Metasurface for programmable quantum algorithms with classical and quantum light.

Metasurfaces have recently opened up applications in the quantum regime, including quantum tomography and the generation of quantum entangled states. With their capability to store a vast amount of information by utilizing the various geometric degrees of freedom of nanostructures, metasurfaces are expected to be useful for processing quantum information. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a programmable metasurface capable of performing quantum algorithms using both classical and quantum light with single photons.

Tropoelastin modulates systemic and local tissue responses to enhance wound healing.

Wound healing is facilitated by biomaterials-based grafts and substantially impacted by orchestrated inflammatory responses that are essential to the normal repair process. Tropoelastin (TE) based materials are known to shorten the period for wound repair but the mechanism of anti-inflammatory performance is not known. To explore this, we compared the performance of the gold standard Integra Dermal Regeneration Template (Integra), polyglycerol sebacate (PGS), and TE blended with PGS, in a murine full-thickness cutaneous wound healing study.

Giant parathyroid adenoma and hungry bone syndrome in MEN1 syndrome: A case report.

An 18-year-old male with multiple endocrine neoplasm type 1 (MEN1) syndrome presented with hyperparathyroidism. Parathyroidectomy was performed. Patient complained of bone pain afterwards, multiple imaging modalities revealed features of osteitis fibrosa cystica and biochemical profile showed features of hungry bone syndrome.

Retrospective study of qualitative assessment in detecting synchronous and metachronous malignancies in adult cancer patients by 18 F-FDG PET/CT.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the frequency of incidental suspicious lesions detected by flourine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET/computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) scans done for staging or restaging in adult cancer patients. We further determined the detection rate of synchronous and metachronous malignancies in these suspicious lesions after further investigations.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective analysis evaluated the consecutive patients with 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans done in Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Hong Kong between July 2021 and June 2022.

Genomic and transcriptomic insights into complex virus-prokaryote interactions in marine biofilms.

Marine biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms that play a crucial ecological role in oceans. Although prokaryotes are the dominant members of these biofilms, little is known about their interactions with viruses. By analysing publicly available and newly sequenced metagenomic data, we identified 2446 virus-prokaryote connections in 84 marine biofilms.

Changes in community structures and functions of the gut microbiomes of deep-sea cold seep mussels during in situ transplantation experiment.

Background: Many deep-sea invertebrates largely depend on chemoautotrophic symbionts for energy and nutrition, and some of them have reduced functional digestive tracts. By contrast, deep-sea mussels have a complete digestive system although symbionts in their gills play vital roles in nutrient supply. This digestive system remains functional and can utilise available resources, but the roles and associations among gut microbiomes in these mussels remain unknown.

Effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle training alone or combined with either a novel biofeedback device or conventional biofeedback for improving stress urinary incontinence: A randomized controlled pilot trial.

Purpose: To (i) compare the acceptance of a newly developed, novel biofeedback device (PelviSense) with that of conventional biofeedback (CB) using an intravaginal probe for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women, (ii) examine the feasibility and safety of using the PelviSense device as a pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training (PFMT) adjunct, and (iii) compare the PFMT adherence and effectiveness of CB, the PelviSense device, with PFMT alone for women with SUI.

Methods: An assessor-blinded, three-arm, randomized controlled pilot trial was conducted among 51 women with SUI. Women were randomly allocated to one of three study groups (PelviSense-assisted PFMT, CB-assisted PFMT, or PFMT alone [control]).

Mode of action of elasnin as biofilm formation eradicator of methicillin-resistant .

Biofilm is made up of microbes and their extracellular matrix, making microorganisms highly tolerant, resistant, and resilient to a wide range of antimicrobials. Biofilm treatment with conventional antimicrobial agents can accelerate the evolution and spread of resistance due to the reduced efficacy and increased gene transfer and differentiation within biofilms. Therefore, effective biofilm-targeting compounds are currently highly sought after.

Polarization coincidence images from metasurfaces with HOM-type interference.

Metasurfaces provide a promising route for structuring light and generating holograms with designed amplitude, phase, and polarization profiles, leading to a versatile platform for integrating and constructing optical components beyond the conventional ones. At the same time, incorporating coincidence in imaging allows a high signal-to-noise ratio for imaging in very low light levels. As beneficial from the recent development in both metasurfaces and single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) cameras, we combine the polarization-sensitive capability of metasurfaces with Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM)-type interference in generating images with tailor-made two-photon interference and polarization coincidence signatures.

Profiling Signal Transduction in Global Marine Biofilms.

Microbes use signal transduction systems in the processes of swarming motility, antibiotic resistance, virulence, conjugal plasmid transfer, and biofilm formation. However, the signal transduction systems in natural marine biofilms have hardly been profiled. Here we analyzed signal transduction genes in 101 marine biofilm and 91 seawater microbial metagenomes.

Genomic Signatures Supporting the Symbiosis and Formation of Chitinous Tube in the Deep-Sea Tubeworm Paraescarpia echinospica.

Vestimentiferan tubeworms are iconic animals that present as large habitat-forming chitinized tube bushes in deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems. They are gutless and depend entirely on their endosymbiotic sulfide-oxidizing chemoautotrophic bacteria for nutrition. Information on the genomes of several siboglinid endosymbionts has improved our understanding of their nutritional supplies.

Design of Dielectric Resonator Antenna Using Dielectric Paste.

In this publication, the use of a dielectric paste for dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) design is investigated. The dielectric paste can serve as an alternative approach of manufacturing a dielectric resonator antenna by subsequently filling a mold with the dielectric paste. The dielectric paste is obtained by mixing nanoparticle sized barium strontium titanate (BST) powder with a silicone rubber.

Hologenome analysis reveals dual symbiosis in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent snail Gigantopelta aegis.

Animals endemic to deep-sea hydrothermal vents often form obligatory symbioses with bacteria, maintained by intricate host-symbiont interactions. Most genomic studies on holobionts have not investigated both sides to similar depths. Here, we report dual symbiosis in the peltospirid snail Gigantopelta aegis with two gammaproteobacterial endosymbionts: a sulfur oxidiser and a methane oxidiser.

AmplifEYE assisted colonoscopy versus standard colonoscopy: A randomized controlled study.

Background And Aim: AmplifEYE is a mucosal exposure device mounted to the tip of colonoscope to improve polyp or adenoma detection. We aim to compare the adenoma detection rates (ADR) of AmplifEYE-assisted colonoscopy (AC) with standard colonoscopy (SC).

Methods: We performed a randomized controlled trial involving patients aged 50 to 79 who underwent AC or SC in two centers.

The Scaly-foot Snail genome and implications for the origins of biomineralised armour.

The Scaly-foot Snail, Chrysomallon squamiferum, presents a combination of biomineralised features, reminiscent of enigmatic early fossil taxa with complex shells and sclerites such as sachtids, but in a recently-diverged living species which even has iron-infused hard parts. Thus the Scaly-foot Snail is an ideal model to study the genomic mechanisms underlying the evolutionary diversification of biomineralised armour. Here, we present a high-quality whole-genome assembly and tissue-specific transcriptomic data, and show that scale and shell formation in the Scaly-foot Snail employ independent subsets of 25 highly-expressed transcription factors.

Comparative Proteomics on Deep-Sea Amphipods after in Situ Copper Exposure.

The interest in deep-sea mining increased along with the environmental concerns of these activities to the deep-sea fauna. The discovery of optimal biomarkers of deep-sea mining activities in deep-sea species is a crucial step toward the supply of important ecological information for environmental impact assessment. In this study, an in situ copper exposure experiment was performed on deep-sea scavenging amphipods.

Genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic insights into the symbiosis of deep-sea tubeworm holobionts.

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents and methane seeps are often densely populated by animals that host chemosynthetic symbiotic bacteria, but the molecular mechanisms of such host-symbiont relationship remain largely unclear. We characterized the symbiont genome of the seep-living siboglinid Paraescarpia echinospica and compared seven siboglinid-symbiont genomes. Our comparative analyses indicate that seep-living siboglinid endosymbionts have more virulence traits for establishing infections and modulating host-bacterium interaction than the vent-dwelling species, and have a high potential to resist environmental hazards.

Monovalent and Oriented Labeling of Gold Nanoprobes for the High-Resolution Tracking of a Single-Membrane Molecule.

Single-molecule tracking is a powerful method to study molecular dynamics in living systems including biological membranes. High-resolution single-molecule tracking requires a bright and stable signal, which has typically been facilitated by nanoparticles due to their superb optical properties. However, there are concerns about using a nanoparticle to label a single molecule because of its relatively large size and the possibility of cross-linking multiple target molecules, both of which could affect the original molecular dynamics.

Solid state NMR of isotope labelled murine fur: a powerful tool to study atomic level keratin structure and treatment effects.

We have prepared mouse fur extensively C,N-labelled in all amino acid types enabling application of 2D solid state NMR techniques which establish covalent and spatial proximities within, and in favorable cases between, residues. C double quantum-single quantum correlation and proton driven spin diffusion techniques are particularly useful for resolving certain amino acid types. Unlike 1D experiments on isotopically normal material, the 2D methods allow the chemical shifts of entire spin systems of numerous residue types to be determined, particularly those with one or more distinctively shifted atoms such as Gly, Ser, Thr, Tyr, Phe, Val, Leu, Ile and Pro.

Adolescent-onset of cocaine use is associated with heightened stress-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking.

Adolescent rats take cocaine more readily than adults, are more sensitive to lower doses of the drug and work harder for it. It remains unknown if adolescent-onset of cocaine use has long-term consequences on adult relapse liability. Therefore, we tested if self-administering cocaine during adolescence impacts subsequent stress-induced reinstatement to cocaine seeking and taking, after a prolonged drug-free period.

A mobile app to aid smoking cessation: preliminary evaluation of SmokeFree28.

Background: Little is known about the effectiveness of mobile apps in aiding smoking cessation or their validity for automated collection of data on smoking cessation outcomes.

Objective: We conducted a preliminary evaluation of SF28 (SF28 is the name of the app, short for SmokeFree28)-an app aimed at helping smokers to be smoke-free for 28 days.

Methods: Data on sociodemographic characteristics, smoking history, number of logins, and abstinence at each login were uploaded to a server from SF28 between August 2012 and August 2013.

NMR spectroscopy of native and in vitro tissues implicates polyADP ribose in biomineralization.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is useful to determine molecular structure in tissues grown in vitro only if their fidelity, relative to native tissue, can be established. Here, we use multidimensional NMR spectra of animal and in vitro model tissues as fingerprints of their respective molecular structures, allowing us to compare the intact tissues at atomic length scales. To obtain spectra from animal tissues, we developed a heavy mouse enriched by about 20% in the NMR-active isotopes carbon-13 and nitrogen-15.

Citrate bridges between mineral platelets in bone.

We provide evidence that citrate anions bridge between mineral platelets in bone and hypothesize that their presence acts to maintain separate platelets with disordered regions between them rather than gradual transformations into larger, more ordered blocks of mineral. To assess this hypothesis, we take as a model for a citrate bridging between layers of calcium phosphate mineral a double salt octacalcium phosphate citrate (OCP-citrate). We use a combination of multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and first principles electronic structure calculations to propose a quantitative structure for this material, in which citrate anions reside in a hydrated layer, bridging between apatitic layers.