Neuroimmune interactions and their roles in neurodegenerative diseases.

The nervous system possesses bidirectional, sophisticated and delicate communications with the immune system. These neuroimmune interactions play a vitally important role in the initiation and development of many disorders, especially neurodegenerative diseases. Although scientific advancements have made tremendous progress in this field during the last few years, neuroimmune communications are still far from being elucidated. By organizing recent research, in this review, we discuss the local and intersystem neuroimmune interactions and their roles in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Unveiling these will help us gain a better understanding of the process of interplay inside the body and how the organism maintains homeostasis. It will also facilitate a view of the diseases from a holistic, pluralistic and interconnected perspective, thus providing a basis of developing novel and effective methods to diagnose, intervene and treat diseases.

Synthesis of Nano-Structured Ge as Transmissive or Reflective Saturable Absorber for Mode-Locked Fiber Laser.

Amorphous-Ge (α-Ge) or free-standing nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized via hydrogen-free plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) were applied as transmissive or reflective saturable absorbers, respectively, for starting up passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers (EDFLs). Under a threshold pumping power of 41 mW for mode-locking the EDFL, the transmissive α-Ge film could serve as a saturable absorber with a modulation depth of 52-58%, self-starting EDFL pulsation with a pulsewidth of approximately 700 fs. Under a high power of 155 mW, the pulsewidth of the EDFL mode-locked by the 15 s-grown α-Ge was suppressed to 290 fs, with a corresponding spectral linewidth of 8.95 nm due to the soliton compression induced by intra-cavity self-phase modulation. The Ge-NP-on-Au (Ge-NP/Au) films could also serve as a reflective-type saturable absorber to passively mode-lock the EDFL with a broadened pulsewidth of 3.7-3.9 ps under a high-gain operation with 250 mW pumping power. The reflection-type Ge-NP/Au film was an imperfect mode-locker, owing to their strong surface-scattered deflection in the near-infrared wavelength region. From the abovementioned results, both ultra-thin α-Ge film and free-standing Ge NP exhibit potential as transmissive and reflective saturable absorbers, respectively, for ultrafast fiber lasers.

Improvement of the Centrifugal Force in Gravity Driven Method for the Fabrication of Highly Ordered and Submillimeter-Thick Colloidal Crystal.

In this paper, we propose a modified gravity method by introducing centrifugal force to promote the stacking of silica particles and the order of formed colloidal crystals. In this method, a monodispersed silica colloidal solution is filled into empty cells and placed onto rotation arms that are designed to apply an external centrifugal force to the filled silica solution. When sample fabrication is in progress, silica particles are forced toward the edges of the cells. The number of defects in the colloidal crystal decreases and the structural order increases during this process. The highest reflectivity and structural order of a sample was obtained when the external centrifugal force was 18 G. Compared to the samples prepared using the conventional stacking method, samples fabricated with centrifugal force possess higher reflectivity and structural order. The reflectivity increases from 68% to 90%, with an increase in centrifugal force from 0 to 18 G.

Position Dependence of Emission Wavelength of a SiO2 Colloidal Photonic-Crystal Laser.

In this paper, a wavelength tunable colloidal-crystal laser with monodispersed silica particles was demonstrated. Silica particles were synthesized through the modified Stöber process and self-assembled into the colloidal photonic-crystal structure, which was then used to form the optic cavity of a wavelength tunable laser device. Due to Bragg's diffraction of the colloidal photonic-crystal and the coffee ring effect, the forbidden energy gap of light varied with different lattice sizes at different positions of the colloidal photonic-crystal. When the pumping pulsed laser irradiated on the gain medium of the sample, the fluorescence was restricted and enhanced by the colloidal photonic-crystal. Lasing emission with a single peak occurred when the energy of the pumping laser exceeded the threshold energy. The threshold energy and the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the proposed laser were 7.63 µJ/pulse and 2.88 nm, respectively. Moreover, the lasing wavelength of the colloidal photonic-crystal laser could be tuned from 604 nm to 594 nm, corresponding to the various positions in the sample due to the coffee ring effect.

Life in the fast lane: clinical and immunohistological characteristics of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy-a retrospective study in 684 patients.

BACKGROUND: Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TCM) has been known for decades as a reversible form of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. However, its mechanism and characteristics remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study investigated endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) samples from consecutive patients with TCM and compared them with samples from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and inflammatory cardiomyopathy (InCM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 684 patients (18 TCM, 170 DCM, 496 InCM) with recent-onset heart failure and reduced ejection fraction unrelated to valvular or ischemic heart disease were analyzed. RESULTS: In the TCM group, 81% were male, the mean age was 60 ± 13 years, and 94% had heart failure symptoms ≥2 New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. At baseline (BL), 78% had atrial fibrillation/flutter and 12% other forms of tachycardia or frequent extrasystole. The ventricular rate was higher compared to DCM and InCM patients (122 ± 25 versus 78 ± 21; p < 0.001). Mean ejection fraction at BL was lower compared to DCM and InCM (27 ± 12% versus 39.0 ± 14.6%; p = 0.001), but improved to a significantly greater extent during follow-up (FU) (20% versus 6%; p < 0.001). At FU, heart rate and presence of sinus rhythm were similar in all groups; 69% of TCM patients underwent cardioversion or ablation. Compared with DCM patients, TCM patients had stronger myocardial expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and an equal amount of infiltration with T­cells/macrophages. Compared with InCM patients, the presence of T­cells/macrophages was significantly lower in TCM. The marker of apoptosis (caspase 3) was comparably elevated in TCM/InCM patients. CONCLUSION: Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy is characterized by immunohistological changes comparable to DCM except for caspase 3 levels, which were similar to those in InCM.

A Planar Fresnel Lens in Reflection Type Based on Azo-Dye-Doped Cholesteric Liquid Crystals Fabricated by Photo-Alignment.

This paper presents a focusing efficiency and focal length tunable planar Fresnel lens in reflection type based on azo-dye-doped cholesterol liquid crystal film. The Fresnel-like pattern of a pumping beam can be formed by a Sagnac interferometer. When the azo-dye molecules are irradiated by the pumping beam, the photoalignment effect will be induced in the bright (odd) zones due to the trans-cis photoisomerization of azo-dye molecules. Thus, the structures of cholesteric liquid crystals in the odd zones will reorient from the imperfectly planar textures to the perfectly planar textures. The different structures of cholesteric liquid crystals in two adjacent zones will give rise to phase difference for the reflected light and thus function as a Fresnel lens. The focusing efficiency of the proposed Fresnel lens can be controlled by the applied voltages and affected by the polarization state of incident light. Moreover, various focal lengths of the Fresnel lens can be achieved by rewriting a different center radius of the Fresnel-like pattern.

Predictors of long-term outcome in patients with biopsy proven inflammatory cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to identify prognostic indicators in patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy (iCM) on endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). METHODS AND RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2011 all consecutive patients with diagnosed with iCM at EMB were retrospectively analyzed. The combined primary endpoint (EP) (1°EP) was cardiac death, aborted sudden cardiac death/appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock, progressive heart failure requiring left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and heart transplantation. 503 patients (mean age 58 ± 12 years, 73% male) were available for analysis. Genomes of cardiotrophic viruses were detected in 396 patients (79%) and immuno-histochemical signs of inflammation were present in 223 individuals (44%). After 3.6 ± 2.4 years of follow-up, cardiac mortality was 3.0% (n = 14) and a total of 8.6% (n = 40) reached the primary endpoint. Independent predictors for the 1°EP were: age ≥ 50 years, presence and duration (≤ 28 days) of symptomatic heart failure. A risk stratification approach based on the results of the multivariate analysis demonstrated that absence of signs and/or symptoms of congestive heart failure in younger (< 50 years) patients with longer (> 28 days) duration of disease appear to have an excellent prognosis with 100% survival and no events during follow-up. The presence of all above mentioned independent risk factors results in an 1°EP occurrence of 35.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of heart failure, short duration of disease, and older age are indicators of poor outcome in patients with iCM.

[Clinical effects of combination chemotherapy with irinotecan hydrochloride and cisplatin on cervical cancer: study of 46 patients].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination chemotherapy of irinotecan hydrochloride plus cisplatin on cervical cancer. METHODS: Forty-six patients with cervical cancer, 43 with squamous cell carcinoma, 2 adenocarcinoma, and 1 small cell carcinoma, 41 being treated initially and 5 being recurrent cases of which 2 had undergone radiotherapy plus chemotherapy, 2 radical hysterectomy plus pelvic radiotherapy after operation, and 1 radical hysterectomy plus chemotherapy, aged 38 (22-61), were treated with irinotecan hydrochloride, 60 mg/m(2) in 250 ml normal saline administered on days 1, 8, and 15 by intravenous infusion over 60 min, plus cisplatin, 60 mg/m(2) in 500 ml 5% glucose given on day 1. This regimen was repeated every 28 days. Effectiveness evaluation was conducted after 1-2 courses for the initially treated patients and after 2-6 courses for the recurrent patients. RESULTS: Totally 79 courses of treatment were given to the 41 patients. After 1-2 courses 4 (9.8%) of the 41 stage Ib2-IIIb initially treated patients achieved complete remission, 30 (73.2%) achieved partial remission, and 7 (17.1%) remained at stationary phase with a overall effective rate of 82.9%. Of the 29 IIb and IIIb stage advanced patients who failed to receive operation originally 20 patients (69%) succeeded to be treated by radical hysterectomy after 1 to 2 courses when the tumorless space between the uterine and the pelvic wall > or = 3 cm with an operatibility rate of 69%. Of the 5 recurrent patients 1 case achieved complete remission, 2 partial remission, and 2 remained stable; none progression of disease was observed after 4-6 courses. The main toxic response and side effect included myelosuppression and diarrhea. CONCLUSION: Effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy on cervical cancer, combination therapy of irinotecan hydrochloride and cisplatin win opportunity for treatment and improves their life quality with tolerable side effects.

Clinical profile of patients with advanced age and inflammatoric dilated cardiomyopathy on endomyocardial biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is an important tool when patients with inflammatoric cardiomyopathy (DCMi) are evaluated. We aimed to assess the clinical profile of elderly patients with DCMi on EMB. METHODS: Retrospective study of all consecutive patients hospitalized from January 2007 to December 2011 with clinical suspicion of DCMi undergoing EMB. Patients with evidence of DCMi on EMB (Group 1 ≥ 70 years, n = 85; Group 3 < 70 years; n = 418) were compared to patients of the same age group without evidence of DCMi on EMB (Group 2 ≥ 70 years, n = 45; Group 4 < 70 years; n = 147). RESULTS: Among 24,275 patients treated at our institution during the study period, 695 had clinical suspicion of DCMi and underwent EMB; 503 (2.1%) patients had DCMi on EMB. There were more male patients in Group 1, mean age was 74 ± 2.8 years, mean ejection fraction was 38% ± 14%. On presentation, signs of hemodynamic compromise (NYHA functional class III/IV, low cardiac output/index, and low cardiac power index) were more frequent in Group 1. EMB revealed viral genome in 78% of the patients, parvovirus B19 (PVB) was frequently encountered in both age groups (Group 1: 69.4% vs. Group 2: 59.6%); detection of more than one viral genome was more frequent in Group 1 (21.2% vs. 11.2%; P = 0.02) whereas the extent of immune response was significantly lower in individuals with advanced age. CONCLUSIONS: In patients ≥ 70 years with DCMi on EMB signs of hemodynamic compromise, detection of multiple viral genomes together with an overall lower extent of immune response were more frequently observed.

Can silicon carbide serve as a saturable absorber for passive mode-locked fiber lasers?

The study presents a novel demonstration of a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) that is based on a silicon carbide (SixC1-x) saturable absorber. When the C/Si composition ratio is increased to 1.83, the SixC1-x film transforms from two-photon absorption to nonlinear saturable absorption, and the corresponding value reaches -3.9 × 10(-6) cm/W. The Si-rich SixC1-x film cannot mode lock the EDFL because it induced high intracavity loss through two-photon absorption. Even when a stoichiometric SiC is used, the EDFL is mode locked, similar to an EDFL operating under weak nonlinear-polarization-rotation condition. A C-rich SixC1-x film containing sp(2)-orbital C-C bonds with a linear absorbance of 0.172 and nonlinear absorbance of 0.04 at a 181 MW/cm(2) saturation intensity demonstrates nonlinear transmittance. The C-rich SixC1-x saturable absorber successfully generates a short mode-locked EDFL pulse of 470 fs. The fluctuation of the pulse-train envelope dropps considerably from 11.6% to 0.8% when a strong saturable-absorption-induced self-amplitude modulation process occurs in the C-rich SixC1-x film.

A direct and polymer-free method for transferring graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition to any substrate.

We demonstrate a polymer-free method that can routinely transfer relatively large-area graphene to any substrate with advanced electrical properties and superior atomic and chemical structures as compared to the graphene sheets transferred with conventional polymer-assisted methods. The graphene films that are transferred with polymer-free method show high electrical conductance and excellent optical transmittance. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray/ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy also confirm the presence of high quality graphene sheets with little contamination after transfer. Atom-resolved images can be obtained using scanning tunneling microscope on as-transferred graphene sheets without additional cleaning process. The mobility of the polymer-free graphene monolayer is as high as 63,000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), which is 50% higher than the similar sample transferred with the conventional method. More importantly, this method allows us to place graphene directly on top of devices made of soft materials, such as organic and polymeric thin films, which widens the applications of graphene in soft electronics.