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BACKGROUND: Bactrocera correcta is a quarantine pest that negatively impacts the fruit and vegetable industry. Differentiating B. correcta from similar species, especially in non‐adult stages, remains challenging. Rapid molecular identification techniques, such as recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) combined with CRISPR/Cas12a and multienzyme isothermal rapid amplification with lateral flow dipstick (MIRA‐LFD), play a crucial role in early monitoring and safeguarding agricultural production. Our study introduces two methods for the rapid visual identification of B. correcta. RESULTS: Bactrocera correcta specific RPA primers, CRISPR RNA (crRNA), and the LFD probe were designed based on the cox1 genes. The RPA reaction conditions were optimized (at 37 °C for 8 min) for effective template DNA amplification. Two nucleic acid detection methods were established to visualize RPA. In the RPA‐CRISPR/Cas12a system, the optimal LbCas12a/crRNA concentration ratio was 200:400 nmol L−1. Successful amplification was determined by the presence or absence of green fluorescence following 15 min incubation at 37 °C. The MIRA‐LFD system achieved precise identification of the target species within 4 min at 37 °C. Both methods exhibited high specificity and sensitivity, allowing for detection from 1.0 × 10−1 ng μL−1 of DNA. Combined with rapid DNA extraction, rapid identification of individual B. correcta at different developmental stages was achieved, enhancing the practicality and convenience of the established methods. CONCLUSION: Our research findings demonstrate that both the RPA‐CRISPR/Cas12a and MIRA‐LFD methods for B. correcta detection was accurate and rapid (within 30 min and 10 min, respectively), at 37 °C. Our methods do not rely on expensive equipment, thus possess high practical value, providing improved identification solutions for port quarantine pests and field applications. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses stability analysis and quantized stabilization of discrete‐time state‐dependent switching affine systems with quantized control inputs and state measurements. The employed controller is in a mode‐dependent affine form to improve the adaptation to the mode of the controlled system and then to acquire less conservative results. The quantization scheme is considered to be logarithmic and synchronized with the mode switching of the switching affine system and the controller. Aiming at achieving lower conservative criteria, a mode‐dependent Lyapunov function incorporating quantization uncertainties is constructed. Correspondingly, the stability analysis and the stabilizing control synthesis are implemented. In the end, the proposed quantized control strategy is applied to a vehicle path‐following problem to exemplify its effectiveness and robustness against data quantization in control inputs and state measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper investigates the fault‐tolerant control for quadcopter systems with the condition of reducing the bumps of system states. Allowing for the unavailable information of fault detection and identification (FDI) process in reality, a novel fault‐tolerant control scheme integrated with semi‐Markov stochastic process is considered, which stands in marked contrast to previous researches with the assumption of accurate FDI information. The emission probability satisfying piecewise homogeneous property is introduced to express the relationship between the obtained FDI information and real one, which covers more practical scenarios compared with existing ones. Afterwards, sufficient conditions on existence of the bumpless transfer controller reaching prescribed performance are obtained insuring that the quadcopter system is stable in the sense of mean square stability (MSS) and capable of dealing with the unavoidable bumps of states caused by stochastic switching dynamics. Eventually, simulations and comparative studies are performed to illustrate the advantages of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cartilage regeneration remains difficult due to a lack of blood vessels. Degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) causes cartilage defects, and the ECM provides the natural environment and nutrition for cartilage regeneration. Until now, collagen hydrogels are considered to be excellent material for cartilage regeneration due to the similar structure to ECM and good biocompatibility. However, collagen hydrogels also have several drawbacks, such as low mechanical strength, limited ability to induce stem cell differentiation, and rapid degradation. Thus, there is a demanding need to optimize collagen hydrogels for cartilage regeneration. In this review, we will first briefly introduce the structure of articular cartilage and cartilage defect classification and collagen, then provide an overview of the progress made in research on collagen hydrogels with chondrocytes or stem cells, comprehensively expound the research progress and clinical applications of collagen‐based hydrogels that integrate inorganic or organic materials, and finally present challenges for further clinical translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy PointsThe White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis report released in June 2022 highlighted the need to enhance equitable access to maternity care.Nationwide hospital maternity unit closures have worsened the maternal health crisis in underserved communities, leaving many birthing people with few options and with long travel times to reach essential care.Ensuring equitable access to maternity care requires addressing travel burdens to care and inadequate digital access. Our findings reveal socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in the United States face dual barriers to maternity care access, as communities located farthest away from care facilities had the least digital access. Context: With the increases in nationwide hospital maternity unit closures, there is a greater need for telehealth services for the supervision, evaluation, and management of prenatal and postpartum care. However, challenges in digital access persist. We examined associations between driving time to hospital maternity units and digital access to understand whether augmenting digital access and telehealth services might help mitigate travel burdens to maternity care. Methods: This cross‐sectional study used 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey data for hospital maternity unit locations and 2020 American Community Survey five‐year ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA)–level estimates of household digital access to telecommunication technology and broadband. We calculated driving times of the fastest route from population‐weighted ZCTA centroids to the nearest hospital maternity unit. Rural‐urban stratified generalized median regression models were conducted to examine differences in ZCTA‐level proportions of household lacking digital access equipment (any digital device, smartphones, tablet), and lacking broadband subscriptions by spatial accessibility to maternity units. Findings: In 2020, 2,905 (16.6%) urban and 3,394 (39.5%) rural ZCTAs in the United States were located >30 minutes from the nearest hospital maternity units. Regardless of rurality, these communities farther away from a maternity unit had disproportionally lower broadband and device accessibility. Although urban communities have greater digital access to technology and broadband subscriptions compared to rural communities, disparities in the percentage of households with access to digital devices were more pronounced within urban areas, particularly between those with and without close proximity to a hospital maternity unit. Communities where nearest hospital maternity units were >30 minutes away had higher poverty and uninsurance rates than those with <15‐minute access. Conclusions: Socioeconomically disadvantaged communities face significant barriers to maternity care access, both with substantial travel burdens and inadequate digital access. To optimize maternity care access, ongoing efforts (e.g., Affordable Connectivity Program introduced in the 2021 Infrastructure Act), should bridge the gaps in digital access and target communities with substantial travel burdens to care and limited digital access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the problems of stability and stabilization for discrete‐time switched linear systems with a new class of switching signals. The considered switching signals are of random mode‐dependent sojourn‐time (RMST) property, which is capable of describing the mode‐dependent sojourn‐time period consisting of a fixed part with no switching and a random part with known sojourn‐time expectation. Compared with the previous studies assuming that the switching dynamics of the random part can be described by a Markov chain, the length of the random part is allowed to obey any distribution including geometric distribution. Besides, the mode switching of RMST switching is arbitrary indicating that it requires no statistical information of transition probabilities. The criteria of stability and stabilization are derived for the RMST switched systems. To further reduce the limitation of RMST switching on switching frequency, a concept of random mode‐dependent persistent sojourn‐time (RMPST) is proposed. Then, in the presence of asynchronous switching, the conditions of the existence of controllers are presented for the switched systems with persistent sojourn‐time expectation. A numerical example and a practical example of a space robot manipulator are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the developed theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of high‐performance and stable pure red perovskite light‐emitting devices (LEDs) promotes commercialization of perovskite. Benefiting from the quantum confinement effect, pure red CsPbI3 quantum dots (QDs) can avoid the color drift issue for mixed halide systems. Herein, a facile temperature‐dependent hot‐injection method combined with low temperature gradient centrifugation is employed to prepare 5.60 ± 0.05 nm pure red QDs. The QDs exhibit 642 nm photoluminescence (PL) with 37 nm full width at half maximum, and their Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates located at (0.708, 0.292) match well with standard pure red for Rec. 2020. The PL half‐lifetime for pure red QDs solution is 210 days under ambient conditions, and both the X and Y coordinates of CIE only fluctuate within (0.002, 0.002). Finally, a simple NH4I post‐treatment to decrease ligand length further boosts the QDs conductivity, and the pure red LED exhibits 9.4% maximum external quantum efficiency. The electroluminescence spectra exhibits a sharp peak at 645 nm, and their CIE coordinates are located at (0.707, 0.290). Furthermore, the pure red LED exhibits both good working and color stability. Its half‐lifetime is 25.1 min and color drifts are only (0.002, 0.002) after 30.0 min of continuous working at 60 cd m−2 with a constant current density of 3.5 mA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halide perovskites have attracted much attention because of their excellent optoelectronic properties, such as high light absorption, long carrier diffusion length, and high defect tolerance. Ion migration induced device performance degradation, which is not yet fully understood, has become the key obstacle for commercialization of halide perovskites. Here, a general mechanism is proposed, which can build up the connection between the ion migration barrier and the electronic density of states, to clarify the origin of low barrier for ion migration. Density functional theory (DFT) simulation results show that the low barrier is caused by a significant energy difference in band centers between Pb2+ and the isolating halogen anion or by the small number of density of states. Following the explored mechanism, two strategies are proposed to boost barriers via DFT combination CI‐NEB simulations: 1) halide double perovskites and 2) B‐site doping. Furthermore, the finding not only deepens the understanding of ion migration in halide perovskites but also paves a new path for the commercialization of halide perovskite optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following stroke, oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) aggravates neuronal damage and enlarges ischemic penumbra, which is devastating to stroke patients. Nanozyme‐based antioxidants are emerging to treat stroke through scavenging excessive ROS. However, most of nanozymes cannot efficiently scavenge ROS in neuronal cytosol and mitochondria, due to low‐uptake abilities of neurons and barriers of organelle membranes, significantly limiting nanozymes' neuroprotective effects. To overcome this limitation, a manganese‐organic framework modified with polydopamine (pDA‐MNOF), capable of not only mimicking catalytic activities of natural SOD2's catalytic domain but also upregulating two endogenous antioxidant enzymes in neurons is fabricated. With such a dual anti‐ROS effect, this nanozyme robustly decreases cellular ROS and effectively protects them from ROS‐induced injury. STAT‐3 signaling is found to play a vital role in pDA‐MNOF activating the two antioxidant enzymes, HO1 and SOD2. In vivo pDA‐MNOF treatment significantly improves the survival of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) mice by reducing infarct volume and more importantly, promotes animal behavioral recovery. Further, pDA‐MNOF activates vascular endothelial growth factor expression, a downstream target of STAT3 signaling, thus enhancing angiogenesis. Taken together, the biochemical, cell‐biological, and animal‐level behavioral data demonstrate the potentiality of pDA‐MNOF as a dual ROS‐scavenging agent for stroke treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug resistance causes failure of cancer treatment. Identifying drug sensitivity of tumors can guide therapeutic administration for cancer patients, however this approach lacks a facile, fast, and noninvasive evaluation platform. Herein, a gelatin‐coated ZnO array nanoplatform to isolate circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is developed, and their drug resistance for inspecting tumor sensitivity is assessed. The nanoplatform is comprised of a nanosubstrate of ZnO submicropillars (ZnO SMPs) for efficiently isolating cancer cells, and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) based electrochemical probes for evaluating drug resistance of the captured cells. Gelatin, an extracellular matrix‐like and enzyme‐degradable material, is used to coat ZnO SMPs and AuNPs, endowing the nanoplatform with the ability to maintain cancer cell viability and realize enzyme‐responsive cell recovery for downstream bioanalysis. This nanoplatform is expected to noninvasively evaluate drug sensitivity of cancer patients through simple liquid biopsy of CTCs in peripheral blood and benefit the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a global health challenge. Despite the availability of effective preventive vaccines, millions of people are at risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current drug therapies inhibit viral replication, slow the progression of liver fibrosis and reduce infectivity, but they rarely remove the covalently sealed circular DNA (cccDNA) of the virus that causes HBV persistence. Alternative treatment strategies, including those based on CRISPR/cas9 knockout virus gene, can effectively inhibit HBV replication, so it has a good prospect. During chronic infection, some virus gene knockouts based on CRISPR/cas9 may even lead to cccDNA inactivation. This paper reviews the progress of different HBV CRISPR/cas9, vectors for delivering to the liver, and the current situation of preclinical and clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implantable power sources face great challenges in balancing multiple factors including high performance, biocompatibility, mechanical properties for soft tissue fit, and biodegradability. Toward this goal, a simple and feasible method is proposed to prepare implantable a hydrogel‐based supercapacitor (SC). Specially, a multinetwork conductive electrode is in situ formed by aminated‐reduced‐graphene‐oxide‐and‐methacrylic‐anhydride‐comodified sericin (SrMA/A‐rGO) sequentially cross‐linking with four‐arm polyethylene glycol succinimide carbonate and polyethylene glycol acrylate. The conductive multinetwork endows the SrMA/A‐rGO‐based SC implant an equivalent series resistance of 21 Ω cm−2, a volumetric energy density of 26.0 µW cm−2, and a high specific capacitance retention (over 76.4%) after long‐term charging/discharging. Two SCs connected in tandem are able to light up a light‐emitting diode for both in vitro and in vivo studies. Moreover, they can work as a direct output power source to electrically stimulate a stopped heart to start beating again. Additionally, the SC exhibits superior biocompatibility and biodegradability in vivo, and holds the value of specific capacitance above 30% 2 weeks after implantation. Thus, this work demonstrates the SrMA/A‐rGO‐based SC's potential to serve as a power storage unit for medical implants (such as a temporary pacemaker). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead‐free metal halides with 0D crystal structures have stimulated the interest of researchers due to their remarkable photoelectric capabilities, long‐term stability, and environmentally friendly nature. Here, an efficient cyan‐emitting copper(I)‐doped 0D cesium zinc halide is developed via a simple solution synthesis approach and valence stabilization strategy. The broad emission band, substantial Stokes shift, and relatively long decay time all point to extrinsic self‐trapped excitons as the source of the emission. The photoluminescence quantum yield increases from 85.3% to 93.6% after codoping with Al3+ at Zn sites, which can be attributed to an increase in distortion of [CuCl4]3‐ polyhedrons caused by a decrease in local structure symmetry. Meanwhile, the environmental stability of Cu+‐Al3+ codoped samples is also boosted significantly by the distortion‐assisted charge compensation effect. Density functional theory calculations and investigations of temperature‐dependent photoluminescence behaviors back up the luminescence mechanism proposed above. The current study provides new possibilities for developing copper(I)‐relevant metal halides with high luminescence efficiency and excellent environmental stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Aims: Corticosteroids have been shown to improve muscle strength and delay loss of ambulation (LOA) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and are considered standard of care despite significant side‐effects. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether corticosteroid treatment after LOA is beneficial for cardiac or pulmonary functions among boys with DMD. Methods: We used the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (MD STARnet) to characterize associations between corticosteroid use and onset of abnormal left ventricular (LV) function or abnormal percent predicted forced vital capacity (ppFVC) among 398 non‐ambulatory boys with DMD. Kaplan–Meier curve estimation was used to compare time to onset by corticosteroid use groups; Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results: We found no differences in time to onset of abnormal LV function by corticosteroid use groups. We observed a longer time from LOA to first abnormal ppFVC in boys that were treated with corticosteroid ≥1 y beyond LOA compared with those with no corticosteroid use or those who stopped corticosteroid use within 1 y of LOA. Discussion Our findings show no association of corticosteroid use beyond LOA with the onset of abnormal LV function, but a significant association with a delay in onset of abnormal ppFVC. Prospective studies of corticosteroid use in boys with DMD who have lost ambulation may identify benefits and can better elucidate risks, allowing for more effective counseling of patients on continuing treatment after LOA. See Editorial on pages 1‐2 in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solution‐processed lead halide perovskites (LHPs) hold great promise for low‐cost high‐performance solar cells and light‐emitting devices, but they also suffer from a serious operating instability problem due to the ionic migration and lattice decomposition driven by strong electric fields. Here, considerably suppressed ionic migration and enhanced lattice stability in LHPs with partial substitution of Pb with 3d transition metal (TM: Mn and Ni) are reported. It is experimentally shown that the energy barrier for ionic migration in CsPbBr3 can be increased fourfold by Mn and Ni substitution, even with a small doping level (<4%). However, post‐TM Zn and non‐TM Bi incorporations are less efficient in suppressing ionic migration. The theoretical results reveal that Ni and Mn ions with partially filled 3d orbitals can passivate the active lone‐pair electron of surrounding Pb‐Br octahedrons via a coordination effect and reduce the Pb 6s‐Br 4p antibonding states, resulting in long‐range lattice stabilization and suppressed ionic migration. The Ni incorporation strategy in mixed‐halogen CsPbBr1.5I1.5 is further demonstrated, for which the field‐driven halogen segregation is significantly mitigated and the associated emission color variation is reduced sixfold. This study paves the way for improving the operating stability in LHP‐based optoelectronic and electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal halides with self‐trapped exciton (STE‐MHs) featuring broadband emission have manifested great potential in white light‐emitting diodes (WLEDs) with encouraging progress proceeding at an exhilarating pace. In this Perspective article, the focus is on the key issues and challenges of STE‐MH as the single‐layered emitter in WLEDs after providing a brief introduction for STE and its working mechanism of the relevant white‐light emission. Possible approaches and future research directions for efficient STE‐MH‐based WLEDs are also put forward, aiming at promoting their application in the next‐generation high‐quality solid‐state lighting sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) possess the remarkable ability to regenerate the whole blood system in response to ablated stress demands. Delineating the mechanisms that maintain HSPCs during regenerative stresses is increasingly important. Here, it is shown that Hemgn is significantly induced by hematopoietic stresses including irradiation and bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Hemgn deficiency does not disturb steady‐state hematopoiesis in young mice. Hemgn−/‐ HSPCs display defective engraftment activity during BMT with reduced homing and survival and increased apoptosis. Transcriptome profiling analysis reveals that upregulated genes in transplanted Hemgn−/− HSPCs are enriched for gene sets related to interferon gamma (IFN‐γ) signaling. Hemgn−/− HSPCs show enhanced responses to IFN‐γ treatment and increased aging over time. Blocking IFN‐γ signaling in irradiated recipients either pharmacologically or genetically rescues Hemgn−/‐ HSPCs engraftment defect. Mechanistical studies reveal that Hemgn deficiency sustain nuclear Stat1 tyrosine phosphorylation via suppressing T‐cell protein tyrosine phosphatase TC45 activity. Spermidine, a selective activator of TC45, rescues exacerbated phenotype of HSPCs in IFN‐γ‐treated Hemgn−/− mice. Collectively, these results identify that Hemgn is a critical regulator for successful engraftment and reconstitution of HSPCs in mice through negatively regulating IFN‐γ signaling. Targeted Hemgn may be used to improve conditioning regimens and engraftment during HSPCs transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small‐molecule binding assays to target proteins are a core component of drug discovery and development. While a number of assay formats are available, significant drawbacks still remain in cost, sensitivity, and throughput. To improve assays by capitalizing on the power of DNA sequence analysis, we have developed an assay method that combines DNA encoding with split‐and‐pool sample handling. The approach involves affinity labeling of DNA‐linked ligands to a protein target. Critically, the labeling event assesses ligand binding and enables subsequent pooling of several samples. Application of a purifying selection on the pool for protein‐labeled DNAs allows detection of ligand binding by quantification of DNA barcodes. We demonstrate the approach in both ligand displacement and direct binding formats and demonstrate its utility in determination of relative ligand affinity, profiling ligand specificity, and high‐throughput small‐molecule screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have natural advantages in the field of light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) because of their high color purity and tunability in a wide range. However, when manufacturing efficiently mixed‐anion perovskite QDs (CsPbBrxI3−x) to meet the requirements of the pure red color standard in the display field (≈630 nm), results are difficult to control accurately due to the lack of exploration of its microscopic mechanism. Here, a microdynamics model is constructed for anion exchange dominated by vacancies which revealed the key role of polar solvent in reducing the surface energy barrier of anions through first‐principle calculations. Besides, a polar solvent construct in situ anion exchange channels method is proposed. Then, the precise control of anion exchange is demonstrated, and the precise regulation spectrum of the whole red‐light range (600–680 nm) is achieved. Finally, various QD LEDs (QLEDs) based on these tunable QDs are fabricated and exhibit excellent photoelectric performance in the main red range (620–680 nm). Among them, the champion QLEDs, have peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 16.3% at 633 nm and peak EQE of 18.2% at 646 nm, showing potential in meeting the requirements of display standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with large‐angle attitude tracking control for quadrotors in the presence of time‐varying inertia and external disturbances using a switched linear parameter‐varying (LPV) system method. The attitude system of the quadrotor is divided into two parts, that is, the outer attitude‐angle loop and inner angular‐velocity loop. A feedback linearization controller is designed in the outer loop to generate the desired angular velocities. In the inner loop, the nonlinear quadrotor dynamics with time‐varying inertia is approximated by a switched LPV system that consists of a series of LPV models. The persistent dwell time (PDT) switching logic is adopted to describe the fast and slow switches coexist among these LPV models. Then, both the continuous‐time state‐feedback and dynamic output‐feedback controllers are designed, which ensure the globally uniformly asymptotically stability and ℒ2−ℒ∞ external disturbance attenuation performance of the attitude tracking error system. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed tracking control method of quadrotors is validated with an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In‐situ and real‐time modulation of the optical properties of semiconductor nanoemitters by a CMOS‐compatible strategy holds great promise for developing functional and integrated optoelectronic devices. Herein, the reversible and giant (>13 times) enhancement of the photoluminescence (PL) from inorganic halide perovskite nanoplatelets by electrical bias is demonstrated for the first time. Based on the comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, the improved PL performance is attributed to the dynamic surface healing effect by bias‐induced ion redistribution. The switching from PL quenching to PL enhancement from CsPbBr3 nanoplatelet is manifested at threshold temperature of ≈190 K. Moreover, the temperature dependent measurements unravel the activation energy of 142.8 ± 31.1 meV, corroborating that the drifted species of anion (Br−) or VBr dominates the trap healing process. Accordingly, a three‐stage defect passivation model of the vertical configuration is established. The synergistic effects of ion redistribution and charge injection caused by thermal equilibrium energy band bending on the optical properties of the perovskite is further investigated by contacting the perovskite with indium tin oxide electrode. These results provide novel insight into the photophysical properties of halide perovskites and are beneficial for display and lighting applications in future, especially on‐chip integrated photonics circuits and systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the thinner emitting layer and stronger electric field in perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs) than those in perovskite solar cells, the strong electric‐field‐driven ion‐migration is a key issue for the operational stability of PeLEDs. Here, a methylene‐bis‐acrylamide cross‐linking strategy is proposed to both passivate defects and suppress ion‐migration with an emphasis on the suppressing mechanism via in situ investigations. As typical results, in addition to the enhanced external quantum efficiency (EQE, 16.8%), PeLEDs exhibit preferable operational stability with a half lifetime (T50) of 208 h under continuous operation with an initial luminance of 100 cd m−2. Moreover, the EQE of cross‐linked LEDs can maintain above 15% during 25 times scanning as the devices are measured every 4 days. To the authors' knowledge, this is the highest stability published until now for high‐efficiency PeLEDs with EQE over 15%. The in situ/ex situ mechanism investigation demonstrates that such cross‐linking increases binding energy from 0.54 to 0.92 eV and activation energy from 0.21 to 0.5 eV. Hence, it suppresses ligands breaking away and ion migration, which prevents ions from moving inside and across crystals. The proposed cross‐linking passivation strategy thus provides an effective methodology to fabricate stable perovskites‐based photoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enrichment and analysis of fetal nucleated red blood cells (fNRBCs) with fetal intact genome provide an entry for noninvasive prenatal diagnostics (NIPD) as well as intervention of birth defects. Although efficiently fishing and counting fNRBCs from maternal peripheral blood is gaining tremendous interest for decades, it has been impeded recently by its low abundance. In this study, a compatible chitosan nanofiber microchip is developed to specifically capture and nondestructively release fNRBCs from maternal blood. The substrate has 3D nanostructures formed by electrospun chitosan nanofibers, which integrates with anti‐CD147 to capture fNRBCs with an efficiency of 90%. Subsequently, dithiothreitol is employed to release the captured cells with the efficiency up to 90% while the cell viability is kept at 91.2%. Using the chip, the fNRBCs are successfully isolated from peripheral blood of ten pregnant women in the first trimester ranging from 7 to 13 weeks. Overall, this nanofibrous bioplatform combined with functionalized interface molecules offers a promising strategy to isolate fNRBCs from early gestation period, and provides new prospects for advanced studies to facilitate NIPD in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient depolymerization of natural lignin is the key step to convert lignin to sustainable and added‐value chemicals. In this paper, a carbon‐supported Ni‐Cu bimetallic catalyst was developed for the hydrogenation of poplar lignin and β‐O‐4 model compounds. Five Ni‐Cu bimetallic catalysts were prepared by immobilizing Ni and Cu at fixed Ni loading (5%) and varied Cu loading (0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%) on activated carbon (AC). All the Cu‐Ni/AC bimetal catalysts exhibited higher catalytic activity than either Ni/AC or Cu/AC catalysts. 5Ni‐5Cu/AC gave the highest bio‐oil yield of 40.2 wt% for the hydrogenation of. poplar lignin. The XPS, XRD, and HRTEM characterization of the catalysts showed that elemental copper and Cu‐Ni alloy were formed on the surface of 5Ni‐5Cu/AC catalyst, which could promote the efficient depolymerization of lignin into phenolic monomers. The possible mechanism for the lignin depolymerization was also studied and proposed based on the β‐O‐4 bond model compounds. This study provides a viable strategy for the conversion of lignin into added‐value chemicals with low cost catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead halide perovskite, as an emerging semiconductor, provides a fire‐new opportunity for high‐definition display and solid‐state lighting. Earthshaking improvements are implemented in green, red, and near‐infrared perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs). However, blue PeLEDs are still far behind in performance, which restricts the development of PeLEDs in practical applications. Herein, a facile energy cascade channel strategy via one‐step self‐organized and controllable 2D/3D perovskite preparation by introducing guanidine hydrobromide (GABr) is developed that greatly improves the efficiency of blue PeLEDs. The 2D/3D perovskite structure boosts the energy cascade to induce energy transfer from the wide into the narrow bandgap domains and inhibit free charge diffusion, which increases the density of electrons and holes, and enhances the radiative recombination. Profiting from this energy cascade channels, the external quantum efficiency of blue PeLEDs, emitting at 492 nm, is considerably enhanced from 1.5% of initial blue device to 8.2%. In addition, device operating stability under ambient conditions is also improved by 2.6‐fold. The one‐step self‐organized 2D/3D hybrid perovskites induced by GABr pave a new and simple route toward high‐performance blue emission PeLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low Foxp3+ regulatory T‐cell (Treg) presence in the tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is considered favorable in breast cancer, and numerous CD25‐targeting agents have been applied in the attempt to remove Foxp3+ Treg cells, which typically present CD4+CD25+/hi surface phenotype. However, CD25 is not Treg‐exclusive and can be upregulated by effector T cells. Hence, CD25 depletion may cause the elimination of activated T cells that are responding to tumor‐specific antigens. In this study, the composition and function of CD4+CD25+ cells inside the microenvironment of triple‐negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) were investigated. Directly ex vivo, the Foxp3+ Treg cells represented a minor subset in total CD4+CD25+ TILs. Significant differences were observed in the expression of Treg‐associated molecules between CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ TILs and CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs. While both the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and the CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs could express CTLA‐4 and LAG‐3, the expression levels were significantly higher in CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ TILs than in CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs. Upon TCR stimulation, the expression of TGF‐beta was significantly higher in CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ TILs, while the expression of IL‐10 was significantly higher in CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs. These differences were conserved in the blood counterparts of these cells. Interestingly, the level of CD25+Foxp3+ cells in circulating CD4+ T cells was positively correlated with the level of CD25+Foxp3+ cells in CD4+ TILs, but the level of CD25+Foxp3− cells in circulating CD4+ T cells was not associated with the level of CD25+Foxp3‐ cells in CD4+ TILs. Th17‐polarizing medium could readily remodel CD4+CD25+Foxp3−, but not CD4+CD25+Foxp3+, T cells into RORgammat and IL‐17‐expressing T cells, demonstrating stronger plasticity of the former subset. Together, these data demonstrated that the CD4+CD25+ TILs were composed of distinctive Foxp3− and Foxp3+ cells, with the former representing the major subset. The antigen specificity and effector molecule expression of the CD4+CD25+Foxp3− thus require further analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, a novel adaptive control design is proposed to stabilize a class of switched linear systems with parametric uncertainties and disturbances. In particular, a family of differential Riccati equations that holds for the finite switching intervals are established, of which the closed‐form solutions are exploited to develop the Lyapunov function for the closed‐loop system. This Lyapunov function is imposed to be decreasing at and between two arbitrary switching instants by solving a group of matrix inequalities, based on which the adaptive controllers for switched linear system with and without disturbances are proposed, respectively. In the nondisturbed setting, asymptotic stability of the adaptive switched linear system is achieved, while the system is bounded in a mean square sense in the disturbed setting. A numerical example of flight control for F4E fighter aircraft is used to illustrate the proposed adaptive control methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to examine multi‐dimensional MRI features' predictability on survival outcome and associations with differentially expressed Genes (RNA Sequencing) in groups of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Methods: Radiomics features were extracted from segmented lesions of T2‐FLAIR MRI data of 137 GBM patients. Radiomics features include intensity, shape and textural features in seven classes were included in the analysis. Patients were divided into two groups depending on their survival time (shorter or longer than 1‐year survival). Four different machine learning algorithms were implemented to construct the prediction models. Features with top importance (importance >0.04) were selected to construct the prediction model using the model with the best performance. The interactions between image features and genomics were then analysed with Pearson's correlation analysis. Results: The GBDT model with 72 features with highest importance had the highest accuracy of 0.81 on both short and long survival time classes, and the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operative characteristic (ROC) of the short and long survival time class were 0.79 and 0.81. Six metagenes showed significant interactive effect (P < 0.05), and Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that three of these metagenes (TIMP1,ROS1 EREG) showed moderate (0.3 < |r| < 0.5) or high correlation (|r| > 0.5) with image features. Conclusion: Radiogenomics analysis shows that MRI features are predictive of survival outcomes, and image features are highly associated with selective metagenes. Radiogenomics analysis is a useful method for optimizing clinical diagnosis and selecting effective treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe the long‐term effect of steroid treatment on weight in nonambulatory males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), we identified 392 males age 7–29 years with 4,512 weights collected after ambulation loss (176 steroid‐naïve and 216 treated with steroids ≥6 months) from the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (MD STARnet). Comparisons were made between the weight growth curves for steroid‐naïve males with DMD, steroid‐treated males with DMD, and the US pediatric male population. Using linear mixed‐effects models adjusted for race/ethnicity and birth year, we evaluated the association between weight‐for‐age and steroid treatment characteristics (age at initiation, dosing interval, cumulative duration, cumulative dose, type). The weight growth curves for steroid‐naïve and steroid‐treated nonambulatory males with DMD were wider than the US pediatric male growth curves. Mean weight‐for‐age z scores were lower in both steroid‐naïve (mean = −1.3) and steroid‐treated (mean = −0.02) nonambulatory males with DMD, compared to the US pediatric male population. Longer treatment duration and greater cumulative dose were significantly associated with lower mean weight‐for‐age z scores. Providers should consider the effect of steroid treatment on weight when making postambulation treatment decisions for males with DMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Members of the family Scutelleridae (Heteroptera: Pentatomomorpha: Pentatomoidea) are also called shield bugs because of the greatly enlarged scutellum, or jewel bugs because of the brilliant colours of many species. All scutellerids are phytophagous, feeding on various parts of their host plants. Due to lack of obvious synapomorphies and the failure to apply rigorous phylogenetic methods, the higher classification of Scutelleridae has been disputed for more than 150 years. Here we reconstructed a phylogeny of Scutelleridae based on complete sequences of 18S and 28S nuclear rDNAs and all 13 protein‐coding genes of the mitochondrial genome, with the sampled taxa covering all of the currently recognized subfamilies. The monophyly of Scutelleridae was confirmed by the congruence of the results of analyses conducted using Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony. The phylogenetic relationships among subfamilies were well resolved for the first time. Furthermore, time‐divergence studies estimated that the time of origin of Scutelleridae was in the Early Cretaceous (142.1–122.8 Ma), after the origin of the angiosperms. The diversification between the extant subfamilies of Scutelleridae and within the subfamilies occurred from the late Palaeocene to the late Miocene, simultaneously with the rise of the major groups of angiosperms and other phytophagous insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Patterns of geographic variation in body size are predicted to evolve as adaptations to local environmental gradients. However, many of these clinal patterns in body size, such as Bergmann's rule, are controversial and require further investigation into ectotherms such as reptiles on a regional scale. To examine the environmental variables (temperature, precipitation, topography and primary productivity) that shaped patterns of geographic variation in body size in the reptile Calotes versicolor, we sampled 180 adult specimens (91 males and 89 females) at 40 locations across the species range in China. The MANOVA results suggest significant sexual size dimorphism in C. versicolor (F23,124 = 11.32, p < .001). Our results showed that C. versicolor failed to fit the Bergmann's rule. We found that the most important predictors of variation in body size of C. versicolor differed for males and females, but mechanisms related to heat balance and water availability hypotheses were involved in both sexes. Temperature seasonality, precipitation of the driest month, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of the driest quarter were the most important predictors of variation in body size in males, whereas mean precipitation of the warmest quarter, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of the wettest month were most important for body size variation in females. The discrepancy between patterns of association between the sexes suggested that different selection pressures may be acting in males and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D structure endows halide perovskites with both excellent optoelectronic properties and remarkable stability. Because halide perovskite such as CsPbBr3 fits a 3D crystallographic structure, engineering toward 2D structure requires trivial and delicate control. Besides, poor crystallinity and small lateral size are usually accompanied. Here, we report a cation exchange-induced dimensionality construction strategy, based on which high-quality multilayered 2D perovskite single crystals are constructed with monolayered OA2PbBr4 (OA is in short for octadecylamine). Due to the 2D characteristic of OA2PbBr4 structure, it spontaneously grows into several micrometers laterally at room temperature with high crystallinity, the large size as well as the high crystallinity is then handed down to resulted multilayered 2D cesium lead halide perovskites via a cation exchange strategy. Specifically, intended exchange of OA+ with Cs+ in OA2PbBr4 releases the [PbBr6] sublayers previously sandwiched by OA+ bilayers. Cs+ suits a 3D perovskite structure and therefore assembles the [PbBr6] sublayers to form single crystal multilayered 2D cesium lead halide perovskites. The superior optoelectronic properties of resulted 2D cesium lead halide perovskites are exhibited by planar photodetectors that achieve ultrahigh external quantum yield and responsivity up to 11 050% and 44 A W−1. Besides, extremely short rise/decay time of 7.1/45 µs is also obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A normality assumption is typically adopted for the random effects in a clustered or longitudinal data analysis using a linear mixed model. However, such an assumption is not always realistic, and it may lead to potential biases of the estimates, especially when variable selection is taken into account. Furthermore, flexibility of nonparametric assumptions (e.g., Dirichlet process) on these random effects may potentially cause centering problems, leading to difficulty of interpretation of fixed effects and variable selection. Motivated by these problems, we proposed a Bayesian method for fixed and random effects selection in nonparametric random effects models. We modeled the regression coefficients via centered latent variables which are distributed as probit stick-breaking scale mixtures. By using the mixture priors for centered latent variables along with covariance decomposition, we could avoid the aforementioned problems and allow efficient selection of fixed and random effects from the model. We demonstrated the advantages of our proposed approach over other competing alternatives through a simulated example and also via an illustrative application to a data set from a periodontal disease study. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles possess the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and therapy. The ideal theranostic nanoplatform should own long system circulation and active cancer targeting. Additionally, it should be nontoxic and invisible to the immune system. Here, the authors fabricate an all-in-one nanoplatform possessed with these properties for personalized cancer theranostics. Platelet-derived vesicles (PLT-vesicles) along with their membrane proteins are collected from mice blood and then coated onto Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNs). The resulting core-shell PLT-MNs, which inherit the long circulation and cancer targeting capabilities from the PLT membrane shell and the magnetic and optical absorption properties from the MN core, are finally injected back into the donor mice for enhanced tumor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and photothermal therapy (PTT). Meanwhile, it is found that the PTT treatment impels PLT-MNs targeting to the PTT sites (i.e., tumor sites), and exactly, in turn, the enhanced targeting of PLT-MNs to tumor sites can improve the PTT effects. In addition, since the PLT membrane coating is obtained from the mice and finally injected into the same mice, PLT-MNs exhibit stellar immune compatibility. The work presented here provides a new angle on the design of biomimetic nanoparticles for personalized diagnosis and therapy of various diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to the fuel additives 2-methylfuran (2-MF) and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) was investigated over various bimetallic catalysts in the presence of the hydrogen donor 2-propanol. Of all the as-prepared catalysts, bimetallic Cu-Pd catalysts showed the highest catalytic activities towards the formation of 2-MF and 2-MTHF with a total yield of up to 83.9 % yield at 220 °C in 4 h. By modifying the Pd ratios in the Cu-Pd catalyst, 2-MF or 2-MTHF could be obtained selectively as the prevailing product. The other reaction conditions also had a great influence on the product distribution. Mechanistic studies by reaction monitoring and intermediate conversion revealed that the reaction proceeded mainly through the hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol, which was followed by deoxygenation to 2-MF in parallel to deoxygenation/ring hydrogenation to 2-MTHF. Finally, the catalyst showed a high reactivity and stability in five catalyst recycling runs, which represents a significant step forward toward the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, autofluorescent gelatin nanoparticles were synthesized as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) responsive probes for cancer cell imaging. A modified two-step desolvation method was employed to generate these nanoparticles whose size was controllable and had stable autofluorescence. As glutaraldehyde was introduced as the crosslinking agent, the generation of Schiff base (CN) and double carbon bond (CC) between glutaraldehyde and gelatin endowed these gelatin nanoparticles distinct autofluorescence. Considering MMPs were usually overexpressed on the surface of cancer cells and they had degradation ability toward gelatin, we utilized these nanoparticles as imaging probes to responsively monitor the MMP metabolism of cancer cells according to the luminance change. As fluorescent probes, these nanoparticles had facile synthesis procedure and good biocompatibility, and provided a smart strategy to monitor cancer cell behaviors. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2854-2860, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In longitudinal studies, it is sometimes of interest to estimate the distribution of the time a longitudinal process takes to traverse from one threshold to another. For example, the distribution of the time it takes a woman's cervical dilation to progress from 3 to 4 cm can aid the decision-making of obstetricians as to whether a stalled labor should be allowed to proceed or stopped in favor of other options. Often researchers treat this type of data structure as interval censored and employ traditional survival analysis methods. However, the traditional interval censoring approaches are inefficient in that they do not use all of the available data. In this paper, we propose utilizing a longitudinal threshold model to estimate the distribution of the elapsed time between two thresholds of the longitudinal process from repeated measurements. We extend this modeling framework to be used with multiple thresholds. A Wiener process under the first hitting time framework is used to represent survival distribution. We demonstrate our model through simulation studies and an analysis of data from the Consortium on Safe Labor study. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Kovalenko and co-workers and Li and co-workers developed CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) inorganic perovskite quantum dots (IPQDs), which exhibited ultrahigh photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields (QYs), low-threshold lasing, and multicolor electroluminescence. However, the usual synthesis needs high temperature, inert gas protection, and localized injection operation, which are severely against applications. Moreover, the so unexpectedly high QYs are very confusing. Here, for the first time, the IPQDs' room-temperature (RT) synthesis, superior PL, underlying origins and potentials in lighting and displays are reported. The synthesis is designed according to supersaturated recrystallization (SR), which is operated at RT, within few seconds, free from inert gas and injection operation. Although formed at RT, IPQDs' PLs have QYs of 80%, 95%, 70%, and FWHMs of 35, 20, and 18 nm for red, green, and blue emissions. As to the origins, the observed 40 meV exciton binding energy, halogen self-passivation effect, and CsPbX3@X quantum-well band alignment are proposed to guarantee the excitons generation and high-rate radiative recombination at RT. Moreover, such superior optical merits endow them with promising potentials in lighting and displays, which are primarily demonstrated by the white light-emitting diodes with tunable color temperature and wide color gamut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]