A Multi-Objective Routing Algorithm Based on Auction Game for Space Information Network

This paper aims to create a resource-saving method for the routing problem in space information network. To this end, a multi-objective routing algorithm was created based on game theory for space information network. Specifically, the auction game was introduced to solve the routing problem using the delay-tolerating network (DTN) protocol. Considering the topological periodicity of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, a typical space information network, the dynamic topological structure was divided into relatively static time slots. Then, the routing problem was solved through the auction game in these slots. The proposed algorithm can minimize the number of selfish nodes in the network and avoid network congestion resulted from excessive resource consumption of individual nodes. Finally, the proposed algorithm was compared with other well-known routing models like the epidemic routing model (Epidemic) and the first contact routing model (FC). The results show that the proposed algorithm outperformed the contrastive models in both average delay and network overhead ratio. The research findings shed important new light on the routing of space information network

Allocating Limited Resources to Protect a Massive Number of Targets using a Game Theoretic Model

Resource allocation is the process of optimizing the rare resources. In the area of security, how to allocate limited resources to protect a massive number of targets is especially challenging. This paper addresses this resource allocation issue by constructing a game theoretic model. A defender and an attacker are players and the interaction is formulated as a trade-off between protecting targets and consuming resources. The action cost which is a necessary role of consuming resource, is considered in the proposed model. Additionally, a bounded rational behavior model (Quantal Response, QR), which simulates a human attacker of the adversarial nature, is introduced to improve the proposed model. To validate the proposed model, we compare the different utility functions and resource allocation strategies. The comparison results suggest that the proposed resource allocation strategy performs better than others in the perspective of utility and resource effectiveness.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, 41 reference

Significant mitral regurgitation as a predictor of long-term prognosis in patients receiving cardiac resynchronisation therapy

Background: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) has been shown to reduce functional mitral regurgitation, although the relationship between significant mitral regurgitation (SMR) and the clinical prognosis of CRT remains uncertain. Aim: We sought to investigate the association of baseline SMR with long-term outcomes in patients undergoing CRT. Methods: A total of 296 consecutive patients undergoing CRT were enrolled. SMR was quantified by colour Doppler in all patients at baseline and defined as level ≥ 3 on the severity scale. The primary endpoints included all-cause death, heart failure hospitalisation (HFH), and heart transplantation, and the secondary endpoints were response to CRT and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV six months after CRT implantation. Results: The mean age was 59 ± 11 years, and 202 (68.2%) patients were male. Among all patients, 124 (41.9%) presented with baseline SMR. Over a mean follow-up of 4.17 ± 3.16 years, there were 53 (17.9%) cases of all-cause death, 41 (13.8%) cases of HFH, and four (1.4%) cases of heart transplantation. SMR was positively associated with primary endpoint events (hazard ratio [HR] 1.602, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.083–2.371, p = 0.019), HFH (HR 3.567, 95% CI 1.763–7.219, p < 0.001) and NYHA class III or IV (HR 2.101, 95% CI 1.313–3.363, p = 0.002). After adjusting for multiple factors, we found that SMR (HR 1.785, 95% CI 1.091–2.920, p = 0.021), ischaemic heart disease (HR 1.628, 95% CI 1.062–2.494, p = 0.025), and the lack of use of spironolactone (HR 2.044, 95% CI 1.040–4.017, p = 0.038) were independent predictors of primary endpoints, and SMR remained an independent predictor of HFH (HR 4.622, 95% CI 1.955–10.923, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Significant mitral regurgitation before CRT implantation was strongly associated with long-term poor progno­sis. SMR was positively associated with HFH rather than all-cause death and CRT response

Healthy cities initiative in China: Progress, challenges, and the way forward

Article discusses how China implemented the first phase of its National Healthy Cities pilot program from 2016-20. Authors recommend aligning the Healthy Cities initiative in China with strategic national and global level agendas such as Healthy China 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing an integrative governance framework to facilitate a coherent intersectoral program to systemically improve population health

Use of nanomaterials in the pretreatment of water samples for environmental analysis

The challenge of providing clean drinking water is of enormous relevance in today’s human civilization, being essential for human consumption, but also for agriculture, livestock and several industrial applications. In addition to remediation strategies, the accurate monitoring of pollutants in water sup-plies, which most of the times are present at low concentrations, is a critical challenge. The usual low concentration of target analytes, the presence of in-terferents and the incompatibility of the sample matrix with instrumental techniques and detectors are the main reasons that renders sample preparation a relevant part of environmental monitoring strategies. The discovery and ap-plication of new nanomaterials allowed improvements on the pretreatment of water samples, with benefits in terms of speed, reliability and sensitivity in analysis. In this chapter, the use of nanomaterials in solid-phase extraction (SPE) protocols for water samples pretreatment for environmental monitoring is addressed. The most used nanomaterials, including metallic nanoparticles, metal organic frameworks, molecularly imprinted polymers, carbon-based nanomaterials, silica-based nanoparticles and nanocomposites are described, and their applications and advantages overviewed. Main gaps are identified and new directions on the field are suggested.publishe

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Shortest path algorithm based on distance comparison

The paper presents a newly shortest path algorithm aiming at the point-to-point problems in traffic network. The algorithm makes use of the axiom that distance is less than path based on the characteristics of transportation network. The test compared with the typical Dijkstra shows the validity and efficiency of the proposed algorithmEngineering, Electrical & ElectronicGeosciences, MultidisciplinaryRemote SensingEICPCI-S(ISTP)

Development of a Fully Automated Graf Standard Plane and Angle Evaluation Method for Infant Hip Ultrasound Scans

Background: Graf’s method is currently the most commonly used ultrasound-based technique for the diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). However, the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis are highly affected by the sonographers’ qualification and the time and effort expended, which has a significant intra- and inter-observer variability. Methods: Aiming to minimize the manual intervention in the diagnosis process, we developed a deep learning-based computer-aided framework for the DDH diagnosis, which can perform fully automated standard plane detection and angle measurement for Graf type I and type II hips. The proposed framework is composed of three modules: an anatomical structure detection module, a standard plane scoring module, and an angle measurement module. This framework can be applied to two common clinical scenarios. The first is the static mode, measurement and classification are performed directly based on the given standard plane. The second is the dynamic mode, where a standard plane from ultrasound video is first determined, and measurement and classification are then completed. To the best of our knowledge, our proposed framework is the first CAD method that can automatically perform the entire measurement process of Graf’s method. Results: In our experiments, 1051 US images and 289 US videos of Graf type I and type II hips were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework. In static mode, the mean absolute error of α, β angles are 1.71° and 2.40°, and the classification accuracy is 94.71%. In dynamic mode, the mean absolute error of α, β angles are 1.97° and 2.53°, the classification accuracy is 89.51%, and the running speed is 31 fps. Conclusions: Experimental results demonstrate that our fully automated framework can accurately perform standard plane detection and angle measurement of an infant’s hip at a fast speed, showing great potential for clinical application