Decoherence due to XPM-assisted Raman amplification for polarization or wavelength offset pulses in all-normal dispersion supercontinuum generation

We report the importance of cross-phase modulation (XPM) on the coherence of a low-energy probe pulse co-propagating with a high-energy pump pulse that generates incoherent supercontinuum in all-normal dispersion (ANDi) fiber due to Raman amplification of quantum noise. By investigating numerous fiber and pulse parameters, we show consistently that for weak probe pulses, the XPM from the pump is the dominant influence on the degradation of the probe coherence. We show that the faster decoherence at the pump leading edge means that the probe coherence is reduced more significantly when the probe has a higher group velocity, i.e., when an orthogonally polarized probe is aligned to the fast (lower refractive index) axis of the fiber or when a co-polarized probe has a longer central wavelength. Simulations show that this effect occurs for both polarization-maintaining (PM) and non-PM ANDi fibers and can result in a probe decoherence rate that is higher than that of the pump. These previously unreported results extend our earlier scalar simulations showing incoherent supercontinuum within a single pulse

Noise-related polarization dynamics for femto and picosecond pulses in normal dispersion fibers

We report how the complex intra-pulse polarization dynamics of coherent optical wavebreaking and incoherent Raman amplification processes in all-normal dispersion (ANDi) fibers vary for femto and picosecond pump pulses. Using high temporal resolution vector supercontinuum simulations, we identify deterministic polarization dynamics caused by wavebreaking and self-phase modulation for femtosecond pulses and quasi-chaotic polarization evolution driven by Raman amplification of quantum noise for picosecond pulses. In contrast to cross-phase modulation instability, the Raman-based polarization noise has no power threshold and is reduced by aligning the higher energy polarization component with the lower index axis of the fiber. The degree of polarization stability is quantified using new time domain parameters that build on the spectrally averaged degree of coherence used in supercontinuum research to quantify the output spectral stability. We show that the spectral coherence is intrinsically linked to polarization noise, and that the noise will occur in both polarization maintaining (PM) and non-PM fibers, spanning a broad range of pulse energies, durations, and fiber birefringence values. This analysis provides an in-depth understanding of the nonlinear polarization dynamics associated with coherent and incoherent propagation in ANDi fibers

Associations of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids with bone mineral density and bone turnover in postmenopausal women

PURPOSE: The immunomodulatory properties of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are reported to reduce bone loss through alteration of bone remodelling and n-3 LCPUFA, therefore, may benefit bone health in post-menopausal women, a vulnerable group at high risk of osteoporosis. METHODS: Measures of bone mineral density (BMD) were determined using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 300 post-menopausal women. The bone turnover markers osteocalcin (OC), C-terminal telopeptides of type 1 collagen (CTX) and total alkaline phosphatase were quantified in serum along with urinary creatinine corrected deoxypyridinoline (DPD/Cr) and CTX/Cr and the CTX:OC ratio calculated. Total serum n-6 PUFA (LA + AA) and n − 3 LCPUFA (ALA + EPA + DPA + DHA) were measured and the n − 6:n − 3 ratio was calculated. RESULTS: Mean (SD) age and body mass index (BMI) were 61 (6.4) years and 27.4 (4.8) kg/m(2), respectively with participants being 12.6 (7.6) years post-menopause. Multiple regression analysis identified no association between n-3 LCPUFA and any of the measures of T-score or BMD albeit a significant positive association between total n − 3 LCPUFA and femur BMD (β = 0.287; p = 0.043) was observed within those women with a low n − 6:n − 3 ratio. There was a significant inverse association between ALA and urinary DPD/Cr (β = − 0.141; p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: A favourable low n − 6:n − 3 ratio was associated with higher femur BMD and a higher n − 3 LCPUFA (ALA) was associated with lower bone resorption. These results support a beneficial role for n − 3 LCPUFA in reducing postmenopausal bone resorption and favourably influencing BMD. TRIAL NUMBER & DATE OF REGISTRATION: ISRCTN63118444, 2nd October 2009, “Retrospectively registered”

Carnosine Did Not Affect Vascular and Metabolic Outcomes in Patients with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: A 14-Week Randomized Controlled Trial

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Carnosine has been suggested as a potential approach to reduce ASCVD risk factors. However, there is a paucity of human data. Hence, we performed a 14-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial to determine whether carnosine compared with placebo improves vascular and metabolic outcomes in individuals with prediabetes and T2DM. In total, 49 patients with prediabetes and T2DM with good glycemic control were randomly assigned either to receive 2 g/day carnosine or matching placebo. We evaluated endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffness, lipid parameters, blood pressure, heart rate, hepatic and renal outcomes before and after the intervention. Carnosine supplementation had no effect on heart rate, peripheral and central blood pressure, endothelial function (logarithm of reactive hyperemia (LnRHI)), arterial stiffness (carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (CF PWV)), lipid parameters, liver fibroscan indicators, liver transient elastography, liver function tests, and renal outcomes compared to placebo. In conclusion, carnosine supplementation did not improve cardiovascular and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with prediabetes and T2DM with good glycemic control. Therefore, it is improbable that carnosine supplementation would be a viable approach to mitigating the ASCVD risk in these populations. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02917928)

Investigations into the volume plasma density grating waveplate

Volume density gratings produced by degenerate, counterpropagating laser pulses in plasma have several useful optical properties. Here we report on one of these in an investigation into creation of a transient plasma density grating that functions as a waveplate

The SCAPA LWFA beamline

The Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma based Accelerators situated at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK, is coming online. It comprises three radiation shielded concrete bunkers housing a total of seven beamlines and interaction chambers, each driven by one of a pair of high power Ti sapphire laser systems a 350 TW and a 40 TW

LYVE-1+ macrophages form a collaborative CCR5-dependent perivascular niche that influences chemotherapy responses in murine breast cancer

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are a heterogeneous population of cells that facilitate cancer progression. However, our knowledge of the niches of individual TAM subsets and their development and function remain incomplete. Here, we describe a population of lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1)-expressing TAMs, which form coordinated multi-cellular “nest” structures that are heterogeneously distributed proximal to vasculature in tumors of a spontaneous murine model of breast cancer. We demonstrate that LYVE-1+ TAMs develop in response to IL-6, which induces their expression of the immune-suppressive enzyme heme oxygenase-1 and promotes a CCR5-dependent signaling axis, which guides their nest formation. Blocking the development of LYVE-1+ TAMs or their nest structures, using gene-targeted mice, results in an increase in CD8+ T cell recruitment to the tumor and enhanced response to chemotherapy. This study highlights an unappreciated collaboration of a TAM subset to form a coordinated niche linked to immune exclusion and resistance to anti-cancer therapy

Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet Is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and selected markers of inflammation in individuals who are overweight and obese without diabetes

Insulin resistance (IR) and chronic low-grade inflammation are risk factors for chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate two dietary indices: Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®), and their associations with direct measures of glucose metabolism and adiposity, and biochemical measures including lipids, cytokines and adipokines in overweight/obese adults. This cross-sectional study included 65 participants (males = 63%; age 31.3 ± 8.5 years). Dietary intake via 3-day food diaries was used to measure adherence to MDS (0–45 points); higher scores indicating adherence. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores were calculated with higher scores indicating a pro-inflammatory diet. IR was assessed using hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps, insulin secretion by intravenous glucose tolerance test, adiposity by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and circulating cytokine and adipokine concentrations by multiplex assays. Higher MDS was associated with greater insulin sensitivity (β = 0.179; 95%CI: 0.39, 0.318) after adjusting for age, sex and % body fat, and lower NF-κB, higher adiponectin and adipsin in unadjusted and adjusted models. Higher E-DII score was associated with increased total cholesterol (β = 0.364; 95%CI: 0.066, 0.390) and LDL-cholesterol (β = 0.305; 95%CI: 0.019, 0.287) but not with adiposity, glucose metabolism, cytokines or adipokines. Greater MDS appears to be associated with decreased IR and inflammatory markers in overweight/obese adults

Sex sells (out): Neoliberalism and erotic fan fiction

Fiction by fans is not new: despite the development of copyright law in the eighteenth century, unofficial sequels were common. For example, Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) was followed by anonymous and pseudonymous sequels and satires, including Pamela’s Conduct in High Life (1741) and Conny Keyber’s (Henry Fielding’s) An Apology for the Life of Mrs Shamela Andrews (1741). The commercial publishing world still produces such work: Jane Austen sequels and retellings include Arielle Eckstut’s Pride and Promiscuity: The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009), Mitzi Szereto’s Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts (2011), P. D. James’s Death Comes To Pemberley (2011), Jo Baker’s Longbourn (2014), Val McDermid’s Northanger Abbey (2015), and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible (2016). The market recognizes and legitimizes consumer demand for derivative fiction