Full Stokes polarimetry based on an inverse-designed multi-foci metalens.

In the realm of metasurface-based polarimetry, well-known for its remarkable compactness and integration capabilities, previous attempts have been hindered by limitations such as the restricted choices of target polarization states and the inefficient focusing of light. To address these problems, this study introduces and harnesses a novel, to our knowledge, forward-solving model, grounded in the equivalence principle and dyadic Green's function, to inversely optimize the vectorial focusing patterns of metalenses. Leveraging this methodology, we develop and experimentally validate a single multi-foci metalens-based polarimeter, capable of simultaneously separating and concentrating four distinct elliptical polarization states at a wavelength of 10.6 µm. Rigorous experimental evaluations, involving the assessment of 18 scalar polarized beams, reveal an average error of 5.92% and a high contrast ratio of 0.92, which demonstrates the efficacy of the polarimeter. The results underscore the potential of our system in diverse sectors, including military defense, healthcare, and autonomous vehicle technology.

Enantioseparation of pheniramine enantiomers by high-speed countercurrent chromatography using ß-cyclodextrin derivatives as a chiral selector.

The enantioselective separation of pheniramine was studied by a high-speed countercurrent chromatography method using ß-cyclodextrin derivatives as a chiral selector. Several key variables, for instance, type of organic solvent and chiral selector, concentration of chiral selector, pH value of aqueous phase, and temperature on the enantioselectivity, were investigated systematically by liquid-liquid extraction experiments. Combining the results of extraction experiments and high-speed countercurrent chromatography, the most suitable conditions for separation of pheniramine enantiomers were obtained with the two-phase system that consisted of isobutyl acetate/aqueous phase, containing 0.02 mol/L carboxymethyl-ß-cyclodextrin, pH 8.50 at 278.15 K. Under the optimal conditions, pheniramine enantiomer was successfully resolved after four cycles of high-speed countercurrent chromatography. By using high-performance liquid chromatography to analyze the fractions, the purities of both (+)-pheniramine and (-)-pheniramine were over 99% and the recovery of this method was up to 85-90%.

Tremendous Acceleration of Plant Growth by Applying a New Sunlight Converter Sr4 Al14- x Gax O25 :Mn4+ Breaking Parity Forbidden Transition.

Majority of Mn4+ activated oxide phosphors have the wavelength of excitation and emission suitable for acceleration of plant growth as light converter from sunlight to deep red. Here, it is observed that 60% increase of red emission of Sr4 Al14 O25 :0.01Mn4+ is found by substituting 0.1Ga3+ . It is clarified that the increase is originated from a unique mechanism of breaking parity forbidden transition under the substitution of cation in d-d transition by using the tool of special aberration corrected transmission electron microscope(AC-STEM), pre-edge peak (1s→3d) Mn K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and reflection spectra. Further, a combination of substituted Ga, Mg, and special double flux H3 BO3 /AlF3 is found to tremendously increase the emission intensity (355% up). Actual growth of chlorella and rose is examined by a combination of the cheap Sr4 Al14 O25 :0.01Mn4+ ,0.007Mg2+ ,0.1Ga3+ and a unique reflection typed phosphor-film system as sunlight converting system. Optical density of chlorella and height of rose grass is increased by 36±14% and 174±80% compared with nonphosphor-film, respectively.

Preparation and electrochemical properties of a novel porous Ti/Sn-Sb-RuO x /ß-PbO2/MnO2 anode for zinc electrowinning.

MnO2 coatings prepared in a sulfate system (S-MnO2) and MnO2 prepared in a nitrate system (N-MnO2) were successfully deposited on porous Ti/Sn-Sb-RuO x /ß-PbO2 substrates by electrodeposition, and their electrochemical properties were studied in detail. The bath composition plays a very important role in the MnO2 coating prepared by electrodeposition at a low current density. The results of scanning electron microscopy show that a Ti/Sn-Sb-RuO x /ß-PbO2/MnO2 electrode has a rough morphology and the unit cell is very good. At the same time, the surface cracks in the S-MnO2 coating are larger than those in the N-MnO2 coating. In addition, the N-MnO2 coating is composed of a fluffy sheet-like substance. The surface morphology of the N-MnO2 coating is denser than that of the S-MnO2 coating. The S-MnO2 coating consists of irregularly stacked granular particles. Further, the main crystal phase of MnO2 is γ type, and the main valence state of MnO2 is +4. The results show that the oxygen evolution potential of the N-MnO2 electrode is 63 mV lower than that of the S-MnO2 electrode, indicating that the N-MnO2 electrode has better oxygen evolution activity and electrochemical stability, which can also be confirmed by EIS test results. Under the accelerated life test conditions, the N-MnO2 electrode has a better service life of 77 h at a current density of 1 A cm-2 in 150 g L-1 H2SO4 and 2 g L-1 Cl- solution.

A Crowned Killer's Résumé: Genome, Structure, Receptors, and Origin of SARS-CoV-2.

The recent emergence and rapid global spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pose an unprecedented medical and socioeconomic crisis, and the disease caused by it, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Chinese scientists and physicians rapidly identified the causative pathogen, which turned out to be a novel betacoronavirus with high sequence similarities to bat and pangolin coronaviruses. The scientific community has ignited tremendous efforts to unravel the biological underpinning of SARS-CoV-2, which constitutes the foundation for therapy and vaccine development strategies. Here, we summarize the current state of knowledge on the genome, structure, receptor, and origin of SARS-CoV-2.