Over-the-air Federated Policy Gradient

In recent years, over-the-air aggregation has been widely considered in large-scale distributed learning, optimization, and sensing. In this paper, we propose the over-the-air federated policy gradient algorithm, where all agents simultaneously broadcast an analog signal carrying local information to a common wireless channel, and a central controller uses the received aggregated waveform to update the policy parameters. We investigate the effect of noise and channel distortion on the convergence of the proposed algorithm, and establish the complexities of communication and sampling for finding an $\epsilon$-approximate stationary point. Finally, we present some simulation results to show the effectiveness of the algorithm

LQG Control Over SWIPT-enabled Wireless Communication Network

In this paper, we consider using simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) to recharge the sensor in the LQG control, which provides a new approach to prolonging the network lifetime. We analyze the stability of the proposed system model and show that there exist two critical values for the power splitting ratio {\alpha}. Then, we propose an optimization problem to derive the optimal value of {\alpha}. This problem is non-convex but its numerical solution can be derived by our proposed algorithm efficiently. Moreover, we provide the feasible condition of the proposed optimization problem. Finally, simulation results are presented to verify and illustrate the main theoretical results

Similarity Principle and its Acoustical Verification

This study finds a similarity principle the waves emanated from the same source are similar to each other as long as two wave receivers are close enough to each other the closer to each other the wave receivers are the more similar to each other the received waves are We define the similarity mathematically and verify the similarity principle by acoustical experiment

Severe loneliness and isolation in nursing students during Covid-19 lockdown: a phenomenological study

In 2022, COVID-19 continued to spread across the globe, and to stop the spread of the virus and protect people’s health, universities across China continued to remain in a lockdown state. Loneliness is an important topic among college students, and the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated loneliness. This prolonged school lockdown was unprecedented and it caused severe social isolation and emotional loneliness for students. Few people know how nursing students experience loneliness and find a way through their experience. This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to reveal the lived experiences of nursing students who indicated COVID-19 lockdown-related loneliness in a previous quantitative survey. We performed 20 semi-structured interviews with nursing students aged 19–23 yrs during their lockdown (April 2022 to June 2022). Our research applied Colaizzi’s seven-step data analysis processes to reveal shared patterns in terms of how nursing students experienced lockdown and found the following four themes: emotional challenges associated with loneliness; causes of loneliness; positive and negative motivation to learn; and accepting solitude and reconstructing real life

Association of IL-4 and IL-18 genetic polymorphisms with atopic dermatitis in Chinese children

BackgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, adversely affecting nearly 20% of the pediatric population worldwide. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) are considered to be involved in the pathogenesis and development of AD. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of IL-4 and IL-18 gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility and severity of AD in Chinese children.MethodsSix candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-4 and IL-18 genes were genotyped through multi-PCR combined with next-generation sequencing in 132 AD children and 100 healthy controls, and all the analyses were performed on blood genome DNA.ResultsThe frequencies of G allele, CG genotype and CG + GG genotype of IL-4 rs2243283, as well as the haplotype IL-4/GTT (rs2243283-rs2243250-rs2243248) were all significantly decreased in AD patients compared with the controls [G vs. C: P = 0.033, OR = 0.59; CG vs. CC: P = 0.024, OR = 0.47; CG + GG vs. CC: P = 0.012, OR = 0.49; GTT vs. CCT: P = 0.011, OR = 0.65]. Moreover, the frequencies of A allele, AA genotype and AG + AA genotype of IL-18 rs7106524, along with the haplotype IL-18/CAA (rs187238-rs360718-rs7106524) were statistically increased in the severe AD patients (A vs. G: P < 0.001, OR = 2.79; AA vs. GG: P = 0.003, OR = 5.51; AG + AA vs. GG: P = 0.036, OR = 2.93; CAA vs. CAG: P = 0.001, OR = 2.86).ConclusionsOur findings suggested that genetic variation in IL-4 rs2243283 such as G allele, CG genotype and CG + GG genotype might confer the reduced susceptibility to AD in Chinese children. Furthermore, A allele, AA genotype and AG + AA genotype of IL-18 rs7106524 explored the strong association with severity in Chinese AD children

Association between IL-6 polymorphisms and Atopic Dermatitis in Chinese Han children

IntroductionAtopic Dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects almost 20% of children and 2 -10% of adults worldwide. Previous studies revealed that Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays an essential role in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. This study aims to investigate the associations between IL-6 polymorphisms and AD.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 132 AD patients and 100 controls, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-6 (rs2069840 (C/G), rs2066992 (G/T), rs2069837 (A/G) and rs1800796 (G/C)) were analyzed using Multiplex PCR-Based Next Generation Sequencing (NGS).ResultsResults showed that the A/G genotype of IL-6/rs2069837 was significantly associated with a 1.933-fold increased risk of AD compared to those patients with A/A genotype (OR 1.933; 95%CI 1.086-3.438; p=0.024). The combined A/G-G/G genotype raised AD risk by 1.856 times compared to patients with the A/A genotype in dominant model (OR: 1.856; 95% CI: 1.056-3.261; p=0.030). No association was observed for 3 other SNPs and 4 haplotypes.DiscussionThese findings suggested that the A/G genotype of IL-6/rs2069837 was more susceptible to AD than A/A genotype in Chinese Han children, indicating the risk role of IL-6/rs2069837 in the occurrence of AD

Safety and feasibility of laparoscopic radical resection for bismuth types III and IV hilar cholangiocarcinoma: a single-center experience from China

BackgroundSurgery represents the only cure for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HC). However, laparoscopic radical resection remains technically challenging owing to the complex anatomy and reconstruction required during surgery. Therefore, reports on laparoscopic surgery (LS) for HC, especially for types III and IV, are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic radical surgery for Bismuth types III and IV HC.MethodsThe data of 16 patients who underwent LS and 9 who underwent open surgery (OS) for Bismuth types III and IV HC at Mianyang Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, between December 2017 and January 2022 were analyzed. Basic patient information, Bismuth–Corlette type, AJCC staging, postoperative complications, pathological findings, and follow-up results were evaluated.ResultsSixteen patients underwent LS and 9 underwent OS for HC. According to the preoperative imaging data, there were four cases of Bismuth type IIIa, eight of type IIIb, and four of type IV in the LS group and two of type IIIa, four of type IIIb, and three of type IV in the OS group (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in age, sex, ASA score, comorbidity, preoperative percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage rate, history of abdominal surgery, or preoperative laboratory tests between the two groups (P>0.05). Although the mean operative time and mean intraoperative blood loss were higher in the LS group than in OS group, the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.121 and P=0.115, respectively). Four patients (25%) in the LS group and two (22.2%) in the OS group experienced postoperative complications (P>0.05). No significant differences were observed in other surgical outcomes and pathologic findings between the two groups. Regarding the tumor recurrence rate, there was no difference between the groups (P>0.05) during the follow-up period (23.9 ± 13.3 months vs. 17.8 ± 12.3 months, P=0.240).ConclusionLaparoscopic radical resection of Bismuth types III and IV HC remains challenging, and extremely delicate surgical skills are required when performing extended hemihepatectomy followed by complex bilioenteric reconstructions. However, this procedure is generally safe and feasible for hepatobiliary surgeons with extensive laparoscopy experience

Hidden structural and chemical order controls lithium transport in cation-disordered oxides for rechargeable batteries

This work was supported by the Robert Bosch Corporation, Umicore Specialty Oxides and Chemicals, and the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 under the Advanced Battery Materials Research (BMR) Program. The research conducted at the NOMAD Beamline at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source was sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy. Work at the Molecular Foundry was supported by the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. The computational analysis was performed using computational resources sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as well computational resources provided by Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which was supported by the National Science Foundation grant number ACI-1053575.Structure plays a vital role in determining materials properties. In lithium ion cathode materials, the crystal structure defines the dimensionality and connectivity of interstitial sites, thus determining lithium ion diffusion kinetics. In most conventional cathode materials that are well-ordered, the average structure as seen in diffraction dictates the lithium ion diffusion pathways. Here, we show that this is not the case in a class of recently discovered high-capacity lithium-excess rocksalts. An average structure picture is no longer satisfactory to understand the performance of such disordered materials. Cation short-range order, hidden in diffraction, is not only ubiquitous in these long-range disordered materials, but fully controls the local and macroscopic environments for lithium ion transport. Our discovery identifies a crucial property that has previously been overlooked and provides guidelines for designing and engineering cation-disordered cathode materials.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Cell transcriptomic atlas of the non-human primate Macaca fascicularis.

Studying tissue composition and function in non-human primates (NHPs) is crucial to understand the nature of our own species. Here we present a large-scale cell transcriptomic atlas that encompasses over 1 million cells from 45 tissues of the adult NHP Macaca fascicularis. This dataset provides a vast annotated resource to study a species phylogenetically close to humans. To demonstrate the utility of the atlas, we have reconstructed the cell-cell interaction networks that drive Wnt signalling across the body, mapped the distribution of receptors and co-receptors for viruses causing human infectious diseases, and intersected our data with human genetic disease orthologues to establish potential clinical associations. Our M. fascicularis cell atlas constitutes an essential reference for future studies in humans and NHPs.We thank W. Liu and L. Xu from the Huazhen Laboratory Animal Breeding Centre for helping in the collection of monkey tissues, D. Zhu and H. Li from the Bioland Laboratory (Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory) for technical help, G. Guo and H. Sun from Zhejiang University for providing HCL and MCA gene expression data matrices, G. Dong and C. Liu from BGI Research, and X. Zhang, P. Li and C. Qi from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health for experimental advice or providing reagents. This work was supported by the Shenzhen Basic Research Project for Excellent Young Scholars (RCYX20200714114644191), Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Single-Cell Omics (ZDSYS20190902093613831), Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL2019062801012) and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write (2017B030301011). In addition, L.L. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900466), Y. Hou was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2018A030313379) and M.A.E. was supported by a Changbai Mountain Scholar award (419020201252), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA16030502), a Chinese Academy of Sciences–Japan Society for the Promotion of Science joint research project (GJHZ2093), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92068106, U20A2015) and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021B1515120075). M.L. was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2600200).S