Strain-based tunable optical microresonator with an in-fiber rectangular air bubble

We demonstrate a strain-based fully tunable, near-lossless, whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator made of an in-fiber rectangular air bubble, which is fabricated by splicing two segments of standard single-mode fibers. Such a resonator, with a 39 μm order radius and 1 μm order wall thickness, contributes to a high quality factor exceeding 106. The tuning in resonant wavelength is achieved by applying tensile strain to the resonator, and the voltage-tuning rate of the WGM resonance peaks is about 31.96 pm/V (strain-tuning rate ∼14.12 pm∕με), and the corresponding tuning accuracy is better than 0.03 pm. Since the tensile strain applied on the resonator can reach 1000 με, the achievable total tunable bandwidth of ∼14.12 nm is more than two times that of its azimuthal free spectral range

Unveiling the additive-assisted oriented growth of perovskite crystallite for high performance light-emitting diodes.

Solution-processed metal halide perovskites have been recognized as one of the most promising semiconductors, with applications in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cells and lasers. Various additives have been widely used in perovskite precursor solutions, aiming to improve the formed perovskite film quality through passivating defects and controlling the crystallinity. The additive's role of defect passivation has been intensively investigated, while a deep understanding of how additives influence the crystallization process of perovskites is lacking. Here, we reveal a general additive-assisted crystal formation pathway for FAPbI3 perovskite with vertical orientation, by tracking the chemical interaction in the precursor solution and crystallographic evolution during the film formation process. The resulting understanding motivates us to use a new additive with multi-functional groups, 2-(2-(2-Aminoethoxy)ethoxy)acetic acid, which can facilitate the orientated growth of perovskite and passivate defects, leading to perovskite layer with high crystallinity and low defect density and thereby record-high performance NIR perovskite LEDs (~800 nm emission peak, a peak external quantum efficiency of 22.2% with enhanced stability)

Establishment of prediction models to predict survival among patients with cervical cancer based on socioeconomic factors: a retrospective cohort study based on the SEER Database

Objective To construct and validate predictive models based on socioeconomic factors for predicting overall survival (OS) in cervical cancer and compare them with the American Joint Council on Cancer (AJCC) staging system.Design Retrospective cohort study.Setting and participants We extracted data from 5954 patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer between 2007 and 2011 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database. This database holds data related to cancer incidence from 18 population-based cancer registries in the USA.Outcome measures 1-year and 5-year OS.Results Of the total 5954 patients, 5820 patients had 1-year mortality and 5460 patients had 5-year mortality. Lower local education level [Hazard ratios (HR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04 to 1.27, p= 0.005] and being widowed (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.55, p=0.009) were associated with a worse OS for patients with cervical cancer. Having insurance (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.90, p=0.002), earning a local median annual income of ≥US$56 270 (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.92, p<0.001) and being married (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.89, p<0.001) were related to better OS in patients with cervical cancer. The predictive models based on socioeconomic factors and the AJCC staging system had a favourable performance for predicting OS in cervical cancer compared with the AJCC staging system alone.Conclusion Our proposed predictive models exhibit superior predictive performance, which may highlight the potential clinical application of incorporating socioeconomic factors in predicting OS in cervical cancer

Swimming Exercise Alleviated Insulin Resistance by Regulating Tripartite Motif Family Protein 72 Expression and AKT Signal Pathway in Sprague-Dawley Rats Fed with High-Fat Diet

We aimed to investigate whether swimming exercise could improve insulin resistance (IR) by regulating tripartite motif family protein 72 (TRIM72) expression and AKT signal pathway in rats fed with high-fat diet. Five-week-old rats were classified into 3 groups: standard diet as control (CON), high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD plus swimming exercise (Ex-HFD). After 8 weeks, glucose infusion rate (GIR), markers of oxidative stress, mRNA and protein expression of TRIM72, protein of IRS, p-AKTSer473, and AKT were determined in quadriceps muscles. Compared with HFD, the GIR, muscle SOD, and GSH-Px were significantly increased (p<0.05, resp.), whereas muscle MDA and 8-OHdG levels were significantly decreased (p<0.05 and p<0.01) in Ex-HFD. Expression levels of TRIM72 mRNA and protein in muscles were significantly reduced (p<0.05 and p<0.01), whereas protein expression levels of IRS-1, p-AKTSer473, and AKT were significantly increased in Ex-HFD compared with HFD (p<0.01, p<0.01, and p<0.05). These results suggest that an 8-week swimming exercise improves HFD-induced insulin resistance maybe through a reduction of TRIM72 in skeletal muscle and enhancement of AKT signal transduction

Sensing Characteristics of Tilted Long Period Fiber Gratings Inscribed by Infrared Femtosecond Laser

We propose a novel tilted long period fiber grating (TLPFG) design, inscribed using a line-by-line inscription technique and an infrared femtosecond (Fs) laser. The responses of this TLPFG to external refractive index, temperature, torsion, and strain were systematically investigated to determine its sensing characteristics. The external refractive index (RI) was measured to be &minus;602.86 nm/RIU at an RI of ~1.432. The TLPFG was used to accurately measure temperatures up to 450 &deg;C with a sensitivity of 103.8 pm/&deg;C. The torsion and strain sensitivity of the device were 48.94 nm/(rad/mm) and &minus;0.63 pm/&micro;&epsilon;, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed TLPFG could be used as sensors in a series of application fields including high temperatures and external environments

Secondary Metabolites and Antiradical Activity of Liquid Fermentation of <i>Morchella</i> sp. Isolated from Southwest China

Morels famous for their taste and nutrition are in short supply all over the world although they were considered as one of the most highly prized edible and medicinal mushrooms. Because of the limitation of resource and cultivation technology, fermentation of edible mushroom was gradually applied to nutrient, bioactivity and breeder seed preparation. At present, there are more reports on sugar and amino acid but less on other components. Morchella sp. YDJ-ZY-1 was isolated from the wild fruiting body by the spores releasing method in Zunyi Guizhou province in Southwest China and identified based on phenotype and genotype characteristics. Chemical compositions of YDJ-ZY-1 were investigated from liquid fermentation that will lay the foundation for further development and utilization. Four pyranoids (1&#8722;4) and 2-(1-oxo-2-hydroxyethyl) furan (5), linoleic acid (6), Morelin (2-hydroxy-cinnamic acid methyl ester, (7) and 1-O-&#946;-d-ribofuranose-Morelin (8) were obtained from EtOAc extraction and elucidated by spectral data. Product 4 and 8 were new compounds and 7 was isolated from nature for the first time. Antiradical activity was evaluated by free radical scavenging effect on DPPH (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical 2,2-Diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl). Compound 5 exhibited strong antiradical activity while compounds 1 and 2 exhibited moderate activity. Thus, incubation of Morchella sp YDJ-ZY-1 separated from the wild fruit body afforded eight compounds. Secondary metabolites with new structures were mined from fermentation of Morchella sp. and antiradical activity was evaluated

High-Spatial-Resolution OFDR Distributed Temperature Sensor Based on Step-by-Step and Image Wavelet Denoising Methods

A high-spatial-resolution OFDR distributed temperature sensor based on Au-SMF was experimentally demonstrated by using step-by-step and image wavelet denoising methods (IWDM). The measured temperature between 50 and 600 °C could be successfully demodulated by using SM-IWDM at a spatial resolution of 3.2 mm. The temperature sensitivity coefficient of the Au-SMF was 3.18 GHz/°C. The accuracy of the demodulated temperature was approximately 0.24 °C. Such a method has great potential to expand the temperature measurement range, which is very useful for high-temperature applications

Helicity Enhanced Torsion Sensor Based on Liquid Filled Twisted Photonic Crystal Fibers

A highly sensitive torsion sensor can be constructed by combining a twisted photonic crystal fiber with a liquid-filled waveguide in its air-hole cladding. The torsion sensitivity of this type of sensor is determined directly by the phase-matching conditions between the fiber core mode and the liquid waveguide mode, which can be improved by tuning the helicity (denoted by the initial twist rate, &alpha;0) of the twisted photonic crystal fiber. The enhancement mechanism of &alpha;0 on the sensitivity of the proposed torsion sensor is investigated theoretically, followed by experimental verifications, and a torsion sensitivity as high as 446 nm∙mm∙rad&minus;1 can be obtained by tailoring these parameters. Experimental results show that the torsion sensitivity increases with &alpha;0 decreasing from 3.142 to 3.925 rad/mm, which are in consistence with that of the numerical predictions. The demonstrated torsion sensor is expected to contribute to the development of highly sensitive torsion-related photonic crystal fiber devices