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Smart actuators hold great potential in soft robotics and sensors, but their movement at the fluid interface is less understood and controlled, hindering their performances and applications in complicated fluids. Here an ethanol-containing polyelectrolyte actuator is prepared that demonstrates excellent actuating performance via the Marangoni effect. These actuators exhibit enduring (17 min), repeatable (50 cycles), and autonomous motion on the water surface. More importantly, the motion of actuators are dependent on their shapes. Polygonal actuators with more edges exhibit round motion attached to walls of containers, while the actuators with few edges move randomly. On the basis of this property, the circular actuators can pass through pipe bends with S-shaped complex geometry. These unique advantages lend the actuators to successful applications in wireless sensing (standard 0-5 V level signals) for locating obstructions inside invisible pipes and continuous energy harvesting (7700 nC per cycle) for micro mechanical energy.

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Aerogel, known as one of the remarkable materials in the 21st century, possesses exceptional characteristics such as high specific surface area, porosity, and elasticity, making it suitable for a diverse range of applications. In recent years, MXene-based aerogels and MXene composite aerogels as functional materials have solved some limitations of traditional aerogels, such as improving the electrical conductivity of biomass and silicon aerogels, further improving the energy storage capacity of carbon aerogels, enhancing polymer-based aerogels, etc. Consequently, extensive research efforts have been dedicated to investigating MXene-based aerogels, positioning them at the forefront of material science studies. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent advancements in the preparation, properties, and applications of MXene-based composite aerogels. The primary construction strategies employed (including direct synthesis from MXene dispersions and incorporation of MXene within existing substrates) for fabricating MXene-based aerogels are summarized. Furthermore, the desirable properties (including their applications in electrochemistry, electromagnetic shielding, sensing, and adsorption) of MXene composite aerogels are highlighted. This paper delves into a detailed discussion on the fundamental properties of composite aerogel systems, elucidating the intricate structure-property relationships. Finally, an outlook is provided on the opportunities and challenges for the mass production and functional applications of MXene composite aerogels in the field of material engineering.

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Coronaviruses that can infect humans can cause either common colds (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-229E, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-OC43) or severe respiratory symptoms (SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV). The papain-like proteases (PLPs) of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, and HCoV-NL63 function in viral innate immune evasion and have deubiquitinating (DUB) and deISGylating activities. We identified the PLPs of HCoV-229E, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-OC43 and found that their enzymatic properties correlated with their ability to suppress innate immune responses. A conserved noncatalytic aspartic acid residue was critical for both DUB and deISGylating activities, but the PLPs had differing ubiquitin (Ub) chain cleavage selectivities and binding affinities for Ub, K48-linked diUb, and interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) substrates. The crystal structure of HKU1-PLP2 in complex with Ub revealed binding interfaces that accounted for the unusually high binding affinity between this PLP and Ub. In cellular assays, the PLPs from the severe disease-causing coronaviruses strongly suppressed innate immune IFN-I and NF-κB signaling and stimulated autophagy, whereas the PLPs from the mild disease-causing coronaviruses generally showed weaker effects on immune suppression and autophagy induction. In addition, a PLP from a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern showed increased suppression of innate immune signaling pathways. Overall, these results demonstrated that the DUB and deISGylating activities and substrate selectivities of these PLPs differentially contribute to viral innate immune evasion and may affect viral pathogenicity.

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We derive analytical solutions that describe the one-dimensional displaced and chirped symmetric Pearcey Gaussian beam in a uniformly moving parabolic potential. The multiple effective manipulations of the beam, which are originated from the diverse configurations of the dynamic parabolic potential, are demonstrated. On the whole, the accelerating trajectory can transform into a linear superposition form of the oblique straight line and the simple harmonic motion. Meanwhile, we discuss the further modulation of the accelerating trajectory characteristics such as slope, amplitude and phase shift. Additionally, the extension into a two-dimensional scenario is also proposed. Our results theoretically improve the practical value of the Pearcey beam, and lead to potential applications in trajectory manipulation and particle manipulation.

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In this Letter, a new, to the best of our knowledge, type of autofocusing and symmetric beam arisen from two quartic spectral phases is introduced in theory and experiment. The symmetric Pearcey Gaussian beam (SPGB), formed with a Gaussian term and two multiplying Pearcey integrals, processes a focusing intensity approximately 1.32 times stronger than the intensity of the symmetric Airy beam. Its four off-axis main lobes split into four bending trajectories symmetrically after focusing. The rectangular intensity distribution and the focal length of the SPGB can be adjusted by two kinds of distribution factors. Additionally, the vortex-guiding property of the beam is demonstrated by embedding an off-axis vortex into the SPGB, which can be applied in particle guiding.

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In this paper, an analytical expression with a triple sum of the Hermite-Gaussian vortex beam (HGVB) propagating in a medium with a parabolic transverse spatial distribution of the refractive index is carried out. The intensity, phase, Poynting vector, and angular momentum of the HGVB are demonstrated analytically. The parabolic parameter, orders of the HGVB, and vortex topological charge affect the propagation properties, respectively. Also, the Poynting vector and angular momentum of the HGVB are shown so that we can further discover the properties. Furthermore, radiation forces are used to demonstrate the optical trapping ability of the HGVB, and several trapping positions are formed by the beam during propagation.

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Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) are extensively involved in various malignant tumors, including ovarian cancer (OC). In the present study, we focused on the expression and function of nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) in OC cells' metastasis. We demonstrated that NEAT1 was upregulated in OC tissue specimens and cell lines. In addition, we revealed that depression of NEAT1 inhibited OC cells' metastasis and the expression of Rho associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), which is a metastasis-related gene. Using online predictive software and a series of luciferase assays, we demonstrated that both NEAT1 and ROCK1 were the targets of microRNA-382-3p (miR-382-3p) and share similar microRNA responding elements (MRE). Furthermore, we illustrated that NEAT1 and miR-382-3p inhibited each other in a reciprocal manner. Finally, through antisense experiments we demonstrated that NEAT1 promoted ROCK1-mediated metastasis by functioning as a ceRNA of miR-382-3p. In summary, the findings of this study revealed that NEAT1 promoted OC cells' metastasis through regulating the miR-382-3p/ROCK1 axial. The present study might provide a new target for treating OC.

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