Realization of all-band-flat photonic lattices.

Flatbands play an important role in correlated quantum matter and have promising applications in photonic lattices. Synthetic magnetic fields and destructive interference in lattices are traditionally used to obtain flatbands. However, such methods can only obtain a few flatbands with most bands remaining dispersive. Here we realize all-band-flat photonic lattices of an arbitrary size by precisely controlling the coupling strengths between lattice sites to mimic those in Fock-state lattices. This allows us to go beyond the perturbative regime of strain engineering and group all eigenmodes in flatbands, which simultaneously achieves high band flatness and large usable bandwidth. We map out the distribution of each flatband in the lattices and selectively excite the eigenmodes with different chiralities. Our method paves a way in controlling band structure and topology of photonic lattices.

Trends in innovative pediatric drug development in China based on clinical trial registration data.

In China, the focus of drug research and development has gradually shifted from generic to innovative drugs. Using the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry and Information Transparency Platform, we retrospectively analyzed clinical trials of innovative pediatric drugs conducted in mainland China over the last decade. The goal of this work was to better understand the characteristics of and historical changes in innovative pediatric drug research and development (R&D) in China and to provide effective data support for policy makers and other stakeholders. This study included 198 innovative pediatric drug clinical trials. The data showed that, although some progress has been made in the R&D of innovative pediatric drugs in China, many factors limiting this progress still exist, such as concentrated R&D areas, inadequate pediatric participants, and unbalanced source distributions. The level of innovative pediatric drug R&D in China currently lags behind the global level and has not kept pace with anti-neoplastic drug R&D in China. To promote the innovative development of pediatric drugs in China, the Chinese government must develop an R&D supervision framework, improve the motivation and innovation capabilities of pharmaceutical companies, and optimize the source distribution between regions.

Polarization-Orthogonal Nondegenerate Plasmonic Higher-Order Topological States.

Photonic topological states, providing light-manipulation approaches in robust manners, have attracted intense attention. Connecting photonic topological states with far-field degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) has given rise to fruitful phenomena. Recently emerged higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs), hosting boundary states two or more dimensions lower than those of bulk, offer new paradigms to localize or transport light topologically in extended dimensionalities. However, photonic HOTIs have not been related to d.o.f. of radiation fields yet. Here, we report the observation of polarization-orthogonal second-order topological corner states at different frequencies on a designer-plasmonic kagome metasurface in the far field. Such phenomenon stands on two mechanisms, i.e., projecting the far-field polarizations to the intrinsic parity d.o.f. of lattice modes and the parity splitting of the plasmonic corner states in spectra. We theoretically and numerically show that the parity splitting originates from the underlying interorbital coupling. Both near-field and far-field experiments verify the polarization-orthogonal nondegenerate second-order topological corner states. These results promise applications in robust optical single photon emitters and multiplexed photonic devices.

Radiative anti-parity-time plasmonics.

Space and guided electromagnetic waves, as widely known, are two crucial cornerstones in extensive wireless and integrated applications respectively. To harness the two cornerstones, radiative and integrated devices are usually developed in parallel based on the same physical principles. An emerging mechanism, i.e., anti-parity-time (APT) symmetry originated from non-Hermitian quantum mechanics, has led to fruitful phenomena in harnessing guided waves. However, it is still absent in harnessing space waves. Here, we propose a radiative plasmonic APT design to harness space waves, and experimentally demonstrate it with subwavelength designer-plasmonic structures. We observe two exotic phenomena unrealized previously. Rotating polarizations of incident space waves, we realize polarization-controlled APT phase transition. Tuning incidence angles, we observe multi-stage APT phase transition in higher-order APT systems, constructed by using the scalability of leaky-wave couplings. Our scheme shows promise in demonstrating novel APT physics, and constructing APT-symmetry-empowered radiative devices.

Preparation and Release of pH-Sensitive ß-Cyclodextrin Derivative Micelles Loaded with Paclitaxel.

In this paper, a new amphiphilic mono-6-ß-cyclodextrin octadecylimine (6-ß-CD-N-ODMA) copolymer was synthesized based on ß-cyclodextrin and octadecylamine, which can self-assemble to form polymeric micelles. Drug-loaded micelles (a new drug carrier) were obtained using 6-ß-CD-N-ODMA and paclitaxel (PTX) by the dialysis method. Orthogonal experiments were used to optimize the preparation method of the drug-loaded micelles. The drug-loading content of the carrier prepared by the optimized method was 1.97%. The physicochemical properties of blank micelles and drug-loaded micelles were evaluated by the fluorescence probe method, infrared spectra, dynamic light scattering, and scanning electron microscopy. The release properties of the carrier were investigated. The carrier has good pH sensitivity and the cumulative release rate after 96 h was 88% in PBS (pH = 5.0). The Ritger-Peppas equation is the optimal model for PTX released at pH 5.0, implying that the hydrolysis effect of 6-ß-CD-N-ODMA is the main reason for PTX release. The results indicate that the developed carrier can increase the solubility of PTX and possess potential for increased clinical efficacy of PTX.

Effects of Acetylene Addition to the Fuel Stream on Soot Formation and Flame Properties in an Axisymmetric Laminar Coflow Ethylene/Air Diffusion Flame.

The effects of adding acetylene to the fuel stream on soot formation and flame properties were investigated numerically in a laminar axisymmetric coflow ethylene/air diffusion flame using the open-source flame code Co-Flame in conjunction with an elementary gas-phase chemistry scheme and detailed transport and thermodynamic database. Radiation heat transfer of the radiating gases (H2O, C2H2, CO, and CO2) and soot was calculated using a statistical narrow-band correlated-k-based wide band model coupled with the discrete-ordinates method. The soot formation was described by the consecutive steps of soot nucleation, surface growth of soot particles via polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)-soot condensation or the hydrogen abstraction acetylene addition (HACA) mechanism, and soot oxidation. The added acetylene affected the flame structure and soot concentration through not only chemical reactions among different species but also radiation effects. The chemical effect due to the added acetylene had a significant impact on soot formation. Specifically, it was confirmed that the addition of 10% acetylene caused an increase in the peak soot volumetric fraction (SVF) by 14.9% and the peak particle number density by about 21.1% (z = 1.5 cm). Furthermore, increasing acetylene concentration led to higher concentrations of propargyl, benzene, and PAHs and consequently directly enhanced soot nucleation rates. In addition, the increased H mole fractions also accentuated the soot surface growth. In contrast, the radiation effect of the addition of 10% acetylene was much weaker, resulting in slightly lower flame temperature and SVF, which in turn reduced the radiant heat loss.

[Study on association of CTLA4 gene polymorphism with Grave's disease in Guangxi Zhuang nationality population].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the polymorphic (AT)n repeats in 3ountranslated region of exon 4 of CTLA4 gene [CTLA4(AT)n] and Graveso disease (GD) in Zhuang nationality population of Guangxi province. METHODS: The studied groups comprised 48 patients with GD and 44 normal controls. Amplification of target DNA was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified products were run by 8% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and then followed by 0.1% silver staining. Some of amplified products were sequenced directly. RESULTS: Nineteen alleles of CTLA4 gene microsatellite polymorphism were found in Guangxi Zhuang nationality individuals. The 106 bp long allele was apparently increased in patients with GD of Zhuang nationality but not in healthy controls (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION: CTLA4 gene microsatellite polymorphism is strongly associated with Graveso disease in Zhuang nationality population of Guangxi province. CTLA4(AT)n 106 bp may be the susceptible gene in GD patients of Zhuang nationality in Guangxi; 19 alleles of CTLA4 gene microsatellite polymorphism were found in Guangxi Zhuang nationality individuals.