Highly tunable low-threshold optical parametric oscillation in radially poled whispering gallery resonators

Whispering gallery resonators (WGR's), based on total internal reflection, possess high quality factors in a broad spectral range. Thus, nonlinear optical processes in such cavities are ideally suited for the generation of broadband or tunable electromagnetic radiation. Experimentally and theoretically, we investigate the tunability of optical parametric oscillation in a radially structured WGR made of lithium niobate. With a 1.04 /mum pump wave, the signal and idler waves are tuned from 1.78 to 2.5 \mum - including the point of degeneracy - by varying the temperature between 20 and 62 {\deg}C. A weak off-centering of the radial domain structure extends considerably the tuning capabilities. The oscillation threshold lies in the mW-power range.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

A health concern regarding the protein corona, aggregation and disaggregation

Nanoparticle (NP)-protein complexes exhibit the correct identity of NP in biological media. Therefore, protein-NP interactions should be closely explored to understand and to modulate the nature of NPs in medical implementations. This review focuses mainly on the physicochemical parameters such as dimension, surface chemistry, the morphology of NPs and influence of medium pH on the formation of protein corona and conformational changes of adsorbed proteins by different kinds of methods. Also, the impact of protein corona on the colloidal stability of NPs is discussed. Uncontrolled protein attachment on NPs may bring unwanted impacts such as protein denaturation and aggregation. In contrast, controlled protein adsorption by optimal concentration, size, pH and surface modification of NPs may result in potential implementation of NPs as therapeutic agents especially for disaggregation of amyloid fibrils. Also, the effect of NPs-protein corona on reducing the cytotoxicity and clinical implications such as drug delivery, cancer therapy, imaging and diagnosis will be discussed. Validated correlative physicochemical parameters for NP-protein corona formation frequently derived from protein corona fingerprints of NPs which are more valid than the parameters obtained only on the base of NP features. This review may provide useful information regarding the potency as well as the adverse effects of NPs to predict their behavior in the in vivo experiments.Comment: 40 pages, 20 figure

Determination of the absorption constant in the interband region by photocurrent measurements

We determined high absorption constants of crystals from photocurrent measurements within the interband absorption region (10-104cm-1). The method has been demonstrated in the interband absorption regime near 530nm in Sn2P2S6, a novel infrared sensitive photorefractive material, and in the interband absorption regime near 257nm of near stoichiometric LiTaO3. Besides the verification of older measurements with our new technique, precise absorption data for Sn2P2S6 in the wavelength range 488-514nm are presente

Species-specific evolution of immune receptor tyrosine based activation motif-containing CEACAM1-related immune receptors in the dog

Background: Although the impact of pathogens on the evolution of the mammalian immune system is still under debate, proteins, which both regulate immune responses and serve as cellular receptors for pathogens should be at the forefront of pathogen-driven host evolution. The CEA ( carcinoembryonic antigen) gene family codes for such proteins and indeed shows tremendous species-specific variation between human and rodents. Since little is known about the CEA gene family in other lineages of placental mammals, we expected to gain new insights into the evolution of the rapidly diverging CEA family by analyzing the CEA family of the dog. Results: Here we describe the complete CEA gene family in the dog. We found that the gene coding for the ITIM-bearing immunoregulatory molecule CEACAM1 gave rise to a recent expansion of the canine CEA gene family by gene duplication, similar to that previously found in humans and mice. However, while the murine and human CEACAMs (carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecules) are predominantly secreted and GPI-anchored, respectively, in the dog, most of the CEACAMs represent ITAM-bearing transmembrane proteins. One of these proteins, CEACAM28, exhibits nearly complete sequence identity with the ligand-binding N domain of CEACAM1, but antagonizing signaling motifs in the cytoplasmic tail. Comparison of nonsynonymous and synonymous substitutions indicates that the CEACAM28 N domain is under the strongest purifying selection of all canine CEACAM1-related CEACAMs. In addition, CEACAM28 shows a similar expression pattern in resting immune cells and tissues as CEACAM1. However, upon activation CEACAM28 mRNA and CEACAM1 mRNA are differentially regulated. Conclusion: Thus, CEACAM1 and CEACAM28 are the first paired immune receptors identified within the CEA gene family, which are expressed on T cells and are most likely involved in the fine-tuning of T cell responses. The direction of gene conversion accompanied by purifying selection and expression in immune cells suggests the possibility that CEACAM28 evolved in response to selective pressure imposed by species-specific pathogens

Increased First Pass Success with C-MAC Videolaryngoscopy in Prehospital Endotracheal Intubation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) with direct view laryngoscopy (DL) is the gold standard for airway management. Videolaryngoscopy (VL) can improve glottis visualization, thus facilitating ETI. The aim of this monocentric, randomized, prospective study on a physician staffed German air ambulance is to compare DL and VL for ETI in terms of number of attempts and time as well as visualization of the glottis in a prehospital setting in a physician-based rescue system in adult patients. A power analysis was performed à priori. We used consecutive on-scene randomization with a sealed envelope system for the DL and VL-group. Successful ETI with first pass success was significantly more frequent with VL than DL and three seconds faster. The percentage of glottis opening and the Cormack & Lehane classification were significantly better with VL than DL. Regarding improved first pass success in ETI with the VL, we would recommend the use of VL for prehospital airway management in physician-based rescue systems

EFFECTS OF ORALLY ADMINISTERED ENTEROCOCCUS FAECIUM ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEMIC RESPONSE AND INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL STRUCTURE IN BALB/C MICE IMMUNIZED BY BOVINE Î’-LACTOGLOBULIN

Objective: Determine the effect of Enterococcus faecium on systemic immune response and its effect on the intestinal epithelial structure in the Balb/c mice. Methods: Thirty Balb/c mice were dispatched in three lots of 10 mice each. During an initial period of 18 days, the animals from the first lot received via an oral way suspension of 0,3 mL containing 108 ufc/mL of Enterococcus faecium,for the second and the third lot received 0,3 mL of a saline solution. In a second period of time, mice from the first and second lots were immunised via parenteral way using β-Lg. Then they were sacrified on the 50th day after the end of the first period (18 days). The level of IgG anti-β-Lg was determined in the sera by the ELISA, and histologic studies were conducted on the jejunum fragments. Results: Our results show that anti β-Lactoglobulin IgG titers were significantly reduced in immunized mice that received the Enterococcus faecium (1/280th) (***p<0,001). The histological studies of the intestinal epithelium shows long intestinal villi (53,88 ± 1,38µm) with diminished intra-epithelial lymphocytes. Conclusion: The study shows that Enterococcus faecium PC4.1 may help protect the intestinal epithelium integrity by maintaining the structure of the villi and has the ability to decrease the systemic immune response to β-lactoglobulin

The presence of oligoclonal IgG bands in human CSF during the course of neurological diseases

The analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an important tool for the diagnosis of neurological diseases. However, there is limited knowledge about the representativity of a single oligoclonal band (OCB) analysis for a neurological disease during its clinical course. In this study, we analyzed the presence of OCB in the CSF of patients who underwent lumbar puncture more than once. We retrospectively analyzed anonymized data from serial 17,002 CSF analyses done in the CSF laboratory of the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich. We included cases with documented diagnosis in whom OCB were determined more than once. We included 144 patients. The median time span between the first and second OCB analysis was 274days (range, 1-3,533days). The result of the second OCB analysis was identical in 109 cases, and different in 35 (24%). Twenty-five patients acquired and ten patients lost OCB over time. Three of 24 MS patients did not show OCB at the first CSF analysis, but in the second. In the entire group, newly occurring OCB were often associated with new symptoms or occurred after the acute phase of CNS infectious diseases, supposedly as a consequence of the immune reaction. A loss of OCB was often associated with remissions from diseases, e.g., during effective treatment. In patients with neurological diseases, both initially positive and negative OCB results may change over time, which often parallels the clinical condition. Such variability must be taken into account for the interpretation of OCB results

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Azerbaijani traditional dairy products

Studied lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from two types of final ready-to-eat artisanal dairy products (cheeses-Agdas, Sheki and yogurts-Karabakh, Ganja and Baku) manufactured in Azerbaijan. The Agdas cheese belongs to the group of semi hard cheeses whilst the Sheki cheese belongs to hard cheeses. Both of cheeses were produced from cow's milk without the addition of the starter cultures. The Karabakh and Baku yogurts were produced from bovine's milk and the Ganja yogurt from buffalo's milk. Overall 378 isolates were collected from these dairy products and 296 of them were Gram-positive and catalase-negative. It was determined using biochemical tests and molecular methods that four species of LAB were mostly present in these cheeses: Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus paraplantarum and Enterococcus faecium while in yogurts, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Enterococcus faecium dominated. Five enterococci were producers of antimicrobial compounds