Oxidation Degradation of Rhodamine B in Aqueous by UV

The UV photolysis of persulfate (S2O8 2−) is a novel advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs), which leads to the formation of strong oxidizing radicals, sulfate radicals (SO4 •−). The effect of oxidant S2O8 2− concentration, initial dye concentration, initial pH of solution, and various inorganic anions (Cl−, H2PO4 −, and HCO3 −) were investigated using Rhodamine B (RhB), a kind of xanthene dye, as a model pollutant. With the increase of oxidant S2O8 2−, more SO4 •− produced to attack RhB molecules and result in the increase of RhB degradation. While the improvement was not sustained above a critical value, beyond which degradation rate does not increase. Initial pH of solution had great effect on the RhB degradation rate during UV/S2O8 2− system. SO4 •− is rather stable in acidic solutions, while increasing system pH results in the transformation of SO4 •− to •OH. The effects of three inorganic anions (Cl−, H2PO4 −, and HCO3 −) all had some negative effect on the degradation of RhB. Based on the RhB solution changes of the UV-vis absorption intensity during the UV/S2O8 2− treatment, decolorization of RhB accompanied the destruction of aromatic ring structures of RhB molecules

Machine tool digital twin: Modelling methodology and applications

Cyber-Physical Machine Tools (CPMT) represent a new generation of complete Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)-based machine tools that deeply integrate machine tool and machining processes with computation and networking. CPMT have a higher level of connectivity, intelligence and autonomy compared to current machine tools. Digital Twin is a critical component of any CPS. The core of a CPMT lies in the Machine Tool Digital Twin (MTDT). This paper presents the methodology for modelling the MTDT based on open, unified and platform-independent communication standards such as MTConnect and OPC UA. Two applications of the MTDT are developed to demonstrate the advantages and potential of the proposed approach. The first application is a Web-based machine tool condition monitoring application that allows users to monitor the real-time status as well as the 3D model of the machine tool through web browsers on mobile devices. The second application is an advanced Augmented Reality (AR)-assisted wearable Human-Machine Interface (HMI) that provides users with intuitive and enhanced visualization of the machining processes

Skin Stem Cells Orchestrate Directional Migration by Regulating Microtubule-ACF7 Connections through GSK3β

SummaryHomeostasis and wound healing rely on stem cells (SCs) whose activity and directed migration are often governed by Wnt signaling. In dissecting how this pathway integrates with the necessary downstream cytoskeletal dynamics, we discovered that GSK3β, a kinase inhibited by Wnt signaling, directly phosphorylates ACF7, a > 500 kDa microtubule-actin crosslinking protein abundant in hair follicle stem cells (HF-SCs). We map ACF7's GSK3β sites to the microtubule-binding domain and show that phosphorylation uncouples ACF7 from microtubules. Phosphorylation-refractile ACF7 rescues overall microtubule architecture, but phosphorylation-constitutive mutants do not. Neither mutant rescues polarized movement, revealing that phospho-regulation must be dynamic. This circuitry is physiologically relevant and depends upon polarized GSK3β inhibition at the migrating front of SCs/progeny streaming from HFs during wound repair. Moreover, only ACF7 and not GSKβ-refractile-ACF7 restore polarized microtubule-growth and SC-migration to ACF7 null skin. Our findings provide insights into how this conserved spectraplakin integrates signaling, cytoskeletal dynamics, and polarized locomotion of somatic SCs

EFFECT OF CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS ON ANNEXIN A1 EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS OF CHILDREN WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE UTICAJ KARDIOPULMONARNOG BAJPASA NA EKSPRESIJU ANEKSINA A1 U MONONUKLEARNIM ]ELIJAMA PERIFERNE KRVI DECE SA URO\ENIM

Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effect of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on Annexin A1 expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of children with congenital heart disease (CHD). A total of 30 children receiving CPB for interventricular septal defect were included. Peripheral blood was collected before and after CPB. PBMCs were collected by density gradient centrifugation. Protein extra ction was performed by lysis and subjected to 2D-QUANT for protein quantitation. Isoelectric focusing electrophoresis (IEF) was carried out followed by gel image analysis. Protein spots with a difference in expression of >1.5 fold were collected as candidate proteins which were subjected to mass spectrometry for the identification of diffe rentially expressed proteins. Western blot assay was emplo yed to confirm the expressions of target proteins. Peripheral blood collected at two time points was subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis, and a total of 12 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Of them, 5 proteins had decreased expression before CPB (T0) but their expressions increased after CPB (T1); the remaining 7 proteins had in cre ased expres sions before CPB but their expressions re du ced after CPB. One of these differentially expres sed proteins was Annexin A1. Western blot assay confirmed that Annexin A1 expression began to increase at 0.5 h after CPB, and the increase of Annexin A1 was more obvious after CPB. Our findings primarily indicate the potential mechanism underlying the role of PBMC in inflammatory response following CPB, and provide a target for the prevention and control of post-CPB systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Keywords: annexin A1, cardiopulmonary bypass, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, congenital heart disease Kratak sadr`aj: Svrha studije bila je da se istra`i uticaj kardiopulmonarnog bajpasa (KPB) na ekspresiju aneksina A1 u mononuklearnim }elijama periferne krvi (M]PK) dece sa uro|enim sr~anim oboljenjima (SO). Istra`ivanjem je obuhva}eno ukupno 30 dece kod koje je zbog interventrikularnog septalnog defekta izveden kardiopulmonarni bajpas. Uzorci periferne krvi uzeti su pre i posle zahvata. M]PK su sakupljene centrifugiranjem u gradijentu gustine. Proteini su ekstra hovani lizom a kvantitacija proteina obavljena je metodom 2D-QUANT. Izvr{ena je elektroforeza izoelektri~nim fokusiranjem (EIF) a potom analiza gel image. Proteinske ta~ke sa razlikom u ekspresiji >1,5 puta uzete su kao proteini kandidati, koji su podvrgnuti masenoj spektrometriji radi identifikovanja razli~ite ekspresije proteina. Za potvr|ivanje ekspresija ciljnih proteina upotrebljen je test Western blot. Uzorci periferne krvi uzeti su dva puta u odre|enom vremenskom razmaku i podvrgnuti dvodimenzionalnoj elektroforezi te je identifikovano ukupno 12 diferencijalno izra`enih proteina. Od toga je 5 proteina imalo smanjenu ekspresiju pre KPB (T0), ali se njihova ekspresija posle KPB pove}ala (T1); preostalih 7 proteina imalo je pove}anu ekspresiju pre KPB, ali se njihova ekspresija smanjila posle KPB. Jedan od ovih diferencijalno izra`enih proteina bio je aneksin A1. Testom Western blot potvr|eno je da je ekspresija aneksina A1 poela da raste 0,5 h posle KPB, dok je porast aneksina A1 posle KPB bio upadljiviji. Na{i nalazi prevashodno ukazuju na potencijalni mehanizam uloge M]PK u inflamatornom odgo voru posle KPB i pru`aju metu za prevenciju i kontrolu sindroma post-KPB sistemskog inflamatornog odgovora (SSIO). Klju~ne re~i: aneksin A1, kardiopulmonarni bajpas, mo nonuklearne }elije periferne krvi, uro|eno sr~ano oboljenj

Preimage Attacks on 4-round Keccak by Solving Multivariate Quadratic Systems

In this paper, we present preimage attacks on 4-round Keccak-224/256 as well as 4-round Keccak[$r = 640,c = 160,l = 80$] in the preimage challenges. We revisit the Crossbred algorithm for solving the Boolean multivariate quadratic (MQ) system, propose a new view for the case $D = 2$ and elaborate the computational complexity. The result shows that the Crossbred algorithm outperforms brute force theoretically and practically with feasible memory costs. In our attacks, we construct Boolean MQ systems in order to make full use of variables. With the help of solving MQ systems, we successfully improve preimage attacks on Keccak-224/256 reduced to 4 rounds. Moreover, we implement the preimage attack on 4-round Keccak[$r = 640,c = 160,l = 80$], an instance in the Keccak preimage challenges, and find 78-bit matched \textit{near preimages}. Due to the fundamental rule of solving MQ systems, the complexity elaboration of Crossbred algorithm is of independent interest

CipherGPT: Secure Two-Party GPT Inference

ChatGPT is recognized as a significant revolution in the field of artificial intelligence, but it raises serious concerns regarding user privacy, as the data submitted by users may contain sensitive information. Existing solutions for secure inference face significant challenges in supporting GPT-like models due to the enormous number of model parameters and complex activation functions. In this paper, we develop CipherGPT, the $\mathit{first}$ framework for secure two-party GPT inference, building upon a series of innovative protocols. First, we propose a secure matrix multiplication that is customized for GPT inference, achieving upto 2.5$\times$ speedup and 11.2$\times$ bandwidth reduction over SOTA. We also propose a novel protocol for securely computing GELU, surpassing SOTA by 4.2$\times$ in runtime, 3.4$\times$ in communication and 10.9$\times$ in precision. Furthermore, we come up with the first protocol for top-k sampling. We provide a full-fledged implementation and comprehensive benchmark for CipherGPT. In particular, we measure the runtime and communication for each individual operation, along with their corresponding proportions. We believe this can serve as a reference for future research in this area

Primary Clinical Evaluation of Photodynamic Therapy With Oral Leukoplakia in Chinese Patients

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has demonstrated promising results in the treatment of oral leukoplakia. This study evaluated the clinical efficacy and side effects of PDT in the treatment of Chinese patients with oral leukoplakia.Methods: Twenty-nine patients with oral leukoplakia were enrolled in this study, including patients with both homogenous and non-homogenous lesions and various dysplastic tissues. All patients received PDT using a 632 nm laser at 500 mW/cm2 power density at a dosage of 90–180 J/cm2 and with aminolevulinic acid (ALA) used as a photosensitizer. A fixing and restricting complex as well as high laser power density for PDT in oral cavity was applied.Results: An overall response rate of 86.2% was achieved in this study, including 55.2% complete remission and 31.0% partial remission. The only adverse events observed in subjects were transient local ulcer and pain. It is observed the PDT utilizing ALA showed strong effectiveness in patients with moderate to severe dysplasia, as less treatment time per cm2 of lesion is required.Conclusion: Topic ALA-PDT is effective to treat oral leukoplakia, especially for that with the presence of dysplasia. A fixing and restricting complex as well as high laser power density for PDT in oral cavity should be considered as an optimal choice

The role of Endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for qualitative diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy: a prospective analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recently EBUS-TBNA, which has a sensitivity of 94.6%, specificity of 100% and diagnostic accuracy rate of 96.3% as previously reported, has been widely used for patients with mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy or suspected lung cancer to get accurate diagnosis. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the usefulness of EBUS-TBNA in obtaining cytological and histological diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes compared to the results obtained with conventional mediastinoscopy as previously reported, and to assess the relationship of diagnostic accuracy and number of passes and size of lymph nodes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>101 patients with mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy or suspected lung cancer in our institution were included in this prospective study. EBUS-TBNA was performed in all cases. The final diagnosis was confirmed by cytology, surgical results, and/or clinical follow-up for at least 6 months. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated using standard formulas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 101 patients, EBUS-TBNA was successfully performed to obtain samples from 225 lymph nodes, 7 lung masses, 1 mediastinal mass and 2 esophageal masses. 63 malignant tumors and 38 benign diseases were confirmed. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutation was detected in 10 biopsy samples, and epidermal growth factor receptor mutation was detected in 4 cases. With respect to the correct diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy, EBUS-TBNA had a sensitivity of 95.08%, specificity of 100%, positive predictive value of 100%, negative predictive value of 93.02%, and overall accuracy of 97.02%. The relationship of diagnostic accuracy and number of lymph node passes or size of lymph nodes was both insignificant (p = 0.27; p = 0.23). The procedure was uneventful without complications.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>EBUS-TBNA is an accurate and safe tool in diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy. It cannot completely replace mediastinoscopy, it may indeed reduce the number of mediastinoscopy procedures. In some cases, it can necessarily be the first-line procedure before mediastinoscopy.</p