The energy conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has exceeded 27%, but insufficient phase stability remains the core bottleneck restricting their industrialization. During the low-temperature preparation process, it is...

The ubiquitous presence of micro- and nanoplastics (PS-MNPs) in the environment has raised significant concerns regarding their potential developmental toxicity. However, the impact of maternal polystyrene(PS) - MNP exposure on the skin barrier function of offspring remains unknown. In this study, pregnant mice were exposed to PS-MPs and PS-NPs (10 mg/L) via drinking water during gestation. We assessed the neonatal (P0) skin development through histological analysis and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements. Multi-omics approaches were employed to identify toxic mechanisms. HaCaT cells were employed as an in vitro model to investigate cellular uptake, localization, and cytotoxicity of PS-MNPs. Maternal exposure to both PS-MPs and PS-NPs significantly impaired epidermal barrier development in P0 offspring. At an exposure level of 10 mg/L, TEWL values were significantly elevated, accompanied by a compensatory increase in epidermal thickness. Multi-omics analysis revealed that PS-MNP exposure suppressed the PPARα-mediated lipid metabolic pathway, leading to a systemic imbalance in lipid homeostasis within the skin tissue. Interestingly, PS-MPs specifically triggered dysregulation in DNA replication and cell cycle-related signaling. In vitro assays demonstrated that PS-NPs could penetrate HaCaT cells and accumulate in lysosomes and cell membranes, exerting dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Conversely, PS-MPs primarily resided in the intercellular spaces and exhibited lower toxicity. Our findings demonstrate that maternal PS-MNP exposure compromises offspring skin barrier integrity by interfering with PPARα-mediated lipid metabolism. This study provides critical evidence for the health risks of maternal MNPs exposure on neonatal skin development, and identifies potential biomarkers for MNPs-induced cutaneous toxicity.

Phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (Phi-OTDR) has been applied in distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) of many fields, such as deep-sea geological activity monitoring, oil extraction, and intelligent transportation. However, in Phi-OTDR, the continuous acquisition of broadband acoustic/vibration signals with high spatial resolution has always been a challenge. In this article, a real-time chirped-pulse (CP) Phi-OTDR based on overlap-save polyphase fast Fourier transform (OS-PFFT) optical pulse compression is demonstrated for DAS with high spatial resolution and broadband frequency response. In the proposed system, a polyphase-channel parallel approach is employed for interleaved sampling on Rayleigh backscattering (RBS) signal segments with subsequent FFT processing, thus reducing the computational load while improving data throughput. A pulse compression at a high sampling rate of 3.2 GSa/s has been achieved successfully in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) without clock constraints. A strain resolution of 26.3 p epsilon/root Hz and a spatial resolution of 0.9 m were experimentally achieved at a distance of 25 km, and a spatial resolution of 2.5 m was achieved at 70 km. A low-frequency vibration at 0.01 Hz was detected with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 48 dB, whereas a maximum detectable frequency of 5 kHz was demonstrated. As a result, the proposed real-time DAS scheme has the potential to facilitate DAS applications with requirements for a wide-range frequency response and rapid sensing capabilities.

Single-frequency distributed Bragg reflector fiber lasers (DBR FLs) are attractive as sensing elements for detecting weak vibration or acoustic signals in extreme environments. However, conventional UV-written DBR FLs operate with two orthogonal polarization modes and can hardly operate in high-temperature environments. Herein, we propose the fabrication of polarization-controllable DBR FLs by using a slit beam shaping femtosecond (fs) laser point-by-point technology. High-quality fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot (FBG-FP) cavities with insertion loss as low as 0.2 dB are directly inscribed in Er-doped fibers to create DBR FLs. Both single-polarization and dual-polarization DBR FLs are created by changing the fs laser-induced birefringence using a mechanical slit. In addition, a DBR FL array consisting of eight DBR FLs is also successfully created. Experimental results show that the fabricated DBR FL can withstand a high temperature up to 800 degrees C and the laser linewidth increases from 1.55 kHz to 10.8 kHz as temperature raising from 25 degrees C to 800 degrees C. Furthermore, high-temperature vibration sensing at 800 degrees C is realized by using a single-polarization DBR FL, achieving an acceleration sensitivity of 0.319 rad/(m/s(2)). Moreover, a dual-polarization DBR FL is served as an ultrasonic sensor, realizing the ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) in a 7075-aluminum plate.

We propose and demonstrate a high-performance DAS system using ultra-short fiber Bragg grating arrays (USFBG) and a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (phi- OTDR). A USFBG with an ultra-short length of 30 mu m was successfully fabricated in a single-mode fiber (SMF) by femtosecond laser point-by-point inscription, exhibiting a large full width at half maximum (FWHM) bandwidth of 24.6 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest grating bandwidth reported to date. The ultra-large bandwidth effectively avoids the mismatch between the wavelength of the system light source and the grating caused by temperature changes. Moreover, a USFBG array with 300 identical USFBGs and an interval of 5 m was fabricated along the SMF to enhance the backscattering signal and suppress fading noise. An optical pulse compression algorithm was also deployed in the heterodyne phi-OTDR system to improve the spatial resolution. Thanks to the combination of USFBG arrays and the pulse compression phi-OTDR system, a long-distance DAS with a sensing distance of 60 km, a spatial resolution of 5.9 m, and an improved strain resolution of 13.9 p epsilon/root Hz was achieved. Then, long-term high-temperature annealing was carried out, and the results showed that the fabricated USFBGs can withstand a high temperature of 1000 degrees C. A high-temperature DAS system capable of operating at up to 1000 degrees C was also demonstrated. As such, the proposed DAS systems could be used in harsh environments, such as aerospace vehicles, nuclear plants, and oil and gas exploration. (c) 2025 Optica Publishing Group. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved.

Sapphire fiber Bragg gratings (SFBGs) are promising high-temperature sensors, which can be applied to measure temperature and strain in extreme environments. However, the multimode operation of SFBGs is susceptible to disturbance, leading to unreliable wavelength detection. Here, we propose by using added multimode fibers (AMMF) and tracing the longwave edge of reflection envelope to enhance the stability of wavelength detection for SFBG. The near-field profiles of transmission modes are investigated in sapphire fiber with different lengths of AMMF. It is found that the mode-field distribution of sapphire fiber can be improved by using AMMF with a length of 1000 m, which results in a reduction of relative standard deviation (RSD) from 57 % to 10 %. Then, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the reflection spectrum of SFBG is improved to 16 dB by polishing inclined end faces of sapphire fiber using the removal mechanism of hard-brittle materials. Furthermore, we detect the wavelengths of both the longwave edge and peak on the reflection envelope, which reveals lower fluctuations (i. e., SD = 0.02 nm) of the longwave edge, since lower-order modes are more stable during transmission. The effect of external disturbances (i.e., torsion and vibration) on demodulation of SFBG is also evaluated, with a maximum fluctuation of 0.06 nm (SD = 0.01 nm). A temperature experiment is carried out with the assembly and polynomial fitting curves with high fitness are obtained. Thus, our proposed methods enhance the reliability of wavelength detection in the reflection spectrum of SFBG, which is beneficial to improving the sensing performance of SFBG-based sensors.

Linear-frequency-swept (LFS) phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) can overcome the constraints between spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. However, the Doppler shift induced by vibration in the Rayleigh backscattering (RBS) signal generates significant crosstalk beyond the vibration area. Here, we propose and demonstrate a Doppler-crosstalk-suppressed quasi-distributed acoustic sensor (QDAS) based on an LFS Φ-OTDR, utilizing a discrete Rayleigh-enhanced single-mode fiber (eSMF). The mechanism of Doppler-induced crosstalk was analyzed, and the effects of pulse parameters, including pulse width, sweep rate, and bandwidth, were studied. Moreover, a discrete eSMF was proposed to suppress the crosstalk by reducing the change rate in the local phase. As a proof of concept, a vibration signal with a frequency of 8 kHz was successfully detected with a spatial resolution of 10 cm, a strain resolution of 190 pε/√Hz, and an improved crosstalk suppression of 20 dB. The proposed QDAS system with Doppler-induced crosstalk suppression is promising for ultrasonic structural health monitoring, such as aerial vehicles and deep-sea submersibles.

High-sensitivity detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is of great significance for food safety, medical health, and human well-being. Although solid-state nanochannels have been widely used in biosensing due to their excellent properties, the inherent confined space dimensions of nanochannels and their susceptibility to interference present challenges for high-sensitivity and reliable sensing. Herein, nanochannels (None@IWCdTe + None@OSFOTS) with CdTe quantum dots (QDs) on the inner walls (IW) and 1 H,1 H,2 H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (FOTS) hydrophobic coating on the outer surfaces (OS) were designed, and SEBspecific DNA probes were modified onto the CdTe of IW, constructing a dual-mode nanochannel sensor (DNA@IWCdTe + None@OSFOTS). Compared to the nanochannel sensor (DNA@IW + DNA@OS) with DNA probes only on both the IW and OS, the limit of detection (LOD) based on ionic current of the DNA@IWCdTe + None@OSFOTS nanochannel sensor was 33 times lower, and it also exhibited highly sensitive fluorescence detection for SEB (LOD is 0.0026 ng/mL). The significantly improved sensitivity based on ionic current can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the QDs of the IW and the FOTS of the OS, leading to a reduction in effective pore diameter, which in turn causes a more sensitive change in ionic current upon probe-target binding. Meanwhile, the introduction of QDs provides the fluorescent signal, thereby improving the reliability of detection. Additionally, the synergistic effect and fluorescence sensing mechanism were experimentally and theoretically verified. This work provides important insights into the synergistic effects between the IW and OS of nanochannels and the reliability of dual-mode detection.

A novel imprinted material for glycoprotein detection was prepared based on metal -organic framework (MOF)/ covalent -organic framework (COF) hybrid composite (MOF@COF-B(OH)2) with fluorescent properties and boric component that facilitated glycoprotein imprinting. The MOF@COF-B(OH)2 exhibited improved fluorescence emission from MOF due to efficient excited -state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). Transferrin (TrF), an important transporting glycoprotein, was selected as the target. MOF@COF-B(OH)2 effectively captured TrF through boronated affinity. The imprinted material (MOF@COF-B(OH)2@MIP) showed obvious fluorescence quenching after incubation with TrF at 430 nm via the photo -induced electron transfer (PET). A good linear relationship was demonstrated in the range of 0.1-40 mu M with an associated limit of detection (LOD) of 57.6 nM under optimal conditions. An electrochemical platform for TrF detection was constructed by combining MOF@COF-B(OH)2@MIP with a disposable screen -printed carbon electrode (SPCE). The differential pulse voltammetry signal generated by MOF@COF-B(OH)2@MIP/SPCE served as a secondary signal to monitor TrF. The MOF@COF-B(OH)2@MIP/SPCE exhibited satisfactory linearity with a LOD of 2.7 nM. Moreover, the imprinted sensor showed good recovery rates for detection in actual samples using fluorescencent and electrochemical modes. This study offered a promising strategy for the application of boric acid-functionalized MOF@COF in glycoprotein sensing.

Metabolic competition between tumor cells and killer T cells induces microenvironmental nutrient deficiencies and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), leading to insufficient killer T cell activation and infiltration. In this study, we proposed a synergistic nanosystem of ion interference and gene silencing that can effectively inhibit the glutamine/glycolysis metabolism dual pathway in tumor cells and activate the cGAS-STING innate immune pathway, which in turn promotes the activation and infiltration of killer T cells. Manganese ion (Mn2+)-activated DNAzyme decreases the glutamine transporter protein ASCT2, limiting glutamine absorption by tumor cells, whereas released zinc ions (Zn2+) limits glucose utilization by tumor cells as well as compensatory glycolysis, and the two synergistically alleviate the competitive pressure of glutamine and glucose from the killer T-cells while disrupting the redox homeostasis of tumor cells. Additionally, the released Mn2+ and Zn2+ synergistically activate the cGAS-STING pathway. In this study, the nanosystems not only disrupted tumor cell metabolism, but also activated a robust immune response, which may drastically reduce subcutaneous cancer growth and reverse the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Overall, the gene silencing-ion interference strategy provides a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy.

The phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) is a powerful tool for a variety of applications, such as pipeline safety monitoring, perimeter safety, and geological exploration. However, real-time demodulation and status monitoring remain a challenge since a huge amount of data is collected all the time in such system. Here, we demonstrate a real-time Φ-OTDR system based on FPGA digital signal processing scheme, utilizing a single rectangular pulse for the heterodyne coherent detection system. The experimental results indicate that the comprehensive resource consumption of the demodulation algorithm is controllable. Subsequently, the distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) with a sensing distance of 9 km, a demodulation rate of 10kHz, and a spatial sampling interval of 10m is obtained. Hence, such a real-time Φ-OTDR system can achieve a long distance and high resolution detection of DAS.

ZnIn2S4 has been extensively studied in the field of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE), but its bulky structure often results in high charge carrier recombination and low light harvesting capability. Herein, efficient hierarchical MGa2O4/ZnIn2S4 (M = Ni, Co) hollow nanofiber photocatalysts with p-n heterojunction were fabricated by an electrospinning-solvothermal method. The hierarchical structure of MGa2O4/ZnIn2S4 composites has facilitated p-n heterojunction formation, promoted the charge separation efficiency, enhanced light harvesting capability, and provided abundant reactive sites. The synergistic effects of MGa2O4 and ZnIn2S4 accelerated the PHE rate by reducing the *H reaction intermediates energy barrier. Under simulated solar light, the NiGa2O4/ZnIn2S4 and CoGa2O4/ZnIn2S4 with optimal proportions delivered outstanding PHE rate of 9292 and 6283 mu mol center dot g(-1)center dot h(- 1), which was 5 and 3 times higher than that of pure ZnIn2S4, respectively. This work opens up an efficient electrospinning-mediated solvothermal strategy for constructing hierarchical ZnIn2S4-based nanofiber composites with excellent PHE performance.

In order to alleviate the influence of greenhouse effect on global climate change, the effective utilization of CO2 to prepare fine chemicals should be paid more attention to, however, which is greatly blocked by the catalyst with low efficiency. Here, alkali metal (Li, Na, or K) are employed as a modification aid to prepare CuO/ZrO2 catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. The effects of alkali metal on physicochemical properties and catalytic activities of CuO/ZrO2 catalyst were studied in detail by the XRD, N-2-physisorption, ICP-OES, SEM/EDS, H-2/N2O/CO2/NH3-chemisorption, and evaluation test. The results verified that the use of complex combustion method enabled the uniform combination of all components in precursor. High-temperature calcination (700 degrees C) further enhanced the strong interaction and synergistic effect between Cu and ZrO2. Most importantly, the introduction of alkali metal effectively altered the structure and catalytic activity of CuO/ZrO2 catalysts. However, the selectivity to methanol increased while the CO2 conversion decreased regardless of different kinds of alkali metal being introduced to the CuO/ZrO2 catalysts. For example, CuO/ZrO2 catalyst modified by K exhibited excellent performance for methanol production that 98.9% selectivity of methanol based on 8.8% conversion of CO2 after 48 h online reaction.

Fingermarks identification have always been the most effective and reliable way for individuals determination among the forensic science. The fingermarks at the scene of the case as the valuable physical evidence to analyze the trajectory of criminal behavior and portray the characteristics of the suspect play an irreplaceable role in the process of investigation. To reach its pivotal biometric individualization, the luminescent metal-organic framework (Eu@Tb-LL) was prepared via a simple optimized solvothermal method for visualizing the latent fingermarks with minimally destructive to DNA in this work. Eu@Tb-LL exhibited ideal optical stability and fluorescence intensity at the wavelength of 530 and 620 nm during revealing latent fingermarks. Meanwhile, Eu@Tb-LL is more effective than indandione (commonly used in the site investigation) in revealing aged fingermarks. More significantly, the Eu@Tb-LL superimposed on commercial manifestation reagents (Hfb) enhanced the effect of Hfb for revealing blood latent fingermarks on the non -porous objects. In addition, the STR testing results performed after the visualization process proved the Eu@Tb-LL was minimally destructive to DNA with a confidence interval of 95 %, exhibiting promising prospects for practical criminal investigation applications.

In this paper, a core-shell based on the Fe3O4@SiO2@Au nanoparticle amplification technique for a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is proposed. Fe3O4@SiO2@AuNPs were used not only to amplify SPR signals, but also to rapidly separate and enrich T-2 toxin via an external magnetic field. We detected T-2 toxin using the direct competition method in order to evaluate the amplification effect of Fe3O4@SiO2@AuNPs. A T-2 toxin–protein conjugate (T2-OVA) immobilized on the surface of 3-mercaptopropionic acid-modified sensing film competed with T-2 toxin to combine with the T-2 toxin antibody–Fe3O4@SiO2@AuNPs conjugates (mAb-Fe3O4@SiO2@AuNPs) as signal amplification elements. With the decrease in T-2 toxin concentration, the SPR signal gradually increased. In other words, the SPR response was inversely proportional to T-2 toxin. The results showed that there was a good linear relationship in the range of 1 ng/mL~100 ng/mL, and the limit of detection was 0.57 ng/mL. This work also provides a new possibility to improve the sensitivity of SPR biosensors in the detection of small molecules and in disease diagnosis.

Constructing heterojunctions with transition metal sulfides is an excellent strategy to reduce the dependency on noble metals in photocatalytic water splitting. Herein, 0D CoMoS4 nanoparticles were first deposited in-situ on the surface of 3D ZnIn2S4 microflowers for constructing heterostructured CoMoS4-ZnIn2S4 (CMS-ZIS) compos-ites. The CMS-ZIS composites showed strengthened absorption capabilities in the visible light region compared with pure ZnIn2S4. The electron microscopy scanning images indicate that countless CoMoS4 particles were loaded into the gaps on the surface of ZnIn2S4 microflowers, resulting in a close interface contact between the materials. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) rate of the optimized CMS-ZIS-3 product is 6.43 folds that of pure ZnIn2S4, which is approximately 3942.1 mu mol g(-1) h(-1). The enhanced activity should be attributed to the promoted carrier transfer rate and reduced recombination efficiency. We inferred the possible mechanism for photocatalytic hydrogen production over CMS-ZIS-3 based on the band potential and photoelectrochemical testing results. This study provides a feasible strategy for designing efficient and cost-effective 0D/3D heterostructures.