The Relationship between the Construction and Solution of the MILP Models and Applications

The automatic search method based on Mix-integer Linear Programming (MILP) is one of the most common tools to search the distinguishers of block ciphers. For differential analysis, the byte-oriented MILP model is usually used to count the number of differential active s-boxes and the bit-oriented MILP model is used to search the optimal differential characteristic. In this paper, we present the influences between the construction and solution of MILP models solved by Gurobi : 1). the number of variables; 2). the number of constraints; 3). the order of the constraints; 4). the order of variables in constraints. We carefully construct the MILP models according to these influences in order to find the desired results in a reasonable time. As applications, we search the differential characteristic of PRESENT,GIFT-64 and GIFT-128 in the single-key setting. We do a dual processing for the constraints of the s-box. It only takes 298 seconds to finish the search of the 8-round optimal differential characteristic based on the new MILP model. We also obtain the optimal differential characteristic of the 9/10/11-round PRESENT. With a special initial constraint, it only takes 4 seconds to obtain a 9-round differential characteristic with probability $2^{-42}$. We also get a 12/13-round differential characteristic with probability $2^{-58}/2^{-62}$. For GIFT-128, we improve the probability of differential characteristic of $9 \sim 21$ rounds and give the first attack on 26-round GIFT-128 based on a 20-round differential characteristic with probability $2^{-121.415}$

Construction and validation of a 6-gene nomogram discriminating lung metastasis risk of breast cancer patients.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease in women. Metastasis is the foremost cause of death. Breast tumor cells have a proclivity to metastasize to specific organs. The lung is one of the most common sites of breast cancer metastasis. Therefore, we aimed to build a useful and convenient prediction tool based on several genes that may affect lung metastasis-free survival (LMFS). We preliminarily identified 319 genes associated with lung metastasis in the training set GSE5327 (n = 58). Enrichment analysis of GO functions and KEGG pathways was conducted based on these genes. The best genes for modeling were selected using a robust likelihood-based survival modeling approach: GOLGB1, TMEM158, CXCL8, MCM5, HIF1AN, and TSPAN31. A prognostic nomogram for predicting lung metastasis in breast cancer was developed based on these six genes. The effectiveness of the nomogram was evaluated in the training set GSE5327 and the validation set GSE2603. Both the internal validation and the external validation manifested the effectiveness of our 6-gene prognostic nomogram in predicting the lung metastasis risk of breast cancer patients. On the other hand, in the validation set GSE2603, we found that neither the six genes in the nomogram nor the risk predicted by the nomogram were associated with bone metastasis of breast cancer, preliminarily suggesting that these genes and nomogram were specifically associated with lung metastasis of breast cancer. What's more, five genes in the nomogram were significantly differentially expressed between breast cancer and normal breast tissues in the TIMER database. In conclusion, we constructed a new and convenient prediction model based on 6 genes that showed practical value in predicting the lung metastasis risk for clinical breast cancer patients. In addition, some of these genes could be treated as potential metastasis biomarkers for antimetastatic therapy in breast cancer. The evolution of this nomogram will provide a good reference for the prediction of tumor metastasis to other specific organs

Optical PAM-4 signal generation using a silicon Mach-Zehnder optical modulator

An analytic model is proposed to study the linearity performance of the silicon Mach-Zehnder optical modulator. According to the simulation results, we optimize the width of the silicon rib waveguide and the location of the PN junction to improve the linearity performance. The fabricated silicon Mach- Zehnder optical modulator has a spurious free dynamic range of 113.3 dB.Hz(2/3) and 88.9 dB.Hz(1/2) for the third-order intermodulation distortion and the second-order harmonic distortion. We also demonstrate the optical fourlevel pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM-4) signal generation through the device. The generated optical PAM-4 signal is characterized at the rates up to 35 Gbaud. The BERs of the optical PAM-4 signals can reach 5.2x10(-6) at 20 Gbaud and 6.6x10(-5) at 32 Gbaud, which are much lower than the threshold of hard decision forward error correction (3.8x10(-3)). (C) 2017 Optical Society of AmericaProgram 863 [2015AA015503, 2015AA017001]; National Key R&D Program of China [2017YFA0206402, 2016YFB0402501]; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [61535002, 61505198, 61235001, 61575187, 61377067]SCI(E)ARTICLE1923003-230132

Designing mesostructured iron (II) fluorides with a stable in situ polymer electrolyte interface for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries

As high-energy cathode materials, conversion-type metal fluorides provide a prospective pathway for developing next-generation lithium-ion batteries. However, they suffer from severe performance decay owing to continuous structural destruction and active material dissolution upon cycling, which worsen at elevated temperatures. Here, we design a novel FeF2 cathode with in situ polymerized solid-state electrolyte systems to enhance the cycling ability of metal fluorides at 60 ​°C. Novel FeF2 with a mesoporous structure (meso-FeF2) improves Li+ diffusion and relieves the volume change that typically occurs during the alternating conversion reactions. The structural stability of the meso-FeF2 cathode is strengthened by an in situ polymerized solid-state electrolyte, which prevents the pulverization and ion dissolution that are inevitable for conventional liquid electrolytes. Under the double action of this in situ polymerized solid-state electrolyte and the meso-FeF2's mesoporous structure, the active material maintains an intact SEI layer and part of the mesoporous structure after long charge–discharge cycling, showing excellent cycling stability at high temperatures

Natural product rhynchophylline prevents stress-induced hair graying by preserving melanocyte stem cells via the β2 adrenergic pathway suppression

Abstract Norepinephrine (NA), a stress hormone, can accelerate hair graying by binding to β2 adrenergic receptors (β2AR) on melanocyte stem cells (McSCs). From this, NA-β2AR axis could be a potential target for preventing the stress effect. However, identifying selective blockers for β2AR has been a key challenge. Therefore, in this study, advanced computer-aided drug design (CADD) techniques were harnessed to screen natural molecules, leading to the discovery of rhynchophylline as a promising compound. Rhynchophylline exhibited strong and stable binding within the active site of β2AR, as verified by molecular docking and dynamic simulation assays. When administered to cells, rhynchophylline effectively inhibited NA-β2AR signaling. This intervention resulted in a significant reduction of hair graying in a stress-induced mouse model, from 28.5% to 8.2%. To gain a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms, transcriptome sequencing was employed, which revealed that NA might disrupt melanogenesis by affecting intracellular calcium balance and promoting cell apoptosis. Importantly, rhynchophylline acted as a potent inhibitor of these downstream pathways. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that rhynchophylline has the potential to mitigate the negative impact of NA on melanogenesis by targeting β2AR, thus offering a promising solution for preventing stress-induced hair graying. Graphical Abstrac