A systematic review and meta-analysis of the safety and efficacy of uterine artery embolization vs. surgery for symptomatic uterine fibroids

Purpose: The aim of this study was to systematically review the safety and efficacy of uterine artery embolization(UAE) versus surgery for symptomatic uterine fibroids. Materials and Methods: An electronic search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases was conducted from their inception to May 2017 for randomized controlled trials(RCTs) that assessed UAE versus surgery for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. The references of the included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened the studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: A total of seven RCTs involving 859 patients were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed a shorter hospital stay and recovery time for UAE as compared to surgery. Surgery was not reported to be better for improving health-related quality of life in any of the included studies. There were no significant differences in patient satisfaction(1-2 and 5 years), and intra-procedural complications or major complications(1 year). However, the rates of minor complications(1 year) and further interventions(2 and 5 years) were significantly higher in patients who underwent UAE rather than surgery. The rates of pregnancy and live births were significantly lower among patients who underwent UAE than surgery. Conclusion: UAE is safe and effective, and has the advantages of shorter hospital stay and recovery time as compared to surgery. However, UAE has the risk of re-intervention, and lower pregnancy and live birth rates.

Spin-multiplexed full-space trifunctional terahertz metasurface[Invited]

The widespread use of multifunctional metasurfaces has started to revolutionize conventional electromagnetic devices due to their unprecedented capabilities and exceedingly low losses.Specifically,geometric metasurfaces that utilize spatially varied single-celled elements to impart arbitrary phase modulation under circularly polarized(CP)waves have attracted more attention.However,the geometric phase has intrinsically opposite signs for two spins,resulting in locked and mirrored functionalities for the right-handed and left-handed CP beams.Additionally,the demonstrated geometric metasurfaces so far have been limited to operating in either transmission or reflection modes at a single wavelength.Here,we propose a double-layered metasurface composed of complementary elliptical and reversal ring resonator structures to achieve simultaneous and independent control of the reflection and transmission of CP waves at two independent terahertz frequencies,which integrates three functions of reflected beam deflection,reflected Bessel beam generation,and transmitted beam focusing on the whole space.The high efficiency and simple design of our metasurface will open new avenues for integrated terahertz metadevices with advanced functionalities.

新型酵母蛋白表位标记和基因敲除质粒系统的构建及可行性验证

【目的】构建一套用于酿酒酵母基因功能研究的质粒。该套质粒结合pUG系列和pFA6a系列的优点,同时采用同尾酶实现蛋白表位标签的串联插入。【方法】利用PCR技术分别克隆pUG系列质粒的lox P位点、pFA6a质粒多酶切位点和ADH1终止子模块;通过重组连接各片段,构建pCLHN-TRP和pCLHN-URA质粒。在此基础上利用同尾酶实现多种蛋白表位标签的单个或串联重复插入,获得一系列蛋白表位标记质粒。最后,以ATG1、COX4和NHX1为例验证本质粒系列的性能。【结果】在本项工作中,我们共构建2种基因敲除用质粒和17种表位标记用质粒(涵盖1-8 FLAG、1-12 V5、3-9 HA、2-8MYC、GFP和m Cherry)。在几个靶基因上的应用证实了本套质粒的实用性。尤其值得指出的是,通过组合采用不同重复度的串联表位标签,在同一张膜上同时检测表达差异极大的不同蛋白而不使高表达蛋白信号饱和成为可能。【结论】本文所构建的pCLHN质粒系列是对现有酵母质粒工具的有益补充。

High-efficiency broadband polarization-independent superscatterer using conformal metasurfaces

Safe detection of an arbitrarily shaped platform is critical for survivability, rescue, or navigation safety in a remote region. Metasurfaces afford great potential due to their strong electromagnetic(EM) wave control. However,studies have mainly focused on the physics and design of metasurfaces on planar plates, which does not satisfy the current requirements of aerodynamics and aesthetics. Herein, we propose a sophisticated strategy to design a metasurface that can wrap over arbitrarily shaped objects with moderate curvature on which optical aberrations are commonly introduced. By designing each meta-atom on the basis of the required position and phase compensation, exact EM wavefronts are restored. For verification, several conformal metasurfaces were designed and numerically studied on metallic cylinders at the microwave spectrum. A proof-of-concept device is fabricated and is experimentally characterized. The results demonstrate the availability of the desirable dual-beam superscatterer with strong backscattering enhancement toward two directions, thus indicating that the distortions induced by an arbitrary platform can be efficiently corrected. Our method affords an efficient alternative for designing highperformance multifunctional optoelectronic devices equipped on a moderately curved platform.

Fundamentals and applications of spin-decoupled Pancharatnam-Berry metasurfaces

Manipulating circularly polarized(CP)electromagnetic(EM)waves at will is significantly important for a wide range of applications ranging from chiral-molecule manipulations to optical communication.However,conventional EM devices based on natural materials suffer from limited functionalities,bulky configurations,and low efficiencies.Recently,Pancharatnam-Berry(PB)phase metasurfaces have shown excellent capabilities in controlling CP waves in different frequency domains,thereby allowing for multi-functional PB meta-devices that integrate distinct functionalities into single and flat devices.Nevertheless,the PB phase has intrinsically opposite signs for two spins,resulting in locked and mirrored functionalities for right CP and left CP beams.Here we review the fundamentals and applications of spin-decoupled metasurfaces that release the spin-locked limitation of PB metasurfaces by combining the orientation-dependent PB phase and the dimension-dependent propagation phase.This provides a general and practical guideline toward realizing spin-decoupled functionalities with a single metasurface for orthogonal circular polarizations.Finally,we conclude this review with a short conclusion and personal outlook on the future directions of this rapidly growing research area,hoping to stimulate new research outputs that can be useful in future applications.

Ultrawideband chromatic aberration-free meta-mirrors

Chromatic aberration-free meta-devices(e.g.,achromatic meta-devices and abnormal chromatic meta-devices)play an essential role in modern science and technology.However,current efforts suffer the issues of low efficiency,narrow operating band,and limited wavefront manipulation capability.We propose a general strategy to design chromatic aberration-free meta-devices with high-efficiency and ultrabroadband properties,which is realized by satisfying the key criteria of desirable phase dispersion and high reflection amplitudes at the target frequency interval.The phase dispersion is tuned successfully based on a multiresonant Lorentz model,and high reflection is guaranteed by the presence of the metallic ground.As proof of the concept,two microwave meta-devices are designed,fabricated,and experimentally characterized.An achromatic meta-mirror is proposed within 8 to 12 GHz,and another abnormal chromatic meta-mirror can tune the reflection angle as a linear function.Both meta-mirrors exhibit very high efficiencies(85%to 94%in the frequency band).Our findings open a door to realize chromatic aberration-free meta-devices with high efficiency and wideband properties and stimulate the realizations of chromatic aberration-free metadevices with other functionalities or working at higher frequency.

Effects of nanoparticle structural features on the light-matter interactions in nanocermet layers and cermet-based solar absorbers

Metallic nanoparticle(NP)/ceramic composite cermets present desirable broadband absorption of the solar spectrum and thus are the preferred material scheme for constructing cermet-based solar absorbers.However,the effects of fine nanoparticle structural features on the light-matter interactions in nanocermet layers and corresponding cermet-based solar absorbers are still not well clear until now.Herein,we report a systematical investigation on the effects of W(tungsten)nanoparticle sizes,its concentrations and configurations in an alumina matrix on the optical responses of WeAl_(2)O_(3) nanocermet layers and a solar absorber with double-cermet layers.It is found that to possess admirable light absorption features at high temperatures,it is better to maintain the fine particle size of less than 10 nm,isolated states and suitable separations between them for WeAl_(2)O_(3) nanocermets.Thus,the dominated intrinsic absorption of W NPs,their plasmonic excitation and coupling effects among each other all contribute significantly to the broadband optical performance of the cermet layers and the whole absorber.More importantly,this study demonstrates a valuable criterion for maintaining optical performances of nanocermet layers and cermet-based solar absorbers under heating and thus their thermal robustness.