BINA

Nanomedicine constantly broadens horizons of modern therapy and diagnostics. However, imaging nanoagents are of especial interest. Here, we report on novel, facile, and sustainable way to fabricate targeted multimodal imaging nanoparticles. Specifically, we synthesize nanoparticles using immunoglobulins and introduce nanoparticles of different nature into immunoglobulin-based matrix. We demonstrate applicability of the nanoparticles both in vitro and in vivo.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are being studied and developed because of the outstanding properties of halide perovskites as photovoltaic materials and high conversion efficiencies achieved with the best PSCs. However, leaching out of lead (Pb) ions into the environment presents potential public health risks. We show that thiol-functionalized nanoparticles provide an economic way of minimizing Pb leaching in the case of PSC module damage and subsequent water exposure (at most,∼ 2.5% of today's crystal silicon solar panel production cost per square meter). Using commercial materials and methods, we retain∼ 90% of Pb without degrading the photovoltaic performance of the cells, compared with nonencapsulated devices, yielding a worst-case scenario of top-soil pollution below natural Pb levels and well below the US Environmental Protection Agency limits.

The parasite Trypanosoma brucei causes African sleeping sickness that is fatal to patients if untreated. Parasite differentiation from a replicative slender form into a quiescent stumpy form promotes host survival and parasite transmission. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to regulate cell differentiation in other eukaryotes. To determine whether lncRNAs are also involved in parasite differentiation, we used RNA sequencing to survey the T. brucei genome, identifying 1428 previously uncharacterized lncRNA genes. We find that grumpy lncRNA is a key regulator that promotes parasite differentiation into the quiescent stumpy form. This function is promoted by a small nucleolar RNA encoded within the grumpy lncRNA. snoGRUMPY binds to messenger RNAs of at least two stumpy regulatory genes, promoting their expression. grumpy overexpression reduces parasitemia in infected mice. Our analyses …

The growth of industrialization and the population has increased the usage of fossil fuels, resulting in the emission of large amounts of CO2. This serious environmental issue can be abated by using sustainable and environmentally friendly materials with promising novel and superior performance as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Emerging nanomaterials derived from abundant natural resources have received considerable attention as candidates to replace petroleum-based synthetic polymers. As renewable materials from biomass, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) nanomaterials exhibit unique physicochemical properties, low cost, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Among a plethora of applications, CNCs have become proven nanomaterials for energy applications encompassing energy storage devices and supercapacitors. This review highlights the recent research contribution on novel CNC-conductive materials and CNCs-based nanocomposites, focusing on their synthesis, surface functionalization and potential applications as supercapacitors (SCs). The synthesis of CNCs encompasses various pretreatment steps including acid hydrolysis, mechanical exfoliation and enzymatic and combination processes from renewable carbon sources. For the widespread applications of CNCs, their derivatives such as carboxylated CNCs, aldehyde-CNCs, hydride-CNCs and sulfonated CNC-based materials are more pertinent. The potential applications of CNCs-conductive hybrid composites as SCs, critical technical issues and the future feasibility of this endeavor are highlighted. Discussion is also extended to the transformation of …

We demonstrate a high-fidelity directional coupler in photonic integrated waveguides, utilizing a novel scheme of detuning modulated composite segments. We reduce the wavelength dependence by almost an order of magnitude, indicating significantly increased robustness.

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is a promising quantum sensor with remarkably versatile sensing capabilities. While scanning NV magnetometry is well-established, NV electrometry has been so far limited to bulk diamonds. Here we demonstrate imaging external alternating (AC) and direct (DC) electric fields with a single NV at the apex of a diamond scanning tip under ambient conditions. A strong electric field screening effect is observed at low frequencies due to charge noise on the surface. We quantitatively measure its frequency dependence, and overcome this screening by mechanically oscillating the tip for imaging DC fields. Our scanning NV electrometry achieved an AC E-field sensitivity of 26 mV um^(-1) Hz^(-1/2), a DC E-field gradient sensitivity of 2 V um^(-2) Hz^(-1/2), and sub-100 nm resolution limited by the NV-sample distance. Our work represents an important step toward building a scanning-probe-based multimodal quantum sensing platform.

The demand for improved indoor air quality, especially during the pandemic of Covid-19, has led to renewed interest in antiviral and antibacterial air-conditioning systems. Here, air filters of vehicles made of nonwoven polyester filter media were sonochemically coated with CuO nanoparticles by a roll-to-roll coating method. The product, aimed at providing commuters with high air quality, showed good stability and mechanical properties and potent activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, H1N1 influenza, and two SARS-CoV-2 variants. The filtering properties of a coated filter were tested, and they were similar to those of the uncoated filter. Leaching tests as a function of airflow were conducted, and the main outcome was that the coating was stable and particles were not detached from the coated media. Extension to other air-conditioning systems was straightforward.

A first fiber laser based on forward Brillouin scattering is proposed and demonstrated. The laser is based on inter-modal scattering in a standard panda type polarization maintaining fiber. Single-mode and multi-mode regimes are demonstrated.

Direct, distributed analysis of forward scattering is demonstrated for the first time in any optical medium, using inter-modal nonlinear coupling in polarization maintaining fibers. Local spectra of forward Brillouin scattering and Kerr effect are resolved.

The growth of industrialization and the population has increased the usage of fossil fuels, resulting in the emission of large amounts of CO2. This serious environmental issue can be abated by using sustainable and environmentally friendly materials with promising novel and superior performance as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Emerging nanomaterials derived from abundant natural resources have received considerable attention as candidates to replace petroleum-based synthetic polymers. As renewable materials from biomass, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) nanomaterials exhibit unique physicochemical properties, low cost, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Among a plethora of applications, CNCs have become proven nanomaterials for energy applications encompassing energy storage devices and supercapacitors. This review highlights the recent research contribution on novel CNC-conductive materials and CNCs-based nanocomposites, focusing on their synthesis, surface functionalization and potential applications as supercapacitors (SCs). The synthesis of CNCs encompasses various pretreatment steps including acid hydrolysis, mechanical exfoliation and enzymatic and combination processes from renewable carbon sources. For the widespread applications of CNCs, their derivatives such as carboxylated CNCs, aldehyde-CNCs, hydride-CNCs and sulfonated CNC-based materials are more pertinent. The potential applications of CNCs-conductive hybrid composites as SCs, critical technical issues and the future feasibility of this endeavor are highlighted. Discussion is also extended to the transformation of …

Diabetic foot is a well-known problem among patients suffering from peripheral arterial diseases (PAD). This article presents an optical sensor for contactless measurement of the anatomical site based on laser speckle techniques. The sensor illuminates the inspected tissue and analyzes the captured back-reflected light from the time-changing speckle patterns. An occlusion test was implemented to provide a statistical parameter to differentiate between a low perfused and a healthy foot. A clinical study of 15 subjects was conducted. The video was analyzed by two methods: dynamic laser speckle (DLS) and laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA). Data analysis included several classification models, where the KNN model exhibited maximum performance. These findings suggest that a simple and inexpensive system for PAD monitoring can be designed for home use and/or in community clinics.

The Cover Feature shows the ultrasound-assisted formation of Fe-BTC gels, iron carboxylate metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) constructed from iron ions and 1, 3, 5 benzenetricarboxylic acid linkers. The gels were obtained by two different procedures: ultrasonic irradiation (US) of different water solutions containing the linker and iron nitrate, with or without the additive tetramethylammonium hydroxide. Gelation was observed regardless of the duration of the irradiation, the precursor concentration, the additive, or the US apparatus used. While drying, the wet gels underwent shrinking and cracked into tiny fractions of transparent solid xerogels consisting of interconnected spherical, thermally stable nanoparticles with a permanent microporous structure. The authors acknowledge Prof. Christoph Hartl for gently assisting with the cover′ s graphic layout. More information can be found in the Research Article by G …

We explore experimentally synchronization and persistent beating dynamics in coupled non-degenerate parametric oscillators. We demonstrate that synchronization is completely prevented due to mode competition, which is unique to non-degenerate oscillators.

We investigate a tight-binding quantum walk on a graph. Repeated stroboscopic measurements of the position of the particle yield a measured “trajectory,” and a combination of classical and quantum mechanical properties for the walk are observed. We explore the effects of the measurements on the spreading of the packet on a one-dimensional line, showing that except for the Zeno limit, the system converges to Gaussian statistics similarly to a classical random walk. A large deviation analysis and an Edgeworth expansion yield quantum corrections to this normal behavior. We then explore the first passage time to a target state using a generating function method, yielding properties like the quantization of the mean first return time. In particular, we study the effects of certain sampling rates that cause remarkable changes in the behavior in the system, such as divergence of the mean detection time in finite systems …

Utilizing a combination of hyperspectral measurements and sorting K-means algorithms, we study coupled J-aggregate–plasmonic nanostructures system. The effect of proximity and cover ratio of the J-aggregates on the plasmonic resonance is shown and modeled.

We demonstrate experimentally symmetry breaking in a linear cavity mode-locking laser due to a non-local Kerr-lens, which is expressed in deviation from the soliton model. The effect is backed by numerical simulation with quantitative agreement.

We present a fiber-based photonic computing concept and system which rely on incoherent data encoding and scalable architecture. Our results suggest projected performance of> 1,000,000 Tera operations per second (TOPs) and efficiency of> 1000 TOPs/Watt.