Soil mineral depletion is a major issue due mainly to soil erosion and nutrient leaching. The addition of biochar is a solution because biochar has been shown to improve soil fertility, to promote plant growth, to increase crop yield, and to reduce contaminations. We review here biochar potential to improve soil fertility. The main properties of biochar are the following: high surface area with many functional groups, high nutrient content, and slow-release fertilizer. We discuss the influence of feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, pH, application rates, and soil types. We review the mechanisms ruling the adsorption of nutrients by biochar.

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The high-precision patterning of metal halide perovskites (MHPs) is of paramount importance for their device application. Here, we demonstrate the femtosecond (fs)-laserassisted formation of three-dimensional MHP nanocrystal (NC) patterns with strong blue photoluminescence (PL) inside an oxide glass. Our strategy enables the crystallization and erasing of CsPb(Cl/Br) 3 NCs inside a glass localized around the laser focal area through a combination of fs laser irradiation and thermal treatment processes. These recoverable patterns exhibit a switchable PL associated with the laser-induced defect and the thermal healing of MHP NCs that are benefits from the soft ionic crystal structure and low formation energy of the MHPs. Due to the high stability offered by the protection of the oxide glass matrix, the laser printing of fine-structured MHP micropatterns can be repeated over multiple cycles with a high robustness compared with their colloidal process counterparts. Our results demonstrate a simple strategy for creating emissive patterns inside a stable and transparent solid matrix that could be promising for applications including information storage, three-dimensional displays, anticounterfeit labels, and information security protection.

Transgenic mice were generated to express a restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) human cardiac troponin I (cTnI) R192H mutation in the heart (cTnI(193His) mice). The objective of this study was to assess cardiac function during the development of diastolic dysfunction and to gain insight into the pathophysiological impact of the RCM cTnI mutation. Cardiac function and pathophysiological changes were monitored in cTnI193His mice and wild-type littermates for a period of 12 mo. It progressed gradually from abnormal relaxation to diastolic dysfunction characterized with high-resolution echocardiography by a reversed E-to-A ratio, increased deceleration time, and prolonged isovolumetric relaxation time. At the age of 12 mo, cardiac output in cTnI(193His) mice was significantly declined, and some transgenic mice showed congestive heart failure. The negative impact of cTnI193His on ventricular contraction and relaxation was further demonstrated in isolated mouse working heart preparations. The main morphological change in cTnI193His myocytes was shortened cell length. Dobutamine stimulation increased heart rate in cTnI193His mice but did not improve CO. The cTnI193His mice had a phenotype similar to that in human RCM patients carrying the cTnI mutation characterized morphologically by enlarged atria and restricted ventricles and functionally by diastolic dysfunction and diastolic heart failure. The results demonstrate a critical role of the COOH-terminal domain of cTnI in the diastolic function of cardiac muscle.

Transparent glass has been identified as a vital medium for three-dimensional (3D) optical information storage and multi-level encryption. However, it has remained a challenge for directly writing 3D patterning inside a transparent glass using semiconductor blue laser instead of high-cost femtosecond laser. Here, we demonstrate that rare earth ions doped transparent glass can be used as 3D optical information storage and data encryption medium based on their reversible transmittance and photoluminescence manipulation. The color of tungsten phosphate glass doped with rare earth ions change reversibly from light yellow to blue upon alternating 473 nm laser illumination and temperature stimulation, resulting in the reversible luminescence modulation. The information data could be repeatedly written and erased in arbitrary 3D space of transparent glass, not only showing the ability of the excellent reproducibility and storage capacity, but also opening opportunities in information security. The present work expands the application fields of luminescent glass, and it is conducive to develop a novel 3D data storage and information encryption media.

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