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Cyanobacteria play a crucial role in global carbon and nitrogen cycles through photosynthesis, making them valuable subjects for understanding the factors influencing their light utilization efficiency. Photosynthetic microorganisms offer a promising avenue for sustainable energy conversion in the field of photovoltaics. It was demonstrated before that application of an external electric field to the microbial biofilm or cell improves electron transfer kinetics and, consequently, efficiency of power generation. We have integrated live cyanobacterial cultures into photovoltaic devices by embedding Limnospira indica PCC 8005 cyanobacteria in agar and PEDOT:PSS matrices on the surface of boron-doped diamond electrodes. We have subjected them to varying external polarizations while simultaneously measuring current response and photosynthetic performance. For the latter, we employed Pulse-Amplitude-Modulation (PAM) fluorometry as a non-invasive and real-time monitoring tool. Our study demonstrates an improved light utilization efficiency for L. indica PCC 8005 when immobilized in a conductive matrix, particularly so for low-intensity light. Simultaneously, the impact of electrical polarization as an environmental factor influencing the photosynthetic apparatus diminishes as matrix conductivity increases. This results in only a slight decrease in light utilization efficiency for the illuminated sample compared to the dark-adapted state., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Biomolecular condensation via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is crucial for orchestrating cellular activities temporospatially. Although the rheological heterogeneity of biocondensates and the structural dynamics of their constituents carry critical functional information, methods to quantitatively study biocondensates are lacking. Single-molecule fluorescence research can offer insights into biocondensation mechanisms. Unfortunately, as dense condensates tend to sink inside their dilute aqueous surroundings, studying their properties via methods relying on Brownian diffusion may fail., Methods: We take a first step towards single-molecule research on condensates of Tau protein under flow in a microfluidic channel of an in-house developed microfluidic chip. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), a well-known technique to collect molecular characteristics within a sample, was employed with a newly commercialised technology, where FCS is performed on an array detector (AD-FCS), providing detailed diffusion and flow information., Results: The AD-FCS technology allowed characterising our microfluidic chip, revealing 3D flow profiles. Subsequently, AD-FCS allowed mapping the flow of Tau condensates while measuring their burst durations through the stationary laser. Lastly, AD-FCS allowed obtaining flow velocity and burst duration data, the latter of which was used to estimate the condensate size distribution within LLPS samples., Conclusion: Studying biocondensates under flow through AD-FCS is promising for single-molecule experiments. In addition, AD-FCS shows its ability to estimate the size distribution in condensate samples in a convenient manner, prompting a new way of investigating biocondensate phase diagrams., General Significance: We show that AD-FCS is a valuable tool for advancing research on understanding and characterising LLPS properties of biocondensates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Jelle Hendrix reports financial support was provided by Research Foundation Flanders. Stijn Dilissen reports financial support was provided by Research Foundation Flanders. Tom Kache reports financial support was provided by Research Foundation Flanders. If there are other authors, they 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 © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We present the change of light absorption of cyanobacteria in response to externally applied electrical polarization. Specifically, we studied the relation between electrical polarization and changes in light absorbance for a biophotoelectrode assembly comprising boron-doped diamond as semiconducting electrode and live Limnospira indica PCC 8005 trichomes embedded in either polysaccharide (agar) or conductive conjugated polymer (PEDOT-PSS) matrices. Our study involves the monitoring of cyanobacterial absorbance and the measurement of photocurrents at varying wavelengths of illumination for switched electric fields, i.e., using the bioelectrode either as an anode or as cathode. We observed changes in the absorbance characteristics, indicating a direct causal relationship between electrical polarization and absorbing properties of L. indica . Our finding opens up a potential avenue for optimization of the performance of biophotovoltaic devices through controlled polarization. Furthermore, our results provide fundamental insights into the wavelength-dependent behavior of a bio photovoltaic system using live cyanobacteria., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Despite its broad potential applications, substitution of carbon by transition metal atoms in graphene has so far been explored only to a limited extent. We report the realization of substitutional Mn doping of graphene to a record high atomic concentration of 0.5%, which was achieved using ultralow-energy ion implantation. By correlating the experimental data with the results of ab initio Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics calculations, we infer that direct substitution is the dominant mechanism of impurity incorporation. Thermal annealing in ultrahigh vacuum provides efficient removal of surface contaminants and additional implantation-induced disorder, resulting in Mn-doped graphene that, aside from the substitutional Mn impurities, is essentially as clean and defect-free as the as-grown layer. We further show that the Dirac character of graphene is preserved upon substitutional Mn doping, even in this high concentration regime, making this system ideal for studying the interaction between Dirac conduction electrons and localized magnetic moments. More generally, these results show that ultralow energy ion implantation can be used for controlled functionalization of graphene with substitutional transition-metal atoms, of relevance for a wide range of applications, from magnetism and spintronics to single-atom catalysis.

Diamond electrochemistry is primarily influenced by quantities of sp 3 -carbon, surface terminations, and crystalline structure. In this work, a new dimension is introduced by investigating the effect of using substrate-interlayers for diamond growth. Boron and nitrogen co-doped nanocrystalline diamond (BNDD) films are grown on Si substrate without and with Ti and Ta as interlayers, named BNDD/Si, BNDD/Ti/Si, and BNDD/Ta/Ti/Si, respectively. After detailed characterization using microscopies, spectroscopies, electrochemical techniques, and density functional theory simulations, the relationship of composition, interfacial structure, charge transport, and electrochemical properties of the interface between diamond and metal is investigated. The BNDD/Ta/Ti/Si electrodes exhibit faster electron transfer processes than the other two diamond electrodes. The interlayer thus determines the intrinsic activity and reaction kinetics. The reduction in their barrier widths can be attributed to the formation of TaC, which facilitates carrier tunneling, and simultaneously increases the concentration of electrically active defects. As a case study, the BNDD/Ta/Ti/Si electrode is further employed to assemble a redox-electrolyte-based supercapacitor device with enhanced performance. In summary, the study not only sheds light on the intricate relationship between interlayer composition, charge transfer, and electrochemical performance but also demonstrates the potential of tailored interlayer design to unlock new capabilities in diamond-based electrochemical devices., (© 2024 The Author(s). Small Methods published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Ultra-wideband (UWB) has gained increasing interest for providing real-time positioning to robots in GPS-denied environments. For a robot to act on this information, it also requires its heading. This is, however, not provided by UWB. To overcome this, either multiple tags are used to create a local reference frame connected to the robot or a single tag is combined with ego-motion estimation from odometry or Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) measurements. Both odometry and the IMU suffer from drift, and it is common to use a magnetometer to correct the drift on the heading; however, magnetometers tend to become unreliable in typical GPS-denied environments. To overcome this, a lightweight particle filter was designed to run in real time. The particle filter corrects the ego-motion heading and location drift using the UWB measurements over a moving horizon time frame. The algorithm was evaluated offline using data sets collected from a ground robot that contains line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight conditions. An RMSE of 13 cm and 0.12 (rad) was achieved with four anchors in the LOS condition. It is also shown that it can be used to provide the robot with real-time position and heading information for the robot to act on it in LOS conditions, and it is shown to be robust in both experimental conditions.

Monoclinic vanadium dioxide (VO 2 (M)) is a promising material for various applications ranging from sensing to signature management and smart windows. Most applications rely on its reversible structural phase transition to rutile VO 2 (VO 2 (R)), which is accompanied by a metal-to-insulator transition. Bottom-up hydrothermal synthesis has proven to yield high quality monoclinic VO 2 but requires toxic and highly reactive reducing agents that cannot be used outside of a research lab. Here, we present a new hydrothermal synthesis method using nontoxic and safe-to-use oxalic acid as a reducing agent for V 2 O 5 to produce VO 2 (M). In early stages of the process, polymorphs VO 2 (A) and VO 2 (B) were formed, which subsequently recrystallized to VO 2 (M). Without the presence of W 6+ , this recrystallization did not occur. After a reaction time of 96 h at 230 °C in the presence of (NH 4 ) 6 H 2 W 12 O 40 in Teflon-lined rotated autoclaves, we realized highly crystalline, phase pure W-doped VO 2 (M) microparticles of uniform size and asterisk shape (Δ H = 28.30 J·g -1 , arm length = 6.7 ± 0.4 μm, arm width = 0.46 ± 0.06 μm). We extensively investigated the role of W 6+ in the kinetics of formation of VO 2 (M) and the thermodynamics of its structural phase transition.

Global food waste emits substantial quantities of nitrogen to the environment (6.3 Mtons annually), chicken feather (CF) waste is a major contributor to this. Pyrolysis, in particular co-pyrolysis of nitrogen-rich and lignocellulosic waste streams is a promising strategy to improve the extent of pyrolytic nitrogen retention by incorporating nitrogen in its solid biochar structure. As such, this biochar can serve as a precursor for nitrogen-enriched activated carbons for application in supercapacitors. Therefore, this study investigates the co-pyrolysis of CF with macadamia nut shells (MNS) to create nitrogen-rich activated carbons. Co-pyrolysis increased nitrogen retention during pyrolysis from 9 % to 18 % compared to CF mono-pyrolysis, while the porosity was maintained. After removing undesirable inorganic impurities by dilute acid washing, this led to a specific capacitance of 21F/g using a scan rate of 20 mV/s. Finally, cycling stability tests demonstrated good stability with 73 % capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This special issue discusses current progress in the utilization of defect centres in diamond as spin-photon interfaces for quantum applications. This issue is based on the discussions of the Theo Murphy meeting 'Diamond for quantum applications' which covered the recent progress of diamond growth and engineering for the creation and optimization of colour centres, toward the integration of diamond-based qubits in quantum systems. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Diamond for quantum applications'.

Surface treatment is critical for homogeneous coating over a large area and high-resolution patterning of nanodiamond (ND) particles. To optimize the interaction between the surface of a substrate and the colloid of ND particles, it is essential to remove hydrocarbon contamination by surface treatment and to increase the surface energy of the substrate, hence improving the diamond film homogeneity upon its deposition. However, the impact of substrate surface treatment on the properties of coatings and patterns is not fully understood. This study explores the impact of UV-ozone, O 2 plasma, and CF 4 plasma treatments on the wetting properties of the fused silica glass substrate surface. We identify the optimal time interval between the treatment and subsequent ND coating/patterning processes, which were conducted using inkjet printing and ultrasonic spray coating techniques. Our results showed that UV-ozone and O 2 plasma resulted in hydrophilic surfaces, while CF 4 plasma treatment resulted in hydrophobic surfaces. We demonstrate the use of CF 4 plasma treatment before inkjet printing to generate high-resolution patterns with dots as small as 30 μm in diameter. Ultrasonic spray coating showed homogeneous coatings after using UV-ozone and O 2 plasma treatment. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the hydrocarbon airborne contamination on cleaned surfaces over time even in clean-room environments and have a notable impact on the performance of liquid coatings and patterns. We highlight the importance of timing between the surface treatment and printing in achieving high resolution or homogeneity.

An adequate supply of oxygen-rich blood is vital to maintain cell homeostasis, cellular metabolism, and overall tissue health. While classical methods of measuring tissue ischemia are often invasive, localized and require skin contact or contrast agents, spectral imaging shows promise as a non-invasive, wide field, and contrast-free approach. We evaluate three novel reflectance-based spectral indices from the 460 - 840 nm spectral range. With the aim of enabling real time visualization of tissue ischemia, information is extracted from only 2-3 spectral bands. Video-rate spectral data was acquired from arm occlusion experiments in 27 healthy volunteers. The performance of the indices was evaluated against binary Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification of healthy versus ischemic skin tissue, two other indices from literature, and tissue oxygenation estimated using spectral unmixing. Robustness was tested by evaluating these under various lighting conditions and on both the dorsal and palmar sides of the hand. A novel index with real-time capabilities using reflectance information only from 547 nm and 556 nm achieves an average classification accuracy of 88.48, compared to 92.65 using an SVM trained on all available wavelengths. Furthermore, the index has a higher accuracy compared to reference methods and its time dynamics compare well against the expected clinical responses. This holds promise for robust real-time detection of tissue ischemia, possibly contributing to improved patient care and clinical outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 Optica Publishing Group.)

Nanomaterials are driving advances in technology due to their oftentimes superior properties over bulk materials. In particular, their thermal properties become increasingly important as efficient heat dissipation is required to realize high-performance electronic devices, reduce energy consumption, and prevent thermal damage. One application where nanomaterials can play a crucial role is extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, where pellicles that protect the photomask from particle contamination have to be transparent to EUV light, mechanically strong, and thermally conductive in order to withstand the heat associated with high-power EUV radiation. Free-standing carbon nanotube (CNT) films have emerged as candidates due to their high EUV transparency and ability to withstand heat. However, the thermal transport properties of these films are not well understood beyond bulk emissivity measurements. Here, we measure the thermal conductivity of free-standing CNT films using all-optical Raman thermometry at temperatures between 300 and 700 K. We find thermal conductivities up to 50 W m -1 K -1 for films composed of double-walled CNTs, which rises to 257 W m -1 K -1 when considering the CNT network alone. These values are remarkably high for randomly oriented CNT networks, roughly seven times that of single-walled CNT films. The enhanced thermal conduction is due to the additional wall, which likely gives rise to additional heat-carrying phonon modes and provides a certain resilience to defects. Our results demonstrate that free-standing double-walled CNT films efficiently dissipate heat, enhancing our understanding of these promising films and how they are suited to applications in EUV lithography.

This work introduces a polymeric backbone eutectogel (P-ETG) hybrid solid-state electrolyte with an N -isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) backbone for high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The NIPAM-based P-ETG is (electro)chemically compatible with commercially relevant positive electrode materials such as the nickel-rich layered oxide LiNi 0.6 Mn 0.2 Co 0.2 O 2 (NMC622). The chemical compatibility was demonstrated through (physico)chemical characterization methods. The nonexistence (within detection limits) of interfacial reactions between the electrolyte and the positive electrode, the unchanged bulk crystallographic composition, and the absence of transition metal ions leaching from the positive electrode in contact with the electrolyte were demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis, respectively. Moreover, the NIPAM-based P-ETG demonstrates a wide electrochemical stability window (1.5-5.0 V vs Li + /Li) and a reasonably high ionic conductivity at room temperature (0.82 mS cm -1 ). The electrochemical compatibility of a high-potential NMC622-containing positive electrode and the P-ETG is further demonstrated in Li|P-ETG|NMC622 cells, which deliver a discharge capacity of 134, 110, and 97 mAh g -1 at C/5, C/2, and 1C, respectively, after 90 cycles. The Coulombic efficiency is >95% at C/5, C/2, and 1C. Hence, gaining scientific insights into the compatibility of the electrolytes with positive electrode materials that are relevant to the commercial market, like NMC622, is important because this requires going beyond the electrolyte design itself, which is essential to their practical applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Fabrication of patterned boron-doped diamond (BDD) in an inexpensive and straightforward way is required for a variety of practical applications, including the development of BDD-based electrochemical sensors. This work describes a simplified and novel bottom-up fabrication approach for BDD-based three-electrode sensor chips utilizing direct inkjet printing of diamond nanoparticles on silicon-based substrates. The whole seeding process, accomplished by a commercial research inkjet printer with piezo-driven drop-on-demand printheads, was systematically examined. Optimized and continuous inkjet-printed features were obtained with glycerol-based diamond ink (0.4% vol/wt), silicon substrates pretreated by exposure to oxygen plasma and subsequently to air, and applying a dot density of 750 drops (volume 9 pL) per inch. Next, the dried micropatterned substrate was subjected to a chemical vapor deposition step to grow uniform thin-film BDD, which satisfied the function of both working and counter electrodes. Silver was inkjet-printed to complete the sensor chip with a reference electrode. Scanning electron micrographs showed a closed BDD layer with a typical polycrystalline structure and sharp and well-defined edges. Very good homogeneity in diamond layer composition and a high boron content (∼2 × 10 21 atoms cm -3 ) was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Important electrochemical characteristics, including the width of the potential window (2.5 V) and double-layer capacitance (27 μF cm -2 ), were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. Fast electron transfer kinetics was recognized for the [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+/2+ redox marker due to the high doping level, while somewhat hindered kinetics was observed for the surface-sensitive [Fe(CN) 6 ] 3-/4- probe. Furthermore, the ability to electrochemically detect organic compounds of different structural motifs, such as glucose, ascorbic acid, uric acid, tyrosine, and dopamine, was successfully verified and compared with commercially available screen-printed BDD electrodes. The newly developed chip-based manufacture method enables the rapid prototyping of different small-scale electrode designs and BDD microstructures, which can lead to enhanced sensor performance with capability of repeated use.

Silicon photonics has emerged as a mature technology that is expected to play a key role in critical emerging applications, including very high data rate optical communications, distance sensing for autonomous vehicles, photonic-accelerated computing, and quantum information processing. The success of silicon photonics has been enabled by the unique combination of performance, high yield, and high-volume capacity that can only be achieved by standardizing manufacturing technology. Today, standardized silicon photonics technology platforms implemented by foundries provide access to optimized library components, including low-loss optical routing, fast modulation, continuous tuning, high-speed germanium photodiodes, and high-efficiency optical and electrical interfaces. However, silicon's relatively weak electro-optic effects result in modulators with a significant footprint and thermo-optic tuning devices that require high power consumption, which are substantial impediments for very large-scale integration in silicon photonics. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology can enhance silicon photonics with building blocks that are compact, low-loss, broadband, fast and require very low power consumption. Here, we introduce a silicon photonic MEMS platform consisting of high-performance nano-opto-electromechanical devices fully integrated alongside standard silicon photonics foundry components, with wafer-level sealing for long-term reliability, flip-chip bonding to redistribution interposers, and fibre-array attachment for high port count optical and electrical interfacing. Our experimental demonstration of fundamental silicon photonic MEMS circuit elements, including power couplers, phase shifters and wavelength-division multiplexing devices using standardized technology lifts previous impediments to enable scaling to very large photonic integrated circuits for applications in telecommunications, neuromorphic computing, sensing, programmable photonics, and quantum computing., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Self-assembled monolayers of corrosion inhibitors of the mercaptobenzimidazole family, SH-BimH, SH-BimH-5NH 2 , and SH-BimH-5OMe, were formed on template-stripped ultraflat Au surfaces using microcontact printing, and subsequently analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and AFM-force spectroscopy (AFM-FS) using a quantitative imaging (QI) mode. Printing of all used inhibitor molecules resulted in clear patterns and in slightly more compact films compared to immersion. The stability of the monolayers is further probed by AFM-FS. Adhesion values of laterally heterogeneous inhibitor-modified surfaces compared to bare Au surfaces, nonpatterned areas, and fully covered surfaces are analyzed and discussed. Microcontact printing confers a superior nanomechanical stability to imidazole-modified films of the printed surface patches as compared to homogeneously covered surfaces by immersion into the inhibitor solution.

This study reports the low temperature and low pressure conversion (up to 160 °C, p = 3.5 bar) of CO 2 and H 2 to CO using plasmonic Au/TiO 2 nanocatalysts and mildly concentrated artificial sunlight as the sole energy source (up to 13.9 kW·m -2 = 13.9 suns). To distinguish between photothermal and non-thermal contributors, we investigated the impact of the Au nanoparticle size and light intensity on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst. A comparative study between P25 TiO 2 -supported Au nanocatalysts of a size of 6 nm and 16 nm displayed a 15 times higher activity for the smaller particles, which can only partially be attributed to the higher Au surface area. Other factors that may play a role are e.g., the electronic contact between Au and TiO 2 and the ratio between plasmonic absorption and scattering. Both catalysts displayed ≥84% selectivity for CO (side product is CH 4 ). Furthermore, we demonstrated that the catalytic activity of Au/TiO 2 increases exponentially with increasing light intensity, which indicated the presence of a photothermal contributor. In dark, however, both Au/TiO 2 catalysts solely produced CH 4 at the same catalyst bed temperature (160 °C). We propose that the difference in selectivity is caused by the promotion of CO desorption through charge transfer of plasmon generated charges (as a non-thermal contributor).

Polycrystalline diamond has the potential to improve the osseointegration of orthopedic implants compared to conventional materials such as titanium. However, despite the excellent biocompatibility and superior mechanical properties, the major challenge of using diamond for implants, such as those used for hip arthroplasty, is the limitation of microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques to synthesize diamond on complex-shaped objects. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate diamond growth on titanium acetabular shells using the surface wave plasma CVD method. Polycrystalline diamond coatings were synthesized at low temperatures (∼400 °C) on three types of acetabular shells with different surface structures and porosities. We achieved the growth of diamond on highly porous surfaces designed to mimic the structure of the trabecular bone and improve osseointegration. Biocompatibility was investigated on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) coatings terminated either with hydrogen or oxygen. To understand the role of diamond surface topology and chemistry in the attachment and proliferation of mammalian cells, we investigated the adsorption of extracellular matrix proteins and monitored the metabolic activity of fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The interaction of bovine serum albumin and type I collagen with the diamond surfaces was investigated by confocal fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). We found that the proliferation of osteogenic cells was better on hydrogen-terminated UNCD than on the oxygen-terminated counterpart. These findings correlated with the behavior of collagen on diamond substrates observed by FLIM. Hydrogen-terminated UNCD provided better adhesion and proliferation of osteogenic cells, compared to titanium, while the growth of fibroblasts was poorest on hydrogen-terminated NCD and MSCs behaved similarly on all tested surfaces. These results open new opportunities for application of diamond coatings on orthopedic implants to further improve bone fixation and osseointegration.

The real-time identification of protein biomarkers is crucial for the development of point-of-care and portable devices. Here, we use a PlyAB biological nanopore to detect haemoglobin (Hb) variants. Adult haemoglobin (HbA) and sickle cell anaemia haemoglobin (HbS), which differ by just one amino acid, were distinguished in a mixture with more than 97 % accuracy based on individual blockades. Foetal Hb, which shows a larger sequence variation, was distinguished with near 100 % accuracy. Continuum and Brownian dynamics simulations revealed that Hb occupies two energy minima, one near the inner constriction and one at the trans entry of the nanopore. Thermal fluctuations, the charge of the protein, and the external bias influence the dynamics of Hb within the nanopore, which in turn generates the unique ionic current signal in the Hb variants. Finally, Hb was counted from blood samples, demonstrating that direct discrimination and quantification of Hb from blood using nanopores, is feasible., (© 2022 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) image sensors based on colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are characterized by low cost, small pixel pitch, and spectral tunability. Adoption of QD-SWIR imagers is, however, hampered by a reliance on restricted elements such as Pb and Hg. Here, QD photodiodes, the central element of a QD image sensor, made from non-restricted In(As,P) QDs that operate at wavelengths up to 1400 nm are demonstrated. Three different In(As,P) QD batches that are made using a scalable, one-size-one-batch reaction and feature a band-edge absorption at 1140, 1270, and 1400 nm are implemented. These QDs are post-processed to obtain In(As,P) nanocolloids stabilized by short-chain ligands, from which semiconducting films of n-In(As,P) are formed through spincoating. For all three sizes, sandwiching such films between p-NiO as the hole transport layer and Nb:TiO 2 as the electron transport layer yields In(As,P) QD photodiodes that exhibit best internal quantum efficiencies at the QD band gap of 46±5% and are sensitive for SWIR light up to 1400 nm., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Finesse coefficient is one of the most important parameters describing the properties of a resonant cavity. In this research, a mathematical investigation of the application of diamond structures in a fiber-optic Fabry-Perot measurement head to assess their impact on the finesse coefficient is proposed. We present modeled transmission functions of cavities utilizing a nitrogen-doped diamond, a boron-doped diamond, nanocrystalline diamond sheet and a silver mirror. The diamond structures were deposited using a microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition system. A SEM investigation of surface morphology was conducted. The modeling took into consideration the fiber-optic Fabry-Perot setup working in a reflective mode, with an external cavity and a light source of 1550 nm. A comparison of the mathematical investigation and experimental results is presented.

The use of animals in neuroscience and biomedical research remains controversial. Policy is built around the "3R" principle of "Refining, Reducing and Replacing" animal experiments, and across the globe, different initiatives stimulate the use of animal-free methods. Based on an extensive literature screen to map the development and adoption of animal-free methods in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease research, we find that at least two in three examined studies rely on animals or on animal-derived models. Among the animal-free studies, the relative contribution of innovative models that may replace animal experiments is limited. We argue that the distinction between animal research and alternative models presents a false dichotomy, as the role and scientific value of both animal and animal-free approaches are intertwined. Calls to halt all animal experiments appear premature, as insufficient non-animal-based alternatives are available and their development lags behind. In light of this, we highlight the need for objective, unprejudiced monitoring, and more robust performance indicators of animal-free approaches., (© 2022 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.)

This paper describes a reconstruction method for atom probe tomography based on a bottom-up approach accounting for (i) the final tip morphology (which is frequently induced by inhomogeneous evaporation probabilities across the tip surface due to laser absorption, heat diffusion effects, and inhomogeneous material properties), (ii) the limited (and changing) field of view, and (iii) the detector efficiency. The reconstruction starts from the final tip morphology and reverses the evaporation sequence through the pseudo-deposition of defined small reconstruction volumes, which are then stacked together to create the full three-dimensional (3D) tip. The subdivision in small reconstruction volumes allows the scheme to account for the changing tip shape and field of view as evaporation proceeds. Atoms within the same small reconstruction volume are reconstructed at once by placing atoms back onto their possible lattice sites through a trajectory-matching process involving simulated and experimental hit maps. As the ejected ion trajectories are simulated using detailed electrostatic modeling inside the chamber, no simplifications have been imposed on the shape of the trajectories, projection laws, or tip surface. We demonstrate the superior performance of our approach over the conventional reconstruction method (Bas) for an asymmetrical tip shape.

Microplates have become a standard tool in the pharmaceutical industry and academia for a broad range of screening assays. One of the most commonly performed assays is the cell proliferation assay, which is often used for the purpose of drug discovery. Microplate readers play a crucial role in this field, as they enable high-throughput testing of large sample numbers. Common drawbacks of the most popular plate reader technologies are that they are end-point-based and most often require the use of detection reagents. As a solution, with this work, we aim to expand the possibilities of real-time and label-free monitoring of cell proliferation inside a microplate format by introducing a novel thermal-based sensing approach. For this purpose, we have developed thin-film sensors that can easily be integrated into the bottom of standard 96-well plates. First, the accuracy and precision of the sensors for measuring temperature and thermal effusivity are assessed via characterization experiments. These experiments highlight the fast response of the sensors to changes in temperature and thermal effusivity, as well as the excellent reproducibility between different sensors. Later, proof-of-principle measurements were performed on the proliferation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The proliferation measurements show that the thermal sensors were able to simultaneously detect relative changes in cell number as well as changes in metabolic activity. This dual functionality makes the presented sensor technology a promising candidate for monitoring microplate assays.

A considerable portion of fossil CO 2 emissions comes from the energy sector for production of heat and electricity. The industrial sector has the second order in emission in which the main parts are released from energy-intensive industries, namely metallurgy, building materials, chemicals, and manufacturing. The decarbonization of industrial wastes contemplates the classic decarbonization through optimization of conventional processes as well as utilization of renewable energy and resources. The upgrading of existing processes and integration of the methodologies with a focus on efficiency improvement and reduction of energy consumption and the environment is the main focus of this review. The implementation of renewable energy and feedstocks, green electrification, energy conversion methodologies, carbon capture, and utilization, and storage are also covered. The main objectives of this review are towards chemical industries by introducing the potential technology enhancement at different subsectors. For this purpose, state-of-the-art roadmaps and pathways from the literature findings are presented. Both common and innovative renewable attempts are needed to reach out both short- and long-term deep decarbonization targets. Even though all of the innovative solutions are not economically viable at the industrial scale, they play a crucial role during and after the energy transition interval., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Galinstan, a liquid metal at room temperature, is a promising material for use in flexible electronics. Since it has been successfully integrated in devices for external use, e.g., as stretchable electronic skin in tactile sensation, the possibility of using galinstan for flexible implant technology comes to mind. Usage of liquid metals in a flexible implant would reduce the risk of broken conductive pathways in the implants and therefore reduce the possibility of implant failure. However, the biocompatibility of the liquid metal under study, i.e., galinstan, has not been proven in state-of-the-art literature. Therefore, in this paper, a material combination of galinstan and silicone rubber is under investigation regarding the success of sterilization methods and to establish biocompatibility testing for an in vivo application. First cell biocompatibility tests (WST-1 assays) and cell toxicity tests (LDH assays) show promising results regarding biocompatibility. This work paves the way towards the successful integration of stretchable devices using liquid metals embedded in a silicone rubber encapsulant for flexible surface electro-cortical grid arrays and other flexible implants.