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Secure multiparty computation (MPC) requires the messages transmitted in secure channels which can provide encryption and authorization to the messages. To implement a secure channel for MPC protocols, researchers have tried some communication protocols, such as TLS and Noise. However, these methods have some limitations. These protocols need a trusted certification authority to provide identity authorization which is difficult for an MPC protocol, and how participants manage the key of each party and how to use the key to establish communication is also a problem. A Signal protocol is an end-to-end encryption communication protocol, which is known as the most secure communication protocol in the world. Based on the Signal protocol, we implemented a signal-based secure multiparty computation protocol, which can run the MPC protocol and transmit messages through a signal-based secure channel. Compared with previous research on the MPC protocol over Signal secure channels, the new MPC client adds group communication of the Signal protocol to transmit messages, which significantly improves the communication efficiency of broadcast messages of MPC protocols. To test the communication efficiency of the new MPC client, we implemented a concrete BLS threshold signature protocol on the new client, comparing the elapsed time of key generation and signing on the new client to that on the client only using Signal end-to-end communication. According to our experiment result, we found that the new client run at least 37.48% faster than the old client on the BLS threshold signature whose number of parties ranges from 3 to 5, if the parties have sent Signal group messages to each other. The more parties in the MPC protocol, the higher the proportion of broadcast messages and the more obvious the performance improvement of the new client. Our work improves the performance of MPC secure channels based on the Signal protocol, especially for complex MPC protocols with many participants.

Background At present, not all open fractures of Type 42A2 can be treated by external fixation stents, and it is inconvenient to use clinically, and external locking steel plates can be used as an alternative treatment for such patients, and the use is light and convenient. And there are few reports of finite element biomechanical analysis of external locking steel plates and external fixation brackets placed on the medial side of tibial fractures. In this study, the biomechanical properties of external locking steel plate and traditional external fixation bracket were compared by finite element method when fixing fracture of Type 42A2, which provided data support for clinical application of external locking steel plate fixation. Methods We established a fracture of Type 42A2 model using CT data of a volunteer, and constructed two external fixation models: external locking steel plate fixation and external fixation bracket. The fracture of Type 42A2 model and two external fixation models were assembled according to the common clinical fixation methods. Finally, the axial compression, four-point bending and clockwise torsion force of the maximum load were directly loaded into the mechanical software, and the stress distribution, stress peak and overall tibial displacement in the two sets of different external fixation models were observed and compared. Results Under the maximum load of four different experimental conditions (four-point bending, axial compression, clockwise torsion, counterclockwise torsion), the two sets of external fixation models mainly had obvious Von Mises stress concentrations in the junction between screw and tibia, screw and locking plate, self-tapping self-drilling needle and tibia, self-tapping self-drilling needle and external fixation frame, near the fracture end and near the cortical bone at the upper and lower ends of the tibia. The stress peak is about 26.67 MPa~558.77 MPa, all within the yield stress strength of titanium alloy. The peak displacement of the tibia in the external locking steel plate fixation model was smaller than that of the external fixation bracket model. In terms of structural stability, the external fixation effect of locking steel plate is better than that of single-sided external fixation. Conclusions When the external locking steel plate fixes the fracture of Type 42A2, it is not only lightweight and convenient, but also reduces the complications in the fracture healing process, and performs better in axial compression force, bending force and torsion resistance. From the finite element biomechanical analysis, the performance of the external locking steel plate is better than that of the traditional external fixation bracket in the treatment of fractures of Type 42A2, which can meet the needs of clinical external fixation applications.

COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the public health and social economy worldwide. A safe, effective, and affordable vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infections/diseases is urgently needed. We have been developing a recombinant vaccine based on a prefusion-stabilized spike trimer of SARS-CoV-2 and formulated with aluminium hydroxide and CpG 7909. The spike protein was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, purified, and prepared as a stable formulation with the dual adjuvant. Immunogenicity studies showed that candidate vaccines elicited robust neutralizing antibody responses and substantial CD4+ T cell responses in both mice and non-human primates. And vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies persisted at high level for at least 6 months. Challenge studies demonstrated that candidate vaccine reduced the viral loads and inflammation in the lungs of SARS-CoV-2 infected golden Syrian hamsters significantly. In addition, the vaccine-induced antibodies showed cross-neutralization activity against B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants. These data suggest candidate vaccine is efficacious in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated pneumonia, thereby justifying ongoing phase I/II clinical studies in China (NCT04982068 and NCT04990544).

Under the interactive background of more emphasis on low-carbon and environmentally friendly agricultural production modes and the coordinated development of agricultural foreign trade, China is paying more and more attention to the coordination between agricultural trade, economic development and ecological agriculture development. This paper selects the relevant data of China from 2002 to 2020 as the research object. Taking the agricultural carbon emission intensity as an indicator of environmental pollution, measuring it and then constructing a time series model for analysis, the research finds that, in the long run, the increase in agricultural carbon emission intensity in China will reduce the level of agricultural trade by 2%, which will also lead to a decline in the overall development level of the agricultural economy by 2 to 4 percent. At the same time, this paper also finds that the current situation of China’s agricultural trade reduces the development of China’s agriculture by 1%, which will also lead to an increase in agricultural carbon emission intensity by about 0.5%. Finally, this paper finds that the development of the agricultural economy makes the overall increase in agricultural trade 2%, and with the development of the agricultural economy, the agricultural carbon emission intensity decreases by 0.1%, but the impact is small. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the construction of a leadership mechanism, implement the development strategy of low-carbon agriculture and provide corresponding financial security and other policy suggestions to promote the coordinated development of China’s agricultural trade and low-carbon agricultural production environment.

Combining surface-initiated, TdT (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase) catalyzed enzymatic polymerization (SI-TcEP) with precisely engineered DNA origami nanostructures (DONs) presents an innovative pathway for the generation of stable, polynucleotide brush-functionalized origami nanostructures. We demonstrate that SI-TcEP can site-specifically pattern DONs with brushes containing both natural and non-natural nucleotides. The brush functionalization can be precisely controlled in terms of the location of initiation sites on the origami core and the brush height and composition. Coarse-grained simulations predict the conformation of the brush-functionalized DONs that agree well with the experimentally observed morphologies. We find that polynucleotide brush-functionalization increases the nuclease resistance of DONs significantly, and that this stability can be spatially programmed through the site-specific growth of polynucleotide brushes. The ability to site-specifically decorate DONs with brushes of natural and non-natural nucleotides provides access to a large range of functionalized DON architectures that would allow for further supramolecular assembly, and for potential applications in smart nanoscale delivery systems.

Nanotechnology represents a new impetus for biomedical research applications, especially using nanotechnology to formulate microspheres or nanospheres based delivery system for treatment of infectious diseases in animals. In this work, polylactic acid (PLA) microspheres with an average size of 156 nm were prepared by combining emulsion polymerization coupled with emulsion-solvent evaporation. Coating with polyethylenimine (PEI) polymers increased the surface charges of the resulting PLA/PEI microspheres, thus enabled plasmid DNA to adsorb tightly to the microspheres. As expected, the plasmid DNA was successfully transferred into the pig kidney-15 cells with high transfection efficiency. In addition, the protection rate of PLA/PEI microspheres loaded with DNA vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease in guinea pigs reached 87.5%, which was significantly higher than that of the pure DNA vaccine group. These results indicated that PLA/PEI microspheres were expected to be an effective delivery system for DNA vaccines.

Although the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines is nonideal, they are still considered as potential alternative vaccine candidates to conventional vaccines. Various DNA delivery systems, including nanoparticles, have been extensively explored and validated to further enhance the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. DNA vaccines are considered as alternative vaccine candidates. Various DNA delivery systems, including nanoparticles, have been extensively explored to enhance the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. In this study, positively charged Poly (D, l-lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles were generated and characterized as a delivery system for O-serotype foot-and-mouth DNA vaccine. A recombinant plasmid encoding swine interleukin (IL)-18, IL-2, or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene was introduced into the DNA vaccine to further improve its immunogenicity, which was evaluated in a guinea pig model. PLGA-pVAX-VP013/IL-18 elicited significantly (P = 0.0149) higher FMDV-specific antibody levels than naked DNA before the challenge. The level of neutralizing antibodies induced by PLGA-pVAX-VP013/IL-18, PLGA-pVAX-VP013/IL-2, and PLGA-pVAX-VP013/GM-CSF significantly increased compared with that induced by naked DNA (P 0.0001). The lymphocyte proliferation assay showed that cellular immunity induced by PLGA-pVAX-VP013/IL-18 and PLGA-pVAX-VP013/GM-CSF was dramatically enhanced compared with that induced by the inactivated vaccine. The protection by PLGA-pVAX-VP013/IL-18 was consistent with that by the inactivated vaccine post-challenge and was followed by PLGA-pVAX-VP013/GM-CSF. Therefore, cationic PLGA nanoparticles can deliver DNA vaccines and induce humoral and cellular immune responses. The co-administration of FMD DNA vaccine with IL-18 formulated with PLGA nanoparticles was the optimal strategy to improve the immunogenicity of FMD DNA vaccines.

As a vital resource endowment area and ecological barrier area in China, low‐carbon development in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River is of great significance. This paper compiled the emission inventory in the Upper Yangtze River Economic Zone in the IPCC regional emission accounting method framework and used the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model to evaluate economic development and carbon emissions. Finally, this paper used the time series method to predict carbon emissions to 2030. We find that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased rapidly from 2004 to 2012. The average annual growth rate reached 9.16%. After 2012, carbon emissions in the region no longer grow steadily but fluctuate or even decline. The secondary industry contributed 79.77%, the tertiary industry contributed 17.78%, and the primary industry only 2.45% from 2000 to 2015. From the industrial sector and energy consumption, thermoelectricity production and supply division and nonmetallic mineral products industry are the sectors with the most CO2 emissions, accounting for 35.54% and 13.34%, respectively. Raw coal and coke are the main factors causing emissions. Nearly 61.32% of the carbon dioxide produced by raw coal comes from the electricity production sector. However, from 2011 to 2015, the CO2 emissions of raw coal decreased year by year, down by 23.32%. The impact of economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions supports the EKC hypothesis. The CO2 emissions in the Upper Yangtze River Economic Zone will decline after 2020, but Chongqing has shown an upward trend. With the above results, provinces and cities can optimize the regional industrial structure based on sectoral carbon emissions. The study area needs to develop clean energy to optimize the coal‐led energy consumption structure. Provinces and cities in the district can learn from each other's advanced emission reduction experience. © 2021 The Authors. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

To explore the impact of promotion of electric vehicles on carbon emissions in China, this paper used the principal component analysis (PCA)-logistic regression model to predict the demand for traditional vehicles, and used the scenario analysis method to analyze the proportion of electric vehicles in traditional vehicles qualitatively. Then this paper calculated the carbon emissions during the power generation process based on the existing power structure. In addition, the IPCC carbon emission calculation method is used to compare the CO2 emissions produced by electric vehicles and fuel vehicles with similar vehicle quality while driving the same distance and consuming different energy sources. The results showed that the CO2 emissions of electric vehicles accounted for only 37.05% of fuel vehicles. By 2050, the annual electricity demand of electric vehicles will be 828.7, 776.9, and 752.1 billion kWh under the radical scenario, the reference scenario, and the negative scenario, respectively. According to the current power structure, the carbon emissions will be 1.2, 1.1, and 1 billion tons, respectively. The rapid growth of electric vehicles has a substantial impact on the grid load. Studying the changes in CO2 emissions from energy substitution is significant to formulate the development strategy of the automobile industry and adjust energy structure policies.

To meet the strict requirements of reducing sulfur emission, more and more commercial ships have installed exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs). However, wash water produced during cleaning process is discharged back to the marine environment. We investigated effects of the closed-loop scrubber (natrium-alkali method) wash water on three trophic species. Severe toxic effects were found when Dunaliella salina, Mysidopsis bahia and Mugilogobius chulae were exposed to 0.63-6.25, 0.63-10 and 1.25-20% concentrations of wash water, respectively. EC50-96 h of D. salina was 2.48%, corresponding to total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or heavy metals were 22.81, 23.67 µg L−1. LC50-7 d of M. bahia and M. chulae were 3.57 and 20.50%. The LOEC of M. bahia and M. chulae were 1.25% and 2.5%, corresponding to total PAHs and heavy metals were 11.50, 11.93 and 22.99, 23.86 µg L−1. M. bahia’s body weight was negatively correlated with concentrations of wash water. Although wash water contained high concentrations of PAHs (e.g., naphthalene) and heavy metals (e.g., Cr, Ni, Cu and Zn), none of the single pollutant could explain the high toxicity of wash water. The measured toxicity might arise from synergistic effects among several contaminants or from other more toxic contaminants we know very little about. We highly recommend that wash water should be treated prior to being discharged to the marine environment.

Commercialized multigene panel testing brings unprecedented opportunities to understand germline genetic contributions to hereditary cancers. Most genetic testing companies classify the pathogenicity of variants as pathogenic, benign, or variants of unknown significance (VUSs). The unknown pathogenicity of VUSs poses serious challenges to clinical decision-making. This study aims to assess the frequency of VUSs that are likely pathogenic in disease-susceptibility genes. Using estimates of probands' probability of having a pathogenic mutation (ie, the carrier score) based on a family history probabilistic risk prediction model, we assume the carrier score distribution for probands with VUSs is a mixture of the carrier score distribution for probands with positive results and the carrier score distribution for probands with negative results. Under this mixture model, we propose a likelihood-based approach to assess the frequency of pathogenicity among probands with VUSs, while accounting for the existence of possible pathogenic mutations on genes not tested. We conducted simulations to assess the performance of the approach and show that under various settings, the approach performs well with very little bias in the estimated proportion of VUSs that are likely pathogenic. We also estimate the positive predictive value across the entire range of carrier scores. We apply our approach to the USC-Stanford Hereditary Cancer Panel Testing cohort, and estimate the proportion of probands that have VUSs in BRCA1/2 that are likely pathogenic to be 10.12% [95%CI: 0%, 43.04%]. This approach will enable clinicians to target high-risk patients who have VUSs, allowing for early prevention interventions.

This study focused on the effect of different personality traits on the relationship between entrepreneurial learning (exploration learning and exploitation learning) and entrepreneurial competencies based on the experiential learning theory. According to the survey data from 180 start-ups entrepreneurs in China, the results demonstrated that: (1) exploration learning and exploitation learning are positively related to entrepreneurial competencies, (2) personality traits (risk taking and innovativeness) moderates the positive relationship between exploration learning and entrepreneurial competencies, especially the relationship was more positive when entrepreneurs are equipped with higher innovativeness and lower risk taking, (3) personality traits (risk taking and innovativeness) moderates the positive relationship between exploitation learning and entrepreneurial competencies, thus the relationship was more positive when entrepreneurs are equipped with higher risk taking and lower innovativeness. Implications for entrepreneurial learning and personality traits research and practice are provided.

Low dopamine levels may cause depressive symptoms. Dopamine is also involved in sexual behavior. Rotigotine is a nonergolinic dopamine agonist. Fluoxetine, an antidepressant that acts as a selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, may cause moderate or severe sexual dysfunction. This study aims to investigate the effects of rotigotine-loaded microspheres (RoMS) and rotigotine on fluoxetine-induced impairment of sexual function and their efficacy in depression-model rats. Rats with depressive-like behavior, induced by bilateral olfactory bulbectomy, were treated intragastrically with fluoxetine and co-administered RoMS or rotigotine subcutaneously. Then, copulatory behavior and open field tests were conducted. Serum luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels were assayed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The concentrations of 5-HT, dopamine, and norepinephrine were measured in the raphe nucleus and amygdala. The results showed that sexual function was decreased in olfactory bulbectomy rats and significantly deteriorated by fluoxetine. Co-administration of RoMS partly reversed the fluoxetine-induced impairment of sexual function, but rotigotine administration did not produce any improvement. Hyperactivity in olfactory bulbectomy rats was significantly attenuated by fluoxetine but was not influenced by co-administration of RoMS. Compared with the fluoxetine group, RoMS increased the testosterone, luteinizing hormone, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels. These findings indicated that RoMS improved the fluoxetine-induced impairment of sexual function and did not affect its antidepressant efficacy in depressive rats, which provides a potential treatment for patients with depression that can reduce the possibility of sexual dysfunction. Additionally, co-administration of fluoxetine with RoMS may be beneficial for Parkinson's disease patients with depression.

Dopamine (DA) is a crucial neurotransmitter that plays an important role in maintaining physiological function in human body. In the past, most studies focused on the relationship between the dopaminergic system and neurological-related diseases. However, it has been found recently that DA is an immunomodulatory mediator and many immune cells express dopamine receptors (DRs). Some immune cells can synthesize and secrete DA and then participate in regulating immune function. DRs agonists or antagonists can improve the dysfunction of immune system through classical G protein signaling pathways or other non-receptor-dependent pathways. This article will discuss the relationship between the dopaminergic system and the immune system. It will also review the use of DRs agonists or antagonists to treat chronic and acute inflammatory diseases and corresponding immunomodulatory mechanisms.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams in China. How to quantify and systematically analyze the flow and materials is a problem. This paper provides a basis for managing refrigerators at both product and substance levels through developed dynamic material flow analysis model, bottom-up (refrigerators grouped by material modules), stock-driven combined with Weibull distribution function and refrigerator life cycle to predict the number of metals and plastics contained in obsolete refrigerators. We found that: ① A gradual increase of obsolete refrigerators from 1990 to 2035. The total possession of refrigerators is from 417.6 million units in 2016 to 500.3 million units in 2035, with an average annual growth rate for the value 19.8%/20 (years). The total number of obsolete refrigerators is from 28.5 million units in 2016 to 45 million units in 2035, with an average annual growth rate for the value 57.9%/20 (years); ② the possession of refrigerators of urban is higher than the rural areas from 1990 to 2016, but the possession of refrigerators of urban and rural will be convergence in 2035; ③ These growing obsolete refrigerators would mean there are potentially numerous recyclable materials. Such as most precious metals (i.e., Au, Ag), common metals (i.e., Fe, Al, Cu, Sn), toxic metals (i.e., Pb, Sb, Cd, Hg), plastics and gas will reach 0.0072 Gg , 1636.1 Gg , 0.2776 Gg , 930.1 Gg and 29.2 Gg in 2035, respectively. Because of a huge gap on the possession level of e-waste between urban and rural areas in China, this paper recommends that future national policies should focus on recycling and reusing of refrigerators in urban while also focusing on the increasing number of obsolete refrigerators in rural areas.

Background: Nanotechnology represents a new impetus for biomedical research applications, especially using nanotechnology to formulate microspheres or nanospheres based delivery system for treatment of infectious diseases in animals.Results: Polylactic acid (PLA) microspheres with an average size of 156nm were prepared by combining emulsion polymerization coupled with emulsion−solvent evaporation. Coating with three different molecular weights of polyethylenimine (PEI) polymers increased the surface charges of the resulting PLA/PEI microspheres. Electrostatic interactions enabled plasmid DNA to adsorb tightly to the microspheres. After pig kidney-15 cells were cultured with the PLA/PEI/DNA complexes for 48 h, all three PLA/PEI microspheres successfully transferred plasmid DNA into the cells with high transfection efficiency. The protection rate of PLA/PEI microspheres loaded with DNA vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease in guinea pigs reached 87.5%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group injected with only DNA vaccine.Conclusions: In this work, PLA/PEI microspheres were constructed by preparing PLA microspheres and modifying with PEI polymers, and were shown a great potential in improve the efficacy, biosafety and economic effects of DNA vaccines. The results indicated PLA/PEI microspheres were expected to be an effective delivery system for DNA vaccines.

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) caused by injury may influence the patients' lifelong mobility unless there is an appropriate treatment. Tissue engineering has become a hot field to replace traditional autologous nerve transplantation due to its low surgical damage and easy-to-industrial advantages. Graphene (GR) is a kind of carbon nanomaterial with good electrical and mechanical properties that satisfy the demand for a good tissue scaffold for nerve regeneration. Herein, a novel and biosafe hydrogel is fabricated by using graphene and sodium alginate (GR-SA) together. This hydrogel not only can mimic the nerve growth microenvironment but also can promote the expression of neurotrophic substances and growth factors. Additionally, GR-SA hydrogel can significantly reduce inflammatory factors. Moreover, the results of both in vitro and in vivo tests demonstrate that GR-SA hydrogel has a promising prospect in PNI regeneration.

A novel type of porous Co

Biodegradable poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) has been used as a tissue engineering scaffold as well as a carrier for the delivery of proteins, drugs, and other macromolecules. Hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticle self-assembly on the surface of a PLGA microsphere can create a hydrophilic environment, and its hydroxide can neutralize the acidity of PLGA degradation products. These microspheres can be used to deliver strontium ranelate (SR), which is used to treat osteoporosis. In the present study, we fabricated porous PLGA microspheres (PM), SR-loaded (SR-)PM, and SR-PM with HA nanosuspension and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a surfactant (SR-PM-HA) in a S/O/Ns method. The microspheres exhibited an interconnected porous structure. The percent cumulative release of SR from SR-PM was 90% in 22 days as compared to 85% from SR-PM-HA. In both cases, drug release was gradual (with no burst release). SR-PM and SR-PM-HA similarly stimulated the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells to a greater degree than PM and induced osteogenic differentiation, as determined by alkaline phosphatase staining and real-time PCR analysis of osteogenic marker gene expression. These results indicate that SR-PM-HA is biocompatible and suitable for drug delivery and osteoinduction.