Optical frequency synthesizer with an integrated erbium tunable laser.

Optical frequency synthesizers have widespread applications in optical spectroscopy, frequency metrology, and many other fields. However, their applicability is currently limited by size, cost, and power consumption. Silicon photonics technology, which is compatible with complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor fabrication processes, provides a low-cost, compact size, lightweight, and low-power-consumption solution. In this work, we demonstrate an optical frequency synthesizer using a fully integrated silicon-based tunable laser. The synthesizer can be self-calibrated by tuning the repetition rate of the internal mode-locked laser. A 20 nm tuning range from 1544 to 1564 nm is achieved with ~10-13 frequency instability at 10 s averaging time. Its flexibility and fast reconfigurability are also demonstrated by fine tuning the synthesizer and generating arbitrary specified patterns over time-frequency coordinates. This work promotes the frequency stability of silicon-based integrated tunable lasers and paves the way toward chip-scale low-cost optical frequency synthesizers

High Acute Myeloid Leukemia derived VEGFA levels are associated with a specific vascular morphology in the leukemic bone marrow

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) bone marrow biopsies at diagnosis display enhanced angiogenesis and increased VEGFA expression. In a xenograft mouse model it was described that availability of free VEGFA versus bound VEGFA is related to different vascular morphology. In this study we investigate the relationship between vascular morphology within AML bone marrow biopsies and AML derived VEGFA levels. Vessel count and surface area (Chalkley count) were calculated in AML bone marrow biopsies at diagnosis (n = 32), at remission (n = 8) and Normal Bone Marrow (n = 32) using immunohistochemical staining for FVIII, CD31, CTIV, SMA and VEGFA. VEGFA protein levels were measured. High vessel count was associated with an immature vessel status. Combining vessel count and Chalkley count different vessel morphology patterns were quantified within AML bone marrow biopsies. Three different subgroups could be distinguished. The subgroup (37.5% of the samples) exhibiting a high vessel count and vessels with predominantly large lumen (normal Chalkley count) was associated with high secreted VEGFA protein levels. Different vasculature patterns are seen in AML bone marrow biopsies, defined by combining number and size of vessel. These quantified morphology patterns, combined with VEGFA levels, might be of value in the success of VEGF/VEGFR-signaling interference approaches

Positive and negative well-being and objectively measured sedentary behaviour in older adults: evidence from three cohorts

Background: Sedentary behaviour is related to poorer health independently of time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether wellbeing or symptoms of anxiety or depression predict sedentary behaviour in older adults. Method: Participants were drawn from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936) (n = 271), and the West of Scotland Twenty-07 1950s (n = 309) and 1930s (n = 118) cohorts. Sedentary outcomes, sedentary time, and number of sit-to-stand transitions, were measured with a three-dimensional accelerometer (activPAL activity monitor) worn for 7 days. In the Twenty-07 cohorts, symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed in 2008 and sedentary outcomes were assessed ~ 8 years later in 2015 and 2016. In the LBC1936 cohort, wellbeing and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed concurrently with sedentary behaviour in 2015 and 2016. We tested for an association between wellbeing, anxiety or depression and the sedentary outcomes using multivariate regression analysis. Results: We observed no association between wellbeing or symptoms of anxiety and the sedentary outcomes. Symptoms of depression were positively associated with sedentary time in the LBC1936 and Twenty-07 1950s cohort, and negatively associated with number of sit-to-stand transitions in the LBC1936. Meta-analytic estimates of the association between depressive symptoms and sedentary time or number of sit-to-stand transitions, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, long-standing illness, and education, were β = 0.11 (95% CI = 0.03, 0.18) and β = − 0.11 (95% CI = − 0.19, −0.03) respectively. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that depressive symptoms are positively associated with sedentary behavior. Future studies should investigate the causal direction of this association

Aging, lifestyle factors, hormones and bone health in Singaporean men

Purpose. The present study examined how age, bodyweight, body fat, regular exercise and some endocrine factors are associated with osteoporosis, spine bone mineral density (Sbmd) and femoral neck bone mineral density (Fnbmd) in Singaporean men. Methods. Body composition and bone scans of lumbar spine at L2-L4 and hip were carried out with duel-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Anthropometric parameters were measured and demographic data, medical history and exercise schedule were collected via a questionnaire. Results. Osteoporosis prevalence was higher and Sbmd and Fnbmd were lower in men with high percent body fat (PBF) and conversely osteoporosis prevalence was lower and Sbmd and Fnbmd were higher in men with higher body mass index (BMI). Age was negatively associated with Fnbmd but not Sbmd. On the other hand, PBF and insulin levels were negatively associated with both Sbmd and Fnbmd. Body mass index and exercise intensity were positively associated with both Sbmd and Fnbmd. Sex hormones were significantly associated with only Sbmd but not Fnbmd. Both estradiol and DHEAS were positively, while testosterone was negatively associated with Sbmd. Conclusion. The study shows that the prevalence of osteoporosis and some of the determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) in Singaporean men was site-specific. Further, BMI and PBF are opposing predictors of BMD. Therefore, any strategy for improving bone health should include modalities that increase lean and bone mass and decrease fat mass. The bone health of Singaporean men is comparable to non-Hispanic whites and better than some other Asian men

The environmental impact of fertilizer embodied in a wheat-to-bread supply chain

Food production and consumption cause approximately one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore delivering food security challenges not only the capacity of our agricultural system, but also its environmental sustainability. Knowing where and at what level environmental impacts occur within particular food supply chains is necessary if farmers, agri-food industries and consumers are to share responsibility to mitigate these impacts. Here we present an analysis of a complete supply chain for a staple of the global diet, a loaf of bread. We obtained primary data for all the processes involved in the farming, production and transport systems that lead to the manufacture of a particular brand of 800 g loaf. The data were analysed using an advanced life cycle assessment (LCA) tool, yielding metrics of environmental impact, including greenhouse gas emissions. We show that more than half of the environmental impact of producing the loaf of bread arises directly from wheat cultivation, with the use of ammonium nitrate fertilizer alone accounting for around 40%. These findings reveal the dependency of bread production on the unsustainable use of fertilizer and illustrate the detail needed if the actors in the supply chain are to assume shared responsibility for achieving sustainable food production

Metabolic Syndrome features and risk of neural tube defects

Research articl

An excess of niche differences maximizes ecosystem functioning

Ecologists have long argued that higher functioning in diverse communities arises from the niche differences stabilizing species coexistence and from the fitness differences driving competitive dominance. However, rigorous tests are lacking. We couple field-parameterized models of competition between 10 annual plant species with a biodiversity-functioning experiment under two contrasting environmental conditions, to study how coexistence determinants link to biodiversity effects (selection and complementarity). We find that complementarity effects positively correlate with niche differences and selection effects differences correlate with fitness differences. However, niche differences also contribute to selection effects and fitness differences to complementarity effects. Despite this complexity, communities with an excess of niche differences (where niche differences exceeded those needed for coexistence) produce more biomass and have faster decomposition rates under drought, but do not take up nutrients more rapidly. We provide empirical evidence that the mechanisms determining coexistence correlate with those maximizing ecosystem functioning. It is unclear how biodiversity-ecosystem functioning and species coexistence mechanisms are linked. Here, Godoy and colleagues combine field-parameterised competition models with a BEF experiment to show that mechanisms leading to more stable species coexistence lead to greater productivity, but not necessarily to enhanced functions other than primary production

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Search for high-mass resonances decaying to dilepton final states in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. The search is sensitive to heavy neutral Z′ gauge bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, Z * bosons, techni-mesons, Kaluza-Klein Z/γ bosons, and bosons predicted by Torsion models. Results are presented based on an analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb−1 in the e + e − channel and 5.0 fb−1 in the μ + μ −channel. A Z ′ boson with Standard Model-like couplings is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.22 TeV. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/MPl=0.1 is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.16 TeV. Limits on the other models are also presented, including Technicolor and Minimal Z′ Models

Search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in sqrt(s) =7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena in final states with four or more leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of $\sqrt{s}=7\;\mathrm{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in two signal regions: one that requires moderate values of missing transverse momentum and another that requires large effective mass. The results are interpreted in a simplified model of R-parity-violating supersymmetry in which a 95% CL exclusion region is set for charged wino masses up to 540 GeV. In an R-parity-violating MSUGRA/CMSSM model, values of m 1/2 up to 820 GeV are excluded for 10 < tan β < 40