Bruch’s-Mimetic Nanofibrous Membranes Functionalized with the Integrin-Binding Peptides as a Promising Approach for Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Transplantation

Background: This study aimed to develop an ultrathin nanofibrous membrane able to, firstly, mimic the natural fibrous architecture of human Bruch’s membrane (BM) and, secondly, promote survival of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells after surface functionalization of fibrous membranes. Methods: Integrin-binding peptides (IBPs) that specifically interact with appropriate adhesion receptors on RPEs were immobilized on Bruch’s-mimetic membranes to promote coverage of RPEs. Surface morphologies, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra, contact angle analysis, Alamar Blue assay, live/dead assay, immunofluorescence staining, and scanning electron microscopy were used to evaluate the outcome. Results: Results showed that coated membranes maintained the original morphology of nanofibers. After coating with IBPs, the water contact angle of the membrane surfaces varied from 92.38 ± 0.67 degrees to 20.16 ± 0.81 degrees. RPE cells seeded on IBP-coated membranes showed the highest viability at all time points (Day 1, p < 0.05; Day 3, p < 0.01; Days 7 and 14, p < 0.001). The proliferation rate of RPE cells on uncoated poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) membranes was significantly lower than that of IBP-coated membranes (p < 0.001). SEM images showed a well-organized hexa/polygonal monolayer of RPE cells on IBP-coated membranes. RPE cells proliferated rapidly, contacted, and became confluent. RPE cells formed a tight adhesion with nanofibers under high-magnification SEM. Our findings confirmed that the IBP-coated PCL membrane improved the attachment, proliferation, and viability of RPE cells. In addition, in this study, we used serum-free culture for RPE cells and short IBPs without immunogenicity to prevent graft rejection and immunogenicity during transplantation. Conclusions: These results indicated that the biomimic BM-IBP-RPE nanofibrous graft might be a new, practicable approach to increase the success rate of RPE cell transplantation.     

Identification of Pharmacophoric Fragments of DYRK1A Inhibitors Using Machine Learning Classification Models

Dual-specific tyrosine phosphorylation regulated kinase 1 (DYRK1A) has been regarded as a potential therapeutic target of neurodegenerative diseases, and considerable progress has been made in the discovery of DYRK1A inhibitors. Identification of pharmacophoric fragments provides valuable information for structure- and fragment-based design of potent and selective DYRK1A inhibitors. In this study, seven machine learning methods along with five molecular fingerprints were employed to develop qualitative classification models of DYRK1A inhibitors, which were evaluated by cross-validation, test set, and external validation set with four performance indicators of predictive classification accuracy (CA), the area under receiver operating characteristic (AUC), Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), and balanced accuracy (BA). The PubChem fingerprint-support vector machine model (CA = 0.909, AUC = 0.933, MCC = 0.717, BA = 0.855) and PubChem fingerprint along with the artificial neural model (CA = 0.862, AUC = 0.911, MCC = 0.705, BA = 0.870) were considered as the optimal modes for training set and test set, respectively. A hybrid data balancing method SMOTETL, a combination of synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) and Tomek link (TL) algorithms, was applied to explore the impact of balanced learning on the performance of models. Based on the frequency analysis and information gain, pharmacophoric fragments related to DYRK1A inhibition were also identified. All the results will provide theoretical supports and clues for the screening and design of novel DYRK1A inhibitors.     

Nonvolatile photorefractive holographic recording in Sc:Ce:Cu:LiNbO3

In this paper experimental studies of nonvolatile photorefractive holographic recording in Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals doped with Sc(0,1,2,3 mol%) were carried out. The Sc:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals were grown by the Czochralski method and oxidized in Nb₂O₅ powders. The nonvolatile holographic recording in Sc:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals was realized by the two-photon fixed method. We found that the recording time of Sc:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystal became shorter with the increase of Sc doping concentration, especially doping with Sc(3 mol%), which exceeds the so-called threshold, and there was little loss of nonvolatile diffraction efficiencies between Sc(3 mol%):Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ and Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals.     

A low-threshold and high-power oxide-confined 850-nm AlInGaAs strained quantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

A low-threshold and high-power oxide-confined 850-nm AlInGaAs strained quantum-well (QW) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) based on an intra-cavity contacted structure is fabricated. A threshold current of 1.5 mA for a 22 μm oxide aperture device is achieved, which corresponds to a threshold current density of 0.395 kA/cm². The peak output optical power reaches 17.5 mW at an injection current of 30 mA at room temperature under pulsed operation. While under continuous-wave (CW) operation, the maximum power attains 10.5 mW. Such a device demonstrates a high characteristic temperature of 327 K within a temperature range from -12℃ to 96℃ and good reliability under a lifetime test. There is almost no decrease of the optical power when the device operates at a current of 5 mA at room temperature under the CW injection current.     

Tunable microwave generation based on a Brillouin fiber ring laser and reflected pump

A simple approach for photonic generation of a tunable microwave signal is proposed and successfully demonstrated. By mixing the output from a single-longitudinal-mode Brillouin fiber ring laser with the reflected laser pump at photodetector, a microwave signal at the Brillouin shift can be obtained. Since the Brillouin shift can be changed by tuning the pump wavelength, tunable microwave can be generated. As a result a microwave signal tunable from 10.39 to 10.67 GHz has been achieved, with linewidth less than 600 KHz.     

基于纠缠见证的路径纠缠微波检测方法

提出了一种基于纠缠见证的路径纠缠微波信号检测方法.路径纠缠微波是微波频段上的连续变量纠缠,介绍了利用微波压缩态和微波分束器制备路径纠缠微波的方法.根据部分转置正定判据以及2?2纠缠态密度矩阵的部分转置具有负本征值的性质,分别对常见的两种2?2纠缠进行了纠缠见证算符的构造,用于对两路信号是否为纠缠态进行判定.将连续变量纠缠的路径纠缠微波分解为大量2?2纠缠子系统叠加的纠缠态,证明其能够利用所构造的2?2纠缠见证算符来检测路径纠缠微波.同时分析了微波分束器的作用,并利用微波分束器设计了一种用于检测路径纠缠微波信号的实验方案,并在理论上分析了纠缠检测所得到的结果.结果表明,该方法能够有效检测路径纠缠微波信号,降低了检测的复杂度和计算量.本文的研究为纠缠微波的检测提供了思路.     

不均匀性:非晶合金的灵魂

非晶合金,即金属玻璃,是一类特殊的由基本化学元素组成的非晶态物质,由于其独特的微观组织结构,展现出了不同于传统晶态合金材料的特殊物性,而成为高性能材料应用领域的重要一员.由于非晶合金的结构无序性,且当前精确表征其微观结构的实验手段缺乏,相应的理论模型也不完善,人们对非晶合金中一些基础物理问题的认识尚且不足,无法形成基本的理论框架来精确地描述其物性产生的微观机理.因而,当前非晶合金研究的核心问题可以概括为:如何建立以微观特征或结构为基础的基本理论框架,准确地概括非晶合金物性的微观机理.在过去几十年里,针对非晶合金的大量研究表明,在非晶合金长程无序的特征中,隐藏着本征的不均匀性和有序,且这些不均匀性的特征与材料物性有着密切的关联,使得建立以不均匀性特征为基础的理论框架成为可能.本文从非晶合金微观特征的不均匀性包括静态不均匀性和动态不均匀性的视角出发,概括性地总结了非晶合金材料与物理研究中取得的丰硕成果,及当前需要关注的重要科学问题,并针对未来可能的研究模式进行了展望.     

非晶钛酸铋的晶化过程

利用差热分析、X射线衍射和透射电子显微镜等技术对溶胶-凝胶法合成的凝胶的晶化过程进行了分析，实验结果表明，Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂非晶凝胶晶化过程经历了四个过程：首先在433℃先形成了Bi₂O₃和TiO₂亚稳相，然后在488℃时TiO₂亚稳相与Bi₂O₃反应形成Bi，Ti复合氧化物亚稳相Bi₂T 关键词： 钛酸铋 铁电材料 溶胶凝胶 非晶 晶化过程     

一种高分辨率的光纤光栅传感解调技术

报道了一种基于光纤激光器波长扫描寻址的高分辨率的光纤光栅传感解调方案。光纤激光器的扫描寻址过程由微机来控制。微机控制光纤激光器波长扫描的同时,同步采集、处理传感信号,并通过曲线拟合给出传感光栅的中心反射波长值。本解调方案的波长移动分辨率为０．１ｐｍ,可以实现高分辨率的温度及应变测量。     

牛顿环实验测量结果的不确定度评定及其表示

讨论了不等精度测量牛顿环曲率半径及牛顿环直径不确定度的评定及表示