All-fiber fused-type mode selective coupler with high performance and free of pre-tapering

In this paper we propose and demonstrate a novel all-fiber fused-type mode selective coupler (MSC) that capable of converting LP01 mode to LP11 mode with high efficiency and purity. Unlike other coupler fabrication techniques for which single mode fiber (or few mode fiber) must be pre-tapered, the advantage of our proposed coupler is that pre-tapering is not required. Two different fibers of the MSC have the same diameter. We achieve LP11 mode with a high modal purity of > 90% and a coupling efficiency of >20%, with a low insertion loss of about 0.3 dB at the wavelength of 1064 nm

Advances in Antenna Design and System Technologies for Next Generation Cellular Systems

10.1155/2013/610319International Journal of Antennas and Propagation201361031

Imperatorin inhibits allergic airway inflammatory reaction and mucin secretion in ovalbumin-induced asthmatic rats

Purpose: To study the therapeutic effects of imperatorin (IPT) on allergic asthma induced by ovalbumin in rats.Methods: Asthma was established in rats by injection of ovalbumin (OVA), and IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) was administered orally for 21 days. Inflammatory cells and cytokines were determined in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); IgE and histamine in the serum were also determined. Furthermore, MUC-5AC expression in the lung tissue was determined by Western blot assay.Results: Treatment with IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) decreased inflammatory cells including eosinophils (p < 0.01), neutrophils (p < 0.05), lymphocytes (p < 0.01) and macrophages (p < 0.01). In addition, the four inflammatory cytokines {interleukin (IL) -4, IL-6, IL-13 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α} were significantly decreased by treatment with IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) dose-dependently (p < 0.01). Furthermore, MUC5AC in lung tissues was significantly down-regulated by treatment with IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, p < 0.01) in a dose-dependent fashion.Conclusion: The results show that IPT exerts notable therapeutic effects on allergic asthma in rats via suppression of IgE, histamine, inflammatory cells and cytokines, and also by down-regulating MUC5AC.Keywords: Imperatorin, Allergic asthma, Inflammatory cytokines, MUC5AC expression, Eosinophils, Neutrophils, Lymphocyte

Enhancing Respiratory Disease Diagnosis through FMCW Radar and Machine Learning Techniques

Respiratory diseases require early diagnosis and continuous monitoring, but existing methods involve risky physical contact. This study proposes a new system that uses FMCW radar and machine learning to monitor breathing without contact. FMCW radar can detect respiratory movements in real-time, while machine learning can classify respiratory waveforms. This study evaluates the system with cross-validation Shuffle Split, K-fold, and Stratified K-fold. The results show that Random Forest has the highest accuracy of 94.6% and Naïve Bayes has the shortest time of 0.055 seconds. Shuffle Split performs best overall. This study shows the feasibility and potential of the system for the detection, response, and tracking of respiratory diseases in emergencies.This study addresses the urgent need for early diagnosis and continuous monitoring of respiratory diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and infectious diseases. We have created a system that combines state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms with frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar technology. FMCW radar technology is sensitive to small respiratory movements, allowing real-time monitoring without physical contact. Machine learning algorithms, including Decision Trees, Random Forest, Naïve Bayes, Gradient Boosting, and Support Vector Machines, are employed to classify these waveforms. The Random Forest classifier achieved the highest accuracy score of 94.6%, with Naïve Bayes exhibiting the shortest processing time at 0.055 seconds. We explored various cross-validation methods such as Shuffle Split, K-fold, and Stratified K-fold, with the Shuffle Split method performing best overall in terms of accuracy and time. Our study introduces an integrated system that could revolutionize the early detection, response, and tracking of respiratory diseases and emergencies over time

Neurocalcin-delta: a potential memory-related factor in hippocampus of obese rats induced by high-fat diet.

Introduction: Aberrant protein expression within the hippocampus has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity- induced memory impairment.Objectives: The objective of the current study was to search for specific memory-related factors in the hippocampus in obese rats.Methods: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were fed either a high-fat (HF) diet or normal-fat (NF) diet for 10 weeks to obtain the control (CON), diet-induced obese rats (DIO) and diet-resistant (DR) rats. D-galactose was injected subcutaneously for 10 weeks to establish model (MOD) rats with learning and memory impairment. After the hippocampus of the rats sampling, the proteome analysis was conducted using two-dimensional get electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF).Results: We found 15 differential proteins that expressed in the hippocampus in rats induced by HF diet from the 2-DE map. In addition, Neurocalcin-delta (NCALD) was nearly down-regulated in the DR rats compared with CON rats and MOD rats, which was further confirmed by Western blot, real-time PCR and ELISA results.Conclusion: Our data demonstrates that the differential memory-related proteins were a reflection of the HF diet, but not potential factors in obesity proneness or obesity resistance. Furthermore, NCALD is proved to be a potential hippocampus-memory related factor related to obesity.Keywords: Diet-induced obesity; diet-resistant; high fat diet; neurocalcin-delta; proteom

A Compact Dual-Band Printed Antenna Design for LTE Operation in Handheld Device Applications

A novel internal printed antenna suitable for triple long-term evolution (LTE) bands for handheld devices is presented. The operating bandwidths of the design are LTE700 (698~800 MHz), LTE2300 (2300~2400 MHz), and LTE2500 (2500~2690 MHz). Through the use of a C-shape broadside coupled feed structure, full operation in the lower band is achieved. The antenna itself uses two unequal path lengths to produce a low frequency band with two resonant modes. The required bandwidth is then adjusted using a couple feed, and finally placed over a ground plane via another C-type coupling element in order to enhance the two low-frequency matches. In the definition of the −6 dB reflection coefficient, the bandwidth of two basic modes in the low frequency band is 0.689~0.8 GHz. We adopt the definition of the −10 dB reflection coefficient for the high frequency mode, and its working frequency bands are shown to be 2.3~2.72 GHz. The antenna size is only 40 × 12 × 0.8 mm3 with a ground plane of 98 × 40 mm2

Comparative efficacy and pharmacological mechanism of Chinese patent medicines against anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity: An integrated study of network meta-analysis and network pharmacology approach

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) combined with dexrazoxane (DEX) against anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (AIC) and further explore their pharmacological mechanism by integrating the network meta-analysis (NMA) and network pharmacology approach.MethodsWe searched for clinical trials on the efficacy of DEX + CPMs for AIC until March 10, 2023 (Database: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal and China Online Journals). The evaluating outcomes were cardiac troponin I (cTnI) level, creatine kinase MB (CK-MB) level, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) value, and electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormal rate. Subsequently, the results of NMA were further analyzed in combination with network pharmacology.ResultsWe included 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 1 retrospective cohort study (n = 1,214), containing six CPMs: Wenxinkeli (WXKL), Cinobufotalin injection (CI), Shenqifuzheng injection (SQFZ), Shenmai injection (SM), Astragalus injection (AI) and AI + CI. The NMA was implemented in Stata (16.0) using the mvmeta package. Compared with using DEX only, DEX + SM displayed the best effective for lowering cTnI level (MD = −0.44, 95%CI [−0.56, −0.33], SUCRA 93.4%) and improving LVEF value (MD = 14.64, 95%CI [9.36, 19.91], SUCRA 98.4%). DEX + SQFZ showed the most effectiveness for lowering CK-MB level (MD = −11.57, 95%CI [−15.79, −7.35], SUCRA 97.3%). And DEX + AI + CI has the highest effectiveness for alleviating ECG abnormalities (MD = −2.51, 95%CI [−4.06, −0.96], SUCRA 96.8%). So that we recommended SM + DEX, SQFZ + DEX, and DEX + AI + CI as the top three effective interventions against AIC. Then, we explored their pharmacological mechanism respectively. The CPMs' active components and AIC-related targets were screened to construct the component-target network. The potential pathways related to CPMs against AIC were determined by KEGG. For SM, we identified 118 co-targeted genes of active components and AIC, which were significantly enriched in pathways of cancer pathways, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications. For SQFZ, 41 co-targeted genes involving pathways of microRNAs in cancer, Rap1 signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and lipid and atherosclerosis. As for AI + CI, 224 co-targeted genes were obtained, and KEGG analysis showed that the calcium signaling pathway plays an important role except for the consistent pathways of SM and SQFZ in anti-AIC.ConclusionsDEX + CPMs might be positive efficacious interventions from which patients with AIC will derive benefits. DEX + SM, DEX + SQFZ, and DEX + AI + CI might be the preferred intervention for improving LVEF value, CK-MB level, and ECG abnormalities, respectively. And these CPMs play different advantages in alleviating AIC by targeting multiple biological processes