Half-wave nanolasers and intracellular plasmonic lasing particles.

The ultimate limit for laser miniaturization would be achieving lasing action in the lowest-order cavity mode within a device volume of ≤(λ/2n), where λ is the free-space wavelength and n is the refractive index. Here we highlight the equivalence of localized surface plasmons and surface plasmon polaritons within resonant systems, introducing nanolasers that oscillate in the lowest-order localized surface plasmon or, equivalently, half-cycle surface plasmon polariton. These diffraction-limited single-mode emitters, ranging in size from 170 to 280 nm, harness strong coupling between gold and InGaAsP in the near-infrared (λ = 1,000-1,460 nm), away from the surface plasmon frequency.

Association between genetically predicted leisure and social activities and cardiovascular disease and other health outcomes.

Participation in leisure and social activities (LSA) is associated with better health outcomes and lower mortality. Previous observational studies demonstrated a relationship between engagement in LSA and both mental and physical health. Although several studies examined the association between LSA and health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, their possible causal relationship has not been studied.

Dissipative Landau-Zener tunneling in the crossover regime from weak to strong environment coupling.

Landau-Zener tunneling, which describes the transition in a two-level system during a sweep through an anti-crossing, is a model applicable to a wide range of physical phenomena. Realistic quantum systems are affected by dissipation due to coupling to their environments. An important aspect of understanding such open quantum systems is the relative energy scales of the system itself and the system-environment coupling, which distinguishes the weak- and strong-coupling regimes.

Structural and electronic features enabling delocalized charge-carriers in CuSbSe.

Inorganic semiconductors based on heavy pnictogen cations (Sb and Bi) have gained significant attention as potential nontoxic and stable alternatives to lead-halide perovskites for solar cell applications. A limitation of these novel materials, which is being increasingly commonly found, is carrier localization, which substantially reduces mobilities and diffusion lengths. Herein, CuSbSe is investigated and discovered to have delocalized free carriers, as shown through optical pump terahertz probe spectroscopy and temperature-dependent mobility measurements.

An integrated photonic engine for programmable atomic control.

Solutions for scalable, high-performance optical control are important for the development of scaled atom-based quantum technologies. Modulation of many individual optical beams is central to applying arbitrary gate and control sequences on arrays of atoms or atom-like systems. At telecom wavelengths, miniaturization of optical components via photonic integration has pushed the scale and performance of classical and quantum optics far beyond the limitations of bulk devices.

Tumor cell-based liquid biopsy using high-throughput microfluidic enrichment of entire leukapheresis product.

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) in blood encompass DNA, RNA, and protein biomarkers, but clinical utility is limited by their rarity. To enable tumor epitope-agnostic interrogation of large blood volumes, we developed a high-throughput microfluidic device, depleting hematopoietic cells through high-flow channels and force-amplifying magnetic lenses. Here, we apply this technology to analyze patient-derived leukapheresis products, interrogating a mean blood volume of 5.

Dynamic tracking of objects in the macaque dorsomedial frontal cortex.

A central tenet of cognitive neuroscience is that humans build an internal model of the external world and use mental simulation of the model to perform physical inferences. Decades of human experiments have shown that behaviors in many physical reasoning tasks are consistent with predictions from the mental simulation theory. However, evidence for the defining feature of mental simulation - that neural population dynamics reflect simulations of physical states in the environment - is limited.

Acquired torticollis due to an ocular surface foreign body.

Ocular torticollis is traditionally attributed to eye misalignment, nystagmus, ptosis, or refractive error. We present 3 pediatric cases of acquired torticollis caused by a foreign body beneath the upper eyelid. The head posturing presumably developed to minimize contact of the foreign body with the corneal surface and mitigate ocular discomfort.

Ocular neuromyotonia after peribulbar block.

A man in his 60s developed an intermittent, variable left hypotropia with symptomatic diplopia following nasal pterygium surgery in the left eye. No tropia was present for most of the day, but a variable left hypotropia of 25 could be provoked with downgaze. There was no history of radiation or other trauma.

Interview Results from a Telehealth Hospice Intervention for Children and Young Adults with Cancer.

Background And Aims: Surveyed families of children and young adults with cancer who participated in a pilot study of three coordinated telehealth visits (triad of patient/family, hospital clinician, and hospice nurse) during the first month of hospice enrollment found telehealth feasible and were highly satisfied with hospice care. The aim of this study is to further explore adult patient and caregiver perspectives on telehealth, specifically the benefits of telehealth, trade-offs with in-person appointments, and the impact on patient care and family end-of-life preparations.

Methods: This is a single-arm prospective pilot study of patients aged 0-29-with cancer initiating hospice care between 2021-2022 and their caregivers.

The feasibility of batch-wise polyester degradation and recycling using recombinant Escherichia coli expressing PHB depolymerase (PhaZ).

This study investigates the feasibility of PhaZ (PHB depolymerase derived from Caldimonas manganoxidans) in developing the PHB degradation and recycling process. PhaZ can be efficiently expressed and secreted at an OD of 0.5 and using 0.

Composite Hyaluronic Acid Gas-Entrapping Materials to Promote Wound Healing.

Tissue repair is often impaired in pathological states, highlighting the need for innovative wound-healing technologies. This study introduces composite hyaluronic acid gas-entrapping materials (GEMs) delivering carbon monoxide (CO) to promote wound healing in pigs. These composite materials facilitate burst release followed by sustained release of CO over 48 h.

Nomadic Nanomedicines: Medicines Enabled by the Paracrine Transfer Effect.

In nanomedicine, the cellular export of nanomaterials has been less explored than uptake. Traditionally viewed in a negative light, recent findings highlight the potential of nanomedicine export to enhance therapeutic effects. This Perspective examines key pathways for export and how nanomaterial design affects removal rates.

Engineering synthetic phosphorylation signaling networks in human cells.

Protein phosphorylation signaling networks have a central role in how cells sense and respond to their environment. We engineered artificial phosphorylation networks in which reversible enzymatic phosphorylation cycles were assembled from modular protein domain parts and wired together to create synthetic phosphorylation circuits in human cells. Our design scheme enabled model-guided tuning of circuit function and the ability to make diverse network connections; synthetic phosphorylation circuits can be coupled to upstream cell surface receptors to enable fast-timescale sensing of extracellular ligands, and downstream connections can regulate gene expression.

Protective antibodies target cryptic epitope unmasked by cleavage of malaria sporozoite protein.

The most advanced monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccines against malaria target the central repeat region or closely related sequences within the circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP). Here, using an antigen-agnostic strategy to investigate human antibody responses to whole sporozoites, we identified a class of mAbs that target a cryptic PfCSP epitope that is only exposed after cleavage and subsequent pyroglutamylation (pGlu) of the newly formed N terminus. This pGlu-CSP epitope is not targeted by current anti-PfCSP mAbs and is not included in the licensed malaria vaccines.

Beyond Aromas: Exploring the Development and Potential Applications of Electroencephalography in Olfactory Research-From General Scents to Food Flavor Science Frontiers.

Olfaction is crucial to our dietary choices and significantly influences our emotional and cognitive landscapes. Understanding the underlying neural mechanisms is pivotal, especially through the use of electroencephalography (EEG). This technology has strong temporal resolution, allowing it to capture the dynamics of neural responses to odors, bypassing the need for subjective interpretations.

Lung cancer-intrinsic SOX2 expression mediates resistance to checkpoint blockade therapy by inducing Treg cell-dependent CD8+ T-cell exclusion.

Tumor cell-intrinsic signaling pathways can drastically affect the tumor immune microenvironment, promoting tumor progression and resistance to immunotherapy by excluding immune-cell populations from the tumor. Several tumor cell-intrinsic pathways have been reported to modulate myeloid-cell and T-cell infiltration creating "cold" tumors. However, clinical evidence suggests that excluding cytotoxic T cells from the tumor core also mediates immune evasion.

Conformable Ultrasound Breast Patch - The Future of Breast Cancer Screening?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer type among women worldwide with an average lifetime risk of 12.9%. Early detection and screening are the most important factors for improved prognosis and mammography remains the main screening tool for the average risk patients.

Wide field of view large aperture meta-doublet eyepiece.

Wide field of view and light weight optics are critical for advanced eyewear, with applications in augmented/virtual reality and night vision. Conventional refractive lenses are often stacked to correct aberrations at a wide field of view, leading to limited performance and increased size and weight. In particular, simultaneously achieving a wide field of view and large aperture for light collection is desirable but challenging to realize in a compact form-factor.