Scattering-Free and Fast Response Polymer Brush-Stabilized Liquid Crystals Beam Steering Using Surface-Initiated Polymerization Technique.

Nonmechanical fast response optical beam steering technology is increasingly essential for telecommunications, imaging systems, optical sensing, displays, and military applications. Polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC) beam steering can achieve submillisecond response times but faces limitations due to scattering issues arising from the refractive index mismatch between the polymer network and the liquid crystals (LCs). In this article, we demonstrate a scattering-free, fast-response LC beam steering by using polymer brushes to stabilize the gradient refractive index.

Association between parental educational involvement and adolescent depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Adolescents in their school-age period undergo rapid changes in various aspects, such as physiological development, academic pressure, and interpersonal relationships, constitute a high-risk group for depression. Parental educational involvement, as a critical family variable, influences not only children's academic achievement but also their psychological well-being. However, previous research has shown significant discrepancies regarding the relationship between parental educational involvement and adolescent depressive symptoms.

Dielectric Liquid Microlens Array with Tunable Focal Length Based on Microdroplet Array Created via Dip-Coating Method.

A dielectric liquid microlens array (LMA) with a tunable focal length was fabricated by using a microdroplet array generated through the dip-coating method. The process began with treating the octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) layer with selective UV/O irradiation for 20 min to establish a hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterning surface. The substrate was subsequently immersed in glycerol and then withdrawn at a constant rate to create a microdroplet array.

Modified Lignin-Based Cement Solidifying Material for Improving Engineering Residual Soil.

Although lignin improves the strength and modulus of soil, it is less active when unmodified, and it exhibits more limited effects on soils in combination with traditional Ca-based curing agents. Lignin-solidified soil also exhibits deficiencies, such as poor durability under dry-wet cycling conditions, and thus, the amelioration effect is limited. This study investigated the enhancement of cement-solidified soil using hydroxylated lignin with sodium silicate and quicklime used as activators to improve the engineering performance and durability of the treated soil.

Electrically controllable broadband reflective linear cross-polarization conversion based on liquid crystals.

This paper presents an electrically controllable reflective broadband linear polarization (LP) converter based on liquid crystals (LCs) for cross-polarization conversion (CPC) in the terahertz frequency range. The proposed structure achieves a high polarization conversion ratio (PCR) exceeding 0.9 within the frequency range of 236.

Multi-stable dye-doped dual-frequency twisted nematic liquid crystal smart window.

In this study, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, dye-doped dual-frequency liquid crystal multi-stable smart window is proposed. A chiral dopant with appropriate content was introduced into dye-doped dual-frequency liquid crystals to achieve an initial 180° twisted state. These liquid crystals can be switched to a nematic phase or a 360° twisted state by controlling the magnitude and frequency of the applied voltage.

Manipulation of sub-terahertz waves using digital coding metasurfaces based on liquid crystals.

This paper presents a novel sub-terahertz liquid crystal (LC) phase shifter based on digital coding metasurfaces. The proposed structure consists of metal gratings and resonant structures. They are both immersed in LC.

Exploring impacts of water-extractable organic matter on pre-ozonation followed by nanofiltration process: Insights from pH variations on DBPs formation.

This study investigated the influence of pH (4-10) on the treatment of water-extractable organic matter (WEOM), and the associated disinfection by-products (DBPs) formation potential (FP), during the pre-ozonation/nanofiltration treatment process. At alkaline pH (9-10), a rapid decline in water flux (> 50 %) and higher membrane rejection was observed, as a consequence of the increased electrostatic repulsion forces between the membrane surface and organic species. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) modeling and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) provides detailed insights into the WEOM compositional behavior at different pH levels.

Large-Area and Rapid Fabrication of a Microlens Array on a Flexible Substrate for an Integral Imaging 3D Display.

A curved integral imaging three-dimensional (3D) display attracts a lot of interest due to its enhanced 3D sense of immersion and wider viewing angle. In this paper, a microlens array (MLA) based on a flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate was achieved by a straightforward, rapid, and low-cost technique. The reactive ion etching (RIE) process treated PET/CYTOP covered with a flexible mask to generate a hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterned surface.

Vari-focal liquid microlens array using an electrically responsive fluid actuated by a ring array patterned electrode.

A transparent fluid dibutyl adipate (DBA) is suitable for fabricating the adaptive lens due to its unique deformation under a direct current (DC) electric field. In this report, a DBA liquid microlens array (LMA) with a tunable focal length is demonstrated. A hydrophobic layer deposited in the ring array patterns on the electrode induced the formation of the DBA liquid microdroplets array self-assembly.

Empirical analysis of the impact of China-Japan-South Korea transportation infrastructure investment on environmental degradation and the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis.

Building sustainable and affordable transport systems is a key issue for social development and sustainable urban expansion. The study used dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) to examine the impact of transport infrastructure investment on environmental degradation in China, Japan, and South Korea over the period 1995-2020 and the validity of the EKC hypothesis. The results show that GDP has a significant positive effect, and GDP and GDP have significant adverse effects on environmental degradation, respectively.

Electrically active control of terahertz waves in a hybrid metasurface-grating structure with a liquid crystal.

A reflective terahertz phase shifter for wide-range dynamic and continuous phase modulation is proposed. By injecting a tunable liquid crystal between the slotted metasurface and the grating microstructure, the phases of reflected waves can be modulated with different electrically driven methods. Numerical simulations show that the proposed terahertz phase shifter has a phase difference of more than 360° between unbiased and biased states.

Rapid terahertz wave manipulation in a liquid-crystal-integrated metasurface structure.

A terahertz phase shifter based on liquid-crystal-integrated metasurface is proposed, which contains a three-slotted array structure and comb grating. The orientation of the liquid crystal molecules can be completely controlled by the direction of the electric field. From the acquired experimental results, it was demonstrated that the phase shift exceeds 300° in the range of 378.

Fabrication of a bionic compound eye on a curved surface by using a self-assembly technique.

Microlens arrays on curved surfaces are regarded as critical elements of bionic compound eyes (BCEs), which exhibit the comparative advantages of a wide field of view and tracking fast-moving objects. However, the fabrication of a curved microlens array is still challenging. Along these lines, in this work, a straightforward, rapid, and low-cost technique for the fabrication of curved microlens arrays is reported by using the self-assembly technique.

Liquid crystal-based wide-angle metasurface absorber with large frequency tunability and low voltage.

A tunable metasurface absorber (MA) based on polymer network liquid crystal is introduced in this paper. Despite the well-designed unit cell patterns, the proposed MA can achieve both large frequency tunability and wide-angle stability. Compared with traditional liquid crystal-based metasurfaces, the measured results suggest that the recovery time of the proposed structure was reduced by half.

Active continuous control of terahertz wave based on a reflectarray element-liquid crystal-grating electrode hybrid structure.

In this work, a new and efficient terahertz reflective phase shifter is proposed. The phase shifter is composed of a metal-dielectric-metal structure with a double dipole patch array, as well as copper grating electrodes immersed within the nematic liquid crystal. More specifically, the employed copper grating electrodes consist of two sets of cross-distributed comb grids, whereas at each set of comb grids can be applied an external bias voltage separately.

Characterization of sabatolimab, a novel immunotherapy with immuno-myeloid activity directed against TIM-3 receptor.

Objectives: Sabatolimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody (hIgG4, S228P) directed against human T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-3 (TIM-3). Herein, we describe the development and characterization of sabatolimab.

Methods: Sabatolimab was tested for binding to its target TIM-3 and blocking properties.

Study of the Fluidized Separation Process of Irregular Coarse-Grained Pulverized Coal Agglomerates Based on Modified Computational Fluid Dynamics-Population Balance Method.

In this work, the agglomeration, fragmentation, and separation process of coarse-grained pulverized coal agglomerates (CGPCA) obtained from a power plant were achieved using gas-solid fluidized bed sorting and analyzed through a combination of numerical simulations and actual experiments with CGPCA. To study the polydispersity and irregularity of CGPCA, the CGPCA surface fractal dimension was calculated using fractal dimension combined with scanning electron microscopy. The two-section fractal dimension of the particle size distribution was obtained by fitting the logarithmic particle size distribution of CGPCA.

Liquid crystal microlens array with positive and negative focal lengths based on a patterned electrode.

A liquid crystal microlens array (LCMLA) with positive and negative focal lengths based on a ring-array patterned electrodes is demonstrated. By carefully designing patterned electrodes with a circular electrode array area and outer ring electrode region area, the switching of the positive and negative lens effect can be easily achieved in a single cell. A positive lens effect appeared when the voltage was applied to the outer ring electrode region and the top substrate.

Stable and tunable single-mode lasers based on cholesteric liquid crystal microdroplets.

Although many studies on cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) microdroplet single-mode lasers are available, it has been shown that the stability and tunability of such microdroplets are difficult to achieve simultaneously. In this paper, a new, to the best of our knowledge, method is proposed for the mass and rapid preparation of stable and tunable monodisperse CLC microdroplet single-mode lasers. This is based on the formation of polymer networks on the surface of the microdroplet via interfacial polymerization and a disruption of the orderliness of the polymer networks by increasing the temperature during polymerization, which results in a single pitch inside the microdroplets.

Ligand-mediated CsPbBrI/SiOquantum dots for red, stable and low-threshold amplify spontaneous emission.

The red-emitting perovskite material has received widespread attention as a long-wavelength optical gain media. But the easy phase change in the air limits its practical application. Herein, red CsPbBrI/SiOquantum dots (QDs) are prepared by a ligand-mediated hot injection method in which 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTES) is used instead of the usual oleylamine (OAm) ligand.