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A Janus metastructure (MS) assisted by a waveguide structure (WGS) resting on anapole modes and exhibiting direction-dependent behavior has been developed in the terahertz (THz) region. Ultra-broadband absorption is formed by the destructive interference through the anapole as well as Janus trait and is shaped by nested WGS. In this design, vanadium dioxide (VO2) is expected to attain functional transformation from plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) to absorption. The insulating nature of the VO2 results in the creation of the PIT, which is characterized by a wide and high transmission window ranging from 1.944 THz to 2.284 THz, corresponding to the relative bandwidth of 7.4% above 0.9. However, when the VO2 reaches the metallic state, a high absorptivity of 0.921 at 2.154 THz can be implemented in the −z-direction owing to the excitement of the toroidal dipole and electric dipole moments in the near-infrared region. And in the +z-direction, the broadband absorption above 0.9 in the 1.448–2.497 THz range takes shape in virtue of surface plasmon polariton modes, in which intensely localized oscillation of free electrons is confined to the metal–dielectric interface supported by the WGS. Noting that the MS is equipped with a favorable sensitivity to the incidence angle, we develop an ultra-broadband backward absorption in the TM mode from 0.7–10 THz nearly all above 0.9 when the incidence angle changes from 30°–70°. Moreover, owing to the highly symmetrical structure, the MS exhibits exotic polarization angular stability. All the awesome properties make this MS a good candidate for various applications such as in electromagnetic wave steering, spectral analysis, and sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Germanium (Ge) metastructure with switching features from broadband plasmon‐induced transparency (PIT) and electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) is presented, which forms a broadband PIT through the near‐field coupling between the localized plasmon resonance and the Mie resonance employing four gold cut wires as bright plasmon resonators and four C‐shaped dielectric rings as dark plasmon resonators. A wide transparent window above 0.9 is achieved covering from 0.622 to 0.823 THz with a relative bandwidth of 27.8%. In addition, through phase modulation, a magnetic dipole is generated by the constructive interference of the near‐field coupling of the three resonators to realize the PIT to EIA conversion. In addition, a grid‐like metastructure is introduced to realize the PIT to EIA conversion by phase modulation. To enhance the EIA bandwidth, another layer of C‐shaped reflection plate resonator is introduced to increase the dark mode loss, and a layer of frequency selective surface composed of cross‐shaped resonators is also used. Thus under the dual effect, a wide absorption window above 0.75 is achieved covering from 0.647 to 0.756 THz with a relative bandwidth of 15.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Super-responders (SRs) to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) regain near-normal or normal cardiac function. The extent of cardiac synchrony of SRs and whether continuous biventricular (BIV) pacing is needed remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac electrical and mechanical synchrony of SRs., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed CRT recipients between 2008 and 2016 in 2 centers to identify SRs, whose left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was increased to ≥50% at follow-up. Cardiac synchrony was evaluated in intrinsic and BIV-paced rhythms. Electrical synchrony was estimated by QRS duration and LV mechanical synchrony by single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging., Results: Seventeen SRs were included with LV ejection fraction increased from 33.0 ± 4.6% to 59.3 ± 6.3%. The intrinsic QRS duration after super-response was 148.8 ± 30.0 ms, significantly shorter than baseline (174.8 ± 11.9 ms, P = 0.004, t = -3.379) but longer than BIV-paced level (135.5 ± 16.7 ms, P = 0.042, t = 2.211). Intrinsic LV mechanical synchrony significantly improved after super-response (phase standard deviation [PSD], 51.1 ± 16.5° vs. 19.8 ± 8.1°, P < 0.001, t = 5.726; phase histogram bandwidth (PHB), 171.7 ± 64.2° vs. 60.5 ± 22.9°, P < 0.001, t = 5.376) but was inferior to BIV-paced synchrony (PSD, 19.8 ± 8.1° vs. 15.2 ± 6.4°, P = 0.005, t = 3.414; PHB, 60.5 ± 22.9° vs. 46.0 ± 16.3°, P = 0.009, t = 3.136)., Conclusions: SRs had significant improvements in cardiac electrical and LV mechanical synchrony. Since intrinsic synchrony of SRs was still inferior to BIV-paced rhythm, continued BIV pacing is needed to maintain longstanding and synchronized contraction.

Sleepiness affects normal social life, which attracts more and more attention. Circadian phenotypes contribute to obvious individual differences in susceptibility to sleepiness. We aimed to identify candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which may cause circadian phenotypes, elucidate the potential mechanisms, and generate corresponding SNP-gene-pathways. A genome-wide association studies (GWAS) dataset of circadian phenotypes was utilized in the study. Then, the Identify Candidate Causal SNPs and Pathways analysis was employed to the GWAS dataset after quality control filters. Furthermore, genotype-phenotype association analysis was performed with HapMap database. Four SNPs in three different genes were determined to correlate with usual weekday bedtime, totally providing seven hypothetical mechanisms. Eleven SNPs in six genes were identified to correlate with usual weekday sleep duration, which provided six hypothetical pathways. Our results demonstrated that fifteen candidate SNPs in eight genes played vital roles in six hypothetical pathways implicated in usual weekday bedtime and six potential pathways involved in usual weekday sleep duration.