[Oncological outcomes of laparoscopic radical trachelectomy for early stage cervical cancer].

Objective: To analyze and summarize the oncological outcomes after laparoscopic radical trachelectomy (LRT) for early stage cervical cancer. Methods: The clinical data and follow-up results of 148 patients with early stage cervical cancer who underwent LRT in Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University from July 2014 to June 2023 were collected, while tumor outcomes and postoperative pregnancy were analyzed retrospectively. Results: (1) General situation: the median age of 148 patients with LRT was 33 years (range: 19-42 years). Pathological type: 111 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 36 cases of adenocarcinoma, 1 case of adenosquamous carcinoma. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2018) stage: 17 cases of stage Ⅰa1 with lympho-vascular space invasion, 25 cases of stage Ⅰa2, 102 cases of stage Ⅰb1, and 4 cases of stage Ⅰb2. (2) Tumor outcomes: 148 patients were followed up regularly after LRT, and the median follow-up time was 59 months (range: 2-104 months). During the follow-up period, 5 cases of tumor recurred (including 1 death), and the median recurrence time was 10 months (range: 4-33 months). Among them, there were 3 cases of pelvic metastasis, 1 case of distant metastasis, and 1 case of both pelvic and distant metastasis. Both 3-year and 5-year disease-free survival rates of 148 patients were 94.5%, and the 5-year overall survival rate was 98.9%. (3) Postoperative pregnancy: among 148 patients with LRT, 67 patients had pregnancy requirements, followed up for 1 year, and 20 of them were pregnant, with a pregnancy rate of 29.9% (20/67). Among the 20 pregnant patients, 2 cases early abortion, 1 case mid-term abortion, and 17 cases gave birth (including 4 cases of premature birth and 13 cases of full-term birth). Conclusion: Under the condition of strict control of surgical indications, guaranteed surgical scope and tumor-free operation, LRT in patients with early cervical cancer has a good outcome.

Contribution of NADPH oxidase to the retention of UVR-induced DNA damage by arsenic.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element present in food, soil and water and human exposure is associated with increased cancer risk. Arsenic inhibits DNA repair at low, non-cytotoxic concentrations and amplifies the mutagenic and carcinogenic impact of other DNA-damaging agents, such as ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Arsenic exposure leads to oxidation of zinc coordinating cysteine residues, zinc loss and decreased activity of the DNA repair protein poly(ADP)ribose polymerase (PARP)-1. Because arsenic stimulates NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity leading to generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the goal of this study was to investigate the role of NOX in arsenic-induced inhibition of PARP activity and retention of DNA damage. NOX involvement in the arsenic response was assessed in vitro and in vivo. Keratinocytes were treated with or without arsenite, solar-simulated UVR, NOX inhibitors and/or isoform specific NOX siRNA. Knockdown or inhibition of NOX decreased arsenite-induced ROS, PARP-1 oxidation and DNA damage retention, while restoring arsenite inhibition of PARP-1 activity. The NOX2 isoform was determined to be the major contributor to arsenite-induced ROS generation and DNA damage retention. In vivo DNA damage was measured by immunohistochemical staining and analysis of dorsal epidermis sections from C57BI/6 and p91phox knockout (NOX2-/-) mice. There was no significant difference in solar-simulated UVR DNA damage as detected by percent PH2AX positive cells within NOX2-/- mice versus control. In contrast, arsenite-dependent retention of UVR-induced DNA damage was markedly reduced. Altogether, the in vitro and in vivo findings indicate that NOX is involved in arsenic enhancement of UVR-induced DNA damage.

[A study on the current situation and influencing factors of career calling of nurses].

Objective: To understand the status quo of nurses' professional mission and explore the influencing factors of nurses' professional mission. Methods: From November to December, 2018, 316 nurses from three tertiary hospitals in Tianjin were selected as the research objects. The occupational mission scale was used to investigate the sense of professional mission, the nursing work environment scale was used for the nursing work environment survey, and the work family conflict scale was used for the work family conflict investigation. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation among nurses' sense of professional mission, nursing work environment and work family conflict; multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of nurses' sense of professional mission. Results: The score of professional mission of nurses was (2.90±0.56) . Average monthly income, nursing work environment and work family conflict were the influencing factors of nurses' professional mission (P<0.05) . The results of hierarchical regression showed that the higher the average monthly income (ß=0.252) , the higher the sense of professional mission of nurses (R(2)=0.064) ; after controlling general data, the two dimensions of nursing work environment: Nurses' participation in hospital affairs (ß=0.263) , high-quality nursing service foundation (ß=0.368) , and work family conflict (ß=-0.145) could explain 43.1% of the total variation of professional mission. Conclusion: The sense of professional mission of nurses is above the middle level. Nursing managers should start with the influencing factors such as average monthly income, nursing working environment and work family conflict, so as to stimulate or improve nurses' sense of professional mission.

[Analysis of robotic natural orifice specimen extraction surgery on 162 cases with rectal neoplasms].

Objective: To explore the safety and feasibility of da Vinci robot surgical systems in natural orifice specimen extraction surgery (NOSES) for rectal neoplasms. Methods: A descriptive cohort study was used. Inclusion criteria: (1) age ≥18 years old; (2) diagnosis of rectal cancer by biopsy via colonoscopy or benign neoplasm locating in rectum that could not be resected locally through the anus; (3) R0 resection can be achieved by preoperative evaluation; (4) the CDmax (maximum circumferential diameter) was ≤5 cm or specimens could still be extracted from the anus despite a CDmax exceeding 5 cm but was along the longitudinal axis of the rectum. Exclusion criteria: (1) emergency operation due to gastrointestinal obstruction, perforation, or bleeding; (2) distal metastasis, induding lung, bone, or liver, that could not be resected simultaneously; (3) history of abdominal surgery or any other contraindications for robotic surgery. Clinicopathological data of 162 patients with rectal neoplasms who underwent robotic NOSES at the General Surgery Department of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from March 2016 to July 2019 were retrospectively collected. Of 162 patients, 94 were male and 68 were female; the average age was (57±13) years; the average BMI was (23.5±3.2) kg/m(2); the average distance from tumor to the anal verge was (8.2±2.9) cm. Five trocars were used to perform total mesorectal excision (TME), and the descending colon artery was preserved. Sterile endoscope sleeve for the specimen extraction was inserted into the pelvic cavity through the anus, and the resected specimen was pulled out through the sleeve. Outcomes of safety (operation time, intraoperative blood loss and postoperative morbidity of complication) and oncological outcomes (number of lymph nodes harvested, rate of lymph node metastasis and rate of positive resection margin) were collected. Results: All the 162 cases completed robotic NOSES successfully with no conversion to laparotomy. The average operation time was (188.7±79.8) minutes; the average blood loss was (47.1±33.2) ml; the average and the maximum CDmax of specimens were (3.4±1.5) cm and 12 cm respectively. A total of 154 patients underwent robotic TME. One underwent robotic TME plus resection of liver metastasis; one underwent robotic TME plus partial transverse colectomy; two patients underwent robotic TME plus ovariectomy; another two underwent robotic TME plus hysterectomy; one patient underwent robotic TME plus left partial nephrectomy due to renal angioleiomyoma; another one underwent robotic TME plus ureteral repair due to intraoperative injury of the left ureter. All the specimens were extracted through the anus. Protective ileostomy was performed in 6.8% (11/162) of the patients. The average number of lymph node harvested was 14.9±5.1. According to pathological reports, 156 neoplasms were adenocarcinoma. Tis stage was 1.3% (2/156), T1 stage was 9.0% (14/156), T2 stage was 26.3% (41/156), T3 stage was 35.9% (56/156), and T4 stage was 27.6% (43/156). Lymph node metastasis accounted for 34.6% (54/156), and simultaneous liver metastasis was observed in one case. Circumferential resection margins (CRMs) and upper and lower resection margins were negative in all the patients. The average postoperative feeding time and postoperative hospital stay were (4.2±4.1) days and (11.4±7.7) days, respectively. Postoperative morbidity of complication was 12.3% (20/162). The incidence of anastomotic leakage was 4.9% (8/162), of which only 4 cases (2.5%) received ileostomy. Within postoperative 90-day, no anal dysfunction or death were found. Conclusion: Robotic NOSES for rectal neoplasms is safe and feasible.

Abortion in donkeys associated with Salmonella abortus equi infection.

BACKGROUND: Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar abortus equi (S. abortus equi) is well known as the aetiological agent of equine abortion. However, abortion caused by S. abortus equi has not been previously described in donkeys. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether S. abortus equi was correlated with an abortion outbreak consisting of 61 abortions. STUDY DESIGN: Investigation of the clinical cases using pathoanatomical, bacteriological, serological and molecular approaches. METHODS: Autopsies on nine aborted foetuses were performed. Tissue specimens from seven aborted foetuses and two mares were cultured and subjected to detection of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) and equine arteritis virus (EAV) by polymerase chain reaction. The isolates were serotyped according to the Kaufmann-White scheme and analysed by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). Detection of EHV and EAV antibodies was performed in all pregnant mares. RESULTS: No obvious gross lesions were observed in the foetuses. Nine Gram-negative isolates were obtained from all nine tissue samples and were identified as Salmonella spp. All of the isolates belonged to the B group, the O antigen epitope was 4, 12 and H antigen was not obtained. The isolates of Salmonella were characterised as sequence type (ST) 251. Detection of EHV-1, EHV-4 and EAV was negative. MAIN LIMITATIONS: The mechanism that causes abortion in donkeys needs further study and the lack of histological examination. CONCLUSION: Salmonella abortus equi was isolated as the single agent and was responsible for the abortions. Equine practitioners should be aware of S. abortus equi infection as a cause of abortion in donkeys.

User Participation in Collaborative Filtering-Based Recommendation Systems: A Game Theoretic Approach.

Collaborative filtering is widely used in recommendation systems. A user can get high-quality recommendations only when both the user himself/herself and other users actively participate, i.e., provide sufficient ratings. However, due to the rating cost, rational users tend to provide as few ratings as possible. Therefore, there exists a tradeoff between the rating cost and the recommendation quality. In this paper, we model the interactions among users as a game in satisfaction form and study the corresponding equilibrium, namely satisfaction equilibrium (SE). Considering that accumulated ratings are used for generating recommendations, we design a behavior rule which allows users to achieve an SE via iteratively rating items. We theoretically analyze under what conditions an SE can be learned via the behavior rule. Experimental results on Jester and MovieLens data sets confirm the analysis and demonstrate that, if all users have moderate expectations for recommendation quality and satisfied users are willing to provide more ratings, then all users can get satisfying recommendations without providing many ratings. The SE analysis of the proposed game in this paper is helpful for designing mechanisms to encourage user participation.

TR-BREATH: Time-Reversal Breathing Rate Estimation and Detection.

In this paper, we introduce TR-BREATH, a time-reversal (TR)-based contact-free breathing monitoring system. It is capable of breathing detection and multiperson breathing rate estimation within a short period of time using off-the-shelf WiFi devices. The proposed system exploits the channel state information (CSI) to capture the miniature variations in the environment caused by breathing. To magnify the CSI variations, TR-BREATH projects CSIs into the TR resonating strength (TRRS) feature space and analyzes the TRRS by the Root-MUSIC and affinity propagation algorithms. Extensive experiment results indoor demonstrate a perfect detection rate of breathing. With only 10 s of measurement, a mean accuracy of can be obtained for single-person breathing rate estimation under the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenario. Furthermore, it achieves a mean accuracy of in breathing rate estimation for a dozen people under the line-of-sight scenario and a mean accuracy of in breathing rate estimation of nine people under the NLOS scenario, both with 63 s of measurement. Moreover, TR-BREATH can estimate the number of people with an error around 1. We also demonstrate that TR-BREATH is robust against packet loss and motions. With the prevailing of WiFi, TR-BREATH can be applied for in-home and real-time breathing monitoring.

[Current epidemiology and pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated liver cancer].

Liver cancer is a common malignant tumor. Although the overall incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer has been decreasing in recent years, the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-associated liver cancer tends to increase. The health and social issues brought by NAFLD-associated liver cancer have attracted more and more attention, and its epidemiology, pathogenesis, and diagnosis and treatment await further research. This article summarizes the current epidemiology and pathogenesis of NAFLD-associated liver cancer.

[A retrospective study on the outcomes of the oncology, fertility and pregnancy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer after undergoing the fertility-sparing treatments].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the outcomes of the oncology, the fertility and pregnancy on patients with early-stage cervical cancer after undergoing fertility-sparing treatments, and to investigate its value on clinical treatment. METHODS: A total of 29 patients with cervical cancer (stage Ⅰa2-Ⅰb1) who had undergone the fertility- sparing treatments in Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University from February 2010 to September 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. Surgical procedures included transvaginal cervical cold knife conization (CKC) + laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLD) or total laparoscopic uterine cervix extensive resection (RT; contains PLD); 48 patients with early cervical cancer under going laparoscopic uterine extensive resection (RH; contains PLD) by the same group of physicians in the same period were chosen as the control group. The perioperative related indicators, postoperative specimen examination, pregnancies after surgery and postoperative tumor follow- up results were retrospectively analyzed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: (1) Among these 29 patients in the study group, 26 cases were underwent the fertility-sparing surgery quick frozen pathological examinations were positive in 3 cases, which underwent total laparoscopic RT eventually. (2) The perioperative related indicators: compared with the study group and the control group, the operation time [(182±21), (147±24) minutes, respectively] has significant difference (t=6.563, P<0.01). There were no significant difference (P> 0.05) in intra-operative blood loss [(102±26), (99±34) ml], postoperative aerofluxus time [(1.3±0.4), (1.1±0.9) days], the average length of hospital stay [(11.2±2.1), (10.6±3.5) days], rate of urine retention [10%(3/29), 10%(5/48)] and rate of postoperative infection [3% (1/29), 2%(1/48)]. (3)Postoperative specimen examination: compared with the study group and the control group, there were no significant difference (P>0.05) innumber of removed lymphatic nodes (23.4±4.1, 22.8±3.9), length of cardinal ligament [(2.9±0.5), (3.0±0.6) cm], lengthof uterosacral ligament [(2.6±0.7), (2.8±0.4) cm], length of removed vaginal [(3.4±0.3), (3.5±0.3) cm]. (4) Pregnancies after surgery and postoperative tumor follow-up results: in the study group, only 14 patients had fertility requirement after treatments. Pregnancies occurred in 5 women (5/14), which included1 case of full-term labor, 1 case of preterm labor, and 3 cases of spontaneous abortion. The Average follow-up time in postoperative patients of the study group and control group was 29.4, and 30.2 months respectively. In follow- up period, compare with study group and the control group, there was no significant difference (χ(2)=0.004, P> 0.05) in the recurrence rate [4% (1/26), 4% (2/48)]. CONCLUSION: Fertility-sparing surgery of early-stage cervical cancer is safe but the outcome of the fertility and pregnancy is still need toimprove.

On antiforensic concealability with rate-distortion tradeoff.

A signal's compression history is of particular forensic significance because it contains important information about the origin and authenticity of a signal. Because of this, antiforensic techniques have been developed that allow a forger to conceal manipulation fingerprints. However, when antiforensic techniques are applied to multimedia content, distortion maybe introduced, or the data size may be increased. Furthermore,when compressing an antiforensically modified forgery, a tradeoff between the rate and distortion is introduced into the system. As a result, a forger must balance three factors, such as how much the fingerprints can be forensically concealed, the data rate, and the distortion, are interrelated to form a 3D tradeoff. In this paper, we characterize this tradeoff by defining concealability and using it to measure the effectiveness of an antiforensic attack. Then, to demonstrate this tradeoff in a realistic scenario, we examine the concealability-rate-distortion tradeoff in double JPEG compression antiforensics. To evaluate this tradeoff, we propose flexible antiforensic dither as an attack in which the forger can vary the strength of antiforensics. To reduce the time and computational complexity associated with decoding a JPEG file, applying antiforensics, and recompressing, we propose anantiforensic transcoder to efficiently complete these tasks in one step. Through simulation, two surprising results are revealed. One is that if a forger uses a lower quality factor in the second compression, applying antiforensics can both increase concealability and decrease the data rate. The other is that for any pairing of concealability and distortion values, achieved using a higher secondary quality factor, can also be achieved using a lower secondary quality factor at a lower data rate. As a result, the forger has an incentive to always recompress using a lower secondary quality factor.

Comparisons of vaginal and abdominal radical trachelectomy for early-stage cervical cancer: preliminary results of a multi-center research in China.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data comparing the prognosis and fertility outcomes of the patients with early cervical cancer treated by trans-vaginal radical trachelectomy (VRT) or abdominal radical trachelectomy (ART).The objective of this study was to compare the surgical and pathologic characteristics, the prognosis and fertility outcomes of the patients treated by VRT or ART. METHODS: Matched-case study based on a prospectively maintained database of patients underwent radical trachelectomy in 10 centres of China was designed to compare the prognosis and fertility outcomes of the patients treated by VRT or ART. RESULTS: Totally 150 cases, 77 in the VRT and 73 in the ART group, were included. VRT and ART provide similar surgical and pathological outcomes except larger specimens obtained by ART. In the ART group, no patient developed recurrent diseases, but, in the VRT group, 7 (9.8%) patients developed recurrent diseases and 2 (1.6%) patients died of the tumours (P=0.035). The rate of pregnancy in the VRT group was significantly higher than those of ART (39.5% vs 8.8%; P=0.003). The patients with tumour size >2 cm showed significant higher recurrent rate (11.6% vs 2.4%, P<0.05) and lower pregnant rate (12.5% vs 32.1%, P=0.094) compared with the patients with tumour size <2 cm. CONCLUSION: Patients treated by ART obtained better oncology results, but their fertility outcomes were unfavourable compared with VRT. Tumour size <2 cm should be emphasised as an indication for radical trachelectomy for improving the outcome of fertility and prognosis.

First Report of Gray Leaf Spot of Maize Caused by Cercospora zeina in China.

Gray leaf spot of maize (Zea mays L.) is an important foliar disease in many parts of China. The causal organism of gray leaf spot in China is generally regarded as Cercospora zeae-maydis (3). In October 2011, symptoms similar to gray leaf spot were observed on 77% of maize plants in 25 locations (about 3,000 ha.) of Yunnan Province, China, and the disease could cause yield losses of 35 to 50%. The symptoms of leaf spot were different from those caused by C. zeae-maydis. The lesions on leaves were oblong, pale gray to pale brown, 2 to 3 × 5 to 40 mm, and confined by leaf veins that eventually coalesced. To identify the pathogen, 75 leaf samples were collected from 25 fields (three leaf samples for each field) at the kernel maturity stage. Single, well-separated lesions were excised and surface-sterilized by placing them in 75% ethanol for 5 s, then disinfested in 2% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min and rinsed with sterilized water. The lesions were incubated on water agar (WA) at 24°C for 48 to 72 h to allow sporulation. Seventy-five single-conidial isolates were obtained and cultured as described in Crous (1). Morphology of the isolates was determined on plates containing maize leaf powder agar (MLPA). After 5 days, isolates produced pale brown mycelia that consisted of 3- to 4-µm-wide, septate, branched hyphae. Conidiophores were 5 to 7 × 55 to 100 µm, straight to slightly flexuous, and usually 1- to 5-septate. Conidia were average 7.5 × 68 µm, fusiform, apex subobtuse, base subtruncate, and 3- to 6-septate. These characteristics are similar to C. zeina (2). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA was amplified from each of the 75 isolates using primers ITS1/ITS4 and sequenced. The same sequences were obtained and the sequence of isolate YNGLS was submitted to GenBank (Accession No. KC878692). BLAST analysis of the sequence showed 100% confirmation to C. zeina (DQ185081). Additionally, a PCR-based diagnostic test using species-specific primers (2) confirmed the identification of the 75 isolates as C. zeina. The pathogenicity of the isolates was tested on greenhouse grown maize variety Huidan 4. The test was performed on 40 plants and replicated three times. The plants were inoculated at the 10 leaf stage by injecting 2 ml of conidial suspensions (2,500 conidia ml-1) into leaf whorl using a hypodermic syringe, and control plants were injected with sterile water. Conidia were collected from 5-day-old cultures grown on MLPA and suspended in sterile water. Forty days after inoculation, all inoculated plants showed characteristic lesions on leaves, but control plants remained asymptomatic. C. zeina was reisolated from the lesions, and the identity of the reisolates was confirmed by the morphological and molecular characteristics as stated above. C. zeina was previously reported as the causal agent of maize gray leaf spot (2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. zeina causing gray leaf spot of maize in China. References: (1) P. W. Crous. Mycologia Memoir. 21:1, 1998. (2) P. W. Crous et al. Stud. Mycol. 55:189, 2006. (3) C. H. Lu et al. J. Southwest China Normal Univ. 37:51, 2012.

Game-theoretic pricing for video streaming in mobile networks.

Mobile phones are among the most popular consumer devices, and the recent developments of 3G networks and smart phones enable users to watch video programs by subscribing data plans from service providers. Due to the ubiquity of mobile phones and phone-to-phone communication technologies, data-plan subscribers can redistribute the video content to nonsubscribers. Such a redistribution mechanism is a potential competitor for the mobile service provider and is very difficult to trace given users' high mobility. The service provider has to set a reasonable price for the data plan to prevent such unauthorized redistribution behavior to protect or maximize his/her own profit. In this paper, we analyze the optimal price setting for the service provider by investigating the equilibrium between the subscribers and the secondary buyers in the content-redistribution network. We model the behavior between the subscribers and the secondary buyers as a noncooperative game and find the optimal price and quantity for both groups of users. Based on the behavior of users in the redistribution network, we investigate the evolutionarily stable ratio of mobile users who decide to subscribe to the data plan. Such an analysis can help the service provider preserve his/her profit under the threat of the redistribution networks and can improve the quality of service for end users.

Apparent total tract energy and macronutrient digestibility and fecal fermentative end-product concentrations of domestic cats fed extruded, raw beef-based, and cooked beef-based diets.

The objectives of this study were to determine differences in apparent total tract energy and macronutrient digestibility, fecal and urine characteristics, and serum chemistry of domestic cats fed raw and cooked meat-based diets and extruded diet. Nine adult female domestic shorthair cats were utilized in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design. Dietary treatments included a high-protein extruded diet (EX; 57% CP), a raw beef-based diet (RB; 53% CP), and a cooked beef-based diet (CB; 52% CP). Cats were housed individually in metabolic cages and fed to maintain BW. The study consisted of three 21-d periods. Each period included diet adaptation during d 0 to 16; fecal and urine sample collections during d 17 to 20; and blood sample collection at d 21. Food intake was measured daily. Total feces and urine were collected for determination of nutrient digestibility. In addition, a fresh urine sample was collected from each cat for urinalysis, and a fresh fecal sample was collected from each cat for determination of DM percentage and ammonia, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), and branched-chain fatty acid (BCFA) concentrations. All feces were scored after collection using a scale ranging from 1 (hard, dry pellets) to 5 (watery, liquid that can be poured). Blood was analyzed for serum metabolites. Apparent total tract DM, OM, CP, fat, and GE digestibilities were greater (P ≤ 0.05) in cats fed RB and CB than those fed EX. Total fecal SCFA concentrations did not differ among dietary treatments; however, molar ratios of SCFA were modified by diet, with cats fed RB and CB having an increased (P ≤ 0.05) proportion of fecal propionate and decreased (P ≤ 0.05) proportion of fecal butyrate compared with cats fed EX. Fecal concentrations of ammonia, isobutyrate, valerate, isovalerate, and total BCFA were greater (P ≤ 0.05) in cats fed EX compared with cats fed RB and CB. Our results indicated that cooking a raw meat diet does not alter apparent total tract energy and macronutrient digestibility and may also minimize risk of microbial contamination. Given the increasing popularity of feeding raw diets and the metabolic differences noted in this experiment, further research focused on the adequacy and safety of raw beef-based diets in domestic cats is justified.

Influence of a high-protein diet on energy balance in obese cats allowed ad libitum access to food.

The influence of a high-protein [HP, 47% of metabolizable energy (ME)] diet on energy balance was evaluated in obese cats allowed ad libitum access to food. Energy intake, body weight, body composition, energy expenditure, and concentrations of hormones and metabolites associated with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism (glucose, insulin, free fatty acids, triglycerides and leptin) were measured in cats after consuming either a moderate protein (MP, 27% of ME) or HP diet for 4 months. Indirect respiration calorimetry showed that resting and total energy expenditure (kJ/day) adjusted for either body weight or lean body mass was increased in cats consuming the HP in relation to MP diets. However, voluntary energy intake also was increased in the HP treatment and, thus, there was no difference in body weight between animals consuming the two diets. Body composition measurements using deuterium oxide dilution showed that dietary protein content did not alter amounts of either lean body mass or fat mass. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between the two treatment groups for blood glucose, free fatty acid or leptin concentrations, although there was a trend (p = 0.054) towards an increase of serum insulin concentrations in the cats eating the HP diet. This study showed that short-term ad libitum feeding of an HP diet did not reduce food intake or promote weight loss in obese cats. However, energy expenditure was increased in the HP diet group and it is possible that this effect of HP might help promote weight loss when energy intake is restricted.

Cooperation stimulation strategies for peer-to-peer wireless live video-sharing social networks.

Human behavior analysis in video sharing social networks is an emerging research area, which analyzes the behavior of users who share multimedia content and investigates the impact of human dynamics on video sharing systems. Users watching live streaming in the same wireless network share the same limited bandwidth of backbone connection to the Internet, thus, they might want to cooperate with each other to obtain better video quality. These users form a wireless live-streaming social network. Every user wishes to watch video with high quality while paying as little as possible cost to help others. This paper focuses on providing incentives for user cooperation. We propose a game-theoretic framework to model user behavior and to analyze the optimal strategies for user cooperation simulation in wireless live streaming. We first analyze the Pareto optimality and the time-sensitive bargaining equilibrium of the two-person game. We then extend the solution to the multiuser scenario. We also consider potential selfish users' cheating behavior and malicious users' attacking behavior and analyze the performance of the proposed strategies with the existence of cheating users and malicious attackers. Both our analytical and simulation results show that the proposed strategies can effectively stimulate user cooperation, achieve cheat free and attack resistance, and help provide reliable services for wireless live streaming applications.

Risk-distortion analysis for video collusion attacks: a mouse-and-cat game.

Copyright protection is a key issue for video sharing over public networks. To protect the video content from unauthorized redistribution, digital fingerprinting is commonly used. To develop an efficient collusion-resistant fingerprinting scheme, it is very important for the system designer to understand how the behavior dynamics of colluders affect the performance of collusion attack. In the literature, little effort has been made to explicitly study the relationship between risk, e.g., the probability of the colluders to be detected, and the distortion of the colluded signal. In this paper, we investigate the risk-distortion relationship for the linear video collusion attack with Gaussian fingerprint. We formulate the optimal linear collusion attack as an optimization problem of finding the optimal collusion parameters to minimize the distortion subject to a risk constraint. By varying the risk constraint and solving the corresponding optimization problem, we can derive the optimal risk-distortion curve. Moreover, based upon the observation that the detector/attacker can each improve the detection/attack performance with the knowledge of his/her opponent's strategy, we formulate the attack and detection problem as a dynamic mouse and cat game and study the optimal strategies for both the attacker and detector. We show that if the detector uses a fixed detection strategy, the attacker can estimate the detector's strategy and choose the corresponding optimal strategy to attack the fingerprinted video with a small distortion. However, if the detector is powerful, i.e., the detector can always estimate the attacker's strategy, the best strategy for the attacker is the min-max strategy. Finally, we conduct several experiments to verify the proposed risk-distortion model using real video data.

Counting single molecules in sub-nanolitre droplets.

We demonstrate single biomolecule detection and quantification within sub-nanolitre droplets through application of Cylindrical Illumination Confocal Spectroscopy (CICS) and droplet confinement within a retractable microfluidic constriction.