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Phenolamides (PAs), a diverse group of specialized metabolites, including hydroxycinnamoylputrescine (HP), hydroxycinnamoylagmatine, and hydroxycinnamoyltryptamine, are important in plant resistance to biotic stress. However, the genes involved in the biosynthesis and modulation of PAs have not been fully elucidated. This study identified an HP biosynthetic gene cluster in rice (Oryza sativa) comprising one gene (OsODC) encoding a decarboxylase and two tandem-duplicated genes (OsPHT3 and OsPHT4) encoding putrescine hydroxycinnamoyl acyltransferases coexpressed in different tissues. OsODC catalyzes the conversion of ornithine to putrescine, which is used in HP biosynthesis involving OsPHT3 and OsPHT4. OsPHT3 or OsPHT4 overexpression causes HP accumulation and cell death and putrescine hydroxycinnamoyl acyltransferases (PHT) activity-dependent resistance against the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. OsODC overexpression plants also confer enhanced resistance to M. oryzae. Notably, the basic leucine zipper transcription factor APIP5, a negative regulator of cell death, directly binds to the OsPHT4 promoter, repressing its transcription. Moreover, APIP5 suppression induces OsPHT4 expression and HP accumulation. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the HP biosynthetic gene cluster is conserved in monocots. These results characterized a previously unidentified monocot-specific gene cluster that is involved in HP biosynthesis and contributes to defense and cell death in rice.

The rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented decreases in economic activities, thereby reducing the pollutant emissions. A random forest (RF) model was applied to determine the respective contributions of meteorology and anthropogenic emissions to the changes in air quality. The result suggested that the strict lockdown measures significantly decreased primary components such as Cr (−67 %) and Fe (−61 %) in PM2.5 (p), whereas the higher relative humidity (RH) and NH3 level and the lower air temperature (T) remarkably enhanced the production of secondary aerosol, including SO42- (29 %), NO3- (29 %), and NH4+ (21 %) (p). The positive matrix factorization (PMF) result suggested that the contribution ratios of secondary formation (SF), industrial process (IP), biomass burning (BB), coal combustion (CC), and road dust (RD) changed from 36 %, 27 %, 21 %, 12 %, and 4 % before the COVID-19 outbreak to 44 %, 20 %, 20 %, 9 %, and 7 %, respectively. The rapid increase in the contribution ratio derived from SF to PM2.5 implied that the intermittent haze events during the COVID-19 period were characterized by secondary aerosol pollution, which was mainly contributed by the unfavorable meteorological conditions and high NH3 level.

As one of the most important narrow bandgap ternary semiconductors, GaAs1−xSbx nanowires (NWs) have attracted extensive attention recently, due to the superior hole mobility and the tunable bandgap, which covers the whole near-infrared (NIR) region, for technological applications in next-generation high-performance electronics and NIR photodetection. However, it is still a challenge to the synthesis of high-quality GaAs1−xSbx NWs across the entire range of composition, resulting in the lack of correlation investigation among stoichiometry, microstructure, electronics, and NIR photodetection. Here, we demonstrate the success growth of high-quality GaAs1−xSbx NWs with full composition range by adopting a simple and low-cost surfactant-assisted solid source chemical vapor deposition method. All of the as-prepared NWs are uniform, smooth, and straight, without any phase segregation in all stoichiometric compositions. The lattice constants of each NW composition have been well correlated with the chemical stoichiometry and confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectrum. Moreover, with the increase of Sb concentration, the hole mobility of the as-fabricated field-effect-transistors and the responsivity and detectivity of the as-fabricated NIR photodetectors increase accordingly. All the results suggest a careful stoichiometric design is required for achieving optimal NW device performances.

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and corresponding transformation products have caused widespread concern due to their persistent emissions and potential toxicity. They have wide octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow) and different ionization constants (pKa) resulting in a poor analysis accuracy and efficiency. A suitable analytical method is the first prerequisite for further research on their environmental behavior to prioritize the substances. This study reviewed a full-scale analytical protocol for environmental samples in the recent ten years: from sampling to instrumental methods. Passive sampling techniques were compared and recommended for long-term continuous and scientific observation. A quick and effective sample extraction and clean-up method are highly required. Chromatographic methods coupled to mass spectrometry for determining PPCPs with a wide range of logKow (-7.53 to 10.80) were summed up. High-resolution mass spectrometry was confirmed to be a promising strategy for screening unknown transformation products, which would provide a nanogram level of detection limits and more accurate mass resolution. Screening strategies and mass change principles were summarized in detail. The recovery rate was important in multiple contaminants analysis identification and factors affecting the recovery rate of PPCPs were also discussed in this review, including sample matrix, target compounds characteristics, extraction method and solid-phase adsorbent. This review provides useful information for the selection of appropriate analytical methods and future development directions.

Heterostructures based on diverse two-dimensional (2D) materials are effective for tailoring and further promoting device performance and exhibit considerable potential in photodetection. However, the problem of high-density thermionic carriers can be hardly overcome in most reported heterostructure devices based on type I and type II band alignment, which leads to an unacceptably small Iphoto/Idark and strong temperature dependence that limit the performance of photodetectors. Here, using the MoTe2/h-BN/MoTe2/h-BN heterostructure, we report the hole-dominated Fowler–Nordheim quantum tunneling transport in both on and off states. The state-of-the-art device operating at room temperature shows high detectivity of >108 Jones at a laser power density of

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit enormous potential in photodetectors because of novel and extraordinary properties, such as passivated surfaces, tunable bandgaps, and high mobility. High-performance photodetectors based on 2D materials have been fabricated for broadband, position, polarization-sensitive detection, and large-area array imaging. However, the current performance of 2D material photodetectors is not outstanding enough, including response speed, detectivity, and so forth. The way to further promote the development of 2D material photodetectors and their corresponding practical applications is still a tremendous challenge. In this article, these issues of 2D material photodetectors are analyzed and expected to be solved by combining micro-nano characterization technologies. The inherent physical properties of 2D materials and photodetectors can be accurately characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scattering scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM). In particular, the precise probe of lattice defects, doping concentration, and near-field light absorption characteristics can promote the researches of low-noise and high-responsivity photodetectors. Scanning photocurrent microscope (SPCM) can show the overall spatial distribution of photocurrent and analyze the mechanism of photocurrent. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Kelvin probe force microscope (KPFM) can characterize the material bandgap, work function distribution and interlayer coupling characteristics, making it possible to design high-performance photodetectors through energy band engineering. These advanced characterization techniques cover the entire process from material growth, to device preparation, and to performance analysis, and systematically reveal the development status of 2D material photodetectors. Finally, the prospects and challenges are discussed to promote the application of 2D material photodetectors.

A new type of dianionic Ir(III) CCC pincer complexes (SNHC-Ir, 1a-1c) is successfully designed and synthesized by developing a one-step methodology, which involves an initial coordination of Ir(I) with the NHC and subsequent metallation of double sp2C- H bonds. This method is considerably useful over those reported by using strong coordination ligand or carbonic anion exchange, and would provide an alternative efficient template of organometallics synthesis. Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculation results indicate that the spirocyclic framework is a favourable factor for the facile formation and stabilization of these complexes. Primary investigation shows that chloride 1b can well catalyze homo and hetero addition of styrene derivatives and remote olefin isomerization, which represents the first catalytic application of the dianionic CCC pincer complexes.

Next-generation polarized mid-infrared imaging systems generally requires miniaturization, integration, flexibility, good workability at room temperature and in severe environments, etc. Emerging two-dimensional materials provide another route to meet these demands, due to the ease of integrating on complex structures, their native in-plane anisotropy crystal structure for high polarization photosensitivity, and strong quantum confinement for excellent photodetecting performances at room temperature. However, polarized infrared imaging under scattering based on 2D materials has yet to be realized. Here we report the systematic investigation of polarized infrared imaging for a designed target obscured by scattering media using an anisotropic tellurium photodetector. Broadband sensitive photoresponse is realized at room temperature, with excellent stability without degradation under ambient atmospheric conditions. Significantly, a large anisotropic ratio of tellurium ensures polarized imaging in a scattering environment, with the degree of linear polarization over 0.8, opening up possibilities for developing next-generation polarized mid-infrared imaging technology., Photodetectors operating within scattering environment can be realized with anisotropic materials. Here, the authors report polarization sensitive photodetectors based on thin tellurium nanosheets with high photoresponsivity of 3.54 × 102 A/W, detectivity of ~3.01 × 109 Jones in the mid-infrared range and an anisotropic ratio of ∼8 for 2.3 μm illumination to ensure polarized imaging.

Photodetectors built from conventional bulk materials such as silicon, III–V or II–VI compound semiconductors are one of the most ubiquitous types of technology in use today. The past decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in interest in emerging photodetectors based on perovskite materials driven by the growing demands for uncooled, low‐cost, lightweight, and even flexible photodetection technology. Though perovskite has good electrical and optical properties, perovskite‐based photodetectors always suffer from nonideal quantum efficiency and high‐power consumption. Joint manipulation of electrons and photons in perovskite photodetectors is a promising strategy to improve detection efficiency. In this review, electrical and optical characteristics of typical types of perovskite photodetectors are first summarized. Electrical manipulations of electrons in perovskite photodetectors are discussed. Then, artificial photonic nanostructures for photon manipulations are detailed to improve light absorption efficiency. By reviewing the manipulation of electrons and photons in perovskite photodetectors, this review aims to provide strategies to achieve high‐performance photodetectors., This review summarizes the state‐of‐the‐art electrical and optical characteristics of typical perovskite photodetectors. The electrical manipulations with advanced device structures and optical manipulations with artificial photonic nanostructures are detailed to improve light absorption, photoelectric conversion, and carrier transmission performance in perovskite photodetectors. This review aims to provide strategies to achieve high‐performance photodetectors.

Low-dimensional all-inorganic metal halide perovskites have been demonstrated as excellent building blocks for high-performance optoelectronic devices. Although many progresses have been achieved i...

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) are considered ideal for high COD wastewater treatment and resource recovery. This work is the first continuous-mode long-term (440 days) pilot study (240 L) by using PSB-membrane (PSB-MBR) system for such purpose. Results showed that the system started-up in 27 days for brewery wastewater and then stably operated under various temperature, initial COD and pH conditions, which showed fast start-up and strong robustness. Comparing with small-batch PSB-MBR system, the capacity of pollutants treatment degradation rate in the pilot-continuous PSB-MBR system was promoted. The operation parameters for pilot-continuous PSB-MBR system were determined as follows: light-micro aerobic, 72 h hydraulic retention time, 1200 mg L−1 inoculum size and 1.0 g L−1 d−1 organic loading rate, 2.5 F/M. Under these conditions, the COD and NH4+ in effluent were below 80 and 15 mg L−1, respectively. The PSB cell production reached 483.5 mg L−1 d−1 with protein, polysaccharides, carotenoid, bacteriochlorophyll, and coenzyme Q10 of 420.9, 177.6, 2.53, 10.75, 38.6 mg g−1, respectively, showing great potential of resource recovery from organic wastewater. In addition, the collected biomass had no acute toxicity to crucian carps. This work provides a base for the scale-up of this novel technology.

Low-dimensional Te-based photodetectors exhibit blackbody response and achieve record-set performance metrics., Blackbody-sensitive room-temperature infrared detection is a notable development direction for future low-dimensional infrared photodetectors. However, because of the limitations of responsivity and spectral response range for low-dimensional narrow bandgap semiconductors, few low-dimensional infrared photodetectors exhibit blackbody sensitivity. Here, highly crystalline tellurium (Te) nanowires and two-dimensional nanosheets were synthesized by using chemical vapor deposition. The low-dimensional Te shows high hole mobility and broadband detection. The blackbody-sensitive infrared detection of Te devices was demonstrated. A high responsivity of 6650 A W−1 (at 1550-nm laser) and the blackbody responsivity of 5.19 A W−1 were achieved. High-resolution imaging based on Te photodetectors was successfully obtained. All the results suggest that the chemical vapor deposition–grown low-dimensional Te is one of the competitive candidates for sensitive focal-plane-array infrared photodetectors at room temperature.

Reclaimed water has been widely applied in irrigation and industrial production. Revealing the behavior of emerging contaminants in the production process of reclaimed water is the first prerequisite for developing relevant water quality standards. This study investigated 43 emerging contaminants, including 22 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), 11 organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), and 10 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in 3 reclaimed wastewater treatment plants (RWTPs) in Beijing. The composition profiles and removal efficiencies of these contaminants in RWTPs were determined. The results indicated that the distribution characteristics of the different types of contaminants in the three RWTPs were similar. Caffeine, sul2 and tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate were the dominant substances in the wastewater, and their highest concentrations were 27104 ng/L, 1.4 × 107 copies/mL and 262 ng/L, respectively. Ofloxacin and sul2 were observed to be the dominant substances in the sludge, and their highest concentrations were 5419 ng/g and 3.7 × 108 copies/g, respectively. Anaerobic/anoxic/oxic system combined with the membrane bioreactor process achieved a relatively high aqueous removal of PPCPs (87%). ARGs and OPFRs were challenging to remove, with average removal rates of 6.5% and 31%, respectively. Quantitative meta-analysis indicated that tertiary treatment processes performed better in emerging contaminant removal than secondary processes. Diethyltoluamide exhibited the highest mass load discharge, with 33.5 mg/d per 1000 inhabitants. Octocrylene and tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate posed high risks (risk quotient>1.0) to aquatic organisms. This study provides essential evidence to screen high priority pollutants and develop corresponding standard in RWTPs.

Diterpenoids are the major group of antimicrobial phytoalexins in rice1,2. Here, we report the discovery of a rice diterpenoid gene cluster on chromosome 7 (DGC7) encoding the entire biosynthetic pathway to 5,10-diketo-casbene, a member of the monocyclic casbene-derived diterpenoids. We revealed that DGC7 is regulated directly by JMJ705 through methyl jasmonate-mediated epigenetic control3. Functional characterization of pathway genes revealed OsCYP71Z21 to encode a casbene C10 oxidase, sought after for the biosynthesis of an array of medicinally important diterpenoids. We further show that DGC7 arose relatively recently in the Oryza genus, and that it was partly formed in Oryza rufipogon and positively selected for in japonica during domestication. Casbene-synthesizing enzymes that are functionally equivalent to OsTPS28 are present in several species of Euphorbiaceae but gene tree analysis shows that these and other casbene-modifying enzymes have evolved independently. As such, combining casbene-modifying enzymes from these different families of plants may prove effective in producing a diverse array of bioactive diterpenoid natural products. A rice diterpenoid gene cluster is reported that controls the biosynthesis of 5,10-diketo-casbene, a phytoalexin that confers resistance to rice bacterial blight and blast fungus. It recently evolved in the japonica subspecies under artificial selection.

The advent of low-dimensional materials with peculiar structure and superb band properties provides a new canonical form for the development of photodetectors. However, the limited exploitation of basic properties makes it difficult for devices to stand out. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid heterostructure with ultrathin vanadium dioxide film and molybdenum ditelluride nanoflake. Vanadium dioxide is a classical semiconductor with a narrow bandgap, a high temperature coefficient of resistance, and phase transformation. Molybdenum ditelluride, a typical two-dimensional material, is often used to construct optoelectronic devices. The heterostructure can realize three different functional modes: (i) the p–n junction exhibits ultrasensitive detection (450 nm–2 μm) with a dark current down to 0.2 pA and a response time of 17 μs, (ii) the Schottky junction works stably under extreme conditions such as a high temperature of 400 K, and (iii) the bolometer shows ultrabroad spectrum detection exceeding 10 μm. The flexible switching between the three modes makes the heterostructure a potential candidate for next-generation photodetectors from visible to longwave infrared radiation (LWIR). This type of photodetector combines versatile detection modes, shedding light on the hybrid application of novel and traditional materials, and is a prototype of advanced optoelectronic devices., Optoelectronics: lighting the way to advanced photodetectors Scientists from China have made photodetectors from semiconducting and two-dimensional materials that could lay the foundations for advanced optoelectronic devices. Photodetectors made from two-dimensional semiconducting materials such as quantum dots, nanowires, nanoflakes, and nanofilms have led to smaller devices that exhibit ultrafast response times, exceptional sensitivity, or a broad-spectrum response compared to devices made from traditional materials. Currently, however, no device can combine all these attributes. A team of Chinese researchers led by Jianlu Wang from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics has now developed a hybrid photodetector made from an ultrathin film of vanadium dioxide and a molybdenum telluride nanoflake. The photodetector combines a rapid response with high sensitivity and is capable of detecting visible to longwave infrared radiation, paving the way for better-performing devices for use in a range of optoelectronic applications.

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) were reported to have great potential for nitrogen removal when treating high-ammonia wastewater. Light-oxygen conditions are the most important parameter; however, the role of the microbial community composition for PSB nitrogen removal remains unclear. This study focussed on the effects of three light-oxygen conditions on PSB performance and the microbial community during high-ammonia wastewater treatment. The results showed that light-oxygen conditions had a significant impact on nitrogen removal efficiency, microbial community diversity and composition. PSB under light-aerobic condition had the highest biomass, highest COD, NH4+-N, and NO3−-N removal efficiency, and the highest community diversity; these results have not been reported before. The dominant genus in samples under light-aerobic condition was Pseudomonas (with a proportion of 58.23%). The correlation analysis showed that Pseudomonas was positively correlated with NH4+-N and NO3−-N removal, with high correlation coefficients of 0.9. These results further revealed the underlying nitrogen removal mechanism of PSB in high-ammonia wastewater treatment.

A pilot-scale photosynthetic bacteria-membrane bioreactor was applied to treat wastewater and culture photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) cells, and microbial communities at different stages were analyzed to reveal the underlying roles of efficient long-time operation of this reactor. After 40 days start-up, the reactor was successfully operated for 180 days. The results showed that the PSB-membrane bioreactor operated stably, with high COD and NH3-N removal efficiency of 95%. The PSB biomass could maintain a high cell concentration with a 10% harvest each day. Analysis of the microbial community showed that bacterial communities changed dramatically at different stages. The dominant bacteria were Ectothiorhodospira in the beginning to Caenispirillum and Pannonibacter during the stable operation. The Shannon index from 1.876 dropped to 1.477 after 6 months. The diversity of PSB community decreased during the process. It revealed that the microbial community on the membrane was more diverse than that inside the bioreactor.

Assessing the characteristics and limiting factors of tree growth is of practical significance for environmental studies and climatic reconstruction, especially in climate transition zones. In this study, four sites of Pinus armandii Franeh are investigated to understand regional climate-tree growth response in Mt. Yao, central China. Based on the high similarity of four residual chronologies and high correlations between chronologies and climatic factors, we analyzed the correlations of regional residual chronology with monthly climatic factors and the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI) from 1961–2016. The results indicate that the hydrothermal combination of prior August and current May and the scPDSI in May are main limiting factors of regional tree growth in Mt. Yao. The results of stepwise regression models also show that temperature and scPDSI in May are the main limiting factors of tree growth, but the limiting effect of scPDSI is more than temperature in this month. Through the analysis of the number of tree growth years corresponding to high temperature and high scPDSI, it was further confirmed that scPDSI in May is the main limiting factor on the growth of P. armandii in Mt. Yao. However, the influence of scPDSI in May has weakened, while temperature in May has increasingly significant influence on tree growth. The above findings will help improve our understanding of forest dynamics in central China under global climate change.

The variation of carotenoid and bacteriochlorophyll in photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) by high salinity stress (20–100 g L −1 ) was investigated. Results showed that PSB could grow in high salinity wastewater and the productions of two pigments were affected by the salinity significantly. Suitable salinity stress could enhance their productions while excessive salinity would impede the productions. When the NaCl concentration was 50 g L −1 , the PSB were stimulated continuously during the whole culture period, and the productions of carotenoid and bacteriochlorophyll were 1.17 and 1.45-fold of the control group. The variation of dehydrogenase activity indicated that high salinity changed the metabolic activity greatly, and the highest level of dehydrogenase activity appeared at 50 g L −1 NaCl condition. Mechanisms analysis showed that the variations of pigments and dehydrogenase were related to self-protection. At the same time, pollutants in high salinity wastewater were removed by PSB. The COD and NH 3 -N removals under 20–100 g L −1 NaCl concentration were around 33.5–66.1%. The biomass yields were over 0.2 mg-biomass (mg-COD-reduction) −1 under all situations and salinity benefitted the biomass yield.

Huge amount of aging biogas slurry is in urgent need to be treated properly. However, due to high NH3-N concentration and low C/N ratio, this aging biogas slurry is refractory for traditional methods. Its denitrification has become a big challenge. In this paper, photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) were employed to handle this problem. The results showed denitrification of aging biogas slurry by PSB treatment was promising. The highest removal efficiency of NH3-N reached 99.75%, much higher than all other treatments. The removal of NH3-N followed pseudo zero order reaction under dark-aerobic condition. The better inoculation rate for NH3-N removal was 30%; and aerobic condition was more beneficial for NH3-N removal than anaerobic condition because of different metabolic pathways.

Mn3O4 nanostructure aerogels have been successfully synthesised through an epoxide-driven sol–gel method with thioacetamide as precursors, followed by lyophilising (freeze drying). The prepared nanostructures were characterised by power X-ray diffraction pattern, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, surface area measurement (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The cauliflower-like and spheroidic morphologies Mn3O4 nanostructure aerogels can be successfully synthesised under different experimental conditions. The growth mechanism for different nanostructures is proposed. The cauliflower-like Mn3O4 aerogel exhibited higher adsorption capacity for methylene blue and phenol than the spheroidic Mn3O4 aerogel. In addition, the cauliflower-like Mn3O4 aerogel is a novel co-catalyst which is more effective for oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate. It may be attributed to the largest surface area and the nanostructure of the cauliflower-like Mn3O4 self-assembled by small nanoparticles. This work points out the way to develop a novel and more active self-assembled nanostructure aerogel co-catalyst for oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate.

Keggin-type molybdophosphoric acid, molybdophosphoric salt and vanadium incorporated molybdophosphoric salt supported on the modified kaolin (MK) were investigated as redox co-catalysts for the oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate (DPC) in the absence of solvent. The 20 wt.% of MnAMPV5 (one kind of vanadium incorporated molybdophosphoric salt) loaded on MK showed the highest catalytic activity with the yield of 24.68% and a TON of 306, while the selectivity amounts to nearly 100% in all the carbonylation reactions. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, XPS and H2-TPR. The reusability study showed that the catalysts were stable and active.

Qingke (Tibetan hulless barley) has long been cultivated and exposed to long-term and strong UV-B radiation on the Tibetan Plateau, which renders it an ideal species for elucidating novel UV-B responsive mechanisms in plants. Here we report a comprehensive metabolite profiling and metabolite-based genome-wide association study (mGWAS) using 196 diverse qingke and barley accessions. Our results demonstrated both constitutive and induced accumulation, and common genetic regulation, of metabolites from different branches of the phenylpropanoid pathway that are involved in UV-B protection. A total of 90 significant mGWAS loci for these metabolites were identified in barley-qingke differentiation regions, and a number of high-level metabolite trait alleles were found to be significantly enriched in qingke, suggesting co-selection of various phenylpropanoids. Upon dissecting the entire phenylpropanoid pathway, we identified some key determinants controlling natural variation of phenylpropanoid content, including three novel proteins, a flavone C-pentosyltransferase, a tyramine hydroxycinnamoyl acyltransferase, and a MYB transcription factor. Our study, furthermore, demonstrated co-selection of both constitutive and induced phenylpropanoids for UV-B protection in qingke.

Neutron capture therapy with Sulfur-33, similar to boron neutron capture therapy with Boron-10, is effective in treating some types of tumors including ocular melanoma. The key point in sulfur neutron capture therapy is whether the neutron beam flux and the resonance capture cross section of $$^{33}\hbox {S(n},\alpha )^{30}\hbox {Si}$$ reaction at 13.5 keV can achieve the requirements of radiotherapy. In this research, the authors investigated the production of 13.5 keV neutron production and moderation based on an accelerator neutron source. A lithium glass detector was used to measure the neutron flux produced via near threshold $$^{7}\hbox {Li(p,n)}^{7}\hbox {Be}$$ reaction using the time-of-flight method. Furthermore, the moderation effects of different kinds of materials were investigated using Monte Carlo simulation.

Building landscape resilience inspires the cultivation of the landscape’s capacity to recover from disruption and live with changes and uncertainties. However, integrating ecosystem and society within such a unified lens—that is, socio–ecological system (SES) resilience—clashes with many cornerstone concepts in social science, such as power, democracy, rights, and culture. In short, a landscape cannot provide the same values to everyone. However, can building landscape resilience be an effective and just environmental management strategy? Research on this question is limited. A scoping literature review was conducted first to synthesise and map landscape management change based on 111,653 records. Then, we used the Nuozhadu (NZD) catchment as a case study to validate our findings from the literature. We summarised current critiques and created a framework including seven normative categories, or common difficulties, namely resilience for “whom”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why”, as well as “can” and “how” we apply resilience normatively. We found that these difficulties are overlooked and avoided despite their instructive roles to achieve just landscape management more transparently. Without clear targets and boundaries in building resilience, we found that some groups consume resources and services at the expense of others. The NZD case demonstrates that a strategy of building the NZD’s resilience has improved the conservation of the NZD’s forest ecosystems but overlooked trade-offs between sustaining people and the environment, and between sustainable development for people at different scales. Future researchers, managers, and decision-makers are thereby needed to think resilience more normatively and address the questions in the “seven difficulties” framework before intervening to build landscape resilience.

2D layered photodetectors have been widely researched for intriguing optoelectronic properties but their application fields are limited by the bandgap. Extending the detection waveband can significantly enrich functionalities and applications of photodetectors. For example, after breaking through bandgap limitation, extrinsic Si photodetectors are used for short-wavelength infrared or even long-wavelength infrared detection. Utilizing extrinsic photoconduction to extend the detection waveband of 2D layered photodetectors is attractive and desirable. However, extrinsic photoconduction has yet not been observed in 2D layered materials. Here, extrinsic photoconduction-induced short-wavelength infrared photodetectors based on Ge-based chalcogenides are reported for the first time and the effectiveness of intrinsic point defects are demonstrated. The detection waveband of room-temperature extrinsic GeSe photodetectors with the assistance of Ge vacancies is broadened to 1.6 µm. Extrinsic GeSe photodetectors have an excellent external quantum efficiency (0.5%) at the communication band of 1.31 µm and polarization-resolved capability to subwaveband radiation. Moreover, room-temperature extrinsic GeS photodetectors with a detection waveband to the communication band of 1.55 µm further verify the versatility of intrinsic point defects. This approach provides design strategies to enrich the functionalities of 2D layered photodetectors.

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) can assist with wastewater purification and useful biomass recovery without excess sludge. The feasibility of using PSB to treat white spirit wastewater was studied. The effects of the crucial process factors were also tested. The results demonstrated that using PSB to treat white spirit wastewater was feasible, and biomass production was achieved. PSB exhibited the ability to acclimatize to white spirit wastewater: they were tolerant of a high COD of 9100–25,600 mg l−1 and an ethanol concentration of 0.5–2.0% (v/v). In addition, PSB were able to adapt to a pH of 5.0–8.0 and adjust the effluent pH. These characteristics were favorable for white spirit wastewater treatment. In performance improving study, dilution (reflux) was used as a strategy to improve the degradation effectiveness. Refluxing with a ratio of 300% was the optimal method. A similar treatment effect as an anaerobic process was achieved: the COD removal reached 76.02%, and valuable biomass instead of excess sludge was simultaneously obtained.

The neutron emission double-differential cross sections (DDX) of 9 Be was measured at an incident neutron energy of 21.65 MeV, using the multi-detector fast neutron time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometer on HI-13 Tandem Accelerator at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE). The data were deduced by comparing the measured TOF spectra with the calculated ones using a realistic Monte-Carlo simulation. The DDX were normalized to n–p scattering cross sections which are a neutron scattering standard. The results of the elastic scattering angular distributions (DX) and the secondary neutron emission DDX at 25 different angles from 15 deg to 145 deg were presented. Meanwhile, a theoretical model based on the unified Hauser-Feshbach and exciton model for light nuclei was used to describe the double-differential cross sections of n+ 9 Be, and the theoretical calculation results were compared with the measured cross sections.

Low-symmetry 2D materials with unique anisotropic optical and optoelectronic characteristics have attracted a lot of interest in fundamental research and manufacturing of novel optoelectronic devices. Exploring new and low-symmetry narrow-bandgap 2D materials will be rewarding for the development of nanoelectronics and nano-optoelectronics. Herein, sulfide niobium (NbS3 ), a novel transition metal trichalcogenide semiconductor with low-symmetry structure, is introduced into a narrowband 2D material with strong anisotropic physical properties both experimentally and theoretically. The indirect bandgap of NbS3 with highly anisotropic band structures slowly decreases from 0.42 eV (monolayer) to 0.26 eV (bulk). Moreover, NbS3 Schottky photodetectors have excellent photoelectric performance, which enables fast photoresponse (11.6 µs), low specific noise current (4.6 × 10-25 A2 Hz-1 ), photoelectrical dichroic ratio (1.84) and high-quality reflective polarization imaging (637 nm and 830 nm). A room-temperature specific detectivity exceeding 107 Jones can be obtained at the wavelength of 3 µm. These excellent unique characteristics will make low-symmetry narrow-bandgap 2D materials become highly competitive candidates for future anisotropic optical investigations and mid-infrared optoelectronic applications.

In recent years, as a direct wide band gap semiconductor, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterial has attracted a lot of attention. However, the widely investigated ZnO materials are strongly limited in fast-response and broadband photodetectors due to their inherent weaknesses, so an effective structure or mechanism of ZnO nanostructure photodetector is greatly needed. In this work, a photogating-controlled photodetector based on a ZnO nanosheet-HfO2-lightly doped Si architecture is demonstrated. Its performance was significantly improved by the photogating-controlled local field at the Si and HfO2 interfaces compared to the findings in other published works on ZnO. Consequently, the photodetector not only effectively balances the responsivity (as high as 5.6 A W-1) and response time (400 µs), but also broadens the wavelength response of the ZnO-based photodetectors from visible to near-infrared light range (~1200 nm). Additionally, the photogating-controlled ZnO photodetector enables high-resolution imaging both in the visible and near-infrared bands. Our photogating-controlled ZnO photodetectors not only exemplify the controllability of the gate electrode in high mobility materials but also provide a basis for the development of fast speed and high responsivity detection of high mobility materials.

The combined photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has the great advantage of simultaneously realizing wastewater purification and bio-resource recovery and has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Light-oxygen conditions are the most vital factor in wastewater treatment. The special light-aerobic condition was first applied to PSB-MBR wastewater treatment, and it was compared with three typical light-oxygen conditions. The results showed that the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency (96.28%) and the highest biomass production (1.12 g/L/d) were simultaneously obtained under light-aerobic condition. This phenomenon overcame the limitations whereby optimal pollutant removal and bio-resource recovery could not be achieved at the same time. An analysis of the microbial community showed that different light-oxygen conditions caused large variations in the microbial community composition of PSB-MBR. The microbial diversity was lower when light and oxygen co-existed.

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) show a strong potential to degrade pollutants and meanwhile produce valuable biomass, thus realising both wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery. This paper detailed the study of nitrogen distribution forms, biokinetics and transformation during PSB wastewater treatment. The results showed that the total nitrogen (TN) and ammonium (NH4+) removal reached 90.5% and 95.3%, respectively. The nitrogen removal and biomass production fit a quadratic and a cubic regression equation with an R2 of 0.9793 and 0.9730, respectively. Mass balance showed that the influent nitrogen was transformed into valuable PSB cells (63.2%), gaseous N2 (26.9%) and residual NH4+, nitrate (NO3−) and organic nitrogen in the effluent (8.9%). In addition, 53.0% of the influent nitrogen was bio-transformed to protein nitrogen. Excellent nitrogen resource recovery was thus achieved.

Decoration of phytochemicals contributes to the majority of metabolic diversity in nature, whereas how this process alters the biological functions of their precursor molecules remains to be investigated. Flavones, an important yet overlooked subclass of flavonoids, are most commonly conjugated with sugar moieties by UDP-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs). Here, we report that the natural variation of rice flavones is mainly determined by OsUGT706D1 (flavone 7-O-glucosyltransferase) and OsUGT707A2 (flavone 5-O-glucosyltransferase). UV-B exposure and transgenic evaluation demonstrate that their allelic variation contributes to UV-B tolerance in nature. Biochemical characterization of over 40 flavonoid UGTs reveals their differential evolution in angiosperms. These combined data provide biochemical insight and genetic regulation into flavone biosynthesis and additionally suggest that adoption of the positive alleles of these genes into breeding programs will likely represent a potential strategy aimed at producing stress-tolerant plants., In contrast to flavonols, the functions of plant flavones are largely unknown. Here, the authors report the two differentially evolved glucosyltranferases (flavone 7-O-glucosyltransferase and flavone 5-O-glucosyltransferase) determine natural variation of rice flavone accumulation and UV-tolerance.

This work proposed a novel approach to achieve an extremely high protein content in photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) using biogas slurry as a culturing medium. The results showed the protein content of PSB could be enhanced strongly to 90% in the biogas slurry, which was much higher than reported microbial protein contents. The slurry was partially purified at the same time. Dark-aerobic was more beneficial than light-anaerobic condition for protein accumulation. High salinity and high ammonia of the biogas slurry were the main causes for protein enhancement. In addition, the biogas slurry provided a good buffer system for PSB to grow. The biosynthesis mechanism of protein in PSB was explored according to theoretical analysis. During biogas slurry treatment, the activities of glutamate synthase and glutamine synthetase were increased by 26.55%, 46.95% respectively.

Knowledge of actinides (n,f) fission process induced by neutron is of importance in the field of nuclear power and nuclear engineering, especially for reactor applications. In this work, fission characteristics of 238U(n,f) reaction induced by D-T neutron source were simulated with Geant4 code from multiple perspectives, including the fission production yields, total nubar, kinetic energy distribution, fission neutron spectrum and cumulative γ-ray spectrum of the fission products. The simulation results agree well with the experimental nuclear reaction data (EXFOR) and evaluated nuclear data (ENDF). Mainly, this work was to examine the rationality of the parametric nuclear fission model in Geant4 and to direct our future experimental measurements for the cumulative fission yields of 238U(n,f) reaction.

As typical direct bandgap II–VI semiconductors, quasi-one dimensional CdS nanowires, nanobelts, and nanorods have shown great potential in electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, most nano-scale CdS Field Effect Transistors (FETs) work in the depletion-mode (D-mode) due to the high unintentional n-type doping concentration, which results in high power consumption under off-state. In addition, the large dark current limits to the specific detectivity when they are fabricated into phototransistors. Here, we have synthesized single crystal CdS nanobelts (NBs) on a SiO2/Si substrate via chemical vapor deposition. The CdS NB FETs were fabricated with HfO2 as a passivation layer. It is found that the working mode of the FETs was transformed from the D-mode to the enhancement-mode with the threshold voltage changing from −22.6 to 0.7 V due to the decrease in the defect density. The HfO2 passivated CdS NB phototransistor shows a responsivity of 4.7 × 104 A/W and an ultrahigh detectivity of 9.07 × 1014 Jones at the source-drain voltage of 1 V under an illumination wavelength of 450 nm. Our work demonstrates an effective way to achieve enhancement-mode CdS FETs and high performance phototransistors.

The 232Th(n,{\gamma})233Th neutron capture reaction cross sections were measured at average neutron energies of 14.1 MeV and 14.8 MeV using the activation method. The neutron flux was determined using the monitor reaction 27Al(n,{\alpha})24Na. The induced gamma-ray activities were measured using a low background gamma ray spectrometer equipped with a high resolution HPGe detector. The experimentally determined cross sections were compared with the literatures data, evaluated data of ENDF/B-VII, JENDL-4.0, and CENDL-3.1. The Excitation functions of 232Th(n,{\gamma}) reaction were also calculated theoretically using the TALYS 1.6 computer code., Comment: 8 pages,1 figures and 2 tables

Due to the nonseparable variance term, the dynamic mean-variance portfolio selection in market without riskless asset is not time consistent or time consistent in efficiency. Similar to the market with riskless asset, the investor can perform as good as the truncated global optimal mean-variance policy with revised lower funding level. Thus, we propose a dynamic revised mean-variance policy, which is better than the global optimal policy.

This paper investigates the parametric instability of a panel (beam) under high speed air flows and axial excitations. The idea is to affect out-of-plane vibrations and aerodynamic loads by in-plane excitations. The periodic axial excitation introduces time-varying items into the panel system. The numerical method based on Floquet theory and the perturbation method are utilized to solve the Mathieu-Hill equations. The system stability with respect to air/panel density ratio, dynamic pressure ratio, and excitation frequency are explored. The results indicate that panel flutter can be suppressed by the axial excitations with proper parameter combinations.

The distinct ultraviolet (UV) light absorption of indium tin oxide (ITO) limits the performance of GaN-based near-UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Herein, we report an Al-doped ITO with enhanced UV transmittance and low sheet resistance as the transparent conductive electrode for GaN-based 395 nm flip-chip near-UV LEDs. The thickness dependence of optical and electrical properties of Al-doped ITO films is investigated. The optimal Al-doped ITO film exhibited a transmittance of 93.2% at 395 nm and an average sheet resistance of 30.1 Ω/sq. Meanwhile, at an injection current of 300 mA, the forward voltage decreased from 3.14 to 3.11 V, and the light output power increased by 13% for the 395 nm near-UV flip-chip LEDs with the optimal Al-doped ITO over those with pure ITO. This Letter provides a simple and repeatable approach to further improve the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based near-UV LEDs.

High-reflectivity Al-based n-electrode is used to enhance the luminescence properties of InGaN-based 395 nm flip-chip near-ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes. The Al-only metal layer could form the Ohmic contact on the plasma etched n-GaN by means of chemical pre-treatment, with the lowest specific contact resistance of 2.211×10−5Ω⋅cm2. The Al n-electrodes enhance light output power of the 395 nm flip-chip near-UV light-emitting diodes by more than 33% compared with the Ti/Al n-electrodes. Meanwhile, the electrical characteristics of these chips with two types of n-electrodes do not show any significant discrepancy. The near-field light distribution measurement of packaged chips confirms that the enhanced luminescence is ascribed to the high reflectivity of the Al electrodes in the UV region. After the accelerated aging test for over 1000 h, the luminous degradation of the packaged chips with Al n-electrodes is less than 3%, which proves the reliability of these chips with the Al-based electrodes. Our approach shows a simplified design and fabrication of high-reflectivity n-electrode for flip-chip near-UV light emitting diodes.

The thick target neutron yields (TTNYs) of deuteron-induced reaction on Al and Cu isotopes are analyzed by combining the improved nuclear models and particle transport effects. The modified Glauber model is employed mainly to produce the peak of double differential cross section for the breakup process, and the exciton model and the Hauser-Feshbach theory are used for the statistical processes. The thin-layer accumulation method is used to calculate the TTNYs considering the neutron attenuation effects in the target. The calculated results are compared with the existing experimental data, and the analysis method can predict the TTNY data well at the deuteron energy of 40 MeV.