Fast-beam-switching optical phased array for moving objects in wireless optical communication networks.

For optical wireless communication systems, mechanical beam steering struggles to timely switch between multiple users or search for moving users. Here we demonstrate a fast-beam-switching optical phased array (OPA) for agile wireless communication networks. For point-to-multi-point (P2MP) scenarios, a setup of OPA-based fast beam switching between two aligned receivers was developed. A loss-free image transmission experiment was used to demonstrate the stability of switching. Furthermore, we have developed an approach to using the fast-switching OPA to follow the trajectory of moving objects so as to help enable agile random-access switching between moving objects. These results could help offer fast switching and reconfiguration for indoor wireless optical communications.

Polarized light compass decoding.

The brains of some insects can encode and decode polarization information and obtain heading angle information. Referring to the encoding ability of insects, exponential function encoding is designed to improve the stability of the polarized light compass artificial neural network. However, in the decoding process, only neurons with the largest activation degree are used for decoding (maximum value decoding), so the heading information contained in other neurons is not used. Therefore, average value decoding (AVD) and weighted AVD are proposed to use the heading information contained in multiple neurons to determine the heading. In addition, concerning the phenomenon of threshold activation of insect neurons, threshold value decoding (TVD) and weighted TVD are proposed, which can effectively eliminate the interference of neurons with low activation. Moreover, this paper proposes to improve the heading determination accuracy of the artificial neural network through pre-training. The simulation and experimental results show that the new, to the best of our knowledge, decoding methods and pre-training can effectively improve the heading determination accuracy of the artificial neural network.

An O-Shape Neural Network With Attention Modules to Detect Junctions in Biomedical Images Without Segmentation.

Junction plays an important role in biomedical research such as retinal biometric identification, retinal image registration, eye-related disease diagnosis and neuron reconstruction. However, junction detection in original biomedical images is extremely challenging. For example, retinal images contain many tiny blood vessels with complicated structures and low contrast, which makes it challenging to detect junctions. In this paper, we propose an O-shape Network architecture with Attention modules (Attention O-Net), which includes Junction Detection Branch (JDB) and Local Enhancement Branch (LEB) to detect junctions in biomedical images without segmentation. In JDB, the heatmap indicating the probabilities of junctions is estimated and followed by choosing the positions with the local highest value as the junctions, whereas it is challenging to detect junctions when the images contain weak filament signals. Therefore, LEB is constructed to enhance the thin branch foreground and make the network pay more attention to the regions with low contrast, which is helpful to alleviate the imbalance of the foreground between thin and thick branches and to detect the junctions of the thin branch. Furthermore, attention modules are utilized to introduce the feature maps of LEB to JDB, which can establish a complementary relationship and further integrate local features and contextual information between these two branches. The proposed method achieves the highest average F1-scores of 0.82, 0.73 and 0.94 in two retinal datasets and one neuron dataset, respectively. The experimental results confirm that Attention O-Net outperforms other state-of-the-art detection methods, and is helpful for retinal biometric identification.

Inhibitive Effect of Eugenol and Its Nanoemulsion on Quorum Sensing-Mediated Virulence Factors and Biofilm Formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the quorum sensing (QS) inhibition potential of eugenol and eugenol nanoemulsion against QS-dependent virulence factor production and gene expression, as well as biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the current study, eugenol nanoemulsion at a sub-MIC of 0.2 mg/mL specifically inhibited about 50% of the QS-mediated violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum, as well as the production of N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C12-HSL) and C4-HSL N-acyl homoserine lactone signal molecules, pyocyanin, and swarming motility in P. aeruginosa. The inhibitive effect of eugenol and its nanoemulsion on the expression of the QS synthase genes was concentration dependent, displaying 65 and 52% expression level for lasI, respectively, and 61 and 45% expression level for rhlI, respectively, at a concentration of 0.2 mg/mL. In addition, the inhibitive effect of eugenol and its nanoemulsion on the expression of the rhlA gene responsible for the production of rhamnolipid was also concentration dependent, displaying 65 and 51% expression level for the rhlA gene, respectively, at a concentration of 0.2 mg/mL. Eugenol and its nanoemulsion also displayed 36 and 63% respective inhibition of biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa at the 0.2 mg/mL concentration. Therefore, the nanoemulsion could be used as a novel QS-based antibacterial and antibiofilm agent for the control of harmful bacteria.

Star Anise (Illicium verum Hook. f.) as Quorum Sensing and Biofilm Formation Inhibitor on Foodborne Bacteria: Study in Milk.

Bacteria use quorum sensing (QS) systems to communicate with each other and regulate microbial group behavior, such as the secretion of virulence factors, including biofilm formation. In order to explore safe, edible agents, the potential of star anise (SA) as an anti-QS and antibiofilm agent and its possible application in milk safety were investigated. Staphylococcus aureus , Salmonella Typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and biosensor strain Chromobacterium violaceum were selected as test strains for QS, biofilm, and exopolysaccharide assays. The percent acidities and total plate counts were determined to evaluate the quality of biofilm-inoculated and noninoculated milk. The yield of SA extraction was 25.90% ± 0.2% (w/w). At sub-MIC, SA extract did not show any effect on bacterial growth. The production of violacein was inhibited by 89% by SA extract. The extract also inhibited the formation of biofilm by up to 87% in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition rates of 70.45%, 42.82%, and 35.66% were found for exopolysaccharide production. The swarming motility of S. aureus was reduced by about 95.9% by SA extract. Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis confirmed that the development of biofilm architecture was hampered. It was found that SA extract could delay the spoilage of milk. In the endeavor to avoid drug resistance, pathogenesis, and resistance to biocides while improving food safety and avoiding health hazard issues arising from synthetic chemicals, SA extract could be used as a potential QS and biofilm inhibitor.

Anti-quorum sensing and anti-biofilm activity of Amomum tsaoko (Amommum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemarie) on foodborne pathogens.

Cell-to-cell communication or quorum sensing (QS) leads to biofilm formation and causing other virulence factors which are extreme problems for food safety, biofilm related infectious diseases etc. This study evaluated the anti-QS activity of the Amomum tsaoko extract (0.5-4 mg/ml) by using Chromobacterium violaceum a biosensor strain and biofilm formation by crystal violate assay. Experimental results demonstrated that the overall yield of Amomum tsao-ko extract was 11.33 ± 0.3% (w/w). MIC for Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive), Salmonella Typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram negative) was 1, 2 and 2 mg/ml, respectively. A concentration of 4 mg/ml extract showed highest biofilm inhibition 51.96% on S. Typhimurium when 47.06%, 45.28% were shown by S. aureus, P. aeruginosa respectively. The damage of biofilm architecture was observed by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). A level of 44.59% inhibition of violacein production was demonstrated when the dose was 4 mg/ml. Swarming motility inhibition was observed in a dose dependent manner. Taken together, the treatment of A. tsaoko extract can deliver value to food product and medicine by controlling pathogenesis.

Antibacterial, Antibiofilm Effect of Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) Leaf Fraction and Its Efficiency in Meat Preservation.

First, the antibacterial, antibiofilm effect and chemical composition of burdock (Arctium lappa L.) leaf fractions were studied. Then, the efficiency of burdock leaf fractions in pork preservation was evaluated. The results showed that burdock leaf fraction significantly inhibited the growth and biofilm development of Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium. MICs of burdock leaf fractions on E. coli and Salmonella Typhimurium were both 2 mg/ml. At a concentration of 2.0 mg/ml, the inhibition rates of the fraction on growth and development of E. coli and Salmonella Typhimurium biofilms were 78.7 and 69.9%, respectively. During storage, the log CFU per gram of meat samples treated with burdock leaf fractions decreased 2.15, compared with the samples without treatment. The shelf life of pork treated with burdock leaf fractions was extended 6 days compared with the pork without treatment, and the sensory property was obviously improved. Compared with the control group, burdock leaf fraction treatment significantly decreased the total volatile basic nitrogen value and pH of the meat samples. Chemical composition analysis showed that the burdock leaf fraction consisted of chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, rutin, cynarin, crocin, luteolin, arctiin, and quercetin. As a vegetable with an abundant source, burdock leaf is safe, affordable, and efficient in meat preservation, indicating that burdock leaf fraction is a promising natural preservative for pork.