Session Communication and Integration

The scenario-based specification of a large distributed system is usually naturally decomposed into various modules. The integration of specification modules contrasts to the parallel composition of program components, and includes various ways such as scenario concatenation, choice, and nesting. The recent development of multiparty session types for process calculi provides useful techniques to accommodate the protocol modularisation, by encoding fragments of communication protocols in the usage of private channels for a class of agents. In this paper, we extend forgoing session type theories by enhancing the session integration mechanism. More specifically, we propose a novel synchronous multiparty session type theory, in which sessions are separated into the communicating and integrating levels. Communicating sessions record the message-based communications between multiple agents, whilst integrating sessions describe the integration of communicating ones. A two-level session type system is developed for pi-calculus with syntactic primitives for session establishment, and several key properties of the type system are studied. Applying the theory to system description, we show that a channel safety property and a session conformance property can be analysed. Also, to improve the utility of the theory, a process slicing method is used to help identify the violated sessions in the type checking.Comment: A short version of this paper is submitted for revie

Perturbation analysis in verification of discrete-time Markov chains

Perturbation analysis in probabilistic verification addresses the robustness and sensitivity problem for verification of stochastic models against qualitative and quantitative properties. We identify two types of perturbation bounds, namely non-asymptotic bounds and asymptotic bounds. Non-asymptotic bounds are exact, pointwise bounds that quantify the upper and lower bounds of the verification result subject to a given perturbation of the model, whereas asymptotic bounds are closed-form bounds that approximate non-asymptotic bounds by assuming that the given perturbation is sufficiently small. We perform perturbation analysis in the setting of Discrete-time Markov Chains. We consider three basic matrix norms to capture the perturbation distance, and focus on the computational aspect. Our main contributions include algorithms and tight complexity bounds for calculating both non-asymptotic bounds and asymptotic bounds with respect to the three perturbation distances. © 2014 Springer-Verlag

Risk Factors and Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori

Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of H. pylori infection in areas with high prevalence of gastric cancer in Jiangsu Province, China. Methods. A prospective epidemiologic survey of H. pylori infection was accomplished in a natural population of 5417 individuals in Yangzhong city. Questionnaires and 13C-urea breath test for H. pylori infection were performed. Results. Among 5417 subjects who completed questionnaires and 13C-urea breath test, 3435 (63.41%) were H. pylori positive. The prevalence reached a peak at the age of 30–39 years (90.82%). There was significant difference between sexes and women had a higher infection rate than men. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was also associated with eating kipper food and fried food. No association between H. pylori prevalence and smoking or drinking was found. Compared to healthy individuals, people with dyspeptic diseases (peptic ulcer, gastroenteritis) presented a high prevalence of H. pylori infection. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, age and history of peptic ulcer and gastroenteritis were the independent predictors for H. pylori infection. Conclusions. Yangzhong city had a high prevalence of H. pylori infection and was related to several risk factors. The underlying mechanisms are needed to be further investigated

OpenPneu: Compact platform for pneumatic actuation with multi-channels

This paper presents a compact system, OpenPneu, to support the pneumatic actuation for multi-chambers on soft robots. Micro-pumps are employed in the system to generate airflow and therefore no extra input as compressed air is needed. Our system conducts modular design to provide good scalability, which has been demonstrated on a prototype with ten air channels. Each air channel of OpenPneu is equipped with both the inflation and the deflation functions to provide a full range pressure supply from positive to negative with a maximal flow rate at 1.7 L/min. High precision closed-loop control of pressures has been built into our system to achieve stable and efficient dynamic performance in actuation. An open-source control interface and API in Python are provided. We also demonstrate the functionality of OpenPneu on three soft robotic systems with up to 10 chambers

Long-runout characteristics of the Yongguang 1# loess flowslide in Minxian County, Gansu Province

Flowslide in loessic regions, characterized by their elongated shape and tendency to slide and accumulate along channels or gentle hillslopes, frequently lead to devastating and unpredictable disasters. The Yongguang 1# flowslide in Minxian County, Gansu Province, caused by the Minxian-Zhangxian Ms6.6 earthquake at 7:45AM on July 22, 2013, claimed twelve lives and had a volume of approximately 23×104 m3. The landslide had a vertical difference of 175m between its front and rear edges, a total length of 1 030 m, and a ratio of 0.17, classifying it as a long-runout landslide. This paper explored the characteristics of the sliding process and the sliding velocities of different portions of the flowslide through field survey and a comprehensive analysis of the observation data of the sliding process, while also analyzing the sliding mechanism. Triggered by earthquake, the runout process of the flowslide has been affected by local terrain. The flowslide experienced two complex sliding stages of acceleration and deceleration. Initially, the landslide slid as a whole in the front platform area for 50 to 130 m, and then the front sliding body with an volume of about 6×104 m3 continued to slide along the front channel for 740 m, resulting in a maximum runout distance of 870 m. The entire sliding process lasted about 7 hours, with a maximum sliding speed of approximately 10.6 m/s, and an average sliding speed of 0.034 m/s. The formation of the Yongguang 1# landslide was influenced by the coupled effects of seismic activity and early-precipitation. The earthquake, preceded by heavy rainfall, led to infiltration and softening of the soil. During the sliding process, the high water content in the sliding zone generated high pore water pressure, and in some cases, liquefaction occurred. The channel-shaped topography and low permeability of the sliding zone soil caused a very slow dissipation of pore water pressure, resulting in a significant reduction in frictional resistance in the sliding zone soil throughout the entire sliding process, with a noticeable velocity-sustaining effect. These factors are the primary reasons for the long-runout of the Yongguang 1# landslide

Clinicopathological characteristics of synchronous multiple primary early esophageal cancer and risk factors for multiple lesions

BackgroundWith the development of endoscopic technology, the detection rate of synchronous multiple primary early esophageal cancer (SMPEEC) is increasing; however, the risk factors remain unclear. We aimed to assess the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with SMPEEC and investigate the risk factors contributing to the development of multiple lesions.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted on 911 consecutive patients who underwent Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for primary esophageal neoplasms from January 2013 to June 2021. The patients were divided into the SMPEEC group and the solitary early esophageal cancer (SEEC) group. We compared the differences in clinicopathological characteristics between the two groups and investigated the risk factors linked to multiple lesions. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between the main and accessory lesions.ResultsA total of 87 SMPEEC patients were included in this study, and the frequency of synchronous multiple lesions was 9.55% in patients with early esophageal cancer. The lesions in the SMPEEC group were mainly located in the lower segment of the esophagus (46[52.9%]), whereas those in the SEEC group were in the middle segment (412[50.0%]). The pathology type, tumor location, and circumferential rate of lesions were independent risk factors(P<0.05) for SMPEEC by logistic regression analysis. Significant positive correlations were observed between the main and accessory lesions in terms of morphologic type (r=0.632, P=0.000), tumor location(r=0.325, P=0.037), pathologic type (r=0.299, P=0.003), and depth of invasion (r=0.562, P=0.000).ConclusionPathology type, tumor location, and circumferential rate of lesions were identified as independent risk factors for SMEPPC. Understanding these risk factors and the correlation between the main and accessory lesions could significantly improve the detection rate of SMPEEC

Characteristics and causes analysis of Nandianzi landslide in Lingtai County, Gansu Province

On October 3, 2021, a large landslide occurred at the loess-mudstone interface in Nandianzi, Lingtai, its successful early warning measures preventing casualties. In order to investigate the occurrence mechanism behind the Nandianzi landslide, a basic investigation was conducted, covering the topography, lithology, hydrogeological conditions, and human engineering activities related to the landslide. Based on the characteristics and differences of the crack development of the landslide, the landslide mass was divided into five blocks. The characteristics of each block were thoroughly analyzed through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The specific sliding situation of different parts of the landslide was analyzed, and further evidence was provided for the objective rationality of landslide classification and zoning, as well as the analysis of landslide mechanisms. Ultimately, it is concluded that the main causes of landslide disasters are as follows: (1) Large-scale excavation and earthwork activities at the lower and middle parts of the slope and the toe, leading to slope steepening and reduced resistance to sliding; (2) Formation of slope depressions, causing inadequate drainage and softening of the rock layer contact surface, thereby diminishing slope stability; and (3) Prolonged heavy rainfall that leads to instability and causes significant loss. While the Nandianzi landslide in Lintai county represents a successfully averted disaster, it serves as a noteworthy case study and a cautionary example for scientifically and standardizedly approaching urban construction and rural revitalization in China. This study holds significance value for monitoring, early warning,risk assessmen, and engineering treatment in comparable regions

MicroRNA-192 targeting retinoblastoma 1 inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells

microRNAs play an important roles in cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. They can function either as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. We found that the overexpression of miR-192 inhibited cell proliferation in A549, H460 and 95D cells, and inhibited tumorigenesis in a nude mouse model. Both caspase-7 and the PARP protein were activated by the overexpression of miR-192, thus suggesting that miR-192 induces cell apoptosis through the caspase pathway. Further studies showed that retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) is a direct target of miR-192. Over-expression of miR-192 decreased RB1 mRNA and protein levels and repressed RB1-3′-UTR reporter activity. Knockdown of RB1 using siRNA resulted in a similar cell morphology as that observed for overexpression of miR-192. Additionally, RB1-siRNA treatment inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Analysis of miRNA expression in clinical samples showed that miR-192 is significantly downregulated in lung cancer tissues compared to adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that miR-192 is a tumor suppressor that can target the RB1 gene to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, miR-192 was expressed at low levels in lung cancer samples, indicating that it might be a promising therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment

Monitoring the Size and Lateral Dynamics of ErbB1 Enriched Membrane Domains through Live Cell Plasmon Coupling Microscopy

To illuminate the role of the spatial organization of the epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB1) in signal transduction quantitative information about the receptor topography on the cell surface, ideally on living cells and in real time, are required. We demonstrate that plasmon coupling microscopy (PCM) enables to detect, size, and track individual membrane domains enriched in ErbB1 with high temporal resolution. We used a dendrimer enhanced labeling strategy to label ErbB1 receptors on epidermoid carcinoma cells (A431) with 60 nm Au nanoparticle (NP) immunolabels under physiological conditions at 37°C. The statistical analysis of the spatial NP distribution on the cell surface in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) confirmed a clustering of the NP labels consistent with a heterogeneous distribution of ErbB1 in the plasma membrane. Spectral shifts in the scattering response of clustered NPs facilitated the detection and sizing of individual NP clusters on living cells in solution in an optical microscope. We tracked the lateral diffusion of individual clusters at a frame rate of 200 frames/s while simultaneously monitoring the configurational dynamics of the clusters. Structural information about the NP clusters in their membrane confinements were obtained through analysis of the electromagnetic coupling of the co-confined NP labels through polarization resolved PCM. Our studies show that the ErbB1 receptor is enriched in membrane domains with typical diameters in the range between 60–250 nm. These membrane domains exhibit a slow lateral diffusion with a diffusion coefficient of  = |0.0054±0.0064| µm2/s, which is almost an order of magnitude slower than the mean diffusion coefficient of individual NP tagged ErbB1 receptors under identical conditions