Microarrow sensor array with enhanced skin adhesion for transdermal continuous monitoring of glucose and reactive oxygen species

Conventional blood sampling for glucose detection is prone to cause pain and fails to continuously record glucose fluctuations in vivo.Continuous glucose monitoring based on implantable electrodes could induce pain and potential tissue inflammation,and the presence of reactive oxygen species(ROS)due to inflammationmay affect glucose detection.Microneedle technology is less invasive,yet microneedle adhesion with skin tissue is limited.In this work,we developed a microarrow sensor array(MASA),which provided enhanced skin surface adhesion and enabled simultaneous detection of glucose and H_(2)O_(2)(representative of ROS)in interstitial fluid in vivo.The microarrows fabricated via laser micromachining were modified with functional coating and integrated into a patch of a three-dimensional(3D)microneedle array.Due to the arrow tip mechanically interlocking with the tissue,the microarrow array could better adhere to the skin surface after penetration into skin.The MASA was demonstrated to provide continuous in vivo monitoring of glucose and H_(2)O_(2) concentrations,with the detection of H_(2)O_(2) providing a valuable reference for assessing the inflammation state.Finally,the MASA was integrated into a monitoring system using custom circuitry.This work provides a promising tool for the stable and reliable monitoring of blood glucose in diabetic patients.

Two Monte Carlo-based simulators for imaging-system modeling and projection simulation of flat-panel X-ray source

The advantages of a flat-panel X-ray source(FPXS)make it a promising candidate for imaging applications.Accurate imaging-system modeling and projection simulation are critical for analyzing imaging performance and resolving overlapping projection issues in FPXS.The conventional analytical ray-tracing approach is limited by the number of patterns and is not applicable to FPXS-projection calculations.However,the computation time of Monte Carlo(MC)simulation is independent of the size of the patterned arrays in FPXS.This study proposes two high-efficiency MC projection simulators for FPXS:a graphics processing unit(GPU)-based phase-space sampling MC(gPSMC)simulator and GPU-based fluence sampling MC(gFSMC)simulator.The two simulators comprise three components:imaging-system modeling,photon initialization,and physical-interaction simulations in the phantom.Imaging-system modeling was performed by modeling the FPXS,imaging geometry,and detector.The gPSMC simulator samples the initial photons from the phase space,whereas the gFSMC simulator performs photon initialization from the calculated energy spectrum and fluence map.The entire process of photon interaction with the geometry and arrival at the detector was simulated in parallel using multiple GPU kernels,and projections based on the two simulators were calculated.The accuracies of the two simulators were evaluated by comparing them with the conventional analytical ray-tracing approach and acquired projections,and the efficiencies were evaluated by comparing the computation time.The results of simulated and realistic experiments illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed gPSMC and gFSMC simulators in the projection calculation of various phantoms.

Electrochemical and colorimetric dual-signal detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B based on AuPt bimetallic nanoparticles loaded Fe-N-C single atom nanocomposite

Sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B(SEB)is of importance for preventing food poisoning from threatening human health.In this work,an electrochemical and colorimetric dual-signal detection assay of SEB was developed.The probe(Ab2/AuPt@Fe-N-C)was bound to SEB captured by Ab1,where the Ab2/AuPt@Fe-N-C triggered methylene blue degradation and resulted in the decrease of electrochemical signal.Furthermore,the probe catalyzed the oxidation of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethyl biphenyl to generate a colorimetric absorbance at 652 nm.Once the target was captured and formed a sandwich-like complex,the color changed from colorless to blue.SEB detection by colorimetric and electrochemical methods showed a linear relationship in the concentration ranges of 0.0002-10.0000 and 0.0005-10.0000 ng/mL,with limits of detection of 0.0667 and 0.1670 pg/mL,respectively.The dual-signal biosensor was successfully used to detect SEB in milk and water samples,which has great potential in toxin detection in food and the environment.

Design of AI-Enhanced and Hardware-Supported Multimodal E-Skin for Environmental Object Recognition and Wireless Toxic Gas Alarm

Post-earthquake rescue missions are full of challenges due to the unstable structure of ruins and successive aftershocks.Most of the current rescue robots lack the ability to interact with environments,leading to low rescue efficiency.The multimodal electronic skin(e-skin)proposed not only reproduces the pressure,temperature,and humidity sensing capabilities of natural skin but also develops sensing functions beyond it—perceiving object proximity and NO2 gas.Its multilayer stacked structure based on Ecoflex and organohydrogel endows the e-skin with mechanical properties similar to natural skin.Rescue robots integrated with multimodal e-skin and artificial intelligence(AI)algorithms show strong environmental perception capabilities and can accurately distinguish objects and identify human limbs through grasping,laying the foundation for automated post-earthquake rescue.Besides,the combination of e-skin and NO2 wireless alarm circuits allows robots to sense toxic gases in the environment in real time,thereby adopting appropriate measures to protect trapped people from the toxic environment.Multimodal e-skin powered by AI algorithms and hardware circuits exhibits powerful environmental perception and information processing capabilities,which,as an interface for interaction with the physical world,dramatically expands intelligent robots’application scenarios.

A fast and in-depth self-reconstruction of anion ligands optimized CoFe-based pre-catalysts for water oxidation

The design of efficient and robust non-precious metal electrocatalysts towards oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is of great value for developing green energy technologies.The in-situ formed high-valence(oxy)hydroxides species during the reconstruction process of pre-catalysts are recognized as the real contributing sites for OER.However,pre-catalysts generally undergo a slow and inadequate self-reconstruction.Herein,we reported a PO^(3-)_(4)optimized CoFe-based OER catalysts with amorphous structure,which enables a fast and deep reconstruction during the OER process.The amorphous structure induced by ligands PO^(3-)_(4)is prone to evolution and further form active species for OER.The electron interaction between metal sites can be modulated by electron-rich PO^(3-)_(4),which promotes generation of high active CoOOH.Simultaneously,the etching of PO^(3-)_(4)from the pre-catalysts during the catalytic process is in favor of accelerating the self-reconstruction.As a result,as-prepared precatalyst can generate high active CoOOH at a low potential of 1.4 V and achieve an in-depth reconstructed nanosheet structure with abundant OER active sites.Our work provides a promising design of pre-catalysts for realizing efficient catalysis of water oxidation.

Anti-Corrosion and Reconstruction of Surface Crystal Plane for Zn Anodes by an Advanced Metal Passivation Technique

For the aqueous Zn-ion battery,dendrite formation,corrosion,and interfacial parasitic reactions are major issues,which greatly inhibits their practical application.How to develop a method of Zn construction or treatment to solve these issues for Zn anodes are still great challenges.Herein,a simple and cheap metal passivation technique is proposed for Zn anodes from a corrosion science perspective.Similar to the metal anticorrosion engineering,the formed interfacial protective layer in a chemical way can sufficiently solve the corrosion issues.Furthermore,the proposed passivity approach can reconstruct Zn surface-preferred crystal planes,exposing more(002)planes and improving surface hydrophilicity,which inhibits the formation of Zn dendrites and hydrogen evolution effectively.As expected,the passivated Zn achieves outstanding cycling life(1914 h)with low voltage polarization(<40 mV).Even at 6 mA cm^(−2) and 3 mA h cm^(−2),it can achieve stable Zn deposition over 460 h.The treated Zn anode coupled with MnO_(2) cathode shows prominently reinforced full batteries service life,making it a potential Zn anode candidate for excellent performance aqueous Zn-ion batteries.The proposed passivation approach provides a guideline for other metal electrodes preparation in various batteries and establishes the connections between corrosion science and batteries.

Flexible, Transparent and Conductive Metal Mesh Films with Ultra‑High FoM for Stretchable Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Despite the growing demand for transparent conductive films in smart and wearable electronics for electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding,achieving a flexible EMI shielding film,while maintaining a high transmittance remains a significant challenge.Herein,a flexible,transparent,and conductive copper(Cu)metal mesh film for EMI shielding is fabricated by self-forming crackle template method and electroplating technique.The Cu mesh film shows an ultra-low sheet resistance(0.18Ω□^(-1)),high transmittance(85.8%@550 nm),and ultra-high figure of merit(>13,000).It also has satisfactory stretchability and mechanical stability,with a resistance increases of only 1.3%after 1,000 bending cycles.As a stretchable heater(ε>30%),the saturation temperature of the film can reach over 110°C within 60 s at 1.00 V applied voltage.Moreover,the metal mesh film exhibits outstanding average EMI shielding effectiveness of 40.4 dB in the X-band at the thickness of 2.5μm.As a demonstration,it is used as a transparent window for shielding the wireless communication electromagnetic waves.Therefore,the flexible and transparent conductive Cu mesh film proposed in this work provides a promising candidate for the next-generation EMI shielding applications.

Combination of density-clustering and supervised classification for event identification in single-molecule force spectroscopy data

Single-molecule force spectroscopy(SMFS)measurements of the dynamics of biomolecules typically require identifying massive events and states from large data sets,such as extracting rupture forces from force-extension curves(FECs)in pulling experiments and identifying states from extension-time trajectories(ETTs)in force-clamp experiments.The former is often accomplished manually and hence is time-consuming and laborious while the latter is always impeded by the presence of baseline drift.In this study,we attempt to accurately and automatically identify the events and states from SMFS experiments with a machine learning approach,which combines clustering and classification for event identification of SMFS(ACCESS).As demonstrated by analysis of a series of data sets,ACCESS can extract the rupture forces from FECs containing multiple unfolding steps and classify the rupture forces into the corresponding conformational transitions.Moreover,ACCESS successfully identifies the unfolded and folded states even though the ETTs display severe nonmonotonic baseline drift.Besides,ACCESS is straightforward in use as it requires only three easy-to-interpret parameters.As such,we anticipate that ACCESS will be a useful,easy-to-implement and high-performance tool for event and state identification across a range of single-molecule experiments.

Stretchable,Transparent,and Ultra-Broadband Terahertz Shielding Thin Films Based on Wrinkled MXene Architectures

With the increasing demand for terahertz(THz)technology in security inspection,medical imaging,and flexible electronics,there is a significant need for stretchable and transparent THz electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding materials.Existing EMI shielding materials,like opaque metals and carbon-based films,face challenges in achieving both high transparency and high shielding efficiency(SE).Here,a wrinkled structure strategy was proposed to construct ultra-thin,stretchable,and transparent terahertz shielding MXene films,which possesses both isotropous wrinkles(height about 50 nm)and periodic wrinkles(height about 500 nm).Compared to flat film,the wrinkled MXene film(8 nm)demonstrates a remarkable 36.5%increase in SE within the THz band.The wrinkled MXene film exhibits an EMI SE of 21.1 dB at the thickness of 100 nm,and an average EMI SE/t of 700 dBμm^(−1)over the 0.1-10 THz.Theoretical calculations suggest that the wrinkled structure enhances the film’s conductivity and surface plasmon resonances,resulting in an improved THz wave absorption.Additionally,the wrinkled structure enhances the MXene films’stretchability and stability.After bending and stretching(at 30%strain)cycles,the average THz transmittance of the wrinkled film is only 0.5%and 2.4%,respectively.The outstanding performances of the wrinkled MXene film make it a promising THz electromagnetic shielding materials for future smart windows and wearable electronics.

Optical study of magnetic topological insulator MnBi_(4)Te_7

We present an infrared spectroscopy study of the magnetic topological insulator MnBi_(4)Te_7 with antiferromagnetic(AFM) order below the Neel temperature TN= 13 K. Our investigation reveals that the low-frequency optical conductivity consists of two Drude peaks, indicating a response of free carriers involving multiple bands. Interestingly, the narrow Drude peak grows strongly as the temperature decreases, while the broad Drude peak remains relatively unchanged. The onset of interband transitions starts around 2000 cm^(-1), followed by two prominent absorption peaks around 10000 cm^(-1) and 20000 cm^(-1). Upon cooling, there is a notable transfer of spectral weight from the interband transitions to the Drude response. Below TN, the AFM transition gives rise to small anomalies of the charge response due to a band reconstruction.These findings provide valuable insights into the interplay between magnetism and the electronic properties in MnBi_(4)Te_7.

Semi-implantable device based on multiplexed microfilament electrode cluster for continuous monitoring of physiological ions

Modern medicine is increasingly interested in advanced sensors to detect and analyze biochemical indicators.Ion sensors based on potentiometric methods are a promising platform for monitoring physiological ions in biological subjects.Current semi-implantable devices are mainly based on single-parameter detection.Miniaturized semi-implantable electrodes for multiparameter sensing have more restrictions on the electrode size due to biocompatibility considerations,but reducing the electrode surface area could potentially limit electrode sensitivity.This study developed a semi-implantable device system comprising a multiplexed microfilament electrode cluster(MMEC)and a printed circuit board for real-time monitoring of intra-tissue K^(+),Ca^(2+),and Na^(+)concentrations.The electrode surface area was less important for the potentiometric sensing mechanism,suggesting the feasibility of using a tiny fiber-like electrode for potentiometric sensing.The MMEC device exhibited a broad linear response(K^(+):2–32 mmol/L;Ca^(2+):0.5–4 mmol/L;Na^(+):10–160 mmol/L),high sensitivity(about 20–45 mV/decade),temporal stability(>2weeks),and good selectivity(>80%)for the above ions.In vitro detection and in vivo subcutaneous and brain experiment results showed that the MMEC system exhibits good multi-ion monitoring performance in several complex environments.This work provides a platform for the continuous real-time monitoring of ion fluctuations in different situations and has implications for developing smart sensors to monitor human health.

Evolution of anomalous Hall effect in ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Nb_(x)Zr_(1-x)Co_(2)Sn

Magnetic topological semimetal can host various topological non-trivial states leading to exotic novel transport properties.Here we report the systematic magneto-transport studies on the Heusler alloy Nb_(x)Zr_(1-x)Co_(2)Sn considered as a ferromagnetic(FM)Weyl semimetal.The cusp anomaly of temperature-dependent resistivity and large isotropic negative magneto-resistivity(MR)emerge around the FM transition consistent with the theoretical half-metallic predictions.The prominent anomalous Hall effect(AHE)has the same behavior with the applied field along various crystal directions.The Nb doping introduces more disorder resulting in the enhancement of the upturn for the temperature-dependent resistivity in low temperatures.With Nb doping,the AHE exhibits systemic evolution with the Fermi level lifted.At the doping level of x=0.25,the AHE mainly originates from the intrinsic contribution related to non-trivial topological Weyl states.

Understanding Bridging Sites and Accelerating Quantum Efficiency for Photocatalytic CO_(2) Reduction

We report a novel double-shelled nanoboxes photocatalyst architecture with tailored interfaces that accelerate quantum efficiency for photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)via Mo–S bridging bonds sites in S_(v)–In_(2)S_(3)@2H–MoTe_(2).The X-ray absorption near-edge structure shows that the formation of S_(v)–In_(2)S_(3)@2H–MoTe_(2) adjusts the coordination environment via interface engineering and forms Mo–S polarized sites at the interface.The interfacial dynamics and catalytic behavior are clearly revealed by ultrafast femtosecond transient absorption,time-resolved,and in situ diffuse reflectance–Infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy.A tunable electronic structure through steric interaction of Mo–S bridging bonds induces a 1.7-fold enhancement in S_(v)–In_(2)S_(3)@2H–MoTe_(2)(5)photogenerated carrier concentration relative to pristine S_(v)–In_(2)S_(3).Benefiting from lower carrier transport activation energy,an internal quantum efficiency of 94.01%at 380 nm was used for photocatalytic CO_(2)RR.This study proposes a new strategy to design photocatalyst through bridging sites to adjust the selectivity of photocatalytic CO_(2)RR.

Cluster mean-field study of spinor Bose-Hubbard ladder:Ground-state phase diagram and many-body population dynamics

We present a cluster mean-field study for ground-state phase diagram and many-body dynamics of spin-1 bosons confined in a two-chain Bose-Hubbard ladder(BHL).For unbiased BHL,we find superfluid(SF)phase and integer filling Mott insulator(Int MI)phase.For biased BHL,in addition to the SF and Int MI phases,there appears half-integer filling Mott insulator(HInt MI)phase.The phase transition between the SF and Int MI phases can be first order at a part of phase boundaries,while the phase transition between the SF and HInt MI phases is always second order.By tuning the bias energy,we report on the change of the nature of SF-MI phase transitions.Furthermore,we study the effect of the spin-dependent interaction on the many-body population dynamics.The spin-dependent interaction can lead to rich dynamical behaviors,but does not influence the particle transfer efficiency.Our results indicate a way to tune the nature of the SF-MI phase transition and open a new avenue to study the many-body dynamics of spinor bosons in optical lattices.

Synthesis of rare earth sulfides and their UV-vis absorption spectra

Rare earth sulfides were systematically synthesized via the sulfurization of their commercial oxide powders using CS2 gas to shorten sulfurization time, and their UV-vis absorption spectra were investigated. The appropriate sulfurization conditions were studied. For the rare earth sulfides with the same crystal structure, the sulfurization temperature showed increasing tendency with the decrease of rare earth element atomic radii. The UV-vis absorption spectra of rare earth sulfides did not depend on the crystal structure of rare earth sulfides, but on the 4f electronic structure of rare earth element. The data showed that the optical band gaps of rare earth sulfides were irregular, and the values ranged from 1.65 to 3.75 eV.

Interfacial parasitic reactions of zinc anodes in zinc ion batteries:Underestimated corrosion and hydrogen evolution reactions and their suppression strategies

Featured with high power density,improved safety and low-cost,rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries(ZIBs) have been revived as possible candidates for sustainable energy storage systems in recent years.However,the challenges inherent in zinc(Zn) anode,namely dendrite formation and interfacial parasitic reactions,have greatly impeded their practical application.Whereas the critical issue of dendrite formation has attracted widespread concern,the parasitic reactions of Zn anodes with mildly acidic electrolytes have received very little attentions.Considering that the low Zn reversibility that stems from interfacial parasitic reactions is the major obstacle to the commercialization of ZIBs,thorough understanding of these side reactions and the development of correlative inhibition strategies are significant.Therefore,in this review,the brief fundamentals of corrosion and hydrogen evolution reactions at Zn surface is presented.In addition,recent advances and research efforts addressing detrimental side reactions are reviewed from the perspective of electrode design,electrode-electrolyte interfacial engineering and electrolyte modification.To facilitate the future researches on this aspect,perspectives and suggestions for relevant investigations are provided lastly.

Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Carbonate from CO_2 and CH_3OH Using 0.4nm Molecular Sieve Supported Cu-Ni Bimetal Catalyst

The 0.4 nm molecular sieve supported Cu-Ni bimetal catalysts for direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO 2 and CH 3 OH were prepared and investigated. The synthesized catalysts were fully characterized by BET, XRD (X-ray diffraction), TPR (temperature programmed reduction), IR (infra-red adsorption), NH 3-TPD (temperature programmed desorption) and CO 2-TPD (temperature programmed desorption) techniques. The results showed that the surface area of catalysts decreased with increasing metal content, and the metals as well as Cu-Ni alloy co-existed on the reduced catalyst surface. There existed interaction between metal and carrier, and moreover, metal particles affected obviously the acidity and basicity of carrier. The large amount of basic sites facilitated the activation of methanol to methoxyl species and their subsequent reaction with activated carbon dioxide. The catalysts were evaluated in a continuous tubular fixed-bed micro-gaseous reactor and the catalyst with bimetal loading of 20% (by mass) had best catalytic activities. Under the conditions of 393 K, 1.1 MPa, 5 h and gas space velocity of 510 h 1 , the selectivity and yield of DMC were higher than 86.0 % and 5.0 %, respectively.

Preparation and thermoelectric properties of ternary rare earth sulfide γ-Ce_(3–x)Eu_xS_4

The effect of Eu-substitution on the density and thermoelectric properties of ternary sulfide Ce3-xEuxS4 （0≤x≤0.8） compacts was investigated. Ce3-xEuxS4 powders were prepared via the sulfurization of the oxide using CS2 gas at 1473 K. The pressureless sintered Ce3-xEuxS4 compacts in the atmosphere were crystallized in the T-phase. The density of the Ce3-xEuxS4 compacts increased with the increasing of Eu-substitution. Eu-substitution yielded a higher Seebeck coefficient and lower electrical resistivity. The highest value of the thermoelectric power factor of 1.41×10^-4 W/K^2m was obtained for the Ce2.2Eu0.8S4 compact at 673 K. It indicated that Eu-substitution was effective for improving thermoelectric properties of Ce3-xEuxS4.

Humidity Sensing of Stretchable and Transparent Hydrogel Films for Wireless Respiration Monitoring

Respiratory monitoring plays a pivotal role in health assessment and provides an important application prospect for flexible humidity sensors.However,traditional humidity sensors suffer from a trade-off between deformability,sensitivity,and transparency,and thus the development of high-performance,stretchable,and low-cost humidity sensors is urgently needed as wearable electronics.Here,ultrasensitive,highly deformable,and transparent humidity sensors are fabricated based on cost-effective polyacrylamide-based double network hydrogels.Concomitantly,a general method for preparing hydrogel films with controllable thickness is proposed to boost the sensitivity of hydrogel-based sensors due to the extensively increased specific surface area,which can be applied to different polymer networks and facilitate the development of flexible integrated electronics.In addition,sustainable tapioca rich in hydrophilic polar groups is introduced for the first time as a second cross-linked network,exhibiting excellent water adsorption capacity.Through the synergistic optimization of structure and composition,the obtained hydrogel film exhibits an ultrahigh sensitivity of 13,462.1%/%RH,which is unprecedented.Moreover,the hydrogel film-based sensor exhibits excellent repeatability and the ability to work normally under stretching with even enhanced sensitivity.As a proof of concept,we integrate the stretchable sensor with a specially designed wireless circuit and mask to fabricate a wireless respiratory interruption detection system with Bluetooth transmission,enabling real-time monitoring of human health status.This work provides a general strategy to construct high-performance,stretchable,and miniaturized hydrogel-based sensors as next-generation wearable devices for real-time monitoring of various physiological signals.

Synthesis and luminescent properties of Ln^(3+) (Ln^(3+)=Eu^(3+),Dy^(3+))-doped Bi_2ZnB_2O_7 phosphors

The new phosphors Bi2ZnB2O7:Ln3+ (Ln3+=Eu3+,Dy3+) were synthesized by solid-state reaction technique.The obtained phosphors were investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD),photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra with the aim of enhancing the fundamental knowledge about the luminescent properties of Eu3+ and Dy3+ ions in the Bi2ZnB2O7 host lattice.XRD analysis shows that all these compounds are of a single phase of Bi2ZnB2O7.The excitation and emission spectra of Bi2ZnB2O7:Ln3+ (Ln3+=Eu3+,Dy3+) at room temperature show the typical 4f-4f transitions of Eu3+ and Dy3+,respectively.The hypersensitive transitions of 5D0→7F2 (Eu3+) and 4F9/2→6H13/2 (Dy3+) are relatively higher than those of the insensitive transitions in Bi2ZnB2O7.It is conceivable that the Bi2ZnB2O7 structure provides asymmetry sites for activators (Eu3+,Dy3+).The optimum concentrations of Eu3+ and Dy3+ ions in Bi2ZnB2O7 phosphors are both x=0.05.