Three-dimensional (3D) metallic microstructures with wellcontrolled hierarchical morphologies down to the sub-micrometer scale have attracted considerable attention.[1] These structures have broad applications owing to their unique optical, [2a] electronic, [2b] magnetic, [2c] thermal, [2d,e] and catalytic [2f] properties, which can be modulated by their intrinsic microstructures. Such structures, however, are quite difficult to prepare by traditional methods. One promising route to create these metallic structures is direct replication from hierarchical structures of various natural species. Metals have been physically deposited onto biological structures to fabricate metallic structures through physical vapor deposition (PVD).[3] However, the line-of-sight nature of PVD prevented a complete replication of the biotemplates original 3D morphologies.[4] Some groups elegantly converted natural inorganic structures such as diatom frustules into metals (Ag, Au, Pd) using wet-chemical processes, [4] but many natural species with functional structures are composed of organic materials. Versatile synthesis of metallic structures using organic-based natural species intact, 3D, and hierarchical sub-micrometer morphologies as templates is thus needed.Herein we present a versatile route (selective surface functionalization and subsequent electroless deposition) to generate metallic replicas of the intact 3D organic butterfly (Euploea mulciber) wing scales. This method can replicate the original chitin-based scales morphology in at least seven important metals, including cobalt, nickel, copper, palladium, silver, platinum, and gold ( Figure 1 and Figure 2). Significantly, using the synthetic Au scale as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, the detectable analyte concentration (Rhodamine 6G, 10 À13 m) can be one order of magnitude lower than using commercial substrates (Klarite). To our knowledge, this work is the first demonstration of the conversion of intact hierarchical 3D butterfly structures on a sub-micrometer level into metallic replicas. It should be noted that butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera (Latin word for "scaly wing", including butterflies and moths) that comprises an estimated 174 250 species.[5] A given species usually has more than one type of wing scale, [6] and such huge morphological diversity offers a vast structure pool for biotemplate selection (e.g., photonic crystal design).[7a] In addition, chitin, the main component of butterfly wing scales, is one of the richest natural macromolecular compounds. [8] Therefore, this approach can be extended to replicate other chitin-based biostructures, including fungi cell walls, exoskeletons of insects [9a,b] and arthropods (e.g., crabs and lobsters), [9c] radulas of mollusks (e.g., snails), and beaks of cephalopods (e.g., squids [9d] and octopuses). The fabrication route described herein consists of three steps (see Scheme S1 in the Supporting Information): 1) func- Figure 1. SEM element mapping images of seven metallic win...

We propose an in-line digital microscopic holography system for testing of microstructures. With the incorporation of a long-distance microscope with digital holography, the system is capable of imaging test microstructures with high resolution at sufficient working distances to permit good illumination of samples. The system, which was developed in an in-line configuration, achieves high imaging capacity and exhibits properties that are favorable for micromeasurement. We demonstrate the performance of the system with experiments to determine the displacement of a silicon microcantilever and with investigations of the microscopic resolution capability.

Very recently, wing scales of natural Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) manifested themselves in providing excellent three dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection. But the origin of the observed enormous Raman enhancement of the analytes on 3D metallic replicas of butterfly wing scales has not been clarified yet, hindering a full utilization of this huge natural wealth with more than 175 000 3D morphologies. Herein, the 3D sub‐micrometer Cu structures replicated from butterfly wing scales are successfully tuned by modifying the Cu deposition time. An optimized Cu plating process (10 min in Cu deposition) yields replicas with the best conformal morphologies of original wing scales and in turn the best SERS performance. Simulation results show that the so‐called “rib‐structures” in Cu butterfly wing scales present naturally piled‐up hotspots where electromagnetic fields are substantially amplified, giving rise to a much higher hotspot density than in plain 2D Cu structures. Such a mechanism is further verified in several Cu replicas of scales from various butterfly species. This finding paves the way to the optimal scale candidates out of ca. 175 000 Lepidopteran species as bio‐templates to replicate for SERS applications, and thus helps bring affordable SERS substrates as consumables with high sensitivity, high reproducibility, and low cost to ordinary laboratories across the world.

In China, Kudingcha has been used for almost 2,000 years as a tea to quench thirst, remove phlegm, refresh the mind, and improve eyesight. The group of large-leaved Kudingcha is coveted for its potential effects on lipid metabolism, which are attributed to the presence of characteristic ingredients. This contribution reviews studies from the past few decades regarding the plant characteristics, ethnobotanical usages, chemical constituents, and related biological activities of the large-leaved Kudingcha (Ilex latifolia Thunb and Ilex kudingcha C.J. Tseng). Triterpenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and essential oils are the main metabolites in the large-leaved Kudingcha, and these ingredients protect the vascular system, regulate lipid metabolism, and have antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and anti-tumor effects. Moreover, large-leaved Kudingcha shares several properties with the popular green tea and the Yerba maté from South America.

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Abstract:In this work, we show that the application of a sol-gel coating renders a microbubble whispering gallery resonator into an active device. During the fabrication of the resonator, a thin layer of erbium-doped sol-gel is applied to a tapered microcapillary, then a microbubble with a wall thickness of 1.3 µm is formed with the rare earth diffused into its walls. The doped microbubble is pumped at 980 nm and lasing in the emission band of the Er 3+ ions with a wavelength of 1535 nm is observed. The laser wavelength can be tuned by aerostatic pressure tuning of the whispering gallery modes of the microbubble. Up to 240 pm tuning is observed with 2 bar of applied pressure. It is shown that the doped microbubble could be used as a compact, tunable laser source. The lasing microbubble can also be used to improve sensing capabilities in optofluidic sensing applications.

In this study we focus on understanding the system imaging mechanisms given rise to the unique characteristic of discretization in digital holography. Imaging analysis with respect to the system geometries is investigated and the corresponding requirements for reliable holographic imaging are specified. In addition, the imaging capacity of a digital holographic system is analyzed in terms of space-bandwidth product. The impacts due to the discrete features of the CCD sensor that are characterized by the amount of sensitive pixels and the pixel dimension are quantified. The analysis demonstrates the favorable properties of an in-line system arrangement in both the effective field of view and imaging resolution.

Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer, but accurate diagnosis remains a challenge. The aim of the present study was to create a model using amino acids and acylcarnitines for lung cancer screening. Serum samples were obtained from two groups of patients with lung cancer recruited in 2015 (including 40 patients and 100 matched controls) and 2017 (including 17 patients and 30 matched controls). Using a metabolomics method, 21 metabolites (13 types of amino acids and 8 types of acylcarnitines) were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Data (from the 2015 and 2017 data sets) were analysed using a Mann-Whitney U test, Student's t-test, Welch's F test, receiver-operator characteristic curve or logistic regression in order to investigate the potential biomarkers. Six metabolites (glycine, valine, methionine, citrulline, arginine and C16-carnitine) were indicated to be involved in distinguishing patients with lung cancer from healthy controls. The six discriminating metabolites from the 2017 data set were further analysed using Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The PLS-DA model was verified using Spearman's correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. These results demonstrated that the PLS-DA model using the six metabolites (glycine, valine, methionine, citrulline, arginine and C16-carnitine) had a strong ability to identify lung cancer. Therefore, the PLS-DA model using glycine, valine, methionine, citrulline, arginine and C16-carnitine may become a novel screening tool in patients with lung cancer.