55 research outputs found
Nonreciprocal Metasurface with Space-Time Phase Modulation
Creating materials with time-variant properties is critical for breaking
reciprocity that imposes fundamental limitations to wave propagation. However,
it is challenging to realize efficient and ultrafast temporal modulation in a
photonic system. Here, leveraging both spatial and temporal phase manipulation
offered by an ultrathin nonlinear metasurface, we experimentally demonstrated
nonreciprocal light reflection at wavelengths around 860 nm. The metasurface,
with traveling-wave modulation upon nonlinear Kerr building blocks, creates
spatial phase gradient and multi-terahertz temporal phase wobbling, which leads
to unidirectional photonic transitions in both momentum and energy spaces. We
observed completely asymmetric reflections in forward and backward light
propagations within a sub-wavelength interaction length of 150 nm. Our approach
pointed out a potential means for creating miniaturized and integratable
nonreciprocal optical components.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
Molding Free-Space Light with Guided-Wave-Driven Metasurfaces
Metasurfaces with unparalleled controllability of light have shown great
potential to revolutionize conventional optics. However, they mainly work with
free-space light input, which makes it difficult for full on-chip integration.
On the other hand, integrated photonics enables densely packed devices but has
limited free-space light controllability. Here, we show that judiciously
designed guided-wave-driven metasurfaces can mold guided waves into arbitrary
free-space modes to achieve complex free-space functions, such as beam steering
and focusing, with ultrasmall footprints and potentially no diffraction loss.
Based on the same concept together with broken inversion symmetry induced by
metasurfaces, we also realized direct orbital angular momentum (OAM) lasing
from a micro-ring resonator. Our study works towards complete control of light
across integrated photonics and free-space platforms, and paves new exciting
ways for creating multifunctional photonic integrated devices with agile access
to free space which could enable a plethora of applications in communications,
remote sensing, displays, and etc.Comment: 37 pages, 5 figure
Pyrosequencing, a method approved to detect the two major EGFR mutations for anti EGFR therapy in NSCLC
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutations, especially in-frame deletions in exon 19 (ΔLRE) and a point mutation in exon 21 (L858R) predict gefitinib sensitivity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Several methods are currently described for their detection but the gold standard for tissue samples remains direct DNA sequencing, which requires samples containing at least 50% of tumor cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We designed a pyrosequencing assay based on nested PCR for the characterization of theses mutations on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor tissue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This method is highly specific and permits precise characterization of all the exon 19 deletions. Its sensitivity is higher than that of "BigDye terminator" sequencing and enabled detection of 3 additional mutations in the 58 NSCLC tested. The concordance between the two methods was very good (97.4%). In the prospective analysis of 213 samples, 7 (3.3%) samples were not analyzed and EGFR mutations were detected in 18 (8.7%) patients. However, we observed a deficit of mutation detection when the samples were very poor in tumor cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>pyrosequencing is then a highly accurate method for detecting ΔLRE and L858R EGFR mutations in patients with NSCLC when the samples contain at least 20% of tumor cells.</p
Bianisotropic Effective Parameters of Optical Metamagnetics and Negative-Index Materials
Approaches to the adequate homogenization of optical metamaterials are becoming more and more complex, primarily due to an increased understanding of the role of asymmetric electrical and magnetic responses, in addition to the nonlocal effects of the surrounding medium, even in the simplest case of plane-wave illumination. The current trend in developing such advanced homogenization descriptions often relies on utilizing bianisotropic models as a base on top of which novel optical characterization techniques can be built. In this paper, we first briefly review general principles for developing a bianisotropic homogenization approach. Second, we present several examples validating and illustrating our approach using single-period passive and active optical metamaterials. We also show that the substrate may have a significant effect on the bianisotropic characteristics of otherwise symmetric passive and active metamaterials
Monolayer Excitonic Laser
Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials have opened a new paradigm for
fundamental physics explorations and device applications. Unlike gapless
graphene, monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) has new optical
functionalities for next generation ultra-compact electronic and
opto-electronic devices. When TMDC crystals are thinned down to monolayers,
they undergo an indirect to direct bandgap transition, making it an outstanding
2D semiconductor. Unique electron valley degree of freedom, strong light matter
interactions and excitonic effects were observed. Enhancement of spontaneous
emission has been reported on TMDC monolayers integrated with photonic crystal
and distributed Bragg reflector microcavities. However, the coherent light
emission from 2D monolayer TMDC has not been demonstrated, mainly due to that
an atomic membrane has limited material gain volume and is lack of optical mode
confinement. Here, we report the first realization of 2D excitonic laser by
embedding monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) in a microdisk resonator. Using a
whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator with a high quality factor and optical
confinement, we observed bright excitonic lasing in visible wavelength. The
Si3N4/WS2/HSQ sandwich configuration provides a strong feedback and mode
overlap with monolayer gain. This demonstration of 2D excitonic laser marks a
major step towards 2D on-chip optoelectronics for high performance optical
communication and computing applications.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
The Lysine Demethylase dKDM2 Is Non-essential for Viability, but Regulates Circadian Rhythms in Drosophila
Post-translational modification of histones, such as histone methylation controlled by specific methyltransferases and demethylases, play critical roles in modulating chromatin dynamics and transcription in eukaryotes. Misregulation of histone methylation can lead to aberrant gene expression, thereby contributing to abnormal development and diseases such as cancer. As such, the mammalian lysine-specific demethylase 2 (KDM2) homologs, KDM2A and KDM2B, are either oncogenic or tumor suppressive depending on specific pathological contexts. However, the role of KDM2 proteins during development remains poorly understood. Unlike vertebrates, Drosophila has only one KDM2 homolog (dKDM2), but its functions in vivo remain elusive due to the complexities of the existing mutant alleles. To address this problem, we have generated two dKdm2 null alleles using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique. These dKdm2 homozygous mutants are fully viable and fertile, with no developmental defects observed under laboratory conditions. However, the dKdm2 null mutant adults display defects in circadian rhythms. Most of the dKdm2 mutants become arrhythmic under constant darkness, while the circadian period of the rhythmic mutant flies is approximately 1 h shorter than the control. Interestingly, lengthened circadian periods are observed when dKDM2 is overexpressed in circadian pacemaker neurons. Taken together, these results demonstrate that dKdm2 is not essential for viability; instead, dKDM2 protein plays important roles in regulating circadian rhythms in Drosophila. Further analyses of the molecular mechanisms of dKDM2 and its orthologs in vertebrates regarding the regulation of circadian rhythms will advance our understanding of the epigenetic regulations of circadian clocks
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