Polarization-switchable focal vortex beam by an Archimedean array.

Focal position control of vortex beams has tremendous applications in optical field. Herein, non-classical Archimedean arrays were proposed for optical devices with bifocal length and polarization-switchable focal length. The Archimedean arrays were constructed by rotational elliptical holes in a silver film, which were followed by two one-turned Archimedean trajectories.

Endometriosis and New-Onset Coronary Artery Disease in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Endometriosis (EM) with chronic inflammation may accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis. Currently, no large or randomized clinical studies have assessed the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with endometriosis in Asia to investigate whether incident EM is associated with a higher risk of new-onset coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study of a nationwide cohort in Taiwan, we identified 13,988 patients with newly diagnosed EM from 1 January, 2000, through 31 December, 2012.

Characterization of Microbial Diversity and Community Structure in Fermentation Pit Mud of Different Ages for Production of Strong-Aroma Baijiu.

In the traditional fermentation process of strong-aroma Baijiu, a fermentation pit mud (FPM) provides many genera of microorganisms for fermentation. However, the functional microorganisms that have an important effect on the quality of Baijiu and their changes with the age of fermentation pit (FP) are poorly understood. Herein, the Roche 454 pyrosequencing technique and a phospholipid fatty-acid analysis were employed to reveal the structure and diversity of prokaryotic communities in FPM samples that have been aged for 5, 30, and 100 years.

Effect of silencing of high mobility group A2 gene on gastric cancer MKN-45 cells.

Aim: To investigate the effect of high mobility group A2 (HMGA2) gene silencing on gastric cancer MKN-45 cells in vitro.

Methods: HMGA2 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression plasmids were constructed, including a pair of random scrambled sequences. Human gastric cancer cell line MKN-45 cells were divided into three groups: blank control group (non-transfected cells), transfected group (cells transfected with HMGA2 shRNA recombinant plasmid) and scrambled sequence group (transfected with random scrambled plasmid).