Detecting Majorana fermions by use of superconductor-quantum Hall liquid junctions

The point contact tunnel junctions between a one-dimensional topological superconductor and single-channel quantum Hall (QH) liquids are investigated theoretically with bosonization technology and renormalization group methods. For the $\nu=1$ integer QH liquid, the universal low-energy tunneling transport is governed by the perfect Andreev reflection fixed point with quantized zero-bias conductance $G(0)=2e^{2}/h$, which can serve as a definitive fingerprint of the existence of a Majorana fermion. For the $\nu =1/m$ Laughlin fractional QH liquids, its transport is governed by the perfect normal reflection fixed point with vanishing zero-bias conductance and bias-dependent conductance $G(V) \sim V^{m-2}$. Our setup is within reach of present experimental techniques.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, Added references,Corrected typo

Nevirapine Plasma Concentrations Are Associated with Virologic Response and Hepatotoxicity in Chinese Patients with HIV Infection

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available on the relationship between nevirapine plasma concentrations and virologic response or liver toxicity in Chinese patients with HIV infection. The objective of this prospective study was to test this relationship and to determine the minimal therapeutic trough concentration of nevirapine for Chinese patients. METHODS: A total of 227 HIV-infected, treatment naïve patients were enrolled into this study. Blood samples were taken at C(trough) (12 hr postdose) and C(2) (2 hr postdose) for measurement of nevirapine concentrations 6 months after treatment initiation. Therapeutic outcomes, viral load and CD4 cell count, were assessed at 3 and 6 months after starting therapy, while the evaluation of hepatotoxicity was undertaken 12 months after nevirapine treatment. RESULTS: A significant correlation between nevirapine trough concentrations and viral load was noticed after 6 months of treatment, particularly in patients with partial response and viral failure (p<0.01). The therapeutic C(trough) of nevirapine for Chinese patients was determined to be 3.9 µg/ml using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Virologic failure was observed in 21% (6/29) of patients with low nevirapine concentrations (<3.9 µg/ml) versus 5% (4/87) in patients with concentrations higher than 3.9 µg/ml (p = 0.015). Hepatotoxicity was significantly associated with the median nevirapine trough concentrations among male patients (8.20 vs. 5.48 µg/ml, p = 0.015) and hepatitis C virus co-infection (p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Among Chinese patients with HIV infection, the therapeutic C(trough) of nevirapine was 3.9 µg/ml, higher than the recommended 3.0 µg/ml. The correlation between nevirapine concentrations, efficacy and hepatotoxicity suggests the benefit of dosage adjustment based on therapeutic drug monitoring among Chinese HIV-infected patients to optimize nevirapine containing antiretroviral therapy

Application of Angiotensin Receptor–Neprilysin Inhibitor in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: Chinese Expert Consensus

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem, and cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in patients with CKD. The incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular events during the early stages of CKD increases significantly with a decline in renal function. More than 50% of dialysis patients die from cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. Therefore, developing effective methods to control risk factors and improve prognosis is the primary focus during the diagnosis and treatment of CKD. For example, the SPRINT study demonstrated that CKD drugs are effective in reducing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events by controlling blood pressure. Uncontrolled blood pressure not only increases the risk of these events but also accelerates the progression of CKD. A co-crystal complex of sacubitril, which is a neprilysin inhibitor, and valsartan, which is an angiotensin receptor blockade, has the potential to be widely used against CKD. Sacubitril inhibits neprilysin, which further reduces the degradation of natriuretic peptides and enhances the beneficial effects of the natriuretic peptide system. In contrast, valsartan alone can block the angiotensin II-1 (AT1) receptor and therefore inhibit the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. These two components can act synergistically to relax blood vessels, prevent and reverse cardiovascular remodeling, and promote natriuresis. Recent studies have repeatedly confirmed that the first and so far the only angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) sacubitril/valsartan can reduce blood pressure more effectively than renin–angiotensin system inhibitors and improve the prognosis of heart failure in patients with CKD. Here, we propose clinical recommendations based on an expert consensus to guide ARNI-based therapeutics and reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular events in patients with CKD

Risk factors for overweight and obesity, and changes in body mass index of Chinese adults in Shanghai

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Over the past two decades, the prevalence of overweight or obesity has increased in China. The aims of this study were to firstly assess the baseline prevelences and the risk factors for overweight and obesity, and secondly to detect the changes of body mass index (BMI) over a follow-up period in Chinese adults in Shanghai.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data set of a population-based longitudinal study was analyzed. Anthropometric and biochemical data were collected for 5364 subjects (aged 25–95 years) during a period of 1998–2001. Among those individuals, 3032 subjects were interviewed and reexamined at the second survey from 2003 to 2004. Then the standardized prevalences for overweight and obesity were calculated using baseline data; the possible contributing factors of overweight and obesity were detected using binary logistic regression analysis; and the changes of BMI were evaluated after an average of 3.6-year follow-up period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>(1) According to the WHO standard and the Chinese standard, the sex- and age-standardized prevalences were 27.5% and 32.4% for overweight, and 3.7% and 9.1% for obesity, respectively. (2) The risks of overweight and obesity differed among different age groups. Family history of obesity increased the risk of overweight and obesity by about 1.2-fold for both genders. Current male smokers had a lower risk of overweight and obesity (OR = 0.76, <it>p </it>< 0.05) than nonsmokers. In contrast, current male drinkers had a higher risk of overweight and obesity (OR = 1.42, <it>p </it>< 0.05) than nondrinkers. Compared with low-educated women, medium- and high- educated women were at lower risk of overweight and obesity, and the corresponding ORs (95% CIs) were 0.64 (0.52–0.79) and 0.50(0.36–0.68), respectively. (3) The annual changes of BMI means ranged from an increase of 0.1 kg/m²to a decrease of 0.2 kg/m²(by genders and age groups). Meanwhile, the BMI increase was statistically significant in the 35–44 years age group, and the BMI decrease was significant above 65 years for both genders.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Shanghai metropolis populations. The risk factors of overweight and obesity were multifactorial and gender specific. After 3.6 years, BMI means changed slightly, BMI increased mainly in middle-aged individuals and decreased in old individuals.</p

An Efficient and Provably-Secure Identity-based Signcryption Scheme for Multiple PKGs

In this paper, based on the scheme proposed by Barreto et al in ASIACRYPT 2005, an identity-based signcryption scheme in multiple Private Key Generator (PKG) environment is proposed, which mitigates the problems referred to users\u27 private keys escrow and distribution in single PKG system. For security of the scheme, it is proved to satisfy the properties of message confidentiality and existential signature-unforgeability, assuming the intractability of the q-Strong Diffie-Hellman problem and the q-Bilinear Diffie-Hellman Inversion problem. For efficiency, compared with the state-of-the-art signcryption schemes of the same kind, our proposal needs less pairing computations and is shown to be the most efficient identity-based signcryption schemes for multiple PKGs up to date

Open Access What interventions do rural doctors think will increase recruitment in rural areas: a survey of 2778 health workers in Beijing

Background: A shortage of health professionals in rural areas is a major problem facing China, as more than 60% of the population lives in such areas. Strategies have been developed by the government to improve the recruitment of rural doctors. However, the inequitable distribution of doctors working in China has not improved significantly. The objective of this study was to explore the reasons for the poor recruitment and to propose possible strategies to improve the situation