Nanjing Normal University

Electron ptychography, recognized as an ideal technique for low-dose imaging, consistently achieves deep sub-angstrom resolution at electron doses of several thousand electrons per square angstrom (e⁻/Ų) or higher. Despite its proven efficacy, the application of electron ptychography at even lower doses—necessary for materials highly sensitive to electron beams—raises questions regarding its feasibility and the attainable resolution under such stringent conditions. Herein, we demonstrate the implementation of near-atomic-resolution ( ~ 2 Å) electron ptychography reconstruction at electron doses as low as ~100 e⁻/Ų, for metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are known for their extreme sensitivity. The reconstructed images clearly resolve organic linkers, metal clusters, and even atomic columns within these clusters, while unravelling various local structural features in MOFs, including missing linkers, extra clusters, and surface termination modes. By combining the findings from simulations and experiments, we have identified that employing a small convergence semi-angle during data acquisition is crucial for effective iterative ptychographic reconstruction under such low-dose conditions. This important insight advances our understanding of the rapidly evolving electron ptychography technique and provides a novel approach to high-resolution imaging of various sensitive materials.

Powdery mildew poses a significant threat to global wheat production and most cloned and deployed resistance genes for wheat breeding encode nucleotide‐binding and leucine‐rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors. Although two genetically linked NLRs function together as an NLR pair have been reported in other species, this phenomenon has been relatively less studied in wheat. Here, we demonstrate that two tightly linked NLR genes, RXL and Pm5e, arranged in a head‐to‐head orientation, function together as an NLR pair to mediate powdery mildew resistance in wheat. The resistance function of the RXL/Pm5e pair is validated by mutagenesis, gene silencing, and gene‐editing assays. Interestingly, both RXL and Pm5e encode atypical NLRs, with RXL possessing a truncated NB‐ARC (nucleotide binding adaptor shared by APAF‐1, plant R proteins and CED‐4) domain and Pm5e featuring an atypical coiled‐coil (CC) domain. Notably, RXL and Pm5e lack an integrated domain associated with effector recognition found in all previously reported NLR pairs. Additionally, RXL and Pm5e exhibit a preference for forming hetero‐complexes rather than homo‐complexes, highlighting their cooperative role in disease resistance. We further show that the CC domain of Pm5e specifically suppresses the hypersensitive response induced by the CC domain of RXL through competitive interaction, revealing regulatory mechanisms within this NLR pair. Our study sheds light on the molecular mechanism underlying RXL/Pm5e‐mediated powdery mildew resistance and provides a new example of an NLR pair in wheat disease resistance.

A polarization-independent dual-peak narrow-band filter is proposed and demonstrated theoretically and experimentally, which is realized by using a helical long-period fiber grating (HLPG) but with a period small down to tens of micrometers. Unlike those excessively tilted fiber gratings (Ex-TFGs) or the conventional long-period fiber gratings (LPGs) but with a small period down to tens of micrometers where the generated dual-peak pairs (DPPs) are all of the strong polarization-dependence, the DPPs obtained in this study are of the polarization-independent, which is the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that the underlying mechanism for generation of the polarization-independent DPPs in transmission spectrum of the helical small-period fiber grating (HSPFG) has been revealed both theoretically and experimentally.

Polychaetes are a promising intertidal resources due to their widespread distribution, considerable biomass, and high nutrition value. The nutritional profiles of two novel tropical polychaetes species (Marphysa sp. and Halla sp.) were determined. Additionally, comparing nutritional levels of polychaetes with other species and requirements of main aquatic animals, this study aimed to explore their potential as aquaculture feed ingredients. The results revealed that both polychaetes species are nutrient‐rich with significant interspecific variation. Marphysa sp. showed higher protein, total essential amino acid (EAA) ratio (17.32 ± 0.46 mg/g), lipid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 10.99%), α‐Linolenic acid (ALA; 1.25%), ash and energy content compared to Halla sp. (p < 0.05). Conversely, Halla sp. had a significantly higher docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 5.68%) index compared to Marphysa sp. (DHA; 2.57%). Meanwhile, the levels of macroelements (K, Ca, Na) and trace elements (Mg, Mn, Cu) also exhibited differences in the two species. Compared with other polychaetes and aquatic feed, both Marphysa sp. and Halla sp. are promising high‐quality feed ingredients, as they contain high levels of minerals, essential amino acids, and beneficial lipid profiles. This study will support the identification of alternative substitutes to meet the growing demand for aquafeed ingredients.

Background Soil macro- and mesofauna play a critical role in regulating (mixed-)litter decomposition. In shrub-encroached temperate graminoid wetlands, shrub and graminoid litters, with contrasting chemical quality, often interact to affect decomposition. However, little is known about how fauna contribute to decomposition and mixing effects in situ. Methods We collected litters of two graminoid species (Deyeuxia angustifolia and Carex schmidtii) and two shrubs (Betula fruticosa and Salix floderusii) in a shrub-encroached wetland. By a one-year field microcosm experiment involving 8 mm- and 0.5 mm-mesh sizes to control soil fauna sizes in B. fruticosa and S. floderusii islands, we measured litter mass loss of graminoid species, shrubs, and their mixtures. Results In both islands, the 8-mm treatment increased mass loss by 11.4% ~ 35.9% relative to the 0.5-mm, irrespective of monospecific and mixed-species litter. For mixed-species litter, positive non-additive effects on mass loss were common, especially in the 8-mm treatment (in three of four mixtures in the S. floderusii island, and in all mixtures in the B. fruticose island). Specifically, graminoid litters generally had greater mass loss in the shrub-graminoid mixtures than that decomposing alone, with a higher incidence in the 8-mm treatment. For the mixtures, the mesh size explained most variation (26.9%, followed by species composition and litter chemical dissimilarity) in mass loss. Conclusions This study provides field evidences for the critical role of macro- and mesofauna in regulating litter decomposition in freshwater wetlands. Following shrub encroachment, the fauna contributes greatly to positive mixing effects on decomposition of shrub-graminoid litter assemblages.

For the first order 1D n × n quasilinear strictly hyperbolic system ∂tu+F(u)∂xu=0 with u(x,0)=εu0(x), where ɛ > 0 is small, u0(x)≢0 and u0(x)∈C02(R), when at least one eigenvalue of n × n real matrix F(u) is genuinely nonlinear, it is well-known that on the finite blowup time Tɛ, the derivatives ∂t,xu blow up while the solution u keeps small. For the 1D scalar equation or 2×2 strictly hyperbolic system (corresponding to n=1,2), if the smooth solution u blows up in finite time, then the blowup mechanism has been well understood (i.e. only the blowup of ∂t,xu happens). In the present paper, for the 1D n × n ( n⩾3) strictly hyperbolic system and large variational initial data u(x,0) without compact supports, where u(x,0) is small but its derivatives are large, we investigate the smallness of the solution u itself, the blowup mechanism and the detailed singularity behaviours of ∂t,xu near the blowup point. Our results are based on the efficient decomposition of u and the involved analysis along the different characteristic directions, the suitable introduction of the modulated coordinates and the global weighted energy estimates together with the characteristics method.

An electrochemical protocol for the alkylation of imines was developed by using easily available alkyl halides as the alkyl sources, graphite felt (GF) as anode and zinc plate as cathode. Various substituted imines, alkyl bromides and alkyl iodides were suitable for this reaction and a series of α‐branched amines were obtained in moderate to good yields. This method provides a green way for the addition of imines to avoid the need for metal reagents, chemical oxidants and reductants, which makes it has a good application prospect in drug synthesis.

Bacterial infections can lead to severe medical complications, including major medical incidents and even death, posing a significant challenge in clinical trauma repair. Consequently, the development of new, efficient, and non‐resistant antimicrobial agents has become a priority for medical practitioners. In this study, a stepwise hydrothermal reaction strategy is utilized to prepare Fe3O4@MoS2 core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) with photosynthesis‐like activity for the treatment of bacterial infections. The Fe3O4@MoS2 NPs continuously catalyze the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from hydrogen peroxide through photosynthesis‐like reactions and convert light energy into heat with a photothermal efficiency of 30.30%. In addition, the photosynthetically generated ROS, combined with the iron‐induced cell death mechanism of the Fe3O4@MoS2 NPs, confer them with exceptional and broad‐spectrum antibacterial properties, achieving antimicrobial activities of up to 98.62% for Staphylococcus aureus, 99.22% for Escherichia coli, and 98.55% for methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The composite exhibits good cell safety and hemocompatibility. Finally, a full‐thickness diabetic wound model validates the significant pro‐healing properties of Fe3O4@MoS2 in chronic diabetic wounds. Overall, the design of photosynthesis‐inspired Fe3O4@MoS2 presents new perspectives for developing efficient photothermal nano‐enzymatic compounds, offering a promising solution to the challenges of antimicrobial drug resistance and antibiotic misuse.

Oats are a rich source of plant‐based proteins owing to their nutritional value, diverse functions, and high abundance. However, traditional methods for extracting oat proteins (OPs), such as alkali solution acid precipitation (ASAP), can cause environmental pollution and potentially protein denaturation. In this work, we studied the use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and deep eutectic system (DESys)‐based methods for OP extraction. The DES are composed of ionic liquids (ILs) and choline chloride (ChCl) as hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs), and polyols as hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) for OP extraction. By systematically investigating the extraction conditions, it was found that using ChCl as an HBA in the DESys‐based method allowed for a significant increase in protein recovery yield compared to the ASAP and DES‐based methods. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of OPs extracted using the ASAP, DES, and DESys‐based methods exhibited some differences, particularly in their molecular structure, amino acid composition, and thermal properties, suggesting that the properties of OP could be potentially adjusted by DESys‐ and DES‐based methods. When considering both toxicity and protein recovery yield, the DESys‐based extraction method using ChCl as the HBA is more suitable for OP extraction. This study demonstrated a green and efficient method for OP extraction that minimizes environmental impact, potentially bridging the gap between ILs and DES, and offering insights for designing new DES‐ or DESys‐based extraction strategies for biological molecules.

Pollutant emissions in China have significantly decreased over the past decade and are expected to continue declining in the future. Aerosols, as important pollutants and short‐lived climate forcing agents, have significant but currently unclear climate impacts in East Asia as their concentrations decrease until mid‐century. Here, we employ a well‐developed regional climate model RegCM4 combined with future pollutant emission inventories, which are more representative of China to investigate changes in the concentrations and climate effects of major anthropogenic aerosols in East Asia under six different emission reduction scenarios (1.5°C goals, Neutral‐goals, 2°C ‐goals, NDC‐goals, Current‐goals, and Baseline). By the 2060s, aerosol surface concentrations under these scenarios are projected to decrease by 89%, 87%, 84%, 73%, 65%, and 21%, respectively, compared with those in 2010–2020. Aerosol climate effect changes are associated with its loadings but not in a linear manner. The average effective radiative forcing at the surface in East Asia induced by aerosol‐radiation‐cloud interactions will diminish by 24% ± 13% by the 2030s and 35% ± 13% by the 2060s. These alternations caused by aerosol reductions lead to increases in near‐surface temperatures and precipitations. Specifically, aerosol‐induced temperature and precipitation responses in East Asia are estimated to change by −78% to −20% and −69% to 77%, respectively, under goals with different emission scenarios in the 2060s compared to 2010–2020. Therefore, the significant climate effects resulting from substantial reductions in anthropogenic aerosols need to be fully considered in the pathway toward carbon neutrality.