Adaptive Processing Enabled by Sodium Alginate Based Complementary Memristor for Neuromorphic Sensory System.

Adaptive processing allows sensory systems to autonomically adjust their sensitivity with exposure to a constant sensory stimulus and thus organisms to adapt to environmental variations. Bioinspired electronics with adaptive functions are highly desirable for the development of neuromorphic sensory systems (NSSs). Herein, the functions of desensitization and sensitivity changing with background intensity (i.e., Weber's law), as two fundamental cues of sensory adaptation, are biorealistically demonstrated in an Ag nanowire (NW)-embedded sodium alginate (SA) based complementary memristor. In particular, Weber's law is experimentally emulated in a single complementary memristor. Furthermore, three types of adaptive NSS unit are constructed to realize a multiple perceptual capability that processes the stimuli of illuminance, temperature, and pressure signals. Taking neuromorphic vision as an example, scotopic and photopic adaptation functions are well reproduced for image enhancement against dark and bright backgrounds. Importantly, an NSS system with multisensory integration function is demonstrated by combining light and pressure spikes, where the accuracy of pattern recognition is obviously enhanced relative to that of an individual sense. This work offers a new strategy for developing neuromorphic electronics with adaptive functions and paves the way toward developing a highly efficient NSS.

Characterization of AB598, a CD39 Enzymatic Inhibitory Antibody for the Treatment of Solid Tumors.

AB598 is a CD39 inhibitory antibody being pursued for the treatment of solid tumors in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. CD39 metabolizes extracellular ATP (eATP), an alarmin capable of promoting anti-tumor immune responses, into adenosine, an immuno-inhibitory metabolite. By inhibiting CD39, the consumption of eATP is reduced, resulting in a pro-inflammatory milieu in which eATP can activate myeloid cells to promote anti-tumor immunity. The preclinical characterization of AB598 provides a mechanistic rationale for combining AB598 with chemotherapy in the clinic. Chemotherapy can induce ATP release from tumor cells and, when preserved by AB598, both chemotherapy-induced eATP and exogenously added ATP promote the function of monocyte-derived dendritic cells via P2Y11 signaling. Inhibition of CD39 in the presence of ATP can promote inflammasome activation in in vitro-derived macrophages, an effect mediated by P2X7. In a MOLP8 murine xenograft model, AB598 results in full inhibition of intratumoral enzymatic activity, an increase in intratumoral ATP, a decrease of extracellular CD39 on tumor cells, and ultimately, control of tumor growth. In cynomolgus monkeys, systemically dosed AB598 results in effective enzymatic inhibition in tissues, full peripheral and tissue target engagement, and a reduction in cell surface CD39 both in tissues and in the periphery. Taken together, these data support a promising therapeutic strategy of harnessing the eATP generated by standard-of-care chemotherapies to prime the tumor microenvironment for a productive anti-tumor immune response.

Fc-Silent Anti-TIGIT Antibodies Potentiate Antitumor Immunity without Depleting Regulatory T Cells.

T-cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domains (TIGIT) is an inhibitory receptor on immune cells that outcompetes an activating receptor, CD226, for shared ligands. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes express TIGIT and CD226 on regulatory T cells (Treg) and on CD8+ T cells with tumor-reactive or exhausted phenotypes, supporting the potential of therapeutically targeting TIGIT to enhance antitumor immunity. To optimize the efficacy of therapeutic antibodies against TIGIT, it is necessary to understand IgG Fc (Fcγ) receptor binding for therapeutic benefit. In this study, we showed that combining Fc-enabled (Fce) or Fc-silent (Fcs) anti-TIGIT with antiprogrammed cell death protein 1 in mice resulted in enhanced control of tumors by differential mechanisms: Fce anti-TIGIT promoted the depletion of intratumoral Treg, whereas Fcs anti-TIGIT did not. Despite leaving Treg numbers intact, Fcs anti-TIGIT potentiated the activation of tumor-specific exhausted CD8+ populations in a lymph node-dependent manner. Fce anti-TIGIT induced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against human Treg in vitro, and significant decreases in Treg were measured in the peripheral blood of patients with phase I solid tumor cancer treated with Fce anti-TIGIT. In contrast, Fcs anti-TIGIT did not deplete human Treg in vitro and was associated with anecdotal objective clinical responses in two patients with phase I solid tumor cancer whose peripheral Treg frequencies remained stable on treatment. Collectively, these data provide evidence for pharmacologic activity and antitumor efficacy of anti-TIGIT antibodies lacking the ability to engage Fcγ receptor. SIGNIFICANCE: Fcs-silent anti-TIGIT antibodies enhance the activation of tumor-specific pre-exhausted T cells and promote antitumor efficacy without depleting T regulatory cells.

Ultrasound analysis of cervical thoracic duct for patients with constrictive pericarditis and chylothorax.

PURPOSE: To analyze ultrasound features of cervical thoracic duct for patients with constrictive pericarditis and chylothorax. METHODS: Patients were retrospectively assessed. The patients were divided into a non-pleural effusion (PE) group (n = 54), a chylothorax group (n = 23), and non-chylothorax group (n = 28). Conventional ultrasound was used to obtain the maximum inner diameter and collapse of the inferior vena cava, the inner diameter of left cervical thoracic duct, and the frequency of opening of the valve at the end of the left thoracic duct. Contrast ultrasonography was used to score the reverse flow of the thoracic tube. RESULTS: The percentage of PE was 48.5%, and the percentage of chylothorax was 21.9%. The three groups had significant differences in five parameters. The inner diameter of left cervical thoracic duct was correlated with the degree of central venous pressure. Contrast ultrasonography was effective in quantitative assessment of the degree of intravenous-thoracic cord reverse flow which correlated with all parameters of central venous pressure. CONCLUSION: Thoracic duct dilation and regurgitation secondary to central venous pressure can lead to chyloreflux disorder and may be the mechanism of chylothorax occurrence in constrictive pericarditis.

Inorganic carbon is overlooked in global soil carbon research: A bibliometric analysis.

Soils are a major player in the global carbon (C) cycle and climate change by functioning as a sink or a source of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The largest terrestrial C reservoir in soils comprises two main pools: organic (SOC) and inorganic C (SIC), each having distinct fates and functions but with a large disparity in global research attention. This study quantified global soil C research trends and the proportional focus on SOC and SIC pools based on a bibliometric analysis and raise the importance of SIC pools fully underrepresented in research, applications, and modeling. Studies on soil C pools started in 1905 and has produced over 47,000 publications (>1.7 million citations). Although the global C stocks down to 2 m depth are nearly the same for SOC and SIC, the research has dominantly examined SOC (>96 % of publications and citations) with a minimal share on SIC (<4%). Approximately 40 % of the soil C research was related to climate change. Despite poor coverage and publications, the climate change-related research impact (citations per document) of SIC studies was higher than that of SOC. Mineral associated organic carbon, machine learning, soil health, and biochar were the recent top trend topics for SOC research (2020-2023), whereas digital soil mapping, soil properties, soil acidification, and calcite were recent top trend topics for SIC. SOC research was contributed by 151 countries compared to 88 for SIC. As assessed by publications, soil C research was mainly concentrated in a few countries, with only 9 countries accounting for 70 % of the research. China and the USA were the major producers (45 %), collaborators (37 %), and funders of soil C research. SIC is a long-lived soil C pool with a turnover rate (leaching and recrystallization) of more than 1000 years in natural ecosystems, but intensive agricultural practices have accelerated SIC losses, making SIC an important player in global C cycle and climate change. The lack of attention and investment towards SIC research could jeopardize the ongoing efforts to mitigate climate change impacts to meet the 1.5-2.0 °C targets under the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. This bibliographic study calls to expand the research focus on SIC and including SIC fluxes in C budgets and models, without which the representation of the global C cycle is incomplete.

Ti3C2Tx MXene- and Sulfuric Acid-Treated Double-Network Hydrogel with Ultralow Conductive Filler Content for Stretchable Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

Hydrogels are emerging as stretchable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials because of their tissue-like mechanical properties and water-rich porous cellular structures. However, achieving high-performance hydrogel shields remains a challenge because enhancing conductivity often results in a compromise in deformation adoptability. This work proposes a treatment strategy involving sulfuric acid/titanium carbide MXene, which can simultaneously enhance the conductivity and stretchability of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) double-network hydrogels. Multiple spectroscopic characterizations reveal that sulfuric acid promotes the linear conformation transition of the PEDOT molecular chain, while MXene increases charge delocalization and hydrogen bond cross-linking sites. The hydrogels, synthesized with a combined content of 0.6 wt % of MXene and PEDOT:PSS, exhibit an average X-band EMI SE of 41 dB. This performance is sustained at 94.5%, even following stretching and release at a strain of 200%. Interestingly, the EMI SE is found to linearly increase, reaching a value of 99 dB as the frequency is increased to 26.5 GHz. This increase is attributed to the enhanced water molecular polarization process, as supported by theoretical calculations of the impedance and attenuation constant. This work introduces a post-treatment technique that optimizes double-network hydrogels, providing deep insights into their EMI shielding mechanism and enabling high-performance EMI shielding with an ultralow conductive filler content.

[Spatial Variation Characteristics, Influencing Factors, and Sources of Hydrogeochemical of Surface Water and Groundwater in Mountainous Area of Hutuo River].

Surface runoff has dropped sharply in the mountainous area of the Hutuo River, posing a huge challenge to the sustainable use of groundwater in the North China Plain (NCP). The Taihang Mountain area is the main recharge source area of groundwater in the NCP. An in-depth study of spatial variation characteristics, influencing factors, and sources of hydrogeochemical characteristics of surface water and groundwater in the mountainous area of the Hutuo River can facilitate a comprehensive understanding of regional water resource status and sustainable utilization of water resources. Based on isotopic, hydrogeochemical, and mathematical statistics methods, this study analyzed spatial variation of hydrochemical characteristics in surface water and groundwater and its sources and main controlling factors. The results showed that the river water, well water, and spring water were all recharged by atmospheric precipitation in the mountainous areas of the Hutuo River. Under the combined influence of natural factors and human factors, the hydrogeochemical characteristics of river, well, and spring water showed large spatial differences. On the whole, the hydrochemical types of mainstreams were relatively concentrated. In the upper and lower mining reach areas, the mainstream water chemical type was dominated by Ca·Mg-SO4·HCO3, whereas that in the natural vegetation area (middle reach:between Qingshui River and Longhua River) was dominated by Ca·Mg-HCO3·SO4. In the upper stream, the main hydrochemical type of the Yukou River and Ehe River tributaries was Ca·Mg-SO4·HCO3, which was consistent with that of the main stream. The main hydrochemical types of the Muma River and Qingshui River tributaries were Ca-HCO3, Ca·Mg-HCO3, and Ca·Mg-HCO3·SO4 in the midstream. The main hydrochemical types of the Mianhe River and Yehe River tributaries were Ca-SO4, Ca·Mg-SO4, and Ca·Mg-SO4·HCO3. Mineral dissolution was still the main controlling factor for the hydrochemical characteristics of surface water and groundwater in the mountainous area of the Hutuo River. The contribution rates were 69.86% and 18.84% for mineral dissolution and human activities, respectively. Therefore, in the future, water resource utilization in the upper reaches of the Hutuo River should not only consider the issue of water quantity but also a series of water environment problems such as nitrate pollution and mining pollution caused by human activities.

Polyacrylonitrile Passivation for Enhancing the Optoelectronic Switching Performance of Halide Perovskite Memristor for Image Boolean Logic Applications.

For the CH3NH3PbI3-based optoelectronic memristor, the high ion-migration randomness induces high fluctuation in the resistive switching (RS) parameters. Grain boundaries (GBs) are well known as the ion-migration sites due to their low energy barrier. Herein, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) passivation method is developed to reduce GBs of the CH3NH3PbI3 film and improve the switching uniformity of the memristor. The crystal grain size of CH3NH3PbI3 increases with the addition of PAN, and the corresponding number of GBs is consequently reduced. The fluctuations of the RS parameters of the memristor device are significantly reduced. With the memristor, nonvolatile image sensing, image memory, and image Boolean operations are demonstrated. This work proposes a strategy for developing high-performance CH3NH3PbI3 optoelectronic memristors.

Temperature and organic carbon quality control the anaerobic carbon mineralization in peat profiles via modulating microbes: A case study of Changbai Mountain.

Peatlands account for a significant fraction of the global carbon stock. However, the complex interplay of abiotic and biotic factors governing anaerobic carbon mineralization in response to warming remains unclear. In this study, peat sediments were collected from a typical northern peatland-Changbai Mountain to investigate the behavior and mechanism of anaerobic carbon mineralization in response to depth (0-200 cm) and temperature (5 °C, 15 °C and 20 °C), by integrating geochemical and microbial analysis. Several indices including humification indexes (HI), aromaticity, and water extractable organic carbon (WEOC) components were applied to evaluate carbon quality, while 16S rRNA sequencing was used to measure microbial composition. Regardless of temperature, degradations of carbon quality and associated reduction in microbial abundance as well as diversity resulted in a decrease in anaerobic carbon mineralization (both CO2 and CH4) towards greater depth. Warming either from 5 °C to 15 °C or 20 °C significantly increased anaerobic carbon mineralization in all depth profiles by improving carbon availability. Enhanced carbon availabilities were mediated by the change in microbial composition (p < 0.01) and an increase in metabolic activities, which was particularly evident in the enhanced ß-glucosidase activity and microbial collaborations. A remarkable increase of over 10-fold in the relative abundance of the Geothrix genus was observed under warming. Overall, warming resulted in an enhanced contribution of CH4 emission and a higher ratio of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, as evidenced by carbon isotope fractionation factors. In addition, deep peat soils (>100 cm) with recalcitrant carbon demonstrated greater temperature sensitivity (Q10: ∼2.0) than shallow peat soils (Q10:∼1.2) when temperature increased from 15 °C to 20 °C. The findings of this study have significantly deepened our understanding for mechanisms of carbon quality and microbe-driven anaerobic carbon mineralization in peatlands under global warming.

The effects of different analgesic methods on chronic pain in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

Introduction: Thoracic epidural block, paravertebral block, and intercostal nerve block have been confirmed to alleviate acute pain after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). In contrast, little is known about the effects of these methods on chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP). Aim: To investigate the effects of epidural block, paravertebral block, and intercostal nerve block on postoperative chronic pain in patients undergoing VATS. Material and methods: A total of 240 patients undergoing VATS were randomly divided into 4 groups: an epidural group, paravertebral group, intercostal group, and a control group. All patients were interviewed after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months to investigate the incidence and severity of CPSP. Results: The epidural group had lower incidence of chronic pain within 6 months and it was less severe within 3 months compared with the control group. The incidence and intensity of chronic pain within 3 months were lower in the intercostal group than in the control group. The incidence and intensity of pain within 1 month of surgery were lower in the paravertebral group than in the control group. Of the 122 patients who developed pain after 1 month, 93 (76.2%) reported chronic pain after 12 months, and only 9 (11.7%) had chronic pain after 12 months despite reporting no pain at 1 month. Conclusions: The prevalence of CPSP after VATS is high. Epidural block, paravertebral block, and intercostal nerve block can all reduce the incidence and severity of CPSP, with epidural block showing the best effect. In addition to acute pain, 1-month postoperative pain also exerts a warning effect on CPSP.

Impaired tolerance to the autoantigen LL-37 in acute coronary syndrome.

Background: LL-37 is the only member of the cathelicidin family of antimicrobial peptides in humans and is an autoantigen in several autoimmune diseases and in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In this report, we profiled the specific T cell response to the autoimmune self-antigen LL-37 and investigated the factors modulating the response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy subjects and ACS patients. Methods and results: The activation induced marker (AIM) assay demonstrated differential T cell profiles characterized by the persistence of CD134 and CD137, markers that impair tolerance and promote immune effector and memory response, in ACS compared to Controls. Specifically, CD8+CD69+CD137+ T cells were significantly increased by LL-37 stimulation in ACS PBMCs. T effector cell response to LL-37 were either HLA dependent or independent as determined by blocking with monoclonal antibody to either Class-I HLA or Class-II HLA. Blocking of immune checkpoints PD-1 and CTLA-4 demonstrated the control of self-reactive T cell response to LL-37 was modulated predominantly by CTLA-4. Platelets from healthy controls down-modulated CD8+CD69+CD137+ T cell response to LL-37 in autologous PBMCs. CD8+CD69+CD137+ T cell AIM profile negatively correlated with platelet count in ACS patients. Conclusions: Our report demonstrates that the immune response to the autoantigen LL-37 in ACS patients is characterized specifically by CD8+CD69+CD137+ T cell AIM profile with persistent T cell activation and the generation of immunologic memory. The results provide potentially novel insight into mechanistic pathways of antigen-specific immune signaling in ACS.

Doppler Frequency-Shift Information Processing in WOx -Based Memristive Synapse for Auditory Motion Perception.

Auditory motion perception is one crucial capability to decode and discriminate the spatiotemporal information for neuromorphic auditory systems. Doppler frequency-shift feature and interaural time difference (ITD) are two fundamental cues of auditory information processing. In this work, the functions of azimuth detection and velocity detection, as the typical auditory motion perception, are demonstrated in a WOx -based memristive synapse. The WOx memristor presents both the volatile mode (M1) and semi-nonvolatile mode (M2), which are capable of implementing the high-pass filtering and processing the spike trains with a relative timing and frequency shift. In particular, the Doppler frequency-shift information processing for velocity detection is emulated in the WOx memristor based auditory system for the first time, which relies on a scheme of triplet spike-timing-dependent-plasticity in the memristor. These results provide new opportunities for the mimicry of auditory motion perception and enable the auditory sensory system to be applied in future neuromorphic sensing.

Multi-Wavelength-Recognizable Memristive Devices via Surface Plasmon Resonance Effect for Color Visual System.

Photoelectric memristor has attracted many attentions thanks to their promising potential in optical communication chips and artificial vision systems. However, the implementation of an artificial visual system based on memristive devices remains a considerable challenge because most photoelectric memristors cannot recognize color. Herein, multi-wavelength recognizable memristive devices based on silver(Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) and porous silicon oxide (SiOx ) nanocomposites are presented. Rely on the effects of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and optical excitation of Ag NPs in SiOx , the set voltage of the device can be gradually reduced. Moreover, the current overshoot problem is alleviated to suppress conducting filament overgrowth after visible light irradiation with different wavelengths, resulting in diverse low resistance states (LRS). Taking advantage of the characteristics of controlled switching voltage and LRS resistance distribution, color image recognition is finally realized in the present work. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) show that the light irradiation plays an important role on resistive switching (RS) process: the photo-assisted Ag ionization leads to a significant reduction of set voltage and overshoot current. This work provides an effective method toward the development of multi-wavelength-recognizable memristive devices for future artificial color vision system.

Neglected Aspects of SARS-CoV-2 Aerosol Transmission in Bathrooms of Multistory and High-Rise Buildings - Beijing Municipality, China, October 2022.

What is already known about this topic?: There is a toilet flush-soil stack-floor drain pathway of aerosol transmission in multistory and high-rise buildings, but the influencing factors are not completely clear. What is added by this report?: The poor airtightness of the connecting parts of the floor drain, as well as pressure fluctuations in the sewage pipe during toilet flushing caused by blockage of the soil stack vent, may lead to the cross-floor transmission of viral aerosols through the soil stack and floor drains. What are the implications for public health practice?: In multistory and high-rise buildings, the bathroom floor drains should be kept sealed, and floor drain connecting parts should be airtight. Furthermore, the soil stack vent should not be blocked. In this way, the cross-floor transmission of viral aerosols can be effectively reduced.

Exploring the Transmission Path, Influencing Factors and Risk of Aerosol Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.

SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence results collected from native COVID-19 cases who waited or saw relatives off at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport were highly consistent with the imported cases. In order to explore the routes of transmission and influencing factors that may cause the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at the airport, a field simulation experiment of aerosol diffusion was adopted based on epidemiological survey data and a detailed field investigation of airport structure and ventilation. The results showed that the inbound passengers waited for approximately 3 h in the rest area on the first level of the international arrival area (Zone E). During the period, masks were removed for eating and drinking, resulting in the viral aerosols rising from the first level to the second level with hot air. After deplaning, the inbound passengers handled the relevant procedures and passed through the corridor on the second floor. The local side wall of the corridor adopted fan coil air conditioning, combined with fresh air supply and personnel walking, resulting in airflow flowing to Zone E. After merging with diffused air containing virus aerosol from the first floor, it continued to spread upward to the connected third-layer area. There was a local suspended ceiling on the top of the third floor, but it was approximately 4 m high and connected to the corridor from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3. When the virus aerosol diffused above the Terminal 2-Terminal 3 corridor, where the temperature was low and the air diffused downward, it could cause an infection risk for people passing through the corridor. In addition, the investigation found that the exhaust pipes of the nucleic acid sampling rooms at the international arrival corridor were directly discharged outdoors without treatment. Only one exhaust pipe and poor ventilation in the bathroom in Zone E had a risk of viral aerosol diffusion. Therefore, the international arrival area should be set up alone or separated from the other areas by hard isolation to avoid the existence of communication between different areas that could cause viral aerosols to diffuse with airflow. The toilet ventilation should be increased to avoid the accumulation of viral aerosols at high concentrations. The exhaust pipes of the toilet and the nucleic acid sampling rooms should be equipped with disinfection and efficient filtration devices, and high-altitude emission should be adopted to reduce the risk of virus aerosol diffusion.

U-Shaped Relationship of Sodium-to-chloride Ratio on admission and Mortality in Elderly Patients with Heart Failure: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Serum sodium and chloride have clinical significance in the prognosis of heart failure. Little is known regarding the prognostic value of sodium-to-chloride (Na/Cl) ratio in patients with heart failure. This study sought to investigate the association between Na/Cl ratio on admission and mortality risk of elderly patients with acute heart failure in a retrospective cohort. We included 1819 patients (aged over 60) from the Zigong Heart Failure Study. Patients were grouped according to Na/Cl ratio and followed up for all-cause mortality at 3 months. Restricted cubic spline, cox proportional hazard regression and Kaplan-Meier curve were used to examine the correlation between serum Na/Cl ratio on admission and mortality risk. Restricted cubic spline analysis suggested a U-shaped association between Na/Cl ratio on admission and 3 months mortality risk (P nonlinearity <0.001), with the nadir of risk at 1.34. After adjustment for multivariate, patients with Na/Cl ratio <1.3 or ≥ 1.4 had hazard ratios for mortality of 3.58 (95% CI, 1.63-7.84) and 2.66 (95% CI, 1.23-5.72) compared with those with Na/Cl ratio of 1.3-1.4. The cumulative hazard of mortality estimates significantly differed across Na/Cl ratio groups (log-rank P<0.001). Subgroup analysis showed there were no interactions with absent or present of hyponatremia and hypochloremia (P for interaction all >0.05). Both low and high Na/Cl ratios were associated with an increased mortality risk in elderly patients with acute heart failure. Further studies need to verify these 2 biochemical phenotypes and develop corresponding treatment strategies.

Real-time numerical system convertor via two-dimensional WS2-based memristive device.

The intriguing properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) enable the exploration of new electronic device architectures, particularly the emerging memristive devices for in-memory computing applications. Implementation of arithmetic logic operations taking advantage of the non-linear characteristics of memristor can significantly improve the energy efficiency and simplify the complexity of peripheral circuits. Herein, we demonstrate an arithmetic logic unit function using a lateral volatile memristor based on layered 2D tungsten disulfide (WS2) materials and some combinational logic circuits. Removable oxygen ions were introduced into WS2 materials through oxygen plasma treatment process. The resistive switching of the memristive device caused by the thermophoresis-assisted oxygen ions migration has also been revealed. Based on the characteristics of excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC), paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), and spike rate dependent plasticity (SRDP), a real-time numerical system convertor was successfully accomplished, which is a significant computing function of arithmetic logic unit. This work paves a new way for developing 2D memristive devices for future arithmetic logic applications.

Simultaneous Determination of 32 Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Two Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparations by UPLC-MS/MS.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) constitute a class of phytotoxin which demonstrates strong hepatotoxicity. In China, many plants containing PAs are used as traditional medicines or medicinal preparations, which could harm human health and safety. Xiaoyao Tablet (XYT) is an antidepressant drug registered in the European Union (EU), Compound Danshen Dropping Pills (CDDP) is a commonly used drug for coronary heart disease, and phase III clinical study is ongoing in the United States. The purpose of this study is to provide data to support the use of Chinese medicine preparations internationally and to establish analytical methods for 32 PAs in XYT and CDDP. The extraction parameters that were optimized include solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge, extraction method, and extraction solvent. Then ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-traptandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed to effectively and efficiently quantify the 32 PAs of the XYT and CDDP. The analytical methods for XYT and CDDP were verified respectively. For XYT, the analytical method for 32 PAs was linear, and the correlation coefficient r was greater than 0.994; the recovery (REC%) at 10-2000 µg/kg was 73.3%-118.5%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD%) was 2.1%-15.4%. The CDDP REC% was 71.8%-112.0%, and the RSD% was 2.0%-17.1%. This study provides technical and data support for the registration of Chinese patented medicines in the EU, controls quality and ensures safety, and is committed to the internationalization and standardization of Chinese patented medicines.