Congestion Control for Machine-Type Communications in LTE-A Networks

Collecting data from a tremendous amount of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices for next generation networks is a big challenge. A large number of devices may lead to severe congestion in Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core Network (CN). 3GPP has specified several mechanisms to handle the congestion caused by massive amounts of devices. However, detailed settings and strategies of them are not defined in the standards and are left for operators. In this paper, we propose two congestion control algorithms which efficiently reduce the congestion. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms can achieve 20~40% improvement regarding accept ratio, overload degree and waiting time compared with those in LTE-A

Correlation between Pineal Activation and Religious Meditation Observed by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The human brain possesses plenty of functions but little is known about its scientific relationship with mind and spirit. Conferences^1,2^ focused on the connection between science and religion were held very recently in which neuroscientists, Buddhist scholars and Dalai Lama discussed attention, mental imagery, emotion, mind, brain functions and meditation, suggesting religious meditation offers an effective means to investigate the mystery of mind and spirit. In the past decade, scientists struggled to obtain brain mappings for various meditation styles using different brain imaging techniques and stimulating results have been observed^3-17^. In this letter we report that, together with other brain regions, pineal body exhibit significant activation during meditation process, supporting the long lasting speculation that pineal plays an important role in the intrinsic awareness which might concern spirit or soul. Pineal is known as an endocrine organ which produces substrates including melatonin and has been ascribed numerous even mysterious functions but its activation during meditation has never been observed by brain imaging technique. In seventeenth century, based on anatomic observation, Descartes ventured to suggest that pineal serves as the principal seat of the soul^18-20^. Inspired by its geometric center in the brain, physiologists, psychologists, philosophers and religionists have been speculating for centuries about pineal's function relevant to spirit and soul. In this study, we chose Chinese Original Quiet Sitting, one style of meditation, to explore this long lasting speculation by functional magnetic resonance imaging technique. Our results demonstrate a correlation between pineal activation and religious meditation which might have profound implications in physiological understanding of the intrinsic awareness

GPER-induced signaling is essential for the survival of breast cancer stem cells.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-1 (GPER), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, mediates estrogen-induced proliferation of normal and malignant breast epithelial cells. However, its role in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) remains unclear. Here we showed greater expression of GPER in BCSCs than non-BCSCs of three patient-derived xenografts of ER- /PR+ breast cancers. GPER silencing reduced stemness features of BCSCs as reflected by reduced mammosphere forming capacity in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo with decreased BCSC populations. Comparative phosphoproteomics revealed greater GPER-mediated PKA/BAD signaling in BCSCs. Activation of GPER by its ligands, including tamoxifen (TMX), induced phosphorylation of PKA and BAD-Ser118 to sustain BCSC characteristics. Transfection with a dominant-negative mutant BAD (Ser118Ala) led to reduced cell survival. Taken together, GPER and its downstream signaling play a key role in maintaining the stemness of BCSCs, suggesting that GPER is a potential therapeutic target for eradicating BCSCs

Whole-body vibration training effect on physical performance and obesity in mice

The purpose of this study was to verify the beneficial effects of whole-body vibration (WBV) training on exercise performance, physical fatigue and obesity in mice with obesity induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups: normal group (n=6), fed standard diet (control), and experimental group (n=18), fed a HFD. After 4-week induction, followed by 6-week WBV of 5 days per week, the 18 obese mice were divided into 3 groups (n=6 per group): HFD with sedentary control (HFD), HFD with WBV at relatively low-intensity (5.6 Hz, 0.13 g) (HFD+VL) or high-intensity (13 Hz, 0.68 g) (HFD+VH). A trend analysis revealed that WBV increased the grip strength in mice. WBV also dose-dependently decreased serum lactate, ammonia and CK levels and increased glucose level after the swimming test. WBV slightly decreased final body weight and dose-dependently decreased weights of epididymal, retroperitoneal and perirenal fat pads and fasting serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, CK, glucose, total cholesterol and triacylglycerol. Therefore, WBV could improve exercise performance and fatigue and prevent fat accumulation and obesity-associated biochemical alterations in obese mice. It may be an effective intervention for health promotion and prevention of HFD-induced obesity

Sustainabilitas Arsitektur Masjid: Evaluasi Konsep “Simple Architecture” sebagai Implementasi Desain Arsitektur Berkelanjutan suatu Kawasan

Makalah ini membahas aspek-aspek “kesederhanaan” (simplicity) sebagai konsep desain bangunan masjid secara berkelanjutan (sustainable) sesuai konteks dengan mengambil studi kasus masjid kawasan Al-Irsyad Satya Kota Baru Parahyangan, Bandung. Masjid sebagai subyek arsitektur dan pusat ibadah menjadi ruang publik yang didesain dari elemen-elemen yang secara ideal mengandung nilai-nilai Islam dan bertujuan mendukung fungsinya. Desain masjid berkonsep simple atau “sederhana” digunakan sebagai alternatif kontemporer untuk mengoptimalisasi fungsi tersebut, meliputi struktur bangunan hingga biaya pemeliharaan (maintenance) sesuai prinsip keberlanjutan. Keterkaitan erat bangunan masjid dengan aktivitas masyarakat berpotensi melibatkan partisipasi masyarakat dan pengelola dalam menerapkan program sustainabilitas sesuai konteks lingkungannya. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini berbasis pendekatan Grounded Theory secara kualitatif melalui pengumpulan data dari kegiatan observasi, interview dan analisis program keberlanjutan kawasan. Penelitian menemukan keterkaitan konsep “sederhana” yang mendukung sustainabilitas desain sekaligus menggarisbawahi evaluasi konsep desain “sederhana” yang hadir serta faktor pemeliharaan/pengembangan masjid dan kawasan

Structural ordering and charge variation induced by cation substitution in (Sr,Ca)AlSiN3:Eu phosphor

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Tech-nology of Taiwan (Contract No. MOST 101-2113-M-002-014-MY3) and Mitsubishi Chemical Group, Science and Technology Research Center Inc., Japan. We also appreciate to the discussion by Dr. Kyota Ueda and Mr. Fumitaka Yoshimura.Nitride phosphors which are suitable for white light-emitting diode applications. In this study, the structure of phosphor has been modified through cation substitution to induce charge variation and a rearrangement of neighboring nitride clusters, and consequently enhance its luminescent behavior. Substitution of Ca2+ by Sr2+ cations expanded the lattice volume and the b-c plane, but shortened the distance between the layers along the a axis. Lattice distortion of the framework introduced high-coordination sites in the Sr/Eu centers and adequate space, thereby facilitating charge variation of activators under reduced atmosphere, as detected through X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy. As such, the photoluminescent intensity of the phosphors increased by more than 10% and a blue shift occurred. The microstructures of the samples were also analyzed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Cation substitution induced a special change in the anion environment, as indicated in the solid-state Raman spectra. Moreover, a typical ordering variations in the SiN4 and AlN4 clusters are generated in the lattice. Meanwhile, neighbor sequence of (Si/Al)N4 around the divalent centers were observed through solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The modified ordering distribution resulted in a rigid structure and improved the thermal quenching behavior. Thermal stability has been enhanced by 10% at 473 K when x = 0.9 in SrxCa0.993-xAlSiN3:Eu2+0.007 compared with that at x = 0. This study promotes the research of neighbor sequence for selective tetrahedral sites such as Li, Mg, Al, Si coordinated by N atoms contact with cation sites.Peer reviewe

Sialylation of vasorin by ST3Gal1 facilitates TGF-β1-mediated tumor angiogenesis and progression.

ST3Gal1 is a key sialyltransferase which adds α2,3-linked sialic acid to substrates and generates core 1 O-glycan structure. Upregulation of ST3Gal1 has been associated with worse prognosis of breast cancer patients. However, the protein substrates of ST3Gal1 implicated in tumor progression remain elusive. In our study, we demonstrated that ST3GAL1-silencing significantly reduced tumor growth along with a notable decrease in vascularity of MCF7 xenograft tumors. We identified vasorin (VASN) which was shown to bind TGF-β1, as a potential candidate that links ST3Gal1 to angiogenesis. LC-MS/MS analysis of VASN secreted from MCF7, revealed that more than 80% of its O-glycans are sialyl-3T and disialyl-T. ST3GAL1-silencing or desialylation of VASN by neuraminidase enhanced its binding to TGF-β1 by 2- to 3-fold and thereby dampening TGF-β1 signaling and angiogenesis, as indicated by impaired tube formation of HUVECs, suppressed angiogenesis gene expression and reduced activation of Smad2 and Smad3 in HUVEC cells. Examination of 114 fresh primary breast cancer and their adjacent normal tissues showed that the expression levels of ST3Gal1 and TGFB1 were high in tumor part and the expression of two genes was positively correlated. Kaplan Meier survival analysis showed a significantly shorter relapse-free survival for those with lower expression VASN, notably, the combination of low VASN with high ST3GAL1 yielded even higher risk of recurrence (p = 0.025, HR = 2.967, 95% CI = 1.14-7.67). Since TGF-β1 is known to transcriptionally activate ST3Gal1, our findings illustrated a feedback regulatory loop in which TGF-β1 upregulates ST3Gal1 to circumvent the negative impact of VASN