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Abstract Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), an Andean crop, is a facultative halophyte food crop recognized globally for its high nutritional value and plasticity to adapt to harsh conditions. We conducted a genome-wide association study on a diverse set of quinoa germplasm accessions. These accessions were evaluated for the following agronomic and biochemical traits: days to 50% flowering (DTF), plant height (PH), panicle length (PL), stem diameter (SD), seed yield (SY), grain diameter (GD), and thousand-grain weight (TGW). These accessions underwent genotyping-by-sequencing using the DNBSeq-G400R platform. Among all evaluated traits, TGW represented maximum broad-sense heritability. Our study revealed average SNP density of ≈ 3.11 SNPs/10 kb for the whole genome, with the lowest and highest on chromosomes Cq1B and Cq9A, respectively. Principal component analysis clustered the quinoa population in three main clusters, one clearly representing lowland Chilean accessions, whereas the other two groups corresponded to germplasm from the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. In our germplasm set, we estimated linkage disequilibrium decay to be ≈ 118.5 kb. Marker-trait analyses revealed major and consistent effect associations for DTF on chromosomes 3A, 4B, 5B, 6A, 7A, 7B and 8B, with phenotypic variance explained (PVE) as high as 19.15%. Nine associations across eight chromosomes were also found for saponin content with 20% PVE by qSPN5A.1. More QTLs were identified for PL and TGW on multiple chromosomal locations. We identified putative candidate genes in the genomic regions associated with DTF and saponin content. The consistent and major-effect genomic associations can be used in fast-tracking quinoa breeding for wider adaptation across marginal environments.

Abstract Growth mindsets and self-efficacy beliefs have been known to predict and promote resilience, challenge seeking, and improved outcomes in areas such as education and intelligence. However, little is known about the role of these two potentially influential beliefs in the context of type 2 diabetes (T2D), specifically in terms of whether and in which domains (i.e., beliefs toward general life, general health, or condition-specific domains) these beliefs—or lack thereof—is prevalent among individuals with T2D. Given the lifelong challenges that individuals with diabetes often encounter with managing their disease, many may slip into a conceding negative belief that their diabetes is “too difficult to control” or simply “out of their hands,” inhibiting proactive self-management efforts. Results from our study (n = 893) revealed that individuals with T2D had a significantly lower growth mindset towards their blood glucose level and lower self-efficacy towards their general health, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels compared to those without T2D. Among participants with T2D, further analyses showed a pattern of higher HbA1c among those with lower growth mindsets and self-efficacy toward their general health or blood glucose level. These findings identify the belief-domains that may pose barriers to necessary self-care behaviors, informing future interventions to promote improved diabetes care and management.

Abstract Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was prepared easily from Rabdosia rubescens residue to realize the efficient utilization of waste resources. The yield was about 95.03% under the optimal conditions. Then, MCC membrane was prepared by phase transformation method and its structure and mechanical properties were studied systemically. The results showed the cellulose crystal structure changed from type I to type II in the process of forming membrane, and the thermal stability decreased simultaneously. The content of MCC in casting solution has great influence on the mechanical properties of membranes. The higher the content of MCC, the better the comprehensive mechanical properties of the membranes is. When MCC content is 9%, the tensile strength and elongation at break can reach 8.38 MPa and 26.72%, which is better than traditional cellulose membranes. Finally, the separation properties were studied by separation BSA from water. The results showed that the rejection rate and water flux changed positively and negatively with the change of MCC content. When the content was 5%, the membrane demonstrated the best comprehensive performance, its rejection for BSA was 37.23 g/(m2 h), the corresponding rejection rate and water flux were 88.87% and 41.89 L/(m2 h) respectively.

For ferromagnets, varying from simple metals to strongly correlated oxides,the critical behaviors near the Curie temperature (TC) can be grouped into several universal classes. In this paper, we report an unusual critical behavior in manganese nitrides Cu1-xNMn3+x (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.4). Although the critical behavior below TC can be well described by mean field (MF) theory, robust critical fluctuations beyond the expectations of any universal classes are observed above TC in x = 0.1. The critical fluctuations become weaker when x increases, and the MF-like critical behavior is finally restored at x = 0.4. In addition, the paramagnetic susceptibility of all the samples deviates from the Curie-Weiss (CW) law just above TC. This deviation is gradually smeared as x increases. The short-range antiferromagnetic ordering above TC revealed by our electron spin resonance measurement explains both the unusual critical behavior and the breakdown of the CW law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic and electronic transport properties of perovskite manganite La 0.6 Er 0.1 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 have been thoroughly examined through the measurements of magnetization, electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR), and resistivity. It was found that the substitution of Er 3+ for La 3+ ions introduced the chemical disorder and additional strain in this sample. An extra resonance signal occurred in EPR spectra at high temperatures well above T C gives a strong evidence of electronic phase separation(EPS). The analysis of resistivity enable us to identify the polaronic transport mechanism in the paramagnetic region. At low temperature, a new ferromagnetic interaction generates in the microdomains of Er 3+ -disorder causing the second increase of magnetization. However, the new ferromagnetic interaction does not improve but decreases electronic transport due to the enhancement of interface resistance among neighboring domains. In view of a really wide temperature region for the EPS existence, this sample provides an ideal platform to uncover the evolution law of different magnetic structures in perovskite manganites.

The unique characteristic of fast water permeation in laminated graphene oxide (GO) sheets has facilitated the development of ultrathin and ultrafast nanofiltration membranes. Here we report the application of fast water permeation property of immersed GO deposition for enhancing the performance of a GO/water nanofluid charged two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT). By benchmarking its performance against a silver oxide/water nanofluid charged TPCT, the enhancement of evaporation strength is found to be essentially attributed to the fast water permeation property of GO deposition instead of the enhanced surface wettability of the deposited layer. The expansion of interlayer distance between the graphitic planes of GO deposited layer enables intercalation of bilayer water for fast water permeation. The capillary force attributed to the frictionless interaction between the atomically smooth, hydrophobic carbon structures and the well-ordered hydrogen bonds of water molecules is sufficiently strong to overcome the gravitational force. As a result, a thin water film is formed on the GO deposited layers, inducing filmwise evaporation which is more effective than its interfacial counterpart, appreciably enhanced the overall performance of TPCT. This study paves the way for a promising start of employing the fast water permeation property of GO in thermal applications.