Beyond-band discrete soliton interaction in binary waveguide arrays.

We investigate different scenarios of interaction between two beyond-band discrete solitons (BBDSs), which are a new class of solitons in binary waveguide arrays and have been investigated just recently. In the quasi-continuous regime when solitons intensity is low and, thus, solitons are broad, two BBDSs with the same envelope in binary waveguide arrays interact with each other practically like two well-known fundamental solitons governed by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation in a single optical fiber. However, this similarity disappears if the discrete nature of the system is enhanced by increasing the intensity of BBDSs. In that case, two initially in-phase BBDSs with the same detuning cannot periodically collide during propagation. We also show that single-peaked BBDSs are more robust and less mobile than double-peaked BBDSs with the same detuning. This robustness stops two identical single-peaked BBDSs from interaction even at initial separations when double-peaked BBDSs can still strongly interact with each other or with single-peaked BBDSs.

A new class of out-gap discrete solitons in binary waveguide arrays.

We analytically and numerically investigate beyond-band discrete solitons, which present a completely new class of stable localized out-gap solitons with detunings being located beyond the two bands of the linear plane waves in a periodic binary waveguide array. Each of the even and odd components of these discrete solitons does not change its sign across the transverse direction of the binary waveguide array. The even and odd components of these newly found discrete solitons can be approximately presented by two hyperbolic secant functions with the only difference in their peaks. This approximation is especially good in the low-intensity regime in which the detuning of these solitons can asymptotically reach the two limits of a linear spectrum. These distinguishing features altogether make the newly found discrete solitons different from all other classes of discrete solitons investigated earlier in binary waveguide arrays. Two transformation rules for constructing even and odd components of these discrete solitons are also found for various combinations of signs of the propagation mismatch σ and nonlinear coefficient γ.

Echocardiographic Reference Ranges of Non-invasive Myocardial Work Indices in Children.

Global myocardial work (GMW) is an emerging method to characterize left ventricle (LV) function with potential advantages over both ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain (GLS). We aimed to determine the feasibility and reproducibility for echocardiographic-derived GMW in a healthy pediatric population; establish normal reference values; and investigate the influence of age, gender, and other clinical factor on normal reference ranges. We prospectively enrolled 212 individuals (median age of 9 years; interquartile range, 6 to 12 years, 112 female). Global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), and global work efficiency (GWE) were measured from LV pressure-strain loops. Quantification of GMW was performed using a GE Vivid E95 system and available software package (Echopac V.203, GE). The mean LV EF was 64 ± 3% with GLS of -21.3 ± 1.5%. GWI was 1688 ± 219 mmHg% with mean GWE of 96.5 ± 1.4%. The GCW was 1959 ± 207 mmHg%, and the mean GWW of 61.1 ± 30.9 mmHg%. No significant difference was found in MW indices across age group and gender (p > 0.05 for all). There were significant correlations between both GWI and GCW with GLS and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), but not with GWE and GWW. Linear regression model revealed that GWI and GCW were more closely correlated with systolic blood pressure than GLS. LV MW indices had good intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility. This study establishes both the feasibility and reference ranges for non-invasive echocardiographic indices of GMW in healthy children. Myocardial work appears to be a complementary modality to assess LV performance in children.

Jackiw-Rebbi states and trivial states in interfaced binary waveguide arrays with cubic-quintic nonlinearity.

We systematically investigate two types of localized states-one is the optical analog of the quantum relativistic Jackiw-Rebbi states and the other is the trivial localized state-in interfaced binary waveguide arrays in the presence of cubic-quintic nonlinearity. By using the shooting method, we can exactly calculate the profiles of these nonlinear localized states. Like in the case with Kerr nonlinearity, we demonstrate that these localized states with cubic-quintic nonlinearity also have an extraordinary property, which completely differs from many well-known nonlinear localized structures in other media. Specifically, both the peak amplitude and transverse dimension of these nonlinear localized states can increase at the same time. Apart from that, we show that high values of the saturation nonlinearity parameter can help to generate and stabilize the intense localized states during propagation, especially in the case with a negative coefficient for the cubic nonlinearity term.

Protein Crystallization Segmentation and Classification Using Subordinate Color Channel in Fluorescence Microscopy Images.

The accuracy of detecting protein crystals for fluorescence microscopy images is very critical for high throughput and automated systems. Although the trace fluorescent labeling method could highlight protein crystals, reflection and emission from the fluorescence dye is not always due to crystal regions. Therefore, the analysis of the peak wavelength in the emission spectra of a fluorophore may not always yield effective results. In this paper, we show that using the subordinate color intensity corresponding to longer wavelengths than the peak wavelength of the emission spectra could improve the accuracy of protein crystal detection. Hence, we have built a segmentation method based on the percentile intensity of the subordinate color for trace fluorescently labeled (TFL'd) protein crystallization trial images. Compared to using the dominant color channel, our segmentation method on subordinate color channel was able to reduce the misclassification rate of likely-leads or crystals as non-crystals by the percentage of from 9.71% to 2.02% depending on the classifier. Similarly, the accuracy of classifiers were increased by the percentage of from 1.77% to 5.53%. Our method reached around 94% accuracy while keeping misclassification of likely-leads and crystals as non-crystals below 1%. Moreover, to evaluate the generalizability of our method, we have conducted new wet lab experiments on two proteins, Concanavalin A (Con A) and Ab inorganic pyrophosphate (AbIPPase), and the misclassification rate was below 1%. Our experiments show that using the subordinate channel may be more helpful for TFL'd protein trial image classification.

Schema Matching and Data Integration with Consistent Naming on Protein Crystallization Screens.

The data representation as well as naming conventions used in commercial screen files by different companies make the automated analysis of crystallization experiments difficult and time-consuming. In order to reduce the human effort required to deal with this problem, we present an approach for computationally matching elements of two schemas using linguistic schema matching methods and then transform the input screen format to another format with naming defined by the user. This approach is tested on a number of commercial screens from different companies and the results of the experiments showed an overall accuracy of 97 percent on schema matching which is significantly better than the other two matchers we tested. Our tool enables mapping a screen file in one format to another format preferred by the expert using their preferred chemical names.

Dirac light bullets in nonlinear binary waveguide arrays.

We investigate the formation and dynamics of spatially broad Dirac light bullets in nonlinear binary waveguide arrays. We show that a Dirac light bullet can be formed during propagation when a pulse with an initial profile slightly different from the one of the Dirac light bullet is launched into the system. We also reveal that these Dirac light bullets are metastable and can propagate without significant distortion for hundreds of dispersion lengths even in the presence of the Raman effect, group velocity mismatch, and group velocity dispersion difference between adjacent waveguides.

Discordance in the diagnosis of diabetes: Comparison between HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose.

OBJECTIVE: HbA1c has been introduced as a complementary diagnostic test for diabetes, but its impact on disease prevalence is unknown. This study evaluated the concordance between HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in the diagnosis of diabetes in the general population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was designed as a population based investigation, with participants being sampled from the Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Blood samples were collected after overnight fasting and analyzed within 4 hours after collection. HbA1c was measured with high pressure liquid chromatography (Arkray Adams, Japan). FPG was measured by the hexokinase method (Advia Autoanalyzer; Bayer Diagnostics, Germany). Diabetes was defined as HbA1c ≥ 6.5% or FPG ≥ 7.0 mmol/L. Prediabetes was classified as HbA1c between 5.7% and 6.4%. RESULTS: The study included 3523 individuals (2356 women) aged 30 years and above. Based on the HbA1c test, the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes was 9.7% (95%CI, 8.7-10.7%; n = 342) and 34.6% (33.0-36.2; n = 1219), respectively. Based on the FPG test, the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes was 6.3% (95%CI, 5.5-7.2%; n = 223) and 12.1% (11.1-13.2; n = 427). Among the 427 individuals identified by FPG as "pre-diabetes", 28.6% were classified as diabetes by HbA1c test. The weighted kappa statistic of concordance between HbA1c and FPG was 0.55, with most of the discordance being in the prediabetes group. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that there is a significant discordance in the diagnosis of diabetes between FPG and HbA1c measurements, and the discordance could have significant impact on clinical practice. FPG appears to underestimate the burden of undiagnosed diabetes.

Raman-induced temporal condensed matter physics in gas-filled photonic crystal fibers.

Raman effect in gases can generate an extremely long-living wave of coherence that can lead to the establishment of an almost perfect temporal periodic variation of the medium refractive index. We show theoretically and numerically that the equations, regulate the pulse propagation in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers filled by Raman-active gas, are exactly identical to a classical problem in quantum condensed matter physics - but with the role of space and time reversed - namely an electron in a periodic potential subject to a constant electric field. We are therefore able to infer the existence of Wannier-Stark ladders, Bloch oscillations, and Zener tunneling, phenomena that are normally associated with condensed matter physics, using purely optical means.

Mimicking the nonlinear dynamics of optical fibers with waveguide arrays: towards a spatiotemporal supercontinuum generation.

We numerically demonstrate the formation of the spatiotemporal version of the so-called diffractive resonant radiation generated in waveguide arrays with Kerr nonlinearity when a long pulse is launched into the system. The phase matching condition for the diffractive resonant radiation that we have found earlier for CW beams also works well in the spatiotemporal case. By introducing a linear potential, one can introduce a continuous shift of the central wavenumber of a linear pulse, whereas in the nonlinear case one can demonstrate that the soliton self-wavenumber shift can be compensated by the emission of diffractive resonant radiation, in a very similar fashion as it is done in optical fibers. This work paves the way for designing unique optical devices that generate spectrally broad supercontinua with a controllable directionality by taking advantage of the combined physics of optical fibers and waveguide arrays.

Diffractive resonant radiation emitted by spatial solitons in waveguide arrays.

We study analytically and numerically the diffractive resonant radiation emitted by spatial solitons, which is generated in waveguide arrays with Kerr nonlinearity. The phase matching condition between solitons and radiation is derived and studied for the first time and agrees well with direct pulse propagation simulations. The folded dispersion due to the Brillouin zone leads to a peculiar anomalous soliton recoil that we describe in detail.

Interaction between optical fields and their conjugates in nonlinear media.

Motivated by recent experimental results, we demonstrate that the ubiquitous pulse propagation equation based on a single generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation is incomplete and inadequate to explain the formation of the so called negative-frequency resonant radiation emitted by optical solitons. The origin of this deficiency is due to the absence of a peculiar nonlinear coupling between the positive and negative frequency components of the pulse spectrum during propagation, a feature that the slowly-varying envelope approximation is unable to capture. We therefore introduce a conceptually new model, based on the envelope of the analytic signal, that takes into account the full spectral dynamics of all frequency components, is prone to analytical treatment and retains the simulation efficiency of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We use our new equation to derive from first principles the phase-matching condition of the negative-frequency resonant radiation observed in previously reported experiments.

Nonreciprocal behavior and switching in optical couplers with longitudinally varying coupling coefficient.

We report the nonreciprocal behavior of an optical coupler consisting of two straight waveguides forming a small angle. An optical diode action is theoretically demonstrated when light is launched along opposite directions. The switching power is lower than the case of parallel waveguides with a constant coupling coefficient.

Emergence of geometrical optical nonlinearities in photonic crystal fiber nanowires.

We demonstrate analytically and numerically that a subwavelength-core dielectric photonic nanowire embedded in a properly designed photonic crystal fiber cladding shows evidence of a previously unknown kind of nonlinearity (the magnitude of which is strongly dependent on the waveguide parameters) which acts on solitons so as to considerably reduce their Raman self-frequency shift. An explanation of the phenomenon in terms of indirect pulse negative chirping and broadening is given by using the moment method. Our conclusions are supported by detailed numerical simulations.

Understanding Raman-shifting multipeak states in photonic crystal fibers: two convergent approaches.

In this Letter we give theoretical explanations for the recent observations of the excitation of Raman-shifting pulse pairs in solid-core photonic crystal fibers. The formation of these pairs is surprisingly common in the deep anomalous dispersion regime of a large variety of highly nonlinear optical fibers, away from zero group-velocity dispersion points. We have developed two different theoretical models, which agree very well in their conclusions. A qualitative and a quantitative explanation of pair formation is provided, and the existence of multipeak states is predicted.

An accurate envelope equation for light propagation in photonic nanowires: new nonlinear effects.

We derive a set of new unidirectional evolution equations for photonic nanowires, i.e. waveguides with sub-wavelength core diameter. Contrary to previous approaches, our formulation simultaneously takes into account both the vector nature of the electromagnetic field and the full variations of the effective modal profiles with wavelength. This leads to the discovery of new, previously unexplored nonlinear effects which have the potential to affect soliton propagation considerably. We specialize our theoretical considerations to the case of perfectly circular silica strands in air, and we support our analysis with detailed numerical simulations.