Prediction of miRNAs and diseases association based on sparse autoencoder and MLP.

Introduction: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small and non-coding RNA molecules which have multiple important regulatory roles within cells. With the deepening research on miRNAs, more and more researches show that the abnormal expression of miRNAs is closely related to various diseases. The relationship between miRNAs and diseases is crucial for discovering the pathogenesis of diseases and exploring new treatment methods. Methods: Therefore, we propose a new sparse autoencoder and MLP method (SPALP) to predict the association between miRNAs and diseases. In this study, we adopt advanced deep learning technologies, including sparse autoencoder and multi-layer perceptron (MLP), to improve the accuracy of predicting miRNA-disease associations. Firstly, the SPALP model uses a sparse autoencoder to perform feature learning and extract the initial features of miRNAs and diseases separately, obtaining the latent features of miRNAs and diseases. Then, the latent features combine miRNAs functional similarity data with diseases semantic similarity data to construct comprehensive miRNAs-diseases datasets. Subsequently, the MLP model can predict the unknown association among miRNAs and diseases. Result: To verify the performance of our model, we set up several comparative experiments. The experimental results show that, compared with traditional methods and other deep learning prediction methods, our method has significantly improved the accuracy of predicting miRNAs-disease associations, with 94.61% accuracy and 0.9859 AUC value. Finally, we conducted case study of SPALP model. We predicted the top 30 miRNAs that might be related to Lupus Erythematosus, Ecute Myeloid Leukemia, Cardiovascular, Stroke, Diabetes Mellitus five elderly diseases and validated that 27, 29, 29, 30, and 30 of the top 30 are indeed associated. Discussion: The SPALP approach introduced in this study is adept at forecasting the links between miRNAs and diseases, addressing the complexities of analyzing extensive bioinformatics datasets and enriching the comprehension contribution to disease progression of miRNAs.

Dense Polarized Positrons from Beam-Solid Interaction.

Relativistic positron sources with high spin polarization have important applications in nuclear and particle physics and many frontier fields. However, it is challenging to produce dense polarized positrons. Here we present a simple and effective method to achieve such a positron source by directly impinging a relativistic high-density electron beam on the surface of a solid target. During the interaction, a strong return current of plasma electrons is induced and subsequently asymmetric quasistatic magnetic fields as high as megatesla are generated along the target surface. This gives rise to strong radiative spin flips and multiphoton processes, thus leading to efficient generation of copious polarized positrons. With three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate the production of a dense highly polarized multi-GeV positron beam with an average spin polarization above 40% and nC-scale charge per shot. This offers a novel route for the studies of laserless strong-field quantum electrodynamics physics and for the development of high-energy polarized positron sources.

Improved Intrusion Detection Based on Hybrid Deep Learning Models and Federated Learning.

The security of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is of vital importance, and the Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) plays an indispensable role in this. Although there is an increasing number of studies on the use of deep learning technology to achieve network intrusion detection, the limited local data of the device may lead to poor model performance because deep learning requires large-scale datasets for training. Some solutions propose to centralize the local datasets of devices for deep learning training, but this may involve user privacy issues. To address these challenges, this study proposes a novel federated learning (FL)-based approach aimed at improving the accuracy of network intrusion detection while ensuring data privacy protection. This research combines convolutional neural networks with attention mechanisms to develop a new deep learning intrusion detection model specifically designed for the IIoT. Additionally, variational autoencoders are incorporated to enhance data privacy protection. Furthermore, an FL framework enables multiple IIoT clients to jointly train a shared intrusion detection model without sharing their raw data. This strategy significantly improves the model's detection capability while effectively addressing data privacy and security issues. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a series of experiments were conducted on a real-world Internet of Things (IoT) network intrusion dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that our model and FL approach significantly improve key performance metrics such as detection accuracy, precision, and false-positive rate (FPR) compared to traditional local training methods and existing models.

Ethereum Phishing Scam Detection Based on Data Augmentation Method and Hybrid Graph Neural Network Model.

The rapid advancement of blockchain technology has fueled the prosperity of the cryptocurrency market. Unfortunately, it has also facilitated certain criminal activities, particularly the increasing issue of phishing scams on blockchain platforms such as Ethereum. Consequently, developing an efficient phishing detection system is critical for ensuring the security and reliability of cryptocurrency transactions. However, existing methods have shortcomings in dealing with sample imbalance and effective feature extraction. To address these issues, this study proposes an Ethereum phishing scam detection method based on DA-HGNN (Data Augmentation Method and Hybrid Graph Neural Network Model), validated by real Ethereum datasets to prove its effectiveness. Initially, basic node features consisting of 11 attributes were designed. This study applied a sliding window sampling method based on node transactions for data augmentation. Since phishing nodes often initiate numerous transactions, the augmented samples tended to balance. Subsequently, the Temporal Features Extraction Module employed Conv1D (One-Dimensional Convolutional neural network) and GRU-MHA (GRU-Multi-Head Attention) models to uncover intrinsic relationships between features from the time sequences and to mine adequate local features, culminating in the extraction of temporal features. The GAE (Graph Autoencoder) concept was then leveraged, with SAGEConv (Graph SAGE Convolution) as the encoder. In the SAGEConv reconstruction module, by reconstructing the relationships between transaction graph nodes, the structural features of the nodes were learned, obtaining reconstructed node embedding representations. Ultimately, phishing fraud nodes were further identified by integrating temporal features, basic features, and embedding representations. A real Ethereum dataset was collected for evaluation, and the DA-HGNN model achieved an AUC-ROC (Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve) of 0.994, a Recall of 0.995, and an F1-score of 0.994, outperforming existing methods and baseline models.

From linear to nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production in laser-solid interactions.

During the ultraintense laser interaction with solids (overdense plasmas), the competition between two possible quantum electrodynamics (QED) mechanisms responsible for e^{±} pair production, i.e., linear and nonlinear Breit-Wheeler (BW) processes, remains to be studied. Here, we have implemented the linear BW process via a Monte Carlo algorithm into the QED particle-in-cell (PIC) code yunic, enabling us to self-consistently investigate both pair production mechanisms in the plasma environment. By a series of two-dimensional QED-PIC simulations, the transition from the linear to the nonlinear BW process is observed with the increase of laser intensities in the typical configuration of a linearly polarized laser interaction with solid targets. A critical normalized laser amplitude about a_{0}∼400-500 is found under a large range of preplasma scale lengths, below which the linear BW process dominates over the nonlinear BW process. This work provides a practicable technique to model linear QED processes via integrated QED-PIC simulations. Moreover, it calls for more attention to be paid to linear BW pair production in near future 10-PW-class laser-solid interactions.

Favorable impact of a novel endoscopic auxiliary system (NEAS) on fluoroscopy-guided lithotripsy for difficult bile duct stones: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Laser lithotripsy under fluoroscopic guidance is difficult to perform and risky due to its invisibility. In this study we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of a novel endoscopic auxiliary system (NEAS)-assisted lithotripsy under fluoroscopy for treating difficult common bile duct (CBD) stones. METHODS: Patients with difficult CBD stones who were treated with NEAS-assisted laser lithotripsy (NEAS group) or conventional mechanical lithotripsy (ML) under fluoroscopy (ML group) were retrospectively evaluated. The primary outcome was the complete stone clearance rate and the secondary outcomes included operation time, complications, and medical cost. RESULTS: Seventeen patients were treated with NEAS-assisted laser lithotripsy and 144 patients underwent ML. Using the propensity score matching analysis, 17 pairs of cases treated with NEAS-assisted lithotripsy and ML were included. Patients in the NEAS group showed a higher stone clearance rate than the ML group (94.1% vs 58.8%, P = 0.039), as well as shorter operation time (41.9 min vs 49.4 min, P < 0.001) and lower medical cost (USD 4607 vs USD 5014, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the complication rate between the two groups (5.9% vs 17.6%, P = 0.601). CONCLUSION: NEAS-assisted fluoroscopy-guided laser lithotripsy is feasible and safe, which may be a promising technique in fluoroscopy-guided laser lithotripsy for difficult CBD stones.

[Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of distant metastatic penile cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features of distant metastatic penile cancer (DMPC) and the factors influencing its prognosis. METHODS: We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Database for cases of DMPC diagnosed between 2004 and 2019, analyzed their clinical characteristics and the cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates relating to different factors using the Kaplan-Meier method and the differences among the variables by log-rank test. We determined the variables independently associated with CSS by Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: According to the inclusion criteria, 108 cases of DMPC were identified. The patients were mainly married White people, with a median CSS of 9 months, and 1-, 2- and 3-year CSS rates of 36.4%, 17.8% and 13.5%, respectively. Pairwise comparison showed no statistically significant differences in the median overall CSS among the patients in the surgery, chemotherapy and surgery + chemotherapy groups (8 mo vs 9 mo vs 13 mo, P > 0.05). Race was an independent factor affecting the prognosis of CSS. CONCLUSION: Distant metastatic penile cancer is a rare malignancy with poor prognosis, for which there have been no existing ideal treatment options.

[Heavy metal exposure and reproductive toxicity: Advances in studies].

Heavy metals are among the major pollutants affecting the environment, with a higher density of metal element than that of water and an extensive presence in the natural environment. Trace elements such as zinc, copper, nickel and chromium mediate important physiological functions and metabolic regulation at normal levels, and insufficient intake of them will lead to related diseases. Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury do not participate in the normal metabolism of the human body and will cause damage to the body even at an extremely low dose. Heavy metal pollution mainly comes from industrial wastewater, fossil fuel combustion, wastewater, smelting, mining, vehicle exhaust, hazardous waste dumping, and fertilizer abuse. Unable to be biodegraded, heavy metals have a long biological half-life in nature, which in turn leads to bio-accumulation and -amplification. Eating contaminated vegetables is one way of being exposed to heavy metals. Heavy metals produce adverse effects not only on the human reproductive system, but also on the fetus by penetrating the placental barrier, and on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis as well, consequently affecting sexual maturation and reproductive function. With the sharp increase of heavy metals in the environment, researches on their reproductive toxicity and antagonistic drugs have an important clinical significance.

Reference Intervals of Serum Iodine Concentration in Chinese Pregnant Women.

The study aims to establish trimester-specific reference ranges for serum iodine (SI) in Chinese pregnant women and explore its associations with maternal and infantile thyroid function. Apparently healthy pregnant women were enrolled during their first antenatal visit. Fasting venous and spot urine samples were collected for determining serum and urinary iodine (UI) levels by a validated inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyrotropin (TSH), and neonatal TSH levels were tested by electro-chemiluminescent assay. The reference ranges of SI were established by percentile method and reported as 2.5-97.5%. ROC analysis was applied to compare the discriminative ability of SI, UI, and UI to urinary creatine ratio (UI /UCr) in early pregnancy for various thyroid conditions. The trimester-specific reference ranges of SI for Chinese pregnant women were 60.91-114.53 µg/L for the first trimester (T1, n = 1029), 54.57-103.42 µg/L for the second trimester (T2, n = 379), and 52.03-110.40 µg/L for the third trimester (T3, n = 455). Maternal SI at T1 but not UI and UI/UCr was significantly correlated with FT3 (r = 0.393, P < 0.001), FT4 (r = 0.637, P < 0.001), and TSH (r = -0.299, P<0.001). Maternal SI change% from T1 to T2 (but not SI change% from T1 to T3) had marginal correlation with neonatal TSH (r=-0.106, P=0.046). ROC analysis showed that maternal SI at T1 had better predictability for several thyroid conditions than UIC and UI/UCr.

Observation based climatology Martian atmospheric waves perturbation Datasets.

The Martian atmospheric waves perturbation Datasets (MAWPD) version 2.0 is the first observation-based climatology dataset of Martian atmospheric waves. It contains climatology-gridded temperature, gravity waves, and tides spanning the whole Martian year. MAWPD uses the Data INterpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions method (DINEOF) reconstruction method for data assimilation with the observational data from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN), Mars Pathfinder (MP), Mars Phoenix Lander (MPL), Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Mars Express (MEX) temperature retrievals. The dataset includes gridded fields of temperature (Level 1 data) as well as the physical quantities of GWs (Level 2 data, amplitude, and potential energies), SPWs and tides (Level 2 data, amplitude, and phase). The MAWPD, based entirely on multiple reliable observations, provides climatological background atmospheric information of temperature and wave disturbances on Mars. The dataset is not only useful for observation-based scientific studies concerning Martian atmospheric waves, e.g., circulation, dust storms, and wave excitation mechanism, but also for cross-validating with model-based datasets or model results.

[Clinically rare subtypes of prostate cancer: Progress in research].

Prostate cancer has now become the most common urinary tract tumor in men. Some special subtypes of prostate cancer are occasionally found clinically, which are characterized by rapid disease progression, easy recurrence and metastasis, poor effect of single endocrine therapy, and shorter overall survival of the patients than those with common prostate adenocarcinoma. Early diagnosis and early treatment with novel targeting drugs and genetic tests may prolong the survival of the patients. This review presents an overview and a prospect of the epidemiological features, origin, molecular regulation mechanisms, clinical characteristics and treatment of three rare subtypes of prostate cancer.

[Clinical study of artificial intelligence-guided image fusion assisted transperineal prostate biopsy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic efficacy of AI-guided mpMRI-TRUS fusion assisted transperineal systematic biopsy, targeted biopsy and combined biopsy in the diagnosis of PCa, and to evaluate the clinical application value of combined biopsy. METHODS: From April 2022, the general personal information and clinical data of patients with suspicious prostate lesions (PI-RADS≥3) detected by 3.0T mpMRI were collected, then underwent AI-guided mpMRI-TRUS fusion-assisted transperineal prostate biopsy. The data included age, PSA level, PV, PSAD, PI-RADS score, Gleason score of biopsy tissue, etc. The mpMRI image data were imported into the real-time fusion imaging system before biopsy. After image fusion, the suspected PCa lesion was taken as the target, 2 to 3 cores of targeted biopsy were first performed, then 12 cores of systematic biopsy were continued. The results of targeted biopsy + systematic biopsy were defined as the results of combined biopsy. The detection rate of PCa, CsPCa and pathological Gleason score were compared among different biopsy methods, and the diagnostic efficacy in different PI-RADS score groups was further evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 118 PCa cases were detected in 220 patients enrolled in this study. The PCa detection rates of systematic biopsy and targeted biopsy were 40.45% and 43.64%, the result reveals no statistical significance (P=0.562). The PCa detection rate of combined biopsy was 53.64%, higher than single biopsy method and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The detection rates of CsPCa in systematic biopsy and targeted biopsy were 28.18% and 37.27% which reveals significant statistical difference (P=0.042). The CsPCa detection rate of combined biopsy was 41.82%, higher than single biopsy method, the difference was statistically significant compared with systematic biopsy (P=0.003), but was not compared with targeted biopsy (P=0.330). In PI-RADS score 3 group, the PCa detection rate of systematic biopsy and targeted biopsy was 39.29% and 21.43%, which reveals no statistical significance (P=0.146). The PCa detection rate of combined biopsy was 50%, higher than single biopsy method, the difference was statistically significant compared with targeted biopsy (P=0.026), but was not compared with systematic biopsy (P=0.420). In PI-RADS 4 ~5 group, the PCa detection rate of systematic biopsy and targeted biopsy was 40.10%, and 46.88% which reveals no statistical significance (P=0.181). The PCa detection rate of combined biopsy was 54.17%, higher than single biopsy method, the difference was statistically significant compared with systematic biopsy (P=0.006), but was not compared with targeted biopsy (P=0.153). Among PCa patients detected by both systematic and targeted biopsy, 39 had concordant pathologic Gleason scores, 13 had escalating pathologic Gleason scores for systematic biopsy, and 18 had escalating pathologic Gleason scores for targeted biopsy. CONCLUSION: Compared with systematic biopsy, AI-guided mpMRI-TRUS image fusion assisted transperineal targeted prostate biopsy has a higher detection rate of CsPCa and is probably closer to the true pathological Gleason score. Compared with single biopsy, combined biopsy has higher diagnostic efficiency for PCa, which can be used as one of the options of prostate biopsy in clinical practice.

Preparation of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with different sizes and study on the correlation between size and toxicity / 药学学报

To investigate the crucial role of particle size in the biological effects of nanoparticles, a series of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were prepared with particle size gradients (50, 100, 150, 200 nm) with the traditional Stober method and adjusting the type and ratio of the silica source. The correlation between toxicity and size-caused biological effects were then further examined both in vitro and in vivo. The results indicated that the prepared MSNs had a uniform size, good dispersal, and ordered mesoporous structure. Hemolytic toxicity was found to be independent of particle size. At the cellular level, MSNs with smaller particle sizes were more readily internalized by cells, which initiated to more intense oxidative stress, therefor inducing higher cytotoxicity, and apoptosis rate. In vivo studies demonstrated that MSNs primarily accumulated in the liver and kidneys of mice. Pharmacokinetic analysis revealed that larger MSNs were eliminated more efficiently by the urinary system than smaller MSNs. The mice's body weight monitoring, blood tests, and pathological sections of major organs indicated good biocompatibility for MSNs of different sizes. Animal welfare and the animal experimental protocols were strictly consistent with related ethics regulations of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University. Overall, this study prepared MSNs with a particle size gradient to investigate the correlation between toxicity and particle size using macrophages and endothelial cells. The study also examined the biosafety of MSNs with different particle sizes in vivo and in vitro, which could help to improve the safety design strategy of MSNs for drug delivery systems.

Nutri-microbiome epidemiology, an emerging field to disentangle the interplay between nutrition and microbiome for human health

Diet and nutrition have a substantial impact on the human microbiome, and interact with the microbiome, especially gut microbiome, to modulate various diseases and health status. Microbiome research has also guided the nutrition field to a more integrative direction, becoming an essential component of the rising area of precision nutrition. In this review, we provide a broad insight into the interplay among diet, nutrition, microbiome, and microbial metabolites for their roles in the human health. Among the microbiome epidemiological studies regarding the associations of diet and nutrition with microbiome and its derived metabolites, we summarize those most reliable findings and highlight evidence for the relationships between diet and disease-associated microbiome and its functional readout. Then, the latest advances of the microbiome-based precision nutrition research and multidisciplinary integration are described. Finally, we discuss several outstanding challenges and opportunities in the field of nutri-microbiome epidemiology.

Feasibility of a single-port thoracoscopy-assisted five-step laparoscopic procedure via transabdominal diaphragmatic approach for No.111 lymphadenectomy in patients with Siewert type II esophageal gastric junction adenocarcinoma / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective: We aimed to explore the feasibility of a single-port thoracoscopy- assisted five-step laparoscopic procedure via transabdominal diaphragmatic(TD) approach(abbreviated as five-step maneuver) for No.111 lymphadenectomy in patients with Siewert type II esophageal gastric junction adenocarcinoma (AEG). Methods: This was a descriptive case series study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) age 18-80 years; (2) diagnosis of Siewert type II AEG; (3) clinical tumor stage cT2-4aNanyM0; (4) meeting indications of the transthoracic single-port assisted laparoscopic five-step procedure incorporating lower mediastinal lymph node dissection via a TD approach; (5) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) 0-1; and (6) American Society of Anesthesiologists classification I, II, or III. The exclusion criteria included previous esophageal or gastric surgery, other cancers within the previous 5 years, pregnancy or lactation, and serious medical conditions. We retrospectively collected and analyzed the clinical data of 17 patients (age [mean ± SD], [63.6±11.9] years; and 12 men) who met the inclusion criteria in the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2022 to September 2022. No.111 lymphadenectomy was performed using five-step maneuver as follows: superior to the diaphragm, starting caudad to the pericardium, along the direction of the cardio-phrenic angle and ending at the upper part of the cardio-phrenic angle, right to the right pleura and left to the fibrous pericardium , completely exposing the cardio-phrenic angle. The primary outcome includes the numbers of harvested and of positive No.111 lymph nodes. Results: Seventeen patients (3 proximal gastrectomy and 14 total gastrectomy) had undergone the five-step maneuver including lower mediastinal lymphadenectomy without conversion to laparotomy or thoracotomy and all had achieved R0 resection with no perioperative deaths. The total operative time was (268.2±32.9) minutes, and the lower mediastinal lymph node dissection time was (34.0±6.0) minutes. The median estimated blood loss was 50 (20-350) ml. A median of 7 (2-17) mediastinal lymph nodes and 2(0-6) No. 111 lymph nodes were harvested. No. 111 lymph node metastasis was identified in 1 patient. The time to first flatus occurred 3 (2-4) days postoperatively and thoracic drainage was used for 7 (4-15) days. The median postoperative hospital stay was 9 (6-16) days. One patient had a chylous fistula that resolved with conservative treatment. No serious complications occurred in any patient. Conclusion: The single-port thoracoscopy-assisted five-step laparoscopic procedure via a TD approach can facilitate No. 111 lymphadenectomy with few complications.

Kinetic investigations of nonlinear electrostatic excitations in quantum plasmas.

For plasmas in an extremely high-density state, like stellar cores or compressed fuel in inertial fusion facilities, their behavior turns out to be quite different when compared with those plasmas in interstellar space or magnetic confinement devices. To figure out those differences and uncover the kinetic physics in electrostatic excitations, a quantum kinetic code solving Wigner-Poisson equations has been developed. Basic plasmon decay, Landau damping, and two-stream instability of extremely high-density plasmas are investigated by using our newly developed code. Numerical simulations show that in the linear region, the dispersion relations of intrinsic modes can be significantly affected by quantum effects, and such simulation results can be well described by the existing analytical theory. Especially in the nonlinear region, since the space-time scale of collective modes of plasmas is comparable to the electron de Broglie wavelength, their couplings produce some new physics: the energy exchange between the electron and the collective mode results in an abnormal oscillation that does not exist in classical plasmas.

The oncogenic miR-27a/BTG2 axis promotes obesity-associated hepatocellular carcinoma by mediating mitochondrial dysfunction.

Obesity is closely related to the initiation and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The regulatory mechanism of obesity-associated HCC remains unclear. HepG2 cells treated with palmitic acid (PA) and diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) were established. The expression of miR-27a and B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) mRNA and protein were detected via qPCR and western blotting. Prediction software and luciferase assays were employed to verify the miR-27a/BTG2 axis. The biological effects of HepG2 cells were evaluated with ORO staining, MTT assays, Transwell assays, Mito-Timer, and Mito-SOX staining. Significantly upregulated miR-27a and downregulated BTG2 mRNA and protein were observed in HepG2 cells and liver tissues of HCC mice. Overexpressing miR-27a (mi-miR-27a) markedly promoted cellular lipid accumulation, proliferation, and invasion, accompanied by aggravated mitochondrial dysfunction (increased fading and ROS products of mitochondria) in HepG2 cells. Additionally, these effects were further reinforced in HepG2 cells treated with mi-miR-27a and PA. BTG2 was identified as a direct target and was negatively regulated by miR-27a. Similarly, BTG2 knockdown (sh-BTG2) had effects identical to those of mi-miR-27a on HepG2 cells. Additionally, PA evidently enhanced these effects of sh-BTG2 in HepG2 cells. Moreover, BTG2 overexpression effectively reversed the effects of miR-27a, including lipotropic and oncogenic effects, and simultaneously promoted mitochondrial imbalance in HepG2 cells. Thus, obesity-associated miR-27a acts as an oncogene to promote lipid accumulation, proliferation, and invasion by negatively regulating BTG2-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in HCC.

Electrostatic attraction induces cationic covalent-organic framework to pack inorganic acid ions for promoting proton conduction.

A cationic COF (CCOF) was imported to afford stable proton conductive material while the positively charged CCOF can constrain the inorganic anion groups into the framework through an ion exchange process. The inorganic anions could play the role of proton donors to provide a rich source of protons, as well as the proton acceptors for proton transmission, thus forming an interlinked proton conduction pathway within the framework. The proton conductivities of COF materials loaded with different anions have been improved to varying degrees, and the conductivity of H2PO4-@CCOF is up to 3.86 × 10-2 S cm-1 at 100 °C.

Kinetic studies of exchange-correlation effect on the collective excitations of warm dense plasmas.

The exchange-correlation of electrons, as a fundamental effect in quantum mechanics, plays an important role in the collective motions of electrons in warm dense matter. We derive the quantum kinetic equations based on the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equation. By using a temperature-dependent functional for the exchange correlation, the excitations of electrostatic waves are analyzed under the adiabatic local density approximation (ALDA). We find that the influences of the exchange-correlation effect on the group velocity of electrostatic waves can be as high as 10% when both the density and temperature are low. Moreover, we also compare the results obtained by using ALDA-based kinetic theory, exchange kinetic theory, and quantum hydrodynamics, and discuss the differences among them.

Degeneration of paraspinal muscles in degenerative lumbar scoliosis and its correlation with lumbar kyphosis / 中华骨科杂志

Objective:To investigate the changes of paraspinal muscles in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) and its correlation with lumbar kyphosis.Methods:The clinical data of 67 female patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis, with an average of 65.4±5.6 years old (rang 52-83 years old), were retrospectively analyzed. There were 35 patients of DLS with lumbar degenerative kyphosis (LDK) in the DLS+LDK group, with an average of 64.60±5.40 years old (rang 52-75 years old), and 32 patients of lumbar scoliosis without lumbar kyphosis in the DLS group, with an average of 66.22±5.8 years old (rang 55-83 years old). The cross-sectional area (CSA) and the percentage of fat infiltration area (FIA%) of erector spinae and multifidus muscles of the 5 intervertebral disc levels (from L 1-2 to L 5S 1) were measured by MRI using Image J software (ver. 1.51 k, National Institutes of Health, USA). The curve direction, Cobb angle, sagittal vertical axis (SVA), thoracic kyphosis (TK), thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT) and sacral slope (SS) were evaluated and recordedin both groups using an anteroposterior radiograph in the standing position, and the correlation between the changes of paraspinal muscles and these factors was analyzed. Results:The TLK, LL, and SVA values of the DLS+LDK group (11.85°±7.89°, -9.35°±8.70° and 70.16±76.94 mm) were higher than those of the DLS group (7.47°±5.06°, -26.46°±10.26° and 39.45±38.18mm) ( t=2.73, P=0.008; t=7.38, P<0.001; t=2.10, P=0.041). The TK, PI, and SS values of the DLS+LDK group (16.36°±13.52°, 42.49°±11.70° and 11.89°±10.03°) were lower than those of the DLS group (23.60°±10.23°, 49.38°±11.92° and 21.21°±8.28°) ( t=2.45, P=0.017; t=2.38, P=0.020; t=4.13, P<0.001). The differences of Cobb and PT were not statistically significant between the two groups. The cross-sectional areas of L 1-2, L 2-3, L 3-4 intervertebral disc levels of erector spinae of the DLS+LDK group (1 328.36±339.16 mm 2, 1 331.98±305.76 mm 2 and 12 53.58±275.86 mm 2) were lower than those of the DLS group (1 564.16±312.68 mm 2, 1 574.80±325.92 mm 2 and 1 427.18±278.82 mm 2) ( t=0.40, P=0.004; t=0.81, P=0.002; t=0.306, P=0.013). The cross-sectional areas of L 1-2, L 2-3, L 3-4, L 4-5 intervertebral disc levels of multifidus muscles of the DLS+LDK group (225.07±59.80 mm 2, 228.38±87.44 mm 2, 436.40±117.99 mm 2 and 666.55±184.13 mm 2) were lower than those of the DLS group (264.28±44.27 mm 2, 384.85±75.52 mm 2, 576.10±109.92 mm 2 and 801.52±145.83 mm 2) ( t=0.21, P=0.004; t=0.42, P<0.001; t=0.52, P<0.001; t=0.37, P=0.002). The differences of FIA% of erector spinae and multifidus muscles at all lumbar spine levels were not statistically significant between the two groups. The cross-sectional areas of L 1-2, L 2-3, L 3-4 intervertebral disc levels of erector spinae and L 1-2, L 2-3, L 3-4, L 4-5 intervertebral disc levels of multifidus muscles of the two groups were negatively correlated with LL values ( r=-0.37, P=0.002; r=-0.34, P=0.005; r=-0.21, P=0.049; r=-0.34, P=0.005; r=-0.61, P<0.001; r=-0.65, P<0.001; r=-0.55, P<0.001), and positively correlated with SS ( r=0.42, P<0.001; r=0.37, P=0.002; r=0.27, P=0.027; r=0.38, P=0.001; r=0.53, P<0.001; r=0.46, P<0.001; r=0.42, P<0.001). The cross-sectional areas of L 3-4 intervertebral disc levels of erector spinae and L 1-2, L 2-3 intervertebral disc levels of multifidus muscles of the two groups were positively correlated with PI ( r=0.25, P=0.039; r=0.33, P=0.006; r=0.35, P=0.004). There was no correlation between the FIA% of erector spinae and multifidus muscles at all lumbar spine levels and the sagittal and pelvic parameters in both groups. Conclusion:Paravertebral muscle atrophy is more obvious in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis with lumbar kyphosis, which may be related to the reduce of lumbar lordosis and sacral slope. Patients with lumbar scoliosis with a smaller PI are more likely to experience paravertebral atrophy and increased loss of lumbar lordosis, and ultimately leading to lumbar kyphosis.