[Effectiveness comparison of a new hook-shaped anatomical locking plate and conventional anatomical locking plate in treatment of Danis-Weber type A lateral malleolus fractures].

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a new hook-shaped anatomical locking plate in the treatment of Danis-Weber type A lateral malleolus fractures. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 45 patients with Danis-Weber type A lateral malleolus fractures who met the selection criteria between November 2020 and November 2022. According to the surgical methods, they were divided into the observation group (treated with the new hook-shaped anatomical locking plate, 23 cases) and the control group (treated with the conventional lateral malleolus anatomical locking plate, 22 cases). There was no significant difference in baseline data such as gender, age, cause of injury, Danis-Weber type of fracture, time from injury to operation, and combined ligament injury between the two groups ( P>0.05). The operation time, partial weight-bearing time, return to work time, and postoperative complications were recorded and compared between the two groups. The function and pain of ankle joint were evaluated by the range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, varus, valgus, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score at 1 and 3 months after operation, and at last follow-up, and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score at 3 months after operation and at last follow-up. Results: All patients were followed up 10-18 months (mean, 15.1 months). There was no significant difference in operation time between the two groups ( P>0.05); the postoperative partial weight-bearing time and return to work time of the observation group were significantly earlier than those of the control group ( P<0.05). During the follow-up, there was 1 case of joint stiffness in the observation group, and 1 case of joint surface displacement, 1 case of joint stiffness, and 1 case of traumatic arthritis in the control group. There was no significant difference in the incidences of complications between the two groups ( P>0.05). With the extension of time after operation, the range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, varus, valgus, and VAS score of the two groups gradually improved, and there were significant differences between different time points ( P<0.05); At 1 and 3 months after operation, the above indexes in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group ( P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between the two groups at last follow-up ( P>0.05). The difference of AOFAS score between the last follow-up and 3 months after operation in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group ( P<0.05). Conclusion: Compared with the conventional lateral malleolus anatomical locking plate, the new hook-shaped anatomical locking plate has a more reliable fixation effect in the treatment of Danis-Weber type A lateral malleolus fracture, which is conducive to early functional exercise of the ankle joint, so that patients can bear weight earlier and return to work earlier, and the operation time is not significantly prolonged, and the effectiveness is satisfactory.

Wrist Arthroscopy-Assisted Reduction for Distal Radius Fracture and its Associated Injuries: Clinical Observation of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Injuries.

BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical effects between wrist arthroscopy-assisted open reduction plus internal fixation, using the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) as an example, and simple open reduction plus internal fixation in the treatment of distal radius fractures (DRFs). The study aims to assess the efficacy of arthroscopic-assisted open reduction and internal fixation in treating distal radius fractures. METHODS: The study utilized a retrospective cohort research approach, involving 60 patients treated at Binzhou Medical University Hospital between August 2021 and October 2022. These patients met the specified criteria and underwent two distinct surgical procedures for DRFs. Prior to surgery, thorough communication was established with the patients to elucidate the advantages, risks, and associated costs of wrist arthroscopy, and informed consent was obtained. Subsequent to the surgeries, postoperative follow-up was conducted to evaluate the variances between the two treatment modalities. Postoperative analysis and assessment encompassed the patients' Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores, Cooney wrist scores, grip strength of the affected limb (in comparison with the healthy side), wrist range of motion, and the frequency of intraoperative fluoroscopy usage. RESULTS: No surgical complications were observed among all patients. They were followed up for an average duration of (12.1 ± 1.3) months postoperatively, during which all fractures healed successfully. Within the treatment group, arthroscopy detected 14 cases of TFCC tears during the operation, all of which were repaired under a microscope. Conversely, physical examination identified three cases of TFCC injury in the control group, which were treated via incision and suture. At the 3-month postoperative mark, the treatment group exhibited significantly superior comprehensive scores for wrist pain, grip strength, and wrist range of motion compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Cooney's comprehensive wrist joint scoring yielded the following results: treatment group - excellent in 21 cases, good in five cases, and moderate in four cases; control group - excellent in 16 cases, good in nine cases, and moderate in five cases. CONCLUSION: Wrist arthroscopy-assisted surgery facilitates precise reduction of the articular surface and alleviation of intraarticular congestion. Moreover, it enables evaluation and repair of concurrent intra-articular injuries such as TFCC tears and other tissue injuries, thereby reducing the likelihood of chronic wrist pain. Consequently, this technique should be deemed valuable in clinical practice owing to its outstanding clinical efficacy.

Low voltage-driven, high-performance TiO2 thin film transistors with MHz switching speed.

High-speed circuits based on thin film transistors (TFTs) show promising potential applications in biomedical imaging and human-machine interactions. One of the critical requirements for high-speed electronic devices lies in high-frequency switching or amplification at low voltages, typically driven by batteries (∼3.0 V). To date, however, most electrical performances of metal oxide TFTs are measured under direct current (DC) conditions, and their dynamic switching behaviour is scarcely explored and studied systematically. Here in this work, we present low voltage-driven, high-performance TiO2 thin film transistors, which can be operated at a switching speed of MHz. Our proposed TiO2 TFTs demonstrated a high on-off ratio of 107, together with a subthreshold swing (SS) of ∼150 mV Dec-1 averaged over four orders of magnitude, which can be further reduced below 100 mV Dec-1 when the temperature cools to 77 K. Additionally, the TiO2 TFTs exhibit excellent gate-pulse switching at various frequencies ranging from 1.0 Hz to 1.0 MHz. We also explored the potential application of the TiO2 TFTs as logic gates by constructing a resistive-loaded inverter, which shows stable operation at 10 kHz frequency and various temperatures. Thus, our results show the great potential of TiO2 TFTs as a new platform for high-speed electronic applications.

Electrophoretic deposition of Ru(bpy)32+ in vertically-ordered silica nanochannels: A solid-state electrochemiluminescence sensor for prolidase assay.

Prolidase (PLD) plays a crucial role as a dipeptidase in various physiological processes, specifically involved in the cleavage of proline-containing dipeptides for efficient recycling of proline. The accurate determination of PLD activity holds significant importance in clinical diagnosis. Herein, a solid-state electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor was developed to address the urgent need for PLD assay. The Ru(bpy)32+ was electrophoretically deposited within the nanochannels of vertically-ordered mesoporous silica film (VMSF) on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. The Ru(bpy)32+-deposited VMSF/ITO (Ru-VMSF/ITO) exhibited a remarkable ECL response towards proline, attributed to the enhanced concentration of the reactants and improved electron transfer resulting from the nanoconfinement effect. As PLD specifically enzymolyzed the Gly-Pro dipeptide to release proline, a proline-mediated biosensor was developed for PLD assay. Increased PLD activity led to enhanced release of proline into the porous solid-state ECL sensors, resulting in a more robust ECL signal. There was a linear relationship between ΔECL intensity and logarithmic concentration of PLD in the range of 10-10000 U/L, with a detection limit of 1.98 U/L. Practical tests demonstrated the reliability and convenience of the proposed bioassay, making it suitable for widespread application in PLD assays.

Optical analysis of aligned Ni nanowire arrays with different degree of oxidation for terahertz polarizer application.

The optical properties of aligned nickel nanowire arrays (NiNWAs) with different degrees of oxidation for terahertz (THz) polarizer applications have been investigated by using THz time-domain spectroscopy. In frequency-domain spectra, the full width at half maxima of transmitted peaks was broadened and the peak positions have a blue shift with increasing oxidation levels, besides the enhancement in peak intensity. It is indicated that the oxidation of Ni nanowires (NWs) has a significant influence on the interaction between Ni NWs and THz wave. The transmittance of the aligned NiNWAs increases with annealing temperature increasing. Conversely, the degree of polarization and extinction ratio (ER) decreases. A corresponding relationship between the change of ER and degree of oxidation is summarized by means of thermogravimetric analysis. The change of ER for the annealing sample with the degree of oxidation of 0.507% is 27.32%, which induced the polarization properties of aligned NiNWAs to be sensitive to the oxidation of Ni NWs. These findings can provide new positive features in the development of future polarization-based device applications for THz electronics and photonics.

Experimental study on failure characteristics and rheological properties of pillar-like rock samples with different shapes.

The stability of coal pillar is extremely important to the control of rock strata movement and surface subsidence. It is of great significance for mining design to analyze the stability and failure characteristics of coal and rock pillars left after mining and to study the failure characteristics and rheological properties of coal and rock with different shapes. In this paper, based on uniaxial compression and rheological tests on rock samples, the rheological properties of rock samples with different shapes were discussed by using the nonlinear theoretical mechanics and damage theory, and the rheological mechanical characteristics of coarse yellow sandstone samples under the action of different free surface areas and the same loading contact area were investigated by means of experimental research, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The following conclusions were drawn: the failure characteristics and dynamic change process of rock samples with different shapes under the same loading contact area are obtained by uniaxial compression test and multi-stage rheological loading. The uniaxial compressive strengths of rock samples with the same loading contact surface area and different free surface areas are inversely proportional to their free surface areas. For the round sample, the stress level in the rheological test is obviously lower than the instantaneous peak uniaxial compression strength, while for the other samples, the stress level in the rheological test is close to the instantaneous peak uniaxial compression strength. For rock all these samples, both the ratio of steady-state rheological time to final failure time and the deformation degree decrease with the increase of free surface area.

[Effectiveness comparison of supramalleolar osteotomy and ankle arthrodesis in treatment of inverted ankle osteoarthritis in Takakura 3A stage with talus tilt].

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of supramalleolar osteotomy (SMOT) and ankle arthrodesis (AA) in the treatment of inverted ankle osteoarthritis (OA) in Takakura 3A stage with talus tilt. Methods: The clinical data of 41 patients with inverted ankle OA in Takakura 3A stage with talus tilt admitted between January 2016 to January 2020 and met the selection criteria were retrospectively analyzed, and they were divided into SMOT group (21 cases) and AA group (20 cases) according to the surgical method. There was no significant difference in baseline data such as gender, age, affected side, cause of injury, and preoperative talar tilt angle (TT), American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, short-form 36 health survey scale (SF-36) score, and sagittal range of motion (ROM) between the two groups ( P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, partial weight-bearing time, and complications were recorded in the two groups. AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score, VAS score, SF-36 score, and sagittal ROM were used to evaluate the effectiveness. Bone healing was observed and the time of bony healing was recorded. In the SMOT group, the tibial lateral surface angle (TLS), TT, and the tibial articular surface angle (TAS) were measured on ankle joint weight-bearing anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films and compared with those before operation. And Takakura staging assessment was also performed. Results: The operation time and intraoperative blood loss in AA group were significantly less than those in SMOT group ( P<0.05). Patients in both groups were followed up 24-36 months, with an average of 28.9 months. Incision infection occurred in 2 patients in SMOT group and 1 patient in AA group, respectively, and no vascular or nerve injury occurred in both groups. The partial weight-bearing time of SMOT group was significantly less than that of AA group ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in bony healing time between the two groups ( P>0.05). At last follow-up, the difference of VAS score and SF-36 score before and after operation of AA group were less than those of SMOT group, and the difference of sagittal ROM before and after operation in SMOT group was less than that of AA group, with significant differences ( P<0.05). The difference of AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score before and after operation in AA group was slightly greater than that in SMOT group, but the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). The above scores in both groups significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( P<0.05). Sagittal ROM in AA group was significantly less than that before operation ( P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in SMOT group ( P>0.05). In the SMOT group, 17 patients (81.0%) showed improvement in imaging staging, 2 patients (9.5%) showed no improvement in staging, and 2 patients (9.5%) showed stage aggravation. TLS, TAS, and TT significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( P<0.05). At last follow-up, 2 patients in SMOT group received AA due to pain and stage aggravation, and 1 patient with bone nonunion underwent bone graft. Subtalar joint fusion was performed in 1 case of subtalar arthritis in AA group. Conclusion: For inverted ankle OA in Takakura 3A stage with talus tilt, both SMOT and AA can significantly releave pain, improve foot function and quality of life, but AA has more definite effectiveness and better patient satisfaction.

Correlation between right-to-left shunt and sudden sensorineural hearing loss: protocol for a case-control study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a neurological and otolaryngological emergency during which rapid diagnosis and early treatment are of great importance. Clinical experience indicates that a considerable number of patients with SSNHL have concurrent right-to-left shunt (RLS). With limited reports, the association between SSNHL and RLS is yet unclear and there is a need for large observational studies to explore their latent relationship. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This proposed study is a prospective, observational case-control study. A total of 194 eligible participants matched in age and sex will be divided equally into two groups: 97 patients with SSNHL included in the case group and 97 individuals without SSNHL in the control group. Medical evaluations, including clinical characteristics, laboratory examination, audiological examination and ultrasonography examination, will be performed in all subjects. The primary outcome of the study is the difference in RLS rates between the groups. Differences in patent foramen ovale rates and other measured variables will be further assessed. A conditional logistic regression as a correlation analysis will be used to evaluate the relationship between RLS and SSNHL. DISCUSSION: This study may provide evidence on the correlation between RLS and SSNHL in order to enrich the aetiology of SSNHL. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University Shenzhen Hospital. A written informed consent form will be signed and dated by the participants and the researchers before the study begins. The results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2200064067.

Competitive substitution in europium metal-organic gel for signal-on electrochemiluminescence detection of dipicolinic acid.

Metal-organic gels (MOGs) emerged as an attractive luminescent soft material for electrochemiluminescence (ECL). In this work, a cathodic ECL-activated europium metal-organic gel (Eu-MOG) has been synthesized by a facile mixing of Eu3+ with 4'-(4-carboxyphenyl)-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine (Hcptpy) under mild conditions. The prepared Eu-MOG is highly mesoporous for co-reactant permeation to produce an ultra-stable and high-efficient ECL, based on the antenna effect of Eu3+ coordinating with Hcptpy. Moreover, dipicolinic acid (DPA) can competitively coordinate with Eu3+ instead of water molecules, producing an enhanced ECL signal. Therefore, an ECL enhancement assay was developed for DPA detection. There was a linear relationship between the ECL intensity and the logarithmic concentration of DPA in the 0.01-1 µM range, and the detection limit is 7.35 nM. This work displays the promising application of Eu-MOG in the ECL field, opening a broad inspection for seeking a new generation of ECL luminophores.

Efficacy analysis of minimally invasive surgery for Raynaud's syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Raynaud's syndrome (RS), also referred to as Raynaud's phenomenon, is a vasospastic disorder causing episodic color changes in extremities upon exposure to cold or stress. These manifestations, either primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP) or associated with connective tissue diseases like systemic sclerosis (SSc) as secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (SRP), affect the quality of life. Current treatments range from calcium channel blockers to innovative surgical interventions, with evolving efficacy and safety profiles. METHODS: In this retrospective study, patients diagnosed with RS were selected based on complete medical records, ensuring homogeneity between groups. Surgeries involved microscopic excision of sympathetic nerve fibers and stripping of the digital artery's adventitia. Postoperative care included antibiotics, analgesia, oral nifedipine, and heat therapies. Evaluation metrics such as the VAS pain score and RCS score were collected bi-weekly. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0, with significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: In total, 15 patients formed the experimental group, with five presenting fingertip soft tissue necrosis and ten showing RS symptoms. Comparative analysis of demographic data between experimental and control groups, both containing 15 participants, demonstrated no significant age and gender difference. However, the "Mean Duration of RP attack" in the experimental group was notably shorter (9.47 min ± 0.31) than the control group (19.33 min ± 1.79). The RS Severity Score also indicated milder severity for the experimental cohort (score: 8.55) compared to the control (score: 11.23). Postoperative assessments at 2, 4, and 6 weeks revealed improved VAS pain scores, RCS scores, and other measures for the experimental group, showing significant differences (p < 0.05). One distinctive case showcased a variation in the common digital nerve and artery course in an RS patient. CONCLUSION: Our retrospective analysis on RS patients indicates that microsurgical techniques are safe and effective in the short term. As surgical practices lean towards minimally invasive methods, our data supports this shift. However, extensive, prospective studies are essential for conclusive insights.

Neuroprotective Effects of Microglial Membrane-Derived Biomimetic Particles for Spinal Cord Injury.

Inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses caused by secondary injury following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is an attractive strategy in treating traumatic SCI. However, the efficacy of drugs is severely limited owing to the poor penetration of the blood spinal cord barrier (BSCB). Here, inspired by cell chemotaxis and related chemokines production at the lesion sites of SCI, the microglial membrane is selected to construct a drug delivery system with the ability to cross the BSCB and target the lesions. PR@MM is prepared based on the assembly of polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and resveratrol (RSV) followed by microglial membrane (MM) coating. Compared to that of the uncoated nanoparticles, the enrichment of PR@MM at the lesion sites of SCI increases, which is beneficial to achieve lesion targeting of RSV and exert therapeutic functions. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that PR@MM has the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species and anti-inflammatory effects, which ultimately promotes the recovery of locomotory function after SCI. Therefore, this microglial membrane-based drug delivery system provides a promising biomimetic nanomedicine for targeted therapy for SCI.

Optimization of Protocols for the Induction of Callus and Plant Regeneration in White Clover (Trifolium repens L.).

White clover is a widely grown temperate legume forage with high nutritional value. Research on the functional genomics of white clover requires a stable and efficient transformation system. In this study, we successfully induced calluses from the cotyledons and leaves of 10 different white clover varieties. The results showed that the callus formation rate in the cotyledons did not vary significantly among the varieties, but the highest callus formation rate was observed in 'Koala' leaves. Subsequently, different concentrations of antioxidants and hormones were tested on the browning rate and differentiation ability of the calluses, respectively. The results showed that the browning rate was the lowest on MS supplemented with 20 mg L-1 AgNO3 and 25 mg L-1 VC, respectively, and the differentiation rate was highest on MS supplemented with 1 mg L-1 6-BA, 1 mg L-1 KT and 0.5 mg L-1 NAA. In addition, the transformation system for Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of 4-day-old leaves was optimized to some extent and obtained a positive callus rate of 8.9% using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker gene. According to our data, by following this optimized protocol, the transformation efficiency could reach 2.38%. The results of this study will provide the foundation for regenerating multiple transgenic white clover from a single genetic background.

Framework-Hotspot Enhanced Trans Cleavage of CRISPR-Cas12a for Clinical Samples Detection.

The trans-cleavage property of CRISPR-Cas12a system makes it an excellent tool for disease diagnosis. Nevertheless, most methods based on CRISPR-Cas system still require pre-amplification of the target to achieve the desired detection sensitivity. Here we generate Framework-Hotspot reporters (FHRs) with different local densities to investigate their effect on trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a. We find that the cleavage efficiency increases and the cleavage rate accelerates with increasing reporter density. We further construct a modular sensing platform with CRISPR-Cas12a-based target recognition and FHR-based signal transduction. Encouragingly, this modular platform enables sensitive (100 fM) and rapid (<15 min) detection of pathogen nucleic acids without pre-amplification, as well as detection of tumor protein markers in clinical samples. The design provides a facile strategy for enhanced trans cleavage of Cas12a, which accelerates and broadens its applications in biosensing.

Analysis of the 2p-manifold population distribution in a diode-pumped metastable Ar laser.

The complex excited energy levels in the diode-pumped metastable Ar laser may induce harmful effects in laser cycling. Significantly, the influence of the population distribution in 2p energy levels on the laser performance is unclear yet. In this work, the absolute populations in all the 2p states were measured online by the simultaneous applications of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and optical emission spectroscopy. The results showed that most atoms were populated to the 2p8, 2p9, and 2p10 levels while lasing, and the majority of the 2p9 population was efficiently transferred to the 2p10 level with the aid of helium, which was beneficial for the laser performance.

Mmu_circ_0000037 inhibits the progression of acute pancreatitis by miR-92a-3p/Pias1 axis.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease with high mortality. Previous study has suggested that circular RNAs are dysregulated and involved in the regulation of inflammatory responses in AP. This study aimed to investigate the function and regulatory mechanism underlying mmu_circ_0000037 in caerulein-induced AP cellular model. METHODS: Caerulein-treated MPC-83 cells were used as an in vitro cellular model for AP. The expression levels of mmu_circ_0000037, microRNA (miR)-92a-3p, and protein inhibitor of activated STAT1 (Pias1) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell viability, amylase activity, apoptosis, and inflammatory response were detected by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, Amylase Assay Kit, flow cytometry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The protein level was quantified by western blot analysis. The target interaction between miR-92a-3p and mmu_circ_0000037 or Pias1 were predicted by StarbaseV3.0 and validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. RESULTS: Mmu_circ_0000037 and Pias1 levels were decreased, whereas miR-92a-3p expression was elevated in caerulein-induced MPC-83 cells. Overexpression of mmu_circ_0000037 protected MPC-83 cells from caerulein-induced the decrease of cell viability, as well as the promotion of amylase activity, apoptosis and inflammation. MiR-92a-3p was targeted by mmu_circ_0000037, and miR-92a-3p overexpression rescued the effect of mmu_circ_0000037 on caerulein-induced MPC-83 cell injury. Pias1 was confirmed as a target of miR-92a-3p and mmu_circ_0000037 regulated the expression of Pias1 by sponging miR-92a-3p. CONCLUSION: Mmu_circ_0000037 relieves caerulein-induced inflammatory injury in MPC-83 cells by targeting miR-92a-3p/Pias1 axis, providing a theoretical basis for the treatment of AP.

A synergistic therapeutic nano-eyedrop for dry eye disease based on ascorbic acid-coupled exosomes.

Dry eye disease (DED), a complex ocular surface disease with a high prevalence rate, is associated with corneal injury, excess oxidative stress and inflammation. Current therapeutic strategies, including artificial tears and anti-inflammatory agents, are unable to address all the deleterious factors or to achieve a clinical cure due to their temporary or side effects. Here, we prepared a multiple-functional eyedrop based on the deposition of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) reduced by ascorbic acid (AA) onto the exosomal phospholipid membrane of mesenchymal stem cell (mExo)-derived exosomes in situ (mExo@AA). The therapeutic value of mExo@AA for DED was demonstrated in a mouse DED model. Combining the benefits of mExo and AA, mExo@AA effectively improves corneal epithelium recovery and anti-inflammation capacity, decreases corneal reactive oxygen species, and restores tear secretion without adverse effects. Thus, this study suggests that mExo@AA is effective and safe as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of DED.

The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common and serious microvascular complications of diabetes. Although current treatments can control the progression of DR to a certain extent, there is no effective treatment for early DR. Apart from vascular endothelial growth factor, it has been noted that the apelin/APJ system contributes to the pathogenesis of DR. We used a high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mouse model. The mice were divided into a lentivirus control group (LV-EGFP), an apelin-overexpression group (LV-Apelin+), and an apelin-knockdown group (LV-Apelin-), all of which were administrated intravitreal injections. LV-Apelin+ ameliorated the loss of pericytes in DR mice, whereas LV-Apelin- aggravated the loss of pericytes. Similarly, LV-Apelin+ reduced the leakage of retinal vessels, whereas LV-Apelin- exacerbated it. The genes and signaling pathway related to cell adhesion molecules were downregulated, whereas the cell-cell tight junctions and anti-apoptotic genes were upregulated in response to apelin overexpression. However, the alterations of these same genes and signaling pathways were reversed in the case of apelin knockdown. Additionally, LV-Apelin+ increased ZO-1 and occludin levels, whereas LV-Apelin- decreased them. Our results suggest that apelin can reduce vascular leakage by protecting pericytes, which offers a promising new direction for the early treatment of DR.

Polarization insensitive efficient ultra-narrow diode laser strictly locked by a Faraday filter.

A Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF) could lock high-power diode lasers to atomic resonance lines with ultra-narrow bandwidth. However, the polarization sensitivity of the Faraday filter limits its applications since the standard diode module often employs polarization combination to increase pumping brightness. We proposed a polarization-insensitive mutual injection configuration to solve this problem and locked a standard polarization combined diode module to Rb D2-line. The laser bandwidth was narrowed from 4 nm to 0.005 nm (2.6 GHz, FWHM) with 38.3 W output and an external cavity efficiency of 80%. This FADOF-based polarization-insensitive external-cavity scheme would find many applications, such as high energy atomic gas laser pumping (alkali lasers, metastable rare gas lasers) and quantum optics, etc.

Simultaneous Observation of Visible Upconversion and Near-Infrared Downconversion in SrF2:Nd3+/Yb3+/Er3+ Nanocrystals and Their Application for Detecting Metal Ions under Dual-Wavelength Excitation.

In this work, a sequence of Nd3+, Yb3+, and Er3+ tridoped SrF2 nanocrystals (NCs) is synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Both the efficient near-infrared downconversion luminescence (DCL) and visible upconversion luminescence (UCL) of the Er3+ and Nd3+ ions are simultaneously observed and systematically demonstrated under dual-wavelength excitation (808 and 980 nm continuous-wave lasers). Subsequently, the SrF2:Nd3+/Yb3+/Er3+ (15/4/0.2 mol %) NCs with the strongest luminescence were utilized for detecting the metal ion concentrations under 808 nm excitation. The results reveal that both the UCL and DCL gradually decrease as the metal ion concentrations increase, and high sensitivity is obtained for Cu2+ ions with a detection limit of 0.22 nM (∼650 nm) and 0.63 nM (∼976 nm). In addition, these SrF2:Nd3+/Yb3+/Er3+ NCs are further demonstrated to achieve a solid-state display under 980 nm excitation, exhibiting obvious "red" and "green" patterns by varying the doping rare earth ion concentrations.