A Unified Algorithm for Virtual Desktops Placement in Distributed Cloud Computing

Distributed cloud has been widely adopted to support service requests from dispersed regions, especially for large enterprise which requests virtual desktops for multiple geodistributed branch companies. The cloud service provider (CSP) aims to deliver satisfactory services at the least cost. CSP selects proper data centers (DCs) closer to the branch companies so as to shorten the response time to user request. At the same time, it also strives to cut cost considering both DC level and server level. At DC level, the expensive long distance inter-DC bandwidth consumption should be reduced and lower electricity price is sought. Inside each tree-like DC, servers are trying to be used as little as possible so as to save equipment cost and power. In nature, there is a noncooperative relation between the DC level and server level in the selection. To attain these objectives and capture the noncooperative relation, multiobjective bilevel programming is used to formulate the problem. Then a unified genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the problem which realizes the selection of DC and server simultaneously. The extensive simulation shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms baseline algorithm in both quality of service guaranteeing and cost saving

How nostalgic taste on the screen stimulates the consumption of time-honoured restaurants: The mediation role of parasocial interaction

As a unique cultural asset, time-honoured restaurants carry the crystallisation of traditional cuisine and the spirit of artisanship with an inestimable value. Nostalgia is a characteristic element of time-honoured restaurants and the central theme of their online marketing. However, few studies have examined the effect of nostalgia evoked in bloggers’ content on consumer behaviour in the context of time-honoured restaurants. To fill this gap, this study employed the SOR model as an underpinning theory and selected parasocial interaction among bloggers and viewers as a mediation to examine how the nostalgic taste on the screen affected behavioural intention towards time-honoured restaurants. Emotional involvement and credibility were also added as variables to enrich the research framework from cognitive and affective perspectives. A PLS-SEM approach was used to analyse the research models, including evaluating the measurement and structure models. The result, tested by the online survey data from 319 valid responses, demonstrated that nostalgia evoked in bloggers’ content can directly facilitate parasocial interaction or indirectly through credibility and emotional involvement, finally resulting in behavioural intention. The fully mediating role of parasocial interaction between emotional involvement and behavioural intention was also confirmed. The findings of this study offer theoretical and practical implications, highlighting the critical roles of nostalgia and parasocial interaction in the mechanism that online stimulus influences realistic behavioural intention, and therefore exploring a way forward for time-honoured restaurant marketing that fits in with the online media age

Sociocultural–psychological predictors influencing parents' decision-making regarding HPV vaccination for their adolescent daughters in mainland China: An extended TPB model

IntroductionEnhancing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake rates to protect women's health is an important public health issue worldwide. China has taken a series of measures in recent years to promote HPV vaccination among school-aged girls, but the vaccine uptake rate remains low. Investigating the factors influencing vaccination-related decision-making of adolescent girls' parents is key to solving the problem. This study aimed to examine the influence of sociocultural-psychological predictors, including exposure to HPV-related stories (positive/negative), affective reactions (pride/regret), injunctive norms on the Internet and perceived moral obligation, on parents' HPV vaccination-related decision-making for girls aged 13–15 years in mainland China.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey using quota sampling was conducted in February 2022. Four hundred and five valid and qualified questionnaires were obtained. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed by SmartPLS 3 (i) to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement models of 11 constructs, and (ii) to test the effect relationships of the sociocultural–psychological predictors on parents' intention to vaccinate their daughters.ResultsThe study findings showed that parental decision-making regarding HPV vaccination was influenced by sociocultural and psychological factors. At the level of individual psychological factors, exposure to positive stories was significantly associated with perceived vaccine effectiveness (β = 0.331, t = 8.448, p < 0.001), which strongly predicted the attitude toward vaccination (β = 0.521, t = 8.133, p < 0.001); anticipated pride had more positive influence on vaccination-related decision-making (β = 0.156, t = 2.176, p < 0.05) than anticipated regret. In terms of social influence, injunctive norms on the Internet had a significantly positive influence on vaccination intention (β = 0.127, t = 2.382, p < 0.05), similar to descriptive norms (β = 0.135, t = 3.358, p < 0.01). Perceived moral obligation at the cultural level was the strongest predictor of parental decision-making regarding HPV vaccination (β = 0.193, t = 2.139, p < 0.05).DiscussionThis study is the first in mainland China to systematically examine the sociocultural-psychological predictors of parents' decision-making to vaccinate their 13–15-year-old daughters against HPV. A new extended TPB model with a sociocultural-psychological approach was developed. This model can support the investigation of factors affecting HPV vaccine uptake rates in the mainland Chinese population and similar populations and help to understand the differences in vaccination-related decision-making between Eastern and Western cultures. Furthermore, the study provided some suggestions for HPV vaccination communication campaigns targeting adolescent girls' parents

IMP3 signatures of fallopian tube: a risk for pelvic serous cancers

BACKGROUND:Recent advances suggest fallopian tube as the main cellular source for women's pelvic serous carcinoma (PSC). In addition to TP53 mutations, many other genetic changes are involved in pelvic serous carcinogenesis. IMP3 is an oncofetal protein which has recently been observed to be overexpressed in benign-looking tubal epithelia. Such findings prompted us to examine the relationship between IMP3 over-expression, patient age and the likelihood of development of PSC.METHODS:Fallopian tubes from three groups (low-risk, high-risk, and PSC) of patients with matched ages were studied. Age was recorded in 10years intervals ranging from age 20 to older than 80. The number of IMP3 signatures (defined by 10 or more tubal secretory cells stained positively and continuously in benign appearing tubal mucosa) from both tubal fimbria and ampulla segments was measured. The data was analyzed by standard contingency table and Poisson distribution methods after age adjustment. IMP3 overexpression was also examined in serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma and PSC.RESULTS:The positive IMP3-stained cells are mainly tubal secretory cells. The absolute number of tubal IMP3 signatures increased significantly within each age group. Age remained a significant risk factor for serous neoplasia after age adjustment. IMP3 signatures were more frequent in the patients of both high-risk and PSC groups. The presence of IMP3 signatures in tubal mucosa was significantly associated with tubal or pelvic serous carcinogenesis (p<0.001).CONCLUSIONS:The findings suggest that tubal secretory cells with IMP3 signatures showing growth advantage could potentially serve as a latent precancer biomarker for tubal or pelvic serous carcinomas in women.This item is part of the UA Faculty Publications collection. For more information this item or other items in the UA Campus Repository, contact the University of Arizona Libraries at [email protected]

Progress in Preparation and Application of Anthocyanin-Starch Complexes: A Review

Anthocyanins are natural colorants that have attracted increasing attention due to their wide color range, non-toxicity and health benefits. Although anthocyanins have great application potential in the food and pharmaceutical industries, their application is limited due to the relative instability. Starch is considered as a good protective agent for anthocyanins, which can improve the stability of anthocyanins during storage. In recent years, many studies have combined the two compounds by different methods such as physical and chemical methods. This can not only enhance the stability of anthocyanins, but also improve the mechanical properties of starch, which will result in better application of starch and anthocyanins in drug delivery, biomedicine, agriculture, and food production. The basic structural characteristics of anthocyanins and starch, and the various methods for preparing anthocyanin-starch complexes are summarized herein. Also, the effects of anthocyanin-starch interactions on anthocyanin stability, bioavailability and antioxidant activity and on starch crystallinity, gelatinization properties, mechanical properties and digestibility are reviewed, and the current progress in the application of anthocyanin-starch complexes is outlined. It is hoped that this review will provide a reference for future research on the preparation and application of anthocyanin-starch complexes

Specific gene module pair-based target identification and drug discovery

Identification of the biological targets of a compound is of paramount importance for the exploration of the mechanism of action of drugs and for the development of novel drugs. A concept of the Connectivity Map (CMap) was previously proposed to connect genes, drugs, and disease states based on the common gene-expression signatures. For a new query compound, the CMap-based method can infer its potential targets by searching similar drugs with known targets (reference drugs) and measuring the similarities into their specific transcriptional responses between the query compound and those reference drugs. However, the available methods are often inefficient due to the requirement of the reference drugs as a medium to link the query agent and targets. Here, we developed a general procedure to extract target-induced consensus gene modules from the transcriptional profiles induced by the treatment of perturbagens of a target. A specific transcriptional gene module pair (GMP) was automatically identified for each target and could be used as a direct target signature. Based on the GMPs, we built the target network and identified some target gene clusters with similar biological mechanisms. Moreover, a gene module pair-based target identification (GMPTI) approach was proposed to predict novel compound–target interactions. Using this method, we have discovered novel inhibitors for three PI3K pathway proteins PI3Kα/β/δ, including PU-H71, alvespimycin, reversine, astemizole, raloxifene HCl, and tamoxifen

Development of a core outcome set for cardiovascular diabetology: a methodological framework

BackgroundCardiovascular diabetology is an emergent field focusing on all aspects of diabetes/cardiovascular interrelationship and metabolic syndrome. High-quality evidence needs to be provided to determine the efficacy and safety of interventions in cardiovascular diabetology. The heterogeneity of outcomes among trials limits the comparison of results, and some outcomes are not always meaningful to end-users. The cardiovascular diabetology core outcome set (COS) study aims to develop a COS of interventions for cardiovascular diabetology. In this paper, we introduce the methodological framework for developing the COS.MethodsThe COS development will include the following steps: (a) establish the COS groups of stakeholders, including international steering committee, Delphi survey group, and consensus meeting group; (b) systematic reviews of outcomes used in trials of cardiovascular diabetology; (c) semistructured interview of stakeholders for outcomes of cardiovascular diabetology; (d) generate a list of candidate outcomes and determine the original outcome pool; (e) Delphi survey with stakeholders of cardiovascular diabetology to select potential core outcomes; and (f) review and endorse the cardiovascular diabetology COS by expert consensus meeting.ConclusionsThis current study reports the methodological framework to develop a COS in cardiovascular diabetology and will provide evidence for the future development of COS in cardiovascular diabetology

Facile Synthesis of High {001} Facets Dominated BiOCl Nanosheets and Their Selective Dye-Sensitized Photocatalytic Activity Induced by Visible Light

Single-crystal BiOCl nanosheets, with high {001} facets exposed, were synthesized through a facile hydrolysis reaction under general atmospheric pressure, without adding any organic surfactant or agent. The thickness of the BiOCl nanosheets is about 20 nm, and the diameter is arranged from 200 to 400 nm. The structure of the BiOCl nanosheets was characterized by X-ray diffraction, energy disperse X-ray spectrum, transmission electron microscopy, and selective area electron diffraction. Moreover, three different dyes were used as model molecules to test the photocatalytic activity of BiOCl nanosheets under visible light. It was found that the BiOCl nanosheets possess selective photocatalytic behavior as their activity over RhB is much higher than that over MO or MB. Based on the analysis of the experimental results, the potential mechanism was discussed