Thermo-Responsive ZnPc-g-TiO2-g-PNIPAM Photocatalysts Sensitized with Phthalocyanines for Water Purification under Visible Light

A novel thermo-responsive 2,9(10),16(17),23(24)-tetrakis[(3-carboxyacrylamide) phthalocyaninato] zinc (ZnPc)-g-TiO₂-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) photocatalyst modified with phthalocyanines was prepared. The photocatalyst exhibited thermo-responsive properties due to the introduction of PNIPAM, which performed recovery for reuse above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST, about 26 °C). ZnPc-g-TiO₂-g-PNIPAM effectively expanded the light response range to the visible light region and inhibited the recombination of electron–hole pairs, which enhanced the performance of the photocatalyst. As expected, ZnPc-g-TiO₂-g-PNIPAM (0.3 g/L) exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance for the removal of Rhodamine B (RhB, 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L) and methylene blue (MB, 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L) under visible light, which reached 97.2% and 88.6% at 20 °C within 40 min, respectively. Furthermore, the influence of temperature upon photocatalytic performance was also investigated. When the temperature increased from 20 °C to 45 °C, the removal of RhB decreased by approximately 53.8%. The stability of the photocatalyst demonstrated that the photocatalytic activity was still above 80% for the removal of RhB after 3 cycles. Above all, this work provided an intelligent thermally responsive photocatalyst based on phthalocyanine for water purification under visible light.     

Sending-or-Not-Sending Twin-Field Quantum Key Distribution with a Passive Decoy-State Method

Twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) has attracted considerable attention because it can exceed the basic rate-distance limit without quantum repeaters. Its variant protocol, sending or not-sending quantum key distribution (SNS-QKD), not only fixes the security vulnerability of TF-QKD, but also can tolerate large misalignment errors. However, the current SNS-QKD protocol is based on the active decoy-state method, which may lead to side channel information leakage when multiple light intensities are modulated in practice. In this work, we propose a passive decoy-state SNS-QKD protocol to further enhance the security of SNS-QKD. Numerical simulation results show that the protocol not only improves the security in source, but also retains the advantages of tolerating large misalignment errors. Therefore, it may provide further guidance for the practical application of SNS-QKD.     

Aqueous electrochemically-triggered atom transfer radical polymerization

Simplified electrochemical atom transfer radical polymerization (seATRP) using Cu^II–N-propyl pyridineimine complexes (Cu^II(NPPI)₂) is reported for the first time. In aqueous solution, using oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (OEGMA), standard electrolysis conditions yield POEGMA with good control over molecular weight distribution (Đ_m < 1.35). Interestingly, the polymerizations are not under complete electrochemical control, as monomer conversion continues when electrolysis is halted. Alternatively, it is shown that the extent and rate of polymerization depends upon an initial period of electrolysis. Thus, it is proposed that seATRP using Cu^II(NPPI)₂ follows an electrochemically-triggered, rather than electrochemically mediated, ATRP mechanism, which distinguishes them from other Cu^IIL complexes that have been previously reported in the literature.

Simplified electrochemical atom transfer radical polymerization (seATRP) using Cu^II-pyridineimine complexes is reported and follows a previously unreported electrochemically triggered mechanism.     

PTC: Full and Drift Particle Orbit Tracing Code for α Particles in Tokamak Plasmas

Fusion born α particle confinement is one of the most important issues in burning plasmas,such as ITER and CFETR.However,it is extremely complex due to the nonequilibrium characteristics,and multiple temporal and spatial scales coupling with background plasma.A numerical code using particle orbit tracing method(PTC)has been developed to study energetic particle confinement in tokamak plasmas.Both full orbit and drift orbit solvers are implemented to analyze the Larmor radius effects on α particle confinement.The elastic collisions between alpha particles and thermal plasma are calculated by a Monte Carlo method.A triangle mesh in poloidal section is generated for electromagnetic fields expression.Benchmark between PTC and ORBIT has been accomplished for verification.For CFETR burning plasmas,PTC code is used for α particle source and slowing down process calculation in 2D equilibrium.In future work,3D field like toroidal field ripples,Alfven and magnetohydrodynamics instabilities perturbation inducing α particle transport will be analyzed.     

Spider Silk-Improved Quartz-Enhanced Conductance Spectroscopy for Medical Mask Humidity Sensing

Spider silk is one of the hottest biomaterials researched currently, due to its excellent mechanical properties. This work reports a novel humidity sensing platform based on a spider silk-modified quartz tuning fork (SSM-QTF). Since spider silk is a kind of natural moisture-sensitive material, it does not demand additional sensitization. Quartz-enhanced conductance spectroscopy (QECS) was combined with the SSM-QTF to access humidity sensing sensitively. The results indicate that the resonance frequency of the SSM-QTF decreased monotonously with the ambient humidity. The detection sensitivity of the proposed SSM-QTF sensor was 12.7 ppm at 1 min. The SSM-QTF sensor showed good linearity of ~0.99. Using this sensor, we successfully measured the humidity of disposable medical masks for different periods of wearing time. The results showed that even a 20 min wearing time can lead to a >70% humidity in the mask enclosed space. It is suggested that a disposable medical mask should be changed <2 h.     

Interpretation of Strengthening Mechanism of Densified Wood from Supramolecular Structures

In this study, densified wood was prepared by hot pressing after partial lignin and hemicellulose were removed through alkaline solution cooking. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of densified wood were improved up to 398.5 MPa and 22.5 GPa as compared with the original wood, and the characterization of its supramolecular structures showed that the crystal plane spacing of the densified wood decreased, the crystallite size increased, and the maximum crystallinity (CI) of cellulose increased by 15.05%; outstandingly, the content of O(6)H⋯O(3′) intermolecular H-bonds increased by approximately one-fold at most. It was found that the intermolecular H-bond content was significantly positively correlated with the tensile strength and elastic modulus, and accordingly, their Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.952 (p < 0.01) and 0.822 (p < 0.05), respectively. This work provides a supramolecular explanation for the enhancement of tensile strength of densified wood.     

Piezo channels in the urinary system

The Piezo channel family, including Piezo1 and Piezo2, includes essential mechanosensitive transduction molecules in mammals. Functioning in the conversion of mechanical signals to biological signals to regulate a plethora of physiological processes, Piezo channels, which have a unique homotrimeric three-blade propeller-shaped structure, utilize a cap-motion and plug-and-latch mechanism to gate their ion-conducting pathways. Piezo channels have a wide range of biological roles in various human systems, both in vitro and in vivo. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of their antagonists and agonists, and therefore further investigation is needed. Remarkably, increasingly compelling evidence demonstrates that Piezo channel function in the urinary system is important. This review article systematically summarizes the existing evidence of the importance of Piezo channels, including protein structure, mechanogating mechanisms, and pharmacological characteristics, with a particular focus on their physiological and pathophysiological roles in the urinary system. Collectively, this review aims to provide a direction for future clinical applications in urinary system diseases.Subject terms: Bladder disease, Bladder cancer, Prostate cancer, Oncogenesis     

Anisotropic Superconducting Properties of Kagome Metal CsV_3Sb_5

We systematically measure the superconducting(SC) and mixed state properties of high-quality CsV_3 Sb_5 single crystals with T_c～3.5 K.We find that the upper critical field H_(c2)(T) exhibits a large anisotropic ratio of H_(c2)~(ab)/H_(c2)~c～9 at zero temperature and fitting its temperature dependence requires a minimum two-band effective model.Moreover,the ratio of the lower critical field,H_(c1)~(ab)/H_(c1)~c,is also found to be larger than 1,which indicates that the in-plane energy dispersion is strongly renormalized near Fermi energy.Both H_(c1)(T) and SC diamagnetic signal are found to change little initially below T_c～3.5 K and then to increase abruptly upon cooling to a characteristic temperature of ～2.8 K.Furthermore,we identify a two-fold anisotropy of in-plane angular-dependent magnetoresistance in the mixed state.Interestingly,we find that,below the same characteristic T～2.8 K,the orientation of this two-fold anisotropy displays a peculiar twist by an angle of 60° characteristic of the Kagome geometry.Our results suggest an intriguing superconducting state emerging in the complex environment of Kagome lattice,which,at least,is partially driven by electron-electron correlation.     

Compositions and Biological Activities of Pomegranate Peel Polyphenols Extracted by Different Solvents

Pomegranate peel extract (PPE), which is abundant in polyphenols, holds immerse prospects for the treatment of airway infection. In this study, water and ethanol of 30%, 50%, and 80% were used to prepare PPE. A total of 18 phenols belonging to 8 categories of polyphenols were identified in PPE by HPLC-MS/MS. The PPE from the four extraction solvents possessed different antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. Principal component analysis revealed that though total flavonoids (TFs), total polyphenols (TPs), and total tannins (TTs) were responsible for the reducing power of PPE, only TFs contributed to the effect of PPE in inhibiting lipid membrane peroxidation. TPs, TTs, and punicalagin were positively correlated with the antibacterial strength against S. aureus while TTs alone contributed to the inhibition of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, implying the crucial role of TT in suppressing bacteria. Meanwhile, TTs was associated with the prevention of IL-6 release. The PPE with higher contents of TPs, TTs, and punicalagin had a weaker capacity to decrease nitric oxide secretion. PPE of 30% ethanol gained the highest integrated score due to its stronger antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. It is a suitable candidate for the therapy of respiratory tract infection.