Network service registration based on role-goal-process-service meta-model in a P2P network

Service composition-based network software customisation is currently a research hotspot in the field of software engineering. A key problem of the hotspot is how to efficiently discover services distributed over the Internet. In the service oriented architecture, service discovery suffers from the performance bottleneck of centralised universal description discovery and integration (UDDI), and inaccurate matching of service semantics. In this study, the authors describe a novel method for service labelling, registration and discovery, which is based on the role-goal-process-service meta-model. This approach enables ones to achieve accurate matching of service semantics by extending web service description language with RGP demand-information. The authors also suggest a peer-to-peer (P2P)-based architecture of service discovery to address the issues in the UDDI bottleneck and the complexity of semantic computation. By adopting the proposed approach, an experiment prototype system has been designed and implemented in Beijing municipal transportation system. The experimental results show the proposed approach is effective in addressing the aforementioned problems

Elevated Plasma Homocysteine Levels in Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis

Objective: Homocysteine (Hcy) levels have been investigated in many diseases, such as neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. However, changes in Hcy levels in anti-N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis have not been investigated thus far.Methods: Case data were collected from 45 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and 179 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Clinical characteristics, Hcy levels, C reactive protein (CRP) levels, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters were determined. Association of Hcy and clinical parameters were evaluated in these patients. Among these 45 patients, 15 had a follow-up evaluation at 3 months after treatment.Results: Hcy levels (p < 0.001) and CRP levels (p = 0.005) from the patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis were significantly higher than those from HCs. Hcy levels from male patients were significantly lower than those from male HCs (p < 0.001). Comparing anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients after treatment with before treatment, the former has significantly higher Hcy levels (p = 0.004), CRP levels (p = 0.041) and mRS scores (p = 0.002). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation between the changes in Hcy levels and the changes in mRS scores (r = −0.534, p = 0.040) was observed.Conclusion: Elevated plasma homocysteine occurs in anti-NMDAR encephalitis, and seems associated with male sex

Factors related to the length of stay for major depressive disorder patients in China: A real-world retrospective study

BackgroundAs numerous patients with depression have to be hospitalized because of various reasons, the demand far exceeds the limited bed count in the psychiatry department. Controlling the length of stay (LOS) of the patient is gradually being considered an effective method to alleviate this problem. Given the lack of statistical evidence of the LOS of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in China and the strain on the limited psychiatric resources, the purpose of our study was to investigate the LOS of patients with MDD among in-patient samples and to analyze related factors of the LOS in China by building a regression model.MethodThe data were exported from the electronic medical record system. A total of three categories of independent variables were enrolled in our study, namely, demographic, clinical, and biochemical. Univariate analysis and binominal regression analysis were applied comprehensively to find the factors related to the LOS among MDD samples. The discrimination accuracy of the model was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. ROC analysis indicated that the discrimination accuracy of our model was acceptable (AUC = 0.790, 95% CI = 0.714–0.865, P < 0.001).ResultA total of 254 patients were finally brought into analysis after filtering. Regression analysis indicated that abnormal LDL was the only risk factor of long LOS (OR = 3.352, 95% CI = 1.087–10.337, P = 0.035) among all the kinds of variables. Notably, in the statistically irrelevant factors of the LOS, the category of anti-depressant drugs [serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)] prescribed to patients with MDD was not associated statistically with the LOS, which was against our initial hypothesis that the LOS of patients with MDD treated with SNRI would vary from that of the patients treated with SSRI.ConclusionUp to our knowledge, our research is the first study to show the potential factors related to the LOS from various domains, especially biochemical indexes, and the effect of drugs, among clinical patients with MDD in China. Our results could provide a theoretical reference for efficient psychiatry hospitalization management and prioritization of allocating medical resources. Future studies are required for updating independent variables which are potentially related to the LOS and verifying existing results in a larger sample

Substantial transition to clean household energy mix in rural China

The household energy mix has significant impacts on human health and climate, as it contributes greatly to many health- and climate-relevant air pollutants. Compared to the well-established urban energy statistical system, the rural household energy statistical system is incomplete and is often associated with high biases. Via a nationwide investigation, this study revealed high contributions to energy supply from coal and biomass fuels in the rural household energy sector, while electricity comprised ∼20%. Stacking (the use of multiple sources of energy) is significant, and the average number of energy types was 2.8 per household. Compared to 2012, the consumption of biomass and coals in 2017 decreased by 45% and 12%, respectively, while the gas consumption amount increased by 204%. Increased gas and decreased coal consumptions were mainly in cooking, while decreased biomass was in both cooking (41%) and heating (59%). The time-sharing fraction of electricity and gases (E&G) for daily cooking grew, reaching 69% in 2017, but for space heating, traditional solid fuels were still dominant, with the national average shared fraction of E&G being only 20%. The non-uniform spatial distribution and the non-linear increase in the fraction of E&G indicated challenges to achieving universal access to modern cooking energy by 2030, particularly in less-developed rural and mountainous areas. In some non-typical heating zones, the increased share of E&G for heating was significant and largely driven by income growth, but in typical heating zones, the time-sharing fraction was <5% and was not significantly increased, except in areas with policy intervention. The intervention policy not only led to dramatic increases in the clean energy fraction for heating but also accelerated the clean cooking transition. Higher income, higher education, younger age, less energy/stove stacking and smaller family size positively impacted the clean energy transition

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Designing effective and efficient incentive policies for renewable energy in generation expansion planning

We present a bilevel optimization approach to designing effective and efficient incentive policies for stimulating investment in renewable energy. The effectiveness of an incentive policy is its capability to achieve a goal that would not be achievable without it. Renewable portfolio standards are used in this paper as the policy goal. The efficiency of an incentive policy is measured by the amount of policy intervention, such as taxes collected or subsidies paid, to achieve the policy goal. We obtain the most effective and efficient incentive policies in the context of generation expansion planning, in which a centralized planner makes investment decisions for the energy system to serve projected demand of electricity. A case study is conducted on integrated coal transportation and electricity transmission networks representing the contiguous United States. The numerical analysis from the case study provides insights on the comparison of various incentive policies. The sensitivity of the incentive policies with respect to coal production cost, wind energy investment cost, and transmission capacity is also studied.Generation expansion planning Renewable energy Incentive policy Mandatory policy Bilevel optimization Inverse optimization

Advice-adopting behaviour : an examination of reactive vs reflective autonomy.

This study investigates how reactively and reflectively autonomous students differ in their likelihood of relying on conflicting advice given by three different sources, namely seniors with working experience (experts), seniors without working experience (non-experts) and close friends. This is studied in relation to the choice of organisations and the type of job duties students will like to undertake for their Professional Attachment

The Relationship between Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of PBST Two-Component Crystalline Random Copolymers with Different BT Contents

The mechanical properties of two-component crystalline random copolymers are primarily based on their microstructure. At the same time, the influence of the composition on the crystallization behavior and crystal structure of these materials is also well known. Thus, in this study, a poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene terephthalate) random copolymer (PBST) with different molar ratios of butylene terephthalate (BT) was prepared. A systematic analysis of the crystallization behavior, crystal structure, and mechanical properties of PBST with different BT contents was carried out using WAXD, SAXS, and DSC analyses. The investigations showed that PBST-37.5 containing 37.5 mol% of BT content had the lowest strength and highest elasticity among the different compositions. This was because the two-component crystallization of poly (butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) was greatly inhibited at the corresponding BT composition and the crystal growth was the least perfect, imparting poor strength to the PBT-37.5. Alternately, when the content of BT was 32.5 mol% in the PBST, the PBS segment could crystallize, and both PBT and PBS crystals were formed in the PBST-32.5. Thus, PBST-32.5 showed a higher material hardness than PBST-37.5. In contrast, when the BT content was greater than 37.5 mol% in the PBST, only PBT crystals existed in the PBST copolymer. Further, as the BT content increased, the crystal size of PBT gradually increased, which led to a closer packing of the crystal arrangement, increasing the crystallinity. This led to a gradual increase in the strength of the PBST material and a gradual decrease in its elasticity

Continuous 3D printing of microstructured multifunctional materials

Microstructured materials are promising for achieving as-designed local properties, enhanced global properties, and multifunctionality. Here, we developed an extrusion-based 3D printing method called magnetic direct ink writing (M-DIW), that continuously printed materials with local orientation of 2D microparticles at high concentration, using magnetic fields below 100 mT. The printing is enabled by carefully designing the viscosity of the inks to allow the same time extrusion and microparticle motion. This is realized by adjusting the magnetic functionalization of the microplatelets, adding a small concentration of fumed silica, and finding the optimum solid loading to obtain yield stress below 45 Pa. Proof-of-concept inks containing alumina and graphite microplatelets can be turned into a ceramic with an anisotropic flexural strength ranging 100–150 MPa after sintering, or composites with anisotropic conductivity ranging 5–25 S/m. Magnetically controlled electrical switches or self-shaping ceramics can be printed using M-DIW, for example.National Research Foundation (NRF)Submitted/Accepted versionThis research was funded by the National Research Foundation of Singapore, Singapore (Award NRFF12 2020–0002)