Extracellular Matrix Remodelling of the Periodontium under Orthodontic Force.

As the biological mechanisms of orthodontic tooth movement have been explored further, scholars have gradually focused on the remodelling mechanism of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the periodontal ligament (PDL). The ECM of the PDL consists of various types of collagens and other glycoproteins. The specific process and mechanism of ECM remodelling during orthodontic tooth movement remains unclear. Collagen I and III, which constitute major components of the PDL, are upregulated under orthodontic force. The changes in the contents of ECM proteins also depend on the expression of ECM-related enzymes, which organise new collagen fibre networks to adapt to changes in tooth position. The matrix metalloproteinase family is the main enzyme that participates in collagen hydrolysis and renewal and changes its expression under orthodontic force. Moreover, ECM adhesion molecules, such as integrins, are also regulated by orthodontic force and participate in the dynamic reaction of cell adhesion and separation with the ECM. This article reviews the changes in ECM components, related enzymes and adhesion molecules in the PDL under orthodontic force to lay the foundation for the exploration of the regulatory mechanism of ECM remodelling during orthodontic tooth movement.

Characterization of the UDP-glycosyltransferase UGT33D1 in silkworm Bombyx mori.

Uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are important metabolizing enzymes functioning by adding a sugar moiety to a small lipophilic substrate molecule and play critical roles in drug/toxin metabolism for all realms of life. In this study, the silkworm Bombyx mori UGT33D1 gene was characterized in detail. UGT33D1 was found localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) compartment just like other animal UGTs and was mainly expressed in the silkworm midgut. We first reported that UGT33D1 was important to BmNPV infection, as silencing UGT33D1 inhibited the BmNPV infection in silkworm BmN cells, while overexpressing the gene promoted viral infection. The molecular pathways regulated by UGT33D1 were analysed via transcriptome sequencing upon UGT33D1 knockdown, highlighting the important role of the gene in maintaining a balanced oxidoreductive state of the organism. In addition, proteins that physically interact with UGT33D1 were identified through immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis, which includes tubulin, elongation factor, certain ribosomal proteins, histone proteins and zinc finger proteins that had been previously reported for human UGT-interacting proteins. This study provided preliminary but important functional information on UGT33D1 and is hoped to trigger deeper investigations into silkworm UGTs and their functional mechanisms.

Silver-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Nitrooxylation of Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids.

Here, we present a silver-catalyzed decarboxylative nitrooxylation via a radical-based approach. The substrate scope of this reaction prototype extends to nonactivated primary and secondary carboxylic acids. This protocol provides a practical method for the synthesis of an unprecedented family of organic nitrates and exhibits wide functional group compatibility. Preliminary mechanistic studies reveal that a high-valent silver(II) nitrate complex is a versatile NO3 resource pool, allowing for facile C-O bond formation.

Vascular Plugs Improve Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation Occlusion over Coil Embolization Alone: A Proof-of-Concept Study using Dual Energy Computed Tomography.

PURPOSE: To evaluate efficacy of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) embolization using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) and spectral curve analysis by characterizing contrast enhancement and vascular perfusion as a surrogate of the degree of vascular occlusion after embolotherapy. METHODS: Nine consecutive adult patients underwent embolization for 21 PAVMs (size range 0.4-2.0cm; 15/21 simple angioarchitecture) and subsequent post-embolization chest DECT angiography. Twelve PAVMS were treated with vascular plugs ± coils, whereas nine PAVMs were treated with coils-only. Virtual spectral curves (VSC) were generated using dual-energy image post-processing in order to measure embolization effectiveness. RESULTS: Complete occlusion of target PAVM was achieved in all cases on digital subtraction angiography at the end of the embolization procedure. With a median follow-up of 12.7 months, the vascular plug group demonstrated significantly less vascular opacification compared to the coils-only group, as measured by opacification between upstream feeding artery and and different downstream vasculature locations (Δslope1: median 79.1 versus 28.6, p=0.0030; Δslope2: 76.4 versus 28.6, p=0.0197; Δslope3: 78.9 versus 28.6, p=0.0041). Persistence occurred in three PAVMs based on size criteria, which demonstrated higher vascular vascular opacification by DECT (Δslope1: 72 versus 28.6, p=0.253; Δslope2: 65.1 versus 32.7, p=0.326; Δslope3: 72.9 versus 53.5, p=0.733), although statistical significance was not reached. CONCLUSION: Similar to emerging literature, DECT showed improved occlusion in PAVMs treated with vascular plugs compared to coils alone.

Long-term Trends of Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics in a Subtropical Forest Responding to Environmental Changes.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics are critical to carbon cycling in forest ecosystems and sensitive to global change. Our study, spanning from 2001 to 2020 in a headwater catchment in subtropical China, analyzed DOC and water chemistry of throughfall, litter leachate, soil waters at various depths, and streamwater. We focused on DOC transport through hydrological pathways and assessed the long-term trends in DOC dynamics amidst environmental and climatic changes. Our results showed that the annual DOC deposition via throughfall and stream outflow was 14.2 ± 2.2 and 1.87 ± 0.83 g C m-2 year-1, respectively. Notably, there was a long-term declining trend in DOC deposition via throughfall (-0.195 mg C L-1 year-1), attributed to reduced organic carbon emissions from clean air actions. Conversely, DOC concentrations in soil waters and stream waters showed increasing trends, primarily due to mitigated acid deposition. Moreover, elevated temperature and precipitation could partly explain the long-term rise in DOC leaching. These trends in DOC dynamics have significant implications for the stability of carbon sink in terrestrial, aquatic, and even oceanic ecosystems at regional scales.

Comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic insights into simultaneous CO2 sequestration and nitrate removal by the Chlorella vulgaris and Pseudomonas sp. consortium.

Simultaneous CO2 sequestration and nitrate removal can be achieved by co-cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris with Pseudomonas sp. However, a comprehensive understanding of the synergistic mechanism between C. vulgaris and Pseudomonas sp. remains unknown. In this study, transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis were employed to elucidate the synergistic mechanism of C. vulgaris and Pseudomonas sp. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses identified 3664 differentially expressed genes and 314 metabolites. Transcriptome analysis revealed that co-culture with Pseudomonas sp. promoted the photosynthesis of C. vulgaris by promoting the synthesis of photosynthetic pigments and photosynthesis-antenna proteins. Furthermore, it stimulated pathways associated with energy metabolism from carbon sources, such as the Calvin cycle, glycolytic pathway, and TCA cycle. Additionally, Pseudomonas sp. reduced nitrate levels in the co-culture system by denitrification, and microalgae regulated nitrate uptake by down-regulating the transcript levels of nitrate transporter genes. Metabolomic analysis indicated that nutrient exchange was conducted between algae and bacteria, and amino acids, phytohormones, and organic heterocyclic compounds secreted by the bacteria promoted the growth metabolism of microalgae. After supplementation with differential metabolites, the carbon fixation rate and nitrate removal rate of the co-culture system reached 0.549 g L-1 d-1 and 135.4 mg L-1 d-1, which were increased by 20% and 8%, respectively. This study provides a theoretical insight into microalgae-bacteria interaction and its practical application, as well as a novel perspective on flue gas treatment management.

Genome-wide comparative analysis reveals selection signatures for reproduction traits in prolific Suffolk sheep.

The identification of genome-wide selection signatures can reveal the potential genetic mechanisms involved in the generation of new breeds through natural or artificial selection. In this study, we screened the genome-wide selection signatures of prolific Suffolk sheep, a new strain of multiparous mutton sheep, to identify candidate genes for reproduction traits and unravel the germplasm characteristics and population genetic evolution of this new strain of Suffolk sheep. Whole-genome resequencing was performed at an effective sequencing depth of 20× for genomic diversity and population structure analysis. Additionally, selection signatures were investigated in prolific Suffolk sheep, Suffolk sheep, and Hu sheep using fixation index (F ST) and heterozygosity H) analysis. A total of 5,236.338 Gb of high-quality genomic data and 28,767,952 SNPs were obtained for prolific Suffolk sheep. Moreover, 99 selection signals spanning candidate genes were identified. Twenty-three genes were significantly associated with KEGG pathway and Gene Ontology terms related to reproduction, growth, immunity, and metabolism. Through selective signal analysis, genes such as ARHGEF4, CATIP, and CCDC115 were found to be significantly correlated with reproductive traits in prolific Suffolk sheep and were highly associated with the mTOR signaling pathway, the melanogenic pathway, and the Hippo signaling pathways, among others. These results contribute to the understanding of the evolution of artificial selection in prolific Suffolk sheep and provide candidate reproduction-related genes that may be beneficial for the establishment of new sheep breeds.

Asiatic acid induces ferroptosis of RA-FLS via the Nrf2/HMOX1 pathway to relieve inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Ferroptosis is a distinct iron-dependent non-apoptotic type of programmed cell death that is implicated in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although asiatic acid (AA) is documented to have significant anti-inflammatory effects in various diseases, it is not known whether it can regulate RA via ferroptosis. METHODS: The effects of AA on rheumatoid arthritis fibroid-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) were assessed in vitro, and a rat model of type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was established to evaluate the effectiveness of AA treatment in vivo. RESULTS: AA significantly reduced both viability and colony formation in cultured RA-FLS, while increasing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ferrous iron (Fe2+), malondialdehyde (MDA), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as the expression of COX2. Furthermore, AA induced ferroptosis in RA-FLS by promoting Fe2+ accumulation through downregulation of the expression of Keap1 and FTH1 and upregulation of Nrf2 and HMOX1. In vivo, AA treatment was found to reduce toe swelling and the arthritis score in CIA rats, as well as relieve inflammation and ankle damage and significantly upregulate the expression of Nrf2 and HMOX1 in the synovial fluid. CONCLUSION: Treatment with AA significantly reduced the viability of RA-FLS and triggered ferroptosis by promoting accumulation of Fe2+via the Nrf2-HMOX1 pathway, and was effective in relieving inflammation in CIA model rats. These findings suggest that the use of AA may be a promising strategy for the clinical treatment of RA.

An Active Halide Catholyte Boosts the Extra Capacity for all-Solid-State Batteries.

Replacing flammable organic liquid electrolytes with nonflammable solid electrolytes (SEs) in lithium batteries is crucial for enhancing safety across various applications, including portable electronics, electric vehicles, and scalable energy storage. Since typical cathode materials do not possess superionic conductivity, Li-ion conduction in the cathode predominantly relies on incorporating a significant number of SEs as additives to form a composite cathode, which substantially compromises the energy density of solid-state lithium batteries. Here, we demonstrate a halide SE, Li3VCl6, which not only exhibits a decent Li+ conductivity, but more importantly, delivers a highly reversible capacity of approximately 80 mAh g-1 with an average voltage of 3 V versus Li+/Li. The ionic conductivity of Li3VCl6 experiences marginal fluctuations upon electrochemical lithiation/delithiation, as its prototypical solid-solution reaction results solely in a reduction of lithium vacancy. When combined with the traditional LiFePO4 cathode, the active Li3VCl6 catholyte enables an impressive capacity of 217.1 mAh g-1 LFP and about 50% increase in energy density compared with inactive catholytes. Harnessing the integrated mass of the catholyte-which can serve as an active material-presents an opportunity to boost the extra capacity, rendering it feasible in applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Dorsal raphe nucleus to basolateral amygdala 5-HTergic neural circuit modulates restoration of consciousness during sevoflurane anesthesia.

The advent of general anesthesia (GA) has significant implications for clinical practice. However, the exact mechanisms underlying GA-induced transitions in consciousness remain elusive. Given some similarities between GA and sleep, the sleep-arousal neural nuclei and circuits involved in sleep-arousal, including the 5-HTergic system, could be implicated in GA. Herein, we utilized pharmacology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, fiber photometry, and retrograde tracing to demonstrate that both endogenous and exogenous activation of the 5-HTergic neural circuit between the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) promotes arousal and facilitates recovery of consciousness from sevoflurane anesthesia. Notably, the 5-HT1A receptor within this pathway holds a pivotal role. Our findings will be conducive to substantially expanding our comprehension of the neural circuit mechanisms underlying sevoflurane anesthesia and provide a potential target for modulating consciousness, ultimately leading to a reduction in anesthetic dose requirements and side effects.

An atlas of human vector-borne microbe interactions reveals pathogenicity mechanisms.

Vector-borne diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide and pose a substantial unmet medical need. Pathogens binding to host extracellular proteins (the "exoproteome") represents a crucial interface in the etiology of vector-borne disease. Here, we used bacterial selection to elucidate host-microbe interactions in high throughput (BASEHIT)-a technique enabling interrogation of microbial interactions with 3,324 human exoproteins-to profile the interactomes of 82 human-pathogen samples, including 30 strains of arthropod-borne pathogens and 8 strains of related non-vector-borne pathogens. The resulting atlas revealed 1,303 putative interactions, including hundreds of pairings with potential roles in pathogenesis, including cell invasion, tissue colonization, immune evasion, and host sensing. Subsequent functional investigations uncovered that Lyme disease spirochetes recognize epidermal growth factor as an environmental cue of transcriptional regulation and that conserved interactions between intracellular pathogens and thioredoxins facilitate cell invasion. In summary, this interactome atlas provides molecular-level insights into microbial pathogenesis and reveals potential host-directed targets for next-generation therapeutics.

Discovery of a highly selective fluorescent probe for hydrogen peroxide and its biocompatibility evaluation and bioimaging applications in cells and zebrafish.

As one of the most widely distributed reactive oxygen species in vivo, hydrogen peroxide plays divergent and important roles in cell growth, differentiation and aging. When the level of hydrogen peroxide in the body is abnormal, it will lead to genome mutation and induce irreversible oxidative modification of proteins, lipids and polysaccharides, resulting in cell death or even disease. Therefore, it is significant to develop a sensitive and specific probe for real-time detection of hydrogen peroxide in vivo. In this study, the response mechanism between hydrogen peroxide and probe QH was investigated by means of HRMS and the probe showed good optical properties and high selectivity to hydrogen peroxide. Note that the evaluating of probe biocompatibility resulted from cytotoxicity test, behavioral test, hepatotoxicity test, cardiotoxicity test, blood vessel toxicity test, immunotoxicity test and neurotoxicity test using cell and transgenic zebrafish models with more than 20 toxic indices. Furthermore, the detection performance of the probe for hydrogen peroxide was evaluated by multiple biological models and the probe was proved to be much essential for the monitoring of hydrogen peroxide in vivo.

Aequorivita sediminis sp. nov. and Aequorivita marina sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment.

Two Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, strictly aerobic strains, forming yellow colonies and designated F6058T and S2608T, were isolated from marine sediment collected in Weihai, PR China. Both strains grow at 4-40 °C (optimum, 30-33 °C), pH 6.0-7.5 (optimum, pH 6.5) and in the presence of 0-7.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The optimum NaCl concentrations for strains F6058T and S2608T were 2.0 % and 2.5 %, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strains F6058T and S2608T share an evolutionary lineage with members of the genus Aequorivita. The isolates exhibited a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.7 % to each other. Strains F6058T exhibited the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Aequorivita xiaoshiensis F64183T (98.8 %), and S2608T was most similar to Aequorivita capsosiphonis A71T (96.9 %). Iso-C15:0, anteiso-C15:0 and iso-C17:0 3-OH were the major fatty acids of strains F6058T and S2608T. The sole respiratory quinone of both isolates was menaquinone 6 (MK-6). The polar lipid profiles of the isolates both consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphoglycolipids; however, strain F6058T exhibited one glycolipid, one aminolipid and two unidentified polar lipids, and strain S2608T also had two glycolipids and one unidentified polar lipid. The DNA G+C contents of strains F6058T and S2608T were 34.6 % and 37.7 mol%, respectively. Based on their phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genomic characteristics, strains F6058T and S2608T were considered to represent novel species of the genus Aequorivita, for which the names Aequorivita sediminis sp. nov. and Aequorivita marina sp. nov. were proposed. The type strains are F6058T (=KCTC 92653T=MCCC 1H01358T) and S2608T (KCTC 92652T=MCCC 1H01361T).

Accelerated Fibrosis Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy From High Uric Acid's Activation of the ROS/NLRP3/SHP2 Pathway in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells Under High Glucose Conditions.

Context: Elevated uric-acid levels in the blood are closely associated with hypertension, metabolic syndrome, diabetic nephropathy, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). A high-glucose diet promotes the accumulation of uric acid. Fibrosis commonly occurs in patients with late-stage type 1 or 2 diabetes and can lead to organ dysfunction. Objective: The study intended to investigate whether high uric acid under high glucose conditions can promote the fibrotic progression of diabetic nephropathy by activating the reactive oxygen species (ROS)/ "nod-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain containing 3" (NLRP3)/ "Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-2" (SHP2) pathway, which can promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in renal tubular epithelial cells. Design: The research team conducted an animal study. Setting: The study took place at the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University in Baoding, Hebei Province, China. Animals: The animals were 14 healthy, male, C57BL/6J mice. Outcome Measures: The research team: (1) using Masson's trichrome staining, examined the fibrosis of renal, tubular epithelial cells in the streptozotocin (STZ) modeling and the STZ modeling + uric-acid groups; (2) used Western Blot analysis to detect the protein expression of NLRP3, "nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2" (NOX2), NOX4, alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin 1 (FN-1), collagen-I, and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2/3 (SMAD2/3); (3) conducted in-vitro experiments by dividing transformed C3H mouse kidney-1 (TCMK-1) cells into different groups: STZ modeling group, STZ modeling + high-glucose group, STZ modeling + high-glucose + advanced glycation end (AGE) product group, STZ modeling+ high-glucose + AGE + uric-acid group, STZ modeling+ high glucose + SHP2 small interfering RNA (SiRNA) group, STZ modeling + high glucose + SHP2 SiRNA + AGE group, and STZ modeling+ high-glucose + SHP2 SiRNA + AGE + uric-acid group for Western Blot experiments; and (4) performed immunofluorescence, CCK-8, and transwell experiments on the seven groups of TCMK-1 cells with different treatments. Results: The STZ modeling + uric acid group's levels of fibrosis was significantly higher than that of the STZ modeling group (P < .01). Additionally, the STZ modeling + uric acid groups' expression of α-SMA, FN-1, collagen-I, P-SMAD2, P-SMAD3, NLRP3, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), EMT, and SMAD-related proteins were significantly higher than those of the STZ modeling group (P < .01). The protein expression of SHP2, P-SMAD2, α-SMA, and FN-1 for the STZ modeling + high glucose + SHP2 SiRNA, the STZ modeling + high glucose + SHP2 SiRNA + AGE, and the STZ modeling + high glucose + SHP2 SiRNA + AGE + uric acid groups were significantly lower than those of the STZ modeling + high glucose, STZ modeling + high glucose + AGE, and the STZ modeling + high glucose + AGE + uric acid groups, respectively. Immunofluorescence indicated that the STZ modeling+ high glucose + AGE + uric acid group had the highest relative fluorescence intensity, while the three groups treated with SHP2 SiRNA showed the least expression. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay showed that STZ modeling group had less cell proliferation, STZ modeling + high sugar group had less cell proliferation than STZ modeling + high sugar +AGE group, STZ modeling + high sugar +AGE+ uric acid group had the highest cell proliferation, STZ modeling + high sugar +SHP2 SiRNA group and STZ modeling + high sugar +SHP2 SiRNA+AGE group and STZ modeling + high sugar +SHP2 SiRNA+AGE+ uric acid group showed the least number of cell proliferation. The results of the transwell cell migration assay were consistent with the CCK-8 assay. Conclusions: In a high-glucose environment, high uric acid can promote the fibrotic progression of diabetic nephropathy by activating the ROS/NLRP3/SHP2 pathway, leading to mesenchymal transition between renal tubular epithelial cells.

Basiliximab Treatment for Patients With Steroid-Refractory Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease Following Matched Sibling Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Basiliximab is an important treatment for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGVHD). We performed this retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of basiliximab treatment in SR-aGVHD patients following matched sibling donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (MSD-HSCT) (n = 63). Overall response rate (ORR) was 63.5% and 54% at any time and at day 28 after basiliximab treatment. Grade III-IV aGVHD before basiliximab treatment predicted a poor ORR after basiliximab treatment. The rates of virus, bacteria, and fungi infections were 54%, 23.8%, and 3.1%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 730 (range, 67-3,042) days, the 1-year probability of overall survival and disease-free survival after basiliximab treatment were 58.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 47.6%-72.2%) and 55.4% (95% CI = 44.3%-69.2%), respectively. The 3-year cumulative incidence of relapse and non-relapse mortality after basiliximab treatment were 18.9% (95% CI = 8.3%-29.5%) and 33.8% (95% CI = 21.8%-45.7%), respectively. Comorbidities burden before allo-HSCT, severity of aGVHD and liver aGVHD before basiliximab treatment showed negative influences on survival. Thus, basiliximab was safe and effective treatment for SR-aGVHD following MSD-HSCT.

S1PR3 inhibition protects against LPS-induced ARDS by inhibiting NF-κB and improving mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation and endothelial barrier dysfunction are the major pathophysiological changes in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 3 (S1PR3), a G protein-coupled receptor, has been found to mediate inflammation and endothelial cell (EC) integrity. However, the function of S1PR3 in ARDS has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: We used a murine lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ARDS model and an LPS- stimulated ECs model to investigate the role of S1PR3 in anti-inflammatory effects and endothelial barrier protection during ARDS. RESULTS: We found that S1PR3 expression was increased in the lung tissues of mice with LPS-induced ARDS. TY-52156, a selective S1PR3 inhibitor, effectively attenuated LPS-induced inflammation by suppressing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and restored the endothelial barrier by repairing adherens junctions and reducing vascular leakage. S1PR3 inhibition was achieved by an adeno-associated virus in vivo and a small interfering RNA in vitro. Both the in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrated that pharmacological or genetic inhibition of S1PR3 protected against ARDS by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway and improving mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS: S1PR3 inhibition protects against LPS-induced ARDS via suppression of pulmonary inflammation and promotion of the endothelial barrier by inhibiting NF-κB and improving mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, indicating that S1PR3 is a potential therapeutic target for ARDS.

Photonic implementation of the input and reservoir layers for a reservoir computing system based on a single VCSEL with two Mach-Zehnder modulators.

Hardware implementation of reservoir computing (RC), which could reduce the power consumption of machine learning and significantly enhance data processing speed, holds the potential to develop the next generation of machine learning hardware devices and chips. Due to the existing solution only implementing reservoir layers, the information processing speed of photonics RC system are limited. In this paper, a photonic implementation of a VMM-RC system based on single Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) with two Mach Zehnder modulators (MZMs) has been proposed. Unlike previous work, both the input and reservoir layers are realized in the optical domain. Additionally, the impact of various mask signals, such as Two-level mask, Six-level mask, and chaos mask signal, employed in system, has been investigated. The system's performance improves with the use of more complex mask(t). The minimum Normalized mean square error (NMSE) can reach 0.0020 (0.0456) for Santa-Fe chaotic time series prediction in simulation (experiment), while the minimum Word Error Rate (WER) can 0.0677 for handwritten digits recognition numerically. The VMM-RC proposed is instrumental in advancing the development of photonic RC by overcoming the long-standing limitations of photonic RC systems in reservoir implementation. Linear matrix computing units (the input layer) and nonlinear computing units (the reservoir layer) are simultaneously implemented in the optical domain, significantly enhancing the information processing speed of photonic RC systems.

PolarFormer: A Transformer-based Method for Multi-lesion Segmentation in Intravascular OCT.

Several deep learning-based methods have been proposed to extract vulnerable plaques of a single class from intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. However, further research is limited by the lack of publicly available large-scale intravascular OCT datasets with multi-class vulnerable plaque annotations. Additionally, multi-class vulnerable plaque segmentation is extremely challenging due to the irregular distribution of plaques, their unique geometric shapes, and fuzzy boundaries. Existing methods have not adequately addressed the geometric features and spatial prior information of vulnerable plaques. To address these issues, we collected a dataset containing 70 pullback data and developed a multi-class vulnerable plaque segmentation model, called PolarFormer, that incorporates the prior knowledge of vulnerable plaques in spatial distribution. The key module of our proposed model is Polar Attention, which models the spatial relationship of vulnerable plaques in the radial direction. Extensive experiments conducted on the new dataset demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms other baseline methods. Code and data can be accessed via this link: https://github.com/sunjingyi0415/IVOCT-segementaion.