Utilizing heterogeneity of lignin to diminish supercooling of phase change material nano-capsules with high latent heat.

Fatty acids, in particular, are valued as phase change materials (PCMs) for their non-toxic, biodegradable nature and thermal stability. However, the leakage and supercooling issues during phase transitions limit their application. Microencapsulation of PCMs, while improving thermal response, often leads to supercooling, complicating temperature regulation and increasing energy consumption.

Utilizing network pharmacology and experimental validation to investigate the underlying mechanism of Denglao Qingguan decoction against HCoV-229E.

Background: Denglao Qingguan decoction (DLQGD) has been extensively utilized for the treatment of colds, demonstrating significant therapeutic efficacy. Human Coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) is considered a crucial etiological agent of influenza. However, the specific impact and underlying mechanisms of DLQGD on HCoV-229E remain poorly understood.

Effect of HA Content on Microstructure and Properties of Ti-27Nb-17Ta-8Zr/HA Composite.

In this paper, Ti-27Nb-17Ta-8Zr/HA series composite materials were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology. The medical titanium alloy (Ti-27Nb-17Ta-8Zr) with good mechanical properties, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance was combined with the hydroxyapatite (HA) bioactive ceramic with high biological activity and bone-binding ability. Moreover, the density, microstructure evolution, metal/ceramic reaction, mechanical behavior, in vitro bioactivity, and influencing mechanisms of composite materials with different HA contents were studied.

Insight into the improved photocatalytic removal of tetracycline hydrochloride by constructing cobalt doping in 2D/2D (BiO)CO/BiOCl type-II heterojunctions.

Element doping coupled with heterojunction construction and morphology control is an efficient way to improve the properties of photocatalytic materials. Here, a thiourea-modified 2D/2D cobalt-doped (BiO)CO/BiOCl heterojunction photocatalyst (denoted as Co-(BC/BL)) was constructed by a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic property of Co-(BC/BL) product was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl).

W-Cu Composite with High W Content Prepared by Grading Rounded W Powder with Narrow Particle Size Distribution.

In this study, the W (10-20%)-Cu composites were simultaneously fabricated using commercial, graded commercial, and graded jet-milled W powder. The results show that the W-Cu composites prepared with the graded jet-milled W powders have the highest density and best comprehensive performance due to the combined effect of the particle gradation and jet-milling treatment. Particle gradation is employed to increase the packing density of powders, thereby increasing the relative density of the compressed W skeleton, and the rounded powder with narrow particle size distribution after jet-milling treatment is used to reduce the enclosed pores formed during the process of compacting and infiltration.

Generation of a pdmH1N1 2018 Influenza A Reporter Virus Carrying a mCherry Fluorescent Protein in the PA Segment.

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a major human pathogen associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Through serial passage in mice, we generated a recombinant pdmH1N1 2009 IAV, A/Guangdong/GLW/2018 (GLW/18-MA), which encodes an mCherry gene fused to the C-terminal of a polymerase acidic (PA) segment and demonstrated comparable growth kinetics to the wild-type. Nine mutations were identified in the GLW/18-MA genome: PA (I61M, E351G, and G631S), NP (E292G), HA1 (T164I), HA2 (N117S and P160S), NA (W61R), and NEP (K44R).

Identification of a novel TBX5 c.755 + 1 G > A variant and related pathogenesis in a family with Holt-Oram syndrome.

The proband with congenital heart disease and abnormal thumb was clinically diagnosed as Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS). A novel variant, T-box transcription factor 5 (TBX5) c.755 + 1 G > A, was identified in the proband via whole exome sequencing and validated using Sanger sequencing.

One-pot construction of robust BiOCl/ZnO p-n heterojunctions with semi-coherent interfaces toward improving charge separation for photodegradation enhancement.

Heterojunction engineering is an effective strategy to enhance the photodegradation activity improving the spatial charge separation. However, the poor interface interactions and stability limit the photocatalytic activity and stability of traditional heterojunctions. Herein, robust BiOCl/ZnO p-n heterojunctions with semi-coherent interfaces were prepared by a one-pot hydrothermal method to improve the activity and stability toward photocatalytic degradation than that of the counterpart, in which the semi-coherent interfaces exhibited lower phase boundary energy, resulting in highly-stable interfaces between BiOCl and ZnO as well as the formation of the built-in electric field in this robust p-n heterojunction for enhanced charge separation.

Unprecedented Ag-CuO composited mesocrystals with efficient charge separation and transfer as well as visible light harvesting for enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Mesocrystals with highly ordered subunits can provide good charge transfer tunnels and more active sites for catalytic reactions. So far, single-component mesocrystals have been well-developed in metals or metal oxides in the past decades, but the construction of mesocrystals in nanocomposites has been a great challenge. Herein we demonstrated a simple, one-pot wet chemical strategy for the preparation of plate-like Ag-Cu2O composited mesocrystals (CMCs) without any organic capping agent, which broke through the traditional dependence on organic capping agents for the synthesis of mesocrystals.

Identification of the Miller indices of a crystallographic plane: a tutorial and a comprehensive review on fundamental theory, universal methods based on different case studies and matters needing attention.

Micro-/nanostructures exposed with special crystallographic planes (surface or crystal facets) exhibit distinctive physicochemical properties because of their unique atomic arrangements, resulting in their widespread applications in the fields of catalysis, energy conversion, sensors, electrical devices and so on. Therefore, tremendous progress has been made in facet-dependent investigation of various micro-/nanocrystals over the past decades. However, a lot of beginners including undergraduate students as well as graduate students lack systematic knowledge and don't know how to identify the Miller indices of a crystallographic plane in the actual research process.

Novel nanocrystalline W-Cu-Cr-ZrC composite with ultra-high hardness.

Phase separation at nanoscale and highly dispersive nanoparticles were exploited to fabricate a novel type of nanocrystalline W-Cu-Cr-ZrC composite with special hierarchical structure. The microstructures were characterized elaborately and the formation mechanisms of the hierarchical structure were disclosed. It was found that the supersaturated Cr separated from W during sintering and segregated at profuse interfaces.

High-index faceted metal oxide micro-/nanostructures: a review on their characterization, synthesis and applications.

Exposed high-index facets with a high density of low-coordinated atoms (including edges, steps and kinks) can provide more high-active sites for chemical reactions. Therefore, great progress has made in the facet-dependent application of various high-index faceted micro-/nanostructures in the past decades. Previous review papers have mainly highlighted the advances in high-index faceted noble metal nanocrystals.

Tuning Interfacial Cu-O Atomic Structures for Enhanced Catalytic Applications.

Cu O/CuO (x=0, 1) nanocomposites with well-defined morphologies have been widely applied in catalytic reactions. However, people still understand less about tuning interfacial Cu-O atomic structures for enhanced catalytic applications, and a special review on this topic has not been reported so far. Herein, we summarize our understanding on tuning interfacial Cu-O atomic structures based on the literature, including the formation as well as evolution mechanism of Cu-O interfaces in Cu O/CuO and Cu O/Cu systems, and the improved performances in the fields of CO oxidation, NO oxidation, photoelectrocatalysis, water gas shift reaction, photodegradation of organic dyes, hydrogen evolution, and photoreduction of CO .

Mesocrystals for photocatalysis: a comprehensive review on synthesis engineering and functional modifications.

Mesocrystals are a new class of superstructures that are generally made of crystallographically highly ordered nanoparticles and could function as intermediates in a non-classical particle-mediated aggregation process. In the past decades, extensive research interest has been focused on the structural and morphogenetic aspects, as well as the growth mechanisms, of mesocrystals. Unique physicochemical properties including high surface area and ordered porosity provide new opportunities for potential applications.

Enhanced photocatalytic property of hybrid graphitic CN and graphitic ZnO nanocomposite: the effects of interface and doping.

Using first-principles calculations, we present a potential new way to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of the g-CN sheet by coupling with the g-ZnO sheet to form heterojunction nanostructure followed by the addition of N atom at an atomic level. The result indicates the g-CN/g-ZnO heterojunction is a staggered band alignment (type II) structure and a polarized field is generated by the electrons transfer across the interface simultaneously, which facilitate the separation of e-h pairs and promote the photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, a great difference in energy levels between redox potentials and band edges of the CN/g-ZnO nanocomposite ensures that the water splitting/CO reduction reaction is energetically favored.

Compression deformation of WC: atomistic description of hard ceramic material.

The deformation characteristics of WC, as a typical hard ceramic material, were studied on the nanoscale using atomistic simulations for both the single-crystal and polycrystalline forms under uniaxial compression. In particular, the effects of crystallographic orientation, grain boundary coordination and grain size on the origin of deformation were investigated. The deformation behavior of the single-crystal and polycrystalline WC both depend strongly on the orientation towards the loading direction.

Diversified copper sulfide (CuS) micro-/nanostructures: a comprehensive review on synthesis, modifications and applications.

As a significant metal chalcogenide, copper sulfide (CuS, 0 < x < 1), with a unique semiconducting and nontoxic nature, has received significant attention over the past few decades. Extensive investigations have been employed to the various CuS micro-/nanostructures owing to their excellent optoelectronic behavior, potential thermoelectric properties, and promising biomedical applications. As a result, micro-/nanostructured CuS with well-controlled morphologies, sizes, crystalline phases, and compositions have been rationally synthesized and applied in the fields of photocatalysis, energy conversion, in vitro biosensing, and in vivo imaging and therapy.

Recent advances in functional mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-CN) polymers.

Mesoporous micro-/nanostructures acting as supports for catalysts or used directly in catalysis reactions generally show fascinating performances that could lead to great potential for application. In the past few decades, extensive efforts have been devoted to the exploration and enrichment of graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) based research. Especially, mesoporous g-CN (mpg-CN) with controllable porosity and electronic/atomic structure can bring to bear unique physicochemical properties and has been widely applied in the fields of photocatalysis, adsorbents, sensors and chemical templates.

Improved xylitol production by expressing a novel d-arabitol dehydrogenase from isolated Gluconobacter sp. JX-05 and co-biotransformation of whole cells.

In the present study, a novel ardh gene encoding d-arabitol dehydrogenase (ArDH) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli from a new isolated strain of Gluconobacter sp. JX-05. Sequence analysis revealed that ArDH containing a NAD(P)-binding motif and a classical active site motif belongs to the short-chain dehydrogenase family.

A multifunctional material of two-dimensional g-CN/graphene bilayer.

Using first-principles calculations, we present a multifunctional material of g-CN/graphene bilayer with great potentials in the field of spintronics and photocatalysis. In g-CN/graphene bilayer, N atoms create localized spin polarization and p-doped graphene shows high charge carrier density, which makes this nanocomposite a perfect candidate for spintronic applications. Meanwhile, the charge redistribution occurred between the two layers also facilitates the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

Structural, electronic and optical properties of a hybrid triazine-based graphitic carbon nitride and graphene nanocomposite.

The interfacial effect on the structural, electronic and optical properties of a hybrid triazine-based graphitic carbon nitride and graphene nanocomposite is calculated using the first-principles method. It reveals the favorable stacking pattern utilizing the ab initio thermodynamics approach. The electronic band structure presents that the high carrier mobility is maintained in a hybrid g-CN/G nanocomposite, and a moderate band gap is opened by the interactions between g-C3N4 and graphene.

Nematic state of pnictides stabilized by interplay between spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom.

The nematic state of the iron-based superconductors is studied in the undoped limit of the three-orbital (xz, yz, xy) spin-fermion model via the introduction of lattice degrees of freedom. Monte Carlo simulations show that in order to stabilize the experimentally observed lattice distortion and nematic order, and to reproduce photoemission experiments, both the spin-lattice and orbital-lattice couplings are needed. The interplay between their respective coupling strengths regulates the separation between the structural and Néel transition temperatures.

Anisotropy of electrical transport in pnictide superconductors studied using Monte Carlo simulations of the spin-fermion model.

An undoped three-orbital spin-fermion model for the Fe-based superconductors is studied via Monte Carlo techniques in two-dimensional clusters. At low temperatures, the magnetic and one-particle spectral properties are in agreement with neutron and photoemission experiments. Our main results are the resistance versus temperature curves that display the same features observed in BaFe(2)As(2) detwinned single crystals (under uniaxial stress), including a low-temperature anisotropy between the two directions followed by a peak at the magnetic ordering temperature, that qualitatively appears related to short-range spin order and concomitant Fermi surface orbital order.

Exchange bias driven by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and ferroelectric polarization at G-type antiferromagnetic perovskite interfaces.

Exchange bias is usually rationalized invoking spin pinning effects caused by uncompensated antiferromagnetic interfaces. However, for compensated antiferromagnets other extrinsic factors, such as interface roughness or spin canting, have to be considered to produce a small uncompensation. As an alternative, here we propose two (related) possible mechanisms, driven by the intrinsic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and ferroelectric polarization, for the explanation of exchange bias effects in perovskites with compensated G-type antiferromagnetism.