Search

Using deep learning technology to control vehicles at intersections is a research hotspot in the field of intelligent transportation.Previous studies suffer from the inability to adapt to dynamic changes in the number of self-driving vehicles,slow convergence of training,and locally optimal training results.This work focuses on how autonomous vehicles can use distributed deep reinforcement methods to improve the efficiency of intersections at unsignalized intersections.First,an efficient reward function is proposed to apply the distributed reinforcement learning algorithm to the unsignalized intersection scenario,which can effectively improve the efficiency of intersection passage by relying on only local information even if the vehicle cannot obtain the whole intersection state information.Then,to address the problem of inefficient training of reinforcement learning methods in open intersection scenarios,a transfer learning approach is used to improve the training efficiency by using the trained strategy in the closed figure-of-eight scenario as a warm start and continuing the training in the unsignalized intersection scenario.Finally,this paper proposes a strategy that can be adapted to all proportions of autonomous vehicles,and this strategy can improve intersection access efficiency in scenarios with any proportion of autonomous vehicles.The algorithm is validated on the simulation platform Flow,and the experimental results show that the proposed smart body model converges quickly in training,can adapt to dynamic changes in the proportion of self-driving vehicles,and can effectively improve the efficiency of intersections.

The experiment was to study the effects of dietary isochlorogenic acid (ICGA) on early growth performance, intestinal structure, immune performance, and microbial diversity of broilers. 400 one-day-old Kebao broilers, half in male and half female, were randomly divided into five groups with eight replicates in each group and 10 chickens in each replicate. Each group was fed with basal diet (control group), basal diet + 500 mg/kg ICGA (T1 group), basal diet + 1 000 mg/kg ICGA (T2 group), basal diet + 2 000 mg/kg ICGA (T3 group), and basal diet + 3 000 mg/kg ICGA (T4 group). The trial period was 21 days. The results showed that the average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed-to-weight ratio (F/G) were not significantly different among the groups (P>0.05). The apparent metabolic rate of crude protein (CP) in T3 group and T4 group was significantly higher than that in control group and T2 group (P<0.05), and the apparent metabolic rate of calcium (Ca) in all experimental groups was extremely higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). The ileal pH value of T3 group was significantly lower than that of other groups (P<0.05). Serum complement C3 content of broilers in each experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), and serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) content of broilers in T3 group were significantly higher than that in other groups (P<0.05). The villus height of T3 group was significantly higher than that of the control group and T1 group (P<0.05), and the villus-saphenous ratio of T3 group was significantly higher than that of the control group, T1 group, and T2 group (P<0.05). Subdoligranulum&lowbar;variabile in T2 group and T3 group was significantly higher than that in control group and T1 group (P<0.05). Subdoligranulum&lowbar;variabile in T2 group was extremely higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). The study indicates that the nutrient apparent metabolic rate, immune performance, intestinal structure, and intestinal flora were improved by adding ICGA in the diet. The appropriate level of ICGA in the diet of broilers is 2 000 mg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Options for treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria beyond antihistamines are limited. This multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial from 3 teaching hospitals in China compared acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waitlist control for treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Visual Abstract. Efficacy of Acupuncture for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: Options for treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria beyond antihistamines are limited. This multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial from 3 teaching hospitals in China compared acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waitlist control for treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Background: The effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), reported in a few small-scale studies, is not convincing. Objective: To investigate whether acupuncture leads to better effects on CSU than sham acupuncture or waitlist control. Design: A multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial. (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR1900022994) Setting: Three teaching hospitals in China from 27 May 2019 to 30 July 2022. Participants: 330 participants diagnosed with CSU. Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or waitlist control over an 8-week study period (4 weeks for treatment and another 4 weeks for follow-up). Measurements: The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline in the Weekly Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7) at week 4. Secondary outcomes included itch severity scores, self-rated improvement, and Dermatology Life Quality Index scores. Results: The mean change in UAS7 (range, 0 to 42) for acupuncture from baseline (mean score, 23.5 [95% CI, 21.8 to 25.2]) to week 4 (mean score, 15.3 [CI, 13.6 to 16.9]) was −8.2 (CI, −9.9 to −6.6). The mean changes in UAS7 for sham acupuncture and waitlist control from baseline (mean scores, 21.9 [CI, 20.2 to 23.6] and 22.1 [CI, 20.4 to 23.8], respectively) to week 4 (mean scores, 17.8 [CI, 16.1 to 19.5] and 20.0 [CI, 18.3 to 21.6], respectively) were −4.1 (CI, −5.8 to −2.4) and −2.2 (CI, −3.8 to −0.5), respectively. The mean differences between acupuncture and sham acupuncture and waitlist control were −4.1 (CI, −6.5 to −1.8) and −6.1 (CI, −8.4 to −3.7), respectively, which did not meet the threshold for minimal clinically important difference. Fifteen participants (13.6%) in the acupuncture group and none in the other groups reported adverse events. Adverse events were mild or transient. Limitation: Lack of complete blinding, self-reported outcomes, limited generalizability because antihistamine use was disallowed, and short follow-up period. Conclusion: Compared with sham acupuncture and waitlist control, acupuncture produced a greater improvement in UAS7, although the difference from control was not clinically significant. Increased adverse events were mild or transient. Primary Funding Source: The National Key R&D Program of China and the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serious side effects of cisplatin hindered its clinical application and the nanotechnology might be the potential strategy to address the limitation. However, rapid clearance in the blood circulation and ineffective controlled drug release from nanocarriers hamper the therapeutic efficacy of the nano-delivery system. We constructed a tumor microenvironment and redox dual stimuli-responsive nano-delivery system PEG-c-(BPEI-SS-Pt) by cross-linking the disulfide-containing polymeric conjugate BPEI-SS-Pt with the dialdehyde group-modified PEG2000 via Schiff base. After optimized the cross-linking time, 72 h was selected to get the nano-delivery system. 1H NMR and drug release assays showed that under the acidic tumor microenvironment (pH 6.5â€"6.8), the Schiff base can be broken and detached the PEG cross-linked outer shells, displaying the capability to release the drugs with a sequential pH- and redox-responsive manner. Moreover, PEG-c-(BPEI-SS-Pt) showed more effective anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy in vivo with no significant side effects when compared with the drug of cisplatin used in the clinic. This strategy highlights a promising platform with the dual stimuli-responsive profile to achieve better therapeutic efficacy and minor side effects for platinum-based chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new paraherquamide named aculeaquamide A (1) was isolated from an EtOAc extract of Aspergillus aculeatinus WHF0198 culture media together with five known compounds. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by analysis of NMR and MS data, and the absolute configurations of compound 1 was confirmed by CD spectroscopic methods. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines, Bel-7402, A549, and HCT-116. Compounds 1 and 2 showed cytotoxicity against Bel-7402 with IC50 values of 3.3 and 1.9 μM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]