Tailoring Charge Flow in Carbon-Defective Cu-MOF with Pd Nanoparticles: A Boost for Visible Light Organic Photoelectrochemical Transistor in Bioanalysis.

The photoactive material was of significant importance in organic photoelectrochemical transistor (OPECT) bioanalysis as it influences the photoinduced voltage and the µC* product, resulting in a varying sensor sensitivity. The utilization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as photoactive materials in OPECT analysis is promising, yet it remains a grand challenge due to the inherently narrow light absorption range and high electron-hole recombination rate. Herein, Pd NPs were encapsulated as electron acceptors into the Cu-MOF using a double-solvent method, followed by pyrolysis at the proper temperature. After pyrolysis, Cu-MOF transformed into a carbon defect-rich composite of CuO and Cu2O while retaining its high porosity and structural morphology. The resulting carbon defect-rich pyrolysis Cu-MOF (p-Cu-MOF) served as an active support, facilitating the separation of electrons and holes. The photoelectrons trigger the electron transfer of adjacent active metal components and the formation of a Schottky junction between Pd and the MOFs. This effect induces the electron donation from the MOFs. Moreover, Pd/pyrolysis Cu-MOF exhibits significantly higher visible light absorption, better water stability, and higher electrical conductivity compared to Cu-MOF and Pd/Cu-MOF. An OPECT sensor was fabricated by utilizing Pd/p-Cu-MOF as the photoactive material and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the channel material on an integrated laser-etched FTO. The aptamer was used as the recognition element, enabling sensitive and efficient detection of residual isocarbophos.

Target-Induced Photocurrent-Polarity-Switching PEC Sensing Platform Based on In Situ Generation of Oxygen Vacancy-Modulated Energy Band Structures.

The polarity of the photocurrent can be modulated by tunable bipolar photoelectrochemical (PEC) behavior, which is anticipated to address the issues of high background signal caused by traditional unidirectional increasing/decreasing response and false-positive/false-negative problems. Here, a new approach is suggested for the first time, which employs a target-induced enzyme-catalyzed reaction and in situ oxygen vacancy (OV) generation to achieve heterojunction photocurrent switching for highly sensitive detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Among them, the ALP can catalyze the decomposition of ascorbic acid phosphate to produce ascorbic acid, which not only acts as an electron donor to change the redox environment but also acts as a reducing agent to introduce OVs into BiOBr semiconductors in cooperation with illumination. The introduction of vacancies can effectively modulate the energy band structure of BiOBr, while with the change of redox conditions, the transfer path of photogenerated carriers is changed, thus realizing the switching of photocurrents, which leads to its use in the construction of a negative-background anti-interference PEC sensing platform, achieving a wide linear range from 0.005 to 500 U·L-1 with a low detection limit of 0.0017 U·L-1. In conclusion, the photocurrent switching operation of this system is jointly regulated by chemistry, optics, and carrier motion, which provides a new idea for the construction of a PEC sensing platform based on photocurrent polarity switching.

Ce/Zr-MOF with Dual Cycle Synergistic Catalysis Pathway Enabling Enhanced Peroxidase-like Performance for Wearable Hydrogel Patch Visualization Sensing Platform.

Engineering the activity of enzyme-like catalysts should be a top priority to make them superior substitutes for natural enzymes. Herein, a Ce/Zr bimetal-organic framework (Ce/Zr-MOF) was designed and synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal method, which has enhanced performance in mimicking peroxidase (POD) than its single-metal counterparts. To further comprehend the mechanism of activity enhancement, the role of the bimetallic synergistic catalysis process in H2O2 decomposition and reactive oxygen species formation was elucidated, and the possible dual cycle synergistic catalysis pathway of bimetallic catalysis is proposed for the first time. The enhanced POD-like activity mainly depends on the introduction of Ce, which improved the conductivity and electron-transfer capability of Ce/Zr-MOF and promoted the generation of •OH. Integrated with a hydrogel substrate, a wearable all-solid-state H2O2 sensor for early diagnosis of plant health was produced. The detection limit can be as low as 3.3 µM, which is lower than that of some instrument-based colorimetric methods and has great potential in the development of visualized sensing applications. The concept of dual cycle synergistic catalysis pathway we proposed not only deepens the comprehension regarding sensing and catalytic mechanisms but also provides novel perspectives into the design of enzyme-like catalysts for extensive usage.

Construction of environmental vibration prediction model for subway transportation based on machine learning algorithm and database technology.

Vibrations generated in the metro transport environment are mainly caused by, vibrations generated by the interaction between the metro and the track during operation. and the change of vibration factors will affect the normal operation of the subway. However, it is difficult to have a model that can achieve the characteristics of high accuracy, fast computing speed and wide range of use in the traditional metro rail transportation environment prediction. Therefore, this research uses database theory and machine learning algorithms to predict the vibration of subway transportation environment. The experimental results show that the average difference between the whole prediction value and the real value is 1.4 dB, of which the maximum difference error value is 0.29%, the maximum error difference is 8.2%, and the approximate value is 6.2 dB, and the four averages predicted in 40 m are relatively small as 1.6 dB, and the average error value of prediction ability between 40 and 100 m is 1.72 dB, and the experimental prediction value and real value are in good agreement. The agreement between the experimental prediction and the real value is very good. Therefore, the model is able to predict the vibration model of the subway transportation environment with a high degree of agreement and accuracy.

Restoration of Intestinal Microbiota After Inulin Supplementation Halted: The Secondary Effect of Supplemented Inulin.

SCOPE: Consumption of inulin could affect the intestinal microbiota composition. Hereby, it is aimed to investigate the intestinal microbial community restoration process when the inulin supplementation is terminated (i.e., the secondary effect). METHODS AND RESULTS: The current study investigates the response and restoration of intestinal microbiota to/after high (Inulin-H) and low (Inulin-L) dosage of inulin supplementation or sequential antibiotics and inulin (Anti-Inulin-L) supplementation, based on analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences in C57BL/6 mice. The number of significantly changed genera in response to inulin is highest in Anti-Inulin-L (n = 66) group, followed by Inulin-H (n = 51) and Inulin-L (n = 38) group. After inulin supplementation stops, microbiota of all studied groups tend to recover to their original states, with highest percentage of inulin-responding microbes stay significantly different at Anti-Inulin-L (93.94%) group, followed by Inulin-H (74.51%) and Inulin-L (44.12%) groups. Of note, the relative abundance of some non-inulin-responding taxa significantly increases during restoration. CONCLUSION: Sequential antibiotics and inulin supplementation induce greatest changes in the intestinal microbial composition, followed by high and low dosage of inulin. Additionally, the changes induce by supplemented inulin in the intestinal microbial community, provide a chance for some microbes to outcompete the other microbes during the spontaneous restoration.

Inulin mitigated antibiotic-induced intestinal microbiota dysbiosis - a comparison of different supplementation stages.

Antibiotics are unavoidable to be prescribed to subjects due to different reasons, and they decrease the relative abundance of beneficial microbes. Inulin, a fructan type of polysaccharide carbohydrate, on the contrary, could promote the growth of beneficial microbes. In this study, we investigated the effect of inulin on antibiotic-induced intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and compared their overall impact at different supplementation stages, i.e., post-antibiotic, at the time of antibiotic administration or prior to antibiotic treatment, in the C57BL/6 mice model. Although supplementation of inulin after antibiotic treatment could aid in the reconstruction of the intestinal microbial community its overall impact was limited and no remarkable differences were identified as compared to the spontaneous restoration. On the contrary, the effect of simultaneous and pre-supplementation was more remarkable. Simultaneous inulin supplementation significantly mitigated the antibiotic-induced dysbiosis based on alterations as evaluated using weighted and unweighted UniFrac distance between baseline and after treatment. Moreover, comparing the effect of simultaneous supplementation, pre-supplemented inulin further mitigated the antibiotic-induced dysbiosis, especially on the relative abundance of dominant microbes. Collectively, the current study found that the use of inulin could alleviate antibiotic-induced microbiota dysbiosis, and the best supplementation stage (overall effect as evaluated by beta diversity distance changes) was before the antibiotic treatment, then simultaneous supplementation and supplementation after the antibiotic treatment.

Synergistic effect of surface metal vacancies and Schottky junction on high-transconductance organic photoelectrochemical transistor aptasensing.

The synergistic effect between surface metal vacancies and a Schottky junction on enhanced transconductance, and the gating effect of an organic photoelectrochemical transistor was reported.

A bioetching-induced visualized-organic photoelectrochemical transistor dual-signal mode sensor for alkaline phosphatase detection.

A study of an integrated OPECT biosensor gate and the EC color-changing region on the same chip was carried out, achieving sensitive detection through bioetching-induced signal changes. Enzymatic bioetching enables specific alkaline phosphatase (ALP) detection by catalyzing the production of CdS, which modulates the channel current and generates a visual signal.

Laboratory Characterization of Geosynthetics-Reinforced Asphalt Mixture.

In order to improve the mechanical properties of asphalt pavement, geosynthetics can be employed in asphalt mixture. This research designed 12 reinforced schemes based on the types of geosynthetics, bonding layers and reinforced position. For the relative tests carried out, reinforced specimens were prepared according to each individual scheme. Moreover, rutting tests, bending creep tests and split fatigue tests were carried out on reinforced specimens in the laboratory. The results obtained in this investigation showed that the dynamic stability, bending creep rate and fatigue life of geocell-reinforced specimens are better than those of geogrid-reinforced specimens. The bonding layer of Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) modified asphalt is better than epoxy modified asphalt. The dynamic stability and fatigue life of middle reinforcement are better than those of the lower reinforcement, while the bending creep rate of the lower reinforcement is better than middle reinforcement. In addition, reinforced scheme (9) has the largest increase in dynamic stability and fatigue life by 103 and 137%, respectively, and reinforced scheme (12) has the largest reduction in bending creep rate by 46%. However, scheme (9) improved dynamic stability and fatigue life by 43 and 29% higher than scheme (12), while the reduction of flexural creep rate of scheme (12) is only 7% higher than that of scheme (9).

Monoclonal antibody production and indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay development of 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid based on novel haptens.

Two novel immunizing haptens of 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (MQCA) were synthesized and conjugated with cationized bovine serum albumin. Female BALB/c mice were immunized with above conjugates, splenocytes were fused with Sp2/0 cells to produce monoclonal antibody. Compared with previous studies, antibodies raised in this work showed higher sensitivity. Meantime, a novel heterologous coating hapten was also prepared. The indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) based on the optimum condition showed an IC50 of 3.1µg/kg (ppb), and the linear range of 0.46-10.5ppb for MQCA. The limit of detect (LOD) of MQCA in swine muscle, swine liver and chicken was 0.32, 0.54, and 0.28ppb, respectively. The LOD of this assay can satisfy the minimum required performance levels (4ppb) for MQCA. These results indicated that the proposed ELISA, with high sensitivity and specificity, as well as good reproducibility and accuracy, is suitable for determination of MQCA residues in food samples.

Magnetic-field-induced ferroelectric polarization reversal in magnetoelectric composites revealed by piezoresponse force microscopy.

Controlling electric polarization (or magnetization) in multiferroic materials with external magnetic fields (or electric fields) is very important for fundamental physics and spintronic devices. Although there has been some progress on magnetic-field-induced polarization reversal in single-phase multiferroics, such behavior has so far never been realized in composites. Here we show that it is possible to reverse ferroelectric polarization using magnetic fields in a bilayer Terfenol-D/PMN-33%PT composite. We realized this by ferroelectric domain imaging using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) under applied magnetic field loading. The internal electric field caused by the magnetoelectric (ME) effect in the PMN-PT crystal is considered as the driving force for the 180° polarization switching, and its existence is verified by switching spectroscopy PFM testing under a series of external magnetic fields. A quantitative method is further suggested to estimate the local ME coefficient based on the switching spectroscopy PFM testing results.

Discovery of a strongly-interrelated gene network in corals under constant darkness by correlation analysis after wavelet transform on complex network model.

Coral reefs occupy a relatively small portion of sea area, yet serve as a crucial source of biodiversity by establishing harmonious ecosystems with marine plants and animals. Previous researches mainly focused on screening several key genes induced by stress. Here we proposed a novel method--correlation analysis after wavelet transform of complex network model, to explore the effect of light on gene expression in the coral Acropora millepora based on microarray data. In this method, wavelet transform and the conception of complex network were adopted, and 50 key genes with large differences were finally captured, including both annotated genes and novel genes without accurate annotation. These results shed light on our understanding of coral's response toward light changes and the genome-wide interaction among genes under the control of biorhythm, and hence help us to better protect the coral reef ecosystems. Further studies are needed to explore how functional connections are related to structural connections, and how connectivity arises from the interactions within and between different systems. The method introduced in this study for analyzing microarray data will allow researchers to explore genome-wide interaction network with their own dataset and understand the relevant biological processes.

Nanoscale structural and functional mapping of nacre by scanning probe microscopy techniques.

Nacre has received great attention due to its nanoscale hierarchical structure and extraordinary mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the nanoscale piezoelectric properties of nacre have also been investigated but the structure-function relationship has never been addressed. In this work, firstly we realized quantitative nanomechanical mapping of nacre of a green abalone using atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM). The modulus of the mineral tablets is determined to be ~80 GPa and that of the organic biopolymer no more than 23 GPa, and the organic-inorganic interface width is determined to be about 34 ± 9 nm. Then, we conducted both AFAM and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) mapping in the same scanning area to explore the correlations between the nanomechanical and piezoelectric properties. The PFM testing shows that the organic biopolymer exhibits a significantly stronger piezoresponse than the mineral tablets, and they permeate each other, which is very difficult to reproduce in artificial materials. Finally, the phase hysteresis loops and amplitude butterfly loops were also observed using switching spectroscopy PFM, implying that nacre may also be a bio-ferroelectric material. The obtained nanoscale structural and functional properties of nacre could be very helpful in understanding its deformation mechanism and designing biomimetic materials of extraordinary properties.

A macroscopic non-destructive testing system based on the cantilever-sample contact resonance.

Detecting the inside or buried defects in materials and structures is always a challenge in the field of nondestructive testing (NDT). In this paper, enlightened by the operation principle of the contact resonance force microscopy or atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM), we proposed a macroscopic NDT system based on contact resonance of the cantilever-sample surface to detect the local stiffness variations in materials or structures. We fabricated a piezoelectric unimorph with the dimension typically of 150 mm × 8 mm × 2 mm to act as a macroscopic cantilever, whose flexural mode vibration was driven by a wideband power amplifier together with a signal generator. The vibration signal of the macroscopic cantilever is detected by a high sensitive strain gauge bonded on the cantilever surface which is much more stable than the laser diode sensor in AFAM, thus making it very suitable for outdoor operations. Scanning is realized by a three-dimensional motorized stage with the Z axis for pressing force setting. The whole system is controlled by a LabVIEW-based homemade software. Like the AFAM, this NDT system can also work in two modes, i.e., the single-frequency mode and the resonance-tracking mode. In the latter mode, the contact stiffness at each pixel of the sample can be obtained by using the measured contact resonance frequency and a beam dynamics model. Testing results of this NDT system on a grid structure with an opaque panel show that in both modes the prefabricated defect beneath the panel can be detected and the grid structures can be clearly "seen," which indicates the validity of this NDT system. The sensitivity of this NDT system was also examined.