On the pinning strategy of complex networks

In pinning control of complex networks, a tacit believing is that the system dynamics will be better controlled by pinning the large-degree nodes than the small-degree ones. Here, by changing the number of pinned nodes, we find that, when a significant fraction of the network nodes are pinned, pinning the small-degree nodes could generally have a higher performance than pinning the large-degree nodes. We demonstrate this interesting phenomenon on a variety of complex networks, and analyze the underlying mechanisms by the model of star networks. By changing the network properties, we also find that, comparing to densely connected homogeneous networks, the advantage of the small-degree pinning strategy is more distinct in sparsely connected heterogenous networks

Feasibility of an endoscope-dominated side-to-end hypoglossal-facial anastomosis: an anatomical study

ObjectiveA surgical simulation of an endoscope-dominated side-to-end hypoglossal-facial anastomosis was performed to evaluate the feasibility.MethodsEight anatomical cadaver heads (16 sides) were recruited. The steps in conventional procedures were abbreviated or omitted. A facial nerve was first harvested near its external genu and was used for a side-to-end hypoglossal-facial anastomosis. The stump of the used facial nerve was truncated and recycled immediately caudal to the facial recess in another anastomosis and then recycled again at the stylomastoid foramen. As a recycled stump becomes too short to ensure a side-to-end anastomosis, the hypoglossal nerve was transected in situ, and an endoscopic end-to-end hypoglossal-facial anastomosis was attempted. Surgical simulation and quantitative measurement methods were used to analyze the anastomosis effects of different harvested sites of the facial nerve.ResultsSeveral steps in the conventional procedures provide little benefit in endoscopic surgery. A facial nerve stump recycled at the stylomastoid foramen is too short to ensure a tensionless side-to-end anastomosis. An endoscopic end-to-end hypoglossal-facial anastomosis was feasible, although it required more time than the classical microsurgical anastomosis. The greater agility of an endoscope enables the conventional surgical steps to be overlapped or interweaved into the procedure.ConclusionsThe multiple surgical fields and ability to manipulate the viewpoint provided by an endoscope have brought about breakthroughs in classical surgical paradigms. In addition, it is best to choose the sites of the facial nerve harvested near the external genu. If unavailable, an alternative section site could be selected immediately caudal to the facial recess, but cannot be distal to the stylomastoid foramen. The length of the stump should be individualized and preferably optimized with a nerve stimulator

Quantitative study of bioinformatics analysis on glioma: a bibliometric analysis

BackgroundThe bioinformatics analysis on glioma has been a hot point recently. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the research in this field using a bibliometric method.MethodsThe Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database was used to search for literature related to the bioinformatics analysis of gliomas. Countries, institutions, authors, references, and keywords were analyzed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Microsoft Excel software.ResultChina was the most productive country, while the USA was the most cited. Capital Medical University had the largest number of publications and citations. Institutions tend to collaborate more with other institutions in their countries rather than foreign ones. The most productive and most cited author was Jiang Tao. Two citation paths were identified, with literature in basic research journals often cited in clinical journals. Immune-related vocabularies appeared frequently in recent studies.ConclusionGlioma bioinformatics analyses spanned a wide range of fields. The international communication in this field urgently needs to be strengthened. Glioma bioinformatics approaches are developing from basic research to clinical applications. Recently, immune-related research has become a focus

Complex behavior of chaotic synchronization under dual coupling channels

We thank an anonymous referees for substantial and constructing comments. This work was partially supported by NSF of China under Grants No. 91026005, No. 11135001, No. 11275003, No. 11375109, No. 11422541, and No. 11375074, and by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant Nos. GK201303002 and lzujbky-2014-33. YCL was supported by ONR under Grant No. N00014-08-1-0627.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sonogenetics is a novel antiarrhythmic treatment

Arrhythmia of the heart is a dangerous and potentially fatal condition. The current widely used treatment is the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), but it is invasive and affects the patient's quality of life. The sonogenetic treatment technique proposed here focuses transthoracic ultrasound on the heart, noninvasively stimulates endogenous stretch-activated Piezo1 ion channels on the focal region's cardiomyocyte plasma membrane, and restores normal heart rhythm. In contrast to anchoring the implanted ICD lead at a fixed position in the myocardium, the size and position of the ultrasound focal region can be selected dynamically by adjusting the signal phases of every piezoelectric chip on the wearable ultrasonic phased array, and it allows novel and efficient defibrillations. Based on the developed interdisciplinary electromechanical model of sonogenetic treatment, our analysis shows that the proposed ultrasound intensity and frequency will be safe and painless for humans and well below the limits established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure