Deconstruction the feedforward inhibition changes in the layer III of anterior cingulate cortex after peripheral nerve injury.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is one of the critical brain areas for processing noxious information. Previous studies showed that peripheral nerve injury induced broad changes in the ACC, contributing to pain hypersensitivity. The neurons in layer 3 (L3) of the ACC receive the inputs from the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) and form the feedforward inhibition (FFI) microcircuits.

Single femtosecond pulse writing of a bifocal lens.

In this Letter, a method for the fabrication of bifocal lenses is presented by combining surface ablation and bulk modification in a single laser exposure followed by the wet etching processing step. The intensity of a single femtosecond laser pulse was modulated axially into two foci with a designed computer-generated hologram (CGH). Such pulse simultaneously induced an ablation region on the surface and a modified volume inside the fused silica.

Single-cell RNA sequencing uncovers the cell type-dependent transcriptomic changes in the retrosplenial cortex after peripheral nerve injury.

The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a vital area for storing remote memory and has recently been found to undergo broad changes after peripheral nerve injury. However, little is known about the role of RSC in pain regulation. Here, we examine the involvement of RSC in the pain of mice with nerve injury.

[Effect of administration of acupuncture stimulation combined with Gushen Zhuyu Decoction on lumbar function in patients with disc herniation].

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture stimulation combined with administration of"Gushen Zhuyu Tang"(decoction for consolidating kidney to eliminate blood stasis, DCKEBS) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) patients.

Methods: A total of 147 patients with LDH were randomly divided into DCKEBS, acupuncture and DCKEBS+acupuncture groups (= 49 cases in each group). The patients of the acupuncture group received a) acupuncture stimulation of Dazhui (GV14), Ganshu (BL18), Shenshu (BL23), Tianshu (ST25), Yanglingquan (GB34), etc.

[Core stability training combined with acupuncture in treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain: a prospective randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of core stability training combined with acupuncture in the treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain (CLBP).

Methods: Seventy-five CLBP patients were randomly divided into experimental group (=38) and control group (=37) according to a random number table. Patients in the control group were required to perform core stability training, whereas those in the experimental group received core stability training combined with fire needle acupuncture, once every two days, three times per week, for four successive weeks.

[Effects of acupuncture on plasma endogenous opioid peptides in patients with stroke-associated headache in convalescence].

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture on patients with stroke-related headache during convalescent and analyze its related factors.

Methods: A total of 116 stroke-related headache patients admitted to the Acupuncture Department of Gongli Hospital of Pudong New Area, Shanghai, from October 2018 to December 2019 were divided into a treatment group and a control group according to a random number table, with 58 cases in each group. Patients in both groups were given conventional treatments for control of blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids and anticoagulation.

Control of diameter and numerical aperture of microlens by a single ultra-short laser pulse.

We demonstrate a versatile method for fast and flexible fabrication of either one or an array of microlenses. Multi-foci axial intensity distribution generated by a phase pattern displayed on a spatial light modulator irradiates silica, causing ablation and its internal modification. The following wet etching step defines the diameter r, while the radius of curvature R (hence, the focal length f) is maintained the same.

Plasmonic-Assisted Graphene Oxide Artificial Muscles.

Muscles and joints make highly coordinated motion, which can be partly mimicked to drive robots or facilitate activities. However, most cases primarily employ actuators enabling simple deformations. Therefore, a mature artificial motor system requires many actuators assembled with jointed structures to accomplish complex motions, posing limitations and challenges to the fabrication, integration, and applicability of the system.

Wet-etching-assisted femtosecond laser holographic processing of a sapphire concave microlens array.

We report rapid and mask-free fabrication of a sapphire concave microlens array by a combined method of femtosecond laser holographic processing and wet etching. The method features high fabrication efficiency, as crater arrays can be created on sapphire through a parallel processing manner, and the subsequent wet etching facilitates the formation of microlens arrays with a smooth surface. More importantly, the size and spacing of the concave microlenses can be well tuned by varying the distance of craters and etching time.

Plasmonic nano-printing: large-area nanoscale energy deposition for efficient surface texturing.

The lossy nature of plasmonic wave due to absorption is shown to become an advantage for scaling-up a large area surface nanotexturing of transparent dielectrics and semiconductors by a self-organized sub-wavelength energy deposition leading to an ablation pattern-ripples-using this plasmonic nano-printing. Irreversible nanoscale modifications are delivered by surface plasmon polariton (SPP) using: (i) fast scan and (ii) cylindrical focusing of femtosecond laser pulses for a high patterning throughput. The mechanism of ripple formation on ZnS dielectric is experimentally proven to occur via surface wave at the substrate-plasma interface.

Liquid-Assisted Femtosecond Laser Precision-Machining of Silica.

We report a systematical study on the liquid assisted femtosecond laser machining of quartz plate in water and under different etching solutions. The ablation features in liquid showed a better structuring quality and improved resolution with 1/3~1/2 smaller features as compared with those made in air. It has been demonstrated that laser induced periodic structures are present to a lesser extent when laser processed in water solutions.

Single-pulse writing of a concave microlens array.

This work developed a method of femtosecond laser (fs-laser) parallel processing assisted by wet etching to fabricate 3D micro-optical components. A 2D fs-laser spot array with designed spatial distribution was generated by a spatial light modulator. A single-pulse exposure of the entire array was used for parallel processing.

Nano-ablation of silica by plasmonic surface wave at low fluence.

Formation of ripples by ablation of surfaces of laser-irradiated materials is an example of ultrafast energy delivery. Herein, we report on fs-laser optical imprinting of periodic nano-grooves on silica substrate at only 25% of the laser ablation threshold via an interface plasmonic light localization at the ZnS film (top) interface with silica (bottom) by plasmonic surface wave. The nano-grooves were formed throughout ZnS with the same period and orientation imprinted onto the underlying silica.

Determination of 17 pyrethroid residues in troublesome matrices by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with negative chemical ionization.

An analytical method with the technique of QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) and gas chromatography (GC)/mass spectrometry (MS) in negative chemical ionization (NCI) has been developed for the determination of 17 pyrethroid pesticide residues in troublesome matrices, including garlic, onion, spring onion and chili. Pyrethroid residues were extracted with acidified acetonitrile saturated by hexane. After a modified QuEChERS clean-up step, the extract was analyzed by GC-NCI/MS in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode.