Measurement and Modeling of Subway Near Shadowing Phenomenon.

This paper focuses on one vital aspect in propagation characteristics inside subway tunnels: near shadowing phenomenon in a practical environment. In order to characterize this effect, an accurate measurement has been made at 2.4 GHz in a real environment in Madrid subway. By analyzing the numerical results in this measurement, the characteristic of near shadowing phenomenon in propagation process has been revealed and corresponding engineering suggestions have been given in order to compensate the near shadowing effect. Finally, statistical model including the depth, duration and length of near shadowing, fast fading and attenuation inside wide tunnel and narrow tunnel has been built and simulated

Survival outcome and EMT suppression mediated by a lectin domain interaction of Endo180 and CD147

Epithelial cell-cell contacts maintain normal glandular tissue homeostasis, and their breakage can trigger epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a fundamental step in the development of metastatic cancer. Despite the ability of C-type lectin domains (CTLD) to modulate cell-cell adhesion, it is not known if they modulate epithelial adhesion in EMT and tumor progression. Here, the multi-CTLD mannose receptor, Endo180 (MRC2/uPARAP), was shown using the Kaplan-Meier analysis to be predictive of survival outcome in men with early prostate cancer. A proteomic screen of novel interaction partners with the fourth CTLD (CTLD4) in Endo180 revealed that its complex with CD147 is indispensable for the stability of three-dimensional acini formed by nontransformed prostate epithelial cells (PEC). Mechanistic study using knockdown of Endo180 or CD147, and treatment with an Endo180 mAb targeting CTLD4 (clone 39.10), or a dominant-negative GST-CTLD4 chimeric protein, induced scattering of PECs associated with internalization of Endo180 into endosomes, loss of E-cadherin (CDH1/ECAD), and unzipping of cell-cell junctions. These findings are the first to demonstrate that a CTLD acts as a suppressor and regulatory switch for EMT; thus, positing that stabilization of Endo180-CD147 complex is a viable therapeutic strategy to improve rates of prostate cancer survival

Propagation Mechanism Analysis Before the Break Point Inside Tunnels

There is no unanimous consensus yet on the propagation mechanism before the break point inside tunnels. Some deem that the propagation mechanism follows the free space model, others argue that it should be described by the multimode waveguide model. Firstly, this paper analyzes the propagation loss in two mechanisms. Then, by conjunctively using the propagation theory and the three-dimensional solid geometry, a generic analytical model for the boundary between the free space mechanism and the multi-mode waveguide mechanism inside tunnels has been presented. Three measurement campaigns validate the model in different tunnels at different frequencies. Furthermore, the condition of the validity of the free space model used in tunnel environment has been discussed in some specific situations. Finally, through mathematical derivation, the seemingly conflicting viewpoints on the free space mechanism and the multi-mode waveguide mechanism have been unified in some specific situations by the presented generic model. The results in this paper can be helpful to gain deeper insight and better understanding of the propagation mechanism inside tunnel

Early pneumococcal clearance in mice induced by systemic immunization with recombinant BCG PspA-PdT prime and protein boost correlates with cellular and humoral immune response in bronchoalveolar fluids (BALF)

© 2019 The Author(s) An effective immunological response in the lungs during a pneumococcal infection is a key factor to the bacteria clearance and prevention of sepsis. In order to develop broad-range pneumococcal vaccines several pneumococcal proteins and strong adjuvants have been investigated. Previously, we constructed a recombinant BCG (rBCG) strain expressing a fragment of PspA (Pneumococcal surface protein A) fused to PdT (detoxified form of pneumolysin). Immunization of mice with a priming dose of rBCG PspA-PdT followed by a booster dose of rPspA-PdT fused protein induced a high antibody response in the serum and protected mice against lethal challenge. Here, we investigated the humoral and cellular immune response in the Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Immunization of mice with rBCG PspA-PdT / rPspA-PdT induced rapid clearance of bacteria after challenge, an early control of the cellular influx and reduced inflammatory cytokine levels in the BALF. In addition, rBCG PspA-PdT / rPspA-PdT induced higher lymphocyte recruitment to the lungs at 48 h, showing an increased percentage of CD4+ T cells. Furthermore, BALF samples from mice immunized with rBCG PspA-PdT / PspA-PdT showed high binding of IgG2c and enhanced complement deposition on the pneumococcal surface; antibody binding was specific to PspA as no binding was observed to a PspA-knockout strain. Taken together, our results show that the immunization with rBCG PspA-PdT / rPspA-PdT induces humoral and cellular immune responses in the lungs, promotes an early clearance of pneumococci and protects against the systemic dissemination of pneumococci

The Neurological Traces of Look-Alike Avatars

We designed an observational study where participants (n = 17) were exposed to pictures and look-alike avatars pictures of themselves, a familiar friend or an unfamiliar person. By measuring participants’ brain activity with electroencephalography (EEG), we found face-recognition event related potentials (ERPs) in the visual cortex, around 200–250 ms, to be prominent for the different familiarity levels. A less positive component was found for self-recognized pictures (P200) than pictures of others, showing similar effects in both real faces and look-alike avatars. A rapid adaptation in the same component was found when comparing the neural processing of avatar faces vs. real faces, as if avatars in general were assimilated as real face representations over time. ERP results also showed that in the case of the self-avatar, the P200 component correlated with more complex conscious encodings of self-representation, i.e., the difference in voltage in the P200 between the self-avatar and the self-picture was reduced in participants that felt the avatar looked like them. This study is put into context within the literature of self-recognition and face recognition in the visual cortex. Additionally, the implications of these results on look-alike avatars are discussed both for future virtual reality (VR) and neuroscience studies

Propagation Mechanism modeling in the Near-Region of Arbitrary Cross-Sectional Tunnels.

Along with the increase of the use of working frequencies in advanced radio communication systems, the near-region inside tunnels lengthens considerably and even occupies the whole propagation cell or the entire length of some short tunnels. This paper analytically models the propagation mechanisms and their dividing point in the near-region of arbitrary cross-sectional tunnels for the first time. To begin with, the propagation losses owing to the free space mechanism and the multimode waveguide mechanism are modeled, respectively. Then, by conjunctively employing the propagation theory and the three-dimensional solid geometry, the paper presents a general model for the dividing point between two propagation mechanisms. It is worthy to mention that this model can be applied in arbitrary cross-sectional tunnels. Furthermore, the general dividing point model is specified in rectangular, circular, and arched tunnels, respectively. Five groups of measurements are used to justify the model in different tunnels at different frequencies. Finally, in order to facilitate the use of the model, simplified analytical solutions for the dividing point in five specific application situations are derived. The results in this paper could help deepen the insight into the propagation mechanisms in tunnels

Galectin-3 expression is ubiquitous in tumors of the sellar region, nervous system, and mimics - An immunohistochemical and RT-PCR study

Galectin-3 expression has been reported in spindle cell oncocytoma, certain pituitary adenoma subtypes, astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and meningiomas. We evaluated galectin-3 protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 201 cases of a variety of nervous system and sellar tumors, as well as mRNA expression by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue in a subset (20 cases). Immunohistochemical results were evaluated in a semiquantitative fashion on a 4-tiered scale (0 to 3). Strong (3+) immunoreactivity was seen in most of the cases (61%), followed by 2+(22%), and 1+(13%) staining. Only 4% of the lesions studied were immunonegative. Galectin-3 mRNA was present in 15 of the 18 cases (83%) in which reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was successful. Significant differences in protein expression were noted in the following 2 settings: specific meningioma subtypes (P=0.004, Fisher exact test) wherein clear cell meningioma demonstrated weak protein expression when compared with other meningioma variants. No significant difference was noted with respect to World Health Organization grade. Galectin-3 was also strongly expressed in benign nerve sheath tumors but only moderately expressed in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (P=0.0009, Fisher exact test). Although galectin-3 positivity is a key feature of the immunophenotype of spindle cell oncocytoma, its consistent expression in other morphologically similar tumors (meningioma, pituicytoma, nerve sheath tumors, granular cell tumor, metastases) makes it of little use in the differential diagnosis of sellar region tumors, a setting in which it should be discouraged. Diagnostic uses of this marker may be limited to specific settings, including some meningioma subtypes and nerve sheath tumors

Time-Dependent Pricing for Bandwidth Slicing under Information Asymmetry and Price Discrimination

Due to the bursty nature of Internet traffic, network service providers (NSPs) are forced to expand their network capacity in order to meet the ever-increasing peak-time traffic demand, which is however costly and inefficient. How to shift the traffic demand from peak time to off-peak time is a challenging task for NSPs. In this paper, we study the implementation of time-dependent pricing (TDP) for bandwidth slicing in software-defined cellular networks under information asymmetry and price discrimination. Congestion prices indicating real-time congestion levels of different links are used as a signal to motivate delay-tolerant users to defer their traffic demands. We formulate the joint pricing and bandwidth demand optimization problem as a two-stage Stackelberg leader-follower game. Then, we investigate how to derive the optimal solutions under the scenarios of both complete and incomplete information. We also extend the results from the simplified case of a single congested link to the more complicated case of multiple congested links, where price discrimination is employed to dynamically adjust the price of each congested link in accordance with its real-time congestion level. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed pricing scheme achieves superior performance in increasing the NSP's revenue and reducing the peak-to-average traffic ratio (PATR).This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Number 61971189, the Science and Technology Project of State Grid Corporation of China under Grant Number SGSDDK00KJJS1900405, the Exploration Project of State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources (North China Electric Power University) under Grant Number LAPS2019-12, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant Number 2020MS001, and the National Key R&D Program of China under Grant Number 2019YFB1704702. This article was presented in part at the International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC’18), Limassol, Cyprus, 2018. The associate editor coordinating the review of this article and approving it for publication was T. He. (Corresponding author: Bo Gu.) Zhenyu Zhou is with the State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System With Renewable Energy Sources, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 10220

A Combination of Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG Strains Expressing Pneumococcal Proteins Induces Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses and Protects against Pneumococcal Colonization and Sepsis.

Pneumococcal diseases remain a substantial cause of mortality in young children in developing countries. The development of potentially serotype-transcending vaccines has been extensively studied; ideally, such a vaccine should include antigens that are able to induce protection against colonization (likely mediated by interleukin-17A [IL-17A]) and invasive disease (likely mediated by antibody). The use of strong adjuvants or alternative delivery systems that are able to improve the immunological response of recombinant proteins has been proposed but poses potential safety and practical concerns in children. We have previously constructed a recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG strain expressing a pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA)-PdT fusion protein (rBCG PspA-PdT) that was able to induce an effective immune response and protection against sepsis in a prime-boost strategy. Here, we constructed two new rBCG strains expressing the pneumococcal proteins SP 0148 and SP 2108, which confer IL-17A-dependent protection against pneumococcal colonization in mouse models. Immunization of mice with rBCG 0148 or rBCG 2108 in a prime-boost strategy induced IL-17A and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production. The combination of these rBCG strains with rBCG PspA-PdT (rBCG Mix), followed by a booster dose of the combined recombinant proteins (rMix) induced an IL-17A response against SP 0148 and SP 2108 and a humoral response characterized by increased levels of IgG2c against PspA and functional antibodies against pneumolysin. Furthermore, immunization with the rBCG Mix prime/rMix booster (rBCG Mix/rMix) provides protection against pneumococcal colonization and sepsis. These results suggest the use of combined rBCG strains as a potentially serotype-transcending pneumococcal vaccine in a prime-boost strategy, which could provide protection against pneumococcal colonization and sepsis