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Anthocyanins in maize (Zea mays L.) kernels determine the plant's color and can enhance its resistance. Selenium (Se) significantly impacts plant growth, development, and secondary metabolic regulation. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Se regulates anthocyanin synthesis in waxy corn remain unclear. This study employed integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to investigate the mechanisms through which selenium influences anthocyanin synthesis in yellow and purple waxy corn. The results showed that maize varieties with higher anthocyanin content had higher selenium enrichment capacity in their kernels. Under selenium stress, HN2025 exhibited 1,904 more differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 140 more differential metabolites compared to HN5. The expression levels of anthocyanin synthesis-related genes and transcription factors such as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, flavonoid 3-hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR), chalcone synthase (CHS), cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H), anthocyanin 5,3-O-glucosyltransferases, and anthocyanidin reductase, MYB, and bHLH were strongly induced in HN2025. Metabolomic analysis revealed significant enrichment in anthocyanin biosynthesis, flavonoid and flavonol biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, phenylalanine biosynthesis, and phenylalanine metabolism under selenium treatment. Three up-regulated PAL genes and one C4H gene were significantly enriched with DAMs in phenylalanine metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, and anthocyanin biosynthesis, resulting in significant differences between HN5 and HN2025 in selenium-induced anthocyanin metabolism-related pathways. These findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding the effects of selenium on the molecular regulatory mechanisms of anthocyanin biosynthesis in maize kernels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐voltage sodium‐metal batteries (SMBs) are considered a promising battery system due to their abundant sodium source and high energy density. However, the instability of electrolytes, notorious reactivity of Na metal, and severe dissolution of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film impede their long lifespan and high safety. Herein, a low‐solvation modulating strategy is proposed to design an all‐fluorinated electrolyte consisting of 1 m NaPF6 in fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), methyl 2, 2, 2‐trifluoroethyl carbonate (FEMC), and lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB), realizing high working voltage and excellent cycling stability of SMBs. Theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations confirm that the presence of FEMC significantly improves the antioxidant property of the electrolyte and contributes to the formation of high‐quality interfacial phases on both anode and cathode. While LiDFOB benefits to optimize the energy bandgap and the solvated structure and stabilizing the FEMC. Consequently, excellent oxidative stability up to 5 V and ultra‐stable cycling of Na||Na3(VOPO4)2F battery (with a capacity retention of 82.9% after 1800 cycles at 4.4 V) are obtained, exhibiting superior stability to its counterparts. The proposed strategy provides a new insight to design SMBs operated at high voltages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron selenides have emerged as appealing anodes for Na+‐storage due to their natural abundance, good redox reversibility, and high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, exploring a carbon‐free iron selenide anode with long‐term stability and high‐rate capability remains an intractable challenge. Herein, a 3D carbon‐free iron selenide electrode is designed by heterointerface with SeP bond engineering strategy to realize outstanding Na+‐storage performance. Theoretical calculations on the stress deformation confirm the construction of Fe7Se8/Fe3(PO4)2 not only enables excellent resistance‐to‐deformation ability but also exhibits strong mechanically stable against sodiation–desodiation. Such fascinating properties combined with the accelerated Na+ diffusion kinetics and enhanced electronic conductivity endowed by the 3D interconnected framework contribute to impressive cycling stability and superb rate performance for Na+‐storage. Consequently, the designed 3D Fe7Se8/Fe3(PO4)2 composite with a high tap density of 0.91 cm3 g−1 displays a stable specific capacity of 277.1 mAh cm−3 at 30 A g−1, and outstanding long‐term cycle stability of up to 1500 cycles at 5 A g−1 without obvious capacity decay. The proposed engineering strategy and results provide new insight to design carbon‐free advanced electrodes for future practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a mathematical model for the meshing of involute spur gears in mixed lubrication. The model is formulated by integrating a gear meshing model with a thermal tribofilm mixed lubrication model. The resulting model can produce a number of important meshing variables from which the gear meshing performance and the tooth surface damage may be assessed. The model is used to analyze the performance of a high-load and high-speed gear system under various degrees of mixed lubrication. The results show a stronger desire to use low-module and high-pressure-angle gears than that suggested in earlier studies under good lubrication conditions. The results also show the high importance of enhanced heat transfer design of the system to prevent or reduce the possibility of the gear system migrating into temperature-induced unfavorable lubrication conditions. Although the model is developed for spur gears and results are obtained around a nominal system, the relations of the gear meshing tribology to the meshing loss and tooth surface damage behind these results should be fundamentally the same as those in other high-load and high-speed gear systems of different sizes and types. Therefore, the results and analysis may serve as qualitative guidance for the design considerations of high-performance gear systems in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]