Direct observation of nanometer-scale amorphous layers and oxide crystallites at grain boundaries in polycrystalline Sr1-xKxFe2As2 superconductors

We report here an atomic resolution study of the structure and composition of the grain boundaries in polycrystalline Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2 superconductor. A large fraction of grain boundaries contain amorphous layers larger than the coherence length, while some others contain nanometer-scale particles sandwiched in between amorphous layers. We also find that there is significant oxygen enrichment at the grain boundaries. Such results explain the relatively low transport critical current density (Jc) of polycrystalline samples with respect to that of bicrystal films.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Synergizing Human-AI Agency: A Guide of 23 Heuristics for Service Co-Creation with LLM-Based Agents

This empirical study serves as a primer for interested service providers to determine if and how Large Language Models (LLMs) technology will be integrated for their practitioners and the broader community. We investigate the mutual learning journey of non-AI experts and AI through CoAGent, a service co-creation tool with LLM-based agents. Engaging in a three-stage participatory design processes, we work with with 23 domain experts from public libraries across the U.S., uncovering their fundamental challenges of integrating AI into human workflows. Our findings provide 23 actionable "heuristics for service co-creation with AI", highlighting the nuanced shared responsibilities between humans and AI. We further exemplar 9 foundational agency aspects for AI, emphasizing essentials like ownership, fair treatment, and freedom of expression. Our innovative approach enriches the participatory design model by incorporating AI as crucial stakeholders and utilizing AI-AI interaction to identify blind spots. Collectively, these insights pave the way for synergistic and ethical human-AI co-creation in service contexts, preparing for workforce ecosystems where AI coexists.Comment: V1.0 on Oct 25th, 202

Engineered Antibodies for Monitoring of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons

The objective is to develop improved antibody-based methods for detection of multiple polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), to fill several needs in DOE's remediation, regulatory monitoring, ecotoxicology, and human health effects missions. Present-generation immunochemical detection methods have already proven to be useful and cost-effective in DOE applications. The problem being addressed is that the unique properties of PAHs make it impractical to generate antibodies with the required diversity, specificity and selectivity, by the previous techniques. The scientific goals are to determine the mechanisms by which antibodies bind PAHs, use genetic engineering and computational chemistry techniques to construct improved antibodies, and to devise methods for making immunochemical and instrumental analysis more compatible. The potential relevance is that our results should provide a rational basis by which immunochemical and other molecular recognition systems for PAHs and other large classes of toxic pollutants such as PCBs could be produced and deployed with substantially less cost, labor, and development time

Ascaris suum informs extrasynaptic volume transmission in nematodes

Neural circuit synaptic connectivities (the connectome) provide the anatomical foundation for our understanding of nematode nervous system function. However, other nonsynaptic routes of communication are known in invertebrates including extrasynaptic volume transmission (EVT), which enables short- and/or long-range communication in the absence of synaptic connections. Although EVT has been highlighted as a facet o

Solution-Printed Organic Semiconductor Blends Exhibiting Transport Properties on Par with Single Crystals

Solution-printed organic semiconductors have emerged in recent years as promising contenders for roll-to-roll manufacturing of electronic and optoelectronic circuits. The stringent performance requirements for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) in terms of carrier mobility, switching speed, turn-on voltage and uniformity over large areas require performance currently achieved by organic single-crystal devices, but these suffer from scale-up challenges. Here we present a new method based on blade coating of a blend of conjugated small molecules and amorphous insulating polymers to produce OTFTs with consistently excellent performance characteristics (carrier mobility as high as 6.7 cm2V−1s−1, low threshold voltages of \u3c1V and low sub threshold swings \u3c0.5Vdec−1). Our findings demonstrate that careful control over phase separation and crystallization can yield solution-printed polycrystalline organic semiconductor films with transport properties and other figures of merit on par with their single-crystal counterparts

Circulating plasma and exosome levels of the miR-320 family as a non-invasive biomarker for methamphetamine use disorder

The neurobiological mechanism underlying methamphetamine (MA) use disorder was still unclear, and no specific biomarker exists for clinical diagnosis of this disorder. Recent studies have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the pathological process of MA addiction. The purpose of this study was to identify novel miRNAs for the diagnosis biomarkers of MA user disorder. First, members of the miR-320 family, including miR-320a-3p, miR-320b, and miR-320c, were screened and analyzed in the circulating plasma and exosomes by microarray and sequencing. Secondly, plasma miR-320 was quantified by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in eighty-two MA patients and fifty age-gender-matched healthy controls. Meanwhile, we also analyzed exosomal miR-320 expression in thirty-nine MA patients and twenty-one age-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, the diagnostic power was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The expression of miR-320 significantly increased in plasma and exosomes of MA patients compared with healthy controls. The AUC of the ROC curves of miR-320 in plasma and exosomes of MA patients were 0.751 and 0.962, respectively. And the sensitivities of miR-320 were 0.900 and 0.846, respectively, whereas the specificities of miR-320 were 0.537 and 0.952, respectively, in plasma and exosomes in MA patients. And the increased plasma miR-320 was positively correlated with cigarette smoking, age of onset, and daily use of MA in MA patients. Finally, cardiovascular disease, synaptic plasticity, and neuroinflammation were predicted to be the target pathways related to miR-320. Taken together, our findings indicated that plasma and exosomal miR-320 might be used as a potential blood-based biomarker for diagnosing MA use disorder