Search

Summary: The terahertz radiation from ultraintense laser-produced plasmas has aroused increasing attention recently as a promising approach toward strong terahertz sources. Here, we present the highly efficient production of millijoule-level terahertz pulses, from the rear side of a metal foil irradiated by a 10-TW femtosecond laser pulse. By characterizing the terahertz and electron emission in combination with particle-in-cell simulations, the physical reasons behind the efficient terahertz generation are discussed. The resulting focused terahertz electric field strength reaches over 2 GV/m, which is justified by experiments on terahertz strong-field-driven nonlinearity in semiconductors.

Abstract Cadmium (Cd) contamination of rice is a serious food safety issue that has recently been gaining significant public attention. Therefore, reduction of Cd accumulation in rice grains is an important objective of rice breeding. The use of favourable alleles of Cd accumulating genes using marker-assisted selection (MAS) is theoretically feasible. In this study, we validated a segment covering OsHMA3-OsNramp5-OsNramp1 on chromosome 7 of japonica for establishing low-cadmium accumulating indica rice variety. The OsHMA3-OsNramp5-OsNramp1 jap haplotype significantly decreased grain Cd concentration in middle-season indica genetic background. The improved 9311 carrying the OsHMA3-OsNramp5-OsNramp1 jap haplotype with recurrent parent genome recovery of up to 91.6% resulted in approximately 31.8% decrease in Cd accumulation in the grain and with no penalty on yield. There is a genetic linkage-drag between OsHMA3-OsNramp5-OsNramp1 jap and the gene conditioning heading to days (HTD) in the early-season indica genetic background. Because the OsHMA3-OsNramp5-OsNramp1-Ghd7 jap haplotype significantly increases grain Cd concentration and prolongs growth duration, the linkage-drag between OsHMA3-OsNramp5-OsNramp1 and Ghd7 should be broken down by large segregating populations or gene editing. A novel allele of OsHMA3 was identified from a wide-compatibility japonica cultivar, the expression differences of OsNramp1 and OsNramp5 in roots might contribute the Cd accumulating variation between japonica and indica variety.

In the field of molecular nonequilibrium transports, physical mechanisms of multiple reaction dynamics of these systems are the core of deep understanding complex reactions and transport mechanisms. In order to explore related mechanisms, establishing multiple systems coupled with tremendous exit dynamics and studying their exit dynamics properties are quite vital. Beyond previous researches, new stochastic transport processes are emphasized here. Multiple new exit dynamic systems are established, which are motivated by the multiplicity of paths and products of real biochemical processes in organisms. In order to ensure research universality, core system modeling factors are fully considered. Countable parallel orbits, uniform connection with external sources, countable parallel orbits as subsystems in middle lattices and influences of all lattices on transport trajectories on dynamic properties are analyzed. Dynamic properties of different particles located in orbits are explored by deeply studying average exit time and time scale. Quantitative spatiotemporal impacts are extensively studied. The rationality of average exit time as a time scale in the universal exit dynamic system is proved. Main findings and fruitful results can not only serve as theoretical bases for broadening reaction path modeling, but also be helpful to support understanding nonequilibrium transport mechanisms, especially stochastic biochemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background To report the incidence and risk factors of suction loss during small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). Methods This retrospective comparative case control study included 8493 eyes of 4261 patients. Patients underwent SMILE surgery between January 2014 and September 2019 were included. Videos of suction loss were reviewed, and the direct causes of suction loss were noted. An independent samples t-test was used for comparisons between the suction loss group and the control group. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the possible significant risk factors that might increase the likelihood of suction loss during SMILE surgery. Results Suction loss occurred in 31 (0.37%) eyes of 30 patients; 23 (74.2%) cases occurred in the right eye (the first operative eye) and 8 (25.8%) cases occurred in the left eye. Among the 30 patients, 23 (76.7%) were male and 7 (23.3%) were female. The incidence in the six consecutive years were 0, 2.13, 0.34, 0.24, 0.22, and 0.25%. Head and eye movements during surgery caused suction loss in 16 (51.6%) and 15 (48.4%) eyes, respectively. Comparison between the suction loss group and the control group showed that the first operative eye and male sex are at a significantly high risk for suction loss (p

Abstract Two new sesquiterpenoids, artemlavanins A (1) and B (3), together with fifteen known compounds (2 and 4−17) were isolated from the EtOH extract of Artemisia lavandulaefolia. The structures of new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses (HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR) and ECD calculations. Compound 1 was a sesquiterpenoid lactone possessing a rearranged eudesmane skeleton; compounds 2–5, 6–8, 9 and 10–12 belonged to the eudesmane, guaiane, oppositane and farnesane sesquiterpenoids, respectively; compounds 13–17 were the phenyl derivatives with a 4-hydroxyacetophenone moiety. Twelve compounds (1–3, 5–7, 10–12, 14, 15 and 17) displayed cytotoxicity against hepatic stellate cell line LX2 (HSC-LX2) with IC50 values ranging from 35.1 to 370.3 μM. Compounds 2, 7, 10–12 and 17 exhibited the stronger cytotoxicity than silybin (IC50, 169.6 μM) with IC50 values of 82.1, 35.1, 95.0, 83.8, 81.6 and 90.1 μM. Compound 7 as the most active one showed significant inhibition on the deposition of human collagen type I (Col I), human hyaluronic acid (HA) and human laminin (HL) with IC50 values of 10.7, 24.5 and 13.3 μM. Graphic Abstract

Abstract Four new sesquiterpenoids, artemyrianins A–D (1–4), and three new norlignans, artemyrianins E–G (5–7), together with five known compounds (8–12), were isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia myriantha (Asteraceae). The new compounds were established by spectroscopic data analyses (HRMS, IR, 1D and 2D NMR), and their absolute configurations were confirmed by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction or ECD calculations. The isolates showed cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells with IC50 values ranging from 33.3 to 145.2 μM. Graphic Abstract

In order to enhance the performances of clock and data recovery circuit(CDR) in the high speed multichannel serial transceiver system, a novel phase interpolator(PI) circuit used in CDR has been proposed in the paper. It adopts four groups of differential signal and DAC to act on common load resistance, generates complementary thermometer code through digital filter to control DAC output current, realizes phase weight allocation for differential input clock to make 128 times interpolated, and optimizes the differential signal by input stage four phase correction circuit and duty cycle adjustment circuit. This chip is fabricated in 40 nm CMOS process, the simulation results show that PI has good linearity from 1 GHz to 6 GHz, and DNL is no more than 1.4 LSB, INL is no more than 1.5 LSB, and has been successfully applied to a variety of high speed SerDes.

Carotid and vertebral artery dissections are estimated to account for ∼20% of strokes in patients under 45-years-old. This meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of treatment with anticoagulants versus antiplatelet agents to determine the optimal therapy. We searched 4 electronic databases for clinical trials published from January 1, 1980 to August 25, 2021 that included patients who received anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy for carotid and/or vertebral artery dissections. The curative effect was judged by recanalization evaluated by imaging. The primary outcomes were all cause death and ischemic stroke; secondary outcomes included hemorrhage and transient ischemic attack (TIA). Patients who received only a single drug treatment were divided into antiplatelet or anticoagulant groups; all received conservative treatment without surgical intervention. For this investigation, we pooled the available studies to conduct a meta-analysis, which included 7 articles with 1126 patients. The curative effect of vascular recanalization was not significantly different between the 2 treatment groups (odds ratio [OR] = 0.913, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.611-1.365, P = .657); similarly, no significant differences were found regarding the primary outcomes all cause death (OR = 1.747, 95%CI: 0.202-15.079, P = .612) and ischemic stroke (OR = 2.289, 95%CI: 0.997-5.254, P = .051). Patients treated with anticoagulants were more likely to experience TIA (OR = 0.517, 95%CI: 0.252-1.060, P = .072) and hemorrhage (OR = 0.468, 95%CI: 0.210-1.042, P = .063), but the differences were not statistically significant. Overall, there were no statistically significant differences between anticoagulant therapy and antiplatelet therapy for the treatment of carotid and vertebral artery dissections.