Higher-dimensional Jordan-Wigner Transformation and Auxiliary Majorana Fermions

We discuss a scheme for performing Jordan-Wigner transformation for various lattice fermion systems in two and three dimensions which keeps internal and spatial symmetries manifest. The correspondence between fermionic and bosonic operators is established with the help of auxiliary Majorana fermions. The current construction is applicable to general lattices with even coordination number and an arbitrary number of fermion flavors. The approach is demonstrated on the single-orbital square, triangular and cubic lattices for spin-1/2 fermions. We also discuss the relation to some quantum spin liquid models.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures; modify the appendix

All-solid-state front-illuminated titania nanotube-based dye-sensitized solar-cells

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

The effectiveness of continuing education programmes for health workers in rural and remote areas: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Health workers in rural and remote areas shoulder heavy responsibilities for rural residents. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of continuing education programs for health workers in rural and remote areas. Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched on 28 November 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies evaluating the effectiveness of continuing education for health workers in rural and remote areas were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the risk of bias tool provided by Effective Practice and Organization of Care. A meta-analysis was performed for eligible trials, and the other findings were presented as a narrative review because of inconsistent study types and outcomes. Results: A total of 17 studies were included, four of which were RCTs. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared to no intervention, continuing education programs significantly improved the knowledge awareness rate of participants (odds ratio=4.09, 95% confidence interval 2.51-6.67, p<0.05). Qualitative analysis showed that 12 studies reported on the level of knowledge of participants, with all showing positive changes. Eight studies measured the performance of health workers in rural and remote areas, with 87.50% (n=7) finding improved performance. Two studies reported on the impact of continuing education programs for health workers in rural and remote areas on patient health, with only one showing a positive change. One study from India measured the health of communities, which showed a positive change. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that continuing education programs are an effective way to address the lack of knowledge and skills among health workers in rural and remote areas. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of education programs for health workers in rural and remote areas in improving patient health outcomes. It is not yet known whether the delivery of continuing education programs to health workers in rural areas has a positive impact on patient and community health. Future attention should continue to be paid to the impact on these outcomes

Comprehensive succinylome analyses reveal that hyperthermia upregulates lysine succinylation of annexin A2 by downregulating sirtuin7 in human keratinocytes

Background and Objectives: Local hyperthermia at 44°C can clear multiple human papillomavirus (HPV)-infected skin lesions (warts) by targeting a single lesion, which is considered as a success of inducing antiviral immunity in the human body. However, approximately 30% of the patients had a lower response to this intervention. To identify novel molecular targets for anti-HPV immunity induction to improve local hyperthermia efficacy, we conducted a lysine succinylome assay in HaCaT cells (subjected to 44°C and 37°C water baths for 30 min). Methods: The succinylome analysis was conducted on HaCaT subjected to 44°C and 37°C water bath for 30 min using antibody affinity enrichment together with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results were validated by western blot (WB), immunoprecipitation (IP), and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Then, bioinformatic analysis including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, motif characterization, secondary structure, and protein–protein interaction (PPI) was performed. Results: A total of 119 proteins with 197 succinylated sites were upregulated in 44°C-treated HaCaT cells. GO annotation demonstrated that differential proteins were involved in the immune system process and viral transcription. Succinylation was significantly upregulated in annexin A2. We found that hyperthermia upregulated the succinylated level of global proteins in HaCaT cells by downregulating the desuccinylase sirtuin7 (SIRT7), which can interact with annexin A2. Conclusions: Taken together, these data indicated that succinylation of annexin A2 may serve as a new drug target, which could be intervened in combination with local hyperthermia for better treatment of cutaneous warts

Identification and interspecies characterization of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase isoforms catalyzing acacetin glucuronidation using recombinant UGT enzymes and microsomes

Objective: To explore the glucuronic acid metabolism of acacetin in human liver and intestinal microsomes to better characterize human uridine 5′-diphospho (UDP)-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) isoforms. In addition, interspecies comparisons were performed to identify the most appropriate experimental animal model for an in vivo study. Methods: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to confirm the successful biosynthesis of acacetin-7-O-glucuronide. Human isoforms of UGT and isozyme-specific chemical inhibitors were used for recombinant assays. Acacetin glucuronidation kinetics were assessed by combining acacetin with recombinant human UGT isoforms or with microsomes from humans or experimental animals. Kinetic differences between species were assessed in vitro using the same approach. Results: We identified multiple UGT isoforms that facilitated acacetin glucuronidation, and found that UGT1A1 was the major isoform that catalyzed this process. Acacetin-7-O-glucuronide formation exhibited clear substrate inhibition kinetics when combined with recombinant UGTs or with liver/intestinal microsomes derived from humans, monkeys, rats, mice, dogs, or pigs. Intrinsic metabolic clearance values of human intestinal microsomes were two-fold greater than those of human liver microsomes. Among the evaluated species, the Km value of dog microsomes (0.86 μM) was greatest in acacetin glucuronidation, while mice exhibited the highest CLint value, 5.05 mL/min/mg. The CLint values of microsomes derived from monkeys and minipigs were 1.99 mL/min/mg and 2.12 mL/min/mg, respectively, exhibiting similar intrinsic metabolic clearance activity to that observed in humans. Conclusion: Monkey may represent a suitable model for experimental studies of acacetin pharmacokinetics owing to a high sequence homology of UGT1A1 and similar UGT1A1 glucuronidation activity to humans. Keywords: Acacetin, UDP-glucuronosyltransferases, Human liver microsomes, Glucuronidation, Species difference

Searching for the subatomic swirls in the CuCu and CuAu collisions

Recently the STAR Collaboration reported measurement of the “subatomic swirls”, that is, the most vortical fluid flow structures in the quark–gluon plasma produced via the AuAu collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). This result has attracted significant interest and generated wide enthusiasm. For such an important finding, it is crucial to look for additional evidences of confirmation and to critically test the current interpretation of the global polarization measurement. We suggest that the CuCu and CuAu colliding systems at RHIC provide such opportunity. Interestingly, our calculations reveal that the fluid vorticity in the CuCu or CuAu collision is comparable to that in the AuAu collision. We find the computed Λ hyperon polarization effect is stronger in the CuCu and CuAu systems than the AuAu system at the same collisional beam energy and centrality class, with an interesting hierarchy CuCu > CuAu > AuAu due to interplay between Λ production timing and the time evolution of the vorticity. These predictions can be readily tested by experimental data

Effects of substituting dietary fish meal with soybean meal isolate on growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, and intestinal morphology of spotted seabass (<em>Lateolabrax maculatus</em>)

Soy protein isolate (SPI) is a promising plant protein source to replace fish meal (FM) in aquatic feeds. This study investigated the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, and intestinal morphology of spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) fed diets with FM partially substituted by SPI. Three iso-nitrogenous and iso-lipidic diets were formulated to replace 0, 25, and 50% of FM with SPI, being abbreviated as FM, SPI25, and SPI50, respectively. Each diet was allocated to triplicates of fish for 8 weeks. The results indicated that the weight gain was gradually reduced with increasing dietary SPI levels, as did intestinal trypsin and lipase activities. However, these traits were not significantly decreased until 50% of FM was substituted by SPI. Furthermore, feed intake and lipid digestibility significantly decreased with dietary SPI inclusion. Moreover, replacing 50% of dietary FM with SPI significantly reduced the intestinal villus height and perimeter ratio, whereas these traits did not markedly differ between FM and SPI25 groups. In conclusion, this study indicated that up to 25% of dietary FM could be substituted with SPI without significantly affecting the growth, digestive enzyme activity, or intestinal morphology in spotted seabass