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Radars form a central piece in a variety of emerging applications requiring higher degrees of localization. However, two problems are anticipated as more radars are deployed: viz., (i) inter-radar interference and (ii) security attacks. While many prior proposals have addressed the problems, no work in the radar literature addressed them simultaneously. In this context, we introduce a novel frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar scheme (namely, BlueFMCW) that aims to alleviate the damage from interference and active attacks (e.g., spoofing). The technique designs that the waveform randomly hops across multiple frequencies to dilute the damage at a certain frequency. Moreover, we propose a phase alignment algorithm to remove the phase discontinuity while combining the beat signals from the randomly-hopped chirps. The simulation results show that the proposed technique can efficiently mitigate the interference and spoofing signals in various scenarios without costing its resolution.

Although digital health technologies (DHTs) help many people maintain a healthy life, including those of advanced age, these technologies are of little use to older adult populations if they are not being adopted in daily life. Thus, it is critical to identify ways to help older adults recognize and try new technologies and maintain their use of them to maximize the benefits of these technologies in a digital-based society. Our study aimed (1) to assess the current usage of DHT among older adults in Hong Kong and (2) to examine how high and low levels of eHealth literacy in this group affects the relationship between the Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM) and attitudes and intention toward DHT. A total of 306 adults over 60 years of age in Hong Kong participated in this study. After conducting confirmatory factor analysis to validate the measurement model, the hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. Optimism was significantly related to perceived usefulness, while optimism, innovativeness, and discomfort were significantly associated with perceived ease of use. Both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were significantly linked to attitude toward the use of DHTs. Meanwhile, attitude significantly predicted usage intention. Additionally, the results revealed the differences in the relationships of the TRAM between participants with high and low levels of eHealth literacy. The influence of optimism and innovativeness on perceived ease of use was stronger for the higher-level group than for the lower-level group, and the influence of discomfort for the higher-level group was much weaker. The findings provided partial support for the impact of eHealth literacy on encouraging older adults to use DHT and obtain health benefits from it. This study also suggests providing assistance and guidelines for older adults to narrow the aging-related technology gap and to further explore the associations of eHealth literacy, the TRAM, and actual behaviors.

The purpose of the current study was to examine how perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange influence job satisfaction through organizational trust among sport referees. A total of 602 referees, most of whom were part-time referees, from 13 different sports in China participated in an online survey. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that leader-member exchange had a significant positive relationship with job satisfaction, while perceived organizational support did not. In addition, the results revealed that organizational trust fully mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction, while it partially mediated the relationship between leader-member exchange and job satisfaction. These findings suggested that the level of trust that referees had in their organization played a critical role in the impact of perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange on job satisfaction. The findings of this study highlight the importance of positive relationships between referees and their supervisors to improve job satisfaction. Additionally, fostering a culture of trust could enhance the effectiveness of social exchange relationships (i.e., perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange). The study contributes to the existing literature on social exchange theory and job satisfaction, providing implications for how organizations can improve job satisfaction by focusing on social exchange relationships (i.e., perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange) and trust-building.

Wireless technologies now take every part of one’s everyday life. As such, it will be no longer a surprise if a blockchain system is composed of wirelessly connected nodes. However, wireless communication is known for its inherent unreliability caused by noise, interference, limited bandwidth, etc. Motivated by this fundamental problem, this paper investigates the impact of wireless communications on the performance of three representative consensus mechanisms, viz., proof of work (PoW), proof of stake (PoS), and proof of coverage (PoC). It features a comprehensive analytical framework that mathematically derives metrics quantifying the scalability and the level of decentralization of the three consensus mechanisms, constituting a key contribution of this work. The paper then proceeds to present extensive simulation results as a means to confirm the underpinning theoretical findings. Overall, we emphasize that the framework’s holisticity will allow it to be applied to diverse consensus mechanisms.

AimsTo investigate macular vascular integrity using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients undergoing vitrectomy for idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) removal and to determine its association with structural and visual outcomes.MethodsForty-three patients with unilateral ERM who were followed for ≥6 months after surgery were included. Ophthalmological evaluations included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) before surgery and 6 months after surgery. We obtained en face OCTA images of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) for both eyes 6 months after ERM removal. We compared eyes with ERM to unaffected fellow eyes as controls and used interocular differences in the analyses.ResultsCompared with the fellow eyes, eyes with ERM after surgery had a lower parafoveal vascular density (VD) and a smaller foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area in both SCP and DCP (all p<0.001). Interocular differences in the FAZ area and parafoveal VD were correlated with preoperative and postoperative central foveal thicknesses (all p<0.05). In addition, interocular differences in macular vascular integrity had a tendency to be correlated with SD-OCT parameters of the inner retinal layers. Finally, greater interocular differences in the FAZ area and parafoveal VD of both plexuses were significantly associated with worse postoperative BCVAs (all p<0.05).ConclusionsAssessing macular capillary plexuses via OCTA may be useful to quantify structural changes of the inner retinal layer and predict visual function in patients undergoing ERM removal surgery.

(1) Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the intervention effects of physical activity and sedentary behavior on the relationship between various influencing factors and mental health outcomes in the elderly. (2) Methods: Complied data collected from a nationwide survey conducted between 2013 and 2022 were analyzed using the X-Learner algorithm to explore these relationships. (3) Results: The findings indicate that engagement in both high- and moderate-intensity physical activities leads to statistically significant improvements in depression, suicidal ideation, and stress levels compared to non-participation. (4) Conclusions: The study emphasizes the essential role of physical activity in enhancing the mental health of the elderly in South Korea, demonstrating that high- and moderate-intensity exercise can effectively reduce depression, suicidal thoughts, and perceived stress. It also highlights the detrimental effects of prolonged sedentary behavior on the mental health of older adults.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a 5-year survival rate of <10%, as it can metastasize to the lungs and liver. Anticancer drugs and targeted therapies used to treat metastatic colorectal cancer have insufficient therapeutic efficacy and are associated with complications. Therefore, research to develop new targeted therapeutics is necessary. Here, we present a novel discovery that intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a potential therapeutic target to enhance therapeutic effectiveness for CRC. ICAM-1 is an important regulator of cell–cell interactions and recent studies have shown that it promotes malignancy in several carcinomas. However, little is known about its effect on CRC. Therefore, we conducted a study to define the mechanism by which ICAM-1 acts. ICAM-1 is phosphorylated by tyrosine-protein kinase Met (c-MET), and phosphorylated ICAM-1 can interact with SRC to increase SRC activity. Consequently, ICAM-1 may further accelerate SRC signaling, promoting the malignant potential of cancer. In addition, treatment with antibodies targeting ICAM-1 showed excellent therapeutic effects in reducing metastasis and angiogenesis. These findings suggest for the first time that ICAM-1 is an important adapter protein capable of mediating the c-MET-SRC signaling axis. Therefore, ICAM-1 can be used as a novel therapeutic target and a metastatic marker for CRC.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive subtype, presents a critical challenge due to the absence of approved targeted therapies. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify effective therapeutic targets for this condition. While epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is prominently expressed in TNBC and recognized as a therapeutic target, anti-EGFR therapies have yet to gain approval for breast cancer treatment due to their associated side effects and limited efficacy. Here, we discovered that intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) exhibits elevated expression levels in metastatic breast cancer and serves as a pivotal binding adaptor for EGFR activation, playing a crucial role in malignant progression. The activation of EGFR by tumor-expressed ICAM-1 initiates biased signaling within the JAK1/STAT3 pathway, consequently driving epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and facilitating heightened metastasis without influencing tumor growth. Remarkably, ICAM-1-neutralizing antibody treatment significantly suppressed cancer metastasis in a breast cancer orthotopic xenograft mouse model. In conclusion, our identification of ICAM-1 as a novel tumor intrinsic regulator of EGFR activation offers valuable insights for the development of TNBC-specific anti-EGFR therapies.

In this study, numerical modeling through the cohesive zone theory was performed to simulate the end notch flexure (ENF) test with same conditions of the experimental results of previous study that investigated the effect of a carbon nanotube (CNT)/epoxy film in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite through the mode II interlaminar fracture toughness of a non-interleaved, epoxy film interleaved, CNT/epoxy film interleaved CFRP laminate specimen. The effect of the presence of CNT/epoxy film interleave on a composite laminate was modeled. The influence of the interleave cohesive parameters was studied to link the parameters to the material strength and energy release rate. Cohesive parameter identification was performed by matching the initial loading and the damage evolution phase by dividing the cohesive zones into cohesive front and remaining cohesive zones. This is because, when modeling with a single cohesive zone, the critical load point that causes delamination or the curve after load drop do not match the experimental values. Results showed that the divided cohesive zone model is in good agreement with the experimental results and that there is a clear relationship between the cohesive energy of the interface and CNT/epoxy film parameters.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have already been acknowledged to be the most viable solution to the climate change that the entire globe has long been combating. Along the same line, it is a salient subject to expand the availability of EV charging infrastructure, which quintessentially necessitates the optimization of the charger’s locations. This paper proposes to formulate the optimal EV charger location problem into a facility location problem (FLP). As an effort to find an efficient method to solve the well-known nonpolynomial deterministic (NP) hard problem, we present a comparative quantification among several representative solving techniques. This paper features two comprehensive case studies representing regions with an average and a high density of EVs. As such, this paper shows that the proposed framework can lead to successful location optimization with adequate refinement of solving techniques.