Non-contact and label-free biomechanical imaging: Stimulated Brillouin microscopy and beyond

Brillouin microscopy based on spontaneous Brillouin scattering has emerged as a unique elastography technique because of its merit of non-contact, label-free, and high-resolution mechanical imaging of biological cell and tissue. Recently, several new optical modalities based on stimulated Brillouin scattering have been developed for biomechanical research. As the scattering efficiency of the stimulated process is much higher than its counterpart in the spontaneous process, stimulated Brillouin-based methods have the potential to significantly improve the speed and spectral resolution of existing Brillouin microscopy. Here, we review the ongoing technological advancements of three methods, including continuous wave stimulated Brillouin microscopy, impulsive stimulated Brillouin microscopy, and laser-induced picosecond ultrasonics. We describe the physical principle, the representative instrumentation, and biological application of each method. We further discuss the current limitations as well as the challenges for translating these methods into a visible biomedical instrument for biophysics and mechanobiology

Bigeye tuna fishing ground in relation to thermocline in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean using Argo data

444-451The relationship beween thermocline and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean was evaluated by Argo data and monthly CPUE (catch per unit effort). The generalized additive model indicated evidence of nonlinear relationships between CPUE and six thermocline characteristics. The results suggested that the fishing grounds distributed where the upper boundary temperature was about 26 ºC and the upper boundary depth values between 70 and 100 m. The fishing grounds located between the two high value shapes of the lower boundary depth of thermocline, if the depth was >300 or <150 m, the CPUE tended to be low. The lower boundary temperature of the thermocline in the fishing grounds was lower than 13 ºC. Conversely, if the temperature was higher than 17 ºC, the hooking rates were very low. The strongest relationship between CPUE with thermocline thickness and thermocline strength was approximately at 60 m and 0.1 ºC/m. The optimum ranges for the upper boundary thermocline temperature and depth and the lower boundary thermocline temperature and depth, thermocline thickness and thermocline strength were between 26-29 ºC, 70-110 m, 11-13 ºC, 200-280 m, and 0.01-0.15 ºC/m, 60-80 m, respectively

25(OH)VitD and human endocrine and functional fertility parameters in women undergoing IVF/ICSI

Background: Vitamin D plays an important role in reproduction. Evidence shown that free 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)VitD) was more accurate than total 25(OH)VitD in reflecting the status of 25(OH)VitD during pregnancy. However, the relationship between free 25(OH)VitD and female fertility parameters has not been reported yet. Therefore, this study aims to compare the correlation of free and total 25(OH)VitD with fertility parameters in infertility females undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 2569 infertility patients who received IVF-ET or ICSI treatment for the first time participated in this study. Five milliliter peripheral blood samples of the patients were collected on the day before embryo transfer (ET). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits was used to detect free 25(OH)VitD and total 25(OH)VitD, and clinical information was collected. Spearman’s rho was used to evaluate the association between the variables. Results: The median (IQR) of free 25(OH)VitD was 4.71 (4.11-5.31) pg/mL and total 25(OH)VitD was 19.54 (16.52-22.83) ng/m. The correlation between them, however, was week (rho=0.311). Compared to total 25(OH)VitD, free 25(OH)VitD was slightly better correlated with basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (rho=0.041, P=0.036), basal estradiol (E2) (rho=0.089, P<0.001), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) (rho=-0.057, P=0.004), antral follicle count (AFC) (rho=-0.053, P=0.007), E2 (rho=-0.080, P<0.001), number of oocytes retrieval (rho=-0.079, P<0.001) and progesterone (P)/E2 on hCG trigger day (rho=0.081, P<0.001). Conclusions: Overall, there was only a rather weak correlation of free as well as total 25(OH)VitD with human endocrine and functional fertility parameters in women undergoing IVF/ICSI. Neither free nor total 25(OH)VitD seems to play a major role in human embryo implantation

Impact of apolipoprotein A1 on tumor immune microenvironment, clinical prognosis and genomic landscape in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Current knowledge on apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is fragmented and even contradictory. Multi-dimensional analyses are required to comprehensively elucidate its value and underlying mechanism. Methods: We collected 49 RNA-seq datasets, 40 cell line types data and 70 scRNA pan-cancer datasets public available, including 17 HCC datasets (1754 tumor samples), and enrolled 73 pairs of HCC tissue and 516 blood samples independently from our clinics. APOA1 impacting on the HCC tumor microenvironment (TME) was analyzed using intensive data mining. Methylation sequencing, flow cytometry, quantitative PCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry and clinical chemistry assays were conducted for wet experimental investigation. Results: The APOA1 ontology fingerprint indicated that it played various crucial biological roles in HCC, primarily involved in cholesterol efflux. Consistent findings at histology, serology, and clinical follow-up revealed that high APOA1 was a good prognosis indicator of HCC. Hypermethylation in the APOA1 promoter region was found in clinical samples which is in accordance with the reduction of APOA1 in HCC. The cell cycle, DNA replication, mismatch repair pathways, and tumor cell proliferation were less observed in the HCC APOA1high subgroup. The favorable immunoregulatory abilities of APOA1 showed interesting findings: A positive correlation between APOA1 and anti-Tumor immune cells (NK, CD8+ T cells) and a negative association with immune cells exerting immunosuppressive effects, including M2 macrophages. Conclusion: This is an integrative multidimensional exploration of APOA1 using bioinformatics and experiments. Both the prognostic value and anti-Tumor effects based on APOA1 panoramic exploration in the HCC TME demonstrate a new potential clinical target for HCC assessment and intervention in the future.</p

Brief Introduction of Guidelines of Urban Street Design

Street is the most basic public goods in a city, public activity place where the relationship among urban residents is the closest, and important space carrier of urban history and culture. Many elements, such as urban roads, ancillary facilities and buildings along the line, constitute a complete street space. Active pedestrians, moving vehicles and space constitute the street life with different characteristics. In modern urban life, street is given multiple roles increasingly

Brief Introduction of Guidelines of Urban Street Design

Street is the most basic public goods in a city, public activity place where the relationship among urban residents is the closest, and important space carrier of urban history and culture. Many elements, such as urban roads, ancillary facilities and buildings along the line, constitute a complete street space. Active pedestrians, moving vehicles and space constitute the street life with different characteristics. In modern urban life, street is given multiple roles increasingly

Strength Analysis and Structure Optimization of Gate Valve Body Based on Finite Element Software

Stress concentration zone and maximumdeformation zone ofgate valve at 1.6MPaworking pressure were found out according to strength calculationand analysisby ANSYSsoftware, which proceedsthe processes of modeling, meshing, constraintsdefine, applyingloadsand solving. Design variables,state variablesand optimize targetswere defined by target optimization design function of ANSYS Workbenchin ordertoreveal the influence law of eachdesign variable onthe gate valve body equivalent stress,and the optimal valuesof design variablescould be obtained after calculation. The valve structure was improved and stress concentration was reduced from the perspective of safety and economy,whichcouldprovidea referencefor reliable valvedesign.The shape of the valve body was optimized by topology optimization design in order to achieve the rational use of materials.Researchresultsshow that the maximum stress lies on both sides of the valve rib plateand the stress is beyond thematerial allowable value, but the valve body has little deformation.After optimization the maximum equivalent stress of valve body is decreasedby23.91%and the valvebodyhasuniformstress distribution, the mass of the valve body is reduced by1.4%as well. Material utilization is improvedeffectively,which indicates that the optimizationdesignbased onANSYS Workbenchis highly efficient and reliable