Super amplification enabled by orbital angular momentum in weak measurement.

Weak measurement, which can amplify a weak signal, has shown great significance in precision measurements. The amplification is usually realized through the weak value and the propagation factor. We show that the orbital angular momentum (OAM) can provide another dimension for amplification that is linearly proportional to the OAM number. We employ OAM to measure the spin Hall effect of light and demonstrate that the OAM-enabled amplification is compatible with the weak value amplification and the propagation amplification. This work is probable to promote the application of OAM in precision measurements.

Particle nature of the photonic spin Hall effect.

It is widely recognized that light exhibits a wave-particle duality. However, the explanation for the photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) primarily relies on the wave nature of light as dictated by Maxwell's Equations. There is a lack of exploration into the particle nature of light in this regard. In this context, we offer a fresh interpretation of the PSHE from the perspective of particle nature of light. For the out-of-plane PSHE, the spin shifts result from the macroscopic manifestation of the conservation of spin-orbital angular momentum of one photon. For the in-plane PSHE, the spin shifts arise from the spread of in-plane wavevector. Based on the wave nature of light, we also obtain the same spin shifts, confirming the consistency of the wave-particle duality of light. Furthermore, we find that the spin shifts of the PSHE are not the overall displacement of photons with the same handedness, but the outcome of coherent superposition among photons of the same handedness. These discoveries further enhance our comprehension of the fundamental nature of the PSHE.

Optical differentiation based on weak measurements.

Optical differentiation shows much potential to be applied in computation due to its strong parallelizability. Currently, each optical differential method can only obtain partial differential information. Here, we propose a general approach to obtain complete differentiation. Compared to previous methods, we can separately obtain the differentiation of amplitude and phase, reserve the negative value of the differentiation, and acquire the differentiation in arbitrary directions of the two-dimensional field. We measure the differentiation of the Gaussian beam to demonstrate this method. A practical experiment of identifying the move direction of the motion-blurred image is also presented to verify the practicability of our method. Our method can further be applied to intelligence algorithms, image identification, and optical analog computing.

Urban environmental monitoring and health risk assessment introducing a fuzzy intelligent computing model.

Introduction: To enhance the precision of evaluating the impact of urban environments on resident health, this study introduces a novel fuzzy intelligent computing model designed to address health risk concerns using multi-media environmental monitoring data. Methods: Three cities were selected for the study: Beijing (B City), Kunming (K City), and Wuxi (W City), representing high, low, and moderate pollution levels, respectively. The study employs a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) as the chosen fuzzy intelligent computing model, synthesizing multi-media environmental monitoring data for the purpose of urban health risk assessment. Results: (1) The model reliably estimates health risks across diverse cities and environmental conditions. (2) There is a positive correlation between PM2.5 concentrations and health risks, though the impact of noise levels varies by city. In cities B, K, and W, the respective correlation coefficients are 0.65, 0.55, and 0.7. (3) The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values for cities B, K, and W, are 0.0132, 0.0125, and 0.0118, respectively, indicating that the model has high accuracy. The R2 values for the three cities are 0.8963, 0.9127, and 0.9254, respectively, demonstrating the model's high explanatory power. The residual values for the three cities are 0.0087, 0.0075, and 0.0069, respectively, indicating small residuals and demonstrating robustness and adaptability. (4) The model's p-values for the Indoor Air Quality Index (IAQI), Thermal Comfort Index (TCI), and Noise Pollution Index (NPI) all satisfy p < 0.05 for the three cities, affirming the model's credibility in estimating health risks under varied urban environments. Discussion: These results showcase the model's ability to adapt to diverse geographical conditions and aid in the accurate assessment of existing risks in urban settings. This study significantly advances environmental health risk assessment by integrating multidimensional data, enhancing the formulation of comprehensive environmental protection and health management strategies, and providing scientific support for sustainable urban planning.

Modulation of oxidized low-density lipoprotein-affected macrophage efferocytosis by mitochondrial calcium uniporter in a murine model.

OBJECTIVE: Efferocytosis dysfunction contributes to the progression and rupture of atherosclerotic plaques. Efferocytosis is crucially modulated by intracytoplasmic Ca2+, and mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) complex proteins serve as key channels for regulating Ca2+ concentration. Therefore, it was speculated that MCU may affect the development of atherosclerosis (AS) by regulating efferocytosis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether MCU could affect foam cell formation by regulating efferocytosis. METHODS: We stimulated primary macrophages (Møs) using oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to mimic the atherosclerotic microenvironment and treated them with Ru360, an MCU-specific inhibitor, and UNC1062, an inhibitor of efferocytosis. Additionally, we conducted double staining to determine the Mø efferocytosis rate. We measured the expression of MCU complexes and efferocytosis-associated proteins using western blotting (WB) and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), respectively. In addition, we separately detected the Ca2+ level in the cytoplasm and mitochondria (MT) using Fluo-4 AM and Rhod-2 methods. We separately determined the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in cytoplasm and MT using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescent probing method and Mito-SOXTM superoxide indicator staining. Additionally, we conducted the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-18 (IL-18), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Oil Red O staining was performed to measure cytoplasmic lipid levels. RESULTS: Ru360 attenuated ox-LDL-induced efferocytosis dysfunction, and attenuated the upregulation of MCU and MCUR1 induced by ox-LDL, and meanwhile attenuated the downregulation of MCUb induced by ox-LDL. Ru360 attenuated the decrease of intracytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration induced by ox- LDL, Ru360 also attenuated the ROS production induced by ox- LDL, attenuated the release of IL-6, IL-18, IL-1ß, and TNF-α induced by ox- LDL, and attenuated the increase of intracytoplasmic lipid content induced by ox-LDL. UNC1062 attenuated the effects of Ru360 in reducing inflammatory cytokines and intracytoplasmic lipid content. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that MCU inhibition modulated intracytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration, improved impaired Mø efferocytosis, and reduced ROS generation. Macrophage efferocytosis removed apoptotic cells and prevented the release of inflammatory factor and foam cell formation, and this can be a potential new therapeutic target for alleviating atherosclerosis.

Model-based temperature control for improving lactic acid production from glycerol.

To maximize the final lactic acid productivity and concentration, temperature control was optimized using a mathematical modelling approach. A kinetic model, including cell growth, product formation and substrate consumption equations, was proposed to describe the lactic acid production process by Escherichia coli AC-521 with glycerol as the substrate. By constructing four functions, the temperature effect was introduced on the fermentation process, where four parameters (X max, µ max, Y ps and ß) were observed to be significantly affected by the temperature. For the convenience of application, the temperature control strategies were simplified by dividing the whole fermentation process into several units. In each unit, the temperature was controlled constantly. Based on the model, the optimal temperature for each unit was determined to maximize the final lactate productivity. This temperature control strategy can be effectively applied in batch and fed-batch cultures, and the verified experimental evaluation showed a good correlation with the model data. Under improved temperature control conditions, a maximal lactic acid concentration of 90.4 g L-1 was obtained after 80 h of fed-batch fermentation, giving a productivity of 1.13 g L-1 h-1, which is 1.2 times more than that in the conventional constant temperature during the cultivation course.