Blockchain-driven dual-channel green supply chain game model considering government subsidies

In order to improve the performance of green supply chain and promote the adoption of blockchain, this paper establishes a dual-channel green supply chain consisting of a green manufacturer and a retailer, and builds Stackelberg game model considering different scenarios. We analyze the impact of blockchain operating costs and consumer uncertainty about the product greenness. Furthermore, we study the government subsidy for manufacturers' green costs and its impact on supply chain performance and blockchain adoption. Findings reveal that without blockchain technology, government subsidy can improve manufacturers' and retailers' profits. However, when blockchain is adopted, the subsidy effect depends on the blockchain operating costs. In case of higher blockchain operating cost, the product prices and greenness decrease as the green cost subsidies increase; In case of lower blockchain operating cost, the increase in green cost subsidies will lead to increased product prices and greenness; Green cost subsidies can raise profits and lower the blockchain adoption threshold

Group Consensus of Heterogenous Continuous-time Multi-agent Systems

This paper considers the group consensus problem for continuous-time linear heterogeneous multi-agent systems with undirected and directed fixed topology. In order to obtain group consensus, we use two partition coefficients to divide all second-order agents and all first-order agents as the two groups, a novel protocol is designed. By constructing the Lyapunov function, a sufficient condition for group consensus under undirected topology are proved. Based on a system transformation method, the group consensus for heterogeneous multi-agent systems is transformed into a group consensus for homogeneous multi-agent systems. We also find the convergence points of the two groups, it has great significance. Finally, numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results

EFFECTS OF LOWER EXTREMITY STRENGTH TRAINING ON GAIT PATTERNS IN OBESE CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of muscle strength training on gait patterns in obese children. This study included 14 obese children who were required to complete 8 week lower extremity strength training. All participants went through a 3D gait analysis and an isokinetic strength test before and after training. With the improvement in muscle strength, walking speed and stride length significantly increased after intervention. Hip flexion moment and hip power generation increased 31.1% and 22.4%, respectively. Hip and knee power absorption also significantly increased. We concluded that the strength training improved obese children’s ability to promote locomotion through greater propulsion. Muscle strength plays an important role in attenuating the negative effects that obesity has on gait characteristics and kinetics

Machine Learning Detection and Analysis on Obfuscated Android Malware

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Android is the leading mobile operating system, accounting for more than 80% of the market share. Millions of Android apps exist in various app markets such as GooglePlay, AppChina, Huawei app store, etc. The success of Android has attracted the interest of hackers who build thousands and even millions of Android malware that are distributed over the app markets. Detecting such malware is thus of the utmost importance to preserve the security and privacy of billions of Android app users. In this thesis, the author focuses on three main research challenges. First, the author investigates the problem of Android malware labeling. This is a key challenge that needs to be overcome to build reference datasets, to then be able to use AI techniques. Second, he investigates the impact of obfuscation and deobfuscation on the detection of piggybacked apps. Finally, he studies the problem of generating relevant testing samples (i.e., adversarial samples) to assess antivirus products

Mbd3, a Component of NuRD/Mi-2 Complex, Helps Maintain Pluripotency of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells by Repressing Trophectoderm Differentiation

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) can differentiate into cells derived from all three germ layers and extraembryonic tissues. While transcription factors such as, Oct4 and Nanog are well known for their requirements for undifferentiated ES cell growth, mechanisms of epigenetic repression of germ layer specific differentiation in ES cells are not well understood. Here, we investigate functions of Mbd3, a component of nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation complex (NuRD/Mi-2) in mouse ES cells. We find that compared to wild type ES cells, Mbd3 knockdown cells show elevated RNA expression of trophectoderm markers, including Cdx2, Eomesodermin, and Hand1. In parallel, these cells show an increased acetylation level of histone 3 in promoters of the respective genes, suggesting Mbd3 plays a role in repression of these genes in undifferentiated ES cells. However, these changes are not sufficient for definitive differentiation to trophectoderm (TE) in chimeric embryos. When further cultured in ES medium without LIF or in trophoblast stem (TS) cell medium, Mbd3 knockdown cells differentiate into TE cells, which express Cdx2 and, at later stages, trophoblast lineage specific marker Cadherin 3. These results suggest that Mbd3 helps restrict ES cells from differentiating towards the trophectoderm lineage and is an important epigenetic player in maintaining full pluripotency of mouse ES cells