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Plasmon-enhanced light-matter interactions have been widely investigated in the past decades. Here, we report surface plasmon-enhanced structural dynamics in multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The optical polarization dependent dynamic properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are investigated using ultrafast transmission electron microscopy. Lattice contractions in the femtosecond time regime are observed upon excitation of the azimuthal plasmon by light polarized perpendicular to the tubular axis. The polarization dependence of the plasmon near field was examined using photon-induced near-field electron microscopy. The lattice changes resulting from the azimuthal plasmon enhance ultrafast alterations in both localized evanescent fields and the collective charge excitation, which play critical roles governing the light-matter interaction. These results suggest that the ultrafast responses of lattice degrees of freedom in nanomaterials could be essential for understanding the mechanism of surface plasmon enhanced effects.

Fe-based superconductors are one of the current research focuses. FeTe is unique in the series of FeSe1−x Te x , since it is nonsuperconducting near the FeTe side in the phase diagram in contrast to the presence of superconductivity in other region. However, FeTe thin films become superconducting after oxygen annealing and the mechanism remains elusive. Here, we report the temperature dependences of resistivity, Hall effect and magnetoresistance (MR) of a series of FeTe thin films with different amounts of excess Fe and oxygen. These properties show dramatic changes with excess Fe and oxygen incorporation. We found the Hall coefficients are positive for the oxygen-annealed samples, in contrast to the transition from positive to negative below 50 K for the vacuum-annealed samples. For all samples, both the resistivity and Hall coefficient show a dramatic drop, respectively, at around 50 K–75 K, implying coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order for the oxygen-annealed samples. The vacuum-annealed samples show both positive and negative values of MR depending on temperature, while negative MR dominates for the oxygen-annealed samples. We also found that oxygen annealing reduces the excess Fe in FeTe, which has been neglected before. The results are discussed in terms of several contributions, and a comparison is made between the oxygen-annealed FeTe thin films and FeSe1−x Te x . This work is helpful for shedding light on the understanding of oxygen-annealed FeTe thin films.

Photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM), developed from ultrafast transmission electron microscopy, enables near-field imaging with nanometer spatial resolution and femtosecond temporal resolution. We report the plasmonic near-field distribution and lifetime analysis for an asymmetric copper bowtie nanostructure having unequal opening angles. The PINEM images show surface plasmon polaritons and local surface-plasmon resonance excitations with various polarizations. Combined with finite-element simulations, the polarization- and structure-dependent distribution and intensity variations of the near-field were analyzed. The lifetime difference of a plasmonic near-field excited by different polarizations is also discussed. The temporal and spatial characterization of the plasmonic near-field is important for the further studies of plasmonic near-field manipulation and designs of plasmonic devices having specific functions.

Infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens are a worldwide challenge for public health. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are regarded as promising antibiotic alternatives for the treatment of drug-resistant infections. In the present study, a series of small peptides were designed based on our previously reported sea snake AMP Hc-CATH. From them, the lead peptide HC1-D2, a truncated peptide entirely substituted by d-amino acids, was selected. HC1-D2 exhibited significantly improved stability and antibiofilm and anti-inflammatory activities. Meanwhile, HC1-D2 retained potent, broad-spectrum, and rapid antimicrobial properties against bacteria and fungi, especially drug-resistant bacteria. Moreover, HC1-D2 showed low propensity to induce bacterial resistance and low cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity. Notably, HC1-D2 showed potent in vivo anti-infective ability in mouse peritonitis models infected by both standard and drug-resistant bacteria. It significantly decreased the bacterial counts in the abdominal cavity and spleen of mice and apparently increased the survival rates of the mice. Acting through the MAPKs inflammatory pathway, HC1-D2 selectively induced the production of chemokine and the subsequent immune cell recruitment to the infection site, while inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines with undesirable toxicities. These much improved properties make HC1-D2 a promising candidate for the development of novel peptide anti-infective agents against drug-resistant infections.

Heterostructures composed of superconductor and ferroelectrics (SC/FE) are very important for manipulating the superconducting property and applications. However, growth of high-quality superconducting iron chalcogenide films is challenging because of their volatility and FE substrate with rough surface and large lattice mismatch. Here, we report a two-step growth approach to get high-quality FeSe0.5Te0.5 (FST) films on FE Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.7Ti0.3O3 with large lattice mismatch, which show superconductivity at only around 10 nm. Through a systematic study of structural and electric transport properties of samples with different thicknesses, a mechanism to grow high-quality FST is discovered. Moreover, electric-field-induced remarkable change of Tc (superconducting transition temperature) is demonstrated in a 20 nm FST film. This work paves the way to grow high-quality films which contain volatile element and have large lattice mismatch with the substrate. It is also helpful for manipulating the superconducting property in SC/FE heterostructures.

Using 2% percent of iron dopants as reaction active sites yields a series of single crystals of 1,10-phenanthroline intercalated NiPS3, via solution reaction with aniline chloride, not possible by direct reaction. Experimental magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate that 1,10-phenanthroline intercalation suppresses the anti-ferromagnetism ordering at around 150 K in Fe0.02Ni0.98PS3, and gives rise to a ferrimagnetic phase transition at the temperature around 75 K. A intercalation mechanism is proposed for the reaction, and this dopant seeding method provides a new approach for intercalation into layered materials.\ud \ud

Swift electrons can undergo inelastic interactions not only with electrons but also with near-fields, which may result in an energy loss or gain. Developments in photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM) enable direct imaging of the plasmon near-field distribution with nanometer resolution. Here, we report an analysis of the surface plasmonic near-field structure based on PINEM observations of silver nanowires. Single-photon order-selected electron images revealed the wavelike and banded structure of electric equipotential regions for a confined near-field integral associated with typical absorption of photon quanta (nℏω). Multimodal plasmon oscillations and second-harmonic generation were simultaneously observed, and the polarization dependence of plasmon wavelength and symmetry properties were analyzed. Based on advanced imaging techniques, our work has implications for future studies of the localized-field structures at interfaces and visualization of novel phenomena in nanostructures, nanosensors, and plasmonic devices.

Strong spin-orbital-coupling magnetic systems with the honeycomb structure can provide bond-directional interactions which may result in Kitaev quantum spin liquids and exotic anyonic excitations. However, one of the key ingredients in real materials---disorders---has been much less studied in Kitaev systems. Here we synthesized a trigonal ${\mathrm{SrIr}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{6\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ with $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\approx}0.25$, which consists of two-dimensional honeycomb Ir planes with edge-sharing ${\mathrm{IrO}}_{6}$ octahedra. First-principles computation and experimental measurements suggest that the electronic system is gapped, and there should be no magnetic moment as the ${\mathrm{Ir}}^{5+}$ ion has no unpaired electrons. However, significant magnetism has been observed in the material, and it can be attributed to disorders that are most likely from oxygen vacancies. No magnetic order is found down to 0.05 K, and the low-temperature magnetic properties exhibit power-law behaviors in magnetic susceptibility and zero-field specific heat, and a single-parameter scaling of the specific heat under magnetic fields. These results provide strong evidence for the existence of the random singlet phase in ${\mathrm{SrIr}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{6\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$, which offers a different member to the family of spin-orbital entangled iridates and Kitaev materials.

Aim: Anticancer immunochemotherapy represents an attractive paradigm to improve therapeutic responses and reduce side effects. Results & methodology: Here, we show that a naturally occurring host defense peptide, HN-1 inhibited multiple malignant cells proliferation and tumor growth in a xenografted human breast tumor model. Acting through MAPK/NF-κB pathways, HN-1 induced a caspase-independent mitochondrial apoptosis, as indicated by a p53-dependent increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and the nuclear translocation of apoptosis inducing factor. Besides, HN-1 augmented CD4+/CD8+ T cells in 4T1 mammary carcinoma model, by enhancing the serum levels of cancer immunity-associated effectors. Meanwhile, HN-1 decreased the angiogenesis and infiltration of the tumor-associated macrophages. Conclusion: HN-1 induces caspase-independent cancer cells apoptosis and boosts cancer-resolving immunity without inducing potentially harmful pro-inflammatory responses.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are severe threats to aquaculture industry. Boosting and modulating host immune responses has been proved to be an effective strategy to combat with bacterial infections and there is an urgent need for novel immunomodulators. Cathelicidins is an important family of host defense peptides (HDPs) that possess direct antimicrobial activities and potent immunomodulatory properties. Several cathelicidins have been identified and characterized from diverse fish species. Considering the relatively conserved immune systems between different fish species, it is reasonable to speculate that cathelicidins from different fish species possess immunomodulating functions on the other fish species. In the present study, two fish-derived cathelicidins (CATH_BRALE and codCath1) were selected to investigate their protective effect on zebrafish with bacterial infections. They exhibited potent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities against the tested aquatic Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, with MIC values ranging 2.34–18.75 μg/ml for CATH_BRALE and 2.34–37.5 μg/ml for codCath1. And their antimicrobial effect is so rapid that they killed the bacteria within 60 min. Unlike conventional antibiotics, they kill bacteria by inducing bacterial membrane permeabilization and cell disruption. Besides direct antimicrobial activity, CATH_BRALE and codCath1 exhibited potent immunomodulatory functions by both inhibiting bacteria induced zebrafish pro-inflammatory cytokine gene (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) expression and stimulating zebrafish chemokine gene IL-8 expression. In vivo challenge test proved that they could significantly decrease the bacterial numbers and enhance the survival rates of zebrafish. All the results above imply the great potential of CATH_BRALE and codCath1 as novel peptide immunomodulators in fish aquaculture industry.

A quaternary compound Bi3O2S2Cl, which consists of novel [BiS2Cl]2-layers, is reported. It adopts a layered structure of the space group I4/mmm (No. 139) with lattice parameters: a = 3.927(1) {\AA}, c = 21.720(5) {\AA}. In this compound, bismuth and chlorine atoms form an infinite planar layer, which is unique among the bismuth halides. Superconductivity is observed in both polycrystals and single crystals, and is significantly enhanced in the samples prepared with less sulfur or at higher temperatures. By tuning the content of sulfur, Bi3O2S2Cl can be converted from a semiconductor into a superconductor. The superconducting critical temperature ranges from 2.6 K to 3.5 K. Our discovery of the [BiS2Cl]2- layer opens another door in searching for the bismuth compounds with novel physical properties., Comment: 15 pages

Recently, transition-metal-based kagome metals have aroused much research interest as a novel platform to explore exotic topological quantum phenomena. Here we report on the synthesis, structure, and physical properties of a bilayer kagome lattice compound V3Sb2. The polycrystalline V3Sb2 samples were synthesized by conventional solid-state-reaction method in a sealed quartz tube at temperatures below 850 Celsius degree. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility and resistivity revealed consistently a density-wave-like transition at Tdw ~ 160 K with a large thermal hysteresis, even though some sample-dependent behaviors are observed presumably due to the different preparation conditions. Upon cooling through Tdw, no strong anomaly in lattice parameters and no indication of symmetry lowering were detected in powder x-ray diffraction measurements. This transition can be suppressed completely by applying hydrostatic pressures of about 1.8 GPa, around which no sign of superconductivity is observed down to 1.5 K. Specific-heat measurements reveal a relatively large Sommerfeld coefficient {\gamma} = 18.5 mJ/mol-K2, confirming the metallic ground state with moderate electronic correlations. Density functional theory calculations indicate that V3Sb2 shows a non-trivial topological crystalline property. Thus, our study makes V3Sb2 a new candidate of metallic kagome compound to study the interplay between density-wave-order, nontrivial band topology, and possible superconductivity., Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures

The microstructure of quasi-one-dimensional KCr

Micropterus salmoides is an economical important species of freshwater-cultured fish, the in-depth knowledge of its immune system is in urgent development to cope with serious infectious diseases. Piscidin is an important antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family existing in almost all teleosts. However, no piscidin has been reported in largemouth bass. In this study, three novel piscidins (MSPiscidin-1, -2, and -3) were firstly identified and characterized from the largemouth bass. The predicted mature peptides of MSPiscidin-1, -2, and -3 (consists of 24, 27, 25 amino acid residues, respectively) all adopted an amphipathic α-helical conformation representative of cationic AMPs that are important for membrane permeabilization and antibacterial activity. MSPiscidin-2 and -3 indeed displayed strong, broad-spectrum, and highly efficient antimicrobial activities in vitro against aquatic pathogens, but MSPiscidin-1 didn't show direct antimicrobial activity. MSPiscidin-2 and -3 killed bacteria mainly by inducing membrane permeabilization, in addition, they also can interact with bacterial genomic DNA, which might influence the DNA replication and transcription. Besides, MSPiscidin-2 and -3 could effectively inhibit the formation of the bacterial biofilm and eliminate the preformed biofilms. In vivo, MSPiscidin-1-3 genes showed an inducible expression pattern in the tested tissues upon Vibrio harveyi infection, which further indicated the key roles of piscidins in innate immunity in largemouth bass. Overall, this study will supplement the understanding of M. salmoides innate immune system and provide candidates for the design of novel peptide antibacterial agents used in aquaculture.

Tip-induced superconductivity at point contacts on the nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetal TaAs has been reported recently. Meanwhile, both the main tetragonal phase and the intergrown hexagonal phase of TaAs were identified to be topologically nontrivial according to theoretical calculations. Here, we report the observation of two independent local superconducting states induced at the point contacts formed on TaAs, which exhibit distinct temperature dependencies of the critical magnetic field ${H}_{c2}(T)$. A universal relationship between ${H}_{c2}(0)$, ${T}_{c}$, and the Fermi velocities of bulk bands near Weyl points of the two TaAs phases was uncovered, demonstrating the dominant role of the bulk bands in the emergence of superconductivity, rather than the surface states. These results provide a direction to study the mechanism of the tip-induced superconductivity in topological semimetals.

Understanding the photoinduced ultrafast structural transitions and electronic dynamics in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is important for the development of SWCNT-based optoelectronic devices. In this study, we conducted femtosecond-resolved electron diffraction and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements on SWCNTs using ultrafast transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results demonstrated that dominant time constants of the dynamic processes were ∼1.4 ps for electron-driven lattice expansion, ∼17.4 ps for thermal phonon-driven lattice expansion associated with electron–phonon coupling. The time-resolved EELS measurements clearly revealed a notable red shift of plasmon peaks by ∼100 meV upon femtosecond laser excitation. Different features of charge carrier excitation and relaxation were carefully discussed in correlation with the lattice dynamics and photoinduced absorption signals of SWCNTs. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the ultrafast dynamics in SWCNTs and powerful techniques to characterize the dynamics of low-dimensional structures.

Heterostructures composed of superconductor and ferroelectrics (SC/FE) are very important for manipulating the superconducting property and applications. However, growth of high-quality superconducting iron chalcogenide films is challenging because of their volatility and FE substrate with rough surface and large lattice mismatch. Here, we report a two-step growth approach to get high-quality FeSe

We systematically study the low-temperature specific heats for the two-dimensional kagome antiferromagnet, Cu$_{3}$Zn(OH)$_6$FBr. The specific heat exhibits a $T^{1.7}$ dependence at low temperatures and a shoulder-like feature above it. We construct a microscopic lattice model of $Z_2$ quantum spin liquid and perform large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations to show that the above behaviors come from the contributions from gapped anyons and magnetic impurities. Surprisingly, we find the entropy associated with the shoulder decreases quickly with grain size $d$, although the system is paramagnetic to the lowest temperature. While this can be simply explained by a core-shell picture in that the contribution from the interior state disappears near the surface, the 5.9-nm shell width precludes any trivial explanations. Such a large length scale signifies the coherence length of the nonlocality of the quantum entangled excitations in quantum spin liquid candidate, similar to Pippard's coherence length in superconductors. Our approach therefore offers a new experimental probe of the intangible quantum state of matter with topological order., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

Microstructure features in correlation with the incommensurate modulation and potassium position in Bi4.2K0.8Fe2O9+δ (BKFO) nanobelts were studied by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Atomic displacements following the modulation wave were well characterized by a wave function for each atomic layer. The potassium position in perovskite layers can be directly observed with the incoherent Z-contrast imaging technique. Present results show that high-resolution high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging provides a powerful tool to study chemical and structural nature of this material on the atomic scale.

Infectious diseases caused by drug-resistant bacteria are big challenges for aquaculture industry. Innovative anti-infective drugs and/or therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Host defense peptides (HDPs) are naturally occurring peptides that are regarded as promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics. However, their application as antimicrobial agents in aquaculture has not been well studied. In the present study, three previously characterized HDPs (CATHPb1, Cm-CATH2, and Hc-CATH) were selected and their protective ability on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) against bacterial infections was determined. The three HDPs exhibited potent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against aquatic pathogenic bacteria, with MIC values ranging 2.34–18.75 μg/ml. They rapidly kill bacteria within 30 min by inducing cytomembrane permeabilization and cell disruption. They also showed strong ability to inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilms and eradicate the preformed biofilms, which enable them with great potential to combat biofilm-related infections. Besides, they could effectively modulate the anti-infective immune responses of largemouth bass by simultaneously inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β) and stimulating the expression of chemokine IL-8. Animal challenge test proved that they could significantly enhance the survival rate of bacteria-challenged largemouth bass from less than 40% to over 60% and remarkably decrease the in vivo bacterial numbers. Moreover, compared to the conventional antibiotics, they showed dramatically lower propensity to induce bacterial resistance. All the results above imply the great potential of the three HDPs as novel anti-infective agents in largemouth bass culture.

We demonstrate a catalyst-free method to grow lateral InAs nanowires on GaAs (1 0 0) substrate by means of molecular beam epitaxy. By applying pre-surface treatment under oxygen plasma, lateral InAs nanowires with lengths of 1–2 μm and width of approximately 30–80 nm are epitaxial grown along [ 1 1 ¯ 0 ] direction. Stacking faults are not observed in the epitaxial process, which is usually an issue for InAs nanowires grown vertically on (1 1 1) substrates. Photo-luminescent measurements were performed for both single and multiple layers of InAs nanowires. A spectrum peak at the wavelength of 1625 nm is observed for a single wire at 5 K and room temperature emission is obtained for three layers of InAs nanowires. In addition, InAsSb nanowires are achieved along [1 1 0] direction, with a length of 0.4–0.8 μm and a width of 60–80 nm.

$5d$ iridates have shown vast emergent phenomena due to a strong interplay among their lattice, charge, and spin degrees of freedom, because of which the potential in spintronic application of the thin-film form is highly leveraged. Here we have epitaxially stabilized perovskite $\mathrm{SrI}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.8}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{n}}_{0.2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ on [001] $\mathrm{SrTi}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ substrates through pulsed laser deposition and systematically characterized the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties. Physical property measurements unravel an insulating ground state with a weak ferromagnetism in the compressively strained epitaxial film. The octahedral rotation pattern is identified by synchrotron x-ray diffraction, resolving a mix of ${a}^{+}{b}^{\ensuremath{-}}{c}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and ${a}^{\ensuremath{-}}{b}^{+}{c}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ domains. X-ray magnetic resonant scattering directly demonstrates a G-type antiferromagnetic structure of the magnetic order and the spin canting nature of the weak ferromagnetism.

We report on the successful synthesis and low-temperature electron transport investigations of a new form of material---$\mathrm{B}{\mathrm{i}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{2}\mathrm{Se}$ semiconducting nanowires. Gate-tunable 0- and $\ensuremath{\pi}\text{\ensuremath{-}}h/e\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}(h$ is the Planck constant and $e$ the elementary charge) periodic resistance oscillations in longitudinal magnetic field were observed unexpectedly, demonstrating novel quasiballistic, phase-coherent surface states in $\mathrm{B}{\mathrm{i}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{2}\mathrm{Se}$ nanowires. By reaching a very good agreement between the calculated density of states and the experimental data, we clarified the mechanism to be the one-dimensional subbands formed along the circumference of the nanowire rather than the usually considered Aharonov-Bohm interference. A qualitative physical picture based on downward band bending associated with the complex band structure is proposed to describe the formation of the surface states.

Microstructural features play a critical role for the understanding of the essential properties of novel functional materials and new devices. Atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is invaluable for determining the average atomic structure and local structural defects. For strongly correlated electron materials, STEM can be applied to distinguish the structural modulation caused by charge density wave (CDW), chemical ordering (vacancy or impurity atoms). RTe2− δ (R=La, Ce) compounds have attracted recent attention due to their effective low dimensionality. The materials play host to a CDW state above room temperature and can be described in terms of a modulated Cu2Sb-type structure (P4/ nmm ) based on alternating layers of square-planar Te sheets and a corrugated RTe slab. Furthermore, pressure-induced superconductivity in CeTe1.82 with T C of 2.7 K has been reported, suggesting that the nonstoichiometric Te defects are correlated to superconductivity in this material system. Here, we report the study of the structural modulations in LaTe2− δ using STEM. The LaTe2− δ single crystal was grown by self-flux technique. The TEM samples used in the present study were prepared by crushing the well- characterized single crystal, and then the resultant suspensions were dispersed on a holey carbon-covered Cu grid. Electron diffraction experiments were performed in the FEI Tecnai F20 microscope, and HRTEM and high angle annular dark field (HAADF) STEM were performed in the JEOL ARM200F equipped with double aberration correctors and cold field emission gun at room temperature. The experiment result revealing the charge density wave in LaTe2− δ can be tuned by the Te content; the structural modulation correlated with charge density wave can be characterized by a modulation wave vector of q CDW=(1/2− α ) a ∗, where α is the incommensurate parameter determined by the chemical composition. Our experiment data demonstrate that the Cs-corrected HAADF-STEM image can directly reveal the atomic displacements in the Te plane due to electron-phonon coupling. Detailed analysis suggests that the Te atomic displacements adopt an incommensurate wave-pocket structure along each Te-chain with a long periodicity determined by the CDW incommensurability. In addition to the q CDW=(1/2− α ) a ∗ CDW modulation, a superstructure with the vector q 2=1/5(3 a ∗+ b ∗) has been also observed in some regions. In previous study, this modulation was proposed to be correlated with CDW instability, however, recent experimental and theoretical analysis on the electronic structure (FS) shows that there is no such nesting wave vector could be identified. In this paper, our Cs-STEM observations directly demonstrated that the q 2 superstructure actually originates from an imperfect stoichiometry in this layered system. We proposed a 5 × 5 supercell associated with the Te vacancy ordering with the chemical composition of LaTe1.85 based on detailed STEM data analysis. From HRTEM images, it is also noted that the CDW modulation ( q CDW) totally disappears in the region with Te vacancy ordering, suggesting that the CDW can not coexist in the crystals with the Te vacancy ordering. The possible correlation between the ordering of the nonstoichiometric Te defects and the superconductivity in this material system needs to be further investigated.

Two sections of marine carbonate strata, Podu and Lengshuixi, from the Yangtze platform, South China, are investigated in terms of major geological events and carbon–strontium isotope responses. The results show a large-scale regression and a Large Igneous Province (LIP) event occurred in succession in the short interval of the late Guadalupian, inducing a biodiversity crisis. The regression event, marked by an increase in the 87Sr/86Sr ratio, is observed in the Jinogondolella postserrata Zone. It contributed significantly to the reduction in species habitat, leading to notable losses within the shallow-water species assemblage. A subsequent LIP event occurred after the appearance of Jinogondolella altudaensis, releasing CO2 and numerous other deleterious gases that further amplified the crisis in shallow-water to deep-sea environments. The corresponding decline in Sr and C isotopes could have been a response to the basaltic eruption (relative increase from mantle-derived Sr) and release of 12C-enriched CO2. During the process of creation of the LIP, the decline in δ13Ccarb was mainly associated with 12C-enriched CO2 release from organic matter in sedimentary strata, and high-temperature isotope fractionation during the volcanic eruption stage (exceeding 1200 °C). This study could further provide valuable clues regarding the development process of the major geological events and the causes of the biodiversity crisis.

The discovery of iron-based superconductors stimulated the second research upsurge for high-temperature superconductors, which have been considered as one of the significant research field from both academic and technological points of view. It is noted that the studies of iron-based superconductors have brought a great development of a large number of experimental technologies and theoretical researches in superconductivity physics. The remarkable correlations between structural transitions and multiple ordered states have been observed in the typical iron-based superconductors. According to the microstructure analyses and in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations, AFe2As2 (A=Ba, Sr and Ca) iron-based superconducting materials often show up a structural transition from tetragonal phase to orthorhombic phase from room temperature down to 20 K, resulting in visible twinning domains in the orthorhombic phase. The tetragonal SrFe2As2 samples, consistent with X-ray and neutron-diffraction data, undergo the tetragonal- orthorhombic phase transition at about 205 K and show clear twin domains in the orthorhombic phase. On the other hand, TEM observations of CaFe2As2 reveal the presence of a pseudoperiodic structural modulation with a periodicity of around 40 nm at room temperature. This quasi-periodicity structural modulation is likely related to the local structural distortions within the Ca layers. In situ cooling TEM observations of CaFe2As2 reveal the presence of complex domain structures in the low-temperature orthorhombic phase. Phase separation and structural inhomogeneity as critical structural issues have been extensively investigated in a variety of strongly correlated systems. The phase separations associated with structural domains result visibly structural alterations in K y Fe2− x Se2 system. Structural investigations by means of TEM on K0.8Fe x Se2 and KFe x Se2, with 1.5≤ x ≤1.8, have revealed a rich variety of microstructure phenomena. Materials with 1.5≤ x ≤1.6 often show a superstructure modulation along the [310] zone-axis direction, and this modulation can be well interpreted by the Fe-vacancy order, which likely yields a superstructure phase of K2Fe4Se5. The superconducting K0.8Fe x Se2 and KFe x Se2 (1.7≤ x ≤1.8) materials contain clear phase separation, in particular, along the c-axis direction, recognizable as visible parallel lamellae in the crystals; this fact suggests that the superconducting phase could have the Fe-vacancy disordered state. The main changes of physical properties in the AFe2As2 materials have also been discussed. The substitution of A-element in AFe2As2 have a significant effect on the structural properties and spin density wave (SDW), then leads to the appearance and change of superconductivities. Polycrystalline samples of Ba1− x Sr x Fe2As2 (0≤ x ≤1) and Ba1− x Sr x Fe1.8Co0.2As2 (0≤ x ≤1) were synthesized by a solid state reaction method. Structural analysis by means of X-ray diffraction shows that the lattice parameters and unit cell volume decrease monotonically with the increase of x for Ba1– x Sr x Fe2As2. The measurements of transport properties demonstrate that the average size of the Ba(Sr)-site cations could evidently influence the SDW behavior in Ba1− x Sr x Fe2As2 and superconductivity in Ba1− x Sr x Fe1.8Co0.2As2 as well. The critical temperature for SDW ( T SDW) increases with the Sr substitution for Ba in Ba1− x Sr x Fe2As2 and, on the other hand, the superconducting T c decreases with the increase of Sr content in Ba1− x Sr x Fe1.8Co0.2As2. The inhomogeneous distributions of Ba/Sr ions and structural distortions in Ba0.5Sr0.5Fe2As2 have been investigated by TEM observations.

TaAs as a well-known topological Weyl semimetal has attracted intense interests in recent study. Our structural investigations on the microstructure properties of TaAs samples using Cs-corrected transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy evidently show the presence of a hexagonal phase intergrown with the known tetragonal TaAs (NbAs-type). The structure of the hexagonal phase is identified to have the WC-type structure (space group P6m2) with hexagonal c-axis along the [100]tetra or [010]tetra direction. The crystallographic correlation between the hexagonal and tetragonal phase, as well as the relevant local atomic motions, has been carefully analyzed.

We investigate the ultrafast structural dynamics of multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) upon femtosecond optical excitation using ultrafast electron diffraction in a transmission electron microscope. Analysis of the time-resolved (100) and (002) diffraction profiles reveals highly anisotropic lattice dynamics of BNNTs, which can be attributed to the distinct nature of the chemical bonds in the tubular structure. Moreover, the changes in (002) diffraction positions and intensities suggest that the lattice response of BNNTs to the femtosecond laser excitation involves a fast and a slow lattice dynamic process. The fast process with a time constant of about 8 picoseconds can be understood to be a result of electron-phonon coupling, while the slow process with a time constant of about 100 to 300 picoseconds depending on pump laser fluence is tentatively associated with an Auger recombination effect. In addition, we discuss the power-law relationship of a three-photon absorption process in the BNNT nanoscale system.

Microstructural analyses based on aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) observations demonstrate that low-dimensional CsxBi4Te6 materials, known to be a novel thermoelectric and superconducting system, contain notable structural channels that go directly along the b axis, which can be partially filled by atom clusters depending on the thermal treatment process. We successfully prepared two series of CsxBi4Te6 single-crystalline samples using two different sintering processes. The CsxBi4Te6 samples prepared using an air-quenching method show superconductivity at approximately 4 K, while the CsxBi4Te6 with the same nominal compositions prepared by slowly cooling are nonsuperconductors. Moreover, atomic structural investigations of typical samples reveal that the structural channels are often empty in superconducting materials; thus, we can represent the superconducting phase as Cs1–yBi4Te6 with considering the point defects in the Cs layers. In addition, the channels in the n...

Structural dynamics and changes in electronic structures driven by photoexcited carriers are critical issues in both semiconducting and optoelectronic nanodevices. Herein, a phase diagram for the transient states and relevant dynamic processes in multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has been extensively studied for a full reversible cycle after a fs-laser excitation in ultrafast TEMs, and the significant structural features and evolution of electronic natures have been investigated using pulsed electron diffraction and femtosecond-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). It is revealed that nonthermal anisotropic alterations of the lattice apparently precede the phonon-driven thermal transients along the radial and axial directions. Ab initio calculations support these findings and show that electrons excited from the π to π* orbitals in the BN nanotubes weaken the intralayer bonds while strengthening the interlayer bonds along the radial direction. Importantly, time-resolved EELS measurements show contraction of the energy bandgap after fs-laser excitation associated with nonthermal structural transients. This fact verifies that laser-induced bandgap renormalization in semiconductors can essentially be correlated with both the rapid processes of excited carriers and nonthermal lattice evolution.

The interaction of laser pulses with magnetic materials has become a major topic in modern magnetism, with ultrashort pulses providing unique windows to view ultrafast phenomena. It is still a challenge, though, to extend spatial resolution, to study magnetic nanostructures and complex spin textures. Here the high spatiotemporal resolution of Lorentz ultrafast transmission electron microscopy (Lorentz UTEM) reveals remarkable features and key details of the magnetic transient states in Mn-Ni-Ga after a femtosecond laser pulse. This work showcases Lorentz UTEM as a means of directly imaging ultrafast magnetization phenomena at the nanoscale.

A new design scheme for ultrafast transmission electron microscopy (UTEM) has been developed based on a Schottky-type field emission gun (FEG) at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOP CAS). In this UTEM setup, electron pulse emission is achieved by integrating a laser port between the electron gun and the column and the resulting microscope can operate in either continuous or pulsed mode. In pulsed mode, the optimized electron beam properties are an energy width of ~0.65 eV, micrometer-scale coherence lengths and sub-picosecond pulse durations. The potential applications of this UTEM, which include electron diffraction, high-resolution imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and photon-induced near-field electron microscopy, are demonstrated using ultrafast electron pulses. Furthermore, we use a nanosecond laser (~10 ns) to show that the laser-driven FEG can support high-quality TEM imaging and electron holography when using a stroboscopic configuration. Our results also indicate that FEG-based ultrafast electron sources may enable high-performance analytical UTEM.

Cathelicidins are a family of gene-encoded immune effectors in vertebrate innate immunity. Here, we reported the diversity and biological activity of cathelicidins in green sea turtle, a marine reptile species known for long lifespan and disease resistance. Four novel cathelicidins (Cm-CATH1-4) were identified from green sea turtle. All of them, especially Cm-CATH2, exhibited potent, broad-spectrum and rapid bactericidal and anti-biofilm activities by inducing the disruption of cell membrane integrity. Additionally, Cm-CATH2 effectively induced the macrophages/monocytes and neutrophils trafficking to the infection site, and inhibited the LPS-induced production of inflammatory cytokines, by blocking TLR4/MD2 complex and the downstream signaling pathway activation. In mouse peritonitis and pneumonia models, Cm-CATH2 exhibited evident protection against drug-resistant bacterial infections. Taken together, the diverse structures and functions of Cm-CATHs indicated their pleiotropic role in innate immunity of green sea turtle, and the potent antimicrobial, anti-biofilm and immunomodulatory properties make them ideal candidates for the development of novel anti-infective drugs.

The microstructure of quasi-one-dimensional KCr3As3 (133) superconductors, which were prepared by chemical cation deintercalation from their counterpart K2Cr3As3 (233) compounds, are investigated using scanning transmission electron microscopy. The nominal KCr3As3 crystals generally exhibit irregular nanoscale 133-phase domains accompanied by an amorphous As-deficient phase and cracks as a result of alkali cation deintercalation processes. Analysis of local defective structures reveals the existence of an intermediate state in the transformation from 233 to 133 phase and a possible K-deficient 233-type structure as a nanoscale cluster. Our microscopic investigations offer insight into the microstructure of KCr3As3 and the alkali metal cation deintercalation processes.

Spoilage microorganism pollution is an important challenge in food industry. In the present study, three naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) identified previously from different sources were selected to evaluate the possibility of developing them as novel bio-preservatives. All the three AMPs exhibited potent, broad-spectrum, and rapid antimicrobial activities against spoilage bacteria. They kill spoilage bacteria by inducing membrane permeabilization and interacting with bacterial DNA. They also exhibited potent anti-biofilm capacity and strong synergistic effects with conventional chemical preservatives in bacterial killing assay. In food storage assay, they exhibited effective antiseptic functions in three different food matrices. Combined use of AMPs with chemical preservative showed good synergistic effect in food storage. Meanwhile, the three AMPs could be gradually degraded by trypsin, which may avoid their accumulation and toxicity in human body. All the results above imply the great potential of developing the three AMPs as novel bio-preservatives in food storage.

The coexistence and coupling between alternatively stacked layers with different functional properties often give rise to exotic physical phenomena, such as high-temperature superconductivity, multiferroic behavior, and giant thermoelectric performance, which are tightly linked with the intrinsic microstructures. Here we unambiguously uncover the structural modulations in multiferroic Bi4.2K0.8Fe2O9+δ (BKFO) nanobelts with a magnetoelectric–dielectric superlattice by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The octahedrons in the perovskite layers are identified as FeO6 and the ordered arrangements of the Bi and K cations are clearly determined. Quantitative measurements of the positions of the Bi columns indicate that the displacive modulations can be decomposed into a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave, whose amplitudes and phases are layer-dependent. This study may help to understand and optimize the magnetoelectric coupling effect in BKFO.

The remains of trilobites and other species were unexpectedly discovered in a volcanic ash layer beneath the Permian–Triassic Boundary (PTB). Based on a biostratigraphic investigation of the Zhongliangshan section in Chongqing, South China, the quantity of the species gradually decreased with subsequent volcanism. This finding provides an opportunity to further understand the disappearance of trilobites and the evolution of the mass extinction event. The temporal coincidence between the volcanic eruption event and the loss of trilobites and other species supports the idea of a cause-and-effect relationship. The species remains in the ash bed appeared before the disappearance of Clarkina yini and the climax of the negative carbon isotope excursion, which implies that the onset of the mass extinction occurred at the end-Permian. The explosive volcanic events caused massive releases of CO2, toxic gases and volcanic ash and resulted in loss of habitat for certain species in the Tethys domain. This phe...

The design of catalysts that are both highly active and stable is always challenging. Herein, we report that the incorporation of single metal active sites attached to the nitrogen atoms in the basal plane of graphene leads to composite materials with superior activity and stability when used as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A series of composite materials based on different metals (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) were synthesized and characterized. Electrochemical measurements revealed that CoN4 /GN is a highly active and stable counter electrode for the interconversion of the redox couple I(-) /I3 (-) . DFT calculations revealed that the superior properties of CoN4 /GN are due to the appropriate adsorption energy of iodine on the confined Co sites, leading to a good balance between adsorption and desorption processes. Its superior electrochemical performance was further confirmed by fabricating DSSCs with CoN4 /GN electrodes, which displayed a better power conversion efficiency than the Pt counterpart.

The surface electronic structure of transition-metal oxide catalysts plays a decisive role in binding the intermediates of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to the oxide surface, in turn influencing the catalytic activity of these materials. However, the approaches to modulating the electronic structure of surface metal ions are rare and far behind the demands. Here, we report a surface single atom decoration for adjusting the surface electronic structure of Co3O4, leading to enhanced electrocatalytic activity for OER, in which the isolated Ru single atoms were uniformly deposited on the surface of Co3O4 by an atomic layer deposition technology. As the OER catalyst, the as-made catalysts have exhibited a significantly enhanced catalytic activity (with increasing to 95.5 times) and a dramatically decreased overpotential. The density functional theory calculations reveal that the single-atom Ru acts as a promotor to adjust the 3d electronic structure of adjacent Co atoms and to tune the binding energy between intermediates and activity sites, finally leading to enhanced catalytic activity.

A theoretical study on the structural dynamics of the temporal behavior of Bragg diffraction is presented and compared with experimental results obtained via ultrafast electron crystallography. In order to describe the time-dependent lattices and calculate the Bragg diffraction intensity, we introduce the basic vector offset matrix, which can be used to quantify the shortening, lengthening and rotation of the three lattice vectors (i.e., lattice deformation). Extensive simulations are performed to evaluate the four-dimensional electron crystallography model. The results elucidate the connection between structural deformations and changes in diffraction peaks, and sheds light on the quantitative analysis and comprehensive understanding of the structural dynamics.

In this work, structural investigation and physical measurements of layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) 1 T -MX2materials revealed a series of remarkable phenomena in correlation with structural transitions. Our results show that notable structural transformations, such as charge density wave (CDW) transitions, atomic ordering, and micro-twinning could be introduced via chemical substitution in 1 T -MX2. It was demonstrated that substitution of S by Se in 1 T -TaS2- x Se x resulted in clear changes in the incommensurability of the CDW state; substitution of Se by Te could destruct the CDW state and yield atomic ordering with visible trimerization of the metallic ions. Furthermore, these structural changes yielded a monoclinic stacking along the c -axis direction. Additionally, on substitution of the metal atoms in 1 -MX2, e.g. , 1 -NbTe2, structural distortion in the a – b plane could clearly be observed, and high-density twinning lamella often appeared in the crystals because of enhanced intralayer structural deformation. These phase transitions and their relevant structural features could primarily be corelated with alteration of the superconductivity and other physical properties. FullText for HTML: https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/130/47001

In two-dimensional van der Waals magnets, the presence of magnetic orders, strong spin–orbit coupling, and asymmetry at interfaces is the key ingredient for hosting noncollinear spin textures. Here, we investigate the characteristics and evolution of magnetic domain structures in thin Fe3GeTe2 nanolayers as a function of temperature, applied magnetic field, and specimen thickness using advanced magnetic electron microscopy. Specifically, electron holography analyses reveal the spin configurations of Bloch-type, zero-field-stabilized magnetic bubbles in 20-nm-thick Fe3GeTe2 nanolayers at cryogenic temperature. In situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy measurements further provide detailed magnetic phase diagrams of noncollinear spin textures, including magnetic spirals and bubbles in Fe3GeTe2 as a function of temperature, applied magnetic field, and specimen thickness. We further estimate the micromagnetic parameters of Fe3GeTe2, such as anisotropy energy density and magnetization at specific specimen temperature using the critical thicknesses measured from Lorentz microscopy measurements. Our experimental results of magnetic domain structures in Fe3GeTe2 nanolayers reveal that due to their intrinsic highly uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy, a very thin film of tens of nanometers of Fe3GeTe2 can support the spontaneous and stable formation of zero-field magnetic bubbles.

We report a comprehensive high-pressure study on the monoclinic TlFeSe2 single crystal, which is an antiferromagnetic insulator with quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure at ambient pressure. It is found that TlFeSe2 undergoes a pressure-induced structural transformation from the monoclinic phase to an orthorhombic structure above P c ≈ 13 GPa, accompanied with a large volume collapse of ΔV/V 0 = 8.3%. In the low-pressure monoclinic phase, the insulating state is easily metallized at pressures above 2 GPa; while possible superconductivity with T c onset ∼ 2 K is found to emerge above 30 GPa in the high-pressure phase. Such a great tunability of TlFeSe2 under pressure indicates that the ternary AFeSe2 system (A = Tl, K, Cs, Rb) should be taken as an important platform for explorations of interesting phenomena such as insulator-metal transition, dimensionality crossover, and superconductivity.

Interfaces between materials with different electronic ground states have become powerful platforms for creating and controlling novel quantum states of matter, in which inversion symmetry breaking and other effects at the interface may introduce additional electronic states. Among the emergent phenomena, superconductivity is of particular interest. Here, by depositing metal films on a newly identified topological semimetal tungsten carbide (WC) single crystal, interfacial superconductivity is obtained, evidenced from soft point-contact spectroscopy. This very robust phenomenon is demonstrated for a wide range of metal/WC interfaces, involving both nonmagnetic and ferromagnetic films, and the superconducting transition temperatures are surprisingly insensitive to the magnetism of thin films. This method offers an opportunity to explore the long-sought topological superconductivity and has potential applications in topological-state-based spin devices.