Observation of delocalization transition in topological waveguide arrays with long-range interactions.

Topological edge states are a generic feature of topological insulators, and the long-range interactions, which break certain properties of topological edge states, are always non-negligible in real physical systems. In this Letter, we investigate the influence of next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) interactions on the topological properties of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model by extracting the survival probabilities at the boundary of the photonic lattices. By introducing a series of integrated photonic waveguide arrays with different strengths of long-range interactions, we experimentally observe delocalization transition of light in SSH lattices with nontrivial phase, which is in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. The results indicate that the NNN interactions can significantly affect the edge states, and that the localization of these states can be absent in topologically nontrivial phase. Our work provides an alternative way to investigate the interplay between long-range interactions and localized states, which may stimulate further interest in topological properties in relevant structures.

Inverse design of a light nanorouter for a spatially multiplexed optical filter.

It is attractive to use an optical nanorouter by artificial nanostructures to substitute the traditional Bayer filter for an image array sensor, which, however, poses great challenges in balancing the design strategy and the ease of fabrication. Here, we implement and compare two inverse design schemes for rapid optimization of RGGB Bayer-type optical nanorouter. One is based on the multiple Mie scattering theory and the adjoint gradient that is applicable to arrays of nanospheres with varying sizes, and the other is based on the rigorous coupled wave analysis and the genetic algorithm. In both cases, we study layered nanostructures that can be efficiently modeled respectively which greatly accelerates the inverse design. It is shown that the color-dependent peak collection efficiencies of nanorouters designed in the two methods for red, green, and blue wavelengths reach 37%, 44%, and 45% and 52%, 50%, and 66%, respectively. We further demonstrate color nanorouters that provide light focusing to four quadrants working in both the visible and infrared bands, which promises multispectral imaging applications.

Ultralow birefringent glass waveguide fabricated by femtosecond laser direct writing.

Optical waveguides prepared by femtosecond laser direct writing have birefringent properties, which can affect polarization encoding and entanglement on chips. Here, we first propose a shape-stress dual compensation fabrication scheme to decrease birefringence. Ultralow birefringent waveguides (1 × 10-9) were obtained by controlling the cross sectional shape of the main waveguide and adjusting the position of the auxiliary lines. In addition, we prepared polarization-independent directional coupler and demonstrated the evolution of polarization-independent waveguide array with different polarized light. In the future, ultralow birefringent waveguides will be widely applied in polarization encoding and entangled quantum photonic integrated circuits.

Single NV centers array preparation and static magnetic field detection.

To solve the problem of static magnetic field detection accuracy and consistency, we prepared an array of single NV centers for static magnetic field vector and gradient detection using the femtosecond laser direct writing method. The prepared single NV centers are characterized by fewer impurity defects and good stress uniformity, with an average spatial positioning error of only 0.2 µm. This array of single NV centers can achieve high accuracy magnetic field vector and gradient measurement with GBZ≈-0.047 µT/µm in the Z-axis. This result provides a new idea for large-range, high-precision magnetic field vector and gradient measurements.

Phase customization in photonic integrated circuits with trimmed waveguides.

Accurate photon phase control on a chip is essential to improve the expandability and stability of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Here, we propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, on-chip static phase control method in which a modified line is added close to the normal waveguide with a lower-energy laser. By controlling the laser energy and the position and length of the modified line, the optical phase can be precisely controlled with low loss and a three-dimensional (3D) path. Customizable phase modulation ranging from 0 to 2π is performed with a precision of λ/70 in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The proposed method can customize high-precision control phases without changing the waveguide's original spatial path, which is expected to control the phase and solve the phase error correction problem during processing of large-scale 3D-path PICs.

Edge State, Localization Length, and Critical Exponent from Survival Probability in Topological Waveguides.

Edge states in topological phase transitions have been observed in various platforms. To date, verification of the edge states and the associated topological invariant are mostly studied, and yet a quantitative measurement of topological phase transitions is still lacking. Here, we show the direct measurement of edge states and their localization lengths from survival probability. We employ photonic waveguide arrays to demonstrate the topological phase transitions based on the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. By measuring the survival probability at the lattice boundary, we show that in the long-time limit, the survival probability is P=(1-e^{-2/ξ_{loc}})^{2}, where ξ_{loc} is the localization length. This length derived from the survival probability is compared with the distance from the transition point, yielding a critical exponent of ν=0.94±0.04 at the phase boundary. Our experiment provides an alternative route to characterizing topological phase transitions and extracting their key physical quantities.

Secondary coronary artery ostial lesions: Three case reports.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is one of the main causes of coronary artery ostial lesions seen clinically. Secondary coronary artery ostial lesions are rare, and cases reported previously were associated with syphilitic vasculitis and aortic dissection. Here, we report three rare cases of secondary coronary ostial lesions. Due to their rareness, these lesions can easily be neglected, which may lead to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. CASE SUMMARY: We present three patients with acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina caused by secondary coronary artery ostial lesions. In Case 1, coronary angiography (CAG) revealed 90% stenosis of the left main coronary ostium. Chest contrast computed tomography (CT) suggested thymic carcinoma invading the left main coronary ostium. Coronary artery bypass grafting and tumor resection were performed. In Case 2, echocardiography revealed a sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA)-like dilatation. CAG showed a right coronary sinus giant aneurysm and complete obstruction of the right coronary artery (RCA) ostium. Aortic contrast CT confirmed these findings. The Bentall procedure was performed. In Case 3, CT CAG identified an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (AORCA) from the left sinus of Valsalva coursing between the aorta and pulmonary trunk, causing severe RCA ostium stenosis by compression. Surgical correction of the AORCA was performed. CONCLUSION: The cases reported here suggest that we should consider other causes of coronary ostial lesions other than atherosclerosis.

Comparison of Clinical Effects between Modified and Conventional Delta-Shaped Anastomosis in Totally Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy: A Retrospective Study.

Background: This study evaluates the feasibility, safety, and clinical results of the self-pulling and latter transected delta-shaped anastomosis (Delta SPLT) in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) for gastric cancer. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 66 patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I anastomosis from May 2017 to December 2018 in Zhoushan Hospital. TLDG with Delta SPLT was carried out in 26 patients (Group 1), and TLDG with conventional delta-shaped anastomosis (DA) was performed in 40 patients (Group 2). Statistical analysis was conducted to compare clinical data between the two groups. Results: All patients successfully underwent TLDG. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of demographic indicators, operation time, anastomosis time, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes harvested, and resection margin (all P > .05). The gastrointestinal functional evaluation index (first flatus, first liquid/semigeneral diet foods, and out-of-bed mobilization) and hospital stay did not differ between the two groups, but the mean hospital charges were significantly lower in Group 1 than in Group 2 (P < .05). No difference was observed in the overall postoperative complication rate (P > .05). However, Group 1 had a lower incidence of complications associated with anastomosis (3.8%, versus 7.5% in Group 2; P = .016). Conclusions: Delta SPLT is potentially a safe, feasible, and reproducible reconstruction option for TLDG, and was superior to conventional DA in terms of hospital charges and complications related to anastomosis.

[Two Serum Free Light Chain Detection Systems in the Diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the comparability of the Freelite, Binding Site, Beckman and N Latex FLC, Siemens in the detection of serum free light chain (sFLC) . METHODS: Fifty newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients in Tianjin Institute of Blood Research from November 2019 to February 2020 were enrolled. The two systems (Freelite, Binding Site, Beckman and N Latex FLC, Siemens) were used to detect the sFLC of the samples. Outlier detection was performed by ESD method, methodological comparison and deviation assessment were performed by Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman regression. RESULTS: Both the systems could quantitatively analyze free kappa light chain serum samples and free lambda light chain samples. Freelite, Binding Site, Beckman and N Latex FLC, Siemens free light chain test showed FLC-κ：36.5 (6.5, 194), 40.5 (6.94, 288), FLC-λ: 30.1 (4.3, 170.5), 35.1 (2.28, 526), rFLC (FLC-κ/ FLC-λ) : 0.82 (0.05, 43.25), 1.03 (0.03, 32.04), dFLC (｜FLC-κ- FLC-λ｜) : -5.8 (-161.97, 183.7), 1.1 (-505.1, 279.01), which existed no outliers. There were systematic differences, and the deviation level was not within the clinically acceptable range. CONCLUSION: Both the systems can meet the needs of clinical diagnosis and treatment, but there is a significant deviation between the two systems, the results are not comparable, and should be analyzed separately. In particular, the same system should be selected for monitoring the prognosis of MM.

Molecular Characteristics of Burkholderia pseudomallei Collected From Humans in Hainan, China.

Melioidosis is a common infectious disease in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. In Hainan, several cases have been reported, but no systematic study has yet been done on the molecular epidemiology profiles of the organism. An investigation of the molecular epidemiology links and population structure of Burkholderia pseudomallei would help to better understand the clonally of the isolates and differences among them. In this study, multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were applied to examine the epidemiological relatedness and population structure of 166 B. pseudomallei isolates obtained during 2002-2014 in Hainan, China. Both the MLVA_4 and MLST approaches had high discriminatory power for this population, with diversity indices of 0.9899 and 0.9457, respectively. However, the MLVA_4 assay showed a higher discriminatory power than the MLST approach, and a variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR3 933) found by the MLVA approach was the most useful in discriminating strains from this province. A total of 166 strains yielded 99 MLVA_4 genotypes, of which 34 genotypes were shared by 101 isolates, for a clustering rate of 60.8% (101/166), which suggested that some cases may have a common source. Additionally, 65 isolates showed distinct genotypes, indicating that more than 39.2% (65/166) of melioidosis cases in Hainan had epidemiologically unrelated or sporadic characteristics. The 166 isolates were resolved into 48 STs, of which five STs (ST55, -70, -46, -50, and -58) were here found to be predominant. Phylogenetic analysis of 116 isolates conducted using the eBURST v3 segregated the 48 STs into eight groups with ST50 as predicted founder, and 21 STs were found to be singletons, which suggest that the strains in the Hainan region represent a high diversity of ST clones, indicating that many B. pseudomallei clone groups are endemic to this region. Moreover, ST50 had 5 SLV, 7 DLV, 6 TLV, and 29 satellite STs and formed a radial expansion pattern, suggesting that the melioidosis epidemic in this study was mainly caused by the clonal expansion of ST 50. Phylogenetic analysis on global scale suggests that China's isolates are closely related to isolates from Southeast Asia, particularly from Thailand and Malaysia.

Late Eocene to early Oligocene quantitative paleotemperature record: evidence from continental halite fluid inclusions.

Climate changes within Cenozoic extreme climate events such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum and the First Oligocene Glacial provide good opportunities to estimate the global climate trends in our present and future life. However, quantitative paleotemperatures data for Cenozoic climatic reconstruction are still lacking, hindering a better understanding of the past and future climate conditions. In this contribution, quantitative paleotemperatures were determined by fluid inclusion homogenization temperature (Th) data from continental halite of the first member of the Shahejie Formation (SF1; probably late Eocene to early Oligocene) in Bohai Bay Basin, North China. The primary textures of the SF1 halite typified by cumulate and chevron halite suggest halite deposited in a shallow saline water and halite Th can serve as an temperature proxy. In total, one-hundred-twenty-one Th data from primary and single-phase aqueous fluid inclusions with different depths were acquired by the cooling nucleation method. The results show that all Th range from 17.7°C to 50.7°C,with the maximum homogenization temperatures (ThMAX) of 50.5°C at the depth of 3028.04 m and 50.7°C at 3188.61 m, respectively. Both the ThMAX presented here are significantly higher than the highest temperature recorded in this region since 1954 and agree with global temperature models for the year 2100 predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Bioinformatics Analysis and Validation of the Expressed Sequences Tag in Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study was to investigate some new pathological genes in colorectal adenocarcinoma of human. METHODS: Human colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues and normal colorectal tissues were taken and suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and cDNA microarray techniques were employed. From differentially expressed 86 expressed sequence tags (EST), 10 EST of the SSH were selected as seed sequence for bioinformatics analyses, semi-quantitative RT-PCR and PCR-sequencing. Each lane of semi-quantitative RT-PCR was analyzed by Q1 software. RESULTS: Among these 10 EST, it has been found that ES274070, ES274071, ES274076 and ES274081 may play role in the onset of colorectal adenocarcinoma in human. CONCLUSIONS: The ES274070, ES274071, ES274076 and ES274081 are related to the onset of human colorectal adenocarcinoma.