22 research outputs found
Electric Field Induced Ion Migration and Property Tuning in Functional Oxides
ConspectusThe manipulation of functional
oxide materials’ properties
through energy-efficient means is of great importance in materials
science. Electric field-driven ionic control of functional oxides
presents a versatile and effective approach for tailoring material
properties, including insulator–metal transitions, superconductivity,
magnetism, and optical characteristics, through spin, orbit, charge,
and lattice degrees of freedom. This approach introduces a dynamic
means of tuning these properties, allowing for real-time adjustments
through external stimuli such as electric fields. The ability to modify
material characteristics through ionic means is promising for both
scientific exploration and practical applications, owing to its energy
efficiency and compatibility with room temperature operation. Traditionally,
this was primarily explored for energy storage applications, but it
has now found broad utility in optoelectronics, nanoelectronic memory,
and computing.Controlling charge carriers is a pivotal aspect
of advancing the
electronic functionalities of oxide materials. The substantial accumulation
of charge carriers via electric field-induced electric double layers
at oxide–electrolyte interfaces prompts extremely large electric
fields, leading to different phenomena such as chemical reactions,
phase transitions, and magnetic ordering. The mechanisms involved
in electric field-controlled ionic motion using ionic liquids and
gels range from primarily electrostatic to completely electrochemical.
The electrostatic effect involves the induction of electrons or holes,
and ionic motion is specific to the electrolyte side of the interface.
In contrast, the electrochemical effect involves ionic motion occurring
on both sides of the interface and across it. Through the application
of electric fields, the insertion or extraction of ions in functional
oxide materials enables the control of various phases and properties.
In the electrostatic mechanism, carrier density modulation is primarily
driven by band bending, whereas the electrochemical mechanism can
completely reshape electronic band structures due to exceptionally
high carrier densities. The electrolyte nature and target material
properties significantly influence both the electrostatic and electrochemical
effects. Recent advancements in characterization techniques and theoretical
simulations have improved our understanding of the gating mechanisms
in various material systems.In this Account, we provide a concise
summary of recent advancements
in manipulating the properties of various transition metal oxide material
systems using electrolyte-based ionic motion through an electric field.
We begin by exploring the detailed mechanisms that underlie how electric
field gating can bring about substantial changes in the material properties.
These changes encompass alterations in crystal and electronic structures
as well as modifications in electrical, optical, and magnetic properties.
Additionally, we assess the potential applications of functional oxide
devices made possible through these ionic control mechanisms, particularly
their relevance to neuromorphic computing. Finally, we address the
primary challenges in this field and suggest future research directions
to further its progress
Table2_Identification of Dof transcription factors in Dendrobium huoshanense and expression pattern under abiotic stresses.XLSX
Introduction: DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) transcription factors (TFs) are a unique family of TFs found in higher plants that regulate plant responses to light, hormones, and abiotic stresses. The specific involvement of Dof genes in the response to environmental stresses remains unknown in D. huoshanense.Methods: A total of 22 Dof family genes were identified from the D. huoshanense genome.Results: Chromosome location analysis showed that DhDof genes were distributed on 12 chromosomes, with the largest number of Dof genes located on chromosome 8. The phylogenetic tree revealed that DhDofs could be categorized into 11 distinct subgroups. In addition to the common groups, DhDof4, DhDof5, DhDof17, and the AtDof1.4 ortholog were clustered into the B3 subgroup. Group E was a newly identified branch, among which DhDof6, DhDof7, DhDof8, and DhDof9 were in an independent branch. The conserved motifs and gene structure revealed the differences in motif number and composition of DhDofs. The dof domain near the N-terminus was highly conserved and contained a C2-C2-type zinc finger structure linked with four cysteines. Microsynteny and interspecies collinearity revealed gene duplication events and phylogenetic tree among DhDofs. Large-scale gene duplication had not occurred among the DhDofs genes and only in one pair of genes on chromosome 13. Synteny blocks were found more often between D. huoshanense and its relatives and less often between Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana. Selection pressure analysis indicated that DhDof genes were subject to purifying selection. Expression profiles and correlation analyses revealed that the Dof gene under hormone treatments showed several different expression patterns. DhDof20 and DhDof21 had the highest expression levels and were co-expressed under MeJA induction. The cis-acting element analysis revealed that each DhDof had several regulatory elements involved in plant growth as well as abiotic stresses. qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that DhDof2 was the main ABA-responsive gene and DhDof7 was the main cold stress-related gene. IAA suppressed the expression of some Dof candidates, and SA inhibited most of the candidate genes.Discussion: Our results may provide new insights for the further investigation of the Dof genes and the screening of the core stress-resistance genes.</p
Table1_Identification of Dof transcription factors in Dendrobium huoshanense and expression pattern under abiotic stresses.XLSX
Introduction: DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) transcription factors (TFs) are a unique family of TFs found in higher plants that regulate plant responses to light, hormones, and abiotic stresses. The specific involvement of Dof genes in the response to environmental stresses remains unknown in D. huoshanense.Methods: A total of 22 Dof family genes were identified from the D. huoshanense genome.Results: Chromosome location analysis showed that DhDof genes were distributed on 12 chromosomes, with the largest number of Dof genes located on chromosome 8. The phylogenetic tree revealed that DhDofs could be categorized into 11 distinct subgroups. In addition to the common groups, DhDof4, DhDof5, DhDof17, and the AtDof1.4 ortholog were clustered into the B3 subgroup. Group E was a newly identified branch, among which DhDof6, DhDof7, DhDof8, and DhDof9 were in an independent branch. The conserved motifs and gene structure revealed the differences in motif number and composition of DhDofs. The dof domain near the N-terminus was highly conserved and contained a C2-C2-type zinc finger structure linked with four cysteines. Microsynteny and interspecies collinearity revealed gene duplication events and phylogenetic tree among DhDofs. Large-scale gene duplication had not occurred among the DhDofs genes and only in one pair of genes on chromosome 13. Synteny blocks were found more often between D. huoshanense and its relatives and less often between Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana. Selection pressure analysis indicated that DhDof genes were subject to purifying selection. Expression profiles and correlation analyses revealed that the Dof gene under hormone treatments showed several different expression patterns. DhDof20 and DhDof21 had the highest expression levels and were co-expressed under MeJA induction. The cis-acting element analysis revealed that each DhDof had several regulatory elements involved in plant growth as well as abiotic stresses. qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that DhDof2 was the main ABA-responsive gene and DhDof7 was the main cold stress-related gene. IAA suppressed the expression of some Dof candidates, and SA inhibited most of the candidate genes.Discussion: Our results may provide new insights for the further investigation of the Dof genes and the screening of the core stress-resistance genes.</p
Strain-Induced Uphill Hydrogen Distribution in Perovskite Oxide Films
Incorporating hydrogen into transition-metal oxides (TMOs)
provides
a facile and powerful way to manipulate the performances of TMOs,
and thus numerous efforts have been invested in developing hydrogenation
methods and exploring the property modulation via hydrogen doping.
However, the distribution of hydrogen ions, which is a key factor
in determining the physicochemical properties on a microscopic scale,
has not been clearly illustrated. Here, focusing on prototypical perovskite
oxide (NdNiO3 and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3) epitaxial films, we find that hydrogen distribution exhibits
an anomalous “uphill” feature (against the concentration
gradient) under tensile strain, namely, the proton concentration enhances
upon getting farther from the hydrogen source. Distinctly, under a
compressive strain state, hydrogen shows a normal distribution without
uphill features. The epitaxial strain significantly influences the
chemical lattice coupling and the energy profile as a function of
the hydrogen doping position, thus dominating the hydrogen distribution.
Furthermore, the strain–(H+) distribution relationship
is maintained in different hydrogenation methods (metal-alkali treatment)
which is first applied to perovskite oxides. The discovery of strain-dependent
hydrogen distribution in oxides provides insights into tailoring the
magnetoelectric and energy-conversion functionalities of TMOs via
strain engineering
Image_1_In-depth analysis of genomes and functional genomics of orchid using cutting-edge high-throughput sequencing.jpeg
High-throughput sequencing technology has been facilitated the development of new methodologies and approaches for studying the origin and evolution of plant genomes and subgenomes, population domestication, and functional genomics. Orchids have tens of thousands of members in nature. Many of them have promising application potential in the extension and conservation of the ecological chain, the horticultural use of ornamental blossoms, and the utilization of botanical medicines. However, a large-scale gene knockout mutant library and a sophisticated genetic transformation system are still lacking in the improvement of orchid germplasm resources. New gene editing tools, such as the favored CRISPR-Cas9 or some base editors, have not yet been widely applied in orchids. In addition to a large variety of orchid cultivars, the high-precision, high-throughput genome sequencing technology is also required for the mining of trait-related functional genes. Nowadays, the focus of orchid genomics research has been directed to the origin and classification of species, genome evolution and deletion, gene duplication and chromosomal polyploidy, and flower morphogenesis-related regulation. Here, the progressing achieved in orchid molecular biology and genomics over the past few decades have been discussed, including the evolution of genome size and polyploidization. The frequent incorporation of LTR retrotransposons play important role in the expansion and structural variation of the orchid genome. The large-scale gene duplication event of the nuclear genome generated plenty of recently tandem duplicated genes, which drove the evolution and functional divergency of new genes. The evolution and loss of the plastid genome, which mostly affected genes related to photosynthesis and autotrophy, demonstrated that orchids have experienced more separate transitions to heterotrophy than any other terrestrial plant. Moreover, large-scale resequencing provide useful SNP markers for constructing genetic maps, which will facilitate the breeding of novel orchid varieties. The significance of high-throughput sequencing and gene editing technologies in the identification and molecular breeding of the trait-related genes in orchids provides us with a representative trait-improving gene as well as some mechanisms worthy of further investigation. In addition, gene editing has promise for the improvement of orchid genetic transformation and the investigation of gene function. This knowledge may provide a scientific reference and theoretical basis for orchid genome studies.</p
Table1_Four cases report: Treatment of knee joint cartilage defects using autologous chondrocyte patch implantation.docx
IntroductionAutologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is a crucial method for the treatment of defects in articular cartilage. However, the extant methods for the preparation of autologous chondrocyte patch are relatively complicated and money-consuming. Therefore, an efficient, reliable, easy-to-follow, and cost-effective technique is needed to overcome constraints. This case report aims to introduce an autologous chondrocyte patch fabrication technique to repair knee joint cartilage defects and report our typical cases with a 2-year follow-up.Case presentationWe described four cases in which patients complained of knee joint pain. According to radiological examination, the patients were diagnosed as knee joint cartilage defect. Arthroscopy and autologous chondrocyte patch implantation were performed as well as a 2-year follow up of patients. The autologous chondrocyte patch for knee joint cartilage repair was fabricated using a “sandwich” technique. The preoperative and postoperative knee function was evaluated by four subjective evaluation systems. MRI was performed for all patients to achieve more intuitionistic observation of the postoperative radiological changes of defect sites. The quality of repaired tissue was evaluated by Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART). Postoperative follow-up showed improvement in clinical and MOCART scores for all patients. However, one patient complained of knee joint pain after walking for a long time or recreational activities from 12- to 18-month postoperatively. The location of pain for this patient was not in accordance with the location of cartilage defect.ConclusionThe patients undergoing autologous chondrocyte patch implantation demonstrated clinical improvement and good quality of repaired tissue postoperatively. The procedure is an efficient and cost-effective treatment for knee joint cartilage defect in this report. In addition, patients with osteoarthritis carry the risk of a poor outcome after the procedure, and whether to have a procedure should be considered carefully.</p
Image_2_In-depth analysis of genomes and functional genomics of orchid using cutting-edge high-throughput sequencing.jpeg
High-throughput sequencing technology has been facilitated the development of new methodologies and approaches for studying the origin and evolution of plant genomes and subgenomes, population domestication, and functional genomics. Orchids have tens of thousands of members in nature. Many of them have promising application potential in the extension and conservation of the ecological chain, the horticultural use of ornamental blossoms, and the utilization of botanical medicines. However, a large-scale gene knockout mutant library and a sophisticated genetic transformation system are still lacking in the improvement of orchid germplasm resources. New gene editing tools, such as the favored CRISPR-Cas9 or some base editors, have not yet been widely applied in orchids. In addition to a large variety of orchid cultivars, the high-precision, high-throughput genome sequencing technology is also required for the mining of trait-related functional genes. Nowadays, the focus of orchid genomics research has been directed to the origin and classification of species, genome evolution and deletion, gene duplication and chromosomal polyploidy, and flower morphogenesis-related regulation. Here, the progressing achieved in orchid molecular biology and genomics over the past few decades have been discussed, including the evolution of genome size and polyploidization. The frequent incorporation of LTR retrotransposons play important role in the expansion and structural variation of the orchid genome. The large-scale gene duplication event of the nuclear genome generated plenty of recently tandem duplicated genes, which drove the evolution and functional divergency of new genes. The evolution and loss of the plastid genome, which mostly affected genes related to photosynthesis and autotrophy, demonstrated that orchids have experienced more separate transitions to heterotrophy than any other terrestrial plant. Moreover, large-scale resequencing provide useful SNP markers for constructing genetic maps, which will facilitate the breeding of novel orchid varieties. The significance of high-throughput sequencing and gene editing technologies in the identification and molecular breeding of the trait-related genes in orchids provides us with a representative trait-improving gene as well as some mechanisms worthy of further investigation. In addition, gene editing has promise for the improvement of orchid genetic transformation and the investigation of gene function. This knowledge may provide a scientific reference and theoretical basis for orchid genome studies.</p
Image1_Four cases report: Treatment of knee joint cartilage defects using autologous chondrocyte patch implantation.png
IntroductionAutologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is a crucial method for the treatment of defects in articular cartilage. However, the extant methods for the preparation of autologous chondrocyte patch are relatively complicated and money-consuming. Therefore, an efficient, reliable, easy-to-follow, and cost-effective technique is needed to overcome constraints. This case report aims to introduce an autologous chondrocyte patch fabrication technique to repair knee joint cartilage defects and report our typical cases with a 2-year follow-up.Case presentationWe described four cases in which patients complained of knee joint pain. According to radiological examination, the patients were diagnosed as knee joint cartilage defect. Arthroscopy and autologous chondrocyte patch implantation were performed as well as a 2-year follow up of patients. The autologous chondrocyte patch for knee joint cartilage repair was fabricated using a “sandwich” technique. The preoperative and postoperative knee function was evaluated by four subjective evaluation systems. MRI was performed for all patients to achieve more intuitionistic observation of the postoperative radiological changes of defect sites. The quality of repaired tissue was evaluated by Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART). Postoperative follow-up showed improvement in clinical and MOCART scores for all patients. However, one patient complained of knee joint pain after walking for a long time or recreational activities from 12- to 18-month postoperatively. The location of pain for this patient was not in accordance with the location of cartilage defect.ConclusionThe patients undergoing autologous chondrocyte patch implantation demonstrated clinical improvement and good quality of repaired tissue postoperatively. The procedure is an efficient and cost-effective treatment for knee joint cartilage defect in this report. In addition, patients with osteoarthritis carry the risk of a poor outcome after the procedure, and whether to have a procedure should be considered carefully.</p
Heat map of major metabolites during different growth stages of <i>D</i>. <i>officinale</i> and <i>D</i>. <i>huoshanense</i>.
<p>All data are provided in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146607#pone.0146607.s001" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>. The metabolite peak areas in each sample represent the average peak areas. The lowest figures are in green, and the highest figures are in red. “Fe” and “M” refer to <i>D</i>. <i>officinale</i> and <i>D</i>. <i>huoshanense</i>, respectively. The numbers 1, 2, and 3 represent one, two, and three growth years.</p
Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) of metabolic fingerprinters of <i>D</i>. <i>officinale</i> and <i>D</i>. <i>huoshanense</i>.
<p>“Fe” indicates <i>D</i>. <i>officinale</i>, and “M” indicates <i>D</i>. <i>huoshanense</i>. The numbers 1, 2, and 3 indicate the corresponding growth years of <i>Dendrobium</i>. The letters a, b,…, f indicate repeats of the same sample.</p