Browse Articles

Conformational plasticity of disordered regions enables sequence-diverse DNA recognition by transcription factor AflR

The impact of internet usage preferences on secondary students’ mathematical literacy

A combined pseudouridine biomanufacturing platform enabled by a streamlined designer pathway

Frontispiece: Dynamic Molecular Triplet Excitons Tune Lanthanide Emission Lifetime

The “label code” of pro-environmental behavior—a study on pro-environmental behavior based on behavioral label theory

Predictive Coding Light

Dienoic‐Acid Coupling Effect Induced Hierarchical Interface for High‐Performance Zinc Metal Batteries

AbstractRational pre‐design of self‐decomposed electrolyte additives to construct solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) for suppressing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and dendrite growth of zinc (Zn) anode confronts enormous challenges, especially for the in‐depth understanding of structure–function relationship and the lack of reasonable design criteria. In this work, the dienoic‐acid coupling effect is innovatively proposed to in‐situ construct a hierarchical SEI layer (HSL) through the structural screening of a series of organic‐acid molecules. Strong electron‐withdrawing ability of dual carboxyl and metastable double bond can strengthen the self‐decomposition tendency of trace electrolyte additive to form HSL via chemical and electrochemical reaction. HSL can effectively regulate interfacial H2O environment via hydrogen‐bond anchoring to reduce thermodynamically active H2O, facilitate desolvation kinetics, and uniform Zn2+ diffusion, thus significantly suppressing HER and dendrite growth. As a result, Zn anode with HSL can achieve high average coulombic efficiency of 99.8% over 2400 cycles, long‐term cycling stability of 3800 h, and good reversibility under 50 mA cm−2. Zn–I2 full battery with HSL displays a long cycling life of 15 000 cycles and successfully powers the portable and wearable instruments. This work opens a novel route to design an advanced interface with fast kinetics by trace electrolyte additive for high‐performance Zn metal batteries.

Disrupting the interaction between connexin 43 and calmodulin restores gap junction function and mitigates reperfusion arrhythmias

Exploring the relative influence of atomic parameters on solid solution strengthening

Accessing Metal‐Containing Species in Tin–Lead Perovskite Precursor Solutions via Molecular Strategies Guided by the Hard–Soft Acid–Base Principle

AbstractThe properties of metal‐centred species in metal halide perovskite precursor solutions substantially influence the formation and evolution of colloidal particles, which in turn dictate the crystallisation process and the film quality. In this work, we assess the “hard” and “soft” Lewis acid characteristics of Sn2+ and Pb2+ cations as a strategy to modulate the chemical environment of these metal‐containing species in mixed‐metal tin–lead perovskite precursor solutions. We observe enhanced simultaneous access to both metal centres upon adding compounds with functional groups suggested by the hard–soft acid–base principle. Theoretical calculations suggest that the hard base carboxyl group preferentially interacts with Sn2+‐based species, while the softer base thiol group also targets Pb2+‐based species. By effectively accessing and manipulating possible classes of inorganic species and their colloidal particle properties in the precursor solutions, we achieve 1.26 eV perovskite polycrystalline films exhibiting enhanced structural and optoelectronic quality, giving the best quasi‐Fermi level splitting values of up to 0.95 eV. As a result, the solar cell devices demonstrate efficiency values of up to 23.3% with an extended operational lifetime, retaining 80% of their initial efficiency after over 280 and 180 h of maximum power point tracking under simulated AM1.5G illumination at 25 and 65 °C, respectively.

Probiotics as a therapeutic approach to alleviate reproductive harm from polystyrene microplastics in male rats

Improved allele frequencies in gnomAD through local ancestry inference

Microwave imaging for human brain stroke detection using frequency domain inverse modelling & phantom experiments

Abstract This paper reports a study exploring microwave Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging of biological specimens, with the longer-term goal of assessing its applicability for non-invasive and non-destructive imaging of the human brain in the context of stroke detection and monitoring. The paper describes the design and fabrication of a laboratory testbed developed to examine the feasibility of the ISAR approach. The system includes a custom antenna designed to reduce self-generated clutter and support the imaging process. Water was used as a matching medium due to its specific permittivity-frequency relationship, providing controlled conditions for experimental evaluation. The forward and inverse models were initially tested in simulated environments, and subsequently evaluated using physical measurements on real biological specimens in a bistatic radar configuration, to assess their ability to localize internal anomalies with sub-centimetre resolution across a 26 cm circular imaging area. The reconstructed images from vegetable phantoms such as potatoes and turnips suggest the technique may be capable of detecting internal structural variations. These preliminary findings serve as a foundation for future investigations into human brain imaging applications.

Late-stage direct double borylation of B/N-based multi-resonance framework enables high-performance ultra-narrowband deep-blue organic light-emitting diodes

Time‐Resolved Spectroelectrochemical Observation of Overlayer‐Induced Charge Carrier Dynamics in Water Photooxidation

AbstractSurface and interface engineering is essential for constructing efficient and stable photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar fuel production. Despite the recent advances in photoelectrode optimization for the practical application, the corresponding interfacial reaction mechanism has not been elucidated owing to a lack of suitable measurements at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface (SEI). Herein, the key factor for an interfacial reaction in a model system (WO3 photoanode coated with amorphous TiO2 overlayers) is elucidated using operando spectroelectrochemistry. The thin TiO2 overlayers are shown to enhance n‐type semiconductor characteristics and heal the excessive oxygen vacancies on the WO3 photoanode surface, which suggests reduced bulk and surface charge carrier recombination and 1.5‐fold increase in Faradaic efficiency. Operando transient absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal that the overlayers accelerate the transfer of photogenerated electrons from the electrode to the external circuit and increase the population of trapped holes by promoting band bending, which reveals that the kinetic connection between ultrafast phenomena and real water oxidation reaction. Thus, our work elucidates band bending in the space‐charge region as a key factor and provides a major strategy for designing surface‐modified PEC devices.

A comparative study on species composition and population dynamics characteristics of two Abies plants in the Pinaceae

Impact of steroid differentiation on tumor microenvironment revealed by single-nucleus atlas of adrenal tumors

Abstract Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are aggressive and resistant to medical treatment. This study reports a single-nucleus transcriptome atlas of steroid and microenvironment cells in 38 human normal adrenals and adrenocortical tumors. We identify intermediate-state cells between glomerulosa and fasciculata, a transition state in the centripetal trans-differentiation of normal steroid cells. In tumors, steroid cells show expression programs reflecting this zonation. Although ACC microenvironment is scarce, its signatures combine with those of steroid cells into ecotypes. A first ecotype combines cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor-associated endothelial cells, with hypoxia and mitosis signatures in steroid cells. Another ecotype combines exhausted T cells, with fasciculata steroid signature. These ecotypes are associated with poor survival. Conversely, a third ecotype combines inflammatory macrophages, with reticularis steroid signature, and better outcome. These steroid/microenvironment cells interplays improve outcome predictions and may open therapeutic options in aggressive ACC, through immune microenvironment activation by modulating glucocorticoids/androgens balance.

Frontispiece: Abnormal Anti‐Kasha Emission and TADF in Anionic Cycloarylenes

Synergistic Regulation of Electrolyte and Electrode Structures Enhance Ammonium Vanadate Mg‐storage Performance for 100 mAh‐Level Mg‐ion Pouch Cells

AbstractAqueous Mg‐ion batteries (AMIBs) have attracted increasing interest due to their safety, fast kinetics, and sustainability. However, the development of AMIBs is hindered by the narrow electrochemical stability window (ESW) of electrolytes and electrode degradation. Here, a synergistic strategy, regulating both electrolyte and electrode structures, is proposed to enable high‐performance AMIBs. Incorporating a polyethylene glycol crowding agent into Mg(ClO4)2/H2O electrolyte regulates the solvation structure, which suppresses hydrogen evolution, and expands the ESW beyond 3.1 V. Meanwhile, an ammonium vanadate (NHVO) material with enlarged interlayer spacing is synthesized, and a freestanding NHVO/graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (NHVO/GO/CNT) electrode is constructed to enhance Mg2+ diffusion and mitigate vanadium dissolution. Under the synergistic regulation, NHVO/GO/CNT exhibits a high capacity of 284.0 mAh g−1 and the longest cycling lifespan (16 000 cycles with 95.6% capacity retention). The solvation structure of electrolytes and interfacial stabilization mechanisms are elucidated through theory calculations. The Mg‐storage mechanism of NHVO based on a single‐phase insertion/extraction reaction with NH4+/Mg2+ displacement phenomenon is revealed. The constructed multilayer Mg‐ion pouch cell achieves a record‐high capacity of 103.7 mAh. The integrated solar cell‐pouch cell device demonstrates the feasibility of photo‐charging AMIBs for the first time. This work offers a viable strategy toward practical, high‐performance multivalent‐ion batteries.

Diel and spatial variability in cyanobacterial composition, gene abundance, and toxin concentration: a pilot study

Abstract We designed a pilot field study to assess relations between sunlight, cyanobacteria, and cyanotoxins. In 2021, we collected day (07:00 h, 10:00 h, 13:00 h, 16:00 h) and night samples (19:00 h, 22:00 h, 01:00 h, 04:00 h) at two locations in Kabetogama Lake, MN, USA. One sample set was collected from the lakeward end of a boat dock and the other on the nearby shoreline. Cyanobacterial phylogenetic eDNA differences over 24 h (pseudo F = 2.0938, p = 0.127) were not significant. Copies of anatoxin (anaC) and microcystin (mcyE) synthetase genes varied significantly over the sampling times at the dock (Friedman Χ2 = 15.01, df = 7, p = 0.036; Friedman Χ2 = 19.22, df = 7, p = 0.008) and the shoreline (Friedman Χ2 = 19.33, df = 7, p = 0.007; Friedman Χ2 = 20.56, df = 7, p = 0.005), with the highest anaC counts occurring during the night for both sites. Additionally, the highest total and dissolved microcystin concentrations occurred at night. Despite the proximity of the sampling locations, cyanobacterial phylogenetic eDNA results indicate that the variability between sites (pseudo-F = 27.547, p = 0.001) were greater than temporal differences over 24 h (pseudo F = 2.0938, p = 0.127). Understanding the effect of diel and spatial variability may help researchers and resource managers make informed decisions about sampling and potential exposure.