V2I Physical Layer Security Beamforming with Antenna Hardware Impairments under RIS Assistance

The Internet of Vehicles(IoV)will carry a large amount of security and privacy-related data,which makes the secure communication between the IoV terminals increasingly critical.This paper studies the joint beamforming for physical-layer security transmission in the coexistence of Vehicle-to-Infrastructure(V2I)and Vehicle-toVehicle(V2V)communication with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface(RIS)assistance,taking into account hardware impairments.A communication model for physical-layer security transmission is established when the eavesdropping user is present and the base station antenna has hardware impairments assisted by RIS.Based on this model,we propose to maximize the V2I physical-layer security transmission rate.To solve the coupled non-convex optimization problem,an alternating optimization algorithm based on second-order cone programming and semidefinite relaxation is proposed to obtain the optimal V2I base station transmit precoding and RIS reflect phase shift matrix.Finally,simulation results are presented to verify the convergence and superiority of our proposed algorithm while analyzing the impact of system parameters on the V2I physical-layer security transmission rate.The simulation results further demonstrate that the proposed robust beamforming algorithm considering hardware impairments will achieve an average performance improvement of 0.7 dB over a non-robustly designed algorithm.Furthermore,increasing the number of RIS reflective units from 10 to 50 results in an almost 2 dB enhancement in secure transmission rate.

Sleep disturbances and psychomotor retardation in the prediction of cognitive impairments in patients with major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND Symptoms of depression and comorbid anxiety are known risk factors for cognitive impairment in major depressive disorder(MDD).Understanding their relationships is crucial for developing targeted interventions to mitigate cognitive impairments in MDD patients.We expect that the severity of sleep disturbances and other depressive symptoms will be positively correlated with the degree of cognitive impairments.We also hypothesize that anxiety symptoms,especially psychic anxiety,is a key factor in predicting cognitive performance in MDD patients and may indirectly contribute to cognitive impairment by affecting sleep disturbances and other potential factors.AIM To determine which dimension of the depressive and anxiety symptoms predicts cognitive impairment during a depressive episode.METHODS A comprehensive neurocognitive test battery assessed executive function,attention,processing speed,and memory in 162 medication-free MDD patients and 142 matched healthy controls.The 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms,and the 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Scale was used to assess anxiety symptoms.Linear regression analyses and mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of depressive and anxiety symptoms,as well as their interactions,on cognitive impairments.RESULTS Among the depressive symptoms,sleep disturbances were associated with poorer executive function(P=0.004),lower processing speed(P=0.047),and memory impairments(P<0.001),and psychomotor retardation(PR)was associated with lower processing speed in patients with MDD(P=0.019).Notably,PR was found to mediate the impact of sleep disturbances on the processing speed.Regarding anxiety symptoms,psychic anxiety,rather than somatic anxiety,was associated with cognitive impairments in all aspects.Sleep disturbances mediated the effect of psychic anxiety on executive function[β=-0.013,BC CI(-0.027,-0.001)]and memory[β=-0.149,BC CI(-0.237,-0.063)],while PR mediated its effect on processing speed(β=-0.023,BC CI(-0.045,-0.004)].CONCLUSION Sleep disturbances may be a key predictor of poorer executive function,lower processing speed,and memory loss,while PR is crucial for lower processing speed during a depressive episode.Psychic anxiety contributes to all aspects of cognitive impairments,mediated by sleep disturbances and PR.

Exploiting the Direct Link in IRS Assisted NOMA Networks with Hardware Impairments

Hardware impairments(HI)are always present in low-cost wireless devices.This paper investigates the outage behaviors of intelligent reflecting surface(IRS)assisted non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)networks by taking into account the impact of HI.Specifically,we derive the approximate and asymptotic expressions of the outage probability for the IRS-NOMA-HI networks.Based on the asymptotic results,the diversity orders under perfect self-interference cancellation and imperfect self-interference cancellation scenarios are obtained to evaluate the performance of the considered network.In addition,the system throughput of IRS-NOMA-HI is discussed in delay-limited mode.The obtained results are provided to verify the accuracy of the theoretical analyses and reveal that:1)The outage performance and system throughput for IRS-NOMA-HI outperforms that of the IRS-assisted orthogonal multiple access-HI(IRS-OMA-HI)networks;2)The number of IRS elements,the pass loss factors,the Rician factors,and the value of HI are pivotal to enhancing the performance of IRS-NOMAHI networks;and 3)It is recommended that effective methods of reducing HI should be used to ensure system performance,in addition to self-interference cancellation techniques.

System Outage Probability and Diversity Analysis of a SWIPT Based Two-Way DF Relay Network Under Transceiver Hardware Impairments

This paper investigates the system outage performance of a simultaneous wireless information and power transfer(SWIPT)based two-way decodeand-forward(DF)relay network,where potential hardware impairments(HIs)in all transceivers are considered.After harvesting energy and decoding messages simultaneously via a power splitting scheme,the energy-limited relay node forwards the decoded information to both terminals.Each terminal combines the signals from the direct and relaying links via selection combining.We derive the system outage probability under independent but non-identically distributed Nakagami-m fading channels.It reveals an overall system ceiling(OSC)effect,i.e.,the system falls in outage if the target rate exceeds an OSC threshold that is determined by the levels of HIs.Furthermore,we derive the diversity gain of the considered network.The result reveals that when the transmission rate is below the OSC threshold,the achieved diversity gain equals the sum of the shape parameter of the direct link and the smaller shape parameter of the terminalto-relay links;otherwise,the diversity gain is zero.This is different from the amplify-and-forward(AF)strategy,under which the relaying links have no contribution to the diversity gain.Simulation results validate the analytical results and reveal that compared with the AF strategy,the SWIPT based two-way relaying links under the DF strategy are more robust to HIs and achieve a lower system outage probability.

Secrecy Outage Probability for Two-Way Integrated Satellite Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Relay Networks with Hardware Impairments

In this paper,we investigate the secrecy outage performance for the two-way integrated satellite unmanned aerial vehicle relay networks with hardware impairments.Particularly,the closed-form expression for the secrecy outage probability is obtained.Moreover,to get more information on the secrecy outage probability in a high signalto-noise regime,the asymptotic analysis along with the secrecy diversity order and secrecy coding gain for the secrecy outage probability are also further obtained,which presents a fast method to evaluate the impact of system parameters and hardware impairments on the considered network.Finally,Monte Carlo simulation results are provided to show the efficiency of the theoretical analysis.

Tiotropium Bromide/Olodaterol Related Acute Cognitive Impairments

Background: The use of anticholinergics has been on the rise. With the increase in population longevity, more medication-related cognitive impairments (ACIs) have been reported. These impairments result in significant morbidities. We present a case that stresses on the importance of being vigilant when prescribing anticholinergic medications, especially in the elderlies. Case Report: A case of ACIs related to the use of tiotropium bromide/olodaterol (Stiolto Respimat) is being reported in a 71-year-old white man with COPD. Treatment with budesonide 180 mcg/actuation, and tiotropium bromide/olodaterol (Stiolto Respimat) inhalers was initiated. Two days after initiating treatment, the patient developed ACIs which manifested by gait imbalance, short-term memory dysfunction, inability to remember his family members, or to take his medications. Tiotropium bromide/olodaterol (Stiolto Respimat) was discontinued. After three days, a full recovery of ACIs was reported. A month later, due to worsening dyspnea, the patient self-resumed the medicine. Similar ACIs were reported within two days of resuming treatment. Tiotropium bromide/olodaterol (Stiolto Respimat) was discontinued indefinitely. Full recovery of ACIs was reported. Conclusion: ACIs should be noted as a significant side effect of tiotropium bromide/olodaterol. Clinicians should be vigilant, when prescribing anticholinergic medications to elderlies.

Tetrahydroxy Stilbene Glucoside Ameliorates Cognitive Impairments and Pathology in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice

Cognitive impairment is the main clinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease(AD),and amyloid-β(AB)deposition and senile plaques are the characteristic neuropathological hallmarks in AD brains.This study aimed to explore the effect and mechanism of tetrahydroxy stilbene glucoside(TSG)on cognitive function in APP/PS 1 mice during long-term administration.Here,we treated APP/PS1 model mice of AD with different doses of TSG(50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg)for 5 to 17 months by gavage,and we further observed whether TSG could ameliorate the cognitive decline in APP/PS1 mice using behavioral tests,and investigated the possible mechanisms by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.Our results showed that TSG treatment rescued the spatial and non-spatial learning and memory impairments of APP/PS1 mice at Morris water maze test and novel object recognition test.Furthermore,Aβ40/42 deposition in the cortex and hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice treated with TSG was significantly reduced compared to the wild type mice using the immunohistochemical technique.Finally,Western blotting showed that TSG primarily decreased the APP expression to avoid the Aβplaque deposition in the cortex and hippocampus of mice.These results reveal the beneficial effects of TSG in APP/PSI-AD mice,which may be associated with the reduction of Aβdeposits in the brain.

Spectral Efficiency of Superimposed Pilots in Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems with Hardware Impairments

In this paper,the spectral efficiency(SE)of an uplink hardware-constrained cell-free massive multi-input multi-output(MIMO)system with maximal ratio combining(MRC)receiver filters in the context of superimposed pilots(SPs)is investigated.Tractable closed-form SE expressions for the considered system are derived,which share us with opportunities to explore the impacts of the hardware quality coefficient,the length of coherence interval,and the power balance factor between pilot and data signals.Numerical results indicate that the achievable SE deteriorates as the hardware quality decreases and is more susceptible to the hardware impairments at the user equipments(UEs).Besides,we observe that SPs outperform regular pilots(RPs)in terms of SE and this performance gain is heavily dependent on the values of power balance factor and coherence interval.However,the superiorities of SPs over RPs have vanished when severe hardware imperfections are considered.

Fluoxetine ameliorates cognitive impairments induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion via down-regulation of HCN2 surface expression in the hippocampal CA1 area

Aim To investigate whether tluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor（ SSRI） , could amelio- rate cognitive impairments induced by chronic cerebral hypopeffusion in rats and to clarify the underlying mecha- nisms of its efficacy. Methods Rats were subjected to permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries （two-vessel occlusion, 2VO）. Two weeks later, rats were treated with 30 mg · kg^-1 fluoxetine （intragastric injec- tion, i. g. ） for 6 weeks. Cognitive function was evaluated by Morris water maze （MWM） and novel objects recog- nition （NOR） test. Long-term potentiation （LTP） was used to address the underlying synaptic mechanisms. West- ern blot was used to quantify the protein levels. Results Fluoxetine treatment significantly improved the cognitive 2VO impairments caused by 2VO, accompanied with a reversion of 2VO-induced inhibitory of LTP. Furthermore, caused an up-regulation of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nueleotide-gated channel 2 （HCN2） surface expres- sions in the hippocampal CA1 area and fluoxetine also effectively recovered the up-regulation of HCN2 surface ex- pressions. Conclusion Fluoxetine can ameliorate cognitive impairments induced by chronic cerebral hypopeffusion and a possible mechanism may via down-regulating HCN2 surface expression in the Hippocampal CA1 area.

Investigating Dimensions and Impairments Caused by Shifts in Nurses Who Work in Constant Shifts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dimensions and conditions caused by shifts in nurses who worked in constant shifts in non-governmental selective hospitals in Tehran in 2014. In this cross-sectional and applied research, the shifts standard questionnaire was used. After confirming the validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.73), the questionnaires were distributed among 305 nurses of 6 non-governmental selective hospitals in Tehran, based on stratified random sampling. In the research, the data analysis was conducted in two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics. The response rate was 0.91. 74.4% of the participant nurses were female and 25.6% were male. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between age and physical health (P = 0.008), gender and physical health (P = 0.015), education and health (P = 0.014), gender and physical-cognitive anxiety (P = 0.006), age and social-familial status (P = 0.001), Marital status and social-familial status (P = 0.001), having a second job and social-familial status (P = 0.001), education and sleep-fatigue (P = 0.002). Planning with respect to standards of nurses’ working hours and avoiding overtime, especially nurses who have more experience, can prevent severe complications of shifts and improve health level and ultimately the quality of care.

Low Fidelity Simulation on Sensory Impairments in Older Adults: Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Self-Reported Perceptions on Learning

Globally, the population is living longer and by 2050, it is predicted to reach 2.1 billion people. Sensory and cognitive impairments are common long-term conditions among older Europeans and have considerable functional, social, emotional and economic impacts on the individual and those caring for them. Nurses have frequent encounters with patients with these impairments and are expected to prioritise people, assess their needs and accommodate practice to meet these needs. In order to develop the requisite knowledge and understanding to support people living with these impairments, student nurses require an immersive and experiential approach to learning as opposed to just information transfer. This study reports on a cross-sectional analysis of a low fidelity simulation on sensory impairments as part of a wider dementia curriculum in semester one of the undergraduate nursing programme at the University of Highlands and Islands. Findings from an online questionnaire-based survey and content analysis of free text responses revealed that students found the simulation activities critical for gaining subject knowledge, understanding and insight. This study concluded that low-fidelity simulation of sensory/cognitive impairments, within the context of a broader curriculum of supportive activities, can be effective at developing relevant knowledge, understanding and gaining insights in this subject area among undergraduate nursing students.

Physical layer impairments tolerance based lightpath provision in software defined optical network

As all-optical networks grow with ever increasing ultra-high speed,the communication quality suffers seriously from physical layer impairments( PLIs). The same problem still exists in software defined optical network( SDON) controlled by OpenFlow. Aimed to solve this problem,a PLIs tolerance based lightpath provision scheme is proposed for OpenFlow controlled optical networks. This proposed approach not only takes the OSNR model to represent those linear PLIs factors,but also introduces those nonlinear factors into the OSNR model. Thus,the proposed scheme is able to cover most PLIs factors of each optical link and conduct optical lightpath provison with better communication quality. Moreover,PLIs tolerance model is also set up and considered in this work with some necessary extension to OpenFlow protocols to achieve better compatibility between physical layer impairments factors and various services connections. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme is able to get better performance in terms of packet loss rate and connection setup time.

Prevention of Physiological Impairments from Whole Body Vibration by Conditioning with 4F ApoA-I Mimetic

Is physical fatigue one of the major causes of motor vehicle accidents？ Our study results challenged this traditional belief, and indicated that motor vehicle induced whole body vibration （WBV） is the actual cause. In this study, rats were subjected to simulated WBV. After 2 weeks all rats were evaluated by multiple physiological tests. Results indicated that WBV for short periods impaired the animal＇s mental judgment capabilities as well as sensory and motor functions. The primary reason for this is that WBV caused vasoconstriction, which decreased the cerebral blood flow as shown by Doppler imaging. This reduction in blood flow impaired the animal＇s ability to run a maze. Nerve functions were affected as well. This was shown by a reduction in nerve conduction velocity （NCV）. An increase in tail flick and Von Frey withdrawal times showed sensory deficits. Grip strength was also reduced. 4F （human apolipoprotein A-I molecule mimetic） conditioning has shown preventive effects against WBV injury as indicated by the above functional tests. This animal model simulated the most common motor vehicle travel vibration and validated the biological cause and mechanism of physiological impairment from WBV, which can be translated into a practical application for motor vehicle accident prevention.

Terahertz Irradiation Improves Cognitive Impairments and Attenuates Alzheimer’s Neuropathology in the APP^(SWE)/PS1^(DE9) Mouse:A Novel Therapeutic Intervention for Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid-β(Aβ),neurofibrillary tangles,neuroinflammation,and neurodegeneration in the brain.In recent years,considering the unsatisfied benefits of pharmacological therapies,non-pharmacological therapy has become a research hotspot for AD intervention.Terahertz(THz)waves with a range between microwave and infrared regions in the electromagnetic spectrum and high permeability to a wide range of materials have great potential in the bioengineering field.However,its biological impacts on the central nervous system,under either physiological or pathological conditions,are poorly investigated.In this study,we first measured the 0.14 THz waves penetration across the skull of a C57BL/6 mouse and found the percentage of THz penetration to be~70%,guaranteeing that THz waves can reach the relevant brain regions.We then exposed the APPSWE/PS1DE9 mouse model of AD to repeated low-frequency THz waves on the head.We demonstrated that THz waves treatment significantly improved the cognitive impairment and alleviated AD neuropathology including Aβdeposition and tau hyperphosphorylation in the AD mice.Moreover,THz waves treatment effectively attenuated mitochondrial impairment,neuroinflammation,and neuronal loss in the AD mouse brain.Our findings reveal previously unappreciated beneficial effects of THz waves treatment in AD and suggest that THz waves may have the potential to be used as a novel therapeutic intervention for this devastating disease.

Performance analysis and low complexity receiver design for extra-large scale MIMO systems with residual hardware impairments

The research purpose of this paper is focused on investigating the performance of extra-large scale massive multiple-input multiple-output(XL-MIMO)systems with residual hardware impairments.The closed-form expression of the achievable rate under the match filter(MF)receiving strategy was derived and the influence of spatial non-stationarity and residual hardware impairments on the system performance was investigated.In order to maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio(SINR)of the systems in the presence of hardware impairments,a hardware impairments-aware minimum mean squared error(HIA-MMSE)receiver was proposed.Furthermore,the stair Neumann series approximation was used to reduce the computational complexity of the HIA-MMSE receiver,which can avoid matrix inversion.Simulation results demonstrate the tightness of the derived analytical expressions and the effectiveness of the low complexity HIA-MMSE(LC-HIA-MMSE)receiver.

A homozygous frameshift mutation in ADAD2 causes male infertility with spermatogenic impairments

Male infertility is a complex reproductive disorder that impedes a huge number of couples from having children naturally in the world(Agarwal et al.,2021).As an important pathogenic factor of male infertility,spermatogenic impairments are mainly characterized by impaired male gamete production,reduced sperm quality,or function(Tournaye et al.,2017).Spermatogenesis is a delicate and complex biological process that requires the collaboration of a large number of proteins performing different biological functions(Liu et al.,2021).

Targeting tau in Alzheimer's disease:from mechanisms to clinical therapy

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease affecting older adults.Primary features of Alzheimer’s disease include extra cellular aggregation of amyloid-βplaques and the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles,fo rmed by tau protein,in the cells.While there are amyloid-β-ta rgeting therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,these therapies are costly and exhibit potential negative side effects.Mounting evidence suggests significant involvement of tau protein in Alzheimer’s disease-related neurodegeneration.As an important microtubule-associated protein,tau plays an important role in maintaining the stability of neuronal microtubules and promoting axonal growth.In fact,clinical studies have shown that abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein occurs before accumulation of amyloid-βin the brain.Various therapeutic strategies targeting tau protein have begun to emerge,and are considered possible methods to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.Specifically,abnormalities in post-translational modifications of the tau protein,including aberrant phosphorylation,ubiquitination,small ubiquitin-like modifier(SUMO)ylation,acetylation,and truncation,contribute to its microtubule dissociation,misfolding,and subcellular missorting.This causes mitochondrial damage,synaptic impairments,gliosis,and neuroinflammation,eventually leading to neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits.This review summarizes the recent findings on the underlying mechanisms of tau protein in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and discusses tau-targeted treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Understanding the spectrum of non-motor symptoms in multiple sclerosis:insights from animal models

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system and is generally considered to be a non-traumatic,physically debilitating neurological disorder.In addition to experiencing motor disability,patients with multiple sclerosis also experience a variety of nonmotor symptoms,including cognitive deficits,anxiety,depression,sensory impairments,and pain.However,the pathogenesis and treatment of such non-motor symptoms in multiple scle rosis are still under research.Preclinical studies for multiple sclerosis benefit from the use of disease-appropriate animal models,including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.Prior to understanding the pathophysiology and developing treatments for non-motor symptoms,it is critical to chara cterize the animal model in terms of its ability to replicate certain non-motor features of multiple sclerosis.As such,no single animal model can mimic the entire spectrum of symptoms.This review focuses on the non-motor symptoms that have been investigated in animal models of multiple sclerosis as well as possible underlying mechanisms.Further,we highlighted gaps in the literature to explain the nonmotor aspects of multiple sclerosis in expe rimental animal models,which will serve as the basis for future studies.

Security-Reliability Analysis and Optimization for Cognitive Two-Way Relay Network with Energy Harvesting

This paper investigates the security and reliability of information transmission within an underlay wiretap energy harvesting cognitive two-way relay network.In the network,energy-constrained secondary network(SN)nodes harvest energy from radio frequency signals of a multi-antenna power beacon.Two SN sources exchange their messages via a SN decode-and-forward relay in the presence of a multiantenna eavesdropper by using a four-phase time division broadcast protocol,and the hardware impairments of SN nodes and eavesdropper are modeled.To alleviate eavesdropping attacks,the artificial noise is applied by SN nodes.The physical layer security performance of SN is analyzed and evaluated by the exact closed-form expressions of outage probability(OP),intercept probability(IP),and OP+IP over quasistatic Rayleigh fading channel.Additionally,due to the complexity of OP+IP expression,a self-adaptive chaotic quantum particle swarm optimization-based resource allocation algorithm is proposed to jointly optimize energy harvesting ratio and power allocation factor,which can achieve security-reliability tradeoff for SN.Extensive simulations demonstrate the correctness of theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed optimization algorithm.

Mitochondrial DNA methylation and mitochondria-related epigenetics in neurodegeneration

Mitochondria are cytoplasmic organelles referred to as the powerhouse of the cell because they are primarily involved in oxidative phosphorylation and energy production.They are particularly abundant in tissues with high energy demands,including muscle,liver,and brain,and mitochondrial dysfunction,oxidative mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA)damage,and impaired mitochondrial dynamics have often been associated with neurodegeneration.