Endophytic Fungi-Mediated Defense Signaling in Maize: Unraveling the Role of WRKY36 in Regulating Immunity against Spodoptera frugiperda.

Seed priming with beneficial endophytic fungi is an emerging sustainable strategy for enhancing plant resistance against insect pests. This study examined the effects of Beauvaria bassiana Bb20091317 and Metarhizium rileyi MrCDTLJ1 fungal colonization on maize growth, defence signalling, benzoxazinoid levels and gene expression. The colonization did not adversely affect plant growth but reduced larval weights of Spodoptera frugiperda.

Effect of the Al/AlO interfacial stacking sequence on the transport properties of alumina tunnel junctions.

Superconducting quantum bits based on Al/AlO/Al Josephson junction devices are among the most developed quantum bits at present. The microstructure of the device interface critically affects the electrical properties of Josephson junctions, which in turn severely affects the superconducting quantum bits. Further progress towards scalable superconducting qubits urgently needs to be guided by novel analysis mechanisms or methods to improve the performance of junctions.

O-terminated interface for thickness-insensitive transport properties of aluminum oxide Josephson junctions.

Alumina Josephson junction has demonstrated a tremendous potential to realize superconducting qubits. Further progress towards scalable superconducting qubits urgently needs to be guided by novel analysis mechanisms or methods to reduce the thickness sensitivity of the junction critical current to the tunnel barrier. Here, it is first revealed that the termination mode of AlO interface plays a crucial role in the uniformity of critical current, and we demonstrate that the O-terminated interface has the lowest resistance sensitivity to thickness.

Facile Fabrication of Slippery Lubricant-Infused CuO-Coated Surfaces with Different Morphologies for Efficient Water Collection and Excellent Slippery Stability.

How to prepare multifunctional surfaces with high nucleation density and fast droplet removal during droplet condensation remains a challenge. It is believed that a water droplet on a superhydrophobic surface (SHS) in the Cassie state is inclined to convert to the Wenzel state under high-pressure or high-humidity conditions, which results in the pinning effect. Hence, it is necessary to form thermodynamically stable lubricant-infused surfaces (LISs) to be applied in water condensation, especially under extreme working conditions.

Hybrid Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic CuO@TiO-Coated Copper Mesh for Efficient Water Harvesting.

Fresh water scarcity has been a worldwide problem to be solved urgently. Inspired by the outstanding hydrophobic-hydrophilic patterns on the back of Namib desert beetles, hierarchical CuO@TiO-coated surface with alternating hydrophilic-hydrophobic chemistry patterns were fabricated utilizing the photocatalysis of titanium dioxide through ultraviolet irradiation. The results indicated that the as-prepared hybrid dual-coated copper mesh enhanced the fog-collection efficiency compared with the uniformly superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic surface.

Surface topographies of biomimetic superamphiphobic materials: design criteria, fabrication and performance.

Superamphiphobicity is a wetting phenomenon that not only water but also oils or organic solvents with low surface tension exhibit large contact angles above 150° along with low contact angle hysteresis on solid surface. It is well known that both chemical constituent and surface roughness have impacts on the wettability of solid surface. Herein, several fundamental wetting states and design criteria for re-entrant structures are introduced first.

Superhydrophobic Plant Leaves: The Variation in Surface Morphologies and Wettability during the Vegetation Period.

In this paper, for the first time, the surface wettability of cloverleaves and lotus leaves with specific surface structures at different growth stages is investigated. It is found that the clover exhibits water-repellent property similar to lotus leaves. Furthermore, the alternation in wettability of cloverleaves and lotus leaves during the whole vegetation period is investigated.

A robust and stretchable superhydrophobic PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane for oil/water separation and flame retardancy.

The wide application of superhydrophobic membranes has been limited due to their complicated preparation technology and weak durability. Inspired by the mechanical flexibility of nanofibrous biomaterials, nanofibrils have been successfully generated from Kevlar, which is one of the strongest synthetic fibers, by appropriate hydrothermal treatment. In this study, a robust superhydrophobic PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane is prepared via a simple one-step process and subsequent curing without combination with inorganic fillers.