Local Differential Privacy (LDP) protects user privacy from the data collector. LDP protocols have been increasingly deployed in the industry. A basic building block is frequency oracle (FO) protocols, which estimate frequencies of values. While several FO protocols have been proposed, the design goal does not lead to optimal results for answering many queries. In this paper, we show that adding post-processing steps to FO protocols by exploiting the knowledge that all individual frequencies should be non-negative and they sum up to one can lead to significantly better accuracy for a wide range of tasks, including frequencies of individual values, frequencies of the most frequent values, and frequencies of subsets of values. We consider 10 different methods that exploit this knowledge differently. We establish theoretical relationships between some of them and conducted extensive experimental evaluations to understand which methods should be used for different query tasks.

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Microsized single-crystal Li 1.08 Mn 1.89 Al 0.03 O 4 (LAMO) was synthesized via polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) combustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) characterization results indicate that the as-prepared LAMO has good crystallinity, uniform and smooth-surfaced morphology, and very low specific surface area. Galvanostatic charge-discharge tests demonstrate its excellent electrochemical performance. The capacity retentions at 30 °C and 55 °C are 98.8% and 93.3% respectively after 200 cycles at 1C charge/discharge rate. Moreover, the LAMO exhibits excellent rate and low temperature performance. Even at high rates of 40 C and 60 C, the as-prepared LAMO are still able to deliver 91.2% and 85.6% capacity relative to the discharge capacity at C/5. The specific discharge capacity at −20 °C is 97.9 mAh g −1 which is 93.7% of the capacity discharging at 25 °C. To study the reason of the excellent rate performance, the potential intermittent titration technique (PITT) tests and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were conducted and the lithium chemical diffusion coefficient () was calculated.

BackgroundHormones and immune imbalance are critical factors in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The alternation of immune microenvironment of oocytes may play a significant role in infertility of PCOS patients.ObjectiveThis study explores the role of follicular fluid microenvironment change in inflammatory pathways activation of granulosa cells (GCs) in PCOS women infertility.MethodsWe enrolled 27 PCOS patients and 30 controls aged 22 to 38 years who underwent IVF and collected their luteinized granulosa cells (LGCs). Meanwhile, a granulosa-like tumor cell line (KGN) as a cell-model assisted this study. Key inflammatory markers in human ovarian GCs and follicular fluid were detected by RT-qPCR, Western blotting, or ELISA. The KGN cells were treated with follicle supernatant mixed with normal medium to simulate the microenvironment of GCs in PCOS patients, and the inflammation indicators were observed. The assembly of NLRP3 inflammasomes was detected by immunofluorescence techniques. Dihydroethidium assay and EdU proliferation assay were used to detect ROS and cell proliferation by flow cytometry.ResultsCompared with normal controls (n = 19), IL-1β (P = 0.0005) and IL-18 (P = 0.021) in the follicular fluid of PCOS patients (n = 20) were significantly increased. The NF-κB pathway was activated, and NLRP3 inflammasome was formatted in ovarian GCs of PCOS patients. We also found that inflammation of KGN cells was activated with LPS irritation or stimulated by follicular fluid from PCOS patients. Finally, we found that intracellular inflammation process damaged mitochondrial structure and function, which induced oxidative stress, affected cellular metabolism, and impaired cell proliferation.ConclusionInflammatory microenvironment alteration in the follicular fluid of PCOS patients leads to activated inflammatory pathway in GCs, serving as a crucial factor that causes adverse symptoms in patients. This study provides a novel mechanism in the inflammatory process of PCOS.

Natural killer T (NKT) cells from mouse and human play an important role in the immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, the function of CD3+TCRvβ11+ NKT cells at the local site of M. tuberculosis infection remains poorly defined. In the present study, we found that after stimulation with M. tuberculosis antigens, NKT cells isolated from tuberculosis (TB) pleural fluid mononuclear cells (PFMCs) produced IL-21 and other cytokines including IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2 and IL-17. IL-21-expressing NKT cells in PFMCs displayed effector memory phenotype, expressing CD45ROhighCD62LlowCCR7low. Moreover, NKT cells expressed high levels of CXCR5 and all of IL-21-expressing NKT cells co-expressed CXCR5. The frequency of BCL-6-expression was higher in IL-21-expressing but not in non-IL-21-expressing CD3+TCRvβ11+ NKT cells. Sorted CD3+TCRvβ11+ NKT cells from PFMCs produced IFN-γ and IL-21 after stimulation, which expressed CD40L. Importantly, CD3+TCRvβ11+ NKT cells provided help to B cells for the production of IgG and IgA. Taken together, our data demonstrate that CD3+TCRvβ11+ NKT cells from a local site of M. tuberculosis infection produce IL-21, express CXCR5 and CD40L, help B cells to secrete IgG and IgA, and may participate in local immune responses against M. tuberculosis infection.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a congenital or developmental deformation of the hip joint, which may require a high number of surgical interventions. It has been indicated that 3D printing may be used to simulate a fractured pelvis to facilitate the fixation of plates during the surgical procedure. In the present double-blinded randomized clinical trial, the utility of the 3D-printed pelvis model, comprising 3D reconstruction, reverse engineering and rapid prototyping, in the treatment of DDH was evaluated with 3D CT as control. The value of the 3D-printed pelvis model in the surgical management and development of a strategy for an individualized operation for DDH using osteotomy simulation was also assessed. The results indicated that use of the 3D-printed pelvis model increased the success rate of the operation with a shortened surgery time and post-operative recovery time for DDH patients. In addition, the application of the 3D-printed pelvis model allowed for more efficient surgical management of DDH than 3D CT and promoted post-operative recovery of the DDH patients. Pre-operative planning using the 3D-printed pelvis model was feasible for DDH patients. Furthermore, few patients exhibited delayed incision healing, wound infection or nonunion in the DDH group with osteotomy simulation using the 3D-printed pelvis model or 3D-CT. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the 3D-printed pelvis model, including 3D reconstruction, reverse engineering and rapid prototyping, constitutes an efficient tool for pelvic osteotomy simulation, which improves personalized pre-operative planning by providing a visual and accurate osteotomy model for patients with DDH (Chinese Trial Registry No. KCT0012374).

There is increasing evidence that microRNA (miRNA) abnormity is involved in the occurrence and the development of various malignancies, including colon cancer. MiRNA-524–5p has been reported to possess anticancer activity in various tumors, which function is seldom investigated in colon cancer cells. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of the miRNA-524–5p/with-no-lysine kinase 1 (WNK1) system on angiogenesis in a colon cancer cell line (HT-29 and COLO205 cells) and further investigate the potential mechanisms. We found miRNA-524–5p expression was relatively high in COLO205 cells and relatively low in HT-29 cells. Elevating miRNA-524–5p expression inhibited proliferation, induced cycle arrest, diminished vascular endothelial growth factor production, and thereby suppressed angiogenesis in HT-29 cells. WNK1 silencing exerted the ability of antiangiogenesis in HT-29 cells. Besides, miRNA-524–5p deficiency-induced angiogenesis was impeded by WNK1 silence in COLO205 cells. In a murine tumor model, miRNA-524–5p agomir treatment significantly suppressed colon cancer tumorigenicity with the downregulation of WNK1 expression. In summary, our results indicated that miRNA-524–5p inhibited angiogenesis in colon cancer cells via targeting WNK1. NEW & NOTEWORTHY MiRNA-524–5p inhibited angiogenesis in colon cancer cells via targeting with-no-lysine kinase 1.