Identification of antimicrobial peptide genes from transcriptomes in Mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) and their response to infection with Aeromonas hydrophila.

Mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) is a valuable freshwater fish species widely cultured in China. Its aquaculture production is challenged by bacterial septicaemia, which is one of the most common bacterial diseases. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a critical role in the innate immune system of fish, exhibiting defensive and inhibitory effects against a wide range of pathogens. This study aimed to identify the antimicrobial peptide genes in mandarin fish using transcriptomes data obtained from 17 tissue in our laboratory. Through nucleotide sequence alignment and protein structural domain analysis, 15 antimicrobial peptide genes (moronecidin, pleurocidin, lysozyme g, thymosin ß12, hepcidin, leap 2, ß-defensin, galectin 8, galectin 9, apoB, apoD, apoE, apoF, apoM, and nk-lysin) were identified, of which 9 antimicrobial peptide genes were identified for the first time. In addition, 15 AMPs were subjected to sequence characterization and protein structure analysis. After injection with Aeromonas hydrophila, the number of red blood cells, hemoglobin concentration, and platelet counts in mandarin fish showed a decreasing trend, indicating partial hemolysis. The expression change patterns of 15 AMP genes in the intestine after A. hydrophila infection were examined by using qRT-PCR. The results revealed, marked up-regulation (approximately 116.04) of the hepcidin gene, down-regulation of the piscidin family genes expression. Moreover, most AMP genes were responded in the early stages after A. hydrophila challenge. This study provides fundamental information for investigating the role of the different antimicrobial peptide genes in mandarin fish in defense against A. hydrophila infection.

Circuit quantum electrodynamics simulator of the two-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model: higher-order topological phase transition induced by a continuously varying magnetic field.

Higher-order topological insulator (HOTI) occupies an important position in topological band theory due to its exotic bulk-edge correspondence. Recently, it has been predicted that external magnetic field can induce novel topological phases in 2D HOTIs. However, up to now the theoretical description is still incomplete and the experimental realization is still lacking. Here we proposed a superconducting quantum circuit simulator of 2D Su-Schriffer-Heeger lattice, which is one of the most celebrated HOTI models, and investigate consequently the influence of the continuously varying magnetic field. By using the parametric conversion coupling method, we can establish in principle the time- and site-resolved tunable hopping constants in the proposed architecture, thus providing an ideal platform for investigating the higher-order topological phase transitions induced by continuously varying magnetic field. Our numerical calculation further shows that the higher-order topology of the lattice, which manifests itself through the existence of the zero energy corner modes, exhibit exotic and rich dependence on the imposed magnetic field and the inhomogeneous hopping strength. To probe the proposed magnetic-field-induced topological phase transition, we study the response of the lattice to the corner site pumping in the steady state limit, with results implying that the predicted topological phase boundaries can be unambiguously identified by the measurement of the corner sites and their few neighbors. Requiring only current level of technology, our scheme can be readily tested in experiment and may pave an alternative way towards the future investigation of HOTIs under various mechanisms including magnetic field, disorder, and strong correlation.

Efficient Method for Prediction of Metastable or Ground Multipolar Ordered States and Its Application in Monolayer α-RuX_{3} (X=Cl, I).

Exotic high-rank multipolar order parameters have been found to be unexpectedly active in more and more correlated materials in recent years. Such multipoles are usually dubbed "hidden orders" since they are insensitive to common experimental probes. Theoretically, it is also difficult to predict multipolar orders via ab initio calculations in real materials. Here, we present an efficient method to predict possible multipoles in materials based on linear response theory under random phase approximation. Using this method, we successfully predict two pure metastable magnetic octupolar states in monolayer α-RuCl_{3}, which is confirmed by self-consistent unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations. We then demonstrate that these octupolar states can be stabilized in monolayer α-RuI_{3}, one of which becomes the octupolar ground state. Furthermore, we also predict a fingerprint of an orthogonal magnetization pattern produced by the octupole moment that can be easily detected by experiment. The method and the example presented in this Letter serve as a guide for searching multipolar order parameters in other correlated materials.

Higher-Order Topological Insulators in Quasicrystals.

Current understanding of higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) is based primarily on crystalline materials. Here, we propose that HOTIs can be realized in quasicrystals. Specifically, we show that two distinct types of second-order topological insulators (SOTIs) can be constructed on the quasicrystalline lattices (QLs) with different tiling patterns. One is derived by using a Wilson mass term to gap out the edge states of the quantum spin Hall insulator on QLs. The other is the quasicrystalline quadrupole insulator (QI) with a quantized quadrupole moment. We reveal some unusual features of the corner states (CSs) in the quasicrystalline SOTIs. We also show that the quasicrystalline QI can be simulated by a designed electrical circuit, where the CSs can be identified by measuring the impedance resonance peak. Our findings not only extend the concept of HOTIs into quasicrystals but also provide a feasible way to detect the topological property of quasicrystals in experiments.

Controllable photon and phonon localization in optomechanical Lieb lattices.

The Lieb lattice featuring flat band is not only important in strongly-correlated many-body physics, but also can be utilized to inspire new quantum devices. Here we propose an optomechanical Lieb lattice, where the flat-band physics of photon-phonon polaritons is demonstrated. The tunability of the band structure of the optomechanical arrays allows one to obtain an approximate photon or phonon flat band as well as the transition between them. This ultimately leads to the result that the controllable photon or phonon localization could be realized by the path interference effects. This study offers an alternative approach to explore the exotic photon and phonon many-body effects, which has potential applications in the future hybrid-photon-phonon quantum network and engineering new type solid-state quantum devices.

Topological field-effect quantum transistors in HgTe nanoribbons.

We propose practical designs to realize topological field-effect quantum transistors in an HgTe nanoribbon with an inverted band structure. Our theoretical calculations show that, as a strip-shape top gate is placed on the HgTe nanoribbon and with an increasing gate voltage, two new conductance channels develop in the HgTe nanoribbon and are localized to the lattice sites neighboring the boundaries of the gate, leading to an additional quantization of the conductance of 2e(2)/h. The quantum states in the new channels are not only robust against a short-range Anderson disorder, but can also couple with the intrinsic helical edge states in the boundaries of the HgTe nanoribbon to open a gap in the energy spectrum, indicating their topological characteristics. More importantly, the newly developed conductance channels can be turned on or off easily by adjusting the gate voltage. The proposal of controllable topological edge states produced by the gate voltage opens a new route for future topological field-effect quantum transistors in nanoelectronics and spintronics.

[Effect of Thermal Hydrolysis Pretreatment Time on Microbial Community Structure in Sludge Anaerobic Digestion System].

To evaluate the effect of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time on the sludge anaerobic digestion system of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Daxing district, Beijing, the structure and diversity of microbial communities in primary sludge and an activated sludge anaerobic digestion system with different thermal hydrolysis pretreatment times (15 min, 30 min, and 45 min) were analyzed using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the dominant groups of digested sludge were mainly distributed in Firmicutes, Cloacimonadota, Chloroflexi, and Synergistota, with W5 being the most common genus. The sum of relative abundance of the dominant phylum was greater than 60%, and W5 accounted for 20.8%-54.5%, showing a high abundance of a few dominant species. During the anaerobic digestion of thermo-hydrolyzed sludge, the relative abundance of acetogenic methanogens decreased due to high levels of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) concentrations, which suggested that the hydrogenophilic methanogenic pathway was more than that of the acetogenic methanogenic pathway. Correlation analysis showed that the soluble protein and pH of thermo-hydrolyzed sludge, NH4+-N of digested sludge, and thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time were the four main environmental factors affecting microbial community structure, and NH4+-N of digested sludge had the largest negative correlation with methanogens. The thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time was negatively correlated with both the Chao index and Shannon index, so longer thermal hydrolysis pretreatment time was not conducive to microbial flora during anaerobic digestion.

Giant mesoscopic spin Hall effect on the surface of topological insulator.

We study mesoscopic spin Hall effect on the surface of a topological insulator with a step-function potential by using the McMillan method commonly used in the study of superconductor junctions. In the ballistic transport regime, we predict a giant spin polarization induced by a transverse electric current with parameter suitable to the topological insulator thin film Bi(2)Se(3). The spin polarization oscillates across the potential boundary with no confinement due to the Klein paradox, and should be observable in a spin resolved scanning tunneling microscope.

(E)-Benzaldehyde (2,4,6-trichloro-phen-yl)hydrazone.

The title compound, C(13)H(9)Cl(3)N(2), was obtained from a condensation reaction of benzaldehyde and 2,4,6-trichloro-phenyl-hydrazine. The mol-ecule assumes an E configuration with the phenyl ring and trichloro-phenyl ring located on opposite sides of the C=N bond. The phenyl ring is oriented at a dihedral angle of 42.58 (12)° with respect to the tricholorophenyl ring. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are linked via N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming supra-molecular chains running along the c axis. π-π stacking is present between parallel trichloro-phenyl rings of adjacent mol-ecules, the face-to-face and centroid-centroid distances being 3.369 (14) and 3.724 (2) Å, respectively.

Topological flat bands in twisted trilayer graphene.

Twisted trilayer graphene (TLG) may be the simplest realistic system so far, which has flat bands with nontrivial topology. Here, we give a comprehensive calculation about its band structures and the band topology, i.e., valley Chern number of the nearly flat bands, with the continuum model. With realistic parameters, the magic angle of twisted TLG is about 1.12°, at which two nearly flat bands appears. Unlike the twisted bilayer graphene, a small twist angle can induce a tiny gap at all the Dirac points, which can be enlarged further by a perpendicular electric field. The valley Chern numbers of the two nearly flat bands in the twisted TLG depends on the twist angle θ and the perpendicular electric field E⊥. Considering its topological flat bands, the twisted TLG should be an ideal experimental platform to study the strongly correlated physics in topologically nontrivial flat band systems. And, due to its reduced symmetry, the correlated states in twisted TLG should be quite different from that in twisted bilayer graphene and twisted double bilayer graphene.

Intramedullary Nail Fixation Assisted by Orthopaedic Robot Navigation for Intertrochanteric Fractures in Elderly Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of intramedullary nail fixation for intertrochanteric fractures assisted by orthopaedic robot navigation and the traditional intramedullary nail fixation in elderly patients, and to investigate the application advantages of intramedullary nail fixation for femoral intertrochanteric fractures assisted by orthopaedic robot navigation in the elderly. METHODS: Among the 51 patients with intertrochanteric fractures who were selected from April 2015 to September 2017 in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, 25 patients underwent the intramedullary nail fixation assisted by orthopaedic robot navigation (orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group) and 26 patients underwent the traditional intramedullary nail fixation (traditional surgery group). The operation time, the number of intraoperative fluoroscopy images taken, the frequency of guide pins inserted into the femoral marrow cavity, the amount of intraoperative bleeding, and the one-time success rate of the guide pin inserted into the femoral marrow cavity were recorded. Fracture healing and internal fixation were observed. The Harris score was used to evaluate hip joint function 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 12-24 months. The operation time was 65.44 ± 8.01 min in the orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group and 77.50 ± 16.64 min in the traditional surgery group. The number of intraoperative fluoroscopy images taken was 10.28 ± 0.61 in the orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group and 13.23 ± 1.75 in the traditional surgery group. The frequency of guide pins inserted into the femoral marrow cavity was 1.00 ± 0.00 times in the orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group and 2.46 ± 1.10 times in the traditional surgery group. The one-time success rate of intramedullary pin puncture was 100% (25/25) in the orthopaedic surgical robot navigation surgery group and 19.23% (5/26) in the traditional surgery group. The amount of surgical bleeding was 90.80 ± 14.98 mL in the orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group and 118.46 ± 32.21 mL in the traditional surgery group. Compared with the traditional surgery group, the operation time of the orthopaedic surgical robot navigation surgery group was shorter (P < 0.05), the number of intraoperative fluoroscopy images taken was fewer (P < 0.05), the frequency of guide pins inserted into the femoral marrow cavity was lower (P < 0.05), the one-time success rate of intramedullary pin puncture was higher (P < 0.05), and the amount of surgical bleeding was less (P < 0.05). One year after surgery, fracture healing occurred in both groups without failure of internal fixation or fracture displacement. The Harris score of hip function in the orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group was 86.68 ± 6.23 and that in the traditional surgery group was 82.69 ± 6.85. It was higher than that in the traditional surgery group (P < 0.05). The fine rate of hip joint function in the orthopaedic robot navigation surgery group was 84.00% (21/25) and that in the traditional surgery group was 73.07% (19/26). There was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Intramedullary nail fixation for intertrochanteric fractures assisted by orthopaedic robot navigation in elderly patients is an ideal method, offering a short operation time, minimal surgical trauma, less radiation, and good recovery of hip function.

Effects of Periodontal Intervention on Levels of Serum High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein and Interleukin 6, and on Carotid Artery in Rats with Chronic Periodontitis and Hyperlipidemia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of nonsurgical periodontal therapy on the serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and on the carotid artery in rats with chronic periodontitis (CP) and with or without hyperlipidemia (HL). METHODS: A total of 29 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: group A (CP, n = 14) and B (CP + HL, n = 15), and subjected to the corresponding treatment. Groups A and B were further divided into groups A1/B1 (without periodontal interventions) and A2/B2 (with periodontal interventions). The serum IL-6 and hsCRP levels were evaluated before periodontal intervention and at 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks after periodontal intervention. The rats were euthanised 8 weeks after the periodontal intervention and the histopathologic changes in the carotid artery were observed. RESULTS: The serum hsCRP and serum IL-6 levels in groups A1 and B1 were elevated with time; they were significantly higher in group B1 than in group A1 (P < 0.001) at all time points. The hsCRP and IL-6 levels in groups A2 and B2 increased with time and reached the maximum level 1 week after the second intervention, and then gradually decreased. Atherosclerotic plaques, fibrous cap, and calcium salt deposits were apparent in the rats of group B1, whereas no obvious atherosclerotic changes were observed in the rats of groups A2 and B2. CONCLUSION: Periodontal interventions resulted in acute, short-term systemic inflammation. However, it was beneficial in long-term as it improved the carotid artery integrity.

Anomaly detection in Bitcoin market via price return analysis.

The Bitcoin market becomes the focus of the economic market since its birth, and it has attracted wide attention from both academia and industry. Due to the absence of regulations in the Bitcoin market, it may be easier to bring some kinds of illegal behaviors. Thus, it raises an interesting question: Is there abnormity or illegal behavior in Bitcoin platforms? To answer this question, we investigate the abnormity in five leading Bitcoin platforms. By analyzing the financial index, i.e. the normalized logarithmic price return, we find that the properties of price return in bitFlyer are completely different from others. To find the possible reasons, we find that the abnormal ask price and bid price appear simultaneously in bitFlyer, which may be potentially linked to either price manipulation or money laundering. It verifies our conjecture that there may be abnormity or price manipulation in Bitcoin platforms. Furthermore, our findings in price return could also provide an innovative and effective method to detect the abnormity in Bitcoin platforms.

Comparative Study of Percutaneous Sacroiliac Screw with or without TiRobot Assistance for Treating Pelvic Posterior Ring Fractures.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the curative effect of TiRobot surgical robotic navigation and location system-assisted percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation and percutaneous sacroiliac screw by traditional fluoroscopy, and to summarize the safety and benefits of TiRobot. METHODS: A total of 91 patients with pelvic posterior ring fractures from December 2015 to February 2018 were included in this study. According to the surgical methods selected by the patients, the patients were divided into a TiRobot surgical robotic navigation and location system group (TiRobot group) and a percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation group (traditional group). Statistical indicators included the number of sacroiliac screws, the time of planning the sacroiliac screw path, fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy time, operation time, length of incision, blood loss, anesthesia time, the healing process of skin incisions, and fracture healing time. Fracture reduction was evaluated according to the maximum displacement degree at the inlet and outlet view X-ray or CT. Matta standard was used to evaluate fracture reduction. At the last follow-up, the Majeed function system was used to evaluate the function. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 8 to 32 months. A total of 66 sacroiliac screws were implanted in the TiRobot group. A total of 43 sacroiliac screws were implanted in the traditional group. There were statistically significant differences in terms of fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy time, operation time, incision length, anesthesia time, and blood loss between the two groups; the TiRobot group was superior to the traditional group. The healing time of the TiRobot group and the traditional group was 4.61 ± 0.68 months (range, 3.5-6.3 months) and 4.56 ± 0.78 months (range, 3.4-6.2 months), respectively, and there was no statistical difference. Postoperatively, by Matta standard, the overall excellent and good rate of fracture reduction was 89.28% and 88.57%, respectively. At the last follow-up, by Majeed function score, the overall excellent and good rate was 91.07% and 91.43%. There was no statistical difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Sacroiliac screw implantation assisted by TiRobot to treat the posterior pelvic ring fractures has the characteristics of less trauma, shorter operation time, and less blood loss. TiRobot has the characteristics of high safety and accuracy and has great clinical application value.

Hybrid Interference Induced Flat Band Localization in Bipartite Optomechanical Lattices.

The flat band localization, as an important phenomenon in solid state physics, is fundamentally interesting in the exploration of exotic ground property of many-body system. Here we demonstrate the appearance of a flat band in a general bipartite optomechanical lattice, which could have one or two dimensional framework. Physically, it is induced by the hybrid interference between the photon and phonon modes in optomechanical lattice, which is quite different from the destructive interference resulted from the special geometry structure in the normal lattice (e.g., Lieb lattice). Moreover, this novel flat band is controllable and features a special local density of states (LDOS) pattern, which makes it is detectable in experiments. This work offers an alternative approach to control the flat band localization with optomechanical interaction, which may substantially advance the fields of cavity optomechanics and solid state physics.

Designing artificial two dimensional electron lattice on metal surface: a Kagome-like lattice as an example.

Recently, a new kind of artificial two dimensional (2D) electron lattice on the nanoscale, i.e. molecular graphene, has drawn a lot of interest, where the metal surface electrons are transformed into a honeycomb lattice via absorbing a molecular lattice on the metal surface [Gomes et al., Nature, 2012, 438, 306; Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 2014, 113, 196803]. In this work, we theoretically demonstrate that this technique can be readily used to build other complex 2D electron lattices on a metal surface, which are of high interest in the field of condensed matter physics. The main challenge to build a complex 2D electron lattice is that this is a quantum antidot system, where the absorbed molecule normally exerts a repulsive potential on the surface electrons. Thus, there is no straightforward corresponding relation between the molecular lattice pattern and the desired 2D lattice of surface electrons. Here, we give an interesting example about the Kagome lattice, which has exotic correlated electronic states. We design a special molecular pattern and show that this molecular lattice can transform the surface electrons into a Kagome-like lattice. The numerical simulation is conducted using a Cu(111) surface and CO molecules. We first estimate the effective parameters of the Cu/CO system by fitting experimental data of the molecular graphene. Then, we calculate the corresponding energy bands and LDOS of the surface electrons in the presence of the proposed molecular lattice. Finally, we interpret the numerical results by the tight binding model of the Kagome lattice. We hope that our work can stimulate further theoretical and experimental interest in this novel artificial 2D electron lattice system.

[Application of internal fixation combined with external fixator for unstable pelvic fracture].

OBJECTIVE: To invesitigate the clinical effects of percutaneous closed reduction and cannulated screw internal fixation combined with external fixation in the treatment of unstable pelvic fractures. METHODS: From April 2006 to May 2009,29 patients with pelvic fractures of rotatory instability were treated with closed reduction and screw internal fixation combined with external fixation. There were 19 males and 10 females with an average age of 31 years old (ranged from 19 to 53 years). Based on the Tile classification,17 cases were type CI and 12 case were type C2. Tornetta standard and Majeed score were used to evaluated the clinical effect after operation. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 10 to 24 months with an average of 16 months. There were no nerve injuries and other organ injuries, only one case of infection was found and it was cured with wound dressing. Time of fracture union was from 14 to 18 weeks with the mean of 16.2 weeks. No loosening, slippage or breakage of the screw were found. According to the Tornetta standards,14 cases obtained excellent results, 10 good, 4 fair and 1 poor. The Majeed score was 87.2 ± 11.3, 16 cases got excellent results, 9 good and 4 fair. CONCLUSION: Closed reduction and screw internal fixation combined with external fixation is an effective way to treat unstable pelvic fractures with Tile type C1 and Tile type C2.

Ultrahigh spin thermopower and pure spin current in a single-molecule magnet.

Using the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism within the sequential regime, we studied ultrahigh spin thermopower and pure spin current in single-molecule magnet(SMM), which is attached to nonmagnetic metal wires with spin bias and angle (θ) between the easy axis of SMM and the spin orientation in the electrodes. A pure spin current can be generated by tuning the gate voltage and temperature difference with finite spin bias and the arbitrary angle except of θ=1/2π, 2/3π. In the linear regime, large thermopower can be obtained by modifying V(g) and the angles (θ). These results are useful in fabricating and advantaging SMM devices based on spin caloritronics.

USP11 regulates p53 stability by deubiquitinating p53.

The p53 tumor suppressor protein coordinates the cellular responses to a broad range of cellular stresses, leading to DNA repair, cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. The stability of p53 is essential for its tumor suppressor function, which is tightly controlled by ubiquitin-dependent degradation primarily through its negative regulator murine double minute 2 (Mdm2). To better understand the regulation of p53, we tested the interaction between p53 and USP11 using co-immunoprecipitation. The results show that USP11, an ubiquitin-specific protease, forms specific complexes with p53 and stabilizes p53 by deubiquitinating it. Moreover, down-regulation of USP11 dramatically attenuated p53 induction in response to DNA damage stress. These findings reveal that USP11 is a novel regulator of p53, which is required for p53 activation in response to DNA damage.

[Characterization of the change in DOM during municipal secondary effluent treatment with magnetic ion exchange resin by 3DEEM].

Magnetic ion exchange resin was a very good advanced treatment process to remove organic matter from municipal wastewater, and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy was widely used to analyze the characterization of the change in DOM. The results showed that both two-stage treatment process and the rate variation of inflow affected the removal effects of DOC and UV254 obviously, and the removal rates were 25.5% - 53.5% and 27.6% - 52.2%. The concentrations of DOC and UV254 were 3.29 mg x L(-1) and 0.057 cm(-1) in T2 effluent respectively. The fluorescence intensities of aromatic protein and visible fulvic-like were high in municipal secondary effluent. MIEX made the fluorescence intensities of tryptophan protein, aromatic protein and humic-like fluorescence peaks decreasing 38.2%, 85.8% and 85.7% respectively from secondary effluent, and make humic-like and visible fulvic-like fluorescence peaks disappearing. The fluorescence peak of soluble microbial byproducts appeared. The negative correlations were strong between the declining rates of tryptophan-like fluorescence intensity and aromatic protein fluorescence intensity and the rates of inflow. 50 - 100 L x h(-1) flow rate influenced most for the removal rate of each DOC. The linear treatment effect was higher for tryptohan-like and aromatic protein DOM by MIEX (R2 = 0.8348), and the treatment effect was the highest for aromatic protein DOM by MIEX (alpha = 850.2). The correlation between UV fulvic-like DOM and fluorescence intensity was worse than that between DOC and fluorescence intensity.