10 kHz repetition rate picosecond green laser for high-accuracy satellite ranging

Picosecond pulse laser is the main light source for satellite laser ranging. In this paper, a 10 kHz repetition rate picosecond green laser with an average output power of 5.3 W is demonstrated. The laser generates a pulse width of 18.6 ps at a center wavelength of 532.20 nm with a spectral width of .066 nm. The beam quality is well preserved with M2 of 1.1 with the beam divergence measured to be .62 mrad and pointing stability of 7 μrad over 30 min of operation. The laser system was then applied to measure the BeiDou satellite (Compass-I3) and generated a single range accuracy of 3.2 mm, which is the highest reported range accuracy for synchronous orbit satellite laser ranging

Recent Advances in Chirally-Coupled Core Fibers

To meet the needs of high-power fiber lasers, a new fiber structure called chirally coupled core (CCC) fiber has attracted the attention of researchers all over the world. CCC fiber consists of two cores, one of which is a central core distributed along the axial direction, and the other is a side core that is offset from the central axis and spirally distributed around the central core. Meanwhile, CCC fibers are helical-translation symmetric. The unique structure results in advantages of robust single-mode performance, mode-distortion-free splicing and compact coiling of CCC fiber. Based on a brief description of the theory about CCC fiber, this article focuses on the research progress and application prospect of CCC fiber

Spatial-temporal pattern and driving mechanism of urban land use eco-efficiency in mountainous counties based on multi-source data: a case study of Zhejiang province, China

Improving urban land use eco-efficiency (ULUEE) is of great significance for promoting high-quality economic development and promoting the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. In this study, the super efficiency SBM model with undesirable output was used to measure the level of ULUEE at the county scale in Zhejiang province from 2006 to 2022. Based on this, the spatial-temporal evolution and spatial agglomeration characteristics were analyzed by using spatial analysis techniques, kernel density analysis, and spatial autocorrelation model. Finally, the driving mechanisms were revealed by using the geographical detector model and GWR model. The results were as follows: (1) From 2006 to 2022, the ULUEE of Zhejiang province rose from 0.34 to 0.73, with an average annual growth rate of 2.44%. The degree of efficiency differences between counties gradually converged. (2) The ULUEE at the county level exhibited a significant spatial positive correlation, with Moran’s I index increasing from 0.3219 to 0.3715. On the local scale, the cold spot significant area was mainly distributed in the north and south of Zhejiang province, and significant spatial and temporal variations were observed within the hot spot significant area. (3) The results of factor detection showed that altitude (X1), topographic relief (X2), and forest cover (X3) always played a strong role in affecting ULUEE. Among the socioeconomic factors, foreign trade (X8) had the strongest explanatory power in the early period, and GDP per capita (X5) and industrial structure (X6) played the strongest role in the later period. The explanatory power of all influencing factors decreased over time. (4) At the local scale, GDP per capita (X5), industrial structure (X6), and fiscal expenditure scale (X7) presented positive effects on ULUEE, and development vitality (X9) presented a negative effect. Future endeavors should encompass a multifaceted approach, which includes the facilitation of industrial modernization and the enhancement of external economic engagement. Concurrently, it is imperative to capitalize on the region’s inherent economic strengths and to foster a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable economic model

Tuning Thermal Conductivity of Hybrid Perovskites through Halide Alloying

Tuning the thermal transport properties of hybrid halide perovskites is critical for their applications in optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, and photovoltaics. Here, we demonstrate an effective strategy to modulate the thermal transport property of hybrid perovskites by halide alloying. A highly tunable thermal conductivity of mixed-halide hybrid perovskites is achieved due to halide-alloying and structural distortion. Our experimental measurements show that the room temperature thermal conductivity of MAPb(BrxI1-x)3 (x = 0-1) can be largely modulated from 0.27 W/mK (x = 0.5) to 0.47 W/mK (x = 1). Molecular dynamics simulations further demonstrate that the thermal conductivity reduction of hybrid halide perovskites results from the suppression of the mean free paths of the low-frequency acoustic and optical phonons. It is found that halide alloying and the induced structural distortion can largely increase the scatterings of optical and acoustic phonons, respectively. The confined diffusion of MA+ cations in the octahedra cage is found to act as an additional thermal transport channel in hybrid perovskites and can contribute around 10-20% of the total thermal conductivity. Our findings provide a strategy for tailoring the thermal transport in hybrid halide perovskites which may largely benefit their related applications

FOXD1 Promotes Cell Growth and Metastasis by Activation of Vimentin in NSCLC

Background/Aims: Forkhead box D1 (FOXD1) has a well-established role in early embryonic development and organogenesis and functions as an oncogene in several cancers. However, the clinical significance and biological roles of FOXD1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain largely unknown. Methods: A total of 264 primary NSCLC tissue samples were collected. The expression levels of FOXD1 in these samples were examined by immunohistochemical staining. The expression of FOXD1 was knocked down by lentiviral shRNA. The relative expression of FOXD1 was determined by qRT-PCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence image. The functional roles of FOXD1 in NSCLC were demonstrated cell viability CCK-8 assay, colony formation, cell invasion and migration assays, and cell apoptosis assay in vitro. In vivo mouse xenograft and metastasis models were used to assess tumorigenicity and metastatic ability. The Chi-square test was used to assess the correlation between FOXD1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics. Survival curves were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: We determined that higher levels of FOXD1 were present in NSCLC tissues, especially in metastatic NSCLC tissues. FOXD1 was also higher in all NSCLC cells compared with normal human bronchial epithelial cells. A higher expression level of FOXD1 was associated with malignant behavior and poor prognosis in NSCLC patients. Knockdown of FOXD1 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo, and it increased the apoptosis rates of NSCLC cells. Mechanistic analyses revealed that FOXD1 expressed its oncogenic characteristics through activating Vimentin in NSCLC. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that FOXD1 was an independent prognostic factor both for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in NSCLC patients. Conclusion: Our results indicated that FOXD1 might be involved in the development and progression of NSCLC as an oncogene, and thereby might be a potential therapeutic target for NSCLC patients

Nuclear miR-320 Mediates Diabetes-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction by Activating Transcription of Fatty Acid Metabolic Genes to Cause Lipotoxicity in the Heart

RATIONALE:Diabetes mellitus is often associated with cardiovascular complications, which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with diabetes mellitus, but little is known about the mechanism that connects diabetes mellitus to the development of cardiovascular dysfunction. OBJECTIVE:We aim to elucidate the mechanism underlying hyperglycemia-induced cardiac dysfunction on a well-established db/db mouse model for diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications that lead to heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS:We first profiled the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) by microarray and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on db/db mice and identified miR-320 as a key miRNA associated with the disease phenotype. We next established the clinical relevance of this finding by showing the upregulation of the same miRNA in the failing heart of patients with diabetes mellitus. We demonstrated the causal role of miR-320 in inducing diabetic cardiomyopathy, showing that miR-320 overexpression exacerbated while its inhibition improved the cardiac phenotype in db/db mice. Unexpectedly, we found that miR-320 acts as a small activating RNA in the nucleus at the level of transcription. By chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitive polymerase chain reaction analysis of Ago2 (argonaute RISC catalytic component 2) and RNA polymerase II in response to miR-320 induction, we identified CD36 (fatty acid translocase) as a key target gene for this miRNA and showed that the induced expression of CD36 is responsible for increased fatty acid uptake, thereby causing lipotoxicity in the heart. CONCLUSIONS:These findings uncover a novel mechanism for diabetes mellitus-triggered cardiac dysfunction, provide an endogenous case for small activating RNA that has been demonstrated to date only with synthetic RNAs in transfected cells, and suggest a potential strategy to develop a miRNA-based therapy to treat diabetes mellitus-associated cardiovascular complications

Gut Microbiota May Play a Significant Role in the Pathogenesis of Graves Disease.

Background: Gut microbiota are considered to be intrinsic regulators of thyroid autoimmunity. We designed a cross-sectional study to examine the makeup and metabolic function of microbiota in Graves disease (GD) patients, with the ultimate aim of offering new perspectives on the diagnosis and treatment of GD. Methods: The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) V3-V4 DNA regions of microbiota were obtained from fecal samples collected from 45 GD patients and 59 controls. Microbial differences between the two groups were subsequently analyzed based on high-throughput sequencing. Results: Compared with controls, GD patients had reduced alpha diversity (p < 0.05). At the phylum level, GD patients had a significantly lower proportion of Firmicutes (p = 0.008) and a significantly higher proportion of Bacteroidetes (p = 0.002) compared with the controls. At the genus level, GD patients had greater numbers of Bacteroides and Lactobacillus, although fewer Blautia, [Eubacterium]_hallii_group, Anaerostipes, Collinsella, Dorea, unclassified_f_Peptostreptococcaceae, and [Ruminococcus]_torques_group than controls (all p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis of GD patients revealed that Lactobacillus may play a key role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases. Nine distinct genera showed significant correlations with certain thyroid function tests. Functional prediction revealed that Blautia may be an important microbe in certain metabolic pathways that occur in the hyperthyroid state. In addition, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and effect size (LEfSe) analysis showed that there were significant differences in the levels of 18 genera between GD patients and controls (LDA >3.0, all p < 0.05). A diagnostic model using the top nine genera had an area under the curve of 0.8109 [confidence interval: 0.7274-0.8945]. Conclusions: Intestinal microbiota are different in GD patients. The microbiota we identified offer an alternative noninvasive diagnostic methodology for GD. Microbiota may also play a role in thyroid autoimmunity, and future research is needed to further elucidate the role