Lag denotes the event when an application fails to respond user inputs in a timely fashion and is considered one of the most common annoyances that impair online gaming experience. Despite years of effort devoted by game developers and network designers trying to overcome lags, gamers still suffer from this annoying phenomenon. It seems to many gamers that lag is an unavoidable part of online gaming and sometimes they just give up fighting it. In this paper, we tackle the lag problem by investigating the root cause of lags for gamers. We develop a software called Game Experience Monitor (GEM), which monitors the performance of gamers' computers and the quality of network paths during game play, and use the collected traces to correlate players' perceived experience to find out the common cause of lags. Our analysis reveals that, surprisingly, while it is a common belief that the instability of Internet paths is the major cause of lags, the overloading of players' computers in fact plays a more decisive role to lag. It is hoped that this counter-common-belief finding will motivate further research for providing a better infrastructure for gaming and other real-time interactive applications.
Acetyl-CoA Synthetase 2 (ACSS2) belongs to a member of the acyl-CoA short-chain synthase family, which can convert acetate in the cytoplasm and nucleus into acetyl-CoA. It has been proven that ACSS2 is highly expressed in glioblastoma, breast cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, renal cancer, and other tumors, and is closely related to tumor stage and the overall survival rate of patients. Accumulating studies show that hypoxia and a low serum level induce ACSS2 expression to help tumor cells cope with this nutrient-poor environment. The potential mechanisms are associated with the ability of ACSS2 to promote the synthesis of lipids in the cytoplasm, induce the acetylation of histones in the nucleus, and facilitate the expression of autophagy genes. Novel-specific inhibitors of ACSS2 are developed and confirmed to the effectiveness in pre-clinical tumor models. Targeting ACSS2 may provide novel approaches for tumor treatment. This review summarizes the biological function of ACSS2, its relation to survival and prognosis in different tumors, and how ACSS2 mediates different pathways to promote tumor metastasis, invasion, and drug resistance.
In vitro biomechanical study of cervical intervertebral distraction.To investigate the forces required for distraction to different heights in an in vitro C5-C6 anterior cervical distraction model, focusing on the influence of the intervertebral disk, posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL), and ligamentum flavum (LF).No previous studies have reported on the forces required for distraction to various heights or the factors resisting distraction in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.Anterior cervical distraction at C5-C6 was performed in 6 cadaveric specimens using a biomechanical testing machine, under 4 conditions: A, before disk removal; B, after disk removal; C, after disk and PLL removal; and D, after disk and PLL removal and cutting of the LF. Distraction was performed from 0 to 10 mm at a constant velocity (5 mm/min). Force and distraction height were recorded automatically.The force required increased with distraction height under all 4 conditions. There was a sudden increase in force required at 6-7 mm under conditions B and C, but not D. Under condition A, distraction to 5 mm required a force of 268.3±38.87 N. Under conditions B and C, distraction to 6 mm required <15 N, and further distraction required dramatically increased force, with distraction to 10 mm requiring 115.4±10.67 and 68.4±9.67 N, respectively. Under condition D, no marked increase in force was recorded.Distraction of the intervertebral space was much easier after disk removal. An intact LF caused a sudden marked increase in the force required for distraction, possibly indicating the point at which the LF was fully stretched. This increase in resistance may help to determine the optimal distraction height to avoid stress to the endplate spacer.
Applying cloud technology to 3D interactive multimedia applications is a promising way to provide flexible and cost-efficient online high-bandwidth immersive services to a large population of end users. One main reason cloud systems are popular among users is the fact that it relaxes the hardware requirements for high-end interactive visual applications. As most of the computational tasks are done on cloud servers, users no longer need to upgrade their hardware as frequently to keep up with the ever-increasing high-end computing requirements of the latest applications. Moreover, cloud systems make it easier for a user to enjoy applications on different platforms, including mobile devices that are usually not powerful enough to run high-end, memory-intensive services. In short, applying cloud technology to high-end immersive applications has advantages in cost-efficiency and flexibility both for the end users and the service providers. However, there are two main drawbacks to applying cloud technology to 3D interactive multimedia services: (1) high-bandwidth utilization and (2) latency. In this article, we propose a framework that addresses the two problems for single-player cloud gaming by using a combination of collaborative rendering, progressive meshes, and 3D image warping techniques. The experimental results show that the proposed system can reduce the bandwidth usage and improve the visual quality by utilizing local computing power on the client. The results also show that the interaction latency can be reduced somewhat by sacrificing some degree of visual quality in the end system.
Abstract As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) crashed into the influenza season, clinical characteristics of both infectious diseases were compared to make a difference. We reported 211 COVID‐19 patients and 115 influenza patients as two separate cohorts at different locations. Demographic data, medical history, laboratory findings, and radiological characters were summarized and compared between two cohorts, as well as between patients at the intensive care unit (ICU) andnon‐ICU within the COVID‐19 cohort. For all 326 patients, the median age was 57.0 (interquartile range: 45.0–69.0) and 48.2% was male, while 43.9% had comorbidities that included hypertension, diabetes, bronchitis, and heart diseases. Patients had cough (75.5%), fever (69.3%), expectoration (41.1%), dyspnea (19.3%), chest pain (18.7%), and fatigue (16.0%), etc. Both viral infections caused substantial blood abnormality, whereas the COVID‐19 cohort showed a lower frequency of leukocytosis, neutrophilia, or lymphocytopenia, but a higher chance of creatine kinase elevation. A total of 7.7% of all patients possessed no abnormal sign in chest computed tomography (CT) scans. For both infections, pulmonary lesions in radiological findings did not show any difference in their location or distribution. Nevertheless, compared to the influenza cohort, the COVID‐19 cohort presented more diversity in CT features, where certain specific CT patterns showed significantly more frequency, including consolidation, crazy paving pattern, rounded opacities, air bronchogram, tree‐in‐bud sign, interlobular septal thickening, and bronchiolar wall thickening. Differentiable clinical manifestations and CT patterns may help diagnose COVID‐19 from influenza and gain a better understanding of both contagious respiratory illnesses.
Based on large-scale wind power base of our country, the modeling and solving for multi-objective reactive power optimization of large-scale wind power integration are studied.To make sure of the hierarchical and regional balance of reactive power under normal circumstances and to have the power of supporting the safety of the grid in case of emergency, a solving thinking presents that capacitor switching and transformer tap adjusting and other discrete equipments are first, and the action sequence of generator and dynamic reactive power devices and other continuous equipments setting follows, which is presented that optimization problem is decomposed into continuous variable optimization and discrete variable optimization.The genetic algorithm is presented for finding global optimal solution.The coding of control variables and strategies for the cross and mutation operation are mainly studied, and determine each objective weight of multi-objective optimization.Case studies show that the proposed thinking is reasonable.
The third party payment has become a very important part of the financial service industry in the new era. It has also become the core pillar of the rapid development of the related industries of the Internet and economy in China. It is the forward driving force for the future development. At the same time, third-party payment technology to promote the e-commerce-related business development, for the e-commerce industry has brought huge profits. However, the development of third-party payments has also brought little impact to commercial banks: in the face of the growing electronic payment market, commercial banks have actively introduced corresponding countermeasures to deal with the impact of third-party payments on them and hit.
In vitro biomechanical study of the cervical intervertebral distraction using a remodeled Caspar retractor.To investigate the torques required for distraction to different heights in an in vitro C3-C4 anterior cervical distraction model using a remodeled Caspar retractor, focusing on the influence of the intervertebral disk, posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL), and ligamentum flavum (LF).No previous studies have reported on the torques required for distraction to various heights or the factors resisting distraction in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.Anterior cervical distractions at C3-C4 was performed in 6 cadaveric specimens using a remodeled Caspar retractor, under 4 conditions: A, before disk removal; B, after disk removal; C, after disk and PLL removal; and D, after disk and PLL removal and cutting of the LF. Distraction was performed for 5 teeth, and distractive torque of each tooth was recorded.The torque increased with distraction height under all conditions. There was a sudden increase in torque at the fourth tooth under conditions B and C, but not D. Under condition A, distraction to the third tooth required 84.8±13.3 cN m. Under conditions B and C, distraction to the third tooth required <13 cN m, and further distraction required dramatically increased torque. Under condition D, no marked increase in torque was recorded.Distraction of the intervertebral space was much easier after disk removal. An intact LF caused a sudden marked increase in the force required for distraction, possibly indicating the point at which the LF was fully stretched. This increase in resistance may help to determine the optimal distraction height to avoid excessive stress to the endplate spacer. The remodeled Caspar retractor in the present study may provide a feasible and convenient method for intraoperative measurement of distractive resistance.
Although platinum‑based chemotherapy is the first‑line choice for locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients, accelerated recurrence and chemoresistance remain inevitable. New evidence suggests that metabolism reprogramming under stress involves independent processes that are executed with a variety of proteins. This study investigated the functions of nutrient stress (NS)‑mediated acetyl‑CoA synthetase short‑chain family member 2 (ACSS2) in cell proliferation and cisplatin‑resistance and examined its combined effects with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), a key regulator of DNA replication and repair. Here, it was demonstrated that under NS, when the AMP‑activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway was activated, ESCC cells maintained proliferation and chemoresistance was distinctly upregulated as determined by CCK‑8 assay. As determined using immunoblotting and RT‑qPCR, compared with normal esophageal epithelial cells (Het‑1A), ESCC cells were less sensitive to NS and showed increased intracellular levels of ACSS2. Moreover, it was shown that ACSS2 inhibition by siRNA not only greatly interfered with proliferation under NS but also participated in DNA repair after cisplatin treatment via PCNA suppression, and the acceleration of cell death was dependent on the activation of the AMPK pathway as revealed by the Annexin V/PI and TUNEL assay results. Our study identified crosstalk between nutrient supply and chemoresistance that could be exploited therapeutically to target AMPK signaling, and the results suggest ACSS2 as a potential biomarker for identifying higher‑risk patients.
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