Le regole del gioco: Primo incontro con l'ingegneria strategica

Cu particles decorated carbon composite microspheres (CCMs) with a unique sesame ball structure have been prepared by combining the mass-producible spray drying technique with calcinations. The conventional cuprammonium cellulose complex solution obtained by dissolving cellulose in a cuprammonia solution has been applied as raw materials for the preparation of Cu­(NH₃)₄²⁺/cellulose complex microspheres via a spray drying process. The resulted Cu­(NH₃)₄²⁺/cellulose complex microspheres are then transformed into the Cu particles homogeneously decorated porous carbon spheres <i>in situ</i> by calcinations at 450 or 550 °C. The coordination effect between the Cu­(NH₃)₄²⁺ species and the hydroxyl groups of the cellulose macromolecules has been exploited for directing the dispersion of the Cu particles in the resultant composite CCMs. The antimicrobial effects of the CCMs are evaluated by determining the minimum growth inhibitory concentrations using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli as representatives, respectively. The CCMs show high efficiency catalytic properties to the conversion of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol using NaBH₄ as a reductant in a mild condition. The recyclability and stability of the CCM catalysts have also been studied

Measurement Method of the Grain Quantity Based on The Ground Pressure

To measure the stored grain quantity accurately and reliably, the measurement method based on the ground pressure is put forward. According to the randomness of the granary pressure distribution caused by the limited fluidity of the grain, the layout of the pressure on the ground is set up, and the mean pressure on the ground is used to represent the whole ground pressure. At the same time, the pressure distribution on the wall is analyzed and the compensation method is given, which can reduce the sensors used in this method and the cost is low. Lastly, the estimation model of the stored grain quantity based on the ground pressure is put forward, to improve the prediction accuracy of the grain weight, the parameters are estimated based on the ratio of the error. The experiment results shown that, the measurement error is less than 3% by using this method, which can meet the actual need of real-time online monitoring the national grain storage quantity and distribution effectively

Ultra-broadband and compact 2×\times2 3-dB silicon adiabatic coupler based on supermode-injected adjoint shape optimization

The 2$\times$2 3-dB couplers are one of the most widely used and important components in silicon photonics. We propose an ultra-broadband and compact 2$\times$2 3-dB adiabatic coupler defined by b-splines and optimized with an efficient supermode-injected adjoint shape optimization. By employing mode adiabatic evolution and mode coupling at two different wavelength ranges, respectively, we achieve an ultra-broad bandwidth of 530 nm from 1150nm to1680nm with a power imbalance below $\pm$0.76 dB in a compact coupling length of 30 $\mu m$ according to our simulation results. The supermode-injected adjoint shape optimization can also be applied to the design of other photonic devices based on supermode manipulation

Two-Stage Resource Allocation in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted Hybrid Networks via Multi-Player Bandits

This paper considers a resource allocation problem where several Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices send data to a base station (BS) with or without the help of the reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) assisted cellular network. The objective is to maximize the sum rate of all IoT devices by finding the optimal RIS and spreading factor (SF) for each device. Since these IoT devices lack prior information on the RISs or the channel state information (CSI), a distributed resource allocation framework with low complexity and learning features is required to achieve this goal. Therefore, we model this problem as a two-stage multi-player multi-armed bandit (MPMAB) framework to learn the optimal RIS and SF sequentially. Then, we put forth an exploration and exploitation boosting (E2Boost) algorithm to solve this two-stage MPMAB problem by combining the $\epsilon$-greedy algorithm, Thompson sampling (TS) algorithm, and non-cooperation game method. We derive an upper regret bound for the proposed algorithm, i.e., $\mathcal{O}(\log^{1+\delta}_2 T)$, increasing logarithmically with the time horizon $T$. Numerical results show that the E2Boost algorithm has the best performance among the existing methods and exhibits a fast convergence rate. More importantly, the proposed algorithm is not sensitive to the number of combinations of the RISs and SFs thanks to the two-stage allocation mechanism, which can benefit high-density networks.Comment: This paper was published in IEEE Transcation on Communication

Discrete Waveform Relaxation Method for Linear Fractional Delay Differential-Algebraic Equations

Fractional order delay differential-algebraic equations have the characteristics of time lag and memory and constraint limit. These yield some difficulties in the theoretical analysis and numerical computation. In this paper, we are devoted to solving them by the waveform relaxation method. The corresponding convergence results are obtained, and some numerical examples show the efficiency of the method

Atorvastatin Combining with Probucol: A New Way to Reduce Serum Uric Acid Level during Perioperative Period of Interventional Procedure

Uric acid has ever been considered as one of contrast induced acute kidney injury’s risk factors. Atorvastatin and probucol can both improve contrast induced acute kidney injury separately. This prospective study is to assess their effect on reducing serum uric acid level and contrast induced acute kidney injury during perioperative period of interventional procedure. On the basis of different doses of atorvastatin and probucol, 208 cases admitted for coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention were randomly classified into standard combined group (S-C group), intensive combined group (I-C group), and intensive atorvastatin group (I-A group). Patients’ blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and serum uric acid were measured and estimated glomerular filtration rate was evaluated 24 hours before and after the procedure. After procedure, blood urea nitrogen in all the three groups decreased; Scr of S-C group and I-A group increased significantly, while estimated glomerular filtration decreased in the S-C group (P<0.05); serum uric acid in S-C group and I-C group decreased significantly (P<0.05). Combination treatment of atorvastatin and probucol before intervention could reduce perioperative serum uric acid level; meanwhile, the intensive combined treatment can improve the contrast induced acute kidney injury. The result was the same for hypertensive patients

The value of [18F]FDG PET/CT in avoiding overtreatment of 131l avidity pulmonary metastasis of differentiated thyroid cancer

Introduction: We usually use 131I-whole body scan (131I-WBS) and serum thyroglobulin (Tg) values to determine whether differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients need to receive 131I treatment, but not all 131I-avid (functioning) patients have a good response to 131I therapy. Our study aims to assess the data of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography ([18F] FDG PET/CT) to research the status of 131I-avid pulmonary metastases (PMs) and the prognosis of the patients. Material and methods: The 131I-avid PMs of DTC patients who underwent [18F]FDG PET/CT scans were included. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumour volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were used to estimate [18F]FDG uptake. The mean follow-up period was 34.14 ± 18.64 months. Progression-free survival (PFS) was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The study was based on per-patient and per-lesion analyses. Results: Among the 42 included patients, 34 (34/42, 81%) showed [18F]FDG uptake, which was defined as abnormal foci (SUVmax &gt; 1.0) in the lungs. SUVmax, MTV, TLG, and tumour size were the factors that influenced the outcome of 131I treatment based on Tg levels (p = 0.000, 0.016, 0.000, 0.000) in per-lesion analysis. The only independent factor was the size of the lesion. There was a significant difference in response to 131I therapy between PMs with F-I+ and F+/I+ according to both Tg levels and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) (version 1.1) (p = 0.044, 0.001), in the per-lesion analysis. When the changes in size or metabolism of some lesions are inconsistent the prognosis of these patients is poor (p = 0.003). Conclusions: We concluded that higher [18F]FDG uptake and larger tumour size predict poor therapeutic effects and a high risk of disease progression in 131I-avid PMs of DTC. For evaluating the efficiency of 131I treatment, per-lesion analyses and assessing the data of [18F] FDG PET/CT would be more reliable than per-patient evaluation only. And early focal treatment modalities may improve their life span

Genomic variation in 3,010 diverse accessions of Asian cultivated rice

Here we analyse genetic variation, population structure and diversity among 3,010 diverse Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) genomes from the 3,000 Rice Genomes Project. Our results are consistent with the five major groups previously recognized, but also suggest several unreported subpopulations that correlate with geographic location. We identified 29 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, 2.4 million small indels and over 90,000 structural variations that contribute to within- and between-population variation. Using pan-genome analyses, we identified more than 10,000 novel full-length protein-coding genes and a high number of presence–absence variations. The complex patterns of introgression observed in domestication genes are consistent with multiple independent rice domestication events. The public availability of data from the 3,000 Rice Genomes Project provides a resource for rice genomics research and breeding

The efficacy and safety of quantitative flow ratio-guided complete revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Background: In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease (MVD), the treatment strategy for non-infarct-related artery (non-IRA) remains controversial. Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a new angiography-based physiological assessment index. However, there is little evidence on the practical clinical application of QFR. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-nine patients with STEMI and MVD were recruited for this study. Patients were randomly assigned to either receive QFR-guided complete revascularization (QFR-G-CR) of non-IRA or receive no further invasive treatment. The primary (1º) endpoint analyzed included death due to all causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and ischemia-induced revascularization at 12 months post-surgery. Secondary (2º) endpoints included cardiovascular death, unstable angina, stent thrombosis, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV heart failure (HF), and stroke at 1 year post surgery. Massive bleeding and contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CAKI) were used as safety endpoints. Results: Around the 12 month follow up, the 1º outcome was recorded in 11/115 patients (9.6%) in the QFR-G-CR population, relative to 23/114 patients (20.1%) in the IRA-only PCI population (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.22–0.92; p = 0.025). Unstable angina in 6 (5.2%) and 16 (14.0%) patients (HR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.14–0.92; p = 0.026), respectively. No marked alterations were found in the massive bleeding and CAKI categories. Conclusions: In conclusion, STEMI and MVD patients can benefit from QFR-G-CR of non-IRA lesions in the initial stages of acute MI. This can help reduce incidences of major adverse cardiovascular events and unstable angina, relative to IRA treatment only. Chinese Clinical Trial Registration number: ChiCTR2100044120