Decentralized Douglas-Rachford splitting methods for smooth optimization over compact submanifolds

We study decentralized smooth optimization problems over compact submanifolds. Recasting it as a composite optimization problem, we propose a decentralized Douglas-Rachford splitting algorithm, DDRS. When the proximal operator of the local loss function does not have a closed-form solution, an inexact version of DDRS, iDDRS, is also presented. Both algorithms rely on an ingenious integration of the nonconvex Douglas-Rachford splitting algorithm with gradient tracking and manifold optimization. We show that our DDRS and iDDRS achieve the best-known convergence rate of $\mathcal{O}(1/K)$. The main challenge in the proof is how to handle the nonconvexity of the manifold constraint. To address this issue, we utilize the concept of proximal smoothness for compact submanifolds. This ensures that the projection onto the submanifold exhibits convexity-like properties, which allows us to control the consensus error across agents. Numerical experiments on the principal component analysis are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our decentralized DRS compared with the state-of-the-art ones

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate): Structure, Property, and Fiber

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(3HB-co-3HV)] are produced by various microorganisms as an intracellular carbon and energy reserve from agricultural feedstocks such as sugars and plant oils under unbalanced growth conditions. P(3HB) and P(3HB-co-3HV) have attracted the attention of academia and industry because of its biodegradability, biocompatibility, thermoplasticity, and plastic-like properties. This review first introduced the isodimorphism, spherulites, and molecular interaction of P(3HB) and P(3HB-co-3HV). In addition, the effects of 3HV content on the melting temperature and crystallization rate were discussed. Then the drawbacks of P(3HB) and P(3HB-co-3HV) including brittleness, narrow melt processing window, low crystallization rate, slow biodegradation rate in body, and so on were summarized. At last, the preparation, structure, and properties of P(3HB) and P(3HB-co-3HV) fiber were introduced

Linezolid decreases Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation by affecting the IcaA and IcaB proteins

Background: The ica gene of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) plays a vital role in its growth and biofilm formation. Among them, IcaA and IcaB are critical proteins for synthesizing extracellular polysaccharides and biofilms in S. aureus. To investigate whether the formation of S. aureus biofilms can be inhibited through the IcaA and IcaB proteins by the presence of linezolid. Methods: The icaA and icaB genes of S. aureus ATCC 25923 were silenced by homologous recombination. The critical roles of icaA and icaB in S. aureus were analysed by observing the growth curve and biofilm formation after linezolid treatment. Then, the effect of linezolid on the morphology of S. aureus was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Finally, the potential binding ability of linezolid to Ica proteins was predicted by molecular docking. Results: The icaA- and icaB-silenced strains were successfully constructed, and the sensitivity of S. aureus to linezolid was decreased after icaA and icaB silencing. Scanning electron microscopy showed that linezolid caused invagination of the S. aureus surface and reduced the production of biofilms. Molecular docking results showed that linezolid could bind to IcaA and IcaB proteins. Conclusion: IcaA and IcaB are potential targets of linezolid in inhibiting the biofilm formation of S. aureus (ATCC 25923)

Systematic study of pentaquark states: qqq−qqˉqqq-q\bar{q} configuration

Group theoretic method for the systematic study of five-quark states with meson-baryon ($q\bar{q}-q^3$) configuration is developed. The calculation of matrix elements of many body Hamiltonian is simplified by transforming the physical bases (meson-baryon quark cluster bases) to symmetry bases (group chain classified bases), where the fractional parentage expansion method can be used. Three quark models, the naive Glashow-Isgur model, Salamanca chiral quark model and quark delocalization color screening model, are used to show the general applicability of the method and general results of constituent quark models for five-quark states are given. The method can also be useful in the calculation of meson-baryon scattering and the study of the five-quark components effect in baryon structure. The physical contents of different model configurations for the same multi-quark system can also be compared through the transformation between different physical bases to the same set of symmetry bases.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figure

Mouse SCNT ESCs Have Lower Somatic Mutation Load Than Syngeneic iPSCs

SummaryEctopic expression of reprogramming factors has been widely adopted to reprogram somatic nucleus into a pluripotent state (induced pluripotent stem cells [iPSCs]). However, genetic aberrations such as somatic gene mutation in the resulting iPSCs have raised concerns regarding their clinical utility. To test whether the increased somatic mutations are primarily the by-products of current reprogramming methods, we reprogrammed embryonic fibroblasts of inbred C57BL/6 mice into either iPSCs (8 lines, 4 previously published) or embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT ESCs; 11 lines). Exome sequencing of these lines indicates a significantly lower mutation load in SCNT ESCs than iPSCs of syngeneic background. In addition, one SCNT-ESC line has no detectable exome mutation, and two pairs of SCNT-ESC lines only have shared preexisting mutations. In contrast, every iPSC line carries unique mutations. Our study highlights the need for improving reprogramming methods in more physiologically relevant conditions

The influence of embryo stage on obstetric complications and perinatal outcomes following programmed compared to natural frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of embryo stage at the time of transfer on obstetric and perinatal outcomes in programmed frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) versus natural FET cycles.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.SettingNot applicable.Patient(s)Women with programmed frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) and natural FET.Intervention(s)The PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CCRT) were searched from 1983 to October 2022. Twenty-three observational studies were included.Primary outcome measureThe primary outcomes were hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs), gestational hypertension and preeclampsia (PE). The secondary outcomes were gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), placenta previa, postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), placental abruption, preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), large for gestational age (LGA), small for gestational age (SGA), macrosomia, and preterm delivery (PTD).Result(s)The risk of HDP (14 studies, odds ratio (OR) 2.17; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.95-2.41; P<0.00001; I2 = 43%), gestational hypertension (11 studies, OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.15-1.66; P=0.0006; I2 = 19%), PE (12 studies, OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.88-2.32; P<0.00001; I2 = 0%), GDM (20 studies, OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.02-1.17; P=0.02; I2 = 8%), LGA (18 studies, OR 1.11; 95% CI 1.07-1.15; P<0.00001; I2 = 46%), macrosomia (12 studies, OR 1.15; 95% CI 1.07-1.24; P=0.0002; I2 = 31%), PTD (22 studies, OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.15-1.27; P<0.00001; I2 = 49%), placenta previa (17 studies, OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.02-1.41; P=0.03; I2 = 11%), PPROM (9 studies, OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.02-1.39; P=0.02; I2 = 40%), and PPH (12 studies, OR 2.27; 95% CI 2.02-2.55; P <0.00001; I2 = 55%) were increased in programmed FET cycles versus natural FET cycles with overall embryo transfer. Blastocyst transfer had a higher risk of HDP (6 studies, OR 2.48; 95% CI 2.12-2.91; P<0.00001; I2 = 39%), gestational hypertension (5 studies, OR 1.87; 95% CI 1.27-2.75; P=0.002; I2 = 25%), PE (6 studies, OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.93-2.56; P<0.00001; I2 = 0%), GDM (10 studies, OR 1.13; 95% CI 1.04-1.23; P=0.005; I2 = 39%), LGA (6 studies, OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.07-1.21; P<0.0001; I2 = 9%), macrosomia (4 studies, OR 1.15; 95% CI 1.05-1.26; P<0.002; I2 = 68%), PTD (9 studies, OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.31-1.57; P<0.00001; I2 = 22%), PPH (6 studies, OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.46-2.51; P<0.00001; I2 = 55%), and PPROM (4 studies, OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.14-1.83; P=0.002; I2 = 46%) in programmed FET cycles than in natural FET cycles. Cleavage-stage embryo transfers revealed no difference in HDPs (1 study, OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.32-2.02; P=0.65; I2 not applicable), gestational hypertension (2 studies, OR 0.85; 95% CI 0.48-1.51; P=0.59; I2 = 0%), PE (1 study, OR 1.19; 95% CI 0.58-2.42; P=0.64; I2not applicable), GDM (3 study, OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.52-1.20; P=0.27; I2 = 21%), LGA (1 study, OR 1.15; 95% CI 0.62-2.11; P=0.66; I2not applicable), macrosomia (1 study, OR 1.22; 95% CI 0.54-2.77; P=0.64; I2 not applicable), PTD (2 studies, OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.74-1.49; P=0.79; I2 = 0%), PPH (1 study, OR 1.49; 95% CI 0.85-2.62; P=0.17; I2not applicable), or PPROM (2 studies, OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.46-1.21; P=0.23; I2 = 0%) between programmed FET cycles and natural FET cycles.Conclusion(s)The risks of HDPs, gestational hypertension, PE, GDM, LGA, macrosomia, SGA, PTD, placenta previa, PPROM, and PPH were increased in programmed FET cycles versus natural FET cycles with overall embryo transfer and blastocyst transfer, but the risks were not clear for cleavage-stage embryo transfer

Adjustment of Synchronization Stability of Dynamic Brain-Networks Based on Feature Fusion

When the brain is active, the neural activities of different regions are integrated on various spatial and temporal scales; this is termed the synchronization phenomenon in neurobiological theory. This synchronicity is also the main underlying mechanism for information integration and processing in the brain. Clinical medicine has found that some of the neurological diseases that are difficult to cure have deficiencies or abnormalities in the whole or local integration processes of the brain. By studying the synchronization capabilities of the brain-network, we can intensively describe and characterize both the state of the interactions between brain regions and their differences between people with a mental illness and a set of controls by measuring the rapid changes in brain activity in patients with psychiatric disorders and the strength and integrity of their entire brain network. This is significant for the study of mental illness. Because static brain network connection methods are unable to assess the dynamic interactions within the brain, we introduced the concepts of dynamics and variability in a constructed EEG brain functional network based on dynamic connections, and used it to analyze the variability in the time characteristics of the EEG functional network. We used the spectral features of the brain network to extract its synchronization features and used the synchronization features to describe the process of change and the differences in the brain network's synchronization ability between a group of patients and healthy controls during a working memory task. We propose a method based on the fusion of traditional features and spectral features to achieve an adjustment of the patient's brain network synchronization ability, so that its synchronization ability becomes consistent with that of healthy controls, theoretically achieving the purpose of the treatment of the diseases. Studying the stability of brain network synchronization can provide new insights into the pathogenic mechanism and cure of mental diseases and has a wide range of potential applications

The Association and Clinical Significance of CDKN2A Promoter Methylation in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: a Meta-Analysis

Background/Aims: The association between cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) hypermethylation and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) risk has been investigated by a number of studies. However, these studies have not demonstrated consistent results. Moreover, the role of CDKN2A methylation in HNSCC carcinogenesis and its clinical significance remain unclear. Methods: We performed a systematic meta-analysis based on 72 articles (including 3399 HNSCCs, 668 premalignant lesions, and 2393 normal controls) from the PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases. Results: Our study showed a significant increase in the frequency of CDKN2A methylation during HNSCC carcinogenesis (HNSCC vs. normal controls, odds ratio (OR) = 6.72, P < 0.01; HNSCC vs. precancerous lesions, OR = 1.89, P < 0.05; precancerous lesions vs. normal controls, OR = 14.70, P < 0.01). Moreover, CDKN2A methylation was significantly associated with gender (OR = 1.34; P < 0.05) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.32; P < 0.01). The area under summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for diagnosis of HNSCC based on all samples and saliva sample subgroup were 0.77 and 0.96, respectively. Additionally, CDKN2A hypermethylation was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.01, P < 0.05) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.77, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings indicate CDKN2A methylation is involved in the carcinogenesis, progression, and metastasis of HNSCC. Furthermore, methylated CDKN2A could be a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HNSCC