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Metalloviologens, as emerging electron-transfer photochromic compounds, have shown intriguing properties such as radiochromism, photochromism and photoconductance. However, only a limited number of them have been reported so far. Exploration of new metalloviologens is strongly desired. Herein, we report a new solvothermally synthesized metalloviologen complex [CdCl2(ND)2]n (1, ND = 1,5-naphthalenes) that exhibits photochromic and intrinsic white light emission properties. Density functional theory calculation results reveal that the photochromism could be assigned to photoinduced electron transfer from chlorine atoms to ND molecules. The photoinduced charge-separated states are heat/air stable, attributed to the delocalization of ND and strong intermolecular π–π interactions. Besides, complex 1 consistently emits intrinsic white light when excited with 340–370 nm UV light, achieving high color rendering index (CRI) values (82.54–94.04). By adjusting the excitation wavelength, both "warm" and "cold" white light emission can be produced, making it suitable for the application of a white light emitting diode (WLED). Thus, this work demonstrates that the ND-based metalloviologen is not only helpful in producing photochromism, but also beneficial for creating white-light emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is more prevalent in women than men, supposing due to the decline of estrogens in menopause, accompanied by increased gonadotropins such as luteinizing hormone (LH). We and others found that the transcription factor early growth response-1 (EGR1) regulates cholinergic function including the expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and plays a significant role in cognitive decline of AD. Here we investigated in APP/PS1 mice by ovariectomy (OVX) and estradiol (E2) supplementation or inhibition of LH the effect on hippocampus-related cognition and related molecular changes. We found that OVX-associated cognitive impairment was accompanied by increased dorsal hippocampal EGR1 expression, which was rescued by downregulating peripheral LH rather than by supplementing E2. We also found in postmortem AD brains a higher expression of pituitary LH-mRNA and higher EGR1 expression in the posterior hippocampus. Both, in human and mice, there was a significant positive correlation between respectively posterior/dorsal hippocampal EGR1 and peripheral LH expression. We conclude that peripheral increased LH and increased posterior hippocampal EGR1 plays a significant role in AD pathology. • OVX led to cognitive decline and increased dorsal hippocampal EGR1 in APP/PS1 mice. • Inhibiting peripheral LH rather than supplementing E2 rescued cognition in OVX mice. • AD patients had higher pituitary LH-mRNA and higher posterior hippocampal EGR1-mRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication that occurs during pregnancy. Emerging evidence suggests that immune abnormalities play a pivotal role in the development of GDM. Specifically, regulatory T cells (Tregs) are considered a critical factor in controlling maternal–fetal immune tolerance. However, the specific characteristics and alterations of Tregs during the pathogenesis of GDM remain poorly elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the changes in Tregs among pregnant women diagnosed with GDM compared to healthy pregnant women. A prospective study was conducted, enrolling 23 healthy pregnant women in the third trimester and 21 third-trimester women diagnosed with GDM. Participants were followed up until the postpartum period. The proportions of various Treg, including Tregs, mTregs, and nTregs, were detected in the peripheral blood of pregnant women from both groups. Additionally, the expression levels of PD-1, HLA-G, and HLA-DR on these Tregs were examined. The results revealed no significant differences in the proportions of Tregs, mTregs, and nTregs between the two groups during the third trimester and postpartum period. However, GDM patients exhibited significantly reduced levels of PD-1+ Tregs (P < 0.01) and HLA-G+ Tregs (P < 0.05) in the third trimester compared to healthy pregnant women in the third trimester. Furthermore, GDM patients demonstrated significantly lower levels of PD-1+ mTregs (P < 0.01) and HLA-G+ (P < 0.05) mTregs compared to healthy pregnant women in the third trimester. Overall, the proportion of Tregs did not exhibit significant changes during the third trimester in GDM patients compared to healthy pregnant women. Nevertheless, the observed dysregulation of immune regulation function in Tregs and mTregs may be associated with the development of GDM in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, compact micro‐/nanofiber sensors with fast response and high resolution have become a hot field in sensing and nanotechnology. In addition to the unique properties of microfibers such as strong evanescent field, low optical loss, and easy integration, microfiber knot resonators further improve the sensing capability due to their resonance properties. The potential high‐quality factor allows higher sensing sensitivity and resolution, which is very attractive for optical sensing at the micro‐/nano scale. More application potential can be effectively stimulated by improving the structure shape or principle or combining with functional sensitive materials. This paper first introduces the preparation process and spectral characteristics of conventional microfiber knots and then focuses on three new types of devices for enhancing the sensing performance, namely material‐coated, shape‐improved, and principle‐extended, and briefly analyzes their spectral properties. In addition, the research progress and applications of these sensors are summarized. Finally, the existing problems in this field are analyzed, and the directions for further development are discussed and prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoids widely exist in various organs of higher plants, and have biological functions such as high efficiency, low toxicity, promoting absorption, promoting growth and regulating immunity. Flavonoidsin can improve growth performance of animals, enhance body immunity, improve body antioxidation, which have a wide range of application prospects in animal husbandry. The paper reviews the biological functions of plant flavonoids, and summarizes the application research progress of plant flavonoids in aquatic animal growth, to provide reference for further development and utilization of plant flavonoids in aquaculture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical fiber biochemical sensing technology, as a cutting‐edge, multidisciplinary, and universal sensing technology, is gradually becoming the research focus in the field of biochemical sensing. They enjoy distinctive characteristics such as high cost‐effectiveness, flexibility, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and small size and can be used to detect biochemical analytes at ultra‐low concentrations with ultra‐low sample consumption, even when these biochemical analytes are in hard‐to‐reach environments. An aptamer is a DNA or RNA oligonucleotide fragment with a high affinity for the target selected from random sequences. Due to their advantages of simple synthesis, low cost, good stability, good specificity, and strong affinity, they are gradually becoming ideal recognition elements and may replace antibodies as next‐generation target receptors. Therefore, aptamers, as functional materials, are integrated into optical fiber sensors, which are called optical fiber aptasensors, providing new opportunities for the construction of high‐performance and intelligent biochemical sensors. This article aims to review the recent research progress of fiber‐optic aptamer biochemical sensors, with a focus on their sensing mechanisms and applications. Finally, based on the existing deficiencies of fiber‐optic aptamer biochemical sensors and practical requirements, their future development trends are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phonon polaritons (PhPs) provide new prospects for the development of next generation nanophotonic devices due to the high optical confinement, low optical losses, and long lifetime. It is crucial to modulate the PhPs in already discovered materials in order to utilize PhPs efficiently and increase the device operability. In this work, oriented particle trace structures in α‐MoO3 are generated where the dielectric functions are broken by proton irradiation. Those particle trace structures act as in‐plane boundaries, launching and reflecting PhPs. In‐plane needle‐like PhPs in the intermediate state are obtained and finally the switching‐off of PhPs via increasing the irradiation fluences is achieved. Furthermore, the switching‐off PhPs are partly restored to original state by annealing. The method provides an opportunity to manipulate light at the nanoscale and construct in‐plane PhPs reflectors with the potential to be used for polaritonic devices and circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optofluidic laser (OFL) technology, as an emerging technology combining microfluidics and laser technology, offers many unique advantages in sensing applications and has become a research hotspot for highly-sensitive intracavity biochemical analysis. Biochemical sensors based on OFLs can detect changes in biochemical parameters by using significant changes in laser output characteristics, so as to achieve high detection sensitivity. Here, we provide an overview of OFLs with a focus on their constructions, the design of OFL-based biochemical sensors, and their applications in biochemical analysis. Firstly, the three elements of an OFL, including the optical microcavity, gain medium, and pump source, are described systematically. After explaining the basic principles and characterization of OFLs for biochemical sensing, the current research progress of OFL-based biochemical sensors is summarized and analyzed according to the combination of OFLs with different assay techniques. This is followed by a discussion of the research on OFLs at the level of biological macromolecules, cells, and tissues. Finally, in view of the applications of OFLs in the field of biochemical sensing, the current challenges and future development directions are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether combined CsA with androgen therapy was superior to androgen therapy alone in NSAA remains controversial. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of combined therapy versus androgen therapy for NSAA patients using a meta-analytic approach. An electronic database of PubMed, EmBase, Cochrane library, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang was systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception to February 2020. The primary endpoint was effective rate, while the secondary endpoints included white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin, platelet, and potential adverse events. The pooled results from included trials were calculated with the random-effects model. Forty-three RCTs recruited 2610 NSAA patients for the final quantitative meta-analysis. We noted that combined therapy was associated with an increased incidence of effective rate than androgen therapy alone (relative risk [RR]: 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29–1.41; P < 0.001). Moreover, patients treated with combined therapy were associated with higher WBC (weighted mean difference [WMD]: 1.22; 95%CI: 0.94–1.49; P < 0.001), hemoglobin (WMD: 12.93; 95%CI: 8.86–17.01; P < 0.001), and platelet (WMD: 8.65; 95%CI: 7.05–10.24; P < 0.001). Finally, the pooled incidence of hirsutism, handshake, gingiva hyperplasia, liver function damage, and renal function damage were 0.35 (95%CI: 0.22–0.48), 0.24 (95%CI: 0.15–0.32), 0.22 (95%CI: 0.10–0.35), 0.19 (95%CI: 0.14–0.25), and 0.06 (95%CI: 0.01–0.11), respectively. This study found that combined CsA with androgen therapy was superior to androgen therapy alone for Chinese patients with NSAA, and the most common adverse of combined therapy included hirsutism, handshake, gingiva hyperplasia, liver function damage, and renal function damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of cytochrome C is demonstrated to be an effective indicator of the microbial corrosion strength of metals. Traditional cytochrome C sensor can detect cytochrome C with a low detection limit, but their use is limited by their high cost, cumbersome operation, and susceptibility to malignant environments. In addition, studies on the monitoring of cytochrome C in the field of microbial corrosion has still not been carried out. Therefore, there is a need for a highly sensitive, selective, low-cost, anti-interference, and stable cytochrome C sensor with online monitoring and remote sensing capabilities for in-situ measurement of microbial corrosion strength. This paper proposed a highly sensitive label-free fiber-optic sensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) for in-situ measurement of the microbial corrosion marker cytochrome C. Two-dimensional Ti 2 C-MXene material is uniformly immobilized onto the surface of the sensing area to improve the sensitivity, hydrophilicity, and specific surface area of the sensing area, as well as to facilitate the immobilization of specific sensitive materials. The cytochrome C antibody is modified on the surface of Ti 2 C-MXene to specifically recognize cytochrome C, whose concentration variation can be measured by monitoring the spectral shift of MZI sensor. Results demonstrate a measurement sensitivity of 1.428 nm/μM for cytochrome C concentrations ranging from 0 to 7.04 μM. The detection limit of the sensor is calculated to be 0.392 μM with remarkable performance, including selectivity, stability, and reliability. Besides, the measurement result of the proposed sensor in real microbial corrosive environment is consistent with that of the ideal environment. This is the first instance of achieving in-situ and label-free measurement of cytochrome C by using a fiber-optic MZI sensor, which undoubtedly provides a feasible solution for the effective monitoring of microbial metal corrosion in the environment. [Display omitted] • A transverse mismatched MZI with a strong evanescent field is proposed. • Ti 2 C-MXene is used as a sensitizing material to increase the penetration depth of evanescent wave. • In situ and label-free measurements of cytochrome C were achieved. • The strength of microbial corrosion in complex environments can be monitored in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 2.5D woven carbon-fiber honeycomb sandwich structures was manufactured and investigated both experimentally and numerically. • Effects of varied parameters of the sandwich structure on the mechanical, especially the energy absorption characteristic were investigated through quasi-static indentation experiments. • The panel strength and honeycomb core strength were found synergistically determine the failure mode of the sandwich structure. Here, a new type of sandwich structure made of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) as facesheet and 2.5D woven carbon-fiber (CFRP) honeycomb as core was developed. The FMLs/CFRP honeycomb sandwich structures were subjected to quasi-static indentation tests to investigate the mechanical response with the variation of panel structure, honeycomb cell element size, honeycomb core wall thickness, and honeycomb core height. In addition to experiments, a finite element method (FEM) model was also created in ABAQUS/Explicit to analyze the damage mechanisms and failure modes of honeycomb sandwich structures under quasi-static indentation. Both the experimental and FEM simulation results revealed that the honeycomb sandwich structure underwent two different failure modes under quasi-static loading: localized damage dominated by indentation and global damage due to overall bending deformation. The combination of panel strength and honeycomb core strength determined the failure mode of the sandwich structure. Damage analysis of the honeycomb core showed that it mainly underwent fiber compression damage and matrix compression damage under quasi-static indentation. This study provides guidance to optimize the design of honeycomb sandwich structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a significant threat to global public health since its outbreak in late 2019. Although there are a few drugs approved for clinical treatment to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection currently, the severity of the ongoing global pandemic still urges the efforts to discover new antiviral compounds. As the viral spike (S) protein plays a key role in mediating virus entry, it becomes a potential target for the design of antiviral drugs against COVID-19. Here, we tested the antiviral activity of berbamine hydrochloride, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, against SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that berbamine hydrochloride could efficiently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in different cell lines. Further experiments showed berbamine hydrochloride inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection by targeting the viral entry into host cells. Moreover, berbamine hydrochloride and other bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids could potently inhibit S-mediated cell-cell fusion. Furthermore, molecular docking results implied that the berbamine hydrochloride could bind to the post fusion core of SARS-CoV-2 S2 subunit. Therefore, berbamine hydrochloride may represent a potential efficient antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Author summary: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health threat. Development of antiviral agents are urgently required to control the pandemic. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral activity of berbamine hydrochloride, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid that is isolated from traditional Chinese medicinal Berberis amurensis. We demonstrated that berbamine hydrochloride potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection by blocking the entry of the virus into the host cell. Moreover, berbamine hydrochloride and other bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids also block SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated membrane fusion. Furthermore, we analyzed the interaction of berbamine hydrochloride and viral proteins by molecular docking analysis. We found that berbamine hydrochloride could directly bind to the post fusion core of SARS-CoV-2 S2 subunit, which mediates the fusion with the host membranes. Our results provide a new lead compound for antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A sensitive temperature sensor based on PDMS sensitized fiber MZI is first proposed. • In-situ thermal monitoring of polyacrylamide hydrogel gelation process is realized. • The gelation law and mechanism of polyacrylamide hydrogel are analyzed. • This technology is expected to monitor the thermal information in reaction processes. Real-time and in-situ monitoring the gelation temperature information of the polyacrylamide hydrogel is of great significance for revealing its reaction kinetics information and regulating the performance and quality. In this paper, based on PDMS sensitized in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), a sensitive temperature sensor with a temperature sensitivity of 10.22 nm/℃ is proposed, which is used for in-situ thermal monitoring of the gelation process of polyacrylamide hydrogel. By establishing the gelation thermal curve, it is demonstrated that the gelation process mainly includes four stages: initial lag, rapid gelation, cooling stage and stabilization stage. Among them, the rapid gelation stage is the most critical, which shows the heat released in the gelation process and the gelation time. In addition, experimental results confirmed that with the increase of monomer and crosslinker concentration, the heat released during the gelation process gradually increases, but the gelation time is almost unaffected. Since the proposed PDMS sensitized MZI sensor has the advantages of miniaturization, high sensitivity, intrinsically safe, etc., it can be further extended to other dynamic reaction processes for real-time monitoring of temperature information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Machine learning has significantly enhanced optical fiber sensor performance. • Reviewed the latest progress in machine learning applied to optical fiber sensors. • More comprehensive classification introduction from point/discrete sensors, distributed sensors, image processing, and others. • A comprehensive overview of machine learning methods applied to optical fiber sensors was provided. In recent years, with the increasing demand for intelligent society, intelligent photonics has developed rapidly. Machine learning (ML), as a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), has played an important role in the intelligent evolution of optical fiber sensors. Its impact extends beyond enhancing sensor performance by introducing innovative problem-solving approaches. Specifically, ML algorithms have become instrumental in signal demodulation and elevating the efficacy of discrete and distributed sensors, and have also greatly promoted the development of optical fiber speckle pattern processing. This paper presents the latest advancements in ML-based optical fiber sensors, outlines the problems faced by conventional demodulation methods and the common ML algorithms applied in optical fiber sensors, and emphasizes key applications. Additionally, this paper delves into the challenges and future development of this emerging research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies. Pathological image processing of breast has become an important means for early diagnosis of breast cancer. Using medical image processing to assist doctors to detect potential breast cancer as early as possible has always been a hot topic in the field of medical image diagnosis. In this paper, a breast cancer recognition method based on image processing is systematically expounded from four aspects: breast cancer detection, image segmentation, image registration, and image fusion. The achievements and application scope of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, deep learning, CNN, and so on in breast cancer examination are expounded. The prospect of unsupervised learning and transfer learning for breast cancer diagnosis is prospected. Finally, the privacy protection of breast cancer patients is put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fiber-optic pH sensor, based on layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology, is proposed and experimentally confirmed. This article proposes poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) as the pretreatment solution for the surface of the gold film and the highly sensitive polyacrylic acid/chitosan (PAA/CS) self-assembled nanomembrane as the pH-sensitive film. It has been experimentally verified that the sensor can detect pH from 3.18 to 11.84 and it exhibits a high average sensitivity of 32.31 nm/pH in this range. In addition, experiments have confirmed that the sensor has attractive stability, repeatability, and hysteresis characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optofluidic, as an emerging technology that combines photons and microfluidics, has become a powerful, intelligent, and universal sensing platform in the field of bio‐chemical sensing. Optical fiber optofluidic (OFOF), as a branch of optofluidic technology, has stimulated a host of remarkable achievements in the field of bio‐chemical sensing due to its superiority of compact structure, immunity to electromagnetic interference, low sample consumption, high sensitivity, and real‐time dynamic response. In this paper, an overview of OFOF bio‐chemical sensors is presented. The OFOF system architectures are introduced and some advanced functional materials and coating technologies that can be utilized in the OFOF sensing platform to achieve high‐performance biochemical sensing are summarized. Research progress and current status of OFOF bio‐chemical sensors based on various sensing mechanisms are summarized and analyzed, with emphases on their sensing principles, sensing structures, sensing applications, advantages, and disadvantages. Lastly, the existing challenges and future development trends of OFOF biochemical sensors are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To enhance the cycling ability and rate property of carbon anode material for sodium ion battery, an easy, green, and scalable thermal pyrolysis method had been exploited to synthesize the nitrogen, sulfur self‐doped porous carbon anode derived from the walnut shell. The microstructure and electrochemical properties of this synthesized porous carbon materials are investigated by tuning the thermal pyrolysis temperature. When it is at 1000 °C, the porous carbon material exhibits the largest average interlayer distance of about 0.408 nm (d002) and excellent electrochemical performance. The porous carbon electrode material carbonized at 1000°C for sodium ion battery manifests a high reversible specific capacity of about 305 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 200 cycles, and as large as 182 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 1500 charge/discharge cycles. Nitrogen and sulfur doped biomass carbon anode material with an excellent storage capacity for sodium ion, makes it an appealing candidate as cheap and high‐performance anode materials for sodium ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fiber optic ethanol gas sensor with ZnSnO 3 hollow cube/nano-TiO 2 composite coating based on ultraviolet (UV) radiation sensitization was proposed, which can realize high sensitivity, high selectivity, and fast ethanol gas sensing at room temperature. The probe adopted a simple single-mode fiber (SMF)-multi-mode fiber-SMF structure. The ZnSnO 3 /TiO 2 gas-sensitive film was coated on the sensing area by dip-coating method. Experiment results show that the probe sensitized by UV radiation has a linear sensitivity of 3.85 pm/ppm for ethanol gas at 0–250 ppm, which is about 6.6 times more sensitive than the probe without UV radiation (0.582 pm/ppm). In addition, the probe with UV radiation has good time measurement stability, a fast response time (response time is about 20 s, recovery time is about 60 s), and excellent ethanol gas selectivity. This study proves that UV radiation is an effective method to increase the sensitivity of gas sensing. This is also the first application of ZnSnO 3 /TiO 2 composite material in fiber optic sensors. Combined with the advantages of fiber optic sensing, it shows anti-electromagnetic interference, micro size, high sensitivity, high selectivity, fast response, and remote sensing. • A Fiber optic room temperature ethanol sensor was proposed and fabricated. • The TiO2/ZnSnO3 composite material was firstly applied in fiber optic sensors. • Under the UV radiation, the probe behaves good stability, fast response, excellent selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microglia activation induced by α-synuclein (α-syn) is one of the most important factors in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms by which α-syn exerts neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity remain largely elusive. Targeting metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) has been an attractive strategy to mediate microglia activation for neuroprotection, which might be an essential regulator to modulate α-syn-induced neuroinflammation for the treatment of PD. Here, we showed that mGluR5 inhibited α-syn-induced microglia inflammation to protect from neurotoxicity in vitro and in vivo.Methods: Co-immunoprecipitation assays were utilized to detect the interaction between mGluR5 and α-syn in microglia. Griess, ELISA, real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence assays were used to detect the regulation of α-syn-induced inflammatory signaling, cytokine secretion, and lysosome-dependent degradation.Results: α-syn selectively interacted with mGluR5 but not mGluR3, and α-syn N terminal deletion region was essential for binding to mGluR5 in co-transfected HEK293T cells. The interaction between these two proteins was further detected in BV2 microglia, which was inhibited by the mGluR5 specific agonist CHPG without effect by its selective antagonist MTEP. Moreover, in both BV2 cells and primary microglia, activation of mGluR5 by CHPG partially inhibited α-syn-induced inflammatory signaling and cytokine secretion and also inhibited the microglia activation to protect from neurotoxicity. We further found that α-syn overexpression decreased mGluR5 expression via a lysosomal pathway, as evidenced by the lysosomal inhibitor, NH4Cl, by blocking mGluR5 degradation, which was not evident with the proteasome inhibitor, MG132. Additionally, co-localization of mGluR5 with α-syn was detected in lysosomes as merging with its marker, LAMP-1. Consistently, in vivo experiments with LPS- or AAV-α-syn-induced rat PD model also confirmed that α-syn accelerated lysosome-dependent degradation of mGluR5 involving a complex, to regulate neuroinflammation. Importantly, the binding is strengthened with LPS or α-syn overexpression but alleviated by urate, a potential clinical biomarker for PD.Conclusions: These findings provided evidence for a novel mechanism by which the association of α-syn with mGluR5 was attributed to α-syn-induced microglia activation via modulation of mGluR5 degradation and its intracellular signaling. This may be a new molecular target for an effective therapeutic strategy for PD pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodically driven non-Hermitian quantum systems have become the center of interest in recent years due to their rich physical phenomena. In this work, we consider a one-dimensional non-Hermitian lattice model induced by partially asymmetric coupling with time-periodic and spatially periodic modulations upon on-site potentials. Within Floquet theorem, we obtain the Floquet quasienergy spectrum of this one-dimensional non-Hermitian system. We show that the robust zero-energy modes exist in the band gap from the real parts of quasienergy spectrum. Compared with the case of no modulations, two pairs of the conjugate imaginary parts are added, which can be attributed to the combined modulations upon the on-site potentials. With the increase of non-Hermitian degree, the imaginary parts of the spectra are enlarged. We also observe the dynamical characteristics that, for different kinds of tunneling amplitudes between lattices, the amplitude of evolution gradually either decays to zero or eventually stabilizes at one particular value. Our protocol, possible to realize in photonic lattices, may facilitate the engineering of novel Floquet topological phases in non-Hermitian systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to clarify the resting-state cerebral blood flow alteration patterns induced by primary dysmenorrhea, investigate the relationships between cerebral blood flow alterations and clinical parameters of patients with primary dysmenorrhea, and explore whether brain regions with abnormal cerebral blood flow also feature functional connectivity changes. Arterial spin labeling imaging and clinical parameters were acquired in 42 patients with primary dysmenorrhea and 41 healthy controls during their menstrual phases. Differences in cerebral blood flow were compared between the two groups, and the clusters with significant group differences were selected as the regions of interest for further statistical analyses. Compared to healthy controls, patients with primary dysmenorrhea exhibited increased cerebral blood flow in the bilateral precuneus, left posterior cingulate cortex, and right rolandic operculum. Among patients with primary dysmenorrhea, we identified a negative correlation between the cerebral blood flow in the right rolandic operculum and the visual analogue score for anxiety, and greater correlation between the functional connectivity in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and the right middle cingulate cortex, and between the right rolandic operculum and the left inferior parietal lobule and the bilateral postcentral gyrus. Cerebral blood flow abnormalities associated with primary dysmenorrhea were mainly concentrated in the areas comprising the default mode network in primary dysmenorrhea patients, which could be involved in the central mechanism of primary dysmenorrhea. Cerebral blood flow alteration in the rolandic operculum may underlie an anxiety-induced compulsive tendency in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Investigating the enhanced connectivity among various pain-related brain regions could improve understanding of the onset and development of primary dysmenorrhea. • The application of ASL and ASL FC is very limited in pain research, especially PDM. • PDM patients showed altered CBF predominately located in the core region of DMN. • The rolandic operculum may be implicated in the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder. • Aberrant CBF and its connectivity might explain the central mechanism of PDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel approach for the simultaneous separation and indirect ultraviolet detection of chlorate and perchlorate using pyridinium ionic liquids as mobile phase additives in reversed‐phase liquid chromatography was developed. Pyridinium ionic liquids and imidazolium ionic liquids as the mobile phase additives were compared. The effects of pyridinium ionic liquids, methanol, column temperature, and detection wavelength on the separation and detection of chlorate and perchlorate were investigated. The role of ionic liquids, retention rules and relevant mechanisms were discussed. Pyridinium ionic liquids mainly acted as ultraviolet absorption reagent and ion‐pair reagent. The successful separation and indirect ultraviolet detection of chlorate and perchlorate were achieved by using a common reversed‐phase column, 0.2 mmol/L N‐octylpyridinium bromide aqueous solution/methanol (90/10, v/v) as mobile phase and at the detection wavelength of 210 nm. The retention times of chlorate and perchlorate were 30.51 and 37.06 min, respectively. The detection limits of chlorate and perchlorate were 0.16 and 0.29 mg/L, respectively. The linearity and repeatability of the method were satisfactory. The approach was used to the analysis of river water samples with accurate and reliable results. This method is easy to popularize due to the use of common reversed‐phase column and ultraviolet detector in liquid chromatography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of two-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on hollow-core fiber (HCF) for simultaneous measurement of seawater salinity and temperature was presented in this article. One of the SPR channels that are excited on the outer surface of the HCF with Au film coating was used to measure the seawater salinity, while another SPR channel that is excited on the inner surface of the HCF with Ag film coating and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) infiltration was used for seawater temperature measurement at the same time. The experimental results showed that the salinity sensitivity and temperature sensitivity of the sensor could reach 0.3769 nm/‰ and −0.956 nm/°C, respectively. This demonstrated that the two-channel SPR sensor not only showed the possibility in the simultaneous measurement of two parameters with high sensitivity, excellent stability, small size, and high mechanical strength but also shed new light on the multiparameter measurement fields and the development of lab-in-fiber sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim. The risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in lean population have not been fully clarified. This study aimed to explore the association between uric acid to HDL-cholesterol ratio (UHR) and NAFLD in lean Chinese adults. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed among 6285 lean Chinese adults (body mass index < 24 kg/m2) who took their annual health checkups. NAFLD was diagnosed based on hepatic ultrasound examination, with exclusion of other etiologies. Results. Of 6285 lean participants enrolled, 654 NAFLD cases were diagnosed. The overall NAFLD prevalence was 10.41%, and the prevalence was 15.45% and 7.16% in men and women, respectively. UHR was significantly higher in NAFLD patients than in controls (14.25 ± 5.33% versus 10.09 ± 4.23%, P < 0.001). UHR quintiles were positively associated with NAFLD prevalence, which was 1.91% in the first UHR quintile and increased to 3.58%, 7.81%, 14.17%, and 24.54% in the second, third, fourth, and fifth quintile groups, respectively (P < 0.001 for trend). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that UHR was independently associated with an increased risk of NAFLD (odds ratio: 1.105; 95% CI: 1.076–1.134; P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis showed that UHR remained significantly associated with NAFLD in lean participants with normal range of serum uric acid and HDL-cholesterol levels. Conclusions. UHR was significantly associated with NAFLD and may serve as a novel and reliable marker for NAFLD in lean adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported as key gene regulators, and they control many fundamental biological processes. Previously, we demonstrated that miR-214 had a protective effect against myocardial apoptosis and myocardial fibrosis. In this study, we sought to investigate the expression of miR-214 in L6 skeletal myoblast (SKM), the regulatory effect of miR-214 on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induced cell apoptosis and the underlying mechanisms of the antiapoptotic effect. MiR-214 expression was up-regulated by H2O2 in a dose and time-dependent manner in L6 SKMs. To investigate the regulatory effects of miR-214 on L6 SKM, both gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches were applied. The results showed that miR-214 improved cell survival and inhibited cell apoptosis, and blockage of miR-214 abrogated the protective effect on cell survival and resistance to apoptosis. Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was negatively regulated by miR-214, and PTEN inhibitor obviously reversed the effect of miR-214 blockage on enhancing cell apoptosis. In addition, miR-214 up-regulated antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, down-regulated proapoptotic protein Bax, prevented release of cytochrome c and inhibited caspase-3 activation. In summary, H2O2-induced injury increases miR-214 expression in L6 SKM, and miR-214 contributes to the protection of L6 SKM against apoptosis via lowering PTEN and subsequently inhibiting the mitochondrial-mediated caspase-dependent apoptotic signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Principal component analysis (PCA) is a widely used tool for dimensionality reduction and feature extraction in the field of computer vision. Traditional PCA is sensitive to outliers which are common in empirical applications. Therefore, in recent years, massive efforts have been made to improve the robustness of PCA. However, many emerging PCA variants developed in the direction have some weaknesses. First, few of them pay attention to the 2D structure of error matrix. Second, to estimate data mean from sample set with outliers by averaging is usually biased. Third, if some elements of a sample are disturbed, to extract principal components (PCs) by directly projecting data with transformation matrix causes incorrect mapping of sample to its genuine location in low-dimensional feature subspace. To alleviate these problems, we present a novel robust method, called nuclear norm-based on PCA (N-PCA) to take full advantage of the structure information of error image. Meanwhile, it is developed under a novel unified framework of PCA to remedy the bias of computing data mean and the low-dimensional representation of a sample both of which are treated as unknown variables in a single model together with projection matrix. To solve N-PCA, we propose an iterative algorithm, which has a closed-form solution in each iteration. Experimental results on several open databases demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a scheme of bidirectional quantum controlled teleportation of three-qubit state by using GHZ states. Alice transmits an unknown three-qubit entangled state to Bob, and Bob transmit an unknown three-qubit entangled state to Alice via the control of the supervisor Charlie. In order to facilitate the implementation in the experimental environment, the preparation method of quantum channel is given. This scheme is based on that three-qubit entangled state are transformed into two-qubit entangled state and single qubit superposition state by using Toffoli Gate and Controlled-NOT operation, receivers can by introducing the appropriate unitary transformation and auxiliary particles to reconstruct the initial state. Finally, this paper is implemented a scheme of bidirectional quantum controlled teleportation of more than two qubits via the control of the supervisor Charlie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of two-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on hollow-core fiber (HCF) for simultaneous measurement of seawater salinity and temperature was presented in this article. One of the SPR channels that are excited on the outer surface of the HCF with Au film coating was used to measure the seawater salinity, while another SPR channel that is excited on the inner surface of the HCF with Ag film coating and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) infiltration was used for seawater temperature measurement at the same time. The experimental results showed that the salinity sensitivity and temperature sensitivity of the sensor could reach 0.3769 nm/‰ and −0.956 nm/°C, respectively. This demonstrated that the two-channel SPR sensor not only showed the possibility in the simultaneous measurement of two parameters with high sensitivity, excellent stability, small size, and high mechanical strength but also shed new light on the multiparameter measurement fields and the development of lab-in-fiber sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aptamers, bio-chemical sensors, optical fiber sensors, sensing applications, sensing mechanisms Advances in Optical Fiber Aptasensor for Biochemical Sensing Applications (Adv. Keywords: aptamers; bio-chemical sensors; optical fiber sensors; sensing applications; sensing mechanisms EN aptamers bio-chemical sensors optical fiber sensors sensing applications sensing mechanisms 1 1 1 08/29/23 20230825 NES 230825 B Optical Fibers Aptasensors b Optical fiber has attractive characteristics of fine diameter, soft texture, light weight, intrinsic safety and high biocompatibility, as reported by Ya-nan Zhang, Yong Zhao, and co-workers in article 2300137. [Extracted from the article]

MicroRNAs (miRs) have been identified as critical regulatory molecules in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury; however, the exact expression profile of miR-199a-5p in reperfusion injury and the underlying pathogenic mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, it was revealed that miR-199a-5p expression was significantly increased in the plasma of patients with acute myocardial infarction and in a H9c2 cell model of oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. H9c2 cells were transfected with miR-199a-5p mimic or inhibitor, or short interfering RNA (siRNA) specific to hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). MTS, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), TUNEL staining and flow cytometry assays were performed to determine the proliferation, LDH activity, apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) of H9c2 cells, respectively. The overexpression of miR-199a-5p in the OGD/R cell model significantly decreased the viability and increased the lactate dehydrogenase leakage of cells; whereas knockdown of miR-199-5p induced the opposing effects. Additionally, inhibition of miR-199-5p significantly attenuated OGD/R-induced alterations to the mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) and increases in the apoptosis of cells. Furthermore, the overexpression or knockdown of miR-199a-5p decreased or increased the expression of HIF-1α and phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) in OGD/R-treated H9c2 cells. Additionally, siRNA-mediated downregulation of HIF-1α decreased phosphorylated (p)-GSK3β (Ser9) levels and reversed the protective effects of miR-199a-5p inhibition on OGD/R-injured H9c2 cells. Similarly, treatment with LiCl (a specific inhibitor of p-GSK3β) also attenuated the protective effects of miR-199a-5p knockdown on OGD/R-injured H9c2 cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that HIF-1α was a target of miR-199a-5p, and that HIF-1α downregulation suppressed the expression of p-GSK3β in OGD/R-injured H9c2 cells. Furthermore, an miR-199a-5p inhibitor increased the interaction between p-GSK3β and adenine nucleotide transferase (ANT), which was decreased by OGD/R. Additionally, miR-199a-5p inhibitor reduced the OGD/R-induced interaction between ANT and cyclophilin D (Cyp-D), potentially leading to the increased mitochondrial membrane potential in inhibitor-transfected OGD/R-injured H9c2 cells. Collectively, the present study identified a novel regulatory pathway in which the upregulation of miR-199a-5p reduced the expression of HIF-1α and p-GSK3β, and potentially suppresses the interaction between p-GSK3β and ANT, thus promoting the interaction between ANT and Cyp-D and potentially inducing cytotoxicity in OGD/R-injured H9c2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An original CsPbI x Br 3-x /FAPbI y Br 3-y absorber is designed to form C 60 /CsPbI x Br 3-x /FAPbI y Br 3-y multi-heterojunction perovskite solar cells with optimized energy band alignment by precisely adjusting I:Br proportion in these two perovskite absorbers. The introduction of CsPbI x Br 3-x can not only improve the optical response, but also act as an electron transport conductor to form a band-matched cascade electron extractor with C 60. Optimized optical response and well-matched energy levels greatly enhance carrier transport and reduce carrier recombination, affording a high PCE of 17.48%, with high V OC , J SC , FF and excellent device stability simultaneously. Our results shed light on the importance of the interface engineering on the electron excitation and extraction of perovskite layers and describe an innovative approach to further boost the efficiency of perovskite solar cells. Highlights • A novel C 60 /CsPbI x Br 3-x /FAPbI y Br 3-y architecture with energy band alignment. • CsPbI x Br 3-x /FAPbI y Br 3-y double absorbers improve optical response. • Quenched PL intensity, decreased electron lifetime and reduced trap state density. • Improved charge extraction efficiency and reduced recombination loss. • PCE of 17.48% with negligible hysteresis, excellent reproducibility and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A novel Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) structure with dual Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) was proposed. • Temperature and strain can be simultaneously measured. • The sensor has high sensitivity, simple and robust structure. Abstract A novel Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) structure with dual Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) was proposed to implement simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain and resolve the cross-sensitivity problem between temperature and strain. Two symmetrical holes of the PCF was coated with golden layer and one of which was infiltrated with temperature-sensitive liquid. Through theory and numerical analyses, the influences of temperature and strain on structural parameters of the PCF were discussed and calculated. Simulation results demonstrated that the temperature and strain could be simultaneously measured with sensitivities of −6.83 nm/°C and 1.30 × 10−3 nm/με, respectively, when diethylene glycol was chosen as the temperature sensitive liquid. In particular, the influence of strain variation on the temperature sensing characters was analyzed and compensated, which could further guarantee the measurement precision of temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex pheromone biosynthesis in moths relies on the activity of multiple enzymes, including Δ9 desaturase, which plays an important role in catalyzing desaturation at the Δ9 position of the carbon chain. However, the physiological function of moth Δ9 desaturase has not been elucidated in vivo. In this study, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to knockout the Δ9 desaturase gene (SlitDes11) of Spodoptera litura to analyze its role in sex pheromone biosynthesis. First, through the direct injection of SlitDes11 -single guide RNA (sgRNA)/Cas9 messenger RNA into newly laid eggs, gene editing was induced in around 30% of eggs 24 h after injection and was induced in 20.8% of the resulting adult moths. Second, using a sibling-crossing strategy, insects with mutant SlitDes11 (bearing a premature stop codon) were selected, and homozygous mutants were obtained in the G5 generation. Third, pheromone gland extracts of adult female homozygous SlitDes11 mutants were analyzed using Gas chromatography (GC). The results showed that titers of all three ester sex pheromone components; Z9, E11-14:Ac, Z9,E12-14:Ac, and Z9-14:Ac; were reduced by 62.40%, 78.50%, and 72.50%, respectively. This study provides the first direct evidence for the role of SlitDes11 in sex pheromone biosynthesis in S. litura , and indicates the gene could be as potential target to disrupt sexual communication in S. litura for developing a new pollution-free insecticide. Unlabelled Image • We obtained SlitDes11 homozygous knockout mutants by CRISPR/Cas9 system in S. litura. • The SlitDes11 play a key role in the ester sex pheromone biosynthesis of S. litura. • SlitDes11 could be as potential target for developing a new pollution-free insecticide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract To overcome obstacle of unbalanced hole and electron diffusion behavior in perovskites, a novel type of rationally designed bulk-heterojunction with C60-fullerene electron extraction material coupled with perovskite is for the first time reported. A facile strategy is developed for pyrrole to modify C60 to realize co-soluble of C60 and perovskites, achieving co-deposition of perovskite/pyrrole-fullerene bulk-heterojunction film via a one-step-spin-coating process. The unique perovskite/pyrrole-fullerene bulk-heterojunction exhibits increased mobility, quenched fluorescence intensity, decreased electron lifetime, large recombination resistance and reduced trap density of states, greatly enhancing charge extraction and transfer ability, thus boosting photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells. Introducing pyrrole-fullerene can effectively reduce grain boundaries and electron trap density to suppress electron-hole recombination. The enlarged interfacial area between pyrrole-fullerene and perovskite is essential for facilitating extraction of more free electrons from perovskite to fullerene electron acceptor, resulting in a balance of charge extraction and transport. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 18.9% with virtually no hysteresis for the bulk-heterojunction based perovskite solar cells with an optimized concentration of bulk-heterojunction can be obtained. The present strategy for high-performance bulk-heterojunction perovskite solar cells can be potential for industrial photovoltaic applications for its facile and low-cost process route. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • A simple strategy for the realization of functional C60 and perovskite miscibility. • Co-deposition of perovskite/Pyr-fullerene BHJ via one-step-spin-coating process. • Reduce grain boundaries and electron trap density to suppress charge recombination. • Promote free electrons extraction and enhance electron-holes transport balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, uses (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate as the major component of its sex pheromone. Previous isotope-labeling experiments demonstrated an unusual ∆12 desaturase activity involved in the biosynthesis of this compound; however, the putative ∆12 desaturase gene has not been reported to date. In the present study, we confirmed this ∆12 desaturation pathway by in vivo labeling experiments, and characterized candidate desaturase genes in a yeast heterologous expression system. We demonstrated that a pheromone gland-specific desaturase, SexiDes5, uses palmitic acid and the subsequently chain-shortened product (Z)-9-tetradecenoic acid as substrates to produce (Z)-11-hexadecenoic and (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienoic acids, respectively. In addition, the homologous desaturase SlitDes5 from the congeneric Spodoptera litura had analogous functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of iodide and iodate by reversed phase liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection using imidazolium ionic liquids as mobile phase additives was developed in this paper. Imidazolium ionic liquids, pyridinium ionic liquids, and common ion pair reagent tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as mobile phase additives were compared. The results indicated that imidazolium ionic liquids as the mobile phase additives were better than any tetrabutylammonium hydroxide or pyridinium ionic liquids. The relevant mechanisms of separation and detection for the anions were discussed. Imidazolium ionic liquids acted as ion pair reagents and ultraviolet absorption reagents in the separation and detection of the anions. The optimized mobile phase of methanol/0.3 mmol/L 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate aqueous solutions (12/88, v/v), detection wavelength of 210 nm, and column temperature of 35 °C were used for the determination of iodide and iodate. Under these conditions, the detection limits of iodide and iodate were 0.02 and 0.03 mg/L, respectively. To evaluate the practicability of the method, the determination of iodide and iodate in medicines and beverages was performed by this method. The results are that the spiked recoveries were greater than 95% and RSD was less than 3.0%. The method was simple, accurate, and reliable and could provide a reference for the analysis of iodide and iodate.The simultaneous determination of iodide and iodate by reversed phase liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection using imidazolium ionic liquids as mobile phase additives [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Statins are thought to have pleiotropic properties, including anticoagulant effects, in addition to reducing lipoprotein (LDL) levels. Plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small bilayer membrane vesicles involved in various biological processes including coagulation. Since subsets of EVs in the LDL plasma fraction (LDL-EVs) correlate with thrombin activity, we hypothesized that changes in LDL-EVs after statin therapy may differ from that of serum levels of coagulation proteins, providing insight into the effects of statins on coagulation. Methods The study was conducted in 666 subjects with available serum from the METEOR trial, a trial of the effect of rosuvastatin versus placebo in patients with subclinical atherosclerosis. Changes in protein levels of von Willebrand Factor (VWF), SerpinC1 and plasminogen were measured in serum and in LDL-EVs, and were compared between the rosuvastatin and placebo groups. Results LDL-EV levels of plasminogen and VWF increased with rosuvastatin treatment compared to placebo (mean change of 126 ± 8 versus 17 ± 12 μg/mL for plasminogen (p < 0.001) and 310 ± 60 versus 64 ± 55 μg/mL for VWF (p = 0.015)). There was no difference between groups for change in LDL-EV-SerpinC1. In contrast, serum plasminogen levels increased to a lesser extent with rosuvastatin compared to placebo (23 ± 29 versus 67 ± 17 μg/mL, p = 0.024) and serum VWF levels showed no significant difference between both groups. Conclusions Rosuvastatin increases LDL-EV coagulation proteins plasminogen and VWF in patients with subclinical atherosclerosis, an effect that is different from the effect of rosuvastatin on the same proteins in serum. This identifies LDL-EVs as a newly detected possible intermediate between statin therapy and coagulation. Highlights • LDL associated extracellular vesicles (LDL-EVs) are involved coagulation processes. • This study investigates the effect of statins on coagulation proteins in LDL-EVs. • Rosuvastatin increases plasminogen and von Willebrand factor in LDL-EVs. • LDL-EVs are identified as a possible intermediate between statins and coagulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reflective fiber optic sensor is proposed and experimentally validated, which enables simultaneous measurement of temperature and mercury ion (Hg 2+ ) concentration. The sensor consists of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a functionalized no-core fiber (NCF). The chitosan (CS)/poly acrylic acid (PAA), as Hg 2+ sensitive film, is assembled on the surface of the NCF by layer-by-layer self-assembly method. Besides, the silver film is coated on the end of NCF to ensure the reflection of light. This reflective fiber structure forms a fiber modal interferometer. When the sensor is immersed in the test solution, the Hg 2+ adsorption of sensitive film leads to change in its refractive index, and then the interference spectrum of the fiber modal interferometer will shift accordingly, which is the measurement principle of Hg 2+ sensor. Meanwhile, when the surrounding temperature changes, the interference fringe of the fiber modal interferometer and the Bragg wavelength of FBG will shift simultaneously. Therefore, the Hg 2+ concentration and temperature can be simultaneously measured by using dual-wavelength matrix method, and then the cross sensitivity problem of temperature and Hg 2+ concentration can also be solved. The experimental results show that the detection sensitivity of Hg 2+ concentration is 0.0823 nm/μM in the range of 0 μM–100 μM and 0.0178 nm/μM in the range of 100 μM–500 μM, respectively. The temperature sensitivity is 0.0147 nm/°C in the range of 20 °C–50 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Taking advantages of spectrum absorption theory, a novel non-contact gas flow rate detection method was proposed. • The detection method could measure the flow rate of component gas in gas mixture. • The flow rate sensor had the ability in anti-disturbance from environment, and would not destroy the flow field. Abstract To measure the flow rate of each gas component in gas mixture, a novel non-contact sensing method is proposed based on spectrum absorption theory. By using the Finite Element Analysis Method (FEAM), the process of the proposed sensing method is simulated, which proves the feasibility of the proposed method. Then, the further numerical analysis results prove that the non-contact flow rate sensing method could identify the flow rates of each gas components in gas mixture with different flow widths and rates. The maximum relative error is demonstrated to be 9.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The sensing head is a non-adiabatic tapered fiber. • The sensor is encapsulated in a liquid-infiltrated glass microtube. • The sensor has low cost, high sensitivity and good mechanical strength. Abstract A non-adiabatic tapered fiber sensor was fabricated, and its applications in refractive index (RI) and temperature sensing were investigated in both theory and experiment. The experiment results demonstrated that the tapered fiber sensor with a diameter of 8 μm had RI sensitivity as high as 1800 nm/RIU and temperature sensitivity of about −300 pm/°C. Then, taking advantage of its high refractive index sensitivity property, an improved temperature sensor structure was proposed by encapsulating it in a glass microtube and filling the microtube with high thermo-optical coefficient liquid. This improved sensor structure showed a higher temperature sensitivity of around −900 pm/°C. The improved sensor structure is simple, low cost and easily fabricated. Besides, this temperature sensor has high sensitivity, good mechanical strength and strong anti-disturbance ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To study whether infertile patients with endometriosis have a higher prevalence of endometrial polyps, and to clarify the characteristics of the pathology of combined polyps.Methods: Infertile patients who had undergone both hysteroscopy and laparoscopy in Reproductive Hospital Affiliated with Shandong University from January 2014 to May 2017 were enrolled. Patients with and without endometriosis, diagnosed by laparoscopy, were staged and included in the study group and control group, respectively, and the prevalence of polyps was compared. The pathological types of endometrial polyps were analyzed.Results: A total of 414 cases were enrolled in the study group and 3,048 cases in the control group; polyps were diagnosed, with endoscopy, in 1,107 patients. Endometrial polyps were detected by hysteroscopy in 47.83% of the endometriosis group and 29.82% of the control group. The prevalence of endometrial polyps was significantly higher in the endometriosis group than in the control group (p < 0.001) but not significantly different between stages of endometriosis (p = 0.580). The pathological diagnosis included 899 endometrial polyps and 208 polypoid hyperplasia; 66.5% of endometrial polyps were combined with simple hyperplasia.Conclusions: The infertile patients with endometriosis had a higher prevalence of endometrial polyps, and those polyps are often combined with simple hyperplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceuticals are a group of ubiquitous emerging pollutants, many of which have been shown to undergo efficient photolysis in the environment. Photochemically produced reactive intermediates (PPRIs) sensitized by the pharmaceuticals in sunlit natural waters may induce photodegradation of coexisting compounds. In this study, the roles of coexisting contaminants on the phototransformation of pharmaceuticals were unveiled with the fibrate drugs gemfibrozil (GMF), fenofibrate (FNF), and fenofibric acid (FNFA) as model compounds. GMF undergoes initial concentration dependent photodegradation due to the involvement of singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) initiated self-sensitized photolysis, and undergoes pH dependent photodegradation due to dissociation and hydroxyl radical ( OH) generation. The decarboxylated intermediates of GMF and coexisting FNFA significantly accelerated the photodegradation of GMF. The promotional effects of the decarboxylated intermediates are attributed to generation of PPRIs, e.g. 1 O 2 , superoxide (O 2 − ), that subsequently react with GMF. Besides, FNFA can also promote the photodegradation of GMF through the electron transfer reaction from ground state GMF to excited state FNFA, leading to the formation of decarboxylated intermediates. The formed intermediates can subsequently also facilitate GMF photodegradation. The results presented here provided valuable novel insights into the effects of coexisting contaminants on the photodegradation of pharmaceuticals in polluted waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Klotho expression significantly declines in alveolar macrophages and airway epithelial cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, and cigarette smoke extract dramatically inhibits the expression and secretion of α-Klotho. This suggests that the silencing of Klotho is the major factor promoting COPD related inflammatory responses. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of Klotho downregulation and its effect on the inflammatory cytokines secretion and cell apoptosis. Methods: Expression of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and Notch signaling activation were quantified in MH-S and 16HBE cells stimulated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) solution. Specific inhibitors of DNMTs or Notch pathway were added together with CSE into treated and control cells. Inflammatory cytokines, cell viability and cell death were determined to explore the effect of Klotho on COPD related inflammation. Results: CSE treatment statistically increased the level of DNMTs expression, Klotho promoter methylation, and activated the Notch signaling pathway. Notch signal activation played a critical role in the process of modification of Klotho promoter methylation. The inhibition of DNMTs and Notch pathway rescued Klotho levels and inhibited inflammation and cell apoptosis after CSE treatment. Conclusion: Notch-mediated Klotho hypermethylation inhibited Klotho expression, which promoted inflammatory response and cell apoptosis that were associated with the development of COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the computer vision field, single image rain removal is an extremely important pre-processing task since rain streaks can degrade the performance of subsequent high-level tasks and outdoor image quality. In recent years, massive deep learning-based deraining methods have been proposed to remove rain streaks from rainy images, and they have achieved promising performance. However, most deep learning-based methods lack interpretability and have limited performance in image details restoration and rain streaks removal. In this paper, we propose a novel rain streaks model-driven deep network, MSANet, to alleviate these issues. First of all, instead of simply stacking those available convolutions, pooling, and attention blocks, the structure of MSANet is derived from a prior rain removal model and the structure is thus fully interpretable. Compared to prior models available in the literature, we introduce a weighted convolutional dictionary model to capture the shapes, sizes, directions, regions, and multi-scale information of rain streaks. And to reduce the bias associated with the L2-norm, we utilize an adaptive approach to constrain the fidelity term of the model. Finally, we employ the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm to optimize this model and unfold the optimization procedure into a new neural network architecture by modeling each operation in the algorithm using network blocks. All the parameters can be automatically learned by end-to-end training. Extensive experiments on several benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed network architecture is more efficient than state-of-the-art methods based on both subjective and objective evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few decades, extraordinary achievements have been made in boosting the energy conversion efficiency of perovskite materials, and much effort has been put forth to determine the underlying physical and photophysical mechanisms of perovskite-based devices, especially perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Although the record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs is now comparable with that of well-established commercially applied devices, there are still intractable issues to be solved, of which the defect issue is the most important. Both photovoltaic performance and long-term stability can be largely improved by eliminating nonradiative recombination and active states originating from lattice defects. Hence, understanding the type and density of these defects and trap states via efficient experimental characterization methods is an essential step towards the development of high-performance PSCs. Herein, we systematically summarize defect determination techniques from the point of view of chemical and physical analysis, establishing a practical route of qualitative and quantitative characterizations on defects in PSCs, especially the electrochemical measurements and corresponding mechanisms to explain the defect healing strategies. This detailed and comprehensive account of multiscale defect characterizations may provide an experimental reference for exponentially improving passivation studies and further improving high-performance PSCs. • Commonly used multiscale measurements to determinate defects in PSCs are reviewed. • The relationship of experimental results and properties for defects is summarized. • Every technique is followed by typical example that explains influence mechanisms. • Characterizations, especially electrochemistry, will guide defect passivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The sensor is simply fabricated by a section of HCF with low cost. • A gourd-shaped structure is formed by using a fusion splicer. • The sensor structure behaves high refractive index sensitivity and low cross-sensitivity to temperature. • Encapsulation of this structure with glycerol can realize high sensitivity to temperature. A gourd-type hollow-core fiber (HCF) based Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed, and its sensing properties are investigated and extended. The MZI splices both ends of a section of HCF with single-mode fibers and uses a fusion splicer to cone between the HCF-SMF fusion point and the HCF to form a gourd-shaped structure. The conical part and the collapsed region inside the HCF form the light splitting/combining part of the MZI. Studies have shown that the MZI has high refractive index (RI) sensitivity (up to 2705.7 nm/RIU) and low cross-sensitivity to temperature (1.21×10-5 °C/RIU), which is very suitable for biochemical sensing. Encapsulation of this structure using capillary glass tubes and glycerol can convert its high sensitivity to RI into a high sensitivity to temperature, increasing the temperature sensitivity (527.88 pm/ °C) by a factor of about 16. The temperature sensitivity and range of the sensor are adjustable. The MZI has the characteristics of easy preparation, low price, compact structure, and superior detecting performance, and has excellent application prospects in biochemical sensing and physical sensing such as RI and temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hydrogen sensor based on erbium-doped fiber ring laser with modal interferometer is proposed. A single mode-multimode-single mode (SMS) modal interferometer structure coated with Pd/WO 3 film is used as the sensing head, due to that it is easy to be fabricated and low cost. The sensing structure is inserted into an erbium-doped fiber ring laser in order to solve the problem of spectral confusion and improve the detection limit of the hydrogen sensor based on the SMS modal interferometer. The SMS sensing structure is acted as a fiber band-pass filter. When hydrogen concentration around the sensor is changed, it will induce the refractive index and strain variations of the Pd/WO 3 film, and then shift the resonant spectrum of the SMS modal interferometer as well as the laser wavelength of the fiber ring laser. Therefore, the hydrogen concentration can be measured by monitoring the wavelength shift of the laser, which has high intensity and narrow full width half maximum. Experimental results demonstrate that the sensor has high sensitivity of 1.23 nm/%, low detection limit of 0.017%, good stability and excellent repeatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel, highly sensitive dual-parameter sensor based on tandem-interferometric arrangement of Fabry–Pérot interferometer and Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) has been designed and implemented in this paper. The sensor is composed of a single-mode fiber (SMF), hollow-core fiber, no-core fiber (NCF), and photonic crystal fiber (PCF). Those can simultaneously form a Fabry–Pérot interferometer and a MZI. The both interferometers are able to measure strain. Meanwhile, the PCF was filled with liquid crystal to measure electric field intensity. Hence, simultaneous measurement of electric field and strain can be achieved. The sensitivities of electric field and strain can reach up to 10.5 nm/(kV/mm) and 1.25 pm/ $\mu \varepsilon $ , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Use of CO to realize both swelling and deswelling in a same type of copolymer is a challenging topic. Herein, we synthesized poly(acrylamide- co-2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (P(AM- co-DMAEMA)) copolymer hydrogels by easy solution copolymerization that showed both swelling and deswelling when exposed to CO. Interestingly, the copolymer hydrogels were found to show a convincing CO-induced 'composition-dependent' swelling behaviors. The as-prepared hydrogels with 4.1 to 23.3 mol% DMAEMA showed a decreased swelling ratio when CO was purged. In contrast, further raising DMAEMA molar ratio from 23.3 to 67.8%, the copolymer hydrogels showed CO-induced increased swelling. Insights from NMR and XPS results revealed different characteristics of poly( N, N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate in the hydrogel samples with varying monomer compositions, which were considered to be responsible for the composition-dependent swelling behavior. By discovering a simple method to synthesize a copolymer hydrogel which showed CO-induced composition-dependent swelling behaviors, this study is conducive to developing CO-tunable smart materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]