Optimized traffic profile for FlexGrid optical networks

This work is focused on studying the connections’ bandwidth distribution effects on the FlexGrid network performance. An accurate study of spectrum occupancy in heavy loaded FlexGrid optical networks is carried out. This analysis is useful to figure out which traffic profiles are more suitable for this kind of networks. Two different cases are considered with respect to the offered connections. In the elastic case, connections sizes can take any value from 1 to a maximum number of spectrum slots. In the multi-rate case, only three connections sizes are allowed. It is demonstrated that by generating the connections with some specific statistical properties, the network performance is improved. These properties are derived from the theoretical study of spectrum occupation in ideal conditions. The main contribution of this work is therefore the proposal of an Optimum traffic profile which allows to efficiently use the spectrum in FlexGrid optical networks. The gain obtained by generating the proposed traffic profile is evaluated by means of simulations at the link as well as at the whole network level.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The potential therapeutic role of extracellular vesicles in critical-size bone defects: Spring of cell-free regenerative medicine is coming

In recent years, the incidence of critical-size bone defects has significantly increased. Critical-size bone defects seriously affect patients’ motor functions and quality of life and increase the need for additional clinical treatments. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) has made great progress in repairing critical-size bone defects. As one of the main components of bone tissue engineering, stem cell-based therapy is considered a potential effective strategy to regenerate bone tissues. However, there are some disadvantages including phenotypic changes, immune rejection, potential tumorigenicity, low homing efficiency and cell survival rate that restrict its wider clinical applications. Evidence has shown that the positive biological effects of stem cells on tissue repair are largely mediated through paracrine action by nanostructured extracellular vesicles (EVs), which may overcome the limitations of traditional stem cell-based treatments. In addition to stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles, the potential therapeutic roles of nonstem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in critical-size bone defect repair have also attracted attention from scholars in recent years. Currently, the development of extracellular vesicles-mediated cell-free regenerative medicine is still in the preliminary stage, and the specific mechanisms remain elusive. Herein, the authors first review the research progress and possible mechanisms of extracellular vesicles combined with bone tissue engineering scaffolds to promote bone regeneration via bioactive molecules. Engineering modified extracellular vesicles is an emerging component of bone tissue engineering and its main progression and clinical applications will be discussed. Finally, future perspectives and challenges of developing extracellular vesicle-based regenerative medicine will be given. This review may provide a theoretical basis for the future development of extracellular vesicle-based biomedicine and provide clinical references for promoting the repair of critical-size bone defects

Circumventing UV light induced nanomorphology disorder to achieve long lifetime PTB7-Th:PCBM based solar cells

Aquest article pot ser utilitzat per a fins no comercials, d'acord amb els termes i condicions d’auto-arxiu de Wiley.Large area flexible electronics rely on organic or hybrid materials prone to degradation limiting the device lifetime. For many years, photo-oxidation has been thought to be one of the major degradation pathways. However, intense illumination may lead to a burn-in or a rapid decrease in performance for devices completely isolated from corrosive elements as oxygen or moisture. The experimental studies which are presented in here indicate that a plausible triggering for the burn-in is a spin flip after a UV photon absorption leading to the accumulation of electrostatic potential energy that initiates a rapid destruction of the nanomorpholgy in the fullerene phase of a polymer cell. To circumvent this and achieve highly stable and efficient devices, a robust nanocrystalline ordering is induced in the PCBM phase prior to UV illumination. In that event, PTB7-Th:PC71BM cells are shown to exhibit T80 lifetimes larger than 1.6 years under a continuous UV-filtered 1-sun illumination, equivalent to 7 years for sunlight harvesting at optimal orientation and 10 years for vertical applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Transcriptomics-based Exploration of the Effects of Oviductus Ranae on Rats with Impaired Follicular Development

Objective: The effects of Oviductus Ranae (OR) on cyclophosphamide-induced follicular developmental disorders were analyzed from the perspective of transcriptomics, which provided sufficient theoretical and experimental basis for the study of estrogen-like mechanism of OR. Methods: Sixty screened female Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group (C), model group (M), positive group (P), OR low-dose (ORL) and high-dose group (ORH). Except for the control group, all rats were injected with cyclophosphamide intraperitoneally to establish the rat model of follicular development dysfunction. Except for the model group, the other rats were given corresponding drugs by gavage, and the serum sex hormone contents were determined after 14~16 days of continuous gavage. The ovaries and uterus were extracted and weighed for recording and calculating the organ index. One ovary and uterus were stained with HE staining to calculate the number of follicles at all levels and the thickness of the endometrium, while the other ovary was analyzed by transcriptome, and the differentially expressed genes were screened and analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. Results: The results showed that the rat follicular development dysfunction model was successfully established. Compared with the rats in the M, the wet weight and index of the uterus of rats in the ORL and ORH significantly increased (P<0.05), and the contents of P and E2 significantly increased (P<0.05). The number of preantral follicles and corpus luteum of rats in the ORL and ORH increased significantly (P<0.05), and the thickness of endometrium increased significantly (P<0.01), with statistically significant differences, and the number of antral follicles in the ORL increased significantly (P<0.05). The transcriptome results showed that there were 738 and 572 differential genes between the ORL, ORH and M, respectively. GO enrichment analysis enriched 1790 and 1616 entries and the KEGG enrichment analysis was mainly focused on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and the B-cell receptor signaling pathway. Conclusion: OR can effectively improve serum sex hormone levels, ovarian follicular development, and endometrial atrophy in rats with cyclophosphamide-induced follicular dysfunction, and its molecular mechanism may be related to pathways and genes such as PI3K/Akt and B-cell receptor

A new critical exposition of the controversy between H.L.A. Hart and R.M. Dworkin

textabstractObjective: To adapt the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) to the specific settings of health care in China and to validate the Chinese version AEP (C-AEP). Methods: Forward and backward translations were carried out to the original criteria. Twenty experts participated in the consultancy to form a preliminary version of the C-AEP. To ensure applicability, tests of reliability and validity were performed on 350 admissions and 3,226 hospital days of acute myocardial infraction patients and total hip replacement patients in two tertiary hospitals by two C-AEP reviewers and two physician reviewers. Overall agreement, specific agreement, and Cohen's Kappa were calculated to compare the concordance of decisions between pairs of reviewers to test inter-rater reliability and convergent validity. The use of "overrides" and opinions of experts were recorded as measurements of content validity. Face validity was tested through collecting perspectives of nonprofessionals. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were also reported. Results: There are 14 admission and 24 days of care criteria in the initial version of C-AEP. Kappa coefficients indicate substantial agreement between reviewers: with regard to inter-rater reliability, Kappa (κ) coefficients are 0.746 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.644-0.834) and 0.743 (95% CI 0.698-0.767) of admission and hospital days, respectively; for convergent validity, the κ statistics are 0.678 (95% CI 0.567-0.778) and 0.691 (95% CI 0.644-0.717), respectively. Overrides account for less than 2% of all judgments. Content validity and face validity were confirmed by experts and nonprofessionals, respectively. According to the C-AEP reviewers, 18.3% of admissions and 28.5%of inpatient days were deemed inappropriate. Conclusions: The C-AEP is a reliable and valid screening tool in China's tertiary hospitals. The prevalence of inappropriateness is substantial in our research. To reduce inappropriate utilization, further investigation is needed to elucidate the reasons and risk factors for this inappropriateness. Copyright

Overcoming Cabbage Crossing Incompatibility by the Development and Application of Self-Compatibility-QTL- Specific Markers and Genome-Wide Background Analysis

Cabbage hybrids, which clearly present heterosis vigor, are widely used in agricultural production. We compared two S5 haplotype (Class II) cabbage inbred-lines 87–534 and 94–182: the former is highly SC while the latter is highly SI; sequence analysis of SI-related genes including SCR, SRK, ARC1, THL1, and MLPK indicates the some SNPs in ARC1 and SRK of 87–534; semi-quantitative analysis indicated that the SI-related genes were transcribed normally from DNA to mRNA. To unravel the genetic basis of SC, we performed whole-genome mapping of the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) governing self-compatibility using an F2 population derived from 87–534 × 96–100. Eight QTLs were detected, and high contribution rates (CRs) were observed for three QTLs: qSC7.2 (54.8%), qSC9.1 (14.1%) and qSC5.1 (11.2%). 06–88 (CB201 × 96–100) yielded an excellent hybrid. However, F1 seeds cannot be produced at the anthesis stage because the parents share the same S-haplotype (S57, class I). To overcome crossing incompatibility, we performed rapid introgression of the self-compatibility trait from 87–534 to 96–100 using two self-compatibility-QTL-specific markers, BoID0709 and BoID0992, as well as 36 genome-wide markers that were evenly distributed along nine chromosomes for background analysis in recurrent back-crossing (BC). The transfer process showed that the proportion of recurrent parent genome (PRPG) in BC4F1 was greater than 94%, and the ratio of individual SC plants in BC4F1 reached 100%. The newly created line, which was designated SC96–100 and exhibited both agronomic traits that were similar to those of 96–100 and a compatibility index (CI) greater than 5.0, was successfully used in the production of the commercial hybrid 06–88. The study herein provides new insight into the genetic basis of self-compatibility in cabbage and facilitates cabbage breeding using SC lines in the male-sterile (MS) system