Ultrasensitive CCL2 Detection in Urine for Diabetic Nephropathy Diagnosis Using a WS2-Based Plasmonic Biosensor.

The accurate diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy relies on achieving ultrasensitive biosensing for biomarker detection. However, existing biosensors face challenges such as poor sensitivity, complexity, time-consuming procedures, and high assay costs. To address these limitations, we report a WS2-based plasmonic biosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of biomarker candidates in clinical human urine samples associated with diabetic nephropathy. Leveraging plasmonic-based electrochemical impedance microscopy (P-EIM) imaging, we observed a remarkable charge sensitivity in monolayer WS2 single crystals. Our biosensor exhibits an exceptionally low detection limit (0.201 ag/mL) and remarkable selectivity in detecting CC chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) protein biomarkers, outperforming conventional techniques such as ELISA. This work represents a breakthrough in traditional protein sensors, providing a direction and materials foundation for developing ultrasensitive sensors tailored to clinical applications for biomarker sensing.

Microbiota-induced inflammatory responses in bladder tumors promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition and enhanced immune infiltration.

The intratumoral microbiota can modulate the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), however, the underlying mechanism by which intratumoral microbiota influences the TIME in urothelial carcinoma of bladder (UCB) remains unclear. To address this, we collected 402 patients with UCB with paired host transcriptome and tumor microbiome samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We found that the intratumoral microbiome profiles were significantly correlated with the expression pattern of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes. Furthermore, we detected that the genus Lachnoclostridiumand Sutterellain tumors could indirectly promote EMT program by inducing an inflammatory response. Moreover, the inflammatory response induced by these two intratumoral bacteria further enhanced intratumoral immune infiltration, affecting patient survival and response to immunotherapy. In addition, an independent immunotherapy cohort of 348 patients with bladder cancer was used to validate our results. Collectively, our study elucidates the potential mechanism by which the intratumoral microbiota influences the TIME of UCB and provides a new guiding strategy for targeted therapy of UCB.

Ferroelectric Bi2O2Te-Based Plasmonic Biosensor for Ultrasensitive Biomolecular Detection.

Ultrasensitive detection of biomarkers, particularly proteins, and microRNA, is critical for disease early diagnosis. Although surface plasmon resonance biosensors offer label-free, real-time detection, it is challenging to detect biomolecules at low concentrations that only induce a minor mass or refractive index change on the analyte molecules. Here an ultrasensitive plasmonic biosensor strategy is reported by utilizing the ferroelectric properties of Bi2O2Te as a sensitive-layer material. The polarization alteration of ferroelectric Bi2O2Te produces a significant plasmonic biosensing response, enabling the detection of charged biomolecules even at ultralow concentrations. An extraordinary ultralow detection limit of 1 fm is achieved for protein molecules and an unprecedented 0.1 fm for miRNA molecules, demonstrating exceptional specificity. The finding opens a promising avenue for the integration of 2D ferroelectric materials into plasmonic biosensors, with potential applications spanning a wide range.

Secure optical communication system based on polarization regulation of the data fragmentation multipath transmission technology.

We propose and demonstrate a data fragment multipath transmission scheme to achieve a secure optical communication based on polarization regulation. A dual-polarization Mach-Zehnder modulator (DPMZM) is driven by digital signals which are scattered by field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and transmitted in multiple paths. By utilizing two orthogonal polarization states, we have achieved a signal transmission under different optical parameters, and the transmission rate of the two paths can reach over 10 Gbps through a 20 km fiber with 2.5 Gbps hopping rate. In addition, we establish a theoretical model to analyze the security of the system and simulate brute force cracking; the probability of cracking the minimum information unit is 1.53 × 10-53. This proves that it is difficult to obtain a user data even using the fastest computers. Our scheme has provided, to our knowledge, a new approach for physical layer security.

Three-dimensional finite element analysis on stress distribution after different palatoplasty and levator veli palatini muscle reconstruction.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a three-dimensional finite element model of the upper palate, pharyngeal cavity, and levator veli palatini muscle in patients with unilateral complete cleft palate, simulate two surgical procedures that the two-flap method and Furlow reverse double Z method, observe the stress distribution of the upper palate soft tissue and changes in pharyngeal cavity area after different surgical methods, and verify the accuracy of the model by reconstructing and measuring the levator veli palatini muscle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mimics, Geomagic, Ansys, and Hypermesh were applied to establish three-dimensional finite element models of the pharyngeal cavity, upper palate, and levator veli palatini muscle in patients with unilateral complete cleft palate. The parameters including length, angle, and cross-sectional area of the levator veli palatini muscle etc. were measured in Mimics, and two surgical procedures that two-flap method and Furlow reverse double Z method were simulated in Ansys, and the area of pharyngeal cavity was measured by hypermesh. RESULTS: A three-dimensional finite element model of the upper palate, pharyngeal cavity, and bilateral levator veli palatini muscle was established in patients with unilateral complete cleft palate ; The concept of horizontal projection characteristics of the palatal dome was applied to the finite element simulation of cleft palate surgery, vividly simulating the displacement and elastic stretching of the two flap method and Furlow reverse double Z method during the surgical process; The areas with the highest stress in the two-flap method and Furlow reverse double Z method both occur in the hard soft palate junction area; In resting state, as measured, the two flap method can narrow the pharyngeal cavity area by 50.9%, while the Furlow reverse double Z method can narrow the pharyngeal cavity area by 65.4%; The measurement results of the levator veli palatini muscle showed no significant difference compared to previous studies, confirming the accuracy of the model. CONCLUSIONS: The finite element method was used to establish a model to simulate the surgical procedure, which is effective and reliable. The area with the highest postoperative stress for both methods is the hard soft palate junction area, and the stress of the Furlow reverse double Z method is lower than that of the two-flap method. The anatomical conditions of pharyngeal cavity of Furlow reverse double Z method are better than that of two-flap method in the resting state. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This article uses three-dimensional finite element method to simulate the commonly used two-flap method and Furlow reverse double Z method in clinical cleft palate surgery, and analyzes the stress distribution characteristics and changes in pharyngeal cavity area of the two surgical methods, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the surgeon to choose the surgical method and reduce the occurrence of complications.

An Ultrasensitive Plasmonic Sensor Based on 2D Ferroelectric Bi2 O2 Se.

Plasmonic biosensing is a label-free detection method that is commonly used to measure various biomolecular interactions. However, one of the main challenges in this approach is the ability to detect biomolecules at low concentrations with sufficient sensitivity and detection limits. Here, 2D ferroelectric materials are employed to address the issues with sensitivity in biosensor design. A plasmonic sensor based on Bi2 O2 Se nanosheets, a ferroelectric 2D material, is presented for the ultrasensitive detection of the protein molecule. Through imaging the surface charge density of Bi2 O2 Se, a detection limit of 1 fM is achieved for bovine serum albumin (BSA). These findings underscore the potential of ferroelectric 2D materials as critical building blocks for future biosensor and biomaterial architectures.

Pressure effect on the magnetism and crystal structure of magnetoelectric metal-organic framework [CH3NH3][Co(HCOO)3].

[CH3NH3][Co(HCOO)3] is the first perovskite-like metal-organic framework exhibiting spin-driven magnetoelectric effects. However, the high-pressure tuning effects on the magnetic properties and crystal structure of [CH3NH3][Co(HCOO)3] have not been studied. In this work, alongside ac magnetic susceptibility measurements, we investigate the magnetic transition temperature evolution under high pressure. Upon increasing the pressure from atmospheric pressure to 0.5 GPa, TN (15.2 K) remains almost unchanged. Continuing to compress the sample results in TN gradually decreasing to 14.8 K at 1.5 GPa. This may be due to pressure induced changes in the bond distance and bond angle of the O-C-O superexchange pathway. In addition, by using high pressure powder X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, we conducted in-depth research on the pressure dependence of the lattice parameters and Raman modes of [CH3NH3][Co(HCOO)3]. The increase in pressure gives rise to a phase transition from the orthorhombic Pnma to a monoclinic phase at approximately 6.13 GPa. Our study indicates that high pressure can profoundly alter the crystal structure and magnetic properties of perovskite type MOF materials, which could inspire new endeavors in exploring novel phenomena in compressed metal-organic frameworks.

100 Gb/s NRZ OOK signal regeneration using four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide with reverse-biased p-i-n junction.

A silicon waveguide with reverse-biased p-i-n junction is used to experimentally demonstrate all-optical regeneration of non-return-to-zero (NRZ) on-off keying (OOK) signal based on four-wave mixing. The silicon waveguide allows a high conversion efficiency of -12 dB. The 0.22 dB (1.1 dB) quality (Q) factor and 0.74 dB (6.3 dB) extinction ratio (ER) improvements on average are achieved for 100 Gb/s (50 Gb/s) NRZ OOK signal regeneration at different receiving powers via the optimal match between the input signal optical power and input-output transfer curve. To the best of our knowledge, this silicon-based all-optical regenerator exhibits superior regeneration performance, including large ER and Q factor improvements, and the highest regeneration speed of NRZ OOK signal, and it has wide applications in 5 G/6 G networks.

Pressure Control of the Structure and Multiferroicity in a Hydrogen-Bonded Metal-Organic Framework.

Multiferroic materials with the cross-coupling of magnetic and ferroelectric orders provide a new platform for physics study and designing novel electronic devices. However, the weak coupling strength of ferroelectricity and magnetism is the main obstacle for potential applications. The recent research focuses on enhancing the coupling effect via synthesizing novel materials in a chemical route or tuning the multiferroicity in the physical way. Among them, pressure is an effective method to modify multiferroic materials, especially when the chemical doping has reached its tuning limit. In this work, we systemically studied the multiferroic properties in a hydrogen-bonded metal-organic framework (MOF) [(CH3)2NH2]Ni(HCOO)3 under high pressure. X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering reveal that a structural phase transition occurs in a pressure region of 6-9 GPa, and the crystal structure is greatly modified by pressure. With the ac magnetic susceptibility, pyroelectric current, and dielectric constant measurements, we obtain the multiferroic property evolution under high pressure and create a temperature-pressure phase diagram. Our study demonstrates that the pressure can modify the magnetic superexchange interaction and hydrogen bonding simultaneously in these perovskite-like MOFs. The multiferroic phase region has been expanded to higher temperature due to the pressure-enhanced spin-phonon coupling effect.

Ultrahigh spectral resolution single passband microwave photonic filter.

Microwave photonic filters (MPFs) with only one ultra-narrow passband are able to provide high frequency selectivity and wide spectral range, and they are of great importance in radio-frequency (RF) signal processing. However, currently all MPFs are limited by trade-offs between key parameters such as spectral resolution and range, tunability, and stability. Here, we report the first demonstration of a single passband MPF with unprecedented performance including ultrahigh spectral resolution of 650 kHz, 0-40 GHz spectral range, and high stability of center frequency drifting within ±50 kHz. This record performance is accomplished by breaking the amplitude equality of a phase-modulated signal via a Brillouin dynamic grating (BDG) which has an ultra-narrow reflection spectrum of sub-MHz. The results point to new ways of creating high performance microwave photonic systems, such as satellite and mobile communications, radars, and remote-sensing systems.

Mode-Resolved Detection of Magnetization Dynamics Using X-ray Diffractive Ferromagnetic Resonance.

Collective spin excitations of ordered magnetic structures offer great potential for the development of novel spintronic devices. The present approach relies on micromagnetic models to explain the origins of dynamic modes observed by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) studies, since experimental tools to directly reveal the origins of the complex dynamic behavior are lacking. Here we demonstrate a new approach which combines resonant magnetic X-ray diffraction with FMR, thereby allowing for a reconstruction of the real-space spin dynamics of the system. This new diffractive FMR technique builds on X-ray detected FMR that allows for element-selective dynamic studies, giving unique access to specific wave components of static and dynamic coupling in magnetic heterostructures. In combination with diffraction, FMR is elevated to the level of a modal spectroscopy technique, potentially opening new pathways for the development of spintronic devices.

Bimetallic organic framework-based aptamer sensors: a new platform for fluorescence detection of chloramphenicol.

A fluorescence method for the quantitative detection of chloramphenicol (CAP) has been developed using phosphate and fluorescent dye 6-carboxy-x-rhodamine (ROX) double-labeled aptamers of CAP and the bimetallic organic framework nanomaterial Cu/UiO-66. Cu/UiO-66 was prepared by coordinate bonding of metal organic framework (MOF) nanomaterial UiO-66 with copper ions. Cu/UiO-66 contains a large number of metal defect sites, which can be combined with phosphate-modified nucleic acid aptamers through strong coordination between phosphate and zirconium to form "fluorescence turn-on" sensors. In the absence of CAP, all single-stranded aptamers were adsorbed on the surface of Cu/UiO-66 through π-π stacking between single-stranded DNA and Cu/UiO-66, which brings the ROX fluorophores and Cu/UiO-66 into close proximity. The ROX fluorescence of aptamers was then quenched by Cu/UiO-66 through photoinduced electron transfer (PET). In the presence of CAP, however, CAP reacted with nucleic acid aptamers to form a special spatial structure, in which the ROX fluorophores were far away from the MOF surface via a change in the spatial structure of the aptamers, and the fluorescence of ROX was able to be recovered. The quantitative detection of CAP can be achieved by measuring the fluorescence signal of ROX using synchronous scanning fluorescence spectrometry. Under optimum conditions, the fluorescence intensities of ROX exhibit a good linear dependence on the concentration of CAP in the range of 0.2-10 nmol/L, with a detection limit of 0.09 nmol/L. The method has advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity, and a low limit of detection. Graphical abstract.

Orthoborates LiCdRE5(BO3)6 (RE = Sm-Lu and Y) with Rare-Earth Ions on a Triangular Lattice: Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Optical and Magnetic Properties.

Single crystals of LiCdY5(BO3)6 were successfully grown from a Li2O-B2O3 flux, and its lanthanide homotypic compounds, LiCdRE5(BO3)6 (RE = Sm-Lu), have been prepared by solid-state reaction. They crystallize in the noncentrosymmetric space group P6522 with cell parameters in the ranges of a = 7.0989(2)-6.9337(1) Å and c = 25.9375(1)-24.8960(6) Å. As a representative example, LiCdY5(BO3)6 features a triangular lattice in the ab plane composed of three distinct crystallographic Y sites. The triangular lattices spaced with the same distance of [Formula: see text]c are further stacked to build three-dimensional frameworks by reinforcement of the isolated planar BO3 groups and distorted LiO4 tetrahedra. Magnetic measurements show that Eu and Sm compounds exhibit typical Van Vleck-type paramagnetism and other rare-earth borates show weak antiferromagnetic behavior. In addition, UV-vis-near-IR diffuse-reflectance and photoluminescence spectra were performed to understand the transition energy levels of active rare-earth ions and their relationships to magnetism.

Current and Potential Roles of Ferroptosis in Bladder Cancer.

Ferroptosis, a type of regulated cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, is mainly initiated by extramitochondrial lipid peroxidation due to the accumulation of iron-dependent reactive oxygen species. Ferroptosis is a prevalent and primitive form of cell death. Numerous cellular metabolic processes regulate ferroptosis, including redox homeostasis, iron regulation, mitochondrial activity, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and various disease-related signaling pathways. Ferroptosis plays a pivotal role in cancer therapy, particularly in the eradication of aggressive malignancies resistant to conventional treatments. Multiple studies have explored the connection between ferroptosis and bladder cancer, focusing on its incidence and treatment outcomes. Several biomolecules and tumor-associated signaling pathways, such as p53, heat shock protein 1, nuclear receptor coactivator 4, RAS-RAF-MEK, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin, and the Hippo-tafazzin signaling system, exert a moderating influence on ferroptosis in bladder cancer. Ferroptosis inducers, including erastin, artemisinin, conjugated polymer nanoparticles, and quinazolinyl-arylurea derivatives, hold promise for enhancing the effectiveness of conventional anticancer medications in bladder cancer treatment. Combining conventional therapeutic drugs and treatment methods related to ferroptosis offers a promising approach for the treatment of bladder cancer. In this review, we analyze the research on ferroptosis to augment the efficacy of bladder cancer treatment.

Enhanced Ferromagnetism and Tunable Magnetic Anisotropy in a van der Waals Ferromagnet.

2D van der Waals (vdW) magnets have recently emerged as a promising material system for spintronic device innovations due to their intriguing phenomena in the reduced dimension and simple integration of magnetic heterostructures without the restriction of lattice matching. However, it is still challenging to realize Curie temperature far above room temperature and controllable magnetic anisotropy for spintronics application in 2D vdW magnetic materials. In this work, the pressure-tuned dome-like ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase diagram in an iron-based 2D layered ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2 is reported. Continuously tunable magnetic anisotropy from out-of-plane to in-plane direction is achieved via the application of pressure. Such behavior is attributed to the competition between intralayer and interlayer exchange interactions and enhanced DOS near the Fermi level. The study presents the prominent properties of pressure-engineered 2D ferromagnetic materials, which can be used in the next-generation spintronic devices.

Plasmonic Imaging of Single DNA with Charge Sensitive Monolayer WS2.

Imaging the surface charge of biomolecules such as proteins and DNA, is crucial for comprehending their structure and function. Unfortunately, current methods for label-free, sensitive, and rapid imaging of the surface charge of single DNA molecules are limited. Here, we propose a plasmonic microscopy strategy that utilizes charge-sensitive single-crystal monolayer WS2 materials to image the local charge density of a single λ-DNA molecule. Our study reveals that WS2 is a highly sensitive charge-sensitive material that can accurately measure the local charge density of λ-DNA with high spatial resolution and sensitivity. The consistency of the surface charge density values obtained from the single-crystal monolayer WS2 materials with theoretical simulations demonstrates the reliability of our approach. Our findings suggest that this class of materials has significant implications for the development of label-free, scanning-free, and rapid optical detection and charge imaging of biomolecules.

Multiplexed DNA detection with a composite molecular beacon based on guanine-quenching.

We developed a multiplexed DNA detection method with a composite molecular beacon (MB) probe based on guanine-quenching by synchronous fluorescence analysis. It is demonstrated by two types of tumor-suppressor genes namely exon segments of p16 (T1) and p53 (T2) genes. The composite MB probe includes two loops and two stems, and two fluorophores of 6-carboxyfluorescein group (FAM) and tetramethyl-6-carboxyrhodamine (TAMRA) are connected to the two ends of molecular beacon. Every stem portion of MB include four continuous nucleotides with guanine (G) base as quencher, every loop portion is a probe sequence that is complementary to a corresponding target sequence. In the absence of target DNA, the composite MBs are in the stem-closed form, the fluorescence of FAM and TAMRA are quenched by G bases. At this time, the fluorescence signals of FAM and TAMRA are all very low. In the presence of target DNA, the MBs hybridize with the target DNA and form double-strands, FAM and TAMRA are separated from G bases, and the fluorescence of FAM and TAMRA recovers simultaneously. Thus, the simultaneous detection of two targets of DNA can be realized by measuring fluorescence signals of FAM and TAMRA, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, the fluorescence intensities of FAM and TAMRA all exhibit good linear dependence on their target DNA concentration in the range from 5 × 10(-11) to 5.5 × 10(-9) M. The detection limit of T1 is 4 × 10(-11) M (3σ), and that of T2 is 3 × 10(-11) M. This composite MB can be applied to detect the real sample, and can be applied to detect two aleatoric sequences of DNA. Compared with previously reported methods of detecting multiplexed target DNA with MBs, the proposed method has some advantages including easy synthesis of composite MB probes, low detection cost and shorter analytical time.

An Ultrasensitive SPR biosensor for RNA detection based on robust GeP5 nanosheets.

Ultrasensitive and rapid detection of biomarkers is among the upmost priorities in promoting healthcare advancements. Improved sensitivity of photonic sensors based on two-dimensional (2D) materials have brought exciting prospects for achieving real-time and label-free biosensing at dilute target concentrations. Here, we report a high-sensitivity surface plasmon resonance (SPR) RNA sensor using metallic 2D GeP5 nanosheets as the sensing material. Theoretical evaluations revealed that the presence of GeP5 nanosheets can greatly enhance the plasmonic electric field of the Au film thereby boosting sensing sensitivity, and that optimal sensitivity (146° RIU-1) can be achieved with 3-nm-thick GeP5. By functionalizing GeP5 nanosheets with specific cDNA probes, detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequences were achieved using the GeP5-based SPR sensor, with high sensitivity down to a detection limit of 10 aM and excellent selectivity. This work demonstrates the immense potential of GeP5-based SPR sensors for advanced biosensing applications and paves the way for utilizing GeP5 nanosheets in novel sensor devices.

Byzantine-robust federated learning via credibility assessment on non-IID data.

Federated learning is a novel framework that enables resource-constrained edge devices to jointly learn a model, which solves the problem of data protection and data islands. However, standard federated learning is vulnerable to Byzantine attacks, which will cause the global model to be manipulated by the attacker or fail to converge. On non-iid data, the current methods are not effective in defensing against Byzantine attacks. In this paper, we propose a Byzantine-robust framework for federated learning via credibility assessment on non-iid data (BRCA). Credibility assessment is designed to detect Byzantine attacks by combing adaptive anomaly detection model and data verification. Specially, an adaptive mechanism is incorporated into the anomaly detection model for the training and prediction of the model. Simultaneously, a unified update algorithm is given to guarantee that the global model has a consistent direction. On non-iid data, our experiments demonstrate that the BRCA is more robust to Byzantine attacks compared with conventional methods.

The impact of major public health emergencies on Trust in Government: From SARS to COVID-19.

Major public health emergencies always test the credibility of the government. The success of governments' strategies relies on trust in government and broad acceptance of response measures. The profound experience of the epidemic often has a long-term impact on people's cognition. We construct a difference-in-difference estimator by combining the variations of epidemic effects across cohorts and regions, and intend to evaluate the long-term effect of individuals' early SARS experience on trust in government during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also use the instrumental variable method to overcome the endogenous problem caused by two-way causality. The results show that the impact of COVID-19 has significantly reduced trust in government of the groups who had not been exposed to the SARS epidemic (including groups who were in early childhood and the unborn during the SARS outbreak). While it has a positive impact on trust in government of people experienced SARS in adolescence, and only a little negative impact on trust in government of people experienced SARS in adulthood. We also find that the impact of COVID-19 mainly reduced the trust in government among groups socially vulnerable or without SARS experience (e.g., low income, low social status etc.). The results suggest that: (a) the trust created by governments' successful anti-epidemic measures is long-lasting; (b) governments should pay more attention to their trust among socially vulnerable groups.