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Reducing lattice thermal conductivity through external modulation techniques such as defect engineering may potentially interfere with electronic transport. Materials with intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity have the potential to decouple the control of lattice heat transport and electronic transport, which is of great significance in the field of thermoelectric energy conversion. This paper reviews the origin of intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity, which is directly related to three physical quantities (heat capacity, phonon group velocity, and phonon relaxation time) and is ultimately reflected in the lattice structure and bonding characteristics. An understanding of the fundamental nature of low lattice thermal conductivity can aid in guiding experimental design and theoretically enabling high-throughput prediction of novel low lattice thermal conductivity materials according to the intrinsic properties.

Understanding the origin of ultralow lattice thermal conductivity κ L of halide perovskites is of great significance in the energy conversion field. The soft phonon modes and the large anharmonicity corresponding to the dynamic rotation of halogen atoms play an important role in limiting the thermal transport of halide perovskites. The dynamic rotation has long been thought to originate from the electrostatic repulsion of lone pairs around halogen atoms. Here, by studying the layered perovskite Cs 3 Bi 2 I 6 Cl 3 , it is found that the interaction between the lone pairs contributed by the s bands of halogen atoms is short-range, and the dynamic rotation is really driven by the occupied p-band electrons. It dominates Cs 3 Bi 2 I 6 Cl 3 with ultralow κ L , < 0.2 W mK -1 at 300 K. Moreover, soft optical phonons are presented ≈1 and 2.2 THz that constitute relatively flat and dense bands due to the rattling Cs and Cl atoms, contributing a large glass-like component to the κ L . The results have important implications for understanding the origin of the ultralow κ L in halide perovskites and for designing novel perovskites to serve the energy conversion field., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Light fields carry a wealth of information, including intensity, spectrum, and polarization. However, standard cameras capture only the intensity, disregarding other valuable information. While hyperspectral and polarimetric imaging systems capture spectral and polarization information, respectively, in addition to intensity, they are often bulky, slow, and costly. Here, we have developed an encoding metasurface paired with a neural network enabling a normal camera to acquire hyperspectro-polarimetric images from a single snapshot. Our experimental results demonstrate that this metasurface-enhanced camera can accurately resolve full-Stokes polarization across a broad spectral range (700 to 1150 nanometer) from a single snapshot, achieving a spectral sensitivity as high as 0.23 nanometer. In addition, our system captures full-Stokes hyperspectro-polarimetric video in real time at a rate of 28 frames per second, primarily limited by the camera's readout rate. Our encoding metasurface offers a compact, fast, and cost-effective solution for multidimensional imaging that effectively uses information within light fields.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors with an urgent need for precision medicine strategies. The present study seeks to assess the antitumor effects of fisetin, and characterize its impact on PDAC. Multi-omic approaches include proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses. Further validation includes the assessment of mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species (mtROS), mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as ATP generation. Molecular docking, immunoprecipitation, and proximity ligation assay were used to detect the interactions among fiseitn, superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), and sirtuin 2 (SIRT2). We showed that fisetin disrupted mitochondrial homeostasis and induced SOD2 acetylation in PDAC. Further, we produced site mutants to determine that fisetin-induced mtROS were dependent on SOD2 acetylation. Fisetin inhibited SIRT2 expression, thus blocking SOD2 deacetylation. SIRT2 overexpression could impede fisetin-induced SOD2 acetylation. Additionally, untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed an acceleration of folate metabolism with fisetin. Collectively, our findings suggest that fisetin disrupts mitochondrial homeostasis, eliciting an important cancer-suppressive role; thus, fisetin may serve as a promising therapeutic for PDAC., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

A novel deoxygenative alkynylation of amides promoted by a synergistic action of a divalent rare-earth element and a transition metal has been developed. In this method, α-alkynyl substituted amines are synthesized from unactivated amides and alkynes in a single transformation. Broad substrate scope and excellent selectivity for CO cleavage has been demonstrated. This approach represents a general method for the construction of versatile α-alkynyl substituted amines from unactivated amide bonds.

Semiconductors with long-range interactions (LRI) due to resonant bonding exhibit delocalized electronic states and low lattice thermal conductivity, contributing to the efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion. Here, we build a descriptor for high-throughput screening of LRI materials from the second-order interaction force constants. We identify 75 semiconducting candidates from the binary compounds in the MatHub-3d database that contain LRI. By analyzing the bonding properties of LRI atoms, we classify LRI in materials into two categories: type I and type II. In the structural unit of type I LRI, the atoms have strong bond connections, while a weak bond exists between the two groups in the structural unit of type II LRI. We have identified atypical type I LRI formed by Sb-Sb and Mg-Mg pairs in the emerging thermoelectric material Mg 3 Sb 2 , resulting in the softening of TA 1 phonons and large anharmonicity. For type II LRI, the LRI of Ge-Ge and Se-Se pairs in R 3 m -GeSe can cross different layers. Moreover, we observe a combination of type II LRI and rattling effect in BaSe 2 to restrict thermal transport. This work is of great significance for understanding the relationship between LRI and thermal transport properties, and for designing new LRI-induced low lattice thermal conductivity materials.

To identify the value of salivary gland ultrasound (SGUS) combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance sialography (MRS) in predicting the results of labial salivary gland biopsy (LSGB) in patients with suspected primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS), and construct a nomogram model to predict LSGB results. A total of 181 patients who were admitted with suspected pSS from December 2018 to April 2023 were examined and divided into a training set (n = 120) and a validation set (n = 61). Baseline data of the two groups were examined, and the value of SGUS, MRI, and MRS in predicting LSGB was analyzed. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to screen for risk factors, and nomogram prediction models were constructed using these results. In the training set, the SGUS, MRI, and MRS scores of patients in the LSGB + group were higher than those in the LSGB - group (all P < 0.001). The positive prediction value (PPV) was 91% for an SGUS score of 3, and 82% for MRI and MRS scores of 2 or more. We developed a nomogram prediction model based on SGUS, MRI, and MRS data, and it had a concordance index (C-index) of 0.94. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test (χ 2  = 3.17, P = 0.92) also indicated the nomogram prediction model had good accuracy and calibration for prediction of LSGB results. A nomogram model based on SGUS, MRI, and MRS results can help rheumatologists decide whether LSGB should be performed in patients with suspected pSS., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).)

Background: It is widely acknowledged that dietary habits have profound impacts on human health and diseases. As the most important sweeteners and energy sources in human diets, hexoses take part in a broad range of physiopathological processes. In recent years, emerging evidence has uncovered the crucial roles of hexoses, such as glucose, fructose, mannose, and galactose, in controlling the differentiation or function of immune cells., Aim of Review: Herein, we reviewed the latest research progresses in the hexose-mediated modulation of immune responses, provided in-depth analyses of the underlying mechanisms, and discussed the unresolved issues in this field., Key Scientific Concepts of Review: Owing to their immunoregulatory effects, hexoses affect the onset and progression of various types of immune disorders, including inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and tumor immune evasion. Thus, targeting hexose metabolism is becoming a promising strategy for reversing immune abnormalities in diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

The pernicious parasitism exhibited by root parasitic weeds such as Orobanche and Striga poses substantial peril to agricultural productivity and global food security. This deleterious phenomenon hinges upon the targeted induction of the signaling molecule strigolactones (SLs). Consequently, the identification of prospective SL antagonists holds significant promise in the realm of mitigating the infection of these pernicious weeds. In this study, we synthesized and characterized D12 based on a potent SL antagonist KK094 . In vivo assay results demonstrated that D12 remarkably impedes the germination of Phelipanche aegyptiaca and Striga asiatica seeds, while also alleviating the inhibitory consequence of the SL analogue GR24 on hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana . The docking study and ITC assay indicated that D12 can interact strongly with the SL receptor protein, which may interfere with the binding of SL to the receptor protein as a result. In addition, the results of crop safety assessment tests showed that D12 had no adverse effects on rice seed germination and seedling growth and development. The outcomes obtained from the present study suggested that D12 exhibited promise as a prospective antagonist of SL receptors, thereby displaying substantial efficacy in impeding the seed germination process of root parasitic weeds, providing a promising basis for rational design and development of further Striga -specific herbicides.

Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones that regulate several key agronomic traits, including shoot branching, leaf senescence, and stress tolerance. The artificial regulation of SL biosynthesis and signaling has been considered as a potent strategy in regulating plant architecture and combatting the infection of parasitic weeds to help improve crop yield. DL1b is a previously reported SL receptor inhibitor molecule that significantly promotes shoot branching. Here, we synthesized 18 novel compounds based on the structure of DL1b. We performed rice tillering activity assay and selected a novel small molecule, C6 , as a candidate SL receptor inhibitor. In vitro bioassays demonstrated that C6 possesses various regulatory functions as an SL inhibitor, including inhibiting germination of the root parasitic seeds Phelipanche aegyptiaca , delaying leaf senescence and promoting hypocotyl elongation of Arabidopsis . ITC analysis and molecular docking experiments further confirmed that C6 can interact with SL receptor proteins, thereby interfering with the binding of SL to its receptor. Therefore, C6 is considered a novel SL receptor inhibitor with potential applications in plant architecture control and prevention of root parasitic weed infestation.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes disability worldwide. Exosomes released by fibroblast-like synoviocytes in RA (RA-FLSs-Exos) play a role in the development of RA, and circular RNAs (circRNAs) are important for RA progression. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of RA-FLSs-Exos in RA and identify the potential pathway responsible for these effects., Methods: We initially conducted microarray analysis to identify dysregulated circRNAs in exosomes associated with RA. We then co-cultured isolated RA-FLSs-Exos with chondrocytes to examine their role in RA. In vivo experiments were performed using collagen-induced arthritis mouse models, and circFTO knockdown was achieved through intra-articular injection of AAV5 vectors., Results: Our findings revealed increased expression of circFTO in both RA-FLSs-Exos and synovial tissues from patients with RA. Exosomal circFTO hindered chondrocyte proliferation, migration, and anabolism while promoting apoptosis and catabolism. Mechanistically, we discovered that circFTO facilitates the formation of methyltransferases complex to suppress SRY-related high-mobility group box 9 (SOX9) expression with assistance from YTH domain family 2 (YTHDF2) through an m6A-dependent mechanism. Furthermore, inhibition of circFTO improved symptoms of RA in vivo., Conclusion: Taken together, our study demonstrates that exosomal circFTO derived from FLSs contributes to the progression of RA by targeting SOX9. These findings highlight a promising target for treating RA., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

We report the first palladium-catalyzed decarbonylative alkynylation of carboxylic-phosphoric anhydrides via highly selective C(O)-O bond cleavage. Carboxylic-phosphoric anhydrides are highly active carboxylic acid derivatives, which are generated through activating carboxylic acids using phosphates by esterification or direct dehydrogenative coupling with phosphites. Highly valuable internal alkynes have been generated by the present method, and the efficiency of this approach has been demonstrated through a wide substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance.

Background: Although substantial efforts have been made by researchers to develop drugs, a disappointing reality is that the emergence of drug resistance is an unavoidable reality for the majority of patients. In recent years, emerging evidence suggests a connection between drug resistance and immune dysregulation., Summary: As a ubiquitously distributed, versatile innate immune cell, macrophages play essential roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis in a steady state. Nevertheless, it is becoming aware that macrophages undermine the action of therapeutic drugs across various disease types. Reprogramming macrophage function has been proven to be effective in restoring patient responsiveness to treatment. Herein, we comprehensively reviewed how macrophages respond to drugs and the mechanisms by which they contribute to treatment unresponsiveness in cancer, inflammatory diseases, and metabolic diseases. In addition, future prospects in macrophage-based combination therapy were discussed., Key Messages: Targeting macrophages is a promising strategy for overcoming drug resistance in immune disorders., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Chalcogenide perovskites provide a promising avenue for nontoxic, stable thermoelectric materials. Here, the thermal transport and thermoelectric properties of BaZrS 3 as a typical orthorhombic perovskite are investigated. An extremely low lattice thermal conductivity κ L of 1.84 W/mK at 300 K is revealed for BaZrS 3 , due to the softening effect of Ba atoms on the lattice and the strong anharmonicity caused by the twisted structure. We demonstrate that coherence contributions to κ L , arising from wave-like phonon tunneling, lead to an 18% thermal transport contribution at 300 K. The increasing temperature softens the phonons, thus reducing the group velocity of materials and increasing the scattering phase space. However, it simultaneously reduces the anharmonicity, which is dominant in BaZrS 3 and ultimately improves the particle-like thermal transport. In addition, via replacement of the S atom with Se- and Ti-alloying strategy, the ZT value of BaZrS 3 is significantly increased from 0.58 to 0.91 at 500 K, making it an important candidate for thermoelectric applications.

Synthesizing SnO 2 composite nanostructures via a facile one-step method has been proven to be a great challenge. By adjusting operating variables, such as the reaction solution's pH and solvent type, several SnO 2 nanostructures, in particular, a function-matching SnO 2 hybrid structure composed of irregular zero-dimensional nanoparticles (NPs) and two-dimensional nanosheets (NSs), could be created. The as-prepared SnO 2 composites were then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) to determine their physical properties. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) constructed with the resultant multifunctional SnO 2 NPs/NSs composite exhibited the highest overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.16% among all products with a corresponding short-circuit current density of 18.6 mA/cm 2 and an open-circuit voltage of 0.626 V. The improved performance can be attributed to the combined effects of each component in the composite, i.e., the intentionally introduced nanosheets provide desired electron transport and enhanced light scattering capability, while the nanoparticles retain their large surface area for efficient dye absorption., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Background: Pancreatic cancer stem cells (CSCs) promote pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) plays an important role in tumor initiation in other tumors, but the function of CDK1 in PDAC remains unclear. Fisetin is a bioactive flavonoid with anti-tumor properties in multiple tumors, while its function in CSCs remains elusive., Results: In this study, we demonstrated that CDK1 was correlated with prognosis and was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer tissue and gemcitabine-resistant cells. Silencing CDK1 impaired tumor stemness and reduced a subset of CSCs. We found that fisetin blocked the kinase pocket domain of CDK1 and inhibited pancreatic CSC characteristics. Using acetylation proteomics analysis and phosphorylation array assay, we confirmed that fisetin reduced CDK1 expression and increased CDK1 acetylation at lysine 33 (K33), which resulted in the suppression of CDK1 phosphorylation. Silencing CDK1 or STAT3 suppressed tumor stemness properties, while overexpressing CDK1 or STAT3 showed the opposite effect. Mutation or acetylation of CDK1 at K33 weakened STAT3 phosphorylation at Y705, impairing the expression of stem-related genes and pancreatic cancer stemness. In addition, lack of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3), which deacetylates CDK1, contributed to weakening STAT3 phosphorylation by regulating the post-translational modification of CDK1, thereby decreasing the stemness of PDAC. Moreover, our results revealed that fisetin enhanced the effect of gemcitabine through eliminating a subpopulation of pancreatic CSCs by inhibiting the CDK1-STAT3 axis in vitro and in vivo., Conclusion: Our findings highlight the role of post-translational modifications of CDK1-STAT3 signaling in maintaining cancer stemness of PDAC, and indicated that targeting the CDK1-STAT3 axis with inhibitors such as fisetin is a potential therapeutic strategy to diminish drug resistance and eliminate PDAC., (© 2023. Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA).)

Hydrothermal-based direct regeneration of spent Li-ion battery (LIB) cathodes has garnered tremendous attention for its simplicity and scalability. However, it is heavily reliant on manual disassembly to ensure the high purity of degraded cathode powders, and the quality of regenerated materials. In reality, degraded cathodes often contain residual components of the battery, such as binders, current collectors, and graphite particles. Thorough investigation is thus required to understand the effects of these impurities on hydrothermal-based direct regeneration. In this study, we focus on isolating the effects of aluminum (Al) scraps on the direct regeneration process. We found that Al metal can be dissolved during the hydrothermal relithiation process. Even when the cathode material contains up to 15 wt.% Al scraps, no detrimental effects were observed on the recovered structure, chemical composition, and electrochemical performance of the regenerated cathode material. The regenerated NCM cathode can achieve a capacity of 163.68 mAh/g at 0.1 C and exhibited a high-capacity retention of 85.58 % after cycling for 200 cycles at 0.5 C. Therefore, the hydrothermal-based regeneration method is effective in revitalizing degraded cathode materials, even in the presence of notable Al impurity content, showing great potential for industrial applications., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Bulk III-nitride materials MN (M = Al, Ga and In) and their alloys have been widely used in high-power electronic and optoelectronic devices, but stable two-dimensional (2D) III-nitride materials, except h-BN, have not been realized yet. A new kind of 2D III-nitride material M2Si2N4 (M = Al, Ga and In) is predicted by choosing Si as the appropriate passivation element. The stability, electronic and optical properties of 2D M2Si2N4 materials are studied systematically based on first-principles calculations. The results show that Al2Si2N4 and Ga2Si2N4 are found to be indirect bandgap semiconductors, while In2Si2N4 is a direct bandgap semiconductor. Moreover, Al2Si2N4 and In2Si2N4 have good absorption ability in the visible light region, while Ga2Si2N4 is an ultraviolet-light-absorbing material. Furthermore, the carrier lifetimes of Ga2Si2N4 and In2Si2N4 are as large as 157.89 and 103.99 ns, respectively. All these desirable properties of M2Si2N4 materials make them attractive for applications in electronics and photoelectronics.

Renewable electricity-powered CO evolution from CO 2 emissions is a promising first step in the sustainable production of commodity chemicals, but performing electrochemical CO 2 reduction economically at scale is challenging since only noble metals, for example, gold and silver, have shown high performance for CO 2 -to-CO. Cu is a potential catalyst to achieve CO 2 reduction to CO at the industrial scale, but the C-C coupling process on Cu significantly depletes CO* intermediates, thus limiting the CO evolution rate and producing many hydrocarbon and oxygenate mixtures. Herein, we tune the CO selectivity of Cu by alloying a second metal Sb into Cu, and report an antimony-copper single-atom alloy catalyst (Sb 1 Cu) of isolated Sb-Cu interfaces that catalyzes the efficient conversion of CO 2 -to-CO with a Faradaic efficiency over 95%. The partial current density reaches 452 mA cm -2 with approximately 91% CO Faradaic efficiency, and negligible C 2+ products are observed. In situ spectroscopic measurements and theoretical simulations reason that the atomic Sb-Cu interface in Cu promotes CO 2 adsorption/activation and weakens the binding strength of CO*, which ends up with enhanced CO selectivity and production rates., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Metalenses promise potential for a paradigm shift of conventional optical devices. However, the aperture sizes of metalenses are usually bound within hundreds of micrometers by the commonly used fabrication methods, limiting their usage on practical optical devices like telescopes. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate a high-efficiency, single-lens, refractive metalens telescope. We developed a mass production-friendly workflow for fabricating wafer-scale (80 mm aperture) metalenses using deep-ultraviolet (DUV) photolithography. Our metalens works in the near-infrared region with nearly diffraction-limited focal spot sizes and a high peak focusing efficiency of 80.84% at 1450 nm experimentally. Based on the metalens, we built a single-lens telescope and acquired images of the lunar surface, revealing its geographical structures. We believe our demonstration of the metalens telescope proves the exciting potential lying in the metasurfaces and could bring new possibilities for areas involving large optical systems, including geosciences, planetary observation, and astrophysical science.

Background: This study aims to examine (1) province-level variations in the levels of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and behavioral risk for CVDs, (2) province-level variations in the management of cascade of care for hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia, and (3) the association of province-level economic development and individual factors with the quality of care for hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia., Methods: We used nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2015, which included 12,597 participants aged 45 years. Using a care cascade framework, we examined the quality of care provided to patients with three prevalent NCDs: hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia. The proportion of WHO CVD risk based on the World Health Organization CVD risk prediction charts, Cardiovascular Risk Score (CRS) and Behavior Risk Score (BRS) were calculated. We performed multivariable logistic regression models to determine the individual-level drivers of NCD risk variables and outcomes. To examine socio-demographic relationships with CVD risk, linear regression models were applied., Results: In total, the average CRS was 4.98 (95% CI: 4.92, 5.05), while the average BRS was 3.10 (95% confidence interval: 3.04, 3.15). The weighted mean CRS (BRS) in Fujian province ranged from 4.36 to 5.72 ( P < 0.05). Most of the provinces had a greater rate of hypertension than diabetes and dyslipidaemia awareness and treatment. Northern provinces had a higher rate of awareness and treatment of all three diseases. Similar patterns of regional disparity were seen in diabetes and dyslipidaemia care cascades. There was no evidence of a better care cascade for CVDs in patients who reside in more economically advanced provinces., Conclusion: Our research found significant provincial heterogeneity in the CVD risk scores and the management of the cascade of care for hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia for persons aged 45 years or more. To improve the management of cascade of care and to eliminate regional and disparities in CVD care and risk factors in China, local and population-based focused interventions are necessary., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao, Anindya, Atun, Marthias, Han, McPake, Duolikun, Hulse, Fang, Ding, Oldenburg and Lee.)

Objective: Quantifying the spatial and socioeconomic variation of mortality burden attributable to particulate matters with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ) has important implications for pollution control policy. This study aims to examine the regional and socioeconomic disparities in the mortality burden attributable to long-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 in China., Methods: Using data of 296 cities across China from 2015 to 2019, we estimated all-cause mortality (people aged ≥ 16 years) attributable to the long-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 above the new WHO air quality guideline (5 µg/m 3 ). Attributed fraction (AF), attributed deaths (AD), attributed mortality rate (AMR) and total value of statistical life lost (VSL) by regional and socioeconomic levels were reported., Results: Over the period of 2015-2019, 17.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 7.4-25.2] of all-cause mortality were attributable to long-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 , corresponding to 1,425.2 thousand deaths (95% CI: 622.4-2,099.6), 103.5/10 5 (95% CI: 44.9-153.3) AMR, and 1006.9 billion USD (95% CI: 439.8-1483.4) total VSL per year. The AMR decreased from 120.5/10 5 (95% CI: 52.9-176.6) to 92.7/10 5 (95% CI:39.9-138.5) from 2015 to 2019. The highest mortality burden was observed in the north region (annual average AF = 24.2%, 95% CI: 10.8-35.1; annual average AMR = 137.0/10 5 , 95% CI: 60.9-198.5). The highest AD and economic loss were observed in the east region (annual average AD = 390.0 thousand persons, 95% CI: 170.3-574.6; annual total VSL = 275.6 billion USD, 95% CI: 120.3-406.0). Highest AMR was in the cities with middle level of GDP per capita (PGDP)/urbanization. The majority of the top ten cities of AF, AMR and VSL were in high and middle PGDP/urbanization regions., Conclusion: There were significant regional and socioeconomic disparities in PM 2.5 attributed mortality burden among Chinese cities, suggesting differential mitigation policies are required for different regions in China., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

High surrounding road density could increase traffic-related air pollution, noise and the risk of traffic injuries, which are major public health concerns for children. We collected geographical data for all childcare centers (16,146) in Australia and provided the data on the road density surrounding them. The road density was represented by the child care center's nearest distance to main road and motorway, and the length of main road/motor way within 100~1000-meter buffer zone surrounding the child care center. We also got the data of PM 2.5 concentration from 2013 to 2018 and standard Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from 2013 to 2019 according to the longitude and latitude of the child care centers. This data might help researchers to evaluate the health impacts of road density on child health, and help policy makers to make transportation, educational and environmental planning decisions to protect children from exposure to traffic-related hazards in Australia., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

We show that a metasurface-coated two-dimensional (2D) slab waveguide enables the generation of arbitrary complex light fields by combining the extreme versatility and freedom on the wavefront control of optical metasurfaces with the compactness of photonic integrated circuits. We demonstrated off-chip 2D focusing and holographic projection with our metasurface-dressed photonic integrated devices. This technology holds the potential for many other optical applications requiring 2D light field manipulation with full on-chip integration, such as solid-state LiDAR and near-eye AR/VR displays., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

The growing maturity of nanofabrication has ushered massive sophisticated optical structures available on a photonic chip. The integration of subwavelength-structured metasurfaces and metamaterials on the canonical building block of optical waveguides is gradually reshaping the landscape of photonic integrated circuits, giving rise to numerous meta-waveguides with unprecedented strength in controlling guided electromagnetic waves. Here, we review recent advances in meta-structured waveguides that synergize various functional subwavelength photonic architectures with diverse waveguide platforms, such as dielectric or plasmonic waveguides and optical fibers. Foundational results and representative applications are comprehensively summarized. Brief physical models with explicit design tutorials, either physical intuition-based design methods or computer algorithms-based inverse designs, are cataloged as well. We highlight how meta-optics can infuse new degrees of freedom to waveguide-based devices and systems, by enhancing light-matter interaction strength to drastically boost device performance, or offering a versatile designer media for manipulating light in nanoscale to enable novel functionalities. We further discuss current challenges and outline emerging opportunities of this vibrant field for various applications in photonic integrated circuits, biomedical sensing, artificial intelligence and beyond., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Rice is one of the most important crops in China, contributing to approximately 28% of total cereal yield. Despite substantial production, given that rice is a high water-consuming crop, the water shortage due to the irreversible decline in available water resources on a global scale induced by undergoing climate change will pose grave challenges to rice reproductive growth and related water resources utilization. As a consequence, investigating the responses of rice productivity and water consumption to more pronounced climate changes is of great significance for water resources sustainable utilization in terms of reducing irrigation water requirements and ensuring food security. Present water footprint (WF) methods do not calculate the weighted average of each WF component at the national level when evaluating the effects of prospective climate change upon rice production. The national water footprint (NWF), i.e. taking the share of each province in the total production of crops as weighting factors, has been regarded as an effective approach to determine where each WF component is originally located. In this study, the temporal change characteristics of NWF for single-rice (SR), early-rice (ER) and late-rice (LR) in different agro-ecological zones across China during 2001-2010 were assessed for the first time. The results exhibited that NWF of rice was an estimated 304,848 million cubic meters (MCM) per year. The SR accounted for the greatest portion of NWF, followed by ER and LR. The NWF rank was SR-V > SR-I > ER-VI > SR-IV > LR-III > LR-VI > SR-II > ER-III. The blue water footprint (WF b ) presents decreasing trends in most agro-ecological zones (SR-I, SR-II, SR-IV, ER-III and LR-VI), while green water footprint (WF g ) exhibits increasing trends within these regions. This study provides a beneficial approach for decision-making processes aiming at better agricultural water resources management strategies to alleviate water resources scarcity and reduce food risk in the context of surging demand, which will support agricultural water resources management of China towards a more balanced direction at the national level., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Metasurfaces with unparalleled controllability of light have shown great potential to revolutionize conventional optics. However, they mainly require external light excitation, which makes it difficult to fully integrate them on-chip. On the other hand, integrated photonics enables packing optical components densely on a chip, but it has limited free-space light controllability. Here, by dressing metasurfaces onto waveguides, we molded guided waves into any desired free-space modes to achieve complex free-space functions, such as out-of-plane beam deflection and focusing. This metasurface also breaks the degeneracy of clockwise- and counterclockwise-propagating whispering gallery modes in an active microring resonator, leading to on-chip direct orbital angular momentum lasing. Our study shows a viable route toward complete control of light across integrated photonics and free-space platforms and paves a way for creating multifunctional photonic integrated devices with agile access to free space, which enables a plethora of applications in communications, remote sensing, displays, etc., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).)

Magnetic resonance (MR) images are often contaminated by Gaussian noise, an electronic noise caused by the random thermal motion of electronic components, which reduces the quality and reliability of the images. This paper puts forward a hybrid denoising algorithm for MR images based on two sparsely represented morphological components and one residual part. To begin with, decompose a noisy MR image into the cartoon, texture, and residual parts by MCA, and then each part is denoised by using Wiener filter, wavelet hard threshold, and wavelet soft threshold, respectively. Finally, stack up all the denoised subimages to obtain the denoised MR image. The experimental results show that the proposed method has significantly better performance in terms of mean square error and peak signal-to-noise ratio than each method alone., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Yanqiu Zeng et al.)

Creating materials with time-variant properties is critical for breaking reciprocity that imposes fundamental limitations on wave propagation. However, it is challenging to realize efficient and ultrafast temporal modulation in a photonic system. Here, leveraging both spatial and temporal phase manipulation offered by an ultrathin nonlinear metasurface, we experimentally demonstrated nonreciprocal light reflection at wavelengths around 860 nm. The metasurface, with travelling-wave modulation upon nonlinear Kerr building blocks, creates spatial phase gradient and multi-terahertz temporal phase wobbling, which leads to unidirectional photonic transitions in both the momentum and energy spaces. We observed completely asymmetric reflections in forward and backward light propagations over a large bandwidth around 5.77 THz within a sub-wavelength interaction length of 150 nm. Our approach highlights a potential means for creating miniaturized and integratable nonreciprocal optical components., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2019.)

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering active substrates based on ZnO/Ag and ZnO/graphene/Ag were prepared via synthesis of ZnO nanorod arrays through the ZnO seed layers, followed by deposition of Ag nanoparticles onto ZnO and ZnO/graphene surfaces using photocatalytic deposition. The hybrid structures were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as the probe analyte. The experimental results indicated that the detection concentration level was 10 -7   M with an enhancement factor of about 1.6×10 5 . Additionally, the photocatalytic properties of ZnO/Ag and ZnO/graphene/Ag were exploited to recycle these substrates through UV-assisted cleaning.

The in vivo flow cytometry (IVFC) has shown a great potential for detecting circulating tumor cells quantitatively in the bloodstream. However, the detection depth suffers from the strong light scattering of tissue. In this study, an innovative ear skin optical clearing agent (ESOCA) is employed to improve the signal quality of the IVFC. Our results show that compared with commonly used glycerol, topical application of ESOCA can enhance the transmittance of rat ear significantly in vivo. The labeled red blood cells can be detected by the IVFC with higher signal quality and greater detection depth. This study is very helpful for potential tumor metastasis studies by the IVFC in deep tissues.