Improving controllability of complex networks by rewiring links regularly

Network science have constantly been in the focus of research for the last decade, with considerable advances in the controllability of their structural. However, much less effort has been devoted to study that how to improve the controllability of complex networks. In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed to improve the controllability of complex networks by rewiring links regularly which transforms the network structure. Then it is demonstrated that our algorithm is very effective after numerical simulation experiment on typical network models (Erd\"os-R\'enyi and scale-free network). We find that our algorithm is mainly determined by the average degree and positive correlation of in-degree and out-degree of network and it has nothing to do with the network size. Furthermore, we analyze and discuss the correlation between controllability of complex networks and degree distribution index: power-law exponent and heterogeneit

Enhancing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Knowledge With an Educational Toolkit -Evaluation of the Chinese Doll Program

Objective: In countries with conservative attitudes towards sex and limited resources to prevent child sexual abuse, culturally adapted CSA prevention programs are essential. This study outlines a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Doll program for preventing CSA in the specific context of China.Method: 181 children were pre-tested and post-tested (5 weeks later) for knowledge of sexual abuse prevention. Children were assigned to one of three groups; 1) child only (n = 60); 2) child and parent (n = 60); and 3) control (n = 61).Results: Children in groups 1 and 2 showed significant increases (p < 0.001) in scores on the Appropriate Touch Scale (ATS) and the Inappropriate Touch Scale (ITS), whereas those in the control group did not show a significant increase in ATS scores, but their scores on ITS significantly increased (p < 0.001). Children in group 2 showed significantly increased ITS scores compared to group 1 (p = 0.016).Conclusion: Doll program effectively enhances children’s CSA prevention knowledge, with parental engagement demonstrating a positive impact on the program

MicroRNAs miR-27a and miR-143 Regulate Porcine Adipocyte Lipid Metabolism

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding small RNAs that play roles in regulating gene expression. Some miRNAs have been classed as epigenetic regulators of metabolism and energy homeostasis. Previous reports indicated that the miRNAs miR-27a and miR-143 were involved in lipid metabolism in human and rodents. To determine the roles of porcine miR-27a and miR-143 in adipocyte lipid metabolism, porcine adipocytes were cultured and allowed to induce differentiation for 10 days. The lipid-filled adipocytes were then transfected with miRNA mimics and inhibitors. We measured how the indicators of adipogenesis and adipolysis in porcine adipocytes were affected by the over-expression and by the inhibition of both miR-27a and miR-143. The results indicated that the over-expression of miR-27a could accelerate adipolysis releasing significantly more glycerol and free fatty acids than the negative control (P < 0.001), while the mimic of miR-143 expression, promoted adipogenesis by accumulating more triglycerides (P < 0.001) in the adipocytes. In addition, we demonstrated that there was good correlation (r > 0.98, P < 0.001) between the indicators of adipolysis in cell lysates and in the culture medium

MicroRNAome of Porcine Pre- and Postnatal Development

The domestic pig is of enormous agricultural significance and valuable models for many human diseases. Information concerning the pig microRNAome (miRNAome) has been long overdue and elucidation of this information will permit an atlas of microRNA (miRNA) regulation functions and networks to be constructed. Here we performed a comprehensive search for porcine miRNAs on ten small RNA sequencing libraries prepared from a mixture of tissues obtained during the entire pig lifetime, from the fetal period through adulthood. The sequencing results were analyzed using mammalian miRNAs, the precursor hairpins (pre-miRNAs) and the first release of the high-coverage porcine genome assembly (Sscrofa9, April 2009) and the available expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences. Our results extend the repertoire of pig miRNAome to 867 pre-miRNAs (623 with genomic coordinates) encoding for 1,004 miRNAs, of which 777 are unique. We preformed real-time quantitative PCR (q-PCR) experiments for selected 30 miRNAs in 47 tissue-specific samples and found agreement between the sequencing and q-PCR data. This broad survey provides detailed information about multiple variants of mature sequences, precursors, chromosomal organization, development-specific expression, and conservation patterns. Our data mining produced a broad view of the pig miRNAome, consisting of miRNAs and isomiRs and a wealth of information of pig miRNA characteristics. These results are prelude to the advancement in pig biology as well the use of pigs as model organism for human biological and biomedical studies

Webit&NEU: An Embedded Device for the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is regarded as the future generation Internet, which ranges from radio frequency identification (RFID) to the ubiquitous computing systems such as wireless sensor networks and mobile ad hoc networks. With the rapid development of IoT, designing an effective low-cost embedded terminal device for the IoT become very necessary. A new embedded device, Webit&NEU, and its reduced embedded real-time operating system used for IoT are implemented by our China Liaoning Province Embedded Technique Key Laboratory in this paper. Besides, related modules in terms of RFID technique, wireless communication, and network protocol are also provided in this paper. Compared with several current solutions of connecting devices and Internet, it has the advantages of good real-time performance, light weight, and low cost. Besides, this paper also puts forward a localization algorithm for the Webit&NEU, and experimental test results in terms of real-time system ability, network communication performance, and localization algorithm show that Webit&NEU can work well and meet the actual requirements of the IoT

A Study of the Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Q460D Steel

The dynamic mechanical properties of Q460D steel were studied to facilitate an assessment of the impact resistance of building structures. In the present work, material performance tests of Q460D steel at different temperatures, strain rates, and stress states were conducted. Using a hybrid experimental–numerical approach, a modified Johnson–Cook (JC) constitutive relation, a modified Johnson–Cook (JC) fracture criterion, and a lode-dependent fracture criterion were calibrated. To validate the calibration, Taylor impact tests of Q460D steel rods onto rigid target plates were carried out in a one-stage light-gas gun system. Mushrooming, tensile splitting, and petalling failure modes were obtained as the impact velocity was increased from 191.6 to 422.1 m/s. A three-dimensional finite element model was built for the Taylor impact tests, and FE simulations were run using the material models calibrated. It was found that the FE simulations using the lode-dependent fracture criterion were reasonable in terms of the failure modes of the Taylor rods. In contrast, the fracture behavior of the Taylor rods was significantly underestimated using the lode-independent JC fracture criterion. Finally, the effect of anisotropy, strain rate sensitivity and yield plateau on the Taylor impact FE predictions were explored and discussed