Modified Relaxed Extragradient Method for a General System of Variational Inequalities and Nonexpansive Mappings in Banach Spaces

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new modified relaxed extragradient method and study for finding some common solutions for a general system of variational inequalities with inversestrongly monotone mappings and nonexpansive mappings in the framework of real Banach spaces. By using the demiclosedness principle, it is proved that the iterative sequence defined by the relaxed extragradient method converges strongly to a common solution for the system of variational inequalities and nonexpansive mappings under quite mild conditions

Enhancing Digestibility and Ethanol Yield of Populus Wood via Expression of an Engineered Monolignol 4-O-Methyltransferase

Producing cellulosic biofuels and bio-based chemicals from woody biomass is impeded by the presence of lignin polymer in the plant cell wall. Manipulating the monolignol biosynthetic pathway offers a promising approach to improved processability, but often impairs plant growth and development. Here, we show that expressing an engineered 4-O-methyltransferase that chemically modifies the phenolic moiety of lignin monomeric precursors, thus preventing their incorporation into the lignin polymer, substantially alters hybrid aspens’ lignin content and structure. Woody biomass derived from the transgenic aspens shows a 62% increase in the release of simple sugars and up to a 49% increase in the yield of ethanol when the woody biomass is subjected to enzymatic digestion and yeast-mediated fermentation. Moreover, the cell wall structural changes do not affect growth and biomass production of the trees. Our study provides a useful strategy for tailoring woody biomass for bio-based applications

Gut-joint axis in knee synovitis: gut fungal dysbiosis and altered fungi–bacteria correlation network identified in a community-based study

Objectives: Knee synovitis is a highly prevalent and potentially curable condition for knee pain; however, its pathogenesis remains unclear. We sought to assess the associations of the gut fungal microbiota and the fungi–bacteria correlation network with knee synovitis. Methods: Participants were derived from a community-based cross-sectional study. We performed an ultrasound examination of both knees. A knee was defined as having synovitis if its synovium was ≥4 mm and/or Power Doppler (PD) signal was within the knee synovium area (PD synovitis). We collected faecal specimens from each participant and assessed gut fungal and bacterial microbiota using internal transcribed spacer 2 and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. We examined the relation of α-diversity, β-diversity, the relative abundance of taxa and the interkingdom correlations to knee synovitis. Results: Among 977 participants (mean age: 63.2 years; women: 58.8%), 191 (19.5%) had knee synovitis. β-diversity of the gut fungal microbiota, but not α-diversity, was significantly associated with prevalent knee synovitis. The fungal genus Schizophyllum was inversely correlated with the prevalence and activity (ie, control, synovitis without PD signal and PD synovitis) of knee synovitis. Compared with those without synovitis, the fungi–bacteria correlation network in patients with knee synovitis was smaller (nodes: 93 vs 153; edges: 107 vs 244), and the average number of neighbours was fewer (2.3 vs 3.2). Conclusion: Alterations of gut fungal microbiota and the fungi–bacteria correlation network are associated with knee synovitis. These novel findings may help understand the mechanisms of the gut-joint axis in knee synovitis and suggest potential targets for future treatment

Measuring protected-area effectiveness using vertebrate distributions from leech iDNA

Protected areas are key to meeting biodiversity conservation goals, but direct measures of effectiveness have proven difficult to obtain. We address this challenge by using environmental DNA from leech-ingested bloodmeals to estimate spatially-resolved vertebrate occupancies across the 677 km 2 Ailaoshan reserve in Yunnan, China. From 30,468 leeches collected by 163 park rangers across 172 patrol areas, we identify 86 vertebrate species, including amphibians, mammals, birds and squamates. Multi-species occupancy modelling shows that species richness increases with elevation and distance to reserve edge. Most large mammals (e.g. sambar, black bear, serow, tufted deer) follow this pattern; the exceptions are the three domestic mammal species (cows, sheep, goats) and muntjak deer, which are more common at lower elevations. Vertebrate occupancies are a direct measure of conservation outcomes that can help guide protected-area management and improve the contributions that protected areas make towards global biodiversity goals. Here, we show the feasibility of using invertebrate-derived DNA to estimate spatially-resolved vertebrate occupancies across entire protected areas

Modified relaxed extragradient method for a general system of variational inequalities and nonexpansive

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new modified relaxed extragradient method and study for finding some common solutions for a general system of variational inequalities with inversestrongly monotone mappings and nonexpansive mappings in the framework of real Banach spaces. By using the demiclosedness principle, it is proved that the iterative sequence defined by the relaxed extragradient method converges strongly to a common solution for the system of variational inequalities and nonexpansive mappings under quite mild conditions

Adaptive dynamic programming for robust neural control of unknown continuous-time non-linear systems

The design of robust controllers for continuous-time (CT) non-linear systems with completely unknown non-linearities is a challenging task. The inability to accurately identify the non-linearities online or offline motivates the design of robust controllers using adaptive dynamic programming (ADP). In this study, an ADP-based robust neural control scheme is developed for a class of unknown CT non-linear systems. To begin with, the robust non-linear control problem is converted into a non-linear optimal control problem via constructing a value function for the nominal system. Then an ADP algorithm is developed to solve the non-linear optimal control problem. The ADP algorithm employs actor-critic dual networks to approximate the control policy and the value function, respectively. Based on this architecture, only system data is necessary to update simultaneously the actor neural network (NN) weights and the critic NN weights. Meanwhile, the persistence of excitation assumption is no longer required by using the Monte Carlo integration method. The closed-loop system with unknown non-linearities is demonstrated to be asymptotically stable under the obtained optimal control. Finally, two examples are provided to validate the developed method

High-resolution Transmission Spectroscopy of Ultrahot Jupiter WASP–33b with NEID

We report an attempt to detect molecular and atomic species in the atmosphere of the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-33b using the high-resolution echelle spectrograph NEID with a wavelength coverage of 380–930 nm. By analyzing the transmission spectrum of WASP-33b using the line-by-line technique and the cross-correlation technique, we confirm previous detection of H α , H β , H γ , and Ca ii infrared triplets. We find no evidence for a significant day-to-night wind in WASP-33b, taking into account the effects of stellar pulsations using a relatively novel Gaussian process method and poorly constrained systemic velocity measurements. We also detect the previously reported pretransit absorption signal, which may be a pulsation mode induced by the planet. Combined with previous CARMENES and HARPS-N observations, we report the nondetection of TiO, Ti i , and V i in the transmission spectrum, while they were already detected in the dayside atmosphere of WASP-33b. This implies a difference in the chemical compositions and abundances between the dayside and terminator atmospheres of WASP-33b and certainly requires further improvements in the sensitivity of the detection methods

High-throughput sequencing-based assembly of chloroplast genomes of five pine tree species

Pinus plants are the largest existing group of gymnosperms and one of the most highly differentiated taxa. Due to its huge ecological, economic, and scientific value, the genetic diversity and the relationship between the intraspecific evolution of Pinus plants have gained wide attention. In this study, the chloroplast genomes of several common pine trees in southwest and south China, including P. massoniana (masson pine), P. yunnanensis (yunnan pine), P. latteri (south asia pine), P. crassicorticea (la ya pine), and P. elliottii (slash pine), and entire cpDNA sequences were obtained. Characteristics including the structure, repeated sequence, and codon bias of the cpDNA for these five pine tree species were analyzed

A Retrospective Study of 52 Patients With Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus Treated With Radical Surgery

Background: Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is a rare and extremely fatal disease. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of radical surgery for resectable SCCE and to explore potential prognostic factors. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 52 consecutive SCCE patients who underwent radical surgery from February 1993 to November 2014 at a single institution. The Kaplan-Meier estimator with log-rank test was used to assess overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and median survival time. Univariate and multivariable analyses were used to evaluate prognostic factors through Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: Twenty-five (48.1%) patients were treated with surgery alone, whereas 27 (51.9%) patients underwent adjuvant therapy after surgery. The median OS time was 17.4 months (95% CI: 13.5-21.3). The median DFS time was 13.4 months (95% CI: 7.7-19.0). Patients whose tumors were located in the lower part of thoracic esophagus and the esophagogastric junction showed significantly better OS (27.0 vs. 13.2 months, P = 0.016) and DFS (27.0 vs. 11.3 months, P = 0.017) than those located in the upper and middle parts. Patients with N0 status experienced significantly better OS (21.4 vs. 11.6 months, P = 0.012) and DFS (21.4 vs. 8.6 months, P = 0.012) than those with N+ status. Patients whose tumor lengths were shorter than 5 cm had a better OS (17.4 vs. 5.7 months, P = 0.035) than those longer than 5 cm. Patients who underwent chemotherapy experienced a significantly improved OS (21.0 vs. 14.1 months, P = 0.032) compared to surgery alone. Multivariable analysis showed that lower tumor location, shorter tumor length, pN0 status and chemotherapy independently predicted better OS; lower tumor location and pN0 status independently predicted better DFS. Conclusions: Radical surgery in combination with chemotherapy has better outcomes than surgery alone for resectable SCCE. Higher tumor location, longer tumor length, lymph node metastasis and not undergoing chemotherapy independently predict worse prognoses