Cr3_3X4_4 (X=Se, Te) monolayers as new platform to realize robust spin filter, spin diode and spin valve

Two-dimensional ferromagnetic (FM) half-metals are promising candidates for advanced spintronic devices with small-size and high-capacity. Motivated by recent report on controlling synthesis of FM Cr$_3$Te$_4$ nanosheet, herein, to explore the potential application in spintronics, we designed spintronic devices based on Cr$_3$X$_4$ (X=Se, Te) monolayers and investigated their spin transport properties. We found that Cr$_3$Te$_4$ monolayer based device shows spin filtering and dual spin diode effect when applying bias voltage, while Cr$_3$S$_4$ monolayer is an excellent platform to realize a spin valve. The different transport properties are primarily ascribed to the semiconducting spin channel, which is close to and away from the Fermi level in Cr$_3$Te$_4$ and Cr$_3$Se$_4$ monolayers, respectively. Interestingly, the current in monolayer Cr$_3$Se$_4$ based device also displays a negative differential resistance effect (NDRE) and a high magnetoresistance ratio (up to 2*10$^3$). Moreover, we found thermally induced spin filtering effect and NDRE in Cr$_3$Se$_4$ junction when applying temperature gradient instead of bias voltage. These theoretical findings highlight the potential of Cr$_3$X$_4$ (X=Se, Te) monolayers in spintronic applications and put forward realistic materials to realize nanosale spintronic device

Pore-scale simulation of gas displacement after water flooding using three-phase lattice Boltzmann method

Water flooding is a commonly used technique to improve oil recovery, although the amount of oil left in reservoirs after the procedure is still significant. Gas displacement after water flooding is an effective way to recover residual oil, but the occurrence state and flow principles of multiphase fluid after gas injection are still ambiguous. Therefore, the gas displacement process after water flooding should be studied on the pore scale to provide a basis for formulating a reasonable gas injection program. Most of the current pore-scale studies focus on two-phase flow, while simulations that account for the influence of oil-gas miscibility and injected water are seldom reported. In this work, the multi-component multi-phase Shan-Chen lattice Boltzmann model is used to simulate the gas displacement after water flooding in a porous medium, and the effects of injected water, viscosity ratio, pore structure, and miscibility are analyzed. It is established that the injected water will cause gas flow path variations and lead to premature gas channeling. Under the impact of capillary pressure, the water retained in the porous medium during the water flooding stage further imbibes into the tiny pores during gas injection and displaces the remaining oil. When miscibility is considered, the oil-gas interface disappears, eliminating the influence of the capillary effect on the fluid flow and enabling the recovery of remaining oil at the corner. This study sheds light on the gas displacement mechanisms after water flooding from the pore-scale perspective and provides a potential avenue for improving oil recovery.Document Type: Original articleCited as: Wang, S., Chen, L., Feng, Q., Chen, L., Fang, C., Cui, R. Pore-scale simulation of gas displacement after water flooding using three-phase lattice Boltzmann method. Capillarity, 2023, 6(2): 19-30. https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2023.02.0

Genome-wide transcriptome profiling reveals molecular response pathways of Trichoderma harzianum in response to salt stress

Trichoderma harzianum exhibits a strong biological control effect on many important plant pathogens, such as Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea, and Meloidogyne. However, its biocontrol effectiveness is weakened or reduced under salt stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular response of T. harzianum to salt stress at the whole-genome level. Here, we present a 44.47 Mb near-complete genome assembly of the T. harzianum qt40003 strain for the first time, which was assembled de novo with 7.59 Gb Nanopore sequencing long reads (~170-fold) and 5.2 Gb Illumina short reads (~116-fold). The assembled qt40003 genome contains 12 contigs, with a contig N50 of 4.81 Mb, in which four of the 12 contigs were entirely reconstructed in a single chromosome from telomere to telomere. The qt40003 genome contains 4.27 Mb of repeat sequences and 12,238 protein-coding genes with a BUSCO completeness of 97.5%, indicating the high accuracy and completeness of our gene annotations. Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis was used to investigate gene expression changes related to salt stress in qt40003 at 0, 2% (T2), and 4% (T4) sodium chloride concentrations. A total of 2,937 and 3,527 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained under T2 and T4 conditions, respectively. GO enrichment analysis showed that the T2-treatment DEGs were highly enriched in detoxification (p < 0.001), while the T4 DEGs were mainly enriched in cell components, mostly in cellular detoxification, cell surface, and cell wall. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis showed that 91 and 173 DEGs were significantly enriched in the T2 and T4 treatments, respectively (p < 0.01), mainly in the glutathione metabolism pathway. We further experimentally analyzed the differentially expressed glutathione transferase genes in the glutathione metabolic pathway, most of which were downregulated (13/15). In addition, we screened 13 genes related to active oxygen clearance, including six upregulated and seven downregulated genes, alongside five fungal hydrophobic proteins, of which two genes were highly expressed. Our study provides high-quality genome information for the use of T. harzianum for biological control and offers significant insights into the molecular responses of T. harzianum under salt-stress conditions

Generation and Characterization of Novel Human IRAS Monoclonal Antibodies

Imidazoline receptors were first proposed by Bousquet et al., when they studied antihypertensive effect of clonidine. A strong candidate for I1R, known as imidazoline receptor antisera-selected protein (IRAS), has been cloned from human hippocampus. We reported that IRAS mediated agmatine-induced inhibition of opioid dependence in morphine-dependent cells. To elucidate the functional and structure properties of I1R, we developed the newly monoclonal antibody against the N-terminal hIRAS region including the PX domain (10–120aa) through immunization of BALB/c mice with the NusA-IRAS fusion protein containing an IRAS N-terminal (10–120aa). Stable hybridoma cell lines were established and monoclonal antibodies specifically recognized full-length IRAS proteins in their native state by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. Monoclonal antibodies stained in a predominantly punctate cytoplasmic pattern when applied to IRAS-transfected HEK293 cells by indirect immunofluorescence assays and demonstrated excellent reactivity in flow immunocytometry. These monoclonal antibodies will provide powerful reagents for the further investigation of hIRAS protein functions

Whole-genome shotgun sequencing unravels the influence of environmental microbial co-infections on the treatment efficacy for severe pediatric infectious diseases

BackgroundThe microbiome plays a pivotal role in mediating immune deviation during the development of early-life viral infections. Recurrent infections in children are considered a risk factor for disease development. This study delves into the metagenomics of the microbiome in children suffering from severe infections, seeking to identify potential sources of these infections.AimsThe aim of this study was to identify the specific microorganisms and factors that significantly influence the treatment duration in patients suffering from severe infections. We sought to understand how these microbial communities and other variables may affect the treatment duration and the use of antibiotics of these patients with severe infections.MethodWhole-genome shotgun sequencing was conducted on samples collected from children aged 0–14 years with severe infections, admitted to the Pediatrics Department of Xiamen First Hospital. The Kraken2 algorithm was used for taxonomic identification from sequence reads, and linear mixed models were employed to identify significant microorganisms influencing treatment duration. Colwellia, Cryptococcus, and Citrobacter were found to significantly correlate with the duration of clinical treatment. Further analysis using propensity score matching (PSM) and rank-sum test identified clinical indicators significantly associated with the presence of these microorganisms.ResultsUsing a linear mixed model after removed the outliers, we identified that the abundance of Colwellia, Cryptococcus, and Citrobacter significantly influences the treatment duration. The presence of these microorganisms is associated with a longer treatment duration for patients. Furthermore, these microorganisms were found to impact various clinical measures. Notably, an increase in hospitalization durations and medication costs was observed in patients with these microorganisms. In patients with Colwellia, Cryptococcus, and Citrobacter, we discover significant differences in platelets levels. We also find that in patients with Cryptococcus, white blood cells, hemoglobin, and neutrophils levels are lower.ConclusionThese findings suggest that Colwellia, Cryptococcus, and Citrobacter, particularly Cryptococcus, could potentially contribute to the severity of infections observed in this cohort, possibly as co-infections. These microorganisms warrant further investigation into their pathogenic roles and mechanisms of action, as their presence in combination with disease-causing organisms may have a synergistic effect on disease severity. Understanding the interplay between these microorganisms and pathogenic agents could provide valuable insights into the complex nature of severe pediatric infections and guide the development of targeted therapeutic strategies

ボールミリング法で改質したβ-TCPセメントの諸特性への粉液比の影響

The authors have developed a β-tricalcium-phosphate (β-TCP) powder modified mechano-chemically through the application of a ball-milling process (mβ-TCP). The resulting powder can be used in a calcium-phosphate-cement (CPC). In this study, the effects of the powder-to-liquid ratio (P/L ratio) on the properties of the CPCs were investigated, and an appropriate P/L ratio that would simultaneously improve injectability and strength was clarified. The mβ-TCP cement mixed at a P/L ratio of 2.5 and set in air exhibited sufficient injectability until 20 min after mixing, and strength similar to or higher than that mixed at a P/L ratio of 2.0 and 2.78. Although the mβ-TCP cements set in vivo and in SBF were found to exhibit a lower strength than those set in air, it did have an appropriate setting time and strength for clinical applications. In conclusion, P/L ratio optimization successfully improved the strength of injectable mβ-TCP cement

Phase diagrams on composition-spread Fey_yTe1−x_{1-x}Sex_x films

Fe$_y$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$, an archetypical iron-based high-temperature superconductor with a simple structure but rich physical properties, has attracted lots of attention because the two end compositions, Se content $x = 0$ and 1, exhibit antiferromagnetism and nematicity, respectively, making it an ideal candidate for studying their interactions with superconductivity. However, what is clearly lacking to date is a complete phase diagram of Fe$_y$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ as functions of its chemical compositions since phase separation usually occurs from $x\sim 0.6$ to 0.9 in bulk crystals. Moreover, fine control of its composition is experimentally challenging because both Te and Se are volatile elements. Here we establish a complete phase diagram of Fe$_y$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$, achieved by high-throughput film synthesis and characterization techniques. An advanced combinatorial synthesis process enables us to fabricate an epitaxial composition-spread Fe$_y$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ film encompassing the entire Se content $x$ from 0 to 1 on a single piece of CaF$_2$ substrate. The micro-region composition analysis and X-ray diffraction show a successful continuous tuning of chemical compositions and lattice parameters, respectively. The micro-scale pattern technique allows the mapping of electrical transport properties as a function of relative Se content with an unprecedented resolution of 0.0074. Combining with the spin patterns in literature, we build a detailed phase diagram that can unify the electronic and magnetic properties of Fe$_y$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$. Our composition-spread Fe$_y$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ films, overcoming the challenges of phase separation and precise control of chemical compositions, provide an ideal platform for studying the relationship between superconductivity and magnetism.Comment: 13 pages,5 figures and Supplementary Material 3 pages,3 figure

In-situ electrical and thermal transport properties of FeySe1-xTex films with ionic liquid gating

We combine in-situ electrical transport and Seebeck coefficient measurements with the ionic liquid gating technique to investigate superconductivity and the normal state of FeySe1-xTex (FST) films. We find that the pristine FST films feature a non-Fermi liquid temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient, i.e., S/T ~ AS lnT, and AS is strongly correlated with the superconducting transition temperature (Tc). Ionic liquid gating significantly raises Tc of FST films, for which the Seebeck coefficient displays a novel scaling behavior and retains the logarithmic temperature dependence. Moreover, a quantitative relationship between the slope of T-linear resistivity (A\r{ho}) and Tc for gated films is observed, i.e., (A\r{ho})1/2 ~ Tc, consistent with previous reports on cuprates and FeSe. The scaling behaviors of AS and A\r{ho} point to a spin-fluctuation-associated transport mechanism in gated FeySe1-xTex superconductors.Comment: 12 pages,5 figure