Three-dimensional quantum Griffiths singularity in bulk iron-pnictide superconductors.

The quantum Griffiths singularity (QGS) is a phenomenon driven by quenched disorders that break conventional scaling invariance and result in a divergent dynamic critical exponent during quantum phase transitions (QPT). While this phenomenon has been well-documented in low-dimensional conventional superconductors and in three-dimensional (3D) magnetic metal systems, its presence in 3D superconducting systems and in unconventional high-temperature superconductors (high- SCs) remains unclear. In this study, we report the observation of robust QGS in the superconductor-metal transition (SMT) of both quasi-2D and 3D anisotropic unconventional high- superconductor CaFe Ni AsF ( <5%) bulk single crystals, where the QGS states persist to up to 5.

Regulation of maize growth and immunity by ZmSKI3-mediated RNA decay and post-transcriptional gene silencing.

Disease resistance is often associated with compromised plant growth and yield due to defense-growth tradeoffs. However, key components and mechanisms underlying the defense-growth tradeoffs are rarely explored in maize. In this study, we find that ZmSKI3, a putative subunit of the SUPERKILLER (SKI) complex that mediates the 3'-5' degradation of RNA, regulates both plant development and disease resistance in maize.

Spatial accumulation of lignin monomers and cellulose underlying stalk strength in maize.

Lodging largely affects yield, quality and mechanical harvesting of maize. Stalk strength is one of the major factors that affect maize lodging. Although plant cell wall components including lignin and cellulose were known to be associated with stalk strength and lodging resistance, spatial accumulation of specific lignin monomers and cellulose in different tissues and their association with stalk strength in maize was not clearly understood.

Real-time haptic characterisation of Hunt-Crossley model based on radial basis function neural network for contact environment.

Dynamic soft tissue characterisation is an important element in robotic minimally invasive surgery. This paper presents a novel method by combining neural network with recursive least square (RLS) estimation for dynamic soft tissue characterisation based on the nonlinear Hunt-Crossley (HC) model. It develops a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) to compensate for the error caused by natural logarithmic factorisation (NLF) of the HC model for dynamic RLS estimation of soft tissue properties.

Copine proteins are required for brassinosteroid signaling in maize and Arabidopsis.

Copine proteins are highly conserved and ubiquitously found in eukaryotes, and their indispensable roles in different species were proposed. However, their exact function remains unclear. The phytohormone brassinosteroids (BRs) play vital roles in plant growth, development and environmental responses.

Multivalence-State Tungsten Species Facilitated Iridium Loading for Robust Acidic Water Oxidation.

The development of the proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) is still limited by the prohibitive cost and scarcity of iridium (Ir)-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst. This work presents a novel catalyst synthesized by precursor-atomization and rapid joule-heating method, successfully doping iridium atoms into polyvalent tungsten blends (W, W, W) based on titanium substrate. The vacancy engineering of unsaturated tungsten oxide (W, W) reconstructs the electronic structure of the catalyst surface, which resulting in the low-valence state iridium species, avoiding excessive oxidation of iridium and accelerating the catalytic kinetics.

Oral Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Inhibit Osteoclastogenesis and Ameliorate Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Mice by Improving Gut Microbiota.

Milk-derived extracellular vesicles can improve intestinal health and have antiosteoporosis potential. In this paper, we explored the effects of bovine raw milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) on ovariectomized (OVX) osteoporotic mice from the perspective of the gut-bone axis. mEVs could inhibit osteoclast differentiation and improve microarchitecture.

Machine Learning Developed a MYC Expression Feature-Based Signature for Predicting Prognosis and Chemoresistance in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

MYC has been identified to profoundly influence a wide range of pathologic processes in cancers. However, the prognostic value of MYC-related genes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) remains unclarified. Gene expression data and clinical information of PAAD patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database (training set).

Effect of Extracelluar Vesicles Derived from on Intestinal Barrier in Colitis Mice.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and recurrent disease. It has been observed that the incidence and prevalence of IBD are increasing, which consequently raises the risk of developing colon cancer. Recently, the regulation of the intestinal barrier by probiotics has become an effective treatment for colitis.

Effects of Scutellaria strigillosa Hemsl. extract on HepG2 cell proliferation and apoptosis through binding to aspartate β-hydroxylase.

This study aims to examine the impacts of Scutellaria strigillosa Hemsl. (SSH) on the proliferation, apoptosis of human hepatoma cell HepG2 and screen the bioactive components. We found that SSH extract inhibited HepG2 proliferation, arrested cell division prior to S phase.

Tunable luminescence and efficient energy transfer investigation of a borosilicate phosphor KBSiO: Bi, Eu with hypersensitive thermal quenching.

Energy transfer between Bi and Eu has undergone substantial research but Bi and Eu co-doped luminescent materials with high energy transfer efficiency for temperature sensing are rarely investigated until now. Herein, Eu and Bi co-doped KBSiO phosphors were successfully synthesized by solid-state reaction method. The phase purity structure as well as the element distribution were carefully investigated through X-ray diffraction structural refinement and energy dispersive spectrometer analysis.

Giant electrically tunable magnon transport anisotropy in a van der Waals antiferromagnetic insulator.

Anisotropy is a manifestation of lowered symmetry in material systems that have profound fundamental and technological implications. For van der Waals magnets, the two-dimensional (2D) nature greatly enhances the effect of in-plane anisotropy. However, electrical manipulation of such anisotropy as well as demonstration of possible applications remains elusive.

Oral Administration of Bovine Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Attenuates Cartilage Degeneration via Modulating Gut Microbiota in DMM-Induced Mice.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease primarily characterized by cartilage degeneration. Milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) were reported to inhibit catabolic and inflammatory processes in the cartilage of OA patients. However, the current therapies target the advanced symptoms of OA, and it is significant to develop a novel strategy to inhibit the processes driving OA pathology.

Sucrose rather than GA transported by AtSWEET13 and AtSWEET14 supports pollen fitness at late anther development stages.

Both sugar and the hormone gibberellin (GA) are essential for anther-enclosed pollen development and thus for plant productivity in flowering plants. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) AtSWEET13 and AtSWEET14, which are expressed in anthers and associated with seed yield, transport both sucrose and GA. However, it is still unclear which substrate transported by them directly affects anther development and seed yield.

Multiscale Engineering of Nonprecious Metal Electrocatalyst for Realizing Ultrastable Seawater Splitting in Weakly Alkaline Solution.

Seawater electrolysis is an attractive technique for mass production of high-purity hydrogen considering the abundance of seawater. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of seawater environment, efficient anode catalyst, that should be, cost effective, highly active for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but negligible for Cl /ClO formation, and robust toward chlorine corrosion, is urgently demanded for large-scale application. Although catalysis typically appears at surface, while the bulk properties and morphology structure also have a significant impact on the performance, thus requiring a systematic optimization.

Epigenetic Mutation in a Tubulin-Folding Cofactor B (ZmTFCB) Gene Arrests Kernel Development in Maize.

Epialleles, the heritable epigenetic variants that are not caused by changes in DNA sequences, can broaden genetic and phenotypic diversity and benefit to crop breeding, but very few epialleles related to agricultural traits have been identified in maize. Here, we cloned a small kernel mutant, smk-wl10, from maize, which encoded a tubulin-folding cofactor B (ZmTFCB) protein. Expression of the ZmTFCB gene decreased in the smk-wl10 mutant, which arrested embryo, endosperm and basal endosperm transfer layer developments.

Experimental Study on Self-Centering Performance of the SMA Fiber Reinforced ECC Composite Beam.

The combination of superelastic shape memory alloy fibers and ECC materials can form a new SMA fiber reinforced ECC composite material (SMAF-ECC) with good self-centering performance. In order to study the self-centering performance of the new composite material, 6 groups of pre-notch beam specimens were made for three-point bending cyclic loading tests, and the failure phenomenon, hysteresis curve, self-centering effect and influencing factors of the specimens were analyzed. The research results show that when the SMA fibers are effectively anchored in the ECC matrix, the SMA fibers can exert the superelastic properties to provide the ECC beams with recoverying force, and realize the crack self-closure and deflection self-recovery function for the beams, with the minimum residual crack width and deflection is only 0.

NiCoSenanoparticles derived from nickel-cobalt Prussian blue analogues on N-doped reduced graphene oxide for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

Synthesis of NiHCCo precursors via simple co-precipitation and nickel-cobalt tetraselenide composites grown on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NiCoSe/N-rGO) were fabricated using solvothermal method. The introduction of N-rGO used as a template effectively prevented agglomeration of NiCoSenanoparticles and provided more active sites, which greatly increased the electrochemical and electrical conductivity for NiCoSe/N-rGO. NiCoSe/N-rGO-20 presents a remarkably elevated specific capacity of 120 mA h gunder current density of 1 A g.