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With excellent creep resistance, good high-temperature microstructural stability and good irradiation resistance, oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys are a class of important alloys that are promising for high-temperature applications. However, plagued by a nerve-wracking fact that the oxide particles tend to aggregate at grain boundary of metal matrix, their improvement effect on the mechanical properties of metal matrix tends to be limited. In this work, we employ a unique in-house synthesized oxide@W core-shell nanopowder as precursor to prepare W-based ODS alloy. After low-temperature sintering and high-energy-rate forging, high-density oxide nanoparticles are dispersed homogeneously within W grains in the prepared alloy, accompanying with the intergranular oxide particles completely disappearing. As a result, our prepared alloy achieves a great enhancement of strength and ductility at room temperature. Our strategy using core-shell powder as precursor to prepare high-performance ODS alloy has potential to be applied to other dispersion-strengthened alloy systems. Aggregation and coarsening of the second-phase oxide particles at grain boundaries have been a bottleneck for improving mechanical properties of oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloys. Here the authors employ core-shell nanopowder precursors to achieve uniform dispersion of oxides in ODS alloys.

HighlightsRepresentative methods for calculating the depth of discharge of different Zn anodes are introduced.Recent advances of aqueous Zn metal batteries with high Zn utilization are reviewed and categorized according to Zn anodes with different structures.The working mechanism of anode-free aqueous Zn metal batteries is introduced in detail, and different modification strategies for anode-free aqueous Zn metal batteries are summarized.Aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) are promising candidates for next-generation energy storage due to the excellent safety, environmental friendliness, natural abundance, high theoretical specific capacity, and low redox potential of zinc (Zn) metal. However, several issues such as dendrite formation, hydrogen evolution, corrosion, and passivation of Zn metal anodes cause irreversible loss of the active materials. To solve these issues, researchers often use large amounts of excess Zn to ensure a continuous supply of active materials for Zn anodes. This leads to the ultralow utilization of Zn anodes and squanders the high energy density of AZMBs. Herein, the design strategies for AZMBs with high Zn utilization are discussed in depth, from utilizing thinner Zn foils to constructing anode-free structures with theoretical Zn utilization of 100%, which provides comprehensive guidelines for further research. Representative methods for calculating the depth of discharge of Zn anodes with different structures are first summarized. The reasonable modification strategies of Zn foil anodes, current collectors with pre-deposited Zn, and anode-free aqueous Zn metal batteries (AF-AZMBs) to improve Zn utilization are then detailed. In particular, the working mechanism of AF-AZMBs is systematically introduced. Finally, the challenges and perspectives for constructing high-utilization Zn anodes are presented.

Remote sensing and ground vegetation observation data show that climate warming promotes global vegetation greening, and the increase in air temperature in High Mountain Asia (HMA) is more than twice the global average. Under such a drastic warming in climate, how have the vegetation dynamics in HMA changed? In this study, we use the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 1982 to 2015 to evaluate the latest changes in vegetation dynamics in HMA and their climate-driving mechanisms. The results show that over the past 30 years, HMA has generally followed a “warm-wet” trend, with temperatures charting a continuous rise. During 1982–1998 precipitation increased (1.16 mm yr −1 ), but depicted to reverse since 1998 (− 2.73 mm yr −1 ). Meanwhile, the NDVI in HMA increased (0.012 per decade) prior to 1998, after which the trend reversed and declined (− 0.005 per decade). The main reason for the browning of HMA vegetation is the dual effects of warming and precipitation changes. As mentioned, the increase in air temperature in HMA exceeds the global average. The increase of water vapor pressure deficit caused by global warming accelerates the loss and consumption of surface water, and also aggravates the soil water deficit. That is to say, the abnormal increase of land evapotranspiration far exceeds the precipitation, and the regional water shortage increases. Climate change is the primary factor driving these vegetation and water dynamics, with the largest proportion reaching 41.9%.

An aerosol spray pyrolysis technique is used to synthesize a spherical nano-Sb@C composite. Instrumental analyses reveal that the micro-nanostructured composite with an optimized Sb content of 68.8 wt% is composed of ultra-small Sb nanoparticles （10 nm） uniformly embedded within a spherical porous C matrix （denoted as 10-Sb@C）. The content and size of Sb can be controlled by altering the concentration of the precursor. As an anode material of sodium-ion batteries, 10-Sb@C provides a discharge capacity of 435 mAh.g^-1 in the second cycle and 385 mAh.g^-1 （a capacity retention of 88.5%） after 500 cycles at 100 mAh.g^-1. In particular, the electrode exhibits an excellent rate capability （355, 324, and 270 mAh.g^-1 at 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 mAh.g^-1, respectively）. Such a high-rate performance for the Sb-C anode has rarely been reported. The remarkable electrochemical behavior of 10-Sb@C is attributed to the synergetic effects of ultra-small Sb nanoparticles with an uniform distribution and a porous C framework, which can effectively alleviate the stress associated with a large volume change and suppress the agglomeration of the pulverized nanoparticles during prolonged charge-discharge cycling.

The copper (Cu)-catalyzed electrochemical CO 2 reduction provides a route for the synthesis of multicarbon (C 2+ ) products. However, the thermodynamically favorable Cu surface (i.e. Cu(111)) energetically favors single-carbon production, leading to low energy efficiency and low production rates for C 2+ products. Here we introduce in situ copper faceting from electrochemical reduction to enable preferential exposure of Cu(100) facets. During the precatalyst evolution, a phosphate ligand slows the reduction of Cu and assists the generation and co-adsorption of CO and hydroxide ions, steering the surface reconstruction to Cu (100). The resulting Cu catalyst enables current densities of > 500 mA cm −2 and Faradaic efficiencies of >83% towards C 2+ products from both CO 2 reduction and CO reduction. When run at 500 mA cm −2 for 150 hours, the catalyst maintains a 37% full-cell energy efficiency and a 95% single-pass carbon efficiency throughout. Copper electrocatalysts enable carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide reduction but suffer from low production rates. Here, the authors promote in situ growth of Cu(100) during electrolysis, enabling efficient and stable electrosynthesis of multicarbon products at industrially-relevant current densities

In an increasingly globalized and warming world, drought can have devastating impacts on regional agriculture, water resources, and the ecological environment. Reliable prediction of future drought changes is especially important within the context of rapid warming. However, the extent and future trends of drought changes are variable and incomplete in the CMIP6 forcing scenarios. Based on the CMIP6 data, we chose the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index to predict future global drought. The results show that when emissions increase under the three shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios (SSP126, SSP245 and SSP585), the global climate environment becomes drier and drought grow more severe and longer-lasting. Regions already classified as arid will suffer even more severe drought under high-emission SSPs. Specifically, 36.2% of global land will experience increased drought under SSP126, including 67.0% of regions designated as arid, with droughts intensifying significantly. Under SSP585, 68.3% of global land will suffer increased drought, with 93.2% of the arid regions experiencing significant drought intensification. Furthermore, the global duration of drought is estimated to be 4.4 months, 5.7 months, and 8.6 months for the time periods 1960–2000, 2021–2060, and 2061–2100, respectively. Notably, for the SSP585 scenario, regions that are already arid may become universally drought-stricken by the late 21st century. The most severe aridification trends may occur in the arid regions of Australia, Middle East, South Africa, Amazon basin, North Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. Additionally, Europe and the Amazon River Basin are also facing the threat of future drought. Increased aridification will put these regions and countries at risk of further land and ecological degradation, as well as increased poverty. The results of this study have far-ranging implications not only for how we deal with the impacts of climate warming-induced drought disaster, but also for how these impacts affect socio-economic and ecological security.

The phytohormones abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) response pathways interact synergistically or antagonistically to regulate plant development and environmental adaptation. Here, we show that ABI1, a key negative regulator of ABA signaling, is essential for auxin-modulated root development. We performed a microarray analysis using the loss-of-function mutant abi1-3 and Col-0 seedlings treated with IAA. For sHSP22, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) small heat shock protein-encoding gene, the induction by IAA was dependent on ABI1. shsp22 displayed enhanced sensitivity to ABA in primary root growth. In contrast, overexpression of full-length, but not truncated sHSP22 lacking signal peptide and ER-retention sequences, resulted in decreased ABA sensitivity. Overexpressed (OX) sHSP22 partially rescued the ABA hypersensitivity of abi1-3. In addition, sHSP22 is involved in auxin-regulated hypocotyl elongation at high temperature treatment. sHSP22 also affected accumulation of auxin efflux carrier PIN proteins due to potentiated intracellular trafficking. And sHSP22 OX lines initiated more lateral roots after auxin application. Our results suggest that sHSP22 regulates auxin response through modulating auxin polar transport, and ABI1-sHSP22 provides a novel module orchestrating ABA and auxin signaling crosstalk in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

Iron/manganese‐based layered transition metal oxides have risen to prominence as prospective cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) owing to their abundant resources and high theoretical specific capacities, yet they still suffer from rapid capacity fading. Herein, a dual‐strategy is developed to boost the Na‐storage performance of the Fe/Mn‐based layered oxide cathode by copper (Cu) doping and nanoengineering. The P2‐Na0.76Cu0.22Fe0.30Mn0.48O2 cathode material synthesized by electrospinning exhibits the pearl necklace‐like hierarchical nanostructures assembled by nanograins with sizes of 50–150 nm. The synergistic effects of Cu doping and nanotechnology enable high Na+ coefficients and low ionic migration energy barrier, as well as highly reversible structure evolution and Cu/Fe/Mn valence variation upon repeated sodium insertion/extraction; thus, the P2‐Na0.76Cu0.22Fe0.30Mn0.48O2 nano‐necklaces yield fabulous rate capability (125.4 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C with 56.5 mA h g−1 at 20 C) and excellent cyclic stability (≈79% capacity retention after 300 cycles). Additionally, a promising energy density of 177.4 Wh kg−1 is demonstrated in a prototype soft‐package Na‐ion full battery constructed by the tailored nano‐necklaces cathode and hard carbon anode. This work symbolizes a step forward in the development of Fe/Mn‐based layered oxides as high‐performance cathodes for SIBs. Pearl necklace‐like hierarchical nanostructures of a P2‐Na0.76Cu0.22Fe0.30Mn0.48O2 cathode are synthesized by electrospinning and evaluated in sodium‐ion batteries. The synergistic effects of Cu doping and nanoengineering enable high Na+ coefficients and low ionic migration energy barrier, as well as highly reversible structure evolution and Cu/Fe/Mn valence variation upon repeated sodium insertion/extraction, rendering fabulous rate capability and excellent cyclic stability.

Deep learning techniques are increasingly applied to point cloud semantic segmentation, where single-modal point cloud often suffers from accuracy-limiting confusion phenomena. Moreover, some networks with image and LiDAR data lack an efficient fusion mechanism, and the occlusion of images may do harm to the segmentation accuracy of a point cloud. To overcome the above issues, we propose the integration of multi-modal data to enhance network performance, addressing the shortcomings of existing feature-fusion strategies that neglect crucial information and struggle with matching modal features effectively. This paper introduces the Multi-View Guided Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model (MVG-Net), which extracts multi-scale and multi-level features and contextual data from urban aerial images and LiDAR, and then employs a multi-view image feature-aggregation module to capture highly correlated texture information with the spatial and channel attentions of point-wise image features. Additionally, it incorporates a fusion module that uses image features to instruct point cloud features for stressing key information. We present a new dataset, WK2020, which combines multi-view oblique aerial images with LiDAR point cloud to validate segmentation efficacy. Our method demonstrates superior performance, especially in building segmentation, achieving an F1 score of 94.6% on the Vaihingen Dataset—the highest among the methods evaluated. Furthermore, MVG-Net surpasses other networks tested on the WK2020 Dataset. Compared to backbone network for single point modality, our model achieves overall accuracy improvement of 5.08%, average F1 score advancement of 6.87%, and mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) betterment of 7.9%.

Taitema Lake, located in the lower reaches of the Tarim River and the Cherchen River, is one of the most important ecological barriers in Ruoqiang County. The amount of water in Taitema Lake plays an important role in maintaining a healthy cycle within the ecosystem, curbing sandstorms, and improving salinization and desertification. The aim of this study was to reasonably determine the volume of ecological water conveyance by calculating the ecological water demand. We systematically analyzed the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of Taitema Lake during 21 ecological water conveyance processes from 2000 to 2020. The results showed that the area of Taitema Lake increased at a rate of 144% per year because of the Ecological Water Conveyance Project (EWCP). The areas of water in dry, normal, and high flow years were 30.35, 57.76, and 103.5 km2, respectively. The corresponding ecological water demand was 1.58 × 108, 3.09 × 108, and 5.66 × 108 m3, respectively. We calculated that the Cherchen River and the Tarim River carried 0.87 × 108–3.11 × 108 m3 and 0.71 × 108–2.55 × 108 m3 of water, respectively, under different inflow frequencies. This study has significance as a reference for estimates of the ecological water demand of terminal lakes under the condition of artificial water transport in arid inland river basins, and provides the basis for the rational allocation of water resources in the Tarim River Basin.