Kalman filtering-enhanced short-delay self-heterodyne interferometry for linewidth measurement.

We demonstrate an extended Kalman filtering-enhanced linewidth measurement in short-delay self-heterodyne interferometry (SDSHI). We found that a modified SDSHI trace closely resembles a biased cosine wave, which would enable convenient linewidth estimation by its uniform envelope contrast without any correction factor. Experimentally, we adopted this approach for kHz laser linewidth measurement, taking advantages of extended Kalman filtering (EKF) to adaptively track the cosine wave. Apart from the measurement noise suppression, this approach could use as many data points as possible in the noisy trace to make a linewidth estimation at each tracked data point, from which we can deduce valuable statistical parameters such as the mean and standard deviation. This approach involves no more equipment than conventional SDSHI and sophisticated EKF so that it can be easily implemented. Therefore, we believe it will find wide applications in ultra-narrow laser linewidth measurement.

Meta-analysis of Proton Pump Inhibitors in the Treatment of Pharyngeal Reflux Disease.

The present study aimed to examine the safety and healing effects of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in people with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD). To find all relevant studies published before April 1, 2022, we searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Clinical Trials, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and Wanfang databases. For SLE, we looked for all randomized controlled clinical trials related to PPIs versus placebo-controlled treatment of LPRD. Overall efficiency, reflux symptom index (RSI), reflux finding score (RFS), improvement in cough and hoarseness, and adverse reactions were compared using the Review Manager 5.3. Using the reflux symptom index (RSI) as an outcome indicator for efficacy assessment, the PPI group showed significant improvement compared with the placebo group [MD = 3.35, 95% CI (1.34, 5.37, P < 0.05)]. In terms of overall efficacy, the PPI group showed effectiveness, but its efficacy was not statistically significantly dissimilar from that of the placebo group [OR = 1.62, 95% CI (0.89, 2.95), P > 0.05].

High-power, low-noise Brillouin laser on a silicon chip.

We realize a chip-based Brillouin microlaser with remarkable features of high power and low noise using a microtoroid resonator. Our Brillouin microlaser is able to output a power of up to 126 mW with a fundamental linewidth down to 245 mHz. Additionally, in the course of Brillouin lasing we observe an intriguing power saturation-like effect, which can be attributed to complex thermo-optic-effect-induced mode mismatch between the pump and Brillouin modes. To have a quantitative understanding of this phenomenon, we develop a model by simultaneously considering Brillouin lasing and the thermo-optic effect occurring in the microcavity. Of importance, our theoretical results match well with experimentally measured data.

MiR-3571 modulates the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells by targeting claudin 1.

Background and aims: The miRNA-based post-transcription modification has been extensively studied in hypertension. It however remains elusive how miRNA expression is regulated in this pathological process. We hypothesize that hydroxymethylation in the promoter regions tightly controls the levels of key miRNAs, which in turn affects the development of hypertension. Methods: The levels of hydroxymethylation in the promoter regions from thoracic aortic tissues were compared between spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs), using hydroxymethylcytosine DNA immunoprecipitation (hMeDIP) sequencing. The altered hydroxymethylation level of miR-3571 was confirmed by glucosylation-coupled hydroxymethylation-sensitive qPCR. We further identified claudin 1(CLDN1) as a key target of miR-3571 via bioinformatic prediction (targetscan) and dual-luciferase activity assays. Finally, we analyzed the contribution of miR-3571/CLDN1 axis in the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Results: The hydroxymethylation level of miR-3571 promoter region in thoracic aortic tissue from spontaneously hypertensive rats was lower than that from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. Accordingly, the expression of miR-3571 was lower during hypertension, with up-regulated CLDN1 protein levels. More importantly, we found that miR3571 overexpression led to phenotypic changes of VSMCs, and inhibited the proliferation and migration of muscle cells via suppressing CLDN1 as well. Our findings further suggested that CLDN1 up-regulation increase the activity of ERK1/2 in VSMCs. Conclusions: Our study suggested that hydroxymethylation in the promoter regions controlled the level of miR-3571 and revealed the important roles of miR-3571 and CLDN1 in VSMCs during the development of hypertension. In addition, our results also indicated that miR-3571/CLDN1 axis regulated the functions of VSMCs via the ERK1/2 pathway. Taken together, our findings support miR-3571 as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and prevention of hypertension.

Self-pulsations in a microcavity Brillouin laser.

We demonstrate a new, to the best of our knowledge, kind of self-pulsation in a microcavity Brillouin laser. This specific self-pulsation is generated by the interplay between the Brillouin lasing and the thermo-optic effect in an optical microcavity. Intriguingly, the self-pulsation behaviors are simultaneously present in both forward input pump and backward Brillouin lasing emission. By developing a coupled-mode theory, our numerical simulations display an excellent agreement with the experimental results.

Generation of Optical Frequency Comb via Giant Optomechanical Oscillation.

Optical frequency combs (OFCs) are essential in precision metrology, spectroscopy, distance measurement, and optical communications. Significant advances have been made recently in achieving micro-OFC devices based on parametric frequency conversion or electro-optic phase modulation. Here, we demonstrate a new kind of microcomb using a cavity optomechanical system with giant oscillation amplitude. We observe both optical and microwave frequency combs in a microtoroid resonator, which feature a flat OFC with 938 comb lines and a repetition rate as low as 50.22 MHz, as well as a flat microwave frequency comb with 867 comb lines. To generate such giant oscillation amplitude, we excite an overcoupled optical mode with a large blue detuning that is assisted with the thermo-optic nonlinearity. A new type of nonlinear oscillation, induced by competition between the optomechanical oscillation and thermo-optic nonlinearity, is also observed.

Plasma EGFR mutation abundance affects clinical response to first-line EGFR-TKIs in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Activated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation is the main pathogenic cause of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Asia. However, the impact of plasma EGFR mutation abundance, especially of the ultra-low abundance of EGFR mutation detected by highly sensitive techniques on clinical outcomes of first-line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for advanced NSCLC patients remains unclear. METHODS: We qualitatively detected baseline EGFR status of NSCLC tissues using amplification-refractory mutation system and quantified the plasma abundance of EGFR mutations through next-generation sequencing (NGS). Every 8-12 weeks, we performed dynamic detection of plasma mutation abundance and imaging evaluation. We analyzed the association between plasma abundance of EGFR sensitizing mutations, tumor size, tumor shrinkage percentage, concomitant TP53 mutations, and clinical response to TKIs. RESULTS: This prospective study enrolled 135 patients with advanced NSCLC. The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) for EGFR mutation-positive patients were 50.0% and 87.0%, respectively. When the cutoff value of plasma EGFR mutation abundance was 0.1%, the ORRs of TKI-treated patients were significantly different (60.0% for the >0.1% group vs. 21.4% for the ≤0.1% group, P=0.028). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer for participants with a mutation abundance above 0.1% compared to those with a 0.01-0.1% abundance (log rank, P=0.0115). There was no significant association between plasma abundance of EGFR sensitizing mutations and tumor size, tumor shrinkage percentage, or concomitant TP53 mutations. Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that plasma mutation abundance was an independent predictive factor for PFS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-5.20; P=0.025]. We identified 11 participants with the acquired T790M resistance mutation according to serial dynamic plasma samples. CONCLUSIONS: Liquid biopsy screening based on highly sensitive NGS is reliable for detecting drug resistance and actionable somatic mutations. The plasma abundance of the EGFR driver mutation affected clinical response to EGFR-TKIs in advanced NSCLC patients; prolongation of PFS was also observed in patients with an ultra-low abundance of EGFR sensitizing mutations.

Brillouin-Kerr Soliton Frequency Combs in an Optical Microresonator.

By generating a Brillouin laser in an optical microresonator, we realize a soliton Kerr microcomb through exciting the Kerr frequency comb using the generated Brillouin laser in the same cavity. The intracavity Brillouin laser pumping scheme enables us to access the soliton states with a blue-detuned input pump. Because of the ultranarrow linewidth and the low-noise properties of the generated Brillouin laser, the observed soliton microcomb exhibits narrow-linewidth comb lines and stable repetition rate. Also, we demonstrate a low-noise microwave signal with phase noise of -49 dBc/Hz at 10 Hz, -130 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz, and -149 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offsets for a 10.43 GHz carrier with only a free-running input pump. The easy operation of the Brillouin-Kerr soliton microcomb with excellent performance makes our scheme promising for practical applications.

P-selectin (CD62P) and soluble TREM-like transcript-1 (sTLT-1) are associated with coronary artery disease: a case control study.

BACKGROUND: Platelet activation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Platelet P-selectin (CD62P) is a classic platelet activation indicator on the platelet surface, and soluble TREM-like transcript-1 (sTLT-1) is a new indicator. However, the relationship between these two markers and CAD, especially in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), has not been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate CD62P expression on the platelet surface and sTLT-1 expression in serum, as well as to assess their relationship with CAD. METHODS: We measured the levels of CD62P and sTLT-1 in 83 patients with CAD compared to 49 controls. The association of these indicators with age, blood pressure, lipid profile, body mass index, and liver injury marker level were also examined. RESULTS: CD62P concentration was higher in CAD patients than in the control group (P < 0.01), especially in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients (P < 0.01). Serum sTLT-1 concentration was higher in the AMI and unstable angina pectoris (UAP) groups than in the normal control (NC) group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The consistency of sTLT-1 and CD62P expression levels in CAD patients indicates that sTLT-1 level, the same as CD62P, may be a new marker of platelet activation that is positively related to CAD.

Hyperboloid-Drum Microdisk Laser Biosensors for Ultrasensitive Detection of Human IgG.

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) microresonators have been used as optical sensors in fundamental research and practical applications. The majority of WGM sensors are passive resonators that require complex systems, thereby limiting their practicality. Active resonators enable the remote excitation and collection of WGM-modulated fluorescence spectra, without requiring complex systems, and can be used as alternatives to passive microresonators. This paper demonstrates an active microresonator, which is a microdisk laser in a hyperboloid-drum (HD) shape. The HD microdisk lasers are a combination of a rhodamine B-doped photoresist and a silica microdisk. These HD microdisk lasers can be utilized for the detection of label-free biomolecules. The biomolecule concentration can be as low as 1 ag mL-1 , whereas the theoretical detection limit of the biosensor for human IgG in phosphate buffer saline is 9 ag mL-1 (0.06 aM ). Additionally, the biosensors are able to detect biomolecules in an artificial serum, with a theoretical detection limit of 9 ag mL-1 (0.06 aM ). These results are approximately four orders of magnitude more sensitive than those for the typical active WGM biosensors. The proposed HD microdisk laser biosensors show enormous detection potential for biomarkers in protein secretions or body fluids.

Long noncoding RNA-dependent regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in hypertension.

Hypertension is one of the main risks causing cardiovascular diseases. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in many physiological and pathological conditions. However, their role in hypertension is still unclear. In this study, 460 lncRNAs and 522 mRNA were identified to have different expressions in the thoracic aortas of spontaneously hypertensive rats compared with normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats through next-generation sequencing. Several randomly selected lncRNAs including NONRATT011842 were validated by qRT-PCR and their potential functions were predicted by co-expression analysis with the help of bioinformatics. Moreover, this study focused on the function of lncRNA NONRATT011842 in the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) during hypertension and confirmed that NONRATT011842 could interact with PABPC1 to regulate the functions of VSMCs. Therefore, the intervention or utilization of certain lncRNAs could be a new biomarker for the diagnosis and prevention of hypertension.

Sevoflurane preconditioning ameliorates traumatic spinal cord injury through caveolin-3-dependent cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition.

Acute traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) results in a lifetime of paralysis associated with a host of medical complications. The developing secondary complications of tSCI may result in further chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Sevoflurane preconditioning (SF-PreCon) has shown guaranteed protective effects in myocardial or cerebral ischemic/reperfusion injury. However, the role of SF-PreCon in tSCI still remains to be elucidated. Here, we found that SF-PreCon ameliorated the developing secondary complications through reducing the apoptosis rate and the secretion of inflammatory cytokines in injured spinal cord tissues, and therefore enhancing the recovery after tSCI. Notably, we demonstrated that SF-PreCon ameliorates tSCI through inhibiting Cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2). Importantly, we verified that SF-PreCon inhibits the expression of COX-2 and reduces the apoptosis rate after tSCI via the induction of Caveolin-3 (Cav-3). Taken together, our results suggest that SF-PreCon ameliorates tSCI via Cav-3-dependent COX-2 inhibition and provide an economical and practical method against the secondary injury after tSCI.