Airy-type X-ray states generated using 3/2 flat diffractive optics.

X-rays have developed into an essential tool in variety of fields, such as biology, materials, chemistry, and physics etc. Numerous X-ray types, including the orbital angular momentum (OAM), the Laguerre-Gauss, and the Hermite-Gauss states, have been proposed. This greatly enhances the depth of application of X-ray. The X-ray states described above are mostly produced by binary amplitude diffraction elements. In light of this, this paper proposes a flat X-ray diffraction grating based on caustic theory to generate Airy-type X-ray. It is proved by the simulation of multislice method that the proposed grating can generate the Airy beam in the X-ray field. The results show that the generated beams have a secondary parabolic trajectory deflection with the propagation distance, which is consistent with the theory. Inspired by the success of Airy beam in light-sheet microscope, the Airy-type X-ray can be anticipated to enable novel image capability for bio or nanoscience.

Electrically Controlling Vortices in a Neutral Exciton-Polariton Condensate at Room Temperature.

Manipulating bosonic condensates with electric fields is very challenging as the electric fields do not directly interact with the neutral particles of the condensate. Here we demonstrate a simple electric method to tune the vorticity of exciton-polariton condensates in a strong coupling liquid crystal (LC) microcavity with CsPbBr_{3} microplates as active material at room temperature. In such a microcavity, the LC molecular director can be electrically modulated giving control over the polariton condensation in different modes. For isotropic nonresonant optical pumping we demonstrate the spontaneous formation of vortices with topological charges of +1, +2, -2, and -1. The topological vortex charge is controlled by a voltage in the range of 1 to 10 V applied to the microcavity sample. This control is achieved by the interplay of a built-in potential gradient, the anisotropy of the optically active perovskite microplates, and the electrically controllable LC molecular director in our system with intentionally broken rotational symmetry. Besides the fundamental interest in the achieved electric polariton vortex control at room temperature, our work paves the way to micron-sized emitters with electric control over the emitted light's phase profile and quantized orbital angular momentum for information processing and integration into photonic circuits.

A novel score to estimate thrombus burden and predict intracranial hypertension in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Current methods to evaluate the severity of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) lack patient-specific indexes. Herein, a novel scoring method was investigated to estimate the thrombus burden and the intracranial pressure (ICP) of CVST. METHODS: In this retrospective study from January 2019 through December 2021, we consecutively enrolled patients with a first-time confirmed diagnosis of CVST by contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance venography (CE-MRV) or computed tomography venography (CTV). In these patients, a comprehensive CVST-Score was established using magnetic resonance black-blood thrombus imaging (MRBTI) to estimate the thrombus burden semi-quantitatively. The relationship between CVST-Score and ICP was explored to assess the potential of using the CVST-score to evaluate ICP noninvasively and dynamically. RESULTS: A total of 87 patients were included in the final analysis. The CVST-Scores in different ICP subgroups were as follows: 4.29±2.87 in ICP<250mmH2O subgroup, 11.36±3.86 in ICP =250-330mmH2O subgroup and 14.99±3.15 in ICP>330mmH2O subgroup, respectively (p<0.001). For patients with ICP ≤330mmH2O, the CVST-Score was linearly and positively correlated with ICP (R2=0.53). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed the optimal CVST-Score cut-off values to predict ICP ≥250mmH2O and >330mmH2O were 7.15 and 11.62, respectively (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated CVST-Score as an independent predictor of ICP ≥250mmH2O (odds ratio, 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.49-3.10; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A simple and noninvasive CVST-Score can rapidly estimate the thrombus burden and predict the severity of intracranial hypertension in patients with CVST. The CVST-Score can aid in evaluating therapeutic responses and avoiding unnecessary invasive procedures at long-term follow-up.

Enhanced lighting on the road surface with TIR-PA optical element on tunnel sidewall.

Both the lighting quality and driving safety inside the tunnel have been quite a concern around the world. In this study, a plate with prism array of total internal reflection (TIR-PA) has been designed to enhance the lighting on the road surface inside the tunnel in adherence to traffic safety as well as energy savings. Such optical elements, above the tunnel sidewall, can redirect the rays emitted from both the headlight and lighting devices to the road surface, which supports higher flux on the road. Simultaneously, the simulation is conducted with consideration of practical factors based on the mathematical model and edge-ray principle to attain the effect of the TIR-PA plates. On the one hand, for the rays from the lighting devices, the enhancement rate of illuminance has reached 12.60%-16.58%, which is attributed to TIR-PA plates above the different sidewalls of the Lambertian scattering property. TIR-PA can be suitable for various sidewall materials due to the small effect of illumination reduction. On the other hand, 30.2%-32.2% rays of the headlight source received by the sidewall, due to the effect of TIR-PA plates, are redirected to the driving distance for 27.3-71.9 m, which makes 15.9-31.1m2 of road surface brighter. It makes contributions to the improvement of illuminance distribution and drivers' pre-judgment. In the future, broader applications regarding the TIR-PA plates will be explored widely in tunnel lighting systems due to the low production cost.

High jugular bulb in patients with non-thrombotic internal jugular venous and transverse sinus stenosis: Clues to pathogenesis.

AIMS: Conventional theories for jugular bulb (JB) formation are insufficient to explain the high proportion of high JB in adult patients. We aimed to study features of high JB in patients with non-thrombotic internal jugular venous stenosis (IJVS) and/or transverse sinus stenosis (TSS) to explore the pathogenesis of high JB formation. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with the diagnosis of non-thrombotic IJVS and/or TSS. The relationship between IJVS and/or TSS and high JB was explored. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify potential independent risk factors for high JB. RESULTS: A total of 228 patients were included in the final analyses. The proportions of IJVS, dominant-side IJVS, and non-TSS in dominant-side high JB subgroup were higher than those in nondominant-side high JB subgroup (83.3% vs. 62.5%, p < 0.001; 72.2% vs. 18.3%, p < 0.001; 43.5% vs. 29.2%, p = 0.02). Heights of JBs on dominant sides in IJVS subgroup and non-TSS subgroup were higher than those in non-IJVS subgroup and TSS subgroup (12.93 ± 2.57 mm vs. 11.21 ± 2.76 mm, p < 0.001; 12.66 ± 2.71 mm vs. 11.34 ± 2.73 mm, p = 0.003). Multivariate logistic regression indicated an independent association between dominant-side IJVS and dominant-side high JB (odds ratio, 29.40; 95% confidence interval, 11.04-78.30; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: IJVS and asymmetric transverse sinus were independently and positively associated with high JB, especially dominant-side IJVS with dominant-side high JB, indicating a potential hemodynamic relationship between IJVS and high JB formation. Conversely, TTS might impede high JB formation.

Anti-Xa Activity Monitoring for Optimizing Rivaroxaban Dosage in Chinese Patients with Cerebral Venous Thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Rivaroxaban, a direct Factor Xa inhibitor, is commonly used for cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) correction. However, pharmacokinetic differences in Chinese may vary in sensitivity and tolerance, resulting in either insufficient or excessive anticoagulation. Herein, the optimizing dosages of rivaroxaban in Chinese patients with CVT were analyzed based on monitoring anti-Xa activity dynamically, to maintain therapeutic efficacy and reduce rivaroxaban-related bleeding. METHODS: A real-world cohort study was conducted involving 112 CVT patients in Xuanwu Hospital, from August 2021 through January 2024. Patients were grouped according to their doses of rivaroxaban use (5, 10, 15, and 20 mg daily) based on dynamic plasma anti-Xa activity monitored using the chromogenic anti-Xa assay. Plasma levels of anti-Xa activity reached the therapeutic range, bleeding events and the dosage of rivaroxaban among these groups were analyzed. RESULTS: The ratios of the patients whose plasma anti-Xa levels reached the standard therapeutic level (0.3-0.7 IU/mL) between the cohorts less than 20 mg/d and 20 mg/d showed no statistical difference, and no significant disparities were observed among 5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/d dose groups. There was a discernible increase in the proportion of patients with bleeding events in the 20 mg/d group, even though the results did not reach a statistical difference. Meanwhile, in patients with bleeding events, their plasma anti-Xa levels could exceed 0.7 IU/mL. CONCLUSION: Sensitivity and tolerance to rivaroxaban in Chinese may vary. Individualized therapy dosage under the guidance of anti-Xa activity monitoring may not only guarantee anticoagulation effect, but also reduce rivaroxaban-related bleeding events.

Manipulating polariton condensates by Rashba-Dresselhaus coupling at room temperature.

Spin-orbit coupling plays an important role in the spin Hall effect and topological insulators. Bose-Einstein condensates with spin-orbit coupling show remarkable quantum phase transition. In this work we control an exciton polariton condensate - a macroscopically coherent state of hybrid light and matter excitations - by virtue of the Rashba-Dresselhaus (RD) spin-orbit coupling. This is achieved in a liquid-crystal filled microcavity where CsPbBr3 perovskite microplates act as the gain material at room temperature. Specifically, we realize an artificial gauge field acting on the CsPbBr3 exciton polariton condensate, splitting the condensate fractions with opposite spins in both momentum and real space. Besides the ground states, higher-order discrete polariton modes can also be split by the RD effect. Our work paves the way to manipulate exciton polariton condensates with a synthetic gauge field based on the RD spin-orbit coupling at room temperature.