Simultaneous measurement of orthogonal terahertz fields via an emission multiplexing scheme.

We propose a polarization sensitive terahertz time-domain spectrometer that can record orthogonally polarized terahertz fields simultaneously, using fibre-coupled photoconductive antennas and a scheme that modulated the emitter's polarization. The s and p channels of the multi-pixel terahertz emitter were modulated at different frequencies, thereby allowing orthogonal waveforms to be demultiplexed from the recorded signal in post-processing. The performance of the multi-pixel emitter used in this multiplexing scheme was comparable to that of a commercial single-polarization H-dipole antenna. The approach allowed two orthogonally polarized terahertz pulses to be recorded with good signal to noise (>1000:1) within half a second. We verified the capability of the spectrometer by characterizing a birefringent crystal and by imaging a polarization-sensitive metamaterial. This work has significant potential to improve the speed of terahertz polarization sensitive applications, such as ellipsometry and imaging.

Deep THz modulation at Fabry-Perot resonances using graphene in periodic microslits.

Potential applications of terahertz (THz) radiation are constantly being investigated for high-speed communication due to its large bandwidth. For example, frequency hopping communication technology would benefit from the large bandwidth. To attach the information to the carrier wave, THz modulators with deep and stable modulation at different frequencies are crucial, yet are still lacking. Here a THz modulator, designed by integrating a non-resonant field enhancement effect of periodic metal microslits to assist a Fabry-Perot resonance structure (MS-FP) is proposed and demonstrated. New equations are developed to describe the superior performance of the novel design. The >95% modulation depth is achieved by a SiO2/Si gated graphene device at 14 Fabry-Perot resonant frequencies across 1.4 THz bandwidth, outperforming the recently reported 75% modulation depth THz modulator with a similar Fabry-Perot structure.

THz Sensing of Human Skin: A Review of Skin Modeling Approaches.

The non-ionizing and non-invasive nature of THz radiation, combined with its high sensitivity to water, has made THz imaging and spectroscopy highly attractive for in vivo biomedical applications for many years. Among them, the skin is primarily investigated due to the short penetration depth of THz waves caused by the high attenuation by water in biological samples. However, a complete model of skin describing the THz-skin interaction is still needed. This is also fundamental to reveal the optical properties of the skin from the measured THz spectrum. It is crucial that the correct model is used, not just to ensure compatibility between different works, but more importantly to ensure the reliability of the data and conclusions. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the models applied to skin used in the THz regime, and we compare their adaptability, accuracy, and limitations. We show that most of the models attempt to extract the hydration profile inside the skin while there is also the anisotropic model that displays skin structural changes in the stratum corneum.

Utilizing multilayer structures to enhance terahertz characterization of thin films ranging from aqueous solutions to histology slides.

We propose a multilayer geometry to characterize thin-film samples in reflection terahertz time domain spectroscopy. Theory indicates that this geometry has higher sensitivity compared to ordinary transmission or reflection geometries when characterizing both low- and high-absorption samples. Pure water and water-ethanol mixtures are measured to verify the characterization accuracy of the proposed geometry and its capability to measure trace liquids. Paraffin-embedded oral cancer tissue is imaged to further show how the proposed geometry enhances the sensitivity for solid low-absorptive films.

A Sensitive and Versatile Thickness Determination Method Based on Non-Inflection Terahertz Property Fitting.

The accuracy of thin-film characterization in terahertz spectroscopy is mainly set by the thickness uncertainty. Physical thickness measurement has limited accuracy for thin-film samples thinner than a few hundreds of micrometers and is sometimes even impossible. The temporal resolution of time-domain terahertz spectrometers is not sufficient to resolve such thin films. Previously reported numerical methods mainly only work for materials with low dispersion and absorption. Here, we propose a novel method for thickness determination by fitting a non-inflection offset exponential function to the material optical properties. Theoretical analysis predicts the best fitting to only be achieved when the correct thickness is given. Transmission measurements on a thin-film polymer, water, and a lactose pallet verify the theory and show the accurate thickness determination and property characterization on materials which are either achromatic or dispersive, transparent or absorptive, featureless or resonant. The measurements demonstrate the best versatility and sensitivity compared to the state-of-art. The method could be widely adapted to various types of research and industrial applications.

Terahertz time-domain transmission spectroscopy of water and hydrogel thin films: Extraction of optical parameters and application to agarose gel characterization.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is an emerging optical technique that has potential applications in the characterization of (bio)materials. However, the complicated extraction of optical parameters from multi-layered and optically thin samples is a barrier towards its acceptance by applied scientists. Therefore, the aim of this work is to provide a straightforward approach for the extraction of the THz absorption coefficient and index of refraction profiles of aqueous thin films in a window-sample-window configuration, which is ubiquitous in many laboratories (i.e., sample in a cuvette). A numerical approach-based methodology that accounts for multiple layers, Fabry-Pérot effect, and sample thickness is elaborated which involves an optical interference model based on a tri-layer structure and a simple thickness estimation technique. This method was validated on water samples where a good agreement was found with the THz optical parameters of water reported in the literature, while the use of a commercial software resulted in erroneous optical parameters estimates when used without due regard to its limitations. A case study was then performed to demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to characterize agarose hydrogels with varying degree of sulfation. It was demonstrated that THz-TDS can provide insight into the hydration state of the agarose hydrogels, including the relative number of the hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl moieties of water and the polysaccharide network which is perturbed by the presence of sulfate. The trend in the index of refraction profiles suggested microstructural differences between the agarose hydrogels, which were confirmed by visualizing the agarose network morphology using cryo-SEM imaging.

Exploring the link between cognitive deficit, self-esteem, alexithymia, and depressive symptom of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To the best of our knowledge, studies have been rarely conducted to assess the correlation between cognitive deficit, self-esteem, and alexithymia in the depressive symptoms of schizophrenia (SCZ). Therefore, this study aims to explore the risk factors associated with impairment of cognitive function, alexithymia, and self-esteem among a representative sample of first-episode schizophrenic patients. METHOD: We recruited 107 first-episode schizophrenic patients (48.6% male, 51.4% female, 36.94 ± 10.73 years) into the research group, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). A total of 45 healthy people (51.1% male, 48.9% female, 32.47 ± 10.94 years) were enlisted in the healthy control group. Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognitive functions were estimated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA). The feelings of respect and self-acceptance were tested using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Emotion of identifying and describing were measured by self-report scale of Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). RESULTS: Overall cognitive impairment and alexithymia were found more serious in the patients of SCZ than the healthy group (p < .001, respectively). The patients of SCZ have higher self-esteem than the healthy group (p = .013). Total score of MoCA, ability of visual space and executive function, and delayed recall were explored had negatively correlation with alexithymia (r = -.319, p = .001; r = -.248, p = .010; r = -0.263, p = .006). Total score of RSES and depressive symptoms of PANSS had a positive correlation with alexithymia (r = .394, p = .001; r = .208, p = .032). Stepwise regression analyses have shown a positive relationship between difficulty describing feelings and depression subscale of PANSS (ß = .188, t = -2.007, p = .047) while a negative relationship between externally oriented thinking and depression subscale of PANSS (ß = -.244, t = -2.603, p = .011). A positive link correlation also was found between the total scores of TAS and RSES (ß = .372, t = 4.144, p = .001). A negative relevance was found between the total scores of TAS and scores of MoCA (ß = -.305, t = -3.348, p = .001). CONCLUSION: Overall impairment of cognitive function and alexithymia are commonly encountered in SCZ patients. Poor cognitive function, alexithymia, and high level self-esteem may be specific detective risk factors for the depressive symptoms of SCZ.

The Predictive Role of Aberrant Metabolic Parameters and Negative Automatic Thinking on the Cognitive Impairments Among Schizophrenia Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.

Purpose: The study aimed to clarify the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia with metabolic syndrome while evaluating their potential as risk factors. Patients and Methods: We recruited 153 participants and divided them into three groups according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria and the guideline standards for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia in Chinese adults in 2007 for metabolic syndrome, as follows: healthy control group (n = 47); nonmetabolic syndrome group (n = 58); and metabolic syndrome group (n = 48). Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Cognitive function and automatic thinking were estimated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale, Verbal Fluency Test, and Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. Serum biochemical parameters were measured by automatic biochemistry analyzer. Results: One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that differential cognition impairments in schizophrenia patients compared to controls. Furthermore, results of multiple comparisons showed that more serious barriers in orientation, language fluency, and negative automatic thinking existed in the metabolic syndrome group than in the healthy and non-metabolic syndrome groups. Spearman correlation and stepwise linear regression analyses showed that psychopathological symptoms, high waist circumference, and high triglyceride were the predictive factors for negative automatic thoughts, orientation, and language fluency. Those results collectively revealed that high waist circumference, high triglyceride and negative automatic thinking had validity and effectiveness in predicting the cognitive function impairments of the metabolic syndrome group. Conclusion: The present findings strongly supported the notion that aberrant parameters of high waist circumference, high triglyceride and high negative automatic thoughts had validity and effectiveness predictive role for cognitive impairments in the schizophrenics with metabolic syndrome. The schizophrenia patients with metabolic syndrome should receive regular monitoring and adequate treatment for metabolic and psychological risk factors.

Gold nanoparticle enhanced detection of EGFR with a terahertz metamaterial biosensor.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in the proliferation of various cancers, and the expression level of EGFR in tumor tissues can provide a basis for the diagnosis and prognosis. Improving the detection technology of EGFR to achieve high sensitivity and faster speed will benefit the diagnosis of many types of tumors. Trace biological samples can be sensitively measured with terahertz (THz) metamaterial devices. Here, a bow-tie array THz metamaterial biosensor is presented and modified with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and EGFR antibodies for specific EGFR detection. The effect of the size of the GNP on the sensitivity enhancement was also analyzed. Enhanced sensing for EGFR was achieved with the assistance of GNPs and EGFR antibodies. Importantly, the metamaterial functionalized by GNPs and antibodies with a bigger GNP diameter achieves a greater resonance frequency shift. The proposed metamaterial biosensor can also realize tiny-volume EGFR solution detection. Our proposed technique can therefore sense EGFR sensitively with high speed, and can potentially be applied to achieve quick and accurate detection of EGFR related tumors.

Graphene controlled Brewster angle device for ultra broadband terahertz modulation.

Terahertz modulators with high tunability of both intensity and phase are essential for effective control of electromagnetic properties. Due to the underlying physics behind existing approaches there is still a lack of broadband devices able to achieve deep modulation. Here, we demonstrate the effect of tunable Brewster angle controlled by graphene, and develop a highly-tunable solid-state graphene/quartz modulator based on this mechanism. The Brewster angle of the device can be tuned by varying the conductivity of the graphene through an electrical gate. In this way, we achieve near perfect intensity modulation with spectrally flat modulation depth of 99.3 to 99.9 percent and phase tunability of up to 140 degree in the frequency range from 0.5 to 1.6 THz. Different from using electromagnetic resonance effects (for example, metamaterials), this principle ensures that our device can operate in ultra-broadband. Thus it is an effective principle for terahertz modulation.

Comparative elimination of dimethyl disulfide by maifanite and ceramic-packed biotrickling filters and their response to microbial community.

Unpleasant odor emissions have traditionally occupied an important role in environmental concern. In this paper, twin biotrickling filters (BTFs) packed with different packing materials, seeded with Bacillus cereus GIGAN2, were successfully constructed to purify gaseous dimethyl disulfide (DMDS). The maifanite-packed BTF showed superior biodegradation capability to the ceramic-packed counterpart in terms of removal efficiency and elimination capacity under similar conditions. At an empty bed residence time of 123 s, 100% of DMDS could be removed by maifanite-packed BTF when DMDS inlet concentration was below 0.41 g m(-3). To achieve same effect, the inlet concentration must be lower than 0.25 g m(-3) for ceramic-packed BTF. The bacterial communities analyses found higher relative abundance of GIGAN2 in the maifanite-packed BTF, suggesting that maifanite is more suitable for GIGAN2 immobilization and for subsequent DMDS removal. This work indicates maifanite is a promising packing material for real odorous gases purification.

Efficient bio-deodorization of thioanisole by a novel bacterium Brevibacillus borstelensis GIGAN1 immobilized onto different parking materials in twin biotrickling filter.

Biological treatment of odorous gas is an alternative to conventional physicochemical processes. A newly-isolated and identified Brevibacillus borstelensis GIGAN1 was seeded on active carbon (AC) and ceramic particle (CP) in a twin biotrickling filter (BTF) to comparatively probe the removal performance of gaseous thioanisole, respectively. At empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 66 s, 100% of thioanisole (⩽ 3mg L(-1)) could be removed on AC; while 100% of thioanisole could only be achieved for ⩽ 1.2 mg L(-1) on CP. Further increase thioanisole concentration to 3 mg L(-1), higher elimination capacity was obtained on AC (162.51 g m(-3)h(-1)) than CP (139.93 g m(-3)h(-1)). Further, longer EBRT was also beneficial to thioanisole removal. Additionally, the biomass accumulation did not lead to the column clogging. The bio-deodorization mechanism of thioanisloe were also tentatively proposed. Overall, an unprecedented performance could be achieved by the novel GIGAN1 in BTF for thioanisole biodegradation.

Trait-related decision making impairment in obsessive-compulsive disorder: evidence from decision making under ambiguity but not decision making under risk.

This study aimed to investigate whether deficits in decision making were potential endophenotype markers for OCD considering different phases of the disease. Fifty-seven non-medicated OCD patients (nmOCD), 77 medicated OCD patients (mOCD), 48 remitted patients with OCD (rOCD) and 115 healthy controls were assessed with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which measured decision making under ambiguity, and the Game of Dice Task (GDT), which measured decision making under risk. While the three patients groups showed impaired performance on the IGT compared with healthy controls, all patients showed intact performance on the GDT. Furthermore, the rOCD patients showed a preference for deck B, indicating that they showed more sensitivity to the frequency of loss than to the magnitude of loss, whereas the mOCD patients showed a preference for deck A, indicating that they had more sensitivity to the magnitude of loss than to the frequency of loss. These data suggested that OCD patients had trait-related impairments in decision making under ambiguity but not under risk, and that dissociation of decision making under ambiguity and under risk is an appropriate potential neurocognitive endophenotype for OCD. The subtle but meaningful differences in decision making performance between the OCD groups require further study.