[Value of constructing a non-invasive diagnostic model based on serum heme oxygenase-1 and glucose regulatory protein 78 for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease].

Objective: To analyze the clinical application value of serum heme oxygenase (HO)-1expression level in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and, based on that, establish a diagnostic model combined with glucose regulatory protein 78 (GRP78) so as to clarify its diagnostic effectiveness and application value. Methods: A total of 210 NAFLD patients diagnosed by abdominal B-ultrasound and liver elastography were included, and at the same time, 170 healthy controls were enrolled. The general clinical data, peripheral blood cell counts, and biochemical indicators of the research subjects were collected. The expression levels of HO-1 and GRP78 were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Multivariate analysis was used to screen independent risk factors for NAFLD. Visual output was performed through nomogram diagrams, and the diagnostic model was constructed. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of NAFLD. Measurement data were analyzed using a t-test or Mann-Whitney U rank sum test to detect data differences between groups. Enumeration data were analyzed using the Fisher's exact probability test or the Pearson χ(2) test. Results: Compared with the healthy control group, the white blood cell count, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GTT), fasting blood glucose (Glu), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), serum HO-1, and GRP78 levels were significantly increased in the NAFLD group patients (P < 0.05). Binary logistic analysis results showed that AST, TG, LDL-C, serum HO-1, and GRP78 were independent risk factors for NAFLD (P < 0.05). A nomogram clinical predictive model HGATL was established using HO-1 (H), GRP78 (G) combined with AST (A), TG (T), and LDL-C (L), with the formula P=-21.469+3.621×HO-1+0.116 ×GRP78+0.674×AST+6.250×TG+4.122 ×LDL-C. The results confirmed that the area under the ROC curve of the HGATL model was 0.965 8, with an optimal cutoff value of 81.69, a sensitivity of 87.06%, a specificity of 92.82%, a P < 0.05, and the diagnostic effectiveness significantly higher than that of a single indicator. The calibration curve and DCA both showed that the model had good diagnostic performance. Conclusion: The HGATL model can be used as a novel, non-invasive diagnosis model for NAFLD and has a positive application value in NAFLD diagnosis and therapeutic effect evaluation. Therefore, it should be explored and promoted in clinical applications.

Real-time multimode dynamics of terahertz quantum cascade lasers via intracavity self-detection: observation of self mode-locked population pulsations.

Mode-locking operation and multimode instabilities in Terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have been intensively investigated during the last decade. These studies have unveiled a rich phenomenology, owing to the unique properties of these lasers, in particular their ultrafast gain medium. Thanks to this, in QCLs a modulation of the intracavity field intensity gives rise to a strong modulation of the population inversion, directly affecting the laser current. In this work we show that this property can be used to study in real-time the dynamics of multimode THz QCLs, using a self-detection technique combined with a 60GHz real-time oscilloscope. To demonstrate the potential of this technique we investigate a 4.2THz QCL operating in free-running, and observe a self-starting periodic modulation of the laser current, producing trains of regularly spaced, ∼100ps-long pulses. Depending on the drive current we find two distinct regimes of oscillation with dramatically different properties: a first regime at the fundamental cavity repetition rate, characterised by large amplitude and phase noise, with coherence times of a few tens of periods; a much more regular second-harmonic-comb regime, with typical coherence times of ∼105 oscillation periods. We interpret these measurements using a set of effective semiconductor Maxwell-Bloch equations that qualitatively reproduce the fundamental features of the laser dynamics, indicating that the observed carrier-density and optical pulses are in antiphase, and appear as a rather shallow modulation on top of a continuous wave background. Thanks to its simple implementation and versatility, the demonstrated broadband self-detection technique is a powerful tool for the study of ultrafast dynamics in THz QCLs.

Terahertz quantum cascade laser frequency combs with optical feedback.

Optical feedback exists in most laser configurations and strongly affects laser performances depending on the feedback strength, length, and phase. In this paper, we investigate the frequency comb behaviour of a semiconductor quantum cascade laser emitting around 4.2 THz with external optical feedback. A periodic evolution of the laser inter-mode beatnote from single-line to multiple-line structures is experimentally observed with a minor change of optical feedback length (phase) on the wavelength scale. The comb stability of the laser with feedback is also measured and compared with the same laser without feedback. Furthermore, our simulations reveal that the dynamical oscillations invoked by optical feedback are responsible for the measured multiple-line beatnotes. It is found that the characteristic feedback period is determined by the half wavelength of the laser, while the comb operation is maintained at most feedback length positions. Therefore, terahertz quantum cascade laser combs are robust against the minor position vibration of the feedback mirror in practice, owing to the much smaller feedback phase change than that of common near-infrared laser diodes.

Improved comb and dual-comb operation of terahertz quantum cascade lasers utilizing a symmetric thermal dissipation.

In the terahertz frequency range, the quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a suitable platform for the frequency comb and dual-comb operation. Improved comb performances have been always much in demand. In this work, by employing a symmetric thermal dissipation scheme, we report an improved frequency comb and dual-comb operation of terahertz QCLs. Two configurations of cold fingers, i.e., type A and B with asymmetric and symmetric thermal dissipation schemes, respectively, are investigated here. A finite-element thermal analysis is carried out to study the parametric effects on the thermal management of the terahertz QCL. The modeling reveals that the symmetric thermal dissipation (type B) results in a more uniform thermal conduction and lower maximum temperature in the active region of the laser, compared to the traditional asymmetric thermal dissipation scheme (type A). To verify the simulation, experiments are further performed by measuring laser performance and comb characteristics of terahertz QCLs emitting around 4.2 THz mounted on type A and type B cold fingers. The experimental results show that the symmetric thermal dissipation approach (type B) is effective for improving the comb and dual-comb operation of terahertz QCLs, which can be further widely adopted for spectroscopy, imaging, and near-field applications.

Frequency tuning behaviour of terahertz quantum cascade lasers revealed by a laser beating scheme.

In the terahertz frequency range, the commercialized spectrometers, such as the Fourier transform infrared and time domain spectroscopies, show spectral resolutions between a hundred megahertz and a few gigahertz. Therefore, the high precision frequency tuning ability of terahertz lasers cannot be revealed by these traditional spectroscopic techniques. In this work, we demonstrate a laser beating experiment to investigate the frequency tuning characteristics of terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) induced by temperature or drive current. Two terahertz QCLs emitting around 4.2 THz with identical active regions and laser dimensions (150 µm wide and 6 mm long) are employed in the beating experiment. One laser is operated as a frequency comb and the other one is driven at a lower current to emit a single frequency. To measure the beating signal, the single mode laser is used as a fast detector (laser self-detection). The laser beating scheme allows the high precision measurement of the frequency tuning of the single mode terahertz QCL. The experimental results show that in the investigated temperature and current ranges, the frequency tuning coefficients of the terahertz QCL are 6.1 MHz/0.1 K (temperature tuning) and 2.7 MHz/mA (current tuning) that cannot be revealed by a traditional terahertz spectrometer. The laser beating technique shows potential abilities in high precision linewidth measurements of narrow absorption lines and multi-channel terahertz communications.

Homogeneous spectral broadening of pulsed terahertz quantum cascade lasers by radio frequency modulation.

The authors present an experimental investigation of radio frequency modulation on pulsed terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting around 4.3 THz. The QCL chip used in this work is based on a resonant phonon design which is able to generate a 1.2 W peak power at 10 K from a 400-µm-wide and 4-mm-long laser with a single plasmon waveguide. To enhance the radio frequency modulation efficiency and significantly broaden the terahertz spectra, the QCLs are also processed into a double-metal waveguide geometry with a Silicon lens out-coupler to improve the far-field beam quality. The measured beam patterns of the double-metal QCL show a record low divergence of 2.6° in vertical direction and 2.4° in horizontal direction. Finally we perform the inter-mode beat note and terahertz spectra measurements for both single plasmon and double-metal QCLs working in pulsed mode. Since the double-metal waveguide is more suitable for microwave signal transmission, the radio frequency modulation shows stronger effects on the spectral broadening for the double-metal QCL. Although we are not able to achieve comb operation in this work for the pulsed lasers due to the large phase noise, the homogeneous spectral broadening resulted from the radio frequency modulation can be potentially used for spectroscopic applications.

Terahertz radiation induced chaotic electron transport in semiconductor superlattices with a tilted magnetic field.

Chaotic electron transport in semiconductor superlattice induced by terahertz electric field that is superimposed on a dc electric field along the superlattice axis are studied using the semiclassical motion equations including the effect of dissipation. A magnetic field that is tilted relative to the superlattice axis is also applied to the system. Numerical simulation shows that electrons in superlattice miniband exhibit complicate nonlinear oscillating modes with the influence of terahertz radiation. Transitions between frequency-locking and chaos via pattern forming bifurcations are observed with the varying of terahertz amplitude. It is found that the chaotic regions gradually contract as the dissipation increases. We attribute the appearance of complicate nonlinear oscillation in superlattice to the interaction between terahertz radiation and internal cooperative oscillating mode relative to Bloch oscillation and cyclotron oscillation.

[Network meta-analysis comparing the clinical outcomes and safety of robotic, laparoscopic, and transanal total rectal mesenteric resection for rectal cancer].

Objective: To methodically assess the clinical effectiveness and safety of robot-assisted total rectal mesenteric resection (RTME), laparoscopic-assisted total rectal mesenteric resection (laTME), and transanal total rectal mesenteric resection (taTME). Methods: A computer search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Ovid databases to identify English-language reports published between January 2017 and January 2022 that compared the clinical efficacy of the three surgical procedures of RTME, laTME, and taTME. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the NOS and JADAD scales for retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials, respectively. Direct meta-analysis and reticulated meta-analysis were performed using Review Manager software and R software, respectively. Results: Twenty-nine publications comprising 8,339 patients with rectal cancer were ultimately included. The direct meta-analysis indicated that the length of hospital stay was longer after RTME than after taTME, whereas according to the reticulated meta-analysis the length of hospital stay was shorter after taTME than after laTME (MD=-0.86, 95%CI: -1.70 to -0.096, P=0.036). Moreover, the incidence of anastomotic leak was lower after taTME than after RTME (OR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.39 to 0.91, P=0.018). The incidence of intestinal obstruction was also lower after taTME than after RTME (OR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.31 to 0.94, P=0.037). All of these differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the three surgical procedures regarding the number of lymph nodes cleared, length of the inferior rectal margin, or rate of positive circumferential margins (all P>0.05). An inconsistency test using nodal analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between the results of direct and indirect comparisons of the six outcome indicators (all P>0.05). Furthermore, we detected no significant overall inconsistency between direct and indirect evidence. Conclusion: taTME has advantages over RTME and laTME, in terms of radical and surgical short-term outcomes in patients with rectal cancer.

Bending effect on the Majorana bound states in planar Josephson junctions.

We consider the bending effect on the formation of Majorana bound states (MBSs) in planar Josephson junctions where the normal stripe is tilted in a V shape. Our results show that the MBSs remain robust for moderate bending angles. Beyond some critical angles, the degradation of MBSs can be revealed by its eigenspectrum as well as the Majorana polarization (MP). Our results show that the parameter space of bending angle for robust MBSs can be significantly enlarged by tuning the superconducting phase difference across the Josephson junction. These findings suggest that the interplay of the junction geometry and the device parameters provides richer degree of freedom in designing topological superconducting devices for future applications. The MP analysis is an indispensable tool for characterizing the Majorana states.

Theoretical investigation of the scanning tunneling microscopy of Majorana bound states in topological superconductor vortices.

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is an indispensable tool in detecting Majorana bound states (MBSs) in vortices of topological superconductors. By reducing the computational complexity via non-uniform grids, we systematically study the tunnel coupling as well as the temperature dependence of the differential conductance of MBSs in two dimensional devices. Numerical results show that the conductance peak approaches the quantized value 2e 2/h in strong coupling limit at low temperatures which are characteristic features of MBSs. More interestingly, a conductance local minimum in the spatially scanning is observed when the STM tip is placed at the vortex center. The dip structure can be enhanced with increased temperature or enlarged vortex size. We ascribe this observation to the sensitivity of the Andreev reflection processes of carriers at the vortex center where the thermal energy could be comparable to the vanishing pair potential. We also investigate the STM of two-vortex systems where the hybridization of the vortices can lead to oscillatory behavior of the state energy. With small inter-vortex distances, the original MBSs in vortices can merge into topologically trivial states and the conductance peak can be significantly suppressed.

Enhanced optical conductivity of bilayer graphene nanoribbons in the terahertz regime.

We reveal that there exists a class of graphene structures (a subclass of bilayer graphene nanoribbons) which has an exceptionally strong optical response in the terahertz (THz) and far infrared (FIR) regime. The peak conductance of THz/FIR active bilayer ribbons is around 2 orders of magnitude higher than the universal conductance of sigma(0) = e(2)/4variant Planck's over 2pi observed in graphene sheets. The criterion for the THz/FIR active subclass is a bilayer graphene nanoribbon with a one-dimensional massless Dirac fermion energy dispersion near the Gamma point. Our results overcome a significant obstacle that hinders the potential application of graphene in electronics and photonics.

Shot noise properties of electron transport through an interacting multi-terminal quantum dots system.

We study the correlations of tunneling currents through an interacting quantum dots (QDs) system composed of a top single QD and a bottom qubit with purely capacitive coupling within a quantum master approach. We find that the super-Poissonian current noise of the qubit near resonance, which is a signature of coherent tunneling within the transport qubit for asymmetrical contact couplings, is strongly dependent on non-equilibrium transport through the top QD with different coupling configurations. For pure-dephasing coupling, such a super-Poissonian feature is asymmetrically washed out by increasing coupling strength showing obvious qubit level position dependence with finite bias and temperature, while for orthogonal coupling we can almost symmetrically lower the double peak to a double minimum by increasing coupling strength or adjusting the ratio of the top QD contact couplings in the large bias limit, indicating the transition from coherent tunneling to sequential tunneling.

Interference effects on vibration-mediated tunneling through interacting degenerate molecular states.

We study the combined effects of quantum electronic interference and Coulomb interaction on electron transport through near-degenerate molecular states with strong electron-vibration interaction. It is found that quantum electronic interference strongly affects the current and its noise properties. In particular, destructive interference induces pronounced negative differential conductances (NDCs) accompanying the vibrational excited states, and such NDC characters are not related to asymmetric tunnel coupling and are robust to the damping of a thermal bath. In a certain transport regime, the non-equilibrium vibration distribution even shows a peculiar sub-Poissonian behavior, which is enhanced by quantum electronic interference.

Phonon generation and phonon energy current fluctuation in quantum dot molecules.

We study the phonon dynamics in a biased molecular junction with the interplay of electron-phonon coupling and Coulomb interaction. These interactions are taken into account within the self-consistent Born approximation and mean-field methods. It is found that the Coulomb interaction can enhance the nonequilibrium phonon generation. A general formula for the zero-frequency power spectral density of the phonon energy current fluctuation is presented in terms of the nonequilibrium phonon Green's functions.

Terahertz generation and chaotic dynamics in single-walled zigzag carbon nanotubes.

We study self-sustained terahertz current oscillation and chaotic dynamics in semiconducting single-walled zigzag carbon nanotubes using the time-dependent drift diffusion equations. The current oscillation under a dc voltage bias originates from the negative differential velocity of carbon nanotube which induces the motion and recycling of unstable domain. Numerical simulation indicates that different nonlinear oscillatory modes appear when an external high-frequency ac voltage is superimposed to the dc voltage bias and its driving amplitude varies. The appearance of different nonlinear oscillating modes, including periodic and chaotic, is attributed to the competition between the natural oscillation and the external driving oscillation. The transitions between periodic and chaotic states are carefully studied using chaos-detecting methods, such as bifurcation diagram, phase portraits, first return map, and Fourier spectrum. The resulting bifurcation diagram displays an interesting and complex transition picture with the driving amplitudes as the control parameter.

Quantum interference of Josephson current in topological Anderson insulator junctions.

We investigate the critical supercurrent in Josephson junctions consisting of topological Anderson insulators (TAIs) via the Matsubara Green's function formalism. Our numerical results show that the disorder-induced edge states display distinct differences in dominating normal and supercurrent transport in the TAI phase. Unlike the hallmark of the TAI phase which exhibits a quantized conductance plateau, the critical supercurrent over the disorder strength exhibits a peak structure where the maximum value is reached at the weak-disorder boundary of the TAI phase. Although the magnitude of the averaged critical supercurrent is suppressed with increasing disorder strength, periodic oscillations of the supercurrent on an external magnetic flux survive in the TAI phase. These findings indicate that the supercurrent quantum interference effect can be an effective probe in detecting the emergence of disorder-induced edge state in TAIs.

Homogeneous spectral spanning of terahertz semiconductor lasers with radio frequency modulation.

Homogeneous broadband and electrically pumped semiconductor radiation sources emitting in the terahertz regime are highly desirable for various applications, including spectroscopy, chemical sensing, and gas identification. In the frequency range between 1 and 5 THz, unipolar quantum cascade lasers employing electron inter-subband transitions in multiple-quantum-well structures are the most powerful semiconductor light sources. However, these devices are normally characterized by either a narrow emission spectrum due to the narrow gain bandwidth of the inter-subband optical transitions or an inhomogeneous broad terahertz spectrum from lasers with heterogeneous stacks of active regions. Here, we report the demonstration of homogeneous spectral spanning of long-cavity terahertz semiconductor quantum cascade lasers based on a bound-to-continuum and resonant phonon design under radio frequency modulation. At a single drive current, the terahertz spectrum under radio frequency modulation continuously spans 330 GHz (~8% of the central frequency), which is the record for single plasmon waveguide terahertz lasers with a bound-to-continuum design. The homogeneous broadband terahertz sources can be used for spectroscopic applications, i.e., GaAs etalon transmission measurement and ammonia gas identification.

Frequency Up-Conversion Photon-Type Terahertz Imager.

Terahertz imaging has many important potential applications. Due to the failure of Si readout integrated circuits (ROICs) and the thermal mismatch between the photo-detector arrays and the ROICs at temperatures below 40 K, there are big technical challenges to construct terahertz photo-type focal plane arrays. In this work, we report pixel-less photo-type terahertz imagers based on the frequency up-conversion technique. The devices are composed of terahertz quantum-well photo-detectors (QWPs) and near-infrared (NIR) light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are grown in sequence on the same substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. In such an integrated QWP-LED device, photocurrent in the QWP drives the LED to emit NIR light. By optimizing the structural parameters of the QWP-LED, the QWP part and the LED part both work well. The maximum values of the internal and external energy up-conversion efficiencies are around 20% and 0.5%. A laser spot of a homemade terahertz quantum cascade laser is imaged by the QWP-LED together with a commercial Si camera. The pixel-less imaging results show that the image blurring induced by the transverse spreading of photocurrent is negligible. The demonstrated pixel-less imaging opens a new way to realize high performance terahertz imaging devices.

Arginine residues in the D2 polypeptide may stabilize bicarbonate binding in photosystem II of Synechocystis sp. PCC.

Bicarbonate (HCO3-) causes a significant and reversible stimulation of anion-inhibited electron flow in photosystem II of higher plants and cyanobacteria. To test if selected arginine (Arg) residues are involved in the binding of HCO3-, we utilized oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis to construct Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 mutants carrying mutations in Arg residues in the D2 protein. Measurements of oxygen evolution showed that the D2 mutants R233Q (arginine-233----glutamine) and R251S (arginine-251----serine) were 10-fold more sensitive to formate than the wild type. The formate concentration giving half-maximal inhibition of the steady-state oxygen evolution rate was 48 mM, 4.5 mM and 4 mM for the wild type, R233Q and R251S, respectively. Measurements of oxygen evolution in single-turnover flashes confirm that the mutants are more sensitive to formate than the wild type. Measurements of chlorophyll a fluorescence decay kinetics after the second saturating actinic flash indicated that, after formate treatment, the halftime of QA- oxidation was decreased by approximately a factor of 2, 4 and 6 in the wild type, R251S and R233Q, respectively. The recombination rate between QA- and S2 was approx. 2-fold slower in R251S and R233Q than in the wild type. In the presence of 100 mM sodium formate, reactivation of the Hill reaction by bicarbonate showed that the wild type had an apparent Km for bicarbonate of 0.5 mM, while the Km values for R233Q and R251S were 1.4 and 1.5 mM, respectively. We suggest that Arg-233 and Arg-251 in the D2 polypeptide contribute to stabilization of HCO3- binding in Photosystem II.

[Therapeutic mechanisms and effects of urea in treating mouse transplantable hepatocellular carcinoma].

In this paper, mouse transplantable hepatocellular carcinomas of both solid and ascitic types were effectively treated by urea. Survival time of tumour-bearing animals was obviously prolonged. Tumour cells in the treated group were significant swelling, degeneration, necrosis, smoothing of cellular surface and loss of infiltrating ability to surrounding soft tissues observed by light, electron and scanning electron microscope. As assayed by cellular kinetics and autoradiography, proliferation was inhibited, appearing as decrease of mitotic index and prolongation of cell cycle time, and so on. The proliferating ability of tumour stem cells in the treated group was severely inhibited as tested by colony formation frequency in soft-agar medium. There was no obvious alteration in relative DNA content in tumour cells or in the ratio of number of cells in various phases to cell population according to the assay of fluorescence activated cell sorter. This means that urea is a cell cycle non-specific antitumour agent and is able to kill tumour cells in various phases.