Fiber Bragg grating sensing system for temperature measurements based on optically injected DFB-LD with an OEO loop.

A novel fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing system, based on an optically injected distributed feedback laser diode (DFB-LD) with an optoelectronic oscillating (OEO) loop, is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for temperature measurements with high and tunable sensitivity. The FBG sensor device works as an edge filter to adjust the optical power of the injected beam in response to temperature variations. The optically injected DFB-LD works at Period-one (P1) oscillating state, and the central wavelength of the oscillating mode of the DFB-LD can be tuned by the variable power of the injected beam. Furthermore, an OEO loop is implemented to improve the signal quality of the generated P1 microwave signal. Hence, the sensing parameter of temperature is converted to the frequency variation of the generated P1 microwave signal in the proposed sensing system. In the proof-of-concept experiment, a series of P1 microwave signals are generated while different temperatures are applied to the FBG sensor. The sensitivity of the proposed FBG sensing system for temperature measurements can be tuned from 0.44322 GHz/°C to 1.25952 GHz/°C. The stability and repeatability experiments are also performed, demonstrating the high measurement accuracy (0.0629°C) and low error of the system. The proposed FBG-based sensing and interrogation system exhibits high sensitivity, large tunability, good linearity, and flexible sensing generality.

Small-size LD-based automobile headlamp design with long illumination distance and wide illumination range.

Due to the large size of an automobile headlamp that has a laser as the light source, it is difficult to reflect the advantages of high laser brightness into the effect of automobile illumination, so it has not been promoted. We propose a laser headlamp system that integrates low-beam and high-beam structures with superior illumination effects (longer illumination distance and wider illumination range) by designing freeform optical components and optical structure. The small-volume headlamp can meet the requirements of the Economic Commission for Europe regulation (ECE) R112. The structure volume of the headlamp proposed in this study is only 100∗70∗70m m 3, and the maximum luminance is 120 lx (simulation result) and 78.5 lx (test result). The view angle of the low beam is 13.6°, and the high beam is 15.6°, indicating that the solution is suitable for automotive illumination.

Exosomes from bovine endometrial epithelial cells ensure trophoblast cell development by miR-218 targeting secreted frizzled related protein 2.

Endometritis is a common disease affecting fertility in cows during the perinatal period, which disturbs the molecular milieu of the uterine environment and impairs embryo development and implantation. Exosomes are important extracellular components that transmit a variety of micro RNAs (miRNAs), which perform key regulatory functions. In this study, we investigated plasma exosomal miRNAs from cows with endometritis and from cultured endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to explore the role of EEC-derived exosomes and their miRNAs in bovine endometritis. Plasma exosomes were collected from nine healthy dairy cows and nine dairy cows with endometritis, and culture supernatant exosomes were isolated from EECs challenged with or without LPS. Exosomal RNA was extracted using commercial kits and miRNA profiles were generated using RNA-seq. We found that miR-218 was differentially expressed in EECs under conditions of endometrial inflammation. Inhibition studies suggested that reduced levels of miR-218 in EEC-derived exosomes when transferred into placental trophoblast cells impaired embryonic development and decreased placental trophoblast cell migration by targeting secreted frizzled related protein 2. We propose that exosomal miR-218 secreted from EECs acts as a driver of embryonic development and differentiation. In addition, exosomal miR-218 may provide a valuable diagnostic marker for bovine endometritis.

The Construction of Iodine-Doped Carbon Nitride as a Metal-Free Nanozyme for Antibacterial and Water Treatment.

Metal-free photocatalysis that produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) shows significant promising applications for environmental remediation. Herein, we constructed iodine-doped carbon nitride (I-CN) for applications in the photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria and the heterogeneous Fenton reaction. Our findings revealed that I-CN demonstrates superior photocatalytic activity compared to pure CN, due to enhanced light adsorption and a narrowed band gap. Antibacterial tests confirmed that I-CN exhibits exceptional antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that I-CN effectively generates superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals under light irradiation, resulting in enhanced antibacterial activity. In addition, I-CN can also be applied for a heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like reaction, achieving a high performance for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a typical antibiotic, via the photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). These results shed new light on the fabrication of metal-free nanozymes and their applications for disinfection and water decontamination.

Articulation Assessment for Tongue Cancer Patients: Using Consonant Production Performance to Capture Speech Deficits.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to thoroughly analyze postoperative consonant errors by tongue cancer (TC) patients with speech disorders and also to investigate the correlation between the pathological factors and the speech performance using our Consonant-based Articulation Assessment Battery (CAAB). METHOD: The participants were 57 monolingual Mandarin TC patients (26 women, 31 men) after surgery (aged 20-80 years). All participants were literate and had normal vision and hearing, enabling them to comprehend and comply with our instructions. In order to quickly evaluate their articulation performance based on the place and manner of articulation, they were instructed to pronounce the characters in CAAB. The analysis removed speech samples impacted by speakers' dialects, while recording and documenting all other responses. RESULTS: The study uncovered a significant correlation between pathological factors (e.g., size of tongue resection, specific resection site, and tumor size) and the accuracy of consonant articulation. Furthermore, tongue damage predominantly impacts the place of articulation (63.85%) than the manner of articulation (20.78%). The damage in the anterior part of the tongue has the most prominent influence on consonant production. CONCLUSIONS: CAAB can fast capture the idiosyncratic characteristics of speech production by TC patients, and the articulation deficits are quite different from other types of organic or nonorganic speech disorders, for example, cleft lip and cleft palate. Hence, CAAB can be designated as an assessment tool for articulation disorders caused by stomatognathic damages. Our findings also shed light on the possible oral cancer surgery plan and the postoperative speech rehabilitation training.

Portraying accent stereotyping by second language speakers.

Stereotyping towards the second language accent of second language learners is extensively seen even when the content of learner speech can be understood. Previous studies reported conflicting results on accent perception by speakers of second languages, especially among homogenous learners. In this paper, we conducted a survey and two experiments to test whether Mandarin-speaking advanced learners of English may give harsher accent ratings to their fellow learners than to Standard American English speakers. The survey was designed to understand the L2 listeners' beliefs about accented speech. In Experiment 1, participants rated short audio recordings of L2 learner' and Standard American English speech; in Experiment 2, they did the same in a more detailed word-in-sentence accent rating task. Results showed a markedly high level of perceived L2 accentedness for several learner speech stimuli despite good intelligibility, especially for the strongly-accented Cantonese passage and for specific vowel and consonant types. The findings reveal the existence of native-speakerism in China and highlight existing accent stereotypes. Implications for policymaking and language teaching are discussed.

Characterizing the Gut Microbiota of Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra chinensis) and Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) to Enhance Conservation Practices in the Foping National Nature Reserve of China.

Understanding the interaction between the microbial composition in the habitat and the gut of wildlife will contribute to conservation efforts since changes in the gut microbiome have been proven to influence the healthy and nutritional status of the host. This study analyzed the relationship between soil microbes and the microbial diversity and structure of the distal gut of the terrestrial golden snub-nosed monkey and Eurasian otter in the Foping National Nature Reserve (FNNR). A total of 15 otter fecal samples and 18 monkey fecal samples were collected from which 5 and 6 samples, respectively, were randomly selected for microbiome analysis. The remaining samples were used for fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) analysis. Soil samples from the otter and monkey habitats at each sampling point (eight in total) were also collected for microbiome analysis. The microbial phyla with the greatest relative abundance in soil or animal samples were Proteobacteria (41.2, 32.7, and 73.3% for soil, otters, and monkeys, respectively), Firmicutes (0.4% soil, 30.1% otters, and 14.4% monkeys), Bacteroidota (5.6% soil, 17.0% otters, and 8.3% monkeys), and Acidobacteriota (24.6% soil, 1.7% otters, and 0.1% monkeys). The estimation of alpha diversity indices revealed that the feature, Chao1, and Shannon indices of the soil microbiome were the greatest (p < 0.01) among the three groups, followed by those of the otter microbiome and those of the monkey microbiome (p < 0.01). Beta diversity analyses confirmed differences in the microbiota of the three types of samples. The determination of SCFA concentration in feces revealed that total volatile fatty acids, acetic acid, and isovaleric acid were greater (p < 0.05) in otters than in monkeys, while propionic acid followed the opposite pattern (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis of the microbiome and SCFA contents showed that propionic acid was positively correlated with significantly different bacterial groups, while acetic and butyric acid and total volatile acids were negatively correlated. This study confirmed that the fecal microbes of Eurasian otters and golden snub-nosed monkeys in the reserve are related to the soil microbial communities of their habitats, but they have different bacterial community structures and compositions, and there are different SCFA metabolic patterns in the gut of the two animals. The present study will help to improve wildlife protection in the FNNR.

Characterization of bZIP transcription factors from Dimocarpus longan Lour. and analysis of their tissue-specific expression patterns and response to heat stress.

Members of the bZIP transcription factor family play crucial roles in the regulation of plant development, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and response to abiotic and biotic stresses. To date, multiple bZIPs have been identified and investigated in numerous plant species. However, few studies have characterized bZIPs from Dimocarpus longan Lour. In this study, nine bZIPs from D. longan were identified from RNA-Seq data and further verified using the NCBI conserved domain search tool and Pfam database. Bioinformatics tools were used to systematically analyse the physicochemical properties, protein structures, multiple sequence alignment, motif compositions, evolutionary relationships, secondary structures, subcellular localization, phosphorylation sites, signal peptides, GO annotations and protein-protein interactions of the DlbZIPs. The expression patterns of the nine DlbZIPs were evaluated by qRT-PCR in roots and leaves and in response to varying durations of a 38°C heat treatment. DlbZIP3, DlbZIP5, DlbZIP6 and DlbZIP7 were differentially expressed between root and leaf tissues. All nine DlbZIPs responded to heat treatment in both roots and leaves, but their specific expression levels differed. DlbZIP4 and DlbZIP8 were highly expressed in roots after heat treatment, whereas DlbZIP1 and DlbZIP5 were highly expressed in leaves after heat treatment. These findings lay a foundation for increasing active secondary metabolite content and improving abiotic stress tolerance in D. longan using transgenic technology.

Exosome-derived uterine miR-218 isolated from cows with endometritis regulates the release of cytokines and chemokines.

As an inflammation of the endometrium, endometritis can affect fertility and lead to serious economic losses in the dairy industry. Widely found in various tissues and body fluids, exosomes and exosome micro (mi)RNAs have been shown to play an important regulatory role in the immune responses. As one of differentially expressed exosome miRNAs, miR-218 is involved in the pathogenesis of bovine endometritis. The mechanisms of miR-218 in regulating the release of cytokines and chemokines in endometritis, however, are poorly understood. Exosomes were isolated from bovine uterine cavity fluid and verified by transmission electron microscopy. An in vitro lipopolysaccharide-treated cell model for bovine endometritis was then established to evaluate the correlation between exosome-derived miR-218 and the immune responses. We demonstrated that exosomes could be used to deliver miR-218 from endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) into the uterine microenvironment and adjacent recipient cells to modulate local immune responses. miR-218 packaged in the exosomes secreted from EECs acts as an inhibitor by blocking immune factors such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1ß, tumour necrosis factor-α, the chemokines macrophage inflammatory genes (MIP)-1α and MIP-1ß to maintain the immune balance in the uterus. However, uterine inflammation altered the immunoregulatory mechanism of exosome miR-218. MiR-218 is a potential biomarker for the detection of endometritis. Our findings also revealed a new mechanism for the development of endometritis in cows.