Herbivores can gain indirect access to recalcitrant carbon present in plant cell walls through symbiotic associations with lignocellulolytic microbes. A paradigmatic example is the leaf-cutter ant (Tribe: Attini), which uses fresh leaves to cultivate a fungus for food in specialized gardens. Using a combination of sugar composition analyses, metagenomics, and whole-genome sequencing, we reveal that the fungus garden microbiome of leaf-cutter ants is composed of a diverse community of bacteria with high plant biomass-degrading capacity. Comparison of this microbiome?s predicted carbohydrate-degrading enzyme profile with other metagenomes shows closest similarity to the bovine rumen, indicating evolutionary convergence of plant biomass degrading potential between two important herbivorous animals. Genomic and physiological characterization of two dominant bacteria in the fungus garden microbiome provides evidence of their capacity to degrade cellulose. Given the recent interest in cellulosic biofuels, understanding how large-scale and rapid plant biomass degradation occurs in a highly evolved insect herbivore is of particular relevance for bioenergy.

Management of liquid water is critical for optimal fuel-cell operation, especially at low temperatures. It is therefore important to understand the wetting properties and water holdup of the various fuel-cell layers. While the gas-diffusion layer is relatively hydrophobic and exhibits a strong intermediate wettability, the catalyst layer is predominantly hydrophilic. In addition, the water content of the ionomer in the catalyst layer is lower than that of the bulk membrane, and is affected by platinum surfaces. Liquid-water removal occurs through droplets on the surface of the gas-diffusion layer. In order to predict droplet instability and detachment, a force balance is used. While the pressure or drag force on the droplet can be derived, the adhesion or surface-tension force requires measurement using a sliding-angle approach. It is shown that droplets produced by forcing water through the gas-diffusion layer rather than placing them on top of it show much stronger adhesion forces owing to the contact to the subsurface water.

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A new numerical solver for stiff transport predictions has been developed and implemented in the PTRANSP predictive transport code. The TGLF and GLF23 predictive codes have been incorporated in the solver, verified by comparisons with predictions from the XPTOR code, and validated by comparing predicted and measured profiles. Predictions for ITER baseline plasmas are presented.

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The article focuses on a study that widens the toolbox to manufacture HEAs with exceptional corrosion resistance by additive manufacturing. CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloys (HEAs) were additively manufactured (AM) by laser powder bed fusion and their corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was studied by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. A systematic study of AM CoCrFeMnNi HEAs’ porosity under a wide range of laser processing parameters was conducted and a processing map was constructed to identify the optimal laser processing window for CoCrFeMnNi HEAs.

Article proposes a two-stage training dense point cloud generation network.

This article presents a study that aims to understand the fundamental aspects of the laser-bone interaction in three-dimensional laser machining of the bone through an integrated experimental-computational approach.

Article proving the existence of infinitely many radial solutions of ∆𝓊+𝐾(𝓇) ƒ (𝓊) = 0 on the exterior of the ball of radius R > 0, BR, centered at the origin in ℝᴺ with u = 0 on ∂BR and lim/r→∞ 𝓊(𝓇) = 0 where N > 2, f is odd with f < 0 on (0, β), f > 0 on (β, ∞), f is superlinear for large u, ƒ(𝓊) ∼ −1/(|𝓊|𝘲⁻¹𝓊) with 0 < q < 1 for small u, and 0 < 𝐾(𝓇) ≤ 𝐾₁/r∝ with 𝑁 + q(𝑁 − 2) < ∝ < 2(𝑁− 1) for large r.

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Cs is one of the more problematic fission product radionuclides to immobilize due to its high volatility at elevated temperatures, ability to form water soluble compounds, and its mobility in many host materials. The hollandite structure is a promising crystalline host for Cs immobilization and has been traditionally fabricated by solid state sintering methods. This study presents the structure and performance of Ba{sub 1.0}Cs{sub 0.3}A{sub 2.3}Ti{sub 5.7}O{sub 16}; A = Cr, Fe, Al hollandite fabricated by melt processing. Melt processing is considered advantageous given that melters are currently in use for High Level Waste (HLW) vitrification in several countries. This work details the impact of Cr additions that were demonstrated to i) promote the formation of a Cs containing hollandite phase and ii) maintain the stability of the hollandite phase in reducing conditions anticipated for multiphase waste form processing.

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This article presents Spitzer Space Telescope photometry of 18 Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars which have weak or undetectable high-ionization emission lines in their rest-frame ultraviolet spectra.

This article describes the design of a dual-wavelength achromatic metasurface-based deflector deflecting the incident wave to the same direction at two selected wavelengths, which has circumvented the critical limitation of strong wavelength dependence in the planar metasurface-based devices caused by the resonant nature of the plasmonic structures.

Article uses first principles methods to compare the mechanical properties of lizardite Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4, a polymorph of serpentine family, with the new compounds derived by substituting Mg ions with isovalent elements from different chemical groups.

This opinion article focuses on the possibility that ROS are beneficial to plants, supporting cellular proliferation, physiological function, and viability, and that maintaining a basal level of ROS in cells is essential for life.

Article about Matt Swinney, founder of Fashion X, and the 10 year anniversary of Austin Fashion Week.