Evaluation of carp sperm respiration: fluorometry with optochemical oxygen sensor versus polarography.

The primary function of spermatozoa is to fertilize the oocyte, which depends on their motility and is directly associated with their metabolic state. The oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of spermatozoa reflects the respiratory capacity of sperm mitochondria under various physiological conditions and is an essential marker of sperm quality. We determined the OCR of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) sperm using two respirometry methods: the conventionally used polarographic method with a Clark-type electrode and fluorometric assay with an Oxo Dish optochemical oxygen sensor.

Elastic constants of biogenic calcium carbonate.

Living organisms form complex mineralized composite architectures that perform a variety of essential functions. These materials are commonly utilized for load-bearing purposes such as structural stability and mechanical strength in combination with high toughness and deformability, which are well demonstrated in various highly mineralized molluscan shell ultrastructures. Here, the mineral components provide the general stiffness to the composites, and the organic interfaces play a key role in providing these biogenic architectures with mechanical superiority.

Corner transfer matrix renormalization group approach in the zoo of Archimedean lattices.

We develop a new methodology to contract tensor networks within the corner transfer matrix renormalization group approach for a wide range of two-dimensional lattice geometries. We discuss contraction algorithms on the example of triangular, kagome, honeycomb, square-octagon, star, ruby, square-hexagon-dodecahedron, and dice lattices. As benchmark tests, we apply the developed method to the classical Ising model on different lattices and observe a remarkable agreement of the results with the available from the literature.

Amorphous-Like Ultralow Thermal Transport in Crystalline Argyrodite CuPS.

Due to their amorphous-like ultralow lattice thermal conductivity both below and above the superionic phase transition, crystalline Cu- and Ag-based superionic argyrodites have garnered widespread attention as promising thermoelectric materials. However, despite their intriguing properties, quantifying their lattice thermal conductivities and a comprehensive understanding of the microscopic dynamics that drive these extraordinary properties are still lacking. Here, an integrated experimental and theoretical approach is adopted to reveal the presence of Cu-dominated low-energy optical phonons in the Cu-based argyrodite CuPS.