A Distributed Anti-Jamming Algorithm Based on Actor-Critic Countering Intelligent Malicious Jamming for WSN.

In this paper, in order to solve the problem of wireless sensor networks' reliable transmission in intelligent malicious jamming, we propose a Distributed Anti-Jamming Algorithm (DAJA) based on an actor-critic algorithm for a multi-agent system. The Multi-Agent Markov Decision Process (MAMPD) is introduced to model the progress of wireless sensor networks' anti-jamming communication, and the multi-agent system learns the intelligent jamming from the external environment by using an actor-critic algorithm. On the basis of coping with the influence of external and internal factors effectively, each sensor in networks selects the appropriate channels for transmission and finally realizes the optimal transmission of the system overall in a unit time period. In the environment of probabilistic intelligent jamming with tracking properties set in this paper, the simulation shows that the algorithm proposed can outperform the algorithm based on joint Q-learning and the conventional scheme based on orthogonal frequency hopping in terms of transmission. In addition, the proposed algorithm completes two updates of strategy evaluation and action selection in one iteration, which means that the system has higher efficiency of action selection and better adaptability to the environment through the interaction with the external environment, resulting in the better performance of transmission and convergence.

Role of modified nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy in apnoeic oxygenation under general anaesthesia: a single-centre, randomized controlled clinical study.

Apnoeic oxygenation is not only important for patients who cannot be intubated/ventilated, but also can be routinely employed when planning to secure the airway.We aimed to compare safe apnoea times between patients receiving modified nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy and those receiving high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO) following the induction of general anaesthesia.This was a single-centre, randomized controlled clinical study. Eighty-four female patients undergoing elective laparoscopic gynaecological surgery under general anaesthesia were randomly assigned to the high-flow nasal oxygen therapy group (Group HFNO) or the modified nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy group (Group Naso). A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to describe the apnoeic oxygenation time.The safe apnoea time of the patients in the Group Naso was higher than that of the patients in the Group HFNO (20 (19.3 to 20.0) vs. 16.5 (12.9 to 20) minutes, P < 0.05). The incidence of SpO2 < 95% in the Group Naso was lower than that in the Group HFNO; hazard ratio 0.3 (95% confidence interval 0.2 to 0.6, P < 0.0001). Modified nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy which uses far less oxygen than HFNO is a convenient and effective method of apnoeic oxygenation in normal female patients.Trial registration: https://www.chictr.org.cn , ChiCTR2000039433; date of registration: 28/10/2020.

Inhibiting PHD2 in human periodontal ligament cells via lentiviral vector-mediated RNA interference facilitates cell osteogenic differentiation and periodontal repair.

Periodontal defect regeneration in severe periodontitis remains a challenging task in clinic owing to poor survival of seed cells caused by the remaining oxidative stress microenvironment. Recently, the reduction of prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 (PHD2), a primary cellular oxygen sensor, has shown an incredible extensive effect on skeletal muscle tissue regeneration by improving cell resistance to reactive oxygen species, whereas its role in periodontal defect repair is unclear. Here, through lentivirus vector-mediated RNA interference, the PHD2 gene in human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) is silenced, leading to hypoxia-inducible factor-1α stabilization in normoxia. In vitro, PHD2 silencing not only exhibited a satisfactory effect on cell proliferation, but also induced distinguished osteogenic differentiation of hPDLCs. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting revealed significant up-regulation of osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), runt-related transcription factor 2, and collagen type I (COL I). Under oxidative stress conditions, COL I and ALP expression levels, suppressed by 100 µM H2 O2 , were elevated by PHD2-gene-silencing in hPDLCs. In vivo, periodontal fenestration defects were established in 18 female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6 wk old, followed by implantation of PHD2 silencing hPDLCs in situ for 21 d. Persistent and stable silencing of PHD2 in hPDLCs promoted better new bone formation according to microcomputed tomography 3D reconstruction and related bone parameter analysis. This work demonstrates the therapeutic efficiency of PHD2 gene interference in osteogenic differentiation and periodontal defect repair for highly efficient periodontal regeneration.

Effects of sevoflurane and propofol on the optic nerve sheath diameter in patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery: a randomized controlled clinical studies.

BACKGROUND: The results of studies on changes in intracranial pressure in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery are inconsistent. Meanwhile, previous neurosurgery studies have suggested that propofol and sevoflurane have inconsistent effects on cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular self-regulation. The purpose of this study is to compare changes in the optic nerve sheath diameter in patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery under anesthetic maintenance with propofol versus sevoflurane. METHODS: This study included 110 patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery with an estimated operative time of more than 2 h under general anesthesia. The study was a randomized controlled study. The optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) at various time points was measured by ultrasound, including when the patients entered the operating room (Tawake), after successful anesthesia induction and endotracheal intubation (Tinduction), when the body position was adjusted to the Trendelenburg position and the CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressure reached 14 mmHg, which was recorded as T0. Then, measurements were conducted every 15 min for the first 1 h and then once every hour until the end of the surgery (T15, T30, T45, T1h, T2h …), after the end of surgery and the tracheal tube was removed (Tend), and before the patients were transferred to the ward (Tpacu). RESULTS: A significant difference in optic nerve sheath diameter was found between two groups at T15, T30, T45 (4.64 ± 0.48 mm and 4.50 ± 0.29 mm, respectively, p = 0.031;4.77 ± 0.45 mm and 4.62 ± 0.28 mm, respectively, p = 0.036;4.84 ± 0.46 mm and 4.65 ± 0.30 mm, respectively, p = 0.012), while there was no significant difference at Tawake and other time points. CONCLUSION: During laparoscopic gynecological surgery lasting more than 2 h, the optic nerve sheath diameter was slightly larger in the propofol group than that in the sevoflurane group in the first 45 min. No significant difference was observed between the two groups 1 h after surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03498235 . Retrospectively registered 1 March 2018. The manuscript adheres to CONSORT guidelines.

Inhibiting PHD2 in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells via lentiviral vector-mediated RNA interference facilitates the repair of periodontal tissue defects in SD rats.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) play an important role in angiogenesis, and they can activate the expression of several downstream angiogenic factors. HIF-1 is a major transcriptor of HIFs, composed of α and ß subunits. Prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 (PHD2) is the main catabolic enzyme for HIF-1α, and it can accelerate its degradation under normoxic conditions. PHD2 expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) of SD rats was down-regulated under normoxic conditions in this study by utilizing lentiviral vector-mediated RNA interference to promote HIF-1α accumulation, thus enhancing the expression of angiogenic factors. A tissue-engineered compound was constructed using the composite collagen membrane of BMMSCs after PHD2 gene silencing to repair periodontal fenestration defects in SD rats. The results of this study indicated that, after PHD2 gene silencing, the osteogenic differentiation of BMMSCs was enhanced in vitro, the resistance of cells to oxidative stress was also validated in vitro, thereby illustrating the promotion of the repair of artificially constructed periodontal tissue defects in rats. The results of this study provide a reference and guidance for future applications of RNA interference in periodontal tissue engineering and serve as a basis for improving the survival of seed cells in recipient tissues.

Nonsurgical periodontal treatment reduced aortic inflammation in ApoE(-/-) mice with periodontitis.

BACKGROUND: Although the correlation between periodontal infection and atherosclerotic lesions has been well recognized, whether and how the nonsurgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) can improve the vascular inflammation has not been investigated clearly. METHODS: Thirty-two apolipoprotein E(-/-) (apoE(-/-)) mice were randomly divided into four groups: (1) Con group: no treatment, blank control group; (2) Lig group: ligature-induced-periodontitis group; (3) Lig-N group: ligatures were removed on the 7th day; (4) Lig-SRP group: ligatures were removed on the 7th day, and scaling and root planing (SRP) were performed on the 9th day. All the animals were euthanized on the 30th day. Alveolar bone loss (ABL) was assessed under microcomputed tomography. Systemic inflammatory status and lipid contents in the plasma were detected. Expression of several surrogate markers for vascular inflammation was evaluated by immunohistology and quantitative real time PCR. RESULTS: NSPT reduced ABL, improved lipid profile, and inhibited systemic inflammation with reduced plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) level in apoE(-/-) mice; in addition, reduced inflammation in arterial wall was observed in NSPT treated mice, showing less vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression and less macrophage adhesion; furthermore, NSPT improved elastic fiber fragmentation disorder in the aortic wall, thus preserved elasticity of aortic artery. CONCLUSION: Ligature-induced periodontitis can lead to inflammatory response in the vascular wall and NSPT has beneficial effect on the early stage of atherosclerosis process in the articular wall by reducing systemic inflammation and improving lipid profile.

[Studies on the chemical constituents from the fruit of Aristolochia debilis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of the fruit of Aristolochia debilis. METHODS: The compounds were isolated by chromatographic techniqcue and crystal methods, the structures were elucidated by spectrum analysis. RESULTS: 8 compounds were isolated from the dry fruit of Aristolochia debilis which were aristolochic acid I (1), aristolochic acid II (2), aristolochic acid III (3), aristolochic acid III a(4), aristolochic acid VII a (5), aristolactam I (6), aristolactam II (7) and aristolactam III a (8). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1-8 are isolated from the fruit of Aristolochia debilis for the first time.