The protective effectiveness of environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) for SiC-based composites is challenged by the thickening and phase transformation of the SiO₂ scale, known as thermally grown oxide (TGO). In this study, a tri-layered TGOs scale, comprising cristobalite, Hf-doped SiO₂ glass, and particle-reinforced Hf-Si-O glass, was formed during the oxidation of MoSi₂/HfO₂ duplex EBCs. The incorporation of the gradient Hf-doping and HfO₂/HfSiO₄ particle-reinforcement were demonstrated to effectively suppress the crystallization and phase transition of the SiO₂ and mitigate internal stress within the EBCs, generating a crack-blocking effect. This effect prevented the TGOs scale from further channel crack propagation, enabled the SiC substrate with no detectable corrosion after 200 h of exposure at 1500 °C in steam, even when the TGOs thickness reached 24.5 μm. This work presents a novel strategy to simultaneously extend the service lifetime and enhance the high-temperature capability of EBCs through the tailored design of TGOs composition and structure.

This research article focuses on the taxonomic contributions of Pleosporales and Kirschsteiniotheliales from the Xizang Autonomous Region, China. The study identifies ten new taxa of microfungi, including a new genus and nine new species, based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. It details the methods used for collection, fungal isolation, morphology, DNA extraction, PCR amplification, sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. The results section provides detailed descriptions of the identified species, including their morphological characteristics, culture characteristics, and phylogenetic relationships. The discussion section highlights the significance of the Xizang Autonomous Region as a hotspot for fungal biodiversity and discusses the taxonomic placement and characteristics of the identified fungi.

A new study led by Prof. BI Yuhai and Prof. George F. Gao (GAO Fu) from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered significant genetic and antigenic diversity among H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) circulating in poultry across China, highlighting the growing public health risk posed by H9N2 AIVs.

An international research team led by the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), along with collaborators, has achieved a breakthrough by using the Transit Timing Variation (TTV) technique for the first time to discover a super-Earth. The exoplanet, Kepler-725c, has 10 times the mass of Earth and is located in the habitable zone of the Sun-like star Kepler-725. The discovery was published in Nature Astronomy.

There is a growing body of evidence on the occupational health experiences of nail technicians. While these studies are vital to work towards safe worksites, they may inadvertently reduce nail salons to sites of hazards and harms as well as obscure the complexities of nail technicians' relationships to their work.

Using an arts-based approach, 19 Toronto-based nail technicians visualized their experiences of work and health on life-sized body-maps. The body-maps highlight multiple layers of emotion—in the nail technicians' framing of their work experiences, in their labor as beauty service workers, and in their body-map creation processes.

The arts-based body-maps allow for a more comprehensive story of nail technicians' resiliencies and relationships to their work, beyond hazard-focused narratives that may inadvertently reduce nail technicians and nail salon-based work to sites of hazard and harm. Through body-maps and follow-up interviews, the workers visually, textually, and orally demonstrate the complexities of their relationships to work – their joys, pains, strengths, stressors, and hopes.

 (1) Atmospheric transport affects glacial microbes; (2) Community assembly processes are dynamic as glacial microorganisms move downstream; (3) Glacial microbes participate in biogeochemical cycles and feedback to climate; (4) Impacts of mixed pollutants on glacier habitats deserve deeper attention; (5) Climate change, pollutants, and microbes combine to affect glacier habitats.

This technology lowers the technical barrier through a “human–robot collaboration” model—eliminating reliance on expensive vision systems and enabling farmers to operate it with minimal training. The modular design of the robotic arm allows for flexible replacement of joint motors, further enhancing maintainability. Tests confirm the system excels in complex terrains and small-scale orchards, adapting well to challenges like foliage occlusion and uneven lighting.