Cooperative Jamming-Based Physical-Layer Group Secret and Private Key Generation.

This paper explores physical layer group key generation in wireless relay networks with a star topology. In this setup, the relay node plays the role of either a trusted or untrusted central node, while one legitimate node (Alice) acts as the reference node. The channel between the relay and Alice serves as the reference channel. To enhance security during the channel measurement stage, a cooperative jamming-based scheme is proposed in this paper. This scheme allows the relay to obtain superimposed channel observations from both the reference channel and other relay channels. Then, a public discussion is utilized to enable all nodes to obtain estimates of the reference channel. Subsequently, the legitimate nodes can agree on a secret key (SK) that remains secret from the eavesdropper (Eve), or a private key (PK) that needs to be secret from both the relay and Eve. This paper also derives the lower and upper bounds of the SK/PK capacity. Notably, it demonstrates that there exists only a small constant difference between the SK/PK upper and lower bounds in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed scheme for ensuring security and efficiency of group key generation.

[Characterization of the Ecological Niche and Interspecific Connectivity of Plankton in Baiyangdian Lake by Combining Ecological Networks].

To understand the structure of the plankton community and the ecological niche characteristics of their dominant species, sampling surveys of plankton were conducted in Baiyangdian Lake in the spring （March）, summer （July）, and autumn （September） of 2022. The changes in the plankton community during the three seasons were analyzed by constructing ecological network diagrams, non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis （NMDS）, and the ecological niche width. The niche overlap of zooplankton dominant species was evaluated by the improved Levins' formula and Petraitis' index. The interspecific connectivity of dominant species was judged using the chi-square test and interspecies connectivity coefficients. The results showed that the niche width of plankton in the whole area was low. Zooplankton was dominated by rotifers, and phytoplankton was dominated by diatoms, cyanobacteria, and green algae. There were significant seasonal changes in the community structures of plankton. Compared with that in summer and autumn, there were fewer species of plankton in spring and lower interspecies connectivity. The overlap of dominant species of zooplankton was high in summer, and the interspecific competition was intensified, whereas the interspecific overlap of phytoplankton was at a low level in all three seasons. There was a significant positive correlation （W > χ20.05） between phytoplankton in summer and autumn, and the community structure was stable. The interdomain ecological network of zooplankton and phytoplankton showed a high negative correlation ratio in autumn, especially between copepods and cladoceras of zooplankton and chlorophyta and cyanophyta of phytoplankton. The plankton species in Baiyangdian Lake were abundant, with obvious seasonal differences. The dominant species were mainly a narrow ecological niche. The plankton community was generally in a stable state, and there was a strong predation relationship between copepods and cladoceras and green algae and cyanobacteria.

Association Between Diagnostic Delays and Spinal Involvement in Human Brucellosis: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Spinal involvement is a common but serious complication of human brucellosis. However, information on the risk factors associated with spinal involvement in individuals with brucellosis is limited. Methods: This retrospective case-control study aimed to determine the potential risk factors associated with spinal complications in inpatients with brucellosis. Results: During the study period, brucellosis was diagnosed in 377 patients, of whom 108 (28.64%) showed spinal involvement. Those with spinal involvement were significantly older than patients in the control group (mean age [standard deviation], 53.25 [10.48] vs 43.12 [13.84] years, respectively; P < .001). The diagnostic delays were significantly longer in patients with spinal involvement than in the control group (mean delay [standard deviation], 11.17 [13.55] vs 6.03 [8.02] weeks; P = .001). Age >40 years (odds ratio, 5.42 [95% confidence interval, 2.65-11.05]; P < .001) and diagnostic delay >4 weeks (2.94 [1.62-5.35]; P < .001) were independently associated with spinal involvement in brucellosis. The lumbar spine at the L3-5 level was the most affected (152 of 249 [61.04%]). Back pain (92 of 108 in case patients vs 21 of 108 in controls; P < .001) and splenomegaly (23 vs 42 of 108, respectively; P = .005) differed significantly between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Age >40 years and diagnostic delay >4 weeks increased the risk of spinal involvement in brucellosis. Therefore, the time from symptom onset to diagnosis should be shortened, using effective measures to reduce spinal involvement risk.

Deep learning for colorectal cancer detection in contrast-enhanced CT without bowel preparation: a retrospective, multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-enhanced CT scans provide a means to detect unsuspected colorectal cancer. However, colorectal cancers in contrast-enhanced CT without bowel preparation may elude detection by radiologists. We aimed to develop a deep learning (DL) model for accurate detection of colorectal cancer, and evaluate whether it could improve the detection performance of radiologists. METHODS: We developed a DL model using a manually annotated dataset (1196 cancer vs 1034 normal). The DL model was tested using an internal test set (98 vs 115), two external test sets (202 vs 265 in 1, and 252 vs 481 in 2), and a real-world test set (53 vs 1524). We compared the detection performance of the DL model with radiologists, and evaluated its capacity to enhance radiologists' detection performance. FINDINGS: In the four test sets, the DL model had the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) ranging between 0.957 and 0.994. In both the internal test set and external test set 1, the DL model yielded higher accuracy than that of radiologists (97.2% vs 86.0%, p < 0.0001; 94.9% vs 85.3%, p < 0.0001), and significantly improved the accuracy of radiologists (93.4% vs 86.0%, p < 0.0001; 93.6% vs 85.3%, p < 0.0001). In the real-world test set, the DL model delivered sensitivity comparable to that of radiologists who had been informed about clinical indications for most cancer cases (94.3% vs 96.2%, p > 0.99), and it detected 2 cases that had been missed by radiologists. INTERPRETATION: The developed DL model can accurately detect colorectal cancer and improve radiologists' detection performance, showing its potential as an effective computer-aided detection tool. FUNDING: This study was supported by National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 81925023); Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U22A20345); National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82072090 and No. 82371954); Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application (No. 2022B1212010011); High-level Hospital Construction Project (No. DFJHBF202105).

[Progress on application of hydrogels in the field of peripheral nerve injury repair].

As one of the common traumatic diseases in clinical practice, peripheral nerve injury (PIN) often causes nerve pain, abnormal reflexes, autonomic disorders, and even sensorimotor disorders due to the slow regeneration rate after injury, which seriously affects body function. Even as the gold standard of treatment, autologous nerve transplantation has limitations such as limited donor area and donor injury, which greatly limits its clinical application effect. Therefore, the preparation of artificial nerve grafts suitable for clinical practice has become the future development trend of peripheral nerve injury treatment, and the repair of injury defects and the promotion of nerve regeneration have also become research hotspots in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In recent years, extensive research has been carried out on nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) in the field of nerve regeneration and repair, in which scaffold materials and internal fillers have also become the focus of research as the core elements of neural catheters, and a series of achievements have been made in the application of new materials, embedding stem cells/precursor cells, and developing trophic factors and drug-loaded sustained-release systems. Therefore, this paper focuses on the application progress of hydrogel and its related derivative materials in the field of peripheral nerve injury repair, and provides new ideas for promoting the related research of tissue engineering and clinical medicine.

Light-evoked deformations in rod photoreceptors, pigment epithelium and subretinal space revealed by prolonged and multilayered optoretinography.

Phototransduction involves changes in concentration of ions and other solutes within photoreceptors and in subretinal space, which affect osmotic pressure and the associated water flow. Corresponding expansion and contraction of cellular layers can be imaged using optoretinography (ORG), based on phase-resolved optical coherence tomography (OCT). Until now, ORG could reliably detect only photoisomerization and phototransduction in photoreceptors, primarily in cones under bright stimuli. Here, by employing a phase-restoring subpixel motion correction algorithm, which enables imaging of the nanometer-scale tissue dynamics during minute-long recordings, and unsupervised learning of spatiotemporal patterns, we discover optical signatures of the other retinal structures' response to visual stimuli. These include inner and outer segments of rod photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, and subretinal space in general. The high sensitivity of our technique enables detection of the retinal responses to dim stimuli: down to 0.01% bleach level, corresponding to natural levels of scotopic illumination. We also demonstrate that with a single flash, the optoretinogram can map retinal responses across a 12° field of view, potentially replacing multifocal electroretinography. This technique expands the diagnostic capabilities and practical applicability of optoretinography, providing an alternative to electroretinography, while combining structural and functional retinal imaging in the same OCT machine.

Investigation of the causal relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been associated, according to various epidemiological research. This study uses Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal link between T2DM and IBD. Methods: To investigate the causal relationship between IBD and T2DM risk using European population data from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary datasets, we constructed a two-sample MR study to evaluate the genetically predicted impacts of liability towards IBD outcomes on T2DM risk. As instrumental variables (IVs), we chose 26 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with IBD exposure data. The European T2DM GWAS data was obtained from the IEU OpenGWAS Project database, which contains 298,957 cases as the outcome data. The causal relationship between T2DM and IBD using a reverse MR analysis was also performed. Results: The two-sample MR analysis, with the Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing, revealed that T2DM risk in Europeans is unaffected by their IBD liability (odds ratio (OR): 0.950-1.066, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.885-1.019, p = 0.152-0.926). The effects of liability to T2DM on IBD were not supported by the reverse MR analysis either (OR: 0.739-1.131, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.651-1.100, p = 0.058-0.832). MR analysis of IBS on T2DM also have no significant causal relationship (OR: 0.003-1.007, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.013-5.791, p = 0.069-0.790). FUMA precisely mapped 22 protein-coding genes utilizing significant SNPs of T2DM acquired from GWAS. Conclusion: The MR study showed that the existing evidence did not support the significant causal effect of IBD on T2DM, nor did it support the causal impact of T2DM on IBD.

Three cases of non-infectious necrotizing stromal keratitis after corneal refractive surgery.

We reported three cases of aseptic necrotizing stromal keratinitis after corneal refractive surgery (two with small incision lenticule extraction and one with femtosecond laser-laser-assisted insitu keratomileusis). There were three young women who had undergone corneal refractive surgery had white aseptic infiltrating foci along or away from the stroma in both eyes or one eye on regular review, all of whom denied systemic disease or chronic ocular disease. Two patients were diagnosed with aseptic necrotizing corneal stromal inflammation, and one patient was diagnosed with delayed necrotizing corneal stromal inflammation. In our opinion, before corneal refractive surgery, medical history inquiry is very important. More attention should be paid to patients with vaccination history and foreign travel history. In addition, the possibility of delayed corneal stromal inflammation should be considered for patients with poor binocular corrected vision.

Relationship between negative air ion and PM2.5 in Quercus variabilis under natural conditions.

In recent years, PM2.5 pollution has become a most important source of air pollution. Prolonged exposure to high PM2.5 concentrations can give rise to severe health issues. Negative air ion (NAI) is an important indicator for measuring air quality, which is collectively known as the 'air vitamin'. However, the intricate and fluctuating meteorological conditions and vegetation types result in numerous uncertainties in the correlation between PM2.5 and NAI. In this study, we collected data on NAI, PM2.5, and meteorological elements through positioning observation during the period of June to September in 2019 and 2020 under the condition of relatively constant leaf area in Quercus variabilis forest, a typical forest in warm temperate zones. We investigated the spatiotemporal variation of PM2.5 and NAI under consistent meteorological conditions, established the correlation between PM2.5 and NAI, and explicated the impact mechanism of PM2.5 on NAI in natural conditions. The results showed that NAI decreased exponentially with the increases in natural PM2.5, with a significant negative correlation (y=1148.79x-0.123). The decrease rates of NAI in PM2.5 concentrations of 0-20, 20-40, 40-80, 80-100 and 100-120 µg·m-3 were 40.1%, 36.2%, 9.4%, 2.4%, 5.1% and 6.8%, respectively. Results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the PM2.5 concentration range of 0-40 µg·m-3 was the sensitive range that affected NAI. Our findings could provide a scientific basis for better understanding the response mechanisms of NAI to environmental factors.

Recent advances in age-related metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects approximately 25% of the world's population and has become a leading cause of chronic liver disease. In recent years, an increasing amount of data suggests that MASLD is associated with aging. As the population ages, age-related MASLD will become a major global health problem. Targeting an aging will become a new approach to the treatment of MASLD. This paper reviews the current studies on the role of aging-related factors and therapeutic targets in MASLD, including: Oxidative stress, autophagy, mitochondrial homeostasis, bile acid metabolism homeostasis, and dysbiosis. The aim is to identify effective therapeutic targets for age-related MASLD and its progression.

Metabolomics study reveals increased deoxycholic acid contributes to deoxynivalenol-mediated intestinal barrier injury.

AIMS: Deoxynivalenol (DON), namely vomitoxin, is one of the most prevalent fungal toxins in cereal crops worldwide. However, the underlying toxic mechanisms of DON remain largely unknown. MAIN METHODS: DON exposure-caused changes in the murine plasma metabolome and gut microbiome were investigated by an LC-MS/MS-based nontargeted metabolomics approach and sequencing of 16S rRNA in fecal samples, respectively. Cellular models were then used to validate the findings from the metabolomics study. KEY FINDINGS: DON exposure increased intestinal barrier permeability evidenced by its-mediated decrease in colonic Claudin 5 and E-cadherin, as well as increases in colonic Ifn-γ, Cxcl9, Cxcl10, and Cxcr3. Furthermore, DON exposure resulted in a significant increase in murine plasma levels of deoxycholic acid (DCA). Also, DON exposure led to gut microbiota dysbiosis, which was associated with DON exposure-caused increase in plasma DCA. In addition, we found not only DON but also DCA dose-dependently caused a significant increase in the levels of IFN-γ, CXCL9, CXCL10, and/or CXCR3, as well as a significant decrease in the expression levels of Claudin 5 and/or E-cadherin in the human colonic epithelial cells (NCM460). SIGNIFICANCE: DON-mediated increase in DCA contributes to DON-caused intestinal injury. DCA may be a potential therapeutic target for DON enterotoxicity.

Relationship of triglyceride-glucose index and its derivatives with blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents: an analysis based on a restricted cubic spline model / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To explore the relationship of triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), triglyceride-glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI), and triglyceride-glucose-waist circumference index (TyG-WC) with blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents, providing theoretical basis for the prevention and control of hypertension in adolescents.@*METHODS@#A stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 1 572 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years in Yinchuan City for questionnaire surveys, physical measurements, and laboratory tests. Logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline analysis were employed to examine the relationship of TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC with blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents.@*RESULTS@#Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for confounding factors, the groups with the highest quartile of TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC had 1.48 times (95%CI: 1.07-2.04), 3.71 times (95%CI: 2.67-5.15), and 4.07 times (95%CI: 2.89-5.73) higher risks of blood pressure abnormalities compared to the groups with the lowest quartile, respectively. Moreover, as the levels of TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC increased, the risk of blood pressure abnormalities gradually increased (P<0.05). A non-linear dose-response relationship was observed between TyG-BMI and the risk of blood pressure abnormalities (P overall trend<0.001, P non-linearity=0.002). Linear dose-response relationships were found between TyG and the risk of blood pressure abnormalities (P overall trend<0.001, P non-linearit =0.232), and between TyG-WC and the risk of blood pressure abnormalities (P overall trend<0.001, P non-linearity=0.224).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Higher levels of TyG and its derivatives are associated with an increased risk of blood pressure abnormalities in adolescents, with linear or non-linear dose-response relationships.

Application and progress of index of microcirculatory resistance / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

With the deepening of the research on coronary artery related diseases,people gradually realize that coronary microcirculation disorders have an important impact on the occurrence,development,curative effect and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases,and coronary microcirculation diseases have received more and more attention in ischemic heart disease.Since coronary microvessels cannot be directly observed through imaging,there are currently some indicators to evaluate coronary microcirculation function in clinical practice,among which the index of microcirculatory resistance(IMR)is widely used for the evaluation of coronary microcirculation function.Computational fluid dynamics derived IMR is accurate,easy to perform,and has a broad application prospect.This article provides a comprehensive review of the establishment,development,clinical applications,and progress of IMR.

Finite element model establishment and stress analysis of lumbar-sacral intervertebral disc in ankylosing spondylitis / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease with chronic rheumatic immunity.Soft tissue ossification and fusion and spinal stiffness can cause biomechanical changes. OBJECTIVE:To reconstruct the lumbar-sacral intervertebral disc in ankylosing spondylitis patients with lumbar kyphosis by finite element analysis,and to study the range of motion of each segment of T11-S1 and the biomechanical characteristics of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. METHODS:The imaging data were obtained from an ankylosing spondylitis patient with lumbar kyphosis.The original CT image data of continuously scanned spine were imported into Mimics 21.0 in DICOM format,and T11-S1 was reconstructed respectively.The established model was imported into 3-Matic software in the format of"Stl"to reconstruct the intervertebral disc,and the fibrous intervertebral disc model was obtained.The improved model was further imported into Hypermesh software,and the vertebra,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus and ligament were mesh-divided.After the material properties were given,the model was imported into ABAQUS software to observe the range of motion of each vertebral body in seven different working conditions of T11-S1,and analyze the biomechanical characteristics of each segment of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The range of motion of L1 vertebrae was higher than that of other vertebrae under six different working conditions:extension,forward flexion,rotation(left and right),and lateral flexion(left and right).The maximum range of motion was 2.18° during L1 vertebral flexion,and the minimum range of motion was 0.12° during L5 vertebral extension.(2)The annular fiber flexion at L2-L3 segments was greater than the extension(P<0.05),and the annular fiber flexion at L3-L4 and L4-L5 segments was less than the extension(P<0.05).The left rotation of L1-L2 annular fibers was greater than the right rotation(P<0.05).The left flexion of the annulus was greater than the right flexion in L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4,L4-L5 and L5-S1 segments(P<0.05).(3)The nucleus pulposus stresses of T11-L12,L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4 and L4-L5 segments in forward flexion were greater than in extension(P<0.05).The left rotation of T12-L1 and L3-L4 segments was smaller than the right rotation(P<0.05),and that of T11-T12,L1-L2,and L2-L3 segments was larger than the right rotation(P<0.05).The left flexion was larger than the right flexion in the T11-S1 segment.(4)It is concluded that in ankylosing spondylitis patients with lumbar kyphosis,the minimum range of motion of the vertebral body is located at the L5 vertebral body in extension.To prevent fractures,it is recommended to avoid exercise in the extension position.During the onset of lumbar kyphosis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis,the maximum stress of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus is located in the L1-L2 segment,which is fixed and will not alter with the change of body position.The late surgical treatment and correction of deformity should focus on releasing the pressure of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus in this segment to avoid the rupture of the annulus fibrosus and the injury of the nucleus pulposus.

Biomechanical features of posterior"Y"osteotomy and fixation in treatment of ankylosing spondylitis based on finite element simulation analysis / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Ankylosing spondylitis is a progressive inflammation of spinal stiffness deformity caused by tissue ossification and fibrosis.The posture of ankylosing spondylitis patients is abnormal and their activities are limited that minor injuries can lead to thoracolumbar fractures.Traditional medical image observation limits doctors'preoperative decision planning and postoperative disease prevention for ankylosing spondylitis treatment. OBJECTIVE:Based on the spinal model of ankylosing spondylitis patients before and after posterior spinal cancellous ossification osteotomy("Y"osteotomy for short),to explore the biomechanical changes of"Y"osteotomy and fixation in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. METHODS:Based on the preoperative and postoperative CT images of an ankylosing spondylitis patient who went to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University,a three-dimensional spine model(T11-S1)before and after"Y"osteotomy(L3 osteotomy)was reconstructed in Mimics 19.0 software.A 7.5 Nm torque was applied to the top of T11 vertebral body to simulate the movement of the spine under six conditions:flexion,extension,left bending,right bending,left rotation and right rotation.Finally,the range of motion of each vertebral body,the stress of each intervertebral disc,and the stress of the screw rod system were simulated. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)After"Y"type osteotomy and posterior fixation,the range of motion of all vertebrae in the spine decreased,and the loss rate of upper vertebrae was large(L1:77.95%).(2)The maximum stress of the spinal intervertebral disc before operation occurred at the L1-L2 segment(0.55 MPa),and the maximum stress of the spinal intervertebral disc after operation occurred at the T11-T12 segment(0.50 MPa),and the stress of intervertebral disc below T12 was far less than that before operation.(3)The maximum stress of the screw rod system(166.67 MPa)occurred in the upper and middle segments of the rod body and the root of the pedicle screw.(4)In conclusion,the"Y"type posterior fixation operation enhances the stability of the spine and reduces the range of motion of the spine.The vertebral body decompression of the fixed segment is great and the stress-shielding phenomenon of the lower vertebral body is significant.The stiffness of the rod body and the stress concentration area of the pedicle screw should be strengthened to avoid the fracture of the rod caused by stress fatigue.

Effect of light intensity on negative air ion under phytotron control.

Negative air ion (NAI) is an important index for measuring air quality and has been widely recognized to be influenced by photosynthesis processes. However, vegetation type and light intensity are also known to impact NAI, contributing to significant uncertainties in the relationship between light and NAI. In this paper, we selected Pinus bungeana, Platycladus orientalis and Buxus sinica as research subjects and obtained their NAI, light intensity, and meteorological data through synchronous observation under the relatively stable condition of the phytotron. We analyzed the change characteristics of NAI and the difference of NAI production ability in needle and broadleaf vegetation under different light intensities. Finally, we determined the relationship and underlying mechanism governing light intensity and NAI using diverse tree species. The results showed that the influence of light on NAI was significant. In the environment without vegetation, the influence of different light intensities on NAI was not significant, and the mean NAI concentration was 310 ions·cm-3. Conversely, in the presence of vegetation, NAI showed a "single-peak" trend with increasing light intensity. The NAI concentration of the three tree species was significantly higher than under different light intensities when vegetation was not present. The NAI promoting ability of P. bungeana was the highest (675 ions·cm-3), followed by P. orientalis (478 ions·cm-3) and B. sinica (430 ions·cm-3), which increased by 117.5%, 53.9% and 38.6% compared to the environment without vegetation. The NAI growth rate was significantly different between needle and broadleaf vegetation based on the specific tridimensional green biomass. Additionally, the NAI growth rates of P. bungeana and P. orientalis were 647 and 295 ions·cm-3·m-3, respectively, which were 3.06 and 1.39 times that of B. sinica (211 ions·cm-3·m-3). The piecewise equation fitting effect of NAI and light intensity was better for different tree species, the determination coefficients (R2) of P. bungeana, P. orientalis and B. sinica were 0.926, 0.916 and 0.880, and the root mean square errors (RMSE) were 7.157, 6.008 and 5.389 ion·cm-3, respectively. Altogether, our study provides a theoretical basis as well as technical support for the construction of healthy vegetation stands, the selection of preferred tree species, and the optimization of vegetation models, and promotes air quality and the provision of ecosystem functions and services.

Two bimetal-doped (Fe/Co, Mn) polyoxometalate-based hybrid compounds for visible-light-driven CO2 reduction.

Two polyoxometalate (POM)-based hybrid compounds have been successfully designed and constructed by the hydrothermal method with molecular formulas [K(H2O)2FeII0.33Co0.67(H2O)2(DAPSC)]2{[FeII0.33Co0.67(H2O)(DAPSC)]2[FeII0.33Co0.67(H2O)4]2[Na2FeIII4P4W32O120]}·21.5H2O (1), and [Na(H2O)2FeII0.33Mn0.67(H2O)2(DAPSC)]2{[FeII0.33Mn0.67(H2O)(DAPSC)]2[FeII0.33Mn0.67(H2O)4]2[Na2FeIII4P4W32O120(H2O)2]}·24H2O (2) (DAPSC = 2,6-diacetylpyridine bis-(semicarbazone)), respectively. Structural analysis revealed that 1 and 2 consisted of metal-organic complexes containing DAPSC ligands with dumbbell-type inorganic clusters, iron-cobalt (iron-manganese) and some other ions. By utilizing a combination of strongly reducing {P2W12} units and bimetal-doped centres the CO2 photoreduction catalytic capacity of 1 and 2 was improved. Notably, the photocatalytic performance of 1 was much better than that of 2. In CO2 photoreduction, 1 exhibited CO selectivity as high as 90.8%. Furthermore, for 1, the CO generation rate reached 6885.1 µmol g-1 h-1 at 8 h with 3 mg, and its better photocatalytic performance was presumably due to the introduction of cobalt and iron elements to give 1 a more appropriate energy band structure. Further recycling experiments indicated that 1 was a highly efficient CO2 photoreduction catalyst, which could still possess catalytic activity after several cycles.

Development of a general separation strategy by countercurrent chromatography using sanshools from Zanthoxylum bungeanum oleoresin as a case study.

Three kinds of sanshools were separated from Zanthoxylum bungeanum oleoresin by high-speed countercurrent chromatography. Sanshools are a series of amide compounds extracted from the Zanthoxylum bungeanum. Due to similar structures, polarities, and dissociation constants, it was challenging to select an appropriate solvent system for their complete separation by countercurrent chromatography. To address this challenge, a solvent-system-selection strategy was proposed to identify a relatively suitable solvent system. Additionally, a separation procedure incorporating multi-elution modes selection was established to separate similar compounds in a logical order. Ultimately, a solvent system comprising n-hexane:ethyl acetate:methanol:water in a ratio of 19:1:1:5.67 was selected. Three amide compounds with high purity were obtained through the use of recycling elution mode to improve separation resolution: hydroxy-ε-sanshool (8.4 mg; purity: 90.64%), hydroxy-α-sanshool (326.4 mg; purity: 98.96%), and hydroxy-ß-sanshool (71.8 mg; purity: 98.26%) were obtained from 600 mg sanshool crude extract. The summarized solvent-system-selection strategy and separation procedure incorporating multi-elution modes may instruct countercurrent chromatography users, particularly novices, seeking to separate compounds with highly similar chemical properties.

Glycemic dispersion: a new index for screening high glycemic variability.

OBJECTIVE: For patients with diabetes, high-frequency and -amplitude glycemic variability may be more harmful than continuous hyperglycemia; however, there is still a lack of screening indicators that can quickly and easily assess the level of glycemic variability. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the glycemic dispersion index is effective for screening high glycemic variability. METHODS: A total of 170 diabetes patients hospitalized in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University were included in this study. After admission, the fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c were measured. The peripheral capillary blood glucose was measured seven times in 24 h, before and after each of three meals and before bedtime. The standard deviation of the seven peripheral blood glucose values was calculated, and a standard deviation of > 2.0 was used as the threshold of high glycemic variability. The glycemic dispersion index was calculated and its diagnostic efficacy for high glycemic variability was determined by the Mann-Whitney U test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and, Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: The glycemic dispersion index of patients with high glycemic variability was significantly higher than that of those with low glycemic variability (p < 0.01). The best cutoff value of the glycemic dispersion index for screening high glycemic variability was 4.21. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.901 (95% CI: 0.856-0.945) and had a sensitivity of 0.781 and specificity of 0.905. It was correlated with the standard deviation of blood glucose values (r = 0.813, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The glycemic dispersion index had good sensitivity and specificity for screening high glycemic variability. It was significantly associated with the standard deviation of blood glucose concentration and is simple and easy to calculate. It was an effective screening indicator of high glycemic variability.

Android mobile-platform-based image reconstruction for photoacoustic tomography.

Significance: In photoacoustic tomography (PAT), numerous reconstruction algorithms have been utilized to recover initial pressure rise distribution from the acquired pressure waves. In practice, most of these reconstructions are carried out on a desktop/workstation and the mobile-based reconstructions are far-flung. In recent years, mobile phones are becoming so ubiquitous, and most of them encompass a higher computing ability. Hence, realizing PAT image reconstruction on a mobile platform is intrinsic, and it will enhance the adaptability of PAT systems with point-of-care applications. Aim: To implement PAT image reconstruction in Android-based mobile platforms. Approach: For implementing PAT image reconstruction in Android-based mobile platforms, we proposed an Android-based application using Python to perform beamforming process in Android phones. Results: The performance of the developed application was analyzed on different mobile platforms using both simulated and experimental datasets. The results demonstrate that the developed algorithm can accomplish the image reconstruction of in vivo small animal brain dataset in 2.4 s. Furthermore, the developed application reconstructs PAT images with comparable speed and no loss of image quality compared to that on a laptop. Employing a two-fold downsampling procedure could serve as a viable solution for reducing the time needed for beamforming while preserving image quality with minimal degradation. Conclusions: We proposed an Android-based application that achieves image reconstruction on cheap, small, and universally available phones instead of relatively bulky expensive desktop computers/laptops/workstations. A beamforming speed of 2.4 s is achieved without hampering the quality of the reconstructed image.