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Abstract The construction of a large-scale quantum internet requires quantum repeaters containing multiple entangled photon sources with identical wavelengths. Semiconductor quantum dots can generate entangled photon pairs deterministically with high fidelity. However, realizing wavelength-matched quantum-dot entangled photon sources faces two difficulties: the non-uniformity of emission wavelength and exciton fine-structure splitting induced fidelity reduction. Typically, these two factors are not independently tunable, making it challenging to achieve simultaneous improvement. In this work, we demonstrate wavelength-tunable entangled photon sources based on droplet-etched GaAs quantum dots through the combined use of AC and quantum-confined Stark effects. The emission wavelength can be tuned by ~1 meV while preserving an entanglement fidelity f exceeding 0.955(1) in the entire tuning range. Based on this hybrid tuning scheme, we finally demonstrate multiple wavelength-matched entangled photon sources with f > 0.919(3), paving the way towards robust and scalable on-demand entangled photon sources for quantum internet and integrated quantum optical circuits.

Fock-state lattices (FSLs) consist of the Fock states of photons and atoms, establishing a quantum photonic platform for simulating condensed matter physics. Remarkably, various topological phenomena, such as topological edge states, strain-induced Landau levels, the valley Hall effect, and the quantum anomalous Hall effect, are intricately linked to the quantum properties of light. Recent advancements in state-of-the-art superconducting circuits have enabled the observation of these topological quantum photonic phenomena. With scalable dimensions and flexible structure engineering, FSLs offer a novel tool for investigating high-dimensional topological physics and devising innovative devices for quantum information processing. This review delves into the latest theoretical and experimental developments in this emerging field, situated at the intersection of quantum optics, topological physics, and quantum information.

Infection is among the most common causes of death in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after chemotherapy. The anti-tumor effect of the intestinal microbiota in patients with AML is increasingly being recognized. Tigecycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotics, plays a vital role in the anti-infection treatment of AML patients with neutropenia and accompanying infections. Previously, this group reported that long-term use of tigecycline caused coagulation dysfunction in patients with hematological malignancies, increasing the risk of casualties. RNA sequencing was performed on CHO cells before and after tigecycline treatment. Further, the combined analysis of AML prognostic differentially expressed genes revealed 13 genes affected by tigecycline and closely related to AML prognosis. These genes were used for modeling analysis, and the results showed that the prepared model significantly improved the prognostic prediction efficiency for AML patients. The model also explored the correlation between prognosis score and immune cells infiltrating tumors and immune therapy targets. Moreover, 16S sequencing was performed on fecal samples from AML patients before and after tigecycline treatment. The results revealed that tigecycline significantly altered the distribution of intestinal microbiota in AML patients - These changes in microbiota are related to chemotherapy resistance. This study emphasizes the importance of intestinal microbiota in AML prognosis. Thus, the findings of this study show that the long-term use of antibiotics can not only cause dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota but also indirectly affect the sensitivity of chemotherapy drugs, affecting the prognosis of AML patients.

ObjectiveTangbi capsule (TBC) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, which has the potential to improve the vascular insufficiency of lower extremities and limb numbness in diabetes. However, the potential mechanism remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the pharmacological effects and mechanism of TBC on rats with diabetic lower extremities arterial disease (LEAD).MethodsThe mechanism of TBC on diabetic LEAD was investigated through metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis, and the main components of TBC were determined by mass spectrometry. The efficacy and mechanism of TBC on diabetic LEAD rats were investigated through in vitro experiments, histopathology, blood flow monitoring, western blot, and real-time polymerase chain reaction.ResultsMass spectrometry analysis identified 31 active chemical components in TBC including (2R)-2,3-Dihydroxypropanoic acid, catechin, citric acid, miquelianin, carminic acid, salicylic acid, formononetin, etc. In vitro analysis showed that TBC could reduce endothelial cell apoptosis and promote angiogenesis. Histopathological analysis showed that TBC led to an obvious improvement in diabetic LEAD as it improved fibrous tissue proliferation and reduced arterial wall thickening. In addition, TBC could significantly increase the expression levels of HIF-1α, eNOS, and VEGFA proteins and genes while reducing that of calpain-1 and TGF-β, suggesting that TBC can repair vascular injury. Compared with the model group, there were 47 differentially expressed genes in the whole blood of TBC groups, with 25 genes upregulated and 22 downregulated. Eighty-seven altered metabolites were identified from the serum samples. Combining the changes in differentially expressed genes and metabolites, we found that TBC could regulate arginine biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, vitamin B6 metabolism and other metabolic pathways related to angiogenesis, immune-inflammatory response, and cell growth to improve diabetic LEAD.ConclusionTBC improved vascular endothelial injury, apoptosis, lipid accumulation, liver and kidney function, and restored blood flow in the lower extremities of diabetic LEAD rats. The mechanism of TBC in the treatment of diabetic LEAD may be related to the modulation of inflammatory immunity, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. This study presented preliminary evidence to guide the use of TBC as a therapy option for diabetic LEAD.

Abstract Flatbands play an important role in correlated quantum matter and have promising applications in photonic lattices. Synthetic magnetic fields and destructive interference in lattices are traditionally used to obtain flatbands. However, such methods can only obtain a few flatbands with most bands remaining dispersive. Here we realize all-band-flat photonic lattices of an arbitrary size by precisely controlling the coupling strengths between lattice sites to mimic those in Fock-state lattices. This allows us to go beyond the perturbative regime of strain engineering and group all eigenmodes in flatbands, which simultaneously achieves high band flatness and large usable bandwidth. We map out the distribution of each flatband in the lattices and selectively excite the eigenmodes with different chiralities. Our method paves a way in controlling band structure and topology of photonic lattices.

Abstract Entangled photons with time-energy correlations are predicted to have improved sensitivity compared with classical light in two-photon fluorescence, which is promising for lowering the phototoxicity in biomedical imaging. While the mechanism has been demonstrated in atoms and crystals, the effectiveness in biological molecules has been under debate. Here we report the experimental results, including both positive and negative ones, in various samples. While entanglement induced enhancement in the sum frequency generation of a nonlinear crystal was confirmed, we observe no such enhancement in the two-photon nonlinear process of various molecules. However, we observed classical two-photon fluorescence excited by nW light in rare earth element doped core-shell structure nano-crystals, which can also be used in sensitive biomedical imaging. Our results provide guidance in characterizing the effect of entanglement in two-photon processes.

Aqueous batteries are promising for large-scale applications owing to their affordability, eco-friendliness, and nonflammability. However, their usability in cold regions is limited by electrolyte freezing and slow ion-transfer kinetics at subzero temperatures. This study demonstrates the stable operation of aqueous batteries in subzero conditions by integrating high-efficiency photothermal current collectors with suspension electrodes. The Ketjen black-based photothermal current collectors efficiently convert a broad spectrum of sunlight (98%, 200–2500 nm) into thermal energy, enabling rapid heat generation. Simultaneously, the high thermal conductivity of the suspension electrode ensures quick distribution of thermal energy throughout the battery. This configuration allows the cell’s core temperature to rapidly increase from −18 °C to 20 °C within 22 min under simulated solar irradiation. Additionally, an integrated light concentrator and temperature regulation system has been developed to improve heating rates and ensure the temperature stability of the cell under various climatic conditions. As a result, the cell can maintain a stable temperature of 20 °C during consecutive charge/discharge cycles, even with an ambient temperature fluctuating between −5 °C and 5 °C. This integrated photothermal battery design exhibits great potential for cold weather conditions, paving the way for the deployment of large-scale aqueous battery systems in polar regions.

Abstract Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries has emerged as a promising post‐lithium‐ion battery technology due to their high potential energy density and low raw material cost. Recent years have witnessed substantial progress in research on Li–S batteries, yet no high‐energy Li–S battery products have reached the market at scale. Achieving high‐energy Li–S batteries necessitates a multidisciplinary approach involving advanced electrode material design, electrochemistry, and electrode and cell engineering. In this perspective, we offer a holistic view of pathways for realizing high‐energy Li–S batteries under practical conditions. Starting with a market outlook for high‐energy batteries, we present a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the critical parameters that dictate the cell‐level energy density for a Li–S battery. Thereby we establish a protocol to expedite the integration of lab‐scale Li–S research results into practical cell. Furthermore, we underscore several key considerations for promotion of commercial viability of high‐energy Li–S batteries from the perspective of battery industrialization.

Inspired by state-of-the-art material science, computer techniques, artificial intelligence, and automatic control, new-generation transportation infrastructures are becoming digitalized and intelligent. Many major developed countries around the globe are actively promoting the application of innovative intelligence-based technologies in transportation infrastructures in accordance with local conditions. This review begins with a brief discussion on the basic definition, scientific foundation, and development process for the intellectualization of transportation infrastructures. Then, following the whole life-cycle chain of design, construction, operational maintenance, and elimination, the current research status and major challenges presented by intellectualization technologies are systematically investigated. Subsequently, recent achievements in intellectual technologies are comprehensively presented by selecting the Beijing–Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway—the world’s first railway built based on the concept of intelligent construction—as an example. Finally, a discussion on the future development of the intellectualization of transportation infrastructures is provided from the three dimensions of standard systems, theoretical methods, and talent training.

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of same-session flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) for the treatment of bilateral upper urinary tract stones and to examine the influence of stone load on the outcome of same-session fURS, stratifying by total diameter of stones (TDS) ≤30 mm vs. >30 mm.Patients and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed all cases of same-session fURS performed for bilateral upper urinary tract stones at four institutions between January 2017 and September 2020. All patients were divided into two groups based on TDS, ≤30 mm and >30 mm. Data on patient demographics, stone characteristics, surgical results, and complications were collected and analyzed for differences between the two groups. Stone-free rate (SFR) was defined as patients endoscopically stone-free or with radiological fragments 30 mm group. The mean bilateral stone size was 28.2 ± 12.2 mm (range: 9.1–38.4 mm), with a mean operating time of 97.1 ± 39.6 min (range: 19–220 min). The SFR was 54.5% after the first fURS, and SFR increased to 97.5% after re-fURS for residual stones. The operation time for the TDS > 30 mm group was longer than that of the TDS ≤ 30 mm group (85.1 ± 36.5 vs. 115.4 ± 37.4 min, p < 0.001). The SFR after the first fURS was significantly lower in the TDS > 30 mm group than in the TDS ≤ 30 mm group (25.0% vs. 73.9%, p < 0.001). Although there was no statistically significant difference in overall SFR between the two groups (93.7% vs. 100%, p = 0.060), the rate of re-fURS for residual stones was higher in the TDS > 30 mm group than in the TDS ≤ 30 mm group (75% vs. 26%, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in length of hospital stay (LOS) (2.2 ± 0.7 vs. 2.3 ± 1.0, p = 0.329) or complication rate (10.9% vs. 14.6%, p = 0.582) between the two groups.ConclusionThe results suggested that same-session fURS can be effectively performed with a low complication rate. A higher SFR after the first fURS can be achieved in the case of bilateral upper urinary tract stones with TDS ≤ 30 mm, and priority should be given to same-session fURS.

Experimental extraction of Zak phase from band structures of a Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in the synthetic frequency dimension, constructed by two coupled ring resonators with bichromatic modulations of different amplitudes.

Abstract Introduction Surveys are common research tools, and questionnaires revisions are a common occurrence in longitudinal studies. Revisions can, at times, introduce systematic shifts in measures of interest. We formulate that questionnaire revision are a stochastic process with transition matrices. Thus, revision shifts can be reduced by first estimating these transition matrices, which can be utilized in estimation of interested measures. Materials and method An ideal survey response model is defined by mapping between the true value of a participant’s response to an interval in the grouped data type scale. A population completed surveys multiple times, as modeled with multiple stochastic process. This included stochastic processes related to true values and intervals. While multiple factors contribute to changes in survey responses, here, we explored the method that can mitigate the effects of questionnaire revision. We proposed the Version Alignment Method (VAM), a data preprocessing tool, which can separate the transitions according to revisions from all transitions via solving an optimization problem and using the revision-related transitions to remove the revision effect. To verify VAM, we used simulation data to study the estimation error and a real life MJ dataset containing large amounts of long-term questionnaire responses with several questionnaire revisions to study its feasibility. Result We compared the difference of the annual average between consecutive years. Without adjustment, the difference is 0.593 when the revision occurred, while VAM brought it down to 0.115, where difference between years without revision was in the 0.005, 0.125 range. Furthermore, our method rendered the responses to the same set of intervals, thus comparing the relative frequency of items before and after revisions became possible. The average estimation error in L infinity was 0.0044 which occupied the 95% CI which was constructed by bootstrap analysis. Conclusion Questionnaire revisions can induce different response bias and information loss, thus causing inconsistencies in the estimated measures. Conventional methods can only partly remedy this issue. Our proposal, VAM, can estimate the aggregate difference of all revision-related systematic errors and can reduce the differences, thus reducing inconsistencies in the final estimations of longitudinal studies.

Atoms moving through standing-wave lasers accumulate Zak phases, which have spectroscopic signatures, enabling room-temperature geometric phase reconstruction in momentum-space superradiance lattices.

Strigolactones (SLs) are a new class of phytohormones that not only act as signalling molecules with external rhizospheric fungus and stimulate the seed germination of root parasite weeds, but also regulate many aspects of plant development, such as regulating root and shoot architecture. These intriguing properties, which in turn, make SLs great potency for applications in agriculture. In this review, we highlight the recent advancements in applying SLs and their agonists or antagonists for agricultural applications, including controlling root parasite weeds, improving plant nutrient availability, and regulating abiotic stress responses. Although many SL agonists or antagonists have been synthesized since the first isolation of SL, strigol, in 1966, there is still no commercial application of this class of molecule. We also present an overview of the possible challenges for the practical application of SL agonists or antagonists.

In this study, a novel method to recover copper, zinc and iron from copper slag by SO2–O2 roasting-leaching-magnetic separation was proposed. The effect of roasting experiment conditions were roasting temperature of 900 °C, holding time of 120 min, and φSO2 (The volume fraction of SO2 in the mixed gas of SO2 and O2) of 90%. Under the leaching conditions of leaching temperature 80 °C, leaching time 1 h, liquid–solid ratio 14:1, and pH 7, 91.03% of copper and 85.04% of zinc can be recycled respectively. The iron in the leaching residue can be enriched and recovered by magnetic separation at a magnetic field strength of 3000 Gs for 40 min. The iron recovery rate is 85.88% with 53.86% of the iron grade in the concentrate.

Fe-containing phases had a critical influence on the mechanical properties especially the ductility of Al–Mg–Si alloys. In the present study, the Fe-containing phases in Al-1.2Mg-0.7Si-0.1Fe (wt.%, AA6061) alloys had been regulated by the combination of sub-rapid solidification (SRS) and alloying with 0.12 wt.% Cr. Consequently, the coarse needle/platelet β-Al5FeSi phases (average length: ∼27 μm) were regulated as polyhedral α-AlCrFeSi phases with smaller size (∼2 μm) and uniform distribution. Based on the thermodynamic calculation of solidification paths, this study developed a possible mechanism of the Fe-containing phase transformation. Specifically, alloying with Cr accelerated the formation of fivefold symmetry icosahedral quasicrystal θ-Al13(Fe, Cr)4 phases (Al13M4 phases), which then combined with Si atoms in the surrounding melt and favored the formation of polyhedral α-AlCrFeSi phases. Tensile properties of artificial aged alloys were significantly improved by the combination of SRS and alloying with 0.12 wt.% Cr. The yield and ultimate strength increased from ∼254 to ∼293 MPa and ∼288–∼335 MPa, respectively, and the elongation to failure increased from ∼10% to ∼21%. This study may provide guidelines to produce high-ductility Al–Mg–Si alloys by optimizing the Fe-containing phases.

Tumor necrosis factor-α-inducible protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2) is encoded by TNFAIP8L2 and is a newly identified negative regulator of natural and acquired immunity that plays a critical function in maintaining immune homeostasis. Recently, CAR-NK immune cell therapy has been a focus of major research efforts as a novel cancer therapeutic strategy. TIPE2 is a potential checkpoint molecule for immune cell maturation and antitumor immunity that could be used as a novel NK cell-based immunotherapeutic approach. In this study, we explored the expression of TNFAIP8L2 across various tumor types and found that TNFAIP8L2 was highly expressed in most tumor types and correlated with prognosis. Survival analysis showed that TNFAIP8L2 expression was predictive of improved survival in cervical-squamous-cell-carcinoma (CESC), sarcoma (SARC) and skin-cutaneous-melanoma (SKCM). Conversely, TNFAIP8L2 expression predicted poorer survival in acute myeloid leukemia (LAML), lower-grade-glioma (LGG), kidney-renal-clear-cell-carcinoma (KIRC) and uveal-melanoma (UVM). Analysis of stemness features and immune cell infiltration indicated that TNFAIP8L2 was significantly associated with cancer stem cell index and increased macrophage and dendritic cell infiltration. Our data suggest that TNFAIP8L2 may be a novel immune checkpoint biomarker across different tumor types, particularly in LAML, LGG, KIRC and UVM, and may have further utility as a potential target for immunotherapy.

In the context of global food crisis, applying the phytohormone-brassinosteroids (BRs) in combination with the fungicide-pyraclostrobin (Pyr) was beneficial for plant quality and productivity in several field trials. However, in addition to the benefits of disease control due to the innate fungicidal activity of Pyr, it remains to be understood whether the coapplication of BL+ Pyr exerts additional growth-promoting effects. For this purpose, the effects of BL treatment, Pyr treatment, and BL+ Pyr treatment in Arabidopsis thaliana were compared. The results showed that the yield increased at a rate of 25.6% in the BL+Pyr group and 9.7% in the BL group, but no significant change was observed in the Pyr group. Furthermore, the BL+Pyr treatment increased the fresh weight of both the leaves and the inflorescences. In contrast, the Pyr and BL treatments only increased the fresh weight of leaves and inflorescences, respectively. Additionally, the BL + Pyr treatment increased the Pn, Gs, Tr, Vc, max, Jmax, VTPU, ETR, Fv’/Fm’, ΦPSII, Rd, AYE and Rubisco enzyme activity by 26%, 38%, 40%, 16%, 19%, 15%, 9%, 10%, 17%, 179%, 18% and 32%, respectively. While, these paraments did not change significantly by the BL or Pyr treatments. Treatment with BL + Pyr and Pyr, rather than BL, improved the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents by upregulating genes related to chlorophyll biosynthesis and downregulating genes related to chlorophyll degradation. Additionally, according to transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis, the BL+ Pyr treatment outperformed the individual BL or Pyr treatments in activating the transcription of genes involved in photosynthesis and increasing sugar accumulation. Our results first validated that the combined usage of BL and Pyr exerted striking synergistic effects on enhancing plant biomass and yield by increasing photosynthetic efficiency. These results might provide new understanding for the agricultural effects by the co-application of BL and Pyr, and it might stimulate the efforts to develop new environment-friendly replacement for Pyr to minimize the ecotoxicology of Pyr.

Abstract The exploration of aqueous flexible metal–air batteries with high energy density and durability has attracted many research efforts with the demand for portable and wearable electronic devices. Aqueous flexible metal–air batteries feature Earth‐abundant materials, environmental friendliness, and operational safety. Each part of one metal–air battery can significantly affect the overall performance. This review starts with the fundamental working principles and the basic battery configurations and then highlights on the common issues and the recent advances in designing high‐performance metal electrodes, solid‐state electrolytes, and air electrodes. Bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts with high activity and long‐term stability for constructing efficient air electrodes in flexible metal–air batteries are summarized including metal‐free carbon‐based materials and nonprecious Co/Fe‐based materials (alloys, metal oxides, metal sulfites, metal phosphates, metal nitrates, single‐site metal–nitrogen–carbon materials, and composites). Finally, a perspective is provided on the existing challenges and possible future research directions in optimizing the performance and lifetime of the flexible aqueous solid‐state metal–air batteries.

Photonic honeycomb lattices have attracted attention for their interesting optical properties, but are complicated to reconfigure after fabrication. This work proposes to reduce this complexity to a 1D ring-resonator array by using only one real dimension and one synthetic dimension.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors represented by PD-1 have greatly changed the way cancer is treated. In addition to PD-1, new immune checkpoints are constantly excavated to better treat cancer. Recently, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) was identified as a new immune checkpoint and played a critical role in the treatment of tumors by inhibiting the proliferation and cytotoxicity of T cells induced by tumor antigen. To explore the targeting role of PTP1B in precision tumor therapy, we deeply analyzed the expression and prognosis of PTP1B in all tumors. Survival analysis results indicated that PTP1B was highly expressed in most tumor tissues and indicated poor prognosis in acute-myeloid-leukemia (LAML), brain-lower-grade-glioma (LGG), kidney-renal clear-cell-carcinoma (KIRC) and uveal-melanoma (UVM). The methylation status of PTP1B in these four tumors exhibited hypomethylation and mutation landscape showed that PTP1B had its specific characteristics in genomic instability and heterogeneity. The homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) were positive related to PTP1B expression in liver-hepatocellular-carcinoma (LIHC) and kidney-chromophobe (KICH), while the immunescore and immune infiltration displayed a significant positive correlation with PTP1B expression in LGG and UVM. Drug sensitivity tests showed that the PTP1B inhibitor MSI-1436 had a sensitivity effect suppressing tumor cell viability and suggested it enhanced the efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in cancers.

Abstract Green hydrogen represents a critical underpinning technology for achieving carbon neutrality. Although researchers often fixate on its energy inputs, a truly ‘green’ hydrogen production process would also be sustainable in terms of water and materials inputs. To address this holistic challenge, we demonstrate a new green hydrogen production system which can utilize secondary wastewater as the input (preserving scarce fresh water supplies for drinking and sanitation). The enabling feature of the proposed system is a self‐grown bifunctional CoNi electrode which consists of ultrathin, spontaneously deposited CoNi nanosheets on a three‐dimensional nickel foam. As such, a green synthesis process was developed using an immersion procedure at room‐temperature with zero net energy input. Testing revealed that the synthesized CoNi electrodes can reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a small overpotential of 197 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction and 315 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkalified wastewater. The values are ~16.5% and ~6.5% smaller than that from precious catalysts (20 wt% Pt/C and RuO2, respectively). Importantly, this CoNi catalyst offers outstanding durability for overall wastewater splitting. A prototype solar‐energy‐powered rooftop wastewater splitting system was constructed and can produce more than 100 L hydrogen on a sunny day in Sydney, Australia. Taken together, these results indicate that it is promising to unlock holistically green routes for hydrogen production by wastewater uplifting with regards to water, energy, and materials synthesis.

Enhancing electrode capacitance without compromising one other metrics for solid-state supercapacitors is of high interest yet difficult to achieve. Here the authors demonstrate a strategy of using nanofluidic electrode with very low porosity to increase the electrochemical capacitance of gel-based solid state supercapacitor.

Tigecycline is a broad-spectrum active intravenous antibiotic that is active against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. In Phase 3 and 4 clinical trials, increased all-cause mortality was observed in patients treated with tigecycline compared to patients in the control group. The reason for the increase is unclear. In this study, we found that tigecycline cause abnormal coagulation in tumor patients, especially in patients with hematological malignancies. The main manifestations were decreased fibrinogen and prolonged activated prothrombin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and D-dimer. In addition, through functional studies, we found that tigecycline inhibit platelet adhesion and aggregation, and the coagulation function of patients gradually recover after discontinuation. Gene sequencing results suggested that tigecycline significantly regulate the expression of genes related to platelet function pathways and increase the incidence of single nucleotide polymorphisms and the number of alternative splices in the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells treated with tigecycline. An abnormal function and low numbers of platelets are common in patients with hematological malignancies. Our study can explain the mechanism of abnormal coagulation caused by tigecycline. Additionally, doctors who apply tigecycline to cure infections in tumor patients should be warned.

Abstract. Background:. The optimal treatment for large impacted proximal ureteral stones remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and potential complications of mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) and retroperitoneal laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (RPLU) in the treatment of impacted proximal ureteral stones with size greater than 15 mm. Methods:. A total of 268 patients with impacted proximal ureteral stones greater than 15 mm who received MPCNL or RPLU procedures were enrolled consecutively between January 2014 and January 2019. Data on surgical outcomes and complications were collected and analyzed. Results:. Demographic and ureteral stone characteristics found between these two groups were not significantly different. The surgical success rate (139/142, 97.9% vs. 121/126, 96.0%, P = 0.595) and stone-free rate after 1 month (139/142, 97.9% vs. 119/126, 94.4%, P = 0.245) of RPLU group were marginally higher than that of the MPCNL group, but there was no significant difference. There was no significant difference in the drop of hemoglobin between the two groups (0.8 ± 0.6 vs. 0.4 ± 0. 2 g/dL, P = 0.621). The mean operative time (68.2 ± 12.5 vs. 87.2 ± 16.8 min, P = 0.041), post-operative analgesics usage (2/121, 1.7% vs. 13/139, 9.4%, P = 0.017), length of hospital stay after surgery (2.2 ± 0.6 vs. 4.8 ± 0.9 days, P

Abstract Background It is proposed a new running suture technique called Needle Adjustment Free (NAF) technique, or PAN suture. The efficiency and the safety were evaluated in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Methods This new running suture technique avoids the Needle Adjustment method used in traditional techniques. The new continuous suture technique (11 patients) was compared with the traditional continuous suture method (33 patients) used in both transperitoneal and retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) in terms of suture time (ST), warm ischemia time (WIT), blood loss (BL), open conversion rate and post-op discharge time, post-op bleeding, post-op DVT, ΔGFR (affected side, 3 months post-op). Differences were considered significant when P

Abstract Background In view of the natural resistance of hemicelluloses in lignocellulosic biomass on bioconversion of cellulose into fermentable sugars, alkali extraction is considered as an effective method for gradually fractionating hemicelluloses and increasing the bioconversion efficiency of cellulose. In the present study, sequential alkaline extractions were performed on the delignified ryegrass material to achieve high bioconversion efficiency of cellulose and comprehensively investigated the structural features of hemicellulosic fractions for further applications. Results Sequential alkaline extractions removed hemicelluloses from cellulose-rich substrates and degraded part of amorphous cellulose, reducing yields of cellulose-rich substrates from 73.0 to 27.7% and increasing crystallinity indexes from 31.7 to 41.0%. Alkaline extraction enhanced bioconversion of cellulose by removal of hemicelluloses and swelling of cellulose, increasing of enzymatic hydrolysis from 72.3 to 95.3%. In addition, alkaline extraction gradually fractionated hemicelluloses into six fractions, containing arabinoxylans as the main polysaccharides and part of β-glucans. Simultaneously, increasing of alkaline concentration degraded hemicellulosic polysaccharides, which resulted in a decreasing their molecular weights from 67,510 to 50,720 g/mol. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that the sequential alkaline extraction conditions had significant effects on the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose and the investigation of the physicochemical properties of hemicellulose. Overall, the investigation the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose-rich substrates and the structural features of hemicelluloses from ryegrass will provide useful information for the efficient utilization of cellulose and hemicelluloses in biorefineries.

Abstract Dementia is related to the cellular accumulation of β-amyloid plaques, tau aggregates, or α-synuclein aggregates, or to neurotransmitter deficiencies in the dopaminergic and cholinergic pathways. Cellular and neurochemical changes are both involved in dementia pathology. However, the role of dopaminergic and cholinergic networks in metabolic connectivity at different stages of dementia remains unclear. The altered network organisation of the human brain characteristic of many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders can be detected using persistent homology network (PHN) analysis and algebraic topology. We used 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) imaging data to construct dopaminergic and cholinergic metabolism networks, and used PHN analysis to track the evolution of these networks in patients with different stages of dementia. The sums of the network distances revealed significant differences between the network connectivity evident in the Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment cohorts. A larger distance between brain regions can indicate poorer efficiency in the integration of information. PHN analysis revealed the structural properties of and changes in the dopaminergic and cholinergic metabolism networks in patients with different stages of dementia at a range of thresholds. This method was thus able to identify dysregulation of dopaminergic and cholinergic networks in the pathology of dementia.

Abstract Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still incurable due to its heterogeneity and complexity of tumor microenvironment. It is imperative therefore to understand the molecular pathogenesis of AML and identify leukemia-associated biomarkers to formulate effective treatment strategies. Here, we systematically analyzed the clinical characters and natural killer (NK) cells portion in seventy newly-diagnosis (ND) AML patients. We found that the proportion of NK cells in the bone marrow of ND-AML patients could predict the prognosis of patients by analyzing the types and expression abundance of NK related ligands in tumor cells. Furthermore, MCL1 inhibitor but not BCL2 inhibitor combined with NK cell-based immunotherapy could effectively improve the therapeutic efficiency via inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis of AML primary cells as well as cell lines in vitro. There results provide valuable insights that could help for exploring new therapeutic strategies for leukemia treatment.

Due to the gapless between any two successive subbands with the same spin, the spin polarization in uniform MoS2 zigzag nanoribbon (MoS2-ZR) is weak. Here, through configuring Z-shaped structure, we realize 100% spin polarization in MoS2-ZR with only exchange field. The filtered spin electrons transmit along a specified edge of the device. This phenomenon is the result of the combined effect of the localized edge states and structure induced inversion of the Mo-edge and S-edge. In our calculation the fully spin polarization appears in several energy regions, so this Z-shaped MoS2-ZRs can be used in making spintronic devices.

Abstract This study investigates the possibility of the carbon nanotube (CNT)‐based through‐silicon vias (TSVs) for improving power integrity of 3‐D integrated circuits (3‐D ICs). The circuit model is developed for 2‐bit CNT TSV and validated through the full‐wave electromagnetic simulator HFSS simulations. The 2‐bit CNT TSV is applied to power distribution networks (PDNs) by combining the validated equivalent‐circuit model and that TSV‐based PDN impedance is compared with the traditional one. By virtue of the large capacitance and low inductance of the 2‐bit CNT TSV, the PDN impedance of the 3‐D IC can be suppressed significantly and the anti‐resonant frequency can be increased.

Objective To observe the clinical value of early application of tirofiban in patients with non⁃macrovascular occlusive ischemic stroke beyondtime window. Methods Clinicaldata of90 patients with non⁃macrovascular occlusive ischemic stroke treated beyond time window from April 2017 to April 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to different treatment, they were dividedinto 2 groups,one group given tirofiban combined with double antibody treatment (treatment group, 50 cases) and another group given double antibody treatment only (control group, 40 cases). National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to evaluate the neurological status of patients on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day of treatment. On the day of admission and 3 months after treatment, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADL) were used to evaluate the neurological recovery and activities of daily living. The occurrence of bleeding and severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count

This paper presents two complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR)-based sensors for full characterization of magneto-dielectric materials. The first proposed sensor is designed by loading the microstrip line with a CSRR, while the second one is by loading the microstrip line with two CSRRs. To distinguish the effects of permittivity and permeability on the shift of resonant frequency, the electric and magnetic fields are designed to be located at two separate zones in the CSRR. Two 50Ω resistors are mounted at the ends of the microstrip line to increase the quality factor. In addition, the second sensor can perform measurements of complex permittivity and complex permeability of the magneto-dielectric materials in a single run, thereby making the measurement faster, easier, and in a more cost-effective way. The prototypes of two proposed sensors are fabricated and tested for validation of their functionality. A good agreement can be achieved between the measured data and the reference values from the manufacturers' datasheet, thereby demonstrating the applicability of the proposed sensors for full characterization of the magneto-dielectric materials.

Abstract Two‐dimensional (2D) materials are being increasingly exploited for ion transport and storage under nanoconfinement. Here we demonstrate distinct ion transport behavior upon potential‐induced redox reaction in 2D tungstate anion cross‐linked polyaniline (TALP) electrode. It is found that, in the neutral electrolyte, SO42− ion serves as the main charge carrier in 2D polyaniline backbone when the electrical double layer charging dominates. While in an acidic electrolyte, proton transport in TALP turns to be the dominant ion behavior that is associated with the proton‐promoting surface redox processes. Moreover, higher capacitance along with better capacitive retention at a high rate is also demonstrated for TALP electrode in acidic electrolyte compared with that in the neutral environment. The results show that 2D nanoionics can be manipulated by applying redox‐active materials to build the nanochannels that allow the regulation of surface charge and chemistry with potential‐specific redox reactions.

This study proposes an ultrahigh-sensitivity split-ring resonator-based microwave sensor for retrieving the complex permittivity of liquid samples. An interdigital capacitor structure was used to expand the sensing area and the sensitivity. A defected ground structure and A parallel dual split-ring resonator were introduced to improve the quality factor. A polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic channel substrate was placed above the interdigital capacitor structure. The channel route coincided with the interdigital gap to fully utilize the strong electric field. Ethanol–water solutions with varying ethanol fractions were injected into the channel as the testing liquid. It was demonstrated that the variation in resonant frequency can be used to retrieve the dielectric properties of liquid samples. The proposed sensor used a small liquid volume of ~0.68 μL and provided values in good agreement with the reference data.

This paper investigates the electrical performance of graphene-based on-chip spiral inductors by virtue of a physics-based equivalent circuit model. The skin and proximity effects, as well as the substrate loss effect, are considered and treated appropriately. The graphene resistance and inductance are combined into the circuit model. It is demonstrated that the electrical characteristics of the on-chip square spiral inductor can be improved by replacing copper with graphene. Moreover, graphene exhibits more effectiveness in improving the inductance in tapered inductors than uniform ones.

Abstract Background Acupoint catgut embedding therapy characterized by acupoint, needle and catgut are superior to traditional acupuncture, due to exerting more comprehensive therapeutic efficacy. However, it is still deficient in clinical evidence for polyglycolic acid sutures, a novel biodegradable material instead of catgut, embedded for the treatment of simple obesity. In our study, we investigate the efficacy and related mechanism of polyglycolic acid sutures embedded in abdominal acupoints on simple obese persons by a randomized control trial. Methods A total of 51 eligible participators were randomly allocated to a polyglycolic acid sutures embedding therapy (PASET) group (n = 28) or control group (n = 23). Participators in PASET group received polyglycolic acid sutures alternatively embedded in abdominal I group and II group acupoints in odd and even number therapeutic courses, and participators in control group were required to perform lifestyle modification. The duration of the study was 10 weeks. Results It suggested that PASET significantly reduced weight, body mass index, hip circumference, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio and thickness of abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue compared with those before treatment (p

Sodium ion batteries are known to benefit from the use of ether electrolytes. Here the authors reveal the origin showing that the energy barrier of charge transfer at the electrolyte/electrode interface dominates the interfacial electrochemical characteristics and is favorably small.

Thermal crosstalk in a highly integrated RRAM array due to the self-heating effect is one of the most critical issues affecting device reliability. In this paper, two types of “thermal-house” structures are proposed to optimize the thermal management of the RRAM array. An in-house developed parallel simulator is employed to study the performance of the proposed thermal house structures in terms of resistance ratio and crosstalk temperature. It is demonstrated that the proposed thermal house structures can help to reduce thermal crosstalk in high-density RRAM arrays. Some suggestions are also provided for further improving the thermal management capability of the thermal houses as well.

A hybrid finite volume-finite element method which can avoid overestimation of volume shared by each vertex in the meshing grid is proposed to solve the diffusive transport governed continuity equation. The simulation results demonstrate that the improved algorithm can eliminate unphysical distortions as compared to the conventional Scharfetter Gummel method. Based on the proposed algorithm, a parallel-computation simulator is developed for large-scale electrothermal simulation of resistive random access memory (RRAM) arrays, in which the domain decomposition method and J parallel adaptive unstructured mesh applications infrastructure are adopted. The validity, speedup, and scalability of the parallel simulator are investigated on the TianHe-2 supercomputer. Based on the simulated results, the electrothermal characteristics and reliability analysis of large-scale RRAM arrays are investigated in detail.

Abstract Background Cough variant asthma (CVA) is one of the leading causes of chronic coughing. The main treatment is currently anti-inflammatory medication. However, the coughing may return or be aggravated and lung function may deteriorate once the anti-inflammatory treatment is stopped. The effect of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on chronic coughing is remarkable, but high-quality evidence supporting its effectiveness is still lacking. This trial aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy, especially the long-term efficacy, of CHM plus anti-inflammatory medications for the treatment of CVA. Methods/design A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial will be conducted. It will consist of a 3-month intervention followed by a 6-month follow-up period. The target sample size is 60 patients with CVA who are between 18 and 70 years old. The eligible subjects will be allocated randomly into the experimental or control group in a ratio of 1:1. Patients in the experimental group will take CHM granules (4.9 g twice daily), while patients in the control group will be given a matched placebo. An administration of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination for 12 weeks will be the basic therapy for the two groups. The primary outcome is the cough visual analog scales (CVAS). The secondary outcomes include quality of life, rate of symptom relapse, lung function, and blood tests. A safety assessment will also be performed during the trial. Discussion The evidence gathered by the trial will be a valuable addition to informing treatment options for patients with CVA. Trial registration http://www.chictr.org.cn, ID: ChiCTR-IOR-16009148. Registered on 3 September 2016.

Summary: Carbon-based supercapacitors (SCs) are important electrochemical energy storage devices and are often used in electronic equipment that generates a magnetic field. However, whether the magnetic field affects the charge storage of SCs is unknown. Here, we discover that applying an external magnetic field to carbon-based SCs can induce capacitance change in both aqueous acidic and alkaline electrolytes but not in neutral electrolytes. We further show that, in KOH electrolytes, the competition between the driving force caused by the Lorentz force and the damping force related to the electrolyte conductivity plays a crucial role in affecting the OH− transport under the magnetic field. In H2SO4 electrolytes, the third paramagnetic force generated by the paramagnetic H+ under the magnetic field hinders the H+ transport in addition to the above forces. A quantitative relationship among the limiting current density at the electrode-electrolyte interface, the intensity of the magnetic field, and the concentration and viscosity of electrolytes can therefore be established.

Background/AimsExenatide is a glucagon-like polypeptide-1 analog, whose main clinical use is to treat type 2 diabetes. However, the mechanism of exenatide in mitigating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo effect of exenatide on NASH.MethodsLeptin receptor-deficient C57BL/KsJ- db/db male mice were fed with methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet for 4 weeks to induce NASH, while oleic acid/LPS-treated HepG2 cells were used as an in vitro cell model. Exenatide (20 µg/kg/day, subcutaneous) and specific exenatide inhibitors (20 µg/kg/day, intraperitoneal) were used to determine the effects of exenatide on NASH.ResultsExenatide treatment inhibited the pyroptosis signaling pathway to attenuate NASH.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this report provides the first evidence showing that exenatide attenuated NASH by inhibiting the pyroptosis signaling pathway. Exenatide thus has important pathophysiological functions in NASH and may represent a useful new therapeutic target.

Topologically protected states are important in realizing robust excitation transfer between distant sites in photonic lattices. Here, we propose an efficient gap-protected transfer of photons in a scalable one-dimensional waveguide array by transporting the topological defect state of a Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. The separation between neighboring waveguides is designed according to the Jaynes–Cummings model. As a result, the zero-energy eigenstate is topologically protected from the extended states by a constant energy gap, which leads to a fast and robust excitation transfer. We also show that the transport can be further sped up by the quasi-periodic oscillation induced by the non-adiabatic effect. This scheme has potential applications in scalable quantum information processing.

The advance of semiconductor technology not only enables integrated circuits with higher density and better performance but also increases their vulnerability to various aging mechanisms which occur from front-end to back-end. Analysis on the impact of aging mechanisms on circuits’ reliability is crucial for the design of reliable and sustainable electronic systems at advanced technology nodes. As one of the most crucial back-end aging mechanisms, electromigration deserves research efforts. This paper introduces recent studies on physics-based modeling of electromigration aging of on-chip interconnects. At first, the background of electromigration is introduced. The conventional method and physics-based modeling for electromigration are described. Then studies on how electromigration affects powers grids and signal interconnects are discussed in detail. Some of them focus on the comprehensiveness of modeling methodology, while others aim at the strategies for improving computation accuracy and speed and the strategies for accelerating/decelerating aging. Considering the importance of electromigration for circuit reliability, this paper is dedicated to providing a review on physics-based modeling methodologies on electromigration and their applications for integrated circuits interconnects.

To achieve the full therapeutic potential of implanted adipose stem cells (ASCs) in vivo, it is crucial to improve the viability and pro-angiogenic properties of the stem cells. Here, we first simulated the conditions of ischemia and hypoxia using the in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model and confirmed that hypoxic preconditioning of ASCs could provide improved protection against OGD and enhance ASC viability. Second, we assessed the effect of hypoxic preconditioning on pro-angiogenic potential of ASCs, with a particular focus on the role of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and stromal derived factor-1a (SDF-1a) paracrine activity in mediating angiogenesis. We found that the conditioned medium of ASCs (ASCCM) with hypoxic preconditioning enhanced angiogenesis by a series of angiogenesis assay models in vivo and in vitro through the upregulation of and a synergistic effect between VEGF-A and SDF-1a. Finally, to investigate the possible downstream mechanisms of VEGF/VEGFR2 and SDF-1a/CXCR4 axes-driven angiogenesis, we evaluated relevant protein kinases involved the signal transduction pathway of angiogenesis and showed that VEGF/VEGFR2 and SDF-1a/CXCR4 axes may synergistically promote angiogenesis by activating Akt. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that hypoxic preconditioning may constitute a promising strategy to enhance cellular viability and angiogenesis of transplanted ASCs, therein improving the success rate of stem cell-based therapies in tissue engineering.

Objective Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newfound class of non-coding RNA in animals and plants. Recent studies have revealed that circRNAs play important roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, autophagy and apoptosis during development. However, there are few reports about muscle development-related circRNAs in livestock. Methods RNA sequencing analysis was employed to identify and annotate circRNAs from longissimus dorsi of sheep. Reverse transcription followed by real-time quantitative (q) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis verified the presence of these circRNAs. Targetscan7.0 and miRanda were used to analyse the interaction of circRNA-microRNA (miRNA). To investigate the function of circRNAs, an experiment was conducted to perform enrichment analysis hosting genes of circRNAs using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways. Results About 75.5 million sequences were obtained from RNA libraries of sheep skeletal muscle. These sequences were mapped to 729 genes in the sheep reference genome. We identified 886 circRNAs, including numerous circular intronic RNAs and exonic circRNAs. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and DNA sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of several circRNAs. Real-Time RT-PCR analysis exhibited resistance of sheep circRNAs to RNase R digestion. We found that many circRNAs interacted with muscle-specific miRNAs involved in growth and development of muscle, especially circ776. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that hosting genes of circRNAs was involved in muscle cell development and signaling pathway. Conclusion The study provides comprehensive expression profiles of circRNAs in sheep skeletal muscle. Our study offers a large number of circRNAs to facilitate a better understanding of their roles in muscle growth. Meanwhile, we suggested that circ776 could be analyzed in future study.