Relationship between uric acid and cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Purpose: To explored Relationship between uric acid and cerebral amyloid angiopathy; Materials and methods: ZO-1 and RAGE in HBMECs were detected by western blotting, and then, we analyzed ZO-1, occludin, and RAGE mRNA expression levels in different treatment groups using RTPCR. Cell counts and the relative αSMA fluorescence intensity were measured in order to evaluate the protective effect of uric acid against injury to HBVSMCs. Analysis of variance showed that LDH leakage rate was used to verify the uric acid protective effect on the injury induced by Aß1-40. After that, the level of uric acid in serum and Aß1-40 in brain tissue was analyzed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry to evaluate the protective effect of uric acid in the brain of APP23 mice. Meanwhile, Occludin, ZO-1, and RAGE protein levels were measured by western blotting; Results: Uric acid reduced the negative effects of Aß on the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle cells and protected the vascular wall in vitro. In APP23 mice, Aß1-40 and Aß1-42 levels were significantly elevated in brain tissues and further increased after uric acid concentration was decreased. In APP23 mice, ZO-1 and occludin expression levels were both significantly lower than those in wild-type animals. After uric acid concentration was lowered in APP23 mice, ZO-1 and occludin expression levels were significantly lower than those in untreated animals; Conclusions: Uric acid in the blood protects the blood vessels from CAA damage to the blood vessel wall, and reduces the occurrence of cerebral hemorrhage.

Axial birefringence induced focus splitting in lithium niobate.

We report on the experimental observation of "focus splitting" when light is tightly focused into a uniaxial lithium niobate crystal along its optical axis. This effect consists in the focal spot being split into two major sub-peaks along the axial direction. For the microfabrication applications such as three-dimensional photonic crystal fabrication and waveguide writing, this effect is highly undesired since it can lead to the generation of multiple distinct voxels in the vicinity of the focus. The splitting is caused by different birefringence induced aberrations for the ordinary and extraordinary polarization eigenmodes. We present numerical simulations which support our observations and suggest methods to avoid this effect.

Observation of multiple higher-order stopgaps from three-dimensional chalcogenide glass photonic crystals.

For the first time to our knowledge the observation of near-IR multiple higher-order stopgaps in three-dimensional photonic crystals (PhCs) fabricated using the direct-laser-writing method in thick chalcogenide glass films is reported. The fabrication and etching conditions necessary to realize well-defined structures are presented. The fabricated PhCs exhibit higher-order stopgaps, which are only evident in high-quality structures. The higher-order stopgaps observed permit these high-refractive-index and high-nonlinear PhCs to be used directly as functional photonic devices operating at telecommunication wavelengths without further miniaturizing structural dimensions.

Direct optical fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystals in a high refractive index LiNbO3 crystal.

Direct optical fabrication of 3D photonic crystals in a high refractive index LiNbO3 crystal by using the femtosecond laser-induced microexplosion method is investigated. The focal distortion, caused by the refractive index mismatch-induced spherical aberration, can be significantly reduced by using a so-called threshold fabrication method. As a result, 3D fcc photonic crystals are fabricated by stacking quasi-spherical voids layer by layer. Photonic stopgaps with suppression rates of up to 30% in the transmission spectra are observed. The angle dependence of the stopgaps is also revealed.

Fabrication of three-dimensional woodpile photonic crystals in a PbSe quantum dot composite material.

Incorporating active media into three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals (PCs) is a useful step towards exploring the functionalities of PCs. Here we report, for the first time, on the fabrication of 3D woodpile PCs with a commercial PbSe quantum dot (QD) composite material by using the two-photon polymerization technique. The fabricated crystals possess photonic band gaps in the near-infrared wavelength region, which have a suppression rate of ~50% in the stacking direction, measured with an angle-resolved Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. The woodpile structures fabricated under different conditions are also characterized by using a scanning near-field optical microscope, providing a useful feedback towards optimizing the fabrication of 3D woodpile PCs in QD composites.

Photonic bandgap properties of void-based body-centered-cubic photonic crystals in polymer.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of void-based body-centered-cubic (bcc) photonic crystals in a solidified transparent polymer by the use of a femtosecond laser-driven microexplosion method. The change in the refractive index in the region surrounding the void dots that form the bcc structures is verified by presenting confocal microscope images, and the bandgap properties are characterized by using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The effect of the angle of incidence on the photonic bandgaps is also studied. We observe multiple stop gaps with a suppression rate of the main gap of 47% for a bcc structure with a lattice constant of 2.77 microm, where the first and second stop gaps are located at 3.7 microm and 2.2 microm, respectively. We also present a theoretical approach to characterize the refractive index of the material for calculating the bandgap spectra, and confirm that the wavelengths of the observed bandgaps are in good correlation with the analytical predictions.

Use of ultrafast-laser-driven microexplosional for fabricating three-dimensional void-based diamond-lattice photonic crystals in a solid polymer material.

Micro-sized void spheres are successfully generated in a solid polymer by use of a tightly focused femtosecond laser beam from a high-repetition-rate laser oscillator. Confocal reflection images show that the void spheres are longitudinal rotational symmetric ellipsoids with a ratio of long to short axes of approximately 1.5. Layers of void spheres are then stacked to create three-dimensional diamond-lattice photonic crystals. Three gaps are observed in the [100] direction with a suppression rate of the second gap of up to approximately 75% for a 32-layer structure. The observed first- and second-order gaps shift to longer and shorter wavelengths, respectively, as the angle of incidence increases.

Studies on the two-photon pumped upconverted fluorescence and superradiance of a new organic dye material in solutions.

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of a new organic dye, trans-4-[p-(N-ethyl-N-ethylamino)-styryl]-N-methyl-pyridinium tris(thiocyanato) cadmates (II), are reported in this paper. When pumped with a picosecond laser at the wavelength range of 850-1200 nm, intense upconversion fluorescence can be obtained. The upconversion efficiencies at different pump energies were measured when pumped with a 1064-nm laser beam from a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser. The highest upconversion efficiencies were measured to be 5.8% and 7.6% in dimethyl formamide (DMF) and methanol. The lifetime of the dye in DMF was measured to be 75 ps. The strongest nonlinear absorption was at the wavelength of 940 nm, and the highest upconversion efficiency was at the wavelength of 1030 nm. The difference of the two wavelengths was caused by excited state absorption in the dye at wavelengths shorter than 1000 nm. The dye solution in DMF and methanol show a clear optical power limiting effect.

Upconversion fluorescence and optical power limiting effects based on the two- and three-photon absorption process of a new organic dye BPAS.

A new organic dye, trans-4, 4'-bis(pyrrolidingl) stilbene (BPAS), with large two-photon absorption (TPA) and three-photon absorption (3PA) has been synthesized. The molecular TPA cross section sigma2' at 550-670 nm and the 3PA cross section sigma3' at 720-1000 nm have been measured. The biggest sigma2' and sigma3' was 5.77 x 10(-47) cm4s/photon and 27 x 10(-75) cm6 s2 at 600 and 980 nm, respectively. In the experiment process we found that the strongest TPA wavelength is not at two times of the strongest linear absorption wavelength, but there is some blue shift. The 3PA-induced optical power-limiting properties have also been illustrated at 980 nm.