Mimicking interacting relativistic theories with stationary pulses of light.

One of the most well known relativistic field theory models is the Thirring model. Its realization can demonstrate the famous prediction for the renormalization of mass due to interactions. However, experimental verification of the latter requires complex accelerator experiments whereas analytical solutions of the model can be extremely cumbersome to obtain. In this work, following Feynman's original proposal, we propose an alternative quantum system as a simulator of the Thirring model dynamics. Here, the relativistic particles are mimicked, counterintuitively, by polarized photons in a quantum nonlinear medium. We show that the entire set of regimes of the Thirring model--bosonic or fermionic, and massless or massive--can be faithfully reproduced using coherent light trapping techniques. The correlation functions of the model can be extracted by simple probing of the coherence functions of the output light using standard optical techniques.

[Expression of interleukin-6 in rat model of doxorubicin-induced nephropathy].

OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in rats with doxorubicin-induced nephropathy and its possible roles in the pathogenesis of MCNS. METHODS: Eighty-three male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into a control group (n=32) and a nephropathy group (n=51). Nephropathy was induced by a single tail vein injection of doxorubicin (5 mg/kg). The control group was injected with normal saline. Twenty-four-hour urinary protein excretion was measured 7, 14, 28 and 42 days after doxorubicin injection. IL-6 expression in urine and renal tissues was determined using ELISA 7, 14, 28 and 42 days after doxorubicin injection. RESULTS: The urinary protein excretion increased significantly in the nephropathy group 7, 14, 28 and 42 days after doxorubicin injection compared with that in the control group (P<0.01). IL-6 expression in urine and renal tissues increased significantly 7, 14, 28 and 42 days after doxorubicin injection compared with that in the control group (P<0.01). IL-6 expression in urine and renal tissues was positively correlated with 24-hour urinary protein excretion in the nephropathy group (r=0.794, P<0.01; r= 0.870, P<0.01). IL-6 expression in urine was positively correlated with that in renal tissues (r=0.739, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 expression in the urine and renal tissues is increased in MCNS rats. IL-6 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of MCNS.

Efficacy of Duohuojisheng decoction monotherapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A protocol of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review investigates the efficacy and safety of Duohuojisheng decoction (DHJSD) monotherapy for the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: We searched relevant studies on DHJSD monotherapy for KOA from the databases of CENTRAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Information, and Wanfang Data from the inception to January 1, 2019. Two researchers independently selected studies, collected data, and assessed the methodology quality by using Cochrane risk of bias tool. RESULTS: This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of DHJSD monotherapy for KOA by assessing the pain intensity, stiffness, and disability of affected knee joints, and quality of life, as well as the adverse events. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide latest updated evidence of DHJSD monotherapy alone for KOA. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval is required for this systematic review, because it is based on the published data, and not on individual patient data. Its findings is published in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42019120405.

A solenoidal synthetic field and the non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm effects in neutral atoms.

Cold neutral atoms provide a versatile and controllable platform for emulating various quantum systems. Despite efforts to develop artificial gauge fields in these systems, realizing a unique ideal-solenoid-shaped magnetic field within the quantum domain in any real-world physical system remains elusive. Here we propose a scheme to generate a "hairline" solenoid with an extremely small size around 1 micrometer which is smaller than the typical coherence length in cold atoms. Correspondingly, interference effects will play a role in transport. Despite the small size, the magnetic flux imposed on the atoms is very large thanks to the very strong field generated inside the solenoid. By arranging different sets of Laguerre-Gauss (LG) lasers, the generation of Abelian and non-Abelian SU(2) lattice gauge fields is proposed for neutral atoms in ring- and square-shaped optical lattices. As an application, interference patterns of the magnetic type-I Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect are obtained by evolving atoms along a circle over several tens of lattice cells. During the evolution, the quantum coherence is maintained and the atoms are exposed to a large magnetic flux. The scheme requires only standard optical access, and is robust to weak particle interactions.