Piezoresistive Sensor Based on Porous Sponge with Superhydrophobic and Flame Retardant Properties for Motion Monitoring and Fire Alarm.

Polyurethane sponge is frequently selected as a substrate material for constructing flexible compressible sensors due to its excellent resilience and compressibility. However, being highly hydrophilic and flammable, it not only narrows the range of use of the sensor but also poses a great potential threat to human safety. In this paper, a conductive flexible piezoresistive sensor (CHAP-PU) with superhydrophobicity and high flame retardancy was prepared by a simple dip-coating method using A-CNTs/HGM/ADP coatings deposited on the surface of a sponge skeleton and modified with polydimethylsiloxane.

Superhydrophilic and Underwater Superaerophobic Dual-Function Peony-Shaped Selenide Micro-nano Array Self-Supported Electrodes for High-Efficiency Overall Water Splitting Driven by Renewable Energy.

With the intensification of global environmental pollution and resource scarcity, hydrogen has garnered significant attention as an ideal alternative to fossil fuels due to its high energy density and nonpolluting nature. Consequently, the urgent development of electrocatalytic water-splitting electrodes for hydrogen production is imperative. In this study, a superwetting selenide catalytic electrode with a peony-flower-shaped micronano array (MoS/CoFeSe/NiSe/nickel foam (NF)) was synthesized on NF via a two-step hydrothermal method.

Productive chemistry induced by mechanochemically generated macroradicals.

Large or repeated mechanical loads degrade polymeric materials by accelerating chain fragmentation. This mechanochemical backbone fracture usually occurs by homolysis of otherwise inert C-C, C-O and C-S bonds, generating highly reactive macroradicals. Because backbone fracture is detrimental on its own and the resulting macroradicals can initiate damaging reaction cascades, a major thrust in contemporary polymer mechanochemistry is to suppress it, usually by mechanochemical release of "hidden length" that dissipates local molecular strain.

Highly Moisture-Resistant Flexible Thin-Film-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Environmental Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Tactile Sensing.

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been demonstrated as a sustainable energy utilization method for waste mechanical energy and self-powered system. However, the charge dissipation of frictional layer materials in a humid environment severely limits their stable energy supply. In this work, a new method is reported for preparing polymer film as a hydrophobic negative friction material by solution blending poly(vinylidene fluoride--hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), doping with titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticles, and further surface patterning modification.

Hydrophobic TPU/CNTs-ILs Ionogel as a Reliable Multimode and Flexible Wearable Sensor for Motion Monitoring, Information Transfer, and Underwater Sensing.

Ionogel-based sensors have gained widespread attention in recent years due to their excellent flexibility, biocompatibility, and multifunctionality. However, the adaptation of ionogel-based sensors in extreme environments (such as humid, acidic, alkaline, and salt environments) has rarely been studied. Here, thermoplastic polyurethane/carbon nanotubes-ionic liquids (TPU/CNTs-ILs) ionogels with a complementary sandpaper morphology on the surface were prepared by a solution-casting method with a simple sandpaper as the template, and the hydrophobic flexible TPU/CNTs-ILs ionogel-based sensor was obtained by modification using nanoparticles modified with cetyltrimethoxysilane.

Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic PDI and NDI Derivatives with Opposite Thermoresponsive Fluorescent Behaviors in Aqueous Solution.

This work presents a study of the thermally induced aggregation of perylene diimide (PDI) and naphthalene diimide (NDI) derivatives modified with oligo ethylene glycol (OEG) chains in aqueous solution. Water-soluble and flexible OEG side chains were introduced into the π-core of glutamate-modified NDI and PDI structures, and the aggregation process was modulated by heating or cooling in water. Interestingly, a rare opposite temperature response of fluorescent behavior from the two amphiphilic chromophores was revealed, in which the PDI exhibited fluorescent enhancement, while fluorescent quenching upon temperature increase was observed from the NDI assembly.

Dry-wet cycling area enhances soil ecosystem multifunctionality in the aquatic-terrestrial ecotones of the Caohai Lake in China.

The microbial need for nutrient resources can be assessed by soil extracellular enzymes and their stoichiometry. Changes in lake water levels affect land use and nutrient management in the aquatic-terrestrial ecotones of the lakeshore. However, the drivers of changes in microbial nutrient limitation under different inundation gradients in the lake's aquatic-terrestrial ecotones remain unclear.

A phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase is involved in the regulation of phospholipids homeostasis in oleaginous Aurantiochytrium sp.

Background: Thraustochytrids have gained attention as a potential source for the production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), where DHA is predominantly stored in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG). The TAG biosynthesis pathways, including the acyl-CoA-dependent Kennedy pathway and the acyl-CoA-independent pathway, have been predicted in thraustochytrids, while the specific details regarding their roles are currently uncertain.

Results: Phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT) plays a key role in the acyl-CoA-independent pathway by transferring acyl-group from phospholipids (PL) to diacylglycerol (DAG) to from TAG.

Humidity-Resistant, Conductive Fabric-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Efficient Energy Harvesting and Human-Machine Interaction Sensing.

With the rapid development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), the exploration of self-powered, flexible, and wearable electronic devices has attracted widespread attention. However, the choice of tribomaterials and high humidity environment have a significant impact on the triboelectricity of TENG. Therefore, we prepared a composite fabric (HPC) with superhydrophobic and conductive properties, which was used simultaneously as a tribopositive material and electrode for the construction of promising wearable TENGs.

Multi-Functional Janus Hollow Solar Evaporator Based on Copper Foam for Non-Contact High-Efficiency Solar Interfacial Distillation.

As a sustainable, clean, and friendly technology with a minimal carbon footprint when treating seawater or wastewater, interfacial solar vapor generation (ISVG) technology is a great alternative to traditional desalination and water purification methods (e.g., reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration).

The molecular mechanism of constructive remodeling of a mechanically-loaded polymer.

Large or repeated mechanical loads usually degrade polymers by accelerating fragmentation of their backbones but rarely, they can cause new backbone bonds to form. When these new bonds form faster than the original bonds break, mechanical degradation may be arrested or reversed in real time. Exploiting such constructive remodeling has proven challenging because we lack an understanding of the competition between bond-forming and bond-breaking reactions in mechanically-stressed polymers.

Heavy Metals Contained Within a Pb-Zn Waste Heap Exhibit Selective Association with Microbial Modules as Revealed by Network Analysis.

Heavy metal contamination is a global environmental concern due to its persistence and toxicity. To explore soil microbial interaction mechanisms and their association with heavy metals on a Pb-Zn waste heap, ecological network analysis tools were used to analyze high-throughput data in microbiology. The microbial network was divided into several modules, but heavy metals were associated with specific modules.

How Do Perceived Health Threats Affect the Junk Food Eating Behavior and Consequent Obesity? Moderating Role of Product Knowledge Hiding.

The predominant use of junk food in our societies is continuously held responsible for the obese body physiques and overweight among the kids and adolescents. The current supportive environments where organic foods are limited, and new processed foods have been brought to the market with more variant tastes and acceptability for the kids and adolescents that have diverged their eating patterns. It has significantly contributed to the health issues and growth discrepancies of the users.

Tricarboxylate Citrate Transporter of an Oleaginous Fungus WJ11: From Function to Structure and Role in Lipid Production.

The citrate transporter protein (CTP) plays an important role in citrate efflux from the mitochondrial matrix to cytosol that has great importance in oleaginous fungi. The cytoplasmic citrate produced after citrate efflux serves as the primary carbon source for the triacylglycerol and cholesterol biosynthetic pathways. Because of the CTP's importance, our laboratory has extensively studied its structure/function relationships in to comprehend its molecular mechanism.

Force-modulated reductive elimination from platinum(ii) diaryl complexes.

Coupled mechanical forces are known to drive a range of covalent chemical reactions, but the effect of mechanical force applied to a spectator ligand on transition metal reactivity is relatively unexplored. Here we quantify the rate of C(sp)-C(sp) reductive elimination from platinum(ii) diaryl complexes containing macrocyclic bis(phosphine) ligands as a function of mechanical force applied to these ligands. DFT computations reveal complex dependence of mechanochemical kinetics on the structure of the force-transducing ligand.

A Polymer with Mechanochemically Active Hidden Length.

Incorporating hidden length into polymer chains can improve their mechanical properties, because release of the hidden length under mechanical loads enables localized strain relief without chain fracture. To date, the design of hidden length has focused primarily on the choice of the sacrificial bonds holding the hidden length together. Here we demonstrate the advantages of adding mechanochemical reactivity to hidden length itself, using a new mechanophore that integrates ()-2,3-diphenylcyclobutene-1,4-dicarboxylate, with hitherto unknown mechanochemistry, into macrocyclic cinnamate dimers.

Effect of Land Use Conversion on Surface Soil Heavy Metal Contamination in a Typical Karst Plateau Lakeshore Wetland of Southwest China.

Land use conversion could directly or indirectly influence heavy metal geochemistry by changing soil properties. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of land use conversion on surface soil heavy metal contamination in the karst plateau lakeshore wetlands of Southwest China. Based on this, a total of 120 soil samples were collected from 30 sites from different types of land uses (farmlands, grasslands and woodlands) around a lake in Suohuangcang National Wetland Park in August 2017.

Discovery and characterization of a stable lipase with preference toward long-chain fatty acids.

Objectives: To identify novel lipases with stability and long-chain fatty acids preference by phylogenetic evolution analysis methods from database.

Results: Thermo-stable Candida antarctica Lipase-A (CALA) was set as a template for gene mining by PSI-BLAST. Based on phylogenetic analysis, three candidate lipases exhibiting 97%, 55%, and 35% identities with CALA, respectively, were selected for overexpression and characterization.

Interaction Between Plant Competition and Rhizospheric Bacterial Community Influence Secondary Succession of Abandoned Farmland on the Loess Plateau of China.

Interactions between plant and soil communities have important implication for plant competition, development and succession. In order to explore the internal mechanism behind natural succession of abandoned farmland, we test the effect of plant-soil interaction on plant growth and competitive ability through performing a pot experiment, which included three grasses in different successional stages on the Loess Plateau of China (, and ) in monoculture and all possible two- and three-way combinations, along with a plant-free control pot. The plants were harvested after about 4 months, and the rhizospheric soil was collected.

Supramolecular Polymer-Based Fluorescent Microfibers for Switchable Optical Waveguides.

We report the switchable optical waveguide microfibers based on fluorescent supramolecular polymer for the first time. The pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular polymeric microfibers were prepared easily from the viscous solution of bispillar[5]arene host (bisP5A) and diphenylanthracene-derived guest (GD). The resulting microfibers  act as an active optical waveguide material with long propagation distance (400 μm) and low optical propagation loss (0.

Effects of long-term fertilisation on aggregates and dynamics of soil organic carbon in a semi-arid agro-ecosystem in China.

Background: Long-term fertilisation has a large influence on soil physical and chemical properties in agro-ecosystems. The effects on the distribution of aggregates, however, are not fully understood. We determined the dynamic change of the distribution of aggregates and soil organic carbon (SOC) content over time in a long-term field experiment established in 1998 on the Loess Plateau of China and illustrated the relationship between them.

Artificial light-harvesting supramolecular polymeric nanoparticles formed by pillar[5]arene-based host-guest interaction.

Artificial light-harvesting nanoparticles were prepared from supramolecular polymers comprised of pillar[5]arene with anthracene-derived donors and acceptors through host-guest interactions. The resulting water-dispersible nanoparticles displayed efficient energy transfer and excellent light harvesting ability in part because the steric bulk of pillar[5]arene suppressed the self-quenching of the chromophores.

Changes in Species Diversity Patterns and Spatial Heterogeneity during the Secondary Succession of Grassland Vegetation on the Loess Plateau, China.

Analyzing the dynamic patterns of species diversity and spatial heterogeneity of vegetation in grasslands during secondary succession could help with the maintenance and management of these ecosystems. Here, we evaluated the influence of secondary succession on grassland plant diversity and spatial heterogeneity of abandoned croplands on the Loess Plateau (China) during four phases of recovery: 1-5, 5-10, 10-20, and 20-30 years. The species composition and dominance of the grassland vegetation changed markedly during secondary succession and formed a clear successional series, with the species assemblage dominated by → altaicus→ .

Interspecific associations of dominant tree populations in a virgin old-growth oak forest in the Qinling Mountains, China.

Background: Understanding interspecific associations in old-growth forests will help to reveal mechanisms of interspecific replacement in the process of forest development and provide a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration and reestablishment. In this study, we analyzed interspecific associations of eleven dominant tree populations of varying development stages in an old-growth oak forest stand in the Qinling Mountains, China. We examined overall interspecific associations (multiple species) and pairwise interspecific associations (two species).