[Vitamin D inhibits PM2.5-induced autophagy and cytokine release of A549 human alveolar epithelial cells].

Objective To investigate how vitamin D (VD) affects fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-induced autophagy and cytokines production in A549 human alveolar epithelial cells. Methods PM2.5 samples were prepared at the upper part of an acetylene diffusion flame burner. A549 cells were treated with PM2.5 in vitro, and/or were treated with VD or autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Western blot analysis was employed to analyze the level of LC3-II/I and Beclin-1 in A549 cells with different groups. Real time quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of interleukin-25 (IL-25), IL-33 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). The formation of autophagosomes was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results LC3-II/I ratio and beclin-1 protein expression were found increased in A549 cells after PM2.5 treatment, and autophagosome were increased too. There was a marked decrease of PM2.5-induced autophagy with VD treatment. After 3-MA treatment, the autophagy was inhibited. Then, PM2.5 continued to induce autophagy, while VD could also reverse it. PM2.5 promoted the secretion of IL-25, IL-33 and TSLP by inducing autophagy in A549 cells while this process was inhibited by 3-MA and VD. Conclusion VD can inhibit PM2.5-induced autophagy and cytokine release in A549 cells, thus playing a protective role.

Microplastic pollution in Larimichthys polyactis in the coastal area of Jiangsu, China.

We investigated microplastics (MPs) pollution in 349 Larimichthys polyactis specimens from the coastal area of Jiangsu Province, China. The MP abundance in L. polyactis was 1.03 ± 1.04 items/individual and 0.95 ± 0.92 items/10 g (wet weight). The MP abundance in specimens from the Haizhou Bay fishing ground was slightly higher than that in specimens from the Lvsi fishing ground. Spearman's correlation showed that MP abundance was positively correlated with body length when expressed as items/individual, but not items/10 g. The abundance in the gastrointestinal tract was slightly higher than that in the gills, but the differences were not significant for either measurement index. The MPs predominantly ingested by L. polyactis were <1 mm, fibrous, blue and had a cellophane composition. The MP pollution in L. polyactis in the coast of Jiangsu Province is at a medium to low level, as compared with other regions of China.

Amides and neolignans from the aerial parts of Piper bonii.

Six amides, piperbonamides A-F, three neolignans piperbonins A-C, and 11 known compounds were isolated from the aerial parts of Piper bonii (Piperaceae). The structures of piperbonamides A-F and piperbonins A-C were elucidated based on the analysis of 1D and 2D NMR and MS data. Piperbonin A, (+)-trans-acuminatin, (+)-cis-acuminatin, (+)-kadsurenone, and pipernonaline showed weak activity against platelet aggregation with IC50 values of 118.2, 108.5, 90.02, 107.3, and 116.3 µM, respectively, as compared with the positive control, tirofiban, with an IC50 value of 5.24 µM. Piperbonamides A-F were inactive against five tumor cell lines at concentrations up to 40 µM.

Parallel-coupled dual racetrack silicon micro-resonators for quadrature amplitude modulation.

A parallel-coupled dual racetrack silicon micro-resonator structure is proposed and analyzed for M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation. The over-coupled, critically coupled, and under-coupled scenarios are systematically studied. Simulations indicate that only the over-coupled structures can generate arbitrary M-ary quadrature signals. Analytic study shows that the large dynamic range of amplitude and phase of a modulated over-coupled structure stems from the strong cross-coupling between two resonators, which can be understood through a delicate balance between the direct sum and the "interaction" terms. Potential asymmetries in the coupling constants and quality factors of the resonators are systematically studied. Compensations for these asymmetries by phase adjustment are shown feasible.

Highly flexible polymeric optical waveguide for out-of-plane optical interconnects.

In this paper, we reported high speed optical test on polymeric optical waveguide array with embedded 45 masculine micro-mirrors on flexible substrate for out-of-plane optical interconnects. The waveguide array was bent with curvature ranging from 61 mm to 5mm. As the bending radius decreases, the average insertion loss increases from 3.4 dB to 7.7 dB for single-mode fiber (SMF) coupling and from 5.5 dB to 7.9 dB for multi-mode fiber (MMF) coupling, respectively. Eye-diagrams under such bending conditions show that the Q factor decreases from 8.0 to 6.1 and the calculated bit error rate (BER) increases from 10(-16) to 10(-10) at 10 Gbps.

Polymeric waveguides with embedded micro-mirrors formed by Metallic Hard Mold.

In this paper, we presented fabrication of nickel based metal mold with 45 degrees tilted surfaces on both ends of the channel waveguide through electroplating process. To obtain a precise 45 degrees tilted angle, a 50microm thick SU-8 layer was UV exposed under de-ionized water, with repeatable error control of 0.5 degrees . The polymeric waveguide array with 45 degrees micro-mirrors, which is formed by a UV imprinting method with the fabricated metallic mold, shows total insertion losses around 4dB, propagation loss around 0.18dB/cm and 75% coupling efficiency.