Inverse design and realization of an optical cavity-based displacement transducer with arbitrary responses

Optical cavity has long been critical for a variety of applications ranging from precise measurement to spectral analysis. A number of theories and methods have been successful in describing the optical response of a stratified optical cavity, while the inverse problem, especially the inverse design of a displacement sensitive cavity, remains a significant challenge due to the cost of computation and comprehensive performance requirements. This paper reports a novel inverse design methodology combining the characteristic matrix method, mixed-discrete variables optimization algorithm, and Monte Carlo method-based tolerance analysis. The material characteristics are indexed to enable the mixed-discrete variables optimization, which yields considerable speed and efficiency improvements. This method allows arbitrary response adjustment with technical feasibility and gives a glimpse into the analytical characterization of the optical response. Two entirely different light-displacement responses, including an asymmetric sawtooth-like response and a highly symmetric response, are dug out and experimentally achieved, which fully confirms the validity of the method. The compact Fabry-Perot cavities have a good balance between performance and feasibility, making them promising candidates for displacement transducers. More importantly, the proposed inverse design paves the way for a universal design of optical cavities, or even nanophotonic devices

Improving the Efficacy of Conventional Therapy by Adding Andrographolide Sulfonate in the Treatment of Severe Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background. Herb-derived compound andrographolide sulfonate (called Xiyanping injection) recommended control measure for severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) by the Ministry of Health (China) during the 2010 epidemic. However, there is a lack of good quality evidence directly comparing the efficacy of Andrographolide Sulfonate combination therapy with conventional therapy. Methods. 230 patients were randomly assigned to 7–10 days of Andrographolide Sulfonate 5–10 mg/Kg/day and conventional therapy, or conventional therapy alone. Results. The major complications occurred less often after Andrographolide Sulfonate (2.6% versus 12.1%; risk difference [RD], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.28–1.61; P=0.006). Median fever clearance times were 96 hours (CI, 80 to 126) for conventional therapy recipients and 48 hours (CI, 36 to 54) for Andrographolide Sulfonate combination-treated patients (χ2=16.57, P<0.001). The two groups did not differ in terms of HFMD-cause mortality (P=1.00) and duration of hospitalization (P=0.70). There was one death in conventional therapy group. No important adverse event was found in Andrographolide Sulfonate combination therapy group. Conclusions. The addition of Andrographolide Sulfonate to conventional therapy reduced the occurrence of major complications, fever clearance time, and the healing time of typical skin or oral mucosa lesions in children with severe HFMD

The relationships between electronic banking adoption and its antecedents: a meta-analytic study of the role of national culture

Prior studies fail to provide a clear understanding of the role that national culture plays in electronic banking acceptance. Therefore, we conduct a meta-analysis involving 62 samples from 27 countries or regions to explore how national cultural dimensions moderate the relationships between consumer behavioral intentions to use electronic banking and the constructs of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, perceived risk, and trust. The results showed that each of Hofstede's national cultural dimensions has a moderating effect on some of the relationships. In particular, when considering using electronic banking, people pay more attention to social influence and trust in high power distance countries; focus more on performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and perceived risk in countries with high individualism; and care more about performance expectancy and trust in high uncertainty avoidance countries. We also discuss how to improve the strategies for boosting user adoption by incorporating cultural differences

Tanshinon IIA injection accelerates tissue expansion by reducing the formation of the fibrous capsule.

The tissue expansion technique has been applied to obtain new skin tissue to repair large defects in clinical practice. The implantation of tissue expander could initiate a host response to foreign body (FBR), which leads to fibrotic encapsulation around the expander and prolongs the period of tissue expansion. Tanshinon IIA (Tan IIA) has been shown to have anti-inflammation and immunoregulation effect. The rat tissue expansion model was used in this study to observe whether Tan IIA injection systematically could inhibit the FBR to reduce fibrous capsule formation and accelerate the process of tissue expansion. Forty-eight rats were randomly divided into the Tan IIA group and control group with 24 rats in each group. The expansion was conducted twice a week to maintain a capsule pressure of 60 mmHg. The expansion volume and expanded area were measured. The expanded tissue in the two groups was harvested, and histological staining was performed; proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were examined. The expansion volume and the expanded area in the Tan IIA group were greater than that of the control group. The thickness of the fibrous capsule in the Tan IIA group was reduced with no influence on the normal skin regeneration. Decreased infiltration of macrophages, lower level of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and TGF-β, less proliferating myofibroblasts and enhanced neovascularization were observed in the Tan IIA group. Our findings indicated that the Tan IIA injection reduced the formation of the fibrous capsule and accelerated the process of tissue expansion by inhibiting the FBR

Adaptation Analysis in IMERG Precipitation Estimation for the Dongting Lake Basin, China

Precipitation data from ground-based observatories in the Dongting Lake basin are often missing, resulting in large errors in surface precipitation data obtained by interpolation, which affects the accuracy of hydro-meteorological studies. Integrated Multisatellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) is the main high-resolution precipitation product, which is available to supplement measured missing data. To evaluate the applicability of this product in the Dongting Lake basin at multiple spatial and temporal scales, this paper analyzes daily, monthly, seasonal, annual, and extreme precipitation events of the three latest IMERG precipitation products (IPPs) (IMERG-F, IMERG-E, and IMERG-L) using eight statistical evaluation metrics. We find that the spatial and temporal performance of IMERG precipitation products varies over different time scales and topographic conditions. However, all three metrics (CC, RMSE, and RB) of the IMERG-F precipitation products outperform the IMERG-E and IMERG-L precipitation products for the same period. In the comparison of IMERG and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) precipitation products on monthly and seasonal scales, IMERG-F performed the best. IPPs can capture precipitation more accurately on seasonal scales and perform better in winter, indicating good detection of trace precipitation. Both high and low altitudes are not favorable for the satellite detection of extreme precipitation in both general and extreme precipitation events. Overall, the accuracy of IMERG-F with correction delay is slightly better than that of IMERG-E and IMERG-L without correction under near-real-time conditions, which is applicable in the Dongting Lake basin. However, the correction process also exacerbates overestimation of the precipitation extent

The capillary density in the membrana carnosa, which provides the blood supply for the fibrous capsule, was much higher in the Tan IIA group than in the control group at days 14 and 28, indicating that the Tan IIA injection could promote neovascularization.

<p>Mean ± SD; *<i>P</i><0.05; Bar, 200 µm.</p

The thickness of the fibrous capsule in the Tan IIA group was much less than that in the control group at all of the time points (A and B), and the thickness of the whole skin layers, except the fibrous capsule, showed no difference (C and D).

<p>There were fewer α-SMA positive myofibroblasts in the fibrous capsule in the Tan IIA group (E and F), and their proliferation was much lower (G and H). The proliferating cells in the basal layer in the two groups showed no difference (I and J). The area within the black lines in E was calculated for the α-SMA density. The scale bars in E, G and I were ×200. Mean ± SD; *<i>P</i><0.05; Bar in C, 40 µm; Bar in E, G, and I, 200 µm.</p

There was less infiltration of the CD68-positive macrophages at the tissue-material interface in the Tan IIA group when compared with the control group, particularly at day 7 (A and B).

<p>The inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-β showed higher expression in the expanded tissue at all of the time points in the control group, and after the Tan IIA treatment, these three cytokines presented lower expression (C–F). Mean ± SD; *<i>P</i><0.05; Bar, 200 µm.</p

The molecular structure of Tan IIA used in the study (A).

<p>The effect of Tan IIA on the viability (B) and apoptosis (C–E) of dermal fibroblasts <i>in vitro</i> from days 1 to 3. Dermal fibroblasts demonstrate a spindle shape under optical microscope (F, 40×) and are positive stained with vimentin (G, 200×). There was no remarkable change as the concentration of Tan IIA varied when compared with 0 µM, except with 400 µM, showing that a low Tan IIA concentration could not influence the fibroblasts. Mean ± SD; *<i>P</i><0.05.</p

After the Tan IIA injection, the expansion volume was much greater than that of the control group at day 14 and 28 (A and C).

<p>The arrow in B showed the fibrous capsule formed around the tissue expander. The expanded area was measured using the Konica Minolta Vivid 910 fw 3D laser scanner (D), and there were significant differences between the two groups at day 14 and 28 (E). Mean ± SD; *<i>P</i><0.05.</p