Optical Force and Torque on a Graphene-Coated Gold Nanosphere by a Vector Bessel Beam

In the framework of the generalized Lorenz–Mie theory (GLMT), the optical force and torque on a graphene-coated gold nanosphere by a vector Bessel beam are investigated. The core of the particle is gold, whose dielectric function is given by the Drude–Sommerfeld model, and the coating is multilayer graphene with layer number N, whose dielectric function is described by the Lorentz–Drude model. The axial optical force [Formula: see text] and torque [Formula: see text] are numerically analyzed, and the effects of the layer number N, wavelength [Formula: see text] , and beam parameters (half-cone angle [Formula: see text] , polarization, and order l) are mainly discussed. Numerical results show that the optical force and torque peaks can be adjusted by increasing the thickness of the graphene coating, and can not be adjusted by changing [Formula: see text] and l. However, [Formula: see text] and l can change the magnitude of the optical force and torque. The numerical results have potential applications involving the trapped graphene-coated gold nanosphere

Theabrownin ameliorates liver inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis in MCD diet-fed C57BL/6J mice

IntroductionNonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), also known as metabolic steatohepatitis, is a clinical syndrome with pathological changes like alcoholic hepatitis but without a history of excessive alcohol consumption. NASH is closely related to metabolic disorders such as obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. Its main characteristics are hepatocyte steatosis with hepatocyte injury and inflammation. In severe cases, it can develop into liver cirrhosis. At present, there is no special treatment for NASH. Theabrownin (TB) is the main pigment substance in fermented tea. Theabrownin has beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and intestinal flora. However, the effect of theabrownin on NASH has not been studied. MethodsThis study was aimed at exploring the effects of theabrownin from Fuzhuan brick tea on NASH. 8-week-old mice were randomly assigned to three groups and fed with chow diet (CD), methionine and choline sufficient (MCS) diet (MCS Ctrl), which is a Methionine/choline deficient (MCD) control diet, and MCD diet. After 5 weeks of feeding, the MCD group mice were randomly divided into two groups and were gavaged with double distilled water (MCD Ctrl) or theabrownin (MCD TB) (200mg/kg body weight, dissolved in double distilled water) every day for another 4 weeks respectively, while continuing MCD diet feeding.ResultsWe found that theabrownin treatment could not improve liver mass loss and steatosis. However, theabrownin ameliorated liver injury and decreased liver inflammatory response. Theabrownin also alleviated liver oxidative stress and fibrosis. Furthermore, our results showed that theabrownin increased hepatic level of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and reduced the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 in MCD diet-fed mice

Phosphorus adsorption characteristics and release risk in saline soils: a case study of Songnen Plain, China

IntroductionThe Songnen Plain is one of the three major saline-alkali areas in China, covering a vast area, where drought and overgrazing have exacerbated the salinization trend, and will have great potential for development if utilized rationally. Phosphorus, as one of important soil nutrients, plays a crucial role in plant growth. How to minimize its loss and migration has become a current research hotspot. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the adsorption properties of phosphorus in soils affected by salinization and to establish the correlation between the potential for phosphorus release and soil properties.MethodsA batch treatment test was conducted in this study using three soils with the various salinization degrees to examine the impact of environmental factors on the adsorption properties and potential release of phosphorus.Results and discussionIt was found that the maximum phosphorus adsorption by the three salinization soils in 0-360 minutes accounted for 86.8%-90.5% of the total adsorption capacity; the equilibrium adsorption capacity was: HS> MS> LS. In cases where the phosphorus level in the surrounding liquid is low, the three levels of salinized soils exhibited varying levels of phosphorus discharge, with the adsorbent acting as the origin of contaminants. The Pseudo-second-order model kinetics and Langmuir equation can well describe the adsorption process, and the adsorption process is spontaneous heat absorption with entropy increase. Increasing the pH led to an increase in the adsorption of phosphorus from the three salinized soils. Additionally, the adsorption was enhanced by introducing varying concentrations of Na+, Ca2+, and Al3+ to the background solution. The phosphorus eutrophication release risk (ERI) demonstrated a gradual decline as temperature increased. Correlation analysis revealed a noteworthy positive correlation between TN, TP, and ERI, as well as a significant negative correlation between CEC, K+, and ERI. Furthermore, there was a highly significant negative correlation between coarse silt and fine silt. Considering local climatic and environmental factors is crucial for controlling the adsorption capacity of phosphorus in various salinized soils, as it can unveil the mechanism of phosphorus adsorption and impact its migration and release risk

Angle-closure assessment in anterior segment OCT images via deep learning

Precise characterization and analysis of anterior chamber angle (ACA) are of great importance in facilitating clinical examination and diagnosis of angle-closure disease. Currently, the gold standard for diagnostic angle assessment is observation of ACA by gonioscopy. However, gonioscopy requires direct contact between the gonioscope and patients’ eye, which is uncomfortable for patients and may deform the ACA, leading to false results. To this end, in this paper, we explore a potential way for grading ACAs into open-, appositional- and synechial angles by Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography (AS-OCT), rather than the conventional gonioscopic examination. The proposed classification schema can be beneficial to clinicians who seek to better understand the progression of the spectrum of angle-closure disease types, so as to further assist the assessment and required treatment at different stages of angle-closure disease. To be more specific, we first use an image alignment method to generate sequences of AS-OCT images. The ACA region is then localized automatically by segmenting an important biomarker - the iris - as this is a primary structural cue in identifying angle-closure disease. Finally, the AS-OCT images acquired in both dark and bright illumination conditions are fed into our Multi-Sequence Deep Network (MSDN) architecture, in which a convolutional neural network (CNN) module is applied to extract feature representations, and a novel ConvLSTM-TC module is employed to study the spatial state of these representations. In addition, a novel time-weighted cross-entropy loss (TC) is proposed to optimize the output of the ConvLSTM, and the extracted features are further aggregated for the purposes of classification. The proposed method is evaluated across 66 eyes, which include 1584 AS-OCT sequences, and a total of 16,896 images. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods in applicability, effectiveness, and accuracy

The Effect of Organizational Trust on Turnover Intention of Rural Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Teaching Efficacy and Job Satisfaction

Recent studies have focused on turnover among rural kindergarten teachers. However, none of these studies have shown a clear connection between turnover intention and organizational trust, although there are studies in other areas showing that organizational trust can affect turnover intention. Drawing on a sample of 330 kindergarten teachers in rural areas, this study explores the mechanism of influence between organizational trust and turnover intention with teaching efficacy and job satisfaction as mediators. We found that organizational trust negatively impacted teachers’ turnover intention, and this relationship was mediated by a significant chain mediating effect of teaching efficacy and job satisfaction. The findings enrich knowledge about turnover among rural kindergarten teachers and inspire us to create a more supportive organizational environment against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic to improve job satisfaction and alleviate turnover among rural kindergarten teachers