A Collaborative Jamming Algorithm Based on Multi-UAV Scheduling

In this paper, we consider the problem of multi-unmanned aerial vehicles' scheduling for cooperative jamming, where UAVs equipped with directional antennas perform collaborative jamming tasks against several targets of interest. To ensure effective jamming towards the targets, we formulate it as an non-convex optimization problem, aiming to minimize the communication performance of the targets by jointly optimizing UAVs' deployment and directional antenna orientations. Due to the unique structure of the problem, we derive an equivalent transformation by introducing a set of auxiliary matrices. Subsequently, we propose an efficient iterative algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers, which decomposes the problem into multiple tractable subproblems solved in closed-form or by gradient projection method. Extensive simulations validate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Egg consumption improves vascular and gut microbiota function without increasing inflammatory, metabolic, and oxidative stress markers

Egg consumption is one of the many inconsistencies in evidence linking dietary cholesterol to cardiovascular disease (CVD). In addition, the gut microbiota and its metabolite, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), have been shown to play a crucial role in the development of CVD. The fact that egg is rich in choline suggests that excessive egg consumption may increase TMAO production by altering the gut microbiota. However, the effects of egg consumption on vascular function and gut microbiota remain unclear. Here, the diet of nine young male subjects was supplemented with two boiled eggs daily for 2 weeks. Changes in vascular function, inflammation, metabolism, oxidative stress, and gut microbiota were examined. We found that egg consumption increased flow-mediated dilation and decreased brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. Furthermore, egg consumption positively modulated the gut microbiota function but had no effects on the levels of C-reactive protein, glucose, lipid profile, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, or TMAO. The current study provides evidence that egg consumption improves vascular function, which may be related to the alterations seen in the gut microbiota. Therefore, moderate egg consumption may help to improve vascular and intestinal function in individuals at low risk of developing CVD and other metabolic disorders

A DBHS family member regulates male determination in the filariasis vector Armigeres subalbatus

The initial signals governing sex determination vary widely among insects. Here we show that Armigeres subalbatus M factor (AsuMf), a male-specific duplication of an autosomal gene of the Drosophila behaviour/human splicing (DBHS) gene family, is the potential primary signal for sex determination in the human filariasis vector mosquito, Ar. subalbatus. Our results show that AsuMf satisfies two fundamental requirements of an M factor: male-specific expression and early embryonic expression. Ablations of AsuMf result in a shift from male- to female-specific splicing of doublesex and fruitless, leading to feminization of males both in morphology and general transcription profile. These data support the conclusion that AsuMf is essential for male development in Ar. subalbatus and reveal a male-determining factor that is derived from duplication and subsequent neofunctionalization of a member of the conserved DBHS family