Real-time optical fibre near-infrared chromatic dispersion analyser using collocated optical fibre gratings.

We present what we believe to be a novel optical fibre device for real-time measurements of near-infrared chromatic dispersion of a liquid medium from 1100 nm to 1700 nm. This inline optical fibre chromatic dispersion analyser is based upon collocated fibre long-period gratings written adjacently in the core by femtosecond laser inscription yielding 8 attenuation bands associated with different cladding modes, yielding 8 independent measurements. This fibre device is tested on a series of chemical compounds associated with wines.

Mycorrhization and chemical seed priming boost tomato stress tolerance by shifts of primary and defence metabolic pathways.

Priming modulates plant stress responses before the stress appears, increasing the ability of the primed plant to endure adverse conditions and thrive. In this context, we investigated the effect of biological (i.e.

Melatonin seed priming improves early establishment and water stress tolerance of peanut.

Water stress is a major cause of yield loss in peanut cultivation. Melatonin seed priming has been used to enhance stress tolerance in several crops, but not in peanut. We investigated the impact of seed priming with melatonin on the growth, development, and drought tolerance of two peanut cultivars, TUFRunner™ '511', a drought tolerant cultivar, and New Mexico Valencia A, a drought sensitive cultivar.

Effect of melatonin foliar sprays on morphophysiological attributes, fruit yield and quality of Momordica charantia L. under salinity stress.

Soil salinity is one of the increasing problems in agricultural fields in many parts of the world, adversely affecting the performance and health of the plants. As a pleiotropic signal and antioxidant molecule in both animals and plants, melatonin has been reported to possess significant roles in combating with stress factors, in general and salt stress, in particular. In this study, the interactive effects of melatonin (0, 75, and 150 μM) and salt stress (0, 50 and 100 mM NaCl) were investigated by assaying the some agronomic, physlogical and biochemical attributes and essential oil compounds of bitter melon (Momordica charantia).

Staphylococcus epidermidis induced toxic shock syndrome (TSS) secondary to influenza infection.

Background: To date, few cases of TSS caused by coagulase negative (CoN) staphylococci have been reported in the literature. Recent data show that CoN staphylococci are capable of secreting a number of enterotoxins and cytotoxins, normally produced by S. aureus.

In vivo brain temperature mapping using polymer optical fiber Bragg grating sensors.

Variation of the brain temperature is strongly affected by blood flow, oxygen supply, and neural cell metabolism. Localized monitoring of the brain temperature is one of the most effective ways to correlate brain functions and diseases such as stroke, epilepsy, and mood disorders. While polymer optical fibers (POFs) are considered ideal candidates for temperature sensing in the brain, they have never been used so far in vivo.

Femtosecond laser inscribed fiber Bragg gratings based on precise spatial apodization.

Plane-by-plane femtosecond laser fabricated apodized fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) are demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The method reported in this work provides a fully customizable and controlled inscription that can realize any desired apodized profile. By using this flexibility, we experimentally demonstrate four different apodization profiles (Gaussian, Hamming, New, Nuttall).

Gamma-radiation enhancement of sensing properties of FBGs in a few-mode polymer CYTOP fiber.

We investigate the effect of γ-radiation on temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) sensitivities of polymer perfluorinated fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). To this aim, different γ-radiation doses (80, 120, 160, and 520 kGy) were applied to a set of FBGs. We show that irradiated FBGs demonstrate an RH sensitivity rise with the received dose: from 13.

Online Gamma Radiation Monitoring Using Few-Mode Polymer CYTOP Fiber Bragg Gratings.

We investigated the gamma radiation response of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) inscribed in a few-mode polymer optical fiber. The fiber had a graded-index CYTOP core of 20 µm and XYLEX overclad of 250 µm in diameter. Four FBGs were exposed to gamma radiation during four irradiation sessions at a 5.

Application of Biostimulants in Tomato Plants () to Enhance Plant Growth and Salt Stress Tolerance.

Under the era of climate change, plants are forced to survive under increasingly adverse conditions. Application of biostimulants in plants is shown to mitigate the deleterious effects of abiotic stresses including salinity, enhancing plant tolerance and performance. The present study focuses on the effects of five biostimulants based on biocompost and biofertilizer compounds that have been applied to tomato plants grown in the presence (salt-stressed plants) or absence of salt stress (control plants).

Transgenerational effects of chromium stress at the phenotypic and molecular level in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In this study, we describe the results obtained in a study of the transgenerational phenotypic effects of chromium (Cr) stress on the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. The F1 generation derived from parents grown under chronic and medium chronic stress showed significantly higher levels of the maximal effective concentration (EC) compared with F1 plants generated from unstressed parents. Moreover, F1 plants from Cr-stressed parents showed a higher germination rate when grown in the presence of Cr.

Mitigation of salinity impact in spearmint plants through the application of engineered chitosan-melatonin nanoparticles.

High soil salinity represents a critical environmental constraint to crop production. In order to ameliorate the effects of salinity, a plethora of molecules have been applied and promising outcomes have been noted. The beneficial effects of chitosan (CTS) and melatonin (Mel) application, separately, have been previously recorded with respect to plant growth and productivity, leading to the hypothesis that their conjugation in the form of chitosan-melatonin nanoparticles (CTS-HPMC-Mel NPs) could lead to further enhanced performance of plants under control and stress conditions.

Temperature and Humidity Sensitivity of Polymer Optical Fibre Sensors Tuned by Pre-Strain.

Polymer optical fibre Bragg grating (POFBG) sensors are of high interest due to their enhanced fracture toughness, flexibility in bending, and sensitivity in stress and pressure monitoring applications compared to silica-based sensors. The POFBG sensors can also detect humidity due to the hydrophilic nature of some polymers. However, multi-parameter sensing can cause cross-sensitivity issues in certain applications if the temperature and humidity measurements are not adequately compensated.

Comparative Study of γ- and e-Radiation-Induced Effects on FBGs Using Different Femtosecond Laser Inscription Methods.

This work presents an extensive, comparative study of the gamma and electron radiation effects on the behaviour of femtosecond laser-inscribed fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) using the point-by-point and plane-by-plane inscription methods. The FBGs were inscribed in standard telecommunication single mode silica fibre (SMF28) and exposed to a total accumulated radiation dose of 15 kGy for both gamma and electron radiation. The gratings' spectra were measured and analysed before and after the exposure to radiation, with complementary material characterisation using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.

Functionalized Magnetic Nanomaterials in Agricultural Applications.

The development of functional nanomaterials exhibiting cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility and biodegradability in the form of nanoadditives, nanofertilizers, nanosensors, nanopesticides and herbicides, etc., has attracted considerable attention in the field of agriculture. Such nanomaterials have demonstrated the ability to increase crop production, enable the efficient and targeted delivery of agrochemicals and nutrients, enhance plant resistance to various stress factors and act as nanosensors for the detection of various pollutants, plant diseases and insufficient plant nutrition.

Exogenous application of melatonin to plants, algae, and harvested products to sustain agricultural productivity and enhance nutritional and nutraceutical value: A meta-analysis.

Melatonin is produced by plants, algae, and animals. Worldwide studies show diverse positive effects of exogenous melatonin on plants, edible plant products, and algae, but the potential of melatonin to enhance food and feed systems through these positive effects remains largely unexplored. Through a meta-analysis of about 25,000 observations, we show for the first time that exogenous application of melatonin significantly increases crop productivity and yields, and enhances the nutritional and nutraceutical value of edible plant products and algae by regulating diverse biological functions.

Long period grating in a multimode cyclic transparent optical polymer fiber inscribed using a femtosecond laser.

In this Letter, we report, to the best of our knowledge, the first inscription of long period gratings (LPGs) in a multimode cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP) fiber using a femtosecond laser inscription method. The LPG was inscribed directly in the center of the fiber core, tailored for operation at 1560 nm. The CYTOP-LPG was characterized in transmission, and its response for relative humidity and temperature was measured.

Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Analysis of the Prevalence, Length, and Passage of the Anterior Loop of the Mandibular Canal.

When placing implants in the anterior mandible, it is important to avoid damaging the mandibular nerve and its terminal extensions. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, length, and passage of the anterior loop of the mandibular canal, as well as the quantity of alveolar bone that is coronal to the canal, to help with implant placement in the anterior mandible. Cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) scans of 124 patients with 248 hemi-sections were evaluated.

A Multicenter Retrospective Clinical Study with Up-to-5-Year Follow-up Utilizing a Method that Enhances Bone Density and Allows for Transcrestal Sinus Augmentation Through Compaction Grafting.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and predictability of a novel biomechanical, minimally invasive bone instrumentation technique that enhances bone density through compaction grafting, called osseous densification, and allows for transcrestal sinus membrane elevation and augmentation with simultaneous implant placement.

Materials And Methods: Patients who were consecutively treated with the bone densification and transcrestal sinus augmentation technique and were followed up in three treatment centers between May 2012 and September 2017 were included in this retrospective study. The summary statistics are presented as means for continuous variables and percentages for categorical variables.

Ridge Preservation Procedures after Tooth Extractions: A Systematic Review.

Background: The purpose of this systematic review was to accurately assess the procedural success of ridge preservation technique through the application of strict inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Data Sources: A methodical search of PubMed of the US National Library of Medicine and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted for applicable articles. Only randomized controlled trials comparing ridge preservation treatment with a nongrafting control, ten-subject minimum sample size, and three or more months of follow-up were included in our study.

Surface plasmon resonance sensing in gaseous media with optical fiber gratings.

Surface plasmon resonance excitation with optical fiber gratings has been typically studied in aqueous solutions. This work describes the procedure to excite a plasmon wave in gaseous media and perform refractive index measurements in these environments. Grating photo-inscription with 193 nm excimer laser radiation allows us to obtain slightly tilted fiber Bragg gratings exhibiting a cladding mode resonance comb along several hundreds of nanometers.

Higher-order cladding mode excitation of femtosecond-laser-inscribed tilted FBGs.

We study the modal behavior of plane-by-plane femtosecond laser fabricated tilted fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The focus is on the differential strain and temperature sensitivities between the cladding mode resonances of an nth grating order and those of the (n-i)th orders (with i=1-n), which are collocated in the same wavelength range. Whereas the Bragg mode exhibits an axial strain sensitivity of 1.

A network meta-analysis of interproximal oral hygiene methods in the reduction of clinical indices of inflammation.

Background: A wide selection of Interdental Oral Hygiene (IOH) aids is available to consumers. Recommendations for selection are, however, limited by the lack of direct comparisons in available studies. We aimed to assess the comparative efficacy of IOH aids using Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis (BNMA).

Rapid song divergence leads to discordance between genetic distance and phenotypic characters important in reproductive isolation.

The criteria for species delimitation in birds have long been debated, and several recent studies have proposed new methods for such delimitation. On one side, there is a large consensus of investigators who believe that the only evidence that can be used to delimit species is molecular phylogenetics, and with increasing numbers of markers to gain better support, whereas on the other, there are investigators adopting alternative approaches based largely on phenotypic differences, including in morphology and communication signals. Yet, these methods have little to say about rapid differentiation in specific traits shown to be important in reproductive isolation.

Direct writing of plane-by-plane tilted fiber Bragg gratings using a femtosecond laser.

In this Letter, we report a flexible, plane-by-plane direct write inscription method for the development of tailored, tilted fiber Bragg gratings using a femtosecond laser. Compared to ultraviolet or femtosecond laser inscription based on the phase mask, interferometric, or point-by-point methods, the presented approach is far more flexible and offers several advantages. Laser inscription is made through the fiber coating, while the grating planes are controlled to minimize birefringence, with precise control over the wavelength location and strength of cladding modes.