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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273685.].[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273685.].

Crystalline borates have received great attention due to their various structures and wide applications. For a long time, the corner-sharing B–O unit is considered a basic rule in borate structural chemistry. The Dy[sub.4]B[sub.6]O[sub.15] synthesized under high-pressure is the first oxoborate with edge-sharing [BO[sub.4]] tetrahedra, while the KZnB[sub.3]O[sub.6] is the first ambient pressure borate with the edge-sharing [BO[sub.4]] tetrahedra. The edge-sharing connection modes greatly enrich the structural chemistry of borates and are expected to expand new applications in the future. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in crystalline borates with edge-sharing [BO[sub.4]] tetrahedra. We discuss the synthesis, fundamental building blocks, structural features, and possible applications of these edge-sharing borates. Finally, we also discuss the future perspectives in this field.

Rare earth europium(II) complexes based on d-f transition luminescence have characteristics of broad emission spectra, tunable emission colors and short excited state lifetimes, showing great potential in display, lighting and other fields. In this work, four complexes of Eu(II) and bis(pyrazolyl)borate ligands, where pyrazolyl stands for pyrazolyl, 3-methylpyrazolyl, 3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl or 3-trifluoromethylpyrazole, were designed and synthesized. Due to the varied steric hindrance of the ligands, different numbers of solvent molecules (tetrahydrofuran) are participated to saturate the coordination structure. These complexes showed blue-green to yellow emissions with maximum wavelength in the range of 490–560 nm, and short excited state lifetimes of 30–540 ns. Among them, the highest photoluminescence quantum yield can reach 100%. In addition, when the complexes were heated under vacuum or nitrogen atmosphere, they finally transformed into the complexes of Eu(II) and corresponding tri(pyrazolyl)borate ligands and sublimated away.

The materials studied in this work can be utilized for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration down to the milli-Kelvin range and offer multiple benefits over traditional hydrated paramagnetic salts. Adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration (ADR) is regaining relevance for refrigeration to temperatures below 1 K as global helium-3 supply is increasingly strained. While ADR at these temperatures is long established with paramagnetic hydrated salts, more recently, frustrated rare-earth oxides were found to offer higher entropy densities and practical advantages, since they do not degrade under heating or evacuation. We report structural, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of the rare-earth borates Ba[sub.3]XB[sub.9]O[sub.18] and Ba[sub.3]XB[sub.3]O[sub.9] with X = (Yb, Gd). Except for Ba[sub.3]GdB[sub.9]O[sub.18], which orders at 108 mK, the three other materials remain paramagnetic down to their lowest measured temperatures. ADR performance starting at 2 K in a field of 5 T is analyzed and compared to literature.

Imbibing watermelon seeds in 1 mM sodium tetraborate (Na[sub.2]B[sub.4]O[sub.7]) for 24 h systemically protected plants against foliar infection by Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum in detached leaves and under greenhouse conditions. The treatment resulted in both a reduction in the overall percentage of leaf infection as well as in the size of lesions. Studies of the mechanisms by which Na[sub.2]B[sub.4]O[sub.7] protected watermelon showed that there was no direct effect on the S. cucurbitacearum mycelium growth in vitro. On the other hand, plants raised from seeds primed with Na[sub.2]B[sub.4]O[sub.7] showed a higher frequency of fluorescent epidermal cells compared to the plants treated with water. This indicates that a higher number of cells expressed the hypersensitive response after Na[sub.2]B[sub.4]O[sub.7] priming. In addition, there was an increase in peroxidase activity and an enhanced accumulation of a 45 kDa acidic peroxidase isoform during the early stages of infection in plants treated with Na[sub.2]B[sub.4]O[sub.7] compared to plants treated with water and this was positively correlated to the reduction of leaf infection caused by the pathogen. These results indicate that Na[sub.2]B[sub.4]O[sub.7] is able to induce systemic resistance in watermelon against S. cucurbitacearum by activating the hypersensitive reaction at penetration sites, increasing peroxidase activity and altering the peroxidase isozyme profile. Although each individual response may only have had a minor effect, their combined effects had a reducing effect on the disease.

Abstract Background Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) present serious reproductive health risks and management challenges, with poor control attributed to survival of treatment-resistant biofilm communities. Boric acid is used in various regimens for non-albicans VVC and recurrent BV. We investigated safety and efficacy of a novel boric acid–based vaginal anti-infective with enhanced antibiofilm activity (TOL-463) in treating BV and VVC. Methods In this phase 2 randomized, investigator-blinded trial conducted at 2 sexual health clinics, women with BV or VVC were randomly assigned (1:1) to 7 nights of TOL-463 vaginal gel or insert. The primary test of cure (TOC) was clinical cure at day 9–12; safety was assessed at TOC and day 21–30. Results One hundred six participants (53 with BV, 36 VVC, 17 both) were enrolled; most were African American (69%). Clinical cure rate of BV at TOC was 59% (95% confidence interval [CI], 41%–75%) for TOL-463 insert and 50% (95% CI, 31%–69%) for TOL-463 gel, and for VVC, 92% (95% CI, 67%–99%) for TOL-463 insert and 81% (95% CI, 57%–93%) for TOL-463 gel. Both products were safe and well tolerated with no secondary cases of VVC; vulvovaginal burning was the most common adverse event (9.6%). Conclusions TOL-463, especially in vaginal insert form, is effective and safe in treating BV and VVC. Future studies should assess the potential role of TOL-463 as a biofilm disrupter in enhancing likelihood of cure relative to approved therapies, reducing recurrence rates, and combined with traditional antimicrobials. Clinical Trials Registration NCT02866227. TOL-463 vaginal gel or insert, a boric acid–based anti-infective with enhanced antibiofilm activity, was effective and safe in treating Bacterial Vaginosis and Vulvovaginal Candidiasis, with the vaginal insert demonstrating higher efficacy for both conditions.

Despite significant progress in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, high fabrication costs and limited efficiency of photoanodes hinder practical applications. Bismuth vanadate (BiVO[sub.4]), with its low cost, non-toxicity, and suitable band structure, is a promising photoanode material but suffers from poor charge transport, sluggish surface kinetics, and photocorrosion. In this study, porous monoclinic BiVO[sub.4] films are fabricated via a simplified successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method, followed by borate treatment and PEC deposition of NiFeO[sub.x]. The resulting B/BiVO[sub.4]/NiFeO[sub.x] photoanode exhibits a significantly enhanced photocurrent density of 2.45 mA cm[sup.−2] at 1.23 V vs. RHE—5.3 times higher than pristine BiVO[sub.4]. It also achieves an ABPE of 0.77% and a charge transfer efficiency of 79.5%. These results demonstrate that dual surface modification via borate and NiFeO[sub.x] is a cost-effective strategy to improve BiVO[sub.4]-based PEC water splitting performance. This work provides a promising pathway for the scalable development of efficient and economically viable photoanodes for solar hydrogen production.

In this paper, the effect of the GeO[sub.2]:TiO[sub.2] molar ratio in glass composition on the spectroscopic properties of germanate glasses was systematically investigated. The visible luminescence bands associated with characteristic [sup.1]D[sub.2] → [sup.3]H[sub.4] (red), [sup.5]S[sub.2], [sup.5]F[sub.4] → [sup.5]I[sub.8] (green), and [sup.1]D[sub.2] → [sup.3]F[sub.4] (blue) transitions of Pr[sup.3+], Ho[sup.3+], and Tm[sup.3+] ions in systems modified by TiO[sub.2] were well observed, respectively. It was found that the luminescence intensity of glasses containing Pr[sup.3+] and Ho[sup.3+] ions increases, whereas, for Tm[sup.3+]-doped systems, luminescence quenching with increasing content of TiO[sub.2] was observed. Based on Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates (x, y) analysis, it was demonstrated that the value of chromaticity coordinates for all glasses depends on the GeO[sub.2]:TiO[sub.2] molar ratio. The addition of TiO[sub.2] to system compositions doped with Tm[sup.3+] ions shifts the (x, y) to the center of the CIE diagram. However, chromaticity coordinates evaluated for glasses containing Pr[sup.3+] ions move to a purer red color. Our results confirm that the spectroscopic properties of the studied glasses strongly depend on TiO[sub.2] content. Moreover, it can be stated that germanate-based glass systems modified by TiO[sub.2] can be used for optoelectronics in RGB technology as red (Pr[sup.3+]), green (Ho[sup.3+]), and blue (Tm[sup.3+]) emitters.

This clear and self-contained review of the last four decades of research highlights in the hot field of nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals, particularly of borate-based ultraviolet and deep-ultraviolet NLO crystals, covers three major subjects: the structure-property relationship in borate crystals, the structural and optical characteristics of various promising borate crystals, and their fruitful applications in a wide range of scientific and technological fields. Edited by the discoverers and users of these optical borate crystals, this is a readily accessible reading for semiconductor, applied and solid state physicists, materials scientists, solid state chemists, manufacturers of optoelectronic devices, and those working in the optical industry.

The CO[sub.2] capture from flue gas using biomass-derived porous carbons presents an environmentally friendly and sustainable strategy for mitigating carbon emissions. However, the conventional fabrication of porous carbons often relies on highly corrosive activating agents like KOH and ZnCl[sub.2], posing environmental and safety concerns. To address this challenge, in the present work sodium metaborate tetrahydrate (NaBO[sub.2]·4H[sub.2]O) has been utilized as an alternative, eco-friendly activating agent for the first time. Moreover, a water chestnut shell (WCS) is used as a sustainable precursor for boron-doped porous carbons with varied microporosity and boron concentration. It was found out that pyrolysis temperature significantly determines the textural features, elemental composition, and CO[sub.2] adsorption capacity. With a narrow micropore volume of 0.27 cm[sup.3]/g and a boron concentration of 0.79 at.% the representative adsorbent presents the maximum CO[sub.2] adsorption (2.51 mmol/g at 25 °C, 1 bar) and a CO[sub.2]/N[sub.2] selectivity of 18 in a 10:90 (v/v) ratio. Last but not least, the as-prepared B-doped carbon adsorbent possesses a remarkable cyclic stability over five cycles, fast kinetics (95% equilibrium in 6.5 min), a modest isosteric heat of adsorption (22–39 kJ/mol), and a dynamic capacity of 0.80 mmol/g under simulated flue gas conditions. This study serves as a valuable reference for the fabrication of B-doped carbons using an environmentally benign activating agent for CO[sub.2] adsorption application.