Through a facile one-step combustion method, partially reduced TiO(2) has been synthesized. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra confirm the presence of Ti(3+) in the bulk of an as-prepared sample. The UV-vis spectra show that the Ti(3+) here extends the photoresponse of TiO(2) from the UV to the visible light region, which leads to high visible-light photocatalytic activity for the generation of hydrogen gas from water. It is worth noting that the Ti(3+) sites in the sample are highly stable in air or water under irradiation and the photocatalyst can be repeatedly used without degradation in the activity.

Aegilops tauschii is the diploid progenitor of the D genome of hexaploid wheat 1 (Triticum aestivum, genomes AABBDD) and an important genetic resource for wheat [2][3][4] . The large size and highly repetitive nature of the Ae. tauschii genome has until now precluded the development of a reference-quality genome sequence 5 .Here we use an array of advanced technologies, including orderedclone genome sequencing, whole-genome shotgun sequencing, and BioNano optical genome mapping, to generate a referencequality genome sequence for Ae. tauschii ssp. strangulata accession AL8/78, which is closely related to the wheat D genome. We show that compared to other sequenced plant genomes, including a much larger conifer genome, the Ae. tauschii genome contains unprecedented amounts of very similar repeated sequences. Our genome comparisons reveal that the Ae. tauschii genome has a greater number of dispersed duplicated genes than other sequenced genomes and its chromosomes have been structurally evolving an order of magnitude faster than those of other grass genomes.

The BCL-2/BCL-XL/BCL-W inhibitor ABT-263 (navitoclax) has shown promising clinical activity in lymphoid malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, its efficacy in these settings is limited by thrombocytopenia caused by BCL-XL inhibition. This prompted the generation of the BCL-2-selective inhibitor venetoclax (ABT-199/GDC-0199), which demonstrates robust activity in these cancers but spares platelets. Navitoclax has also been shown to enhance the efficacy of docetaxel in preclinical models of solid tumors, but clinical use of this combination has been limited by neutropenia. We used venetoclax and the BCL-XL-selective inhibitors A-1155463 and A-1331852 to assess the relative contributions of inhibiting BCL-2 or BCL-XL to the efficacy and toxicity of the navitoclax-docetaxel combination. Selective BCL-2 inhibition suppressed granulopoiesis in vitro and in vivo, potentially accounting for the exacerbated neutropenia observed when navitoclax was combined with docetaxel clinically. By contrast, selectively inhibiting BCL-XL did not suppress granulopoiesis but was highly efficacious in combination with docetaxel when tested against a range of solid tumors. Therefore, BCL-XL-selective inhibitors have the potential to enhance the efficacy of docetaxel in solid tumors and avoid the exacerbation of neutropenia observed with navitoclax. These studies demonstrate the translational utility of this toolkit of selective BCL-2 family inhibitors and highlight their potential as improved cancer therapeutics.

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Advances in solid state white lighting technologies witness the explosive development of phosphor materials (down-conversion luminescent materials). A large amount of evidence has demonstrated the revolutionary role of the emerging nitride phosphors in producing superior white light-emitting diodes for lighting and display applications. The structural and compositional versatility together with the unique local coordination environments enable nitride materials to have compelling luminescent properties such as abundant emission colors, controllable photoluminescence spectra, high conversion efficiency, and small thermal quenching/degradation. Here, we summarize the state-of-art progress on this novel family of luminescent materials and discuss the topics of materials discovery, crystal chemistry, structure-related luminescence, temperature-dependent luminescence, and spectral tailoring. We also overview different types of nitride phosphors and their applications in solid state lighting, including general illumination, backlighting, and laser-driven lighting. Finally, the challenges and outlooks in this type of promising down-conversion materials are highlighted.

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Current-voltage hysteresis and switchable rectifying characteristics have been observed in epitaxial multiferroic BiFeO 3 ͑BFO͒ thin films. The forward direction of the rectifying current can be reversed repeatedly with polarization switching, indicating a switchable diode effect and large ferroelectric resistive switching. With analyzing the potential barriers and their variation with ferroelectric switching at the interfaces between the metallic electrodes and the semiconducting BFO, the switchable diode effect can be explained qualitatively by the polarization-modulated Schottky-like barriers.

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