Search

As the most classic photoisomerization system, azobenzene has been widely utilized as a building unit in various photoswitching applications. However, attempts to build azobenzene-based single-molecule photoswitches have met with limited success, giving low on/off ratios. Herein, we demonstrate two designs of azobenzene-based photoresponsive single-molecule junctions, based on mechanically interlocked diazocine and azobenzene-based dynamic anchors, respectively. Molecular conductance measurements using the scanning tunneling microscope breaking junction (STMBJ) technique revealed dramatic conductance changes upon photoillumination, achieving a high on/off ratio of ∼3.7. Using density functional theory (DFT), we revealed peculiar quantum interference (QI) effects in the diazocine molecular switch, indicating that diazocine is an excellent candidate for molecular photoswitches. The asymmetric azobenzene devices with a dynamic anchor exhibit switching behavior between a fully off state and a highly conductive state associated with the trans/cisconformation transition. The findings of this work not only present the design and development of functional molecular devices based on azobenzene units but also provide insight into the fundamental properties of light-induced quantum interference in azobenzene-based molecular devices.

Lasso peptides, natural biological microcins composed of small molecules, have demonstrated efficient bactericidal activity. However, a single lasso peptide is characterized by a narrow and targeted bactericidal spectrum. In this study, a chitosan (CN) derivative-based polymer nanomaterial incorporating three lasso peptides (MccY, MccJ25, and Klebsidin) was designed and synthesized to broaden its antimicrobial spectrum. To enhance resistance to acid and alkali conditions, arginine was appended to the terminus of conjugates, resulting in Chitosan-Lasso-Peptides-Arg (CN-LPs-Arg), and the nanomaterial biocompatibility and bactericidal activity were characterized. Chemical stability test results demonstrate that CN-LPs-Arg effectively buffered the acid–base effect of the compound. Notably, CN-LPs-Arg extended the antimicrobial spectrum of Gram-negative and Gram-positive strains including Klebsiella, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus(MIC = 0.01–1.0 μM). CN-LPs-Arg exerts its destructive effects on bacteria via a series of mechanisms; it adheres to and then penetrates the membrane, causes rupture, and leads to bacterial death. Transcriptomic data revealed that CN-LPs-Arg produced a distinct inhibitory effect on ribosomal protein subunits synthesis pathways and membrane metabolic inhibition. Furthermore, CN-LPs-Arg was nontoxic to cells and exhibited excellent biocompatibility. CN-LPs-Arg reduced bacterial burden in organs and the levels of inflammatory factors IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α in tissues of mice with acute bacterial infections. Furthermore, it promoted the recovery of Klebsiella-infected C57BL/6 mice, demonstrating a favorable therapeutic effect in vivo. The multilasso peptide-based synergistic nanocomposite of CN-LPs-Arg exhibited high stability as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent with potential for combined antibacterial therapy and utilization in the fields of food, biomedicine, and public health.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the primary extrinsic factor in skin aging, contributing to skin photoaging, actinic keratosis (AK), and even squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Currently, the beneficial role of mesenchymal stromal cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (MSC-sEVs) in cutaneous wound healing has been widely reported, but the field of photoaging remains to be explored. Our results suggested that human umbilical cord MSC-derived sEVs (hucMSC-sEVs) intervention could effectively alleviate skin photoaging phenotypes in vivo and in vitro, including ameliorating UV-induced histopathological changes in the skin and inhibiting oxidative stress and collagen degradation in dermal fibroblasts (DFs). Mechanistically, pretreatment with hucMSC-sEVs reversed UVA-induced down-regulation of pregnancy zone protein (PZP) in DFs, and achieved photoprotection by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression and reducing DNA damage. Clinically, a significant decrease in PZP in AK and SCC in situ samples was observed, while a rebound appeared in the invasive SCC samples. Collectively, our findings reveal the effective role of hucMSC-sEVs in regulating PZP to combat photoaging and provide new pre-clinical evidence for the potential development of hucMSC-sEVs as an effective skin photoprotective agent.Graphical Abstract

This article presents a $\Gamma $ -shaped coaxial resonator ( $\Gamma $ SCR), which is purposely designed to effectively control the electric and magnetic coupling. Traditional electric and magnetic coupling of coaxial resonator encounters complicated coupling structure with coupling windows. Especially electric coupling always requires extra metal probe structure to provide enough electric coupling strength. The proposed $\Gamma $ SCR provides a solution of simple structure and easy design approach of filter and diplexer. This increases the design flexibility and size reduction by only arranging the orientations of the resonators to realize electric and magnetic coupling without coupling windows or extra coupling structure. This article provides a comprehensive description of the coupling mechanism and designs transmission zeros (TZs) at prescribed frequencies. It is noteworthy that a cascaded triplet (CT) filter using our proposed method has 73.1% size reduction when compared with traditional CT. To demonstrate this concept, a fifth-order bandpass filter (BPF) and a third-order diplexer were designed and manufactured using additive manufacturing 3-D printing techniques. The tested results agreed well with the simulated ones, validating the proposed approach.

The maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is a complex process involving numerous cell-extrinsic and -intrinsic regulators. The first member of the cyclin-dependent kinase family of inhibitors to be identified, p21, has been reported to perform a wide range of critical biological functions, including cell cycle regulation, transcription, differentiation, and so on. Given the previous inconsistent results regarding the functions of p21 in HSCs in a p21-knockout mouse model, we employed p21-tdTomato (tdT) mice to further elucidate its role in HSCs during homeostasis. The results showed that p21-tdT+HSCs exhibited increased self-renewal capacity compared to p21-tdT−HSCs. Zbtb18, a transcriptional repressor, was upregulated in p21-tdT+HSCs, and its knockdown significantly impaired the reconstitution capability of HSCs. Furthermore, p21 interacted with ZBTB18 to co-repress the expression of cKitin HSCs and thus regulated the self-renewal of HSCs. Our data provide novel insights into the physiological role and mechanisms of p21 in HSCs during homeostasis independent of its conventional role as a cell cycle inhibitor.

The hypersecretion of cytokines triggers life-threatening systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), leading to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and mortality. Although both coagulopathy and necroptosis have been identified as important factors in the pathogenesis of SIRS, the specific cell types that undergo necroptosis and the interrelationships between coagulopathy and necroptosis remain unclear. In this study, we utilized visualization analysis via intravital microscopy to demonstrate that both anticoagulant heparin and nonanticoagulant heparin (NAH) pretreatment protect mice against TNF-α-induced mortality in SIRS. Moreover, the deletion of Mlklor Ripk3resulted in decreased coagulation and reduced mortality in TNF-α-induced SIRS. These findings suggest that necroptosis plays a key role upstream of coagulation in SIRS-related mortality. Furthermore, using a genetic lineage tracing mouse model (Tie2-Cre;Rosa26-tdT), we tracked endothelial cells (ECs) and verified that EC necroptosis is responsible for the vascular damage observed in TNF-α-treated mice. Importantly, Mlkldeletion in vascular ECs in mice had a similar protective effect against lethal SIRS by blocking EC necroptosis to protect the integrity of the endothelium. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that RIPK3–MLKL-dependent necroptosis disrupted vascular integrity, resulting in coagulopathy and multiorgan failure, eventually leading to mortality in SIRS patients. These results highlight the importance of targeting vascular EC necroptosis for the development of effective treatments for SIRS patients.

Machine learning (ML) approaches have recently been increasingly employed to establish quantitative relationships between material composition, processing, microstructure, and properties. However, the complexities of microstructure pose challenges for straightforward modeling, thereby complicating research efforts. This study introduces a series of multi-parametric quantification methods based on Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) data tailored to the microstructural characteristics of low-alloy steels. These methods include quantification of boundary densities across various misorientation angles, distinct types of boundaries, and geometrically necessary dislocation densities. Through thermomechanical simulation and micro-tensile testing of low-alloy steels, data on yield and ultimate tensile strengths were obtained, alongside EBSD-based extraction of microstructure characteristics. Several ML methods, including Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Decision Trees (GBDT), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), were utilized to predict yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) using the aforementioned microstructural features. The GBDT model outperformed other algorithms, demonstrating high accuracy in predicting YS, UTS, and elongation. The model achieved an Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 972.18, an Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 24.75 and an Coefficient of Determination (R2) of 0.864 for YS, and an MSE of 812.28, an MAE of 22.87 and an R2of 0.823 for UTS. These results confirm GBDT's effectiveness in predicting mechanical properties from microstructural data.This successful integration of ML with multi-parametric description microstructural features underscores its potential in facilitating material design and development processes.

A compact electrothermal model of vertical gate-all-around (VGAA) transistors is developed in this work. Owing to the structural asymmetry inherent in VGAA devices, the internal thermal conduction of such devices differs from that of lateral gate-all-around (LGAA) transistors. The self-heating effect (SHE) of VGAA and thermal optimization is investigated through numerical simulation, revealing a 53% decrease in the temperature rise by changing the spacer material from SiO2 to Si3N4. In addition, a physics-based thermal model with geometry dependence is demonstrated, which captures the four-stage temperature traces of VGAA and supports technology optimization. The physics-based thermal model was verified through TCAD simulation and was subsequently employed to assess the electrothermal performance at the device-circuit level.

Oxygen vacancy (V $_{\text {O}}\text {)}$ defects have been proven to significantly influence polarization switching, particularly in hafnia-based ferroelectric (FE) thin films. In this study, we developed a physical model to delve into a fundamentally deeper understanding of various VO dynamics and their impacts on FE responses in Hf $_{{1}-{x}}$ ZrxO2 (HZO) thin films. Specifically, the dynamic generation, drift, and diffusion of VOs during electric field cycles alter the P-E loop. Hence, the underlying mechanism of the ferroelectricity enhancement during wake-up and subsequent degradation during fatigue can be clarified. During the wake-up, the $2{P}_{\text {r}}$ enhancement by VO generation and pinch opening by VO migration occur simultaneously. The aggregation of high-concentration VOs stops contributing to $2{P}_{\text {r}}$ and degrades the FE properties. The competing effects lead to the transition from a ferroelectrically stable stage to fatigue.

Graphical Abstract:

The creation of Cu0/Cu+interface over Cu-based catalysts is known to facilitate the production of multi-carbon (C2+) products during CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR). However, the Cu+moieties exhibit high susceptibility towards reduction into Cu0at a high current density. Thus, a comprehensive understanding and rational shaping strategy for the construction and stabilization of Cu0/Cu+interface in Cu-based catalysts is imperative. Herein, we proposed a controllable “nanoparticle assembly” strategy to obtain hollow spherical assemblies (HSA) composed of numerous Cu2O nanoparticles (HSA-Cu2O). The HSA-Cu2O catalysts significantly enhance the selectivity of C2+products, resulting in an impressive overall Faraday efficiency (FE) of 79.2% ± 0.7% at a partial current density of 317.1 mA cm−2. The HSA-Cu2O catalysts undergo in-situelectrochemically reconstruction during CO2RR, achieving Cu0/Cu+interfacial sites with a high density. The Auger electron spectra, in-situRaman, and morphological evolution studies have confirmed that the combination of the Cu0/Cu+interface and hollow sphere architecture facilitated the concentration of *CO intermediates, thereby promoting C–C dimerization to boost C2+selectivity in CO2RR.

To support the landfill design and waste management in rural areas of China, solid waste covering eight provisional regions was collected and tested in the laboratory to characterize its physical properties (composition, moisture content, specific gravity, dry unit weight) and mechanical properties (compressibility and shear strength). The results show that, compared with solid wastes from urban areas (MSW), solid waste from rural areas (RSW) comprised a much lower content of soil-like, gravel, and inert waste and a significantly higher content of combustible waste, thereby yielding a much lower specific gravity and dry unit weight. Similar to MSW, the compression index of RSW correlated well with its physical properties. However, its strength properties displayed divergence. Notably, the friction angle φ' of RSW remained relatively consistent, ranging from 28.4° to 30.9°. This narrow range is attributed to RSW's higher combustible-to-inert (CI) ratio compared to MSW. The cohesion intercept c' of RSW ranged from 13.5 to 24.9 kPa, showing a positive correlation with the fiber content without considering contribution from paper waste. This finding combined with data from the literature further revealed that the trend of increasing cohesion intercept with increasing fiber content became weakened over time. Relationships between φ' and c' versus C/I for RSW observed in this study will serve as an extension to the existing finding reported for MSW in the literature, i.e., for predominately combustible waste with C/I exceeding 10, constant values of strength parameters (i.e., moderate values φ' = 30°, c' = 20 kPa) are recommended. The results of this study are useful for the capacity design and slope stability analysis of landfills as well as waste recycle and reuse, ensuring a sustainable development of environment in China.

Orthopedic and dental implantations under bacterial infection microenvironment face significant challenges in achieving high-quality bone-implant integration. Designing implant coatings that incorporate both immune defense and anti-inflammation is difficult in conventional single-functional coatings. We introduce a multifunctional nanointerface using a zinc finger-inspired peptide-metal-phenolic nanocoating, designed to enhance implant osseointegration under such conditions. Abaloparatide (ABL), a second-generation anabolic drug for treating osteoporosis, can be integrated into the design of a zinc-phenolic network constructed on the implant surface (ABL@ZnTA). Importantly, the phenolic-coordinated Zn2+ions in ABL@ZnTA can act as zinc finger motif to co-stabilize the configuration of ABL through multiple molecular interactions, enabling high bioactivity, high loading capacity (1.36 times), and long-term release (>7 days) of ABL. Our results showed that ABL@ZnTA can modulate macrophage polarization from the pro-inflammatory M1 towards the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype, promoting immune osteogenesis with increased OCN, ALP, and SOD 1 expression. Furthermore, the ABL@ZnTA significantly reduces inflammatory fibrous tissue encapsulation and enhances the long-term stability of the implants,indicated by enhanced binding strength (6 times) and functional connectivity (1.5−3 times) in the rat bone defect model infected by S. aureus. Overall, our research offers a nano-enabled synergistic strategy that balances infection defense and osteogenesis promotion in orthopedic and dental implantations.

Graphical abstract:

Methamphetamine (METH), an abused psychostimulant, impairs cognition through prolonged or even single-dose exposure, but animal experiments have shown contradictory effects on memory deficits. In this study we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of single-dose METH administration on the retrieval of object recognition memory (ORM) in mice. We showed that single-dose METH administration (2 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly impaired ORM retrieval in mice. Fiber photometry recording in METH-treated mice revealed that the activity of prelimbic cortex glutamatergic neurons (PrLGlu) was significantly reduced during ORM retrieval. Chemogenetic activation of PrLGluor glutamatergic projections from ventral CA1 to PrL (vCA1Glu-PrL) rescued ORM retrieval impairment. Fiber photometry recording revealed that dopamine (DA) levels in PrL of METH-treated mice were significantly increased, and micro-infusion of the D2 receptor (D2R) antagonist sulpiride (0.25 μg/side) into PrL rescued ORM retrieval impairment. Whole-cell recordings in brain slices containing the PrL revealed that PrLGluintrinsic excitability and basal glutamatergic synaptic transmission were significantly reduced in METH-treated mice, and the decrease in intrinsic excitability was reversed by micro-infusion of Sulpiride into PrL in METH-treated mice. Thus, the impaired ORM retrieval caused by single-dose METH administration may be attributed to reduced PrLGluactivity, possibly due to excessive DA activity on D2R. Selective activation of PrLGluor vCA1Glu-PrL may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for METH-induced cognitive dysfunction.

The employment of ultra-low permittivity materials in the configuration of antennas has been demonstrated to augment the antenna bandwidth and diminish signal delay effectively. This study presents three ultra-low permittivity metaphosphate microwave dielectric ceramics (MWDCs). The ALaP4O12(A = Li, Na, K) metaphosphate ceramics, which all belong to the monoclinic crystal system, exhibit extremely low permittivity (εr≈ 5) and excellent quality factor (Q·f> 10,000 GHz) at a low sintering temperature (T< 950 °C). Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy indicates that the εrof ALaP4O12at terahertz frequencies is comparable to that observed in the microwave band and its value remains stable over an extensive frequency range. Furthermore, the relationship between the crystal structure and the dielectric properties of ALaP4O12has been analyzed through the lens of chemical bond theory. The highest Q·fvalue observed for LiLaP4O12can be attributed to the high chemical bond strength and stability of its crystal structure. The lowest ionic polarizability per unit volume is exhibited by NaLaP4O12, which results in the lowest pore-corrected permittivity. The thermal expansion of the chemical bonds within KLaP4O12is considerable, resulting in the highest coefficient of thermal expansion. Finally, the performance of a LiLaP4O12-based dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) excited by slot-coupled microstrip lines was designed and optimized by using different ceramic radius-to-height (RH) ratios. It was found that when the RH ratio of DRA reached 1.85, both the fundamental mode (HEM11δ) and the higher-order mode (HEM12δ) of DRA were simultaneously excited. The two modes overlap significantly, resulting in an ultra-wideband (UWB) of 46.8% (bandwidth = 7.93 GHz). Concurrently, the maximum radiation efficiency and gain of the DRA, obtained from the simulation, are 97.9% and 7.92 dBi, respectively. The findings of this study may inform the investigation of ultra-low permittivity phosphorus-based MWDCs and UWB DRAs.

Berberine (BB) has demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on tumorigenesis and progression. However, its clinical application is hindered by challenges such as low bioavailability due to limited cell membrane permeability, nontargeted accumulation away from solid tumors, and increased toxicity associated with intravenous administration. To overcome these challenges, a lipophilic salt-forming strategy was employed to enhance lipophilicity, thereby promoting membrane permeability and targetability for tumor accumulation while simultaneously mitigating the toxicity associated with intravenous injection. In vitrofindings revealed an almost 10-fold increase in fluorescence intensity with BB-GA NDs compared to BB alone. Furthermore, selective cytotoxicity against tumor cells exhibited a 4-fold elevation compared to normal cells. In vivoresults underscored the remarkable tumor-selective accumulation of BB-GA NDs, effectively mitigating the intravenous injection toxicity associated with pure BB. The self-assembly of binary cooperative nanodrugs utilizing berberine glycyrrhetinic acid salts opens up innovative possibilities for drug delivery systems in traditional Chinese medicine.

This paper presents and validates a compact dual-band bandpass filter with independent controllable passbands and isolation. The proposed filter is constructed by two transmission paths from input port to output port. Based on the transversal cancellation mechanism of two transmission paths, dual passband with independent controllable characteristics can be approached. The transversal cancellation techniques yield extra transmission zeros, which are located at 2.56 GHz, 3.58 GHz and 4.43 GHz respectively. Therefore, two passbands centered at 2.25/3.9 GHz are divided by triple transmission zeros. These transmission zeros also improve the out-of-band suppression performance of proposed filter. The designed prototype filter is implemented and tested, the measured 3 dB passband fractional bandwidths are 12.4 % and 7.5 %, respectively, and the minimum insertion losses are 0.48 dB and 0.88 dB respectively. Additionally, the dual-band transversal filter only occupies 0.012 λg2${\lambda }_{g}^{2}$, which λgis the guided wavelength at 50 Ω microstrip line at 2.25 GHz.

Insecticides are commonly utilized in agriculture and forestry for pest control, but their dispersal can pose hazards to humans and environment. Understanding resistance, inheritance patterns, and fitness costs can help manage resistance. A λ-cyhalothrin-resistant population (LCR) of Cydia pomonella, a global pest of pome fruits and walnuts, was obtained through selective insecticide breeding for 15 generations, showing stable moderate resistance (23.85-fold). This population was cross-resistant to deltamethrin (4.26-fold) but not to β-cypermethrin, chlorantraniliprole, chlorpyrifos, and avermectin. Genetic analysis revealed the resistance was autosomal, incompletely dominant, and controlled by multiple genes. Increased activity of glutathione S-transferases and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) played a primary role in resistance, with specific genes up-regulated in LCR, and exhibited significant expression in midgut. LCR also exhibited fitness costs, including delays in development, reduced fecundity, and slower population growth. These findings contribute to understanding λ-cyhalothrin resistance in C. pomonellaand can guide resistance management strategies.

Histopathology image evaluation is indispensable for cancer diagnoses and subtype classification. Standard artificial intelligence methods for histopathology image analyses have focused on optimizing specialized models for each diagnostic task1,2. Although such methods have achieved some success, they often have limited generalizability to images generated by different digitization protocols or samples collected from different populations3. Here, to address this challenge, we devised the Clinical Histopathology Imaging Evaluation Foundation (CHIEF) model, a general-purpose weakly supervised machine learning framework to extract pathology imaging features for systematic cancer evaluation. CHIEF leverages two complementary pretraining methods to extract diverse pathology representations: unsupervised pretraining for tile-level feature identification and weakly supervised pretraining for whole-slide pattern recognition. We developed CHIEF using 60,530 whole-slide images spanning 19 anatomical sites. Through pretraining on 44 terabytes of high-resolution pathology imaging datasets, CHIEF extracted microscopic representations useful for cancer cell detection, tumour origin identification, molecular profile characterization and prognostic prediction. We successfully validated CHIEF using 19,491 whole-slide images from 32 independent slide sets collected from 24 hospitals and cohorts internationally. Overall, CHIEF outperformed the state-of-the-art deep learning methods by up to 36.1%, showing its ability to address domain shifts observed in samples from diverse populations and processed by different slide preparation methods. CHIEF provides a generalizable foundation for efficient digital pathology evaluation for patients with cancer.

Artificial photosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) presents a promising environmentally friendly alternative to the industrial anthraquinone process. This work designed ultrathin metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets on which porphyrin ligand as an electron donor (D) and anthraquinone (AQ) as an electron acceptor (A) are integrated as the D–A complexes. The porphyrin component allows the MOF nanosheets to absorb full-spectrum solar light while the acceptor AQ motif promotes central aluminum ion coordination, hindering layer stacking to achieve a thickness of 1.0 nm. The ultrathin D–A design facilitates the separation of electrons from the MOF skeleton to the AQ motif, which induces the direct two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) mediated by the reversible redox couple of AQ-AQH2and multielectron water oxidation reaction (WOR) driven by holes remaining on the porphyrin part. In O2-saturated water, the ultrathin MOF nanosheets outperformed the AQ-free bulk and multilayered counterparts by 2.9 and 2.6 times in H2O2production, respectively, achieving the apparent quantum yield of 4.8% at 420 nm. It also surpasses other benchmark photocatalysts, including the typical MOF photocatalyst, MIL-125-NH2, and organic polymeric photocatalysts. The ultrathin D–A MOF photocatalyst generated H2O2via both two-electron ORR as a major path and two-electron WOR as a minor path. This approach presents a promising strategy for the rational design of efficient nanostructured photocatalysts for solar fuels and chemicals.

• Prominent behaviors such as EPSC, PPF, and SFPD are successfully simulated with power consumption as low as 22 pJ. • Owning to its good short-term (STP) and tunable amplitude-frequency characteristics, the as-constructed device can function as a biomimetic high-pass filter for picture edge detection. • After photoelectric-synergistic modulation, the high synaptic weights enable the device to simulate complex neural learning rules for neuromorphic applications, including gesture recognition, image perception in the visual system and classically conditioned reflexes. The development of high-performance neuromorphic phototransistors is of paramount importance for image perception and depth memory learning. Here, based on metal-oxide heterojunction architecture, artificial synaptic phototransistors with synaptic plasticity have been achieved, demonstrating an artificial synapse that integrates central and optic nerve functions. Thanks to the sensitive light-detection properties, the optical power consumption of such photonic artificial synapses can be as low as 22 pico-joules, which is extremely competitive compared with other pure metal oxide photoelectric synapses ever reported. What is more, owing to its good short-term (STP) and tunable amplitude-frequency characteristics, the as-constructed device can function as a biomimetic high-pass filter for picture edge detection. Dual-mode synaptic modulation has been performed, combining photonic pulse with gate voltage stimulus. After photoelectric-synergistic modulation, the high synaptic weights enable the device to simulate complex neural learning rules for neuromorphic applications, including gesture recognition, image perception in the visual system, and classically conditioned reflexes. These results suggest that the current oxide-based heterojunction architecture displays potential application in future multifunction neuromorphic devices and systems. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gesture sensors are essential to collect human movements for human–computer interfaces, but their application is normally hampered by the difficulties in achieving high sensitivity and an ultrawide response range simultaneously. In this article, inspired by the spider silk structure in nature, a novel gesture sensor with a core–shell structure is proposed. The sensor offers a high gauge factor of up to 340 and a wide response range of 60%. Moreover, the sensor combining with a deep learning technique creates a system for precise gesture recognition. The system demonstrated an impressive 99% accuracy in single gesture recognition tests. Meanwhile, by using the sliding window technology and large language model, a high performance of 97% accuracy is achieved in continuous sentence recognition. In summary, the proposed high-performance sensor significantly improves the sensitivity and response range of the gesture recognition sensor. Meanwhile, the neural network technology is combined to further improve the way of daily communication by sign language users.

Luteolin has various pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor characteristics. Due to its potential value in drugs and functional foods, it is important to develop an efficient method for detecting luteolin. In this work, the poor selectivity of existing luteolin nonenzymatic sensors was solved by translating the enzyme-catalyzed reaction from bulk solution to the surface of a horseradish peroxidase (HRP) modified electrode through an electrocatalytic oxidation process. Here, we modified the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs; ZIF-67 here, abbreviated as ZIF), functional nanomaterials, and HRP and finally covered it with Nafion (NF). In this case, luteolin acts as a hydrogen donor, and the electrode acts as a hydrogen acceptor; the oxidation reaction occurs on the electrode surface. The use of ZIF-67 ensured the conformational stability of HRP to ensure the selectivity and anti-interference property, and SDS-dispersed multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) enhanced the electrode conductivity. The use of NF avoids shedding of the electrode material during the testing process. A UV–vis spectrophotometer was used to study the selectivity of luteolin by HRP and the compatibility between HRP and ZIF. The materials were characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Due to the synergistic effect of these nanomaterials, the linear range of NF/ZIF-HRP/MWCNTs-SDS/GCE was 1.0 × 10–2to 6.0 μM, with detection limits of 25.3 nM (S/N = 3). The biosensor showed long-term stability and reproducibility, with a relative standard deviation of 4.2% for the peak current (n= 5). Finally, the biosensor was successfully used to detect luteolin in carrots, celery, and cauliflower.

Offshore wind power is a kind of important clean renewable energy and has attracted increasing attention due to the rapid consumption of non-renewable energy. To reduce the high cost of energy, a possible try is to utilize the combination of wind and wave energy considering their natural correlation. A combined concept consisting of a semi-submersible wind turbine and four torus-shaped wave energy converters was proposed and numerically studied under normal operating conditions. However, the dynamic behavior of the integrated system under extreme sea conditions has not been studied yet. In the present work, extreme responses of the integrated system under two different survival modes are evaluated. Fully coupled time-domain simulations with consideration of interactions between the semi-submersible wind turbine and the torus-shaped wave energy converters are performed to investigate dynamic responses of the integrated system, including mooring tensions, tower bending moments, end stop forces, and contact forces at the Column-Torus interface. It is found that the addition of four tori will reduce the mean motions of the yaw, pitch and surge. When the tori are locked at the still water line, the whole integrated system is more suitable for the survival modes.

Model predictive control (MPC) has been applied to parallel power converters to achieve current tracking and zero-sequence circulating current (ZSCC) suppression. To facilitate real-time implementation, simplifications of the optimization problem are commonly made by reformulating the cost function or restricting the feasible control set. However, inappropriate simplifications can lead to suboptimal solutions, degrading control performance. To address this issue, this work formulates a formal finite control set MPC (FCS-MPC) problem for grid-connected parallel power converters. It obtains the optimal solution using the computationally efficient modified sphere decoding algorithm. The guaranteed optimality allows the proposed FCS-MPC to maximize the system control performance in suppressing ZSCC, reducing current distortion, and improving transient response. Furthermore, we propose an alternative cost function that includes the grid-side total current as one of the control variables. Owing to the interleaving-wise mechanism, there is a significant enhancement in the power quality of the grid integration current, particularly at lower switching frequencies. Finally, experimental results from a lab-constructed test bench validate the theoretical analysis.

Combining nitrification inhibitor and urea can improve crop yield and nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE). However, the inhibitor easily gets inactivated in soil, making it difficult to achieve the desired effect. To develop a synergistic urea for increasing the inhibitor action time, soil N supply, and wheat growth, dicyandiamide (DCD) was coated after granulation with epoxy resin and then mixed with urea to develop new resin-coated DCD (RCD) synergistic urea. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and hydrostatic release tests were used to evaluate the membrane microstructure and the controlled-release performance of RCD. Five fertilization treatments were set up in the field: zero-N control (CK), urea (U), urea + common DCD particles (SUD1), urea + RCD (SUD2), and urea + both common DCD particles and RCD (3:7, weight/weight) (SUD3) to investigate the effects of the DCD synergistic urea on wheat growth, yield, and NUE and soil available N content. The SEM results showed that RCD had a complete coating, smooth surface, and small and rugged channels for DCD release in the profile. The hydrostatic release test at 25 °C showed that the release period of DCD was extended to ten days due to resin coating. In the three DCD synergistic urea treatments, only SUD3 resulted in a significant increase in wheat yield (18.47%) compared with U. The NUE in SUD3 was significantly higher than those in SUD2, U, and SUD1. The treatment SUD3 had higher soil available N content than the other treatments during the key wheat growth stages, while effectively reducing the risk of soil nitrate leaching during wheat maturity. In summary, SUD3, a mixture of urea, DCD particles, and RCD, was the best treatment for significantly increasing wheat growth, yield, and NUE and soil N supply.

Haematologic malignancies commonly arise from the bone marrow lesion, yet there are currently no effective targeted therapies against tumour cells in this location. Here we constructed a bone-marrow-targeting nanosystem, CSF@E-Hn, which is based on haematopoietic-stem-cell-derived nanovesicles adorned with gripper ligands (aPD-L1 and aNKG2D) and encapsulated with colony-stimulating factor (CSF) for the treatment of haematologic malignancies. CSF@E-Hn targets the bone marrow and, thanks to the gripper ligands, pulls together tumour cells and natural killer cells, activating the latter for specific tumour cell targeting and elimination. The therapeutic efficacy was validated in mice bearing acute myeloid leukaemia and multiple myeloma. The comprehensive assessment of the post-treatment bone marrow microenvironment revealed that the integration of CSF into a bone-marrow-targeted nanosystem promoted haematopoietic stem cell differentiation, boosted memory T cell generation and maintained bone homoeostasis, with long-term prevention of relapse. Our nanosystem represents a promising strategy for the treatment of haematologic malignancies.

Regulation of iron homeostasis in maize remains unclear, despite the known roles of FER-Like Fe deficiency-induced transcription factor (FIT) in Arabidopsisand rice. ZmFIT, like AtFIT and OsFIT, interacts with iron-related transcription factors 2 (ZmIRO2). Here, we investigate the involvement of ZmFITin iron homeostasis. Mutant ZmFITlines exhibiting symptoms of Fe deficiency had reduced shoot iron content. Transcriptome analysis revealed downregulation of Fe deficiency-responsive genes in the roots of a Zmfitmutant. ZmFIT facilitates the nuclear translocation of ZmIRO2 to activate transcription of downstream genes under Fe-deficient conditions. Our findings suggest that ZmFIT, by interaction with ZmIRO2, mediates iron homeostasis in maize. Notably, the binding and activation mechanisms of ZmFIT resemble those in Arabidopsisbut differ from those in rice, whereas downstream genes regulated by ZmFIT show similarities to rice but differences from Arabidopsis. In brief, ZmFIT, orthgologs of OsFIT and AtFIT in rice and maize, respectively, regulates iron uptake and homeostasis in maize, but with variations.

Capacitor-current-feedback (CCF) active damping has proven to be an effective solution for mitigating resonance in inductive-capacitive-inductive (LCL)-type grid-interactive power converters. However, the performance of active damping can be compromised by time delay in digitally controlled systems. To address this issue, this work introduces two delay compensation methods: model-based and model-free extended-state observer (ESO)-based prediction. Both methods involve predicting the variables of interest one sampling period ahead and incorporating these predictions into the active damping loop. Consequently, the proportional CCF effectively emulates a positive virtual resistor over a wider frequency range, preventing the occurrence of unstable open-loop poles. Both techniques have demonstrated their effectiveness in expanding the stable region of the active damping feedback gain. Furthermore, the ESO-based scheme is robust on LCL parameters and easily incorporates state observer techniques, reducing hardware complexity. Experimental results validate the proposed methods, confirming their effectiveness as per the theoretical analysis.

This study investigates the relationship between sidewalk space and pedestrians, as well as how the design and improvement of sidewalk visual landscapes can enhance pedestrians' psychological restoration. Sidewalk quality in China varies, making it challenging to meet the urban residents' expectations for sidewalk environments. In this research, psychological perception experiments were conducted on 60 sidewalks in the core functional area of Beijing. The visual landscape of the sidewalk was divided into four dimensions: canopy, ground plane, roadside plane, and building wall. In this study, a total of 52 spatial elements were extracted and evaluated based on the dimensions of fascination, being-away, coherence, and scope in relation to pedestrians' psychological perception. The findings confirm that urban greenery and street accessibility, among other spatial elements, significantly positively influence pedestrians' willingness to walk. Furthermore, a balanced distribution of elements within sidewalk space can better enhance pedestrians' psychological restoration capabilities.

In miso, due to the substantial presence of genistein, flazin is often overlapped and masked by genistein in HPLC analysis. Flazin in the miso extracts could be resolved with genistein through medium-pressure liquid chromatography run under a nonacidified methanol–water system and subsequently fractionated by semipreparative HPLC and identified by NMR spectroscopic analysis. As referenced, flazin was detected in all 11 locally marketed miso products, with contents ranging from 3.5 to 124.8 μg/g. In lab-made miso fermented at 28 and 37 °C for 8 weeks, flazin formed faster at 37 °C than at 28 °C. Based on the time-dependent HPLC chromatographic changes of the miso extracts during fermentation, the presence of tryptophan-derived ß-carboline intermediates was deduced. Tryptophan was then supplemented for miso fermentation, and four peak substances were targeted for isolation by sophisticated approaches. Four ß-carbolines were purified and instrumentally identified, i.e., P1: 1-(1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxypentyl)-9H- pyrido[3,4-b]indole, P2 (diastereomer of P1): 1-(1*,3,4,5-tetrahydroxypentyl)- 9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole, and Miso 101: 1-(1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxypentyl)-9H- pyrido[3,4-b]indole 3-carboxylic acid, and Miso 111 (diastereomer of Miso 101): 1-(1*,3,4,5-tetrahydroxypentyl)-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole 3-carboxylic acid. Each of the purified β-carbolines along with tryptophan and flazin exhibited varied ABTS·+scavenging and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities.