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Fe-based amorphous powders were added to a nickel coating on 45 steel as a precoating during the electroplating process, and then this precoating underwent laser remelting. The Fe-Ni amorphous/nanocrystalline composite coating was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoindentation, dry sliding tests and electrochemical techniques. Results showed that the amorphous phase and γ(Fe,Ni) phase were formed during the laser cladding process. The coating was metallurgically bonded to the substrate and could be divided into three zones: the bottom dendrite-phase zone, the upper amorphous-phase zone, and the crystalline zone. In addition, it was further confirmed by TEM that the coating contained amorphous phase and γ(Fe,Ni) nanocrystalline phase. The maximum hardness of the coating was 12.59 GPa, which is four times more than that of the substrate. The maximum elastic modulus of the coating was 233.47 GPa, which is 34.07 GPa higher than that of the substrate. The coating presented good wear resistance with a friction coefficient of 0.09 and a wear mass loss of 0.79 mg. Moreover, the coating exhibited excellent corrosion resistance in NaCl solution with an E corr of −171.8 mV, I corr of 0.1366 μA·cm−2 and polarization resistance of 75,688.12 Ω·cm2, which is much better than that of the substrate. [Display omitted] • Amorphous powders were added in Ni coating as pre-coating by electroplating. • TEM results show the amorphous structure and γ(Fe, Ni) phases of the coating. • Hardness of the coating is 12.59 GPa, which is 4.3 times that of the substrate. • The friction coefficient of the coating is 0.09 and the wear mass loss is 0.79 mg. • The I corr of the coating is 0.1366 μA·cm−2, ~1/85 of the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf angle and leaf orientation value (LOV) are critical agronomic traits for maize plant architecture. The functions of NUCLEAR FACTOR Y (NF-Y) members in regulating plant architecture have not been reported yet. Here, we identified a regulator of maize plant architecture, NF-Y subunit C13 (ZmNF-YC13). ZmNF-YC13 was highly expressed in the leaf base zone of maize plants. ZmNF-YC13 overexpressing plants showed upright leaves with narrow leaf angle and larger LOV, while ZmNF-YC13 knockout plants had larger leaf angle and smaller LOV compared with wild-type plants. The changes in plant architecture were due to the changes in the expression of cytochrome P450 family members. ZmNF-YC13 interacts with two NF-Y subunit B members (ZmNF-YB9 and ZmNF-YB10) of the LEAFY COTYLEDON1 sub-family, and further recruits NF-Y subunit A (ZmNF-YA3) to form two NF-Y complexes. The two complexes can both activate the promoters of transcriptional repressors (ZmWRKY76 and ZmBT2), and the promoters of PLASTOCHRON group genes can be repressed by ZmWRKY76 and ZmBT2 in maize protoplasts. We propose that ZmNF-YC13 functions as a transcriptional regulator and, together with ZmNF-YBs and ZmNF-YA3, affects plant architecture by regulating the expression of ZmWRKY76 and ZmBT2 , which repress the expression of cytochrome P450 family members in PLASTOCHRON branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An advanced superhydrophobic evaporator with a core-shell structure was proposed. • It can generate desirable capillary force for an adequate water-pumping supply. • It demonstrated stable superhydrophobic ability because of the PFDTS introduction. • Its salt-resistance stability was among the best values in the listed works. • It displayed superior environmental stability under harsh conditions. Solar-driven water evaporation, as an environmentally benign pathway, provides an opportunity for alleviating global clean water scarcity. However, the rapidly generated interfacial steam and localized heating could cause increased salt concentration and accumulation, deteriorating the evaporation performance and long-term stability. Herein, a novel superhydrophobic sand solar (FPPSD) evaporator with a core-shell structure was proposed through interface functionalization for continuous photothermal desalination. The collective behavior essence of the sand aggregate gave itself micron-scale self-organized pores and configurable shapes, generating desirable capillary force and supplying effective water-pumping channels. More importantly, combining the dopamine, polypyrrole (PPy), and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTS) through π-π conjugation and multiple hydrogen bonding effects gave the FPPSD evaporator with stable superhydrophobic property and highly efficient photothermal conversion capability. Therefore, the FPPSD evaporator showed a continuous and stable photothermal performance even after 96 h continuous evaporation under 3-sun irradiation for 10 wt% saline solution, among the best values in the reported works of literature, demonstrating its excellent salt-resistance stability. Furthermore, this novel FPPSD evaporator displayed outstanding environmental stability that kept its initial water transport capacity even after being treated under harsh conditions for 30 days. With excellent salt-resistance ability and stable environmental stability, the FPPSD evaporator will provide an attractive platform for sustainable solar-driven water management. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the mechanical properties of TA2, a Ni-B-Ti composite coating on TA2 was synthesized by a two-step surface modification method. Firstly, a Ni-TiB 2 pre-coating was electroplated on TA2; subsequently, the pre-coating was remelted by laser beam to synthesize the composite coating. Microstructure analysis reveals that: i) the composite coating shows the obvious phenomenon of phase stratification, TiNi and Ti 2 Ni phases occupy the top and bottom layer of the coating, respectively; ii) high aspect ratio TiB whiskers are formed in the composite coating; iii) good metallurgical bonding of the coating with the substrate is obtained. Nanoindentation tests indicate that the presence of TiB increased the hardness of the composite coating to as high as 9.07 GPa, which is about 3.4 times higher than that of TA2 substrate (2.08 GPa), and about 1.6 times higher than that of the coating without any reinforcement (3.51 GPa). The wear test results show that although the coatings have higher friction coefficients than TA2 substrate, the wear rate of the composite coating is 88.9% and 29.8% lower than that of TA2 substrate and the coating without any reinforcement respectively, indicating that the wear resistance of the coatings has been greatly improved, and the presence of ceramic reinforcement intensifies the increase of wear resistance of the coating. Unlabelled Image • Electroplating plus laser remelting are used to prepare the composite coating. • Inadequate diffusion of Ti/Ni leads to phase stratification of the coating. • TiNi+TiB + TiB 2 /Ti 2 Ni/α-Ti distribute in layers from the surface to the substrate. • TEM results clearly show the lattice types of Ti Ni IMCs and TiB whiskers. • Ti Ni IMCs, TiB whiskers and residual TiB 2 particles improve the coating properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the hardness and wear resistance of titanium grade 2 (TA2), Ni-WC pre-coating by electroplating was prepared on the surface of TA2 substrate in advance, and then electron beam remelting was conducted. The microstructure of the coating was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SEM results showed that the coating was strongly attached to the TA2 substrate that and the Ti-Ni intermetallic compounds were evenly distributed with in the coating. Moreover, TEM results showed that WC did not undergo chemical decomposition during the remelting process and did not participate in the reaction of the Ti-Ni system. After electron beam remelting, the hardness significantly increased: the maximum Vickers hardness of the coating was 745 HV 0.1 , which was near 6 times higher than that of the TA2 substrate (approximately 130 HV 0.1). A ball-on-disk wear test was carried out with the TA2 substrate and the coatings. The wear rates of the TA2 substrate and the coating were 7.034 × 10−4 and 2.596 × 10−5 mm3N−1 m−1, respectively. Thus, compared with the TA2 substrate, the coating notably improved the wear resistance. Unlabelled Image • Surface modification of titanium using electroplating plus EBM is conducted. • SEM shows that TiNi/Ti 2 Ni are uniformly distributed in the remelted coating. • TEM shows Ti-Ni IMCs and WC particles work together improving coating properties. • WC does not decompose during electron beam remelting which enhances the hardness. • Wear rate of the coating is 2.596 × 10−5 mm3N−1 m−1, ~1/27 of the TA2 substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Al 0.8 FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy coating was fabricated on magnesium alloy by resistance seam welding method. • The coating consisted of the face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic structures. • The coating exhibited good wear resistance in dry and deionized water conditions. The Al 0.8 FeCrCoNi high entropy alloy coating (HEAc) was firstly fabricated on magnesium alloy by resistance seam welding (RESW) method. During welding, the Joule heating effect transformed the nanocrystalline HEA powder into a HEAc consisted of the face-centered cubic (FCC) and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures. The elements were homogeneously distributed and magnesium was found in the gap of HEAc. The wear properties of HEAc were studied systematically in dry, deionized water and 3.5 wt% NaCl solution conditions. Compared to AZ31, the HEAc exhibited good wear-resistance in dry and deionized water conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies have suggested that the gut microbiota is altered in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). However, age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) were not matched in the previous studies, and the results are inconsistent. We conducted an age-, sex-, and BMI-matched cross-sectional study to characterize the gut microbiota in children with JIA, and evaluate its potential in clinical prediction. Methods: A total of 40 patients with JIA and 42 healthy controls, ranging from 1 to 16 years, were enrolled in this study. Fecal samples were collected for 16S rDNA sequencing. The data were analyzed using QIIME software and R packages. Specifically, the random forest model was used to identify biomarkers, and the receiver operating characteristic curve and the decision curve analysis were used to evaluate model performance. Results: A total of 39 fecal samples from patients with JIA, and 42 fecal samples from healthy controls were sequenced successfully. The Chao 1 and Shannon–Wiener index in the JIA group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity also differed significantly between the two groups. The relative abundance of 4 genera, Anaerostipes, Dialister, Lachnospira, and Roseburia, decreased significantly in the JIA group compared to those in the control group. The 4 genera included microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and were negatively correlated with some rheumatic indices. Moreover, 12 genera were identified as potential biomarkers by using the nested cross-validation function of the random forest. A random forest model constructed using these genera was able to differentiate the patients with JIA from the healthy controls, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.7975. The decision curve analysis indicated that the model had usefulness in clinical practice. Conclusions: The gut microbiota in patients with JIA is altered and characterized by a decreased abundance of 4 SCFA-producing genera. The decreases in the 4 genera correlated with more serious clinical indices. Twelve genera could be used as biomarkers and predictors in clinical practice. Trial registration: The study is registered online at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on 11 May 2018 (registration number: ChiCTR1800016110). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Duckweeds (Lemnaceae) are aquatic plants distributed all over the world. The chloroplast genome, as an efficient solar-powered reactor, is an invaluable resource to study biodiversity and to carry foreign genes. The chloroplast genome sequencing has become routine and less expensive with the delivery of high-throughput sequencing technologies, allowing us to deeply investigate genomics and transcriptomics of duckweed organelles. Results: Here, the complete chloroplast genome of Spirodela polyrhiza 7498 (SpV2) is assembled by PacBio sequencing. The length of 168,956 bp circular genome is composed of a pair of inverted repeats of 31,844 bp, a large single copy of 91,210 bp and a small single copy of 14,058 bp. Compared to the previous version (SpV1) assembled from short reads, the integrity and quality of SpV2 are improved, especially with the retrieval of two repeated fragments in ycf2 gene. There are a number of 107 unique genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 25 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. With the evidence of full-length cDNAs generated from PacBio isoform sequencing, seven genes (ycf3, clpP, atpF, rpoC1, rpl2, rps12 and ndhA) are detected to contain type-II introns. The ndhA intron has 50% more sequence divergence than the species-barcoding marker of atpF-atpH, showing the potential power to discriminate close species. A number of 37 RNA editing sites are recognized to have cytosine (C) to uracil (U) substitutions, eight of which are newly defined including six from the intergenic regions and two from the coding sequences of rpoC2 and ndhA genes. In addition, nine operon classes are identified using transcriptomic data. It is found that the operons contain multiple subunit genes encoding the same functional complexes comprising of ATP synthase, photosynthesis system, ribosomal proteins, et.al., which could be simultaneously transcribed and coordinately translated in response to the cell stimuli. Conclusions: The understanding of the chloroplast genomics and the transcriptomics of S.polyrhiza would greatly facilitate the study of phylogenetic evolution and the application of genetically engineering duckweeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variation (CNV) is a major source of genetic variation and often contributes to phenotypic variation in maize. The duplication at the 27-kDa γ-zein locus (qγ27) is essential to convert soft endosperm into hard endosperm in quality protein maize (QPM). This duplication is unstable and generally produces CNV at this locus. We conducted genetic experiments designed to directly measure DNA rearrangement frequencies occurring in males and females of different genetic backgrounds. The average frequency with which the duplication rearranges to single copies is 1.27 × 10−3 and varies among different lines. A triplication of γ27 gene was screened and showed a better potential than the duplication for the future QPM breeding. Our results highlight a novel approach to directly determine the frequency of DNA rearrangements, in this case resulting in CNV at the qγ27 locus. Furthermore, this provides a highly effective way to test suitable parents in QPM breeding. Liu et al. measured the frequency of DNA rearrangements at the qγ27 locus and linked it to the variation in the maize endosperm texture. Through a series of genetic and RNAi experiments, they were able to identify the mechanism to improve maize's nutritive value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Single crystal superalloy was cladded by spot cutting laser cladding process. • The spot cutting split the energy in the laser spot. • Better dendrites orientation and less machining allowance were obtained. • There existed a best gap width range to gain the best cladding layer. A spot-cutting laser cladding process was proposed to repair the thin wall single crystal superalloy in this paper. The effects of spot cutting and its gap width on the dimensions and microstructure of cladding layers were studied. The results demonstrate that the cladding layers exhibit directionally epitaxial dendrites throughout the layer, reducing the formation of "stray grains" and significantly decreasing the machining allowance compared to samples without spot cutting. By optimizing the parameters, continuous epitaxial grains were achieved in the cladding layer, reaching a height of 1173 μm. The layer dimensions increased initially with weld height, but then decreased with a flattening morphology as the base metal width increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of electroplating Ni/WC composite coating and laser cladding was utilized to modify surface of TA2 substrate. Microstructure of the Ni/WC composite coating was characterized by SEM and TEM. The composite coating consists mostly of TiNi-WC layer and Ti2Ni layer. The phases in the TiNi-WC layer include TiNi, unreacted Ti and uniformly dispersed WC, while Ti 2 Ni is the main phase in the Ti 2 Ni layer. The composite coating shows remarkable nano-hardness (9.5 GPa) compared to the TA2 substrate (2.5 GPa), which is contributed by residual WC particles in the laser remelted coatings. In addition, the hard phase WC particles facilitates the wear resistance of the laser remelted Ni/WC coating. Abrasive wear and adhesive wear mechanism are dominant in the friction and wear mechanism. • Surface modification of titanium using electroplating and laser cladding technology was conducted. • WC was selected as the reinforcement in the Ti-Ni coating. • WC particles and Ti-Ni IMCs work together to improve the coating properties. • Composite coating with high hardness and good friction properties was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During maize (Zea mays) seed development, the endosperm functions as the major organ for storage of photoassimilate, serving to nourish the embryo. α-Zeins and globulins (GLBs) predominantly accumulate in the maize endosperm and embryo, respectively. Here, we show that suppression of α-zeins by RNA interference (αRNAi) in the endosperm results in more GLB1 being synthesized in the embryo, thereby markedly increasing the size and number of protein storage vacuoles. Glb genes are strongly expressed in the middle-to-upper section of the scutellum, cells of which are significantly enlarged by αRNAi induction. Elimination of GLBs caused an apparent reduction in embryo protein level, regardless of whether α-zeins were expressed or suppressed in the endosperm, indicating that GLBs represent the dominant capacity for storage of amino acids allocated from the endosperm. It appears that protein reallocation is mostly regulated at the transcriptional level. Genes differentially expressed between wild-type and αRNAi kernels are mainly involved in sulfur assimilation and nutrient metabolism, and many are transactivated by VIVIPAROUS1 (VP1). In vp1 embryos, misshapen scutellum cells contain notably less cellular content and are unable to respond to αRNAi induction. Our results demonstrate that VP1 is essential for scutellum development and protein reallocation from the endosperm to embryo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell number is a critical factor that determines kernel size in maize (Zea mays). Rapid mitotic divisions in early endosperm development produce most of the cells that make up the starchy endosperm; however, the mechanisms underlying early endosperm development remain largely unknown. We isolated a maize mutant that shows a varied-kernel-size phenotype (vks1). Vks1 encodes ZmKIN11, which belongs to the kinesin-14 subfamily and is predominantly expressed in early endosperm development. VKS1 dynamically localizes to the nucleus and microtubules and plays key roles in the migration of free nuclei in the coenocyte as well as in mitosis and cytokinesis in early mitotic divisions. Absence of VKS1 has relatively minor effects on plants but causes deformities in spindle assembly, sister chromatid separation, and phragmoplast formation in early endosperm development, thereby resulting in reduced cell proliferation. Severities of aberrant mitosis and cytokinesis within individual vks1 endosperms differ, thereby resulting in varied kernel sizes. Our discovery highlights VKS1 as a central regulator of mitosis in early maize endosperm development and provides a potential approach for future yield improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem on lag synchronisation is investigated for a master-slave model. The intermittent control method is used to design controllers, lag synchronisation criteria are proposed. Together with some Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals and effective mathematical techniques, several conditions are derived. An example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The controlled growth of noble metal micro/nanostructures on graphene films is of crucial importance for high-quality surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra. In this paper, we described the in situ fabrication of different Au structures on poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) brush-grafted graphene oxide (GO). The proposed strategy is based on the use of HAuCl4-loaded P4VP brushes grown on GO as a reaction chamber. The novel Au mesostructures with a “fried egg-like” morphology were fabricated on the surface of the GO-P4VP films using ascorbic acid (AA) as a weaker reducing agent. The obtained GO-P4VP/fried egg-like Au composites can be used as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and exhibited good SERS sensitivity for detecting 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to address the delay-probability-dependent stability problem for a new class of stochastic neural networks with randomly occurring uncertainties, neutral type delay, distributed delay and probability-distribution delay. The system not only includes the randomly occurring uncertainties of parameters (ROUPs) but also contains stochastic disturbances, which is not yet investigated in existing papers. First, several stochastic variables which obey Bernoulli distribution are introduced to describe the ROUPs, based on which a new model is built. Second, through fully considering the information on kinds of delays and utilising general delay-partitioning method, an improved Lyapunov-Krasovskii function (LKF) is constructed. Combining Itô's differential formula, general bounding, free-weighting matrix and stochastic methods, a new delay-probability-dependent robustly mean square stable criterion is formulated in terms of linear matrix inequality. Finally, two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper proposes a novel nonfragile robust asynchronous control scheme for master‐slave uncertain chaotic Lurie network systems with randomly occurring time‐varying parameter uncertainties and controller gain fluctuation. The asynchronous phenomenon occurs between the system modes and the controller modes. In order to consider a more realistic situation in designing a reliable proportional‐derivative controller, Bernoulli stochastic process and memory feedback are introduced to the concept of nonlinear control system. First, by taking full advantage of the additional derivative state term and variable multiple integral terms, a newly augmented Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional is constructed via an adjustable parameter. Second, based on new integral inequalities including almost all of the existing integral inequalities, which can produce more accurate bounds with more orthogonal polynomials considered, less conservative synchronization criteria are obtained. Third, a desired nonfragile estimator controller is achieved under the aforementioned methods. Finally, 4 numerical simulation examples of Chua's circuit and 3‐cell cellular neural network with multiscroll chaotic attractors are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Starch is the most abundant storage carbohydrate in maize kernel. The content of amylose and amylopectin confers unique properties in food processing and industrial application. Thus, the resurgent interest has been switched to the study of individual amylose or amylopectin rather than total starch, whereas the enzymatic machinery for amylose synthesis remains elusive. We took advantage of the phenotype of amylose content and the genotype of 9,007,194 single nucleotide polymorphisms from 464 inbred maize lines. The genome‐wide association study identified 27 associated loci involving 39 candidate genes that were linked to amylose content including transcription factors, glycosyltransferases, glycosidases, as well as hydrolases. Except the waxy gene that encodes the granule‐bound starch synthase, the remaining candidate genes were located in the upstream pathway of amylose synthesis, while the downstream members were already known from prior studies. The linked candidate genes could be transferred to manipulate amylose content and thus add value to maize kernel in the breeding programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the generalized dissipativity analysis for the recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with time-varying delays. The generalized dissipativity analysis contains a few previous known results, such as the passivity, [ τ j − 1 , τ j ] , -dissipativity, H ∞ performance and j = 1 , … , p , performance in a unified framework. The delay interval with fixed terminals is changed into a dynamical one with adjustable delay interval based on convex combination technique (CCT), which is called adjustable delay interval method (ADIM). A novel augmented Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF) comprising triple integral terms and considering more information about neuron activation functions is constructed, in which the integral interval associated with delayed variables is not fixed. We give some sufficient conditions in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) to guarantee stability and generalized dissipativity of the considered neural networks. Finally, numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and less conservative of the obtained theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing developed by PacBio, also called third-generation sequencing (TGS), offers longer reads than the second-generation sequencing (SGS). Given its ability to obtain full-length transcripts without assembly, isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) of transcriptomes by PacBio is advantageous for genome annotation, identification of novel genes and isoforms, as well as the discovery of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). In addition, Iso-Seq gives access to the direct detection of alternative splicing, alternative polyadenylation (APA), gene fusion, and DNA modifications. Such applications of Iso-Seq facilitate the understanding of gene structure, post-transcriptional regulatory networks, and subsequently proteomic diversity. In this review, we summarize its applications in plant transcriptome study, specifically pointing out challenges associated with each step in the experimental design and highlight the development of bioinformatic pipelines. We aim to provide the community with an integrative overview and a comprehensive guidance to Iso-Seq, and thus to promote its applications in plant research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant genomes generated by Sanger and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) have provided insight into species diversity and evolution. However, Sanger sequencing is limited in its applications due to high cost, labor intensity, and low throughput, while NGS reads are too short to resolve abundant repeats and polyploidy, leading to incomplete or ambiguous assemblies. The advent and improvement of long-read sequencing by Third Generation Sequencing (TGS) methods such as PacBio and Nanopore have shown promise in producing high-quality assemblies for complex genomes. Here, we review the development of sequencing, introducing the application as well as considerations of experimental design in TGS of plant genomes. We also introduce recent revolutionary scaffolding technologies including BioNano, Hi-C, and 10× Genomics. We expect that the informative guidance for genome sequencing and assembly by long reads will benefit the initiation of scientists' projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inside Back Cover: Bio-inspired Structure-editing Fluorescent Hydrogel Actuators for Environment-interactive Information Encryption (Angew. The environment-interactive morphology/pattern information can be imitated to produce conceptually new environment-interactive information encryption systems. Actuators, Fluorescence, Hydrogels, Information Encryption, Structure Editing. [Extracted from the article]

Actuators, Fluorescence, Hydrogels, Information Encryption, Structure Editing Keywords: Actuators; Fluorescence; Hydrogels; Information Encryption; Structure Editing EN Actuators Fluorescence Hydrogels Information Encryption Structure Editing 1 1 1 05/29/23 20230605 NES 230605 B Inspired by the metamorphosis b development of glowing octopus, Wei Lu, Wenqin Wang, Tao Chen et al. demonstrate in their Research Article (e202300417) a strategy to replicate the structure-editing capacity of natural organisms in soft artificial actuators/robots. The environment-interactive morphology/pattern information can be imitated to produce conceptually new environment-interactive information encryption systems. [Extracted from the article]

This study constructs and investigates the non-fragile asynchronous H ∞ control for uncertain stochastic memory systems with Bernoulli distribution. The system not only contains the randomly occurring uncertainties of all parameters (ROUAPs) and stochastic disturbances in the system model, but also includes randomly gain perturbations in the controller. By introducing the stochastic variables, a new model structure is built obeying Bernoulli distribution to describe the system and the controller. Moreover, a modified Lyapunov–Krasovskii function (LKF) is constructed, combining Itô’s differential formula and free-weighting matrix method, less conservative results are presented in terms of the linear matrix inequality (LMI). Furthermore, an observer-based non-fragile asynchronous H ∞ controller is designed without any limits on the system parameters. Finally, three numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-healing hydrogel is prepared by crosslinking acrylamide with a host-guest macro-crosslinker assembled from poly(β-cyclodextrin) nanogel and azobenzeneacrylamide. The photoisomerizable azobenzene moiety can change its binding affinity with β-cyclodextrin, therefore the crosslinking density and rheology property of the hydrogel can be tuned with light stimulus. The hydrogel can repair its wound autonomously through the dynamic host-guest interaction. In addition, the wounded hydrogel will lose its ability of self-healing when exposed to ultraviolet light, and the self-healing behavior can be recovered upon the irradiation of visible light. The utilizing of host-guest macro-crosslinking approach manifests the as-prepared hydrogel reversible and light-switchable self-healing property, which would broaden the potential applications of self-healing polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) has been linked with disrupted intra-network connectivity of multiple resting-state networks (RSNs); however, whether impairment is present in inter-network interactions between RSNs, remains largely unclear. Here, 50 patients with IGE characterized by generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) and 50 demographically matched healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI scans. A dynamic method was implemented to investigate functional network connectivity (FNC) in patients with IGE-GTCS. Specifically, independent component analysis was first carried out to extract RSNs, and then sliding window correlation approach was employed to obtain dynamic FNC patterns. Finally, k-mean clustering was performed to characterize six discrete functional connectivity states, and state analysis was conducted to explore the potential alterations in FNC and other dynamic metrics. Our results revealed that state-specific FNC disruptions were observed in IGE-GTCS and the majority of aberrant functional connectivity manifested itself in default mode network. In addition, temporal metrics derived from state transition vectors were altered in patients including the total number of transitions across states and the mean dwell time, the fraction of time spent and the number of subjects in specific FNC state. Furthermore, the alterations were significantly correlated with disease duration and seizure frequency. It was also found that dynamic FNC could distinguish patients with IGE-GTCS from controls with an accuracy of 77.91% ( P < 0.001). Taken together, this study not only provided novel insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of IGE-GTCS but also suggested that the dynamic FNC analysis was a promising avenue to deepen our understanding of this disease. Hum Brain Mapp 38:957-973, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation mechanism of the surface and cross-sectional morphology of the TiC particles planted on single crystal superalloy by the electrospark discharging process, as well as the effect of pulse energy on the microstructure and shear force of the planted particles were investigated. The results show that, the surface of the planted particles can be categorized as 3 regions: spreading region, flushing region and oxidation region. The cross sectional microstructure is formed by 3 synergistic processes: the electrospark discharging process, the particle breakage process, and electro-capillary rise process. Because of these processes, micro-cracks and merged pores are formed in the particle, which are quickly filled with the molten substrate metal, resulting in the element interdiffusion and metallurgical bonding between TiC particles and the metal substrate. With increasing pulse energy, the effect of these processes on the surface and cross-sectional morphology is changed, leading to the change of shear force. • TiC particles are directly jointed to SX superalloy by electrospark discharging. • Cracks/pores in TiC particles are filled with metal by electrocapillary effect. • A strong metallurgical bonding is formed between TiC particles and SX substrate. • The detailed mechanisms of the jointing process are revealed. • Effect of the pulse energy on the microstructure and properties are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The breakage-resistant hydrogel containing eco-friendly starch and HEMA are developed by an effective enforcement method of solvent-exchange strategy. Benefitting from Hofmeister effect on starch chains, this hydrogel electrode possesses excellent mechanical properties and electrical conductivity, which greatly improving the mechanical reliability of the triboelectric nanogenerator and prolong its service life. [Display omitted] • BRC hydrogel was proposed to improve mechanical reliability and service life. • BRC hydrogel was prepared by solvent-exchange strategy utilizing Hofmeister effect. • BRC hydrogel possesses outstanding mechanical properties. • The H-TENG based on BRC hydrogel exhibits damage immunity to impact loads. • BRCH-TENG shows great potential application in many fields. Hydrogel based triboelectric nanogenerators (H-TENGs) are deemed as one of most promising flexible energy harvesting and self-powered systems due to its multifunctionality, but the poor mechanical properties of hydrogel electrode bring a major risk of shortening the service life of H-TENGs in case of huge physical impact. Herein, a durable conductive hydrogel electrode with breakage-resistant capacity is developed utilizing the Hofmeister effect on starch polymers through solvent-exchange strategy. Owing to bundled starch chains within hydrogel, the breakage-resistant hydrogel electrode possesses excellent mechanical reliability, including outstanding modulus, fracture energy, anti-puncture capacity and long-term stability. Furthermore, the reliable hydrogel electrode endows triboelectric nanogenerator with good electrical output performances and superb damage immunity, prolonging its service life under accidental physical impact. More significantly, this fabricated triboelectric nanogenerator shows great potential in high-impact application. This investigation offers a versatile and effective way to design next generation hydrogel-based triboelectric nanogenerator with superior damage immunity and long-service life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) NiCoCrAlYTa coatings with different Y 2 O 3 additions (0, 3, 5 and 10 wt%, respectively) were prepared by electrospark deposition (ESD), and the effect of Y 2 O 3 addition on the thermal physical properties of the electrodes was investigated. The relationship between the thermal physical properties and the microstructure and properties of the coatings was studied in detail. The results show that, with the increase of Y 2 O 3 addition, the thermal diffusivity and the thermal conductivity were decreased at first and then increased when 10 wt% Y 2 O 3 was added, which influenced the deposition process and the deposition efficiency. Most of the Y 2 O 3 particles were transformed into Y-Al-O oxides, which were mainly consisted of Y 4 Al 2 O 9 and amorphous Y-Al-O oxides. The amorphous Y-Al-O oxides core was surrounded by a shell enriched in Ti, Ta, Cr, which could be identified as mixed oxides at the region adjacent to the core, and (Ta, Ti, Cr) intermetallic compound at the exterior zone of the shell. Y-Al-O oxides consumed the Al atoms and thus decreased the amount of β-NiAl, resulting in the variation of the microhardness, wear resistance and oxidation behavior. • Y 2 O 3 dispersed ODS MCrAlY coatings were prepared by electrospark deposition. • The addition of Y 2 O 3 influenced the thermal physical properties of the electrodes. • Thermal physical properties influenced the deposition efficiency and microstructure. • A Core (Y-Al-O oxides)-Shell ((Ti, Ta, Cr)-rich) structure was formed. • β-NiAl was transformed into γ-Ni, changing of microstructure and oxidation behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional gold mesoflowers (3D-AuMFs) were prepared through a facile and one-step homogeneous solution route with the assistance of citrate as capping agent. The effects of the reaction temperature and the amount of citrate on the morphology of 3D-AuMFs were investigated, and a possible mechanism for the formation of 3D-AuMFs was proposed. The as-prepared AuMFs exhibited excellent catalytic activity toward 4-nitrophenol reduction and relatively high enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) when using 4-mercaptopyridine as a model molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallurgically bonded NiCr–Cr 3 C 2 composite coatings modified by the additions of Cr were produced on a Ni-based superalloy substrate by high temperature vacuum brazing process. Effects of Cr addition on the microstructure, phases presented and the interfacial diffusion of the coatings have been investigated. Results show that the Cr additive consumed Si element to form Cr 3 Si and reduced the amount of brittle phase Ni 3 Si at the interface. The higher was the Cr addition in the coating, the thinner was the thickness of the secondary reaction zone, and the lower was the amount of the Ni 3 Si at the interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the sulfonic acid (–SO 3 H) group terminated Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 magnetic spheres were prepared. Polypyrrole (PPy) was in-situ polymerized on Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 –SO 3 H spheres due to the dual roles of the –SO 3 H groups: acting as both “anchoring sites” for adsorbing of pyrrole monomer and dopant agent in PPy. By adsorbing gold nanoseeds on the as-prepared Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 –SO 3 H@PPy spheres followed the seed-mediated growth method, the multifunctional Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 –SO 3 H@PPy@Au spheres were obtained. The application of Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 –SO 3 H@PPy@Au spheres in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was investigated, and the results exhibited the enhancement in the order of 10 4 using 4-aminothiophenol as the probe molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has shown that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is accompanied by abnormalities in brain functional connections. However, these findings are based on group comparisons, and, therefore, little is known about whether functional connections could be used in the diagnosis of an individual patient with SAD. Here, we explored the potential of the functional connectivity to be used for SAD diagnosis. Twenty patients with SAD and 20 healthy controls were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The whole brain was divided into 116 regions based on automated anatomical labeling atlas. The functional connectivity between each pair of regions was computed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and used as classification feature. Multivariate pattern analysis was then used to classify patients from healthy controls. The pattern classifier was designed using linear support vector machine. Experimental results showed a correct classification rate of 82.5 % ( p < 0.001) with sensitivity of 85.0 % and specificity of 80.0 %, using a leave-one-out cross-validation method. It was found that the consensus connections used to distinguish SAD were largely located within or across the default mode network, visual network, sensory-motor network, affective network, and cerebellar regions. Specifically, the right orbitofrontal region exhibited the highest weight in classification. The current study demonstrated that functional connectivity had good diagnostic potential for SAD, thus providing evidence for the possible use of whole brain functional connectivity as a complementary tool in clinical diagnosis. In addition, this study confirmed previous work and described novel pathophysiological mechanisms of SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brachypodium distachyon is small annual grass that has been adopted as a model for the grasses. Its small genome, high-quality reference genome, large germplasm collection, and selfing nature make it an excellent subject for studies of natural variation. We sequenced six divergent lines to identify a comprehensive set of polymorphisms and analyze their distribution and concordance with gene expression. Multiple methods and controls were utilized to identify polymorphisms and validate their quality. mRNA-Seq experiments under control and simulated drought-stress conditions, identified 300 genes with a genotype-dependent treatment response. We showed that large-scale sequence variants had extremely high concordance with altered expression of hundreds of genes, including many with genotype-dependent treatment responses. We generated a deep mRNA-Seq dataset for the most divergent line and created a de novo transcriptome assembly. This led to the discovery of >2400 previously unannotated transcripts and hundreds of genes not present in the reference genome. We built a public database for visualization and investigation of sequence variants among these widely used inbred lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The problem of delay-dependent exponential passivity analysis is investigated for BAM neural networks with time-varying delays. By establishing a suitable augmented Lyapunov–Krasovskii function and a novel sufficient condition is obtained to guarantee the exponential stability of the considered system. The several exponential stability criterion proposed in this paper is simpler and effective. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The wave optics simulation is applied to verify the fiber optical reflectometer (FOR) technique. • The droplet size and velocity are measured by a single optical fiber probe (OFP) simultaneously. • The relationship between the intensity of oscillation waves and the pierced position is studied. • A method for predicting the droplet diameter by OFP is proposed and validated by experiment. A single optical fiber probe (OFP) is used to measure the velocity and size of droplet falling in the air. By analyzing the interference waves formed by two reflected lights from the droplet surface and the fiber core interface, the fiber optical reflectometer (FOR) is mainly studied in this paper. The wave optics simulation was firstly applied to verify the FOR principle of velocity measurement. Then an experiment system which can generate droplets with different velocities and sizes was designed. Through comparing the results of OFP with photography method, the absolute relative error of chord length measured was within 1.3%. During the study, it was observed that the intensity of oscillation waves is closely related to the contact position between probe and droplet, so a method for predicting droplet diameter by OFP is proposed. Compared with photography method, the root mean square error of the predicted diameter is 0.051 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel electrospark deposition (ESD) particle planting process is proposed. • The mechanism of ESD planted particle planting process is discussed. • The TiC particles were deposited on the single crystal superalloy substrate. • The apparent holding force of ESD planted particles has the highest average value. • This highest average value was obtained due to larger bonding area and pinning effect. A novel electrospark deposition (ESD) particle planting process is proposed to improve the property of abrasive coatings on blade tips of single crystal superalloy, and the mechanism is discussed. Due to the instantaneous discharge energy generated at the contact points of electrode/particle and particle/substrate, a composite layer and metallurgical bonding are formed respectively, with cellular crystals forming in the remelting zone of the substrate. Larger bonding area and pinning effect derived from infiltration and interdiffusion at the interface, resulting in dramatically increased protrusion of the particles, and the apparent holding force is higher than that of brazing and electrodeposition as well, but with a larger dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Under atmospheric pressure, nano-polyethylene fibres were prepared via in situ ethylene extrusion polymerization, with MCM-41 and SBA-15 supported zirconocene dichloride (Cp2ZrCl2) catalytic systems, respectively. The effects of the geometrical structures and surface properties of MCM-41 and SBA-15 on the morphology of the resultant polyethylene, catalytic activity and polymerization rate were investigated and compared in various polymerization conditions. The possible formation mechanism of nano-polyethylene fibres with MCM-41 and SBA-15 supported Cp2ZrCl2 as catalyst was discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A novel approach to fabricate micron-scale porous titanium was developed. • A surface-layered porous structure dispersing with AgNPs was obtained on TA1. • The microstructure of the porous structure and the AgNPs were characterized. • The TA1 matrix maintains the structural integrity and its original properties. This study reports an interesting phenomenon that a micron-scale porous structure was fabricated on the surface of a grade 1 commercially-pure Ti (TA1) when a brazing wetting experiment of pure Ag was conducted in high vacuum. Especially, a large number of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were formed dispersing on the surfaces of the pores. The microstructure characteristics and chemical compositions of the porous structure were characterized in detail. Based on the above findings, a novel method has been successfully developed for fabricating a micron-scale porous structure on the surface of TA1. The present findings provide a new strategy for the design or surface modification of advanced porous Ti materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiCoCrAlYTa/TaC metal matrix composite coatings were prepared on single crystal superalloy (SX) using electrospark deposition (ESD) to improve its high temperature performance. The effect of TaC addition on the coating microstructure, oxidation behavior, wear resistance and physical properties of electrode were investigated. The results showed that, with the addition of TaC particles, the density of electrode increased, while the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity decreased. In the electrode, TaC particles were distributed around or embedded into the NiCoCrAlYTa powders, while in ESD coatings, they were distributed homogeneously in both dendrite cores and interdendritic regions. The generation of β-NiAl phase in ESD coating was prevented by adding TaC particles. During 1000 °C/100 h oxidation, the mass gain of coating with TaC addition was lower than that without TaC addition during the first 40 h, and then became higher. The oxidative products were similar, except that θ-Al 2 O 3 was relatively more in coating without TaC, while Y 3 Al 5 O 12 was more in coating with TaC addition. The microhardness and wear resistance in both coatings decreased after oxidation, however, it was on the same level for NiCoCrAlYTa coating before oxidation and NiCoCrAlYTa/TaC coating after oxidation. Thus, the overall high temperature performance of the coatings was improved due to the addition of TaC particles. • NiCoCrAlYTa/TaC MMC coatings were prepared by ESD on single crystal superalloy. • The addition of TaC decreased the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the MMC electrode. • The microstructure and oxidation behavior were changed. • The overall high temperature performance was improved by adding TaC particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High performance Fe-based amorphous coatings were first fabricated on 304 stainless steel by resistance seam welding. The microstructure, microhardness, wear and corrosion resistance of the coatings under different welding current were systematically studied. The coatings consisted of amorphous phase and crystalline phases of M 23 C 6 , Fe 3 C and α-Fe. Moreover, coating formation mechanism was characterized by welding temperature and microstructure variation of powders at different welding current. The dense amorphous coating was fabricated at about 750 K in welding current of 24 A and was seriously crystallized at 990 K in 30 A. The optimal hardness and wear rate of the coating reached 1280 HV 0.1 and 2.71 × 10−6 mm3/N·m, respectively, which exhibited better performance compared with the amorphous coating fabricated by the traditional methods. In 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, the corrosion resistance of all coatings was superior to that of the substrate, and corrosion occurred in the crystallization regions. As the welding current increased, the amorphous rate in the coating decreased, resulting in a decrease in the hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the coating. • Fe-based amorphous coating was fabricated by resistance seam welding. • The coating consists of amorphous and crystalline phases of α-Fe, Fe 3 C, and M 23 C 6. • Coating formation mechanism has been investigated in detail. • Welding current affects the amorphous rate and properties of the coating. • The coating exhibits excellent wear and corrosion resistance performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A CNTs-based membrane has been presented for purifying oily waste water. • Its flux has exceeded most of the multifunctional separation membranes previously reported. • It has shown excellent physical and chemical stability. A surge of effort has been devoted to establishing super-wetting membranes with versatility for oily waste water purification. However, persistent challenge remains the lower separation flux. Moreover, the majorities of catalysts are only adsorbed on the surface and easily fall off after multiple cyclic separations. In this work, an effective strategy has been taken to construct a composite membrane consisting of polyacrylic acid functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs-PAA) and MIL101(Fe)@platinum nanoparticles (MIL101(Fe)@Pt NPs). The obtained CNTs-PAA/MIL101(Fe)@Pt composite membrane can achieve degradation of dye molecules and at the same time effective separation of oil-in-water emulsions. The separation throughput of this composite membrane can reach up to 11000 L m−2 h-1 bar-1, which has exceeded most of the previous reported multifunctional separation membranes. Furthermore, this composite membrane has presented stable mechanical property and excellent anti-corrosion ability. This work gives comprehensive consideration to excellent separation performance, versatility and stability, which could have potential applications in practical oily wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Swirl-like phase forms at the joint interface during the USW of Sn coated Cu. • Cu-Sn swirl-like phases greatly enhance the mechanical property of the joint. • Refinement of the phases and grains takes place near the swirl region. • Temperature and diffusivity are higher near swirl region than that of flat region. • Uneven stress and cavitation effect prompt the formation of the swirl phase. Previous studies have shown that sharp physical and chemical changes may induce the formation of swirl-like reaction phases in the ultrasonic spot welding (USW) of different materials. However, the mechanisms have not been well understood. In particular, swirl-like structures have seldom been discovered or discussed in the USW of Cu/Sn. In this study, swirl-like phases were observed in the USW of a Sn-coated T2 Cu plate with different welding energies (300−400 J). The evolution of the microstructure from the flat region to the swirl region was studied, the diffusion coefficient of Cu in Sn and the peak temperature of the interface during welding were theoretically calculated and experimentally verified, the formation mechanism of the swirl-like phases was discussed, and the relationship between the joint properties and welding energies was investigated. The results show that the content of Cu 3 Sn increases, while that of Cu 6 Sn 5 decreases gradually from the flat region to the swirl region and that grain refinement of Cu and IMCs occurs near the swirl regions. The greatly enhanced diffusivity shows that intense atomic diffusion takes place during the welding process. When the welding energy exceeds 300 J, the experimentally measured peak temperatures in the welding processes are higher than the theoretical values. The formation of the swirl-like phase is attributed to the uneven distribution of interfacial stress and the collapse of cavitation bubbles. When the welding energy reaches 400 J, the peak lap shear load of the welded specimen reaches 1008 N, and the associated fractures indicate the combined characteristics of ductility and brittleness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-wetting induced separation membranes are of great significance due to their unique property for separating oil/water mixtures. Herein, we have presented a facile strategy to prepare a separation membrane by integrating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs). The obtained CNTs/TiO 2 composite membrane has presented smart wettability to activate on-demand separation for expected components from oil/water mixtures. In addition, it can maintain its separation efficiency above 99.1% even after ten cyclic separations. It is rather remarkable that this composite membrane has taken on excellent separation performance with the flux up to 40,000 L m−2 h−1 bar−1for water-in-dichloromethane emulsion and separation efficiency above 98.89%, which has surpassed most of the reported separation membranes to date. Furthermore, the CNTs/TiO 2 membrane has feathered excellent corrosion resistance ability under harsh conditions (HCl, NaOH, NaCl) for 7 days, and can show stable permeation flux and efficiency towards various emulsions. This work will provide further guidance for developing CNTs-based membranes in order to realize task-oriented oily water treatment. Image 1 • A pre-wetting separation membrane was built via an easy strategy. • It has shown smart wettability for on-demand oil/water separation. • Its flux has surpassed most of the previously reported membranes. • It has feathered excellent anti-corrosion property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the AlFeCrCo medium-entropy alloy coating was first fabricated on a magnesium alloy using a resistance seam welding method. After welding, the AlFeCrCo medium entropy amorphous alloy powders were transformed into a body-centered cubic structure coating having an average thickness of 430 μm. The effect of instantaneous temperature on the formation ability of the coating was analyzed by theoretical calculations and experimental results. Based on the calculations, the instant Joule heating effect was only concentrated in the minute bonding area, and no direct or immediate increase in temperature occurred at the substrate. The experimental results demonstrated that the temperature gradient did not engender an obvious dilution of the matrix. The average microhardness of the coating (870 HV 0.2) was approximately 12 times higher than that of the substrate. The wear performance was systematically evaluated in dry and 3.5 wt% NaCl solution conditions under different normal loads. Compared with the substrate and other high entropy alloy-related systems, the AlFeCrCo medium-entropy alloy coating exhibited good wear resistance. The wear resistance improved when the metal films and corrosive behavior were occurred in corrosive environments, which was anomalous to wear mechanism under dry conditions. Unlabelled Image • The AlFeCrCo medium-entropy alloy coating was firstly fabricated on magnesium alloy. • After welding, the AlFeCrCo MEA amorphous powders were transformed into a BCC-structured coating. • The coating exhibited better wear resistance than the substrate and other HEA-related systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β -FeOOH nanorods-decorated hollow poly(N-2-cyanoethylpyrrole) (PNCPy) microspheres were fabricated via a self-templating method. The whole synthesis procedure only involved mixing FeCl 3 and N-(2-cyanoethyl)pyrrole (NCPy) monomer in ethanol/water mixed solution, eliminating the need of any other chemicals and additional postprocessing. • Hollow PNCPy@ β -FeOOH microspheres were fabricated via a self-templating strategy. • Whole synthetic procedure only involved mixing N-2-cyanoethylpyrrole and FeCl 3 without additional postprocessing. • The morphology and size of the composite microspheres could be facilely tuned. One-step fabrication of β -FeOOH nanorods-decorated hollow poly(N-2-cyanoethylpyrrole) microspheres via a self-templating approach is reported. In this strategy, N-(2-cyanoethyl)pyrrole (NCPy) droplets were employed as templates which not only provided the space for creating the inner voids but also were the source of monomer for building the outer poly(N-2-cyanoethylpyrrole) (PNCPy) shells. By simply mixing FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O and NCPy in ethanol/water mixed solution, hollow PNCPy@ β -FeOOH microspheres could be obtained without the use of any other chemicals. The influence of reaction conditions such as molar ratio of Fe3+ to NCPy, reaction time and reaction temperature on the size and morphology of the composites were investigated and the possible formation mechanism was presented. This facile and robust synthesis method shows overwhelming advantages compared with current fabrication technologies of PNCPy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Emb-7L encodes the chloroplast-targeted P-type PPR protein. • The emb-7L exhibits embryo lethality and albinism. • Full transcriptome analysis indicates the expression of protein-encoding genes is dramatically variable in albino leaves. • The intron splicing efficiency of chloroplast protein-encoding genes is generally reduced. Embryo and endosperm originate from the double fertilization, but they have different developmental fates and biological functions. We identified a previously undescribed maize seed mutant, wherein the embryo appears to be more severely affected than the endosperm (embryo-specific , emb). In the W22 background, the emb embryo arrests at the transition stage whereas its endosperm appears nearly normal in size. At maturity, the embryo in W22- emb is apparently small or even invisible. In contrast, the emb endosperm develops into a relative normal size. We cloned the mutant gene on the Chromosome 7L and designated it emb - 7L. This gene is generally expressed, but it has a relatively higher expression level in leaves. Emb - 7L encodes a chloroplast-localized P-type pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein, consistent with the severe chloroplast deficiency in emb - 7L albino seedling leaves. Full transcriptome analysis of the leaves of WT and emb - 7L seedlings reveals that transcription of chloroplast protein-encoding genes are dramatically variable with pre-mRNA intron splicing apparently affected in a tissue-dependent pattern and the chloroplast structure and activity were dramatically affected including chloroplast membrane and photosynthesis machinery component and synthesis of metabolic products (e.g., fatty acids, amino acids, starch). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]