Perfect excitation and attenuation-free propagation of graphene surface polaritons under optical admittance matching.

Graphene supports both transverse magnetic and electric modes of surface polaritons due to the intraband and interband transition properties of electrical conductivity. Here, we reveal that perfect excitation and attenuation-free propagation of surface polaritons on graphene can be achieved under the condition of optical admittance matching. With both vanished forward and backward far-field radiation, incident photons are fully coupled to surface polaritons.

Enhancing electromagnetic field gradient in tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with a perfect radially polarized beam.

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is a promising label-free super-resolving imaging technique, and the electric field gradient of nanofocusing plays a role in TERS performance. In this paper, we theoretically investigated the enhancement and manipulation of the electric field gradient in a bottom-illumination TERS configuration through a tightly focused perfect radially polarized beam (PRPB). Improvement and manipulation in electric field enhancement and field gradient of the gap-plasmon mode between a plasmonic tip and a virtual surface plasmons (SPs) probe are achieved by adjusting the ring radius of the incident PRPB.

Visible-Band Chiroptical Meta-devices with Phase-Change Adjusted Optical Chirality.

Low-cost large-area chirality meta-devices (CMDs) with adjustable optical chirality are of great interest for polarization-sensitive imaging, stereoscopic display, enantioselectivity analysis, and catalysis. Currently, CMDs with adjusted chiroptical responses in the mid-infrared to terahertz band have been demonstrated by exploiting photocarriers of silicon, pressure, and phase-change of GSTs but are still absent in the visible band, which in turn limits the development of chiral nanophotonic devices. Herein, by employing a phase-change material (SbS), we present a protocol for the fabrication of wafer-scale visible-band enantiomeric CMDs with handedness, spectral, and polarization adjustability.

Sex-Specific Difference in Outcomes after Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair with MitraClip Implantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Implantation of the MitraClip is a safe and effective therapy for mitral valve repair in patients ineligible for surgery or at high risk of adverse surgical outcomes. However, only limited information is available concerning sex differences in transcatheter mitral valve repair. We therefore sought to conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies that investigated differences between men and women in outcomes following MitraClip implantation.

Circular nanocavity substrate-assisted plasmonic tip for its enhancement in nanofocusing and optical trapping.

Plasmonic tip nanofocusing has widely been applied in tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, optical trapping, nonlinear optics, and super-resolution imaging due to its capability of high local field enhancement. In this work, a substrate with a circular nanocavity is proposed to enhance the nanofocusing and optical trapping characteristics of the plasmonic tip. Under axial illumination of a tightly focused radial polarized beam, the circular nanohole etched on a metallic substrate can form a nanocavity to induce an interference effect and further enhance the electric field intensity.

Impact of atrial fibrillation on outcomes of patients treated by transcatheter mitral valve repair: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Conflicting data have been reported related to the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on outcomes after transcatheter mitral valve repair with MitraClip (MC) implantation. In this study, we assessed the prognosis of MC-treated patients according to the presence of pre-existing AF.

Methods: Randomized and observational studies reporting outcomes of pre-existing AF or sinus rhythm in patients undergoing MC treatment were identified with an electronic search.

FABP4 inhibitor BMS309403 protects against hypoxia-induced H9c2 cardiomyocyte apoptosis through attenuating endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Acute myocardial infarction is characterized by ischaemia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, in which the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays an important role. The fatty acid-binding protein-4 (FABP4) has been implicated in regulating ER stress and apoptosis. Yet, whether FABP4 is involved in modulating cardiomyocyte apoptosis remains unclarified.

Optical trapping of single nano-size particles using a plasmonic nanocavity.

Trapping and manipulating micro-size particles using optical tweezers has contributed to many breakthroughs in biology, materials science, and colloidal physics. However, it remains challenging to extend this technique to a few nanometers particles owing to the diffraction limit and the considerable Brownian motion of trapped nanoparticles. In this work, a nanometric optical tweezer is proposed by using a plasmonic nanocavity composed of the closely spaced silver coated fiber tip and gold film.

Laparoscopic omental flap for the treatment of thoracic aortic graft infection: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Background: Thoracic aortic graft infection (TAGI) is a rare and serious complication after surgery for which the treatment is controversial and challenging. Rather than following the traditional surgical strategy of graft replacement and extensive debridement, we have chosen to preserve the graft and cover it by a laparoscopic omental flap. In this article, we describe the clinical manifestation, diagnostic modalities, and treatment of this disease and analyze the role of laparoscopic omental flaps in its treatment.

Plasmon-enhanced nonlinear nanofocusing of gold nanoprisms driven via an ultrafast azimuthal vector beam.

We present the plasmon-enhanced nonlinear nanofocusing of a gold (Au) nanoprism array substrate (ANAS) driven via an ultrafast azimuthal vector beam (AVB). Theoretical calculations show that the electric-field intensity of the ANAS vertically excited via the femtosecond AVB is higher than that of LPB excitation. In this experiment, the second-order surface nonlinear optical response of the ANAS is adopted to examine the nonlinear plasmonic nanofocusing of the ANAS, and it was observed that the second harmonic (SH) intensity of the ANAS excited via the femtosecond AVB is ∼3.

Aortic Valve Replacement with Bovine Pericardium in Patients with Aortic Valve Regurgitation.

This study aimed to analyze the early and mid-term outcomes of aortic valve replacement with bovine pericardium in the treatment of aortic valve regurgitation.From January 2015 to March 2018, 36 patients (19 men; mean ± standard deviation [SD] age, 46.70 ± 16.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Based on a Silver-Film Semi-Coated Nanosphere Array.

In this paper, we present a convenient and economical method to fabricate a silver (Ag)-film semi-coated polystyrene (PS) nanosphere array substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The SERS substrate was fabricated using the modified self-assembled method combined with the vacuum thermal evaporation method. By changing the thickness of the Ag film, the surface morphology of the Ag film coated on the PS nanospheres can be adjusted to obtain the optimized localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) effect.

Near-infrared photodetection with plasmon-induced hot electrons using silicon nanopillar array structure.

A plasmon-induced hot-electron photodetector based on silicon nanopillar array is developed. The nanostructure is fabricated by reactive ion etching with a monolayer of self-assembled polystyrene nanosphere in hexagonal close-packed lattice as the mask. Light absorption and hot-electron generation are mainly enhanced by the surface plasmon polaritons formed at the surface of the gold film on the nanopillar sidewalls.

Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy with High-Order Fiber Vector Beam Excitation.

We investigated tip-enhanced Raman spectra excited by high-order fiber vector beams. Theoretical analysis shows that the high-order fiber vector beams have stronger longitudinal electric field components than linearly polarized light under tight focusing conditions. By introducing the high-order fiber vector beams and the linearly polarized beam from a fiber vector beam generator based on an electrically-controlled acoustically-induced fiber grating into a top-illumination tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) setup, the tip-enhanced Raman signal produced by the high-order fiber vector beams was 1.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with Au-nanoparticle substrate fabricated by using femtosecond pulse.

Au-nanoparticle (Au-NP) substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) were fabricated by grid-like scanning a Au-film using a femtosecond pulse. The Au-NPs were directly deposited on the Au-film surface due to the scanning process. The experimentally obtained Au-NPs presented local surface plasmon resonance effect in the visible spectral range, as verified by finite difference time domain simulations and measured reflection spectrum.