Analytical Methods Inductively coupled plasma orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ICP-oa-TOF-MS) analysis of heavy metal content in Indocalamus tesselatus samples

a b s t r a c t Indocalamus tesselatus is one of the most popular packing materials in China. Heavy metals in Chinese I. tesselatus samples have received great interest because they are related to health. A simple and fast method for the determination of Pb, Cd, Mn, Ni, Cr, As, Hg, Cu and Zn, by inductively coupled plasma orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ICP-oa-TOF-MS), following microwave closed vessel digestion of samples, was proposed. The method was validated using standard reference material (GBW 07605-Tea). Samples of I. tesselatus from five different regions of China were analysed using the proposed method. Heavy metals contents from different regions were found at different levels. Their low contents of heavy metals showed that collection areas were not polluted and all collected I. tesselatus samples could be unreservedly used as food packing materials without any health risk

Disorder and diffuse scattering in single-chirality (TaSe4_4)2_2I crystals

The quasi-one-dimensional chiral compound (TaSe$_4$)$_2$I has been extensively studied as a prime example of a topological Weyl semimetal. Upon crossing its phase transition temperature $T_\textrm{CDW}$ $\approx$ 263 K, (TaSe$_4$)$_2$I exhibits incommensurate charge density wave (CDW) modulations described by the well-defined propagation vector $\sim$(0.05, 0.05, 0.11), oblique to the TaSe$_4$ chains. Although optical and transport properties greatly depend on chirality, there is no systematic report about chiral domain size for (TaSe$_4$)$_2$I. In this study, our single-crystal scattering refinements reveal a bulk iodine deficiency, and Flack parameter measurements on multiple crystals demonstrate that separate (TaSe$_4$)$_2$I crystals have uniform handedness, supported by direct imaging and helicity dependent THz emission spectroscopy. Our single-crystal X-ray scattering and calculated diffraction patterns identify multiple diffuse features and create a real-space picture of the temperature-dependent (TaSe$_4$)$_2$I crystal structure. The short-range diffuse features are present at room temperature and decrease in intensity as the CDW modulation develops. These transverse displacements, along with electron pinning from the iodine deficiency, help explain why (TaSe$_4$)$_2$I behaves as an electronic semiconductor at temperatures above and below $T_\textrm{CDW}$, despite a metallic band structure calculated from density functional theory of the ideal structure.Comment: 24 pages, 20 figures, 3 table

Synthesis of the System Modeling and Signal Detecting Circuit of a Novel Vacuum Microelectronic Accelerometer

A novel high-precision vacuum microelectronic accelerometer has been successfully fabricated and tested in our laboratory. This accelerometer has unique advantages of high sensitivity, fast response, and anti-radiation stability. It is a prototype intended for navigation applications and is required to feature micro-g resolution. This paper briefly describes the structure and working principle of our vacuum microelectronic accelerometer, and the mathematical model is also established. The performances of the accelerometer system are discussed after Matlab modeling. The results show that, the dynamic response of the accelerometer system is significantly improved by choosing appropriate parameters of signal detecting circuit, and the signal detecting circuit is designed. In order to attain good linearity and performance, the closed-loop control mode is adopted. Weak current detection technology is studied, and integral T-style feedback network is used in I/V conversion, which will eliminate high-frequency noise at the front of the circuit. According to the modeling parameters, the low-pass filter is designed. This circuit is simple, reliable, and has high precision. Experiments are done and the results show that the vacuum microelectronic accelerometer exhibits good linearity over -1 g to +1 g, an output sensitivity of 543 mV/g, and a nonlinearity of 0.94 %

TGAN-AD: Transformer-Based GAN for Anomaly Detection of Time Series Data

Anomaly detection on time series data has been successfully used in power grid operation and maintenance, flow detection, fault diagnosis, and other applications. However, anomalies in time series often lack strict definitions and labels, and existing methods often suffer from the need for rigid hypotheses, the inability to handle high-dimensional data, and highly time-consuming calculation costs. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) can learn the distribution pattern of normal data, detecting anomalies by comparing the reconstructed normal data with the original data. However, it is difficult for GANs to extract contextual information from time series data. In this paper, we propose a new method, Transformer-based GAN for Anomaly Detection of Time Series Data (TGAN-AD), The transformer-based generators of TGAN-AD can extract contextual features of time series data to prompt the performance. TGAN-AD’s discriminator can also assist in determining abnormal data. Anomaly scores are calculated through both the generator and the discriminator. We have conducted comprehensive experiments on three public datasets. Experimental results show that our TGAN-AD has better performance in anomaly detection than the state-of-the-art anomaly detection techniques, with the highest Recall and F1 values on all datasets. Our experiments also demonstrate the high efficiency of the model and the optimal choice of hyperparameters

TGAN-AD: Transformer-Based GAN for Anomaly Detection of Time Series Data

Anomaly detection on time series data has been successfully used in power grid operation and maintenance, flow detection, fault diagnosis, and other applications. However, anomalies in time series often lack strict definitions and labels, and existing methods often suffer from the need for rigid hypotheses, the inability to handle high-dimensional data, and highly time-consuming calculation costs. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) can learn the distribution pattern of normal data, detecting anomalies by comparing the reconstructed normal data with the original data. However, it is difficult for GANs to extract contextual information from time series data. In this paper, we propose a new method, Transformer-based GAN for Anomaly Detection of Time Series Data (TGAN-AD), The transformer-based generators of TGAN-AD can extract contextual features of time series data to prompt the performance. TGAN-AD’s discriminator can also assist in determining abnormal data. Anomaly scores are calculated through both the generator and the discriminator. We have conducted comprehensive experiments on three public datasets. Experimental results show that our TGAN-AD has better performance in anomaly detection than the state-of-the-art anomaly detection techniques, with the highest Recall and F1 values on all datasets. Our experiments also demonstrate the high efficiency of the model and the optimal choice of hyperparameters

Grey and white matter abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a case-control study

National Science Foundation of China [31071041, 81171324]; Bureau of Science and Technology of Hangzhou [20090833B10]; Health Bureau of Zhejiang Province [2009A168]Objectives: The irreversible airflow limitation characterised by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes a decrease in the oxygen supply to the brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate brain structural damage in COPD. Design: Retrospective case control study. Patients with COPD and healthy volunteers were recruited. The two groups were matched in age, gender and educational background. Setting: A hospital and a number of communities: they are all located in southern Fujian province, China. Participants: 25 stable patients and 25 controls were enrolled from December 2009 to May 2011. Methods: Using voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics based on MRI to analyse grey matter (GM) density and white matter fractional anisotropy (FA), respectively, and a battery of neuropsychological tests were performed. Results: Patients with COPD (vs controls) showed decreased GM density in the limbic and paralimbic structures, including right gyrus rectus, left precentral gyrus, bilateral anterior and middle cingulate gyri, bilateral superior temporal gyri, bilateral anterior insula extending to Rolandic operculum, bilateral thalamus/pulvinars and left caudate nucleus. Patients with COPD (vs controls) had decreased FA values in the bilateral superior corona radiata, bilateral superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus, bilateral optic radiation, bilateral lingual gyri, left parahippocampal gyrus and fornix. Lower FA values in these regions were associated with increased radial diffusivity and no changes of longitudinal diffusivity. Patients with COPD had poor performances in the Mini-Mental State Examination, figure memory and visual reproduction. GM density in some decreased regions in COPD had positive correlations with arterial blood Po-2, negative correlations with disease duration and also positive correlations with visual tasks. Conclusion: The authors demonstrated that COPD exhibited loss of regional GM accompanied by impairment of white matter microstructural integrity, which was associated with disease severity and may underlie the pathophysiological and psychological changes of COPD

High throughput scRNA-Seq provides insights into leydig cell senescence induced by experimental autoimmune orchitis: A prominent role of interstitial fibrosis and complement activation

Leydig cells (Lc), located in the interstitial space of the testis between seminiferous tubules, produce 95% of testosterone in male individuals, which is pivotal for male sexual differentiation, spermatogenesis, and maintenance of the male secondary sex characteristics. Lc are prone to senescence in aging testes, resulting in compromised androgen synthesis capability upon aging. However, little is known about whether Lc undergo senescence in a chronic inflammatory environment. To investigate this question, mouse models of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) were used, and Lc were analyzed by high throughput scRNA-Seq. Data were screened and analyzed by correlating signaling pathways with senescence, apoptosis, androgen synthesis, and cytokine/chemokine signaling pathways. EAO did induce Lc senescence, and Lc senescence in turn antagonized androgen synthesis. Based on the correlation screening of pathways inducing Lc senescence, a plethora of pathways were found to play potential roles in triggering Lc senescence during EAO, among which the Arf6 and angiopoietin receptor pathways were highly correlated with senescence signature. Notably, complement and interstitial fibrosis activated by EAO worsened Lc senescence and strongly antagonized androgen synthesis. Furthermore, most proinflammatory cytokines enhanced both senescence and apoptosis in Lc and spermatogonia (Sg) during EAO, and proinflammatory cytokine antagonism of the glutathione metabolism pathway may be key in inducing cellular senescence during EAO

High throughput scRNA-Seq provides insights into leydig cell senescence induced by experimental autoimmune orchitis: A prominent role of interstitial fibrosis and complement activation

Leydig cells (Lc), located in the interstitial space of the testis between seminiferous tubules, produce 95% of testosterone in male individuals, which is pivotal for male sexual differentiation, spermatogenesis, and maintenance of the male secondary sex characteristics. Lc are prone to senescence in aging testes, resulting in compromised androgen synthesis capability upon aging. However, little is known about whether Lc undergo senescence in a chronic inflammatory environment. To investigate this question, mouse models of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) were used, and Lc were analyzed by high throughput scRNA-Seq. Data were screened and analyzed by correlating signaling pathways with senescence, apoptosis, androgen synthesis, and cytokine/chemokine signaling pathways. EAO did induce Lc senescence, and Lc senescence in turn antagonized androgen synthesis. Based on the correlation screening of pathways inducing Lc senescence, a plethora of pathways were found to play potential roles in triggering Lc senescence during EAO, among which the Arf6 and angiopoietin receptor pathways were highly correlated with senescence signature. Notably, complement and interstitial fibrosis activated by EAO worsened Lc senescence and strongly antagonized androgen synthesis. Furthermore, most proinflammatory cytokines enhanced both senescence and apoptosis in Lc and spermatogonia (Sg) during EAO, and proinflammatory cytokine antagonism of the glutathione metabolism pathway may be key in inducing cellular senescence during EAO

Tex13a optimizes sperm motility via its potential roles in mRNA turnover

mRNAs have been found to undergo substantial selective degradation during the late stages of spermiogenesis. However, the mechanisms regulating this biological process are unknown. In this report, we have identified Tex13a, a spermatid-specific gene that interacts with the CCR4–NOT complex and is implicated in the targeted degradation of mRNAs encoding particular structural components of sperm. Deletion of Tex13a led to a delayed decay of these mRNAs, lowered the levels of house-keeping genes, and ultimately lowered several key parameters associated with the control of sperm motility, such as the path velocity (VAP, average path velocity), track speed (VCL, velocity curvilinear), and rapid progression