Leverage Business Analytics and OWA to Recommend Appropriate Projects in Crowdfunding Platform

Nowadays, crowdfunding is becoming more and more popular. Many studies have been published on the crowdfunding platform from different perspectives. However, among all these studies, few are concerned about the recommendation methods, which, in effect, are highly beneficial to crowdfunding websites and the participants. Having considered the situation talked above, this paper works out the several features from the relative projects of user’s current browsing project. Then we give different weights to each feature based on selective attention phenomenon, and adopt the method of OWA operator to calculate the final score of each relative project and accomplish our model by picking out the four projects with different outstanding characteristics. Finally, according to the statistics on China’s famous crowdfunding website, we conducted a group of contrast experiments and eventually testified that our proposed model could, to some extent, help classify and give recommendation effectively. Furthermore, the results of this research can give guidance to the management of crowdfunding websites and they are also very significant advices for the future crowdfunding website development

Effects of precipitation variation and trampling disturbance on seedling emergence of annual plants in a semi-arid grassland

Precipitation change and grazing are the main factors influencing vegetation structure and dynamics in semi-arid grassland. However, the effects of precipitation variation and livestock trampling on the seedling emergence patterns of plants remain largely unknown. In this study, an experiment with four gradients of trampling (no-trampling, light, moderate, and heavy) and three precipitation treatments (ambient precipitation, +30% precipitation, and −30% precipitation) was conducted to assess the effects of trampling disturbance and precipitation variation on seedling emergence of annual plants. The results showed that an increase in precipitation significantly improved total seedling emergence by 3.5–3.6 times and seedling density of grasses by more than 4.1 times under trampling conditions, while significantly improving total seedling emergence and density of forbs under no-trampling conditions. Moreover, +30% precipitation significantly improved the seedling proportion of grasses under light, moderate, and heavy trampling, while decreasing the seedling proportion of forbs. Seedling emergence of forbs was more sensitive to trampling disturbance, and seedling emergence of grasses was more sensitive to precipitation changes, especially under trampling conditions. Light and moderate trampling with a +30% precipitation increase promoted seedling emergence of grasses, and no trampling with a +30% precipitation increase improved seedling emergence of forbs. Thus, targeted grazing management measures should be implemented for plant communities dominated by either grasses or forbs under changing precipitation conditions

The genetic and epigenetic regulation of CD55 and its pathway analysis in colon cancer

BackgroundCD55 plays an important role in the development of colon cancer. This study aims to evaluate the expression of CD55 in colon cancer and discover how it is regulated by transcriptional factors and miRNA.MethodsThe expression of CD55 was explored by TIMER2.0, UALCAN, and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases. TRANSFAC and Contra v3 were used to predict the potential binding sites of transcription factors in the CD55 promoter. TargetScan and starBase v2.0 were used to predict the potential binding ability of miRNAs to the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of CD55. SurvivalMeth was used to explore the differentially methylated sites in the CD55 promoter. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of TFCP2 and CD55. Dual-luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay were performed to determine the targeting relationship of TFCP2, NF-κB, or miR-27a-3p with CD55. CD55-related genes were explored by constructing a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and performing pathway analysis by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG).ResultsCD55 was highly expressed in colon cancer tissues. The mRNA and protein expression levels of TFCP2 were reduced by si-TFCP2. NF-κB mRNA was obviously reduced by NF-κB inhibitor and increased by NF-κB activator. CD55 protein was also inhibited by miR-27a-3p. Dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that after knocking down TFCP2 or inhibiting NF-κB, the promoter activity of CD55 was decreased by 21% and 70%, respectively; after activating NF-κB, the promoter activity of CD55 increased by 2.3 times. As TFCP2 or NF-κB binding site was mutated, the transcriptional activity of CD55 was significantly decreased. ChIP assay showed that TFCP2 and NF-κB combined to the promoter of CD55. The luciferase activity of CD55 3′UTR decreased after being co-transfected with miR-27a-3p mimics and increased by miR-27a-3p antagomir. As the miR-27a-3p binding site was mutated, we did not find any significant effect of miR-27a-3p on reporter activity. PPI network assay revealed a set of CD55-related genes, which included CFP, CFB, C4A, and C4B. GO and KEGG analyses revealed that the target genes occur more frequently in immune-related pathways.ConclusionOur results indicated that CD55 is regulated by TFCP2, NF-κB, miR-27a-3p, and several immune-related genes, which in turn affects colon cancer

Isotopic investigations of Chinese ceramics

This chapter provides insights into Chinese ceramic technologies of both bodies and glazes as well as provenance by using isotopes applied to a number of case studies. The use of Sr isotopes to investigate Chinese high-fired Celadon wares and blue-and-white Jingdezhen porcelain (Jiangxi province) has revealed a clear distinction associated with the fluxes used in the glazes: plant ash in celadons and limestone in Jingdezhen glazes, something that is not clear from major element analysis. Furthermore, the technique is able to suggest by implication the nature of the silica source used in the glazes—normally weathered granitic rocks or metamorphic rocks (porcelain stone) which also contains Sr. This leads to an isotopic mixing line of the 2 Sr-rich components and is proof that 2 Sr-rich components were mixed in the manufacture of limestone glaze. This is not the case for plant ash glazes. Eventually, the technique may be used in provenance studies. Like Sr isotope analysis, lead isotope analysis relies on there being a lack of or a minimal change in the isotope ratios when the raw materials are heated. Lead isotope analysis links the use of lead in glazes to the original metal ore and if a kiln uses a distinctive lead source in its glazes, it can provide a provenance for the pottery. This has been very successful in distinguishing Chinese Tang sancai wares made in the Huangye, Huangbao, Liquanfang and Qionglai kilns

[D-Ala2, D-Leu5] Enkephalin Inhibits TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathway and Protects Rat Brains against Focal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Background. Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is the main cause of acute brain injury, which is a life-threatening disease due to the lack of effective treatments. [D-Ala2, D-Leu5] enkephalin (DADLE) is a synthetic delta-opioid receptor agonist that is reported to confer neuroprotective effect; however, the underlying mechanism is still being explored. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether DADLE administrated intracerebroventricularly could attenuate the cerebral I/R injury, to determine if this is through inhibiting the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway and therefore inhibiting neuroinflammation in an ischemic stroke model. Methods. Rats were subjected to 120 minutes of ischemia by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). At 45 minutes after ischemia, DADLE or control vehicle (artificial cerebrospinal fluid, ACSF) was given to the rats intracerebroventricularly. Neurological deficit, cerebral infarct volume, and histopathological changes were assessed at 24 hours after reperfusion. Brain inflammation was assessed by measuring tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the ischemic penumbra by ELISA. The expression of TLR4 was determined by immunohistochemistry staining and western blotting. The expression of NF-κB was investigated by western blotting. Results. Compared with the vehicle-treatment (ACSF), DADEL improved neurological deficit (9.6±2.1 versus 13.8±1.9), reduced cerebral infarct volume (18.74±3.30% versus 10.57±2.50%), and increased the number of normal neurons (29.72±8.53% versus 51.37±9.18%) after cerebral I/R injury in rats (all P<0.05). Expressions of inflammatory molecules including TNF-α and IL-6 were highly expressed in the vehicle-treated rats, whereas treatment with DADLE downregulated these expressions (P<0.05). Additionally, cerebral I/R injury significantly increased the TLR4 and NF-κB expression in vehicle-control group, which was markedly inhibited by DADLE (P<0.05). Conclusions. DADLE, administrated intracerebroventricularly at 45 minutes after cerebral ischemia, significantly ameliorated I/R-induced brain damage in rats. This kind of neuroprotective effect appears to be related to the downregulation of TLR4-mediated inflammatory responses

Investigation on the effect of catalyst on the electrochemical performance of carbon felt and graphite felt for vanadium flow batteries

The role of catalysts in vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) has been studied by introducing bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles on carbon felt (CF) and graphite felt (GF). The electrocatalytic activity and VFBs performance of CF and GF before and after modification with Bi nanoparticles are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and VFB single cell charge-discharge test. The results show that CF exhibits the much higher electrocatalytic activity than GF, due to its higher amount of C-OH and quaternary nitrogen groups and more defect sites. Bi nanoparticles can effectively improve the electrocatalytic activity of CF and GF, especially GF, towards V2+/V3+ redox couple in VFBs. As a result, energy efficiency of a VFB with GF, electrodes can be improved significantly by modification with Bi due to the dramatically reduced electrochemical polarization. However, the energy efficiency of a VFB with CF electrodes rarely changes after introduction of Bi nanoparticles, due to the fact that dominant limitation in a VFB with CF electrodes is ohmic polarization, and the reduced charge transfer resistance is not enough to improve the performance of this VFB remarkably. Therefore, CF is a more suitable electrode material for commercialized VFBs due to its higher electrocatalytic activity and lower cost. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Analysis and Nursing Health Education of Current Status of Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients with Hyperphosphatemia

Concerned about the current situation of hemodialysis patients' awareness of the problems related to dialysis complicated with hyperphosphatemia, further analyze the existing problems and causes, give targeted and individualized health education, improve the compliance of diet, medication and self-management, strengthen nurse-patient communication, establish a good nurse-patient relationship, reduce and control the incidence of hyperphosphatemia, improve patients' quality of life, and improve prognosis

TMTNet: A Transformer-Based Multimodality Information Transfer Network for Hyperspectral Object Tracking

Hyperspectral video with spatial and spectral information has great potential to improve object tracking performance. However, the limited hyperspectral training samples hinder the development of hyperspectral object tracking. Since hyperspectral data has multiple bands, from which any three bands can be extracted to form pseudocolor images, we propose a Transformer-based multimodality information transfer network (TMTNet), aiming to improve the tracking performance by efficiently transferring the information of multimodality data composed of RGB and hyperspectral in the hyperspectral tracking process. The multimodality information needed to be transferred mainly includes the RGB and hyperspectral multimodality fusion information and the RGB modality information. Specifically, we construct two subnetworks to transfer the multimodality fusion information and the robust RGB visual information, respectively. Among them, the multimodality fusion information transfer subnetwork is designed based on the dual Siamese branch structure. The subnetwork employs the pretrained RGB tracking model as the RGB branch to guide the training of the hyperspectral branch with little training samples. The RGB modality information transfer subnetwork is designed based on a pretrained RGB tracking model with good performance to improve the tracking network’s generalization and accuracy in unknown complex scenes. In addition, we design an information interaction module based on Transformer in the multimodality fusion information transfer subnetwork. The module can fuse multimodality information by capturing the potential interaction between different modalities. We also add a spatial optimization module to TMTNet, which further optimizes the object position predicted by the subject network by fully retaining and utilizing detailed spatial information. Experimental results on the only available hyperspectral tracking benchmark dataset show that the proposed TMTNet tracker outperforms the advanced trackers, demonstrating the effectiveness of this method