Hybrid topology optimization combining simulated annealing for designing unpolarized high-efficiency freeform metasurface in-coupler for augmented reality waveguide.

High-efficiency in-couplers with unpolarized responses are crucial for the performance of waveguide augmented reality displays. Freeform quasi-3D metasurfaces (FQ3DM), which integrate freeform metasurfaces with multilayer films, is one possible solution to achieve this. However, the performance of FQ3DM is limited by the lack of inverse design algorithms capable of optimizing its overall structure.

Enhanced Circular Dichroism for Achiral Sensing Based on a DNA-Origami-Empowered Anapole Metasurface.

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has been extensively utilized for detecting and distinguishing the chirality of diverse substances and structures. However, CD spectroscopy is inherently weak and conventionally associated with chiral sensing, thus constraining its range of applications. Here, we report a DNA-origami-empowered metasurface sensing platform through the collaborative effect of metasurfaces and DNA origami, enabling achiral/slightly chiral sensing with high sensitivity via the enhanced ΔCD.

Perovskite Single Crystals by Vacuum Evaporation Crystallization.

Perovskite single crystals have attracted tremendous attention owing to their excellent optoelectronic properties and stability compared to typical multicrystal structures. However, the growth of high-quality perovskite single crystals (PSCs) generally relies on temperature gradients or the introduction of additives to promote crystal growth. In this study, a vacuum evaporation crystallization technique is developed that allows PSCs to be grown under extremely stable conditions at constant temperature and without requiring additives to promote crystal growth.

Alteration of gut microbiota in post-stroke depression patients with Helicobacter pylori infection.

Background: Several studies have identified an association between the gut microbiome and post-stroke depression(PSD), and Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection cause significant alterations in the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome. However, evidence regarding the role of the H.

Design of arbitrary energy distribution beam splitters base on multilayer metagratings by a hybrid evolutionary particle swarm optimization.

Multilayer metagratings have strong wavefront manipulation capabilities and find important applications in beam splitters. Traditional methods rely on the phase gradient design of generalized Snell's law, which can achieve highly efficient beam splitters with uniform energy distribution. However, designing arbitrary energy distributions in different channels under two orthogonal polarizations remains a challenge because it requires more complex structures to modulate the energy flow.

Structure, physicochemical properties, and biological activities of protein hydrolysates from Zanthoxylum seed.

Background: Zanthoxylum seed, as a low-cost and easily accessible plant protein resource, has good potential in the food industry. But protein and its hydrolysates from Zanthoxylum seed are underutilized due to the dearth of studies on them. This study aimed to investigate the structure and physicochemical and biological activities of Zanthoxylum seed protein (ZSP) hydrolysates prepared using Protamex®, Alcalase®, Neutrase®, trypsin, or pepsin.

Gate-Tuning Hybrid Polaritons in Twisted α-MoO/Graphene Heterostructures.

Modulating anisotropic phonon polaritons (PhPs) can open new avenues in infrared nanophotonics. Promising PhP dispersion engineering through polariton hybridization has been demonstrated by coupling gated graphene to single-layer α-MoO. However, the mechanism underlying the gate-dependent modulation of hybridization has remained elusive.

Pixelated Filter Array for On-Chip Polarized Spectral Detection.

On-chip multi-dimensional detection systems integrating pixelated polarization and spectral filter arrays are the latest trend in optical detection instruments, showing broad application potential for diagnostic medical imaging and remote sensing. However, thin-film or microstructure-based filter arrays typically have a trade-off between the detection dimension, optical efficiency, and spectral resolution. Here, we demonstrate novel on-chip integrated polarization spectral detection filter arrays consisting of metasurfaces and multilayer films.

Water-Resistant Subwavelength Perovskite Lasing from Transparent Silica-Based Nanocavity.

Great research efforts are devoted to exploring the miniaturization of chip-scale coherent light sources possessing excellent lasing performance. Despite the indispensable role in Si photonics, SiO is generally considered not contributing to the starting up and operation of integrated lasers. Here, this work demonstrates an extraordinary-performance subwavelength-scale perovskite vertical cavity laser with all-transparent SiO cavity, whose cavity is ultra-simple and composed of only two parallel SiO plates.

Ionic Solvent-Assisted MAPbBr Perovskite Film for Two-Photon Pumped Single-Mode Laser.

Miniaturized coherent light sources on the nanoscale are highly desired for on-chip photonics integration. However, when approaching the diffraction limit, the sub-wavelength-scale all-dielectric lasers are difficult to realize due to the trade-off between lasing performance and physical size. Especially for a thin-film laser, usually an externally complex cavity is required to provide the necessary optical feedback.

Grayscale-patterned integrated multilayer-metal-dielectric microcavities for on-chip multi/hyperspectral imaging in the extended visible bandwidth.

Pixelated filter arrays of Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities are widely integrated with photodetectors to achieve a WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") on-chip spectral measurements. However, FP-filter-based spectral sensors typically have a trade-off between their spectral resolution and working bandwidth due to design limitations of conventional metal or dielectric multilayer microcavities. Here, we propose a new idea of integrated color filter arrays (CFAs) consisting of multilayer metal-dielectric-mirror FP microcavities that, enable a hyperspectral resolution over an extended visible bandwidth (∼300 nm).

Dispersion-engineered broadband diffractive optical elements with multilayer subwavelength structures.

Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) play an important role in modern optical applications such as spectral and imaging systems, but it is challenging to balance the diffraction efficiency with the working bandwidth. The core issue is controlling the broadband dispersion of all phase units to achieve achromatic 2-phase modulation in the broadband domain. Here, we demonstrate broadband DOEs utilizing multilayer subwavelength structures with different materials, making it possible to freely control the phase and phase dispersion of the structural units on a much larger scale than monolayer structures.

Advances in Meta-Optics and Metasurfaces: Fundamentals and Applications.

Meta-optics based on metasurfaces that interact strongly with light has been an active area of research in recent years. The development of meta-optics has always been driven by human's pursuits of the ultimate miniaturization of optical elements, on-demand design and control of light beams, and processing hidden modalities of light. Underpinned by meta-optical physics, meta-optical devices have produced potentially disruptive applications in light manipulation and ultra-light optics.

Aqueous extract of Artemisia capillaris improves non-alcoholic fatty liver and obesity in mice induced by high-fat diet.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases and is a nutritional metabolic disease. (AC) is the above-ground dried part of or , a natural medicinal plant with pharmacological effects of heat-clearing and biliary-promoting. In order to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Artemisia capillaris on NAFLD and obesity, experiments were conducted using aqueous extracts of Artemisia capillaris (WAC) to intervene in NAFLD models and .

Two-dimensional guided-mode resonance gratings with an etch-stop layer and high tolerance to fabrication errors.

Guided-mode resonance (GMR) bandpass filters have many important applications. The tolerance of fabrication errors that easily cause the transmission wavelength to shift has been well studied for one-dimensional (1D) anisotropic GMR gratings. However, the tolerance of two-dimensional (2D) GMR gratings, especially for different design architectures, has rarely been explored, which prevents the achievement of a high-tolerance unpolarized design.

Protective effects of maslinic acid on high fat diet-induced liver injury in mice.

Aims: Due to the prevalence of high-fat diets and lack of exercise, diseases related to nutrient metabolism such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have become one of the reasons causes endangering human liver health. Maslinic acid (MA) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid acid that is abundant in fruits such as hawthorn and jujube. In this study, we investigated the effect of MA on NAFLD to inform the development of dietary supplements for the treatment and prevention of NAFLD.

Reconfigurable Metalens with Phase-Change Switching between Beam Acceleration and Rotation for 3D Depth Imaging.

Depth imaging is very important for many emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, driverless vehicles and facial recognition. However, all these applications demand compact and low-power systems that are beyond the capabilities of most state-of-art depth cameras. Recently, metasurface-based depth imaging that exploits point spread function (PSF) engineering has been demonstrated to be miniaturized and single shot without requiring active illumination or multiple viewpoint exposures.

Brain-gut-microbiota axis in Parkinson's disease: A historical review and future perspective.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) after Alzheimer's disease. In addition to the typical motor symptoms, the clinical manifestations of patients with PD include gastrointestinal symptoms, which even precede the motor symptoms. Recent research has found that the gut microbiota regulates the brain-gut axial interaction through immune, endocrine, and direct neural mechanisms, supporting the hypothesis that the pathological process of PD spreads from the gut to the brain.

High-Stability Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskite (CHNHPbBr) in SiO Mesopores: Nonlinear Optics and Applications for Q-Switching Laser Operation.

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite shows a great potential in the field of photoelectrics. Embedding methyl ammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr) in a mesoporous silica (mSiO) layer is an effective method for maintaining optical performance of MAPbBr at room temperature. In this work, we synthesized MAPbBr quantum dots, embedding them in the mSiO layer.

Waterproof coatings for high-power laser cavities.

With the ever-increasing laser power and repetition rate, thermal control of laser media is becoming increasingly important. Except for widely used air cooling or a bonded heat sink, water cooling of a laser medium is more effective in removing waste heat. However, how to protect deliquescent laser media from water erosion is a challenging issue.

Astragaloside IV inhibits cell proliferation in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma through the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.

Objective: To explore the inhibition of the proliferation of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) by astragaloside IV.

Methods: MTT examined the cell proliferation of VSCC. Flow cytometry analyzed cell cycle and apoptosis.

A head transcriptome provides insights into odorant binding proteins of the bamboo grasshopper.

The bamboo grasshopper Ceracris kiangsu is a famous bamboo pest in China. The identification of genes involved in olfactory behavior of C. kiangsu is necessary for better understanding the molecular basis and expression profiles of behavior ecology.

Interface and material engineering for zigzag slab lasers.

Laser damage of zigzag slab lasers occurs at interface between laser crystal and SiO film. Although an additional HfO layer could be used to manipulate electric-field on the crystal-film interface, their high absorption and polycrystalline structure were unacceptable. SiO was then doped in HfO to suppress its crystallization and to achieve low absorption by annealing.