One-Step Nucleic Acid Purification and Noise-Resistant Polymerase Chain Reaction by Electrokinetic Concentration for Ultralow-Abundance Nucleic Acid Detection

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs)integrated on a chip hold great promise for point-of-care diagnostics. Currently, nucleic acid (NA) purification remains time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it takes extensive efforts to optimize the amplification chemistry. Using selective electrokinetic concentration, we report one-step, liquid-phase NA purification that is simpler and faster than conventional solid-phase extraction. By further re-concentrating NAs and performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a microfluidic chamber, our platform suppresses non-specific amplification caused by non-optimal PCR designs. We achieved the detection of 5 copies of M. tuberculosis genomic DNA (equaling 0.3 cell) in real biofluids using both optimized and non-optimal PCR designs, which is 10- and 1000-fold fewer than those of the standard bench-top method, respectively. By simplifying the workflow and shortening the development cycle of NAATs, our platform may find use in point-of-care diagnosis.     

Nanostructures for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

One of the most effective ways to cope with the problems of global warming and the energy shortage crisis is to develop renewable and clean energy sources. To achieve a carbon-neutral energy cycle, advanced carbon sequestration technologies are urgently needed, but because CO₂ is a thermodynamically stable molecule with the highest carbon valence state of +4, this process faces many challenges. In recent years, electrochemical CO₂ reduction has become a promising approach to fix and convert CO₂ into high-value-added fuels and chemical feedstock. However, the large-scale commercial use of electrochemical CO₂ reduction systems is hindered by poor electrocatalyst activity, large overpotential, low energy conversion efficiency, and product selectivity in reducing CO₂. Therefore, there is an urgent need to rationally design highly efficient, stable, and scalable electrocatalysts to alleviate these problems. This minireview also aims to classify heterogeneous nanostructured electrocatalysts for the CO₂ reduction reaction (CDRR).     

多层光子晶体滤波器研究

从双层结构出发研究了一种由多块不同的单周期光子晶体组合而成的多层结构的滤波器，论述了这种滤波器的工作原理，研究表明这种结构适于制作带通、窄带通过、带阻、宽带带阻、高通以及其它各种性能的滤波器。实验和理论研究的结果相一致。     

Pressure dependences of elastic and lattice dynamic properties of AlAs from ab initio calculations

Ab initio calculations, based on norm-conserving nonlocal pseudopotentials and density functional theory (DFT), are performed to investigate the structural, elastic, dielectric, and vibrational properties of aluminum arsenide AlAs with zinc-blende (B3) structure and nickel arsenide (B8₁) structure under hydrostatic pressure. Firstly, the path for the phase transition from B3 to B8₁ is confirmed by analyzing the energies of different structures, which is in good agreement with previous theoretical results. Secondly, we find that the elastic constants, bulk modulus, static dielectric constants, and the optical phonon frequencies are varying in a nearly linear manner under hydrostatic pressure. What is more, the softening mode of transversal acoustic mode at X point supports the phase transition in AlAs.     

The pressure dependences of elastic and lattice dynamic properties of AlAs from ab initio calculations

Ab initio calculations,based on norm-conserving nonlocal pseudopotentials and density functional theory(DFT),are performed to investigate the structural,elastic,dielectric,and vibrational properties of aluminum arsenide(AlAs) with a zinc-blende(B3) structure and a nickel arsenide(B81) structure under hydrostatic pressure.Firstly,the path for the phase transition from B3 to B81 is confirmed by analyzing the energies of different structures,which is in good agreement with previous theoretical results.Secondly,we find that the elastic constants,bulk modulus,static dielectric constants,and the optical phonon frequencies vary in a nearly linear manner under hydrostatic pressure.What is more,the softening mode of the transversal acoustic mode at the X point supports the phase transition in AlAs.     

Spin gapless armchair graphene nanoribbons under magnetic field and uniaxial strain

Using Green＇s function method, we investigate the spin transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons （AG- NRs） under magnetic field and uniaxial strain. Our results show that it is very difficult to transform narrow AGNRs directly from semiconductor to spin gapless semiconductors （SGS） by applying magnetic fields. However, as a uniaxial strain is exerted on the nanoribbons, the AGNRs can transform to SGS by a small magnetic field. The combination mode be- tween magnetic field and uniaxial strain displays a nonmonotonic arch-pattern relationship. In addition, we find that the combination mode is associated with the widths of nanoribbons, which exhibits group behaviors.     

Double-slit diffraction of terahertz wave generated by tilted-pulse-front pumping

We propose a spatial diffraction diagnostic method via inserting a millimeter-gap double slit into the collimated terahertz beam to monitor the minute variation of the terahertz beam in strong-field terahertz sources, which is difficult to be resolved in conventional terahertz imaging systems. To verify the method, we intentionally fabricate tiny variations of the terahertz beam through tuning the iris for the infrared pumping beam before the tilted-pulse-front pumping setups.The phenomena can be well explained by the theory based on the tilted-pulse-front technique and terahertz diffraction.     

Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics in Biochemical Systems and Its Application

Living systems are open systems, where the laws of nonequilibrium thermodynamics play the important role. Therefore, studying living systems from a nonequilibrium thermodynamic aspect is interesting and useful. In this review, we briefly introduce the history and current development of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, especially that in biochemical systems. We first introduce historically how people realized the importance to study biological systems in the thermodynamic point of view. We then introduce the development of stochastic thermodynamics, especially three landmarks: Jarzynski equality, Crooks’ fluctuation theorem and thermodynamic uncertainty relation. We also summarize the current theoretical framework for stochastic thermodynamics in biochemical reaction networks, especially the thermodynamic concepts and instruments at nonequilibrium steady state. Finally, we show two applications and research paradigms for thermodynamic study in biological systems.     

The traveling purchaser problem with stochastic prices: Exact and approximate algorithms

The paper formulates an extension of the traveling purchaser problem where multiple types of commodities are sold at spatially distributed locations with stochastic prices (each following a known probability distribution). A purchaser’s goal is to find the optimal routing and purchasing strategies that minimize the expected total travel and purchasing costs needed to purchase one unit of each commodity. The purchaser reveals the actual commodity price at a seller upon arrival, and then either purchases the commodity at the offered price, or rejects the price and visits a next seller. In this paper, we propose an exact solution algorithm based on dynamic programming, an iterative approximate algorithm that yields bounds for the minimum total expected cost, and a greedy heuristic for fast solutions to large-scale applications. We analyze the characteristics of the problem and test the computational performance of the proposed algorithms. The numerical results show that the approximate and heuristic algorithms yield near-optimum strategies and very good estimates of the minimum total cost.     

用蓝色光二极管测量掺钛蓝宝石飞秒激光脉冲宽度

用蓝色光二极管双光子跃迁光电流信号测量掺钛蓝玉石飞秒激光脉冲宽度，实验高精度地记录了二阶干涉自相关曲线及其精细结构，由于用蓝色二极管双光子跃迁代替了常用的二次谐波，而且光信号直接转化为电信号，从而使飞秒激光脉冲宽度的测量大为简化。