Growth Process Research Articles

Precisely Prepared Hierarchical Micelles of Polyfluorene‐block‐Polythiophene‐block‐Poly(phenyl isocyanide) via Crystallization‐Driven Self‐Assembly

AbstractThe precise preparation of hierarchical micelles is a fundamental challenge in modern materials science and chemistry. Herein, poly(di‐n‐hexylfluorene)‐block‐poly(3‐tetraethylene glycol thiophene) (poly(1m‐b‐2n)) diblock copolymers and polyfluorene‐block‐polythiophene‐block‐poly(phenyl isocyanide) triblock copolymers were synthesized using a one‐pot process via the sequential addition of corresponding monomers using a Ni(II) complex as a single catalyst for living/controlled polymerization. The crystallization‐driven self‐assembly of amphiphilic conjugated poly(1m‐b‐2n) led to the formation of nanofibers with controlled lengths and narrow dispersity. The block copolymers exhibited white, yellow, and red emissions in different self‐assembly states. By using uniform poly(1m‐b‐2n) nanofibers as seeds, introducing the polyfluorene‐block‐polythiophene‐block‐poly(phenyl isocyanide) triblock polymer as a unimer in the seed growth process, and adjusting the structure of the poly(phenyl isocyanide) block and the polarity of self‐assembly solvent, A−B−A triblock micelles, multiarm branched micelles, and raft micelles were prepared.

A General Strategy for Enhancing the Performance of Ga2O3-Based Self-Powered Solar-Blind Photodetectors through Band Structure Engineering

Abstract The spectral response of Ga2O3 almost perfectly covers the 200~280 nm solar-blind ultraviolet wavelength range, making it an ideal semiconductor material for fabricating solar-blind ultraviolet photodetectors. However, due to the considerably deep valence band energy of Ga2O3 the construction of heterojunctions typically induces a significant valence band offset (EV). Herein, we present a band engineering approach to improve the performance of Ga2O3 bases photodetectors. This pronounced valence band barrier can strongly influence the transport of photo-generated charge carriers, especially the extraction of holes in the depletion region. By introducing nitrogen (N) during the growth process, we elevated the valence band of Ga2O3 by 0.43 eV. The organic high-molecular-weight material of PEDOT:PSS has been utilized in conjunction with Ga2O3 to construct heterojunction photodetectors. The photodetectors exhibit excellent self-powered characteristics, with responsivity, detectivity, and response time being nearly ten times higher than those of Ga2O3 photodetectors before band structure modulation. The investigation into modulating the band structure of Ga2O3 carried out in this study will lay the theoretical foundation and provide technical solutions for developing satisfactory self-powered photodetectors.

A New Geological Map of the Marginal Basins of Eastern Papua New Guinea: Implications for Crustal Accretion and Mineral Endowment at Arc–Continent Collisions

Abstract Accretion of island arc terranes is a fundamental process of crustal growth and the formation of new continents. Convergent margin tectonics, both compressional and extensional, in accretionary orogens also control the origin and distribution of their contained mineral resources, including many of the world’s important Cu and Au deposits. However, the details of crustal growth and accretion are often lost because of deformation and selective preservation during subduction. The Melanesian Borderland, which includes the offshore regions of eastern Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, contains several active and relict arc and backarc systems that have formed in response to more than 50 Ma of subduction and complex plate tectonic adjustments. The composite terrane is a region of some of the fastest growing crust on Earth and also spectacular mineral endowment, including three of the top ten porphyry Cu and epithermal Au deposits in the world. However, more than 80% of the belt is submerged, and so little is known about its geological evolution and makeup. Here, we present the first detailed geological map of the region in one map sheet, including the marginal deep ocean basins. The map identifies and groups the key lithostratigraphic formations and correlates associated tectonic events across the belt. The final compilation is presented at 1:1,000,000 scale, which is sufficient to allow quantitative analysis of crustal growth and accretion during ocean–continent collision throughout the region. The map shows the diversity of assemblages in accreting terranes that may eventually become part of a growing continent and highlights their complex formation and structural relationships. Because so much of that history has occurred offshore, the new map presents the first complete picture of the geology of the region in the critical period leading up to its eventual incorporation in the Australian continent.

OsIAA23 Promotes Heading by Directly Downregulating Ghd7 in rice.

Ghd7 is a central regulator to multiple growth and development processes in rice. While it is not clear how Ghd7 is regulated by upstream factors. To identify its upstream regulator, the truncated Ghd7 promoter fragments were used to screen cis elements binding to rice total nuclear proteins. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays screened one truncated fragment f3 binding to the proteins. Subsequently, the fragment f3 was employed to screen a yeast one-hybrid library, and a transcription factor OsIAA23 was screened as a direct upstream regulator of Ghd7. Dual-luciferase transient assay demonstrated the transcriptional repression effect of OsIAA23 on the activity of Ghd7, and the location of the cis elements binding to OsIAA23 in the region 1264 to 1255bp upstream of ATG. Genetic analysis between the wild type Ghd7-OsIAA23 and single/double mutants further verified that OsIAA23 downregulated Ghd7 expression and led to a delayed heading under long day conditions. Moreover, natural variations in fragment f3 were associated with heading and geographic distribution in rice. This study sheds light on the direct regulatory mechanism of OsIAA23 on Ghd7, which enriches the understanding of the Ghd7 involved flowering regulatory network in rice.

Integration of Fog Computing in a Distributed Manufacturing Execution System Under the RAMI 4.0 Framework

Technological progress has driven the integration of new technologies in the field of industrial automation, but a structured framework is often lacking to efficiently guide the transition from traditional industries. This article presents the implementation of advanced technologies on FESTO’s (MPS-500) modular production system, using the reference architectural model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) as a guide for scaling. It highlights the importance of the synergy between information technologies (ITs), which enables the development of a multi-level processing system. This system performs concurrent tasks, thus managing execution and manufacturing through an MES based on requests from the cloud. On the other hand, at a lower level, a fog computing system was integrated, which relieves the processing load by distributing processes locally. In addition, matrix mapping was performed to map the integrated technologies within the context of a reference model, allowing a clear alignment between the different levels of the system. The results show a significant reduction in waiting times between batches and operations, which directly improves productivity and offers greater flexibility, that is crucial for SMEs during their growth and scaling process towards Industry 4.0.

PEAKO and peakTree: tools for detecting and interpreting peaks in cloud radar Doppler spectra – capabilities and limitations

Abstract. Cloud radar Doppler spectra are of particular interest for investigating cloud microphysical processes, such as ice formation, riming and ice multiplication. When hydrometeor types within a cloud radar observation volume have different terminal fall velocities, they can produce individual Doppler spectrum peaks. The peaks of different particle types can overlap and be further broadened and blended by turbulence and other dynamical effects. If these (sub-)peaks can be separated, properties of the underlying hydrometeor populations can potentially be estimated, such as their fall velocity, number, size and to some extent their shape. However, this task is complex and dependent on the operation settings of the specific cloud radar, as well as atmospheric dynamics and hydrometeor characteristics. As a consequence, there is a need for adjustable tools that are able to detect peaks in cloud radar Doppler spectra to extract the valuable information contained in them. This paper presents the synergistic use of two algorithms used for analyzing the peaks in Doppler spectra: PEAKO and peakTree. PEAKO is a supervised machine learning tool that can be trained to obtain the optimal parameters for detecting peaks in Doppler spectra for specific cloud radar instrument settings. The learned parameters can then be applied by peakTree, which is used to detect, organize and interpret Doppler spectrum peaks. The application of the improved PEAKO–peakTree toolkit is demonstrated in two case studies. The interpretation is supported by forward-simulated cloud radar Doppler spectra by the Passive and Active Microwave TRAnsfer tool (PAMTRA), which are also used to explore the limitations of the algorithm toolkit posed by turbulence and the number of spectral averages chosen in the radar settings. From the PAMTRA simulations, we can conclude that a minimum number of n = 20–40 spectral averages is desirable for Doppler spectrum peak discrimination. Furthermore, small liquid peaks can only be reliably separated for eddy dissipation rate values up to approximately 0.0002 m2 s−3 in the simulation setup which we tested here. The first case study demonstrates that the methods work for different radar systems and settings by comparing the results for two cloud radar systems which were operated simultaneously at a site in Punta Arenas, Chile. Detected peaks which can be attributed to liquid droplets agree well between the two systems, as well as with an independent liquid-predicting neural network. The second case study compares PEAKO–peakTree-detected cloud radar Doppler spectrum peaks to in situ observations collected by a balloon-based holographic imager during a campaign in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. This case demonstrates the algorithm toolkit's ability to identify different hydrometeor types but also reveals its limitations posed by strong turbulence and a low n. Despite these challenges, the algorithm toolkit offers a powerful means of extracting comprehensive information from cloud radar observations. In the future, we envision PEAKO–peakTree applications on the one hand for interpreting cloud microphysics in case studies. The identification of liquid cloud peaks emerges as a valuable asset, e.g., in studies on cloud radiative effects, in seeder–feeder processes, or for tracing vertical air motions. Furthermore, the computation of the moments for each subpeak enables the tracking of hydrometeor populations and the observation of growth processes along fallstreaks. On the other hand, PEAKO–peakTree applications could be extended to statistical evaluations of longer data sets. Both algorithms are openly available on GitHub, offering accessibility for the scientific community.

Polycrystalline Diamond Film Growth on Gallium Nitride with Low Boundary Thermal Resistance

As the demand for high-frequency and high-power electronic devices has increased, gallium nitride (GaN), particularly in the context of high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), has attracted considerable attention. However, the ‘self-heating effect’ of GaN HEMTs represents a significant limitation regarding both performance and reliability. Diamond, renowned for its exceptional thermal conductivity, represents an optimal material for thermal management in HEMTs. This paper proposes a novel method for directly depositing diamond films onto N-polar GaN (NP-GaN) epitaxial layers. This eliminates the complexities of the traditional diamond growth process and the need for temporary substrate steps. Given the relative lag in the development of N-polar material growth technologies, which are marked by surface roughness issues, and the recognition that the thermal boundary resistance (TBRGaN/diamond) represents a critical factor constraining efficient heat transfer, our study has introduced a series of optimizations to enhance the quality of the diamond nucleation layer while ensuring that the integrity of the GaN buffer layer remains intact. Moreover, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technology was employed to effectively reduce the surface roughness of the NP-GaN base, thereby providing a more favorable foundation for diamond growth. The optimization trends observed in the thermal performance test results are encouraging. Integrating diamond films onto highly smooth NP-GaN epitaxial layers demonstrates a reduction in TBRGaN/diamond compared to that of diamond layers deposited onto NP-GaN with higher surface roughness that had undergone no prior process treatment.

Electrochemical nucleation and growth kinetics: insights from single particle scanning electrochemical cell microscopy studies.

The kinetics of particle nucleation and growth are critical to a wide variety of electrochemical systems. While studies carried out at the single particle level are promising for improving our understanding of nucleation and growth processes, conventional analytical frameworks commonly employed in bulk studies may not be appropriate for single particle experiments. Here, we present scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) studies of Ag nucleation and growth on carbon and indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Statistical analyses of the data from these experiments reveal significant discrepancies with traditional, quasi-equilibrium kinetic models commonly employed in the analysis of particle nucleation in electrochemical systems. Time-dependent kinetic models are presented capable of appropriately analysing the data generated via SECCM to extract meaningful chemical quantities such as surface energies and kinetic rate constants. These results demonstrate a powerful new approach to the analysis of single particle nucleation and growth data which could be leveraged in differentiating behavior within spatially heterogeneous systems.

Concurrent Profiling of Localized Transcriptome and RNA Dynamics in Neurons by Spatial SLAMseq.

The asymmetric distribution of RNA within a cell plays a pivotal biological role, ensuring the distinctive shapes and functionality of subcellular compartments. In neurons, these mechanisms are fundamental to cellular growth, synaptic plasticity, and information processing. To understand these mechanisms, diverse methods have been developed to analyze localized transcripts. Here, we outline our optimized method for measurement of mRNA half-lives in subcellular neuronal compartments-neurites, and cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions of cell bodies. We call this method spatial SLAMseq, as it combines SLAMseq with subcellular compartment separation techniques. Spatial SLAMseq facilitates the concurrent measurement of mRNA dynamics and steady-state RNA levels within neuronal subcellular compartments.

Al Islands on Si(111): Growth Temperature, Morphology and Strain

The comprehensive structural studies of thin island Al films with a thickness of 20–50 nm deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si(111) substrates in an argon plasma at a pressure of 6*10–3 mbar and a temperature from 20 to 500°C are presented. Studies of the morphology and microstructure of the films were carried out using XRD, SEM, EDS and TEM methods. It has been found that most of the islands are Al {001} and Al {111} crystallites with lateral sizes of 10–100 nm, differently conjugated with Si(111) substrate. At room temperature of the substrate, only Al {001} crystallites are epitaxially formed on it. The Al {111} crystallites epitaxially grown on the substrate dominate as the substrate temperature increases about 400°C. The influence of the temperature of the Si(111) substrate on the process of epitaxial growth of crystallites, the dynamics of their shape and structural perfection is shown. It has been found that crystallites epitaxially connected to the substrate experience deformation ε = 7 × 10–3 and ε = –2 × 10–3 for Al {001} and Al {111}, respectively. It has been shown that for thin island Al films on Si(111), the dependence of the number of crystallization centers and the particle growth rate on the supercooling temperature is consistent with the band model of crystallization. At the same time, a shift in the characteristic temperatures for the zone boundaries is observed due to the properties of the substrate. This must be taken into account when engineering the surface morphology and structural perfection of crystallites in Al island magnetron films.

Unlocking high-growth potential: does intellectual capital efficiency drive European entrepreneurial ventures?

PurposeThis paper investigates the influence of intellectual capital (IC) efficiency and its components – human capital efficiency (HCE), structural capital efficiency (SCE) and capital employed efficiency (CEE) – on the growth paths of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their likelihood of becoming high-growth firms (HGFs).Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the resource-based view (RBV), our study reveals a positive relationship between IC efficiency and the likelihood of becoming HGFs. Using a longitudinal dataset of 554,076 firm-year observations corresponding to approximately 79,158 European SMEs from 2012–2019, our study employs probit regression to examine the impact of IC efficiency on the probability of becoming an HGF. To investigate the impact of IC efficiency across the growth rate distribution, we conduct further analyses via generalized least squares.FindingsThe results show that IC efficiency positively influences the growth paths of small entrepreneurial ventures and their likelihood of experiencing high-growth episodes.Practical implicationsFor practitioners, the findings underscore the importance of investing in IC to enhance the growth process of entrepreneurial firms and increase their likelihood of achieving HGF status. Investments in IC can maximize growth potential and competitiveness, informing strategic decision-making.Social implicationsPolicymakers should consider the critical role of IC in promoting SME growth and formulate policies that encourage the development of IC among entrepreneurial firms. Such initiatives can stimulate economic growth, innovation and job creation across European economies.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by focusing on entrepreneurial firms and examining how IC efficiency drives their transition to HGF status. This study provides empirical evidence across several European contexts over an extended period, emphasizing the role of IC efficiency in shaping the growth paths of entrepreneurial firms.

Electrical Tree and Partial Discharge Characteristics of Silicone Rubber Under Mechanical Pressure

Silicone rubber (SIR) is a crucial insulating material in cable accessories, but it is also susceptible to faults. In practical applications, mechanical pressure from bending or shrinking can impact the degradation of SIR, necessitating the study of its electrical tree and partial discharge (PD) characteristics under such pressure. This work presents the construction of a test platform for electrical trees under varying pressures to observe their growth process. A high-frequency current transformer is used to measure PD patterns during tree growth, enabling analysis of the effect of PD on tree initiation and propagation under pressure. The experimental results demonstrate a significant decrease in tree inception probability and increase in PD inception voltage under pressure. The pressure also influences the tree structure and PD during the treeing process, where the longest tree with a branch-like structure appears under 800 kPa. The effect of pressure on electrical tree and PD characteristics can be attributed to changes in free volume, alterations in air pressure within the tree channels, and the affected charge accumulation.

Steady-State Inverse-Temperature Crystallization Enabling Low Defect Perovskite Single Crystal and Efficient X-Ray Detectors.

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite single crystals (SCs) have shown great potential in radiation detection applications due to their large radiation stopping power and excellent carrier transport properties. The spatial-confined inverse-temperature crystallization (ITC) method has been widely adopted to obtain large-sized SCs. However, they usually face the problems of uneven stress distribution and high defect density due to the limited crystal growth space and varied growth rate with the increase in temperature, making it difficult to fabricate highly sensitive and stable radiation detectors. In this study, the steady-state inverse-temperature crystallization method (SS-ITC) is developed to regulate the growth process of SCs by controlling the growth speed precisely to achieve a constant rate of growth as the temperature increases. Compared with the conventional ITC-grown samples, the lattice spacing of SCs prepared by the SS-ITC method is reduced by 1.2% due to tensile stress relaxation, resulting in a lower defect density of 7.93×109cm-3 and a remarkable uniformity over a large area. As a result, the co-planar X-ray detectors based on these high-quality SCs exhibit a high sensitivity of 1.67×105 µC Gyair -1cm-2, representing the best performing MAPbBr3-based X-ray detectors reported to date.

Morphology and Luminescence Properties of Transition Metal Doped Zinc Selenide Crystals.

Zinc selenide is an excellent matrix material to dope with rare-earth and transition metal to achieve mid-infrared luminescence to develop high power lasers. The luminescence, morphology and refractive index is significantly affected by the doping and defects generated due to size and valency of dopants, concentration, growth process and convection during the growth. The aim of the study is to investigate effect of point and line defects generated due to low doping of iron and chromium on the emission and morphology of the zinc selenide. Luminescence and morphological properties of large iron and chromium doped zinc selenide single crystals were studied to evaluate the effect of extremely low residual impurities and defects associated with the doping process. The emission properties following both short wavelength (i.e., ultraviolet; 350-370nm) excitation and longer wavelength (i.e., near infrared; 850-870nm) excitation were characterized. Luminescence emission bands were identified in both doped crystals. In addition to the primary emission bands, satellite peaks and intra-center transitions were also observed. Due to local population defects associated with the residual impurities (ppm to ppb) in the Fe-ZnSe and Cr-ZnSe crystals, peak emission wavelengths were observed to shift. The emission bands were found to decrease in intensity due to recombination of residual impurity co-dopants and complex defects generated during growth and fabrication. Cryogenic temperature analyses revealed a very clean emission band due to freezing of some of the point and line defects. An emission band observed at 980nm for both crystals at room temperature as well as cryogenic temperatures indicates a vibronic peak in ZnSe. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the local morphology support the conclusion that small crystallites in doped crystals are also present.

Broadband cavity-enhanced optical flux monitoring

This work describes a new type of sensor for growth process monitoring named broadband cavity-enhanced optical flux monitoring sensor (BBCE-OFM). Like existing optical flux monitoring (OFM) solutions, it relies on absorption spectroscopy. However, the implementation of an optical cavity reduces the measurement uncertainty, enabling efficient operation even at very low growth rates. Using the BBCE-OFM sensor mounted in our solid-source oxide molecular beam epitaxy reactor, we achieved an uncertainty of ±2% on the measurement of Sr and Ti growth rates in SrTiO3 at around 1 Ml/min, to be compared to the ±16% obtained in the same conditions using a conventional OFM setup. Furthermore, our sensor architecture, based on an echelle monochromator and LEDs replacing the hollow cathode lamps used in standard OFM sensors, is more robust against drift.

Estimation of the adaptogenic potential of melatonin on salinity resistance of spring wheat seeds and sprouts

The current paper is devoted to the study of melatonin as an adaptogen capable of increasing wheat tolerance to stress caused by excess levels of easily soluble salts in the environment. The purpose of the study was to evaluate, within the framework of a laboratory model experiment, the ability of melatonin to increase seed germination and stimulate growth processes in wheat sprouts against the background of salinity. The study was conduc ted at the FSBI All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Agrochemistry named after D.N. Pryanishnikov in 2024. The study objects were seeds of the spring wheat variety ‘Darya’. Before the experiment, the seeds were treated with aqueous solutions of melatonin in concentrations of 0; 0.01; 0.1; 1 and 10 mg/l using the priming method. Distilled water and a 150 mM sodium chloride solution were used as background solutions for germination. As a result, there has been shown that within the framework of the experiment, there is an increase in seed germination against the background of treatment with melatonin solutions in concentrations from 0.1 to 10 mg/l against a saline background. Seed treatment with melatonin has demonstrated a pronounced growth-stimulating effect on wheat sprouts, especially in relation to the root system. However, the strength of this effect was somewhat reduced on a saline background compared to control conditions. There was a maximum growth-stimulating effect of melatonin on both backgrounds when using a solution with a concentration of 1 mg/l. There was also established that priming seeds with melatonin promoted water retention in seedling root cells, which may be one of the mechanisms for increasing plant resistance to salinity.

ANGI-03. GLIOMA STEM CELLS INDUCE VASECTASIA – A NON-ANGIOGENIC BRAIN TUMOUR NEOVASCULARIZATION PROCESS DRIVEN BY INTERCELLULAR EGFR TRANSFER THROUGH EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES

Abstract Tumour neovascularization in glioblastoma (GBM) is abundant, abnormal and poorly understood, and it likely involves multiple co-existing mechnanisms with distinct modes of regulation. Since glioma stem cells (GSCs) engage in bidirectional interactions with the vasculature we dissected the resulting vascular responses elicited by either proneural (PN), or mesenchymal (MES) GSC subtypes established from patients isolates and able to drive progression of orthotopic intracranial xenografts in mice. We report here that while PN-GSCs elicited mostly angiogenesis-type vascular capillary growth processes, their MES-GSC counterparts elicited non-angiogenic growth of enlarged vessels (vasectesia), paradoxically associated with reduced blood vessel density. Vasectasia was dependent on the expression of oncogenic EGFR/EGFRvIII by MES-GSCs, and on the related kinase/signalling activity, as EGFR/EGFRvIII gene disruption and Dacomitinib treatment suppressed formation of large blood vessels in vivo and resulted in a preponderance of a small calliber (angiogenic) vasculature throughout xenografts. Notably, the analysis of spatial transcriptomes and single cell RNA sequencing revealed distinct molecular traits of endothelial cells asociated with vasectasia and angiogesis, the former enriched in Birc5, but depleted for angiogenic tip cell markers (Vegfr2, Apln). Mechnaistically, vasectasia was linked to the intercellular transfer of EGFR from MES-GSCs to endothelial cells resulting in ectopic activation of EGFR signalling in the endothelial cell bacground, both in vitro and in a model of in vivo blood vessel recruitment into implanted matrigel pellets. Simultaneous pharmacological blockade of both, angiogenesis (anti-VEGR2) and vasectasia (Dacomitinib) lead to a marked increase in survival of mice with aggressive GBM lesions initiated by MES-GSCs. We suggest that, vasectasia driven by intercellular transfer of oncogenic EGFR may represent a new, subtype-specific mechanism of GBM neovascularization, and a plausible target for agents aiming to modify vascular tumour microenvironment.

Effects of Deficit Irrigation on Spring Wheat Lignification Process, Yield Productivity and Stalk Strength

Moderate deficit irrigation can improve lignin metabolism, thereby increasing wheat yield and lodging resistance. The moisture-sensitive variety Xinchun 22 (XC22) and drought-resistant variety Xinchun 6 (XC6) were used as experimental materials. We set mild drought (T1, J1 and 60–65% FC, where FC is the field capacity) and moderate drought (T2, J2 and 45–50% FC) during the tillering stage (T) and the jointing stage (J). We used conventional drip irrigation as a control (CK and 75–80% FC). The results show that the activity of lignin synthesis-related enzymes decreased with the growth process, while the accumulation and monomer content of lignin increased under different water treatments. The lignin metabolism and morphological characteristics of XC6 were higher than those of XC22. Under the same processing conditions, the indicators of XC22 showed more significant changes and were more sensitive to changes in the moisture content. Compared with other treatments, the stem thickness and wall thickness of the J1 treatment increased by 0.86–23.49% and 1.72–23.58%. The yield of the T1 treatment was the highest, increasing by 3.05–44.06% compared to other treatments. In addition, by improving PAL, H-type lignin monomers, S-type lignin monomers, stem thickness and lignin metabolism, grain yield can be increased. After mild drought during the jointing stage, J1 significantly improved the lignin metabolism capacity of the stem, increased stem thickness and wall thickness, and was beneficial for improving lodging resistance. The T1 treatment favored the improvement of the production capacity of assimilates, thus promoting a high yield of spring wheat.

Particle size is an important factor influencing the effects of biochar return to woodland soils: An evaluation from the perspective of sapling growth and soil microbial carbon processes

Biochar can increase ecosystem carbon sequestration by promoting plant growth and stabilizing soil organic carbon (SOC). Biochar produced from forest waste typically varies in particle size and is frequently applied directly for soil enhancement without pulverization. The effects of different biochar particle sizes on sapling growth, woodland soil properties and microbial carbon processes are unclear. This study used field experiments to compare the effects of different biochar particle sizes on sapling growth and microbial metabolic entropy (qCO2). The impacting mechanisms were explored by examining soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activity, and microbial community structure. The application of forest waste (FW) and small particle biochar (SPBC, particle size<2 mm) did not significantly affect sapling growth. Conversely, middle particle biochar (MPBC, particle size 2–10 mm) and large particle biochar (LPBC, particle size>10 mm) reduced sapling biomass by 20.76% and 38.87%, respectively, compared to SPBC. MPBC and LPBC applications resulted in soil nutrient loss (total nitrogen and available phosphorus), inhibiting sapling growth. After 167 days, qCO2 rankings were as follows: FW (30.37 ± 5.18) (P<0.05)> LPBC (20.91 ± 3.62) > CK (16.21 ± 2.71) > MPBC (15.99 ± 3.54) > SPBC (7.8 ± 0.80) (P < 0.05). The rankings of organic carbon retention rates rankings were as follows: SPBC (85.14%) > LPBC (70.35%) > FW (67.31%) > CK (54.53%) > MPBC (51.96%). SPBC increased biochar-soil-microbe interactions, raised the relative proportion of k/r-strategy bacteria, reduced extracellular cellulase activity thus inhibit qCO2. In conclusion, small particle biochar (<2 mm), compared to larger-particle biochar, improves SOC sequestration without negatively affecting sapling growth. Therefore, particle size should be considered as a management indicator for biochar applications in artificial forest practices.

Efficient and Stable p-i-n Perovskite Solar Cells Enabled by In Situ Functional Group Conversion.

Chemical additives play a critical role in the crystallization kinetics and film morphology of perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs), thus affecting the device performance and stability. Especially, carboxylic acids and their congeners with a -COOH group can effectively serve as ligands to fortify the structural integrity and mitigate the risk of lead efflux. However, direct addition of -COOH into the precursor solution could retard the crystallization kinetics of the perovskite during film formation due to the strong coordination. Here, we present a novel approach of in situ functional group conversion using Bis(2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-1-yl) 4,7,10,13-tetraoxahexadecanedioate (Bis-PEG4-NHS ester) as an additive in the antisolvent, which underwent a functional group transformation from -COOR to -COOH during the annealing process through a hydrolysis reaction of Bis-PEG4-NHS ester. The corresponding hydrolysates exhibit enhanced interactions with PbI2 and FAI, contributing to the structural integrity and the defect passivation. Our findings offer valuable insights into the chemical interactions within the crystal growth process, achieving the p-i-n pero-SC device with an efficiency of 25.79% (certified as 25.47%) and notable long-term stability.