Molecular Evolution of Auxin-Mediated Root Initiation in Plants.

The root originated independently in euphyllophytes (ferns and seed plants) and lycophytes; however, the molecular evolutionary route of root initiation remains elusive. By analyses of the fern Ceratopteris richardii and seed plants, here we show that the molecular pathway involving auxin, intermediate-clade WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (IC-WOX) genes, and WUSCHEL-clade WOX (WC-WOX) genes could be conserved in root initiation. We propose that the "auxin>IC-WOX>WC-WOX" module in root initiation might have arisen in the common ancestor of euphyllophytes during the second origin of roots, and that this module has further developed during the evolution of different root types in ferns and seed plants.

Electronic Modulation of Doped MoS2 Nanosheets for Improved CO2 Sensing and Capture.

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are widely used in the gas sensing field, owing to their high surface-to-volume ratio enabled by the two-dimensional (2D) structure, adjustable band gap, and high electron transfer. However, it is challenging for TMD materials to realize superior CO2 sensing, due to their weak CO2 adsorption capacity. Herein, we predict through density functional theory (DFT) calculations that rare earth metal doping is an effective strategy to boost the CO2 sensing capability of TMDs. As a proof-of-concept, we investigate and find that the introduction of rare earth metal atoms (La, Ce, Pr, or Nd) can induce lattice strain and modulate the electronic properties of MoS2. When negative charges are injected in rare earth metal doped MoS2 (R-MoS2), the 5d or 4f orbital of the rare earth metal atom in R-MoS2 can produce a stronger orbital hybridization with 2p orbitals of C and O in CO2. Therefore, the CO2 adsorption is significantly enhanced and the charge transfer is facilitated for negatively charged R-MoS2. Moreover, negatively charged R-MoS2 exhibits an excellent CO2 selectivity. Our results indicate that the rare earth metal doping and electronic modulation in 2D materials may provide a new pathway for CO2 sensing and capture.

Interactions among lump optical solitons for coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation with variable coefficient via bilinear method.

In this paper, a non-autonomous (3+1) dimensional coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with variable coefficients in optical fiber communication is analyzed. By means of bilinear technique and symbolic computations, new multi-soliton solutions of the coupled model in different trigonometric and lump functions are given. Then, in terms of perturbed waves, considering the steady state solution and the small perturbation on the three directions x, y, z and the time t, the soliton transmission are also considered. The behaviour of interaction among lump periodic soliton is studied and optical soliton solutions are reached. This study has certain significance for the analysis of other nonlinear dispersion systems and the application of optical physics. The results are presented through graphs generated by using Maple. The important feature of the proposed study is to show different behaviour of the soliton at each component. The behaviour of solitons, their interactions, and their transformations are all governed by the fundamental concept of energy conservation in all three examples. We demonstrate the efficiency of our suggested methodology for analyzing the NLSE equations using the numerical simulations and analytical tools, yielding fresh insights into their behaviour and solutions. Our findings help to develop mathematical tools for investigating nonlinear partial differential equation (NLPDEs) and provide new insights on the dynamics of NLSE equations, which have implications for many domains of physics and applied mathematics.

Unraveling the Influential Mechanisms of Social Commerce Overloads on User Disengagement: The Buffer Effect of Guanxi.

Purpose: Although user engagement has been paid increasing attention, the work on user disengagement is scarce, and little is understood about how overloads elicited by excessive social commerce activities affect user disengagement. Based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework and psychological reactance theory (PRT), the authors aimed to investigate the effects of social commerce overloads (SCOs) on user disengagement, its influential mechanism, and the buffer effect of guanxi. Participants and Methods: The authors conducted an online survey to collect the data and then examined our theoretical model and hypotheses. This study employed SPSS 20.0 software and Amos 24.0 software to examine the hypothesized relationships and the model. Results: Social commerce overloads (ie, information overload (IO), social overload (SO), and communication overload (CO)) positively impact reactance via inferences of manipulative intent (IMI) and compulsive perception (CP); IMI and CP positively influence reactance; IMI, CP, and reactance positively affect user disengagement (ie, neglecting behavior and blocking behavior); guanxi has the buffer effect on the relationship between IMI (CP) and user disengagement, negatively moderates the impacts of IMI on user disengagement (ie, neglecting behavior and blocking behavior), and negatively moderates the effects of CP on blocking behavior but not neglecting behavior. Conclusion: The findings of this study contribute to the literature on PRT and user disengagement by displaying the effects of excessive social commerce activities on user disengagement and uncovering the buffer effect of guanxi, which can help social e-commerce practitioners better reduce the negative effect of social commerce overloads.

Multi-response optimization toward efficient and clean (co-)combustions of textile dyeing sludge and second-generation feedstock.

The rapid growth of textile dyeing sludge (TDS) necessitates feeding it back into a circular economy in an efficient and clean way. This study aimed to optimize the clean and efficient operational conditions to co-combust TDS and incense sticks (IS). The (co-)-combustions exhibited four distinctive stages of thermal degradation. According to the master-plots method, the reaction mechanisms of reaction order (F2.4 and F1.5), three-dimensional diffusion (D3), and nucleation growth (A1.5) best explained the four stages, respectively. The interaction between TDS and IS exerted an inhibition effect in the range of 400-500 °C and a facilitation effect in the range of 600-1000 °C. At 300 °C as the main reaction temperature, the main evolved gas and functional groups such as CO2, H2O, CH4, CË­O, C-O, and C-H were detected. The addition of IS improved the comprehensive combustion index, inhibited SO2, but enhanced CO2, HCN, and NOx emissions. CaO in IS enabled Fe to remain in TDS and fixed more S in ash. Multi-response optimizations based on the best-fit artificial neural networks revealed the range of 545-605 °C and the co-combustion of 25% TDS and 75% IS as the cleaner and more efficient operational conditions.

Comparative thermogravimetric analyses of co-combustion of textile dyeing sludge and sugarcane bagasse in carbon dioxide/oxygen and nitrogen/oxygen atmospheres: Thermal conversion characteristics, kinetics, and thermodynamics.

Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of co-combustion of textile dyeing sludge (TDS) and sugarcane bagasse (SB) were studied using thermogravimetric analysis in CO2/O2 and N2/O2 atmospheres. Our results showed that the comprehensive combustion characteristic index (CCI) of the blends was improved by 1.71-4.32 times. With the increased O2 concentration, co-combustion peak temperature decreased from 329.7 to 318.2 °C, with an increase in its maximum weight loss rate from 10.04 to 14.99%/min and its CCI by 1.31 times (ß = 20 °C·min-1). To evaluate the co-combustion characteristics, thermodynamic and kinetic parameters (entropy, Gibbs free energy and enthalpy changes, and apparent activation energy) were obtained in the five atmospheres. The lowest apparent activation energy of the TB64 blend was obtained in oxy-fuel atmosphere (CO2/O2 = 7/3).

Combustion behaviors of spent mushroom substrate using TG-MS and TG-FTIR: Thermal conversion, kinetic, thermodynamic and emission analyses.

The present study systematically investigated the combustion characteristics of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) using TG-MS (thermogravimetric/mass spectrometry) and TG-FTIR (thermogravimetric/Fourier transform infrared spectrometry) under five heating rates. The physicochemical characteristics and combustion index pointed to SMS as a promising biofuel for power generation. The high correlation coefficient of the fitting plots and similar activation energy calculated by various methods indicated that four suitable iso-conversional methods were used. The activation energy varied from 130.06 to 192.95 kJ/mol with a mean value of 171.49 kJ/mol using Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and decreased with the increased conversion degree. The most common emissions peaked at the range of 200-400 °C corresponding to volatile combustion stage, except for CO2, NO2 and NO. The peak CO2 emission occurred at 439.11 °C mainly due to the combustion of fixed carbon.