Soil salinity is an increasingly serious problem worldwide that reduces agricultural output potential. Selected beneficial soil bacteria can promote plant growth and augment tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Bacillus subtilis strain GB03 has been shown to confer growth promotion and abiotic stress tolerance in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we examined the effect of this beneficial soil bacterium on salt tolerance in the legume forage crop, white clover. Plants of white clover (Trifolium repens L. cultivar Huia) were grown from seeds with or without soil inoculation of the beneficial soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis GB03 supplemented with 0, 50, 100, or 150 mM NaCl water into soil. Growth parameters, chlorophyll content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and osmotic potential were monitored during the growth cycle. Endogenous Na+ and K+ contents were determined at the time of harvest. White clover plants grown in GB03-inoculated soil were significantly larger than non-inoculated controls with respect to shoot height, root length, plant biomass, leaf area and chlorophyll content; leaf MDA content under saline condition and leaf osmotic potential under severe salinity condition (150 mM NaCl) were significantly decreased. Furthermore, GB03 significantly decreased shoot and root Na+ accumulation and thereby improved K+/Na+ ratio when GB03-inoculated plants were grown under elevated salt conditions. The results indicate that soil inoculation with GB03 promotes white clover growth under both non-saline and saline conditions by directly or indirectly regulating plant chlorophyll content, leaf osmotic potential, cell membrane integrity and ion accumulation.

Unconventional superconductivity from heavy fermion (HF) is always observed in f-electron systems, in which Kondo physics between localized f-electrons and itinerant electrons plays an essential role. Whether HF superconductivity could be achieved in other systems without f electrons, especially for d-electron systems, is still elusive. Here, we experimentally study the origin of d-electron HF behavior in iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) AFe 2 As 2 (A = K, Rb, Cs). Nuclear magnetic resonance on 75 As reveals a universal coherent-incoherent crossover with a characteristic temperature T*. Below T*, a so-called "Knight shift anomaly" is first observed in FeSCs, which exhibits a scaling behavior similar to f-electron HF materials. Furthermore, the scaling rule also regulates the manifestation of magnetic fluctuation. These results undoubtedly support an emergent Kondo scenario for the d-electron HF behavior, which suggests the AFe 2 As 2 (A = K, Rb, Cs) as the first material realization of d-electron HF superconductors.Superconductivity in heavy fermion (HF) materials is a conundrum in condensed matter physics. Conventional phonon-mediated pairing mechanism is failed in this case, suggesting an unconventional pairing mechanism similar to that in cuprates and organic superconductors (1). So far, only HF materials containing f electrons could be the hosts for unconventional superconductivity. Whether unconventional superconductivity could be achieved in HF materials without f electrons is still unknown. In f-electron HF materials, Kondo lattice has been widely accepted as the starting point for discussing the underlying physics (2). In two-fluid model of Kondo lattice (3, 4, 5), coherent state emerges below a characteristic temperature T* as the localized f-electrons collectively reduce their entropy by hybridizing with the itinerant electrons to form a new state of matter, an itinerant heavy-electron Kondo liquid (KL) that displays scaling behavior. The emergent KL coexists with the hybridized spin liquid that describes the lattice of local moments whose magnitude has been reduced by hybridization. "Hybridization effectiveness" has been proposed as the organizing principle responsible for the emergence of low-temperature order in HF systems, including unconventional superconductivity (5). Although Kondo picture for HF has achieved a great success in f-electron materials, the fate of Kondo picture in HF materials without f electrons, especially for d-electron systems, is still controversial. Besides Kondo scenario (6), many alternative scenarios, such as lightly doped Mott insulator (7), geometrical frustration via antiferromagnetic interactions (8) and spin-orbital fluctuations (9), have been proposed to responsible for HF behavior in d-electron systems. In addition, searching for unconventional superconductivity in the existing d-electron HF materials is still not successful.Recently, a remarkable mass enhancement was observed in heavily hole-doped Fe-based superconductors (FeSCs) AFe 2 As 2 (A = K, Rb, Cs). As sh...

The nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) method has been used to calculate the lattice thermal conductivities of Ar and Kr/Ar nanostructures in order to study the effects of interface scattering, boundary scattering, and elastic strain on lattice thermal conductivity. Results show that interface scattering poses significant resistance to phonon transport in superlattices and superlattice nanowires. The thermal conductivity of the Kr/Ar superlattice nanowire is only about 1/3 of that for pure Ar nanowires with the same cross sectional area and total length due to the additional interfacial thermal resistance. It is found that nanowire boundary scattering provides significant resistance to phonon transport. As the cross sectional area increases, the nanowire boundary scattering decreases, which leads to increased nanowire thermal conductivity. The ratio of the interfacial thermal resistance to the total effective thermal resistance increases from 30% for the superlattice nanowire to 42% for the superlattice film. Period length is another important factor affecting the effective thermal conductivity of the nanostructures. Increasing the period length will lead to increased acoustic mismatch between the adjacent layers, and hence increased interfacial thermal resistance. However, if the total length of the superlattice nanowire is fixed, reducing the period length will lead to decreased effective thermal conductivity due to the increased number of interfaces. Finally, it is found that the interfacial thermal resistance decreases as the reference temperature increases, which might be due to the inelastic interface scattering. AbstractThe nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) method has been used to calculate the lattice thermal conductivities of Ar and Kr/Ar nanostructures in order to study the effects of interface scattering, boundary scattering, and elastic strain on lattice thermal conductivity.Results show that interface scattering poses significant resistance to phonon transport in a yunfeichen@yahoo.com 2 superlattices and superlattice nanowires. The thermal conductivity of the Kr/Ar superlattice nanowire is only about 1/3 of that for pure Ar nanowires with the same cross sectional area and total length due to the additional interfacial thermal resistance. It is found that nanowire boundary scattering provides significant resistance to phonon transport. As the cross sectional area increases, the nanowire boundary scattering decreases, which leads to increased nanowire thermal conductivity. The ratio of the interfacial thermal resistance to the total effective thermal resistance increases from 30% for the superlattice nanowire to 42% for the superlattice film.Period length is another important factor affecting the effective thermal conductivity of the nanostructures. Increasing the period length will lead to increased acoustic mismatch between the adjacent layers, and hence increased interfacial thermal resistance. However, if the total length of the superlattice nanowire is fixed, reducing the p...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly worldwide, seriously endangering human health. In addition to the typical symptoms of pulmonary infection, patients with COVID-19 have been reported to have gastrointestinal symptoms and/or intestinal flora dysbiosis. It is known that a healthy intestinal flora is closely related to the maintenance of pulmonary and systemic health by regulating the host immune homeostasis. Role of the "gut-lung axis" has also been well-articulated. This review provides a novel suggestion that intestinal flora may be one of the mediators of the gastrointestinal responses and abnormal immune responses in hosts caused by SARS-CoV-2; improving the composition of intestinal flora and the proportion of its metabolites through probiotics, and personalized diet could be a potential strategy to prevent and treat COVID-19. More clinical and evidence-based medical trials may be initiated to determine the strategy.