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For the centralized optimization, it is well known that adding one momentum term (also called the heavy-ball method) can obtain a faster convergence rate than the gradient method. However, for the distributed counterpart, there is quite few results about the effect of added momentum terms on the convergence rate. This article is aimed at studying the issue in the distributed setup, where $N$ agents minimize the sum of their individual cost functions using local communication over a network. The cost functions are twice continuously differentiable. We first study the algorithm with one momentum term and develop a distributed heavy-ball (D-HB) method by adding one momentum term on to the distributed gradient algorithm. By borrowing tools from the control theory, we provide a simple convergence proof and an explicit expression of the optimal convergence rate. Furthermore, we consider adding two momentum terms case and propose a distributed double-heavy-ball (D-DHB) method. We show that adding one momentum term allows faster convergence while adding two momentum terms does not perform any superiorities. Finally, simulation examples are given to illustrate our findings.

ABSTRACTMost of the current alternative splicing (AS) analysis tools are powerless to analyse complex splicing. To address this, we developed SUVA (Splice sites Usage Variation Analysis) that decomposes complex splicing events into five types of splice junction pairs. By analysing real and simulated data, SUVA showed higher sensitivity and accuracy in detecting AS events than the compared methods. Notably, SUVA detected extensive complex AS events and screened out 69 highly conserved and dominant AS events associated with cancer. The cancer-associated complex AS events in FN1 and the co-regulated RNA-binding proteins were significantly correlated with patient survival.

AbstractA variety of Essential oils (EOs) exhibited effective antibacterial activity to prevent the growth of foodborne bacteria. However, the antibacterial activity of the EO from Echinops ritroL is almost unknown. Here, the EO was first exacted from Echinops ritroL. and was evaluated for its antibacterial activity. GC-MS analysis firstly confirmed the major components of Echinops ritroL.EO. Then the EO exerted potent inhibitory effects against E. coli, S. aureus, and SalmonellaEnteritidis with MIC values of 2.5, 0.15, and 0.6 mg/ ml; also, the MBC values were 7.5, 1.0, and 3.0 mg/ml, indicating that the EO possessed remarkable antibacterial and bactericidal properties. Moreover, observations of changes to the cell microstructure, biofilm inhibition, cell viability assay, and whole-cell proteins methods provided a further means to study the functional mechanism, showing remarkable EO-specific antibiofilm and disruption of the bacterial membrane, which provides a strategy for designing new antibacterial agents.