Ambient noise-based weakly supervised manhole localization methods over deployed fiber networks.

We present a manhole localization method based on distributed fiber optic sensing and weakly supervised machine learning techniques. For the first time to our knowledge, ambient environment data is used for underground cable mapping with the promise of enhancing operational efficiency and reducing field work. To effectively accommodate the weak informativeness of ambient data, a selective data sampling scheme and an attention-based deep multiple instance classification model are adopted, which only requires weakly annotated data. The proposed approach is validated on field data collected by a fiber sensing system over multiple existing fiber networks.

Multi-parameter distributed fiber sensing with higher-order optical and acoustic modes.

We propose a novel multi-parameter sensing technique based on a Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry in the elliptical-core few-mode fiber, using higher-order optical and acoustic modes. Multiple Brillouin peaks are observed for the backscattering of both the LP01 mode and LP11 mode. We characterize the temperature and strain coefficients for various optical-acoustic mode pairs. By selecting the proper combination of modes pairs, the performance of multi-parameter sensing can be optimized. Distributed sensing of temperature and strain is demonstrated over a 0.5-km elliptical-core few-mode fiber, with the discriminative uncertainty of 0.28°C and 5.81 µÎµ for temperature and strain, respectively.

[A study of relationship between dialectical classification according to traditional Chinese medicine of acute coronary syndrome with serum osteoprotegerin and its ligand].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between osteoprotegerin (OPG) system and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and its classification according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). METHODS: A prospective study was conducted. The patients with ACS (n=210) and the patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP, n=200) were enrolled. The serum OPG and its ligand (sRANKL) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the OPG/sRANKL ratio was calculated, and the number of coronary vessels was involved, finally their relationship with the typing according to TCM was evaluated. One hundred and fifty non-coronary heart disease patients were enrolled as control. RESULTS: The serum OPG, OPG/sRANKL in ACS and SAP groups were significantly higher than those in control group, and the sRANKL was significantly lower than that in control group (all P<0.01). The OPG, OPG/sRANKL in ACS groups were significantly higher than those in SAP group (both P<0.01). Serum OPG, OPG/sRANKL in ACS patients with different number of coronary vessel disease were significantly higher than those in control group, and the sRANKL was significantly lower than that in control group (all P<0.01). OPG and OPG/sRANKL were gradually increased with increase in number of diseased coronary vessels, but the sRANKL descended (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Serum OPG and OPG/sRANKL were descended according to dialectical classification of TCM: Yang Qi weakening syndrome>Qi and blood stagnation syndrome>Qi deficiency with blood stasis syndrome>stagnation of phlegm blocks the heart-vessels syndrome>Yin deficiencies of the heart and the kidney syndrome>deficiency of both Qi and Yin syndrome, among them they were significantly higher in Yang Qi failure syndrome and Qi and blood stagnation syndromes than those of both Qi and Yin syndrome [OPG(ng/L): 621.38±32.86, 617.63±39.60 vs. 593.86±36.19, OPG/sRANKL(g/mol): 1 018.98±106.03, 1 011.27±121.61 vs. 942.16±115.82, P<0.05 or P<0.01]. Among different types of TCM in ACS group the serum sRANKL was significantly lower than that in control group (all P<0.01), but the difference among different types was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Serum OPG, sRANKL, OPG/sRANK levels were related with incidence and severity of coronary lesions in ACS patients. Serum OPG and OPG/sRANKL ratio may have correlation with Yang Qi weakening syndrome and Qi deficiency with blood stasis syndrome.

30Tb/s C- and L-bands bidirectional transmission over 10,181km with 121km span length.

We demonstrated the first 30Tb/s (350 × 85.74Gb/s) optical transmission over 10,181km using bidirectional C/L-bands, 121.2km hybrid fiber spans, DP-QPSK modulation and EDFAs. Achieved 306Petabit/s•km capacity × distance product is the highest reported to date for WDM transmission.

[Cilostazol inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in rat vascular smooth muscle cells through Rb-p53-p21 pathways].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects and related mechanisms of cilostazol on rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)proliferation. METHODS: VSMCs were treated with DMEM (control) and various doses of cilostazol (1.0×10(-7), 2.5×10(-7), 5.0×10(-7), 7.5×10(-7) and 1.0×10(-6) mol/L) for 13 d (cell counting) or 72 h. Proliferation of VSMCs was investigated by cell-counting, MTT and flow cytometry analysis. Cell apoptosis was determined by TUNEL staining. mRNA and protein expressions of cell cycle regulatory proteins, such as Rb, p53 and p21 were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: Cilostazol inhibited VSMCs proliferation and induced VSMCs arrest at G1 phase in a dose-dependent manner. High dose of cilostazol (7.5×10(-7) and 1.0×10(-6) mol/L) induced VSMCs apoptosis. p53 mRNA expression in 2.5×10(-7) mol/L to 7.5×10(-7) mol/L groups as well as 1.0×10(-6) mol/L group (3.22 ± 0.45 vs. 1.75 ± 0.32) and p53 protein expression in 7.5×10(-7) mol/L group and 1.0×10(-6) mol/L group (0.53 ± 0.11 vs. 0.18 ± 0.06) were significantly upregulated after 72 h culture (all P < 0.05 vs. control). Low dose of cilostazol (1.0×10(-7), 2.5×10(-7) and 5.0×10(-7) mol/L) significantly upregulated p21 mRNA expression compared to control group (1.86 ± 0.19, 2.20 ± 0.24 and 2.10 ± 0.18 vs. 1.210 ± 0.18, all P < 0.05). Similarly, Rb mRNA expression was significantly upregulated in 1.0×10(-7), 2.5×10(-7) and 5.0×10(-7) mol/L groups (0.89 ± 0.07 vs. 0.38 ± 0.04)compared with control group (all P < 0.05). However, high dose cilostazol (7.5×10(-7) and 1.0×10(-6) mol/L) significantly downregulated p21 mRNA expression (0.81 ± 0.09 vs. 1.21 ± 0.18, 0.36 ± 0.10 vs. 1.21 ± 0.18, all P < 0.05 vs. control) and Rb mRNA expression (0.12 ± 0.02 and 0.11 ± 0.02 vs. 0.38 ± 0.04, all P < 0.05 vs. control). p21 and Rb protein expressions also upregulated at low concentrations of cilostazol and downregulated at high concentrations of cilostazol. CONCLUSION: Cilostazol could inhibit the proliferation of rat VSMCs through modulating Rb-p53-p21 pathway and induce VSMCs apoptosis through upregulating p53.

1.92 Tb/s coherent DWDM-OFDMA-PON with no high-speed ONU-side electronics over 100 km SSMF and 1:64 passive split.

Record 1.92-Tb/s (40λ × 48 Gb/s/λ) coherent DWDM-OFDMA-PON without high-speed ONU-side ADCs/DACs/DSP/RF clock sources is demonstrated over 100 km straight SSMF with a 1:64 passive split. Novel optical-domain OFDMA sub-band selection, coherent detection, and simple RF components are exploited. As the first experimental verification of a next-generation optical platform capable of delivering 1 Gb/s to 1000(+) users over 100 km, the new architecture is promising for future optical access/metro systems.

[Tumor necrosis factor-α promote permeability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells via activating RhoA-ERK1/2 pathway].

OBJECTIVE: Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is known to induce changes in endothelial cell morphology and permeability. The aim of this study is to determine the underlying signaling mechanisms involved in these responses. METHODS: Cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were exposed to TNF-α, and HUVEC cytoskeletal changes were evaluated by observing fluorescence of F-actin following ligation with labeled antibodies. Endothelial permeability was detected by measuring the flux of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-albumin across the EC monolayers. To explore the signaling pathways behind TNF-α-induced changes in HUVEC morphology and permeability, HUVECs were treated with either the Rho GTPase inhibitor Y27632 or the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) inhibitors PD98059 and SB203580 before TNF-α administration. To further elucidate possible involvement of the RhoA and ERK pathways in TNF-α-induced HUVEC changes, retrovirus-carried recombinant dominant-negative forms and constitutive-activative forms of RhoA, namely T19NRhoA and Q63LRhoA, were pre-infected into HUVECs prior to TNF-α exposure. RESULTS: TNF-α induced F-actin cytoskeleton rearrangement and increased HUVEC permeability in a dose and time-dependent manner. The maximal increase in the HRP-BSA flux (40 ng/ml) was seen in cells exposed to TNF-α at 100 ng/ml after 2 h. Preconditioning of HUVEC monolayer with Y27632 or PD98059 significantly reduced TNF-α induced permeability increase (HRP concentration from 40 ng/ml decreased to 12.5 ng/ml, P < 0.05) and F-actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, HUVEC pre-infection with activated forms of Q63LRhoA increased HUVEC permeability and upregulated pERK compared to GFP infection, while HUVEC pre-infection with inhibited forms of T19NRhoA attenuated the effects of TNF-α on HUVEC permeability. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that TNF-α-induced EC barrier dysfunction and morphological changes of the F-actin via activating RhoA-ERK/MAPK signal pathway.

400Gb/s (4 x 100Gb/s) orthogonal PDM-RZ-QPSK DWDM signal transmission over 1040km SMF-28.

We have generated 4 x 100-Gb/s orthogonal WDM optical signal by employing polarization-division-multiplexed (PDM) return-to-zero (RZ) QPSK modulation format and tight optical filtering technique. The required optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) at bit error ratio (BER) of 2 x 10(-3) for the 400 Gb/s orthogonal DWDM signal is measured to be approximately 22.8 dB/0.1 nm. After transmission over 1040-km standard single mode fiber (EDFA-only amplification, 80-km amplifier span and fully receiver-side electrical dispersion compensation), the measured BER for all the four orthogonal subchannels are smaller than 2 x 10(-3).

Polarization insensitive wavelength conversion for 4x112Gbit/s polarization multiplexing RZ-QPSK signals.

In this paper, polarization-insensitive wavelength conversion based on orthogonal-pumps and four-wave mixing in HNLF is experimentally demonstrated for high-speed 112-Gb/s PolMux-RZ-QPSK transmission with digital coherent detection. The conversion performance of the proposed scheme is investigated for both single- and four-channel input signals, with the achieved post-conversion OSNR for the two cases shown to be 30 and 20 dB, respectively. Moreover, it is shown that the OSNR of the converted single-channel signal can be maintained above 25 dB even if the wavelength spacing between the original and converted signals is larger than 25 nm. Finally, the BER of 4x112-Gb/s PolMux-RZQPSK converted signals after 1 km HNLF transmission is measured to be below 1x10(-4). The optimum OSNR and launched HNLF power are also investigated.