Active aerosols.

We report the dynamics and control of the orientational and positional order of ensembles of gold nanorods suspended in air at standard temperature and pressure using externally applied electric fields, demonstrating an active aerosol. Light filter, valve and gradient responses are shown, establishing active aerosols as a unique type of optical element we term component-less optics.

Rogue ocean waves and the St. Petersburg paradox.

Powerful rogue ocean waves have been objects of fascination for centuries. Elusive and awe-inspiring, with the potential to inflict catastrophic damage, rogue waves remain unpredictable and imperfectly understood. To gain further insight into their behavior, we analyzed 3 441 188 683 ocean surface waves to determine the statistical height distribution of the largest waves.

Development and assessment of an x-ray tube-based multi-beam x-ray scatter projection imaging system.

Coherent scatter x-ray imaging systems are sensitive to material structure and chemical composition, and generate soft-material images with contrast superior to conventional transmission x-ray imaging. For practicality in medical or security applications, the image data acquisition time should be <10 min. Our approach is a multi-beam projection imaging design.

Cocoa Flavanols Improve Vascular Responses to Acute Mental Stress in Young Healthy Adults.

Mental stress has been shown to induce cardiovascular events, likely due to its negative impact on vascular function. Flavanols, plant-derived polyphenolic compounds, improve endothelial function and blood pressure (BP) in humans, however their effects during stress are not known. This study examined the effects of acute intake of cocoa flavanols on stress-induced changes on vascular function.

Substantial Depletion of Vicine, Levodopa, and Tyramine in a Fava Bean Protein-Based Nutritional Product.

A commercial fava bean protein isolate and a liquid nutritional product formulated with it were tested by validated HPLC methods for the favism-associated pyrimidine glycoside vicine, the dopamine precursor levodopa, and the biogenic amine tyramine. The vicine, levodopa, and tyramine concentrations in the protein isolate-306, 13.3, and <0.

Dietary flavanols improve cerebral cortical oxygenation and cognition in healthy adults.

Cocoa flavanols protect humans against vascular disease, as evidenced by improvements in peripheral endothelial function, likely through nitric oxide signalling. Emerging evidence also suggests that flavanol-rich diets protect against cognitive aging, but mechanisms remain elusive. In a randomized double-blind within-subject acute study in healthy young adults, we link these two lines of research by showing, for the first time, that flavanol intake leads to faster and greater brain oxygenation responses to hypercapnia, as well as higher performance only when cognitive demand is high.

Light tunable plasmonic metasurfaces.

Self-assembled plasmonic metasurfaces are promising optical platforms to achieve accessible flat optics, due to their strong light-matter interaction, nanometer length scale precision, large area, light weight, and high-throughput fabrication. Here, using photothermal continuous wave laser lithography, we show the spectral and spatial tuning of metasurfaces comprised of a monolayer of ligand capped hexagonally packed gold nanospheres. To tune the spectral response of the metasurfaces, we show that by controlling the intensity of a laser focused onto the metasurface that the absorption peak can be reconfigured from the visible to near-infrared wavelength.

DNA methylation-based profiling for paediatric CNS tumour diagnosis and treatment: a population-based study.

Background: Marked variation exists in the use of genomic data in tumour diagnosis, and optimal integration with conventional diagnostic technology remains uncertain despite several studies reporting improved diagnostic accuracy, selection for targeted treatments, and stratification for trials. Our aim was to assess the added value of molecular profiling in routine clinical practice and the impact on conventional and experimental treatments.

Methods: This population-based study assessed the diagnostic and clinical use of DNA methylation-based profiling in childhood CNS tumours using two large national cohorts in the UK.

Analyzing fidelity and reproducibility of DNA templated plasmonic nanostructures.

Synthetic DNA templated nanostructures offer an excellent platform for the precise spatial and orientational positioning of organic and inorganic nanomaterials. Previous reports have shown its applicability in the organization of plasmonic nanoparticles in a number of geometries for the purpose of realizing tunable nanoscale optical devices. However, translation of nanoparticle-DNA constructs to application requires additional efforts to increase scalability, reproducibility, and formation yields.

Polyphenol-Enriched Plum Extract Enhances Myotubule Formation and Anabolism while Attenuating Colon Cancer-induced Cellular Damage in C2C12 Cells.

Preventing muscle wasting in certain chronic diseases including cancer is an ongoing challenge. Studies have shown that polyphenols derived from fruits and vegetables shows promise in reducing muscle loss in cellular and animal models of muscle wasting. We hypothesized that polyphenols derived from plums () could have anabolic and anti-catabolic benefits on skeletal muscle.

Development and assessment of a multi-beam continuous-phantom-motion x-ray scatter projection imaging system.

X-ray image formation using scattered radiation can yield a superior contrast-to-noise ratio compared to conventional transmission x-ray imaging. A barrier to practical implementation of scatter imaging systems has been slow image acquisition. We have developed a projection imaging system which uses five monoenergetic pencil beams in combination with continuous phantom motion to achieve acquisition times that are practical for medical and security applications.

Dynamic Plasmonic Pixels.

Information display utilizing plasmonic color generation has recently emerged as an alternative paradigm to traditional printing and display technologies. However, many implementations so far have either presented static pixels with a single display state or rely on relatively slow switching mechanisms such as chemical transformations or liquid crystal transitions. Here, we demonstrate spatial, spectral, and temporal control of light using dynamic plasmonic pixels that function through the electric-field-induced alignment of plasmonic nanorods in organic suspensions.

Calcifying Pseudoneoplasm of the Neuraxis: A Case Illustrating Natural History over 17 Years of Radiologic Surveillance.

Background: Calcifying pseudoneoplasm of the neuraxis (CAPNON) is a rare central nervous system lesion that can occur in both the brain and the spine. Although this entity is poorly understood, radiologic and histological features have been identified.

Case Description: We report a unique case of a 31-year-old patient who was managed with antiepileptic medication for 17 years before requiring neurosurgical intervention for tumor progression.

Strong Exciton-Plasmon Coupling in Silver Nanowire Nanocavities.

The interaction between plasmonic and excitonic systems and the formation of hybridized states is an area of intense interest due to the potential to create exotic light-matter states. We report herein coupling between the leaky surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes of single Ag nanowires and excitons of a cyanine dye (TDBC) in an open nanocavity. Silver nanowires were spin-cast onto glass coverslips, and the wavevector of the leaky SPP mode was measured by back focal plane (BFP) microscopy.

Surface Plasmon Polariton Interference in Gold Nanoplates.

Transient absorption microscopy (TAM) measurements have been used to study the optical properties of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes in gold nanoplates on a glass substrate. For thin gold nanoplates, the TAM images show an oscillation in the signal across the plate due to interference between the "bound" and "leaky" SPP modes. The wavelength of the interference pattern is given by λ = 2π/Δk, where Δk is the difference between the wavevectors for the bound and leaky modes and is sensitive to the dielectric constant of the material above the gold nanoplate.

Photothermal Microscopy of Coupled Nanostructures and the Impact of Nanoscale Heating in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

The optical properties of plasmonic nanoparticles are strongly dependent on interactions with other nanoparticles, which complicates analysis for systems larger than a few particles. In this work we examined heat dissipation in aggregated nanoparticles, and its influence on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), through correlated photothermal heterodyne imaging, electron microscopy and SERS measurements. For dimers the per particle absorption cross-sections show evidence of interparticle coupling, however, the effects are much smaller than those for the field enhancements that are important for SERS.

Iron Bioavailability from Ferric Pyrophosphate in Extruded Rice Cofortified with Zinc Sulfate Is Greater than When Cofortified with Zinc Oxide in a Human Stable Isotope Study.

Extruded rice grains are often cofortified with iron and zinc. However, it is uncertain if the addition of zinc to iron-fortified rice affects iron absorption and whether this is zinc-compound specific. We investigated whether zinc, added as zinc oxide (ZnO) or zinc sulfate (ZnSO), affects human iron absorption from extruded rice fortified with ferric pyrophosphate (FePP).

Rheumatoid meningitis.

Rheumatoid meningitis is a rare, potentially treatable condition that can mimic a wide range of neurological conditions, including vascular syndromes and encephalopathies. Despite a concurrent history of rheumatoid arthritis, patients often have no active synovitis. Here we describe a patient with rheumatoid meningitis who presented to a hyperacute stroke unit with dysarthria on waking and transient facial droop.

Role of Resonances in the Transmission of Surface Plasmon Polaritons between Nanostructures.

Understanding how surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagate in metal nanostructures is important for the development of plasmonic devices. In this paper, we study the transmission of SPPs between single-crystal gold nanobars on a glass substrate using transient absorption microscopy. The coupled structures were produced by creating gaps in single nanobars by focused ion beam milling.

Imaging nano-objects by linear and nonlinear optical absorption microscopies.

Absorption based microscopy measurements are emerging as important tools for studying nanomaterials. This review discusses the three most common techniques for performing these experiments: transient absorption microscopy, photothermal heterodyne imaging, and spatial modulation spectroscopy. The focus is on the application of these techniques to imaging and detection, using examples taken from the authors' laboratory.

Effect of substrate discontinuities on the propagating surface plasmon polariton modes in gold nanobars.

The surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes of gold nanobars (nanowires with rectangular dimensions) have been investigated by scanning pump-probe microscopy. In these experiments the nanobars were suspended over trenches cut in glass coverslips, and propagating SPP modes were launched in the supported portion of the nanobar by focusing a near-IR pump laser beam at the end of the nanobar. Transient absorption images were then collected by scanning the probe laser over the nanobar using a galvo-mirror system.

Myopericytoma of the posterior cranial fossa.

Myopericytoma is a soft tissue tumour believed to be derived from perivascular myoid cells. They are typically found in subcutaneous tissues in the extremities. Intracranial myopericytomas are exceptionally rare.

The relative bioavailability of the calcium salt of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate is greater than that of the free fatty acid form in rats.

Background: β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation has been demonstrated to enhance muscle protein synthesis and attenuate loss of muscle mass by multiple pathways. The beneficial effects of HMB have been studied by using either the calcium salt, monohydrate, of HMB (CaHMB) or the free acid form (FAHMB).

Objective: The present study was designed to compare the pharmacokinetics and relative bioavailability of the 2 forms of HMB administered as a liquid suspension in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Detection of single gold nanoparticles using spatial modulation spectroscopy implemented with a galvo-scanning mirror system.

The optical extinction of single nanoparticles can be sensitively detected by spatial modulation spectroscopy (SMS), where the particle is moved in and out of a tightly focused laser beam with a piezo-device. Here we show that high sensitivity can be obtained by modulating the beam with a galvo-mirror system, rather than by moving the sample. This work demonstrates an inexpensive method for making a SMS microscope, and shows how an existing laser scanning microscope can be adapted for SMS measurements.

Upbeat nystagmus in anti-Ma2 encephalitis.

Anti-Ma2 encephalitis is a paraneoplastic disorder characterised by brainstem and/or limbic involvement. Eye movement abnormalities can occur in this condition, often with confusion or somnolence. We describe a patient with progressive oscillopsia (with upbeat nystagmus) and unsteadiness, followed by acute pancreatitis.