[en] Highlights: ► The frequency of CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ CCR6⁺ T cells increased in pSS patients and positively correlated with autoantibodies in the blood. ► CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ CCR6⁺ T cells in blood invariably coexpressed PD-1, ICOS, CD40L, Bcl-6 and secreted IL-21 after stimulated by PHA. ► CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ CCR6⁺ Tfh cells in blood may be suitable biomarkers for the evaluation of the active immune stage of pSS patients. -- Abstract: The blood CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ T cells, known as “circulating” Tfh, have been shown to efficiently induce naïve B cells to produce immunoglobulin. They play an important role in certain autoimmune diseases. In the present study, we show for the first time that the frequency of CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ T cells is increased in pSS patients and positively correlated with autoantibodies in the blood. The concentration of Th17-like subsets (CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ CCR6⁺) in pSS patients was found to be significantly higher than in healthy controls. Functional assays showed that activated Th17-like subtypes in the blood display the key features of Tfh cells, including invariably coexpressed PD-1, ICOS, CD40L and IL-21. Th17 subsets were found to highly express Bcl-6 protein and Th1 and Th2 were not. Bcl-6 is believed to be a master transforming factor for Tfh cell differentiation and facilitate B cell proliferation and somatic hypermutation within the germinal center. These data indicate that Th17 subsets of CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ T cells in the blood may participate in the antibody-related immune responses and that high frequency of CD4⁺ CXCR5⁺ CCR6⁺ Tfh cells in blood may be suitable biomarkers for the evaluation of the active immune stage of pSS patients. It might provide insights into the pathogenesis and perhaps help researchers identify novel therapeutic targets for pSS.

[en] In this paper, we investigate the gravitational lensing effects in the weak and strong field limits of a static black hole with conformally coupled scalar field. In the weak field limit, with the use of Gauss-Bonnet theorem we calculate the deflection angle of the light. It is found that comparing to Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordström (RN) black holes in general relativity, the weak deflection angle can be enhanced/suppressed by the scalar hair. In the strong field limit, we first compute the light deflection angle via calculating the lensing coefficients, all of which increase as the values of electric and scalar charges increase. Then we evaluate the lensing observables in strong field regime by supposing the hairy black hole as the candidate of M87* and SgrA* supermassive black holes, respectively. We find that the scalar hair has significant influences on various observables. In particular, the lensing observables of the charged black hole with positive scalar hair and RN black hole have degeneracy, which will be broken by the case with negative scalar hair. Our theoretical findings imply that it is feasible to employ the gravitational lensing effects as a probe of Einstein-Maxwell theory with negative scalar field differentiating from general relativity, once the future astrophysical observation is precise enough.

[en] We obtain the isomer spectra of C₃₀ and C₃₁ clusters by time-going-backward quasi-dynamics method and perform molecular dynamics simulations of the cluster growth from isolated atoms in He buffer gas at 2500 K. The geometrical structures of the isomers of C₃₀ and C₃₁ can be classified into closed cages, open cages, bowls, sheets and other irregular shapes, where closed cages are found to have the lowest potential energies. However, dynamics simulations show that the sheet structures of C₃₀ and C₃₁ are the dominant outcome at the simulation temperature. Compared with relevant experimental results, we propose a different view in interpreting the experimental data and a research procedure to predict isomers that would be formed most probably under specific experimental conditions

[en] To clarify the ambiguity on negative Boltzmann temperature in literature, we study the Carnot and the Otto cycle with one of the heat reservoirs at the negative Boltzmann temperature based on a canonical ensemble description. The work extraction, entropy production and the efficiency of these cycles are explored. Conditions for constructing and properties of these thermodynamic cycles are elucidated. We find that the apparent “violation” of the second law of thermodynamics in these cycles are due to the fact that the traditional definition of thermodynamic efficiency is inappropriate in this situation. When properly understanding the efficiency and the adiabatic processes, in which the system crosses over “absolute ZERO” in a limit sense, the Carnot cycle with one of the heat reservoirs at a negative Boltzmann temperature can be understood straightforwardly, and it contradicts neither the second nor the third law of thermodynamics. Hence, negative Boltzmann temperature is a consistent concept in thermodynamics. We use a two-level system and an Ising spin system to illustrate our central results. (paper)

[en] To generate and validate a prediction model based on imaging features for cancer risk of non-mass lesions (NMLs) detected on breast ultrasound (US). In this single-center study, consecutive women with 503 NMLs detected on breast US between 2012 and 2019 were retrospectively identified. The lesions were randomly assigned to the training or testing dataset with a 70/30 split. Age, symptoms, lesion size, and US features were collected. Multivariate analyses were employed to identify risk factors associated with malignancy. The predictive model was developed by using conditional inference trees (CTREE). There were 498 patients (50.9 ± 13.29 years; range, 22-88 years) with 503 NMLs with histopathologic results or > 2-year follow-up, including 224 (44.5%) benign and 279 (55.5%) malignant lesions. At multivariate analysis, age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-1.11, p < 0.001), NMLs with focal mass effect (OR = 3.03, 95% CI, 1.59-5.81, p = 0.001), indistinct glandular-fat interface (GFI) (OR = 4.23, 95% CI, 2.31-7.73, p < 0.001), geographic (OR = 3.47, 95% CI, 1.20-10.8, p = 0.022) and mottled (OR = 3.67, 95% CI, 1.32-10.21, p = 0.013) patterns, and calcifications (OR = 2.15, 95% CI, 1.16-4.01, p = 0.016) were associated with malignancy. The GFI status, architectural patterns, general morphology, and calcifications were consistently identified as the strongest US predictors of malignancy using CTREE analysis. Based on these factors, individuals were stratified into six risk groups. The predictive model showed an area under the curve of 0.797 in the testing dataset. The CTREE model efficiently aids in interpreting and managing ultrasound-detected breast NMLs, overcoming BI-RADS limitations by refining cancer risk stratification. The CTREE model allows for the reclassification of BI-RADS categories into subgroups with varying malignancy probabilities, thus providing a valuable enhancement to the BI-RADS assessment for the diagnosis of ultrasound-detected NMLs, with the potential to minimize unnecessary biopsies.

[en] A simple model based on the statistics of single atoms is developed to predict the diffusion rate of thermal atoms in (or on) bulk materials without empirical parameters. Compared with vast classical molecular-dynamics simulations for predicting the self-diffusion rate of Pt, Cu, and Ar adatoms on crystal surfaces, the model is proved to be much more accurate than the Arrhenius law and the transition state theory. Applying this model, the theoretical predictions agree well with the experimental values in the presented paper about the self-diffusion of Pt (Cu) adatoms on the surfaces

[en] Recently, a condensing potential model was developed to evaluate the crystallization ability of bulk materials [Ye X X, Ming C, Hu Y C and Ning X J 2009 J. Chem. Phys. 130 164711 and Peng K, Ming C, Ye X X, Zhang W X, Zhuang J and Ning X J 2011 Chem. Phys. Lett. 501 330], showing that the best temperature for single crystal growth is about 0.6T_m, where T_m is the melting temperature, and for Ni–Al alloy, more than 6 wt% of Al-doping will badly reduce the crystallization ability. In order to verify these predictions, we fabricated Ni–Al films with different concentrations of Al on Si substrates at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition, and post-annealed the films at 833, 933, 1033 (∼ 0.6T_m), 1133, and 1233 K in vacuum furnace, respectively. The x-ray diffraction spectra show that annealing at 0.6T_m is indeed best for larger crystal grain formation, and the film crystallization ability remarkably declines with more than 6-wt% Al doping. (paper)

[en] A simple theoretical model proposed recently to evaluate the ability of bulk materials to form single crystals is further tested via vast molecular dynamics simulations of growth for fcc (Ni, Cu, Al, Ar) and hcp (Mg) crystals, especially applied to the growth of bcc (Fe) crystal, showing that the validity of the model is independent of crystal types and the interaction potentials of the constitute atoms. (condensed matter: structure, thermal and mechanical properties)

[en] A simple model based on the statistics of individual atoms [Europhys. Lett. 94 40002 (2011)] or molecules [Chin. Phys. Lett. 29 080504 (2012)] was used to predict chemical reaction rates without empirical parameters, and its physical basis was further investigated both theoretically and via MD simulations. The model was successfully applied to some reactions of extensive experimental data, showing that the model is significantly better than the conventional transition state theory. It is worth noting that the prediction of the model on ab initio level is much easier than the transition state theory or unimolecular RRKM theory. (general)

[en] The effect of charge current density on the growth of CN_x films by electrolysis of a methanol-urea solution is investigated experimentally. It is seen that the C-C₃N₄ phase grains in the films are about 200–300 nm for a density of 55 mA/cm² and dendrite growth takes place with grains as large as 7 μm formed when density is about 70 mA/cm². (cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)