Engineering superconducting qubits to reduce quasiparticles and charge noise

Identifying, quantifying, and suppressing decoherence mechanisms in qubits are important steps towards the goal of engineering a quantum computer or simulator. Superconducting circuits offer flexibility in qubit design; however, their performance is adversely affected by quasiparticles (broken Cooper pairs). Developing a quasiparticle mitigation strategy compatible with scalable, high-coherence devices is therefore highly desirable. Here we experimentally demonstrate how to control quasiparticle generation by downsizing the qubit, capping it with a metallic cover, and equipping it with suitable quasiparticle traps. Using a flip-chip design, we shape the electromagnetic environment of the qubit above the superconducting gap, inhibiting quasiparticle poisoning. Our findings support the hypothesis that quasiparticle generation is dominated by the breaking of Cooper pairs at the junction, as a result of photon absorption by the antenna-like qubit structure. We achieve record low charge-parity switching rate (<1 Hz). Our aluminium devices also display improved stability with respect to discrete charging events.

[Cadmium induces apoptosis of mouse spermatocytes (GC-2 spd) by promoting mitochondrial fission]

Objective: To study the underlying mechanism of cadmium-induced apoptosis of mouse spermatocytes (GC-2 spd) . Methods: In March 2021, GC-2 spd cells were exposed to different concentrations of CdCl(2) for 24 hours, namely 5 μmol/L CdCl(2) (low-dose) group and 10 μmol/L CdCl(2) (high-dose) group, and unexposed GC-2 spd cells were used as control group. Mitochondrial morphology was observed in the cells stained with Mito-Track Red CMXRos fluorescent probes by confocal microscopy and the mitochrondrial membrane potential was measured by flow cytometry with JC-1 fluorescent probes. Mitochrondrial proteins, cytosolic proteins and total cellular proteins of GC-2 spd cells were extracted using cell mitochondria isolation kit and RIPA buffer, respectively. The expression of mitochondrial homeostasis regulatory proteins (FIS1 and OPA1), and apoptosis-related proteins (Cytochrome c and cleaved Caspase-3) were examined by Western blot. Results: Compared with the cells in the control group, the relative ratio of JC-1 red/green fluorescence signal in the cells of the low-dose and high-dose CdCl(2) groups decreased significantly (0.740±0.071, 0.570±0.028), with a statistically significant difference (P=0.017, 0.004) ; The morphology of mitochondria changed from long tube to point, and the proportion of cells containing point mitochondria increased significantly (45.1%±3.7% and 25.7%±4.9%), the difference was statistically significant (P=0.005, 0.001) ; The relative expression level of mitochondrial FIS1 in cells of low and high dose CdCl(2) groups was significantly higher (1.271±0.120, 1.693±0.155), the difference was statistically significant (P=0.046, 0.000) ; The relative expression level of OPA1 decreased significantly (0.838±0.050, 0.682±0.040), and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.049, 0.001). Compared with the control group, the relative expression level of cytochrome c protein in the cytoplasm of cells in the low dose group of CdCl(2) was not significantly increased (1.249±0.151), and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.075). However, the relative expression level in the cytoplasm of cells in the high dose group of CdCl(2) was significantly increased (2.355±0.110), and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.000) ; The relative expression level of Cytochrome c in mitochondria of low and high dose CdCl(2) groups decreased significantly (0.681±0.043, 0.619±0.114), with a statistically significant difference (P=0.004, 0.001) ; Moreover, the level of cleaved Caspase-3 protein in cells gradually increased (5.486±0.544, 11.493±1.739), the difference was statistically significant (P=0.004, 0.000) . Conclusion: Cadmium induced cleaved Caspase-3 mediated apoptosis of GC-2 spd cells via promoting mitochrondrial fission and the release of Cytochrome c from the mitochrondria to the cytosol.

Case report: Recreational nitrous oxide abuse triggered peripheral neuropathy possibly through the immune-mediated pathogenesis

Nitrous oxide (N2O), commonly known as laughing gas, is widely used in clinical practice and food industry. However, an increasing number of young people have been abusing N2O for recreational purpose, resulting in many functional disorders and sometimes irreversible nerve damage. We present the case of a 20-year-old N2O abuser who gradually developed peripheral neuropathy after continuously inhaling N2O for 2 months. The neurological symptoms of the patient had kept exacerbation for the next 2 months until she came for medical care sitting in a wheelchair. We suggested the patient halting N2O intake and supplementing methylcobalamine according to the standardized protocol. Her symptoms had partly recovered during the following 2 weeks but remained unchanged in another 2 weeks. Antibodies against ganglioside complexes were detected and anti-GM1 IgM antibodies were positive in both cerebrospinal fluid and serum. Intravenous immunoglobulin was given as an additional treatment and the patient's symptoms had significantly recovered further. The patient discharged walking by herself. Then she has been continuously followed up in outpatient department for the next 4 months and taking steroid hormone as well as methylcobalamine. Her symptoms gradually disappeared and all the electrophysiological parameters significantly improved. With this case we were able to show that N2O-related peripheral neuropathy is not only a metabolic disorder but also an immune-mediated disease. N2O intake can trigger a mimic Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Green Financial Reform and Corporate ESG Performance in China: Empirical Evidence from the Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone

Does the establishment of pilot zones for green finance reform and innovations in 2017 have an impact on the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) scores of enterprises? This paper selects data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2014-2020 and uses the differences-in-differences (DID) model to analyze the impact of green financial reform on the ESG scores of enterprises. The study shows that the establishment of the Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone (GFPZ) policy helps enterprises to obtain higher ESG scores through environmental, social and governance mechanisms. When ESG is measured using environmental, social and governance data, our results suggest that the contribution of green finance reforms to ESG scores is primarily driven by social responsibility scores. The adjustment effect analysis shows that for large enterprises in the GFPZ, the above effects have stronger influence, but there is no significant difference between heavily polluting and non-heavily polluting firms in the GFPZ. Expansive analysis shows that the improvement in ESG scores of enterprises in the GFPZ not only contributes to the green performance of enterprises, but also to their financial performance.

Therapeutic effect of sodium‑glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor and benazepril on diabetic nephropathic rats

The present study aimed to compare the therapeutic effect of sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor and benazepril on diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats and provide a potential novel agent for the clinical treatment of DN. The DN model was established on rats. Animals were dosed orally with SGLT2 and benazepril daily for 4 weeks. The pathological state of renal tissues were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin, Masson and periodic acid-Schiff staining. The change in the morphology of renal tissues was observed through transmission electron microscopy. Western blotting was utilized to determine the expression level of TGF-β, N-terminal fragment of the B-type natriuretic peptide precursor (NT-proBNP) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). The expression level of endothelin 1 (ET-1), von Willebrand factor (vWF), collagen (col)-I and α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in renal tissues was visualized using immunohistochemical assay. Significant pathological changes in the glomerular basement membrane, mesangial membrane, renal tubules, lumen, renal interstitial region and renal tubular epithelial cells were observed in DN rats, accompanied by increased collagen fibers. SGLT2 inhibitor treatment demonstrated more alleviatory effects on the pathological changes of renal tissues compared with benazepril. Compared with control, TGF-β and NT-proBNP were upregulated in DN rats, accompanied by the downregulation of MMP-9, ET-1, vWF, col-I and α-SMA, which were markedly reversed by treatment with SGLT2 inhibitor and benazepril. Compared with benazepril, the effects of SGLT2 inhibitor on the expression level of TGF-β, NT-proBNP, MMP-9, ET-1, vWF, col-I and α-SMA were more significant. Overall, SGLT2 inhibitor demonstrated an increased therapeutic effect against DN rats compared with benazepril by regulating cytokines, renal fibrosis and extracellular matrix degradation.

Thymic cyst: Is attenuation artifactually increased on contrast-enhanced CT?

Background

Thymic cysts are often misinterpreted as thymomas or lymph nodes, then leading to unnecessary thymectomy. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the adjacent large vessels artifactually affected attenuation values of thymic cysts on contrast–enhanced CT (CE-CT).

Methods

In this retrospective study, a total of 84 patients were included with pathological diagnosis of thymic cysts and preoperative CE-CT. Quantitative measurements of the size, CT attenuation of thymic cysts and CT attenuation of adjacent large vessels were performed on preoperative CE-CT. According to the absolute change in attenuation of the cysts between contrast-enhanced and nonenhanced CT, the patients were classified into the groups of artifactual hyper-density, unchanged density, and artifactual hypo-density. CT characteristics were compared between the three groups. Furthermore, multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the independent factors for artifactual hyper-density.

Results

The group of artifactual hyper-density had smaller short diameter of the cysts, higher postcontrast attenuation values and lower nonenhanced attenuation values of the adjacent large vessel. Furthermore, the multivariable logistic analysis showed that artifactual hyper-density of thymic cysts was negatively associated with nonenhanced attenuation of adjacent large vessel, and positively associated with postcontrast attenuation of adjacent large vessel and postcontrast attenuation of cysts.

Conclusions

Most cases with &gt;20 HU nonenhanced CT attenuation in surgically resected cases. Artifactual hyper-density─pseudo-enhancement phenomenon of thymic cysts was more apparent in higher increasing attenuation of adjacent large vessels on CE-CT. A well understanding of this phenomenon can help reduce preoperative misdiagnosis and unnecessary thymectomy.

Circadian nuclear receptor Rev-erbalpha is expressed by platelets and potentiates platelet activation and thrombus formation

Background

Adverse cardiovascular events have day/night patterns with peaks in the morning, potentially related to endogenous circadian clock control of platelet activation. Circadian nuclear receptor Rev-erbα is an essential and negative component of the circadian clock.

Purpose

We aim to investigate the expression profile and biological function of Rev-erbα in platelets.

Methods and results

Here we report the presence and functions of circadian nuclear receptor Rev-erbα in human and mouse platelets. Both human and mouse platelet Rev-erbα showed a circadian rhythm that positively correlated with platelet aggregation. Global Rev-erbα knockout and platelet-specific Rev-erbα knockout mice exhibited defective in hemostasis as assessed by prolonged tail-bleeding times. Rev-erbα deletion also reduced ferric chloride-induced carotid arterial occlusive thrombosis, prevented collagen/epinephrine-induced pulmonary thromboembolism, and protected against microvascular microthrombi obstruction and infarct expansion in an acute myocardial infarction model. In vitro thrombus formation assessed by CD41-labeled platelet fluorescence intensity was significantly reduced in Rev-erbα knockout mouse blood. Platelets from Rev-erbα knockout mice exhibited impaired agonist-induced aggregation responses, integrin αIIbβ3 activation and α-granule release. Consistently, pharmacological inhibition of Rev-erbα by specific antagonists decreased platelet activation markers in both mouse and human platelets. Mechanistically, mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation analyses revealed that Rev-erbα potentiated platelet activation via oligophrenin-1-mediated RhoA/ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin) pathway.

Conclusion

We provide the first evidence that circadian protein Rev-erbα is functionally expressed in platelets and potentiates platelet activation and thrombus formation. Rev-erbα may serve as a novel therapeutic target for managing thrombosis-based cardiovascular disease.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): This work was supported by grants from the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (81625002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81930007).

[Effects of cyanate on pulmonary epithelial cells and pulmonary function in mice]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the injury of cyanate on the pulmonary function and morphology of C57/BL6N mice.

METHODS

Forty male C57/BL6N mice were randomly divided into two groups: normal control group (20 mice) and cyanate group (20 mice). Mice were exposed to 100 mmol/L cyanate feeding for 4 weeks, and pulmonary Raw (Resistance in Air Way) was measured at the beginning and end of the experiment. The mice were sacrificed at the end of the fourth week of the experiment, and the lung tissues were collected for pathological observation and molecular detection of E-Cadherin and Fibronectin. Well-growing A549 cells in logarithmic growth phase were treated with cyanate at the concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mmol/L for 24 h, and the cell viability was detected by CCK8 method; reactive oxygen species ROS fluorescent probe (DCFH-DA) was used to detect the changes of ROS levels, and expressions of E-Cadherin and Fibronectin in cells and pulmonary tissues were detected by Western blot.

RESULTS

At the beginning of the experiment, the pulmonary airway resistance values of the mice in the normal control group and the cyanate group were (1.82±0.76)cmH₂O/(L·s) and (1.85±0.78)cmH₂O/(L·s), respectively, with no significant difference. Four weeks later, the pulmonary airway resistance value of mice in the cyanate group was increased to (4.86±0.87)cmH₂O/(L·s) (P＜0.01). The HE staining showed that, compared with the normal control group, the injured alveolar structure, the thickened tracheal wall and the significantly proliferated pulmonary interstitial tissue were observed in the cyanate group. The Masson staining showed that elastic fibers were deposited around the trachea of mice in the cyanate group. The results of CCK8 assay for the viability of A549 cells showed that 0.5 mmol/L cyanate exposure could reduce the viability (P＜0.01). The immunofluorescence staining showed that cyanate could increase ROS level in A549 cells by producing green fluorescence in a concentration-dependent manner. The results of Western blotting showed that 0.5 mmol/L of cyanate treatment on A549 cells could reduce the expression of E-Cadherin (P＜0.01) with increasing concentration of cyanate. The expression level of Fibronectin in A549 cells was increased with the increasing cyanate concentration, and there was a significant difference (P＜0.01) on 1 mmol/L cyanate. Western blot results of lung showed the decreasing expression of E-Cadherin (P＜0.01) and increasing expression of Fibronectin (P＜0.01) in cyanate mice.

CONCLUSION

Pathological concentrations of cyanate can induce the proliferation of pulmonary interstitial tissue, fibrous deposition, and increased pulmonary airway resistance in mice, which may be related to damaged pulmonary epithelial cell viability, enhanced ROS production, and induced pathologic changes of extracellular matrix by cyanate.

[Clinical characteristics of 272 437 patients with different histopathological subtypes of primary esophageal malignant tumors]

Objective: To characterize the histopathological subtypes and their clinicopathological parameters of gender and onset age by common, rare and sparse primary esophageal malignant tumors (PEMT). Methods: A total of 272 437 patients with PEMT were enrolled in this study, and all of the patients were received radical surgery. The clinicopathological information of the patients was obtained from the database established by the State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment from September 1973 to December 2020, which included the clinical treatment, pathological diagnosis and follow-up information of esophagus and gastric cardia cancers. All patients were diagnosed and classified by the criteria of esophageal tumor histopathological diagnosis and classification (2019) of the World Health Organization (WHO). The esophageal tumors, which were not included in the WHO classification, were analyzed separately according to the postoperative pathological diagnosis. The χ² test was performed by the SPSS 25.0 software on count data, and the test standard α=0.05. Results: A total of 32 histopathological types were identified in the enrolled PEMT patients, of which 10 subtypes were not included in the WHO classification. According to the frequency, PEMT were divided into common (esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, ESCC, accounting for 97.1%), rare (esophageal adenocarcinoma, EAC, accounting for 2.3%) and sparse (mainly esophageal small cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, etc., accounting for 0.6%). All the common, rare, and sparse types occurred predominantly in male patients, and the gender difference of rare type was most significant (EAC, male∶ female, 2.67∶1), followed with common type (ESCC, male∶ female, 1.78∶1) and sparse type (male∶ female, 1.71∶1). The common type (ESCC) mainly occurred in the middle thoracic segment (65.2%), while the rare type (EAC) mainly occurred in the lower thoracic segment (56.8%). Among the sparse type, malignant melanoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma were both predominantly located in the lower thoracic segment (51.7%, 66.7%), and the others were mainly in the middle thoracic segment. Conclusion: ESCC is the most common type among the 32 histopathological types of PEMT, followed by EAC as the rare type, and esophageal small cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma as the major sparse type, and all of which are mainly occur in male patients. The common type of ESCC mainly occur in the middle thoracic segment, while the rare type of EAC mainly in the lower thoracic segment. The mainly sparse type of malignant melanoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma predominately occur in the lower thoracic segment, and the remaining sparse types mainly occur in the middle thoracic segment.

Circ_0002762 Accelerates Glycolysis Metabolism to Promote Cervical Cancer Progression via the miR-526b-5p/HK2 Axis

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and mechanism of circ_0002762 in CC.

DESIGN

This study was designed for silencing circ_0002762 in CC cells and xenograft tumor models to investigate the role of circ_0002762 in CC in vitro and in vivo.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The relative expression levels of circ_0002762, miR-526b-5p, and hexokinase2 (HK2) in CC tissues and cells were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction or Western blot. Glycolysis-related extracellular acidification rate, glucose production, lactic acid consumption, and ATP levels were measured using the appropriate kits. Cell proliferation was assessed by 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine and colony formation assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The binding relationship between miR-526b-5p and circ_0002762 or HK2 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull-down assay. Tumor growth in vivo was detected by xenograft tumor model.

RESULTS

The expressions of circ_0002762 and HK2 were up-regulated and miR-526b-5p was down-regulated in CC tissues and cells. Circ_0002762 knockdown inhibited glycolysis and proliferation and promoted apoptosis of CC cells. In addition, miR-526b-5p suppression reversed the inhibition of CC development induced by circ_0002762 silencing. HK2 overexpression eliminated the inhibition of miR-526b-5p on CC progression. Moreover, silencing of circ_0002762 inhibited CC tumor growth in vivo.

LIMITATIONS

The practical application of circ_0002762 in clinical practice needs further investigation.

CONCLUSION

Circ_0002762 knockdown inhibited CC progression by regulating miR-526b-5p/HK2 axis, suggesting that circ_0002762 was a promising therapeutic strategy for CC.

Influence of Hydrogen Reduction on the Properties of Porous High-Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel

This work explores the impact of hydrogen reduction on sintering and nitriding of porous high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel (HNASS) processed via powder metallurgy. A temperature-resolved hydrogen reduction (temperature range of 700-1250 °C) was performed to evaluate the phase composition of porous HNASS. The systematic microstructure was characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The compressive mechanical properties and electrochemical corrosion behavior of the unreduced and reduced samples were discussed. Samples reduced in hydrogen at 1100 °C and 1250 °C show better compressive properties while still retaining good corrosion resistance. Reduction of oxide facilitates sintering thus improves the compressive properties. Increasing the content of solute nitrogen and reducing the precipitation of nitride can effectively improve the corrosion resistance of porous HNASS.

Phenformin Down-Regulates c-Myc Expression to Suppress the Expression of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Keratinocytes

The treatment of many skin inflammation diseases, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, is still a challenge and inflammation plays important roles in multiple stages of skin tumor development, including initiation, promotion and metastasis. Phenformin, a biguanide drug, has been shown to play a more efficient anti-tumor function than another well-known biguanide drug, metformin, which has been reported to control the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines; however, little is known about the effects of phenformin on skin inflammation. This study used a mouse acute inflammation model, ex vivo skin organ cultures and in vitro human primary keratinocyte cultures to demonstrate that phenformin can suppress acute skin inflammatory responses induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in vivo and significantly suppresses the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 in human primary keratinocytes in vitro. The suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression by phenformin was not directly through regulation of the MAPK or NF-κB pathways, but by controlling the expression of c-Myc in human keratinocytes. We demonstrated that the overexpression of c-Myc can induce pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and counteract the suppressive effect of phenformin on cytokine expression in keratinocytes. In contrast, the down-regulation of c-Myc produces effects similar to phenformin, both in cytokine expression by keratinocytes in vitro and in skin inflammation in vivo. Finally, we showed that phenformin, as an AMPK activator, down-regulates the expression of c-Myc through regulation of the AMPK/mTOR pathways. In summary, phenformin inhibits the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in keratinocytes through the down-regulation of c-Myc expression to play an anti-inflammation function in the skin.

To help others or not: A moderated mediation model of emotional dissonance

This article proposes a moderated mediation model of emotional dissonance. In the model, emotional leadership negatively affects emotional dissonance, which, in turn, negatively affects helping behavior. Furthermore, the negative effect of emotional dissonance is assumed to be moderated by work-family conflict. Direct effects from both emotional leadership and work-family conflict to helping other behavior are also considered. Previous studies have neglected the mechanism of emotional dissonance, but this paper fills the gap with a moderated mediation model of emotional dissonance. This article not only provides an incremental contribution to the emotional dissonance literature but also suggests means by which companies might enhance employe helping behaviors in order to achieve greater organizational efficiency.

Advance in bone destruction participated by JAK/STAT in rheumatoid arthritis and therapeutic effect of JAK/STAT inhibitors

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic joint inflammation and bone erosion. The bones in the human body are constantly undergoing bone remodeling throughout their lives, which is the process of bone resorption by osteoclasts to damaged bone tissue and new bone formation by osteoblasts. Osteoblasts (OBs) are the main functional cells in bone formation, responsible for the synthesis, secretion and mineralization of the bone matrix. On the contrary, osteoclasts (OCs) mediate bone breakdown during natural bone turnover, but excessive breakdown occurs in RA. Under the condition of RA inflammation, many molecules, such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-17 and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) are produced that could mediate bone loss. Studies have shown that cytokines mainly promote the formation of OCs and play a role in bone resorption by stimulating OBs to express receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). JAK/STAT plays a crucial role in the process of bone destruction. And JAK/STAT pathway mediates the RANKL/receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) axis. Tofacitinib, Baricitinib, Peficitinib and Filgotinib are now being used in patients with moderate to severe RA, as well as in patients with RA who have an inadequate response to methotrexate therapy and bone destruction. Currently, Tofacitiniband Baritinib areapprovedfor thetreatmentof moderate-to-severely active RA. JAK inhibitors have been reported to have better efficacy and lower adverse effects compared with methotrexate and adalimumab. In addition, two JAK inhibitors are currently in development: the JAK1 selective Upadacitinib, and the JAK3 selective inhibitor Decernotinib. In addition to the above JAK inhibitors, some small molecular compounds inhibit bone destruction by inhibiting the Phosphorylation of STAT3. In this paper, the research progress of bone destruction participated by JAK/ STAT in rheumatoid arthritis and therapeutic effect of JAK/STAT inhibitors were reviewed.

Scalable Method for Eliminating Residual ZZ Interaction between Superconducting Qubits

Unwanted ZZ interaction is a quantum-mechanical crosstalk phenomenon which correlates qubit dynamics and is ubiquitous in superconducting qubit systems. It adversely affects the quality of quantum operations and can be detrimental in scalable quantum information processing. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a practically extensible approach for complete cancellation of residual ZZ interaction between fixed-frequency transmon qubits, which are known for long coherence and simple control. We apply to the intermediate coupler that connects the qubits a weak microwave drive at a properly chosen frequency in order to noninvasively induce an ac Stark shift for ZZ cancellation. We verify the cancellation performance by measuring vanishing two-qubit entangling phases and ZZ correlations. In addition, we implement a randomized benchmarking experiment to extract the idling gate fidelity which shows good agreement with the coherence limit, demonstrating the effectiveness of ZZ cancellation. Our method allows independent addressability of each qubit-qubit connection and is applicable to both nontunable and tunable couplers, promising better compatibility with future large-scale quantum processors.

Efficacy of Respiratory Training in Relieving Postoperative Pain in Patients with Spinal Nerve Root Entrapment Syndrome

Background

Breathing exercise can help patients with dyspnea to change the wrong breathing pattern, improve the degree of freedom of respiratory muscles, increase alveolar ventilation, promote breathing, and relieve the symptoms of dyspnea patients. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the role of breathing training in alleviating postoperative pain in patients with spinal nerve root entrapment syndrome.

Objective

To explore the effect of respiratory training in relieving postoperative pain in patients with spinal nerve root entrapment syndrome.

Methods

Fifty-eight patients with spinal nerve root entrapment syndrome treated in our hospital from May 2020 to May 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were randomly divided into a control group (n = 29) and an observation group (n = 29). The control group was given routine postoperative pain nursing, and the observation group was given respiratory training on the basis of the control group. The scores of visual analogue scale (VAS), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), Oswestry dysfunction index questionnaire (ODI), the dosage of postoperative analgesics, and the time of first out-of-bed activity were recorded before pain nursing intervention and 3 days and 7 days after intervention.

Results

The VAS, SAS, and ODI scores of the observation group after 3 d and 7 d of intervention were lower than those of the control group. Compared with the same group, the scores of VAS, SAS, and ODI after 3 d and 7 d of intervention were lower than those before intervention, and those after 7 d of intervention were lower than those after 3 d of intervention (P < 0.05). The dosage of postoperative analgesics and the time of first out-of-bed activity in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Respiratory training can effectively relieve postoperative pain, reduce anxiety, and improve spinal function in patients with spinal nerve root entrapment syndrome, which is beneficial to the prognosis of patients and is worthy of promotion.

An Assay Combining Droplet Digital PCR With Propidium Monoazide Treatment for the Accurate Detection of Live Cells of Vibrio vulnificus in Plasma Samples

Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is one of the most common pathogenic Vibrio species to humans; therefore, the establishment of timely and credible detection methods has become an urgent requirement for V. vulnificus illness surveillance. In this study, an assay combining droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) with propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment was developed for detecting V. vulnificus. The primers/probes targeting the V. vulnificus hemolysin A (vvhA) gene, amplification procedures, and PMA processing conditions involved in the assay were optimized. Then, we analyzed the specificity, sensitivity, and ability to detect live cell DNA while testing the performance of PMA-ddPCR in clinical samples. The optimal concentrations of primers and probes were 1.0 and 0.3 μM, respectively. The annealing temperature achieving the highest accuracy in ddPCR assay was 60°C. With an initial V. vulnificus cell concentration of 10⁸ CFU/mL (colony-forming units per milliliter), the optimal strategy to distinguish live cells from dead cells was to treat samples with 100 μM PMA for 15 min in the dark and expose them to LED light with an output wavelength of 465 nm for 10 min. The specificity of the PMA-ddPCR assay was tested on 27 strains, including seven V. vulnificus strains and 20 other bacterial strains. Only the seven V. vulnificus strains were observed with positive signals in specificity analysis. Comparative experiments on the detection ability of PMA-ddPCR and PMA-qPCR in pure cultures and plasma samples were performed. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) in pure culture solutions of V. vulnificus were 29.33 and 53.64 CFU/mL in PMA-ddPCR, respectively. For artificially clinical sample tests in PMA-ddPCR, V. vulnificus could be detected at concentrations as low as 65.20 CFU/mL. The sensitivity of the PMA-ddPCR assay was 15- to 40-fold more sensitive than the PMA-qPCR in this study. The PMA-ddPCR assay we developed provides a new insight to accurately detect live cells of V. vulnificus in clinical samples, which is of great significance to enhance public health safety and security capability and improve the emergency response level for V. vulnificus infection.

Corrigendum to "Prognostic Factors for COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients with Preexisting Type 2 Diabetes"

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/9322332.].