Cerium oxide nanoparticles promoted lateral root formation in Arabidopsis by modulating reactive oxygen species and Ca2+ level.

Roots play an important role in plant growth, including providing essential mechanical support, water uptake, and nutrient absorption. Nanomaterials play a positive role in improving plant root development, but there is limited knowledge of how nanomaterials affect lateral root (LR) formation. Poly (acrylic) acid coated nanoceria (cerium oxide nanoparticles, PNC) are commonly used to improve plant stress tolerance due to their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, its impact on LR formation remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of PNC on LR formation in Arabidopsis thaliana by monitoring ROS levels and Ca2+ distribution in roots. Our results demonstrate that PNC significantly promote LR formation, increasing LR numbers by 26.2%. Compared to controls, PNC-treated Arabidopsis seedlings exhibited reduced H2 O2 levels by 18.9% in primary roots (PRs) and 40.6% in LRs, as well as decreased O 2 · - levels by 47.7% in PRs and 88.5% in LRs. When compared with control plants, Ca2+ levels were reduced by 35.7% in PRs and 22.7% in LRs of PNC-treated plants. Overall, these results indicate that PNC could enhance LR development by modulating ROS and Ca2+ levels in roots.

Head Horn Enhances Hydrodynamic Perception in Eyeless Cavefish.

Fish can use hydrodynamic stimuli, decoded by lateral line systems, to explore the surroundings. Eyeless species of the genus Sinocyclocheilus have evolved conspicuous horns on their heads, whereas the specific function of which is still unknown. Meanwhile, the eyeless cavefish exhibits more sophisticated lateral line systems and enhanced behavioral capabilities (for instance rheotaxis), compared with their eyed counterparts. Here, the influence of head horn on the hydrodynamic perception capability is investigated through computational fluid dynamics, particle image velocimetry, and a bioinspired cavefish model integrated with an artificial lateral line system. The results show strong evidence that the head horn structure can enhance the hydrodynamic perception, from aspects of multiple hydrodynamic sensory indicators. It is uncovered as that the head horn renders eyeless cavefish with stronger hydrodynamic stimuli, induced by double-stagnation points near the head, which are perceived by the strengthened lateral line systems. Furthermore, the eyeless cavefish model has ≈17% higher obstacle recognition accuracy and lower cost (time and sensor number) than eyed cavefish model is conceptually demonstrated, by incorporating with machine learning. This study provides novel insights into form-function relationships in eyeless cavefish, in addition paves the way for optimizing sensor arrangement in fish robots and underwater vehicles.

Flexible calorimetric flow sensor with unprecedented sensitivity and directional resolution for multiple flight parameter detection.

The accurate perception of multiple flight parameters, such as the angle of attack, angle of sideslip, and airflow velocity, is essential for the flight control of micro air vehicles, which conventionally rely on arrays of pressure or airflow velocity sensors. Here, we present the estimation of multiple flight parameters using a single flexible calorimetric flow sensor featuring a sophisticated structural design with a suspended array of highly sensitive vanadium oxide thermistors. The proposed sensor achieves an unprecedented velocity resolution of 0.11 mm·s-1 and angular resolution of 0.1°. By attaching the sensor to a wing model, the angles of attack and slip were estimated simultaneously. The triaxial flight velocities and wing vibrations can also be estimated by sensing the relative airflow velocity due to its high sensitivity and fast response. Overall, the proposed sensor has many promising applications in weak airflow sensing and flight control of micro air vehicles.

Fish-Wearable Piezoelectric Nanogenerator for Dual-Modal Energy Scavenging from Fish-Tailing.

Aiming to develop a self-powered bioelectric tag for fish behavioral studies, here we present a fish-wearable piezoelectric nanogenerator (FWPNG) that can simultaneously harvest the strain energy and the flow impact energy caused by fish-tailing. The FWPNG is fabricated by transferring a 2 µm-thick Nb0.02-Pb(Zr0.6Ti0.4)O3 (PZT) layer from a silicon substrate to a spin-coated polyimide film via a novel zinc oxide (ZnO) release process. The open-circuit voltage of the strain energy harvester reaches 2.3 V under a strain of 1% at an ultra-low frequency of 1 Hz, and output voltage of the impact energy harvester reaches a 0.3 V under a pressure of 82.6 kPa at 1 Hz, which is in good agreement with our theoretical analysis. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, an event-driven underwater acoustic transmitter is developed by utilizing the FWPNG as a trigger switch. Acoustic transmission occurs when the amplitude of fish-tailing is larger than a preset threshold. The dual-modal FWPNG device shows the potential application in self-powered biotags for animal behavioral studies and ocean explorations.

Microfabrication of functional polyimide films and microstructures for flexible MEMS applications.

Polyimides are widely used in the MEMS and flexible electronics fields due to their combined physicochemical properties, including high thermal stability, mechanical strength, and chemical resistance values. In the past decade, rapid progress has been made in the microfabrication of polyimides. However, enabling technologies, such as laser-induced graphene on polyimide, photosensitive polyimide micropatterning, and 3D polyimide microstructure assembly, have not been reviewed from the perspective of polyimide microfabrication. The aims of this review are to systematically discuss polyimide microfabrication techniques, which cover film formation, material conversion, micropatterning, 3D microfabrication, and their applications. With an emphasis on polyimide-based flexible MEMS devices, we discuss the remaining technological challenges in polyimide fabrication and possible technological innovations in this field.

Mn3 O4 Nanoparticles Alleviate ROS-Inhibited Root Apex Mitosis Activities to Improve Maize Drought Tolerance.

Poly (acrylic) acid coated Mn3O4 nanoparticles (PAA@Mn3 O4 nanoparticles (PMO, 11.02 nm, -28.93 mV)) are synthesized to investigate whether they can help to improve maize drought tolerance and the relevant mechanisms behind this. In planta experimental results show that under drought (15% PEG 6000, polyethylene glycol, mimicking drought stress, 96 h), compared with the control plants, 500 mg L-1 PMO (root application, 96 h) improves maize drought tolerance, showing an increase of root length (21.6%), shoot length (21.2%), fresh weight (7.8%) and total protein (67.2%) content. In addition, PMO significantly decreases the malondialdehyde (MDA) content by 74.7% in maize under drought, compared with the control group. Further, PMO treated maize root apex shows significantly increased mitotic index (MI, 35.5%), and decreased hydrogen peroxide (40.9%). Compared with the control under drought (15% PEG, 96 h), thr root apex of maize plants treated with PMO (500 mg L-1 , root application, 96 h) have significantly lower level of H2 O2 . Overall, the results show that PMO can alleviate drought-inhibited cell mitosis activities via maintaining ROS (reactive oxygen species) homeostasis. In this study, it is not only shown that PMO can be a good nano-regulator candidate to improve maize drought tolerance, but also that PMO has potential to modulate plant cell mitosis activities.

Characterization on Crack Initiation and Early Propagation Region of Nickel-Based Alloys in Very High Cycle Fatigue.

As nickel-based alloys are more and more widely used in engineering fields for bearing cyclic loadings, it is necessary to study their very-high-cycle fatigue (VHCF) properties. In this paper, the fatigue properties of nickel-based alloy 625 were investigated using an ultrasonic fatigue test apparatus. The fracture microscopy shows that around the crack initiation site there are two characteristic zones, a rough area (RA) and a fine granular area (FGA). Inclusions caused the interior fatigue crack initiation, and the coalescence of neighboring micro cracks was strongly influenced by the local microstructure, resulting in the RA morphology. Subsequently, the contact and compressing of the crack surfaces contributed to the formation of the FGA. Finally, the stress intensity factors of the RA and FGA were quantitatively evaluated for further discussion of the crack initiation and propagation processes.

Bristled-wing design of materials, microstructures, and aerodynamics enables flapping flight in tiny wasps.

Parasitoid wasps of the smallest flying insects with bristled wings exhibit sophisticated flight behaviors while challenging biomechanical limitations in miniaturization and low-speed flow regimes. Here, we investigate the morphology, material composition, and mechanical properties of the bristles of the parasitoid wasps Anagrus Haliday. The bristles are extremely stiff and exhibit a high-aspect-ratio conical tubular structure with a large Young's modulus. This leads to a marginal deflection and uniform structural stress distribution in the bristles while they experience high-frequency flapping-induced aerodynamic loading, indicating that the bristles are robust to fatigue. The flapping aerodynamics of the bristled wings reveal that the wing surfaces act as porous flat paddles to reduce the overall inertial load while utilizing a passive shear-based aerodynamic drag-enhancing mechanism to generate the requisite aerodynamic forces. The bristled wing may have evolved as a novel design that achieves multiple functions and provides innovative ideas for developing bioinspired engineering microdevices.

Bioaugmented degradation of rice straw combining two novel microbial consortia and lactic acid bacteria for enhancing the methane production.

Two consortia of lignocellulolytic microbes (CL and YL) were isolated from the rumen of ruminants. Their ability to facilitate the degradation of rice straw and enhance methane (CH4) production were evaluated, both individually and combined with lactic acid bacteria (LAB). After 30 days of degradation, rice straw powders (RSPs) were observed to change in physical structure and also displayed a significant reduction in lignocellulose content. Combined application of microbial consortia with LAB efficiently improved enzymatic hydrolysis of RSPs, increasing organic acid as well as mono- and disaccharide contents. Synergistic action between microbial consortia and LAB enhanced CH4 yield, and rice straw treated with YL + LAB had the highest CH4 production (357.53 mL CH4/g VS), more than fivefold of the control. The newly identified microbial consortia are capable of efficiently degrading lignocellulosic biomass. Functioning synergistically with LAB, they provide a feasible way biodegrade rice straw and enhance methane production from agricultural wastes.

Transfer, transportation, and accumulation of cerium-doped carbon quantum dots: Promoting growth and development in wheat.

New cerium-doped carbon quantum dots (CDs:Ce) were developed in this study using hydrothermal synthesis method. The small and uniform sizes and nearly spherical lattice of CDs:Ce indicate its high stability, satisfactory water solubility, and biocompatibility. Wheat was treated with Ce, CDs, and different concentrations (0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/mL) of CDs:Ce. The results showed that, compared with the control group, Ce, CDs, and CDs:Ce could promote the growth and development of wheat in a certain concentration range. Wheat demonstrated the optimal morphological index (compared with the control, the root number, root length, leaf length, and plant height were increased by 45%, 57%, 28%, and 46%, respectively), maximum chlorophyll content (increased by 51%) and peroxidase activity (increased by 76%), and minimum malondialdehyde content (reduced by 68%) after treatment of 0.025 mg/mL of CDs:Ce. Hence, wheat plants can adsorb and transport CDs:Ce from roots to stems and leaves through fibrovascular tissues. The majority of CDs:Ce are concentrated in roots while some accumulate in leaves. A considerable amount of CDs:Ce gather in cell walls, fibrovascular tissues, leaf veins, and stomata. CDs:Ce can be applied to agricultural production activities as a new agricultural nanofertilizer and technology of plant in vivo imaging.

Metallic S-CoTe with Surface Reconstruction Activated by Electrochemical Oxidation for Oxygen Evolution Catalysis.

Developing highly active electrocatalysts toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for the application of water splitting for hydrogen production and can further alleviate the energy crisis problem, but still remaining challenging. Especially, unlocking the catalytic site, in turn, helps design the available catalysts. Herein, the nanorod cobalt telluride with sulfur incorporation grown on a carbon cloth (S-CoTe/CC) as catalysts for OER, which displays extraordinary catalytic activity, is reported. Significantly, the in situ formed CoOOH species on the surface of S-CoTe merited from the structure evolution during the OER process serves as the active species. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations demonstrate that sulfur incorporation can tailor the electronic structure of active species and substantially optimize the free energy, accelerating the OER kinetics. This work provides an in-depth understanding of enhanced OER mechanism through foreign elements incorporating into precatalysts and is beneficial for the guiding design of more efficient catalysts.

Stabilization of Li-Se Batteries by Wearing PAN Protective Clothing.

Lithium-selenium (Li-Se) batteries have recently attracted more and more attentions as new secondary battery systems due to the similarity but better performances than lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, the dissolution of selenium in electrolytes results in low selenium utilization, concentration polarization, inferior capacities, and unstable cycling performances. Herein, 46.58 wt% of selenium is loaded on carbon cloths through the calcination process, which were directly used as self-supporting cathodes. Carbonized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber membranes produced by electrospinning are worn as the protective clothing between the cathode and separator to avoid the loss and dissolution of selenium. The stabilization of Li-Se batteries was enhanced by introducing two interlayers, as expected, they exhibit a stable reversible average capacity of 590 mA h g-1 during 1000 cycles at a current density of 0.5 C (1 C = 675 mA g-1). No polyselenide formation is found during charging/discharging, and the effects of the introduced PAN interlayers on improving the stability and reducing the polarization of the assembled Li-Se batteries are confirmed by mechanistic characterizations. These regulated Li-Se batteries present great application potential in the future, and the design idea can also be promoted to explore other energy storage systems.

Dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole Cored p-Type Semiconductors Enabling 20 % Efficiency Dopant-Free Perovskite Solar Cells.

Organic p-type semiconductors with tunable structures offer great opportunities for hybrid perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). We report herein two dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DTP) cored molecular semiconductors prepared through π-conjugation extension and an N-alkylation strategy. The as-prepared conjugated molecules exhibit a highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of -4.82 eV and a hole mobility up to 2.16×10-4  cm2 V-1 s-1 . Together with excellent film-forming and over 99 % photoluminescence quenching efficiency on perovskite, the DTP based semiconductors work efficiently as hole-transporting materials (HTMs) for n-i-p structured PVSCs. Their dopant-free MA0.7 FA0.3 PbI2.85 Br0.15 devices exhibit a power conversion efficiency over 20 %, representing one of the highest values for un-doped molecular HTMs based PVSCs. This work demonstrates the great potential of using a DTP core in designing efficient semiconductors for dopant-free PVSCs.

Development and evaluation of orally disintegrating tablets containing the mosapride resin complex.

The purpose of this study was to prepare a mosapride citrate-resin (Amberlite® IRP 88) complex and orally fast-disintegrating tablets of the resin complex. The resinate complex of mosapride-Amberlite® IRP 88, mass ratio 2:1, was prepared in an ethanol-water solution. The effects of alcohol concentration, temperature, and pH of the solution on complex formation were evaluated. The complex physicochemical properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Orally disintegrating tablets were prepared by direct compression and were optimized using the response surface method. Optimized orally fast-disintegrating tablets disintegrated within 18 s. The pH dependence of mosapride release from the tablet decreased drug dissolution in simulated saliva, whereas it promptly released in the pH 1.0 solution. The data reported herein clearly demonstrate that tablets containing the mosapride-Amberlite® IRP 88 complex for oral disintegration could be particularly useful for patients with swallowing difficulties.

Highly Sensitive Fluorescence Probe Based on Functional SBA-15 for Selective Detection of Hg.

An inorganic-organic hybrid fluorescence chemosensor (DA/SBA-15) was prepared by covalent immobilization of a dansylamide derivative into the channels of mesoporous silica material SBA-15 via (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) groups. The primary hexagonally ordered mesoporous structure of SBA-15 was preserved after the grafting procedure. Fluorescence characterization shows that the obtained inorganic-organic hybrid composite is highly selective and sensitive to Hg(2+) detection, suggesting the possibility for real-time qualitative or quantitative detection of Hg(2+) and the convenience for potential application in toxicology and environmental science.