A Computational Study of an Implicit Local Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Time-Fractional Diffusion Equations

We propose, analyze, and test a fully discrete local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) finite element method for a time-fractional diffusion equation. The proposed method is based on a finite difference scheme in time and local discontinuous Galerkin methods in space. By choosing the numerical fluxes carefully, we prove that our scheme is unconditionally stable and convergent. Finally, numerical examples are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and the accuracy of the method

Research on UBI Auto Insurance Pricing Model Based on Parameter Adaptive SAPSO Optimal Fuzzy Controller

Aiming at the problem of “dynamic” accurate determination of rates in UBI auto insurance pricing, this paper proposes a UBI auto insurance pricing model based on fuzzy controller and optimizes it with a parameter adaptive SASPO. On the basis of the SASPO algorithm, the movement direction of the particles can be mutated and the direction can be dynamically controlled, the inertia weight value is given by the distance between the particle and the global optimal particle, and the learning factor is calculated according to the change of the fitness value, which realizes the parameter in the running process. Effective self-adjustment. A five-dimensional fuzzy controller is constructed by selecting the monthly driving mileage, the number of violations, and the driving time at night in the UBI auto insurance data. The weights are used to form fuzzy rules, and a variety of algorithms are used to optimize the membership function and fuzzy rules and compare them. The research results show that, compared with other algorithms, the parameter adaptive SAPAO algorithm can calculate more reasonable, accurate and high-quality fuzzy rules and membership functions when processing UBI auto insurance data. The accuracy and robustness of UBI auto insurance rate determination can realize dynamic and accurate determination of UBI auto insurance rates

A Schistosoma japonicum chimeric protein with a novel adjuvant induced a polarized Th1 immune response and protection against liver egg burdens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Schitosomiasis japonica is still a significant public health problem in China. A protective vaccine for human or animal use represents an important strategy for long-term control of this disease. Due to the complex life cycle of schistosomes, different vaccine design approaches may be necessary, including polyvalent subunit vaccines. In this study, we constructed four chimeric proteins (designated SjGP-1~4) via fusion of Sj26GST and four individual paramyosin fragments. We tested these four proteins as vaccine candidates, and investigated the effect of deviating immune response on protection roles in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The immunogencity and protection efficacy of chimeric proteins were evaluated in mice. Next, the chimeric protein SjGP-3 was selected and formulated in various adjuvants, including CFA, ISA 206, IMS 1312 and ISA 70M. The titers of antigen-specific IgG, IgE and IgG subclass were measured. The effect of adjuvant on cytokine production and percentages of CD3⁺CD8^-IFN-γ⁺cells and CD3⁺CD8^-IL-4⁺cells were analyzed at different time points. Worm burdens and liver egg counts in different adjuvant groups were counted to evaluate the protection efficacy against cercarial challenge.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Immunization of mice with chimeric proteins provided various levels of protection. Among the four proteins, SjGP-3 induced the highest level of protection, and showed enhanced protective efficacy compared with its individual component Sj26GST. Because of this, SjGP-3 was further formulated in various adjuvants to investigate the effect of adjuvant on immune deviation. The results revealed that SjGP-3 formulated in veterinary adjuvant ISA 70M induced a lasting polarized Th1 immune response, whereas the other adjuvants, including CFA, ISA 206 and IMS 1312, generated a moderate mixed Th1/Th2 response after immunization but all except for IMS 1312 shifted to Th2 response after onset of eggs. More importantly, the SjGP-3/70M formulation induced a significant reduction in liver egg deposition at 47.0–50.3% and the number of liver eggs per female at 34.5–37.2% but less effect on worm burdens at only 17.3–23.1%, whereas no effect of the formulations with other adjuvants on the number of liver eggs per female was observed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Construction of polyvalent subunit vaccine was capable to enhance immunogenicity and protection efficacy against schistosomiasis. There was correlation of the polarized Th1 response with reduction of liver egg burdens, supporting the immune deviation strategy for schistosomiasis japonica vaccine development.</p

Identification and characterization of a 25-lncRNA prognostic signature for early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background Early recurrence is the major cause of poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are deeply involved in HCC prognosis. In this study, we aimed to establish a prognostic lncRNA signature for HCC early recurrence. Methods The lncRNA expression profile and corresponding clinical data were retrieved from total 299 HCC patients in TCGA database. LncRNA candidates correlated to early recurrence were selected by differentially expressed gene (DEG), univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses. A 25-lncRNA prognostic signature was constructed according to receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the performance of this signature. ROC and nomogram were used to evaluate the integrated models based on this signature with other independent clinical risk factors. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to reveal enriched gene sets in the high-risk group. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) levels were analyzed with single sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA). Immune therapy response prediction was performed with TIDE and SubMap. Chemotherapeutic response prediction was conducted by using Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) pharmacogenomics database. Results Compared to low-risk group, patients in high-risk group showed reduced disease-free survival (DFS) in the training (p < 0.0001) and validation cohort (p = 0.0132). The 25-lncRNA signature, AFP, TNM and vascular invasion could serve as independent risk factors for HCC early recurrence. Among them, the 25-lncRNA signature had the best predictive performance, and combination of those four risk factors further improves the prognostic potential. Moreover, GSEA showed significant enrichment of “E2F TARGETS”, “G2M CHECKPOINT”, “MYC TARGETS V1” and “DNA REPAIR” pathways in the high-risk group. In addition, increased TILs were observed in the low-risk group compared to the high-risk group. The 25-lncRNA signature negatively associates with the levels of some types of antitumor immune cells. Immunotherapies and chemotherapies prediction revealed differential responses to PD-1 inhibitor and several chemotherapeutic drugs in the low- and high-risk group. Conclusions Our study proposed a 25-lncRNA prognostic signature for predicting HCC early recurrence, which may guide postoperative treatment and recurrence surveillance in HCC patients

Spatiotemporal Assessment of Land Marketization and Its Driving Forces for Sustainable Urban–Rural Development in Shaanxi Province in China

In recent years, market-oriented allocation of land has been promoted to support rural revitalization and urban–rural integrated development. To follow the path of sustainable development, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of resource utilization and to rationally allocate and use resources on the premise of ensuring the sustainable use of resources. This study aims to measure the degree of land marketization in Shaanxi Province, China during the period 2008–2019 and analyze its driving forces. The methods used include Gray Relation Analysis and Hot Spot Analysis. The MK trend method was used to analyze the average area of land acquired through Bidding–Listing–Auction (B-L-A), protocol, and allocation methods. The results show that the land marketization level in Shaanxi declined from 2008 to 2014 and fluctuated upwards from 2014 to 2019. In addition, B-L-A transactions increased across the province. There was little spatial heterogeneity of land marketization, but southern Shaanxi had less land marketization than the other key areas. Urbanization, non-agricultural output, and foreign direct investment were found to be the main driving factors of land marketization, while the influence of fixed asset investment and per capita disposable income declined each year. Based on these findings, we suggest that there is a need for land management reforms and urbanization efforts to encourage land marketization in southern Shaanxi. Further, we suggest that northern Shaanxi would benefit from optimizing the land use structure and focusing on the energy land market. This study also provides theoretical support for realizing the reform of the marketization of national land elements, the healthy operation of urban land marketization, and sustainable urban and rural development

A Computational Study of an Implicit Local Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Time-Fractional Diffusion Equations

We propose, analyze, and test a fully discrete local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) finite element method for a time-fractional diffusion equation. The proposed method is based on a finite difference scheme in time and local discontinuous Galerkin methods in space. By choosing the numerical fluxes carefully, we prove that our scheme is unconditionally stable and convergent. Finally, numerical examples are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and the accuracy of the method

Analysis of a High-Accuracy Numerical Method for Time-Fractional Integro-Differential Equations

A high-order finite difference numerical scheme based on the compact difference operator is proposed in this paper for time-fractional partial integro-differential equations with a weakly singular kernel, where the time-fractional derivative term is defined in the Riemann-Liouville sense. Here, the stability and convergence of the constructed compact finite difference scheme are proved in L∞ norm, with the accuracy order O(τ2+h4), where τ and h are temporal and spatial step sizes, respectively. The advantage of this numerical scheme is that arbitrary parameters can be applied to achieve the desired accuracy. Some numerical examples are presented to support the theoretical analysis