Shanghai University

The bulk high-temperature superconducting undulator can produce an on-axis magnetic field of up to 2.1 T for a period as short as 10 mm, outperforming current permanent magnet and low-temperature superconducting undulators. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the electromagnetic-mechanical coupling in RE-Ba-Cu-O (REBCO) bulk superconductors within the HTS undulator during the assembly, cool down and field-cooled magnetization processes. It is calculated that the compressive stress exerted by the copper disk upon cooling to 77 K significantly exceeds the pre-stress from the shrink-fit assembly. This indicates that the interference amount between the REBCO bulk and the copper disk can be minimized, allowing for a small degree of interference amount to facilitate shrink-fit assembly while ensuring effective thermal contact for enhanced heat conduction efficiency. It is observed that the maximum first principal stress in the REBCO bulk superconductor after field-cooled magnetization from 7 T is reduced to below 50 MPa when accounting for the pre-stress induced by the copper disk. To validate these computational findings, we developed a strain measurement system to assess the mechanical stress in the REBCO bulk superconductor after cooling to 77 K. The experimental results demonstrated good agreement with the simulation results.

Shorter period undulators typically require a higher on-axis magnetic field in order to achieve a practical deflection parameter, K . Recent simulations and experiments have demonstrated that high-temperature superconducting (HTS) undulators, constructed from staggered-array bulk superconductors, can generate high undulator fields with period length as short as 10 mm. This advanced HTS technology has the potential to significantly enhance the photon energy range of synchrotron radiation light sources and free electron laser facilities. This paper reports on the progress made in developing of a 50-period bulk HTS undulator with period length of 12 mm for Shanghai soft x-ray free electron laser facility. It details the engineering design of the undulator prototype, thermal and mechanical analysis of the HTS variable temperature insert, and the current status of the system.

The impact and burden of coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2) still exists worldwide. Different knowledge, opinions, and techniques determine the various outcomes and potency of preventive and therapeutic strategies. COVID-19 infections, long COVID, and the complexity of treatment variability are challenging issues for therapeutic promotion and cost-effective consideration. To speed up global efforts against COVID-19, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic selections, and drug combination studies should be optimized in different ways. The epidemic condition, vaccination, techniques, and therapeutic options are open to new expeditions. To target infectious and therapeutic variability, biomedical mechanisms and pathways should be understood. Facilitating and enhancing new global machinery and roadmap against viral-induced social damages and potential epidemics should be established for biological and pharmaceutical purposes. Thus, in this study, the ways of medical translation for COVID-19 treatment are discussed.

Abstracts Cancer is a complex and high-mortality disease in the clinic. Cancer metastasis leads to most cancer deaths. The therapeutics for cancer metastasis are greatly unsatisfactory now. Despite different types of antimetastatic agents and drugs have been reported, 90% of patients die in 5 years after metastatic nodules at secondary sites have been found. Many pharmacologic challenges and opportunities for current metastasis therapies are presented. To overcome the dilemma and shortcomings of antimetastatic treatment, medical, chemical, pharmaceutical, methodological and technical issues are integrated and highlighted. To introduce up-to-date knowledge and insights into drug targeting and pharmaceutical features and clinical paradigms, relevant drug design insights are discussed—including different pathological modes, diagnosis advances, metastatic cascade, tumor plasticity, variety of animal models, therapeutic biomarkers, computational tools and cancer genomics. Integrated knowledge, systems and therapeutics are focused. In summary, medicinal comparison, pharmaceutical innovation and clinical strategies should be increasingly investigated.

The manufacturing of biomimetic bone characterized by an organic–inorganic combination and fibrous structure has garnered significant attention. Inspired by the formation of multi‐layered fibrous structures in bone tissue, this study is based on the fibril assembled from poly(γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamate) (PBLG) in helicogenic solvent, proposing a non‐solvent‐assisted 3D printing method for realizing the PBLG 3D printing while generating biomimetic fiber structures in One‐Step to mimic the formation of collagen fiber bundles. The unprintable mixture of PBLG and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA) in 1,4‐dioxane exhibits extrudability, self‐supporting properties, and plasticity in ethanol. Meanwhile, ethanol‐assisted printing leads to the spontaneous growth of PBLG‐fibrils into submicron‐fibers. Moreover, the integration of nHA with PBLG‐fibers through hydrogen bonding contributes to the improvement of printability and mechanical properties. This method of ethanol‐assisted fiber generation is successful with concentrated PBLG solutions, overcoming the limitation of previous research that focused only on dilute solutions. To expand the printable window, an ethanol‐gel is developed as a support to achieve omnidirectional printing, resolving the issue of interlayer collapse caused by gravity and the conflict between printability and biomimetic fibers generation, optimizing the biomimetic bone manufacturing, leading to the precise biomimetic design of bone structures.

Genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 enables precise DNA modifications in plant genomes but raises biosecurity and safety concerns due to potential off-target effects. Developing detection methods is crucial. We developed a cost-effective, low-technical loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) system to detect the Cas9 cassette at the DNA level in genome-edited plants. This method rapidly amplifies DNA in 30 min, with visual detection facilitated by hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB), changing color from violet to sky blue. Our optimized LAMP-HNB reaction is sensitive enough to detect as few as one copy of the target DNA. To our knowledge, this novel assay is the first isothermal nucleic acid amplification method targeting the Cas9 cassette in genome-edited plants, offering LAMP-HNB as a valuable tool for diagnostic and monitoring tests. It is particularly useful for laboratories prioritizing safety and accuracy in detecting genome-edited modifications in agricultural products, highlighting the importance of addressing ethical and safety implications in genome editing.

Designing an end-to-end encryption method for images using the nonlinear properties of deep neural networks (DNNs) has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. In this paper, we introduce a new framework for DNN-based image encryption that embeds a plaintext image as a secret message into a random noise to obtain a ciphertext image. Based on this, we propose an end-to-end robust image encryption method based on the invertible neural network (INN), which can realize secure encryption and resistance to common image processing attacks. Specifically, the INN is exploited as the shared-parameter encoder and decoder to achieve end-to-end encryption and decryption. The ciphertext image can be obtained through the forward process of the INN by inputting the plaintext image and the key, while the decrypted image can be obtained through the backward process of the INN by inputting the ciphertext image and the key. To enhance the security of our method, we design an information reinforcement module to guarantee the encryption effect and the sensitivity of the key. In addition, to improve the robustness of our method, an attack layer is employed for noise simulation training. Experimental results show that our method not only can realize secure encryption but also can achieve the robustness such as resisting JPEG compression, Gaussian noise, scaling, mean filtering, and Gaussian blurring effectively.

Electrolyte wettability significantly effects the electrochemical performance of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, buoyancy testing is employed to accurately measure the force‐time curve of electrolyte penetration into the electrodes and thereby calculate the wettability rate. Electrochemical performance is comprehensively evaluated through CR2025 coin half‐cell testing, four‐point probe analysis, and C‐rate cycling experiments. The effects of conductive agent content, morphology, and size on wettability, conductivity and electrochemical performance are investigated. The results show that carbon nanotube (CNT) conductive agent have strong effect on electrolyte wettability, conductivity, and electrochemical performance. Specifically, electrodes with 3 % CNT content show a 48.9 % increase in wettability, a 95.7 % reduction in electrode resistance, and a 10 % increase in cycle life compared to 1 % CNT. The results show that wettability and conductivity have an equally important effect on electrochemical properties. Larger CNT sizes improve wettability but increase electrode resistance, negatively impacting LIB performance. CNT conductive agents facilitate electrolyte movement along the nanotubes, reducing tortuosity and enhancing wettability. Optical observation of the wetting process on the surface and cross‐section of the pure conductive agent electrode strongly supports this conclusion. These results provide valuable insight into optimizing LIB performance by manipulating CNT properties and incorporating them as conductive agents.

Peptide stapling techniques have historically relied on metal‐catalyzed chemical reactions, with no examples using enzymes. Here, inspired by tyrosinase‐mediated oxidation, we describe the efficient side‐chain to side‐chain coupling of p‐amino phenylalanine (Z) and tyrosine (Y) amino acids using a commercially available tyrosinase. Stapling reactions between the i, i+3 to i, i+7 positions were all performed, proceeding in good conversion and under mild conditions compatible with various side chains, functional motifs and ring sizes, with the Z−Y product found to be more stable and obtained in a higher yield than the Y−Z product. Z−Y stapled versions of ER, MC4 and GPR54 binding peptides exhibited higher serum stability, helical content and binding affinity than their linear counterparts, proving the utility of our method to synthesize biologically significant peptides. The tyrosinase‐catalyzed Z−Y peptide stapling technique expands the scope of available stapling techniques, and is proposed to develop stapled peptide drug candidates.

Ionic conductive hydrogels have emerged as an excellent option for constructing dielectric layers of interfacial iontronic sensors. Among these, gradient ionic hydrogels, due to the intrinsic gradient elastic modulus, can achieve a wide range of pressure responses. However, the fabrication of gradient hydrogels with optimal mechanical and sensing properties remains a challenge. In this study, it is discovered first that phytic acid (PA) interacts in remarkably distinct manners (i.e., plasticizing effects and phase separation) with different polymers (i.e., polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid). This distinctive PA‐polymer interacting mechanism is innovatively utilized to construct a modulus gradient ionic hydrogel through a simple precursor solution infiltration approach. The gradient hydrogel‐based flexible pressure sensor not only achieves a high sensitivity (9.00 kPa⁻¹, <15 kPa) and a broad sensing range (from ≈3.7 Pa to 1.2 MPa) simultaneously, but also exhibits superior low pressure sensing performance. It successfully recognizes the subtle pressure due to acoustic waves and airflow, as well as the moderate pressure due to speaking and finger pressing and the high magnitude of plantar pressure. In addition, the gradient hydrogel demonstrates remarkable antibacterial properties and biocompatibility. This functional hydrogel with excellent sensing performance and bioactivity exhibits exceptional potential for wearable sensing applications.

Soft actuators hold great potential for applications in surgical operations, robotic manipulation, and prosthetic devices. However, they are limited by their structures, materials, and actuation methods, resulting in disadvantages in output force and dynamic response. This article introduces a soft pneumatic actuator capable of bending based on triangular prism origami. The origami creases are crafted by utilizing fabrics to gain swift response and fatigue-resistant properties. By connecting two actuators in series, combined motions including extension and diversified compound bending can be achieved, facilitating control in complex scenarios. After modularizing the soft actuator via mortise and tenon structures, several actuators can be programmed to execute a variety of intricate tasks by adjusting the timing sequences of their contraction and expansion. We showcase its applications in reconfigurable robots, and the results confirm that such a design is adequate for flexibly performing tasks such as soft gripping, navigational movement, and obstacle avoidance. These findings highlight the significance of our actuator in developing soft robots for versatile tasks.

Traditional adhesion coupling agents based on small molecules often face challenges such as uneven interface distribution, sensitivity to humidity, and lack of energy dissipation in bulk adhesives, which limit both adhesion performance and long‐term reliability. In this work, amphiphilic block copolymer brushes are presented as a new type of coupling agent to overcome these issues. The hydrophilic block forms stable, multi‐site interactions with the substrate, while the hydrophobic block penetrates and entangles with the adhesive matrix, facilitating effective energy transmission and dissipation across a broader zone. For instance, before grafting amphiphilic block copolymer brushes, the adhesion strength between copper and polydimethylsiloxane is only 0.5 MPa, but after grafting, the adhesion strength is increased to 8.2 MPa, representing a 16.4‐fold improvement, even in the absence of covalent bonding, and surpassing previous enhancement strategies. The adhesion remained strong under various harsh conditions, including thermal aging, thermal cycling, high temperature/high humidity, and even immersion in water. This adaptive approach, which allows for the customization of block compositions, offers great potential for a wide range of applications, including flexible electronics, microfluidics, coatings, and sealing technologies.

Tin (Sn)‐based perovskites have made notable advances with external quantum efficiency of over 20%, but still exhibit low electroluminescence brightness insufficient for outdoor displays. Here, it is demonstrated that compact phenethylammonium tin iodide (PEA 2 SnI 4 ) films with an intact crystal structure can offer high luminance by optimizing the perovskite crystallization rate simultaneously with engineering the grain surface. Ammonium thiocyanate is added to the precursor solution to generate the film with PEA 2 SnI x SCN 4‐ x and NH 4 I after spin‐coating. Sn ²⁺ and SCN ⁻ have a strong interaction that slows crystallization to improve PEA 2 SnI 4 crystal quality. During the subsequent annealing, I ⁻ from NH 4 I replaces SCN ⁻ in PEA 2 SnI x SCN 4‐ x by forming thiourea, which can escape from the film to leave intact PEA 2 SnI 4 crystals. It is found that the optimized PEA 2 SnI 4 emitting layers can provide outstanding film coverage, high crystallinity, low trap state density, and superior photophysical performance. Consequently, an impressive brightness of 8285 cd m ⁻² for pure red electroluminescence is achieved, the first report of Sn‐based perovskite light‐emitting diodes that meet outdoor display requirements.

The local structure plays a crucial role in oxygen redox reactions, which boosts the capacity of layered oxide cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries. While studies on local structural ordering have primarily focused on the intra‐layer ordering, there has been limited research on the inter‐layer stacking for the layered cathode materials for sodium‐ion batteries. In this work, the impact of the intra‐layer and inter‐layer local structural regulation on anionic kinetics and the structure stability are explored through experimental analysis and theoretical calculations. Cu²⁺ substitution is introduced to adjust the transition metal inter‐layer structure of P2‐Na0.67Mg0.28Mn0.72O2, obtaining a zig‐zag stacked honeycomb superlattice structure in P2‐ Na0.67Cu0.14Mg0.14Mn0.72O2. The local structure regulation mitigates the cation migration, improves the structure reversibility even at a deeply desodiation state of Na0.05, and the reductive coupling between cationic and anionic redox processes facilitates electron transfer from oxygen to copper ions and governs the properties of electrochemical kinetics and hysteresis. A full cell with hard carbon anode shows commendable energy density at high power density. This study paves an optional path for enhancing the structure stability and dynamics of oxygen redox chemistry in P2‐type cathode materials for sodium‐ion battery systems.