Analysis of alignment requirements for off-axis resonant cavity based on coupling efficiency.

The optical path length stability of the off-axis four-reflection telescope is one of the key technical indicators for the TianQin gravitational wave detection system. In the MHz observation band, the telescope must exhibit an optical path length stability of 0.4p m/H z 1/2. As a feasible solution, the optical path length stability measurement of the off-axis four-reflection telescope based on the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique imposes stringent requirements on the alignment of the off-axis resonant cavity (ORC). Taking the off-axis two-reflection prototype as the research object, we propose a Monte Carlo analysis-based method for ORC alignment precision analysis. By considering misalignment as an intermediate function, we establish a relationship between the coupling efficiency of the ORC and the wavefront aberration of the telescope. The research results show that by considering the combined effects of multiple misalignment couplings of the primary and secondary mirrors, when the detected telescope wavefront aberration is better than 0.068λ (λ=1064n m) with a probability of 98%, the ORC coupling efficiency can achieve greater than 40% with a probability of 97.13%, which can be used as the main reference indicator for system misalignment analysis. This method simplifies the alignment difficulty of the target under test and can provide alignment reference for subsequent resonant cavities with internal off-axis telescopes.

Acute renal failure after kidney transplantation due to mizoribine-induced ureteral stones.

INTRODUCTION: Mizoribine (MZR) is used to prevent rejection reactions after kidney transplantation and increase the risk of hyperuricemia. There is a lack of reports of MZR-induced ureteral stones after kidney transplantation. The surgery treatment of ureteral stones in transplanted kidney is a challenging clinical issue that should only be performed by experienced urologists at professional centers. It is very important to have a thorough understanding of the patient's medical history, analyze the causes of stone formation, and choose a reasonable treatment plan based on the characteristics of the stones. The case report is aim to emphasize the recognition of the possibility of mizoribine-induced ureteral uric acid stones in transplanted kidney and to avoid unnecessary surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: A patient after kidney transplantation was diagnosed with acute renal failure caused by ureteral stones. The medical history, CT images of the renal graft, the results of laboratory test and stone composition analysis were provided. Based on medical history and laboratory test results, it was determined that the ureteral stones of renal graft was induced by MZR. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of MZR-induced stones in transplanted kidney and ureters. It was completely cured by urinary alkalinization, avoiding surgery treatment. We summarize the characteristics, treatment and methods for preventing the formation of uric acid stones of patients with MZR. CONCLUSION: By analyze our case report, it shows that acute renal failure with ureteral stones after kidney transplantation can caused by MZR. Urinary alkalinization for MZR induced uric acid stones is simple and effective.

Semi-Kinematic Coupling Design and Analysis for Giant Steerable Science Mirror Prototype of Thirty Meter Telescope.

The Giant Steerable Science Mirror prototype is being developed to assess the tertiary mirror system of the Thirty Meter Telescope. In this study, a new semi-kinematic coupling design is proposed for the prototype based on three pairs of V-grooves and canoe-like components to allow for high repeatability accuracy under heavy loads. A mathematical model was constructed to estimate the repeatability accuracy using the corresponding measurement results and machining errors. The proposed design was verified by an experiment, and the results were consistent with the mathematical model. Furthermore, the results indicate that the repeatability of the semi-kinematic coupling is sufficient for the requirement.

Chloroform-infiltrated photonic crystal fiber with high-temperature sensitivity.

The temperature sensor is the core part of the temperature measurement instrument, and its performance directly determines the temperature measurement accuracy. Photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is a new type of temperature sensor with extremely high potential. In this paper, we propose a high-performance, structurally simple, liquid-filled PCF temperature sensor, which is based on a SMF-PCF-SMF (single mode fiber, SMF) sandwich structure. By adjusting the structural parameters of the the PCF, it is possible to obtain optical properties that are superior to those of ordinary optical fibers. This allows for more obvious responsive changes of the fiber transmission mode under small external temperature changes. By optimizing the basic structure parameters, a new PCF structure with a central air hole is designed, and its temperature sensitivity is -0.04696 nm/°C. When filling the air holes of PCFs with temperature-sensitive liquid materials, the response of the optical field against the temperature fluctuations can be effectively enhanced. The Chloroform solution is used to selectively infiltrate the resulting PCF owing to its large thermo-optical coefficient. After comparing various filling schemes, the calculation results show that the highest temperature sensitivity of -15.8 nm/°C is finally realized. The designed PCF sensor has a simple structure, high-temperature sensitivity, and good linearity showing great application potential.

Application of optical switching technology in a lunar laser ranging system based on a superconducting detector.

The TianQin laser ranging station has successfully obtained the effective echo signals of the all five corner-cube reflectors on the lunar surface by using a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with 100 Hz repetition frequency and a 2×2 array of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). The application of the SNSPD in the lunar laser ranging system (LLRS) has demonstrated its detection ability, but it loses its superconducting state and cannot work under strong stray light conditions. In this paper, a high-speed optical switch experimental device based on 100 Hz is developed to solve the application problem of the SNSPD in the LLRS, and its main technical parameters are tested. The results show that the maximum running distance of the switch is 200 µm; the switching time is better than 2 ms; and the extinction ratio is better than 57 dB. Moreover, the application of the high-speed optical switch experimental device in the lunar laser ranging system is designed, and the effective detection time between two laser pulses (10 ms) is determined to be 6.1 ms.

Rapid calculation method for backscattered light of a space gravitational-wave detection telescope.

Stray light is a key issue that must be considered in the TianQin telescope. To solve the problem of a long simulation time and the inability of the simulation results to be fed back to guide the optical design, we propose a fast estimation method for stray light based on the FOV with high accuracy. Compared to other models, the error between our model and the software simulation results is smaller, within one order of magnitude. Based on this method, we obtain the optical component target of the TianQin telescope and propose an optimization method to reduce stray light, which can be verified by analyzing the optimized optical design.

Mesoporous WS2-Decorated Cellulose Nanofiber-Templated CuO Heterostructures for High-Performance Chemiresistive Hydrogen Sulfide Sensors.

There is a great demand to develop high-performance hydrogen sulfide (H2S) sensors, especially at the trace level for environmental protection, human healthcare, and food freshness monitoring. To this end, cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-templated CuO (CuO-C) was decorated with tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets (W-Cu-C) as the sensing layer of chemiresistive microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors for H2S recognition in this work. As compared to pristine CuO counterparts at 160.5 °C, the as-prepared W-Cu-C-10 sensors delivered a 30-fold enhanced response of 37 toward 0.5 ppm H2S at a lower optimal operation temperature of 100.1 °C. Moreover, a fast response/recovery speed of 37.2/33.9 s toward 0.5 ppm H2S and excellent long-term stability and selectivity were achieved. Compared with existing research and commercial products, the W-CU-C-10 sensors exhibited the remarkable superiorities of high sensitivity, the lowest detection limit of 200 ppb, and ultralow power consumption (8 mW). Also, the sensor showcased a nice on-site application potential for evaluating eggs' freshness. The proposed W-Cu-C-10 sensors probably pave a new avenue for designing high-sensitivity and energy-efficient future H2S sensors, especially in the fields of portable and wearable detection systems as well as Internet of Things.

Optical properties and application potential of a hybrid cavity compound grating structure.

In this paper, we propose a new type of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) hybrid cavity compound grating micro-structure array, which can achieve dual narrowband super-absorption in the near-infrared window. The thin plasmonic microstructure effectively modulates coupling and hybridization effects between surface plasmon polaritons of different transmission resonance cavities to form designable dual narrowband resonance states to achieve near-infrared operation proving manipulation of the optical characteristics in the near-infrared light field. Furthermore, we conduct an in-depth theoretical exploration of the structure's unique properties, such as its high-quality factor, low noise, super-absorption, precise control, and the physical mechanism of its excellent performance in ambient refractive index sensing and detection. This study provides developmental insights for the miniaturization, easy modulation, and multi-function development of surface plasmon superabsorbers while broadening their application in near-infrared environment refractive index detection. The proposed microstructure is also suitable for integration with optical elements.

Immune and stromal related genes in colon cancer: Analysis of tumour microenvironment based on the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) and gene expression omnibus (GEO) databases.

The incidence of colon cancer is amongst the top three in the world. The tumour microenvironment plays an important role in the occurrence and development of colon cancer. Stromal cells and immune cells are the main components of the tumour microenvironment. Our study detected genes, which affected the infiltration of stromal, immune cells and the way they affected the prognosis of colon cancer patients. We found that the colon's immune system had a special way to affect the tumour microenvironment. Moderate infiltration of stromal and immune cells was proved to be important protective factors for colon cancer patients, which has not been found in other tumours. C3, C5, CXCL12, GNAI1, LPAR1, PENK, PYY, SAA1 and SST were the differential expression hub genes of moderate-stromal and immune score group. They had a more significant correlation with tumour purity and infiltration of B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophage, neutrophil, democratic cells. The proteins encoded by C3, C5, CXCL12, GNAI1, PENK, PYY, SST were detected in colon cancer cells. These genes had the potential to become markers to predict the prognosis of patients with colon cancer.

Mesoporous cellulose nanofibers-interlaced PEDOT:PSS hybrids for chemiresistive ammonia detection.

Chemiresistive ammonia (NH3) detection at room temperature is highly desired due to the unique merits of easy miniaturization, low cost, and minor energy consumption especially for portable and wearable electronics. In this regard, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has sparked considerable attention due to the benign room-temperature conductivity and environmental stability, but it is undesirably impeded by limited sensitivity and sluggish reaction kinetics. To overcome these, we incorporated cellulose nanofibers (CNF) into PEDOT:PSS via a facile blending. The constituent-optimized composite sensor displayed sensitive (sensitivity of ∼7.46%/ppm in the range of 0.2-3 ppm), selective, and stable NH3 sensing at 25 °C at 55% RH, with higher response and less baseline drift than pure PEDOT:PSS counterparts. Additionally, the response/recovery times (4.9 s/5.2 s toward 1 ppm NH3) ranked the best cases of conducting polymers based NH3 sensors. The humidity involved more than twofold response enhancement indicated a huge potential in exhaled breath monitoring. Furthermore, we observed an excellent flexible NH3-sensing performance with bending-tolerant features. This work provides an alternative strategy for trace NH3 sensing with low power consumption, superfast reaction, and high sensitivity.

Inhibiting the JNK/ERK signaling pathway with geraniol for attenuating the proliferation of human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cells.

Geraniol, a natural compound found in the essential oils of various aromatic plants, has attracted attention for its probable anticancer effects. The molecular mechanisms of the cell proliferation suppression and apoptosis induction via geraniol in gastric cancer cells (AGS), however, remain unclear. Gastric cancer cells were treated with geraniol, and it was found that the IC50 values were 25 µM/ml, as determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Results showed that 20 and 25 µM geraniol-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (2'-7'dichlorofluorescin diacetate staining) and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (rhodamine 123 staining) in AGS cells. Then, it effectively inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis, confirmed through acridine orange/ethidium bromide, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, and propidium iodide staining and molecular marker analysis in AGS cells. Also, geraniol potently diminished caspase-9, Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 expression in AGS cells. We also evaluated the essential mechanism of the cytotoxic effect of geraniol. Moreover, the present study depicted that geraniol-induced cell death through mitochondrial ROS production and inhibited the phosphorylation form of mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38, MAPK, JNK, and ERK1/2) signaling pathway. Taken together, these results concluded that geraniol has a novel therapeutic property against human stomach cancer.

Lunar laser ranging based on a 100 Hz repetition frequency.

High-repetition-rate lunar laser ranging (LLR) has great prospects and significance. We have successfully obtained the effective echo signals of all five corner-cube reflectors (CCRs) on the lunar surface by using a 100 Hz repetition rate. This method can effectively improve the detection ability but has some defects: for example, the main wave and echo signals overlap. In this paper, the frequency selection and signal overlap are theoretically analyzed. The results show that the existing target prediction accuracy can meet the requirement of a 100 Hz repetition rate LLR. In the experiment, the use of a high-repetition-rate pulse laser allowed us to obtain detailed CCR information, such as the column number of CCRs, which will prove that the effective echo signals of LLR are reflected by the CCRs. Finally, we propose to use the resolved data to calculate the precision of inner coincidence and believe the accuracy can be within a millimeter.

Large segmented sparse aperture collimation by curvature sensing.

Fine alignment of large, segmented telescopes is critical for achieving high angular resolution. Building an instrument with an equally large monolithic aperture is difficult because of the increasing mass and volume. Sparse aperture testing is a lower-cost solution to alignment and metrology, both in the optics shop and at the observatory. We combined sparse aperture testing and curvature sensing to process the highly segmented system's final alignment. First, the stitching error, including tip/tilt/piston and shifting errors, is analyzed theoretically and numerically. These errors are then evaluated by normalized point source sensitivity (PSSn), and the change of PSSn during alignment, which specifies the residual alignment error, is calculated by the defocused donuts. Simulations and experiments demonstrate that the system performance improved by more than 35%. In this paper, we have described the incorporation of sparse aperture testing and curvature sensing algorithms, which can easily cover the tipping and shifting error affecting the traditional methodology.

Tomentosin induces apoptotic pathway by blocking inflammatory mediators via modulation of cell proteins in AGS gastric cancer cell line.

In this study, we investigated the in vitro effect of tomentosin on cell proliferation by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, reactive oxygen species by 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate staining assay, apoptosis (AO/EtBr, propidium iodide, and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, mitochondrial membrane potential), cell adherent, cell migration, inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress from gastric cancer cells (GCCs) AGS. Upon their relative cell proliferative, inflammatory, and apoptotic molecular markers were analyzed by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis method. Treatment with tomentosin (IC50 = 20 µM) significantly inhibited cell proliferation and oxidative stress-induced anti-cell proliferative (proliferating cell nuclear antigen and cyclin-D1) also regulated expression, drastically diminished tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-κB, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1ß expression levels, significantly upregulated Bcl-2 and Bax expression. Thus, this tomentosin can significantly reduce GCC proliferation via cytotoxicity which is stimulated apoptosis markers via morphology staining changes and inhibitory inflammatory markers. The tomentosin-induced oxidative stress may be involved to stimulate apoptotic mechanisms via mitochondria-mediated signaling by the inhibition of inflammation. Taken together, our findings suggest a possible future use of chemotherapeutic agents for pharmacological benefits and as an anti-cancer treatment option.

Application of the SMILE-derived lenticule in therapeutic keratoplasty.

PURPOSE: To observe the clinical efficacy of the small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE)-derived lenticule patch graft in therapeutic keratoplasty, especially for the treatment of corneal microperforation or partial-thickness corneal defects. METHODS: Corneal lenticule obtained from SMILE surgery with diameter greater than 6.5 mm and thickness greater than 100 µm was preserved in a balanced salt solution (Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, TX) containing 50 mg/mL penicillin, 50 mg/mL streptomycin, 100 mg/mL neomycin, and 2.5 mg/mL amphotericin for at least 3 months. Preoperatively, anterior segment optical coherence tomography was used to assess the depth of the ulcer and to decide the thickness of the lenticule. Patients were followed up on day 1 and then at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Corneal perforation or defects were successfully patched in all 17 eyes; 8 eyes (47%) exhibited improvement postoperative corrected distance visual acuity. During the follow-up period of 6 months, there was no evidence of infection, relapse, or perforation detected in all eyes. Lenticule grafts were attached by graft beds very well and remain clear through to the last follow-up checkup in all eyes treated. CONCLUSIONS: The lenticule patch graft seems to serve as a safe, feasible, and inexpensive surgical option for the treatment of keratohelcosis or partial-thickness corneal defects, especially in small perforation and defects. There are hopeful signs that SMILE-derived lenticule becomes a potential graft for therapeutic keratoplasty.

MiR-23a-3p-regulated abnormal acetylation of FOXP3 induces regulatory T cell function defect in Graves' disease.

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of miR-23a-3p in regulating Treg dysfunction in Graves' disease (GD). The percentage of Treg cells and interleukin (IL)-17+ T cells were determined by flow cytometry. The expression of forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), RAR-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) and miR-23a-3p was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or Western blot. CD4+ T cells were treated with SIRT1 specific inhibitor EX-527 or left untreated. MiR-23a-3p mimic or inhibitor were transfected into CD4+ T cells. Acetylation expression of FOXP3 was analyzed by immunoprecipitation. The suppressive function of Treg was analyzed by the carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) assay. The results showed that GD patients have significantly less Treg cells and more IL-17+ T cells. FOXP3 and miR-23a-3p were significantly down-regulated meanwhile SIRT1 and RORγt were up-regulated in GD patients. FOXP3 acetylation level of the GD group was lower than that of control groups. After EX-527 treatment, the percentage of Treg cells, expression and acetylation level of FOXP3 were significantly increased in the GD group. GD Tregs exhibited weaker suppressive activity, miR-23a-3p mimic suppressed SIRT1 expression and suppressive-activity of Tregs whereas it promoted the expression and acetylation level of FOXP3 in the GD group. Our findings suggest that the Treg function defect in GD patients is mediated by the abnormal acetylation of FOXP3, which is regulated by miR-23a-3p via targeting SIRT1.

Long Non-Coding RNA (lncRNA) Growth Arrest Specific 5 (GAS5) Suppresses Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Proliferation and Migration by Inactivating Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND lncRNA GAS5 acts as a tumor-suppressor gene in various types of malignancies, but its involvement in esophageal cancer has not been well studied. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 112 patients with esophageal cancer and 55 volunteers with normal physiological conditions were included in this study. Tumor tissues and adjacent healthy tissues were collected from esophageal cancer patients and blood was extracted from patients and controls. Expression of GAS5 in those tissues was detected by qRT-PCR. All patients were followed up for 5 years and diagnostic and prognostic values of serum GAS5 for esophageal cancer were investigated by ROC curve analysis and survival curve analysis, respectively. Effects of GAS5 expression on cell proliferation and migration were investigated by CCK-8 assay and Transwell cell migration assay, respectively. Effects of GAS5 overexpression on expression of PI3K/AKT/mTOR-related proteins were explored by Western blot analysis. RESULTS GAS5 expression level was lower in tumor tissues than in adjacent healthy tissues. Serum level of GAS5 was lower in cancer patients than in healthy controls, and serum level of GAS5 was decreased with increase in stage of primary tumor (T stage). GAS5 overexpression inhibited tumor cell proliferation and migration, while treatment with PI3K activator reduced the inhibitory effects. GAS5 overexpression decreased the expression level of PI3K and phosphorylation levels of Akt and mTOR in esophageal cancer cells, while PI3K activator treatment showed no significant effects on GAS5 expression. CONCLUSIONS GAS5 was downregulated in esophageal cancer patients compared to healthy controls, and GAS5 overexpression suppressed proliferation and migration of esophageal cancer cells by inactivating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Ritchey-Common sparse-aperture testing of the Giant Steerable Science Mirror.

The Giant Steerable Science Mirror (GSSM) is the tertiary mirror of the future large telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope. However, the mirror is too large to be tested using only one aperture, and using many apertures will increase the cost of testing. To accomplish testing at a low cost, the number of apertures should be reduced. The Ritchey-Common (R-C) testing method, commonly used for testing large flat surfaces, uses only a reference spherical mirror and avoids the use of large planar interferometers. Additionally, only the low-spatial-frequency mirror figure is relevant in the system assembly and alignment. Hence, the applicability of sparse-aperture testing is investigated in this paper. Sparse-aperture testing and the R-C method were combined to lower the cost. Using this method and the normalized point source sensitivity (PSSn), the mirror figure can be specified in a simple and accurate manner. Moreover, as fewer subapertures are under test, the efficiency can be improved. An error analysis is conducted, focusing on the shifting error, irregularity error, tipping error, tangential/sagittal error, and seeing. For the testing of the GSSM prototype, the error analysis showed the total error in PSSn is 0.9701.

Analysis and correction for measurement error of edge sensors caused by deformation of guide flexure applied in the Thirty Meter Telescope SSA.

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project will design and build a 30-m-diameter telescope for research in astronomy in visible and infrared wavelengths. The primary mirror of TMT is made up of 492 hexagonal mirror segments under active control. The highly segmented primary mirror will utilize edge sensors to align and stabilize the relative piston, tip, and tilt degrees of segments. The support system assembly (SSA) of the segmented mirror utilizes a guide flexure to decouple the axial support and lateral support, while its deformation will cause measurement error of the edge sensor. We have analyzed the theoretical relationship between the segment movement and the measurement value of the edge sensor. Further, we have proposed an error correction method with a matrix. The correction process and the simulation results of the edge sensor will be described in this paper.

PGRN promotes migration and invasion of epithelial ovarian cancer cells through an epithelial mesenchymal transition program and the activation of cancer associated fibroblasts.

In this paper, we aimed to explore whether progranulin (PGRN) could induce epithelial ovarian cancer cells to undergo an epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) program directly and through its activation of cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) indirectly. Immunohistochemistry(IHC) staining of tissue samples of 78 cases of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients found that PGRN expression levels were negatively correlated with E-cadherin levels (r=-0.289, P=0.013) and positively correlated with Slug levels (r=0.332, P=0.003); Cell experiments showed that PGRN overexpression could increase the migratory and invasive abilities of A2780 cells significantly. Moreover, high doses (62ng/ml) of recombinant PGRN could induce 14.7 fold high expression of smooth muscle actin α (α-SMA) in human normal fibroblasts. In addition, patients with both high levels of PGRN and α-SMA in their tissue samples had the worst disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than those with low levels of PGRN or α-SMA. All the results suggest that PGRN could promote invasiveness of EOC cells through an EMT program directly and through activation of CAFs indirectly. This may provide a new effective therapy target for EOC.