Multikingdom and functional gut microbiota markers for autism spectrum disorder.

Associations between the gut microbiome and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been investigated although most studies have focused on the bacterial component of the microbiome. Whether gut archaea, fungi and viruses, or function of the gut microbiome, is altered in ASD is unclear. Here we performed metagenomic sequencing on faecal samples from 1,627 children (aged 1-13 years, 24.4% female) with or without ASD, with extensive phenotype data. Integrated analyses revealed that 14 archaea, 51 bacteria, 7 fungi, 18 viruses, 27 microbial genes and 12 metabolic pathways were altered in children with ASD. Machine learning using single-kingdom panels showed area under the curve (AUC) of 0.68 to 0.87 in differentiating children with ASD from those that are neurotypical. A panel of 31 multikingdom and functional markers showed a superior diagnostic accuracy with an AUC of 0.91, with comparable performance for males and females. Accuracy of the model was predominantly driven by the biosynthesis pathways of ubiquinol-7 or thiamine diphosphate, which were less abundant in children with ASD. Collectively, our findings highlight the potential application of multikingdom and functional gut microbiota markers as non-invasive diagnostic tools in ASD.

New insights on gut microbiome and autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that often coincides with gut dysbiosis. Studies show that alterations in gut microbiota influence brain function and could serve as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This forum article discusses the role of gut microbiota in ASD pathogenesis and its diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

Gut mycobiome alterations in obesity in geographically different regions.

The gut fungi play important roles in human health and are involved in energy metabolism. This study aimed to examine gut mycobiome composition in obese subjects in two geographically different regions in China and to identify specific gut fungi associated with obesity. A total of 217 subjects from two regions with different urbanization levels [Hong Kong (HK): obese, n = 59; lean, n = 59; Kunming (KM): obese, n = 50; lean, n = 49. Mean body mass index (BMI) for obesity = 33.7] were recruited. We performed deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing on fecal samples to compare gut mycobiome composition and trophic functions in lean and obese subjects across these two regions. The gut mycobiome of obese subjects in both HK and KM were altered compared to those of lean subjects, characterized by a decrease in the relative abundance of Nakaseomyces, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Candida dubliniensis and an increase in the abundance of Lanchanceathermotolerans, Saccharomyces paradox, Parastagonospora nodorum and Myceliophthorathermophila. Reduced fungal - bacterial and fungal - fungal correlations as well as increased negative fungal-bacterial correlations were observed in the gut of obese subjects. Furthermore, the anti-obesity effect of fungus S. pombe was further validated using a mouse model. Supplementing high-fat diet-induced obese mice with the fungus for 12 weeks led to a significant reduction in body weight gain (p < 0.001), and an improvement in lipid and glucose metabolism compared to mice without intervention. In conclusion, the gut mycobiome composition and functionalities of obese subjects were altered. These data shed light on the potential of utilizing fungus-based therapeutics for the treatment of obesity. S. pombe may serve as a potential fungal probiotic in the prevention of diet-induced obesity and future human trials are needed.

Light People: Prof. Kei May Lau, newly elected US NAE member in Hong Kong, talks about future of photonics and women in science.

EDITORIAL: Photonics technology remains a driving force in today's scientific landscape, marked by continuous innovation and cross-disciplinary relevance. In an enlighting conversation with Light: Science & Applications, Prof. Kei May Lau, a pioneer in photonics research, shares her deep insights on the evolution of technologies of LEDs, lasers, challenges of hetero-epitaxy, and the future of micro-LEDs and quantum dot lasers. Recently honored as a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for her significant contributions to photonics and electronics using III-V semiconductors on silicon, Prof. Lau stands out as the sole Hong Kong scholar inducted into the NAE this year, joining 114 new and 21 international members. In this exclusive Light People interview, Prof. Lau shares her journey as a pioneering woman in engineering, her commitment to mentorship and academia, and her perspective on advancing female representation in science. The summary provided is distilled from Prof. Lau's thoughtful responses during the interview. For a deeper exploration of Prof. Lau's experiences and advice, the full interview is available in the Supplementary material.

Coprocessed heterogeneous near-infrared lasers on thin-film lithium niobate.

Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) is an attractive platform for photonic applications on account of its wide bandgap, its large electro-optic coefficient, and its large nonlinearity. Since these characteristics are used in systems that require a coherent light source, size, weight, power, and cost can be reduced and reliability enhanced by combining TFLN processing and heterogeneous laser fabrication. Here, we report the fabrication of laser devices on a TFLN wafer and also the coprocessing of five different GaAs-based III-V epitaxial structures, including InGaAs quantum wells and InAs quantum dots. Lasing is observed at wavelengths near 930, 1030, and 1180 nm, which, if frequency-doubled using TFLN, would produce blue, green, and orange visible light. A single-sided power over 25 mW is measured with an integrating sphere.

Alterations in fecal virome and bacteriome virome interplay in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Emerging evidence suggests autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with altered gut bacteria. However, less is known about the gut viral community and its role in shaping microbiota in neurodevelopmental disorders. Herein, we perform a metagenomic analysis of gut-DNA viruses in 60 children with ASD and 64 age- and gender-matched typically developing children to investigate the effect of the gut virome on host bacteria in children with ASD. ASD is associated with altered gut virome composition accompanied by the enrichment of Clostridium phage, Bacillus phage, and Enterobacteria phage. These ASD-enriched phages are largely associated with disrupted viral ecology in ASD. Importantly, changes in the interplay between the gut bacteriome and virome seen in ASD may influence the encoding capacity of microbial pathways for neuroactive metabolite biosynthesis. These findings suggest an impaired bacteriome-virome ecology in ASD, which sheds light on the importance of bacteriophages in pathogenesis and the development of microbial therapeutics in ASD.

Gradual degradation in InAs quantum dot lasers on Si and GaAs.

Reliable quantum dot lasers on silicon are a key remaining challenge to successful integrated silicon photonics. In this work, quantum dot (QD) lasers on silicon with and without misfit dislocation trapping layers are aged for 12 000 hours and are compared to QD lasers on native GaAs aged for 8400 hours. The non-trapping-layer (TL) laser on silicon degrades heavily during this time, but much more modest gradual degradation is observed for the other two devices. Electroluminescence imaging reveals relatively uniform gradual dimming for the aged TL laser on silicon. At the same time, we find nanoscale dislocation loop defects throughout the quantum dot-based active region of all three aged lasers via electron microscopy. The Burgers vector of these loops is consistent with . We suggest that the primary source of degradation, however, is the generation and migration of point defects that substantially enhance non-radiative recombination in the active region, the visible symptom of which is the formation of dislocation loops. To prevent this, we propose that laser fabrication should be switched from deeply etched to shallow etch ridges where the active region remains intact near the mesa. Additionally, post-growth annealing and altered growth conditions in the active region should be explored to minimize the grown-in point defect density.

Linewidth narrowing in self-injection-locked on-chip lasers.

Stable laser emission with narrow linewidth is of critical importance in many applications, including coherent communications, LIDAR, and remote sensing. In this work, the physics underlying spectral narrowing of self-injection-locked on-chip lasers to Hz-level lasing linewidth is investigated using a composite-cavity structure. Heterogeneously integrated III-V/SiN lasers operating with quantum-dot and quantum-well active regions are analyzed with a focus on the effects of carrier quantum confinement. The intrinsic differences are associated with gain saturation and carrier-induced refractive index, which are directly connected with 0- and 2-dimensional carrier densities of states. Results from parametric studies are presented for tradeoffs involved with tailoring the linewidth, output power, and injection current for different device configurations. Though both quantum-well and quantum-dot devices show similar linewidth-narrowing capabilities, the former emits at a higher optical power in the self-injection-locked state, while the latter is more energy-efficient. Lastly, a multi-objective optimization analysis is provided to optimize the operation and design parameters. For the quantum-well laser, minimizing the number of quantum-well layers is found to decrease the threshold current without significantly reducing the output power. For the quantum-dot laser, increasing the quantum-dot layers or density in each layer increases the output power without significantly increasing the threshold current. These findings serve to guide more detailed parametric studies to produce timely results for engineering design.

Light people: Prof. Evelyn Hu's adventure: from semiconductors to quantum - from industry to academia.

EDITORIAL: As part of our Light People series, we are delighted to have invited Prof. Evelyn Hu, a highly accomplished scientist from Harvard University, to share with us her personal journey. Prof. Hu's remarkable contributions in both academia and industry have taken her from industry giants to academia's most prestigious institutions, traversing various research frontiers that have played a critical role in the ongoing digital revolution. Through this interview, we aim to offer the Light community valuable insights into nanophotonics, quantum engineering, and Prof. Hu's research methodology and life philosophy, while also celebrating her outstanding achievements as a female role model. Ultimately, our goal is to inspire more women to pursue careers in this important and rapidly expanding field, which has a profound impact on all sectors of society. The following is a summary of an interview with Professor Evelyn Hu, available in the Supplementary Information.

Heterogeneous integration of a III-V quantum dot laser on high thermal conductivity silicon carbide.

Heat accumulation prevents semiconductor lasers from operating at their full potential. This can be addressed through heterogeneous integration of a III-V laser stack onto non-native substrate materials with high thermal conductivity. Here, we demonstrate III-V quantum dot lasers heterogeneously integrated on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates with high temperature stability. A large T0 of 221 K with a relatively temperature-insensitive operation occurs near room temperature, while lasing is sustained up to 105°C. The SiC platform presents a unique and ideal candidate for realizing monolithic integration of optoelectronics, quantum, and nonlinear photonics.

Synthesis of CuxO/Ag nanoparticles on exfoliated graphene: application for enhanced electrochemical detection of H2O2 in milk.

In this paper, a novel composite is constructed as a non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor by liquid-phase exfoliation method, which is composed of copper oxide, cuprous oxide and silver nanoparticles doped few-layer-graphene (CuxO/Ag@FLG). Its surface morphology and composition were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photo spectroscopy (XPS), and its H2O2 sensing performances include catalytic reduction and quantitative detection were studied with electrochemical methods. Our sensor had a high sensitivity of 174.5 µA mM-1 cm-2 (R2 = 0.9978) in an extremely wide range of concentrations from 10 µM to 100 mM, a fast response (about 5 s) and a low limit of detection (S/N = 3) of 2.13 µM. The sensor exhibits outstanding selectivity in the presence of various biological interference, such as dopamine, ascorbic acid, uric acid, citric acid, etc. In addition, the constructed sensor continued 95% current responsiveness after 1 month of storage further points to its long-term stability. Last but not least, it has a good recovery rate (90.12-102.00%) in milk sold on the open market, indicating that it has broad application possibilities in the food industry and biological medicine.

Dye-Encapsulated Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Multi-Parameter Detection of Temperature.

Temperature is an important physical parameter and plays a significant role in scientific research, the detection of which cannot be too crucial to study. In order to reduce the interference of the external environment on the detection of temperature and improve the accuracy of the detection results, a multi-parameter detection method using several optical signals was proposed. Here, a novel porous metal-organic framework (MOF), Zn-CYMPN, was synthesized and structurally characterized. Then, fluorescent organic dyes, either DPEE or DPEM, were encapsulated into the pores of Zn-CYMPN independently. The successful synthesis of the composites Zn-CYMPN⊃DPEE or Zn-CYMPN⊃DPEM could easily introduce other fluorescent centers into the original material and made it more convenient to realize multi-parameter temperature detection. More specifically, when the temperature changed, the maximum fluorescent emission wavelength (W) and the maximum optical intensity (I) of the Zn-CYMPN⊃DPEE/DPEM both showed good linear responses with temperature over a wide range, indicating that the composites were highly sensitive thermometers with multi-parameter temperature readouts. In addition, the quantum efficiency and thermal stability of the organic dyes, which bother every researcher, were improved as well.

Prospects and applications of on-chip lasers.

Integrated silicon photonics has sparked a significant ramp-up of investment in both academia and industry as a scalable, power-efficient, and eco-friendly solution. At the heart of this platform is the light source, which in itself, has been the focus of research and development extensively. This paper sheds light and conveys our perspective on the current state-of-the-art in different aspects of application-driven on-chip silicon lasers. We tackle this from two perspectives: device-level and system-wide points of view. In the former, the different routes taken in integrating on-chip lasers are explored from different material systems to the chosen integration methodologies. Then, the discussion focus is shifted towards system-wide applications that show great prospects in incorporating photonic integrated circuits (PIC) with on-chip lasers and active devices, namely, optical communications and interconnects, optical phased array-based LiDAR, sensors for chemical and biological analysis, integrated quantum technologies, and finally, optical computing. By leveraging the myriad inherent attractive features of integrated silicon photonics, this paper aims to inspire further development in incorporating PICs with on-chip lasers in, but not limited to, these applications for substantial performance gains, green solutions, and mass production.

Light People: Prof. John Bowers spoke about silicon photonics.

EDITORIAL: Silicon photonics is advancing rapidly with many scientific and engineering advances and many new applications for photonics. To highlight the topic, Light: Science & Applications invited John Bowers, director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency and distinguished professor from the University of California, Santa Barbara, to talk about the fundamentals and industries, and give a future perspective of silicon photonics. The below is summarized from the video interview of Prof. Bowers. The original interview can be accessed in Supplementary video.

Electrically pumped quantum-dot lasers grown on 300 mm patterned Si photonic wafers.

Monolithic integration of quantum dot (QD) gain materials onto Si photonic platforms via direct epitaxial growth is a promising solution for on-chip light sources. Recent developments have demonstrated superior device reliability in blanket hetero-epitaxy of III-V devices on Si at elevated temperatures. Yet, thick, defect management epi designs prevent vertical light coupling from the gain region to the Si-on-Insulator waveguides. Here, we demonstrate the first electrically pumped QD lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a 300 mm patterned (001) Si wafer with a butt-coupled configuration. Unique growth and fabrication challenges imposed by the template architecture have been resolved, contributing to continuous wave lasing to 60 °C and a maximum double-side output power of 126.6 mW at 20 °C with a double-side wall-plug efficiency of 8.6%. The potential for robust on-chip laser operation and efficient low-loss light coupling to Si photonic circuits makes this heteroepitaxial integration platform on Si promising for scalable and low-cost mass production.

Multi-omic analyses identify mucosa bacteria and fecal metabolites associated with weight loss after fecal microbiota transplantation.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has shown promising results in animal models of obesity, while results in human studies are inconsistent. We aimed to determine factors associated with weight loss after FMT in nine obese subjects using serial multi-omics analysis of the fecal and mucosal microbiome. The mucosal microbiome, fecal microbiome, and fecal metabolome showed individual clustering in each subject after FMT. The colonic microbiome in patients showed more marked variance after FMT compared with the duodenal microbiome, characterized by an increased relative abundance of Bacteroides. Subjects who lost weight after FMT sustained enrichment of Bifidobacterium bifidum and Alistipes onderdonkii in the duodenal, colonic mucosal, and fecal microbiome and increased levels of phosphopantothenate biosynthesis and fecal metabolite eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), compared with those without weight loss. Fecal levels of amino acid metabolism-associated were positively correlated with the fecal abundance of B. bifidum, and fatty acid metabolism-associated metabolites showed positive correlations with A. onderdonkii. We report for the first time the individualized response of fecal and mucosa microbiome to FMT in obese subjects and highlight that FMT is less capable of shaping the small intestine microbiota. These findings contribute to personalized microbe-based therapies for obesity.

Evolution of Preset Void and Damage Characteristics in Aluminum during Shock Compression and Release.

It is well known that initial defects play an essential role in the dynamic failure of materials. In practice, dynamic tension is often realized by release of compression waves. In this work, we consider void-included single-crystal aluminum and investigate the damage characteristics under different shock compression and release based on direct atomistic simulations. Elastic deformation, limited growth and closure of voids, and the typical spall and new nucleation of voids were all observed. In the case of elastic deformation, we observed the oscillatory change of void volume under multiple compression and tension. With the increase of impact velocity, the void volume reduced oscillations to the point of disappearance with apparent strain localization and local plastic deformation. The incomplete or complete collapsed void became the priority of damage growth under tension. An increase in sample length promoted the continuous growth of preset void and the occurrence of fracture. Of course, on the release of strong shock, homogeneous nucleation of voids covered the initial void, leading to a wider range of damaged zones. Finally, the effect of the preset void on the spall strength was presented for different shock pressures and strain rates.

Interplays between drugs and the gut microbiome.

The gut microbiota is considered a key 'metabolic organ'. Its metabolic activities play essential roles complementary to the host metabolic functions. The interplays between gut microbes and commonly used non-antibiotic drugs have garnered substantial attention over the years. Drugs can reshape the gut microorganism communities and, vice versa, the diverse gut microbes can affect drug efficacy by altering the bioavailability and bioactivity of drugs. The metabolism of drugs by gut microbial action or by microbiota-host cometabolism can transform the drugs into various metabolites. Secondary metabolites produced from the gut microbial metabolism of drugs contribute to both the therapeutic benefits and the side effects. In view of the significant effect of the gut microbiota on drug efficiency and clinical outcomes, it is pivotal to explore the interactions between drugs and gut microbiota underlying medical treatments. In this review, we describe and summarize the complex bidirectional interplays between gut microbes and drugs. We also illustrate the gut-microbiota profile altered by non-antibiotic drugs, the impacts and consequences of microbial alteration, and the biochemical mechanism of microbes impacting drug effectiveness. Understanding how the gut microbes interact with drugs and influence the therapeutic efficacy will help in discovering diverse novel avenues of regulating the gut microbes to improve the therapeutic effects and clinical outcomes of a drug in precision.

A highly selective and sensitive "on-off" fluorescent probe for detecting cadmium ions and l-cysteine based on nitrogen and boron co-doped carbon quantum dots.

Cadmium ions (Cd2+) have caused relatively serious pollution, threatening human health and ecosystems. l-Cysteine (l-Cys) is an essential amino acid in living organisms and concentration of l-Cys is closely related to some human diseases. In this work, we first introduced 2-amino-3-hydroxypyridine and sodium borohydride as the nitrogen source and boron source to fabricate boron and nitrogen co-doped carbon quantum dots (N,B-CQDs) with high fluorescence quantum yield (21.2%), which were synthesized through a simple, low-consumption and pollution-free one-pot hydrothermal method. The obtained N,B-CQDs are able to detect Cd2+ rapidly and sensitively through fluorescence enhancement, which may be ascribed to chelation enhanced fluorescence that is induced by the formation of the N,B-CQDs/Cd2+ complex. Simultaneously, N,B-CQDs can be used to detect l-cysteine because significant fluorescence quenching was observed when l-Cys was added into the N,B-CQDs/Cd2+ system. In the two fluorescence "turn-on" and "turn-off" processes, this fluorescent probe obtained a good linear relationship over Cd2+ concentration ranging from 2.5 µM to 22.5 µM with a detection limit of 0.45 µM, while the concentration of l-cysteine showed a linear relationship in the range of 2.5-17.5 µM with a detection limit of 0.28 µM. The sensor has been successfully used to detect Cd2+ and l-cysteine in real samples with satisfying results.

Three isostructural hexanuclear lanthanide-organic frameworks for sensitive luminescence temperature sensing over a wide range.

Temperature sensing plays essential roles in both fundamental research and high-tech applications. In this work, three isomorphic hexanuclear lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs), Ln(BPDC-xN) (Ln = Eu3+/Tb3+, x = 0, 1, 2) were prepared based on the cluster-based synthesis strategy with three structurally similar dicarboxylate ligands 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid (H2BPDC-0N), 6-(4-carboxyphenyl)nicotinic acid (H2BPDC-1N), and [2,2'-bipyridine]-5,5'-dicarboxylic acid (H2BPDC-2N) as the organic linkers. The as-synthesized Ln-MOFs were fully characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis (EA), and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR). Using a Eu3+/Tb3+ co-doping approach, Eu0.001Tb0.999(BPDC-xN) (x = 0, 1, 2) were identified as potential ratiometric luminescence thermometers. Since there are two suitable distances between the energy donors and acceptors within the framework for efficient energy transfer, all Eu0.001Tb0.999(BPDC-xN) (x = 0, 1, 2) maintain high relative sensitivity over a wide temperature range from 50 K to 300 K.