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Herein, a combination of cold rolling (CR) and annealing treatment is used to investigate the evolution of the microstructure and mechanical properties of CoFeNiMnV high‐entropy alloys (HEAs) fabricated by powder plasma arc additive manufacturing (PPA‐AM). The deposited CoFeNiMnV HEAs exhibit a face‐centered cubic (FCC) structure with a small amount of σ phase precipitation. After 50% CR, the microstructure of CoFeNiMnV HEAs is severely deformed along the rolling direction, and the grain size is obviously refined. Therefore, the hardness and strength of the alloy are significantly improved. The rolled CoFeNiMnV HEAs are annealed at 500, 700 and 900 °C, for 60 min. The results show that annealing at 500 °C has little effect on the microstructure and dislocation density of the alloy, and the alloy still maintains high strength and hardness. With increasing of annealing temperature to 700 and 900 °C, the dislocation density of the CoFeNiMnV HEAs is significantly reduced. Meanwhile the σ phase is gradually dissolved, and the recrystallized grains and annealing twins are significantly coarsened. The analysis suggests that it decreases the strength of the CoFeNiMnV HEAs, but increases the elongation. CoFeNiMnV HEAs annealed at 700 °C for 60 min after CR exhibit an excellent high strength–toughness combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangtze River Delta white goat is a unique goat species that can produce superior‐quality brush hair. The formation of this brush hair is controlled by a series of critical genes and related signaling pathways. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), are ubiquitous endogenous non‐coding RNAs that regulate many biological and physiological processes in mammals. However, little is known about the potential regulatory role of circRNAs on superior‐quality brush hair formation in Yangtze River Delta white goat. In this study, high‐throughput sequencing technology was used to only detect circRNAs in the neck skin tissue of normal‐quality goats (NHQs) and superior‐quality goats (HQs). A total of 61 803 circRNAs were identified and 32 of them were differentially expressed in the NHQ group vs. the HQ group. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the source gene of differentially expressed circRNAs (DE‐circRNAs) was enriched mostly in platelet activation and the focal adhesion signal pathway. Action mechanism analysis revealed that DE‐circRNAs could sponge to many identified miRNAs, including miR‐31, miR‐125b, miR‐let‐7a and miR‐149‐5p, which have important roles in goat hair follicle stem cell growth, hair follicle development and morphogenesis. Altogether, our findings provide a valuable basis for studying circRNAs involved in superior‐quality brush hair traits and meanwhile advance our understanding of circRNA complex regulation mechanisms in Yangtze River Delta white goat skin hair follicle development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this experiment was to explore whether coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) improves the quality of sheep semen stored at room temperature by attenuating oxidative stress. Semen was diluted without (control group), and with antioxidants (5, 50, 250, and 500 μmol/L CoQ10). Sperm kinetic parameters and plasma membrane integrity were determined, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), total antioxidant capacity (TAOC), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were evaluated on the fifth day of semen preservation. The results showed that compared with the control group, the progressive motility in the 50 μmol/L group was higher (p < 0.05) within 2–5 days, and the plasma membrane integrity of sperm was higher in the 50 μmol/L group. The ROS content in the 5 and 50 μmol/L groups was reduced. The MDA level was reduced in the CoQ10 supplementation groups (p < 0.05). Additionally, the CAT, SOD, TAOC, ATP and MMP levels in the 50 μmol/L group were higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, CoQ10 improved the quality of ram semen by alleviating oxidative stress, and 50 μmol/L CoQ10 was the optimum concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur batteries are a promising high energy output solution for substitution of traditional lithium ion batteries. In recent times research in this field has stepped into the exploration of practical applications. However, their applications are impeded by cycling stability and short life‐span mainly due to the notorious polysulfide shuttle effect. In this work, a multifunctional sulfur host fabricated by grafting highly conductive Co3Se4 nanoparticles onto the surface of an N‐doped 3D carbon matrix to inhibit the polysulfide shuttle and improve the sulfur utilization is proposed. By regulating the carbon matrix and the Co3Se4 distribution, N‐CN‐750@Co3Se4‐0.1 m with abundant polar sites is experimentally and theoretically shown to be a good LiPSs absorbent and a sulfur conversion accelerator. The S/N‐CN‐750@Co3Se4‐0.1 m cathode shows excellent sulfur utilization, rate performance, and cyclic durability. A prolonged cycling test of the as‐fabricated S/N‐CN‐750@Co3Se4‐0.1 m cathode is carried out at 0.2 C for more than 5 months which delivers a high initial capacity of 1150.3 mAh g−1 and retains 531.0 mAh g−1 after 800 cycles with an ultralow capacity reduction of 0.067% per cycle, maintaining Coulombic efficiency of more than 99.3%. The reaction details are characterized and analyzed by ex situ measurements. This work highly emphasizes the potential capabilities of transition‐metal selenides in lithium–sulfur batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a mediator-less and compartment-less glucose/air enzymatic biofuel cell (BFC) was introduced into microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μ-PADs) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs)-modified paper electrode as the anodic and cathodic substrate, respectively, to implement self-powered, sensitive, low-cost and simple DNA detection. As a further development of the analytical equipment, an all-solid-state paper supercapacitor (PS) was designed and integrated into the BFC for current amplification, and a terminal digital multi-meter detector (DMM) was introduced for the current detection. A highly sensitive DNA sensor was fabricated by covalently immobilizing the capture DNA in the AuNPs-modified anode. The nanoporous gold conjugated with bienzymes, glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase, which were used as electrochemical labels. The electrons generated at the anode flow through an external circuit to the PtNPs-modified cathode that catalyzed the reduction of oxygen with the participation of protons. In addition, the generated current could be collected and stored by the PS. After that, the PS was automatically shorted under the control of a switch to output an instantaneously amplified current, which could be sensitively detected by the terminal DMM. At the optimal conditions, the paper-based analytical platform can detect DNA at the femtomole level. This approach also shows excellent specificity toward single nucleotide mismatches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paper ‐ based self ‐ powered DNA sensor capable of generating signal output without external power sources was developed by using a biofuel cell. Enzymes catalyzed the oxidation of glucose at the anode, and PtNPs grown on cellulose fibers reduced O2 at the cathode. The all ‐ solid ‐ state paper supercapacitor was also integrated for signal amplification. For more information, see the Full Paper by J. Yu et al. on page 12453 ff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]