Personalized and privacy-preserving federated heterogeneous medical image analysis with PPPML-HMI

Heterogeneous data is endemic due to the use of diverse models and settings of devices by hospitals in the field of medical imaging. However, there are few open-source frameworks for federated heterogeneous medical image analysis with personalization and privacy protection simultaneously without the demand to modify the existing model structures or to share any private data. In this paper, we proposed PPPML-HMI, an open-source learning paradigm for personalized and privacy-preserving federated heterogeneous medical image analysis. To our best knowledge, personalization and privacy protection were achieved simultaneously for the first time under the federated scenario by integrating the PerFedAvg algorithm and designing our novel cyclic secure aggregation with the homomorphic encryption algorithm. To show the utility of PPPML-HMI, we applied it to a simulated classification task namely the classification of healthy people and patients from the RAD-ChestCT Dataset, and one real-world segmentation task namely the segmentation of lung infections from COVID-19 CT scans. For the real-world task, PPPML-HMI achieved $\sim$5\% higher Dice score on average compared to conventional FL under the heterogeneous scenario. Meanwhile, we applied the improved deep leakage from gradients to simulate adversarial attacks and showed the solid privacy-preserving capability of PPPML-HMI. By applying PPPML-HMI to both tasks with different neural networks, a varied number of users, and sample sizes, we further demonstrated the strong robustness of PPPML-HMI

The changes of immunoglobulin G N-glycosylation in blood lipids and dyslipidaemia

Background Alternative N-glycosylation has significant structural and functional consequences on immunoglobulin G (IgG) and can affect immune responses, acting as a switch between pro- and anti-inflammatory IgG functionality. Studies have demonstrated that IgG N-glycosylation is associated with ageing, body mass index, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Methods Herein, we have demonstrated patterns of IgG glycosylation that are associated with blood lipids in a cross-sectional study including 598 Han Chinese aged 20–68 years. The IgG glycome composition was analysed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography. Results Blood lipids were positively correlated with glycan peak GP6, whereas they were negatively correlated with GP18 (P \u3c 0.05/57). The canonical correlation analysis indicated that initial N-glycan structures, including GP4, GP6, GP9-12, GP14, GP17, GP18 and GP23, were significantly correlated with blood lipids, including total cholesterol, total triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein (r = 0.390, P \u3c 0.001). IgG glycans patterns were able to distinguish patients with dyslipidaemia from the controls, with an area under the curve of 0.692 (95% confidence interval 0.644–0.740). Conclusions Our findings indicated that a possible association between blood lipids and the observed loss of galactose and sialic acid, as well as the addition of bisecting GlcNAcs, which might be related to the chronic inflammation accompanying with the development and procession of dyslipidaemia

Antiviral Activity of a Zymolytic Grain Based Extract on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 In Vitro

Increasing evidence shows that grains may play a role in disease prevention beyond the simple provision of energy and nutrients. It has been reported that some components contained in grains exert their functional effects on viral and bacterial infections and protect against various cancers. However, until now, hardly any intervention studies have investigated the effects of grains or grain based extracts on the inhibition of HIV-1 infection. In this study, the antiviral function of a zymolytic grain based extract (ZGE) was detected in vitro and in rats, and the antiviral mechanism was investigated. Results showed that ZGE had an inhibition effect on HIV-1 infection in vitro with low cytotoxic effects. The study of the mechanism demonstrated that this functional food possibly acted on the viral surface structure protein gp120 which is responsible for cell binding, as well as on the postattachment stage of the virus. The sera of model rats administrated with this food by gavage presented anti-infection abilities against HIV-1 in vitro during a serum concentration associated period of time. These findings provide valuable insights into the application of ZGE on the control of viral load, which may contribute to future anti-HIV treatment with less adverse effects

Altered gut fungi in systemic lupus erythematosus – A pilot study

ObjectiveGut fungi, as symbiosis with the human gastrointestinal tract, may regulate physiology via multiple interactions with host cells. The plausible role of fungi in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is far from clear and need to be explored.MethodsA total of 64 subjects were recruited, including SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (UCTDs) patients and healthy controls (HCs). Fecal samples of subjects were collected. Gut fungi and bacteria were detected by ITS sequencing and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively. Alpha and beta diversities of microbiota were analyzed. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis was performed to identify abundance of microbiota in different groups. The correlation network between bacterial and fungal microbiota was analyzed based on Spearman correlation.ResultsGut fungal diversity and community composition exhibited significant shifts in SLE compared with UCTDs, RA and HCs. Compared with HCs, the alpha and beta diversities of fungal microbiota decreased in SLE patients. According to principal coordinates analysis results, the constitution of fungal microbiota from SLE, RA, UCTDs patients and HCs exhibited distinct differences with a clear separation between fungal microbiota. There was dysbiosis in the compositions of fungal and bacterial microbiota in the SLE patients, compared to HCs. Pezizales, Cantharellales and Pseudaleuria were enriched in SLE compared with HCs, RA and UCTDs. There was a complex relationship network between bacterial and fungal microbiota, especially Candida which was related to a variety of bacteria.ConclusionThis study presents a pilot analysis of fungal microbiota with diversity and composition in SLE, and identifies several gut fungi with different abundance patterns taxa among SLE, RA, UCTDs and HCs. Furthermore, the gut bacterial-fungal association network in SLE patients was altered compared with HCs

Urinary levels of N-nitroso compounds in relation to risk of gastric cancer: Findings from the Shanghai cohort study

Background: N-Nitroso compounds are thought to play a significant role in the development of gastric cancer. Epidemiological data, however, are sparse in examining the associations between biomarkers of exposure to N-nitroso compounds and the risk of gastric cancer. Methods: A nested case-control study within a prospective cohort of 18,244 middle-aged and older men in Shanghai, China, was conducted to examine the association between urinary level of N-nitroso compounds and risk of gastric cancer. Information on demographics, usual dietary intake, and use of alcohol and tobacco was collected through in-person interviews at enrollment. Urinary levels of nitrate, nitrite, N-nitroso-2-methylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (NMTCA), N-nitrosoproline (NPRO), N-nitrososarcosine (NSAR), N-nitrosothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (NTCA), as well as serum H. pylori antibodies were quantified in 191 gastric cancer cases and 569 individually matched controls. Logistic regression method was used to assess the association between urinary levels of N-nitroso compounds and risk of gastric cancer. Results: Compared with controls, gastric cancer patients had overall comparable levels of urinary nitrate, nitrite, and N-nitroso compounds. Among individuals seronegative for antibodies to H. pylori, elevated levels of urinary nitrate were associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for the second and third tertiles of nitrate were 3.27 (95% confidence interval = 0.76-14.04) and 4.82 (95% confidence interval = 1.05-22.17), respectively, compared with the lowest tertile (P for trend = 0.042). There was no statistically significant association between urinary levels of nitrite or N-nitroso compounds and risk of gastric cancer. Urinary NMTCA level was significantly associated with consumption of alcohol and preserved meat and fish food items. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that exposure to nitrate, a precursor of N-nitroso compounds, may increase the risk of gastric cancer among individuals without a history of H. pylori infection

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Cholinergic receptor pathways involved in apoptosis, cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation

Acetylcholine (ACh) has been shown to modulate neuronal differentiation during early development. Both muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) regulate a wide variety of physiological responses, including apoptosis, cellular proliferation and neuronal differentiation. However, the intracellular mechanisms underlying these effects of AChR signaling are not fully understood. It is known that activation of AChRs increase cellular proliferation and neurogenesis and that regulation of intracellular calcium through AChRs may underlie the many functions of ACh. Intriguingly, activation of diverse signaling molecules such as Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt, protein kinase C and c-Src is modulated by AChRs. Here we discuss the roles of ACh in neuronal differentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis. We also discuss the pathways involved in these processes, as well as the effects of novel endogenous AChRs agonists and strategies to enhance neuronal-differentiation of stem and neural progenitor cells. Further understanding of the intracellular mechanisms underlying AChR signaling may provide insights for novel therapeutic strategies, as abnormal AChR activity is present in many diseases

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

Core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Graphene-Based Nanocomposites for Energy Storage

Since the first report of using micromechanical cleavage method to produce graphene sheets in 2004, graphene/graphene-based nanocomposites have attracted wide attention both for fundamental aspects as well as applications in advanced energy storage and conversion systems. In comparison to other materials, graphene-based nanostructured materials have unique 2D structure, high electronic mobility, exceptional electronic and thermal conductivities, excellent optical transmittance, good mechanical strength, and ultrahigh surface area. Therefore, they are considered as attractive materials for hydrogen (H2) storage and high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors, rechargeable lithium (Li)-ion batteries, Li–sulfur batteries, Li–air batteries, sodium (Na)-ion batteries, Na–air batteries, zinc (Zn)–air batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), etc., as they can improve the efficiency, capacity, gravimetric energy/power densities, and cycle life of these energy storage devices. In this article, recent progress reported on the synthesis and fabrication of graphene nanocomposite materials for applications in these aforementioned various energy storage systems is reviewed. Importantly, the prospects and future challenges in both scalable manufacturing and more energy storage-related applications are discussed