Ultracompact Adiabatic Bi-sectional Tapered Coupler for the Si/III-V Heterogeneous Integration

An ultracompact bi-sectional adiabatic tapered coupler, which is suitable for an adiabatic mode transformation between a common single mode SOI wire waveguide and a Si/III-V hybrid waveguide, are proposed for Si/III-V heterogeneous integration. Since the bi-sectional tapered coupler mimics a semi-3D taper and avoids exciting the unwanted high-order modes in the thick p-InP cladding layer (which is removed in the first tapered section), the length of the adiabatic mode coupler can be dramatically shortened. Taking into account the mask design and the fabrication tolerance, we design the tapered structure only in the III/V structure, while keeping the SOI wire waveguide straight. In the proposed structure, the length of the bi-sectional tapered coupler can be 9.5 {\mu}m with a large fundamental mode-coupling ratio (over 95%) in a bandwidth of ~100 nm, and provides 100 nm tolerance to misalignment, even when the BCB layer is as thick as 50 nm.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Wavelength-multiplexed duplex transceiver based on III-V/Si hybrid integration for off-chip and on-chip optical interconnects

A six-channel wavelength-division-multiplexed optical transceiver with a compact footprint of 1.5 x 0.65 mm(2) for off-chip and on-chip interconnects is demonstrated on a single silicon-on-insulator chip. An arrayed waveguide grating is used as the (de)multiplexer, and III-V electroabsorption sections fabricated by hybrid integration technology are used as both modulators and detectors, which also enable duplex links. The 30-Gb/s capacity for each of the six wavelength channels for the off-chip transceiver is demonstrated. For the on-chip interconnect, an electrical-to-electrical 3-dB bandwidth of 13 GHz and a data rate of 30 Gb/s per wavelength are achieved

All-optical NRZ wavelength conversion based on a single hybrid III-V/Si SOA and optical filtering

We demonstrate all-optical wavelength conversion (AOWC) of non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal based on cross-gain modulation in a single heterogeneously integrated III-V-on-silicon semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) with an optical bandpass filter. The SOA is 500 mu m long and consumes less than 250 mW electrical power. We experimentally demonstrate 12.5 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s AOWC for both wavelength up and down conversion. (C) 2016 Optical Society of Americ

Gender-specific association between the regular use of statins and the risk of irritable bowel syndrome: A population-based prospective cohort study

Introduction: In addition to lipid-lowering effects, statins might modulate the gut microbiome and alleviate systematic inflammation, which in turn, may have a protective effect against irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The aim of our study was to evaluate the gender-specific association between statin exposure and the risk of IBS.Method: We undertook a prospective analysis based on the United Kingdom Biobank, a large ongoing cohort including 477,293 participants aged 37–73 years. We included participants based on information on their personal statin use and also those free of IBS and cancer at the baseline. We evaluated the gender-specific hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) with Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for demographic factors, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and statin indications.Result: A total of 438,805 participants (206,499 males and 232,306 females) were included in the analysis. Among male participants, the regular use of statins was associated with a decreased risk of IBS (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61–0.97). This association persists across multiple sensitivity and subgroup analyses and did not show clear evidence of variance among the major types of statins. We did not find sufficient evidence of the association between the statin use and IBS risk in females (HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.82–1.16).Conclusion: Our study found that the regular use of statins was associated with a decreased risk of IBS in male participants. Further studies are required to confirm the beneficial effect of statins

5 x 20 Gb/s III-V on silicon electroabsorption modulator array heterogeneously integrated with a 1.6nm channel-spacing silicon AWG

We demonstrate a five-channel wavelength division multiplexed modulator module that heterogeneously integrates a 1.6nm channel-spacing arrayed-waveguide grating and a 20Gbps electroabsorption modulator array, showing the potential for 100 Gbps capacity on a 1.5x0.5 mm(2) footprint

Individualized prevention of proton pump inhibitor related adverse events by risk stratification

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly used for gastric acid-related disorders, but their safety profile and risk stratification for high-burden diseases need further investigation. Analyzing over 2 million participants from five prospective cohorts from the US, the UK, and China, we found that PPI use correlated with increased risk of 15 leading global diseases, such as ischemic heart disease, diabetes, respiratory infections, and chronic kidney disease. These associations showed dose-response relationships and consistency across different PPI types. PPI-related absolute risks increased with baseline risks, with approximately 82% of cases occurring in those at the upper 40% of the baseline predicted risk, and only 11.5% of cases occurring in individuals at the lower 50% of the baseline risk. While statistical association does not necessarily imply causation, its potential safety concerns suggest that personalized use of PPIs through risk stratification might guide appropriate decision-making for patients, clinicians, and the public

Association of modifiable lifestyle with colorectal cancer incidence and mortality according to metabolic status: prospective cohort study

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome has been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality, but whether adopting a healthy lifestyle could attenuate the risk of CRC conferred by metabolic syndrome remains unclear. The aim of the study is to investigate the individual and joint effects of modifiable healthy lifestyle and metabolic health status on CRC incidence and mortality in the UK population.MethodsThis prospective study included 328,236 individuals from the UK Biobank. An overall metabolic health status was assessed at baseline and categorized based on the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome. We estimated the association of the healthy lifestyle score (derived from 4 modifiable behaviors: smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity and categorized into “favorable,” “intermediate”, and “unfavorable”) with CRC incidence and mortality, stratified by metabolic health status.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 12.5 years, 3,852 CRC incidences and 1,076 deaths from CRC were newly identified. The risk of incident CRC and its mortality increased with the number of abnormal metabolic factors and decreased with healthy lifestyle score (P trend = 0.000). MetS was associated with greater CRC incidence (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16 – 1.33) and mortality (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.08 – 1.41) when compared with those without MetS. An unfavorable lifestyle was associated with an increased risk (HR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.15 – 1.36) and mortality (HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.16 – 1.59) of CRC across all metabolic health status. Participants adopting an unfavorable lifestyle with MetS had a higher risk (HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.38 – 1.76) and mortality (HR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.40 – 2.20) than those adopting a favorable healthy lifestyle without MetS.ConclusionThis study indicated that adherence to a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce the burden of CRC regardless of the metabolic status. Behavioral lifestyle changes should be encouraged for CRC prevention even in participants with MetS

Direct observation of high spin polarization in Co2FeAl thin films

We have studied the Co2FeAl thin films with different thicknesses epitaxially grown on GaAs (001) by molecular beam epitaxy. The magnetic properties and spin polarization of the films were investigated by in-situ magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) measurement and spin-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES) at 300 K, respectively. High spin polarization of 58% (±7%) was observed for the film with thickness of 21 unit cells (uc), for the first time. However, when the thickness decreases to 2.5 uc, the spin polarization falls to 29% (±2%) only. This change is also accompanied by a magnetic transition at 4 uc characterized by the MOKE intensity. Above it, the film's magnetization reaches the bulk value of 1000 emu/cm3. Our findings set a lower limit on the thickness of Co2FeAl films, which possesses both high spin polarization and large magnetization