Recent advances in the material design and synthesis of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) have revealed a new landscape for polymer solar cells (PSCs) and have boosted the power conversion efficiencies ...(PCEs) to over 15%. Further improvements of the photovoltaic performance are a significant challenge in NFA‐PSCs based on binary donor:acceptor blends. In this study, ternary PSCs are fabricated by incorporating a fullerene derivative, PC61BM, into a combination of a polymer donor (PBDB‐TF) and a fused‐ring NFA (Y6) and a very high PCE of 16.5% (certified as 16.2%) is recorded. Detailed studies suggest that the loading of PC61BM into the PBDB‐TF:Y6 blend can not only enhance the electron mobility but also can increase the electroluminescence quantum efficiency, leading to balanced charge transport and reduced nonradiative energy losses simultaneously. This work suggests that utilizing the complementary advantages of fullerene and NFAs is a promising way to finely tune the detailed photovoltaic parameters and further improve the PCEs of PSCs.
Ternary polymer solar cells are successfully developed by combining a fullerene derivative and a nonfullerene material as acceptors. The introduction of PC61BM into the PBDB‐TF:Y6 blend effectively improves the charge transport properties and reduces the nonradiative energy loss. Ultimately, the main photovoltaic parameters are simultaneously enhanced in the ternary devices, leading to an outstanding efficiency of 16.5% (certificated as 16.2%).
Food 3 D printing is an emerging food processing technology. Due to the advantages of functionalization, customization, personalized nutrition design, simplified supply chain and broadening existing ...food materials, 3 D printing has been extensively studied in the food sector in the past decade. Many factors influence the accuracy and quality of food 3 D printing, which are also the challenges to researchers. Currently, most of the research focuses on the development of printable materials and control of printing parameters to improve the printing accuracy and product quality. However, the influence of material pretreatment methods and post-processing techniques on food 3 D printing have received less attention.
By collecting the available data and research, this paper analyzes the effect of pretreatment technologies (crushing, gelation, etc.) and post-treatment technologies (cooking, drying, fast cooling technology, 4 D printing, etc.) on the accuracy and shape fidelity of 3 D printed food products. It also summarizes the current challenges of food 3 D printing and proposes some thoughts on the future development of this technology.
DNA is a highly programmable material that can be configured into unique high‐order structures, such as DNA branched junctions containing multiple helical arms converging at a center. Herein we show ...that DNA programmability can deliver in situ growth of a 3‐way junction‐based DNA structure (denoted Y‐shaped DNA) with the use of three hairpin‐shaped DNA molecules as precursors, a specific microRNA target as a recyclable trigger, and a DNA polymerase as a driver. We demonstrate that the Y‐shaped configuration comes with the benefit of restricted freedom of movement in confined cellular environment, which makes the approach ideally suited for in situ imaging of small RNA targets, such as microRNAs. Comparative analysis illustrates that the proposed imaging technique is superior to both the classic fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method and an analogous amplified imaging method via programmed growth of a double‐stranded DNA (rather than Y‐shaped DNA) product.
Y does not diffuse: Programmed intracellular growth of a DNA assembly with a Y shape is achieved using a microRNA target as a recyclable trigger and three hairpin‐shaped DNA molecules as precursors. The Y‐shaped configuration comes with the benefit of restricted diffusion in a confined cellular environment, making the proposed approach ideal for in situ imaging of small microRNA targets.
Background and Aims
The risk factors of cholelithiasis have not been clearly identified, especially for total cholesterol. Here, we try to identify these causal risk factors.
Approach and Results
We ...obtained genetic variants associated with the exposures at the genome‐wide significance (p < 5 × 10−8) level from corresponding genome‐wide association studies. Summary‐level statistical data for cholelithiasis were obtained from FinnGen and UK Biobank (UKB) consortia. Both univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted to identify causal risk factors of cholelithiasis. Results from FinnGen and UKB were combined using the fixed‐effect model. In FinnGen, the odds of cholelithiasis increased per 1‐SD increase of body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.631, p = 2.16 × 10−7), together with body fat percentage (OR = 2.108, p = 4.56 × 10−3) and fasting insulin (OR = 2.340, p = 9.09 × 10−3). The odds of cholelithiasis would also increase with lowering of total cholesterol (OR = 0.789, p = 8.34 × 10−5) and low‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol (LDL‐C) (OR = 0.792, p = 2.45 × 10−4). However, LDL‐C was not significant in multivariable MR. In UKB, the results of BMI, body fat percentage, total cholesterol, and LDL‐C were replicated. In meta‐analysis, the liability to type 2 diabetes mellitus and smoking could also increase the risk of cholelithiasis. Moreover, there were no associations with other predominant risk factors.
Conclusions
Our MR study corroborated the risk factors of cholelithiasis from previous MR studies. Furthermore, lower total cholesterol level could be an independent risk factor.
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), also known as mesenchymal stem cells, have been intensely investigated for clinical applications within the last decades. However, the majority of registered ...clinical trials applying MSC therapy for diverse human diseases have fallen short of expectations, despite the encouraging pre-clinical outcomes in varied animal disease models. This can be attributable to inconsistent criteria for MSCs identity across studies and their inherited heterogeneity. Nowadays, with the emergence of advanced biological techniques and substantial improvements in bio-engineered materials, strategies have been developed to overcome clinical challenges in MSC application. Here in this review, we will discuss the major challenges of MSC therapies in clinical application, the factors impacting the diversity of MSCs, the potential approaches that modify MSC products with the highest therapeutic potential, and finally the usage of MSCs for COVID-19 pandemic disease.
Anticounterfeiting labels based on physical unclonable functions (PUFs), as one of the powerful tools against counterfeiting, are easy to generate but difficult to duplicate due to inherent ...randomness. Gap-enhanced Raman tags (GERTs) with embedded Raman reporters show strong intensity enhancement and ultra-high photostability suitable for fast and repeated readout of PUF labels. Herein, we demonstrate a PUF label fabricated by drop-casting aqueous GERTs, high-speed read using a confocal Raman system, digitized through coarse-grained coding methods, and authenticated via pixel-by-pixel comparison. A three-dimensional encoding capacity of over 3 × 10
can be achieved for the labels composed of ten types of GERTs with a mapping resolution of 2500 pixels and quaternary encoding of Raman intensity levels at each pixel. Authentication experiments have ensured the robustness and security of the PUF system, and the practical viability is demonstrated. Such PUF labels could provide a potential platform to realize unbreakable anticounterfeiting.
Improving power conversion efficiency (PCE) is important for broadening the applications of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Here, a maximum PCE of 19.0% (certified value of 18.7%) is achieved in ...single‐junction OPV cells by combining material design with a ternary blending strategy. An active layer comprising a new wide‐bandgap polymer donor named PBQx‐TF and a new low‐bandgap non‐fullerene acceptor (NFA) named eC9‐2Cl is rationally designed. With optimized light utilization, the resulting binary cell exhibits a good PCE of 17.7%. An NFA F‐BTA3 is then added to the active layer as a third component to simultaneously improve the photovoltaic parameters. The improved light unitization, cascaded energy level alignment, and enhanced intermolecular packing result in open‐circuit voltage of 0.879 V, short‐circuit current density of 26.7 mA cm−2, and fill factor of 0.809. This study demonstrates that further improvement of PCEs of high‐performance OPV cells requires fine tuning of the electronic structures and morphologies of the active layers.
By designing new donor/acceptor materials and combining a ternary blending strategy, a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.0% (certified value of 18.7%) in single‐junction organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells is achieved. It is demonstrated that finely tuning the light utilization and photophysical processes of the active layer has great potential for further improving the PCEs of OPV cells.
Achieving optimal implant restoration hinges on both robust osseointegration as the structural foundation and favorable osseoperception for advanced masticatory function. The significance of nerve ...innervation in the peri‐implant environment as the cornerstone of osseointegration and osseoperception is often underestimated. Despite the integral role of endogenous electric fields (EFs) in the human body, particularly in electrosensitive tissues like nerve tissue, the current approach involving external electrical stimulation is invasive and not clinically applicable. The present study introduces a conductive hydrogel designed to respond to endogenous EFs, aiming to foster nerve regeneration around dental implants to coordinate both osseointegration and osseoperception. The hydrogel promotes neurite outgrowth by upregulating intracellular Ca2+ concentration and activating subsequent pathways. Furthermore, the enhanced release of neuropeptides from neurocells improves the osteogenesis of osteoblasts. The impact of the conductive hydrogel on osseointegration and osseoperception is also thoroughly investigated in vivo. This conductive hydrogel represents a unique strategy for enhancing osseointegration and osseoperception within the endogenous EFs of the peri‐implant environment. This advancement opens the door to achieving the physiological and psychological integration of dental implants.
The decreased osseoperception results in excessive forces exerted on the implant. This brings about a high failure rate of implant fracture or aggressive bone loss. Here an injectable conductive hydrogel is developed to promote nerve regeneration in the peri‐implant environment under endogenous electric field. The promotion of nerve regeneration enhances osseoperception and osseointegration simultaneously in vivo.
Collective oscillation of quasi-free electrons on the surface of metallic plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) in the ultraviolet to near-infrared (NIR) region induces a strong electromagnetic enhancement ...around the NPs, which leads to numerous important applications. These interesting far- and near-field optical characteristics of the plasmonic NPs can be typically obtained from numerical simulations for theoretical guidance of NP design. However, traditional numerical simulations encounter irreconcilable conflicts between the accuracy and speed due to the high demand of computing power. In this work, we utilized the machine learning method, specifically the deep neural network (DNN), to establish mapping between the far-field spectra/near-field distribution and dimensional parameters of three types of plasmonic NPs including nanospheres, nanorods, and dimers. After the training process, both the forward prediction of far-field optical properties and the inverse prediction of on-demand dimensional parameters of NPs can be accomplished accurately and efficiently with the DNN. More importantly, we have achieved for the first time ultrafast and accurate prediction of two-dimensional on-resonance electromagnetic enhancement distributions around NPs by greatly reducing the amount of electromagnetic data
via
screening and resampling methods. These near-field predictions can be realized typically in less than 10
−2
seconds on a laptop, which is 6 orders faster than typical numerical simulations implemented on a server. Therefore, we demonstrate that the DNN is an ultrafast, highly efficient, and computing resource-saving tool to investigate the far- and near-field optical properties of plasmonic NPs, especially for a number of important nano-optical applications such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, photocatalysis, solar cells, and metamaterials.
Ultrafast and computing resource-saving prediction of the far- and near-field optical properties of plasmonic nanoparticles and inverse design of their dimensions from the far-field spectra can be realized using machine learning.
To assess the seismic failure risk of post electrical equipment, an assessment method considering different sorts of uncertainty of the post electrical equipment was proposed. The aleatory and ...epistemic uncertainties were considered in the assessment, and the parameters in seismic hazard function of different sites were fitted. To investigate the effects of the supporting structure on the seismic fragility and risk of post electrical equipment, case studies on ultra-high-voltage gas insulated switchgear bushings mounted on two different supporting frames were conducted. The results indicated that both the maximum tensile stress of the bushing and the maximum displacement of the supporting frames should be considered as the limit statuses of the post electrical equipment. The different sorts of uncertainty increase the seismic failure risk of the post electrical equipment, and should be considered in the assessment. Besides, for the pillar-type porcelain element equipment, the supporting frames with lower lateral stiffness generated higher seismic failure risk. In constrast to the case of retrofitting the supporting frame to increase the lateral stiffness, the annual seismic failure risk of the GIS bushing mounted on the retrofitted supporting frame decreased 101%. Besides, the seismic failure risk of the post electrical equipment is not positive correlated with the peak ground acceleration. In the performance-based seismic design of the electrical substation, the seismic failure risk of the electrical equipment should be considered.
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