Graph-Based Radio Resource Management for Vehicular Networks

This paper investigates the resource allocation problem in device-to-device (D2D)-based vehicular communications, based on slow fading statistics of channel state information (CSI), to alleviate signaling overhead for reporting rapidly varying accurate CSI of mobile links. We consider the case when each vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) link shares spectrum with multiple vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) links. Leveraging the slow fading statistical CSI of mobile links, we maximize the sum V2I capacity while guaranteeing the reliability of all V2V links. We propose a graph-based algorithm that uses graph partitioning tools to divide highly interfering V2V links into different clusters before formulating the spectrum sharing problem as a weighted 3-dimensional matching problem, which is then solved through adapting a high-performance approximation algorithm.Comment: 7 pages; 5 figures; accepted by IEEE ICC 201

Research and development of a pilot project using GNSS and Earth observation (GeoSHM) for structural health monitoring of the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland

GeoSHM (GNSS and Earth Observation for Structural Health Monitoring) is a feasibility study project funded under the Integrated Application Promotion (IAP) program of the European Space Agency (ESA) in August 2013. Through integrated use of GNSS, Remote Sensing technologies and environmental data, GeoSHM can offer bridge owners an effective tool to assess the operational conditions of their assets. A reference system that consists of four GNSS receivers and two anemometers was installed on the Forth Road Bridge (FRB) in Scotland. This first stage monitoring system is producing precise 3D real-time displacements under different loading conditions. It can also provide essential land movement information to assess potential threats due to underground water extraction, geo-hazards and other industrial activities. The GeoSHM Feasibility Study has proved that even a small scale monitoring system can make possible for the Bridgemaster of the FRB to fully understand the loading and response effect of the bridge, and identify unusual deformations under extreme weather conditions (wind gust, etc.). Furthermore, EO data has proved to be extremely useful for the subsidence detection, as the SAR interferometry images have shown that there is no significant subsidence of the towers of the FRB or in the surrounding area. Gathering real-time GNSS data has produced continuous and accurate estimation of the displacement time-series of the structure. The issues and gaps identified from GeoSHM FS will form a solid foundation for the next stage development of GeoSHM service – demonstration, which is a two-year project and have started in February 2016. A new consortium of GeoSHM has been formed, focusing on significant refinements to the system reliability, sensor integration, data acquisition, data transmission, data fusion and SHM information extraction. This further developed GeoSHM system will be installed on a few Chinese bridges and the reference monitoring system on the FRB will be expanded as a pre-operational system

Identification of novel proteins interacting with vascular endothelial growth inhibitor 174 in renal cell carcinoma

Background/Aim: Vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI) is a multipotential cytokine that plays a role in regulating immunity, anti-angiogenesis, and inhibiting tumor growth. However, the proteins that interact with it are still unknown. In the present study, we examined the proteins which interact with VEGI174 and their expressions in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods: The proteins that interact with VEGI174 were identified using western blot, pull-down assay, and mass spectrometry. The expressions of VEGI174 and the interacting proteins were examined in RCC and were compared with normal renal tissues using immunochemical staining and RNA-seq respectively. Results: The results of the mass spectrometric analysis showed that ACLY, ENO1, ZIK1, AKR1C3, and MYC may interact with VEGI174. When compared with the TCGA database, the expression level of VEGI174 in RCC was lower than that in normal kidney using RNAseq (p<0.001). The expression levels of ACLY, ENO1, ZIK1, AKR1C3 and MYC in RCC were higher than that in normal kidney (p<0.05, all of above factors). Moreover, immunochemical staining results also showed that the expression level of AKR1C3 in RCC was significantly higher than that in normal kidney (p<0.001) and was also positively correlated with higher RCC stage and grade. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings showed that VEGI174 may interact with ACLY, ENO1, ZIK1, AKR1C3, and MYC. The expression of ACLY, ENO1, AKR1C3 and MYC is increased in RCC. AKR1C3 was a new factor that may correlate with the progression of RCC. The results indicated that VEGI174 has more functions than we currently know in the development and progression of RC

Comparison of the asymmetries in muscle mass, biomechanical property and muscle activation asymmetry of quadriceps femoris between patients with unilateral and bilateral knee osteoarthritis

Background: More and more attention has been paid to the research of muscle mass and muscle quality of quadriceps femoris (QF) in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). This study aimed to explore the asymmetric changes of muscle mass, biomechanical property and muscle activation in the inter-limbs QF of KOA patients, and tried to provide a novel insight for the evaluation, prevention and treatment of KOA.Methods: A total of 56 Participants with unilateral or bilateral KOA were included in this study: 30 patients with unilateral pain and 26 patients with bilateral pain were assigned to the bilateral group (BG) and unilateral group (UG), respectively. The symptom severity of bilateral lower limbs was evaluated by visual analogue scale, and the relatively serious leg (RSL) and relatively moderate leg (RML) were classified. The thickness of rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI), vastus medialis (VM) and vastus lateralis (VL) were measured by ultrasound. The Shear wave elastography (SWE) techniqie was used to measure the shear modulus of RF, VM and VL. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to assess the root mean square (RMS) of the RF, VM, and VL during straight leg raising in a sitting position and squatting task. We calculated the asymmetry indexes of inter-limbs for the corresponding indices of the measured muscles.Result: Thickness of RF, VI and VL of RSL was lower than those on RML (p &lt; 0.05), and thickness of VM was lower more significant (p &lt; 0.01). Thickness of RF, VI and VL of RSL was also lower than those of RML in BG (p &lt; 0.05), however, there was no significant difference in VM thickness (p &gt; 0.05). There were no significant difference in Asymmetry indexes of all measured muscle thickness between the two groups (p &gt; 0.05). The Shear modulus of RF, VM, and VL in the RML of UG and BG was higher than those in the RSL (p &lt; 0.05). In sitting and straight leg raising task, the RMS of RF, VM and VL in RML were higher than those in RSL, UG and BG both showed this trend (p &lt; 0.05). About squatting task, in UG, the RMS of the three muscles in RML of patients were also higher than those in the RSL (p &lt; 0.05). However, the difference was not significant in BG (p &gt; 0.05). In the straight leg raising task, the asymmetry indexes of RMS in RF, VM, and VL of both the two groups were positively correlated with VAS scores (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusion: The muscle thickness, shear modulus and muscle activation electromyography of QF in RML were higher than those of RSL in unilateral KOA patients. The VM of RML in bilateral KOA patients may show muscle thickness degeneration earlier, which is closer to the VM of RSL. The shear modulus of RF, VM, and VL were higher on the RML side during the single-leg task, but there may be passive compensation for muscle activation in both lower limbs during the bipedal task. In conclusion, there is a general asymmetry of QF muscle mass, biomechanics Characteristic and performance in patients with KOA, which may provide new ideas for the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of the disease

Seasonal variations in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and C:N:P stoichiometry in different organs of a Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr. plantation in the Qinling Mountains, China

Understanding how concentrations of elements and their stoichiometry change with plant growth and age is critical for predicting plant community responses to environmental change. Weusedlong-term field experiments to explore how the leaf, stem and root carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) concentrations and their stoichiometry changed with growth and stand age in a L.principis-rupprechtii Mayr. plantation from 2012–2015 in the Qinling Mountains, China. Our results showed that the C, N and P concentrations and stoichiometric ratios in different tissues of larch stands were affected by stand age, organ type andsampling month and displayed multiple correlations with increased stand age in different growing seasons. Generally, leaf C and N concentrations were greatest in the fast-growing season, but leaf P concentrations were greatest in the early growing season. However, no clear seasonal tendencies in the stem and root C, N and P concentrations were observed with growth. In contrast to N and P, few differences were found in organ-specific C concentrations. Leaf N:P was greatest in the fast-growing season, while C:N and C:P were greatest in the late-growing season. No clear variations were observed in stem and root C:N, C:P andN:Pthroughout the entire growing season, but leaf N:P was less than 14, suggesting that the growth of larch stands was limited by N in our study region. Compared to global plant element concentrations and stoichiometry, the leaves of larch stands had higher C, P, C:NandC:PbutlowerNandN:P,andtherootshadgreater PandC:NbutlowerN,C:Pand N:P. Our study provides baseline information for describing the changes in nutritional elements with plant growth, which will facilitates plantation forest management and restoration, and makes avaluable contribution to the global data pool on leaf nutrition and stoichiometry

Systemic Risk Indicators Based on Nonlinear PolyModel

The global financial market has become extremely interconnected as it demonstrates strong nonlinear contagion in times of crisis. As a result, it is necessary to measure financial systemic risk in a comprehensive and nonlinear approach. By establishing a large set of risk factors as the main bones of the financial market network and applying nonlinear factor analysis in the form of so-called PolyModel, this paper proposes two systemic risk indicators that can prognosticate the advent and trace the development of financial crises. Through financial network analysis, theoretical simulation, empirical data analysis and final validation, we argue that the indicators suggested in this paper are proved to be very effective in forecasting and tracing the financial crises from 1998 to 2017. The economic benefit of the indicator is evidenced by the enhancement of a protective put/covered call strategy on major stock markets

Piecewise Function Hysteretic Model for Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls with Reinforced End Studs

Cold-formed steel (CFS) shear walls with concrete-filled rectangular steel tube (CFRST) columns as end studs can upgrade the performance of mid-rise CFS structures, such as the vertical bearing capacity, anti-overturning ability, shear strength, and fire resistance properties, thereby enhancing the safety of structures. A theoretical hysteretic model is established according to a previous experimental study. This model is described in a simple mathematical form and takes nonlinearity, pinching, strength, and stiffness deterioration into consideration. It was established in two steps: (1) a discrete coordinate method was proposed to determine the load-displacement skeleton curve of the wall, by which governing deformations and their corresponding loads of the hysteretic loops under different loading cases can be obtained; afterwards; (2) a piecewise function was adopted to capture the hysteretic loop relative to each governing deformation, the hysteretic model of the wall was further established, and additional criteria for the dominant parameters of the model were stated. Finally, the hysteretic model was validated by experimental results from other studies. The results show that elastic lateral stiffness Ke and shear capacity Fp are key factors determining the load-displacement skeleton curve of the wall; hysteretic characteristics of the wall with reinforced end studs can be fully reflected by piecewise function hysteretic model, moreover, the model has intuitional expressions with clear physical interpretations for each parameter, paving the way for predicting the nonlinear dynamic responses of mid-rise CFS structures

Walmart - the ongoing retail titan

This work “Equity Research: Valuation of Walmart” focus on analyzing WMT position on the retail industry. On first instance and taking as basis the past performance, the industry trend and company characteristic to forecast the financial performance of the company. After having all these information, the DCF model was applied and the valuation resulted in a share price of $164.52 for FY 2023, which yields in a Total Shareholder return of 13.9%, and thus, a buy recommendation

Experimental investigation on the structural performance of a reinforced CFS beam-column joint

A reinforced beam-column joint specific to mid-rise cold-formed steel (CFS) dwellings was proposed and studied by six full-scale cyclic loading tests. Afterwards, a moment-rotation relationship prediction model and a numerical model of the joint were established. The results show that: (1) the joint has a certain bending moment transmission capacity; (2) the joint's moment-rotation curve has distinctive three-stage deformation characteristics, including elastic, nonlinear and failure stages successively; the structural performance of the joint is better and more in line with the requirements of mid-rise CFS dwellings than conventional joint; (3) the elastic buckling strength of beam flange can be taken as the elastic limit of the joint, and the ultimate bending moment of the joint is determined by elastic flexural capacity of beam section; (4) the prediction model and the numerical model can be used to establish an overall model of mid-rise CFS dwelling with consideration of jointsâ nonlinear behaviour.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Seismic Failure Mechanism of Reinforced Cold-Formed Steel Shear Wall System Based on Structural Vulnerability Analysis

A series of structural vulnerability analyses are conducted on a reinforced cold-formed steel (RCFS) shear wall system and a traditional cold-formed steel (CFS) shear wall system subjected to earthquake hazard based on forms in order to investigate their failure mechanisms. The RCFS shear wall adopts rigid beam-column joints and continuous concrete-filled CFS tube end studs rather than coupled-C section end studs that are used in traditional CFS shear walls, to achieve the rigid connections in both beam-column joints and column bases. The results show that: the RCFS and traditional CFS shear wall systems both exhibit the maximum vulnerability index associated with the failure mode in the first story. Therefore, the first story is likely to be a weakness of the CFS shear wall system. Once the wall is damaged, the traditional CFS shear wall system would collapse because the shear wall is the only lateral-resisting component. However, the collapse resistance of the RCFS shear wall system is effectively enhanced by the second defense, which is provided by a framework integrated by rigid beam-column joints and fixed column bases. The predicted collapse mode with maximum vulnerability index that was obtained by structural vulnerability analysis agrees well with the experimental result, and the structural vulnerability method is thereby verified to be reasonable to identify the weaknesses of framed structures and predict their collapse modes. Additionally, the quantitative vulnerability index indicates that the RCFS shear wall system exhibits better robustness compared to the traditional one. Furthermore, the “strong frame weak wallboard” and the “strong column weak beam” are proposed in this study as conceptional designations for the RCFS shear wall systems