Tailoring Optical Complex Field with Spiral Blade Plasmonic Vortex Lens

Optical complex fields have attracted increasing interests because of the novel effects and phenomena arising from the spatially inhomogeneous state of polarizations and optical singularities of the light beam. In this work, we propose a spiral blade plasmonic vortex lens (SBPVL) that offers unique opportunities to manipulate these novel fields. The strong interaction between the SBPVL and the optical complex fields enable the synthesis of highly tunable plasmonic vortex. Through theoretical derivations and numerical simulations we demonstrated that the characteristics of the plasmonic vortex are determined by the angular momentum (AM) of the light, and the geometrical topological charge of the SBPVL, which is govern by the nonlinear superposition of the pitch and the number of blade element. In addition, it is also shown that by adjusting the geometric parameters, SBPVL can be utilized to focus and manipulate optical complex field with fractional AM. This miniature plasmonic device may find potential applications in optical trapping, optical data storage and many other related fields

DNA methylation-based age prediction and telomere length in white blood cells and cumulus cells of infertile women with normal or poor response to ovarian stimulation.

An algorithm assessing the methylation levels of 353 informative CpG sites in the human genome permits accurate prediction of the chronologic age of a subject. Interestingly, when there is discrepancy between the predicted age and chronologic age (age acceleration or AgeAccel ), patients are at risk for morbidity and mortality. Identification of infertile patients at risk for accelerated reproductive senescence may permit preventative action. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of the epigenetic clock concept in reproductive age women undergoing fertility treatment by applying the age prediction algorithm in peripheral (white blood cells [WBCs]) and follicular somatic cells (cumulus cells [CCs]), and to identify whether women with premature reproductive aging (diminished ovarian reserve) were at risk of AgeAccel in their age prediction. Results indicated that the epigenetic algorithm accurately predicts age when applied to WBCs but not to CCs. The age prediction of CCs was substantially younger than chronologic age regardless of the patient\u27s age or response to stimulation. In addition, telomeres of CCs were significantly longer than that of WBCs. Our findings suggest that CCs do not demonstrate changes in methylome-predicted age or telomere-length in association with increasing female age or ovarian response to stimulation

The Effect of Preceding Self-Control on Prosocial Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Awe

The exertion of self-control is known to result in subsequent detrimental effects on prosocial behaviors. Moreover, certain studies have demonstrated that positive emotions could drive people to allocate more attentional resources for conducting prosocial behaviors. However, whether and how awe – one important type of positive incidental emotion – moderates the effect of exerting self-control on subsequent prosocial behaviors remains unclear yet. The anonymous economic dictator game is an effective index of prosocial behaviors. We examined the influence of exerting self-control on prosocial behavior and the moderating role of awe on the effect of exerting self-control on prosocial behaviors in two experiments (N = 280). We adopted the incongruent Stroop task to induce the exertion of self-control and participants were required to allocate money to others in the anonymous dictator game (Experiment 1). We used the narrative recall task paradigm to elicit the emotion of awe during the interval between Stroop tasks and the dictator game (Experiment 2). Results indicated that the exertion of self-control was detrimental to prosocial behaviors and awe weakened the detrimental effects of exerting self-control on prosocial behavior. We interpreted these results in terms of the protective inhibition of self-regulation and motivation (PRISM) model

Developmental potential of aneuploid human embryos cultured beyond implantation

Funder: Weston Havens Foundation; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/100011223Abstract: Aneuploidy, the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes, is a major cause of early pregnancy loss in humans. Yet, the developmental consequences of specific aneuploidies remain unexplored. Here, we determine the extent of post-implantation development of human embryos bearing common aneuploidies using a recently established culture platform. We show that while trisomy 15 and trisomy 21 embryos develop similarly to euploid embryos, monosomy 21 embryos exhibit high rates of developmental arrest, and trisomy 16 embryos display a hypo-proliferation of the trophoblast, the tissue that forms the placenta. Using human trophoblast stem cells, we show that this phenotype can be mechanistically ascribed to increased levels of the cell adhesion protein E-CADHERIN, which lead to premature differentiation and cell cycle arrest. We identify three cases of mosaicism in embryos diagnosed as full aneuploid by pre-implantation genetic testing. Our results present the first detailed analysis of post-implantation development of aneuploid human embryos

Risky Decisions and Their Consequences: Neural Processing by Boys with Antisocial Substance Disorder

Adolescents with conduct and substance problems ("Antisocial Substance Disorder" (ASD)) repeatedly engage in risky antisocial and drug-using behaviors. We hypothesized that, during processing of risky decisions and resulting rewards and punishments, brain activation would differ between abstinent ASD boys and comparison boys.We compared 20 abstinent adolescent male patients in treatment for ASD with 20 community controls, examining rapid event-related blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses during functional magnetic resonance imaging. In 90 decision trials participants chose to make either a cautious response that earned one cent, or a risky response that would either gain 5 cents or lose 10 cents; odds of losing increased as the game progressed. We also examined those times when subjects experienced wins, or separately losses, from their risky choices. We contrasted decision trials against very similar comparison trials requiring no decisions, using whole-brain BOLD-response analyses of group differences, corrected for multiple comparisons. During decision-making ASD boys showed hypoactivation in numerous brain regions robustly activated by controls, including orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, anterior cingulate, basal ganglia, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum. While experiencing wins, ASD boys had significantly less activity than controls in anterior cingulate, temporal regions, and cerebellum, with more activity nowhere. During losses ASD boys had significantly more activity than controls in orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, brain stem, and cerebellum, with less activity nowhere.Adolescent boys with ASD had extensive neural hypoactivity during risky decision-making, coupled with decreased activity during reward and increased activity during loss. These neural patterns may underlie the dangerous, excessive, sustained risk-taking of such boys. The findings suggest that the dysphoria, reward insensitivity, and suppressed neural activity observed among older addicted persons also characterize youths early in the development of substance use disorders

Nanoarchitectured Array Electrodes for Rechargeable Lithium- and Sodium-Ion Batteries

Rechargeable ion batteries have contributed immensely to shaping the modern world and been seriously considered for the efficient storage and utilization of intermittent renewable energies. To fulfill their potential in the future market, superior battery performance of high capacity, great rate capability, and long lifespan is undoubtedly required. In the past decade, along with discovering new electrode materials, the focus has been shifting more and more toward rational electrode designs because the performance is intimately connected to the electrode architectures, particularly their designs at the nanoscale that can alleviate the reliance on the materials' intrinsic nature. The utilization of nanoarchitectured arrays in the design of electrodes has been proven to significantly improve the battery performance. A comprehensive summary of the structural features and fabrications of the nanoarchitectured array electrodes is provided, and some of the latest achievements in the area of both lithium‐ and sodium‐ion batteries are highlighted. Finally, future challenges and opportunities that would allow further development of such advanced electrode configuration are discussed

Integrated Optimization of Order Allocation and Last-Mile Multi-Temperature Joint Distribution for Fresh Agriproduct Community Retail

Community retail is an important research issue in the field of fresh agriproduct e-commerce. This paper focuses on the problem of last-mile multi-temperature joint distribution (MTJD), which combines time coupling, order allocation, and vehicle scheduling. Firstly, according to the temperature of a refrigerated truck in multi-temperature zones, a split-order packing decision is proposed to integrate the different types of fresh agriproduct. Then, the order allocation strategy is incorporated into a comprehensive picking and distribution schedule, while taking into account the time-coupling of picking, distribution, and delivery time limit. To improve consumer satisfaction and reduce order fulfillment costs, an optimization model combining multi-item order allocation and vehicle scheduling is established, to determine the optimal order allocation scheme and distribution route. Finally, taking fresh agriproduct community retail in the Gulou District of Nanjing as an example, the effectiveness and feasibility of the model are illustrated. The numerical results of medium- to large-scale examples show that, compared with the variable neighborhood search algorithm (VNS) and genetic algorithm (GA), the mixed genetic algorithm (MGA) can save 29% of CPU time and 65% of iterations. This study considers the integrated optimization of multiple links, to provide scientific decision support for fresh agriproduct e-commerce enterprises