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Background Dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) is a brief, structured psychodynamic psychotherapy with demonstrated efficacy in treating major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the study was to determine whether DIT is an acceptable and efficacious treatment for MDD patients in China. Method Patients were randomized to 16-week treatments with either DIT plus antidepressant medication (DIT + ADM; n = 66), general supportive therapy plus antidepressant medication (GST + ADM; n = 75) or antidepressant medication alone (ADM; n = 70). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) administered by blind raters was the primary efficacy measure. Assessments were completed during the acute 16-week treatment and up to 12-month posttreatment. Results The group × time interaction was significant for the primary outcome HAMD (F = 2.900, df1 = 10, df2 = 774.72, p = 0.001) in the acute treatment phase. Pairwise comparisons showed a benefit of DIT + ADM over ADM at weeks 12 [least-squares (LS) mean difference = −3.161, p = 0.007] and 16 (LS mean difference = −3.237, p = 0.004). Because of the unexpected high attrition during the posttreatment follow-up phase, analyses of follow-up data were considered exploratory. Differences between DIT + ADM and ADM remained significant at the 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up (ps range from 0.001 to 0.027). DIT + ADM had no advantage over GST + ADM during the acute treatment phase. However, at the 12-month follow-up, patients who received DIT remained less depressed. Conclusions Acute treatment with DIT or GST in combination with ADM was similarly efficacious in reducing depressive symptoms and yielded a better outcome than ADM alone. DIT may provide MDD patients with long-term benefits in symptom improvement but results must be viewed with caution.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a well-known phytopathogenic fungus with a wide host range. Identifying novel mycoviruses in phytopathogenic fungi is necessary to develop novel strategies for plant health protection and contribute to understanding the origin of viruses. Six new mycoviruses with positive single-stranded RNA genomes co-infecting the hypovirulent strain SCH733 of S. sclerotiorum were identified using a metatranscriptomic approach, and their complete genome sequences were molecularly determined. These mycoviruses belong to the following five families: Narnaviridae, Mitoviridae, Deltaflexviridae, Botourmiaviridae, and Ambiguiviridae. Three of these mycoviruses belong to existing International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)-recognized species. Two of these newly identified mycoviruses have unique genomic features that are significantly different from those of all known mycoviruses. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these six mycoviruses included close as well as distant relatives of known mycoviruses, thereby providing new insight into virus evolution and classification. Mycovirus horizontal transmission and elimination experiments revealed that Sclerotinia sclerotiorum narnavirus 5 is associated with hypovirulence of S. sclerotiorum, although we have not shown that it is independently responsible for the hypovirulence phenotype. This study broadens the diversity of known mycoviruses infecting S. sclerotiorum and provides a clue toward limiting hypovirulence in S. sclerotiorum.

Either effortful swallowing exercise or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is considered as an effective method to treat dysphagia after stroke. Thus, synchronizing these two interventions may improve the efficiency of treatment. This trial intended to explore the effects of rTMS and effortful swallowing exercise on the recovery of swallowing function in patients after stroke. A total of 56 patients with post-stroke dysphagia who were able to actively cooperate with the training were analyzed in this study. We experimented with different intervention effects of rTMS synchronization with effortful swallowing training (group 1), rTMS (group 2), and traditional swallowing training alone (group 3). Every patient completed conventional swallowing training 5 days a week for 2 weeks. Patients in group 1 and group 2 underwent 10 consecutive sessions of 5 Hz rTMS over the affected mylohyoid cortical region. Fiberoptic endoscopic dysphagia severity scale (FEDSS), penetration/aspiration scale (PAS), standardized swallowing assessment (SSA), and functional oral intake scale (FOIS) were assessed and compared across the groups. No significant difference in FEDSS, PAS, SSA, or FOIS scores was found at baseline among the three groups. The mean change values of the FEDSS score, PAS score, SSA score, and FOIS score between baseline and post-intervention of the three groups (H = 16.05, P 0.001; H = 21.70, P 0.001; F (2, 53) = 9.68, P 0.001; H = 18.26, P 0.001; respectively) were statistically significant. In addition, the mean change values of FEDSS, PAS, SSA, and FOIS scores in participants in group 1 (all P 0.001) and group 2 (P = 0.046; P = 0.045; P = 0.028; P = 0.032; respectively) were significantly higher than in group 3. Similarly, the mean change values of FEDSS, PAS, SSA, and FOIS scores were significantly higher in participants in group 1 than in group 2 (P = 0.046; P = 0.038; P = 0.042; P = 0.044; respectively). The results revealed that the conjunction of rTMS and effortful swallowing training was an effective method to facilitate the recovery of swallowing function in stroke patients. The present clinical trial provided a new treatment method for the functional restoration of swallowing in stroke patients, which may further facilitate the recovery of swallowing function in stroke patients with swallowing disorders.

With the development of flexible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates that can realize rapid

Approximately one in four myocardial infarctions occur in older patients. The majority of therapeutic advances are either not appropriate or not tested in elderly patients. The main reasons for deviating from the guidelines are justified concerns regarding the effectiveness of the recommended forms of therapy, fear of adverse drug reactions and ethical concerns. Targeting interleukin 6 (IL-6) for ventricular remodeling after cardiovascular damage is a feasible alternative to standard polypharmaceutics, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Continuous activation of the IL-6-associated cytokine receptor gp130 leads to cardiomyopathic hypertrophy. TGFβ1 is involved in forming fibrosis in various organs, and its overexpression can cause myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis. Il-6 has been hypothesized to be indirectly involved in cardiac remodeling via the TGFβ1/Smad signaling transduction pathway. In the present study, a rat model of acute myocardial ischemia, IL-6 and IL-6 receptor blockers were injected directly into the necrotic myocardium. Changes in cardiac function, myocardial infarction area, myocardial collagen, necrotic myocardial fibrosis and levels of TGFβ1, IL-6 and MMP2/9 were quantified in myocardial tissue fibrosis by ELISA. The present study demonstrated that IL-6 stimulated myocardial fibrosis through the TGFβ1-Smad-MM2/9 signaling transduction pathway. Overall, this provided a solid foundation for understanding the relationship between IL-6 and ventricular remodeling.

Multi-core fibers have been widely used for vector-bending sensing due to their off-axis distributed cores. In contrast to vector-bending sensors based on Bragg gratings, fiber Fabry–Perot (F–P) interferometers are more advantageous due to their ease of fabrication and potential for introducing the Vernier effect to further improve sensitivity. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a cascaded Fabry–Perot (F–P) cavity vector bending sensor. From the experimental results, the sensor has a strong bending dependence with a maximum sensitivity of 123.12 pm/m−1, and the curvature magnitude and direction can be reconstructed from the tilted wavelength shift of the asymmetric fiber-core F–P cavities.

ObjectiveOur study aims to measure the cortical correlates of swallowing execution in patients with dysphagia after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) therapy using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and observe the change of pattern of brain activation in stroke patients with dysphagia after rTMS intervention. In addition, we tried to analyze the effect of rTMS on brain activation in dysphagia patients with different lesion sides. This study also concentrated on the effect of stimulating the affected mylohyoid cortical region by 5 Hz rTMS, providing clinical evidence for rTMS therapy of dysphagia in stroke patients.MethodsThis study was a sham-controlled, single-blind, randomized controlled study with a blinded observer. A total of 49 patients completed the study, which was randomized to the rTMS group (n = 23) and sham rTMS group (n = 26) by the random number table method. The rTMS group received 5 Hz rTMS stimulation to the affected mylohyoid cortical region of the brain and the sham rTMS group underwent rTMS using the same parameters as the rTMS group, except for the position of the coil. Each patient received 2 weeks of stimulation followed by conventional swallowing therapy. Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA), Fiberoptic Endoscopic Dysphagia Severity Scale (FEDSS), Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS), and functional oral intake status were assessed at two times: baseline (before treatment) and 2 weeks (after intervention). Meanwhile, we use the fNIRS system to measure the cerebral hemodynamic changes during the experimental procedure.ResultsThe rTMS group exhibited significant improvement in the SSA scale, FEDSS scale, and PAS scale after rTMS therapy (all P < 0.001). The sham rTMS group had the same analysis on the same scales (all P < 0.001). There was no significant difference observed in clinical assessments at 2 weeks after baseline between the rTMS group and sham rTMS group (all P > 0.05). However, there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in the rate of change in the FEDSS score (P = 0.018) and PAS score (P = 0.004), except for the SSA score (P = 0.067). As for the removal rate of the feeding tube, there was no significant difference between the rTMS group and sham rTMS group (P = 0.355), but there was a significant difference compared with the baseline characteristics in both groups (PrTMS < 0.001, PshamrTMS = 0.002). In fNIRS analysis, the block average result showed differences in brain areas RPFC (right prefrontal cortex) and RMC (right motor cortex) significantly between the rTMS group and sham rTMS group after intervention (Pchannel30 = 0.046, Pchannel16 = 0.006). In the subgroup analysis, rTMS group was divided into left-rTMS group and right-rTMS group and sham rTMS group was divided into sham left-rTMS group and sham right-rTMS group. The fNIRS results showed no significance in block average and block differential after intervention between the left-rTMS group and sham left-rTMS group, but differences were statistically significant between the right-rTMS group and sham right-rTMS group in block average: channel 30 (T = −2.34, P = 0.028) in LPFC (left prefrontal cortex) and 16 (T = 2.54, P = 0.018) in RMC. After intervention, there was no significance in left-rTMS group compared with baseline, but in right-rTMS group, channel 27 (T = 2.18, P = 0.039) in LPFC and 47 (T = 2.17, P = 0.039) in RPFC had significance in block differential. In the sham rTMS group, neither sham left-rTMS group and sham right-rTMS group had significant differences in block average and block differential in each brain area after intervention (P > 0.05).ConclusionsThe present study confirmed that a 5-Hz rTMS is feasible at the affected mylohyoid cortical region in post-stroke patients with dysphagia and rTMS therapy can alter cortical excitability. Based on previous studies, there is a dominant hemisphere in swallowing and the results of our fNIRS analysis seemed to show a better increase in cortical activation on the right side than on the left after rTMS of the affected mylohyoid cortical region. However, there was no difference between the left and right hemispheres in the subgroup analysis. Nevertheless, the present study provides a novel and feasible method of applying fNIRS to assessment in stroke patients with dysphagia.

Waveguides fabricated in crystals, created by utilizing techniques such as ion implantation, femtosecond laser inscription, and proton exchange, have low refractive index contrast with the crystal substrate, which limits their potential development to create compact passive devices, such as waveguide interferometers. In this work, a new waveguide multi-mode interferometer fabrication strategy based on low-effective-index mode interference is presented. Numerical tools have been used for the analysis of this new guided-wave approach used for the device design. The research has demonstrated that a series of high-order modes with an effective refractive index much lower than the substrate can exist in trench-cladded ridge crystal waveguides that have a tiny index contrast in the vertical direction. Simple trench-cladded tapered waveguide configurations to excite such modes and to realize compact waveguide multi-mode interferometers with lengths of several tens and up to hundreds of micrometers are presented. The waveguide multi-mode interferometer design is compact in size, easy to modulate, and with low insertion loss. Furthermore, refractive index sensing is realized, with a sensitivity of ∼490 nm/RIU for aqueous solution samples. The novel multi-mode interference phenomenon present here offers new possibilities and significant opportunities for waveguide modulation and, thus, the development of compact waveguide refractometers.

An interference filter is designed by fusing a segment of multi-core fiber (MCF) between two segments of multimode fibers (MMFs), which is then spliced between two segments of single mode fibers (SMFs). The light is split into the cladding and different cores of the MCF through the first segment of MMF, which is then coupled back into the core of SMF by the second segment of MMF. When the lengths of MCF are selected to be 4 mm and 10 mm, the 3 dB bandwidths of the filters around 1060 nm are 8.40 nm and 4.84 nm, respectively. Applying these filters in an Yb-doped fiber laser mode-locked by nonlinear polarization rotation, stable pulses have been obtained. Compared with the reported interference filters, the filter proposed in this paper has the advantages of simple fabrication process, compact structure and high environmental stability.

In this paper, a low-loss 90°-bending design in femtosecond laser-induced double-line waveguides is theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The bending is realized based on the total internal reflection of a corner mirror (made by precise diamond blade dicing) located at the intersection of a pair of waveguides perpendicular to each other. The waveguide bending performance was birefringence free, with the insertion loss of each bending below 0.8 dB. This method provides great flexibility and has great potential for the design of integrated photonics based on femtosecond laser-inscribed crystalline materials.

Age-related cataract (ARC) is one of the most common chronic diseases. Circular RNA (circ)_HIPK3 is reported to be involved in the advancement of ARC, but its molecular mechanism has not been clarified. Our study provides a new perspective on the clinical treatment of ARC. Our data showed that the expression levels of circ_HIPK3 and histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) were downregulated, while microRNA (miR)-495-3p level was increased in ARC tissues and H

Background. Disorder of consciousness (DoC) is a clinical condition caused by severe brain damage. Some studies have reported that acupuncture, a traditional Chinese treatment, could facilitate the recovery of the patient’s consciousness. The therapeutic effects of acupuncture may be due to its modulation of facilitating cortex (PFC) activity, but it has not been greatly demonstrated. Objectives. We intended to observe the effects of acupuncture on prefrontal cortical activity, explore the potential correlation between cortical activation and the severity of DoC, and analyze the functional brain network connectivity to provide a theoretical basis for its application in clinical practice. Methods. Participants diagnosed with DoC were included in the study. Before the intervention, we assessed the patient’s state of consciousness using relevant scales, such as the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and the coma recovery scale-revised (CRS-R). All patients received acupuncture manipulation with the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) system monitored. Result. A total of 16 subjects participated in our study. We observed that the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) in the PFC was increased during the acupuncture manipulation and declined during the resting state. Then, the connection strength of the left cerebral cortex was generally higher than that of the right. Finally, we observed only a weak difference in hemodynamic responses of PFC between the vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS) groups. However, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion. Our results indicated that acupuncture can increase the concentration of HbO in the PFC and strengthen the connection strength of the left cerebral cortex. However, our present study did not find a significant correlation between the cortical hemodynamic response and the severity of DoC.

Using phage display technology, 810A was developed as a novel peptide, which binds to the C-terminal domain of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). The present study investigated whether this peptide could neutralize CTGF and block its biological activity as a specific strategy to treat pulmonary fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. Human bronchial epithelial (16HBE) cells were treated with CTGF to evaluate the anti-CTGF capability of 810A using MTT testing, cell migration assays, and Western blotting. The action of 810A in mouse models of bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis was evaluated according to leukocyte counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), hydroxyproline content, and pathological analysis. Treatment with 810A resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and increases in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and α-Smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) caused by CTGF treatment in vitro. In vivo, 810A significantly alleviated fibrosis in the pulmonary index. Inflammation was inhibited, as inferred by the reduced number of leukocytes in BALF. Pathophysiological analysis indicated that hydroxyproline content, alveolar enlargement, interstitial inflammatory infiltration, and collagen deposition were reduced. Collectively, these data suggest that 810A may potentially be a CTGF-specific, small-molecule antagonist, providing a new method for prevention and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

With the depth increasing and the improvement of mining mechanization of the coal mine, heat hazard is becoming more and more serious, the ice cooling system is gradually promoted and applied in China for recent years, but the cooling capacity and energy efficiency ratio (EER) test and analysis for such system is seldom reported. The cooling capacity and EER of the refrigerating equipment of an ice cooling system of a coal mine are tested and analyzed in Shandong Province in this paper. The test result indicates that the refrigerating capacity and EER are lower and both the pre-cooling units and the ice making system have a large variable range. It points out that it should not evaluate the ice cooling system by the test data only in this mine but expect more test data and analysis of the ice cooling system in other coal mines to get a more scientific conclusion. And the test, analysis and comparison for different kinds of cooling system are also expected to explore suitable cooling system while a full consideration of the geological conditions and other factors of the mine are taken into consideration.

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that split away from the primary tumor and appear in the circulatory system as singular units or clusters, which was first reported by Dr. Thomas Ashworth in 1869. CTCs migrate and implantation occurs at a new site, in a process commonly known as tumor metastasis. In the case of breast cancer, the tumor cells often migrate into locations such as the lungs, brain, and bones, even during the early stages, and this is a notable characteristic of breast cancer. Survival rates have increased significantly over the past few decades because of progress made in radiology and tissue biopsy, making early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer possible. However, liquid biopsy, particularly that involving the collection of CTCs, is a non-invasive method to detect tumor cells in the circulatory system, which can be easily isolated from human plasma, serum, and other body fluids. Compared to traditional tissue biopsies, fluid sample collection has the advantages of being readily available and more acceptable to the patient. It can also detect tumor cells in blood earlier and in smaller numbers, possibly allowing for diagnosis prior to any tumor detection using imaging methods. Because of the scarcity of CTCs circulating in blood vessels (only a few CTCs among billions of erythrocytes and leukocytes), thorough but accurate detection methods are particularly important for further clinical applications.

Catalytic oxidation can efficiently eliminate nitrogen-containing volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) and suppress the generation of toxic NOx in order to avoid secondary pollution. In this study, mesoporous SiO2-confined LaMnO3 perovskite nanoparticles with high dispersion were successfully prepared by a citric acid-assisted deposition method (LMO/SiO2-SD) and tested for the oxidation of n-butylamine. The method utilized the synergistic effect of abundant active hydroxyl groups existing on the SiO2 gel surface and citric acid, rendering the metal ions more uniformly scattered on the SiO2 surface. Strikingly, the LMO/SiO2-SD sample exhibited the optimum catalytic performance (T90 at 246 °C) and the highest N2 selectivity, which was mainly ascribed to its abundant surface acid sites, superior low-temperature reducibility and higher ratio of surface Mn4+ species. The apparent activation energy (Ea) for n-butylamine oxidation over LMO/SiO2-SD sample was 29.0 kJ mol−1. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of n-butylamine oxidation was investigated by in situ FITR and a reasonable reaction route for n-butylamine oxidation over the LMO/SiO2-SD sample was proposed.

A series of Ce-Ti mixed oxides (CeaTi1−a) were successfully synthesized by a spontaneous deposition method and evaluated in selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 (NH3-SCR). The structures and properties of the CeaTi1−a catalysts were characterized by means of XRD, Raman, TEM, N2-sorption, XPS, H2-TPR and NH3-TPD. The results demonstrated that lots of Ce-O-Ti species were formed because of the strong synergistic interaction of gelation of TiO2 and deposition of Ce3+ during the preparation process of CeaTi1−a catalysts. As results, the CeaTi1−a catalysts exhibited excellent redox ability, enrichment of Ce3+ species, high surface adsorbed oxygen concentration, and abundant acid sites. The CeaTi1−a catalysts showed remarkable catalytic activity with broad operation temperature window, and Ce0.5Ti0.5 catalyst exhibited the best catalytic activity and extraordinary H2O/SO2 durability. The in-situ FTIR results revealed that the mechanisms of L-H and E-R existed synchronously during the NH3-SCR reaction, and the former one was predominant due to its rapid reaction rate.

A versatile ethanol-mediated oxidative polymerization of dopamine is demonstrated for the effective surface modification of nanomaterials. The presence of ethanol is found to significantly slow down the polymerization rate of dopamine and make the surface modification of nanomaterials with polydopamine more controllable in comparison to the water-phase polymerization. Various nanomaterials with different morphologies and surface properties, including one-dimensional (1-D) CNTs and iron oxide nanorods, 2-D nanodiscs, silver nanocubes and magnetite particles, were successfully modified by a layer of PDA with a controllable thickness from 5 to 100 nm, giving rise to PDA-shelled nanocomposites with well-defined structures and excellent water dispersibility. As exemplified by the case of magnetite particles, the PDA coating can dramatically reduce the cytotoxicity of nanomaterials and enhance their biocompatibility. This method is facile and particularly suitable for the surface engineering of nanomaterials, and thus promising for designing various functional nanostructures for a broad range of applications, such as drug delivery, protein purification, enzyme immobilization, and chemo/biosensing.

A new substrate composing of Ag nanoflowers on graphene@Cu net (AgNFs/G@Cu) was fabricated on the flexible woven copper net. Graphene, an ideal 2D plane, provides better dispersion of regular electrodeposited AgNFs arrays. Graphene nanogap was used to enhance the EM coupling between AgNFs and metal Cu substrate. Regular AgNFs arrays offer denser “hotspots”, which further enhance the EM coupling. High sensitivity (rhodamine 6G (R6G): 10−14 M, crystal violet (CV): 10−12 M) and good homogeneity are realized in our experiment and proved by the COMSOL simulation. Cu net, remarkable flexibility and practicality, allows for a close contact to the sample surface by swabbing. Malachite green (MG) as low as 10−11 M on the surface of the marine fish can be detected. This work may offer novel and practical SERS applications in the areas of pesticide residue, food security and biotechnology.

Hypoviruses are positive-sense single-stranded RNA mycovirus that infect filamentous fungi. However, hypoviruses have not been reported in Bipolaris oryzae, an important phytopathogenic fungus in water bamboo and rice. Here, we report the characterization of a novel hypovirus, tentatively named "Bipolaris oryzae hypovirus 1" (BoHV1), isolated from strain ES35 of B. oryzae infecting water bamboo. The complete genome of BoHV1 consists of 13,596 nucleotides and a poly(A) tail at the 3' end. BoHV1 has single open reading frame (ORF) and encodes a putative polyprotein (4,218 amino acids) containing four potential conserved domains for a papain-like protease, a protein of unknown function (DUF3525), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), and helicase. Phylogenetic analysis of the polyprotein, RdRp, and helicase domains suggested that BoHV1 belongs to the genus Hypovirus within the family Hypoviridae. This is the first report of the presence of a hypovirus in the phytopathogenic fungus B. oryzae.

Recently, biological materials have attracted more and more attentions on preparing the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate with the conspicuous SERS performance. Herein, we demonstrate a simply facile and inexpensive approach to fabricate a novel natural SERS substrate based on graphene oxide-Ag nanoparticles-Mytilus coruscus (GO-AgNPs-M.c.). The surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) signals of the Rhodamine 6G (R6G) on the GO-AgNPs-M.c. hybrids exhibit the much better SERRS performances in terms of the sensitivity, the signal reproducibility and the antioxidant stability than that on the AgNPs-M.c. one. The well electric field enhancement contribution is likewise confirmed in theory via the COMSOL software. Moreover, the successful detection of trace malachite green (MG) and methylene blue (MB) indicates the well feasibility for multi-molecules detection on the GO-AgNPs-M.c. hybrids. Thus, this inexpensive and high-efficiency natural SERS substrate have great potential for the considerable biochemical SERS applications and broaden the way for preparing multiple SERS platforms derived from other natural materials.

For application in practice, reducing the cost and simplifying the steps in fabrication of SERS substrates with excellent property are still the important factors. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) Ag nanoparticles (NPs) obtained by facile thermal evaporation is obtained for SERS. The Raman enhancement effect gradually become strong as the number of Ag NPs layers increase and attain the best until four layers Ag NPs deposited for the finite penetration depth of incident laser. The intensity of Raman signal collected from the four-layer Ag NPs substrate is around 11.3 times stronger than that from one-layer Ag NPs. Besides, the reproducibility of the SERS substrate was also significantly promoted as the layers of Ag NPs increases. The SERS substrate exhibits temporal stability and its enhancement factor attains 6.8 × 108. Furthermore, the SERS substrate can easily combine with some other blocks with superior SERS property and show better SERS ability. Additionally, the in-situ trace analyses in aquatic products were realized by flexible Ag NPs/PET substrate.

A series of mesoporous Mn–Ti amorphous oxides (MnaTi1−a) fabricated by a combined strategy of in situ deposition and freeze-drying were studied for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 (NH3-SCR) at low temperature. The physico-chemical properties of MnaTi1−a catalysts were characterized systematically by XRD, TEM, Raman, EXAFS, N2-sorption, XPS, H2-TPR and NH3-TPD. The results revealed that the increased amount of Mn4+ species greatly promoted the NO conversion at low temperature. Additionally, the highly dispersed active sites, abundant surface Lewis acid sites and strong interaction between Mn and Ti contributed to the remarkable low-temperature SCR activity. Among these MnaTi1−a catalysts, the Mn0.5Ti0.5 catalyst exhibited the best low-temperature NH3-SCR performance (61% NO conversion at 100 °C and over 95% N2 selectivity at 150–250 °C) and excellent H2O/SO2 durability. In situ FTIR was used to investigate the reaction mechanism, and the results indicated that both the L–H and E–R mechanisms were present and NH3-SCR mainly proceeded via the L–H reaction pathway at low temperature.

The three-dimensional (3D) MoS 2 decorated with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) hybrids (3D MoS 2 -Au NPs) for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing was demonstrated in this paper. SEM, Raman spectroscopy, TEM, SAED, EDX and XRD were performed to characterize 3D MoS 2 -Au NPs hybrids. Rhodamine 6G (R6G), fluorescein and gallic acid molecules were used as the probe for the SERS detection of the 3D MoS 2 -Au NPs hybrids. In addition, we modeled the enhancement of the electric field of MoS 2 -Au NPs hybrids using Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) analysis, which can further give assistance to the mechanism understanding of the SERS activity.

By combining the excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs), the well-separated pyramid arrays of the pyramidal silicon (PSi) and unique physical/chemical properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), the MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrate shows high performance in terms of sensitivity, uniformity, reproducibility and stability. By using rhodamine 6G (R6G) as probe molecule, the SERS results indicate that the MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrate is superior to the AgNPs@PSi, AgA@PSi (the second annealing of the AgNPs@PSi) and the MoS2@AgNPs@flat-Si substrate. The MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrate also shows the reasonable linear response between the Raman intensity and R6G concentration. The maximum deviations of SERS intensities from 20 positions on a same MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrate and 10 MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrates in different batches are less than 7.6% and 9%, respectively, revealing the excellent uniformity and reproducibility of the substrate. Besides, the SERS substrate has a good stability, the Raman intensity of the MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrate only drop by 15% in a month. The corresponding experimental and theoretical results suggest that our proposed MoS2@AgNPs@PSi substrate is expected to offer a new and practical way to accelerate the development of label-free SERS detection.

We proposed a high sensitivity and a high resolution surface plasmon resonance sensor composed of graphene–WS2 hybrid nanostructure and Au–Ag bimetallic-layers film. The bimetallic-layer configuration uses the high sensitivity of gold and the narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of silver to improve the sensor's sensitivity and resolution respectively. Graphene and WS2 serve as an effective light absorption medium. Once they cover the bimetallic-layer, the sensitivity can be further improved significantly. Graphene–WS2–Au–Ag model shows a higher sensitivity and higher resolution than that of the conventional sensing scheme where pure Au thin film is used. In our paper, we mainly use Fresnel equations and the transfer matrix method (TMM) to study the reflectivity and sensitivity as well as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the SPR sensor.

Due to the problems of sharp tool wear, large drilling force and high temperature during the actual processing of 15-5PH stainless steel, in order to improve the processing efficiency and tool life, this work uses the finite element simulation software AdvantEdge FEM studies the cemented carbide drilling process of 15-5PH stainless steel. The multi-factor orthogonal test method is adopted to analyze the results by range analysis method to study the influence of factors such as tool's point angle, clearance angle and helix angle on axial force and temperature. A brief analysis has presented a picture of change process of the axial force and temperature with time. The results show that the point angle has the greatest influence on the axial force, the clearance angle is the second, and the helix angle has the minimum impact. The helix angle has the greatest influence on the temperature, the point angle is the second, and the clearance angle has the minimum impact on the temperature. Finally, author optimizes the geometric parameters of the drill bit for 15-5PH stainless steel and gets the optimized parameter combination. The optimal combination of parameters are expressed as point angle p = 118°, clearance angle γ = 14°, and helix angle β = 30°.

Anthracyclines are highly effective chemotherapeutic agents, used for a wide variety of malignancies. Cardiotoxicity is a well-recognized side effect of anthracycline therapy that limits the total amount of drug administered and can cause heart failure in some patients. Most experimental data support oxidative stress as the etiology of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. The objective of this paper was to provide a review of the clinical classification, risk factors, monitoring and prevention of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer.

Catalytic oxidation can efficiently eliminate nitrogen-containing volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) and suppress the generation of toxic NO

Nanogap-rich silver nanoislands with fascinating optical properties are desirable substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Here, we propose a simple and high-throughput approach through the laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) technique for preparing silver nanoislands containing large numbers of intra-nanogaps on a silicon wafer (6×6 cm2). By optimizing the deposition time, the enlarged silver nanoislands with ∼5 nm interstitial gaps of abundance and homogeneity were formed. Remarkably, the optimized SERS substrate with high-density hotspots demonstrated a high analytical enhancement factor (AEF) as large as 1.17×105, excellent reproducibility with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 7.76% over the entire substrate, and good stability after storage for 21 days. The electromagnetic field distribution of the optimized SERS substrate was simulated using the software COMSOL Multiphysics based on the actual SEM image of the fabricated sample, and the calculated enhancement factor (EF) is as high as 109. Furthermore, it can enable sensitive and quantitative detection of malachite green at concentrations as low as 10−8 M. This simple fabrication of silver nanoislands with homogeneous ∼5 nm interstitial gaps provides a practical solution for wafer-scale, sensitive, and reproducible SERS substrates.

In this paper, we designed a 2D distance and rotation angle plasmon ruler based on Fano resonance of a trimer nanostructure, which consists of a concentric square nanoring–disk and an outside nanorod (CSRDR). The Fano dip energy and depth are fairly sensitive to the nanometer-scale displacements and rotations, when the nanodisk moves in all direction and rotates around its center. When the symmetry of the nanoring is broken, we can identify the moving and rotating direction of the nanodisk more accurately. We use the CSRDR nanostructure which supports a narrow line-width as a 2D plasmon ruler, which can enhance the sensitivity of a plasmon ruler significantly.

The magnetic field integral equation (MFIE) is widely used in the analysis of electromagnetic scattering problems for conducting objects. Usually, the MFIE is solved by the method of moments (MoM) using the Rao–Wilton–Glisson (RWG) basis functions. In this paper, a new kind of basis function which is named the piece-wise constant vector basis function is proposed and used to solve the MFIE by MoM. Definition of this kind of basis function is given. The calculation of the impedance matrix entries is presented in detail. This kind of basis function is then used for the solution of the MFIE for electromagnetic scattering problems. The radar cross section (RCS) results and the iterative property of both kinds of basis functions are presented. It is shown that the piece-wise constant vector basis functions give similar RCS results as those of the RWG basis functions. Particularly, when iterative solver is used to solve the resultant linear system, the solution scheme using the piece-wise constant vector basis functions iterates much faster than that using the RWG basis functions.

The development of paper-based SERS substrates that can allow multi-component detection in real-word scenarios is of great value for applications in molecule detection under complex conditions. Here, a multifunctional SERS-based paper sensing substrate has been developed through the uniform patterning of high-density arrays of GO-isolated Ag nanoparticles on the hydrophilic porous cellulose paper strip (GO@AgNP@paper). Wet-chemical synthesis was used to provide the cover of SERS hot spots on any part of the paper, not just limited surface deposition. In virtue of the inherent ability of paper to deliver analytes by the capillary force, the detection ability of the GO@AgNP@paper substrate was greatly promoted, allowing as low as 10-19M R6G detection from microliter-volume (50 μL) samples. For the components with different polarity, the paper substrate can be used as an all-in-one machine to achieve the integration of separation and high-sensitive detection for ultralow mixture components, which improves the practical application value of SERS-based paper devices.

We report a three-dimensional (3D) SERS substrate with different numbers of silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) layers using multilayer graphene oxide (GO) as a spacer. The SERS performance of the 3D nanostructure was investigated and it was found that the SERS effect increased as the number of Ag NP layers increased, and showed almost no change for more than four layers. We found that the SERS performance of the 3D nanostructures can be mainly attributed to the topmost hot spots which are closely related to the Ag NP layers in the 3D nanostructure. Furthermore, we explored 3D nanostructures with different Ag NP layers using the finite difference time domain method (FDTD). The 3D SERS substrates also exhibit excellent detection capability. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated down to 10−15 M for R6G and 10−12 M for CV. In addition, the reproducibility of the 3D SERS substrate was attributed obviously to the increasing number of Ag NP layers. Based on these promising results, the highly sensitive detection of molecules such as malachite green was demonstrated for food safety inspection.

We investigate a new class of nondiffracting optical beams carrying fractional orbital angular momentum (FOAM Bessel beams), which can be constructed by modifying the phase step of the spiral phase plate in a setup originally for the generation of traditional Bessel beams. The FOAM Bessel beams have entirely stable vortex structures, and form an infinite number of orthogonal and complete subsets for monochromatic scalar light in free space. With the advantages of structural stability and orthogonality-completeness, the FOAM Bessel beams are expected to be useful for study and application in various fields of modern optics.

In the process of cutting, cutting tool wear has an important influence on the surface quality of the work piece, therefore, it is of great significance for the research of tool wear detection. In this paper, this work focuses on researching relationship between cutting force and tool flank wear. In different experiment conditions, the consistency of the results of simulation and experiment results was obtained through the comparative analysis between the two. It is a complex problem that cutting tool wear and measuring process and not easy to get the accurate ideal results by experiment， the simulation experiment has the characteristics of simple and easy to operate and the result is diminutively influenced by complex factors, therefore, it is the primary method to carry out this work by simulation experiment .In this paper, it is mainly investigated into the simulation analysis of the tool flank wear. The specific content of the simulation experiment is explaining the causation for the tool flank wear through the analysis of the temperature field at the tip and obtaining the data of cutting force in different tool flank wear(10,100,200,300um). The empirical cutting force model was established through multiple regression analysis and the tool flank wear prediction model was reversed and gained by analysis of the results of simulation experiments.

Passively Q-switched mode-locked dual-wavelength Nd:GYSGG laser using graphene oxide saturable absorber is demonstrated. The output spectrum peaked at 1057.28 nm and 1060.23 nm with wavelength spacing of 3 nm has been measured. At the pump power of 5 W, the maximum average output power of 0.189 W was obtained with the optical conversion efficiency of 3.79%. The mode-locked pulse inside the Q-switched envelope has a repetition rate of 100 MHz and its pulse width is estimated to be about 441 ps. In addition, a simple way to fabricate few layers graphene oxide saturable absorbers has been reported.

A dual-wavelength self-Q-switched operation of Nd:GYSGG laser with different output couplers is proposed and demonstrated. In self-Q-switched operation, two laser lines between 1056.86 nm and 1060.23 nm were found. Under the pump power of 4 W, the shortest pulse width of 2.02 μs was obtained with a maximum average output power of 565 mW and the optical conversion efficiency of 14.13%. The pulse repetition rate and single pulse energy were 50.2 kHz and 11.25 μJ, respectively. The system is very stable and suitable for generation of multi-wavelength pulses.

A homogeneous titanium oxide device is fabricated by Molecular Beam Epitaxy and the excellent memristive behavior could be observed. The resistance ratio between high resistance state and low resistance state increases as the thickness of titanium oxide or the oxygen content reduces. The forming voltage is lower than the previous report. Based on the experimental results, we suggest a double-interface conductive filament model and calculate the current–voltage curve of the device in agreement with experimental measurements. The result indicates that the forming voltage of the device will rise with increasing of the chemical potential differences across the two interfaces. In other words, the switching voltage could be adjusted by selecting a proper electrode and oxide materials.

We demonstrate the use of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-based saturable absorber to develop a passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser. The few-layer MoS2 saturable absorber was prepared by mixing MoS2 with alcohol and then evaporating the mixture on a substrate. Using an MoS2 saturable absorber, stable Q-switching operation was achieved with a laser pulse width of 327 ns and a repetition rate of 5 kHz under a pump power of 2.23 W. Due to the simple manufacturing process and high saturated absorption characteristics, MoS2 seems to be a suitable material as a saturable absorber for solid-state lasers.

The structure of 1 × 2 type photonic crystal power splitter with ring resonators is designed in a two-dimension square-lattice dielectric-rod photonic crystal structure, and it consists of one input and two outputs. Its transmission performance is investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the structure has high transmission efficiency in the third communication window (wavelength 1550 nm), can split pass band electromagnetic waves equally. It is compact with low loss and design flexibility in propagation direction of electromagnetic waves.

We have proposed a synthetic approach to produce self-supported and bendable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based 3D chemical sensors with high adsorptivity. Such 3D substrates consist of foam-like graphene macrostructures obtained by template-directed chemical vapour deposition on nickel foams (interconnected 3D scaffold of nickel) and uniform and high-density Ag nanoparticles wrapping around the foam graphene, via seed-mediated in situ growth process. Such 3D AgNPs/G@Ni foam substrates show high-quality SERS performance in terms of Raman signal reproducibility and sensitivity for the analyte, resulting from the high density and homogeneity of “hot spots” on AgNPs/G@Ni foam, multiple cascaded amplication (localized surface plasmon mode and optical standing waves or optical refraction) of incident laser to the 3D foam structures and powerful support from nickel scaffold. Moreover, in virtue of the high adsorptivity and sensitivity of AgNPs/G@Ni foam, the low-concentration crystal violet molecules can be easily traced in the curvilinear fish surface, by simply swabbing the surface to achieve molecules concentration effect in the practical applicability. This work shows promising potential in developing the applications of SERS in the foodstuffs processing and security field.

We show that an entangled traveling photon-phonon pair can be generated in a resonator-waveguide structure via optomechanical interaction. We employ the ``backward Heisenberg picture'' approach to write an analytic expression for the output quantum state, from which the generation efficiency and the entanglement of the photon-phonon pair are calculated. We find that the photon-phonon entanglement can be manipulated by adjusting the spectral width of the input pulse.

A confined synthesis strategy is demonstrated for the fabrication of core–shell magnetic mesoporous carbon microspheres by solvent evaporation induced self-assembly of ethanolic solutions of precursors (containing resol as carbon source, Pluronic F127 as a structure directing agent) in the cavity of presynthesized 3-dimensional ordered macroporous silica materials with each macropore filled with a magnetite particle. The obtained magnetic mesoporous carbon (Fe3O4@FDU-15) microspheres possess uniform diameter of ∼460 nm, ultralarge mesopores of 13.8 nm, high surface area of ∼403 m2/g, and strong magnetization (20.7 emu/g). Sub-4 nm gold nanoparticles are loaded in the porous shell of the magnetic microspheres, resulting in a novel Fe3O4@FDU-15/Au nanocatalyst with an excellent performance in catalyzing the epoxidation of styrene with high conversion (72%) and selectivity (85%) toward styrene oxide in 12 h and a good magnetic field-assisted recyclability.