Bloch Surface Waves Based Platform for Integrated Optics

A dielectric multilayer platform sustaining Bloch surface waves is investigated for planar integrated optics. We study the optical properties of high refractive index material (TiO2) and obtain propagation lengths in the range of millimeters

Near Field Investigation of Bloch Surface Based Platform for 2D Integrated Optics

Dielectric multilayers sustaining Bloch surface waves (BSWs) are considered as a novel platform for two dimensional (2D) integrated optics. The dielectric platform is exploited to manipulate surface waves by patterning 2D dielectric optical components on top of it. BSW shows a potential of higher propagation length and large resonance strength because of low loss characteristics of dielectric materials. Taking the advantage of high ¯eld con¯nement on the surface, the platform has also applications in sensing. In order to excite a BSW, momentum of incoming beam should match with the momentum of the BSW. Therefore, we use Total internal re°ection con¯guration for this purpose, which consists of BK7-glass prism. The schematic of the con¯guration and the platform is presented in Figure 1. New design of multilayer platform consists of periodic stacks of alternative SiO2 and Si3N4 layers. It has been fabricated to work around the wavelengths of 1.5 ¹m. In this paper, we study the key parameters, propagation length and the e®ective refractive index (ne® ), of BSW. They play an important role in characterizing losses associated with the multilayer platform and propagation of surface modes. E®ective refractive index contrast (¢n) is introduced by depositing an additional layer of high refractive index material on the top of platform. It is basically the di®erence between ne® of additional layer and platform. It plays a key role in determining the optical properties of the 2D surface photonic devices and hence their capability to manipulate the BSW most essentially. High refractive index materials, as an active material to pattern 2D optical elements on the top of the platform, have been investigated in near ¯eld and far ¯eld. These material include titanium dioxide (TiO2), for the time being, and Graphene. We obtained propagation length of around 2mm for 15nm thickness of additional TiO2 layer with the aid of multi-heterodyne scanning near-¯eld optical microscopy (MH-SNOM). It is around 25 times longer compare to the recently obtained \Long-Range SPPs" studied by Lin et al. [1]. We achieved ¢n of around 0.2 measured in the far ¯eld with 100nm thickness of TiO2. It is around 3.5 times higher than the ¢n obtained for same thickness of Photoresist [2]. In near future, we aim to characterize di®erent optical components on the top of multilayer platform with the aid of MH-SNOM, for example, Ring resonators and Interferometers for the time being

Bloch Surface Based Platform for Optical Integration

A novel dielectric multilayer platform sustaining Bloch surface waves is investigated for integrated photonic chips. These surface waves can be manipulated by two dimensional dielectric optical components patterned on top of the platform. We study the properties of high refractive index materials (TiO2) as active top layer of platform

Applications of Models and Tools for Mesoscale and Microscale Thermal Analysis in Mid-Latitude Climate Regions—A Review

Urban analysis at different spatial scales (micro- and mesoscale) of local climate conditions is required to test typical artificial urban boundaries and related climate hazards such as high temperatures in built environments. The multitude of finishing materials and sheltering objects within built environments produce distinct patterns of different climate conditions, particularly during the daytime. The combination of high temperatures and intense solar radiation strongly perturb the environment by increasing the thermal heat stress at the pedestrian level. Therefore, it is becoming common practice to use numerical models and tools that enable multiple design and planning alternatives to be quantitatively and qualitatively tested to inform urban planners and decision-makers. These models and tools can be used to compare the relationships between the micro-climatic environment, the subjective thermal assessment, and the social behaviour, which can reveal the attractiveness and effectiveness of new urban spaces and lead to more sustainable and liveable public spaces. This review article presents the applications of selected environmental numerical models and tools to predict human thermal stress at the mesoscale (e.g., satellite thermal images and UrbClim) and the microscale (e.g., mobile measurements, ENVI-met, and UrbClim HR) focusing on case study cities in mid-latitude climate regions framed in two European research projects.The work leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. 308497, Project RAMSES—Reconciling Adaptation, Mitigation, and Sustainable Development for Cities (2012–2017) and from the European Union’s H2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 73004 (PUCS/Climate-fit.city). The APC was funded by the Research Group of Building and Technology, De partment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technolog

Near-field characterization of 2D disk resonator on Bloch surface wave platform

We experimentally and theoretically investigate the characteristics of a two-dimensional (2D) disk resonator, which is fabricated on a Bloch surface wave platform. Such a platform is exploited to manipulate the surface waves by patterning nano-thin 2D optical components on the to

TXNIP Regulates Peripheral Glucose Metabolism in Humans

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by defects in insulin secretion and action. Impaired glucose uptake in skeletal muscle is believed to be one of the earliest features in the natural history of T2DM, although underlying mechanisms remain obscure. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We combined human insulin/glucose clamp physiological studies with genome-wide expression profiling to identify thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) as a gene whose expression is powerfully suppressed by insulin yet stimulated by glucose. In healthy individuals, its expression was inversely correlated to total body measures of glucose uptake. Forced expression of TXNIP in cultured adipocytes significantly reduced glucose uptake, while silencing with RNA interference in adipocytes and in skeletal muscle enhanced glucose uptake, confirming that the gene product is also a regulator of glucose uptake. TXNIP expression is consistently elevated in the muscle of prediabetics and diabetics, although in a panel of 4,450 Scandinavian individuals, we found no evidence for association between common genetic variation in the TXNIP gene and T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: TXNIP regulates both insulin-dependent and insulin-independent pathways of glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle. Combined with recent studies that have implicated TXNIP in pancreatic β-cell glucose toxicity, our data suggest that TXNIP might play a key role in defective glucose homeostasis preceding overt T2DM

Polygenic prediction of educational attainment within and between families from genome-wide association analyses in 3 million individuals

We conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment (EA) in a sample of ~3 million individuals and identify 3,952 approximately uncorrelated genome-wide-significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A genome-wide polygenic predictor, or polygenic index (PGI), explains 12-16% of EA variance and contributes to risk prediction for ten diseases. Direct effects (i.e., controlling for parental PGIs) explain roughly half the PGI's magnitude of association with EA and other phenotypes. The correlation between mate-pair PGIs is far too large to be consistent with phenotypic assortment alone, implying additional assortment on PGI-associated factors. In an additional GWAS of dominance deviations from the additive model, we identify no genome-wide-significant SNPs, and a separate X-chromosome additive GWAS identifies 57

Формирование эмоциональной культуры как компонента инновационной культуры студентов

Homozygosity has long been associated with rare, often devastating, Mendelian disorders1 and Darwin was one of the first to recognise that inbreeding reduces evolutionary fitness2. However, the effect of the more distant parental relatedness common in modern human populations is less well understood. Genomic data now allow us to investigate the effects of homozygosity on traits of public health importance by observing contiguous homozygous segments (runs of homozygosity, ROH), which are inferred to be homozygous along their complete length. Given the low levels of genome-wide homozygosity prevalent in most human populations, information is required on very large numbers of people to provide sufficient power3,4. Here we use ROH to study 16 health-related quantitative traits in 354,224 individuals from 102 cohorts and find statistically significant associations between summed runs of homozygosity (SROH) and four complex traits: height, forced expiratory lung volume in 1 second (FEV1), general cognitive ability (g) and educational attainment (nominal p<1 × 10−300, 2.1 × 10−6, 2.5 × 10−10, 1.8 × 10−10). In each case increased homozygosity was associated with decreased trait value, equivalent to the offspring of first cousins being 1.2 cm shorter and having 10 months less education. Similar effect sizes were found across four continental groups and populations with different degrees of genome-wide homozygosity, providing convincing evidence for the first time that homozygosity, rather than confounding, directly contributes to phenotypic variance. Contrary to earlier reports in substantially smaller samples5,6, no evidence was seen of an influence of genome-wide homozygosity on blood pressure and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or ten other cardio-metabolic traits. Since directional dominance is predicted for traits under directional evolutionary selection7, this study provides evidence that increased stature and cognitive function have been positively selected in human evolution, whereas many important risk factors for late-onset complex diseases may not have been