Technique d'accès pour la communication machine-à-machine dans LTE/LTE-A

Machine type communications is seen as a form of data communication, among devices and/or from devices to a set of servers, that do not necessarily require human interaction. However, it is challenging to accommodate MTC in LTE as a result of its specific characteristics and requirements. The aim of this thesis is to propose mechanisms and optimize the access layer techniques for MTC in LTE. For uplink access, we propose two methods to improve the performance of random access in terms of latency: a packet aggregation method and a Transmission Time Interval bundling scheme. To further reduce the uplink latency and enable massive number of connected device, we propose a new contention based access method (CBA) to bypass both the redundant signaling in the random access procedure and also the latency of regular scheduling. For downlink reception, we propose two methods to analyze the performance of discontinuous reception DRX mode for MTC applications: the first with the Poisson distribution and the second with the Pareto distribution for sporadic traffic. With the proposed models, the power saving factor and wake up latency can be accurately estimated for a given choice of DRX parameters, thus allowing to select the ones presenting the optimal tradeoff.Les communications de type machine-à-machine M2M sont considérées comme des formes de communication de données qui ne requièrent pas nécessairement d'interaction humaine. Cependant, ce type de communication n'est pas efficace dans les réseaux cellulaires, en raison de leurs caractéristiques spécifiques, telles que. L'objectif de cette thèse est de proposer des mécanismes et d'optimiser les techniques de la couche d'accès radio LTE pour les communications M2M. Pour l'accès au canal de liaison montante, nous proposons deux méthodes afin d'améliorer la performance d'accès aléatoire en terme de latence et de consommation énergétique: une méthode d'agrégation de paquets et une autre de transmission multiple pendant l'intervalle de temps de transmission. Afin de réduire encore plus le temps de latence de liaison montante et permettre une connexion d'un grand nombre de machines au réseau, nous proposons une nouvelle méthode d'accès basée sur la contention CBA pour éviter d'une part la signalisation redondante pour accéder au canal et d'autre part la latence de l'ordonnanceur. Pour la réception de liaison descendante, nous proposons deux méthodes pour analyser les performances du mécanisme de réception discontinu DRX pour les applications M2M: la première se base sur une distribution de Poisson, la suivante sur une distribution Pareto pour le trafic sporadique. Avec les modèles proposés, le facteur d'économie d’énergie et la latence pour transiter du mode sommeil au mode actif peuvent être estimés avec précision pour un choix donné de paramètres DRX, permettant ainsi de sélectionner ceux permettant d'atteindre le compromis optimal

Optimal scheduling of industrial task-continuous load management for smart power utilization

In the context of climate change and energy crisis around the world, an increasing amount of attention has been paid to developing clean energy and improving energy efficiency. The penetration of distributed generation (DG) is increasing rapidly on the user’s side of an increasingly intelligent power system. This paper proposes an optimization method for industrial task-continuous load management in which distributed generation (including photovoltaic systems and wind generation) and energy storage devices are both considered. To begin with, a model of distributed generation and an energy storage device are built. Then, subject to various constraints, an operation optimization problem is formulated to maximize user profit, renewable energy efficiency, and the local consumption of distributed generation. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is verified by comparing user profit under different power modes

PromptBench: Towards Evaluating the Robustness of Large Language Models on Adversarial Prompts

The increasing reliance on Large Language Models (LLMs) across academia and industry necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their robustness to prompts. In response to this vital need, we introduce PromptBench, a robustness benchmark designed to measure LLMs' resilience to adversarial prompts. This study uses a plethora of adversarial textual attacks targeting prompts across multiple levels: character, word, sentence, and semantic. These prompts are then employed in diverse tasks, such as sentiment analysis, natural language inference, reading comprehension, machine translation, and math problem-solving. Our study generates 4,032 adversarial prompts, meticulously evaluated over 8 tasks and 13 datasets, with 567,084 test samples in total. Our findings demonstrate that contemporary LLMs are vulnerable to adversarial prompts. Furthermore, we present comprehensive analysis to understand the mystery behind prompt robustness and its transferability. We then offer insightful robustness analysis and pragmatic recommendations for prompt composition, beneficial to both researchers and everyday users. We make our code, prompts, and methodologies to generate adversarial prompts publicly accessible, thereby enabling and encouraging collaborative exploration in this pivotal field: https://github.com/microsoft/promptbench.Comment: Technical report; 23 pages; code is at: https://github.com/microsoft/promptbenc

Electrical Switching of the Edge Current Chirality in Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulators

A quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator is a topological state of matter, in which the interior is insulating but electrical current flows along the edges of the sample, in either clockwise (right-handed) or counter-clockwise (left-handed) direction dictated by the spontaneous magnetization orientation. Such chiral edge current (CEC) eliminates any backscattering, giving rise to quantized Hall resistance and zero longitudinal resistance. In this work, we fabricate mesoscopic QAH sandwich (i.e. magnetic topological insulator (TI)/TI/magnetic TI) Hall bar devices and succeed in switching the CEC chirality in QAH insulators through spin-orbit torque (SOT) by applying a current pulse and suitably controlled gate voltage. The well-quantized QAH states with opposite CEC chiralities are demonstrated through four- and three-terminal measurements before and after SOT switching. Our theoretical calculations show that the SOT that enables the magnetization switching can be generated by both bulk and surface carriers in QAH insulators, in good agreement with experimental observations. Current pulse-induced switching of the CEC chirality in QAH insulators will not only advance our knowledge in the interplay between magnetism and topological states but also expedite easy and instantaneous manipulation of the QAH state in proof-of-concept energy-efficient electronic and spintronic devices as well as quantum information applications.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, comments are welcom

CYP2C19 genotype and platelet aggregation test-guided dual antiplatelet therapy after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting: A retrospective cohort study

BackgroundDual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is recommended in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (OPCAB). Clopidogrel is less effective among patients with loss-of-function (LoF) of CYP2C19 alleles, while ticagrelor has direct effects on P2Y12 receptor. Whether a CYP2C19 genotype plus platelet aggregation test (PAgT)-guided DAPT after CABG could improve clinical outcomes remain uncertain.Materials and methodsFrom August 2019 to December 2020, 1,134 consecutive patients who underwent OPCAB received DAPT for 1 year after surgery in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. According to the actual treatment they received in real-world, 382 (33.7%) of them received a traditional DAPT: aspirin 100 mg qd + clopidogrel 75 mg qd, no matter the CYP2C19 genotype and response in platelet aggregation test (PAgT). The other 752 (66.3%) patients received an individual DAPT based on CYP2C19 genotype and PAgT: aspirin 100 mg qd + clopidogrel 75 mg qd if CYP2C19 was extensive metabolizer, or moderate metabolizer but normal response in PAgT; aspirin 100 mg qd + ticagrelor 90 mg bid if CYP2C19 was poor metabolizer, or moderate metabolizer but no or low response in PAgT. One-year follow-up was achieved for all patients. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. The safety outcome was thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) criteria major bleeding.ResultsCompared with the traditional DAPT group, the risk of MACE in the individual DAPT group was significantly lower (5.5 vs. 9.2%, HR 0.583; 95% CI, 0.371–0.915; P = 0.019), mainly due to the decreased risk of MI (1.7 vs. 4.2%, HR 0.407; 95% CI, 0.196–0.846; P = 0.016). The risk of TIMI major bleeding events was similar between the two groups (5.3 vs. 6.0%, RR 0.883; 95% CI, 0.537–1.453; P = 0.626).ConclusionFor patients who underwent OPCAB, individual DAPT (CYP2C19 genotype plus PAgT-guided strategy) was associated with a lower risk of MACE and a similar risk of major bleeding

Chronic itch development in sensory neurons requires BRAF signaling pathways

Chronic itch, or pruritus, is associated with a wide range of skin abnormalities. The mechanisms responsible for chronic itch induction and persistence remain unclear. We developed a mouse model in which a constitutively active form of the serine/threonine kinase BRAF was expressed in neurons gated by the sodium channel Nav1.8 (BRAF(Nav1.8) mice). We found that constitutive BRAF pathway activation in BRAF(Nav1.8) mice results in ectopic and enhanced expression of a cohort of itch-sensing genes, including gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and MAS-related GPCR member A3 (MRGPRA3), in nociceptors expressing transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). BRAF(Nav1.8) mice showed de novo neuronal responsiveness to pruritogens, enhanced pruriceptor excitability, and heightened evoked and spontaneous scratching behavior. GRP receptor expression was increased in the spinal cord, indicating augmented coding capacity for itch subsequent to amplified pruriceptive inputs. Enhanced GRP expression and sustained ERK phosphorylation were observed in sensory neurons of mice with allergic contact dermatitis– or dry skin–elicited itch; however, spinal ERK activation was not required for maintaining central sensitization of itch. Inhibition of either BRAF or GRP signaling attenuated itch sensation in chronic itch mouse models. These data uncover RAF/MEK/ERK signaling as a key regulator that confers a subset of nociceptors with pruriceptive properties to initiate and maintain long-lasting itch sensation