Polarization-switchable focal vortex beam by an Archimedean array.

Focal position control of vortex beams has tremendous applications in optical field. Herein, non-classical Archimedean arrays were proposed for optical devices with bifocal length and polarization-switchable focal length. The Archimedean arrays were constructed by rotational elliptical holes in a silver film, which were followed by two one-turned Archimedean trajectories. The elliptical holes in this Archimedean array provide the freedom of polarization control for the optical performance by their rotation status. The rotation of elliptical hole can provide additional phase to affect the shape of vortex beam (converged or diverged) under the illumination of circular polarization. The geometric phase of Archimedes trajectory will also determine the focal position of vortex beam. This Archimedean array can produce a converged vortex beam at the specific focal plane according to the handedness of the incident circular polarization and geometrical arrangement of array. The Archimedean array was also demonstrated by experiment and numerical simulation for its exotic optical performance.

Endometriosis and New-Onset Coronary Artery Disease in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Endometriosis (EM) with chronic inflammation may accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis. Currently, no large or randomized clinical studies have assessed the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with endometriosis in Asia to investigate whether incident EM is associated with a higher risk of new-onset coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study of a nationwide cohort in Taiwan, we identified 13,988 patients with newly diagnosed EM from 1 January, 2000, through 31 December, 2012. EM and non-EM groups were matched by propensity score at a ratio of 1:1. Of a total 27,976 participants, 358 developed CAD. The incidence rate in the EM group was higher than that in the non-EM group (1.8 per 1,000 person-years vs. 1.3 per 1,000 person-years) during the follow-up period. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of CAD for the EM group was 1.52 with a 95% confidence interval (1.23-1.87, p < 0.001) after adjusting for demographic characteristics, comorbidities, surgical procedures, frequency of outpatient visits, and medications. Stratified analysis revealed that, among four age groups (20-39, 40-49, 50-54, and above 55 years), the 20-39 years sub-group was associated with a higher risk of CAD (aHR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.16-2.59, p = 0.008). Several sensitivity analyses were conducted for cross-validation, and it showed consistent positive findings. In conclusion, this cohort study revealed that patients with symptomatic EM in Taiwan were associated with increased risk of subsequent CAD than patients without medical records of EM. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm this causal relationship.

Characterization of Microbial Diversity and Community Structure in Fermentation Pit Mud of Different Ages for Production of Strong-Aroma Baijiu.

In the traditional fermentation process of strong-aroma Baijiu, a fermentation pit mud (FPM) provides many genera of microorganisms for fermentation. However, the functional microorganisms that have an important effect on the quality of Baijiu and their changes with the age of fermentation pit (FP) are poorly understood. Herein, the Roche 454 pyrosequencing technique and a phospholipid fatty-acid analysis were employed to reveal the structure and diversity of prokaryotic communities in FPM samples that have been aged for 5, 30, and 100 years. The results revealed an increase in total prokaryotic biomass with an FP age; however, Shannon's diversity index decreased significantly (p < 0.01). These results suggested that a unique microbial community structure evolved with uninterrupted use of the FP. The number of functional microorganisms, which could produce the flavor compounds of strong-aroma Baijiu, increased with the FP age. Among them, Clostridium and Ruminococcaceae are microorganisms that directly produce caproic acid. The increase of their relative abundance in the FPM might have improved the quality of strong-aroma Baijiu. Syntrophomonas, Methanobacterium, and Methanocorpusculum might also be beneficial to caproic acid production. They are not directly involved but provide possible environmental factors for caproic acid production. Overall, our study results indicated that an uninterrupted use of the FP shapes the particular microbial community structure in the FPM. This research provides scientific support for the concept that the aged FP yields a high-quality Baijiu.In the traditional fermentation process of strong-aroma Baijiu, a fermentation pit mud (FPM) provides many genera of microorganisms for fermentation. However, the functional microorganisms that have an important effect on the quality of Baijiu and their changes with the age of fermentation pit (FP) are poorly understood. Herein, the Roche 454 pyrosequencing technique and a phospholipid fatty-acid analysis were employed to reveal the structure and diversity of prokaryotic communities in FPM samples that have been aged for 5, 30, and 100 years. The results revealed an increase in total prokaryotic biomass with an FP age; however, Shannon's diversity index decreased significantly (p < 0.01). These results suggested that a unique microbial community structure evolved with uninterrupted use of the FP. The number of functional microorganisms, which could produce the flavor compounds of strong-aroma Baijiu, increased with the FP age. Among them, Clostridium and Ruminococcaceae are microorganisms that directly produce caproic acid. The increase of their relative abundance in the FPM might have improved the quality of strong-aroma Baijiu. Syntrophomonas, Methanobacterium, and Methanocorpusculum might also be beneficial to caproic acid production. They are not directly involved but provide possible environmental factors for caproic acid production. Overall, our study results indicated that an uninterrupted use of the FP shapes the particular microbial community structure in the FPM. This research provides scientific support for the concept that the aged FP yields a high-quality Baijiu.

Effect of silencing of high mobility group A2 gene on gastric cancer MKN-45 cells.

AIM: To investigate the effect of high mobility group A2 (HMGA2) gene silencing on gastric cancer MKN-45 cells in vitro. METHODS: HMGA2 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression plasmids were constructed, including a pair of random scrambled sequences. Human gastric cancer cell line MKN-45 cells were divided into three groups: blank control group (non-transfected cells), transfected group (cells transfected with HMGA2 shRNA recombinant plasmid) and scrambled sequence group (transfected with random scrambled plasmid). Cells were transfected with HMGA2 shRNA recombinant plasmids and scrambled plasmid in vitro, and the cells transfection efficiency was assayed by fluorescence microscopy. The HMGA2 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, gastric cancer cells apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, cell proliferation was detected by methyl thiazol tetrazolium, and the protein expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt), P27, caspase-9 and B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) were analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with the blank control group and the scrambled sequence group, the levels of HMGA2 mRNA and protein expression in the transfected group were significantly reduced (P < 0.05). The relative HMGA2 mRNA expression levels of the blank control group, transfected group and scrambled sequence group were 0.674 ± 0.129, 0.374 ± 0.048 and 0.689 ± 0.124, respectively. The relative HMGA2 protein expression levels of the blank control group, transfected group and scrambled sequence group were 0.554 ± 0.082, 0.113 ± 0.032 and 0.484 ± 0.123, respectively. Moreover, transfection with the scrambled sequence had no effect on the expression of HMGA2. After being transfected with shRNA for 24, 48 and 72 h, the cell apoptotic rates of the transfected group were 21.65% ± 0.28%, 39.98% ± 1.82% and 24.51% ± 0.93%, respectively, which significantly higher than those of blank control group (4.72% ± 1.34%, 5.83% ± 0.13% and 5.22% ± 1.07%) and scrambled sequence group (4.28% ± 1.33%, 7.87% ± 1.43% and 6.71% ± 0.92%). After 24, 48 and 72 h, the cell proliferation inhibition rates in the transfected group were 31.57% ± 1.17%, 39.45% ± 2.07% and 37.56% ± 2.32%, respectively; the most obvious cell proliferation inhibition appeared at 48 h after transfection. Compared with the blank control group and scrambled sequence group, after transfection of shRNA for 72 h, the protein expression levels of PI3K (0.042 ± 0.005 vs 0.069 ± 0.003, 0.067 ± 0.05), Akt (0.248 ± 0.004 vs 0.489 ± 0.006, 0.496 ± 0.104) and Bcl-2 (0.295 ± 0.084 vs 0.592 ± 0.072, 0.594 ± 0.109) were significantly reduced. The protein expression levels of P27 (0.151 ± 0.010 vs 0.068 ± 0.014, 0.060 ± 0.013) and caspase-9 (0.136 ± 0.042 vs 0.075 ± 0.010, 0.073 ± 0.072) were significantly upregulated. CONCLUSION: HMGA2 shRNA gene silencing induces apoptosis and suppresses proliferation of MKN-45 cells.