Shadow fading cross-correlation of multi-frequencies in curved subway tunnels

Radio propagation characteristics in curved tunnels are important for designing reliable communications in subway systems. In this paper, shadow fading is characterized, and cross-correlation property of shadow fading for different frequency bands is investigated based on empirical measurements. The measurements were conducted in two types of curved subway tunnels with 300 m and 500 m radii of curvatures at 980 MHz, 2400 MHz, and 5705 MHz, respectively. The impact of antenna polarization and propagation environment on shadow fading correlation at the receiver is evaluated. It is found that shadow fading with horizontal polarized antenna exhibits less correlation than with vertical polarized antenna. Strong independence of shadowing correlation and tunnel type is observed. Furthermore, a heuristic explanation of the particular shadowing correlation property in subway tunnel is presented

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) family in arthropods : Cloning and expression analysis of two MIF and one D-dopachrome tautomerase (DDT) homologues in Mud crabs, Scylla paramamosain

Acknowledgements This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31172438 and U1205123), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2012J06008 and 201311180002) and the projects-sponsored by SRF. TW received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.Peer reviewedPostprin

Large-scale fading characterization in curved modern subway tunnels

This paper presents extensive propagation measurements conducted in a modern arched tunnel with 300 m and 500 m radii of curvature with horizontal polarizations at 920 MHz, 2400 MHz, and 5705 MHz, respectively. Based on the measurements, statistical metrics of propagation loss and shadow fading in all the measurement cases are extracted. Furthermore, for each of the large-scale fading parameters, extensive analysis and discussions are made to reveal the physical laws behind the observations. The quantitative results and findings are useful to realize intelligent transportation systems in the subway system

Measurements and analysis of large-scale fading characteristics in curved subway tunnels at 920 MHz, 2400 MHz, and 5705 MHz

ave propagation characteristics in curved tunnels are of importance for designing reliable communications in subway systems. This paper presents the extensive propagation measurements conducted in two typical types of subway tunnels—traditional arched “Type I” tunnel and modern arched “Type II” tunnel—with300- and 500-m radii of curvature with different configurations—horizontal and vertical polarizations at 920, 2400, and 5705 MHz, respectively. Based on the measurements, statistical metrics of propagation loss and shadow fading (path-loss exponent, shadow fading distribution, autocorrelation, and cross-correlation) in all the measurement cases are extracted. Then, the large-scale fading characteristics in the curved subway tunnels are compared with the cases of road and railway tunnels, the other main rail traffic scenarios, and some “typical” scenarios to give a comprehensive insight into the propagation in various scenarios where the intelligent transportation systems are deployed. Moreover, for each of the large-scale fading parameters, extensive analysis and discussions are made to reflect the physical laws behind the observations. The quantitative results and findings are useful to realize intelligent transportation systems in the subway system

Dual Energy Spectral CT Imaging for Colorectal Cancer Grading: A Preliminary Study

ObjectivesTo assess the diagnostic value of dual energy spectral CT imaging for colorectal cancer grading using the quantitative iodine density measurements in both arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP).Methods81 colorectal cancer patients were divided into two groups based on their pathological findings: a low grade group including well (n = 13) and moderately differentiated cancer (n = 24), and a high grade group including poorly differentiated (n = 42) and signet ring cell cancer (n = 2). Iodine density (ID) in the lesions was derived from the iodine-based material decomposition (MD) image and normalized to that in the psoas muscle to obtain normalized iodine density (NID). The difference in ID and NID between AP and VP was calculated.ResultsThe ID and NID values of the low grade cancer group were, 14.65±3.38mg/mL and 1.70±0.33 in AP, and 21.90±3.11mg/mL and 2.05± 0.32 in VP, respectively. The ID and NID values for the high grade cancer group were 20.63±3.72mg/mL and 2.95±0.72 in AP, and 26.27±3.10mg/mL and 3.51±1.12 in VP, respectively. There was significant difference for ID and NID between the low grade and high grade cancer groups in both AP and VP (all p<0.001). ROC analysis indicated that NID of 1.92 in AP provided 70.3% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity in differentiating low grade cancer from high grade cancer.ConclusionsThe quantitative measurement of iodine density in AP and VP can provide useful information to differentiate low grade colorectal cancer from high grade colorectal cancer with NID in AP providing the greatest diagnostic value

Altered mitochondrial lymphocyte in overweight schizophrenia patients treated with atypical antipsychotics and its association with cognitive function

ObjectiveIncreasing evidence indicated that schizophrenia and obesity are associated with altered mitochondrial and immune function. In this study, we investigated the levels of CRP (C-reactive protein) and mitochondrial lymphocytes in chronically treated schizophrenia patients with atypical antipsychotic medications and further explored the relationship between mitochondrial lymphocyte and weight gain as well as cognitive function in these patients.MethodsWe evaluated the mitochondrial lymphocyte count of 97 patients (53 overweight, 44 non-overweight) and 100 healthy controls using mitochondrial fluorescence staining and flow cytometry (NovoCyte, Agilent Technologies, US). The serum CRP was measured by high-sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Clinical symptoms and cognitive function of the patients were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS).ResultsThe results showed that mitochondrial lymphocyte counts of CD3+ T, CD3+CD4+ T, and CD3+CD8+ T cells in schizophrenia patients were higher than in the control group (p &lt; 0.05). Additionally, overweight patients had significantly higher mitochondrial lymphocyte counts of CD3+ T and CD3+CD4+ T cells compared to schizophrenia patients with normal weight. Stratified analysis by gender revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in CD3+CD4+ mitochondrial lymphocyte count in male patients (p = 0.014) and a marginal trend toward significance in female patients (p = 0.058). Furthermore, the mitochondrial lymphocyte counts of CD3+ T and CD3+CD4+ T cells, as well as CRP levels, were positively correlated with BMI in schizophrenia patients, but the mitochondrial lymphocyte counts of CD3+CD4+ T cells were negatively correlated with the language scale in the RBANS.ConclusionOur study results provide evidence for the association between altered mitochondrial T lymphocyte and weight gain as well as cognitive impairment in schizophrenia patients treated with atypical antipsychotic medications

Large-scale Identification of Chemically Induced Mutations in Drosophila melanogaster.

Forward genetic screens using chemical mutagens have been successful in defining the function of thousands of genes in eukaryotic model organisms. The main drawback of this strategy is the time-consuming identification of the molecular lesions causative of the phenotypes of interest. With whole-genome sequencing (WGS), it is now possible to sequence hundreds of strains, but determining which mutations are causative among thousands of polymorphisms remains challenging. We have sequenced 394 mutant strains, generated in a chemical mutagenesis screen, for essential genes on the Drosophila X chromosome and describe strategies to reduce the number of candidate mutations from an average of -3500 to 35 single-nucleotide variants per chromosome. By combining WGS with a rough mapping method based on large duplications, we were able to map 274 (-70%) mutations. We show that these mutations are causative, using small 80-kb duplications that rescue lethality. Hence, our findings demonstrate that combining rough mapping with WGS dramatically expands the toolkit necessary for assigning function to genes

Intracellular interferons in fish : a unique means to combat viral infection

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Etiologic Diagnosis of Lower Respiratory Tract Bacterial Infections Using Sputum Samples and Quantitative Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification

Etiologic diagnoses of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) have been relying primarily on bacterial cultures that often fail to return useful results in time. Although DNA-based assays are more sensitive than bacterial cultures in detecting pathogens, the molecular results are often inconsistent and challenged by doubts on false positives, such as those due to system- and environment-derived contaminations. Here we report a nationwide cohort study on 2986 suspected LRTI patients across P. R. China. We compared the performance of a DNA-based assay qLAMP (quantitative Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlification) with that of standard bacterial cultures in detecting a panel of eight common respiratory bacterial pathogens from sputum samples. Our qLAMP assay detects the panel of pathogens in 1047(69.28%) patients from 1533 qualified patients at the end. We found that the bacterial titer quantified based on qLAMP is a predictor of probability that the bacterium in the sample can be detected in culture assay. The relatedness of the two assays fits a logistic regression curve. We used a piecewise linear function to define breakpoints where latent pathogen abruptly change its competitive relationship with others in the panel. These breakpoints, where pathogens start to propagate abnormally, are used as cutoffs to eliminate the influence of contaminations from normal flora. With help of the cutoffs derived from statistical analysis, we are able to identify causative pathogens in 750 (48.92%) patients from qualified patients. In conclusion, qLAMP is a reliable method in quantifying bacterial titer. Despite the fact that there are always latent bacteria contaminated in sputum samples, we can identify causative pathogens based on cutoffs derived from statistical analysis of competitive relationship