Viabilist and Tychastic Approaches to Guaranteed ALM Problem.

This study reconsiders the problem of hedging a liability by a portfolio made of a riskless asset and an underlying (underlying).Asset and Liability Management; Viability theory;

Higher phagocytic activity of thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages is related to metabolic status of the cells

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal macrophages are widely used in immunological studies. The cells can be collected under non-elicited (resident) or elicited (e.g., with Brewer thioglycollate broth injection) conditions, and their phenotype and functions differ. Recent studies have shown that macrophage phenotype and function are related to their metabolic states, and metabolic reprogramming has been an emerging concept for controlling macrophage function. In this study, we examined the metabolic state of resident and elicited macrophages and investigated how their metabolic state may affect cell function, including phagocytosis. FINDINGS: Flow cytometry showed that elicited macrophages expressed higher levels of MHC-II, LFA-1 and CD64 but lower levels of F4/80 compared to naïve resident peritoneal macrophages, suggesting a more mature and active phenotype. Elicited macrophages had significantly higher levels of phagocytic activity compared to that of resident macrophages. Metabolic studies showed that the Extracellular Acidification Rates (ECAR) and Oxygen Consumption Rates (OCR) were both significantly higher in elicited macrophages than those in resident macrophages. The treatment of macrophages with 2-Deoxy-D-glucose suppressed glycolysis and reduced phagocytosis, whereas treatment with oligomycin enhanced glycolysis and increased phagocytosis in elicited macrophages. CONCLUSION: Naïve resident peritoneal macrophages are less metabolically active compared to elicited macrophages. Elicited macrophages had higher levels of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, which may be related to their increased phagocytic capacity and higher levels of maturation and activation. Further understanding of the molecular links between metabolic pathways and cell function would be crucial to develop strategies to control macrophage function through metabolic reprogramming

FusionPlanner: A Multi-task Motion Planner for Mining Trucks using Multi-sensor Fusion Method

In recent years, significant achievements have been made in motion planning for intelligent vehicles. However, as a typical unstructured environment, open-pit mining attracts limited attention due to its complex operational conditions and adverse environmental factors. A comprehensive paradigm for unmanned transportation in open-pit mines is proposed in this research, including a simulation platform, a testing benchmark, and a trustworthy and robust motion planner. \textcolor{red}{Firstly, we propose a multi-task motion planning algorithm, called FusionPlanner, for autonomous mining trucks by the Multi-sensor fusion method to adapt both lateral and longitudinal control tasks for unmanned transportation. Then, we develop a novel benchmark called MiningNav, which offers three validation approaches to evaluate the trustworthiness and robustness of well-trained algorithms in transportation roads of open-pit mines. Finally, we introduce the Parallel Mining Simulator (PMS), a new high-fidelity simulator specifically designed for open-pit mining scenarios. PMS enables the users to manage and control open-pit mine transportation from both the single-truck control and multi-truck scheduling perspectives.} \textcolor{red}{The performance of FusionPlanner is tested by MiningNav in PMS, and the empirical results demonstrate a significant reduction in the number of collisions and takeovers of our planner. We anticipate our unmanned transportation paradigm will bring mining trucks one step closer to trustworthiness and robustness in continuous round-the-clock unmanned transportation.Comment: 2Pages, 10 figure

Stochastic and Tychastic Approaches to Guaranteed ALM Problem

International audienceUnlike traditional valuation methods, viability theory provides tools for eradicating the risk, by determining the minimum initial capital that would meet the commitments of the investor, regardless market developments. In this study, we compare two approaches to risk assessment within a framework of asset-liability management (ALM) of a guaranteed fund. The optimal allocation of assets for such funds is determined initially by the classical portfolio insurance (thus with a statistical evaluation of risk) and then in a second step, by tools of viability theory. Although the results from the two approaches are not strictly comparable in terms of numerical point of view (as in both cases the goals are different in nature), this study offers, on a practical example of ALM management, two radically different philosophies: one is the statistical evaluation of risk, based on probabilistic models, while the other one eradicates risk, using viability theory

SGS: Mutant Reduction for Higher-order Mutation-based Fault Localization

MBFL (Mutation-Based Fault Localization) is one of the most commonly studied fault localization techniques due to its promising fault localization effectiveness. However, MBFL incurs a high execution cost as it needs to execute the test suite on a large number of mutants. While previous studies have proposed mutant reduction methods for FOMs (First-Order Mutants) to help alleviate the cost of MBFL, the reduction of HOMs (Higher-Order Mutants) has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we propose SGS (Statement Granularity Sampling), a method which conducts HOMs reduction for HMBFL (Higher-Order Mutation-Based Fault Localization). Considering the relationship between HOMs and statements, we sample HOMs at the statement level to ensure each statement has corresponding HOMs. We empirically evaluate the fault localization effectiveness of HMBFL using SGS on 237 multiple-fault programs taken from the SIR and Codeflaws benchmarks. The experimental results show that (1) The best sampling ratio for HMBFL with SGS is 20%, which preserves the performance and reduces execution costs by 80% ; (2) The fault localization accuracy of HMBFL with SGS outperforms the state-of-the-art SBFL (Spectrum-Based Fault Localization) and MBFL techniques by 20%

Effect of Vent Mode on the Differential Pressure Pre-cooling Efficiency of Layered Peaches

The objective of this study was to explore the effect of the vent mode of corrugated boxes universally used in the market on the precooling performance of layered peaches and to determine the functional relationship between the precooling environmental parameters and the precooling efficiency and the optimal vent mode under different differential pressure pre-cooling working conditions in order to realize the rapid energy-saving precooling of peaches after harvest. A numerical model of heat and mass transfer during differential pressure precooling with circular and rectangular vents (abbreviated as CV and RV, respectively) was established based on computational fluid dynamics. By comparing and analyzing the experimental and simulated data, it was found that the maximum root mean square error and mean absolute percentage error between the two vent designs were 0.799 ℃ and 6.6%, respectively, which fully verified that this numerical model had high prediction accuracy. Through in-depth exploration of the temperature and flow field distribution in different vent modes, it was found that CV exhibited inferior precooling uniformity when compared with RV. Nevertheless, CV demonstrated a notable reduction in precooling time by 30%–40% and a decrease in fan energy consumption by 50%. Additionally, their relationships with differential pressure were described by. Based on these obtained results, the precooling quality of peaches could be improved by using RV, and the precooling cost could be reduced by using CV. To simultaneously achieve these two goals, the diameter of CV should be greater than 35 mm. This study provides a theoretical reference for the reasonable selection of vent parameters and accurate monitoring of fruit precooling performance in small and medium-sized orchards

Content, Composition, and Biosynthesis of Anthocyanin in Fragaria Species: A Review

Anthocyanins are responsible for fruit coloration and are beneficial to human health. The fruits of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) varieties are colorful, a trait that attracts consumers. The fruits of wild Fragaria species, close relatives of the cultivated strawberry, vary in color. In this review, we describe the content and composition of anthocyanins in cultivated and wild strawberry varieties. We also explore the biosynthetic pathway of anthocyanins, including their transcriptional regulation mechanisms. Additionally, we discuss the effect of environmental factors on anthocyanin accumulation. This review will inform further studies toward developing anthocyanin-rich strawberries via environmental control and exogenous application of compounds

Photo-induced halide redistribution in 2D halide perovskite lateral heterostructures

An improved understanding of the degradation pathways under external stimuli is needed to address stability challenges in two-dimensional (2D) perovskite semiconductor materials. In this study, in situ synchrotron nanoprobe X-ray fluorescence (nano-XRF) is used to investigate the evolution of halide redistribution within various 2D halide perovskite (n = 1–3) lateral heterostructures under ultraviolet (UV) exposure. The results show that iodine (I) experiences a loss in all cases, with the rate of change following the perovskite dimensionality monotonically. In contrast, bromine (Br) is relatively more stable than I in n = 2 and 3 heterostructures, with no significant change in the total Br concentration but a visible amount of Br diffusion to the previously I-rich regime. Combining nano-XRF and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), we found a reduction of dimensionality in crystals with n > 1 after UV exposure, indicating significant structural reconfiguration beyond ion migration