Light trap

Although polarized light can assist many animals in performing special visual tasks, current polarized light pollution (PLP) caused by urban construction has been shown to induce maladaptive behaviors of PL-sensitive animals and change ecological interactions. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Our previous work hypothesized that linearly polarized light (LPL) is an ecological trap for Oratosquilla oratoria, a common Stomatopoda species in the China Sea. Here we explored the underlying negative effects of artificially LPL on O...

Bio-inspired transistor synapses use solid electrolytes to achieve low-power operation and rich synaptic behaviors via ion diffusion and trapping. While these neuromorphic devices hold great promise, they still suffer from challenges such as high leakage currents and power consumption, electrolysis risk, and irreversible conductance changes due to long-range ion migrations and permanent ion trapping. In addition, their response to light is generally limited because of "exciton-polaron quenching", which restricts their potential in in-sensor neuromorphic visions...

In Nepal, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has been targeted for elimination as a public health problem by 2026. Recently, increasing numbers of VL cases have been reported from districts of doubtful endemicity including hills and mountains, threatening the ongoing VL elimination program in Nepal. We conducted a multi-disciplinary, descriptive cross-sectional survey to assess the local transmission of Leishmania donovani in seven such districts situated at altitudes of up to 1,764 meters in western Nepal from March to December 2019...

β-thalassemia is a disorder characterized by anemia, ineffective erythropoiesis (IE), and iron overload, whose treatment still requires improvement. The activin receptor-ligand trap Luspatercept, a novel therapeutic option for β-thalassemia, stimulates erythroid differentiation inhibiting the transforming growth factor β pathway. However, its exact mechanism of action and the possible connection with erythropoietin (Epo), the erythropoiesis governing cytokine, remain to be clarified. Moreover, Luspatercept does not correct all the features of the disease, calling for the identification of strategies that enhance its efficacy...

Constructing heterojunctions with vacancies has garnered substantial attention in the field of piezo-photocatalysis. However, the presence of interfacial vacancies can serve as charge-trapping sites, leading to the localization of electrons and hindering interfacial charge transfer. Herein, dual oxygen vacancies in the NiFe-layered double hydroxide and Bi2 MoO6- x induced interfacial bonds have been designed for the piezo-photocatalytic N2 oxidation to NO3 - . Fortunately, it achieves sensational nitric acid production rates (7...

BACKGROUND: This study explores the role of health in daily life and needs of Dutch adults (aged 25-49) experiencing one or more forms of socioeconomic insecurity stemming from their financial, housing, or employment situations. METHODS: 28 in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the Netherlands between October 2022 and February 2023. The interview guide included questions on participants' socioeconomic situation, the role of health in their daily lives, their health-related and broader needs...

To improve the laser utilization efficiency and avoid photodamage in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), it is imperative to introduce photon technology into the field of SERS detection. A major challenge is the inefficient interaction between the substrate and the incident wavelength, resulting in limited Raman enhancement at a relatively low level. Here, we sputtered plasmonic Au nanoparticles (NPs) onto photonic TiO x nanocavities, creating a novel hybrid photonic-plasmonic resonator that achieves a large degree of optical manipulation and long-term localization...

The development of a highly active photocatalyst for visible-light water splitting requires a high-quality semiconductor material and a cocatalyst, which promote the migration of photogenerated charge carriers and surface redox reactions. In this work, cocatalyst loading on an oxyfluoride photocatalyst Pb2Ti2O5.4F1.2 was applied to improve the water oxidation activity. Among the metal oxides examined, RuO2 was found to be the most suitable, and the O2 evolution activity depended on the preparation conditions of Ru/Pb2Ti2O5...

A hierarchical sea urchin-like hybrid metal oxide nanostructure of ZnO nanorods deposited on TiO2 porous hollow hemisphere with a thin zinc titanate interface layer is specifically designed and synthesized forming a combined type I straddling and type II staggered junctions. The HHSs, synthesized by electrospinning, facilitate light trapping and scattering. The ZnO nanorods offer a large surface area for improved surface oxidation kinetics The interface layer of zinc titanate (ZnTiO3) between the TiO2 HHSs and ZnO nanorods regulates the charge separation in a closely coupled hierarchy structure of ZnO/ZnTiO3/TiO2...

Introduction: Widespread transmission of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype four (GIV) occurred across mainland Australia in 2022. This resulted in forty-five human cases, including seven deaths, and the identification of JEV infection in over 80 commercial piggeries. Materials and Methods: We collected mosquitoes which were trapped using CO2 -baited light traps deployed near piggeries reporting disease or in regions linked to human cases in the Wide Bay region in the state of Queensland. Mosquitoes from four traps yielded JEV RNA by real-time RT-PCR...

Exciton-polariton systems composed of a light-matter quasi-particle with a light effective mass easily realize Bose-Einstein condensation. In this work, we constructed an annular trap in a halide perovskite semiconductor microcavity and observed the spontaneous formation of symmetrical petal-shaped exciton-polariton condensation in the annular trap at room temperature. In our study, we found that the number of petals of the petal-shaped exciton-polariton condensates, which is decided by the orbital angular momentum, is dependent on the light intensity distribution...

The development of pure-blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) faces challenges of spectral stability and low external quantum efficiency (EQE) due to phase separation in mixed halide compositions. Perovskite quantum dots (QDs) with strong confinement effects are promising alternatives to achieve high-quality pure-blue PeLEDs, yet their performance is often hindered by the poor size distribution and high trap density. A strategy combining thermodynamic control with a polishing-driven ligand exchange process to produce high-quality QDs is developed...

In this study, the BiOBr/rGO nanocomposite photocatalysts are fabricated by a facile solvothermal method. The BiOBr growth on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheet could improve BiOBr's photocatalytic activity by increasing its adsorption ability, surface area, and charge carriers' separation efficiency. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, Raman, FESEM, EDS, XPS, and UV-visible DRS. The BiOBr/rGO (BRG) nanocomposites showed improved photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye and Tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation...

Photocatalysis was an attractive strategy that had potential to tackle the Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Herein, magnetic photocatalyst Fe3 O4 /Bi2 WO6 /Reduced graphene oxide composites (Bi2 WO6 /Fe3 O4 /RGO) were employed to degrade MC-LR. The removal efficiency and kinetic constant of the optimized Bi2 WO6 /Fe3 O4 /RGO (Bi2 WO6 /Fe3 O4 -40%/RGO) was 1.8 and 2.3 times stronger than the pure Bi2 WO6 . The improved activity of Bi2 WO6 /Fe3 O4 -40%/RGO was corresponded to the expanded visible light adsorption ability and reduction of photogenerated carrier recombination efficiency through the integration of Bi2 WO6 and Fe3 O4 -40%/RGO...

The host lattice environments of Sb3+ has a great influence on its photophysical properties. Here, we synthesized three zero-dimensional organic metal halides of (TPA)2 SbCl5 (1), Sb3+ -doped (TPA)SnCl5 (H2 O)·2H2 O (Sb3+ -2), and Sb3+ -doped (TPA)2 SnCl6 (Sb3+ -3). Compared with the intense orange emission of 1, Sb3+ -3 has smaller lattice distortion, thus effectively suppressing the exciton transformation from singlet to triplet self-trapped exciton (STE) states, which makes Sb3+ -3 has stronger singlet STE emission and further bring a white emission with a photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQE) of 93...

We implement coherent delocalization as a tool for improving the two primary metrics of atomic clock performance: systematic uncertainty and instability. By decreasing atomic density with coherent delocalization, we suppress cold-collision shifts and two-body losses. Atom loss attributed to Landau-Zener tunneling in the ground lattice band would compromise coherent delocalization at low trap depths for our ^{171}Yb atoms; hence, we implement for the first time delocalization in excited lattice bands. Doing so increases the spatial distribution of atoms trapped in the vertically oriented optical lattice by ∼7 times...

The Amur tiger is an important endangered species in the world, and its re-identification (re-ID) plays an important role in regional biodiversity assessment and wildlife resource statistics. This paper focuses on the task of Amur tiger re-ID based on visible light images from screenshots of surveillance videos or camera traps, aiming to solve the problem of low accuracy caused by camera perspective, noisy background noise, changes in motion posture, and deformation of Amur tiger body patterns during the re-ID process...

Low-dimensional metal halides with efficient luminescence properties have received widespread attention recently. However, nontoxic and stable low-dimensional metal halides with efficient blue emission are rarely reported. We used a solvothermal synthesis method to synthesize tetravalent zirconium ion-doped all-inorganic zero-dimensional Cs2 ZnCl4 for the first time. Bright blue emission in the range of 370 nm-700 nm with a emission maximum at 456 nm was observed in Zr4+ :Cs2 ZnCl4 accompanied by a large Stokes shift, which was due to self-trapped excitons (STEs) caused by the lattice vibrations of the twisted structure...

Copper (Cu)-based perovskites are promising for lead-free perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs). However, it remains a significant challenge to achieve high performance devices due to the nonradiative loss caused by the disordered crystallization and lack of passivation. Crown ethers are known to form host-guest complexes by the interaction between C-O-C groups and certain cations, and 18-crown-6 (18C6) with an appropriate complementary size can interact with Cs+ and Cu+ cations. Herein, we studied the interaction between CsCu2 I3 and two crowns with the same cyclic size, 18C6 and dibenzo-18-crown-6 (D18C6)...

Photocatalytic disinfection is a promising technology with low cost and high efficiency. However, most of the current studies on photocatalytic disinfection ignore the widespread presence of natural organic matter (NOM) in water bodies, so the incomplete conclusions obtained may not be applicable. Herein, this paper systematically studied the influence of humic acid (HA), one of the most important components of NOM, on the photocatalytic inactivation of bacteriophage f2 with electrospinning Cu-TiO2 nanofibers...