[Degradation Characteristics of PBAT Fully Biodegradable Mulch Film].

Replacing traditional plastic mulch with fully biodegradable mulch is an important research direction to solve the problem of "white pollution," but whether it can truly realize biodegradation is still the focus of many scholars. In this study, field and indoor experiments were carried out in Pingluo County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, using poly（butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate） （PBAT） fully biodegradable mulch film and ordinary polyethylene （PE） mulch film, with no mulch film （CK） as the control. Macroscopic characteristics such as the degree of apparent cracking of the mulch film, loss of the mulch film area, and the rate of weight loss were observed, and the results were combined with the results of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, and thermogravimetry （TGR）.

Dynamic plasmonic structural color with deep sub-diffraction resolution based on borophene metasurfaces.

Structural colors have seen rapid development in recent years, yet two-dimensional (2D) materials have seldom taken center stage as pixel materials. In this study, we propose a novel approach utilizing the emerging 2D material borophene, wherein resulting metasurfaces can generate plasmonic structural colors with tunability and ultra-high resolution. Numerical investigations demonstrate that borophene metasurfaces support visible localized surface plasmon resonances at deep subwavelength scales under linear-polarized light excitation, thus enabling the realization of structural colors with an unparalleled resolution of up to 10 dots per inch (dpi)-an advancement of one order of magnitude over conventional counterparts.

Real-time channel selection in multi-mode multiplexing optical interconnection implemented by hybrid algorithm and material system.

Multi-mode multiplexing optical interconnection (MMOI) has been widely used as a new technology that can significantly expand communication bandwidth. However, the constant-on state of each channel in the existing MMOI systems leads to serious interference for receivers when extracting and processing information, necessitating introducing real-time selective-on function for each channel in MMOI systems. To achieve this goal, combining several practical requirements, we propose a real-time selective mode switch based on phase-change materials, which can individually tune the passing/blocking of different modes in the bus waveguide.

Optimized wideband and compact multifunctional photonic device based on SbS phase change material.

In this paper, a 1 × 2 photonic switch is designed based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform combined with the phase change material (PCM), SbS, assisted by the direct binary search (DBS) algorithm. The designed photonic switch exhibits an impressive operating bandwidth ranging from 1450 to 1650 nm. The device has an insertion loss (IL) from 0.

Compatible camouflage for dual-band guided-laser radar and infrared via a metamaterial perfect absorber.

Laser-guided detector and infrared detection have attracted increasing attention in a wide range of research fields, including multispectral detection, radiative cooling, and thermal management. Previously reported absorbers presented shortcomings of lacking either tunability or compatibility. In this study, a metamaterial perfect absorber based on a Helmholtz resonator and fractal structure is proposed, which realizes tunable perfect absorptivity ( >0.

Inverse-designed ultra-compact multi-channel and multi-mode waveguide crossings.

In this work, we use the inverse design method to design three-channel and four-channel dual-mode waveguide crossings with the design regions of 4.32 µm-wide regular hexagon and 6.68 µm-wide regular octagon, respectively.

Three-dimensional mode-division multiplexing system.

Blindly increasing the channels of the mode (de)multiplexer on the single-layer chip can cause the device structure to be too complex to optimize. The three-dimensional (3D) mode division multiplexing (MDM) technology is a potential solution to extend the data capacity of the photonic integrated circuit by assembling the simple devices in the 3D space. In our work, we propose a 16 × 16 3D MDM system with a compact footprint of about 100 µm × 5.

Implementing of infrared camouflage with thermal management based on inverse design and hierarchical metamaterial.

Infrared camouflage is an effective technique to avoid many kinds of target detection by detectors in the infrared band. For a high-temperature environment, thermal management of selective emission is crucial to dissipate heat in the mid-infrared non-atmospheric window (5-8 μm). However, it still remains challenges for balancing infrared camouflage and thermal management.

Series of ultra-low loss and ultra-compact multichannel silicon waveguide crossing.

Ultra-compact waveguide crossing (UC-WC) is a basic component in optoelectronic fusion chip solutions, as its footprint is smaller in the orders of magnitude than that of traditional photonic integrated circuits (PICs). However, a large loss of UC-WC (decibel level) becomes a barrier to scaling and practicality. Here, we propose a series of ultra-low loss UC-WC silicon devices using an advanced hybrid design that combines the adjoint method with the direct binary search (DBS) algorithm.

Tunable mid-infrared selective emitter based on inverse design metasurface for infrared stealth with thermal management.

Infrared (IR) stealth with thermal management is highly desirable in military applications and astronomy. However, developing selective IR emitters with properties suitable for IR stealth and thermal management is challenging. In this study, we present the theoretical framework for a selective emitter based on an inverse-designed metasurface for IR stealth with thermal management.

Tunable Infrared Detection, Radiative Cooling and Infrared-Laser Compatible Camouflage Based on a Multifunctional Nanostructure with Phase-Change Material.

The nanostructure composed of nanomaterials and subwavelength units offers flexible design freedom and outstanding advantages over conventional devices. In this paper, a multifunctional nanostructure with phase-change material (PCM) is proposed to achieve tunable infrared detection, radiation cooling and infrared (IR)-laser compatible camouflage. The structure is very simple and is modified from the classic metal-dielectric-metal (MIM) multilayer film structure.

Collective topological corner modes in all-dielectric photonic crystal supercell arrays.

In this Letter, we propose collective topological corner modes in all-dielectric photonic crystal (PhC) supercell arrays, where each supercell is a second-order topological insulator. We show that coupled multipole corner modes are embedded in surrounding bulk modes at the Γ point even without the band gap, and individual or superposed dipole corner modes are selectively excited with collective behaviors by incident plane waves. These collective modes possess high-quality factors with an optimized thickness of the slab, and multipole decomposition reveals they are dominated by toroidal dipole and magnetic quadrupoles.

Tailoring bound states in the continuum in symmetric photonic crystal slabs by coupling strengths.

In this work, we investigate polarization-insensitive dual bound states in the continuum (BICs) at Γ point in symmetric photonic crystal (PhC) slabs. Especially, BICs are tailored by tuning intra- and intercellular optical coupling strengths of PhC slabs. Based on four different approaches, we realize the transition from BIC to quasi-BIC resonances with various dispersion behaviors while maintaining the symmetry of slabs.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of vincamine derivatives as potential pancreatic β-cells protective agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A series of vincamine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated as pancreatic β-cells protective agents for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Most of the compounds displayed potent pancreatic β-cells protective activities and five derivatives were found to exhibit 20-50-fold higher activities than vincamine. Especially for compounds Vin-C01 and Vin-F03, exhibited a remarkable EC value of 0.

Pressure-driven release of viral genome into a host nucleus is a mechanism leading to herpes infection.

Many viruses previously have been shown to have pressurized genomes inside their viral protein shell, termed the capsid. This pressure results from the tight confinement of negatively charged viral nucleic acids inside the capsid. However, the relevance of capsid pressure to viral infection has not been demonstrated.

Vincamine as a GPR40 agonist improves glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetic mice.

Vincamine, a monoterpenoid indole alkaloid extracted from the Madagascar periwinkle, is clinically used for the treatment of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, while also treated as a dietary supplement with nootropic function. Given the neuronal protection of vincamine and the potency of β-cell amelioration in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), we investigated the potential of vincamine in protecting β-cells and ameliorating glucose homeostasis in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, we found that vincamine could protect INS-832/13 cells function by regulating G-protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40)/cAMP/Ca2+/IRS2/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, while increasing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) by modulating GPR40/cAMP/Ca2+/CaMKII pathway, which reveals a novel mechanism underlying GPR40-mediated cell protection and GSIS in INS-832/13 cells.

DMT efficiently inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis by regulating the Gαq signaling pathway.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease with complicated pathogenesis and targeting gluconeogenesis inhibition is a promising strategy for anti-diabetic drug discovery. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are classified as distinct families by heterotrimeric G proteins, primarily including Gαs, Gαi and Gαq. Gαs-coupled GPCRs function potently in the regulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis by activating cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) pathway and Gαi-coupled GPCRs exhibit inhibitory effect on adenylyl cyclase and reduce intracellular cAMP level.

Novel gold nanoparticle trimer reporter probe combined with dry-reagent cotton thread immunoassay device for rapid human ferritin test.

We reported here for the first time on the use of cotton thread combined with novel gold nanoparticle trimer reporter probe for low-cost, sensitive and rapid detection of a lung cancer related biomarker, human ferritin. A model system comprising ferritin as an analyte and a pair of monoclonal antibodies was used to demonstrate the proof-of-concept on the dry-reagent natural cotton thread immunoassay device. Results indicated that the using of novel gold nanoparticle trimer reporter probe greatly improved the sensitivity comparing with traditional gold nanoparticle reporter probe on the cotton thread immunoassay device.

Role of activating transcription factor 3 in the synthesis of latency-associated transcript and maintenance of herpes simplex virus 1 in latent state in ganglia.

A key property of herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) is their ability to establish latent infection in sensory or autonomic ganglia and to reactivate on physical, hormonal, or emotional stress. In latently infected ganglia, HSVs express a long noncoding RNA, a latency-associated transcript (LAT), which plays a key role in maintaining latently infected neurons, but not viral proteins. To investigate the events leading to reactivation, we examined the use of ganglionic organ cultures that enable rapid reactivation in medium containing antibody to nerve growth factor (NGF) or delayed reactivation in medium containing NGF and epidermal growth factor (EGF).

A novel adenosine-based molecular beacon probe for room temperature nucleic acid rapid detection in cotton thread device.

We used cotton thread as substrate to develop a novel room temperature DNA detection device for low-cost, sensitive and rapid detection of a human genetic disease, hereditary tyrosinemia type I related DNA sequences. A novel adenosine based molecular beacon (ABMB) probe modified on gold nanoparticle was used as reporter probe. In the presence of coralyne, a small molecule which can react with adenosines, the ABMB would form a hairpin structure just like traditional molecular beacon used extensively.

Disposable dry-reagent cotton thread-based point-of-care diagnosis devices for protein and nucleic acid test.

We report here for the first time by using dry-reagent cotton thread-based point-of-care diagnosis devices for low-cost, sensitive and rapid detection of a lung cancer related biomarker, squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) and a human genetic disease, hereditary tyrosinemia type I related DNA sequences. A model system comprising SCCA as an analyte and a pair of monoclonal antibodies is used to demonstrate the proof-of-concept on the dry-reagent cotton thread based immunoassay device. An enhancement protocol was employed by using two kinds of gold nanoparticle labels for SCCA test which greatly improved the sensitivity of the device.

Cells infected with herpes simplex virus 1 export to uninfected cells exosomes containing STING, viral mRNAs, and microRNAs.

STING (stimulator of IFN genes) activates the IFN-dependent innate immune response to infection on sensing the presence of DNA in cytosol. The quantity of STING accumulating in cultured cells varies; it is relatively high in some cell lines [e.g.