Browse Articles

Unraveling electronic correlations in warm dense quantum plasmas

Abstract The study of matter at extreme densities and temperatures has emerged as a highly active frontier at the interface of plasma physics, material science and quantum chemistry with relevance for planetary modeling and inertial confinement fusion. A particular feature of such warm dense matter is the complex interplay of Coulomb interactions, quantum effects, and thermal excitations, making its rigorous theoretical description challenging. Here, we demonstrate how ab initio path integral Monte Carlo simulations allow us to unravel this intricate interplay for the example of strongly compressed beryllium, focusing on two X-ray Thomson scattering data sets obtained at the National Ignition Facility. We find excellent agreement between simulation and experiment with a very high level of consistency between independent observations without the need for any empirical input parameters. Our results call into question previously used chemical models, with important implications for the interpretation of scattering experiments and radiation hydrodynamics simulations.

Develop Complex Photocatalytic System of D‐π‐A‐type Conjugated Porous Polymers and Benzyl Alcohol Mediated Autocatalysis for Practical Artificial Photosynthesis of H₂O₂

AbstractArtificial photosynthesis of H2O2 is conceived to be an ideal approach for replacing the industrial anthraquinone method that suffers from hefty energy penalties and environmental toxicity. However, the low concentration of H2O2 resides as the biggest hurdle for industrial production. Herein, with a focus on fabricating high‐performance heterogeneous photocatalysts and establishing a highly efficient complex photocatalytic system, we report the preparation of D‐π‐A‐type conjugated porous polymers containing a photosensitizer and redox‐active anthraquinone moiety for endowing highly efficient H2O2 production up to 3.0 mmol g−1 h−1. Further, by exploiting the autocatalytic photooxidation feature of benzyl alcohol, •OOH as the key species contributing to H2O2 formation received a substantial accumulation, which stems from the collaboration of the photocatalytic and autocatalytic cycle. Mechanistically, the hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking between the photocatalyst and benzyl alcohol are formed to lower the free energy of the transition states, thus leading to unprecedentedly high efficiency in the photosynthesis of H2O2 up to 140.4 mmol g−1 h−1, with the concentration of 35.1 mmol L−1 and an apparent quantum yield of 49%. This work provides critical insights in advancing sustainable energy conversion research.

Impact of arc quenching parameters on surface hardness and microstructure of S45C steel with concave surfaces

This study investigates the effects of arc length, current intensity, travel speed, gas flow rate, and pulse time on surface hardness to better understand the arc quenching of S45C steel with a curved shape. With the standard examination method, increasing the current intensity, Travel speed, and arc length causes the surface hardness to decrease. The surface hardness varies depending on the gas flow rate and pulse time. The Travel speed factor appears to have the greatest effect, followed by the gas flow rate and current intensity. Pulse time and arc length are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, indicating a smaller impact on surface hardness. The microhardness diagram is divided into four stages: improving, rapid dropping, moderate dropping, and stable. The greatest hardness was 576 HV, with a case depth of 1200 μm. The structure of the arc-hardened sample is composed of hardening zones, HAZ, and base metal. The base metal is composed of ferrite and pearlite, which are the original microstructures of medium-carbon steel. The HAZ is made up of two phases: a brown bainite phase and a brighter ferrite phase. Ferrite, bainite, martensite, and residual austenite phases make up the hardening with a high hardness value area. These phases’ diversity results from their rapid heating and cooling rates as well as the significant variations in cooling rates among depths. The findings of the study on the optimum values of factors such as current intensity at 150 A, Travel speed at 150 mm/min, arc length at 2.5 mm, pulse time at 0.6 s, or gas flow at 10.5 l/min can help engineers to have a closer look at the parameters of this arc tempering technology affecting the surface hardness and their applications. Moreover, the hardness measurement value according to the Taguchi method investigation also shows that the highest value of surface hardness achieved is 42.6 HRC compared to 18 HRC of unhardened surface hardness. In addition, the findings on microstructure also help the applicator to better understand and evaluate the quality of this electric arc method for quenching the surface of S45C steel, thereby making it more useful in the industry.

Circular dichroism of quantum defects in carbon nanotubes created by photocatalytic oxygen functionalization

Abstract Control over the chiroptical properties of low-dimensional semiconductors is a promising route toward next-generation optoelectronics and photonics. With their helical chirality, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) offer a suitable framework for exploring chiral excitonic states. In addition to intrinsic, one-dimensional excitons, the targeted functionalization of SWCNTs with luminescent defects introduces zero-dimensional quantum states that enhance photoluminescence quantum yields and exhibit single-photon emission at room temperature. Here, we demonstrate that these defect states inherit the chirality of the respective SWCNT enantiomer, as evident from near-infrared circular dichroism. This observation is achieved by utilizing photocatalysis for efficient and versatile functionalization of SWCNTs with luminescent oxygen defects. The employed approach, based on anthraquinone derivatives as photocatalysts, is applicable to SWCNTs with different diameters, in aqueous or organic dispersions, with different surfactants, and even enables lateral patterning of defects in SWCNT networks. Low catalyst concentrations and the absence of cytotoxic metals or reactants make this functionalization method highly biocompatible. Introducing luminescent defects with uniform binding configurations in sorted nanotube enantiomers represents a key step toward chirality control of quantum defects in SWCNTs.

Large field-of-view plasmonic scattering imaging and sensing of nanoparticles with isotropic point-spread-function

Phenotypic plasticity in cell elongation among closely related bacterial species

Abstract Cell elongation in bacteria has been studied over many decades, in part because its underlying mechanisms are targets of numerous antibiotics. While multiple elongation modes have been described, little is known about how these strategies vary across species and in response to evolutionary and environmental influences. Here, we use fluorescent D-amino acids to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial cell elongation, revealing unsuspected diversity of elongation modes among closely related species of the family Caulobacteraceae. We identify species-specific combinations of dispersed, midcell and polar elongation that can be either unidirectional or bidirectional. Using genetic, cell biology, and phylogenetic approaches, we demonstrate that evolution of unidirectional-midcell elongation is accompanied by changes in the localization of the peptidoglycan synthase PBP2. Our findings reveal high phenotypic plasticity in elongation mechanisms, with implications for our understanding of bacterial growth and evolution.

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 from aircraft to citywide monitoring

Abstract Wastewater monitoring is highly efficient in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance for tracking virus spread through travel, surpassing traditional airport passenger testing. This study explored the links between SARS-CoV-2 contents and variants from aircraft to city, assessing the impact of detected variants from international travellers versus the local population. A total of 969 variants using next-generation sequencing (NGS) were examined to understand the links between—aircraft, Arlanda airport, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and Stockholm city—and compared these to variants detected in Stockholm hospitals from January to May 2023. SARS-CoV-2 contents in WWTPs reflected local infection rates, requiring analysis from multiple plants for an accurate city-wide infection assessment. Variants initially detected in aircraft arriving from China did not spread widely during the study period. RT-qPCR is adequate for the detection of specific variants in wastewater, including Variants Under Monitoring. However, NGS remains a powerful method for identifying novel variants. Wastewater monitoring was more effective than clinical testing in the early detection of specific variants, with notable delays observed in clinical surveillance. Furthermore, a broad range of variants are detected in wastewater that surpasses clinical tests. This underscores the vital role of wastewater-based epidemiology in managing future outbreaks and enhancing global health security.

Loss of CD98HC phosphorylation by ATM impairs antiporter trafficking and drives glutamate toxicity in Ataxia telangiectasia

Myocardial mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein promotes heart Ischemia-reperfusion injury via RIG-I signaling in mice

Outside Front Cover: Biomimetic Hierarchical Construction of Anti‐Tumor Polyoxopalladates for Cancer Therapy (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 23/2025)

Combining energy efficiency and quantum advantage in cyclic machines

Abstract Energy efficiency and quantum advantage are two important features of quantum devices. We here report an experimental realization that combines both features in a quantum engine coupled to a quantum battery that stores the produced work, using a single ion in a linear Paul trap. We begin by establishing the quantum nature of the device by observing nonclassical work oscillations with the number of cycles as verified by energy measurements of the battery. We moreover apply shortcut-to-adiabaticity techniques to suppress quantum friction and improve work production. While the average energy cost of the shortcut protocol is only about 3%, the work output is enhanced by up to approximately 33%, making the machine significantly more energy efficient. We additionally show that the quantum engine consistently outperforms its classical counterpart in this regime. Our results pave the way for energy efficient machines with quantum-enhanced performance.

Polymerised superparamagnetic antigen presenting cell lymphocyte capture for enriching tumour reactive T-cells and neoantigen identification

Aerodynamic roughness of rippled beds under active saltation at Earth-to-Mars atmospheric pressures

Insertion of Nitriles Into a Gold(III)/Carbene Bond: A Direct and Powerful Entry to Imino‐Substituted Carbenes

AbstractStrikingly, very little is known so far about reactive gold(III) carbenes. They have been proposed as key intermediates in a few reactions but remain chemical curiosities. Taking into account the enhanced electrophilicity of cationic Au(III) carbene complexes, we were intrigued by their reactivity with nitriles. Thus, we discovered a simple and efficient entry to imino‐substituted carbenes. The transient (N^C^C)Au(III)←:CH(dmp)+ carbene readily reacts with acetonitrile, benzonitrile, and diisopropyl cyanamide, affording stable and isolable Au(III) carbene complexes. Here, the imino group acts either as a strongly π‐donating or a spectator substituent. Ligand exchange at Au(III) or protodeauration/deprotonation provides access to the corresponding free species, which display dual imino‐carbene / nitrile‐ylide reactivity, as substantiated by stoichiometric and catalytic dimerization, O─H insertion and [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions.

Divergent combinations of enhancers encode spatial gene expression

Structure of bifunctional variediene synthase yields unique insight on biosynthetic diterpene assembly and cyclization

Robert Luxenhofer

Selective photoelectrochemical synthesis of adipic acid using single-atom Ir decorated α-Fe2O3 photoanode

Electronic strong coupling modifies the ground-state intermolecular interactions in self-assembled chlorin molecules

Metabolic modeling reveals a multi-level deregulation of host-microbiome metabolic networks in IBD

Abstract Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic disorders involving dysregulated immune responses. Despite the role of disrupted host-microbial interaction in the pathophysiology of IBD, the underlying metabolic principles are not fully understood. We densely profiled microbiome, transcriptome and metabolome signatures from longitudinal IBD cohorts before and after advanced drug therapy initiation and reconstructed metabolic models of the gut microbiome and the host intestine to study host-microbiome metabolic cross-talk in the context of inflammation. Here, we identified concomitant changes in metabolic activity across data layers involving NAD, amino acid, one-carbon and phospholipid metabolism. In particular on the host level, elevated tryptophan catabolism depleted circulating tryptophan, thereby impairing NAD biosynthesis. Reduced host transamination reactions disrupted nitrogen homeostasis and polyamine/glutathione metabolism. The suppressed one-carbon cycle in patient tissues altered phospholipid profiles due to limited choline availability. Simultaneously, microbiome metabolic shifts in NAD, amino acid and polyamine metabolism exacerbated these host metabolic imbalances. Leveraging host and microbe metabolic models, we predicted dietary interventions remodeling the microbiome to restore metabolic homeostasis, suggesting novel therapeutic strategies for IBD.