In the context of global water scarcity, water vapor available in air is a non-negligible supplementary fresh water resource. Current and potential energetically passive procedures for improving atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) capabilities involve different strategies and dedicated materials, which are reviewed in this paper, from the perspective of morphology and wettability optimization, substrate cooling, and sorbent assistance. The advantages and limitations of different AWH strategies are respectively discussed, as well as their water harvesting performance. The various applications based on advanced AWH technologies are also demonstrated. A prospective concept of multifunctional water vapor harvesting panel based on promising cooling material, inspired by silicon-based solar energy panels, is finally proposed with a brief outlook of its advantages and challenges.

Unusual condensation dynamics occur on the hierarchical Black Silicon metasurfaceNear-zero water removal time and good water yield are simultaneously achieved Great scalability and multifunctionality are accessible to the proposed water panel

brings about a high potential application value in many fields such as plasmonic photocatalyst, [6,7] nonlinear optics, [8,9] surface-enhanced spectroscopy, [10,11] solar cells, [12,13] high integration optical devices, [14,15] and metamaterials, [16,17] etc. Among various basic plasmonic structures, the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) configuration that the insulator film is sandwiched between two symmetric metal films is one of the most common units. [18] In this structure, the electric field is strongly constrained, causing a stronger energy confinement effect in deeply subwavelength scale. [19,20] However, due to the presence of metal, a large Ohmic loss is inevitable in the individual plasmonic structures including the traditional MIM geometries, which results in difficulties to achieve strong confinements of electric field with a low loss simultaneously. [21,22] Generally, for the widely used Si-based plasmonic devices, it is an undesirable phenomenon. One of the main reasons is that silicon has a relative large thermo-optic coefficient and the temperature variety induced by Ohmic loss influences its properties seriously, [23,24] leading to the instability and limitations of integration. In addition, the large loss means the low efficiencies for Si-based plasmonic optoelectronic converters as well. [25] In this case, the enhancement of plasmonic mode coupling through engineering of multiple structures may realize a reduction of the Ohmic losses, [21,26] and some composite structures are constantly designed to achieve the mode coupling. Exciting surface lattice resonances (SLRs) is a line of thought for reducing losses, but it is usually supported by nanorods or nanoparticles, and coupled with localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). [27][28][29] Thus, further investigations of novel microstructures based on propagating plasmon resonances are necessary.According to the contents above, first, we demonstrate a microstructure of multilayer grating including MIM waveguides inside. Alternate Al and Si layers are utilized to replace the traditional single material grating stripes on the Si substrate. Not only will SPPs be excited by the grating-shaped structure, but also the standing wave resonance will be formed by Fabry-Perot (F-P) cavities that consist of MIM waveguides. Then we demonstrate a microstructure of multilayer trench grating including both stripes and trenches. The section of multilayer grating stripes can also perform a narrowband F-P resonance through MIM structures. Meanwhile, the multilayer For common plasmonic structures, it is difficult to considerate both the abilities of confining light and reducing loss. Here, two plasmonic multilayer structures comprised of five alternate Al and Si layers are demonstrated. First, the multilayer gratings with near-infrared dual narrowband peaks are given in the spectrum excited by Fabry-Perot resonance. Through investigating the modes of electric field distributions, the frequency-sensitivity, and linear designable characteristic of its working bands are cl...

The periodontal ligament (PDL) is highly ordered connective tissue located between the alveolar bone and cementum. An aligned and organized architecture is required for its physiological function. We applied micropatterning technology to arrange PDL cells in 10- or 20-μm-wide extracellular protein patterns. Cell and nuclear morphology, cytoskeleton, proliferation, differentiation, and matrix metalloproteinase system expression were investigated. Micropatterning clearly elongated PDL cells with a low cell-shape index and low spreading area. The nucleus was also elongated as nuclear height increased, but the nuclear volume remained intact. The cytoskeleton was rearranged to form prominent bundles at cells' peripheral regions. Moreover, proliferation was promoted by 10- and 20-μm micropatterning. Osteogenesis and adipogenesis were each inhibited, but micropatterning increased PDL cells' stem cell markers. β-catenin was expelled to cytoplasm. YAP/TAZ nuclear localization and activity both decreased, which might indicate their role in micropatterning-regulated differentiation. Collagen Ι expression increased in micropatterned groups. It might be due to the decreased expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1, 2 and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 gene expression elevation in micropatterned groups. The findings of this study provide insight into the effects of a micropatterned surface on PDL cell behavior and may be applicable in periodontal tissue regeneration.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that contaminate a wide range of foods and feeds. Mycotoxin contamination is considered to be an important risk factor for food safety which poses serious threat to human and animal health. Cell death induction is suggested to be the key cellular event contributed to the pleiotropically toxic effects of mycotoxins. During the past decades, substantial progress has been made in uncovering the mechanisms of cell death induction by mycotoxins. Understanding of the mechanisms underlying mycotoxin-induced cytotoxicity will benefit the development of effective strategies for the management of mycotoxin-associated health issues. The current review will discuss the types of cell death induced by mycotoxins and summarize the present understanding of signaling pathways involved in mycotoxin-mediated cytotoxicities.

Background Cry8-like from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) encodes an insecticidal crystal (Cry) protein. Holotrichia parallela (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidae), commonly known as the dark black chafer, is a troublesome pest of soybean (Glycine max). To test whether cry8-like can confer resistance against H. parallela to soybean, we introduced cry8-like from the Bt strain HBF-18 into soybean cultivar Jinong 28. Results Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis demonstrated that cry8-like was expressed most highly in soybean leaves. In addition, Southern blot assays revealed that one copy of the integrated fragment was present in the transformed plants. Eight independent cry8-like transgenic lines were subsequently fed on by H. parallela. Under H. parallela feeding stress, the survival rates of the non-transgenic plants were 92% lower than those of the transgenic plants. The mortality rate of H. parallela increased when the larvae fed on the roots of T1 transgenic soybean plants. Moreover, the surviving larvae were deformed, and their growth was inhibited. Conclusions Collectively, our data suggest that transgenic soybean plants expressing the cry8-like gene are more resistant to H. parallela than non-transgenic plants and that transgenic expression of the cry8-like gene may represent a promising strategy for engineering pest tolerance. The events generated in this study could thus be utilized in soybean breeding programs.

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