Lipid rafts both in cellular membrane and viral envelope are critical for PRRSV efficient infection

AbstractPorcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) represents a significantly economical challenge to the swine industry worldwide. In this study, we investigated the importance of cellular and viral lipid rafts in PRRSV infection. First, we demonstrated that PRRSV glycoproteins, Gp3 and Gp4, were associated with lipid rafts during viral entry, and disruption of cellular lipid rafts inhibited PRRSV entry. We also showed the raft-location of CD163, which might contribute to the glycoproteins–raft association. Subsequently, raft disruption caused a significant reduction of viral RNA production. Moreover, Nsp9 was shown to be distributed in rafts, suggesting that rafts probably serve as a platform for PRRSV replication. Finally, we confirmed that disassembly of rafts on the virus envelope may affect the integrity of PRRSV particles and cause the leakage of viral proteins, which impaired PRRSV infectivity. These findings might provide insights on our understanding of the mechanism of PRRSV infection

FedDD: Toward Communication-efficient Federated Learning with Differential Parameter Dropout

Federated Learning (FL) requires frequent exchange of model parameters, which leads to long communication delay, especially when the network environments of clients vary greatly. Moreover, the parameter server needs to wait for the slowest client (i.e., straggler, which may have the largest model size, lowest computing capability or worst network condition) to upload parameters, which may significantly degrade the communication efficiency. Commonly-used client selection methods such as partial client selection would lead to the waste of computing resources and weaken the generalization of the global model. To tackle this problem, along a different line, in this paper, we advocate the approach of model parameter dropout instead of client selection, and accordingly propose a novel framework of Federated learning scheme with Differential parameter Dropout (FedDD). FedDD consists of two key modules: dropout rate allocation and uploaded parameter selection, which will optimize the model parameter uploading ratios tailored to different clients' heterogeneous conditions and also select the proper set of important model parameters for uploading subject to clients' dropout rate constraints. Specifically, the dropout rate allocation is formulated as a convex optimization problem, taking system heterogeneity, data heterogeneity, and model heterogeneity among clients into consideration. The uploaded parameter selection strategy prioritizes on eliciting important parameters for uploading to speedup convergence. Furthermore, we theoretically analyze the convergence of the proposed FedDD scheme. Extensive performance evaluations demonstrate that the proposed FedDD scheme can achieve outstanding performances in both communication efficiency and model convergence, and also possesses a strong generalization capability to data of rare classes

Critical fates induced by the interaction competition in three-dimensional tilted Dirac semimetals

The interplay among Coulomb interaction, electron-phonon coupling, and phonon-phonon coupling has a significant impact on the low-energy behavior of three-dimensional type-I tilted Dirac semimetals. To investigate this phenomenon, we construct an effective theory, calculate one-loop corrections arising from all these interactions, and establish the coupled energy-dependent flows of all associated interaction parameters by adopting the renormalization group approach. Deciphering such coupled evolutions allows us to determine a series of low-energy critical properties for these materials. At first, we present the low-energy tendencies of all interaction parameters. The tilting parameter exhibits distinct tendencies that depend heavily upon the initial anisotropy of fermion velocities. In comparison, the latter is mainly dominated by its initial value but is less sensitive to the former. Variations in these two quantities drive certain interaction parameters toward the strong anisotropy in the low energy regime, indicating the screened interaction in specific directions, and others toward an approximate isotropy. Additionally, we observe that the tendencies of interaction parameters can be qualitatively clustered into three distinct types of fixed points, accompanied by the potential instabilities that induce certain interaction-driven phase transition. Furthermore, approaching these fixed points leads to the critical behavior of physical quantities, such as the density of states, compressibility, and specific heat, which exhibit quite different from their non-interacting counterparts and even deviate slightly from Fermi-liquid behavior. Our investigation sheds light on the intricate relationship between different types of interactions in these semimetals and provides useful insights into their fundamental properties.Comment: 23 pages, 22 figure

Efficacy and adverse effects of transdermal fentanyl and sustained-release oral morphine in treating moderate-severe cancer pain in Chinese population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous meta-analysis suggested that transdermal fentanyl was not inferior to sustained-release oral morphine in treating moderate-severe cancer pain with less adverse effects. Now, we updated the data and performed a systematic review.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Updated cohort studies on transdermal fentanyl and oral morphine in the treatment of cancer pain were searched in electronic databases including CBMdisc, CNKI, VIP, Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. Primary end points assessed by meta-analysis were remission rate of pain and incidence of adverse effects. Quality of life was assessed by systematic review, which was the second end point.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>32 cohort studies, which included 2651 patients, were included in present study. The remission rate in transdermal fentanyl group and sustained-release oral morphine group were 86.60% and 88.31% respectively, there was no significant difference [RR = 1.13, 95% CI (0.92, 1.38), P = 0.23]. Compared with oral morphine group, there were less adverse effects in terms of constipation [RR = 0.35, 95% CI (0.27, 0.45), P < 0.00001], nausea/vomiting [RR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.49, 0.67), P < 0.00001], and vertigo/somnolence [RR = 0.59, 95% CI (0.51, 0.68), P < 0.00001] in transdermal fentanyl group. Six of selected trials supported either transdermal fentanyl or sustained-release oral morphine improved QOL of cancer patients and one of them showed more patients got better QOL after sustained-release oral morphine transferred to transdermal fentanyl.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study showed again that both transdermal fentanyl and oral morphine had the same efficacy in the treatment of moderate-severe cancer pain in Chinese population, but the former might have less adverse effects and better quality of life.</p

Relationship between serum irisin level, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the prospective role of serum irisin-a novel adipo-myokine-in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Methods: A prospectively observational study was conducted with 154 PD patients. Baseline clinical data were collected from the medical records. Serum irisin concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients were divided into the high irisin group (serum irisin ≥ 113.5ng/mL) and the low irisin group (serum irisin < 113.5ng/mL) based on the median value of serum irisin. A Body Composition Monitor was used to monitor body composition. Cox regression analysis was utilized to find the independent risk factors of all-cause and CV mortality in PD patients. Results: The median serum irisin concentration was 113.5 ng/mL (interquartile range, 106.2–119.8 ng/mL). Patients in the high irisin group had significantly higher muscle mass and carbon dioxide combining power (CO2CP) than those in the low irisin group (p < 0.05). Serum irisin was positively correlated with pulse pressure, CO2CP, and muscle mass, while negatively correlated with body fat percentage (p < 0.05). During a median of follow-up for 60.0 months, there were 55 all-cause deaths and 26 CV deaths. Patients in high irisin group demonstrated a higher CV survival rate than those in low irisin group (p = 0.016). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that high irisin level [hazard ratio (HR), 0.341; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.135–0.858; p = 0.022], age, and diabetic mellitus were independently associated with CV mortality in PD patients. However, serum irisin level failed to demonstrate a statistically significant relationship with all-cause mortality. Conclusion: Low serum irisin levels at baseline were independently predictive of CV mortality but not all-cause mortality in PD patients. Therefore, serum irisin could be a potential target for monitoring CV outcomes in PD patients

Molecular characterization, spatiotemporal expression patterns of fatty acid elongase (elovl8) gene, and its transcription changes in response to different diet stimuli in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)

Elongase of very long-chain fatty acid 8 (Elovl8) is a new member identified in the Elovl family that is involved in the synthesis of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs). However, the evolutionary and physiological roles of this enzyme are still largely unknown. In the present study, the elovl8 gene was identified and characterized from yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, and then its evolutionary and molecular characteristics as well as transcriptional changes in response to various nutritional status were determined. Results showed that the open reading frame (ORF) of elovl8 was 795 bp in length, encoding a protein of 264 amino acids. Multiple sequences alignment showed that the yellow catfish Elovl8 was highly conserved with other homologs in teleosts, sharing similar structural characteristics (including six conserved transmembrane α-helical domains, four conserved elongase motifs, and three highly conserved cysteine residues). Meanwhile, comparisons of genetic synteny confirmed that the elovl8 gene identified from the yellow catfish was the homolog of elovl8b in other teleosts, and thus, the elovl8a gene was lost in the genome of the yellow catfish. Gene structure analysis revealed that the elovl8b gene contained eight exons and seven introns, which was highly conserved in teleosts, implying the functional conservation among various fish species. Tissue distribution analysis detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) showed that the elovl8 gene was extensively expressed in all detected tissues except eyes, with high expression levels in the intestine and liver. Temporal expression analysis revealed that the expression level of elovl8 was stably expressed in the early 12 h after fertilization, and then dramatically decreased at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after fertilization, implying that elovl8 is required for HUFA biosynthesis in the early development stages. Functional experiments showed that the expression of the elovl8 gene was stimulated after feeding with egg yolk but was not obviously affected after feeding with halogenated worms, indicating that diets full of HUFAs can inhibit the expression of elovl8 in yellow catfish. Our findings will help us to better understand the evolutionary and functional characteristics of elovl8 in teleosts, and lay a solid basis for investigating the regulation mechanism of HUFA biosynthesis

High-speed modal analysis of dynamic modal coupling in fiber laser oscillator

Up till now, the spatial and temporal dynamics of transverse mode instability (TMI) in fiber laser oscillator have increasingly attracted a worldwide attention. Here, we develop a high-speed modal decomposition (MD) system to analyze the modal coupling for fiber laser oscillator above the TMI threshold. A set of angular-multiplexing transmission functions (TFs) are designed for simultaneous MD and monitoring the far-field beam profile. The TMI threshold of the deployed fiber laser oscillator is 181 W at a co-pumping power (CPP) of 279 W. As the CPP increases from 318 W to 397 W, the power fluctuations of the output laser become more drastic. The changes of the far-field beam profile and the centroid of far-field spot (COFFS) indicate an increased velocity of energy transfer between modes. The high-speed MD verifies above process and analyzes the modal components, indicating that the single cycle of modal coupling decreases from 11 ms to 4 ms. Otherwise, the strong mode coupling occurs between modes with relatively large weights. The high-speed MD provides a powerful tool to research the TMI effect

Tetra­kis(triphenyl­phosphane-κP)silver(I) tetra­fluorido­borate

The title complex, [Ag(C18H15P)4]BF4, was prepared by the reaction of silver(I) tetra­fluorido­borate and triphenyl­phosphane in the presence of 1,2-bis­(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl­ene. The AgI atom is tetra­hedrally coordinated by four P atoms from triphenyl­phosphane (PPh3) ligands. Due to symmetry, the tetra­fluorido­borate anion is disordered over three positions (each with one third occupancy). The tetra­fluorido­borate anion does not coordinate to the AgI atom

Tetra­kis(triphenyl­phosphane-κP)silver(I) trifluoro­methane­sulfonate dichloro­methane monosolvate

In the title compound, [Ag(C18H15P)4]CF3O3S·CH2Cl2, the Ag atom is coordinated by four P atoms from four PPh3 ligands. The P—Ag—P angles are in the range 108.02 (6)–110.15 (6)°, which confirms the distorted tetra­hedral environment around the Ag atom

Dynamic modal characteristics of transverse mode instabilities in ytterbium-doped fiber laser oscillator

In recent years, transverse mode instability (TMI) has been widely observed in fiber laser amplifier systems. The transverse mode instability phenomenon in fiber laser oscillators is less studied. Here, we focus on the dynamical output properties, i.e., its temporal signal and modal characteristics in a 30-μm-core-diameter ytterbium (Yb)-doped fiber laser oscillator. The TMI occurs at a pumping power around 310 W. Different from amplifiers, the basic oscillation frequency is quite low, at around 100 Hz, changing with time and pump power. When the fiber laser oscillator operates beyond TMI threshold at 357 W or 377 W for a while, the temporal fluctuation slowly disappears together with a decreased oscillation frequency, and appears again later. Based on the mode decomposition technique, we find that during the period of fluctuation disappearance at 357 W, the power output stays low and the output beam is still a mixture of fundamental mode and higher-order modes. The fundamental mode content is calculated to be averagely higher when temporal fluctuation disappears, increasing from ∼57% to ∼63%. Our results indicate complex interaction between the fiber laser oscillation and the TMI effect, and calls for more attention into understanding TMI in fiber laser oscillators