A novel microfluidic chip integrated with Pt micro-thermometer for temperature measurement at the single-cell level.

Noninvasive and sensitive thermometry of a single cell during the normal physiological process is crucial for analyzing fundamental cellular metabolism and applications to cancer treatment. However, current thermometers generally sense the average temperature variation for many cells, thereby failing to obtain real-time and continuous data of an individual cell. In this study, we employed platinum (Pt) electrodes to construct an integrated microfluidic chip as a single-cell thermometer. The single-cell isolation unit in the microchip consisted of a main channel, which was connected to the inlet and outlet of a single-cell capture funnel. A single cell can be trapped in the funnel and the remaining cells can bypass and flow along the main channel to the outlet. The best capture ratio of a single MCF7 cell at a single-cell isolation unit was 90 % under optimal condition. The thermometer in the micro-chip had a temperature resolution of 0.007 °C and showed a good linear relationship in the range of 20-40 °C (R2 = 0.9999). Slight temperature increment of different single tumor cell (MCF7 cell, H1975 cell, and HepG2 cell) cultured on the chip was continuously recorded under normal physiological condition. In addition, the temperature variation of single MCF7 cell in-situ after exposure to a stimulus (4 % paraformaldehyde treatment) was also monitored, showing an amplitude of temperature fluctuations gradually decreased over time. Taken together, this integrated microchip is a practical tool for detecting the change in the temperature of a single cell in real-time, thereby offering valuable information for the drug screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Optimizing Driving Parameters of the Jumbo Drill Efficiently with XGBoost-DRWIACO Framework: Applied to Increase the Feed Speed.

The jumbo drill is a commonly used driving equipment in tunnel engineering. One of the key decision-making issues for reducing tunnel construction costs is to optimize the main driving parameters to increase the feed speed of the jumbo drill. The optimization of the driving parameters is supposed to meet the requirements of high reliability and efficiency due to the high risk and complex working conditions in tunnel engineering. The flaws of the existing optimization algorithms for driving parameter optimization lie in the low accuracy of the evaluation functions under complex working conditions and the low efficiency of the algorithms. To address the above problems, a driving parameter optimization method based on the XGBoost-DRWIACO framework with high accuracy and efficiency is proposed. A data-driven prediction model for feed speed based on XGBoost is established as the evaluation function, which has high accuracy under complex working conditions and ensures the high reliability of the optimized results. Meanwhile, an improved ant colony algorithm based on dimension reduction while iterating strategy (DRWIACO) is proposed. DRWIACO is supposed to improve efficiency by resolving inefficient iterations of the ant colony algorithm (ACO), which is manifested as falling into local optimum, converging slowly and converging with a slight fluctuation in a certain dimension. Experimental results show that the error by the proposed framework is less than 10%, and the efficiency is increased by over 30% compared with the comparison methods, which meets the requirements of high reliability and efficiency for tunnel construction. More importantly, the construction cost is reduced by 19% compared with the actual feed speed, which improves the economic benefits.

Ox-LDL promotes M1-like polarization of macrophages through the miR-21-5p/SKP2/EP300 pathway.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) mediated inflammatory damage, which possibly induces atherosclerosis (AS); however, the role of miRNA in this process has rarely been reported. In this paper, we study the ox-LDL-related endothelial cell damage and changes of macrophages. The bioinformatics method was used to analyze the expression changes of miRNA in AS patients, luciferase assay was used to study the interaction of protein and miRNA, and co-IP and ubiquitination experiments were used to analyze protein interaction. Flow cytometry was used to detect the polarization of macrophages. Database analysis showed that the expression of miR-21-5p was upregulated in AS patients. Luciferase assay showed that miR-21-5p can bind to SKP2 and subsequently influence ubiquitination of EP300. Overexpression of EP300 strengthens the HMGB1-induced acetylation and subsequently mediates the dissociation of HMGB1 from SIRT1, and thus HMGB1 could be secreted outside the cell. The HMGB1 released from endothelial cells can promote macrophage M1 polarization. This study shows that ox-LDL activates the SKP2/EP300 pathway through promoting upregulation of miR-21-5p, thereby acetylating and secreting HMGB1 outside the endothelium, subsequently enhancing macrophage polarization to further stabilize the inflammation situation.

Interfacial Self-Assembly of Surfactant-Free Au Nanoparticles as a Clean Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrate for Quantitative Detection of As5+ in Combination with Convolutional Neural Networks.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a highly sensitive tool in the field of environmental testing. However, the detection and accurate quantification of weakly adsorbed molecules (such as heavy metal ions) remain a challenge. Herein, we combine clean SERS substrates capable of capturing heavy metal ions with convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm models for quantitative detection of heavy metal ions in solution. The SERS substrate consists of surfactant-free Au nanoparticles (NPs) and l-cysteine molecules. As plasmonic nanobuilt blocks, surfactant-free Au NPs without physical or chemical barriers are more accessible to target molecules. The amino and carboxyl groups in the l-cysteine molecule can chelate As5+ ions. The CNN algorithm model is applied to quantify and predict the concentration of As5+ ions in samples. The results demonstrated that this strategy allows for fast and accurate prediction of As5+ ion concentrations, and the determination coefficient between the predicted and actual values is as high as 0.991.

Wide-coverage and Efficient NIR Emission from Single-component Nanophosphors through Shaping Multiple Metal-halide Packages.

Wide-coverage near infrared (NIR) phosphor-converted LEDs possess promising potential for practical applications, but little is developed towards the efficient and wide-coverage NIR phosphors. Here, we report the single-component lanthanide (Ln3+ ) ions doped Cs2 M(In0.95 Sb0.05 )Cl6 (M=alkali metal) nanocrystals (NCs), exhibiting emission from 850 to 1650 nm with high photoluminescence quantum yield of 20.3 %, which is accomplished by shaping the multiple metal halide octahedra of double perovskite via the simple alkali metal substitution. From Judd-Ofelt theoretical calculation and spectroscopic investigations, the shaping of metal halide octahedra in Cs2 M(In1-x Sbx )Cl6 NCs can break the forbidden of f-f transition of Ln3+ , thus increasing their radiative transition rates and simultaneously boosting the energy transfer efficiency from host to Ln3+ . Finally, the wide-coverage NIR LEDs based on Sm3+ , Nd3+ , Er3+ -tridoped Cs2 K0.5 Rb0.5 (In0.95 Sb0.05 )Cl6 NCs are fabricated and employed in the multiplex gas sensing and night-vision application.

Metalens for generating multi-channel polarization-wavelength multiplexing metasurface holograms.

We demonstrate multi-channel metasurface holograms, where the pixels of holographic images are represented by the focal points of metalens, leading to the nanoscale resolution. The required phase profiles are implemented by elaborately arranging the hybrid all-dielectric meta-atoms with specific orientation angles. For verification, two-channel single-color images are reconstructed on the focal plane of the metalens by polarization control. Alternatively, three-channel color holograms are exhibited by manipulating the incident wavelengths. More uniquely, the metalens can be further engineered to generate polarization-wavelength multiplexing color holograms in six channels. Our work provides an effective approach to reconstructing holographic images and enables potential applications including color display, information engineering, and optical encryption.

Ultra-thin 2-bit anisotropic Huygens coding metasurface for terahertz wave manipulation.

In this work, we design an ultrathin 2-bit anisotropic Huygens coding metasurface (AHCM) composed by bilayer metallic square-ring structures for flexible manipulation of the terahertz wave. Based on the polarized-dependent components of electric surface admittance and magnetic surface impedance, we confirm that both the electric and magnetic resonances on coding meta-atoms are excited, so as to provide a full phase coverage and significantly low reflection. By encoding the elements with distinct coding sequences, the x- and y-polarized incident waves are anomalously refracted into opposite directions. More uniquely, we also demonstrate that the designed AHCM can be utilized as a transmission-type quarter-wave plate. The proposed metasurface paves a new way toward multifunctional terahertz wavefront manipulation.

Aligned Plasmonic Antenna and Upconversion Nanoparticles toward Polarization-Sensitive Narrowband Photodetection and Imaging at 1550 nm.

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are rising as prospect nanomaterials for constructing polarization-sensitive narrowband near-infrared (NIR) photodetectors (PDs), which have attracted significant interest in astronomy, object identification, and remote sensing. However, polarized narrowband NIR photodetection and imaging based on UCNPs have yet to be realized. Herein, we demonstrate that NIR photodetection and imaging are capable of sensing polarized light as well as affording wavelength-selective detection at 1550 nm by integrating directional-Au@Ag nanorods (D-Au@Ag NRs) with NaYF4:Er3+@NaYF4 UCNPs. Monolayer and large-area D-Au@Ag NRs polarization-sensitive plasmonic antenna films are obtained, and the center of their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak is located at around 1550 nm. Experimental and theoretical results reveal that D-Au@Ag NRs have a sharp localized LSPR peak with a dominant scattering cross section. The UCNPs coupled with D-Au@Ag NRs exhibit significantly enhanced and strongly polarization-dependent luminescence with a high degree of polarization (DOP) of 0.72. The first polarization-resolved UC narrowband PD at 1550 nm is achieved, which delivers a DOP of 0.63, a detectivity of 1.69 × 1010 Jones, and a responsivity of 0.32 A/W. Finally, we develop a polarized imaging system for 1550 nm with visual photoelectric detection based on the aforementioned PDs. Our work opens up possibilities for manipulating UC and developing next-generation polarization-sensitive narrowband infrared photodetection and imaging technology.

Machine Learning-Driven 3D Plasmonic Cavity-in-Cavity Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Platform with Triple Synergistic Enhancement Toward Label-Free Detection of Antibiotics in Milk.

The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique with ultrahigh sensitivity has gained attention to meet the increasing demands for food safety analysis. The integration of machine learning and SERS facilitates the practical applicability of sensing devices. In this study, a machine learning-driven 3D plasmonic cavity-in-cavity (CIC) SERS platform is proposed for sensitive and quantitative detection of antibiotics. The platform is prepared by transferring truncated concave nanocubes (NCs) to an obconical-shaped template surface. Owing to the triple synergistic enhancement effect, the highly ordered 3D CIC arrays improve the simulated electromagnetic field intensity and experimental SERS activity, demonstrating a 33.1-fold enhancement compared to a typical system consisting of Au NCs deposited on a flat substrate. The integration of machine learning and Raman spectroscopy eliminates subjective judgments on the concentration of detectors using a single feature peak and achieves accurate identification. The machine learning-driven CIC SERS platform is capable of detecting ampicillin traces in milk with a detection limit of 0.1 ppm, facilitating quantitative analysis of different concentrations of ampicillin. Therefore, the proposed platform has potential applications in food safety monitoring, health care, and environmental sampling.

Environmentally Responsive Intelligent Dynamic Water Collector.

Collecting water from fog flow is emerging as a promising solution to the water shortage problem. This work demonstrated a novel environmentally responsive water collector made from a self-prepared Janus polyvinyl alcohol sponge in combination with a two-way shape memory alloy spring, which transforms the traditional manner of static water collection into a dynamic one. The unidirectional water transport of the Janus structure together with the dynamic collection approach correspond to a 30.8% increase in the water-collection rate (WCR). The resultant WCR is up to 5.1 g/h, which ranks relatively high compared to similar studies. The light- and thermal-response capability, easy fabrication, and good cycling performance indicate that our devices could be utilized in a variety of applications. In this work, an efficient, intelligent adaptive, simple-preparation, precision-guided, and economical fog-collecting devices are recommended. Our work provides new insights on the design of high-efficient water collectors with practicability.

Knockdown circ_0040414 inhibits inflammation, apoptosis and promotes the proliferation of cardiomyocytes via miR-186-5p/PTEN/AKT axis in chronic heart failure.

Previous studies have shown that circ_0040414 is highly expressed in the blood of patients with heart failure (HF), which suggests that circ_0040414 is associated with heart failure (HF). However, the functional involvement of circ_0040414 in HF and its potential mechanism remains unclear. Consistent with previous studies, our study showed that the expression of circ_0040414 in the peripheral blood of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) was significantly higher than that of healthy control, which indicated that circ_0040414 could be used as a diagnostic biomarker in patients with CHF. In cardiomyocytes, circ_0040414 increased the level of proapoptotic proteins Bax, cleaved-caspase 3 and reduced the expression of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. It also promoted inflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-ß, but inhibited cell proliferation. In terms of mechanism, circ_0040414 upregulated the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) through sponging miR-186-5p to inhibit AKT signaling activity. Our study uncovered a novel role and the mechanism of circ_0040414 in controlling CHF, enriched the molecular regulatory network in CHF, and may provide a possible strategy for the treatment of CHF.

Lead-Free Halide Perovskites for Light Emission: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

Lead-based halide perovskites have received great attention in light-emitting applications due to their excellent properties, including high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), tunable emission wavelength, and facile solution preparation. In spite of excellent characteristics, the presence of toxic element lead directly obstructs their further commercial development. Hence, exploiting lead-free halide perovskite materials with superior properties is urgent and necessary. In this review, the deep-seated reasons that benefit light emission for halide perovskites, which help to develop lead-free halide perovskites with excellent performance, are first emphasized. Recent advances in lead-free halide perovskite materials (single crystals, thin films, and nanocrystals with different dimensionalities) from synthesis, crystal structures, optical and optoelectronic properties to applications are then systematically summarized. In particular, phosphor-converted LEDs and electroluminescent LEDs using lead-free halide perovskites are fully examined. Ultimately, based on current development of lead-free halide perovskites, the future directions of lead-free halide perovskites in terms of materials and light-emitting devices are discussed.

Peroxo Species Formed in the Bulk of Silicate Cathodes.

Oxygen redox in Li-rich oxides may boost the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by incorporating oxygen chemistry in solid cathodes. However, oxygen redox in the bulk usually entangles with voltage hysteresis and oxygen release, resulting in a prolonged controversy in literature on oxygen transformation. Here, we report spectroscopic evidence of peroxo species formed and confined in silicate cathodes amid oxygen redox at high voltage, accompanied by Co2+ /Co3+ redox dominant at low voltage. First-principles calculations reveal that localized electrons on dangling oxygen drive the O-O dimerization. The covalence between the binding cation and the O-O dimer determines the degree of electron transfer in oxygen transformation. Dimerization induces irreversible structural distortion and slow kinetics. But peroxo formation can minimize the voltage drop and volume expansion in cumulative cationic and anionic redox. These findings offer insights into oxygen redox in the bulk for the rational design of high-energy-density cathodes.

Discrimination of enantiomers through quantum interference and quantum Zeno effect.

Quantum optical methods have great potential for highly efficient discrimination of chiral molecules. We propose quantum interference-based schemes of enantio-discrimination under microwave regime among molecular rotational states. The quantum interference between field-driven one- and two-photon transitions of two higher states is designed to be constructive for one enantiomer but destructive for the other, since a certain transition dipole moment can be set to change sign with enantiomers. Therefore, two enantiomers can evolve into entirely different states from the same ground state. Through strengthening the constructive interference, the quantum Zeno effect is found in one enantiomer and then its excitation is suppressed, which also enables the enantio-discrimination. We simulate the schemes for differentiating between S and R enantiomers of 1, 2-propanediol (C3H8O2) molecules. With the analysis of the phase sensitivity to microwave fields and the effect of energy relaxations, the highly efficient enantio-discrimination of the 1, 2-propanediol molecules may be achieved.

Bright CsPbI3 Perovskite Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes with Top-Emitting Structure and a Low Efficiency Roll-Off Realized by Applying Zirconium Acetylacetonate Surface Modification.

Zirconium acetylacetonate used as a co-precursor in the synthesis of CsPbI3 quantum dots (QDs) increased their photoluminescence quantum efficiency to values over 90%. The top-emitting device structure on a Si substrate with high thermal conductivity (to better dissipate Joule heat generated at high current density) was designed to improve the light extraction efficiency making use of a strong microcavity resonance between the bottom and top electrodes. As a result of these improvements, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) utilizing Zr-modified CsPbI3 QDs with an electroluminescence at 686 nm showed external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 13.7% at a current density of 108 mA cm-2, which was combined with low efficiency roll-off (maintaining an EQE of 12.5% at a high current density of 500 mA cm-2) and a high luminance of 14 725 cd m-2, and the stability of the devices being repeatedly lit (cycled on and off at high drive current density) has been greatly enhanced.

Multi-qubit phase gate on multiple resonators mediated by a superconducting bus.

We propose a one-step scheme for implementing multi-qubit phase gates on microwave photons in multiple resonators mediated by a superconducting bus in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) system. In the scheme, multiple single-mode resonators carry quantum information with their vacuum and single-photon Fock states, and a multi-level artificial atom acts as a quantum bus which induces the indirect interaction among resonators. The method of pulse engineering is used to shape the coupling strength between resonators and the bus so as to improve the fidelity and robustness of the scheme. We also discuss the influence of finite coherence time for the bus and resonators on gate fidelity respectively. Finally, we consider the suppression of unwanted transitions and propose the method of optimized detuning compensation for offsetting unwanted transitions, showing the feasibility of the scheme within the current experiment technology.

Effective Rabi dynamics of Rydberg atoms and robust high-fidelity quantum gates with a resonant amplitude-modulation field.

With a resonant amplitude-modulation field on two Rydberg atoms, we propose a Rydberg antiblockade (RAB) regime, where the Rabi oscillation between collective ground and excited states is induced. A controlled-Z gate can be yielded through a Rabi cycle. Further, several common issues of the RAB gates are solved by modifying the parameter relation. The gate fidelity and gate robustness against the control error are enhanced with a shaped pulse. The requirement of control precision of the Rydberg-Rydberg interaction strength is relaxed. In addition, the atomic excitation is restrained and therefore the gate robustness against atomic decay is enhanced.

ZnO-Ti3 C2 MXene Electron Transport Layer for High External Quantum Efficiency Perovskite Nanocrystal Light-Emitting Diodes.

2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides called MXenes show outstanding performance in many applications due to their superior physical and chemical properties. Herein, a ZnO-MXene mixture with different contents of Ti3 C2 is applied as electron transport layers (ETLs) and the influence of the Ti3 C2 MXene in all-inorganic metal halide perovskite nanocrystal light-emitting diodes (perovskite NC LEDs) is explored. The addition of Ti3 C2 makes more balanced charge carrier transport in LEDs by changing the energy level structure and electron mobility of ETL. Moreover, lower surface roughness is obtained for the ETL, thus guaranteeing uniform distribution of the perovskite NCs layer and further reducing leakage current. As a result, a 17.4% external quantum efficiency (EQE) with low efficiency roll-off is achieved with 10% Ti3 C2 , which is a 22.5% improvement compared to LEDs without Ti3 C2 .

Oxalic Acid Enabled Emission Enhancement and Continuous Extraction of Chloride from Cesium Lead Chloride/Bromide Perovskite Nanocrystals.

All-inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have demonstrated excellent optical properties and an encouraging potential for optoelectronic applications; however, mixed-halide perovskites, especially CsPb(Cl/Br)3 NCs, still show lower photoluminescence quantum yields (PL QY) than the corresponding single-halide materials. Herein, anhydrous oxalic acid is used to post-treat CsPb(Cl/Br)3 NCs in order to initially remove surface defects and halide vacancies, and thus, to improve their PL QY from 11% to 89% for the emission of 451 nm. Furthermore, due to the continuous chelating reaction with the oxalate ion, chloride anions from the mixed-halide CsPb(Cl/Br)3 perovskite NCs could be extracted, and green emitting CsPbBr3 NCs with PL QY of 85% at 511 nm emission are obtained. Besides being useful to improve the emission of CsPb(Cl/Br)3 NCs, the oxalic acid treatment strategy introduced here provides a further tool to adjust the distribution of halide anions in mixed-halide perovskites without using any halide additives.

MicroRNA-374a protects against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice by targeting the MAPK6 pathway.

AIMS: Clinical treatment strategies for patients with myocardial ischemia typically include coronary artery recanalization to restore myocardial blood supply. However, myocardial reperfusion insult often induces oxidative stress and inflammation, which further leads to apoptosis and necrosis of myocardial cells. Increasing evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in the pathological and physiological processes associated with myocardial ischemia reperfusion. MAIN METHODS: In this study, we established a myocardial H/R H9C2 cell model and a mouse I/R model to detect molecules implicated in myocardial I/R regulation and to determine the underlying signal transduction pathways. KEY FINDINGS: Herein, we showed that the expression of miR-374a-5p decreased in a myocardial cell model (H9C2 cells) of hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) and mouse model of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Alternatively, overexpression of miR-374a-5p was found to ameliorate myocardial cell damage within both in vivo and in vitro models of ischemia. Further, mitogen-activated protein kinase 6 (MAPK6) was identified as a direct target of miR-374a-5p. Thus, by targeting MAPK6, miR-374a-5p was found to negatively regulate MAPK6 expression. However, up-regulation of MAPK6 functioned to inhibit the previously observed protective effect of miR-374a-5p in the H9C2 H/R model. SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, our study suggests that miR-374a-5p may have protective effects against cardiac I/R injury in vivo, and H/R injury in vitro, thereby providing novel insights into the molecular mechanisms associated with ischemia/reperfusion injury and a potential novel therapeutic target.