Optimal Discrete Rate Adaptation for Distributed Real-Time Systems with End-to-End Tasks

Many distributed real-time systems face the challenge of dynamically maximizing system utility in response to fluctuations in system workload. We present the MultiParametric Rate Adaptation (MPRA) algorithm for discrete rate adaptation in distributed real-time systems with end-to-end tasks. The key novelty and advantage of MPRA is that it can efficiently produce optimal solutions in response to workload changes such as dynamic task arrivals. Through oline preprocessing MPRA transforms a NP-hard utility optimization problem to a set of simple linear functions in different regions expressed in term of CPU utilization changes caused by workload variations. At run time MPRA produces optimal solutions by evaluating the linear function for the current region. Analysis and simulation results show that MPRA maximizes system utility in the presence of varying workloads, while reducing the online computation complexity to polynomial time

Multi-Context Interaction Network for Few-Shot Segmentation

Few-Shot Segmentation (FSS) is challenging for limited support images and large intra-class appearance discrepancies. Due to the huge difference between support and query samples, most existing approaches focus on extracting high-level representations of the same layers for support-query correlations but neglect the shift issue between different layers and scales. In this paper, we propose a Multi-Context Interaction Network (MCINet) to remedy this issue by fully exploiting and interacting with the multi-scale contextual information contained in the support-query pairs. Specifically, MCINet improves FSS from the perspectives of boosting the query representations by incorporating the low-level structural information from another query branch into the high-level semantic features, enhancing the support-query correlations by exploiting both the same-layer and adjacent-layer features, and refining the predicted results by a multi-scale mask prediction strategy, with which the different scale contents have bidirectionally interacted. Experiments on two benchmarks demonstrate that our approach reaches SOTA performances and outperforms the best competitors with many desirable advantages, especially on the challenging COCO dataset

An intimate collaboration between peroxisomes and lipid bodies

Although peroxisomes oxidize lipids, the metabolism of lipid bodies and peroxisomes is thought to be largely uncoupled from one another. In this study, using oleic acid–cultured Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system, we provide evidence that lipid bodies and peroxisomes have a close physiological relationship. Peroxisomes adhere stably to lipid bodies, and they can even extend processes into lipid body cores. Biochemical experiments and proteomic analysis of the purified lipid bodies suggest that these processes are limited to enzymes of fatty acid β oxidation. Peroxisomes that are unable to oxidize fatty acids promote novel structures within lipid bodies (“gnarls”), which may be organized arrays of accumulated free fatty acids. However, gnarls are suppressed, and fatty acids are not accumulated in the absence of peroxisomal membranes. Our results suggest that the extensive physical contact between peroxisomes and lipid bodies promotes the coupling of lipolysis within lipid bodies with peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation

Synthesis, Cytotoxic Activity, and DNA Binding Properties of Copper (II) Complexes with Hesperetin, Naringenin, and Apigenin

Complexes of copper (II) with hesperetin, naringenin, and apigenin of general composition [CuL(2)(H(2)O)(2)] ⋅ nH(2)O (1–3) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Vis, FT-IR, ESI-MS, and TG-DTG thermal analysis. The free ligands and the metal complexes have been tested in vitro against human cancer cell lines hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2), gastric carcinomas (SGC-7901), and cervical carcinoma (HeLa). Complexes 1 and 3 were found to exhibit growth inhibition of SGC-7901 and HepG2 cell lines with respect to the free ligands; the inhibitory rate of complex 1 is 43.2% and 43.8%, while complex 3 is 46% and 36%, respectively. The interactions of complex 1 and its ligand Hsp with calf thymus DNA were investigated by UV-Vis, fluorescence, and CD spectra. Both complex 1 and Hsp were found to bind DNA in intercalation modes, and the binding affinity of complex 1 was stronger than that of free ligand

Prognostic analysis of cT1-3N1M0 breast cancer patients who have responded to neoadjuvant therapy undergoing various axillary surgery and breast surgery based on propensity score matching and competitive risk model

BackgroundSentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in breast cancer patients with positive clinical axillary lymph nodes (cN1+) remains a topic of controversy. The aim of this study is to assess the influence of various axillary and breast surgery approaches on the survival of cN1+ breast cancer patients who have responded positively to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT).MethodsPatients diagnosed with pathologically confirmed invasive ductal carcinoma of breast between 2010 and 2020 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. To mitigate confounding bias, propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was employed. Prognostic factors for both overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) were evaluated through COX regression risk analysis. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Furthermore, cumulative incidence and independent prognostic factors were assessed using a competing risk model.ResultsThe PSM analysis matched 4,890 patients. Overall survival (OS) and BCSS were slightly worse in the axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) group (HR = 1.10, 95% CI 0.91-1.31, p = 0.322 vs. HR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.87-1.29, p = 0.545). The mastectomy (MAST) group exhibited significantly worse OS and BCSS outcomes (HR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.50, p = 0.018 vs. HR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.68, p = 0.002). The combination of different axillary and breast surgery did not significantly affect OS (p = 0.083) but did have a significant impact on BCSS (p = 0.019). Competing risk model analysis revealed no significant difference in the cumulative incidence of breast cancer-specific death (BCSD) in the axillary surgery group (Grey’s test, p = 0.232), but it showed a higher cumulative incidence of BCSD in the MAST group (Grey’s test, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age ≥ 70 years, black race, T3 stage, ER-negative expression, HER2-negative expression, and MAST were independent prognostic risk factors for both OS and BCSS (all p < 0.05).ConclusionFor cN1+ breast cancer patients who respond positive to NAT, the optimal surgical approach is combining breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with SLNB. This procedure improves quality of life and long-term survival outcomes

An immune-related prognostic model predicts neoplasm-immunity interactions for metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

BackgroundThe prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been recognized to improve immensely owing to radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. However, patients with metastatic NPC have a poor prognosis. Immunotherapy has dramatically prolonged the survival of patients with NPC. Hence, further research on immune-related biomarkers is imperative to establish the prognosis of metastatic NPC.Methods10 NPC RNA expression profiles were generated from patients with or without distant metastasis after chemoradiotherapy from the Fujian Cancer Hospital. The differential immune-related genes were identified and validated by immunohistochemistry analysis. The method of least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)was used to further establish the immune-related prognostic model in an external GEO database (GSE102349, n=88). The immune microenvironment and signal pathways were evaluated in multiple dimensions at the transcriptome and single-cell levels.Results1328 differential genes were identified, out of which 520 were upregulated and 808 were downregulated. Notably, most of the immune genes and pathways were down-regulated in the metastasis group. A prognostic immune model involving nine hub genes. Patients in low-risk group were characterized by survival advantage, hot immune phenotype and benefit from immunotherapy. Compared with immune cells, malignant cell exhibited the most active levels of risk score by ssGSEA. Accordingly, intercellular communications including LT, CD70, CD40 and SPP1, and the like, between high-risk and low-risk were explored by the R package “Cellchat”.ConclusionWe have constructed a model based on immunity of metastatic NPC and determined its prognostic value. The model identified the level of immune cell infiltration, cell-cell communication, along with potential immunotherapy for metastatic NPC

Lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like model in mice: meta-analysis and systematic evaluation

Depression is a complex and biologically heterogeneous disorder. Recent studies have shown that central nervous system (CNS) inflammation plays a key role in the development of depression. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like model in mice is commonly used to studying the mechanisms of inflammation-associated depression and the therapeutic effects of drugs. Numerous LPS-induced depression-like models in mice exist and differ widely in animal characteristics and methodological parameters. Here, we systematically reviewed studies on PubMed from January 2017 to July 2022 and performed cardinal of 170 studies and meta-analyses of 61 studies to support finding suitable animal models for future experimental studies on inflammation-associated depression. Mouse strains, LPS administration, and behavioral outcomes of these models have been assessed. In the meta-analysis, forced swimming test (FST) was used to evaluate the effect size of different mouse strains and LPS doses. The results revealed large effect sizes in ICR and Swiss mice, but less heterogeneity in C57BL/6 mice. For LPS intraperitoneal dose, the difference did not affect behavioral outcomes in C57BL/6 mice. However, in ICR mice, the most significant effect on behavioral outcomes was observed after the injection of 0.5 mg/kg LPS. Our results suggests that mice strains and LPS administration play a key role in the evaluation of behavioral outcomes in such models