A New Species of Gracixalus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from West Guangxi, China

We discovered a new species of the genus Gracixalus, Gracixalus tianlinensis sp. nov. which is morphologically almost similar to G. jinggangensis, G. jinxiuensis and G. sapaensis, but is distinguished from these species and all other rhacophorids in China and adjoining countries by a combination of the following characters: (1) SVL 30.3-35.9 mm in male, 35.6-38.7 mm in female, (2) head length less than head width, (3) vomerine teeth absent, (4) supratympanic fold distinct, (5) axilla and posterior surface of flanks pale yellow, (6) nuptial pads distinct on Finger I and slightly visible on Finger II, (7) dorsum brown to beige, with an inverse Y-shaped dark brown marking, (8) single subgular vocal sac. Our preliminary phylogenetic analyses implied G. tianlinensis sp. nov. is sister to G. sapaensis with well-supported values. Currently, this new species is known to be distributed in montane evergreen forests in association with montane bamboo in Cenwanglaoshan National Nature Reserve, Tianlin County, Guangxi, China

Statistical and Biological Evaluation of Different Gene Set Analysis Methods

AbstractGene-set analysis (GSA) methods have been widely used in microarray data analysis. Owing to the unusual characteristics of microarray data, such as multi-dimension, small sample size and complicated relationship between genes, no generally accepted methods have been used to detect differentially expressed gene sets (DEGs) up to now. Our group assessed the statistical performance of some commonly used methods through Monte Carlo simulation combined with the analysis of real-world microarray data sets. Not only did we discover a few novel features of GSA methods during experiences, but also we find that some GSA methods are effective only if genes were assumed to be independent. And we also detected that model-based methods (GlobalTest and PCOT2) performed well when analyzing our simulated data sets in which the inter-gene correlation structure was incorporated into each gene set separately for more reasonable. Through analysis of real-world microarray data, we found GlobalTest is more effective. Then we concluded that GlobalTest is a more effective gene set analysis method, and recommended using it with microarray data analysis

Magnesia-stabilised zirconia solid electrolyte assisted electrochemical investigation of iron ions in the SiO2-CaO-MgO-Al2O3 molten slag at 1723 K

Production of metallic iron through molten oxide electrolysis using inert electrodes is an alternative route for fast ironmaking without CO2 emissions. The fact that many inorganic oxides melt at ultrahigh temperatures (>1500 K) challenges conventional electro-analytical techniques used in aqueous, organic and molten salt electrolytes. However, in order to design a feasible and effective electrolytic process, it is necessary to best understand the electrochemical properties of iron ions in molten oxide electrolytes. In this work, a magnesia-stabilised zirconia (MSZ) tube with a closed end was used to construct an integrated three-electrode cell with the “MSZ | Pt | O2 (air)” assembly functioning as the solid electrolyte, the reference electrode and also the counter electrode. Electrochemical reduction of iron ions was systematically investigated on an iridium (Ir) wire working electrode in the SiO2-CaO-MgO-Al2O3 molten slag at 1723 K by cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), chronopotentiometry (CP) and potentiostatic electrolysis (PE). The results show that the electro-reduction of the Fe2+ ion to Fe on the Ir electrode in the molten slag follows a single two-electron transfer step, and the rate of the process is diffusion controlled. The peak current on the obtained CVs is proportional to the concentration of the Fe2+ ion in the molten slag and the square root of scan rate. The diffusion coefficient of Fe2+ ions in the molten slag containing 5 wt% FeO at 1723 K was derived to be (3.43 ± 0.06)×10-6 cm2 s-1 from CP analysis. However, a couple of following processes, i.e. alloy formation on the Ir electrode surface and interdiffusion were found to affect the kinetics of iron deposition. An ECC mechanism is proposed to account for the CV observations. The findings from this work confirm that zirconia-based solid electrolytes can play an important role in electrochemical fundamental research in high temperature molten slag electrolytes

C1q/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-associated protein 6 (CTRP6) ameliorates the cognitive dysfunction induced by sevoflurane by activating AMPK/SIRT1 pathway in rats

Purpose: To evaluate the possible effects of C1q/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-associated protein 6 (CTRP6) on postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), including the potentially-related signaling pathway.Methods: Behavioral analysis and cognitive impairment were assessed in each group. Immunoblots were used to determine the level of CTRP6 following sevoflurane-induced nerve injury. Hippocampal neurons were identified using Nissl staining, while inflammatory response following neuronal injury was monitored by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The involvement of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) pathway was determined using immunoblot.Results: CTRP6 alleviated sevoflurane-induced cognitive dysfunction in rats (p < 0.001). Moreover, CTRP6 reduced sevoflurane-induced nerve injury and inflammation in rats (p < 0.05).Conclusion: CTRP6 ameliorates sevoflurane-induced cognitive dysfunction by activating AMPK/SIRT1 pathway, thus offering a novel target for POCD treatment

Dual Defense: Adversarial, Traceable, and Invisible Robust Watermarking against Face Swapping

The malicious applications of deep forgery, represented by face swapping, have introduced security threats such as misinformation dissemination and identity fraud. While some research has proposed the use of robust watermarking methods to trace the copyright of facial images for post-event traceability, these methods cannot effectively prevent the generation of forgeries at the source and curb their dissemination. To address this problem, we propose a novel comprehensive active defense mechanism that combines traceability and adversariality, called Dual Defense. Dual Defense invisibly embeds a single robust watermark within the target face to actively respond to sudden cases of malicious face swapping. It disrupts the output of the face swapping model while maintaining the integrity of watermark information throughout the entire dissemination process. This allows for watermark extraction at any stage of image tracking for traceability. Specifically, we introduce a watermark embedding network based on original-domain feature impersonation attack. This network learns robust adversarial features of target facial images and embeds watermarks, seeking a well-balanced trade-off between watermark invisibility, adversariality, and traceability through perceptual adversarial encoding strategies. Extensive experiments demonstrate that Dual Defense achieves optimal overall defense success rates and exhibits promising universality in anti-face swapping tasks and dataset generalization ability. It maintains impressive adversariality and traceability in both original and robust settings, surpassing current forgery defense methods that possess only one of these capabilities, including CMUA-Watermark, Anti-Forgery, FakeTagger, or PGD methods

Yttria-stabilized zirconia aided electrochemical investigation on ferric ions in mixed molten calcium and sodium chlorides

Electrolytic reduction of dissolved iron oxide to metal iron in molten salts with an inert anode is an alternative short route for steelmaking without CO2 emissions. A novel and simple integrated yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) cell was constructed from a YSZ tube with a closed end. The YSZ tube played multiple functions, including the container for the molten salts, the solid electrolyte membrane in the O2−|YSZ|Pt|O2 (air) reference electrode (RE), and the solid electrolyte membrane between the working and counter electrodes (WE and CE). Electrochemical behavior of ferric ions (Fe3+) that were formed by dissolution of 0.5 wt pct Fe2O3 in the molten CaCl2-NaCl eutectic mixture was investigated on a Pt WE at 1273 K by various electrochemical techniques including cyclic voltammetry, linear scan voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, chronoamperometry, and potentiostatic electrolysis. Analysis of the mechanism of electrode reactions was further assisted by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Some electrochemical parameters were obtained, including the number of exchanged electrons and the diffusion coefficient of ferric ions in the mixed molten salts. The results from various electrochemical techniques are in good agreement with each other, and show that the electrochemical reduction of Fe3+ to Fe in the molten salt mixture could be a single three-electron transfer step and diffusion-controlled reaction that was also possibly reversible. This work may form the foundation for extraction of iron and alloys from molten salts and also provide a stable O2−|YSZ|Pt|O2 (air) RE with wide applicability for investigation on electrochemical properties of other electroactive metal oxides in molten salts

Research on the Preparation of Irradiated-type 99Mo-99mTc Generator

Due to the excellent nuclear properties，99mTc has been used in the field of early diagnosis of tumor and nuclear medicine imaging. As the most widely applied radioisotope，it accounts for more than 70% of the market of total radioisotopes used in the nuclear medicine diagnosis. Until now，99mTc in clinical has been prepared by the 99Mo-99mTc generators. To improve the disadvantages of current technologies including unstable supplement of the fission 99Mo for the fission-type 99Mo-99mTc generator and long production time for the gel-type 99Mo-99mTc generator，a new irradiated-type 99Mo-99mTc generator filled with the Ti99Mo has been developed. The effects of the chemical agents，Mo:Ti molar ratio，dry methods on the elution properties of the Ti99Mo-based 99Mo-99mTc generator were investigated. Based on the results of simulation experiments and performance tests，the elution from the irradiated-type 99Mo-99mTc generator was found to be accorded with medical standard. During the seven elution processes，the radionuclidic purity of sodium technetium-99m solution was above 99.92%，the radiochemical purity was higher than 98.8%，the pH value was between 5.0 and 6.0 and the average elution efficiency reached 72.07%，the peak of elute curve was located at 2-4 mL without the phenomenon of trailing，showing the excellent performance. The synthesized preparation has been advanced before the process of irradiation by the reactor，to simplify the operational radioactive procedures，shorten the production time，increase the elution efficiency of the generator and decrease the loss of 99Mo decay

Thyroid function and epilepsy: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

BackgroundThyroid hormones (THs) play a crucial role in regulating various biological processes, particularly the normal development and functioning of the central nervous system (CNS). Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disorder with multiple etiologies. Further in-depth research on the role of thyroid hormones in epilepsy is warranted.MethodsGenome-wide association study (GWAS) data for thyroid function and epilepsy were obtained from the ThyroidOmics Consortium and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Consortium cohort, respectively. A total of five indicators of thyroid function and ten types of epilepsy were included in the analysis. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted to investigate potential causal relations between thyroid functions and various epilepsies. Multiple testing correction was performed using Bonferroni correction. Heterogeneity was calculated with the Cochran’s Q statistic test. Horizontal pleiotropy was evaluated by the MR-Egger regression intercept. The sensitivity was also examined by leave-one-out strategy.ResultsThe findings indicated the absence of any causal relationship between abnormalities in thyroid hormone and various types of epilepsy. The study analyzed the odds ratio (OR) between thyroid hormones and various types of epilepsy in five scenarios, including free thyroxine (FT4) on focal epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (IVW, OR = 0.9838, p = 0.02223), hyperthyroidism on juvenile absence epilepsy (IVW, OR = 0.9952, p = 0.03777), hypothyroidism on focal epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (IVW, OR = 1.0075, p = 0.01951), autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) on generalized epilepsy in all documented cases (weighted mode, OR = 1.0846, p = 0.0346) and on childhood absence epilepsy (IVW, OR = 1.0050, p = 0.04555). After Bonferroni correction, none of the above results showed statistically significant differences.ConclusionThis study indicates that there is no causal relationship between thyroid-related disorders and various types of epilepsy. Future research should aim to avoid potential confounding factors that might impact the study

Deconvolution of single-cell multi-omics layers reveals regulatory heterogeneity

Heterogeneity in gene expression and epigenetic states exists across individual cells. Here, the authors develop scCAT-seq, a technique for simultaneously performing ATAC-seq and RNA-seq within the same single cell