In this paper, we elucidate the vibrational response of cylindrical nanorods to ultrafast laser-induced heating. A theoretical analysis of the expected behavior is first presented. This analysis predicts that both extensional and breathing vibrational modes of the rods should be excited by laser-induced heating. Analytical formulas are derived assuming that the heating/expansion process is instantaneous, and that the lengths of the rods are much greater than their radii. These results show that the breathing mode dominates the mechanical deformation of the rod. However, because the frequency of the extensional mode is much lower than that of the breathing mode, the extensional mode will dominate the response for a real experiment (a finite-time heating/expansion process). The results of this model are compared to data from transient absorption experiments performed on gold nanorods with average lengths between 30 and 110 nm. The transient absorption traces show pronounced modulations with periods between 40 and 120 ps, which are only observed when the probe laser is tuned to the longitudinal plasmon band. The measured periods are in good agreement with the expected values for the extensional modes of the rods. For rods wider than 20 nm, the breathing mode can also be observed and, again, the measured periods are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations. The breathing mode is not observed for thinner rods (<20 nm width) because, in this case, the period is comparable to the time scale for lattice heating.

Members of the Arabidopsis group C/S1 basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor (TF) network are proposed to implement transcriptional reprogramming of plant growth in response to energy deprivation and environmental stresses. The four group C and five group S1 members form specific heterodimers and are, therefore, considered to cooperate functionally. For example, the interplay of C/S1 bZIP TFs in regulating seed maturation genes was analyzed by expression studies and target gene regulation in both protoplasts and transgenic plants. The abundance of the heterodimerization partners significantly affects target gene transcription. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the developmental and stress related expression patterns was performed by comparing promoter: GUS and transcription data. The idea that the C/S1 network plays a role in the allocation of nutrients is supported by the defined and partially overlapping expression patterns in sink leaves, seeds and anthers. Accordingly, metabolic signals strongly affect bZIP expression on the transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional level. Sucrose induced repression of translation (SIRT) was demonstrated for all group S1 bZIPs. In particular, transcription of group S1 genes strongly responds to various abiotic stresses, such as salt (AtbZIP1) or cold (AtbZIP44). In summary, heterodimerization and expression data provide a basic framework to further determine the functional impact of the C/S1 network in regulating the plant energy balance and nutrient allocation.

We report the first accurate measurement of the electronic Grüneisen constant gamma(e) using a novel method employing the new technique of femtosecond electron diffraction. The contributions of the conduction electrons and the lattice to thermal expansion are differentiated in the time domain through transiently heating the electronic temperature well above that of the lattice with femtosecond optical pulses. By directly probing the associated thermal expansion dynamics in real time using femtosecond electron diffraction, we are able to separate the contributions of hot electrons from that of lattice heating, and make an accurate measurement of gamma(e) of aluminum at room temperature. This new approach opens the possibility of distinguishing electronic from magnetic contributions to thermal expansion in magnetic materials at low temperature.

The paper presents a modified and universally applicable diagnostic fragment-ion-based extension strategy (DFIBES) to efficiently process the information acquired by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization source in combination with hybrid ion trap and high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry [LC-(ESI)-IT-TOF/MS], facilitating the structural determination of serial components contained in traditional Chinese medicine prescription (TCMP). The key advantage of DFIBES is that it facilitates the rapid classification of the complicated peaks into well-known chemical families, which significantly simplifies the complicated procedures of structural characterization. Moreover, considering that a certain family of compounds usually produces identical fragment ions, the DFIBES would be widely applicable to many other families of compounds identification besides the presently validated ginsenosides and lignans. Shengmai injection, composed of Panax ginseng, Radix ophiopogonis, and Schisandra chinensis, was taken as a TCMP example to conduct and validate the proposed DFIBES. Diagnostic fragment ions (DFI) for each chemical family contained in Shengmai injection was firstly determined or proposed from the separated analysis of 15 authentic standards and the extract of S. chinensis. The ESI-MSn fragmentation patterns of ginsenosides and lignans were then systematically studied for developing the 'structure extension' approach. Upon LC-IT-TOF/MS analysis and DFIBES, more than 30 ginsenosides and 20 lignans have been rapidly detected and identified from Shengmai injection, supporting that the DFIBES is a very powerful strategy and would be widely applicable for the complicated components identification from TCMP and other complicated mixtures.

Free‐space super‐strong terahertz (THz) electromagnetic fields offer multifaceted capabilities for reaching extreme nonlinear THz optics. However, the lack of powerful solid‐state THz sources with single pulse energy >1 mJ is impeding the proliferation of extreme THz applications. The fundamental challenge lies in hard to achieve high efficiency due to high intensity pumping caused crystal damage, linear absorption, and nonlinear distortion induced short effective interaction length, and so on. Here, through cryogenically cooling the crystals, tailoring the pump laser spectra, chirping the pump pulses, and magnifying the laser energies, 1.4‐mJ THz pulses are successfully realized in lithium niobates under the excitation of 214‐mJ femtosecond laser pulses via tilted pulse front technique. The 800 nm‐to‐THz energy conversion efficiency reaches 0.7%, and a free‐space THz peak electric and magnetic field reaches 6.3 MV cm−1 and 2.1 Tesla. Numerical simulations reproduce the experimental optimization processes. To show the capability of this super‐strong THz source, nonlinear absorption in high conductive silicon induced by strong THz electric field is demonstrated. Such a high‐energy THz source with a relatively low peak frequency is very appropriate not only for electron acceleration toward table‐top X‐ray sources but also for extreme THz science and nonlinear applications.

Amphibians occupy a key phylogenetic position in vertebrates and evolution of the immune system. But, the resources of its transcriptome or genome are still little now. Bombina maxima possess strong ability to survival in very harsh environment with a more mature immune system. We obtained a comprehensive transcriptome by RNA-sequencing technology. 14.3% of transcripts were identified to be skin-specific genes, most of which were not isolated from skin secretion in previous works or novel non-coding RNAs. 27.9% of transcripts were mapped into 242 predicted KEGG pathways and 6.16% of transcripts related to human disease and cancer. Of 39 448 transcripts with the coding sequence, at least 1501 transcripts (570 genes) related to the immune system process. The molecules of immune signalling pathway were almost presented, several transcripts with high expression in skin and stomach. Experiments showed that lipopolysaccharide or bacteria challenge stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokine production and activation of pro-inflammatory caspase-1. These frog's data can remarkably expand the existing genome or transcriptome resources of amphibians, especially immunity data. The entity of the data provides a valuable platform for further investigation on more detailed immune response in B. maxima and a comparative study with other amphibians.

Optimal conditions for palladium-promoted Heck reaction on DNA were developed with good to excellent conversions. Versatility with either DNA-conjugated styrene/acrylamide or aryl iodide and a broad substrate scope of the corresponding coupling partners were established. Furthermore, robustness of the Heck reaction conditions on single-strand DNA and feasibility for DNA-encoded library production were demonstrated.

An HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of five aristolochic acids (AAs) and two aristololactams (ALs) in the following six Chinese drugs derived from Aristolochia species. Samples were analyzed on a C 18 column with acetonitrile and 3.7 mM phosphoric acid buffer gradient elution, detected at 260 nm. Assay was linear over the range (µg/mL) 0.386-38.6 for aristolochic acid Va, 0.632-63.2 for aristolochic acid IVa, 0.200-20.0 for 9-hydroxy aristolochic acid I, 0.352-35.2 for aristololactam II, 0.296-29.6 for aristolochic acid II, 0.274-27.4 for aristololactam I and 3.12-312 for aristolochic acid I. Average recoveries (%) of samples were 102.0, 95.9, 99.2, 102.2, 97.2, 97.1 and 97.8 for these seven constituents, respectively. The detection limit and retention time for the seven constituents ranged from 10.0 to 15.8 ng/mL and from 12 to 21 min. As