Moisture-responsive materials are gaining greater interest for their potentially wide applications and the readily access to moisture. In this study, we show the fabrication of moisture-responsive, self-standing films using sustainable cellulose as starting material. Cellulose was modified by stearoyl moieties at first, leading to cellulose stearoyl esters (CSEs) with diverse degrees of substitution (DSs). The films of CSE with a low DS of 0.3 (CSE0.3) exhibited moisture-responsive properties, while CSEs with higher DSs of 1.3 or 3 (CSE1.3 and CSE3) not. The CSE0.3 films could reversibly fold and unfold as rhythmical bending motions within a local moisture gradient due to the ab- and desorption of water molecules at the film surface. By spray-coating CSE3 nanoparticles (NPs) onto CSE0.3 films, moisture-responsive films with non-wetting surface were obtained, which can perform quick reversible bending movements and continuous shape transition on water. Furthermore, bilayer films containing one layer of CSE0.3 at one side and one layer of CSE3 at the other side exhibited combined responsiveness to moisture and temperature. By varying the thickness of CSE0.3 films, the minimal bending extent can be adjusted due to altered mechanical resistances, which allows a bending movement preferentially beginning with the thinner side.
Decomposition by
microorganisms of plastics in soils is almost
unexplored despite the fact that the majority of plastics released
into the environment end up in soils. Here, we investigate the decomposition
process and microbiome of one of the most promising biobased and biodegradable
plastics, poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA),
under field soil conditions under both ambient and future predicted
climates (for the time between 2070 and 2100). We show that the gravimetric
and molar mass of PBSA is already largely reduced (28–33%)
after 328 days under both climates. We provide novel information on
the PBSA microbiome encompassing the three domains of life: Archaea,
Bacteria, and Eukarya (fungi). We show that PBSA begins to decompose
after the increase in relative abundances of aquatic fungi (Tetracladium spp.) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The PBSA
microbiome is distinct from that of surrounding soils, suggesting
that PBSA serves as a new ecological habitat. We conclude that the
microbial decomposition process of PBSA in soil is more complex than
previously thought by involving interkingdom relationships, especially
between bacteria and fungi.
As the number of bacterial genomes increases dramatically, the demand for easy to use tools with transparent functionality and comprehensible output for applied comparative genomics grows as well. We present BlAst Diagnostic Gene findEr (BADGE), a tool for the rapid prediction of diagnostic marker genes (DMGs) for the differentiation of bacterial groups (e.g. pathogenic / nonpathogenic). DMG identification settings can be modified easily and installing and running BADGE does not require specific bioinformatics skills. During the BADGE run the user is informed step by step about the DMG finding process, thus making it easy to evaluate the impact of chosen settings and options. On the basis of an example with relevance for beer brewing, being one of the oldest biotechnological processes known, we show a straightforward procedure, from phenotyping, genome sequencing, assembly and annotation, up to a discriminant marker gene PCR assay, making comparative genomics a means to an end. The value and the functionality of BADGE were thoroughly examined, resulting in the successful identification and validation of an outstanding novel DMG (fabZ) for the discrimination of harmless and harmful contaminations of Pediococcus damnosus, which can be applied for spoilage risk determination in breweries. Concomitantly, we present and compare five complete P. damnosus genomes sequenced in this study, finding that the ability to produce the unwanted, spoilage associated off-flavor diacetyl is a plasmid encoded trait in this important beer spoiling species.
In recent years, liquid repellent surfaces have attracted considerable attention because of their wide array of potential applications. In the present study, slippery surfaces were fabricated using novel sustainable, nanoporous cellulose lauroyl ester (CLE) films and slippery lubrication fluid. The nanoporous CLE films were obtained after spray-coating target surfaces using a nanoparticle suspension of CLE that was prepared via nanoprecipitation. After the deposition of the slippery liquid within the porous network, the obtained slippery surfaces exhibit both excellent liquid repellency upon liquid impact and anti-icing properties (by significantly retarding the icing time). Three-dimensional droplet manipulation was also achieved on these surfaces by taking advantage of the materials' low contact angle hysteresis and low adhesion property.
Robust, superhydrophobic and self-cleaning films were fabricated using nano- or microstructured cellulose fatty acid esters, which were prepared via nanoprecipitation. The superhydrophobic films could be coated on diverse surfaces with non-uniform shapes by distinct coating techniques.
Recent experiments have shown that (quasi-)crystalline phases of Rydberg-dressed quantum many-body systems in optical lattices (OL) are within reach. Rydberg systems naturally possess strong long-range interactions due to the large polarizability of Rydberg atoms. Thus a wide range of quantum phases have been predicted, such as a devil's staircase of lattice incommensurate density wave phases as well as more exotic lattice supersolid order for bosonic systems, as considered in our work. Guided by results in the "frozen" gas limit, we study the ground state phase diagram at finite hopping amplitudes and in the vicinity of resonant Rydberg driving, while fully including the long-range tail of the van der Waals interaction. Simulations within real-space bosonic dynamical mean-field theory (RB-DMFT) yield an extension of the devil's staircase into the supersolid regime where the competition of condensation and interaction leads to a sequence of crystalline phases.
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