Plane Double-Layer Structure of AC@S Cathode Improves Electrochemical Performance for Lithium-Sulfur Battery

Due to the high theoretical specific capacity of lithium-sulfur batteries, it is considered the most promising electrochemical energy storage device for the next generation. However, the development of lithium-sulfur battery has been restricted by its low cycle efficiency and low capacity. We present a Plane double-layer structure of AC@S cathode to improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. The battery with this cathode showed good electrochemical performance. The initial discharge capacity of the battery with the structure of AC@S cathode could reach 1,166 mAhg−1 at 0.1 C. After 200 cycles, it still remains a reversible capacity of 793 mAh g−1 with a low fading rate of 0.16% per cycle. Furthermore, the batteries could hold a discharge capacity of 620 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a typical 0.5 C rate. The improvement of electrochemical performance is attributed to that the polysulfide produced during charge/discharge can be better concentrated in the cathode by the planar double-layer structure, thus reducing the loss of sulfur

Salt-Enhanced Reproductive Development of Suaeda salsa L. Coincided With Ion Transporter Gene Upregulation in Flowers and Increased Pollen K+ Content

Halophytes are adapted to saline environments and demonstrate optimal reproductive growth under high salinity. To gain insight into the salt tolerance mechanism and effects of salinity in the halophyte Suaeda salsa, the number of flowers and seeds, seed size, anther development, ion content, and flower transcript profiles, as well as the relative expression levels of genes involved in ion transport, were analyzed in S. salsa plants treated with 0 or 200 mM NaCl. The seed size, flower number, seed number per leaf axil, and anther fertility were all significantly increased by 200 mM NaCl treatment. The Na+ and Cl− contents in the leaves, stems, and pollen of NaCl-treated plants were all markedly higher, and the K+ content in the leaves and stems was significantly lower, than those in untreated control plants. By contrast, the K+ content in pollen grains did not decrease, but rather increased, upon NaCl treatment. Genes related to Na+, K+ and, Cl− transport, such as SOS1, KEA, AKT1, NHX1, and CHX, showed increased expression in the flowers of NaCl-treated plants. These results suggest that ionic homeostasis in reproductive organs, especially in pollen grains under salt-treated conditions, involves increased expression of ion transport-related genes

Reproductive Physiology of Halophytes: Current Standing

Background: Halophytes possess efficient salt-tolerance mechanisms and can complete their life cycles in naturally saline soils with NaCl contents exceeding 200 mM. While a significant progress have been made in recent decades elucidating underlying salt-tolerance mechanisms, these studies have been mostly confined to the vegetative growth stage. At the same time, the capacity to generate high-quality seeds and to survive early developmental stages under saline conditions, are both critically important for plants. Halophytes perform well in both regards, whereas non-halophytes cannot normally complete their life cycles under saline conditions.Scope: Research into the effects of salinity on plant reproductive biology has gained momentum in recent years. However, it remains unclear whether the reproductive biology of halophytes differs from that of non-halophytes, and whether their reproductive processes benefit, like their vegetative growth, from the presence of salt in the rhizosphere. Here, we summarize current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the superior reproductive biology of halophytes, focusing on critical aspects including control of flowering time, changes in plant hormonal status and their impact on anther and pollen development and viability, plant carbohydrate status and seed formation, mechanisms behind the early germination of halophyte seeds, and the role of seed polymorphism.Conclusion: Salt has beneficial effects on halophyte reproductive growth that include late flowering, increased flower numbers and pollen vitality, and high seed yield. This improved performance is due to optimal nutrition during vegetative growth, alterations in plant hormonal status, and regulation of flowering genes. In addition, the seeds of halophytes harvested under saline conditions show higher salt tolerance than those obtained under non-saline condition, largely due to increased osmolyte accumulation, more optimal hormonal composition (e.g., high gibberellic acid and low abcisic acid content) and, in some species, seed dimorphism. In the near future, identifying key genes involved in halophyte reproductive physiology and using them to transform crops could be a promising approach to developing saline agriculture

Glass-ceramic Optical Fiber Containing Ba2 TiSi2O8 Nanocrystals for Frequency Conversion of Lasers

A glass-ceramic optical fiber containing Ba2TiSi2O8 nanocrystals fabricated using a novel combination of the melt-in-tube method and successive heat treatment is reported for the first time. For the melt-in-tube method, fibers act as a precursor at the drawing temperature for which the cladding glass is softened while the core glass is melted. It is demonstrated experimentally that following heat treatment, Ba2TiSi2O8 nanocrystals with diameters below 10 nm are evenly distributed throughout the fiber core. Comparing to the conventional rod-in-tube method, the melt-in-tube method is superior in terms of controllability of crystallization to allow for the fabrication of low loss glass-ceramic fibers. When irradiated using a 1030 nm femtosecond laser, an enhanced green emission at a wavelength of 515 nm is observed in the glass-ceramic fiber, which demonstrates second harmonic generation of a laser action in the fabricated glass-ceramic fibers. Therefore, this new glass-ceramic fiber not only provides a highly promising development for frequency conversion of lasers in all optical fiber based networks, but the melt-in-tube fabrication method also offers excellent opportunities for fabricating a wide range of novel glass-ceramic optical fibers for multiple future applications including fiber telecommunications and lasers

Epicuticular wax of sweet sorghum influenced the microbial community and fermentation quality of silage

Epicuticular wax, as secondary metabolites (hydrophobic compounds) covering plant surface, plays important roles in protecting plants from abiotic and biotic stresses. However, whether these compounds will influence fermentation process of silage is still not clear. In this study, two sweet sorghum cultivars with varying epicuticular wax on sheath (bloom), Yajin 2 (YJ, less bloom), and Jintian (JT, dense bloom), were harvested at flowering and maturing stages, and ensiled with or without bloom, aiming to evaluate the effects of bloom on fermentation quality, feed nutrition and microbial community. The bloom was collected manually with de-waxed cotton and extracted with chloroform. The results showed that the bloom reduced the concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrate and crude protein of the two cultivars at both stages, reduced lactic acid (LA) for YJ at both stages and for JT at flowering stage, and increased LA for JT at mature stage. The α-diversity of bacterial communities of the silage fermentation with bloom was significantly lower than that without bloom. Bloom increased the abundance of Lactobacillus, reduced that of Bacillus and Weissella, and significant correlations were observed between fermentative qualities and bacterial abundances. However, decreased diversity of bacterial community and the contents of LA implied that shifts in bacterial community might exert negative effects on silage fermentation. Our results suggest that bloom wax could alter the microbial community composition of ensiled sweet sorghums, which thus influence the fermentation qualities

Self-organized Voids Revisited: Experimental Verification of the Formation Mechanism*

In this paper, several experiments were conducted to further clarify the formation mechanism of self organized void array induced by a single laser beam, including energy-related experiments, refractive-index-contrast-related experiments, depth-related experiments and effective-numerical-aperture experiment. These experiments indicate that the interface spherical aberration is indeed responsible for the formation of void arrays

Research Progress on Nano-Delivered Plant Polyphenols in the Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases with a complex pathological mechanism, and as the incidence of AD has increased recently, there is an urgent need to develop more effective prevention and treatment methods. Many studies have shown that plant polyphenols have great potential in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, but their bioavailability is poor, limiting their practical applications. The application of nanotechnology can be helpful for the delivery of plant polyphenols. This article aims to elaborate recent progress and challenges in the development of nano-delivery systems for plant polyphenols, and review the common plant polyphenols used for AD treatment and their action mechanisms