[Effects of long-term positioning tillage on13C assimilate distribution and grain yield formation in wheat]. / 长期定位耕作模式对小麦13CåŒåŒ–ç‰©åˆ†é å’Œç±½ç²’äº§é‡å½¢æˆçš„å½±å“.

To provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the high-yield and high-efficiency production of wheat, we examined the effects of different tillage patterns on wheat grain yield of Jimai 22 and the physiological mechanisms in an experiment with three treatments: 14 years in rotary tillage (R), minimal and no tillage (S), and minimal and no tillage with a 2-year subsoiling interval (SS). We assessed the light interception by wheat plant canopy, the distribution of photosynthate transport, and grain yield for the three cultivation modes. The results showed that leaf area index was significantly higher for SS treatment than the other treatments at 14-28 days after anthesis. The interception rate and amount of photosynthetically active radiation in the upper and middle layers of wheat canopy were significantly higher for SS treatment than R and S treatments at 21 days after anthesis. The contribution rate of grain assimilation and the distribution proportion of 13C assimilated in grain, and the maximum and average filling rates, were the highest under SS treatment. The 1000-kernel weight for SS treatment increased by 8.7% and 9.6%, and the grain yield increased by 14.2% and 19.4% compared with R and S treatments, respectively. SS treatment significantly improved light energy utilization by wheat canopy, promoted the accumulation and transport of dry matter, increased the grain-filling rate, increased grain weight, which together contributed to the highest grain yield. Therefore, SS was the optimal tillage pattern under the conditions of this experiment.

The adsorption behavior of perfluorooctane sulphonate on diamane regulated by strain.

The adsorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), is currently a critical issue in the environmental domain, yet it is not fully understood. Diamane, as a stable monolayer adsorbent, has garnered significant research interest. Defects and strain are reported to play a crucial role in regulating its electronic structure. In this study, we employ density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the adsorption of PFOS on both pristine and nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) defected diamane, respectively. Additionally, we systematically examine the effects of strain in diamane along both the a- and b-directions (two directions of a monolayer) on PFOS adsorption. This analysis involves studying the adsorption energy (Eads), electron transfer, and the partial density of states. Finally, we propose the synergistic effects of N-V defects and compression strain in diamane, which enhance PFOS adsorption. Diamane is considered a promising candidate for PFOS sensing or capture.

[Landscape Pattern Vulnerability and Its Driving Forces in Different Geomorphological Divisions in the Middle Yellow River].

The ecological environment of the middle Yellow River is highly vulnerable. Conducting a scientific assessment of landscape pattern vulnerability holds great significance, as it serves as the basis for the rational construction of the ecological environment in this area. Based on five periods of land use data from the middle Yellow River from 1990 to 2018, the landscape pattern vulnerability index was employed to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of the landscape pattern vulnerability. Furthermore, the influencing factors for landscape pattern vulnerability in different natural geomorphological divisions were explored using an optimal parameters-based geographical detector model. The results showed that:① From 1990 to 2018, cultivated land (which accounted for 36.96 % to 39.97 % of the area) remained the predominant landscape in the middle Yellow River. Among all landscape types, cultivated land and construction land exhibited the most significant changes. The area of cultivated land decreased by 10 185.00 km2, whereas the area of construction land increased by 7 678.46 km2. ② From 1990 to 2018, the landscape pattern was dominated by low and medium vulnerability and accounted for 70 %-80 % of the total area. The high and higher vulnerability areas were concentrated in the loess hilly and gully region, whereas the lower vulnerability area was concentrated in the valley plain and the earth-rock mountain regions. During this period, landscape pattern vulnerability underwent an incipient decrease, followed by a subsequent increase. From 1990 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2005, the changes in the level of landscape pattern vulnerability were dominated by a "reduction in the degree of vulnerability". However, from 2005 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2018, it was mainly an "increase in the degree of vulnerability". ③ Annual precipitation and NDVI were the main factors influencing the vulnerability of landscape patterns, whereas the influencing factors varied across different natural geomorphological divisions:the loess hilly and gully region and the earth-rock mountain region were dominated by natural factors, with annual precipitation and DEM being the dominant factors, respectively; the loess plateau tableland-gully region, valley plain region, and sandy land and desert region were dominated by human factors, with population density, degree of land use, and distance from roads being the dominant factors, respectively. The interaction results of any two influencing factors were manifested as two-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement. Risk detection revealed that high vulnerability areas of landscape patterns in different natural geomorphological divisions were distributed over distinct ranges of their corresponding dominant factors. Therefore, in the practices of ecological management in the middle Yellow River, appropriate management strategies should be implemented based on the vulnerability characteristics of different natural landforms, to further improve the ecological management level of the watershed.

Flexoelectric Engineering of Bulk Photovoltaic Photodetector.

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) offers an interesting approach to generate a steady photocurrent in a single-phase material under homogeneous illumination, and it has been extensively investigated in ferroelectrics exhibiting spontaneous polarization that breaks inversion symmetry. Flexoelectricity breaks inversion symmetry via a strain gradient in the otherwise nonpolar materials, enabling manipulation of ferroelectric order without an electric field. Combining these two effects, we demonstrate active mechanical control of BPVE in suspended 2-dimensional CuInP2S6 (CIPS) that is ferroelectric yet sensitive to electric field, which enables practical photodetection with an order of magnitude enhancement in performance. The suspended CIPS exhibits a 20-fold increase in photocurrent, which can be continuously modulated by either mechanical force or light polarization. The flexoelectrically engineered photodetection device, activated by air pressure and without any optimization, possesses a responsivity of 2.45 × 10-2 A/W and a detectivity of 1.73 × 1011 jones, which are superior to those of ferroelectric-based photodetection and comparable to those of the commercial Si photodiode.

U-shaped association between fasting blood glucose and suicide attempts in Chinese patients with first-episode drug-naïve major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Evidence regarding the relationship between fasting blood glucose (FBG) and suicide attempts (SA) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) was limited. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate whether FBG was independently related to SA in Chinese patients with first-episode drug-naïve (FEDN) MDD after adjusting for other covariates. METHODS: The present study was a cross-sectional study. A total of 1718 participants (average age: 34.9 ± 12.4 years, 65.8% females) with FEDN MDD were involved in a hospital in China from September 2016 to December 2018. Multiple logistic regression analysis and smooth curve fitting were used to estimate the association between FBG and the risk of SA. The threshold effect was examined by the two-piecewise linear regression model. Interaction and stratified analyses were conducted according to sex, education, marital status, comorbid anxiety, and psychotic symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of SA in patients with FEDN MDD was 20.1%. The result of fully adjusted binary logistic regression showed FBG was positively associated with the risk of SA (odds ratio (OR) = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.13-2.32). Smoothing plots also revealed a nonlinear relationship between FBG and SA, with the inflection point of FBG being 5.34 mmol/l. The effect sizes and the confidence intervals on the left and right sides of the inflection point were 0.53 (0.32-0.88, P = 0.014) and 1.48 (1.04-2.10, P = 0.030), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A U-shaped relationship between FBG and SA in FEDN MDD patients was found, with the lowest risk of SA at a FBG of 5.34 mmol/l, indicating that both the lower and higher FBG levels may lead to an increased risk of SA.

The Gradient Effect on Cyclic Behavior of 316L Stainless Steel in the Ultrasonic Bending Test.

Nanoindentation measurements were conducted to investigate the high-cycle response of 316L stainless steel in bending fatigue. Hardness variation owing to the gradient flexure stress amplitude for different curvatures was plotted along with the thickness and length, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was subsequently conducted to explore the deformation characteristics in multiple layers, which had cyclic gradient stress, on the cross-section of specimens. The nanoindentation results indicated that the cyclic hardening response of 316L stainless steel is correlated with the level of stress amplitude in the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) regime. Furthermore, an analytical model was proposed to clarify the relationship between nanohardness and stress amplitude. Finally, the evolution of damage accumulation due to irreversible plastic deformation is continuous during stress reduction up to the neighboring zone at the neutral surface of the flexure beam in some individual grains.

Correction: Li et al. Recovery Behavior of the Macro-Cracks in Elevated Temperature-Damaged Concrete after Post-Fire Curing. Materials 2022, 15, 5673.

Following publication, concerns relating to the relevance of a number of citations recommend by a peer reviewer were brought to the attention of the Editorial Office [...].

Activating the Intrinsic Zincophilicity of PAM Hydrogel to Stabilize the Metal-Electrolyte Dynamic Interface for Stable and Long-Life Zinc Metal Batteries.

As a potential material to solve rampant dendrites and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) problem of aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMB), hydrogel electrolytes usually require additional additives or multi-molecular network strategies to solve existing problems of ionic conductivity, mechanical properties and interface stability. However, the intrinsic zincophilic properties of the gel itself are widely neglected leading to the addition of additional molecules and the complexity of the preparation process. In this work, we innovatively utilize the characteristics of acrylamide's high zincophilic group density, activating the intrinsic zincophilic properties of PAM gel through a simple concentration control strategy which reconstructs a novel zinc-electrolyte interface different from conventional PAM electrolyte. The activated novel gel electrolyte with intrinsic zincophilic properties has high ionic conductivity and effectively suppresses water activity, thereby inhibiting HER corrosion. Meanwhile, it induces uniform deposition of (002) crystal planes, leading to excellent deposition kinetics and long cycle life, thereby ensuring high interfacial stability. Compared with conventional PAM gel electrolytes, the activated zincophilic group-rich hydrogel maintained excellent cycling stability (1 mA/cm2, 1 mAh/cm2) over 2250 hours; The Zn//MnO2 coin cell using novel zincophilic group -rich hydrogel still retains a high specific capacity of more than 170 mAh/g at 0.5 A/g after 1000 cycles.

Regulation of bone homeostasis by traditional Chinese medicine active scaffolds and enhancement for the osteoporosis bone regeneration.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as naringin (NG), Eucommiol, isopsoralen, icariin, Astragalus polysaccharides, and chondroitin sulfate, contained in Drynariae Rhizoma, Eucommiae Cortex, Psoralea corylifolia, Herba Epimedii, Astragalus radix and deer antler, are considered promising candidates for enhancing the healing of osteoporotic defects due to their outstanding bone homeostasis regulating properties. They are commonly used to activate bone repair scaffolds. AIM OF THE REVIEW: Bone repair scaffolds are inadequate to meet the demands of osteoporotic defect healing due to the lack of regulation of bone homeostasis. Therefore, selecting bone scaffolds activated with TCM to improve the therapeutic effect of repairing osteoporotic bone defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To gather information on bone scaffold activated by traditional Chinese medicine, we conducted a thorough search of several scientific databases, including Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scifinder, Baidu Scholar, PubMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). RESULTS: This review discusses the mechanism of TCM active ingredients in regulating bone homeostasis, including stimulating bone formation and inhibiting bone resorption process and the healing mechanism of traditional bone repair scaffolds activated by them for osteoporotic defect healing. CONCLUSION: In general, the introduction of TCM active ingredients provides a novel therapeutic approach for modulating bone homeostasis and facilitating osteoporotic defect healing, and also offers a new strategy for design of other unconventional bone defect healing materials.

High-Entropy Strategy for Improved Mechanical and Energy Storage Properties in BaTiO3-BiFeO3-Based Ceramics.

Dielectric capacitors are employed extensively due to their exceptional performance, including a rapid charge-discharge speed and superior power density. However, their practical implementation is hindered by constraints in energy-storage density (ESD), efficiency (ESE), and thermal stability. To achieve domain engineering and improved relaxor behavior in 0.67BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3-based Pb-free ceramics, the concerns have been addressed here by employing a synergistic high-entropy strategy involving the design of the composition of Sr(Mg1/6Zn1/6Ta1/3Nb1/3)O3 with B-site multielement coexistence and high configuration entropy. Remarkably, in (0.67-x)BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3-xSr(Mg1/6Zn1/6Ta1/3Nb1/3)O3 ceramics with x = 0.08, a good ESE (η) of 75% and a recoverable ESD (Wrec) of 2.4 J/cm3 at 190 kV/cm were attained together with an ultrahigh hardness of ∼7.2 GPa. The high-entropy strategy, which is tailored by an increase in configuration entropy, can be attributed to the superior mechanical and ES properties. It also explains the enhanced random field and relaxation behavior, the structural coexistence of ferroelectric rhombohedral (R3c) and nonpolar pseudocubic (Pm-3m) symmetries, the decreased domain size, and evenly distributed polar nanoregions (PNRs). Moreover, improved thermal stability and outstanding frequency stability are also obtained. By boosting the configuration entropy, BiFeO3-BaTiO3 materials dramatically improved their complete energy storage performance. This suggests that designing high-performance dielectrics with high entropy can be a convenient yet effective technique, leading to the development of advanced capacitors.

Penisimplicins A and B: Novel Polyketide-Peptide Hybrid Alkaloids from the Fungus Penicillium simplicissimum JXCC5.

In this study, two previously undescribed nitrogen-containing compounds, penisimplicins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from Penicillium simplicissimum JXCC5. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configuration of 2 was determined by Marfey's method, ECD calculation, and DP4+ analysis. Both structures of 1 and 2 feature an unprecedented manner of amino acid-derivatives attaching to a polyketide moiety by C-C bond. The postulated biosynthetic pathways for 1 and 2 were discussed. Additionally, compound 1 exhibited significant acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of 6.35 µM.

Molecular modulation of interfaces in a Z-scheme van der Waals heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

The construction of van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions is a key approach for efficient and stable photocatalysts, attracting marvellous attention due to their capacity to enhance interfacial charge separation/transfer and offer reactive sites. However, when a vdW heterojunction is made through an ex-situ assembly, electron transmission faces notable obstacles at the components interface due to the substantial spacing and potential barrier. Herein, we present a novel strategy to address this challenge via wet chemistry by synthesizing a functionalized graphene-modulated Z-scheme vdW heterojunction of zinc phthalocyanine/tungsten trioxide (xZnPc/yG-WO3). The functionalized G-modulation forms an electron "bridge" across the ZnPc/WO3 interface to improve electron transfer, get rid of barriers, and ultimately facilitating the optimal transfer of excited photoelectrons from WO3 to ZnPc. The Zn2+ in ZnPc picks up these excited photoelectrons, turning CO2 into CO/CH4 (42/22 µmol.g-1.h-1) to deliver 17-times better efficiency than pure WO3. Therefore, the introduction of a molecular "bridge" as a means to establish an electron transfer conduit represents an innovative approach to fabricate efficient photocatalysts designed for the conversion of CO2 into valued yields.

Dimeric Giant Molecule Acceptors Featuring N-type Linker: Enhancing Intramolecular Coupling for High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells.

Giant molecular acceptors (GMAs) are typically designed through the conjugated linking of individual small molecule acceptors (SMAs). This design imparts an extended molecular size, elevating the glass transition temperature (Tg) relative to their SMA counterparts. Consequently, it effectively suppresses the thermodynamic relaxation of the acceptor component when blended with polymer donors to construct stable polymer solar cells (PSCs). Despite their merits, the optimization of their chemical structure for further enhancing of device performance remains challenge. Different from previous reports utilizing p-type linkers, here, we explore an n-type linker, specifically the benzothiadiazole unit, to dimerize the SMA units via a click-like Knoevenagel condensation, affording BT-DL. In comparison with B-DL with a benzene linkage, BT-DL exhibits significantly stronger intramolecular super-exchange coupling, a desirable property for the acceptor component. Furthermore, BT-DL demonstrates a higher film absorption coefficient, redshifted absorption, larger crystalline coherence, and higher electron mobility. These inherent advantages of BT-DL translate into a higher power conversion efficiency of 18.49 % in PSCs, a substantial improvement over the 9.17 % efficiency observed in corresponding devices with B-DL as the acceptor. Notably, the BT-DL based device exhibits exceptional stability, retaining over 90 % of its initial efficiency even after enduring 1000 hours of thermal stress at 90 °C. This work provides a cost-effective approach to the synthesis of n-type linker-dimerized GMAs, and highlight their potential advantage in enhancing intramolecular coupling for more efficient and durable photovoltaic technologies.

Anti-inflammatory response-based risk assessment in acute type A aortic dissection: A national multicenter cohort study.

Background: Early identification of patients at high risk of operative mortality is important for acute type A aortic dissection (TAAD). We aimed to investigate whether patients with distinct risk stratifications respond differently to anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy. Methods: From 13 cardiovascular hospitals, 3110 surgically repaired TAAD patients were randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a test set (30%) to develop and validate a risk model to predict operative mortality using extreme gradient boosting. Performance was measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Subgroup analyses were performed by risk stratifications (low versus middle-high risk) and anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy (absence versus presence of ulinastatin use). Results: A simplified risk model was developed for predicting operative mortality, consisting of the top ten features of importance: platelet-leukocyte ratio, D-dimer, activated partial thromboplastin time, urea nitrogen, glucose, lactate, base excess, hemoglobin, albumin, and creatine kinase-MB, which displayed a superior discrimination ability (AUC: 0.943, 95 % CI 0.928-0.958 and 0.884, 95 % CI 0.836-0.932) in the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. Ulinastatin use was not associated with decreased risk of operative mortality among each risk stratification, however, ulinastatin use was associated with a shorter mechanical ventilation duration among patients with middle-high risk (defined as risk probability >5.0 %) (ß -1.6 h, 95 % CI [-3.1, -0.1] hours; P = 0.048). Conclusion: This risk model reflecting inflammatory, coagulation, and metabolic pathways achieved acceptable predictive performances of operative mortality following TAAD surgery, which will contribute to individualized anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy.

Tethered Trimeric Small-molecular Acceptors through Aromatic-core Engineering for Highly Efficient and Thermally Stable Polymer Solar Cells.

Polymer solar cells (PSCs) rely on a blend of small molecular acceptors (SMAs) with polymer donors, where thermodynamic relaxation of SMAs poses critical concerns on operational stability. To tackle this issue, tethered SMAs, wherein multiple SMA-subunits are connected to the aromatic-core via flexible chains, are proposed. This design aims to an elevated glass transition temperature (Tg) for a dynamical control. However, attaining an elevated Tg value with additional SMA subunits introduces complexity to the molecular packing, posing a significant challenge in realizing both high stability and power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this study, we initiate isomer engineering on the benzene-carboxylate core and find that meta-positioned dimeric BDY-ß exhibits more favorable molecular packing compared to its para-positioned counterpart, BDY-α. With this encouraging result, we expand our approach by introducing an additional SMA unit onto the aromatic core of BDY-ß, maintaining a meta-position relative to each SMA unit location in the tethered acceptor. This systematic aromatic-core engineering results in a star-shaped C3h-positioned molecular geometry. The supramolecular interactions of SMA units in the trimer contribute to enhancements in Tg value, crystallinity, and a red-shifted absorption compared to dimers. These characteristics result in a noteworthy increase in PCE to 18.24 %, coupled with a remarkable short-circuit current density of 27.06 mA cm-2. More significantly, the trimer-based devices delivered an excellent thermal stability with over 95 % of their initial efficiency after 1200 h thermal degradation. Our findings underscore the promise and feasibility of tethered trimeric structures in achieving highly ordered aggregation behavior and increased Tg value in PSCs, simultaneously improving in device efficiency and thermal stability.

Enhancing Photocatalytic CO2 Conversion through Oxygen-Vacancy-Mediated Topological Phase Transition.

Weak adsorption of gas reactants and strong binding of intermediates present a significant challenge for most transition metal oxides, particularly in the realm of CO2 photoreduction. Herein, we demonstrate that the adsorption can be fine-tuned by phase engineering of oxide catalysts. An oxygen vacancy mediated topological phase transition in Ni-Co oxide nanowires, supported on a hierarchical graphene aerogel (GA), is observed from a spinel phase to a rock-salt phase. Such in situ phase transition empowers the Ni-Co oxide catalyst with a strong internal electric field and the attainment of abundant oxygen vacancies. Among a series of catalysts, the in situ transformed spinel/rock-salt heterojunction supported on GA stands out for an exceptional photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity and selectivity, yielding an impressive CO production rate of 12.5 mmol g-1 h-1 and high selectivity of 96.5 %. This remarkable performance is a result of the robust interfacial coupling between two topological phases that optimizes the electronic structures through directional charge transfer across interfaces. The phase transition process induces more Co2+ in octahedral site, which can effectively enhance the Co-O covalency. This synergistic effect balances the surface activation of CO2 molecules and desorption of reaction intermediates, thereby lowering the energetic barrier of the rate-limiting step.

High incidence of EDNRB gene mutation in seven southern Chinese familial cases with Hirschsprung's disease.

PURPOSE: Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is the leading cause of neonatal functional intestinal obstruction, which has been identified in many familial cases. HSCR, a multifactorial disorder of enteric nervous system (ENS) development, is associated with at least 24 genes and seven chromosomal loci, with RET and EDNRB as its major genes. We present a genetic investigation of familial HSCR to clarify the genotype-phenotype relationship. METHODS: We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) on Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform to investigate genetic backgrounds of core family members, and identified the possibly harmful mutation genes. Mutation carriers and pedigree relatives were validated by Sanger sequencing for evaluating the gene penetrance. RESULTS: Four familial cases showed potential disease-relative variants in EDNRB and RET gene, accounting for all detection rate of 57.1%. Three familial cases exhibited strong pathogenic variants as frameshift or missense mutations in EDNRB gene. A novel c.367delinsTT mutation of EDNRB was identified in one family member. The other two EDNRB mutations, c.553G>A in family 2 and c.877delinsTT in family 5, have been reported in previous literatures. The penetrance of EDNRB variants was 33-50% according mutation carries. In family 6, the RET c.1858T>C (C620R) point mutation has previously been reported to cause HSCR, with 28.5% penetrance. CONCLUSION: We identified a novel EDNRB (deleted C and inserted TT) mutation in this study using WES. Heterozygote variations in EDNRB gene were significantly enriched in three families and RET mutations were identified in one family. EDNRB variants showed an overall higher incidence and penetrance than RET in southern Chinese families cases.

Electroreduction of CO2 on Cu, Fe, or Ni-doped Diamane Sheets: A DFT Study.

Poor mass transfer behavior and inherent activity limit the efficiency of traditional catalysts in electrocatalyzing carbon dioxide reduction reactions. However, the development of novel nanomaterials provides new strategies to solve the above problems. Herein, we propose novel single-metal atom catalysts, namely diamane-based electrocatalysts doped with Cu, Fe, and Ni, explored through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We thoroughly investigated the doping pattern and energetics for different dopants. Furthermore, we systematically investigated the conversion process of CO2 to C1 or C2+ products, utilizing the free energy analysis of reaction pathways. Our results reveal that dopants could only be introduced into diamane following a specific pattern. Dopants significantly enhance the CO2 adsorption ability of diamane, with Fe and Ni proving notably more effective than Cu. After CO2 adsorption, Cu- and Fe-doped diamane prefer to catalyze CO2RR, while Ni-doped diamane favors hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The C-C coupling reaction on Cu-hollow diamane, Cu-bridge diamane, and Fe-hollow diamane tends to be from C2+ products. Among all examined catalysts, Cu-hollow diamane shows better electro-catalytic performance. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of and contributes to the development of diamane-based electro-catalysts for CO2RR.