Picophotonic localization metrology beyond thermal fluctuations.

Despite recent tremendous progress in optical imaging and metrology1-6, there remains a substantial resolution gap between atomic-scale transmission electron microscopy and optical techniques. Is optical imaging and metrology of nanostructures exhibiting Brownian motion possible with such resolution, beyond thermal fluctuations? Here we report on an experiment in which the average position of a nanowire with a thermal oscillation amplitude of ∼150 pm is resolved in single-shot measurements with subatomic precision of 92 pm, using light at a wavelength of λ = 488 nm, providing an example of such sub-Brownian metrology with ∼λ/5,300 precision. To localize the nanowire, we employ a deep-learning analysis of the scattering of topologically structured light, which is highly sensitive to the nanowire's position. This non-invasive metrology with absolute errors down to a fraction of the typical size of an atom, opens a range of opportunities to study picometre-scale phenomena with light.

Metabolomic analysis of hydroxycinnamic acid inhibition on Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Ferulic acid (FA) and p-coumaric acid (p-CA) are hydroxycinnamic acid inhibitors that are mainly produced during the pretreatment of lignocellulose. To date, the inhibitory mechanism of hydroxycinnamic acid compounds on Saccharomyces cerevisiae has not been fully elucidated. In this study, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the changes in S. cerevisiae cells treated with FA and p-CA. In this experiment, the control group was denoted as group CK, the FA-treated group was denoted as group F, and the p-CA-treated group was denoted as group P. One hundred different metabolites in group F and group CK and 92 different metabolites in group P and group CK were selected and introduced to metaboanalyst, respectively. A total of 38 metabolic pathways were enriched in S. cerevisiae under FA stress, and 27 metabolic pathways were enriched in S. cerevisiae under p-CA stress as identified through Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. The differential metabolites involved included S-adenosine methionine, L-arginine, and cysteine, which were significantly downregulated, and acetyl-CoA, L-glutamic acid, and L-threonine, which were significantly upregulated. Analysis of differential metabolic pathways showed that the differentially expressed metabolites were mainly related to amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, fatty acid degradation, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA). Under the stress of FA and p-CA, the metabolism of some amino acids was blocked, which disturbed the redox balance in the cells and destroyed the synthesis of most proteins, which was the main reason for the inhibition of yeast cell growth. This study provided a strong scientific reference to improve the durability of S. cerevisiae against hydroxycinnamic acid inhibitors. KEY POINTS: • Morphological changes of S. cerevisiae cells under inhibitors stress were observed. • Changes of the metabolites in S. cerevisiae cells were explored by metabolomics. • One of the inhibitory effects on yeast is due to changes in the metabolic network.

Study on the Mechanism of MC5R Participating in Energy Metabolism of Goose Liver.

Nutrition and energy levels have an important impact on animal growth, production performance, disease occurrence and health recovery. Previous studies indicate that melanocortin 5 receptor (MC5R) is mainly involved in the regulations of exocrine gland function, lipid metabolism and immune response in animals. However, it is not clear how MC5R participates in the nutrition and energy metabolism of animals. To address this, the widely used animal models, including the overfeeding model and the fasting/refeeding model, could provide an effective tool. In this study, the expression of MC5R in goose liver was first determined in these models. Goose primary hepatocytes were then treated with nutrition/energy metabolism-related factors (glucose, oleic acid and thyroxine), which is followed by determination of MC5R gene expression. Moreover, MC5R was overexpressed in goose primary hepatocytes, followed by identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and pathways subjected to MC5R regulation by transcriptome analysis. At last, some of the genes potentially regulated by MC5R were also identified in the in vivo and in vitro models, and were used to predict possible regulatory networks with PPI (protein-protein interaction networks) program. The data showed that both overfeeding and refeeding inhibited the expression of MC5R in goose liver, while fasting induced the expression of MC5R. Glucose and oleic acid could induce the expression of MC5R in goose primary hepatocytes, whereas thyroxine could inhibit it. The overexpression of MC5R significantly affected the expression of 1381 genes, and the pathways enriched with the DEGs mainly include oxidative phosphorylation, focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, glutathione metabolism and MAPK signaling pathway. Interestingly, some pathways are related to glycolipid metabolism, including oxidative phosphorylation, pyruvate metabolism, citrate cycle, etc. Using the in vivo and in vitro models, it was demonstrated that the expression of some DEGs, including ACSL1, PSPH, HMGCS1, CPT1A, PACSIN2, IGFBP3, NMRK1, GYS2, ECI2, NDRG1, CDK9, FBXO25, SLC25A25, USP25 and AHCY, was associated with the expression of MC5R, suggesting these genes may mediate the biological role of MC5R in these models. In addition, PPI analysis suggests that the selected downstream genes, including GYS2, ECI2, PSPH, CPT1A, ACSL1, HMGCS1, USP25 and NDRG1, participate in the protein-protein interaction network regulated by MC5R. In conclusion, MC5R may mediate the biological effects caused by changes in nutrition and energy levels in goose hepatocytes through multiple pathways, including glycolipid-metabolism-related pathways.

Witnessing multi-observer steering on both sides simultaneously via weak measurements.

The quantum steering as an intermediate form of quantum correlations, has various peculiarities differing from the Bell nonlocality and the quantum entanglement. In a specific scenario, each side of the observer shares one of the two entangled qubits, steering can be witnessed simultaneously between any two observers from different sides by performing weak or projective measurements successively, with independently chosen and unbiased inputs. Here, we demonstrate this steering scenario experimentally to simultaneously witness quartic Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steerings of two successive observers between each side with the entangled pair with a state fidelity of 97.6% compared with a maximally-entangled one.

Visualization of Subatomic Movements in Nanostructures.

Electron microscopy, scanning probe, and optical super-resolution imaging techniques with nanometric resolution are now routinely available but cannot capture the characteristically fast (MHz-GHz frequency) movements of micro-/nano-objects. Meanwhile, optical interferometric techniques can detect high-frequency picometric displacements but only with diffraction-limited lateral resolution. Here, we introduce a motion visualization technique, based on the spectrally resolved detection of secondary electron emission from moving objects, that combines picometric displacement sensitivity with the nanometric spatial (positional/imaging) resolution of electron microscopy. The sensitivity of the technique is quantitatively validated against the thermodynamically defined amplitude of a nanocantilever's Brownian motion. It is further demonstrated in visualizing externally driven modes of cantilever, nanomechanical photonic metamaterial, and MEMS device structures. With a noise floor reaching ∼1 pm/Hz1/2, it can provide for the study of oscillatory movements with subatomic amplitudes, presenting new opportunities for the interrogation of motion in functional structures across the materials, bio- and nanosciences.

Gigahertz Nano-Optomechanical Resonances in a Dielectric SiC-Membrane Metasurface Array.

Optically and vibrationally resonant nanophotonic devices are of particular importance for their ability to enhance optomechanical interactions, with applications in nanometrology, sensing, nano-optical control of light, and optomechanics. Here, the optically resonant excitation and detection of gigahertz vibrational modes are demonstrated in a nanoscale metasurface array fabricated on a suspended SiC membrane. With the design of the main optical and vibrational modes to be those of the individual metamolecules, resonant excitation and detection are achieved by making use of direct mechanisms for optomechanical coupling. Ultrafast optical pump-probe studies reveal a multimodal gigahertz vibrational response corresponding to the mechanical modes of the suspended nanoresonators. Wavelength and polarization dependent studies reveal that the excitation and detection of vibrations takes place through the metasurface optical modes. The dielectric metasurface pushes the modulation speed of optomechanical structures closer to their theoretical limits and presents a potential for compact and easily fabricable optical components for photonic applications.

Extracellular vesicles from human hepatic progenitor cells accelerate deep frostbite wound healing by promoting fibroblasts proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis.

Frostbites are cold tissue damages frequently observed at high altitudes and under extremely cold conditions. Though their incidence rate is low, the resulting impact in affected patients can be very serious, often leading to amputations. Clinical management and the prediction of outcome can be of utmost importance to frostbite patients. A possible use of stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) has been suggested for cutaneous wound healing and we, therefore, tested their use for the treatment of deep frostbite wound. To this end, the impacts of hHPC-derived EVs were evaluated in an in vivo animal model comprising of Kunming female mice as well as studied in vitro for the mechanism. We first characterized the EVs and these hHPC-derived EVs, when applied to treat frostbite wounds, accelerated wound healing in the in vivo animal model, as assessed by wound closure, re-epithelization thickness, collagen density and the expression of Collagen I and α-SMA. The proliferation and migration of human skin fibroblasts was also found to be increased by EVs in the in vitro experiments. The H2O2-induced apoptosis cell model, established to simulate the post-frostbite injury, was inhibited by EVs, with concomitant increase in the expression of Bcl-2 and decreased expression of Bax, further confirming the findings. Our novel results indicate that the application of EVs might be a promising strategy for deep frostbite wound healing.

Insights into the antitumor mechanism of ginsenosides Rg3.

Panax ginseng, an ancient herb, belonging to Chinese traditional medicine, is an important herb that has a remarkable impact on various diseases. Ginsenoside Rg3, one of the most abundant ginsenosides, exerts significant functions in the prevention of various types of cancers with few side effects. In the present review, its functional molecular mechanisms are explored, including the improvement of antioxidant and anti-inflammation properties, immune regulation, induction of tumor apoptosis, prevention of tumor invasion and metastasis, tumor proliferation and angiogenesis, and reduction of chemoresistance and radioresistance. On the other hand, metabolism, pharmacokinetics and clinical indications of Rg3 are also discussed. The biological functional role of ginsenoside Rg3 may be associated with that it is a steroid glycoside with diverse biological activities and many signaling pathway can be regulated. Many clinical trials are highly needed to confirm the functions of ginsenoside Rg3.

Experimental demonstration of hidden nonlocality with local filters.

The violation of the Bell inequalities implies that quantum mechanics cannot be interpreted using any local hidden variable theory. However, particular quantum states that can originally be described using a local hidden variable model surprisingly exhibit nonlocality by employing local filters before a standard Bell test is performed. This is referred to as hidden nonlocality. In this study, we provide the experimental demonstration of hidden nonlocality through linear optics towards the local states which are put forword by Hirsch et al., PRL 111, 160402 (2013). A class of local states is generated through a spontaneous parametric down-conversion process, and the violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH)-Bell inequality is observed by applying local filters. Our experimental results confirm the superiority of local filters, and throw light on deep understanding the intriguing phenomena of hidden nonlocality and local states.

Tailgut Cysts with Malignant Transformation: Features, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

A tailgut cyst is a type of benign congenital disease that mainly develops in the retro-rectal space. However, malignant transition can occur in some cases of tailgut cysts. Early and precise diagnosis, and proper treatment, are vital for patients with tailgut cysts with malignant transformation. In this review, we aim to summarize the similarities and differences in the diagnosis and treatment methods among the 3 most frequently reported types of tailgut cysts with malignant transformation. In our study, PubMed and Web of Science databases were used to search for the studies and the key words were "tailgut cysts" and "malignancy". We found 176 articles and selected 75 articles in our survey, with 9 reviews, 35 case reports, and 31 case reports and reviews.

A retrospective case series of Fournier's gangrene: necrotizing fasciitis in perineum and perianal region.

BACKGROUND: To describe the clinical characteristics and management for Fournier's gangrene. Experience summary and literature references are provided for future treatment improvement. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the cases diagnosed with Fournier's gangrene in our department from June 2016 to June 2019. Clinical data, including manifestation, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for Fournier's gangrene were presented. RESULTS: There were 12 patients enrolled in this paper, with the average age of 60 years old. It showed a male predominance with male-to-female ratio of 6:1. The average of laboratory risk indicator for necrotizing fasciitis (LRINEC) score was 10.1. Diabetes mellitus was the main predisposing disease. 11 patients received emergency debridement and 1 patient died of sepsis on the 2nd day after admission. The mortality rate was 8.3%. 6 cases developed complications, including sepsis, pneumonia, renal and heart failure. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was applied in 10 cases, while the rest 1 received normal daily dressing changes because of fecal contamination. Flaps were utilized in 2 patients to cover the defect, including one with advancement flap and one with pudendal-thigh flap, while others received secondary suture, secondary healing, skin graft or combined management. No relapse was observed during the follow-up visits. CONCLUSIONS: Fournier's gangrene is a life-threatening infection that requires early diagnosis and surgery intervention. The predisposing disease, clinical manifestation and LRINEC score should be taken into comprehensive consideration, which is helpful for timely diagnosis. Moreover, further successful treatment depends on the aggressive debridement, broad-spectrum antibiotics therapy, wound management and closure choice.

A new surgical approach of direct perineal wound full-thick closure for perineal wound of abdominoperineal resection for rectal carcinoma: A prospective cohort trial.

Perineal wound complications after APR have high morbidity in the colorectal surgical department. Although some approaches have been figured out to solve this clinical focus, the outcomes are still not satisfied. Herein, this prospective comparative clinical trial has been designed to evaluate a new surgical procedure of direct perineal wound full-thick closure (DPWC), compared with conventional perineal wound closure (CPWC), with hopes of making wound healing with less complications. In addition, an evaluation of an incision negative wound pressure therapy, as another focus in this field, was also analysed in the DPWC group. A total of 44 participants in our department were recruited from March 2018 to March 2020, divided into two groups randomly, CPWC group and DPWC group. The patients' characteristics, such as age, gender, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption, comorbidities, CEA level, and high-risk of invasion, were recorded without statistical significance between the CPWC group and DPWC group. After the same standard abdominal phase, these two groups were performed in different perineal phases. And then, operative and postoperative outcomes were analysed with different statistical methods. Data on wound healing time and length of stay in the DPWC group were shorter than those in the CPWC group (P < .05). Furthermore, cases of wound infection within 30 days in the DPWC group were also less than that in the CPWC group (P < .05). However, no difference was found between the incisional negative pressure wound therapy assisted group (NPA group) and non- incisional negative pressure wound therapy assisted group (non-NPA group). During this study, hypoalbuminemia, as an independent high-risk factor, impacted perineal wound healing. (P = .0271) In conclusion, DPWC is a new surgical approach, which can lead to a better outcome than DPWC, and it can be another surgical procedure for clinicians. In addition, hypoalbuminemia should be interfered for avoiding perineal wound complications.

Comparative analysis on the effect of Z-plasty versus conventional simple excision for the treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus: A retrospective randomised clinical study.

Sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus is one of common diseases in general department. However, it is characterised, for surgeons, by high post-surgical recurrence and high incidence of post-surgical wound complications. Due to that fact, this retrospective randomised clinical study was designed to evaluate the surgical procedure effect of Z-plasty (ZP), compared with convention simple excision (SE). A total of 67 patients from May 2015 to May 2019 in our department were studied into two groups randomly, the group of ZP and the group of SE. The patients' characteristics, surgical data, hospital length of stay (LOS), and post-surgery complications were recorded. Statistical approaches were proceed with P-value analysis. The results are as follows. No significant differences were found between these two groups of the ages, gender distribution, Body Mass Index (BMI), smoking history, diabetes mellitus, and blood hypertension. The estimated blood loss, specimen volume, distance to anus, and drain output on the first day of post-surgery between the two groups were not statistically significant, either. However, surgical time in the ZP group was longer than that in the SE group (P < .0001). LOS in the ZP group was obviously shorter than that in the SE group (P = .0051). Furthermore, the patients of the ZP group were tending to suffer from fewer post-surgical complications than the ones of the SE group. In a conclusion, we hold the point view that the surgical procedure of ZP can lead a better outcome than SE because it demonstrated shortened LOS and fewer post-surgical complications.

Experimental violation of Mermin steering inequality by three-photon entangled states with nontrivial GHZ-fidelity.

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering is an intermediate relationship between entanglement and Bell nonlocality in the hierarchical structure of quantum nonlocality. To certify the steerability of the entangled state, Mermin steering inequality is supposed to be violated by exceeding the inequality bound of 2. We present an experimental generation of post-selected three-photon entangled states and witness a maximal violation of the inequality up to 3.50±0.05. In the context of observing the maximal violation of Mermin steering inequality which requires measuring on the GHZ state, we derive a tight lower bound on the GHZ-fidelity that can be certified from the Mermin steering inequality violation. From this bound, it follows that the violation of Mermin steering inequality by 3.5 certifies the GHZ-fidelity of 78.66% at least. On the other hand, the above maximal violation of Mermin steering inequality observed in our experimental setup is produced by a post-selected entangled state having the GHZ-fidelity of 87.25 ± 0.34% through quantum tomography.

Effects and Mechanism of Tanshinone II A in Proliferation, Apoptosis, and Migration of Human Colon Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to explore the effect and mechanism of tanshinone II A on proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of human colon cancer cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS CCK-8 approach was carried out to evaluate proliferation after applying various levels of tanshinone II A to SW620 colon carcinoma cells. Flow cytometry (FC) was used to assess apoptosis. Transwell assay was performed to assess invasion in vitro, and the wound-healing assay was applied to assess migration. Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate translation of mTOR, while RT-PCR was carried out to assess transcription of VEGF. RESULTS CCK-8 assay showed that tanshinone II A inhibited SW620 proliferation in comparison to the control group subsequent to 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h (P<0.001). FC revealed that tanshinone II A promoted SW620 apoptosis (P<0.001). The cell migration test revealed that the migration index of cells receiving tanshinone II A decreased. mTOR translation as well as VEGE transcription in cells receiving tanshinone II A was noticeably prohibited compared to control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Tanshinone II A is able to inhibit proliferation and migration of human colon cancer SW620 cells and promoted cell death. Its mechanism may be by downregulation of mTOR protein and VEGF mRNA.

Isoalantolactone induces apoptosis through reactive oxygen species-dependent upregulation of death receptor 5 in human esophageal cancer cells.

Esophageal cancer is the eighth most prevalent cancer and has high mortality in our society. Isoalantolactone, extracted from Inula helenium L, has shown potent anticancer effects on a variety of cancers. However, its effect on human esophageal cancer, and the underlying molecular mechanism, remain to be investigated. In the present study, we demonstrated that isoalantolactone induced apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells. Treatment with isoalantolactone activated caspases-3, -7, and -10, and upregulated death receptor (DR)5. Furthermore, DR5 knockdown partially reversed the effect of isoalantolactone. These results indicated the extrinsic apoptosis was induced by isoalantolactone. In addition, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly elevated after treatment with isoalantolactone. N-Acetylcysteine, an ROS scavenger, blocked both the apoptosis and decreased cell viability caused by isoalantolactone. In vivo, significant suppression of tumor growth by isoalantolactone was observed in an ECA109 cell xenograft mouse model. Isoalantolactone showed no obvious adverse effects on mouse weight and histology of heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. In conclusion, our results revealed that isoalantolactone induced apoptosis through the extrinsic pathway via upregulation of DR5 and elevation of ROS in human esophageal cancer cells. Isoalantolactone, therefore, could be a potential candidate in developing anticancer agents for esophageal cancer patients.

Asymmetric optical transmission based on unidirectional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in gradient metasurface.

Asymmetric optical transmission is fundamental and highly desirable in information processing and full manipulation of lightwave. We here propose an asymmetric optical transmission device consisting of a gradient metasurface and a one-dimensional subwavelength grating. Owing to the unidirectional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by the gradient metasurface, and SPP-assisted extraordinary optical transmission, forward incident light has much higher transmission than the backward one. We combine temporal coupled mode theory and finite-difference time-domain simulations to verify its operation principle and study the performance. The results indicate that asymmetric transmission with high-contrast and large forward transmittance can be obtained around the 1.3 µm optical communication band.

Coupling-based Huygens' meta-atom utilizing bilayer complementary plasmonic structure for light manipulation.

Huygens' meta-atom is the basic building unit of Huygens' metasurfaces allowing for almost arbitrary wavefront shaping across a surface. We here present a kind of Huygens' meta-atom by coupling a nanodisk to its Babinet-complementary structure (nanohole), and develop an optical lumped nanocircuit model to analyze vertical and lateral coupling effects and resonance frequencies. Simulation results show that the tuned coupling via lateral misalignment between the two nanostructures is sufficient to shape the wavefront without changing the dimensions or orientations of antennas. By tuning the coupling via lateral misalignment, we design a reflective gradient metasurface based on one coupled mode and a high-efficiency transmissive gradient metasurface working in the spectral overlap of electric and magnetic resonances to realize beam deflection. The proposed coupling-based Huygens' meta-atom is a new building block for plasmonic metasurfaces with enhanced light-matter interactions, high-efficiency and almost arbitrary wavefront shaping over the full electromagnetic spectrum.

Polarization-switchable and wavelength-controllable multi-functional metasurface for focusing and surface-plasmon-polariton wave excitation.

Realizing versatile functionalities in a single photonic device is crucial for photonic integration. We here propose a polarization-switchable and wavelength-controllable multi-functional metasurface. By changing the polarization state of incident light, its functionality can be switched between the flat focusing lens and exciting surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) wave. Interestingly, by tuning the wavelength of incident light, the generated SPP waves can also be controlled at desired interfaces, traveling along the upper or lower interface of the metasurface, or along both of them, depending on whether the incident light satisfies the first or second Kerker condition. This polarization-switchable and wavelength-controllable multifunctional metasurface may provide flexibility in designing tunable or multifunctional metasurfaces and may find potential applications in highly integrated photonic systems.

Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of M-phase phosphoprotein 8 inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cells.

M-phase phosphoprotein 8 (MPP8) has been reported to be overexpressed in various human carcinoma cells and was associated with tumor malignant characters. However, its functional role in colon cancer (CRC) is still unclear. In the present study, lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNAs were designed to silence the MPP8 gene in CRC cells including RKO and SW1116 cells. The fluorescence microscopy was used to determine the knockdown efficiency of MPP8 by observing lentivirus-mediated green fluorescent protein expression. MPP8 expression in infected RKO and SW1116 was evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay and colony formation. Flow cytometry was applied to measure cell cycle and apoptosis. Transwell assay was used to determine the effect of MMP8 silencing on cell migration. Our results demonstrated that loss of MPP8 inhibited cell proliferation and migration and promoted cell apoptosis. These results indicate that MPP8 plays an important role in the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells and suggest that silencing of MPP8 may be an effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of CRC.