Dual-functionality carbon dots with both anti-microbial and gene transfection abilities were developed and their properties elaborated in this paper.

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Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) can eliminate all detector side channels and it is practical with current technology. Previous implementations of MDI-QKD all use two symmetric channels with similar losses. However, the secret key rate is severely limited when different channels have different losses. Here we report the results of the first highrate MDI-QKD experiment over asymmetric channels. By using the recent 7-intensity optimization approach, we demonstrate >10x higher key rate than previous best-known protocols for MDI-QKD in the situation of large channel asymmetry, and extend the secure transmission distance by more than 20-50 km in standard telecom fiber. The results have moved MDI-QKD towards widespread applications in practical network settings, where the channel losses are asymmetric and user nodes could be dynamically added or deleted. * These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Templated from the bristles on Papilio maacki wings, single porous SnO2 microtubes (SPSMs) have been synthesized by soaking and sintering.

Pluronics F127 or (PEG)99–(PPG)69–(PEG)99 (with PEG and PPG representing polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, respectively) was chemically modified by reacting with poly(polytetrahydrofuran carbonate) (PTHF) diol using a standard poly(urethane) reaction. The poly(F127/PTHF urethane)s showed lower critical gelation concentration as compared with Pluronics F127. The solution properties of these polymers were investigated at different temperatures using a hydrophobic dye probe. The thermodynamic variables associated with micelle formation were determined. This study uncovered valuable structure–property relationships affecting the micellization and gelation behavior. We tested these materials as potential ophthalmic delivery agents for the sustained release of natamycin for the treatment of eye infections. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014, 131, 39924.

In this study, the carbon-matrix Ag wing with a hierarchical sub-micron antireflection quasi-photonic crystal structure (HSAS) was fabricated by a simple and promising method. This method combines chemosynthesis with biomimetic techniques, without the requirement of expensive equipment and energy intensive processes. Here, the Troides helena (Linnaeus) (T. helena) forewing (T_FW) was chosen as the biomimetic template. The carbon-matrix Ag butterfly wing (Ag@C_T_FW) achieves a drastically enhanced infrared absorption over a broad spectral range, especially, over the near infrared region. Here, we report methods to enhance and modify the plasmonic resonances in such structures by strongly coupling plasmonic resonances to HSAS. Using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, the absorption spectra and the distribution of the energy density near the Ag NPs surface were simulated.Based on the experiment and simulation results, these findings demonstrate that the enhanced infrared absorption over a broad spectral range is due to the mechanism that the plasmon and the coherent coupling between adjacent resonance systems integrate with the HSAS.