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This study was aimed to investigate the application of micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) combined with nanographene particles in molecular diagnosis of depression. After the sheet-shaped graphene oxide was mixed with a solvent to form a solution, it was atomized at high temperature to form droplets and extract nanographene oxide, which was applied to an electrochemical sensor. 90 patients with depression were selected as the research objects and they were randomly divided into control group and experimental group, patients from the two groups received the miRNA molecular diagnosis and the miRNA molecular diagnosis combined with nanographene electrochemical sensor dopamine detection method, respectively. As a result, the diagnostic sensitivity (82.4%), specificity (90.3%), and accurate index (71.3%) of patients from the experimental group were higher obviously than those of the control group (54.3%, 72.8%, and 55.6%) (P P P P

The sensitivity and specificity of current biomarkers for gastric cancer were insufficient. The aim of the present study was to screen novel biomarkers and determine the diagnostic values of ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) and carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) for detecting gastric cancer.With stable isotope tags, we labelled an initial discovery group of four paired gastric cancer tissue samples and identified with LC-ESI-MS/MS. A validation group of 159 gastric cancer samples and 30 healthy controls were used to validate the candidate targets. GSEA was used to explore the pathways activated in gastric cancer.Four hundred and thirty one proteins were found differentially expressed in gastric cancer tissues. Of these proteins, OAT and CPS1 were found over-expressed in gastric cancer patients, with sensitivity of 70.4% (95% CI: 63.3%-77.6%) and specificity of 80.5% (95% CI: 74.3%-86.7%) for ornithine aminotransferase, and with sensitivity of 68.6% (95% CI: 61.3%-75.8%) and specificity of 73% (95% CI: 66%-79.9%) for carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1. The co-expression of OAT and CPS1 in gastric cancer tissues has a sensitivity of 81% (95% CI: 73.2%-88.8%) and specificity of 89% (95% CI: 83%-95%). Furthermore, both OAT and CPS1 were overexpressed in patients with local invasion T3 and T4 stages than those in patients with T1 and T2 stages. The co-expression of OAT and CPS1 was strongly correlated with histological grade I 68% (95% CI: 58.7%-77.3%) and TNM stage I/II 52% (95% CI: 42%-62%). The areas under ROC curves were up to 0.758 for the co-expression of OAT and CPS1 in gastric cancer. GSEA results showed that two gene sets and 30 gene sets were activated in OAT high- and CPS1 high-expression patients with gastric cancer, respectively.The present findings indicated a tight correlation between the co-expression of OAT and CPS1 and the histological grade, local invasion, and TNM stages of gastric cancer. Therefore, OAT and CPS1 might be predictors for gastric cancer invasion and potential targets for anticancer drug design for gastric cancer.

To identify a novel marker for gastric cancer, we examined the usefulness of phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) as a potential diagnostic marker using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based quantitative proteomics and evaluated its clinical significance.Proteins from a discovery group of four paired gastric cancer tissues and adjacent gastric tissues were labeled with iTRAQ reagents and then identified and quantified using LC-MS/MS. The expression of PGAM1 was further validated in 139 gastric cancer patients using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the correlation of PGAM1 expression with clinical parameters was analyzed. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to identify gene sets that were activated in PGAM1-overexpressing patients with gastric cancer.PGAM1 was significantly overexpressed in most cancers but particularly so in gastric cancer, with a sensitivity of 82.01% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 75.5%-88.5%) and specificity of 79.13% (95% CI: 72.3%-86%). Its expression was significantly associated with histological grade II and III tumors (p = 0.033), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.031), and TNM III-IV staging (p = 0.025). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the detection of PGAM1 overexpression in gastric cancer was 0.718 (p 0.01). Furthermore, GSEA revealed that several important pathways such as glycolysis pathway and immune pathways were significantly enriched in patients with gastric cancer with PGAM1 overexpression.This study provided a sensitive method for detecting PGAM1, which may serve as a novel indicator for poor prognosis of gastric cancer, as well as a potent drug target for gastric cancer.

The dynamics of low-β magnetic reconnection (MR) driven by laser interaction with a capacitor–coil target are reexamined by simulations in this paper. We compare two cases MR and non-MR (also referred as AP-case and P-case standing for the anti-parallel and parallel magnetic field lines, respectively) to distinguish the different characteristics between them. We find that only in the AP-case the reconnection electric field shows up around the X line and the electron jet is directed toward the X line. The quadruple magnetic fields exist in both cases, however, they distribute in the current sheet area in the AP-case, and out of the squeezing area in the P-case, because electrons are demagnetized in the electron diffusion region in the MR process, which is absent in the P-case. The electron acceleration is dominant by the Fermi-like mechanism before the MR process, and by the reconnection electric field when the MR occurs. A power-law electron energy spectrum with an index of 1.8 is found in the AP-case. This work proves the significant potential of this experimental platform to be applied in the studies of low-β astronomy phenomena.

Objective To verify the reliability and validity of the simplified Chinese version of the Yale Physical Activity Survey (YPAS) scale in the measurement of physical activity of elderly women in mainland China to provide a new standardized scale for evaluating the level of physical activity. Methods Twenty-one healthy elderly women completed all the research procedures. The participants completed the questions on the YPAS and wore an Omegawave Sport Technology®System diagnostic system that recorded maximum oxygen uptake and the adaptation index of the energy metabolism system. The reliability of the YPAS was evaluated based on the consistency of the two measurements (pre-test and post-test), and its validity was verified based on the relevant indicators in the Omegawave diagnostic system. Descriptive statistics, intraclass correlation coefficient and Pearson correlation analysis were used. The significance level was set at p Results In terms of reliability, the Pearson correlation coefficient and ICC of the total physical activity time of YPAS (r = 0.917, ICC = 0.897) was high. In terms of total calories, the Pearson correlation coefficient and ICC of the two test results was high (r = 0.958, ICC = 0.934). On the YPAS total index, the Pearson correlation coefficient and ICC of the two test was high (r = 0.930, ICC = 0.920). In terms of validity, there was a moderate correlation between the energy metabolism system adaptation index and the YPAS-total time (r = 0.472) and a moderate correlation with total calories (r = 0.472). There was a high correlation between the YPAS-total index and the maximum oxygen uptake (r = 0.782). Conclusion The simplified Chinese version of the YPAS can measure the level of physical activity and energy metabolism of elderly women in mainland China. It is a reliable tool for measuring the physical activity of the elderly.

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of 6-phosphogluconolactonase (PGLS) in gastric cancer.The protein extracted from a panel of four pairs of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent tissues, labeled with iTRAQ (8-plex) reagents, and followed by LC-ESI-MS/MS. The expressions of proteins were further validated by immunohistochemistry analysis. The expression levels of mRNA were analyzed and validated in the Oncomine database. The correlations of PGLS with prognostic outcomes were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier plotter database.The present study found that PGLS was significantly up-regulated in gastric cancer by using iTRAQ-based proteomics and immunohistochemistry analysis. The sensitivity of PGLS in gastric cancer was 72.9%. The high expression of PGLS was significantly correlated with TNM staging in gastric cancer (p = 0.02). The overexpression of PGLS predicts worse overall survival (OS) and post-progression survival (PPS) for gastric cancer (OS, HR = 1.48, p = 2.1e-05; PPS, HR = 1.35, p = 0.015). Specifically, the high PGLS expression predicts poor OS, PPS in male gastric cancer patients, in patients with lymph node metastasis and in patients with Her-2 (-).These findings suggested that PGLS was aberrantly expressed in gastric cancer and predicts poor overall survival, post-progression survival for gastric cancer patients. The present study collectively supported that PGLS is an important target for early determining and follow-up monitoring for gastric cancer.

Simple Summary The size of primate ‘harems’ varies considerably, both inter- and intra-specifically. Previous studies have shown that females prefer high-quality males and that high-quality males are superior in inter-male competition, leading to them having a larger harem size. Based on eleven years of observations of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti), we documented longitudinal stability in the distribution of harem sizes between 2010 and 2020. These demographic properties are the outcome of male and female social investment decisions that affect their reproductive performance and success. Male reproductive success was positively related to harem size, while constraints on individual social benefits and social investments limited harem size. Our findings advance our understanding of the socioecological determinants of harem size variation in polygynous primates. Abstract We used long-term data on the variation in harem size in Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys to research the effects of harem size on reproductive success and the ratio of grooming received to given (RGRG). The results suggest that harem holders derive reproductive benefits commensurate with harem size, whereas the females’ reproductive success is unaffected by harem size. Males of larger harems groomed less and had higher RGRG than males of smaller harems. In the case of females, grooming given increased, and RGRG decreased with an increase in harem size. The males’ reproductive success seems to be a driver of harem size maximization. From the females’ perspective, dwindling social benefits appear to set the upper limit for harem enlargement. We also showed that males of monogamous units (‘single-female harems’) invested more into grooming their female, presumably to prevent unit disintegration and loss of mating privileges.

Background: Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is one effective method used to delay cognitive decline in older adults. However, the relationship between the long-term practice of TCC and the crucial working memory updating function of the brain in the elderly has not been comprehensively researched.Objective: This cross-sectional study explores how behavioral performance in a laboratory setting is related to long term practice of TCC on the updating function in older people using reaction times (RTs) of N-back tasks. Methods: 26 healthy elderly people participated in this experiment. According to the length of time TCC was practiced, 13 subjects in the TCC group had more than 5 years’ experience of TCC exercise, and 13 elderly subjects who had not been systematically exposed to mind-body exercise were assigned to the novice group. The N-back task was administered to every participant to evaluate the updating function. Results: The TCC group had faster RTs compared to the novice group (p

A Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) is a fundamental physical process of fluids and magnetized plasma. We report the experimental formation of a KHI produced by intense laser-driven thin plastic foils. For an external magnetic field in different directions, the KHI shows different evolutionary features. A theoretical derivation shows that an external magnetic field has a stronger effect on KHI growth when its component is perpendicular to the plasma flow. A linear evolutionary stage of the KHI is captured by optimizing the target design, which is reproduced by FLASH simulation.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive brain-stimulation technique that transiently modulates cerebral cortex excitability, achieving overall positive results in poststroke motor-function recovery. Excessive inhibition of the ipsilesional-affected hemisphere by the contralesional-unaffected hemisphere has seriously hindered poststroke motor-function recovery. Hence, intracortical disinhibition can be used as an approach to managing poststroke brain injury. This technique promotes neural plasticity for faster motor-function recovery. rTMS relieves unilateral inhibition of the brain function by regulatinga interhemispheric-imbalanced inhibition. This paper summarized 12 studies from 2016 to date, focusing on rTMS on motor function after acute and chronic stroke by regulating the interhemispheric imbalance of inhibitory inputs. Although rTMS studies have shown promising outcomes on recovery of motor functions in stroke patients, different intervention methods may lead to discrepancies in results. A uniform optimal stimulus model cannot routinely be used, mainly due to the stimulus schemes, stroke types and outcome-measuring differences among studies. Thus, the effect of rTMS on poststroke motor-function recovery should be investigated further to standardize the rTMS program for optimal poststroke motor-function recovery. More randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials with standardized rTMS protocols are needed to ensure the effectiveness of the treatment.

The acceleration characteristics of fragments generated from explosively-driven cylindrical shells are important issues in warhead design. However, there is as yet no reasonable theory for predicting the acceleration process of a specific metallic shell; existing approaches either ignore the effects of shell disintegration and the subsequent gas leakage on fragment acceleration or treat them in a simplified manner. In this paper, a theoretical model was established to study the acceleration of discrete fragments under the combined effect of shell disintegration and gas leakage. Firstly, an equation of motion was developed, where the acceleration of a cylindrical shell and the internal detonation gas was determined by the motive force impacting the inner surface of the metallic cylinder. To account for the force decrease induced by both the change in fragment area after the shell disintegrates and the subsequent drop in gas pressure due to gas leakage, the equation of motion was then associated with an equation for the locally isentropic expansion of the detonation gas and a modified gas-leakage equation. Finally, theoretical analysis was conducted by solving the associated differential equations. The proposed model showed good agreement with experimental data and numerical simulations, indicating that it was suitable for predicting the acceleration of discrete fragments generated from a disintegrated warhead shell. In addition, this study facilitated a better understanding of the complicated interaction between fragment acceleration and gas outflow.

The Zeeman splitting effect is observed in a strong magnetic field generated by a laser-driven coil. The expanding plasma from the coil wire surface is concentrated at the coil center and interacts with the simultaneously generated magnetic field. The Cu I spectral lines at wavelengths of 510.5541, 515.3235, and 521.8202 nm are detected and analyzed. The splittings of spectral lines are used to estimate the magnetic field strength at the coil center as ∼31.4 ± 15.7 T at a laser intensity of ∼5.6 × 1015 W/cm2, which agrees well with measurements using a B-dot probe. Some other plasma parameters of the central plasma disk are also studied. The temperature is evaluated from the Cu I spectral line intensity ratio, while the electron density is estimated from the Stark broadening effect.

Background Cryptochrome is a flavin-binding blue-light photoreceptor that functions in growth and development in plants, the circadian clock in animals and navigation in birds. However, a lack of purified cryptochrome has hindered studies of the structure and function of this protein. In this study, we obtained a substantial amount of the Columbia livia Cryptochrome1 (ClCry1) protein by using a prokaryotic expression system. In addition, we performed comprehensive experiments to assess the influence of several factors on the purification and yield of ClCry1, such as the inducer that was used, temperature, duration of expression and type of growth medium. These assays clearly indicated that such factors influenced the purification and yield of ClCry1. Moreover, Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (FAD) was added during expression and purification of ClCry1, which resulted in production of large amounts of ClCry1 protein with the FAD cofactor from the Escherichia coli (E. coli) heterologous expression system. We believe that this study provides a novel avenue to acquire large amounts of ClCry1 that contains FAD and lays the foundation for studies of the geomagnetic navigation mechanism of Aves. Objective In this article, our motivation is to sufficiently acquire functional ClCry1 protein. Method In this article, we performed series of experiments to optimize the yields of ClCry1 protein expression by conducting with expression-vectors, variable inducers, temperatures, medias and durations of induction, which also identified the most appropriate conditions for obtaining functional ClCry1. Moreover, we identified a solution for the FAD abscission of ClCry1 by adding additional FAD into the dialysis buffer during the purification. Results Following our performed series of experiments, we assessed several crucial parameters, such as inducer, temperature, duration of induction, culture medium and recombinant expression vector. The highest yields of ClCry1 were observed with 0.01 mM IPTG and expressing for 8 h with pET21a-ClCry1 as recombinant expression vectors. Conclusion We demonstrated the feasibility of heterologous expression of ClCry1 in E. coli. In addition, we identified a solution for the low yield and FAD abscission of ClCry1 by conducting several experiments with variable inducers, temperatures, medias and durations of induction, which also identified the most appropriate conditions for obtaining functional ClCry1. Moreover, the typical yield was approximately 6 mg of ClCry1 from 2-liter culture, and 50% of the final protein contained the FAD cofactor. These results strongly suggest that our expression strategy is useful.

Ultrafast proton radiography has been frequently used for direct measurement of the electromagnetic fields around laser-driven capacitor-coil targets. The goal is to accurately infer the coil currents and their magnetic field generation for a robust magnetic field source that can lead to many applications. The technique often involves numerical calculations for synthetic proton images to reproduce experimental measurements. While electromagnetic fields are the primary source for proton deflections around the capacitor coils, stopping power and small angle deflection can also contribute to the observed experimental features. Here we present a comprehensive study of the proton radiography technique including all sources of proton deflections as a function of coil shapes, current magnitudes, and proton energies. Good agreements were achieved between experimental data and numerical calculations that include both the stopping power and small angle deflections, particularly when the induced coil currents were small.

We discuss the formation of a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) produced by a laser-driven thin separate plastic (CH) foil plasma. The experimental design consists of magnetized plasma driven by intense laser irradiation and a small cylindrical permanent magnet. By comparing situations with and without an external magnetic field, we found that the KHI showed different rolling features which could be effectively suppressed by an external magnetic field. A quantitative analysis shows the consistency between the experiments and theory.

Laser-driven magnetic reconnection (LDMR) occurring with self-generated B fields has been experimentally and theoretically studied extensively, where strong B fields of more than megagauss are spontaneously generated in high-power laser–plasma interactions, which are located on the target surface and produced by non-parallel temperature and density gradients of expanding plasmas. For properties of the short-lived and strong B fields in laser plasmas, LDMR opened up a new territory in a parameter regime that has never been exploited before. Here we review the recent results of LDMR taking place in both high and low plasma beta environments. We aim to understand the basic physics processes of magnetic reconnection, such as particle accelerations, scale of the diffusion region, and guide field effects. Some applications of experimental results are also given especially for space and solar plasmas.

Astrophysical collisionless shocks are amazing phenomena in space and astrophysical plasmas, where supersonic flows generate electromagnetic fields through instabilities and particles can be accelerated to high energy cosmic rays. Until now, understanding these micro-processes is still a challenge despite rich astrophysical observation data have been obtained. Laboratory astrophysics, a new route to study the astrophysics, allows us to investigate them at similar extreme physical conditions in laboratory. Here we will review the recent progress of the collisionless shock experiments performed at SG-II laser facility in China. The evolution of the electrostatic shocks and Weibel-type/filamentation instabilities are observed. Inspired by the configurations of the counter-streaming plasma flows, we also carry out a novel plasma collider to generate energetic neutrons relevant to the astrophysical nuclear reactions.

A novel magnetically driven reconnection platform was created by a pair of U-shaped Cu coils that connect two parallel Cu plates irradiated at a focused laser intensity of ∼3 × 1016 W/cm2 and characterized using ultrafast proton radiography. The proton data show two prolate voids, each corresponding to the coil current, with an inferred maximum magnitude of 57 ± 4 kA. A center “flasklike” feature was also observed in the proton radiographs. By prescribing electromagnetic fields associated with magnetic reconnection in proton ray tracing simulations, characteristics of this center feature were reproduced. These results demonstrate the robustness of the laser-driven capacitor coils for generating strong magnetic fields and provide promise of using such coils as a viable platform for studying magnetically driven reconnection in the laboratory.A novel magnetically driven reconnection platform was created by a pair of U-shaped Cu coils that connect two parallel Cu plates irradiated at a focused laser intensity of ∼3 × 1016 W/cm2 and characterized using ultrafast proton radiography. The proton data show two prolate voids, each corresponding to the coil current, with an inferred maximum magnitude of 57 ± 4 kA. A center “flasklike” feature was also observed in the proton radiographs. By prescribing electromagnetic fields associated with magnetic reconnection in proton ray tracing simulations, characteristics of this center feature were reproduced. These results demonstrate the robustness of the laser-driven capacitor coils for generating strong magnetic fields and provide promise of using such coils as a viable platform for studying magnetically driven reconnection in the laboratory.

The entropy of the flow field could not keep constant due to a strong exothermic reaction of aluminum powders during the post-detonation expansion of the aluminized explosives. Therefore, a non-isentropic model incorporating the aluminum oxidation in the detonation products was established. To solve the non-isentropic expansion process analytically, it was assumed that the whole expansion process was divided into several time ranges and the flow field was isentropic in each time range. Besides, the method of characteristic line was applied to theoretically calculate the velocity of the metal plate driven by aluminized explosives. Moreover, the effects on the pressure, density, sound speed, and temperature of detonation products due to the change of the entropy were analyzed. Finally, the metal plate-pushing tests were conducted to measure the velocity of metal plate driven by aluminized explosives through the Photonic Doppler Velocimetry system, and the degree of aluminum reaction was calculated indirectly from the test results. By comparing the results based on the isentropic model and novel non-isentropic model, it was proved that the non-isentropic model could more correctly describe the driving process of detonation products of aluminized explosives.

Microwave radiation in several gigahertz frequency band is a common phenomenon in laser-plasma interactions. It can last hundreds of nanoseconds and cause huge electromagnetic pulse disturbances to electrical devices in experiments. It has been found that the microwave radiation might originate from the oscillation of charged chambers, the return current on target holders, the dipole radiation, the quadrupole radiation, and the electron bunch emitted from the plasma to the vacuum. The microwave radiation waveform, frequency spectrum, and intensity depend on many factors such as laser pulse, target, and chamber parameter. To distinguish the microwave radiation mechanisms, the influence of the experimental parameters on the radiation characteristics should be investigated systematically. In this paper we investigate the microwave radiation influenced by the laser intensity in nanosecond laser-plasma interactions. It is found that the microwave radiation intensity varies nonmonotonically with the laser intensity. For the lower laser intensity, the radiation intensity first increases and then decreases with laser intensity increasing, the radiation field continuously oscillates in tens of nanoseconds, and the radiation spectrum contains two components below and above 0.3 GHz, respectively. For the higher laser intensity, the radiation intensity increases with the laser intensity increasing, the radiation field has a unipolar radiation lasting tens of nanoseconds, and the radiation spectrum mainly includes the component below 0.3 GHz. The waveform and spectrum analysis show that these phenomena are due to the difference of the radiation mechanisms at different laser intensities. The frequency component below and above 0.3 GHz are induced by the electron bunch emitted from the plasma to the vacuum and the dipole radiation respectively. At low laser intensity, both the dipole radiation and the electron bunch emitted from the plasma contribute to the microwave radiation. At high laser intensity, the microwave radiation is mainly produced by the electron beam emitted from the plasma to the vacuum. This work is significant for understanding the microwave radiation mechanisms in nanosecond laser-plasma interactions, and implies the potential to provide a reference to the diagnosing of the escape electrons and the sheath field on the target surface by the microwave radiation in laser-plasma interaction.

Metabolomics is a powerful new technology that allows for the assessment of global metabolic profiles in easily accessible biofluids and biomarker discovery in order to distinguish between diseased and nondiseased status information. Deciphering the molecular networks that distinguish diseases may lead to the identification of critical biomarkers for disease aggressiveness. However, current diagnostic methods cannot predict typical Jaundice syndrome (JS) in patients with liver disease and little is known about the global metabolomic alterations that characterize JS progression. Emerging metabolomics provides a powerful platform for discovering novel biomarkers and biochemical pathways to improve diagnostic, prognostication, and therapy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to find the potential biomarkers from JS disease by using a nontarget metabolomics method, and test their usefulness in human JS diagnosis. Multivariate data analysis methods were utilized to identify the potential biomarkers. Interestingly, 44 marker metabolites contributing to the complete separation of JS from matched healthy controls were identified. Metabolic pathways (Impact-value≥0.10) including alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism and synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies were found to be disturbed in JS patients. This study demonstrates the possibilities of metabolomics as a diagnostic tool in diseases and provides new insight into pathophysiologic mechanisms.

A double-turn capacitor-coil is used to produce a magnetic field (38.5 T) and construct a topology of magnetic reconnection in a low-β (β < 1) plasma environment. The device is constructed with two metallic U-turn coils connecting two parallel metallic disks. High energy lasers are employed to ablate one disk spontaneously driving two currents in the two coils, which produces an interactive magnetic field topology. We demonstrated through experiments and numerical simulations that the reconnection process takes place between two non-uniform magnetic fields created by the coils, and that the plasma state and the associated magnetic topology in the process can be seen via the technology of the optical probe beam and the proton backlight.

In this paper, we introduce an improved hepatitis B virus(HBV) model to discuss the impact of vaccination. The basic reproductive number 0 R determine the extinction and the persistence of virus infection.When 0 R is less than one,the diseasefree equilibrium is globally-asymptotically stable and the infection becomes extinct eventually;When 0 R is greater than one,the unique endemic equilibrium exists and endemic equilibrium is locally asymptotically.The results indicate that vaccination plays an importment role in preventing and controlling the spread of HBV. Keywords-hepatitis b virus; basic reproduction number; globally asymptotical stable

A bow shock is formed in the interaction of a high-speed laser-driven plasma cloud with a cylinder obstacle. Its temporal and spatial structures are observed by shadowgraphy and interferometry. The width of the shock transition region is ~ 50 μm, comparable to the ion–ion collision mean free path, which indicates that collision is dominated in the shock probably. The Mach-number of the ablating plasma cloud is ~ 15 at first, and decreases with time resulting in a changing shock structure. A two-dimension hydrodynamics code, USim, is used to simulate the interaction process. The simulated shocks can well reproduce the observed.

Metabolomics is the study of metabolic changes in biological systems and provides the small molecule fingerprints related to the disease. Extracting biomedical information from large metabolomics data sets by multivariate data analysis is of considerable complexity. Therefore, more efficient and optimizing metabolomics data processing technologies are needed to improve mass spectrometry applications in biomarker discovery. Here, we report the findings of urine metabolomic investigation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients by high-throughput ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) coupled with pattern recognition methods (principal component analysis, partial least-squares, and OPLS-DA) and network pharmacology. A total of 20 urinary differential metabolites (13 upregulated and 7 downregulated) were identified and contributed to HCV progress, involve several key metabolic pathways such as taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, histidine metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, and so forth. Metabolites identified through metabolic profiling may facilitate the development of more accurate marker algorithms to better monitor disease progression. Network analysis validated close contact between these metabolites and implied the importance of the metabolic pathways. Mapping altered metabolites to KEGG pathways identified alterations in a variety of biological processes mediated through complex networks. These findings may be promising to yield a valuable and noninvasive tool that insights into the pathophysiology of HCV and to advance the early diagnosis and monitor the progression of disease. Overall, this investigation illustrates the power of the UPLC-MS platform combined with the pattern recognition and network analysis methods that can engender new insights into HCV pathobiology.

Metabolomics represents an emerging and powerful discipline concerned with the comprehensive analysis of small molecules and provides a powerful approach to discover biomarkers in biological systems. Recent development of biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of liver-stagnation and spleen-deficiency syndrome (LSS)-type disease remains challenging. This study was undertaken to discover novel potential biomarkers for the non-invasive early diagnosis of human LSS. Urine samples which are potentially a rich source of metabolites were collected from patients with LSS, together with healthy control samples. Metabolite profiling was performed by ultra-performance liquid-chromatography/electrospray-ionization synapt high-definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS) in conjunction with multivariate data analysis and ingenuity pathway analysis that were used to select the metabolites to be used for the non-invasive diagnosis of LSS. Twelve urinary differential metabolites contributing to the complete separation of LSS patients from matched healthy controls were identified involving several key metabolic pathways such as pentose and glucuronate interconversions, ascorbate, aldarate, cysteine, methionine, tyrosine, tryptophan, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism. More importantly, of the 12 differential metabolites, 4 metabolite markers, prolylhydroxyproline, L-homocystine, 2-octenoylcarnitine and α-N-phenylacetyl-L-glutamine, were effective for the diagnosis of human LSS, with an achieved sensitivity of 93.0%. These results demonstrate that robust metabolomics has the potential as a non-invasive strategy and promising screening tool to evaluate the potential of these metabolites in the early diagnosis of LSS patients and provides new insight into pathophysiological mechanisms.