Implicit Tracking-based Distributed Constraint-coupled Optimization

A class of distributed optimization problem with a globally coupled equality constraint and local constrained sets is studied in this paper. For its special case where local constrained sets are absent, an augmented primal-dual gradient dynamics is proposed and analyzed, but it cannot be implemented distributedly since the violation of the coupled constraint needs to be used. Benefiting from the brand-new comprehending of a classical distributed unconstrained optimization algorithm, the novel implicit tracking approach is proposed to track the violation distributedly, which leads to the birth of the \underline{i}mplicit tracking-based \underline{d}istribut\underline{e}d \underline{a}ugmented primal-dual gradient dynamics (IDEA). A projected variant of IDEA, i.e., Proj-IDEA, is further designed to deal with the general case where local constrained sets exist. With the aid of the Lyapunov stability theory, the convergences of IDEA and Pro-IDEA over undigraphs and digraphs are analyzed respectively. As far as we know, Proj-IDEA is the first constant step-size distributed algorithm which can solve the studied problem without the need of the strict convexity of local cost functions. Besides, if local cost functions are strongly convex and smooth, IDEA can achieve exponential convergence with a weaker condition about the coupled constraint. Finally, numerical experiments are taken to corroborate our theoretical results.Comment: in IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, 202

MiR-449b-5p modifies glycolysis by lactate dehydrogenase A in gastric cancer

Purpose: To investigate the role of miR-449b-5p in gastric cancer (GC) metabolism. Methods: Human GC samples and their corresponding normal tissues were used in this study. Cell survival ability was evaluated using a commercial MTT kit. Glucose uptake, lactate production and ATP content were assessed using commercial kits. The expression levels of miRNAs were assessed by stem-loop reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: MiR-449b-5p expression decreased in both GC tissues and cells. When the cells with low level of miR-449b-5p were transfected with miR-449b-5p mimics, glycolysis was inhibited (p < 0.05). Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) was predicted as a target gene of miR-449b-5p and verified using luciferase reporter assay. MiR-449b-5p expression was up-regulated in GC cells (p < 0.05). Furthermore, miR- 449b-5p expression was related to long overall survival time in patients with GC. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that miR-449b-5p reverses the glycolytic state of GC cells by targeting LDHA expression, and thus, it can potentially be developed for the treatment of gastric cancer

Using simulated Tianqin gravitational wave data and electromagnetic wave data to study the coincidence problem and Hubble tension problem

In this paper, we use electromagnetic wave data (H0LiCOW, $H(z)$, SNe) and gravitational wave data (Tianqin) to constrain the interacting dark energy (IDE) model and investigate the Hubble tension problem and coincidences problem. By combining these four kinds of data (Tianqin+H0LiCOW+SNe+$H(z)$), we obtained the parameter values at the confidence interval of $1\sigma$: $\Omega_m=0.36\pm0.18$, $\omega_x=-1.29^{+0.61}_{-0.23}$, $\xi=3.15^{+0.36}_{-1.1}$, and $H_0=70.04\pm0.42$ $kms^{-1}Mpc^{-1}$. According to our results, the best valve of $H_0$ show that the Hubble tension problem can be alleviated to some extent. In addition, the $\xi+3\omega_x = -0.72^{+2.19}_{-1.19}(1\sigma)$ of which the center value indicates the coincidence problem is slightly alleviated. However, the $\xi+3\omega_x = 0$ is still within the $1\sigma$ error range which indicates the $\Lambda$CDM model is still the model which is in best agreement with the observational data at present. Finally, we compare the constraint results of electromagnetic wave and gravitational wave on the model parameters and find that the constraint effect of electromagnetic wave data on model parameters is better than that of simulated Tianqin gravitational wave data.Comment: The article has been accepted by Chinese Physics

Quantitative volumetric analysis of primary glioblastoma multiforme on MRI and 11C-methionine PET: initial study on five patients

To investigate the discrepancy between 11C-methionine (MET) positron emission tomography (PET) and MRI results in primary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) through three-dimensional (3D) volumetric analysis, we retrospectively analysed patients with primary GBM who underwent preoperative 3D MRI and MET PET and were operated between June 2016 and January 2017. Tumour delineation and volumetric analysis were conducted using MRIcron software. Tumour volumes defined by MRI (VMRI) were manually drawn slice by slice in axial and sagittal or coronal images of enhanced T1 sequence, while metabolic tumour volumes were automatically segmented in MET PET (VMET) based on three (frontal, occipital and temporal) 3D reference volumes of interest (VOI). Discrepancies were evaluated in terms of both absolute volume and percentage on the combined images. MET PET contours contained and extended beyond MRI contours in all five patients; in a subset of cases, MET PET contours extended to the contralateral hemisphere. The discrepancy between MET uptake and MRI results was 27.67 cm3 (4.20–51.20 cm3), i.e. approximately 39.0% (17.4–64.3%) of the metabolic tumour volume was located outside the volumes of the Gd-enhanced area. Metabolic tumour volume is substantially underestimated by Gd-enhanced area in patients with primary GBM. Quantitative volumetric information derived from MET uptake is useful in defining tumour targets and designing individualised therapy strategies in primary GBM

Organic amendments with high proportion of heterocyclic compounds promote soil microbiome shift and microbial use efficiency of straw-C

Soil microbial use efficiency of straw carbon (C), which is the proportion of straw-C microbes assimilate into new biosynthetic material relative to C lost out of the system as CO2, is critical in increasing soil organic C (SOC) content, and hence maintaining soil fertility and productivity. However, the effect of chemical structures of the organic amendments (OAs) on the microbial use efficiency of straw-C remains unclear. The effect of the chemical structure of the OAs on microbial use efficiency of straw-C was elucidated by a combination of 13C-straw labeling with high-throughput sequencing and pyrolysis-GC/MS. We found a strong positive correlation between the microbial use efficiency of straw-C and the proportion of heterocyclic compounds (Hete_C). The microbial use efficiency of straw-C was highest in soil supplemented with Hete_C-dominant OAs, which significantly shifted microbial community structure toward fungal dominance. Specifically, fungal-to-bacterial ratio, fungal richness, and the relative abundance of Ascomycota were higher in soil with a higher proportion of Hete_C-dominant OAs. Together, our study suggests that OAs with high proportion of Hete_C promote the microbial use efficiency of straw-C by increasing the dominance of fungi in the soil microbial community in agroecosystems

Testing the spatial geometry of the universe with TianQin: the prospect of using supermassive black hole binaries

The determination of the spatial geometry of the universe plays an important role in modern cosmology. Any deviation from the cosmic curvature $\Omega_K=0$ would have a profound impact on the primordial inflation paradigm and fundamental physics. In this paper, we carry out a systematic study of the prospect of measuring cosmic curvature with the inspiral signal of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) that could be detected with TianQin. The study is based on a cosmological-model-independent method that extended the application of gravitational wave (GW) standard sirens in cosmology. By comparing the distances from future simulated GW events and simulated $H(z)$ data, we evaluate if TianQin would produce robust constraints on the cosmic curvature parameter $\Omega_{k}$. More specifically, we consider 3-yr to 10-yr observations of supermassive black hole binaries with total masses ranging from $10^{3}M_\odot$ to $10^{7}M_\odot$. Our results show that in the future, with the synergy of 10-yr high-quality observations, we can tightly constrain the curvature parameter at the level of $1\sigma$ $\Omega_k=-0.002\pm0.061$. Moreover, our findings indicate that the total mass of SMBHB does influence the estimation of cosmic curvature, implied by the analysis performed on different subsamples of gravitational wave data. Therefore, TianQin is expected to provide a powerful and competitive probe of the spatial geometry of the universe, compared to future spaced-based detectors such as DECIGO.Comment: This article has been accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Nested Primal-dual Gradient Algorithms for Distributed Constraint-coupled Optimization

We study a class of distributed optimization problems with a globally coupled equality constraint. A novel nested primal-dual gradient algorithm (NPGA) is proposed from the dual perspective, which can achieve linear convergence under a quite weak condition. Furthermore, the upper bounds of the step-sizes and the converge rate are explicitly given. It is worth noting that NPGA is not only an algorithm but also an algorithmic framework. By choosing different parameter matrices, we can obtain many different versions of NPGA, which offers us a chance to design more efficient algorithms. Finally, the convergence rates of NPGA and existing algorithms are compared in numerical experiments

A novel 3-phenylpropylamine intercalated molecular bronze with ultrahigh layer spacing as a high-rate and stable cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Perspective: Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have gained increasing attention owing to their low cost and high safety. Although hydrated vanadium oxides exhibit rich redox chemistry and open layer architecture, the insertion of multivalent Zn2+ during cycling inevitably leads to host collapse and severe vanadium dissolution. Accordingly, various ions and conducting polymers have been introduced into the interlayer to produce vanadium bronzes with a robust crystal structure. However, these pre-intercalated vanadium bronzes demonstrate limited improvement and still face the challenge of metal ion displacement and confusing reaction mechanisms. Herein, we report a novel molecular bronze with intercalated 3-phenylpropylamine for use as an AZIB cathode, which produces an ultrahigh interlayer of 18.0 Å. The cathode delivered an improved capacity of 420 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, an impressive rate capability of 158 mAh g−1 at 35 A g−1, and an outstanding lifespan with a capacity retention of 94% over 1200 cycles at 2A g−1. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of H+/Zn2+ co-insertion was investigated in detail. This work proves that this strategy is universal for vanadium oxide bronzes and opens a new avenue for the fabrication of novel molecular bronzes as advanced AZIB cathodes

Association Study of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in XRCC1 Gene with Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chinese Han Population

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequently causing cancer-related deaths worldwide. Previous evidence suggests that the X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 gene (XRCC1) is an important candidate gene for influencing the risk of HCC. The aim of this study was to assess the association of XRCC1 genetic polymorphisms with the risk of HCC in Chinese Han population. A total of 1314 subjects, including 651 HCC patients and 663 healthy controls, were enrolled in this case-control study. Two genetic variants (c.1254C>T and c.1517G>C) in XRCC1 gene were genotyped by created restriction site-polymerase chain reaction (CRS-PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. Our data indicated that the allele and genotype frequencies of these two genetic variants were statistical difference in HCC cases and healthy controls. Association analyses suggested that these two genetic variants were statistically associated with the increased risk of HCC in all genetic models (for c.1254C>T, TT versus CC: OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.61-3.28; CT versus CC: OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.05-1.67; TT/CT versus CC: OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.20-1.86; TT versus CT/CC: OR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.43-2.80; T versus C: OR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.25-1.73; for c.1517G>C, CC versus GG: OR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.34-2.69; GC versus GG: OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.24-1.97; CC/GC versus GG: OR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.31-2.03; CC versus GC/GG: OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.10-2.11; C versus G: OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.23-1.70). The allele-T of c.1254C>T and allele-C of c.1517G>C genetic variants may contribute to HCC susceptibility in Chinese Han population