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Energy efficiency and resource utilization are considered to be necessary for sustainable development. Organic phase change materials (PCMs) as an effective thermal energy storage tool have attracted great interest, but non-renewable ingredients, low stability and their unsafe nature largely restrict their sustainability. Herein, a series of bio-based benzoxazine-derived PCMs were developed, in which green preparation, efficient energy conversion, and safe utilization can be simultaneously achieved. Through the Mannich condensation reaction, novel PCMs can be easily synthesized with good yield and high atom economy by combining natural 3-pentadecylphenol (a cardanol derivative) and amine sources. The resulting PCMs exhibited adjustable latent heat (48.78–147.02 J g−1) by altering raw materials, which are close to their commercial unsustainable counterparts. As an example, C-aa-12 also showed considerable recycling ability after 100 times repeated use. In addition, due to the designed structure, as-prepared PCMs also possessed more excellent properties of thermal stability (Td50% was increased by 65.1%) and flame retardancy (HRR was reduced by 39.4%) compared with traditional ones, making them promising in a wider application field.

The cluster synchronization properties of 12 different networks that consist of five semiconductor lasers (SLs) are systematically investigated through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The emergence of clusters in different networks is analytically predicted, and then numerically proved in SL networks. The synchronization properties between each pair of SL nodes in a network are quantified by the zero-lag cross-correlation coefficient of laser intensities. The impacts of injection strength and bias current on the synchronization quality are investigated, the robustness of clusters against noise is also considered. All the expected clusters are successfully obtained in the simulation and are robust to noise. However, for some networks, different clusters may also emerge with the variation of parameters. In addition, for most networks considered in this paper, the small difference in topologies can bring about tremendous change in synchronized clusters or the synchronization properties of clusters, but for other networks no obvious change can be observed. Moreover, the synchronization properties between nodes from different clusters are also considered. The numerical results not only validate the availability of the adopted analytical method, but also shed some light on possible applications of synchronization control or tolerance of connection failure within networks of SLs.

Background Myopia is hypothesized to be influenced by environmental light conditions. For example, it has been shown that colour and temporal frequency of flickering light affect emmetropisation in animals. Considering the omnipresence of flickering light in our daily life, we decided to analyze the effect of colour flickers on variability of the accommodation response (VAR) in emmetropes and myopes. Methods We measured the dynamic accommodative responses of 19 emmetropic and 22 myopic adults using a Grand Seiko WAM-5500 open-field autorefractor. The subjects focused for more than 20 s on a black Snellen E target against three different backgrounds made up of three colour flicker combinations (red/green, red/blue and blue/green) and under five frequency conditions (0.20 Hz, 0.50 Hz, 1.00 Hz, 1.67 Hz, and 5.00 Hz). Results Flicker frequency and colour both had a significant effect on VAR. Lower frequencies were associated with larger variability. Colour had an effect only at low frequencies, and red/blue colour flicker resulted in the largest variability. The variability in myopes were larger than those in emmetropes. Conclusions These findings support the hypothesis that further studies on the colour and temporal frequency of flickering light can lead to a better understanding of the development and progression of myopia.

Despite the intuition that synchronization of different nodes in coupled oscillator networks results from information exchange between them, it has recently been shown that remote nodes could be partially synchronous even when they are separated by intermediately unsynchronized nodes. Here based on electro-optic system, we report on a more stronger form of such synchronization pattern that is termed as secure remote synchronization, in which two remotely separated nodes could have identically synchronized dynamical behaviors while the rest of the network are both statistically and information-theoretically incoherent relative to the two synchronized nodes. The generalized form of mirror symmetry in the network structure is identified to be a key mechanism allowing for secure remote synchronization. Moreover, this synchronization mode is robust against a wild range of system parameters and noise perturbing the intermediary dynamics. The lack of information about the synchronized dynamics in the rest of the network suggests that our results could potentially lead to network-based solutions for secure key distribution and secure communication.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death, with a major risk factor being chronic inflammation. Thus, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at an increased risk of CRC. Despite the clear association between inflammation and cancer, the mechanism by which colitis leads to CRC is still not well understood. Aims In this study, we aim to explore the mechanism by which inflammation contributes to the initiation of colitis-associated cancer (CAC). We hypothesize that dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis leads to the infiltration of a specific immune cell type associated with tumorigenesis. Methods Following an injection of azoxymethane (AOM), mice were treated with the colitis-inducing agents DSS, trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS), oxazolone (oxa), Citrobacter rodentium, or Doxorubicin (Doxo). The tumor studies were repeated using our published Cre-dependent murine model of CAC. To generate tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mice that allow for Dclk1+ cell lineage tracing and cell-specific knock-out of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), we crossed our Dclk1CreERT2 mice to both ROSA26tdTomato and APCfl/fl mice (Dclk1/APCfl/fl). Results Treatment with DSS, TNBS, oxa, C. rodentium, or Doxo induced colonic inflammation as detected by increased myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and histologic analysis. DSS administration led to colonic tumors, whereas TNBS, oxa, C. rodentium, or Doxo did not lead to tumorigenesis up to 52 weeks following colitis induction. Upon flow cytometric analysis of several types of immune cells in the colonic tissue, we observed no difference in the number of T and B cells between mice treated with various colitis inducing agents. We did, however, detect significantly increased levels of Ly6G+ neutrophils and F4/80+Ly6Chi macrophages in the DSS-treated mice when compared to mice in the other models of colitis. mRNA and protein array analyses of the colonic tissue, as well as analysis of the RNA-seq data from 206 UC patients (GSE109142), revealed upregulated expression of genes associated with macrophages and neutrophils. Addition of macrophage-produced cytokines, such as IL-1β, TNF-α, or IL-6, induced lineage tracing of Dclk1+ tuft cells in intestinal organoids. Clodronate liposome-mediated depletion of F4/80+Ly6Chi macrophages significantly reduced the number of colonic tumors but did not affect tumor size in Dclk1/APCfl/fl mice. Conclusions Our data suggest that infiltration of F4/80+Ly6Chi macrophages, unique to DSS-induced colitis, leads to colonic tumor formation. This demonstrates that specific immune cell types, rather than the presence of colonic inflammation, plays an important role in the initiation of CAC. Funding Agencies CAG, CIHR

Background Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in Canada. In rapidly dividing tissues such as the intestine or colon, only long-lived, multipotent, self-renewing tissue stem cells have longevity to accumulate mutations and serve as the cellular origin of cancer. In the small intestine, genetic fate mapping studies have demonstrated that there are at least two principal stem cell pools: actively cycling, crypt base cells expressing Lgr5, and quiescent cells situated above the crypt base. Clevers and colleagues have previously shown that Lgr5-expressing cells can give rise to cancer upon mutation. Interestingly, when Lgr5+ stem cells are selectively “killed”, intestinal integrity remains intact and other stem cells restore homeostasis. To determine whether another stem cell population can give rise to cancer in the colon, we examined whether the atypical homeobox protein Hopx, marks stem cells in the colon and whether these cells can give rise to colon cancer. Aims In the present study, we aim to determine whether Hopx-expressing cells are colonic stem cells that contribute to gut healing and can give rise to colonic tumours following the loss of APC. Methods To determine whether Hopx expressing cells show stemness, we crossed Hopx-CreERT mice to R26-TdTomato reporter mice. We then conducted genetic lineage tracing studies in the colon during homeostasis and following dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced colitis. To test the function of Hopx expressing cells, Hopx-CreERT mice were also crossed to R26DTR mice and treated with diphtheria toxin (DT) following tamoxifen. These mice were then exposed to either normal drinking water or DSS to determine the role of Hopx+ cells in colonic regeneration. To test whether Hopx expressing cells can serve as a cellular origin for colon cancer, Hopx-CreERT mice were crossed to Apcf/f (floxed) mice. Results Consistent with the labeling of a stem cell, following tamoxifen, Hopx+ cells expressing tdTomato expanded to lineage trace full colonic crypts within 7 days, and labelling was persistent for greater than 6 months. Interestingly, ablation of Hopx+ cells with DT did not alter weight, histological damage or survival during normal homeostasis, however, Hopx+ cell ablation in mice treated with DSS resulted in increased histological damage. Surprisingly, loss of APC in Hopx-expressing cells did not induce colonic adenomas even after 8 months following tamoxifen administration. Conclusions These findings prove that Hopx expressing cells identify a novel colonic stem cell pool that is redundant in homeostasis, but in the context of injury, are essential for epithelial regeneration. Interestingly, Hopx+ cells do not have the capacity to give rise to colorectal adenomas upon loss of the APC gene. Funding Agencies CIHR

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death, with a major risk factor being chronic inflammation. Despite the clear association between inflammation and cancer, the mechanism by which colitis leads to CRC is not well understood. We recently showed that the presence of inflammation does not always correlate with colonic tumorigenesis, as the type of colitis (i.e. colitis-inducing agent) appears to be important for tumor initiation. Aims In this study, we aim to explore the mechanism by which inflammation contributes to the initiation of colitis-associated cancer. We hypothesized that dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis leads to the infiltration of a specific immune cell type that is associated with colonic tumorigenesis. Methods To generate tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mice that allow for Dclk1+ cell lineage tracing and cell-specific knock-out of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), we first crossed our transgenic Dclk1CreERT2 mice to both ROSA26tdTomato and APCfl/fl mice (Dclk1/APCfl/fl). Following Tamoxifen induction, mice were treated with the colitis-inducing agents DSS, trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS), oxazolone, or Citrobacter rodentium. The tumor studies were repeated using azoxymethane (AOM)-DSS induced colitis-associated cancer model. Results Treatment with any of the four colitis-inducing agents (DSS, TNBS, oxazolone, or C. rodentium) induced colonic inflammation as detected by increased myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and histologic analysis. Interestingly, DSS administration led to colonic tumors, whereas TNBS, oxazolone, or C. rodentium did not, even up to 52 weeks following colitis induction. FACS analysis of immune cells in the colon revealed no difference in the number of T or B cells in mice treated with any of the colitis-inducing agents. We did, however, detect significantly increased levels of Ly6G+ neutrophils and F4/80+ macrophages in DSS-treated mice compared to mice in any of the other three models of colitis. Consistent with this myeloid cell infiltration, significantly upregulated protein levels of G-CSF, IL-6, TNF-α, and CXCL1 were detected in DSS-treated mice compared to the other three models of colitis. IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-β levels were unchanged. Conclusions Our data suggest that infiltration of Ly6G+ neutrophils and pro-inflammatory F4/80+ macrophages, unique to DSS-induced colitis, contributes to colonic tumor formation. These data demonstrate that specific immune cell types, rather than the presence of colonic inflammation, play a critical role in the initiation of colitis-associated CRC. Funding Agencies CAG, CIHR

The isochronous cluster synchronization with time delay (TD) signature suppression in delay-coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) networks subject to variable-polarization optical injection (VPOI) is theoretically and numerically studied. Based on the inherent symmetries of network topology, parameter spaces for stable cluster synchronization are presented, and zero-lag synchronization are achieved for VCSELs in same clusters. Additionally, the TD signature reduction for the dynamics of VCSELs in the stable clusters are systematically discussed. It is shown that both moderate polarizer angle and frequency detuning between different clusters have strengthen the effect of TD signature suppression. Moreover, the isochronous cluster synchronization with TD signature concealment is also verified in another VPOI-VCSEL network with different topology, indicating the generality of proposed results. Our results shed a new light on the research of chaos synchronization and chaos-based secure communications in VCSEL networks.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in Canada, with the major risk factor being chronic inflammation. As such, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at an increased risk of CRC. Despite the clear association between inflammation and cancer, the mechanism by which colitis leads to CRC is still not well understood. Our recent work has focused on a colonic epithelial cell known as the tuft cell that uniquely expresses the protein doublecortin-like kinase 1 (Dclk1). Using Cre-dependent lineage tracing of Dclk1-expressing cells, we showed that Dclk1 labels long-lived quiescent cells in the colon that serve as a cellular origin of CRC upon colonic inflammation. AIMS: In this study, we aim to explore the mechanism by which inflammation contributes to tuft cell cancer initiation. We hypothesized that colonic inflammatory insult leads to dedifferentiation of Dclk1+ tuft cells to a stem cell state susceptible to tumor initiation. METHODS: To generate tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mice that allow for Dclk1(+) cell lineage tracing and cell-specific knock-out of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), we first crossed our transgenic Dclk1-CreER(T2) mice to both ROSA26-tdTomato and APC(fl/fl) mice (Dclk1/APC(fl/fl)). To examine the role of dedifferentiation in colonic tumor initiation, these mice were further crossed to Lgr5-DTR-eGFP mice (Lgr5(DTR);Dclk1/APC(fl/fl)). These mice were given tamoxifen and DSS in order to induce tumorigenesis. Mice were administered diphtheria toxin (DT) for six weeks post DSS injury to ablate Lgr5-expressing cells and were compared to Lgr5(DTR)-negative control mice (Dclk1/APC(fl/fl)). RESULTS: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of mRNA levels revealed significantly reduced Lgr5, and increased RSPO1 and RSPO3 levels in colonic tissues of DSS-administered mice. Ablation of Lgr5(+) cells post DSS-colitis significantly reduced the number of colonic tumors in our Dclk1/APC(fl/fl) mouse model, with no significant difference in tumor size. Lgr5-expressing cells were readily seen throughout colonic tumors arising from Dclk1(+) cells. Interestingly, two weeks post DSS-induced colitis, rare Dclk1(+) cells that co-expressed Lgr5 were also detected. CONCLUSIONS: Our data prove that upon DSS-induced colonic injury, Dclk1(+) tuft cells express the stem cell marker Lgr5 prior to initiation of colonic tumorigenesis. These data suggest that dedifferentiation of Dclk1(+) cells plays an important role in colitis-associated CRC and provide insight into the molecular mechanism by which Dclk1-derived colonic tumors arise. FUNDING AGENCIES: CAG, CIHRCRS

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in Canada. A major risk factor for this disease is chronic inflammation. Despite the clear link between inflammation and cancer, the exact mechanism by which colitis leads to cancer is unknown. Our group has previously shown that a rare cell type in the gut marked by the expression of doublecortin-like kinase-1 (Dclk1) and known as a tuft cell, is quiescent, long-lived, and resistant to proliferation even upon mutation of the tumor suppressor APC. Interestingly, in the setting of colitis, these APC-mutated tuft cells become powerful cancer-initiating cells, but the mechanism by which this occurs is not known. NF-kB signaling is a major inflammatory pathway active in colitis and that has been linked to colorectal cancer. Inhibition of the NF-kB pathway in intestinal epithelial cells has also been shown to inhibit tumor initiation in a mouse model of colitis-associated cancer (Greten et al., 2004). Aims In the present study, we aim to examine the effect of NF-kB inhibition in tuft cells on colitis-associated cancer. Methods Dclk1CreERT2/APCf/f mice were crossed to IKK-β f/f mice and administered tamoxifen to conditionally knockout the function of both APC and IKK-β in tuft cells. Mice were then exposed to the colitis-inducing agent dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to induce tumorigenesis. Approximately 16 weeks post-tamoxifen, colonic tumor number and size were analyzed to determine the effect of NF-kB pathway inhibition on tumor initiation and growth, respectively. Extent of inflammation was assessed by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and histological damage, and colonic tissue was collected for measurement of inflammatory mediators by qRT-PCR at both acute and long-term time points. Results Interestingly, at baseline we detected increased MPO activity in Dclk1CreERT2/APCf/f/IKK-β f/f mice compared to control mice, suggesting that inhibition of NF-kB in Dclk1+ cells may increase basal colonic inflammation. Consistent with this observation, inhibition of the NF-kB pathway also resulted in an increased number of tuft cell-derived tumors, with no observed change in tumor size. Acutely, we also observed an exacerbation of DSS-colitis in Dclk1CreERT2/APCf/f/IKK-β f/f mice, as detected by elevated MPO activity, increased histological damage, and reduced colon length compared to wildtype (IKK-β +/+) controls. Conclusions These data suggest that Dclk1+ cell-specific NF-kB signaling plays a key protective role against colitis and colitis-associated tumorigenesis. Targeting the NF-kB pathway may reduce the severity of colitis and the incidence of colitis-associated cancer. Funding Agencies CIHR

In this paper, a control system with unit power factor for the wind turbine grid-side converter is proposed and designed. Rectifier system design of wind turbine grid includes both hardware and software test platforms. Firstly, the filters and primary circuits are introduced in the hardware platform design. Secondly, the control strategy of seven-segment SVPWM and the control flow of the software are discussed in the software design. At last, the grid rectifier is tested and the unit power factor control system is implemented on the basis of the test platform. Experimental results show that the system can provides a faster response, lower output ripple and higher efficiency.

In previously identified forms of remote synchronization between two nodes, the intermediate portion of the network connecting the two nodes is not synchronized with them but generally exhibits some coherent dynamics. Here we report on a network phenomenon we call incoherence-mediated remote synchronization (IMRS), in which two non-contiguous parts of the network are identically synchronized while the dynamics of the intermediate part is statistically and information-theoretically incoherent. We identify mirror symmetry in the network structure as a mechanism allowing for such behavior, and show that IMRS is robust against dynamical noise as well as against parameter changes. IMRS may underlie neuronal information processing and potentially lead to network solutions for encryption key distribution and secure communication., 5 pages, 4 figures, Supplemental Material (7 pages, 9 figures); missing links added to the network in Fig. 2(a)

This paper presents detailed numerical investigations of quantifying the complexity of the chaotic intensity obtained from the well-known Lang-Kobayashi model for an external-cavity semiconductor laser (ECSL) using sample entropy (SampEn). We demonstrate that the modified SampEn could be an alternative to quantify the underlying dynamics of an ECSL under the condition that the dimension, radius, and time delay of the delayed vectors are properly selected. The numerical results are supported by the earlier numerical studies using the permutation entropy and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy. Furthermore, we also confirm that the SampEn shows certain robustness to the additive observational noise.

Phase-modulated dual-path feedback (PM-DPF) is proposed to conceal time delay (TD) signatures from both intensity chaos and phase chaos in semiconductor lasers (SLs). The TD signatures are evaluated via both auto-correlation function and permutation entropy function. For the purpose of comparison, we also consider three other feedback configurations: SL with single-path feedback (SPF), SL with phase-modulated single-path feedback (PM-SPF), and SL with dual-path feedback (DPF). It is found that, for four feedback configurations, under the condition of strong feedback, successful TD concealment from both intensity and phase chaos can only be realized in SL with PM-DPF, due to the joint contribution of dual path feedback structure and phase modulation. Furthermore, to check the key factor contributing to TD concealment in SL with PM-DPF, the effects of feedback strength, feedback delay, modulation depth and modulation frequency are examined carefully. It is shown that, to obtain successful TD concealment from both intensity and phase chaos under the condition of strong feedback, the modulation frequency close to or greater than the relaxation oscillation frequency is suggested, while the modulation depth is the most important factor contributing to TD concealment, and higher modulation depth is desired. Besides, similar feedback strengths for two feedback paths are suggested. The TD signatures of intensity chaos for SLs with different feedback configurations are also verified experimentally. The SL with PM-DPF is an excellent chaotic source for security-enhanced chaotic communication systems as well as random number of generators based on chaotic SLs.

We have investigated the cluster isolated desynchronization, a symmetry-breaking state, in the delay-coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) networks subject to variable-polarization optical feedback (VPOF). It is shown that, in the VPOF-VCSELs networks, the elusive isolated desynchronization phenomenon could emerge out of the cluster synchronization by the common-signal injection approach from an additional auxiliary VCSEL. The influences of parameters in VPOF-VCSELs networks on the existence and stability of isolated desynchronization are systematically investigated. Moreover, the generality of the proposed scheme is validated in the VPOF-VCSELs network with real-world network topology (Nepal power grid network). Our results offer a new insight to manage the synchronization patterns of a VCSELs network.

The bandwidth and unpredictability properties of chaotic semiconductor ring lasers (SRLs) are numerically investigated. The SRL is brought to chaotic behaviors by utilizing chaotic optical injection from a master laser with optical feedback. The bandwidth and unpredictability degree of chaotic signal are examined for parameter regions of injection strength and frequency detuning. The chaos unpredictability degree is evaluated quantitatively by permutation entropy (PE). It is shown that, chaos can be obtained in large parameter regions, and simultaneous enhancement of bandwidth and unpredictability degree could be achieved for proper injection parameters. Such results are important for carrying out chaos-based communications and fast random number generations (RNGs).

The chaotic unpredictability properties of mutually-coupled laser diodes (LDs) are investigated numerically. The unpredictability degree is evaluated quantitatively via the permutation entropy (PE). The effects of coupling strength, frequency detuning, feedback strength, as well as time delays are considered. It is shown that, compared with the unidirectional coupling case, two unpredictability-enhanced chaotic signals can be simultaneously obtained for the mutual coupling case, and the parameters regions contributing to unpredictability-enhanced chaos are also broadened. Besides, the PE values for two mutually-coupled LDs are close to each other, with the exact relationship being related to frequency detuning, due to the leader-laggard relationship in terms of injection locking effect. We also consider small network of mutually-coupled LDs, where the effects of connection topologies and frequency detuning are mainly examined. The small network of mutually-coupled LDs can generate several independent unpredictability-enhanced chaotic signals in parallel, which is extremely useful to substantially increase the bit rate and improve the randomness of random number generators based on chaotic LDs.

The communication performance and security enhancement in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) subject to variable-polarization optical feedback (VPOF) are investigated numerically. Unidirectional polarization-preserved optical injection (PPOI) scheme is adopted, chaos modulation is utilized for message encryption, and two decoding methods are discussed and compared. The influences of VPOF on the performances of two decoding methods are focused on, and the effects of injection strength and frequency detuning are also considered. The security enhancement is further discussed by analyzing the robustness to mismatched feedback configuration and polarizer angle, as well as the intrinsic parameters. It is shown that, successful message encoding and decoding with Q-factors greater than 6 can be achieved by using unpredictability-enhanced chaotic carrier. In particular, the Q-factors are quite sensitive to the feedback configuration and laser parameters. When an attacker with open-loop is considered, Q-factors are smaller than 3 (6) for division (subtraction) decoding method. Specifically, even when an attacker with close-loop is considered, the Q-factors are lower than 6 when mismatched polarizer angles or intrinsic parameters exceed ±20% for subtraction method, and are more sensitive to parameter mismatch for division method, which enhances significantly the security, and thus is extremely useful for the security-enhanced chaotic communication system.

Photonic generation of wideband chaotic signals with time delay signature elimination is investigated experimentally and numerically based on a semiconductor laser (slave laser) with chaotic optical injection from a master laser. The master laser is subject to moderate optical feedback where the feedback strength and external-cavity length are fixed, while the slave laser stands alone. The experimental results show that wideband chaotic signals with successful time delay concealment can be generated in the slave laser by simply adjusting the coupling strength and frequency detuning between the two lasers. Furthermore, the numerical results are in accordance with the experimental observations. Finally, we propose a simple method for simultaneously generating multiple streams of high-quality chaotic signals using multichaotic lasers, where the time delay is effectively concealed in the autocorrelation function and delayed mutual information calculated from the chaotic time series.

The cluster synchronization of mutually coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) networks subject to variable-polarization optical feedback (VPOF) with symmetric structure is theoretically investigated. Zero-lag synchronization could be achieved between different VCSELs within same cluster in such networks, which is solely derived from the intrinsic symmetry of network topology. The influences of significant parameters of VCSELs networks on the stability of cluster synchronization are further discussed. Moreover, it is shown that the polarizer angle of optical feedback in VCSELs plays a particularly important role on the formation of cluster.

Pressure stimulates colon cancer adhesion via focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Extracellular pressures reaching 29 mm Hg have been reported in rapidly growing breast cancers, and tumors experience pressure during surgical manipulation. We hypothesized that pressure stimulates breast cancer adhesion and that CARP-1, which influences cancer biology, inhibits FAK, and modulates pressure effects.We compared MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells under ambient or 15-mm Hg increased pressure. We studied FAK-397 autophosphorylation, which parallels activation, after CARP-1 overexpression, and investigated whether CARP-1 stable overexpression or reduction alters pressure-stimulated adhesion.Pressure increased MDA-MB-468 adhesion 25% (n = 30, P.05). CARP-1 overexpression inhibited FAK-397 phosphorylation. However, pressure stimulated adhesion equivalently in CARP-1-overexpressing and CARP-1-reduced lines (n = 6, P.05).Pressure within proliferative tumors or during manipulation may activate breast cancer cells. Thus, inhibiting pressure signaling in rapidly growing breast tumors may be beneficial. CARP-1 does regulate FAK, but CARP-1 modulation does not alter pressure-stimulated adhesion. Targeting CARP-1 is unlikely to manipulate this pathway.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 2(nd) leading cause of cancer death in Canada. A major risk factor for this disease is chronic inflammation. For this reason, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative colitis, require frequent colon cancer screening. Despite the clear link between inflammation and cancer, the exact mechanism by which colitis leads to cancer is unknown. Our group has focused on a rare and ill-defined cell type in the gut known as a tuft cell that uniquely expresses doublecortin-like kinase-1 (Dclk1). Using a novel transgenic mouse model, we have previously shown that Dclk1+ tuft cells are quiescent and long-lived, and remain resistant to proliferation even upon mutation of the tumor suppressor APC. Interestingly, these cells become powerful cancer-initiating cells upon exposure to inflammation, but the mechanism by which inflammation leads to colonic tumors is not known. Intriguingly, Dclk1+ tuft cells express high levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and -2, the direct enzyme target of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which are known chemopreventative drugs in CRC. AIMS: In the present study, we aim to determine the effects of COX inhibition by NSAIDs on colitis-associated colorectal cancer. METHODS: Dclk1CreERT2/APC(flox/flox) mice were administered tamoxifen to induce an APC mutation in Dclk1-expressing cells. Mice were then exposed to the colitis-inducing agent dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), followed by daily treatment with oral NSAIDs or vehicle for the remainder of the experiment duration. The NSAIDs tested included Aspirin (non-selective COX inhibitor), celecoxib or rofecoxib (COX-2-selective inhibitors), or SC-560 (COX-1-selective inhibitor). Approximately 16 weeks post-tamoxifen, colonic tumour number and size were analyzed to determine the effect of these NSAIDs on tumour initiation and growth, respectively. Extent of inflammation was assessed by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and histology, and colonic tissue was taken for measurement of inflammatory mediators by qRT-PCR. RESULTS: Treatment with Aspirin and SC-560, but surprisingly, not celecoxib and rofecoxib, significantly reduced the number of colonic tumours. There was no significant difference in tumour size between vehicle and any of the NSAID-treated groups. Of note, the degree of colitis as assessed by MPO activity and histology was not significantly different between vehicle and NSAID-treated groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a role for COX-mediated inflammation in colonic tumorigenesis arising from Dclk1+ tuft cells. Our results suggest that COX-1-selective, rather than COX-2-selective, NSAIDs may be useful for chemoprevention of CRC in patients with IBD. FUNDING AGENCIES: CIHR

In this letter, we quantitatively investigate the time-delay (TD) signature of chaotic outputs generated by mutually coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with variable polarization optical injection (VPOI). The research is performed using a novel estimator, which calculates the peak-to-mean ratio on the basis of the autocorrelation function (ACF). It is shown that the TD signature of mutually coupled VCSELs with VPOI at intermediate polarizer angles can be better concealed than that of mutually coupled VCSELs with conventional polarization-selected optical injection. The effects of bias current and injection delay are also taken into account. The system is further discussed by applying a recent approach that computes the ACF from a phase of chaotic outputs.

The important role of parameters in master laser with optical feedback for the elimination of time-delay (TD) signature in semiconductor laser subject to chaotic optical injection is investigated systemically. The experimental results show that TD signature suppressed chaotic signals can be credibly generated by increasing the feedback strength of the master laser, which is quite different from the trends observed in semiconductor laser (SL) with optical feedback. Systematically numerical analysis is also carried out as a validation, and it is shown that with low bias current and strong feedback strength, parameter regions contributing to successful TD suppression are much wider. Furthermore, it is shown that the influence of frequency detuning in TD concealment will change with the increase of feedback strength. All the numerical results are in perfect accordance with experimental observation.

Duplex chaotic message transmission based on polarization mode carriers is investigated numerically in a small network consisting of three chaotic vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. The results show that, under proper conditions, two messages at the speed of a few GHz can be encoded/decoded separately and successfully. The performance of the communication is evaluated by using the well-known eye diagram and Q-factor.

A novel double pass quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor for atmospheric CO2 detection is developed by use of a 1.5 μm telecommunication diode laser. A low-cost high-reflection concave mirror is positioned behind a traditional QEPAS based acoustic detection module to enhance the absorption optical path and improve the detection sensitivity. The obtained minimum detection limit is 29 ppmV for 1 s averaging time which corresponds to a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient (NNEA, 1σ) of . With a 247 s averaging time, it demonstrates an ultimate detectable sensitivity of 1.74 ppmV.

We experimentally demonstrate the high frequency chaotic dynamics of an erbium-doped fiber ring laser based on the nonlinear Kerr effect. The route to chaos is experimentally observed with the pump current increased when the polarization controller is adjusted to a fixed and appropriate position. The interference among the multiple circulated electromagnetic fields from the erbium-doped fiber ring cavity can exhibit the quasi-period route to chaos, and the interference length is longer than the fiber ring cavity length.