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Metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (GRM2) is highly expressed in hippocampal dentate granule cells (DGCs), regulating synaptic transmission and hippocampal functions. Newborn DGCs are continuously generated throughout life and express GRM2 when they are mature. However, it remained unclear whether and how GRM2 regulates the development and integration of these newborn neurons. We discovered that the expression of GRM2 in adult-born DGCs increased with neuronal development in mice of both sexes. Lack of GRM2 caused developmental defects of DGCs and impaired hippocampus-dependent cognitive functions. Intriguingly, our data showed that knockdown ofGrm2resulted in decreased b/c-Raf kinases and paradoxically led to an excessive activation of MEK/ERK1/2 pathway. Inhibition of MEK ameliorated the developmental defects caused byGrm2knockdown. Together, our results indicate that GRM2 is necessary for the development and functional integration of newborn DGCs in the adult hippocampus through regulating the phosphorylation and activation state of MEK/ERK1/2 pathway.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTMetabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (GRM2) is highly expressed in mature dentate granule cells (DGCs) in the hippocampus. It remains unclear whether GRM2 is required for the development and integration of adult-born DGCs. We providedin vivoandin vitroevidence to show that GRM2 regulates the development of adult-born DGCs and their integration into existing hippocampal circuits. Lack of GRM2 in a cohort of newborn DGCs impaired object-to-location memory in mice. Moreover, we revealed that GRM2 knockdown paradoxically upregulated MEK/ERK1/2 pathway by suppressing b/c-Raf in developing neurons, which is likely a common mechanism underlying the regulation of the development of neurons expressing GRM2. Thus, Raf/MEK/ERK1/2 pathway could be a potential target for brain diseases related to GRM2 abnormality.

Thermoset polymers cross-linked by dynamic covalent bonds are recyclable and reconfigurable based on solid-state plasticity, resulting in less waste and environmental pollution. However, most thermoset polymers previously reported show thermal-responsive solid-state plasticity, depending much on external conditions and not allowing for local shape modulation. Here, the isocyanate modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs-NCO) are introduced into the polythiourethane (PCTU) network with multiple dynamic covalent bonds by in situ polymerization to prepare the composite with thermal/light dual-responsive solid-state plasticity, reconfigurability, and recyclability. The introduction of CNTs-NCO simultaneously strengthens and toughens the PCTU composite. Moreover, based on the photothermal properties and light-responsive solid-state plasticity, the PCTU/CNTs composite or bilayer sample could achieve complex permanent shape by locally precise shape regulation without affecting other parts. This work provides a simple and reliable method for preparing high-performance polymer composite with light-responsive solid-state plasticity, which may be applied in the fields of sensing and flexible electronics.

In order to solve the difficulty of traditional phase measuring deflectometry (PMD) in considering precision and speed, an orthogonal encoding PMD method based on deep learning is presented in this paper. We demonstrate for, what we believe to be, the first time that deep learning techniques can be combined with dynamic-PMD and can be used to reconstruct high-precision 3D shapes of specular surfaces from single-frame distorted orthogonal fringe patterns, enabling high-quality dynamic measurement of specular objects. The experimental results prove that the phase and shape information measured by the proposed method has high accuracy, almost reaching the results obtained by the ten-step phase-shifting method. And the proposed method also has excellent performance in dynamic experiments, which is of great significance to the development of optical measurement and fabrication areas.

We first report a single-light-source orthogonally pumped triaxial atomic magnetometer with a double-cell structure. By using a beam splitter to equally allocate the pump beam, the proposed triaxial atomic magnetometer is responsive to magnetic fields in all three directions, and without sacrificing system sensitivity. The experimental results indicate that, the magnetometer achieves a sensitivity of 22 fT/Hz1/2 in x-direction with a 3-dB bandwidth of 22 Hz, a sensitivity of 23 fT/Hz1/2 in y-direction with a 3-dB bandwidth of 23 Hz, and a sensitivity of 21 fT/Hz1/2 in z-direction with a 3-dB bandwidth of 25 Hz. This magnetometer is useful for the applications that require the measurements of the three components of the magnetic field.

Calcium induced calcium release signaling (CICR) plays a critical role in many biological processes. Every cellular activity from cell proliferation and apoptosis, development and ageing, to neuronal synaptic plasticity and regeneration have been associated with Ryanodine receptors (RyRs). Despite the importance of calcium signaling, the exact mechanism of its function in early development is unclear. As an organism with a short gestational period, the embryos of Drosophila melanogaster are prime study subjects for investigating the distribution and localization of CICR associated proteins and their regulators during development. However, because of their lipid-rich embryos and chitin-rich chorion, their utility is limited by the difficulty of mounting embryos on glass surfaces. In this work, we introduce a practical protocol that significantly enhances the attachment of Drosophila embryo onto slides and detail methods for successful histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and in-situ hybridization. The chrome alum gelatin slide-coating method and embryo pre-embedding method dramatically increases the yield in studying Drosophila embryo protein and RNA expression. To demonstrate this approach, we studied DmFKBP12/Calstabin, a well-known regulator of RyR during early embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster. We identified DmFKBP12 in as early as the syncytial blastoderm stage and report the dynamic expression pattern of DmFKBP12 during development: initially as an evenly distributed protein in the syncytial blastoderm, then preliminarily localizing to the basement layer of the cortex during cellular blastoderm, before distributing in the primitive neuronal and digestion architecture during the three-gem layer phase in early gastrulation. This distribution may explain the critical role RyR plays in the vital organ systems that originate in from these layers: the suboesophageal and supraesophageal ganglion, ventral nervous system, and musculoskeletal system.

Hippocampal neurogenesis declines with aging. Wnt ligands and antagonists within the hippocampal neurogenic niche regulate the proliferation of neural progenitor cells and the development of new neurons, and the changes of their levels in the niche mediate aging-associated decline of neurogenesis. We found that RNA-binding protein Lin28a remained existent in neural progenitor cells and granule neurons in the adult hippocampus, and decreased with aging. Loss of Lin28a inhibited the responsiveness of neural progenitor cells to niche Wnt agonist and reduced neurogenesis, thus impairing pattern separation. Overexpression of Lin28a increased the proliferation of neural progenitor cells, promoted the functional integration of newborn neurons, restored neurogenesis in Wnt-deficient dentate gyrus, and rescued the impaired pattern separation in aging mice. Our data suggest that Lin28a regulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis as an intracellular mechanism by responding to niche Wnt signals, and its decrease is involved in aging-associated decline of hippocampal neurogenesis as well as related cognitive functions.

The fabrication of a single polymer network that exhibits a good reversible two-way shape memory effect (2W-SME), can be formed into arbitrarily complex three-dimensional (3D) shapes, and is recyclable remains a challenge. Herein, we design and fabricate poly(thiourethane) (PTU) networks with an excellent thermadapt reversible 2W-SME, arbitrary reconfigurability, and good recyclability via the synergistic effects of multiple dynamic covalent bonds (i.e., ester, urethane, and thiourethane bonds). The PTU samples with good mechanical performance simultaneously demonstrate a maximum tensile stress of 29.7 ± 1.1 MPa and a high strain of 474.8 ± 7.5%. In addition, the fraction of reversible strain of the PTU with 20 wt % hard segment reaches 22.4% during the reversible 2W-SME, where the fraction of reversible strain is enhanced by self-nucleated crystallization of the PTU. A sample with arbitrarily complex permanent 3D shapes can be realized via the solid-state plasticity, and that sample also exhibits excellent reversible 2W-SME. A smart light-responsive actuator with a double control switch is fabricated using a reversible two-way shape memory PTU/MXene film. In addition, the PTU networks are de-cross-linked by alcohol solvolysis, enabling the recovery of monomers and the realization of recyclability. Therefore, the present study involving the design and fabrication of a PTU network for potential applications in intelligent actuators and multifunctional shape-shifting devices provides a new strategy for the development of thermadapt reversible two-way shape memory polymers.

Background Lignin is a complex aromatic heteropolymer comprising 15–30% dry weight of the lignocellulose. The complex structural characteristic of lignin renders it difficult for value-added utilization. Exploring efficient lignin-degrading microorganisms and investigating their lignin-degradation mechanisms would be beneficial for promoting lignin valorization. In this study, a newly isolated white-rot basidiomycete, Trametes hirsuta X-13, with capacity to utilize alkaline lignin as the sole substrate was investigated. Results The analysis of the fermentation properties of T. hirsuta X-13 using alkaline lignin as the sole substrate, including the mycelial growth, activities of ligninolytic enzymes and the rates of lignin degradation and decolorization confirmed its great ligninolysis capacity. The maximum lignin degradation rate reached 39.8% after 11 days of T. hirsuta X-13 treatment, which was higher than that of reported fungi under the same condition. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) scanning electron micrographs (SEM), two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum coherence NMR analysis (2D-HSQC NMR) collaborated with pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS) analyses proved that lignin structure was severely deconstructed along with amounts of monomer aromatics generated. Furthermore, according to those chemical analysis, in addition to canonical Cα–Cβ breakage, the cleavage of lignin interunit linkages of β–β might also occur by T. hirsuta X-13. Conclusions This study characterized a newly isolated white-rot basidiomycete T. hirsuta X-13 with impressive alkaline lignin degradation ability and provided mechanistic insight into its ligninolysis mechanism, which will be valuable for the development of lignin valorization strategies.

Background Pretreatment is a critical step required for efficient conversion of woody biomass into biofuels and platform chemicals. Fungal pretreatment is regarded as one of the most promising technology for woody biomass conversion but remains challenging for industrial application. The exploration of potential fungus strain with high efficient delignification and less processing time for woody biomass pretreatment will be valuable for development of biorefinery industry. Here, a newly isolated white-rot basidiomycete Peniophora incarnate T-7 was employed for poplar wood pretreatment. Results The chemical component analysis showed that cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin from poplar wood declined by 16%, 48% and 70%, respectively, after 7 days submerged fermentation by P. incarnate T-7. Enzymatic saccharification analysis revealed that the maximum yields of glucose and xylose from 7 days of P. incarnate T-7 treated poplar wood reached 33.4% and 27.6%, respectively, both of which were enhanced by sevenfold relative to the untreated group. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) characterization confirmed that lignocellulosic structure of poplar wood was largely broken by P. incarnate T-7, including delignification and de-crystalline of cellulose. Meanwhile, lignin component of poplar wood was selectively degraded by P. incarnate T-7, and G-type unit of lignin was preferentially attacked by the strain. Furthermore, quantitative proteomic analysis revealed that a considerable amount of lignocellulolytic enzymes were detected in the secretory proteins of P. incarnate T-7, especially with high abundance of lignin-degrading enzymes and hemicellulases. Combination of quantitative proteomic with transcriptomic analysis results showed that most of those lignocellulolytic enzymes were highly upregulated on poplar wood substrate compared to glucose substrate. Conclusions This study showed that P. incarnate T-7 could selectively delignify poplar wood by submerged fermentation with short time of 7 days, which greatly improved its enzymatic saccharification efficiency. Our results suggested that P. incarnate T-7 might be a promising candidate for industrial woody biomass pretreatment.

Bump offsets have harmful effects on the quality of flex-on-glass (FOG) bonding in liquid crystal display (LCD) module industry. Here we report a novel automatic optical inspection (AOI) method to achieve fast inspecting FOG bonding bump offsets. Overcoming difficulties to image targets at different depths in light absorption medium when using ultra-short-exposure and high-speed imaging, the proposed method innovatively achieves inspecting FOG bonding bump offsets using differential interference contrast imaging based on spatial Poisson point process approximation. Theoretical analysis proves that the proposed method has high reliability in FOG bonding bump offset AOI inspection. Experimental results show missed detection rate of the inspection algorithm is 0.01%, and false rate is 0.1%, and verify the accuracy and validity of the proposed method, all of which are significant for guiding practice in LCD module industry.

In this paper, we investigate the output performance of a continuous-wave Ho3+-doped fluoride fiber laser operating at 3.92 µm from the 5I5 → 5I6 transition of Ho3+ using numerical simulation. A double-clad Ho3+-doped fluoroindate fiber with a doping concentration of 10.0 mol.% is assumed, with direct pumping at 888 nm. We propose simultaneous lasing on the 5I6 → 5I7 transition to enhance the slope efficiency while reducing the threshold and heat accumulation. Simulation results indicate that a slope efficiency of 17% and a threshold of 2.5 W can be obtained using a 9 cm-long fiber. Moreover, with the heat accumulation reduced by >40%, watt level laser output can be achieved in this cascade system at room temperature without the gain fiber being damaged by heat accumulation. The theoretical maximum output power of 1.27 W is 6 times higher than the highest reported value (197 mW), which is limited by the fiber damage due to excess heat load.

Phase Measuring Deflectometry (PMD) and Structured-Light Modulation Analysis Technique (SMAT) perform effectively in shape and defect measurements of specular objects, but the difficulty of giving consideration to accuracy and speed has also restricted the further development and application of them. Inspired by recent successes of deep learning techniques for computational imaging, we demonstrate for the first time that deep learning techniques can be used to recover high-precision modulation distributions of specular surfaces from a single-frame fringe pattern under SMAT, enabling fast and high-quality defect detection of specular surfaces. This method can also be applied to recover higher-precision phase distributions of specular surfaces from a single-frame fringe pattern under PMD, so as to realize the 3D shape measurement. In this paper, we combine depthwise separable convolution, residual structure and U-Net to build an improved U-Net network. The experimental results prove that the method has excellent performance in the phase and modulation retrieval of specular surfaces, which almost reach the accuracy of the results obtained by ten-step phase-shifting method.

In this paper, we focus on the phase noise in optically-pumped magnetometer systems and investigate its sources, and use dual-phase lock-in technique to solve the problem. The results show that the phase noise is maximum when the system operates under zero-magnetic-field condition, and the main source comes from the environment stray magnetic field. The dual-phase lock-in technique improves the phase noise rejection by a factor of 10 compared to the single-phase lock-in technique. The sensitivity of the system is 22 fT Hz−1/2 and the bandwidth is 158 Hz, which offers a favorable outlook for use in clinical settings.

The existing analytical gradient models in phase measuring deflectometry (PMD) usually suffer in the ambiguous problem. To solve this problem, simplification/assumption is often given to the surface shape, which causes non-ignorable measurement error in certain situations. In order to analyze the relation between the surface shape and measurement error when simplification/assumption is used, a ray tracing simulation model is developed in this paper. For any given PMD system setup, the relation between the height/slope variations of test surface and measurement accuracy can be carried out. The corresponding experiment work proves the correctness of this simulation model. The increasing of either the height or slope of object will lead to the exponential aggravating of measurement error. For our experiment setup, the measurement gradient error will be less than 0.5% if the ratio of the distance between the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen and the reference plane and the STD (standard derivation) of object height is larger than 200. Keywords: Phase measuring deflectometry, Optical 3D measurement, Error analysis, Ray tracing model

Under natural conditions, injured cells can be repaired rapidly through inherent biological processes. However, in the case of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, muscular dystrophy, and other degenerative conditions, the natural repair process is impaired. Repair of injury to the cell membrane is an important aspect of physiology. Inadequate membrane repair function is implicated in the pathophysiology of many human disorders. Recent studies show that Mitsugumin 53 (MG53), a TRIM family protein, plays a key role in repairing cell membrane damage and facilitating tissue regeneration. Clarifying the role of MG53 and its molecular mechanism are important for the application of MG53 in regenerative medicine. In this review, we analyze current research dissecting MG53′s function in cell membrane repair and tissue regeneration, and highlight the development of recombinant human MG53 protein as a potential therapeutic agent to repair multiple-organ injuries.

Background In the past 30 years, incidences of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has risen by 30%. However, there is still no clear mechanism or accurate method of anticipating liver failure. Here we reveal the phase transitions of liquid crystalline qualities in hepatic lipid droplets (HLDs) as a novel method of anticipating prognosis. Methods NAFLD was induced by feeding C57BL/6J mice on a high-fat (HiF) diet. These NAFLD livers were then evaluated under polarized microscopy, X-ray diffraction and small-angle scattering, lipid component chromatography analysis and protein expression analysis. Optically active HLDs from mouse model and patient samples were both then confirmed to have liquid crystal characteristics. Liver MAP1LC3A expression was then evaluated to determine the role of autophagy in liquid crystal HLD (LC-HLD) formation. Results Unlike the normal diet cohort, HiF diet mice developed NAFLD livers containing HLDs exhibiting Maltese cross birefringence, phase transition, and fluidity signature to liquid crystals. These LC-HLDs transitioned to anisotropic crystal at 0 °C and remain crystalline. Temperature increase to 42 °C causes both liquid crystal and crystal HLDs to convert to isotropic droplet form. These isotropic HLDs successfully transition to anisotropic LC with fast temperature decrease and anisotropic crystal with slow temperature decrease. These findings were duplicated in patient liver. Patient LC-HLDs with no inner optical activity were discovered, hinting at lipid saturation as the mechanism through which HLD acquire LC characteristics. Downregulation of MAP1LC3A in conjunction with increased LC-HLD also implicated autophagy in NAFLD LC-HLD formation. Conclusions Increasing concentrations of amphiphilic lipids in HLDs favors organization into alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic layers, which present as LC-HLDs. Thus, evaluating the extent of liquid crystallization with phase transition in HLDs of NAFLD patients may reveal disease severity and predict impending liver damage.

With the rapid development of electronic industry, higher and higher requirements are placed on the surface quality of optical components in electronic devices. Structured-Light Modulation Analysis Technique (SMAT) was recently proposed to detect the contamination and defects on specular surfaces. In this paper, the proposed mechanisms and mathematical models of SMAT are analyzed and established based on the theory of photometry and the optical characteristics of contamination and defects for the first time. What's more, a novel transmission system adopting SMAT is especially designed for the defect detection of transparent objects. For both reflection and transmission system, simulations and experiments were conducted, and comparative studies with uniform planar illumination were also carried out. Simulations on the influence of incident light source region showed that SMAT can eliminate the interference of ambient light while uniform planar illumination technique cannot. Experiments on samples with specular surface and transparent material demonstrated that the modulation values at the contamination and defects are much less than that at clean and intact place, and defects and contaminations were clearly distinguished based on SMAT, while they were almost indiscernible with uniform planar illumination. Therefore, SMAT can be applied to the whole-field inspection of optical components in industrial environments.

The fringe reflection technique (FRT) has been one of the most popular methods to measure the shape of specular surface these years. The existing system calibration methods of FRT usually contain two parts, which are camera calibration and geometric calibration. In geometric calibration, the liquid crystal display (LCD) screen position calibration is one of the most difficult steps among all the calibration procedures, and its accuracy is affected by the factors such as the imaging aberration, the plane mirror flatness, and LCD screen pixel size accuracy. In this paper, based on the deduction of FRT analytical phase–slope description, we present a novel calibration method with no requirement to calibrate the position of LCD screen. On the other hand, the system can be arbitrarily arranged, and the imaging system can either be telecentric or non-telecentric. In our experiment of measuring the 5000mm radius sphere mirror, the proposed calibration method achieves 2.5 times smaller measurement error than the geometric calibration method. In the wafer surface measuring experiment, the measurement result with the proposed calibration method is closer to the interferometer result than the geometric calibration method.

Thermoset polyurethane is an important polymer material due to high strength and adjustable performance. However, the thermoset polyurethane only based on dynamic urethane bond shows poor reprocessing performance. To improve the reprocessability and recyclability, multiple dynamic covalent bonds (ester, urethane, and thiourethane bonds) were introduced into molecular chains to develop a thermoset shape memory polythiourethane (PCTU) with high transparency, excellent mechanical properties, solid state plasticity, reprocessability, and recyclability. The PCTU samples show good mechanical properties and have the highest reprocessing efficiencies with ησ of 144.4% and ηe of 160.1%. Moreover, the samples can realize complex 3D shapes via the combination of solid-state plasticity and shape memory property. Notably, for the prepared PCTU/CFs composites, carbon fibers (CFs) can be easily recycled under mild conditions and can be reused in other polymer composites. Thus, this work provides a new way for developing recyclable, reconfigurable, and thermadapt shape memory polythiourethane fiber composites.

In modern industrial manufacturing, the demand for the surface inspection of specular objects has become more and more urgent. In this paper, a novel defect detection method with eliminating dust is systematically proposed to inspect surface defects of specular objects. The proposed approach can be applied to the defect detection of silicon wafers, optical lens, cell phone cover glass, etc. Structured-Light Modulation Analysis Technique (SMAT) is adopted to detect defects and dust simultaneously. Meanwhile, according to the discrepancy of polarization states between dust and other places, polarized illumination and a linear polarizer are exploited to photograph dust image exclusively. The dust image is used to remove dust from the modulation image; thus, the purified defect distribution can be obtained. Relevant experiments are also performed to prove the effectiveness of this proposed approach.

Fringe projection three-dimensional (3D) measurement technique is an effective technique to measure 3D shape of objects, in which phase retrieval is an important procedure. To overcome the need of pre-filtering process in the existing single-frame methods, this paper proposes a novel method to extract phase distribution solely from one-frame fringe pattern without pre-filtering, which reduces its complexity and retains more phase details. The proposed method consists of two stages. Firstly, the Hilbert transform is applied to one-frame fringe pattern to generate another frame of fringe pattern. Secondly, the phase distribution is calculated based on Lissajous Ellipse Fitting (LEF) technique by using original fringe pattern and the Hilbert transformed fringe pattern. The results provides a practically efficient methodology for single frame phase reconstruction, which shows potential useful means for reconstructing object in rapid measurement.

B lymphocyte and macrophages may contribute to SLE pathogenesis through cytokine production after TLR stimulation. Emerging evidences suggested that defects of sphingolipid metabolism were responsible for SLE pathogenesis. However, it is not clear whether these defects exist in B cells and macrophages under SLE condition and whether TLR signalling pathway was related to the dysfunction of sphingolipid metabolism in SLE. Here, we demonstrated that the enzymes involved in the sphingolipid metabolism expressed abnormally in B cells from SLE patients and lupus-prone mice. Moreover, we found that TLR signalling induced the abnormal expression of sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 3 (SMPD3), sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphatase 2 (SGPP2), ceramide kinase (CERK) and UDP glycosyltransferase 8 (UGT8), which were involved in sphingolipid metabolism. TLR signalling also induced the transportation of SMPD3 from Golgi apparatus. Furthermore, the dysfunction of SMPD3 enhanced TLR-induced inflammatory response of B cells and macrophages in turn. Thus, these findings provide an innovative direction and a new target for research and treatment of SLE.

Context: The natural polyphenolic compound curcumin has been proved to modulate innate immune responses and possess anti-inflammatory properties. Nevertheless, the mechanism remains poorly understood, particularly regarding curcumin-regulated miRNAs under inflammatory response. Objective: This study investigates the role of miRNA-155 in the effects of curcumin on inflammatory response in cell and a mouse model. Materials and methods: The anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin (5, 10 and 15 μM, 2 h) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 200 ng/mL)-induced cells were measured by quantitative PCR. The animals were treated orally by 20 mg/kg curcumin for 3 days before an LPS intraperitoneal injection (10 mg/kg, 16 h). MicroRNA (miRNA) expression and the underlying molecular mechanisms were assessed using transfection technique and western blotting. Results and discussion: Curcumin efficiently inhibited LPS-induced cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) and microRNA-155 (miR-155) expression (p

Microglia modulate memories Synaptic reorganization and circuit rewiring leads to loss or weakening of connections between neurons and may result in the erasure of previously formed memories. Microglia eliminate excessive synapses in the developing brain and regulate the dynamics of synaptic connections between neurons throughout life. However, it is still unclear whether forgetting is related to microglia activity and how microglia regulate memory erasure in the adult brain. Wang et al. discovered that microglia eliminated synaptic components in the adult hippocampus and that depleting microglia or inhibiting phagocytosis of microglia prevented forgetting. Synapse elimination by microglia may thus lead to degradation of memory engrams and forgetting of previously learned contextual fear memory. Science , this issue p. 688

The detection of defects is one of the most crucial aspects of the manufacturing industry. There are many methods in the aspects of defects detection on the specular surface. However, in some cases, the detection results may be disturbed by the dusts on the specular surface. In this paper, a method which is based on the polarized structured-light illumination is proposed to detect the defects of specular surface with eliminating dusts. A linear polarizer is added to the structuredlight illumination system, and by controlling the polarization direction of the polarizer the dusts can be detected separately and removed in the end. Experiment results proved the effectiveness of the proposed method.

In this paper, a new generating technique of sinusoidal fringes for 3D shape measurement is presented. Specifically, a sinusoidal fringe is generated by expanding the inverted image of a filled binary sinusoidal pattern in a specified direction, and further, the phase shift is realized by switching the backlight sources of a set of sinusoidal patterns. In theory, sinusoidal fringes can be formed whether the projection is focused or defocused. Moreover, the technique has the potential for high frame rates due to the way the phase shift is performed. In particular, since the high shape precision of the binary sinusoidal pattern and the high accuracy of the phase shift can be easily realized by the photolithography process, the technique is very easy to implement.

Phase Measuring Deflectometry (PMD) is an effective metrology technique for specular surfaces, but it is hard to achieve rapid measurement precisely with prevenient fringe analysis methods. Inspired by recent successes of deep learning techniques for fringe analysis, we demonstrate for the first time that deep learning can be used to achieve high-precision three-dimensional (3D) measurement of specular surfaces with a single frame. In this research, it is proposed to use depthwise separable convolution to optimize measured results. Experimental results proved that this proposed method has better performance than the existing fringe analysis method employing deep learning.

The fringe projection profilometry (FPP) has obtained increasing popularity in the field of industrial automation, inverse engineering and graphics. Recent literature reveals that the non-ideal system point spread function (PSF) in FPP will cause phase error in the area around the discontinuous edge. Existing error reduction methods need to detect the location of all the edges accurately first, which are hard to accomplish when the camera is defocused. Meanwhile, the corrected data in the error area relies heavily on the data in its nearest unaffected area, which makes the corrected data unreliable. We prove that the non-ideal system PSF will also induce phase error in the area of surface details, and this is a problem seldom discussed in FPP. In this work, the relationships between the PSF-induced phase error and system parameters are deduced mathematically and numerically. Additionally, a deconvolution-based method is proposed to reduce the PSF-induced phase error in this paper. The proposed method can overcome the shortcomings of the existing approaches. Both simulation and experiment results show that our proposed method can reduce the Root Mean Square phase/height error by up to 4 times, and can also improve the measured 3D details significantly.

In recent years, phase measuring deflectometry (PMD) has become a popular method to measure the shapes of specular surfaces. However, the inherent slope-height ambiguity problem, which indicates the phase of the recorded fringe pattern is determined by both the height and slope of the test surface, causes considerable ambiguity errors in the measurement results. Existing error reduction methods usually require the initial shape information of the test surface or additional equipment to assist the measurement. These requirements make measurement inflexible in some situations. In this paper, the slope-height ambiguity problem in PMD is modelled and analyzed analytically for the first time, and the system geometry requirements of minimizing the ambiguity error are carried out accordingly. To meet these requirements, a co-axis optical path setup with a telecentric imaging system is proposed. In our simulation and experiment, this system reduces the phase and height errors by up to two orders of magnitude, compared to those from the normally employed system geometry setup.

A fringe projection profilometry (FPP) using portable consumer devices is attractive because it can realize optical three dimensional (3D) measurement for ordinary consumers in their daily lives. We demonstrate a FPP using a camera in a smart mobile phone and a digital consumer mini projector. In our experiment of testing the smart phone (iphone7) camera performance, the rare-facing camera in the iphone7 causes the FPP to have a fringe contrast ratio of 0.546, nonlinear carrier phase aberration value of 0.6 rad, and nonlinear phase error of 0.08 rad and RMS random phase error of 0.033 rad. In contrast, the FPP using the industrial camera has a fringe contrast ratio of 0.715, nonlinear carrier phase aberration value of 0.5 rad, nonlinear phase error of 0.05 rad and RMS random phase error of 0.011 rad. Good performance is achieved by using the FPP composed of an iphone7 and a mini projector. 3D information of a facemask with a size for an adult is also measured by using the FPP that uses portable consumer devices. After the system calibration, the 3D absolute information of the facemask is obtained. The measured results are in good agreement with the ones that are carried out in a traditional way. Our results show that it is possible to use portable consumer devices to construct a good FPP, which is useful for ordinary people to get 3D information in their daily lives.

Hirsutella sinensis, cultured in vitro, is an attractive substitute for Cordyceps sinensis as health supplement. The aim of this study was to demonstrate whether H. sinensis mycelium (HSM) attenuates murine pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin and to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Using lung fibrosis modle induced by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BLM; 4 mg/kg), we observed that the administration of HSM reduced HYP, TGF-β1 and the production of several pro-fibrosis cytokines (α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin and vimentin) in fibrotic mice lung sections. Histopathological examination of lung tissues also demonstrated that HSM improved BLM-induced pathological damage. Concurrently, HSM supplementation markedly reduced the chemotaxis of alveolar macrophages and potently suppressed the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Also, HSM influenced Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg imbalance and blocked the phosphorylation of mTOR pathway in vivo. Alveolar epithelial A549 cells acquired a mesenchymal phenotype and an increased expression of myofibroblast markers of differentiation (vimentin and fibronectin) after treatment with TGF-β1. HSM suppressed these markers and blocked the phosphorylation of mTOR pathway in vitro. The results provide evidence supporting the use of HSM in the intervention of pulmonary fibrosis and suggest that HSM is a potential therapeutic agent for lung fibrosis.

Based on the coupled mode equations and elastic optic effect theory, the relationship between polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) beat length and external pressure was analyzed. Moreover, the beat length variation with different external pressure values F as well as angles θ between the pressure direction and PMF's x -axis was calculated numerically. The results demonstrated that the beat length variation was determined both by F and θ simultaneously. When F was a constant, the beat length was changed periodically in π cycle sinusoidal form with θ variation. Then, the minimum and maximum values of beat length would be obtained when θ were even and odd multiples of π /2, respectively. Meanwhile, the beat length variation was linear with F as θ was fixed. In this situation and with F increasing, if θ ∈ ( kπ + π /4, kπ + 3 π /4) ( k ∈ Z ), the beat length would increase linearly; otherwise, the beat length variation would be in the opposite direction while θ ∈ ( kπ − π /4, kπ + π /4) ( k ∈ Z ); however, it remained almost unchanged in the case of θ = kπ ± π /4 ( k ∈ Z ). Finally, the beat length was measured with different pressure values F and angles θ based on a Sagnac interferometer system, and the results shown a great agreement with the theoretical analysis and simulation.

The disorder of B cells is one of the hallmarks of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The activation state indicated by CD86 of B cells from SLE is well known, while the defect of regulatory B cells mediated by CD1d is also responsible for the process of SLE. In the present study, we focused on the relationship between B cell activation mediated by CD86 and B cell regulatory function mediated by CD1d. Our results showed that the level of CD1d in B cells was decreased during the early stages of B6.MRLlpr SLE mice and imiquimod-treated (IMQ-treated) mice, while the level of CD86 was significantly increased at the late stage. Moreover, the expression of CD1d showed a significantly negative correlation with CD86 level in B cells from IMQ-treated mice (r = -05741; P = 0.0022), B6.MRLlpr mice (r = -0.7091; P = 0.0268), and SLE patients (r = -0.4125; P = 0.0404). The in vivo and in vitro experiments with splenocytes demonstrated that CD1d signaling pathway could inhibit toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)-induced CD86 expression of B cells. Further studies showed that this relationship also affected antibody production. Thus, our results confirmed the association of CD1d and CD86 levels in B cells from SLE, and demonstrated the importance to preserve the immunoregulatory function of B cells mediated by CD1d in the progression of SLE.

The ability to accurately estimate the location and geometry of holes is often required in the field of quality control and automated assembly. Projected fringe profilometry is a potentially attractive technique on account of being non-contacting, of lower cost, and orders of magnitude faster than the traditional coordinate measuring machine (CMM). However, we demonstrate in this paper that fringe projection is susceptible to significant (hundreds of µm) measurement artefacts in the neighbourhood of hole edges, which give rise to errors of a similar magnitude in the estimated hole geometry. A mechanism for the phenomenon is identified based on the finite size of the imaging system’s point spread function and the resulting bias produced near to sample discontinuities in geometry and reflectivity. A mathematical model is proposed, from which a post-processing compensation algorithm is developed to suppress such errors around the holes. The algorithm includes a robust and accurate sub-pixel edge detection method based on a Fourier descriptor of the hole contour. The proposed algorithm was found to reduce significantly the measurement artefacts near the hole edges. As a result, the errors in estimated hole radius were reduced by up to one order of magnitude, to a few tens of µm for hole radii in the range 2-15 mm, compared to those from the uncompensated measurements.

A high Er3+-doped narrow linewidth fiber laser based on fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot cavity was demonstrated. The spatial hole burning effect was restrained by a fiber Faraday rotator. Two short fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot cavities as narrow bandwidth filters discriminated and selected laser longitudinal modes efficiently. A stable single-frequency 1534.83 nm laser was acquired. Pumped by two 976 nm laser diodes and two-ended output, the fiber laser exhibited a 12 mW threshold. Total 39.5 mW output power and one end 22 mW output power were obtained at the maximum 145 mW pump power. Optical-optical efficiency was 27% and slope efficiency was 29.7%. The output power seemed to be saturated when pump power increased. The 3 dB linewidth of the laser was less than 7.5 kHz, measured by the delayed self-heterodyne method with 15 km monomode fiber. The high power narrow linewidth fiber laser can be used in high resolution fiber sensor systems.

The neovascularization of ischemic tis- sue is a crucial initial step for the functional rehabili- tation and wound healing. However, the short of seed cell candidate for the foundation of vascular network is still a big issue. Human adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs), which possess multilineage potential, are capable of adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation. We examined whether this kind of stem cells could dif- ferentiate into endothelial-like cells and participate in blood vessel formation, and whether they could be used as an ideal cell source for therapeutic angio- genesis in ischemic diseases or vascularization of tissue constructs. The results showed that hADSCs, grown under appropriately induced conditions, dis- played characteristics similar to those of vessel en- dothelium. The differentiated cells expressed endo- thelial cell markers CD34 and vWF, and had high metabolism of acetylated low-density lipoprotein and prostacyclin. In addition, the induced cells were able to form tube-like structures when cultured on matrigel. Our data indicated that induced hADSCs could ex- hibit characteristics of endothelial cells. Therefore, these cells, as a source of human endothelial cells, may find many applications in such realms as engi- neering blood vessels, endothelial cell transplantation for myocardial regeneration, and induction of angio- genesis for treatment of regional ischemia.

The functional realization is the most important problem in vascular tissue engineering. The small-caliber blood vessel substitutes are prone to thrombi, which results in functional loss of blood vessels. However, this is probably due to the imperfection of endothelial layer in the substitutes. In this study, MSCs were seeded on a series of porous PLGA films with various porosity and pore size made by sodium chloride (NaCl) particulate leaching, and cell proliferation on each film was inspected. The film made of the 75% (w/w) particulate proportion and 30–50 μm pore size maximized the proliferation rate and was chosen as the scaffolds for the differentiation of MSCs into endothelial cells. The induced cells expressed endothelial cells specific Flk-1, VIII factor and CD34, possessed endothelial cells specific Weible-palade (W-P) body, and had the abilities of ingesting low density lipoprotein and secreting prostacyclin (PGI2). The results show that MSCs not only have the ideal biological compatibility with the porous PLGA films, but also have the potency of differentiating into functional endothelial cells, which should facilitate the endothelialization in vascular tissue engineering.