Exogenous autoinducer-2 alleviates intestinal damage in necrotizing enterocolitis via PAR2/MMP3 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Imbalanced intestinal microbiota and damage to the intestinal barrier contribute to the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Autoinducer-2 (AI-2) plays a crucial role in repairing intestinal damage and reducing inflammation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the impact of AI-2 on the expression of intestinal zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin proteins in NEC. We evaluated its effects in vivo using NEC mice and in vitro using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated intestinal cells. METHODS: Pathological changes in the intestines of neonatal mice were assessed using histological staining and scoring. Cell proliferation was measured using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay to determine the optimal conditions for LPS and AI-2 interventions. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to analyze the mRNA levels of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3), protease activated receptor-2 (PAR2), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and IL-6. Protein levels of MMP3, PAR2, ZO-1, and occludin were evaluated using western blot, immunohistochemistry, or immunofluorescence. RESULTS: AI-2 alleviated NEC-induced intestinal damage (P < 0.05) and enhanced the proliferation of damaged IEC-6 cells (P < 0.05). AI-2 intervention reduced the mRNA and protein expressions of MMP3 and PAR2 in intestinal tissue and cells (P < 0.05). Additionally, it increased the protein levels of ZO-1 and occludin (P < 0.05), while reducing IL-1ß and IL-6 mRNA expression (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: AI-2 intervention enhances the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and occludin), mitigates intestinal damage in NEC neonatal mice and IEC-6 cells, potentially by modulating PAR2 and MMP3 signaling. AI-2 holds promise as a protective intervention for NEC. AI-2 plays a crucial role in repairing intestinal damage and reducing inflammation.

EAF2 Downregulation Recruits Tumor-associated Macrophages in Prostate Cancer through Upregulation of MIF.

BACKGROUND: The role of tumor inflammatory microenvironment in the advancement of cancer, particularly prostate cancer, is widely acknowledged. ELL-associated factor 2 (EAF2), a tumor suppressor that has been identified in the prostate, is often downregulated in prostate cancer. Earlier investigations have shown that mice with EAF2 gene knockout exhibited a substantial infiltration of inflammatory cells into the prostatic stroma. METHODS: A cohort comprising 38 patients who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and subsequently undergone radical prostatectomy (RP) was selected. These patients were pathologically graded according to the Gleason scoring system and divided into two groups. The purpose of this selection was to investigate the potential correlation between EAF2 and CD163 using immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. Additionally, in vitro experimentation was conducted to verify the relationship between EAF2 expression, macrophage migration and polarization. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that in specimens of human prostate cancer, the expression of EAF2 was notably downregulated, and this decrease was inversely associated with the number of CD163-positive macrophages that infiltrated the cancerous tissue. Cell co-culture experiments revealed that the chemotactic effect of tumor cells towards macrophages was intensified and that macrophages differentiated into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) when EAF2 was knocked out. Additionally, the application of cytokine protein microarray showed that the expression of chemokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) increased after EAF2 knockout. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that EAF2 was involved in the infiltration of CD163-positive macrophages in prostate cancer via MIF.

The effectiveness of live music intervention on psychological distress among adolescent and young adult patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of live music to decrease psychological distress in adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). METHOD: A quasi-experimental study was conducted. Sixty patients undergoing HSCT were divided into two groups, receiving either 4 week of live music (n = 31) or standard care (n = 29). Psychological distress, anxiety, the severity of symptom clusters and symptom interference were measured. RESULTS: When compared with the immediately and 1 month after intervention, patients in LM intervention group had significantly lower psychological distress and anxiety level than wait-list group. AYA undergoing HSCT reported significantly milder general symptom cluster and neurological symptom cluster at T3 than at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Live music intervention showed a positive effect on relieving psychological distress and anxiety in AYA patients undergoing HSCT. However, further researches are warranted to explore the effects of live music intervention on symptom cluster.

Bio-availability of potential trace elements in urban dust, soil, and plants in arid northwest China.

Potential trace elements pollution in cities poses a threat to the environment and human health. Bio-availability affects toxicity levels of potential trace elementss on organisms. This study focused on exploring the relationship between soil, plant, and atmospheric dust pollution in Urumqi, a typical city in western China. It aims to help reduce pollution and protect residents' health. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) potential trace elementss like Cr, Pb, As, and Ni are more prevalent in atmospheric dust and soil than in plants. Chromium was in the first group, Cadmium and Mercury were in the second, and Plumb, Arsenic, and Nickel were in the third. Atmospheric dust and soil exhibit a significantly higher heavy metal content than plants. For example, The atmospheric dust summary Chromium content was up to 88 mg/kg. 2) Soil, atmospheric dust, and plants have the highest amount of residual form. Residual form had the highest percentage average of 53.3%, whereas Organic matter bound form had the lowest percentage of just 7.7%. The plants contained less residual heavy metal than the soil and atmospheric dust. 3) The correlation coefficient between the carbonated form content of Cd of soil and atmospheric dust is 0.95, which is closely related. Other potential trace elements show similar correlations in their bio-available contents in soil, plants, and atmospheric dust.This study suggests that in urban area, the focus should be on converting potential trace elements into residual form instead of increasing plants' absorption of potential trace elements.

The current research in China primarily examines heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere, soil, and plants individually. Although there is significant international research on heavy metal bio-availability in the environment, few studies have focused on the presence of heavy metals in soil, vegetation, and atmospheric dust.Therefore, this study focused on Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, a typical oasis city in the arid region. To understand the bio-availability and morphological characteristics of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr, As, Ni) in the soil-plant-atmosphere of its urban expressway.This study aims to establish a theoretical basis for understanding the pollution hazards caused by heavy metals in oasis cities. It will have practical significance in maintaining urban ecology, promoting sustainable development, and safeguarding citizens' health.

A Review: The Effect of Bovine Colostrum on Immunity in People of All Ages.

Bovine colostrum provides newborn calves with strong passive immunity, which will further affect the immunity of their offspring. Compared with other commercial dairy products, bovine colostrum emphasizes the limit of aflatoxin M1, pathogenic bacteria, microorganisms, antibiotics, stimulants, and other items, so it is safe to use. There are many reports that the use of bovine colostrum as a breast milk fortifier for preterm infants provides necessary immune support for premature infants, but the selection of bovine colostrum products chosen must be free of Bacillus cereus because they are very dangerous for premature infants. This also emphasizes that for the bovine colostrum that is used in preterm infants, more clinical research support is needed. At the same time, it should also be emphasized that the composition of BC is different from that of human colostrum, in particular, the main protein of BC is casein, while the main protein in breast milk is whey protein, especially α-lactalbumin, which together with ovalbumin is still the reference protein with the best biological value, especially for muscles. Therefore, bovine colostrum is currently not a complete substitute for breast milk. In recent years, in addition to reports of bovine colostrum use in preterm infants, studies have also found that bovine colostrum has immunomodulatory and promoting effects in adolescents, adults, and the elderly. This suggests that bovine colostrum has the potential to provide appropriate immune support for people of all ages. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of nutritional characteristics of bovine colostrum on three dimensions. The effects of bovine colostrum on people of all ages is a narrative review of the effects of bovine colostrum on immunity in people of all ages. This review identified several classes of immunoactive substances in bovine colostrum, including immunoglobulins, cytokines, and enzymes, and compared the nutritional composition of bovine colostrum with mature milk, colostrum and mature milk in full-term breast milk, and colostrum and mature milk in preterm breast milk, to demonstrate that bovine colostrum provides a rich range of immunoactive components. In addition, the influencing factors affecting the quality of bovine colostrum (immunoglobulin) were reviewed, and it was found that individual differences, environmental factors, and processing methods had a great impact on the quality of BC. More importantly, the immunomodulatory effects of bovine colostrum in people of all ages were reviewed in detail (with an emphasis on preterm infants and immunocompromised children in neonates) as evidence to support the immunity effects of colostrum in people of all ages. This review hopes to use the above evidence to make people understand the health role of bovine colostrum as having a human immunomodulatory effect, and at the same time, when seeing the potential value of bovine colostrum in the future, the limitations of its application should also be deeply re-explored, such as lactose intolerance, allergies, etc., to provide effective solutions for the wide application of bovine colostrum.

Removal of hypertoxic Cr(VI) from water by polyaniline-coated ZIF-67-derived nitrogen-doped magnetic carbon.

Heavy metals are highly toxic and nonbiodegradable, posing a serious threat to the water environment and human beings. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a highly efficient adsorbent that is easy to recover and separate for the removal of heavy metals. In this paper, nitrogen-doped magnetic carbon (NC-67) was prepared by carbonization and hydrochloric acid treatment using cobalt-containing MOF (ZIF-67) as precursor. Then, polyaniline (PANI) was grown directly on NC-67 with high specific surface area by in situ polymerization to prepare polyaniline-coated nitrogen-doped magnetic carbon (NC-67@PANI), which was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and VSM, etc. and used for the removal of Cr(VI)from wastewater. The experimental results showed that the adsorption process of Cr(VI) by NC-67@PANI was spontaneous and endothermic, which conformed to the pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. Due to the synergistic effect of adsorption and reduction, the experimental adsorption capacity of NC-67@PANI for Cr(VI) was 410.2 mg/g. NC-67@PANI maintained a removal efficiency of 65.8% for Cr(VI) after five cycles. In addition, NC-67@PANI had good magnetism and was easy to separate under external magnetic field. The excellent adsorption capacity and easy separation characteristics of NC-67@PANI indicate that it is a promising adsorbent for Cr(VI) removal from wastewater.

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of polymer chains based on pre-designed heterometallic Al4Ln4 molecular rings.

Presented herein is a series of chain compounds based on pre-designed heterometallic aluminum-lanthanide (Al-Ln) Al4Ln4 molecular rings. Their photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) with Eu3+ (30.41%) and Tb3+ (41.44%) is at a high level among the clusters containing four Ln ions. This study significantly extends the family of Al-Ln heterometallic clusters and demonstrates the synergistic effect of heterometallic ions in enhancing their properties.

Association of ambient temperature on acute ischemic stroke in Yancheng, China.

BACKGROUND: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a major global public health issue. There is limited research on the relationship between ambient temperature and AIS hospital admissions, and the results are controversial. Our objective is to assess the short-term impact of ambient temperature on the risk of AIS hospital admissions in Yancheng, China. METHODS: We collected data on daily AIS hospital admissions, meteorological factors, and air quality in Yancheng from 2014 to 2019. We used Poisson regression to fit generalized linear models and distributed lag non-linear models to explore the association between ambient temperature and AIS hospital admissions. The effects of these associations were evaluated by stratified analysis by sex and age. RESULTS: From 2014 to 2019, we identified a total of 13,391 AIS hospital admissions. We observed that the influence of extreme cold and heat on admissions for AIS manifests immediately on the day of exposure and continues for a duration of 3-5 days. Compared to the optimal temperature (24.4 °C), the cumulative relative risk under extreme cold temperature (-1.3 °C) conditions with a lag of 0-5 days was 1.88 (95%CI: 1.28, 2.78), and under extreme heat temperature (30.5 °C) conditions with a lag of 0-5 days was 1.48 (95%CI: 1.26, 1.73). CONCLUSIONS: There is a non-linear association between ambient temperature and AIS hospital admission risk in Yancheng, China. Women and older patients are more vulnerable to non-optimal temperatures. Our findings may reveal the potential impact of climate change on the risk of AIS hospital admissions.

Effect of near-infrared spectroscopy on postoperative delirium in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common anesthetic side effect in cardiac surgery. However, the role of oxygen saturation monitoring in reducing postoperative delirium has been controversial. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to analyze whether NIRS monitoring during cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass could reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were systematically searched using the related keywords for randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) published from their inception to March 16, 2024. This review was conducted by the Preferred Reporting Project and Meta-Analysis Statement (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic review. The primary outcome was postoperative delirium, and the second outcomes included the length of ICU stay, the incidence of kidney-related adverse outcomes, and the incidence of cardiac-related adverse outcomes. Results: The incidence of postoperative delirium could be reduced under the guidance of near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring (OR, 0.657; 95% CI, 0.447-0.965; P = 0.032; I2 = 0%). However, there were no significant differences in the length of ICU stay (SMD, 0.005 days; 95% CI, -0.135-0.146; P = 0.940; I2 = 39.3%), the incidence of kidney-related adverse outcomes (OR, 0.761; 95% CI, 0.386-1.500; P = 0.430; I2 = 0%), and the incidence of the cardiac-related adverse outcomes (OR, 1.165; 95% CI, 0.556-2.442; P = 0.686; I2 = 0%) between the two groups. Conclusion: Near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass helps reduce postoperative delirium in patients. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier, CRD42023482675.

Dorsoventral heterogeneity of synaptic connectivity in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons.

The hippocampal CA3 region plays an important role in learning and memory. CA3 pyramidal neurons (PNs) receive two prominent excitatory inputs - mossy fibers (MFs) from dentate gyrus (DG) and recurrent collaterals (RCs) from CA3 PNs - that play opposing roles in pattern separation and pattern completion, respectively. Although the dorsoventral heterogeneity of the hippocampal anatomy, physiology, and behavior has been well established, nothing is known about the dorsoventral heterogeneity of synaptic connectivity in CA3 PNs. In this study, we performed Timm's sulfide silver staining, dendritic and spine morphological analyses, and ex vivo electrophysiology in mice of both sexes to investigate the heterogeneity of MF and RC pathways along the CA3 dorsoventral axis. Our morphological analyses demonstrate that ventral CA3 (vCA3) PNs possess greater dendritic lengths and more complex dendritic arborization, compared to dorsal CA3 (dCA3) PNs. Moreover, using ChannelRhodopsin2 (ChR2)-assisted patch-clamp recording, we find that the ratio of the RC-to-MF excitatory drive onto CA3 PNs increases substantially from dCA3 to vCA3, with vCA3 PNs receiving significantly weaker MFs, but stronger RCs, excitation than dCA3 PNs. Given the distinct roles of MF versus RC inputs in pattern separation versus completion, our findings of the significant dorsoventral variations of MF and RC excitation in CA3 PNs may have important functional implications for the contribution of CA3 circuit to the dorsoventral difference in hippocampal function.Significance Statement The hippocampal CA3 region is essential for memory formation. CA3 pyramidal neurons receive recurrent collateral (RC) from CA3 and mossy fiber (MF) from dentate gyrus (DG), which have opposite functions in pattern completion (memory generalization) and separation (discrimination), respectively. Although hippocampal dorsoventral heterogeneity is well established, dorsoventral heterogeneity of CA3 connectivity is unknow. Here, we demonstrate that the ratio of RC-to-MF excitation increases substantially from dCA3 to vCA3, with vCA3 receiving significantly weaker MF, but stronger RC, excitation than dCA3. Thus, our study reveals a novel CA3-based synaptic mechanism that may offer the computational advantage for the ventral hippocampus to be more strongly involved in behaviors that require less precision but more generalization than the dorsal hippocampus.

Epidemiological analysis of blood donors from college students in Hefei city.

RATIONALE: College students represent a unique demographic group as they are adults no longer under direct parental care, yet often lack the institutional health support available to more established members of society, which can lead to their health needs being neglected, despite their substantial contributions to blood donation. The objective of this study is to shed light on the health status of college students in Hefei, with a specific focus on transfusion-transmitted diseases. Based on the detailed data analysis, the implementation of some constructive strategies will play a good warning role in improving clinical blood safety and promoting better health monitoring of this population in the future. AIMS & OBJECTIVES: The study aims to achieve two main objectives: On the one hand, to deepen our understanding of college students' participation in blood donation activities. On the other hand, to propose effective strategies for increasing youth involvement. Additionally, such research aims to afford recommendations for ensuring the safety of clinical blood supplies. Although the strategies and suggestions presented are speculative, they are grounded in the logical analysis of data and relevant theoretical frameworks. Therefore, these recommendations serve as a basis for potential future testing and implementation. METHOD: The evaluation process for blood samples at the Hefei Blood Bank involves thorough serological testing for hepatitis B and C, HIV, and Treponema pallidum using both Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT). HIV reactive samples were further confirmed using Western Blot techniques at an external specialized laboratory. To ensure accuracy, each sample was tested with reagents from two different manufacturers. Moreover, any initially reactive sample was retested with the same reagent to eliminate potential false positives. In cases of conflicting results, alternative reagent kits are utilized for further confirmatory tests. Only samples that consistently show reactive results in consecutive tests are considered positive confirmation samples. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: Upon analysis of the data set, it was found that out of the total 663,105 donors, 177,089 (26.7%) were identified as college students, with the remaining 486,016 categorized as noncollege students. Our study demonstrated a notably lower prevalence of blood-transmitted infections among college students (0.48%) in contrast to the wider donor population (1.23%), underscoring their potential as safe blood donors. To uphold this level of safety and protect public health, it is crucial to increase disease prevention awareness and advocate for responsible donation practices within this specific demographic. Strengthening confidentiality protocols and expanding education on safe sexual behaviors in university settings are vital actions to cultivate an environment that promotes informed and secure blood donation. IN TERMS OF SPECIFIC INFECTIONS: The overall group had prevalence rates of 0.44% for hepatitis B, 0.15% for hepatitis C, 0.02% for HIV, and 0.42% for Treponema pallidum. When focusing on the student cohort, the prevalence rates were 0.17% for hepatitis B, 0.04% for hepatitis C, 0.02% for HIV, and 0.23% for Treponema pallidum. Transmissibility through blood transfusion All donors (%) Students (%) Non-students (%) Any infection 1.23 0.48 1.51 HbsAg 0.44 0.17 0.54 Anti-HCV 0.15 0.04 0.19 HIV Ag/Ab 0.02 0.02 0.02 Anti-TP 0.42 0.23 0.49 Individuals with two or more infectious agents occur more than once in all categories. While it leads to numerical over-representation, such overlap is minimal and statistically insignificant.

Deciphering the Role of Microbial Extracellular and Intracellular Organic Matter in Antibiotic Photodissipation: Molecular and Fluorescent Profiling under Natural Radiation.

This study addresses existing gaps in understanding the specific involvement of dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions in antibiotic photolysis, particularly under natural conditions and during DOM photobleaching. Employing fluorescent, chemical, and molecular analysis techniques, it explores the impact of extracellular and intracellular organic matter (EOM and IOM) on the photodissipation of multiclass antibiotics, coupled with DOM photobleaching under natural solar radiation. Key findings underscore the selective photobleaching of DOM fractions, propelled by distinct chemical profiles, influencing DOM-mediated antibiotic photolysis. Notably, lipid-like substances dominate in the IOM, while lignin-like substances prevail in the EOM, each uniquely responding to sunlight and exhibiting selective photobleaching. Sunlight primarily targets fulvic acid-like lignin components in EOM, contrasting the initial changes observed in tryptophan-like lipid substances in IOM. The lower photolability of EOM, attributed to its rich unsaturated compounds, contributes to an enhanced rate of indirect antibiotic photolysis (0.339-1.402 h-1) through reactive intermediates. Conversely, the abundance of aliphatic compounds in IOM, despite it being highly photolabile, exhibits a lower mediation of antibiotic photolysis (0.067-1.111 h-1). The triplet state excited 3DOM* plays a pivotal role in the phototransformation and toxicity decrease of antibiotics, highlighting microbial EOM's essential role as a natural aquatic photosensitizer for water self-purification. These findings enhance our understanding of DOM dynamics in aquatic systems, particularly in mitigating antibiotic risks, and introduce innovative strategies in environmental management and water treatment technologies.

Regulation by Presynaptic NMDA Receptors of Non-Linear Postsynaptic Summation of the Cortical Input to CA1 Pyramidal Neurons.

Entorhinal cortex (EC) LIII and LII glutamatergic neurons make monosynaptic connections onto distal apical dendrites of hippocampal CA1 and CA2 pyramidal neurons (PNs), respectively, through perforant path (PP) projections. We previously reported that a brief train of PP stimuli evokes strong supralinear temporal summation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in CA1 PNs that requires NMDAR activation, with relatively little summation in CA2 PNs in mice of either sex. Here we provide evidence from combined immunogold electron microscopy, cell-type specific genetic deletion and pharmacology that the NMDARs required for supralinear temporal summation of the CA1 PP EPSP are presynaptic, located in the PP terminals. Moreover, we found that the number of NMDARs in PP terminals innervating CA1 PNs is significantly greater than that found in PP terminals innervating CA2 PNs, providing a potential explanation for the difference in temporal summation in these two classes of hippocampal PNs.

A prefrontal motor circuit initiates persistent movement.

Persistence reinforces continuous action, which benefits animals in many aspects. Diverse external or internal signals may trigger animals to start a persistent movement. However, it is unclear how the brain decides to persist with current actions by selecting specific information. Using single-unit extracellular recordings and opto-tagging in awake mice, we demonstrated that a group of dorsal mPFC (dmPFC) motor cortex projecting (MP) neurons initiate a persistent movement by selectively encoding contextual information rather than natural valence. Inactivation of dmPFC MP neurons impairs the initiation and reduces neuronal activity in the insular and motor cortex. After the persistent movement is initiated, the dmPFC MP neurons are not required to maintain it. Finally, a computational model suggests that a successive sensory stimulus acts as an input signal for the dmPFC MP neurons to initiate a persistent movement. These results reveal a neural initiation mechanism on the persistent movement.

Discrepancies between two total IgE assays and difference in reference intervals in healthy adults.

OBJECTIVE: To compare total immunoglobulin (Ig) E assay performance characteristics between Abbott Architect and Siemens Immulite test systems. Reference intervals were also determined for both platforms in an American population of healthy adults. METHODS: Agreement of the two total IgE assays was evaluated in a cohort of 331 subjects with normal complete blood count (CBC) and comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) results. Reference intervals were established in 302 subjects after exclusion of atopic individuals on the Abbott Architect and Siemens Immulite test systems. RESULTS: We demonstrated a 32% positive bias for total IgE quantitation on the Siemens Immulite platform compared to the Abbott Architect, despite both methods calibrated against the same WHO international reference material (75/502), Furthermore, the upper limit of the reference interval (95th percentile) was determined to be higher for the Siemens Immulite assay compared to the Abbott Architect (132 and 102 IU/mL, respectively). CONCLUSION: Despite the use of a common WHO reference material for total IgE assay calibration, significant differences in quantitation was observed between two FDA-cleared test systems. Given that, it is warranted for clinical laboratories to verify vendor established reference intervals and adjust accordingly based on internal assessment of the normal range.

Omni-polarized Faraday isolator based on non-Hermitian Faraday system.

Non-Hermitian systems have recently attracted significant attention in photonics due to the realization that the interplay between gain and loss can lead to entirely new and unexpected features. Here, we propose and demonstrate a non-Hermitian Faraday system capable of non-reciprocal omni-polarizer action at the exceptional point. Notably, both forward and backward propagating light with arbitrary polarization converge to the same polarization state. Leveraging the robustness and non-reciprocity of the non-Hermitian Faraday system, we realize an omni-polarized Faraday isolator that can effectively isolate any polarized light without the need for a polarizer at the incident port of backward propagation. Remarkably, under the given parameter configuration, the isolator achieves a maximum isolation ratio of approximately 100 dB and a minimum isolation ratio of around 45 dB for various polarized light, accompanied by near-zero insertion loss. Furthermore, our research reveals the remarkable tolerance of the non-Hermitian Faraday isolator to nonlinear effects. This unique characteristic allows us to harness nonlinear effects to achieve various optical functions, all while maintaining excellent isolation performance. The proposed non-Hermitian Faraday system paves the way for the realization of magnetically or optically switchable non-reciprocal devices.

480†nm InGaN-based cyan laser diode grown on Si by interface engineering of active region.

InGaN-based long wavelength laser diodes (LDs) grown on Si are highly desirable for expanding the applications in laser display and lighting. Proper interface engineering of high In-content InGaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) is urgently required for the epitaxial growth of InGaN-based long wavelength LD on Si, because the deteriorated interfaces and crystalline quality of InGaN MQWs can severely increase the photon scattering and further exacerbate the internal absorption loss of LDs, which prevents the lasing wavelength of InGaN-based LDs from extending. In this work, a significantly improved morphology and sharp interface of the InGaN active region are obtained by using a graded-compositional InGaN lower waveguide (LWG) capped with a 10-nm-thick Al0.1Ga0.9N layer. The V-pits density of the InGaN LWG was one order of magnitude reduction from 4.8 × 108 to 3.6 × 107 cm-2 along with the root-mean-square surface roughness decreasing from 0.3 to 0.1 nm. Therefore, a room-temperature electrically injected 480 nm InGaN-based cyan LD grown on Si under pulsed current operation was successfully achieved with a threshold current density of 18.3 kA/cm2.

Crystalline Porous Organic Cage Membranes Constructed Using Fortified Intermolecular Interactions for Molecular Sieving.

Among the various types of materials with intrinsic porosity, porous organic cages (POCs) are distinctive as discrete molecules that possess intrinsic cavities and extrinsic channels capable of facilitating molecular sieving. However, the fabrication of POC membranes remains highly challenging due to the weak noncovalent intermolecular interactions and most reported POCs are powders. In this study, we constructed crystalline free-standing porous organic cage membranes by fortifying intermolecular interactions through the induction of intramolecular hydrogen bonds, which was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. To elucidate the driving forces behind, a series of terephthaldehyde building blocks containing different substitutions were reacted with flexible triamine under different conditions via interfacial polymerization (IP). Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that intramolecular hydrogen bonding can significantly boost the intermolecular interactions. The resulting membranes exhibited fast solvent permeance and high rejection of dyes not only in water, but also in organic solvents. In addition, the membrane demonstrated excellent performance in precise molecular sieving in organic solvents. This work opens an avenue to designing and fabricating free-standing membranes composed of porous organic materials for efficient molecular sieving.