A microRNA diagnostic biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Blood-based diagnostic biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis will improve patient outcomes and positively impact novel drug development. Critical to the development of such biomarkers is robust method validation, optimization and replication with adequate sample sizes and neurological disease comparative blood samples. We sought to test an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis biomarker derived from diverse samples to determine if it is disease specific.

Comparison of Demographics: National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry and Clinical Trials Data.

Objective: To characterize the participant demographics in the Pooled Resource Open-Access ALS Clinical Trials (PRO-ACT) database compared with the web-portal National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry (the Registry).

Methods: Demographics and ALS symptom information were compared between the self-reported registrant data in the Registry web portal (2010-2021) and the latest available PRO-ACT data (updated August 2022), which is a collection of clinical trials data.

Results: Greater percentages of younger (≤ 59 years old) but smaller percentages of older (60 + years old) participants were represented in PRO-ACT compared to Registry.

Active offset-frequency control of optical frequency comb via sum-frequency mixing of passively mode-locked laser and continuous-wave laser.

We propose a method for actively controlling the frequency of an optical frequency comb (OFC) using sum-frequency generation (SFG) with a nonlinear crystal. For the first time, OFC generation was experimentally demonstrated via sum-frequency mixing of a narrowband continuous wave (CW) laser and a passively mode-locked fiber laser. By adjusting the optical frequency of the CW laser, we successfully controlled the offset-frequency of the SFG-OFC, which was mapped from the OFC of the pulse pump laser.

Prevalence of ALS in all 50 states in the United States, data from the National ALS Registry, 2011-2018.

To summarize the prevalence of ALS in all 50 states and Washington, DC in the United States from 2011 to 2018 using data collected and analyzed by the National ALS Registry. In October 2010, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) launched the congressionally mandated Registry to determine the incidence and prevalence of ALS within the USA, characterize the demographics of persons with ALS, and identify the potential risk factors for the disease. This is the first analysis of state-level ALS prevalence estimates.

Chiral Materials for Optics and Electronics: Ready to Rise?

Chiral materials have gained burgeoning interest in optics and electronics, beyond their classical application field of drug synthesis. In this review, we summarize the diverse chiral materials developed to date and how they have been effectively applied to optics and electronics to get an understanding and vision for the further development of chiral materials for advanced optics and electronics.

Trainable Bilingual Synaptic Functions in Bio-enabled Synaptic Transistors.

The signal transmission of the nervous system is regulated by neurotransmitters. Depending on the type of neurotransmitter released by presynaptic neurons, neuron cells can either be excited or inhibited. Maintaining a balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic responses is crucial for the nervous system's versatility, elasticity, and ability to perform parallel computing.

Prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the United States, 2018.

Objective: To estimate prevalent ALS cases in the United States for calendar year 2018.

Methods: The National ALS Registry (Registry) compiled data from national administrative databases (from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Veterans Benefits Administration) and enrollment data voluntarily submitted through a web portal (www.cdc.

Bio-Templated Chiral Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework for Enantioselective Chemoresistive Sensing.

Chiral metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained rising attention as ordered nanoporous materials for enantiomer separations, chiral catalysis, and sensing. Among those, chiral MOFs are generally obtained through complex synthetic routes by using a limited choice of reactive chiral organic precursors as the primary linkers or auxiliary ligands. Here, we report a template-controlled synthesis of chiral MOFs from achiral precursors grown on chiral nematic cellulose-derived nanostructured bio-templates.

The EphA1 and EphA2 Signaling Modulates the Epithelial Permeability in Human Sinonasal Epithelial Cells and the Rhinovirus Infection Induces Epithelial Barrier Dysfunction via EphA2 Receptor Signaling.

Deficiencies in epithelial barrier integrity are involved in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). This study aimed to investigate the role of ephrinA1/ephA2 signaling on sinonasal epithelial permeability and rhinovirus-induced epithelial permeability. This role in the process of epithelial permeability was evaluated by stimulating ephA2 with ephrinA1 and inactivating ephA2 with ephA2 siRNA or inhibitor in cells exposed to rhinovirus infection.

Chiro-Optoelectronic Encodable Multilevel Thin Film Electronic Elements with Active Bio-Organic Electrolyte Layer.

It is suggested that chiral photonic bio-enabled integrated thin-film electronic elements can pave the base for next-generation optoelectronic processing, including quantum coding for encryption as well as integrated multi-level logic circuits. Despite recent advances, thin-film electronics for encryption applications with large-scale reconfigurable and multi-valued logic systems are not reported to date. Herein, highly secure optoelectronic encryption logic elements are demonstrated by facilitating the humidity-sensitive helicoidal organization of chiral nematic phases of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as an active electrolyte layer combined with printed organic semiconducting channels.

Quantum interference of multidimensional quantum states via space-division multiplexing of a long-coherent single photon from a warm Rb atomic ensemble.

The high-dimensional encoding of single photons can offer various possibilities for enhancing quantum information processing. This work experimentally demonstrates the quantum interference of an engineered multidimensional quantum state through the space-division multiplexing of a heralded single-photon state with a spatial light modulator (SLM) and spatial-mode mixing of a single photon through a long multimode fiber (MMF). In our experiment, the heralded single photon generated from a warm Rb atomic ensemble was bright, robust, and long-coherent.

Impact of the National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry: Analysis of Registry-funded Research.

Objective: This research aims to examine the impact of the National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry-funded research activities.

Methods: Registry-funded research and related publications were identified through the National ALS Registry website, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Reporter website, and verified by Principal Investigators. Key study characteristics (e.

Highly efficient diode-pumped alkali-vapor amplification with near-extreme-limit gain.

We report high-efficiency optical amplification with near-extreme-limit gain from a diode-pumped Cs vapor cell. We used wavelength-division multiplexing to couple 852 nm pump and 895 nm seed lasers to achieve nearly overlapping spatial modes in the Cs vapor cell. We investigated the amplification factor as a function of the focal length of the lens focusing on the combined pump and seed signals and determined the optimal focal length under our experimental conditions.

Photon-pair generation from a chip-scale Cs atomic vapor cell.

The realization of a narrowband photonic quantum source based on an atomic device is considered essential in the practical development of photonic quantum information science and technology. In this study, we present the first step toward the development of a photon-pair source based on a microfabricated Cs atomic vapor cell. Time-correlated photon pairs from the millimeter-scale Cs vapor cell are emitted via the spontaneous four-wave mixing process of the cascade-type 6S-6P-8S transition of Cs.

A revision to the United States national ALS registry's algorithm to improve Case-Ascertainment.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of 1) updating the existing algorithm to improve case-finding sensitivity and 2) reclassifying the Registry's diagnostic status nomenclature into four new categories ("confirmed ALS," "likely ALS," "undetermined ALS," or "not ALS") versus the current three ("definite ALS," "possible ALS," or "not ALS") to be more inclusive and descriptive of cases and individuals.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of Registry data from 2011-2017 was conducted to follow "possible ALS" individuals over time to determine what qualifier caused them to convert, if at all and when, to Registry-eligible cases (i.e.

Multivalued Logic for Optical Computing with Photonically Enabled Chiral Bio-organic Structures.

Photonic bio-organic multiphase structures are suggested here for integrated thin-film electronic nets with multilevel logic elements for multilevel computing via a reconfigurable photonic bandgap of chiral biomaterials. Herein, inspired by an artificial intelligence system with efficient information integration and computing capability, the photonically active dielectric layer of chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystals is combined with printed-in p- and n-type organic semiconductors as a bifunctional logical element. These adaptive logic elements are capable of triggering tailored quantized electrical output signals under light with different photon energy and at the different photonic bandgaps of the active dielectric layer.

Cellulose Nanocrystals' Assembly under Ionic Strength Variation: From High Orientation Ordering to a Random Orientation.

We discuss the effect of the ionic strength and effective charge density on the final structural organization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) after drying suspensions with different ionic strengths in terms of quantitative characteristics of the orientation order, rarely considered to date. We observed that increasing the ionic strength in the initial suspension results in continuous shrinking of the helical pitch length that shifts the photonic band gap to a far UV region from the visible range (from 400 to 250 nm) because of the increase in the helical twisting power from 4 to 6 μm and doubling of the twisting angle between neighboring monolayers from 5.5 to 9°.

Prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the United States using established and novel methodologies, 2017.

:To estimate the prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the United States for 2017 using data from the National ALS Registry (Registry) as well as capture-recapture methodology to account for under-ascertainment. Established in 2010, the Registry collects and examines data on ALS patients in the US to better describe the epidemiology of ALS (i.e.

Indistinguishability of temporally separated pairwise two-photon state of thermal photons in Franson-type interferometry.

The phenomenon of Franson interference with time-energy entangled photon pairs beyond the single-photon coherence length observed upon nonlocal measurement at two space-like separated locations is of particular research interest. Herein, we determine the coherence length of temporally separated pairwise two-photon (TSPT) states of thermal photons emitted from a warm atomic ensemble in Franson-type interferometry, with the setup consisting of two spatially separated unbalanced Michelson interferometers beyond the coherence length of a thermal photon. Using a novel method of square-modulated thermal photons, we show that the sinusoidal Franson-type interference fringe of thermal photons is determined by the presence or absence of TSPT states (corresponding to the time delay between the long and short paths in Franson-type interferometry).

Light-Driven Fabrication of a Chiral Photonic Lattice of the Helical Nanofilament Liquid Crystal Phase.

A photonic lattice is an efficient platform for optically exploring quantum phenomena. However, its fabrication requires high costs and complex procedures when conventional materials, such as silicon or metals, are used. Here, we demonstrate a simple and cost-effective fabrication method for a reconfigurable chiral photonic lattice of the helical nanofilament (HNF) liquid crystal (LC) phase and diffraction grating showing wavelength-dependent diffraction with a rotated polarization state.

Incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the United States, 2014-2016.

To estimate the incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the United States for calendar years 2014-2016 using data from the National ALS Registry (Registry). The Registry collects data on ALS patients in the United States to better describe the epidemiology of ALS, examine risk factors such as environmental and occupational exposures, and characterize the demographics of those living with the disease. To identify adult incident cases of ALS, the Registry compiles data from three national administrative databases (maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Veterans Benefits Administration).

Hierarchically Fabricated Amyloid Fibers Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly.

Multiscale hierarchical nano- and microstructures of amyloid fibrils are fabricated by evaporation-induced self-assembly combined with topographic surface patterning techniques. The continuous stick-and-slip motion induces uniaxial alignment of amyloid fibrils characterized by high orientational order during the drying process. The optical textures of the resultant amyloid aggregates are directly observed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Recruitment of Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis for Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Studies: Descriptive Study of the National ALS Registry's Research Notification Mechanism.

Background: Researchers face challenges in patient recruitment, especially for rare, fatal diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These challenges include obtaining sufficient statistical power as well as meeting eligibility requirements such as age, sex, and study proximity. Similarly, persons with ALS (PALS) face difficulty finding and enrolling in research studies for which they are eligible.

Chiral Optoelectronic Functionalities DNA-Organic Semiconductor Complex.

We fabricate the bio-organic field-effect transistor (BOFET) with the DNA-perylene diimide (PDI) complex, which shows unusual chiroptical and electrical functionalities. DNA is used as the chirality-inducing scaffold and the charge-injection layer. The shear-oriented film of the DNA-PDI complex shows how the large-area periodic molecular orientation and the charge transport are related, generating drastically different optoelectronic properties at each DNA/PDI concentration.