A Lightweight Transmission Parameter Selection Scheme Using Reinforcement Learning for LoRaWAN

The number of IoT devices is predicted to reach 125 billion by 2023. The growth of IoT devices will intensify the collisions between devices, degrading communication performance. Selecting appropriate transmission parameters, such as channel and spreading factor (SF), can effectively reduce the collisions between long-range (LoRa) devices. However, most of the schemes proposed in the current literature are not easy to implement on an IoT device with limited computational complexity and memory. To solve this issue, we propose a lightweight transmission-parameter selection scheme, i.e., a joint channel and SF selection scheme using reinforcement learning for low-power wide area networking (LoRaWAN). In the proposed scheme, appropriate transmission parameters can be selected by simple four arithmetic operations using only Acknowledge (ACK) information. Additionally, we theoretically analyze the computational complexity and memory requirement of our proposed scheme, which verified that our proposed scheme could select transmission parameters with extremely low computational complexity and memory requirement. Moreover, a large number of experiments were implemented on the LoRa devices in the real world to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme. The experimental results demonstrate the following main phenomena. (1) Compared to other lightweight transmission-parameter selection schemes, collisions between LoRa devices can be efficiently avoided by our proposed scheme in LoRaWAN irrespective of changes in the available channels. (2) The frame success rate (FSR) can be improved by selecting access channels and using SFs as opposed to only selecting access channels. (3) Since interference exists between adjacent channels, FSR and fairness can be improved by increasing the interval of adjacent available channels.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, 8 tables. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Genetic Polymorphisms of IL-17F and TRAF3IP2 Could Be Predictive Factors of the Long-Term Effect of Infliximab against Crohn’s Disease

Background. We aimed to identify certain genes related to response to infliximab (IFX) and biomarkers to predict the IFX effect for Japanese Crohn\u27s disease (CD) patients by performing an association study of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes in the interleukin-(IL-) 17 signaling pathway with response to IFX after 1 year of treatment. Methods. A total of 103 patients were divided into two groups, responders and nonresponders. Twenty-eight tag SNPs in 5 genes were genotyped. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of each SNP were compared between responders and nonresponders in three different inheritance models. A genetic test was performed using a combination of the associated SNPs as biomarkers. Results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the four variable factors, concomitant use of immunomodulators, penetrating disease, a G/G genotype of rs766748 in IL-17F, and a C/C or C/A genotype of rs1883136 in TRAF3IP2, independently contributed to response to IFX after 1 year of treatment. Genetic test using the polymorphisms of these genes perfectly predicted the responder and nonresponder CD patients with both concomitant use of immunomodulators and penetrating disease. Conclusion. IL17F and TRAF3IP2 are one of IFX-related genes, useful as biomarkers of IFX response, and may be target molecules for new therapeutic drugs

On the top of ARB N/L type Ca channel blocker leads to less elevation of aldosterone

Synopsis The activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is one of the unfavourable characteristics of calcium channel blocker (CCB). N type calcium channel is thought to be involved in renin gene transcription and adrenal aldosterone release. Accordingly, N/L type CCB has a possibility of less elevation of plasma aldosterone concentrations (PAC) among CCBs. In a monotherapy study, we had already demonstrated that N/L type CCB leads to less activation of the RAS compared with L type CCB. The objective of this study is to substantiate the hypothesis that at the condition of additive administration on the top of an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), still N/L type CCB leads to less elevation of PAC compared with L type one. Subjects were 60 hypertensives administered with valsartan. As an open label study, amlodipine (L type) or cilnidipine (N/L type) were administered on the top of valsartan (ARB) in a cross-over manner. Results were as follows (valsartan + amlodipine compared with valsartan + cilnidipine): systolic blood pressure (SBP)/diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (mmHg): 132 + − 10/76 + − 10 compared with 131 + − 10/77 + − 9, P = 0.95/0.48, plasma renin activity (PRA) (ng/ml·h): 2.41 + − 2.67 compared with 2.00 + − 1.50 P = 0.20, PAC (pg/ml): 77.3 + − 31.0 compared with 67.4 + − 24.8, P < 0.05, urinary albumin excretion (UAE) (mg/gCr): 105.9 + − 216.1 compared with 73.9 + − 122.2, P < 0.05. Thus, PAC at cilnidipine was significantly lower than those at amlodipine in spite of the comparable BP reductions. Besides, UAE was significantly lower at cilnidipine. In conclusion, on the top of the ARB, it is suggested that cilnidipine administration might lead to less elevation of PAC and reduction in UAE compared with amlodipine

Design of Automotive Torsion Beam Suspension Using Lumped-Compliance Linkage Models

This paper presents a new method for efficiently and accurately modeling the elasto-kinematic behaviors of torsion beam suspension systems and of other similar classes of mechanical systems, and a design method utilizing the models. The torsion beam is represented as a linkage of lumped mass joined by nonlinear springs, bending and torsion, whose stiffness are identified via off-line computational experiments using nonlinear finite element simulations. A number of such computer experiments are conducted off-line for representative dimensions of torsion beams, and the results are stored in surrogate response models. During design iterations, these surrogate response models are utilized to automatically construct a lumped-compliance linkage model of a torsion beam and integrate it into a multi-body suspension system model that can be simulated using commercial software. Comparison with a nonlinear finite element analysis demonstrates much improved accuracy of the proposed model over commercial flexible multi-body simulation software, with comparable computational speed. Finally, an example is presented on the multi-objective optimization of the cross section of the torsion beam using the developed surrogate response models.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87213/4/Saitou65.pd

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the major peanut allergen Ara h 1 core region.

Peanuts contain some of the most potent food allergens known to date. Ara h 1 is one of the three major peanut allergens. As a first step towards three-dimensional structure elucidation, recombinant Ara h 1 core region was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Crystals were obtained using 0.1 M sodium citrate pH 5.6, 0.1 M NaCl, 15% PEG 400 as precipitant. The crystals diffracted to 2.25 A resolution using synchrotron radiation and belonged to the monoclinic space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a=156.521, b=88.991, c=158.971 A, beta=107.144 degrees. Data were collected at the BL-38B1 station of SPring-8 (Hyogo, Japan)