Biomass-derived carbon materials (B-d-CMs) are considered as a group of very promising electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage (EES) by virtue of their naturally diverse and intricate microarchitectures, extensive and low-cost source, environmental friendliness, and feasibility to be produced in a large scale. However, the practical application of raw B-d-CMs in EES is limited by their relatively rare storage sites and low diffusion kinetics. In recent years, various strategies from structural design to material composite manipulation have been explored to overcome these problems. In this review, a controllable design of B-d-CM structures boosting their storage sites and diffusion kinetics for EES devices including SIBs, Li-S batteries, and supercapacitors is systematically summarized from the aspects of effects of pseudographic structure, hierarchical pore structure, surface functional groups, and heteroatom doping of B-d-CMs, as well as the composite structure of B-d-CMs, aiming to provide guidance for further rational design of the B-d-CMs for high-performance EES devices. Besides, the contemporary challenges and perspectives on B-d-CMs and their composites are also proposed for further practical application of B-d-CMs for EES devices.

Using wearable devices to monitor respiration rate is essential for reducing the risk of death or permanent injury in patients. Improving the performance and safety of these devices and reducing their environmental footprint could advance the currently used health monitoring technologies. Here, we report high-performance, flexible bioprotonic devices made entirely of biodegradable biomaterials. This smart sensor satisfies all the requirements for monitoring human breathing states, including noncontact characteristic and the ability to discriminate humidity stimuli with ultrahigh sensitivity, rapid response time, and excellent cycling stability. In addition, the device can completely decompose after its service life, which reduces the risk to the human body. The cytotoxicity test demonstrates that the device shows good biocompatibility based on the viability of human skin fibroblast-HSAS1 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVECs), illustrating the safety of the sensor upon integration with the human skin.

The growing demand for tailored nonlinearity calls for a structure with unusual phase discontinuity that allows the realization of nonlinear optical chirality, holographic imaging, and nonlinear wavefront control. Transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers offer giant optical nonlinearity within a few-angstrom thickness, but limitations in optical absorption and domain size impose restriction on wavefront control of nonlinear emissions using classical light sources. In contrast, noble metal-based plasmonic nanosieves support giant field enhancements and precise nonlinear phase control, with hundred-nanometer pixel-level resolution; however, they suffer from intrinsically weak nonlinear susceptibility. Here, we report a multifunctional nonlinear interface by integrating TMDC monolayers with plasmonic nanosieves, yielding drastically different nonlinear functionalities that cannot be accessed by either constituent. Such a hybrid nonlinear interface allows second-harmonic (SH) orbital angular momentum (OAM) generation, beam steering, versatile polarization control, and holograms, with an effective SH nonlinearity {\chi }^{\left(2\right)} of ~25 nm/V. This designer platform synergizes the TMDC monolayer and plasmonic nanosieves to empower tunable geometric phases and large field enhancement, paving the way toward multifunctional and ultracompact nonlinear optical devices.

Although single-atom catalysts significantly improve the atom utilization efficiency, the multistep preparation procedures are complicated and difficult to control. Herein, we demonstrate that one-step in situ synthesis of the single-atom Pt anchored in single-crystal MoC (Pt₁/MoC) by using facile and controllable arc-discharge strategy under extreme conditions. The high temperature (up to 4000°C) provides the sufficient energy for atom dispersion and overall stability by forming thermodynamically favourable metal-support interactions. The high-temperature-stabilized Pt₁/MoC exhibits outstanding performance and excellent thermal stability as durable catalyst for selective quinoline hydrogenation. The initial turnover frequency of 3710 h^-1 is greater than those of previously reported samples by an order of magnitude under 2 MPa H₂ at 100°C. The catalyst also shows broad scope activity toward hydrogenation containing unsaturated groups of C=C, C=N, and C=O. The facile, one-step, and fast arc-discharge method provides an effective avenue for single-atom catalyst fabrication that is conventionally challenging.

Stenting is currently the major therapeutic treatment for cardiovascular diseases. However, the nonbiogenic metal stents are inclined to trigger a cascade of cellular and molecular events including inflammatory response, thrombogenic reactions, smooth muscle cell hyperproliferation accompanied by the delayed arterial healing, and poor reendothelialization, thus leading to restenosis along with late stent thrombosis. To address prevalence critical problems, we present an endothelium-mimicking coating capable of rapid regeneration of a competently functioning new endothelial layer on stents through a stepwise metal (copper)-catechol-(amine) (MCA) surface chemistry strategy, leading to combinatorial endothelium-like functions with glutathione peroxidase-like catalytic activity and surface heparinization. Apart from the stable nitric oxide (NO) generating rate at the physiological level (2.2\times {10}^{-10}\text{mol}/\text{c}{\text{m}}^2/\min lasting for 60 days), this proposed strategy could also generate abundant amine groups for allowing a high heparin conjugation efficacy up to ∼1  μg/cm², which is considerably higher than most of the conventional heparinized surfaces. The resultant coating could create an ideal microenvironment for bringing in enhanced anti-thrombogenicity, anti-inflammation, anti-proliferation of smooth muscle cells, re-endothelialization by regulating relevant gene expressions, hence preventing restenosis in vivo. We envision that the stepwise MCA coating strategy would facilitate the surface endothelium-mimicking engineering of vascular stents and be therefore helpful in the clinic to reduce complications associated with stenosis.

Multiplex miRNA analysis is a fundamental issue for exploring a complex biological system and early diagnosis of miRNA-related diseases. Herein, we have developed a series of novel logic gates for miRNA analysis coupling DNA nanostructures and chameleon silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). DNA dumbbell structures are firstly designed with two independent nucleation sequences for AgNCs at the 5{}^{\prime } and 3{}^{\prime } ends, respectively. By introducing different miRNA inputs, separations of two AgNCs are controlled and the fluorescence property of AgNCs changes. By studying the ratiometric fluorescence responses, sensitive and selective analysis of multiple miRNAs can be achieved. The present work provides powerful tools for miRNA diagnostics and may also guide future DNA nanostructure-based logic gates.

The generation of stable clones for biomolecule production is a common but lengthy and labor-intensive process. For complex molecules, such as viruses or virus-like particles (VLPs), the timeline becomes even more cumbersome. Thus, in the early stages of development, transient production methods serve as a reasonable alternative to stable clone construction. In this work, an investigation of a polyethylenimine- (PEI-) based transfection method for the transient production of Chikungunya (Chik) VLPs, a vaccine candidate molecule, was undertaken. This effort focuses on tracking cell population responses during transfection, understanding how process changes affect these responses, and monitoring patterns in cell performance over the culture duration. Plasmid labeling and VLP staining were employed to comprehensively track cells via flow cytometry and to draw correlations between plasmid DNA (pDNA) uptake and the resulting VLP expression. The method detected high transfection efficiency (≥97%) in all samples tested and demonstrated the capability to track kinetics of plasmid-cell binding. With varied transfection cell concentrations, the pDNA binding kinetics are altered and saturation binding is observed in the lowest cell concentration sample tested in less than 3 hours of incubation. Interestingly, in all samples, the flow cytometry analysis of relative pDNA amount versus VLP expression staining showed that cells which contained fewer pDNA complexes resulted in the highest levels of VLP stain. Finally, to determine the potential breadth of our observations, we compared daily expression patterns of ChikVLP with a reporter, monomeric GFP molecule. The similarities detected suggest the interpretations presented here to likely be more broadly informative and applicable to PEI-based transient production of additional biological products as well.

Quantum simulation of quantum chemistry is one of the most compelling applications of quantum computing. It is of particular importance in areas ranging from materials science, biochemistry, and condensed matter physics. Here, we propose a full quantum eigensolver (FQE) algorithm to calculate the molecular ground energies and electronic structures using quantum gradient descent. Compared to existing classical-quantum hybrid methods such as variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), our method removes the classical optimizer and performs all the calculations on a quantum computer with faster convergence. The gradient descent iteration depth has a favorable complexity that is logarithmically dependent on the system size and inverse of the precision. Moreover, the FQE can be further simplified by exploiting a perturbation theory for the calculations of intermediate matrix elements and obtaining results with a precision that satisfies the requirement of chemistry application. The full quantum eigensolver can be implemented on a near-term quantum computer. With the rapid development of quantum computing hardware, the FQE provides an efficient and powerful tool to solve quantum chemistry problems.

Human visual acuity is anatomically determined by the retinal fovea. The ontogenetic development of the fovea can be seriously hindered by oculocutaneous albinism (OCA), which is characterized by a disorder of melanin synthesis. Although people of all ethnic backgrounds can be affected, no efficient treatments for OCA have been developed thus far, due partly to the lack of effective animal models. Rhesus macaques are genetically homologous to humans and, most importantly, exhibit structures of the macula and fovea that are similar to those of humans; thus, rhesus macaques present special advantages in the modeling and study of human macular and foveal diseases. In this study, we identified rhesus macaque models with clinical characteristics consistent with those of OCA patients according to observations of ocular behavior, fundus examination, and optical coherence tomography. Genomic sequencing revealed a biallelic p.L312I mutation in TYR and a homozygous p.S788L mutation in OCA2, both of which were further confirmed to affect melanin biosynthesis via in vitro assays. These rhesus macaque models of OCA will be useful animal resources for studying foveal development and for preclinical trials of new therapies for OCA.

Recent advances in high-throughput (HTP) computational power and machine learning have led to great achievements in exploration of new thermoelectric materials. However, experimental discovery and optimization of thermoelectric materials have long relied on the traditional Edisonian trial and error approach. Herein, we demonstrate that ultrahigh thermoelectric performance in a Cu-doped PbSe-PbS system can be realized by HTP experimental screening and precise property modulation. Combining the HTP experimental technique with transport model analysis, an optimal \text{Se}/\text{S} ratio showing high thermoelectric performance has been efficiently screened out. Subsequently, based on the screened \text{Se}/\text{S} ratio, the doping content of Cu has been subtly adjusted to reach the optimum carrier concentration. As a result, an outstanding peak \text{zT}\text{~}1.6 is achieved at 873 K for a 1.8 at% Cu-doped PbSe_0.6S_0.4 sample, which is the superior value among the n-type Te-free lead chalcogenides. We anticipate that current work will stimulate large-scale unitization of the HTP experimental technique in the thermoelectric field, which can greatly accelerate the research and development of new high-performance thermoelectric materials.