Semi-supervised drug-protein interaction prediction from heterogeneous biological spaces

biological space

High-Q exterior whispering gallery modes in a metal-coated microresonator

We propose a kind of plasmonic whispering gallery modes highly localized on the exterior surface of a metal-coated microresonator. This exterior (EX) surface mode possesses high quality factors at room temperature, and can be efficiently excited by a tapered fiber. The EX mode can couple to an interior (IN) mode and this coupling produces a strong anti-crossing behavior, which not only allows conversion of IN to EX modes, but also forms a long-lived anti-symmetric mode. As a potential application, the EX mode could be used for a biosensor with a sensitivity high up to 500 nm per refraction index unit, a large figure of merit, and a wide detection range

Quantum electrodynamics in a whispering-gallery microcavity coated with a polymer nanolayer

Quasi-transverse-electric and -transverse-magnetic fundamental whispering gallery modes in a polymer-coated silica microtoroid are theoretically investigated and demonstrated to possess very high-quality factors. The existence of a nanometer-thickness layer not only evidently reduces the cavity mode volume but also draws the maximal electric field's position of the mode to the outside of the silica toroid, where single quantum dots or nanocrystals are located. Both effects result in a strongly enhanced coherent interaction between a single dipole (for example, a single defect center in a diamond crystal) and the quantized cavity mode. Since the coated microtoroid is highly feasible and robust in experiments, it may offer an excellent platform to study strong-coupling cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum information, and quantum computation

Combined analysis of endometrial thickness and pattern in predicting outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To evaluate the combined effect of endometrial thickness and pattern on clinical outcome in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cycles of IVF/ICSI-ET conducted between January 2003 and December 2008 at a university-based reproductive center were reviewed retrospectively. Endometrial ultrasonographic characteristics were recorded on the day of hCG administration. In the combined analysis, endometrial thickness groups (group 1: equal or <7 mm; group 2: 7-14 mm; group 3: >14 mm) were subdivided into two endometrial patterns (pattern A: triple-line; pattern B: no-triple line). Clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and early miscarriage rate in different groups were analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 2896 cycles were reviewed. Clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) was 24.4% in group1-A. There were no second trimester pregnancies in group 1-B. Miscarriage rate in group 2-A was significantly lower compared to group 2-B (P < 0.01), although CPR did not show any significant differences between the groups. A no-triple line endometrial pattern with moderate endometrial thickness (7-14 mm) had a detrimental effect on pregnancy outcome, but not the occurrence of pregnancy. In group 3, there was no difference in CPR and miscarriage rates between the two patterns; adequate endometrial thickness (>14 mm) seemed to mitigate the detrimental impact (high miscarriage rate) of pattern B.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Combined analysis of endometrial thickness and pattern on the day of hCG administration was a better predictor of the outcome of IVF/ICSI-ET and may be more helpful for patient counseling than the separate analyses.</p

Movable Fiber-Integrated Hybrid Plasmonic Waveguide on Metal Film

A waveguide structure consisting of a tapered nanofiber on a metal film is proposed and analyzed to support highly localized hybrid plasmonic modes. The hybrid plasmonic mode can be efficiently excited through the in-line tapered fiber based on adiabatic conversion and collected by the same fiber, which is very convenient in the experiment. Due to the ultrasmall mode area of plasmonic mode, the local electromagnetic field is greatly enhanced in this movable waveguide, which is potential for enhanced coherence light emitter interactions, such as waveguide quantum electrodynamics, single emitter spectrum and nonlinear optics

Interaction of Warfarin with Human Serum Albumin and Effect of Ferulic Acid on the Binding

Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels combined treatment with warfarin would increase the risk of bleeding. Ferulic acid is an abundant hydroxycinnamic acid in A. sinensis and warfarin is the most widely used oral anticoagulant. The studies on supermolecular interaction of warfarin with human serum albumin (HSA) and the influence of ferulic acid on the binding would contribute to the understanding of the metabolic processes of warfarin and the effect of ferulic acid. We focus on investigating the effect of warfarin on fluorescence spectrum of human serum albumin (HSA), fluorescence quenching mechanism, binding constant, Hill coefficient, binding mode, and the effect of different ferulic acid concentrations on the binding. Warfarin quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA mainly by static quenching. Accession of ferulic acid reduced the binding of HSA-warfarin. By decreasing binding constant and the Hill coefficient of warfarin with HSA, ferulic acid could improve the plasma concentration of free warfarin, which would increase the risk of bleeding. Warfarin’s free concentration increased at least 50% under the condition of simulated human body. The results indicated that A. sinensis combined treatment with warfarin would increase the risk of bleeding. And the results provide an important theoretical support for warfarin used as oral anticoagulant

Dimension Increase via Hierarchical Hydrogen Bonding from Simple Pincer-like Mononuclear complexes

A tetradentate symmetric ligand bearing both coordination and hydrogen bonding sites, N1,N3-bis(1-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-ethylidene)propane-1,3-diamine (H2bbepd) was utilized to synthesize a series of transition metal complexes, namely [Co(H2bbepd)(H2O)2]·2ClO4 (1), [Cu(H2bbepd)(OTs-)]·OTs- (2),[Cu(bbepd)(CH3OH)] (3), [Cd(H2bbepd)(NO3)2]·CH3OH (4), [Cd(H2bbepd)(CH3OH)Cl]·Cl (5), and [Cd(bbepd)(CH3OH)2] (6). These complexes show similar discrete pincer-like coordination units, possessing different arrangements of hydrogen bonding donor and acceptor sites. With or without the aid of uncoordinated anions and solvent molecules, such mononuclear units have been effectively involved in the construction of hierarchical hydrogen bonding assemblies (successively via level I and level II), leading to discrete binuclear ring (complex 2), one-dimensional chain or ribbon (complexes 3, 4 and 6) and two-dimensional layer (complexes 1 and 5) aggregates