A Dual Encapsulation Strategy for High-Temperature Micro PCM Particles with High Cyclic Durability.

Addressing critical issues such as high-temperature corrosion,  leakage, degradation, and subpar cyclic performance is imperative for phase change materials (PCMs), prompting the development of appropriate encapsulation techniques to surmount these challenges. In this study, a dual encapsulation strategy is proposed for high-temperature micro PCM particles. Al-Si core is microencapsulated via the "solvent evaporation-heating curing" method. Subsequently, TiO2 is employed as the skeleton material for form-stable encapsulation of PCM microcapsules by "cold pressed sintering". Detailed analysis of the crystalline phase transformation mechanism in the sintering synthesis pathway of TiO2 underscore its potential as a robust structural material with exceptional thermal stability. Furthermore, the incorporation of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) results in a substantial enhancement of the thermal conductivity of the composites, increasing by 121.1-131.3%. The prepared form-stable phase change microcapsules (FSPCMs) are subjected to 5000 thermal cycles in the air atmosphere. There is no observed PCM leakage or composite ruptures in the FSPCM. Moreover, the oxidized mass gain is merely 3.3%, signifying exceptional oxidation resistance. Thermophysical analysis indicates that FSPCM can retain 91.3% of the enthalpy after 2000 cycles, with over 80% preservation after 5000 cycles, underscoring its remarkable cyclic thermal durability.

Resveratrol inhibits respiratory syncytial virus replication by targeting heparan sulfate proteoglycans.

Resveratrol, renowned as an antioxidant, also exhibits significant potential in combatting severe respiratory infections, particularly the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Nevertheless, the specific mechanism underlying its inhibition of RSV replication remains unexplored. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) play a pivotal role as attachment factors for numerous viruses, offering a promising avenue for countering viral infections. Our research has unveiled that resveratrol effectively curbs RSV infection in a dose-dependent manner. Remarkably, resveratrol disrupts the early stages of RSV infection by engaging with HSPGs, rather than interacting with RSV surface proteins like fusion (F) protein and glycoprotein (G). Resveratrol's affinity appears to be predominantly directed towards the negatively charged sites on HSPGs, thus impeding the binding of viral receptors. In an in vivo study involving RSV-infected mice, resveratrol demonstrates its potential by ameliorating pulmonary pathology. This improvement is attributed to the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and a reduction in viral load within the lungs. Notably, resveratrol specifically alleviates inflammation characterized by an abundance of neutrophils in RSV-infected mice. In summation, our data first shows how resveratrol combats RSV infection through interactions with HSPGs, positioning it as a promising candidate for innovative drug development targeting RSV infections. Our study provides insight into the mechanism of resveratrol antiviral infection.

Overexpression of ZmEXPA5 reduces anthesis-silking interval and increases grain yield under drought and well-watered conditions in maize.

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting the maize production worldwide. As a cross-pollination crop, maize is sensitive to water stress at flowering stage. Drought at this stage leads to asynchronous development of male and female flower organ and increased interval between anthesis and silking, which finally causes failure of pollination and grain yield loss. In the present study, the expansin gene ZmEXPA5 was cloned and its function in drought tolerance was characterized. An indel variant in promoter of ZmEXPA5 is significantly associated with natural variation in drought-induced anthesis-silking interval. The drought susceptible haplotypes showed lower expression level of ZmEXPA5 than tolerant haplotypes and lost the cis-regulatory activity of ZmDOF29. Increasing ZmEXPA5 expression in transgenic maize decreases anthesis-silking interval and improves grain yield under both drought and well-watered environments. In addition, the expression pattern of ZmEXPA5 was analyzed. These findings provide insights into the genetic basis of drought tolerance and a promising gene for drought improvement in maize breeding. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-023-01432-x.

Starch molecular structural differences between chalky and translucent parts of chalky rice grains.

Chalky rice has an undesirable appearance and reduced commercial value. To understand the relationship between starch structural characteristics and chalkiness, a comprehensive investigation was conducted of molecular structural differences between starch in chalky and translucent parts of the same chalky grains (three Japonica and two Indica rices), this strategy being such as to minimize genetic and environmental effects. Compared to translucent parts, chalky parts had a larger ratio of large to small branched molecules and more short amylopectin chains (degree of polymerization < 35), but fewer longer chains, which affect higher-level starch structures, such as crystallinity. No significant differences in amylose structure were observed. White-belly and white-core chalky grains showed distinguishable starch characteristics, suggesting studying different chalkiness types separately. These findings extend understanding of chalkiness from the perspective of starch structure, and control of this structure can in the future help breeders to develop strategies against the formation of chalkiness.

Photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution with interdigitated array electrodes: the example of TiO2.

The catalytic reactions of photoelectrochemical water splitting attracts tremendous attention as a promising strategy for clean energy production. And the research on reaction mechanism is particularly important in design and developing new catalysts. In this work, the special electrochemical tool of interdigitated array (IDA) electrodes was utilized in investigating the photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution reaction process and detecting the reaction productin situwith the generation-collection mode. TiO2was taken as a model catalyst and was decorated onto the IDA generator electrode through an electrophoresis method, so that the photoelectrochemical water splitting can take place on the IDA generator and the reaction product can be detected directly with the IDA collector in real time. It is found that TiO2can be successfully decorated onto the surface of IDA electrode with the expected photoelectrochemical activity, and the generation-collection mode reveals and distinguishes the production of O2from the overall photoelectrochemical current on TiO2generator. The mass transfer process of O2from the TiO2generator to the collector could be observed as well. Large overall current at high potential range indicates the possible increasing production of the byproducts or nonfaradaic current.

Starch Molecular Structural Features and Volatile Compounds Affecting the Sensory Properties of Polished Australian Wild Rice.

Cooked high-amylose rices, such as Australian wild rice (AWR) varieties, have slower digestion rates, which is nutritionally advantageous, but may have inferior eating qualities. Here, a comparison is made between sensory and starch molecular fine structure properties, and volatile compounds, of polished AWR varieties and some commercial rices (CRs). Starch structural parameters for amylopectin (Ap) and amylose (Am) were obtained using fluorophore-assisted capillary electrophoresis and size-exclusion chromatography. Volatile compounds were putatively using headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sensory properties were evaluated by a trained panel. AWR had a disintegration texture similar to that of Doongara rice, while AWR had a resinous, plastic aroma different from those of commercial rice varieties. Disintegration texture was affected by the amounts of Ap short chains, resinous aroma by 2-heptenal, nonadecane, 2h-pyran, tetrahydro-2-(12-pentadecynyloxy)-, and estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17ß-ol, and plastic aroma by 2-myristynoyl pantetheine, cis-7-hexadecenoic acid, and estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17ß-ol. These findings suggest that sensory properties and starch structures of AWR varieties support their potential for commercialization.

Effect of processing on the solubility and molecular size of oat ß-glucan and consequences for starch digestibility of oat-fortified noodles.

White wheat salted noodles containing oats have a slower digestion rate those without oats, with potential health benefits. Oat ß-glucan may play an important role in this. Effects of sheeting and shearing during noodle-making and subsequent cooking on ß-glucan concentration, solubility, molecular size and starch digestibility were investigated. The levels of ß-glucan were reduced by 16% after cooking, due to the loss of ß-glucan into the cooking water. Both the noodle-making process and cooking increased the solubility of ß-glucan but did not change its average molecular size. Digestion profiles show that ß-glucan in wholemeal oat flour did not change starch digestion rates compared with isolated starch, but reduced the starch digestion rate of oat-fortified wheat noodles compared to the control (wheat noodles). Confocal laser scanning microscopy suggests that interaction between ß-glucan and protein contributes to the starch-protein matrix and changes noodle microstructure, and thus alters their digestibility.

The real-time investigation of the nickel-iron hydroxide catalyzed oxygen evolution reaction with interdigitated array electrodes.

Electrocatalysis of oxygen evolution reaction (OER), one of the most important members in clean and efficient energy conversion, requires increasing studies on reaction process analysis, catalyst investigation and evaluation and so on throughin situexperiments. The bottleneck is the difficulties on clear and precise understanding towards the multi-step reactions with fast reaction rates. Interdigitated array (IDA) electrodes with sensitive responses on the generation, transfer and collection of reaction products are proposed and utilized as a convenient and effective tool toin situmonitor and characterize the reaction thermodynamics and kinetics information. Herein, nickel-iron hydroxide, a promising and novel OER catalyst, is chosen as the candidate to demonstrate the merit of IDA on studying the OER. With the generator-collector mode, the real-time oxygen evolution process is monitored precisely with the IDA collector, distinguished it from the general catalytic current which is normally recorded with conventional electrochemical method. In another word, the actual faradaic efficiency was observed experimentally with IDA electrodes, which is often misled as 100% in many works. The diffusion of the reaction products has been 'seen' as well with the generator-collector mode. This general tool (IDA) may make more contributions on the study of reaction process of all electrocatalytical reactions.

Late-Maturity Alpha-Amylase in Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and Its Impact on Fresh White Sauce Qualities.

When wheat experiences a cold-temperature 'shock' during the late stage of grain filling, it triggers the abnormal synthesis of late-maturity α-amylase (LMA). This increases the enzyme content in affected grain, which can lead to a drastic reduction in falling number (FN). By commercial standards, a low FN is taken as an indication of inferior quality, deemed unsuitable for end-product usage. Hence, LMA-affected grains are either rejected or downgraded to feed grade at the grain receiving point. However, previous studies have found no substantial correlation between low FN-LMA and bread quality. The present study extends previous investigations to semi-solid food, evaluating the physical quality of fresh white sauce processed from LMA-affected flour. Results show that high-LMA flours had low FNs and exhibited poor pasting characteristics. However, gelation occurred in the presence of other components during fresh white sauce processing. This demonstrates that LMA-affected flours may have new applications in low-viscosity products.

LaF3 Nanosheet-induced Epitaxial Growth: Hollow (Co, Ni)2P/LaF3 Nanotube Arrays Built by Porous Heterojunction Walls Grown on Ni Foam as Active Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Free-standing (Co, Ni)2P/LaF3 hollow nanotube arrays are directly grown on Ni foam (NF) (denoted as (Co, Ni)2P-La4/NF, where "4" refers to 4 g L-1 of La3+ in the starting material), which exhibits efficient electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with an overpotential of 94 mV at 10 mA cm2, Tafel slope of 88 mV dec-1, and superior long-term durability in alkaline electrolyte. Investigated was La dosage-induced compositional and morphological evolution of (Co, Ni)2P/LaF3, and it was found that suitable La dosage is beneficial for the epitaxial growth of (Co, Ni)2P on LaF3 nanosheets (the thickness direction of LaF3 nanosheet is along the (03i̅) facet), leading to the formation of porous (Co, Ni)2P/LaF3 nanotube walls, giving rise to hollow nanotube arrays. The binder-free (Co, Ni)2P-La4/NF electrode with unique morphology not only provides more active sites exposure to electrolyte ions and accessible ion diffusion path but also favors electron and charge transfer. Density functional theory calculation and experimental data reveal the doping of La into metal phosphide can lead to electron transfer from metal centers to P atoms, make the ΔGH on the P sites closer to zero with lower H2O adsorption energy (-0.58 eV), thus improving the HER behavior. The present work gives a novel strategy to design hollow nanotubular microstructure as non-noble-metal HER electrocatalyst.

P-Functionalized and O-deficient TiOn/VOm nanoparticles grown on Ni foam as an electrode for supercapacitors: epitaxial grown heterojunction and visible-light-driven photoresponse.

P-TiOn-VOm nanowires were grown on nickel foam (NF) via a one-pot hydrothermal method and by further vapor deposition/phosphorization method. It was found that low valence states of titanium oxide and deficient-oxygen coexist in P-TiOn-VOm/NF. Furthermore, (TiO1.25)3.07 (denoted as TiOn) and VO (denoted as VOm) possess similar structures and matched facets, and their epitaxial growth leads to the formation of TiOn/VOm heterostructure with a formation energy of -1.59 eV. P-TiOn-VOm/NF possesses good electron conductivity and electrons can be transferred from Ti to V centers, as evidenced by the DFT calculations and the XPS spectra. As a result, the specific capacity of P-TiOn-VOm/NF can reach 785 C g-1 at 1 A g-1 in the potential range of 0-0.55 V vs. Hg/HgO, which is much larger than those of VOm/NF, P-VOm/NF, and P-TiO2-VOm/NF. On the other hand, the TiOn/VOm heterostructure also favors the separation and transfer of photoinduced electrons and holes, and P-TiOn-VOm/NF exhibits visible-light-driven photoresponse. Under visible light illumination, the specific capacity of P-TiOn-VOm/NF is increased by 6.2% relative to that in the dark. Furthermore, the P-TiOn-VOm/NF//activated carbon (AC) asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) shows an energy density of 37.2 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1 kW kg-1 and excellent cycling performance with 93.6% capacity retention after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g-1, which is comparable to and even superior to those of titanium oxides and vanadium oxides. A promising achievement has been proposed to improve the energy storage performance of P-TiOn-VOm through P-functionalization and O-deficiency in this work.

SnSe2 Quantum Dots: Facile Fabrication and Application in Highly Responsive UV-Detectors.

Synthesizing quantum dots (QDs) using simple methods and utilizing them in optoelectronic devices are active areas of research. In this paper, we fabricated SnSe2 QDs via sonication and a laser ablation process. Deionized water was used as a solvent, and there were no organic chemicals introduced in the process. It was a facile and environmentally-friendly method. We demonstrated an ultraviolet (UV)-detector based on monolayer graphene and SnSe2 QDs. The photoresponsivity of the detector was up to 7.5 × 106 mAW-1, and the photoresponse time was ~0.31 s. The n-n heterostructures between monolayer graphene and SnSe2 QDs improved the light absorption and the transportation of photocarriers, which could greatly increase the photoresponsivity of the device.

The interaction between amylose and amylopectin synthesis in rice endosperm grown at high temperature.

Starch is the abundant component in rice endosperm, and its microstructure determines the quality and functional properties of rice grain. It is well known that the starch fine structure is markedly influenced by high temperature during grain filling. However, it is poorly understood on the competition among starch synthesis related enzymes as well as the interaction between amylose and amylopectin biosynthesis under increased growing temperature. In this study, the non-waxy and waxy rice were planted under normal and high temperatures. Parameterizing analysis of the starch microstructure using mathematical models proved that amylose synthesis competed with the elongation of long amylopectin chains (DP＞60); Short chains of amylopectin can be used as the substrate for elongation of longer amylopectin chains; High temperature eliminated the consistency and regularity of the synthesis of amylose and amylopectin. In addition, enzyme assay proved the validity of fitting results from mathematical modeling analysis of starch.

(Co, Mn)-Doped NiSe2-diethylenetriamine (dien) nanosheets and (Co, Mn, Sn)-doped NiSe2 nanowires for high performance supercapacitors: compositional/morphological evolution and (Co, Mn)-induced electron transfer.

A series of MSe2-dien (M = metal(ii) ion and dien = diethylenetriamine) were grown on Ni foam (NF) based on Co(ii)/Mn(ii) salts with different molar ratios. It was found that the Co-free sample exhibited hollow tubes built by numerous interconnected nanowires, whereas nanosheets were observed in the Co-involved samples. The formation of nanosheets is associated with Co(ii), which is due to the fact that Co(ii) promotes the metal selenide nanosheet to grow along its (011[combining macron]) facet (thickness direction). Furthermore, the formation and compositional/morphological evolution of the samples were investigated. Among them, (Co, Mn)-NiSe2-dien/NF (2 : 1-Co/Mn sample) showed the largest specific capacity of 288.6 mA h g-1 at 1 A g-1 with a retention of 69% at 10 A g-1 (198.6 mA h g-1), which is associated with its ultrathin nanosheet arrays and the co-doping of (Co, Mn) into NiSe2-dien, leading to the redistribution of electron densities around the Ni and Se centers. XPS and density functional theory (DFT) calculations proved the electron transfer from NiSe2-dien to the adsorbed OH- ions from the electrolyte solution, which can facilitate the redox reaction between active sites and electrolyte ions to enhance the electrochemical performance. A hybrid supercapacitor, (Co, Mn)-NiSe2-dien/NF//activated carbon, was fabricated, which displayed an energy density of 50.9 W h kg-1 at a power density of 447.3 W kg-1 and good cycling stability with 84% capacity retention after 10 000 charge-discharge cycles. Furthermore, (Co, Mn)-doped NiSe2-dien nanosheets could be transformed into (Co, Mn, Sn)-doped NiSe2 nanowire arrays after immersion in SnCl2 alcoholic solution due to cation exchange and the Kirkendall effect, and the obtained sample exhibited a decent areal capacity of 0.267 mA h cm-2 at 5 mA cm-2.

High-amylose rice: Starch molecular structural features controlling cooked rice texture and preference.

Cooked high-amylose rices have slower digestibility, giving nutritional benefits, but inferior eating qualities. Molecular structural mechanisms for this inferior eating quality are found here using structural analysis by size-exclusion chromatography of both the parent starch and starch leached during cooking. All commonly-accepted sensory attributes of cooked rice were characterized by a trained human panel. Hardness, with the strongest negative correlation with panelist preference, was the dominant but not sole factor determining palatability. Hardness was controlled by the amounts of medium and long amylopectin chains and amylose in the starch, and by amylose content and amount of longer amylopectin chains in the leachate. This gives knowledge and understanding of the molecular structural characteristics of starch controlling cooked-rice preference: not just high amylose but also other aspects of molecular structure. This can help rice breeders to target starch-synthesis genes to select slowly digested (healthier) rices with acceptable palatability.

Starch structure-property relations as a function of barley germination times.

Two varieties of barley samples were subjected to germination conditions to investigate the underlying mechanisms underpinning changes in molecular structure, chemical compositions and thermal properties of starch during this process. Starch thermal transitions were examined using differential scanning calorimetry, and the molecular fine structure of amylose and amylopectin were determined using size-exclusion chromatography and fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis, respectively. Both amylose and amylopectin chains were hydrolyzed during germination, but a preferential attack of amylopectin chains was observed with concomitant increases of relative amylose content, resulting in increased gelatinization temperatures (onset, peak, conclusion) and reduction in enthalpy change. Amylolytic enzyme activities increased during germination, resulting in decreased starch content. After malting, significant degradation of amylose chains followed by the reduction of gelatinization temperatures was seen. Roasting of pale malts was found to degrade starch and protein whilst completely stopping enzyme activities. The resulting coloured malts had extremely low starch enthalpy change due to the loss of amylopectin crystallinity at high temperature. This study provides insights into starch structural changes of barley throughout malting and roasting, which are determining factors for fermentable sugar production during mashing.

Co-Incorporated NiV2O6/Ni(HCO3)2 nanoflake arrays grown on nickel foam as a high-performance supercapacitor electrode.

Co-Incorporated NiV2O6/Ni(HCO3)2 arrays with different morphologies can grow on nickel foam (NF) via a mild one-step hydrothermal method. Among them, S-0.5-20 and S-0.25-20 were obtained at a 1 : 1 : 20 molar ratio of Co/V/urea with 0.5 and 0.25 mmol Co(NO3)2, respectively. They demonstrate high areal capacities of 0.99 mA h cm-2 (7.94 F cm-2) and 0.56 mA h cm-2 (4.48 F cm-2) at 1 mA cm-2, respectively, which are superior to that of Co-incorporated Ni(HCO3)2/NF synthesized in the absence of Na3VO4. S-0.25-20 possesses good rate capability with 82.1% retention when the current density is increased 20-fold, and it shows superior long-term durability with 106.2% retention of the initial capacity after 10 000 charging/discharging cycles at 100 mA cm-2. These results are associated with the porous and orderly hierarchical Co-incorporated NiV2O6/Ni(HCO3)2 nanoflake arrays directly grown on the Ni foam. Moreover, due to the synergetic effect of the individual components, electrons can be transferred from V centers to Ni active sites, thus improving the stability of the vanadate. The generation of more active species, such as Co3+, during cycling could account for the increased capacity. A S-0.25-10//activated carbon (AC) asymmetrical supercapacitor shows a high energy density of 0.533 mW h cm-2 at a power density of 0.232 mW cm-2 (0.415 mW h cm-2 at 4.983 mW cm-2). Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the Co-incorporated NiV2O6/Ni(HCO3)2 nanoflake arrays is proposed.

K-doped FeOOH/Fe3O4 nanoparticles grown on a stainless steel substrate with superior and increasing specific capacity.

K-doped FeOOH/Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a size of 100 nm were grown on stainless steel (SS) hydrothermally. The effect of the synthetic conditions on compositions, morphologies and electrochemical performances was discussed, and the possible synthetic mechanism was proposed. The obtained K-doped FeOOH/Fe3O4/SS demonstrated a superior specific capacity of 396 mA h g-1 (0.554 mA h cm-2) at 1 A g-1 in 2 M KOH, which is the largest value reported so far. And it was also much larger than those of K-doped and -undoped FeOOH/SS samples. Furthermore the sample manifested an increasing capacity during the cycling test, which was probably associated with the doping of K+ as well as the coexistence of Fe(ii) and Fe(iii) in the structure. Based on density functional theory (DFT), the effect of the K-doping on the electron conductivity of the sample was theoretically investigated. In addition, a Co-Mo-O/Ni3S2/Ni foam (NF)//K-doped FeOOH/Fe3O4/SS asymmetric supercapacitor was fabricated, which can deliver a high energy density of 74.38 W h kg-1 at a power density of 3.64 W kg-1.

Coupled Resonance Enhanced Modulation for a Graphene-Loaded Metamaterial Absorber.

A graphene-loaded metamaterial absorber is investigated in the mid-infrared region. The light-graphene interaction is greatly enhanced by virtue of the coupled resonance through a cross-shaped slot. The absorption peaks show a significant blueshift with increasing Fermi level, enabling a wide range of tunability for the absorber. A simple circuit model well explains and predicts this modulation behavior. Our proposal may find applications in a variety of areas such as switching, sensing, modulating, and biochemical detecting.

Molecular brewing: Molecular structural effects involved in barley malting and mashing.

Ten barley samples containing varied protein contents were subject to malting followed by mashing to investigate molecular effects of both barley starch and starch- protein interactions on malting and mashing performances, and the underlying mechanism. Starch granular changes were examined using differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy. The molecular fine structures of amylose and amylopectin from unmalted and malted grain were obtained using size-exclusion chromatography. The results showed that both amylose and amylopectin polymers were hydrolyzed at the same time during malting. Protein and amylose content in both unmalted and malted barley significant negatively correlated with fermentable sugar content after mashing. While protein content is currently the main criterion for choosing malting varieties, this study shows that information about starch molecular structure is also useful for determining the release of fermentable sugars, an important functional property. This provides brewers with some new methods to choose malting barley.