Contrary to the formation of complicated polycrystals induced by general crystallization, a modulated superlatticelike nanostructure, which grows layer by layer from the surface to the interior of a ...Pd_{40}Ni_{10}Cu_{30}P_{20} metallic glass, is observed via isothermal annealing below the glass transition temperature. The generation of the modulated nanostructure can be solely controlled by the annealing temperature, and it can be understood based on the fast dynamic and liquidlike behavior of the glass surface. The observations have implications for understanding the glassy surface dynamics and pave a way for the controllable fabrication of a unique and sophisticated nanostructure on a glass surface to realize the properties' modification.
Hydroponics experiments were conducted to study the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP, a donor of NO) on lead toxicity in ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) seedlings. When the ryegrass seedlings were ...grown in a nutrient solution containing 500 μM Pb²⁺for two weeks, the plant biomass as well as net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, chlorophyll and carotenoid content of leaves decreased. The Pb stress also induced the production of superoxide anion (O₂·⁻) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), leading to malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation. Furthermore, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) decreased in the Pb-treated seedlings, but the catalase (CAT) activity increased. Additionally, the content of Cu in shoots and the content of K, Mg, Fe, and Zn in both shoots and roots decreased, but the content of Ca in shoots and roots increased under the Pb stress. Moreover, Pb accumulated mostly in roots, whereas a small quantity was translocated to shoots. However, the addition of 50, 100, and 200 μM SNP into the solution containing Pb increased the chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate, reduced Pb-induced oxidative damages, improved antioxidant enzyme activities, and inhibited translocation of Pb from roots to shoots. In particular, 100 μM SNP had the best effect on promoting growth of the ryegrass seedlings under the Pb toxicity. However, the application of 400 μM SNP had no obvious alleviating effect on Pb toxicity in the ryegrass seedlings.
Direct atomic-scale observations and measurements on dynamics of amorphous metallic nanoparticles (a-NPs) are challenging owing to the insufficient consciousness to their striking characterizations ...and the difficulties in technological approaches. In this study, we observe coalescence process of the a-NPs at atomic scale. We measure the viscosity of the a-NPs through the particles coalescence by in situ method. We find that the a-NPs have fast dynamics, and the viscosity of the a-NPs exhibits a power law relationship with size of the a-NPs. The a-NPs with sizes smaller than 3 nm are in a supercooled liquid state and exhibit liquid-like behaviours with a decreased viscosity by four orders of magnitude lower than that of bulk glasses. These results reveal the intrinsic flow characteristics of glasses in low demension, and pave a way to understand the liquid-like behaviours of low dimension glass, and are also of key interest to develop size-controlled nanodevices.
High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in solids has entered a new phase of intensive research, with envisioned band-structure mapping on an ultrashort time scale. This partly benefits from a flurry of ...new HHG materials discovered, but so far has missed an important group. HHG in magnetic materials should have profound impact on future magnetic storage technology advances. Here we introduce and demonstrate HHG in ferromagnetic monolayers. We find that HHG carries spin information and sensitively depends on the relativistic spin-orbit coupling; and if they are dispersed into the crystal momentum k space, harmonics originating from real transitions can be k-resolved and carry the band structure information. Geometrically, the HHG signal is sensitive to spatial orientations of monolayers. Different from the optical counterpart, the spin HHG, though probably weak, only appears at even orders, a consequence of SU(2) symmetry. Our findings open an unexplored frontier-magneto-high-order harmonic generation.
The microstructure and bonding strength of plasma sprayed coating are highly dependent on flattening and solidification behavior of in-flight droplets. In the present study, the flattening and ...solidification behavior of subsonic/supersonic droplets after impacting on a flat substrate was comparatively studied. Results show that a dimensionless Somerfeld number (K) of flattening droplets can be used as the splashing threshold. Due to the extremely rapid spreading and solidification of supersonic-droplet, some large-sized bubbles and grains that usually formed at the bottom of flattened subsonic-droplet were effectively restrained, leading to the improvement of splat/substrate micro-shear strength. The effect of grain size and growth feature on the macro-bonding property was further elaborated. It was found that the simultaneous increase of both velocity and temperature of in-flight droplets was an effective approach for the improvement of bonding strength of as-sprayed coating.
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•Micro-shear strength was used to quantitatively characterize the splat/substrate micro-bonding.•Increase of droplet velocity and temperature enhanced the micro-/macro-bonding of splat.•Effect of bubbles at the bottom of flattened droplet on the micro-bonding was proposed.
The interactive effects of salicylic acid (SA) and nitric oxide (NO) on alleviating cadmium (Cd) toxicity in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) were studied. Seedlings of two cultivars (Huayu 22 — a big ...seed type, and Xiaobaisha — a small seed type) were treated with 200 μM CdCl₂without or with 0.1 mM SA or 0.25 mM sodium nitroprusside (SNP, an NO donor). Results show that the Cd exposure depressed the plant growth of both the cultivars but more of Huayu 22 than of Xiaobaisha. Exogenous SA and NO alleviated Cd toxicity in both the peanut cultivars: they improved growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, and mineral nutrition. Furthermore, exogenous SA or NO decreased oxidative stress by increasing activities of antioxidant enzymes and content of non-enzymatic antioxidants. Besides, in roots and leaves of both the cultivars, exogenous SA and NO increased Cd accumulation in the cell wall and decreased Cd distribution to organelles. In particular, the effect of SA+SNP was most obvious.
► Well entangled hybrids of MnO2 nanowires and MWCNTs are obtained by a facile method. ► Their electrochemical performance as cathode for supercapacitors in 0.5moll−1 Li2SO4 aqueous electrolyte is ...reported. ► The energy density (17.8Whkg−1) of the supercapacitor stays almost unchanged with power density from 400 to 3340Wkg−1. ► The energy density of the supercapacitor does not fade much after 13,000 cycles.
A hybrid of MnO2-nanowires and MWCNTs to be used as cathode in a supercapacitor with good electrochemical performance was prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. In this hybrid the α-MnO2 nanowires are well entangled with MWCNTs. The MWCNTs provide a network for fast electron transport whereas MnO2 nanowires show a fast redox response. Since gain/loss of both electrons and ions can be realized very rapidly at the same time, the hybrid has an excellent rate capability and delivers an energy density of 17.8Whkg−1 at 400Wkg−1, which is maintained almost constant even at 3340Wkg−1 in 0.5M Li2SO4 aqueous electrolyte. The cycling behavior is very good even in the presence of oxygen. The data present great promise for the hybrid as a practical cathode material for aqueous supercapacitor.
Many cancer drugs are toxic to cells by activating apoptotic pathways. Previous studies have shown that mitochondria have key roles in apoptosis in mammalian cells, but the role of mitochondrial DNA ...(mtDNA) copy number variation in the pathogenesis of tumor cell apoptosis remains largely unknown. We used the HEp-2, HNE2, and A549 tumor cell lines to explore the relationship between mtDNA copy number variation and cell apoptosis. We first induced apoptosis in three tumor cell lines and one normal adult human skin fibroblast cell line (HSF) with cisplatin (DDP) or doxorubicin (DOX) treatment and found that the mtDNA copy number significantly increased in apoptotic tumor cells, but not in HSF cells. We then downregulated the mtDNA copy number by transfection with shRNA-TFAM plasmids or treatment with ethidium bromide and found that the sensitivity of tumor cells to DDP or DOX was significantly increased. Furthermore, we observed that levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased significantly in tumor cells with lower mtDNA copy numbers, and this might be related to a low level of antioxidant gene expression. Finally, we rescued the increase of ROS in tumor cells with lipoic acid or N-acetyl-L-cysteine and found that the apoptosis rate decreased. Our studies suggest that the increase of mtDNA copy number is a self-protective mechanism of tumor cells to prevent apoptosis and that reduced mtDNA copy number increases ROS levels in tumor cells, increases the tumor cells' sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs, and increases the rate of apoptosis. This research provides evidence that mtDNA copy number variation might be a promising new therapeutic target for the clinical treatment of tumors.
CdTe quantum dots show increased quantum yields when incorporated into a temperature‐sensitive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel (see Figure). The fluorescence intensities and maximum emission ...wavelengths are sensitive to external temperature stimuli and are completely reversible.
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