Biofilms consist of microbial communities embedded in a 3D extracellular matrix. The matrix is composed of a complex array of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that contribute to the unique ...attributes of biofilm lifestyle and virulence. This ensemble of chemically and functionally diverse biomolecules is termed the ‘matrixome’. The composition and mechanisms of EPS matrix formation, and its role in biofilm biology, function, and microenvironment are being revealed. This perspective article highlights recent advances about the multifaceted role of the ‘matrixome’ in the development, physical–chemical properties, and virulence of biofilms. We emphasize that targeting biofilm-specific conditions such as the matrixome could lead to precise and effective antibiofilm approaches. We also discuss the limited knowledge in the context of polymicrobial biofilms, and the need for more in-depth analyses of the EPS matrix in mixed communities that are associated with many human infectious diseases.
The 'matrixome' is the inventory of currently known biomolecules (polysaccharides, nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and lipoproteins) and their molecular, structural, and functional diversity associated with biofilm assembly, and its physicochemical and virulence attributes.The structural and biochemical properties of the matrixome provide the emergent properties of biofilms, including surface adhesion, spatial and chemical heterogeneities, synergistic/competitive polymicrobial interactions, antimicrobial recalcitrance, and biofilm virulence.Combinatorial treatment strategies are crucial to eradicate biofilms by targeting the functionally and structurally complex extracellular polymeric matrix and embedded microbial cells.Due to limited knowledge of the polymicrobial EPS matrix there is an urgent need for more experimental polymicrobial biofilm and in vivo mechanistic studies.
The peak dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) of Bi2Te3-based n-type single crystals is about 0.85 in the ab plane at room temperature, which has not been improved over the last 50 years ...due to the high thermal conductivity of 1.65 W m−1 K−1 even though the power factor is 47 × 10−4 W m−1 K−2. In samples with random grain orientations, we found that the thermal conductivity can be decreased by making grain size smaller through ball milling and hot pressing, but the power factor decreased with a similar percentage, resulting in no gain in ZT. Reorienting the ab planes of the small crystals by repressing the as-pressed samples enhanced the peak ZT from 0.85 to 1.04 at about 125 °C, a 22% improvement, mainly due to the more increase on power factor than on thermal conductivity. Further improvement is expected when the ab plane of most of the small crystals is reoriented to the direction perpendicular to the press direction and grains are made even smaller.
The recent discovery of iron-based superconductors challenges the existing paradigm of high-temperature superconductivity. Owing to their unusual multi-orbital band structure, magnetism and electron ...correlation, theories propose a unique sign-reversed s-wave pairing state, with the order parameter changing sign between the electron and hole Fermi pockets. However, because of the complex Fermi surface topology and materials-related issues, the predicted sign reversal remains unconfirmed. Here we report a new phase-sensitive technique for probing unconventional pairing symmetry in the polycrystalline iron pnictides. Through the observation of both integer and half-integer flux-quantum transitions in composite niobium-iron pnictide loops, we provide the first phase-sensitive evidence of the sign change of the order parameter in NdFeAsO0.88F0.12, lending strong support for microscopic models predicting unconventional s-wave pairing symmetry. These findings have important implications on the mechanism of iron pnictide superconductivity, and lay the groundwork for future studies of new physics arising from the exotic order in the FeAs-based superconductors.
Thermoelectrics have long been recognized as a potentially transformative energy conversion technology due to their ability to convert heat directly into electricity. Despite this potential, ...thermoelectric devices are not in common use because of their low efficiency, and today they are only used in niche markets where reliability and simplicity are more important than performance. However, the ability to create nanostructured thermoelectric materials has led to remarkable progress in enhancing thermoelectric properties, making it plausible that thermoelectrics could start being used in new settings in the near future. Of the various types of nanostructured materials, bulk nanostructured materials have shown the most promise for commercial use because, unlike many other nanostructured materials, they can be fabricated in large quantities and in a form that is compatible with existing thermoelectric device configurations. The first generation of these materials is currently being developed for commercialization, but creating the second generation will require a fundamental understanding of carrier transport in these complex materials which is presently lacking. In this review we introduce the principles and present status of bulk nanostructured materials, then describe some of the unanswered questions about carrier transport and how current research is addressing these questions. Finally, we discuss several research directions which could lead to the next generation of bulk nanostructured materials.
About one‐third of orchid species are thought to offer no floral reward and therefore attract pollinators through deception. Statements of this idea are common in the botanical literature, but the ...empirical basis of the estimate is rarely mentioned. We traced citation pathways for the one‐third estimate in a sample of the literature and found that the paths lead to empirical foundations that are surprisingly narrow. Moreover, recent measurements have detected minute quantities of sugar available to insect visitors in some orchids thought to be rewardless, raising the possibility of a pollination strategy that is largely deceitful but different to absolute rewardlessness. The orchids are a well‐studied group and there is no doubt that rewardlessness is common in the family. However, greater empirical effort is needed to verify rewardlessness in orchids and to explore geographic and environmental variation in the proportion of rewardless species.
The frequent claim that one‐third of orchid species are rewardless rests on very thin empirical evidence, and new empirical research will be needed to improve our knowledge of macroevolutionary patterns of deceit pollination.
Multiferroics, defined for those multifunctional materials in which two or more kinds of fundamental ferroicities coexist, have become one of the hottest topics of condensed matter physics and ...materials science in recent years. The coexistence of several order parameters in multiferroics brings out novel physical phenomena and offers possibilities for new device functions. The revival of research activities on multiferroics is evidenced by some novel discoveries and concepts, both experimentally and theoretically. In this review, we outline some of the progressive milestones in this stimulating field, especially for those single-phase multiferroics where magnetism and ferroelectricity coexist. First, we highlight the physical concepts of multiferroicity and the current challenges to integrate the magnetism and ferroelectricity into a single-phase system. Subsequently, we summarize various strategies used to combine the two types of order. Special attention is paid to three novel mechanisms for multiferroicity generation: (1) the ferroelectricity induced by the spin orders such as spiral and E-phase antiferromagnetic spin orders, which break the spatial inversion symmetry; (2) the ferroelectricity originating from the charge-ordered states; and (3) the ferrotoroidic system. Then, we address the elementary excitations such as electromagnons, and the application potentials of multiferroics. Finally, open questions and future research opportunities are proposed.
Ever since the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by Iijima in 1991, there have been extensive research efforts on their synthesis, physics, electronics, chemistry, and applications due to the fact ...that CNTs were predicted to have extraordinary physical, mechanical, chemical, optical, and electronic properties. Among the various forms of CNTs, single-walled and multi-walled, random and aligned, semiconducting and metallic, aligned CNTs are especially important since fundamental physics studies and many important applications will not be possible without alignment. Even though there have been significant endeavors on growing CNTs in an aligned configuration since their discovery, little success had been realized before our first report on growing individually aligned CNTs on various substrates by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) Science 282 (1998) 1105-1108. Our report spearheaded a new field on growth, characterization, physics, and applications of aligned CNTs. Up to now, there have been thousands of scientific publications on synthesizing, studying, and utilizing aligned CNTs in various aspects. In this communication, we review the current status of aligned CNTs, the physics for their alignment, their applications in field emission, optical antennas, subwavelength light transmission in CNT-based nanocoax structures, nanocoax arrays for novel solar cell structures, etc.
The focus of this review is to examine various aligned CNT systems, either as an individual or as an array, either the orientation is vertical, parallel, or at other angles to the substrate horizon, either the CNT core structures are mostly hollow channels or are composed of complex compartments. Major fabrication methods are illustrated in detail, particularly the most widely used PECVD growth technique on which various device integration schemes are based, followed by applications whereas current limitations and challenges will also be discussed to lay down the foundation for future developments.
There is increasing public concern about poultry welfare; the quality of animal welfare is closely related to the quality of livestock products and the health of consumers. Good animal welfare ...promotes the healthy growth of poultry, which can reduce the disease rate and improve the production quality and capacity. As behaviour responses are an important expression of welfare, the study of behaviour is a simple and non-invasive method to assess animal welfare. The use of modern technology offers the possibility to monitor the behaviour of broilers and laying hens in a continuous and automated way. This paper reviews the latest technologies used for monitoring the behaviour of broilers and laying hens under both experimental conditions and commercial applications and discusses the potential of developing a precision livestock farming (PLF) system. The techniques that are presented and discussed include sound analysis, which can be an online tool to automatically monitor poultry behaviour non-invasively at the group level; wireless, wearable sensors with radio-frequency identification devices, which can automatically identify individual chickens, track the location and movement of individuals in real time and quantify some behavioural traits accordingly and image processing technology, which can be considered a direct tool for measuring behaviours, especially activity behaviours and disease early warning. All of these technologies can monitor and analyse poultry behaviour, at the group level or individual level, on commercial farms. However, the popularity and adoption of these technologies has been hampered by the logistics of applying them to thousands and tens of thousands of birds on commercial farms. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques in commercial applications and presents evidence that they provide potential tools to automatically monitor the behaviours of broilers and laying hens on commercial farms. However, there still has a long way to go to develop a PLF system to detect and predict abnormal situations.
Half-Heuslers would be important thermoelectric materials due to their high temperature stability and abundance if their dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) could be made high enough. ...The highest peak ZT of a p-type half-Heusler has been so far reported about 0.5 due to the high thermal conductivity. Through a nanocomposite approach using ball milling and hot pressing, we have achieved a peak ZT of 0.8 at 700 °C, which is about 60% higher than the best reported 0.5 and might be good enough for consideration for waste heat recovery in car exhaust systems. The improvement comes from a simultaneous increase in Seebeck coefficient and a significant decrease in thermal conductivity due to nanostructures. The samples were made by first forming alloyed ingots using arc melting and then creating nanopowders by ball milling the ingots and finally obtaining dense bulk by hot pressing. Further improvement in ZT is expected when average grain sizes are made smaller than 100 nm.
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