Prediction of Gadolinium Polynitrides at High Pressures as High-Energy-Density Materials.

Pressure-induced nitrogen-rich compounds hold significant application prospects in high-energy-density materials. Utilizing first-principles calculations and swarm-intelligence structure search methods, we have identified ten new types of Gd-N compounds with different configurations, such as one-dimensional N-chains composed of N rings or N rings, and two-dimensional N-layers constructed of N rings, N rings, or N + N rings. Moreover, the predicted Gd-N compounds exhibit different magnetic properties, and a magnetic phase diagram is constructed in the pressure range of 0 to 200 GPa.

Surface-Modification Strategy to Produce Highly Anticorrosive TiCT MXene-Based Polymer Composite Coatings: A Mini-Review.

MXenes are a group of novel two-dimensional (2D) materials with merits such as large specific surface area, abundant surface-functional groups, high chemical activity, excellent mechanical properties, high hydrophilicity, and good compatibility with various polymers. In recent years, many novel high-performance organic anticorrosion coatings using MXenes as nanofillers have been reported and have attracted widespread attention. As the first successfully prepared MXene material, TiCT is the most extensively studied and typical member of the MXene family.

Potential Molecular Interactions and In Vitro Hyperthermia, Thermal, and Magnetic Studies of Bioactive Nickel-Doped Hydroxyapatite Thin Films.

The treatment of bone cancer often necessitates the surgical removal of affected tissues, with artificial implants playing a critical role in replacing lost bone structure. Functionalized implants represent an innovative approach to improve bio-integration and the long-term effectiveness of surgery in treating cancer-damaged bones. In this study, nickel-substituted hydroxyapatite (Ni:HAp) nanoparticles were deposited as thin films using laser pulses in the range of 30,000-60,000.

Research on Laser Direct Transmission Welding of Transparent Polystyrene and Polycarbonate Based on Laser Surface Modification.

The conventional near-infrared laser transmission welding (LTW) process for joining dissimilar transparent polymers is limited by the need to incorporate optical absorbents, which compromises joint performance and raises biocompatibility concerns. To address these issues, this study proposed a surface modification technique using femtosecond laser ablation prior to the welding process. Experiments involved 520 nm femtosecond laser ablation of transparent polymers, followed by LTW of dissimilar transparent polymers using an 808 nm laser, with subsequent characterization and mechanical property evaluations.

Nanomaterials for Zinc Batteries-Aerogels.

Aqueous zinc batteries, mainly including Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) and Zn-air batteries (ZABs), are promising energy storage systems, but challenges exist at their current stage. For instance, the zinc anode in aqueous electrolyte is impacted by anodic dendrites, hydrogen and oxygen precipitation, and some other harmful side reactions, which severely affect the battery's lifespan. As for traditional cathode materials in ZIBs, low electrical conductivity, slow Zn ion migration, and easy collapse of the crystal structure during ion embedding and migration bring challenges.

Highly enhanced room-temperature single-atom catalysis of two-dimensional organic-inorganic multiferroics Cr(half-fluoropyrazine) for CO oxidation.

In modern chemistry, the development of highly efficient room-temperature catalysts is of great significance and remains a long-standing challenge in various typical reactions. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that the two-dimensional (2D) multiferroic, Cr(half-fluoropyrazine) [Cr(h-fpyz)], is a promising single-atom catalyst (SAC) operating at room temperature for CO oxidation. The rate-limiting barrier is merely 0.

Mechanistic Insights Into NIR-II AIEgens Boosted Multimodal Phototheranostics.

Exploiting single molecular species synchronously affording powerful second near-infrared (NIR-II) fluorescence, superior photoacoustic output, prominent reactive oxygen species generation, and satisfactory photothermal conversion is supremely appealing for phototheranostics, yet remains formidably challenging. In this work, electron donor/π-bridge engineering is implemented on the basis of 6,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline moiety. The optimal molecule, namely TPATO-TTQ, is demonstrates to exhibit those notable features requested by exceptional phototheranostics, which are systematically elucidated through the depictions of excited-state energy dissipation pathways and the influence of intramolecular motion on the photophysical properties, with assistances of quantum chemical calculation and molecular dynamic simulation.

Degradation of Sliding Ferroelectricity Induced by Environmental Gas Molecules: Case of Bilayer WS.

Emerging sliding ferroelectricity (SF) holds great potential for the development of low-energy-cost and high-endurance ferroelectric devices. In the van der Waals (vdWs) stacking of SF, atomic vacancies inevitably exist and gas molecules commonly stay in the interlayer, but their impact on SF is unclear. In this work, the bilayer WS is taken as an example and demonstrate their effect on the SF polarization and switching barrier.

Mechanistic insights into the phosphorylation-regulated a disordered protein interaction module.

The TFIIS N-terminal domain (TND) is a crucial protein scaffold that selectively recognizes disordered ligands, known as TND-interacting motifs (TIMs). Understanding the specific mechanisms of TND-TIM interactions is essential for deciphering the transcription machinery. Here, we investigated the conformational ensembles of the TND-TIM interaction module using molecular dynamics simulations.

Polymeric nanoparticles with a thermoresponsive shell loaded with fluorescent molecules allow for thermally enhanced fluorescence imaging and singlet oxygen generation.

A thermosensitive polymeric nanoformulation (NF) was fabricated for thermally enhanced near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging (FLI). It comprised core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) with a polystyrene core and a thermosensitive shell of a co-polymer of -isopropylacrylamide and acrylamide [poly(NIPAM--AA)], which underwent a reversible conformational transition at 38-40 °C (corresponding to a lower critical solution temperature, LCST), leading to a reversible shrinkage of NPs from ∼250 nm to ∼140 nm for temperatures above LCST. The NIR dye 3782SL or photosensitizer HPPH were loaded to the NP shells.

Ultrahigh piezoelectricity and temperature stability in piezoceramics by synergistic design.

Piezoceramics with both high piezoelectric properties and broad temperature usage range are highly in demand for sensor and actuator applications. Unfortunately, the trade-off relationship between two properties poses a significant challenge that remains unresolved. Herein, through combined phase boundary engineering and process engineering, we report the simultaneous achievements of substantially enhanced piezoelectric coefficient d (from 784 pC/N to 855 pC/N) and piezoelectric strain d* (from 620 pm/V to 860 pm/V), and ultrahigh temperature stability (i.

Single-Molecule Amplification-Free Detection of Nucleic Acid Biomarkers from Body Fluids via an Optical Microfiber with a Nanointerface.

Single-molecule detection of nucleic acids in body fluids is vital but challenging. This work presents an optical microfiber biosensor with a metal-semiconductor-2D material hybrid nanointerface for single-molecule amplification-free detection of nucleic acids in complex body fluids. By optimizing the nanointerface components, we achieved significant enhancement of the evanescent field, enabling ultrahigh sensitivity at the microfiber surface.

Synergizing Interfacial Electric Field Regulation and In situ Robust Interphases for Stable Lithium Metal Batteries at High Currents.

Efficient cycling of lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) under extremely high current conditions is critical for their practical applications. Here, we report a novel additive containing fluorine, nitrogen, and iodine elements (designated as FCS) to stabilize Li metal anodes in glyme-based ether electrolytes under high current conditions. Experimental results and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations demonstrate that the cation of FCS selectively adsorbs on the electrode surface, optimizing the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP) structure and effectively regulating the surface electric field, thereby promoting homogeneous Li deposition.

Genome-wide characterization of circular RNAs in three rat models of pulmonary hypertension reveals distinct pathological patterns.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease marked by elevated pulmonary artery pressure, resulting in right ventricular (RV) failure and mortality. Despite the identification of several dysregulated genes in PH, the involvement of circular RNAs (circRNAs), a subset of long noncoding RNAs, remains largely unknown.

Methods: In this study, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed to analyze the genome-wide expression patterns of circRNAs in pulmonary arteries from three models of PH rats induced by hypoxia (Hyp), hypoxia/Sugen5416 (HySu), and monocrotaline (MCT).

General approach for synthesizing hexagonal diamond by heating post-graphite phases.

Natural and synthetic diamonds mostly have a cubic lattice, whereas a rare hexagonal structure-known as hexagonal diamond (HD)-has been largely unexplored due to the low purity and minuscule size of most samples obtained. The synthesis of HD remains a challenge and even its existence remains controversial. Here we report the synthesis of well-crystallized, nearly pure HD by heating highly compressed graphite, which is applicable to both bulk and nanosized graphitic precursors.

Two-stream spatio-temporal GCN-transformer networks for skeleton-based action recognition.

For the purpose of achieving accurate skeleton-based action recognition, the majority of prior approaches have adopted a serial strategy that combines Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs) with attention-based methods. However, this approach frequently treats the human skeleton as an isolated and complete structure, neglecting the significance of highly correlated yet indirectly connected skeletal parts, finally hindering recognition accuracy. This study proposes a novel architecture addressing this limitation by implementing a parallel configuration of GCNs and the Transformer model (SA-TDGFormer).

Asymmetric small-molecule acceptor enables suppressed electron-vibration coupling and minimized driving force for organic solar cells.

Minimizing the energy loss, particularly the non-radiative energy loss (ΔE), without sacrificing the charge collection efficiency, is the key to further improve the photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we proposed an asymmetric molecular design strategy, via developing alkyl/thienyl hybrid side chain based asymmetric small molecule acceptors (SMAs) BTP-C11-TBO and BTP-BO-TBO, to manipulate the intermolecular interactions to realize enhanced luminescence efficiency and reduced energy loss. Theoretical and experimental results indicate that compared to the three symmetric SMAs BTP-DC11, BTP-DTBO and BTP-DBO, the asymmetric SMAs BTP-C11-TBO and BTP-BO-TBO exhibit repressed electron-vibration coupling and reduced ΔE.

HybProm: An attention-assisted hybrid CNN-BiLSTM model for the interpretable prediction of DNA promoter.

Promoter prediction is essential for analyzing gene structures, understanding regulatory networks, transcription mechanisms, and precisely controlling gene expression. Recently, computational and deep learning methods for promoter prediction have gained attention. However, there is still room to improve their accuracy.

Design of Intrinsic Transparent Conductors from a Synergetic Effect of Symmetry and Spatial-Distribution Forbidden Transitions.

Intrinsic transparent conductors (ITCs) correspond to a unique class of TCs that do not need intentional doping. This character can provide ITCs significant advantages by avoiding severe "doping bottlenecks" and dopant scattering usually encountered in conventional transparent conducting oxides (TCOs). However, the realization of ITCs generally requires the minimization of photon absorption and reflection in metallic conductors, which is difficult due to the gapless nature of their band structures.

Rapid Bacterial Identification through Multiplexed Nucleic Acid Detection on a Digital Microfluidic Platform for Enhanced Clinical Intervention against Infections.

Bacterial infections often lead to severe health consequences owing to their ability to infiltrate multiple anatomical sites, including the bloodstream, respiratory tract, and digestive tract, posing substantial diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Consequently, a rapid and versatile detection method capable of identifying a broad spectrum of bacterial pathogens is urgently required to facilitate precise antibiotic prescriptions. Addressing this need, we introduce MiND-DMF (Multibacterial Infection Nucleic Acid Detection on a Digital Microfluidic Platform), a cost-effective digital microfluidic platform tailored for multiplexed bacterial detection.

Differentiating the origins of local charge transfer in oxides and hybrid halides by accumulating charge.

Unveiling the origin of local charge transfer is crucial for advancing electronic devices such as ferroelectric and memristive memories and perovskite solar cells. Exploring charge transfer mechanisms requires sensitive probing of local charge transfer, as electric charges in many materials arise from multiple mechanisms. However, the limited sensitivity of current techniques makes it challenging to unveil the origins of such nanoscale charge behavior.

ZnCo Bimetallic Macro-Microporous Metal-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Adsorption of Dyes.

The significant threat posed by dye wastewater has driven the development of efficient adsorbents, such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Specifically, we explore the synthesis and application of ZnCo-based bimetallic zeolite imidazolate frameworks with a macro-microporous structure (SOM-ZnCo-ZIF), which exhibit enhanced adsorption capacity for dyes due to their large specific surface area and ordered porous arrangement. When SOM-ZnCo-ZIF is immersed in DMA solutions of methylene blue, methyl orange, crystal violet, and rhodamine B, due to its high specific surface area and the synergistic effect of ZnCo bimetallic clusters, SOM-ZnCo-ZIF significantly enhances dye adsorption.

Corn silk-derived biomass carbon materials for low-frequency microwave absorption and energy storage.

Biomass carbon (BC) materials derived from agricultural waste have shown great potential in microwave absorption (MA). However, current research mainly focuses on high-frequency (8-18 GHz) MA, and much less effort has been spent on low-frequency (2-8 GHz) MA and other important functionalities such as energy storage. Herein, corn silk rich in carbon is utilized to prepare BC materials with uniform pores and large specific surface area through a straightforward chemical activation and carbonization process.

Revealing Light-Magnetism Coupling via Anomalous Hall Effect and Magneto-Photoresponse in Proximity-Coupled CrSBr/Graphene Heterostructures.

The interplay between light and magnetism sparks groundbreaking concepts for the next-generation versatile spintronic and nanoelectronic devices. However, direct measurements of light-magnetism coupling remain challenging due to the intrinsic difficulties in characterizing these properties simultaneously. Herein, via harnessing magnetic proximity and anomalous Hall effect (AHE), we report the effective modification of magnetism in the graphene/CrSBr heterostructure by an unpolarized 405 nm light.

Nonlinear decoration-driven adaptive neural finite-time control for USVs with two rotatable thrusters under false data injection attacks and input saturation.

This study explores the trajectory tracking control problem in unmanned surface vessels equipped with two rotatable thrusters in an adverse network environment beset by challenges, such as false data injection attacks (FDIAs) and input saturation. This study used the hyperbolic tangent function to provide a smooth transition for the control input, effectively avoiding the system oscillation and instability caused by sudden changes in the input signal. Next, the concept of stepwise reconstruction was used to handle the FDIAs faced by the kinematic and dynamic channels of the system.