Spatially ordered NiOOH-ZnS/CdS heterostructures with an efficient photo-carrier transmission channel for markedly improved H2 production.

Spatially-ordered 1D nanocrystal-based semiconductor nanostructures possess distinct merits for photocatalytic reaction, including large surface area, fast carrier separation, and enhanced light scattering and absorption. Nevertheless, establishing a valid photo-carrier transmission channel is still crucial yet challenging for semiconductor heterostructures to realize efficient photocatalysis. In this work, spatially ordered NiOOH-ZnS/CdS heterostructures were constructed by sequential ZnS coating and NiOOH photo-deposition on multi-armed CdS, which consists of {112̄0}-faceted wurtzite nanorods grown epitaxially on {111}-faceted zinc blende core. Intriguingly, the surface photovoltage spectroscopy and PbO2 photo-deposition results suggest that the photogenerated holes of CdS were first transferred to the Zn-vacancy level of ZnS and then to NiOOH, as driven by the built-in electric field between ZnS and CdS and the hole-extracting effect of the NiOOH cocatalyst, leading to the efficient charge separation of NiOOH-ZnS/CdS. With visible-light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation, NiOOH-ZnS/CdS exhibited a distinguished H2-evolution rate of 152.20 mmol g-1 h-1 (apparent quantum efficiency of 40.9% at 420 nm), approximately 18 folds that of 3 wt% Pt-loaded CdS and much higher than that of ZnS/CdS and NiOOH-CdS counterparts as well as the most reported CdS-containing photocatalysts. Moreover, the cycling and long-term H2 generation tests manifested the outstanding photocatalyst stability of NiOOH-ZnS/CdS. The study results presented here may propel the controllable design of highly-active nanomaterials for solar conversion and utilization.

Structural characteristics of alpha-fetoprotein, including N-glycosylation, metal ion and fatty acid binding sites.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a serum glycoprotein, is expressed during embryonic development and the pathogenesis of liver cancer. It serves as a clinical tumor marker, function as a carcinogen, immune suppressor, and transport vehicle; but the detailed AFP structural information has not yet been reported. In this study, we used single-particle cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM) to analyze the structure of the recombinant AFP obtained a 3.31 Å cryo-EM structure and built an atomic model of AFP. We observed and identified certain structural features of AFP, including N-glycosylation at Asn251, four natural fatty acids bound to distinct domains, and the coordination of metal ions by residues His22, His264, His268, and Asp280. Furthermore, we compared the structural similarities and differences between AFP and human serum albumin. The elucidation of AFP's structural characteristics not only contributes to a deeper understanding of its functional mechanisms, but also provides a structural basis for developing AFP-based drug vehicles.

Introducing Br, K, and cyano group into carbon nitride for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production then in situ tetracycline mineralization.

In this work, Br, K-doped and cyano group-rich carbon nitride (CN) were prepared via pyrolysis of molten urea and 6-Bromopyridine-3-carbaldehyde, followed by re-calcination with potassium thiocyanate. The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) evolution and in situ tetracycline (TC) mineralization performances of the prepared samples were studied. The optimal sample could produce 9127 µmol g-1 h-1 H2O2 from 10 vol% ethanol solution and air atmosphere, which was 10.9 times higher than that of pristine CN. With addition of 4 mg L-1 Fe2+ ions, 97.2% of TC (10 mg L-1) and 98.7% of total organic carbon were removed in 30 min under the actions of holes, hydroxyl and superoxide radicals. The high H2O2 yield and TC mineralization ratio were attributed to the increased light absorption, efficient electrons-holes separation, enhanced surface O2 adsorption (0.3878 mmol g-1), and accelerated conversion from Fe3+ to Fe2+ ions. Meanwhile, the system possessed good reusability in H2O2 evolution and TC removal. It is expected that this work can provide new ideas to design CN-based photo-Fenton system to treat wastewater.

Functionalized sampling swabs array-based portable ATP bioluminescence sensor with on-site enrichment and high specificity for live Salmonella detection.

Live food-borne pathogens, featured with rapid proliferative capacity and high pathogenicity, pose an emerging food safety and public health crisis. The high-sensitivity detection of pathogens is particularly imperative yet remains challenging. This work developed a functionalized nylon swab array with enhanced affinity for Salmonella typhimurium (S.T.) for high-specificity ATP bioluminescence-based S.T. detection. In brief, the nylon swabs (NyS) were turned to N-methylation nylon (NyS-OH) by reacting with formaldehyde, and NyS-OH were further converted to NyS-CA by reacting with carboxylic groups of citric acid (CA) and EDC/NHS solution, for altering the NyS surface energy to favor biomodification. The antibody-immobilized nylon swab (MNyS-Ab) was ready for S.T.-specific adsorption. Three prepared MNyS-Ab were installed on a stirrer to form an MNyS-Ab array, allowing for on-site enrichment of S.T. through absorptive extraction. The enriched S.T. was quantified by measuring the bioluminescence of ATP released from cell lysis utilizing a portable ATP bioluminescence sensor. The bioassay demonstrated a detectable range of 102-107 CFU mL-1 with a detection limit (LOD) of 8 CFU/mL within 35 min. The signal of single MNyS-Ab swabs was 500 times stronger than the direct detection of 106 CFU/mL S.T. The MNyS-Ab array exhibited a 100-fold increase in extraction level compared to a single MNyS. This combination of a portable bioluminescent sensor and modified nylon swab array offers a novel strategy for point-of-care testing of live S.T. strains. It holds promise for high-sensitivity measurements of other pathogens and viruses.

Easily applicable predictive score for MPR based on parameters before neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in operable NSCLC: a single-center, ambispective, observational study.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (NACI) is promising for resectable nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but predictive biomarkers are still lacking. The authors aimed to develop a model based on pretreatment parameters to predict major pathological response (MPR) for such an approach. METHODS: The authors enrolled operable NSCLC treated with NACI between March 2020 and May 2023 and then collected baseline clinical-pathology data and routine laboratory examinations before treatment. The efficacy and safety data of this cohort was reported and variables were screened by Logistic and Lasso regression and nomogram was developed. In addition, receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis were used to assess its power. Finally, internal cross-validation and external validation was performed to assess the power of the model. RESULTS: In total, 206 eligible patients were recruited in this study and 53.4% (110/206) patients achieved MPR. Using multivariate analysis, the predictive model was constructed by seven variables, prothrombin time (PT), neutrophil percentage (NEUT%), large platelet ratio (P-LCR), eosinophil percentage (EOS%), smoking, pathological type, and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression finally. The model had good discrimination, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.775, 0.746, and 0.835 for all datasets, cross-validation, and external validation, respectively. The calibration curves showed good consistency, and decision curve analysis indicated its potential value in clinical practice. CONCLUSION: This real world study revealed favorable efficacy in operable NSCLC treated with NACI. The proposed model based on multiple clinically accessible parameters could effectively predict MPR probability and could be a powerful tool in personalized medication.

Arterial chemotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in China: consensus recommendations.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) treatment is widely accepted as one of the alternative therapeutic modalities for HCC owing to its local control effect and low systemic toxicity. Nevertheless, although accumulating high-quality evidence has displayed the superior survival advantages of HAIC of oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin (HAIC-FOLFOX) compared with standard first-line treatment in different scenarios, the lack of standardization for HAIC procedure and remained controversy limited the proper and safe performance of HAIC treatment in HCC. Therefore, an expert consensus conference was held on March 2023 in Guangzhou, China to review current practices regarding HAIC treatment in patients with HCC and develop widely accepted statements and recommendations. In this article, the latest evidence of HAIC was systematically summarized and the final 22 expert recommendations were proposed, which incorporate the assessment of candidates for HAIC treatment, procedural technique details, therapeutic outcomes, the HAIC-related complications and corresponding treatments, and therapeutic scheme management.

Mn Doping and P Vacancy Induced Fast Phase Reconstruction of FeP for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Seawater.

Due to the shortage of pure water resources, seawater electrolysis is a promising strategy to produce green hydrogen energy. To avoid chlorine oxidation reactions (ClOR) and the production of more corrosive hypochlorite, enhancing OER electrocatalyst activity is the key to solving the above problem. Considering that transition metal phosphides (TMPs) are promising OER eletrocatalysts for seawater splitting, a method to regulate the electronic structure of FeP by introducing Mn heteroatoms and phosphorus vacancy on it (Mn-FePV ) is developed. As an OER electrocatalyst in seawater solution, the synthesized Mn-FePV achieves extremely low overpotentials (η500  = 376, η1000  = 395 mV). In addition, the Pt/C||Mn-FePV couple only requires the voltage of 1.81 V to drive the current density of 1000 mA cm-2 for overall seawater splitting. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation shows that Mn-FePV (0.21 e- ) has more charge transfer number compared with FeP (0.17 e- ). In-situ Raman analysis shows that phosphorus vacancy and Mn doping can synergistically regulate the electronic structure of FeP to induce rapid phase reconstruction, further improving the OER performance of Mn-FePV . The new phase species of FeOOH is confirmed to can enhance the adsorption kinetics of OER intermediates.

Microfluidic Chip-Based Modeling of Three-Dimensional Intestine-Vessel-Liver Interactions in Fluorotelomer Alcohol Biotransformation.

Plyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), featured with incredible persistence and chronic toxicity, poses an emerging ecological and environmental crisis. Although significant progress has been made in PFAS metabolism in vivo, the underlying mechanism of metabolically active organ interactions in PFAS bioaccumulation remains largely unknown. We developed a microfluidic-based assay to recreate the intestine-vessel-liver interface in three dimensions, allowing for high-resolution, real-time images and precise quantification of intestine-vessel-liver interactions in PFAS biotransformation. In contrast to the scattered arrangement of vascular endothelium on the traditional d-polylysine-modified two-dimensional (2D) plate, the microtubules in our three-dimensional (3D) platform formed a dense honeycomb network through the ECM, with longer tubular structures. Additionally, the slope culture of epithelial cells in our platform exhibited a closely arranged and thicker cell layer than the planar culture. To dynamically monitor the metabolic crosstalk in the intestinal-vascular endothelium-liver interaction under exposure to fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), we combined the chip with a solid-phase extraction-mass spectrometry (SPE-MS) system. Our findings revealed that endothelial cells were involved in the metabolic process of FTOHs. The transformation of intestinal epithelial and hepatic epithelial cells produces toxic metabolite fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (FTCAs), which circulate to endothelial cells and affect angiogenesis. This system shows promise as an enhanced surrogate model and platform for studying pollutant exposure as well as for biomedical and pharmaceutical research.

Nanozyme-Mediated Catalytic Signal Amplification for Microfluidic Biosensing of Foodborne Bacteria.

Early detection of foodborne bacteria is urgently needed to ensure food quality and to avoid the outbreak of foodborne bacterial diseases. Here, a kind of metal-organic framework (Zr-MOF) modified with Pt nanoparticles (Pt-PCN-224) was designed as a peroxidase-like signal amplifier for microfluidic biosensing of foodborne bacteria. Taking Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 as a model, a linear range from 2.93 × 102 to 2.93 × 108 CFU/mL and a limit of detection of 2 CFU/mL were obtained. The whole detection procedure was integrated into a single microfluidic chip. Water, milk, and cabbage samples were successfully detected, showing consistency with the results of the standard culture method. Recoveries were in the range from 90 to 110% in spiked testing. The proposed microfluidic biosensor realized the specific and sensitive detection of E. coli O157:H7 within 1 h, implying broad prospects of MOF with biomimetic enzyme activities for biosensing.

Portable Biosensor with Bimetallic Metal-Organic Frameworks for Visual Detection and Elimination of Bacteria.

A multifunctional platform that meets the demands of both bacterial detection and elimination is urgently needed because of their harm to human health. Herein, a "sense-and-treat" biosensor was developed by using immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) and AgPt nanoparticle-decorated PCN-223-Fe (AgPt/PCN-223-Fe, PCN stands for porous coordination network) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The synthesized AgPt/PCN-223-Fe not only exhibited excellent peroxidase-like activity but also could efficiently kill bacteria under near infrared (NIR) irradiation. This biosensor enabled the colorimetric detection of E. coli O157:H7 in the range of 103-108 CFU/mL with a limit of detection of 276 CFU/mL, accompanied with high selectivity, good reproducibility, and wide applicability in diverse real samples. Furthermore, the biosensor possessed a highly effective antibacterial rate of 99.94% against E. coli O157:H7 under 808 nm light irradiation for 20 min. This strategy can provide a reference for the design of novel versatile biosensors for bacterial discrimination and antibacterial applications.

Nickel hydroxide-decorating potassium-doped graphitic carbon nitride for boosting photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction.

In this study, nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) was employed to modify potassium (K)-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4, CN) for enhancing photocatalytic CO2 reduction. The light absorption and charge separation performances of CN were enhanced after modification. Experiments and theoretical calculations indicated that the loaded Ni(OH)2 could gather electrons, facilitate adsorption and activation of CO2. The optimized photocatalyst exhibited high CO2 reductive rate with CO and CH4 yields of 42.6 and 3.5 µmol g-1, respectively after 3 h irradiation in the presence of 0.5 mL water, which was 1.4 and 4.6 times higher than the yields on K-doped CN and Ni(OH)2-decorated CN, respectively. This work provides new thought for enhancing CO2 reductive performance of CN.

Glucose metabolism reprogramming promotes immune escape of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a complex process that plays an important role in its progression. Abnormal glucose metabolism in HCC cells can meet the nutrients required for the occurrence and development of liver cancer, better adapt to changes in the surrounding microenvironment, and escape the attack of the immune system on the tumor. There is a close relationship between reprogramming of glucose metabolism and immune escape. This article reviews the current status and progress of glucose metabolism reprogramming in promoting immune escape in liver cancer, aiming to provide new strategies for clinical immunotherapy of liver cancer.

A genetic glimpse of the Chinese straight-tusked elephants.

Straight-tusked elephants (genus: Palaeoloxodon) including their island dwarf forms are extinct enigmatic members of the Pleistocene megafauna and the most common Pleistocene elephants after the mammoths. Their taxonomic placement has been revised several times. Using palaeogenomic evidence, previous studies suggested that the European P. antiquus has a hybrid origin, but no molecular data have been retrieved from their Asian counterparts, leaving a gap in our knowledge of the global phylogeography and population dynamics of Palaeoloxodon. Here, we captured a high-quality complete mitogenome from a Pleistocene Elephantidae molar (CADG841) from Northern China, which was previously morphologically assigned to the genus Elephas (Asian elephant), and partial mitochondrial sequences (838 bp) of another Palaeoloxodon sp. specimen (CADG1074) from Northeastern China. We found that both Chinese specimens cluster with a 244 000-year-old P. antiquus (specimen name: WE) from Western Europe, suggesting that this clade may represent a population with a large spatial span across Eurasia. Based on the fossil record and the molecular dating of both the divergences of different Palaeoloxodon mitochondrial clades and previously determined hybridization events, we propose that this Eurasian-wide WE clade provides evidence for an earlier migration and/or another hybridization event that happened in the evolutionary history of straight-tusked elephants.

In situ investigation of detoxification and metabolic effects of polyfluoroalkyl substances on metal-organic frameworks combined with cell-cultured microfluidics.

Over 9000 types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been produced that exhibit environmental persistence, bioaccumulation and biotoxicity, and pose a potential hazard to human health. Although metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising structure-based materials for adsorbing PFASs, the enormous structural diversity and variability of the pharmacologic action of PFASs present challenges to the development of structure-based adsorbents. To address this issue, we propose an in situ platform for the high-throughput identification of efficient MOF sorbents that can adsorb PFASs and their metabolism using a filter-chip-solid phase extraction-mass spectrometry (SPE-MS) system. As a proof of concept, we screened BUT-16 as an attractive material for in situ fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) adsorption. The results demonstrated that FTOH molecules were adsorbed around the surface of the large hexagonal pores of BUT-16 by forming multiple hydrogen bonding interactions with its Zr6 clusters. The FTOH removal efficiency of the BUT16 filter was 100% over a period of 1 min. To determine the FTOH metabolism effects in different organs, HepG2 human hepatoma, HCT116 colon cancer, renal tubular HKC, and vascular endothelial HUVEC cells were cultured on a microfluidic chip, and SPE-MS was used to track a variety of cell metabolites in real time. Overall, the filter-Chip-SPE-MS system is a versatile and robust platform for the real-time monitoring of noxious pollutant detoxification, biotransformation, and metabolism, which facilitates pollutant antidote development and toxicology assay.

Integrative pan-cancer analysis reveals the importance of PAQR family in lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The progestin and adipoQ receptors (PAQRs) family contains 11 genes involved in the regulation of metabolism and cancer development. However, a comprehensive understanding of the role of PAQRs in cancer remains largely scarce, and the associations between their expression levels and immune signatures also need to be researched. METHODS: Here, we applied pan-cancer analysis to explore the associations between PAQRs expression and survival, tumor microenvironment (TME), and drug sensitivity from the UCSC Xena and CellMiner databases. Besides, we further studied the expression, survival and somatic mutations of PAQRs in lung cancer (LC) from TCGA database. RESULTS: The results showed that PAQRs had significant heterogeneity with some upregulation and some downregulation in most tumors. Specifically, compared with PAQR3/5/6/9 and MMD2, ADIPOR1/2, PAQR4/7/8 and MMD had higher levels of average expression in all tumor types. PAQRs expression was greatly correlated with survival, immune subtypes, TME, and drug sensitivity. Furthermore, this research concentrated on analyzing the relationship of PAQRs expression with LC prognosis, and proved that ADIPOR2, PAQR4/9 and MMD were independent prognostic factors for LC patients. Finally, based on somatic mutation data, the genetic mutations in LC patients were majorly missense mutations, and TP53 and TTN had the top two highest mutation frequencies. CONCLUSION: Collectively, PAQRs may serve as robust biomarkers to predict the prognosis and guide immunotherapy of tumors, especially LC, which enables novel ways for improving cancer treatment.

Anlotinib Combined With Toripalimab as First-Line Therapy for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Prospective, Multicenter, Phase II Study.

BACKGROUND: For patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the first-line therapeutic options are still relatively limited, and treatment outcomes remain poor. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of anlotinib combined with toripalimab as first-line therapy for unresectable HCC. METHODS: In this single-arm, multicenter, phase II study (ALTER-H-003), patients with advanced HCC without previous systemic anticancer therapy were recruited. Eligible patients were given anlotinib (12 mg on days 1-14) combined with toripalimab (240 mg on day 1) in a 3-week cycle. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) by immune-related Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (irRECIST)/RECIST v1.1 and modified RECIST (mRECIST). Secondary endpoints included disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. RESULTS: Between January 2020 and Jul 2021, 31 eligible patients were treated and included in the full analysis set. At data cutoff (January 10, 2023), the ORR was 29.0% (95% CI: 12.1%-46.0%) by irRECIST/RECIST v1.1, and 32.3% (95% CI: 14.8%-49.7%) by mRECIST criteria, respectively. Confirmed DCR and median DoR by irRECIST/RECIST v1.1 and mRECIST criteria were 77.4 % (95% CI: 61.8%-93.0%) and not reached (range: 3.0-22.5+ months), respectively. Median PFS was 11.0 months (95% CI: 3.4-18.5 months) and median OS was 18.2 months (95% CI: 15.8-20.5 months). Of the 31 patients assessed for adverse events (AEs), the most common grade ≥ 3 treatment-related AEs were hand-foot syndrome (9.7%, 3/31), hypertension (9.7%, 3/31), arthralgia (9.7%, 3/31), abnormal liver function (6.5%, 2/31), and decreased neutrophil counts (6.5%, 2/31). CONCLUSIONS: Anlotinib combined with toripalimab showed promising efficacy and manageable safety in Chinese patients with unresectable HCC in the first-line setting. This combination therapy may offer a potential new therapeutic approach for patients with unresectable HCC.

Ancient Mitogenomes Reveal Stable Genetic Continuity of the Holocene Serows.

As one of the remaining species of Caprinae only found in Asia, serows (Capricornis) and their classification and conservation have received increasing attention in recent years. However, their evolutionary history and population dynamics are not yet clear. To shed light on these topics, we report the first near-complete ancient mitochondrial genomes from two serow sub-fossils (CADG839 and CADG946) dating to 8860 ± 30 years and 2450 ± 30 years, and incorporate the newly obtained mitogenomes into the dataset of living serows (18 complete mitochondrial genomes drawn from National Center for Biotechnology Information, NCBI) to investigate their relationships and evolution. Phylogenetic results support four clades of serows that can be further divided into five subclades, indicating higher genetic diversity than previously thought. Notably, our two ancient samples do not form a separate branch but belong to Capricornis sumatraensis clade A together with modern individuals, which suggests genetic continuity between ancient and modern serows. Furthermore, our results suggest that the maternal divergences of serows occurred at the beginning of the Pleistocene. Bayesian estimation indicates that the first divergence among all serows happened approximately 2.37 Ma (95% highest posterior density, HPD: 2.74-2.02 Ma) when Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) appeared, while the last divergence occurred within the Sumatran serow (C. sumatraensis clade A and B) around 0.37-0.25 Ma. Additionally, we found the effective maternal population size of C. sumatraensis increased around 225-160 and 90-50 ka, then remained stable since 50 ka. Overall, our study provides new insights into serow phylogeny and evolutionary history.

Multicompartmental Hydrogel Microspheres as a Tool for Multicomponent Analysis.

Developing advanced tools for multicomponent analysis is an open challenge in engineering and life science. Herein, multicompartmental hydrogel microspheres with multi-material compatibility and structural scalability are developed as a tool for multicomponent analysis at a single-particle level. Microfluidic technology endows particles with adjustable sizes and super-segmented layouts that can be used to load various analyte probes. In order to perform multicomponent analysis, these microspheres are structurally divided into identifier regions for indicating reading direction and analyte regions for detecting target molecules. The multiplex detection ability of these particles is demonstrated in microRNA bioassays with high specificity and sensitivity. The multi-target analysis is performed on a single-particle level, and the bioassay is free of conventional labeling interference. We expect these particles to reach their potential in clinical diagnostics.

Diode-pumped mode-locked Yb:Sc2SiO5 laser generating 38 fs pulses.

We report on sub-40 fs pulse generation from a Yb:Sc2SiO5 laser pumped by a spatially single-mode fiber-coupled laser diode at 976 nm. A maximum output power of 545 mW was obtained at 1062.6 nm in the continuous-wave regime, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 64% and a laser threshold of 143 mW. A continuous wavelength tuning across 80 nm (1030 -1110 nm) was also achieved. Implementing a SESAM for starting and stabilizing the mode-locked operation, the Yb:Sc2SiO5 laser delivered soliton pulses as short as 38 fs at 1069.5 nm with an average output power of 76 mW at a pulse repetition rate of ∼79.8 MHz. The maximum output power was scaled to 216 mW for slightly longer pulses of 42 fs, which corresponded to a peak power of 56.6 kW and an optical efficiency of 22.7%. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the shortest pulses ever achieved with any Yb3+-doped rare-earth oxyorthosilicate crystal.

56-fs diode-pumped SESAM mode-locked Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 laser.

We report on the first sub-60 fs pulse generated from a diode-pumped SESAM mode-locked Yb-laser based on a non-centrosymmetric Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 crystal as a gain medium. In the continuous-wave regime, pumping with a spatially single-mode, fiber-coupled 976 nm InGaAs laser diode, the Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 laser generated 391 mW at 1041.7 nm with a slope efficiency as high as 65.1%, and a wavelength tuning across 59 nm (1019 to 1078 nm) was achieved. By implementing a commercial SESAM to initiate and sustain the soliton type mode-locking, and using only a 1 mm-thick laser crystal, the Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 laser delivered pulses as short as 56 fs at a central wavelength of 1044.6 nm with an average output power of 76 mW at a pulse repetition rate of ∼67.55 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this result represents the shortest pulses ever achieved from Yb:YAB crystal.