Home appliance manufacturers strive to obtain feedback from users to improve their products and services to build a smart home system. To help manufacturers develop a smart home system, we design a ...federated learning (FL) system leveraging a reputation mechanism to assist home appliance manufacturers to train a machine learning model based on customers' data. Then, manufacturers can predict customers' requirements and consumption behaviors in the future. The working flow of the system includes two stages: in the first stage, customers train the initial model provided by the manufacturer using both the mobile phone and the mobile-edge computing (MEC) server. Customers collect data from various home appliances using phones, and then they download and train the initial model with their local data. After deriving local models, customers sign on their models and send them to the blockchain. In case customers or manufacturers are malicious, we use the blockchain to replace the centralized aggregator in the traditional FL system. Since records on the blockchain are untampered, malicious customers or manufacturers' activities are traceable. In the second stage, manufacturers select customers or organizations as miners for calculating the averaged model using received models from customers. By the end of the crowdsourcing task, one of the miners, who is selected as the temporary leader, uploads the model to the blockchain. To protect customers' privacy and improve the test accuracy, we enforce differential privacy (DP) on the extracted features and propose a new normalization technique. We experimentally demonstrate that our normalization technique outperforms batch normalization when features are under DP protection. In addition, to attract more customers to participate in the crowdsourcing FL task, we design an incentive mechanism to award participants.
Background
Previous observational studies have shown that a potential relationship between anti-
Helicobacter pylori
(
H. pylori
) IgG levels and Myocardial Infarction (MI). Nevertheless, the ...evidence for the causal inferences remains disputable. To further clarify the relationship between anti-
H. pylori
IgG levels and MI and explore its pathogenesis, we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
Methods
In this study, we used two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) to assess the causality of anti-
H. pylori
IgG levels on MI and potential pathogenesis, 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to anti-
H. pylori
IgG levels were obtained from the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI). Summary data from a large-scale GWAS meta-analysis of MI was utilized as the outcome dataset. Summary data of mediators was obtained from the FinnGen database, the UK Biobank, the EBI database, MRC-IEU database, the International Consortium of Blood Pressure, the Consortium of Within family GWAS. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis under the fixed effect model was identified as our main method. To ensure the reliability of the findings, many sensitivity analyses were performed.
Results
Our study revealed that increases of anti-
H. pylori
IgG levels were significantly related to an increased risk of MI (OR, 1.104; 95% CI,1.042–1.169;
p
= 7.084 × 10
−4
) and decreases in HDL cholesterol levels (
β
, −0.016; 95% CI, −0.026 to −0.006;
p
= 2.02 × 10
−3
). In addition, there was no heterogeneity or pleiotropy in our findings.
Conclusion
This two-sample MR analysis revealed the causality of anti-
H. pylori
IgG levels on MI, which might be explained by lower HDL cholesterol levels. Further research is needed to clarify the results.
Objective To investigate the expression of MAD2L1 in lung adenocarcinoma and its effect on the prognosis and immune microenvironment of patients. Methods The difference of MAD2L1 expression in lung ...adenocarcinoma tissue and normal lung tissue was analyzed by TCGA and GEO database. Survival analysis was carried out to evaluate the prognostic significance of MAD2L1 gene expression in lung adenocarcinoma patients. StarBase database was used to construct miRNA-MAD2L1 regulatory network of lung adenocarcinoma. The relation between the expression of MAD2L1 and immune cell infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma was analyzed by TIMER database. Results The expression of MAD2L1 was upregulated in lung adenocarcinoma, and the high expression of MAD2L1 was significantly correlated with pathological stage and lymph node metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma. The patients with high expression of MAD2L1 had a poor prognosis. miR-101-3p/MAD2L1 axis was identified as the most potential upstream regulation pathway of MAD2L1 in lung a
Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have been among the most promising emerging fluorescent labels for cellular imaging. In this work, a new facile synthesis method was developed for fabricating CDs from ...polystyrene foam waste and common organic solvents. The CDs obtained have tunable emission from blue to orange and are expected to be of use for labeling different cellular structures simultaneously. Transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, UV-vis, and fluorescence spectrophotometry (PL) were employed to investigate the structures and luminescence properties of CDs. The highest quantum yield (QY) achieved was 36%. The mechanisms for the formation and luminescence of the CDs are analyzed. The ability of the solvent to disperse the CDs plays a very important role in the origin of PL. The type of organic solvent has an important influence on the position of emission peaks and the QY. Different emissive traps play the dominant role in the luminescence of carbon materials. Furthermore, a hemolysis assay was performed to evaluate the biocompatibility of these CDs in vitro. The biocompatibility of the CDs, even at very high doses, ensures their potential in biomedical applications.
Background:
Activation of nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays a crucial role in gout.
Selaginella moellendorffii
has been confirmed effective for the ...treatment of gout in hospital preparations. Flavonoids, such as amentoflavone (AM), are the main active components of this medicine.
Purpose:
We aimed to investigate the flavonoid extract (TF) and AM's effects on NLRP3 inflammasome
in vitro
and their preventive effects on gout
in vivo
.
Methods:
LC-MS method was employed to investigate the chemical profile of TF. The cellular inflammation model was established by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or monosodium urate (MSU) stimulation. The cell membrane integrality and morphological characteristics were determined by using Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay kits, propidium iodide (PI) stain, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasome activation were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunofluorescence staining, and western blotting. The acute gout mouse model was induced by MSU injection into footpads, and then the paw edema, inflammatory mediators, and histological examination (HE) were analyzed.
Results:
The main constituents in TF are AM and robustaflavone. In the cellular inflammation model, TF down-regulated the levels of nitric oxide (NO), TNF-α, and LDH, suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome-derived interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion, decreased caspase-1 activation, repressed mature IL-1β expression, inhibited ASC speck formation and NLRP3 protein expression. In an acute gout mouse model, oral administration of TF to mice effectively alleviated paw edema, reduced inflammatory features, and decreased the levels of IL-1β in mouse foot tissue. Similarly, the characteristic constituent AM was also able to down-regulated the levels of NO, TNF-α, and LDH, down-regulate the mRNA expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, caspase-1, and NLRP3. Besides, the foot thickness, lymphocyte infiltration, and IL-1β level were also prevented by AM.
Conclusion:
The results indicated that TF and its main constituent AM alleviate gout arthritis via NLRP3/ASC/Caspase-1 axis suppression.
•A novel TiO2 flower-rod film was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method.•This TiO2 film was sensitized by Mn-doped CdS quantum dots by SILAR approach.•Our Mn-doped CdS/TiO2 flower-rod film ...as photoanode was first used in QDSSCs.•Its power conversion efficiency improved 105.7% compared with CdS/TiO2 nanorods cell.
A double-layered TiO2 film which three dimensional (3D) flowers grown on highly ordered self-assembled one dimensional (1D) TiO2 nanorods was synthesized directly on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting glass substrate by a facile hydrothermal method and was applied as photoanode in Mn-doped CdS quantum dots sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The 3D TiO2 flowers with the increased surface areas can adsorb more QDs, which increased the absorption of light; meanwhile 1D TiO2 nanorods beneath the flowers offered a direct electrical pathway for photogenerated electrons, accelerating the electron transfer rate. A typical type II band alignment which can effectively separate photogenerated excitons and reduce recombination of electrons and holes was constructed by Mn-doped CdS QDs and TiO2 flower-rod. The incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the Mn-doped CdS/TiO2 flower-rod solar cell reached to 40% with the polysulfide electrolyte filled in the solar cell. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.09% was obtained with the Mn-doped CdS/TiO2 flower-rod solar cell under one sun illumination (AM 1.5G, 100mW/cm2), which is 105.7% higher than that of the CdS/TiO2 nanorod solar cell (0.53%).
A hierarchical double-layered TiO2 flower-rod structure composed of three-dimensional (3D) TiO2 flowers and one-dimensional (1D) nanorods on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting ...glass has been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The possible formation mechanism of the hierarchical architecture is also proposed. When used in CdSe/CdS quantum dots co-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), the 1D ordered rutile nanorods at bottom can accelerate the electron transfer rate by providing direct electrical pathway for photogenerated electrons, while the 3D flowers formed on the top of nanorods can increase the adsorption of QDs due to the enlarged areas, and can also be used as a scattering layer. The performance of the CdSe/CdS/TiO2 flower-rod solar cell can achieve a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 13.46 mA cm−2, and a open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.42 V, with a maximum power conversion efficiency of 2.31% under one sun illumination (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm−2), which is greatly higher than that of CdSe/CdS/TiO2 nanorod solar cell (1.63%).
•Double-layered TiO2 flower-rod structure was directly grown on FTO glass.•A possible formation mechanism of this TiO2 flower-rod architecture was proposed.•This TiO2 architecture was used in CdSe/CdS co-sensitized solar cell.•The efficiency was significantly enhanced with CdSe/CdS/TiO2 flower-rod electrode.
•One-dimensional single-crystalline TiO2 nanorod arrays were grown on FTO glass.•SILAR is a facile method to prepare CdSe/Mn-CdS/TiO2 as photoanode.•The CdSe/Mn-CdS/TiO2 solar cell exhibits higher ...photovoltaic performance.•The CdSe/Mn-CdS/TiO2 solar cell demonstrates a broad IPCE in visible spectrum.
Vertically oriented single-crystalline one-dimensional TiO2 nanorod arrays was synthesized directly on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting glass substrate by a facile hydrothermal method and was applied as photoanode in CdSe/Mn-doped CdS quantum dots sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The effect of coating cycles of QDs on the photovoltaic performance was investigated to find the optimal combination is 10 cycles of Mn-doped CdS and 9 cycles of CdSe, the CdSe(9)/Mn-CdS(10)/TiO2 solar cell exhibited the best performance due to the complementary effect in the light absorption of Mn-doped CdS and CdSe QDs. The power conversion efficiency of CdSe(9)/Mn-CdS(10)/TiO2 solar cell reached to 2.40% under one sun illumination (AM 1.5G, 100mW/cm2), which was 46.34% higher than that of CdSe(9)/CdS(10)/TiO2 solar cell without doping of Mn (1.64%).
High dielectric constant polymer composites have considerable potentials in energy storage and dielectric applications because of simple fabrication process, facile processability, light-weight, ...excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties. Perovskite (CsPbBr3)/polyimide (PI) composites were successfully prepared via an in-situ polymerization from CsPbBr3 precursor in polyamic acid, followed by thermal imidization. The dielectric properties of polyimide composites were controlled by adjusting the content of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals. The obtained CsPbBr3/PI composites not only possess a high dielectric constant of up to 25.5 but also exhibit low dielectric loss below 0.25. The maximal discharging energy density reached up to 3.10 J cm−3 with 10% CsPbBr3, which is almost 3 times greater than pure PI under the same conditions. In addtiton, outstanding thermal properties of 5% decomposition temperature beyond 530 °C and good mechanical properties. The CsPbBr3/PI composites can be prepared facilely and rapidly on a large scale, which will be a outstanding dielectric material for high temperature polymer film capacitors.
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•Novel perovskite (CsPbBr3)/polyimide composites were successfully prepared via an in-situ polymerization from CsPbBr3 precursor in polyamic acid, followed by thermal imidization.•The dielectric properties of polyimide composites were controlled by adjusting the content of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals.•The obtained CsPbBr3/PI composites possess a high dielectric constant of up to 25.5 but also exhibit low dielectric loss below 0.25.•The CsPbBr3/PI composites possess a high dielectric constant of up to 25.5 and dielectric loss below 0.25，and excellent thermal properties and good mechanical properties.
This paper proposes a new stochastic epidemic modeling approach to estimate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations based on individual vaccination status using only observational data.
To ...accomplish this goal, we modified the SEIR model to categorize individuals according to their vaccination status and utilized Bayesian data augmentation techniques to assess vaccine effectiveness with partially observed data. We also implemented a dynamic time warping algorithm to compare transmission probabilities between groups with different vaccination statuses.
Our findings indicated that both the fully vaccinated and boosted groups experienced lowered transmission probabilities, with average reductions of 51% and 49% respectively. Interestingly, we also observed no significant difference between the boosted group and fully vaccinated group regarding re-susceptibility.
In conclusion, this proposed stochastic epidemic modeling approach for estimating COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness has significant implications for public health policy and decision-making. It could lead to more precise assessments of vaccine effectiveness and validity tests for clinical trial estimates. Overall, this approach has the potential to be a valuable tool in evaluating vaccine effectiveness and the population impact of the vaccination process.
•Developed novel approach to estimate vaccine effectiveness using observational data.•Adapted SEIR model with Bayesian techniques & dynamic time warping algorithm.•Method supports decision-making in public health policies & program evaluations.•Identified limitations & areas for future research: refining MCMC & more variables.
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