Efficient and Error-bounded Spatiotemporal Quantile Monitoring in Edge Computing Environments

Underlying many types of data analytics, a spatiotemporal quantile monitoring (SQM) query continuously returns the quantiles of a dataset observed in a spatiotemporal range. In this paper, we study SQM in an Internet of Things (IoT) based edge computing environment, where concurrent SQM queries share the same infrastructure asynchronously. To minimize query latency while providing result accuracy guarantees, we design a processing framework that virtualizes edge-resident data sketches for quantile computing. In the framework, a coordinator edge node manages edge sketches and synchronizes edge sketch processing and query executions. The co-ordinator also controls the processed data fractions of edge sketches, which helps to achieve the optimal latency with error-bounded results for each single query. To support concurrent queries, we employ a grid to decompose queries into subqueries and process them efficiently using shared edge sketches. We also devise a relaxation algorithm to converge to optimal latencies for those subqueries whose result errors are still bounded. We evaluate our proposals using two high-speed streaming datasets in a simulated IoT setting with edge nodes. The results show that our proposals achieve efficient, scalable, and error-bounded SQM

Individual and joint effects of metformin and statins on mortality among patients with high-risk prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Pre-clinical studies suggest that metformin and statins may delay prostate cancer (PCa) metastases; however, data in humans are limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first human study aimed to quantify the individual and joint effects of statin and metformin use among patients with high-risk PCa. METHODS: This population-based retrospective cohort study identified patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database. Exposure to metformin and statins was ascertained from Medicare Prescription Drug Event files. The association with all-cause and PCa mortality were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard model with competing causes of death, where propensity scores were used to adjusted imbalances in covariates across groups. RESULTS: Based on 12 700 patients with high-risk PCa, statin alone or in combination with metformin was significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 0.89; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.83, 0.96; and HR: 0.75; 95% CI, 0.67-0.83, respectively) and PCa mortality (HR, 0.80; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.92) and 0.64; 95% CI, d 0.51-0.81, respectively. The effects were more pronounced in post-diagnostic users: combination use of metformin/statins was associated with a 32% reduction in all-cause mortality (95% CI, 0.57-0.80), and 54% reduction in PCa mortality (95% CI, 0.30-0.69). No significant association of metformin alone was observed with either all-cause mortality or PCa mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Statin use alone or in combination with metformin was associated with lower all-cause and PCa mortality among high-risk patients, particularly in post-diagnostic settings; further studies are warranted

Non-linear Relationships Between the Built Environment and Walking Frequency Among Older Adults in Zhongshan, China

Aim: Promoting walking activity is an effective way to improve the health of older adults. Walking frequency is a critical component of walking behavior and an essential determinant of daily walking levels. To decipher the association between the built environment and walking frequency among older adults, this study's aims are as follows: (1) to empirically test whether non-linear relationships between the two exist, and (2) to identify the thresholds of the built environment characteristics that promote walking. Methods: The walking frequency of old adults was derived from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. The sample size of old adults aged 60 or over was 4784 from 274 urban and rural neighborhoods. A semi-parametric generalized additive model (GAMM) is used to analyze the non-linear or non-monotonic relationships between the built environment and the walking frequency among older adults. Results: We found that non-linear relationships exist among five out of the six built environment characteristics. Within certain thresholds, the population density, sidewalk density, bus stop density, land use mixture, and the percentage of green space are positively related to older adults' walking trips. Furthermore, the land use mixture and the percentage of green space show an inverse “V”-shaped relationship. Conclusions: Built environment features can either support or hinder the walking frequency among older adults. The findings in the current study contribute to effective land use and transport policies for promoting active travel among older adults

Non-linear effects of the built environment and social environment on bus use among older adults in china : An application of the xgboost model

Global aging has raised increasing concerns on the health and well-being of older adults. Public transport is a viable option to improve the mobility and quality of life among older adults. However, policies that promote the public transport use among older adults are rare. This study utilizes the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) decision tree to explore the non-linear associations of the built and social environment with bus use among older adults in China. The bus use of older adults was obtained from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. Results show that non-linear relationships exist among all built environment and social environment characteristics. Within certain thresholds, the percentage of green space land use, land use mixture, bus-stop density, and dwelling unit density are positively related to bus use among older adults. Like-wise, one social environment variable, the proportion of older adults in a neighborhood, is the key social environment variable. Furthermore, the dwelling unit density and proportion of older adults appear to have an inverse U-shaped relationship. Additionally, age, ownership of motorcycles, and distance from home to the nearest bus stop also show non-linearity. The findings presented in this paper facilitate effective planning interventions to promote bus use among older adults

Gender Differences in Environmental Correlates of Cycling Activity among Older Urban Adults

Cycling is a form of active transport that can improve the level of health among the elderly population. However, little is known about the environmental correlates of bicycle use among older adults. This study investigated the relationship between the built and social environment and the gender differences in cycling frequency among older urban adults in China. The data were derived from a household travel survey in 2012 and covered thirty-three urban neighborhoods in Zhongshan. The results suggest that denser intersections are negatively related to cycling trips among both older men and women. Reverse associations for either gender, however, are observed between the average income in a neighborhood and cycling frequency. For older women, living far from a bus stop is positively correlated to an increase in daily cycling trips. For older men, social environment, including the proportions of employed or elderly people in a neighborhood, is significantly associated with cycling activity. The findings facilitate the understanding of the gender gap in cycling activity among older urban adults, and help towards designing effective planning strategies as health interventions

Nonlinear associations of the built environment with cycling frequency among older adults in Zhongshan, China

The health and welfare of older adults have raised increasing attention due to global aging. Cycling is a physical activity and mode of transportation to enhance the mobility and quality of life among older adults. Nevertheless, the planning strategies to promote cycling among older adults are underutilized. Therefore, this paper describes the nonlinear associations of the built environment with cycling frequency among older adults. The data were collected from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. The modeling approach was the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model. The findings demonstrated that nonlinear relationships exist among all the selected built environment attributes. Within specific intervals, the population density, the land-use mixture, the distance from home to the nearest bus stop, and the distance from home to CBD are positively correlated to the cycling among older adults. Additionally, an inverse “U”-shaped relationship appears in the percentage of green space land use among all land uses. Moreover, the intersection density is inversely related to the cycling frequency among older adults. These findings provide nuanced and appropriate guidance for establishing age-friendly neighborhoods

Serological and molecular evidence of [i]Coxiella burnetii[/i] in samples from humans and animals in China

[b]Introduction.[/b] [i]Coxiella burnetii[/i] is the agent of Q fever, a worldwide zoonosis. To add to the available knowledge of the disease in China, [i]C. burnetti[/i] infections were investigated in convenience samples from five animal species and humans from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, eastern China. [b]Materials and methods.[/b] Commercial ELISA kits were used to detect antibodies to phase I and II [i]C. burnetii[/i]. A FRET-qPCR targeting the outer membrane protein com1 gene was also developed to detect [i]C. burnetii[/i] DNA in blood samples from animals and humans, and bovine milk samples. [b]Results.[/b] Seropositive cattle (44/150; 29%), goats (33/150; 22%), humans (45/180; 25%) and pigs (4/130; 3%) were found, while dogs (0/136; 0%) and cats (0/140; 0%) were seronegative. Seropositivity in humans was associated with increasing age, but there was no gender difference. DNA was amplified from two milk samples (2/150, 1.3%), while none of the blood samples were positive. The sequences of the obtained amplicons were identical to those of the com1 gene of the universal [i]C. burnetii[/i] RSA 493 strain and other stains from China. [b]Conclusions. [/b]The findings indicaten that C. burnetii is endemic in Yangzhou, China, and therefore human and animal health workers should be aware of the possibility of infections and the occurrence of outbreaks of Q fever

DataSheet_1_Acute stress induces an inflammation dominated by innate immunity represented by neutrophils in mice.docx

It is well known that psychological stress could affect the immune system and then regulate the disease process. Previous studies mostly focused on the effects of chronic stress on diseases and immune cells. How acute stress affects the immune system remains poorly understood. In this study, after 6 hours of restraint stress or no stress, RNA was extracted from mouse peripheral blood followed by sequencing. Through bioinformatics analysis, we found that when compared with the control group, differentially expressed genes in the stress group mainly displayed up-regulated expression. Gene set enrichment analysis results showed that the enriched gene terms were mainly related to inflammatory response, defense response, wounding response, wound healing, complement activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. In terms of cell activation, differentiation and chemotaxis, the enriched gene terms were related to a variety of immune cells, among which neutrophils seemed more active in stress response. The results of gene set variation analysis showed that under acute stress, the inflammatory reaction dominated by innate immunity was forming. Additionally, the concentration of serum IL-1β and IL-6 increased significantly after acute stress, indicating that the body was in an inflammatory state. Importantly, we found that acute stress led to a significant increase in the number of neutrophils in peripheral blood, while the number of T cells and B cells decreased significantly through flow cytometric analysis. Through protein-protein interaction network analysis, we screened 10 hub genes, which mainly related to inflammation and neutrophils. We also found acute stress led to an up-regulation of Ccr1, Ccr2, Xcr1 and Cxcr2 genes, which were involved in cell migration and chemotaxis. Our data suggested that immune cells were ready to infiltrate into tissues in emergency through blood vessels under acute stress. This hypothesis was supported in LPS-induced acute inflammatory models. After 48 hours of LPS treatment, flow cytometric analysis showed that the lungs of mice with acute stress were characterized by increased neutrophil infiltration, decreased T cell and B cell infiltration. Immunohistochemical analysis also showed that acute stress led to more severe lung inflammation. If mice received repeat acute stress and LPS stimulation, the survival rate was significantly lower than that of mice only stimulated by LPS. Altogether, acute stress led to rapid mobilization of the immune system, and the body presented an inflammatory state dominated by innate immune response represented by neutrophils.</p

Table_1_Acute stress induces an inflammation dominated by innate immunity represented by neutrophils in mice.xls

It is well known that psychological stress could affect the immune system and then regulate the disease process. Previous studies mostly focused on the effects of chronic stress on diseases and immune cells. How acute stress affects the immune system remains poorly understood. In this study, after 6 hours of restraint stress or no stress, RNA was extracted from mouse peripheral blood followed by sequencing. Through bioinformatics analysis, we found that when compared with the control group, differentially expressed genes in the stress group mainly displayed up-regulated expression. Gene set enrichment analysis results showed that the enriched gene terms were mainly related to inflammatory response, defense response, wounding response, wound healing, complement activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. In terms of cell activation, differentiation and chemotaxis, the enriched gene terms were related to a variety of immune cells, among which neutrophils seemed more active in stress response. The results of gene set variation analysis showed that under acute stress, the inflammatory reaction dominated by innate immunity was forming. Additionally, the concentration of serum IL-1β and IL-6 increased significantly after acute stress, indicating that the body was in an inflammatory state. Importantly, we found that acute stress led to a significant increase in the number of neutrophils in peripheral blood, while the number of T cells and B cells decreased significantly through flow cytometric analysis. Through protein-protein interaction network analysis, we screened 10 hub genes, which mainly related to inflammation and neutrophils. We also found acute stress led to an up-regulation of Ccr1, Ccr2, Xcr1 and Cxcr2 genes, which were involved in cell migration and chemotaxis. Our data suggested that immune cells were ready to infiltrate into tissues in emergency through blood vessels under acute stress. This hypothesis was supported in LPS-induced acute inflammatory models. After 48 hours of LPS treatment, flow cytometric analysis showed that the lungs of mice with acute stress were characterized by increased neutrophil infiltration, decreased T cell and B cell infiltration. Immunohistochemical analysis also showed that acute stress led to more severe lung inflammation. If mice received repeat acute stress and LPS stimulation, the survival rate was significantly lower than that of mice only stimulated by LPS. Altogether, acute stress led to rapid mobilization of the immune system, and the body presented an inflammatory state dominated by innate immune response represented by neutrophils.</p

Molecular detection of vector-borne agents in dogs from ten provinces of China

Abstract Background Although many vector-borne agents are potential zoonoses and cause substantial morbidity and mortality in dogs worldwide, there are limited data on these organisms in dogs of China. Methods Quantitative PCRs for vector-borne agents were performed to investigate their prevalences in convenience whole blood samples obtained from 1114 dogs from 21 veterinary clinics and a commercial dog breeding facility in ten provinces of China. In addition, the PCRs were performed on 146 Rhipicephalus sanguineus senso lato and 37 Linognathus setosus collected from dogs in the commercial dog breeding facility. Results DNAs of Babesia gibsoni and B. vogeli (1.2 %), Ehrlichia canis (1.3 %), Hepatozoon canis (1.8 %) and Theileria orientalis (0.1 %) or a closely related organism were detected in the bloods of the dogs studied, and Babesia vogeli (3.4 %) and Ehrlichia canis (4.1 %) in R. sanguineus senso lato. The qPCRs for Anaplasma spp., Dirofilaria immitis and Leishmania spp. were negative for all blood samples, ticks and lice. At least one vector-borne agent was found in dogs from 5 of the 10 provinces investigated in this study. Overall, 4.4 % (49/1117) of the dogs studied were positive for at least one vector-borne agent with the prevalence being highest in the commercial breeding colony (24/97; 24.7 %). Conclusions Our study confirms that B. vogeli, B. gibsoni, H. canis, and E. canis occur in China. Also, we present evidence that T. orientalis or a closely related organism can infect dogs