Single-frequency DBR lasing by integrating FBGs into germanium-free photosensitive highly Yb3+-doped silica fibers.

Monolithic distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) cavity which directly integrates fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) into the photosensitive RE-doped fibers is a promising configuration in constructing compact and efficient single frequency fiber lasers (SFFLs). Yet, the doping level of rare-earth (RE) ions has generally to be sacrificed in the classical Ge-photosensitized RE-doped silica fibers because of the dramatic refractive index increase caused by the introduction of Ge. Here, we demonstrate an approach to realize the trade-off between photosensitivity and RE doping concentration. We validate that the addition of a small amount of cerium (0.37wt.%) instead of Ge could photosensitize Yb3+-doped silica fiber (YDF), while maintaining fiber numerical aperture (NA) at 0.12 under a high 2.5-wt.% Yb doping level. Based on the short monolithic DBR cavity constructed by this germanium-free photosensitive highly YDF, a 1064 nm fiber laser with a 48.6% slope efficiency and an over 200 mW power on two orthogonally polarized modes could be realized. Further stable and linear-polarized 1064 nm SFFL is also demonstrated in a designed monolithic polarization maintaining cavity with an output power of 119 mW and an efficiency of 26.4%. Our results provide an alternative way to develop photosensitive highly RE-doped fibers towards monolithic laser cavity application.

Anchoring ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on cross-like FeSe2 to construct photothermal-enhanced S-scheme heterojunction for photocatalytic H2 evolution.

Rational design of the morphology and heterojunction to accelerate the separation of electron-hole pairs has played an indispensable role in improving the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) has aroused considerable attention in solar-to-chemical energy conversion due to its remarkable photoelectrical properties and relatively negative energy band, whereas it still suffers from the severe photogenerated carrier recombination and catalyst aggregation. Herein, guided by density functional theory calculations, the constructed FeSe2@ZnIn2S4 (FS@ZIS) heterojunction model has a hydrogen Gibbs free energy closer to zero compared with pure ZIS and FS, which is beneficial for hydrogen adsorption and desorption on the photocatalyst surface. Therefore, a novel cross-like core-shell FS@ZIS Step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction was synthesized successfully by in-situ growing ZIS nanosheets on the surface of cross-like FS. The structure with cross-like core-shell morphology not only inhibits the agglomeration of ZIS to increase specific surface area, but also provides a tight interface with S-scheme heterojunction. Moreover, the S-scheme heterojunction with a tight interface can effectively separate electron-hole pairs, leaving photoinduced charges with higher potentials. Furthermore, FS@ZIS-20 possesses exceptional photothermal capabilities, enabling the conversion of optical energy from visible and near infrared light to heat, thereby further enhancing the photocatalysis reaction. As a result, the cross-like core-shell FS@ZIS S-scheme heterojunction exhibits an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (7.640 mmol g-1 h-1), which is 24 times higher than that of pure ZIS (0.319 mmol g-1 h-1) under visible and near infrared light. Furthermore, employing more in-depth density functional theory calculations further investigates the charge transfer pathway of the FS@ZIS S-scheme heterojunction. This work provides insights into the construction of S-scheme heterojunctions with core-shell structure and photothermal effect for photocatalytic evolution hydrogen.

GbyE: an integrated tool for genome widely association study and genome selection based on genetic by environmental interaction.

BACKGROUND: The growth and development of organism were dependent on the effect of genetic, environment, and their interaction. In recent decades, lots of candidate additive genetic markers and genes had been detected by using genome-widely association study (GWAS). However, restricted to computing power and practical tool, the interactive effect of markers and genes were not revealed clearly. And utilization of these interactive markers is difficult in the breeding and prediction, such as genome selection (GS). RESULTS: Through the Power-FDR curve, the GbyE algorithm can detect more significant genetic loci at different levels of genetic correlation and heritability, especially at low heritability levels. The additive effect of GbyE exhibits high significance on certain chromosomes, while the interactive effect detects more significant sites on other chromosomes, which were not detected in the first two parts. In prediction accuracy testing, in most cases of heritability and genetic correlation, the majority of prediction accuracy of GbyE is significantly higher than that of the mean method, regardless of whether the rrBLUP model or BGLR model is used for statistics. The GbyE algorithm improves the prediction accuracy of the three Bayesian models BRR, BayesA, and BayesLASSO using information from genetic by environmental interaction (G × E) and increases the prediction accuracy by 9.4%, 9.1%, and 11%, respectively, relative to the Mean value method. The GbyE algorithm is significantly superior to the mean method in the absence of a single environment, regardless of the combination of heritability and genetic correlation, especially in the case of high genetic correlation and heritability. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, this study constructed a new genotype design model program (GbyE) for GWAS and GS using Kronecker product. which was able to clearly estimate the additive and interactive effects separately. The results showed that GbyE can provide higher statistical power for the GWAS and more prediction accuracy of the GS models. In addition, GbyE gives varying degrees of improvement of prediction accuracy in three Bayesian models (BRR, BayesA, and BayesCpi). Whatever the phenotype were missed in the single environment or multiple environments, the GbyE also makes better prediction for inference population set. This study helps us understand the interactive relationship between genomic and environment in the complex traits. The GbyE source code is available at the GitHub website ( https://github.com/liu-xinrui/GbyE ).

Laparoscopic-assisted retrieval of inferior vena cava filter: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: The retrieval of inferior vena cava filters beyond the retrieval window poses challenges, requiring alternative techniques. OBJECTIVES: To discuss the laparoscopy-assisted retrieval approach for difficult inferior vena cava filters. RESEARCH DESIGN: Case report. SUBJECTS: A 57-year-old male with a retrievable inferior vena cava filter placed 8 months prior. MEASURES: Laparoscopy-assisted retrieval technique utilized after unsuccessful interventional attempts. RESULTS: Successful retrieval of the filter despite thickened intimal tissue involvement, with no postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy-assisted retrieval offers a direct visual approach for challenging filter removal, proving minimally invasive, safe, and effective.

Photothermal-Enhanced S-Scheme Heterojunction of Hollow Core-Shell FeNi2 S4 @ZnIn2 S4 toward Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Herein, guided by the results of density functional theory prediction, the study rationally designs a hollow core-shell FeNi2 S4 @ZnIn2 S4 (FNS@ZIS) Step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction for photocatalytic H2 evolution with photothermal-assisted. The hollow FNS spheres offered substrate for coating the ZIS nanosheets, which can inhibit ZIS nanosheets from agglomerating into pellet, enrich the active site, increase specific surfaces, and raise the light absorption. Notably, due to its excellent photothermal properties, FNS core generated heat unceasingly inside under visible-light irradiation and effectively prevent the heat loss of the reaction system, which increased the local temperature of photocatalysts and thus accelerated the charge migration. In addition, the S-scheme heterojunction construction via in situ growth has a tight interface, which can facilitate the separation and transfer of carriers and achieve high redox potential. Owning to the distinctive construction, the hollow core-shell FNS@ZIS S-scheme heterojunction show extraordinary stability and photocatalytic H2 evolution rate with 7.7 mmol h-1  g-1 , which is ≈15.2-fold than pristine ZIS. Based on the double evidence of theoretical predictions and experimental confirmations, the photothermal effect and electron transfer mechanism of this innovative material are investigated in depth by the following infrared thermography technology and deep DFT calculations.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of Al3+ ion-suppressed phase-separation structures in rare-earth-doped high-phosphorus silica glasses.

Rare-earth-doped silica-based composite glasses (Re-SCGs) are widely used as high-quality laser gain media in defense, aerospace, energy, power, and medical applications. The variable regional chemical environments of Re-SCGs can induce new photoluminescence properties of rare-earth ions but can cause the selective aggregation of rare-earth ions, limiting the application of Re-SCGs in the field of high-power lasers. Here, topological engineering is proposed to adjust the degree of cross-linking of phase-separation network chains in Re-SCGs. A combination of experimental and theoretical characterization techniques suggested that the selective aggregation of rare-earth ions originates from the formation of phase-separated structures in glasses. The decomposition of nanoscale phase separation structures to the sub-nanometer scale, enabled by incorporating Al3+ ions, not only maintains the high luminescence efficiency of rare earth ions but also increases light transmittance and reduces light scattering. Furthermore, our investigation encompassed the exploration of the inhibitory mechanism of Al3+ ions on phase-separation structures, as well as their influence on the spectral characteristics of Re-SCGs. This work provides a new design concept for composite glass materials doped with rare-earth ions and could broaden their application in the field of high-power lasers.

Synthesize magnetic ZnFe2O4@C/Cd0.9Zn0.1S catalysts with S-scheme heterojunction to achieve extraordinary hydrogen production efficiency.

Suppressing the electron-hole recombination rate of catalyst legitimately is one of the effective strategies to improve photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Herein, carbon-coated metal oxide, ZnFe2O4@C (ZFO@C), nanoparticles were synthesized and employed to couple with quadrupedal Cd0.9Zn0.1S (CZS) via an ordinary ultrasonic self-assembly method combined with calcination to form a novel ZFO@C/CZS catalyst with step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was conducted to verify the enhanced photoactivity of ZFO@C/CZS. The optimal ZFO@C/CZS exhibits an extraordinary photocatalytic HER rate of 111.3 ± 0.9 mmol g-1 h-1 under visible-light irradiation, corresponding to an apparent quantum efficiency as high as (76.2 ± 0.9)% at 450 nm. Additionally, the as-synthesized ZFO@C/CZS composite exhibits high stability and recyclability. The excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance should arise from the formed S-scheme heterojunction and the unique ZFO@C core-shell structure, which inhibit electron hole recombination as well as provide more reactive sites. The pathway of S-scheme charge transfer was validated through density functional theory calculations and electrochemical measurements. This work provides a rational strategy for the synthesis of unique magnetic S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts for water splitting under visible light irradiation.

Multiple therapies relieve long-term tardive dyskinesia in a patient with chronic schizophrenia: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a serious and disabling movement disorder; it impairs social function and quality of life and increases the mortality rate. TD is usually induced by the use of antipsychotic drugs; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Pharmacotherapy of TD includes cholinergic drugs, benzodiazepines, ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), antioxidants, amantadine, propanolol, botulinum toxin, valbenazine, and deutetrabenazine, whereas the non-pharmacotherapy approach includes modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) and deep brain stimulation. We successfully treated a chronic schizophrenia patient with comorbid long-term severe TD using deutetrabenazine, clozapine, and MECT. CASE SUMMARY: A 69-year-old woman who was diagnosed as having schizophrenia 16 years ago developed severe TD after 6-mo prescription of risperidone oral solution. Her TD symptoms did not resolve despite various treatments, such as GBE, vitamin E, trihexyphenidyl, promethazine, benzodiazepines, and switching to quetiapine and olanzapine. After admission, she was given deutetrabenazine 6 mg bid. Her buccal tremor was slightly resolved 3 d later; however, her tongue remained protruded and could not be retracted. Quetiapine was switched to clozapine on day 4, and the buccal tremor remarkably resolved, and the tongue could be retracted into the mouth from day 6 onward. After three sessions of MECT, the buccal tremor resolved further. Since then, she has been able to take a semifluid diet, and her quality of life improved remarkably during 6 mo of follow-up. CONCLUSION: TD is a serious condition which could be caused by antipsychotic medications; however, the best strategy against TD is prevention and monitoring during using antipsychotics. For patients with TD caused by antipsychotic medication use, multiple measures should be considered like switching to clozapine, adjunction with deutetrabenazine, or even MECT.

A multicenter, randomized controlled study on the efficacy of agomelatine in ameliorating anhedonia, reduced motivation, and circadian rhythm disruptions in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Agomelatine in improving symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), providing more scientific evidence for the treatment of depression, and offering more effective therapeutic options for patients. METHODS: A total of 180 MDD patients in acute phase from 10 psychiatric hospitals of Grade three in Zhejiang Province were enrolled in this 12-week study with the competitive and consecutive pattern, and they were randomized into two different groups treated with flexible-dosage antidepressants of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) or agomelatine, respectively. The subjects were evaluated with psychological scales of HAMD-17, HAMA, SHAPS for anhedonia, MFI-20 for fatigue, PQSI for sleep quality and MEQ for disturbances in chronobiologic rhythms at baseline, 2, 4, 8 and 12-weekend points, and TESS was used for side-effect. The results were analyzed with repeated measurement analysis of variance. RESULTS: The two groups each had 90 participants, and there were no significant differences at baseline. The scores of various assessment scales showed statistically significant time main effects during the visits (P < 0.01). The Agomelatine group demonstrated faster efficacy within 2 weeks, with better improvement in SHAPS, MEQ, and PSQI compared to the SSRIs group. However, the remission rate at 12 weeks was lower in the Agomelatine group than in the SSRIs group (63.3% and 72.2%), but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. The Agomelatine group had fewer adverse reactions (14.4% and 16.7%), but there was a slightly higher incidence of liver function impairment (6.7% and 4.4%), with no statistically significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: Agomelatine, as a novel antidepressant, shows certain advantages in improving depression and anxiety symptoms and is comparable to SSRIs in terms of safety. However, its long-term efficacy and safety on MDD or other depressive subtypes still require further observation and research.

Short-interval second ejaculation improves sperm quality, blastocyst formation in oligoasthenozoospermic males in ICSI cycles: a time-lapse sibling oocytes study.

Background: Does short-interval second ejaculation improve sperm quality, embryo development and clinical outcomes for oligoasthenozoospermia males received intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment? Methods: All enrolled male patients underwent short-interval secondary ejaculation on the day of oocyte retrieval, and 786 sibling MII oocytes from 67 cycles were equally divided into two groups based on whether the injected spermatozoons originated from the first or second ejaculation. Semen parameters, embryo development efficiency, morphokinetic parameters and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups to assess the efficiency and clinical value of short-interval second ejaculation in ICSI cycles. Results: Short-interval second ejaculation significantly improved sperm motility, normal morphological rate, and sperm DNA integrity both before and after sperm swim-up. The high-quality blastocyst rate (24.79% versus 14.67%), available blastocyst rate (57.56% versus 48.44%), and oocyte utilization rate (52.93% versus 45.29%) were significantly higher in the second ejaculation group (P<0.05). The clinical pregnancy rate (59.09% versus 47.37%), implantation rate (42.11% versus 32.35%) and live birth rate (40.91% versus 31.58%) were higher in the second ejaculation group, but the differences were not significant (P>0.05). Time-lapse analysis showed that morphokinetic time points after the 7-cell stage were earlier in the second ejaculation group but without a significant difference (P>0.05), and abnormal embryo cleavage patterns between the two groups were not significantly different (P>0.05). Conclusions: Short-interval second ejaculation significantly improves sperm quality in oligoasthenozoospermic males, and is beneficial for blastocyst formation efficiency in ICSI cycles. This study suggested a non-invasive and simple but effective strategy for improving ICSI treatment outcomes.

IL-1ß-pretreated bone mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes alleviate septic endoplasmic reticulum stress via regulating SIRT1/ERK pathway.

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a crucial role in the development of organ injury caused by sepsis. Therefore, it is highly important to devise strategies that specially target ER stress for the treatment of sepsis. Previous research has shown that priming chemokines can enhance the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this study, we aimed to investigate the function and mechanism of exosomes derived from MSCs that were pretreated with IL-1ß (IB-exos) in the context of septic ER stress. Methods: Mouse bone MSCs were preconditioned with or without IL-1ß and the supernatant was used for exosome extraction. In vitro sepsis cell mode was induced by treating HUVECs with LPS, while in vivo sepsis model was established through cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) operation in mice. Cell viability, apoptosis, motility, and tube formation were assessed using the EDU proliferation assay, flow cytometry analysis, migration assay, and tube formation assay, respectively. The molecular mechanism was investigated using ELISA, qRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence staining. Results: Pretreatment with IL-1ß enhanced the positive impact of MSC-exos on the viability, apoptosis, motility, and tube formation ability of HUVECs. The administration of LPS or CLP increased ER stress response, but this effect was blocked by the treatment of IB-exos. Additionally, IB-exos reversed the inhibitory effects of LPS or CLP on the expression levels of SIRT1 and ERK phosphorylation. Knockdown of SIRT1 counteracted the effects of IB-exos on HUVEC cellular function and ER stress. In a mouse model, the injection of IB-exos mitigated sepsis-induced lung injury by inhibiting ER stress response through the activation of SIRT1. Conclusion: IB-exos have been found to alleviate sepsis-induced lung injury via inhibiting ER stress through the SIRT1/ERK pathway. These findings indicated that IB-exos could potentially be used as a strategy to mitigate lung injury caused by sepsis.

S-scheme heterojunction of hollow corncob-like ZnIn2S4/LaFeO3 for water splitting and tetracycline degradation.

Reasonable design of heterojunction photocatalysts with high-quality interfacial coupling is an effective way to improve the photocatalytic activity of semiconductors. Herein, we successfully decorated Zinc indium sulfide (ZnIn2S4, ZIS) on perovskite Lanthanum ferrite (LaFeO3, LFO) with more active sites by a pre-hydrothermal combined post-calcination method, and constructed S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst with a unique hollow corncob-like morphology for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production and tetracycline (TC) degradation. When the mass ratio of LFO is 35% and 15%, the ZIS/LFO photocatalyst exhibits the best hydrogen evolution rate and TC photodegradation performance, respectively. Notably, the optimum hydrogen production rate is 6 times that of pure ZIS with excellent cycling stability. The enhanced photoactivity can be explained by the hollow corncob-like morphology and the formed S-scheme heterojunction with close interface contact between ZIS and LFO, which significantly improves the spatial separation and migration efficiency of photoexcited carriers, while maintaining a high redox potential. Finally, it provides an effective support for the photocatalytic mechanism through calculation results of density functional theory. This work not only provides a novel construction strategy of photocatalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and organic pollutant degradation, but also opens up a new insight for perovskite-modified S-scheme heterojunction.

In-situ preparation of mossy tile-like ZnIn2S4/Cu2MoS4 S-scheme heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light.

The reasonable design and fabrication of heterojunction could regulate the photocatalytic performance to some extent, yet it is still a great challenge to construct the S-scheme heterostructure with the stable as well as tight interface on the surface of semiconductor photocatalysts. Herein, the ZnIn2S4/Cu2MoS4 (ZIS/CMS) S-scheme heterostructure was fabricated by in-situ assembling ZIS nanosheets on the CMS plates, obtaining a mossy tile-like morphology. Owing to the compact interface resulting from in-situ growth, this unique architecture efficiently facilitated the separation and transfer of light-induced charges, guaranteed the larger interface area, and enriched the active sites for photocatalytic redox reactions. After adjusting the mass ratio of CMS in ZIS/CMS, S-scheme heterostructure exhibited the remarkable performance with an optimal H2 producing rate up to 1298 µmol·h-1 g-1, about 13.8 times than that of pristine ZIS. The mechanism and driving force of charge transfer and separation in S-scheme heterostructure photocatalysts were explained and discussed. This investigation will provide new insight into design and construction of S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts for H2 evolution.

Psychological trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma-related depression: A mini-review.

There are various types of traumatic stimuli, such as catastrophic events like wars, natural calamities like earthquakes, and personal trauma from physical and psychological neglect or abuse and sexual abuse. Traumatic events can be divided into type I and type II trauma, and their impacts on individuals depend not only on the severity and duration of the traumas but also on individuals' self-evaluation of the traumatic events. Individual stress reactions to trauma include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD and trauma-related depression. Trauma-related depression is a reactive depression with unclear pathology, and depression occurring due to trauma in the childhood has gained increasing attention, because it has persisted for a long time and does not respond to conventional antidepressants but shows good or partial response to psychotherapy, which is similar to the pattern observed for PTSD. Because trauma-related depression is associated with high risk of suicide and is chronic with a propensity to relapse, it is necessary to explore its pathogenesis and therapeutic strategy.

Efficient three-level continuous-wave and GHz passively mode-locked laser by a Nd3+-doped silicate glass single mode fiber.

Nd3+-doped three-level (4F3/2-4I9/2) fiber lasers with wavelengths in the range of 850-950 nm are of considerable interest in applications such as bio-medical imaging and blue and ultraviolet laser generation. Although the design of a suitable fiber geometry has enhanced the laser performance by suppressing the competitive four-level (4F3/2-4I11/2) transition at ∼1 µm, efficient operation of Nd3+-doped three-level fiber lasers still remains a challenge. In this study, taking a developed Nd3+-doped silicate glass single-mode fiber as gain medium, we demonstrate efficient three-level continuous-wave lasers and passively mode-locked lasers with a gigahertz (GHz) fundamental repetition rate. The fiber is designed using the rod-in-tube method and has a core diameter of 4 µm with a numerical aperture of 0.14. In a short 4.5-cm-long Nd3+-doped silicate fiber, all-fiber CW lasing in the range of 890 to 915 nm with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) greater than 49 dB is achieved. Especially, the laser slope efficiency reaches 31.7% at 910 nm. Furthermore, a centimeter-scale ultrashort passively mode-locked laser cavity is constructed and ultrashort pulse at 920 nm with a highest GHz fundamental repetition is successfully demonstrated. Our results confirm that Nd3+-doped silicate fiber could be an alternative gain medium for efficient three-level laser operation.

Effects of chronotype on antidepressant treatment and symptoms in patients with depression: a multicenter, parallel, controlled study.

AIM: To analyze the changes of chronotypes in patients with depression before and after treatment, and explore the effects of different chronotypes on antidepressant treatment and the dimensions of common symptoms in patients with depression. METHODS: 180 patients with depression were selected from 10 tertiary psychiatric hospitals in Zhejiang province, according to the scores of morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ), the patients were divided into three groups: early-type group, middle-type group and late-type group. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale anxiety Scale (HAMA), Snaith Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), multidimensional fatigue inventory-20(MFI-20) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were measured at baseline and at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 8th and 12th weeks, the variance analysis of repeated measures was used to analyze the change of each index in the study. The remission rate of depression at each time point was statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 180 patients included in the study, 26 were lost to follow-up, and 154 were finally included in the analysis. At baseline, 14.93%, 56.5% and 28.57% of the subjects were diagnosed as middle-late type, middle-late type and early-late type respectively, the total scores of Shaps and MFI-20 in the early-type group were higher than those in the late-type group and the middle-type group (p < 0.05). During the 12-week antidepressant treatment period, the time effect of PSQI, Shaps, MFI-20 and MEQ had interaction with different time groups (p < 0.05). During the treatment, the multiple symptom dimensions of depression were improved to different degrees, but the changing trend was not the same, and the recovery of the anhedonia was obviously delayed, in early-type patients, there are many symptoms such as loss of pleasure and sleep disorders. There was no significant effect on the remission rate of depression in different time type (p > 0.05) . CONCLUSION: The disorder of chronotypes is common in patients with depression. The time effect of different time type on different symptom dimension of depression was affected, but the effect on remission rate of depression was not significant. To strengthen the management of biological chronotype rhythm in patients with depression may be of great significance in the treatment of depression.