Combination of vegetable soup and glucan demonstrates synergistic effects on macrophage-mediated immune responses

Vegetable soup (VS), a plant-based functional food, has been used as a traditional folk medicine and is attracting attention for its ability to enhance the immune response. β-Glucan, a well-established and effective immunomodulator, has synergistic effects when used in combination with some bioactive compounds. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the synergistic immunomodulatory effects of the combination of VS and β-glucan on macrophage-mediated immune responses. β-Glucan was demonstrated to synergistically enhance the VS-stimulated immune response, including the production of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and nitric oxide, mainly through the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in macrophages. In addition, this combination has the potential for further development in functional foods with immune-enhancing activity.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00888-x.     

Elliptical distribution-based weight-determining method for ordered weighted averaging operators

The ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operators play a crucial role in aggregating multiple criteria evaluations into an overall assessment supporting the decision makers’ choice. One key point steps is to determine the associated weights. In this paper, we first briefly review some main methods for determining the weights by using distribution functions. Then we propose a new approach for determining OWA weights by using the regular increasing monotone quantifier. Motivated by the idea of normal distribution-based method to determine the OWA weights, we develop a method based on elliptical distributions for determining the OWA weights, and some of its desirable properties have been investigated.     

Some q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic aggregation operators and their application to multiple attribute group decision making

q-Rung orthopair fuzzy sets (q-ROFSs), originally presented by Yager, are a powerful fuzzy information representation model, which generalize the classical intuitionistic fuzzy sets and Pythagorean fuzzy sets and provide more freedom and choice for decision makers (DMs) by allowing the sum of the $q\mathrm{t}\mathrm{h}$ power of the membership and the $q\mathrm{t}\mathrm{h}$ power of the nonmembership to be less than or equal to 1. In this paper, a new class of fuzzy sets called q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic sets (q-ROULSs) based on the q-ROFSs and uncertain linguistic variables (ULVs) is proposed, and this can describe the qualitative assessment of DMs and provide them more freedom in reflecting their belief about allowable membership grades. On the basis of the proposed operational rules and comparison method of q-ROULSs, several q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic aggregation operators are developed, including the q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic weighted arithmetic average operator, the q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic ordered weighted average operator, the q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic hybrid weighted average operator, the q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic weighted geometric average operator, the q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic ordered weighted geometric operator, and the q-rung orthopair uncertain linguistic hybrid weighted geometric operator. Then, some desirable properties and special cases of these new operators are also investigated and studied, in particular, some existing intuitionistic fuzzy aggregation operators and Pythagorean fuzzy aggregation operators are proved to be special cases of these new operators. Furthermore, based on these proposed operators, we develop an approach to solve the multiple attribute group decision making problems, in which the evaluation information is expressed as q-rung orthopair ULVs. Finally, we provide several examples to illustrate the specific decision-making steps and explain the validity and feasibility of two methods by comparing with other methods.     

Multicriteria decision-making using Archimedean aggregation operators in Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy environment

In multicriteria decision-making (MCDM), the existing aggregation operators are mostly based on algebraic t-conorm and t-norm. But, Archimedean t-conorms and t-norms are the generalized forms of t-conorms and t-norms which include algebraic, Einstein, Hamacher, Frank, and other types of t-conorms and t-norms. From that view point, in this paper the concepts of Archimedean t-conorm and t-norm are introduced to aggregate Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy information. Some new operational laws for Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy numbers based on Archimedean t-conorm and t-norm have been proposed. Using those operational laws, Archimedean t-conorm and t-norm-based Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy weighted averaging operator and weighted geometric operator are developed. Some of their desirable properties have also been investigated. Afterwards, these operators are applied to solve MCDM problems in Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy environment. The developed Archimedean aggregation operators are also applicable in Pythagorean fuzzy contexts also. To demonstrate the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of the proposed method, a practical problem is considered, solved, and compared with other existing method.     

改进的区间犹豫算子应用于物流企业选择决策

针对现有区间犹豫模糊Hamacher算子存在的缺陷，构建了一种基于改进的区间犹豫模糊Hamacher加权算子的群决策方法。在分析现有区间犹豫模糊Hamacher算子不能满足幂等性的基础上，定义新的区间犹豫模糊Hamacher四则运算；提出两种改进的区间犹豫模糊Hamacher加权算子，包括改进的区间犹豫模糊Hamacher有序加权平均（I-IVHFHOWA）算子和改进的区间犹豫模糊Hamacher有序加权几何（I-IVHFHOWG）算子，并详细探究它们的常用算子形式以及算子之间的内在联系；建立基于I-IVHFHOWA算子和I-IVHFHOWG算子的物流企业选择决策模型，并通过实例说明模型的有效性。     

Weighted power means of q-rung orthopair fuzzy information and their applications in multiattribute decision making

Weighted power means with weights and exponents serving as their parameters are generalizations of arithmetic means. Taking into account decision makers' flexibility in decision making, each attribute value is usually expressed by a $q$-rung orthopair fuzzy value ($q$-ROFV, $q\ge 1$), where the former indicates the support for membership, the latter support against membership, and the sum of their $q$th powers is bounded by one. In this paper, we propose the weighted power means of $q$-rung orthopair fuzzy values to enrich and flourish aggregations on $q$-ROFVs. First, the $q$-rung orthopair fuzzy weighted power mean operator is presented, and its boundedness is precisely characterized in terms of the power exponent. Then, the $q$-rung orthopair fuzzy ordered weighted power mean operator is introduced, and some of its fundamental properties are investigated in detail. Finally, a novel multiattribute decision making method is explored based on developed operators under the $q$-rung orthopair fuzzy environment. A numerical example is given to illustrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed approach, and it is shown that the power exponent is an index suggesting the degree of the optimism of decision makers.     

多运营商高铁隧道移动网络覆盖方案

高铁移动网络覆盖是国内三大通信运营商的一个重点,而高铁隧道内移动网络覆盖更是运营商的一大难点痛点。文章根据我国中部省份某高铁线路覆盖规划实例,采用“设备+POI+泄漏电缆”模式,即三家运营商信号源设备通过同一POI(point of interface,多系统接入平台)接入,信号输出到泄漏电缆进行隧道覆盖,隧道口场坪站安装宽频切换天线对隧道外进行延伸覆盖,通过链路预算合理布置各运营商主设备信号源,从而实现隧道到室外的无缝覆盖。最后,根据已有成熟网络覆盖解决方案,对未来5G高铁隧道移动网络覆盖方案进行了探讨。     

Microenvironment and related genes predict outcomes of patients with cervical cancer: evidence from TCGA and bioinformatic analysis

Cervical cancer (CESC) is one of the most common cancers and affects the female genital tract. Consistent HPV infection status has been determined to be a vital cause of tumorigenesis. HPV infection may induce changes to the immune system and limit the host’s immune response. Immunotherapy is therefore essential to improving the overall survival of both locally advanced and recurrent CESC patients. Using 304 relevant samples from TCGA, we assessed immune cell function in CESC patients to better understand the status of both tumor micro-environment cells and immune cells in CESC. Functional enrichment analysis, pathway enrichment analysis, and PPI network construction were performed to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The analysis identified 425 DEGs, which included 295 up-regulated genes and 130 down-regulated genes. We established that upregulation of CCL5 was correlated with significantly better survival, meaning that CCL5 expression could serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for CESC patients. We further focused on CCL5 as a hub gene in CESC, as it had significant correlations with increased numbers of several types of immune cells. Cell-type fractions of M1 macrophages were significantly higher in the high-immune-scores group, which was associated with better overall survival. Finally, we concluded that CCL5 is a promising prognostic biomarker for CESC, as well as a novel chemotherapeutic target.