Due to manufacturing defects or wear and tear, industrial components may have uncertainties. In order to evaluate the performance of machined components, it is crucial to quantify the uncertainty of the scattering surface. This brings up an important class of inverse scattering problems for random interface reconstruction. In this paper, we present an efficient numerical algorithm for the inverse scattering problem of acoustic-elastic interaction with random periodic interfaces. The proposed algorithm combines the Monte Carlo technique and the continuation method with respect to the wavenumber, which can accurately reconstruct the key statistics of random periodic interfaces from the measured data of the acoustic scattered field. In the implementation of our algorithm, a key two-step strategy is employed: Firstly, the elastic displacement field below the interface is determined by Tikhonov regularization based on the dynamic interface condition; Secondly, the profile function is iteratively updated and optimised using the Landweber method according to the kinematic interface condition. Such an algorithm does not require a priori information about the stochastic structures and performs well for both stationary Gaussian and non-Gaussian stochastic processes. Numerical experiments demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of our proposed method.

Nanoscale control of optical dispersion is essential for applications ranging from miniaturized spectrometers to color printing, all of which demand broadband spectral tunability. However, the Kramers-Kronig relations impose a fundamental trade-off between dispersion and loss, strictly limiting the design ability of single-material devices across the deep ultraviolet (DUV) to near-infrared (NIR) regimes. Consequently, the fabrication of miniaturized dispersion devices heavily relies on costly nanofabrication or heterogeneous integration. Here we overcome these limitations by shifting the light-matter interaction from solid structure into air-filled voids. We introduce a fabrication strategy termed "Mie-lithography", in which laser printed seed nanocavities excite Mie resonances in air and the resulting localized field enhancement drives the self-assembly of three-dimensionally tunable void-type optical resonators. Because the resonant modes are primarily confined within air voids, this architecture effectively circumvents material-imposed dispersion-loss constraints, allowing on-demand customization of the broadband spectral response. This approach enables single-step, high-throughput (>= 10^6 pixels/s) printing of dispersion units with a resolution of 63,500 DPI. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a DUV-NIR nano spectrometer integrated in a single material covering an unprecedented range from 200 nm to 800 nm. Our approach can be extended into a platform for ultra-broadband nano devices fabrication and design, opening avenues for high-pixel-density displays and miniaturized spectrometers.

The aggregation of pyrene derivatives often causes fluorescence quenching (aggregation-caused quenching, ACQ), constraining their applications in photonics. Nevertheless, the optical properties of pyrene-based materials can be effectively modulated through strategic molecular design and external pressure. Herein, we report a high-pressure study on 1,6-dibromopyrene (1,6-DBrPy), which has a long-range ordered stacking structure. The emission intensity of 1,6-DBrPy increases with pressure over the range of 0.5 to 3.6 GPa. This enhancement stems from the pressure-induced reorganization of the molecular packing, which promotes the formation of Br & centerdot;& centerdot;& centerdot;Br interactions. These interactions reinforce the structural rigidity of the assembly, thereby effectively suppressing molecular vibrations and reducing non-radiative decay, ultimately leading to improved luminescence performance. Such crystals with emission enhancement behavior possess great potential for optoelectronic applications and provide a new perspective for understanding the photophysical behavior of complex molecular aggregation systems.

Dysregulation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway disrupts immune balance and tissue homeostasis, leading to persistent inflammation and subsequent bone loss. Yet, commonly used JAK2 inhibitors with hydrophobicity primarily suppress inflammation but often fail to provide sustained pharmacological effects and address ongoing inflammation-induced bone destruction. Here, using computer-aided drug design, we developed hydrophilic calcium-doped carbon dots (Ca-CDs) as a multifunctional nanoinhibitor targeting JAK2. The Ca-CDs can block the excessive activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway by binding to JAK2, thereby reducing the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and exerting anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, the Ca-CDs promote bone regeneration under inflammatory conditions and serve as crosslinking junctions that facilitate the formation of a Ca-CDs-based alginate hydrogel, thereby enabling prolonged drug retention and controlled release. Their application in the representative inflammatory microenvironment of periodontitis successfully validated the efficacy of the Ca-CDs-based therapeutic strategy. Overall, targeting JAK2 with Ca-CDs nanoinhibitor offers a promising treatment option for JAK2-associated inflammatory diseases.

Due to manufacturing defects or wear and tear, industrial components may have uncertainties. In order to evaluate the performance of machined components, it is crucial to quantify the uncertainty of the scattering surface. This brings up an important class of inverse scattering problems for random interface reconstruction. In this paper, we present an efficient numerical algorithm for the inverse scattering problem of acoustic-elastic interaction with random periodic interfaces. The proposed algorithm combines the Monte Carlo technique and the continuation method with respect to the wavenumber, which can accurately reconstruct the key statistics of random periodic interfaces from the measured data of the acoustic scattered field. In the implementation of our algorithm, a key two-step strategy is employed: Firstly, the elastic displacement field below the interface is determined by Tikhonov regularization based on the dynamic interface condition; Secondly, the profile function is iteratively updated and optimised using the Landweber method according to the kinematic interface condition. Such a algorithm does not require a priori information about the stochastic structures and performs well for both stationary Gaussian and non-Gaussian stochastic processes. Numerical experiments demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of our proposed method.

Squamous cell carcinoma remains a highly aggressive malignancy with persistently high global incidence and mortality rates, posing significant challenges for effective treatment. Traditional chemotherapies lack specificity, leading to damage in normal tissues and severe side effects, highlighting the urgent need for targeted therapeutic strategies. In this study, copper and calcium co-doped carbon dots (Cu/Ca-CDs) were synthesized using a vacuum-confined heating method. These Cu/Ca-CDs demonstrated excellent tumor-targeting ability through specific binding to folate receptors on murine squamous cell carcinoma cell line (SCC7), facilitated by their pterin ring structure. Mechanistic studies revealed that Cu/Ca-CDs induced SCC7 tumor cell death through copper-induced cuproptosis and calcium overload-mediated apoptosis, as confirmed by Western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and Rhod-2 calcium probe analyses. The dual-mode imaging capability of Cu/Ca-CDs, enabled by fluorescence and computed tomography properties, allowed for real-time tracking of their distribution and accumulation within tumors. This imaging-guided approach ensured precise delivery to tumor tissues while minimizing damage to normal tissues. In vivo experiments demonstrated significant tumor volume reduction and increased survival rates in tumor-bearing mice treated with Cu/Ca-CDs, without any observed toxicity to normal tissues or changes in body weight, underscoring the efficacy and biosafety of Cu/Ca-CDs. These findings highlight Cu/Ca-CDs as a promising strategy for precision oncology, offering effective tumor targeting, dual-mode imaging, and synergistic anti-tumor efficacy with reduced side effects.

This paper is concerned with the inverse elastic scattering problem to determine the shape and location of an elastic obstacle with the Neumann boundary condition in two or three dimensions. By establishing a one-to-one correspondence between the Herglotz wave function and its kernel, we introduce the far-field operator which is crucial in the factorization method. We present a theoretical factorization of the far-field operator and rigorously prove the properties of its associated operators involved in the factorization. Unlike the Dirichlet problem where the boundary integral operator of the single-layer potential involved in the factorization of the far-field operator is weakly singular, the boundary integral operator of the conormal derivative of the double-layer potential involved in the factorization of the far-field operator with Neumann boundary conditions is hypersingular, which forces us to prove that this operator is isomorphic using Fredholm’s theorem. Meanwhile, we present theoretical analyses of the factorization method for various illumination and measurement cases, including compression-wave illumination and compression-wave measurement, shear-wave illumination and shear-wave measurement, and full-wave illumination and full-wave measurement. In addition, we also consider the limited aperture problem and provide a rigorous theoretical analysis of the factorization method in this case. Numerous numerical experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and to analyze the influence of various factors, such as polarization direction, frequency, and multi-scale scatterers on the reconstructed results.

Bone defects present significant clinical challenges due to the complexities of healing. While polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds offer promising mechanical support for bone tissue engineering, their limited bioactivity and dispersibility issues with bioactive fillers restrict their effectiveness. Here, we develop manganese-doped oleic acid-functionalized whitlockite (Mn-OAWH) nanoparticles designed to enhance both the mechanical and biological properties of PCL scaffolds. The nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal approach using oleic acid as both solvent and surface ligand, enabling superior dispersibility in dichloromethane and uniform integration with PCL. Characterization of the resulting 3D printed Mn-OAWH/PCL composite scaffolds confirmed enhanced compressive strength, supported by both mechanical testing and finite element analysis. In vitro studies demonstrated that the release of Mn2+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ ions significantly promoted osteogenic proliferation, exhibited strong antioxidative properties, and accelerated osteogenic differentiation. Furthermore, in vivo implantation in a rat critical-sized cranial defect model revealed significantly improved bone formation compared to undoped and PCL-only controls. These findings establish Mn-OAWH/PCL composite scaffolds as a promising platform for bone tissue engineering, offering both enhanced mechanical support and biological functionality through improved nanoparticle dispersibility, strong antioxidative properties and osteogenic activity.

Nanomaterials have extensive applications in the development of sensitive biosensors, but the influence of their specific structural properties remains unclear. This work presents a platform that can provide mechanistic insight into how nanostructured electrodes improve the performance of electrochemical biosensors. We designed nanoelectrodes with sub-10 nm spike features through a combination of top-down lithography and solution-based synthesis. These anisotropic structures facilitated rapid electron-transfer, minimized biofouling, and promoted efficient target capture. Using these spiky nanoelectrodes in a biosensor, we detected bacterial mRNA at aM-levels and within 3 min. Our findings reveal the mechanism underlying signal enhancement from high-curvature regions on nanostructured electrodes, highlighting the structure-property relationships of nanostructures in electrochemical sensing.

This paper is concerned with the inverse elastic scattering problem to determine the shape and location of an elastic cavity. By establishing a one-to-one correspondence between the Herglotz wave function and its kernel, we introduce the far-field operator which is crucial in the factorization method. We present a theoretical factorization of the far-field operator and rigorously prove the properties of its associated operators involved in the factorization. Unlike the Dirichlet problem where the boundary integral operator of the single-layer potential involved in the factorization of the far-field operator is weakly singular, the boundary integral operator of the conormal derivative of the double-layer potential involved in the factorization of the far-field operator with Neumann boundary conditions is hypersingular, which forces us to prove that this operator is isomorphic using Fredholm's theorem. Meanwhile, we present theoretical analyses of the factorization method for various illumination and measurement cases, including compression-wave illumination and compression-wave measurement, shear-wave illumination and shear-wave measurement, and full-wave illumination and full-wave measurement. In addition, we also consider the limited aperture problem and provide a rigorous theoretical analysis of the factorization method in this case. Numerous numerical experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and to analyze the influence of various factors, such as polarization direction, frequency, wavenumber, and multi-scale scatterers on the reconstructed results.

Kagome lattices can be considered hexagonal lattices with a three-nanoparticle unit cell whose symmetry may lead to the formation of higher-order topological states. This work reports the emergence of polarization-dependent features in the optical band structures of plasmonic Kagome lattices through lattice engineering. By expanding the separations between particles in a unit cell while preserving lattice spacing, we observed additional modes at the K-points of aluminum nanoparticle Kagome lattices. As the rotational symmetry was reduced from 6- to 3-fold, a splitting at the K-point was observed as well as the presence of an additional surface lattice resonance (SLR) band under linear polarization. This SLR band also exhibited a chiral response that depended on the direction of circularly polarized light and resulted in asymmetry in the optical band structure. The polarization-dependent response of plasmonic Kagome lattices can inform the design of systems that support topological states at visible wavelengths.

Cold-atom gravimetry is susceptible to environmental factors and noise resulting from the expansion of the atom cloud, thereby impacting the quality of gravity signals. An amplitude-modulated mirror-pulse scheme for cold-atom gravimeters is proposed to enhance the stability of the gravity measurement. The amplitude-modulated pulse is calculated based on the combined optimal control method of differential evolution and gradient ascent pulse engineering. This combination imparts high robustness to the amplitude-modulated pulse against detuning and coupling strength. Numerical modeling of the atom gravimeter with a cloud of 3 mu K 87Rb atoms suggests that, compared with the rectangular pulse, the amplitude-modulated mirror pulse reduces the uncertainty of the gravity value extracted from a single interference fringe, increases the contrast of the interference fringe by about 1.5 times, and improves the stability of the gravity measurement. Additionally, by imposing constraints on pulse-shape smoothness, the phase-noise transfer function of the gravimeter using the amplitude-modulated mirror pulse closely approximates the performance of the rectangular pulse.

Dimensionality plays a crucial role in long-range dipole-dipole interactions (DDIs). We demonstrate that a resonant nanophotonic structure modifies the apparent dimensionality in an interacting ensemble of emitters, as revealed by population decay dynamics. Our measurements on a dense ensemble of interacting quantum emitters in a resonant nanophotonic structure with long-range DDIs reveal an effective dimensionality reduction to d[over ¯]=2.20(12), despite the emitters being distributed in 3D. This contrasts with the homogeneous environment, where the apparent dimension is d[over ¯]=3.00. Our work presents a promising avenue to manipulate dimensionality in an ensemble of interacting emitters.

Soft assembly of peptide and curcumin (Cur) molecules enables functional integration by finding dynamic equilibrium states through non-covalent interactions. Herein, we developed two soft assembly systems, curcumin-egg white peptides (Cur-EWP) aggregations (AGs) and Cur-EWP-casein-quaternary chitosan (Cur-EWP-CA-QC) nanoparticles (NPs) to comparatively investigate their therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis in mice and elucidate their underlying mechanism. Results revealed that Cur-EWP AGs, despite gastrointestinal tract instability, exhibited a propensity for swift accumulation within the colorectal region, enriching mucus-associated and short-chain fatty acid (SCAF)-producing bacteria, restoring the intestinal barrier damage. Whereas, Cur-EWP-CA-QC NPs, benefiting from their remarkable stability and exceptional mucosal adsorption properties, not only enhanced permeability of Cur and EWP in the small intestine to activate the immune response and boost tight junction protein expression but also, in their unabsorbed state, regulated the intestinal flora, exerting potent anti-inflammatory activity. Soft assembly of peptides and hydrophobic nutraceuticals could synergize biological activities to modulate chronic diseases.

The ultrafast-laser-matter interactions enable "top-down" laser surface structuring, especially for materials difficult to process, with "bottom-up" self-organizing features. The subwavelength scenarios of laser-induced structuring are improved in defects and long-range order by applying positive/negative feedbacks. It is still hardly reported for supra-wavelength laser structuring more associated with complicated thermo/hydro-dynamics. For the first time to the knowledge, the near-field-regulated ultrafast-laser lithography of self-arrayed supra-wavelength micro/nano-pores directly on ultra-hard metallic glass is developed here. The plasmonic hot spots on pre-structures, as the positive feedback, clamped the lateral geometries (i.e., position, size). Simultaneously, it drilled and self-organized into micro/nano-pore arrays by photo-dynamic plasma ablation and Marangoni removal confined under specific femtosecond-laser irradiation, as the negative feedback. The mechanisms and finite element modeling of the multi-physical transduction (based on the two-temperature model), the far-field/near-field coupling, and the polarization dependence during laser-matter interactions are studied. Large-area micro/nano-pore arrays (centimeter scale or larger)  are manufactured with tunable periods (1-5 µm) and geometries (e.g., diameters of 500 nm-6 µm using 343, 515, and 1030 lasers, respectively). Consequently, the mid/far-infrared reflectivity at 2.5-6.5 µm iss decreased from ≈80% to ≈5%. The universality of multi-physical coupling and near-field enhancements makes this approach widely applicable, or even irreplaceable, in various applications.

. This paper is concerned with the inverse problem to determine the shape and location of an acoustically sound-soft cavity, or sound-hard cavity, or impedance cavity with known impedance function from phaseless data for one single source incidence. Based on representing scattered field by single-layer potential, a numerical method is presented for finding the unknown boundary of scatterers. Furthermore, we propose a Newton-type algorithm to recover a realvalued surface impedance from phaseless data. The efficient implementation of the method is described and the feasibility of the approach is illustrated by several numerical examples.

ObjectiveThis review elucidates the mechanisms underpinning intrafibrillar mineralization, examines various amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) stabilizers employed in dentin’s intrafibrillar mineralization, and addresses the challenges encountered in clinical applications of ACP-based bioactive materials.MethodsThe literature search for this review was conducted using three electronic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, with specific keywords. Articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, allowing for a detailed examination and summary of current research on dentin remineralization facilitated by ACP under the influence of various types of stabilizers.ResultsThis review underscores the latest advancements in the role of ACP in promoting dentin remineralization, particularly intrafibrillar mineralization, under the regulation of various stabilizers. These stabilizers predominantly comprise non-collagenous proteins, their analogs, and polymers. Despite the diversity of stabilizers, the mechanisms they employ to enhance intrafibrillar remineralization are found to be interrelated, indicating multiple driving forces behind this process. However, challenges remain in effectively designing clinically viable products using stabilized ACP and maximizing intrafibrillar mineralization with limited materials in practical applications.SignificanceThe role of ACP in remineralization has gained significant attention in dental research, with substantial progress made in the study of dentin biomimetic mineralization. Given ACP’s instability without additives, the presence of ACP stabilizers is crucial for achieving in vitro intrafibrillar mineralization. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and exhaustive reviews on ACP bioactive materials under the regulation of stabilizers. A detailed summary of these stabilizers is also instrumental in better understanding the complex process of intrafibrillar mineralization. Compared to traditional remineralization methods, bioactive materials capable of regulating ACP stability and controlling release demonstrate immense potential in enhancing clinical treatment standards.

Multiplexed optical data storage with the merits of a long lifetime and high data capacity is considered to be a promising technology for storing huge amounts of data generated by human activities. However, practical applications have been limited by the current data capacity, which remains at just a few terabytes (TB) per disc. Here, we demonstrate high-density multidimensional optical data storage in silica glass by writing birefringent voxels using ultraviolet (UV) ultrafast laser pulses. The azimuth of slow axis of birefringent voxels is perpendicular to the polarization direction of the writing laser beam and their retardance can be modulated by pulse numbers or energies. The birefringence modification is attributed to the nanostructures induced by UV laser direct writing in silica glass. Furthermore, a digital document is recorded by this method with a capacity of 7.5 TB/disc and a readout accuracy of 100%.