Hyperlipidemia characterized by abnormal deposition of cholesterol in arteries can cause atherosclerosis and coronary artery occlusion, leading to atherosclerotic coronary heart disease. The body ...prevents atherosclerosis by reverse cholesterol transport to mobilize and excrete cholesterol and other lipids. Apolipoprotein A1, the major component of high-density lipoprotein, plays a key role in reverse cholesterol transport. Here, we reviewed the role of apolipoprotein A1-targeting molecules in antiatherosclerosis therapy, in particular ATP-binding cassette transporter A1, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, and scavenger receptor class B type 1.
The electronic structure, phonons, and thermoelectric transport characteristics of NbXGe (X = Rh, Ir) half-Heusler compounds have been investigated using the first principles based on density ...functional theory. These alloys show semiconducting character with 18-valence electrons per unit cell following the Slater–Pauling rule. The band gaps of NbRhGe and NbIrGe are 0.65 and 0.63 eV, respectively. The good thermoelectric properties are achieved by applying lattice strains. NbRhGe obtains the
ZT
value of 0.87 at 300 K at the strain of − 6% gaining a double enhancement compared with the unstrained case, and NbIrGe obtains the
ZT
value of 0.74 at 300 K at the strain of 6% gaining a 12% enhancement compared with the unstrained case. Moreover, the NbXGe (X = Rh, Ir) half-Heusler compounds with a special quasi-random structure have been modeled to simulate the inevitable atomic occupation disorder between two sublattices. The maximum
ZT
values of NbIrGe and NbRhGe with SQS are 1.01 (300 K) and 0.83 (1250 K), respectively, which are higher than their corresponding structure of ordered occupation (0.66 and 0.78, respectively). Our results indicate that NbXGe (X = Rh, Ir) should be good thermoelectric candidate materials.
In arid regions, the process of precipitation from the cloud base to the ground is often affected by the below-cloud secondary evaporation, which changes the ratios of hydrogen and oxygen stable ...isotopes in falling raindrops. Based on stable isotopes of 670 precipitation samples and meteorological records at 11 stations in the Shiyang River Basin, and combined with the improved Stewart model, this study discussed the impact of different meteorological factors on below-cloud secondary evaporation. The result showed that the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) of the Shiyang River Basin is δD = 7.70δ
18
O + 8.90 (
r
2
= 0.98,
p
< 0.01,
n
= 670). The secondary evaporation is stronger in spring and summer and weaker in autumn and winter, and it is stronger in the mid-downstream than that in the upstream. When temperature ranges from 10 °C to 20 °C, precipitation is less than 10 mm, and relative humidity is lower than 30%, the phenomenon of isotope dynamic fractionation caused by the secondary evaporation is more obvious. As temperature increases, relative humidity, precipitation amount, or raindrop diameter decreases, the linear relationship between the evaporation remaining ratios of raindrops (
f
) and the difference of deuterium excess from cloud base to ground (Δ
d
) weakens gradually. Δ
d
has a stronger response to the changes in relative humidity than that in temperature and precipitation intensity, and the impact of raindrop diameters more than 1.2 mm on Δ
d
is very limited.
Although paternal exposure to cigarette smoke may contribute to obesity and metabolic syndrome in offspring, the underlying mechanisms remain uncertain.
In the present study, we analyzed the sperm ...DNA-methylation profiles in tobacco-smoking normozoospermic (SN) men, non-tobacco-smoking normozoospermic (N) men, and non-smoking oligoasthenozoospermic (OA) men. Using a mouse model, we also analyzed global methylation and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of the DLK1 gene in paternal spermatozoa and the livers of progeny. In addition, we quantified DLK1 expression, executed an intra-peritoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT), measured serum metabolites, and analyzed liver lipid accumulation in the F1 offspring.
Global sperm DNA-methylation levels were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in the SN group, and the methylation patterns were different among N, SN, and OA groups. Importantly, the methylation level of the DLK1 locus (cg11193865) was significantly elevated in the SN group compared to both N and OA groups (p < 0.001). In the mouse model, the group exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exhibited a significantly higher global methylation DNA level in spermatozoa (p < 0.001) and on the DMR sites of Dlk1 in 10-week-old male offspring (p < 0.05), with a significant increase in Dlk1 expression in their livers (p < 0.001). In addition, IPGTT and LDL levels were significantly altered (p < 0.001), with elevated liver fat accumulation (p < 0.05) in F1 offspring.
Paternal exposure to cigarette smoke led to increased global methylation of sperm DNA and alterations to the DMR of the DLK1 gene in the F1 generation, which may be inherited parentally and may perturb long-term metabolic function.
Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorder is a major cause of postpartum hemorrhage-associated maternal and fetal death, and novel methods for PAS screening are urgently needed for clinical ...application.
The purpose of this study was to develop new methods for PAS screening using serum biomarkers and clinical indicators. A total of 95 PAS cases and 137 controls were enrolled in a case-control study as cohort one, and 44 PAS cases and 35 controls in a prospective nested case-control study were enrolled as cohort two. All subjects were pregnant women of Chinese Han population. Biomarkers for PAS from maternal blood samples were screened based on high-throughput immunoassay and were further validated in three phases of cohort one. Screening models for PAS were generated using maternal serum biomarkers and clinical indicators, and were validated in two cohorts. The expression levels of biomarkers were analyzed using histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques, and gene expression was examined by QPCR in the human placenta. Binary logistic regression models were built, and the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index were calculated. Statistical analyses and model building were performed in SPSS and graphs were generated in GraphPad Prism. The independent-sample t test was used to compare numerical data between two groups. For nonparametric variables, a Mann-Whitney U test or a X
test was used.
The results demonstrated that the serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) were consistently higher, while the level of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) was significantly lower in PAS patients compared with normal term controls and patients with pre-eclampsia (PE) and placenta previa (PP). IHC and QPCR analysis confirmed that the expression of the identified biomarkers significantly changed during the third trimester in human placenta. The generated screening model combining serum biomarkers and clinical indicators detected 87% of PAS cases with AUC of 0.94.
Serum biomarkers can be used for PAS screening with low expense and high clinical performance; therefore, it may help to develop a practicable method for clinical prenatal PAS screening.
Stable isotopes in precipitation are used to understand the hydrologic cycle as well as changes in climate. Based on 274 precipitation samples collected from 6 stations in the Shiyang River Basin ...from July 2013 to June 2014, the variation characteristics of stable isotopes and their response to the environment contribute to the understanding of the hydrologic cycle in an arid region of Northwest China. Stable isotopes in the Shiyang River Basin vary significantly with the seasons. Compared to the winter months, the slope and intercept of the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) are lower and the values of
δ
18
O and
δ
D are higher in the summer. The variations of
δ
18
O and
δ
D in precipitation are significantly affected by temperature, elevation, and sub-cloud evaporation, but are not affected by precipitation on an annual scale. The effects of temperature are more pronounced in the summer than in the winter. Isotope variations are weakly affected by precipitation amounts during the summer, especially in July, from both greater precipitation and continuous precipitation. The concentrations of
δ
18
O and
δ
D decrease with height at rates of − 0.3‰/100 m and − 2‰/100 m, respectively. In the summer months, the values of
δ
18
O and
δ
D at the surface are greater than those at cloud base, indicating that the variations of stable isotopes are influenced by sub-cloud evaporation. In general, higher values of
Δ
18
δ
and
Δ
2
δ
are related to higher temperatures, less precipitation, and lower relative humidity, with the reverse also being true. The variations of stable isotopes and the environmental factors that influence them differ with meteorological conditions and geography.
MNiSn (Ti, Hf, Zr) is used as the parent material in constructing special quasirandom structure-based half-Heusler compounds that experimentally mimic atomic occupation disorders. We randomly doped ...Ti, Hf, and Zr with an occupation probability of 50% to obtain Ti
0.5
Zr
0.5
NiSn, Ti
0.5
Hf
0.5
NiSn, and Zr
0.5
Hf
0.5
NiSn, respectively. We systematically studied the electronic structure and thermoelectric transport properties of these compounds by referring to density functional theory and the semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation. Compared with the parent compound MNiSn (M = Ti, Zr, Hf), the substituted compounds retain the characteristic of semiconductivity. The lattice thermal conductivity of the three compounds is about 2.5 Wm
−1
K
−1
at about 1000 K, which is lower than that of their corresponding parent materials (5.0–6.0 Wm
−1
K
−1
). The maximum thermoelectric figures of merit for Ti
0.5
Zr
0.5
NiSn (0.57), Ti
0.5
Hf
0.5
NiSn (0.55), and Zr
0.5
Hf
0.5
NiSn (0.58) are higher than those of their parent compounds TiNiSn (0.35), ZrNiSn (0.496), and HfNiSn (0.473). The increase in thermoelectric figure of merit is due to low lattice thermal conductivity and high power factor. Therefore, the three predicted compounds can be considered candidate thermoelectric materials that can be used at a carrier concentration of 10
20
–10
22
cm
−3
and a temperature of 900–1200 K.
The electronic band structure and valley splitting of the WSe2/NiCl2 heterostructure have been investigated by density functional theory and Berry curvature calculations. We demonstrate that the ...valley polarization of monolayer WSe2 is induced due to the magnetic proximity effect caused by the single layer of ferromagnetic NiCl2. The magnitude of valley splitting depends on the stacking configurations of WSe2/NiCl2, and the maximum value of valley splitting reaches −11.87 meV. Large valley splitting can be achieved by adjusting the layer spacing and constructing a NiCl2/WSe2/NiCl2 heterojunction with Ni spins arranged in parallel between two NiCl2 sheets. The valley-contrasting Berry curvature between the K and K′ valleys suggests that the WSe2/NiCl2-based heterostructure could potentially be used as a valleytronic device to realize the valley-polarized anomalous Hall effect as both spin and valley filter.
The Qilian Mountains in western China are an important ecological and security barrier and are the primary water source for inland river basins. In this study, we collected precipitation samples and ...meteorological data from 4 sampling sites at different elevations on the northern slope of the Qilian Mountains from October 2016 to October 2017. The purpose was to analyse spatial and temporal variations of the isotope composition of precipitation and to evaluate the influence of temperature, elevation, monsoon circulation and continuous rainout processes on the measured values. The results show that the isotopic composition exhibit obvious seasonal variations; the higher δ18O values occur in summer and autumn, and the lower values occur in winter and spring, while the lower d-excess values occur in spring and summer and the higher d-excess values occur in autumn and winter. Stable isotope values varied with elevation. δ18O and δD values decreased with increasing elevation, and d-excess increased with increasing elevation. The average annual elevation gradient for δ18O was −0.26‰/100 m, δD was −1.77‰/100 m, and d-excess was 3‰/100 m, and the elevation gradient in summer was higher than in winter. The slope and intercept of LMWL increased with increasing elevation. The elevation gradients for slopes and intercepts are 0.07/100 m and 1/100 m, respectively. The temperature effect is most significant below 0 °C. Local moisture recycling and sub-cloud evaporation also play an important role. Moisture sources are mainly controlled by westerly circulation. Influenced by moisture from the Asian monsoon, the δ18O and δD values of precipitation show a weak “precipitation effect” in July and August, and the values gradually become more negative with continued rainout. This study improves knowledge of the isotope evolution of precipitation in the Qilian mountains, and lays the foundation for further research on isotope hydrology in cold and arid regions.
Federated learning has gained significant attention as a distributed machine learning paradigm, particularly due to its ability to preserve privacy by keeping data on IoT devices and only ...transmitting model parameters to the central server. However, existing federated learning systems face several challenges in their deployment. These challenges can be categorized into three main areas: data relation obliviousness, model characteristic obliviousness, and low communication bandwidth. To address these issues, we propose Marvel, a novel consolidated federated learning system designed specifically for efficient model training on IoT devices. Marvel tackles the challenges by employing a series of innovative techniques. Firstly, it clusters devices based on their data similarities, leveraging data fingerprints and the Hamming distance between them. This clustering process allows Marvel to group devices with similar data, enabling more efficient model training. Once the device clustering is complete, Marvel initiates the formal model training process. During this process, Marvel dynamically selects one device from each cluster to upload model parameters based on the predicted model convergence speed. This prediction is achieved using a lightweight LSTM-based prediction model, which helps determine the most suitable devices for parameter updates. Furthermore, Marvel employs a Tucker decomposition approach to decompose the parameters before transmission in each communication round. This decomposition reduces the size of the transmitted data and enables faster communication between devices and the central server. The parameters are then reconstructed on the central server, and vice versa when dispatching model parameters to devices. We evaluate Marvel using a 180-device testbed and implement a prototype using PyTorch. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of Marvel, as it achieves an average model training speedup of 59.81% and reduces communication rounds by up to 66.67% compared to existing schemes.
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