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One challenge confronting the Cu2O catalysts in the electrocatalysis of carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) is the reduction of active Cu(I) species, resulting in low selectivity and quick deactivation. In this study, we for the first time introduce a bottom‐up growth of convex sphere with adjustable Cu(0)/Cu(I) interfaces (Cux@Cu2O convex spheres). Interestingly, the interfaces are dynamically modulated by varying hydrothermal time, thus regulating the conversion of C1 and C2 products. In particular, the 4 h hydrothermal treatment applied to Cu0.25@Cu2O convex sphere with the favorable Cu(0)/Cu(I) interface results in the highest selectivity for C2 products (90.5 %). In situ Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations reveal that the Cu(0)/Cu(I) interface lowers the energy barrier for the production of ethylene and ethanol while increasing the coverage of localized *CO adsorbate for increased dimerization. This work establishes a novel approach for transforming the state of valence‐sensitive electrocatalysts into high‐value energy‐related engineering products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One challenge confronting the Cu2O catalysts in the electrocatalysis of carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) is the reduction of active Cu(I) species, resulting in low selectivity and quick deactivation. In this study, we for the first time introduce a bottom‐up growth of convex sphere with adjustable Cu(0)/Cu(I) interfaces (Cux@Cu2O convex spheres). Interestingly, the interfaces are dynamically modulated by varying hydrothermal time, thus regulating the conversion of C1 and C2 products. In particular, the 4 h hydrothermal treatment applied to Cu0.25@Cu2O convex sphere with the favorable Cu(0)/Cu(I) interface results in the highest selectivity for C2 products (90.5 %). In situ Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations reveal that the Cu(0)/Cu(I) interface lowers the energy barrier for the production of ethylene and ethanol while increasing the coverage of localized *CO adsorbate for increased dimerization. This work establishes a novel approach for transforming the state of valence‐sensitive electrocatalysts into high‐value energy‐related engineering products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tongbai complex plays an important role in the understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Tongbai‐Dabie orogenic belt. By detailed structural analysis, new zircon U–Pb dating, zircon Lu–Hf analysis and whole‐rock elements for the rocks in the Tongbai complex and the wrapped shear zones, we suggested that the Tongbai complex was derived from the partial melting of the basement of Yangtze Block and experienced a uniform orogen‐parallel extension with a top‐to‐NW shearing at 142–133 Ma. The migmatites yield a migmatization age of 116 ± 2 Ma and are identical to the metamorphic age of 115–111 Ma from the L and LS tectonites in the Tongbai complex. The late Early Cretaceous migmatization may give rise to the severance of the uniform top‐to‐NW shear zone and lead to an antiform folding of the Tongbai complex. The similar deformation and migmatization of the complexes in both the Tongbai and Dabie orogenic belts suggest that the Tongbai‐Dabie orogenic belt is likely to have a similar tectonic transformation from orogen‐parallel to orogen‐perpendicular extension in the Early Cretaceous, namely a uniform orogen‐parallel extension of the ductile lithosphere during the early Early Cretaceous and a widespread migmatization during the late Early Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfide all‐solid‐state battery (SASSB) with ultrahigh‐nickel layered oxide cathode (LiNixCoyMn1‐x‐yO2, NCM, x ≥ 0.9) offers the potential of high energy density and safety for superior energy storage systems. However, stable cycling is difficult to realize due to adverse interfacial reactions, space charge layer (SCL), and elemental diffusion. Herein, a straightforward solid‐phase coating strategy is exploited to synthesize Ni90‐S cathode, which greatly improves the charge transmission capability of the composite cathode and suppresses interfacial reactions in SASSB. The consequent SC‐Ni90‐0.2%S/Li6PS5Cl/Li4Ti5O12 SASSB exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance, including a long life of 500 cycles with 87% capacity retention at 1C, high areal capacity of 11.44 mAh cm−2, and excellent rate performance at 20 C. These results promise an efficient strategy for designing cathode materials for SASSBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The length of hypocotyl affects the height of soybean and lodging resistance, thus determining the final grain yield. However, research on soybean hypocotyl length is scarce, and the regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we identified a module controlling the transport of sucrose, where sucrose acts as a messenger moved from cotyledon to hypocotyl, regulating hypocotyl elongation. This module comprises four key genes, namely MYB33, SWEET11, SWEET21 and GA2ox8c in soybean. In cotyledon, MYB33 is responsive to sucrose and promotes the expression of SWEET11 and SWEET21, thereby facilitating sucrose transport from the cotyledon to the hypocotyl. Subsequently, sucrose transported from the cotyledon up‐regulates the expression of GA2ox8c in the hypocotyl, which ultimately affects the length of the hypocotyl. During the domestication and improvement of soybean, an allele of MYB33 with enhanced abilities to promote SWEET11 and SWEET21 has gradually become enriched in landraces and cultivated varieties, SWEET11 and SWEET21 exhibit high conservation and have undergone a strong purified selection and GA2ox8c is under a strong artificial selection. Our findings identify a new molecular pathway in controlling soybean hypocotyl elongation and provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of sugar transport in soybean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐cleaning and anti‐biofouling are both advantages for lotus‐leaf‐like superhydrophobic surfaces. Methods for creating superhydrophobicity, including chemical bonding low surface energy molecular fragments and constructing surface morphology with protrusions, micropores, and trapped micro airbags by traditional physical strategies, unfortunately, have encountered challenges. They often involve complex synthesis processes, stubborn chemical accumulation, brutal degradation, or infeasible calculation and imprecise modulation in fabricating hierarchical surface roughness. Here, a scalable method to prepare high‐quality, breathable superhydrophobic membranes is proposed by developing a successive roll‐to‐roll laser manufacturing technique, which offers advantages over conventional fabrication approaches in enabling automatically large‐scale production and ensuring cost‐effectiveness. Nanosecond laser writing and femtosecond laser drilling produce surface microstructures and micropore arrays, respectively, endowing the membrane with superior antiwater capability with hierarchical microstructures forming a barrier and blocking water infiltration. The membrane's breathability is carefully optimized by tailoring micropore arrays to allow for the adequate passage of water vapor while maintaining superhydrophobicity. These membranes combine the benefits of anti‐aqueous corrosive liquid behaviors, photothermal effects, thermoplastic properties, and stretchable performances as promising comprehensive materials in diverse scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn metal is a promising anode material in aqueous batteries, but the direct use of Zn foil encounters severe issues of dendrite formation and side reactions, causing short cycle life. Conventional thick and rigid insulating protection layers may impede Zn ion diffusion and detach during mechanical deformation of the battery. Herein, a dendrite‐free zinc anode is demonstrated by grafting a thin (≈10 nm) Ti3C2Tx MXene functional membrane which is formed via Marangoni‐driven self‐assembly. The thin MXene membrane initiates uniform nucleation and promotes deposition of (002)‐oriented Zn in a lateral growth mode. Meanwhile, the membrane functions as a soft, stress‐adaptive, and protective layer to the underneath active zinc. This functional membrane renders Zn anode with improved cycling stability without notable dendrite formation or side‐reaction products. Flexible Zn─I2 pouch cells fabricated from the MXene‐covered Zn foil (20 µm thick) anode and a modified ZnI2 cathode demonstrate stable capacity up to 1500 cycles and unchanged voltage upon various mechanical deformations. This work affords new insights into designing functional soft membranes for constructing flexible Zn‐based energy devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs) are gaining popularity for their cost‐effectiveness, safety, and utilization of abundant resources. MXenes, which possess outstanding conductivity, controllable surface chemistry, and structural adaptability, are widely recognized as a highly versatile platform for AZIBs. MXenes offer a unique set of functions for AZIBs, yet their significance has not been systematically recognized and summarized. This review article provides an up‐to‐date overview of MXenes‐based electrode materials for AZIBs, with a focus on the unique functions of MXenes in these materials. The discussion starts with MXenes and their derivatives on the cathode side, where they serve as a 2D conductive substrate, 3D framework, flexible support, and coating layer. MXenes can act as both the active material and a precursor to the active material in the cathode. On the anode side, the functions of MXenes include active material host, zinc metal surface protection, electrolyte additive, and separator modification. The review also highlights technical challenges and key hurdles that MXenes currently face in AZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Rosa roxburghii and Rosa sterilis, two species belonging to the Rosaceae family, are widespread in the southwest of China. These species have gained recognition for their remarkable abundance of ascorbate in their fresh fruits, making them an ideal vitamin C resource. In this study, we generated two high‐quality chromosome‐scale genome assemblies for R. roxburghii and R. sterilis, with genome sizes of 504 and 981.2 Mb, respectively. Notably, we present a haplotype‐resolved, chromosome‐scale assembly for diploid R. sterilis. Our results indicated that R. sterilis originated from the hybridization of R. roxburghii and R. longicuspis. Genome analysis revealed the absence of recent whole‐genome duplications in both species and identified a series of duplicated genes that possibly contributing to the accumulation of flavonoids. We identified two genes in the ascorbate synthesis pathway, GGP and GalLDH, that show signs of positive selection, along with high expression levels of GDP‐d‐mannose 3′, 5′‐epimerase (GME) and GDP‐l‐galactose phosphorylase (GGP) during fruit development. Furthermore, through co‐expression network analysis, we identified key hub genes (MYB5 and bZIP) that likely regulate genes in the ascorbate synthesis pathway, promoting ascorbate biosynthesis. Additionally, we observed the expansion of terpene synthase genes in these two species and tissue expression patterns, suggesting their involvement in terpenoid biosynthesis. Our research provides valuable insights into genome evolution and the molecular basis of the high concentration of ascorbate in these two Rosa species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large‐scale deployment of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries is hindered by Zn anode instability including surface corrosion, hydrogen gas evolution, and irregular Zn deposition. To tackle these challenges, a polyhydroxylated organic molecular additive, trehalose, is incorporated to refine the solvation structure and promote planar Zn deposition. Within solvation structure regions involving trehalose, the hydroxy groups participate in the reconstruction of hydrogen bond networks, which increases the overpotential for water decomposition reaction. Moreover, at the Zn metal–molecule interface, the chemisorption of trehalose onto the surface of the zinc anode enhances corrosion resistance and facilitates the deposition of zinc in a planar manner. The optimized electrolyte significantly improves Zn striping/plating reversibility and maintains stable potentials over 1600 h at 5 mA cm−2 with a cutoff capacity of 1 mA h cm−2 in symmetric cells. When combined with the MnO2 cathode, the assembled coin cell retains ≈89% of its capacity after 1000 cycles. This organic molecule additive, emphasizing the role of polyhydroxylated organic molecules in fine‐tuning solvation structures and anode/electrolyte interfaces, holds promise for enhancing various aqueous metal batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of infrared surveillance technologies has attracted great attention for scientists to design advanced functional materials with prominent infrared stealth and thermal camouflage effectiveness. In the current study, a sandwich‐like functional composite based on a crosslinked polyimide aerogel, a meso‐erythritol (mE)‐based phase‐change composite, and an MXene film has been developed to achieve long‐term thermal camouflage at elevated temperatures. In this composite system, the lower aerogel layer can act as a barrier to insulate heat transfer through its layer‐stacking structure under ultralow directional thermal conduction. The introduction of the middle phase‐change composite layer ensures that the composite system obtains a dynamical temperature‐regulation capability through sensible and latent heat absorption of mE as a phase change material, while the upper MXene layer provides a very low emissivity surface for the system. As a result, the developed composite achieves a significant reduction in the thermal radiation temperature of a high‐temperature target. Moreover, the MXene film exhibits good electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness, making the sandwich‐like composite obtain a thermal camouflage capability in various complicated scenarios. This work provides a promising approach for the design of advanced functional materials to realize long‐term infrared stealth and thermal camouflage of high‐temperature targets in security protection and counter‐surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modules, toolboxes, and synthetic biology systems may be designed to address environmental bioremediation. However, weak and decentralized functional modules require complex control. To address this issue, an integrated system for toxicant detection and biodegradation, and subsequent suicide in chronological order without exogenous inducers is constructed. Salicylic acid, a typical pollutant in industrial wastewater, is selected as an example to demonstrate this design. Biosensors are optimized by regulating the expression of receptors and reporters to get 2‐fold sensitivity and 6‐fold maximum output. Several stationary phase promoters are compared, and promoter Pfic is chosen to express the degradation enzyme. Two concepts for suicide circuits are developed, with the toxin/antitoxin circuit showing potent lethality. The three modules are coupled in a stepwise manner. Detection and biodegradation, and suicide are sequentially completed with partial attenuation compared to pre‐integration, except for biodegradation, being improved by the replacements of ribosome binding site. Finally, a long‐term stability test reveals that the engineered strain maintained its function for ten generations. The study provides a novel concept for integrating and controlling functional modules that can accelerate the transition of synthetic biology from conceptual to practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mechanical ventilation is an important means of respiratory support and treatment for various diseases. However, its use can lead to serious complications, especially ventilator‐induced lung injury (VILI). The mechanisms underlying this disease are complex, but activation of inflammatory signalling pathways results in activation of cytokines and inflammatory mediators, which play key roles in VILI. Recent studies have demonstrated that nod‐like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation mediates VILI and also accompanied by cell proliferation and transdifferentiation to compensate for alveolar membrane damage. Type I alveolar epithelial cells (AECs I), which are involved in the formation of the blood‐air barrier, are vulnerable to damage but cannot proliferate by themselves; thus, replacing AECs I relies on type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECs II). Objective: The review aims to introduce the mechanisms of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and its inhibitors, as well as the mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation and transdifferentiation. Methods: A large number of relevant literature was searched, then the key content was summarized and figures were also made. Results: The mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation has been further explored, including but not limited to pathogenic and aseptic inflammatory signals, such as, pathogenic molecular patterns and host‐derived danger‐associated molecular patterns activate toll‐like receptor 4/nuclear factor‐kappaB pathway or reactive oxygen species, cyclic stretch, adenosine triphosphate induce K+ efflux through P2X7, Ca2+ inflow, mitochondrial damage, etc, eventually induce NIMA‐related kinase 7/NLRP3 binding and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Not only that, the review also described in detail the inhibitors of NLRP3 inflammasome. And the mechanisms regulating cell proliferation and transdifferentiation are complex and unclear, including the Wnt/β‐catenin, Yap/Taz, BMP/Smad and Notch signalling pathways. Conclusions: NLRP3 inflammasome activation mediated VILI, and VILI is alleviated after interfering with its activation, and inflammation and repair exist simultaneously in VILI. Clarifying these mechanisms is expected to provide theoretical guidance for alleviating VILI by inhibiting the inflammatory response and accelerating alveolar epithelial cell regeneration in the early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most promising candidate for luminescent semiconductor materials in the future environmentally friendly society, InP nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted strong attention in the past decade. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to address the unstable and poor optical properties of InP NCs for practical applications. An extensive and in‐depth summary of existing literatures can not only provide an important reference for further optimizing of the optical properties of InP NCs, but also lay a foundation for subsequent related applications. In this review, the methods for the synthesis with different P sources and different ZnE (E = Se, S) shells are briefly summarized. The research progress in the optical properties investigation of InP/ZnE and InP/ZnE/ZnE NCs, including absorption, fluorescence, carrier dynamics, and nonlinear optics, are summarized. The relevant applications based on InP/ZnE and InP/ZnE/ZnE NCs are also presented, ranging from light emitting diodes, bioimaging, and solar cells to photocatalytic hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The field of early rehabilitation has developed slowly in mainland China and there are limited data on the implementation of early mobilisation (EM) practice in intensive care unit (ICUs) in China. Aims: To investigate the implementation of EM in ICUs in mainland China and to analyse its influencing factors. Study design: A cross‐sectional electronic survey was conducted in 444 ICUs across 11 provinces in China. Head nurses provided data on institutional characteristics and EM practice in ICUs. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with the implementation of EM. Results: In all, 56.98% (253/444) of ICUs implemented EM with comprehensive or complete implementation in 86 ICUs. Of the 191 ICUs that did not use EM, 136 planned to implement EM in the near future. Of the 253 ICUs that used EM, 21.34% of ICUs implemented EM for all eligible patients, while 24.90% would evaluate and carry out EM within 48 h after ICU admission, 39.13% had collaborative EM teams, 34.39% reported the use of EM protocols, 14.63% reported multidisciplinary rounds and 17.39% had medical orders and charging standards for all EM activities. Only 18.18% of ICUs conducted frequent professional training for EM, and abnormal events occurred in 15.41% of ICUs during EM practice. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that an economically strong province, the presence of a dedicated therapist team, more ICU beds and a higher staff‐to‐bed ratio favoured the implementation of EM. Furthermore, multidisciplinary rounds, well‐established medical orders and charging standards, and a high frequency of professional training can lead to the comprehensive promotion and development of EM practice in ICUs. Conclusions: Both the implementation rate and quality of EM practice for critically ill patients require improvement. EM practice in Chinese ICUs is still nascent and requires development in a variety of domains. Relevance to clinical practice: To facilitate the implementation of EM in ICUs, more human resources, especially the involvement of a professional therapist team, should be deployed. In addition, health providers should actively organize multidisciplinary rounds and professional training and formulate appropriate EM medical orders and charging standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fractional derivative with nonsingular kernel has been widely used to many physical fields which was shown to offer a new insight into the mathematical modeling of natural phenomena. In this paper, we first study the well‐posedness and regularity of the multidimensional variable‐order time‐fractional reaction–diffusion equation with Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivative and then present and analyze a Galerkin finite element approximation to the proposed model based on the proved smoothing properties of the solutions. To improve the computational efficiency of the variable‐order Caputo–Fabrizio derivative, we approximate the kernel of the fractional derivative by the K‐term truncation of its Taylor expansion at a fixed fractional order to develop a fast evaluation scheme which significantly reduces the memory requirement from O(N) to O(K) and the computational complexity from O(N2) to O(K2N) where N refers to the number of time steps. We accordingly develop a fast Galerkin finite element method to the proposed model. Numerical experiments are carried out to substantiate the theoretical findings and to show the performance of the fast method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an electrocatalytic process, the cognition of the active phase in a catalyst has been regarded as one of the most vital issues, which not only boosts the fundamental understanding of the reaction procedure but also guides the engineering and design for further promising catalysts. Here, based on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the stepwise evolution of the dominant active phase is demonstrated in the LaNiO3 (LNO) catalyst once the single‐crystal thin film is decorated by LNO nanoparticles. It is found that the OER performance can be dramatically improved by this decoration, and the catalytic current density at 1.65 V can be enhanced by ≈1000% via ≈109 cm−2 nanoparticle adhesion after extracting the contribution of surface enlargement. Most importantly, a transition of the active phase from LNO to NiOOH via surface reconstruction with the density of LNO nanoparticles is demonstrated. Several mechanisms in terms of this active phase transition are discussed involving lattice orientation‐induced change of the surface energy profile, the lattice oxygen participation, and the A/B‐site ions leaching during OER cycles. This study suggests that the active phases in transition metal‐based OER catalysts can transform with morphology, which should be corresponding to distinct engineering strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics and pre‐Devonian tectonic evolution between the North and South Wuyi terranes are important for understanding the tectonic framework and aggregation of the micro‐terrenes in the Cathaysia Block, as well as the evolution of the South China Block. This paper provides systematic studies on the petrologic features, zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemical characteristics of the low‐grade meta‐volcanic and metasedimentary rocks between the North and South Wuyi terranes, and proposes an alternative model for their tectonic evolution. Geochronological data show that the metasedimentary rocks have detrital zircon U–Pb ages ranging from 583 to 3284 Ma with a record of the Nanhua period (764–722 Ma). The meta‐volcanic rocks have centralized ages ranging from 720 to 760 Ma and yield weighted average ages of 746–733 Ma. Geochemical studies of the meta‐volcanic rocks show similar characteristics to island arc magmatic rocks, with relatively high SiO2, K2O and Al2O3, low TFeO and MgO contents, and enrichment of Rb, Ba, Th, Pb and Hf elements, and depletion in Ti, Nb, Sr and Ta. These features indicate that the North and South Wuyi terranes may have collided at about 746–733 Ma and eventually pieced together at 583 Ma, with the protoliths of the meta‐volcanic rocks and the metasedimentary rocks formed in the same tectonic setting of an island arc during Nanhua island arc magmatism related to the collision. The occurrence of Nanhua island arc activity between the North and South Wuyi terranes suggests that multi‐micro‐terranes and multi‐stage collisions may be major characteristics of the tectonic evolution process in the Cathaysia Block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic roles of Tetrandrine (TET) on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the underlying mechanism. Method: Traumatic injury model of hippocampal neurons and TBI mouse model were established to evaluate the therapeutic effects. The expression of neuron‐specific enolase (NSE), Caspase 3, and Caspase 12 was detected by immunofluorescence. The expression of TNF‐α, NF‐κB, TRAF1, ERS markers (GADD34 and p‐PERK), IRE1α, CHOP, JNK, and p‐JNK were evaluated by western blot. Flow cytometry was used to determine the apoptosis of neurons. Brain injury was assessed by Garcia score, cerebral water content, and Evan blue extravasation test. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to determine the morphological changes of hippocampal tissue. Apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL staining. Result: In traumatic injury model of hippocampal neurons, TET downregulated NSE, TNF‐α, NF‐κB, TRAF1, GADD34, p‐PERK, IRE1α, CHOP, and p‐JNK expression. TET reduced Caspase 3 and Caspase 12 cleavage. Apoptosis rate was inhibited by the introduction of TET. TET improved the Garcia neural score, decreased the cerebral water content and Evans blue extravasation, and reduced NSE, TNF‐α, NF‐κB, TRAF1, IRE1α, CHOP, and p‐JNK expression in mice with TBI, which was significantly reversed by Anisomycin, a JNK selective activator. Conclusion: TET alleviated inflammation and neuron apoptosis in experimental TBI by regulating the IRE1α/JNK/CHOP signal pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of nanomaterials (NMs) has made everyone more aware of the close relationship between the size and performance of materials. Especially, the catalytic properties of materials may change dramatically when the macroscopic size of matter goes from bulk to nanometer to atomic level. It is very firmly believed that "Small size determines macroproperties, contains big science." Therefore, as chemists hope, it is very essential to rationally tune and characterize the size of materials and deeply understand the relationship between macroscopic catalytic properties and small structures. Herein, the recent progress in both multi‐scale materials from nanoscale, sub‐nano, clusters to atomic scale for various catalytic reactions is focused. Specifically, the catalytic reaction on the microstructures and the relationship between the small scale and big science are comprehensively summarized and discussed. This review systematically spans dimensions to reveal the catalytic performances of materials at different scales with a unique effect. This is crucial for rationally understanding the composition of materials and exploring their catalytic activity. Current opportunities, future challenges, and outlooks for the application of multiscale materials (NMs, sub‐nano, cluster, and atomically dispersed materials) in catalysis, energy and environmental protection, etc. are summarized and outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary details how a novel alkali-tolerance gene, I AT1 i , is anticipated to revolutionize crop production in >1 billion hectares of saline-alkaline land worldwide. At the global level, currently there are 618 million hectares of sodic land; if 20% of the world's salt-alkaline land used I AT1 i -modified crops, it will produce at least 250 million tons of grain per year in addition to the existing crop yield. In summary, the discovery of a novel alkali tolerant gene ( I AT1 i ) is anticipated to revolutionize crop production in >1 billion hectares of saline-alkaline land worldwide. It is necessary to develop an effective strategy to explore conserved salt-alkali-resistant genes from these less-studied halophyte plants, which may in turn benefit in creating more salt-alkaline tolerance crops. [Extracted from the article]

Polyisoprene is widely used in the industrial production of tires, thermoplastic elastomers, pressure sensitive adhesives, coatings, plasticizers, lubricants, and other functional materials. However, due to the inherent molecular defect of containing many unsaturated double bonds, polyisoprene exhibits relatively weak environmental endurance, especially under extreme environmental conditions. To incorporate the excellent features of fluorinated polymer such as tough environmental endurance, a new type of fluorinated polyisoprene is tailored and a facile procedure of introducing fluoroalkyl side chains onto polyisoprene backbone is carried out via epoxidation and thiol–epoxy click chemistry under mild conditions. The results demonstrate that fluorinated alkyl side chains are successfully clicked onto backbone chains of polyisoprene and the corresponding film exhibits a microphase separation structure. As for the fluorinated polyisoprene film after the introduction of fluoroalkyl groups, the water contact angle enhances significantly from 79.4° to 114.8° and the UV reflectivity improves markedly. In addition, the surface chemical constituents confirm that the incorporated fluoroalkyl groups have a tendency to migrate and enrich spontaneously onto the film surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that adhesion‐resistance of water severely weakens the bonding strength of tissue adhesives, instant adhesion to wet biological tissue surfaces remains challenging. Inspired by the robust underwater adhesion of natural creatures (such as mussels and barnacles whose underwater adhesion derives from the synergy of hydrophobic and adhesive matrix), a self‐hydrophobized adhesive is developed by co‐assembly of disulfide‐bond hydrolyzed hydrophobic natural sericin protein (a major component of silkworm silk fibers) and tannic acid. Once exposed to water, the self‐aggregation of hydrophobic chains within the adhesive repels water and enhances interfacial hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interactions, mechanistically leading to a robust (>0.5 MPa for solid plates and >0.1 MPa for tissues) and durable (still maintained at 0.4 Mpa even after five cycles) underwater adhesion. Owing to its robust underwater adhesion property, this adhesive possesses multiple advantages outperforming commercial adhesives, such as in vivo wound healing‐promoting effects, effective fluid leakage sealing, and rapid hemostasis activity. This study not only offers a novel strategy for designing and fabricating an underwater adhesive with natural protein but also provides a new adhesive for various potential applications, including promoting wound healing and hemostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Unsaturated fatty acids used to form unstable micro‐vesicles, while conjugate linoleic acid (CLA)‐sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) can self‐assembly to stable nano‐conjugate linoleic acid vesicles (nano‐CLAVs). Generally, micro‐capsule could geometrically provide higher loading capacity but also generate concerns in construction convenience, sustained release, bioaccessibility and stability. Hence there is a contradiction between loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency. Therefore, the study of the factors that decide the capsule size falling in nano or micron size with same capsule material would be a benefit to food or drug delivery science. RESULTS: The micron‐ and nano‐CLAVs were constructed for encapsulation and sustained release of ginsenoside Rg3. The formation mechanism of nano or micron capsule,s the effect of vesicle sizes on encapsulation efficiency, drug loading efficiency and stability of the encapsulated Rg3 were investigated. It was found that with the addition of salt (PBS), the size of CLAVs jumped from nano to micron. Furthermore, the salt concentration is the key factor that decides the vesicle size of nano or micron. The pH at fabrication triggers the vesiculation and dramatically affects the vesicle size over the nano and micron scales. CONCLUSION: Compared to the nano‐CLAVs, micron vesicles enhanced the loading capacity to 137.6% and the encapsulation efficiency to 138.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the micron‐CLAVs performed similar sustained release of Rg3 as the nano‐CLAVs did, and was stable for 120 days at room temperature or sustained 98.9% of capsules after centrifuge at 6090 × g for 20 min. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to generate a denser focal stack, a cooperative generative adversarial network is proposed to learn the refocusing ability from light field imaging. To keep the axial continuity, the proposed framework is designed to learn features of a focal stack in both axial directions. Different from the classic generative adversarial network, our generative module consists of a forward prediction sub‐network and a backward prediction sub‐network, taking the forward‐and‐backward focal stacks as their inputs, respectively. The bi‐directional predictions are then fused by a weighting process, which is guided by an adversarial module. The proposed network is trained on light field focal stacks conducted via digital refocusing. Without loss of the refocus continuity, one can axial super‐resolve a focal stack by using the trained model. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm on different types of focal stacks produced by both light fields and traditional camera shootings is validated. The experimental results indicate that the refocus variation of a focal stack can be well learned and predicted without a complete light field. Therefore, the proposed algorithm outperforms the traditional digital refocusing in terms of run‐time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a typical kind of high‐efficiency crystalline silicon (c‐Si) solar cell, amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell is stepping into mass production currently. It is of great significance to recover Ag from unqualified, broken, and end‐of‐life (EoL) SHJ solar cells. Herein, a facile method including alkaline chemical immersion and pyrolysis is developed. By immersing the solar cell into a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) aqueous solution for a period of time, Ag electrodes can be peeled off effectively. The increase of the concentration (Cs) and the temperature (Ts) of the NaOH solution shortens the peeling‐off time (tp) of the electrodes. It is deduced that the heated alkaline environment can accelerate the ester hydrolysis of the cured resin at the contact interface between Ag electrode and transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer, which weakens the bonding strength of the Ag electrode. After cleaning, drying, and milling, the peeled‐off Ag electrodes are pyrolyzed in the air at 500 °C for 60 min to remove the cured resin completely. As a result, Ag powder is obtained with high purity over 99% and almost without mass loss since it is not involved in any chemical reaction during the whole recovery process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many important engineering systems can be classified as Euler–Lagrange (EL) systems. In this work we develop a new Proportional‐Integral‐Derivative (PID) ‐based tracking control solution for uncertain EL systems subject to actuation failures and saturation. Two set of control algorithms are developed using robust adaptive and neuroadaptive methods, which are shown to exhibit several salient features: (1) the control schemes are of PID form, hence is characterized with simplicity in structure and intuition in concept; (2) the PID gains in the scheme are automatically updated by analytic algorithms with no need for manual tuning, rendering the control scheme more user‐friendly; and (3) the developed control algorithms are robust against nonvanishing disturbances, adaptive to unknown virtual parameter and immune to partial actuation effectiveness faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) is an endemic osteochondropathy. Due to a lack of suitable animal or cellular disease models, the research progress on KBD has been limited. Our goal was to establish the first disease‐specific human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) cellular disease model of KBD, and to explore its etiology and pathogenesis exploiting transcriptome sequencing. HiPSCs were reprogrammed from dermal fibroblasts of two KBD and one healthy control donor via integration‐free vectors. Subsequently, hiPSCs were differentiated into chondrocytes through three‐week culture. Gene expression profiles in KBD, normal primary chondrocytes, and hiPSC‐derived chondrocytes were defined by RNA sequencing. A Venn diagram was constructed to show the number of shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between KBD and normal. Gene oncology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes annotations were performed, and six DEGs were further validated in other individuals by RT‐qPCR. KBD cellular disease models were successfully established by generation of hiPSC lines. Seventeen consistent and significant DEGs present in all compared groups (KBD and normal) were identified. RT‐qPCR validation gave consistent results with the sequencing data. Glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis—heparan sulfate/heparin; PPAR signaling pathway; and cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) were identified to be significantly altered in KBD. Differentiated chondrocytes derived from KBD‐origin hiPSCs provide the first cellular disease model for etiological studies of KBD. This study also provides new sights into the pathogenesis and etiology of KBD and is likely to inform the development of targeted therapeutics for its treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MoSe2 and Bi2Se3 are two kinds of 2D materials that are gradually receiving more attention because of their unique electronic and optical properties. Herein, a Bi2Se3/MoSe2 van der Waals heterojunction (vdWH) is constructed and the electronic and optical properties of the heterojunction are calculated using first‐principles calculations. The effects of the external electric field and the interlayer distance on the electronic properties of the heterojunction are also studied. The calculated results show that the inherent Bi2Se3/MoSe2 vdWH has a type‐2 band alignment with a very small indirect bandgap (28 meV). It also has strong spin–orbit coupling effects, and the characteristics of Zeeman splitting and Rashba splitting are observed at the same time. Both applying an external electric field and changing the interlayer distance can effectively modulate the band structure of the heterojunction; these modulation methods can change the band alignment of the vdWH from type‐2 to type‐3 or even type‐1, and the bandgap type can be changed from indirect to direct. The infrared absorption of the heterojunction is much higher than that of Bi2Se3 and MoSe2. All the calculation results show that the Bi2Se3/MoSe2 vdWH has good application prospects in optoelectronic and spintronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics are the most powerful weapon against bacterial infectious diseases in aquaculture. However, the indiscriminate usage of antibiotics often culminates in the emerging development of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria, making it imperative to search for novel types of antimicrobial agents. This study investigated the antibacterial and antivirulence effects of vanillic acid (VA) against the fish pathogen, Vibrio alginolyticus. We showed that VA had a good anti‐Vibrio activity with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.0 mg/ml. In addition, VA wielded its antibacterial action in a dose‐/time‐dependent manner by causing cell membrane damage and increasing membrane permeability, which is evidenced by increasing the conductivity and malondialdehyde content in the treated cell cultures and the scanning electron microscopy images. Furthermore, VA significantly reduced the biofilm‐forming capability, mobility and exotoxin production (protease and exopolysaccharide) and downregulation of the expression of biofilm‐ and virulence‐associated genes (sypG, fliS, fliK, lafA, lafK, asp and luxR) was seen in the V. alginolyticus that exposed to VA at subinhibitory concentrations. Overall, our findings suggested that VA may be of interest for treating V. alginolyticus‐associated infections in aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One challenge facing the development of air electrodes for Zn–air batteries (ZABs) is the embedment of active sites into carbon, which requires cracks and blends between powder and membrane and results in low energy efficiency during manufacturing and utilization. Herein, a surface phosphorization‐monolithic strategy is proposed to embed CoO nanoparticles into paulownia carbon plate (P–CoO@PWC) as monolithic electrodes. Benefiting from the retention of natural transport channels, P–CoO@PWC‐2 is conducive to the construction of three‐phase interface structure for efficient mass transfer and high electrical conductivity. The electrode exhibits remarkable catalytic activities for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a small overpotential gap (EOER − EORR = 0.68 V). Density functional theory calculations reveal that the incorporation of P on P–CoO@PWC‐2 surface adjusts the electronic structure to promote the dissociation of water and the activation of oxygen, thus inducing catalytic activity. The monolithic P–CoO@PWC‐2 electrode for quasi‐solid‐state or aqueous ZABs has excellent specific power, low charge–discharge voltage gap (0.83 V), and long‐term cycling stability (over 700 cycles). This work serves as a new avenue for transforming abundant biomass into high‐value energy‐related engineering products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) gene was involved in the pathophysiological process of illicit drugs abuse, and its polymorphisms might be associated with methamphetamine (METH) dependence susceptibility. The purpose of this study was to examine the NQO1 mRNA and protein levels and to analyze the 609C/T polymorphism (rs1800566) between METH‐dependent patients and controls. Methods: A total of 392 METH‐dependent patients (cases) and 669 healthy controls (controls) were enrolled in the study. The quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the relative expressions of NQO1 mRNA in PBMCs and protein levels in plasma, respectively. PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP‐PCR) and direct‐sequencing genotyping were used to detect the alleles and genotypes of NQO1 609C/T polymorphism. Results: The levels of NQO1 mRNA in cases (3.2650 ± 2.2943) was significantly higher than in controls (1.0125 ± 0.7959) (p < 0.001), the plasma protein in cases (0.2368 ± 0.1486) was significantly lower than in controls (0.5844 ± 0.1742) (p < 0.001). The T allele of the 609C/T polymorphism significantly increased the risk of METH dependence (p = 0.032, OR = 1.214, 95%CI = 1.017–1.450). The TC and TC/TT genotypes of 609C/T were observed significantly more frequently in cases than in controls, respectively (TC vs CC: p = 0.012, OR = 1.457, 95% CI = 1.087–1.952; TC/TT vs CC: p = 0.008, OR = 1.460, 95% CI = 1.102–1.935). Similar results were obtained after adjusting for age and sex. We failed to find that any genotype of 609C/T polymorphism affected the mRNA or plasma protein levels in controls, respectively (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The findings suggested that NQO1 might play an important role in the pathophysiological process of METH dependence, and the 609C/T polymorphism might contribute to the susceptibility to METH dependence in a Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study is to determine if Glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase 1‐like (GPD1L) and hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF1α) can identify high‐risk patients with delayed lymph node metastasis in early‐stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Materials and methods: The mRNA and protein expressions of markers were analyzed using fresh and paraffin embedded HNSCC specimens. The statistical analyses included chi‐squared test, t test, correlation analysis, and univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: GPD1L (downregulated) and HIF1α (upregulated) mRNA expression had a negative correlation (r = −.496, p =.001) in cT1‐2N0 HNSCC. The low GPD1L + high HIF1α expression group (22.6%) showed a significant decrease in disease‐free survival compared with the high GPD1L + low HIF1α expression group (71.4%) in the neck dissection group. The low GPD1L + high HIF1α expression (39.4%) resulted in a significantly higher delayed metastasis rate than the high GPD1L + low HIF1α expression (5.6%) for cT1‐2N0 HNSCC in the neck observation group. GPD1L and HIF1α protein expression more accurately predicted lymph node metastasis than the WINTER hypoxia gene panel (false‐negative rate in predicting metastasis: 8.1% versus 26.4%). Cox regression analyses found that the combined protein expression of GPD1L and HIF1α could predict delayed metastasis (HR:0.118, 95% CI:0.027–0.525). Conclusions: Low GPD1L + high HIF1α expression can serve as candidate biomarkers for high‐risk populations with lymph node metastases in early‐stage HNSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphite anodes show great potential for potassium storage, however, their capacity fades quickly owing to substantial interlayer expansion/shrinkage (i.e., up to 60%) induced structural degradation. Here, Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets are used as a fast electron/potassium‐ion dual‐function conductor to construct the framework of all‐integrated graphite nanoflake (GNF)/MXene (GNFM) electrodes. The continuous MXene framework constructs a 3D channel for fast electron/potassium‐ion transfer and endows GNFM electrodes with a high structural stability. Owing to this unique MXene framework, GNFM electrodes exhibit much enhanced potassium storage performances than that of the conventional polymer‐bonded electrodes even at high mass loadings. Moreover, GNFM electrodes also show impressive cyclability in non‐flammable electrolytes and are further used as anodes to assemble novel non‐flammable potassium‐ion capacitors that show an excellent cyclability and high energy/power densities (113.1 Wh kg–1 and 12.2 kW kg–1). New insights into phase transition mechanism in GNFM electrodes are verified by operando XRD. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that MXene can promote electron transfer and potassium diffusion in the heterointerface between GNF and MXene. Therefore, the results demonstrate that all‐integrated GNFM electrodes designed with MXene as multifunctional frameworks provide a new paradigm for producing efficient potassium storage anodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between oviposition preference and offspring performance is critical to an understanding of the interaction between herbivores and host plants. Although the topic has been addressed widely in plant species‐herbivore systems, it has rarely been investigated in plant stage‐herbivore systems. In this study, we evaluated oviposition preference and offspring performance of the rice leaf folder (RLF), Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), on rice plants at the seedling (SS), tillering (TS), and booting (BS) stages. In preference assays, females deposited more eggs on TS and BS than on SS plants in cage tests, and preferred TS and BS odors over SS odors in Y‐tube olfactometer tests. Offspring performance was affected by plant stage. The RLF offspring performed well when the larvae fed on BS leaves, as indicated by the highest larval survival and pupation rate and the greatest adult longevity. RLF offspring performed also well when the larvae fed on TS leaves, where fecundity was the highest. The high RLF offspring performance on TS and BS plants coincided with high larval consumption of TS and BS leaf mass relative to SS leaf mass. Our findings confirm the prediction of the preference–performance hypothesis. The results explain the pest damage patterns in mixed croppings of one‐ and two‐season rice and are of significance for management of the pest through synchronization of rice planting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Extensive second language (L2) reading research has examined the effects of comprehension strategies on comprehension performance. Often ignored, however, is the potential impact of comprehension measures that differ in cognitive complexity, which might cause potential bias when interpreting the (in)effectiveness of comprehension strategies. Method: With a total of 54 Chinese learners of English at college in China, this study examined whether the effect of the questioning strategy (answering what and why questions while reading) on L2 reading comprehension of expository texts might vary by comprehension measure (short‐answer and multiple‐choice questions). L2 readers' perception of the questioning strategy was also thematically analysed. Results: Mixed‐effects modelling analyses revealed a significant interaction between the questioning strategy and comprehension measure, controlling for individual‐level differences in first language (L1) reading ability, L2 vocabulary size and topic familiarity. Using the questioning strategy significantly facilitated comprehension measured by short‐answer questions but not multiple‐choice questions. Three themes regarding L2 readers' perception of the questioning strategy were identified: memorising text details, understanding main ideas and disrupting reading fluency. Conclusion: Evaluation of comprehension strategies needs to consider comprehension measures differing in response format and cognitive complexity. For positive effect to occur, there needs a match between cognitive processing triggered by a comprehension strategy and cognitive skills demanded to successfully complete a comprehension task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical method is developed for the interaction between two dissimilar piles subjected to vertical loadings in a finite soil layer with a rigid base. A fictitious soil column is assumed for the corresponding shaft and the moduli of the soil–pile rod are expressed as a Heaviside step function of the modulus. The vertical soil displacements and the shaft resistances are calculated as the combined contributions by the two dissimilar piles in terms of the respective local coordinate systems. The displacements and stresses in two different local coordinates are transferred from one to the other using Graf's addition theorem. The boundary value problem for the soil layer is solved using the method of separation of variables with a series of undetermined constants. The unknown constants can be determined by considering the compatibility along the interfaces of the two soil–pile rods and the surrounding soil. A parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of the properties of the soil–pile system on the interaction between the two piles. Numerical results show that, for the dissimilar piles in the stiff soil, the effects of the difference of the pile lengths on the interaction factor are negligible. Also, the interaction factor of the dissimilar piles in the soft soil depends heavily on the difference in lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manipulating the crystal orientation plays a crucial role in the conversion efficiency during second harmonic generation (SHG). Here, we provide a new strategy in controlling the surface‐dependent anisotropic SHG with the precise design of (101) and (2 1‾ ${\bar 1}$ 0) MAGeI3 facets. Based on the SHG measurement, the (101) MAGeI3 single crystal exhibits larger SHG (1.3×(2 1‾ ${\bar 1}$ 0) MAGeI3). Kelvin probe force microscopy imaging shows a smaller work function for the (101) MAGeI3 compared with the (2 1‾ ${\bar 1}$ 0), which indirectly demonstrates the stronger intrinsic polarization on the (101) surface. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the band bending within the (101) facet. Temperature‐dependent steady‐state and time‐resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy show shorter lifetime and wider emission band in the (101) MAGeI3 single crystal, revealing the higher defect states. Additionally, powder X‐ray diffraction patterns show the (101) MAGeI3 possesses larger in‐plane polar units [GeI3]− density, which could directly enhance the spontaneous polarization in the (101) facet. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation further demonstrates the higher intrinsic polarization in the (101) facet compared with the (2 1‾ ${\bar 1}$ 0) facet, and the larger built‐in electric field in the (101) facet facilitates surface vacancy defect accumulation. Our work provides a new angle in tuning and optimizing hybrid perovskite‐based nonlinear optical materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berchemia plants were important materials for Chinese traditional medicines due to their special secondary metabolites. Unlike the root, stem and leaf tissues, Berchemia floribunda (Wall.) Brongn. fruit was lacked of systematic metabolic investigation. Biochemical analysis found that the total flavonoid and total phenolic content of Berchemia fruit pulp showed a peak value at red ripe stage, and then decreased, but the total anthocyanin content sharply increased along with the coloration. By widely targeted metabolomic analysis, 644 metabolites were identified and categorized into 23 groups mainly including flavonoid, organic acids, amino acids, lipids, phenylpropanoid, nucleotides, alkaloids, carbohydrates, alcohols, anthocyanins & proanthocyanidins, vitamins, terpenes, polyphenols, phenolamides, quinones, indole derivatives, and sterides. Among them, 111 metabolites and 123 metabolites respectively showed up‐ and down‐regulation from break stage to full mature. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that active secondary metabolism such as biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, flavonoid, and alkaloids happened during Berchemia fruit ripening. More importantly, Cyanidin‐3‐O‐galactoside and other 3 cyanidins were found to be the predominant pigments in mature Berchemia fruit and increased cyanidins and pelargonidins but decreased anthocyanins might be contributed to the purple pigmentation of Berchemia fruit. Interestingly, 29 pharmaceutical compounds previously reported in other Berchemia tissues were also detected in ripening Berchemia fruit pulp: 8 flavonoid, 2 quinones & sucrose showed up‐regulated accumulation while 6 polyphenols, 5 flavonoid, 3 phenylpropanoid, 2 organic acids, 1 quinones and β‐sitosterol showed down‐regulated accumulation In conclusion, our first comprehensive metabolic fingerprint will promote the further study of B. floribunda fruit and its medical and food application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A through‐silicon via (TSV)‐based, common‐mode, noise‐suppressing filter (TSV‐CMF) with the silicon interposer process is proposed to improve the electromagnetic compatibility in 3D integrated circuits. A differential fifth‐order T‐model low‐pass filter prototype circuit for transmission lines with common inductance is used to characterize and design the stopband and the corresponding two transmission zeros for the common mode (CM). The circuit parameters are carefully designed and calculated to fit the performance requirement. The TSV‐CMF is implemented in an interposer process with TSV as the vertical connect and redistribution layer (RDL) as the capacitance and inductance. TSV‐CMF samples are tested, and the measurement results match those of the full‐wave simulation. The differential cut‐off frequency of the TSV‐CMF can reach 16 GHz, and the CM stopband is around 5.3–16.0 GHz with 100% fractional bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we develop a Crank–Nicolson alternating direction implicit finite volume method for time‐dependent Riesz space‐fractional diffusion equation in two space dimensions. Norm‐based stability and convergence analysis are given to show that the developed method is unconditionally stable and of second‐order accuracy both in space and time. Furthermore, we develop a lossless matrix‐free fast conjugate gradient method for the implementation of the numerical scheme, which only has O(N) memory requirement and O(NlogN) computational complexity per iteration with N being the total number of spatial unknowns. Several numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed scheme for large‐scale modeling and simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The participation of lattice oxygen in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) process has been proved to be faster in kinetics than the mechanisms where only metal is involved, although activating the lattice oxygen in the traditional rigid structures remains a big challenge. In this work, efforts are devoted to exploring a new flexible structure that is competent in providing large amounts of oxygen vacancies as well as offering the freedom to manipulate the electronic structure of metal cations. This is demonstrated by anchoring low valence state Co at high valence state Nb sites in the tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB)‐structured Sr0.5Ba0.5Nb2‐xCoxO6‐δ, with different ratios of Co to Nb to optimize the Co substitution proportion. It is found that the occupation of Co in the Nb5+ sites gives rise to the generation of massive surface oxygen vacancies (Ovac), while Co itself is stabilized in Co2+ by adjacent Ovac. The coexistence of Ovac and LS Co2+ enables an oxygen intercalation mechanism in the optimal SBNC45 with specific activity at 1.7 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode that is 20 times higher than for the commercial IrO2. This work illuminates an entirely new avenue to rationally design OER electrocatalysts with ultrafast kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoassay of amino‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) was conducted using Cu2+‐1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylic acid metal‐organic frameworks (HKUST‐1 MOFs) as the secondary antibody label, and in situ microliter‐droplet anodic stripping voltammetry detection of Cu2+ in 0.1 M HNO3+1 M NaCl directly on the glassy carbon immunoelectrode. Electrochemical methods, quartz crystal microbalance, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were employed for material and electrode characterizations. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (S/N=3) was 0.33 fg mL−1, and the analysis of NT‐proBNP in clinical serum samples returned good results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) gene was involved in the modulation of reward and addiction pathophysiology of illicit drugs abuse, and its polymorphisms might be associated with risk of methamphetamine (METH) dependence. This study aimed to investigate the FAAH mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma protein levels and to analyze the 385C/A polymorphism (rs324420) between METH‐dependent patients and controls. The levels of FAAH mRNA in METH dependence were significantly lower than in controls (P < 0.001), however, its plasma protein underwent a significant ∼2‐fold increase (P < 0.001). The A allele of the 385C/A polymorphism significantly increased the METH dependence risk (P < 0.001, odds ratio [OR] = 1.646, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.332–2.034). The carried A genotypes (AA, AC, and AA/AC) of 385C/A polymorphism also increased METH‐dependence risks under a different genetic model (AA vs. CC: P = 0.017, OR = 2.454, 95%CI = 1.171–2.143; AC vs. CC: P < 0.001, OR = 1.818, 95%CI = 1.404–2.353; AC/AA vs. CC: P < 0.001, OR = 1.858, 95%CI = 1.444–2.319). The similar results were obtained after adjusting for age and sex. Unfortunately, we failed to find that any genotype of 385C/A polymorphism affected the mRNA or plasma protein levels in controls, respectively (P > 0.05). These data indicate that the FAAH may play an important role in the pathophysiological process of METH dependence, and the 385C/A polymorphism may be associated with METH dependence susceptibility in a Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: Herein, we present a strategy for the formation of 2‐fluoro‐1,3‐diene derivatives via rhodium‐catalyzed direct C(sp2)—C(sp2) cross‐coupling of gem‐difluoroalkenes and acrylamides. By merging Rh(III)‐catalyzed C(sp2)–H bond activation and nucleophilic addition/F‐elimination of gem‐difluoroalkene, an efficient defluorinative vinylation reaction is uncovered, which leads to the generation of 2‐fluoro‐1,3‐dienes in moderate to good yields with excellent stereoselectivity under mild conditions. Preliminary mechanistic study suggests unique effects of fluorine substituents which allow the reactivity profile not observed with the congeners bearing heavier halides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources have become a barrier hampering socioeconomic development. Changes in the spatial distribution of water use profile have direct impacts to regional water use efficiency. However, the related research is inadequate, and a more suitable way to analyze regional water use profile is necessary. The Gini coefficient and location quotient, two reliable methods commonly used in discussing the spatial distribution of elements, were introduced and calculated. Taking Gansu Province as the study area, the concentration effect of industrial water use was the strongest, followed by domestic, environmental, and agricultural water use. However, a balanced distribution of agricultural water use failed to be coordinated with the production conditions, the center of Gansu's grain production should be established to enhance the scale effect of agricultural production. The industrial agglomeration effect remained weak, and each region's dominant industries need to be developed vigorously. Gansu's domestic water use was consistent with its population distribution, but it is necessary to reduce the water use gap between urban and rural areas. With a growing awareness of environmental protection, environmental water use exhibited a more balanced distribution. Overall, the methods are simple and have good applicability, and the results can provide a reference in water use optimization. Research Impact Statement: To optimize regional water use, the Gini coefficient and location quotient were introduced to analyze the spatial pattern of regional water use profile for water use optimization in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of food on the pharmacokinetics (PKs) and safety of 10‐mg rivaroxaban tablets in healthy Chinese subjects were investigated from 1 bioequivalence trial. The bioequivalence trial was designed as randomized, open‐label, 2‐sequence, 4‐period crossover under both fasted and fed conditions. A total of 56 healthy subjects were enrolled, 62.5% were male. These subjects received a single oral 10‐mg dose of rivaroxaban with a 7‐day washout between 4 periods. Serial PK samples were collected and plasma concentrations were analyzed using validated high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental methods. The BE module of WinNonLin was used for statistical analysis of the maximum concentration (Cmax), the area under the concentration–time curve from zero to the final measurable concentration (AUC0‐t), and the area under the concentration–time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0‐∞) of rivaroxaban in plasma. Compared with the fasted state, the Cmax, AUC0‐t, and AUC0‐∞ of rivaroxaban significantly increased by 47%, 28%, and 26%, respectively, with oral administration of rivaroxaban 10 mg in the fed state. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was similar between the fasted and fed states, and no serious AEs were observed. Food significantly increased the exposure to rivaroxaban 10 mg in Chinese subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioimaging, InP nanocrystals, light-emitting diodes, optical properties, phosphorus sources Keywords: bioimaging; InP nanocrystals; light-emitting diodes; optical properties; phosphorus sources EN bioimaging InP nanocrystals light-emitting diodes optical properties phosphorus sources 1 1 1 09/07/23 20230901 NES 230901 InP nanocrystals are promising fluorescent semiconductor materials in the future environmentally friendly society. The relevant applications based on InP nanocrystals are also presented, ranging from light emitting diodes, bioimaging, and solar cells to photocatalytic hydrogen production. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential micronutrient for most living organisms, including humans. Cereals such as rice (Oryza sativa) are the major dietary source of Mo. However, little is known about the genetic basis of the variation in Mo content in rice grain.We mapped a quantitative trait locus (QTL) qGMo8 that controls Mo accumulation in rice grain by using a recombinant inbred line population and a backcross introgression line population.We identified a molybdate transporter, OsMOT1;1, as the causal gene for this QTL. OsMOT1;1 exhibits transport activity for molybdate, but not sulfate, when heterogeneously expressed in yeast cells. OsMOT1;1 is mainly expressed in roots and is involved in the uptake and translocation of molybdate under molybdate‐limited condition. Knockdown of OsMOT1;1 results in less Mo being translocated to shoots, lower Mo concentration in grains and higher sensitivity to Mo deficiency. We reveal that the natural variation of Mo concentration in rice grains is attributed to the variable expression of OsMOT1;1 due to sequence variation in its promoter.Identification of natural allelic variation in OsMOT1;1 may facilitate the development of rice varieties with Mo‐enriched grain for dietary needs and improve Mo nutrition of rice on Mo‐deficient soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many natural materials have helical or twisting shapes. Herein, we show the formation of helical fibers with the lengths of micrometers by the evaporation‐driven self‐assembly on silicon wafers of functionalized cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) with surface‐attached acyl chains. The self‐assembly process and the final helical structures were affected by parameters including the wettability of substrates, dispersing solvents, the amount of 10‐undecenoyl groups, the crystallinity, the dimension of CNWs, and the length of acyl chains. In particular, surface‐acylated CNWs with a certain amount of 10‐undecenoyl groups (ca. 3.52 mmol g−1), an appropriate crystallinity (ca. 40 %), a length of about 135 nm, and a diameter of around 4 nm, preferentially self‐assembled into explicit left‐handed helical fibers from their THF suspensions on wafers. Thus, we showed novel particular self‐assembly behaviors of surface‐acylated CNWs, and we expanded the materials spectrum for the construction of helical structures. By a whisker: Helical fibers with the lengths of micrometers are prepared on silicon wafers by evaporation‐driven self‐assembly of functionalized cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) with surface‐attached acyl chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]