Search

Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) are known for their robust light–matter interaction and ability to generate volume plasmon polaritons (VPPs). Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) enable to enhance this interaction through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), creating intense local electric fields. However, combining LSPR and VPPs in one device remains unexplored. This study proposes and demonstrates Au NP‐coupled‐HMMs (NPCHMMs), integrating Au NPs with HMMs to enhance random laser action and lower the lasing threshold. NPCHMMs boost emission intensity by ≈6 times compared to pure HMMs, with a ≈47% reduction in lasing threshold. Based on Fermi's golden rule, the calculated transition rate in NPCHMMs surpasses the algebraic sum of the individual transition rates derived from HMMs and Au NPs. It reveals the effect of the coherent coupling between the transition matrix elements of VPP and LSPR. This research indicates that NPCHMMs are a promising platform to create high‐performance optical and optoelectronic devices, such as lasers and phototransistors, for a wide range of application in many fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents investigations into the fabrication, characterization, and performance analysis of stretchable white random lasers based on 2D glutamine(GLN)‐functionalized WS2 quantum dots (QDs) enhanced by the integration of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and a wrinkled graphene structure. Wrinkled graphene holds the potential for achieving transient population inversion through electron collisions. Incorporating Au NPs introduces localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), which enhances the light‐matter interaction, resulting in reduced lasing thresholds. The GLN‐functionalized WS2 QDs exhibit strong photoluminescence emission, and their integration with a wrinkled graphene structure and Au NPs creates a synergistic effect that enhances the emission efficiency and enables the realization of white random lasing. The extensive characterization and analysis of the emission spectra under different deformation ratios provide valuable insights into the tunability and reliability of these devices, as well as the importance of light trapping due to the wrinkled graphene structure. The findings of this study underscore the significant potential of LSPR and wrinkled graphene structure induced stretchable and white random lasers based on 2D GLN‐functionalized WS2 QDs. These lasers may have a promising application in the field of flexible and wearable photonics, which is a critical step towards the development of next‐generation optoelectronic devices with improved performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this era of exponential progress in the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), there is a pressing demand for devices that offer greater storage density, faster transmission rate, and enhanced data security within the realm of information technology. To achieve these advantages, a novel magnetoelectric light-emitting memory (LEM) device that can control the output light intensity and electrical signal based on the input magnetic and electric field strengths has been proposed and demonstrated. An ITO/P3HT–COOH/CdSe–ZnS QDs/ZnO/Ag quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED), an Ag/PMMA/Au resistive random access memory (RRAM), and a PDMS : FeNi/AgNWs/air gap/Au magnetoelectric device with a micro-pyramid structure are integrated in tandem. This novel integrated device can receive magnetic and electrical input signals and transform them into electrical and optical output signals. In addition, it possesses several intriguing characteristics, such as a low operation current, a high ON/OFF ratio, multiple levels, and a controllable light intensity with magnetic stimuli to achieve a paralleled reading process. Furthermore, the magnetoelectric LEM device can emit specific patterns of light. It is possible to read the encoded data when the desired magnitude of a magnetic field, electric voltage, and the correct light pattern are satisfied. Therefore, this brand-new and creative device is very useful and timely for application in many fields, such as data communication and encryption technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic conversion of CO2 into valuable commodities has the potential to balance ongoing energy and environmental issues. To this end, the reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) reaction is a key process that converts CO2 into CO for various industrial processes. However, the competitive CO2 methanation reaction severely limits the CO production yield; therefore, a highly CO-selective catalyst is needed. To address this issue, we have developed a bimetallic nanocatalyst comprising Pd nanoparticles on the cobalt oxide support (denoted as CoPd) via a wet chemical reduction method. Furthermore, the as-prepared CoPd nanocatalyst was exposed to sub-millisecond laser irradiation with per-pulse energies of 1 mJ (denoted as CoPd-1) and 10 mJ (denoted as CoPd-10) for a fixed duration of 10 s to optimize the catalytic activity and selectivity. For the optimum case, the CoPd-10 nanocatalyst exhibited the highest CO production yield of ∼1667 μmol g−1catalyst, with a CO selectivity of ∼88% at a temperature of 573 K, which is a 41% improvement over pristine CoPd (~976 μmol g−1catalyst). The in-depth analysis of structural characterizations along with gas chromatography (GC) and electrochemical analysis suggested that such a high catalytic activity and selectivity of the CoPd-10 nanocatalyst originated from the sub-millisecond laser-irradiation-assisted facile surface restructure of cobalt oxide supported Pd nanoparticles, where atomic CoOx species were observed in the defect sites of the Pd nanoparticles. Such an atomic manipulation led to the formation of heteroatomic reaction sites, where atomic CoOx species and adjacent Pd domains, respectively, promoted the CO2 activation and H2 splitting steps. In addition, the cobalt oxide support helped to donate electrons to Pd, thereby enhancing its ability of H2 splitting. These results provide a strong foundation to use sub-millisecond laser irradiation for catalytic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) has attracted considerable attention due to its enhanced light-matter interaction for tuning the photonic density of states and producing bulk plasmon polariton (BPP). In this study, we demonstrate the application of HMM in organic solar cells (OSCs) with superior performance for the first time. The designed HMM structure composed of multiple pairs of MoO3/Au stacks possesses a hyperbolic dispersion behavior in the primary light absorption regime of the photoactive material. To effectively couple BPP into the photoactive layer, the first pair of the HMM structure is designed to be a portion of the OSC structure, serving as the hole transport layer and anode. The unconventional HMM incorporated OSCs (HMM-OSCs) exhibit ∼29.4% enhancement in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) relative to similar OSCs using one pair of MoO3/Au and ∼11% improvement in PCE as compared to conventional OSCs with the fully reflective electrode. Compared to conventional OSCs, the performance improvement is primarily from the improved short circuit current density from a broad wavelength range of the enhanced photon-to-charge conversion efficiency due to the higher exciton generation and dissociation probability, as suggested by the photocurrent analysis and steady-state photoluminescence measurements. The experimental observation agrees well with that inferred from theoretical simulation for the enhancement in the local electric field and exciton generation rate for the designed HMM structure. Therefore, the designed HMM-OSCs can successfully couple BPP into operation with a large impact on light absorption efficiency enhancement. Our design principle can serve as a useful guideline for the application of HMM in other optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher data transmission rates, broader bandwidths, better privacy, and security are indispensable for the current information‐explosive age. However, to achieve the desired functionalities still remains as a great challenge. In this study, a two‐terminal, vertical dual‐gate phototransistor, which can be controlled by light, electric and magnetic fields, is proposed, fabricated, and demonstrated. This phototransistor uses a tandem structure composed of an organic solar cell (OSC) of ITO/ZnO/P3HT:PC61BM/MoO3/Ag, a resistive random access memory (RRAM) of Ag/PMMA/Au and a magnetoelectric film with micropyramid structure of PDMS:FeNi/silver nanowires (AgNWs). This device integrates and couples the properties of each individual component enabling to respond to light, electric and magnetic fields and works as a dual‐gate transistor. Compared with conventional transistors, the proposed device carries several intriguing features, such as ultrafast photoresponse time of 3 µs, controllable photocurrent with a variety of external stimuli, high ON/OFF ratio greater than 103, and touchless human–machine interaction. All of the above features are beneficial for high‐speed optical communication and circuit miniaturization. Furthermore, its unique logical characteristics show great potential for information security in the future development of Li‐Fi optical communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurological deficits and cognitive dysfunctions caused by acute ischemic stroke pose enormous burden to the stroke families and the communities. Restoration of the normal function of the neurovascular unit following ischemic stroke is critical for improving neurological recovery and cognitive functions after stroke. Recent evidence suggests that the myeloid cells including both the resident microglia and infiltrating monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils are highly plastic in response to the environmental cues. They intimately interact with multiple components of the neurovascular unit in response to the alarmins, danger associated pattern molecules (DAMPs) and other signals released from the ischemic brain. The aim of this review is to discuss the reciprocal interactions between the myeloid cells and the ischemic neurovascular unit during the late repair phase of cerebral ischemic stroke. We also summarize potential immunotherapeutic targets on myeloid cells and new therapeutic approaches targeting myeloid cells, such as cell transplantation, mitochondrial dynamic and extracellular vesicles-based therapy et al to enhance neurovascular repair for better stroke recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The study evaluated a proper strategy for recovering hydrogen production in a pilot plant from methanogen invasion. The pilot biohydrgoen reactor with a working volume of 1 m3 was constructed and a stream of gluten manufacturing wastewater was used as the major substrate. When the gluten wastewater was introduced into the reactor, methane appeared in the biogas and hydrogen decreased to zero accumulation. By increasing the organic loading rate from 6.7 to 13.4 kg-COD/m3/d and reducing the hydraulic retention time from 1.5 to 1 day spontaneously, methanogens can be suppressed in 7 days. Besides, the total volatile fatty acids increase after the adjustment. However, high ethanol concentration in the influent revealed that only limited carbohydrate was available for biohydrogenation. The sugar content in the gluten wastewater can be degraded drastically in 5 days under both acidifying and alkalizing preservation conditions. 5 g/L ethanol and 3 g/L lactate was accumulated in the substrate storage tank resulting in limit carbohydrate for biohydrogenation under acidifying preservation condition. On the other hand, alkalizing preservation condition is a better approach and can preserve 80% of the carbohydrate within 2 days but various volatile fatty acids also accumulated without ethanol production. It is suggested that the gluten wastewater should be fed into the biohydrogen reactor as soon as possible and supplement such as solid organic wastes can also be introduced to maintain a proper organic loading rate and sustain bioactivity of biohydrogenation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An anaerobic fluidized bed reactor (110 L AnFBR) which kitchen waste (KW) was fed as the major substrate and different weight fractions of napiergrass dregs as the supplemental ones for bio-hydrogenation at long hydraulic retention time of 7.3 days was established. Two types of microorganisms could be distinguished by their life surroundings in the microbial community of the AnFBR: one is suspended growth, the other is attached growth. In order to evaluate the biohydrogen potential and kinetic characteristics of the two microbial growths in the AnFBR, a series of biodegradation batch experiments were conducted as the biochemical hydrogen potential test. The suspended microbe had obvious bio-hydrogen production after 3.6 h of lag phase, and the maximum specific hydrogen production rate achieved at 2.65 mmol/g-VSS-hr; the attached microbe stayed longer lag phase about 20 h and the maximum specific hydrogen production rate reached up to 1.06 mmol/g-VSS-hr. The metabolism study was investigated with volatile fatty acids conversion with initial, middle and final constitutes. The huge amount of lactic acid degradation of suspended growth (about 6000 mg/L degradation) displayed a special phenomenon in fermentative hydrogen production. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the morphology of two cultures. We also performed a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis for the diverse microbial identification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study evaluated anaerobic hydrogenation performance and microbial ecology in bioreactors operated at different hydraulic retention time (HRT) conditions and fed with glucose–peptone (GP) and starch–peptone (SP). The maximum hydrogen production rates for GP- and SP-fed bioreactors were found to be 1247 and 412mmol-H2/L/d at HRT of 2 and 3h, respectively. At HRT>8h, hydrogen consumption due to peptone fermentation could occur and thus reduced hydrogen yield from carbohydrate fermentation. Results of cloning/sequencing and denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) indicated that Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium celerecrescens were dominant hydrogen-producing bacteria in the GP-fed bioreactor, presumably due to their capability on protein hydrolysis. In the SP-fed bioreactor, Lactobacillus plantarum, Propionispira arboris, and Clostridium butyricum were found to be dominant populations, but the presence of P. arboris at HRT>3h might be responsible for a lower hydrogen yield from starch fermentation. As a result, optimizing HRT operation for bioreactors was considered an important asset in order to minimize hydrogen-consuming activities and thus maximize net hydrogen production. The limitation of simple parameters such as butyrate to acetate ratio (B/A ratio) in predicting hydrogen production was recognized in this study for bioreactors fed with multiple substrates. It is suggested that microbial ecology analysis, in addition to chemical analysis, should be performed when complex substrates and mixed cultures are used in hydrogen-producing bioreactors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a well-known physical phenomenon, which has been widely used in a variety of fields, spanning from chemistry, and physics to optoelectronic devices. In this study, giant enhanced FRET for donor-acceptor CdSe/ZnS quantum dot (QD) pairs placed on top of Au/MoO 3 multilayer hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) has been realized. An enhanced FRET transfer efficiency as high as 93% was achieved for the energy transfer from a blue-emitting QD to a red-emitting QD, greater than that of other QD-based FRET in previous studies. Experimental results show that the random laser action of the QD pairs is greatly increased on a hyperbolic metamaterial by the enhanced FRET effect. The lasing threshold with assistance of the FRET effect can be reduced by 33% for the mixed blue- and red-emitting as QDs compared to the pure red-emitting QDs. The underlying origins can be well understood based on the combination of several significant factors, including spectral overlap of donor emission and acceptor absorption, the formation of coherent closed loops due to multiple scatterings, an appropriate design of HMMs, and the enhanced FRET assisted by HMMs.

In order to improve the image quality of BLADE magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the index tensor solvers and to evaluate MRI image quality in a clinical setting, we implemented BLADE MRI reconstructions using two tensor solvers (the least-squares solver and the L1 total-variation regularized least absolute deviation (L1TV-LAD) solver) on a graphics processing unit (GPU). The BLADE raw data were prospectively acquired and presented in random order before being assessed by two independent radiologists. Evaluation scores were examined for consistency and then by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify the superior algorithm. The simulation showed the structural similarity index (SSIM) of various tensor solvers ranged between 0.995 and 0.999. Inter-reader reliability was high (Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.845, 95% confidence interval: 0.817, 0.87). The image score of L1TV-LAD was significantly higher than that of vendor-provided image and the least-squares method. The image score of the least-squares method was significantly lower than that of the vendor-provided image. No significance was identified in L1TV-LAD with a regularization strength of λ= 0.4-1.0. The L1TV-LAD with a regularization strength of λ= 0.4-0.7 was found consistently better than least-squares and vendor-provided reconstruction in BLADE MRI with a SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) factor of 2. This warrants further development of the integrated computing system with the scanner.

Objective: ´Three formulas and three medicines,' namely, Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule, Xuebijing Injection, Qingfei Paidu Decoction, HuaShi BaiDu Formula, and XuanFei BaiDu Granule, were proven to be effective for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. The present study aimed to identify the active chemical constituents of this traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and investigate their mechanisms through interleukin-6 (IL-6) integrating network pharmacological approaches., Methods: We collected the compounds from all herbal ingredients of the previously mentioned TCM, but those that could down-regulate IL-6 were screened through the network pharmacology approach. Then, we modeled molecular docking to evaluate the binding affinity between compounds and IL-6. Furthermore, we analyzed the biological processes and pathways of compounds. Finally, we screened out the core genes of compounds through the construction of the protein-protein interaction network and the excavation of gene clusters of compounds., Results: The network pharmacology research showed that TCM could decrease IL-6 using several compounds, such as quercetin, ursolic acid, luteolin, and rutin. Molecular docking results showed that the molecular binding affinity with IL-6 of all compounds except γ-aminobutyric acid was < -5.0 kJ/mol, indicating the potential of numerous active compounds in TCM to directly interact with IL-6, leading to an anti-inflammation effect. Finally, Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to topologize the biological processes and pathways of compounds, revealing potential mechanisms for COVID-19 treatment., Conclusion: These results indicated the positive effect of TCM on the prevention and rehabilitation of COVID-19 in at-risk people. Quercetin, ursolic acid, luteolin, and rutin could inhibit COVID-19 by down-regulating IL-6., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

N ε -carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), a major isoform of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), plays a crucial role in the functional damage of diabetes mellitus. However, it is not clear whether ALT-711 (alagebrium), an inhibitor of AGEs, is capable to rescue CML-induced poor angiogenesis, as well as the underlying mechanism. MicroRNA-27b (miR-27b) promotes angiogenesis through down-regulation of anti-angiogenic protein thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1). Here, we used diabetic mice with hindlimb ischemia to investigate whether miR-27b/TSP-1 signaling is involved in the pathology of critical limb ischemia (CLI) in diabetes mellitus. We additionally examined the effect of ALT-711 on the tube formation of endothelial cells treated with CML-BSA. Compared with control group, the lower blood flow recovery was observed in the ischemic lower limbs of diabetic mice, with decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and miR-27b and increased TSP-1 expression. CML-BSA reduced the tube formation ability of endothelial cells, decreased VEGF and miR-27b expression, and increased TSP-1 expression, whereas this trend was reversed by ALT-711. The miR-27b mimic promoted tube formation, increased VEGF expression, and decreased TSP-1 expression, whereas these effects were abolished by TSP-1 overexpression. Moreover, miR-27b silencing suppressed ALT-711-induced promotion of tube formation under CML-BSA treatment, with reduced VEGF and augmented TSP-1 expression. Taken together, the present study demonstrated that ALT-711 can rescue CML-induced functional angiogenesis damage via miR-27b/TSP-1 signaling cascades. These results indicate new therapeutic strategies for diabetes patients with CLI., Competing Interests: None.

We tested the relation between pain behavior, theta (4-8 Hz) oscillations in somatosensory cortex and burst firing in thalamic neurons in vivo. Optically-induced thalamic bursts attenuated cortical theta and mechanical allodynia. It is proposed that thalamic bursts are an adaptive response to pain that de-synchronizes cortical theta and decreases sensory salience.