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Abstract In the spectral range from ultraviolet to near infrared, graphene lacks the capability to support plasmon polaritons, and has low optical absorptivity for applications due to its extremely small thickness. Many photonic structures based on sophisticated nanofabrication or metal plasmonics have been adopted to conquer this limitation, but they suffer from high expenses or metal parasitic losses. Here, a single-channel coherent perfect absorber simply based on two unpatterned dielectric layers is proposed to reach ∼100% light absorption in monolayer and few-layer graphene. The schemes for narrowband and broadband perfect absorption in graphene are systematically demonstrated, and their potential applications on fibre-integrated narrowband perfect absorbers, high-performance optical sensors, electric-optic modulators and broadband perfect absorbers are also investigated. Our research provides a simple and cost-effective method to completely trap the light from ultraviolet to near infrared in a sub-nanometre scale for a lot of high-performance photonic and optoelectronic devices based on graphene and potentially other 2D materials. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of plasmonic metasurface for sensing has great potential on label-free detection of human tumor markers, which could benefit clinical examination. In this work, we adopt nanoimprint and plasma etching to optimize the nanofabrication for low-cost flexible plasmonic metasurface sensors with gold nanobump arrays, which enable facile surface bio-functionality, high sensitivity and simple optical measurement in the visible range. A high bulk refractive index sensitivity of 454.4 nm/RIU is achieved for the prototype plasmonic metasurface sensors at the wavelengths from 620 nm to 720 nm. The rapid quantitative tumor marker sensing of carcinoembryonic antigen in human serum samples from less than 10 ng/mL to more than 87 ng/mL is achieved, which demonstrates good agreement with the conventional chemiluminescence immunoassay system and sufficiently covers the threshold tumor marker concentration of 20 ng/mL for early cancer prediction. Our method is capable of low-cost high-throughput manufacturing for flexible lightweight plasmonic metasurface sensors, which will facilitate wide applications on portable biomedical sensing devices for future point-of-care diagnosis and mobile healthcare. • Large-scale metasurfaces on lightweight flexible substrates for portable biosensing. • Cost-effective fabrication for mass production by soft nanoimprint lithography. • The entire gold encapsulation benefits the process of antibody functionalization. • Low-cost and compact reflection-type sensing system in the visible range. • High sensitivity for detecting tumor markers, which is competitive with the conventional immunoassay system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is critical to reveal the change in tuyere parameters for the efficient consumption of coal particles and natural gas in the lower zone of the blast furnace. Combined with the actual size and injection conditions of the blast furnace for natural gas utilization, the three-dimensional simulation model involving the tuyere, two lances, raceway and blowpipe is built to explore the influence of the tuyere diameter, tuyere length and inclination angle of tuyere on the difference of flow, temperature, gas concentration and fuel reaction in the tuyere and raceway. The research outcomes show that the change of tuyere diameter has the most significant influence on the gas velocity in the three conditions. The high-temperature district in the computational domain increases gradually with the diameter of the tuyere. However, the result is contrary to the increase of the length and inclination angle of the tuyere. Besides, when the diameter, length and inclination angle increase, the burnout of pulverized coal has a trend of decreasing, increasing and increasing, respectively. To obtain a better fuel combustion effect, it is recommended that the diameter of the tuyere should not exceed 160 mm, the length of the tuyere should not exceed 530 mm, and the inclination angle of the tuyere should not exceed 7° under the current operating conditions. • A 3D model of actual size of blast furnace injection natural gas and coal is used. • Effect of tuyere conditions on the combustion of natural gas and coal is studied. • The size of the raceway is considered after the tuyere diameter changes. • Suggestions are provided for efficient combustion of coal and natural gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer is among the most common malignancies for men, with limited therapy options for last stages of the tumor. There are some different options for treatment and control of prostate tumor growth. However, targeting some specific molecules and cells within tumors has been attracted interests in recent years. The tumor microenvironment (TME) has an important role in the initiation of various malignancies, which can also expand the progression of tumor and facilitate invasion of malignant cells. By regulating immune responses and distinct changes in the metabolism of cells in the tumor, TME has substantial effects in the resistance of cancer cells to therapy. TME in various solid cancers like prostate cancer includes various cells, including cancer cells, supportive stromal cells, immunosuppressive cells, and anticancer inflammatory cells. Natural products including herbal-derived agents and also other natural compounds have been well studied for their anti-tumor potentials. These compounds may modulate various signaling pathways involved in TME, such as immune responses, the metabolism of cells, epigenetics, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix (ECM). This paper provides a review of the current knowledge of prostate TME and complex interactions in this environment. Additionally, the potential use of natural products and also nanoparticles loaded with natural products as therapeutic adjuvants on different cells and therapeutic targets within prostate TME will be discussed. [Display omitted] • This review highlights the effects of natural products and nanoparticles loaded with natural products on prostate tumor microenvironment • The role of tumor microenvironment on the development, invasion, and also therapeutic resistance of prostate cancers has been discussed • The possible synergic effects of natural products on the prostate cancer therapy by anticancer modalities discussed • Promising role of nanocarriers for delivery of natural products has been discussed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THz molecular fingerprint sensing is a promising non-destructive method to accurately detect ultra-thin carbon-based materials in the nanoscale. Due to their extremely low THz absorption, plasmonic metamaterials or all-dielectric metasurfaces have been adopted to enhance the light-matter interaction for detection. However, they cause considerable parasitic losses or complicated material processing on a patterned surface. Here, we propose a lithography-free all-dielectric sensor to enhance THz absorption via an evanescent wave, which can lead to high detecting performance by a coupled mode. In view of the molecular broadband features, we use a thickness-multiplexed scheme to boost the detection of fingerprint significantly. The enhancing factor for the minimum fluctuation of fingerprint feature points is up to 534. Our method drastically enhances the broadband fingerprint intensity of the ultra-thin nanoscale layer and make it comparable to that of a 700-times thick sample layer, measured with a regular approach. Our study paves the way for broadband THz fingerprint sensing of trace-amount analytes and will inspire many burgeoning THz detection applications on 2D or ultra-thin carbon-based nanomaterials. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• NG and COG consumption is computed based on BF mass and heat balance and simulated. • The raceway state is compared as the coal ratio is same and NG and COG are used. • NG injection has more effect on coal reaction behaviors compared with COG. The application of hydrogen-rich gas in the pulverized coal injection technology represents a precious solution to mitigate carbon emissions. In this research, a three-dimensional physical model has been constructed based on the actual dimensions of the gas lance, coal lance, blowpipe, tuyere and raceway of a prominent blast furnace in China. A comparative analysis of the tuyere and raceway status, along with the coal combustion behaviors, is conducted using numerical simulation method after the injection volume of the two hydrogen-rich gases changes. The simulation outcomes demonstrate that the introduction of natural gas into the blast furnace has a comparatively larger influence on the temperature within the raceway, in contrast to the injection of coke oven gas, leading to a more noticeable temperature reduction. Additionally, the average temperature at the tuyere outlet is about 20 K higher with coke oven gas injection compared to natural gas injection under equivalent coal ratios. Furthermore, the burnout of particles is lower in the case of natural gas injection compared to coke oven gas injection. When the injection rates of natural gas and coke oven gas increase, and the coal ratio decreases from 170 kg/t to 140 kg/t, the burnout of coal powder decreases from 68.11% to 64.12% and 64.73%, respectively. The impact of injecting natural gas on coal powder combustion is more pronounced. The research offers a theoretical guide for advancing the mixed application of natural gas, coke oven gas, and particles in the blast furnace, serving as a valuable guide for practical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low-rank coal within 0.074–0.15 mm has weak explosive and meets the requirements of blast furnace injection. • The particle size reduction of low-rank coal makes its combustibility better. • The apparent activation energy of coal decreases with the increase of volatile content and particle size by the difference of heat and mass transfer process. Low-rank coal resources are abundant, which is the key to realizing coal high-value utilization. This paper focused on the effect of particle size of low-rank coal on combustion performance by experiment and kinetic analysis, and proved the feasibility and safety of low-rank coal enlarged particle size for blast furnace injection. Form the research results, the explosive, combustion and gasification behavior of samples are related to its volatile content, the oxygen content, the specific surface area and the reactive sites in the coal. Safety is the key to realize the injection high-proportion or even all low-rank coal, and the increasing of particle size can effectively inhibit its explosive and reduce its combustibility. For low-rank coal with 25%-40%, d 2 (0.074–0.150 mm) is an appropriate particle size for blast furnace injection, which ensures safety and better combustibility. Furthermore, there are differences in the heat and mass transfer process of different particle sizes during the combustion process by affecting its behaviors such as organic matter consumption and volatile matter removal. The apparent activation energy of coal decreases with the increase of volatile content and particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of hydrogen-rich fuels such as hydrogen (H 2), natural gas (NG), coke oven gas (COG), and recycling top gas (RTG) to blast furnace (BF) ironmaking can effectually reduce CO 2 emissions. In this study, the characteristics in the tuyere and raceway with H 2 , NG, COG and RTG injection are compared. The simulation results show that COG starts to combust at the nearest place after leaving the gas lance, the gas velocity is highest at the tuyere and the penetrability of the gas is strongest in four cases; And the maximum temperature generated by combustion along the pulverized coal plume is the highest and the lowest, and the difference is higher as RTG and NG are injected from the gas lance. And the mole fraction of reducing gas produced in the raceway is the highest when NG is injected, followed by COG and RTG, and the least with H 2 injection. Finally, the burnout of PC in the raceway from high to low: RTG injection (81.76%), H 2 injection (79.86%), COG injection (78.04%), NG injection (75.72%) as the same rate of gas is injected. The research will provide a basis for the selection of hydrogen-rich fuel injection in practice. • The combustion features of injection of hydrogen-rich gases and coal are analyzed. • The temperature in the raceway is similar with recycling top gas and H 2 injection. • Coke oven gas starts to combust very close to the gas lance. • The most mole fraction of reducing gas is produced in raceway with NG injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the spatial distribution of populations at finer spatial scales is of significant value and fundamental to many applications such as environmental change, urbanization, regional planning, public health, and disaster management. However, detailed assessment of the population distribution data of countries that have large populations (such as China) and significant variation in distribution requires improved data processing methods and spatialization models. This paper described the construction of a novel population spatialization method by combining land use/cover data and night-light data. Based on the analysis of data characteristics, the method used partial correlation analysis and geographically weighted regression to improve the distribution accuracy and reduce regional errors. China's census data for the years 1990, 2000, and 2010 were assessed. The results showed that the method was better at population spatialization than methods that use only night-light data or land use/cover data and global linear regression. Evaluation of overall accuracies revealed that the coefficient of correlation R-square was >0.90 and increased by >0.13 in the years 1990, 2000, and 2010. Moreover, the local R-square of over 90% of the samples (counties) was higher than the adjusted R-square of the general linear regression model. Furthermore, the gridded population density datasets obtained by this method can be used to analyse spatial-temporal patterns of population density and provide population distribution information with increased accuracy and precision compared to conventional models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The pollutant 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (PNMC), a major component of diesel exhaust particles, can cause many adverse health problems. In the present study, we investigated the effects of PNMC on the testes of Sprague Dawley rats treated subcutaneously for 5days with different doses of PNMC (1, 10 or 100mg/kg). Exposure to PNMC caused a significant decrease in the plasma testosterone levels and in the absolute and relative weights of the testes. Severe histological lesions were observed in the testes of PNMC-treated animals. The ratio of the epithelial height to the seminiferous tubule diameter increased markedly in the PNMC-treated rats compared with the corresponding controls. In addition, PNMC exposure significantly increased the number of apoptotic spermatogenic cells compared with the controls whereas a significant decrease in the ratios of Bcl-2/Bax was observed at the same doses. These results suggest that PNMC exerts its gonadotoxicity in the rat mainly via apoptosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Antimony (Sb), as a newly identified nerve poison, can lead to neuronal apoptosis. However, its neurotoxicological mechanisms remain largely unclear. Here, we evaluated the role and regulation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in Sb-mediated neurotoxicity. Under Sb treatment, β-catenin was dramatically downregulated in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, overexpression of β-catenin effectively attenuated Sb-induced survivin gene expression suppression and subsequent apoptosis in PC12 cells. In addition, Sb stimualted glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) activation, shown as decreased phosphorylation levels at Ser 9 both in PC12 cells and mice brain. Paramacological inhibition of GSK-3β using lithium chloride (LiCl) significantly rescued β-catenin expression. For upstream pathway analysis, we found Sb treatment decreased protein kinase B (Akt) phosphorylation, and Akt activator protected PC12 cells from GSK-3β activation and subsequent β-catenin suppression. In summary, our data provided a novel molecular mechanism of Sb-associated neurotoxicity, namely that Sb induces Wnt/β-catenin pathway suppression through Akt inhibition, thus resulted in neuronal apoptosis. Unlabelled Image • Wnt/β-catenin suppression mediated antimony-induced neurotoxicity. • Sb induced Wnt/β-catenin pathway suppression through Akt inhibition • We provide a new target for the prevention and treatment of Sb overexposure-associated neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]