Constructing a 3D Bi2WO6/ZnIn2S4 direct Z-scheme heterostructure for improved photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance.

Developing efficient heterojunction photocatalysts with enhanced charge transfer and reduced recombination rates of photogenerated carriers is crucial for harnessing solar energy in the photocatalytic CO2 reduction into renewable fuels. This study employed electrostatic self-assembly techniques to construct a 3D Bi2WO6/ZnIn2S4 direct Z-scheme heterojunctions. The unique 3D structure provided abundant active sites and facilitated CO2 adsorption. Moreover, the optimized Bi2WO6/ZnIn2S4 composite demonstrated an impressive CH4 yield of 19.54 µmol g-1 under 4 h of simulated sunlight irradiation, which was about 8.73 and 16.30-fold higher than pure ZnIn2S4 and Bi2WO6. The observed enhancements in photocatalytic performance are attributed to forming a direct Z-scheme heterojunction, which effectively promotes charge transport and migration. This research introduces a novel strategy for constructing photocatalysts through the synergistic effect of morphological interface modifications.

In Situ Fabrication of Heterogeneous Co/Nanoporous Carbon Nano-Islands for Excellent Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

High-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers are essential for addressing electromagnetic pollution and military security. However, challenges remain in realizing cost-effectiveness and modulating absorbing properties. In this study, heterogeneous Co/nanoporous carbon (NPC) nano-islands are prepared by efficient method co-precipitation combined with in situ pyrolysis. The multi-regulation strategy of morphology, graphitization, and defect density is achieved by modulating the pyrolysis temperature. Adjusting the pyrolysis temperature can effectively balance the conductivity and defect density, optimizing the impedance matching and enhancing the attenuation. Furthermore, it facilitates obtaining the appropriate shape and size of Co magnetic nanoparticles (Co-MNPs), triggering strong surface plasmon resonance. This resonance, in turn, bolsters the synergy of dielectric and magnetic loss. The incorporation of porous nanostructures not only optimizes impedance matching and enhances multiple reflections but also improves interfacial polarization. Additionally, the presence of enriched defects and heteroatom doping significantly enhances dipole polarization. Notably, the absorber exhibits an impressive minimum reflection loss (RLmin ) of -73.87 dB and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax ) of 6.64 GHz. The combination of efficient fabrication methods, a performance regulation strategy through pyrolysis temperature modulation, and radar cross section (RCS) simulation provides a high-performance EMW absorber and can pave the way for large-scale applications.

Spongy ternary nano-composites with optimized impedance matching and synergistic effect for broadband and strong microwave absorption.

To counter the negative effects of electromagnetic radiation on the immunity of precision instruments, the stealthiness of military equipment, and human health, the preparation of porous multi-component nano-composites is considered an effective strategy to obtain efficient microwave absorption. In this work, the spongy ternary nano-composites (STC) with large specific surface area (SSA) and pore volume obtained by adjusting the calcination temperature, the porous effectively improves the impedance matching. The ternary composition of FeCo/Fe0.45Ni0.55/C, large SSA and pore volume provide abundant specific surface/interface for polarization and magnetization, the continuous conductive network is established, the strong dielectric and magnetic loss achieve a synergistic effect, realizing strong absorption in the low-frequency, greatly reducing the minimum reflection loss (RLmin, -56.37 dB) and broadening the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, 7.45 GHz). The microwave absorption mechanism has been analyzed in detail and its great potential for practical applications has been verified by RCS signal simulations. This research provides an effective method for fabricating high-performance ternary nano-composite microwave absorbers.

Three-Step Synthesis of the Antiepileptic Drug Candidate Pynegabine.

Pynegabine, an antiepileptic drug candidate in phase I clinical trials, is a structural analog of the marketed drug retigabine with improved chemical stability, strong efficacy, and a better safety margin. The reported shortest synthetic route for pynegabine contains six steps and involves the manipulation of highly toxic methyl chloroformate and dangerous hydrogen gas. To improve the feasibility of drug production, we developed a concise, three-step process using unconventional methoxycarbonylation and highly efficient Buchwald-Hartwig cross coupling. The new synthetic route generated pynegabine at the decagram scale without column chromatographic purification and avoided the dangerous manipulation of hazardous reagents.

Organic Cation Diffusion-Induced Heterogeneous Viscoelasticity in Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskite Polycrystalline Films.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite (OIHP) polycrystalline films are the key light-absorbing layers of laminated-structure OIHP-based devices that have attracted increasing attention in photoelectronics and flexible electronics. Internal stresses induced by the mismatched responses of laminated layers to long-term and cyclic multiphysical fields generate time-dependent mechanical deformation in OIHP polycrystalline films, which makes the mechanical constitution relation of great significance. However, few studies focus on either the mechanical properties and behaviors of OIHP polycrystalline films or the underlying mechanism coupled with the grain structure and ion diffusion. Here, we uncovered the heterogeneous viscoelasticity of MAPbBr3 films strongly correlated with the grain structure. Combining experiments and modeling, we revealed that the organic cation diffusion from grain interiors to grain boundaries leads to heterogeneity in the chemical distribution and viscoelastic modulus. Our work provides the nanomechanical understanding of the OIHP polycrystalline films that are crucial for safety design and performance optimization in OIHP-based electronics.

The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Safety Behaviour: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Leadership behavior has an impact on the behavior of employees. Previous studies have mainly studied the impact of positive leadership behaviors on employees' behaviors, but there is an absence of research on the impact of negative leadership behaviours (abusive supervision) on safety behaviours (including safety participation and safety compliance). In this study, 599 front-line employees in the petrochemical industry were selected as subjects. Abusive supervision, safety behaviour, safety motivation and a conscientiousness questionnaire were used as measurements to explore the relationship between abusive supervision and employee safety behaviors, and to further explore the roles of safety motivation, conscientiousness and the relationship between them. This study found that abusive supervision is negatively related to employee safety behaviours (safety compliance and safety participation); that safety motivation plays a mediating role in the relationship between abusive supervision and employees' safety behavior; and that conscientiousness moderates the role of safety motivation between the relationship of abusive supervision and employees' safety behaviour. With a higher level of conscientiousness, the indirect relationship between abusive supervision and employee safety behaviours is weaker. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical significance of these findings for abusive supervision and the management of safety behaviours.

Investigation of the mental health status of frontier-line and non-frontier-line medical staff during a stress period.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has become a global public health event. Medical staff around the world are nervously responding to the crisis, and their mental health problems deserve attention. To better know the differences in the mental health status between frontier-line and non-frontier-line medical staff. This study used the Child PTSD Symptom Scale, the Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale to examine the PTSD, depression, anxiety and resilience among 162 frontier-line medical workers and 163 non-frontier-line medical workers in China. The results showed that all negative factor scores of non-frontier-line medical staff seemed to be worse than those of frontier-line medical staff, and the positive factor scores were the opposite through descriptive analysis, independent sample t-test and Chi-square test. Some psychological effects and theories were used to explain this phenomenon. Intervention suggestions for medical staff and future research directions were discussed.

Global Dynamic Molecular Profiling of Stomatal Lineage Cell Development by Single-Cell RNA Sequencing.

The regulation of stomatal lineage cell development has been extensively investigated. However, a comprehensive characterization of this biological process based on single-cell transcriptome analysis has not yet been reported. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing on 12 844 individual cells from the cotyledons of 5-day-old Arabidopsis seedlings. We identified 11 cell clusters corresponding mostly to cells at specific stomatal developmental stages using a series of marker genes. Comparative analysis of genes with the highest variable expression among these cell clusters revealed transcriptional networks that regulate development from meristemoid mother cells to guard mother cells. Examination of the developmental dynamics of marker genes via pseudo-time analysis revealed potential interactions between these genes. Collectively, our study opens the door for understanding how the identified novel marker genes participate in the regulation of stomatal lineage cell development.

WRKY33-PIF4 loop is required for the regulation of H2O2 homeostasis.

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously produced and are essential for mediating the growth and development of plants. However too much accumulation of ROS can result in the oxidative damage to cells, especially under the adverse environmental conditions. Plants have evolved sophisticated strategies to regulate the homeostasis of H2O2. In this study, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants in the Ws ecotype (Ws) background in which WRKY33 is co-suppressed (csWRKY33/Ws). Compared with Ws, csWRKY33/Ws plants accumulate more H2O2. RNA-seq analysis indicated that in csWRKY33/Ws plants, expression of oxidative stress related genes such as ascorbate peroxidase 2 (APX2) is affected. Over-expression of APX2 can rescue the phenotype of csWRKY33/Ws, suggesting that the changes in the growth of csWRKY33/Ws is duo to the higher accumulation of H2O2. Analysis of the CHIP-seq data suggested that WRKY33 can directly regulate the expression of PIF4, vice versa. qPCR analysis also confirmed that the mutual regulation between WRKY33 and PIF4. Similar to that of csWRKY33/Ws, and the accumulation of H2O2 in pif4 also increased. Taken together, our results reveal a WRKY33-PIF4 regulatory loop that appears to play an important role in regulating the growth and development of seedlings by mediating H2O2 homeostasis.

COE 1 and GUN1 regulate the adaptation of plants to high light stress.

In order to withstand high light (HL) stress, plants have evolved both short-term defense and repair mechanisms and long-term acclimation responses. At present, however, the underlying signaling events and molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. Analysis of the mutants coe1, coe1 gun1 double mutant and oeGUN1coe1 revealed increased sensitivity to HL stress as compared to wild type (WT), with oeGUN1 coe1 plants displaying the highest sensitivity. Accumulation of FTSH2 protein and degradation of D1 protein during the HL stress were shown to depend on both COE1 and GUN1. Overexpression of COE1 enhanced the induction of FTSH2 and the tolerance to HL stress. These results indicate that the COE1-GUN1 signaling pathway plays an important role in regulating the adaptation of plants to HL.

Profiling of the Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1a (RACK1a) interaction network in Arabidopsis thaliana.

As a scaffold protein, Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1a (RACK1) interacts with many proteins and is involved in multiple biological processes in Arabidopsis. However, the global RACK1 protein interaction network in higher plants remains poorly understood. Here, we generated a yeast two-hybrid library using mixed samples from different developmental stages of Arabidopsis thaliana. Using RACK1a as bait, we performed a comprehensive screening of the resulting library to identify RACK1a interactors at the whole-transcriptome level. We selected 1065 independent positive clones that led to the identification of 215 RACK1a interactors. We classified these interactors into six groups according to their potential functions. Several interactors were selected for bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis and their interaction with RACK1a was confirmed in vivo. Our results provide further insight into the molecular mechanisms through which RACK1a regulates various growth and development processes in higher plants.

Heterogeneous CPU+GPU-Enabled Simulations for DFTB Molecular Dynamics of Large Chemical and Biological Systems.

We introduce a new heterogeneous CPU+GPU-enhanced DFTB approach for the routine and efficient simulation of large chemical and biological systems. Compared to homogeneous computing with conventional CPUs, heterogeneous computing approaches exhibit substantial performance with only a modest increase in power consumption, both of which are essential to upcoming exascale computing initiatives. We show that DFTB-based molecular dynamics is a natural candidate for heterogeneous computing, since the computational bottleneck in these simulations is the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix, which is performed several times during a single molecular dynamics trajectory. To thoroughly test and understand the performance of our heterogeneous CPU+GPU approach, we examine a variety of algorithmic implementations, benchmarks of different hardware configurations, and applications of this methodology on several large chemical and biological systems. Finally, to demonstrate the capability of our implementation, we conclude with a large-scale DFTB MD simulation of explicitly solvated HIV protease (3974 atoms total) as a proof-of-concept example of an extremely large/complex system which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first time that an entire explicitly solvated protein has been treated at a quantum-based MD level of detail.

Integrated Flexible, Waterproof, Transparent, and Self-Powered Tactile Sensing Panel.

Portable and wearable electronic devices are human-centered devices; therefore, many unique attributes are highly desirable, such as flexibility, being self-powered, and waterproof. These properties render devices excellent adaptivity in harsh operation environments. In this work, we report an integrated triboelectric tactile sensor array with flexible, transparent, self-powered, and waterproof features. Each tactile sensor is a surface nano/microtexture enhanced triboelectric nanogenerator. The sensor array can serve as a touch panel for electronic devices. Owing to a unique design of a built-in triboelectric contact pair and an electrical shielding layer, an individual pixel of the fabricated tactile sensor array can generate an open circuit voltage up to 1.613 V and a short circuit current density of 47.308 mA/m(2) under 612.5 kPa. The tactile sensors can produce stable voltage signals regardless of the materials of the touching objects, and work stably both in ambient and aqueous environments. To examine the touch panel function of a sensor array, a matrix of 10 × 10 individually addressable 4 mm × 4 mm triboelectric sensors has been integrated into a thin, transparent, and flexible film, and the 2-D touch mapping has been successfully demonstrated. The unique triboelectric tactile sensor array reported here is robust and highly versatile, and it may find broad applications in display, wearable electronics, artificial skins, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.

Genome sequences of Pseudomonas fragi strains A22 and B25.

Pseudomonas fragi A22 is a novel isolate that produces bead-like particles (A22B) in its cell wall. To explore the genetic basis for the formation of A22B, P. fragi A22 and the type strain of the species, P. fragi B25, were subjected to genome sequence analysis. Here, we report the draft genome sequences and automatic annotation of both strains. These data offer a solid base for related studies of P. fragi, including comparative genomics, proteomics, and gene mining.