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.     

An Exploration of the Effect of the Kleier Model and Carrier-Mediated Theory to Design Phloem-Mobile Pesticides Based on Researching the N-Alkylated Derivatives of Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid-Glycine

The Kleier model and Carrier-mediated theory are effective for molecularly designing pesticides with phloem mobility. However, the single Kleier model or Carrier-mediated theory cannot achieve a reliable explanation of the phloem mobility of all exogenous substances. A detailed investigation of the two models and the scope of their applications can provide a more accurate and highly efficient basis for the guidance of the design and development of phloem-mobile pesticides. In the present paper, a strategy using active ingredient-amino acid conjugates as mode compounds is developed based on Carrier-mediated theory. An N-alkylated amino acid is used to improve the pesticide’s physicochemical properties following the Kleier model, thus allowing the conjugates to fall on the predicted and more accessible transportation region of phloem. Moreover, the influence of this movement on phloem is inspected by the Kleier model and Carrier-mediated theory. To verify this strategy, a series of N-alkylated phenazine-1-carboxylic acid-glycine compounds (PCA-Gly) were designed and synthesized. The results related to the castor bean seeds (R. communis L.) indicated that all the target compounds (4a–4f) had phloem mobility. The capacity for phloem mobility shows that N-alkylated glycine containing small substituents can significantly improve PCA phloem mobility, such as 4c(i-C₃H₇-N) > 4a(CH₃-N) ≈ 4b(C₂H₅-N) > 4d (t-C₄H₉-N) > PCA-Gly > 4e(C₆H₅-N) > 4f(CH₂COOH-N), with an oil–water partition coefficient between 1.2~2.5. In particular, compounds 4a(CH₃-N), 4b(C₂H₅-N), and 4c(i-C₃H₇-N) present better phloem mobility, with the average concentrations in phloem sap of 14.62 μΜ, 13.98 μΜ, and 17.63 μΜ in the first 5 h, which are 8 to 10 times higher than PCA-Gly (1.71 μΜ). The results reveal that the Kleier model and Carrier-mediated theory play a guiding role in the design of phloem-mobile pesticides. However, the single Kleier model or Carrier-mediated theory are not entirely accurate. Still, there is a synergism between Carrier-mediated theory and the Kleier model for promoting the phloem transport of exogenous compounds. Therefore, we suggest the introduction of endogenous plant compounds as a promoiety to improve the phloem mobility of pesticides through Carrier-mediated theory. It is necessary to consider the improvement of physicochemical properties according to the Kleier model, which can contribute to a scientific theory for developing phloem-mobile pesticides.     

Superconvergence of local discontinuous Galerkin methods with generalized alternating fluxes for 1D linear convection-diffusion equations

This paper investigates superconvergence properties of the local discontinuous Galerkin methods with generalized alternating fluxes for one-dimensional linear convection-diffusion equations. By the technique of constructing some special correction functions, we prove the(2k + 1)-th-order superconvergence for the cell averages, and the numerical traces in the discrete L~2 norm. In addition, superconvergence of orders k + 2 and k + 1 is obtained for the error and its derivative at generalized Radau points. All the theoretical findings are confirmed by numerical experiments.     

Dielectric Properties Investigation of Metal–Insulator–Metal (MIM) Capacitors

This study presents the construction and dielectric properties investigation of atomic-layer-deposition Al₂O₃/TiO₂/HfO₂ dielectric-film-based metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors. The influence of the dielectric layer material and thickness on the performance of MIM capacitors are also systematically investigated. The morphology and surface roughness of dielectric films for different materials and thicknesses are analyzed via atomic force microscopy (AFM). Among them, the 25 nm Al₂O₃-based dielectric capacitor exhibits superior comprehensive electrical performance, including a high capacitance density of 7.89 fF·µm⁻², desirable breakdown voltage and leakage current of about 12 V and 1.4 × 10⁻¹⁰ A·cm⁻², and quadratic voltage coefficient of 303.6 ppm·V⁻². Simultaneously, the fabricated capacitor indicates desirable stability in terms of frequency and bias voltage (at 1 MHz), with the corresponding slight capacitance density variation of about 0.52 fF·µm⁻² and 0.25 fF·µm⁻². Furthermore, the mechanism of the variation in capacitance density and leakage current might be attributed to the Poole–Frenkel emission and charge-trapping effect of the high-k materials. All these results indicate potential applications in integrated passive devices.     

Linker engineering in metal–organic frameworks for dark photocatalysis

Dark reactions featuring continuous activity under light off conditions play a critical role in natural photosynthesis. However, most artificial photocatalysts are inactive upon the removal of the light source, and the artificial photocatalysts with dark photocatalysis abilities have been rarely explored. Herein, we report a Ti-based metal–organic framework (MOF), MIL-125, exhibiting the capability of dark photocatalytic hydrogen production. Remarkably, the introduction of different functional groups onto the linkers enables distinctly different activities of the resulting MOFs (MIL-125-X, X = NH₂, NO₂, Br). Dynamic and thermodynamic investigations indicate that the production and lifetime of the Ti³⁺ intermediate are the key factors, due to the electron-donating/-withdrawing effect of the functional groups. As far as we know, this is the first report on dark photocatalysis over MOFs, providing new insights into the storage of irradiation energy and demonstrating their great potential in dark photocatalysis due to the great MOF diversity.

A Ti-based MOF with long-lived Ti³⁺ can achieve dark photocatalysis. The different groups on the organic linker modulate electron storage ability and the lifetime of Ti³⁺, significantly regulating dark photocatalytic activity in H₂ production.     

Repurposing of intestinal defensins as multi-target,dual-function amyloid inhibitors via cross-seeding

Amyloid formation and microbial infection are the two common pathological causes of neurogenerative diseases, including Alzheimer''s disease (AD), type II diabetes (T2D), and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). While significant efforts have been made to develop different prevention strategies and preclinical hits for these diseases, conventional design strategies of amyloid inhibitors are mostly limited to either a single prevention mechanism (amyloid cascade vs. microbial infection) or a single amyloid protein (Aβ, hIAPP, or hCT), which has prevented the launch of any successful drug on the market. Here, we propose and demonstrate a new “anti-amyloid and anti-bacteria” strategy to repurpose two intestinal defensins, human α-defensin 6 (HD-6) and human β-defensin 1 (HBD-1), as multiple-target, dual-function, amyloid inhibitors. Both HD-6 and HBD-1 can cross-seed with three amyloid peptides, Aβ (associated with AD), hIAPP (associated with T2D), and hCT (associated with MTC), to prevent their aggregation towards amyloid fibrils from monomers and oligomers, rescue SH-SY5Y and RIN-m5F cells from amyloid-induced cytotoxicity, and retain their original antimicrobial activity against four common bacterial strains at sub-stoichiometric concentrations. Such sequence-independent anti-amyloid and anti-bacterial functions of intestinal defensins mainly stem from their cross-interactions with amyloid proteins through amyloid-like mimicry of β-sheet associations. In a broader view, this work provides a new out-of-the-box thinking to search and repurpose a huge source of antimicrobial peptides as amyloid inhibitors, allowing the blocking of the two interlinked pathological pathways and bidirectional communication between the central nervous system and intestines via the gut–brain axis associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Amyloid formation and microbial infection are the two common pathological causes of neurogenerative diseases. Here, we proposed a new “anti-amyloid and anti-bacteria” strategy to repurpose two intestinal defensins as multiple-target, dual-function amyloid inhibitors.     

Improved Stretchable and Sensitive Fe Nanowire-Based Strain Sensor by Optimizing Areal Density of Nanowire Network

Flexible strain sensors, when considering high sensitivity and a large strain range, have become a key requirement for current robotic applications. However, it is still a thorny issue to take both factors into consideration at the same time. Here, we report a sandwich-structured strain sensor based on Fe nanowires (Fe NWs) that has a high GF (37–53) while taking into account a large strain range (15–57.5%), low hysteresis (2.45%), stability, and low cost with an areal density of Fe NWs of 4.4 mg/cm². Additionally, the relationship between the contact point of the conductive network, the output resistance, and the areal density of the sensing unit is analyzed. Microscopically, the contact points of the conductive network directly affect the sensor output resistance distribution, thereby affecting the gauge factor (GF) of the sensor. Macroscopically, the areal density and the output resistivity of the strain sensor have the opposite percolation theory, which affects its linearity performance. At the same time, there is a positive correlation between the areal density and the contact point: when the stretching amount is constant, it theoretically shows that the areal density affects the GF. When the areal density reaches this percolation threshold range, the sensing performance is the best. This will lay the foundation for rapid applications in wearable robots.     

ACTIVE CONTROL OF A FLEXIBLE CANTILEVER PLATE WITH MULTIPLE TIME DELAYS

Active control of a flexible cantilever plate with multiple time delays is investigated using the discrete optimal control method. A controller with multiple time delays is presented. In this controller, time delay effect is incorporated in the mathematical model of the dynamic system throughout the control design and no approximations and assumptions are made in the controller derivation, so the system stability is easily guaranteed. Furthermore, this controller is available for both small time delays and large time delays. The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed controller are verified through numerical simulations in the end of this paper.     

Investigation on the scattering effect of ceramic Nd:YAG

This paper investigates the scattering effect of domestic 0.5 at{\%} ceramic Nd:YAG. An effective method has been utilized to measure the scattering and absorption coefficients. An end-pumped continuous wave (CW) Nd:YAG ceramic laser was also demonstrated. A maximum output power of 6.7~W at 1064~nm was obtained at an 808-nm pump power of 32.9~W. Conversion efficiency and slope efficiency have been achieved. This indicates that scattering has an important effect on the optical performance of ceramic Nd:YAG.     

The Potential Antidepressant Action of Duloxetine Co-Administered with the TAAR1 Receptor Agonist SEP-363856 in Mice

Here, we explored the possible interaction between duloxetine and SEP-363856 (SEP-856) in depression-related reactions. The results showed that oral administration of duloxetine showed powerful antidepressant-like effects in both the forced swimming test (FST) and the suspension tail test (TST). SEP-856 orally administered alone also exerted an antidepressant-like effect in FST and TST, especially at doses of 0.3, 1, and 10 mg/kg. In addition, duloxetine (15 mg/kg) and SEP-856 (15 mg/kg) both showed antidepressant-like effects in the sucrose preference test (SPT). Most importantly, in the above experiments, compared with duloxetine alone, the simultaneous use of duloxetine and SEP-856 caused a more significant antidepressant-like effect. It is worth noting that doses of drug combination in FST and TST did not change the motor activities of mice in the open-field test (OFT). Thus, duloxetine and SEP-856 seem to play a synergistic role in regulating depression-related behaviors and might be beneficial for refractory depression.