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• Pd break junction is made by micromachining and electromigration process. • Pd break junction with small gap shows reversible response cycles of hydrogen below 0.1 Pa. • Pd break junction shows the fuse response of hydrogen above 10 Pa. The development of hydrogen compatibility is crucial for its being a new key energy source. A study of hydrogen fuse based on Pd break junction method is presented to explore the limit of sensitivity. The critical part of this device was fabricated from a Pd nanowire electrode (80 ± 20 nm) made by electron beam lithography (EBL) method. Subsequent electromigration technique is utilized to develop a controllable break junction on the nanowire (1–2 nm). This device shows reversible response cycles of hydrogen in an ultralow pressure range below 0.1±0.002 Pa and fuse-like response above 10 Pa at room temperature. The results show that the relationship between quantum conductance with hydrogen pressure was kept linear because of hydrogen absorption induced expansion of break junction. When the expansion exceeds the threshold value, the break junction gap is closed and becoming conductive. This method opens up a possibility to detect hydrogen under ultralow partial pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of investigating the relationship between morphological evolution and mechanical properties of blends prepared by Micro injection moulding through regulating the process conditions was presented in this paper. The microstructure and microscopic mechanical properties of polycarbonate/poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PC/PET) microparts prepared by micro injection moulding were investigated with respect to the effects of the injection velocity. The PC/PET microparts exhibited typical “skin–core” morphology. Thickness of the skin layer is greater than that of the core layer near the gate of micropart. With an increase in the injection velocity, the core layer became thicker. It was detected that the PET microdomains were selectively located in the core layer in preference to the shear layer with high injection velocity. In addition, the degree of orientation for main chain and pendant group in the PC/PET molecular chains increased first and then decreased with an increase in the injection velocity. Nanoindentation testing showed that the modulus decreased along the flow direction and increased with an increase in the injection velocity, except at very high values. Among the different layers, the highly oriented shear layer had the highest indentation modulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals (HMs) accumulation in soil poses a severe threat worldwide for soil, plants, and humans. The accumulation of HMs in soil and uptake by plants leads to disrupt physiological and biochemical metabolisms. As a potential and sustainable soil amendment, biochar has attained huge attention to reduce HMs toxicity in soil and improve plant growth influenced by HMs stress. Despite an array of research studies, there is a lack of knowledge on how biochar interacts with HMs, moderate plant defence system, induce HMs stress signals pathways and promote plant growth. At first, the review highlights the possible effects of HMs on soil and plant and their consequences on plant signaling network. Secondly, the biochar's impact on soil physiochemical properties and the sorption of HMs on biochar surface through direct and indirect mechanisms are reviewed. Finally, the review shows the key roles of biochar in soil improvement to enhance plant growth and signaling response to HMs by enhancing the activities of antioxidants and reducing chlorophyll injury, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and cell membrane degradation under HMs stress. However, future studies are needed to evaluate the role of biochar in diverse climatic conditions as well as the long-term effects of biochar on HMs persistency in soil and crop productivity. This review will provide new avenues for future studies to address and quantify the advancement in biochar's role in alleviating plant's HMs stress on a sustainable basis. [Display omitted] • Heavy metals (HMs) accumulation decline soil fertility and environment sustainability. • Biochar is being recognized by scientists for its potential role, mitigating HMs toxicity and improving plant growth. • Amendment of biochar modify physio-chemical and biological properties of soil. • Biochar increase HMs sorption in polluted soils and promote plant signaling against HMs stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil relative water content and seed plumpness have been shown to be the key factors affecting seed germination and seedling growth of rice under direct drought cropping. It remains to be determined whether seed germination and seedling growth of water-saving and drought-resistant rice (WDR) and conventional rice with the same proportion of rice seed have the same response to soil moisture changes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the seed germination and physiological characteristics of the rice cultivars Guangliangyou 1813 (GLY-1813,indica hybrid rice) and Hanyou 73 ((HY-73), WDR) with four different specific gravities (T1, T2, T3, and T4; the rice seeds were divided into four specific gravity levels by weight using saline water, the representative specific gravities were <1.0, 1.0–1.1, 1.1–1.2 and >1.2 kg m−3, respectively), at five soil moisture content gradients (soil relative water contents of 10–20%, 20–40%, 40–60%, 60–80%, and 80–100%), under dry direct seeding conditions. The results showed that GLY-1813 had a higher germination potential, germination and seedling emergence rates, greater root dry weight, seedling dry weight, root oxidation activity, and chlorophyll content, and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content when the soil relative water content was 20–40% or 40–60%. Cultivar HY-73 had the highest germination rate and seedling physiological activity at 20–40% relative water content; its growth vigor was better than that of GLY-1813 at the same soil moisture level. In conclusion, the soil relative water content for seed germination of HY-73 was 20–40%, which was less than that of GLY-1813. When soil relative water content was sufficient for seed germination and growth, the higher the plumpness of the rice seed, the easier it was to resist the negative effects of an adverse growth environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 70% of global rice production depends on irrigation water, which has brought on a progressive reduction in the groundwater table. Further groundwater withdrawal are unsustainable for future rice production. Sustainable rice production calls for the use of resource-saving and environmentally friendly rice varieties. This study investigated the morphological and physiological mechanisms of biomass and tissue phosphorus accumulation in a water-saving and drought-resistance rice variety (Hanyou73) and a normal paddy rice variety (Hyou518) under different water management regimes. The two rice cultivars were grown in pot experiments carried out with factorial combinations of three water regimes, conventional irrigation (high irrigation rate, HR), 60% of conventional irrigation (medium irrigation rate, MR), and 20% of conventional irrigation (low irrigation rate, LR) for four-years. While the grain yield of Hanyou73 was similar as Hyou518 under HR, it was significantly higher than Hyou518 under MR and LR. Under deficit irrigation, the tissue-specific biomass of Hanyou73 was higher than that of Hyou518, and the total P accumulation of Hanyou73 was 70% greater than that of Hyou518. Meanwhile, the root growth, root oxidation activity, and absorption area of Hanyou73 under the MR and LR treatments were significantly higher than those of Hyou518. Analysis of root exudate metabolites revealed an abundance of organic acids produced by the Hanyou73 roots under, which may account for its higher P uptake. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that Hanyou73 promoted P uptake to maintain higher yields under deficit irrigation. The higher P uptake by Hanyou73 may be related to its altered root physiology, which may be the mechanism by which Hanyou73 adapts to water saving irrigation conditions and maintains its yield traits. • Sustainable rice production requires the cultivation of Water-saving and drought-resistance rice varieties. • Hanyou73" maintained high yield and phosphorus levels under low-irrigation condition. • Higher phosphorus uptake supported "Hanyou73" yield. • The physiological mechanism underlying the high phosphorus uptake is an increase in root oxidation and absorption area. • The root exudates of "Hanyou73" contained high levels of organic acids and anions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood vinegar is formed by the condensation of smoke produced during the production of biochar. It mainly contains acetic acid, butyric acid, catechol, and phenol. Wood vinegar has a compound effect of promoting crop growth similar to plant growth regulators and is environmentally friendly. Moreover, it can enhance the biological and abiotic resistance of crops. In this study, foliar spraying was carried out systematically in the field with the hybrid variety of Huayouza 9 for two years to study the effects of wood vinegar and its compounds on the growth of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). We applied four treatments with tap water as a control (CK), namely wood vinegar diluted 400-fold (M), M mixed with gibberellin (T1), M mixed with sodium D-gluconate (T2), and M mixed with melatonin (T3). They were sprayed in the seedling stage and overwintering stage, respectively. The results showed that the seed yield, the leaf area index, and the number of pods per plant of rapeseed treated with M increased by an average of 9.58%, 23.45%, and 23.80% in two years as compared to the CK, respectively. Compared with M, the seed yield of rapeseed treated with T1, T2, and T3 increased by an average of 7.88%, 6.90%, and 1.32% in two years, respectively. The treatments also improved the quality of rapeseed. In particular, the glucosinolate content of rapeseed treated with T2 and T3 decreased by an average of 12.83% and 6.72% in two years compared to the CK, respectively. The four treatments selected in the current study improved the resistance of rapeseed at the low temperature of 2–6 °C by increasing the activity of superoxide dismutase and proline and soluble protein contents, as compared to the CK. Besides, all treatments containing M reduced the incidence of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Peronospora parasitica (downy mildew) in rapeseed. More specifically, the T3 treatment significantly decreased the infection rate of these two diseases mentioned above by an average of 17.33% and 12.14% in two years compared to the CK, respectively. Therefore, the study and application of wood vinegar due to its compound effects on crop growth and yield is of great importance to sustainable agriculture, crop ecology, and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SiO 2 scavenges the Li 2 CO 3 on garnet LLZTO surface during densification process. • Higher relative density and Li+ conductivity are achieved after Li 2 CO 3 elimination. • Enhanced Li ion conduction benefits from Li-conducting Li 4 SiO 4 as reaction product. As promising next generation energy storage system, all solid state lithium batteries offer great potential for achieving high energy density and improved safety over lithium batteries with liquid counterpart. Dense microstructure with high ionic conductivity are prerequisites for solid electrolyte. The promising Li-garnet electrolyte suffers from poor sinterability, which results in porous structure and large grain boundary resistance. Herein, we report that the poor sinterability of garnet Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 is most likely related to the Li 2 CO 3 formed on particle surface, and SiO 2 is an efficient additive to scavenge the surface Li 2 CO 3 and so significantly improve the densification of electrolyte. The reaction product Li 4 SiO 4 of SiO 2 with Li 2 CO 3 is a Li-ion conductor, which exists at grain boundary and so can facilitate the grain boundary lithium ion diffusion. An addition of 1 mol.% SiO 2 , with respect to the total lithium content in Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO), significantly increases the relative density of LLZTO pellet by 28% and the conductivity by one order of magnitude, reaching 3.84 × 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature by a conventional solid state sintering. A symmetric lithium cell assembled with such dense LLZTO electrolyte can cycle well for 260 h compared with unmodified LLZTO running only for 72 h before short-circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: During the development of animals from juvenile to adult, their behaviour, morphology, and physiology can be altered to accommodate specific developmental periods. Early development in young animals directly affects the acquisition and maturation of behavioural skills and neurological functions in adults. Studying the behavioural development of young animals can help reveal the formation and evolution of animal behaviour. As the only mammalian group that flies, studying the behavioural development of young bats can help improve our understanding of bat flight behaviour. From our observations in the laboratory, we found that wing flapping and wing spreading behaviours in young bats promote earlier flight attempts. Behavioural development is an important aspect of research on animal behaviour. In bats, many studies have been conducted on the development of flight behaviour, but the postnatal behavioural development of bats remains largely unexplored. We studied the behaviours and postnatal development of infant bats by conducting controlled video recorded experiments. Our results showed that before weaning, Asian parti-coloured bats (Vespertilio sinensis) were able to exhibit four types of behaviours, namely, crawling, head moving, wing flapping, and wing spreading, and these behaviours are different from those observed in experiments with adult bats. The number of occurrences of these behaviours was correlated with age and scaled mass index. Furthermore, the number of occurrences of these behaviours in young bats could also reflect their physical developmental status. In young bats, wing flapping and spreading might be a type of play behaviour. These behaviours were negatively correlated with the time of the first flight, indicating that they might help to promote individual physical development. Our results provide fundamental data for revealing the ontogenetic and neurophysiological mechanisms of behavioural development in bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multiple evidences were used to delimit species of Rhinolophus macrotis complex. • A new taxonomic treatment is proposed for the R. osgoodi. • Evolutionary processes were reconstructed following species delimitation. • Hybridization and introgression have contributed to the reticulate evolution. Species delimitation and evolutionary reconstruction remain challenging for non-model species that have experienced reticulate evolution and exhibit conflicting patterns of differentiation among multiple lines of evidence, such as mitochondrial and nuclear data and phenotypes. Here, we applied an integrative taxonomic approach to a case study of Rhinolophus macrotis complex, whose taxonomic status remains controversial, to provide insight into the systematics and evolutionary history of these species. By integrating traditional genetic markers with different modes of inheritance, genome-wide SNPs as well as phenotypic characteristics, we clarified the presence of three closely related species, R. episcopus , R. siamensis , and R. osgoodi , within this complex, and proposed a new taxonomic treatment for R. osgoodi. Our results suggested that hybridization and introgression are the main causes of low mtDNA divergence in these species. Combined with the demographic inference, we deduced that glacial–interglacial cycles drove geographic isolation and secondary contacts of these species, then promoted hybridization and lineage fusion among them, finally resulting in a reticulate evolutionary pattern. Overall, our study highlights the importance of combining multiple types of data to delimit species, especially those with conserved morphology, and to reveal the sophisticated processes of speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]