Suppression of frequency-mixing effect for pm-level heterodyne interferometers based on "zero coupling" optical path length control.

Optical path length (OPL) noise resulting from stray light significantly constrains interferometry displacement measurements in the low-frequency band. This paper presents an analytical model considering the presence of stray light in heterodyne laser interferometers. Due to the cyclic nonlinear coupling effect, there will be some special OPLs of stray light, minimizing the frequency-mixing impact to zero. Consequently, we propose a noise suppression scheme that locks the OPL of stray light at the zero coupling point. Therefore, we significantly enhanced the interference displacement measurement noise within the low-frequency band. Experimental results show that the interferometer achieves a displacement noise level lower than 6 pm/Hz1/2 covering 1 mHz.

Visible Light-Induced Hydroacylation of Benzylidenemalononitriles with Aroyl Chlorides Using Silane as a Hydrogen Donor.

A novel photoredox-catalyzed direct hydroacylation of benzylidenemalononitriles is described. In this method, aroyl chlorides are employed as a readily available and affordable source of acyl groups, while commercially available tris(trimethylsilyl)silane acts as both the hydrogen atom donor and electron donor. By eliminating the requirement for complex synthesis of acyl precursors and hydrogen atom-transfer (HAT) reagents, this approach offers a convenient and efficient strategy for the hydroacylation of benzylidenemalononitriles.

Cross-Talk of Toll-Like Receptor 5 and Mu-Opioid Receptor Attenuates Chronic Constriction Injury-Induced Mechanical Hyperalgesia through a Protein Kinase C Alpha-Dependent Signaling.

Recently, Toll-like receptors (TLRs), a family of pattern recognition receptors, are reported as potential modulators for neuropathic pain; however, the desired mechanism is still unexplained. Here, we operated on the sciatic nerve to establish a pre-clinical rodent model of chronic constriction injury (CCI) in Sprague-Dawley rats, which were assigned into CCI and Decompression groups randomly. In Decompression group, the rats were performed with nerve decompression at post-operative week 4. Mechanical hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia were obviously attenuated after a month. Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5)-immunoreactive (ir) expression increased in dorsal horn, particularly in the inner part of lamina II. Additionally, substance P (SP) and isolectin B4 (IB4)-ir expressions, rather than calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP)-ir expression, increased in their distinct laminae. Double immunofluorescence proved that increased TLR5-ir expression was co-expressed mainly with IB4-ir expression. Through an intrathecal administration with FLA-ST Ultrapure (a TLR5 agonist, purified flagellin from Salmonella Typhimurium, only the CCI-induced mechanical hyperalgesia was attenuated dose-dependently. Moreover, we confirmed that mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and phospho-protein kinase Cα (pPKCα)-ir expressions but not phospho-protein kinase A RII (pPKA RII)-ir expression, increased in lamina II, where they mostly co-expressed with IB4-ir expression. Go 6976, a potent protein kinase C inhibitor, effectively reversed the FLA-ST Ultrapure- or DAMGO-mediated attenuated trend towards mechanical hyperalgesia by an intrathecal administration in CCI rats. In summary, our current findings suggest that nerve decompression improves CCI-induced mechanical hyperalgesia that might be through the cross-talk of TLR5 and MOR in a PKCα-dependent manner, which opens a novel opportunity for the development of analgesic therapeutics in neuropathic pain.

Computation of radiation pressure force exerted on arbitrary shaped homogeneous particles by high-order Bessel vortex beams using MLFMA.

Due to special characteristics of nondiffraction and self reconstruction, the Bessel beams have attracted wide attention in optical trapping and appear to be a dramatic alternative to Gaussian beams. We present in this paper an efficient approach based on the surface integral equations (SIE) to compute the radiation pressure force (RPF) exerted on arbitrary shaped homogeneous particles by high-order Bessel vortex beam (HOBVB). The incident beam is described by vector expressions perfectly satisfy Maxwell's equations. The problem is formulated with the combined tangential formulation (CTF) and solved iteratively with the aid of the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA). Then RPF is computed by vector flux of the Maxwell's stress tensor over a spherical surface tightly enclosing the particle and analytical expression for electromagnetic fields of incident beam in near region are used. The numerical predictions are compared with the results of the rigorous method for spherical particle to validate the accuracy of the approach. Some numerical results on relative large particles of complex shape, such as biconcave cell-like particles with different geometry parameters are given, showing powerful capability of our approach. These results are expected to provide useful insights into the RPF exerted on complex shaped particles by HOBVB.

GOLPH3 promotes glioblastoma cell migration and invasion via the mTOR-YB1 pathway in vitro.

The identification of genes involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression is of great interest, since these genes might be possible as candidates for new tumor targeted therapy strategies. Our previous study shows that Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) is involved in glioma cell migration and invasion, the critical characteristics of malignant gliomas. In this study, we explored the mechanism of GOLPH3 affecting cell migration and invasion and found that GOLPH3 promotes glioblastoma (GBM) cell migration and invasion via the mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)-Y-box binding protein-1 (YB1) pathway in vitro. Both the protein levels of GOLPH3 and YB1 were up-regulated in human glioma tissues and they exhibited direct correlation with each other. In addition, down-regulation of GOLPH3 inhibited glioma cell migration and invasion, while over-expression of GOLPH3 enhanced them. Meanwhile, GOLPH3 down-regulation led to a significant decrease of YB1 level as well as mTOR activity, both required for glioma cell migration and invasion. On the contrary, YB1 level and mTOR activity increased after GOLPH3 over-expression. YB1 down-regulation or mTOR ATP site inhibitor INK128 treatment inhibited cell migration and invasion, similar to the effect of GOLPH3 down-regulation. Furthermore, over-expression of GOLPH3 induced glioma cell migration and invasion was blocked by INK128 and YB1 down-regulation. Taken together, these results show that GOLPH3 promotes glioblastoma cell migration and invasion via the mTOR-YB1pathway, indicating that GOLPH3-mTOR-YB1 pathway might be a new therapeutic target for glioma treatment.

Prediction of metallic nano-optical trapping forces by finite element-boundary integral method.

The hybrid of finite element and boundary integral (FE-BI) method is employed to predict nano-optical trapping forces of arbitrarily shaped metallic nanostructures. A preconditioning strategy is proposed to improve the convergence of the iterative solution. Skeletonization is employed to speed up the design and optimization where iteration has to be repeated for each beam configuration. The radiation pressure force (RPF) is computed by vector flux of the Maxwell's stress tensor. Numerical simulations are performed to validate the developed method in analyzing the plasmonic effects as well as the optical trapping forces. It is shown that the proposed method is capable of predicting the trapping forces of complex metallic nanostructures accurately and efficiently.

Computational study of radiation torque on arbitrary shaped particles with MLFMA.

The surface integral equation (SIE) method is used for the computational study of radiation torque on arbitrarily shaped homogeneous particles. The Multilevel Fast Multipole Algorithm (MLFMA) is employed to reduce memory requirements and improve the capability of SIE. The resultant matrix equations are solved iteratively to obtain equivalent electric and magnetic currents. Then, radiation torque is computed using the vector flux of the pseudotensor over a spherical surface tightly enclosing the particle. We use, therefore, the analytical electromagnetic field expression for incident waves in the near region, instead of the far-field approximation. This avoids the error which may be caused when describing the incident beam. The numerical results of three kinds of non-spherical particles are presented to illustrate the validity and capability of the developed method. It is shown that our method can be applied to predict, in the rigorous sense, the torque from a beam of any shape on a particle of complex configuration with a size parameter as large as 650. The radiation torques on large ellipsoids are exemplified to show the performance of the method and to study the influence that different aspect ratios have on the results. Then, the code is used for the calculation of radiation torque on objects of complex shape including a biconcave cell-like particle and a motor with a non-smooth surface.

Computation of radiation pressure force on arbitrary shaped homogenous particles by multilevel fast multipole algorithm.

A full-wave numerical method based on the surface integral equation for computing radiation pressure force (RPF) exerted by a shaped light beam on arbitrary shaped homogenous particles is presented. The multilevel fast multipole algorithm is employed to reduce memory requirement and to improve its capability. The resultant matrix equation is solved by using an iterative solver to obtain equivalent electric and magnetic currents. Then RPF is computed by vector flux of the Maxwell's stress tensor over a spherical surface tightly enclosing the particle. So the analytical expressions for electromagnetic fields of incident beam in near region are used. Some numerical results are performed to illustrate the validity and capability of the developed method. Good agreements between our method and the Lorenz-Mie theory for spherical and small spheroidal particle are found while our method has powerful capability for computing RPF of any shaped beam on a relatively large particle of complex shape. Tests for ellipsoidal and red blood cell-like particles illuminated by Gaussian beam have shown that the size of the particle can be as large as 50-100 wavelengths, respectively, for the relative refractive of 1.33 and 1.1.

Photoredox-Catalyzed Radical-Radical Cross-Coupling of α-Ketoesters with Ethers: Access to Sterically Hindered α-Hydroxy Esters.

We describe a photoredox catalysis method for synthesizing sterically hindered α-hydroxy esters from α-ketoesters and ethers through a radical-radical cross-coupling reaction. This approach utilizes commercially available Ir[dF(CF3)ppy]2(dtbbpy)PF6 as a photocatalyst and inexpensive and readily available nBu4NBr as a hydrogen atom transfer catalyst. Unactivated tetrahydrofuran and other ethers effectively react with various α-ketoesters to yield the desired products. The efficiency of this reaction is highlighted by its broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, and mild reaction conditions.

Mechanisms and biomarkers of successful allergen-specific immunotherapy.

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is considered the only curative treatment for allergic diseases mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE). Currently, the route of administration depends both on the different types of causal allergens and on its effectiveness and safety profile. Several studies have reported the mechanisms and changes in humoral and cellular response underlying AIT; however, the full picture remains unknown. Knowledge of who can benefit from this type of treatment is urgently needed due to the patient safety risks and costs of AIT. In vivo or in vitro biomarkers have become a strategy to predict clinical outcomes in precision medicine. There are currently no standardized biomarkers that allow determining successful responses to AIT, however, some studies have found differences between responders and nonresponders. In addition, different candidates have been postulated that may have the potential to become biomarkers. In this review, we aim to summarize the findings to date related to biomarkers in different IgE-mediated allergic diseases (respiratory, food, and venom allergy) with the potential to define who will benefit from AIT.

Computation of stress on the surface of a soft homogeneous arbitrarily shaped particle.

Prediction of the stress on the surface of an arbitrarily shaped particle of soft material is essential in the study of elastic properties of the particles with optical force. It is also necessary in the manipulation and sorting of small particles with optical tweezers, since a regular-shaped particle, such as a sphere, may be deformed under the nonuniform optical stress on its surface. The stress profile on a spherical or small spheroidal soft particle trapped by shaped beams has been studied, however little work on computing the surface stress of an irregular-shaped particle has been reported. We apply in this paper the surface integral equation with multilevel fast multipole algorithm to compute the surface stress on soft homogeneous arbitrarily shaped particles. The comparison of the computed stress profile with that predicted by the generalized Lorenz-Mie theory for a water droplet of diameter equal to 51 wavelengths in a focused Gaussian beam show that the precision of our method is very good. Then stress profiles on spheroids with different aspect ratios are computed. The particles are illuminated by a Gaussian beam of different waist radius at different incidences. Physical analysis on the mechanism of optical stress is given with help of our recently developed vectorial complex ray model. It is found that the maximum of the stress profile on the surface of prolate spheroids is not only determined by the reflected and refracted rays (orders p=0,1) but also the rays undergoing one or two internal reflections where they focus. Computational study of stress on surface of a biconcave cell-like particle, which is a typical application in life science, is also undertaken.

Protein kinase D2 promotes the proliferation of glioma cells by regulating Golgi phosphoprotein 3.

Protein kinase D2 (PKD2) has been demonstrated to promote tumorigenesis in many types of cancers. However, how PKD2 regulates cancer cell growth is largely unknown. In this study, we found that over-expression of PKD2 promoted glioma cell growth but down-regulation of PKD2 inhibited it. Further investigation indicated that PKD2 down-regulation decreased the protein level of Golgi phosphoprotein 3(GOLPH3) as well as p-AKT level. On the contrary, over-expression of PKD2 increased the protein level of GOLPH3 and p-AKT. In addition, GOLPH3 exhibited similar effect on glioma cell growth to that of PKD2. Importantly, GOLPH3 down-regulation partially abolished glioma cell proliferation induced by PKD2 over-expression, while over-expression of GOLPH3 also partially rescued the inhibition effect of PKD2 down-regulation on glioma cell growth. Interestingly, the level of PKD2 and GOLPH3 significantly increased and was positively correlated in a cohort of glioma patients, as well as in patients from TCGA database. Taken together, these results reveal that PKD2 promotes glioma cell proliferation by regulating GOLPH3 and then AKT activation. Our findings indicate that both PKD2 and GOLPH3 play important roles in the progression of human gliomas and PKD2-GOLPH3-AKT signaling pathway might be a potential glioma therapeutic target.