Controlled Ordering of Topological Charges in an Exciton-Polariton Chain

We demonstrate, experimentally and theoretically, controlled loading of an exciton-polariton vortex chain into a 1D array of trapping potentials. Switching between two types of vortex chains, with topological charges of the same or alternating signs, is achieved by appropriately shaping an off-resonant pump beam that drives the system to the regime of bosonic condensation. In analogy to spin chains, these vortex sequences realize either a "ferromagnetic" or an "antiferromagnetic" order, whereby the role of spin is played by the orbital angular momentum. The ferromagnetic ordering of vortices is associated with the formation of a persistent chiral current. Our results pave the way for the controlled creation of nontrivial distributions of orbital angular momentum and topological order in a periodic exciton-polariton system.

In ovo feeding of L-arginine alters energy metabolism in post-hatch broilers

This study aimed to investigate the effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of L-arginine (Arg) on energy metabolism in post-hatch broilers. A total of 720 eggs was randomly assigned to 3 treatments: 1) non-injected control group, 2) 0.75% NaCl diluent-injected control group, and 3) 1.0% Arg solution-injected group. At 17.5 d of incubation, 0.6 mL of each solution was injected into the amniotic fluid of each egg of injected groups. After hatching, 80 male chicks were randomly assigned to each treatment group with 8 replicates per group. The results showed that IOF of Arg increased glycogen and glucose concentrations in the liver and pectoral muscle of broilers at hatch (P < 0.05). The plasma glucose and insulin levels were higher in the Arg group than in the non-injected and diluent-injected control groups (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, IOF of Arg enhanced the hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P) activity at hatch (P < 0.05). There was no difference in hexokinase (HK) or phosphofructokinase (PFK) enzyme activities in the pectoral muscle in all groups. Further, IOF of Arg increased the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBP) mRNA expressions at hatch (P < 0.05). In addition, broilers in the Arg group had a higher mRNA expression of glycogen synthase and a lower expression of glycogen phosphorylase in the liver and pectoral muscles than in the non-injected controls at hatch (P < 0.05). In conclusion, IOF of Arg solution enhanced liver and pectoral muscle energy reserves at hatch, which might be considered as an effective strategy for regulating early energy metabolism in broilers.

[The status quo and analysis of quality control of cancer chemotherapy in 76 hospitals in Beijing]

Objective: Investigated the status quo of quality control of cancer chemotherapy in hospitals in Beijing to discover the main problems and provide the improvement measures. Methods: One medical record of cancer chemotherapy was taken every month for examination of quality control, and a total of 10 medical records in each hospital were examined. A total of 756 medical records from 76 hospitals were examined. Results: The results of analysis showed that the overall standardization and quality control of cancer chemotherapy was positively correlated with the grade of hospital. Only 36.8% of the hospitals were equipped with Pharmacy Intravenous Admixture Services (PIVAS). In terms of quality control of chemotherapy and medicine, the department of oncology had better performance than other departments (P<0.01). The scores of quality control of chemotherapy and medicine in the hospitals with clinical specialist pharmacists were 50.6 and 14.5, significantly higher than 47.2 and 12.7 of those without clinical specialist pharmacists (P<0.05). Conclusion: We should focus on the quality control of cancer chemotherapy in secondary hospitals, reinforce the training of oncology specialists, establish the admission system of oncologists, enhance the training of oncology clinical pharmacists and promote the standardization of cancer chemotherapy.

Postdonation Anemia in Living Kidney Donors

BACKGROUND

The effect of nephrectomy on development of anemia in living kidney donation has not been well studied. We hypothesized that the remaining kidney volume and function after donation are determinants of hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and postdonation anemia (PDA).

METHODS

We studied 398 living kidney donors (LKDs) who donated from January 2001 to December 2013. Demographic variables, hematologic variables, renal mass, and renal function were investigated as factors associated with PDA with the use of univariate and multivariable logistical regression analysis. Renal mass was determined from kidney volume measured with the use of computerized tomographic scans.

RESULTS

Prevalence of PDA in LKDs was 11.8% at a median follow-up time of 601 days. In univariate analyses, PDA was more prevalent in women than in men (72% vs 28%; P = .048). Age and race were not associated factors. Kidney volume was lower in donors with PDA than in those without PDA (326 ± 52 mL vs 368 ± 70 mL; P < .001). Donors with and without PDA had similar predonation and postdonation glomerular filtration rates. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, total kidney volume and predonation anemia remained as independent factors associated with PDA.

CONCLUSIONS

PDA is prevalent after living kidney donation, with donor kidney volume and predonation hemoglobin levels being independent determinants for PDA.

Chiral Modes at Exceptional Points in Exciton-Polariton Quantum Fluids

We demonstrate the generation of chiral modes-vortex flows with fixed handedness in exciton-polariton quantum fluids. The chiral modes arise in the vicinity of exceptional points (non-Hermitian spectral degeneracies) in an optically induced resonator for exciton polaritons. In particular, a vortex is generated by driving two dipole modes of the non-Hermitian ring resonator into degeneracy. Transition through the exceptional point in the space of the system's parameters is enabled by precise manipulation of real and imaginary parts of the closed-wall potential forming the resonator. As the system is driven to the vicinity of the exceptional point, we observe the formation of a vortex state with a fixed orbital angular momentum (topological charge). This method can be extended to generate higher-order orbital angular momentum states through coalescence of multiple non-Hermitian spectral degeneracies. Our Letter demonstrates the possibility of exploiting nontrivial and counterintuitive properties of waves near exceptional points in macroscopic quantum systems.

Effect of in ovo feeding of l-arginine on the hatchability, growth performance, gastrointestinal hormones, and jejunal digestive and absorptive capacity of posthatch broilers

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of Arg solution on the hatchability, growth performance, gastrointestinal hormones, serum AA, activities of digestive enzymes, and mRNA expressions of sensing receptors and nutrient transporters in the jejunum of posthatch broilers. One thousand two hundred embryonated eggs with similar weight were randomly allocated to 5 groups consisting of 8 replicates of 40 eggs each. The 5 treatments were arranged as a noninjected control, a diluent-injected (0.75% NaCl solution) group, and Arg solution-injected groups with 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% Arg, all dissolved in diluent. At 17.5 d of incubation, 0.6 mL of IOF solution was injected into the amniotic fluid of each egg of the injected groups. Results showed the hatchability of the 2% Arg group was lower (linear, = 0.025) than that of the other groups, and the BW of 21-d-old broilers increased (linear, = 0.008; quadratic, = 0.003) with increasing IOF concentration of Arg. The ADFI (linear, = 0.005; quadratic, = 0.001) and ADG (linear, = 0.010; quadratic, = 0.004) increased during d 1 to 21 with increasing IOF concentration of Arg. For 7- and 21-d-old broilers, the weights of digestive organs increased (linear, < 0.05) with increasing IOF concentrations of Arg; the greatest values were observed in the 1% Arg group. For 21-d-old broilers, IOF of the 1% Arg solution increased ( < 0.05) the concentrations of ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide 2; the activities of digestive enzymes, alkaline phosphatase, maltase, and sucrase in the jejunum; and the concentrations of serum AA of Val, Met, Ile, Leu, Arg, and Pro compared with those of the noninjected control and diluent-injected group. In ovo feeding of the 1% Arg solution also increased ( < 0.05) the mRNA expressions of jejunal sensing receptors of taste receptor type 1 members 1 and 3; the G protein-coupled receptor, class C, group 6, subtype A; nutrient transporters of solute carrier family 7, members 4, 6, and 7; sodium-glucose transporter 1; and fatty acid-binding protein 1. In conclusion, the 1% Arg solution was the appropriate injection level. In ovo feeding of the 1% Arg solution did not affect the hatchability but facilitated the release of gastrointestinal hormones, increasing the digestive and absorptive capacity and finally improving the growth performance of 21-d-old broilers. Therefore, IOF of the appropriate Arg solution could be an effective technology for regulating early nutrition supply and subsequent growth development in the poultry industry.

Effects of dietary starch types on early postmortem muscle energy metabolism in finishing pigs

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different dietary starch types on early postmortem muscle energy metabolism in finishing pigs. Ninety barrows (68.0±2.0kg) were randomly allotted to three experimental diets with five replicates of six pigs, containing pure waxy maize starch (WMS), nonwaxy maize starch (NMS), and pea starch (PS) (amylose/amylopectin were 0.07, 0.19 and 0.28 respectively). Compared with the WMS diet, pigs fed the PS diet exhibited greater creatine kinase activity, higher adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate contents, lower phosphocreatine (PCr), adenosine monophosphate and glycogen contents, and lower glycolytic potential (P<0.05). Moreover, the PS diet led to reduced percentage of bound hexokinase activity, decreased level of phosphorylated AKT (P<0.05) and increased level of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (P<0.05). In conclusion, diet with high amylose content might promote PCr degradation and inhibit the rate of glycolysis, followed by attenuation of early postmortem glycolysis in finishing pigs.

Silver ion-induced mitochondrial dysfunction via a nonspecific pathway

Silver, once regarded as a safe noble metal for humans, has been widely used in industrial and commercial products, especially in nanometer biomaterials. It is now well known that Ag+ is biologically active and is able to interact with the cell membrane, proteins and DNA. However, very little is understood about the potential impacts of Ag+ at the sub-cellular level. Our work investigated the potential toxicity of Ag+ on mitochondria isolated from rat livers by examining the mitochondrial morphology, respiration, swelling, membrane fluidity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. We observed that Ag+ significantly affects the mitochondrial structure and function, including mitochondrial swelling, collapse of the transmembrane potential, change of permeability and fluidity, decline of the respiratory rate, and acceleration of ROS, indicating that Ag+ should be seriously regarded as a potentially hazardous substance. Moreover, we conclude that Ag+ injures the mitochondrial structure and function by a nonspecific approach, in which the interaction is unregulated by inherent parts such as the mitochondria permeability transition pore (MPTP). These results help us learn more about the toxicity of Ag+ at the subcellular (mitochondrial) level and influence future biological and medical applications of Ag-based materials.

Dynamics of fully nonlinear capillary-gravity solitary waves under normal electric fields

Two-dimensional capillary-gravity waves travelling under the effect of a vertical electric field are considered. The fluid is assumed to be a dielectric of infinite depth. It is bounded above by another fluid which is hydrodynamically passive and perfectly conducting. The problem is solved numerically by time-dependent conformal mapping methods. Fully nonlinear waves are presented, and their stability and dynamics are studied.