Linear quadratic mean-field game-team analysis: a mixed coalition approach

Mean-field theory has been extensively explored in decision analysis of {large-scale} (LS) systems but traditionally in ``pure" cooperative or competitive settings. This leads to the so-called mean-field game (MG) or mean-field team (MT). This paper introduces a new class of LS systems with cooperative inner layer and competitive outer layer, so a ``mixed" mean-field analysis is proposed for distributed game-team strategy. A novel asymptotic mixed-equilibrium-optima is also proposed and verified

A Unified Relation Analysis of Linear-quadratic Mean-field Game, Team and Control

This paper revisits well-studied dynamic decisions of weakly coupled large-population (LP) systems. Specifically, three types of LP decision problems: mean-field game (MG), mean-field team (MT), and mean-field-type control (MC), are completely analyzed in a general stochastic linear-quadratic setting with controlled-diffusion in state dynamics and indefinite weight in cost functional. More importantly, interrelations among MG, MT and MC are systematically discussed; some relevant interesting findings are reported that may be applied to a structural analysis of general LP decisions

Long-term (2 years) drying shrinkage evaluation of alkali-activated slag mortar: Experiments and partial factor analysis

Alkali-activated slag with many excellent properties was regarded as a novel low carbon building material, has received more and more attention. This research aims to study the impacts of alkali solution (alkali content and modulus), cement and gypsum contents on compressive strength, weight loss and drying shrinkage for alkali-activated slag mortar. Gypsum used as expanding source could compensate the drying shrinkage caused by silica and alkali components in the first three months, but it has a negative impact on the strength. The mainly results can be concluded that the alkali-activated slag blended with a cement content up to 20 wt% could effectively reduce the shrinkage and weight loss and increase the strength. Furthermore, the alkali content was below 3 wt%, the specimens possess relatively lower drying shrinkage. Based on the results of the test and analysis, the partial factors of combined activation on compressive strength and drying shrinkage of alkali-activated slag mortar were put forward. In the meantime, the relationships between compressive strength and combined activation factor are liner at 28, 90 and 365 days. Compressive strength and drying shrinkage could be estimated according to the combined activation and partial factor analysis. This work could provide a reasonable method for preparing the alkali-activated slag mortar and predict the shrinkage at different periods

Climate effects of the Three Gorges Reservoir as simulated by a high resolution double nested regional climate model

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On the growth of national geoparks in China: distribution, interpretation, and regional comparison

Since the year 2000 China has created 139 National Geoparks; it started under the guidance of the former UNESCO\u27s Division of Earth Science, and has therefore become one of the pioneers in this aspect. Many National Geoparks in China have been described over the past decade, but an understanding of the range of various landform features and their connection with geological and climatic constraints has not previously been published. Based on an increasing awareness of National Geoparks, the aim of this contribution is to provide a comprehensive overview of the National Geoparks of China by reviewing the geological heritage and their intrinsic linkages with geological and climatic controls. A regional comparison of the widespread clastic and karst Geopark landforms indicates that the development of these terrains can only be understood within a synthesis of tectonic constraints, climatic changes and lithological properties, whereas the variety of types, forms, scales and development patterns reflect processes in various climatic settings

TiAVox: Time-aware Attenuation Voxels for Sparse-view 4D DSA Reconstruction

Four-dimensional Digital Subtraction Angiography (4D DSA) plays a critical role in the diagnosis of many medical diseases, such as Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) and Arteriovenous Fistulas (AVF). Despite its significant application value, the reconstruction of 4D DSA demands numerous views to effectively model the intricate vessels and radiocontrast flow, thereby implying a significant radiation dose. To address this high radiation issue, we propose a Time-aware Attenuation Voxel (TiAVox) approach for sparse-view 4D DSA reconstruction, which paves the way for high-quality 4D imaging. Additionally, 2D and 3D DSA imaging results can be generated from the reconstructed 4D DSA images. TiAVox introduces 4D attenuation voxel grids, which reflect attenuation properties from both spatial and temporal dimensions. It is optimized by minimizing discrepancies between the rendered images and sparse 2D DSA images. Without any neural network involved, TiAVox enjoys specific physical interpretability. The parameters of each learnable voxel represent the attenuation coefficients. We validated the TiAVox approach on both clinical and simulated datasets, achieving a 31.23 Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) for novel view synthesis using only 30 views on the clinically sourced dataset, whereas traditional Feldkamp-Davis-Kress methods required 133 views. Similarly, with merely 10 views from the synthetic dataset, TiAVox yielded a PSNR of 34.32 for novel view synthesis and 41.40 for 3D reconstruction. We also executed ablation studies to corroborate the essential components of TiAVox. The code will be publically available.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Establishment of Cre-mediated HBV recombinant cccDNA (rcccDNA) cell line for cccDNA biology and antiviral screening assays

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), existing in hepatocyte nuclei as a stable minichromosome, plays a central role in the life cycle of the virus and permits the persistence of infection. Despite being essential for HBV infection, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of cccDNA formation, regulation and degradation, and there is no therapeutic agents directly targeting cccDNA, fore mostly due to the lack of robust, reliable and quantifiable HBV cccDNA models. In this study, combined the Cre/loxP and sleeping beauty transposons system, we established HepG2-derived cell lines integrated with 2-60 copies of monomeric HBV genome flanked by loxP sites (HepG2-HBV/loxP). After Cre expression via adenoviral transduction, 3.3-kb recombinant cccDNA (rcccDNA) bearing a chimeric intron can be produced in the nuclei of these HepG2-HBV/loxP cells. The rcccDNA could be accurately quantified by quantitative PCR using specific primers and cccDNA pool generated in this model could be easily detected by Southern blotting using the digoxigenin probe system. We demonstrated that the rcccDNA was epigenetically organized as the natural minichromosome and served as the template supporting pgRNA transcription and viral replication. As the expression of HBV S antigen (HBsAg) is dependent on the newly generated cccDNA, HBsAg is the surrogate marker of cccDNA. Additionally, the efficacies of 3 classes of anti-HBV agents were evaluated in HepG2-HBV/loxP cells and antiviral activities with different mechanisms were confirmed. These data collectively suggested that HepG2-HBV/loxP cell system will be powerful platform for studying cccDNA related biological mechanisms and developing novel cccDNA targeting drugs.</p

MicroRNA-939 restricts Hepatitis B virus by targeting Jmjd3-mediated and C/EBPα-coordinated chromatin remodeling

Multi-layered mechanisms of virus host interaction exist for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which have been typically manifested at the microRNA level. Our previous study suggested that miRNA-939 (miR-939) may play a potential role in regulating HBV replication. Here we further investigated the mechanism by which miR-939 regulates HBV life cycle. We found that miR-939 inhibited the abundance of viral RNAs without direct miRNA-mRNA base pairing, but via host factors. Expression profiling and functional validation identified Jmjd3 as a target responsible for miR-939 induced anti-HBV effect. Jmjd3 appeared to enhance the transcription efficiency of HBV enhancer II/core promoter (En II) in a C/EBPα-dependent manner. However, the demethylase activity of Jmjd3 was not required in this process. Rather, Jmjd3's transactivation activity depended on its interaction with C/EBPα. This coordinated action further recruited the Brm containing SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex which promoted the transcription of HBV RNAs. Taken together, we propose that the miR-939-Jmjd3 axis perturbs the accessibility of En II promoter to essential nuclear factors (C/EBPα and SWI/SNF complex) therefore leading to compromised viral RNA synthesis and hence restricted viral multiplication.</p

Evaluating the Vegetation Recovery in the Damage Area of Wenchuan Earthquake Using MODIS Data

The catastrophic 8.0 Richter magnitude earthquake that occurred on 12 May 2008 in Wenchuan, China caused extensive damage to vegetation due to widespread landslides and debris flows. In the past five years, the Chinese government has implemented a series of measures to restore the vegetation in the severely afflicted area. How is the vegetation recovering? It is necessary and important to evaluate the vegetation recovery effect in earthquake-stricken areas. Based on MODIS NDVI data from 2005 to 2013, the vegetation damage area was extracted by the quantified threshold detection method. The vegetation recovery rate after five years following the earthquake was evaluated with respect to counties, altitude, fault zones, earthquake intensity, soil texture and vegetation types, and assessed over time. We have proposed a new method to obtain the threshold with vegetation damage quantitatively, and have concluded that: (1) The threshold with vegetation damage was 13.47%, and 62.09% of the field points were located in the extracted damaged area; (2) The total vegetation damage area was 475,688 ha, which accounts for 14.34% of the study area and was primarily distributed in the central fault zone, the southwest mountainous areas and along rivers in the Midwest region of the study area; (3) Vegetation recovery in the damaged area was better in the northeast regions of the study area, and in the western portion of the Wenchuan-Maoxian fracture; vegetation recovery was better with increasing altitude; there is no obvious relationship between clay content in the topsoil and vegetation recovery; (4) Meadows recovered best and the worst recovery was in mixed coniferous broad-leaved forest; (5) 81,338 ha of vegetation in the damage area is currently undergoing degradation and the main vegetation types in the degradation area are coniferous forest (31.39%) and scrub (34.17%); (6) From 2009 to 2013, 41% has been restored to the level before the earthquake, 9% has not returned but 50% will continue to recover. The Chinese government usually requires five years as a period for post-disaster reconstruction. This paper could be regarded as a guidance for Chinese government departments, whereby additional investment is encouraged for vegetation recovery