wireless communication systems on high speed railways (HSRs). The information of basis matrices is obtained from the uplink data of the past trains at the base station (BS). With the known basis matrices at the BS, our suggested estimator can estimate the basis coefficients and recover the channel parameters without requiring training symbols. Numerical results are provided to corroborate that the proposed estimator outperforms existing data-aided estimators, including least square (LS) and linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE).

Objective: To compare the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the upper airway in skeletal Class III patients with and without mandibular asymmetry and to investigate the possible underlying correlations between the morphology of the upper airway and mandibular deviation. Materials and Methods: Cone-beam computed tomography images of 54 subjects with skeletal Class III malocclusion (ANB angle ≤ 0.4°, Wits ≤ −5.5°) were taken and 3D upper airway models were reconstructed using Dolphin 3D software. According to the distance (d) from symphysis menti to the sagittal plane, all subjects were divided into a symmetry group (d ≤ 2 mm) and an asymmetry group (d ≥ 4 mm). Based on the severity of mandibular deviation, the asymmetry group was divided into subgroup I (4 mm ≤d Results: Width of the inferior limit of the glossopharynx (P3W), cross-sectional area of the anterior limit of the nasal airway (P5S), and height of the glossopharynx (GPH) in the asymmetry group were significantly larger than in the symmetry group. As for subjects with severe mandibular deviation in subgroup II (d ≥ 10 mm), volume of the glossopharynx (GPV), total volume of the pharynx (TPV), length of the inferior limit of the velopharynx (P2L), and ratio of length to width of the inferior limit of the velopharynx (P2L/P2W) showed significantly negative correlations with mandibular deviation (r > 0.7, P < .05). Conclusions: In Class III subjects with severe mandibular asymmetry, the pharyngeal airway showed a tendency toward constriction and presented a more elliptical shape as mandibular deviation became more severe (P < .01).

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air were investigated for a 1-year period to assess their sources and health risks during haze days in Nanjing City, eastern China. The highest level of total PAHs (∑16 PAHs) in the gaseous phase during the haze days was 18.0±13.3µg/m3. Their sources may be attributable to pyrogenic products (55.2%), petrochemical refining industry (8.7%), and petrol volatilization (36.1%). The incremental lifetime cancer risk during the haze days exceeded or was close to the priority level of risk (10-4), indicating that PAH pollution during the haze days has caused public health problems associated with the respiratory system. The priority PAHs in the particle phase are mainly composed of low-ring components (

Time-varying channel estimation is a well-known challenge for wireless communications on high-speed railways. Existing estimation algorithms include interpolation, basis expansion model (BEM) and autoregressive models. These methods remain unchanged for every scenario on high speed railways (HSRs), such as viaducts, tunnels, cutting and open areas. Thus their estimation performance are not consistent and also not satisfactory in many cases. Noting that every train on one high-speed railway follows the same track and therefore the channel parameters are correlated at each fixed position. Based on this observation, we propose a new BEM that explores the correlation between current channels parameters and past ones. More importantly, we analyze its channel estimation performance and justify our suggestions. Finally, simulation results are provided to corroborate our proposed studies.

Treatments with morphine or opioid agonists cause constipation. Lubiprostone is approved for treatment of adult idiopathic constipation and constipation-predominant IBS in adult women. We tested whether lubiprostone can reverse morphine-suppression of mucosal secretion in human intestine and explored the mechanism of action.Fresh segments of jejunum discarded during Roux-En-Y gastric bypass surgeries were used. Changes in short-circuit current (ΔIsc) were recorded in Ussing flux chambers as a marker for electrogenic chloride secretion during pharmacological interactions between morphine, prostaglandin receptor antagonists, chloride channel blockers and lubiprostone.Morphine suppressed basal Isc. Lubiprostone reversed morphine suppression of basal Isc. Lubiprostone, applied to the mucosa in concentrations ranging from 3 nM to 30 μM, evoked increases in Isc in concentration-dependent manner when applied to the mucosal side of muscle-stripped preparations. Blockade of enteric nerves did not change stimulation of Isc by lubiprostone. Removal of chloride or application of bumetanide or NPPB suppressed or abolished responses to lubiprostone. Antagonists acting at CFTR channels and prostaglandin EP(4) receptors, but not at E(1), EP(1-3) receptors, partially suppressed stimulation of Isc by lubiprostone.Antisecretory action of morphine results from suppression of excitability of secretomotor neurons in the enteric nervous system. Lubiprostone, which does not affect enteric neurons directly, bypasses the action of morphine by directly opening mucosal chloride channels.

Mast cells express the substance P (SP) neurokinin 1 receptor and the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor in guinea pig and human small intestine. Enzyme-linked immunoassay showed that activation of intramural afferents by antidromic electrical stimulation or by capsaicin released SP and CGRP from human and guinea pig intestinal segments. Electrical stimulation of the afferents evoked slow excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in the enteric nervous system. The slow EPSPs were mediated by tachykinin neurokinin 1 and CGRP receptors. Capsaicin evoked slow EPSP-like responses that were suppressed by antagonists for protease-activated receptor 2. Afferent stimulation evoked slow EPSP-like excitation that was suppressed by mast cell-stabilizing drugs. Histamine and mast cell protease II were released by 1) exposure to SP or CGRP, 2) capsaicin, 3) compound 48/80, 4) elevation of mast cell Ca2+ by ionophore A23187, and 5) antidromic electrical stimulation of afferents. The mast cell stabilizers cromolyn and doxantrazole suppressed release of protease II and histamine when evoked by SP, CGRP, capsaicin, A23187, electrical stimulation of afferents, or compound 48/80. Neural blockade by tetrodotoxin prevented mast cell protease II release in response to antidromic electrical stimulation of mesenteric afferents. The results support a hypothesis that afferent innervation of enteric mast cells releases histamine and mast cell protease II, both of which are known to act in a diffuse paracrine manner to influence the behavior of enteric nervous system neurons and to elevate the sensitivity of spinal afferent terminals.

Background Obesity is a global public health threat. Chromium picolinate (CrP) is advocated in the medical literature for the reduction of body weight, and preparations are sold as slimming aids in the USA and Europe, and on the Internet. Objectives To assess the effects of CrP supplementation in overweight or obese people. Search methods We searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the China Journal Fulltext Database and the Chinese Scientific Journals Fulltext Database (all databases to December 2012), as well as other sources (including databases of ongoing trials, clinical trials registers and reference lists). Selection criteria We included trials if they were randomised controlled trials (RCT) of CrP supplementation in people who were overweight or obese. We excluded studies including children, pregnant women or individuals with serious medical conditions. Data collection and analysis Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts for relevance. Screening for inclusion, data extraction and 'Risk of bias' assessment were carried out by one author and checked by a second. We assessed the risk of bias by evaluating the domains selection, performance, attrition, detection and reporting bias. We performed a meta-analysis of included trials using Review Manager 5. Main results We evaluated nine RCTs involving a total of 622 participants. The RCTs were conducted in the community setting, with interventions mainly delivered by health professionals, and had a short- to medium-term follow up (up to 24 weeks). Three RCTs compared CrP plus resistance or weight training with placebo plus resistance or weight training, the other RCTs compared CrP alone versus placebo. We focused this review on investigating which dose of CrP would prove most effective versus placebo and therefore assessed the results according to CrP dose. However, in order to find out if CrP works in general, we also analysed the effect of all pooled CrP doses versus placebo on body weight only. Across all CrP doses investigated (200 µg, 400 µg, 500 µg, 1000 µg) we noted an effect on body weight in favour of CrP of debatable clinical relevance after 12 to 16 weeks of treatment: mean difference (MD) -1.1 kg (95% CI -1.7 to -0.4); P = 0.001; 392 participants; 6 trials; low-quality evidence (GRADE)). No firm evidence and no dose gradient could be established when comparing different doses of CrP with placebo for various weight loss measures (body weight, body mass index, percentage body fat composition, change in waist circumference). Only three studies provided information on adverse events (low-quality evidence (GRADE)). There were two serious adverse events and study dropouts in participants taking 1000 µg CrP, and one serious adverse event in an individual taking 400 µg CrP. Two participants receiving placebo discontinued due to adverse events; one event was reported as serious. No study reported on all-cause mortality, morbidity, health-related quality of life or socioeconomic effects. Authors' conclusions We found no current, reliable evidence to inform firm decisions about the efficacy and safety of CrP supplements in overweight or obese adults.

Combining with vague sets, a filtering algorithm was proposed to filter mixed noises in image, which was polluted by impulse and Gaussian noises. The proposed filtering algorithm was first to filter impulse noise, and then was to filter Gaussian noise. In impulse noise filter, impulse noise was detected accurately first by homogeneity histogram or homogram and the significant peak detection method of histogram. The homogram was constructed by fuzzy entropy of vague sets. Combining with an adaptive adjusting filtering window method, the detected impulse noise was removed by median filter. In Gaussian noise filter, a fuzzy weighted filter that the weight was determined by similarity measure of vague sets was adopted to reduce Gaussian noise. The experimental results show that the proposed filtering algorithm for mixed noises in images has higher resolution, and can remove mixed impulse and Gaussian noises efficiently while protecting image details.

Introduction: Patients with IBD show higher thresholds to slow ramp distension of the rectum, as opposed to patients with a diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D). Recently we have found elevated serine protease (SerP) activities in both IBS-D and ulcerative colitis (UC) fecal materials. In mice, intracolonic (IC) infusion of fecal IBS-D supernatants evokes a proteinase-activated receptor (PAR)-2 mediated colonic hypersensitivity to distension. Objectives: Our aims were to evaluate the influence of fecal supernatant from UC patients on visceral sensitivity in mice and to test the involvement of PAR-4, and its activator cathepsin G (cat-G) as possible mediators in this nociceptive response. Methods: Fecal samples from UC patients and healthy subjects were dissolved in saline, centrifuged and filtered. Under anaesthesia electrodes were inserted in the abdominal muscle to record abdominal cramps in C57/BL6 male mice. Four days after surgery mice were IC infused with 0.3 mL fecal supernatant from UC patients or controls, and colorectal distensions (CRD) were performed using a balloon inflated from 0 to 0.12 mL each steps lasting 10 sec with 5 min intervals. To evaluate the role of PAR-4, micewere treatedwith a PAR-4 antagonist (P4pal-10, pepducin, 3x0.25 mg/kg) IP before and during UC supernatant infusion. The participation of cat-G was assessed by incubating the UC supernatant with a mixture of antiproteases (aprotinin and SBTI, 0.22 and 1.70 mg/mL respectively) or with a cat-G inhibitor (0.057 mg/mL). The effect of PAR-4 activation or cat-G was tested by IC infusion of 100 ug PAR-4 agonist (PAR4AP, 0.667mg/mL) or 0.025 UN cat-G (0.167UN/mL). Results: IC infusion of UC supernatants decreased the intensity of abdominal EMG response by 71%, 49% and 35% for 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08 mL of CRD (p