Sb 2 S 3 has great potential to become a good phase-change material for visible and near-infrared wavebands due to its low loss and high refractive index contrast, so great interest lies in the technology development. This work investigates the intermediate phase-change states and their cycling durabilities by employing a continuous-wave laser for crystallization and a femtosecond laser for amorphization. By considering stratified partial amorphization due to non-uniform intensity distribution along propagation in a film, a double-layer model is proposed to describe intermediate states, which fits experimental data better than the mixture models in effective medium approximation. The phase-change degree is then defined as the ratio of the amorphization depth to the total film thickness, which can be controlled by combination of the pulse energy and the number of pulses in multi-pulse femtosecond laser irradiation for amorphization. The cycling durability is improved by reducing pulse energy and increasing the number of pulses. The experimentally achieved maximum cycling durabilities are 30, 1000, and 7000 cycles for 90%, 60%, and 20% phase-change degrees. The implementation of intermediate states with improved cycling durability may promote the development of Sb 2 S 3 -based reconfigurable photonic devices.

Gangliosides are a family of glycosphingolipids characterized by mono- or polysialic acid-containing oligosaccharides linked through 1,3- and 1,4-β glycosidic bonds with subtle differences in structure that are abundantly present in the central nervous systems of many living organisms. Their cellular surface expression and physiological malfunction are believed to be pathologically implicated in considerable neurological disorders, including Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. Recently, studies have tentatively elucidated that mental retardation or physical stagnation deteriorates as the physiological profile of gangliosides becomes progressively and distinctively abnormal during the development of these typical neurodegenerative syndromes. In this work, a reverse-phase liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay using standard addition calibration for determination of GM2, GM3, GD2, and GD3 in human plasma has been developed and validated. The analytes and internal standard were extracted from human plasma using a simple protein precipitation procedure. Then the samples were analyzed by reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)/MS/MS interfaced to mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization using a multiple reaction monitoring mode to obtain superior sensitivity and specificity. This assay was validated for extraction recovery, calibration linearity, precision, and accuracy. Our quick and sensitive method can be applied to monitor ganglioside levels in plasma from normal people and neurodegenerative patients.

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Disorders of uric acid metabolism may be associated with pathological processes in many diseases, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease. These diseases can further promote uric acid accumulation in the body, leading to a vicious cycle. Preliminary studies have proven many mechanisms such as oxidative stress, lipid metabolism disorders, and rennin angiotensin axis involving in the progression of hyperuricaemia-related diseases. However, there is still lack of effective clinical treatment for hyperuricaemia. According to previous research results, NPT1, NPT4, OAT1, OAT2, OAT3, OAT4, URAT1, GLUT9, ABCG2, PDZK1, these urate transports are closely related to serum uric acid level. Targeting at urate transporters and urate-lowering drugs can enhance our understanding of hyperuricaemia and hyperuricaemia-related diseases. This review may put forward essential references or cross references to be contributed to further elucidate traditional and novel urate-lowering drugs benefits as well as provides theoretical support for the scientific research on hyperuricemia and related diseases.