Tunable Parametric All-Fiber Short-Wavelength IR Transmitter

In this paper, the performance of an all-fiber short-wave IR (SWIR) transmitter with wideband tunability and high peak power is reported. Transmitter construction relied on parametric process in highly nonlinear fiber to convert a seed laser at 1260 nm to 2155 nm SWIR channel with record 39 dB efficiency and translation over 900 nm spectral range. We demonstrated 61 W of peak converted power at 2 $mu$m and 26 W at 2.15 $mu$ m. Efficient conversion was made possible by engineered fourth-order dispersion of the highly nonlinear fiber and construction of a low-noise pump source in a 1550 nm band.      

Effects of antimony on the electrochemical behaviour of lead dioxide in sulphuric acid

The effect of antimony on the reduction of the two allotropic forms of lead dioxide in sulphuric acid electrolyte has been studied. The effects of antimony doping of the lead dioxide lattice and the effects of antimony contamination of the electrolyte have been considered separately. In the first case antimony increases the quantity of charge related to the reduction, and in the second it exerts a strong passivating influence on the lead dioxide electrodes.     

Multicast Parametric Synchronous Sampling of 320-Gb/s Return-to-Zero Signal

Technology for simultaneous demultiplexing of subrate tributaries is described and applied to 320-Gb/s return-to-zero input. The parametric architecture is scalable with respect to processed input rate and relies on cascaded all-optical multicasting and subrate sampling. Processing of 320-Gb/s input was achieved by creating eight channel copies, followed by a 20-THz-wide parametric gate. Multicasting was based on a self-seeded two-pump broadband fiber-optic parametric amplifier. The architecture was used to demonstrate error-free parallel demultiplexing of eight 320-Gb/s tributary channels at 40 Gb/s.     

ICOSL Stimulation by ICOS-Fc Accelerates Cutaneous Wound Healing In Vivo

Background: ICOS and its ligand ICOSL are immune receptors whose interaction triggers bidirectional signals that modulate the immune response and tissue repair. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the in vivo effects of ICOSL triggering by ICOS-Fc, a recombinant soluble form of ICOS, on skin wound healing. Methods: The effect of human ICOS-Fc on wound healing was assessed, in vitro, and, in vivo, by skin wound healing assay using ICOS^−/− and ICOSL^−/− knockout (KO) mice and NOD-SCID-IL2R null (NSG) mice. Results: We show that, in wild type mice, treatment with ICOS-Fc improves wound healing, promotes angiogenesis, preceded by upregulation of IL-6 and VEGF expression; increases the number of fibroblasts and T cells, whereas it reduces that of neutrophils; and increases the number of M2 vs. M1 macrophages. Fittingly, ICOS-Fc enhanced M2 macrophage migration, while it hampered that of M1 macrophages. ICOS^−/− and ICOSL^−/− KO, and NSG mice showed delayed wound healing, and treatment with ICOS-Fc improved wound closure in ICOS^−/− and NSG mice. Conclusion: These data show that the ICOS/ICOSL network cooperates in tissue repair, and that triggering of ICOSL by ICOS-Fc improves cutaneous wound healing by increasing angiogenesis and recruitment of reparative macrophages.     

Male infertility caused by bilateral agenesis of the vas deferens: a new clinical form of cystic fibrosis?

Congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens causes male excretory infertility and represents 1 to 2% of male infertility. Because of a genotypic similarity with cystic fibrosis, the possible in vitro fertilization with epididymal sperm requires careful genetic counselling. We studied genotype, sweat chloride concentration, respiratory function tests, sinus abnormalities, pancreatic and hepatic functions in 22 subjects with congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens. Among them, four were compound heterozygotus, all of them with the R117H mutation. Ten had a positive sweat test, one of them also being compound heterozygotus. Congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens and double mutation or positive sweat test led to high probable cystic fibrosis diagnosis in 13 subjects. Six subjects were heterozygotus for one cystic fibrosis mutation, criterium which is not sufficient for cystic fibrosis diagnosis; five of them had sinus abnormalities, present in 11 of the 22 subjects. Only three patients had no mutation nor sweat chloride abnormalities. This work confirms the high frequency of cystic fibrosis mutations in males with congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens, with a higher frequency of positive sweat test than in other publications, and a high frequency of sinus abnormalities. This monosymptomatic phenotype of cystic fibrosis suggests new hypotheses for a relationship between genotype and phenotype.     

Electrochemical surface properties of Co3O4 electrodes

The electrochemical behaviour of Co₃O₄ layers deposited by thermal decomposition of Co(NO₃)₂ at 200–500°C on titanium supports with and without an interlayer of RuO₂ has been studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry and potential step experiments in alkaline solutions. Such variables as the calcination temperature, the solution pH, the potential sweep rate and the oxide loading have been investigated in detail to determine their influence on voltammetric peaks and voltammetric charge. Insight has been gained into the relevance of the latter to surface area determination and to proton diffusion into the oxide layer. The role of the support-active layer interface and especially that of the RuO₂ interlayer has been scrutinized. The importance of surface studies for the understanding of the electrocatalytic behaviour of Co₃O₄ electrodes has been analysed.Presented at the 37th Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, Vilnius, USSR, 25–29 August 1986.     

Chiral Resolution and Pharmacological Characterization of the Enantiomers of the Hsp90 Inhibitor 2‐Amino‐7‐[4‐fluoro‐2‐(3‐pyridyl)phenyl]‐4‐methyl‐7,8‐dihydro‐6H‐quinazolin‐5‐one Oxime

Heat‐shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone involved in the stabilization of key oncogenic signaling proteins, and therefore, inhibition of Hsp90 represents a new strategy in cancer therapy. 2‐Amino‐7‐[4‐fluoro‐2‐(3‐pyridyl)phenyl]‐4‐methyl‐7,8‐dihydro‐6H‐quinazolin‐5‐one oxime is a racemic Hsp90 inhibitor that targets the N‐terminal adenosine triphosphatase site. We developed a method to resolve the enantiomers and evaluated their inhibitory activity on Hsp90 and the consequent antitumor effects. The (S) stereoisomer emerged as a potent Hsp90 inhibitor in biochemical and cellular assays. In addition, this enantiomer exhibited high oral bioavailability in mice and excellent antitumor activity in two different human cancer xenograft models.     

155-nm Continuous-Wave Two-Pump Parametric Amplification

We investigate the synthesis of flat parametric response of a dual-pumped device with a distant pump separation ranging from 130 to 180 nm. The Raman contribution to the nonlinear polarization introduced predictable gain ripple and dispersion fluctuation along the highly nonlinear fiber had to be precisely accounted for. A 3-dB equalized gain was observed over 100 nm using 130-nm separated pumps. Record gain bandwidth of 155 nm was also measured for the first time.     

Broad-band 88% efficient two-pump fiber optical parametric amplifier

We demonstrate, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, a highly efficient continuous-wave two-pump fiber optical parametric amplifier. We used a total pump power of /spl sim/280mW in a 14-km-long fiber and obtained 88% power transfer from pumps to signal and idler over 25-nm bandwidth centered at 1568 nm.     

tert‐Butylcarbamate‐Containing Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors: Apoptosis Induction,Cytodifferentiation, and Antiproliferative Activities in Cancer Cells

Herein we report novel pyrrole‐ and benzene‐based hydroxamates ( 8 , 10 ) and 2′‐aminoanilides ( 9 , 11 ) bearing the tert‐butylcarbamate group at the CAP moiety as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. Compounds 8 b and 10 c selectively inhibited HDAC6 at the nanomolar level, whereas the other hydroxamates effected an increase in acetyl‐α‐tubulin levels in human acute myeloid leukemia U937 cells. In the same cell line, compounds 8 b and 10 c elicited 18.4 and 21.4 % apoptosis, respectively (SAHA: 16.9 %), and the pyrrole anilide 9 c displayed the highest cytodifferentiating effect (90.9 %). In tests against a wide range of various cancer cell lines to determine its antiproliferative effects, compound 10 c exhibited growth inhibition from sub‐micromolar (neuroblastoma LAN‐5 and SH‐SY5Y cells, chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cells) to low‐micromolar (lung H1299 and A549, colon HCT116 and HT29 cancer cells) concentrations. In HT29 cells, 10 c increased histone H3 acetylation, and decreased the colony‐forming potential of the cancer cells by up to 60 %.