Abstract
We demonstrate the use of machine learning through convolutional neural networks to solve inverse design problems of optical resonator engineering. The neural network finds a harmonic ...modulation of a spherical mirror to generate a resonator mode with a given target topology (“mode on-demand”). The procedure allows us to optimize the shape of mirrors to achieve a significantly enhanced coupling strength and cooperativity between a resonator photon and a quantum emitter located at the center of the resonator. In a second example, a double-peak mode is designed which would enhance the interaction between two quantum emitters, e.g., for quantum information processing.
Molecular phylogenetics of microbial eukaryotes has reshaped the tree of life by establishing broad taxonomic divisions, termed supergroups, that supersede the traditional kingdoms of animals, fungi ...and plants, and encompass a much greater breadth of eukaryotic diversity
. The vast majority of newly discovered species fall into a small number of known supergroups. Recently, however, a handful of species with no clear relationship to other supergroups have been described
, raising questions about the nature and degree of undiscovered diversity, and exposing the limitations of strictly molecular-based exploration. Here we report ten previously undescribed strains of microbial predators isolated through culture that collectively form a diverse new supergroup of eukaryotes, termed Provora. The Provora supergroup is genetically, morphologically and behaviourally distinct from other eukaryotes, and comprises two divergent clades of predators-Nebulidia and Nibbleridia-that are superficially similar to each other, but differ fundamentally in ultrastructure, behaviour and gene content. These predators are globally distributed in marine and freshwater environments, but are numerically rare and have consequently been overlooked by molecular-diversity surveys. In the age of high-throughput analyses, investigation of eukaryotic diversity through culture remains indispensable for the discovery of rare but ecologically and evolutionarily important eukaryotes.
3‐Radialene‐based dopant CN6‐CP studied herein, with its reduction potential of +0.8 versus Fc/Fc+ and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level of −5.87 eV, is the strongest molecular p‐dopant ...reported in the open literature, so far. The efficient p‐doping of the donor–acceptor dithienyl‐diketopyrrolopyrrole‐based copolymer having the highest unoccupied molecular orbital level of −5.49 eV is achieved. The doped films exhibit electrical conductivities up to 70 S cm−1.
We report here a simple hydrothermal synthesis of 100-200 nm flakes of tochilinite (Fe
1−
x
S)·
n
(Mg,Fe)(OH)
2
constructed by interchanging atomic sulfide and hydroxide sheets as a representative of ...a new platform of multifunctional two-dimensional materials. The reliable formation of tochilinites was ensured by an excess of sodium sulfide, with the assembly of the metal sulfide and hydroxide sheets driven by their opposite electric charges. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy found that the hydroxide layers involved Fe
3+
cations from 10 to 40% of total iron tuned by addition of Al and Li entering the layers; the Fe
1−
x
S sheets comprised comparable amounts of high-spin Fe
3+
and Fe
2+
centers, and minor S-S bonding. The room-temperature Mössbauer spectra fitted with several doublets (chemical shift of 0.35-0.4 mm s
−1
and varying quadrupole splitting) transformed to three six-line patterns (hyperfine fields of ∼290, 350 and 480 kOe) due to magnetic ordering at 4.2 K, albeit the paramagnetic behavior observed in SQUID experiments. A series of UV-vis absorption maxima were explained in terms of both the high-index all-dielectric Mie resonance, in line with the permittivity measurement data, and the ligand-metal charge transfer resembling that in Fe-S clusters in proteins. Prospective properties and applications of the materials are discussed.
We report the reliable synthesis of 2D iron sulfide-magnesium hydroxide nanoflakes. The sulfide and hydroxide sheets assemble
via
opposite electric charges. Comparable amounts of high-spin Fe
3+
and Fe
2+
centers occur in the sulfide layers.
Telonemia is a poorly known major phylum of flagellated eukaryotes with a unique combination of morphological traits. Phylogenomics recently revealed the phylogenetic position of telonemids as sister ...to SAR, one of the largest groups of eukaryotes, comprising Stramenopiles, Alveolata and Rhizaria. Due to this key evolutionary position, investigations of telonemids are of critical importance for elucidating the origin and diversification of an astounding diversity of eukaryotic forms and life strategies. To date, however, only two species have been morphologically characterized from Telonemia, which do not represent this genetically very diverse group. In this study, we established cultures for six new telonemid strains, including the description of five new species and a new genus. We used these cultures to update the phylogeny of Telonemia and provide a detailed morphological and ultrastructural investigation. Our data elucidate the origin of TSAR from flagellates with complex morphology and reconstruction of the ancestral structure of stramenopiles, alveolates and rhizarians, and their main synapomorphic characters. Since telonemids are a common component of aquatic environments, the features of their feeding, behaviour and ecological preferences observed in clonal cultures and the results of global metabarcoding analysis contribute to a deeper understanding of organization of microbial food webs.
The origin of animals is one of the most intensely studied evolutionary events, and our understanding of this transition was greatly advanced by analyses of unicellular relatives of animals, which ...have shown many “animal-specific” genes actually arose in protistan ancestors long before the emergence of animals 1–3. These genes have complex distributions, and the protists have diverse lifestyles, so understanding their evolutionary significance requires both a robust phylogeny of animal relatives and a detailed understanding of their biology 4, 5. But discoveries of new animal-related lineages are rare and historically biased to bacteriovores and parasites. Here, we characterize the morphology and transcriptome content of a new animal-related lineage, predatory flagellate Tunicaraptor unikontum. Tunicaraptor is an extremely small (3–5 μm) and morphologically simple cell superficially resembling some fungal zoospores, but it survives by preying on other eukaryotes, possibly using a dedicated but transient “mouth,” which is unique for unicellular opisthokonts. The Tunicaraptor transcriptome encodes a full complement of flagellar genes and the flagella-associated calcium channel, which is only common to predatory animal relatives and missing in microbial parasites and grazers. Tunicaraptor also encodes several major classes of animal cell adhesion molecules, as well as transcription factors and homologs of proteins involved in neurodevelopment that have not been found in other animal-related lineages. Phylogenomics, including Tunicaraptor, challenges the existing framework used to reconstruct the evolution of animal-specific genes and emphasizes that the diversity of animal-related lineages may be better understood only once the smaller, more inconspicuous animal-related lineages are better studied.
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•New predatory protist (Tunicaraptor) with unique morphology is related to animals•Tunicaraptor calls into question many of the well-accepted relationships in Holozoa•Tunicaraptor possesses a unique combination of “animal-specific” gene products•Eukaryovorous flagellates may represent a major share of unicellular animal relatives
Tikhonenkov et al. report a new lineage of predatory protists (Tunicaraptor) related to animals, challenging the existing phylogenomic framework used to reconstruct the evolution of “animal-specific” genes. This protist highlights the notion that eukaryovorous flagellates may represent a major fraction of the unicellular relatives of animals.
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•Two novel conjugated thiazolothiazole-based polymers were synthesized.•Impact of side chains of polymers on solar cells performance was revealed.•Slot die coated modules provided ...power output of 45 μW at 400 lx illumination.•The potential of modules for powering wireless sensors was demonstrated.
Organic solar cells (OSCs) have attracted considerable attention in the last few decades due to their unique properties, including lightweight, flexibility, and manufacturing costs. Moreover, OSCs exhibit high performance under ambient light conditions revealing potential applications of these devices in low power electronics and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. In this work, we synthesized and characterized two novel conjugated polymers comprising thiazolothiazole, benzothiadiazole and thiophene alternating blocks with different thioalkyl substituents. Polymer P1 with 2-ethylhexylthio side chains provided power conversion efficiencies of ca. 5.0% on 4.5 cm2 area OSCs fabricated using slot-die coating technique under ambient conditions. Furthermore, the assembled P1-based module delivered the power output of 45.5 μW under 400 lx indoor illumination sufficient to power wireless air temperature sensor, thus demonstrating the potential of our devices for practical indoor applications.
Ministeria vibrans (Filasterea) is a tiny amoeboid species described by Tong in 1997. It has been sporadically found in different habitats, and cultured strains were established. M. vibrans is well ...characterised by molecular phylogeny but until now was not ultrastructurally investigated in detail. Here, we provide the ultrastructure for this species based on a new strain isolated from oxygen-depleted water of the Baltic Sea. A thin vibrating flagellum could be observed but no vibrating movement of the cell body and no stalk. Our first ultrastructural study of a filasterean taxon revealed radial microvilli supported by bundles of microfilaments. Two centrioles located in the nuclear pit can migrate to the cell periphery and transform into the kinetid: the centriole orthogonal to the kinetosome with a fibrillar root and a basal foot that initiates microtubules. Microvilli in Ministeria suggest their presence in the common ancestor of Filasterea and Choanoflagellata. The kinetid structure of Ministeria is similar to that of the choanocytes of the most deep-branching sponges, differing essentially from the kinetid of choanoflagellates. Thus, kinetid and microvilli of Ministeria illustrate features of the common ancestor of three holozoan groups: Filasterea, Metazoa and Choanoflagellata.
We recently synthesized prospective new materials composed of alternating quasi-atomic sheets of brucite-type hydroxide (Mg, Fe)(OH)2 and CuFe1–x S2 sulfide (valleriites). Herein, their thermal ...behavior important for many potential applications has been studied in inert (Ar) and oxidative (20% O2) atmospheres using thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses and characterization with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). In the Ar media, the processes are determined by the dehydroxylation of the hydroxide layers forming MgO, with the temperature of the major endothermic maximum of the mass loss at 413 °C. Sulfide sheets start to degrade below 500 °C and melt at nearly 800 °C, with bornite, chalcopyrite, and troilite specified as the final products. In the oxidative atmosphere, the exothermic reactions with the mass increase peaked at 345 and 495 °C, corresponding to the partial and major oxidations of Cu–Fe sulfide layers. Sulfur oxides captured in magnesium hydroxide layers to form MgSO4 compromised the layer integrity and promoted the oxidation of the sulfide entities. The final products also contained minor MgO, Cu2MgO3, Fe3O4, and MgFe2O4 phases. Samples doped with Al, which decreases the content of Fe in hydroxide layers, show notably impeded decay of valleriite in argon but facilitated the oxidation of Cu–Fe sulfides, while the impact of Li (it slightly increases the number of the Fe–OH sites) was less expressed. The mutual stabilization of the two-dimensional (2D) hydroxide and sulfide layers upon heating in an inert atmosphere but not in oxygen as compared with bulk brucite and chalcopyrite was suggested to explain high thermal resistance across the stacked incommensurate sheets, which slows down the endothermic reactions and accelerates the exothermic oxidation; the high number of Fe atoms in the hydroxide sheets are expected to promote the phonon exchange and heat transfer between the layers.
This paper presents a project for the reorganization and conservation of the cultural heritage site "A.N. Kraft's Estate at Kostino, early 20th century" and analyses the historical and analytical ...aspects of the design. The project, involving restoration and further development of a significant historical part of the city of Korolev, Moscow Oblast, seeks to reorganize the space and adapt the cultural heritage objects located in the area to modern use. The project was evaluated by means of the resource planning method, which enables a qualitative assessment of the concept to be implemented. In conclusion, the authors outline basic approaches to the development of a concept for reorganization of an area with existing cultural heritage objects.
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