Reconfigurable matrix multiplier with on-site reinforcement learning.

Matrix multiplication is a fundamental building block for modern information processing and artificial intelligence algorithms. Photonics-based matrix multipliers have recently attracted much attention due to their advantages of low energy and ultrafast speed. Conventionally, achieving matrix multiplication relies on bulky Fourier optical components, and the functionalities are unchangeable once the design is determined. Furthermore, the bottom-up design strategy cannot easily be generalized into concrete and practical guidelines. Here, we introduce a reconfigurable matrix multiplier driven by on-site reinforcement learning. The constituent transmissive metasurfaces incorporating varactor diodes serve as tunable dielectrics based on the effective medium theory. We validate the viability of tunable dielectrics and demonstrate the performance of matrix customization. This work represents a new avenue in realizing reconfigurable photonic matrix multipliers for on-site applications.

Real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR assay for the detection of Nuomin virus - An emerging tick-borne virus.

Nuomin virus (NOMV), an emerging tick-borne virus (TBVs) identified in 2020, has been associated with fever, headache, and potential liver dysfunction in infected individuals. This study presents a novel TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR method designed for the rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of NOMV, facilitating early diagnosis. Utilizing Beacon Designer software 8.0, we optimized the PCR assay including the development of primers and probes to precisely target the conserved region of the NOMV genome, followed by optimization of primer and probe concentrations and annealing temperature. The resulting assay demonstrated robust performance, with standard curve represented by the equation y=-3.29x+39.42, a high correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.995) and an efficiency 99.53 %. Importantly, the method exhibited exceptional specificity, which did not yield cross-reacting signals from other TBVs, including Songling virus (SGLV), Beiji virus (BJNV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Yezo virus (YEZV), Alongshan virus (ALSV), and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus (SFTSV). The assay's detection limit was remarkably low, reaching 10 copies/µL, representing a 100-fold increase compared to semi-nested RT-PCR. Additionally, it demonstrated excellent repeatability, with coefficients of variation for intra- and inter-group tests consistently below 3 %. Clinical evaluations confirmed the assay's superior performance, highlighting its high specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility for NOMV detection. In conclusion, the method developed in this study provides a valuable tool to support timely management of NOMV infections, with significant implications for clinical practice.

3D Intelligent Cloaked Vehicle Equipped with Thousand-Level Reconfigurable Full-Polarization Metasurfaces.

A crucial aspect in shielding a variety of advanced electronic devices from electromagnetic detection involves controlling the flow of electromagnetic waves, akin to invisibility cloaks. Decades ago, the exploration of transformation optics heralded the dawn of modern invisibility cloaks, which has stimulated immense interest across various physical scenarios. However, most prior research is simplified to low-dimensional and stationary hidden objects, limiting their practical applicability in a dynamically changing world. This study develops a 3D large-scale intelligent cloak capable of remaining undetectable even in non-stationary conditions. By employing thousand-level reconfigurable full-polarization metasurfaces, this work has achieved an exceptionally high degree of freedom in sculpting the scattering waves as desired. Serving as the core computational unit, a hybrid inverse design enables the cloaked vehicle to respond in real-time, with a rapid reaction time of just 70 ms. These experiments integrate the cloaked vehicle with a perception-decision-control-execution system and evaluate its performance under random static positions and dynamic travelling trajectories, achieving a background scattering matching degree of up to 93.3%. These findings establish a general paradigm for the next generation of intelligent meta-devices in real-world settings, potentially paving the way for an era of "Electromagnetic Internet of Things."

Arbitrary Polarization Readout with Dual-Channel Neuro-Metasurfaces.

Polarization, as a vector nature of the electromagnetic wave, plays a fundamental role in optics. Determining the polarization state of light is required by many applications, spanning from remote sensing and material analysis to biology and microscopy. To achieve this goal, conventional methods necessitate cascading of multiple optical components and consequential measurements to estimate the Stokes parameters, rendering the entire optical system bulky, complex, and sensitive. Here a brand-new strategy is introduced for direct polarization readout based on dual-channel neuro-metasurfaces. Neuro-metasurfaces can independently manipulate two orthogonal linearly-polarized waves that can synthesize arbitrary polarization waves with a linear combination. By judiciously designing the output focus points, a unique polarization atlas is created that allows one-to-one correspondence from intensity ratio to polarization state. To implement this, polarization-sensitive metasurfaces are designed and the spatial layout is optimized using a diffractive neural network. The feasibility of this strategy is validated by numerical simulation and microwave experiments. These results pave a new avenue in realizing integrated and multifunctional detectors and demonstrate the potential of neuro-metasurfaces as an add-on for discomposing and composing spatial basis.

Dynamic recognition and mirage using neuro-metamaterials.

Breakthroughs in the field of object recognition facilitate ubiquitous applications in the modern world, ranging from security and surveillance equipment to accessibility devices for the visually impaired. Recently-emerged optical computing provides a fundamentally new computing modality to accelerate its solution with photons; however, it still necessitates digital processing for in situ application, inextricably tied to Moore's law. Here, from an entirely optical perspective, we introduce the concept of neuro-metamaterials that can be applied to realize a dynamic object- recognition system. The neuro-metamaterials are fabricated from inhomogeneous metamaterials or transmission metasurfaces, and optimized using, such as topology optimization and deep learning. We demonstrate the concept in experiments where living rabbits play freely in front of the neuro-metamaterials, which enable to perceive in light speed the rabbits' representative postures. Furthermore, we show how this capability enables a new physical mechanism for creating dynamic optical mirages, through which a sequence of rabbit movements is converted into a holographic video of a different animal. Our work provides deep insight into how metamaterials could facilitate a myriad of in situ applications, such as illusive cloaking and speed-of-light information display, processing, and encryption, possibly ushering in an "Optical Internet of Things" era.

Homeostatic neuro-metasurfaces for dynamic wireless channel management.

The physical basis of a smart city, the wireless channel, plays an important role in coordinating functions across a variety of systems and disordered environments, with numerous applications in wireless communication. However, conventional wireless channel typically necessitates high-complexity and energy-consuming hardware, and it is hindered by lengthy and iterative optimization strategies. Here, we introduce the concept of homeostatic neuro-metasurfaces to automatically and monolithically manage wireless channel in dynamics. These neuro-metasurfaces relieve the heavy reliance on traditional radio frequency components and embrace two iconic traits: They require no iterative computation and no human participation. In doing so, we develop a flexible deep learning paradigm for the global inverse design of large-scale metasurfaces, reaching an accuracy greater than 90%. In a full perception-decision-action experiment, our concept is demonstrated through a preliminary proof-of-concept verification and an on-demand wireless channel management. Our work provides a key advance for the next generation of electromagnetic smart cities.

iTRAQ-2DLC-ESI-MS/MS based identification of a new set of immunohistochemical biomarkers for classification of dysplastic nodules and small hepatocellular carcinoma.

The study aims to develop novel clinical immunohistochemical biomarkers for distinguishing small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) from dysplastic nodules (DN). iTRAQ-2DLC-ESI-MS/MS technique was used to screen immunohistochemical biomarkers between precancerous lesions (liver cirrhosis and DN) and sHCC. A total of 1951 proteins were quantified, including 52 proteins upregulated in sHCC and 95 proteins downregulated in sHCC by at least 1.25- or 0.8-fold at p < 0.05. The selected biomarker candidates were further verified using Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, receiver operation characteristics (ROC) curves and logistic regression model were carried out to evaluate the diagnostic values of the biomarkers. Finally, aminoacylase-1 (ACY1) and sequestosome-1 (SQSTM1) were chosen as novel candidate biomarkers for distinction of sHCC from DN. A constructed logistic regression model included ACY1, SQSTM1, and CD34. The sensitivity and specificity of this model for distinguishing sHCC from DN was 96.1% and 96.7%. In conclusion, ACY1 and SQSTM1 were identified as novel immunohistochemical biomarkers distinguishing sHCC from DN. In conclusion, expression levels of CD34, ACY1, and SQSTM1 can be used to establish an accurate diagnostic model for distinction of sHCC from DN.

The effects of topiramate on caspase-3 expression in hippocampus of basolateral amygdala (BLA) electrical kindled epilepsy rat.

Caspase-3 expression was determined in the hippocampus of electrically kindled rats with and without topiramate treatment. Bipolar electrotrodes were implanted for chronic stimulation of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to achieve a kindled state. Seizure and behavioral responses were observed, and video-electroencephalograms were recorded during and after kindling. After topiramate treatment (80 mg/kg, p.o.), the hippocampi were extracted and caspase-3 mRNA analyzed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Caspase-3 immunoreactivity was determined with immunohistochemical staining. Topiramate treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the mean duration of seizures from 52 s in kindled rats to 13 s. The after-discharge duration was significantly decreased by 70% after topiramate treatment. Significant upregulations of both caspase-3 mRNA and caspase-3 immunoreactivity were observed in the kindled rats. These kindling-mediated increases in caspase-3 were prevented by topiramate treatment, and these levels were not different from those of sham-operated controls. In BLA-kindled rats, mRNA and immunoreactivity for caspase-3 were increased. Treatment with topiramate prevented the kindling-associated increases in caspase-3 as well as the increases in seizure duration and after-discharge duration. These data suggest that topiramate may have a neuroprotective role in addition to its action as an anticonvulsant.

B7 homolog 3 aggravates brain injury in a murine model of Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced meningitis.

Despite the application of antibiotics, Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP)-induced meningitis continues to be a life-threatening disease with a high fatality rate and an elevated risk of serious neurological sequelae, particularly in developing countries. In this study, the contribution of the co-stimulatory molecule B7 homolog 3 (B7-H3) to the pathogenesis of experimental SP-induced meningitis was investigated. Mice were challenged with the intracerebroventricular injection of serotype 3 SP with or without B7-H3. The clinical status of mice with SP-induced meningitis was examined by body weight loss and spontaneous motor activity with neurological scoring. Coronal brain sections were analyzed by counting Nissl-positive neurons and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells. Protein expression of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B in brain tissues was examined with immunohistochemical staining. All experiments were performed in a randomized and blinded setting. By the intracerebroventricular injection of SP suspension, a murine model of pneumococcal meningitis was successfully established. In this SP-induced meningitis model, B7-H3 deteriorated the clinical status, as manifested by a decreased neurological score and increased body weight loss. Following the B7-H3 challenge, the number of Nissl-positive cells decreased and TUNEL-stained positive cells increased in the brain tissues of mice with SP meningitis, which demonstrates the enhancement of neuronal necrosis and apoptosis, respectively. Protein expression of NSE was decreased, while that of S100B was increased. These in vivo findings indicate that B7-H3 aggravates brain injury during the pathological process of experimental SP-induced meningitis.

Effect of topiramate on interleukin 6 expression in the hippocampus of amygdala-kindled epileptic rats.

The objective of this study was to analyze the changes in expression and the possible functions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in electrical kindling of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in epileptic rats. Bipolar electrodes were implanted into the BLA of Sprague-Dawley rats, and the rats were then subjected to chronic electrical stimulation through the electrodes to induce kindling. The seizure characteristics and behavioral changes of the rats were observed, and electroencephalograms were recorded during and following kindling. The IL-6 mRNA expression in the hippocampi of the rats was analyzed using semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and control and topiramate (TPM)-treated groups were compared. The mean time-period required for kindling was 13.50±3.99 days, and the afterdischarge duration (ADD) measured between 21,450 and 119,720 msec. The expression of IL-6 mRNA was significantly upregulated in the kindled rats. TPM was able to depress the seizures and decrease the IL-6 level in the kindled rats. In conclusion, IL-6 mRNA was upregulated in the hippocampi of epileptic rats, and IL-6 may have participated in the process of kindling.