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Developing a highly efficient bifunctional catalyst for hydrolysis of metal hydrides and spontaneous hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is essential for substituting conventional fuels for H2 production. Herein, Ru‐cluster‐modified Co3B−Co(OH)2 supported on nickel foam (Ru/Co3B−Co(OH)2@NF) is constructed by electroless deposition, calcination and chemical reduction. The catalyst exhibits an excellent hydrogen generation rate (HGR) of 4989 mL min−1gcatalyst-1 ${{{\rm g}}_{catalyst}^{-1}}$ and good reusability, superior to most previously reported catalysts. Besides, Ru/Co3B−Co(OH)2@NF displays a prominent hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic capability with a low overpotential of 153.0 mV at 100 mA cm−2 (50.5 mV at 10 mA cm−2), a small Tafel slope of 40.0 mV dec−1 and long‐term stability (100 h@10 mA cm−2) in 1.0 M KOH. The excellent catalytic H2 generation capacity benefits from the rapid charge transfer promoted by metallic Co3B, the synergistic catalytic effect of Co3B−Co(OH)2 and Ru clusters, and the unique composite structure favorable for solute transport and gas emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing and manufacturing cost-effective absorbers that can cover the full-spectrum of solar irradiation is still critically important for solar harvesting. Utilizing control of the lightwave reflection and transmission, metamaterials realize high absorption over a relatively wide bandwidth. Here, a truncated circular cone metasurface (TCCM) composed of alternating multiple layers of titanium (Ti) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) is presented. Enabled by the synergetic of surface plasmon resonances and Fabry–Pérot resonances, the TCCM simultaneously achieves high absorptivity (exceed 90%), and absorption broadband covers almost the entire solar irradiation spectrum. In addition, the novel absorber exhibits great photo-thermal property. By exploiting the ultrahigh melting point of Ti and SiO2, high-efficiency solar irradiation absorption and heat release have been achieved at 700 °C when the solar concentration ratio is 500 (i.e., incident light intensity at 5 × 105 W/m2). It is worth noting that the photo-thermal efficiency is almost unchanged when the incident angle increases from 0° to 45°. The outstanding capacity for solar harvesting and light-to-heat reported in this paper suggests that TCCM has great potential in photothermal therapies, solar desalination, and radiative cooling, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and sensitive detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is essential for environmental monitoring and disease diagnosis. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has a natural analyte recognition ability and can realize ultra-sensitive detection. Herein, we report a plasmonic nose based on a 3D-microneedle array coated with Ag nanoparticles for fast and ultrasensitive SERS detection of VOCs vapor. Since the surface of the 8.3 μm high microneedle is completely covered by 'hot spots', which can effectively slow down the diffusion of gas molecules, so as to ensure that the gas molecules are in full contact with 'hot spots', and then detected by the plasmonic nose. Experiments for gaseous 4-methylbenzenethiol detection with a fast responding time (as short as 1 s) are realized, and gaseous 4-ethylbenzaldehyde as a lung cancer marker is also captured with a 10 ppb limit of detection. The results demonstrate that the plasmonic nose is of great potential for environmental monitoring and disease diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel broadband solar absorber is numerically studied based on the commercial digital versatile disc (DVD). Refractory titanium (Ti) material is artificially coated onto the surface of the DVD, which then forms the plasmonic resonant metasurface. Spectral average absorption reaches 91.3% in the whole visible and near-infrared range (0.38–1.50 μm). The total solar absorption in these energy regions is also up to 92.1%. Moreover, the high spectral absorption is insensitive to the incident angle. Interestingly, the absorption is observed to be with high tolerance for the polarized light even if the grating structure is used in the platform. These features suggest that the broadband solar absorption can be maintained well under complex electromagnetic surroundings. Otherwise, the absorbed energy is mainly confined at the proximity surface area of the Ti cavity, which suggests the strong plasmonic near-field localization and paves the feasible way to carry out the local heating operation for thermal antibacterial/antivirus applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the development of cross-linked poly(ester urethane)/starch (PEUST) composites containing 50 wt% starch content for food-packaging materials. The NCO-terminated poly(caprolactone-urethane) prepolymer (PCUP) was first synthesized through bulk condensation. Then, low-moisture starch (0.21 wt%) and PCUP-based PEUST films were fabricated through an intensive extrusion process, followed by thermo-compression molding. The chemical structure of PCUP and PEUST was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted to assess the influence of cross-link density on the physicochemical properties of the composite films. The results showed that an increase in the cross-link density within the composites improved component compatibility and tensile strength but reduced crystallinity, water sensitivity, hydrolytic degradability, and water vapor permeability (WVP) of the films. In addition, the cytotoxicity tests were conducted to evaluate the safety of the composite films, and the high cell viability demonstrated non-toxicity for food application. The PEUST-II films with moderate cross-link density exhibited a suitable degradation rate (27.7 % weight loss at degradation for 140 d), optimal tensile properties (tensile strength at break: 12.4 MPa; elongation at break: 352 %), and low WVP (68.4 g/(m2⋅24h) at 30 % relative humidity). These characteristics make them highly promising as fresh-keeping food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new SCOPF model is proposed to suppress power fluctuations of renewable energy sources. • The uncertainty of injected renewable power is combined with the adjustable characteristics of network parameters. • The boundaries of system security constraints are corrected and the potential contingency constraints are considered. Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow (SCOPF) method could generate system optimal operation point, which guarantee system security by avoiding any overload whenever expected N-1 contingencies occurred. However, renewable power integration increases uncertainty of system security, which is not well treated in conventional SCOPF model. Then this study proposes an improved SCOPF model, which aims at optimizing outputs of generators to increasing security of system facing challenges by N-1 contingencies accompanied by renewable power fluctuations. Semi-invariant is employed to express the stochastic behavior of wind and photovoltaic power generation. Considering the influence of transformer transformation ratio on admittance matrix, the uncertainty of injected renewable power is combined with the adjustable characteristics of network parameters to obtain the fluctuation model of branch power and bus voltage. Therefore, the constraints for SCOPF are restated to treat the problem that expected value based traditional model makes errors to confirm overload. The probability analysis for branch overload allows this study to present a potential reduced contingency set, in which small-probability events are rationally excluded. Thus, the constraint quantities as well as the complexity of the optimization problem are effectively reduced to decrease the computation burden. A Benders decomposition method based interior point approach is used to solve the improved SCOPF optimization model. Case studies based on IEEE39 bus system demonstrate the efficiency of proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report an intensive theoretical study on the achieving of multiple ultra-sharp and near-unity absorption in a cavity enabled graphene absorber. The plasmonic-induced magnetic resonance, i.e., magnetic plasmon is excited and localized efficiently via the one-dimensional metallic oblique slit array. The slit concentrates highly for the plasmonic field in a limited spatial cavity and simultaneously intensifies the graphene-field coupling, which leads to the emergency of the multi-band high-quality (Q) factor (190) ultra-sharp perfect absorption. Although the graphene-slit interaction area is just 17.7% of the structural size, the maximal absorption efficiency reaches 99.8%. In the near-infrared range, a large spectral intensity change of 82% is achieved when the graphene's Fermi energy is manipulated by a slight value of 0.03 eV, which directly introduces a viewable switching process between the operation "on" and "off" states. The optical sensing sensitivity is also up to 1276 nm/RIU and the FOM factor reaches 106. During the application for temperature detecting, the resolution limit can be as down as 3 × 10−3 °C (K), suggesting a desirable temperature detector. Moreover, polarization-adjustable and angle-insensitive properties for the plasmonic graphene absorber could further promote enormous applications for the active optoelectronic devices. Image 1 • A high- Q plasmonic graphene absorber is demonstrated via an oblique air slit array in the metal substrate. • A viewable switching process between the operation "on" and "off" states is demonstrated. • High-performance optical sensor and temperature detector are obtained via this graphene absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A broadband perfect absorber is numerically demonstrated via the refractory material resonators. The excellent absorption efficiency is with the average A > 94% in the wavelength range from 380 nm to 760 nm (the full visible region), suggesting the impressive capability of energy harvesting, micro-fluidic thermal disinfect, local high-temperature process. • Perfect light absorption is desirable for applications related to photo-electrical effects, photo-thermal process. • Excellent absorption with the average A > 94% is achieved in the visible full-spectrum region. • The TiO 2 /TiN with impressive thermal stability have been used as the resonators. • These findings pave new insights for nano-scale/micro-fluidic photo-thermal process, thermal disinfect, etc. Perfect light absorption is desirable for applications in the devices related to photo-electrical effects, photo-thermal process and photo-chemical/catalysis solutions, etc. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a feasible way to achieve broadband perfect absorption in the full visible range based on the refractory material resonators. This structure shows excellent absorption efficiency with the average absorption up to 94% in the wavelength range from 380 nm to 760 nm (the visible region), suggesting the impressive capability of energy harvesting. The photonic cavity mode and the dipolar plasmon resonance by the half-cylinder cavity structure are the main contributions for the broadband absorption. The full-spectrum visible light absorption is observed to be maintained in a wide angle range under the oblique illumination. The high absorption is also retained under different polarization states. Moreover, the resonant materials such as titanium dioxide (TiO 2) and titanium nitride (TiN) have impressive thermal stability due to their high melting points. These findings pave new insights on the refractory perfect visible light absorber for nano-scale photo-thermal process, micro-fluidic thermal disinfect and local high-temperature process, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductors have been widely utilized to fabricate optoelectronic devices. Nevertheless, it is still a challenging task to achieve high-quality (Q) resonant light absorption using the high refractive index semiconductors. In this work, we propose a facile scheme for multi-band perfect absorption in the near-infrared range using an array of core–shell cylinder-shaped resonators which are composed of gold nanowires and thin silicon shells. Based on the cooperative effects between the photonic modes of the semiconductor cavity and the plasmonic resonances of the metal resonator, five sharp absorption peaks are observed with the maximal absorption close to 100% (99.98%) and a high Q factor up to 208. The multi-band sharp absorption is observed to be angle-insensitive and polarization-adjustable. Absorption efficiency can be quantitatively tuned via the polarization states following the classical Malus law. Moreover, different semiconductors such as gallium arsenide, indium arsenide, indium phosphide have been exploited to reproduce the sharp perfect absorption in this core–shell resonators platform. The remarkable features make the proposed system potential for multiple applications such as multispectral filtering, photo-detection and hot electron generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CLGP4 was a novel sulfated xylogalactomanan purified from Caulerpa lentillifera. • CLGP4 showed a better anti-inflammatory activity on LPS-induced HT29 cells. • CLGP4 contained →4)Manp(1→, →2,4)Manp(1→, →2)Manp(1→, →3)Galp(1→ and →4)Xylp(1→. • The terminals of CLGP4 were β-Galp and β-Xylp. • Sulfate groups were on C-3 of →4)Xylp(1→, C-6 of →3)Galp(1→ and C-3 of →2)Manp(1→. In the present study, the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of four purified polysaccharides (CLGP1, CLGP2, CLGP3 and CLGP4) extracted from edible green algae Caulerpa lentillifera was evaluated. As a result, CLGP4 exhibited more effectively inhibitory effect on LPS-induced HT29 cells, including reducing the production of IL-1β, TNF-α, SIgA and mucin2, and decreasing the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α. According to the results, CLGP4 showed a better anti-inflammatory effect, might highly related to the presence of sulfate groups. Furthermore, the structure of CLGP4 was analyzed by methylation analysis, GC–MS and NMR spectroscopy. It was found that CLGP4 was a novel xylogalactomanan consisting of β-(1 → 4)-Man p , →2,4)Man p (1→, β-(1 → 2)-Man p , β-(1 → 3)-Gal p , β-(1 → 4)-Xyl p , terminal β-Gal p and terminal β-Xyl p residues. Additionally, the sulfate groups were located on C-3 of →4)Xyl p (1→, C-6 of →3)Gal p (1→ and C-3 of →2)Man p (1→. These results could enlarge the potential application of CLGP4 as functional ingredient to attenuate inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A semiconductor void resonators meta-surface is numerically demonstrated as an ultra-wideband perfect absorber. The spectrally weighted solar energy absorption efficiency is up to 88% in the whole sun irradiation range (280–4000 nm). • Thin semiconductor void resonators meta-surface has been demonstrated as a feasible way for solar absorber. • The spectrally weighted solar energy absorption efficiency is up to 88% in the whole sun irradiation range (280–4000 nm). • The findings are desirable for optoelectronic modulators and devices such as infrared detectors and solar absorbers. In this work, a thin semiconductor void resonators meta-surface is theoretically proposed and numerically demonstrated as a novel platform for perfect solar absorber. The absorber exhibits an ultra-broadband perfect absorption in the visible and infrared range. In comparison with the noble metals coupled absorbers, it is observed that the introduced titanium substrate produces a strong enhancement (90%) of the spectral absorption for the Ge resonators in a wide spectral window from 1.283 μm to 2.830 μm. As for the actual solar light absorption measurement, the spectrally weighted solar energy absorption efficiency is up to 88% for this semiconductor material based plasmonic absorber in the whole sun irradiation range (280–4000 nm). The absorption behaviors can be artificially manipulated via tuning the structural parameters. Photonic resonant modes in the semiconductor resonators and the plasmonic resonances of the titanium material are the main contributions for the excellent absorption response. In sharp contrast to the metal-insulator absorber, the herein absorber platform can hold three main advantages on the optoelectronic responses by the active semiconductor resonators, the broadband or full-spectrum solar perfect absorption in the semiconductor/titanium composite system, and the stronger thermal stability by the refractory titanium metal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-structured metals have attracted a great amount of attention in recent years due to the exciting plasmonic and photonic properties. However, the intrinsic high loss of the metals inevitably leads to the low-Q plasmonic resonance, hampering numerous applications on optoelectronics. Here, we demonstrate an ultra-sharp light absorber platform by an optical nano-cavity coupled plasmonic grating. The introduced dielectric nano-cavity not only provides strong optical field localization with the incident light but also enhances the hybridization coupling with the surface plasmons of the metal nano-structure, which eventually produces the plasmonic super-cavity resonance with the spectral bandwidths down to sub-nanometer scale and the spectral Q factor up to ~1 03. Moreover, the spectral slope reaches 52.8%/nm, indicating a sharp lineshape. Near-unity absorption with A of 99.7% is simultaneously achieved. These features suggest the designing such plasmonic-photonic hybridized super-cavity structure being a promising route for achieving ultra-sharp light absorber, which can be utilized as subtractive monochromatic filters, plasmonic and optical switch devices, photo-thermal sensors, and biochemical detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) of Lactobacillus plantarum WLPL04 and its sulfated EPS were systematically investigated for their antioxidant activities and effects on protecting the oxidative damage of Caco-2 cells from H 2 O 2. Exopolysaccharide was successfully sulfonated from purified EPS as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and the degree of sulfonation was 0.30. Both EPS and sulfated EPS showed antioxidant activities in vitro determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, superoxide, and hydroxyl radical scavenging tests, and those activities of sulfated EPS were significantly enhanced at 1,000 μg/mL. Cell viabilities of Caco-2 in the range of 1 to 100 μg/mL of EPS and sulfated EPS showed no significant difference. In H 2 O 2 -damaged Caco-2 cells models, EPS and sulfated EPS significantly inhibited the enhancement of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels, and sulfated EPS enhanced the effects by 40.86% and 61.11% when compared with the purified EPS at the same concentration of 100 μg/mL, respectively. For the activities of antioxidant-related enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) and expression of genes (SOD2 , GPX2 , MT1M) on Caco-2 cells, strong protection abilities against the oxidative stress were displayed from both EPS and sulfated EPS, and sulfated EPS exhibited significant enhancement as compared with either EPS or control groups. In summary, sulfonation is an effective strategy for improving the antioxidant activities of EPS from L. plantarum WLPL04 in vitro and on Caco-2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We propose a new approach to directly tune spectral Q-factor of the graphene, which has remained challenging in these years. The remarkable tuning of optical properties is reported by splitting graphene disk resonators. In contrast to the single mode of the circular graphene disk, the split graphene nano-disks produce new emerged plasmonic resonant modes, which can be further modified by tuning structural parameters. Such split graphene nano-disks can not only strengthen the multispectral light-graphene interactions drastically but also improve the spectral Q-factor naturally. The spectral Q-factor shows an enhancement of 230–360% for the proposed split graphene nano-disks in comparison with that of the conventional graphene plasmonic mode. With increasing Fermi energy, the tri-band spectrum shows a further narrowing behavior for the resonant bandwidth. A maximal enhancement ∼400% for the spectral Q-factor is obtained. Moreover, the graphene plasmonic properties can be artificially modulated by polarization states of the illumination. This study will open up an avenue for effectively operating graphene photonic devices in the infrared range and pave a way for high-Q multispectral plasmonic graphene structures. Highlights • A new approach to directly tune spectral Q-factor of the graphene is proposed. • Split graphene nano-disks can strengthen the multispectral light-graphene interactions drastically. • A maximal enhancement ∼400% for the spectral Q-factor is obtained. • This study will open up an avenue for effectively operating graphene photonic devices in the infrared range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new approach for achieving ultra-broadband perfect absorber by using titanium (Ti) resonators. Near-unity absorption with a high average absorptivity of 91.4% is achieved through the whole spectral range from 0.4 μm to 2 μm for the double-period lattice of Ti resonators array on the top of a silica layer coated on the opaque Ti substrate. In contrast to the common metal-insulator-metal (MIM) absorbers only with tens of nanometers absorption bandwidth, the Ti based ultra-broadband perfect absorber (T-UPA) can show a perfect absorption window ( i.e. , the absorptivity exceeding 90%) with the spectral bandwidth over 1007 nm from visible to near-infrared region ( i.e. , from 0.485 μm to 1.492 μm). The cooperative effects of the propagating surface plasmons and the corresponding localized plasmonic resonances of Ti resonators contribute to the broadband absorption response. Moreover, the ultra-broadband perfect absorption is polarization-independent and angle-insensitive, which hold the proposed T-UPA with strong practicality and high tolerance in the complex electromagnetic environment ( i.e. sun radiation). Furthermore, the absorption window for this T-UPA can be greatly broadened via using a thin anti-reflection coating film, which shows a perfect absorption with the bandwidth of 1555 nm in the visible and near-infrared range. The numerically demonstrated thin-film absorber configuration facilitates the scalability to optoelectronics applications such as thermal photovoltaics and hot-electron devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • SCSPsj was fermented by Parabacteroides distasonis to produce multiple metabolites. • SCSPsj promotes the growth of intestinal Bacteroidales by cross-feeding. • Cross-feeding was related to spatial distances and bacterial species. • Organic acids and derivatives, lipids and lipid-like molecules were utilized in cross-feeding. Sea cucumber sulfated polysaccharide (SCSPsj) is one of the dietary components which effectively modulates gut microbiota; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, the interaction between SCSPsj and its utilizer (Parabacteroides distasonis) was investigated. Further study was carried out to explore the cross-feeding between intestinal Bacteroidales mediated by SCSPsj. The results revealed that SCSPsj can be fermented by P. distasonis to produce various microbial metabolites, including organic acids and derivatives, lipids and lipid-like molecules, organoheterocyclic compounds. SCSPsj can regulate the succinate pathway and acetyl-CoA pathway to influence the production of propanoic acid and acetic acid, respectively. Moreover, the SCSPsj-fermented supernatants of P. distasonis can only promote the growth of B. stercoris , B. vulgatus and P. johnsonii among 8 intestinal Bacteroidales strains through cross-feeding. The effect of cross-feeding was related to spatial distances and bacterial species. Moreover, the cross-feeding was correlated with compounds belonging to organic acids and derivatives, lipids and lipid-like molecules. These findings could provide new insights into the interaction between SCSPsj and gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromagnetic wave absorbers with thinner structural thickness but with broader spectral absorption bandwidth are more desirable for various applications in solar energy and optoelectronics. In this work, a refractory titanium nitride meta-surface with efficient, ultra-broadband solar energy absorption is theoretically designed and numerically demonstrated. The resulting 250-nm-thick meta-surface absorber exhibits an ultra-broadband perfect absorption over the whole ultraviolet-visible-near infrared range. With taking the A > 90% into account, the absorption bandwidth is up to 1110 nm with the wavelength range varied from 0.316 μ m to 1.426 μ m. The titanium nitride nano-resonators array and its coating structure of titanium dioxide array cooperatively provide multiple resonant modes, which therefore introduce strong coupling with the solar radiation and eventually produce an ultra-broadband absorption. The absorption spectrum can be feasibly manipulated via tuning the structural parameters. Most importantly, in sharp contrast to the common absorbers formed with metallic nano-resonators, the titanium nitride based solar absorber is with much stronger thermal stability, illustrating the impressive promise for wide applications such as thermo-photovoltaics and other high-power optoelectronic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-band light absorption with the maximal absorptivity up to 99.7% and the minimal spectral bandwidth down to 3 nm is obtained in the plasmonic absorbers consisting of triple-layer plasmonic crystal-nonlinear medium cavity-metal substrate structure, where the intercalated dielectric material is chosen to be a Kerr medium cavity. Efficient all-optical controlling with high spectral intensity change ratios and detecting signal-to-noise is achieved for the system after a slight increase of pumping intensity. These impressive results mainly result from the strong plasmonic resonant field confinement in the middle nonlinear Kerr medium cavity and the near-perfect relative intensity change response by the ultra-sharp anti-reflection spectrum. This work can lay a foundation for advanced all-optical devices by exploiting light perfect absorption behavior and resonant optical field enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Co 5.47 N/CoMoO x particles are fabricated by hydrothermal and nitriding treatments. • The catalyst shows high HER activity (36 mV@10 mA cm−2) in 1.0 M KOH. • The cathode in assembled electrolyzer has a low cell voltage (1.54 V@10 mA cm−2). • The strong electron interaction and abundance of oxygen vacancies among different species drive the HER performance. Designing the basic steps of water dissociation and hydrogen desorption rationally is essential to comprehend the role of oxygen vacancies in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This study uses interface and defect engineering to produce monodispersed Co 5.47 N/CoMoO x hybrid particles on carbon cloth with abundant oxygen vacancies. The optimized Co 5.47 N/CoMoO x catalyst shows a low overpotential of 36 mV at 10 mA cm−2, similar to commercial Pt/C. Additionally, the overall water splitting with Co 5.47 N/CoMoO x as cathode has a cell voltage of 1.74 V at 100 mA cm−2, better than Pt/C(−) || RuO 2 (+), and operates stably for 50 h at 100 mA cm−2 without degradation, making it a promising electrocatalyst for industrial use. Experiment and DFT calculations demonstrate that strong electronic interaction between different components and rich oxygen vacancies enhance the catalyst's electrical conductivity and water dissociation. As a result, the hydrogen adsorption free energy (Δ G H* , −0.06 eV) is nearly equal to the ideal adsorption energy (0 eV), demonstrating faster hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics for Co 5.47 N/CoMoO x , thus improving its HER performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All-dielectric resonant structure (ADRS) consisting of high-index nonlinear dielectrics has been theoretically and numerically demonstrated with multi-band ultra-sharp transmission response in this work. Bandwidth down to sub-nanometer and spectral Q-factor up to 920 are achieved in this ADRS-based metamaterial-like platform. Strong resonant electric field distributions by the high-index dielectric resonators and efficient coupling between the layered dielectric particles and the cavity mainly contribute to the multiple narrowband light transmission filtering. By using a Kerr nonlinear medium as the resonant dielectric, the positions of the transmission dips in the spectrum can be actively tuned by the incident light intensity. Due to the ultra-narrow spectral feature and the strong electric field distribution by the resonators, an efficient all-optical switching behavior with high spectral difference intensity and contrast ratio is obtained. Further study presents the observed multi-band transmission with high scalability by tuning the structural parameters. These optical features hold the predicted ADRS be potentially applied to constructing dielectric metamaterial-based all-optical switching or active subtractive transmission filtering with low power threshold at sub-diffraction scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we for the first time propose and demonstrate a feasible strategy for multi-band ultra-narrow optical transmission of the plasmonic crystals by introducing a high-index dielectric (HID) cavity, which can be acted as an efficient optical field coupling and hybridization component. Five sharp transmission bands with the maximal bandwidth of 6.5 nm are achieved. High spectral Q-factor of 327 with the corresponding bandwidth of 2.8 nm is observed in the optical region. These features pave a simple and universal way for multispectral narrowband optical transmission based on the typical plasmonic crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exopolysaccharide (EPS) from probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum ZDY2013 was purified to illustrate its molecular weight, monosaccharide composition and biological activities. The yield of EPS (429.4 ± 30.3 mg/L) was obtained with a purity of 96.06%. The EPS was characterized to have only one symmetrical sharp peak by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography and its molecular weight was 5.17 × 10 4 Da. The GC analysis revealed that EPS only consisted of xylose and galactose, and the galactose possessed as high as 98.3% (w/w) of the total monosaccharides. By sulfonation, a sulfated EPS was successfully synthesized with the degree of substitution (DS) of 0.29, which was confirmed using FT-IR spectroscopy. Both EPS and sulfated EPS showed radical scavenging activities, and the antioxidant activities increased after sulfonation. In addition, sulfated EPS was more effective in counteracting the cytotoxicity induced by B . cereus enterotoxins on Caco-2 cells when compared with EPS. In summary, sulfonation is a feasible strategy for improving the biological activities of EPS from L . plantarum ZDY203. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials with ultra-narrowband light transparent window are desirable for applications in optoelectronics. Due to the intrinsic loss in the traditional metallic nanostructures, the plasmonic or electromagnetically induced light transparent spectrum is with a typically broad bandwidth. In this work, a novel strategy for achieving ultra-narrowband optical transparent window is theoretically proposed and demonstrated based on the dielectric dimer resonators metamolecule array. Owing to the electromagnetic resonant coupling in this lossless all-dielectric metamolecule, a transparent window with the bandwidth down to nanometer scale and the spectral slope up to 71%/nm is achieved. The obtained optical properties can be manipulated in the spectral range by adjusting the structural parameters and dielectric permittivity. These findings pave a new way for sharp narrowband transparent window with potential applications in filtering, optical manipulation, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method to theoretically achieve multispectral narrowband light absorption in common metal-dielectric-metal nanocavities. Polarization-independent and wide-angle multi-band light absorption with absorbance up to 99 % is achieved owing to the excitation of multiple localized plasmon cavity modes. Strong interactions between plasmon resonances and photonic modes are further introduced for achieving sharp absorption spectrum with sub-10-nm bandwidth via a high-index dielectric spacer with a thickness exceeding λ/2. These findings can offer new perspectives for multispectral nano-optics devices including perfect light absorbers and subtractive polychromatic filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A universal method for improving sensing performance has been computationally studied based on a common triple-layer metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) plasmonic perfect absorber (PA). Calculation results show that the originally idled resonant optical field in the middle dielectric spacer can be exploited to enhance the sensing capability via etching the dielectric spacer to open a channel for analyte. By comparing with the sensitivity ( S) of the common PA-based sensor, an enhancement factor up to 5.0 can be achieved for an etched PA-based sensor. Moreover, in order to maintain the mechanical stability of the structure, a modified PA-based sensor platform with a solid support for the suspended plasmonic disks array was further employed to study the sensing properties. In comparison with the referenced sensor without suspension technique, all the three sensing factors of the S, the figure of merit (FOM), and the spectral intensity difference related figure of merit (FOM*) are noticeably improved with the enhancement factors up to 2.5, 3, and 57, respectively. In addition, since there is no special dealing with the structure except the need of hollowing the dielectric spacer to open the sensing channel for the analysis, the predicted method profiles itself as a simple and universal strategy to improve the sensing performance of a wide variety of nanoplasmonic sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization-independent plasmonic light absorbers have been widely investigated in the past decades. Nevertheless, the feasibility for artificial manipulation of the optical properties by controlling the polarization state is desirable for numerous applications including the coloring, displaying, filtering, etc. Here, we present a straightforward method to achieve tunable multiple narrowband light absorption by using the polarization-dependent plasmonic cavity resonances in a common metal-dielectric-metal structure consisting of an elliptical disk array. Multiple light absorption bands with the maximal absorption of 98 % are achieved. Moreover, by controlling the illumination polarization state, artificial spectral modulation depth of these light absorption bands can be up to 90 % based on this structure platform. In addition, since this multispectral polarization-manipulated absorber is realized in such a common sub-wavelength plasmonic structure, it will open up a simple and universal approach for multispectral nanophotonic devices including the high-compact polychromatic color filtering, imaging, and detecting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly conductive metal film structures with light transparency are of great importance for practical applications in optoelectronics. Here we investigate the feasible way for tuning the intrinsic opaque continuous metal film to be optical transparency by using a dielectric layer. The introduced dielectric acts as a resonant cavity and supports strong optical field coupling capability. In comparison with the nearly opaque response of the original metal film, transmission enhancement factor up to 2300% with the maximal transmittance of 78% are achieved in the dielectric cavity coupled metal film system. Moreover, it is observed that the multiband light transmission behavior can be highly scaled by tuning the cavity length. These impressive optical properties suggest the proposed motif to be a new alternative way for achieving transparent and highly conducting metal film structures with potential applications in transparent conductors, plasmonic filters and images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial manipulation of light is significant for the material science and technology. In this work, noticeably enhanced light absorption with absorption above 99% has been demonstrated in a deep-subwavelength meta-surface structure. Dipolar plasmon resonance and near-field coupling of the plasmons between the adjacent core–shell metallo-dielectric spheres together with the optical field coupling by the dielectric shells are the main contributions for the multispectral light absorption. The predicted structure can be fabricated in large-area based on the standard colloidal self-assembled method and the metal deposition technique. These optical and structural features hold the proposed platform to be a potential of the application in light modulation and absorption and other optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic film structures with simultaneous optical transparency and high electronic conductivity are of great importance for practical optoelectronic applications. Here, we predict a powerful scheme for transparent continuous metal film structure by using a plasmonic cylinder array and a high-index dielectric layer substrate. In the structure, the upper plasmonic crystal shows efficient optical field trapping of the incident light, acting as a light input coupler. The lower photonic layer provides a light release gate opening at the other side, acting as the light output coupler. The achieved broadband optical near-unity transparency (transmittance >94.5 %) originates from the dipole plasmon resonances of the plasmonic crystal, and the cavity resonances by the Fabry-Pérot layer and their cooperative coupling effects. These findings could open a new and simplified alternative approach for highly transparent and conducting metal structures and hold potential applications in transparent conductors, filters, and ultracompact optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with the conventional color filter with the only one fixed output color filtering, developing active multicolor filters with controllable color output can lead to more compact and sophisticated color filter-based devices. We propose and demonstrate a plasmon scheme consisting of a nonclose-packed cross-shaped metallic antenna array for active subtractive multicolor filtering and high-quality sensing. Multiband antireflection spectrum with ultra-narrow bandwidths (<10 nm) in the optical region is achieved, which could be tuned quasi-quantitatively by controlling the incidence polarization state. The multispectral optical features are with high scalability via properly tuning the geometry parameters or the crystal symmetry. In addition, high-performance sensing is realized in such ultra-compact nanoplasmonic structure (~ λ/4) and suggests one more way to artificially modify the polychromatic color filtering. The results presented by such a scheme open up a new approach for the multispectral nanophotonic device platform that combines the unique merits of multiband, sharp resonances with polarization-adjusting and plasmonic-integrated photonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We predict a novel multispectral spatial and frequency selective sensing based on a plasmonic sub-diffraction-limited (< λ /4) nanostructure. Via combining the strong plasmon near-field coupling effects, particle plasmon resonances (PPRs) and their hybridization by the metallic cross-shaped antennas (CSAs), a total of seven resonances with the minimum bandwidth < 7 nm are obtained in the visible and near-infrared region. Remarkably distinct biosensing behaviors at different spatial locations and different resonant wavelengths are simultaneously achieved, suggesting a new impressive sensing motif. High-quality biosensing with the maximal sensitivity ( S = 1134 nm/RIU), figure of merit (FoM ∼ 71.4), and high contrast ratio of spectral intensity difference (Δ R = 44.2%) can be attained by detection a slight refractive index change of a thin biomolecular layer. These unique features of the proposed sensing motif could provide a powerful approach to develop desirable plasmon sensors with simultaneous multispectral spatial and frequency selective sensing, and hold potential applications in the high-integrated components for the high-performance plasmonic biosensing, detection and imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An acidic polysaccharide (SPYP) was isolated from Patinopecten yessoensis skirt. • Main chains were elucidated as → 4)β-GlcA(1 → 4)α-GlcNAc → and → 4)β-GlcA(1 → 3)β-GalNAc→. • SPYP could prevent obesity and hyperlipidemia induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in mice. • SPYP could regulate gut microbiota in HFD-fed mice, especially Lachnoclostridium. • SPYP could affect metabolite profiles and improve lipid metabolism of HFD-mice. The prevention of obesity is an urgent need for worldwide public health. The scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) skirt is the by-product of adductor processing. In order to explore the value of the scallop skirt, the present study isolated an acidic polysaccharide from the skirt of P. yessoensis (SPYP) and evaluated its anti-obesity effect. SPYP was characterized as an acidic heteropolysaccharide with a molecular weight of 13.58 kDa. Through stepwise acid hydrolysis followed by HPLC-MSn analysis, two core chains in SPYP was determined as heparin-like → 4)β-GlcA(1 → 4)α-GlcNAc → and chondroitin sulfate-like → 4)β-GlcA(1 → 3)β-GalNAc →. SPYP could effectively reduce body weight, decrease fat accumulation and prevent high blood lipids induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in mice. Further 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequencing analysis revealed that the anti-obesity effect of SPYP was notably associated with its modulation on gut microbiota. The short-chain fatty acids were also restored by SPYP supplementation compared to the HFD group. Moreover, liquid chromatography-high resolution accurate mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis demonstrated that metabolite profiles of HFD-fed mice were altered by SPYP supplementation, especially the lipid metabolism in serum and amino acid metabolism in cecal content, which may contribute to the anti-obesity effect of SPYP. The present study offers the basis for processing and application of P. yessoensis skirt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-band light perfect absorbers formed by metal-semiconductor materials are desirable for optoelectronics and have been long pursued. In this work, we numerically propose and demonstrate a four-band resonant near-perfect light absorption by utilizing the aluminum ring intercalated with silicon disk array, which can support strong plasmonic resonances and optical cavity modes. The multi-band near-perfect absorption can be tuned by the structural parameters and the maximal absorption is exceeding 99.8%. These features lay a foundation for low-cost optoelectronic technologies since the semiconductor silicon cavities are currently very important elements in the field of photonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we theoretically propose and numerically demonstrate a novel multi-band subtractive filtering platform by utilizing the dielectric resonators. In addition, the plasmon-like hotspots are also observed in this dielectric structure. Multi-band light filtering can be quantitatively adjusted by the polarization state and the classical Malus law is verified in this dielectric structure. These findings lay a foundation for multispectral optical behaviors and hold applications in the nanophotonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Microbial consortiums from different individuals response discrepantly to SCSP sj. • Parabacteroides distasonis plays a critical role in SCSP sj utilization. • More beneficial metabolites were accumulated by microbiota consuming more SCSP sj. Sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus has been consumed as high-valued seafood in Asian, and its sulfated polysaccharide (SCSP sj) has been inferred to benefit the host health via modulating gut microbiota composition. The present study compared the responses of gut microbiota communities from different donors to SCSP sj , and the key bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis and in vitro fermentation with specific bacteria. Gut microbiota communities from 6 donors (A ~ F) utilized the polysaccharides to different degrees in vitro fermentation. Further comparison of Samples A and C demonstrated that Sample C with the relatively strong SCSP sj utilization capability possessed more Parabacteroides while Sample A contained more Bacteroides. Further in vitro fermentation of SCSP sj with 10 Parabacteroides and Bacteroides species suggests that Parabacteroides distasonis , enriched in Sample C, plays a critical role in the utilization of the polysaccharides. Moreover, short chain fatty acids and the metabolite profiles of Samples A and C were also compared, and the results showed that more beneficial metabolites were accumulated by the microbiota community consuming more sulfated sea cucumber polysaccharides. Our findings revealed that certain key members of gut microbiota, such as Parabacteroides distasonis , are critical for SCSP sj utilization in gut so as to influence the benefits of the polysaccharide supplement for host. Thus, to obtain better functional outcome for sulfated sea cucumber polysaccharides and sea cucumber, more attention needs to be paid to the effects of inter-individual differences in microbiota community structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmonic–colloidal crystals are with unique optical properties due to the combination of the plasmonic and photonic features. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel dual-band plasmonic refractometric sensing motif by using a metal film coated colloidal crystal (CC) intercalated with a silicon (Si) layer (M–Si–CC), where the Si layer can simultaneously couple with the top plasmonic crystal and the bottom CC. Distinct sensing behaviors of the two transmittance peaks are observed. In addition, significantly improved sensitivity is achieved in comparison with those of the conventional metal coated CCs (M–CCs). Moreover, the structure is with quite simple design and could be fabricated in a straightforward manner over large areas. These features hold the proposed motif with potential applications in multispectral biosensing and detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous polysaccharides have demonstrated potential immunostimulatory activities in in vitro models, only a few of them successfully stimulate the immune system in vivo. In order to explore the possible reasons for the activity loss of polysaccharides in in vivo models, the immunostimulatory activities in vitro and in vivo and the digestion behavior of a polysaccharide from Cyclina sinensis (CSP) were investigated in the present study. CSP showed obvious immunostimulatory activity in a RAW 264.7 cell model. In in vitro experiment, CSP did not exhibit cytotoxicity at concentrations of ≤10 µg/ml, and significantly increased NO production at concentrations of 0.4–10 µg/ml, suggesting CSP processes immunostimulatory activity in vitro. Further investigation using simulated digestion model indicated that CSP could bind with the protein in the digestive fluids to form precipitate in both the stomach and small intestine, and it could be seriously degraded by amylase during the digestion in the small intestine. Furthermore, the in vivo immunostimulatory activity evaluation demonstrated CSP had no effect on immunosuppressed mice as indicated by the body weight, thymus and spleen indexes, and TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐10 mRNA expression. Thus, the present study indicates that the degradation and precipitation of CSP in the digestive tract are the possible reasons for the activity loss of CSP after digestion. Practical Application: Cyclina sinensis is the common aquatic shellfish in China and plays an important role in the marine aquaculture industry. Cyclina sinensis polysaccharide (CSP) is the main active component of C. sinensis. The structure characterization and immunostimulatory activity of a purified fraction of CSP (CSP‐1) and the effect of digestion on CSP and its immunostimulatory activity were studied. The result of this study promotes the understanding of the nutritional function effects and provides a scientific reference for the rational development and high‐value utilization of C. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, the chitooligosaccharide (CHO) was surface-grafted on the medical segmented poly(ester-urethane) (SPU) film by a facile two-step procedure to improve the surface biocompatibility. By chemical treatment of SPU film with hexamethylene diisocyanate under mild reaction condition, free -NCO groups were first introduced on the surface with high grafting density, which were then coupled with -NH2 groups of CHO to immobilize CHO on the SPU surface (SPU-CHO). The CHO-covered surface was characterized by FT-IR and water contact angle test. Due to the hydrophilicity of CHO, the SPU-CHO possessed higher surface hydrophilicity and faster hydrolytic degradation rate than blank SPU. The almost overlapping stress-strain curves of SPU and SPU-CHO films demonstrated that the chemical treatments had little destruction on the intrinsic properties of the substrate. In addition, the significant inhibition of platelet adhesion and protein adsorption on CHO-covered surface endowed SPU-CHO an outstanding surface biocompatibility (especially blood compatibility). These results indicated that the CHO-grafted SPU was a promising candidate as blood-contacting biomaterial for biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose and demonstrate a novel perfect absorber platform by combining the colloidal crystal and refractory metal layer. Dual-band absorption with the efficiency up to 99.8% (0. 336 μ m) and 99.1% (1. 382 μ m) is achieved. Moreover, the absorption bandwidths are 81 nm and 1237 nm for the two bands in the UV and near-infrared ranges, suggesting the simultaneous achievement of narrowband and ultra-broadband absorption. Furthermore, the resonant wavelengths in the two bands are with the geometric multiples up to 3 ∼ 6, indicating the large differential frequency responses. In addition, the absorption properties can be artificially adjusted via the structural parameters. These features can hold potential applications in the nonlinear optics such as frequency multiplication, difference and mixing, and the selective spectral filtering and manipulation, etc. • A novel absorber is achieved by combining colloidal crystal and refractory metal. • Dual-band absorption with A of 99.8% and 99.1% is achieved. • Narrowband and ultra-broadband absorption is simultaneous achieved. • It can hold applications in nonlinear optics, selective filtering, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new polarization and angle insensitive ultra-broadband perfect absorber is proposed and numerically demonstrated. • The absorption bandwidth reaches 3059 nm ranging from 939 nm to 3998 nm with absorptivity above 90%. • The averaged absorption is up to 94% in the whole spectral range from 800 nm to 4200 nm. A new polarization and angle insensitive ultra-broadband perfect absorber (UPA) was proposed and demonstrated based on an alumina-chromium-alumina-chromium four-layer structure. The absorption bandwidth reached 3059 nm in the infrared range (from 939 nm to 3998 nm) with a spectral absorptivity greater than 90%. The average absorption was up to 94.0% in a range of 800 nm to 4200 nm. The physical mechanisms and influence of different structural configurations on the absorption performance of the UPA were analyzed in detail. When the oblique incidence angle was up to 60°, the average absorption rates of the TE and TM modes were 87.3% and 85.0%, respectively. The proposed UPA has potential applications in thermo-photovoltaics and infrared detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, researchers have investigated plant fiber foam buffer package materials for their environmental advantages, which include their ability to completely biodegrade and their rich raw materials. The porosity of buffer materials is an important factor that affects a plant's static compression property. In this study, foam buffer package materials of plant fiber were developed using bleached bagasse pulp as the main raw material. A digital microscope was used to observe the porosity structures of the foam buffer materials, and the porosity was calculated via binary image processing using Matlab software. The effects of porosity on the static compression properties of cushion materials were discussed, and a numerical model was established. The results indicated that the threshold value chosen affected the calculation of the porosities of buffer materials, which in turn have significant effects on their specific static compression properties. The variation trend of the stress-strain curve fits the hyperbolic tangent function, according to which a numerical model was established. The results of this experiment were in accordance with the theoretical values, which will support the theoretical design of foam buffer package materials of plant fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metamaterials (MMs) offer great potential for achieving optical absorption due to their novel electromagnetic properties. MM absorbers can overcome the thickness limitation and provide excellent absorption performance over the wide frequency range, thereby enable the swift emergence of some promising applications. Moreover, the optical sensors based on MM absorbers have shown great potential in several fields. This review concentrates on the recent progresses in MM-based optical absorbers and spectral sensing. We present four aspects of MM-based optical absorption: the metal-insulation-metal arrangements, the optical coherence, the functional materials, and some novel approaches. Also, we present three aspects of MM-based optical sensing: the refractive index sensing, gas and molecule sensing, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Finally, the current challenges and prospects in device designs, fabrications have been discussed. This review is with the purpose to give a generalized knowledge of MMs for optical absorption and sensing, thus inspiring the investigations on MMs for other devices and their practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose and demonstrate a chiral metasurface with capability for high Q-factor, near-unity (0.999) circular dichroism (CD) via utilization of bound states in the continuum. The CD response can be reversed with the value ranging from −0.7 to 0.82 by increasing structural perturbations to induce chiral magnetic quadrupole modes and the accompanied phase jump. In addition, more than 100-fold enhancement of C/CCPL in the superchiral near field is achieved while maintaining a high Q-factor of 105. The findings hold broad application prospects in chiral sensing, valley electronics, and ultrasensitive chiral spectroscopy detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancements in chiroptics have propelled applications beyond traditional optics, expanding its reach into domains such as heat and fluid mechanics. The current research predominantly focused on utilizing plasmonic materials in the photothermal and photofluidic systems. However, these systems face limitations in circular dichroism due to inherent Ohmic loss associated with plasmonic materials. Herein, we introduce the concept of topological polarization singularity in an all-dielectric structure, which supports chiral bound states in the continuum. The introduction of topological polarization singularity gives the structure an impressive chiral light absorption response. The BICs resonant mode achieves a 147-fold field enhancement, significantly improving the photothermal conversion efficiency of dielectric material. Moreover, the g factors of photothermal and optical fluids reach 1.9, approaching the theoretical limit value. Consequently, an exceptionally high degree of circular dichroism is realized in multiple systems including light absorption, photothermal, and photofluidic systems. Our proposed structures can potentially be used in chiral photothermal and chiral nanoparticle capture, as well as photofluidic applications related to biochemistry and clinical biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis and closely related to metabolic syndrome, leading to excruciating pain and the decline in quality of patients' life. However, the pathogenesis of gout is still unclear, and novel biomarkers are demanded for the early prediction and diagnosis of gout. Objective: This study aimed at profiling the dysregulated metabolic pathways in asymptomatic hyperuricemia (AHU) and gout and elucidating the associations between AHU, gout and metabolomics, which may aid in performing gout screening. Methods: A total of 300 participants, including 114 healthy controls, 92 patients with AHU, and 94 patients with gout, were analyzed by using a combination of dried blood spot (DBS) sampling and mass spectrometry (MS) technology. Multiple algorithms were applied to characterize altered metabolic profiles in AHU and gout. The mainly altered metabolites were identified by random forest analysis. Results: There were significant differences in AHU and gout compared with control group. The altered metabolites were involved in oxidation of fatty acids, carnitine synthesis, urea cycle, and amino acid metabolism in AHU and gout. Random forest classification of 16 metabolites yielded 3 important features to distinguish gout from AHU. Conclusions: Distinct metabolomic signatures were observed in AHU and gout. The selected metabolites may have the potential to improve the early detection of gout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically propose a simple ultra-narrow multi-band perfect absorber for sensing applications. The perfect absorber consists of periodically arranged metallic nanodisks etched with regular prismatic holes standing on the dielectric-metal bi-layer films. Multiple ultra-narrow perfect absorption bands are obtained in the near-infrared region with the maximum bandwidth less than 21 nm and the intensity as high as 99.86%. The ultra-narrow multi-band perfect absorption originates from the synergy of localized surface plasmons, propagating surface plasmons and lattice resonances. The perfect absorber also presents other significant advantages, e.g. polarization insensitivity and high sensitivity of surrounding environments. Moreover, the prominent sensing performance for detecting the trace amounts of glucose in water is demonstrated. These features make it a promising candidate with great potential in the fields of perfect absorbers, plasmonic sensors, filters and multiplexing binding bio-molecular detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease represented by exocrine gland epithelial cell lesions. However, the mechanism underlying these lesions remains unclear. This study analyzed the plasma exosomes of pSS patients using proteomics and revealed the presence of 24 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) involved in the primary biological processes and signaling pathways related to ferroptosis. The DEPs enriched in the ferroptosis-related items were represented by downregulated ceruloplasmin (CP) and transferrin (TF). CC analysis of GO enrichment showed that CP and TF were localized at the apical plasma membrane, which is currently found only in epithelial cells. PPI analysis indicated that these exosomal DEPs formed a clustering network containing CP and TF. Among them, C5, C9, Haptoglobin (HP), and SERPING1 interacted directly with CP and TF. Notably, the expression of these proteins significantly decreased in both the pSS and secondary Sjögren's syndrome (sSS) plasma exosomes but not in non-autoimmune sicca syndrome (nSS). In addition, their expression levels were significantly different in the exosomes and plasma. More importantly, the plasma and salivary exosomes of pSS patients contain higher levels of exocrine gland epithelial autoantigens SSA and SSB than those of healthy controls, and epithelial cells with positive labial glands biopsy (LGB) were more susceptible to ferroptosis than those with negative LGB. The results indicated that ferroptosis may be closely related to SS epithelial cell lesions. Key messages: • pSS plasma exosomes contain epithelial cell–derived proteins involved in ferroptosis. • Complement C5 and C9 may be new molecules involved in ferroptosis and play a crucial role in pSS epithelial cell pathology. • The serum exosomes from pSS patients, not nSS patients, contain ferroptosis-related proteins. • The changes in the ferroptosis-related protein content in the exosomes can better reflect the state of the epithelial cell lesions than those in the plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we propose a titanium nitride (TiN)-based ultra-broadband perfect absorber from the ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelength ranges with the average absorptivity up to 96.7%. The weighted absorption efficiency of the solar radiation energy reaches 95.6%. In addition, photothermal therapy is conducted on such absorber, showing the effectively confined local high-temperature in the vicinity of the device. The steady-state temperature reaches 327 K at a depth of 3 mm beneath the tissue surface, leading to the efficient optical damage exceeding 90% for the surrounding diseased tissue only by a 3-min illumination. Such moderate photothermal therapy adequately meets the requirements for inactivating tumor cells and hold wide applications in the photo-biomedical science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-Q resonances on metasurfaces have yielded a feasible approach for nonlinear frequency conversion in recent years. In this work, we propose a highly efficient nonlinear metasurface based on an etchless lithium niobate (LiNbO3) layer by combining periodic silicon nanodisks. These nanodisks introduce two kinds of capabilities for achieving ultra-sharp spectral lineshapes owing to the high-Q resonances of bound states in the continuum and simultaneously attain a significantly enhanced spatial field localization within the LiNbO3 cavity owing to guided resonant behaviors. This distinctive mode engineering yielded a total efficiency of conversion of 2.8% in the second-harmonic generation and 1% for sum-frequency generation when the peak intensity of the fundamental pump was as low as 1 MW/cm2. Our method eliminates challenges to the manufacture of etched LiNbO3 thin films and allows for the efficient conversion of frequency. It is suitable for various applications, such as integrated, nonlinear nanophotonic chips, and high-speed communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, techniques involving random patterns have made it possible to control the light trapping of microstructures over broad spectral and angular ranges, which provides a powerful approach for photon management in energy efficiency technologies. Here, we demonstrate a simple method to create a wideband near-unity light absorber by introducing a dense and random pattern of metal-capped monodispersed dielectric microspheres onto an opaque metal film; the absorber works due to the excitation of multiple optical and plasmonic resonant modes. To further expand the absorption bandwidth, two different-sized metal-capped dielectric microspheres were integrated into a densely packed monolayer on a metal back-reflector. This proposed ultra-broadband plasmonic-photonic super absorber demonstrates desirable optical trapping in dielectric region and slight dispersion over a large incident angle range. Without any effort to strictly control the spatial arrangement of the resonant elements, our absorber, which is based on a simple self-assembly process, has the critical merits of high reproducibility and scalability and represents a viable strategy for efficient energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]