GmEID1 modulates light signaling through the Evening Complex to control flowering time and yield in soybean.

Soybean (Glycine max) morphogenesis and flowering time are accurately regulated by photoperiod, which determine the yield potential and limit soybean cultivars to a narrow latitudinal range. The E3 and E4 genes, which encode phytochrome A photoreceptors in soybean, promote the expression of the legume-specific flowering repressor E1 to delay floral transition under long-day (LD) conditions. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that the diurnal expression pattern of GmEID1 is opposite to that of E1 and targeted mutations in the GmEID1 gene delay soybean flowering regardless of daylength. GmEID1 interacts with J, a key component of circadian Evening Complex (EC), to inhibit E1 transcription. Photoactivated E3/E4 interacts with GmEID1 to inhibit GmEID1-J interaction, promoting J degradation resulting in a negative correlation between daylength and the level of J protein. Notably, targeted mutations in GmEID1 improved soybean adaptability by enhancing yield per plant up to 55.3% compared to WT in field trials performed in a broad latitudinal span of more than 24°. Together, this study reveals a unique mechanism in which E3/E4-GmEID1-EC module controls flowering time and provides an effective strategy to improve soybean adaptability and production for molecular breeding.

Analyzing the composition of the editorial boards in high-impact medical ethics journals: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: The underrepresentation of scholarly works from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in academic literature is a documented concern, attributed partly to editorial biases. This trend, prevalent across various disciplines, has been less explored in the context of medical ethics journals. This study aimed to examine the composition of editorial board members (EBM) in high-impact medical ethics journals and to evaluate the extent of international diversity within these editorial teams. METHODS: This study incorporated an analysis of 16 high-impact medical ethics journals. Information regarding the EBM of these journals was systematically gathered and categorized based on the World Bank's country income classifications. An in-depth examination of the editorial board compositions was then conducted. RESULTS: The study identified 669 EBM across the selected journals. A predominant 89.84% (601) of these members were from high-income countries (HICs), with upper-middle-income countries contributing 7.47% (50) and lower-middle-income countries 2.69% (18). No EBM were associated with low-income countries. A regional breakdown indicated that North America was the most represented area, accounting for 48.88% (327), followed by Europe & Central Asia (27.50%, 184), East Asia & Pacific (13.45%, 90), Latin America & Caribbean (4.63%, 31), Sub-Saharan Africa (4.19%, 28), Middle East & North Africa (0.75%, 5), and South Asia (0.60%, 4). In total, these EBMs hailed from 46 different countries, with the United States representing the largest proportion (43.80%, 293), followed by the United Kingdom (13.15%, 88), Australia (7.92%, 53), Germany (6.73%, 45), and Canada (5.08%, 34). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant lack of international representation within the EBM of high-impact medical ethics journals. The majority of editors in this field are affiliated with HICs, leading to a severe underrepresentation of LMICs within the editorial boards.

Chaos Synchronization of Integrated Five-Section Semiconductor Lasers.

We proposed and verified a scheme of chaos synchronization for integrated five-section semiconductor lasers with matching parameters. The simulation results demonstrated that the integrated five-section semiconductor laser could generate a chaotic signal within a large parameter range of the driving currents of five sections. Subsequently, chaos synchronization between two integrated five-section semiconductor lasers with matched parameters was realized by using a common noise signal as a driver. Moreover, it was found that the synchronization was sensitive to the current mismatch in all five sections, indicating that the driving currents of the five sections could be used as keys of chaotic optical communication. Therefore, this synchronization scheme provides a candidate to increase the dimension of key space and enhances the security of the system.

Leader-laggard synchronization of polarization chaos in mutually coupled free-running VCSELs.

We systematically study the leader-laggard synchronization of polarization chaos in mutually coupled free-running vertical cavity surface emitting semiconductor lasers in two cases of parallel and orthogonal injection. Specifically, we quantitatively investigate the effect of critical external parameter mismatch such as the coupling intensity and frequency detuning on the leader-laggard relationship utilizing the cross-correlation function. When the difference between two main cross-correlation peak values exceeds 0.1, the leader-laggard relationship can be viewed to be stable. Our results demonstrate that compared with the coupling strength, the frequency detuning is the dominant factor in determining the stability of the leader-laggard relationship. The exchange of the leader-laggard role occurs within a frequency detuning region from -5 GHz to 5 GHz for both parallel and orthogonal injection. Once the leader-laggard relationship is stable, the difference between the two cross-correlation values can reach 0.242 for negative frequency detuning, but the corresponding value is only 0.146 under positive frequency detuning.

Millimeter-wave noise generation based on a monolithically integrated dual-mode chaotic laser.

A millimeter-wave noise generation scheme is proposed in this paper. The scheme is based on a monolithically integrated dual-mode chaotic laser, which consists of a distributed Bragg feedback (DFB) section, a phase section, and an optical amplification section. The output spectrum state of the dual-mode laser can be controlled by adjusting the injection current in the three regions. The monolithically integrated dual-mode chaotic laser has stable chaotic output and can be used as a light source for integrated millimeter-wave noise source. As a feasibility demonstration, a dual-mode chaotic laser with a mode interval of 2.05 nm was generated in the experiment, the optical mixing on a photodetector produced millimeter-wave noise with a center frequency of 259 GHz and a bandwidth of 44 GHz (237-281 GHz), achieving a typical value of excess noise ratio of 47 dB. It has the advantages of high noise source utilization, small noise source volume, and high integration.

Wideband chaos synchronization using discrete-mode semiconductor lasers.

Optical chaos communication encounters difficulty in high-speed transmission due to the challenge of realizing wideband chaos synchronization. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a wideband chaos synchronization using discrete-mode semiconductor lasers (DMLs) in a master-slave open-loop configuration. The DML can generate wideband chaos with a 10-dB bandwidth of 30 GHz under simple external mirror feedback. By injecting the wideband chaos into a slave DML, an injection-locking chaos synchronization with synchronization coefficient of 0.888 is realized. A parameter range with frequency detuning of -18.75 GHz to approximately 1.25 GHz under strong injection is identified for yielding the wideband synchronization. In addition, we find it more susceptible to achieve the wideband synchronization using the slave DML with lower bias current and smaller relaxation oscillation frequency.

High-entropy-rate broadband chaos generation by using short-resonant-cavity DFB semiconductor laser with optical feedback.

Semiconductor lasers with delayed optical feedback are a promising source of optical chaos for practical applications, owing to simple configurations that are easy to integrate and synchronize. However, for traditional semiconductor lasers, the chaos bandwidth is limited by the relaxation frequency to several gigahertz. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate that a short-resonant-cavity distributed-feedback (SC-DFB) laser can generate broadband chaos only with simple feedback from an external mirror. The short distributed-feedback resonant cavity not only enhances laser relaxation frequency but also makes the laser mode more susceptible to external feedback. Experiments obtained a laser chaos with 33.6 GHz bandwidth and a spectral flatness of 4.5 dB. The corresponding entropy rate is estimated as more than 33.3 Gbit/s. It is believed that the SC-DFB lasers will promote development of chaos-based secure communication and physical key distribution.

High-performance quantum cascade lasers at λ ∼ 9†µm grown by MOCVD.

We demonstrate a high power InP-based quantum cascade laser (QCL) (λ ∼ 9 µm) with high characteristic temperature grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in this article. A 4-mm-long cavity length, 10.5-µm-wide ridge QCL with high-reflection (HR) coating demonstrates a maximum pulsed peak power of 1.55 W and continuous-wave (CW) output power of 1.02W at 293 K. The pulsed threshold current density of the device is as low as 1.52 kA/cm2. The active region adopted a dual-upper-state (DAU) and multiple-lower-state (MS) design and it shows a wide electroluminescence (EL) spectrum with 466 cm-1 wide full-width at half maximum (FWHM). In addition, the device performance is insensitive to the temperature change since the threshold-current characteristic temperature coefficient, T0, is as high as 228 K, and slope-efficiency characteristic temperature coefficient, T1, is as high as 680 K, over the heatsink-temperature range of 293 K to 353 K.

Topical metformin suppresses angiogenesis pathways induced by pulsed dye laser irradiation in animal models.

Pulsed dye laser (PDL) is the first-line treatment for port-wine stain (PWS). However, only a small portion of the lesions could be completely cleared by PDL treatment, which might be related to the regeneration and revascularization of the vascular structures after laser irradiation. Recently, it is believed that the suppression of regeneration and revascularization of photocoagulated blood vessels can achieve a better therapeutic outcome. We use rabbit ear and SD rat as the animal models to investigate whether PDL-induced angiogenesis can be suppressed by topical metformin. Our results showed that topical application of metformin can effectively suppress the PDL-induced early stage of angiogenesis via inhibition of the AKT/mTOR/P70S6K pathway in animal models.

Lateral waveguide scanner integration on surface-emitting mid-infrared lasers.

In this paper, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, monolithic non-mechanical semiconductor laser scanner in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectrum is proposed. A deflector above the active region at the substrate side is used for coupling the vertical light into a lateral substrate waveguide, which creates a chain of coherent emitters such as optical phased arrays (OPAs) for beam steering. The numerical simulation reveals that GaSb-based surface-emitting interband cascade lasers (SE-ICLs) are an excellent platform for waveguide scanner integration. Due to the hundreds of micrometers of optical path difference and the narrow gap between each emitter, an extremely high angle tuning coefficient of 0.84°/nm covering the whole 28.6° steering range is obtained. This work theoretically verifies the feasibility of integrating an OPA scanner into the GaSb-based SE-ICLs, providing a practical solution to fabricate compact steerable MIR laser sources. Note that this substrate OPA concept has strong adaptation potential to extend to even longer wavelength devices such as InP and GaAs-based quantum cascade lasers.

Synchronization of polarization chaos in mutually coupled free-running VCSELs.

We numerically demonstrate and analyze polarization chaos synchronization between two free-running vertical cavity surface emitting semiconductor lasers (VCSELs) in the mutual coupling configuration under two scenarios: parallel injection and orthogonal injection. Specifically, we investigate the effect of external parameters (the bias current, frequency detuning and coupling coefficient) and internal parameters (the linewidth enhancement factor, spin-flip relaxation rate, field decay rate, carrier decay rate, birefringence and dichroism) on the synchronization quality. Finally simulation results confirm that in the parallel injection, chaotic synchronization can reach a cross-correlation coefficient of 0.99 within a range of parameter mismatch ±12%. On the other hand, the chaos synchronization for orthogonal injection only reaches a cross-correlation coefficient of 0.95 within a range of parameter mismatch ±3%.

Broadband laser chaos generation using a quantum cascade laser with optical feedback.

We propose a method to generate broadband laser chaos using a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Through numerical simulation, we give the evidence that the QCL with optical feedback can route to chaos through the quasi-periodic path. Furthermore, we investigate the influence of the feedback intensity and the bias current on the chaos bandwidth. Final results demonstrate that the chaos bandwidth can headily reach 43.1 GHz due to the lack of relaxation oscillation phenomena in QCLs.

Generation of laser chaos with wide-band flat power spectrum in a circular-side hexagonal resonator microlaser with optical feedback.

We numerically demonstrate the generation of wide-band laser chaos with flat power spectrum in a 2D circular-side hexagonal resonator (CSHR) microlaser subject to long-cavity optical feedback. The bandwidth and flatness of the chaotic power spectrum are investigated under different bias currents and optical feedback rates. Under low bias current, the bandwidth under an optimized optical feedback rate increases obviously as raising bias current and the power spectrum flatten simultaneously. Under high bias current, the optimized bandwidth gradually tends toward stabilization, with corresponding flatness less than 5 dB. We compare the chaotic power spectra with small-signal modulation response (SSR) curves under different bias currents. It can be concluded that wide-band and flat SSR indicates wide-band and flat chaotic power spectrum. This work argues that we can enhance laser chaos by using a laser device with wide-band and flat SSR and simple optical feedback configuration, which is significantly beneficial to synchronization-based applications including chaos communication and key distribution.

The inflammatory cytokine TNF-α regulates the biological behavior of rat nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells through the NF-κB signaling pathway in vitro.

Nucleus pulposus (NP) mesenchymal stem cells (NPMSCs) are a potential cell source for intervertebral disc (IVD) regeneration; however, little is known about their response to tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a critical inflammation factor contributing to accelerating IVD degeneration. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the regulatory effects of TNF-α at high and low concentrations on the biological behaviors of healthy rat NPMSCs, including proliferation, migration, and NP differentiation. In this study, NPMSCs were treated with different concentration of TNF-α (0-200 ng/mL). Then we used annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometry analysis to detect the apoptosis rate of NPMSCs. Cell Counting Kit-8, Edu assay, and cell cycle test were used to examine the proliferation of NPMSCs. Migration ability of NPMSCs was detected by wound healing assay and transwell migration assay. Pellets method was used to induce NP differentiation of NPMSCs, and immunohistochemical staining, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis were used to examine the NPC phenotypic genes and proteins. The cells were further treated with the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway inhibitor Bay 11-7082 to determine the role of the NF-κB pathway in the mechanism underlying the differentiation process. Results showed that treatment with a high concentration of TNF-α (50-200 ng/mL) could induce apoptosis of NPMSCs, whereas a relatively low TNF-α concentration (0.1-10 ng/mL) promoted the proliferation and migration of NPMSCs, but inhibited their differentiation toward NP cells. Moreover, we identified that the NF-κB signaling pathway is activated during the TNF-α-inhibited differentiation of NPMSCs, and the NF-κB signal inhibitor Bay 11-7082 could partially eliminate the adverse effect of TNF-α on the differentiation of NPMSCs. Therefore, our findings provide important insight into the dynamic biological behavior reactivity of NPMSCs to TNF-α during IVD degeneration process, thus may help us understanding the underlying mechanism of IVD degeneration.

MAPK-mediated upregulation of fibrinogen-like protein 2 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of colorectal cancer cells.

Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) has been reported to play a key role in the development of human cancers. However, it is still unmasked whether FGL2 plays a potential role in colorectal carcinogenesis. In this study, the messenger RNA and protein expression levels were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Cell counting kit-8 assay, transwell migration, and invasion assay were carried out to evaluate the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LOVO and SW620 cells. FGL2 was upregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues, as well as cell lines. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling was activated in CRC tissues and cell lines. FGL2 was confirmed to be downregulated by MAPK signaling inhibitor U0126. Further, we determined that knockdown of FGL2 caused a reduction of proliferation, migration, and invasion in LOVO and SW620 cells. Consistently, treatment of LOVO and SW620 cells with U0126 led to a decrease in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, these changes initiated by U0126 were abolished by FGL2 overexpression. To conclude, MAPK-mediated upregulation of FGL2 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cells.

A New Deep Learning Algorithm for SAR Scene Classification Based on Spatial Statistical Modeling and Features Re-Calibration.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) scene classification is challenging but widely applied, in which deep learning can play a pivotal role because of its hierarchical feature learning ability. In the paper, we propose a new scene classification framework, named Feature Recalibration Network with Multi-scale Spatial Features (FRN-MSF), to achieve high accuracy in SAR-based scene classification. First, a Multi-Scale Omnidirectional Gaussian Derivative Filter (MSOGDF) is constructed. Then, Multi-scale Spatial Features (MSF) of SAR scenes are generated by weighting MSOGDF, a Gray Level Gradient Co-occurrence Matrix (GLGCM) and Gabor transformation. These features were processed by the Feature Recalibration Network (FRN) to learn high-level features. In the network, the Depthwise Separable Convolution (DSC), Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) Block and Convolution Neural Network (CNN) are integrated. Finally, these learned features will be classified by the Softmax function. Eleven types of SAR scenes obtained from four systems combining different bands and resolutions were trained and tested, and a mean accuracy of 98.18% was obtained. To validate the generality of FRN-MSF, five types of SAR scenes sampled from two additional large-scale Gaofen-3 and TerraSAR-X images were evaluated for classification. The mean accuracy of the five types reached 94.56%; while the mean accuracy for the same five types of the former tested 11 types of scene was 96%. The high accuracy indicates that the FRN-MSF is promising for SAR scene classification without losing generality.

Correction to: Total disc replacement versus fusion for lumbar degenerative disc disease: a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.

The authors declare that when writing their article [1] they referenced two previously published papers [2, 3]. Several sentences on pages 807, 808, and 813 were similar to sentences from these two previously published articles.

Room temperature continuous wave quantum dot cascade laser emitting at 7.2 µm.

We demonstrate a quantum cascade laser with active regions consisting of InAs quantum dots deposited on GaAs buffer layers that are embedded in InGaAs wells confined by InAlAs barriers. Continuous wave room temperature lasing at the wavelength of 7.2 µm has been demonstrated with the threshold current density as low as 1.89 kA/cm2, while in pulsed operational mode lasing at temperatures as high as 110 °C had been observed. A phenomenological theory explaining the improved performance due to weak localization of states had been formulated.

Biomechanical consideration of prosthesis selection in hybrid surgery for bi-level cervical disc degenerative diseases.

PURPOSE: Hybrid surgery (HS) coupling total disc replacement and fusion has been increasingly applied for multilevel cervical disc diseases (CDD). However, selection of the optimal disc prosthesis for HS in an individual patient has not been investigated. This study aimed to distinguish the biomechanical performances of five widely used prostheses (Bryan, ProDisc-C, PCM, Mobi-C, and Discover) in HS for the treatment of bi-level CDD. METHODS: A finite element model of healthy cervical spine (C3-C7) was developed, and five HS models using different disc prostheses were constructed by arthrodesis at C4-C5 and by arthroplasty at C5-C6. First, the rotational displacements in flexion (Fl), extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending in the healthy model under 1.0 Nm moments combined with 73.6 N follower load were achieved, and then the maximum rotations in each direction combined with the same follower load were applied in the surgical models following displacement control testing protocols. RESULTS: The range of motion (ROM) of the entire operative and adjacent levels was close to that of the healthy spine for ball-in-socket prostheses, that is, ProDisc-C, Mobi-C, and Discover, in Fl. For Bryan and PCM, the ROM of the operative levels was less than that of the healthy spine in Fl and resulted in the increase in ROMs at the adjacent levels. Ball-in-socket prostheses produced similar reaction moments (92-99 %) in Fl, which were close to that of the healthy spine. Meanwhile, Bryan and PCM required greater moments (>130 %). The adjacent intradiscal pressures (IDPs) in the models of ball-in-socket prostheses were close to that of the healthy spine. Meanwhile, in the models of Bryan and PCM, the adjacent IDPs were 25 % higher than that of the ball-in-socket models. The maximum facet stress in the model of Mobi-C was the greatest among all prostheses, which was approximately two times that of the healthy spine. Moreover, Bryan produced the largest stress on the bone-implant interface, followed by PCM, Mobi-C, ProDisc-C, and Discover. CONCLUSION: Each disc prosthesis has its biomechanical advantages and disadvantages in HS and should be selected on an individual patient basis. In general, ProDisc-C, Mobi-C, and Discover produced similar performances in terms of spinal motions, adjacent IDPs, and driving moments, whereas Bryan and PCM produced similar biomechanical performances. Therefore, HS with Discover, Bryan, and PCM may be suitable for patients with potential risk of facet joint degeneration, whereas HS with ProDisc-C, Mobi-C, and Discover may be suitable for patients with potential risk of vertebral osteoporosis.

Total disc replacement versus fusion for lumbar degenerative disc disease: a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.

PURPOSE: Although many meta-analyses have been performed to compare total disc replacement (TDR) and fusion for treating lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD), their findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses comparing TDR with fusion for treating LDDD, to assist decision makers in selection among conflicting meta-analyses, and to provide treatment recommendations based on the best available evidence. METHODS: This study was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Multiple databases were comprehensively searched for meta-analyses comparing TDR with fusion for treating LDDD. Meta-analyses only comprising randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Two authors independently assessed meta-analysis quality and extracted data. The Jadad decision algorithm was used to ascertain which meta-analyses represented the best evidence. RESULTS: A total of five meta-analyses were included. All these studies only included RCTs were determined as Level-II evidence. The scores of Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) ranged from 6 to 9 (median 7). A high-quality Cochrane review was chosen according to the Jadad algorithm. This best available evidence found that statistical significances were observed between TDR and fusion for LDDD regarding disability, pain relief, and pain in the short term, but it was not over clinically important differences. The prevent effects on adjacent segment and facet joint degeneration, as the primary goal of adopting TDR stated by the manufacturers, were not appropriately evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: There is discord in results from meta-analyses that assessed TDR and fusion for LDDD. According to this systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses comparing TDR and fusion for LDDD, the current best available evidence suggests that TDR may be an effective technique for the treatment of selected patients with LDDD, and is at least equal to lumbar fusion in the short term. However, considering that disadvantages may appear after years, spine surgeons should be cautions about performing TDR on a large scale.