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Ice‐templated porous biomaterials possess transformative potential in regenerative medicine; yet, scaling up ice‐templating processes for broader applications—owing to inconsistent pore formation—remains challenging. This study reports an innovative semi‐solid freeze‐casting technique that draws inspiration from semi‐solid metal processing (SSMP) combined with ice cream‐production routines. This versatile approach allows for the large‐scale assembly of various materials, from polymers to inorganic particles, into isotropic 3D scaffolds featuring uniformly equiaxed pores throughout the centimeter scale. Through (cryo‐)electron microscopy, X‐ray tomography, and finite element modeling, the structural evolution of ice grains/pores is elucidated, demonstrating how the method increases the initial ice nucleus density by pre‐fabricating a semi‐frozen slurry, which facilitates a transition from columnar to equiaxed grain structures. For a practical demonstration, as‐prepared scaffolds are integrated into a bilayer tissue patch using biodegradable waterborne polyurethane (WPU) for large‐scale oral mucosal reconstruction in minipigs. Systematic analyses, including histology and RNA sequencing, prove that the patch modulates the healing process toward near‐scarless mucosal remodeling via innate and adaptive immunomodulation and activation of pro‐healing genes converging on matrix synthesis and epithelialization. This study not only advances the field of ice‐templating fabrication but sets a promising precedent for scaffold‐based large‐scale tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In response to sexual assault on campus, most Australian universities have websites that educate the university community on sexual consent and policies that deal with sexual misconduct. This article [...]

To reduce the low-order vibrations of high-voltage transmission towers in response to strong winds, a tuned mass damper (TMD) that uses eddy current damping (ECD) with omnidirectional damping function (ECD-TMD) is proposed here. Compared with previous similar devices, the outstanding advantage of the proposed ECD-TMD lies in its use of non-contact ECD, structural simplicity, lack of internal friction, ability to sense micro-vibrations, and in the asymmetric cantilever pendulum structure that enables omnidirectional vibration suppression. Aero-elastic model wind tunnel test and field measurements were used for analyzing and validating the vibration responses of a 50-m-tall transmission tower with and without the proposed ECD-TMD. The results demonstrated that the proposed ECD-TMD reduced transmission tower's first-order bending vibrations along and across the direction of transmission line. For the mass ratio of approximately 2%, approximately 18–27% reduction of acceleration and 10–25% reduction of displacement occurred. Because the first-order resonance of the tower body in response to wind accounts for a small fraction of the background response, the addition of a TMD device suppresses structural wind vibrations in a limiter manner but can significantly increase the first-order bending damping ratio of the tower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the application of biological materials has shown potential in improving the environment of salinized soil, the impact on the transformation of soil phosphorus forms in salinized soil, especially when combined with B. mucilaginosus (BM), has rarely been studied. Therefore, this study investigated soil's properties and phosphorus forms, as well as their relationship, in salinized soil after the application of different biological materials, including rice straw (RS), biochar (B), acidified biochar (AB), BM, RS+BM, B+BM, and AB+BM. A sequential extraction procedure was employed to determine the soil organic/inorganic phosphorus forms (Po/Pi). In our study, the contents of the soil's resin-P, NaHCO3-Pi, NaOH-Pi, and HCl-P increased by 50–341.66%, 4.08–184.63%, 37.45–163.45%, and 10.19–38.29%, respectively, with the application of the biological materials compared to with conventional fertilization (CK1). However, the contents of the soil's NaHCO3-Po, NaOH-Po, and residual-P significantly decreased in comparison to with CK1, particularly in the soils that received a combined application with biological materials and BM. Furthermore, the results from the statistical analysis revealed that the application of biological materials could increase the level of soil stable phosphorus, facilitate the transformation from soil stable phosphorus and soil unstable Po to soil unstable Pi, and enhance the effectiveness of soil phosphorus, especially when combined with BM, particularly in soil with AB+BM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species turnover with elevation is a widespread phenomenon and provides valuable information on why and how ecological communities might reorganize as the climate warms. It is commonly assumed that species interactions are more likely to set warm range limits, while physiological tolerances determine cold range limits. However, most studies are from temperate systems and rely on correlations between thermal physiological traits and range limits; little is known about how physiological traits and biotic interactions change simultaneously along continuous thermal gradients. We used a combination of correlational and experimental approaches to investigate communities of Drosophila flies in rainforests of the Australian Wet Tropics, where there is substantial species turnover with elevation. Our experiments quantified individual‐level and population‐level responses to temperature, as well as the impact of interspecific competition under different temperature regimes. Species' distributions were better explained by their performance at extreme temperatures than by their thermal optima. Upper thermal limits varied less among species than lower thermal limits. Nonetheless, these small differences were associated with differences in the centered elevation of distribution. Low‐elevation species were not those with the lowest tolerance to cold, suggesting that cold temperatures were not limiting their abundance at high elevations. Instead, under upland temperature regimes, abundances of these low‐elevation species were reduced by competition with a high‐elevation species, in both short‐ and long‐term competition experiments. Our results demonstrate that high‐elevation species are confined to their current ranges by high temperatures at lower elevations, indicating that their ranges will be highly sensitive to future warming. Counter to expectation, species interactions strongly influenced community composition at cooler, high‐elevation sites. Together, these results raise the possibility that tropical communities differ from better‐studied temperate communities in terms of the relative importance of biotic interactions and abiotic factors in shaping community composition and how the impact of these factors will change as temperatures increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth vanadate (BVO) is regarded as an exceptional photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, but it is restricted by the severe photocorrosion and slow water oxidation kinetics. Herein, a synergistic strategy combined with a Co3(HPO4)2(OH)2 (CoPH) cocatalyst and an Al2O3 (ALO) passivation layer was proposed for enhanced PEC performance. The CoPH/ALO/BVO photoanode exhibits an impressive photocurrent density of 4.9 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE and an applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 1.47% at 0.76 VRHE. This outstanding PEC performance can be ascribed to the suppressed surface charge recombination, facilitated interfacial charge transfer, and accelerated water oxidation kinetics with the introduction of the CoPH cocatalyst and ALO passivation layer. This work provides a novel and synergistic approach to design an efficient and stable photoanode for PEC applications by combining an oxygen evolution cocatalyst and a passivation layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the accident of main transformer being broken due to tower at incoming lines of Tunlan substation caused by lightning strike, the problems of lightning protection measures of the incoming lines were analyzed and researched. The research results show that the lightning protection of the incoming lines has problems such as excessive grounding resistance of the tower, too high lines insulation level, and mismatching between action value of arrester and lines insulation level. In view of the existing problems and hidden dangers, the following modification measures were proposed: optimize impulse grounding of the tower at incoming lines by using dendritic radioactive grounding body; use adjustable overvoltage protection gap to match lines arresters on the terminal tower, so as to form refined comprehensive protection of the incoming lines; install gap-free zinc oxide arrester on the terminal tower at incoming lines. The ATP-EMTP simulation results show that the combined effects of the three modification measures can effectively reduce amplitude and steepness of lightning intruding wave and ensure safe operation of the mine power grid.

In order to explore the influence of vegetation on homogeneity of surface particle size distribution (PSD) and heterogeneity of soil structure, observations, theory, and multifractal results were synthesized to highlight the evolution of the soil particle composition in the Jilantai Salt Lake Protection System (Jilantai system) after long‐term wind‐sand activities and its soil structure characteristics. From flowing sand dune to saline‐alkali wasteland areas, the mean grain size and surface particle sorting degree gradually increased and decreased, respectively, whereas the shape of the particle frequency curve gradually changed from extremely positive deviation to negative deviation, and the peak shape of the curve gradually changed from narrow to wide. Furthermore, the inhomogeneity of the soil particle composition gradually decreased, whereas the range of the soil PSD gradually increased, and the soil increasingly became fine‐grained. Therefore, the contents of clay and silt in shelterbelt soil increased by 16% and 18.36%, respectively, over 1986 levels. Additionally, clay and silt play a vital role in determining soil particle parameters such as standard deviation (SD), skewness (SKI), and monofractal (D), while vegetation factors are the main controlling factors of clay and silt. In conclusion, the Jilantai system could increase heterogeneity and homogeneity and decrease the concentration of soil PSD by changing the sedimentary environment, while this affect depends largely on the fractional vegetation cover, vegetation height, and light penetrating porosity. Moreover, the multifractal and particle parameters could describe the soil structure characteristics and sedimentary process, respectively, after long‐term wind‐sand activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As mean temperatures increase and heatwaves become more frequent, species are expanding their distributions to colonise new habitats. The resulting novel species interactions will simultaneously shape the temperature‐driven reorganization of resident communities. The interactive effects of climate change and climate change‐facilitated invasion have rarely been studied in multi‐trophic communities, and are likely to differ depending on the nature of the climatic driver (i.e., climate extremes or constant warming). We re‐created under laboratory conditions a host‐parasitoid community typical of high‐elevation rainforest sites in Queensland, Australia, comprising four Drosophila species and two associated parasitoid species. We subjected these communities to an equivalent increase in average temperature in the form of periodic heatwaves or constant warming, in combination with an invasion treatment involving a novel host species from lower‐elevation habitats. The two parasitoid species were sensitive to both warming and heatwaves, while the demographic responses of Drosophila species were highly idiosyncratic, reflecting the combined effects of thermal tolerance, parasitism, competition, and facilitation. After multiple generations, our heatwave treatment promoted the establishment of low‐elevation species in upland communities. Invasion of the low‐elevation species correlated negatively with the abundance of one of the parasitoid species, leading to cascading effects on its hosts and their competitors. Our study, therefore, reveals differing, sometimes contrasting, impacts of extreme temperatures and constant warming on community composition. It also highlights how the scale and direction of climate impacts could be further modified by invading species within a bi‐trophic community network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement effect of willow (Salix matsudana cv. zhuliu) cultivation on coastal saline soil and the main factors affecting soil properties were studied. Three treatments were designed: willow seeding site (SS), willow afforestation site (AS) and natural control site (CK). The results showed that soil pH and ECe decreased from 8.50 to 7.43 and from 6.8 dS/m to 0.8 dS/m at 0–20 cm layer, respectively. Willow cultivation significantly increased soil organic matter both in SS (3.64 g kg−1 – 4.05 g kg −1) and AS (2.82 g kg−1 – 3.92 g kg −1) treatments. The soil total nitrogen and available potassium of different treatments were increased with time and ranked AS > SS > CK. The AS16 treatment has a higher soil enzyme activity (soil urease, catalase, sucrase and phosphatase) and soil microbial population (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes). Redundancy analysis suggested that soil pH and salinity were the key factors (85.4%) determining soil microbial quantities. Principal component analysis showed that the soil improvement by willow cultivation was significantly affected by soil enzyme activity, and AS16 had a better effect on costal saline soil especially in reducing soil salinity and improving microbial environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]