A tailored ratiometric fluorescent sensor based on CdTe and MgF2 quantum dots for trace N-ethylpentylone detection.

The development of low-cost and highly sensitive ratiometric fluorescence sensor, CdTe@MIPs/MgF2, for N-Ethylpentylone (NEP) detection in wastewater samples is described. In this system, CdTe@MIPs (λex = 370, λem = 570) are employed as the receptor and response unit for NEP, with MgF2 (λex = 370, λem = 470) as the reference signal to enhance stability. Under optimal conditions, the sensor shows fluorescent quenching response at 570 nm to NEP in linear range of 2-200 nM, with LOD of 0.6 nM. The sensor also demonstrates significant selectivity for NEP over other analogues and interferents, making it ideal for practical applications in wastewater analysis. This approach is potentially more cost-effective and sensitive than conventional mass spectrometry in detecting abused substances in sewage. Additionally, the MgF2 fluorescent nano-material was first-ever developed and investigated, which may be significant in future research.

Effects of dietary glycerol monolaurate on growth and digestive performance, lipid metabolism, immune defense and gut microbiota of shrimp (Penaeus vannamei).

The advancement of the Penaeus vannamei industry in a sustainable manner necessitates the creation of eco-friendly and exceptionally effective feed additives. To achieve this, 720 similarly-sized juvenile shrimp (0.88±0.02 g) were randomly divided into four groups in this study, with each group consisting of three replicates, each tank (400L) containing 60 shrimp. Four experimental diets were formulated by adding 0, 500, 1000, and 1500 mg·kg-1 glycerol monolaurate (GML) to the basal diet, and the feeding trial lasted for 42 days. Subsequently, a 72-hour White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) challenge test was conducted. Polynomial orthogonal contrasts analysis revealed that with the increase in the concentration of GML, those indicators related to growth, metabolism and immunity, exhibit linear or quadratic correlations (P < 0.05). The results indicate that the GML groups exhibited a significant improvement in the shrimp weight gain rate, specific growth rate, and a reduction in the feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the GML groups promoted the lipase activity and reduced lipid content of the shrimp, augmented the expression of triglyceride and fatty acid decomposition-related genes and lowered the levels of plasma triglycerides (P < 0.05). GML can also enhanced the humoral immunity of the shrimp by activating the Toll-like receptor and Immune deficiency immune pathways, improved the phagocytic capacity and antibacterial ability of shrimp hemocytes. The challenge test revealed that GML significantly reduced the mortality of the shrimp compared to control group. The 16S rRNA sequencing indicates that the GML group can increases the abundance of beneficial bacteria. However, 1500 mg·kg-1 GML adversely affected the stability of the intestinal microbiota, significantly upregulating intestinal antimicrobial peptide-related genes and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels (P < 0.05). In summary, 1000 mg·kg-1 GML was proven to enhance the growth performance, lipid absorption and metabolism, humoral immune response, and gut microbiota condition of P. vannamei, with no negative physiological effects.

Water-Soluble Luminescent Polymers with Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Based on the α-Amino Acids.

Nonconventional luminophores have received increasing attention, owing to their fundamental importance, advantages in outstanding biocompatibility, easy preparation, environmental friendliness, and potential applications in sensing, imaging, and encryption. Purely organic molecules with outstanding fluorescence and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) have emerged as a new library of benign afterglow agents. However, the cost, toxicity, high reactivity, and poor stability of materials also limit their practical applications. Therefore, some natural products, synthetic compounds, and biomolecules have entered horizons of people. The as-designed exhibits sky blue and green fluorescence emission and green RTP emission (a lifetime of 343 ms and phosphorescence quantum of 15.3%) under air condition. This study presents an organic fluorescence for biological imaging and RTP for anti-counterfeiting and encryption based on amino acids, maleic anhydride and 4-vinylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt hydrate. This study provides a strategy for nonconventional luminophores in designing and synthesizing pure organic RTP materials.

Compartmentalization into Outer and Inner Shells of Hollow Nanospheres for Antibiosis Based on Chemistry and Physical Damages.

There is a substantially ascending demand for nonantibiotic strategies to overcome the resistance of bacterial infections. Here, the discovery of a distinctive antibacterial structure is reported. The novel structure of nanoparticle strategy is proposed for appreciable bacteria killing by the smart design of the delayed addition of crosslinkers into the reaction mixture. [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride solution (MTCl), a water-soluble ionic liquid (IL), has narrow-size material distribution, good whiteness, and high weather resistance. The quaternary ammonium salt is utilized to efficiently permeate cell membranes through electrostatic interaction, accordingly, boasting a beneficiary of antibacterial properties. More importantly, it allows bacteria to attach the nanomaterials easily, especially the double-shelled nanosphere. In light of the introduction of 9-amino(9-deoxy)ep-quinine (QNNH2) on its inner shell, it blocks the nucleic acid and glucose metabolism in bacteria, which is betterment of the antibacterial activity of double-shelled structure nanoparticle compared to other structure of nanomaterials. This physical/chemical/biological triple antibacterial process eliminates the need for traditional antibiotics, and the fabrication strategies and material properties described here provide insights into the design of antibacterial nanomaterials based on chemical and physical effects.

A Pickering emulsion stabilized by Chitosan-g-Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) microgels: Interface formation, stability and stimuli-responsiveness.

Pickering emulsions stabilized by solid particles are more stable and environmentally friendly compared to traditional surfactants. Herein, a series of Chitosan-g-Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (CS-g-PNVCL) microgel particles were synthesized via a free radical surfactant-free emulsion copolymerization and the obtained particles were used to stabilize Pickering emulsions. It is found that the ratio (CS/PNVCL = 60 wt%) was optimal to produce Pickering emulsions. The microstructures of Pickering emulsions can maintain for 60 days at room temperature and this long-term stability is attributed to the CS-g-PNVCL microgel particles adsorbed at the oil-water interface. The Pickering emulsions displayed thermo-responsive characteristics when exposed to environmental stimuli. The emulsions became destabilized with an increase in pH and temperature. The droplets turned unstable and irregular due to excessive NaCl concentration, caused by electrostatic repulsion between the microgel particles. This study presents a novel way to form smart and uniform Pickering emulsions with the application potential in food, cosmetics, and drug delivery, etc.

Ultra-sensitive fluorescent detection of strychnine based on carbon dot self-assembled gold nanocage sensing probe.

The ultra-sensitive detection of strychnine is crucial to provide powerful evidence in strychnine poisoning cases. In this study, a novel fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) self-assembled gold nanocage (AuNCs) composite is synthesized for the ultra-sensitive detection of strychnine using molecularly imprinted polymer sensing technology (MIPs-CDs@AuNCs). With strong loading and delivery capability of AuNCs, the CDs could be loaded into AuNCs, where the anisotropy of CDs could significantly decrease and the fluorescence of the MIPs-CDs@AuNCs probe gained lower relative standard deviation (RSD). Moreover, the fluorescence response of MIPs-CDs@AuNCs to target strychnine was observed to be more significant than MIPs-CDs without gold nanocages. Under optimal conditions, the developed MIPs-CDs@AuNCs fluorescence strategy showed good linear relationship at the concentration of strychnine from 3 ng mL-1 to 200 ng mL-1 with the limit of detection as low as 1 ng mL-1. Besides, real blood samples were analyzed without complex pre-preparation procedure to investigate the performance of the proposed molecularly imprinted fluorescence probe, and satisfactory results were obtained with absolute deviations between -1.16 ng mL-1 and 1.28 ng mL-1, which exhibited a great potential for the detection of strychnine in health care work.

Trace detection of methcathinone in sewage using targeted extraction based on magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Methcathinone, a new psychoactive substance (NPS), poses a serious threat to public health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a reliable, selective, sensitive and simple analytical technique for monitoring trace amounts of this target NPS in complex matrices. For this purpose, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) based on MIPs combined with nano-sized magnetic Fe3O4 were developed for the specific enrichment of methcathinone in wastewater. The binding properties and selectivity of MMIPs toward methcathinone were evaluated and compared with non-imprinted polymer (MNIPs). For sensitive and selective extraction and determination of the target methcathinone, magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) based on MMIPs was combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Under optimized conditions, the proposed method was successfully used for the detection of methcathinone in wastewater, which provided a low limit of detection of 0.3 ng L-1 and a limit of quantification of 1.0 ng L-1 with relative standard deviations of less than 6.89% for intra- and inter-day analyses. Good linearity in the range of 1-2000 ng L-1 with a coefficient of determination (R2) greater than 0.98 was observed. Moreover, a certified reference material of water sample was successfully analyzed with satisfactory results and the recoveries of spike experiments ranged from 96.35-116.7%.

Skin Thermal Management for Subcutaneous Photoelectric Conversion Reaching 500 mW.

Despite possessing higher tissue transmittance and maximum permissible exposure power density for skin relative to other electromagnetic waves, second near-infrared light (1000-1350 nm) is scarcely applicable to subcutaneous photoelectric conversion, owing to the companion photothermal effect. Here, skin thermal management is conceived to utmostly utilize the photothermal effect of a photovoltaic cell, which not only improves the photoelectric conversion efficiency but also eliminates skin hyperthermia. In vivo, the output power can be higher than 500 mW with a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 9.4%. This output power is promising to recharge all the clinically applied implantable devices via wireless power transmission, that is, clinical pacemakers (6-200 µW), drug pumps (0.5-2 mW), cochlear (5-40 mW), and wireless endo-photo cameras (≈100 mW).

Effect of Individualized Cardiac Rehabilitation on Cardiac Function, Time Consumption, and Quality of Life in Patients After CABG.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effect of individualized cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on cardiac function, time consumption, and quality of life (QoL) in post-CABG patients. METHODS: Two different CR strategy: basic rehabilitation and individualized rehabilitation was designed. The patients were screened and randomized into the two groups: the basic rehabilitation group (BRG) and individualized rehabilitation group (IRG). Data, such as clinical characteristics, LVEF, 6MWD (6-min walk distance), BNP, LVEDD (left ventricular end diastolic dimension), SF-36 score, and time consumption were collected and recorded. RESULTS: There was no difference between the IRG and BRG patients in the clinical characteristics. The 6MWD and LVEF on post-op significantly were higher, while BNP and LVEDD significantly was lower in the IRG than in BRG. The time to first out-of-bed activity, ICU stay time, and post-op hospital stay time of the IRG in post-op was significantly shorter than BRG. The IRG patients scored significantly higher on the SF-36. CONCLUSION: Individualized CR is safe and can reduce the time consumption and improve the cardiac function and QoL of patients undergoing CABG.

Review on recent progress in on-line monitoring technology for atmospheric pollution source emissions in China.

Emissions from mobile sources and stationary sources contribute to atmospheric pollution in China, and its components, which include ultrafine particles (UFPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other reactive gases, such as NH3 and NOx, are the most harmful to human health. China has released various regulations and standards to address pollution from mobile and stationary sources. Thus, it is urgent to develop online monitoring technology for atmospheric pollution source emissions. This study provides an overview of the main progress in mobile and stationary source monitoring technology in China and describes the comprehensive application of some typical instruments in vital areas in recent years. These instruments have been applied to monitor emissions from motor vehicles, ships, airports, the chemical industry, and electric power generation. Not only has the level of atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment been improving, but relevant regulations and standards have also been constantly updated. Meanwhile, the developed instruments can provide scientific assistance for the successful implementation of regulations. According to the potential problem areas in atmospheric pollution in China, some research hotspots and future trends of atmospheric online monitoring technology are summarized. Furthermore, more advanced atmospheric online monitoring technology will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric pollution and improve environmental monitoring capacity.

Subcutaneous power supply by NIR-II light.

Implantable medical devices are wished to be recharged via contactless power transfer technologies without interventional operations. Superior to subcutaneous power supply by visible light or electromagnetic wave, second near-infrared (NIR-II) light is predicted to possess 60 times subcutaneous power transmission but hard to be utilized. Here we report a photo-thermal-electric converter via the combination of photothermal conversion and thermoelectric conversion. It is able to generate an output power as high as 195 mW under the coverage of excised tissues, presenting advantages of non-invasion, high output power, negligible biological damage, and deep tissue penetration. As an in vivo demonstration, the output power of a packaged converter in the abdominal cavity of a rabbit reaches 20 mW under NIR-II light irradiation through the rabbit skin with a thickness of 8.5 mm. This value is high enough to recharge an implanted high-power-consumption wireless camera and transfer video signal out of body in real-time.

Vapor-Triggered Mechanical Actuation in Polymer Composite Films Based on Crystalline Organic Cages.

The fabrication of smart materials, which can efficiently mimic biological systems through the introduction of soft components, is of great importance in the emerging fields of sensors and actuators. Herein, a smart composite film that can mechanically respond to vapors trigger then readily restores its original shape upon the removal of the stimuli is reported. This actuating composite film was prepared by mixing the highly elastic poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer with the flexible and crystalline organic cages (Oba-cage) at variable concentrations. The mechanism of the mechanical response could be accurately recorded due to the ordered cage crystals. This work highlights the importance of designing smart materials at the molecular level to precisely control the response or reaction upon the introduction of different triggers, which can ultimately lead to a monumental leap in the field of soft robotics.

Sensitive detection and primary metabolism analysis of flualprazolam in blood.

Flualprazolam, a new benzodiazepine psychoactive substance recently made available online, and outside the controlled substance list, is often used by criminals for rape and robbery. In this paper, flualprazolam was successfully identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Moreover, LC-Q-TOF-MS analysis method was proposed for the determination of flualprazolam in whole blood using the rabbit perfusion model. After metabolism analysis, a monohydroxylated metabolite 3-hydroxy-flualprazolam was found in the primary mass spectrum of metabolites. Meanwhile, the time effect curve of the flualprazolam in rabbit's blood was explored and the detection window was about 36 h. Moreover, the sensitivity of the established LC-Q-TOF-MS method was investigated with the limit of detection of 0.03 ng/mL. The successful analysis of an actual forensic case with this established method suggests that it might provide a reference method for drug detection or supervision in law enforcement agencies and identification institutions.

A Controller Synthesis Method to Achieve Independent Reference Tracking Performance and Disturbance Rejection Performance.

This paper deals with the conflict between the input-output response and the disturbance-output response, which cannot be completely eliminated by traditional and advanced control strategies without using the accurate process model. The inherently close association of these two responses and the unavailability of the accurate process model pose a great challenge to field test engineers of a coal-fired power plant, that is, the design requirements of reference tracking and disturbance rejection are compromised. In this paper, a novel two-degree-of-freedom controller-feedforward compensated (FC) desired dynamic equational (DDE) proportional-integral-derivative (PID) (FC-DDE PID)-is proposed as a viable alternative. In addition to achieving independent reference tracking performance and disturbance rejection performance, its simple structure and tuning procedure are specifically appealing to practitioners. Simulations, experiments, and field tests demonstrate the advantages of the proposed controller in both reference tracking and disturbance rejection, thus making FC-DDE PID a convenient and effective controller for the control of the coal-fired power plants, readily implementable on the distributed control system (DCS).

A controller design method for high-order unstable linear time-invariant systems.

This paper deals with high-order unstable systems, which are dangerous and more difficult to control. Their presence is increasingly prevalent, posing a great challenge to both traditional PID-based industrial designs and various advanced control strategies which are difficult to implement on common industrial control platforms. In this paper, the generalized desired dynamic equational (G-DDE) PID controller, developed by authors earlier, is proposed as a viable alternative. In addition to guarantee the closed-loop stability, its simple structure and tuning procedure are specifically appealing to practitioners. Simulations and experimental results show advantages of G-DDE PID in reference tracking, disturbance rejection and robustness, thus making G-DDE PID a convenient and effective control strategy for high-order unstable systems, readily implementable on common industrial platforms.

Pillar[3]trianglamines: deeper cavity triangular macrocycles for selective hexene isomer separation.

The separation of α-olefins and their corresponding isomers continues to be a big challenge for the chemical industry due to their overlapping physical properties and low relative volatility. Herein, pillar[3]trianglamine (P-TA) macrocycles were synthesized for the molecular-sieving-like separation of 1-hexene (1-He) selectively over its positional isomer trans-3-hexene (trans-3-He) in the vapor and liquid state. This allyl-functionalized macrocycle features a deeper cavity compared to the previously reported trianglamine host molecules. Solid-vapor sorption experiments verified the successful separation of 1-He from an equimolar mixture of 1-He and trans-3-He. Single-crystal structures and powder X-ray diffraction patterns suggest that this selective adsorption arises from the formation of a thermodynamically stable host-guest complex between 1-He and P-TA. A reversible transformation between the nonporous guest-free structure and the guest-containing structure shows that 1-He separation can be carried out over multiple cycles without any loss of performance. Significantly, P-TA can separate 1-He directly from a liquid isomeric mixture and thus P-TA modified silica sieves (SBA-15) showed the ability to selectively separate 1-He when utilized as a stationary phase in column chromatography. This capitalizes on the prospects of employing macrocyclic hosts as molecular recognition units in real-life separations for sustainable and energy-efficient industrial practices.

Highly sensitive fluorescent aptasensor based on MoS2 nanosheets for one-step determination of methamphetamine.

In this work, a simple and sensitive fluorescence aptasensor based on MoS2 nanosheets (MoS2-Ns) combined with a fluorophore-labeled aptamer (aptamer-FAM) for MTA determination in one step has been described. The aptamer-FAM can be spontaneously absorbed by the surface of MoS2-Ns to form an aptamer-FAM/MoS2-Ns' sensing platform, resulting in quenching of the fluorescence of aptamer-FAM largely. However, after introducing the target MTA, the fluorescence will be restored depending on the levels of MTA added. Such an above reaction platform possesses a linear correlation of between 5 and 2400 nM, with a detection limit of 2.3 nM (S/N = 3). Moreover, the cross reactivity to ketamine, morphine and cocaine was only slightly significant. Simultaneously, the assay was also successfully applied to recognize MTA in spiked human blood and urine, as well as in the real forensic identification samples obtained from a forensic case about a MTA abuser.

Recyclable Magnetic Fluorescence Sensor Based on Fe3O4 and Carbon Dots for Detection and Purification of Methcathinone in Sewage.

Sensitive, rapid, and low-cost detection of drug traces in sewage is very important for drug monitoring and control. In this study, a dual functional and recyclable magnetic fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (MFMIPs) sensor with high sensitivity for rapid detection and purification of methcathinone in sewage was developed. MFMIPs was prepared via molecular imprinting and conjugation with carbon dots as a fluorescent reporter on Fe3O4 (Fe3O4-MIPs@CDs). With strong recognition and adsorption toward methcathinone by the specific cavities on the surface of MFMIPs, the fluorescence of the sensor could dramatically be quenched once anchored with methcathinone. Under optimal conditions, the MFMIPs sensor presented high sensitivity with a linear range of 0.5-100 nM and a detection limit of 0.2 nM, which would be used to monitor drug prevalence and consumption within a certain region. This sensor was applied to the assay of methcathinone in sewage samples collected from Yuebeiyuan, Yanghu, and Xujiahu sewage pumping stations of Yuelu District. The calculated concentrations of methcathinone were 4.80, 15.33, and 8.59 nM in sewage samples, which were in good agreement with data tested by LC-MS/MS. For another function, MFMIPs exhibited purification toward methcathinone and the adsorption capacity was about 0.27 mg/g in a real sewage sample. Moreover, the sensor could be recycled and reused at least five times with the aid of an external magnetic field. Collectively, with good analytical performance and excellent recognition and selectivity to methcathinone, the proposed sensing system based on the magnetic core and molecularly imprinted polymers would open a door to establish highly sensitive and effective sensing systems for sewage analysis and purification.

Small RNAs encoded by human endogenous retrovirus K overexpressed in PBMCs may contribute to the diagnosis and evaluation of systemic lupus erythematosus as novel biomarkers.

This study aimed to identify the genes and small RNAs (sRNAs) expressed by the human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) HML2 and their associations with the immune process of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). RNA-Seq data including 99 SLE patients and 18 controls (GSE72420) was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) as well as HML2-DEGs between SLE patients and normal controls were identified. Five HML2-DEGs involved in immune-regulating function were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis. The associations between these genes and the proportions of immune cells were determined by CIBERSORT. Ten candidate HML2-encoded sRNAs were identified based on specific criteria, and three of them were further validated in SLE patients by qRT-PCR. The diagnostic values of these three sRNAs were evaluated in SLE and lupus nephritis (LN). This study suggested that HML2 genes and their encoded sRNAs might be involved in the immune regulation and progress of SLE. These potential sRNAs might function as regulatory molecules and diagnostic biomarkers of SLE and LN.

Process optimization for fermented siwu decoction by multi-index-response surface method and exploration of the effects of fermented siwu decoction on the growth, immune response and resistance to Vibrio harveyi of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).

The purpose of this study was to explore the optimal fermentation technology of Chinese herbal medicine formula-Siwu Decoction and the effects of fermented Siwu Decoction (FSW) on the growth performance, immune response, intestinal microflora and anti microbial ability of Litopenaeus vannamei. Response to surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the fermentation process of Siwu Decoction. The optimal fermentation conditions were obtained as follows: inoculation amount of mixed strains was 4.5%, fermentation time was 36 h, and the ratio of material to liquid was 20%. A total of 1260 shrimps were selected and divided into seven groups, three in parallel in each group. The dietary level of each group was as follows: Control （No additions）, USW1 (0.2% unfermented herbal medicine), USW2 (0.5% unfermented herbal medicine), USW3 (0.8% unfermented herbal medicine), FSW1 (0.2% fermented herbal medicine), FSW2 (0.5% fermented herbal medicine), FSW3 (0.8% fermented herbal medicine). The immune response and antioxidant defense ability of hemocytes and intestine were measured at 21 and 42 days of feeding and the intestinal flora and growth performance were measured at 42 days of feeding, after that, a 7-day challenge test against Vibrio harveyi was conducted. The results showed that fermented Siwu Decoction significantly improved the growth performance and body composition of Litopenaeus vannamei; significantly increased the total number of hemocytes, phagocytic activity, antibacterial activity and bacteriolytic activity of Litopenaeus vannamei, and improved the antioxidant activity of Litopenaeus vannamei; the addition of fermented Siwu Decoction significantly increased the gene expression level of hemocytes and intestinal tract of Litopenaeus vannamei, and improved the antioxidant activity of Litopenaeus vannamei. The abundance of Bacillus increased, while the abundance of Vibrio decreased. After Vibrio harveyi challenge, the cumulative mortality of FSW group was significantly lower than that of control group. Fermented Siwu Decoction may be a potential physiological enhancer in aquaculture, and can be widely used in aquaculture.