25 kHz narrow spectral bandwidth of a wavelength tunable diode laser with a short waveguide-based external cavity

We report on the spectral properties of a diode laser with a tunable external cavity in integrated optics. Even though the external cavity is short compared to other small-bandwidth external cavity lasers, the spectral bandwidth of this tunable laser is as small as 25 kHz (FWHM), at a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of 50 dB. Our laser is also able to access preset wavelengths in as little as 200 us and able to tune over the full telecom C-band (1530 nm - 1565 nm).Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Imaging Single-Stranded DNA, Antigen-Antibody Reaction and Polymerized Langmuir-Blodgett Films with an Atomic Force Microscope

The combination of an (AFM) atomic force microscope together with microfabricated cantilevers that have integrated tips opens many possibilities for imaging systems of great importance in biology. We have imaged single-stranded 25mer DNA that was adsorbed on treated mica or that was covalently bound with a crosslinker to a polymerized Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film, the top monolayer of a bilayer system. At low magnification the AFM shows cracks between solid domains, like in an image taken with a fluorescence microscope. At higher magnification, however, the AFM reveals much finer cracks and at still higher magnification it reveals rows of individual molecules in the polymerized LB film with a spacing of 0.45 nm. We have also imaged a LB film consisting of lipids in which 4% of the lipids had hapten molecules chemically bound to the lipid headgroups. Specific antibodies can then bind to these hapten molecules and be imaged with the AFM. This points to the possibility of using the AFM to monitor selective antibody binding

Diagnostic accuracy of myocardial perfusion imaging in patients evaluated for kidney transplantation:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death after kidney transplantation. Coronary artery disease (CAD) assessment is therefore mandatory in patients evaluated for transplantation. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy for CAD of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) compared to the standards invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in patients evaluated for kidney transplantation. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, OvidSP (Medline), The Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. Studies investigating the diagnostic accuracy of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) SPECT in patients evaluated for kidney transplantation were retrieved. After a risk of bias assessment using QUADAS-2, a meta-analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Out of 1459 records, 13 MPI SPECT studies were included in the meta-analysis with a total of 1245 MPI SPECT scans. There were no studies available with CCTA as reference. Pooled sensitivity of MPI SPECT for CAD was 0.66 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.77), pooled specificity was 0.75 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.84) and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.76. Positive likelihood ratio was 2.50 (95% CI 1.78 to 3.51) and negative likelihood ratio was 0.41 (95% CI 0.28 to 0.61). Pooled positive predictive value was 64.9% and pooled negative predictive value was 74.1%. Significant heterogeneity existed across the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: MPI SPECT had a moderate diagnostic accuracy in patients evaluated for kidney transplantation, with a high rate of false-negative findings. The use of an anatomical gold standard against a functional imaging test in the included studies is however suboptimal. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12350-021-02621-x

An Exploratory Quantitative Study into the Relationship between Catholic Affiliation and the Development of Social Entrepreneurship Education in the USA

Catholic educationalists have long stressed the role of Catholic universities in advancing the cause of social justice to counter the increasing commodification of business relationships and the lack of social responsibilities of the business world. Is this rhetoric or reality? In this empirical paper involving 501 USA universities that have an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited business school, we examine the relationship between Catholic affiliation and the universities’ decisions to offer social entrepreneurship and non-profit management courses to business students. Our study found that universities with Catholic affiliation are significantly more likely to offer both non-profit management and social entrepreneurship courses to business students. Our results offer evidences that Catholic universities are indeed working towards making a difference, with the vision and flexibility to do so

Intramolecular Cooperative Effects in Multichromophoric Cavitands Exhibiting Nonlinear Optical Properties

We report on the design, synthesis, and characterization of a new class of multichromophoric cavitands based on resorcin[4]arenes. The novel compounds have exhibited high values of second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, as evidenced by electric-field-induced second harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurements. Theoretical calculations indicate the presence of edge-to-face T-shaped interactions between the aromatic building blocks within these multichromophoric systems, which is further supported by the detection of hypsochromic shifts in UV-vis and upfield aromatic chemical shifts in 1H NMR. We proved for the first time that the gain in the quadratic hyperpolarizabilities of multichromophoric NLO macrocycles, originating from the near parallel orientations of the subchromophores, can be partially suppressed if the distance between the dipolar subunits falls into a specific range, where intramolecular cooperative and/or collective effects are operative. Our finding will contribute to the better understanding of the phenomenon of cooperativity in new molecular materials with promising NLO properties. (Figure Presented). © 2015 American Chemical Society

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Risk Loci for Cluster Headache

OBJECTIVE: To identify susceptibility loci for cluster headache and obtain insights into relevant disease pathways. METHODS: We carried out a genome-wide association study, where 852 UK and 591 Swedish cluster headache cases were compared with 5,614 and 1,134 controls, respectively. Following quality control and imputation, single variant association testing was conducted using a logistic mixed model, for each cohort. The two cohorts were subsequently combined in a merged analysis. Downstream analyses, such as gene-set enrichment, functional variant annotation, prediction and pathway analyses, were performed. RESULTS: Initial independent analysis identified two replicable cluster headache susceptibility loci on chromosome 2. A merged analysis identified an additional locus on chromosome 1 and confirmed a locus significant in the UK analysis on chromosome 6, which overlaps with a previously known migraine locus. The lead single nucleotide polymorphisms were rs113658130 (p = 1.92 x 10-17 , OR [95%CI] = 1.51 [1.37-1.66]) and rs4519530 (p = 6.98 x 10-17 , OR = 1.47 [1.34-1.61]) on chromosome 2, rs12121134 on chromosome 1 (p = 1.66 x 10-8 , OR = 1.36 [1.22-1.52]) and rs11153082 (p = 1.85 x 10-8 , OR = 1.30 [1.19-1.42]) on chromosome 6. Downstream analyses implicated immunological processes in the pathogenesis of cluster headache. INTERPRETATION: We identified and replicated several genome-wide-significant associations supporting a genetic predisposition in cluster headache in a genome-wide association study involving 1,443 cases. Replication in larger independent cohorts combined with comprehensive phenotyping, in relation to e.g. treatment response and cluster headache subtypes, could provide unprecedented insights into genotype-phenotype correlations and the pathophysiological pathways underlying cluster headache

Cluster Headache Genomewide Association Study and Meta-Analysis Identifies Eight Loci and Implicates Smoking as Causal Risk Factor

Objective: The objective of this study was to aggregate data for the first genomewide association study meta-analysis of cluster headache, to identify genetic risk variants, and gain biological insights. Methods: A total of 4,777 cases (3,348 men and 1,429 women) with clinically diagnosed cluster headache were recruited from 10 European and 1 East Asian cohorts. We first performed an inverse-variance genomewide association meta-analysis of 4,043 cases and 21,729 controls of European ancestry. In a secondary trans-ancestry meta-analysis, we included 734 cases and 9,846 controls of East Asian ancestry. Candidate causal genes were prioritized by 5 complementary methods: expression quantitative trait loci, transcriptome-wide association, fine-mapping of causal gene sets, genetically driven DNA methylation, and effects on protein structure. Gene set and tissue enrichment analyses, genetic correlation, genetic risk score analysis, and Mendelian randomization were part of the downstream analyses. Results: The estimated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability of cluster headache was 14.5%. We identified 9 independent signals in 7 genomewide significant loci in the primary meta-analysis, and one additional locus in the trans-ethnic meta-analysis. Five of the loci were previously known. The 20 genes prioritized as potentially causal for cluster headache showed enrichment to artery and brain tissue. Cluster headache was genetically correlated with cigarette smoking, risk-taking behavior, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and musculoskeletal pain. Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a causal effect of cigarette smoking intensity on cluster headache. Three of the identified loci were shared with migraine. Interpretation: This first genomewide association study meta-analysis gives clues to the biological basis of cluster headache and indicates that smoking is a causal risk factor. ANN NEUROL 2023

Person-Specific Non-shared Environmental Influences in Intra-individual Variability : A Preliminary Case of Daily School Feelings in Monozygotic Twins

Most behavioural genetic studies focus on genetic and environmental influences on inter-individual phenotypic differences at the population level. The growing collection of intensive longitudinal data in social and behavioural science offers a unique opportunity to examine genetic and environmental influences on intra-individual phenotypic variability at the individual level. The current study introduces a novel idiographic approach and one novel method to investigate genetic and environmental influences on intra-individual variability by a simple empirical demonstration. Person-specific non-shared environmental influences on intra-individual variability of daily school feelings were estimated using time series data from twenty-one pairs of monozygotic twins (age = 10 years, 16 female pairs) over two consecutive weeks. Results showed substantial inter-individual heterogeneity in person-specific non-shared environmental influences. The current study represents a first step in investigating environmental influences on intra-individual variability with an idiographic approach, and provides implications for future behavioural genetic studies to examine developmental processes from a microscopic angle