KURT SARTORIUS^1,2,3,*, BENN SARTORIUS⁴, CHERIE WINKLER⁵, ANIL CHUTURGOON², ANNA KRAMVIS¹, PING AN⁵, WEIGANG ZHANG⁶, YUNJIE LU^3,6,7,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.11, pp. 1543-1567, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.055505 - 07 November 2024

Abstract Hepatitis B-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) remains an intractable high-mortality solid tumor cancer that accounted for 42% of global HCC cases in 2019. Despite some developments in systemic therapy, only a small subset of late-stage HCC patients responds positively to recently developed therapeutic innovations. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as an ancillary epigenetic system that can regulate genome expression in all cancer pathways including HCC. The molecular mechanisms of miRNA regulation in cancer pathogenesis offered researchers a new approach that was widely hoped would translate into miRNA-based drugs and diagnostics. Thirty years on, miRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic agents… More >

Zongze Li¹, Zirui Yang², Yue Wu³, Chunming He⁴, Bo Yu², Daobing Wang^2,*, Yueshe Wang^1,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 1-4, 2024, DOI:10.32604/icces.2024.012090

Abstract Geothermal energy is an important renewable energy source, where hot dry rock (HDR) constitutes the primary component, accounting for approximately 90% of the resource. Therefore, the establishment of an efficient HDR geothermal utilization system is a core issue in geothermal resource development. Hydraulic fracturing (HF) technology serves as a crucial means aimed at enhancing the complexity of underground fracture networks and increasing heat exchange efficiency, thus improving the performance of HDR geothermal utilization systems. However, the fracture structure formed by conventional HF techniques is relatively simple, resulting in limited heat exchange areas. Hence, the temporary… More >

Shiguang Hu^1,2, Le Ru^1,2,*, Bo Lu^1,2, Zhenhua Wang³, Xiaolin Zhao^1,2, Wenfei Wang^1,2, Hailong Xi^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.81, No.1, pp. 1879-1903, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.056110 - 15 October 2024

Abstract The strategy evolution process of game players is highly uncertain due to random emergent situations and other external disturbances. This paper investigates the issue of strategy interaction and behavioral decision-making among game players in simulated confrontation scenarios within a random interference environment. It considers the possible risks that random disturbances may pose to the autonomous decision-making of game players, as well as the impact of participants’ manipulative behaviors on the state changes of the players. A nonlinear mathematical model is established to describe the strategy decision-making process of the participants in this scenario. Subsequently, the… More >

Zeshuang Song¹, Xiao Wang^1,*, Qing Wu¹, Yanting Tao¹, Linghua Xu¹, Yaohua Yin², Jianguo Yan³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.81, No.1, pp. 985-1008, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.055614 - 15 October 2024

Abstract This research is the first application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) servers to offshore wind farms, providing a new task offloading solution to address the challenge of scarce edge servers in offshore wind farms. The proposed strategy is to offload the computational tasks in this scenario to other MEC servers and compute them proportionally, which effectively reduces the computational pressure on local MEC servers when wind turbine data are abnormal. Finally, the task offloading problem is modeled as a multi-intelligent deep reinforcement learning problem, and a task offloading model… More >

Hoi Chuen Cheng, Frederick Ziyang Hong, Babar Hussain, Yiru Wang, Chik Patrick Yue^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.81, No.1, pp. 161-181, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.053079 - 15 October 2024

Abstract Large-scale indoor 3D reconstruction with multiple robots faces challenges in core enabling technologies. This work contributes to a framework addressing localization, coordination, and vision processing for multi-agent reconstruction. A system architecture fusing visible light positioning, multi-agent path finding via reinforcement learning, and 360° camera techniques for 3D reconstruction is proposed. Our visible light positioning algorithm leverages existing lighting for centimeter-level localization without additional infrastructure. Meanwhile, a decentralized reinforcement learning approach is developed to solve the multi-agent path finding problem, with communications among agents optimized. Our 3D reconstruction pipeline utilizes equirectangular projection from 360° cameras to More >

Mingzhao Han¹, Susilawati Kasim^1,*, Zhongming Yang², Xi Deng², Noor Baity Saidi³, Md Kamal Uddin¹, Effyanti Mohd Shuib¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.9, pp. 2149-2166, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.054009 - 30 September 2024

Abstract It is imperative to enhance crop yield to meet the demands of a burgeoning global population while simultaneously safeguarding the environment from adverse impacts, which is one of the dominant challenges confronting humanity in this phase of global climate change. To overcome this problem and reduce dependency on chemical fertilizer, scientists now view the implementation of biostimulant strategies as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach to achieving sustainable agriculture. Plant extracts are rich in bioactive phytocompounds, which can enhance plant resistance to disease, pest, and abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity, and extreme temperature), and promote… More >

Annesha Kar¹, Niranjan Karak^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.12, No.9, pp. 1507-1540, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2024.052220 - 25 September 2024

Abstract The pursuit of incorporating eco-friendly reinforcing agents in polymer composites has accentuated the exploration of various natural biomass-derived materials. The burgeoning environmental crisis spurred by the discharge of synthetic dyes into wastewater has catalyzed the search for effective and sustainable treatment technologies. Among the various sorbent materials explored, biochar, being renewable, has gained prominence due to its excellent adsorption properties and environmental sustainability. It has also emerged as a focal point for its potential to replace other conventional reinforcing agents, viz., fumed silica, aluminum oxide, treated clays, etc. This study introduces a novel class of… More > Graphic Abstract

Jin Yang^1,2, Hailong Zhao¹, Jingyi Zeng¹, Ying Su^1,2, Mengdi Zhu¹, Xingyang He^1,2,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.20, No.10, pp. 2163-2181, 2024, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2024.055448 - 23 September 2024

Abstract To achieve higher strength and better durability, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) typically employs a relatively small water-binder ratio. However, this generally leads to an undesired increase in the paste viscosity. In this study, the effects of liquid and powder polycarboxylate superplasticizers (PCE) on UHPC are compared and critically discussed. Moreover, the following influential factors are considered: air-entraining agents (AE), slump retaining agents (SA), and defoaming agents (DF) and the resulting flow characteristics, mechanical properties, and hydration properties are evaluated assuming UHPC containing 8‰ powder PCE (PCE-based UHPC). It is found that the spread diameter of… More >

Wanwei Huang^1,*, Qiancheng Zhang¹, Tao Liu², Yaoli Xu¹, Dalei Zhang³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.80, No.3, pp. 4875-4893, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.055622 - 12 September 2024

Abstract Aiming at the rapid growth of network services, which leads to the problems of long service request processing time and high deployment cost in the deployment of network function virtualization service function chain (SFC) under 5G networks, this paper proposes a multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient optimization algorithm for SFC deployment (MADDPG-SD). Initially, an optimization model is devised to enhance the request acceptance rate, minimizing the latency and deploying the cost SFC is constructed for the network resource-constrained case. Subsequently, we model the dynamic problem as a Markov decision process (MDP), facilitating adaptation to the… More >

Yong Wan¹, Li Li¹, Jiaxin Zou¹, Hucheng Xiao², Mengdi Zhu², Ying Su², Jin Yang^2,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.20, No.9, pp. 1941-1956, 2024, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2024.053910 - 23 August 2024

Abstract Due to the low water-cement ratio of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), fluidity and shrinkage cracking are key aspects determining the performance and durability of this type of concrete. In this study, the effects of different types of cementitious materials, chemical shrinkage-reducing agents (SRA) and steel fiber (SF) were assessed. Compared with M2-UHPC and M3-UHPC, M1-UHPC was found to have better fluidity and shrinkage cracking performance. Moreover, different SRA incorporation methods, dosage and different SF types and aspect ratios were implemented. The incorporation of SRA and SF led to a decrease in the fluidity of UHPC. SRA More >