Astraea: Self-balancing Federated Learning for Improving Classification Accuracy of Mobile Deep Learning Applications

Federated learning (FL) is a distributed deep learning method which enables multiple participants, such as mobile phones and IoT devices, to contribute a neural network model while their private training data remains in local devices. This distributed approach is promising in the edge computing system where have a large corpus of decentralized data and require high privacy. However, unlike the common training dataset, the data distribution of the edge computing system is imbalanced which will introduce biases in the model training and cause a decrease in accuracy of federated learning applications. In this paper, we demonstrate that the imbalanced distributed training data will cause accuracy degradation in FL. To counter this problem, we build a self-balancing federated learning framework call Astraea, which alleviates the imbalances by 1) Global data distribution based data augmentation, and 2) Mediator based multi-client rescheduling. The proposed framework relieves global imbalance by runtime data augmentation, and for averaging the local imbalance, it creates the mediator to reschedule the training of clients based on Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD) of their data distribution. Compared with FedAvg, the state-of-the-art FL algorithm, Astraea shows +5.59% and +5.89% improvement of top-1 accuracy on the imbalanced EMNIST and imbalanced CINIC-10 datasets, respectively. Meanwhile, the communication traffic of Astraea can be 82% lower than that of FedAvg.Comment: Published as a conference paper at IEEE 37th International Conference on Computer Design (ICCD) 201

Bacterial Microbiota in Unfed Ticks ( Dermacentor nuttalli ) From Xinjiang Detected Through 16S rDNA Amplicon Sequencing and Culturomics

Ticks are a major arthropod vector of zoonotic diseases affecting both humans and domestic animals worldwide. Thus, studying tick microbiota would aid in understanding of the potential threats posed by ticks. Approximately 8,000 unfed ticks, identified as Dermacentor nuttalli , were collected from the sylvosteppe in the western Tianshan mountains. To investigate their potential pathogens, we divided the ticks into 36 groups of 200–300 individuals each for examination with culturomics and 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. A total of 237 bacterial genera were identified with the two methods. Culturomics identified 46 bacterial species from 23 genera, predominantly Pseudomonas , Pantoea , and Bacillus , whereas 16S rDNA sequencing identified 461 OTUs from 233 genera, predominantly Pseudomonas (53.8%), Coxiella (17.2%), and Pantoea (6.4%). Coxiella , Rickettsia , and ten other genera were discovered only by sequencing, because optimal cultivating conditions were not used for their isolation, whereas Arthrobacter and three other genera were discovered only through culturomics. Several of the identified bacteria, such as line-related sepsis-causing Delftia acidovorans and the pneumonia agent Acinetobacter pittii , can cause human diseases. Thus, both sequencing and culturomics methods are crucial for comprehensive understanding of the microbiota of D. nuttalli

Monitoring the Process and Characterizing Symptoms of Suckling Mouse Inoculation Promote Isolating Viruses from Ticks

Suckling mouse inoculation is an important method that has been used for years to isolate viruses from ticks; however, this method has usually been briefly described in the literature on a case-by-case basis upon successful isolation rather than providing extensive details. This study describes the procedure from preparation of tick homogenates to identification of virus isolation using the suckling mouse inoculation method. The transient and persistent features were characterized and the incidence of manifestations that developed in the suckling mice, especially in mice from which viruses were isolated, is reported. We identified 22 symptoms that developed in mice, including 13 transient symptoms that recovered by the end of the observation period and 7 persistent symptoms that the mice suffered from throughout the observation period. Persistent symptoms (lateral positioning and dead) and transient symptoms (malaise, emaciation, and difficulty turning over) were the main symptoms based on the high overall incidence. Moreover, we showed that mice from which viruses were isolated had a concentrated period and advanced days of disease onset. This study provides detailed information necessary for better use of suckling mouse inoculation to isolate viruses from ticks, which may benefit optimization of this method to identify, discover, and acquire tick-borne viruses

Energy efficient wireless sensor nodes using UWB-IR

This report as a summary detailed the Final year project in implementing UWB transmission in temperature sensing network. Simulations are developed to examine the transmission process and implement the methodologies in UWB transmission. In another way, it is also introduced a way to understand and verify the IEEE 802.15.4a Standard which adopts UWB as one of the interfaces in wireless transmission networks. The theoretical knowledge background is explained in the report and the technological approach using Matlab simulation is applied to reflect the effort taken in studying and implementing upon this project.Bachelor of Engineerin

Three dimensional versus standard miniplate fixation in the management of mandibular fractures: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The aim of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the efficacy of the 3-dimensional miniplate system in comparison with the standard miniplate system for the treatment of mandibular fractures (MFs). A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, examining Medline-Ovid, Embase, and PubMed databases. The primary search objective was to identify all papers reporting the results of randomized control trials (RCTs) for the treatment of adults with mandibular fractures, with the aim of comparing the different techniques. The incidence of complications was evaluated; nine studies including 283 patients with different fracture sites were enrolled in the analysis. The results showed no significant differences in overall complications (odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.552–1.542; P = 0.81), postoperative infections (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.40–2.48; P = 0.89), wound dehiscence (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.13–7.37; P = 0.96), paresthesia (OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.20–1.07; P = 0.11), or malocclusion (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.39–8.32; P = 0.47) between standard miniplates and 3-dimensional miniplates for treating mandibular fractures. Mandibular fractures treated with 3-dimensional miniplates and standard miniplates presented similar short-term complication rates, and the low postoperative maxillomandibular fixation rate of using standard miniplates also indicated that the standard miniplate has a promising application in the treatment of mandibular fractures

Retrospective analysis of 1 115 cases of maxillofacial fracture in the Kashgar Prefecture

Objective To explore the clinical epidemiological characteristics and treatment methods of maxillofa⁃ cial fracture patients in the Kashgar Prefecture to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods The medical records of 1 115 patients with maxillofacial fracture admitted to the First People's Hospital of Kashgar from November 2011 to November 2016 were retrospectively analyzed by age composition, sex ratio, cause of trauma, time of injury, site of injury and systemic complications. Results Among the 1 115 patients, the ratio of males to females was 4.7∶1, and those aged 21 to 30 years accounted for the majority of patients, with most injuries occurring in the summer (31.38%) and spring (29.69%). The most common cause of trauma was falling (38.57%), followed by traffic accidents (36.95%). Midfacial fractures were the most frequently observed (65.38%), followed by mandibular fractures(30.26%). In all, 42.15% of cases were complicated with systemic injuries, the majority being ocular injuries (35.55%), followed by limb injuries (21.67%). The majority of patients (50.04%) chose treatment by open reduction and internal fixation. Logistic regression analysis showed that males were more prone to midfacial fractures than females. The occurrence of midfacial fracture became more likely with increasing age. Conclusion In the Kashgar Prefecture, the majority of pa⁃ tients with maxillofacial fracture are male and young or middle⁃aged. Most maxillofacial fractures occur in the spring or summer and are mainly caused by falling or traffic accidents. Fractures in the middle part of the face are more common.Ocular injury is the most common complication, and in most cases, the fracture is treated by open reduction and inter⁃ nal fixation. The occurrence of midfacial fracture is closely related to age, sex and cause of trauma

Fine mapping epitope on Glycoprotein-Gn from Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus.

Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV) was recently identified as a tick-borne pathogen that threat to human health. Since 2010, many countries including China, South Korea, and Japan have reported Human SFTS caused by SFTSV infection. The glycoprotein encoded by the SFTSV M gene is the major antigenic component on the viral surface, and responsible for the viral entry, which makes it an important viral antigen and a clinical diagnostic target. The present study aimed to map linear B cell epitopes (BCEs) on the N-terminal glycoprotein (Gn) from SFTSV strain WCH/97/HN/China/2011 using the modified biosynthetic peptide method. Five fine epitopes (E1, 196FSQSEFPD203; E2, 232GHSHKII238; E3, 256VCYKEGTGPC265; E4, 285FCKVAG290, and E5, 316SYGGM320) were identified using the rabbit antisera. Western blot analysis showed that all the five epitopes interacted with the positive serum of sheep that had been naturally infected with SFTSV. Three-dimensional structural modeling analysis showed that all identified BCEs were located on the surface of the SFTSV-Gn and contained flexible loops. The sequence alignment revealed high conservation of the identified BCEs among 13 SFTSV strains from different lineage. These mapped epitopes will escalate the understanding of the epitope distribution and pathogenic mechanism of SFTSV, and could provide a basis for the development of a SFTSV multi-epitope detection antigen