Fluorescence nanoscopy provides imaging techniques that overcome the diffraction-limited resolution barrier in light microscopy, thereby opening up a new area of research in biomedical imaging in fields such as neuroscience. Here, we review the foremost fluorescence nanoscopy techniques, including descriptions of their applications in elucidating protein architectures and mobility, the real-time determination of synaptic parameters involved in neural processes, three-dimensional imaging, and the tracking of nanoscale neural activity. We conclude by discussing the prospects of fluorescence nanoscopy, with a particular focus on its deployment in combination with related techniques (e.g., machine learning) in neuroscience.
Structural deformation monitoring of flight vehicles based on optical fiber sensing (OFS) technology has been a focus of research in the field of aerospace. After nearly 30 years of research and development, Chinese and international researchers have made significant advances in the areas of theory and methods, technology and systems, and ground experiments and flight tests. These advances have led to the development of OFS technology from the laboratory research stage to the engineering application stage. However, a few problems encountered in practical applications limit the wider application and further development of this technology, and thus urgently require solutions. This paper reviews the history of research on the deformation monitoring of flight vehicles. It examines various aspects of OFS-based deformation monitoring including the main varieties of OFS technology, technical advantages and disadvantages, suitability in aerospace applications, deformation reconstruction algorithms, and typical applications. This paper points out the key unresolved problems and the main evolution paradigms of engineering applications. It further discusses future development directions from the perspectives of an evolution paradigm, standardization, new materials, intelligentization, and collaboration.
The accurate and efficient measurement of small molecule disease markers for clinical diagnosis is of great importance. In this study, a quadrupole-linear ion trap (Q-LIT) tandem mass spectrometer was designed and built in our laboratory. Target precursor ions were first selected in the quadrupole, and then injected, trapped, and fragmented simultaneously in the linear ion trap (LIT) to reduce the space charge effect, enrich the target product ions, and promote sensitivity. The targeted analytes were measured with selected reaction monitoring using a positive scan mode with electrospray ionization (ESI). Ions with a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) ranging from 195 to 2022 were demonstrated. When scanning at 1218 amu•s−1, unit resolution and an accuracy of higher than m/z 0.28 was obtained for m/z up to 2000. The dimensionless Mathieu parameter (q) value used in this study was 0.40 for collision-induced dissociation (CID), which was activated by resonance excitation. And an overall CID efficiency of 64% was achieved (activation time, 50 ms). Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) and creatine (CRE) were used as model compounds for small molecule clinical biomarkers. The limits of quantification were 1.0 and 0.2 nmol•L−1 for GAA and CRE, respectively. A total of 77 actual samples were successfully analyzed by the home-built ESI-Q-LIT tandem mass spectrometry system. The developed method can reduce matrix interference, minimize space charge effects, and avoid the chromatographic separation of complex samples to simplify the pretreatment process. This novel Q-LIT system is expected to be a good candidate for the determination of biomarkers in clinical diagnosis and therapeutics.
We describe a multiphoton (mP)-structured illumination microscopy (SIM) technique, which demonstrates substantial improvement in image resolution compared with linear SIM due to the nonlinear response of fluorescence. This nonlinear response is caused by the effect of nonsinusoidal structured illumination created by scanning a sinusoidally modulated illumination to excite an mP fluorescence signal. The harmonics of the structured fluorescence illumination are utilised to improve resolution. We present an mP-SIM theory for reconstructing the super-resolution image of the system. Theoretically, the resolution of our mP-SIM is unlimited if all the high-order harmonics of the nonlinear response of fluorescence are considered. Experimentally, we demonstrate an 86-nm lateral resolution for 2P-SIM and a 72-nm lateral resolution for second-harmonic-generation (SHG)-SIM. We further demonstrate their application by imaging cells stained with F-actin and collagen fibres in mouse-tail tendon. Our method can be directly used in commercial mP microscopes and requires no specific fluorophores or high-intensity laser.
Black carbon (BC) is considered the second largest anthropogenic climate forcer, but the radiative effects of BC are highly correlated with its combustion sources. On-road vehicles are an important source of anthropogenic BC. However, there are major uncertainties in the estimates of the BC emissions from on-road light-duty passenger vehicles (LDPVs), and results obtained with the portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) method are particularly lacking. We developed a PEMS platform and evaluated the on-road BC emissions from ten in-use LDPVs. We demonstrated that the BC emission factors (EFs) of gasoline direction injection (GDI) engine vehicles range from 1.10 to 1.56 mg·km−1, which are higher than the EFs of port fuel injection (PFI) engine vehicles (0.10–0.17 mg·km−1) by a factor of 11. The BC emissions during the cold-start phase contributed 2%–33% to the total emissions. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.70) was observed between the relative BC EFs and average vehicle speed, indicating that traffic congestion alleviation could effectively mitigate BC emissions. Moreover, BC and particle number (PN) emissions were linearly correlated (R2 = 0.90), and compared to PFI engine vehicles, the instantaneous PN-to-BC emission rates of GDI engine vehicles were less sensitive to vehicle-specific power-to-velocity (VSPV) increase in all speed ranges.
The optical and microphysical properties of aerosols remain one of the greatest uncertainties associated with evaluating the climate forcing attributed to aerosols. Although the trends in aerosol optical depth (AOD) at global and regional scales have been widely examined, little attention has been paid to the trends in type-dependent AODs related to aerosol particle properties. Here, using the aerosol optical component dataset from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument, we investigate decadal-scale trends in total aerosol loading as well as AODs for five aerosol components by particle size and morphology during 2003–2018 over land. Relationships between the total AOD (TAOD) trends and type-dependent AOD changes were examined, and the relative contribution of each type-dependent AOD to the overall TAOD trends was quantified. By dividing the TAOD values into four different aerosol pollution levels (APLs) with splits at 0.15, 0.40, and 0.80, we further explored the relationships between TAOD changes and interannual variations in the frequency-of-occurrences (FoOs) of these APLs. Long-term trends in FoOs in the different APLs show that there was a significant improvement in air quality between 2003 and 2018 in most land areas, except South Asia, corresponding to a shift from lightly polluted to clean conditions. However, the effects of different APLs on TAOD changes are regionally dependent and their extent of correlation varied spatially. Moreover, we observed that the annual mean TAOD has decreased by 0.47%·a−1 over land since 2003 (P < 0.05). This significant reduction was mainly attributed to the continued reduction in small-sized (< 0.7 mm diameter) AOD (SAOD) (−0.74%·a−1) and spherical AOD (SPAOD) (−0.46%·a−1). Statistical analysis shows that SAOD and SPAOD respectively accounted for 57.5% and 89.6% of the TAOD, but contributed 82.6% and 90.4% of the trend in TAOD. Our study suggests that small-sized and spherical aerosols composed of sulfate, organic matter, and black carbon play a dominant role in determining interannual variability in land TAOD.
Sinomenine (SIN) is commonly used as part of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy in China, but there is still no published evidence of the efficacy of SIN monotherapy. This work investigates the efficacy and safety of SIN in treating RA patients and analyzes the correlation between ornithine level and the alleviation of disease activity in RA patients. In this 24 week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, people with mild to moderate RA were randomly assigned (1:1:1, stratified by hospital) to receive SIN (120 mg, twice daily), methotrexate (MTX) (10 mg per week), or SIN + MTX therapy. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who achieved a 50% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria at week 24 and who showed improvement according to the clinical disease activity index (CDAI). In this prospective subgroup analysis, we also assessed whether the 24 week alterations of disease activity in the treatment group were significantly correlated to the levels of blood ornithine. Of the 135 enrolled participants, 38, 39, and 36 patients were treated with SIN, MTX, and SIN + MTX, respectively. In the SIN-treated group, 52.63% of patients achieved ACR50 after 24 weeks of treatment, which was comparable to the results in the MTX-treated and SIN + MTX-treated groups. Hepatic and gastrointestinal disorders were the main adverse events; however, the ratio of patients suffering from hepatic disorder in the SIN group (1/38) was much lower than that in the MTX (10/39) and SIN + MTX (8/36) groups. A total of 221 serum samples were collected at the four follow-up time points in the three treatments, and the levels of ornithine, citrulline, and arginine were obtained through ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS). The serum ornithine level decreased after the 24 week treatment along with a decrease in disease activity, and may reflect therapeutic responses with a sensitivity value of 80%. In conclusion, SIN revealed a comparable efficacy to MTX for treating RA patients, but with fewer side effects. In addition, the serum ornithine level was found for the first time to have a close correlation with the alleviation of RA, which shows the value of this measure as an assessment indicator of drugs in treating RA.
Reconfigurable antennas are becoming a major antenna technology for future wireless communications and sensing systems. It is known that, with a single linear polarization (LP) reconfigurable antenna element, a preferred polarization can be produced from a set of multiple polarization states, thus improving the quality of the communication link. This paper presents a new concept of a polarization programmable reconfigurable antenna array that consists of a number of polarization reconfigurable antenna elements with a finite number of possible polarization states. By employing a new optimization strategy and programming the polarization states of all the array elements, we demonstrate that it is possible to realize any desired LP in the vectorial array radiation pattern with accurate control of sidelobe and crosspolarization levels (XPLs), thereby achieving the desired polarization to perfectly match that of the required communications signal. Both numerical and experimental results are provided to prove the concept, and they agree well with each other.
Most left ventricular (LV) Doppler measurements vary significantly with age and gender, making it necessary to correct them for physiological variances. We aimed to verify the hypothesis that different Doppler measurements correlate nonlinearly with different biometric variables raised to different scaling factors and exponents. In this work, a total of 23 LV Doppler parameters were measured in 1224 healthy Chinese adults. An optimized multivariable allometric model (OMAM) and scaling equations were developed in 70% of the subjects (group A), and the reliability of the model and equations was verified using the remaining 30% of the subjects (group B) as well as 183 overweight subjects (group C). The single-variable isometric model (SVIM) with body surface area (BSA) as a scaling variable was used for comparison. Before correction, all 23 LV Doppler parameters correlated significantly with one or more of the biometric variables. In group B, gender differences were found in 47.8% (11/23) of the parameters and were eliminated in 81.8% (9/11) of the parameters after correction with OMAM. The successful correction rate with OMAM was 100% (23/23) in group B and 82.6% (19/23) in group C. New reference values for corrected Doppler measurements independent of biometric variables were established. The SVIM with BSA successfully corrected none of the 23 parameters. In conclusion, different LV Doppler parameters allometrically correlated with one or more of the biometric variables. The novel OMAM developed in this study successfully corrected the effects of the physiological variances of most biometric variables on Doppler measurements in healthy and overweight subjects, and was found to be far superior to the SVIM. However, whether the OMAM equations can be applied to other ethnicities, obese subjects, and pathological conditions requires further investigation.
This paper reviews recent research on the demand flexibility of residential buildings in regard to definitions, flexible loads, and quantification methods. A systematic distinction of the terminology is made, including the demand flexibility, operation flexibility, and energy flexibility of buildings. A comprehensive definition of building demand flexibility is proposed based on an analysis of the existing definitions. Moreover, the flexibility capabilities and operation characteristics of the main residential flexible loads are summarized and compared. Models and evaluation indicators to quantify the flexibility of these flexible loads are reviewed and summarized. Current research gaps and challenges are identified and analyzed as well. The results indicate that previous studies have focused on the flexibility of central air conditioning, electric water heaters, wet appliances, refrigerators, and lighting, where the proportion of studies focusing on each of these subjects is 36.7%, 25.7%, 14.7%, 9.2%, and 8.3%, respectively. These flexible loads are different in running modes, usage frequencies, seasons, and capabilities for shedding, shifting, and modulation, while their response characteristics are not yet clear. Furthermore, recommendations are given for the application of white-, black-, and grey-box models for modeling flexible loads in different situations. Numerous static flexibility evaluation indicators that are based on the aspects of power, temporality, energy, efficiency, economics, and the environment have been proposed in previous publications, but a consensus and standardized evaluation framework is lacking. This review can help readers better understand building demand flexibility and learn about the characteristics of different residential flexible loads, while also providing suggestions for future research on the modeling techniques and evaluation metrics of residential building demand flexibility.
Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) employs microbial catalysts and electrochemistry to enhance CO2 bioconversion to organics with concurrent waste biorefining capability. The aim of this review is to comprehensively discuss the current state of the art and prospects of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) production in MES from CO2 and waste organics. Fundamental mechanisms and development of MCFAs production via conventional fermentation are introduced as well. Studies on MCFAs production in MES are summarized, highlighting the strategy of multiple-electron donors (EDs). Challenges for MCFAs production in MES from CO2 are presented, and the primary discussions included methanogenesis inhibition, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) limitations of acetogens, and production of limited EDs via solventogenesis. Possible applications of electrochemical approaches to promote the bioconversion of actual waste materials with MCFAs production are analyzed. Finally, future directions are explored, including multi-stage reactions, substrate supply, product extraction, and microbial pathways.
It is common that a proof-of-concept of a desired reaction, which might generate materials with new functions or application potential, is eventually proved impracticable or commercially unfeasible. Considerable efforts have been made but wasted in searching for unknown reaction conditions in solvent environments because it was believed that the activity of reactants can be enhanced to facilitate reactions by dissolving them in solvents. However, an abnormal case was discovered in this study. A desired copolymerization reaction between 1,3,5-tris(chloromethyl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene and melamine was confirmed to be impracticable under various solvent conditions; however, it was successfully implemented using a solvent-free method. Using first-principle calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, two decisive factors that the reaction in solvents cannot possess, namely the reaction equilibrium being pushed by the timely release of by-products and the confined thermal motions of the activated monomer molecules in the solid phase, were demonstrated to make the copolymerization successful in the solvent-free method. Owing to the high aromaticity and azacyclo-content, the as-synthetic copolymer exhibited good application potential as a precursor to fabricate N-doped porous carbons with satisfactory carbon yields, ideal N contents, desired textural properties, and competitive CO2 capture abilities compared to other representative counterparts reported recently.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies. We previously demonstrated that the chromosome 19 microRNA cluster (C19MC) was associated with tumor burden and prognosis in patients with HCC. In the current study, we aim to explore the role of miR-516a-3p—an identical mature microRNA (miRNA) co-spliced by four oncogenic pre-miRNAs of C19MC (i.e., mir-516a-1, mir-516a-2, mir-516b-1, and mir-516b-2)—in HCC. In our cohort of HCC patients, miR-516a-3p was highly expressed in HCC tissues in comparison with adjacent non-tumor tissues. High expression of tumor miR-516a-3p significantly correlated with advanced tumor stages, distinguished high HCC recurrence and mortality, and independently predicted poor prognosis. We further found that miR-516a-3p enhanced the proliferation, migration, and invasiveness of HCC cells in vitro and promoted tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Among cancer cells, miR-516a-3p could be delivered via exosomes or extracellular vesicles and increased the oncogenic activity of recipient cells. Moreover, we performed comprehensive transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics analysis on the potential mechanism underlying miR-516a-3p-promoted oncogenicity. MixOmic DIABLO analysis showed a close correlation and strong cluster consistency between the proteomics and metabolomics datasets. We further confirmed six proteins (i.e., LMBR1, CHST9, RBM3, SLC7A6, PTGFRN, and NOL12) as the direct targets of miR-516a-3p and as central players in miR-516a-3p-mediated metabolism regulation. The integrated multi-omics and co-enriched pathway analysis showed that miR-516a-3p regulates the metabolic pathways of HCC cells, particularly purine and pyrimidine metabolism. In conclusion, our findings suggest that miR-516a-3p promotes malignant behaviors in HCC cells by regulating cellular metabolism and affecting neighboring cells via the exosome delivery system. Thus, we suggest miR-516a-3p as a novel molecular target for HCC therapy.
Many microorganisms have mechanisms that protect cells against attack from viruses. The fermentation components of Streptomyces sp. 1647 exhibit potent anti-influenza A virus (IAV) activity. This strain was isolated from soil in southern China in the 1970s, but the chemical nature of its antiviral substance(s) has remained unknown until now. We used an integrated multi-omics strategy to identify the antiviral agents from this streptomycete. The antibiotics and Secondary Metabolite Analysis Shell (antiSMASH) analysis of its genome sequence revealed 38 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for secondary metabolites, and the target BGCs possibly responsible for the production of antiviral components were narrowed down to three BGCs by bioactivity-guided comparative transcriptomics analysis. Through bioinformatics analysis and genetic manipulation of the regulators and a biosynthetic gene, cluster 36 was identified as the BGC responsible for the biosynthesis of the antiviral compounds. Bioactivity-based molecular networking analysis of mass spectrometric data from different recombinant strains illustrated that the antiviral compounds were a class of structural analogues. Finally, 18 pseudo-tetrapeptides with an internal ureido linkage, omicsynins A1–A6, B1–B6, and C1–C6, were identified and/or isolated from fermentation broth. Among them, 11 compounds (omicsynins A1, A2, A6, B1–B3, B5, B6, C1, C2, and C6) are new compounds. Omicsynins B1–B4 exhibited potent antiviral activity against IAV with the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of approximately 1 µmol∙L–1 and a selectivity index (SI) ranging from 100 to 300. Omicsynins B1–B4 also showed significant antiviral activity against human coronavirus HCoV-229E. By integrating multi-omics data, we discovered a number of novel antiviral pseudo-tetrapeptides produced by Streptomyces sp. 1647, indicating that the secondary metabolites of microorganisms are a valuable source of novel antivirals.
The brain is the most heterogeneous and complex tissue in the body. Previous studies have shown that immune cells are essential functional components in both healthy and pathological brains. Cytometry by the time of flight (CyTOF) is a high-dimensional single-cell detection technology that allows measurements of up to 100 cell markers with a small number of samples. This technique enables the identification and characterization of various cell types at the single-cell level under steady-state and diseased brain conditions. This review outlines three major advantages of the CyTOF technique compared with the traditional flow cytometry approach. We also discuss CyTOF applications in brain immune cell component research in both healthy and pathological brains.
In this study, we used a network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the effectiveness of medicines and supplements for idiopathic male infertility and to identify the best treatment. Medline, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Ovid, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), were searched for the period from January 1990 to June 2021 using the keywords ″male infertility,″ ″medical therapy,″ ″supplement/nutrient therapy,″ and related terms. Studies involving randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating medicines (mainly follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), androgen, and clomiphene/tamoxifen) or supplements (mainly zinc, selenium, vitamin C or E, carnitine, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), or combined treatment) for idiopathic infertile men were selected for meta-analysis. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) was used for data extraction, and a risk-of-bias tool and grades of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) system adapted to the NMA were employed to assess the quality of the evidence. The primary outcomes were live birth and spontaneous pregnancy rate (SPR). The secondary outcomes were sperm parameters (including concentration, progressive motility, and morphology) and side effects. In total, 65 RCTs involving 7541 men with sperm abnormalities but normal hormone levels were included. A total of 36 studies reported SPR but only three reported live birth rates. The quality of the included studies was found to be moderate to high. Compared with a placebo or being untreated, carnitine plus vitamins significantly improved SPR (relative risk (RR) = 3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.6–8.5); fatty acids significantly increased sperm concentrations (mean difference (MD) = 12.5 × 106 mL–1, 95%CI, 3.1 × 106–22.0 × 106); and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM) plus CoQ10 significantly improved sperm progressive motility (MD = 11.0%, 95%CI, 0.1%–21.9%) and normal sperm morphology (MD = 11.0%, 95%CI, 4.6%–17.4%). The most optimal intervention was carnitine plus vitamins and fatty acids for SPR and sperm concentrations, respectively, even after excluding trials at a high risk of bias. Compared with a placebo or being untreated, FSH (RR = 4.9, 95%CI, 1.1–21.3) significantly increased SPR, whereas SERM plus kallikrein increased sperm concentration (MD = 16.5 × 106 mL–1, 95%CI, 1.6 × 106–31.4 × 106), and SERM plus CoQ10 significantly improved sperm progressive motility (MD = 11.3%, 95%CI, 7.3%–15.4%) and normal morphology (MD = 11.2%, 95%CI, 5.4%–16.9%) in men with oligoasthenozoospermia (OA). In terms of side effects, fatty acids and pentoxifylline were associated with foul breath and/or a bad taste (RR = 8.1, 95%CI, 1.0–63.5) and vomiting (RR = 8.0, 95%CI, 1.0–63.0), respectively. In conclusion, the optimal treatment for male infertility for live birth is still unknown. Carnitine plus vitamins and FSH are likely to be better than other therapies in achieving successful spontaneous pregnancy in couples overall and in couples with men with OA, respectively. The efficacy of other treatments on pregnancy outcomes warrants further verification.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cancer globally. Metagenomics has been widely used to analyze the association between the gut microbiota and CRC based on bacterial genus- or species-level comparisons, providing evidence of dysbiosis in CRC development. However, this kind of analysis is unable to provide strain-level information for understanding the individual role of a species in CRC. Here, we used culturomics to isolate CRC mucosal samples and selected 158 Escherichia coli strains to reveal their differences in both genomics and functions by means of phylogenetic analysis and inflammatory induction based on cell and animal experiments. Through genomic comparison, these strains were divided into five phylogroups. The representative strains of each phylogroup significantly induced different levels of cytokine secretion by human leukemic monocyte (THP-1 cell)-based Transwell and animal experiments. Further bioinformatic analysis revealed different profiles of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, genes, and metabolic pathways in the different phylogroups, which can improve the current understanding of the phenotypic differences between these strains. The strain differences revealed in both genomics and functions indicate that the microbiota's function at the strain level should be investigated in order to understand the interacting mechanisms between hosts and gut bacteria.
Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) has drawn extensive attention in recent years for its superior mechanical response to dynamic and impact loadings. Based on the existing test results, the highstrength steel fibers embedded in a concrete matrix usually play a strong bridging effect to enhance the bonding force between fiber and the matrix, and directly contribute to the improvement of the post-cracking behavior and residual strength of SFRC. To gain a better understanding of the action behavior of steel fibers in matrix and further capture the failure mechanism of SFRC under dynamic loads, the mesoscopic modeling approach that assumes SFRC to be composed of different mesoscale phases (i.e., steel fibers, coarse aggregates, mortar matrix, and interfacial transition zone (ITZ)) has been widely employed to simulate the dynamic responses of SFRC material and structural members. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art mesoscopic models and simulations for SFRC under dynamic loading. Generation approaches for the SFRC mesoscale model in the simulation works, including steel fiber, coarse aggregate, and the ITZ between them, are reviewed and compared systematically. The material models for different phases and the interaction relationship between fiber and concrete matrix are summarized comprehensively. Additionally, some example applications for SFRC under dynamic loads (i.e., compression, tension, and contact blast) simulated using the general mesoscale models are given. Finally, some critical analysis on the current shortcomings of the mesoscale modeling of SFRC is highlighted, which is of great significance for the future investigation and development of SFRC.
The morphology, size, and distribution of Laves phases have important influences on the mechanical properties of laser-repaired Inconel 718 (IN718) superalloy. Due to the deterioration of the substrate zone, the Laves phase in the laser cladding zone of IN718 superalloy cannot be optimized by a high-temperature solution treatment. In this study, an in situ laser heat-treatment method was proposed to regulate the morphology and size of the Laves phase in the laser cladding zone of IN718 superalloy without impacting the substrate zone. In the in situ laser heat-treatment process, a laser was used to heat previously deposited layers with optimized manufacturing parameters. A thermocouple and an infrared camera were used to analyze thermal cycles and real-time temperature fields, respectively. Microstructures and micro-segregations were observed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis. It was found that the in situ laser heat treatment effectively changed the morphology and size of the Laves phase, which was transformed from a continuous strip-like shape to a discrete granular shape. The effective temperature range and duration were the two main factors influencing the Laves phase during the in situ laser heat-treatment process. The effective temperature range was determined by the laser linear energy density, and the peak temperature increased with the increase of the linear energy density. In addition, the temperature amplitude could be reduced by simultaneously increasing the laser power and the scanning velocity. Finally, a flow diagram was developed based on the in situ laser heat-treatment process, and the deposition of a single-walled sample with fine and granular Laves phases was detected.
Although nanoporous membranes are of great interest in desalination, it is still challenging to construct highly permeable nanoporous membranes with excellent rejections for an efficient desalination process. In this work, highly permeable nanoporous membranes were built from renewable resources, assisted by the versatile functions of glucose and dopamine, with coupling reactive groups via interfacial reaction with 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride (TMC). The small molecules (0.66 nm) of glucose, which have high hydrophilicity, can diffuse into the membrane for an effective reaction to ensure structural integration. Our novel ultrathin (~44 nm) nanofiltration (NF) membrane exhibits ultra-high Na2SO4 flux and excellent rejection of Na2SO4 (66.5 L∙m−2∙h−1, 97.3%) and MgSO4 (63.0 L∙m−2∙h−1, 92.1%) under a pressure of 5 bar (1 bar = 105 Pa) which is much superior to the performance of natural-product NF membranes. The membrane demonstrates excellent long-term stability, as well as tremendous acid-base and alkali-base stability and high anti-pollution capacity. The designed membrane materials and architecture open a new door to biopolymer-based separation membranes beyond existing membrane materials.