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Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) is highly expressed in renal tubules, activation of which attenuates renal injury by suppressing inflammation and fibrosis. However, whether renal FXR contributes to the regulation of blood pressure (BP) is poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the anti-hypertensive effect of renal FXR on high-fructose-induced salt-sensitive hypertension and underlying mechanism.Hypertension was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by 20% fructose in drinking water with 4% sodium chloride in diet (HFS) for 8 weeks. The effects of FXR on NO production were estimated in vitro and in vivo .Compared with control, HFS intake elevated BP, enhanced renal injury and reduced renal NO levels as well as FXR expression in the kidney of mice. In the mouse renal collecting duct cells mIMCD-K2, FXR agonists promoted NO production by enhancing the expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), whereas this effect was diminished by fxr knockdown. We further found that Dynamin 3 (DNM3), a binding protein with nNOS in the renal medulla, was inhibited by FXR and its deficiency elevated NO production in mIMCD-K2 cells. In HFS-fed mice, renal fxr overexpression significantly attenuated hypertension and renal fibrosis, regulated the expression of DNM3/nNOS/iNOS, and increased renal NO levels.Our results demonstrated that renal FXR prevents HFS-induced hypertension by inhibiting DNM3 to promote NO production. These findings provide insights into the role and potential mechanism of renal FXR for the treatment of hypertension.

The definition of washout in gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI (Gd-EOB-MRI) is controversial. The current Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) defines washout only in the portal venous phase on Gd-EOB-MRI, leading to low diagnostic sensitivity for HCC. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic performance of Gd-EOB-MRI using conventional (cWO) and modified (mWO) definitions of washout.The PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1, 2010, and August 1, 2021, that compared the diagnostic performance of cWO and mWO for HCC. The mWOs added transition phase (TP) hypointensity (mWO-1), hepatobiliary phase (HBP) hypointensity (mWO-2), or both (mWO-3). The pooled sensitivity and specificity were calculated using a bivariate random-effects model. Study heterogeneity was explored by subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis.Ten comparative studies with 2391 patients were included. Compared to cWO, the overall mWO yielded significantly higher sensitivity (71% vs. 81%, p = 0.00) and lower specificity (97% vs. 93%, p = 0.01) for diagnosing HCC. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.90 and 0.94 for the cWO and mWO, respectively. Regarding the three types of mWOs, mWO-2 showed the highest sensitivity (85%) and specificity (96%) for diagnosing HCC. mWO-2 achieved the highest AUC (0.97), followed by mWO-1 (0.90), and mWO-3 (0.89). Average reviewer experience and scanner field strength were significantly associated with study heterogeneity (p0.05).Inclusion of TP and HBP hypointensity in the definition of washout improved the sensitivity with slightly lower specificity for diagnosing HCC in LI-RADS.• Compared to the conventional definition of washout, studies using a modified definition had higher sensitivity (71% vs. 81%) but lower specificity (97% vs. 93%) in LI-RADS for the diagnosis of HCC. • Hepatobiliary phase hypointensity may be a preferred alternative washout for HCC diagnosis with the highest area under the curve. • Studies with experienced reviewer or 3.0T MRI showed higher sensitivity and lower specificity for diagnosing HCC when using modified washout (p0.05).

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful spectral analysis technique and has exhibited remarkable application prospects in various fields. The design and fabrication of high-performance SERS substrates is key to promoting the development of SERS technology. Apart from noble metal substrates, non-metal substrates based on semiconductor materials have received increasing attention in recent years owing to their unique physical, chemical, and optical properties. However, compared with noble metal substrates, most semiconductor substrates show weak Raman enhancement ability. Therefore, exploring effective strategies to improve the SERS sensitivity is an urgent task. Numerous reviews have outlined the research progress of semiconductor SERS substrates, which mainly focused on summarizing the material category of semiconductor substrates. However, reviews that systematically summarize the strategies for improving the SERS performance of semiconductor substrates are lacking. In this review, we comprehensively discuss the research on semiconductor SERS from the aspects of mechanism, materials, and modification. Firstly, the Raman enhancement mechanism of semiconductor substrates and the SERS-active materials are discussed. Then, we summarize several effective approaches to boost the SERS performance of semiconductor substrates. In conclusion, we propose some prospects for this field.

Mimicking natural botanical/zoological systems has revolutionarily inspired four-dimensional (4D) hydrogel robotics, interactive actuators/machines, automatic biomedical devices, and self-adaptive photonics. The controllable high-freedom shape reconfiguration holds the key to satisfying the ever-increasing demands. However, miniaturized biocompatible 4D hydrogels remain rigorously stifled due to current approach/material limits. In this research, we spatiotemporally program micro/nano (μ/n) hydrogels through a heterojunction geometric strategy in femtosecond laser direct writing (fsLDW). Polyethylene incorporated N-isopropylacrylamide as programmable interactive materials here. Dynamic chiral torsion, site-specific mutation, anisotropic deformation, selective structural coloration of hydrogel nanowire, and spontaneous self-repairing as reusable μ/n robotics were identified. Hydrogel-materialized monolayer nanowires operate as the most fundamental block at nanometric accuracy to promise high freedom reconfiguration and high force-to-weight ratio/bending curvature under tight topological control. Taking use of this biomimetic fsLDW, we spatiotemporally constructed several in/out-plane self-driven hydrogel grippers, diverse 2D-to-3D transforming from the same monolayer shape, responsive photonic crystal, and self-clenched fists at μ/n scale. Predictably, the geometry-modulable hydrogels would open new access to massively-reproducible robotics, actuators/sensors for microenvironments, or lab-on-chip devices.

Rapid fabricating and harnessing stimuli-responsive behaviors of microscale bio-compatible hydrogels are of great interest to the emerging micro-mechanics, drug delivery, artificial scaffolds, nano-robotics, and lab chips. Herein, we demonstrate a novel femtosecond laser additive manufacturing process with smart materials for soft interactive hydrogel micro-machines. Bio-compatible hyaluronic acid methacryloyl was polymerized with hydrophilic diacrylate into an absorbent hydrogel matrix under a tight topological control through a 532 nm green femtosecond laser beam. The proposed hetero-scanning strategy modifies the hierarchical polymeric degrees inside the hydrogel matrix, leading to a controllable surface tension mismatch. Strikingly, these programmable stimuli-responsive matrices mechanized hydrogels into robotic applications at the micro/nanoscale (

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a natural compound with many important pharmacological effects including anti-hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the anti-hypertensive effect of CGA on high-fructose-induced salt-sensitive hypertension and the underlying mechanism. Hypertension was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by 20% fructose in drinking water plus 4% sodium chloride in the diet (HFS) for 8 weeks. CGA (50, 100 or 200 mg kg

Memristors are regarded as one of the key devices to break through the traditional Von Neumann computer architecture due to their capability of simulating the function of neural synapses. Among various memristive materials, two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising candidates to build advanced memristors with extremely high integration density and low power consumption. However, memristors based on 2D materials usually suffer from poor endurance and retention due to their vulnerability to material degradation during the formation/fusing processes of conductive filament channels within the switching media of 2D materials. Here, a new memristor architecture based on a WS2/MoS2 2D semiconducting heterojunction (metal/heterojunction/metal, MHM) is proposed, which is completely different from the conventional metal/insulator/metal (MIM) sandwich structure. Through the introduction of a type-II 2D heterojunction, a resistance switching mechanism based on band modulation rather than the conductive filaments can be realized to eliminate the material degradation during the set/reset processes. A prototype MHM memristor based on the WS2/MoS2 heterojunction is successfully developed with a large switching on/off ratio up to 104 and a clearly extended endurance over 120 switching cycles, showing the advantage of the 2D WS2/MoS2 heterojunction over the individual MoS2 or WS2 layers in memristive performance. The proposed method for the MHM-type 2D memristor has the potential to achieve a large-scale integrated memristor matrix with low power consumption and high integration density, which is promising for future artificial intelligence and brain-like computing systems.

The widespread use of stimuli-responsive hydrogels is closely related to their synthesis efficiency. However, the widely used thermal-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogels usually require a time-consuming synthesis process to produce (more than 12 h) and exhibit a relatively slow response speed in the field of cryo-polymerization. In this study, a sequence of thawing polymerization after freezing polymerization by a two-step method of free radical polymerization for the efficient synthesis of PNIPAM hydrogels (merely 2 h) with an excellent comprehensive performance is demonstrated. Results show that the overall performance of the as-synthesized PNIPAM hydrogels is at the top level among reported works despite the significantly reduced preparation time. Moreover, after incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), the PNIPAM hydrogels exhibit a rapid near-infrared (NIR) light-response and programmable shape-morphing capability. It is believed that such a viable and time-saving synthetic method for producing PNIPAM hydrogels of high performance will lay a solid foundation for drug delivery and smart actuators.

Pesticide residues threaten the ecological environment and human health. Therefore, developing high performance SERS substrate to achieve highly sensitive detection of pesticide residues is meaningful. In this study, based on the strategy of combining "hot spots" engineering and material hybridization, we construct a novel hybrid SERS substrate by depositing Ag nanoflowers (NFs) on ZnO nanorods (NRs). Benefiting from the synergistic effect of electromagnetic enhancement and charge transfer effect, the Ag NFs@ZnO NRs substrate exhibits a low detection limit (10

The characteristics of the runoff hydropower station are to generate power completely according to the natural runoff, and the output and power generation change with the change of the natural flow. The cluster power prediction of the runoff hydropower station is conducive to improving the safety of the power grid operation and improving the utilization rate of hydropower. This paper analyzes the operation characteristics of runoff hydropower stations, summarizes the prediction direction of mainstream runoff hydropower, analyzes the characteristics of the hydrological prediction model represented by the Xin'an River model, and puts forward a study on the power prediction technology of runoff small hydropower cluster based on fusion modeling. Based on the detailed analysis of watershed runoff characteristics, a prediction model based on multi-watershed observation characteristics is proposed, which combines the traditional hydrological model with the LSTM model to form a combined prediction model suitable for runoff hydropower. The method is universal and innovative.

Plasma expansion is anisotropic, which necessitates new plasma expansion kinetic models to precisely describe the evolution of the processes. The physical properties of the plasma during isothermal expansion during the nanosecond laser ablation of a bronze-bonded diamond grinding wheel were demonstrated in this work. Based on the regularities of the physical distribution, three-dimensional plasma equations were established, and the equations were applied to a numerical analysis of the ablation processes. Measurements using a grating spectrometer were carried out to detect the emission spectrum of the nanosecond laser ablation of a bronze-bonded diamond grinding wheel. The splash phenomena in the laser ablation process were observed with a high-speed camera. The expansion pressure of the plasma involved was low. According to the Boltzmann plot method and the Stark broadening method, the electron temperature was calculated to be 7206 K, and the electron density ranged from 5 × 1015 to 8 × 1015 cm−3. The experimental results and numerical simulation were consistent. The distribution of the plasma expansion processes presented in this work can contribute to the investigation of plasma characteristics in future research.

Energy shortage and environmental pollution have become the world's difficult problems, and the development of clean energy has become an inevitable choice. Solving the high proportion of clean energy consumption will become a major issue in the energy field. Various types of energy sources such as hydropower-wind power-photovoltaic power have coupling characteristics in certain geographical areas, and making good use of these coupling properties can better solve its joint prediction problem. This paper first introduces a brief situation of the development of these fields, proposes the main popular computing methods in this field, and conducts targeted analysis for the mainstream methods such as joint prediction, artificial intelligence and clustering algorithm, and finally puts forward the work value and conclusion of multi-energy coupling prediction.

Memristors are regarded as one of the key devices to break through the traditional Von Neumann computer architecture due to their capability of simulating the function of neural synapses. Among various memristive materials, two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising candidates to build advanced memristors with extremely high integration density and low power consumption. However, memristors based on 2D materials usually suffer from poor endurance and retention due to their vulnerability to material degradation during the formation/fusing processes of conductive filament channels within the switching media of 2D materials. Here, a new memristor architecture based on a WS2/MoS2 2D semiconducting heterojunction (metal/heterojunction/metal, MHM) is proposed, which is completely different from the conventional metal/insulator/metal (MIM) sandwich structure. Through the introduction of a type-II 2D heterojunction, a resistance switching mechanism based on band modulation rather than the conductive filaments can be realized to eliminate the material degradation during the set/reset processes. A prototype MHM memristor based on the WS2/MoS2 heterojunction is successfully developed with a large switching on/off ratio up to 104 and a clearly extended endurance over 120 switching cycles, showing the advantage of the 2D WS2/MoS2 heterojunction over the individual MoS2 or WS2 layers in memristive performance. The proposed method for the MHM-type 2D memristor has the potential to achieve a large-scale integrated memristor matrix with low power consumption and high integration density, which is promising for future artificial intelligence and brain-like computing systems.

Electrically conductive polymers have emerged as functional materials for future electronics due to their high electrical conductivity, real-time responsiveness, easy film-formation ability and desirable stretchability. However, the previously developed conductive polymer electronics are still limited to macroscopic hydrogels or films without complicated designs of fine features. Herein, a carbon nanotube-doped hydrophilic photoresist was ultrafast laser processed as an absorbent 3D scaffold to fabricate nanostructured electrically conductive hydrogels (NECHs) for the first time. Taking advantage of the intermolecular forces, we in situ interpenetrated π-conjugated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) into NECHs by self-assembly to combine fine features (resolution down to 500 nm, at least two-order accuracy improvement than that in the case of standard 3D-printed electronics) and achieve a high electrical conductivity (0.1-42.5 S m-1), device-level mechanical properties and desirable tolerance to humid/acid environments. Consequently, several reliable, nanostructured, metal-free electrical circuits, alcohol micro-sensors, interdigital capacitors, and loop inductors have been experimentally identified and characterized. The NECHs successfully break current limitations by making better use of the two photon hydrogelation and highly conductive polymer. Optical clarity, conductivity, and extensibility of the NECHs promise their applications in micro energy storage devices, epidermal electronics, nanorobotics and electrical circuit boards for challenging conditions.

We analysed the plasma expansion characteristics during a laser ablation process and derived dynamics equations to describe the plasma expansion. The equations include the plasma concentration spatial distribution equation, plasma expansion pressure equation and plasma dynamics equation for both the isothermal expansion stage and adiabatic expansion stage. The equations are reasonable, and the required parameters are related only to the laser parameters and materials properties, imparting the model with high versatility and practicability. The models were applied to a numerical simulation of plasma expansion characteristics in the laser ablation of a bronze-bonded diamond grinding wheel. The dimension of plasma isothermal expansion and plasma adiabatic expansion, the expansion velocity of the isothermal plasma, and the contour evolution of plasma expansion were determined. Experiments were then conducted with a high-speed camera to observe the same plasma expansion process for ablating the grinding wheel. A grating spectrometer was used to measure the emission spectrum during the laser ablation process, and the electron temperature and electron density were characterized. The results of the experiments and numerical simulation were found to be essentially consistent, verifying the accuracy and feasibility of the as-developed plasma dynamics equations, with positive implications for optimizing the laser ablation process.

We unexpectedly found a femtosecond laser deposition (fs-LD) technique for single-step fabricating Tin-oxide gas sensors coupling with peripheral interdigitated electrodes. Photons hit the precursor for an ultrafast nucleation and crystal growth at a nanometric voxel to grow non-directional SnO2 nanocrystal. We utilized the tunable laser exposure dose for morphological control, and the SnO2 nanospheres were optically assembled into micro-structured bridges interconnecting metal electrodes. Au-based interdigital electrodes (thickness

Due to the ecosystem and public health concerns, contaminants must be removed from the water, and water purification methods aim to find superior materials with superior chemistry and unique structures. We developed a new 3D flower-like double-oxide hydrotalcite composite as an extraction phase for the enrichment of quinolone antibiotics (QAs). In this work, NiAl double-oxide composite microspheres (Al2O3-C@NiAl-LDO) with 3D flower-like structure were prepared by calcining pollen to prepare Al2O3-C carbon templates and homogeneously coating LDO nanosheets on Al2O3-C microspheres. Compared with the pristine NiAl-LDH (82.70 m2/g), the Al2O3-C@NiAl-LDO microspheres exhibited a higher specific surface area (139.70 m2/g), making them rich in active adsorption sites. In addition, a large number of anions that can be exchanged between the layers can effectively enhance adsorption capacity through multiple interactions. The adsorption performance of Al2O3-C@NiAl-LDO microspheres on QAs was investigated in detail. The prepared composites proved to be suitable for the adsorption of QAs in complex samples with a maximum adsorption capacity of 64.08 mg g−1. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of QAs in real samples with a satisfactory recovery.

A carrier separating method associated with noise-elimination had been introduced into a sinusoidal phase-shifting self-mixing interferometer. The conventional sinusoidal phase shifting self-mixing interferometry was developed into a more competitive instrument with high computing efficiency and nanometer accuracy of λ / 100 in dynamical vibration measurement. The high slew rate electro-optic modulator induced a sinusoidal phase carrier with ultralow insertion loss in this paper. In order to extract phase-shift quickly and precisely, this paper employed the carrier-separating to directly generate quadrature signals without complicated frequency domain transforms. Moreover, most noises were evaluated and suppressed by a noise-elimination technology synthesizing empirical mode decomposition with wavelet transform. The overall laser system was described and inherent advantages such as high computational efficiency and decreased nonlinear errors of the established system were demonstrated. The experiment implemented on a high precision PZT (positioning accuracy was better than 1 nm) and compared with laser Doppler velocity meter. The good agreement of two instruments shown that the short-term resolution had improved from 10 nm to 1.5 nm in dynamic vibration measurement with reduced time expense. This was useful in precision measurement to improve the SMI with same sampling rate. The proposed signal processing was performed in pure time-domain requiring no preprocessing electronic circuits.

This paper, originally published on 17 May 2019, was withdrawn on 24 July 2019 at the request of the authors.

Pure high frequency periodic triangle phase shift is introduced into optical interference, calculates nine data points in each period and obtains discrete phase values. This paper proposes a novel phase demodulation technology analyzing phase information with a symmetric linear method for depressing sampling error. Traditional low finesse Fabry–Perot interferometer produces typical cosine interference signal, performance of which is greatly improved by proposed technology. In experimental configuration we situate an electro-optics crystal to induce phase shift. The variation of Fabry-Perot cavity length is measured with a resolution much higher than the fringe counting or frequency modulation techniques. Simulation and experimentation both demonstrate feasibility and robustness of proposed algorithm. Reconstructed deviation and noise sources are discussed in detail. Various vibration formats are measured as deeper verification.

A signal-processing synthesizing Wavelet transform and Hilbert transform is employed to measurement of uniform or non-uniform vibrations in self-mixing interferometer on semiconductor laser diode with quantum well. Background noise and fringe inclination are solved by decomposing effect, fringe counting is adopted to automatic determine decomposing level, a couple of exact quadrature signals are produced by Hilbert transform to extract vibration. The tempting potential of real-time measuring micro vibration with high accuracy and wide dynamic response bandwidth using proposed method is proven by both simulation and experiment. Advantages and error sources are presented as well. Main features of proposed semiconductor laser self-mixing interferometer are constant current supply, high resolution, simplest optical path and much higher tolerance to feedback level than existing self-mixing interferometers, which is competitive for non-contact vibration measurement.

Phthalate diesters are a group of plasticizers extensively used in the manufacturing and processing of plastics. Phthalate monoesters are the primary degradation products of the diesters. Accumulation of endocrine disruptive diesters and monoesters in soil is of great concern because of the extensive use of plastic mulching and misdisposal of plastics. Accurate determination of their levels in soil is critical to assess the occurrence, exposure, and risks of phthalate diesters and monoesters. In this study, we aimed to develop a robust and environmentally friendly method for the simultaneous determination of phthalate diesters and monoesters in soil. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was used for quantification, combined with accelerated solvent extraction and in-line cleanup for sample preparation. The method detection limits for the 14 diesters and 11 monoesters were in the range of 0.59 to 10.08 ng g-1 d.w. Acceptable recoveries (69%–131%) for these analytes were obtained when four deuterated analogs were used for internal calibration, and intra- and inter-day variations were less than 15%. This method was later successfully applied to five soil samples, and 8 diesters and 7 monoesters were detected with the maximum concentration up to 1142.2 ng g-1 d.w. The method developed in this study can be used for screening and accurate quantification of phthalate diesters and monoesters in soil and possibly in other environmental matrices.

An effective characterization tool is highly desired to investigate mechanism and properties in femtosecond laser directing for 3D nanomaterial assembly. Here we demonstrate real-time and noninvasive visualization of laser-directed processing using multimodal nonlinear spectroscopic imaging.

Integration of phase manipulation and polarization multiplexing was introduced to self-mixing interferometry (SMI) for high-sensitive measurement. Light polarizations were used to increase measuring path number and predict manifold merits for potential applications. Laser source was studied as a microwave-photonic resonator optically-injected by double reflected lights on a two-feedback-factor analytical model. Independent external paths exploited magnesium-oxide doped lithium niobate crystals at perpendicular polarizations to transfer interferometric phases into amplitudes of harmonics. Theoretical resolutions reached angstrom level. By integrating two techniques, this SMI outperformed the conventional single-path SMIs by simultaneous dual-targets measurement on single laser tube with high sensitivity and low speckle noise. In experimental demonstration, by nonlinear filtering method, a custom-made phase-resolved algorithm real-time figured out instantaneous two-dimensional displacements with nanometer resolution. Experimental comparisons to lock-in technique and a commercial Ploytec-5000 laser Doppler velocity meter validated this two-path SMI in micron range without optical cross-talk. Moreover, accuracy subjected to slewing rates of crystals could be flexibly adjusted.

In this paper, a simplified phase demodulation scheme is applied to recover vibration trail on a laser self-mixing interferometer for noncontact vibration measurement. The emission of semiconductor laser diode is modulated by injecting sinusoidal wave, and corresponding interference signal is a quasi-sinusoid wave. The vibration mathematical model for semiconductor laser diode is theoretically educed from basic self-mixing theory, the variation of target is converted into phase information. The simulation of demodulation algorithm and standard deviation are presented and the reconstructed waveform displays a desirable consistence with various moving trails. Following the principle, a minimum experimental system is established and position variation of the target mirror driven by voltage signal is translated into phase shifts, feedback is controlled at weak level during experiment, Fourier transform is implemented to analyze phase information. The comparisons of both amplitude and velocity with a Germany Doppler vibrometer are performed to testify vibration model, the error of proposed demodulation method is less than 30 nm and achieve a high accuracy in vibration frequency. The experimental results indicate the traditional phase technology can be applied on complex optical power signal after adaption providing a feasible application prospects in industrial and scientific situation with an inexpensive semiconductor laser.

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) based on laser direct writing is currently one of the most prevailing 3D micro/nano fabrication techniques. Nanomaterials can be doped in resins and assembled by TPP for developing advanced 3D functional devices. However, there lacks an effective visualization tool to determine the distribution and orientation of the nanomaterials as-doped in the composite resins. Herein, we present a nondestructive, in situ, and rapid characterization method to determine the orientation and distribution of the nanomaterials within cured resins using polarized second-harmonic generation (p-SHG). The directional assembly of the ZnO nanowires within micro/nanostructures fabricated by TPP is, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, characterized by p-SHG optical microscopy with a fast imaging speed by two orders of magnitude higher than that of the Raman mapping technique. Our method opens a window for nondestructive, rapid, in situ, and polarization-resolved characterization of functional devices made by TPP micro/nanofabrication.

Fiber-pigtailed self-mixing sensor employs waveguide modulator in polarization maintaining fiber to introduce phase carrier. Quadrature phases are extracted from amplitudes of harmonics to recur displacement. High sensitivity is experimentally verified by comparison to laser LDV.

Self-mixing interferometer employs resonant phase modulator operating at 12MHz to non-contact measure micron ultrasonic vibration with accuracy better than $\lambda/40$ . Hilbert transform extracts phase-shift with automatic direction distinguishing. Experimental results are compared to LDV.