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The multicore fiber amplifier, as a key component in spatial division multiplexing (SDM) communication systems, presents higher technical difficulty compared to traditional multi-channel single core fiber amplifiers, which has sparked widespread attention. To achieve balance, efficiency, miniaturization, and cost-effectiveness in the performance of multi-core optical fiber amplifiers, we propose an innovative triple cladding 13-core Er/Yb co-doped microstructured fiber (13CEYDMOF). The proposed fiber features an outer cladding with peanut-shaped air holes, which enables uniform excitation of the 13 cores using a single multimode laser pump source within the inner cladding. This approach also prevents damage or aging of the fiber’s outer coating due to the pump laser. Furthermore, the design of Peanut-Shaped Air Holes effectively increases the numerical aperture (NA) of the inner cladding while reducing the outer diameter of the fiber, enhancing the fiber’s mechanical flexibility. To address the coupling difficulties caused by air holes, we bi-directionally pump the 13CEYDMOFA by utilizing a combined technique of the side winding and end pumping. The experimental results show that the 13CEYDMOFA can achieve an average gain of 23.8 dB, a noise figure (NF) of ∼4.6 dB, and an inter-core gain difference of less than 2 dB in the wavelength range of 1529–1565 nm. The in-line amplified transmission experiment demonstrates that the 13CEYDMOFA is well suited for the 13 spatial channels transmission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to realize high performance telecommunication band amplification in a multicore microstructure fiber.

Objective: To investigate the clinical features, endoscopic manifestations, and genetic characteristics of a child with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome(WAS) and Crohn′s disease, so as to provide reference for clinical diagnosis. Methods: The clinical manifestations, biological indicators, endoscopic characters, therapy, and follow-up of a child with Crohn′s disease combined with WAS were analyzed retrospectively. And literature was searched from PubMed, Wanfang Data, and CNKI. Results: A 6-year-old boy had recurrent abdominal pain, hematochezia for one month, and had perianal abscess for about half a month. He also had thrombocytopenia since infancy. Complete blood cell count showed moderate anemia (Hb 70 g/L) and decreased platelets (77×109/L). The boy had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (71 mm/h) and fecal calprotectin (>1 800 μg/g). Colonoscopy showed multiple ulcers in colon and the pathological examination revealed chronic inflammation in mucosa of the terminal ileum and colon, some of which were accompanied by microabscess and crypt abscesses. The child was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. A splicing mutation (c.777+3_777+6 del GAGT) was identified in the exon 8 of WAS gene by next-generation sequencing. Consequently, the child was definitely diagnosed as WAS combined with Crohn′s disease. There were 9 relevant articles, showing that all 16 patients had childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (1 day to 14.9 years old), and 10 of them were accompanied by thrombocytopenia. Various treatments, including drugs, surgery, and bone marrow transplantation were required. Seven patients were followed up, and three of them died. Conclusions: For children with IBD, particularly those with very early-onset inflammatory bowel disease, the possibility of monogenic diseases should be taken into account. If a male child with IBD have thrombocytopenia since childhood, the WAS gene should be detected.

Aqueous Zn‐ion batteries have emerged as promising candidates for large‐scale energy storage owing to their high safety and low cost. However, dendrite growth and side reactions compromise the stability of the Zn anode in practical applications. Here, a novel Zn anode featuring well‐designed crystal steps along the (002) facets, referred to as Step‐Zn is introduced. The intersections of the (002) and (100) planes in these crystal steps create preferential adsorption sites for Zn2⁺ ions, promoting initial electro‐epitaxial growth of Zn that uniformly covers the crystal steps. This process effectively regulates subsequent Zn deposition, ensuring fast reaction kinetics and smooth morphology without dendrite formation. Consequently, the unique Step‐Zn anode exhibits excellent cycle life over 6000 times at 3 mA cm−2 and low greatly reduced polarization voltage under high areal currents and capacities. Integrated with activated carbon (AC) cathode, the Step‐Zn||AC full cell demonstrates excellent durability over 10 000 cycles at 5 A g−1. This work offers valuable insights into controlling Zn deposition modes by engineering the surface microstructure of Zn anodes with greatly extended cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant Shh signaling promotes tumor growth in diverse cancers. The importance of Shh signaling is particularly evident in medulloblastoma and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), where inhibitors targeting the Shh pathway component Smoothened (Smo) show great therapeutic promise. However, the emergence of drug resistance limits long-term efficacy, and the mechanisms of resistance remain poorly understood. Using new medulloblastoma models, we identify two distinct paradigms of resistance to Smo inhibition. Sufu mutations lead to maintenance of the Shh pathway in the presence of Smo inhibitors. Alternatively activation of the RAS-MAPK pathway circumvents Shh pathway dependency, drives tumor growth, and enhances metastatic behavior. Strikingly, in BCC patients treated with Smo inhibitor, squamous cell cancers with RAS/MAPK activation emerged from the antecedent BCC tumors. Together, these findings reveal a critical role of the RAS-MAPK pathway in drug resistance and tumor evolution of Shh pathway-dependent tumors.

Utilizing the abundant kaolin resources within coal gangue is economically beneficial, although the iron-containing phase in the minerals hampers the value of its utilization. In the present study, CaCl2 served as the chlorination agent for iron removal from coal gangue through chlorination roasting. The study revealed that when the roasting temperature is below 800 °C, CaCl2 decomposes into HCl and reacts with the iron content to form chloride, which then volatilizes. Comparatively, when the roasting temperature exceeds 800 °C, CaCl2 will decompose to produce HCl and Cl2 to accelerate the volatilization of iron. Through non-isothermal kinetic analysis, the apparent activation energy for iron removal by chlorination roasting of coal gangue was found to be 82.42 KJ/mol, and the pre-exponential factor was 6329.3 s−1. Correspondingly, isothermal kinetic analysis revealed the apparent activation energy of 84.2 KJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor of 6310.7 s−1. The optimal reaction kinetic mechanism function for iron removal through chlorination roasting of coal gangue was identified as the F3 chemical reaction order model via above kinetic analysis. The integral took the form g(α) = (1-α))2–1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]