4.1 W continuous-wave and broadly wavelength tunable Tm-doped laser in 2.1-2.4 µm spectral region based on vibronic and electronic transitions.

Efficient diode-pumped continuous-wave (CW) and wavelength tunable Tm:YAP lasers based on the vibronic and electronic transitions are investigated. A total maximum output power of 4.1 W is achieved with multi-wavelength output around 2162 nm and 2274 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 29.8% for a 3 at. % Tm:YAP crystal. A maximum output power of 2.48 W with a slope efficiency of 25.4% is obtained at 2146 nm for a 4 at. % Tm:YAP crystal. Using a birefringent filter (BF), the emission wavelengths of the Tm:YAP laser are tuned over spectral ranges of 59 nm from 2115 nm to 2174 nm and 127 nm from 2267 nm to 2394 nm, respectively, which is the first demonstration of wavelength tunable Tm:YAP laser based on the electronic transition 3H4→3H5 and vibronic transition 3F4→3H6, to the best of our knowledge. The results show great potentials of the Tm:YAP crystal for realizing efficient lasers in the spectral range of 2.1-2.4 µm.

Pseudo-Eutectic of Isodimorphism to Design Biaxially-Oriented Bio-Based PA56/512 with High Strength, Toughness and Barrier Performances.

The biaxially-oriented PA56/512 has excellent mechanical strength, extensibility and water-oxygen barrier properties and has broad application prospects in green packaging, lithium battery diaphragm and medical equipment materials. The correlation between the aggregation structure evolution and macroscopic comprehensive properties of copolymer PA56/512 under biaxial stretching has been demonstrated in this work. The structure of the random copolymerization sequence was characterized by 13C Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The typical isodimorphism behavior of the co-crystallization system of PA56/512 and its BOPA-56/512 films was revealed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests. And the aggregation structure, including the hydrogen bond arrangement, crystal structure and crystal morphology of PA56/512 before and after biaxial stretching, was investigated by XRD, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) tests. Furthermore, the effect of the biaxially-oriented stretching process on the mechanical properties of PA56/512 has been demonstrated. In addition, a deep insight into the influence of the structure on the crystallization process and physical-mechanical performance has been presented. The lowest melting point at a 512 content of 60 mol% is regarded as a "eutectic" point of the isodimorphism system. Due to the high disorder of the structural units in the polymer chain, the transition degree of the folded chain (gauche conformation) is relatively lowest when it is straightened to form an extended chain (trans conformation) during biaxially-oriented stretching, and part of the folded chain can be retained. This explains why biaxially stretched PA56/512 has high strength, outstanding toughness and excellent barrier properties at the pseudo-eutectic point. In this study, using the unique multi-scale aggregation structure characteristics of a heterohomodymite polyamide at the pseudo-eutectic point, combined with the new material design scheme and the idea of biaxial-stretching processing, a new idea for customized design of high-performance multifunctional polyamide synthetic materials is provided.

All-solid-state ultrafast 2 µm laser with 1.83 W output power.

In this paper, a high-power all-solid-state ultrafast 2 µm mode-locked laser is investigated. The particularity of this laser is the simultaneous utilization of two Tm:YAP crystals in the same resonant cavity, independently pumped by two laser diodes. Using a 20% output coupler, pulses with output power as high as 1.83 W are achieved at a wavelength of 1938 nm with a pulse duration of 1.97 ps and a pulse repetition frequency of 100 MHz. To our knowledge, this mode-locked laser achieves the highest output power of any mode-locked Tm:YAP ultrafast laser reported to date. In addition, this paper provides a new approach to solve the problem of low output power due to multi-mode low-brightness laser diode pumping.

Sarcosine dehydrogenase as an immune infiltration-associated biomarker for the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

This study was aimed to investigate the prognostic value and clinical significance of sarcosine dehydrogenase (SARDH) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to explore the underlying mechanisms. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), HPA and CPTAC databases were adopted to analyze the expression of SARDH mRNA and protein between normal liver tissue and HCC, and examine their relationship with clinicopathological features. Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox regression, as well as nomogram were adopted to explore the prognostic value of SARDH in HCC. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Gene and Genome Encyclopedia (KEGG) together with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were adopted to analyze the molecular mechanisms and biological functions of SARDH in HCC; while MethSurv, STRING, GeneMANIA, TIMER database data and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm were used for other bioinformatic analysis. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry was used to verify the expression of SARDH. Compared to normal liver tissue, SARDH expression was markedly lower in HCC. A lower SARDH expression was linked with Pathologic T stage (T3&T4), pathologic stage (Stage III&IV), and histologic grade (G3&4), which further indicates worse prognosis. Besides, results of bioinformatic analysis proved that SARDH expression was correlated with immune infiltration. In addition, SARDH hypermethylation was related to a poorer prognosis. SARDH expression was related to several key genes in the Ferroptosis pathway.

67†mJ, 137†ns narrow bandwidth 355†nm UV laser.

A high-efficiency, high-energy, narrow bandwidth, hundred-nanosecond pulse width 355 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser was realized. A high-energy single-frequency 1064 nm fundamental laser was demonstrated firstly with multistage end-pumped preamplifiers and side-pumped main amplifiers. The corresponding pulse energy, repetition rate, pulse duration, bandwidth, and beam quality factor M2 were determined to be 221 mJ, 100 Hz, 156 ns, 2.25 MHz, and 1.23, respectively. By using type-I phase-matching LBO crystal for second harmonic generation (SHG) and type-II phase-matching LBO crystal for the sum frequency generation of the third harmonic, 67 mJ, a narrow bandwidth 355 nm UV laser was obtained with a pulse width of 137 ns and an energy stability of RMS < 1.2%@2 h. The fundamental to UV optical conversion efficiency was 30.3%. Our results provided a new way for generating high-energy, narrow bandwidth hundred-nanosecond 355 nm UV lasers used for direct-detection Doppler wind lidar (DWL) system.

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Sepsis is a major disease that threatens human life and health. Clinically, it is mainly based on supportive treatment and lacks specific treatment methods. Acupuncture has important clinical significance in the prevention and treatment of sepsis. In the present paper, we systematically searched CNKI and PubMed databases, included the clinical trials and animal experiments on the prevention and treatment of sepsis with acupuncture, summarized the clinical efficacy and the mechanism of acupuncture. Results indicate that the role of acupuncture therapies in improving sepsis involves inhibiting systemic inflammatory response, alleviating oxidative stress, regulating immune system, and resisting cell apoptosis, thus having a protective effect on multiple organs. The mechanism involves multiple signaling pathways and related factors.

A radiomics model based on magnetic resonance imaging to predict cytokeratin 7/19 expression and liver fluke infection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer. HCC with liver fluke infection could harbor unique biological behaviors. This study was aimed at investigating radiomics features of HCC with liver fluke infection and establishing a model to predict the expression of cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and cytokeratin 19 (CK19) as well as prognosis at the same time. A total of 134 HCC patients were included. Gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of all patients were acquired. Radiomics features of the tumor were extracted and then data dimensionality was reduced. The radiomics model was established to predict liver fluke infection and the radiomics score (Radscore) was calculated. There were 11 features in the four-phase combined model. The efficiency of the combined model increased significantly compared to each single-phase MRI model. Radscore was an independent predictor of liver fluke infection. It was also significantly different between different expression of CK7/ CK19. Meanwhile, liver fluke infection was associated with CK7/CK19 expression. A cut-off value was set up and all patients were divided into high risk and low risk groups of CK7/CK19 positive expression. Radscore was also an independent predictor of these two biomarkers. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) of negative liver fluke infection group were significantly better than the positive group. OS and RFS of negative CK7 and CK19 expression were also better, though not significantly. Positive liver fluke infection and CK19 expression prediction groups harbored significantly worse OS and RFS, survival of positive CK7 expression prediction was unsatisfying as well. A radiomics model was established to predict liver fluke infection among HCC patients. This model could also predict CK7 and CK19 expression. OS and RFS could be foreseen by this model at the same time.

SART3, regulated by p53, is a biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis and immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the role of squamous cell carcinoma antigen recognized by T cells 3 (SART3) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: SART3 expression and prognostic value were analyzed in TCGA and GEO datasets. The diagnostic value and prognostic significance of SART3 were determined using immunohistochemistry in the Guangxi cohort. The whole-exome mutation spectrum of SART3 was analyzed in high and low expression groups in both TCGA and Guangxi cohorts. The biological functions of the SART3 gene were validated through in vitro experiments using small interfering RNA technology to downregulate SART3 expression in HCC cell lines. RESULTS: SART3 expression was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in adjacent noncancerous liver tissues in TCGA, GEO and Guangxi cohorts. High expression of SART3 was significantly associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. In TCGA and Guangxi cohorts, the expression of SART3 in the TP53 mutation group was significantly higher than that in the non-mutation group. Downregulation of SART3 expression significantly inhibited the migration and proliferation of HCC cells. SART3 may be involved mainly in immune infiltration of Th2 cells and macrophages in HCC. Additionally, SART3 can upregulate the expression of immune checkpoints (PD-L1 and TIM-3) and predict potential therapeutic agents for HCC. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrate the diagnostic and prognostic value of SART3 in HCC. SART3 may be associated with immune infiltration of Th2 cells and macrophages in HCC, highlighting its potential role in the development and progression of HCC.

Prognostic value and potential molecular mechanism of ITGB superfamily members in hepatocellular carcinoma.

We analyzed the prognostic value and potential molecular mechanisms of the members of integrin ß (ITGB)superfamily in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), cBioPortal, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), Human Protein Atlas (HPA) HPA, Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins, GeneMANIA, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), TIMER and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) databases. ITGB4/5 mRNA was upregulated in HCC tissues in contrast to the normal liver tissues, whereas ITGB2/3/8 levels were lower in the former. ITGB4 was the most frequently mutated ITGB gene in HCC. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showed that the expression levels of ITGB2/3/4/5/7/8 had significant diagnostic value in distinguishing HCC tissues from healthy liver tissues, ITGB8 had the highest diagnostic efficacy. The ITGB1/3/6/8 were also upregulated in the HCC tissues in contrast to healthy liver tissues. The expression of ITGB8 was verified by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Furthermore, ITGB6 and ITGB7 expression levels were strongly associated with the overall survival (OS) of HCC patients. The ITGB superfamily members exhibited homology and interactions in protein structure. In addition, ITGB6 together with ITGB7 were negatively related to the infiltration of multiple immune cell populations. GSEA results showed that ITGB6 was enriched in HCC migration and recurrence, whereas ITGB7 was significantly enriched in HIPPO, TOLL and JAK-STAT signaling pathways. In conclusion, ITGB6 and ITGB7 genes are possible to be prognostic biomarkers for HCC.

Multi-pulse dynamic patterns in a mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser based on an Sb2S3-PVA saturable absorber.

Multi-pulse dynamic patterns have been experimentally documented in a passively mode-locked (PML) erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser using an Sb2S3-PVA saturable absorber (SA). The fundamental mode-locking operation, with a repetition rate of ∼3.22 MHz, a pulse width of ∼2.5 ps, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of ∼50 dB and a peak power over 200 W, was achieved under a pump power from 280 to 360 mW with appropriate polarization states introduced by the polarization controllers (PCs). By rotating the orientation of the intra-cavity PCs carefully and slowly at a pump power of 350 mW, it was found that a multi-pulse bunch was transformed gradually from a single-pulse to a twelve-pulse bunch, with several intermediate transition states of multi-pulse bunches being observed. In addition, other characteristic modes including disordered multi-pulses and soliton rains have been experimentally observed by meticulously adjusting the polarization states of PCs at a pump power of 350 mW. Our systematic study clearly demonstrates that Sb2S3has potential as an effective SA for generating different operation states of multi-pulses in PML anomalous-dispersion EDF lasers.

Pencil-like Hollow Carbon Nanotubes Embedded CoP-V4P3 Heterostructures as a Bifunctional Catalyst for Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is one of the most efficient ways of producing green hydrogen energy. The design of stable, active, and efficient electrocatalysts plays a crucial role in water splitting for achieving efficient energy conversion from electrical to hydrogen energy, aimed at solving the lingering energy crisis. In this work, CNT composites modified with CoP-V4P3 composites (CoVO-10-CNT-450P) were formed by carbonising a pencil-like precursor (Co3V2O8-H2O) and growing carbon nanotubes in situ, followed by in situ phosphorylation on the carbon nanotubes. In the HER electrocatalytic process, an overpotential of only 124 mV was exhibited at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. In addition, as an OER catalyst, a low overpotential of 280 mV was attained at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Moreover, there was no noticeable change in the performance of the catalyst over a 90 h test in a continuous total water splitting experiment. The unique electronic structure and hollow carbon nanotube structure of CoVO-10-CNT-450P effectively increased the catalytic active sites, while also significantly improving the electrocatalytic activity. This work provides theoretical guidance for the design and synthetic route of high-performance non-precious metal electrocatalysts, and actively promotes the commercial application of electrochemical water splitting.

Nucleoporin 107 is a prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma associated with immune infiltration.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic value and clinical significance of nucleoporin 107 (NUP107) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and explore the possible mechanisms. METHODS: The transcriptomic and clinical data of HCC patients were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO databases. Tissue specimens were collected from HCC patients in the Guangxi area. According to the expression levels and prognostic characteristics of NUP107, ROC curves and nomogram models were constructed using the R package. RESULTS: NUP107 was highly expressed in 26 human cancers including HCC, and was associated with advanced HCC staging and worse prognosis. NUP107 showed satisfactory ability to predict the prognosis of HCC patients (AUC >0.8). Results of gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) further showed that NUP107 was mainly associated with cell cycle-related pathways such as the cell cycle, DNA replication, G2M checkpoint, E2F target, and mitotic spindle. In addition, NUP107 was also associated with immune infiltration in HCC and showed significant positive correlation with immune checkpoints (PD-L1 and TIM-3).

2-µm nonlinear post-compression for generating ∼100-MHz few-cycle laser pulses with watt-level average power.

We firstly report a high pulse repetition rate (101.4 MHz) nonlinear post-compression based on the normal dispersion fiber (NDF) operating in 2-µm wavelength region. With only one-stage NDF-based nonlinear pulse compressor, the 2-µm ultrafast laser pulses are compressed from ∼460 fs down to 70 fs, corresponding to ∼10.4 optical oscillation cycle. With two-stage nonlinear pulse compressor, the input ultrafast laser pulses are further compressed to 28.3 fs (∼4.3 optical oscillation cycle). In each case, the average power of the compressed 2-µm laser pulses exceeds 1 W, which is believed to be the highest average power never achieved at ∼100-MHz pulse repetition rate. The efficiencies of the one-stage and two-stage nonlinear pulse compressors are 64% and 47% respectively.

Self-Q-switched Er:Lu2O3 laser at 2.74 µm.

A diode-pumped self-Q-switched 2.74 µm Er:Lu2O3 crystal solid-state laser has been experimentally and theoretically studied. Without any additional modulation elements, stable self-Q-switched pulses with a pulse width of 145.3 ns, a repetition rate of 227.8 kHz, and an average output power of 877 mW were generated. Considering the excited-state absorption on the laser photons of the Er:Lu2O3 crystal, we have simulated the dynamic process of self-pulsed generation by solving the rate equations numerically. The simulation results are consistent with the typical characteristics of a Q-switched laser.

Exploring links between Chinese military recruits' psychological stress and coping style from the person-environment fit perspective: The chain mediating effect of self-efficacy and social support.

The choice of coping style of recruits under psychological stress in the process of military task execution has been an important topic in the promotion of military operations and cohesion of military forces. Taking a positive coping style under psychological stress can help recruits overcome the negative effects of stress and improve military morale and group combat effectiveness. Although soldiers' psychological stress in the process of military mission execution having an impact on coping style has been studied by a large body of literature, very little literature has focused on the mechanism of self-efficacy and social support between recruits' psychological stress and coping style from the person-environment fit perspective. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the impact of recruits' psychological stress on coping style through a chain mediation model and to discuss the role of self-efficacy and social support in this relationship. Two waves of survey data were utilized to test the research hypotheses on a sample of 1028 Chinese recruits performing military tasks. The results indicated that recruits' psychological stress negatively impacted positive coping styles and positively correlated with negative ones. In addition, self-efficacy and social support mediated the relationship between psychological stress and positive coping style, and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between psychological stress and negative coping style. More importantly, self-efficacy and social support play the chain mediating effect between psychological stress and positive coping style.

Diode-pumped Tm3+,Ho3+ co-doped GAGG mode-locking laser near the 2.1µm wavelength region.

In this paper, a laser diode (LD) pumped passive mode-locking Tm,Ho:GAGG laser based on a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) is reported. By adjusting the group delay dispersions inside the laser cavity and transmissions of the output couplers (OCs), a shortest pulse duration of 10.84 ps at 2089.9 nm is achieved, the average output power is 33.17 mW and the laser runs at a 83.01 MHz repetition rate. A maximum average output power of 66.43 mW is also obtained at 2089.9 nm with a pulse duration of 16.56 ps by using an OC of 3%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the mode-locking Tm,Ho:GAGG laser.

Modified Frantz-Nodvik equation and numerical simulation of a high-power Innoslab picosecond laser amplifier.

A modified Frantz-Nodvik (F-N) equation and a simple one-dimensional unfolded slicing model for numerically simulating high-power Innoslab picosecond amplifier are developed for the first time. The anisotropic stimulated emission cross-section of laser crystal, the influence of the tilted optical path, the spatial overlap of the seed and pump laser, as well as the pump absorption saturation effect are considered. Based on the as-developed model, 4-, 6- and 8-pass schemes high-power Nd:YVO4 Innoslab picosecond amplifiers are designed with output powers of 76.2 W, 81.4 W, and 85.5 W, respectively. The experimental results agree well with that of numerical simulation, indicating that our model is a powerful tool and paves a new way for designing and optimizing high-power Innoslab picosecond laser amplifier.

Passively Mode-Locked Er-Doped Fiber Laser Based on Sb2S3-PVA Saturable Absorber.

In this paper, antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3) was successfully prepared with the liquid phase exfoliation method and embedded into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a saturable absorber (SA) in a passively mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser for the first time. Based on Sb2S3-PVA SA with a modulation depth of 4.0% and a saturable intensity of 1.545 GW/cm2, a maximum average output power of 3.04 mW and maximum peak power of 325.6 W for the stable mode-locked pulses was achieved with slope a efficiency of 0.87% and maximum single pulse energy of 0.81 nJ at a repetition rate of 3.47 MHz under a pump power of 369 mW. A minimum pulse width value of 2.4 ps with a variation range less than 0.1 ps, and a maximum signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 54.3 dB indicated reliable stability of mode-locking, revealing promising potentials of Sb2S3 as a saturable absorber in ultrafast all-fiber lasers.

Cascade MIR Ho:YLF laser at 2.1†µm and 2.9 µm.

Cascade transitions of Ho3+:5I6→5I7 and 5I7→5I8 provide a platform for a dual-wavelength mid-infrared (MIR) laser. In this paper, a continuous wave cascade MIR Ho:YLF laser operating at 2.1 and 2.9 µm is realized at room temperature. The total output power of 929 mW with 778 mW at 2.9 µm and 151 mW at 2.1 µm is obtained under the absorbed pump power of 5 W. Compared to the non-cascade mode, 2.9-µm lasing threshold is reduced by 10.3% and the slope efficiency is increased by 76.1% with the supports of cascade lasing at 2.1 µm. However, 2.9-µm lasing is the key population accumulation of the 5I7 level, which thus efficiently reduces the threshold and improves the output power of the 2.1-µm laser. Our results put forward a way for generating cascade dual-wavelength MIR lasing in Ho3+-doped crystals.

Experimental and Theoretical Study of an Actively Q-Switched Tm:YLF Laser with an Acousto-Optic Modulator.

We report the characteristics of a diode-end-pumped, high-repetition-rate, acoustic-optic (AO) Q-switched Tm:YLF laser operating from 5 kHz to 10 kHz. In the continuous-wave (CW) regime, a maximum average output power of 8.5 W was obtained with a slope efficiency of 30.7%. Under the AO Q-switching regime, a maximum output power of 7.32 W was obtained at a repetition frequency of 5 kHz with a pulse width of 68 ns and a pulse energy of 1.4 mJ, corresponding to a peak power of 21.5 kW. A time-dependent rate equation model is introduced to theoretically analyze the results obtained in the experiment, in which the cross-relaxation phenomenon, upconversion losses and ground-state depletion are taken into account. Additionally, the evolution processes of population inversion density and intracavity photon number density with time are also presented. The theoretical results well predict the dependence of laser output characteristics of Tm:YLF crystal on the incident pump powers.